CHAPTER 8:

EXISTENTIAL DREAD

Understandably, that proclamation caused pandemonium, albeit on a small scale. Harry was surprised by the proclamation, but not so much that he protested, not like the others were doing. Nahida, however, held up a hand. "Please, can you allow me to explain first, before you denounce my intentions as being impossible? I did say that, while I would want to find a cure, I would be content with discerning the cause of both."

"…I need to know one thing, Lady Nahida. Why do you think Eleazar and the Withering are linked?" Shazhaman asked.

"There's considerable evidence for that if you knew where to look," Nahida said. "I spent last night reading up on the texts you had on Eleazar, which included morbidity and mortality tables."

"Ah, yes, I…I bought those to see if I could understand the disease afflicting my daughter better, but they turned out to be too advanced for me to understand. My strengths are in mercantile matters, not epidemiology and the like," the patriarch admitted, a little embarrassedly.

"And you also had books on the Withering. Let me guess, because the Withering has, at times, affected farms in Sumeru as well as places where wild produce you sell is gathered, you were looking into it?"

Shazhaman nodded. "Those at least were more on my level, as it showed how the Withering, even when removed, could affect the general arability of the land, as well as the plants harmed by the Withering Zones."

Nahida smiled. "Serendipity, then, in that it gave me something to read. In fact, I was inspired by this line of inquiry by two things. The first, and most obvious one, is the suffering of your daughter, and indeed every Eleazar sufferer. That would be reason enough to do this, but the second was a paper submitted to the Akademiya by an Amurta researcher operating out of Gandharva Ville and Pardis Dhyai. Namely, the Chief Officer of the Forest Watchers, Tighnari. His paper was something I read after it was uploaded to the Akasha System. While I had an inkling of a link between the Withering and Eleazar, he was the first researcher to set it in a paper, or at least that it was uploaded to the Akasha System. Then again, his mentor is the Sage of Amurta, and Naphis was a reasonable sort."

"He also didn't speak up to have you freed," Harry pointed out.

"True…but he was one of the only Sages to look at me like he wanted to do so. But that's beside the point. I agree with Tighnari that there is a link between the Withering and Eleazar. And…something more serious than that."

Dehya frowned. "The Withering is pretty serious. I've had to clear a couple of Withering Zones before. They're nasty, to say the least. So honestly, I'm disturbed to hear what you think could be more serious than that."

"Would the possibility that the Withering is a sign of an affliction harming Irmunsul suffice?"

At this bombshell, everyone was staring at Nahida. Considering that Irmunsul was the font of all memories and information in Teyvat, it was little wonder that they were shocked. It was a fundamental part of all Teyvat, so for it to be harmed by the Withering was serious. "…Please tell me you're kidding," Dehya said in a quiet tone.

"I wish I was, Dehya," Nahida said. "But…I agree with Tighnari's assertion that the Withering is also affecting Irmunsul. Admittedly, I have little proof, just a gut instinct and what evidence Tighnari himself wrote in his paper. And yet…I believe that the Withering is part of the reason why my powers as a Dendro Archon have been weakened, especially compared to Rukkhadevata."

Harry's eyes widened in realisation. "Because part of your power comes directly from Irmunsul itself! So if it's sick, somehow…Nahida, how long have you known?"

"Known? Not very long. Tighnari's paper didn't get submitted until last year. But suspected? I've suspected that, amongst other hypotheses, for a long time, long before we met in our dreams, Harry."

"And you didn't tell me?!" Harry demanded.

"What would be the point when you couldn't do anything about it?" Nahida asked quietly. "Yes, I know you hate people keeping secrets from you…but what could you do about my plight on Earth?"

"I would have come to rescue you sooner if I had known!" Harry retorted. "I'd always intended to come to Teyvat to save you eventually, but…I would have come running if I could, if I'd known about this. Just tell me, Nahida…how long do you have?"

"I don't know. I suspect maybe a few decades at least, a century or two at most. More than most Eleazar sufferers have. That may seem like a long time, but time means a different thing to a god. I'm not sure whether the end means my demise…or something worse. Of course, I also owe it to Dunyarzad and her parents for accommodating me. If I can do anything to alleviate her suffering, even if it's a reliable and easy treatment and not a cure…then it's time worth spent."

"Nahida…" Harry murmured softly, his tone thick with emotion, but he couldn't say anything more, warring feelings welling up within him. Anger at her for keeping this from him, yes, that was there, but also sadness and despair, at the thought of losing his sister, and concern for her welfare.

"In any case, while I have much of the information from the Akasha System already, I want to perform an investigation in the field, as it were," Nahida said. "My first port of call is to head to Gandharva Ville in the next couple of days. I wish to meet with Tighnari and discuss his paper, as well as analyse samples of Withering Zones. Dunyarzad also spoke to me of the Eleazar sufferer under Tighnari's care, Collei. You can try out the Phoenix Tears as a treatment on her, Harry. My observations of how it works could prove invaluable."

"You're leaving us already?" Scheherazade asked.

"Not for long," Nahida said, hastily, waving her hands. "Your hospitality is very generous, and while I do not wish to impose, I know that you would happily host me here if I desired. But time is of the essence. Leaving aside the sufferers of Eleazar, to say nothing of my own plight, there's also whatever the Sages are up to. Their plans, whatever they are, are ripening. Not ripe yet, but given that they consider me superfluous to requirements…"

"…They probably don't want you running around at liberty, but it doesn't mean they need you," Dehya said. "The Sages are arrogant bastards, but they're not stupid at all, especially not when it comes to politics. They wouldn't dare say that sort of thing to your face unless they were sure they could replace you. I mean, you're technically the figurehead ruler of Sumeru, even if in name only. They'd want to maintain that not-so-polite fiction until their replacement is a done deal. Though what would they do to replace you?"

"I don't know, though I have a few disturbing hypotheses," Nahida admitted.

"Smuggling of contraband has certainly risen over the past month or so," Shazhaman said. "The Matra are driven to exhaustion tracking the smugglers and black marketeers down. Illegal narcotics, banned items of Khaenri'an technology, Canned Knowledge…especially the latter two, apparently. I heard that the Scribe of the Akademiya, Alhaitham, was mounting his own investigation, as was the General Mahamatra, Cyno."

"The Scribe?" Dehya asked. "Why would Alhaitham of all people be involved? I've met him a few times while I was in the Corps of Thirty, guy's got a stick up where the Sun doesn't shine that he could use to pole-vault across a river. The Scribe is the one who drafts laws and declarations on behalf of the Sages, he's little more than a bureaucrat and a secretary. Cyno, I can understand. He's scary as hell if he's the one tracking you down, but he and his mentor, Taj Radkani, they're men of principle."

"I can agree with that," Shazhaman said. "Cyno and Taj are principled. And Nahida, you needn't worry. I was hoping to bring my daughter and Harry on a pending delivery of goods to Gandharva Ville, so we might treat Collei. It won't be until the day after tomorrow, as we are still waiting on some goods that will arrive tomorrow, but we can make the journey then. We can't use Teleport Monuments for shipping large quantities of goods or transporting people, unfortunately, so it'll be by barge until we get past Vimara Village, and then we go by foot the rest of the way."

"Understood, and thank you, Shazhaman," Nahida said, giving a bow from where she was seated. "I appreciate you making allowances for me…"

Afterwards, when the details had been ironed out, Harry and Nahida had gone into the garden of the Homayani manor. The Homayanis and Dehya left them alone for now, as it was clear the siblings needed to talk, and on personal matters. Harry had certainly been mute since Nahida's revelation, but that clearly barely concealed the boiling emotions beneath the surface.

"…Were you ever going to tell me, Nahida?" he asked.

After a moment, Nahida admitted, "I don't know. I…don't get me wrong, I know you probably would have eventually come to help me, at least once Voldemort was dead. And…I know how much you hated Dumbledore keeping secrets from you. About Trelawney's prophecy, about the Horcrux in your scar. But Harry…before you say your piece, answer me this question. If I had told you, and you came here…what would you be able to do about my plight?"

"…The same thing I've done now: rescue you, and ensure you had the freedom to fix this, with or without my help," Harry said. "Nahida…the only thing I really had left back in Britain were my friends and loved ones, and I think some would have agreed to come over. Hermione and Luna are outcasts, as are Remus, Tonks and their son. Ron would probably leap at the chance too, if only because he could do something unique in his family by coming to another world. But I only want to go back for them. I'd move here for good if I could, if it didn't mean abandoning them. It's only because that bitch Lumine and that edgelord Dainsleif effectively stranded me here that I want to go back so urgently. I mean, my fame was fickle, Magical Britain is filled with sheeple, the Ministry is still corrupt as hell, and given what I did with my Dendro powers, too many think I'm a Dark Lord in the making."

"…I know this, Harry. You've complained about it enough. But you still had your friends and loved ones. I could not ask you to sever such bonds for my sake. It's too selfish of me."

"You're too selfless, Nahida!" Harry retorted. "Most of Sumeru laps up what the Sages say about you, that you're weak, worthless, but you're not! Even leaving aside me…you saved Dunyarzad. Don't get me wrong, I think you have the right idea in trying to tackle the Withering and Eleazar, though I hope you haven't bitten off more than you can chew, but…I would have come to help you, Nahida. You are my sister. You did so much for me, actually gave a damn about me, gave me love at a time when I had none, no matter what Dumbledore claims about that bitch Petunia…how the hell could I not try to repay that, even if only eventually?"

Nahida chuckled sadly. "…You really are that devoted to me? Don't get me wrong, I like it. Not the blind and fervent devotion a fanatic has towards a god, but the strong and sincere devotion of family towards family. But Harry…I didn't keep such things from you at all lightly, especially after we learned of the secrets Dumbledore kept from you. I know how much you hate people keeping things from you. But death comes, even to Archons. I may not have been free, but I still lived a full and fulfilling life through my dreamscape. And a new Archon would have been born eventually. And for all their apathy to humanity suffering, I doubt Celestia would have let Irmunsul's withering get to a terminal state."

"You still can't trust them," Harry said. "But…Nahida…please don't keep important shit like this from me ever again. I can handle it. With difficulty, yes, but I can handle it. I'm here, I'm able and willing to help. Hell, so's Dunyarzad, her parents, and Dehya. You shouldn't be resigned to death, Nahida."

"I'm not. I…I'm scared, Harry."

"Of dying?" Harry asked.

"Yes…and no. I share every living being's thanatophobia, but that is natural, for death is like the belly of a whale, one you cannot peer into or return from. Or, to paraphrase Hamlet, it is the undiscovered country, from whose borders no traveller returns. Shakespeare really had a gift, didn't he? But Dumbledore was right. To the well-organised mind, death is but the next Great Adventure." Nahida shivered, hugging herself. "But…it's not just dying that frightens me. It's dying in a way that will endanger my people, if not all of Teyvat. Irmunsul is sick, Harry. That is a fundamental part of the world withering away. And people I know are suffering because of it. Dunyarzad…she is dying, and I need to find a way to stop it. Not just to prove myself as a worthy Dendro Archon, but because if I don't…who will?"

Harry heard the quiet despair in her voice, and gently gathered her into his arms, having her sit on his lap as he sat on an ornamental bench, his anger forgotten. "None of the other Archons could help?"

She shook her head. "Most keep to their own domains. The Raiden Shogun is famously a recluse even in Inazuma, the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya's actions show that she doesn't have Teyvat's best interests in mind, and the other Archons have their own problems. I will need help to stop this, yes, but it still falls on my shoulders. And unlike you, I can't blame some megalomaniac lunatic of a warlock with a shredded soul, and who fixated on a prophecy uttered by a drunken would-be seer. I have been dropped in the deep end, made to sink or swim." She turned her head to him, before burying her face in his torso, quietly weeping. "I…I…it's too much. It's too big to deal with, this whole mess."

Harry simply hugged his sister, letting her cry. He had flashbacks to when Nahida did the same for him, when the pressures of Magical Britain got to be too much. But it was frightening to see Nahida break down like this. While she became morose at times, she still seemed to keep up a stiff upper lip, even make jokes.

And he could understand why she was having a bit of a breakdown here and now. He'd felt much the same way at times where Voldemort was concerned. But even then, Voldemort was not as much a threat to the world as whatever was causing the Withering and Eleazar. If Irmunsul was in danger, so was Teyvat. That was how fundamental it was.

And yet, she had so few allies. Aside from him, who did she have? The Homayanis, yes, and Dehya, but that was it. One would argue that a deity wouldn't need any allies at all, but Harry knew better. The Archons were more powerful than even the average wizard, but one on a par with Dumbledore or Grindlewald or Voldemort? At the very least, Nahida would have to bring her A-Game, or be more ruthless than the kind Dendro Archon normally was. And while she was the weakest of the Archons, at least by her own self-deprecating admission, Archons had died before. And not just her predecessor, Rukkhadevata, either. The Hydro Archon and the Cryo Archon had certainly died before.

Yet for a deity, she was all too human in her feelings. Thanks to the Sages' treachery and demeaning of her reputation, she had, beneath her wise and kind demeanour, a deep sorrow and a lack of self-esteem. She rarely showed it to this degree, even to Harry, but he knew it was there.

So he just sat there, holding Nahida, while she wept quietly, until she got it out of her system. As she looked up to him, he asked, "Feeling a little better?"

"Only a little. But I'm a bit calmer now. Sorry."

"Hey, don't be sorry, Nahida, you had to listen to me angst to you about all sorts of crap, stuff that doesn't even compare to this. I'm not going to offer any hollow platitudes. All I'm going to say is remind you of what you should already know. I'm with you, to the bitter end, if need be. And remember what Isaac Newton said. The guy was an arse, but one of the most truthful things he said was that If I have seen further, it was by standing on the shoulders of giants. In other words, all science and learning is built on what went before, and it is a collaborative effort. I am here for you, Nahida. Always."

After a moment, Nahida said, "…Then…can you do something for me, Harry? For old time's sake?" After hopping off his lap, Nahida materialised a set of swings, glowing with verdant light, seemingly hanging from nothing. She sat on those swings, and looked at him expectantly.

Harry, after a moment, chuckled in fond remembrance and realisation. Once upon a time, they used to do this a lot in Nahida's dreamscape. Some of his best memories in childhood. Then again, before his Hogwarts letter came, there was no good memory he ever had that hadn't come in his dreams.

So, without any verbal prompting, he began pushing Nahida on her swing of green light. The Dendro Archon giggled in delight. A simple game, a simple pastime, but one that spoke of the bond the pair of them shared. Of family and friendship…

CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:

Harry and Nahida have had some tension arise, and then be resolved. Plus, an adorable scene of the siblings playing together. I mean, Nahida sitting on a swing, being pushed by Harry, is something I've had in mind ever since I've seen Nahida's character trailer. I was inspired not only by her idle animation, but also her character trailer, the one where she plays with the Aranara and the dreaming kids. Two lonely children, one grown up, the other centuries old but with the body and demeanour of a child…and yet, they still find some joy in that. Two lonely children, playing together, now reunited in reality. I guess you could say this is the central image of My Sister's Keeper more than anything else.

Now, Nahida's breakdown may seem very OOC for her, but keep in mind, while she suspected the truth about the Withering on one level, it's another to be confronted with it. With Harry, she can be honest about it, if only because he has known her all of his life, pretty much. And thanks to him, she was freed long before canon, and has someone who believes in her wholeheartedly. While she still has her canon self-esteem issues, she is also better able to express them, if only to Harry.

Review-answering time! MWkillkenny84: Exactly. Il Dottore may be even more evil than the Sages, but he's a more interesting character and one whom, I feel, would take a more holistic approach to life and research. I mentioned Qyburn and the Rani as influences for how I characterised him, but I also put in elements of Godfather Morlock from the Doctor Who spinoff Faction Paradox. Morlock is basically an amoral scientist working for the titular Faction, doing all kinds of experiments. His research led to a fad for recruiting historical celebrities (like Lord Byron, the explorer Francis Burton, not to be confused with the actor of the same name, Anastasia and Rasputin) that backfired spectacularly, and while he was said to have seen the mess coming, he didn't speak out simply because it'd be an interesting mess, which I feel suits Il Dottore well. This is someone who views the danger of Scaramouche becoming a deity with supreme indifference, after all.

Il Dottore is also a bit like another character from that spinoff, Michael Brookhaven, an arrogant Hollywood producer who leads a splinter group of Faction Paradox based in Hollywood. Like Il Dottore in reverse, Brookhaven, via dangerous temporal technology, basically splits off his older selves from his timeline and has them act as his servants in his estate. Although he views this as a means of safety (as if anything happens to him, his other selves won't come into existence), his abuse of them and all-round smugness leads them to covet his position, and one of them happily betrays him to a Time Lord…I mean, 'Great House' agent.

I also used elements of Davros from Doctor Who. While writing from Il Dottore's POV in the previous chapter, I actually paraphrased one of his lines from his debut story, Genesis of the Daleks. Davros had previously dismissed the possibility of life on other worlds than Skaro, but he admits to the Doctor that despite not believing it to be scientifically possible, he does concede that the idea appeals to his imagination, and for all of Davros' villainy and faults, he does have some imagination left, albeit of a twisted kind. Who else would turn cryogenically-frozen bodies into food as he did in Revelation of the Daleks? Or make a joke about those buying the food showing signs of 'consumer resistance' if they learned the truth? Il Dottore is better than the Sages in that he actually values imagination, even if it's in the wrong way.

Also, on the subject of Zandik's mask, in the game at least, the beaked mask is meant to evoke the ones worn by plague doctors of medieval times. And you say Il Dottore is basically Mengele, sans Nazis? Given that Snezhnaya seems to be based on a hybrid of Soviet and Tsarist Russia, I would merely say he's the fantasy Stalinist equivalent of Mengele. Stalin, in many regards, was as bad as Hitler. And from what little I know, he's more hammy in the prequel webcomic, where he wears a very different mask, though that is presumably one of his other segments.

WhiteElfElder: Regarding what Phoenix Tears do, that's a very good question. It's my considered opinion that they mostly act as a near-universal antidote to poisons of all kinds (not necessarily pathogens like bacteria or viruses), but can heal any damage caused by poisons, or else Harry might still be dead from the Basilisk Venom. Of course, its exact properties are not as well-defined in canon, and in fanon, it ranges from the above all the way to potent restoration. I tend to vary, but for now, it's at the lower end of the scale. The Phoenix Tears helped heal the worst effects of the Eleazar, but Dunyarzad (and later Collei) still have some of the physical debilitation from it…

No numbered annotations this time.