(Altura)

Aswelth excused himself soon after he broke through, claiming that he had to digest his gains. I had no idea what he was talking about and thus let him. I had a group of refugees to deal with. And there was also the ancestor that had come and disappeared.

As I headed out of the treehouse, preparing to deal with the refugees when the pebble began to ring. Huh, I had never been on the receiving side of this pebble communication.

I picked up the pebble to find myself facing an image of the King.

“Archduchess Altura.” The King began, not even giving me time to greet him. “First, congratulations on getting a Treeling as a retainer. It is quite the achievement to do so.”

“Ah, thank you, your majesty,” I replied, suddenly nervous. A surprise phone call from your ruler and congratulations? Something was up.

“Now, are you aware of the accords of Cerelin?” The King asked, making me even more nervous. An accord, wonder if it had anything good for me. Likely not.

“No, your majesty, could you perhaps tell me?” I asked.

“Yes, I can. The accords of Cerelin state that the Treelings of the Kingdom, and by association the forces within the Kingdom that have Treelings among their number must refrain from engaging in direct warfare.”

“ This is done to prevent a civil war and ensure that enough Treelings remain to fight against other nations like the Jade Sect. As of today, you and your duchy qualify for these accords.” The King replied in a largely monotonous voice.

So the accords were there to prevent civil war and ensure enough Treelings remain? I could see the Duchies starting to kill each other after some useless young master yelled a ‘you dare’ at another. Xianxia land did need some restrictions in place to stop it from falling apart internally. I had no problem accepting that, it wasn’t as if I was in any condition to go to war with one of the Treeling forces, even with Aswelth at the helm.

What did surprise me however was that the book had no mention of these accords? It was certainly possible that Kerrin had just never run across it in the original plot, but this was yet another thing that I was surprised by.

“In return, each of the forces gain the right to send a courtier to the royal court. I expect one from your duchy too.” The King continued. Nope, no no. No sending people to compete against other duchies thank you very much.

“Can you tell me, your majesty, what is the average cultivation level of the courtiers?” I asked.

The King sighed, a flash of fatigue showing on his face, “Peak Plant stage, all of them. It has become something of a competition. And before you say anything, sending a courtier is compulsory. The accords demand it, and so do I.” The King said.

And that was downright weird. Why would the King want another courtier there?

“I must ask, your majesty, why? Why is it compulsory. As you are aware, your majesty, my duchy cannot field a Plant. At all. There is only one person beyond Sapling level here at this moment. Why is it necessary that we involve ourselves in matter beyond our level?” I asked.

A shiver ran through the King’s body, visible even through the pebble, exactly why and how was the King showing so much fatigue?

“Because I want the Jade Sect to see that there is another Treeling here. Oh, do not worry they already know, but grandstanding is a must. The Kingdom would appear weak if we didn’t. And in the same vein, I will help anyone you send reach the Peak Plant stage before they assume the position. The royal garden will be at their disposal.

And that, your majesty, is a deal. Besides, I had just been reminded of the original plot, it was about to start, wasn’t it? And didn’t one Kerrin travel to the Capital?

“Then you have yourself a deal, your majesty, I shall send one of my retainers to the Capital, he should be there in a few months.” I answered, eager to be done with this conversation.

“A few months, is it? And I don’t suppose you have a reason for that?” The King asked, I noticed his muscles spasming. Ok, that was enough, I still had enough morals to not ignore that.

“Before I answer that, your majesty, when was the last time you slept?” I asked.

The King’s face suddenly turned very serious as a glow appeared in his body. All the visible signs of fatigue also promptly disappeared.

“A month. I suppose it is a credit to the Selrin Duchy’s loyalty that you do not know this, I know the rest of the duchies’ spies have long since uncovered it. As you know, I am poisoned, by a poison that while rendering me infertile also causes fatigue.”

“The effect of the latter part is minimal, especially if I circulate the Qi, but it has been suggested that I let the poison affect me naturally, let my physique develop a resistance. I suppose I have been skirting my sleep requirements a bit.”

“I shall expect your courtier in a few months. Do send a talented one though, it would be a waste if this chance was wasted on an untalented person.” The King said as the pebble switched off. Someone really did not like showing weakness.

Now I could either deal with the refugees or go deal with Duke Reinar who would surely want to know. I was slowly realizing that this breakthrough was for some reason a very big deal. At least Duke Reinar could tell me why.

I picked up the pebble and called Duke Reinar, belatedly remembering that the pebble could just communicate between two people…how exactly did the King call me? I looked at the pebble suspiciously, how exactly did this thing work?

Meanwhile, the call connected and a view of Duke Reinar appeared, in the same office as always. Exactly how much time was this guy spending in his office?

“Altura. I see that you have returned. How is your cultivation?” Duke Reinar asked.

“It is going well, I am getting close to the Plantling stage. Aswelth on the other hand just broke through to the Treeling stage.”

Duke Reinar’s face darkened, if he had not already been staring at me, I was sure I would be looking at a dramatic turning of the head. With a completely serious tone, he asked “Altura, what do you mean Aswelth broke through to Treeling level?”

“Exactly what it sounds like, Father. After I gave Aswelth the Military seed he swore loyalty and broke through to the Treeling stage.” I replied, unsure of how I should reply.

“And what do you plan to do about this?” Duke Reinar asked, confusing me further.

“Well, I just assigned him to be the General of the army…” I answered.

Duke Reinar sighed as he said, “I see that you are not aware of exactly what you just did. Altura, there are only twelve other Treelings in the entire Kingdom. Each of them is a valuable resource that cannot be replenished easily. More than that, this is our chance Altura.”

“Every duke of Selrin has been working tirelessly for centuries to either break through to Treeling level ourselves or nurture someone that can. And now you have accomplished this. No, I must send reinforcements, the third, seventh, and ninth regiments can move out in a week, I can route quite a few civilians with them…”

“Sorry no.” I interrupted Duke Reinar’s planning, “That is not the right way to do this. The Duchy is already in a delicate situation financially, the crops are still growing, and even a complete harvest will not have enough crops to feed the entire populace.”

“Moreover, this will completely ruin the duchy’s morale, the people displaced to the duchy will be unhappy that they have to leave their homes and the people already here will feel like they are being invaded as their jobs are taken by foreigners. It might be the fast path but is assuredly not the right one.” I finished.

“Then what will you have me do? The duchy is horribly under protected, without Aswelth it would fall. Any duchy would take it out. Has the King even invited you into the accords of Celerin? The other forces will not like this Altura.” Duke Reinar replied.

“Yes, I have joined the accords, and that means the duchies’ can’t attack me directly and that also means that Aswelth is enough protection against everyone else. It might be a very delicate balance, but it should give the duchy the time it needs to grow. If you truly want to help then you can ask for volunteers. Teachers, masons, architects that want to come here. There should be few enough that it will boost growth but not be a problem.”

“Very well.” Duke Reinar replied, clearly unconvinced, “It is your duchy, and you outrank me now, don’t you? Anything else you want?”

“Yes, I keep hearing about these Treeling forces but know next to nothing about them. Could you perhaps tell me what they are?” I said.