The next morning is much more organized. Everyone knows their spots, and who was sitting near them yesterday, so they naturally gather in groups to enter the meeting hall at first light. Today the Elders are already assembled, the meeting won't be waiting on them, only the official start of the meeting.
There is a series of windows high up the spire atop the building, with mirrors next to them. When the sun enters the window and shines on the mirror, illuminating the Council table, the meeting begins. When the sun leaves the mirrors for the final time, the meeting is over, and it is officially dark out.
It's not that they don't have clocks, but according to Waia they got annoyed at an argument about the actual time at some point in the past and ended up altering the building to have a built-in official timekeeper.
"The sun has reached the table and the meeting is in session. Are there any urgent requests before we begin?" The lead Elder asks, not really expecting a response.
"I have a request for the Council's consideration. In the name of efficiency and cooperation, I would request that the planning for the war zones be split into six sections, headed by six elders with one left to mediate the process. Once each region has reached a plan, I would ask that the Elders present it on behalf of their region to be discussed by the Council as a whole." The old Captain announces, startling everyone.
It has been a long time since someone announced urgent business before the Elders, normally all requests would wait until the first chance to speak instead. But today they can see the logic in doing it before any business got started so that if it was approved it wouldn't waste anyone's time.
"Elders, what do we think of this proposal?" The leader asked, thinking deeply about the idea and who should mediate.
"I approve." The Elders all speak the same words one after another, giving approval to the idea.
"And who should mediate?" The leader asked, already having a person in mind, but being bound by formality to let the others speak first.
"I will. The Floating City is my assigned watch, as well as the spies, so it is only right that the Elders that lead the fleets on the seas should lead the war planning as well." Elder Druzzat announced.
That didn't bring up any objections from the Elders, so the leader put it to a vote.
"Rise now if you're against the plan and not too cowardly to speak." He called into the room, making Cain hide his laughter. He might have forgotten to ask who this old man was, but he sure was amusing.
Cain took a moment to look through the thoughts around him, finding that the leader was Elder Rasoi, who was traditionally in charge of the ships attempting to cross the danger zone to reach the Southern Continent. It was a role always given to the leader since the volume of ships was the lowest, and the leader was also in charge of disputes between Captains and Elders that couldn't be resolved without intervention.
Only a handful of Captains stood up, and Cain could sense that they all had a slightly different plan on how to do this, mostly involving putting themselves in a position of authority. The others seemed to understand that though, and after a few seconds when it became clear that the vote had passed they sat down again without a word said in either direction.
"You need a third of the room to put forward any alternate proposals," Waia whispered to Cain, who nodded his thanks.
This was something like a supermajority, Cain decided. If the idea was popular enough then there was no point in listening to dozens of other ideas. If it was good, but not great, then they would go through all the alternatives even if it passed.
They were just about to begin the assignment of territories when a Guard came running in with a scroll in his hand, headed straight for the leader. He didn't hand him the scroll, he whispered the message directly to him, so the actual scroll must be a symbolic relic of a time before the system.
"We have received a message from the Northern Continent. An attacking fleet has been spotted near the Northern City of Argenta. Who will stand up to defend them?" The leader asked.
Cain stood up, along with Nila, and they were joined by a few other Captains who had major dealings with the city.
"Good. The fleet will set out at once. Honor to you." Elder Rasoi dismissed them.
All of the Captains that were going, as well as their crews, jogged over to where Nila was headed for the doors, getting ready for their own planning meeting.
"There wasn't any detail of enemy strength other than thirty ships of the Giant fleet. We should have enough men here if they're not all Captained by an Awakened transfer." One of the Captains nodded happily, having been informed by text message of the details.
"If it's thirty ships, we should have no problem even if they all are. I can summon a great number of powerful defenders from the sea. We will see how the Giants deal with the Kraken from the Southern Seas." Cain agreed, jogging along beside the others.
"I can open up a large enough field to fast-travel all the ships to the final destination, it is somewhere I've been before," Nila informed the group, preparing the spell as they ran.
"Wait, I may have a better way," Cain announced, calling one clone of Moana to him.
"Moana, I can see in Nila's memory that the docks at Argenta have an offshore travel circle that Nila is familiar with. Can you open a portal to the marked location or is it out of range?" Cain asked so the others could hear.
"Since it is marked with a circle, I can target it without issues, where should I open the portal?" Moana asked, confirming her ability to control space well enough for the task at hand.
"Offshore, near Queen Rose. But it can wait until everyone is assembled near us." Cain informs her.
The Floating City doesn't have a travel circle anywhere in or near it, since it changes locations constantly, and the travel circles that ships can use to instantly move between ports have an immense energy cost and must be inscribed on the sea floor.
Many of the major coastal cities have them, the problem is that almost nobody can use them without the assistance of a large group of spellcasters. They're more of a relic of the prewar era than a functional utility for many cities at this point.
"Gather on us then, and I will have the portal opened. We will be at Argenta within the hour to begin the defense efforts. Queen Rose will spearhead, surrounded by my summons, and everyone else can fall in behind in a wide formation to turn your main guns on the enemy." Cain announced, and the other Captains gave him a nod of agreement before breaking off to board their own ships.
There are no amateur crews in the Wave Rider fleet, so the flotilla is assembled in under two minutes, all with full sails up and ready for war. The crews are already loading the Cannons in preparation and the Wave Rider Shamans are ready with the movement spells, in case the city is already under attack when they arrive.
"Moana, one Portal please, facing the open ocean. If the enemy isn't in sight we will send out scouts." Cain called over the sound of the wind, and a fifty-meter wide portal opened in front of them.
There would be no need to search for the enemy, they could already see the Giants in combat with the ships of the Argenta defense fleet.
"Full speed ahead, run out the Guns, and get ready for summons," Nila called, having battled more than a few times during her journeys.
As soon as they passed through the Portal, the Puppets brought the spells up for maximum speed, and both clones of Nila summoned an army of Water Fae. They now appeared at Legendary, since they got two ranks of increase from Cain's skills over their base Greater Summon Power level, but Cain was quick with a small army of Hammerhead Sharks, upgraded to Mythic using [Versatility].
Sixteen Fae plus thirty-six Sharks, which were each as large as the ships they were to be attacking would be enough to save the defense fleet for sure. The problem was that there was no way to warn them that the Wave Riders had sent out the Ocean Monsters. The best he could do was remind the summons that the defenders weren't enemies, even if they did attack them.
Even with the combination of wind and water magic that the Wave Riders were using, the monsters were much faster than the ships, quickly leaving them behind as the Wave Riders black sails filled the water near the docks, and headed out to the open ocean.
The Giants were not as brave as expected, and the moment the reinforcements arrived they hoisted sails and began to run.
"Summons, don't let them get away, but do let them get beyond the horizon before you eat them," Cain instructed, knowing the sharks would happily oblige.
If they were eaten by ocean monsters after they thought they escaped, then their messages back to their boss wouldn't give away the strength of the force that was sent to deal with them. With a bit more luck, they should be able to complete the same ambush a few more times before the fleets loyal to this Drakon fellow caught on.
