Transport between planets in the upper realms was quite common and easy to arrange. The Dark Ring had a large number of their own ships, and it wasn’t hard for those from the lower realms to get their hands on some. Though they varied in quality they were standard modes of transit.

For going anywhere in the upper realms- whether one stayed in the Scarlet Midfields or wished to enter the territory of the Trigold Cluster or Exalted Quadrant- a standard ship was sufficient. However, if one wanted to go somewhere more exotic… say, to the lower realms, things got more complicated.

“It appears ships can only bring us to the border, at best,” Catarina said after looking over the details in front of her. “Beyond that they would simply fail as the prevailing energy shifted between types, from upper energy to lower energy.”

“Wouldn’t it be possible to make ships that could use both upper and lower energy?” Alva asked.

“In theory it is possible,” Catarina agreed. “In practice, it would basically be two ships layered atop one another. Formations made out of materials reactive to one would not function properly with the other, yet their presence might interfere with each other even when inactive. Not to mention the difficulty of getting the right sort of materials here in the upper realms.”

“Sounds kind of like the upper realms are raiding the lower realms so that… they can raid the lower realms more easily,” Alva commented.

Prospero Vandale had the first comment on that, “Some of the resources are also helpful for training those of lower cultivation. It is difficult to train with just upper energy at the early stages as it is too powerful. Without my memories and experience I would have had great difficulty functioning as an independent. Though living upon Everheart’s Tomb meant things could never have been easy.”

“Right,” Alva nodded, “I remember now. Why not just… trade, then?”

“Because they can take,” Vari crossed her arms. “They have grown too large and powerful to act with any empathy.” She sighed, “I should know, as I was part of the Harmonious Citadel, and we’ve only been around a few millennia.”

That was a reminder that those from the lower realms did not know how many six hundred year cycles had passed since the upper realms started invading the lower realms- and setting back their development. Just that it had been repeated more than a few times.

“So,” Hoyt said, “How did they get to Ceretos? I can’t imagine all of them flew on their own.”

“A combination, I suspect,” Catarina explained, “Of taking their ships to systems on the edge of the divine and then following the flow of the tides of the world.”

“I can’t imagine they just left ships undefended,” Velvet pointed out.

“They should have long term control of those systems,” Catarina said.

“Wouldn’t that be a violation of their whole… truce thing?” Timothy asked. “Not stepping into the Scarlet Midfields?”

She shrugged, “Perhaps it is an exception… written or unwritten. They might simply split the lower realms between them. Ceretos is already odd for having a permanent contingent of individuals tied to the Exalted Quadrant.”

“Our information is too limited,” Prospero lamented. “They’re not exactly open about what they are doing. Though I suppose as a total population they might be more aware of it. The Scarlet Midfields’ population is quite a bit lower than either of them. All that is left here are war torn remnants.”

“We could eventually build up a rival faction…” Timothy said. “But I imagine that would result in being crushed by both.”

“I wouldn’t even dream of it without Augmentation cultivators,” Prospero agreed. “Or even Domination. Who knows how many centuries or millennia that would take. Our immediate issue is what to do about the end of this next cycle. We retain loyalty to our home in the lower realms, how can we help?”

“According to information from certain sources in the lower realms,” Catarina said. “As individuals we should be more effective combatants than other Integration cultivators. Beyond having gone through a proper ascension- or other efforts like Vari and the wolves- we can reattune to lower energy and replenish ourselves more easily. That is a luxury those not native to the lower realms won’t have.”

“So we fight,” Hoyt said. “Completely wipe out the attackers so they don’t want to return… or are provoked into sending even greater forces in the future to annihilate us. If that’s not already the plan.”

“We certainly can’t allow them any leeway,” Prospero said. “Or there would be no point in cultivating at all. If we are to be cattle slaughtered for others, I would prefer to perish in a way they can’t benefit. But… we can’t know if this will solve problems for the future.”

Catarina sighed, “Unfortunately we do not have enough information on how they would react. Moving against them in the upper realms to try to cause more damage… simply wouldn’t work. Not anytime in the foreseeable future. We’re far too weak. Even if the Harmonious Citadel and every planet and faction worked together, we could hardly annoy one of them. Though the Trigold Cluster is the bigger concern right now.”

“What about… just the border systems?” Velvet asked. “If we could take them over or make them unusable or… something…”

“Maybe,” Catarina said. “If we even knew which systems or how many ships would be there or other defenses. And we would have to stay out of the fight in the lower realms.”

“Anton is… very strong,” Velvet provided. “I don’t think Integration cultivators from the upper realms would be a challenge for him. And he is not the only Assimilation cultivator.”

“I don’t want to doubt you about my grandfather,” Catarina said. “We just weren’t there to experience it. The initial plan…” she shook her head. “I guess there wasn’t one, really. We ascended to progress in cultivation with the idea it might help against future invasions, he remained behind. Now that we have more information, if Ceretos itself is secure… we could definitely consider sabotage here in the upper realms. Though that seems quite a bit more dangerous on a personal level. We likely wouldn’t have the backing of the Dark Ring or our other allies.”

“What about other regions in the upper realms?” Timothy asked. “Surely there can’t be just the Trigold Cluster and the Exalted Quadrant?”

“If you wish to travel through their territory to the other side looking for mutual enemies,” Catarina began, “Then, husband, I would be forced to stop you. Though I doubt we could find anyone of sufficient strength that we could offer anything of sufficient worth to. Even our own participation would be… marginal.”

Timothy shook his head, “I wasn’t planning that. Though we could go… around?”

“Between the upper and lower realms is dangerous enough without whatever systems they control being in the way.” Catarina frowned, “Other dangers exist closer to the core, so I hear. Obviously you are aware I have not personally experienced them. It would not be impossible to make one of those journeys in the decades we have, but actually getting help and returning seems outside of our reach.”

“I suppose so,” Timothy agreed. “In which case, we should determine how much damage we wish to try to cause for an optimum amount of them leaving the lower realms alone. And Xankeshan, because our involvement will risk our activities there.”

“With the old formations repaired we might resist Augmentation cultivators for some time,” Catarina said. “But we hardly have the forces to defeat them. And as the population swells, we will be drawn more into managing the forces than our personal goals. Perhaps we should have some who remained focused there.”

“You’re the formation master,” Timothy pointed out. “You control the defenses. While we’d love to have you along with us for whatever we do…”

“It would be nice to just be able to trust people,” Catarina sighed. “We maintain control here on Xankeshan only because of a power that is not ours.”

“You repaired the formations yourself,” Timothy said. “So it’s as much yours as most formations are for their sects. As for trust… we’ll just have to experience more life and death battles with others on our side. It’s a good way to learn about people.” With that, his eyes turned to Vari.

Vari decided to speak up. “I could stay, if you trust me. I know enough about formations to keep things running, and I can’t enter the lower realms. Or at least… I’d be weakened more.” Spikes grunted, reminding people of the wolves’ presence and also her own status as a native of the upper realms.

“If it wasn’t so far to the border regions,” Catarina said, “We could easily swap out. If we’re not actually descending to the lower realms and simply sabotaging what we find along the border- whether that be stealing ships or destroying outposts or whatever we have to do- then you’re not restricted.”

“In that case,” Prospero said, “Why not ask for the help of the whole alliance? Though we are mobilized to fight the Harmonious Citadel, our actual battles are infrequent. Of course, people could refuse… but there are more than just a few ascended cultivators from lower realms who would at least like to ensure the safety of what they left behind. Not everyone will know of the danger or think there’s something they can do.”

“I like the idea in theory,” Velvet said. “But if we do that, nothing is secret anymore. Our whole alliance would at minimum be marking itself as against the Trigold Cluster, and they could fortify the border regions. If we were selective with our questions secrecy might last longer but… we don’t know enough yet anyway.”

“Then it sounds like our first task should be learning about the enemy,” Hoyt said. “Who controls what systems along the border between realms, how they choose their targets… simply diverting them to other systems is better than doing nothing, but stopping them would be better. Otherwise, we’ll be responsible for unreasonable amounts of suffering. Just because I don’t know anyone in the lower realms not from Ceretos doesn’t mean I don’t have sympathy.”

-----

Discussions in the upper realms had led Anton and Everheart to get together in the lower to have their own. “I’m glad you are willing to share so easily on this topic,” Anton said.

“Are you kidding? I hate those guys. Exalted Quadrant isn’t really better than the Trigold Cluster, just a bit smarter in how they go about things. They still leech off the lower realms.”

“I’m still surprised you care.”

“And I still need a place to lay low away from Augmentation cultivators’ reach,” Everheart shrugged. That was true, but Anton knew there were other reasons. There was the general grudge, and then just a little bit of actual care mixed in, tightly locked up. Not a lot of it, but enough.

“What do you know about their control of the border systems, then?” Anton asked.

“Not much, I’ll admit,” Everheart shrugged, “I blew past ‘em on my way down.”

“You did not arrive with a ship…” Anton noted. “Did you leave one at the border somewhere?”

“Are you kidding? For someone else to scavenge? I threw that crap into the nearest sun.”

That was a statement Anton couldn’t determine the truth of. The way Everheart said it he was clearly willing to destroy things so others couldn’t have them, but whether he’d done that on his most recent excursion was unclear. No doubt he had stashes of things in various places, properly hidden instead of the sorts of training vaults he’d set up on Ceretos.

“What about further enemies in the upper realms?”

“Oh yeah, loads. No way to contact them though. Not that they’d talk to me, in particular.”

“... Did you also piss them off?”

“They almost certainly wouldn’t have any reason to dislike me,” Everheart said in a manner which made it sound like he hadn’t been caught.

Though Everheart was lacking many specifics, he was still able to share some information back to the upper realms. In addition, he came up with ideas to coordinate with their efforts. If they could properly determine who was coming and going from where, they might be able to take out those headed for Ceretos specifically- or more likely, stop them from returning. Though Anton didn’t intend to let any invaders leave the surface of the planet this time, he couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t manage it anyway. If they showed up at all, they’d be stronger than last time.