The highest point in the entire capital city of Hinaga, jewel of the Kawamaran Isles, was atop the peak of the Imperial Palace itself. It soared into the sky at perhaps one hundred and fifty feet, composed of multiple different floors, almost as if it were a large, extravagant cake. Though it paled in comparison to the height of her own home back upon the island, so far it had sufficed for her purposes.

  Shurenga, daughter of Tarus, sat upon the roof of the mortal Lord currently playing host to her…

  And prepared herself.

  Though she still possessed a physical form, as perhaps the foremost among what the mortals called ‘Mystic Beasts,’ it was only a shell for her greater spirit. Even then, in recent days Shurenga had noticed that her connection to her physical form was growing fainter and fainter as time marched on. Once upon a time, she hadn’t been quite so capable of altering her size at will as she so often did. No, that had come after millennia of sustained life, watching over her children and her children’s children. Soon, she felt, it would come time for her to completely abandon her material form to take her place at her Father’s side within his Concordian realm. Others among the myriad species of the Spiritborne had gone before her, she was well aware of that. But she had always resisted, desiring to linger in the real so she could watch over her brood.

  However, that day was not today, and it certainly wouldn’t be before her chosen successor had matured somewhat.

  Shurenga had high hopes for her daughter’s partnership with her Father’s newest Envoy.

  Speaking of said Father, it was nearly time. It was late enough in the night that it was nearly morning on the day she had been ‘granted’ audience with the current mortal Emperor of Kawamara. Shurenga had been considering the possibility of presenting herself and revealing the existence of her brood to the greater whole of Kawamara for some time now. It could possibly come in handy, if only to ease the passing of leadership to her heir when it came time to abandon her material form fully. She…hadn’t quite foreseen the circumstances that would present the current situation, but she wasn’t upset by it. It was fairly satisfying to know that the wretched beast known as Tatsugan was finally gone for good.

  It had also been deeply amusing to witness the shock of Emperor Seimei’s court when she had revealed herself and her parentage. He may have been briefed by that sly creature Masayuki Ashiwara, but being told something and seeing it himself was an entirely different matter. She had even caught placid Seimei himself cracking open one golden, truth-seeking eye to peer at her to see if she was serious.

  Shurenga rather thought it was obvious, with the way her Father’s material form had been positively lurking on the horizon and shining down on her, visible through the doors that led to the throne room.

  She loved him dearly, but Father truly wasn’t the most subtle of his siblings.

  Ah, here it was. What mortals called the ‘green period’ had begun. They had all kinds of theories about what exactly caused the mysterious emerald tint to the rising light of her Father on the morn. Everything from atmospheric conditions, to Aetheric imbalances between her Father and Lady Elys as one set and the other rose. In her youth, she’d found those beliefs quite interesting, and even amusing for a time, skulking about the Jewel cities as she often had, once upon a time. There was even…some elements of truth to them.

  However, very few ever stopped to question what the effect that time of day had on the world around them.

  The green period was when the barriers between the material world and the Concord…

  Were at their thinnest.

  As the emerald light washed over her scarlet fur, Shurenga closed her eyes…

  And slipped out of her physical body, into her Father’s warm, inviting realm.

  Mortals…they truly couldn’t understand the Concord. They attempted it, Shurenga knew they did. Those few who had ever been granted leave by the Great Spirits of Vereden to enter it had tried. In a mirror of her own projection of her soul, they had been gently taken into the realm of Spirits in an entirely bodiless manner. But it had been discovered, to mingled frustration and dismay, that even their souls were too rigid. Too…material. They weren’t malleable enough to comprehend the immensity of pure, soul-to-soul communication and existence. The result was that the Concord shaped itself around the mortal, becoming more and more material itself. Their surroundings became increasingly material to accommodate them, lending itself to copies of memory and leaning heavily on allusion.

  Shurenga had even been told of Nathaniel Hart’s own physical appearance into the Concord, some months ago. Of how his surroundings had been shaped very rigidly to resemble a section of Lost Terra to torment him. From what she had heard, that section of the Concord was still rife with materialism, and a tad hazardous to all but the most powerful of Spirit-kind. It would take decades to centuries for it to smooth over once more.

  But for those that were meant to exist within the Concord…

  It was pure energy. There were no structures, no distinct physical forms to identify the Spirits. No rigid borders to create differentiation of the different planes, only the mingling of energies as one plane transitioned into another. There was no prevarication or obfuscation within a realm of pure soul-to-soul communication, where truth came as easily to the inhabitants as breath did to the mortals.

  It was quite…freeing, Shurenga had found.

  The Concord had simply always been.

  No beginning.

  No end.

  Well…for some. It was still possible for a Spirit to die but…it had to come from violent ends.

  If she still had a head, Shurenga would have bowed her head in momentary grief as the memory of lost Uncle Vaelis came to mind. The last great tragedy at the hands of the ‘gods’ all those millennia ago.

  Not even his children had been spared the slaughter.

  In this realm of pure thought and emotion, her momentary bout of sadness did not go unnoticed. Almost instantly, as Shurenga transferred into the Concord, her world became brightest light, unfailing warmth, and the unceasing affection of her Father, undimmed for her even after the passing of millennia. If she’d still possessed material eyes, no doubt she would have been blinded from being so close to his brilliance, but she did not and was thus merely uplifted by it.

  For all his faults…

  Tarus was a loving Father.

  “Spark of my heart, what troubles you?” Shurenga heard his voice reach her, Tarus’s very words warming her soul. As it so often did, any melancholy she might have felt was instantly chased away.

  Like the felines her physical body was born from, she brushed her spirit against his own in a manner almost akin to that of a housecat. “Worry not, Father,” She murmured, content in the radius of his embrace. “Merely an old, passing grief. Pay it no mind.”

  The great, voluminous star of Tarus’s being within the Concord hummed, half in doubt. Still, over the centuries, she had taught her Father at least a modicum of tact. At least, when it came to her matters, that is.

  He was still a busybody when it came to the rest of existence.

  “As you say, my daughter,” Tarus said doubtfully. “Then, perhaps we can begin…?”

  Shurenga drew back just enough to reside in his orbit but not close enough to be drowned in his warmth. “Of course, Father. Has the situation changed since yesterday?”

  This was a habit with a long, long history between the two of them. As she had grown in age and power, and it had become easier and easier for Shurenga to cast her soul into the Concord, she devoted each morning to visitation with her Father. There, depending on the current circumstances of their worlds and lives, they would catch up. After all, both of them were rulers in their own way. Interesting things happened to them often.

  Even if her domain was much…smaller than her Father’s.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  The light of Tarus’s existence dimmed somewhat as she felt his displeasure echo in the depths of his being. Not at her, of course. More at…

  Everything else.

  “No, sadly,” He grumbled. “The damage remains stubborn throughout the whole of the Concord. Patches of his madness linger like malevolent beasts, snapping at the heels of those Spirits too weak to defend themselves. I’ve done naught in the last day but work to contain them.”

  Shurenga sighed at his words, troubled by the implications. She had perhaps…downplayed the effects of the blow the Mad God had inflicted on the Concord the previous week, that day when she had first hosted Nathaniel and his friends. The ‘wave’ she had spoken of originating from that fool had been more of a tsunami. From how Father had told it, it had pulsed out from the befouled, madness-tainted Mantle of the Mad God with unusual strength, destroying many of the defenses the Great Spirits had constructed around it over the centuries for containment purposes. Near pressurized jets of insanity tainted Aether had streaked across the breadth of the Veredenese Concord, corrupting whatever it touched.

  Including whatever Spirit had been unlucky enough to be in its path.

  For the past week, her Father, the rest of the Great Spirits, and their retainers had been working overtime to contain both the tainted sections of the Concord, as well as those…unfortunate souls who were now essentially lost to the Madness. Shurenga had offered her assistance several times over the last few days and had even participated in some of these quarantine events.

  They had been…deeply disturbing, seeing the twisted monsters once noble Spirits had been perverted into.

  Still, it hadn’t been all bad. During those operations, she had run into several old friends, likewise called to assist by their forebears. Why, it had been positively ages since she had last seen that old devil Taran.

  Partly because, well.

  For a time, their parents had…implied that the two of them were destined to be together, in the same way Father and Lady Elys had once been…entangled. She was glad such talk had ceased. Shurenga much preferred the old wolf as a friend to a potential lover. She well knew he felt the same.

  Nevertheless, she was glad to see him. As well as his new little apprentice, the chosen companion of Nathaniel.

  Young Fade was positively adorable in the way he tried to be helpful. A good child, with a great deal of potential. Shurenga could tell that he was advancing well upon the Eldrydd Path laid out by the Great Spirits, as a counterpart to the mortal’s System.

  For the next several minutes, the conversation between Father and Daughter revolved around the efforts within the Concord to clean up the corruption left over from the Mad God’s…odd episode. Nothing like it had ever happened before, not even when the former god of Freedom had been slain by his progeny. Neither she nor her Father thought it boded well.

  However, eventually, the discussion drifted to more…material happenings.

  “How goes your negotiations with the mortal Emperor?” Tarus asked her curiously.

  Shurenga couldn’t help but laugh. Negotiations, eh? “They hardly ended up being negotiations at all, Father. As soon as the mortals learned the truth of who I was, they were practically falling all over each other to acquiesce. Now that Goryuen has been cleared of the Dread Wyrm and its minions, the House of Tarus has been granted…partial ownership of the island. The outer reaches, including the beaches and the jungle, shall remain the property of Kawamara, while the plains and the mountains have been ceded. Specifically to you, Father. However…as your daughter and Heir, to use mortal terms, I am given leave to manage it in your stead. A fine solution, if I do say so myself.”

  At her words, Tarus chuckled to himself in self-satisfaction. Shurenga resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sound.

  This really wasn’t going to help his already over-inflated ego.

  “It’s good to see the mortals observing proper obeisance to my glorious self,” He said smugly, basking in his own importance for a moment. “I grant you leave to manage our new holdings as you see fit, my daughter. It is good that we shall have a proper, recognized foothold within the material to act as a fortress, in case my new Envoy has need of it.”

  Shurenga smiled tolerantly at her Father. “As you say, Father. Meanwhile, the new Sect that young Kazuma Higanashi is to found has been ordered to also found a port town upon the beaches. My understanding is that the Emperor is interested in the gathering of Goryuen’s natural resources, now that the danger which lurked on the isle has passed.”

  Though he had no eyes within the Concord, Shurenga could feel it her Father dismissed the words in a manner similar to an eye roll. “Yes, yes. The mortals are as ever interested in their rocks and metals. Leave them to their harvest. Just remember to collect an appropriate tithe, as befits our station.”

  Before she could reply with as much patience as she could gather, Shurenga felt something. Not from within the Concord, though.

  This was a sensation coming from the material world, transferred along the thin connection tethering her soul to her physical self. Shurenga took the time to inspect what had caught her attention before approximating a smile to echo out into her Father’s realm.

  “Apologies, Father,” She pulsed. “But I’m afraid I must go. It appears that I’m being called upon.”

  The shining bulk of her progenitor’s soul pulse inquisitively in response, before Shurenga felt a sliver of it peer…sideways, in a manner that always felt decidedly uncomfortable to witness. “Bah,” Tarus grumbled. “Him. Why you’re still bothering with that ingrate, I’ll never know.”

  Shurenga chuckled as she plucked the string that connected her to the material. “Oh, you’re just grumpy he turned you down,” She said teasingly, as she felt her soul begin to return to its shell. “I’ll speak with you later, Father. Give my love to Lady Elys when next you speak to her.”

  The last thing Shurenga heard before she exited the Concord was her Father sigh and mutter to himself. “I will if she’ll actually talk to me…”

  And then she was back in Vereden once more, sitting on the shingled roof of Emperor Seimei’s Imperial Palace. The green period had faded, and the fullness of her Father’s own material form hung almost languidly on the horizon, casting its warm illumination over the peaks and temples of Hinaga. But mortal domiciles interested her very little, in truth.

  Instead, Shurenga flicked her golden eyes to her right and beheld the ‘human’ she knew would be there.

  Sitting on her right in a crossed legged position was the man known as Nathaniel Hart, he who her Lord Father was a tad…miffed with, currently.

  The Precursor.

  Shurenga noted that the man appeared to be meditating while he waited for her to finish her own session, his eyes closed and his palms resting on his knees. His breath came in slow, even cycles as she felt his awareness drift in the continuous pulse of Vereden’s heartbeat. The man appeared to have changed out of his combat attire since last she’d laid eyes on him, in the prelude to her appointment with the Emperor. He had even put away his ever-present weapons in favor of wearing a pair of simple black pants, a white silken shirt, and a thin leather vest. If not for his…abnormalities, he wouldn’t look out of place among any of the markets in the human trade cities. Alas, the odd patches of black scales still stood out sharply on his skin, tracing his myriad battle scars, while his elongated, almost sharpened ears jutted out sharply from his head. Almost disapprovingly, she noted the man had been slipping in his grooming, with a faint chocolate beard starting to grow on his cheeks.

  Still, he looked…more at peace than she was expecting, after his own meeting with Emperor Seimei.

  Shurenga cleared her throat gently, causing Nathaniel’s slit emerald eyes to snap open immediately. She smiled as she met the very faintly glowing orbs. “Good morning, Nathaniel. How are you?”

  “Ah…” The man blinked rapidly. “Fine, thank you. I was just wanting to check in with you, I suppose, after everything that’s happened. I’ve already seen to...everyone else.” Shurenga couldn’t help but smile at the slight pause in his words, well understanding just who he was referring to when he said ‘everyone’. Nathaniel returned the smile as he continued. “But I don’t know how your meeting went.”

  The Queen of Mt. Umetsuji nodded easily and launched into the same explanation she had just given to her Father out of phase with the material world. When she was finished, Nathaniel leaned back on his hands and considered her words, turning an eye on her. “You’re angling for something, aren’t you.”

  More of a statement than a question.

  But not untrue.

  Still, Shurenga just smiled mysteriously at the young man. She’d had quite a bit of experience doing that over the years, and so it came out quite well if she did say so. At the sight of it, Nathaniel just rolled his eyes. “Oh, whatever. Keep your secrets if you want. I…have no right to complain, anyway, with how much you’ve helped me and mine.”

  At those words, the mischievous edge to her smile faded as it became more genuine. “And yourself, Nathaniel?” She said softly. “What did you ask from the Emperor, for the services you rendered to the throne?”

  Now, it was Nathaniel’s turn to sport a mischievous smile. “Oh, a number of things,” He tried to start airily, before enthusiasm got the better of him. The young Precursor leaned forward as his eyes brightened. “Actually, I’m not lying. I didn’t ask for one huge reward. There are some things that are going to make my life much easier in the foreseeable future.”

  “Do tell,” Shurenga said amusedly, enjoying the almost jovial atmosphere.

  “Well, for one, I asked for a dedicated merchant contact,” Nathaniel said, tone almost conspiratorial. “I made a lot of money crafting weapons from Oninite here in Hinaga. Now, just how much more could I make when I’m hawking the same weapons down in Blutstein, where the metal is rarer than hen’s teeth? Seimei is going to put me in contact with someone who’ll make regular trips down to the Herztalian capital to keep me supplied as I launch a career. After all, I’m going to need a livelihood to support…well. You know.”

  “Very forward thinking of you, Nathaniel,” Shurenga said approvingly, inclining her head. “What else did you ask for, if I may ask?”

  “Oh, well,” He smirked. “I remembered something J-Seimei said, a few weeks ago. He mentioned the deep archives of the Imperial Library might have references or knowledge about…what I am, and their history. He took me down there and helped pick them out for me, as well as some books about the ‘gods’ and their origins. All in all, I have about a dozen extremely rare volumes waiting for me to pick up. The kind that are genuinely priceless. But that’s not all.” Now, Nathaniel leaned forward, his eyes visibly brightening in his enthusiasm. “I saved the best for last. I asked for a ship.”

  “A ship?” Shurenga asked with a raised eyebrow. “As in a sea-faring one?”

  “Yeah,” The Precursor breathed with a wide smile. “And not just any old dinghy out of the wharf, either. Something good. Something that’s top of the damned line that I can use as my personal vessel. And that’s what I’m going to get. The Kawamaran Navy has something that just rolled out of the yard. I actually saw Seimei wince when he agreed to give it up, it's so apparently valuable. It’s a prototype for their next generation of fast attack and reconnaissance vessels. They call them Shinsei class, but I’m going to name it something else instead. I’ve…even thought of what, before.”

  “I’m going to name it the Astray.”

  Garden of the Wyrm, Nate was the one calling the shots, essentially. Sure, he was 'guided' here by external forces, but once he was actually on the island, all problems were essentially resolved at his discretion and guidance. I'd like to think of this as the official start of Nate's arc as a true leader.

  all that Nate's gotten from this little trip he thought would be a diversion, at best. Let's tally it all up, shall we?

  already made from smithing in Hinaga, nearly a hundred levels since the clash with Rhazal, and...

  finally join Grey, Honoka, and Sylvia back at the Academy in Vol. 7. That is, after a brief detour to check in on Fade. That won't take long, though.