6908 A Radiant Gift When the actual banquet commenced, Ves tried his best to put up a polite facade and clap whenever it was appropriate. The exotic dishes tasted like air to him, and that was not just because his phase lord physique had lowered the sensitivity of his taste buds to an enormous degree. He simply was not in the mood to celebrate the friendship between the Larkinsons and the Devosans anymore. The secrets that he learned from Master Laila Rebecca Devos continued to weigh on his mind and heart. His wife probably noticed his unbalanced mood. She thoughtfully did not probe him for answers, but spoke up more frequently and covered for his social obligations. While she was not always reliable, he knew he could count on her this time. One of the elder figures of the Devos Ancient Clan stood up. The man wore a similar formal toga outfit as Master Laila, though his garments were embellished with fluttering symbols of leaves. He raised a glass above his head. "Ladies and gentlemen. Terrans and guests. Tonight, we have gathered here to commemorate our friendship and cooperation with the Larkinson Clan. Although it is new and lacks the long and storied traditions of our own, we are a people who are not averse towards change. As our people and state enter a new age, so do the rules that we have abided by for centuries. We have found ourselves in a particularly dangerous period of history. In the past, our people have managed to overcome many existential challenges by following our traditions, but not entirely." The man whose name escaped Ves' notice took a moment to sweep his gaze across the people sitting at their dining tables. The moody yellow lighting and the garden ambience created a sense of intimacy among the formally dressed individuals. "The Age of Dawn has shattered the peace that has reigned throughout the Age of Mechs. We are cut off and beset by threats near and far away. It is easy for us to return to the passivity that has been thrust upon us during the previous age. Yet that is a mistake. To avoid change is to be enslaved by our own traditions. If we want to prove ourselves to be as strong as the Terrans during the most glorious periods of the Age of Conquest, then we must regain the courage and values that we have forgotten in the past centuries! We must remember our past as a people who spit death in the face and possessed the courage to defeat the strong while we were still weak!" "Hear hear!" "For Terra and humanity!" Many Terrans raised their own glasses in agreement! If Ves remained ignorant of the true undercurrents, then he would have interpreted these words as a generic attempt to boost morale. Yet now that Master Laila Devos shared a crucial secret to him, those same words held a deeper meaning. Those in the know understood that the Devosan leader voiced a much more concrete call to action. If the Terrans wanted to regain the courage that had served them well during a more successful era, then they needed to possess the will and daring to defy the Red Association and the Red Fleet! If the Terrans had become so cowed by the reputation and the coercion of the mechers and fleeters that they had become too risk averse, then they were no longer suited to enact the secret secession plan. This was indeed a legitimate concern among the leaders of the Terran Alliance. The Terrans were already fairly resistant towards change by nature. This was both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness. In order to execute their gambit with the best possible footing, the Terrans needed to shake off several of their bad habits and become more proactive than they had in centuries. Were the Terrans truly capable of doing more than reacting to events as they happened? That remained to be seen. The leaders could only express confidence that their people would do the right thing. The man continued to smile as he gestured his glass towards the guests of honor. "During these dark times, few people have managed to shine like beacons. Though few in number, each illuminator is able to help us navigate the new age. They are the vanguards that have explored the paths forward and charted out the best routes for us to follow. An emerging hero such as Professor Ves Larkinson may not be impressive in terms of age, but he is a leader among the younger generation. Elders such as ourselves have already led our ancient clan during the Age of Mechs. Now that we have entered the Age of Dawn, a new generation of leaders must rise up and lead us in a different direction. Only the young and the bold possess the combination of qualities that can lead us to a better future." That sounded rather extreme in Terran terms. Ves could already sense that not everyone agreed with this message. It showed that the leadership of the Terran ancient clans were still divided on important issues. He doubted that every Terran leader was aware of the secession plan. He also doubted that those in the know universally supported the dangerous initiative. Yet even with all of this division, it did not stop a majority of the movers and shakers of the Terran Alliance from betting it all on the secession plan. The Terrans were tired of remaining stuck with the label of losers! Many ordinary people considered the Age of Mechs to be a golden age for mankind. That was because human civilization no longer feared external threats and made a lot of efforts to reduce the scope of infighting. The relative peace and prosperity that lasted for dozens of generations had been good for most space peasants. They may have surrendered their sovereignty and pride, but what they got in return was relative peace and stability that lasted for a remarkable amount of time. This was arguably the best period of time for second-raters and third-raters. The Big Two protected them and shielded them from more complicated and higher-level concerns. Yet the first-raters resented such control. They lost too much agency. The Terrans and the Rubarthans suffered continuous humiliations due to all of the rights they had ceded to the MTA and the CFA. Enough! Here in the Red Ocean, the Red Two had done their best to perpetuate the previous status quo. Even if unforeseen incidents such as the remarkably fast founding of the Red Collective occurred, that still did not shake the foundation of the RA and the RF too much. The mechers and the fleeters not only hoarded a huge amount of advanced technologies, but also possessed much greater military force than the other forces! Power ultimately determined their right to rule over other humans. For a long time, the Terrans saw no hope of being able to regain their independence due to absolute power suppression. Yet now that the Red War had tied up much of those military forces, the Terrans and other subjugated people finally had a rare opportunity to slip the leash that had been hanging on their necks for over 4 centuries! The Terrans who recognized this opportunity and wanted to make use of it did not want to procrastinate. As soon as the destined time had come, they would not hesitate to pull the trigger! Perhaps not that many members of the older generation were willing to take the decisive steps, but this was where the younger generation could show their value. The Devos Ancient Clan and so on had already prepped many talents that possessed greater flexibility and open-mindedness than those who had already lived for several centuries. This was why the Devosan leader toasted the Larkinsons or more precisely Ves. If the Terrans needed inspiration on how to act during this critical time period, they only needed to learn from his example! Ves twitched his mouth. Though this banquet was ostensibly about honoring the relationship between the Terrans and the Larkinsons, it ended up morphing into a subtle wake-up call to the Terrans who would soon be expected to fight for their collective independence! The Devosan leader babbled on for another minute before he finally addressed a topic of greater relevance to the Larkinson Clan. "In the spirit of our continued friendship and cooperation with the Larkinsons, we would like to issue a grand gift to them. They are not Terrans, but they have given us numerous crucial tools and solutions that can help us navigate the new age with greater confidence and strength. His kinship networks have united us under the loving gaze of the Mother of Earth. His companion spirits have bestowed greater power and choice to our most promising talents. The Red Collective that he has spoken into existence has given us a greater seat at the galactic table." Ves' expression tightened a bit. The man's words made it sound as if Ves actively conspired with the Terrans to help them pull off their upcoming secession plan! That was not the case! The contributions made by Ves benefited other parties as well. This included the Red Association and the Red Fleet, or else his Bluejay Fleet would have been a lot smaller. "Our ancient clan also bears the honor of hosting the Father of Carmine Mechs and his fellow Larkinsons on our very own planet. He has taught in person and by remote at our local Eden Institute of Business & Technology, thereby enabling it to quickly rise up to become one of the foremost schools of higher education in the new frontier. During this entire period, the Larkinsons have never issued any excessive demands to us. They have behaved as impeccable guests and always respected our culture and traditions. To that end, it is only right that we reciprocate by granting them a gift of substance." The man waved the hand holding his wine glass, which caused a container to rise up from a gap that emerged from the centermost table. This container was an extremely high-end product in itself. While it was not made of superdimensional matter, Ves could already see from the design and the materials that it was made to contain an object of great value! With another gesture, the man transmitted a silent command that caused the cylindrical container to slide open a viewport. A small but remarkably radiant point of light floated inside. This point of light lazily floated inside the confines of the cylinder as if it was a speck of dust that was floating in the wind. This was no speck of dust, though. Ves frowned as he sensed considerable power and threat from this glowing particle. "The Devos Ancient Clan hereby gifts the Larkinson Clan a container that contains a single Radiant particle. This is similar to a Destroyer particle, but it is willed into existence by the Light of Sol himself. A Radiant particle is the realization of the light attribute. A single particle may not be particularly powerful, but it is completely different when imbued by the willpower of its creator. This particle happens to possess that blessing. It is a divine treasure that we are honored to pass on to the Larkinson Clan." 12:14 A few Terrans reacted with considerable shock at this sight! The reason why they reacted so strongly quickly became clear. "The Devos Ancient Clan hereby gifts the Larkinson Clan a container that contains a single Radiant particle. This is similar to a Destroyer particle, but it is willed into existence by the Light of Sol himself. A Radiant particle is the realization of the light attribute. A single particle may not be particularly powerful, but it is completely different when imbued by the willpower of its creator. This particle happens to possess that blessing. It is a divine treasure that we are honored to pass on to the Larkinson Clan." Ves and his wife were shocked! They were not entirely clear how valuable this Radiant particle may be, but since it was much less famous than Destroyer particles, it should definitely be more scarce! "Radiant particles may not be as straightforward as Destroyer particles, but they can produce strong effects when used correctly. They can increase the firepower of energy weapons, amplify the acceleration of flight systems and reduce the mass of a mech or other object. In short, by imbuing the Radiant particle in any part or object, you can effectively bestow it with a spark of the Light of Sol's immense power!" What a gift! Thank you for reading my work. If you wish to support The Mech Touch, please vote with your golden tickets! Purchase Privilege for The Mech Touch! Read a varying amount of chapters ahead of regular readers while enjoying a 99% discount on unlocking new chapters! Join The Mech Touch's unofficial Discord server: https://discord.gg/APB5KCU Exlor