The cookout was very similar to what Volithur had with Corey once upon a time. Hector couldn't bring up a story involving Zara's dead son to her, though, so he kept those thoughts to himself. The thin strips of beef carried traces of bay leaves, salt, lime, and wood smoke.

Dorian, busy with the grilling, joined their conversation once they emerged.

"Aunt Zara would convert the entire world to drinking whiskey if she could."

"Of course I wouldn't!" Zara looked horribly offended. "That would be an utter disaster. Do you know nothing of economics? If demand rose so high, I wouldn't be able to afford it."

Dorian held an empty glass towards the lord and she dutifully filled it. Hector blinked in surprise. Apparently the Shaocheth family was serious about ignoring societal convention during their cookouts. Casually insisting a lord serve drinks went far beyond 'dropping the titles' in his opinion. Then again, the lord in question was Dorian's aunt. No matter their reputation for savagery, familial affection did exist among the Xian.

Hector studied the amount of meat before them, both what was prepared and what was waiting for its turn on the flames. "I hope you don't expect the three of us to finish all of that."

The easy smile on Dorian's face grew strained. "If only this were for just us."

Zara rubbed Dorian's back in a motherly gesture. "He has no power over you any longer."

"Does he know that?"

"I will let him know if he becomes confused."

Dorian frowned. "You're not a lord at this gathering."

"Oh, but I am forever his big sister. I'm forty years his senior and I used to paddle his ass when he tracked mud into the house." Zara glanced towards Hector. "I don't mean to alarm you, but the guest list grew a bit since I invited you."

Hector nodded towards Dorian. "I'm guessing Master Aramar will be joining us?"

"Among others." She tilted her head as if hearing something in the distance. "There they are."

He didn't know what she was sensing at first, but then a glint in the sky caught his eyes. A mirror in the sky shone down on them like a second sun. Hector swallowed.

"I hope Thrakkar is still fond of me," Hector joked.

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Zara lowered her voice. "Though we have invented a fictional account of the Mother Elixir's retrieval that you should be aware of. Whatever means you employed are not to ever be spoken. Officially, you served as Dorian's porter. He performed the retrieval."

Hector nodded in hasty agreement. He wouldn't object to having less attention shone on him. On this world he was an illegal interloper. His preference was hiding in the shadows so that he could smuggle resources back to Union Central.

The massive transit sphere opened to release a small delegation. Hector recognized Thrakkar, Aramar, Perry, and Stowaway among the dozen individuals floating down towards them. He found himself standing preternaturally still alongside Dorian while Zara walked forward to greet the guests.

They were ignored as all attention focused on the two lords. The Lord General and his daughter had a strange tension to their interaction. Thrakkar alternated between treating Zara like an esteemed colleague and a child in desperate need of guidance. Zara's own behavior switched modes constantly, revealing a kaleidoscope of identities: attentive hostess, nostalgic storyteller, cunning strategist, and affectionate daddy's girl came in and out of focus as she switched her persona to match the moment.

Despite the supposed equality of everyone present at the cookout, no one interrupted the long conversation. Maybe that could be attributed to the fact that they gathered in Zara's honor. Hector didn't think so. These people were Amaratti Xian. They weren't capable of forgetting about rank. The best they could do was pretend. It was like with the Lord General's retinue. They took every subtle cue from their master, letting him pretend at informality. In reality the formalized relationships had been replaced by a more complicated bespoke arrangement. It placed an even greater burden on the subordinates than operating within the formality that custom dictated.

"Can you imagine what mother would say about this?" Zara smiled ruefully.

Thrakkar's heavy shoulders sank. "I wish she could see us. Both lords."

Zara took her father's hands. "She might even believe it of me."

That earned a laugh from Thrakkar. "I never took the safe path to power."

"Come greet Dorian's porter. He is a man almost as reckless as you once were." Zara gestured towards Hector and the Lord General's eyes lit up.

"Hector? On Tian, no less. Your rate of advancement is impressive." Thrakkar shook his head. "How did this happen?"

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Zara was quick to present a doctored version of events. Her hasty interjection came across entirely natural in the context of their father-daughter dynamic. Hector only detected anxiety in her interruption due to his similar reaction. "Do you recall the Ogre that Platinum had in her amphitheater? Everyone wondered how she got the creature to Tian. It turns out she didn't."

Thrakkar's eyes lit up. "Hector! I must hear the story behind this."

Hector forced a smile. "Be forewarned that the story is less impressive than you might expect. I volunteered for a task force to help Eden out with a monster invasion. Everyone at the time was worried it would become another Aes. I fought in the opening battle, then closed a secondary rift with my squad. One of the locals convinced me to stay behind and help deal with their Ogre problem."

The Lord General clapped. "Of course! I wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to battle one of the beasts of Eden either. What made you decide to relocate it here, though?"

"Well, Thrakkar, I quickly learned that I couldn't kill the Ogre. She tried to run away, but I wasn't having it. I figured that if I couldn't finish the job, I'd take her somewhere that others could."

"We caught him shortly after that stunt," Zara added. "He was exhausted from the battle and the travel. To our mutual fortunes, I was in the market for a low level porter to assist with Dorian's mission."

"I am curious how you were able to travel to Platinum's front door." Thrakkar studied Hector closely. "Can you target destinations from your memories?"

"Oh, no. I wish that was the case. It would have made finding allies for my home world so much easier. No. I knew how to get to the Lord Platinum's estate because I was a participant in one of her tournaments."

Thrakkar's smile grew. "You are a fascinating man, Hector. I'm pleased I let you live during our first encounter. Now tell me about the tournament. Surely you knew it was a trap."

"I knew it was a trap after I arrived."

Dorian stepped forward. "He did such a good job playing the fool that no one ever suspected he would want to escape."

Thrakkar smiled at his grandson. "Dorian! I had heard you entered Zara's service. I didn't realize you were involved with Platinum prior to that."

"I was with Lord Andrew, actually. He was the sponsor of Hector for the tournament. I had to flee in undignified fashion after Hector unexpectedly removed himself from the competition."

"Andrew," Thrakkar spat. "A man who hardly qualifies as a lord. His mother elevated him to the peak of nine with her wealth. Since he broke through he has done nothing of note. You have more war stories at level six than Andrew does at ten, Hector. Speaking of which: what else have you done with your time?"

Hector searched his memory for things he could share. Nothing about Stein, of course. There was a fictitious version of events in that country that he didn't want to undermine with a careless word. "I helped Conflagration destroy a world."

That tale drew everyone's attention. Hector described in detail donating his cosmic energy to bind a ritual with an antimatter bomb to his enraptured audience. "And then War Barge Kevin barely had time to escape that universe. The Jinn way of travel requires extending the space of one universe into a neighbor, and that was complicated by reality falling apart.

"Kevin had to turn off the lights so he could divert all his power to our escape. My soul reserves were drained from the ritual, of course, so there was no way I could escape by transit sphere. I just held on until we got free. After straining his engines, Kevin had to go back to Terra for some maintenance. He left me on Union Central. I've been earning credits there by delving the dungeon of Promise City."

Thrakkar clapped Hector on the shoulder. "You've done well with yourself, Hector. Once you advance some more, the two of us will undertake some grand adventure. Perhaps battle the monsters on Aes. I have yet to do that."

Though the thought of hanging out with the Lord General didn't appeal to him in the slightest, Hector decided that his personal discomfort with hanging out with a genocidal maniac would be a small price to pay to bring the largest traveling army of the Xian to Aes. "I would love to fight monsters on Aes with you, Thrakkar."

"Perhaps live a touch more cautiously than you have been," the Lord General advised. "You already have an insight, so there is no reason to seek enlightenment through wild adventures. I know the lure of excitement better than anyone, but the man who gambles his life too frequently will never reach his later years."

Hector bowed as if honored to receive wise advice. Afterwards, Zara pushed the party forward by directing everyone towards the food and the drinks. Stowaway pulled a small feast of delicacies from his heart space to add to the spread. There was nothing present that would count as a cultivation resource by the standards of these people. The selections had obviously been made with an emphasis on flavor over potency. A pot of spicy chicken curry alongside a toasted flatbread. A fruit tray with dip. Chocolate chip cookies that Hector immediately recognized as mass produced – apparently the Lord General had a taste for Jinn desserts.

Everyone ate and drank in excess. Hector's healthy paranoia began to wane.

"I begin to think that when the monsters are gone, I may not resume my hunt of Kevin," Thrakkar announced. "It would sadden me to know he was gone. But the battle we would have… I know better his weaknesses now."

"I like Kevin," Hector said.

That drew a sneer from Aramar. "You like a Jinn war barge."

"Yes. That's what I just said."

The shock on Aramar's face told Hector he had gone too far with his words under the influence of alcohol. He sensed it was too late to walk his disrespect back now. Hector knew from dealing with the bigwigs at work that backing down would mark him as a target. He also remembered how Volithur had been treated by this man after making great shows of respect. Nothing he did would mollify Aramar, so he might as well win some grudging respect.

"A dreamer fond of the Jinn. You are every bit as suspicious as Harridan."

The Lord General had been following the exchange with interest and now he waited on Hector.

"You do realize your nation joined the Coalition? The current war is with monsters, not Jinn."

"I do not care for your tone, dreamer."

"Come now, Aramar. Is this not a Shaocheth cookout?"

Thrakkar's laughter caused Aramar to bristle. The man dragged himself away to mope in self-imposed isolation. The Lord General thumped Hector hard on the back. "You remind me of myself in some ways, Hector. I also had trouble reigning in my tongue."

Unsteady on his feet, Hector eyed the lord. "Can I say something?"

Thrakkar raised a brow. "Obviously there is no stopping you."

"Withdrawing your protection of Zara was wrong."

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