The airship braked hard, making me grab the railing to preserve my balance, then turned around. The sails of qi, translucent extensions of energy, flared for a moment, before they vanished again as the vessel evened out. It stayed floating in the air, a few hundred meters up but beneath the range it should usually fly at, and gave me a good view of the landscape below us. I smiled.

“Ah, Inaris?” Tenira asked. “Aren’t we supposed to fly directly back to the capital? Your Mother won’t be happy if you go off half-cocked on some adventure when she called you back to her side.”

I turned towards her and smiled mischievously. “Don’t worry, Tenira. We’re not going anywhere. We’ll just stay right here for a bit, taking a break before we get going back home.”

Lei chuckled. “Oh, I see. Good idea. Do you have any way of actually seeing what’s going on?”

I shrugged and cycled some light qi, letting it gather in front of me. I hid a grin as I noticed Lei’s smile widening while Tenira shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Um, is anyone going to tell me what’s happening?” Kajare asked. He hovered a short distance from the rest of us but closer to me, two meters or so down the railing. His hand still gripped it, and he looked less than amused.

“You know about that diplomatic meeting they’ve planned, parleying with the Dominion about a limit on the employment of cultivators in the eighth stage during the upcoming hostilities?” I asked.

“Of course. I assume that’s the reason why your Mother is calling us back this quickly. She doesn’t want you anywhere close to the Dominion’s heavies?”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” I agreed. “This spot isn’t so close, though, is it? I intend to stay right here and watch the talks while they happen. Should be safe enough for her. The base is only a few kilometers away.”

Kajare’s expression cleared and he started to smile. He relaxed and leaned against the railing. “Oh, I see. Good. Can you share whatever scrying you do with your techniques?”

I nodded and focused on the qi I was gathering again. This would be a little tricky, but I was confident I could manage it. The fact that Mother had shown me her camera techniques that day after my breakthrough didn’t escape me. I’d built on it since then, and now I’d really make use of them.

I was almost certain the site would have a scry-shield, wards that prevented conventional types of scrying. Even trying to directly get the light from there would be doomed to failure. But I pulled up clumps of darkness qi and sent them out, mixed with a bit of light qi, to form mirrors and lenses in the air. It was a good thing we had clear space between the airship and the location, a hill in the jungle just short of our wall, where they’d already erected an stone pavilion to host the meeting. I leapfrogged my way closer, using the previous constructs I’d placed as anchors for the next stage. Finally, I reached a spot some distance from the meeting point, hidden by a rocky ledge and thick forest growth, but with an unimpeded view of the place. I set up the biggest lenses there, making a sort of spyglass, then positioning a mirror to pass on the information back to me.

It took a few minutes of fiddling, making sure that everything was tuned correctly, until I had anything like a clear picture. But it worked. I only used light itself until the whole setup reached the airship, where I put up a screen of light qi and the actual technique that projected the image on there, like a screen showing the data fed to it from a camera.

Tenira whistled. “Impressive. I don’t know if I would have managed to do something like this. And you don’t even use that much qi, so you should be able to keep it up for a while.”

“Right.” I grinned, allowing myself a moment of pride, before I focused back on the scene I was trying to observe.

It looked like some people from each side where already there, while others were arriving. Perhaps they’d arranged it that way. I wasn’t clear on the details, Kariva hadn’t even told me how they’d communicated. But so far, nothing much was happening. Just people hanging around, giving each other dark looks and maybe chatting with their companions. All of them wore either ornate robes or uniforms, and I was sure their presences would have been impressive, but since my technique only conveyed visuals they didn’t seem all that intimidating.

“This is nice enough, but without a way to transmit sound there’s only so much we will learn,” Lei commented.

I grinned. “Just watch.”

Fumbling for a moment, I pulled out a device from my robe. It looked a bit like a large cellphone, just blockier and without a real screen. I had to extend the fold-up antenna until it was three times the length of the device. Then I started messing with the buttons until we got first a crackle and hiss and then some actual sound.

“Wow. How did you get this done?”

I shrugged. “Kariva is carrying a radio transmitter. We worked things out so I’m listening in on what she sends.”

On the hilltop, the noise level died down as the last people arrived. On our side, Kiyanu strolled in accompanied by another cultivator in the eighth stage I hadn’t met, though I recognized her face. They joined Kariva and a few diplomats, including a representative from Terbekteri in the eighth stage. Beside them, I saw a Zarieni man, his characteristic clothing with bones and other ornaments standing out from the others’ robes. That would be the chief of the strongest of our allied tribes. There were two Zarieni on the Dominion’s side, as well, though the way they flanked the rest a little further back showed they weren’t considered essential. The rest of the Dominion’s representatives were all in uniform, a mix of gray, blue and black with unfamiliar markings.

I zoomed out a little more until I caught sight of Aston, who stood with a few soldiers farther back. He was probably the weakest person in the delegation, but hopefully they’d just assume he was there as my eyes and ears. I took a deep breath and shook my head. There was a risk that they’d see his connection to Mior, but he needed to be there as an anchor for Mior’s presence in the coming talks. One of the downsides of possession, the spirit had told me, was that they couldn’t go far from their host. There was a similar group of soldiers with the Dominion’s delegation.

One of the Dominion’s representatives cleared their throat and turned to face the Imperial side. I drew in a breath as I recognized the face from pictures I’d seen in books. The Dominion’s intelligence Director, head of their intelligence services and ‘internal security’. “If everyone’s here, can we begin?” he asked.

It took me a moment to realize that I could understand him even though he was speaking in a different language. Wait, what?

I shook my head at myself. When I recalled what he’d said and tried to make sense of it, the actual sounds and words didn’t mean much to me. At least, I didn’t consciously understand what they meant. But I must have learned to speak Zarian before, and the knowledge lingered subconsciously. I hadn’t noticed it with the Zarieni, but thinking back on it, that had been different. Like a strong accent or maybe a closely related but distinct language, with the words and pronunciation different enough that I couldn’t automatically get it. I’d had other things on my mind back then and hadn’t really noticed if there were any feelings of familiarity. Well, even if I did know the Zarian language consciously, I probably couldn’t speak the Zarieni’s language, so …

I grit my teeth and grimaced, frustrated with myself. In my reading, I’d avoided any primary sources or other texts where I might have read Zarian, since I didn’t think it would help me any, and only gotten translations. In hindsight, that was a really dumb mistake. Why didn’t I even think to ask if the old me spoke any other languages? Ugh.

While I’d been distracted with berating myself mentally, the conversation had moved on. Taking a quick moment to sort through my memories, I realized Kariva had answered that they were ready and the talks could start, then everyone agreed, and the Director welcomed them all formally. Appropriate since the Dominion had called this meeting.

“We called you here to come to an agreement regarding the use of supreme cultivators in future hostilities between our nations.”

“Like those hostilities you are going to start any day now?” Kariva raised an eyebrow, speaking in Imperial Common.

The Director frowned at her. “Whatever happens in the near future,” he answered in Common as well, luckily, “isn’t it all the more reason to agree to keep the strongest fighters out of it? After all, it is your lands that would bear the brunt of the devastation. Surely you aren’t callous or conceited enough to miss that?”

Kariva tilted her head a fraction. She didn’t seem fazed, but still looked like they were meeting acquaintances for small talk. “The Empire is always in favor of reducing large-scale devastation. We wouldn’t even want that to happen to our enemies, unless it was necessary. And yes, we recognize that those in the eighth stage of cultivation pose a serious risk, a potential for widespread, uncontrolled devastation that will only hurt everyone in the long run, if they were to be unleashed.”

Looking at the screen, I raised an eyebrow. “Well, that was easy. Seems like we’re all in agreement, right?”

“That’s fortunate,” Tenira agreed.

“Why?” Kajare cut in. He crossed his arms and looked from me to the others. “I don’t understand. Why are you all acting like this is a good thing? I thought we were just humoring the Dominion and trying to find an advantage in the talks, not going along with their plan.”

I turned towards him a little, so I could still keep an eye on the screen. “Because they’re right about the devastation. Even if it wouldn’t hit us first, dozens of eighth stagers fighting could destroy everything around them. Fields, fortifications, cities. What point is there if half of the territory you stand to conquer is a wasteland?”

Kajare shook his head, his frown settling deeper. “All of that is fixable with time. And we have time. It’s more important to win this war than worry about what might happen. And it’s not like there are huge wastelands from other wars.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Exactly. There’s never been a war with more than a handful of eighth stage cultivators fighting. No one really knows how an all-out assault might turn out. Plus, it’s too much of a risk for the Empire to assume we’d win.”

Kajare took a step closer. “Why? We have more black stage cultivators than they do.”

“Yeah, but how many of them would actually fight if it came down to it? How would they fare against our opponents? We don’t really know.”

He snorted. “How many would fight? Most of them should! It’s their duty to their monarch and nation.”

I sighed and rubbed my temples. He was starting to grate on me. “And what do we do if some of them refuse? Force them? That wouldn’t work and would just risk alienating the ones who are ready to fight. From what I’ve read, the situation isn’t much better in the Kingdom. Here, there’s a delicate balance. Many eighth stagers don’t want to risk their precious lives in a war and would rather just focus all their efforts on trying to reach immortality. We don’t know how many the Dominion could actually field, but given their ideology, it might even be more than us.”

“Really?” Lei asked. “They couldn’t just brush off the Dominion’s leaders?”

“They are the Dominion’s leaders,” I reminded him. “They have a lot to lose.”

Kajare cut in again, “Whatever the case, we should be able to field more than them. The Zarian are too cowardly to really all join the fighting and risk their lives. But we’re better than them. Yes, there might be some devastation, but this is war. The Empire’s supremacy is at stake, and that of the Kingdom of Terbekteri.”

I sighed. “Not even considering the economy, what about all of the extra civilian casualties?”

He shrugged. “They won’t die in vain, but for their country.”

For a moment, I just stared at him. This is the guy I married. I know there are cultural differences, but damn, this caught me a bit off guard.

Before I could respond, a loud noise from the transmitter made me turn back to the meeting we’d almost ignored. I stepped away from Kajare and closer to my friends, turning my back to him, and held up the receiver a little more. On the screen, I could see that the scene had changed.

The delegates had been talking but not said much of importance, until now. The Dominion’s representatives had moved away a little, and swirling mist was condensing in front of them, quickly taking a human shape. I breathed in sharply as I recognized Isuro.

I couldn’t tell what he said, probably because he was using telepathy. Crap. But our delegates exchanged looks, and the eighth stager from Terbekteri nodded. A moment later, they all took a step back as well, and once again, swirling mist rushed in.

A moment later, Mior stood there, facing Isuro. The spirit hadn’t showed any connection to Aston, as far as I could tell, but simply appeared there like the Pioneer.

I clenched my teeth in frustration as I watched the two of them stare at each other. They must be communicating telepathically, but I couldn’t hear any of it. I could only watch the reactions on the faces of the delegates, and Isuro’s. His eyebrow twitched once, and his lips pressed together. Then his expression smoothed over again, and after a while, he gave a curt nod.

“Then we’re agreed?” Kariva said aloud, finally, perhaps thinking of her transmitter.

“Yes,” the Zarian Director answered, his tone almost bored. “No one in the eighth stage of cultivation will be fighting in this war, attacking either people, property or nature.”

Kariva frowned. “No one with power equivalent to the eighth stage of cultivation or above.”

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other. Mior and Isuro both moved their heads. Then the Director nodded. “Agreed.”

I exhaled softly, some of my tension flowing away. I’d pointed this out to Kariva, and I was glad she’d taken it seriously. I had no desire to go up fighting against Isuro if I could help it, and they might have tried that if they could use a loophole.

The two spirits each took a step forward, holding out their hands. I still couldn’t make out what they were saying, but this time I knew there was a lot of qi involved. There was a visible haze in the air, and some of the weaker members of the delegations noticeably paled. One almost sank to his knees before another Zarian braced him.

Suddenly, I felt the connection to Rijoko in the back of my mind open up. I could sense his presence, locked in on this area, focused on the exchange happening below. I gripped the railing and took a deep breath. What looked like showers of light fell down from both sides, meeting between Mior and Isuro.    Then the two of them touched hands, and they disappeared. Kariva’s device crackled. A moment later, Rijoko’s presence started to recede.

That was the Greater Spirits witnessing this agreement, I guess. Not going to be easy to break.

Noise came from the receiver, people offering congratulations, assurances or farewells. This had been a really brief, to the point meeting, perhaps because of the spirits. But I couldn’t focus on all of that. I took deep breaths and tried to feel after the connection in my mind that joined me to Rijoko. It had closed again, and my mental fingers slipped off it as I tried to get deeper into it. I could perhaps try to pry it open, but I held back. No point in that.

I turned away, then hesitated. Something tingled at the edge of my senses. Some instinct told me that there were things afoot not too far from me. Far less noticeable than before, but it was coming from the direction of the meeting, and perhaps getting stronger, although the spirits there had disappeared.

“Go!” I shouted towards the front of the airship, taking a step back from the railing. “Get moving, now!”

The captain of the airship didn’t hesitate or ask questions. With a small lurch, the vessel started speeding up again. I glanced around. Kajare still stood a ways off. He and the rest were frowning in confusion. I wrenched my eyes away from him and continued looking around, into the air where I’d set up my techniques.

I could sense something touching them, a hint of foreign qi. It jumped from one to the next. Quicker than I thought, the feeling reached me.

I felt it tap against my mind, the foreign qi winding into that of my techniques and the tenuous link they afforded to me, where I’d left them out in the open. A breeze rose around us, kicking up leafs and bits of gravel, sweeping over the airship. I concentrated on my mental defenses as I sensed Isuro’s probing.

He gave me a mental shove, crawling over the walls around my mind. I closed my eyes and concentrated on keeping them secure, on keeping him away.

After a long moment, the wind whispered again, and I felt his mind knock against mine one last time, before he withdrew. I sighed, shaking my head. This was a warning, clearly. He was telling me that he knew what I’d been doing, and perhaps not to push things.

“Inaris, is everything all right?” Kajare asked. He looked concerned.

I glanced at Tenira and Lei. They were both quiet, though when Tenira noticed my gaze, she gave me a smile.

“Fine,” I answered brusquely.

Then I turned away, making my way to the front of the airship. I’d ask the captain again how long we’d need for the trip.

Mother had said we wouldn’t need to unpack at the palace, so I assumed we’d be traveling further, perhaps with a different airship. At the moment, the thought felt strangely reassuring. I crossed my arms and ducked into the cabin. I wouldn’t mind getting away from here.