Chapter 111: 110 Academics

Diana sighed as they waited for tea, her eyes running up and down Titanyana's figure, sleeping on a thick cloth tarp that Cherry brought from one of the many cleaning closets. She was deeply concerned about Titanyana's inability to catch a break.

"So, uh, why 'Chestnut'?" Though they were still waiting for tea, Donovan felt comfortable asking a question that he wouldn't normally ask. "Was it just a spur of the moment thing or does it have some sort of significance?"

"My alias?" Chestnut looked at Donovan funny for only a moment. It might have been a tad embarrassing, but there really wasn't any harm in admitting it was something she had made up on the spot. "There was no deeper meaning behind it besides it being the color of my hair. I had contemplated 'Violet' for a time, but that seemed to be a bit too on the nose."

Donovan frowned. "But aren't Chestnut trees a thing? Would it be too far of a stretch for somebody to make the connection to. . . you know? On account of it roughly translating to 'Lady of the Tree'? I mean, you didn't even cut your hair, so it wouldn't be impossible to make the connection based on physical appearance alone would it?"

The three were silent for a minute, Diana in particular cursing Donovan for saying that out loud. Donovan himself was biting his lip, uncertain that informing her of this might have been the wrong play after all.

The Arboreal Maiden was in shock that she had overlooked this.

". . . that appears to have been a slight oversight on my part. I had not considered the connection, but it does seem logical to assume that at least one person could connect the dots." The Arboreal Maiden realized that it wouldn't be particularly difficult to not affiliate her official appearance with this one considering she had done little aside from remove her blindfold and braid her hair. "I can only hope that anyone smart enough to figure it out will also be tactful enough to not bring it up. It wouldn't do to have my cover blown like that, I have actually quite enjoyed being treated normally for once."

Donovan and Diana, not quite certain how to respond to this, independently came to the conclusion that perhaps silence was the preferable alternative. They were positive she was already aware that they were treating her 'normally', however they could not speak for anyone else.

"Tea!" A voice from the door, Cherry had arrived in time to ease the awkward air. "Coming in." She opened the door to the study without so much as knocking.

"Thank you Cherry, just put it on the table. We would appreciate it if you told everyone not to approach this room until we leave, though should there be some other matter that requires our direct attention please be sure to knock."

"Okay Lady Diana." Cherry placed the tray of porcelain on the small desk, adjusting it slightly so that it sat squarely in the center. "What is that?"

Cherry was pointing at Mercedes, slightly nervous but mostly confused. This was an animal, animals didn't belong inside. There must be something special about this animal if nobody else had an issue with it being in the room with them.

"This is Mercedes, my dog - er - pet. She won't bite unless you make her angry or mess with her ears." Donovan gave Mercedes' fur a quick rubbing, something which elicited her to turn her head and start licking his hand. "Want to try petting her?"

"Hmmm, nope. Its teeth are too scary." Cherry promptly turned and exited the room, politely closing the door behind her.

"Is that child alright?" Chestnut raised an eyebrow at Cherry's awkwardness.

"I suspect some form of autism." Diana laid out her thoughts on the matter without concern that Cherry might hear, even if she did there wasn't a very good chance she would understand what that meant. "She's a good personal attendant though, and the tea she brews is quite good."

"It is my understanding that abnormalities such as autism are uniquely Terran. It should be something else. . ." Chestnut gave the door a good long stare, trying to piece something together. "Perhaps she was injured as a child."

Diana didn't bother to ask about the abnormality statement. She had come to understand that the circumstances and environment of Terran evolution were drastically different than those of all other humans despite their visual similarities. Changing the topic of conversation to autism would be a waste of their limited time.

"Before we move on to the topics I desired to cover today, I would like to ask the two of you how life has been here and if there have been any notable developments. I find it would be in poor taste to move so rapidly into the serious topics without understanding your current situation." With that, Chestnut poured herself some tea before reclining in her seat.

The two Terrans looked at each other, silently agreeing that Diana would be the first to speak.

"I am certain you are already aware, but I am finding the academy to be lacking in certain areas. More specifically, there seems to be this tendency to sit in a room all day and learn nothing important." Diana reached for the teapot before continuing. "Is that intentional?"

"Only partially, though I have found that it is inevitable." Chestnut took a sip before continuing. "As you may have surmised by this point, the academies of the Sanctum exist as a measure to help exercise control over the galaxy at large. This isn't political control mind you, but rather to keep them from going crazy with their wars. The very founding of those institutions was due to the machinations of myself and the Great Csillacra in the time before Order. The universities you attend are intended to give the young and ambitious individuals destined to inherit vast sums of wealth and power the opportunity to interact and compete with their peers."

Another sip.

"These children would otherwise be separated by the space between stars, and you probably wouldn't find it too hard to imagine how easy it once was to justify wars. Unfortunately, we ran into a problem with the Academy of Peace, the one you attend. If we put too much effort into their education, they would get ideas about how they should run their nations that simply didn't pan out. Famines were fairly common, though most times it just ended in the collapse of their territories."

One more sip.

"As much as I despise it, the Sanctum has a reputation to maintain. Having our 'graduates' consistently fail after acting on our advice was not a healthy look, so I had to implement a great deal of reform in that regard. Unfortunately, that meant completely forgoing 'education' and instead placing a heavy focus on 'socialization'. Just tell them that what their ancestors have done was right and that there really isn't much more they could possibly learn and that they should instead prioritize mingling with their peers."

She put the cup down.

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"I was quite infuriated to learn that had a bigger impact on reducing conflict and death than educating them."

Diana wasn't quite sure how she should interpret what she had just been told. "How does that work?"

"They made friends, that and they learned about the military and political power of their neighbors. Even if that information proved to be false, the possibility that they could send their armies fruitlessly to their deaths was often enough to dissuade conflict. The possibility of being shunned as a warmonger also became a threat given that they seem to have continued their parties outside of the Sanctum."

Diana gazed blankly into her tea. "That was what stopped them from warring?"

"Don't misinterpret what I have just said, Diana. Wars still happen at a frighteningly frequent rate in comparison to what you are probably thinking, they just happened at a far greater rate before this. As a consequence of this, I would suggest you shift your focus in that classroom from 'learning' to 'making friends'." 

Diana was still confused, and a bit apprehensive, but she nodded in acknowledgement. She could sift through that information later.

"How would the military academy help stop war then? I haven't really had the opportunity to attend any classes yet, but I don't see how it would reduce the amount of wars being waged, only raise it." Donovan was still standing on account of his filthy clothing, but he still had a cup of tea in his hand. "Is there something taught by the instructors that makes them shy away?"

"It's not the wars, it's the competitions. They can get very gory. The weak hearted but strong headed learn exactly what the cost of their arrogance will be while those not persuaded by the threat of death learn the 'proper' rules of war and how to minimize casualties. As much as I try, I will never be able to stop these imbeciles from fighting, so they may as well have manners when they fight."

"Is this like a Geneva Convention setup or more along the lines of a chivalric code?"

"Definitely the latter. It is impossible to actually enforce any sort of legal code like that, especially when the vast majority of the combatants, peasant levies, are not expected to know that sort of thing. You just have to teach their leaders the 'proper' way to conduct a battle and hope they don't go raping and pillaging."

Donovan nodded, completely understanding her pain in that arena. If international commissions found it difficult to enforce those rules on one planet, how hard would those rules be to enforce across an entire galaxy? "What of that other university? The one centered around split?"

"It's as simple as it sounds, we teach those with great potential how best to utilize it. We shy away from the military applications obviously, mainly focusing on how they can use it to increase their profits, teaching them to grow plants and the like. It's nothing you two can't already achieve with fertilizer or aquaculture though." Chestnut took another sip of her tea. "Speaking of, how have you two been progressing in that domain? Have you run into any roadblocks?"

"Recently I've been getting this stinging sensation in my chest whenever I focus on strengthening my core." Donovan circled his sternum with his thumb.

"I have not gotten to that stage yet , though I feel I have also been progressing smoothly."

Chestnut nodded, they were still within the bounds she had expected of them. "Very good. You have both made very fast progress. I would like to take some time to inspect your progress in detail right now, we can continue speaking through it. Your hand, Donovan?"

He extended his upturned hand to rest in her palm, the index finger on her free hand pressing into the center of his palm. The skin where they made contact began to glow a gentle red.

"I see no buildup of impurities, good." Her inspection was far from over. "You seem to have taken my instruction to heart."

"I just did as you told me to."

"You would find the amount of people who cannot even do that irritating. Give yourself some credit here, for someone who is brand new to this and does not have the genetic memory for it, you have done a spectacular job." Donovan felt a tingling in his arm as she probed further. "What are you up to? I cannot possibly imagine you have been idle with your squad."

"I was enticed into participating in the duel style tournament tomorrow alongside the rest of my squad."

"A big decision this early on in your training. I take it you have been given a rundown on all the rules?"

"I have been briefed by Trebar, yes." The tingling sensation reached his chest, causing him to cough a little in discomfort. "Do you have any advice?"

"Aside from telling you the rules I am afraid I won't be much help. My preferred method of combat does not include weaponry, and would hardly be applicable to your anatomy."

"Really? You don't strike me as the type to partake in combat."

"Mhm. As you might have surmised from my interaction with the girl over there, I am extremely proficient with split. Naturally I have a few other secrets I would like to keep that way."