I placed my hand on the door and turned to Professor Spring and asked, "Anything I should know about her magic?"
"Yes, you'll know when she is using it, not only when you hear her voice, but there will be a faint buzzing at the back of your skull. It's not particularly painful. However, you can tell she is pushing her abilities more when the buzzing intensity increases. It'll feel like an itch in your head you can't quite scratch," Professor Spring said with a smile.
I stopped and turned toward the man. "That sounds…problematic. Should I be concerned about her reading my mind or controlling my thoughts or emotions?" I asked.
Professor Spring smiled and shrugged. "You can ask her that yourself. She is surprisingly forthright about her limits. As for reading your mind? I can say with almost certainty that she can do no such thing. After all, with my thoughts, she would have been rather displeased with me if that were the case. Oh, and remember, speak your words aloud. For some reason, her magic acts more like a translation from her mind to yours," he said.
"Got it, and I'll take your word for it. Headmaster, will you be joining me?" I asked as I opened the door.
Bowen shook his head and said, "No, it would be best if one of us were on standby just in case something happens. I'll be sure to have a conversation with her soon enough."
I walked into the room and was hit by a surprising freshness that was absent the last time. The small cave had expanded in size, and some moss or grass had been planted along the rocky surface as well. There was a leftover scent of cooked meat; someone had clearly enjoyed their lunch recently.
And my presence was immediately noticed. All four of the Naga turned their eyes to me. The two reptilian ones were impossible to read, but Queen and the green-scaled noble both had broad smiles.
"Kaladin, thanks for coming," Tsarra said with a wave.
"Of course, I had to see it for myself," I said as I walked over and nodded a greeting to Varnir.
There was a free stone chair ready with a cushion, and I took it, sitting directly across from Queen and her guard. I barely settled in before Queen shot forward, her two lower hands grasping one of mine.
They were warm to the touch and smoother and softer than I anticipated. Tsarra let out a giggle as Queen opened my palm with her free right hand and with her last one began to trace on my palm.
I didn't feel anything odd or that she meant it as a threat, but Professor Springs' warning of her naivety seemed to be dead on. She looked excited like a child as she traced out 'can I' before suddenly stopping. The muscles in her face pulled into a frown as she hesitated, seemingly lost on what letters needed to come next.
I took the opportunity to check her soul. And it came back normal, albeit surprisingly large for someone only a few months old. There was no void present in the bright mass.
Finally, her patience, which only lasted for a few seconds, withered as she muttered something in a foreign language and looked to Tsarra for help. Her voice was…not what I expected. It sounded rather Human despite the odd language, but the low hiss she gave off in frustration was more in line with a Dragonkin.
"Queen wants to talk to you using her magic, but she wants permission first," Tsarra said.
"A queen asking for permission? Who taught her that, I wonder?" I said with a grin.
Tsarra smiled sheepishly as Varnir chuckled. I told her that it was fine, curious to see how her magic would affect me. With an excited expression, I felt the telltale sign of mana forming into a spell core. However, it was at an astounding speed that far surpassed what a normal person could have managed, especially one only a few weeks old.
In the blink of an eye, I felt the telltale sensation that Professor Spring mentioned—the faint buzzing in the back of my head. It wasn't disorienting or even painful, but it was an odd sensation for sure. Then it disappeared.
Queen looked surprised, and I felt mana gather again into another spell core. The faint buzzing reappeared but faded almost instantly. It was at that point that Queen went from surprised to annoyed.
Mana gathered once more, and that time she seemed to be putting more effort and mana into her spell. Once it was released, there was a brief lance of pain, like a headache, before the buzzing took hold and stayed.
"Hello?" a familiar-sounding voice resounded in my head.
I couldn't help but feel surprised. The voice sounded almost exactly like Tsarra but just different enough to raise an eyebrow at. Was that a conscious choice from Queen? Or simply a byproduct of their interactions with each other?
And much like when Kronos spoke to me, I wasn't hearing with my ears, per se, but it was as if the words and voice were coming directly from my brain. Yet it still felt like the voice originated from in front of me. I had a feeling it had more to do with how the brain worked than with the inner workings of the magic itself, but what did it matter? Another voice in my head was of no concern.
"I can hear you, Queen," I said both in my head and aloud.
Her smile widened as did her bright blue eyes, revealing her shiny, pointed teeth. "Wow, your skull is very thick, Mr. Kaladin!" Queen's voice said in astonishment.
…
"Um, thank you? I suppose…" I said in disbelief.
Being insulted on the first interaction with a new race and its royalty was not what first came to mind, but I've had worse. Queen innocently tilted her head to the side, her eyes moving to the side like she was reading a book that only she could see.
"Did I say something bad?" she asked, the confusion coming in clearly.
"Well…saying someone has a thick skull is typically an insult," I told her.
Understanding seemed to dawn on her as she nodded to herself and added, "Then your mind is very strong!"
I suppose expecting royalty or a royal child to apologize is an entirely different thing altogether. At least she asked before digging around in my brain with her magic.
"I see. Is that why your first few attempts didn't work?" I asked curiously.
Queen crossed her four arms and, with a proud expression, said, "That's right! I haven't met someone with such a strong mind before! But anyone who could save me and my kin from harm has to be at least this strong! So thank you for saving me!"
I chuckled at her earnest words; it was rather endearing. Queen really seemed like a child deep down, which was a relief. Of course, she could be a master manipulator, but that possibility seemed to be getting further and further away.
"Of course. I was doing what I thought was right," I said honestly.
Queen put up a finger on each hand as her voice resounded in my head, "Regardless! You are one of my saviors! This is a debt that I, Queen of the Naga, can give— uh… I have nothing really to repay you with!"
I laughed and said, "It's fine. You don't have to give me anything, Queen."
She let out a low hiss and pointed her fingers at me. "No! I must, uh, insist! That's right, you are the kin of my greatest benefactor and also my benefactor! I will repay you! So ask anything of me!" she insisted.
I raised an eyebrow and asked as I pointed to Varnir and Tsarra, "How do you know I'm related to them?"
Queen tilted her head as she looked straight at Tsarra, then slowly back to me. "Are you two not related? You and Tsarra do share the appearance of family, no? You are definitely kin," she said with absolute certainty.
Is this her magic? Or an ability of her race? Is she closely related to an Elf? But if that was the case, why do I feel no kinship with her? Or maybe some of Tsarra's memories rubbed off onto Queen somehow?
Either way, it wasn't particularly important.
"Well, you are correct. She is my half-aunt," I said as a thought came to me. "Queen, can your magic connect people's minds? Let two people speak to each other, for example?"
"I can do much more than that! But…there is a problem with such a thing," she said hesitantly.
She brought her hands up high and said, "The mind from the outside is like a big wall! It is very difficult to get through; the inside of the mind is as fragile as glass and can easily break! Connecting myself to another is very easy, I only need the other person to let me in of their own will, like you, otherwise I would have to use a lot of force! But connecting someone with another through me…can be dangerous."
"Oh? How so?" I asked.
Queen looked excited to explain her magic as she contiuned, "The mind is always defending itself! Or so my teachers said…! And a one-on-one connection is already a strain on it! With three minds connected, the defenses can clash, and the damage can be great!"
"That makes a surprising amount of sense. But what if someone's mind was so strong that the others' defenses hardly mattered? Would everyone be safe then?" I asked.
Queen's eyes darted around from behind her eyelids. Her face morphed from confusion into frustration, then understanding. "It's possible! It would help if two of the three people had a long history together! It could help calm the minds and not cause as many problems! People who trust each other are less likely to fight, right?"
That is…somewhat problematic for what I had in mind.
"Would it matter if they were family?" I questioned.
"Why wouldn't it! Family is family! They know you best, right?" Queen said proudly.
I nodded to myself and felt the other presence stir in my head. It only mattered if she could not only connect with me, but also with the other me. So a test wouldn't hurt? After all, my defenses were quite strong, or so she said.
Any objections?
"No. Not that I would know what to expect. I don't have a brain or a skull. Magic may be ethereal in a sense, but I am still just a soul attached to yours. The circumstances are not so simple as two brains in one body. Her magic may very well not work on me," Krono's deep voice stated.
I checked to see if Queen reacted, but she didn't. And since I had to vocalise my words to her and didn't want everyone here to know such a secret, I had to improvise a little.
"If you don't mind, would you come closer so I can whisper a request to you? I'd like you to keep this a secret between you and me," I said.
Queen excitedly slid off her chair and slithered toward me. But the moment I bent over to get closer to her, a deep, guttural bellow came from her guardian like a warning. It sounded like a warning a large lizard, like a crocodile, would give.
But Queen shot around and pointed two fingers at her guard and shouted something in her foreign language. The high-pitched voice and the guardian backing down sheepishly were comical for sure. Like a kid playing Queen was an apt description. And imposing aura and bestial appearance, the guardian was still as tall and big as an above-average child.
"Please, excuse him and go ahead, Mr. Kaladin!" Queen said.
I leaned forward, and instead of in the Human tongue, I spoke in the language of Beastmen. After all, if she didn't need to understand the source language, then it hardly mattered as long as it translated to her.
"Understood! But…are you sure? Going deeper into your mind may hurt you!" Queen warned.
"It's fine. I'll let you know if I feel any pain," I said with a smile.
"Ok, if that is what you want," she said.
Queen slithered over to her chair, and I felt the buzzing in my head intensify. The scratch at the back of my skull appeared and grew and grew as Queen pushed further.
Things seemed to be progressing normally for some time, until an abrupt change. The scratch at the back of my skull shot out from my head and into my chest. At the same time, Queen's eyes widened in shock, then what seemed to be fear.
Her lips moved, but I didn't hear any words come from them. But the deep voice answered in my place.
"Seems you went too deep, young one. But it's nice to meet another disembodied voice.