Carmen felt strange. It was like she had entered a room, only to forget what she wanted to do in there. Except…less pressing, somehow? A teasing feeling in the back of her mind that refused to let her ignore it. So, she began to think through the past few days.

Practice with Geb and Agathe. Studying in class, reading forbidden texts outside of class. Dinner with her parents.

Her parents. What about them set off those alarm bells in her mind? Both of them were here, safe. So, why did she feel like something was missing?

She snapped back to attention as Alex waved a hand in front of her face. “You awake in there?” Alex teased, offering a hand to help Carmen up.

Carmen accepted, rising gracefully from the bed. “Right, sorry.” She said, shaking her head to clear it of those last lingering thoughts. “What were we doing again?”

“Sheesh, you’re really out of it right now, aren’t you? I know I told you it was important to read those books, but you have to take a break every now and then. It’s clearly affecting your health."

Wait, why would she tell me it’s important to read-

“Anyway, we were going to meet up with the kids, remember? They wanted to explore the woods on the far edge of the demiplane.”

“A-ah, right.” Carmen said, allowing Alex to lead her down the hall, never letting go of her hand.

A few minutes later, the two of them were at the edge of the schoolyard, waiting for Thiala and Raphael to come. Carmen hardly paid attention to Alex’s small talk, retreating further into her mind as questions began to pile up.

When did Alex and I get so close? I could have sworn-

She was cut off by the sensation of an arm around her neck. Looking behind her, she saw Kali had snuck up behind both her and Alex, and had thrust herself between the two, grabbing each of their necks.

“Chaperone’s here!” She smirked, letting go of their necks and plopping down on the grass next to them. “Where’re the kids?”

Carmen frowned, sending out a mental message to the two. Hey, you almost here?

Yeah, almost, Raphael had to use the bathroom, sorry! Thiala chirped.

Hey! You know I’m still getting used to everything!

It’s not that complicated Raphi, just go!

There was that sensation again. Something wasn’t right.

But that’s not important right now, Carmen thought. Best to focus on just unwinding. I can piece this puzzle together later.

Not even a minute later, Thiala and Raphael showed up,

“Thanks for coming with us!” Thiala said happily. “Raphi’s been lonely ever since her group kicked her out.”

“You didn’t have to say it like that.” Raphael pouted.

“Well, it’s true!” Thiala countered.

Defeated, Raphael shrugged. “I…guess you’re right.”

“Now that we’re all here, let’s organize teams!”

Organize teams? Why is this familiar? Seeing Kali patiently wait for the teams to be decided, she shooed those thoughts to the back of her mind. Fun trip. Unwind. Focus.

Thiala and Raphael were arguing about who would get to go with Carmen, and Alex didn’t look particularly thrilled with the idea of being away from Carmen either.

“Let’s make it fair.” Raphael said. “We’ll put Kali on one team and Carmen on the other. That way each team has a powerful grown-up on it. Then, whichever team gets Alex, the other team gets the two of us. We’ll do rock-paper-scissors to decide who gets to be with Carmen. “

What are we doing again? I thought we were just exploring.

One heated game of rock-paper-scissors later, Carmen and Alex made their way deeper into the woods. Apparently, they were going to be playing some sort of variety of hide and seek or tag or something, and the two groups were tasked with looking for suitable locations for such a game.

As they walked, Carmen became more and more uneasy. She was absolutely sure something was wrong now. Lucas might have written it off as nothing, but Carmen was different. She was…far more in touch with herself than he ever was. This feeling wasn’t nothing. It couldn’t be nothing. Something was not right in her head. And that something was trying to prevent her from tugging at this thread.

Yeah, there’s no chance she would do that. This was her mind, and there’s no way she would let anyone mess with it. She stopped where she was, prompting Alex to walk over to her.

Alex placed a hand on Carmen’s forehead, frowning. “Are you sure you’re OK to be doing this right now? You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

“Absolutely sure. Alex, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Of course. What do you need?”

Yup. Pretty sure this is not the way things are supposed to go between the two of us. Now that I know what I’m looking for, I can feel that stupid magic trying to smooth it over.

“I need you to let me mess with your mind, just for a minute.” Why did I ask permission? I never did that before. But…I feel like I have to, or it won’t work. Shaking her head, she drew back, and the shadows around her deepened. The forest sound suddenly seemed to be coming from far away as she drew upon one of her Traits from the Faerie Royalty Domain. “Upon my very being as faerie royalty, I swear that I have no intent to harm you. I will put you back as you are now within the hour.”

It was a Declaration of Intent. A right granted to the most powerful of the fae, one which was able to bind even them. For a brief moment, the souls of those involved were opened to the other, allowing both parties to read fully the intentions of the other. Should the fae willingly go against what they intend, they would instantly be destroyed, their essence scattered to the wind. It was usually used only in negotiations deemed vitally important to the fae, as a way to show they would keep their word.

Alex frowned. “Yeah, no problem. You know I trust you with this sort of stuff.”

Not a chance. I don’t trust me with this sort of stuff.

Carmen kept her imperious air about her as she spoke, trying to imbue her next command with as much weight as possible. She knew it was silly, but the theatrics comforted her in some small way. “I order you to tell me how you really feel about me, mental modification aside.”

There was silence for a moment.

Then Alex screamed. She fell to the ground, clutching her head in her hands. “I…” she panted, desperately trying to belt the words out through clenched teeth. “Do not…”

“Enough.” Carmen said. “The previous command is void.”

Immediately, Alex sprung back up to her feet. “Huh? Why was I on the ground? What’d you do?”

Sorry, Alex. I’m going to have to push the boundaries here. I need to know just how much I can get out of people without that activating.

“Until I say otherwise, everything I tell you is a command, understood?”

“Yes.”

“Does splitting up into teams and searching the woods sound familiar to you?”

Alex tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Now that you mention it…” She shook her head rapidly, as if to shake away a thought. “Maybe a little? I think I might have had a dream or something that was kind of like that.”

Carmen frowned. There was definitely something there, but whatever magic was affecting them was getting in the way. Then, she had an idea.

“Alex, when you answer me, I need you to immediately forget what we’re talking about, alright? I need you to say the answer and not have any idea what you’re even saying. Think about something completely different while you answer, don’t even realize you’re answering, OK?”

Alex nodded.

Alright, what else felt odd this morning? Carmen paused as she mulled this over, prepping her next question. “Has anything about my parents seemed odd to you today?”

“Yeah.” Alex said in a monotone. “Siph’s not been here.”

What? “Who’s Siph?”

“Your mom.”

Carmen racked her brains. “Isn’t Jessica my mom?”

“Correct.”

“So, who’s Siph, then?”

“No one of importance.” Kali said, walking up to the two of them. “What is of importance is Alex’s well-being. I came as soon as I heard the scream, are you alright?”

“Yeah, just fine!” Alex said cheerily.

“Well, that certainly didn’t sound fine. You need to go rest for a bit. I’ll escort you back, and then I’ll come back and make sure nothing bad happens to Carmen, alright?”

“Yeah…” Alex said distractedly. “That sounds fine.” She let herself be pulled away by Kali, leaving Carmen by herself.

Once Kali was out of sight, Carmen immediately began to think again. Alright, what do I know? First, people are treating me in ways I don’t think they should. Their attitudes are inconsistent with my character.

Second, I’m missing some sort of memory. Alex talked about someone named “Siph” being my mother, and things are weirdly familiar to me that shouldn’t be.

Third, I’m maybe the only one who realizes something is wrong. Most likely due to my mental resistances. Still, when anyone else is forced to try and answer questions directly, it causes some sort of pain. And if I try to ask too indirectly, they just gloss over it. I was able to get some luck with Alex there, but then Kali showed up.

Her brow wrinkled as she thought about Kali. Come to think of it, whenever she shows up, I stop thinking about this. It becomes…less important. Is she the one behind all of this? I can’t think of a reason for that, though. I’ll put her on the list and watch her carefully. So, I have a suspect, a probably incomplete knowledge of what this is doing to me, and  no discernable motive aside from “they don’t want me to know something”. Well, it’s better than nothing…

Her train of thought was interrupted by Thiala and Raphael walking over. “Is everything alright?” Thiala asked. “I heard Alex scream.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Carmen responded. “She was just startled.”

“Are you sure?” Raphael asked, a doubtful expression on her face.

“Yeah, she was just tired and overreacted. Nothing to freak out over. Kali’s taken her back to get some rest.”

Thiala frowned. “That’s no fun. Why don’t we do this another day, then? I don’t want anyone to miss out.”

Carmen shrugged. “Fine by me.” I have bigger fish to fry, anyway. “Will you go let Kali know and I’ll take Raphael back?”

“Sure thing!” Thiala said, trotting off in the direction of the main complex of buildings. After she left, Carmen turned to Raphael and motioned for her to follow. As they walked, Carmen began to question her.

“So, what do you think of me?” She asked.

“That’s awfully sudden. Why?”

“Just humor me.”

“I think you’re pretty nice. Pretty forgiving, too. I don’t think many people would be willing to just let it go after they get attacked unprovoked.”

Carmen frowned. That really wasn’t her. Why did she just let it go? Sure, she turned Raphael into a girl, but that was more for her own amusement than anything else. Why did Raphael accept her flimsy excuse and choose to stay this way while Elenoa threw a fit?

Further questioning didn’t really get Carmen much more information to work off of. Without a shortcut in the form of an incredibly powerful master-servant contract, she just didn’t have the information she needed to get useful results from anything. Any time she thought she might be getting close, Raphael just spaced out or tried to change the subject.

So. If Raphael and Alex are any judge, people are treating me in ways I don’t think line up with how I actually do things. I can get that information, though. We’ll have to see what I can learn from that.

“Hey, Raphael, how would you like to help me with a project?”

“I don’t see why not. What’re you doing?”

“This might sound a little weird, but I need to know what people think of me. I can’t just ask them to their face because I think a lot of people will be too polite to point out anything negative, but I need to know. I’ve noticed something a little odd and I want to make sure everything’s fine.”

“I would ask Kali, but she’s been pretty busy lately and this is too much of a minor thing for her to worry about.” Carmen lied, “So don’t worry about getting her opinion on things.”

“Uh, sure I guess.” Raphael said. “You’re not in any danger, right?”

Carmen shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m just being a little paranoid.”

“No problem, then. I’ll get to work on it.”

“Thanks, it’s a big help.”

They walked in silence for a bit longer and parted at the entrance to Carmen’s house. Next on her list of priorities was Vithi. Hopefully she’d be able to get some sort of useful information out of her, but she wasn’t holding her breath. She poked around the house for a bit, eventually finding Vithi playing a game in her room. Well, it was actually Carmen’s room, since Vithi slept in her lair, but she usually had to come in there to enter the lair anyway, so it was pretty much a moot point.

“Hey, Vithi, can we talk?” Carmen asked.

Vithi paused the game. “Sure. Need something?”

Carmen nodded. “Can we do it in your lair?”

Vithi raised her eyebrows but went into the lair anyway. Carmen laid down on her bed and followed Vithi into the lair, appearing in the ‘front entry’.

“Good, now we won’t have any chance of being overheard. Probably.”

“Sure? Why the secrecy, though?”

Carmen frowned and told Vithi about the morning’s events.

“Well, I’ll admit that does sound pretty weird. But are you sure you’re not just being paranoid?”

Carmen paused. “Maybe I am, but I think it’s justified. For instance, why would you ask me if I’m being paranoid? We practically have proof  with what Alex was saying, so I think that’s beyond the realm of simple paranoia.”

“Wait, what did Alex say?”

“I already told you. That spell must have made you forget.”

Vithi tapped her chin. “Aright, there are two ways this is going. First, you’re right and something’s messing with all of us. Second, you’re partially right, but whatever’s messing with things is only messing with you. Either way, we have a problem. Are you sure you shouldn’t just talk to Kali about this?”

Carmen shook her head. “I think that’s a bad idea. If she’s the cause of things, that’d just be letting her know I’m onto her. If she’s not, then she should already know, unless she’s under the effects of the spell too. If the spell’s strong enough that she can’t detect it or is under its effects, I don’t think there’s anything she could do. Either way, going to her wouldn’t be helpful.”

“I’m not sure I totally agree with that.” Vithi said thoughtfully. “If it’s just that the spell is subtle, giving her that tip might be enough to let her find and break it.” She thought about it for a moment. “But, if you’re right and she’s the cause, there’s too much on the line to risk going to her. So, for now I won’t say anything to her, but I reserve the right to if you start acting really strangely.”

Carmen nodded. “Thanks. Mind if I keep my notes in here? I don’t want to risk anyone getting to them.”

Vithi shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

“Good. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Please do. Just make sure not to neglect your studies because of this. It’s important to be able to protect yourself, so we can’t have you be skipping out on those just to work on this.”

Carmen nodded. “You’re right. I’ll work on this in what spare time I have, but I’m sure my studies can help here too. I’ll try not to get too consumed. Make sure to let me know if I get obsessed, alright?”

“Deal. Now, can I go back to my game?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Vithi and Carmen left the lair, and Carmen went back to reading her latest tome of forbidden lore. She would get to the bottom of this. And when she did, she was going to stop it.

Fighterman481

FINALLY. I've been itching to post this thing all week, but I've held back so I can start building up a backlog. I'm glad I did, too. The next chapter is turning out to be a surprising amount of work.

Since I'm keeping stat gain and experience scaling to a consistent level, I have a decent amount of micro-managing to do while I have Lilith level up. And since there's a lot of leveling occurring next chapter, that means there's a lot of that micromanaging. I was actually using an online compound interest calculator to scale things before I realized that was stupid and wasn't nearly 'powerful' enough for what I wanted. So, I wrote a short 65 line program at like 3 AM and it's been working like a charm. That's off-topic, though, and we'll get into it more next chapter.

There is one thing I want to address, though. Cover art. Or, rather, my lack of it. Simply put, I have the artistic skill of a deformed potato, especially using digital tools. However, I realized that if I want more people to read this, I need to get at least some cover. So, I was curious as to what you all make of this dilemma. I don't have enough disposable income to commission a piece, but I also have no confidence doing it on my own and have no wish to ask someone to do it for free. That's kinda a lame thing to do, you know? Anyway, what do you all think? Should this be something I'm even worried about at this point in time? If so, is there some sort of depository of copyright-free art or something I could use to peruse and potentially make into a cover? I'm just not sure.

All that aside, there have been some changes since chapter 22. I've added it to my list of chapters to address in the rewrite, simply because of some slight changes I'll be making and I'd like it to be somewhat more consistent than a simple edit would provide.

That being said, the one edit I did make was with Ranks. Previously it went somewhere along the lines of Common -> Uncommon -> Legendary -> Mythical -> Artifact, but I realized that the Artifact Rank didn't really work for anything except items. So, I quickly changed it to Common -> Uncommon -> Epic -> Legendary -> Mythical. I might have an item-only Artifact Rank at some point, outside the normal Rank similar to Unique or Exclusive.

The other thing that happened is Thorium and I had a lengthy discussion in the comments last time about more nitty-gritty mechanics of how leveling-type things will work. Give it a read if you want some more info, it should prove somewhat enlightening, but I'll be trying to address at least some of the points in either the rewrite or next chapter's author's note (since that's when it'll be relevant).

A whole week's worth of pent-up housekeeping later, we're finally ready to actually talk about the chapter.

Honestly, it didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. There is one major point that needs to be addressed before we continue, though, and that's Carmen's resistance to Kali's magic. This is something I'm planning to foreshadow in the rewrite, so it hopefully won't be quite as out-of-the-blue as it is now, but it's something that bears going a bit more into even if you had that extra foreshadowing.

Kali currently is managing the spell off of an avatar, made using a very similar ability to the one Lilith has. This drastically reduces the effectiveness of the spell, allowing Carmen to do more than just feel slightly uneasy. Of course, should Kali be putting her full energy into the spell, there's no way Carmen would have a chance, but Kali's busy babysitting the system while overseeing Lilith, and basically had to shunt all this off to...basically a very sophisticated AI. Like a Parallel, but less...cognizant? I'll be honest I haven't fully flushed that out because it's basically irrelevant at this point.

This particular spell increases in strength the closer you are to Kali, so whenever her avatar is around Carmen's basically unable to worry about it. For now. Kali is well aware of this, but there's not much more she can do without constantly being near Carmen, and her avatar does still have other duties it needs to perform.

As you might have guessed from the tone of this chapter and somewhat from the author's note, for Carmen's little arc here the main "villain" is actually going to be Kali. Taking these chapters in isolation, it looks bad, but honestly I can't think of an easier way for Kali to deal with the disappearance of a VIP without drastically cutting into her "free time".

I guess while I'm here I'll ask you guys another question, and I think I'll actually make this one a poll, so go ahead and vote in that if you haven't. Basically, how many of these types of chapters do you actually want? There are going to be at least a couple no matter what, as through them we'll be learning more about the Council and the general political climate so we'll have a general idea of how people will react to the system change, but other than that how much do you want?

It'll mostly be character interaction and potential character growth as Carmen and friends try to unravel this mystery, not much in the way of concrete power growth or combat, and given that everyone (hopefully) knows the answer to this "mystery" by now (If you don't, go reread the last couple of chapters. If you still don't and had to get the answer from an author's note or something, I've made a mistake and need to fix that), I'm not sure how entertaining that'll be. So, I'll leave it up to what people want to see for how often we get Carmen chapters.

The poll will be up for ten days (to allow next chapter to land and let people get more of a feel for what Lilith's chapters will be like), so go ahead and vote and I'll adjust accordingly. Also note that the results of this poll don't guarantee that split of content. If someone makes a really good argument for a split, or if I find I simply don't have the content to maintain that split, that'll be subject to change.

Anyway, I think that's all. Hope you enjoyed!