The Kuoro, a middle-aged kitsune by the name of Habiki that kept and cleaned the Refrectory, met me halfway up the stairs. If he was surprised or offended by my breach of etiquette, it didn’t show. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I was running on bravado, I would’ve been offended that I didn’t at least get a rise out of him. Now, I was just grateful for the perceived normalcy as he turned around and led me up to the Elder’s Chamber. There was a slight chirping as he kneeled by the door, letting the Elders know he had arrived and then we waited for our invitation into the room.

  Thankfully, they didn’t make us wait long. Habiki slid the door open for me, and with my head bowed, I stepped in.

  Before I even looked at the Elders, the first thing I noticed was that the room was tiny, no larger than the common room of my family’s home and with far more people inside it. I had known that the majority of the stone tower was occupied by mystically significant carving and channels, but if I sat in the middle of the room, on the mat where I was clearly intended to, the Elders wouldn’t even need to lean forward to touch me. I wondered if that was the point as I waited for direction and contemplated the other kitsune in the room.

  Tails, which were only achieved through enlightenment and mastery, were the primary criteria for obtaining a seat on the council, with age only being a tie-breaker.

  At the center of the room, opposite the door sat Elder Junpei, four tails, with his lit pipe sitting at his side. At four tails, he was the most tailed, making him the official head of the council. To his right, in the place of honor, sat Sage Vinollo with her three tails curled around her. Her kimono was heavily pocketed, which spoke more of her oddities as a mage than any defiance of tradition. To her right sat Elder Yamamoto who was the eldest two tailed kitsune in the village and the longest serving councilman. If he begrudged the rest for sitting in more dignified seats, he didn’t show it. On Elder Junpei’s left sat Elder Takashi, three tails, who was nominally in charge of the guard. His real skill was in counting and administration and he was often sent out of the village to negotiate trade with nearby villages. To his left sat Elder Asami who was barely six winters my senior. She was an artisan of no small repute that had replaced Senior Yuki last winter when Asami grew her third tail. It had been the gossip for the village for many months, especially since Senior Yuki had been one of the most beloved Elders. Though no one would openly say it, there were many that hoped that Elder Yamamoto would retire or pass on soon so Senior Yuki could return to the council and status of Elder.

  Elder Junpei grunted and motioned to the mat in the center of the room, “Come Adept Kara, sit with us.”

  Delicately, I kneeled on the mat and raised my head to meet Elder Junpei’s eye, his face twisted in contemplation. Elder Junpei ran most of the spellform training, so it wasn’t an unfamiliar sight. There was a moment where we sat and calmed ourselves in the simple connection of student and mentor before he spoke.

  “Adept Kara, I believe I speak for all of us when I say I am grateful you are safe. However, between your display of prowess outside and sudden growth,” he said motioning to my second tail, “There are some… questions we have. And I’m sure you have questions for us. Let us sit and discuss this thing that has happened so we all might understand.”

  I dipped my head slightly in thanks. “Of course Elder Council, I am thankful for your time and attention,” I recited, offering the appropriate statement of thanks.

  That got a yip of laughter out of Elder Yamamoto, “Bah, like we have much else to do. It has been a quiet month. Gave us an excuse to come out and feel important.”

  I bit my lip, stifling laughter of my own. I had always imagined the Elder Council to be a stern place of solemnity. Hearing the eldest Elder speak so plainly and dismissively was jarring to say the least. Though given Sage Vinollo and Elder Takashi’s glares, they didn’t approve of the lack of decorum either.

  Elder Junpei, almost abashedly, cut in with the appropriate response, “Of course, you are one of our commune, helping you in this time of change is our duty as Elders.”

  Civility attended to, Sage Vinollo was the first to speak, “Adept Kara, you have demonstrated a degree of power today that few in the village could match. To what do you attribute your newfound ability?”

  I took my second to mentally unpack that question and phrase my response appropriately. Magic was like a muscle you needed to exercise. As such rapid growth of it, like all muscles, was to be treated with suspicion. I didn’t fault her, for her suspicions mirrored my own. “Sage Vinollo,” I responded crisply, with a small tremor reflecting the uncertainty I felt, “What I believe to be Death itself came to me and asked me to come back to this world to help them undo an injustice to the world.”

  I had been expecting shock, outrage, and a few weapons to be drawn. Instead, Sage Vinollo seemed unsurprised by that answer and calmly placed her hands on the floor.

  The room then lit up with Kolim-infused energy. Channels and runes on the floor lit up revealing a tight web of binding centered on the mat where I sat. It was impressive magework and probably very expensive, far more impressive than I had ever seen before. And, a detached part of my brain noted, almost entirely designed for containment. Furthermore, unless Sage Vinollo was powering it herself, which seemed unlikely given the amount of magical energy I had seen her project, it was likely powered by the Kolim stores, which would likely run out within a quarter bell.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I blinked in confusion. Where had that come from? How did I know how fast the Kolim would run out?

  The fact that though the Elder’s lips were moving I couldn’t hear them talk meant that it was also obscuring sound. I couldn’t read lips, which meant nothing could be gained from waiting, which in turn meant I had some time to think. I pulled at that thread of knowledge, trying to piece it back to where it came from.

  Snips of memories came to me. Mother’s historical texts, errant comments about shielding wards, and extrapolations about magical tattoos wove together to form the basis for my understanding of the complicated array in front of me. It wasn’t any new knowledge, it was just a collection of information half-forgotten woven together with logical leaps I would never have made with any degree of certainty before.

  In other words, I was smarter.

  Curious, I gave math a try. I never had a head for numbers before. Especially not purely mental calculations. What about now?

  I picked two numbers at random. Two-fifty-nine and thirty-seven? Well, they had a difference of two-twenty-two, sum of two-ninety-six, product of nine-five-eight-three.

  I started and sat up straighter. Not only could I do math in my head, but I could do it quickly. Elder Takashi had been talking for the span of my mental math, which - given how few words he actually said - meant it couldn’t have been more than a few heartbeats. How far did this go?

  Two-fifty-nine divided by thirty-seven was…. seven. I blinked in surprise before double checking the math. No, still seven, which meant that was probably the right answer, having never divided consistently, let alone successfully, before in my life. What about something more robust?

  Two-twenty-five divided by thirty seven was six-point-zero-eight-one-zero-eight-one. It seemed like it repeated, but how far could I go with it? Fifty decimal points? A hundred?

  I pushed that aside as the sound suddenly returned to my bubble. Right, the Elders. The barrier around me had dimmed, probably when it stopped blocking the sound and the council looked at me expectantly. Elder Takashi cleared his throat and I directed my attention to him, trying very hard not to multitask between talking to him and exploring my new mental faculties.

  “Adept Kara,” he intoned, his tone clipped with scorn, “We have heard stories of this entity before from the port towns. In particular, they are attached to the Starborn.”

  Starborn? Great adventurers and heroes that are said to have cheated death countless times? Favored of the Gods and common folk heroes?

  That wasn’t me, was it? No, it couldn’t have been, they all have Star shaped birthmarks and every child was inspected for those at birth. The Elders would know. There was one at every birth. Was that why he was so angry? Did he think that I was trying to claim I was Starborn, something we all knew I couldn’t be?

  “Honorable Elders,” I started confusedly, “I was inspected at birth, that isn... is not….”

  “Adept Kara,” Elder Vinollo cut me off, the unseemly disdain in her voice. I guess it made some sense. Starborn weren’t born in small villages. They were born to important people. Nobles, descendants of great adventurers, people like that. I was no one. It was far more likely I had made a deal with something unsavory. Which meant that the claim of meeting Death was a fabrication, and a poor one at that given how easily I could be checked for Starmarks. It was far…

  Ah, that was it. They didn’t believe that I was me. They thought they were talking to some spirit that had taken my body. Absurd lies were a common mainstay of folktales, trickster spirits saying outrageous things that only fools believed. I guess it made sense that she would be angry given the implication that she, or any of the Elders, would believe such a lie.

  “You aren’t even certain who you are,” the coldly logical part of myself commented.

  That tore at the bare threads of stability I had woven for myself and I found myself curling in and demuring to occlude the pain I felt while she continued unabated.

  “We are far beyond the realm of what we thought we knew. If you’d be so kind as to humor us and disrobe to validate your story, we would be very appreciative.”

  There was a noise that might’ve been a squeak that came from my throat as I felt the blush spreading from my cheeks, down my throat, and to my chest. They wanted me to do what? In front of them? I mean, I guess it made sense given what they thought I was, but what they were asking was bordering on perverse.

  Sage Asami, thank the stars, spoke up first, “Let us not force the woman into such openness unnecessarily. As far as we can tell, this is still a young woman of our village. We can afford her some propriety. Tell me, is there a place where this… outsider... touched you?”

  The fact that someone didn’t immediately think me to be some outsider in Kara’s skin gave me the barest of reliefs and stopped the growing panic. I closed my eyes, carefully replaying the memory before nodding.

  “My collarbone,” I said after a moment.

  “Would you show us that then?” Sage Asami asked.

  I nodded again. Carefully, I pulled my left arm out of my kimono, then my nagajuban so that only my shoulder and arm would be exposed. And there, sitting on my left collarbone as if they had always been there, were three conjoined star shaped birthmarks.