Swirling winds laden with dense water buffeted a bird that was otherwise unremarkable. John held one arm aloft as Matayal supported him, their energy intertwining. The animal fell, but at a measured pace, the two of them swimming to retrieve it swiftly. There wouldn’t be much more time to change the situation before things came to a head, so this might be their final opportunity.

The two of them took the package into the cabin on one of the vessels with them, where they would have some room to work. John unfurled the scroll, careful to not cause damage to the seal. They had prepared another that should at least appear to have similar enchantments, but having a fresh seal would heighten the deception.

“In truth, it’s almost what we wanted,” John said. “A message of urgency so that they can beat the Molten Sea to the punch. But it needs something a bit more… confrontational.” John considered how he would write a similar missive with an addendum. Something about making a move ‘before the Molten Sea could use the power against them’. But he’d also have to make it look right. Not only did he have to copy handwriting, but old word style. He hoped that the spelling inconsistencies weren’t any sort of code but instead simply that- mistakes. It took some time to craft his message, after which they released the bird with their new message to continue on its journey.

“If they’ve got some sort of agreement,” Matayal frowned, “They’ll likely know there has been some sort of sabotage.”

“In that case, they would already be prepared to move together against us,” John shook his head. “In which case our alliance really doesn’t stand much chance. We’d have to leave them to do whatever they please.”

“I believe we could defeat them. The strength of our alliance is more than just forces added upon each other.”

“That would depend on if they truly are working together,” John countered. “With the four core elements split between two groups, they could form a primary cycle without too much prior practice. But… I’m optimistic that they won’t work together. If possible, I’d like to come upon them only after they’ve begun to battle each other, so we can focus our efforts on… whatever they’re after.”

-----

No member of the club was terribly enthusiastic about the prospect of fighting in the deep sea. At best there was Renato, who would be working with an allied element. John wasn’t counting himself, nor Matayal in this particular instance. They didn’t have another water cultivator, nor a qualifying air cultivator. There was talk about including someone from the Mulyani clan, but they would be neither reincarnator nor transmigrator, and without a connection.

Deirdre was a light cultivator, so the depths would be difficult for her. Finally there were Steve and Yustina. The former would do extremely poorly without the latter, who had been a water cultivator in her previous life. Fighting in a disadvantageous battlefield for a short time wasn’t the worst, but the other issue was maintaining an air supply. Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators could last pretty much indefinitely in even without the right affinities, but they would be constantly building fatigue. Weaker cultivators might only make it a few hours if they weren’t water or air element.

“I believe we would be best suited maintaining our position on the surface,” Yustina said. “Once the conflict begins, we’ll have to protect our ships so we have a place to retreat.”

“The same with myself,” Deirdre admitted. “Unless we determine they have darkness cultivators.”

“The Sky Islands will likely bring some, as they passed through the Darklands,” John reminded her. “Our information indicated they were trying to sway some locals… those who they didn’t tear apart along their path.” Fortunately, none of their allies in the Darklands had been along the northern strip- though it would have brought them to an earlier response.

“I will most likely contribute best on the sea floor,” Renato said. “But the Order of the Amber Heart can also hold the spires, if necessary.”

“Any response from the Emerging Bamboo Sect?” John asked.

Renato shook his head. “Not yet, which likely means it isn’t coming. I suppose they weren’t swayed by neighborly issues, just like the rest of the Viridia Wildlands.”

“At least we managed to rally the Phoenix Forest,” Deirdre said. “They’ll be cutting off the Molten Sea’s routes through Astrein once everything begins.”

“And the Shimmering Islands are ready to move in… once the main forces get here,” Matayal said. “Even though none of the clans make their homes here in particular, none of the rest are willing to allow these groups to just come in and do whatever they want in our collective territory.”

“On that matter,” Yustina asked, “Are you still considering moving the Brandle clan?”

“That will depend on what happens here, and ultimately it will be up to Tirto, since he will have to be the one managing it for longer. He is personally interested, but understands that the leviathan is more beneficial to him than the others. And we’d be sacrificing an established position.” Matayal shook her head, “The only thing I can hope is that there will still be a decision to be made afterwards.”

John nodded. The leviathan was valuable to the Shimmering Islands, and whether these regions wanted to somehow make it move away, chop it up into little bits as resources, or just run off with the most valuable parts of its anatomy, it would be a great loss to the locals. That was without considering how it was impacting the sea itself, as a habitat for all sorts of deep sea life which trickled upwards to a significant amount of all sorts of sea creatures in the region.

-----

What once seemed like eternal waiting had rapidly become a pot that could boil over at any moment. It was impossible to keep quiet the fleets gathering around the Kelp Spire Forest, though not all were present to participate in conflict. At least not directly. Many were simple curious onlookers, from the Blustering Peaks, the Darklands, and parts of the Stone Conglomerate that weren’t part of the alliance. It had become clear that there was a large event of some sort taking place, and nobody could stop the spread of rumors.

This was good for the alliance, because the Molten Sea and Sky Islands didn’t have a clear idea of who was potentially going to act against them, and who was just watching. John’s earlier actions had certainly brought the Tenebach clan into the mind of the Molten Sea, but they wouldn’t start trouble arbitrarily.

More forces continued to arrive until a final pair of fleets, nearly in parallel. John sensed them coming from a great distance, not only because of the quantity of cultivators upon their ships… but also because of two individuals. Ascending Soul Phase cultivators, and not just the early phase. Each was at least the fortieth rank of cultivation, a solid handful of steps further than John, who was surpassed within the region only by a small number of individuals at the peak of the Consolidated Soul Phase. Faramund of the Society of Midnight managed to briefly force himself to that step, but he hadn’t solidified his position upon his defeat.

Now, John was much stronger himself… but these people were a cut above anything he had seen. Up to that point, John had hoped the few Ascending Soul Phase cultivators that had already arrived were the limit. Now, he wondered at the makeup of the Molten Sea and Sky Islands that they could send these individuals. And they weren’t alone in their power, but came with a significant number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators and hundreds of Soul Expansion Phase individuals. Twenty-five years prior, just the Soul Expansion Phase cultivators would have dominated any sect or clan in the region.

Letting the feeling of the two wash over him, John picked up details about their totems. Not hidden, but proudly displayed. Totems of the fourth, fifth, and sixth ranks. From the Molten Sea, a split of three and two between water and fire- with water being the sole sixth rank. The individual from the Sky Islands had a similar split, except with one third tier totem. She was weighted more towards earth than air.

The two flagships continued along their paths, paths which would casually lead them to intersect with each other. As they continued to approach, John watched carefully, worried that the worst might be coming to pass. Then it began.

“Gesine, you old bag of bones,” called out the Sky Islands cultivator. “Do you return here with the intent to perish?”

“Fine words, coming from a crone,” retorted the second woman, “You are the one more likely to die, with your relatively limited experience, Alva.”

It was not merely insults they were slinging, but rather once John was able to properly see them it was clear they were both ancient. Baggy and spotted skin, quite unusual for a cultivator. To actually show such age with their cultivation, they had to be over a century old. No, Luctus was about that age, but had been at a lower cultivation for quite some time. Older than that, especially if they had taken any care to maintain their looks. Vanity was a trait of many cultivators- men and women alike. Multiple centuries, then? How unfortunate.

While at their age it was unlikely they would make further advancements, that could be exactly what drew them here. And more importantly, the fact that they wouldn’t be stronger in a mere decade or two didn’t matter, since they were dangerous now.

At least John didn’t have to worry about them working together. He felt genuine hostility between them. On the other hand, the fact that they would stop and taunt each other spoke of familiarity. That itself was an issue, because while they would certainly work against each other… it also meant that they wouldn’t commit to fighting each other. If they were the sort, one would likely have killed the other long before. If they didn’t weaken each other, then dealing with them would be a difficult task. Hopefully, the particular prize before them would bring what appeared to be a longstanding rivalry to a conclusion. Preferably with the loss of both. Though if one had to get her hands on… whatever their specific goals were… John would prefer it to be the one from the Sky Islands. At least, the information heard about their activities was slightly less troubling than the Molten Sea.

“I thought the leading figure of the Sky Islands was supposed to be named Sitora,” Matayal muttered next to John. “Is this another? Should we expect more?”

“Alva…” John let the name roll over his tongue. In truth, he had begun his time in this world approximating names to his default understanding of English, though he had come equipped with knowledge of the local language which began to dominate his usage. “It could be… that she’s the one.” John pursed his lips. “The original.”

“The transmigrator?”

“It was obliquely implied,” John said. “And perhaps it’s not as much of a secret. With their level of power,” he shook his head. “It would hardly matter if people knew.” Conversely, if someone of similar power had ill intentions, that was exactly the reason John would hide his own status. Personally, all he was wondering was why all the Transmigrators he met seemed to be connected via language rather than any other properties- but others might have more troubling questions they wanted answered. Finding such answers might be unhealthy for some of those involved.

John was briefly tempted to speak to the woman, but drawing attention to himself and those around him would be foolish at the moment, even if everything else somehow worked out. Better to watch and wait.

Further words exchanged between the two revealed little more, and ultimately their ships took separate positions outside of the Kelp Spire Forest, maintaining their distance. Nobody attempted to keep any secrets about diving beneath the waves, though some observers would likely be unprepared for the actual goal.