Chapter Two Hundred Fifteen: 'O, flittering interloper...'

It felt good to fly. The wind beneath her wings was the most natural thing in the world. She could hardly believe that her siblings used to fear this so much when they were younger. Birds afraid of flying? How absurd.

No doubt, it had been due to the consistently terrifying stories that their father used to tell them about... well, everything. He'd obviously been trying to instill a wariness of the outside world in his children.

And Pauline Gaolanet couldn't help resenting him a little for that. He'd always made her out to be the troublemaker of the group, but to her mind, she was the only normal one in the family. Living in constant fear--that was abnormal.

She knew perfectly well that her father would chastise her later for what she was currently doing, but she was honestly quite tired of listening to him. Did he really have their family's best interest at heart?

Well, yeah, he probably did, actually.

She would've liked to use his incompetence or his lack of care as an excuse for her decision to go to Sescoria right now, but even she had to acknowledge how unfair that would be. Her father was no fool, and he meant well. Of course he did.

But she was already in her thirties, and she still felt aimless in her life. Sure, Sparrows had slightly longer life spans on average than humans did, but that was no justification at all, as far as she was concerned. With as much as her father talked about maintaining their freedom and privacy, Pauline couldn't help feeling like she was sorely lacking in both, most of the time.

Even now, she could sense that he was already beginning to chase after her.

At least she'd managed to get a good head start. Flying at her top speed, it wouldn't take long to reach Sescoria at all, and she knew exactly where she wanted to go.

Bosliat Palace. Or Belgrant Castle. Wherever the Queen was.

More than anything, Pauline wanted to know how that woman was reacting to the news of a supposed second Continental War. What would she do? Anything at all?

Maybe not. 'Wait and see' was a perfectly viable plan, especially considering none of the countries in question were their neighbors.

Pauline wasn't eager to participate in a war, by any means, but she did think it was better to know in advance if one was coming their way. Surely, even her father wouldn't be able to protest that logic.

Oh, what was she thinking? Of course he would be able to. Somehow.

The capital of Atreya was already coming into view. This was one of the reasons Pauline loved flying so much, the sights from the air. Humans could build such remarkable things with their fidgety little fingers, couldn't they? She might've been jealous if not for her ability to make up the difference with her mind.

They were fun to observe, humans. In her youth, she'd often played with them without her father's knowledge. It was so tempting to toy with their minds a bit. Many times as a chick, she hadn't been able to resist that temptation, but she knew better now that she was older. Humans often appeared helpless against the power she could wield.

But that wasn't so. Not entirely.

Humans were dangerous, if you weren't careful. And maybe even if you were.

It was easy to look down on them. To think that her intelligence made her superior. But intelligence was a fickle thing. In some ways, she felt that the humans were much smarter than her kind. They cooperated better, for one thing. And they seemed to understand the necessity of risk in pursuit of greatness.

Her kind could definitely learn a thing or two from them.

She spotted Bosliat Palace and reached out with her mind, searching for the Queen.

Ah, yes, there she was in her office. Perfect.

This was not Pauline's first visit. She'd made this trip several times before, though not as often as she might've liked.

She knew that it was rude to eavesdrop, of course--and that in this case, it might even be illegal--but her intentions were pure, and that was what really mattered, wasn't it? She only wanted to help, and besides, no one would ever know she was here. Her ability to conceal her presence even from reapers meant that she probably wouldn't even have to bother wiping anyone's memories.

Memory manipulation was a tricky thing to pull off, anyway. It was hugely useful, of course, so her father had made sure she learned how to do it at a very young age, but she'd never liked using it, even in her more reckless days.

It felt wrong, in a lot of ways. She was taking something that didn't belong to her. Sure, they wouldn't miss it as long as she did it correctly, but that didn't change the essential nature of the act. Thievery.

She much preferred just remaining invisible. No mess to clean up afterward. Or guilt to deal with.

Of course, a Sparrow's "invisibility" was not truly so. That, too, was a mental trick. They weren't manipulating light or altering the physical composition of their bodies. Instead, it was simply a matter of tweaking the "perception" of their presence.

That was why it worked even on reapers. It didn't rely on fooling anyone's eyesight. It was about fooling their mind. And reapers--even if they didn't have physical bodies--still had minds.

It wasn't that hard, either, especially with all the practice she had. It didn't matter how many people were looking at her. As long as she could touch their naked minds, the simple desire to conceal herself was all she required to make it so. As easy as flipping a switch that controlled a thousand light bulbs.

Cameras, however, could still be a problem. She wouldn't be able to block the perception of someone watching television five hundred miles away, and she couldn't alter a camera's perception of her, either.

She could, however, simply avoid them.

A Sparrow's eyesight was certainly remarkable, but it was more than just that. When she concentrated, she could see through eyes that were not her own. She could listen with ears that did not belong to her. She could touch with fingers she'd never had.

A mind was, among other things, a vessel for interpretation. Physical senses funneled into it and needed to be understood. Ultimately, it was just information.

Therefore, it was possible for her to sneak a peek at that information for herself, to reinterpret it with her own mind simultaneously with the person who was actually receiving it. It could be a bit messy, since there was so much information being received, but all she really needed to focus on was sight and hearing--and occasionally touch and smell, if she wanted.

That simplified matters greatly. Not worrying about other senses like taste, balance, or proprioception meant that the amount of information she received was greatly reduced. Plus, other senses could be a bit difficult to reinterpret.

Every mind was distinct in one way or another. Perhaps that was because of the soul. Or perhaps it was the opposite. Perhaps that distinctness was what generated the soul.

Whatever the case, it made each mind slightly different, which meant that each one required a slightly different reinterpretation in order for her own mind to understand.

That was also why reading thoughts directly was so hard--if not impossible. People may have interpreted information from their senses in slightly different ways, but people crafted their own thoughts in very different ways.

It was like the difference between a combination lock that required three numbers versus one that required twenty. It was theoretically possible to discern the pattern, but it was far too impractical to be useful.

She'd learned that at a young age, too.

But reinterpreting senses was certainly manageable, and after years of practice, sight and hearing were by far the easiest. So much so, in fact, that she could now do it on an enormous scale.

Sescoria may have been far from the largest city in the world, but its population density was the highest in the nation, and in this area around Bosliat, there were thousands of people. Pauline could see what they all saw, hear what they all heard. And it wasn't overwhelming, either. Mildly difficult, perhaps, but certainly not overwhelming. With a bit of effort, her mind could collect all of that information, reinterpret it, organize it, and even convert it into a mental map for herself.

Unfortunately, even with all of those advantages at her disposal, the royal palace was still quite the danger zone as far as cameras were concerned. Even on normal days, there were likely to be visitors taking pictures or videos in front of the main gatehouse, and on days like today--days when huge news gripped the nation--reporters with camera crews were everywhere.

And even if those weren't problems, there was also the ever-growing threat of security cameras. When she was young, those hadn't been nearly so prevalent or obnoxious, but these days, she had to be mindful of them all the time.

Yes, she could sense the security guards who were observing the video feeds and thereby prevent them from seeing her on screen, but that didn't stop the footage from being recorded. If someone decided to go back and watch that footage while she wasn't around to alter their perception, then they would see the giant bird there as clear as day.

Wiping the footage was technically possible, if rather tricky, but even if it wasn't, that could arouse suspicion, too. The absence of security footage was just as likely to be noticed. It was far better to simply avoid the cameras entirely, but that was also growing more and more difficult as time went on. The humans did love improving their technology, didn't they?

No doubt, this was one of the main reasons why her father insisted on maintaining a reclusive lifestyle. How many times had he told her about another instance of a Sparrow being outed in some other country? He never missed an opportunity to make his children even more fearful of the outside world.

Pauline was of a different opinion, however. She felt that they should meet these challenges head on. Hiding away at home wasn't going to prepare them for anything. The looming threat of technology was scary, sure, but that was exactly why they needed to stay informed about how it was developing.

Thankfully, her father at least seemed to partially agree with her on that point. He made a habit of keeping up with the latest technological developments in a variety of fields, and the number of online tech blogs and journals that he followed was reaching a level bordering on absurdity.

Pauline, of course, much preferred to see the technology for herself. There were too many rumors and exaggerations on the internet for her taste, even from supposedly credible sources. Making outrageous claims about their works-in-progress was just one tactic that people used to procure investment--or goddess forbid, government funding.

Those ones were typically the most egregious, in her experience. Tech companies who wanted to make money off of the government always seemed to take delight in the extra bureaucratic bloat that allowed them to squeeze every last troa that they possibly could out of their governmental liaisons.

That was another reason why Pauline quite liked Queen Helen, actually.

Well, the new Queen Helen, at least--the Queen Helen that had returned from abroad and retaken the country from the Abolish halfwits who'd chased her out.

Before that whole ridiculous circus, Pauline hadn't thought very highly of the Queen at all. In fact, she'd kind of despised her. Pauline had thought her ill-suited to the task of ruling a nation, never taking care to foster a strong base of political support for herself. The woman would always just do things as she saw fit, and sure, some of those things were basically good decisions, but they also alienated people who could have probably been her allies with a bit of persuasion or compromise. Thankfully, she seemed to have matured over the last year.

Honestly, at the time of the late king's passing, Pauline would've most liked to see Prince David take the throne. That man had always been able to play the game.

When he felt like playing it, that was.

She sometimes wondered what would've happened if, somehow, Prince David's father had chosen him for succession. Pauline would've certainly been pleased, but there was a fair chance that Prince David would've simply abdicated and ruined the whole thing, anyway.

It had all happened in such slow increments over the years, but with the benefit of hindsight, the last decade had been an absolute mess for this nation.

If only her father hadn't been removed as the Director of the Agency of Foreign Affairs. To Pauline's mind, that seemed to be the inciting incident that allowed all of these other things to follow.

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If only Hanton Gaolanet had remained an advisor to King Martinus III.

Even now, nine years later, Pauline still wasn't sure why that had happened. Her father rarely spoke of it. And as she wasn't one to shy away from awkward questions, she had of course tried--multiple times by now--asking him about it directly, but he never really gave her a straight answer.

He just told her that Martinus had stopped listening to him, that their relationship had been damaged beyond repair.

Pauline hadn't really understood how that could be the case. Her father could manipulate minds. Surely, if there'd been a problem like that, he could've simply made Martinus forget about it.

But apparently not. Her father told her that things weren't always so simple. That relationships were complicated.

And that some memories couldn't be erased.

She'd pressed him for more details, of course, but he hadn't provided them.

In a broad sense, her father was obviously correct. There were certain types of memories that Sparrows could not remove from a person's mind. In general, the older a memory was, the harder it was to wipe away. Memories over time became a tangled web of interlocking images, ideas, emotions--and perhaps more. Removing all of that was incredibly complicated. If you missed any part of it, the smallest fragment of the memory, then the whole thing could be regrown, one day. Randomly, perhaps. The entire memory could rush back to the person in an epiphany-like moment--or deja vu, even.

But Pauline didn't think that was what her father had meant.

Because there was one other type of memory that was very difficult to get rid of. The type that was deeply etched into the mind, usually by way of powerful emotion.

Pauline had to wonder what exactly had transpired between her father and the late king, but she doubted she would ever find out. With one of them dead and the other an impenetrable fortress of secrets, there was little hope.

She put it out of her mind.

Her mental map was revealing a handful of safe zones around Bosliat's inner buildings. There were surveillance cameras all over the rooftops, but they primarily targeted the areas around the skylight windows. She wasn't trying to break into the royal palace, so it was simple enough to stay outside their view as she fluttered closer.

The Queen's mind was in the Royal Office at the top of the Royal Tower, the palace's centermost turret. That building was, rather understandably, the most heavily surveilled, but Pauline didn't need to get that close, so she landed gingerly on a much safer tower several dozen meters away. Plus, this spot shaded her from the bright sun, thanks to the tall roof in front of her.

She concentrated, focusing on the Queen.

Who was with her? What was she seeing? What was she hearing?

Several people were there. The images and sounds coalesced in Pauline's mind.

"--should not keep delaying, Your Highness," came the voice of a short woman in front of the Queen's desk. "The people will want to hear from you."

"I will delay as long as I please. This matter, while grave, is of no immediate importance to Atreya. I will not act in haste when there is no need."

"With respect, Your Highness," came the voice of a bearded and bespectacled man standing farther away, "I do not think that my esteemed colleague here is suggesting that you should present the public with a detailed plan of action this very evening. She merely meant that it would help put the people's hearts at ease if they were to hear a few words of encouragement."

"Perhaps," said the Queen. "Or perhaps making a statement when I have nothing of substance to say would only serve to unsettle the public further. I imagine many would see it as an admission that I do not know what to do."

"I believe you may be overthinking it, Your Highness," said the same man from before.

Wait a minute. Pauline recognized him. That was Arthur Vollier, eldest son of the wealthiest man in the nation, Domitrus Vollier. So he was serving as an advisor to the Queen now, was he?

"It does not need to be a complicated matter," Arthur went on. "A short, simple statement to clear the air and ensure the people of your attentiveness to the situation. That is all it would be."

"My attentiveness? You believe the people might be questioning my attentiveness?"

"I do not see why you are trying to pick a fight," said Arthur. "This would be an easy way to score points with the general public. Points which you may soon be in need of, no?"

A rather weighty period of silence arrived, until another voice broke it.

"Arthur, what do you mean by--?"

"Enough," said the Queen. "I will only address the nation when I see fit to do so. And I believe this meeting has gone on for too long, already. Everyone is dismissed."

Well, she seemed stressed.

Understandable, Pauline supposed.

When the advisors were all gone, only two minds remained. The Queen and her reaper.

Pauline was not surprised. The Gaolanets had known that the Queen was a servant for many months now. Her father had learned of it shortly after Abolish had been routed. The Queen's grand return to the capital had been cause for celebration, and every lord in the nation had attended the subsequent banquet.

Every lord, that was, save the newest one.

The young Lord Hector Goffe of the Gray Warren had been notably absent from that event, though only a handful of people had even been aware of his newly granted title at the time.

Her father had been very reluctant to meet with Lord Goffe for some reason, but Pauline hadn't been able to curb her curiosity and had actually visited the Gray Warren once already.

Sadly, the entrance didn't lend itself well to stealthy infiltration--which was no doubt the point--so she hadn't been able to see the underground fortifications with her own eyes.

But she hadn't needed to enter it in order to realize that there was most definitely something very strange about that place.

For one thing, she couldn't sense inside it. She wasn't sure how that was even possible. Had Hector Goffe actually infused the entire castle with his "soul power" or whatever it was that servants used? That notion seemed utterly ridiculous to her, considering how enormous that underground barrier seemed to be.

And for another thing, she'd felt incredibly uncomfortable while she was near that place. Some unexplained sensation in the back of her mind pestered her the entire time she was there, and though she couldn't tell what the cause of it was, she knew for a fact that it was no natural thing. Some kind of psychic security system? Or a warding mechanism, perhaps?

Whatever the explanation, she hadn't been keen to go back there a second time. She might've disagreed with her father a lot of the time, but this was one of those instances where she could very much see the wisdom in his type of thinking.

That place was dangerous. Whatever the hell was going on there, she was no longer curious enough to find out. Compared to that, the royal palace's security cameras were positively comforting.

'You may want to listen to your advisors on this one,' said the reaper with the Queen.

"Hmph. What makes you say that?"

'Because the outbreak of a second Continental War would be a very serious matter.'

"You think I do not know that?"

'On the contrary,' the reaper said, 'I think you know it very well, and it scares you.'

"I did not ask for your opinion."

'Ah. Well, if I am bothering you so much, then you should be glad, because I suspect that Harper and I won't be able to stick around for much longer.'

There was notable silence.

Pauline was confused. Harper? Her father had mentioned that name to her. A member of the Vanguard who was currently protecting the Queen. So did that mean this reaper wasn't the Queen's partner, but Harper's?

"...Have you received orders from your superiors?" the Queen asked.

'Not yet, but if this war continues to escalate, then it's a virtual certainty that we will get the call quite soon.'

"I see..."

Oh.

Hmm.

Pauline had little love for the Vanguard, but that was still unsettling news to hear. According to her father, this Harper fellow seemed like quite the valuable warrior--and possibly even trustworthy, as well.

Extremely high praise from Hanton Gaolanet.

The idea that the kingdom might soon be losing one of its most valuable protectors...

Pauline was glad that she'd thought to come here today. This was exactly the kind of thing she wanted to know about as soon as possible.

'If you have any lingering questions for me,' said Harper's reaper, 'you should ask them soon. This may very well be the last time we speak for quite a long while.'

There was more silence, and Pauline could see the Queen staring at an assortment of papers on her desk. What did they say? The woman's eyes weren't really focusing on them, so they were difficult to read. Was that Prince David's signature?

"What do you make of Intar's role in all of this?" the Queen asked.

'Ah, yeah, that is the big question mark. Intar isn't technically at war with anyone right now, but it maintains quite good political and economic relations with several of the involved nations.'

"If Intar decides to step in, it would completely change the war," said Queen Helen.

'Most certainly,' said the reaper. 'Conventional wisdom would say that, at the moment, Intar could probably end the war single-handedly, if it really wanted to. Wouldn't be pretty, but it could. The war is still relatively small.'

"Mm. Conventional wisdom, is it? Then do you perhaps have some unconventional wisdom for me?"

'Heh. Well, Intar may be the most powerful nation on the continent--or perhaps even on the planet--but it is also in the midst of an ideological war of its own, right now. Between interventionists and pacifists, of all things.'

"Yes, I have heard as much," said the Queen. "Do you think the pacifists are influential enough to prevent Intar from joining the fight?"

A long pause arrived. 'As a reaper, this is where I would usually say something non-committal. You know. About how the world is complicated and difficult to predict and blah blah blah. But honestly, I'm tired of doing that all the time. I could be wrong, obviously, but to be quite frank with you, Your Majesty... I don't think Intar will send a single soldier to anyone's aid.'

"I appreciate your candor, but what makes you sound so confident?"

'Years of immersing myself in modern Intarian culture. The majority of Intarians won't see this as their problem. Which, in fairness, it isn't. Plus, the Intarian Congress has been in a state of complete deadlock for nearly a decade now. They can barely pass even the simplest of legislation. Unless that somehow changes, I don't see them suddenly agreeing to go to war on some other country's behalf.'

"I see."

'And of course, there's the Vanguard as well. We generally try to stay out of politics, so even though we have a significant presence in Intar, our higher-ups don't hold much influence with the government there. In fact, I imagine the politicians there will believe that they don't need to intervene, because the Vanguard will take care of it. As usual.'

"Is that bitterness I hear?" said the Queen.

'Perhaps a bit. More and more, I've begun to feel that Intar is exploiting the Vanguard's goodwill so that they don't have to bother protecting their own borders and allies.'

"How can that be? I was under the impression that the Vanguard does not participate in conflicts in which Abolish is not involved."

'Mm, yeah, that's the intention. On paper. But in practice, how do you know Abolish isn't manipulating a conflict from behind the scenes? Not all Abolish sects are as overt in their actions as the one that came here. It's foggy, at best. And a sufficiently motivated Vanguardian officer might very well use that as justification for sending troops to "investigate" a conflict which is exhibiting no obvious signs of Abolish involvement.'

"How worrisome..."

'Yeah.' A beat passed. 'But in fairness, I should also mention: it's not like such suspicions are completely unfounded or otherwise indicative of corruption on the Vanguard's part. Over the last few decades, there have been plenty of instances where Abolish has been caught trying to stealthily stoke civil unrest and incite violence.'

"That is not more comforting," said the Queen. "In fact, dwelling on that possibility sounds like a recipe for paranoia."

'Oh, absolutely. I don't envy my superiors' positions at all.'

Pauline could sense her father's presence quite strongly now from the east. She exhaled through her nares and prepared herself for the inevitable argument.

The Queen and the reaper were not done talking, however. Pauline must've missed something while she was distracted, because their conversation seemed to have shifted topics slightly.

'It is particularly frustrating, considering how wealthy Intar is. It shouldn't be relying on a force of only a few thousand servants for all the heavy lifting.'

"Does Intar not commission its own servants?" the Queen asked. "Those without ties to the Vanguard?"

'I've never met any of them personally,' the reaper said, 'but yes, as I understand it, the Intarian military does retain a few of its own servants, still.'

"Only a few?" said the Queen. "Surely, such a large nation would have more than that."

'Maybe three hundred years ago. These days, though, the Vanguard has a bit of a monopoly on that type of manpower in Intar.'

"Why is that?"

'Many reasons, I imagine--but all of which result in one reoccurring problem. That being, it is very difficult to control people who wield such power.'

"Ah."

'In order to work for the Intarian Armed Forces as a servant, you must a pass number of "loyalty tests." And you must also agree to live under constant observation.'

"...I find that very odd. Any normal military would offer enormous benefits to such valuable officers."

'Oh, I'm sure they get paid quite handsomely. But the IAF takes the rule of law extremely seriously when it comes to servants. Which is wise, in my opinion. Historically speaking, servants and reapers who don't possess a deep respect for something higher than themselves--like the law, for instance--are often the ones who pursue the path of violent rebellion and conquest.'

Pauline's head twitched as she suddenly realized that her father was right there behind her. She'd gotten so caught up in the last bit of that conversation that she hadn't even noticed him landing.

She turned and looked at him. She waited, but he didn't say anything.

That was weird.

Why wasn't he saying anything? Wasn't he mad?

Hey, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was pleased.

And maybe that was wishful thinking.

She checked on the Queen again.

"--sounds like you are victims of your own success," the woman was saying with a surprising amount of amusement in her voice.

'Heh. Perhaps. The Vanguard has bailed Intar out so many times that it does seem like they've begun to take our presence for granted. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad about that.'

"Might you have any insight for me regarding Steccat, as well?" the Queen asked.

'A bit, perhaps. I am not nearly as confident in my appraisal of that country as I am with Intar, however. Harper and I often travel to Steccat to visit a couple of his adopted children, but the Vanguard has comparatively little presence there.'

"Is that so? But is there not a Vanguardian Field Marshal who is known as the Hammer of Steccat?"

'There is, yes. Field Marshal Kane. But I did say "comparatively." And while Kane does have fairly strong ties to that country, so does Sai-hee.'

"Ah."

'Her people's presence there creates something of a bubble, through which reliable information is difficult to come by.'

"I thought she had a preference for peacekeeping."

'She does.'

"Then that should ease the flow of information, no?"

'In trade and culture, perhaps, but not in matters of state. They're a rather reclusive bunch, those Steccati aristocrats. They like to hide behind their art and speak little of politics. Or, perhaps, they just don't care.'

Pauline was not surprised to hear that in the slightest. Steccat was the haven of another group of Sparrows, and according to her father, they were even more influential in their country than the Gaolanets were here in Atreya.

'All that being said, though, I doubt Steccat will be getting involved in the war, either. As you said, Sai-hee DOES like her peace. It would surprise me if Steccat decided to jump in without direct provocation.'

"I see..."

Pauline had to agree with the reaper's assessment, though for different reasons. If her brethren in Steccat were anything like her father, then they would doubtless be wanting to avoid conflict as well.

'I suppose it's good that two of Eloa's three juggernauts are probably not going to get involved in the war,' the reaper went on, 'but I unfortunately can't help feeling like their isolationism will actually serve to make things worse in this instance, not better.'

"If that is truly the case," said the Queen, "then perhaps their isolationism is precisely the reason why the invaders have chosen to act now."

'I fear you may be right about that,' the reaper said. 'The timing does seem a bit convenient to me. And that may also mean that whoever orchestrated all of this has been biding their time for quite a while.'

"Well, I cannot imagine that such a coordinated set of offensives could have been a spur-of-the-moment decision."'

'True enough. It just concerns me that our opponent may be more than a simple opportunist.'

"...'Our' opponent?" said the Queen.

'Our, as in the Vanguard's.'

"Of course."

A knock arrived at the Queen's door, and she bade them enter. It was an attendant, informing the woman that a number of the local lords around Sescoria had arrived at Bosliat, wishing to speak with her. The woman stood up from her desk and moved to receive them in another part of the palace.

Pauline wanted to keep listening, but her father's voice finally arrived in her head.

'That is enough, my dear,' he said with discomforting calmness. 'It is time we return home.'