Ripples of fate

There were seven major factions in the Magical Court: Serpent Order (bloodline acolytes), Arcane Order (craftsmen), the Silver Union (merchants), the Noble Order (nobles), Light Adventurer Guild (explorers), Redhood brotherhood (mercenaries) and Shadow Guild (assassins).

Each one of those seven major factions possessed tremendous connections and power, as well as an advanced rank acolyte. If an eighth advanced rank acolyte emerged in one of those factions, the balance would be broken and terrifying wars would follow soon after. If there was an eighth advanced rank acolyte emerging outside of this faction, there would be two options: either the fall of one of the seven major factions, or an eighth faction emerging.

In Lewis' past life, his break through to the advanced rank allowed the Crimson Clan to trample on the Silver Union and take their spots. This time around, however, he hoped to raise the Crimson Clan without a faction war, as it almost always ended with hundreds of deaths and loss of years of accumulation in terms of wealth.

Unknown to him, Janna was actually receiving Elder Kayle, one of the seven advanced rank acolyte of the tower, and the leader of the arcane order. He was known for his empire of magic craftsmen under his wing, as well as his monopoly over several fields, such as alchemy, smithery and enchantments. The wealth he accumulated over the years allowed him to build a pseudo-magus tower, that even the greedy magus Andrew Anderson looked at with envy. Even if he wanted to, breaking into this tower could not be done with regular magus-level power, considering the thousands of enchantments that had been built onto it over centuries, improved from generations to generations for the past hundreds of years, passed down from leader of the arcane faction to the next leader.

As the oldest faction in the tower, the Arcane faction was a mastodonte, that no faction could compare to in terms of wealth accumulation or legacy, the Arcane Tower being the symbol of what mountains of magic crystals could be turned into, provided with enough time and masters swearing fealty.

However strong the Arcane Faction had become over the generations, it had always lacked vassals, and more importantly, fighters. They were skilled, but lacked acolytes capable of fighting. It was not weak, by any means, and it certainly could fight other major factions to a standstill, as long as they stayed within their tower, that is. If they ever tried to fight outside in the Island of Bones, they would without a doubt lose to any of the seven major factions, but at the same time, none of the seven factions could even scratch that tower of theirs. 

The Arcane faction was a very mysterious organization, one that Lewis only seldomly interacted with in the past.

"You have grown, Janna", Elder Kayle said softly, "To think there would be a day when you would ask me for a favour, not as a desperate acolyte looking for a regent elixir, but as the leader of a growing faction. I just heard that you recruited a couple beginner rank acolytes in the past month. Congratulations"

Janna smiled: "Oh, if only you knew...Dozens were at my doorstep, but I only recruited four. They have to possess a minimum standard of strength and values to join us..."

Elder Kayle squinted in disdain: "Profane values, they are..."

He paused for a moment, and Janna continued: "I did not ask you for a favour, however. I want the help of your subordinates to move out of the Magical Court Castle"

The elder titled his head with a bit of shock. The Island of Bones was a very dangerous place. Even experienced acolytes would not travel in those dire lands without ample preparations, a pathfinder and antidotes. The dangers within the land were so numerous that it claimed the lives of dozens of acolytes every month.

Considering that there were roughly 40 acolytes in the Crimson clan, this told a lot about the dangers of the island. 

Only two major factions had established themselves outside of the Magic Court Castle, one being the Serpent Union, the other being the Shadow Union. One was filled with bloodline acolytes more terrifying than the creatures living there, the other having created an array that made them very hard to find. There were a couple of other factions that tried to do so, but the [Nomads], one of the few medium-sized factions in the Magical Court, was completely destroyed overnight, leaving only its leader as a survivor. Overnight, they had been destroyed by a swarm of fire ants.

"You want to establish yourselves outside of the Magical Court?", Elder Kayle asked, "I am sure you have conidered it for a long time, but, we both know that you lack the means of dealing with the advanced-rank creatures on the Island of Bones. I am not saying you are weak. I have seen you battle orcs with your fists in the past, and you have become even more fearsome since. However, the island of Bones is not so easy to live in. Otherwise, there would be no magical court"

Janna smiled: "Since when are you asking for questions? I want to hire five of your golem masters to help us with the construction. We already have dwarves willing to help us construct the Crimson tower. The duration would be one year, and I will personally protect them"

Elder Kayle paused: "I have heard about your...frictions with the Blue Wolf Mercenary Group...According to what I have heard, they have killed two beginner rank acolytes of yours in the past week. From my point of view, you are losing"

Janna smiled: "Oh...believe me, they overstepped their boundaries by killing Urion and Ursula. They will regret it. They were in charge of defending the dwarven mountains, and they died doing so. Sending forces there for extended period of times will only weaken us on the long term, and we won't give up the resource site either"

"Actually, when you called for a favour, I thought you were ready to give up this dwarven settlement of yours...Such workforce unexploited...", Elder Kayle said with a voice devoid of emotion, "But now that I see your eyes, you really seem to have lost reason. You want me to invest not one or two, but five golem masters to help you win a faction war against the Blue Wolf Mercenary Group? What makes you think we are not already supporting your enemies?"

Janna laughed: "Because you have just purchased their White Water Pool from the plains of dreadful abomination. This is actually the reason why they have set their eyes on the crimson clan. I know that you are paying them monthly payments, and still have a lot to pay them. Plus, there has been a few disappearances over the past few months. Crimson clan acolytes are not the only ones targeted. Some of the arcane faction gatherers also disappeared, isn't it?"

Elder Kayle's face became very sharp and disdainful: "Do you have proof of what you are implying here?"

Janna shook her head: "Proof? If I had proof, I would have used it as a bargain chip. But don't tell me you have no suspicions about them. If we take care of the blue wolf mercenary group, you have one less enemy faction to deal with. You might have purchased their resource site, but believe me, they see this as a robbery. Their leader was just too weak to defy you, elder Kayle. I would not have been as lenient as them, just so you know"

Elder Kayle pondered for a moment.

Indeed, this was a golden opportunity for him. He just had to lend a couple of golem masters and most likely a few materials, to deal with an enemy faction. Granted, the blue wolf mercenary group was a small faction, but the arcane faction never was a fighting force. They could always hire the [Noble Order], which they had deep ties with, but their relationship was very costly. The crimson clan, however, was a rising force with a lot of potential. In fact, Elder Kayle was related to Janna, though it was a rare secret that few knew about.

"You have grown up, dear granddaughter", Elder Kayle said with a cruel smile. Though they were bound by blood, there was no affection in his words, no love. It was a mere contract agreement between two faction leaders.