Our Continuing Days - Day 5, Part 5.2

(...) Having gone through that, we headed to the room in which we would be left in private, where the protocol we had been following also would officially end. That also happened to be the bedroom in which I currently slept in, and as if I wasn't being clear enough, the way the bedsheets and pillows were organized implied I was expecting company - not to mention the fact the sheets selected were of the kind that is usually easier to clean. Neither of us really commented on this, and instead headed to the balcony to an exit of the room, one that showed us the gardens in the internal part of the palace's gardens. As the pleasantries took us around half an hour, night time was already starting to get chiller, though that hardly mattered, seeing as despite being opened to the outside air, there were barriers placed around that balcony to keep it from getting too cold. There, we sat around a small table for the two of us, where the plan was to continue our talks more openly until dinner arrived. After sitting, we were left alone, which prompted me to begin our conversation once again. 

—I'm sorry you had to play along under those rules. Know that I plan to avoid them in meetings to come as well. — As soon as we were alone, I felt it best to get that out of the way. As a sister of the will, I didn't exactly expect Nalfimiria to enjoy it much. 

—Oh, don't be. As much as this part of your job may seem strange to us, I understand why they're still necessary, even with people who might not share in your customs. We've also succeeded in communicating a little through it, right? For now, that should be good enough. 

—I suppose. I'm surprised you knew how to read through that kind of circumstance, however. This form of speech isn't common on elven lands, from what I heard. 

—It occasionally comes up when talks involve foreigners, even if it isn't normal for us to partake in it as well. Visiting a distant place without first understanding its habits would be rather rude, besides. 

—Indeed. And yet, I'm not sure if that is as common a habit among us humans as it should be as of now. 

—That should hardly surprise either of us. Your kind rarely plans traveling as in advance as mine. Not to mention, the time it takes to research this sort of matter is hardly as significant to one of us as it would be to you. 

—Perhaps. Hard to judge from my position, as I barely am 19 myself. Still, sometimes I feel like our mandatory history or geography classes should focus less on teaching certain details of our own regions and nations but instead on giving our citizens a chance to understand the world at large. Understanding history post the Greater Ones within limited context is far harder, after all. — I said so due to many of the similarities shared between the actions of the Greater Aspects in different parts of the globe, as well as the effects they entailed. I believed a more general understanding of history might paint a clearer picture of the fact our entire world had its recent structure in some way greatly shaped by the Great Six. 

—To an extent, maybe. History is such a dense topic, though. A generalized view of it wouldn't teach much about it at all, especially if we aren't restricting ourselves to the times post the First Contact. Though I suppose neither of us truly has experienced classes the way human children normally would, so it's hard to tell. — In her case, it was because she had over a hundred years of classes by that point. In mine, it was because people used magic to cram books into my head since I was 4. 

—Indeed. It has been a topic of study of mine occasionally, to best understand the administration of education, but finding time to study the practical sides of it would be rather difficult. I've been thinking of finding shifts for this matter during shifts off reduced sleep, however. — Most of the Watchers are capable of using magic that speeds up the processes taking place during sleep, which includes Stag of course. That would reduce the hours we needed on a specific day, similarly to how cognitive enhancement would develop over the course of the years. But since this form of infusion was more invasive, not only did it accumulate cognitive fatigue over the night, if overused it had the possibility of affecting my long term memories for a period. Hence, it wasn't a tool available constantly, and oftentimes pulling normal all nighters was simply less risky. 

—You must be really busy then. Finding time to meet me likely wasn't easy either. 

—Well, not exactly. This kind of socializing counts as work hours for us, so technically the time I spent preparing still counts as work, as does this talk. The same applies to getting information on the six of you as well. — Nalfimiria knew Stag had been keeping track of them, so I figured I might as well keep that card in the open. 

—Is that so… Won't that end up piling more to do later on, though? 

—Not necessarily. I don't have many administrative powers as of now, so most of what reaches me does so for my own training. Most of my power as of now consists of being able to use Mother's signature, after all. As a result, the direct workload related to the crown is relatively flexible as of now. Other obligations can also be adjusted with some ease. 

—I understand. Considering how much we talked earlier, and how little was actually said, I imagine this usually must be quite dull. 

—It ends up making situations where I can talk honestly feel more engaging as well. It's a trade off, in a sense. — While starting to say so, I initially turned my view away from her for a moment, before tilting my eyes part ways in her direction and grabbing hold of one of her hands, which currently rested on the table in front of us. — Though I should add, this kind of work like socializing isn't restricted to talking. Anything that may help pleasing a guest or deepening our friendship works as well. — When I looked back to her, I was blushing slightly to pass the message all the clearer. Despite the suggestiveness of my actions, I kept my tone at mostly casual while stating so, before releasing her hand and returning to my normal stance. 

—So you can fuck while on the clock. I'd say that's enviable, if I didn't know what that implied fully. Those constraints also apply to sex at times, don't they? — She placed a finger on my lips while saying so. Not necessarily in a sexual sort of way, just mostly as a means of expressing concern, if I had to guess. A princess's mask comes from her smile, after all. 

—Yes, but that hardly escapes the norm for this role. Besides, the requirements to meet before I can try to be myself aren't that difficult to accomplish, as they're more or less the same as for the ones of simply acting naturally in any normal situation. — While saying so, I took the hand she had used to touch my lips in both of my arms. I tried smiling genuinely in that situation, to express that I was glad to spend time with her, as one of such cases. I probably looked a bit awkward while doing it, though. I was so used to hiding my emotions and thoughts from others, expressing them truthfully had always appeared to be way harder than pretending. 

—In other words, the people among your workers that you trust, some of the top members of your government, or who are close enough to royals of other human lands to know the standards under which you all have to work, other royals and foreigners who wouldn't value this particular aspect of your culture. In this sense, I get why you would want to meet me personally. I check multiple of those boxes, and debatably all of them. Still, not a whole lot of people, even accounting for the fact you're way more trusting than most others under similar jobs. 

—Perhaps. And that makes all the meetings like this all the more pleasant, no? Besides, I personally don't see an issue with being more trusting than the average. Stag is still reading most of their minds frequently, as do all other Court Watchers, meaning any real chances of betrayal or the leaking of important information is still minimal. Especially considering the Great Six use their Influence Zone to partially cover for us. And frankly, as much as it's true that having so many witnesses for my more natural sides makes me appear less perfect in the public's eye, I believe there is an advantage to that. It's from this kind of humor that we humanize ourselves in the eyes of the public. And my job isn't to be a perfect princess, or a perfect woman. It's to try to represent the limits to which humanity can aspire. To show that our frail, youthful and foolish kind has a place in this world. Or at least, that's how I've always interpreted my instructions. Are you here to correct me about them, sister? 

—Not at all. I can't say what exactly the Great Sisters intended when they started getting involved with yours and other human crowns, but from the outset, your path is in line with ours. Still, dealing with you must be rather difficult for "Stag", as you called her. 

—How so? I always thought she liked me, to be blunt. 

—I know. That's the point. For the Court Watchers, guiding good kids through the path of a Sacrifice must be all the harder. I imagine just spotting the affinity on a royal child with a Paragon factor like yours must already cause them to shiver internally a little. 

—Well, aren't you a specialist? Anything else you would like to add? I've known Stag for 19 years and the only things I know about her are that she is a woman and a High Elf. If there are any other hints our lovely ageless hunter would offer me I would appreciate it. 

—Come now, the tricks of my trade are reserved for its practitioners. All I'm saying, with over two thousand years of doing this, this likely hasn't been the first time she had to raise a kid she liked into a role she knew would make her miserable. It's why it's awkward for us in the sisterhood to interact with your part of the path as well. We are more or less complicit in the trauma machine that was your training years. 

—But that also means I have nothing to hide in front of any Path Tracer, a point you might have forgotten about earlier. So regardless of how awkward this might be for you, I'm still happy when I get to spend time with members of the sisterhood. Can't you indulge this Sacrifice with that much? — I smiled with glee while delivering this line. It isn't easy to get an edge word wise against an elf, so picking up a bit of momentum in her pity party did satisfy me a little. So much so, that I broke the unspoken rule of the debate and continued talking after that previous point. 

—Besides, even if my part in the Path wasn't entirely chosen, knowing there are so many others in this battlefield with me is comforting. It's a pity I don't get to take a more exciting role in it, though I'm sure watching over this land called Rasdwinvhyr will bring me many smiles as well. Both of the honest kind and those resulting from a front. — I had held her arm through that whole exchange, to keep her closer. As the Sacrifice in this relationship, I also felt gestures like that were important to keep it clear I didn't spite any of them. 

—Even if you know at least one of your future daughters will go through the life you've fought to save your sister from? — Her last words in this part of the discussion almost made me feel like I lost the momentum I had. Yet even if it briefly shook off my smile, I still stood firm on my stance. 

—Yes. And I'll try my hardest to make this life as easy as possible for her, from as soon as we meet. Even if I know she will also be deprived of a lot of things, just as I had. At least hopefully I'll get the chance to select an heir quickly, so that my other children don't have to live as I had. Hopefully, I'll get this done with only two or three kids too, just as mother. But more than anything, I just hope neither my brother nor sister are also forced to breed royal heirs because I failed to raise mine. — Breed might seem like a strange choice of words for this context, seeing as it is often kept from the context of intelligent beings. It was definitely intentional, though. 

—Alright. Just remember, the Great Sisters never asked from you many of the things your family and many others have asked to be mandatory in your training. I am confident if you decided to lighten the load, they would support such a request. — She said, forfeiting the point. Her tone felt more serious in that answer specifically, but I imagined that simply meant she found it an appropriate way to close the subject. 

"We're over that, then. I hope she understood my position well in all of this." As with most times I met a sister or brother, I was sort of expecting this conversation to come from her eventually. After all, as far as Nalfimiria was aware, I was a victim of a crime she was an accomplice to. I couldn't see much sense in that view of things, though. Perhaps the tools to enact my sacrifice had been provided by the Greater Ones, yet the deed was carried out through my own hands, if not by the times in which we live. Even if the tools are their offering, I hardly think life would have been that difficult if I had simply been abiding by the requirements placed by the Greater Aspects. And since I suspect these words provide exactly zero explanation by themselves, perhaps some clarification is in order? 

Not that this matter was particularly complicated to begin with. The contract of mutual support between the Greater Aspects and most human Royal Councils comes both with benefits and expectations aimed towards us. Both of the terms that matter for this particular question relate to the parts of the contract concerned with our training. The Greater Ones, more specifically the Material Twins are the ones who set the goals behind our education and the minimal marks we need to accomplish, and to fulfill said goals, the Court Watchers are given the duty to teach us among their other roles. To normal humans, those marks would be considered unreasonable, but I hardly found them difficult, given the assistance we were being offered. Simply being given the chance to develop magic at a faster pace would already be a significant boon, yet that assistance also implied studying under their infusing magic. Needless to say, learning is much easier when your teacher can intensify your cognition hundreds of times over, and the fact both physical and mental exhaustion can easily be healed by an ascended healer only speeds up such a process further. 

Under this level of assistance, the absurd requirements of the Material Twins become quite lenient. They merely ask us to know the core of public speaking, as well as have advanced knowledge in all areas of government a royal has the power to act within*. It wasn't uncommon for us to accomplish that part of their conditions within our childhoods, as a result. As times progressed since this contract was signed, additional needs were found by our own notice. In Galecirnan, a common result of this was the increase in practice of our social skills and cultural knowledge over the centuries, as these are useful weapons when monitoring the remnants of the region's former nobility and the aspiring powerful rising beside them. Taking up an image they might declare as dignified to better fit their image of royalty, as that seemed to slowly make them forget we're declared subordinates of the Greater Aspects, the ones who slowly bled them of any excessive authority once held. This in itself wasn't that difficult an adaptation either. 

(*In my case, it included: international relationships; diplomacy; regional geography; regional and international geopolitics; regional history and the core sections of descriptive history of our allied nations; modern social studies; economics; various aspects of national structuring and the main languages spoken in each international council my nation took regular part in. Not exactly realistic for a person to accomplish before hitting 19 normally, but magic can push the brain to intimidating extremes.) 

The hardest adaptation came from a more modern issue, connected to the standing of the human regions within international circles. Namely to the fact we are rarely even considered a necessary part of them to begin with. Being more dependent on the aid of the Great Sisters than most other regions and nations, the presumption our diplomatic policy would never break too far away from Lady Telphilicallys's intentions often proved true. Not to mention, the older social kinds have a lot of peculiarities about how they like carrying out conferences of this sort, ones that often make our presence in them feel lessened. They tend to breach topics of common interest with little reserves to detail, often sparring little consideration for the unspecialized in these subjects. With how broad our education needs to be to meet our desired marks, it is quite difficult to excel as much at the individual sections of it as a diplomat who's been practicing and studying these same subjects for over three hundred years. At times they even recommend us to simply rely on their advisors, as they claim training people for these roles is far easier and more effective for them. 

These interactions became a recurring issue in international assemblies almost as soon as all social kinds agreed to partake in such discussions jointly. And while no signs of it being mean-spirited were present, with the many centuries of them being common occurrence, to most human leadership it slowly became symbolic of the power disparity between our nations and those of social kinds with easier access to magic. As attempts at closing that gap became a more pressing worry for humanity near the start of the fourth millennium, one challenge to do so was to reaffirm our agency and belonging within international discussion, and it was far from the only one brought about by this search. 

Though time still limited us, access to the methods described below made the royalty benefiting from this pact uniquely qualified to ignore such constraints partially, after all. Naturally, this combined with other similar needs meant the time we dedicated to work and study grew immensely, against the recommendation of the Material Twins, in fact. They viewed the more extreme applications of such a philosophy to be akin to sacrificing our personal lives in their entirety for the sake of our task, the point in which the term "Sacrifice" began being addressed towards us more frequently. They never stopped this practice and generally requesting assistance with this is within the terms for our contract, but their general sentiment towards it seemed to be enabling someone to live miserably. 

—But since you were so insistent on declaring your pity for my situation, might I ask for some type of update on your end? — As preferable as I found to avoid inspiring sentiments such as pity to begin with, that didn't mean I was unwilling to use them, and they certainly seemed prevalent in the previous topic. Especially since it helped push the conversation away from that matter. 

—Sure, but there isn't much to say yet. Chiaisei seems to be growing more willing to rely on my advice. She plays a key role in each of my solutions, so every step has its worth, as far as that one is concerned. It seems the others are starting to understand Senshinzako's situation better as well. Trying to address that matter should make Fasnilthar more contemplative as well. The more she suspects that what she's missing might be something obvious, the sooner she will begin to question things she has been taking for granted so far. Just knowing what Chiaisei is feeling won't instantly melt the original "mystery", after all. 

—I can see that, as much as the mystery itself seems about as elusive as the color of the sky. It sounds like progress won't be immediate, though. Sure you can pull it off in four weeks? 

—But of course. These things might start slow, though they pick up speed rather quickly. Once the first piece tips, I doubt it will take a week until all others crumble besides it. Like a tower of blocks built by a drunk, sometimes the smallest push is all it takes for perspectives without grounding to crash. The young ones shouldn't need that much guidance to spot their mistakes, considering how smart they each are. — Her confidence seemed all the more apparent when viewed personally. As this wasn't a topic I could claim authority on directly, it was quite the reassuring sight. 

—Just a small push, huh… Well, better leave it to able hands, regardless. I'm sure finding the opportunity for that push is nowhere near as simple as you make it sound like. — While saying so, I also noticed a window to a matter I was quite interested in confirming. And so, I watched her take a sip from her glass as I quickly strung together the best words I found to express this question. Since there was no guarantee she had the intent of answering it, I figured I should be somewhat careful about the appeal I would be making. 

—Though since we've already spoken of them this much, may I ask for confirmation regarding our second guest? She seems core to the plans you've been hatching so far, and seeing as she is the main motivation for this little act, never being told for a fact that our suspicions are correct have always been a matter of slight tension on this side. Not that I suspect the Watchers are misleading us, of course. — Specifying who I was speaking off seemed entirely unnecessary between the two of us. 

—Confirmation, is it? For the most part, I see no reason why the most obvious candidate wouldn't be chosen in this case. Especially given some of the less publicly known truths of our young empress's story. Am I correct in assuming you're aware that "The First Grace" isn't a wholly accurate title? — The fact she referred to Chiaisei as the "young empress" in itself was rather motivating, but I was certain the story she was about to tell me would be rather interesting for my goals as well. 

—But of course. That whole tale felt too exaggerated to ever be accurate. I am hardly a specialist in such matters, though I doubt a human would simply be born with inherit magic while barely showing any traces of corporeal magic. 

—Indeed. Chiaisei may be the record breaker among your kind, but if that story were to be accurate far more about her would be abnormal other than the excess of affinity. There are other explanations for that same situation which are far less extreme as well. The real one simply hadn't been offered because it would center more attention on that child than the rumors ever could. Thus why an official statement never was made either by the Sisterhood or the Empire itself. — Guessing the truth was hardly difficult for me as well, so I didn't bother asking more about it. 

The most reasonable explanation was that Chiaisei was already smart enough to begin going through guidance at three and someone capable of providing her with accelerated guidance sped up her growth, leading to the girl already being capable of magic at four. The sisterhood was too careful to allow one of its Watchers to do this without sufficient supervision to the child in question, so it was unlikely they were the ones who provided the child with assistance. This meant the most likely explanation was that one of the plethora of mythical beings present in the surroundings of the Empire took interest in humanity's newest record breaker and in their carelessness caused something of a mess as a consequence. The only part of this story that I viewed as a mystery was why Chiaisei hadn't skipped the first half of the apprentice stage as a whole, considering the Core Gate of Yealmyrn would be a requirement to conjure any form of Soul Link, regardless of how short it was. I had my own theory as to the how for that matter, but I see no need to elaborate on it now. 

—I suppose maintaining the mystery might have given less weight to the matter in this case, even as inaccurate as the resulting rumors have been. That only makes me more curious about the details I'm yet unaware of, though I assume they're the reason the sisterhood deems Chiaisei's candidacy as the Empress as a given? 

—More or less. The oddities pile up quite high as far as this case goes. I've been advised to treat her as the next empress as well, and it seems like the full story would make it rather obvious as to why. Not that I've heard it entirely by this point either, as I didn't quite see the necessity for it. — I didn't completely trust her denial of having the whole truth, yet based on her tone determined she wouldn't comment any more in this direction. 

—How very patient of you. I wouldn't have handled my own curiosity by now, in your place. 

—Oh, you know. The additional years tend to help out considerably. — And with that exchange of jests, that implied silence was made official. From this point on, our conversation started diverting into less serious matters.