((There's not a lot of art this time. I hope you can understand. I'm holding back here and next time so when I get to ch28 I can make a bunch of comics))
~POV Mori~
We were most of the way through the Court Yard when I realized I could have taken off my purple cover to help minimize the amount of purple I was wearing. Ja'far was so annoyed by the whole situation that I didn't have it in me to ask to turn around. The coat wasn't enough to hide the purple so I still got some shocked and curious expressions from guards and other people we passed. At least I better understood why this time. I ended up so nervous about my clothes that I forgot to pay attention to where we were going and just followed Ja'far. This was definitely a building with important stuff happening. Based on how many people I saw dressed similarly to Ja'far I wanted to guess this was the White Capricorn Tower but it could just as easily be any building where official work is done. I pulled on the collar of my matching uniform coat.
The only thing that stopped my nerves was reaching Sinbad's office. Regardless of why I was here, I was still excited to see it person. The wall of windows, the shelves on the opposite wall, the pattern on the floor, and the steps leading up to his desk were exactly like the anime. Maybe when this meeting was over I'd be allowed to look around. Ja'far announced our presence, and the King looked up from his desk. The waves that had been high since the previous night rose even higher. But I didn't have time to hyperfixate on the room, I had to be mentally present for this.
King Sinbad smiled as we walked up to his desk. "Good afternoon, my Beautiful Prophet! I hope you've been well."
"Well enough." But only because I slept in.
Sinbad responded with a practiced positive tone. "Good. Good. Now then..." The doors to the office clicked close as we reached the steps, and the waves tried to rush me towards the King faster. "We are currently planning your official announcement as Sindria's Prophet. It will be a few days from now."
That made sense, but was it really something that he needed to tell me in person?
Ja'far walked over to stand next to Sinbad while I stayed standing in front of his desk.
"That's also when I'll introduce you to the representatives of my Seven Seas Alliance." The King's smile didn't leave, but his expression gained a more serious note. "News about your arrival has already reached them. During the meeting this morning, those from Sassan asked about you and your visions directly."
"Because my visions seem like blessings from 'God?'"
"That's right"
Ugh. I was not looking forward to talking with people from Sassan. In their religion, men could not make eye contact with women, and their rules around conversation seemed only a little less strict. They are completely ignorant of people who don't fall into the binary too. There was even a side comic where Pisti and Sharrkan confront Spartos about how there are 'pretty people that are neither man or woman... (and) have ascended gender,' and introduce him to such people in Sindria. Wait... Was it something else that the me writing this found after I isekaied? ((Yeah)) I would have already corrected them about my gender otherwise. ((I know, right?? Sorry)) This is my self indulgent fanfiction; I'll be fine. And besides, I definitely wanted to have people around me that accepted my gender if I had to talk to people that wouldn't understand at all. This was going to be a stressful week.
Sinbad continued and broke my mental cycle, "I've already agreed to let them have a meeting with you after the announcement." He paused. "During those meetings I or one of my Generals will also be present." He paused again, glanced at Ja'far and continued with one of his fake laughs, "You are Sindria's Prophet now, so you won't be telling them anything you haven't already told me." Then he stopped and waited again.
I guess those pauses were to give me a chance to say something. Nothing came to mind though. "That makes sense," was all I said in response. I had a feeling that the issues I had with Sassan weren't what he was looking for, and I wasn't mentally prepared for that conversation yet either.
Sinbad kept watching me for a reaction that wasn't coming. "That's all? I'm surprised you don't have more to say."
I kept my expression neutral. "This was bound to happen eventually, right? Countries join the Seven Seas Alliance to be on your good side and have access to your help and resources. I'm one of those resources now, so it makes sense they would ask to talk with me. Just as it makes sense that you would want to control what information I share with them." Honestly, it wasn't something I had thought about; it just seemed obvious as soon as he said it. I hoped that whatever rumors reached the Alliance didn't have anything to do with me wearing purple.
Ja'far pushed, "You really don't have any questions or comments about this?"
"Not really." It felt like they were looking for some hidden meaning in my words, but since they weren't direct I had no way to know what to tell them. "Unless I know exactly what his Majesty wants me to tell them, I don't have an opinion one way or the other. As long as I'm not asked to talk about the tabo-." Sassan's God was Solomon; they were definitely going to ask about him.
Sinbad's expression hardened as he watched me. "What about the taboo?"
I couldn't get out of answering since I'd slipped up. "If they ask me certain questions about their religion it might involve the taboo information. There was a lot lost to time, and a good portion of that was intentionally left out so the taboo information could be forgotten."
Both watched me with growing understanding. Eventually, Sinbad said, "They want to ask you about 'the word of God.' Some of their questions will likely involve the taboo."
I took a slow breath and grabbed my left arm. My mind was going blank.
Ja'far gave a suggestion. "If you can at least answer some of their questions, I'm sure they would accept you not answering others."
"I hope you're right." If he wasn't, this was going to get very stressful for me. Avoiding the taboo was hard enough in small groups, I wasn't sure if I could hold my ground against the whole Alliance at once. I had a feeling they wouldn't be as lenient with me involving the Calamities as Sinbad was.
"There's still time before you have to talk to them." Sinbad reassured me with his words and tone. "We can have Spartos help prepare for their questions. Since he is already aware of the situation, he will understand if you say you can't answer something."
I took a deep breath in relief. "That's a good idea." Spartos was a member of Sinbad's Household and was there the other night when I explained about the Calamities, so there was little risk of him pushing me. And since Spartos knows the religion of Sassan he'd have a very good idea about questions his people would want to ask me.
Sinbad instructed Ja'far to schedule a meet with Spartos within the next few days.
Meanwhile, I couldn't stop thinking about what to do about the rest of the Alliance, especially if I had to explain about the Calamities. "I've thought of a question."
"What is it?"
"Do you plan on telling the members of the Alliance about the Calamities?" It would be even harder to hide the existence of the taboo that way.
Sinbad's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal. "With your knowledge of Fate, what do you think we should do? You didn't have to explain the taboo to us to tell us about the Calamities." He almost sounded amused.
That wasn't a real question; he was judging me -they both were. I let go of my arm, and gave the first part of my answer without hesitation, "As long as the Seven Seas Alliance mobilizes faster to prevent the 1st Calamity there'd be no reason to mention any of it." It was a huge regret that I had slipped both of those to anyone let alone to Sinbad. "I explained about them to all of the Generals though, and many still have strong ties to other countries so I don't know how much they've shared. I have no intentions of sharing more about the 2nd with anyone unless I think it's necessary."
Sinbad's expression shifted. He had made his judgement, not that I knew what it was.
—
~POV Sinbad~
Mori's lack of comment at first had caught him off guard. Both he and Ja'far had thought that she would jump at the chance to slip others a warning about the Calamities. But she seemed fully willing to let him dictate her words for her, and even suggested keeping it a secret on her own. The question was, why? Did Mori think she could give them hints secretly, or did she really mean it? He couldn't believe this was just about the taboo information. Was this a sign that Sinbad wasn't the one to start the 2nd Calamity, or did she suggest staying silent to protect him?
The King crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "My Generals are also my Household members -except for Yamuraiha, of course- so they aren't about to share Sindria's secrets without my permission."
Some of the tension Mori had been holding onto left her shoulders. Having read Fate, it was surprising she didn't know that.
Even if Mori didn't explain things directly, there was a lot Sinbad could gleam from her non-answers. Sinbad pushed her for more. "What do you think would happen if we told them about the 1st Calamity?"
The Prophet scowled and crossed her arms before taking a moment to form her answer. "Telling them would make mobilizing sooner much easier. But there's still 2 years before the war. I doubt they would hold back from asking which countries are involved, and if I do tell, I have no way of knowing what changes that will make to the future I read. We could always wait until the war is about to start to explain it to them."
The answer she gave wasn't a bad one. But the limits from Mori's lack of experience in politics and governing were showing. "Even if you don't tell which countries are involved in the war, we have been watching every nation closely. We will be able to figure it out."
Mori's eyes narrowed. "That would just be all of you taking educated guesses."
What sort of expression would Mori make if he told her he already knew? Sinbad couldn't fight smirking or leaning forward to get a little closer to her. "You've already given us plenty of information to narrow it down: countries with current rising tensions, and the one at the center is unwilling to negotiate with anyone in the Alliance. My guess is that Magnostadt will finally open all out war with Acttia, and another country -either Reim or the Kou- will see that as an opportunity to get involved."
Mori froze. Sinbad had thought she had given those hints on purpose, but maybe not. She sighed. "Sorry, but the conflict between Magnostadt and Acttia has nothing to do with this. Magnostadt isn't the one to declare war either."
He got it wrong? Sinbad exchanged a look with Ja'far. He hadn't discussed this with all of his Generals yet, but he had discussed it with Ja'far, his closest confidant, and Drakon, the head of Sindria's army. Both have experience with military strategy from a young age, and both agreed with Sinbad's assessment.
Ja'far asked the question they were both thinking, "Magnostadt *is* the country at the center of the conflict, isn't it?" He sounded just as nervous as the King felt. How different was the world 2 years in the future?
Mori hummed then looked towards the windows.
—
~POV Mori~
All I could see from this distance was the sky and a few clouds. I'd probably get to see some of the other Towers if I walked closer.
Was telling them okay? They had already figured that much out. I had managed to distract myself from my curiosity and anxiety around the change in the waves for a few hours, but ignoring it didn't make my worries vanish. Realizing Magnostadt was involved was not what caused the waves to act like that last night. The way the waves were moving in this moment made that obvious. The two in front of me must have discussed something else. I wanted to ask about that.
I... kinda wanted to offer a deal -an exchange of information. I'd answer this question if he tells me what caused the waves to rise that high. Sinbad is a King and I am his vassal, so would I even be allowed to ask for that? He was sly so it's not like he'd give a straight answer even if he agreed; I wasn't giving straight answers either. More than that though, I didn't like how the waves felt. This opportunity wasn't worth the risk.
I looked at Ja'far who had asked the question, then Sinbad sitting next to him. Everything was fine; I could explain this without revealing anything I shouldn't. "Two different nations declare War on Magnostadt -one right after the other- because both want to own that country."
Neither regained their smile, and after a moment Sinbad asked, "Riem, and the Kou Empire?" His voice went up in volume and octave as he asked. Given Magnostadt's location it was standing in the way of those two Empires attacking one another.
"Yes." I knew Sinbad would figure out which countries from my answer. I couldn't shake my worries about what they might do with that information though, or that every piece of information I gave was one less card in my hand.
Sinbad uncrossed his arms and slapped his desk with one hand. "Hold on a second, you said that Al Thamen wasn't involved. How is that possible when the Kou Empire has members of Al Thamen working with them?" Sinbad was trying to catch me in a lie.
I wasn't sure how much information I wanted to give during this meeting, but I couldn't afford for Sinbad to think he'd have to trick me to get information. "From what I read the only person directly and actively tied to Al Thamen that will be present is Judar. He arrives when everything is almost over, and he leaves without getting involved. No members of that organization will be there. Some of the Kou Princes and Princesses will be present, but I don't see them as being directly involved with the organization even though they benefit from Al Thamen's assistance because they have different goals." I decided to add a little more in the pursuit of transparency. "The humanoid monster I mentioned before is a Magnostadt creation. Al Thamen assisted with the founding of Magnostadt, but they were kicked out by Mogamett soon after because they could not see eye to eye. However, just because Al Thamen left them doesn't mean the magicians of Magnostadt suddenly forgot everything they had learned involving the black Rukh. They've been continuing their research independently."
The waves rose; I didn't like it. I had just given them a lot of new information, and proved their theories wrong. There was no way they hadn't came to conclusions about the other events of the future I'd mentioned. There were things I didn't want to talk about yet, but if they told me another guess that was monstrously wrong there was no way I would let them continue with their misunderstanding. Even if I refused, King Sinbad had ways of making people talk, and not just with emotional manipulation; the Dungeon capturer could commanded my spirit directly with one of his Djinn if he wanted.
—
~POV Sinbad~
Two nights ago, Mori had said that the country at the center of the 1st Calamity had been building towards that end on its own for a decade. She was technically right: Al Thamen was not directly involved in this war even though it was the information they had given to Mogamett that would eventually lead to the escalation from war to Calamity. She was careful not to lie to him even when she didn't explain fully. The way she defined Al Thamen's involvement was meant he was going to have to be more precise with his questions in the future.
"I see what you mean." Sinbad smiled.
Realizing that they had gotten some things wrong about the war meant they probably got something wrong about the 2nd Calamity. Mori asked not to talk about it, but he couldn't let himself operate under false assumptions. He had to know if he was actually the one to start the 2nd Calamity or not. He'd have to find ways of getting her to bring it up. Even if she didn't say the whole truth, she didn't lie. Her expressions and the waves would point him in the right direction. He could work with this. The King interlaced his fingers and placed them on his desk. The waves crashed into him before he could say anything.
Mori was looking down at his hands. Her blank expression had something hidden behind it that he didn't like. Sinbad separated his hands but left them on his desk.
Ja'far thought out loud. "I think we should tell the Seven Seas Alliance about the war." He had one hand on his chin. "It's obvious that Riem, Kou and the Alliance will come into conflict eventually. We don't need to explain about the Calamity to explain that much." He removed his hand from his chin and looked to his King.
Mori's eyes followed Ja'far's hand before she looked at Sinbad as well.
The King nodded. "The Alliance has already been planning for the inevitable. At least this way, everyone will know roughly how long we have left to prepare."
Mori's gaze drifted towards Sinbad's right hand. Was she looking at his metal vessels? Vepar or Zepar? Did he use either of them in the war? He still couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he remembered the fear that flashed in her eyes the previous day. What was making her so nervous? He unconsciously curled his hands into fists.
"Exactly," Ja'far turned his gaze to Mori, "I'm sure the Lady Prophet can tell us about the strategies, weapons, and metal vessel users we will have to prepare for."
"Ah!" Mori's shock was just as surprising to the other two. Whatever thought process she had been having was gone now. "Oh- um." She flailed her hands nervously at their expressions, and explained on her own. "I actually made a scroll that should help with the Riem side of things already. I made it before the medical scrolls -in fact. It's just a bit all over the place so I was going to rewrite it, but it is possible to learn the basic flight mechanics of the blimps they are working on from it as well as other flying machines from my world,' Mori stopped flailing but looked up and to the side while remembering the details of the scroll in question, "And some thermal dynamics, and weather science now that I'm thinking about it. Like I said: it's a bit all over the place. I don't know everything that the Black Libra Tower knows already."
King Sinbad smiled. His Beautiful Prophet knew where their concerns would lie and had already been preparing an answer for them. Whatever fear he was seeing in her was something she was willing to see past or she wouldn't be here; she wouldn't have chosen to become Sindria's Prophet otherwise. That strangely content yet excited feeling filled him. It made him laugh. "You really are amazing, Mori."
((Things have been a bit crazy here so I haven't had as much time to work on anything. We might be moving in a few months!
There's a bunch more readers now on all the platforms, so... HI everyone :D I am trying to respond to everyone's comments. I'm sorry if I don't get to yours. I get nervous responding to messages if I realize it's been more than 2 weeks; I don't want to bother anyone. My DMs are normally open for anyone that wants to chat -especially about Magi :D
Oh! Since I've been asked a few times I'll put it here: I'm sorry but I do not have the energy to be anyone's editor or co-writer. If you want to talk to me about an idea you have and how it might affect or change cannon, I can definitely do that. But I barely have the time to work on my own stuff, so I can't write or edit for anyone else (without pay).
For anyone interested in my original work. If you go to my Tumblr by the same name as here I have a carrd link to everywhere else you can find me.))