The Beastland councillor Yaten Raisei’s manor was, in a word, garish. Gold and silver foil were used in abundance, the pillars were decorated in jewels, and each paver was itself a luxuriously cut stone in its own right. It was a single-floor manor done in the traditional timber style of the beastkin people, but it was nonetheless so offensively tasteless that people’s eyes were drawn to it even when they desired nothing more than to look away.
In a room at the far end of the manor was a finely crafted, ostentatiously decorated chair. Upon said chair, sitting cross-legged, was Yaten Raisei. He’d just received a report from a subordinate he had been paying under the table, and the news was not good. His brow furrowed.
Yaten’s subordinate had worked discreetly in the plains for many years now. They had surveyed to ascertain its full breadth, investigated the current size of the onikin population, and even cajoled a few to make insider connections. Yaten wanted to ensure the plains could be put to use should the time come, but his subordinate now reported that all their preparations were falling to pieces.
The Peijin family, for one, had been aiding Yaten, but he could no longer rely on them. Then his onikin insiders had cut ties.
To make matters worse, Baarbadal had now built a gigantic border station, blocking Yaten’s spies from any further access. It had always been Yaten’s plan to maintain a quiet watch over the grassy plains, but the people of Baarbadal had been growing like weeds. They’d reached out to establish connections. Then of course, there had been the earth dragons...
Any more than this, Yaten realized, could spell trouble. He feared that the shifting winds of change might stretch as far as even his own home. He wondered if he had made the wrong decision.
Should he have been more active in setting up his plans? No—that would not have been easy with Kiko involved, and more so now with her allied with the people of Baarbadal. In truth, no matter how much Yaten thought about it, he did not know the right course of action.
If Peijin & Co. were to fall in line and offer support, much would be settled right then and there, but their movements of late—especially recently—told Yaten this would not be likely. It was also unwise to take action against a trading company of such size. Yaten still had options, but all were forceful in nature, and thus came with substantial risk. The nation struggled with a great many domestic issues, and as such Yaten was hesitant to take unnecessary risks.
It was a conundrum. Yaten felt as though his hands were tied—any action would only lead to greater problems in the future. And yet, to do nothing offered little solace.
And so Yaten sat, stewed, and labored.
After days of thinking over the problems, Yaten finally settled on a direction. He did not think it terrible if a small number of beastkin and Peijin & Co. sided with Baarbadal—he could still prevent any growing influence. Furthermore, he could slowly squeeze Peijin & Co., eventually drawing them to his side.
But he would make no big, forceful moves. He would move slowly, decisively...
With his mind made up, Yaten got to work. But it was not until a few weeks after his plans were in motion that Yaten heard the news that Dias and the Peijins had encountered a heretofore unknown god...and later, in hindsight, Yaten would very much regret his course of action.
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“If he gets too friendly with that group, it’s going to be trouble.”
The man spat his words with venom as he stared at something in the darkness. But when he received a reply, it was not at all what he expected.
“Huh? That’s what they’re there for?!” he spluttered. “What the heck?! Nobody told me that!”
The darkness spoke, and the man did not bother to hide his frustration.
“What?! Testing him?! What in the world are you even saying?! Why would you—”
The man was livid, but in response to his expressive rage, the darkness spoke calmly, a cool that only served to stoke the man’s anger. It was a fury that took quite some time to burn out.