"When you successfully cast an orison, it should feel like something. It'll feel like- the things you feel about your government- at least, the good things about it, or about your society and its ability to stay peaceful and harmonious."

She re-focuses on - all the other kids at her school spending their whole childhoods trying to become the sort of people who turn out to be the best at running a society, one that - it's not good that no one can leave but it's good that the Council and all the other national-level politicians take it seriously that people can't leave, that they have to be okay for everyone who is born in Anitam. On her dads working late trying to make it so that regardless of everyone else's personal virtue, all the self-interested incentives point at the right thing.

She repeats the words again.

No difference in how she feels. Nothing happens at all.

Zienni frowns.

"Okay. I think that might just mean you don't have a soul. I'm glad I remembered to test with an orison, at least. There still could be a way to teach you spellcasting if you're willing to talk to a god, but we can save that for later. Um, remind me again of your priorities? Intrepid explained what you told him, but I want to make sure I understand right. Fixing issues back in Amenta is one, but to do that we need to reach Amenta. Getting you back home, at least to visit...what else?"

"It'd be good to establish enough transit that some Amentans can come colonize the infinite plane! If I can do that then my dads will understand if I don't get in touch with them right away."

"Alright. Um, if you don't have a soul, it's especially important to make sure you don't die, and maybe to make it so instead you go to one of our Outer Planes instead. Does that sound like a sensible priority to add to your list?"

"I would rather not die," she agrees. "Are you sure I don't have a soul? There isn't anything else that would make it not work, like me not knowing who the Lady is?"

"Back home, spellcasting used our souls. People here can cast magic with the help of the gods, though, so maybe we can do something with that. Also, maybe we can make you a soul! No one really knows how they work."

Personally, I think it is unlikely that you can create a soul, but don't discouraged her from it unless she makes it her utmost priority. She prefers working on many projects simultaneously.

"Would giving me a soul do anything to me?"

"It would mean that after you die, you would go to one of the Outer Planes...you could use it for spellcasting...both of those are, as far as I understand it, the result of aligning yourself with planes or gods, which you need a soul to do! If you decide to consider the option, I can do some digging on the topic."

"Yeah I mean would it do anything else, would it make me different somehow?"

"Oh. Hmm. Aligning yourself with a plane might make you different, if it's not something you normally think. It would be like changing your mind, but when you align your soul, that happens more quickly. I've found it very useful, but if you like what you think right now, you might want to change that on your own before trying to align yourself with anything! Just having the soul shouldn't change anything, but I promise to do my research before trying to give you one."

"I don't want something else to change my mind!"

"That's not really how I would think of it, but I understand that. For now, we can work on making it harder for you to die, how about that?"

"That sounds good."

She explains some of her current capabilities! She can communicate with people traveling in the Astral Plane. She can sense the presence of astral travelers when they're in a part of the plane contiguous to her location in Arcadia (as long as she casts with a group of people). She can protect herself or others from Chaotic creatures and beings, as well as remove or reduce a person or group of people's Chaotic alignment. She can lighten the weight of the objects someone is carrying, as well as create food or water.

That is most of what she can do on her own, anyway.

"What does it mean to be Chaotic-aligned?"

"Chaotic-aligned folks are people aligned with one of the Chaotic Outer Planes! It's a broad category, and not always useful, but usually Chaotic folks would disturb how things work in Arcadia, so it's best not to encourage them to immigrate. They tend to care about- freedom, creativity, independence, setting your own priorities, excitement, novelty, sensory pleasure, variety, nature, and beauty. Obviously, people in Arcadia can care about some of those things, but- if you care about too many, it can start to change things. The Outer Planes depend on belief, after all!"

"...all of those sound good, though!"

"You could be Chaotic! Chaotic folks can be perfectly nice, but there's a bit of a trade-off between some things they care about and some things Lawful people care about. I like there to be consistent rules that I can follow with my neighbors, so that we can trust each other for certain things- but a Chaotic person might want to have a little more flexibility. I like to know how magic works, so I work to learn about it- but a Chaotic person might like to be surprised by it! Does that help?"

"I would rather know how magic works and there do have to be rules for neighbors to get along if they're just neighbors and not friends."

"Maybe you're Neutral! Some people are that way, too. Would you say that you care a lot about improving conditions for people you know? Are you helpful, responsible, loyal, and forgiving? Or maybe you’re not that way for people you know as much, but you are for strangers? Or maybe try really hard to succeed, so you can show off the cool things you’ve done? Maybe you like having power over people and things and you want to use that power to get things done, and maybe you want people to like you for doing that! Those are all Neutral things, more than they are Lawful or Chaotic."

"Some of that sounds like me? I don't know if I'm especially loyal and forgiving. But I think I'm helpful and responsible and I try hard to do cool things and I am very excited to be old enough to do blue stuff which is mostly having power and it would be good if then I got things done and people liked me for that."

Zienni clearly says something, but Intrepid doesn't translate.