Nix gated to the Gemini Temple, Elune was speaking with a half dozen or so Arch Wind Acolytes. "How are they doing Elune?"

The Gemini dha.s.si gave him a pleased smile. "They are ideal Gemini, the ability to work well in teams has always been the cornerstone of our strength."

"I haven't forgotten the search for a Chief Acolyte yet, there is someone I favor, but she needs a bit more time."

Nix gated to the Glory docks so he could walk through town. As the Golden City of Colonial, Glory had become a bustling town with crowds of shoppers and travelers.

[Whisper Gideon to Nix] I'm going to post on the official forums tomorrow. It may seem like I'm making you out to be the bad guy, my intent is to bring the stray guilds into the fold.

Nix nodded while he walked. He didn't mind being the bad guy, some of his actions benefitted the other guilds, but they conveniently forgot that when Inferno was able to wiggle around roadblocks that had stopped other guilds in their tracks.

[Whisper: Nix to Gideon] It's fine. Tell me the gist of your post.

[Whisper: Gideon to Nix] Going to call for the disbanding of all guilds that aren't part of the 12 pillars. Additionally, I've contacted the other Pillar guilds and together we are going to offer Officer positions to the Guild Leaders who comply. With the exception of Resolute and Inferno, all the Pillar Guilds will be having open recruiting for the next week.

[Whisper: Nix to Gideon] I know it's an a.s.s-pain, but in the long run, we can do a lot more with 12 teams than we can with 36. Just make sure that they don't divide your guilds.

[Whisper: Gideon to Nix] We will handle it. Salamander plans on doubling its numbers, but no more than two new recruits from the same guild. This will keep their numbers down.

[Whisper: Nix to Gideon] Great idea. I look forward to your post.

[Whisper: Gideon to Nix] I might refer to you as Nix the b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

Nix laughed aloud, causing several of the Fire Acolytes to notice him. He waved at them and continued toward the Altar. The Elemental World hadn't changed much since his last visit, he figured Shae would either be in her favorite hot-pool or the Ghost Pepper garden. He froze in place when he saw her, thirty feet of Silver Drakon. Her sleek head was intricated scaled with heavy ridges over her eyes for protection. There were large talons at the midpoint of her wings, she stretched them out to nearly sixty feet. At the end of her tail were three large spikes.

The Silver drakon furled her wings and approached him, gently pus.h.i.+ng her snout into Nix's chest. "Are you pleased with my advancement?"

Nix nodded, his mind seemed to fill with random thoughts. He hadn't expected evolution. He hugged her head, rubbing the sides of her jaws. "Absolutely stunning Fey. I will craft something incredible for you and we will own the Oasis Sky."

Shae stepped in and put an arm around the muscular neck of the drakon. "She did good right? Fey should be able to a.s.sume human form once she studies a bit more about human nature."

Nix nodded, his thoughts still soaring. "Is that how it works? You have to fully understand the form before attempting a transformation?"

Shae nodded and moved closer, her free arm pulling Nix closer for a quick kiss. "Exactly right. It might take her a while, but the capability is there."

Nix stepped away a few meters and turned back toward them. "Hit me with it, I want to taste your flames, Fey."

The silver drakon raised up on her back legs and a moment later Nix was bathed in a baptism of pure silver flame. He held his arms out as if embracing the warmth.

"Silver flames! Fantastic!" Nix clapped his hands excitedly. "From now on, we are going to soar the skies!" Nix studied Fey's new dimensions. "Let's see... perhaps we need to enlist the help of an armorer, that way the stats will really soar when I add an overlay.

/Inferno: Nix: Moki... can you come to the Fire Palace?

/Inferno: Moki: Can it wait? I'm finis.h.i.+ng up an item.

/Inferno: Nix: Sure... if you don't want 10 of these:

Ice Dragon Leather: Mythic

+1000 AC

+ 200 to Ice Abilities

+ 100 to Flight Abilities

+ 100 to Charm

/Inferno: Moki: I'm on my way! Don't leave!

/Inferno: Dalton: d.a.m.n... that's G.o.d-like.

/Inferno: Nix: I'll give you 10 also after you make Alpha Team new boots with it.

/Inferno: Dalton: Done!

/Inferno: Ronnie: Can I have Dragon boots too?

/Inferno: Nix: Ronnie too. I plan on using the rest for our Mermaid City and Emba.s.sy Raid forces.

"Back in a bit Nix, I'll bring Moki in." Shae vanished from their side, leaving man and drakon alone.

Nix patted Fey's silver head. "It'll take a while to get used to, but I'm very happy with the result."

Fey lay her head on Nix's shoulder. "I wouldn't have made it if not for Shae. You should get her something nice."

Nix nodded. "That goes without saying."

Moki arrived a few moments later, he was remarkably composed for someone new to elemental worlds. "I've recently converted to the Oasis Armoring system, it's a bit new for me."

Nix waved it off, "not a problem. I've been using the Tailor crafting interface, it's the exact same thing. Since you've never made a fighting harness before, it might be free."

The two crafters sat down together, using Fey as a backrest they started the procedure.

Nix handed him the old clothe harness he had made. "No scales or inserts, just use the dragon leather. I'll enhance it with Merestone first, then you can use it as the base for the harness. Do you have any flying enhancements?"

Moki nodded, "I' do have a few Epic rated feathers, nothing incredible but it will add to flight performance."

Nix used the Merestone to enhance the leather, the stats didn't jump much but the real improvement would be shown in the finished harness. "It was my dad that actually figured how to use the Merestone. It works best in the material portion of crafting."

Enhanced Ice Dragon Leather: Mythic

+1200 AC

+ 220 to Ice Abilities

+ 110 to Flight Abilities

+ 110 to Charm

Nix watched and guided Moki while he set up the crafting queue for a leather fighting harness. Since the product was considered armor, he could use four separate enhancements.

[Fighting Harness: Flight Type] [Fey] [Enhanced Ice Dragon Leather][Bonus Enhancement: Split-Tail Swallow Feather][ Bonus Enhancement: Ced'Far Leather][Bonus Enhancement: Kraken Leather][Bonus Enhancement: Leviathan Leather]

Moki studied the queue. "Weren't you going to use these enhancements on the Overlay? You won't be able to use them if I add them into the armor."

Nix nodded. "I will find other enhancements for the Overlay. I'm curious as to the result a real armorer will have."

"Me too." Moki selected the 'Craft Item' icon. "d.a.m.n..."

Dragon Wing Harness: Tyrant XV [Drakon]

+15,000 AC

+500 to All Stats.

[Immunity: Fire, Poison, Charm]

+500 to Flight. [Advanced Turn Ratio, Advanced Climb, Advanced Dive]

Incoming Damage is decreased by 60 percent.

Fire Based Abilities improved by 70 percent.

Ice Based Abilities improved by 60 percent.

Nix clapped his hands. "That has to be the best armor I've ever seen."

Fey laid down while they put it on her. It would protect her chest and sit high on her shoulders so that her wings wouldn't be bothered. There was a seat and footholds so Nix could ride comfortably. "I haven't tried flying yet Nix."

"I'll just add an enhanced camo overlay now. Later when I find suitable enhancements I will switch it out." Nix removed the harness and started working. After a few minutes, he came up with the finished product.

Stealthed Silver Wing: Tyrant XV [Drakon: Absolute Stealth]

+17,000 AC

+550 to All Stats.

[Immunity: Fire, Poison, Charm]

+550 to Flight. [Advanced Turn Ratio, Advanced Climb, Advanced Dive]

Incoming Damage is decreased by 62 percent.

Fire Based Abilities improved by 73 percent.

Ice Based Abilities improved by 62 percent.

"I'm heading to Oasis, wait for my summons." Nix left the Elemental world with Moki and Shae. They dropped the armorer off at his shop on the docks and then gated to the Gemini Temple.

Nix and Shae walked hand in hand. "You going to fly with us?"

Shae nodded, "I want to show off a bit too."

They took the portal to Phai City. Nix was watching Shae. "Hey... Can you transition without destroying everything?

Shae nodded. "After the planar trial, the transition becomes gentle."

Nix muttered a curse under his breath. "I kinda like blowing s.h.i.+t up that way."

They walked out of Phai City, towards the beach where they dropped off Ishna. Once they were out of sight they stopped.

"Will you get in trouble using the Archon form here?" Nix now knew that Breach Commanders monitored energy signatures from the lower planes.

Shae shook her head and instantly transformed, the tips of her silver wings touched the ground. "Ready? Don't worry about predators either, they won't bother us while I'm here."

Nix laughed, "going to protect me? That's kinda nice."

[Summons: Fey]

Nix grinned widely when the Silver Drakon appeared. He still wasn't used to her new form.

Nix was thankful for the improved seating a moment later when Fey shot into the air, she climbed quickly for several hundred feet before leveling off. Shae trailed behind by a few meters, keeping an eye on the skies.

Nix let Fey fly for nearly an hour, she chased Shae all over the skies and into the clouds. Her powerful wings gave her more speed and lift then the beautiful Archon, but Shael could easily outmaneuver her.

/Inferno: Semmi: Let's meet at the Guild Office today, I want to use the hud while we talk.

Shae moved closer to Fey so that Nix could hear her. "I'm going to take the portal to the Guild Office, I don't want the dha.s.si to see this form."

"Right... It would scare the c.r.a.p out of them to learn there was an Archon in Inferno."

Shae smiled and waved. "Don't be too long, see you at the meeting."

"Cya there." Nix had Fey stealth and she banked hard toward Inuit.

[Dragon Eyes]

"I'll watch the skies, Fey."

Whenever Nix flew as the Ice Sparrow he would keep to the trees. This time he stayed in the clouds, staring in wonder at the heavily forested continent below. From his vantage point on Fey's back, he spotted several large predators and made a mental note to have Ronnie research the sky predators in Oasis.

Fey dropped him off right outside of the Parliament barrier, Nix had been tempted to buzz the Courtyard with Fey but managed to hold himself back.

All the officers were present when Nix arrived at the Guild office, he took a seat at his desk.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Let's start with the easy stuff before progressing to the more complicated things.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Alpha Team has managed to defeat the 89th floor.

/Guild Officer: Nix: What? When did we do that?

/Guild Officer: Wind: Sorry boss, we did it this morning when you were tracking down vampires. It was a five-person raid but we managed with four.

Nix nodded, four 100-level Gemini cla.s.ses were incredibly powerful, secretly he longed to join them.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Is the 80th floor an 'Inferno only' floor now?

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Yes, the problem is that we can't access it.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Why?

/Guild Officer: Semmi: We get a message saying we aren't allowed to enter.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Let's sneak a peek at it after the meeting then.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Next item then. We have a s.h.i.+pyard but no one knows how to build s.h.i.+ps. Vy is back in Izzin.

/Guild Officer: Nix: I'm bringing a group of lifestyle players across the Escalade bridge today. Our Guild carpenter Lena will have to figure it out.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: I didn't think of that, good idea.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Next item then, tomorrow we have 300 Ain'Dha.s.si Rangers reporting for duty.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: What are we going to do with them?

/Guild Officer: Nix: I want them to explore Loki. A large part of our new land is heavily forested, they are rangers, after all, let's have them scout it out.

/Guild Officer: Sharl: 300 Ain'Dha.s.si rangers with levels in the 100s? It's a good show of force as well. The Guilds won't get froggy thinking we are just a bunch of 50 levels from Colonial.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: What about their access privileges?

/Guild Officer: Nix: They've taken blood oaths to join our cause. Let's treat them as recruits and put them on probation. If they work out, I don't see why they can't be regular members.

/Guild Officer: Fajii: I agree.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Okay let's talk about the big one. The Vocational Inst.i.tute. Where do we want to build it?

/Guild Officer: Nix: Loki. I think that's the best choice.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: You intend to give the other guilds access?

/Guild Officer: Nix: Our strength rises with theirs. We have the Gemini Temple to ourselves.

/Guild Officer: Sharl: What's your reasoning?

/Guild Officer: Nix: Let's use a Ranger for example. Say we hire a ranger to teach the first four-month course. Each guild would be allotted two slots, which they could use or sell. We would have six slots.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: And the remaining two slots?

/Guild Officer: Nix: The guilds could bid on the last two.

/Guild Officer: Wind: Two 4th-tier slots upgradeable to 5th-tier, that should keep the Guilds happy and steadily growing.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: What about the 12 skill slots?

/Guild Officer: Nix: We have to make money, we can keep two and have the guilds bid on the rest.

/Guild Officer: Ronnie: I volunteer to research teachers, there's a lot of cla.s.s data in the Great Library.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Do we have any dissent on any of these items? Speak up if you have other ideas.

Inferno closed up the meeting and headed to the Emba.s.sy entrance on Parliament's first floor. The group took the elevator all the way to the 89th floor. There was no guide on the floor, just the hazy entrance to some sort of giant buildings.

/Guild Officer: Pon: We can just barely see the outlines of buildings. Any ideas?

Nix walked toward the entrance, just before he reached it an invisible force pushed at him.

[You are not yet qualified to initiate this instance.]

Semmi stared at the message Nix received. "That's different than ours. Everyone try to enter."

Nix stood off to one side while the other officers tried to enter, Shae was the last one.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Does anyone have a message different then, "You are not allowed to enter this instance."?

/Guild Officer: Nix: So it's just me then.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Maybe it's something only you can start, as the Guild Leader of Inferno.

/Guild Officer: Shae: The outlines of the buildings look very familiar.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: You've seen them before? Do you remember where?

/Guild Officer: Shae: Yes. The Planar Trials in Solomon City.