Power Overwhelming

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”Greetings. What brings a grand Golden Immortal to my humble tower?” Karna asked while making a small polite bow. Her entire form was covered by thick and heavily enchanted monk’s robes, and none of her features were visible.

“I must say that it’s quite unusual and suspicious to cover yourself like that in the presence of an Immortal.” The woman in golden armor pointed out with very little inflection in her tone. It seemed like she didn’t really care about the matter but pointed it out anyway.

“Yes, well, I was being polite for a long time, but I’ve had a series of immortals come through here, asking questions and disturbing my life. I’m starting to run out of politeness.” All her words were quite true, as she allowed the immortal woman to sense. She had decided against trying to have Gem allow her to lie or to pretend to be her. She was approaching the point where she didn’t need to keep running away anymore, though someone of this strength would definitely be an issue. Still, running away wasn’t really in her nature, and she wanted to stop. The only ones she really worried about were the immortals that were also reincarnators, and avoiding those was just common sense.

"I see. That somewhat answers one of my questions. I hear the daughter of the Grand Medjai has been the subject of several inquiries, and your tower is parked above his tower for the second time. I was about to ask if you were his daughter, but I suppose I already have my answer." The angelic-looking woman nodded to herself.

The two of them were meeting in the air above the tower as it was a neutral ground of sorts. Entering a wizard’s tower could be dangerous if things turned hostile. Getting in was much easier than getting out after all. On the other hand, Karna still had access to the protection of the tower. “I repeat my original question. What brings you to my humble abode? And if I’m not mistaken, you’re a member of Mount Celestis as well. I was under the impression your kind were…isolationist to put things mildly.”

The woman looked slightly startled. “You have sharp eyes. Sharper than most. That agrees with what I’ve learned about you. To make things succinct, I’m here to offer an olive branch to someone who might end up becoming someone important in the future. As you noted, Mount Celestis has remained separated from the affairs of the larger universe for a long time. Perhaps too long. I and others of my kind are now searching for future talent and allies because we think it is time to bring our isolation to an end. The matters of the universe no longer allow us the luxury to remain within our home, and we need to gather allies if we want to succeed. We’ve been given certain qualifications that we look for in potential future allies, and you meet said qualifications rather easily.”

“You’re giving me a recruiting pitch? I would point out that you’re not the first ones to do so. What makes your pitch better?” Karna prodded. She knew there was more to this offer. Mount Celestis wouldn’t just suddenly send recruiters out. Other powerful groups in the Divine Planes might, though even that was only done in rare cases, but Mount Celestis? That seemed very unlikely.

The angels and celestials of Mount Celestis had been isolationists even before her latest visit into this universe so many lifetimes ago. There was a good reason too. Their kind had been betrayed and exploited in the past, so they had withdrawn from the general operation of the Divine Planes as a protest. They considered the Divine Planes too corrupted and beyond rescue with just their own efforts. They refused to clarify further, but they clearly had some larger goal. The only reason they had not left entirely was because the Host was still the best way to combat the Scourges. As far as Karna knew, the inhabitants of Mount Celestis had ventured out only three times in all the eons after their isolation had started, and every time it was because of a huge existential threat. And now they were just out and about recruiting? That made no sense whatsoever.

“Beyond the fact that this offer comes from the Mount Celestis? We do not need you to join our forces directly. We simply wish you to ally with us. We also offer you a piece of very important information that we're willing to offer you on the condition that if you find the information worth it, you will owe us a favor in the future. This information is not conditional on the alliance, and I want to add that it might save your life or the life of one of your loved ones. In our case especially." The immortal woman set rather attractive terms, although a ‘favor’ was quite vague. Obviously, she was confident in her information.

“Alright. I’ll be the judge of the information though. I feel the need to point out that if you simply want to inform me about the difference between divine power and the spiritual power of our planes, I’m already aware and have taken measures.” She didn’t want to owe vague future favors, but she didn’t want to dismiss the information too lightly either. If they asked for something completely disproportionate with their own information, she could just refuse.

"While that too is something we could inform others about, I could already sense that your power is much purer than others. That is one of the qualifications I mentioned earlier actually. No, my information is something much more topical and time-sensitive. Due to the current chaotic situation with the Expansion, the resurgent Scourges, and the new arrivals, the Divine Planes have instituted a draft. All new immortals that are either born in the Divine Planes or Ascend there are immediately forced to join the Host and sent to fight these threats. While the Host is extremely good at avoiding losses, as immortals are obviously hard to kill, the losses among those that have been recently drafted have been quite heavy in comparison. Multiple times heavier than among the seasoned, disciplined, and veteran troops of the Host.”

Karna blinked in surprise and had to do a double-take at the news. This had certainly caught her by surprise. For once, she had not anticipated this possibility at all. A very bold strategy that she might even support under many other circumstances, except there was a glaring problem. Arjuna. Her father was quite close to Ascending, and she was even expected to create a pill for him that would allow him to make the Ascension faster and easier. And he would be drafted immediately upon Ascending.

Arjuna was a powerful and resourceful mage with very useful abilities, so she wasn’t all that worried about him. Or she wouldn’t be normally. If her father was thrust into the front lines of this clusterfuck though, that could create issues. Despite his power and abilities, he wasn't quite up to dealing with some of the shit that existed among the Scourges and especially at the Crossroads. While he would do well in a conventional fight or a magical duel, the technologies and bizarre techniques that could be found at the Crossroads would be entirely foreign to him.

“This…is useful information. You shall have your favor in the future.” She finally admitted after digesting the news.

“Excellent! As for the alliance, we can discuss that after you do Ascend. Just keep us in mind. Do be aware though, that we are especially interested in any knowledge on this technology that these new arrivals seem to be using. And which your tower seems to utilize at least to a certain extent. So, we'd happily offer you good terms for the information." The woman seemed to be ready to leave but suddenly changed her mind. "I wasn't going to mention this as it might seem we are pressuring you into things, but if Your Highness is seeking a party that would not exploit your heritage, then Mount Celestis would be the ideal choice.”

“I suppose it was too much to ask for a Celestial to not be able to see through simple enchanted clothing," Karna muttered to herself. It had been a test. A test that had failed.

“You do not need to worry Princess Ynnead. While we might have exited our isolation, that doesn’t mean we’re actively taking part in the divine politics. In fact, we do our best to avoid it. I just wanted to point out that you do have a safe option among us.” This time the immortal did leave.

“Well, that was an interesting meeting.” Gem commented. “The sneaky bastards have come up with something annoying this time. Also, these enchantments really didn’t do diddly-squat, did they?”

“They might have worked against others. Celestials have the ability to see through such things though. We need further testing. I expected her to sense my divine origin with her power as a Golden Immortal, but her recognizing me was an anomaly. Well, that allowed us to learn some new things. I think she might have not been as open if she hadn’t recognized us.” Karna guessed. She still had trouble believing the Mount would send their members on recruiting drives, unless they wanted to hide something, like the fact that they came for her specifically. And they likely needed that information on technology as well. “We’ll need to see if her words about other recruiters holds true.”

“Do you think she was telling the truth when she said she didn’t care about your identity as the apparently missing princess?” Gem inquired.

“That’s not what she said. They care. Of course they care. But her words about not exploiting it are more likely to be true. They are as apolitical as a group in the Divine Planes can get. Or at least they used to be. Admittedly my information is quite out of date. Still, even if we assume my information to be true, that doesn’t mean my heritage doesn’t matter at all. Here’s the thing. The Angels and Celestials aren’t going to accept just anyone as a member of their little group. A royal though? That would be acceptable.” She pointed out. Part of the isolationist nature of the two races included their bloodlines. You couldn’t be part of the mount if you weren’t at least a lesser angel species, like an Archon or an Aasimar.

“How very racist of them.” Gem said half-jokingly. Most groups and great Houses of the Divine Planes were divided on the lines of your bloodline and race.

“Let’s go break the news to Arjuna. He was really looking forward to finally Ascending. I don’t think we have to convince him too hard though, what with him finally romancing Duskclaw and having a child. It would’ve been a little sketchy for him to leave so soon anyway. Maybe now I can convince him to stick around until I can Ascend as well.”

“That’s several decades away at the very shortest.” Gem pointed out. Even for Karna, ranking up would take time.

“He’s waited this long. He might as well wait a bit more. Or if he doesn’t want to wait for me, he should at least wait until the situation becomes a bit clearer.” Karna responded.

“You’re assuming this clusterfuck isn’t going to keep growing worse.”

“A fair point.” Karna had to admit.

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After just killing a reincarnator permanently, rousing the ire of the most powerful world in the Higher Planes, and negotiating with a Golden Immortal, Karna felt a little out of place when she suddenly found herself with extra time to waste. Her allies had returned back home, and she was currently in the process of helping the Yuki-Onnas relocate. Except it didn’t really require much effort on her part. The female youkai were currently building a new settlement, but they had already gotten all their people and things off the tower, and they also had their own mages and craftsmen to handle the construction. Her assistance was not needed, nor requested.

Not that Karna was planning on offering any free labor anyway. She wasn’t all that fond of the fact that the group of youkai had hidden the detail of their dilemma until she had arrived with her allies, so she wasn’t going to do any extra favors for them. The only reason she hadn’t already left was because Zuellni was helping with decoding the sealing on the sacred artifact, and Karna occasionally also pitched in. While she had no desire to stick around with the Yuki-Onnas any longer than necessary, the place itself was a pretty decent location for a small vacation.

The location the Yuki-Onnas had chosen was surprisingly not some kind of arctic region. Part of that was because they needed other races to procreate, but apparently the ice-demons preferred to make their own ideal terrain instead of finding something appropriate that already existed. To their powers, creating a winter wonderland wasn’t too difficult. Another reason for that was the availability of resources. While they could easily make a short trip to some arctic region to find the appropriate resources due to their powers, more mundane resources like food and construction materials were a much larger concern. And it was pretty difficult to grow and hunt food in a frozen wasteland. So, if they had the option of making an icy paradise right next to arable land that could be easily farmed and some forests for hunting, then that trumped other concerns.

The settlement was located in a relatively remote mountain valley next to the coast of a rather stormy and unstable sea. The sea offered a lot of bounty in the form of fish and other resources, but the frequent storms made coastal cities less desirable. Storms and monster to be more specific. The storms the Yuki-Onnas could easily deal with, and it was easier to exploit land that was currently not in heavy use than it was to take over territory that belonged to someone else. The nearest cities were within travel distance, but not so close as to be a problem. The Yuki-Onnas could live relatively isolated, while still finding other races to mate with when they so desired.

The terrain surrounding the coast and the mountains was mostly fertile plains with occasional forests dotting the landscape. Boring, but perfect for the purposes of the settlement. Many of the earth mages were already turning the land into something useful, while the druids, a rarity among the Yuki-Onnas, made sure that the first crops could be harvested as soon as possible. Using magic to assist in farming made the whole process laughably easy, which was why farming was a much rarer profession in the Higher Planes when compared to the lesser planes. The process was almost automatic with nature spirits and treants tending to the crops once they had been summoned and the farms and gardens created.

As for Karna, she had made herself a nice little spot on the coast where she had found a rather idyllic cove with a sandy beach. The storms that plagued most of the sea avoided the cove, mostly with a little encouragement from her magic, and she spent quite a bit of time just enjoying the sun and swimming around, while also catching up with Mayumi. “So, you got stranded in a desert with the elven princess, basically naked?” The latter questioned.

“That’s the basic gist of it. Well, I had my dimensional artifact, so I had no trouble with supplies or clothing, but Anaire lost hers. She had to wear my clothing until we found civilization, and even then, the offerings were pretty slim, the whole world being a desert and all.” Karna chuckled.

“Poor Anaire.” Mayumi shook her head in sympathy while taking a glance at Karna’s body that was pretty much on full display as the Godling was taking in the sun in a rather skimpy bathing suit she had found Divines only know where. Mayumi could only imagine how inadequate the elven princess must have felt, as she currently felt the same and she didn’t even have to wear Karna’s clothing. “Oh, I’ve come up with a whole host of questions I want to ask while we were separated. Would you mind if I ask a few of them now?”

“Fire away.” Karna prompted while closing her eyes and taking a more comfortable position while laying on the sandy dune.

“What do you think is the most important lesson about living your life as a reincarnator?” Mayumi started off with something she’d thought about several times. Someone with Karna’s experience must have come learned a lot over her many lives.

“That’s both a tough one, as well as an easy one. Most reincarnators spend too much time brooding over the past or planning the future. Most of that time is wasted. I’m not saying plans are completely useless as a good plan can often be the difference between failure and success. You just shouldn’t spend too much time worrying about it. You lose sight of the present and your plans will inevitably be ruined by random factors anyway. Same thing with the past. What’s done is done. Reflect and learn from your mistakes, but then move on. Don’t wallow in self-pity and shame.” Karna smiled broadly for a moment. “A wise master once told me that I was too concerned with what was and what will be. He said that yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why they call it present.”

“That’s…not what I expected. At all.” Mayumi was stunned by the obviousness of what Karna had said. Yet it was also something that even she kept forgetting. The little wordplay was just something fun to help remind yourself of the fact.

“Most people fall victim to this, but reincarnators are especially prone. We have a lot more past to brood over, and a lot more future to plan after all. Others plan only for a single lifetime, while we can plan out several lifetimes. It’s mostly wasted effort, but not entirely. Just remember to not lose sight of the here and now.”

“What’s stronger, magic or science and technology?” Mayumi shifted the attention to something the new arrivals to this universe had brought with them.

"Neither. Depends on what you want to do, though most of what you can accomplish with one, you can accomplish with the other. There are some exceptions of course. In reality, the most power comes from combining the two. Some things are easier with one or the other, but the greatest achievements come from using both in tandem. To a certain extent, magic is a science in itself, and some science is more magic than anything else." Karna replied.

“What’s the strongest magical beast in the multiverse?” Mayumi asked half-jokingly.

“Oh, that’s a good one. While many people would offer different answers, the fact is that dragons are the most powerful in their extreme forms. A World Dragon can trounce pretty much anything else without breaking a sweat. Now, if Dragobears had enough intelligence to match the Dragons…” Karna joked.

“Please don’t scare me like that. We really don’t need intelligent Dragobears. I’m surprised you haven’t been born as one.” Mayumi gave a shudder.

“You’re assuming I haven’t.” Karna grinned in response.

"Nah, the universe wouldn't be that cruel," Mayumi stated with confidence. "There's no way any powers ruling this stupid system would hate a universe so much to have you born as one."