Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Sixthmonth, 1634 PTS
The studio was cold and dark, but Du Qin did not even notice. He flexed his soul, pouring the dense violet energies through his meridians as a flower bloomed on the humanoid form before him, blossoming and curling into the intricately formed mesh of the sculpture.
The sculpture depicted a young man, but it was composed of pure steel, constructed from countless tiny flowers, their petals wrapped around one another. It was an incomplete work, but every new manifestation brought it one step closer to its final form. Du Qin took pride in his work, as he always had. Even in his childhood, when he had been a poor artist, looked down on by the family, Du Qin had prided himself in the products of his abilities.
In all the years that he had lived, the works that Du Qin had created would be enough to fill more than one gallery. Unfortunately, most had been lost when he was forced to abandon the clan’s ancestral home on Canvas. The memories burned at him, but rather than the war that had burned away his home, Du Qin held more hatred for his internal foes.
He had failed to become the Patriarch, centuries before, forever losing the opportunity. Moreover, that impertinent little girl had overtaken his influence within the clan, using the exile process as a trick to shift the hearts and minds of their relatives. He should have killed her grandfather when he had the chance.
As Du Qin pondered on where to summon his next lotus, a ping from the hatch informed him that someone wished to enter. He had sensed the soul’s approach, but had chosen to ignore it.
“Enter,” he commanded, not turning his eyes away from his sculpture.
The hatch slid open, and Laoin entered the room, bowing in apology for the interruption. He was a respectful young man, Du Qin thought. Arrogant, but among spirit refiners, who wasn’t? Of all Du Qin’s subordinates, he trusted Laoin the most. That was not to say he could not conceive of the potential for the man to betray him, but that he believed none could offer the man a better offer than he had already.
“Supreme Elder,” said Laoin, “Lorelei has requested a meeting.”
Du Qin’s brow wrinkled as he considered Laoin’s words. He finally turned, eyeing the other man’s expression.
“Do you know the occasion?” he asked.
Laoin shrugged.
“Heina didn’t say.”
Du Qin frowned.
“She asked personally?”
“It seems that her ‘Young Miss’ is rather insistent on meeting with you,” said Laoin in lieu of answering directly.
“I see,” muttered Du Qin, pursing his lips. He glanced back at his incomplete work, and sighed as he was forced to set it aside for the moment. One of his bony fingers rubbed at the side of the sculpture’s cheek, then slipped from its cold surface.
“I suppose I can spare some time,” he said.
It did not take long to travel to Lorelei’s office. The Hadal Corporation’s offices were all located inside of the Clan’s headquarters, after all. The heart of the merchant faction’s influence was located mere minutes away from Du Qin’s own private quarters. As he arrived, the hatch slid open invitingly. Unhesitant, Du Qin strode in, being met with a wide desk.
Lorelei’s desk was not composed of wood, but instead a finely worked article of stone, expertly carved to generate an almost domineering aura. But this effect was subverted by the nature of the woman seated on its other side.
Du Qin’s great grand-niece was short and trim, small enough to make her seem younger than she truly was, not that such slight differences mattered to a man who was more than five times her age. Aside from her stature, the most unusual feature of Lorelei’s was her hair, which, unusually for a clan member, she kept short and unbraided. It was a bold style, of the sort currently popular among the mortal Seiyal of Tseludia, rather than the martial artists.
Personally, Du Qin found it improper. Not that he would take the effort to say such a thing. Lorelei was, after all, one of the few weaklings of only the core formation realm that Du Qin would pay attention to, and she was from Du Qin’s side of the family, so there was little need to antagonize her. Despite Lorelei’s low realm, her influence was comparable to his own, due to the influence she had managed to grasp over the merchant faction. This was aided in no small part due to the subservient act Heina put on towards the girl.
Lorelei had always lacked talent for martial arts, he knew, uplifted by the medicines and treasures of the merchant faction. Despite this, however, the girl had a keen mind, and had made herself a contender for Heir despite the influence of the spirit refiners Juen and Karie in her way. She almost had more influence over the merchant faction than her father, who was the leader in name.
Of course, she would never be able to become the clan’s heir unless she was to advance, but that was likely nothing but a matter of time. There were ways to bring even the least skilled of martial artists to this level. They would be the weakest of spirit refiners, and never advance a step further, but even just to reach this realm was a worthy cause.
While Lorelei relaxed in a chair behind the desk, her hands steepled in an apparent attempt to intimidate, a far more imposing force stood behind her. Heina Hadal, the strongest force in the merchant faction, and Lorelei’s staunchest supporter.
Compared to her ‘Young Miss,’ Heina looked much more like the stereotype of a genesis practitioner. She had a build that would appear more at home on a Jobu than a Seiyal, bearing the thick muscles of a body refiner.
“Is something the matter, Niece?” Du Qin asked, as he entered the room.
The young woman smiled up at him from where she sat, a decidedly false expression. Du Qin knew well that while the woman was not a true snake like the Matriarch, she held no care for him. It was just as well, for he held none for her.
“Must I have a reason to wish to see my Great Grand-Uncle’s face?” she asked, putting on an innocent face. “You so rarely choose to visit, these days.”
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Though she implied them to be close, Du Qin had barely met the girl in person a handful of times over the years, due to his isolation and use of proxies.
“Forgive me if I doubt such a claim,” he said.”
“You don’t need to worry, Grand-Uncle. I don’t intend to ask about Juen’s death. Regardless of how it happened, I’m sure there was a good reason for it.”
Du Qin did not respond, but he was slightly surprised by how quickly the girl had brought the matter up. She was implying that she knew he had killed the boy. There would be no way for her to be sure, of course. She would be fishing for his reaction to her words.
“Yes,” he replied. “I was very upset to find that Karie had killed him.”
“That is a matter I am curious about, however,” she said. “If she killed him, why did you allow Karie to remain alive? Did you make some sort of deal with the Matriarch to spare her? Does this imply that it was her intention as well for him to be killed?”
Du Qin could not help but scowl when he heard her.
“Are you annoyed that I did not do your dirty work?” he asked, willfully ignoring her talk of Sirena.
The younger woman shrugged.
“A little bit, perhaps.”
He snorted, unable to keep the annoyance out of his tone.
“Your honesty is appreciated,” he said. “But let’s speak of why I’m here.”
“I simply wish to know your plans following Juen’s death, Great Uncle,” she replied. “Are you going to support Karie?”
Du Qin sneered.
“There is no need to worry about that. If I need to wait one more generation, I will do so.”
Lorelei nodded.
“So you’re saying you have no intention of interfering with my goals. I do appreciate that, Great Uncle, but…. I’m a merchant, after all. I’m sure we can come to a more… mutually beneficial arrangement. It would not do for us to be at odds the way you are with Matriarch Sirena, after all.”
Du Qin frowned, narrowing his gaze at the girl.
“What sort of arrangement are you wishing for?” he asked.
“I simply don’t think you’re so close with the Ceirrans that you aren’t willing to accept a deal,” she replied. “I’m your best choice, after all.”
Du Qin smiled, but just like his Grand-Niece’s, his was fake.
“I see,” he said. “You want my support, and my faction’s as well, I would assume. There is no need to press,” he said. “I also feel that there is room for negotiation. Do you wish for any particular support, or just the use of my name?”
She shrugged.
“How about we discuss what I can do for you, first?”
The discussion lasted for several minutes more, as the terms of a deal were discussed and finalized, before finally the Supreme Elder left, content with the results of their meeting. Lorelei, on the other hand, merely felt relieved. Despite her pluck, even a mere conversation with an immortal was enough to stress a person out. If she had annoyed him, Du Qin might have simply killed her then and there was nothing that even Heina could do to stop him. A steel lotus covered in viscera would be all that was left behind where Lorelei had been resting.
Lorelei stared at her relative’s back as he left, quietly contemplating the short discussion that had just taken place.
“How trustworthy would you say he is, Heina?” she asked, making an effort to relax her tone.
The larger woman snorted, lowering her guard somewhat now that the threat had left.
“As always, he’ll do whatever he feels like. He’s the boldest coward I’ve ever known, Young Miss. But I do expect him to at least hold to some of what he’s agreed to. He would likely have supported you over Karie for the vote regardless. He will not willingly allow any of the Matriarch’s children to follow in her footsteps.”
Lorelei nodded slowly, leaning back in her seat as her mind spun with threats and opportunities.
Following news of Juen’s death, Lorelei’s position had greatly stabilized. Heina had always been her supporter, of course, but with his first choice gone, Elder Sulno, ever the opportunist, had immediately flocked to her side. Moreover, Elder Keitel had also died, which left only the support of Supreme Elder Du Qin, Elder Laoin, and the Matriarch. She would need to deal with the Matriarch later, but if she could acquire the support of the Supreme Elder, Laoin’s vote would follow, and the pressure on the Matriarch to make her decision would mount.
When all pressures were set against her, Lorelei was certain that even a woman as strong-willed as the Jade Empress of Pain would be forced to admit defeat.
With those thoughts in mind, she turned to Heina once more. Lorelei had long found that voicing her thoughts aloud aided in developing her plans and ideas, and her protector was almost always nearby to serve as a sounding board.
“The Redwater Sect has partnered with the Venin Group,” she noted, “and they appear to be preparing to expand into the Seiyal pharmaceutical market.”
“Indeed, Young Miss,” replied her protector and advisor. “The Venin group is a pharmaceutical powerhouse in the Staiven market. They could be a threat to our profits, if this push is as forceful as it seems.”
Lorelei hummed slightly, considering deeper.
“We shouldn’t blindly trust that they’ll fail to enter the market, and the corporation’s finances are too strong for us to threaten using capital. We’ll have to put pressure on their new partner.”
“In what manner?” Heina asked. She voiced the question as if she were a tutor training her charge. Heina had essentially filled that role for all of Lorelei’s life, due to a life debt she owed to Lorelei’s father. Even in her early thirties, Lorelei was still treated this way by the woman, but Lorelei did not mind. She still appeared young, after all, and compared to a woman of ninety years, Lorelei was certainly still a youngster.
“We’ll use the gangs that they pissed off- it shouldn’t take much effort to cause some border conflicts for them, and expend some of their resources. After the Ceirran faction’s raid, they’ve been largely hiding within their compound. We’ll want to draw them out and weaken them.”
“And what else?” asked Heina.
“Contact that assassin that Elder Wei found,” she said. “I have some work for her.”
“I will schedule a meeting,” replied Heina, her tone as smooth as ever.
Lorelei nodded at the woman, then sighed, eyes glancing outwards into nothing.
“I must admit,” she said, her mind having switched to another focus. “Karie might be peerless at one thing: taking action heedless of consequences. I could learn a thing or two from her.”
Heina frowned sternly.
“There is nothing to be learned from fools, Young Miss.”
Lorelei chuckled.
“I’m not so sure.”
Hadal Corporation: [A pharmaceutical developer and defense contractor, the Hadal Corporation is the corporate manifestation of the Clan, wholly owned by the clan leader, and largely run by what is called the clan’s ‘merchant faction.’ While it is not the clan’s primary source of funds, it is the clan’s source of ‘legitimate’ funds. As per the will of the Matriarch, the Hadal Corporation has operated largely within the third district, for the purpose of increasing the overall capital of the station’s Canvasian population. To numerous members of the corporation, this is seen as the largest hindrance to the corporation’s potential growth.]