I’d never considered seceding from the Empire. I wasn’t vain or ambitious enough to even consider something like that.

I also didn’t think I was talented enough to deal with the politics I was currently emersed in. To rule an entire kingdom seemed almost counterproductive to my goal for Cultivation. How would I ascend the Realms if I had to spend so much of my time dealing with House, Clan, Barony, and Kingdom?

And although the Empire may be far enough away that I wouldn’t need to worry about an invasion, the distance did not impede individual Cultivators. Further, the Empire might have been separated by an ocean, but Four Element Sect was not.

If I did take that path, what would that mean for my relationship with the Sect? For all my frustration with the Sect and the Patriarch, I took some comfort in their existence. They had been quick to deal with the Magma Kraken. And if for no reason, they were a resource that could be easily exploited.

Contribution points were easily gained, and the items and services I could exchange for those points allowed me to purchase the arrays and services I needed to rebuild Xiwang, restore the eight trigrams formation, and purchase the martial and cultivation jade manuals that gave my people the foundation to begin walking the path of Cultivation.

It was possible the Hindel could supply a great deal of the resources I sourced from the Sect, but that still left the personnel issue. Patriarch Umbra had given me a great deal of flexibility with recruiting. The leave to tap into the pool of individuals working and serving the Sect, a limited pool of people, had allowed me to build the foundation for my House and Clan.

The Sect had barely existed and been established longer than my Fief and had the same real issue of isolation and limited population centers to recruit from that I had. They had been spared the problems when we had swamped with an influx of immigrants. And it infuriated me that they would be able to skim the best and brightest of those newly awakened when this new pool of potential recruits came of age. But that was no reason to sever ties.

The Sect wouldn’t need to worry about feeding, clothing, and providing suitable housing for this influx of immigrants. They could leave that to my Fief and the Fiefs of others across Dolph Island and pluck those candidates with the highest potential at their awakening. Their status as a High-level Sect would ensure that those offered a position would accept. That they were the only Sect on the island made that acceptance all but inevitable.

I found it strange that my primary concerns were more about how my territory would advance and where I could recruit talented people than how the Empire would react and if they would attack if I accepted the Hindel’s offer.

I realized that there were benefits to our isolation. The reach of the Empire might be far, but even they were forced to acknowledge the vagaries of distance, isolation, and ocean. I assumed acting as a Voice would come with benefits, and at the very least, a Hindel alliance would be established. One that would see any military actions taken by the Empire rebuffed.

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Possible one that would allow me to have a degree of protection against powerful individual Cultivators. Cultivators who were trying to curry favor with the Emperor or sent to assassinate me on his orders.

“Why?” I finally managed to ask. “Why me, and is dual cultivation between our two people even possible?”

“Why do we ask that you declare your sovereignty? Because without that ability to refuse the Empires demands, they could command you to part with the secrets we would share with you.

“You need to be able to refuse to teach or explain how some of the [Rituals], arrays, and techniques we would share with you are performed. You would need to be able to refuse to supply the spiritual herbs and minerals we have discovered and would allow you to purchase and propagate.

“You would need to be equal in status to an Alpha, able to speak with the authority and certainty that your Voice would be heard, your decisions and edicts the result of your desires and not the reaction to political or cultural influence.”

“And why me?” I asked again. “I am certain if you had offered this acknowledgment, this elevation of an Elf to a Voice before this, that it couldn’t have remained secret. So why is the Hindel offering me, of all the Elves in the world, this boon?”

“The Hindel is a community that is greater than any individual pod. We are a collective,” Alpha began by way of explanation, “I don’t think the Empire or Elves, in general, realizes how much importance we place on community.

“We have always resented the ways the Empire interacted with our people. The words of respect and apologies for any hardship we might find in dealing with each other were always couched by pleasing tones and soft words that seemed sincere. But we know now that those words were a lie. A false front, an act of appeasement that was hardly worth the effort it took to speak.

“You cannot understand how your actions have impacted our people. To be treated as equals. To know that there have been simple solutions to the hardships we have been forced to endure to meet and trade. To finally realize that those words of apology and concern were hidden by false smiles and insincerity was enlightening.

“Your name is known to the Hindel. Your actions are known, Baroness Jai Myche. You have been [Seen], and now that you have been, you have garnered a following, a collective of individuals that [See] you trapped in the same circumstances we had found ourselves for so long.

“Others speak to you with pretty words, offering encouragement and advice, but when it comes to supporting you or offering you rewards commiserate with your accomplishments, you are met with individuals that would see you share only the dross and leftovers.

“They are misery offerings, and even those leftover scraps are only offered reluctantly.

“We have seen you offer respect, trust, and honor to our people. You were gracious enough to offer a place for our tournament to see our Consort selected, reworking a schedule and demanding access to the event that was tailored to meet our needs.

“You approached our limitations when traversing land with new eyes. You saw what we had never considered, a simple solution that allowed us to use our talents and skills to overcome those limitations and discard the bulky transports the Empire supplied.

“You are a friend of the Hindel, and as our friend, we will offer our support to see you freed of the same limitations that bound our people for so long.

“Be a Voice, Jai. Free yourself and your people from the influence and pettiness of others.

“Walk that path of freedom with the same determination you walk your path of Cultivation. The Hindel will stand as your ally, and if you stumble, we promise, we give [Oath] that we will offer guidance and resources to steady your path.”