After a few days of commotion that the news about the war had caused, things mostly settled back down into their usual rhythm. Though the looming shadow remained, there was little anyone could do to address it right now and it wasn’t like the sect could just cease operations.

  And so, distant war or not, the wheel of time continued to turn. The trees shed their last leaves and stood bare and silent. The wind picked up in strength and bite, making a good case for people to stay in the warm comfort of their homes. The first snow began to fall, clothing the landscape in a glittering white.

  The new alliance – so was the word floating around – had formed a massive army, a force of three dozen Dao Contemplation Cultivators and countless Dao Attunement ones, led by Patriarch Tengfei Ye himself, which would march all the way to the Roaring Thunder Sect’s home territory, forcing the enemy into an engagement.

  But as time went on, another kind of news started trickling into the sect. They came as rumors traveling mouth to mouth, as tales from far-traveled merchants, as painful recollections from refugees who had lost their homes to the war.

  At first, they seemed to be just singular incidents – lucky breaks for the Roaring Thunder Sect’s doomed campaign.

  One elder had broken away from the main force to protect his sect from an incoming raid…

  Two elders had been caught in an ambush during a reconnaissance mission…

  The advance into the Roaring Thunder Sect’s territory had once again been slowed down by hit-and-run attacks…

  But over time, a pattern was emerging.

  The Falling Petals Sect had betrayed the alliance and sworn allegiance to the Roaring Thunder Sect…

  The Charging Boar Sect had been razed and their disciples taken captive, forcing the elders to switch sides…

  An elder had shamefully fled from a raid, leaving the supply caravan he had been supposed to protect open for the taking…

  The alliance, with all of its strength, seemed incapable of finding any way to apply it. Tengfei Ye was capable of putting out fires, but he could only be in one place at once and wherever he was not, problems began to fester.

  An argument had broken out between two of the alliance’s larger sects – an elder and several dozen members had been hurt before Tengfei Ye could intervene…

  The main force had retreated back to its home territory after facing too many losses and running into supply issues…

  Matriarch Liqiu still hadn’t awoken from her coma. Perhaps she was…

  By the time that winter was reaching its low point, the tide of the war had completely turned. Over a dozen cultivators of the Dao Contemplation Realm had been killed in the fighting, mostly on the side of the alliance. Many more had fled to their sects to hole up there and yet others had changed sides. Now outnumbered and demoralized, the alliance was fighting a desperate retreat towards the territory of the Serene Plains Sect, the only sect that was still mostly intact.

  Around this time, word got out that a meeting of the council of elders was close at hand. Normally, these mostly escaped the attention of the sect members. The decisions made behind the doors of the palace rarely had immediate effects for them and even if they did, they couldn’t influence them either way.

  This time, however, it was different. With the war having captured everyone’s attention, the question of how the elders would respond was all, anyone could talk about anymore. And so, on the day of the winter solstice the elders gathered at the patriarch’s palace at sunrise and the sect waited for the outcome with bated breath.

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  Liu Wei, accompanied by his assistant Chao, had arrived about half an hour early and had spent his time talking to Ma Rong, a little way off to the side. They were part of the same faction now, and while the war was not a factional issue and it was unlikely that it would come down to a split in that way, it was a matter of courtesy not to surprise one another with one’s positions.

  As it turned out however, that wouldn’t be an issue, as the two were much of the same mind: the sect’s initial inaction had been a massive blunder, one that they ought to correct as fast as possible.

  They had completely misjudged the situation, so much so that a victory of the Roaring Thunder Sect had not even been a real talking point in their considerations back then. The new alliance’s perceived strength had turned out to be little more than a paper dragon, one that none of them had properly identified.

  The two preferred different approaches for the Sect’s response – Ma Rong wanted to join up with Patriarch Tengfei Ye’s force, while Liu Wei thought it best to mount a mostly independent assault –, but these differences would be hashed out within the council today.

  When the first rays of sunlight made their way over the horizon, the two wrapped up their talk, called their assistants, and jointly made their way towards the patriarch’s palace.

  They arrived at the same time as Meixiu Xia and Yue Zhong, the two having apparently come here together. They had probably held discussions of their own, two of the most influential elders as they were. Once at the Palace’s front entrance, the four were led inside by the usual host of servants.

  They were early. Only Sun Liang had gotten there before them, as was typical for the overly punctual man. They took their seats and waited in silence as the remaining Elders showed up one by one.

  After the customary wait for Jiang Peng to show up last, all elders of the sect were present, and Patriarch Zhao entered the room. The immediate thing to notice was that he hadn’t donned the traditional ceremonial robes. Instead, he wore the slightly shorter, more practical and mostly undecorated ones known as the “Patriarchal Robes of War”.

  When fighting their wars, cultivators wore armor, just as mortals did. Additional protection was not something to turn down and cultivators weren’t known for recklessly risking their lives. As such, the Patriarch's robes would never actually see battle. Instead, they were designed to be worn when the Patriarch wasn't on the frontlines during a war, to signal his sympathy to the fighting. A well-known poem about the sect described them as “cloth for times when one ought to wear steel”.

  Wearing these robes here was both a way to make abundantly clear what subject would be the focus of this meeting and a signal as to the Patriarch’s position on it. One wouldn’t carry these robes if they intended to sit back and let things play out. As the elders rose to their feet once again in a show of respect, the atmosphere in the room was accordingly serious.

  Liu Wei had to admit that he respected Long Zhao’s boldness on this issue. It was the kind of resolute leadership that the sect needed in times like these. This assessment was helped, of course, by the fact that he shared the position the Patriarch was displaying.

  Once Long Zhao had taken his place on his throne and the elders had all sat down again, he began addressing them in a grave, but steady tone.

  “It is good to see all of you here today. In my role as patriarch of the Lunar Peaks Sect, I declare that this council meeting has begun.

  “Let me cut to the chase right away; we are here to discuss the issue of the Roaring Thunder Sect’s ongoing war against the Parting Clouds Sect and the alliance that has formed around it. In the previous meeting, we decided to remain nominally neutral but voice our support for the new alliance and halt all trade with the Roaring Thunder Sect and its supporters. In just the few months since, the face of the war has dramatically changed and where it once seemed that the new alliance had a clear advantage, they are now in a very precarious situation. As a result, I believe it necessary to revisit out approach.

  “I personally believe this matter to be of great importance to the future of both the Peninsula and our own sect. As such, I propose that we start this meeting on this discussion and postpone all other sect business until we have reached a proper consensus. Is everyone alright with this?”

  This was out of the ordinary. Normally, the less important discussions would be held first, to make sure that they weren’t overshadowed by the central issues of debate. To deem a topic important enough to break with this custom seemed like a strange choice at first. It made sense, however; the position that the sect would take in the war was essential in determining how the next months or years would play out. To try and make administrative decisions without clearing it up first would likely turn out to be an exercise in futility anyway. It took everyone a moment to consider, but after that, the elders unanimously agreed to the Patriarch’s proposition.

  “Very well. Then we will start discussing our sect’s position on the war straight away.”