Levi quirked an eyebrow at the mage's rebuff, but upon her invocation of a certain Great Old One, he visibly winced. Was she mad or just plain stupid? Any mage worth their salt knew that names had power (the titles of the Seven Emperors existed for this very reason), and beings such as the Dreaming God took every opportunity they could to manifest themselves. Sure, it wasn't like he was about to wake up and rise from the depths just because some mortal mentioned his name, but that was not a risk Levi really considered worth taking.
He looked at the woman warily, "Keep to what you know, and stay out of what is obviously forbidden, and there is no reason we cannot be civil. I will speak more on this at the conference." He turned to leave, but a bitter taste in his mouth left by the meeting led him to pause and add, "Knowledge is power, but be wary of those that should not be trusted with either."
Meanwhile, Augustus brooded. Hands tented in front of his face, he pondered several ideas that he had been mulling over for the past few weeks. Though they put on a front of power and prestige as always, the Order was in dire straits. They needed raw materials, income and manpower, in that order. Deus Machina were fine, but they needed repairs, maintenance and transport, none of which being free.
Their solution in the past had been West Industries, which turned the brilliance of the West Family to gold for the Order, but all of the infrastructure, factories and such, had been left behind in the Old World. The consumer base was also lacking; mostly military organizations advanced enough to not be impressed by the sheer novelty of West's creations, and requiring more reliability than he could offer.
Allying themselves with a larger faction would work ideally, exchanging their unique expertise and technology for reasources. It was almost too obvious a solution. However, in the back of Augustus' mind nagged the thought that such actions were against the nature of the order. Had Levi's father still been alive, and Grand Master, he would have surely disapproved of the Order backing any particular nation. However, that man was dead and these were troublesome and uncertain times. The Seven Emperors would have to convene on the matter later; for now Augustus would survey the powers at work.
As much as he disliked it, the powers of the Directorate would be most advantageous to associate with. Their territory surrounded the Order's headquarters, and would be most predisposed toward a mutually advantageous relationship with the Order. As it was, the representatives of the Principality of Zeon sat nearby. Augustus approached them boldly, grabbing Levi by the arm as he passed to lead him over.
At the moment, they seemed to be preoccupied in speaking with a large... robot, of some order. Still, the two stood in the wings, clearly awaiting their attention.
"At your leisure, Your Grace." Augustus said to the child-ruler, still pushing Levi forward.
