“Your Imperial Majesty, Thunderbird Emperor has called for a council of the True Emperors of the Lands regarding The Great Flood set forth once more by Ice Emperor. The Humans of the world have a means to end The Great Flood, but they cannot do so without the permission of the Emperors.”

Auric Tyrant’s dark eyes sparked with purple as He looked away and past me. No doubt He had seen this thing happen many times before, but The Great Flood would have little, if any, effect on the Deepness of Africa. Only those Beasts beyond here would be affected.

“WHY HAVE THEY ASKED ME?” Auric Tyrant Emperor asked reasonably.

“Your Imperial Majesty, Infinite Sands Emperor cares for nothing beyond His desert. Thunderbird Emperor states that Auric Tyrant Emperor knows all that happens in Africa, and has moved in the past to intervene between Rulers and Emperors when He saw need to do so. It is Auric Tyrant who heeds the needs and wills of the Noble Beasts of Africa, not Infinite Sands, and so Thunderbird would seek His opinion on this matter.”

The huge and ancient theropod Emperor considered that, rolling it around in His head. I had no idea what He thought of Thunderbird, but likely they shared at least some respect as joint Emperors of Lightning.

“WHERE?” He asked simply.

“If His Imperial Majesty would deign to grant her a Token of His Will, this one will open a Portal to confer between Emperors when all have been Invited!” I replied immediately.

He paused again to consider that reply, taking His time to do so. “WHO?” He finally asked again.

“Your Imperial Majesty, this one was instructed to also invite White Death Wolf, Ancient Dream Serpent, Heaven Westward Fox, and Old Mountain Emperors!” I replied promptly.

He considered that again.

“INVITE HEAVENLY FIRE EMPEROR,” He told me.

I hid a blanch. “As His Imperial Majesty commands!” I replied instead.

Something flew from the water and landed in front of me, a head-sized, ‘tiny’ golden scale long fallen from the Emperor, but now Infused with His Will.

I picked it up carefully, applied Sovereign Glue and attached it with steelvine, as I had the others. “This one will notify His Imperial Majesty when the invitations are complete!” I assured Him.

He sort of grunted and spun around, His tail swinging over my head like a moving tree as He started back into the water.

Reynard had reached Sun Phoenix Emperor, so I’d be making a short side trip...

----------

Auric Tyrant Emperor felt the magic of the little Human go off. It was not something He’d felt before, and as it was of Lightning, it caught His interest, especially as it harmonized with the Song that fell silent as the little envoy left.

She Rode the Lightning... beyond the world?

He blinked once at the distant spark of His Will a thousand miles above Him now, past the Wind, where there was nothing but Cold, Void, Chaos, and Light, and then it moved again. His great head turned to track it as it moved literally halfway around the world in a heartbeat, still beyond the grasp of the atmosphere, and then descended upon the distant land there, and into the domain of who He instantly recognized as Fire Phoenix.

He belatedly recalled that the matter young Thunderbird wanted to speak of concerned the Humans breaking the magic of Ice Emperor.

He rolled that idea around in His thoughts. He could feel the pressure of the ancient and most powerful High Emperor’s magic, gathering around all the continents like a subtle claw, pressing onto the shores of all lands other than His own. He could also feel the Emperors of the Sea moving to take advantage of the opportunity, as they had done so many times before.

There was no Emperor on this world who could break The Great Flood of Ice Emperor... but the Humans, the furless Primates who had risen out of nowhere a few naps ago, could do so?

This... was most interesting. He had never spoken with multiple True Emperors at one time, such meetings inevitably being battles for status and territory. He did not know what it portended, but for some reason He had a sense of expectation about it.

After all, it had been a very long time since anything truly new had happened in the world...

---------

Breeding rights. Territorial claims. Resource rights. Seed uses. Formal duels for succession or just plain not liking one another. Movements of other Emperors, with migrations of whole Tribes being the most interesting. Gossip from neighboring High Emperors, and sometimes insults. Very rarely, something from the Beast Lord.

More recently, Taint investigations, although those were probably not as important so far away from the Breach.

That was pretty much the official life of a High Emperor of Beasts, repeated ad nauseam over the millennia.

Unique winged Golden Fox serving a Mortal Plane True Emperor Fire Phoenix’s desire to speak to Sun Phoenix High Emperor by running halfway across the Beast Realm so his Human Contractor could open a Portal for the two Phoenixes to speak?

Reynard had no problem making it past the gatekeepers at all. They would not have believed his claim in the slightest were it not for the Token he bore, which even a Fox was not able to fake. He had brazenly walked right past them, and explained everything to the glorious gold and flame Phoenix that was Sun Phoenix Emperor, arguably the most beautiful Bird he had ever looked upon. Only the most magnificent of Butterflies could possibly have rivaled Him.

‘Brazenly’ meaning he stayed on his belly, kept his head down, and replied very respectfully with the entire truth of the matter, lest Sun Phoenix Emperor release His Aura and do real damage to his mind and soul. This was not his Ancestor, after all, who had a well-known sense of humor about the antics of His descendants.

Brazen was being allowed to speak in the presence of a High Emperor as a half-Noble, and that from being Contracted!

He was integral to the process, of course. Healer Fae had never met Sun Phoenix Emperor, so she could not make a Portal to Him. She had, however, met her awesome and fluffy-handsome Golden Ghost Reynard, so there only remained to get Fire Phoenix Emperor ready and open the Portal to where Reynard was, and the vastly bemused Sun Phoenix High Emperor was waiting for it all to happen.

When it was done, Healer Fae could just Summon him to her, and then send him home directly, without having to retrace his path! Truly, Reynard made the best of messengers!

Sun Phoenix Emperor was also quite taken with his golden coat, having never seen another Fox with wings and horns and such fine, shiny fur! That was something, as High Emperors had been around a very long time, making Reynard even more unique!

“Your Imperial Majesty, this one’s Contractor is ready to open the Portal. This Reynard will immediately remove himself from the area, as will his Human Contractor, so the Emperors may speak alone.”

The dazzling fire-and-gold-and-crystal Sun Phoenix nodded with a regality that Reynard had to acknowledge was even more impressive than his Ancestor. The Phoenix Bloodlines were really powerful...

Reynard bounced to his feet, waiting as Healer Fae worked her magic, some dazzlingly complex thing that moved her thoughts too fast for him to follow, but he felt the surge of the Summoning Magic coming, far more powerfully than it ever had before.

Space opened up before him, and grew, and grew, and grew, trading all of its attractive power and conduit ability for size and duration.

After all, nothing except a Contracted Fox was going to pass through, which didn’t take any power at all.

He looked up at the majestic fiery glory that was Fire Phoenix Emperor there on the other side, the burning beauty of His Firelands behind Him, and felt and heard the impressed Sun Phoenix Emperor stir behind him at the proof of what was possible.

Healer Fae was right on the other side, waving at him!

In proper fashion, he turned, bowed once again to Sun Phoenix, then literally hopped through the open Portal and made himself scarce with his Contractor.

Calls and cries were coming from behind them as Fire Phoenix Emperor bowed fully in submission to the very greatest of His kind, and a Phoenix from the Mortal Realm spoke with one from the Beast Realm for the first time in years uncounted.

-----

Reynard returned to his home range, totally eager to talk all about his adventures, his coat puffy and glowing from a very good grooming from the Mighty Turk. His seventh tail was coming in nicely after completing the grand mission, and he wanted to tell his father all about what he had done!

-LITTLE REYNARD.-

The brave and powerful Golden Ghost promptly went flat on his belly at his Ancestor’s Voice. -Ancestor?- he /asked respectfully, reviewing if he had taken anything or said something he shouldn’t have recently. No, he’d been very far away. Ancestor should not have been able to hear Reynard comparing Him to Sun Phoenix Emperor...

-WAS YOUR LITTLE TRIP SUCCESSFUL?- Flowing Silver Emperor /asked him calmly.

-Yes, Ancestor! I finished my journey to Sun Phoenix Emperor, and saw many things along the way! Healer Fae opened a Portal for Him to speak with Fire Phoenix Emperor, and then we returned to her den, where I got a wonderful grooming before she sent me back home!- he /summarized the high points succinctly.

-SO SHE CAN OPEN A MEANS TO SPEAK TO ANYONE THAT YOU MEET, AND THEN REPEAT THAT IN THE FUTURE?- his Ancestor wanted to know.

-I believe so, Ancestor?- That certainly sounded correct. -I can ask her for clarity if you wish?-

-YES.-

He did not know what interested his Ancestor so much, but he sent the thought out to his Contractor, who replied with her usual instant speed. -Yes, Ancestor. Now that she has seen Sun Phoenix Emperor and felt His Aura, she can make a Portal there to speak through at any time. She cannot, however, bring Him through it.-

-CAN SHE DO THIS BETWEEN EMPERORS OF THE BEAST PLANE?- the Flowing Silver Emperor /inquired.

Reynard also sent that off quickly. -She asks if Flowing Silver Emperor has questions for her. She will open a Portal to speak with Ancestor directly.- he /replied quickly, a bit crestfallen that he wasn’t going to be in the middle of something that sounded to be very interesting, but Ancestor was very loud...

-YES.- Reynard sent that off, and felt Healer Fae making up another Portal... much smaller, this one, intended only for thoughts and sound to reach through.