Would have, except that the most advanced experts in the region were Truegold. Even Jai Long could toy with the most powerful people here. Not only did they keep their complaints down, but they would do anything to keep the mighty strangers here. There was a sense of security from curling up next to the strong.
So far, it was within Lindon’s expectations. But once again, he wished he had Dross to talk to, because he had begun seeing strange flags pop up everywhere in and around Refuge.
And he was afraid he knew who was responsible for them.
“Where did these flags come from, Eithan?” Lindon asked the air.
A few nearby people shot him strange looks, but they kept about their business. They hadn’t met him yet, and once again they couldn’t sense anything through his veil.
Eithan could hear him. He was close enough, and Lindon knew he was paying attention.
The flags came in many colors, but they all had one symbol: a starburst with one half red or orange and the other half blue. Both halves were melded roughly, as though they’d been fused together. He hadn’t paid much attention to it at first, until he overheard a name attached to the symbol.
The Sect of Twin Stars.
“Eithan, what’s the Sect of Twin Stars?”
A girl his own age came to a stop when she heard him speak. She was a Lowgold with a blue hurricane Goldsign swirling around one wrist, and she zipped over to him as though he’d called her by name.
Too late, he saw that she was wearing the same two-colored starburst symbol newly sewn onto her robes.
“Are you interested in the Sect of Twin Stars?” she asked excitedly. “They’ll take just about anyone, you know. It doesn’t matter what Path you’re on. And they have teachers you wouldn’t believe! The sect founder is a Sage! I don’t know what he’s doing here, but they say if you’re a loyal member of the sect, they’ll take you east with them when they leave.”
Lindon felt like he was trapped in some kind of bizarre illusion, but he still responded automatically. “Gratitude. Where did you learn about this sect?”
“Oh, they’re telling everybody! You can go see for yourself. There’s a big blue cloudship to the north where you can go and apply, and if you’re accepted, you’ll get an elixir right away!”
She straightened herself and said proudly, “With their support, they say I can make Truegold in a year. And…” She darkened as she added, “…and we won’t have to stay around here anymore.”
“I see.” He dipped his head. “Apologies for taking up your time.”
He didn’t ask her name because he didn’t want to give his own, but he marked her face. He didn’t know if Eithan was serious about taking these people away from Refuge, but he would make sure she at least got a spot.
When he arrived at the north side of town, his suspicions were confirmed. Sure enough, the blue cloudship was Windfall, with Eithan’s portion of the island—the part covered in crops—angled toward Refuge.
A huge crowd had gathered at the edge of the giant blue cloud, encircling a few young men and women who were proudly displaying sewn-on badges of the Twin Star Sect.
Standing on the top of the cloud, half of his body still wrapped in bandages, was Eithan.
“Stand proud, new acolytes of the Twin Star Sect!” Eithan cried. He sounded more energetic than anyone so injured should be. “We have chosen you to receive training from the best of the best, so that you may reach heights undreamt of!”
The crowd applauded, and the new recruits looked smug, but Lindon was starting to wonder if this was all some elaborate prank on Eithan’s part.
He activated the Soul Cloak for just a moment, kicking off and soaring over the crowd. When he landed next to Eithan, the Archlord swept a very stiff bow to the people down below.
“Now I must bid you farewell, as the time has come for me to confer with our founder and Patriarch: the Sage of Twin Stars!”
Eithan ushered Lindon toward Lindon’s own home as the crowd cheered below.
“What?” Lindon asked.
“I feel like you’ve already pieced it together accurately,” Eithan said. He sagged down onto his personal Thousand-Mile Cloud, groaning as he did. He made a gesture as though to brush hair away from his face, but grimaced as he found his hair short.
“You created a sect in my name.”
“That I did. It was something of a bluff, but you know how it is. Sometimes these things get away from you.”
“I don’t know how to lead a sect!”
“I, of course, considered that you might feel that way. Not a problem at all. I would just like to borrow your image as a figurehead. That might work even better, in its own way; you could be the enigmatic mysterious expert backing our operations from the shadows.”
Lindon gave Eithan a sidelong glance, but the man looked perfectly sincere.
“Apologies, but I thought you would try to trick me into doing it.”
“Lindon! Lindon. Lindon. How dare you say something so hurtful and yet so accurate.”
Lindon continued staring at him, and Eithan’s usual smile faded a bit. “Believe it or not, I had intended to consult you first. I had a plan for a grand reveal and everything. You do like tiger meat, don’t you? Anyway, events got ahead of me, and I had to work quickly to bail out of a complicated situation. I do apologize.”
Lindon shook his head. “No need.”
“What?”
“This is perfect.” Lindon’s mind was whirling. “We had to keep borrowing the name of House Arelius or the Akura clan, but now we can act on our own. You know what we can do with an organization behind us? Besides…” He winced as his enthusiasm was too much for his fractured Remnant arm. “You taught me my cycling technique and guided me in my pure madra techniques. You have more right to the Path of Twin Stars than anyone but me. And Dross.”
Eithan looked from his own bandages to Lindon’s sling. “If I hugged you right now, would that put an awkward strain on our relationship?”
“It would certainly strain our injuries.”
“Then just know that I embrace you in spirit.” Eithan settled down on his cloud. “As you can imagine, many of the people around here no longer have anywhere to belong. And no one in several hundred miles has ever had a real sacred arts education. We need teachers, and refiners, and more resources…but most of all, we need somewhere to settle that doesn’t have the word ‘desolate’ in its name. Or Dreadgods lurking nearby.”
“I assume we’ll use whatever portal you brought Windfall through.” That hadn’t even struck Lindon as odd. When he’d seen the cloud fortress appear out of nowhere, Eithan’s presence had been the only explanation Lindon needed. Clearly, Eithan had set up some kind of transportation between here and Moongrave, or had bartered with the Monarch.
Eithan became interested in his own fingernails. “As…eager as I am to claim credit for that, it actually crawled out of a shadow without warning or explanation. I begin to wonder if Malice has some kind of grudge against me.”
“Why? Sending the fortress back was a favor.”
“It was my shadow that it popped out of.”
Presumably Lindon’s family had been aboard; he could sense them nearby. Not that their presence was entirely a relief. They would have been perfectly safe in Moongrave.