Chapter 23: Chapter 22 - Secrets revealed

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”So seeing as you’re a highly respected guest lecturer at the Academy, I’m sure you’re aware of the secret student council made up of most of the crowned students.” Karna suddenly stated while adjusting her uniform in front of the mirror.

Arjuna looked up from his book that he’d brought along just for these kinds of occasions where he had to wait. “Of course. They’re mostly harmless.” He was not surprised by the question, though the timing was unexpected.

"And when were you planning on mentioning them? Surely you knew they were going to try to recruit me." Karna continued with a playful tone. They were preparing to leave for the Academy as soon as she was ready.

“When you asked.” Arjuna had a small sneaky smile. “You can consider this as me giving you your own opportunities to fail safely. You’ve shown your skills when it comes to learning and planning. I wanted to get a feel for your skill at scheming and politicking.”

"I see," Karna said simply. She knew what he was going for. He assumed she'd be smart enough to ask him, or someone else, for advice before accepting. A relatively safe bet. He also assumed that she wouldn't rush to a decision. Also a safe bet. There was a certain amount of risk involved, as she could've accepted, but in that case, it would've served as the perfect lesson for her and she would've felt bad at disappointing him, making the lesson stick. "How bad would it have been, had I accepted? I’m not really clear on the internal politics of the Magocracy when it comes to these sorts of things.”

“Not very if I spoke to you about it before you got in too deep. I would’ve brought it up soon enough even if you didn’t. They wouldn’t have tried to use you to get at me for a while, as they would’ve needed to gain your loyalty first, so I had time.” Arjuna said with an assured voice. “And even if things had gotten bad, there are several ways I could’ve alleviated the problem. It’s not like the people behind this group are openly hostile to me. I’m just a tad too powerful and independent to the tastes of some people, and they’d like to counter that by having some leverage over me. They wouldn’t be stupid enough to actually threaten your life or anything, but they could make things more difficult for you.”

In general, the Magocracy was a very unified country. Due to the way their country was run, there was little danger of a serious internal struggle. There was also no point in antagonizing the most powerful combat mage in the entire nation when external threats were a realistic danger. That didn't mean there were no internal power struggles and political currents of course. Factionalism would always exist in one form or another. However, as someone focused on reaching Ascension, Arjuna was seen as a relatively neutral party by most. He had also proven his loyalty on many occasions and he was highly respected. Maybe too respected, which was part of the problem.

In the minds of those that focused on dealing with schemes, shadowy behind the scenes ploys, assassination, espionage, and extortion, someone who had the power and connections of Arjuna was a potential risk. It was a fact that if Arjuna decided one day to take over the Magocracy, many of the most powerful defenders of the country and a significant portion of the army would support him as his allies. Or at least that’s what these people thought. While they thought someone like Wolfgang would join Arjuna, it was more likely that the warrior would try to smack some sense into him instead. That was part of why they were loyal to him in the first place. They knew Arjuna was reasonable and worth their trust.

In a way, there was a good reason these people would prefer having some insurance over him. They’d also prefer never having to use that insurance or even show they had it in order to not anger him. They didn’t want the act of acquiring that insurance to be the thing that pushed Arjuna to act against them after all. Unfortunately, some people were simply incapable of trusting people. To them, every threat needed at least some kind of plan in place to counter.

“Anything else you failed to mention to me? Now would be a good time to fess up.” Karna prompted. She was purposefully taking her time with her uniform adjustment. It was also a brand new uniform and she had to take a bit of time to make sure it sat right on her, as she hadn’t yet perfectly adjusted to all the changes.

“Well…” Arjuna hedged, not sure if he should mention it. He had been hoping something interesting would happen between Tsumi and Karna, but that idea seemed to have been a miss. Might as well get that one out now as well, as keeping it a secret for much longer might become an issue later.

“Spit it out.” Karna pushed.

“The Headmistress of the Academy immediately figured out that you’re from the Divine Planes. She took one look at your progress in the entrance exam and knew. Tsumi has more experience with Divines than most after all, so she’s better at spotting any of the associated signs.” Arjuna finally decided that he might as well come clean.

“Wait, Tsumi? As in a blond Alpyran of about yay tall and with surprisingly small golden-colored horns?” That caused Karna to turn around and look straight at Arjuna in a hurry. “Rather charming and has a penchant for illusion magic?”

“I see you’ve met.” Arjuna smiled. This was interesting. It was also funny how Karna had failed to use the most obvious descriptor for Tsumi, the way she dressed.

“Son of a bitch. I knew she was strong and had a reason for approaching me. I just didn’t know she was the Headmistress. I briefly entertained the possibility, but it seemed way too convoluted for the Headmistress to do personally. And why exactly did you decide to keep this to yourself? Wait, don’t answer that. It was a test and you obviously thought it would be amusing.” That actually made things easier for Karna. She’d been trying to figure out Tsumi’s angle for months but hadn’t quite gotten there yet. The woman could be surprisingly circumspect, which made the whole thing a fun game. Now many of the things they’d discussed made more sense. The woman had been fishing for information and testing whether she was a Blessed Child or not.

“Well, she happens to be the most infuriating and strong-willed person I’ve ever known. Reminds me a lot of you in fact. I thought it would be interesting to see the two of you interact.” Arjuna shrugged. Not the best plan he’d ever had in retrospect. “Also, I strongly believed she wouldn’t hurt you, so…”

"We're going to have to have a discussion about what information is ok to withhold and what is not," Karna said sternly, putting her hands on her hips in a perfect imitation of a look that most mothers gave misbehaving children. She'd used that look herself many times on actual children, though she'd found that it worked quite well on most adults as well.

“It’s not like you’re one to speak. You’re not exactly forthcoming with most things.” Arjuna said a little defensively. Karna’s look was working quite well. Arjuna wasn’t exactly wrong though. The difference was that most of the secrets she kept were the kind that she was unable to and not unwilling to talk about, like her status as a reincarnator. Perhaps it would be wise to start dropping some hints to Arjuna in the near future. Just because you were prevented from saying some things, that didn’t mean you couldn’t use other methods to get around those limitations.

Karna sniffed judgingly. “I think I’ll be going ahead by myself.” Then she suddenly turned into the form she had gained during her first Awakening. The fiery bird had grown to the size of a crow, and thanks to her growing strength in Aura, certain new options became available to her. In a flash of flames, she disappeared and appeared just outside the Academy. She'd picked a place where her arrival would not be detected. She quickly turned back to her original form, not a single hair out of place.

‘That’s the one thing I love about this universe. Thanks to all the worlds being part of a huge formation, the entire universe is so static that teleportation becomes extremely easy when compared to most other universes.’ She thought to herself while walking to the nearby bridge over the river.

She’d thought about this before and had come to the conclusion that it was a shame it was so hard to talk about her nature as a reincarnator. Arjuna seemed like the type that wouldn’t judge and would actually love talking about the details and mechanics. She knew he had enough researcher inside him that a topic like that would intrigue him to no end. She was also rather fond of the man. Although his parental skills during her early infant years had been horrid, the man truly cared about her.

As a reincarnator, forming real connections of certain types became increasingly difficult the more lives you lived. It was simply a matter of numbers. Making your umpteenth true friend was not the same thing as making your first or second. Having had so many families and parents before, it was increasingly difficult to form proper familial connections the more lives you lived. Even though Karna was less affected due to the shortness of most of her lives and the way she could live in the moment, she was still glad when a real connection was formed. Even for her, those connections were harder to come by. You just couldn't feel the same about your parents after you lived enough lives. With some parents, it was easier, as it was clear they would do anything for their children. For others? Well, those connections never really materialized.

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Karna was once again people-watching other students from her vantage point. Gem didn’t even bother disappearing anymore as the door opened behind them to signal Tsumi’s arrival. “Ah, Karna. Here again, I see." The woman said as if surprised to see Karna here.

“Headmistress.” Karna nodded a greeting back.

“I see Arjuna finally spoiled our fun. Or did you figure it out yourself?” Tsumi didn’t seem too fazed by being discovered. Something seemed to shift inside her, and suddenly she was standing there in flesh and blood instead of being just an illusion. Karna could now clearly sense her cultivation, both as a mage and an Aura user, just like Karna herself was. If she had been able to feel this before, she wouldn’t have confused Tsumi for anyone in the first place, as there were only so many potential ninth circle mages around the Academy.

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“That’s a nifty trick.” Karna commended. “As to your question, I had my suspicions, but I have to admit that the Headmistress was not my first guess. It’s so hard to judge the age of Alpyrans.”

Tsumi grinned a bit mischievously. “Yes, something I’ve used to my advantage often. I was surprised when you didn’t recognize me immediately when I first appeared before I realized Arjuna hadn’t said anything. Why did he have to spoil things now?”

“I was squeezing him for information on the secret student council thingy. He admitted to not telling me about it as a test, and I asked what else he was keeping from me. He spilled the beans.” Karna explained with a fond smile.

“That would do it. I heard you turned them down by the way. I’d have advised you to do the same, but for different reasons I suspect.” The Alpyran woman sat down on the bench next to Karna. Gem jumped into her lap in the form of a Faerie Dragon once again, and Tsumi scratched the spirit under the wings. Gem looked supremely comfortable in her lap, and it probably wasn’t just the scratching. Karna had long suspected that the spirit was a bit of a pervert, and this didn’t do anything to dispel that suspicion. “They’re a useful group and not a bad one. Just that they can get a bit pompous and too convinced of their own excellence, and they’re often controlled by the old members that have graduated already.”

“No need to defend their existence on my account.” Karna gave a small non-committal gesture. “I recognize the utility of such groups.” She’d certainly seen much worse in her previous lives.

“I’m not exactly defending them. I just wanted you to have a fair picture. I’m not sure how neutral Arjuna was.” Tsumi said idly.

“He was surprisingly frank actually. Returning to the earlier topic of your position though, was this your doing?” Karna pulled out the Epiphany Pill.

“That one? No. I allowed it to be placed in your resource bag because I wanted to see what would happen, but I didn’t place it there myself. That one came from Master Rajian. I believe he was the teacher that showed you around during your exams. He needs a favor from your father. Or to be exact, he needs a favor from someone who’s close to Ascending, and the choices he has are a bit limited.” Tsumi explained. Her voice had gained a bit of a sympathetic tone, which showed she wasn’t all too opposed to whatever Rajian wanted to achieve.

“What favor?” Karna asked, not entirely surprised. She had sensed Rajian had some special interest in her during the exams. She just didn’t know why, and the teacher had not seemed like someone who had malicious intentions. As the person carrying the True Name Karma, she had become rather adept at judging such things.

“It’s not widely talked about, but to allow the people who have reached immortality to Ascend in peace, the Emissaries from Divine Planes allow the person Ascending to ask a bunch of questions. That, along with some time to settle any affairs on this plane, is meant to help the person Ascending to sever their connections with the past. The Emissaries have many abilities the people of the Higher Planes do not, and their reach is very long, so they can find out things other people can’t. Or in this case, they can find people. Rajian needs to find someone. It’s a family matter that I won’t go too much into. I’d wager he’ll try other methods to gather your favor later on as well, as he knows a single pill isn’t enough to earn your father’s cooperation. Especially since you didn’t even consume the pill and managed to increase your rank without it.” Tsumi looked at the pill meaningfully.

Karna had already prepared an explanation about her rather advancing due to her own effort, and saving the pill for someone else who might need it more, but she noticed that there was something odd about Tsumi’s expression. It was as if the Alpyran woman was waiting for her to say something, knowing it was a lie, and being amused at the prospect. So Karna went with the same old tactic she had used to explain her sudden change in size. She didn’t.

“That brings us to something I think we should address. I’m fairly confident you’re what many call a Blessed Child in addition to being from a Godling. You’ve done a good job riding the line, but there are enough puzzle pieces to form a complete picture, or at least close enough to one. No need to say anything, as that is ultimately irrelevant and I know the Blessed actually can’t speak freely about their nature for some reason.” Tsumi waved Karna’s initial response down.

“Yet you brought it up.” Karna pointed out instead of trying to confirm or deny the woman’s words. Tsumi had already formed her opinion, and to a large extent, Karna didn't care what the woman thought.

“Yes. I and certain other people have noticed a worrying trend in the last couple of centuries. There are more suspected and confirmed Blessed Children being born than ever before. And that’s only those Blessed Children that we’ve actually spotted, which means there’s likely a lot more we have no idea about. We also speculate the same is happening in the other planes. Blessed Children tend to be harbingers of change even during normal times, not to mention when their numbers are this high. This is where hopefully you come in. Whether you are a Blessed Child or not, you are a Godling with enough potential that you can match the Blessed.” Tsumi finally got to the point of this meeting.

“And what exactly do you want from me?” Karna’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t averse to making deals, as mutually beneficial deals kept things running, but she didn’t like going into a negotiation like this unprepared.

“Not necessarily anything. Just your presence in the Magocracy would be a deterrent for any prospective Blessed Child that wanted to try and take advantage of us. Ashanti Goldmane is the most likely candidate to try something, but not necessarily the most dangerous one. We’ve noted that the suspected Blessed mostly either clash violently as soon as they meet, in which case their differences are settled in a duel, or they stay out of each other’s way, respecting some sort of invisible territorial boundaries we haven’t fully figured out. There’s always a risk that your presence here can attract the attention of some Blessed Child that would’ve ignored us otherwise, but that would be a danger whether you cooperated with us or not and we can help to keep you safe. I’d rather benefit from the upsides of having a perceived Blessed Child in the Magocracy since that seems to be the more common scenario.” Tsumi explained with a shrug. “If just having you around will keep at least some of them away, then that’s rather beneficial just by itself.”

Karna couldn’t really explain to Tsumi that things between reincarnators were a little more complicated than that, but the woman wasn’t entirely wrong. Reincarnators knew that their greatest adversaries were often other reincarnators, as long as they survived the early childhood of course. Yet at the same time, most of the reincarnators knew there was no need for any unnecessary battles. Most of the more powerful reincarnators were quite happy to leave the weaker and more inexperienced ones to their own devices as they were not a risk, while the weaker ones didn’t want to pick fights with enemies that potentially had a hundred times more experience than them. There was a certain level of camaraderie between many reincarnators as well, formed out of a shared identity. Some reincarnators were just plain insane though. “There’s a hole in your plan. What happens after I Ascend?”

Tsumi noted that Karna had said after, which implied it was only a question of time and not whether it happened or not, and she liked the girl’s confidence. “If our estimations are correct, then it won’t matter. Things will likely come to a clash in the next handful of decades. I know from what I’ve learned about you so far that while you cultivate fast, you also like to take your time to make sure you do everything perfectly. I’m almost certain that the problem will start solving itself by the time you Ascend. Or even if that isn’t the case, then at least we would’ve gained some time to come up with alternative solutions and we’ll have much more information.”

“Like a wise man once said: what’s in it for me?” Karna had so far heard very little that would benefit her.

“Well, it’s not like I’m asking for much that you wouldn’t have done anyway. I simply want you to attend the Academy and be excellent. You're going to draw attention to yourself anyway. I'm just asking you to not hold back in a wasted attempt to hide some of that excellence. Currently, you're avoiding the Blessed Child label, while I think you should embrace it instead. Or at the very least allow others to speculate. We’re not expecting you to even do much fighting, as that’s what we’re here for and honestly it’ll take decades for you to become strong enough to matter in those fights. Ideally, I'd like it if you showed yourself off a bit and maybe attended a couple of tournaments or similar events so that the potential other Blessed would be aware of your presence, but even that is entirely up to you." Tsumi said carefully, realizing they had entered a negotiation of sorts.

“Still not hearing anything that benefits me. That’s just what you want from me.” Karna pushed. This sounded like a lot of hedging instead of a proper pitch.

“I was getting to that. Let’s mention the obvious benefits first. You’ll have access to many resources, as it would be in our best interests to make sure you were as powerful as possible, as well as access to all the different classes in the Academy, even those that are usually reserved for certain majors only. If you are not a Blessed Child, the benefit of those lessons should be obvious. If you are, as I suspect, then the lessons will serve as a good excuse for all the skills you possess when it comes to those people that you want to remain in the dark about you being Blessed. Here’s the real reason you should do it though. Your divine heritage.” Tsumi finally got to the real crux of her argument. There was also a note of real concern in her voice. She wasn’t suggesting the deal just for the benefit of the Magocracy and the Academy, but for Karna’s benefit as well.

Karna gestured for her to continue, and Tsumi was quick to oblige. "For most people, being thought of as a Blessed Child would be their biggest worry. For you, however, I think your divine heritage being known would be a bigger problem. If my guesses about why you and Arjuna have decided to try and hide that heritage are correct, then you would likely want certain Emissaries looking the other way. Sometimes the best way to hide something is in plain sight. I get that you’d prefer to avoid the Blessed Child label for personal reasons, but you don’t actually have to confirm anything. Let the others come to their own conclusions while those close to you can see you working hard and taking lessons that explain your skills and knowledge. And if the Emissaries have an obvious explanation as to why you're out of the ordinary, they no longer have a reason to look for another reason. You’ll get the best of both worlds. The divine parties will assume you’re another Blessed, currently among many for reasons we are unsure about, while I will help make sure those close to you have adequate reasons to explain away your skills and knowledge. You’re soon enough going to be noticed by the powers that be anyway. At least this way you’ll get to control how you’ll be viewed. “

“I could just hide myself completely.” Karna pointed out another possibility. One that she didn’t really believe in, but it had to be mentioned.

“No offense, but I don’t think that’s going to be possible. You’ve been riding the line well so far, but you still can’t hide your excellence. I get the sense that doing a bad job somehow offends you. While commendable, it’s also not helping you hide yourself. So far you’ve limited yourself to barely what an exceptional genius could accomplish, but with your recent changes, I doubt that’s going to be possible any longer. And you honestly aren’t doing that good of a job of hiding your divine heritage.” Tsumi shot that argument down.

“Am I not?” Karna smiled under her veil. Then she stood up and removed the veil while releasing her hold on her own Aura and on the ability that all Godlings had to influence people around them. She knew Gem would make sure her powers would not be felt outside this little balcony.

Tsumi had to actually use her own Aura to disperse Karna’s. It was not exactly burdensome for someone as powerful as Tsumi, but it was still enough to be a nuisance. There was thickness and purity to Karna’s presence that she had not felt before with other Divines. Even with her Aura dispersed, Karna looked almost as if she was radiating light and holiness. Tsumi felt an instinctive press of sheer awe pushing at the edges of her mind despite the defenses she had in place, and there was an almost instinctual need to pay her respects in front of the girl. She could resist rather easily, but it was still an experience she’d rather not repeat.

Karna withdrew her presence almost as quickly as it had appeared and replaced the veil on her face. “Remember Headmistress, there are those with a spark of Divinity, and then there are true Divines. All Godlings are not created equal, and their parentage can make a vast difference. Some things are harder to hide than others.”

“Lesson learned. However, my point still stands. I have the materials and the artisans necessary for creating an item that will hide all traces of…well that. And you wouldn’t have to hold yourself back anymore. I suspect that suppressing your nature isn’t very pleasant.” Tsumi had truly underestimated Karna, but luckily she’d been prepared. Now she was even more eager to enlist the girl’s help.

“Your offer is still a little thin, but I’m willing to make a deal if you can do something else for me. Two things to be exact. I want my friends to also get access to all the lessons you promised me. They would also greatly benefit if they were to run into some great masters at some point. I’d like to help my friends grow into something great, and you would also benefit.” Karna had already known that hiding her status as a reincarnator was something she could keep up for a limited amount of time. She had been planning on enlisting Arjuna’s help, but Tsumi had come to offer a deal at the perfect time. If she was going to get paid for doing something she’d do anyway, why not?

“Deal. I was expecting something like that. What else?” Tsumi agreed immediately. The limits on classes and majors were more like guidelines anyway, and if Karna’s friends had decent potential, finding masters for them was just to be expected.

“You’re not the only one who wants something from me. I need you to work your connections and keep an eye out. Specifically, I need to find people who seem to be able to draw power directly from the Elemental Planes. They’re all Blessed Children, but they might not be obvious about it.” Karna could save some time and effort if she could take out some of the threats early. There were ways of handling the reincarnators without giving herself away if she got to them early enough. The results of a small scale duel were much easier to hide and keep contained than those from a world-shaking battle.

“That’s…not an ability I’ve heard about, but I suppose it would be something that wouldn’t be easily revealed unless absolutely necessary. I can keep my eye out.” Tsumi promised. It was an easy promise to make.