Chapter 313: Anrosh

Chapter 313: Anrosh

Face

Tell me again how the conversation went, Anrosh said.

She was sitting inside her office, Lesamitrius was in the chair in front of her desk. Nayra sat on the couch behind him, and Anatalien was leaning on the wall in the cornerlistening but not commenting on anything.

Lesamitrius had already informed them about everything that he had seen and what he believed. The Midnight Reign Sect was not just a small insignificant sect. Their leader was an Ascended Realm Cultivator. Someone who was so close to the end of a Path that it might not even matter. She had never even heard about anyone who was in the Eternal Realm. She heard rumors, stories that might as well be legends, but no real accounting of anything. Tali was the first person she met who was what she considered truly powerful, in the ways that she had imagined when she was a child. Ryun was different, she had watched him climb, the effect was not the same.

Their Sect Head didnt speak with me for a week after the initial greeting, where he just confirmed that our people were alive, Lesamitrius said slowly. Then he said that he would only speak with our Sect Head or with Anatalien Far Solla.

He glanced behind him at Tali, but quickly looked away.

That was his message for you. That was all that he said.

Anrosh grimaced, a part of her feeling insulted, another wary. Thank you Lesamitrius, you can leave us now.

He nodded, stood and bowed to each of them, then he left the room.

After a few moments of silence, Anrosh turned to Tali and spoke. He asked to see you, do you know him?

Tali walked over and sat down in the chair across from her, then she responded.

No.The source of this content no/v(el)bi((n))

Nayra cleared her throat. What Lesamitrius said suggests that this sect was very old, hundreds of years, maybe more.

It is still a no.

Anrosh continued. Why would he want to talk with you then? he

He is Ascended, so I should know him? Tali interrupted, then continued talking. I was crippled three hundred years ago Anrosh. Three hundred years of knowing nothing but what I was allowed to. And back before that I was a Sect Head, and I ruled in the Core. I did not concern myself with the backwater Frontiers. I had far more important things to do, keeping the borders of the Sect lands safe meant that we had to show strength to the other factions. At the time, I knew only a handful of Ascended Realm Cultivators of note, three hundred years is enough for another to rise. Perhaps he was one of the children running around a sect I once passed through, perhaps he is as old as I am, just smarter. Perhaps he just remembers my name and who I am. Or perhaps he just knows that I am Ascended, and that was enough. Though why he didnt reach out when I regained my power years ago, I do not know.

Sorry, Anrosh said. But then it is about power. Even years ago when he first reached out with his messengers, he only wanted to talk with Ryun, even though he is at the same Realm as I am.

Tali shook her head. Ryun was known across the world, his battles in the tournament shown and his ability recognized. How many Immortal Realm Cultivators do you think there are on the High Ranker list? There were not many before the others died, and not many even now. He did not gain that ranking because of his tournament battles, but because of the fight against the Dome monsters, and that was not seen by many. Perhaps this man was simply curious and wanted to see if what rumors said was true. You

On average, Cultivators are weaker than people who follow other focuses. It is just the truth. For the same amount of Essence, a Classer will reach higher. They will have more perks, more tools in their arsenals. It is not the same across the board, of course. Circumstances matter. A Lord Realm Cultivator might be able to defeat a Classer on the same tier, but the outcome would depend on many factors. The quality of the Cultivator, how good their techniques are. How much they had cycled, what their Aspect was. And even then, if then, they might encounter someone who just counters them. Of course, combat isnt the only reason. We can get stronger if we do things right, just like they can. But we take longer and need more resources to reach those points. Our crafters need decades to become proficient, and even then we can never achieve what they can. A Classer could get a perk that allowed them to just create a product, once a day, for what might as well be free. They become useful much earlier in their advancement. Our industries could never match those of Classer factions. We cannot produce as much as they can. Look at your father, at your family, she waved at Nayra. They can grow an entire field in a day, in an hour, do it over and over as long as their perks allow it. A Cultivator doesnt have the perks that affect things in the same way. We improve ourselves and our bodies. Our techniques might be able to mimic that, but it takes us more time, more resources. Embesh can improve the soil, make the plants grow faster, but it takes a dozen just like him to do the same job that a Classer of a similar tier could do. That is why we turned to art, to crafting unique pieces, why it is valued so much for us. The other factions by it because it is worth more than the cheaply produced stuff that they can create. We were people who wanted to pursue Cultivation, who didnt want to compromise on that. And so we made the sects, those of us that saw what was coming while the rest remained.

I thought that Sects are any factions that are Cultivators, Nayra said.

No, Tali shook her head. There are a few Cultivating Kingdoms in the core, people who know how to do it properly. But they are small, poor. They dont have what we have.

And what do we have? Anrosh asked.

We have a culture that venerates advancement. That is focused on power and the desire to gain more of it, that values protecting your own and overcoming without bloodshed, Tali answered. Back then, so long ago that I can barely remember. When our issues with the Third Iteration began, some of us saw what was going to happen. There were too many different people, too many different ideas. After the war with the Third Iteration ended, we knew. More wars would come. And in such conflicts, we Cultivators, would lose. There was less of us, and only a few with any real power. Sure, in a war, we could raise ten thousand Heavenly warriors, but for the same amount of resources they could raise five times as many Classers. Even if they were weaker, it didnt matter. They had numbers. And if we somehow won, well, we were left with people who were raised and would need help getting higher, who might be stuck where they are. A Classer would still be able to advance on their own. So, we went on our own, separated ourselves from them. We split into families, then sects. And we took territories, grew. We werent united, there was no way that we could unite so many different ideas. Each Path was unique, each shaped different mentality. But we trade, we fight, and we war. But we never go so far as to fight wars like how they do. We cannot afford to lose our champions, those who had reached high, and we cannot afford to lose potential of those who might reach that high. That is what obligation means; we have an obligation toward all of the sects, every Cultivator, our people. To foster those who are great, those who alone could stand against armies. The other factions are fractured, they have fleeting alliances, but we have always stood together. When a faction beyond our borders tries to make war on a sect, we all answer no matter the issues between us. Because we know, if enough of them unite, they could overwhelm us.

Anrosh started to see it. She had never thought about it that way. She how could she? She grew up in a small territory, a small sect. She had never seen the city the size of Consequence before she arrived at it. The world was a thing she knew about, but didnt truly grasp. Now, though now she knew. She had seen the Tournament City. Seen the world and how terrible it was.

Honor, Tali continued. That is the agreement between us. Never to cross the lines that would make us weaker. Some of us hold to that, others try to hide and maneuver in the shadows. But others are there to keep them in check, which is why Face and respect is so important. If you have respect, your word is trusted in the other sects. We fight each other when we think that others dont deserve or are failing in their obligation. Or at least that is how it is supposed to be. Eerv understood this, it is why he didnt seek vengeance for the death of his nephew. Why he surrendered to Ryun. His obligation to his people came above all else. Emberhorn was an example of someone who failed his duty, and people who just like you didnt understand the obligation of those who lead. His sect was just like Eervs, a sect with a single family, and people loyal only to it, as I have seen most on the Frontier to be. But, he was someone who understood how much Face mattered beyond his own sect. His sect had more warriors, stronger ones. Ryun was just one man, if he wanted to, Emberhorn couldve attacked our sect and won, if he had a sufficiently great reasonwhich didnt exist. He didnt attack that way, because that would have told everyone who he really was. And sect laws did not allow for those kinds of wars. His betrayal came when the monster swarm attacked. If he had succeeded, if the swarm had killed everyone, he couldve claimed the territories and survivors in neighboring territories with only those loyal to him knowing his dishonor. He failed, and paid for his crime. People followed Ryun because the sects follow the strong, it is the only way we can survive.

I think that I understand, Anrosh said.

Tali shook her head. You dont need to understand, you need to live it. But, we shall see. Now, we have an old sect, an Ascended Realm Cultivator, asking to speak with Ryun or me. We know that he had tried to contact Ryun before, and that it was related to the mining, the theft that people we took inour peopledid. It obviously wasnt a big deal for them, as they couldve dealt with it or accepted to talk with you years ago. They didnt, so that tell us that the incident was used as an excuse then. Now, they had taken our people. So, one of two things, they could no longer wait, the thieves did something stupid, or something else entirely.

Anrosh thought about, tried to think about it while taking into account everything that Tali just told her, everything that she knew.He asked to speak with Ryun or you He doesnt know that Ryun isnt still here, or that he hadnt arrived yet from his trip. But he didnt ask to speak with you before, of course they didnt know about you then. If he is Ascended, if he knows you, he might think that you rule the sect when Ryun isnt around, no matter what I say. It could just be that. Our people stole from them, and even if it wasnt a big matter for them, it had been going on for a while. They might just want the matter settled now, Anrosh knew now that war was probably never on the table, not with how they took everyone. So, it could just be a matter of respect. He believes that this requires the leader of the sect to rectify. Me going would be an insult.

But you sending me would be an insult to you, and the sect. Ryun put you in charge, Tali said. So, what do we do?

My my Face, perception of me, is not great enough for someone like him. He doesnt consider me worthy of respect, Anrosh said.

Tali leaned forward, a small smile on her face. But we are a sect, she said. Our culture is made to push us to be greater. If you dont go, you will not change his mind. If he learns the truth, that you do lead, he might think you unworthy of leading a sect like ours, might think that Ryun is unworthy because he left you in-charge and you are not up to par. You cannot protect your people, nor keep them in line. They had done something dishonorable, and you failed to punish them, failed to even notice. We might not have wars like other factions, but we do have them. This is how we prune the tree, how we keep ourselves strong and remove weakness. A single Ascended could take offense, and he could take this sect from you.

Anrosh saw her mistake, their mistake, both hers and Ryuns. They had taken in sects and people, but they they hadnt bound them to them. They were not a real sect, just a collection of Cultivators. No different than the Factions in the core. But they were not supposed to be that. They were supposed to be more.

The Midnight Reign Sect had every right to be angry, to call for a meeting with Ryun. This wasnt a small matter; it wasnt even about the theft. It was about leading a sect, and they hadnt presented a good image of themselves to others. The Face of their Sect was it was not what she thought it was. The sect hanged on Ryuns Face, on his accomplishments, even in his absence. She had failed in her duty.

I will go, Anrosh said.

Tali smiled at her.

Anrosh had to keep the honor of the Twilight Melody Sect intact. Appearances mattered. She didnt know what she was going to do, but she knew that she had to do something.