In a perfect world, John could have stayed with his children all the time, watching them learn to walk and talk. That was the sort of world where there were no conflicts to worry about or clans to run, and unfortunately John was pretty sure it didn’t exist. Even Earth had its interruptions to the flow of life.

He found himself back at the Tenebach clan. There had been a recent lull in trouble from the Society of Midnight, but it likely wouldn’t last forever. A small chance existed where they had calculated that continued conflicts would eventually cost them more than Ciaritzal was worth, but John had no hopes of that. For one thing, the guardian beast was extremely valuable. The ability to empower each generation was one of the backbones of the Tenebach clan’s success. It came at a price, but that price had been paid back in full- with the older generation now at greater than their former glory. Luctus had even reached Consolidated Soul Phase, but that made it even more important to imbue younger generations with talent. A clan that hit a spike with only a single powerhouse would often fall precipitously after their death.

Then there were the shards of Ciaritzal that John had retrieved. He knew they made the guardian beast stronger, but he didn’t know what that actually meant. Except that it would be easier for him to defend himself.

But he could ask. “You said with more shards you could empower the next generation without requiring the previous to give of themselves, correct? How many more do you need?”

“A difficult question,” the creature of shadows said. “The two pieces you have retrieved were different in scope. I find it difficult to recall exactly what was taken of me, but with those two I seem to have recovered perhaps a tenth of what was stolen. Some pieces are likely lost forever, but if I am able to recover about half, I can do it. But it would always be better to have more,” Ciaritzal grinned.

John nodded. “If they average about that much, I’ll need to run into eight more elders of the Society of Midnight. That’s a bit of a tall order as I am right now.”

Ciaritzal very much liked circling around John as they talked, his form only barely visible against the natural darkness. “It is not a rush. For generations I have done without. And the clan as well. Though I suppose you are concerned about what might happen with yourself.”

“... I think it’s fair to be a little bit selfish,” John admitted. “Especially when there are other options that don’t involve weakening myself.”

“Your affinity with me is sufficient that it need not be a major concern… but it would result in a weak point for the clan. That would include risk for the young Melanthina. Though I know her talent will be great even before the blessing. I would like to see her now that she is born.”

“Of course,” John replied. Ciaritzal was dangerous, but in the same way a family dog was dangerous. Less so, really, since he had intelligence. “She’s still with her mother for the moment, but I expect to see the children within the year at least.” John grimaced as he thought about that. They’d only been born for a year, and now he had to wait almost that long to see them again. If only airplanes existed. The clans could surely pay for flights back and forth if that were the case. It would only be a question of safety. Even if there were some technical machine that worked, there was a vulnerability to be in the air when something could bring the machine down.

John thought about it though. What level of mastery over spiritual energy would be required to fly with something like a glider? If John were a pure user of air energy, he imagined he could do it now. Once he reached the Consolidated Soul Phase, the increase in power should be enough to make up the difference. There was just the problem of airspace. No clan or sect would want people flying overhead without permission. Even if there weren’t specific laws about it, it would be a problem. But surely some people had to fly.

“I sense your head is filled with strange ideas,” Ciaritzal commented.

“I was simply thinking about airplanes,” John countered. “And flying.”

“Something from your world? Tell me about it.”

So John did- though he had to admit to being unfamiliar with the deeper mechanics. Perhaps he could entice some air cultivators to work on the idea though. Or perhaps they already existed in some form and it just wasn’t heard about in the Stone Conglomerate, which wouldn’t be strange at all.

-----

John looked at the recently repaired quarters around him. He wasn’t actually mad at Steve for causing a fire. That was the cost of doing business with him in any sort of defensive capacity. And he’d done his job well, incapacitating one of the attackers instead of killing them. Not much information had been gained, but the Tenebach clan at least learned about some holes in their security- directly and indirectly. Now Steve was off wandering again, likely getting up to trouble.

John wanted to introduce him to Renato. Having the members of the transmigration and reincarnation club know each other seemed like a good thing. They could look out for each other- and while both were already on John’s side, it was a bit selfish if he didn’t at least try to get them to know each other. Hopefully they’d get along well, though there was bound to be some influence from their respective elements. They could get into a conflict as fire and earth but it wasn’t any sort of guarantee.

-----

Artsiom’s takedown of Bashkim had been successful, and thus the Society of Midnight’s influence on the Diamond Trading Company had been greatly diminished. Unfortunately there were always other groups for them to work with, and even before they specifically began targeting the Tenebach clan they had their hands in many things.

That would include more than just merchants, but influence of sects and clans to differing degrees. It was simply a question of which ones and how much. If someone owed them a little favor John didn’t particularly care, but if it was something that could get them to act against the Tenebach clan he absolutely did.

So for the moment he was being a spy. Or as his grandfather called it, preparing for his position as clan head. The official transition was close, but he wasn’t really looking forward to it. Especially not if it meant traveling to places like this more often.

Biotite County was in the northeastern corner of the Stone Conglomerate, and shared all the worst parts of such with the bordering Green Sands. It was hilly, rocky, and hard to travel- but also hot.

“Why would anyone live here?” John complained to Aydan as they approached. “It’s miserable.”

“Some people like the hot,” Aydan shrugged. “And some people like others to be uncomfortable.”

“Bleh,” John stuck out his tongue while they were still concealed by the carriage. I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.”

Truth be told, it wasn’t that bad. It just required a constant conscious effort to absorb or redirect the heat. He just couldn’t be too obvious about it or he’d look like he couldn’t withstand a little heat. Even though he knew others would be doing something similar, the idea that important cultivators didn’t get sweaty when it was hot was a facade that had to be kept up.

This particular ‘party’ was at the abode of the Quartz clan. One of the quartz clans, that is. There were quite a few of them throughout the Stone Conglomerate. Some of them shared a common origin and had split apart in the long past, but many of them simply arose independently. It was a common last name here, like Smith was on Earth. Or more relevantly Miller, since that was also named after a profession and John’s original surname. But he wasn’t part of that family anymore.

No, that wasn’t quite right. His family on Earth was still his family, but he couldn’t do anything for them any longer. He hoped they were doing well, but the family he could interact with were here. Which was a shame, because his mom would have loved to see the triplets.

Cultivator etiquette allowed armor at parties, as long as it was appropriately ornate. Given his position, John hadn’t been allowed anything that wouldn’t fit that bill. Even purchasing weapons in auction, he had to think about whether anyone in the clan should be seen with something. It was fine for other clan members to have purely functional equipment, but it couldn’t be shoddy looking.

Whether or not weapons were allowed came with different standards. Nobody wanted to feel insecure without their defenses, and entirely trusting in the host to keep them safe was a bit difficult, so the general idea was that weapons were not to be drawn except in emergencies. Even if a conflict came up between two guests and escalated to a fight, it should be resolved with fists. Preferably outside.

John had no intentions of getting into a fight though. There usually weren’t anything more than ‘polite’ conversations to try to one up others. John’s eyes settled on the host, a man of similar age to himself. Raghu. They’d had some interactions in the past, but not many. He was on his way to greet the host when he recognized another guest.

The green hair gave them away immediately. John wouldn’t have been surprised if other green haired individuals had been present as well, but Yustina Milanovic was the only one present. And just beyond her John saw Steve.

Their eyes met. John stood confidently, and Steve’s eyes begged for help. John smiled as he approached, noticing that Steve was wearing an elegant coat that hung down close to his ankles. That was one way to match, he supposed. The headband wasn’t being worn, but John thought he felt its presence in one of the coat pockets.

“I hadn’t expected to see you here,” John admitted. “How are you doing?”

“Awful. Yustina basically kidnapped me and forced me to be here,” Steve admitted.

“I feel like it would be hard to make you go somewhere you didn’t want to.”

“It was a perfectly normal roaming session until we got here and I found out I was part of a party,” Steve said.

John looked over at Yustina. “I’m sure she must have her reasons. Maybe she has her eyes on a cute earth element guy who will support her cultivation growth.”

“What?” A momentary fire burned in Steve’s glare. “Don’t joke around like that man.”

“Sorry,” John shrugged. “I’m already very secured. But maybe you should think about it, if you care.” He knew that Yustina was the one who had initially followed him around, but if he actually didn’t like her he would have successfully ditched her eventually. And what’s more, she hadn’t been with him at the Tenebach clan so he should have sought her out afterwards.

John excused himself and found his way over towards Raghu. He should at least make his presence known before something happened. John didn’t know what it would be, but with Steve around… there was no way, right? Or maybe this was a test to see what could happen if he was on his best behavior.

“Fortkran,” Raghu smiled as John approached. “Fortkran Tenebach, so good to see you made it. I hear you recently had a child, did you not?”

“Triplets, in fact,” John smiled politely. “My wife is very busy with their care.” And probably equally important but less traditional tasks as well.

“I hope they are all doing well,” Raghu’s smile was genuine enough, though John couldn’t say they were anything more than acquaintances. He gestured to the other man standing with him. “This is Bora Kartal, from the Blustering Peaks. Bora, this is Fortkran Tenebach.”

“So good to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

That was about the extent of their conversation. John did notice something interesting about Bora, however. He was from the Blustering Peaks which mainly practiced air element techniques, but he seemed to be more water dominant in his elemental balance. Two of his three totems, as far as John could tell.

After an appropriate amount of time they both excused themselves from the presence of the host. That was when Bora made his way over towards Yustina, and John began to get a picture of how things might go down. At least the manor was mostly made out of stone, and thus was less likely to catch on fire.