Book 2. Chapter 25: War in the Alliance

Book 2. Chapter 25: War in the Alliance

Jake finished plating his cooked snacks, and brought them into their living room. The girls were all gathered around their table, taking a sort-of break from training. Theyd play some games later, but for now

Did you get the chips, Jake? I feel like I can really get my mind in the right place if I have my favorite snack

I got them, Ophelia, dont worry.

I made those! Jake showed me how to use the kettle thing.

Please tell me you made something with a little fire, husband.

Of course, Fhesiah. Ive got your jalapeno poppers here, some spicy salsa for the tortilla chips, and the chicken tenders have a spicy dipping option, too.

Very good. Much easier to stomach this studying if we have some snacks to eat, I think.

They were gathering around to sort of group-think and learn more about the war in the alliance, and plan out their guild. To some extent they already knew what was necessary, seeing how some things worked on Ariminium. But they really didnt understand the Alliances strategy.

They had a few books they purchased on the market that included a sort of primer that guild leaders would use for their base strategy. Then, there was a book that gave information about guilds and their add-ons. Fhesiah had been looking over the dossier that they had about the world of Highlands.

They began reading and taking notes, while snacking and having some light conversation. Blood prodded Berri to keep her focused, but she had one earbud in as she listened to some music. Ophelia and Fhesiah were engrossed with what they were reading.

Ophelia said, I think Ive found something important. So, when a world is newly contested, there is a sort of queue or maximum number of Adventurers that can head there, and its based on the number of residents in the world. This number increases with each added [Alliance Node] and [Headquarters].

Jake nodded. So this meant that while Adventurers that traveled to contested worlds were helpful, the task to defeat the incursions and rifts was largely going to be more effective if the residents of the world initiated into the Framework and got involved, as while the Adventurers were limited, they were not.

Ophelia added, The other significant thing is the Tier limitation. This is a Frontier world, deemed as Tier 1 in quality. The Rifts challenges are set to this tier, but there is still a sort of balance against the inhabitants. If there are say no above level 20s present in the world, then the rifts cannot be at that level. Perhaps this is why Alliance members leave if they feel they are impeding the worlds chances, to lower the challenge for the natives.

Jake said, Frontier World?

Ophelia looked more over the book and found the information about this. You came from the Fringe, which is the very edge of the Frontier. Even the week or so of travel kept us within the frontier at Ariminium. Apparently, further into what would be considered the center of the Multiverse, war is waged a bit differently, the worlds often a higher Tier. Rather than the whole worlds conflict carved out at a single tier, they would create zones or bubbles of influence, allowing different Tiers to participate.

The cities would be a sort of safe-area where other Tiers can mingle, but exiting the city and participating in a Zone below their Tier would be restricted, until a city was assaulted. This is what we will see at Tier 2 and above, typically. It turns out that Tier 2 worlds and above can also have what are true entrances to the greater labyrinth, a dungeon that leads to other worlds entirely, including those lost in the war to Tartarus.

Then, non-contested worlds, or these ones called Bastions, the inhabitants can contribute to a sectors war with their personal Trials and even take on incursions from there. It appears that this is where things are the most stable for the Alliance, at lower Tiers anyway.

Jake once again was quite surprised at this information. So, it very much resembled a MMO game, where contested territory would force people of different Tiers into different zones to influence the war in many ways. Then those from far away could still influence the war in some sort of dungeon-queue. This meant that people at all Tiers would be important in influencing the overall war effort, from everywhere.

Blood had been reading the book on Guilds and their fixtures. It looks like theres a mention of Mass Migration too. There are many worlds that are only Tier 0 or 1, and many races are interested in migrating to a Tier 1 Contested Frontier World as a community. The Framework subsidizes this somewhat, allowing them to easily travel to a world in order to bolster their numbers. This might be a way for us to bolster our numbers on Highlands, but it has a list of requirements.

Jake found this detail quite interesting, as he understood that Earth was a Tier 0 world. Most likely, the inhabitants that wanted to participate in the greater multiverse could potentially be interested in this feature.

Fhesiah said, I found something interesting about this new world. It is quite small. Much smaller than your Earth, husband.

How small?

Well, theres one main landmass, and its probably only about the size of your North America, maybe even smaller than all of that. Theres an ocean of course, but it covers roughly the same percentage as your Earth.

Jake frowned. As far as he understood it, you couldnt get that much smaller than Earth, otherwise it couldnt possibly have a magnetosphere capable of blocking the Suns radiation, among other problems like holding a stable atmosphere for breathable air.

Fhesiah shrugged at his thought. They probably have a different kind of Sun, or perhaps their unique energy type persists on the world and is what blocks that radiation. Their planetary core could even be different, able to create this magnetosphere. Things are different with Qi, too. There are even planar worlds that your knowledge of physics would deem impossible, after all.

This was an interesting revelation. If there was a highway built and a car, they could drive across the whole world of Highlands in only a few days, just like traveling across the United States or Europe. Jake looked over at Bloodberri. While they might not have roads, he had an all-terrain-snake already. This would help their party be able to make a significant impact. Ophelia or Fhesiah could possibly fly across a large portion of the world in a single day if they had to.

Fhesiah said, This beastkin race is also interesting. There are reptiles, mammals, and even avian beastkin of various types. All of them have similar features in that they have the claws, feet, tail, and ears or horns of what they call their [Beast Parentage], but are otherwise human-like. Each of them, their [Auril] acts somewhat differently as a baseline, but many also have manifestations based on their parentage or their desires, a truly varied ability.

Jake found this to be quite interesting, that their species were so varied. There could be thousands of different types, all with different abilities meant that as warriors, they could end up being quite versatile as a force.

So Jake, what species do you want for number four, or is it number five? Im partial to the catgirl, or they would call it a cat beastkin, I guess? Your people seem to be strangely fixated on this creature, and I cant help but feel the same way after spending so much time on the internet.

Berri said, Oh! But what about a snake beastkin girl? Or some kind of dog beastkin. That way, I can have a talking dog play baseball with me!

Fhesiah replied, The dog beastkin has some merit, but snake beastkin? I think Jake has more than enough snake-girl to handle.

Blood narrowed her eyes at Fhesiah. Now, what is that supposed to mean? One cannot have too much snake-girl. Are you saying that we are too big for Jake?

Fhesiah looked a little helpless. Well no, she laughed awkwardly, I didnt mean it like that

Blood just gave a huff and looked back to her reading, and Ophelia watched the exchange as entertainment happily as she crunched on her kettle-cooked chips. Jake sighed and shook his head at the exchange. Of course, picking their last party member would be more based on merit and compatibility with their family than anything else.

Not only would they have to fight in high-stakes battles with a lot on the line, but be willing to stand up for and help others. Then, they would have to get along with this family. While Jake felt like his girls got along well enough, and Jake with them, his haven could come crashing down easily with the wrong person joining their party.

Fhesiah was lounging in the air now with her book, laying on an invisible couch. She said, That will probably only get the top people involved, and power should matter there just as much as the doing good portion of things. I think the best you may be able to offer is privilege and fame.

Jake thought this was a little dubious. The guild was supposed to be one where people fought to protect and help others, more than just earning CP and Credits. Are privilege and fame what these people really sought?

Fhesiah snorted at Jakes thought, Of course they do. People will always seek to be above others in some way, we just have to offer an array of privileges and fame to capture everyones drive.

Blood added, This book has details about various fixtures available for a guild. We can add privileges for housing and special training grounds. It sounds like we need a way to track things outside of CP earnings, and it looks like there are some add-ons for your Guild, available at Guild HQ and Nodes that can track all sorts of activities. At the very least: crafting, teaching and training are not a problem to be tracked, and they can reward them with something called guild points.

Ophelia said, Training is definitely important to be tracked. Preparation is an important tenet of the guild, and it also builds that same comradery that Berri brought up. The stronger can lead others to improve their skills much more rapidly, potentially above their tier with enough effort. We may have been willing to take more time before entering our Trial, if we were already a part of the multiverse.

An image of how the Guild would work was taking shape in Jakes mind, one that would sort of reproduce what their family had accomplished, but across a much wider scale and community. They would reward goodwill such as rebuilding towns and villages, or helping people like refugees by providing humanitarian aid. They would reward this with privilege and fame, though the privileges were not concrete yet.

The guild would prepare both themselves and others for weathering the storm of the outsiders, and grow through comradery in training or preparation, combat or protection, enjoyment and goodwill.

Fhesiah said, Wait a minute, I thought enjoyment was supposed to be my tenet, but the snake got her piece in there somehow. Well, heres my idea: a perk will be matchmaking.

Jake was confused. Huh?

Matchmaking. Three girls for every guy in the world of Highlands, and the girls like guys that are strong? How about high contributors in both CP and the other tenets, or pillars, get extra assistance to get matched up?

Jake thought this was a bit weird of a perk

Weird huh? You mean you wouldnt have worked hard to do all sorts of good to find a wife, Mr. Lonely? And theres no way that your women helped motivate you to be stronger and do more, be better, is there? You dont think that forming units similar to your own might not be effective?

Jake supposed that she had a good point but Youre wanting our guild to be like a strange harem fighting guild? Well, the ratio is good for the beastkin to make sure men can find potentially several wives that would possibly do what you say, but as the guild spans the multiverse, can that really persist?

Fhesiah said, But didnt Blood say already how we can keep that up? Mass migration! Im sure we can keep finding races with the higher female to male ratios, enough to keep the guild from becoming a sausage fest. Its perfect! Besides, I never said the matchmaking had to have the same ratio as your party, just that it works well enough, and were proof. Girls could start their reverse harem parties, or they can just find a match and duos can join other duos or trios, as guild teams should be able to trust one another to act in each others best interests.

Jake thought about the implications of what the crazy demoness was offering for their guild, their Hearthtribe to become. Her idea had merits, but he would take the idea a lot more seriously if her nostrils werent flaring and her words sounding a little too excited. Once again, Fhesiah had proven that she was like some kind of dirty old man trapped in a womans body, lusting over the idea that there would be countless women in the guild.

Jake shook his head, and he now felt exhausted, for some reason. I suppose we can sort of see how it might work once we understand the beastkin a little better first, so well sort of table the discussion of that guild feature for now Hopefully forever.

But alright. We got the makings of a guild that will take an approach that not many others will. By creating benefits without Credits or CP, we will curve behaviors towards ones that both helps and protects others, but also win the war. I think crafting is something that all our members should do, as it both gives them advantages and allows them to contribute anywhere in the multiverse, along with helping those of lower Tiers be better prepared for their Trials.

Then, guild members will help deny Tartarus progress by rebuilding or defending and giving aid, as well as help to recruit both to the guild and to the Framework. They will train themselves and prepare, and they will take on their Trial. So, what are we going to call ourselves?

Ophelia said, Were going to be starting on Highlands, and Hestia did say that she wanted the beastkin to be the backbone of the guild. They are focused on these Clans, and Tribes. Perhaps we should use that?

Fhesiah said, Oh, I like that. I like the sound of Clan Hart or Clan Hearth, but Tribes are certainly the bigger one with many Clans underneath? Then, instead of Matchmaking, we simply give those that earn enough of the guild points the right to start their own Clans. We can have different Tiers, and those that are subordinates under each.

Jake said, For what goal, though? Do we really want Clans to boss around subordinates within the guild?

Fhesiah, Definitely. Clans can compete in many different ways, chasing different goals that earn them Credits, CP, and guild points? Those that excel in both earning CP and one or more of the tenets which earns them guild points will get the right to start their own Clans. We can force those at the bottom of the pecking order to join a Clan of their choice. If they need to duel as part of their culture, we can help facilitate that.

Odds are the Clan heads that earned enough CP would win anyway, no? If they didnt, then that would show that the winner was probably the stronger one and should lead the fighting, anyway. Then, these offsets some burden of managing this large number of people. People can form their Clans, and the strongest and best at what they do would become larger and larger, managing more and more to accomplish their goals of contributing in the war the way we and Hestia want. Then we only deal with the Clan heads.

Ophelia said, I think it should be Hearthtribe. It fits us and our patron Goddess, as well as the beastkin.

Fhesiah added, Its even close to their special organ, the auril heart. I like it.

Berri sniffed. Its ok. I still think Bases Loaded is better. The feeling of anticipation, the weight on your shoulders as youre at bat trying to bring victory to your team. The eyes of thousands, of millions all to witness that single moment. It cant be matched.

He wryly smiled at how into the idea she was. Jake was mostly on board with the Hearthtribe name, though. What about you, Blood?

Blood said, I think its fine. That means youre Chief of the Tribe, right? Your Clan of Clan Hart would be the one that guides these other Clans?

Thats right. I guess its mostly unanimous then. Jake purchased the guild, naming it Hearthtribe. He now had access to a guild menu, allowing a dizzying array of options. Really though, in order to do anything special, he needed a Guild Node, which cost CP. This could then be brought to a village to be an Alliance Node, but also could also be attached to an Alliance HQ. He saw that he had more than enough for many of them.

The Wiki now had a new section, and new things were available for purchase. There were so many addons that Jake had no idea where to start. Looking over them, he couldnt really discern whether he wanted many of the addons, or if they were worth the price. Many options were unavailable, but he wasnt sure what would be worth saving up for and what wasnt.

Blood said, I can look over these for you, Milord. When Berri is driving our body and focused on that, I can still access the menu. I can let you know which I find important and make a priority list. Ive been playing with spell-forms and trying to recreate some kind of telekinesis with it, but this will be another thing to work on.

Jake thought there was a lot of merit in this telekinesis idea for Blood. She could use it while Berri drove to manipulate the surrounding area. It certainly would be convenient for her, even being able to throw baseballs for her.

Ophelia said, I can help with that, too. I sometimes have a bit of downtime in smithing, as well. That way, Jake can keep focusing on his other preparations.

Jake looked over at Fhesiah. He realized with cultivation she too would have plenty of time, but perhaps studying was a busywork that she wouldnt be interested in. She hid her face behind her fan as she lounged in the air, but he thought he caught her smirk. He realized that she probably had a lot of surprises in the works, and they were important in their own way. This was in addition to her alchemy, which was paramount for her personal progression. Jake knew that her surprises likely would be dual purposed, somehow increasing her capability while also increasing her enjoyment.

With that, everything was mostly decided. Their Hearthtribe would really shake things up across the multiverse, one way or another.