Banish wickedness and falsehood? A Holy City? True faith forever triumphant? The elderly priestess in front of me seems genuinely thrilled at the prospect of my being trained by her church and then, it seems, wielded as a weapon by it. Alarm bells are ringing in the back of my head and not just because I have zero trust in a quasi medieval religious organisation to be objectively good.

She mentioned her superiors having interacted with real angels and, though she was obviously not expecting my arrival, this was not something absolutely outside of her realm of expectations. She has detailed knowledge of types of celestial being, she seems to be able to... View me, or search me, with magic to ascertain my identity. If the head priestess of a market town has that level of knowledge and ability how long am I going to be able to hide that I am very much not an angel in my head when meeting with those more senior?

Just what is some kind of wizard bishop likely to do if they find out I have a human mind walking around in the body of one of their precious angels? I do not even know who their gods are or what they espouse, just snippets taken from what people have said around me. Also I have caused horrible damage to the temple's rather nice floor, which I frown at, then back to the priestess.

“I think that first of all we need to move to somewhere more private and allow work to begin on restoring the floor. Also I have yet to learn your name?” She blinks, peers to the burnt and torn extent of flagstones, then sighs and gives a nod before motioning to the door. “My name is Tereza Jindrova, Alessandra.” She seems to be using my name an an honourific rather than speaking the word casually, which is I think about the best I am going to get for now. Also her name does not seem to match with those of everyone else I have met, neither do the blue eyes, she is likely from somewhere else? “Tereza then.” I answer before stepping across and pulling the door open.

I find myself looking down at the other three priests, all of whom stare up at me in alarm from the other side of what seems to be some sort of study or perhaps dining room. Well lit, centred around a large table. There are even a few books on lectures in front of a strip of windows, distorted glass set between lead. Tereza calls through to them. “There is damage to the main temple after I requested a demonstration from our guest. Do your best to tidy it and enquire with the mason about repairs. All of you!” I pull in a wing as they file past and then step on inside, the Tereza following and firmly closing the door in our wake.

“How long would it take for you to teach me the very rough basics of casting spells in this world Tereza?” That is the first thing I ask her as I step on further into the room, peering at the windows a moment. All of the pieces of glass are smaller than my hand and whilst they let light through they are not good for much else. The elderly priestess does for her part remain standing near the door and watching me, not relaxing at all. “I would normally instruct a novice for several months before letting them risk channelling, Alessandra.” She answers. “But you are no doubt familiar with magic from other worlds? What miracles did you carry out where you were last?”

It now strikes me that I have at no point told a lie since arriving here. I have been deliberately obtuse, I have obfuscated things, but I have not said a word that was not true. I am not, now I consider it, sure that I can lie and I hesitate as I frame the response. “In the world I last walked people were able to travel faster than a galloping horse for hours without slowing along properly prepared roads. Flying vehicles were common and able to move hundreds of leagues a day, instantaneous communication across the entire world was available to all but the poorest and farms were productive enough that only three in a hundred worked the fields whilst ensuring that there was more than sufficient food for everyone.”

Briefly, I consider what I might be able to replicate technologically. Gunpowder, that is the first thing everyone thinks of, they may already have it though given this all seems very late medieval? I can remember the proportions of the materials and roughly where to source them, along with having the vaguest of ideas about corning to make it several times as powerful. That would not actually help anyone though.

Portland cement. Coke for fuelling furnaces, I really doubt they have the surplus labour to make building roads actually practical but judging from what has been underfoot during my travels so far, they are in dire need of assistance there. Double entry bookkeeping perhaps? It is not worth going down that route right now or trying to explain. Also if magic does involve mathematics then I probably have some advantages? I was never one of those absolutely dedicated maths nerds but I do know modern calculus and can probably remember pie to more characters than they have it calculated to.

“Most of this requires infrastructure, specialists and training impossible to replicate in this world though. I need to know how to wield my magic here, what is possible and how to do it.” I consider first options. “For example, is it plausible to hide my wings so that I am able to move without everyone assuming I am not human?”

She seems more than slightly intrigued as I explain possibilities from another world only to then sigh a little as I follow with them not being possible, a slump of shoulders before then double taking at my first request. A glance past my shoulders, at those brightly hued feathers. The priestess hesitates. “There are two options Alessandra. The easiest would be to bend light around them but it would be imperfect. Your wings are a complex shape, a shape that changes as you move them. Your back would remain partially in shade I think, it might work for casual observation but there would be a distortion in the air and from different angles, at best it would be like looking through an intensive heat haze.” I nod and remain silent, letting her continue.

“Potentially more effective would be an enchantment to cloud the minds of all who behold you so that they simply cannot perceive your wings. That is probably how an angel would normally pass without notice but with my meagre skill? Such a working would be useless against any with magical sight of their own and it would draw increasingly more power the more people it was trying to deceive at most.” She adds a little primly. “My skill is with blessings and healing primarily though. Not with deception.” The last word is said with a certain venom, the very idea of lies seems to hold a strong and entirely negative connotation.

What follows takes hours as she slowly demonstrates the most minor of cantrips. Lighting a candle, lifting an apple, creating a barrier sufficient to slow a gently tossed apple, I find them almost impossible to replicate without obliterating whatever I magically 'touch', it is like trying to perform origami with earth moving equipment. The whole thing is very much a cerebral exercise though, first quantifying and classifying one's own magical energy then learning to calculate precise applications and release them. To lift an apple? Determine it's weight, determine the energy to lift it then cut back to the degree required for levitation whilst reaching the desired height.

Once I start getting a mental handle upon limiting my expenditure of power the exercise is child's play to me but I do still have to stop and think about performing even these basic actions if I want to achieve something more subtle than unleashing unfathomable strength obliterate things. Outside of my having just too much magic I apparently reach a point it takes a student weeks or months to achieve in these few hours, but then again the typical student seems to be a teenaged minor noble from a largely illiterate society? Also if anything my progress is what Tereza expects and reassures her, she does think that I am some millennia old angel after all.

Tereza explains that most 'spells' of any actual power are pre calculated, rote learned then practised until they become mental 'muscle memory' able to be executed without hesitation or conscious thought. Improvisation is time consuming and in some cases dangerous though for somebody with forty years of experience such as herself she is comfortable doing so as part of demonstration. Most mages seem sharply limited in power though and my initial guesstimate is that I must have thousands of times that available to the woman teaching me, who herself explains she is of slightly above average but unexceptional potency.

I wonder at the danger. People accidentally accelerating objects into themselves seems an obvious one but I am not actually seeing very many limits to what magic can achieve with enough power. Have people irradiated or blinded themselves? Accidentally teleported parts of their own body? Any number of other fates? Regardless, my goal of masking the presence of my wings does not seem practical unless I can spend months training. We pause for one of Tereza's subordinates to bring us wine and food, I consider as I eat, then.

“How do I defend against others using magic?” For some reason this seems to surprise her and she pauses in sipping her wine. “You can raise a shield as I demonstrated, but of greater power. But in almost every circumstance why would you?” I regard her, looking as neutrally blank as possible, this seems to have the desired effect and she then explains. “Magic has less effect on those magically charged. Trying to levitate even a mundane human is far harder than a rock of similar weight, trying to do the same to an awakened mage more difficult still. Trying to directly touch you with magic? I could release every thaum of energy in my body in my most practised assault and it would probably just irritate you.” Well that would explain why being zapped with lightning was 'merely' agonizingly painful rather than fatal but raises another question. Just who was that man who summoned me and was then incinerated at my hand.

So I ask. “Tereza. I was 'summoned' to this world about two days fast travel to the north north east and it was in the grounds of a castle or at least a fortified manner. Can you tell me who holds that territory?” She frowns and drinks more of her wine as she considers my question, I consume more of the vegetable soup, it is pretty good and I am hungry. “I am not sure y-Alessandra. Two days travel to the north would probably be in the Empire and the border region is thick with fortifications.”

I have an obvious next question. “Tell me of the Empire then, not to mention this kingdom I am within right now?” She nods, another sip of wine as she considers. “The Empire used to rule the whole civilised world and champion the true faith but is now a diminished remnant, schismatic and faded as decadence overwhelmed their former virtue.” I retain a neutral expression in the face of this obviously partisan assessment. “Seventy years ago this area, formerly part of the Imperial heartland, along with the capital, was conquered by church blessed warriors from the south and returned to the true faith. A new kingdom was established by our current sovereign's grandfather and he claimed the imperial throne but thirty years ago, in the reign of Mathaios the Second, the Empire's legions invaded from the east and took back the capital.”

“And the Holy City?” I then ask. Tereza is happy to explain there. “The Holy City is to the south west, the original capital of the Empire and home to the Voice of Light. Ruled by no king, the Holy City is subordinate only to the divine and the Voice's ascent is required to appoint true Emperors.”

And now an important question. “Has the Voice ever spoken directly with an angel then, Tereza?” She frowns and peers at me. “... I am sure that the Voice communes directly with the Light? But it is difficult for an angel to commune with anyone in an important city. Human sin obstructs the descend of glory and even the court of the Holy City is filled with lies and wickedness from those seeking advantage or influence. It would normally require an angel great effort to speak with anyone there, and direct guidance from even the least of angels is often limited to the most virtuous and holy performing righteous acts and deeds in places of isolation. Hence why it is so vital that we bring you to the Holy City! Your unique circumstance mean that you can ignore such!”

I have a sinking feeling that I am in the aftermath of something approximating the Fourth Crusade and that nobody in this 'Holy City' has ever spoken to these, apparently very real, angels. I mentally note that I should avoid it.