Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS
Irid and another of the Reth soon arrived, led by a second copy of Rachel that fizzled into nothingness after entering the room. Upon their entrance, Poluus visibly perked up, its entirely body visibly quivering from an emotion which I lacked the anthropology background to classify.
The Rachel beside me, I suddenly realized, was in her ‘true’, alien form, despite the fact that an outsider was right here. This bloodspawn did appear to be blind, but it still felt irresponsible. I wanted to ask the reason, but felt I should not discuss the matter before it.
Poluus seemed to smile as they appeared, but the odd way that it vaguely tilted its head in their direction felt unsettling to me. Though it lacked eyes, its reddened, empty sockets still turned as if to glance towards them.
“The rumors were true, it seems,” the bloodspawn said, speaking in the Reth language. Thankfully, Rachel quietly whispered the translation of its words into my ears so I could follow what was being said.
“So it seems,” replied Irid, in the same tongue. “Are you the leader of the local faith?”
Poluus shook its head.
“This one consumed him,” it said, as if that explained anything. Though I did not understand the connection, the Reth woman nodded sagely as if she understood completely. There was a dark look in her eyes, however. The man beside her had an even more grim expression.
“I see. What reason do you have for wanting to meet with us?” she asked.
“After Iearning of your presence, this entity wished to know what your intentions were. If you wish to return home soon, it can provide assistance.”
After only a moment’s hesitation, Irid shook her head.
“We intend to remain for a time further, and provide assistance to the Lady Trueborn.”
Poluus frowned, and glanced at Rachel, seemingly taken aback by the comment.
“It seems this one lacks certain requisite knowledge. Would you happen to be thankful to her for your rescue, or…” Poluus’ frown suddenly deepened. “It senses that this desire derives from something else. But it is of no matter. Rachel’s path is not one which your mother would hurt to see bear fruit.”
“Do not take our pleasantries for granted, beast!” growled the other Reth, clearly incensed. “The Great Mother calls for the removal of parasites like you!”
Irid quickly admonished him for his words, but Poluus simply gave him a broad smile.
“Heritage aside, the local chapter would disagree with your words. They see myself as a manifestation of the greater truth.”
“You are not a child of the Mother,” cut in Irid, and Poluus simply shrugged, laughing her words off.
“This one was first awakened a number of weeks ago,” it explained, “so it hopes you’ll forgive any discourtesy from it. Regardless of the differences in the doctrines we follow, it wishes the best for the sons and daughters of Saaya. Should your thoughts change, you may always contact this one if you find yourselves in need, or wish to return to your people.”
After this exchange, there was a long, awkward moment of silence, before the bloodspawn spoke up once again. Irid glanced at Rachel, and held her tongue. I got the feeling that she was needing to expend effort in order to maintain her civility.
“As you do not wish to leave, the main purpose of this visit is null. Secondarily, this one shall offer assistance as needed. You need simply to ask.”
“Why do you wish to help us so much?” asked Irid. “It seems to me that this is an odd course of action for the local force to take, particularly when our beliefs differ from your own.
“Your race can be considered siblings by marriage to my own,” Poluus explained. “It is in our nature to assist one another.”
For a moment, his gaze flickered to Rachel.
“If you wish, yourself and your people are welcome back into the fold at any time.”
She merely sneered in response.
“We aren’t the ones who need to apologize.”
The bloodspawn shrugged.
“The situation is complex, but far be it for this one to communicate on behalf of the divine. That is not our main order of business, anyway.”
“And what is this business?” I asked. “More offers of assistance?”
Poluus nodded, as if to confirm my thoughts.
“Our organization wishes to form a partnership. Our portion would be largely financial, but the network we possess is quite extensive. This one suspects that it may be of use to you.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I made no move to disagree, for it was simply the truth. The greatest weakness of the Redwater Sect was our lacking accumulation. We were simply far too young of an organization. We had existed for a time span that could be easily measured by counting the weeks, and could not hope to compare with any of the more established forces in the station’s underworld. If the Depthists actually gave us access to their channels, it would in effect allow us to grow rapidly at the cost of their own development. It was a frighteningly tempting proposition, but one they would not make lightly. Was this newborn bloodspawn really in command of the cult, or was this simply a ploy? Perhaps its goal here was to trick us into assisting it in taking over. We simply lacked the information.
“Give us your information, and we will consider making deals with you. It may well be in our best interest to bind ourselves in this way, but we wish to… look over it more, first.”
As I spoke, I had been intermittently glancing at Rachel to discern her reaction to my words, and she gave me an encouraging nod. It seemed she shared my thoughts on the matter. It was best to be wary when I did not know his angle, I felt. Poluus smiled again, its teeth bared as if to shield it from the world. It turned its blind gaze towards Rachel’s projection.
“Despite everything,” it said, “you’re still mortal. And in their lowest moments, all mortals find themselves seeking their gods once more.”
Rachel shook her head, a glow of anger and determination shining inside the vibrant cerulean hue of her eyes.
“My people have no need for the divinity that she has to offer. When we require the power of a god, we can simply construct one of our own.”
Poluus chuckled, as if Rachel’s apostasy was simply some joke that it could easily ignore.
“Perhaps it may be best we leave the matter at that. This one believes it may have overstayed its welcome. You may contact us at any time, and we would be happy to strengthen the ties between our forces. We have… plenty of capital. You simply need ask.” Poluus smiled, moving to exit the room. “We hope to interact with you at a future date.”
It paused at the threshold, and then turned back to me, as if it had just remembered something.
“By the way, Sect Leader Yu. The soul is an organ like any other. You would be wise to take better care of yours in the future.”
With that, it turned past the door, following another projection of Rachel.
“That ship has sailed,” I muttered, watching the two disappear down the hallway before glancing at Rachel.
“I was not aware that you had such a negative relationship with the Depthists,” I said. I would have expected the opposite, given how easily she had ingratiated herself to the Reth.
Rachel let out a deep breath, though I could still witness the fiery anger in her eyes. She glanced over to the two Reth, who seemed to quickly catch her signal, and both quietly filed out of the meeting room. Once they had left, Rachel spoke again.
“The relationship between my people and their mistress is complex, and I do not wish to get into it at the moment. Suffice to say that my people and the cult have a rather fraught relationship.”
“If you don’t like the Depthists, why did you wish to let it speak with them?”
I did not really mind the way that she had unilaterally made the decision, but it was not the way that she usually acted, so I found myself curious about the event.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, her mouth contorting into a vicious grin. “They’re useful. I can put my grudge aside in favor of potential benefits. Nothing was lost simply by hearing it out. What’s more, there were no weapons or explosives on its body.”
I frowned, and wondered whether I was simply imagining things. It had felt odd somehow, but her explanation was logically sound. I supposed I might simply be looking too far into the matter.
“I see,” I replied, after a pause to collect my thoughts. “If there’s anything we need that they might be able to provide, we can consider accepting the partnership.”
“The question is, what are their terms?” added Rachel, and I nodded in agreement.
“Other than platitudes, I don’t believe it let any information slip. But cult or not, no underworld organization would offer such benefits without a trade.”
“They cannot be trusted blindly,” she said.
I chuckled.
“Can anyone?”
Rachel smiled in response, making no reply to my statement, but the particular brand of silence at the moment made me believe she agreed. Even the closest of friends and family could betray one another. This was something I knew well. Trust and loyalty were the foundations of a modern society, but that blade was one which bore two edges. It could cut both ways.
“Make sure that we’re ready to greet Nahalken tomorrow,” I said, as I stepped out of the meeting room, beginning to make my way back towards my office. As the meditation room was still undergoing repairs, it was the best place to seek out the peaceful and quiet environment I preferred for meditation and practice.
Rachel simply waved her hand dismissively, then gave me a meaningful look.
“I already told you that we would handle it. You should worry about your own preparations.”
I brushed her words off.
“I intend to work on my soul,” I said. “Specific preparations that involve me may wait until the morning.”
Poluus words had gotten under my skin, simply because they had been correct. The truth was just as it had said- my soul was simply not in an adequate shape. I had never forgotten the limits of my own mortality- a decade was a long time, from a mortal’s perspective, but I personally felt that it was not quite long enough. The development of my spirit would be powerful, but it was a process measured in years at the minimum. It would take a considerable amount of incremental development for myself to continue to grow, but with such things, it was best to start early and practice consistently.
That was, after all, the foundation of all martial arts and progression. To train martial arts was a costly endeavor, and time was a resource like any other.
The Cult of the Depths: [The church that worships Delithia, one of the oldest ascendants, is illegal in major galactic territories. Banning her worship is, in fact, one of the requirements to become recognized by certain influential forces such as Relya, the Sheneth-Ari, the Shalthen-Qatath, and the other Osine collectives. Despite this, many forces do not bother to harshly enforce these laws, due to fear of angering Delithia herself too much. The Depthist religion has spread throughout Telles, and even still, some planetary surface civilizations make contact with the galactic world having already formed their own unique sect of the religion. Despite having a unified name, many of the Depthist sects have very different beliefs, and there are few truly major leaders of it. Were it not for the shared persecution, the cult might perhaps have splintered into various truly separate and conflicting churches. The cult’s name originates from the story of Delithia’s ‘holy land,’ described as a puddle containing an ocean, a sea of worlds within itself. The descriptions are largely contradictory, and many Depthists see it as more of a symbol and a metaphor than a real, physical location. Some say, however, that the holy land is a true place, and is where their goddess resides.]