Role

Chapter 7

This, of course, was all conjecture. There was no real reason that one of
higher echelon janni would want to take over my place here. This was a tiny
girl, who had carried rocks around back when I first started envisioning her.
But, I am nothing if not prepared, and it took some time before I realized my
tentative plans to permit myself to be exploded could actually prove to be
something I did indeed need to act upon. The first signs were how Arleshi
would occasionally garner great interest from others in some of the things
she talked about with them. Discussions about the goggles would lead into
mention of the shadow plane (imagine that), and people would stop and listen
at that point very closely. She would mention things she had learned and they
would see the merit in it, and I realized as I heard it that while it was quite
exciting and unexpected, and this notoriety would also start to attract other janni.

I downplayed some of it, trying to keep her moving forward, but also not to announce
out her efforts from the roof tops of the cities she spent all her time in.
This had gone on for some time and I began to relax, having seen no signs
that the hold on my position was tenuous, but then...I saw one of them.


It was one of her meetings with the Cadre where it happened. There were other
meetings here, the very powerful Goddess was there, Joihe, and other people
that varied in their level of meriting interest, but they talked of grandiose
plans that ranged from laughable to positively interesting, but then, completely
unexpectedly, the Goddess uttered the a word, yawuruabra, and a fellow janni
stepped out a portal before us. Others took scant notice. They had seen me be called
forward I knew, and another janni was something they did not react to.
Arleshi, Tamazin, and myself however, noticed. Arleshi gasped in glee,
looking closely at the sigils covering this new janni, and I myself, was
doing my best to not run from the Lodge screaming in terror. I know I stared,
shocked to see one of the sigil-covered here, and my mind raced, wondering
how much they knew, and if they had spread word back to the others. I tried
to size them up, show them how strong I was by touching Arleshi with my
magic, but it was clear, the sigils were unmistakable, this janni would be
my undoing and being exploded may actually be something that I would have
to move forward with. Disaster!


So far, I have not seeing the sigil-covered janni again, but I know now they
are near enough to keep an eye on me, and more importantly, Arleshi. I will
cultivate the relationship with Tamazin more, ensuring that they remain
interested in the mana they can see within me, and talk more about
expectations of their exploding me, to keep them on my terms to I make sure
they do it right, so I am not ejected from this plane with no course to try
to save my own skin.


Time will tell.