Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 31: Season Finale (Accompany Me...)

Kashi then looked out into the seated crowd. His mind, sharpened through his breakthrough to expert pilot, only took a tenth of a second to identify everyone present. First, the kings of Serisis, Aygorzi, and Rosendun, Chu Tianjo, Anton Xafier, and Parissius Vermillion graced the very center of the first row directly opposite Kashi.

Intriguingly, the kings chose to seat next to each other, forgoing the normal formalities of seating next to their individual parties.

Looking on from the kings, Kashi noticed Twilight Wolves' top personnel. Absalon, Jade, Stryke, Syèl, Shokō, Miote and many more. He even spotted a rare figure, JWSilver, the young man who had been put in charge of developing the islands south of Rosendun. Even though Kashi did not pay much attention to the daily running, Leila had dropped some hints about the man's amazing work. Aside from the Wolves, Kashi also noticed the leaders of several guilds, both in Rosendun and outside who had chosen to ally, or at least befriend the Wolves. However, all of these people paled in comparison to the three orcs who stood at the back of the room, their towering presence and the blood feud sparking amongst them a deterrent to any who dared to come close.

Kashi only needed one look at Durst to know that he had not forgiven Renark's sin in the slightest. However, there was a strange calmness in the experienced orc's eyes that spoke of something Kashi had yet to discover. Beside him, Renark watched Kashi closely while Ragnar leaned against a pillar, clearly the most relaxed of the trio.

Looking around the room brought memories rushing back. It was akin to a microcosm of the perilous, but exciting journey the Maggots took to mature into roaring Wolves.

Kashi found himself oddly pumped up, his blood seemingly rushing faster as he took a step forward and bowed before the crowd. Standing up straight, he looked around the room and then carelessly raised his hand in a casual greeting, "Yo."

The draconian's blasé attitude drew a round of laughter from the crowd, helping to ease the rising tension. Seeing the much more relaxed smiles, Kashi grinned. "Good Day, everyone. Thank you one and all for taking time out of your busy schedules to gather here. I know we all have a lot on our plates, so I will not waste time. The purpose of this meeting is to chart the future course of the Twilight Wolves. We will also explore some of the initiatives the guild will be kicking off in Rosendun, Serisis and Merriheim. We asked the rulers to come precisely so we can obtain your permissions in real-time. It will also afford you the opportunity to ask any questions."

Kashi took a moment to survey the room. Seeing that he had everyone's rapt attention, he continued, "First on our agenda is the expansion effort." The various kings and their advisers visibly tensed. There was no secret that, while the Twilight Wolves lacked in numbers compared to the power of the union, the guild had proven it had an uncanny ability to annex entire countries into Rosendun. Furthermore, they had done so, both with force, and with honey, showcasing the guilds' diversity.

After a short break, Kashi chuckled and said with a shrug, "In regards to our expansion effort, the Twilight Wolves will be scaling back our activities by a large margin to focus on internal growth and stability." The draconian smiled when he saw the confused, apprehensive faces around the room. He could see them wondering if the Twilight Wolves wanted to rest on their laurels now that they were ahead.

They could not be more wrong.

"We are scaling back our expansion, not out of cowardice, but for two main reasons. First, the Northern and Western fronts are about to become massive warzones. With their Transcendents at the helm, Chaos Order will begin their war for expansion in earnest, starting with the dwarven territories of Daggerfall and the Northern mountains of Markoth. Meanwhile, Ederwood, eager to prevent Chaos Order's expansion, will most likely meet them on the battlefields of Daggerfall. Finally, the Imperium will not sit idly by while it is surrounded by enemies on all fronts. I expect she too will launch an attack, if only to prevent the Chaos Order from taking over her ally, Markoth."