CHAPTER 6:

BROTHER AND SISTER

A throat was cleared nearby, and Harry looked over to see the Homayanis, along with Dehya, standing nearby. Shazhaman gave a bow. "Lord Kusanali…welcome to our abode."

"Please, call me Nahida, Lord Homayani," Nahida said with a smile and a curtsey. "I remember your daughter very well, speaking to her within our dreamscape. I hope I relieved her troubles somewhat, and those of your family. I'm surprised that you have accepted who I am."

"I recognise your voice, Nahida," Dunyarzad said. "Though why not confirm it? What did I like doing when we first spoke?"

"Counting flowers on your mother's dress," Nahida replied. "I knew that because I had seen one of your dreams prior to meeting you in earnest, where you dreamed about the day's events. I do try to avoid consciously accessing the memories of a person without permission, though. That being said, I have kept an eye on your family. Thank you for keeping them safe, Lady Dehya."

The Eremite blinked at being curtseyed to by the Dendro Archon, before rubbing the back of her head in mild embarrassment. "Look, don't call me Lady, okay? Just Dehya is fine. Though how do you know about me?"

"Any information entered into the Akasha System is mine to peruse. Given my situation, well, looking through such information is one of the few productive things I could do with my time," Nahida said with a shrug and a contrite smile. "My prison forced me to be a voyeur on people's lives, either through the information they entered, or through the dreams I could access. The Flame-Mane, the rising star of the Blazing Beasts, no, the entirety of the Eremite mercenary groups, and the orphans you've helped sing your praises in their dreams. It's a pleasure to meet you in person."

"I, uhh…thanks, but…Harry, the Fidelius?"

"Oh, right…"

The Fidelius was soon put into place, with Nahida's identity as Kusanali, the Dendro Archon, placed under it. And Nahida was the Secret Keeper. She promptly told Harry, the Homayanis, and Dehya.

Dunyarzad's parents were going to figure out a cover story for Nahida to tell the rest of the family, along with the Blazing Beasts. Dehya could be trusted, but while the Blazing Beasts were decent as far as Eremite groups were concerned, many members still held some considerable resentment towards the Dendro Archon. The less people that knew Nahida's identity, at least for now, the better. Harry, Nahida, Dunyarzad and the ever-watchful Dehya had retired to the manor's library for now, for Harry and Dunyarzad to catch up with Nahida. Dehya, despite her issues, was watching on with a warm smile.

That being said, Nahida listened solemnly as Harry related how he came to Teyvat, the Dendro Archon seated between him and Dunyarzad. "…I'm sorry that you went through that, Harry," Nahida said. "And the fact that the Abyss Order is attempting to establish a bridgehead on your world is concerning, to say the least. Not to mention that one of their leaders, if not the leader, is Lumine, the twin sister of Aether. I know of Aether through news entered into the Akasha System, as well as records in the Katherynes. I can access the one in Sumeru City, and she shares records with the others. I've been watching Aether and Paimon's journey across Teyvat where I can. I do believe he will be our ally. As for getting you home…the Heavenly Principles of Celestia frown on cross-dimensional travel. Alice, if she has been to Earth, may be your best chance to get home."

"Dammit," Harry muttered. "Don't get me wrong, I've always intended to travel here and rescue you, Nahida, but…"

"You had your own life on Earth, and your friends," Nahida said sadly. "It's fine, Harry. I have never had a linked dream with someone beyond their childhood until you came along. I felt privileged to speak with someone from another world, to learn from them all the horrors and wonders of that world, and to have someone call me sister. I felt privileged to nurture your intellect and love of learning, to mentor and guide you in your life."

"And you deserved to be repaid for that. And giving you your freedom was the best way I could think of…that, and letting you loose in my library," Harry said.

Nahida giggled. "And I am grateful, Harry. It not only meant I got to meet you in person, but also Dunyarzad." Nahida looked to the Homayani, and smiled. "That the Phoenix Tears healed your Eleazar is a minor miracle, even if it didn't cure it outright. I'm glad you're in better health."

"As am I, and I am also glad that you are free from the Sages' grasp, Nahida," Dunyarzad said with her own smile. "I was planning on doing something for the Sabzeruz Festival, but…well, maybe this is an early birthday present?"

Again, Nahida giggled. "And what a present it is. Freedom is something most people take for granted, even if it is only a relative freedom. Almost every fish may swim through rivers or the ocean, but can never breathe air or walk on land. Well, save for the lungfish, to a degree, and other similar things."

"And there's the weird analogies, though that was tame by her standards," Harry said with a warm chuckle.

"In any case, freedom of any kind is priceless, its value beyond measure," Nahida said.

"Okay, well, while the philosophical stuff is all very well, Nahida, being free of those bastards doesn't mean your problems are over. They're just beginning," Dehya pointed out. "Honestly, you're not what I would have expected from the Dendro Archon, at least before Harry and Lady Dunyarzad told me what you were like. But you can't believe that the Sages would let your absence go."

"Normally, you would be right, Dehya," Nahida said. "Except…Azar made a comment before he left tonight. Something about the Sages not needing me for much longer. I'm not sure he knows that my Gnosis is what runs the Akasha System, but I believe the Sages are up to something. Of course, you are right in that, given how much my reputation has withered in the eyes of the populace, I will need to do something to win back my authority as the Goddess of Wisdom. Something bold and audacious, and yet one that proves I am suited to my role. Not a coup by force of arms, but by a battle of wits. And I don't think a debate would suffice either. Nothing would convince the Sages, or at least most of them."

"What do you have in mind, Nahida?" Dunyarzad asked.

"I'm still thinking about it. I've only just been freed, after all. But for now…I just want to enjoy this."

As she closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the presence of being between Harry and Dunyarzad, Dehya cleared her throat. "Nahida…I need to ask…why didn't you try escaping before? Harry seemed to suggest that part of the problem was, well, the Sages disabling Lord Rukkhadevata's means of leaving from the inside, but…you're smart, right? You could have found another way. And you could have taken over Katheryne or even someone else, and freed you from the outside, right?"

"…Doing that to someone is not something I would ever do lightly, Dehya," Nahida said. "Katheryne is a machine, a sophisticated machine that mimics sentience, but there are Khaenri'an machines out there that you could argue are more alive than she is. But taking over a person, even if only temporarily…on Harry's world, there is a curse used to mind control people, the Imperius. Using that ensures you are imprisoned. And given that it removes free will, who can blame them? Of course, my reluctance to do that is only part of the story, and I'm sure I could have found a way to somehow release myself via the Akasha System or by Katheryne, who was only engineered in the past few years. In truth…I felt unworthy to be the Dendro Archon. I still do."

"You what?"

Harry shook his head. "It's why I was so angry about her being called Lesser Lord Kusanali, Dehya. Her self-esteem was beaten down from the very day the Sages found her."

Nahida nodded. "Many times, I dream of my birthday, the day I was born. I didn't have the capacity to understand what was happening, but I remember it with perfect clarity. Of the Sages lamenting my state as a blank slate. Some had eyes that mourned for my predecessor, and others, in hindsight, had eyes that gleaned with cupidity. From the day I was born, I was told I was inferior to Rukkhadevata." She examined her hands. "In many regards, they are right. I am the Moon, glowing softly with the reflected light of Rukkhadevata's long-gone Sun. I lack the raw Dendro power she did, the power that allowed her to grow the greatest trees in the forest, to form the Walls of Samiel. Even with my Gnosis, the Archon equivalent of a Vision, I cannot perform the same feats as she did. I only approach being her equal in the realms of dreams and wisdom, and even then, I am not on her level. That is objective fact. But…the Sages dealt me a crippling wound that is still yet to recover, to my self-esteem and sense of self-worth. Even speaking with children in my dreams only did so much. Some part of me thought I deserved being locked away, despite that clearly not being true, because I was an ineffectual Archon. I was not like Morax or Baal, and I didn't have the excuse of embodying a concept that allowed for hands-off rule like Barbatos did."

"…You know, you're not what I would've expected from an Archon," Dehya remarked. "And believe me, that's a good thing. Not what you went through, but…well, you're pretty humble. Hell, if I didn't know any better, I would've thought you to be a normal kid, even if a pretty smart one."

"Thank you," Nahida said. "In a way, what happened to me gave me humility, though by all accounts, Rukkhadevata was humble too. It took Harry's talks with me to begin to regain some self-esteem, to be angry at my plight. But even then…my anger is mostly towards the Sages. The people of Sumeru's apathy towards my plight was born of ignorance of said plight. That is why I will not abandon my post. I will regain it, but I need to accomplish this feat first, so that people will look upon me and consider me worthy of being the Dendro Archon, their steward and protector."

"…You said your anger was mostly towards the Sages," Dunyarzad said. "Who else are you angry at?"

At this, Nahida became ever more solemn. "…More than a few times, I've had to console children in their dreams who had been…abused. Like Harry had been by the Dursleys, or worse. Much, much worse abuse. Physical…psychological… even sexual." Her eyes began glimmering with tears, even as Dunyarzad and Dehya stared at her in horror. "I…I did what I could to ease their pain and suffering, but too often, it wasn't enough. I know at least a few killed themselves, or else were killed by their own relatives. It's horrible, being an onlooker unable to help as much as I wanted to. Parents need to discipline their children, but abusing them is another matter."

"…Fuck," Dehya hissed, running a hand through her hair. "I…hadn't thought about that. It's a wonder you're still…well, nice experiencing that."

Nahida nodded. "Don't get me wrong, eventually, when they installed Katheryne, I used her to send the Matra and the Corps of Thirty anonymous tipoffs about some abused children. And I was so sorely tempted to access the minds of their abusers and trap them in a nightmare samsara, a dream loop prison they would be tormented by for the rest of their lives. But I feared it would send me down a darker path, one that could be worse than the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya."

"I would have done it to them if I was able to," Harry said with a dark growl. "Or did what I did to those Death Eaters, turned them into trees."

Nahida placed a dainty little hand on his own, and he met her gaze. "I know, Harry. But…well, for now, it's more important that we find a way to regain my authority in Sumeru. And, if the Sages are up to something, then to stop them."

"If they are up to something, then what the hell is it?" Dehya asked. "If that old sod Azar claimed he didn't have any use for you anymore, Nahida, what are they up to?"

"I may be the Goddess of Wisdom, but I will not claim to know all the answers. But that is one of the right questions to ask, Dehya. Oh, I have little doubt that they will make an effort to search for me, even if they have little use for me, if only to prevent me from being a threat to their plans or power. But for Azar to declare such a thing, tantamount to blasphemy, to me…the man is spiteful, and he did so to hurt me, but even so, he would not have said so unless he knew he didn't need me any longer."

"Then we'll stop that bastard," Harry said. "It'd be one thing if the Dendro Archon was a tyrant. I don't care whether they're a man or a god, people like that deserve to be overthrown. But you, Nahida, I reckon you would have been as good if not better than Rukkhadevata. You're a genius, but more than that, Nahida, you're a good person. You're compassionate and humble, always willing to learn. That makes you a thousand times better than the Sages, as they probably think they can't learn anything more than they deign to. Never, ever think that you're not worth fighting for, Nahida. You are."

Nahida, after a while, giggled, the sound nonetheless rueful, even a little sad. "…Thank you, Harry. Though if you wouldn't mind toning down your language a touch. Same with Dehya. I appreciate the sentiment, but…"

"Smart people swear a lot: science fact," Harry snarked(1).

Laughter filled the room, badly needed after the heavier issues discussed earlier. But even so, they knew their battles had only just begun. Freeing Nahida was only the start of their trials. Now, the real fight had begun…

CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:

So, here we are. Talks abound, and Nahida's searching direction. Don't worry, she'll find it soon…

1. Mentioned as the result of a study cited on the QI episode Noble Rot.