You consider how it'd feel to be a copy and be denied everything you'd remember ever wanting. Mom's love, Nanoha's...
affection, Sidhe's company, possibly planeswalking... No. Your aspects are going to stay a part of you even if you do think it's a little weird. To do otherwise would be to make a clone that was you in every way that matters save for what matters to
her. And then there's all the mythology surrounding evil clones of gods; you'd hate to add to it.
...Admittedly, that last part might be from manga. You're not sure.
"Is that how evil gods are formed?"
Kal'enel watches you with an expression you can't quite read. The uncomfortable examination continues for several seconds before you receive an answer.
"Usually not. Apathetic ones, certainly, and such individuals seldom stay gods for long, but not evil gods. Even arguably evil actions motivated by spite are seldom enough to earn that monicker; if a split Aspect destroyed something their progenitor loved and subsequently faded away, their actions were not motivated by evil so much as madness. The term 'evil' is reserved for when the act of harming others becomes its own reward or when their obsession with revenge drives them toward atrocities."
"And 'fallen' extraplanars, like Sigurd thought I had the potential to be?"
Kal'enel's face falls to the sad smile of one who has seen something terrible and knows it will occur once more.
"Disillusionment and despair. You'll have noticed the frequent obsession with plans by now; that is not an isolated personality quirk. Many extraplanars on our side accept all the consequences of their actions, good and bad. They can accept mistakes and learn from them, but a trail of inadvertently harmful acts culminating in a rescued child growing into a bloodthirsty warlord? Such events will break them. Most will hide or spend a few millennia managing the Havens, but ones brought to the material plane will seldom bother with even something as important as controlling their magic. Why bother avoiding harm to others if even your best efforts will harm them anyway?"
Kal'enel slowly shakes her head. If she were mortal, you'd think it was as much to avoid hurting her own neck as to actually express denial.
"It is never their fault, but it is always a tragedy. I think you can see why we'd want to make sure you didn't suffer the same fate."
"Yeah, um, the thought is appreciated. Am I safe at this point, though? Like, am I going to have a Witch aspect? Because that would be
really freaky."
Kal'enel blinks at you, appearing genuinely surprised by the question.
"No," she says simply.
"I can see the fading hooks that would have twisted your self into an endless fount of self-loathing and grief. You have nothing to fear on that front, child."
"Annnnnd fronts I do need to fear, like whatever Sigurd did?"
Kal'enel sighs.
"You'll need another shield-variant; I'm sure Sigurd will be more than happy to teach you. However, the bypass he uses is extremely uncommon; mortals lost the art during the Cataclysm and only a few priests have learned it in the time since."
"Are any of them in Karse?"
You fight down the urge to add
"and what's V'kandis doing?" She just told you to avoid asking one question until the last was answered.
"Certainly not. They would be summoning far, far stronger demons if they possessed enough knowledge of the soul to make it possible. I believe you may have acquired an understandably misaimed impression of the technique; if Sigurd had tried to send an attack down the same path, then that path would not exist. Your soul's defenses did not strike him as they did not perceive anything worthy of defending against."
And yet, Nanoha's defenses had no qualms against attacking the flame I shared with Nanoha. They really need to get their act together.
"That's not to say an assailant couldn't push your mind from your body and attack you after, but the original pathway cannot be used for attacks. I believe your time would be better spent practicing combat magics while projecting, yet it is ultimately your choice."
"...I guess that depends on how much of a pain it is to learn? I'll think about it. Anyway, do you happen to know where V'kandis got off to? His country is kinda a mess."
Kal'enel lets our a hoarse sigh.
Do horses sigh? Is snorting their version of that?
"V'kandis is awake and aware, but He has run afoul of a rather unfortunate clash of rules. Karse is ostensibly a monarchy and not one He has declared dominion over. His priesthood might wield immense power, yet the nobility influences V'kandis's devoted as much as His priests influence the nobility. Both factions influence their respective flocks and it is those flocks who continue following those who wield His banner as a weapon. In short? Reclaiming His priesthood would infringe upon mortal free will, including the choice to corrupt His religion for personal gain. To intervene now would be a violation of the treaties which weakened our enemies so very much; as He wishes to avoid reigniting divine conflicts, He can only intervene to stave off a second Cataclysm."
"...So, I'm guessing He'd be pretty happy if I went to Karse and pounded the corruption from His country?"
A smile dances around the wrinkled edges of Kal'enel's lips.
"Neither of us can ask such a thing of you, but I expect he would be quite pleased, yes."
"I want a Firecat," you blurt out, then immediately slap both hands over your mouth.
Where did that come from?
Rather than being offended by the notion, Kal'enel snorts with obvious amusement.
"You realize Firecats are not pets, yes?" Kal'enel teases.
"They are, one and all, older than you. Still, I suppose I can discuss giving Sigurd the... form. Sigurd would need to fuel it himself rather than rely on V'kandis's blessing, but a Companion should have no issues doing so. And before you ask, no, he would not be the white of fresh snow in that form."
You blink and slowly lower your hands. You hadn't really expected Kal'enel to agree so easily, but you suppose she's not the one you need to convince. She just promised to talk about it with V'kandis, that's all.
"Yeah, um, about that. Did you have a hand in empowering him and the other Companions?"
"Along with numerous other gods, yes. They were, and remain, a group project. It's turned out far better than most of us anticipated; we expected their entire population to be massacred by some ambitious prince or princess within a few generations."
Only Mom's training keeps your jaw from dropping.
Excuse me?
"Oh, there's no need to look so shocked. Our only ongoing intervention is that of the Grove-born Companions and the odd Gift; the rest is a self-sustaining cycle. Historically, such collaborative projects have been sabotaged by our enemies in rather short order."
"Um, Vanyel?"
"That one was us, too," Kal'enel readily admits.
"Both in life and death. We'd originally intended for him to notice the vanishing mages before such drastic measures as a magic-free Valdemar would be necessary. However, we underestimated just how driven he would become; he was too exhausted to notice how Herald-mages were falling like rocks without mage-trainees to replace them. He was still an excellent investment, of course, and I like to think the experience taught many of us not to rely so heavily on a single mortal in the future."
Ooookay, so avoid single points of failure. Got it.
"I take it you couldn't just send out a Grove-born who knew what was going wrong?"
"We could not," Kal'enel agrees.
"We'd slid by with such loopholes before, but Vanyel's nemesis was something of a pet project of several of the darker gods. Such a blatant intervention would've spurred them to war. As it is, they are losing and only their hope for the future keeps them bound to the treaty. They know they are at a disadvantage and would die in the ensuing conflict, so they cling to the hope that they'll be able to rise to glory once more. Still, I think we've spent enough time on this subject; do you have any other questions?"
--[X] She mentioned something about your followers changing you, but everything you've heard so far suggests that it doesn't work like that. What did she mean?
"Um, yeah, a big one. You mentioned my followers changing me, but I've been told it doesn't actually work like that? Like, they said being known as a goddess of nature would make nature-related spells cost less, but that it wouldn't suddenly make me want to hug trees if I hated them before."
"Ah, yes. While true, that explanation excludes an important variable: your worshippers. Instinct will send you down the path of least resistance when you wish to solve a problem, yet as time passes, the way you're seen by your followers will slowly change. Between simple convenience and the treaties regarding mortal free will, it's often easier to change yourself to fit the beliefs of your followers rather than correcting your followers so their beliefs fit you. V'kandis is an excellent example of how that could go wrong; he left Karse alone for a scant century to look another of his projects, and when he returned, it was to find a country with beliefs so warped that he couldn't intervene. You need not worry about the treaties until you're more than a godling, of course, and Sigurd will be sure to warn you when that threshold is crossed."
"Um, okay. Speaking of extremely powerful people, have you met any other planeswalkers besides Surya and Sylvester? I think the planar shard thingie might be keeping any others out."
Kal'enel releases a single bark of laughter.
"No new walkers, but I met one well before your ancestors arrived. His reckless habit of using foreign technologies and mana-generating objects as trade goods ended the world. Mortals had gotten so used to technological progress that they assumed even the worst problems were one discovery away from solving themselves."
You jump slightly as Kal'enel claps her weathered hands together.
"And on that high note, I think it's time for us to move on to business; too much longer and we risk eavesdroppers."
You shake your head and hold up one hand.
"Before we move on, do
you have any questions?"
Kal'enel gives you a pleased smile, but shakes her head anyway.
"I do, thank you, but Sigurd can tell me the answers later. Now, I can give you an Adept-gift, but not for free. It would be one thing if you were a god, but this is one of the few cases where your lesser status will work against us. Fortunately, I have another problem in need of a solution, albeit one that will earn you the enmity of at least one of the more despicable gods."
Kal'enel's mischievous smile returns once more.
"Anything they try will be on a multi-year delay. Don't spend that long in one place and I expect you'll be fine."
Kal'enel's smile fades into a determined half-frown.
"In the vast empire along the eastern sea, there is a mage. The Eastern Empire does not ban the magics of blood, but it is generally expected that magicians will utilize available livestock or their own lives before they turn to fellow humans. This is not because of morality, but simple pragmatism. Conquered populations will revolt in rather short order if they believe they'd die either way."
Kal'enel holds up one palm. Above it appears the floating image of a sprawling port city, its structures towering higher than any you'd previously seen on this world. Several forked rivers pass near or through the city and nearly all of them look large enough to allow trade. Judging by how the docks are filled with even larger ships, this still remains true.
"This mage, who lives of the port city of Sovereign, is developing a technique that would challenge this. By infusing his victims with Node-energy, he can keep them in a tortured half-life weeks after they would've died or become useless to any other blood mage."
"Um, useless how?"
"Pain produces little power when it's not inflicted upon something with a discernible mind," Kal'enel explains grimly.
"Blood mages consider their victims expendable once they reach that point."
"...Oh."
"Indeed. Now, the problem with Node-energy is that it will destroy the mind of anyone foolish enough to tap it before they're ready. This mage has constrained it just enough to ensure it only destroys their memories. Echoes will still remain in the soul, but this technique lets him keep a Gifted alive long after they should've been released to the Havens. This is not yet enough to change Empire policy; in the end, he is still destroying sustainable sources of magic. However, if given sufficient time to develop his methods, I suspect he'll find a way to use his new technique on the ungifted. The Empire would follow."
You know it's a bit of a cruel observation, but you think Kal'enel's grim visage suits her chosen appearance. Black eyes belong on someone delivering news of gloom and doom.
"I cannot tell you who he is. I've told you where, but more than that would be overstepping. I cannot ask you to kill him, but I don't believe I need to; I'm told you have spells capable of 'destroying a building without harming its inhabitants.' I expect the Empire would be most displeased to find several missing Gifted at the site of what used to be his home. What happens after that is up to the mortals."
Kal'enel looks like she's going to continue — outlining your rewards, maybe? — but gestures for you to proceed after you raise your hand.
"Problem: I can't do area-saturation nonlethal attacks against people who don't have Linker Cores, AKA every native of this entire planet. It all goes straight into their bodies. Point-target nonlethal spells, sure, but those are probably equivalent to whatever other homing magics you have around here."
Kal'enel's scowl deepens as she shakes her head.
"Well then. You're a smart girl; I'm sure you can figure something else out. Just don't follow anyone without an escort and don't let them wander off, either."
"Still not even sure if I'm allowed to agree to this," you admit. "I told Mom and the others that I'd consult them before agreeing to anything dangerous. Chasing an innovative blood-mage sounds like it'd be pretty high on that list, especially with the whole 'will put me on the list of a few dark gods' problem."
"And I cannot demand anything of you," Kal'enel acknowledges.
"I'm simply telling you about a problem that would let me grant a proportional boon. Consult your family or don't, but know that there are no unwanted Gifts among my followers. In Karse, yes, but I still cannot tell you where."
You breathe in the scents of grass and flowers. You can hear rustling grass, the rapid-fire borks of happy ferrets, the breathing of your human friends, and the chirping of insects with too much free time on their hands. You're not too sure about Kal'enel's task, but you suppose she doesn't have much of a choice; Adept-gifts are supposed to be a big deal on this world. It stands to reason that she'd need to set a quest proportional to the reward.
You open your eyes and are treated to the sight of Sidhe and Sigurd staring at one another. Nanoha is laying on the grass with the ferrets using her as a jungle gym, and Mom is standing between you and Sigurd with her back to you.
"Okay, I'm back and I'm fine. I have news and questions, but I'm not sure how to present the news until I ask one question, so, um, Sigurd?"
The Companion's ears perk up as he breaks eye contact with Sidhe. You're treated to the sight of your friend reeling back and blinking in confusion. You're guessing she was just rifling through Sigurd's thoughts and didn't expect to be shoved out so unceremoniously.
:Hey, you're back! Maybe now your mom will stop sending me death threats.:
"I did no such thing!"
:So that wasn't the 'I am going to skin you and use you for soup' glare?:
"Eating or wearing parts of sapient creatures is abhorrent regardless of justification."
You sigh. She didn't deny the glare. Apparently, expecting your mom to fully forgive Sigurd for his transgressions was a bit much to ask.
"Please don't needle my mom, Sigurd. Anyway, if we went to Karse to grab Nanoha a gift, do you think we could overthrow its current leadership on the side? Or, actually, better question: what would it really take for V'kandis to be able to intervene in his own country again?"
:Uh. Well, I guess the most important part is the rough personality of V'kandis's priesthood. They don't respect Him, would pervert His signs if they thought they had even the slightest chance of getting away with it, would convince His followers that He was an imposter, etcetera. And since He has to respect a fairly expansive definition of 'free will,' V'kandis can't just go and smite everyone who tries to pull that sort of thing. So what you basically have to do is convince the citizens of a deeply religious country that they've strayed from V'kandis's will, and more importantly, that they should ask Him to do something about that. Isolated prayers asking for aid? Not an excuse. Massed ones? He can work with that.
:Now, He'd only be allowed to clean house in his own priesthood under those circumstances, not the nobility. Still, the priesthood provides all the mages the nobles need to keep peasants suppressed, so a popular uprising would have a pretty good chance of finishing the second half of the job. But uh, yeah, you'd need to win over most of a country. Not an easy thing.:
"I'm immune to fire," you idly remark.
"It wouldn't be as much fun as trolling them from a stake, but I can just set myself ablaze at will. Figure that would do the trick?"
:…Ooookay, maybe just a time-consuming thing, then. Well, plus some fights against priest-mages who won't take judgment sitting down, but I think you'll manage well enough against those. It's Sunhame that'll be the truly hard part; two priests and the false Son of the Sun are Adepts and one of them was blooded in skirmishes against Valdemar. Immunity to fire doesn't equal immunity to being torn to shreds by demons.:
"I can fly."
:So can they.:
"No, Sigurd, I can fly at a speed comparable to the Stalker. If all they can bring to the table is physical attacks, I can dodge."
Sigurd hesitates before answering.
:Well…: he hedges.
:I guess you might be okay? Their sworn enemy is Valdemar and Vanyel's safeguards are less effective against demons sent across the border. Oh, wait, no, I don't guess since they have a bunch of mental attacks as well. Yeah, I really don't recommend going there until your shields are in a much better state. Nanoha doesn't even have shields yet, does she?:
"Barrier Jackets do a fairly good job of shielding against mental magics," Sidhe volunteers.
"Not so good if you have time to work around them, but they definitely make a big difference in a fight."
:Again, Valdemar is their sworn enemy,: Sigurd repeats patiently.
:You know, the highest concentration of Gifted mentalists on the planet? Think mages who specialize solely in mind-magic and you'll get pretty close. Sidhe, you're an exceptionally talented beginner, but these are people who survived conflicts with Heralds and their Companions. Their shields will be sound and their attacks sharp. Jade, your shields will do a great job against most foes, but these are fire-priests. Key word: fire. I'm sure at least a few of them will have experience dousing shields of that nature. I might not have objected to visiting Sunhame, but we're talking about basically declaring war on every mage-priest in the country, including the ones who'd be on our side if they weren't just following orders out of habit.:
Sigurd firmly shakes his head.
:As you are now, you can only have two from the list of 'quickly, safely, well.' You can avoid Sunhame and pick off their popular support everywhere else before they can react; that's safely and well. You can aim for major cities; that's quickly and well. You can assassinate key figures, call out the priesthood, and hope a civil war will settle things; that's safely and quickly. I just don't see you getting Karse under control until after your schedule is cleared. Not every problem needs to be fixed in a day; Karse can wait a few months or years.:
[X] Relay what you learned to your friends (and Sigurd).
[X] Wait until tomorrow (when your mana is recharged) to go anywhere dangerous.
[] Omit the whole part about Prince Surya's stitched-spark thing (and by extension, the fragments being assimilated by part of your own soul). Probably best to just leave Mom thinking he'd settled down and had a happy life on another world.
[] Ask Mom If Magical Girls can have kids. You're genuinely curious as to why Prince Surya would pick your world instead of something safer. Maybe he'd gotten dumped in a dangerous part of the Grimm plane and decided never to go back? "Dangerous section" does, after all, describe most of the planet.
[] Advocate for going to the Eastern Empire.
-[] With Agneyastra's Soul-scanning and your mana sense, it shouldn't be too hard for you to find the blood-mage in question, right?
-[] He's supposedly still in stealth mode; if you send Parasites or something similar to his home, you can get footage of his victims and show that to the locals authorities instead.
[] Advocate for just going somewhere else and tackling that problem sometime much, much later.
-[] If he's wielding Node-magic, even if it's in a bastardized form, then that makes him an Adept. Even if you'll almost certainly be fine should it come down to a real fight, there might be — okay, would probably be some extensive collateral damage to the surrounding area.
-[] You've been pointed toward Karse and the Dhorisha Plains, but why not just go somewhere completely different? You're sure this world has to have at least one more fire god; if his followers aren't as nutso, you can grab the Gift from them.
[] Go to Karse. Annnnd that's a nope. Sigurd has a point about Nanoha's lack of shielding.
[] Write-in
Voting is locked until 11:00 AM EST tomorrow.
