91. Illusion of Power (Patreon)

“You’re… really going to take over the Empire?” Agatha asked. “I thought that you didn’t want power for the sake of power.”

"I was going to take it nice and slow, but Georgia's bomb forced a far more ruthless side of me to come forward," I replied. 

"Fair enough," she said. "I suppose if I was blown up and tortured for more than a century I'd be very miffed too."

“Now, as for your other comment, what do you think power is, Princess?” I eyed the silver-blue eyed chimera-human hybrid.

“Something that eluded me my entire life due to the machinations of my mother,” Agatha muttered. “Political power, the authority to direct people. There’s also magical power. I’ve been trying to reach arcane power to bend the universe to my will, but even that has been slipping through my fingers because of the damned parasite that I’ve been forced to carry for eighteen years.”

“How is political power reached?” I asked. “What is its source?”

“Birthright and alliances,” Agatha replied. “The Emperor’s son inherits absolute power. The greatest archmagi are born to families with magical talents that magnify them over generations.”

“Ah,” I smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong. Take the current Goddess of the Empire for example. Eunice did not inherit her power. From what she told me she was a chimera that died and as a result was rejected, shamed by others. She was a broken girl without an Engram chorus of memories and because of it... she was abused and beaten often by her mother. Her rise to power wasn’t through her birthright, it was through cleverness.”

“Cleverness?” Agatha mulled.

“Intelligence!” I snapped my finger. “Intelligence is the foundation of all power. When the magitek revolution sweeps Illatius in the future, it won’t be birthright that holds the most power, it will be loyalty. Loyalty is attained through interpersonal skills, connections and charisma - things that you and Emmy sorely lack.”

Agatha frowned at me.

“Does Prince Licor hold any loyalty to you?” I asked “Is he your best friend? Your boyfriend? Your fervent supporter?"

My friend did not reply, but I could see by her expression that her fiancee was none of these things.

"Have you even kissed or held hands once?” I asked.

“We have not,” Agatha lowered her eyes, blushing. “I… do care for him but I just don’t know how to get closer to him.”

"Have you tried asking him out on a date?" I raised an eyebrow.

"We've eaten lunch together several times," Agatha said with a very sour look. "It didn't bring us closer at all - he simply talks to his bodyguard instead of me! It gets extremely awkward and I don't know what to do."

"Bodyguard?" I tilted my head. 

"Triss Agamemnon Legathe, his personal Knight and best friend," Agatha explained.

Agatha's problem had become apparent to me - she was the third wheel in an already established bond of friendship, unable to attain a moment of privacy with her fiancee.

"When privacy isn't an option, true closeness is attained through mutual fun and adventures," I said. "The toughest, most memorable bonds are made via dangerous situations in which one party helps the other overcome something."

I recalled how I managed to bring many friends together with Urbex, creating unbreakable bonds of trust with my friends as we drove across frozen Siberian roads, hiked through flooded tunnels beneath the world, climbed over Caucasus glaciers and explored abandoned power plants across the Baltic region. I trusted Pavel with my life because my life literally depended on him watching my back numerous times. I recalled how I broke my leg by falling beneath some rotten floorboards in an abandoned Georgian mountain village and how my best friend pulled me out and carried me on his back for three hours to get us back to base camp.

"Dangerous situations?" Agatha pondered. "Surely, you aren't going to threaten the Prince's life? Triss is there at all times protecting him! I see no plausible scenario that would place him in sufficient danger for me to rescue him. Even during Dungeon excursions Licor is always automatically partnered up with Triss!"

"We'll definitely have to train your charisma," I mulled. "To start off, I'll arrange a scenario in which Licor and you are bound together by a greater purpose."

Agatha fell silent at my words, looking pensive.

“Um, Juni, is Charisma not attained simply by adding points to Charisma?” Emerald asked.

“No,” I laughed. “I have only a single point in my Charismatic Allure. Charisma and visual appearance backed by magical resonance is important if you want to boss Undertown lowborns, but it won’t work on the aristocracy that have personal magical shields. The real way to Charisma lies through an illusion called perception of expertise.”

“What?” Emerald blinked.

“When individuals perceive or merely assume that a person possesses superior skills, knowledge or abilities, they award power to that person,” I said. “It’s as simple as that. There are a variety of persuasion tactics that can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviors. People are more prone to believing those with authority. Even the illusion of appearance of intelligence grants one power over others. I shall demonstrate this point to you with our little Prince. Now, here is what we have to do…”

I started to outline the plot of our little play to the two princesses. Emerald and Agatha listened aptly. When I was finished, Agatha called her fiancee and asked him to meet her in a little tower cafe inside Nemendias.

It didn’t take us long to walk to the cafe in question from the rooftop parking.

Once we were inside, I walked up to the barmaid, slid a gold coin and a copy of the newspaper with Grogtilda’s face towards her.

The stage was set. We sat at a corner booth, chatting about mundane things waiting for our target to arrive.

. . .

I recognized the future Emperor almost immediately. A fit, good looking, eighteen year old teenager in a Nemendias uniform entered the cafe. There was a certain weight to the way he held himself, every step perfect and regal. Sharp blue eyes examined the cafe, gliding right past our booth. I held onto my friend’s hands. The song of Invisibility taught to me by Eunice worked perfectly, making us part of the background, something that was unimportant, irrelevant.

The maid I tipped rushed out of the bar and guided the redhead teen towards his seat with a deep bow. The Crown Prince sat down, his orange locks lit by in the rays of sunshine spilling from large, gothic windows.

The future Emperor wasn’t alone. Another teenager had joined him at the table. His movements were sharp, less regal, more dangerous. From what Agatha told me, this was definitely Triss.

The bodyguard's eyes stopped right at the spot where we sat. The Invisibility resonance wasn’t able to affect him at all, if anything it had attracted his attention. Agatha sent him a charming smile and Triss relaxed as he sat down next to his Master.

Prince Licor Bolsh Terny spotted the newspaper on his table and immediately grabbed it. His eyes bulged as he read the headline of the Imperial Tribune. In a second he flipped to the second page, absorbing the content within.

I gave him time to properly digest the article, observing our unsuspecting target and his bodyguard. My Intelligence-bound eyes analyzed every minute detail, trying to figure out their personalities as much as I could. Licor completely disregarded the maid when she came back asking for his order. Triss was the one to speak with the waitress, giving her instructions for coffee and breakfast. When the bodyguard finished ordering food for the Prince and himself, he cast a curious glance at our table.

It was time.

I stood up. Emerald and Agatha stood up as well, following me like my two little, personal sharks. The bodyguard tilted his head at me curiously. I was something completely new to him, someone he didn’t know. He was clearly wary of me, not understanding why Agatha and Emerald trailed behind me akin to obedient puppies.

I arrived at the table of the two boys occupied and stood there, waiting for Licor to notice us.

“Your fiancee is here, excellency,” Triss said.

“Oh?” Licor lifted his eyes from the newspaper, looking at us.

His blue eyes went straight to Agatha and the smallest hint of a smile graced his eyes. Then he saw me in my dark cloak standing between the two Amadea Princesses and his expression became concerned for an instant and then changed to a neutral look.

His eyes moved to Agatha again, silently asking her for the introductions.

“Greetings your highness,” Agatha curtsied. “May I present to you, my sister Emerald Amadea…”

Agatha made a dramatic pause as Emerald bowed and offered a shy greeting.

“...and my Master, Lady Yulia Vladislava Ishenko, the Eldest Archmage of the Prism Order of the most noble Heroes and Defenders of Humanity.”

At Agatha’s declaration, I pulled my dark hood down revealing my chimera face.

I had asked the maid to direct the Prince to this exact table because of a ray of light that fell from the window onto the spot that I had now occupied. The light beam struck my ruby mane and shattered into a thousand reflections and rainbows, blessing the cafe with glittering sun puddles, practically turning me into a walking disco ball.

I lit my eyes from within by pouring mana into them, turning them into brilliant spirals of gold.

The mouths of the two teenagers in front of me fell open. I did not offer the Crown Prince a curtsy like Agatha or Emerald had and simply sat down on the chair in front of him.

“Your biomancy mods are incredible, your excellency,” Triss was the first to find his ability to speak.

I smiled at him, waiting for the Crown Prince to produce a sound. The bodyguard elbowed Licor under the table.

“Khrm,” the Prince cleared his throat. “Indeed. Truly, I’ve not seen anything like it. I am… pleased to make your acquaintance, Archmage… Ishenko. My apologies if I have mispronounced your last name. It is the first time I heard it spoken.”

“Not a problem,” I said. “My last name has been forgotten, escaped from humanity’s memory many millennia ago. It comes from a truly arcane language of which I am the sole bearer. In the lost language of the Nation and people which no longer exist it means 'the little present from the Gods.'"

My answer had stumped the two teenagers in front of me even more. Not knowing what to say next Licor glanced at Agatha who stood behind me.

“Have a seat, my children,” I said, magnifying my accent. “As they used to say, there’s no truth in standing.”

Agatha and Emerald filled the two chairs on my sides.

"Who says that? I've never heard this expression," Licor's face said. He obviously couldn't have known this metaphor because it referred to 16th century Russia.

"The 'truth in standing' is an arcane reference to debtor peasants who were punished by their landlords via beating their calves with sticks while they stood on the snow without footwear," I explained.

"That seems... barbaric," Licor blinked at me.

"The centuries fly by, but humanity remains as barbaric as ever," I shrugged.

"How bloody old is this archmage?" the Prince's expression outputted.

“You are undoubtedly surprised by today’s news,” I pointed at the newspaper in his hands, filling the awkward silence caused by the snowballing disorientation of my targets.

“Um, yes, um… my Lady,” Licor nodded. “I was just reading the news and I cannot believe my eyes. An Undertown Lowborn at Nemendias! I didn’t finish reading the article, but I had found no explanation whatsoever of how she managed to get into our Arcanarium… it simply doesn’t make any sense!”

“Ah, that's because I’m the one to blame for it,” I rolled my eyes at the newspaper with a smirk. “Miss Misem is my first apprentice in this epoch. She got into Nemendias because I taught her a few things.”

“She… is?” Licor gaped at me.

“Agatha and Emerald are my second and third,” I nodded with a sagely look. “You, Sir Terny can be my fourth, if you prove yourself capable and dedicated.”

His mind had finally caught onto the fact that I wasn’t wearing the uniform of a student or a teacher which sent him reeling into further mire of confusion.

“How in the Astral did this Elder Archmage get into Nemendias?” I saw the next question painted on his face. "If the ward let her in it means she must be a..."

“Um, will you be teaching one of the classes here, my Lady?” He asked.

“Night classes,” I nodded.

“Night classes?” Licor blinked at me. He was absolutely drowning in confusion now. His bodyguard looked just as lost offering him zero assistance as to how to deal with me.

“Archmage Ishenko will be offering… very private courses to a few chosen students in Nemendias,” Agatha whispered conspiratorially. “These courses will not be listed in the schedule or even spoken about. The other teachers will deny their existence if asked in public.”

“Oh… I see,” the Crown Prince’s face lit up. “Incroyable! A Prism Archmage in Nemendias offering secret, personal courses! How wonderful!”

He turned to me with a pleading look. “What must I do to acquire your approval? C-can my personal Knight… Sir Legathe apply for the course you offer as well?”

“Oh, anyone can apply for my classes,” I smiled softly. “But only the truly worthy, outstanding magi will get the privilege to be the future Heroes and Defenders of Humanity.”

“His excellency and I are at the top of our grade, below Agatha in knowledge but above her in magical power,” Triss declared, marketing himself and the Prince.

“Magical power is completely irrelevant to what I teach,” I said with a head shake. “You see, four years ago, I awoke after my millennia-long nap to find that my descendants are a… bit of a disappointment.”

Triss fell silent at my declaration. To a war-mage like him, magical power was clearly everything.

“What I offer isn’t mere magical techniques, it’s knowledge that was erased by passage of time, insight older than Nemendias herself,” I said with a yawn.

“I shall do whatever it takes,” Licor shook his orange mane, looking determined.

“Really? You might learn things that you do not like,” I said dismissively.

“I am willing to bear the truth,” he said. “As the Crown Prince I am well aware that many things our Empire does are rather… unpleasant.”

“You might break under the pressure of what I offer,” I eyed him with a weary look.

“I will bend where others break,” Licor declared. “I am willing to take any test you require of me, my Lady.”

"You have already proven yourself to be a capable and talented mage through your five years at Nemendias, my little Prince," I said with a sigh. "For you there is no test - there is only the truth. If you can bear it, accept it, carry it on your shoulders, you can become my apprentice."

"W-what truth?" Licor gulped. 

A thousand guesses went through his head. Sweat broke out on his forehead. Was there treason? Was he not the Emperor's real son? What did this Elder Archmage know?

“You really want to know the truth, Prince?” I asked.

“I do,” he nodded eagerly, looking very nervous. 

I let a deep, dramatic pause fill the air. Let the emotional turmoil, tension and silence build to its crescendo.

“I’ve seen the future. Everyone will die,” I said, finally shattering the quiet. “Novazem warships will unleash a magical plague and our Empire will turn to ashes. Nothing will survive it. Even the Infinite Dungeon will become silent.”

“N-no, it can’t… I don't… What? How?” Licor gasped. 

He glanced at Agatha, with a panicked expression as I turned to the window with a pensive look, thinking back of the silent, ruined Illatius.

“It’s true,” Agatha said simply. “Our generation will be the last.”

“Now,” I turned my eyes away from the window back to the Crown Prince. “What will you do now that you know the truth?”

“Anything,” he said, his hands trembling. His voice grew firmer, became filled with his youthful maximalism. “Anything. I will sacrifice my life! I will fly a ship to Novazem packed with magitek bombs if that’s what it takes to protect my people!”

“Wrong answer,” I shook my head. “Attacking Novazem is what leads to our mutual annihilation. We must make peace with the Necromagi.”

“Impossible!” Triss sputtered. “Their spies have been undermining our Empire for centuries, their damned Astral Phantoms have been attacking our people for…”

I rolled my eyes at the bodyguard.

This time it was the Crown Prince that elbowed his companion to make him fall silent.

“The Emperor’s soul does not belong to him,” Licor uttered, his voice breaking. “He is the soul of all citizens of our Empire. What will it take for me to save my people? How can peace with Novazem be reached?”

“I don’t know yet,” I said simply. “My precognition allows me to see the future with near absolute clarity, but sadly it does not show me how to turn away from it. I’m the Eldest Archmage on Andross and yet I am powerless to stop what is coming with my actions alone. The best I can do is impart my arcane wisdom to my children’s children and hope that it makes enough of a difference for humanity to steer this Empire away from a doomed timeline.”

“D-does my father know?” Licor asked, nervously running his hand through his amber hair. “Do the ministers, the Barons, or the Admiralty…?”

"No," I shook my head.

“Why haven’t you told them?!” The Crown Prince cried out.

“Their actions won’t make that much of a difference,” I said. “Many of them are old and incredibly corrupt and will only pull the blanket in the other direction if I tell them the truth. Even my archmage colleagues, the Heroes of the Prism Order are digging in the wrong direction, obsessed with Vows. You see, when you get old and reach deathlessness the affairs of mortals become boring, unimportant."

The Prince gulped again. He knew how distant archmagi could get, how they locked themselves away in their towers for decades ignoring the world as they buried themselves in their magical research.

"It is your generation that signs the dotted line, Licor. You will be the last Emperor of the Basq, not your father. How long do you think you will remain as the Crown Prince if I tell your father that you’re the one that is prophesied to bring the end of our Empire?” I asked.

“I… I understand,” Licor uttered, visibly trembling. 

The weight of my declaration now hung on his neck like a heavy load-stone. Licor was the eldest Prince but the crown could be handed to his younger brother from what Agatha told me.

He looked broken, and seemed like he was going to cry if I pushed him any further into demoralization and despair. 

“T-thank you for telling me the truth, my Lady. I… uhh… I…” He uttered.

This was the pivotal moment from which Triss could not rescue the Prince, could not protect his Master from the weight of future failure and absolute responsibility demanded by the Crown. 

I shoved Agatha out of her chair with a push.

The eldest Amadea Princess stood up and relocated to a seat next to Licor. Her hand wrapped around his.

“It’s going to be okay, Licor,” she said to him with a soft voice that grew firmer with every syllable. “We’re going to do this together. You and I will save our Empire. I will be your shield, just as Sir Legathe is your sword. I learned the truth from my Master before you did and... I swear be at your side until we overcome this looming catastrophe!”

Agatha wiped the sweat off Licor’s forehead with a handkerchief and readjusted his collar. Licor relaxed. I noted that he squeezed her hand back with his.

“Thank you,” his lips uttered to her without making a sound.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes... my Lady,” the Crown Prince turned to me, having regained his bravery thanks to Agatha's support. “I’m willing to change myself, do whatever you require of me, to learn as much as you can teach me! Thank you for coming to me, for putting your trust in me instead of my father! I henceforth swear to serve you with absolute dedication as your apprentice. I beseech you to impart your arcane wisdom upon me to guide me towards a path that will save our people!"

“Very well. Welcome to the Foundation of Dawn, your highness,” I offered the future Emperor my hand with a soft smile.