Reaper(Cradle #10)(11)
“What are my odds of getting two other Judges to work with me against the Vroshir directly?”
[Not high.]
Suriel preferred her Presence to answer numerically where possible, even when regarding scenarios that were technically incalculable. When it didn’t, that meant the scenario was truly uncertain.
[It is a shame that those who rise to become Judges tend to be unusually individualistic,] her Presence continued. [Forceful. Difficult to persuade, even with objective facts.]
Suriel stroked the ghostly gray correlation lines that ran from the back of her skull to her knuckles like strings of smoke. “It will be difficult to get them to abandon their individual pursuits, but not impossible. Is there any other chance of victory?”
[If you define victory as preserving as many of those under our protection as possible, then a defensive engagement has the highest probability of success. Taking conservative actions and retaining territory until the Vroshir incursion ends gives us the best chance of reclaiming as many worlds as possible almost one hundred percent of the time.]
“And what if I define victory as forcing the Vroshir incursion to end early?”
[It is a shame that those who rise to become Judges tend to be unusually individualistic,] her Presence repeated. [Forceful. Difficult to persuade, even—]
“Connect me to the Titan,” Suriel interrupted.
With a faint sigh, her Presence obeyed.
3
Within the corrupted lands of the Desolate Wilds, there were only a few livable pockets in which the dreadbeasts and the blight of venom aura had been pushed back. A few years ago, Lindon had found an alliance of five factions formed around the emergence of the Transcendent Ruins, but that had only been temporary.
The town in which the residents of Sacred Valley found shelter was called, quite simply, Refuge. It had started off as a temporary camp, but that had been years ago. Recently, it had been home to thousands, and some homes had housed families for three generations.
But that was before the attack of the Wandering Titan.
Now, the town was half-empty, and signs of battle against the tide of dreadbeasts marred the walls and littered the streets. The buildings had only survived thanks to their own good fortune; attacks from Dreadgods or Monarchs had carved new ravines into the territory all around.
The townsfolk, though, were anything but grateful for their survival. Everyone had lost someone, many had lost homes, and now they were facing an influx of refugees from their west. As Lindon had expected, they would have violently rejected the people from Sacred Valley.
Would have, except that the most advanced experts in the region were Truegold. Even Jai Long could toy with the most powerful people here. Not only did they keep their complaints down, but they would do anything to keep the mighty strangers here. There was a sense of security from curling up next to the strong.
So far, it was within Lindon’s expectations. But once again, he wished he had Dross to talk to, because he had begun seeing strange flags pop up everywhere in and around Refuge.
And he was afraid he knew who was responsible for them.
“Where did these flags come from, Eithan?” Lindon asked the air.
A few nearby people shot him strange looks, but they kept about their business. They hadn’t met him yet, and once again they couldn’t sense anything through his veil.
Eithan could hear him. He was close enough, and Lindon knew he was paying attention.
The flags came in many colors, but they all had one symbol: a starburst with one half red or orange and the other half blue. Both halves were melded roughly, as though they’d been fused together. He hadn’t paid much attention to it at first, until he overheard a name attached to the symbol.
The Sect of Twin Stars.
“Eithan, what’s the Sect of Twin Stars?”
A girl his own age came to a stop when she heard him speak. She was a Lowgold with a blue hurricane Goldsign swirling around one wrist, and she zipped over to him as though he’d called her by name.
Too late, he saw that she was wearing the same two-colored starburst symbol newly sewn onto her robes.
“Are you interested in the Sect of Twin Stars?” she asked excitedly. “They’ll take just about anyone, you know. It doesn’t matter what Path you’re on. And they have teachers you wouldn’t believe! The sect founder is a Sage! I don’t know what he’s doing here, but they say if you’re a loyal member of the sect, they’ll take you east with them when they leave.”
Lindon felt like he was trapped in some kind of bizarre illusion, but he still responded automatically. “Gratitude. Where did you learn about this sect?”
“Oh, they’re telling everybody! You can go see for yourself. There’s a big blue cloudship to the north where you can go and apply, and if you’re accepted, you’ll get an elixir right away!”
She straightened herself and said proudly, “With their support, they say I can make Truegold in a year. And…” She darkened as she added, “…and we won’t have to stay around here anymore.”
“I see.” He dipped his head. “Apologies for taking up your time.”
He didn’t ask her name because he didn’t want to give his own, but he marked her face. He didn’t know if Eithan was serious about taking these people away from Refuge, but he would make sure she at least got a spot.