CHAPTER 62: Still at War

In the Temple of Divine Return, Shae senses Ayt Madashi’s powerful jade aura as Ayt joins her, casually noting Shae’s predictable visits and implying lingering vulnerability. The women revisit their history and the morality of power; Ayt claims she kills only from necessity, not vengeance, challenging the Kauls by comparison.

Ayt congratulates No Peak for killing Zapunyo, then reveals the Mountain’s deeper play: collaboration with Iyilo and the barukan to seize Zapunyo’s network. She explains the newly passed Refugee Act enabling up to seven thousand Shotarians of Kekonese ancestry to immigrate, with the Mountain sponsoring and integrating them under clan authority.

Shae recognizes the strategy—importing pre-jaded, connected recruits—and questions whether Ayt can control criminals lacking aisho and Green Bone training. She warns that such bargains erode Kekon’s traditions. Ayt counters that change is inevitable and more powerful if directed, citing the posthumous fall of Ven Sandolan and K-Star’s sale to foreign owners as pragmatic adaptation.

With an armistice declared in Oortoko, Ayt argues both clans are beyond open war and should exercise restraint; she threatens that any renewed aggression could annihilate entire bloodlines, invoking Ven Sandolan as example. Shae notes Ayt’s own costs—internal dissent, sordid alliances, and bloody compromises—yet recognizes the Mountain’s renewed strength.

Shae prays for Green Bones past and reaffirms that, despite mutual interests and the need to limit escalation, true peace is impossible. She accepts a practical calm but declares the conflict continues by other means, then ends the meeting to attend to her family, underscoring what remains at stake.