Five months later

Hogg could more or less run his illusions all day, but for something that needed extra attention, it was better if his regular body wasn’t doing much. Brin, along with everyone else in town, was off with that merchant caravan that came in, so there really shouldn’t be much for his normal body to do today. He made himself a glass of lemonade, and then leaned down on his reclining chair and went to work.

When people thought of an [Illusionist], they thought of a Class. They thought of entertaining but mostly useless magical light. Dangerous? No. Who would be afraid of an [Illusionist], when everyone had at least one Eveladis laying around the house? To that, Hogg would say “Why do you own an Eveladis if you aren’t afraid of [Illusionists]?” Well, he would say that, except nowadays he was sick of the entire conversation.

If [Illusionist] was just a Class to you, then you were doing it wrong. To him, [Illusionist] was a network.

Take Brin’s letter for example. First, it was scribbled on bark paper. Then, with one blink of his eye, he committed the entire thing to memory in his second brain, the one he’d created with his Class.

The letter traveled with his consciousness as an invisible eye through the forest, passing all his other invisible eyes. He’d never be able to use so many without his level thirty capstone Skill, Split Focus. Even his absurdly high Mental Control couldn’t have let him manage them all alone, but now it was barely an effort at all to keep them scanning the forests, hoping to run into the other invisible illusions and hopefully figure out where they came from. An entire one-man information war. There was a time where that effort alone would’ve absorbed all his attention, but now it was merely an inconvenience. A network, inside a network of networks.

The eye shot along like a bird, assuming birds didn’t need to eat, rest, or sleep, arriving in Oud’s Bog in a matter of hours.

Oud’s Bog was a nexus of civilization, where the forest ended and you could get on the road to any of Frenaria’s major cities with barely any threat of monster attack, though of course bandits were always a problem.

He turned his invisible eye into a mirror image and walked into town. He had a person in town, of course, just like he had someone in every major crossroads. A network.

His guy in Oud’s Bog was a [Printer], who’d been a [Scribe] before Hogg had invested in his growth. The man was more than happy to transcribe Brin’s letter and send it off with the fastest [Messenger].

Sure, he could send his invisible eye all the way to Steamshield, but it was better like this. Any kind of magical interference, no matter how slight, would disrupt his magical eye and he’d have to start all over. Instead, he traveled along with the messenger as an invisible stamp on the letter, where he didn’t have to devote any attention to it and where it would be protected by the [Messenger’s] enchanted tote bag.

The first time he’d sent a letter to Lumina it had been more complicated, but now they had a system down. The guards at the gate, the guards at the tower, the various bureaucrats and tax collectors, all of them knew that the letter was to be delivered directly to her, without any scans for threats or magical interference.

So many obstacles were eliminated, all because of one connection he’d made. And he had many such connections. A network. He’d built that network up over a lifetime, and now? He didn’t know how much longer it could last.

Somewhere, unconsciously, that old notification blinked. He didn’t need to pull up his notifications to know it was there. He had it memorized with his real brain, not the artificial memory he’d created. It was only one line after all.

Would you like to upgrade a Skill?

[Yes] [No]

He wanted to say yes. Goodbye to his illusions. Goodbye to his network. Hello to real power.

Soon. It would take time to learn to use that power, and he wasn’t irresponsible enough to weaken himself while there was an entire army of invisible enemy spies creeping around the forest outside his home. Just as soon as he knew Hammon’s Bog was safe. Maybe after Brin’s System Day. Maybe then.

Or maybe sooner, if Lumina could get to the bottom of who those spies belonged to and what they wanted. Hence the stamp on the letter.

While the stamp traveled with the letter, he turned his attention to other things. Negotiating a trade deal for one of his holding companies. Looking over a new contract with the bank to renegotiate his interest rate. A mirror image investigating a rumor he’d heard on the border of Olland. That one was expensive on the Mana, so he had to cut it off when he felt someone opening Brin’s letter.

He transformed the stamp into an invisible eye first, just to be safe. Normally there was nothing anyone could do to hurt his real body just by finding one of his illusions, but normal didn’t mean anything when it came to the Tower.

His first glimpse from the invisible eye showed Lumina’s face, wearing a pair of brass spectacles that screamed danger to someone like him. At least she was alone, the lush walls of her private study visible in the background.

A complete idiot or maybe someone from a different planet like Brin would say that her study looked like a normal [Lady’s] sitting room. Extravagant, but nothing unusual. Maybe they would’ve missed the woven tapestry on the wall that moved and shifted somewhat, a high-level [Weaver’s] masterwork. Maybe they would’ve missed the ominous glow of the enchanted mirror or the painting that blinked through different views of the hallway outside her rooms.

No one, however, would miss the map, floating on its own in the middle of the room, complete with symbols for logistics and numbers for troop movements. She noticed him watching. No doubt those spectacles could see right through him, and she flicked her wrist. The map rolled up and then disappeared, but not before he recorded a very valuable little picture.

It didn’t pay to be rude, so he turned his invisible eye into a mirror image and bent at the waist, greeting her formally. “Lady [Mage].”

Creating the mirror image hit his Mana pool like a physical blow. Keeping a mirror image going at this distance was like trying to hold up a frostbear with a nose ring, but keeping up a working relationship with Frenaria’s new [Archmage of the Mystical Elements] was more than worth it.

“Hogg.” She nodded at him, then turned her eyes to the letter.

“Tell me you have something, because I’ve been running myself ragged trying to⁠—”

She held up a finger. “Let me read the letter from my son. You’ve taken great care to deliver it, after all.”

Oh, yeah, of course, why shouldn’t he just sit here and burn Mana while she read a letter from a child? For Nedramus’ sake. This was the third letter he’d delivered from Brin, and it was the same every time. His letters were always so trite, too.

Lumina read the whole thing, smiling in some places. In one spot her eyes teared up a bit, but then she frowned, and her frown became deeper and deeper as time went on.

Dear Lumina,

I loved reading your last letter, especially the part about finding a good [Tailor]. Hopefully you’ll never go back to that shop! That sounds like a nightmare. I’ve had some problems getting my own clothes in order around here. My clothes keep getting too small! I think I’m going through a growth spurt. I hope you still recognize me when we meet again.

I’ve been keeping busy. Most days I play with Davi and Zilly, and even Myra has been mostly tolerable. Please don’t worry about what I said about [Weaver] Tawna. Hogg talked to her for me and she’s completely left me alone ever since.

At least once a week I eat with Davi’s family. They’re all so nice to me, and it makes me feel like I’m part of a real family again.

The lessons are going well! Toros finally let us each make a knife. He said mine looked the best in the whole class and let us keep it. I talked to an [Enchantress] about having it enchanted so that I can keep it forever. The lesson with [Crafter] Ademir was also a lot more interesting than I thought. Despite having a very basic and common Class, he’s one of the highest-level people in town, mostly because he can craft anything. He’s the only one in town who can make glass.

The town holds a big celebration every year for the spring solstice, and there’s a dance. I hope it doesn’t rain. It always seems to be raining lately. Mostly the kids just run around and stuff, but those of us who are unlocking our System this year will be expected to dance properly. With partners. Is it strange that I’m more nervous for the dance than I am for System Day?

I miss you, and the other two as well. I’m glad to hear that Galan is doing well. Has Lurilan found that giant Sanadil he was looking for? Hogg showed me a drawing of what it’s supposed to look like, and I can’t believe that there are really people who could hunt something like that.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your son,

Brin.

Lumina glared at him.

“What? Sounds like a good letter,” said Hogg.

“So thought I, as well. I’m not very good at these things, you see. To address that, there’s a piece of advice my Master told me the first week I arrived here. He said, ‘If you’re not good at something, hire someone.’ I wasn’t used to having wealth, you see. I didn’t understand what money can be used for.”

Lumina crossed the room and pulled on a length of rope. A servant immediately opened the door to the study.

“Fetch me Ardvard the [Informationist] and Duarda the [Reader of Fates]. Oh, and Griopsis the [Psychologist]. If you please.”

Hogg snorted in false humor. Wouldn’t do to let her know he was impressed. Most people didn’t hit level forty in their entire lives, but she could summon three over-fifties with one pull of a rope. She probably didn’t even need to pay them. With her new Class, they’d come from the power of her name alone. There weren’t many people in this world that could make Hogg feel poor, but Lumina was one of them.

He didn’t have to wait long. Two minutes, and they were there. Apparently, she’d anticipated the letter and set this up beforehand. A bookish fellow in tweed, a woman in black robes that covered everything including her face, and a genial looking gentleman in scholar’s clothes.

“Duarda, I’d like you to combine your Skills with those of these two gentlemen to analyze this letter, the boy, and his fate, and reveal to me the words left unsaid. Read between the lines, and tell me what he means. Just as we did with the letter we intercepted from the Prinnashi scout last week,” said Lumina.

She swirled her hand, and the letter appeared in the air, enlarged like a poster. Lumina’s new elements gave her many more tools to work with, but she wasn’t content with simply accepting what the System gave her. She was unmatched in her dedication to magic, and she had all the best talent of the kingdom at her disposal. She enlarged her Class. The System gave her new elements, and she broke them down and combined them in new ways, letting her create… nearly anything. She could even make light. Unfair is what that was.

The trio worked their power, and Hogg watched them, fascinated, recording every second. The [Reader of Fate] especially, that was a [Weaver] who’d abandoned all skill with thread and focused solely on seeing fate, even so far as to give up her ability to manipulate it.

The power resolved itself on the letter. It moved the words up and down, squeezed them to make more space, and then it wrote.

Hogg took a glance and knew he was in trouble. “Well, burn me.”

Dear Lumina,

I loved reading your last letter, especially the part about finding a good [Tailor]. Hopefully you’ll never go back to that shop! That sounds like a nightmare the exact sort of non-problem that you’d expect a rich lady to have. It makes me think that you’re doing the same thing that I’ve been doing–hiding your real problems so as to not worry me. After all, why burden me? It’s not like I can do anything about it. Still, it’s a problem, because a real mother and son would be able to talk about anything. There’s a divide in our relationship, and I don’t know how to get over it.

I’ve had some problems getting my own clothes in order around here. My clothes keep getting too small! Which isn’t the problem, not with all the money you sent me. There’s only one [Weaver] in town and she refuses to sell to me. I look poor and plain compared to everyone else in town. I look different. I wish I could fit in in this town. It’s a nice town, and some people are very kind to me, but I stick out wherever I go. I think I’m going through a growth spurt. I hope you still recognize me when we meet again. Do you really care about me, or is this just a fun diversion to you? We only met for a short time, but I’ve built you up into something in my mind. I think of you as something like family, someone I can rely on. I wonder if you feel the same? There’s no way I can ask.

I’ve been keeping busy. I work all the time. Too hard. I push myself past reason, doing everything I can at every moment of the day to raise my attributes. I’ve become obsessed with getting every achievement I can. I need to be stronger, because there’s no one you can rely on except yourself. This town looks safe, but the undead army is still out there. I know they are. They’re coming here, and I need to be ready. Most days I play with Davi and Zilly, and even Myra has been mostly tolerable. I treasure their friendship despite the fact that they are so far beneath me. They are simple children, while I am stuck with a weight of maturity due to my experiences that far outweigh my years. Please don’t worry about what I said about [Weaver] Tawna. Hogg talked to her for me and she’s completely left me alone ever since. Hogg talked to her, but he mostly took her side. He told both of us to stop spreading rumors, but she didn’t. I can’t walk down the street without being chased by suspicious whispers. Tawna believes that I’m going to destroy this town. Some days, I want to.

At least once a week I eat with Davi’s family. They’re all so nice to me, and it makes me feel like I’m part of a real family again more lonely than ever. They try so hard but I’m still an outsider. I dread going to visit them more than I dread the glares and suspicion from the rest of the town.

The lessons are going well! Toros finally let us each make a knife. He said mine looked the best in the whole Class and let us keep it. I talked to an [Enchantress] about having it enchanted so that I can keep it forever defend myself with it. Perris hasn’t delivered the swords yet, and I couldn’t take them with me everywhere even if he had. I have a good excuse for owning this, no one will look twice. The lesson with [Crafter] Ademir was also a lot more interesting than I thought. Despite having a very basic and common Class, he’s one of the highest-level people in town, mostly because he can craft anything. He’s the only one in town who can make glass. His crafting Class is only that good because it has NO self-defense capabilities. He’s a pure crafter; he literally cannot fight. What would it be like to have that much trust in the people around you? Sometimes I think he’s the biggest fool I’ve ever met. I envy him.

The town holds a big celebration every year for the spring solstice, and there’s a dance. I hope it doesn’t rain. It always seems to be raining lately. Mostly the kids just run around and stuff, but those of us who are unlocking our System this year will be expected to dance properly. With partners. Is it strange that I’m more nervous for the dance than I am for System Day? Possibly an exaggeration, but I’m still worried. Even though they are so small ██████ and young and ████████████████████████████. But my friends are the only thing still keeping me grounded, and I’m terrified that puberty is going to drive a wedge between us.

I miss you, and the other two as well. I’m glad to hear that Galan is doing well. Has Lurilan found that giant Sanadil he was looking for? Hogg showed me a drawing of what it’s supposed to look like, and I can’t believe that there are really people who could hunt something like that. I believe the four of you can do anything.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your son,

Brin.

Fascinating. That blocked-out part, that had to be related to Brin’s status as an Otherworlder. What was it about that detail that evaded their scrutiny when everything else was laid so bare?

This wasn’t the time to think about it. That was a problem Hogg had, getting so interested in details that he missed the big picture. And the big picture, well, that didn’t look good.

Sure, some of that he’d already known or guessed, but he’d missed the full extent of it. In his defense, Brin wasn’t the type of person to let on if something was bothering him. From Hogg’s perspective, the guy had seemed like he was doing just fine.

The biggest problem was that they didn’t know Brin actually had the mind of an adult. A lot of that stuff looked really bad without that key detail. He could tell them. He hadn’t taken an Oath not to, but… no, he couldn’t. Apparently, he’d been failing Brin in a lot of ways. He would at least keep Brin’s secret.

“Time to go,” said Hogg, and pulled on his power to collapse this mirror image.

“<Stay!>” ordered Lumina in the Language.

Power hit his mind like fire through tissue paper, and every single mirror image, invisible eye, ward, and alarm vanished, all except for the one in this room in the tower. He couldn’t even feel his regular body; it was as if this little mirror image was all that was left of him. It was painful, pins and needles all across his fake body.

Unfair. Esoteric elements or not, she shouldn’t be able to do this. It was that tapestry on the wall, wasn’t it? It was a fool’s errand to challenge a [Mage] in her domain, but that wasn’t what he thought he’d be doing today. He thought he was going to check in real quick with a friend and maybe get an update on the political situation. Not get tortured over Brin, who, letter or not, was doing fine.

“Alright, I’ll stay,” said Hogg. Not that he had a choice.

Lumina studied the letter in the air, tapping her cheek with a wand. “This Tawna woman, can she be removed?”

“If you’re asking me to murder a friend I’ve known for almost fifteen years, I’ll have to decline,” said Hogg.

“I won’t ask you to do it yourself,” said Lumina. “I could send for someone.”

His mouth went dry. Even as an illusion, he was sweating. This wasn’t like her. He had a pretty good eye for people, and the Lumina he knew wasn’t like this. Something else was going on with her. “Come on. You wouldn’t do that.”

“Don’t make the mistake of believing your little town is important to me, Hogg. It is not. If it weren’t for the situation with Prinnash, I would be flying to Hammon’s Bog as we speak to put this right myself, even if that meant⁠—”

“What’s going on with Prinnash?” asked Hogg.

“Don’t try to change the subject. What have you done? When I left that boy to you, he was a kindhearted, humble, innocent little thing, with a good heart. And what do I see here? Hatred. Anger. Paranoia. Megalomania.”

Lumina grew angrier as her tirade went on. Rather than become flushed, her face went white, icy white, as she spoke. Literal sparks flew from her eyes and the temperature in the room rose to a stifling temperature.

Griopsis the [Psychologist] cleared his throat.

Lumina’s eyes flashed to him. “Speak.”

“I feel it incumbent on me to point out that this is not so bad as it perhaps seems to you. The thoughts we’ve uncovered here are… not so unusual for a boy his age. If we factor in his recent trauma, I’d say he’s handling things remarkably well.”

“That was my thought, too,” said Hogg.

“If you can remember the kind of thoughts you had when you were his age, perhaps that would make for an apt comparison. Or perhaps not?”

Lumina sank down a couple inches. By Nedramus, she’d actually been hovering in the air! “No, you’re correct. I was fourteen when I came to the tower and was compelled to align my loyalty to the kingdom by swearing Oaths to my Master. I thought he was going to—I’ll admit, my daydreams were very irregular back then.”

Griopsis bravely continued. “As you can tell by the missing sentence, neither I nor our [Reader of Fates] have been able to summon enough information to truly read his true thoughts. We’ve missed something vital, especially near the end. That entire paragraph should be cast into doubt, if you’ll forgive me for saying so, Duarda.”

“I will allow it,” said the mysterious woman.

“But the things he said—” Lumina started.

“Lastly…” Griopsis interrupted, then hesitated. He was sweating heavily though his face kept the look of scholarly dispassion. “Lastly, we must keep in mind that the child did not say these things. We pulled these thoughts from his subconscious, from a psychological profile that I created, from an extrapolation of the observable data, and from the bends of fate. We must view this exercise as a violation of the boy’s privacy. In fact… I came here to aid in the war effort. If I had known what we were doing here today I would not have participated.”

Lumina bowed her head. “You’re correct of course. I apologize, to all three of you, for using your high talents on such a selfish request. Consider this a favor owed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must think on this.”

She made the correct gestures and said all the right words, but Hogg could tell she was still furious.

“Of course,” said Griopsis, looking somewhat relieved. “And please never think that I think this a mar on your character. I have nothing but the utmost respect; I simply felt it my duty⁠—”

“I understand, and thank you for your honesty,” said Lumina.

The robed [Reader of Fates] left without a word, and the [Informationist] bowed and said perfunctory goodbyes.

When they were gone, Lumina turned her fury back to him. “Normal teenager or not, that boy is not happy. You will fix this or⁠—”

“I’ll fix it.”

Her wand was inches away from his nose. She glanced at it, then seemed to wilt. She collapsed in her sitting chair, the fight apparently gone out of her. “You better.”

“Now will you tell me what’s put a burr up your dress? This isn’t like you, Lumina,” said Hogg. “Is this about the Queendom of Arcaena?”

She rubbed her eyes and flicked her wrist. Brin’s letter disappeared, and in its place the map returned. Only this time all the confidential information on the kingdom’s troop movements had been scrubbed away.

“No, for once the [Witch]-queen is silent, which is worrying on its own. No, our problems are much more immediate. Prinnash is invading.”

“So soon? I’d heard rumors, but you make it sound like they’re already mobilizing,” said Hogg.

“It’s happening. It was one thing when they were simply sallying their [Knights] back and forth, but now they’re starting to take conscripts. It’s all preparation now, but armies are expensive. You don’t muster one unless you intend to use it.”

“Do we know why?” he asked.

“I don’t think even they know why. They say it’s to defend against our invasion, and when we muster our armies to defend against theirs, it will hardly matter who strikes the first blow.

“Galan is involved, did I tell you? He’s already taken a lance and started harrying them in the mountains. Prinnash doesn’t want any more trouble with Olland, so they’re treating him like a bandit for now, but it’s not helping to de-escalate things.

Their [Generals] have gathered armies outside the four fort cities, and another is making its way slowly around the mountains. I think the only reason they haven’t invaded already is because they don’t know where Master is.”

“And because they don’t know where you are,” said Hogg.

Lumina nodded. “Imposters have been sent to all four locations, of course. And I’ll be leaving for the border within the week. Even I don’t know which city I’ll actually defend. It’s the world’s most demented version of the shell game. If they guess right, then I will face the [Archmage of the Hungering Dark]. If they guess wrong, then…”

“Then you’ll be forced to slaughter thousands of people,” said Hogg.

She didn’t say anything for a long moment. She stared at the map with an expression of absolute bleakness on her face.

Finally, she turned her eyes back to him. “Master protected me, when I first came to the tower, from this sort of thing. All my fighting experience was true combat, not slaughtering what may as well be ants.”

“It’s a heavy thing. I won’t insult you with trite platitudes. It’s a damned heavy thing. But if I was in charge, I’d put both you and your master in Bragora.”

“That’s ludicrous. If we don’t defend Farova, it’s only one quick march to the capitol,” said Lumina. “Why Bragora?”

“This is just a hunch, but… they’ll attack there because that’s the city you’d need to take if you planned on marching to the Boglands.”

Lumina scoffed. “The whole world doesn’t revolve around your hometown.”

“No, but all the other major players are accounted for. The biggest unanswered question we have left is what happened to that giant undead army,” said Hogg.

“Hm. You have a point. If I hadn’t fought it myself I wouldn’t believe it really exists,” said Lumina. “Although, we must never assume that we know all of the unknowns. It’s only by luck that we learned of the existence of that threat in the first place. There could be yet another piece to this that we haven’t discovered. Regardless… I will relay these thoughts to Master and the Knight-Captain Commander.”

She tapped her wand against a writing table, and the hold on his power disappeared. He felt his regular body again. He almost gasped in relief; it was hard to hide how unnerving her little entrapment had been. People assumed that it would be easy to hide your emotions with a mirror image, but it wasn’t any easier at all. If you put enough of yourself into it to be convincing, then you ran the risk of communicating things that you didn’t intend as well.

He kept the conversation going with Lumina, trying to suss out more details on the upcoming war, but thank goodness for Split Focus, because something was going on with his other body.

Zilyana, one of Brin’s little friends, was standing in his house. She was panting and red-faced, like she’d run the entire way from town, and Marksi was on her shoulder.

“Hm, what?” he said, as if confused while waking up from a nap. Hopefully his eyes hadn’t been open.

“Oh, thank Solia! I thought you were dead. It’s Brin! The Prefit’s back in town with a caravan and—Brin. He’s been arrested.”