Chapter 569
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Chapter 569
Sifting through information found in the first of the border outposts as well as several beyond that on later missions, it was fairly conclusively determined that none of the targeted systems were Ceretos or their allies. Not leaving from those locations, at least. That still left many other systems that could have groups readying for that particular invasion. Systems they had no contact with nor way to get into contact with. That was not a pleasant thing to think about.
We havent yet run into more trouble that could only be explained by diviners, Velvet said to a gathering of those from the lower realms on Xankeshan. But each system we inspect brings with it further danger. Ill gladly risk my life for a good cause, but Id prefer not to risk it in a place that cant even have useful information.
Understandable, Catarina said. Perhaps were going about this from the wrong direction. Though we know that one of these systems should have information of use to us about the forces that might invade our homeworld perhaps that is not what we should be looking for. Instead, we could find the invaders.
Timothy gave her a look, I usually understand the things you say, but that one doesnt make any sense. If we cant find information, how will we find the people?
We already know a likely candidate, Catarina said simply. Fajra. And even if she is not going to return, those of her sect likely will. Along with the Twin Soul Sect and others. And if they dont intend to seek revenge for their losses, we can at least determine that and give some peace of mind.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
I doubt it, Hoyt said. Both the possibility of them not attempting to wipe Ceretos out of the galaxy and that them not planning it would provide peace of mind. That can only be certain after the invasion doesnt happen. Which it will.
... I did not say it was likely, Catarina shrugged. But they could, in theory, choose to eat their losses and ignore one particular world in the lower realms.
I dont know if finding information on Fajra will be much easier, Velvet said. Though perhaps it might be available without going into Trigold Cluster territory. I guess thats a reasonable place to start.
-----
Obtaining information about the internal events of the Trigold cluster was tricky- though not because the information wasnt available. That was something Velvet discovered with some poking around in the eastern section of the Scarlet Midfields. It was obvious that others would be quite interested in the goings on of their most powerful neighbors, and since the Trigold Cluster didnt have a complete lockdown on entering or leaving their systems information was bound to circulate.
Two could keep a secret if one was dead. That was the sort of saying that applied, but when it came to a matter of billions of individuals at minimum it was even more true. It was just that information was not freely distributed.
Velvet was nearly certain that the Trigold Cluster as a whole would not have anyone on watch for individuals from the Order. She would place her confidence somewhere above ninety percent- but that was not nearly enough to have her going into enemy territory where alternatives existed. If she were to bet on a one in ten chance of dying or worse she would have better than even odds of death after just ten incidents. That was not the sort of thing that got people to live past a century unless they were extremely lucky. Perhaps that had been the case for Velvet so far- she found it reasonable that she could have died many times- but simply counting on that was the worst idea.
Far easier was trading information for other information, despite potentially inflated prices. She did her best to not let on that she couldnt get the information some other way. The price might go up if she seemed to need the information, and going to another information broker might not help her.
You should tell us what we need to know, Hoyt said as the most obviously intimidating member of their group. Things will be significantly less painful for you that way, if we dont have to scour your soul.
Even at war, there were limits to what people should do. Even among the group from Ceretos, there were disagreements on what those limits were. Scouring someones soul was rather extreme, and indeed a painful process. However, unlike the version indirectly obtained from Everheart they had developed a slower and likely less effective method- but also less painful and vaguely more ethical.
Yet they might also have been willing to use one of the worse versions on this particular man. The reason he had been discovered was not because he slipped up in any particular way he was simply a member of the Twin Soul Sect. The fact that he had gotten in at all meant there were some flaws in their security, though perhaps advertising that they could pick out the Twin Soul Sect meant they should continue to keep that information concealed.
Please, there must be some mistake, the man said. I am a devoted member of the Looming Forest.
The Looming Forest was indeed an ally of Xankeshan, part of the Dark Ring. That was why they had already brought over one of them, specifically one who could pick out members of the Twin Soul Sect. It wouldnt do for them to have a member die without confirming it for themselves.
If you were, you wouldnt be here, Hoyt said. Youre not a member of the Looming Forest at all. Youre part of the Twin Soul Sect.
At that, the mans eyes widened- though nearly imperceptively. Clearly he was trained to conceal it, but they werent just guessing so they knew how he should react. Please, the man said. There must be some mistake. You can verify my cultivation technique-
We already did, Hoyt said. And the secret one hidden underneath, of course.
Everyone was surprised when the man died- because his energy was fully suppressed by his bindings. Even if hed attempted to bite his tongue off, they could have stopped his death. But instead of killing himself he skipped straight to the end of the line, his soul leaving his body without the aid of upper energy.
Dammit, Catarina said. I knew we should have told him about the traps first.
Sorry, Hoyt said. I know we were trying to get him to talk but I didnt think hed be so decisive.
Its fine. His soul wont get far. The formations that handled that were courtesy of Everheart and not the previous inhabitants. Catarina shook his head, Its just that the soul scouring isnt as reliable as I would like. Not that Id be willing to practice the more effective version to a proper level of mastery.
Everyone agreed on that. And while it was unfortunate that the Trigold Cluster would realize their spy was gone, it was better than him actually getting back to them with information on how. Perhaps in the future they could pick out members of the Twin Soul Sect upon arrival and observe their behavior- though that meant more people who knew the techniques to reveal the Twin Soul Sect, and thus more people who could mention that they existed to the wrong people. If they heard about it and came up with proper counters, it would be very troublesome to keep their ranks clear of traitors, or at least to whatever extent they managed it now.
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Chapter 569
Sifting through information found in the first of the border outposts as well as several beyond that on later missions, it was fairly conclusively determined that none of the targeted systems were Ceretos or their allies. Not leaving from those locations, at least. That still left many other systems that could have groups readying for that particular invasion. Systems they had no contact with nor way to get into contact with. That was not a pleasant thing to think about.
We havent yet run into more trouble that could only be explained by diviners, Velvet said to a gathering of those from the lower realms on Xankeshan. But each system we inspect brings with it further danger. Ill gladly risk my life for a good cause, but Id prefer not to risk it in a place that cant even have useful information.
Understandable, Catarina said. Perhaps were going about this from the wrong direction. Though we know that one of these systems should have information of use to us about the forces that might invade our homeworld perhaps that is not what we should be looking for. Instead, we could find the invaders.
Timothy gave her a look, I usually understand the things you say, but that one doesnt make any sense. If we cant find information, how will we find the people?
We already know a likely candidate, Catarina said simply. Fajra. And even if she is not going to return, those of her sect likely will. Along with the Twin Soul Sect and others. And if they dont intend to seek revenge for their losses, we can at least determine that and give some peace of mind.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
I doubt it, Hoyt said. Both the possibility of them not attempting to wipe Ceretos out of the galaxy and that them not planning it would provide peace of mind. That can only be certain after the invasion doesnt happen. Which it will.
... I did not say it was likely, Catarina shrugged. But they could, in theory, choose to eat their losses and ignore one particular world in the lower realms.
I dont know if finding information on Fajra will be much easier, Velvet said. Though perhaps it might be available without going into Trigold Cluster territory. I guess thats a reasonable place to start.
-----
Obtaining information about the internal events of the Trigold cluster was tricky- though not because the information wasnt available. That was something Velvet discovered with some poking around in the eastern section of the Scarlet Midfields. It was obvious that others would be quite interested in the goings on of their most powerful neighbors, and since the Trigold Cluster didnt have a complete lockdown on entering or leaving their systems information was bound to circulate.
Two could keep a secret if one was dead. That was the sort of saying that applied, but when it came to a matter of billions of individuals at minimum it was even more true. It was just that information was not freely distributed.
Velvet was nearly certain that the Trigold Cluster as a whole would not have anyone on watch for individuals from the Order. She would place her confidence somewhere above ninety percent- but that was not nearly enough to have her going into enemy territory where alternatives existed. If she were to bet on a one in ten chance of dying or worse she would have better than even odds of death after just ten incidents. That was not the sort of thing that got people to live past a century unless they were extremely lucky. Perhaps that had been the case for Velvet so far- she found it reasonable that she could have died many times- but simply counting on that was the worst idea.
Far easier was trading information for other information, despite potentially inflated prices. She did her best to not let on that she couldnt get the information some other way. The price might go up if she seemed to need the information, and going to another information broker might not help her.
You should tell us what we need to know, Hoyt said as the most obviously intimidating member of their group. Things will be significantly less painful for you that way, if we dont have to scour your soul.
Even at war, there were limits to what people should do. Even among the group from Ceretos, there were disagreements on what those limits were. Scouring someones soul was rather extreme, and indeed a painful process. However, unlike the version indirectly obtained from Everheart they had developed a slower and likely less effective method- but also less painful and vaguely more ethical.
Yet they might also have been willing to use one of the worse versions on this particular man. The reason he had been discovered was not because he slipped up in any particular way he was simply a member of the Twin Soul Sect. The fact that he had gotten in at all meant there were some flaws in their security, though perhaps advertising that they could pick out the Twin Soul Sect meant they should continue to keep that information concealed.
Please, there must be some mistake, the man said. I am a devoted member of the Looming Forest.
The Looming Forest was indeed an ally of Xankeshan, part of the Dark Ring. That was why they had already brought over one of them, specifically one who could pick out members of the Twin Soul Sect. It wouldnt do for them to have a member die without confirming it for themselves.
If you were, you wouldnt be here, Hoyt said. Youre not a member of the Looming Forest at all. Youre part of the Twin Soul Sect.
At that, the mans eyes widened- though nearly imperceptively. Clearly he was trained to conceal it, but they werent just guessing so they knew how he should react. Please, the man said. There must be some mistake. You can verify my cultivation technique-
We already did, Hoyt said. And the secret one hidden underneath, of course.
Everyone was surprised when the man died- because his energy was fully suppressed by his bindings. Even if hed attempted to bite his tongue off, they could have stopped his death. But instead of killing himself he skipped straight to the end of the line, his soul leaving his body without the aid of upper energy.
Dammit, Catarina said. I knew we should have told him about the traps first.
Sorry, Hoyt said. I know we were trying to get him to talk but I didnt think hed be so decisive.
Its fine. His soul wont get far. The formations that handled that were courtesy of Everheart and not the previous inhabitants. Catarina shook his head, Its just that the soul scouring isnt as reliable as I would like. Not that Id be willing to practice the more effective version to a proper level of mastery.
Everyone agreed on that. And while it was unfortunate that the Trigold Cluster would realize their spy was gone, it was better than him actually getting back to them with information on how. Perhaps in the future they could pick out members of the Twin Soul Sect upon arrival and observe their behavior- though that meant more people who knew the techniques to reveal the Twin Soul Sect, and thus more people who could mention that they existed to the wrong people. If they heard about it and came up with proper counters, it would be very troublesome to keep their ranks clear of traitors, or at least to whatever extent they managed it now.
Chapter 569Sifting through information found in the first of the border outposts as well as several beyond that on later missions, it was fairly conclusively determined that none of the targeted systems were Ceretos or their allies. Not leaving from those locations, at least. That still left many other systems that could have groups readying for that particular invasion. Systems they had no contact with nor way to get into contact with. That was not a pleasant thing to think about.We havent yet run into more trouble that could only be explained by diviners, Velvet said to a gathering of those from the lower realms on Xankeshan. But each system we inspect brings with it further danger. Ill gladly risk my life for a good cause, but Id prefer not to risk it in a place that cant even have useful information.Understandable, Catarina said. Perhaps were going about this from the wrong direction. Though we know that one of these systems should have information of use to us about the forces that might invade our homeworld perhaps that is not what we should be looking for. Instead, we could find the invaders.Timothy gave her a look, I usually understand the things you say, but that one doesnt make any sense. If we cant find information, how will we find the people?We already know a likely candidate, Catarina said simply. Fajra. And even if she is not going to return, those of her sect likely will. Along with the Twin Soul Sect and others. And if they dont intend to seek revenge for their losses, we can at least determine that and give some peace of mind.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.I doubt it, Hoyt said. Both the possibility of them not attempting to wipe Ceretos out of the galaxy and that them not planning it would provide peace of mind. That can only be certain after the invasion doesnt happen. Which it will.... I did not say it was likely, Catarina shrugged. But they could, in theory, choose to eat their losses and ignore one particular world in the lower realms.I dont know if finding information on Fajra will be much easier, Velvet said. Though perhaps it might be available without going into Trigold Cluster territory. I guess thats a reasonable place to start.-----Obtaining information about the internal events of the Trigold cluster was tricky- though not because the information wasnt available. That was something Velvet discovered with some poking around in the eastern section of the Scarlet Midfields. It was obvious that others would be quite interested in the goings on of their most powerful neighbors, and since the Trigold Cluster didnt have a complete lockdown on entering or leaving their systems information was bound to circulate. Two could keep a secret if one was dead. That was the sort of saying that applied, but when it came to a matter of billions of individuals at minimum it was even more true. It was just that information was not freely distributed. Velvet was nearly certain that the Trigold Cluster as a whole would not have anyone on watch for individuals from the Order. She would place her confidence somewhere above ninety percent- but that was not nearly enough to have her going into enemy territory where alternatives existed. If she were to bet on a one in ten chance of dying or worse she would have better than even odds of death after just ten incidents. That was not the sort of thing that got people to live past a century unless they were extremely lucky. Perhaps that had been the case for Velvet so far- she found it reasonable that she could have died many times- but simply counting on that was the worst idea.Far easier was trading information for other information, despite potentially inflated prices. She did her best to not let on that she couldnt get the information some other way. The price might go up if she seemed to need the information, and going to another information broker might not help her. You should tell us what we need to know, Hoyt said as the most obviously intimidating member of their group. Things will be significantly less painful for you that way, if we dont have to scour your soul.Even at war, there were limits to what people should do. Even among the group from Ceretos, there were disagreements on what those limits were. Scouring someones soul was rather extreme, and indeed a painful process. However, unlike the version indirectly obtained from Everheart they had developed a slower and likely less effective method- but also less painful and vaguely more ethical.Yet they might also have been willing to use one of the worse versions on this particular man. The reason he had been discovered was not because he slipped up in any particular way he was simply a member of the Twin Soul Sect. The fact that he had gotten in at all meant there were some flaws in their security, though perhaps advertising that they could pick out the Twin Soul Sect meant they should continue to keep that information concealed.Please, there must be some mistake, the man said. I am a devoted member of the Looming Forest.The Looming Forest was indeed an ally of Xankeshan, part of the Dark Ring. That was why they had already brought over one of them, specifically one who could pick out members of the Twin Soul Sect. It wouldnt do for them to have a member die without confirming it for themselves.If you were, you wouldnt be here, Hoyt said. Youre not a member of the Looming Forest at all. Youre part of the Twin Soul Sect.At that, the mans eyes widened- though nearly imperceptively. Clearly he was trained to conceal it, but they werent just guessing so they knew how he should react. Please, the man said. There must be some mistake. You can verify my cultivation technique-We already did, Hoyt said. And the secret one hidden underneath, of course.Everyone was surprised when the man died- because his energy was fully suppressed by his bindings. Even if hed attempted to bite his tongue off, they could have stopped his death. But instead of killing himself he skipped straight to the end of the line, his soul leaving his body without the aid of upper energy.Dammit, Catarina said. I knew we should have told him about the traps first.Sorry, Hoyt said. I know we were trying to get him to talk but I didnt think hed be so decisive.Its fine. His soul wont get far. The formations that handled that were courtesy of Everheart and not the previous inhabitants. Catarina shook his head, Its just that the soul scouring isnt as reliable as I would like. Not that Id be willing to practice the more effective version to a proper level of mastery.Everyone agreed on that. And while it was unfortunate that the Trigold Cluster would realize their spy was gone, it was better than him actually getting back to them with information on how. Perhaps in the future they could pick out members of the Twin Soul Sect upon arrival and observe their behavior- though that meant more people who knew the techniques to reveal the Twin Soul Sect, and thus more people who could mention that they existed to the wrong people. If they heard about it and came up with proper counters, it would be very troublesome to keep their ranks clear of traitors, or at least to whatever extent they managed it now.
