Altura

Ok, I needed to gather my thoughts about all of this. The last few minutes had been a massive info dump of extreme proportions that had left me reeling. Worse, it was likely on purpose given how this woman was conducting herself. No boundaries at all. I had no doubt that she would not hesitate to info-dump me, just to make me more amiable to her presence. Sadly for her, I was far from amiable now.

“I think we need a little clarification Mother. The city is good enough as it is and doesn’t need you doing anything with it. And I won’t answer anything else before you tell me what the heck is going on with the ancestor.” I stated.

“Oh that guy. Nothing much, he's just awful at acting. And bad at carrying out orders. I suppose I shocked him a bit too. The man was not ready to be related to our family. Perhaps he's just a bit nervous?” the woman said.

I was not sure if I wanted to believe that. I could get being nervous, Xianxia nobles didn’t exactly have a good track record with being understanding and given how this woman was acting, I had no doubt that my new ‘family’ was one with a bit of a superiority complex going on. The fact that she was ordering him around didn’t help either.

But did I really want to push it? Ugh. And I did have another question… Perhaps it was best if I asked the ancestor what was up. I was sure to get a better answer there.

“So, what exactly is the cost of all this support you are giving? Or do you expect me to believe that I will have absolutely no responsibilities?” I asked. I was not naive enough to think that anyone would give so much without any cost.

And Xianxia Clan’s tendency to ask much from its heirs was legendary. I wouldn’t be shocked if I would soon find myself relegated to little more than a trade item on some list. Or burdened with being married to some random guy for the sake of an alliance.

“Well you will be expected to follow Mother's orders and work for the benefit of the family, but that's not really much? I mean Mother’s never asked me to do anything. I doubt she will ask you either.” the woman replied.

Oh, no. I was getting a message here. A critical message. The message told me that this woman was absolutely and utterly careless. A spoiled princess that really didn’t think about consequences. The fact that she had never been asked to do something did not mean that her mother would never ask.

And I doubted anyone that powerful in a Xianxia world wasn’t a tad ruthless. And manipulative. Though I suppose this woman was proof of the opposite…didn’t she manipulate the ancestor too?

Ugh. Conflicting conclusions. I was not getting an accurate reading of this woman. What was she? A spoiled princess or a clever mastermind? Or both? I might want to step carefully here.

“And what is this Elder Tourney? What exactly does it entail? And why does your help matter so much?” I asked. I wanted to get some clarification out of this woman before I made any decisions.

“Well your ancestor told you why the Elder Tourney occurs. And there isn’t a definite format to it, the First Warrior changes it up every time, but generally the Tourney is held as a sort of competition between continents.”

“The continents are all separated into nine alliances represented by nine Grand Elders and numerous Elders under them.” the woman said, clearly disinterested in it.

“The Tourney’s easy really. I won it without even having a team a few decades ago. Just get to the Grand Tree stage, and you'll win with our family's artifacts and arts. I doubt anyone will actually threaten a Grand Elder’s direct descendant. The Tourney doesn’t forbid Elders from seeking revenge after all.”

Ok that wasn’t a recipe for disaster at all. Yep, I totally wouldn’t have a bunch of Elders running after me if I won. So rejecting this woman outright just flew out the window. Not that it was an option. I doubted she would take no for an answer. I got the distinct feeling of ‘I am here, what are you going to do about it’ from her.

“And what’s a Grand Elder exactly?” I asked. I needed more information before I could make a decision about all of this.

“Oh a Grand Elder is just someone who tried to break through to the Warring Tree stage and failed. The question, I hear, is way too hard.” the woman said, flippantly like it didn’t matter to her. And that brought me to questions, wouldn’t this woman know much more about them than Aswelth? I should get some information while I am at it...

“About those questions, what exactly are those? Is there a reason they aren’t widespread?” I asked.

“Oh yes! I'm not supposed to share those. Apparently sharing questions reduces your chance of breaking through massively. And that of the person knowing. I think only the Treeling hole allows you to pass if you knew the question. And even then it will judge you much more harshly. Besides, the higher level holes will be very selective about their questions. According to Mother it's best to attempt the questions honestly, cheating costs too much and helps too little.” the woman said.

Huh. I suppose it made sense for the System to cut down on that. The Xianxia system was abusive enough already. But I couldn’t figure out what exactly the System wanted to accomplish. On one hand it was limiting the bonus of the privileges like here, on the other hand the entire world was structured around privilege.

The way to gain and cast Qi was all heavily weighted towards the elite. The poor could barely protest. But that was for later, I had a mother to deal with. I had gotten as much information as I wanted out of this woman. I didn’t really have anything else to ask.

“I am not sure if I want to join the family, Mother. I must admit, having to listen to the orders of another does not appeal to me after being on my own for so long. Perhaps we can come to some arrangement regarding this?” I said, adopting my most formal way of speaking.

“Um… actually no. Joining the family isn’t really optional, you have been a member since you were born. But I can delay informing Mother a bit! I want to do it anyway.” the woman said.

So I couldn’t even say no? I had to love how Xianxia land worked. Though I suppose it never made any difference, if a Grand Elder said something then I was to do it even if I wasn’t under the family bond thing.

I suppose The King and Duke Reinar had given me the false impression that people were reasonably here. But they were not. The strong ruled here. And I needed to plan for that.

“I don’t suppose I could get some time to think things over? I would also like to contact the King, I was quite rude to him…” I said to the woman who was getting impatient.

The woman put on an obviously fake smile and said, “Sure! I'll just be outside!” The woman promptly left the room, no doubt to the dismay of whomever she bugged next. But I did need to talk with the King, especially after the thing with this woman.

I picked up the pebble and sent Qi into it, contacting the King. A holographic image of the King appeared, saying, “Archduchess Altura. What brings you before the Court today?” Oh, right. I still had to sort that out with the King.

“I would like to apologize to the Court for the threat I delivered the last time I contacted it. I fear that my emotions got the best of me.” I said.

“The Court accepts your apology.” The King replied. What no apology back? I am pretty sure I was not the only one at fault there…whatever. Petty Kings can continue to be petty.

“I would also like to inform the Court that the war is over, and the fortress withstood the attack. And that I have crossed into the Treeling stage.” I said, knowing that I probably had some responsibility to inform him or something.

The King was silent for a minute, staring at me, or at least my projection. “Since levelling into the Treeling stage automatically grants the person a noble title in the Kingdom, I will ignore the violation of the ancestral pact. The Archduchess is pardoned for breaking it. But I would like to know what her plans are.”

Huh. Was that a silent apology? I suppose the King didn’t really give anything since there was no way he could hold me, who would soon become a ruler at the same level as him, accountable. But doing this would heal relations.

“I must admit that the future is a bit of an issue at the moment, your majesty, you see I just received a very unexpected house guest. The Elder of Frost just told me that she is my mother and that she will be staying here for a while. I don’t suppose you know anything about her?” I asked.