“I’m ready!” Addy exclaimed as she entered Isa’s office. “I’m so excited for the expedition, I could hardly sleep! I didn’t think you’d really let me come.”
The former goddess glanced up from her tablet, taking in the sight of her eleven-year-old ward. The girl had grown in the years since she came under Isa’s care, exceeding what a manaless preteen should have been capable of.
If she was comparing the girl to someone in the Mortal Realm, she would have put her age at somewhere around fourteen or fifteen, especially given her height. But it was the new normal for the people of Gentrius.
“I told you I would if you learned Wind Blade. When have I ever lied to you?” Isa asked with a hint of a smile.
Addy collapsed dramatically on the plush couch next to Isa’s desk. “I know! But I still thought you might change your mind. You said it would be dangerous, and you’ve never let me go with you before.”
Isa nodded absently and returned her gaze to her tablet. “It has the potential to be. But I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’ll have Rho, Pi, and Tau with us, along with a couple of Hunter squads. Besides, I already informed the school you’d be out.”
“That’s so awesome,” Addy grinned. “My friends were so jealous when I told them I got to leave for a whole month in the middle of the year.”
Isa’s AI pinged, pulling her attention to her schedule. “The council meeting is about to start. I have to go.” She stuffed the tablet into the storage bag draped on the back of her chair and stood up. “Be ready to leave when I get back. We’re meeting the Hunters at noon.”
Addy groaned. “That’s hours from now!”
“You can spend the extra time practicing.” Isa headed toward the door. “Or get started on your schoolwork. Just because you’re excused from school doesn’t mean you don’t have to do the work.”
Addy groaned again, causing the former goddess to smirk as she exited her office.
“I’ll message you when I’m headed back to ask what you want for lunch,” Isa called over her shoulder. “We might have to eat on the way. We have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.”
Isa grinned at the girl’s half-hearted grumbles. Addy was one of the best things about the refugees coming to the ruins she’d claimed as her new home.
Part of her had wanted to adopt the rest of the orphans as well, but given how many demands she had on her time, she felt it would be unfair for her to do so. One exceptionally bright young potential mage was certainly doable, though.
Isa quickly made her way to the building that served as the Council’s headquarters and let herself in one of the side doors. She was already dressed in her council robes, and they swished around her feet as she hurried down the hallway.
Isa rarely wore her armor within the city anymore, especially now that it was becoming more densely populated. She’d had to expand the protective wall twice in the last five years to accommodate the new arrivals, but there were still miles of ruins remaining before they reached the boundary of the once grand city.
The number of hopeful migrants had not diminished in the years since the first arrivals appeared. If anything, they had only grown as word of a relatively safe city spread.
Isa had insisted that every potential addition to the city get screened prior to allowing them entry, and with a Priest of Savianette, Goddess of Home and Safety, among the first arrivals, it was something easily accomplished.
Savianette, like many deities with similar domains, could bless her more devout followers with the ability to sense intentions, especially those pertaining to the Priest’s home or safety. Using the blessing to screen for potential bad actors was well within the scope of its function.
They’d had to turn away several people, and such rejections often led to conflict and violence, thus supporting Isa’s insistence such a measure be taken in the first place.
Several heads nodded in her direction when she entered the Council Chambers and took her seat at the oval table. The whole setup was much more pretentious than she felt necessary. But having been an actual deity, she couldn’t say she disliked the pomp.
A chime sounded at the top of the hour, marking the start of the meeting. Isa sat silently as the administrative portion of the meeting was quickly taken care of.
She only half-listened as the small group discussed matters related to the growing city. It was only out of a sense of obligation that she’d postponed the expedition until after the meeting. Otherwise, she would have likely left days earlier.
“…representative arriving tomorrow. She is an Analyst, but her connection to the CEO of Mazlex – the corporation controlling Heartspire – means she should be treated more like an ambassador than a regular corporate representative.” The councilmember flicked their tablet casually. “According to the information sheet attached, Karena Mazalone is Mazlex’s CEO's daughter-in-law. She was one of the individuals formerly exiled immediately following the ascension…”
The comment about the representative being a former exile pulled Isa’s attention, and she quickly reviewed the speaker’s earlier comments.
What were the odds that Karena, a former exile, was the same Karena she knew? It wasn’t a common name.
Isa split her focus, listening with part of her attention while researching more about the Mazlex representative visiting the following day.
Isa was able to dig much deeper than most, especially given the disconnect that came with the fracture of the former Empire. It had only taken a couple of years for the Empire to fall after the ascension. However, the fall wasn’t complete since remnants of the former ruling class still held onto power in a couple of cities.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
As unlikely as she found it, somehow, her old coworker had managed to reinvent herself and marry into a position of affluence. The publicly available information about Mrs. Karena Mazalone ne. Danidaul was obviously false.
At least, the parts pertaining to her exile were.
Isa had looked into the woman and the reason behind her exile after seeing her on Horizon years before, so she was very aware of the circumstances surrounding the other woman’s ejection from the Empire.
Officially, Karena was exiled for improper conduct, threats of violence, insubordination, false swearing, malicious slander, and neurodivergence leading to instability.
Isa’s complaint hadn’t even been part of the charges; it had only started the ball rolling.
Looking deeper, Isa had found that when Karena was initially confronted by Danny Proffort, their old supervisor, Karena adamantly denied the claims against her.
She’d accused Isa of spreading malicious lies and demanded the younger woman be fired. Karena had even gone as far as expressing fear that Isa might hurt her out of jealousy based on some things she had supposedly overheard.
Danny had let her talk, recording everything. He’d even taken a statement from the woman, documenting her claims.
Once the paperwork was done, Danny showed her the footage Isa had submitted in support of her complaint. Seeing the evidence, Karena had accused the man of conspiring against her. She threatened him with all sorts of things, including accusations of misbehavior against him.
The woman even brought up her connection to the Station Commander via his daughter, who she’d attended school with, as if her connection would lead credence to her false claims.
When it became clear the woman was unhinged, Danny called for security to restrain Karena, and forwarded everything to Commander Arcspire as Karena made good on her threats to accuse him of wrongdoing.
A day later, Karena was brought before Commander Arcspire, where she immediately claimed she’d been threatened and abused by Danny. Commander Arcspire had an assistant with him – one who was able to discern truth from lie – not that it was needed, given the security footage of the previous meeting.
The assistant’s ability wasn’t like Jarrid’s blessing from Savianette. It was an actual part of the man’s class – Assistant.
Not every Assistant got a skill like that, but Commander Arcspire’s had. However, being confronted with her lies had only made Karena lean harder into her claims. She refused to admit culpability or deceit. It was almost like she thought if she was just resolute enough, Commander Arcspire would believe her over the rest of the evidence.
According to Mazlex’s corporate profile of the woman, she’d been exiled due to ‘misplaced fears and biases immediately following the appearance of magic.’
The dissonance was enough to make the former goddess chuckle, drawing the attention of her fellow council members.
“Is there something you’d like to add, Ms. Stone?” one of the older men on the council asked her respectfully.
Though she was much younger than the rest of the members – aside from maybe Jarrid, who was only a few years older – everyone on the council held an immense amount of respect for the young Spell Prodigy.
They were all aware of her background – she’d been open about it from the beginning. She’d even shared the documents regarding her exile and the determination by the previous government to overturn her exile.
They also felt confident in her technological capabilities since she’d basically built their network from scratch (and created an atmosphere on Sumar!). Because of that, nobody found it odd when she forwarded the information she’d gathered on the incoming corporate representative, including her old research.
“Yes,” she said, motioning toward a large display that suddenly showed the exile paperwork pertaining to the woman in question. “This is who the corporation is sending. The rest of the documentation is attached to the file I just shared.”
“I’ll admit to a conflict of interest here,” she continued as she leaned back in her chair. “I made the initial complaint against the woman that led to the confrontations depicted in the evidence. However, I have had no contact or interaction with the woman since the initial incident.”
“Do you want us to turn her away?” one of the council members asked after reviewing the provided information.
Isa shook her head. “That’s unnecessary. I simply wanted you to be aware of the type of person you are dealing with. And while I wouldn’t normally do this…”
Isa shifted rapidly through several sites and servers, compiling the information she sought. It didn’t take long to acquire.
“This is the most recent communication between Karena and others relevant to this situation.”
She could see the discomfort on many of the council members’ faces. Her actions were a clear invasion of privacy, but they all understood that such things didn’t really exist in the modern world. Privacy was an illusion unless you had the power to enforce it.
“I’m glad you are on our side,” one of the members mumbled, causing several heads to start bobbing.
“Yes, well,” Isa said slowly as her eyes skimmed the damning messages for the second time. “This is why you all asked me to stay.”
Her continued presence in the city was not something she necessarily needed. In many ways, it did more harm than good.
Now that the former refugees were actively delving the local dungeons to keep them from breaking, she wasn’t needed anymore. There were plenty of remote locations that were still suffering from constant dungeon breaks – places where her efforts would do more good than in Aurora.
But she’d promised to stay for at least a few more years, and she wouldn’t break a promise lightly.
“I’m sure we all agree that your continued efforts on behalf of the city and humanity are very appreciated,” the Council Chairwoman said. “And as far as this… woman… goes,” she motioned toward the new display, “I cannot say I’m comfortable welcoming someone who very clearly does not have the interest of the people in mind.”
“We do not need an agreement with Mazlex,” a councilman said. “Perhaps we should consider a partnership with New Wrightshire now that the city has begun to stabilize.”
Isa shook her head again. “It’s fine,” she said. “Just be cautious with Karena and don’t agree to anything until after she and her entourage leave. I wouldn’t put it past her to have someone with mind-controlling abilities on staff.”
Several council members looked at her aghast.
“That’s a real thing?” one of them gasped.
“I’m sure it is. Mind magic is a thing. Influencing and controlling minds is only a step beyond reading them.”
“But you don’t know for certain?” the worried council member asked.
Isa sighed. “At least one of you worships a deity. Why don’t you ask them?” she asked, turning her gaze toward Jarrid, the Priest of Savianette, Goddess of Home and Safety.
“Oh, it’s definitely a thing,” Jarrid said, not needing to pray or otherwise seek clarification. “We’ve encountered it more than once in some of the people seeking entry into the city.”
“That sounds like something that should have been brought up before now!” someone exclaimed.
Isa’s attention drifted as the council members discussed the topic further.
She was almost tempted to delay her expedition. But after giving it a bit of thought, she decided it might be better for her not to be present when Karena arrived.
She’d recommend the council keep Jarrid or one of the other people with appropriate blessings with the woman at all times. They could call them a guide or liaison or whatever.
That way, they could monitor her intentions properly.
It was possible the woman had changed in the years since they last interacted. She didn’t believe that was the case, especially after reading the messages between Karena and her contacts, but it was certainly possible.
The council could base their future decisions on the woman’s actions and intentions. And if it turned out she was more of a threat than expected… Isa could dust off an old persona she’d worn for a few lives a long, long time ago.