Chapter 615 - Interlude - Nina - Overthrowing the Tyrants IX (Patreon)

Nina was doing paperwork again, trying to determine if she could knock off a few fauns to improve lives. The calculations were extra tricky. If she messed up, and the turmoil caused by her actions made Bywater miss their tax payments, one eighth of their lives would be forfeit. Nobody would be able to point to Nina and blame her, but she’d blame herself. She knew she’d be responsible. That her actions had foreseeable consequences, and that she was the architect of them coming to pass. 

For once, the [Governor] of the place wasn’t to blame. She was competent and well-meaning. The issue was her [Vizier]. The role had a reputation for ruthlessness and scheming, and the man in the position was a fine example. There was no question he had to be replaced, but Nina suspected she was finding the same problem the [Governor] had run into.

There just wasn’t anyone a fraction as competent.

Competent and somewhat corrupt, versus massively incompetent? Nina hated the conclusion she was coming to.

“You are making a mistake.” A voice spoke from behind her.

Nina whirled as she stood up, fanning her tails behind her. One part to distract and disorient, one part to maybe buffet whoever it was. Her small mallium bracelet shifted down her arm, morphing into a short baton. Perfect for close quarters.

Her heart practically dropped out of her chest when she saw who was sitting in her room. 

Night.

THE first vampire. The progenitor. Assassin without peer. Elaine’s one-time mentor.

The man she’d been cajoled into ‘mugging’ when she was a kid, who’d offered up her own life in amusement as her spoils. Oh fuck.

What was he doing here!?

Nina strangled her panic and forced herself to calm down. If Night wanted her dead, she’d be dead, probably not knowing what had happened. He wasn’t the type to gloat. If he wanted to talk, he’d get a talk.

“Sentinel Night.” Nina bowed formally as she’d been taught in Nippon-Koku, deciding the Exterreri salute was a bad idea. “I am at your disposal. What can I do for you?” She retracted her baton, letting the mallium flow up her arm and turn into an arm-band around her bicep. Night was entirely in control of the situation here. The idea of using illusions briefly flitted across her mind, but Night hadn’t gotten as far as he did to be fooled by a low-level kitsune. If anything, he’d be insulted.

“Walk with me.” Night invited Nina with a gesture. The assassin glanced at her desk, only to find all of her paperwork vanishing into the cracks in the floor she used to hide them. Grabbing a cape on the way out, Nina followed Night into the darkness. The ancient vampire clasped his hands behind his back.

“I said previously that you were making a mistake. Do you know what it is?” He asked. Nina’s eyes darted around the town. The hour was late, but lights were still on, people roaming the street. Night waved his hand dismissively.

“I have layered us with protections and privacy. Nobody in Bywater is capable of listening into our conversation.” Unspoken was that Night’s question was still hanging. Nina thought about it.

What mistake was she making? She was sworn to strike at the root of the problem, she believed she’d correctly identified the problem in Bywater. She’d done her due diligence to figure out if she was making the problem worse or not. It was her usual method of operation, and being asked to reexamine it, she wasn’t finding a problem.

There obviously was one, otherwise Night wouldn’t be talking with her, but she was forced to admit defeat.

“I don’t know.” Nina admitted after a few minutes of thinking about the problem, slowly walking with Night the whole time. “I believe there’s a flaw in my methodology, since you’re pointing it out, I just can’t find out what it is.”

Night smiled a brilliantly toothy grin.

“Admitting when you do not know the answer is always proud progress, no matter your age or experience.” He praised.

Nina couldn’t help but bark a laugh.

“You must not have heard. I’m cursed. I cannot tell a lie.” She winked at Night, who snorted in amusement.

“Yet, you clearly do not have to tell the whole truth. Congratulations on obtaining Immortality. A gift from Elaine, I presume? I have a number of books about the fae which you should find fascinating reading. Deception without a word of untruth, a fascinating field of study. Far more practical for you than for others. I do not wish to waste both our time, for we are busy people, with a large amount of work ahead of us. Your mistake is one of impatience and impartiality. You are simply looking at who is currently here, now, and available to fill the role you are considering making vacant. You are wise to not directly tie yourself to a position which will deny you the opportunity to fulfill your calling, but you also leave no allies behind. No support. No favors to call in at a later date, no brave men and women to rally to you should you require help.”

Night paused, his hands still behind his back, as Nina thought over the answer Night was giving her. In spite of his claim to not waste anyone’s time, he hadn’t directly delivered the answer.

Maybe he had? Nina thought it over.

Leaving behind allies and support would mean extensive contact with people. Contact with people who’d look favorably at her later on. Her mistake was impatience and impartiality.

Nina was going to start with the assumption that her target selection method was good, and her philosophy was mostly sound. What problem was she running into, and how could fixing her ‘mistake’ solve the problem?

Her biggest issue right now was the lack of a suitable replacement for the cunning [Vizier]. Anyone taking up the role would be less competent than the man currently holding the role. 

Nina didn’t consider herself impatient. She didn’t think she was rushing things, not with the months of careful analysis before each assassination. The world’s greatest assassin clearly thought differently. Months of work were considered impatient. What would be sufficiently patient? Years?

What could Nina do with years instead of months? If she was impartial? Hope that someone became competent enough to take up the job?

Nina’s eyes widened in realization.

No, hope was for fools and people who wanted others to fix their problems for them. Nina’s circumstances made it abundantly clear that if she wanted something to change, she’d have to do it herself.

Why hope for someone to show up, when she could make a suitable replacement?

“You want me to train a replacement for the [Vizier].” She said half-wondering, half-accusingly.

Night smiled again, nodding in acknowledgement of her solving the puzzle.

“Not simply the [Vizier], although that is an excellent start. A good place to learn the trade, and to train a single person up. True mastery is obtained when you are able to entirely replace the important levers of government, from the leader down to the [Scribes]. Such total replacement is virtually impossible and insanely time-consuming, but it can be done.”

Nina thought about the mind-boggling amount of time, energy, and effort needed to train a single person for a single job… then multiplied that by dozens. Managing egos and curriculums, doing it all in secrecy to prevent unwanted eyes revealing the conspiracy… Night hadn’t been kidding when he thought Nina was being impatient.

And what a footprint it would leave behind! Unless Nina was the cruellest of taskmasters, the newly installed government would be grateful to her. Gratitude faded, but methods of thinking rarely did, and to fade entirely among a large group of people she’d taught?

Nina’s philosophy was opposed in many ways to Iona’s and she still looked up to the older Valkyrie, even over a century later. She swallowed around a lump in her throat, the implications crashing down around her ears as more and more aspects came to her.

Night grinned.

“I am particularly fond of starting with [Farmers].”

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Nina wasn’t the biggest fan of spending a year and a half learning how to [Teach] from Night. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be proud or not when Night declared her understanding of politics, economics, ethics, and a dozen other fields to be ‘passable at this stage, considering your significant youth.’ Entering the ranks of the Immortals had significantly raised the bar.

She’d also finally become brave enough to ask the question that had been bothering her.

“Why me?” She asked. “I know you’re high level and strong. You could fix a thousand problems in the time you’re taking to train me. I know this war’s important to you. Why me?”

Night chuckled as they were on one of their long walks.

“I am assisting with a great many people at this time, not just you.” He said. “I do not spend my time reading a book with my feet on the table in the hours we do not spend together. As for why I selected you? A large portion is luck. I am already passingly familiar with you. We share skillsets and professions. You are attempting to do work I believe needs to be done. Congratulations, private tutoring from the eldest vampire. Overthrowing the New Remus Empire is within my interests and my goals. I am moving directly against them, but you are one of my indirect moves against them. You wish to see them fall. I am giving you the tools to do so, with the sincere belief that later on they are unlikely to be turned against me.”

Nina bit down on the part of her that wanted to mouth off to Night. To explain that if she ever believed he was the root of the problem, she’d happily turn against him.

It wouldn’t make her happy, she’d be devastated if she came to that conclusion - she’d die in the attempt, making no true impact, she wasn’t delusional - but she’d try.

“There is a reason I do not directly grab the reins of power myself.” Night looked endlessly amused. Nina practically jumped out of her skin.

“But - how!?” She sputtered. “Mind reading’s impossible!”

“Is it?” Night asked with a voice of innocent curiosity, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

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It had taken Nina some time to work out a proper persona. 

Anubah was an old, old dog beastkin out of the ruins of Ankhelt. She was wise, had a staff, and booked no nonsense.

It was another layer of protection for her operations. A person who existed with a thought, and vanished with one.

Night had helped her study the nearby villages. The town was a poor recruiting choice - too many eyes on the individuals. Farms were excellent. Once a day’s chores were done, there was time for children to learn and play, and it was trivial to put her paw on the scales and have the family turn a blind eye to her activities.

If the [Crazy Old Hermit] in the woods wanted to teach their child and paid for the privilege? It was an excellent bargain, the flow of goods and money usually flowing in the other direction. Anubah would never be accepted by the community, but that wasn’t her goal. Her goal was education.

“It is impossible to test for intelligence in any reasonable manner.” Night had explained to her. “Instead, look for curiosity. The spark of interest, the mind that wonders at the world. I am currently of the philosophy that it is the most crucial trait. It is difficult to find one without prejudices in small places. Ethics, interpersonal relationships, and the rest can be taught. Can be trained. I will fully admit, it is far easier when integrity comes naturally to a person than when it is a lesson that needs to be beaten in, but it is not the trait to look for. If nothing else, properly taught enlightened self-interest is enough to correct people that you desire to have a strong sense of nobility.”

Nina absolutely heard the unspoken part. How ethics were, in some cases, optional, and if she wanted to sharpen ruthless assassins for particular tasks, it was better if they had no such qualms.

It wasn’t the sort of path she wanted to tread. 

Nina arranged herself well, and sent out a butterfly with sparkling streamers behind it out to the edge of the field, where a promising young man was working hard. She manipulated the illusion, fluttering in a way sure to attract attention.

It was a bit of a shame she wasn’t looking to recruit a [Lord] or [King] or anything like that. She had plans, mostly revolving around swords in the stone. It was a pretty neat setup when she’d encountered one with the rest of the Eventide Eclipse. Maybe mix it up a bit, stick it in a tree or something.

Education was only half the battle here. The other half was going to be connections.

The [King] was the person everyone acknowledged as the [King]. A [Vizier] without significant connections beforehand wasn’t going to be successful. Already, she’d done favors for half a dozen [Guildmasters] under the simple promise that they’d ‘meet someone for her’. Her network of contacts in Bywater were growing in pursuit of her quest.

His curiosity was piqued, but he looked around at the work that still needed to be done, and kept going. Nina was patient. He kept glancing up at the butterfly, and right when his work was done, she had the butterfly take off into the woods.

The young man followed, and Nina just barely kept a grin off her face.