A few hours passed before everyone was assembled in the audience hall. There was a circle in the center meant to hold the speaker or a demonstration. On one side of it there was an elevated seating platform with three different levels. At the top, there was a woman with bright ginger hair and deep scarlet eyes. Her tan skin indicated that she spent a good majority of her time outside. This lady was Maria, the Sect's Matriarch.
One level below her sat William and a woman who was the spitting image of Maria, save for her slightly lighter skin and barely younger appearance. This was the couple set to inherit the sect when Maria gave them the go-ahead. Currently they were in the process of taking over the tasks of the Matriarch.
At the lowest elevated level there was only one little girl, once again in the image of the woman at the top, except much younger and with a dazed expression. It was clear she was Jessica's daughter and that she was not used to this level of formality.
Sitting opposite to them was a large group of people seated in a theater arrangement, with graduated levels further away from the center. They varied greatly in age and were both male and female. The only thing they had in common is that they were strong.
A door opened as Jamie entered, looking cleaner than he had in a long time. His hair was cut short and he had a clean shave. He wore formal robes as opposed to his normal rough and tumble wear. He moved to a position in the center of the circle and got down on both knees, facing his mother, and holding his upper body straight. He stared directly at his mother, who sat a few feet above him.
Normally, this posture would be considered rude by the majority of the people in attendance as it wasn't a complete prostration. But as they knew that this was Jamie, they thought it was a godsend that he wasn't standing. Naturally, they knew that this was important.
"You may rise. State your conditions to continue." Maria began in a formal tone.
"Thank you Mother. First I must ask that nothing that I say in this room leave those doors." He pointed towards the doors he came in through.
"Granted, those who feel they will be unable to hold their lips are asked to leave." She looked up as a few moved to leave.
"Next I must ask that no arguments or contentions be made until I complete my report."
"Granted, I reserve the right to interrupt."
"Finally, I ask that divination be interrupted for the duration."
"Granted." Nothing seemed to change physically, but everyone in the room felt a sense of pressure as the Xan in the room seemed to freeze. "Is that all?"
"Yes, I shall begin." He turned from his mother to the audience, more than a few had intensely worried expressions. Divination interruption meant that there was the possibility of being spied on.
"I will get straight to the point. My wife, Marlev, passed away almost one year ago today due to her Nexus cracking during childbirth."
His words were met with the shocked gasps and cries of everyone in the room. Marlev was considered to be an honorary member of the sect and was sprinkled with affection whenever she came. Even those who opposed the mixing of the bloodline loved her, her temperament meshed very well with them. Hearing that she died, and during childbirth no less, gave them all a great shock and sense of grief.
Jamie raised a hand to calm them. "We were unable to get her help fast enough to save her, but there is a ray of light in all of this. The child, Colaris Dominus Arcturus, is alive and well. Currently he is under Kelvin's protection on the Zen Gin peninsula. The reason I ask that this information not leave this room is that his name is his stellar name, divined by Marlev as she passed. We have reason to believe that those rather unsightly people will have no clue that he exists, assuming he died."
This was cause for even more commotion. This one-two blow of important information was disorienting to them. It was common knowledge that when a mother had her Nexus break during childbirth the child would die slowly and painfully. His being alive was a miracle.
"I have been making my way to the Scattered Stars sect as I have been recalled. I'm sure you know war is on the way, so I was planning to take a group who wishes to fight along with me. That is all."
"That was a rather short announcement for such a large crowd Jamie." Maria scolded her son. "But I suppose that in this case, only the words are small. This couldn't be a bigger deal." She shifted to pinch her nose. "It would appear, my family, that war is on the way. I suggest you prepare for it. Remember, any and all information that you learned here is to remain secret. If my suspicions are correct, his mere existence will be a trump card in the future. You are dismissed for the day."