Div and En watched as Theaphilia stepped through the door of Brigaseta’s cottage. The newcomer looked as old as the elder, though she hadn’t reached Ascended Rank—meaning she was likely two centuries younger. Her skin showed a deep tan that could only be explained by years spent basking in the sun.
“Brigaseta,” she greeted in Lienien. “I’m here as you asked. Is this the boy?”
“Theaphilia,” the elder said. “He calls himself Diven. I’ll leave him in your care if that’s fine with you.”
“Yes, Belilamos had offered to house him.”
“Good, that solves the issue of lodging,” Brigaseta said.
Theaphilia then turned to Diven and addressed him in perfect Ameian. “Hello Diven, my name is Theaphilia Opheo. As I understand it, you’ve been exiled from the Leios clan.”
(Opheo… She’s from Kheiron!)
[I hope it’s not going to be a problem.]
“Don’t worry,” she continued. “I haven’t returned to Kheiron in decades. I’m appalled that the clans are still exiling children… Appalled but not surprised, unfortunately.”
[Should we tell her about Cassandra?]
(I don’t know. It might not be a good idea. We don’t know her well enough. What if she thinks we’ve been disrespectful?)
[Right…]
Div and En didn’t think they had done wrong by Cassandra. But they had technically disturbed her rest, moved her bones, and looted what was essentially her tomb.
It was better to stay prudent.
“Hello, my name is Diven. I was exiled from the Leios clan and the city after my awakening.”
“I can see your status,” Theaphilia said. “This is the kind of bloodline they would exile. Thank you for being open.”
Brigaseta coughed lightly. “Thea… I’m afraid he is not doing it on purpose.”
“What do you mean, Briga?” Theaphilia asked.
“He’s not concealing his status on purpose. He doesn’t know how to do it.”
“What?” Both Theaphilia and Diven exclaimed at the same time.
(What? What? What did she say? Can we conceal our status?)
[This would explain a lot…]
“Wait,” Theaphilia said. “Diven, do you not know about that?”
“Erm…” Diven started. “No, I don't.”
Thea rubbed her hands on her face and sighed. “Fine, then we’ll start with that. Anything else I need to know, Briga?”
“Nothing apart from the obvious.”
“Okay, I understand what you’re referring to,” Theaphilia said. “Diven, let’s go. I’ll teach you.”
Theaphilia and Diven said goodbye to Brigaseta and left her house. They walked through the village, Theaphilia quietly greeting the curious onlookers as they noticed Diven.
“When did you arrive in the Wildlands?” Theaphilia asked as they walked.
“In the summer, my uncle took me there.”
“Your uncle? What’s his name?” She asked.
“Basil Leios. Do you know him?”
“Basil Leios? The prodigy of the Leios clan? You’re his nephew? Has he ascended yet?”
“Not yet,” Diven said.
“Wait,” Theaphilia said, stopping in her tracks. “You’re Lysandra’s son?”
“You know my mother?” Diven asked.
“I know of her… I was keeping track of those who were risking exile when I still visited the city. Your mother was one of them. She was in a precarious position back then.”
“Really?” Div and En knew that their mother had been shunned after her awakening, but she had never mentioned exile.
“Well, it only makes it more tragic that you were exiled. Good thing Belilamos found you.”
They resumed their walk toward Theaphilia’s house. Soon, they were there and the older woman invited Diven inside.
“If there’s one thing I miss about Kheiron, it’s the weather,” she commented as she sat close to the fire hearth. “It’s always so humid here, and terrible for my old bones.”
Theaphilia gestured for Diven to sit down in front of her. “So, Diven, I have to assume Basil didn’t teach you much of anything during your journey towards here?”
“No, he taught me how to light a fire, how to set up camp, trained me in my weapon skills…”
“How long was the journey?”
“Two months,” Diven said.
“Yes, it takes two months to reach this far up the Lien River,” Theaphilia said. “More than enough time to teach you the basics. So why don’t you know about Conceal? Also, do you know about Inspect? Even if you don’t have the skills yet, you should be aware of their existence.”Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“I know some skills can let you see other people’s statuses. I would assume protection from such skills exists.” Diven said.
“Okay. So you don’t know anything,” Theaphilia said.
“I…”
“It’s not your fault. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you. Listen well because this is absolutely critical. Especially for you since some people will find your status off-putting.”
Div and En were ready to listen. They spent so much time agonizing over their lack of knowledge. They couldn’t miss this chance.
“Let’s start with the basics. This is normally taught to children as they awaken,” Theaphilia continued. “Your inner world is the representation of everything you’ve gained since awakening. It can take different forms. For example, your Leios clan typically uses a garden to visualize it. But this is completely up to you. Even now, you could change how it looks if you wanted to.”
Div and En nodded, they knew that already. But having confirmation was always good.
“Then, there is what we call our status. It is a condensed version of what is happening in our inner worlds. While it loses a lot of the details and complexity that make up our powers, it is a lot easier to understand. Are you following me so far?”
“Yes, but what does it have to do with… Conceal and Inspect, you said?” Diven asked.
“I’m getting there,” Theaphilia said. “Your inner world is wrapping the mana around you. With each skill level, each title, and even with your bloodline the mana moves to accommodate for them. To see someone else’s status, you just have to analyze the mana surrounding them. This is the Inspect skill.”
“And Conceal?” Diven asked.
“Conceal is the opposite. To counter Inspect, you can shape the mana around you and hide your status. It’s akin to putting a barrier between you and others.”
“But,” Diven said. “I was in a rift recently, and there were Evolved Rank humanoids inside. Only one of them could read my status.”
“Well, I can’t tell you what’s going on with them since I have not seen it for myself. But it’s possible they don’t know about Inspect and Conceal either. They’re stuck in their rift after all.”
“I understand, how do I go about acquiring those skills?” Diven asked.
“Since you don’t have an active facet now, it should be easy. I’ll teach you the basics and then you will unlock the relevant facet to receive Inspect and Conceal,” she said.
[It would solve our disagreement over facets.]
(Yes, if only temporarily. We need those two skills as soon as possible. Especially Conceal.)
Theaphilia went on to explain how the two skills worked. It was simpler to start with Inspect since it would reveal how others would try to break Div and En’s Conceal. Theaphilia was clear that both skills were always working against one another. If someone had a stronger Inspect than Diven’s Conceal, they’d see through his attempt to hide his status.
The idea behind Inspect was relatively simple. As Div and En already experienced using their mana sense, all they had to do was to feel the imprint around Theaphilia. To help them, she shaped her Conceal so that a limited part of her status would be unprotected.
[I can make out the signature her inner world is leaving in the mana. But without the skill, it’s impossible to interpret.]
It was the main difficulty. Mana shapes were visible, but understanding them was another matter entirely.
However, with the general idea in mind, Diven was quickly able to shape mana around him in an attempt to conceal his status.
“You’ve got the idea,” Theaphilia said, “but the barrier you’re forming is crude.” It actually draws more attention to your status.”
“How? My mana signature should be hidden now.”
“It is,” she confirmed. “But it’s so crude anyone with Inspect could see through it and you wouldn’t even notice. Think of Inspect like picking a lock. The more elaborate the lock, the harder it is to break through, and the more likely it is for the lock’s owner to notice someone is trying to open it.”
Seeing how dejected Diven was, she added, “This is already not bad for a first attempt. I’m sure that if you keep practicing, you’ll unlock the right facet in no time.”
“Is it possible to get the skills without taking a facet?” Diven asked.
Div and En had thought about it, and they realized the facet would take a while to complete. Since they could already perform basic versions of the skill, they hoped they could skip the facet.
“It’s possible,” Theaphilia confirmed. “But, and this is especially true for Inspect, it is very difficult. To earn the Inspect skill on your own, you’d need to study mana patterns and associate them with skills on your own. Since everyone is using at least a skill-less version of Conceal, this is not simple.”
“What about Conceal?”
“It’s a lot simpler. But without Inspect, your skill is not going to work as well as it should,” She added. “I recommend you take the facet. Why? Did you have another facet in mind?”
“No,” Diven said, shaking his head. “I couldn’t decide.”
(Let’s just do as she says.)
[It seems like a sensible decision here.]
Theaphilia led Div and En’s training for a good hour. Then, she decided it was enough and instructed him to practice on his own later. She noted his current mastery of Conceal should be enough to hide his name from most people.
“Now,” Theaphilia said. “It’s time for us to address the other matter Briga mentioned. It will not be as fun as learning a new skill, I’m afraid.”
“And that is?” Diven asked.
(I don’t like when they speak like this.)
[Get to the point already!]
(Do you wager it’s our rot-attunement or our mind skill? I’m betting on the rot.)
[Of course, it’s the mind skill. Brigaseta already said the rot was fine.]
“It is about your mind skill,” Theaphilia said.
[Haha! I win, pay up.]
(We didn’t bet anything!)
[We should have…]
Spending time with the woman had softened Div and En’s posture regarding Theaphilia. They were not as tense as they would have been a few hours ago. She already knew everything about them—how bad could it be?
“What about it?” Diven asked.
“I’ll be honest with you. People with mind-splitting skills are unstable. Sundered Mind is obviously one. With its high level, your personalities must have diverged quite a lot. Didn’t they?”
“What makes you say that?” Diven asked defensively. “I know it sounds bad, but Sundered Mind is not…”
“Diven,” Theaphilia cut. “Or should I say Div and En? Don’t start lying to me. I want to help you. I want to help the two of you. But you need to cooperate before the imbalance in your minds makes you lose control.”
“How?” Div and En asked.
“It must have been a while since you’ve really looked at your status,” she answered. “I would guess the last time was before Sundered Mind reached level 10.”
Not understanding what she was getting at, Div and En turned their attention inward and pulled up their status.
Name: Div and En
Bloodline: Rot Heart
Titles: Rotten Sun, Rift Pioneer
Current Facet: None
Previous Facets: Facet of the Hoplite, Facet of the Survivor, Facet of the Exile, Facets of the Self
Skills:

Rotten Spear – Basic – Lv9
Rotten Shield – Basic – Lv4
Rotten Spearfishing – Basic – Lv5
Trap Detection – Basic – Lv6
Blighted Passage – Basic – Lv7
Echoes of the Rot Heart - Basic - lv5
Sundered Mind - Basic - Lv10

(When did our name change?)
[I don’t know…]