Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School

“Only one being I see as the one true god above gods; His Eternal Majesty.”

The entire room suddenly echoed with the sounds of a hundred chairs being forcibly pushed across a variety of surfaces, Auris Ping now leading the charge as a bright ear-to-ear grin manifested itself across his snout. “Forever may he reign!”

“Forever may he reign!” The whole room repeated, before promptly sitting back down in a flurry of cacophonous noises.

A knowing look was exchanged between the likes of Ping and Articord after that sudden call for reverence, a glance that seemed to cement an underlying narrative that had formed since his first non-sequitur question about the gods.

“Is there a reason why you insist on bringing up the topic of these idols of a dead world, Lord Ping?” Articord prompted as soon as the last hair-raising, neck-tingling echoes of the scraping of chairs finally died down.

“Yes, professor.” Auris replied without hesitation. “I do so, out of love and faith for the sanctity of His Eternal Majesty.” The man spoke with a fiery zeal and vitriol, without even the faintest hint of faltering from complete and utter devotion.

“By calling upon for further elaboration on the role of the old gods?” The professor shot back, although this time, there was something of a sing-song cadence to her voice. As if she was fully embracing the theater — as Ilunor would call it — between herself and the bull.

“History is nothing if not the acknowledgement of the failures of the past, to better improve ourselves in the pursuit of the present, in securing a certain and unwavering future. The story of His Eternal Majesty cannot be told in full without first establishing the story of the Old Gods which preceded him in the Eras of Folly. For only the full truth, the whole truth, can cast away the shadows of ignorance and free the mind from the shackles of self-delusion.” The bull’s eyes never once wavered, never once flinched, his whole body stood tall and unmoving as I could audibly hear how this speech was given with even more candidness than before; if that was even possible. “All shadows of doubt will wither and falter at the foot of the light of the gospel of the Enlightened Regime.”

The professor took a moment to regard Auris’ words with an appreciative smile. A rare instance of being not only satisfied by an answer like she was with Ilunor’s, but instead being genuinely impressed.

“The truth can be difficult for many to comprehend, Lord Ping. I say this, as someone who has made the pilgrimage of shadows.” The professor admitted through that same polite smile. “With that being said, in any other instance, I would’ve gladly started off with said truths. However, today, as with many things with your year group; the situation is radically different by virtue of those that comprise your ranks.” It was clear, even without a stray glance, that she was talking about me. “The best education is often personalized education, accounting for the needs of every type of student. I have tailored today’s opening lesson to reflect this fact.”

Silence descended upon the room following the professor’s statement. All gazes rested on the fox as her eyes seemed to be scouring for her next prey, her next subject of interest.

Me.

“Newrealmer.” Articord announced suddenly, her voice dripping not with any spite or self-righteousness, but an earnest tone of curiosity. “Cadet Booker, is it?”

“Yes, professor.” I replied with a nod.

“As a newrealmer, I understand you may have quite a few questions, such is the nature of innocence from reason, and the regrettable state of affairs that is the squalid ignorance of the natural state. However, I can infer based on the mere fact that you sit here — having crossed the threshold — that you are indeed capable of comprehending and adopting the principles of enlightened civility. You are… a pioneer of sorts, Cadet Booker. In the same way that the first followers of His Eternal Majesty’s enlightened circle took that leap of faith in setting forth into a previously uncharted future, so too are you doing the same by your mere presence. However-” The professor paused, taking a few steps forward up the still-invisible central walkway towards my equally-invisible desk. “-this ignorance goes both ways. For as much as you are ignorant to the ways of the Nexus, so too am I ignorant of the ways of your realm. So please, if you will allow me to indulge in my curiosities, I would like to ask you a few questions. Just to aid in the crossing of this river of ignorance on a bridge of mutual understanding.”

I was… taken aback by the shift in the professor’s angle.

Because whilst she started off with that typical Mal’tory-grade blanket statement of superiority, she didn’t follow through with it. More than that, she more or less left most pretenses of that posturing behind, the further she went in her monologue.

And in a move that no other professor had done so far, she even went so far as to publicly express her humility, and a desire to bridge that cultural gap for the alleged sake of mutual understanding; something that SIOP authors would’ve fawned over if they were here.

“Of course, professor.” I replied tactfully, politely, at the very least reciprocating the courtesy she was extending to me. “Fire away.”

There was probably a Nexian catch somewhere.

However… that remained to be seen, and I wasn’t about to actively reject a gesture of good will if I could help it.

“Do you believe in fate, Cadet Booker?” The professor asked candidly, throwing a curveball of a question without so much as flinching; her voice never once revealing anything other than an earnest and well-intentioned cadence.

“That’s a question that’s been debated amongst my kind for countless generations, since the inception of the spoken word itself, professor.” I replied diplomatically, SIOP training kicking in almost out of instinct as I felt like I was hitting the ground running. “Given the cosmopolitan and diverse nature of my people, and the policy of my government to accommodate and facilitate, rather than to impose and to dictate, I cannot say for certain whether or not I do.”

“Are you answering this as a representative of your people, or as you yourself, Cadet Booker?” The professor drilled further, not yet diving into a heated tone of voice, but more so straddling the line between impatience and a cordial sort of academic curiosity.

“That is my answer as a representative of my people, professor.” I answered curtly.

“Then allow me to rephrase my question, Cadet Booker. Do you, yourself, not your government, not your elders or kings or dukes or barons, not even your military superiors up in your chain of command… do you believe in fate?”

I took a moment to regard that question, as conflicts of interests arose between a desire to remain diplomatic, a desire to meet the professor’s question with honesty and upfrontness, as well as a desire to heed Thacea’s cautioning — to remain steadfast in ensuring a certain degree of ‘social face’ was preserved if at all possible. These desires however ended up stirring a bigger question that dwelled within me. A question that I hadn’t really put much thought into before, save for that one year of my life I’d rather forget.

“Not necessarily, professor.” I answered truthfully.

“Not necessarily?” The professor parroted back. “Elaborate, Cadet Booker.”

I let out a sigh. “On one hand, my faith sort of touches on the issues surrounding fate. However, on the other hand, it also emphasizes that a lot of things are ultimately up to you to decide as a person. Which means that at the end of the day, it’ll be the universe that’s reacting to you, rather than the universe dictating anything in particular; with cosmic and karmic forces and such reacting to your actions depending on what you do. Ultimately though, I personally believe that every individual’s fate is theirs to decide. Freedom is a fundamental aspect of the sapient condition after all, free will being part of that.”

I half-expected the professor to do a complete one-eighty, to pull an Auris Ping in the middle of the class to simply call me out on my beliefs.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she seemed to regard every word with intense fascination, cupping her entire lower face within her palm.

“Fascinating.” Was her first response following those few seconds of silence, her eyes only once breaking contact as if to actively ponder my words in her own mind for a bit. “We share quite a lot in common then, Cadet Booker.” She spoke soon after, with a sense of genuine intrigue that bordered on preachy but never quite crossed that line. “Because ultimately, there is one core fundamental principle which separates the past nine epochs from our current, eternal one. A fundamental belief, and a tangible truth, that lies at the very heart of each of these failures of the mortal realm. And that is the acknowledgement of the Enlightened Truth: that we should as much obliterate ourselves from the animal, as we should from those forces which bind our fates to the realm of the ‘gods’.”

A pause punctuated that statement, as it took me a good few moments, perhaps a full minute to really process what was being said.

This was because everything she was saying conflicted with every single one of my expectations of not just the Nexus, but a fantasy-esque realm in general.

“The former is self-explanatory-” The professor continued. “-in that as sapient beings, we should embrace our sapiency in order to truly self-actualize. It is our attachments to the traits of the animal, which prevents us from higher callings, and ultimately can lead us astray from the path of enlightenment. A life lived in the shadow of the calling of the animal and its instincts, is no better than a life of non-sapiency, after all. The latter topic regarding fates and the gods however, is a tad more complex. A topic which I have yet to touch upon, but one that seems to reflect well on your own beliefs, Cadet Booker.” Articord continued in that polite, almost excitable tone before turning back to the board, and the magical hologram around us.

Time seemed to rewind without any warning, as the ruins of ancient empires rose back up, only to be dismantled brick by brick as the professor pushed the timeline back all the way to what appeared to be the first ‘epoch’, back towards the start of that first town, and what looked to be a nondescript place of worship. It resembled a cathedral, but not in the typical way. Instead built around what seemed to be an impossibly large tree acting as its central ‘spire’.

We eventually found ourselves within this structure, facing the walls that seemed to be a mismatch of overgrowth and brick, with the vines themselves pulsating with every hum of prayer from the thousands of wood elves around us.

“But before we proceed, I first have a question for the floor.” Articord turned down the volume of the environmental sounds around us, reducing the hums and hymns to barely a whisper. “What does a ‘god’ ultimately want? What are the goals of these… beings that inhabit the immaterial realm of the ‘divine’?”

This line of question ultimately resulted in more than a handful of hands to be raised.

With all the main suspects holding their respective grounds with a competitive glare.

“Lord Qiv?” Articord announced.

“Worship.” He spoke confidently. “Worship for worship’s sake. Without care, without concern, without even the barest of hints or a modicum of decency for the sapients which see them for more than what they are.”

The professor’s eyes seemed to glaze over at that response at first, but eventually sharpened at the very last few words of that answer.

“Elaborate, Lord Qiv.”

“They are not actual ‘gods’, Professor. They are merely egotistical beings inhabiting a realm that just so happens to have properties which allow them a greater degree of power and movement above the mortal realm.” The gorn-like lizard continued on with a prideful grin.

Only to have it shot down without the barest hint of mercy from the fox professor.

“Poetry can only take you so far, Lord Qiv. I require answers based on fact, not a colorful retelling of the truth.” Articord spoke with a not-so-hidden frown of disappointment, further colored by a tone of barely-contained annoyance.

Qiv’s features for the first time shifted to one of concern, clearly afraid of the consequences of this ‘inappropriate’ answer.

But the docking of points never came.

Instead, the professor moved on just as quickly.

Next, to Etholin.

“Lord Esila?”

“They want power, professor.” The little ferret bowed his head down as he spoke. “Power, derived from the mortal realm, in the form of amusement. They compete in their own games within their elevated stations, removed and completely detached from the suffering they cause.”

Silence hung in the air after that answer, as the professor once more reached for her temples to sooth what looked like an oncoming migraine.

“There we go again.” She spoke with frustration. “More and more embellishments added to a historical tale that requires none.”

Etholin’s features immediately darkened, as he too looked as if he was about to slink down beneath the desk.

“The next person who answers incorrectly, will find that I do not wish to entertain half-truths. As it currently stands, I will tolerate these interpretations. For it is in the essence of the less disciplined mind to be more susceptible to the draw of colorful embellishments, rather than to accept the more nuanced historical truth. Moreover, misconceptions abound on the truth behind the seemingly obvious, and it is clear that many of you seem to be of the less-inclined to analyze history in its various retellings.”

Almost all hands retracted following that warning. All, save for four.

Airit,

Auris,

Ilunor,

And Thacea.

The latter two having once again locked eyes in agreement, as if instinctively knowing what each was about to say.

Surprisingly, the professor chose the deluxe kobold.

The small thing standing up tall and proud atop of his seat, hands triumphantly posed by his sides.

“Lord Rularia?”

“They want nothing, professor.” The blue thing spoke with a sense of epicness and grandeur.

One that immediately brought on the frustrated expression of the professor… but was soon overpowered by a sense of genuine intrigue in the form of a followup question.

“Elaborate, Lord Rularia.”

“Well… you can’t expect a thing, a force of nature, to really have desires now can you?” He grinned menacingly, bringing every ounce of that smarmy self-absorbed ego to bear.

I looked on, absolutely horrified by this cocky move, empathizing with the gang now with how they probably saw my own daring stunts.

Yet instead of seeing a thousand points docked from the group, I instead saw the professor’s lips once more forming into a smile.

“Lord Rularia, I will give you one more chance to elaborate before I invoke a Partition of Points. Elaborate on your answer.”

“The so-called ‘gods’ can want nothing. For they simply cannot be considered as sapient, as you or I.” He started. “A non-sapient, can neither want nor desire anything, and thus it would be foolish to consider otherwise.”

The professor dwelled on this answer for a few moments, her eyes scrunching up, before letting out a sigh.

“I invoke a Partition of Points.” She spoke, much to Ilunor’s shock, before turning to Auris Ping. “Lord Ping?”

“You humble me with your grace, professor.” Ping began with a deep bow, before rising up with a confidence he’d lost back in Vanavan’s class. “Lord Rularia… is correct in his assertions, and indeed, I applaud him for such an accurate and candid retelling. Such is to be expected from a member of the Nexian nobility.” He regarded Ilunor with a brief nod, the Vunerian reciprocating cautiously, before continuing. “These so-called ‘gods’, are in fact, merely a force of nature. As meaningless as the forests beyond the Academy’s walls, and as meaningless as the unmoving clouds that blanket these skies. They are thus, non-sapient, and they are thus… not capable of wanting anything. This is true… until you ascribe meaning to their non-sapience. Which those in the prior nine epochs did. Moreover, they constructed entire faiths around these so-called ‘gods’, ascribed virtues, values, and built entire fictions around their supposed teachings. Simply put, the more and more these false-faiths and deluded minds imbued these ‘divine forces’ with values and beliefs, the more these ‘beings’ reciprocated by mimicking them. These… so-called ‘gods’, were merely mimics, cheap impersonations of the sapient condition, parroting and repeating actions and words that they do not understand.”

This answer. This… revelation… hung in the air for barely a few seconds before Articord responded. And unlike Vanavan’s wishy-washy personality, she was very clearly bold with her response to Ping’s statements.

There was no mention of semantics here.

Only cold and hard fervent belief.

“Fifty points to this partition.” The professor spoke clearly, eliciting the gasps and shocked breaths of a hundred students. “And considering both of your answers, I declare this to be an equal partition. Twenty-five points to Lord Rularia, and twenty-five points to Lord Ping.”

No one dared to say anything, but it was clear even from here that Qiv was visibly stirring in his own way.

The little scaly ‘ridge’ atop of his head seemed to scrunch up, if only by a bit.

Auris, however, was seemingly not done. As another raised hand prompted the professor to sigh, before acknowledging his request.

“Yes, Lord Ping?”

“Professor, if I may. I have a personal point of courtesy to provide for the likes of Lord Ratom and Lord Esila.”

“Proceed, Lord Ping, but do make it quick.”

“As you wish, professor.” The bull bowed deeply, before setting his hungry sights on the likes of the former two ‘losers’. “I believe it would be unfair to consider their mistakes as truly sacrilege. I say this, as a man of faith. For our two dear peers were simply misled by the common misinterpretation of the facts. It is very easy to be deluded into thinking that these so-called ‘gods’ can truly have thoughts and desires, whims and wants. This is because their mimicking of the sapient mind is truly quite remarkable. And indeed at times, you wouldn’t be wrong to consider them more sentient than anything, akin to a common beast. In fact, a number of them do transcend nothingness into simple animal-like sentience.” He properly chewed the pair out, before turning to the professor with a faux-sense of compassion. “So I beg your pardon on the behalf of my fellow peers’ ignorance, professor.” The bull finally bowed, prompting Articord to simply raise a hand in acknowledgement.

“Point of courtesy noted, Lord Ping. I appreciate your kind gesture.” The fox responded, before turning back towards me with a renewed vigor. “Our predecessors, and indeed the inhabitants of many adjacent worlds once looked into the eyes of these beasts and assumed them to be gods by virtue of their power, Cadet Booker.” She paused, before gesturing towards the hologram of the ancient place of worship around us. “This ended up costing everything. They entrusted these things with blind faith, they entrusted beings and creatures of nature with the well-being of the sapient world. They willingly bound their souls, their very fates, to the whims of these others. They were fools, worshiping at the altar of self-delusion.”

There was a pause, as the professor gestured to the place of worship around us, using something akin to a wipe transition to show the place as it was at its height, and what remained of it following the apocalyptic collapse.

“The fates of each of the nine epochs were sealed the moment they made their pacts with these false gods. For even with the resistance of those who would wish for freedom from the tyranny of these ‘gods’, there were always ten more fools who would wish to consign their very being to the ‘gods’ for their own self-deluded aspirations.” The professor spoke in a way that felt raw, a seething hatred stirring within each and every one of her words.

“This brings me back to the Enlightened Truth, that the obliteration of the self from the animal and the ‘divine realm’, is necessary for the progression of civilized society. The former is necessary for self-discipline, for reasoned thought, for a civil society based on sapient rules. The latter however, is an existential concern. One that defines either self-determination and survival by the mortal hand, or tyranny and assured destruction by the whims of ‘gods’ that care not for the fates of a single, a hundred, a thousand, or even a million realms.” Articord once more clarified, finally circling back to her point as she eyed me down with a severe expression. “The Status Eternia in which we all enjoy, is based upon these fundamental enlightened truths. For we, as enlightened mortal rulers, protect the masses from the follies of their own short-sightedness. All of this, stemming from His Eternal Majesty’s own enlightened guidance, in bringing about this era of mortal self-determination.”

There was a pause, a lengthy one at that, following the professor’s speech.

But once again, unlike Vanavan’s, it felt like there was substance here.

The lore of this world, the beliefs which lay at its very core, were being unraveled layer by biased layer.

It was… difficult to discern what aspects of it were true or what were just flat-out propaganda-laden spiels however. And that was simply because of the fantastical nature of all of this.

If these ‘gods’ did exist, if there was even an inkling of truth behind what were undoubtedly layers of condensed and rehearsed propaganda, then an entire layer of complexity had just been instantly added to the greater story of the Nexus.

There were so many questions popping into my head right now.

But one above all else made its way to the surface, if only to clarify one, very important point.

“And just how exactly did ‘His Eternal Majesty’ bring about this ‘era of mortal self-determination’?” I asked, prompting the professor’s maw to curl up in an attempt at an elf-like grin.

“By taking back that which was stolen or foolishly relinquished from the mortal realm. By tearing from the hands of the realm of the ‘gods’, that which had formerly led to its destruction nine times over. By taking back the fate of the mortal world, back from the gods.” The professor paused, her eyes gleaning over the rest of the room, as if considering whether or not to bridge this answer into a classroom exercise.

A hand was raised immediately as a result.

Auris Ping’s hand.

Articord’s nod of acknowledgement came quickly.

And with it, came the bull’s blunt addition.

“By killing the gods.” He spoke with fiery excitement.

“Blunt, but correct, Lord Ping.”

Another exchange of nods came, and with it, Articord continued without missing a single beat.

“His Eternal Majesty, in his infinite wisdom, was a scholar amongst scholars. He saw evidence of the destruction of the past nine epochs and he determined its most obvious cause. So before the cycle could begin anew, before we returned to that path of self-assured destruction, he committed to the greatest gambit ever undertaken in known history. He decided to fight the gods… and he won. In so doing, he elevated himself into a position never before seen — a marriage of mortal sapiency, and raw godly powers. Whereas before we were at the whims of these non-sapient, at-best animal-like beings, now… we are governed by an enlightened mind. Protected by godly powers which are now at the beck and call of an enlightened being.”

“His Eternal Majesty, in effect, placed the fate of mortals back where it belongs - in the hands of the mortals.” Articord concluded with an air of reverence and satisfaction, and a twinge of what I could only describe as someone actively recalling a life event.

My head was practically spinning at this point.

Not a moment had passed by since ‘gods’ were revealed to me as actual entities, that their supposed ‘defeat’ at the hands of 'His Eternal Majesty' was announced.

I didn’t know what to think at that point.

I needed time to just… process it all.

“So how did he gain all these powers?” I suddenly asked. “Politically and… practically I mean. Just by beating the gods?”

Auris smiled at that, turning to the professor as if to confirm if he was allowed to answer.

A simple nod was his response.

Which prompted him to grin all the while.

“Simple, Cadet Emma Booker. He did so, by consuming the gods.”

…

“WHAT?!”