Later that afternoon, with the sun already nearing the end of its lazy arc across the sky, Ashlock gathered everyone on the mountain's eastern side, including Douglas, who had been busy with the Mudcloaks all day, so he only had to explain this once.
"To answer your question from hours ago, Diana, this is a Skyborne Bastion," Ashlock said through {Abyssal Whispers}. "Effectively, it's a floating island controlled by either myself or the demonic tree linked to the Bastion's Core. Which, in this case, is Willow, who is a spatial affinity tree. While under Willow's control, the most it can do is float around as his Star Core is far too weak to power the shields or artillery for long."
"The what now?" Diana squinted at the floating black rock that resembled an asteroid with a tree growing on top. "Shields? Artillery? All I see is a floating rock."
"The Bastion has a powerful shield and flowers that sprout from its side that can launch attacks. Due to Willow's affinity, the shield and the artillery flowers will use spatial Qi."
"So what's with the lake of ink? This wasn't here last time." Stella had used Spatial Step to appear on the edge of the ink lake and crouched down to place a hand on one of the giant eggs that Ashlock had looted from the Midnight Inkwing's pocket realm. "And what is this—" Stella twisted her body to avoid Kaida, who rocketed past her and bellyflopped into the ink lake.
"Hey!" Stella yelled as she jumped back to avoid being splashed by the wave of ink.
Kaida stuck his tongue at Stella as he lazily floated around. His body blended so well that it would be hard to see him if not for his golden eyes.
"I stole these eggs from the pocket realm Kaida had visited," Ashlock explained while suppressing a chuckle at their antics, "They apparently belong to a divine beast called the Midnight Inkwing, and after eating many eggs, Kaida also evolved into a variant of it."
"Does that mean Kaida is now a divine beast?" Stella squinted at Kaida, who splashed her in return. If not for her using Spatial Step in time to avoid it, Stella's white clothes would have been stained.
"Yes, there is now divine blood flowing through that rascal's veins... wait, he doesn't even have veins anymore... or blood. Kaida is just divine ink taking on the shape of a Lindwyrm." Ashlock laughed, "I only now realized how strange that is."
"So... what are you planning to do with these eggs?" Stella asked while glaring at Kaida, "I bet they taste amazing."
"Not sure, to be honest." Ashlock admitted, "I was thinking of giving a few to Larry to eat to see if he also acquires divinity, and even if it doesn't, the Qi stored in these eggs alone should push him closer to his next evolution."
"We could try and hatch one or two of them?" Elaine suggested.
"Your thirst for research hasn't been satisfied yet?" Ashlock joked. "I saw you trying to kidnap a Mudcloak earlier."
"I... did no such thing." Elaine looked down and kicked her foot against the ground. "I just wanted a little look, is all."
"No kidnapping the little guys," Stella joked, "Actually, Douglas, how can you be here? How are the Mudcloaks doing?"
"I left them in Larry's care for a bit," Douglas laughed, but his eyes showed exhaustion from ordering around the Mudcloaks for the last few hours. "They are settling in and have already begun working on the staircase and their living area. Moss was also planted all along the walls, so they are good for a few minutes. So I came here to check out this floating island thing as I was deeply curious about it."
"Well, that's good because I actually needed your help making a second one," Ashlock told Douglas, "You see that smaller tree that's sprouting out of the ink lake?"
"Yes?"
"I wanted to make an ink affinity Bastion for Kaida, so I will need to move that tree and all this ink to a new piece of rock, which I can turn into a Bastion. It will serve as a place for Kaida to cultivate and maybe even as a library since he gets more powerful by reading books." Ashlock explained, and Douglas nodded thoughtfully throughout.
"So this bastion won't be combat-focused?" Douglas asked.
"I was thinking of using Willow for exploration and combat while this new ink affinity Bastion would stay nearby and be used defensively." Ashlock said, "So it will still have shields and artillery and capable of combat, but it will mostly remain here and serve as a refuge for Kaida."
"Got it," Douglas nodded. "Does the shape and size of the Bastion matter?"
"Keep it under 30 meters long and ten meters wide if possible," Ashlock replied, as that was the minimum size of a Bastion, and any larger required more sacrificial credits. "After you are done with the ink Bastion, I would also like Willow's Bastion to be outfitted with rooms within so someone like Stella can cultivate inside while it's traveling."
Douglas wiped his brow, "Okay, got it. I might need to ask some Mudcloaks to help me, as this is a lot for one person. Is that fine?"
"Absolutely." Ashlock replied, "I expended much effort and resources to bring them back here to help you, as there's a lot of work to be done."
Elaine interlocked her hand with Douglas's and smiled at him, "Make sure to work hard, okay?"
Douglas narrowed his eyes at her, "You just want to see what the Mudcloaks are capable of, don't you?"
Elaine looked away without replying, but her face said it all. The woman's thirst for knowledge was as boundless as the ink lake in the Midnight Inkwing's hatchery.
Douglas sighed and released his hand from Elaine's grasp. With a grunt, he jumped onto the Bastion, walked around the lake, and stood close to the demonic sapling.
The sapling hadn't yet taken on ink affinity as it was too young and weak, but if it stayed in that ink lake for a while longer, it would naturally take on ink affinity. Ashlock could then use {Skyborne Bastion} to leapfrog its cultivation to the Star Core Realm.
"Should I remove it now?" Douglas asked.
Ashlock gave him the go-ahead, so Douglas placed his palms on the ground, and the ink lake rippled as the sapling was pushed upwards.
Once its small roots were free from the rock, Ashlock could pick it up easily with telekinesis and float it above the lake. "Kaida, gather the ink in the lake and follow the floating tree," Ashlock said as he also picked up the eggs and began moving the tree and eggs toward the south.
Kaida grew rapidly as he absorbed the ink in the lake, and once he was thrice as big, he gathered the rest of the ink in a swirling ball above his head. He looked bloated as he slithered and pulled himself forward with his two arms.
Ashlock found a somewhat empty part of the mountain to the south. Since it was quite a long walk for everyone, he created a portal on Red Vine Peak, which Douglas and Kaida went through. Ashlock also sent his Ents to guard the ink lake and the eggs.
He would take the eggs and put them in his inventory or keep them close, but he was pretty sure their growth would be stunted if he removed them from an ink source. So heavy protection was needed.
Khaos, Zeus, Titus, and Sol lumbered through the portal and stood guard in a square formation around the area while Douglas made a giant hole for the tree to be lowered into. Once the tree was settled and roots buried into the rock, Kaida spewed ink from his mouth and dumped the swirling ball above his head into the hole the tree was in to reform a lake.
Douglas stretched his back and cracked his knuckles, "Alright, Kaida, tell me what design you want, and I'll make it."
Kaida slapped his tail on the ground and hissed happily at Douglas. Clearly, the Lindwyrm approved of being the designer. After thinking for a moment, Kaida began meticulously drawing on the stone with his claw using ink, and Douglas crouched down and inspected it.
Occasionally, Douglas would suggest a change or ask for clarification, but all seemed to be going well, so Ashlock returned his sights to Red Vine Peak.
During the day, while Douglas had been busy with the Mudcloaks, Ashlock had spoken at length with Diana and Elaine about their experiences during the Mystic Realm. They had told him what happened to them at length, and Ashlock learned a lot about the nine realms of creation.
It had given him much to ponder concerning his system and greater goals in life. It also made him even more curious about Kane Azurecrest and his potential connection to the Azure clan. With the others back, now was a good time to go and ask him.
"Stella and Diana, do you mind going and asking Kane Azurecrest about his potential connections to the Azure Clan?" Ashlock asked the two girls. He decided to send both because Stella had a habit of causing problems whenever she went to deal with something alone.
"Sure, he wanted to speak to me about pills anyway," Stella replied as she summoned her sword and hopped onto it, "Shall we fly over there, Diana?"
Feathered wings sprouted from Diana's back, and she nodded, "Let's race there." She flapped her wings once, vaulted into the sky, and began soaring toward the distant White Stone Palace, leaving a trail of demonic mist as she went.
Stella clicked her tongue, "That's cheating." A portal manifested before Stella, and she rocketed through it. Once it snapped closed, it was just Elaine left on the mountain peak.
Whistling to herself, she turned on her heel and began casually walking toward the Citadel.
"What are you planning to do this evening, Elaine?" Ashlock asked.
Elaine froze like a deer in headlights. "Just... going to check up on the Mudcloaks is all." She gulped, "And then I will head to the Dreamweaver Orchid grove to cultivate my illusion Qi."
"Good plans, but no kidnapping the Mudcloaks. You hear me?"
"Right... sure. No kidnapping."
***
Stella ended up the race's victor and waved away Diana's grumbling about cheating and portals. "You're just a sore loser," Stella laughed as they walked through the White Stone Palace and were shown the entrance to the alchemy cavern by one of the Redclaw youngsters, "You have those majestic wings yet fly slower than a mortal bird."
"I do not," Diana snapped back, which surprised Stella. "Mortal or not, no bird can beat a cultivator abusing portals like you in a race... what?" Diana asked, seeing Stella's reaction. "Something on my face? Why are you looking at me so weirdly."
"Since when did you get so passionate?" Stella grabbed Diana's cheek and wiggled it, "I want my monotone and dulled-eyed Diana back."
Diana slapped Stella's hand away and rolled her eyes, "I only spoke and acted that way because if I didn't suppress everything, I would let my demon form slip. But now that my body is in harmony, I have no need to worry about such a thing."
"Don't talk too much in the presence of the Redclaws," Ashlock's voice echoed through their mind, and the two exchanged a knowing look as they fell silent.
"Here we are, Princess Stella," the Redclaw girl that led them gave her a smile as she opened the runic hatch.
"Thank you," Stella took the lead and descended a winding staircase. The floral scent of the cavern hit her nose immediately, and her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting from the luminescent mushrooms overhead.
After walking down some more steps, she soon came upon a platform still high above the cavern floor below where a teen with hair equal part white and crimson was hunched over a cauldron fruit ablaze with orange soul flames.
"Kane Azurecrest, I heard you wanted to talk to me?" Stella said while tapping his shoulder.
"What? Ah?" Kane pulled away from the cauldron and glanced wide-eyed between Stella and Diana.
"T-The Princess and demon in service to the immortal," He threw himself into a deep bow, "Allow me to welcome you to the alchemy cavern."
"Rise," Stella crossed her arms beneath her chest. "Elder Margret informed me a week ago that you wished to speak to me regarding pills?"
"Ah yes," Kane straightened up and parted his long hair, "I was wondering if I could become your apprentice—"
"Denied."
Kane seemed momentarily stunned, but Stella didn't care. She had zero interest in taking on some apprentice when she wasn't even a master herself. She had recently picked up alchemy and found the twins Oliver and Olivia annoying enough.
"Why..." Kane Azurecrest's shoulders sagged. "My cultivation has grown and is nearing the peak of the Soul Fire Realm as I've been nourishing my nocturne with fire affinity pills, and I've improved a lot at alchemy in such a short time." He looked into her eyes like some lost dog, "Am I not good enough?"
"I just don't like people," Stella shrugged, "I find them bothersome."
"Oh..."
"Also, as I told Elder Margret, I am taking a break from making pills to focus on my swordsmanship," Stella said.
"Could you teach me swordsmanship then?"
Is this guy an idiot? Stella thought as she glared at him.
"Ahem," Diana coughed into her hand to draw their attention, "We also came to ask if you knew or had any connections to the Azure Clan?"
It took a moment for Kane to recompose himself, but eventually, he faced Diana, "Not personally. I have heard of them before from the Elders. Apparently, we descended from them, or were some runaway family? The details are muddled as it's one Elder's words against another."
"Maybe you should take him on as an apprentice," Ashlock said within Stella's mind. "A dual fire and wind cultivator holds a lot of potential for destruction during the beast tide, and he may prove useful when dealing with the Azure Clan in the future. What do you think?"
"I think I hate that idea," Stella muttered under her breath.
