A/N: End of arc, Cato's notes next (more infodump, yay).

Tulore frowned at the sword on the table. "And you are bringing us this... artifact in order to teach us?"

Tharoden sniffed imperiously at the Minmay representative sitting across them, in silent support of the elder.

Minmay had dealt with them fairly, so had the Ironworkers even though most of the profit of that deal went to them. Those people had kept their word, and Cato had ensured that work was getting easier to find for Fukas. Despite all that, Fukas were still distrusting of humans in general. The younger generation were more optimistic, tales of factories and Ironworker jobs being race-blind were common and perhaps true for half of them.

But still. A human teacher of Em?

Even if it came with the promise of unique crysteel weapons and magical techniques, it was hard for Fukas to develop any sort of relationship beyond shallow commercial transactions. Abandoning their village without even informing them of the zombies' encroachment was not something the Fukas would forget any time soon.

Banage had of course immediately taken the opposite stance. His trade with the humans brought the largest remaining extended family in the village great profits. Human merchants were willing to take yama jam in exchange for spices and other delicacies, and the prospective Ironworker contracts obtained through Danine and Ryulo's contacts with the Corbin branch paved the way for future prospects.

Ryulo saw only the military potential. This new fuka village, being about a day away from Wendy's Fort, was vulnerable to attacks. And while Ems, magic training and bowguns made the village militia on par with the Inath Knights, Ryulo was always up for any new weapons.

The Minmay man proposed a joint effort with the Fukas to understand a type of Tsarian artifact weapon. With an Em master in Minmay's employ to teach the Fukas Ems, it was hoped that the Fukas' natural talent would help them use the weapon faster. While improving Wendy's Fort's defence, it was also hoped that the trained Fuka users would then join the Minmay Guards in exchange for the weapons after ten years of service jointly between wielders of each weapon.

It was quite obvious that the humans had given up on trying to train themselves to use it.

"I believe it is a good trade," Banage said. Indeed it was. The terms didn't actually care if the wielders originally belonged to the village. With most of the immigrants from Corbin having trained somewhat in Ems, it was fine to make them do the service and the blades would belong to the village afterwards. Plus, Ryulo having more weapons for the defence was always a good thing. Ems and bowguns only went so far.

That these weapons were so blindingly fast at short range that they were better at assassinating humans than fighting monsters, was definitely not something Banage could mention to Commander Michi.

Ryulo raised his hand and agreed, "yes, seeing the demonstration, I have no doubt our militia would benefit greatly. "

The demonstration of Light's Edge cutting apart a tree sapling from fifteen paces was impressive. That the man could do it anywhere from drawing, swinging to sheathing his sword and have the strike fly as fast as a bowgun bolt made that man deserve the title. Em using Fukas armed with these blades would be deadly in close range fighting, whether it was harassing zombies or... more living enemies. More powerful and flexible than bowgun, able to be used at melee and at short range, it was perfect for fast sneaky Fuka.

Ryulo had no doubt that without bowguns, half the village could fight the Em master and he would cut them all down like a field of windeyes.

Tharoden glared at them, the lesser council members staying silent. Banage was almost as influential as Tharoden nowadays. Tharoden was against it, Banage and Ryulo for it, Tulore's open suspicion but not outright denouncement made the council unsure of what to do. The Minmay representative and the Em master Light's Edge didn't understand the nuances of the village council and stayed quiet.

"What if we try it out first?" Ryulo suggested finally.

"What do you mean?" Tharoden asked.

Ryulo just shrugged, "there's a bunch of kids who dream of joining the village militia when they get older, right? I believe Danine is almost of age. If this Em master can train her and her group to use this weapon, we will then know how difficult the training will be, and how useful the weapons are. Danine aside, I believe the rest of them will not object too strongly to joining Minmay's Fuka Scout Platoon. "

And now Tharoden not mentioning the historical distrust to the Minmay representative blew up in his face. Ryulo's suggestion would avoid all his objections about not knowing the cost and needing to send villagers into potentially hostile human lands.

"Yes, hold it just like that and push your Em into the blade. "

"Woah!"

The blade, longer than one of Danine's legs, flashed a bright magical blue and a chunk of ceiling suddenly dropped in front of her. She nearly fumbled the blade before hastily catching it.

"All right, that was my fault for trying to teach you to use a projectile weapon indoors. Still, I wouldn't have expected any of you to be able to use it in less than a week. " Tukor, better known as Light's Edge, muttered to himself. "Out to the field!"

The Fuka children trooped out obediently and Danine tossed the naked blade to a slightly younger kid, as if it wasn't a rare and dangerous Tsarian artifact. The boy caught it on the blade easily, a flare of magic from his hand betraying the protective Em that prevented the live edge from cutting his palm.

Tukor had barely lowered his panicked hand when Danine piped up again.

"Calm down, Tukor sir. The six of us are the best at Em in this whole village. A little thing like a sword isn't going to hurt us. " She chirped annoyingly at him.

The fact that she was right did nothing to allay his testiness. She had not even two years of using Ems under her belt to his three decades and she was already almost as good at fine manipulation and instantaneous power as Tukor was. As Light's Edge, he still held an advantage due to his magical capacity but her speed and dexterity spoke of breathtaking potential.

"The sword is alive!" the boy exclaimed. Tukor frowned, trying to recall his name but failing. The boy looked at the blade with an appropriate level of wonder before his expression collapsed, "no, it's not. It just feels like touching another Em, but the blade is empty. My Em just sinks in, like it's part of me but guides the shape..."

The boy flicked the blade and a small edge of magical force flashed out. "Consumes lots of magic though. "

The excited kids couldn't wait to pass around the weapon like it was a particularly curious toy. Even if it was an Iris blade and therefore technically not his concern, Tukor was slightly offended at the way they treated a priceless artifact with no respect whatsoever. All of them, even little Ashild who was barely a head taller than the sword, managed to fire at least a little spurt of force.

"How's that?" Danine stuck her tongue out at Tukor.

"I'm still better at Ems than you are," Tukor couldn't resist firing back.

"We learn fast, you've barely taught us anything! Give me a week and I'm sure I can use this sword thing. "

It was really really annoying but she was right. He couldn't hit her since he was under orders to teach them but she was really tempting him to. No respect at all! "Fine! So I don't need to teach you the basics, I can still teach Em martial arts!"

The Fuka girl and the human Em master huffed at each other, both aware that they had been getting a little too invested in proving their own superiority but neither wanted to back down. Arguing with a young teenager was immature of him but he just couldn't resist!

It definitely had nothing to do with his jealousy at how they picked up Ems like breathing.

"Enough fooling around with the weapon. We'll compare what we know of the basics of Ems and then I'll start training you in proper martial arts. No matter how quick to learn, I don't want any of you to kill yourselves on that sword. "

Danine bounded back into her parents' house after the training. The hastily built shelter when they first arrived at Wendy's Fort had been replaced with a much sturdier and neater wooden construction. Cato's carpentry tools had taken some time to take root but Char clan had dedicated carpenters now and they traded perfectly fitting wooden planks for walls and floors.

Her parents' new house had a concrete base and raised wooden flooring and her mother's floor was so clean Danine felt compelled to take her shoes off to not mar its polished surface.

The delicious smells from the kitchen, spiced flatbread, piyo roast and the sweet-sour smell of the new windeye sugar only further highlighted how enjoyable their lives were now. Danine passed the dining table, with a basket of sugar bread kept out for snacks. She stole one to taste. Mhm, her mother's recipe was definitely better than the one sold in Corbin's shops.

Her mother was resting in the main room, on a wood and cloth chair next to a slowly rocking cradle. Her baby brother, just born last year, was happily sleeping and she rushed up to them, silently of course.

"Mama!" she kept her greeting to a stage whisper. Her brother's tail wagged a little but settled down. Danine grinned and tickled it with her hand, chasing the tail as it escaped.

Her mother smiled back gently. "Danine, welcome back. Are you all right?"

The young fuka girl nodded rapidly. She didn't want to lose her permission to participate in the trial Em lesson. "Of course. I can make my skin as hard as rock. Without magic, no blade will leave even a scratch!"

Her mother sighed and stroked her ears with a smile. It wasn't a happy smile, but Danine had no idea what it could mean.

After a pause that grew into a long silence, Danine fidgeted under her mother's patting. It was nice but she still had to get permission.

"Mother. I want to go with the others. Tim, Ashild, them. I want to go with them to learn Ems and the sword. " Danine felt her ears flatten themselves, betraying her hesitance. Her mother instead sighed again. "And I want to join the Fuka platoon under Minmay. "

Still her mother was silent.

"There's so much I can do! I'm still the best at Ems among all of us, so I'll be safe. With us and the blades, we can show the humans that Fukas are worth something! That they should not treat us badly just because we have ears and tails! I can help the other Fukas in the cities, just like I did for Tam. "

Her mother stroked her hair, a wistful sadness on her face that grew as Danine kept protesting. What did she even want from her? How could Danine convince her mother to let her do this if she wasn't even going to talk?

"It's all right, Danine, my daughter," her mother said finally, catching Danine's emotions from her wilting ears and tail. "I just realized. You're fifteen already. You've really grown up now. "

What could she say to that? Her mother was clearly worried but she hadn't said anything about Danine's decision to join Minmay's Guards.

"Ever since you left for Corbin three years ago, I knew you were growing up. My little girl who I watched and took care of in our village has now become a young woman," her mother smiled wistfully. "I trust you to make your own decisions, Danine. Go, do what you think you should do. Just remember to stay safe. And no matter what happens, you can always come back to us. "

Ah. So she really was growing up. Danine had always felt as if her parents treated her like a child, even after all her experiences in Corbin and the riots and helping the Fukas. It was funny, how she resented that but the moment her mother let her go, she started to miss that worried nagging.

"Yes, mother. " And that was all she needed to say.

The council of the most influential Elkas in Clan Two were assembled in the main meeting room. Ka recognized Tiki's father, the Elder Qaja, and the Elder Wakee. Lolu was there too, as the wife of a Clan Two elka, one of the attack mission wingmates that Ka had flown with.

Much like the Fukas, village life was governed by the Elders and major decisions made with the assembly of the main family leaders. Ka wouldn't normally be honoured enough to attend but his position as the link to the landbound gave him a place. Similarly, Tiki was now the best flyer in the clan by far and therefore in command of one of the three Attack Flights, he also had a place despite his youth.

"This meeting of Clan Two is called to discuss the landbound offer in support of the expedition to the North. " The Elder Wakee called the meeting to order. Her ancient face and wings pulled everyone's attention and silenced the whispered discussions of the waiting adults. "Kali, please repeat the offer so everyone understands the terms. "

Ka stood up and offered a respectful bow. He wasn't used to his Clan Two name but the fact that the Elder had called him by that meant that his honour with the Clan was good despite him not formally being a member. "The landbound wish for Clan Two to support their expedition to a northern ruined city, we will be asked to provide all three Attack Flights under the joint Ektal command as scouts and nightcryer combat. No land attack missions will be ordered unlike in the defence of the Fort. Furthermore, in the event of disaster or failure of the expedition, we are given permission to withdraw the flights independently. The expedition will take at least three months but is expected to remain at a northern ruin for half a year. The terms-"

"This is an impossible demand," Qaja interrupted. The man glanced around the room and saw support among the flights. "No matter what terms they can offer, how can we send all our capable fighters away from the Clan? Who will defend our homes and children? Who will hunt for food? Are we to send untested wings against nightcryers and zombies here? No. We can send one flight, no more. They can return every month and a different flight takes their place. "

"I believe the terms can help with some of that," Ka replied patiently. He knew it was going to be difficult and Qaja just flicked his wing skeptically. "Firstly, in monetary compensation, the landbound Ektal country will provide a hundred rimes a year in goods and services. In food, this is sufficient to feed the entire Clan one and a half times. At the same time, while on the expedition, food will be provided for all participants, Elka and landbound.

Also, the landbound agree to provide land in the Central Territories two days flight from here. Well within the defended zones. The landbound are expanding the northern most city, we will be granted sufficient land to build whatever homes and towers we require, their laws will not apply to us, nor to disputes between Elka and landbound while on that land. Essentially, they will gift one of their best clan ranges to us, to settle the same as our Clan's home range here. "

Qaja, emboldened by the displeased faces, scoffed, "nonsense. The landbound will give us food and a flat land in exchange for our blood and feathers. We know how dangerous the north is, how many monsters roam that great desert. Did Lolu not return from your expedition with a hole in her wings? What if someone loses their wings? And what do they give us? Food we can hunt for ourselves and a piece of land that will just be a shackle they will bind our wings with and corrupt our young with landbound ideas. If we move our young and old to this land, send off all our fighters, is that not the opportunity they will use to crush us like they did to Clan One and failed due to our Home Range's cliffs?"

The worst part was that Qaja wasn't completely wrong. Cato had exerted his considerable influence to convince that city's mayor to create new village zones for immigrating Fuka and Elka in exchange for setting up a University branch there. Of course, in hopes that he could help the demihumans gain a measure of independence from the discrimination while providing opportunity for education and their future integration. Cato hoped to see a time in the future, perhaps in two or three generations, where there would be no such thing as a Fuka village or a Clan Two, just humans, Fukas and Elkas all living together with each other.

Ka thought it was an impossible dream, given how the Fukas were treated, but he owed the man a blood debt.

"The conflict with the Clans was in the past. The landbound need us and will not treat us as before. They desire peace and cooperation. Have we not benefited from their reparations that are still ongoing so many years later?" Ka sighed, he could tell from their faces his words weren't working. Qaja didn't even need to reply.

"Additionally, the broken Clan Three in Illastein to the south will be moved here. Like Clan One, they were fought and scattered but the landbounds' Hero has taken over their country and is collecting all the Elkas there. If they send Clan Two more wings, does that balance the cost?"

That final bait was the real payment. While fifty odd Elkas might not sound too many compared to the teeming masses of humans, that was nearly half the total number of Elkas in Clan Two. The Elkas had always had very small numbers and every wing counted.

Even that did not sway the leaders. Though many were tempted, fresh feathers outside their clan for their sons and daughters to pair with was a great prize, the idea of sacrificing trained Scouts for untrained Elkas was not a good one.

"Enough!"

The voice drew all the attention in the meeting room. Tiki stood up, flaring the tips of his wings around his shoulders to make himself look bigger. "Are we cowards?" he asked, drawing shocked looks from the rest. "You all know that our fortunes rise and fall with the landbound, no matter how distant we make ourselves. We can fly away when they fall but if they all fall, there will be nowhere to go. They have given us many things and though we do not count honour with the landbound, we do owe them much. Their past hostility has been repaid, many times over! Their parents and grandparents fought against us, from a country that no longer exists. Only Wakee remembers that battle and I am sure any of us will agree that the landbound queen Amarante is very different from the past humans.

They work for peace with us and we carry old stains of blood like children with a grudge. "

Ka was as flabbergasted as the rest of the elders. As the youngest pair of wings present, Tiki was not expected to speak. Much less scold the council.

"You fly too high, little boy," Qaja spat at him.

"I can fly higher than you," Tiki shot back, "I believe I can fly the test for Fighter. "

The flat statement provoked a series of worried whispers. Qaja frowned back but said nothing.

No one had passed a test for Fighter for generations. Scout was bad enough, demanding high speed through the air and good maneuverability. Fighter as the old tales said, required one to perform impossible maneuvers, shooting and dodging in ways that was impossible for any wing to follow. Of course, it was obvious now that Ems were clearly required by the test and that Scout was actually supposed to be easy. Part of the reason why Ems had been so quickly accepted.

There was another even harder test called Superiority but whether it was just a tall tale made up to make the Elka heroes seem larger than life or it was actually something possible to do, was unknown. It required one to shoot down incoming attacks, retaliating at range and being able to hover through the use of lift alone; along with even more impossible flying feats. Ka suspected that required actual training in lift capacity as well as landbound magic.

If Tiki passed a test for Fighter, the not-so-impossible dream of many young and wind-obsessed flyers, such a feat would be the start of a legend. Regardless of what the council said, a Fighter Tiki would command the unwavering respect and loyalty of the younger generation, which was most of the Scouts making up the Attack Flights. If Tiki then told them to help the landbound with this expedition, the split in authority against the council could destroy the Clan.

"Are you sure? You do realize the consequences of failing?" Wakee spoke up, reminding everyone that Tiki was risking his status as a Scout.

"I am sure. I've already practiced all the maneuvers needed and I had friends help me train in the air," Tiki replied. "I have achieved everything the tales have told. I will pass the test. "

Ah, so that was the reason why Tiki's frequent hunts had not been matched with his catching of prey. Ka looked around and noticed others coming to the same realization. Tiki was confident because he was already a Fighter in the eyes of his friends. And he had been waiting for a chance to drop this secret on the council when it would win him an important argument.

Well flown, Ka saluted the young wing in his mind. It seemed that Tiki had spoken the truth when he revealed to Ka his friendliness to the landbound.

Amarante put down the letter with a frown. Morey's missive was an unexpected revelation. The rest of the reports from the team of scholars she had sent to the First bunker in Illastein corroborated the Hero's interpretation.

The search for the resting place of this 'link' that supposedly lay near the Summoning Circle was going to start before the Hero arrived, news of clues towards the Sword had resulted in a general rush of parties towards Landing in order to be the first one to find it and gain the gratitude of all the Federation.

To think the Sword was right under their noses all this time! The ruined Landing city was only a few days ride away from the Inath capital and every tower, building and cellar there had already been searched as far as safety allowed. Amarante was worried that the rush would make the various competing parties risk life and limb but she couldn't find it in herself to ban them from going there. The Sword was a symbol the legends were clear about.

Not that the Knights would have listened to her anyway.

What was more worrying was Morey's interpretation of the records of the Sword. A superweapon, a weapon of mass destruction. She didn't know what a nuclear bomb was but Queen Amarante was quite sure she did not ever want to see them. The descriptions of the Firestorm gambit at Fort Yang was horrifying, made that much worse in human cities where flammable material was everywhere compared to a grassy plain. If a nuclear bomb did as much damage as the firestorm in the Minmay slums did, then the Sword was infinitely worse.

Her historian and the man's assistant scholars had understandably focused on any mention of the Sword. The fact that it had been used in the past to destroy key Tsarian strongholds and cities was terrifying. The last shot, apparently made at the highest power, was where Fort Yang now was and had cut a canyon through the Snow Wall. The Great Yang river had not always flowed south, where it ran through the mountains now used to be the starting point of two rivers.

The river Yang was later dredged by the First until the section of river that used to flow north of the Snow Wall had reversed direction, explaining why the banks of the Great Yang were so steep north of the fort. This drained a major lake into the western ocean, changing weather patterns. The result was that a huge zone north of the Snow Wall dried up until the area became the rocky desert it was today. Why this was done was not specified but the records indicated that the cities north of the Snow Wall primarily supported the Tsarian movement.

Such a hugely destructive action was not uncommon during the warring period. Every day, messengers carried more translated records that spoke of yet another horror. Elemental weather devices, gravity missiles, monsters and bio-automatons now called titans, each of these things were products of the self-destructive war.

Amarante sighed as she signed off on one more general notice. This time to look out for a Tsarian plague weapon contained in special ammunition bunkers. It had killed a hundred thousand people before the First developed a cure. The distinct warning marks of three interlocking curved lines were sinister and easily distinguishable, and not something anyone had seen in ruins before. Yet another 'superweapon' the legends had not mentioned.

King Ektal was eager to study these weapons, in hopes Cato's university could give them another method to kill monsters. The Ranra Speaker was more hesitant but also wanted to deploy any weapons found to Algami plains. Both of them didn't want the other country to get those weapons. Only the Calva Principality had followed Amarante's lead in wanting these weapons to be confiscated in the name of the Federation and destroyed.

If only as the leading Queen of the Federation Council came with the power to just issue decrees. She herself could not convince them that using ancient superweapons one did not understand was a recipe for disaster.

Surprisingly, Vorril had partially agreed with her. He wanted to keep them under a multinational guard, only to be used if the Federation Council allowed it. It was the next best thing and Queen Amarante could support that if only that the Council would immediately vote for the weapons to be deployed against just about any threat.

None had been found in this short time, but Amarante was sure some rulers would start trying to make their own. The concept of strategic weapons that could dictate the tide of a war was one of the more unpleasant revelations that resulted from this find. To the leading nobility, this was like dangling a treat in front of a Reki. They just could not help but see these weapons as a one stop solution to military problems. Such weapons were only viable with great understanding of lifeforce or sufficient magical power, but Cato's mana wells already promised that power.

The Queen put on her metaphorical crown. Now more than ever, she needed a brilliant political ploy. Time to get plotting.