Runner shifted the meeting forward to the next subject. Runner looked across the table at Ferris, Arletta and Peccavi.
"Next, I want an account of Insignia. For four centuries, you've all been building your own factions and now they're all inside the Spire. I need to know exactly what we're working with."
Ferris was the first to answer. "Then I'll start."
She rested one arm on the table and looked over the hologram map for a second before speaking again.
"There are about forty thousand Umbra Knights and ten thousand Penumbra Knights. If you're looking at the total and thinking it's small compared to the rest of the population in the Spire, that's fair. It is small, but the ones outside those numbers aren't useless. They're just not Umbra Knights or Penumbra Knights."
"And how many are we talking about?"
"Another fifty thousand."
"That's not exactly tiny."
Ferris gave a short nod.
"No, it isn't, Master Runner. They're strong enough to serve but they can't be classified as full Umbra Knights. They'll be part of the migration into the Deux Cities later. They'll still remain under Insignia's structure but they'll be relocated where they can be supported properly."
Runner's eyes narrowed a little in approval.
"So the core stays in Insignia and the secondary force moves with the larger settlement plan."
"That's right."
Luciana folded her hands and leaned back.
"Why are there two knight groups, though?"
Ferris answered without hesitation.
"Because the Penumbra Knights are the original members of Insignia. That was the core of the army before the rest of it expanded. There were only about three hundred of them at first. Over time, some Umbra Knights were promoted to Penumbra status, some came from Dynasty Richinaria and some Penumbra Knights had children and trained them as well. Since Penumbra Knights are Immortals, they can't have children easily so the expansion was slow, but it happened. Centuries of training, promotion and generational growth did the rest."
Arletta made a small gesture with one hand while she listened. Runner translated without missing a beat.
"She says that the structure makes sense if the original core was designed to be elite and the later growth was meant to preserve that standard."
Ferris inclined her head once.
"Exactly."
Ervadelle glanced at Arletta, then back at Ferris.
"So the Penumbra Knights are the original elite and the Umbra Knights are the larger trained force that grew under them?"
"Yes. If we were going to survive four centuries in the Timeless Realm, the structure couldn't be messy so we did that."
Runner moved her gaze to Peccavi next.
"Your turn."
Peccavi sat very straight. She didn't need to rush. Her answer had clearly already been organized in her head.
"The Priestesses of Incurvious number fifty thousand. They have ranks, responsibilities and internal duties, but the exact ranking is not important for this meeting. They handle ritual maintenance, teaching, healing, faith preservation and internal administration. They were chosen over four centuries. I made them Immortal through Master's power."
Runner's eyes shifted slightly, as if she was measuring the weight of that statement.
"And they've held together?"
"Yes. Faith has done the rest."
"The devotees in New London are still following the migration plan?"
"Yes. The priestesses are set, the devotees have a destination and the faith network's still intact."
"Perfect. Arletta, your turn."
Peccavi gave a slight nod and sat very still for a moment before making a sequence of hand motions that were smooth, precise and clearly habitual. The rest of the room had long ago learned that when she started moving her hands, she was speaking. After all, she was mute. Only Shimmer, Runner, Ferris and Arletta understood her without translation. The others watched her with varying degrees of curiosity or simple awareness that something important was being said.
Jack, who was sitting a little farther down the table, tilted his head.
"What did she say?"
Runner translated,
"The Mute Assassins number fifty thousand. They have their own ranking system. The strongest assassin is Number One. The weakest is Number Fifty Thousand."
Shimmer snorted softly.
"That's a brutal ranking system."
Arletta's hands moved again but quicker this time. Runner's mouth twitched.
"She says that's the point."
Arletta didn't even look at him. Her hands moved one more time.
"She's Number Zero."
Arletta folded her arms with what looked suspiciously like pride. Runner glanced at the rest of the table as she translated the rest.
"The Mute Assassins are disciplined, highly mobile and spread through London's underlayers and surrounding districts. They've been built from street recruits, trained hard and expanded through generations. They're not just a hidden faction anymore. They're an actual force. Okay, time for the next part."
That got everyone's attention. Runner rested both hands on the table and spoke in the same clear, practical tone she'd been using all meeting.
"The Testing Floors from the thirty-first through the thirty-seventh are assigned already. The Umbra Knights get the thirty-first and thirty-second floors. The Priestesses of Incurvious get the thirty-third and thirty-fourth. The Mute Assassins get the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth. The floors are ready. They can be moved in at any time."
Jack was shocked by this.
"You've already set them up?"
Runner gave him a flat look.
"Of course I have. The thirty-seventh floor is reserved for applications. Anyone who wants to join Insignia goes through there first. That includes testing, placement, evaluation and whatever else is needed to make sure they're actually suitable. We're not taking random beings and pretending numbers alone are strength."
Ferris nodded once, already agreeing to this. "Good."
Arletta made a short series of gestures. Runner translated as usual.
"She's asking whether the testing floor will also be used to determine which faction applicants are sent to. And yes, that's exactly what it's for. The thirty-seventh floor is the sorting ground. People apply there, get tested there and then get routed to the group that fits them best. The Umbra Knights, Priestesses, and Mute Assassins all need their own standards. Insignia isn't supposed to be interchangeable."
Arletta gave a subtle nod at that.
"That's wise."
"You all agree, then?"
Arletta answered with a series of concise gestures.
Runner translated. "She says yes. The Mute Assassins will be fine with the thirty-third and thirty-fourth floors."
Ferris folded her arms. "Same for the Umbra Knights with the thirty-first and thirty-second."
Peccavi agreed. "And the Priestesses will move in immediately."
Jack looked around the table, still visibly trying to process the scale of it.
"So the army factions each get their own floors inside the Spire?"
"Yes," Runner said. "They've earned them. They've been building these groups for centuries. They're not temporary auxiliaries. They're part of the structure now."
Shimmer leaned back and crossed one leg over the other.
"That's the thing, isn't it? Dad never did anything halfway. If he gave a group a home, it wasn't a room. It was a whole floor."
Runner didn't deny it. Peccavi's hands moved again, slower this time, as if she wanted to make one last point before the discussion moved on. Runner translated with a small nod at the end.
"She says the Mute Assassins will be grateful. They've spent four centuries gathering, being persecuted and waiting for a real place to belong. Now they have one."
That struck a few of them quieter than before. Ferris looked toward the map, then back to Runner.
"And the testing floor?"
"Its open whenever it's needed. If new people arrive, they enter through the thirty-seventh. If any of the current groups need reinforcement, they'll be processed there first. I'm not letting this structure become chaotic just because it got larger."
Ferris glanced at her. "I'd say that's a strong word for us."
Runner let the mild chatter continue for another second before lifting her hand, bringing the room back to focus.
"So, you all know your faction numbers now. For now, we focus on migration and making sure that they get used to this place. Shimmer, give me the lotus back after all the souls have been put inside it. I need all the souls to supercharge the ORS. It's time to make this a real Primordial Artifact."
After all, that was the main goal of collecting souls for four hundred years. All of it was to provide a permanent power source for the Obsidian Runic Spire. Asenane was the energy source in Erna Isles and in the Hidden Citadel, Vastarael used the last of its energy to protect himself and his daughters, subordinates and students from the perilous journey of the Timeless Realm.
It was also using the Soul Energy he poured into it but it ended three hundred years ago. Instead, Shimmer was the one acting as the source with her Seventh Enlightenment Aeterium Soul Energy. That's why she never left the ORS like the others. Without her, everyone would die in the ORS.
Now, with millions of souls gathered, it was time to give the Obsidian Runic Spire a permanent power source capable of withstanding millennia of use.