Solstice....

’A fitting name’

"It seems our business is concluded. I will be taking my leave now" Ezra says as he turns to leave.

Gesturing with his communicator, Pinta completes a money transfer to Ezra’s guess before tagging along.

Shuttling to a different place with Pinta, Ezra outlines his next objectives while looking through the application.

With Solstice, he now has a preliminary supplier, but placing all his hopes there is unrealistic, so Ezra pays Pinta a bit more to point him to other possible suppliers.

And so, the day passes with Pinta introducing two other possible suppliers and unlike Solstice, two were legitimate businesses lacking illegal items, with the third being similar to Solstice but with much less convenience.

Furthermore, they also provided the ability to shop from a distance, and without additional fees for access.

All things considered, Ezra felt the matter had resolved itself in a much smoother fashion than he expected.

Returning to the clan, the two exchange contacts and part ways.

Entering his room, Ezra sorts out his next phase of action whilst browsing through the catalogue of items provided by each business.

Here, the uniqueness of the Solstice market shines.

Where others had far too limited stock and high prices for whatever reason, the Solstice market had them in larger quantities but in exchange, the specifics to trade aren’t straightforward because not everyone needs Cryst.

Still, there were many who did and by cross checking across platforms, Ezra enlightened himself, thereby reducing the chances of running into fraudulent activity.

But this is of little concern to Ezra as he simply sends the entry details of solstice and the other markets to Sidal.

Thus leaving him to present him with a viable plan to easily assimilate into the market.

The dim glow of the room reflected against his communicator as countless tabs hovered before him in translucent layers.

Mining corporations, Independent prospectors, Exploration fleets, Cartographers, and so many professions existed towards exploring, discovering and documenting the known universe in perpetual motion.

Left amazed, Ezra closes the final interface, exhaling softly.

"Information first"

Coming to Crux Nebula has seen him gain a preliminary foothold in the aspects of establishing a trade route.

Now to do the same for his exploration efforts.

Organizing his thoughts, Ezra exited his residence and headed toward one of the largest facilities within the clan grounds.

The Mission Hall.

____

Unlike the quieter sectors of the clan, the Mission Hall overflowed with activity.

Streams of disciples moved in and out beneath towering crystalline arches while massive holographic projections floated overhead displaying rotating missions, bounty notices, escort requests and exploration commissions.

The general themes were missions involved exterminating astral beasts.

Others involving escorting commercial convoys through unstable sectors.

And a few requests for the retrieval of artifacts from all manner of places, the specifics being accessible only to mission holder.

Also, most of these missions could be perused and picked up with the communicator.

The atmosphere alone carried a distinct sense of vibrancy—of ambition.

Every individual here sought resources to increase their status and fortune.

Stepping into the hall, Ezra immediately felt dozens of gazes sweep across him before quickly leaving.

Walking toward one of the information counters, Ezra calmly waited while an elderly man finished handling another disciple’s request.

With dull ruby scales and bright yellow slits for eyes, the attendant, evidently and old man calls Ezra forward.

"What do you need?"

"I need information regarding unexplored sectors," Ezra replied directly. "Preferably areas suitable for independent exploration."

The old man’s expression shifted slightly.

"You intend to become an explorer?"

"Yes."

The attendant studied Ezra for several moments before leaning back in his chair.

"You’re not the first one to think that way. Each one so eager to explore the unknown, each one so sure of their chances"

"But some succeeded?"

"Some did" the attendant replies curtly. Looking into his monitor, as he takes a glance at Ezra before nodding.

"First place in our most recent trials. Impressive...alright come with me"

Heading into a spacious square-shaped compartment plastered with black tiles, the old man taps commands into the control board smack dab in the room’s center, projecting a massive star map into the air between them.

Countless glowing regions spread endlessly across the hologram.

"I rarely bother advising youngsters, but I dislike to see a talent such as yourself making uninformed decisions"

The old man zooms in.

Galaxies, star clusters, and dead zones come into focus.

"These are the known regions surrounding the Crux Nebula," the attendant explains.

Holding for a pregnant pause as Ezra marvels at the sight before his eyes, he resumes.

"Every inch of space from here to nearby star clusters have been scoured clean...the universal civilizations made sure of that" he says, zooming out to show Ezra the star cluster in its entirety.

"While there is the occasional astral beast sighting, I do not think that is what you have in mind?"

"It is not. I intend to explore the astral sea for undiscovered galaxies" Ezra responds.

"I see, then it would be best for you to head to the farthest star clusters because the areas between major star clusters are heavily contested"

Pinching his nose, the attendant sighs.

"I do not recommend this path for progress, especially at your level of strength, but I doubt you would be inclined to change your mind?"

"No" Ezra shakes his head resolutely.

"That’s what I thought" the attendant sighs again. "Exploration today is essentially gambling your life against astronomical odds"

"Even if you discover something valuable, surviving long enough to claim it is another issue entirely. And while new galaxies shouldn’t be hard to find in the unexplored sections of our universe, the things that lay within could kill you by their gaze alone"

Here, he conjures his image of an astral beast, the likes of which Ezra has never seen.

The attendant gestures towards the image. "Do you know what this is?"

"I assume that it is an astral beast, but I have never seen one like this before"

"Haha" the attendant laughs nervously. "It would be very concerning if you did" the attendant replies, his eyes focused on the projected image.

A three headed hulking monstrosity, showcasing sickly gray skin clad in gleaming purple armor with multiple jaws attached to its being and dark red eyes promising endless malice.

"This is an astral beast at the rank of Elder"

Ezra noticed the slight tremors on his body as he spoke those words.

Shaking his head in dismay, the attendant turns to Ezra.

"Do you now understand? In the unexplored sections you are heading to, these kinds of astral beasts lurk. So, are you going to reconsider?"

"No"

"Alright then"

At once, the attendant reverted to his cold, professional outlook, as though their conversation never happened.

"Now, if you are to head to the Radiant Star Cluster to begin your exploration efforts, I would suggest taking up missions posted by the Scarlet Dragon Branch stationed there."

The old attendant flicked his fingers across the console.

The star map shifts

One luminous region detached itself from the surrounding sectors and expanded into view.

Compared to the dense and heavily occupied regions surrounding Crux Nebula, the Radiant Star Cluster appeared far more fragmented, or perhaps shattered in a better term.

Countless isolated systems floated around its periphery like scattered islands surrounded by endless darkness.

At the center of the projection rested a colossal crimson insignia. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A dragon coiled around a burning star.

"The Scarlet Dragon Clan?" Ezra asks.

"Branch," the attendant corrected. "One branch amongst the Draconic Assembly"

"I see"

The old man nodded.

Ezra has read up on many matters, so he understood the term.

The Draconic Assembly is an organization composed of multiple dragon-aligned factions and bloodlines. Scarlet Dragons, Energite Dragons and so on.

Such an organization exists amongst most races, created after the advent of the Astral War in order to safeguard their bloodline from extinction and corruption.

The attendant zoomed further inward, highlighting a series of rotating mission markers near the Radiant Cluster’s outer sectors.

"Because the Radiant Star Cluster borders partially unexplored astral territory, astral beast incursions occur frequently"

"One of the Assembly’s primary objectives there is containment."

Several mission markers expanded.

-Planetary Defense Request-

-Escort Request — Exploration Fleet-

-Outer Perimeter Reconnaissance-

"The overwhelming majority of independent explorers die without discovering anything" the attendant said flatly.

"Those who survive long enough to matter usually begin by attaching themselves to larger organizations"

He gestured toward the mission listings.

"Exploration fleets require manpower. Convoys require escorts"

"And in return?"

"You gain access to routes, star charts, anomaly records, astral activity logs and occasionally fragments of restricted navigation data"

"The Assembly constantly dispatches exploratory fleets deeper into uncharted sectors surrounding the Radiant Cluster"

"Some return wealthy, most return crippled"

"And many never return at all"

The attendant reduced the map once more, turning up face Ezra.

"If you insist on pursuing this path, then the Scarlet Dragon Branch is your best starting point"

"I will keep that in mind"

Nodding, the attendant taps another command.

A detailed planetary system emerged.

"This is Radiant-U47"

"A frontier system under the Dragonic Assembly jurisdiction"

"Most outer exploratory missions depart from there"

Several routes extended outward from the system into unstable dark regions.

Some routes ended abruptly.

Others contained warning markers.

"This sector experiences constant astral turbulence" the attendant explained.

"Navigation systems frequently fail beyond stable zones"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning inexperienced explorers vanish" the attendant replies curtly, staring Ezra in the eye.

Murmuring under his breath, Ezra mentally reorganized his exploration plans.

With Ezra’s understanding overturned and his preconceptions shattered, his current plan had become unfeasible and inefficient.

With things already in motion, changing his manner of approach wouldn’t take much work.