Mage And Wolf
Chapter 207

Chapter 207: Chapter 207

What we find is a Cultivation Sect, and a very large and busy one at that. A steady stream of people in matching uniforms are going in and out of the walled compound and guards patrol the area.

"Hey, I don’t sense anyone at the Divine level other than you lot." I say quietly to Beta John and the Priestesses.

"That might be correct, usually everyone who reaches divinity leaves Immortal worlds like this, or the mixed rank mortal worlds your Shadowed Blade Sect is from the moment they advance." John informs me. He must have done a little digging into my background before coming back to pick me up.

"I don’t sense, or smell any divine level beings either. So we shouldn’t have too many problems getting an audience." He shrugs, clearly not wanting to be the one creating the plan today.

"Got it, let’s go say hello." I stand up, still in my Royal Robes after exploring the temple, and begin walking towards the main road to the Sect.

"What exactly are you doing, Highness?" The green Priestess hisses at me, fighting not to simply fold to the authority of my rank as High Priestess. They are the ones in charge here after all.

"Do you think they’re actually going to refuse a Dragon Royal and a pair of Priestesses in the Divine Realm with their retinue? Of course they’re going to send a bunch of Elders to greet us at the door and then we can negotiate for what we want, or I can destroy the Sect. My mate is an Arcane Mage, and he taught me a really great spell I’m sure I can actually materialize now that I’m in the Immortal Realm."

At least, I understand the theory, and if I focus it feels like I should be able to do it using Death Energy. What was it Karl said, something about ’The secret to advanced magic is advanced science. The more you understand reality the easier you can change it.’

It’s not like cultivation worlds teach atomic theory, so this one should be a surprise to them all.

Resigned to my idea now that the first few people have started to notice us, we head down the road at a brisk pace. The Robes let me glide along, but the Priestesses are at a jog to keep up and the Lycans are taking long, loping strides. Not entirely graceful, but cultivators seem to run everywhere they go, as if they’re in a hurry to get things done before forever ends. Even the ones here are all running around, and they’re at home.

We’re greeted at the gates by three elders, one man of the Dragonkin race and two female humans. They don’t have the vicious look of high level martial cultivators, and they don’t carry a miasma of Death Energy, so they should be fairly safe.

"Greetings Highness, and Divine Priestesses. Welcome to the Rose Glass Sect. What might bring such esteemed guests to our gates?" The man says with a small bow.

"We’re sent by the Dragon Council to retrieve a relic. We believe one or more of the fragments is currently within your Sect." The Priestess says plainly and the man looks panicked.

"We’re authorized to compensate you for its recovery." I add and he looks a little less worried. In the worlds full of cultivators, might equals rights, so strong arming the weak to get what you want is the usual order of business. The Green Priestesses are gentle compared to most, but the orders of the Dragon Council don’t usually include much mercy.

The Gold is greedy, the Black and Red are violent, the Blue, Silver and White are indifferent on most material matters, so really it’s only the Green representative as the voice for moderation most of the time.

"Might we come in, Sect Master? It’s been a long run and I could do with some tea." I smile at him and he bows back with a soft smile after seeing my necklace with its gold, black and purple braided pattern indicating my species is Immortal by birth. If it works the same here as it did in the Divine Realm we came here from that should help smooth things over, instead of using cultivation alone as their guide.

"My Apologies Highness. Please follow me to the sitting room and I will have refreshments brought out." his voice is much more pleasant now, so I’m counting this as a negotiating win for me.

I smile at the others as we enter and they look more than a bit shocked by my actions, clearly they’re used to Black High Priestesses being the "Kill everything first, look for answers in the rubble" sorts of people.

[How did you become a High Priestess of the Death God anyhow] Beta John mind links be and I giggle at his confusion.

[A couple million dead in an afternoon on a mortal world without cultivators] I respond with a mental shrug and he trips over his own feet in shock, almost falling in his face before being caught.

"Apologies, a notification through the pack link took me by surprise." He says to the Sect Master.

"I’ve heard they can be quite alarming, just a mental image suddenly appearing in your mind." The Sect Master agrees, opening the door to a sturdy stone building with beautiful stained glass windows.

"Please, have a seat on the sofa, the tea will be ready in a moment." He turns his back to begin setting out the cups and I pop an antidote pull in my mouth, making Beta John grin at me. He’s probably not going to try to poison me, but you never know.

Even I can sense the Divine relic from here, it’s probably in this very building, and the fragment is resonating with the shard I have in my storage ring.

"Our own blend of Chai tea. I do hope it’s to your liking Highness. Might I ask, are you a Temple Royal or a Council Royal?" he asks, setting cups in front of me and the two Priestesses.

A Council Royal is family to a member of the Dragon Council, what Earth would call a political elite family. Lesser Royalty due to their family’s vast wealth and social standing, best known for being a political connection to the council. They’re often not clergy at all, but secular members of the family. The actual council members are simply known as Councilors and rank equal to the Avatars, who are their theological counterpart and enforce Dragon law, but don’t rule over territory.

A Temple Royal is one chosen by a Temple’s Divine Guardian Relic, or a specific dragon God, to represent them in a Realm or territory. I’m not sure which of the two actually picked me, but I suspect it was the Goddess nominating Karl and I for Earth, as the Temple Ruins we found picked it’s own afterwards.

"A Temple Royal, and Second Rank High Priestess of the Death God." I respond pleasantly and now it’s his turn to choke on the most excellent Chai tea. Which God I follow isn’t immediately apparent in the Royal Robes after all.

"Yeah, that was our response when we found out too. It just doesn’t seem to fit until you see her in battle." John says in a consoling voice.

"Congratulations, which Temple might you represent?" he asks, recovering his composure.

"The Goddess chose me and another, my mate, to represent her in a Mortal Realm known as Earth, and establish a Temple city called Arcana." I respond formally, proud of my new hometown. There aren’t any other Death God Temples that I know of on Earth, so we technically get a whole planet worth of bragging rights for our Goddess.

"Not a Mortal Realm I am familiar with, but my highest congratulations nonetheless. Temple nobles are a precious thing." More Elders have come in as we talk and I can sense the relic has moved towards us.