Nix smiled and took a long drink of his beer . "This reminds me of my childhood . "

"Oh? Did you enjoy candlelight dinner when you were a boy?"

Nix nodded, the smile on his face growing . "There used to be these terrible storms in Camden during the summer . The lightening would cause us to lose power and my mother would break out the candles . Of course, without power, we'd eat sandwiches or cold leftovers . "

Hyai knew all about his two sisters and parents . He would often talk about them when they were alone . "The older sister . Beverly was it?"

"Good memory . We called her Bev or Bevvy . Unless she was in trouble, then she was Beverly . "

Hyai laughed softly . "Couldn't Bev visit you here?"

Nix stared at his plate, using a piece of bread to sop up the last of the gravy . "I suppose she could . "

*****************

A gentle shake caused Nix to wake up . Hyai was sitting on the bed next to him, already fully dressed . "You asked me to wake you, hun . Morning meeting right?"

Nix yawned and sat up in bed . "Yep . . . " He tilted precariously, his eyes still not opening .

Hyai leaned closer and kissed him before standing up . "You're going back to bed aren't you?"

"Hmm . . . maybe . " Nix teetered there for a moment before finally opening his eyes as the door closed behind her . "I'm up . . . I'm up . "

/Inferno: Semmi: It's a full house Nix, report to Guild Hall when you get up .

/Inferno: Nix: How many showed up?

Advertis.e.m.e.ntNix started getting dressed, smiling when he saw that Hyai had left him breakfast .

/Inferno: Semmi: 36, every single person I spoke to is here .

/Inferno: Nix: That's more than you said yesterday .

/Inferno: Semmi: I approached the Upper Tier guilds that are still here but were qualified to leave .

/Inferno: Nix: Smart . Thanks, Sem .

A half-hour later Nix stood in front of three dozen mid-tier guild leaders . "Semmi already told you our offer . In exchange for registering your Upper-Tier guild . You will pay the cost of registration and sign over your votes . "

"That's a bit harsh isn't it?" A woman dressed all in black spoke . She had recently been appointed Guild Leader of the mid-tier Salamander Guild since their previous leader had been executed .

Nix tried not to scowl, Necromancers put him on edge . "If you think so then leave . This is only a proposal, although I won't negotiate, no one is forcing you . "

A man sitting toward the back of the room stood up . "How would this work Nix?"

"I will have a 2-part contract set-up . The Guild Leaders in Oasis will receive a notification asking them to give their votes up in exchange for registration . If they agree, they will receive a second notification asking if they agree to have a Guild registered in their name . If they pay the fee, this will conclude the contract . "

A red-haired cleric who was the first to arrive raised her hand politely, she was the Guild Leader of an Upper-Tier Guild called The Red Hand . "What about the guilds who haven't left yet?"

"Same as the others . The only difference is that we'll take care of it right when you cross the Escalades . " Nix smiled pleasantly like he was giving them a good deal . "You'll arrive without having your Guild communications disrupted . You'll be able to build a Guildhall and take on Guild raids . "

/Inferno: Semmi: Even when their guilds are registered, they still won't be able to access Parliament . Unless the Fir'Dha.s.si opens up the travel lanes for humans .

/Inferno: Nix: Should we ask for their Guild office too?

/Inferno: Jun Li: That's a bit much probably .

/Inferno: Semmi: I agree .

Semmi moved to the front of the room and stood next to Nix . "You've heard our proposal . This offer expires in a week, so contact the higher-ups within your organizations . We will register all the guilds at the same time . "

Nix didn't say a word as they slowly filtered out .

/Inferno: Nix: How many votes are those guilds worth?

/Inferno: Semmi: Two each . We would have two also, but we received a bonus for being first .

/Inferno: Jun Li: The Upper-Tier guilds aren't big like the mid-tiers . They streamline, focusing on quality rather than quant.i.ty .

/Inferno: Semmi: If they all agree, we'll end up with 75 votes, counting the three we already have .

******************

Mai Lee picked up her cereal bowl and walked into the living room . The small Asian woman was dressed in a white tank top with matching underwear and since she lived by herself was unconcerned about offending anyone . She sat back on her couch and put her small feet on the coffee table . "That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Nix has us by the b.a.l.l.s!"

Her wristband hud vibrated and she answered it without thinking . A woman dressed in black stared at her through the hud . Mai waved a spoon at her best friend . "Hey, Yams . "

The Necromancer smiled unexpectedly, "I should stream this moment to the entire Upper Tier . "

"Do it . " Mai wasn't worried, Yamica had been her college roommate and they were like sisters . "We'll take the offer . "

Yamica stared at her friend . Not many people knew that Gideon, the manly Guild Leader of Upper-Tier Salamander, was actually a pet.i.te Asian female named Mai Lynn . "Is that smart?"

"We are stuck Yams . We can't enter any Guild instances, our only method of communicating is shouting and we can't build a Guildhall . I don't give a rat's a.s.s about some useless f*cking vote . "

Yamica sighed loudly . "It's only been a few weeks, isn't this hasty?"

Mai nodded . "Of course it's hasty . We were in such a rush to be first that we leaped without looking . Know what you call a tree without roots? Firewood . That's what Upper-Tier Salamander is right now, f*cking firewood . "

"Fine . You go back into Stasis soon?" Yamica logged off every night, but Mai just finished a 1-year Stasis a few weeks earlier .

"Yep . I delayed a few weeks to meet with the Board and attend my brother's wedding . I like the 12-month stay best . "

"You sure about this deal, Mai?"

Mai finished the rest of her cereal and then sat the bowl down . "Mid-Tier Salamander f*cked up by letting Jun Li and Semmi leave . We should have left Shae alone . Make the deal . Make sure they know that we are dropping the grudge . Clear?"

Yamica nodded . "I will set it up . "

*************

[Inferno Officer: Semmi: Oasis and Bonus Brief]

All individuals from Inferno received 2 important rewards from being the first Guild to register in the New World . As you know, the New World isn't our focus at the moment but we still have to be aware .

[Item 1: Homestead Token]

This is an individual home or house . According to my research, it has at least a half dozen varieties . Everything from vegetable farms to livestock ranches . You can activate this on any free lands or personal World Seeds . This includes World Seeds owned by Inferno .

[Item 2: Pioneer Award]

This award is an accompaniment to the Homestead Token but will be applied to any lands you may own . The information is sketchy on this . Look at it as a "blessing" on your Lands . Better crops, livestock, etc .

[Oasis World Seed]

I included this on the briefing because it is very important . The World Seed that we currently reside in is actually Nix's personal one . The Oasis World Seed is vastly larger and offers many interesting opportunities . Every variety of topography can be found inside . Rivers, Lakes, Mountains, deserts, even minor weather fluctuations . This is probably the best place to use your Homestead Token, but the option is yours alone so make your own decision .

[Oasis Geography]

Like Colonial, Oasis has seven Continents . The Inuit Continent is where Parliamentary is located . This is also the homeland of the Fir'Dha.s.si or Forest Dha.s.si . There are four smaller continents called Maitha, Shogu, Bazra, and Phai . This is where you will find the tribal lands of the Su'Dha.s.si or the Desert Dha.s.si . There are two polar continents in the far North and South Regions, Samoi and Esha . The Icecaps are the territory of the Ain'Dha.s.si or Ice Dha.s.si . Dha.s.si and Dha.s.s are interchangeable, the second is a bit less formal .

[Parliamentary Government]

Individual Countries govern themselves, however, World governing is shared between the races and the guilds of Oasis, with each getting a certain amount of votes . As many of you know, we have 3 votes . According to my research, the Fir'Dha.s.si have 90, the Ain'Dha.s.si have 63 and the Su'Dha.s.si has 69 . This is the total of each race, for example, although the Fir'Dha.s.si has 90 votes, they often find themselves at odds with each other . The Xai clan owns 32 of those votes, the next highest Fir'Dha.s.si clan has 18; they don't always cooperate when it comes to World governing .

/Inferno: Nix: Thanks for the info, Sem . We are bringing a 20 person raid team for Mermaid City 5 . 4, also known as the Prison Raid . The following people, please report to the docks at once .

Healers: Nezbit, Pinky, Tess, Gypsy, Wylie .

DPS: Milat, Zhava, Pon, Wind, Chael, Ronnie, Semmi, Mina, Darsi .

CC: Nix: Sila, Fajii .

Tanks: Sharl, Jun Li, Banzi

/Inferno: Nix: If your name is not on the list, enjoy your day off .