Noah didn’t need to reach deep to realize that Mordred definitely recognized the name of the mildly-polite shadow lady that had kidnapped him. The other man hadn’t even tried to hide his surprise. But the intensity of his reaction was enough to make him wonder if he might have stepped a bit farther than he’d intended.

Then again, I don’t actually give much of a shit if Mordred knows that I spoke to Mis — actually, hold on. There’s no damn way I’m calling her that. It’s weird as shit. Missy. We’ll go with that. I don’t care if Mordred knows I’ve spoken with Missy. She said herself that she was just snagging everyone that had one of her passes. That’s not really giving any information away.

That said… I should probably watch myself. If Mordred knows about this lady, then something tells me she isn’t small fry. Not like I didn’t know that already.

“She kidnapped me for about an hour,” Noah replied with a shrug. “We had a chat. Then it ended and I left. That was about it. But I don’t tend to appreciate getting snagged out of my sleep. It’s rude.”

Mordred’s brow furrowed. “You spoke with her? And that was it?”

“Yes,” Noah said. “Why? You clearly do know her. Care to enlighten the rest of us?”

“What kind of wierdo goes around calling herself Mistress?” Brayden asked. He paused as Noah and Mordred glanced to him. Then he cleared his throat. “Sorry. Carry on.”

“No, no. You’re right,” Mordred said. “She’s weird. Incredibly so. Odd beyond belief. That woman is about as stable as a pile of smooth stacked stones on the riverside.”

“Says the pot to the kettle,” Lee said.

Noah coughed into his fist. “Information, please. How do you know her? And who is she?”

Mordred glanced over his shoulder at the window, as if making sure it was properly shut. Then he looked back to the rest of them. “Mistress is an early Rank 8 mage. She’s one of the most powerful entities in Aqua Terra and answers only to the Prophet… if she answers at all. She’s a rogue agent.”

So she really is a Rank 8, huh? That’s… a bit terrifying. She’s as strong as the Prophet. What the hell did she even want with me?

“A rogue agent?” Noah couldn’t help but be taken aback by that. “Directly under the Prophet’s nose? Are we talking the mildly annoying subordinate here? Or an active antagonist?”

“Both,” Mordred said. He hesitated for a moment. Then he grimaced. “This is going well beyond what I had any desire to answer. I am more than happy to give you information about the tournament. But this… this is different. I don’t know why she would be going around and kidnapping people, but I would highly recommend either staying out of her way or ensuring you’re on her good side. You do not want to draw that thing’s ire.”

Thing?

“Why?” Noah asked.

Mordred glared at Noah. “I do believe I just made myself quite clear. I do not want to poke my nose into this.”

“You already did,” Noah said. “Back when you started stalking Lee. That was involving itself in our business. And this is our business.”

“That’s a stretch,” Mordred said. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “A very large one. It would not hold up in any scientific study. My interest was purely on a research level. Anyone would have done the same thing.”

Noah just arched an eyebrow.

“I think I can say with certainty that they would not,” Brayden said. “You want more from us? Then you might as well actually prove that you’re useful and not just some creep. We aren’t exactly asking you to spill your deepest secrets — which is exactly what you want Lee to do, I might add. Some hypocrite you are.”

Mordred sighed.

“You do realize that delving deeper into this is a bad idea for everyone involved, yes?”

“Everyone always says that when they get asked something they don’t want to answer,” Noah said.

Mordred just shook his head. “Well, I suppose it hasn’t gotten you killed yet.”

Well, actually…

“Fine,” Mordred said. He lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. His eyes bore into Noah’s intensely. “But you must swear to keep this entirely silent. What I am about to speak of is heresy. It is also entirely conjecture. Observations I have made in my years of service. You should treat it as such. And if you ever mention any word of it — well, I won’t have to do much at all. The Prophet will do it for me, and I will vehemently deny saying a single word of it.”

“I’m not in the habit of spilling secrets that have a chance of getting anyone I know in danger,” Noah said. “You can speak freely.”

Even with that reassurance, Mordred didn’t reply immediately.

“The being known as Mistress should not hav been allowed to set up within Aqua Terra,” Mordred finally said. “Her existence poses a great threat to the Prophet. Having two Rank 8s residing within the same city is a recipe for disaster for a number of different reasons.”

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“So why is she here?” Brayden asked, tilting his head to the side. “I saw the Prophet fighting. That woman is a monster. I might not know anything at all about Rank 8s… but surely she’s more than powerful enough to kick out someone unwanted in her city.”

“She could have,” Mordred said slowly. “But I don’t believe she can afford to.”

“The fight would be too dangerous?” Noah guessed.

Mordred shook his head. “No. I believe the Prophet is considerably more powerful than Mistress. If the two of them were to come to direct blows, the Prophet would undoubtably win. But that is not the reason they cannot afford to fight.”

“Then what is it?” Lee asked. “Are they friends?”

“Most certainly not,” Mordred said grimly. “I believe the Prophet’s control over Aqua Terra is… not as strong as she would like most people to think it is. I fear she is losing the faction war.”

“The what, now?” Brayden asked. “There’s a war?”

“One larger than you can imagine,” Mordred said. “And it has waged for as long as Obsidia has existed.”

“I didn’t see much of a war happening anywhere,” Lee said with a frown.

“It’s not a war fought by men,” Mordred said. “It’s one fought by gods. Or, at least, gods-to-be. Do you have the slightest idea as to what it requires to reach Rank 8?”

“No,” Noah said. “I don’t think we do. Do you?”

“No,” Mordred said without a hint of sarcasm. “Why would I have the faintest?”

Brayden coughed. “But you just asked—”

“It was rhetorical,” Mordred said. “But I do know that ascension gets astronomically more difficult with every passing rank. Reaching Rank 7 is already a greatly respectable achievement. To reach it with a well-formed Rune is a thousand upon a thousand times harder still. And to then form 7 more Rank 7 Runes that actually hold the potential to reach Rank 8… nearly impossible. There are precious few Rank 8 mages in the entirety of Obsidia. I would estimate it to be less than 50. And the ones who have Runes with potential to ascend to Rank 9 are far fewer still.”

“Resources,” Noah muttered. “That’s what you’re talking about, isn’t it? The Rank 8s are fighting over resources.”

I can’t even begin to imagine how much power will be needed to create a Rank 8 rune. I’m still trying to finish my Rank 6. 7 isn’t even on my radar yet, much less 8. And to get beyond that and push to 9…

That’s a problem for quite some time for now.

“It’s resources. Runes,” Mordred said with a nod. “That part of the war… not so secret. The war isn’t outright. Not until something valuable pops up. Then, when it does, the only participants are Rank 8s and their entourages. The good news for all the normal people like us—”

“Don’t include yourself,” Brayden said, pointing at Mordred.

Mordred coughed, then continued. “The good news for all the non Rank 8 people is that they aren’t dragged into the war themselves unless they’re unlucky enough to be near the resources in question. Their lives aren’t worth wasting. But the Faction Heads… they’re the ones fighting. They need resources if they want to ascend — and if they want to keep the other Faction Heads from getting strong enough to take their own resources.”

“So Obsidia is constantly getting destroyed by a bunch of Rank 8 mages playing tug-of-war?” Brayden asked, his thick brows lowering in anger. “Seriously? They’re that childish?”

“No. They aren’t,” Mordred said with a shake of his head. “They’re far too dangerous for that. But the Faction Heads recognize just how dangerous even a single Rank 8 could be. They maintain balance. Vie to make sure no faction grows too much more powerful than another. It keeps the empire from being plunged into someone’s conquest.”

“That seems like a good thing,” Lee said. “Doesn’t it mean it’s roughly at peace for most people?”

Mordred nodded. “Yes. The Faction Heads… most of them aren’t too bad. They’re ruthless and dangerous, but they have achieved relative peace. The problem is not that. It is the Prophet.”

“She’s too weak,” Brayden said. He leaned an arm against his sword hilt.

“Is that what you’re implying? She’s not able to compete with the other Faction Heads, so she allows another Rank 8 to stay within her most important city and back her up from the shadows in exchange for… something?”

“Yes,” Mordred said. “That is exactly what I believe. There is no proof to that. Some say that Mistress simply isn’t worth the Prophet’s time, and that she’s been here for long enough without causing trouble that it hasn’t caused any issues. But that doesn’t align with what I’ve seen. And if Mistress is inserting herself into the Tournament of Heaven’s Path… something is afoot. She’s reaching for more power.”

Noah’s lips thinned. “Surely she realizes that if the Prophet dies, she won’t be able to hold the other Rank 8s off. If that wasn’t the case, she wouldn’t need to work with the Prophet in the first place.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Which is why she’s done nothing,” Mordred said. He shook his head. “I do not believe Mistress is a fool. She likely acts with intention. I have no idea what it is she may seek. Killing the Prophet would assuredly be the end of the Coral Empire. Mistress would be destroyed by the other Faction Heads in short order. I doubt she seeks such an overt attack. But the extent of her presence in Aqua Terra is problem enough. She may be making a move.”

“Should you tell the Prophet or something?” Noah asked. “You don’t have to mention I was the one involved. She kidnapped a bunch of other people. Politely, I might add. But still kidnapped. Maybe the Prophet can deal with this herself.”

“You don’t think the Prophet knows?” Mordred asked with a shake of his head. “No. She’s most certainly aware.”

“What?” Lee scratched the side of her neck. “If she’s aware, then what’s the problem?”

“The problem,” Mordred replied grimly, “is this means Mistress is now acting overtly right under the Prophet’s nose. She’s implying that the Prophet is no longer strong enough to keep her in check. And since the Prophet has done nothing to stop it… she may be right.”

“Do we care?” Lee asked bluntly. “The Prophet was kind of rude. I don’t like her much.”

Mordred paused. “Wait. You’ve met her?”

Shit.

Lee realized she’d messed up at the same instant.

“I saw her from afar,” Lee said. “When she was fighting a huge monster.”

Mordred frowned. His gaze lingered on Lee for a moment. Then it pulled away as he shook his head. “To answer your question, yes. The Prophet is not a kind woman. That is true. But she is still the strongest mage in the Coral Empire. And if if even one of the other Faction Heads sees Prophet is weaker than the face she puts forward...”

“Surely they have spies,” Noah said. “Don’t they already know far more than anyone here?”

“Almost certainly,” Mordred said. “This could always be a bait.

They need proof. Overstepping into another Faction Head’s territory spells certain death. It’s happened before in Obsidia’s history, and the results are always the same. The aggressor never wins. So nobody will attack without proof. But the other Faction Heads are circling. They have been for some time. And if they can confirm that the Prophet is truly weaker than they suspect — the peace will shatter. The next resources fought over will be at Aqua Terra itself.”

“What does that mean?” Lee asked uneasily.

“It means that if the Prophet slips up even slightly during this tournament, the other Faction Heads will pounce,” Mordred said with quiet dread. “And if they fight here… the Coral Empire and just about everyone within it will be torn to shreds.”