Power Overwhelming

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”Tsumi.” Karna nodded in greeting as she landed on her new island home. “How are the formations coming along?”

"You know, you used to be so much cuter when you called me master," Tsumi said playfully while ignoring the question.

“I’m still damn cute, and we both know it. Now, the formations?” She shot back.

She'd left Tsumi in charge of creating the formations over the island. The woman was the Headmistress of the Academy after all and an expert in such things. Karna had created the blueprints for the formations, while Tsumi was just making them a reality. The island was already located on a nexus of ley-lines and surrounded by abundant elemental energies, so the main purpose of the formations was to gather and refine all that already existing power. Even with this, the power on the island didn't quite reach the level of the world Karna had found earlier on the border of the Divine Plane, but it got close enough. Once the formations were complete, she would be able to speed up her cultivation by a lot.

"Like you asked, I started with the defensive formations that are mostly complete, but the refining formations are still halfway. Why?" Tsumi got a bit more serious.

“It seems the Emissary has come to negotiate with the Outsiders, and this world is going to be the stage for now at least. Only, I don’t think that’s the only reason they’re here. I need to keep out of sight for a while. I’ll finish things here if you’ll go and help with the gateways.” Karna suggested.

“You know, this isn’t the proper way to treat your old master! I’m unpaid labor!” Tsumi protested playfully.

“I said I’d owe you one, didn’t I? Besides, we both know you want to move the Academy here, and the sooner the gateways are done…” She left the rest unsaid. This largely untamed land was a much better place for the Academy, as it allowed plenty of opportunities for learning. That became especially true if Karna managed to create a safe and steady transportation method between the two worlds, of which the gateways were just a single part of. They had further plans in addition.

“Speaking of, now that you’re no longer my disciple and have officially graduated from the Academy, isn’t it about time you took on a disciple as well? I’m thinking of cashing in that favor in fact.” It was common that the previous graduates of the Academy took on disciples, as there were always more potential disciples than there were willing masters. In fact, it was something of an unspoken agreement that one couldn’t really be called a proper master until they had successfully trained at least one disciple.

"You know as well as I that my circumstances don't really lend to raising a disciple." Karna pointed out. Officially their master and disciple relationship had ended after Karna's proposal for the gateways was approved, as it had been considered sufficient proof of her skill, though the bond between the two would always be there.

“Honey, I’m the Headmistress and here I am helping you. Do you think I have nothing else to do?” Tsumi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“First of all, you probably do, but you’re also more than happy to use this as an excuse to fob those duties off to your underlings. Secondly, that’s not what I meant. Or at least not entirely. I am busy, yes, but I meant more the fact that I might have to make a hasty exit at any time as the immortals come knocking on the door, and I’m definitely hunted by certain parties among the Wei-jin. Any disciple I take would be in danger."

“You think I don’t have enemies?” Tsumi asked as if she was talking with someone stupid.

“Of course you do. They just don’t tend to come after you quite as actively.” She’d noted the little things her master did to ward off any of her own enemies every time they were out of the Academy. However, Tsumi’s enemies were mostly political.

"Look. I recognize that your situation is unique, but I have confidence in your ability to protect a disciple. And I know you'd be a great teacher. You already coached your little group of friends as a student, and they turned out to become some of the best students we've had in a long while. Even though they didn't all stick around to graduate." Tsumi referred to Shaheera of course. The last they'd heard, Shaheera was doing well under Ashanti's tutelage and was taking a larger role in the empire's affairs.

"We'll see once this mess is over," Karna replied non-committaly. "Now, shoo! Go and help Amaranthine."

Knowing she’d gained as much as she could at the moment, Tsumi went along. She knew that Karna was one of the best teachers she’d ever seen. She couldn’t know about the countless disciples Karna had trained in previous lives, but she could see what her disciple was capable of now. Anyone Karna bothered training ended up becoming much better as a result. There was just something that allowed Karna to see just the right way to push someone to become better, and it helped that her old disciple seemed to quickly be gaining mastery in most fields. There was something to be said about knowing how everything connected to everything else. That was one of the reasons Tsumi herself was so effective.

As soon as Tsumi was gone, Karna started adding protections to the defensive formations, specially designed to hide her presence from anyone using divine abilities. The power of gods was just pure bullshit in the way they managed to go around many of the rules governing normal magic, which made defending against it very difficult. Unless you happened to be an expert, which she was. Heck, she'd developed many of the abilities the Divines were still using without knowing they were treading on paths she’d already laid down. She wouldn’t be able to guard against everything. That was just impossible. But at least anyone trying to find her would need to try something special. And she’d already felt the presence of a Divine being among the arrivals. Most people wouldn’t notice, but she knew what to look for.

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"We've made contact with the so-called 'Sentinels' and while they were non-committal and evasive about the whole thing, I got the distinct impression that they'd relay the message." The silver-clad bodyguard of the young prince of the Asuryan family reported. The immortal in question had been picked to make contact by the prince because unlike the prince, the bodyguard would not draw quite as much attention.

In Narmada’s opinion, the prince’s actions were entirely meaningless. He was effectively performing without an audience. Anyone on this world was low enough rank that any immortals would draw attention, and the Sentinels were everywhere anyway. Who exactly was the prince trying to keep in the dark, and why? The negotiations he was supposed to initiate were not something that had to, or even should be kept a secret. Anyone notable in the Divine Planes would find out once the deal was made anyway, and if the prince failed to reach an accord, then that information would spread as well. There were enough enemies of House Asuryan in the loop about the mission to make sure of that.

On the other hand, maybe it was just his nature to keep most of his dealings a secret. One of the problems that haunted most Houses in the Divine Planes was internal fighting and general disregard for unimportant members of the House. The ruling House Asuryan wasn't an exception in that regard, and in fact, had a fair bit of internal struggle even if they tried to present a united front. In circumstances like that, it was perhaps no wonder that the prince instinctually tried to keep his maneuvering a secret. If no one knew what you were doing, then it was harder to sabotage your actions. It was a sad fact that the game of divine politics had reached a point where most Houses were willing to allow their own to fail and sabotage the interests of the Host as a whole just to have their own position in the internal hierarchy of their House rise. Sad because it told of the decadence and corruption amongst the Houses, and sad because while they could afford such excess due to the powerful position of the Host, it wasted resources and power that could be better spent elsewhere.

Narmada secretly thought, and had her suspicions pretty much confirmed by her relatives in the Host, that the Divine Planes and the Host had the power to drive away and even destroy the Scourges if they really put in full effort, but that they chose not to because it was useful to have an external enemy. If the Scourges didn’t exist and provide a convenient enemy, the Divine Planes would’ve devolved into a massive and messy civil war a long time ago. There were already internal struggles as it was, and only the presence of a common enemy stopped things from getting worse. Even so, it was now impossible to get the Houses working together long enough to put forth the full effort of the Divine Planes.

Only a direct decree from the Heavenly Emperor could force the Houses to work together, and even that was sometimes questionable. No one would openly oppose the emperor of course as his authority was absolute, but there were many smaller ways to go around any edicts. And the emperor rarely intervened. Part of that was to make sure the edicts he did give would retain their authority. If the emperor intervened in every little thing, then the Houses would be more likely to rebel. Another part was that despite being immortal, emperors only ruled for a limited time, albeit a very long one, and this emperor was reaching the end of his term. At least that’s what Narmada had heard. That’s why her mission was especially important now.

“Did they indicate any timeframe?” Prince Tethrine asked, somewhat impatiently, even if his voice showed none of it

“No. That’s the bad part. We can’t even tell for sure that they are relaying the message, not to mention how long it will take. So, if we have to wait for a while, it raises the potential issue of them not relaying the message in the first place. We just don’t know.” The immortal explained.

"Sounds like you're in a bit of a pickle," Narmada commented. She disliked the prince. She disliked almost the entire Royal House, as they were a pit of snakes, but she especially disliked the prince. He had a decent enough reputation, but the fact was that she simply didn't respect him. His father, yes. To an extent at least. But not the prince. He had not earned that respect. From what she could see, he put his own self-interests first, a sadly common trait, and while he didn't seem outwardly dishonorable, she felt that the prince wouldn't mind compromising what honor he had if it meant he could benefit.

“I’d like to point out that as long as I’m stuck here, so are you.” The prince argued. He was sadly mistaken though. Narmada had no obligation to stick around once her mission concluded.

"Or so you think." She didn't mind at least implying to the fact. Unlike the House Asuryan, she had no intention of undermining the Host's efforts, even if she personally didn't agree with the course they had chosen. Even if she wouldn't make much effort towards completing the mission the prince was on, she wouldn't actively undermine it either. Her uncle had been among those that had made this decision, so it would be disrespectful to think her own judgement, as lacking in information as she was despite her position, was above that of the Grand Marshal.

The prince’s eyes narrowed. “So, you’re saying that you will not stick around if you complete your mission.”

“Not without a good reason. You’re conducting negotiations. Or at least you will be if you manage to make contact. You really should consider other ways of making contact just in case this doesn’t pan out. You aren’t marching to war or trying to coerce the other side, so my presence should not be required. Besides, as nice as this world is, there’s very little to see or entertain yourself with.” That was something they’d all noted already. One of the downsides of a world like this was that there was nothing to do. Well, there was a lot to do as the entire world was seeing a lot of development and construction, so there was plenty of work, but there was very little for a visiting dignitary to entertain themselves with.

The prince made a small, exasperated sound, either due to lack of entertainment or due to her eventual departure, before he left to make plans. The two really didn't get along and didn't want to spend anymore time together than necessary. It wasn't just their clashing personalities either. Their two Houses were some of the main players in the political game and bitter rivals. Only a couple of Houses could reach the level of power and influence their two Houses had.

As soon as the prince was gone, Narmada cast a spell with her power as a Goddess, trying to locate anyone with divine blood. Her spell excluded their own group of course. She had to smile at the way her Divine powers jumped to her command. Mages always complained how unfair it was that Divines and even those using holy spells like clerics could bypass most of the rules that governed other powers. There was a reason why such things were called miracles. Annoying mages was one of her favorite pastimes.

Her spell bypassed almost every method used to hide against such magic and found people that arcane spells would miss. It was exactly in these kinds of little things where Divine power shined. The downside was that sometimes it worked too well. "There are three people with divine blood on this world?" She wasn't asking anyone particular, just wondering about the result she'd gotten. "That's a lot of Godlings for a single world in the Higher Planes."

She’d have to check them out individually. Luckily, there was now a golden thread connecting her with all three. At least it wouldn’t take long to find them.

------

Valor was surveying the construction work on a large fortress-monastery that the knightly order he belonged to would use as their new headquarters. The surroundings were still rather barren as the city that would eventually surround the monastery wasn't there yet. Some buildings had already been erected, though many of them were temporary. As the future capital of the Magocracy on this world, the city would eventually be built from precious materials and would follow a very strict plan, but the people here still needed temporary housing and services for the time being. So unlike the fortress-monastery, the surrounding buildings were mostly made of hastily cut wood, or they were structures that had been transported here via magical means.

The outer wall of the monastery itself was made up of high quality but rather utilitarian stone that lacked most ornamentation. The sanctum at the center would of course be much more decorated and fancier, but they'd save that one for the last. They needed to gather the necessary materials that would be suitable to honor the gods first. Their order had already moved here en masse, which meant that over a thousand knights and thrice that many squires and supporting personnel were present, though only the knights did the construction. The knights had to do the work personally to properly pay respects, and to make sure the work was done perfectly. Their meticulous work was one of the reasons they weren't even close to being finished despite the large number of people.

The sanctum would not be dedicated to a single god or goddess, even though certain Divines were naturally more popular among the order. They wanted to make sure any servant of the good gods would feel welcome. They were already very strict with their recruiting, so there was no need to make things even harder by excluding those that served a different god. As long as they still met the other standards like possessing a strong moral fiber. Which meant no servants of the evil gods. Servants of neutral gods were taken on a case-to-case basis.

His musings were halted as three immortals suddenly landed from the sky in front of him. Just the presence of two Gold Immortals was enough to earn his respect, but as a holy warrior, he could detect the presence of a real god from the third one. This might not have been his god, but it was a god. “Holy Knight Lucian pays his respects." He knelt on one knee while bringing his hands in front of his face in prayer.

“Not the person I’m looking for.” The female Divinity spoke with a voice that sent a shiver down his back. This might not be one of the major gods, but she was not someone to take lightly either.

“You are looking for someone specific? Maybe we can be of assistance.” Lucian offered. He didn’t necessarily want to get mixed with something that had actually brought a goddess down to this place, but he could sense this wasn’t an evil goddess.

"Hmm, I suppose there's no harm in asking. You can lift your gaze." Lucian did as ordered although he kept his eyes below the divine's neck level. "I'm tracking all those with divine blood on this world. Unfortunately, my spell can't tell the difference between a Godling and someone descended from a Godling. Now that I'm next to you, I can sense you're at least two generations removed. Anyway, I received three pings and you were one of them."

“Three? I was aware of one other, but…who are you looking for?” He asked again.

“I’m looking for this person.” The image of Wrath appeared above the goddess’ palm. “I see you recognize her. I got the other pings here and here.” The map of the world appeared on top of the goddess’ other palm, showing a result near the settlement of the beastmen that Envy had brought here, while another was on the continent that had been given to the witch. “So, which one is she?”

Despite getting along with Wrath, he wasn't going to lie to a goddess. "I don't think it's either. The person you're looking for is called Karna, and while she could've gone to visit those locations, I would expect to find her working on the gateway not that far from here. It's her project after all. If she's not…well, I wouldn't be surprised if she had some way to hide. She is very skilled. And potentially dangerous."

“…even for immortals?” The goddess asked carefully.

“I can’t say for sure.” Lucian shook his head. It was hard to see the depths of the Sins, and Wrath was both a Sin and a Virtue. Even if she’d almost lost against the Kensei, there was no telling what she could come up with. And he still didn’t know what the Name Wrath gave her.

"I shall keep that in mind." She turned to the other Golden Immortal to give instructions. "Go to the build site and keep an eye for anyone matching the description of our target. She is hard to miss. Don't approach if you spot her, just keep an eye on her. I'll check the other two pings just in case."