Malcolm Tent
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Wish upon the Stars chapter 603
🕑 Added 2024-04-12 23:22:34 +0000 UTCFour months went by faster than I’d expected. Our last journey had been almost eternal in comparison, probably because aside from wishes I hadn’t really done much training at all. I’d just…lived. Spent time with Callie, gotten to know my sister. The small bit of actual training I’d done had mostly been fun stuff like the occasional spar with Abel or Gabe or Bethy.
Benny had spent most of his time with Celine, not that I blamed him, though he did join us for some of the sparring sessions when he was free. It was peaceful and, as I slowly came to realize, necessary.
The Empire had been a great experience and one that had taught me quite a bit, but it had also been extremely draining. Constant learning and fighting. We’d been given our own armies basically (we’d rented them to Nat while we were gone for forty D-rank chits which Celine had footed the bill for, leaving me at eighty and Callie at twenty) learned to command them, fought against some terrifying people, and even killed a D-ranker.
After all that, taking a few months to decompress and relax was just what the doctor ordered,our month of downtime before leaving was nice, but it still felt…fraught. The journey was just that. A journey. Nothing we had to concern ourselves with.
Now we were finally arriving, and it was sad to see an end to all the leisure time, even if the thought of what was coming was both exciting and terrifying. Which was how I found myself standing next to Callie and Chelsea in the same room we’d used to view Zeke’s fight with the elven archer all those months ago.
“So…that’s Tricorn huh?” I asked, staring at the colossal three cornered continent floating in space. “It reminds me of the bazaar we went to for the moonsong glade.”
“Not even close.” Said Zeke as he stepped up next to me. “Tricorn is a permanent structure, unlike the bazaar. It’s C-ranked, like Stratholme, and is considered one of the most integral trade hubs in the five faction alliance. It sits on the corner of Church, Fairyland, and Imperial territory. This is where some of the most important business in the universe gets done.”
I nodded. “I can understand the need for a place like this, since all the most powerful artifacts and objects are made and sold in galactic centers where forces have the strongest grip. What about the WCP?”
“Not really a factor.” He shrugged. “The WCP exists across faction lines, and are sort of an alternative to this kind of place. You’ll note that the Cult and the Conglomerate aren’t connected, and while they have people here too, their presence is less solidified. Not to mention all of this is monitored by the main governmental entities of the three factions, which means it all has to be legal.”
That was one thing about the WCP that hadn’t sat well with me at first. The whole ‘criminal’ vibe. We weren’t, really, we were just pretty much unbound by any ethical or moral restrictions, which lots of people claimed was criminal because of the stigma. Still not ideal, but we weren’t breaking any laws most of the time, at least that I’d seen. The reminder that some aspects of the organization was extralegal wasn’t exactly a welcome one.
I took a long breath. “I think I might try to change that aspect of things. Not completely, granted, because we need the networks to function, but trying to limit the activities of the Palace a bit might endear us more to other forces.”
Zeke just chuckled. “Won’t work kid. Sorry.” At my confused glance, he just shook his head. “The standing Wishmaster isn’t really the leader of the WCP. I mean, he is, but not unilaterally. The position is there to help a promising talent rise quickly by way of entry to the Unlucky 13. Everyone on the Unlucky 13 is an up and comer who needs the renown to grow.”
“Wait.” I said, crestfallen. “So I won’t be able to change things? I can’t fix the cuckoo bird bullshit that the family does?”
He waggled a hand. “That you might be able to swing. It’s related to the candidacy and as the Wishmaster your say over matters of selection for the next round is pretty much absolute. But stuff like instituting wide reaching trade and political engagement policies? That has to go through the council.”
“The council of….?” I said, having not heard anything about this before.
“Elders.” He said with a shrug. “Branch leaders one and all. The S-rankers, both family and close associates. They’re the strongest forces in the clan outside the old man, and we don’t really bother him if we can help it.”
Something about that caught my interest. “Wait…not all the S-rankers in the clan are family?”
“Of course not.” He snorted. “The Wyndhams have the wish ability. Think about Benny, about me. Our clan has the most advantage in creating powerful Ascendants. Only half of the council are Wyndhams. The other half are close friends and proven associates. All under geasa to ensure loyalty, of course, but not particularly restrictive ones.”
I knew there were only about a hundred S-rankers in the universe, at least ones that we’d been able to dig up information about, and knowing we had a whole council of them really shed light on how we were able to keep our autonomy despite not having our own territory.
Then again, I didn’t know a lot of things, and it had been implied before that some of the clans had their own S-rankers who had retreated from public view for one reason or another, presumably to make the attempt at godhood. How many demi-gods like Morgan Lark were out there?
Come to think of it, how did that even work? Impact was the necessary step to reach godhood. I couldn’t imagine how much you’d need to spend trying to acquire more than five hundred points of Impact. Was regular renown even necessary after S-rank? Was that why most of them faded into the background?
I felt a soft bop on my head, and turned to see Callie smiling patiently at me. “Chit for your thoughts?” She said casually.
“Sorry.” I said, shaking my head. “Didn’t mean to space out.” I glanced at the stars outside the viewing panel. “I mean…get distracted. I was just thinking about how big the universe is. Tricorn is huge, but it’s nowhere near as big of important as some of the central planets. The galactic centers have main planets right? A-rank worlds?”
Zeke shook his head. “No need to worry about that. It won’t be relevant to you for quite some time. Just focus on Tricorn, and why we’re here.” He pointed out into space where I saw other ships slowly fading into view. White and gold monoliths, dark metal monstrosities, red steel beasts, and dozens of other strange and spellbinding transports I couldn’t even put words to.
“That’s a lot of expensive ships.” Said Zeke. “The Necromedes is a total boondoggle and some of those are even worse. No Saintships, thankfully,. Apparently even the faction leaders have enough common sense not to dangle an entire ship made of S-rank material out in the middle of space.”
Killian stepped up on his other side. “The wealth on display there is worth more than one or two Saintships from an objective standpoint. Though no one would be willing to piss off that many high ranking faction members from that many forces. There are S-rankers on board I’m sure. The gods will have sent their best.”
“Old man Anders is here.” Zeke grimaced. “Sasha warned me before I showed up. He’s never liked me much. Always considered Eli and I a bad influence. Not that he’s going to do much about it here. Good to know ahead of time though.”
My head jerked up. “M-My friend Chelsea’s grandpa is here?” I said, catching myself before I blurted out something stupid. “That’s…interesting. What about mine?”
“Malachai didn’t come.” He said with a sigh. “Which is a shame, because we could have used a friendly face. They sent Harrison. He’s the youngest branch clan leader. Aiden’s father. He likes to think that gives him a lot of influence, even though it doesn’t.”
Aiden was the name of the current Wishmaster, the one who was retiring to make way for whoever won my candidate selection. “Is he…like an enemy of ours?” I said carefully.
He waggled a hand. “He’s not a friend. But not an enemy. I don’t think he’s going to try anything in such a serious situation. As the only witnesses to what happened in the Aetherbright Academy, you’ll be expected to testify. We passed on everything you told us, but the bigwigs want to question you themselves.”
I nodded, letting out a long breath. “Do we know who is coming from every faction? Or just those two?” I wanted to be as prepared as possible for what was coming, even if that wasn’t going to be all that much in the grand scheme of things.
“No idea.” Shrugged Zeke. “And they won’t be here yet anyway. We made good time, we’re still about a week out from the start date. You can do some shopping and make inroads with some of the other visiting factions. Maybe meet up with some old friends. I suspect several of the people you met during the Moonsong Glade incident will be present, since it’s related.”
I turned back to stare out at the rapidly approaching continent, and I felt Callie take my hand and give it a squeeze. It was a lot, but at the same time, knowing we’d be seeing old friends was definitely a bonus.
“What about independents?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t really thought to ask. I knew they existed. The Vampire was one, and there were more than a few unaffiliated clans, like smaller versions of the WCP, that I’d learned about recently. “Are they going to have representation here?” That would be yet another powerful person I’d have to deal with meeting.
Grinning, Zeke raised a hand, pointing out the panel and into the distance. I blinked in shock at the sight of a familiar floating black metal coffin in space.
Bethy, who had just gotten to us, saw what he was pointing at and squealed with joy, bouncing up and down in place. “Daddy’s here!” She cheered. “I can’t wait to tell him all about my time in the army. I was the best soldier ever, he’s going to be so proud!”
I was unsure Bethy had even technically BEEN a soldier, though I certainly wasn’t the one who was going to tell her so. I was more worried about why the Vampire had made an appearance. Was he some kind of de facto leader for the independents?
Whatever the reason, I couldn’t imagine his presence was going to have a pacifying effect on things. The gods had sent their strongest, but they were all still just S-rankers. Morgan Lark was the closest being to godhood, able to take on even a deity (albeit a young one) in pitched combat and come out ahead.
Him being here signified both how seriously everyone was taking this and how dangerous it was going to be. I knew the Vampire hated being sucked into politics and tried to avoid interacting with anyone.
Was he here because of the danger? The opportunity to fight unknown gods? I knew he could siphon stats. Could he drain a god’s Impact to help himself ascend. Would they allow him a position among the factions if it meant getting his support? This was all way above my paygrade, but I knew it would be important in the future.
Regardless of all that though, I knew that this conclave was going to be a mess. This many high rankers and children and disciples of gods? The winds of fate around this place would be whipped into a frenzy, it would be like my life times a million. I just hoped they were all ready for it. I was sure I would be. I didn’t have a choice.
Comments
Melody Haren Anderson
Though, makes sense he wouldn't get that while he's a leader, it's more as first among equals than full dictatorship.
Dylan Alexander
I’m actually glad Shane can’t just up and change the WCP if he wins the candidacy. To me it’s never really been seen as a place where one person should only be in control of it. If that was the case The true wishmaster (the god) would be a lot more active.
thaughton2
Good luck with the politics in your future council role, Shane. It'll be fine...
