Elder Cultivator
Chapter 1294

Anton, Devon, and Aerona were together in a diplomatic meeting with two individuals from the Shining Cooperative. Ezhil was more or less a pure diplomat- a Spirit Building cultivator without much more. “As you have been informed,” Ezhil began, “We need your help achieving a peaceful resolution to some matters within the Shining Cooperative’s borders.”

Kazimir was significantly stronger. Post Life Transformation, though following the traditions of the Shining Cooperative. It could have easily been compared to Assimilation and Worldbinding, and likely had some connection since the Shining Cooperative had such information available to them. “We don’t want death,” he said. “But we don’t have the ability to safely neutralize an entire planet. Previous negotiations have failed.”

“That’s why,” Ezhil continued, “We need you, somewhat neutral and well regarded individuals.”

Anton nodded. That made sense. “Where is this issue happening?”

“Actually…” Ezhil said sheepishly. “There are several such systems.”

Kazimir interjected, “We are worried that the unrest will spread to other systems. The disruption to trade routes will harm many people, especially in poorer areas.”

The details were gone over fairly quickly, such as they were. The main concern that was expressed was the inability of the Shining Cooperative to protect them, but that shouldn’t have been all. They survived the shift in the Tides, after all. Even if it was suboptimal, there must be more.

They couldn’t get all the details they needed without visiting, so they were going to start from the closest system, Eret.

-----

They wasted little time getting on their way. The accommodations on Netrao were pretty much wasted, but they might have stayed overnight.

“What do you think?” Anton asked, looking between Devon and Aerona.

Devon shrugged. “Seems fine to me.”

“They were truthful,” Aerona said.

“That’s good,” Anton replied. “But…?”

She shook her head. “I couldn’t read beyond that for some deeper deception. Though if there was anything, there would have to be differing knowledge between the two of them. Or Ezhil would need to have deception abilities far beyond his cultivation.”

“Nothing wrong with being a little suspicious,” Anton said. “I suppose we will expand our understanding of the true grievances once we arrive.”

-----

“So~ where are we going?”

Bear Hug bounced excitedly. They’d never been into the Shining Cooperative. Instead, they were constrained to the borders of the Alliance. Bear Hug wasn’t part of the diplomatic team, but it would have been irresponsible for two Unity cultivators to not retain instant contact.

“Eret is an icy planet,” Anton said, pulling up a scan. This one was from the Shining Cooperative. Their communications systems were intercompatible, though not every piece of technology was shared between them and the Alliance. “It is full of a vast number of tunnels where the people dwell to stay warmer.”

“... Isn’t ice cold?”

“It’s warmer than space,” Anton shrugged. “And in certain spots, it’s actually quite warm. The natural energy in the area preserves it even above its normal melting point. That’s part of the reason people settled there to begin with.”

“Sounds weird.”

“It is neither common nor highly unusual. An oddity within the bounds of the expected.”

-----

Before they even approached the planet, the two Unity cultivators and Aerona surveyed it from a distance. They all had their own opinions on the state of things, but they lined up to reveal pieces of the whole.

“They’re not… enslaved,” Devon said. “But they feel oppressed nonetheless.”

“The planet is generally unified in thought,” Anton observed. “Though I can’t determine precise details.”

“The most obvious part,” Aerona concluded, “Is that there’s no hope to settle with the Shining Cooperative. Not without introducing some other change.”

“Indeed,” Anton agreed. “There’s no way it reached this point because of some deaths in the war. In fact… the planet is hardly scathed.”

They made themselves known to the people of Eret, flying towards an arranged hangar. Their ship was small enough to navigate the upper tunnels, so they descended through them.

The planet didn’t feel anything like expected. First there was the population- vast numbers, especially considering the planet’s icy nature. Furthermore…

“Ooh! Plants!”

Bear Hug succinctly summarized something unexpected. There were a number of unique flora that they passed even on their short descent, and more could be felt deeper. So despite being a cold planet, it was far from lifeless. A few layers into the tunnels and light failed to penetrate- after several kilometers of ice, even relatively transparent ice, it was expected. There were some bioluminescent plants and fungus, but mostly they were guided by light from simple technology.

Anton sensed the power cables snaking through the walls, and he was uncertain how they had been placed. There wasn’t any extra space. Had the area been refrozen around the cables? No, the expansion would have been problematic. Perhaps they had some way of moving through solid ice. Alternatively, they could have very carefully burrowed out a line and pulled the cables through, though that would have been a huge undertaking for just the cables that had already been spotted.

As they continued inward, they moved into dense city. The main structural component was ice, with simple flooring put into place inside domiciles. The walkways remained ice, but Anton didn’t see anyone slipping. There were a few people using special techniques, but the main pathways simply seemed to not be slippery. If the ice didn’t melt, it wouldn’t have to be.

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The city made use of all parts of the tunnels, with buildings going all the way around. Carved tunnels connected horizontal areas, while stairs and occasionally elevators connected things vertically. Sometimes, these were outside the ice walls and other times they were built inside.

“This seems like an engineering nightmare,” Anton said. “They rely on the strength of the ice above all else. Though I suppose it must have been solved long ago, within reasonable tolerances.”

Cultivators could be a bit loose with what ‘reasonable’ was in terms of danger, but that was because they could handle it better. Anton thought that people were decently strong here.

They were met by a young woman. She was in Essence Collection and actually, truly young- less than forty years old, by Anton’s best reckoning.

“Welcome. I am Jelena, and I have been authorized to speak for the people of Eret. We have long heard of your greatness.”

“Quite exaggerated, I’m sure,” Anton replied. “But it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Anton.”

Aerona nodded, approving of the humility. They had been sent because they were influential, but that could create unnecessary distance. “I am Aerona, and you’ve likely heard of my husband Devon.” Obviously he could introduce himself, but he also didn’t mind her doing it.

“And I’m Bear Hug! I’m not part of the diplomatic team.” Bear Hug drew back slightly. “Oh, maybe I wasn’t supposed to say anything?”

They were currently at the top of the ramp, inside the ship. Anton didn’t know how he’d convinced himself that Bear Hug was going to stay quiet. Except…

“Ah, um, this is…?” Jelena looked up at Bear Hug, who hadn’t vocalized their words.

“This is our friend Bear Hug,” Aerona commented. “They speak the energy sign. I imagine it hasn’t spread here yet. They will remain in our accommodations.”

“... I’d vaguely heard about sapient plants,” Jelena said. “I just wasn’t expecting to meet one.”

“Aww, I don’t get to explore the ice planet?” Bear Hug responded to Aerona’s words.

“Not just yet,” Anton confirmed, speaking just the energy language. “I will keep my senses on you in case you have anything that needs to be relayed.”

“I need to learn diplomacy so I can be part of the team!” Bear Hug said enthusiastically.

“I’m sure you can do it.”

Personally, Anton thought they would be extremely helpful in certain scenarios. The unrestrained friendliness was quite calming. Unfortunately, it would take some time before they could handle deceptive negotiations- on either side.

“If we are able, we would like to see some of the city. Or other parts of Eret,” Aerona explained. “I am certain you have things you must say, but we may be able to understand better if we know your planet up close.”

“Oh, yes,” Jelena nodded. “I can do that. We’re authorized to go pretty much anywhere, though please respect privacy formations.”

“Of course we will,” Anton said. He was almost entirely truthful. Sometimes, though, you needed to slip some senses past them. But until then, he’d be perfectly polite.

Jelena turned, directing them onwards. “May I ask what your purpose here is? We have the word of the Shining Cooperative, but your own intentions may differ.”

“We certainly align, up to a point,” Aerona began. “We wish to serve the best interests of all parties. Peaceful resolution is key. We are glad you received us easily, but if things were simple I suspect you could have resolved them already.”

“We could have,” Jelena said, her words firm. “But the Shining Cooperative was unwilling to accept our terms.”

“May I ask for your summary of those terms?”

“They leave us alone to do as we please,” she said. “Since they provided little to protect us.”

Devon spoke up. “Without meaning to offend, it does seem that you weathered the invasion quite well. Do you feel that the proportions were inappropriate?”

They walked along the streets, with Jelena creating an area of secrecy around them. A simple manipulation of energy that could be overcome by someone stronger- though it would be easily noticed. Personally, Anton didn’t think that negotiations needed to be private… if people could act rationally and wait for resolutions, which wasn’t always the case.

“It was only luck that left us reasonably undamaged. The invaders thought to weaken the structure of our planet, but found it quite resistant to elemental manipulation. It took our forces many months to fight them off.”

Jelena did not need to face them to indicate her attention. Her energy was clear enough. Even so, she spent some time walking backwards- she also didn’t need to look at the path through the city. They would have reached their destination more quickly if they were flying, but perhaps they didn’t even have a destination.

Aerona continued the discussion. “Do you feel that your position in the Shining Cooperative doesn’t provide enough in other areas? Trading partners and the like?” She had noticed there weren’t many ships coming in and out, but there was plenty of space in the starports for more if there was traffic.

“Not in proportion to what it costs,” Jelena finally said.

“And what is the cost?” Anton asked. From her tone, it was more than monetary.

“Ourselves,” Jelena said. “We never chose to join the Shining Cooperative. Records of the past have recently resurfaced.”

This was one of the black parts of the Shining Cooperative’s history. They hadn’t always been proper about asking people if they wanted to join. They were forcibly assimilated, sometimes militarily. However, by the time the Alliance came into contact with them the damage had already been done. They were treating all within their domain fairly enough. Indeed, for many centuries there hadn’t been any issues. Was this discord sown by the upper realms, or had it simply been growing for some time?

Anton would have expected that with a greater population and connection to other systems they would have grown to identify more with the Shining Cooperative, rather than less. But things didn’t always work like that.

“Perhaps we could hear about your history,” Anton said. “Do you know where your first people came from?”

Jelena shook her head. “No. Do you?”

“No, but our history was erased many times by invaders, like many.”

“We were invaded shortly before the Shining Cooperative came and offered their protection,” Jelena said, bitterness in her voice. Anton didn’t think she could have any personal connection, though. Unless she happened to be reincarnated. “But our ancient histories as they were recovered revealed a version of us that stood strong on our own.”

Anton didn’t think that necessarily meant they were better off. Especially if they had been weakened by invaders before the Shining Cooperative came into contact with them. It was difficult to guess why people were suddenly resistant, given that most of the first generations of those conquered would be dead already. Especially without an abundance of post Life Transformation cultivators around.

Still, just because he didn’t understand didn’t mean the feelings were invalid. He could feel how her words resonated with the planet around them, so it wasn’t just her own opinion. Indeed, she had likely been chosen because she fit.

Even so, Anton didn’t see anyone that needed suppressing here. They might shoot down Shining Cooperative ships if they tried to come, but if they were allowed to live independently… the Shining Cooperative shouldn’t suffer too much damage. Of course, it was a bad precedent to set- but only relevant if others had similar thoughts in their head. Anton wondered if any planets in the Alliance felt the same. He could at least guarantee that it wasn’t the case with any around his bound stars.