6. Invitations

The male Xians returned disappointed after the two days I had given them to explore my world. Mioji had challenged a number of other golden path cultivators and spiritual beasts, but remained disappointed when they all turned tail and fled as the corners of his power came out. He thought that they should fight through, to struggle to overcome him despite his overwhelming strength.

Even the gold-ranked wild boar that he’d fought on the southwestern continent disagreed with this notion. And because he had agreed to be my guest, he could not rightly punish them as he might have on his home worlds. Instead, he was left frustrated and annoyed when he rejoined the council.

Kuto, by comparison, had found nothing that he had spent the time looking for except for confirmation of the story that I’d told him. He was undoubtedly hoping to find some leverage to use against me, but although I had illuminated my past as clearly as I could, he still searched for some shadow that wasn’t there.

Omaia was quite pleased with her stay in Nonpo, and I would eventually dispatch my disciples to negotiate the payment for any disruption her activities had caused. And to politely repeat their invitation to join the Many Peaks Alliance, which was slowly spreading beyond the central two continents where Di Ram and Lady Tonilla had founded it six years ago.

Shishi had enjoyed her time with my mother and Lady Tonilla. After their conversations, the matron of the Raging River Sect and founding member of the Many Peaks had discovered that they shared a love of poetry, and Shishi had surprisingly thrown herself into the study of local poets. Tonilla worked hard to ensure that copies of her private collection were made for the off-worlder to take back with her.

And, of course, Lilayla had spent the entire time after coaxing what information she could out of Di Ram attempting to push Pi Phon onto the Golden Path. Even now, the young man was in closed door cultivation after having received her lengthy coaching and advice.

Which brought us back to the audience room of Di Phon’s former palace. I had laid out cushions for my guests to sit upon, and I sat upon my own across from them. I had a smile on my face, and Atla was chattering away in my ear about, of all things, gazelles.

“So then. I hope that you enjoyed your time exploring Atla,” I said. “I believe that it is time to discuss the matter of what brings you to this world.”

“Yes,” Lilayla said. “This one speaks for the others when she says that each of us bears an invitation from a faction of the Emerald Court of Xian to attend our next session in five years. This session has been called directly in response to your ascension, and we were partially sent to investigate whether or not you used demonic techniques to achieve it. Such an action would have excluded you from membership in our court.”

“And have I passed the screening?” I asked, cocking my head. “I make no secret of the fact that I confronted a demonic cultivator only five years ago, and it is in that battle that I awoke Atla and formed the Xian bond with them.”

“It is my conclusion that the demonic cultivator came from one of the corrupted realms of the Divine Fates Empire,” Kuto admitted. He coughed into his hand, then shrugged. “I could find no evidence linking the two of you except for the confrontations that you told me about. In fact, if I hadn’t been looking for them specifically, I might have missed them. My report will reflect that you have been upfront and honest, and that the only link that you have demonstrated to corrupt forces is in opposition to them.”

“My report will confirm that I have found your mortal family and that they are of this world. There is no evidence that you are in violation of certain agreements between the Emerald Court and the Lord of this Realm, Duke Loshi,” Shishi said.

“Oh? Which agreements would that be?” I asked, curious.

“That we would not send Xians or cultivators hoping to become Xians into his home dimension to cultivate ‘his resources,’ and that in exchange he would allow only those cultivators who had earned his personal recommendations to leave this dimension to serve members of the Xian Court,” she explained. “It had absolutely nothing to say about Xian Lords who awoke within his dimension under his watch, however. A matter which he is most displeased to have overlooked.”

“I see,” I said. “To be honest I had no idea of this arrangement. I only acted when I did to awaken Atla because I saw no other way of saving my family and friends. Should I expect problems from Lord Loshi in the future?” I asked.

“Yes, but nothing so uncouth as a direct confrontation,” Shishi predicted. “It’s unseemly for a Xian of his stature to bully one who is just rising to power, even if you did snap up a world under his domain. But he will attempt to strangle your growth in a few centuries from now, once you reach the point where you will need to expand to other worlds to increase your power further.”

“Because all of the worlds in this dimension belong to him,” I said. “Leaving an upstart like me with nothing.”

“Indeed. He might have attempted to claim that you robbed him of Atla if Omaia hadn’t arrived in time to see the evidence that all of the connections between the rest of this dimension and this world were severed on his end, and not yours. But the wounds to the threads between stars were fresh and obvious, even to one such as her,” Mioji explained.

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“Hey!” Omaia said, sensing a subtle insult.

“Shut it, crone,” he muttered, elbowing her.

She elbowed him right back.

“Well, if you are not satisfied on your report of my confrontation with demonic forces, I am pleased to provide additional information or whatever support I can in helping you reach the honest truth of the matter. But I swear upon my soul that I do not practice demonic arts,” I said, and I layered it with an actual soul oath.

The others gasped as they felt the oath form, then fall apart as they neglected to complete it on their end. The demonstration was definitive.

As was the depth of my soul, which they could only see the very surface of.

“That will not be necessary,” Shishi said, visibly calming herself. “It seems that we have our answer as to how you advanced so fast, Grand Elder. May we know your names in your previous lives, so that we might recognize you?”

“You would not have heard of my prior selves,” I assured them. “They would have been like ants to you. Most of the depth that you just saw came while I was in the afterlife. But I have gone through the final tribulation and emerged out the other side. This much is true.”

“And whatever you saw in your past lives, plus a modest amount of good fortune in this one, has set you up for a meteoric rise,” Shishi said. “I have seen enough. I invite you on behalf of Count Beailor to attend the Emerald Court, or to send a representative on your behalf. When you have made up your mind, this ring will guide you to the nexus where the Count resides.”

“I, too, extend an invite on behalf of Duke Valan,” Omaia said, placing a fan in front of her. “This will guide your way.”

“I bring the invitation of Prince Ostoin,” Mioji said, placing a necklace on the ground in front of him.

“I serve the Duke Doe. He hopes that you will accept his invitation despite my earlier rudeness in my investigation,” Kuto said. He presented a small dagger.

“And I represent my father, Prince Yema,” Lilayla said. She set forth a small uncut diamond on the floor before her.

“I thank each of you for making the journey and vow to either attend your overlord’s invitations in avatar form, or to send an authorized representative. That is an acceptable alternative, correct?” I asked.

“If they come in person, they are presenting a vulnerability which presents a significant measure of trust in the host,” Lilayla explained. “Nobody would expect you, as a Xian, to leave your home world in anything other than avatar form. But to send a trusted subordinate empowered to represent and speak for you would be seen as an honor to both the cultivator you select and the house that you send them to.”

“I thank you for your council. I would invite you to stay, but I’m afraid that the world is shaking enough from your visit already and I need some time to calm things down. I offer you instead another peach,” I said, and I presented them with a basket with five peaches inside.

Greedy hands emptied the basket in seconds. Three of the representatives ate their peaches whole on the spot, while Lilayla and Shishi stashed them away in dimensional artifacts. Either to consume them later, or to give them away, I could not say.

“We thank you again for your hospitality and apologize for any inconvenience we have caused,” Lilayla said, speaking for the group as the humble one. “We look forward to seeing you or your representatives when you join us at court.”

“Thank you,” I said, escorting them back to the formation that would assist them in transferring their avatars off of Atla once more. Once they were outside of Atla’s glowing influence, they would be on their own.

I sighed as the last of the formations deactivated.

“Father, father, father, are you listening?” Atla asked.

“Yes, Atla, I’ve been listening. Gazelles are amazing.”

“Yes they are,” Atla agreed. “But for the last twenty minutes I’ve been talking about goldfish.”

I covered my face. “Goldfish are amazing too,” I said. “I apologize that I was busy with our guests.”

“It’s okay. I’m glad that they’re gone. I thought you said that they could hear me, but none of them did.”

“Did you try talking to them?” I asked.

“Oh. No, I only talk to you.”

“Well, you can try talking to other people too,” I suggested. “Maybe Hien Ro can hear you, or the other disciples. Or Di Ram.”

“But I only really want to talk to you,” Atla said.

“That’s okay too,” I assured the world-child. “But you do understand that sometimes I need to be focused on something entirely, yes? We’ve talked about this.”

“I know, I know. So anyway, I think that goldfish are actually stupid, not amazing.”

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