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Zorian watched as Jornak completed his usual post battle routine. He had watched this many times and it was starting to become a little dull. He always did the same thing, which made sense, but didn't make the whole thing drag less.
If Zorian had his way he wouldn't be doing this at all. He would simply lift what he needed from Jornak's brain and let the guy die. Unfortunately, Jornak was smarter than that, and it wasn’t that simple.
Jornak wasn't good enough at mind magic to be considered a mind mage, in Zorian's opinion at least, but he still knew enough so that no matter how hard Zorian tried, he wouldn't be able to pry out everything he wanted out of Jornak’s brain. He had defenses in place, similar but inferior to Zorian’s that prevented his mind being tampered with. Those Zorian could circumvent, and indeed had, but he knew that there was more that he was missing.
Jornak had memories that Zorian still couldn’t access, and wouldn’t be able to get through mind magic. Memories of what he had put in place to ensure that Zach and Zorian’s lives would be miserable on the chance that they won.
He had contingencies. Contingencies that Zorian did not want to mess with. However, he still needed to access those dead man switches. All of them. A victory wasn't a victory if he had to hide from hostile governments because Jornak had revealed his identity to the public and gods knew what else.
To get them, whilst ensuring that he didn’t activate them by accident, he had to apply a softer approach. He had to coax them out of Jornak's own mouth. So here he was, replaying the same illusion for the umpteenth time, setting the scene impatiently just to be able to have one conversation.
He observed as Jornak checked over his and Zach's bodies in the illusion and laughed at his apparent victory (Zorian allowed himself a little smirk at that). He watched as Jornak gave himself a moment to compose himself after the battle. Then he watched him look for Silverlake.
Zorian already knew what he would find but it didn't get any less disturbing no matter how many times he saw it. All that was left of her was a pile of skin and bones with all her other innards seemingly slurped out. It was gross and even Jornak seemed concerned. What concerned Zorian however, was that he knew that Jornak’s thoughts about the situation were correct.
Seeing as all of this was happening in Jornak’s mind and his mind blank was rendered useless, Zorian could read all of his thoughts. The spider that had killed Silverlake was powerful, just like Jornak thought. It was a gray hunter, after all. Zorian didn't feel impressed at Jornak's deductions, they weren't difficult to parse. What he winced at was Jornak’s questioning of where it could have gone.
Zorian hadn't recaptured it and it was likely terrorising something somewhere. He wished he had a simulacrum to spare to go look for it. As it was, it was a problem for the future. He just hoped it wouldn't cause too much damage before he could spare some time for it. He, and indeed all of the versions of him, were currently too busy.
Jornak quickly got over his worry over his Silverlake though (unlike Zorian). He quickly switched focus to completing the aim of the invasion now that Zach and Zorian were out of the equation.
Panaxeth was quickly released as Jornak took over, rallying the cultists, and the Ibasan army to protect them. Jornak opted to use his own primordial essence, as he had done all of the times before in these illusions, and Zorian watched the effects curiously. Jornak visibly sagged, weakening, but Jornak seemed to prefer that to the possibility that he fail to release Panaxeth because he couldn't find the shifter children in time.
Zorian laughed a little at Jornak’s thoughts on the matter. Yeah, it would be a little embarrassing to die because he failed to release Panaxeth even after “defeating” him and Zach.
After Panaxeth was freed, Jornak ran away. He wasn't even a little curious. Zorian knew he wouldn't be, as he's shown this illusion before and observed Jornak’s behaviour, but he still thought Jornak was a bit of a quitter. Zorian would've at least put a simulacrum nearby to watch the fallout.
This next bit Zorian had perfected over the course of multiple attempts. He was extremely proud of it. Now that Panaxeth was freed Jornak's death pact should fade away, slipping off his soul. It doesn’t do this because Panaxeth wasn't truly freed and this was all an illusion in Jornak's brain. Zorian had to convince Jornak that everything was still okay regardless.
The first few attempts Jornak had realised that something was wrong and Zorian had had to rewind. He tried a bunch of different tactics before one finally worked. He had discovered that the trick was to apply a subtle suggestion to make Jornak not think twice as Zorian simply hid the pact on his soul from his perception. After all, who knew how primordial magic worked? That was one of the thoughts he casually slipped Jornak.
Then Zorian’s anticipation rose as he watched Jornak make his way to Iasku Mansion. Zorian hadn’t been aware of the arrangement for Iasku Mansion at first, but that had been easy to lift out of Jornak’s brain. It had been simple to set the trap, and wait for Jornak to walk, or rather teleport, into it.
It was now in Ulquaan Ibasa, a place Zorian had never been to, but thankfully he didn’t have to simulate it. Jornak teleported straight inside, and there Zorian had been. Although it was a bit more put together back then.
The state of the mansion was a reflection of real life. The place was indeed thoroughly trashed, with its wards broken, as a result of the angels’ attack. It was still structurally sound but the souls that had been imprisoned there were gone, making the place feel like a husk of its old self.
Jornak sat down, feeling pleased and basking in his success and Zorian tampened down his excitement as he manifested himself in the illusion, disguising himself as Quatach Ichl. Finally, it was time to get this show on the road.
Jornak didn’t like Quatach Ichl much. Zorian would perhaps go as far as to say that he himself was more fond of the lich than Jornak was. Zorian could tell that he was grateful for what the lich had done for him, to an extent, but he was also aware, by nature of being able to read Jornak’s surface thoughts, that Jornak was holding in the urge to scorn Quatach Ichl for getting beat by Zorian’s trick. He was also aware that Jornak was terrified of Quatach Ichl.
He was indeed more impressive than Zorian thought, just like Jornak assumed. He had had suspicions that Quatach Ichl was the one that had gifted Jornak with a temporary marker but he hadn’t suspected a soul seed. It sounded terrifying and like something Zorian would never allow into his own soul, but Jornak had been a desperate man.
It was unfortunate that the soul seed had integrated itself in Quatach Ichl with knowledge of the time loop, but at least Jornak had left early and so Quatach Ichl wasn’t too well versed in Zorian’s knowledge and tactics. He didn’t need Quatach Ichl training up his mental defenses because the soul seed had reported that Zorian had defeated him with mind magic one time.
Still, he had no idea just how much of the time loop Quatach Ichl was aware of and that scared him. Just like it scared Jornak.
Posing as Quatach Ichl was still strange. Zorian had done it multiple times now, prying information out of Jornak piece by patient piece, but he still couldn’t manage to trick Jornak for a long time. He still wasn’t quite sure what he was doing wrong. It didn’t matter. He would repeat this conversation as many times as was necessary.
“So,” Zorian said, in the guise of Quatach Ichl, as he sat down in a chair near Jornak. “I think we can safely describe this operation as a success, yes?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Jornak agreed, not suspecting that anything was amiss. “Though, if I can make an observation… the damage made by the primordial seemed to be somewhat underwhelming. Cyoria will be no more after today, that is true, but the country as a whole will still survive.”
Jornak was right - Zorian hadn’t had the facilities to really fake that much destruction. His mind magic, and the mind magic of the aranea helping him, was already stretched thin as it was. Also, Zorian could admit that he didn’t really feel comfortable simulating the utter destruction of his country.
Jornak continued, “Aren’t you worried they will launch a punitive expedition against your homeland for this? Your involvement in this will be impossible to hide.”
“Oh no, I fully expect them to retaliate in some manner,” Zorian replied as Quatach Ichl. “I welcome it. Our leaders have been very foolish lately, trying to set up trade treaties with the mainland and other such nonsense. A nice war or two will be good for us.”
Jornak nodded, and mentally remarked how well this attitude meshed with the lich’s usual attitude in their conversations. I know, Zorian thought smugly, I lifted those conversations right out of your brain.
“What about you, aren’t you worried?” This was the most delicate part of the deception. Zorian had to enquire after more information for his own goals that he as Zorian would want, whilst still staging it as if Quatach Ichl wanted to know these things. And also for a purpose that wasn’t nefarious and couldn’t be perceived as a threat by Jornak or he would clam up.
“Why would I be?” Jornak asked, curious but thankfully not alarmed. “I won.”
“It was a close thing,” Zorian replied, trying to remain casual and not give himself away.
“A win is a win,” Jornak insisted. He glared slightly at who he thought was Quatach Ichl and Zorian mentally patted himself on the back for managing to get enough of a rise out of him to get past his usual wariness of Quatach Ichl. “Besides, it wouldn’t have been that close if you hadn’t stupidly got yourself killed. And by a flower, no less.”
Zorian made sure his Quatach Ichl remained casual at the insults rather than angry. Don’t scare him off now. “Soulseizers are curious creatures. I’ll have to look into them when I find the time. Alas, I suspect the next few years will be very busy for me indeed.”
Zorian let there be a pause for a moment before pursuing what he truly wanted to know. Please let Jornak let something new slip. Please.
“What would you have done if the invasion failed?” he asked, trying to suppress his curiosity but failing miserably. Damn. He put a mild compulsion on Jornak to not let it alarm him to cover his tracks, but he already knew that he was slipping.
A multitude of contingencies floated in Jornak’s mind that Zorian quickly filed away into a memory packet reserved just for this. He noted the explosive traps, assassinations, and documents to authorities (that Zorian latched onto and made sure to prioritise finding out who those authorities were later). He said none of this aloud but it didn’t matter. Zorian already had it all anyway.
He felt humorous when Jornak checked his mind blank, then even more so when Jornak felt silly for thinking that Quatach Ichl was trying his surface thoughts. That was, after all, exactly what Zorian was doing.
He felt bold, so he made a mental suggestion that Jornak should brag a little. And he did. He started to ramble about a new contingency that Zorian hadn’t been able to get out of him before and Zorian subconsciously leaned forward, paying utmost attention.
Jornak described a bunch of documents implicating Zorian in the events of the invasion, placed in one of the cabinets of a police building in Korsa. It was a fantastic contingency too. It would take weeks for the documents to be discovered and Jornak was right in thinking that by then he would’ve stopped being on high alert and would’ve been caught entirely by surprise. There was also a letter sent straight to the royal residence. It would arrive- There Jornak stopped. And his surface thoughts stalled too.
There was a flutter of panic in his mind and then Jornak burst into action. “Who are you?” Jornak snapped, jumping from his chair into full combat alert. He was now noting how Quatach Ichl’s demeanour, or rather, Zorian’s acting, had been off the entire time. Yeah, game over. “You’re not Quatach Ichl?”
“Why do you say that?” Zorian asked, feigning calm curiosity whilst secretly being extremely frustrated inside.
Jornak fired a blistering beam of red light at him. Zorian didn’t bother to dodge. The beam went straight through him without any resistance. He sighed.
“So impersonating the lich is a lost cause,” Zorian lamented to himself, finally accepting defeat. This method wouldn’t work. “No matter how many times I try, I just can’t seem to portray him convincingly. It’s a shame, since he’s the one you’re most likely to really talk with about all the details. Maybe I should try Silverlake?”
Zorian could not only read Jornak’s moment of realisation in his thoughts, he could also see it in the way Jornak shuddered and his eyes widened in panic.
Zorian had to admit, there was something very thrilling about being feared.
“You can’t be! You can’t be him!” Jornak protested, his voice getting progressively more panicked as he spoke. It almost made Zorian shudder in dark pleasure. Perhaps that should be concerning but he felt too wrapped up in the rush of power he was feeling. “I killed you! I know I did! Your soul got devoured by wraiths! I… I have a mindblank on, that spell is total protection against-”
Jornak stopped again. Zorian watched giddily as he checked his mind once, twice, a third time. He watched once again as Jornak got flooded by realisation and got hit by another wave of fear. His mind was protected. Except it wasn’t.
None of this is real, Jornak thought in horror, and Zorian smiled in cold pleasure. No, it wasn’t.
“Well then,” Zorian said. “Let’s try this again, shall we?” And he enjoyed the sight of yet another flood of fear crashing over Jornak.
He let Jornak lament over how helpless he felt, how awful it was to dance to the tune of a “sinister force” (Zorian felt another rush of dark pleasure at the description). Zorian enjoyed how Jornak thought that his illusion was worse than the time loop. Infinitely worse.
He let Jornak’s vision slowly start to darken. He crushed all of Jornak’s spite-filled attempts to do something, to get the last word. He slowly started to wipe everything from this attempt, guiding his mind back to Cyoria and the last leg of the fight that Zorian will pretend to lose. He left him “knowing” only one thing: that he had won.
Again, and again, and again.