The Vision of Light (IC) Continued

[Jade_Tarem]

Locke maintained a frown, if a pretty one. At least, it seemed to be a frown, though it was hard to tell behind the half-mask. She seemed to be thinking something over. The time it took her to do so was enough to carry them out of the big square and down another several roads, though Locke showed no signs of stopping the wagon. Nexus seemed to go on forever.

Finally, she spoke. "You've run into the Guild before, right? Yes, you passed through Shadowholt and lived in Emdar, so you must have at least heard of them. I guarantee that you've worked for them if you ever were part of a street gang like the Jade Marks, though maybe not directly. They are an extranational mercantile organization interested in anything and everything that can make money. Profit is the first, last, and only thing that matters to them. They are not... not the most wicked group of all time, but they hurt countless innocent people from one end of Creation to the other. Many years ago... I was one of them, and that's all I'm going to say about that. After my Second Breath, I made it my mission to try to counter their influence in the East."

"It started well. You've seen my power at work, turning a bunch of desperate, recently-freed refugee/slaves into an orderly evacuation. It doesn't take me much longer to restructure a city-sized organization, and that's exactly what I did at first. I would go from town to village to major trade hub, find the Guild, or whatever front-businesses the Guild was using, and turn them into more honest and charitable enterprises. It was satisfying work, everyone loved me, because of course they do, and it was all so easy." The Zenith sighed. "Too easy, as it turned out."

Locke fiddled with the reins as she continued. "It started when I eventually, on a whim, doubled back to one of the earlier cities. The Guild was back in business, exactly as they were before. I started investigating, and that's when I found out that I wasn't the first person to try this stunt. The Realm has been attempting to gain direct control of the Guild for centuries, using less raw Essence, but more money and manpower, and the Guild has long had a way to compensate for Essence Users trying to interfere in their business. They don't fight back directly, because it won't work, so they just... let them win. Then, when the Essence User moves on, they move back in and rebuild using the resources they would have used uselessly fighting. They have a huge 'strategic reserve' for exactly that purpose." She took a deep breath. "At first I didn't want to believe it. I'm a Solar! I wasn't going to be beaten by a bunch of crooks and merchants. So I started up a circuit. Ten towns. At first, I was able to keep ten towns and cities free of the Guild influence. They stepped up their capital expenditure. Ten towns became too many. That was also when the attacks started - I'm not a fighter by Solar standards, but I'm still more than a match for any gang of thugs. I think they just wanted to keep me off balance and angry, and they mostly used their more 'disposable' slaves for it. Wanted to rub in the fact that I wasn't even hurting them when I killed their goons, I guess. Anyway, I shrank my circuit to seven towns. They stepped up operations again. Five towns. Three. Finally, I said 'screw it' and camped out in just one city. That was what they'd been waiting for. They called in the Wyld Hunt, and I've been on the run from that ever since."

The Zenith looked over at Titus as the wagon finally rolled to a stop outside the Wrong Note Inn. "That was when I knew I would need to change my game, gather more power, and try a different strategy. Hence, I started looking for people to help me plunder my old tomb. Well, what is probably my old tomb. Then I'll take on Boss Kaji... oh, that's right. I didn't answer your question. Boss Kaji, a.k.a. the Vice Admiral, is the leader of Guild Operations here in Nexus. I've never actually met him or, gosh, her, but he or she is the one setting policy for the Guild. If I can't beat them by fighting them at the fringes, I'll take apart their organization at its heart." She grinned for the first time since Titus last spoke, and hopped off the wagon. "I'll go take care of room and board for us. Why don't you take the wagon around to the lot? Anything you'd like to ask before I go in?"