Truthful Transmigration

The envoy from the continent returned to them with a message that they should gather a representative sample of those aggrieved by Morana’s actions. That did mean that unfortunately Yustina and Steve wouldn’t be able to express their displeasure, as they had not been directly affected by the incident. But Sitora had made it clear that she intended to act, and so they gathered people from the Glass Hills, Wuthering Steppes, and of course the Brandle Clan.

They brought with them a number of captured Stormy Sea Sect cultivators to add their testimony against Morana. Though Sitora appeared confident enough to resolve things on her own, it wouldn’t hurt to have more evidence against the woman.

Though they had many air cultivators with them, there were few that could fly- and even fewer that could fly all the way to the Sky Islands. It wouldn’t have been possible for them to bring so many together without taking advantage of some special ships that were able to fly to and from the Sky Islands. They made good use of the peculiar makeup of the Crystal Sea and the crystal’s ability to provide buoyancy, though it was extremely inefficient outside of the area.

Those ships were necessary for what trade flowed between the continent and Sky Islands, making fairly regular trips.

Once upon the Sky Islands, they were met by cultivators from the Second Peak who escorted them while also flying them between the islands. Along the established paths, a single cultivator could carry a half dozen others easily enough. It was a journey of a few days to keep them at a moderate pace.

-----

When they arrived at the Peaks, Tirto had expected them to be taken up to the Second Peak, bypassing the Fourth. However, they instead approached the Fourth Peak immediately, only stopping by the Fifth for a few moments to pick up other cultivators waiting there.

At the same time, cultivators began to descend from the Second and Third Peaks. Not long after that, Tirto felt activity from the First Peak.

When they arrived on the Fourth Peak, Morana approached them aggressively, flanked by her best minions. “Why have you come here?” She turned to Mirka, the Fifth Peak master. “And why have you allowed them to shame our traditions by bypassing the challenges.”

“They are here as guests of a higher peak,” Mirka said simply. “Surely you should be aware of the possibility. You did your very best to interfere with the previous guest, after all.”

Tirto replied to her first question. “And you know very well why we are here, Morana.”

Winds and lightning crackled around her. “I am the Island Master of the Fourth Peak, and I will be treated with respect.”

Verusha yawned. “We always treat people with the respect they deserve. That’s why you get none.”

“How dare-”

“Morana of the Fourth Peak,” Sitora’s voice boomed from above.

It was impossible for Morana to have missed the approach of Sitora and Venera, but she likely didn’t expect their approach to be so aggressive. They landed on either side of her, knocking away those surrounding her.

Sitora continued her declaration, “You stand accused of piracy, and more critically violation of the accords agreed upon by the Peaks. Your actions have been made clear to the eyes of all.”

“Is that what this is?” Morana asked, doing her best to keep her voice steady. “You intend to levy false accusations against me?”

Sitora didn’t even dignify her words with a direct response, instead continuing upon the path she had prepared for herself. “The first piece of evidence I will proffer is your cowardly flight where you stumbled onto the northern islands in a pitiful state. This was directly after you attempted to avail yourself of a grudge against John Miller of the Six Elements Crossroads by attempting to murder his son.”

Abritt arrived a few moments later, floating imperiously above all of the rest… yet Tirto felt in her a timidity. Perhaps that was his own personal projection, but either way she did not interrupt.

Morana’s confidence was slightly bolstered by Abritt’s presence. “You have no evidence-”

“A dozen witnesses of the battle from the Sky Islands,” Sitora declared, her words spreading far beyond the peaks themselves. “Then several dozen more who witnessed your pathetic landing in the north. In addition to three ships worth of Brandle Clan members, and a number of your co-conspirators.”

“Indeed,” declared one of the Stormy Sea Sect cultivators, “She led us on attacks against many ships along the coast, before our final failed assault.”

Morana tried to grab a moment to interject, but Sitora didn’t let her. “What do you have to say for your absence on the very specific dates during which these ships were sunk, using techniques you have available to you?” Once again, Sitora piled yet more upon her, pulling out a chunk of ship. “This is your energy signature, is it not?”

Tirto knew that the remains of her energy signature were beyond faint in any of the ships they had found… but he didn’t mind piling things on himself. “Oh, you also forgot these when you fled for your life,” Tirto said, pulling out several of her war darts. Those were perhaps the most damning evidence against her. She might be able to make excuses for everything else, but her war darts were quite distinctive.

Morana hesitated for a moment. She tried to adjust her tone of voice to be vaguely accusatory, but she mostly sounded defensive. “Where did you get-”

“We got them during your attack, obviously,” Verusha quipped. “Are you so senile that you already forgot, old hag?”

The lightning bolt Morana shot from her formed in an instant. Nobody stopped it, neither Sitora or Venera standing directly next to her nor the other Second Peak cultivators who had escorted Tirto and Verusha.

Two hands stretched out together, Tirto and Verusha clasping their hands together in a unified response. A layer of water appeared in front of a layer of ice, but that was only what was visible. The last time they had fought, the pair would have found it difficult to instantaneously respond to the amount of power Morana put into her attack… but though they hadn’t yet crossed the threshold of the Ascending Soul Phase, they were a step closer and had learned Morana’s style from their previous encounter.

The real trick was the invisible steam that went in front of the rest of the barrier, capturing as much of the lightning as they could… and redirecting it back towards Morana herself. It wasn’t a perfect counter and was easily dispersed by Morana’s defenses, but Verusha did smirk as the woman’s hair stood on end.

“Enough,” Abritt declared from above. “This matter will be dealt with according to the rules of the Peaks. I am certain the Second Island Master is more than capable of administering justice.”

Morana’s expression flickered from embarrassment to despair. Perhaps she expected to receive some sort of support- but she had ruined her own prospects. Tirto knew that Abritt didn’t wish to stretch her own influence at the moment. There was no way she would shield Morana after so clearly going off the rails- and that foolish attack. So she simply reminded people of her position… while ‘allowing’ Sitora to do as she pleased.

Sitora looked around. “Are there any who wish to advocate on Morana’s behalf?”

Morana looked desperately towards her most powerful supporters. They returned her gaze with pity. With her gone, they could vie for the position of the Fourth Island Master.

“There being none who would come to her defense, I declare Morana guilty of the most severe violations of the Peak’s honor. She engaged in a clear and intentional violation of our accords. Combined with prior behavior, the only appropriate punishment is death by execution. Do you have any final words?”

“You’re a lackey of pathetic continentals!” Morana spit.

Sitora’s face remained calm, but firm. “Bold words for a woman who has been defeated by continentals time and again. I hope that moment of spite was worth your final breath.”

Powerful air element bore down on Morana, though Tirto didn’t see any immediate results. Morana stepped forward, raising her arm as if to form an attack… but she seemed to be flailing her arm at nothing.

“I must say,” Sitora shook her head. “I find your mastery of the element quite lacking.”

Tirto watched closely. He was quite impressed, as Sitora seemed to be perfectly negating the other woman’s spiritual energy. It wasn’t exactly efficient, but having the advantage of several ranks it was possible to simply overpower her. There was also another factor in the struggle that wasn’t immediately obvious until Morana began to clutch at her throat as she tried to take another breath.

So Sitora really meant it would be her last breath, instead of close to it. Tirto needed to come up with some sort of counter for that technique… though he was fairly certain it would only be that effective against air cultivators. She likely couldn’t negate every element so directly. Still, he didn’t want to have the air ripped out of his lungs.

Morana collapsed a minute later, though she already felt as if she had been dead for days, her spiritual energy dispersed and her body nothing more than an empty shell. Personally, Tirto kind of wanted to spear her or let Verusha set her on fire, but he supposed the Sky Islands needed to manage their own business as well.

“That settles things, then,” Tirto said. “We appreciate the Peaks upholding the non aggression pact. However, there are still damages that need to be covered. Out of Morana’s personal finances, of course. I have no doubt that the rest of the Peak was completely unaware of her activity.”

That was a total lie. Tirto could read on their faces that at least some of them had suspected something, and others likely had more than suspicions. But it was better to let the matter rest, and their allies could be at least partially compensated for their losses. It was unlikely Morana was still carrying all her spoils of war on her without having converted some into cultivation resources for her own use.

-----

Arriving at the Gloom Desolation, Melanthina exchanged a look with Nik. Nothing needed to be said, as they both recognized the signs. The area was certainly primarily dark element, but it wasn’t as vibrant as it could be. Darkness wasn’t death, after all. But the land was dying. It was quite similar to the Deadfields, though it certainly wasn’t that far gone. It was impossible to tell the reason for the lack of spiritual energy at first glance, but clearly the region wasn’t in its best state.

Even with the wide surge in cultivation, the first large city in which they stopped had nothing higher than Soul Expansion Phase cultivators. It was no surprise that they were easy prey for the seafaring cultivators- though Tirto had indicated that the ports were slightly more powerful.

Everywhere they went people were quite surprised to see the balance between Nik and herself- and even more surprised to see the internal balance of Ereli. Then again, her own parents were surprised by her nearly every day. From once struggling to maintain her own safety due to light and darkness within her to now controlling the two elements with barely a thought… their daughter had come a long way. Careful choice of totems had been a large part of that.

The express purpose of their visit was to formalize relations with the Gloom Desolation, but to do that they needed to understand the elemental zone. But as they couldn’t roam the whole land without making people extremely uncomfortable, their next destination was Port Dusk. The plan was to move along the coast first, learning about whatever was inland before finding the best way to efficiently make the local sects and clans feel like they had been properly respected.

If all went well, they wouldn’t have to hear about the troubles in the area by visiting personally. That would have helped inform Tirto’s latest quest, and they likely could have stopped the trouble significantly sooner.