《Second Life》 prologue. Boredom. That''s what eternity leads to. Well not eternity but it was starting to feel like it. Having existed for billions of years, before the planet he was currently watching had formed he was very, very old. He had seen a great many things during his long existence but after awhile they started repeating themselves until very little was new or exciting. Searching for something even mildly intresting The Watcher comes across an execution. Hardly anything new but who doesn''t love an execution every now and again? And as previously stated he was bored and desperate times call for desperate measures. Reading the minds of those involved for the reason of the proceedings he discovered the name of the elder of the two men being executed was named Alfred Hayes and was the father of the younger man William Hayes. Usually those being executed have done something to deserve it. Even the innocents that are killed are honestly believed to be guilty. But as he searched Alfreds mind he saw that was not the case at all this time. Alfred was born the son of a serf, this made Alfred a serf.The lowest class one could be born into.Being born a serf means very few options and almost guarentees one dies a serf. Alfreds father however had higher hopes for his son than that. Teaching him what little he knew of reading and writing to Alfred he encouraged Alfred to better himself. Finding a love for learning Alfred excelled. Eventually Alfreds studies came to the attention of his Lord. Upon seeing Alfreds intelligence the Lord decided to futher his education instead of the punishment that most Lords would have given in the hope that Alfred would be a more valuable asset to him and his lands. Even the Lord underestimated Alfred. In Alfreds knowledgable and capable hands the Lords lands and people flourished.By the time he was twenty Alfreds hard work had made his Lords lands some of the richest in the kingdom. As the Lord was very old and feeling his health decline he released Alfred from his serfship and wished him luck in finding his own fortune and place in the world. With his newfound freedom Alfred set out to see the world. Joining a trading caravan Alfred worked hard and made enough money to form his own trading company. After nearly fifteen years of traveling and seeing the world and establishing a trade network everywhere he went Alfred had one of the most powerful trade empires in the world. Meeting his wife Anna on one of his last trips Alfred decided it was time to settle down and start his family. A year later Anna gave Alfred his son William. Due to difficulties during the birth William would be his only child So he was even more special to Alfred. The Watcher pulled out of Alfreds mind and entered one of the procecuters. Many merchants, traders, and even nobles were not happy with Alfreds trade empire. Before Alfred many of the products and goods he so easily and cheaply transported were monopolized by them and sold for much inflated prices. A small group of these nobles and traders decided to get rid of Alfred and William who was by then old enough to take over the company. They decided to frame Alfred and William for treason. By planting evidence and bribing the judge as well as some of Alfreds employees they made it seem like Alfred was smuggling weapons and slaves for a neighboring hostile kingdom.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. With the bribes paid and the evidence planted they went to arrest Alfred and William. When the city watch arrived they were met by Alfreds guards wich caused a commotion that drew all those nearby including the Hayes family. A fight broke out between the city watch and the guards when they told them the Hayes were under arrest for treason. During the fight Anna was struck in the head by a club from the arresting force killing her instantly.After Annas'' death Alfred and William were arrested. Neither were in any state to defend themselves during their trial and both were found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. As he left the procecuters mind the Watcher saw Alfred and William being tied to posts and blindfolded as the archers took their places and readied their bows. Entering Alfreds mind for a second time the Watcher saw fear not for himself but for his son. Having lived a full life and achived his dreams his only wish was for William to be able to do the same. As he left Alfreds mind he decided to do something he had never done in his long existence. Interfere. Alfred had already accepted his death and was ready to join his wife in the afterlife. William most definately did not want to die. The Watcher chose to grant Alfreds'' last wish and save Williams'' life. Just freeing William would leave him a wanted man and on the run for the rest of his life so the Watcher decided to give him a new one. As the archers drew their bows the Watcher reached into William and began to free Williams'' soul from his body.The archers released their arrows. Just before the arrows struck Alfred and William the Watcher pulled Williams'' soul from his body. The Watcher could see the life force of the man he had quickly come to respect fade and vanish before his eyes. The Watcher decided that he would not just give William a new life. He would give him several gifts so that if William sought vengance for the death of his family he would have a better chance at achiving it. Finding a village that fit his needs took some time but eventually the Watcher found what he was looking for. The villiage had everything William would need in his new life regardless of the direction he decided to go. The Watcher held Williams'' soul in one hand and his first gift in the other. Magic. While magic was not rare William did not have it. Most people are born with an affinity or affenities already. William would be born with none and be able to choose what type of magic he wanted to learn. However the more he used a certian type of magic it would create an affinity for it. He would be able to form two or maybe three major affinities and a couple minor ones before his magic sets.Pressing his hands together he fused the soul and gift together. Repeating the process he created the second gift. Enhanced Body.Having a body that is naturally stronger,faster,and tires slower than normal has many advantages. It would also enhance his sences. William would not be superhuman but he would be at the peak of human performance with much less training than usually nessasary. most magic users neglect the body so this would be very usefull for him. The Watcher pressed his hands together and fused the second gift. The third and last gift the Watcher created was Enhanced Mind. Granting enhanced perception,iodetic memory,and the ability to learn faster. With practice William would be able to speed up his thoughts so that the rest of the world would seem like it was in slow motion. The watcher searched the village for a couple that he could place William with.Finding a married couple he was happy with he placed Williams'' soul within the wifes womb and waited for her to become pregnant. She became pregnant within a few weeks and williams soul fused with the newly created life. The Watcher made sure everything was running smoothly before he decided to go find something more entertaining.He would check back in when William was old enough to be interesting again. chapter 1 In his brief moments of conciousness Willliam noticed that it was dark. Dark and wet. So wet in fact that he was floating, in what he didn''t know but he found it comforting to float in it. It was also warm. The warmth and the constant rythmic thumping kept sending him to sleep. William relived his life through his dreams, imprinting his memories into his new brain. His first memory, his father taking him fishing. despite catching nothing both had an enjoyable day just relaxing and spending time in each others company. His mother reading to him and never leaving his side when he was sick. His first day of school. The girl that slapped him in the face when he pulled her hair. The day that same girl kissed him. The day his father gave him The Talk. When his father asked him what he wanted out of life. All these and many more memories flitted through his awareness but it was the last of his memories that brought him to full awareness. His parents murders.Not deaths but murders. The way they were framed, tried, his mother not even recieving this, and executed for the greed of others however roundabout is nothing more than murder. William promised himself that he would find those responsible and make them pay for what they did to his family. His momentary bout of awareness over William slipped back into unconciousness. -------------------------------- After an unknown period of time William became aware of a change in his surroundings. He was being pushed downwards. Then came the squeezing. It was one of the most unpleasant experiences of Williams life, and this was coming from someone that had been tied to a post and shot at.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Finally after an agonizing amount of time William was out of whatever was squeezing him and fully aware for the first time since his execution. Looking around William had trouble seeing very far, or just keeping his eyes open for that matter. Feeling giant hands holding him he forced his eyes open to find out what was going on. At the edge of his vision,which was only about two feet really, William saw a giant woman holding him. With sweat soaking her dark hair and a tired smile she looked down at him with her beautifull green eyes. A large blur moved closer and resolved into a giant of a man even compared to the giant woman as he leaned over her shoulder to peer down at him with a brilliant smile on his face. "Look Dear she has your eyes" the giant man said happily. "Yes, but from the looks of it she will have your hair and nose." the woman horlding him said,never taking her eyes off him. Realizing that he was a baby and had just been born William immediately tried to forget the previous sensations. Unfortunatly with his newly enhanced mind that was impossible. Shoving the memories into a dark corner of his mind to gather dust and hopefully be buried under enough of it. Looking at the the two people hovering over him and picturing a baby made from combination of their features he figured he would be one handsome man when he got older. "Have you decided on a name for her yet?" the man asked his wife. "Olivia. Olivia Marie Harris." said the woman. William felt a chill run up his spine at hearing his,now apparently her, name. Unable to even raise his own head much less move his body the way he wanted he did the only thing left to him. He cried like a baby. After crying himself out his new mother fed him. Now William liked a good boob as much as the next man and had enjoyed a few in his young life but none of them had belonged to his mother. Choking down the milk being offered, knowing it was this or starve he did his best to ignore where the milk was coming from. Cleaned, fed, and clothed he was placed in a crib by his mothers bed so they both could rest. As he was lying there a pain started to form in Williams head. At first it was nothing more than an annoyance but it quickly built. Feeling as if his head were going to explode some part of Williams subconcious realized what was happening. To put it simply an adult mind just doesn''t heve enought room to exist in the brain of an infant. In order to save itself Williams mind drew in upon itself and went dormant until the body it was inhabiting was old enough and mature enough to support it. chapter 2 "Olivia! Get up or your going to be late!" her mom screamed while banging on her door. ''Fine, I''m up!" Olivia yelled back. "Your breakfast is ready come eat before you have to leave." her mom sain before Olivia heard her going back to the kitchen. She rolled out of bed with a groan. As much as she loved school, after a summer of going to bed whenever she wanted, this first early morning sucked. She made her way over to her vanity and plopped down and began trying to brush the tangled mess that was her hair into something that did not resemble a birds nest. After finishing with her hair Olivia went to her closet. Just like the previous two years her mother had bought her a new dress for her first day back at school. She actually needed a new wardrobe every year but her mother always insisted that she wear a dress for the first day. Checking herself in the mirror to make sure she met her mothers standards she had to admit she looked nice. At seven years old she had her mothers eyes and her fathers dirty blonde hair she was growing into a beautiful young woman. The dress only enhanced these features, although she would never tell her mother that. Making her way to the kitchen she sat down at the table. "Nice of you to finally join us." her mother said from across the table. "We told you not to stay up so late with school in the morning." her father said with amusement on his face at the look she was giving him. Eating hear breakfast in silence she ignored her parents and focused on her food. "-ould have the piece done by today so I can go by the market for you." she snapped her head up as she registered what her father was saying and remembering what today meant. ---- Olivia was facinated with her fathers work. Her father was a blacksmith. Not long after she had learned to walk she had managed to escape from her mother and had made her way into her fathers forge. Instead of being scared of the loud noise or pushed back by the heat she was drawn to them. Finding a place in a corner to sit she watched her father work for an hour before her mother came to tell him she couldn''t find Olivia. During that hour Olivia fell in love with her fathers work and would sneak into the forge whever she could to watch him work.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Eventually he got tired of her mother coming to look for her and yelling about her daughter wandering around such a dangerous place so he made her a place to sit and watch from a safe distance but never help. Her father had said that until she was big enough to help him without hurting herself she had to stay where she was and just watch. Watch she did. Olivia spent every moment she could watching her father work. Seeing his daughters intrest was more tha just a passing thing he began explaining as he worked and asking her questions. Daniel was amazed at his daughters'' ability to learn. In a fery short time she had learned enough to apprentice with any blacksmith in the kingdom. The only thing she was lacking was size and that would come in time. The only problem was that she was a girl most of the Master smiths would refuse to teach females. Daniel decided to teach his daughter smithing when she was old enough. He would also teach her his familys magic. Enchanting. ---- "Dad! You said when I started my third year of school you would start letting me help in the forge." Olivia said excitedly "Did I say that?" he asked. "Dad. You promised." Olivia said nearly in tears. "It''s okay sweetie I was just kidding. We will start this afternoon when you get home. Okay?" Danial said panicking at hi daughters tears. "Okay!" Olivia said brightly wiping the tears from her eyes and bouncing out of the room. "Dear." Rachel said looking at her husband "You just got played." ---------------------------------- The first day back at school was torture for Olivia. Between today being a review of last year and her fathers promise for that evening the day could not go by fast enough. Staring out the window daydreaming Mrs.Sommers screechy voice pulled her out of it effortlessly. "Maddison please tell me about our neighboring kingdoms." "Yes ma''am." Maddison said standing up. " To our north is the kingdom of Andorra. Roughly equal in size and population. Top exports are wines, perfumes, and steel. To our south is the kingdom of Rabat. Two thirds out size and population. Exports are mostly agricultural. To our west is the ocean and to the east is the Tyrian Sea." having finished Maddison returned to her seat. "Very good. Mark why is this kingdom so powerful?" "The only way into the Tyrian sea is through the Almeria Straight. With the Straight being located within Soria we control all water trade from all the kingdoms that boarder the Tyrian sea that wish to reach the ocean." "Phillip. What are some of the negatives about our position?" "Many of the other kingdoms hate us for having controll of the only way in or out of thr Tyrian Sea. Seven of our last ten wars have been over control of the Straight. Also pirates gather at either end of the Straight and the towns on the coasts suffer periodic raids forcing us to maintain a strong navy and army." "Olivia, from where does Soria get its income?" "Nearly half of our total income are fees other kingdoms pay to use the Almeria Straight. The rest comes from textiles and fabrics." The rest of class was the same. One boring question after another. School was over and Olivia hurried home so she could finally get to use the hammer.