“Alright, girl, you can have your stupid meeting, but if ANYONE misbehaves, I start forcing people to be my husband, alright?”
“That is a really weird threat…” Phovos muttered as she, Phovoula, Vekeus and Arkay entered the Pink Paradise, Sini’s Life Oasis.
“Well, I haven’t fucked a Voidborn yet and I’m itching to screw something new. A misbehaving Voidborn sounds like a great idea. Just make sure everyone is on their best fucking behaviour.”
“Don’t worry, Sini!” Phovos smiled. “They’ll behave. We have an Arkay here, he’s the scariest thing around.”
“Why is Arkay here anyway?” Sini asked.
“Protection, kinda…” Arkay shrugged. “But we should get going. We have a lot to talk about.”
The others all nodded. Sini pointed to a large, round table in the far corner of the oasis, which already had several Voidborns gathered around it. Almost everyone had arrived, but there was one extra face and two people noticeably missing.
“Are Theocydes and Staton not here yet?” Vekeus exclaimed as he approached, and Arkay fetched some extra chairs.
“Staton wanted to learn how to fly a ship, so he and Theocydes have been delayed somewhat!” Kesistatiir, the last Stolen Prince and probably the most powerful Voidborn present, grunted.
“I see… I also see we have a couple… of new faces, I guess?”
Before the unknown Voidborns could introduce themselves, there was a sudden rush as Staton appeared and quickly sat down next to Kesistatiir.
“Is everything alright, kid?”
Staton shook his head. “I did a bad thing. I dented Theocydes’s ship by hitting a rock.”
“Eh, it happens!” Vekeus sat down. “Everyone dings their ship when they’re new to flying.”
“I am sure it’s fine!” Phovoula smiled as she sat down as well, but not before giving Phovos a quick kiss. Not being a Voidborn, she wanted to just leave Phovoula to her work. Phovos waved then left, but Arkay remained present, somewhat looking on.
“So, we’re all here, I think? Might need a few introductions though…”
The Voidborns all nodded in agreement, apart from Kesistatiir. He gestured at Arkay and grunted.
“That is not a Voidborn.”
“I can turn into a Voidborn, and I’m also one of the leaders of the Thantir. There’s a bunch of Voidborns in our territories, I kinda need to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
Kesistatiir eyed Arkay. “You can turn into a Voidborn?”
“Yes.”
“It is not just shapeshifting?”
“No. I legitimately can become a Voidborn.”
“Prove it.” Kesistatiir clearly didn’t believe him.
“Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
Arkay frowned. “I should have shut my mouth, but fine…”
After some brief hesitation, Arkay closed his eyes and concentrated. A few seconds passed and nothing happened, but all of a sudden, Arkay grew quite a bit, and metal armour plating formed across his body. With an odd click, suddenly, Arkay was gone, and Statarkon stood in his place.
“Is this proof enough, Stolen Prince?” Statarkon growled.
“That… is terrifying…” Vekeus muttered. “You’re essentially not Arkay any more.”
“No. I am technically a different entity. I call myself Statarkon when I am like this.”
“Well… alright then!” Vekeus perked up. “Anyway, let’s get on with the introductions. Because I can see that Theocydes has just arrived and he has no idea that you can turn into a Voidborn, Arkay.”
Theocydes had just arrived, but he was more surprised to see the other horned Voidborn with randomly coloured eyes.
“Hello, Tasocydus.”
“Hello, Theocydes. I did not know you lived out here and had Voidborn allies.”
“Parts of the Kinigian Wilderness have been my territory for a while now. However, I am wondering if I am going to have to share with you all. Apart from you, Lyssandros. I thought you were culted?”
Lyssandros looked like a pretty standard Voidborn, but he had purple eyes and strips of silver going across the black parts of his armour, and his mask was more like a medieval helmet. “I was removed from the Silvered Sanctifiers for approaching a universe looking to save myself from being consumed by Corruption. I am technically Adogtic now. I think we all are.”
“We are, yes,” Statarkon growled slightly. “Although theoretically, Vekeus, Phovoula and myself are part of the Thantir ‘cult’… I understand that you all do not want to be part of a cult or a sect, but an alliance would allow us to all protect each other, and you can come to the Thantir for aid if needed.”
“That’s basically what we want, but I also want to more neatly chop up the area, so we all have a piece of territory and we protect that,” Vekeus explained further. “Sure, Theocydes does have his territory to the north, and Phovoula has the Athata Rift, but I want to connect our territories together, and also provide space for Tasocydus, Lyssandros and little Staton, so we can all have a home and a territory that we keep clear of Corruption. Combined with the work that the local Decay Lords do, we could completely clear parts of this sector.”
“I would like to go back to Corruption Purging…” Lyssandros sighed. “It was always my duty, but I do not know where to start these days. With your blessings, I would like a territory, along the pentacluster borders, where I could start anew.”
Tasocydus nodded in agreement. “I would graciously accept a piece of territory along that same border. Lyssandros and I are cut from similar cloth, just from different sects.”
“As long as it does not cut into my territories, I am fine with creating a network…” Theocydes tutted. “I already gave up a chunk of space so Phovoula could protect the Athata Rift, I do not want to give up any more.”
“That’s fine!” Vekeus smiled some more. “The Ventra Expanse is mostly empty. There’s plenty of space there for everyone. As far as I’m concerned, Theocydes, you and Phovoula can share the Kinigian Wilderness. And if we can make this alliance work, we can also ally with the Thantir proper, meaning they will stop other sects, like those terrifying Pentathax, from attacking us. The Goldtorn Remains, the Alsyrian Sea and the Justarian Circle may be forever out of bounds, but the Kinigian Wilderness, the Ventra Expanse and maybe even further south and west, they’ll be safer. Not just for us, for everyone, if our Purges go as planned.”
Theocydes settled down. “That is reasonable. Those foreign Decay Lords to bother me. And safety is rare out here… So… shall we start writing out the details? Assuming we are all in agreement?”
All the Voidborns present nodded.
“Wonderful. Did any of you bring paper and pens?”
“Of course we did, you doofus!” Vekeus grinned as he snapped his fingers and pulled out a vast wad of paper. “Let’s get to work on a better future for us Unhomed…”