Of course, they didn't stick us in a corner and make us watch the others deliberate. This was a full on conclave now, and everyone was mixing and discussing, including Templeton and I. That was something to worry about, honestly, but the people here were all monsters, I was sure that they knew what the slippery bastard could do better than I did, and probably had defenses against it that I didn't.
I was kind of lost, and wasn't sure who to appeal to. Despite the new stakes, and I could FEEL them now, this was still mainly about Satala for me. Sure, this was definitely a turning point in history, and the senses I'd been developing as a Fatewalker were buzzing like there was a swarm of bees in my brain, but that would be the case either way.
This meeting had spiralled pretty far out of control, which meant there WAS a possibility she might end up as collateral. While we'd figured this would be a formality, the fact that the negotiations would have such huge repercussions meant there was a non zero chance they'd want to make an example of her to set the tone.
A contract like this wasn't going to JUST set the tone for our cooperation, it would also represent one of the biggest joint undertakings anyone had ever heard of. I hadn't understood the exact scale of this kind of compact, but hearing everyone talking about it really drove home exactly what we were doing. Politically we would be setting the possible tone for interactions between the factions for our entire generation, interactions that could effect policy even in the current faction leaderships.
Which made it important to be careful. Despite many of us being important members of our respective factions, we weren't REALLY important. Not every faction picked their leaders by trial like the WCP. Our cuckoo bird strategy was fairly novel among the big factions. The result there was that nepotism and power concentration were rampant. No one here was a core member of the younger generation of a major faction, which meant everyone from one of the big six had to represent their faction fairly and without making too many waves.
Theoretically this freed up people from S-ranked factions and clans to be more aggressive, but not being part of a larger machine also meant they had less separation from their respective overlords. If a member of an S-ranked clan did something their family's founder disapproved of, they might just get killed.
That said, NOT taking part would also be unacceptable. It was insane to miss out on an opportunity to network like this, not just because of missed chances to make connections, but because this would be a HISTORIC accord, and the people involved would be winning renown from their factions in general and the universe at large if it was well received. My head was hurting just listening to all the muttering, but that might just be the buzzing from my damned Path.
Callie took my elbow deftly and walked us both casually off to one side, making sure no one could tell how much pain I was in. Path then, politics might make my head hurt, but it wasn't usually this literal. My girlfriend's steadying touch was helping though.
"This has gotten out of hand." She said quietly. "I was expecting things to escalate a bit when we all got together, but this has turned into something bigger than I think any of us could have anticipated. We might have made a mistake."
She was right. We'd lit a match and tossed on a pile of sticks, but we'd missed that they were soaked in gasoline. "How much of this was Templeton, do you think?" I asked in annoyance. His power was complicated and hard to understand, but it might be possible for him to pivot a large scale meeting into something like this.
"Doesn't matter." She said with a shrug. "We need to get out there and start swaying people to our side. The final decision here is going to effect the balance of power in the actual team that helps draft the agreement. We're pretty much doubling down at this point." I knew that, I knew exactly what was happening. My Path was trying to take it all in, trying to push me slightly.
This was what being a Fatewalker was about, even more than battle, changing the course of destiny. And suddenly, several different things about the current situation just...clicked. I didn't magically get an answer, but I felt a hard shove that aimed me right at a specific group of people.
The devil girl I'd seen in one of the starting teams was talking to a tall, purple skinned man with curling rams horns, and I could feel that I needed to talk to him too. I started walking before I figured out what I was going to say, and talking before I finished deciding. I stopped in front of him and held out my hand, my Path pushing me to introduce myself a certain way. "Hi there, Shane Wyndham, son of Elijah."
I knew my dad had become a devil from Zeke, though I had no clue what the circumstances were. From the widening of the purple skinned demon's slitted orange eyes, he definitely did. "Elijah...Wyndham?" He said slowly.
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"Yeah." I said with a chuckle. "I know he's got some connections in the devil world." Which wasn't true, but it was easy to assume. Not just because of the push from my ability, but because there really weren't that many A-rankers out there in the grand scheme of things, and I knew my dad had made the shift to being a devil to break out of B-rank. "You know of him I take it?"
He adopted an inscrutable expression. "What do you know of how the devil leadership is arranged?" He was watching me intently. From what I'd seen of the devil girl, she was leaning to Templeton's side, and since they were friendly he might have been too, but he seemed to be hanging on my every word here, so it might be possible to pivot him to our camp.
"I heard you guys are kind of like fae? Though I'm not clear on the differences." One of the fae had mentioned it to me once, but it hadn't made much sense.
He waved me off. "It's not important. For the purposes of this conversation you can treat us as a subset of the fae. We live in a territory of the Fairyland technically speaking, but it's mostly its own area. Being the nearest god, the Fairy Queen nominally holds dominion over us, but we're ruled by a council of nine princes, all high in the S-rank and their generals, who are all A-rank."
"And my dad is one of the generals?" I asked, seeing where this was probably going.
"My family falls under the purview of the demon prince Adramalech, and the Wish Devil is his most recent general." He said helpfully. "He's considered a unique resource, and has been extremely helpful to the prince. As his son, you could be considered half a member of the Adramalech faction, and you have my support." He glanced at the devil girl. "Nasha, can you convince your team leader as well?"
She nodded. "Probably. It's close enough not to have any serious repercussions either way right now." She shot me a winning smile. "Just try to mention me to your dad next time you see him."
That was unlikely to happen anytime soon, but since I was wearing a mask my grimace went unnoticed. "Sure thing." I said lightly. "I'll mention you both." I cocked my head at the taller demon. "I don't think you mentioned your name?" I wouldn't be a dick about this. I'd try to remember to mention them to my dad if I saw him, after I finished telling him what an asshole he was.
"Markoth." He said, bowing his head slightly. "My father is Lieutenant-General in the prince's army, Malkor. It's an honor to be of assistance to the son of the Wish Devil." The way he said that made me incredibly curious exactly how much my dad had been doing in devil territory. I knew he was an A-ranker, and that meant he'd be effective, but the reverence in his voice implied a certain level of fame. Or infamy I guessed.
To my surprise, Markoth headed off to speak to others on my behalf almost immediately, as did Nasha, and our political sway seemed to pretty much triple. Whoever Malkor was, he was clearly impressive in whatever circles he ran in. I wondered if he was considered an invincible B-ranker like Zeke. Then again, I'd already noted these weren't core members of the major factions. Maybe Markoth's dad was just local, or was well known in local circles.
My Path didn't push me in any new or useful directions after that. In fact, it seemed to drain off after that conversation. I guessed my divination was only strong enough to influence events slightly. Hopefully that would be enough.
Finally, after what seemed like both far too long and not nearly enough time, the conversation seemed to wind down. I couldn't have said how it happened, there was no indication, no one called things to a head, everyone just kind of...knew. Templeton took up the role of spokesperson again, once more making me suspicious he'd steered things to this point.
With everyone already quiet, it was simple for him to make himself heard. "You've all discussed this." He said solemnly. "You know the importance of this decision. We are the mercy of the masses. Should we decide to put down the interloper, I will do my best to represent the interests of all of us when I craft the document on which this alliance will be built." He said it with a slight smile, as if he was discussing sunday brunch.
Bethy was glaring at him from her place next to Satala, and as he met her burning ruby gaze, I saw him flinch a bit. It was hard not to smile at the sight of that. I looked around. "All in favor of letting our new friend aid us in this important task?" I resisted the urge to try to subtly slip in some references to how necessary she was for our survival.
Hands went up. Lots of them. I counted slowly and let out a loud sigh of relief as I confirmed that we'd pulled out ahead. About sixty percent. Not as big a margin as I'd hoped. Templeton was more convincing than I'd given him credit for. Ignoring the snarl on the bastard's face, I turned to Satala with a smile. "Then I suppose it falls on me to welcome you to our alliance."
Of course, Satala would have to sign the accord we came up with. Not only would this ensure her safety, it would ensure OURS. I might be optimistic and fairly sure of my abilities, but I wasn't stupid. Insurance was necessary to make certain we were all protected.
Turning to Nat, who was waiting nearby, I grinned. "Now, since we're going to need to get started on the drafting process, I wish for a binding geas in paper form, suitable for the purpose of a large scale alliance agreement. I offer as payment first pick of the spoils upon our defeat of the goddess Suvaya." There were plenty of winces, but no one objected. This was an important step for all of us, so we should all pay. Of course, Nat was on my team, so I'd be keeping the potential windfall in the family, but the opportunity was big enough to be worth the wish at least.
There was the usual lightshow that only we could see, and Nat passed me a piece of paper rolled up in a scroll. Nodding somberly, I turned and glanced at Annalise, Gabriel, Bethy, Markoth, and my other allies. "Now, if you might help me hammer out the terms, we can arrange a beneficial accord that will carry us through this battle and together into a brighter future." And with that, our true work began, and the drafting of the Pact of the Fist commenced.