Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS
One grew familiar with their routine over time. It could last for years without change. Decades, even. But all it took was a single misstep, a single moment for the house of cards to tumble down and turn the table on its head. For Sirena, the current situation felt extremely familiar, yet also extremely foreign.
“The Staiven aren’t making any moves yet,” said Aven, a gaunt sei with sunken cheeks and a pallid countenance, “but I can’t imagine they’ll ignore it for much longer, unless we can restrain the scope of the conflict.”
“We cannot pull back at the borders again. After what happened, it’s possible that they’re looking for a win. Make sure that First Commander Pakas knows what to do.”
“By your will, Matriarch,” he replied with a short bow, before moving on to the next note. He was meticulous, and had documented every aspect of his job far more than his predecessor had.
She had not particularly wished to replace Wei so quickly, but her work efficiency was stunted without a competent aide, and the Matriarch could not allow her work to be held up. Not when that work almost exclusively concerned the future of the clan itself. Ultimately, she had chosen Aven Hadal, one of Wei’s grandsons for the role. She had known Aven ever since he was born, and had heard Wei speak about the boy’s exploits. He was now a middle aged man with a lengthy career, but she still could not help but think of him as the child he once was. He did not particularly take after his grandfather, but sometimes Sirena could see traces of Wei in him.
While her body remained young, sometimes Sirena could truly feel just how her mind had aged. She had felt that way more than ever within the past few days.
Overall, she had a positive assessment of the man’s performance. Aven was extremely timid in front of her, but was fully confident and professional in front of others, which was good. She could not have an aide who was easily swayed or bullied. If the factions saw weakness, they would certainly pounce. As Aven was only in the core formation realm, he simply did not have the presence or the influence of his grandfather, and there was nothing to be done but to minimize the issue.
As she watched, Aven carefully scrolled the list.
“How is Juen?” she asked.
The most important role of her aide’s job, at least in Sirena’s opinion, was to become versed in every aspect of the sect. If there was something he did not know, Sirena expected him to rapidly figure it out. Wei had been an expert at this.
“Juen…” he said, before shaking his head. “His injuries are severe, as one of his cores was damaged. The injuries are not permanent, but it is anticipated that it might take months to years for them to fully heal. I would have to speak with him to acquire more specifics. If you wish, I could do so now.”
Sirena casually waved his offer off with one of her hands.
“So long as he is fine. He was injured attacking a force that had been our ally at the time. I intend to treat this as the price of him growing in maturity.”
Hearing this, Aven glanced back to the list, deciding to continue forward. Seeing the next item, he scowled for a moment before returning to an impassive look.
“Next up, Matriarch Sirena, is Grandfather’s memorial service. As far as I know, all preparations have been completed. As you requested, we restricted the attendance to his closest friends and family members.”
A slight quiver betrayed Aven’s feelings about the matter. She knew that the man had always idolized Wei. Perhaps he felt almost as distraught as she was. For a moment, Sirena considered attempting to comfort him, but she knew that it would either come across as patronizing or intimidating. It would be better not to mention it unless she found it absolutely necessary.
“Good,” she said. “I don’t wish for politics to influence his memory.”
He nodded in approval.
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“I imagine Grandfather would have wished for that as well…”
His voice trailed off, as Sirena thought back to some of the many conversations that she and Wei had in this very room over the decades, all the time since they had first arrived at the station and began constructing this building. The construction had lasted for months, even with the highly advanced technologies of the Staiven. This office, gaudy as it was, had been one of the first facilities to be constructed, so as to be utilized to host other forces in the station’s underworld for negotiations. After Aven had paused for several moments as if to regather his wits about himself, he glanced back down to his terminal to manipulate it once more.
“There’s one more matter, Matriarch,” he said.”It strikes me as lower priority, but a news package from Sunlit Hall has arrived.”
This time, as Sirena glanced over, she simply felt annoyed, having been interrupted from her nostalgic recollections.
“Is information six years out of date important at the moment?”
Aven gulped, flustered by her temper. It amused Sirena to see a man who appeared older than her at first glance act in such a way.
“It’s just that, Matriarch, the information is from a matter you designated as utmost priority.”
Hearing this, Sirena’s temper faded slightly, and she raised an eyebrow in an inquisitive manner.
“And?” she asked.
Aven quickly stammered his words out.
“It’s about Jin Luo, the last survivor of the Downpour Sect. You told us to inform you of any news about him. According to the report, six years ago he broke through to the spirit refinement realm and slew the entire squad of elites from Sunlit Hall who had been hunting him down. He received the title ‘Stormdevil’ Jin Luo, and is according to the information, still at large.”
It took several lengthy moments for the information to set in, but the contents deeply confused Sirena.
“Is this information accurate?” she asked, choosing her words very carefully.
Aven nodded.
“It’s the same news source as always, Matriarch.”
Something flashed in her eyes, and she gave him a stern look.
“Hide that report and make sure no one else lays eyes on it. Who else has seen it?”
He trembled slightly, but was not sure just what was so important about this trivial news about some distant demonic swordsman. Sirena had not found it necessary to inform him of the Riverfiend’s identity, as she had thought it a minor matter. Now, however, that might have changed.
“J-just me, and the scribe, Matriarch. She brought it to me as soon as she saw it, due to your orders.”
“Ensure her silence, and don’t tell anyone about this, either.”
If Jin Luo had reached the spirit refinement level six years ago, she thought, then he could not possibly be Cyrus Yu, who had reached that level on the station. As far as she knew, there were no ways to reduce one’s level in that manner, and develop oneself for the second time. But if the Riverfiend was not Jin Luo, then just who was he?”
The unknown, Sirena thought, was always far more troublesome than she would like. She sighed.
“I would love to pick your brain about this, Elder Brother.”
Aven hesitated, as he heard her speak, but a look of resolve soon filled his face, and he asked the question on his mind.
“Matriarch, would you mind if I asked what the importance of this information is? Who is this Jin Luo?”
Sirena waved a hand dismissively.
“It’s not about who he is. It’s about who he is not.”
Aven frowned, feeling as if he was missing some vital information, but could not put the pieces together. Was she noting that this man was not the Riverfiend? They were both formless practitioners, after all. However, to Aven, this was an extremely obvious conclusion. Why did it matter that they were not the same person?
Sirena sighed, her gaze passing through the great window on the side of the room, peering at the passersby on the neighboring stack.
“You’re right to ask, Aven. Indeed, just who is he?”
With her mind attentively focused on the mystery of Cyrus Yu’s background, for a time Sirena was able to take her mind off of the upcoming service that afternoon.
Sunlit Hall’s Information Network: [For generations, Sunlit Hall has kept tabs on powerful martial artists both righteous and evil, as well as the movements of the various martial forces. This information was distributed to the other member organizations under Sunlit Hall’s banner, so that they could collaborate to deal with rogue martial artists and unorthodox forces. This information is of great import to the orthodox forces of Canvas. After joining with galactic society, the scope of the network expanded, and is also used to help the sects and clans of Sunlit Hall to keep up with their peers who moved out to the various stations and worlds the Staiven allowed Seiyal to immigrate to. In particularly distant regions such as Tseludia, however, the information from Canvas is rarely relevant.]