I took a moment to gather my thoughts, trying to come up with a plausible answer that wouldn’t register on her [Truth] sensor. Finally, I replied, "It’s an ancient language my… father taught me. A language that has been passed down through generations and holds incredibly deep significance for me!"
Technically, I wasn’t lying at all. My father in USSR spoke Russian. The Russian language, also known as Old East Slavic, dates back to the 10th century. It was the common language spoken among the Eastern Slavs, including the ancestors of modern Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. The earliest written records in readable, old Russian existed in the 10th and 11th centuries, such as the famous "Birch Bark Manuscripts" and the "Primary Chronicle." The roots of Russian itself could be traced back over six thousand years to the Indo-European tongue.
“An ancient language? I've never heard of it before. Is it spoken by anyone else in Skyisle?"
“Just our family. Unfortunately, the language has very few local speakers,” I shook my head. "Destiny and I have been using it since we were toddlers, keeping our heritage alive. Honestly, it’s really fun, to have something between the two of us that nobody else understands.”
Kliss nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "I see. It must be fascinating to have such a rich… musical history. Consider me impressed, you two are far smarter than you initially appeared.”
A sense of relief washed over me. I had managed to dodge a potentially difficult question, and from her expression Kliss seemed genuinely interested in being friends with us.
“You revealed a lot of important things about our mom’s Blood Sacrifice,” I said, “and Ishira's Prophecy of which we weren’t aware of at all. That sort of a move is great for building trust. As a result of your actions, we’ve chosen to reveal more of ourselves to you in turn.”
The Overseer looked almost serene now, pacified by my explanation filled with half-truths and unsaid words. It wasn’t that hard for me to dance circles around the [Truth] rune because I could measure its magical resonance with my trio of Infoscopes, defining easily what it judged as falsehoods.
On a psychological level, I understood the Overseer’s situation. She was a talented and bright teenage girl, thrust into a foreign village in the middle of nowhere. She was a young, idealistic Administrator who had to deal with a contaminated area, trying to manage the locals who didn’t trust her one bit.
It reminded me of my own situation in 1960 when I was forced by the Soviet government to investigate the small villages bordering Semipalatinsk Polygon for radiation effects. The Kazakhs I examined with commissar Gradenski spoke their own language and had no clue about what radiation or viruses even were.
Kliss was clearly desperate for companionship. She was very annoyed by 'instructor' Wiklogg’s incompetence and the stubborn Skyisle adults who refused to accept the tenets of Equality. While she easily manipulated the teenagers away from Ishikarian religion, other 12 year olds were simply too young for her and couldn't keep up an intelligent conversation.
According to what the Infoscopes told me from tracking her expressions for over two weeks, Kliss was exceptionally stressed out by the fact that her Vow consistently tried to force her to kill children and she even felt guilty about using us to try and find the evil Ishira Arch-Priestess.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Thank you for the sandwich,” she said meekly, finally looking her age.
“You’re welcome,” Delta smiled.
"Being the Overseer of a mountain village where everyone worships another god, must be a very lonely position,” I said. “It must be hard trying to balance all of your responsibilities and gain the trust of the villagers you’ve been assigned to keep safe by the Empire.”
Kliss opened her mouth and closed it. By her expression I evaluated that I had struck the truth, had her hooked. She let out a deep sigh, her guard dropping slightly.
"You have no idea," she admitted. "It's been a constant struggle, trying to earn the local’s trust and convince them that the principles of Equality can bring everyone here a better future. Alas, the people of Skyisle hold on tightly to their beliefs and… traditions."
She suddenly stared at us, her fingers cranking up the pulse of the [Truth-evaluation] rune to its maximum. I literally felt pulse of potent magic pull at my soul, twisting it from within, laying it bare for the Overseer.
"Dante, Destiny... who do you worship?" She asked.
I took a deep breath, exchanging a glance with Delta. It was a question I had anticipated from the Overseer, as it carried significant weight. I knew that the truth would determine the direction of our future with Kliss.
"We don't worship any particular deity," I replied, my voice steady. Again, I was being exceptionally honest since I was an atheist raised in USSR.
“You don’t worship Ishira?” Kliss asked.
“How can we?!” Delta growled. “My mother has been hostile to me my entire life! There’s no way I could worship that bitch or have any respect for her lying priestess!”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “We have no love for Ishira whatsoever, especially since our mother confessed everything.”
“How willing are you to make a [Pact] with Goddess Equality?” Kliss asked us.
“Doesn’t the [Citizen’s Pact] require a binding by the [Inquisitor] at the [Cathedral of Equality] to truly take effect?” I arched an eyebrow. “You’ve told us so yourself.”
“Erm,” Kliss blushed. “I suppose I did. Yes. A greater sacrifice, a [Pact] like mine requires an [Inquisitor] to bind it fully.”
“Well then,” I smiled. “Let's not plan that far ahead yet. First, let's work together to save Skyisle. If we win, then we can talk about our Vow. Why, you could even take us to Cessna yourself!"
“Ohhh!” Delta added. “I would looooove to go on a real skyship!”
“How long is an Overseer’s contract?” I asked.
“I… errr,” Kliss sputtered. “My term is four years long.”
“Well, there you go,” I declared. “I hereby swear that for the next four years I won’t worship any other gods and will help you with saving Skyisle from the influence of the magogenic fault, Ishira Priests, and any other enemies that might threaten it. If we succeed, you can reward us… as you desire at that point!”
I winked at Kliss, implying that I’d absolutely be willing to say the Citizen’s Vow as a [Pact].
Delta nodded vigorously.
“T-thank you,” Kliss said. There were sparks of tears in her eyes. She let go of the [Truth] rune.
She believed us!
And why wouldn’t she? How could two teenagers possibly fool a LV 88 spell blasting across our souls at full power? From my understanding, intelligent aberrations were exceptionally rare since phantoms grew bigger and more bloated when they absorbed random remnants of souls in the Astral Ocean. From what I scanned in the old books within the church, a high level Phantom like the Hollow Mother was simply too big to fit into a child, her shell would stick out and be easily identified, made visible by light of the Hex-Lanterns.
I was clearly some sort of an undocumented case, as I was shoved into Cassandra's belly with divine blue-thread magic.
"I appreciate your honesty and willingness to help me out," Kliss softly. "You two give me genuine hope for the future of Skyisle."
Delta beamed, slid to the Overseer’s side and wrapped her hands around Kliss in one of her glomp-hugs. "From this point on, we're a team, Kliss. Don’t you forget it!”