The Sanctuary Network was more than a concept; it was a fragile, budding reality. Using the Sanctuary Seed's long-dormant communication arrays—subtle, Druidic-tech that operated on life-frequency pulses rather than detectable energy—Echo and Mira began sending out carefully calibrated signals. Not a call to arms, but a whispered question into the dark: "Do you remember the Whole?"
Responses were few, faint, and terrified. A ghostly transmission from a lost colony of telepathic crystals, begging for silence lest "the Listeners" find them. A data-fragment from a derelict AI that had achieved sorrow, speaking of "the great error of separation." Each contact was a risk, but each proved they were not alone in knowing the deeper truth.
It was during one of these delicate broadcasting sessions that the Sanctuary's perimeter alarms chimed—not with the shriek of intrusion, but with a soft, melodic chime the system identified as an approved mercantile beacon.
"That's… a Swift-Tail Merchant Guild signature," Ryn said, pulling up the visual.
On the surface landing platform, a sleek, scarred cargo runner of fox-kin design sat cooling its engines. Standing beside it, draped in a traveling cloak of iridescent feathers but with her nine tails unmistakably visible, was Kiera.
She looked older, wearier, her sharp eyes holding shadows they hadn't seen before. But her smile, when she saw Echo step from the hangar, was the same blend of cunning and genuine warmth.
"Sovereign," she greeted, giving a slight, respectful bow that still managed to feel like a negotiation. "Your legend grows. From Beast World slave to multiversal pariah. I hear you've been shopping for allies in the bargain bin of reality."
"Kiera," Echo said, feeling a surprising rush of fondness. "How did you find us?"
"Please," she scoffed, her tails flicking. "You bought my silence and my aid with a promise of power. I've invested. I track my investments. When my informants in the Crossroads started whispering about a 'Sanguine Sovereign' hiding in the Gloom, doing the impossible, I did the math." Her smile faded. "Also, the Shadow Court is purging its loose ends. And I am a very loose end. I need sanctuary. In return, I offer what I've always offered: information, resources, and a network that even the Court doesn't fully know about."
She was a potential asset of immense value. And a potential liability. Echo's Life-Thread Perception reached out cautiously. Her threads were a fascinating tapestry—bright gold ambition, sleek silver cunning, but now woven with new threads of deep, fraying fear. No corruption. No shadow-taint. Just the desperation of a predator who'd realized she was no longer at the top of the food chain.
"Welcome," Echo said, gesturing her inside.