《Transference》 Prologue (Totality) Prologue ¡°Sir, we''ve done it. We finally figured out the proper permutations as to why the energy is disappearing.¡± Finally! I thought whilst trying to maintain my composure. "Good job. Take me to the research project right away. It has been ten long and mentally strenuous years since our magicians had noticed that their powers were slowly diminishing. Nothing drastic at first, just a few points of damage per spell cast (998 direct damage (dd) instead of 1000 dd). However, over a ten year span that loss in power slowly grew and was soon predicted it would become exponential in loss of power. That''s what we have been pursuing over the past decade here at the Royal Academy in Canum (capital city of our main continent). As I walked into the laboratory, all the wizards, researchers, alchemists, and individuals of learning stood up as was the right due my station as the Grand Master of all Arts. It looks like they have some sort of presentation that they want to ASTOUND me with, hopefully it won''t be death by scroll. ¡°Sir, as you know we have extrapolated the loss of energy in several tests and experiments and have determined that all energy as we know it will disappear in 217 years. This estimate is only correct if the force or entity that is stripping the energy from our world does not accelerate or change. Our theorists expect that we don''t have two hundred years; instead it is a probable hundred years at most.¡± I could tell Theodore was trying not to rush, but I had been briefed this a thousand times. ¡°I know this already!! Stop reiterating the things we have discussed over the past ten years ad nauseum. Take a breath, calm down and get to the point. Tell me what you have discovered. ¡°Sir, understood.¡± Theodore calmed himself down, pausing for a brief moment and then continued ¡°Right now all energy that we know of is a contained within a closed loop or eco-system. All energy is contained within this system; when something dies that energy is returned back into the system. With the entity siphoning that energy even outright destroying the energy the system will run a deficit. If we can break that closed system and bring an outside energy source into our universe, especially to our planet, we can delay this event by a couple hundred years or at least until we find the source.¡± He paused there and lifted something from a box on the table in front of him ¡°Sir, take a look at this what do you think it is. I was unsure what I was looking at. The object that was handed to me was a perfectly spherical object, with air spiraling around a central core pulsating with an ethereal inner glow. "I admit that I am unaware of what this is. Wait, is that a faint life force that I detect emanating from within?" ¡°You are correct sir. What you see but before you is a cat from our testing laboratory. Long story short, we were doing an experiment turning energy from one type to another and little Lucy, Sigmund¡¯s pet cat, got caught in the crosshairs, and turned into this. As everyone learned in their days at the Academy all great discoveries come about with a little bit of luck and little bit of error. Fortunately, nothing disastrous occurred and the apprentice has been reprimanded for letting his familiar run amok in a testing lab. Back to the topic though we looked at ¡°Lucy¡± with our instruments and combined insights deduced that this single ball of energy is equivalent to 30 minutes of force.¡± ¡°How is that beneficial to us?¡± ¡°By itself nothing sir, since this cat was part of our world it cannot add to our energy. If this energy were to come from another plane of existence into ours it would delay our doom.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°How is this energy quantified? How can a being not of this world add energy to ours?¡± ¡°Sir, a person is made up of many things not strictly the physical. If I were to use you as an example: your education, your beliefs, your experiences, and those that remember you all combine to generate a series of connections that equate to a force that acts upon the world. We call all these variables combined: Totality. Taking Totality into consideration, the far-seers and scryers have found a viable planet with-in an alternate plane of existence that meets all the factors that will allow us to prevent this catastrophe. One is the overabundance of individuals upon this planet. Our planet only has approximately a billion sentient beings of good or neutral alignment divided amongst the races (humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, and variants thereof). Of the chaotic and evil races we can only imagine the numbers. As for this planet they have an estimate of eight billion citizens covering a world that is approximately one third of ours.¡± ¡°I can see that the over population could be an enticement to come to a planet that is still in the stage of exploration and adventure, but why should someone want to come here?¡± ¡°Primarily, it would be a second chance at life. You see, sir, the only individuals that we would be accepting for transference would be those over the age of 40 and the terminally ill. We chose the age of forty due to the energy transference from one plane to another. Even if this other planet provides the source of energy, we still need an individual¡¯s own power to overcome the obstacle. Pardon me, but if you remember from your school days, we can set an object in motion, but in order for it to not be affected by the transition from their world to ours they would have to provide the acceleration. A forty year old would have had enough totality to push him over the edge from one reality to another and still provide us with a surplus of potential energy. As for terminally ill individuals, this would be a last lifeline for them, and their totality would come from experiencing the pains, heartaches, and frustrations of their lives. ¡°I think one of this biggest draws would also be that they will retain all their own memories and predilections, moreover, they will be granted a new body. The mathematicians have found formulae that will allow the best transference into races of this world. We would have to interview them in their world and allow them to choices they want within a strict guideline, of course. Each person will then be born anew into our world, and with each person born approximately 1 day per 10 years of life will be added to the deferment of the energy collapse.¡± Things are looking up, I thought. ¡°It seems like we have a good plan to move forward here, but I have some things that we need to take into consideration.¡± The planning and organizing went well into the night, and over the next couple months the details were ironed out. For one thing the scryers stated that these people that would arrive here had no concept of magic. So a system had to be applied to the world that would allow them to understand and utilize all the blessings of the Aspects. But, the details are not to be discussed at this point, for this is not the story of the Grand Master, but of an adventurer from a distance place and time. Chapter 1: A Debt Repaid "I am getting to old for this. My bones are creaking, my body aches in so many places that I cannot imagine getting up from this chair. Why must doctors always insist on full body scans?¡± I silently mumbled to myself. I just turned one hundred last month and some days I feel every bit of it. To think that in just a few days I might be getting a brand new body and a second chance at life is beyond my belief. Two years ago, a scientist Dr. Theodore Berk, came out of nowhere and spoke of a breakthrough in trans-dimensional shifts that his company Totality had discovered. He demonstrated that an item can be sent to another dimension and brought back. Furthermore, he was able to record a planet that seemed to operate under the laws of physics as our own with a couple deviations. Apparently, there are many mythical creatures and animals that have died out on our planet still alive and kicking on this parallel world. Dr. Berk was also able to figure out a way for living beings to be transported to this planet, but a change will occur during the transition. The primary change was that everyone transported to this world would end up as children approximately 5 years old and the other more shocking piece was that some would no longer be human. I found it hard to believe myself, but once I saw the vid-feeds it brought back all my memories of MMORPG (massive-multiplayer online role playing games). I saw elves, gnomes, and dwarves running about about with older versions watching over them carefully. Furthermore, it seemed that this world was looking for immigrants of all nationalities to come explore their world. This announcement came as a great shock to the world, especially some doomsayers and fanatics. There were even some governments that saw it as an experiment to destroy their countries and allow for hostile takeovers. As for myself, I thought in the words of that old action star Bruce Willis ¡°Yippee ki Yay.¡± I wanted to live on and experience a new world, being a hundred years old makes you think of when and how you will die, and not if you will die. I wasn¡¯t the only one excited to jump at the chance to see another world. Yet, to many people¡¯s dismay there was a waiting list and the first transference wouldn¡¯t happen for two more years as the final touches had to be made. Moreover, that waiting list only allowed for 5,000 people to be transferred, at least to begin with, each year. So that brings me to today, I had received a formal invitation to come and apply for candidacy to be transferred. Being selected to go to Totality¡¯s headquarters surprised me as I had already applied and was number 48,564 on the waiting list. I was sure there was a mistake in me being selected as soon as I was. It was several months before the first person was schedule to be transferred and I wasn¡¯t schedule to go for another ten years, if I lived that long. After arriving at the corporate headquarters, I was ushered into a doctor¡¯s office and thus began me being examined six ways to Sunday. To top up that vary intrusive physical (I will let the reader use their imagination), I was given a modified lie-detector test that covered my entire life. Some of the questions were totally out of left field and seemed like a dating website questionnaire but I responded to the best of my abilities. Sample questions: What degrees do you have? Associates of Science, Bachelors of English, Bachelors of Math, Masters of History (Ancient Civilizations: Greek and Roman) During your lifetime what were your favorite physical activities? Weightlifting (sadly not in the last 30 years), hiking, swimming, and running (also not so much, to many knee surgeries) If you could use any melee weapon to fight someone what would it be and why? Spear, mid-range capabilities, multi-use functions. Which is better and why: cross-bow or English Longbow? English Longbow is slow to train but has greater versatility. Quicker draw with great range and stopping power. Especially if used in group formations. How many countries have you traveled to? Out of approximately 280, I have traveled to 114. Describe the ideal place where you would like to live? Mountains, forests and a river, and with a place where I can grow crops. What are your hobbies? Reading, gardening, wood carving, cooking and in my youth working out. What jobs have you held? Gardener, Maintenance worker, vacuum salesman, fast food restaurant, military both as enlisted and officer, and owned my own bookstore and gym. What is your most fulfilling task? My gym franchise Medieval Fitness. A gym where you have the basics, but also combine in weapon fighting, grappling, and day to day activities that would exist during the 1400-1600s. I had rock station where individuals would move rocks 10 yards, I had lumber station where you had to cut wood, the cannonball toss, climb the tower, the patrol (50 lb vest and walk a mile), and many other physically tasking workouts. All told, I think I answered over three hundred questions. Between the physical and the questionnaire I had never felt so vulnerable and invaded in my life. I left there with high hopes in my selection, and eagerly awaited them to get in contact. Several days later, I received a phone call from Canum Enterprises stating that I was accepted into the program and would be the first one to be transferred to Aether. I could come down to the offices once I have wrapped up all my businesses and the procedure would begin. Wrapping up loose ends was accomplished via my will months ago once I had an inkling of the possibilities presented by Dr. Berk and his research. So, the next morning I went with my lawyer to begin the next stage in my life. Why bring a lawyer, well my holdings were in the tens of millions of dollars and I want to make sure my heirs would not squabble over every little penny just because they decided I was insane. My children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren all knew about my decision and were behind me, but I wanted to play it safe at least for their prosperity. You never know when a jealous little punk of a nephew might want to make a play for the inheritance. As we walked through the doors, the receptionist was there waiting to escort us into the medical bay. Instead of the whiteness that I expected the room was a light neutral color that was very relaxing. Dr. Berk, himself, was there waiting for me in front of this metallic black capsule. That capsule drew all eyes to it. If I was a scientist, I would almost say it was a Black Hole, but that would be improbable. Although, the light from the room did seem to just be absorbed by it. I digress. Dr. Berk explained ¡°Logan, welcome, you might be wondering why you were selected to be the first one to be transferred. I won¡¯t make you guess, it is because I owe you a debt of gratitude. Twenty-five years ago, you found a man lying by the road, unconscious, and took him in to your house. You must have thought I was a drunkard or just lost it, but you called a medical response team to come get me. After they arrived, you stayed by my side to make sure I was okay and even checked in on me at the hospital. After I was released you took me to your home for a couple of days, gave me a change of clothes, got me in contact with the other transferees, and bought me a bus ticket to get to them. You probably don¡¯t even remember me, but I remember that act of kindness. You see when you found me I had just been transferred to this world from Aether as part of team. Our team got separated in the transfer and ended up spread out all over your world as there were no focal points on this side for us to home in on. By taking care of me I was able to get a leg up in this world and begin my mission of providing my world, soon to be yours, new candidates.¡± He was wrong, I do remember helping out someone like that. I couldn¡¯t remember his name or what he looked like, but helping someone out was just something I liked to do. I was blessed growing up and wanted to share my luck with others. Twenty-five years later I guess I got my investment of $100 back tenfold. Berk continued explaining ¡°That brings us to the purpose of today, your transference. My assistants should have explained the procedures several times before, but let¡¯s go through this one last time. Once you enter the capsule, it will scan your brain patterns and sync with the questionnaire and physical we performed last week. An avatar will appear and provide you with choices customized and solely available to you. I do not even know what will be presented to you. One of the few things that I could do to help you was place you first in the line. After you have made your decisions, there will be chance for you to back out one last time. If you decide to continue, your physical body will die and you will not be able to come back to Earth as you are now. You will be permanently transferred to Aether, your new home planet, for the remainder of your days. Your new body will be that of a five year old child. This is in order for you to grow into the world and learn how to control your body naturally. Furthermore, this growth period will prevent uninformed individuals from causing mass chaos in a world that is slowly coming to the understanding of outsiders. Until such time as you learn how to speak and move about the avatar will be your companion, confident, and so much more. In this world it would be comparable to an artificial intelligence that uses your mind as its central processor. Everyone on Aether was given one twenty-five years ago in preparation for your arrival and can be used as a form of communication between acquaintances, friends, and family. Are you willing and able to step into the capsule and into the unknown?¡± Finally, I never thought he would stop talking! ¡°Yes,¡± I almost shouted, ¡°I being of sound mind and body, blah, blah, blah, get me in there and hooked up. Lordes, my attorney, will fill out any last minute paperwork, and see to my remains once I pass over to the other side. Take care Lordes, and thanks for all the years you have been with me.¡± I only wish my wife was able to do this transference with me as well. It has been almost a year and half since she passed away due to an aggressive form of cancer. I still remember being woken up in the middle of the night and told that she had passed away in her sleep. Regret for not being with there with her for her last moments will always be a dark spot on my soul. I had hoped we both could go on this journey together. I miss her, but I pray that she is looking down at me as I head out on adventure. Here goes nothing; at least I won¡¯t have to wear a stupid catheter anymore. As I climbed into the capsule I marveled at the metallic surface wondering what type of metal could have molded into such an intricate shape. However, I quickly was distracted as the capsules door closed and the interior went pitch black, in fact it was so dark, I could almost feel it seep into my skin. Thankfully, the lights slowly pulsed into existence and I saw what was to become my first friend in the new world. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°And you are?¡± I asked, curious to see who this being was in front of me. ¡°I am a figment of your imagination, a voice in your head, or just a construct given birth by the people of Aether. I am your guide in your transition to your new home. Only you will be able to see me, and I will answer your call. Speaking of which what will you name me?¡± ¡°Hmm, I shall name you Lordes,¡± Why not I thought, she was a great assistant and I will miss her laughter and quick wit. ¡°Why the floating ball? Is there a way you can at least take on a face or a body.¡± ¡°As you wish, since I am a part of your imagination, please imagine a face or entity that you would like me to emulate.¡± ¡°Alright, please scan what I am thinking right now. Think you can take that form?¡± ¡°Yes, I can.¡± Lordes body slowly came into focus. She was about five foot even, with a light muscle tone that denoted a runner, of a slight Hispanic descent, and wearing a fashionable pantsuit. ¡°Is this¡± with a gesture up and down ¡°what you wanted, remember at any time I can change my appearance.¡± ¡°For now that is perfectly fine. Now let¡¯s get on with whatever you have in store for me.¡± ¡°Alright, to begin with you will need to choose the body that you will grow into. However, it seems that due to your age and experiences one body in particular will suit you the most.¡± ¡°Please, explain. I want to choose not have it chosen for me.¡± ¡°As you wish. The basic model that we allow transferees is the human model. As a human you have the following stats: Strength: 10, Agility: 10, Wisdom: 10, Intelligence: 10, Stamina: 10, Vitality: 10 for a total of 60 statistic points. Humans have an overly aggressive attitude giving a bonus to fighting stat, but otherwise have no hidden bonuses. ¡°Wait, wait, wait, this sounds almost like a game, what is going on here? Why are things quantified like that, don¡¯t I just get a body, and live life anew.¡± ¡°Please wait all will be explained.¡± ¡°The next models are the dwarf, gnome, hobbit, and elf race with 65 stature points divided out. Then you have demi humans, half-races, were-animals, avians and several other races with 75 stature points. Do you really want me to break each one down for you?¡± If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, there was some serious sass and sarcasm in that question. ¡° Please don¡¯t ask me to, it would take hours. Let me just jump to the point and tell you the one best suited to your abilities and experiences.¡± ¡°That race is the Aos Si. The people of the mound, an ancient race, which humans and elves are the descendants. The stature points for them are broken down in the following Strength: 15, Agility: 15, Wisdom: 10, Intelligence: 10, Stamina: 15, Vitality 15 for a total of 80. This race is gifted with low light perception, enhanced healing double that of the other main races, and like elves they cannot die of old age.¡± ¡°I could live forever?¡± ¡°Technically, yes; however, sickness, war, accidents, chaotic events, and a random meteor shower could all kill you from one moment to the next.¡± ¡°You say wars? How often does your planet have them?¡± ¡°Every summer we have skirmishes between kingdoms seeking to expand their areas of influence.¡± "And how much influence does the biggest kingdom have right now?¡± ¡°Currently there are 42 kingdoms spread across the main continent, with the biggest holding an area the size of your China. The other 5 continents have only 1 or 2 kingdoms at most as our world is just entering an exploration phase.¡± ¡°Where will I be born at, if I chose to continue with this?¡± ¡°In the past, the transferees, have all decided to go to the main continent as it is settled and they would have more chances to improve their stock in the new world. Before you ask, each transferee is guaranteed to be taken care of by an influential family, and the main continent has many families seeking children.¡± ¡°What about the new continents, the other 5 you were talking about?¡± ¡°Those continents mainly consist of explorers and minor nobility. Hmmm, how would you say it: for power the main continent is a 10, and the others are a 4 for influential families.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, I just want to explore and see what my ancestors did as they explored uncharted mountains. If I do this, can I be sent to another continent?¡± ¡°That wish can be granted. In fact, taking into account your desire to explore, the last continent to have been settled was Sunhaven. Last population count was of the one hundred thousand.¡± ¡°Now can we carry on with the selection process? The Aos Si have a high nature affinity, and will be accepted by most good or neutral races. The bad news is that the Dwarfs will treat you suspiciously, and ¡­¡­..? ¡°And, you mumbled something there.¡± "¡­¡­¡± ¡°I am waiting, speak up.¡± ¡°There are currently no Aos SI anywhere on Aether. They disappeared from the main continent a millennium ago.¡± ¡°So, how can I become an Aos Si if they don¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°Our scientists have figured away to transfer you into a body and have been blessed by the Creator with the formulae for your future race.¡± ¡°Will I be the only one of my race?¡± ¡°I cannot predict the future, but the probability is that there will be others.¡± ¡°Alright Lordes, let us get this over with. I trust that you are giving me the best choice with Aos Si and not out to trick me. We have many years ahead of us and I do not want to start off on a bad foot. What do I need to do to make this finalized?¡± ¡°Two things must be done. The first is your luck statistic. Please roll a dice to determine what your luck will be set at. Randomness is important in the world and it had been determined that all Tranferees can boost their luck by dice roll.¡± Hmm, I wonder. ¡°Oh okay, where is the dice at? ¡°You must ask for one, and upon receipt of said dice immediately roll it. ¡°If randomness is so important in your world, give me a twenty sided dice.¡± ¡°As you wish, please know that there are many other dice available, but you have selected a 20 sided dice please roll now.¡± ¡°Wait, there are other dice out there I could have asked for?¡± ¡°Yes, there are dice with up to 120 sides, but not many people know about those. Please roll.¡± I should have waited and figured out if there was a trick to this. One shouldn¡¯t get mad at Lordes since she was just doing her job and was probably programmed not to hint at other dice. Grabbing the dice, I let it roll out of my fingers and onto the simulated floor. As it dropped, I mumbled and said a prayer for high numbers. Once it hit it bounced a couple of time before spinning to a halt at my feet with the number 18 boldly facing upwards. I was relieved that my luck at least came through for me in the roll. ¡°Congratulations on the 18, may your luck shine through as you carry on into Aether. The final step in the process is to make the final commitment, step out into the unknown, bite the bullet, find Davie Jones¡¯s locker, bid adieu, and so on and so forth. ¡°It may sound weird, but the last thing you need to do is hit the YES button floating in front of you, or if you wish to back out hit the NO button. This is a system that Dr. Berk put into place in order for people to make a physical decision to transfer and allow for one final out.¡± With that being said I hit ¡°YES¡± and the world disappeared with a flash of light. Chapter 2: Creche Year Age: 5 years old, Day 1 The piercing light disappeared abruptly and I was shrouded in darkness. The darkness didn''t bother me, however, I was lying on the coldest slab of metal my Gluteus Maximus ever had the pleasure to come into acquaintance with. As the slab began to move, I saw a circle of light appear at my feet that expanded into what could only be described as a clean room. There was nothing in that room, no furniture, no carpet, not a single thing. As I was drawn forth from this cylindrical prison(I later learned that this was an artificial womb used to incubate our totality) I began to see blurred humanoid shapes. My eyes slowly adjusted to the fact I was surrounded by 3 individuals leaning over me with inquisitive looks on their faces. ¡°Is it alive?¡± Human 1 asked. ¡°Of course it is, the artifact will not open unless there is a viable candidate within.¡± Human 2. ¡°Hush Jamus, he is not an it and Dempsey we should talk to him and not over him, can¡¯t you see he is trying to figure out what is going on?¡± Human 3. ¡°Hello little one, I am Veronica Shadows. We are the selected mathematicians, physicians, and doctors selected on this continent to bring you here. We wish to be the first ones to welcome you to Aether.¡± ¡°Thank you Veronica. Can I please get off this slab and into some clothes?¡± I tried lifting myself off the slab and found out my limbs were not responding as I had expected. Trying not to panic, I lifted my arms and found they ended only a foot and half from my body instead of my accustomed three feet out. They felt like I had slept on them and the circulation was just now getting into my extremities. Looking at my hands I saw ten pudgy little fingers waving up at me as I coaxed feeling back into them. Those hands lacked any defining characteristics, in fact, all the scars and lines I had earned over the past century were gone. Trying to sit-up was a struggle as my new muscles were not responding in the accustomed way yet. Taking pity on me, Jamus reached behind my back and slowly propped me up, allowing me to dangle my legs over the edge of the slab. Dempsey brought an outfit over for me to wear and Jamus kindly helped me into a simple black outfit made out of leather. It was quite supple and felt like a tanned rabbit¡¯s skin. There were no distinguishing markings on it with the exception of a stylized shield over the right breast pocket. The shield was a solid white with a book in the background with a sword and wand crossed over it. The whole ensemble was reminiscent of a military school uniform. ¡°I know they said I was going to have a new body and it would be young, but I wasn''t prepared for this. May I please have a mirror to take a look at myself? And why do I understand you? Shouldn¡¯t we have different languages or something?¡± I wasn¡¯t panicking, but I was getting worried how I would explore this new world if I was stuck in this body. I mean here I was hoping to jump right into the world and see dragons, werewolves, or whatever fantastical creatures there were, but I could barely even sit up. ¡°It¡¯s simple really, it is your avatar. Your avatar takes any vocalization and translates it to be comprehended in your brain. If you were to pay attention to our lips, you would see a slight difference in movement compared to what you hear. Doesn¡¯t your world have something like that¡± Dempsey said pompously. ¡°Sorry, I just got translated from an old rickety body into a new one across who knows how many parsecs and years, and you want me to pay attention to your lips? No thanks, you¡¯re not my type. My world does not have anything like it, else I wouldn¡¯t be in this situation of wanting to come to your world.¡± Veronica interjected herself between me and Dempsey and held a mirror before me. As I looked into the mirror, a vision appeared that I couldn¡¯t quite believe. There was no gray hair, no wrinkly face, and no hunched back. When I lifted my shirt to see if the appendectomy scar was there all I could find was smooth skin. What stared back at me from that mirror was something from my wildest dreams. Using Dempsey as a support, I stood for the first time on this new world and marveled at my new body. I would guesstimate my height at 4 feet tall with a sturdy bone structure. Not sure about weight but I would put it close to 45 or 50 lbs (22.5 kgs). My skin tone had a slight tannish look with dirty blonde hair framing my face. Leaning into the mirror I looked into my forest green eyes. The light within those eyes seemed to hint at many hidden depths and wisdom beyond my physical years. ¡°As you can see your outward appearance is physically healthy and your avatar¡¯s translating function seems to be working. Our prognosis from your current weight, height, and historical documentation that you will reach a height of 6 ft 5 in and weigh in at 250lbs. But we won''t find out until your 17 or 18 for those final numbers. Your avatar will keep track of those numbers and feed them into the compounds database along with your daily journal. One nice thing about the avatar system is that they act as a perfect secretary that logs every conversation and activity for future reference. No need to worry about privacy issues either as only the King, his appointed judicars, or anyone you designate can access those files. The next thing we need to do before we let you go rest is perform a status check. Simply state your avatar¡¯s name and show status. A word of advice, do not share your status with everyone. In the first few years this was implemented people shared willy-nilly, if you pardon the phrase, with their friends. This led to petty jealousy and quite a few fights. If you want someone to see your information just say their name along with the avatar and status.¡± I absorbed Veronica¡¯s words as I thought back to my days in the military and keeping your cards close to your chest. ¡°Lourdes, show Status¡±
Status Window
NameLoganAlignmentNeutral
Age5Level1
ClassN/A
Strength15 + (.15)Vitality10 + (.1)
Agility15 + (.15)Luck18 + (.18)
Wisdom15 + (.15)Intelligence15 + (.15)
Health (Vitality*10)101Health Regen ((Hp/100)*2)2.02
Stamina (((Str+Vit+Agi)/3)*10)135Stamina Regen (Sta/100)1.35 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)151Mana Regen (Wis*10)1.51
Critical Chance1.8%
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark-5+ (.05)Light0
Nature20 + (.2)Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive an additional point to Vitality per level -Health Regeneration is doubled -Low light vision -Nature Affinity and Nature Resistance: +20 -Dark Resistance: -5% -Elven relationship: Friendly -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious -REQUIREMENTS NOT MET
Blessings
Do to being of the Aos Si race you are favored by the Aspects Blessing of the Aspects: +1% to all stats and resistances
¡°Age 5 again, at least I won¡¯t have worry about diapers¡± shuddering as I said that, since just yesterday I had to rely on them and they were not a pretty sight to behold. ¡°So what are the plans folks, I know I am an oddity, but surely you have others that you need to get ready for.¡± ¡°No we don¡¯t,¡± Veronica said ¡°Our city was only allotted one womb, and that can only be used once every year to incubate a new transferee. The Totality program is still in a testing period with bringing Transferees over from your universe, but we are slowly gaining momentum.¡± ¡°How many Transferees are here besides me?¡± ¡°Other than you, no others are at this facility. However, we do expect to receive another in a year from now. Before you ask, there are approximately 1200 transferees divided up over 300 cities with no others on this continent this year. Rumor has it that a transferee was brought to the main continent a year ago to test the system, but you are officially a T1. That¡¯s transferee, year 1. As for this continent, apparently you are the only one from your world that wanted to partake in a frontier lifestyle. Sorry to say the immediate area is no longer considered frontier lifestyle as it was 25 years ago when we transferred Berck to your world. In those years, King Alfred has expanded our country by leaps and bounds. But, you will learn more about that over the course of your stay here. Jamus here will take you to your room and familiarize yourself with the estate.¡± ¡°Thank you Veronica, I look forward to seeing you around.¡± ¡°I look forward to working with you as well Logan, I will be one of your teachers, specifically covering math and the physical laws of this world. You will have a chance to meet some other of the teachers over the next couple days. We are here for you, and want to ensure you have a good understanding of your new world.¡± As an aside, I asked ¡°What does Dempsey teach?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him he is in charge of the womb and will not have much interaction with any Transferees outside of the first couple of minutes. But, before we let you go there is something you should always keep in your mind. There are many Natural Laws that man cannot ignore here in Aether. Unlike the rules and regulations that us mortals make that can be circumvented and are fallible, these laws will follow you anywhere you go.¡± ¡°The primary one is this: For every action that you take there is a consequence. Know that whatever you do the Creator is always watching. The consequence of your actions does not have to be punishment but it can also be rewarded. As you accustom yourself to your surroundings you will find that lifting heavy objects or reading books will boost your statistics. The harder you work the more blessing the Creator can bestow upon you.¡± ¡°The second law is this: Blessing that are not used will wither and be lost. Any skills that you do not use in a year will become less proficient for the following year. If a sword master becomes lazy and does not keep his skill in practice a novice will surprise him. If a Master craftsman relies only on his apprentices to make his wares his skill will get rusty.¡± ¡°Anyways enough of that for now, go rest. You will have a lot of time to ask questions during the time you¡¯re here.¡± I followed Jamus slowly out of the room and into what to me seemed like an old English estate. Wood and brick were everywhere with light globes hanging from the ceilings which gave off a soft glow. My room was just a short trek, but by the time we got there I was sweating up a storm and had to lean against Jamus to even make it. ¡°Great job in walking this far Logan, it is expected of the new ones to have trouble walking 100 yards, but it is expected. Your muscles are brand new and you need the time to adjust.¡± ¡°No worries, what is the expected adjustment period for me.¡± ¡°For the first week you will go through a habilitation period of walking, stretches, and simple motor functions. Combining that with a steady diet of food and rest should have you up and running like any 5 year old. Once the healers feel you are ready, we will begin your education.¡± ¡°Let me guess, I have to learn about this new world, because if I don¡¯t I will cause great harm and calamity will ensue.¡± ¡°Yes and no, we need to teach you the main languages, monetary systems, religious interactions, geography, mathematics, and so forth. It won¡¯t be to intense, but the Canum Magistrate insists that everyone be able to communicate on at least basic terms wherever you are at.¡± And thus began my school period. During this time I began to learn the following concepts: I became proficient in Human, Elvish, and Dwarven. Of the three languages Human was the hodge-podge language that evolved into what it is today by combining and warping the other languages of the world. Elvish was a flowing language that was like a flowing stream wandering through a summer¡¯s forest. It was mostly soft spoken and respectful, but it could be dangerous and explosive if you are not prepared. Dwarvish was the exact opposite it was like an army marching, short choppy steps, but having a dignified power behind. A small blessing from learning these languages is that I received intelligence and wisdom bonuses. For Human, I received only + 5 wis/int; however, for dwarven and elvish I received + 10 wis/int each. I guess because human is so prevalent it is not considered as beneficial as dwarven/elvish. Besides the bonuses, I felt it best to master the languages so that I didn¡¯t have to rely on Lourdes to translate everything. A side benefit of such a young body is that my learning curve was much shorter than that of a 100 year old man. When I asked about this, Veronica explained that up until the age of 17 or 18 youths do not have a set learning standard. They simply absorb the knowledge and apply it as needed. It seems once they graduated from the University at age 18 their learning capacity begins to taper off. This isn¡¯t to say they become dullards it just skills and status bonus become harder to earn. The next logical progression from languages was to the religions of Aether. I won¡¯t get too much into the religions but they fall under two paths. The Creator or the Fallen. The Creator has 8 Aspects each of which has their own churches and disciples. They are the Healer, the Guardian, the Judge, the Craftsman, the Musician, the Shepherd, the Farmer, and the Purifier The counter-faction to the Creator is the Fallen who has 4 of his own aspects. The four are Temptation, Disease, Corruption, the Void. The Fallen and his cohorts are spoken of in hushed whispers as the boogey men and are often blamed for any calamity or mishap. The math is slightly different than what I am used to. Fortunately they use a decimal system; however, here there seems to be a heavy prevalence of 8s. That¡¯s understandable since their Creator has 8 aspects. The number 8 is also very prevalent in their timing standards. 64 seconds = 1 minute, 64 minutes = 1 hour, 24 hours = 1 day, 8 days = 1 week, 8 weeks = 1 month, 8 months = 1 year or 512 days. The longer days made sense if you compare Earth to Aether: Earth¡¯s year breaks down into 365 days or 8760 hrs or 525600 minutes while Aether¡¯s year breaks down into 512 days or 12288 hours or 786432 minutes roughly 1.5 times longer. Aether sits within their Suns temperate ban allowing relatively Earth like weather systems with greater disparities between summer and winter. With Aether having a surface area of 295.5 million square miles and a radius of 4849 miles, Earth would be a dwarf in comparison. Gravity is slightly heavier here as well, but since my body will adjustto it as I grew up, I am not too worried (gravity is equivalent to 1.08 x Earth normal). From what I understood, it would take one year of education and adjusting to this world before I could officially leave the confines of the cr¨¨che. When I say officially, I mean I am not going to let them keep me confined to a 160 acre ranch and I am determined to explore. As soon as I could I started exploring the ranch confine. The dormitory was located along the southern wall, and my room had a window that overlooked a ravine. The western and eastern walls were adjacent to several wooded copses intermixed with corn and wheat fields. The northern wall was broken halfway with a wooden gate that showed glimpses of a road that lead to the capitol. I couldn¡¯t sneak out through the northern gate due to the guards that were stationed there 24/8, but I did find another option. Each day, I am allotted 4 hours of free time and I made the most of it. I tested my body out by running and abusing it as only a 5 year old could. One of my favorite areas was the lake which I frequented often during the warm spring and summer months. Outside of swimming, I climbed trees, chased birds, and enjoyed a brand new body. The caretakers and Lourdes had told me that the more I do an activity I would begin to receive benefits. It didn¡¯t take long before I started seeing them.
Strength + 1
Strength + 1
Strength + 1
Strength + 1
Vitality+ 1
Vitality + 1
Vitality + 1
Agility + 1
Agility + 1
Agility + 1
Intelligence +2
Intelligence +2
Intelligence +2
An interesting side note on intelligence is that the maximum amount of skill points you can gain in a month is 2, at least from reading. You can read as many books as you want in a month but 16 books is what equates to 2 points. Thankfully the staff explained that to me before I fried my brain trying to game the system. The information has to be absorbed and used in order for it to be beneficial. Unfortunately, no wisdom comes from reading the books on hand. It wasn''t until the next year did I find out about a way to help raise that statistic. With this knowledge, I made it my goal to read my allotted 16 books every month for the rest of my life.
Jumping (Beginner Lvl 1)
The ability to jump higher and farther, obtained after many attempts to jump over and across objects. Each level improves by 10% Jump distance = 4 feet Jump height = 2 feet
Climbing (Beginner Lvl 1)
The ability to climb higher with heavier weights, and support oneself, obtained after many attempts climbing trees/rocks. Each additional level adds 5 lbs. Climbing weight = support your own weight (80 lbs) Climbing type = need full hand/foot holds
running (Beginner Lvl 1)
The ability to quickly get from one point to another. Run distance = 1 miile Run time = 16 minutes Cost = 5 sp.min
Day 125 The climbing ability is what led to me finding my exit route from the compound and my shot at some exploration. Along the southern wall there was a rain culvert that took the fall off from the roof, redirected along the wall then, into the ravine and eventually several miles downstream into the ocean. I was climbing a tree that overshadowed that particular culvert and saw that there was a grate partially bowed in. Just a glimpse of that gap, with sunlight streaming through, hinted at a much greater freedom for me. I waited until the next day to ensure that I had my trusty knife and a full water bladder. Approaching the tree, I peered around to make sure no one had eyes on me. Seeing that there were no windows on this side of the cr¨¨che, and the guards were only at the main gate several hundred meters away with foliage between us, I was certain that no one was watching. Climbing up the tree and swing out onto the culvert did not pose that much of a trouble. The trouble would come in the form of getting back to the tree since the branch I was on whipped back to its normal height. The branch was barely within reach if a belt or rope was used to pull it close. Anyways, the branch could wait until later as the culvert and grate offered a tantalizing image. As I approached the grate, the gap loomed larger and larger, having been worn down over time. I squeezed through and rushed along the tunnel and into the sunlight. The sight before me was an awe inspiring landscape. Not really. It was a ravine that ran for several miles east and west, and was 15 to 20 feet deep. The other side of the ravine was a short stone¡¯s throw away and was pocketed with wash outs and miniature caves. It might not be the Grand Canyon, but I would make this my territory now, my own little fiefdom. Over the next couple of months there wasn¡¯t a gulley or shallow cave within 2 miles of the culvert that I did not explore or know my way around. My imagination slowly rekindled, as I defended my territory from hobgoblins, snarks, and dastardly ruffians of the vilest repute. Each game I played and scenario concocted boosted my statistics even more.
Wisdom + 3
Luck + 3
Imagination (Beginner Lvl 1)
The ability to imagine scenarios in greater detail and see it play out before you. 1 Scenario at a time 3 components (people, time, scenery within 10 feet) Duration: 1 minute
Day 241 The imagination skill I knew would be of great use in the future, but right now I used it to daydream by imagining my great castle and my countless soldiers marching in my armies. I got so good at imagining things; I almost mistook the foot prints and cart tracks as another daydream. Upon closer investigation, the footprints were at least twice my size and almost triple my weight. This ravine was never traveled by anyone in the three months I had been traversing it. So, to see someone invading my territory was something that could not be ignored. Logically, the individual had to be coming through here at the darkest part of night. Furthermore, the cart that he/she would be using is heavily laden since the parallel lines dug a couple inches into the earth. That night I did a stake out of the ravine to discern what was going on, but nothing happened. Have you ever just sat in one placing trying to stay awake? Every single noise I heard that night seemed like a boogeyman was coming to get me. All that happened was that when I woke up the next day I was drenched with the morning dew, after having falling asleep in the grass, and had 30 minutes before I reported for my first class. Now one might wander about why the instructors were not cognizant of my comings and goings. The answer is simple. Logically they know I am a 100 years old, but emotionally to them I am a 5 year old boy. They think a five year old will stay in bed and listen to their instructions. But, I was happy to abuse that image if it got me out of their eyesight and a little bit of freedom. So, I waited patiently, if by patiently you mean bored out of my mind, for three nights running until finally on the fourth night I heard a clamor coming from the east. I scuttled along the ridge of the ravine going from bush to bush to see if I can find out what was going on. As I approached the area, I saw the cart in the middle of the ravine with a cage on the back. The cage was empty with the door hanging loosely from a broken hinge. A steady thumping could be heard of an object being thoroughly hit. With each thump, a steady stream of vile invectives was being spewed. As I peered over the northern wall of the ravine, I saw a man with a bloody face and arms wailing on a black mass with a whip. I should have left right there and then, but I heard that mass let out a whimper. Right then, I knew I could not let that animal be abused like that anymore. Have you ever lost control of what you are doing? I have twice in my previous life. One was over a stupid beverage and the other was over a friend being beaten up. The first occasion I was joking around with a friend sending barbs back and forth when he knocked the drink over me. The next thing I remember was I was on top of him with my hands around his throat. I snapped out of it, thankfully, before anything else happened, but it was scary. The second time I at least had a better reason. Another one of my friends happened to be a real quiet type and didn¡¯t interact much with others. Not sure how it started, but two guys just started hitting him and pushing him around. That curious snap happened again and I was over there in an instant. I grabbed the first guy by the collar and threw him back into another room, and then shoved the second guy down. I must have yelled as well, because a group of people came over to see what was going on. The two guys stopped and wandered off, and nothing came of it. But, those two instances are seared in my mind and scare me of what could happen when I lose control of my anger. As I stood on the precipice, something in my mind clicked and I was air born with my knife drawn. The next thing I realized, I had collided with the individual and we were tumbling over each other. We came to a rest with me on top and the unknown individual under me with a confused look on his face. That look was frozen on his face for all eternity. My jump combined with the surprise attack had brought the knife down between his shoulder and his neck just missing his leather and the subsequent tumbling had ripped the knife out through his neck. Looking down at the body, you could see his tongue flapping out from his throat in what would be called a neck tie party in the old west. Several stunned minutes later, as I struggled off the man in an attempt to get to the bloody mass of fur I dislodged a medallion from one of his pockets. I mindlessly grabbed it and stuffed it into my pants pocket and continued to crawl to see if I had saved it in time. As I got closer, the animal¡¯s feature began to coalesce into that of a bear. It couldn¡¯t have been more than a year old as it was just a little smaller than me. There was blood matted into the fur and open wounds seeping blood into an every widening pool. I didn¡¯t notice any major arterial bleeding, but to make sure I slowly inspected the cub. The cub flinched as his wounds were inspected, but did not put up a fight. The major wounds I field dressed with water and strips torn from my uniform. Some of the gashes could not be simply bound but would require stitches to suture close or at least a competent healer to cast a recovery spell. Scooping up the cub into my arms was a struggle, but I slowly transferred him into a fireman¡¯s carry over the shoulders and began to trudge up the ravine towards the cr¨¨che. After a half hour of trudging along with many, many stops and only traveling a half mile, I knew I was going to have to stash the cub somewhere in order to get help or supplies. Thanks to the many months of exploration I proceeded to a small cave hidden behind a rock formation. Wrapping the cub up in my cloak and using a hollow in a rock for water bowl, I left the cave and tried to get back to the cr¨¨che. But, without noticing it dawn had already commenced and my presence was missed at both breakfast and my first class. As I approached the wall from the east I heard shouts and several people beating the brush. Passing into a clearing, one of the guards saw me and shouted out to everyone else. Within minutes I was surrounded by the whole staff of the cr¨¨che all worried about me and why I was covered in blood and my clothes ripped and torn. ¡°Stop it, I am okay, back off a little.¡± I shouted. ¡°Are you sure your covered in blood?¡± the Director proclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s not mine, but can I talk with you privately Director?¡± ¡°Yes, yes, everyone head back to the compound, Victor you stand guard over there while we talk.¡± Slowly I explained what happened over the past four days. As I did, the director face got darker and darker until I felt he was about to explode. Once I was done, the director had to control his rage, but called over to Victor. ¡°Place Logan in confinement, no one is to talk to him until this mess is over.¡± I was led back to my room, and the door locked. As I waited, I went through my messages that Lourdes had for me.
Righteous Anger (Beginner Lvl 1)
When someone is being abused or when an injury needs to be avenged your anger wells up within you. Your Strength is doubled, intelligence halved for the duration of the affect. First strike damage is doubled. Duration 20 seconds.
You struck your opponent in the next for 23 damage. Due to Righteous Anger being in effect damage is doubled. Due to attacking from a height greater than 7 feet damage is doubled. Due to striking a vital point damage is doubled. Due to surprising your foe damage is doubled. You have done 368 dd.
You have inflicted major bleeding upon your target. -100 hp/min
You have killed an unknown man. Infamy -100. WARNING: Negative infamy will cause people to become wary and eventually hostile.
Level Up
Level Up
Level Up
Level Up
First Aid (Beginner Lvl 1)
By applying cloth to an open wound you have learned first aid. You are able to seal minor cuts and abrasions with bandages.
I divvied up my 20 stat points: 4 to strength, 12 to agility, and 4 to luck. Thanks to my racial attributes, I received 4 Vitality points [
Status Window
NameLoganAlignmentNeutral
Age5Level5
ClassN/A
Strength24 + (.24)Vitality17 + (.17)
Agility30 + (.3)Luck25+ (.25)
Wisdom43 + (.43)Intelligence48 + (.48)
Health (Vitality*10)171Health Regen ((Hp/100)*2)3.42 hp/min
Stamina (((Str+Vit+Agi)/3)*10)239Stamina Regen (Sta/100)2.39 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)485Mana Regen (Wis/10)4.3 mp/min
Critical Chance1.8%Fame-100
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark-5+ (.5)Light0
Nature20 + (.2)Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive an additional point to Vitality per level The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.-Health Regeneration is doubled -Low light vision -Nature Affinity and Nature Resistance: +20 -Dark Resistance: -5% -Elven relationship: Friendly -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious -REQUIREMENTS NOT MET
Blessings
Do to being of the Aos Si race you are favored by the Aspects Blessing of the Aspects: +1% to all stats and resistances
As I allotted my last stat point, my body began to shake. Curling up into a ball, I was struck by the fact that I have killed my first person in this world or my own. What was I going to do? Was I going to jail, prison, or some unheard of goal for the rest of my life? I began to panic as the reality hit me of what had occurred. After an hour of just shaking in my bed, I sat up and pushed aside my worries. I had to think with a rational mind and especially start working on my defense. Reviewing my activities up to this point, I remembered the medallion I pulled from the body as I was getting up. Pulling it out of my pocket to take a closer look revealed a circular bronze medallion. No gold or glitter, just simple bronze with a stylized whirlpool surrounding a black stone (assumed obsidian). There was nothing that I could gleam from the surface of it. As I stared at the stone, I felt like it was slowly dragging me into its depths. Several hours later, the director knocked on my door and entered jolting me from my reverie. ¡°You are a lucky, lucky boy. We investigated the scene and found the body like you described it. The constable recognized the body as that of Johnny the Rat, a known smuggler, who operated in these areas. We found an order for a Shadow Bear on him deliverable in two days to a drop-off point. That drop-off point is unknown as the previous cart tracks have been worn away with rain and wind. The constable is disappointed that you did not notify us of the early tracks, but is thankful that you were able to stop Johnny from completing his order. You should also be thankful that the bear was able to tear into Johnny as much as he did. By the time you came along, I am sure Johnny only had 50 percent or so of his life left as the cub had opened up several deep wounds in his arms and legs. I saw the damage you did to his body, and frankly I am amazed that one so young could do that. One thing is for sure the Aspects were looking out for you last night. As a reward, the constable has authorized 100 silvers to be given to you for dispatching a known smuggler. Congratulations on this monetary reward, as you will need it for what comes next. The question that needs to be answered is what are we going to do with the bear?¡± While the director was talking, I received a message that my infamy was wiped clean and I was instead give +100 fame for ridding the world of a poacher. I mentally sighed with relief that I would not have become a criminal so early in my life. I told Lourdes to clear the message and asked¡± What you do you mean about the bear? Can¡¯t you just release him back into the wilds?¡± ¡°I am afraid not. He has gone through several traumatic situations and shows the mark, albeit very few, of pit fighting. So there are only two options: one he is to be put down as humanely as possible or someone takes care of him as a familiar. Since you saved him, we thought to offer you the chance to form a contract with the cub. It would mean you are responsible for all his actions, but he would be your companion once you leave here. Be warned if you make a contract with the bear you will most likely receive a class from the Creator.¡± The next part I almost missed since he muttered quietly ¡°who would want to be a pet class.¡± I ignored his muttering and thought about the possibilities. From my classes up to this point, I knew this world was vastly under-explored and to have a companion to watch my back would be a great boon. Having a bear follow me around could get interesting especially in a crowded town, but in the wilds it would definitely be a deterrent from any hostile forces. Food costs would be expensive, but I had the reward money and if I trained him to hunt for his own food that expense will dwindle. As I weighed my options both for and against, the director patiently waited for my answer. Both he and I knew that this was a big decision and should not be rushed into. I think I paced for a good half hour trying to see all the potential hazards and pitfalls of this decision, but I had several things playing against me thinking this through in orderly fashion. One, I loved bears. Some of my favorite stories and cartoons were those of bears. Two, as a gamer I always enjoyed pet classes. Three, it¡¯s a bear and I wasn¡¯t going to let them kill it. ¡°I will attempt a contract with the bear.¡± This time when we exited the compound we went out through the North gate and traveled back to where the cub was holed up in his cave. The director and I walked in silence, as I tried to understand and slowly assimilate all that had happened in the last 24 hours. I had killed a man (he deserved it), received 4 levels (thanks to the help of the cub), gained 100 silver for the smuggler, gained 100 fame for ridding the world of a level 14 lowlife at such a young age and level. Frankly, I was surprised that I received 4 levels for taking out the poacher, but once I asked Lourdes, she explained it. Each level is 1.5 times harder to get then the previous one.
Experience
LevelExperienceLevelExperience
1011405
21012608
31513912
423141368
535152052
653163078
780174617
8120186926
91801910389
102702015584
The way experience is earned is that the experience of the mob divided by eight (for the Aspects) divided by the number of people fighting; that number is then multiplied by one times the difference in levels (mobs level always first) divided by 100. Lourdes had to show me numerically so that I could understand. XP = {[1368(the mobs experience)/ 8 (1 point for each Aspect) / 2 (the poacher and me)]*[1+ ((14-1)/100]} = 94.05. Those 94.05 XP points then go towards my level experience. 94.05-10 (level 2 requirement (rqmt)) ¨C 15 (lvl 3 rqmt) ¨C 23 (lvl 4 rqmt) -35 (lvl 5 rqmt) = 11.05 XP points 21% of lvl 6 rqmts. We hiked down into the ravine, about a hundred yards away from the cave, and slowly approached the opening. Our pace slowed down drastically in order to prevent the bear cub from startling. ¡°Approach the bear slowly, palm out and facing down. You need to place your hand on his head, and state ¡°In the days of old, man and beast formed bonds of familiarity, as then so it is now. I offer my friendship and companionship to you. Let us travel together. Follow my lead and I will take care of you. Do you accept this bond?¡± Following the directors direction, I approached the bear cub. The director prompted me through the speech to the cub. Upon completion, a new avatar appeared next to Lourdes. This avatar was ¡°So you¡¯re the one that saved me. I thank you for my life and am curious about what the years ahead for us.¡± ¡°You are welcome, I couldn¡¯t have saved you without your assistance. It was only after you had almost killed him was I able to get him. So, what¡¯s your name? ¡°No name, I was kidnapped from my cave mere weeks after being born. I was to receive my name at the end of last year¡¯s summer. The elders of the bear nation would examine us and then formally name us.¡± ¡°Let me take a look at your stats and maybe, and maybe I can think of a good name for you.¡±
Status Window
NameN/AAlignmentNeutral
Age1Level7
ClassSpectreRaceShadow Bear (Elite)
Strength45Vitality39
Agility20Luck0
Wisdom15Intelligence15
Health (Vitality*10)390Health Regen ((Hp/100))3.9
Stamina ((Str+Vit+Agi)/3)350Stamina Regen (Sta/100)3.5 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)150Mana Regen (Wis*10)1.50
Critical Chance0
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark15%Light-5%
Nature0Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive 6 points per level -Low light vision -Dark Resistance: 15% -Light resistance: -5% -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious
Skills
Darkness (Beginner lvl 4)
The ability to control the shadows around oneself to augment fighting abilities. Absorb shadows within a radius of .4 meters (increases by .1 per level, .1 meter = 1kg) For every .1 meter absorbed: strength increases by 1%, agility decreases by 1% Cost: 5 mp/min
Shadow (Beginner level 2)
The shadows are your friend, shadows will absorb and conceal you. Any movement will cancel your concealment. Cost: 50 mp
¡°Darkness and shadows, hmmmm, Erebos, was a god of primeval darkness in the mythology of my world. Yep, Erebos would be perfect for you, how does that sound?¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± With that acceptance, Lourdes started showed me the message that came in.
Class Change! Do to your forming a bond with a beast of the world, naming said beast and being of the Aos Si race the class ¡°Grand Beast Master¡± is now available. Do you accept this class?
Because of the directors prompting, I had a feeling this might happen and respond ¡°Yes, I do.¡± There was no great lights shining down from the heavens or a trumpet blast congratulating me on my new path in live. There was a rush of power that hit me from my head to my toes. Scrolling through my status page there were several things that stood out. [table]
Status Window
NameLoganAlignmentNeutral
Age5Level5
ClassGrand Beast Master
Strength24 + (.24)Vitality17 + (.17)
Agility30 + (.3)Luck25+ (.25)
Wisdom63+ (.63)Intelligence48 + (.48)
Health (Vitality*10)171Health Regen ((Hp/100)*2)3.42 hp/min
Stamina (((Str+Vit+Agi)/3))*10239Stamina Regen (Sta/100)2.39 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)485Mana Regen (Wis/10)6.36 mp/min
Critical Chance1.8%Leadership25
Fame100
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark-5+ (.5)Light0
Nature20 + (.2)Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Recieve +20 to wisdom -Receive Leadership skill -Receive an additional point to Vitality per level -Health Regeneration is doubled -Low light vision -Nature Affinity and Nature Resistance: +20 -Dark Resistance: -5% -Elven relationship: Friendly -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious -REQUIREMENTS NOT MET
Blessings
Do to being of the Aos Si race you are favored by the Aspects Blessing of the Aspects: +1% to all stats and resistances
Skills
Summon Familiar (Beginner lvl 1)
Due to forming a bond with a familiar, you are able to summon a familiar to your location once a day. All XP will be shared evenly between your familiar and yourself whenever you are within 5 km of each other. At later stages, multiple familiars may be summoned. If your familiar should die, it can be resurrected by sacrificing the XP equivalent to its level. WARNING: you can lose levels by resurrecting a familiar. Summon period: 24 hrs Cost: 250 mp
Call of the Wild(Beginner level 1)
Due to your ties with nature, you are able to call animals to your aide. Any animal that hears your call within a 1km radius must be of Good or Neutral alignment and will be teleported to your location. WARNING: If an animal should die in response to your call, infamy and loss of XP will be applied in correspondence to the level of the animal. Number of Animals: 1 Duration: 32 secs Cost: 100 mana per animal
Aura of the Familiar(Beginner lvl 4)
Due to the close bond with your familiar, you can gain a portion of your familiar status and resistances. Percentage: 1% Cost: 5 mp/min
Jumping(Beginner level 3)
The ability to jump higher and farther, obtained after many attempts to jump over and across objects. Each level improves by 10% Jump distance = 79 inches Jump height = 40 inches Cost=25sp
Climbing(Beginner lvl 3)
The ability to climb higher, carry heavier weights, and support oneself, obtained after many attempts climbing trees rocks. Each additional level adds 10 lbs Climbing weight = support your own weight + 30 lbs (90 lbs) Climbing type = need full hand/foot holds Cost=5sp/min
running (Beginner Lvl 4 )
The ability to quickly get from one point to another. Run distance = 1 miile Run time = 15 minutes ( 1 level = 16 seconds) Cost = 5 sp.min
Imagination(Beginner level 6)
The ability to imagine scenarios in greater detail and see it play out before you. 1 Scenario at a time 3 components (people, time, scenery within 10 feet) Duration: 6 minute Cost=1mp/sec
First Aid (Beginner Lvl 1)
By applying cloth to an open wound you have learned first aid. You are able to seal minor cuts and abrasions with bandages.
Right away, I knew the Familiar Aura ability would be used 24/8. My mana regeneration was just outside the requirement by .7 before the class chance but with the +20 to wisdom I had mana to spare. Hopefully by keeping it up and running I can level it up quickly. As for the others skills, I knew it was going to fun working with Erebos and couldn¡¯t wait to start hunting with him. I informed the director of what had transpired as we put together a stretcher to carry Erebos back to the compound. The hike back seemed to take hours, but it was quickly passed as in conversation with Erebos. I quickly ensured that he wouldn¡¯t be calling me master every 8 minutes. That doesn¡¯t mean he could do whatever he wanted, I just rather work as a team than master/slave. Upon arrival at the compound, we hung a left down the path towards the stables where he would be staying. The director was adamant that the cleaning staff was not paid enough to take care of a bear and that it rested solely on my shoulders to care and feed for him. I tentatively asked ¡°Will I be allowed outside the compound? It would be easier to feed him if I had access to rivers and allow him to forage for food.¡± ¡°He may leave the compound at will; however, you cannot. Even though you have gained several levels by luck, we cannot in good conscious let you leave just yet. Speaking of which, for the remainder of your time in the compound, you will be restricted to the compound. To prevent this from happening again we have set up a ward around the compound to detect whenever a transferee leaves the boundaries.¡± Many years later, I found out that the ward placed on my birthplace was shared across the planet to all the other birthplaces. It also brought to light a darker side of the Transferees. I never got a full explanation at that time, but it seems a cult, with ties to the Fallen, kidnapped several Transferees in attempt to utilize their Totality. How they thought to use it I am unsure, but the individuals that were kidnapped were found drained of their Totality with only their clothes to identify them. For the next week, I was excused from all my classes as I nursed Erebos back to health with the assistance of the compound healer. The outward signs of injuries quickly faded with the healers administrations, but the inward turmoil Erebos was going through would take a while to overcome. As my parents used to say ¡°It takes twice as long to recover from an event as the event itself.¡± In order to facilitate that healing process, I moved some blankets out to the stable to give Erebos a lifeline to latch on to. Erebos never snarled at me or shied away when I approached, but every time he heard loud noises or whips he became startled. It took him two years before he was able to hear a whip again without summoning a shadow to hide in. Day 242 After the week of convalescence for Erebos, I had to figure out what my daily schedule would be like. It didn¡¯t have to drastically change, but improvements were necessary. Upon waking up at 0600, I would get changed and go out to Erebos. Then I would coerce Erebos to join me on my morning run, 2 laps around the compound (2 miles). Remembering the bears of my world could reach speeds of 35 mph, it made me wonder what speeds he could reach in the years ahead. After the run, we went for swim in the lake to cool down. Three weeks is what it took us to get running and swimming skills added to our tallies. With each uptick in a skill or new one added our egos began to get bigger and bigger. In our minds we were to become the ultimate adventurers able to go anywhere in this world and we wouldn¡¯t have to wait until my graduation from the University to claim our rightful place. Erebos played out the ultimate adventurer mindset and pursued every fish within the lake. I just sat on the lakeside and cheered him on, laughing at his antics as he learned the ins and outs of fishing. After many trials and errors he learned the proper methods to swipe a fish up onto the shore. After a month of practice he would be able to catch 2 or 3 fish a day and gobble them down without even sharing with me. Even though those trout like fish looked very tempting I was not going to get in the way of Erebos and his food supply. For his first year in life he had to fight and kill to eat and it would take time for him to learn that sharing food could be beneficial as well. Until that time he gobbled and snacked non-stop. This is not to say he was a glutton, but there wasn¡¯t a food he¡¯d turn his nose up at. Speaking of which around 0732 we would head inside for a lovely breakfast of eggs, ham, and bread. There is nothing like a loaf of bread with churned butter and honey in the morning. Classes started at 0900 and went until 1300. I kept trying to get Erebos permission to join us in the classrooms; however, the director was adamant that the bear would stay outside or on the patio. So, after breakfast I would take Erebos to the North Gate and release him to explore the forests around us. I warned him that if he should get into trouble to send his avatar to me and I would send help. He just needed to remember that the communication would only work within 5 km of me and to be careful. His standing order was to blend with the shadows using his abilities, and as soon as he sees any animal he activate ¡°Darkness¡±. That first day when I let him go out in the woods I was sweating bullets. The director assured me that Erebos would be fine, and that if worse comes to worse I could revive him. Him saying that shook me, but I had to let the cub grow up and not be confined. My nerves were wrenched up into a ball of knots, when I received my first message. ¡°Lourdes, can you open that for me?¡± ¡°Logan, I understand your worry, but I can only pass you the messages not read them.¡± ¡°Fine, here goes nothing.¡±
Your familiar has killed a level 6 Fox. You have received 2.23 XP and your familiar has received 2.19 XP. You have 75% more before your next level.
Sub-consciously it made sense that Bos could get me XP, but I didn¡¯t know I could leech off of him. 4% of a level from just one kill. I sent my avatar a mental command to sync with Bos out in the forest. ¡°Bos, you okay, what happened.¡± ¡°The fox had a mouse and was carrying it back to his den and was talking to himself on what a good hunter he was. I was in the shadows of a tree, jumped out and I guess I crushed his back. That fox says nothing now, and I get a mouse stuffed fox for dinner.¡± ¡°Good job, and keep up the good work.¡± At this rate if he hunts same level animals each day, I will get a level roughly every 24 days and with just under 3 months (185 days left I could leave here as a level 13 Grand Beast Master). However, that was not meant to be, as Bos quickly hunted everything within 5 km of me and I only received 4 levels. He on the other hand gained those 4 levels and then expanded his hunting grounds. Ranging far and wide he took down foxes, deer, and wolves by the score. As a result, he would leave here with me at level 15. Back to our daily schedule, a half hour for lunch before we were allowed to do what we wanted to in the afternoon. I would grab a book from the library, and go find a tree. I would spend the afternoon reading the book aloud to Bos and talking about the various things he hunted or saw during that day. Why read aloud, well I figured, and was correct, that Bos intelligence and wisdom stats would rise. The more mana he has the better he can aide me, but hey we were both learning about the world. What¡¯s weird about reading the historical writings of this world is that it reads as fantasy from mine. The stories about valiant knights saving virgin princesses from the unending hunger of powerful dragons, the undead taking over towns upon the direction of a vile necromancer, and even the redemption of an ranger from an evil race. I was laughing and crying as I read wandering all along if people really did this stuff. Will I be the stuff of legends or will I just be a foot-soldier in someone else¡¯s story? Every night at 1800 hours the faculty and I would gather in the main dining room for relaxed dining environment. This was the perfect time for me to pluck the brains of my instructors about anything that happened that day or talk about an idea that occurred. Looking back at those days, it must have been an interesting sight to see a young boy conversing with a room filled with adults. To them, I was just an adult who was trapped in a tiny body. Now that I think about it, everyone had a journal or two on them at all times. Whenever I did something extra-ordinary or extremely stupid they would furious jot down as much information as they could. I hate to admit it but I acted the fool just to get them flustered. You should have seen their faces when I asked about the reproduction process of other races. Not sure but that might have been one of the reasons the etiquette classes were implemented in the evenings. They ran the gamut from how to eat properly with the various utensils of each culture. It was nice to see that there were knives and forks of multiple sizes, there were little spears for meat dishes, crackers for shellfish and nuts, glasses galore (beer steins, champagne flutes, shot glasses, mugs, cocktail drinks, and some that were either self-heating or self-cooling), the plates were just as intermixed (dinner plates, bread plates, soup bowls, salad bowls), and then list when on and on and on. Eventually, the class would end and I would make a run out to Erebos¡¯s stall to say goodnight and prepare his stall with fresh hay. Before I left the stall, I used ¡°Summon Familiar¡± to reset the clock and slowly work on leveling it up. Day 504 Before I realized it, it was almost the end summer and one year from my re-birth. The hustle and bustle of the compound increased slightly as a new room was prepared for the incoming Transferee. The director called me into his office to brief me on the upcoming changes. ¡°Next week there will be a new transferee being ¡°birthed¡±. Your job will be to interact with him/her and give that person a sense of the familiar. We won¡¯t know the race or gender but we do know they are from a country called ¡°United Kingdom¡±. Our little abode here has the specialty of the English Language as it is one of your planets primary languages. Before you ask, we have other compounds that speak English, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, French, and Russian. This allows for Transferees to have a familiar anchor to their old world as they make the transition to the new one. After those two weeks of acclimatization you will start going through a modified adoption process. The world knows of the Transferees, but we will not identify you as one. That is your choice to divulge as you go along. The main thing is that we must provide the new Transferee all our attention, thus, a family will be found for you. In the folders before you are the resumes of families across that are looking for child. The choice will be yours and your prospective parents. There is no need to worry about your prospective parents standings in the world. Each family is well off and can provide you with a good lifestyle until you are admitted to the Academy. Please narrow the choice down to 4 or 5 that you would like to interview.¡± Over the next week I poured over those folders looking at each family. This list got progressively smaller as I eliminated those families that already had children. I did not want to take away the parents attention from their children. That choice also struck single parent homes from the lists as well. Adding me into the latter family would not be a dynamic I wanted to test out. I also put the nobility of the country onto the no pile. Nobility in itself might seem like a great chance with awesome power; however, too much responsibility would be thrust on my shoulders. The merchant families and soldiers were the ones that caught my attention. One for the travel possibilities (ground and sea travel) and soldiers for an introduction into the army. There was one husband and wife family that kept calling my attention over and over again. I finally gave the director my choice on the eve of the Transferee¡¯s arrival. ¡°There is only one folder here, where are the other ones?¡± ¡°If that family is as good as their resume states, I will be happy with them. They have all the requirements I need and life with them would be great.¡± ¡°As you wish. As for tomorrow, please stay off the second floor for the first day. We have made a room in the guest suites on the first floor for you to stay in tomorrow night. This is to limit the interaction of the Transferee with anyone outside the ¡°birthing¡± team. You will get a chance to meet your colleague the day after.¡± The next two weeks went by pretty quickly. My interactions with the other Earther were forced in away. We had a connection of the same planet, but vastly different experiences. I had already assimilated into Aether and my memories were primarily of here now. I still remembered that world, but it seemed a dream sometimes. After showing him around the compound that second day, I informed him of my workout regime in the morning and asked if he wanted to join me. His just looked at me askance. Apparently, he was here to relax and he wanted to relax and just do the minimum. He was adamant in this any time I implied that this world was like our own in that we had to earn our way. Eventually I just left him alone and proceeded on with my normal routine preparing for my interview with my prospective parents. But I did ensure our avatars had a link to keep track of each other, because a network of contacts is always good to have. Finally the day came when my prospective parents would arrive.
Sorry about the delay in posting this chapter. This chapter is primarily setting the stage for the rest of the world. I might have put to much information in, but I wanted to at least show some of the physics of how this world functioned. Again apologize for the delay as some things came up with work, but I haven''t forgotten this story. Chapter 3: Parents Age 6, Day 17 Phases/stages/steps all are a progress from point A to point B. The secluded life I had here at the compound was hopefully about to end with this interview. Although not normally prone to pacing, I walked up and down the length of my room trying to calm myself down. Around 1000 in the morning I heard a carriage pull up the main drive. At the same moment, one of the maids had knocked at my door to tell me the director was awaiting me in the library. Adjusting my clothes one last time in front of the mirror, I proceeded downstairs. Knocking on the library doors was reminiscent of my heart beat, loud and fast. The director¡¯s voice called out ¡°Logan, come on in.¡± Entering one of my refuges of solitude during my time here calmed my body and mind allowing me to take in the vista before me. Centered in the library were the director and two individuals. The lady towered over her husband by a good foot and as I drew nearer various elfish characteristics became more distinguishable. She had a calm assurance about her that emanated nature and further calmed me down. The brown eyes drew me in with a twinkle only for me to see them change slowly from brown into a bronze. Turning to face me fully, I was surprised by the fact that her left arm was missing from below the elbow. Trying not to stare at it resulted in me only staring all the more. It must have been an old wound though, as she just let me look at it. After a couple of seconds, I turned my attention to what could only be her husband. He was definitely human with a square frame about him. Standing five and half feet tall, in his stockings, he seemed to have every part of the room cataloged. During this interview, his back was never to the door or to a window for longer than a minute or two. Watching the two of them interact was great because she seemed to calm him down while he added a bit of the now to her longevity. We each took a seat around a coffee table and began going over the basic introductions. She was Linsette, a Master Enchanter and the Royal Librarian of Solaris. He was Marion a trained warrior and leader of the Royal Wolves a mercenary group. They had met during a summer campaign seven years ago. The story went that his group was hunting goblins in the caves of Blacktop, a mountain roughly 4 weeks travel due west of here. As they were fighting a second squad of goblins surprised them and cut him off from his group. He continued to swing his dual knives around never letting go of hope that he would regroup with his friends. She came in and threw an area stun with several area charms. After being saved by her timely arrival, he succumbed to her charms and began to follow her around like a lost puppy. While their respective groups slaughtered the remaining goblins, he did nothing but gaze at the heavenly being that had rescued him. For the next 2 hours he followed their group professing his love to the elf. No one could understand why the charm spell would last so long and attempted several dispels on the warrior. Finally, she asked that he reveal status to her alone to see what was spell had affected him. To her astonishment there was none and his magic resistance was so high there was no chance that he could have succumbed to her charm spells. It took several more weeks of him following the elf about before she succumbed to his unrelenting pursuit and agree to marry him. They posted bans at the nearest church, notified their families, and were wed a month later. After a honeymoon to the Isles, they formed the mercenary group Wolves and started taking jobs. Two years later, their skills as a mercenary group were known throughout the land and were so famous the King had given them a commission. Long story short it was to kill a Black Dragon. That fight was where she had lost her arm. Upon returning to the King with the evidence of the kill, the King granted each member of the group royal favors. Linsette decided to use her Royal Favor to become the Royal librarian since her adventuring days were over. Marion used his favor to add the Royal tag onto his mercenary group. One might wonder why he chose to do that, but he could now charge triple the amount for each commission that came his way and the quantity of requests poured in from across the land. However, the one thing they didn¡¯t have was a child to pass on their legacy to. It was possible to for an elf and a human to have a child; however, it was extremely rare. Hence they jumped at the chance to put in a request to adopt a Transferee. ¡°Thank you for sharing your story with me. You might wonder why I chose you as potential parents to me, let me explain. One your resume was down to earth and wasn¡¯t embellished with titles and wealth. You explained yourselves and talents. Two, I saw the librarian portion and jumped at that. I love books and to have someone that could assist me in researching this world would be outstanding. Third, not to leave you out sir, but a mercenary leader will give me the martial training I will need to survive as I explore your world without the rigidity of the army. So, you can see I am being partially selfish in my choosing, but I would like to join your family. Before you ask, if you should have a child in the future, I will not take his/her inheritance. All I ask is that you train me and aide me in this world, and I in turn will be a supportive son. In time I hope that we can see each other as a true family.¡± With that declaration, I awaited their response. ¡°We can understand a selfish outlook. When someone has traveled like you have across the universe to start anew, wanting to set your feet on a familiar track is commendable. We extend the invitation to you to join our family. Be our son, and let us share our world with you.¡± With those words, Marion stepped forward with a hand outstretched that pulled me into a bear hug. My mother glided forward, planted a kiss on my forehead, and welcomed me into her world. ¡°Umm, thank you. Before we go on with the official paperwork there is some things you need to be aware of about me. I already have a class and currently I am level 9 Grand Beast Master.¡± The director was surprised at that. He knew I had a class and had previously received some levels but to have gained four additional ones since that debacle four months ago was shocking. My parents seemed stunned as well, but recovered quickly. ¡°Before I explain exactly what had occurred, shall we go out to the stable there is someone I would like you to meet.¡± Arriving at the stables, we didn¡¯t have to travel far as Erebos¡¯s stable was immediately on the right. Originally, he was offered an open stall in the middle, but once some of the more skittish horses caught a whiff of him the stalls were re-assigned. I peeked over the stall to see if Erebos was within, but there was no sign of him. ¡°Okay, folks just a word of warning, Erebos is up to his usual tricks, so be prepared and watch the shadows.¡± ¡°Shadows? Is that why you have two of them?¡± said my very observant father-to-be. Stomping my foot to shake Erebos loose I stated ¡°Come on out slowly Bos, don¡¯t what to scare the folks.¡± With that Bos slowly coalesced into view. In the last four months he had grown slightly reaching about 4 feet at the shoulders and was close to 250 lbs. He had definitely filled out. The steady source of food and the consistent leveling had done wonders for his body since I found him cowering in the ravine. My future parents took one look at Erebos and were astounded. ¡°Is that a shadow bear¡± my mother asked ¡°I have read about them in the library, but have never seen one in real life. I thought there were confined to the main continent.¡± I gave them the shortened version of what had occurred and decided to show them our stats just to help them understand a little about us.
Status Window
NameErebosAlignmentNeutral
Age2Level15
ClassSpectreRaceShadow Bear (Elite)
Strength70Vitality65
Agility30Luck8
Wisdom31Intelligence31
Health (Vitality*10)650Health Regen ((Hp/100))6.5
Stamina ((Str+Vit+Agi)/3*10)550Stamina Regen (Sta/100)5.5 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)360Mana Regen (Wis/10)3.6
Critical Chance.08%
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark15%Light-5%
Nature0Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive 6 points per level -Low light vision -Dark Resistance: 15% -Light resistance: -5% -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious
Skills
Darkness (Beginner lvl 7)
The ability to control the shadows around oneself to augment fighting abilities. Absorb shadows within a radius of .7 meters For every .1 meter absorbed: strength increases by 1%, agility decreases by 1% Cost: 7 mp/min
Shadow (Beginner level 6)
The shadows are your friend, shadows will absorb and conceal you. Any movement will cancel your concealment. Cost: 60 mp
Status Window
NameLoganAlignmentNeutral
Age6Level9
ClassGrand Beast Master
Strength40 + (.4)Vitality45 + (.45)
Agility80+ (.8)Luck31 + (.31)
Wisdom50 + (.5)Intelligence72 + (.72)
Health (Vitality*10)455Health Regen ((Hp/100)*2)9.1 hp/min
Stamina ((Str+Vit+Agi)/3*10)555.5Stamina Regen (Sta/100)5.55 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)720Mana Regen (Wis/10)5.05 mp/min
Critical Chance3.1%
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark-5+ (.05)Light0
Nature20 + (.2)Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive an additional point to Vitality per level -Health Regeneration is doubled -Low light vision -Nature Affinity and Nature Resistance: +20 -Dark Resistance: -5% -Elven relationship: Friendly -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious -REQUIREMENTS NOT MET
Blessings
Do to being of the Aos Si race you are favored by the Aspects Blessing of the Aspects: +1% to all stats and resistances
Skills
Summon Familiar (Beginner lvl 5)
Due to forming a bond with a familiar, you are able to summon a familiar to your location once a day. All XP will be shared evenly between your familiar and yourself whenever you are within 5 km of each other. At later stages, multiple familiars may be summoned. If your familiar should die, it can be resurrected by sacrificing the XP equivalent to its level. WARNING: you can lose levels by resurrecting a familiar. Summon period: 23 hrs 62 min 48 sec Cost: 250 mp
Call of the Wild(Beginner level 2)
Due to your ties with nature, you are able to call animals to your aide. Any animal that hears your call within a 1km radius must be of Good or Neutral alignment and will be teleported to your location. WARNING: If an animal should die in response to your call, infamy and loss of XP will be applied in correspondence to the level of the animal. Number of Animals: 2 Duration: 64 secs Cost: 100 mana per animal
Aura of the Familiar(Beginner lvl 8)
Due to the close bond with your familiar, you can gain a portion of your familiar status and resistances. Percentage: 2% Cost: 6 mp/min
Jumping(Beginner level 5)
The ability to jump higher and farther, obtained after many attempts to jump over and across objects. Each level improves by 10% Jump distance = 95 inches Jump height = 48 inches Cost=25sp
Skills
Climbing(Beginner lvl 4)
The ability to climb higher, carry heavier weights, and support oneself, obtained after many attempts climbing trees rocks. Each additional level adds 10 lbs Climbing weight = support your own weight + 40 lbs (105 lbs) Climbing type = need full hand/foot holds Cost=5sp/min
Imagination(Beginner level 7)
The ability to imagine scenarios in greater detail and see it play out before you. 1 Scenario at a time 3 components (people, time, scenery within 10 feet) Duration: 7 minute Cost=1mp/sec
Running (Beginner Lvl 4 )
The ability to quickly get from one point to another. Run distance = 1 miile Run time = 15 minutes (1 level = 16 seconds) Cost = 5 sp.min
First Aid (Beginner Lvl 2)
By applying cloth to an open wound you have learned first aid. You are able to seal minor cuts and abrasions with bandages. 1 hp/min reduction per level. (Bleeding out at 3 hp/min apply first aid now bleeding out at 1hp/min) Cost = 40 sp and 40 mp
¡°Impressive, we thank you for sharing your status with us. To reciprocate your trust in showing us your information, with your mother¡¯s permission, we will share our status with you as well.¡± Their information was astounding to look at. Marion was level 121 Knife Master and Linsette was level 94 Enchantress. Each had outrageous amounts of health and mana. I am talking in the thousands for Agility and Intelligence/Wisdom. Marion¡¯s skillset was definitely based on agility and there were several things that caught my interest. The ones I wanted to aspire to learn were dodge projectiles, knife throwing, stable footing, and battlefield awareness. The skills that Linsette used that also called out to me were aura affinity, enchantment, and reading comprehension. These were definitely the people to learn from in order to progress in this world. Saying goodbye to Erebos, we headed back to the main building to fill out the obligatory paperwork that would list me as their adopted son. Why is it that no matter where you go humans insist on paperwork to make things official? I mean here they have these marvelous avatars that form communications links between friends and relatives acting as a 24/8 journal collecting data to be stored in etheric cloud. The means and ways they do this is beyond my current understanding, but one would think that the administrators of this world would utilize that to their benefit. I guess they were too stuck in their ways to transfer over to this storage cloud. After the final i¡¯s were dotted and the t¡¯s were crossed I went and collected my belongings from my room and headed out the front door. Looking around that lobby, I thought back over the past year and realized that I would miss this place. But onwards and upwards. The compound staff had all gathered around the entrance to say farewell. Goodbyes were always awkward for me, so I shook hands and said the usual ¡°Miss you, keep in touch.¡± However, Veronica and the Director were the two that I took the most time to say goodbye to as they impacted the most. Those two I would miss and would try to keep in contact with through our avatars. Securing my gear in the rear of the carriage, I climbed in and sat next to Marion. Leaning out the window, I waved one last time as the carriage rolled down the cobbled path to the north gate. Erebos trudged alongside the cab huffing to himself and sulking that he couldn¡¯t get a free ride with us. After consoling with promises of honeyed treats and succulent morsels of food I turned my attention to the countryside passing by my window. The road lead in a northeastern direction and was well used from the constant traffic of farmers, merchants and peddlers. Other than my escapades in the ravine I hadn¡¯t really seen the world for its sheer beauty. The countryside was a mixture of tall oak trees, leaves vibrantly green, interspersed with cultivated fields of wheat and oats. The further we traveled the more indications of civilization became evident. Jamus had explained to me that the compound was set up so that if any mistakes should happen in the transfer, Solaris would be unaffected. Hence the 21 mile distance from the capitol. My adopted home was on the far side of the capitol along the coast. The property was purchased as a place for Linsette to recuperate after her encounter with the dragon and loss of her left arm. It was thought that the tranquil site would be the best way for her to come to terms with her loss and come up with a plan to move forward. As we headed to this place where I too would be able to come up with a plan, I peppered my parents with questions. ¡°How big is the property, would Erebos have room to hunt, when can I get to the library, when will I be able to go to the mercenary hall?¡± Each questions was answered with a smile and twinkle of the eye, but the final question shocked them I think. ¡°Why do you want to go to the Mercenary Hall so soon?¡± asked Marion with a puzzled look on his face. ¡°Aren¡¯t places like the Mercenary Hall where individuals go to enhance their skills and learn from other Mercs?¡± I responded. ¡°Yes they are but nobody applies to a Hall without first gaining a class and that¡¯s usually after their first year at the Academy.¡± ¡°But, I already have a class that I know almost nothing about. I have no skills in any weapons. Erebos is a powerhouse compared to me, but I have no idea how to utilize that power. I can think of several things that will enable me to improve myself, but that will be experimenting with forces I might not be able to control.¡± Each argument I brought up seemed to chip away at their resolve until finally, Marion relented. ¡°Okay, okay, how about this. On your tenth birthday you will come with me to see the guild master and you can persuade him to let you become an apprentice. Until then you will learn from your mother either at home or at the library. During that time I will personally train you in the use of whatever weapon you are interested in so that you won¡¯t have to rely on luck the next time a Jimmy comes along.¡± Linsette nodded in agreement and consoled me by saying ¡°It¡¯s okay young one to want to learn a profession as soon as possible. However, first you must build a platform to support your dreams. Over the next four years I will work with you on enchantments, the use of magic, tailoring, and cooking. All of these will be vital to your survival if you want to become a mercenary.¡± Just then the carriage driver opened up the partition and called down ¡°We are approaching the manor, sir.¡± With that all conversation ceased allowing for me to look out and see my new home. It was nothing grand, but had a nice secluded feel to it. On one side was a nice little cove and on the other side was a heavily wooded forest. Pulling up in front of the house I saw three individuals come out and line-up in front. The first two seemed like the stereotypical help. He was probably an outside type either a gardener or a hunter. She was mostly likely a maid. However, it was the third person that caught my attention. It was an elderly lady (greyish hair, slightly plump, and the biggest smile you have ever seen), and I swear she reminded me of someone. Each was introduced to me by Marion as I disembarked. ¡°Logan, I would like to introduce you to Lional our groundsman. If it needs fixing or built he is the one to come to.¡± ¡°Sir.¡± He stated with a slight bow and head nod. ¡°This lovely lady is Joan our maid. She is in charge of the house and its upkeep.¡± ¡°Sir, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± She stated with curtsey and a smile. ¡°And finally, the one lady who keeps us all happy and running smoothly, Julia our chef.¡± ¡°Oh posh, I just cook the grub and you are crazy enough to eat it. Now little one, anytime you are hungry you just come on down to the kitchen and I will whip up something tasty for you.¡± With that statement and just her overall cheeriness, memories of my dear old grandmother came to mind. I reached out and gave this kind old woman a hug. I guess it was a shock to her as much to me, but she wrapped her arms around me and returned the hug. As I backed away, I am sure I had a tear in my eye ¡°Sorry for that, you just reminded me so much of my grandmother and her down to earth spirit.¡± ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s okay dearie, if ever you need a grandmother you can come to me, whats one more amongst the dozen I already have. Come on then let¡¯s get you some food, you must be starving after that road trip.¡± She wasn¡¯t lying, my stomach was growling louder than Erebos when someone came near his honey. I bounded towards the door in anticipation of the meal ahead but came to a screeching stop. ¡°What about Erebos, can he enter the house?¡± ¡°As long as he behaves and conducts all his calls of nature outside, he may enter. Furthermore, Joan is not responsible for cleaning up after his messes. If and when there is something that needs cleaning you are responsible with regards to Erebos.¡± ¡°Not a problem, he says he is more than willing to stay outside and patrol the grounds. Is there anything that he needs to stay away from?¡± ¡°Lional, I leave that to you?¡± ¡°Yes young one. Behind the house we have a several pens for goats and pigs as well as a chicken coop. If he stays along the edge of the pathways and doesn¡¯t linger nearby anyone of them he should be fine. Hmm, if master doesn¡¯t mind I might have a job that the bear would be perfect for.¡± ¡°Later Lional, you are keeping a starving boy away from his dinner.¡± Linsette interjected. When mother speaks, all conversation ceases, and we headed inside for dinner. After that glorious first meal at the manor, I went to bed stuffed with pheasant, potatoes, bread, and vegetables all smothered in a brown gravy. I knew I was home. Age 6, day 17 As the dawn light streamed through a window, a feeling of disorientation came over me. Where was I? It took me a couple of minutes to groggily figure out that I was in my new bedroom. Shoving the blankets aside, I grabbed my clothes off the floor where they had haphazardly landed last night and struggled into them. Guess I was going through a growth spurt. After checking myself in the mirror, I proceeded down into the house to see if anyone else was awake yet. ¡°Morning, Logan.¡± Marion called out to me as I wandered into the kitchen. ¡°Good morning, sir. Am I the last one up?¡± ¡°Yep, but don¡¯t you worry, your still young in body and need the extra sleep. Your mother and I have spent a lifetime in the field getting up before dawn. Our sleep rhythms have never fully recovered.¡± ¡°There you are Logan, come and help me place the food.¡± Said Julia sliding the last egg onto a plate. Just one whiff of cooked eggs and buttered bread got my stomach rumbling and I ensured the food was on the table in record time. After a Marion said a quick thanks to the Creator, we began to eat and plan out the day. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°What your mother and I were thinking was to take you into the city and get you some new outfits to replace the schools uniform. While we are there give you a quick tour of the Library and Solaris so you can start acclimatizing yourself to our routine. And maybe get a few toys as well.¡± ¡°Toys??¡± I didn¡¯t want to seem rude, but I hope he wasn¡¯t thinking about getting me a stuffed animal, hula-hoop, or whatever equivalent this world had. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Marion laughed cryptically. After breakfast, everyone spent a few minutes getting prepared and then we headed out the door. On our way out I saw Marion strap his daggers around his waist and tuck a few more around his body. Marion must have seen my questioning gaze ¡°One must always be prepared. No matter what you plan, the plan will go awry once you come in contact with the enemy.¡± ¡°So, I just have to make sure I am the enemy.¡± ¡°Nice take on that, but yes we should always be prepared. There hasn¡¯t been any attacks or robberies along the coastal road in over a decade, but better safe than sorry.¡± ¡°So, how often do you go into the city?¡± I asked. ¡°Every day weather and health permitting. Marion normally takes his charger in around 0732 in the morning and I the carriage around 0800. Both of us have duties to perform and its best that we both have means to accomplish them. For myself, I need to have the library open by 0900 so that the Magi/wizards/merchants/ and the rest of the curious folk can have access. As we spoke of yesterday, until your tenth birthday you will be assisting me at the library with errands and further education. There will be plenty of time for you to roam the streets. I, for one, don¡¯t want you to view the library as a place you have to be, but rather a bastion of knowledge where you want to be. Only a few citizens come to access our knowledge and usually it is for the betterment of themselves or to steal something from someone else.¡± ¡°If I am to aid you at the library, will I have to ride the carriage with you as well? Not that I don¡¯t enjoy your company, it¡¯s just that I am used to getting a long distance run in the morning and I don¡¯t know where I can get it in with this new schedule.¡± The request burst forth without much control and by the time I was done I was almost out of breathe. Marion laughed out loud ¡°I do not see a problem with you running to the library; however, there will be stipulations. One: Erebos will be with you at all times. Two: never leave before I do, so that I can sweep the road for anything out of the ordinary. Three: you will always be armed. Do we have a deal?¡± ¡°Deal.¡± I extended my hand to seal the deal. With the deal concluded, I sat back and watched the capitol grow in size and splendor before me. The best way to describe it would be a horseshoe that extends out into the water. The walls were massive standing 16 meters tall and made of blocks that were easily 2 meters on a side. The towers rose another 8 meters above the wall and ballistae could be seen sticking out ready to reign fire and brimstone on any would be attackers. The blue and gold pennants wave majestically in the wind beckoning travelers to come and see the wonders of the Capitol. The final stretch of road before the city gates was packed with merchants and travelers seeking to conduct their daily business within the city. As we waited in line to enter the gates, I kept a hand on Erebos collar to ensure he didn¡¯t become startled at the bustle and noise. Truthfully, I think this was the most people either of us had seen since I had arrived on this planet. ¡°Welcome to Solaris, the brightest jewel in Sunhaven. Do you have any contraband to declare?¡± the centurion called out to the driver. ¡°No contraband to declare just Marion, captain of the Blood Wolves, his lady Linsette, the Royal Librarian, and their adoptive son Logan with his familiar Erebos.¡± ¡°Captain Marion, good to see you again. No hard feelings for the drumming the city guards gave you at the summer festival?¡¯ ¡°None at all Lucius. Next year we will get you. Now my boy needs a pass for his familiar so that he can walk around the city and not get hassled by the guards.¡± ¡°Not a problem, here you go Logan this is for your famIILLLARR!!¡± Lucius voice rose into a high squeak as he looked in through the window and saw Erebos yawning on the floor. ¡°You could have warned me it was a bear. Here is the pass and get out of here before you give me a heart attack.¡± Once we were out of ear shot, we all burst into a fit of giggles until we looked at Erebos curious face and then it overflew into laughter. ¡°Thank you for that. Lucius always acts high and mighty after each festival. Just because the city guards have won the annual tournaments for the past 2 decades doesn''t mean he has to rub it in our faces. One of these days, a merc team will win.¡± With a final laugh at Lucius¡¯ expense we pulled up in front of a massive building. ¡°Behold the library of Solaris. Within these walls lies the history, the philosophy, the religion, the pontifications of madmen, the elucidations of lawyers, the remedies of healers, the words of the masses stored here ready to be read. The combined knowledge within these walls would take someone several lifetimes to understand and learn.¡± Hearing Linsette¡¯s voice talk about the wonders of her library would make anyone¡¯s heart swell with pride. That heart was quickly deflated upon entering the building. Instead of a vibrant place of learning it was more of a mausoleum. There were books galore; the library stacks were filled from floor to ceiling, forming a convoluted maze. But there was no one there. ¡°I sense your confusion Logan. What you see is what I described, however, it is a status symbol.¡± There was a slight hint of frustration in her voice ¡±When the King¡¯s family first arrived here he donated his collection to the city to help the masses. The nobles and sycophants around him saw what he did and tried to one up each other by donating their collections as well. So we have a lot of books, but no one is interested in reading. The lower classes don¡¯t have the time to read, and the upper classes only come here hope to find something to blackmail another family.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, I will use this place to my heart¡¯s content.¡± ¡°Let me give you a quick tour. Are there any specific topics you would like to learn about? I have a couple things that you might want to start reading up on if you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start. Probably something on the Aos Si race, something about familiars, and something about Shadow Bears.¡± ¡°All good topics, but I am afraid I have nothing on the Aos Si. Their art and literature disappeared from the world several centuries after their demise. There might be one or two books in personnel collections, but nothing within this library. As for your other requests, they I can grant.¡± As we were walking, she handed me book after book. Thankfully she had the foresight to give me a backpack to put them all in. There was Thomas¡¯ treatise Ursian Population of Aether, Familiarization of the Familiar by Frederick Finch, Enchantments by Elrond, Healing Applications by Nurse Nightingale, Energy by Alber Tein Stein, and others. All told I had 16 books that covered a gamut of information. ¡°You are to read these each day, and at the end of each day you will discuss three things you have learned. This is not a punishment. Simply put you gain knowledge from reading, but unless you learn how to apply it and verbally explain it to others you will not gain wisdom.¡± That was the missing piece or a least one of the missing pieces I had been looking for over the past year. Sharing of information leads to wisdom. One has to postulate an idea and then defend it to show understanding. ¡°Logan, come along now. I will show you to the reading room. This is where you will spend most of your time each morning. From the time you arrive here until lunch time you will spend your time reading, during lunch we will converse on the various topics you have learned or have questions about. After lunch you will have free reign to explore the city before you need to be back here to help close up at 1800.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan, ummm, do have one question? Where are the chairs?¡± ¡°My gift for you. Anytime you are in here you will read standing up. Once you read a full 4 hours without having to take a rest, you will progress to the next level.¡± ¡°Why standing? Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to just read in a chair, that way I would retain so much more information?¡± I was curious what she was thinking. ¡°Magic in general is tied into the body, and your fitness both mentally and physically. If your mind is trained but your body is weak the first protracted battle you fight could result in your death. My training regime will progress through five progressively harder levels. The first is simply standing while reading, the next is reading on one leg for 4 horus, the next is standing on a swing to simulate unsteady surfaces, from there it is back to a single leg, and the final level is various distractions including wind, loud noises, and temperature changes. It may seem odd and out of the usual, but all combined should give you several skills vital for a caster class. Concentration and balance are what hopefully the Creator will grant for your hard work. Not to mention the added bonus of various stat boosts to your core strength/agility. Let¡¯s go we mustn¡¯t keep Marion waiting. ¡°Now that you have seen the cerebral side of the family, let¡¯s go somewhere a little more hands on. Remember those toys I promised you? Well, we are going to a blacksmith friend of mine who used to be in the Wolves. He should be able to assess the best weapons for you. Through his observations over the years he has compiled a database of races, classes and weapons. I swear there isn¡¯t a weapon or race that he doesn¡¯t know. Be warned he is a dwarf and does not take kindly to elves or in your case Aos Si. So be respectful and mind your manners.¡± Dwarves, a solitary race, were rare in Sunhaven and I would soon have the chance to meet one. In order to meet him we had to travel east towards the harbor. Meandering down the various cobblestone roads we arrived outside a stone building. From within I could hear the steady rat-a-tat-tat of a hammer against some metal. The interior was full of flickering shadows cast forth from a white hot forge. Entering the confines of the blacksmith slowly we watched patiently as the smith delivered several more blows to his craft. A change in the light must have clued the smith into our presence as he quenched the rod into a bucket of water and set it aside. ¡°Marion, what brings you here to my humble establishment?¡± ¡°Hephaestus my son is in need of a suitable weapon and who better than you to come to for aid.¡± ¡°Come here boy don¡¯t be shy.¡± Stepping into the light revealed my face and my ears to the dwarf who then loudly exclaimed ¡°AN ELF, Marion what were you thinking, I tolerate your wife due to our friendship, but you are asking me to arm an ELF.¡± I had to quickly interject before it got out of hand. Calling out in Dwarvish ¡°Greetings keeper of the forge, may your hammer strike true, and your fire never go out. I am Logan sept Marion o Linsette of the Aos Si. I seek the knowledge of the ancients to arm myself to battle the unknown.¡± ¡°May you find the vein you seek and you profits be bountiful. Well, his dwarvish is terrible, but his manners speak volumes. Let me see, stand over here, I need to take some measurements.¡± Over the next hour Hephaestus measure, prodded and ask questions. Apparently during his adventuring days he had come across a tome in an underground cavern that would allow someone predict height, weight, arm/leg length, and combined those into a useful spreadsheet. ¡°Age 6 years old, Height 54 inches, Weight 75 lbs, Arm length 20 inches, Leg Length 28 inches.¡± ¡°What is your class? Grand Beast Master, hmm okay, what familiar do you have? A bear will most likely be best suited to be a front line pet. That relegates you to a supporting role. Wait right here.¡± He then proceeded behind a partition and returned with two pieces of wood. One barely 6 inches long while the other was 5 feet long. Without saying a word he handed each one to me and observed my reactions. ¡°According to my calculations you will reach a height of 78 inches with an arm length of 30 inches, and legs reaching upwards of 42 inches. Those measurements will allow you to have a great range when combating opponents as you will be able to reach most opponents before they reach you. Reminder in combat every inch matters. Now what I have here are two facsimiles that represent a dagger or a spear. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. Since your familiar will be doing the attacking a spear would allow you to reach into any openings available but still keep a safe distance. Another key aspect is that you can use it to keep your foes at bay until assistance can arrive. A serious drawback to that is you are vulnerable up close so a backup weapon would be advised. On the other hand, the dagger is an up close and personal damage dealer as your father can attest. They are quick and designed to take advantages of weaknesses in your enemy¡¯s armor. With them you will always have to be in the thick of things preferably attacking their back while their attention is diverted. Take each of these and see what you are comfortable with and then we will arm you appropriately.¡± Of the two the one that appealed to me the most was the 5 foot staff. Just holding it my hands I knew there were many possibilities that could come from it. A javelin, a quarterstaff, a spear, a cane, glaive, or a plethora of pole-arms that could be made from this simple piece of wood. The dagger facsimile felt okay in my hand but I think my right hand dominance from my previous life influenced my decision. Dual daggers would be the way I would have to go, but I always had trouble using my left hand. Looking back at this I wonder if I had chosen the dagger would I overcome the mental block that much sooner? ¡°I choose the spear. I like the range and multi-purpose aspect of it. Sorry, Marion I knew you were hoping for me to take up the knife, but I have always had a fascination with pole arms.¡± ¡°You heard my boy Hephaestus, spears it is. I will need 1 dozen iron practice spears, 1 steel spear, and 1 spear to leave here with. Also, can you send Logan¡¯s measurements over to Clotho and tell her I requested a leather brigandine, preferably that can be adjusted as he grows.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, I will and I will cut you a deal. 15% off the regular elf price.¡± ¡°Hephaestus!¡± Marion started to arch his back and reach toward a spot high up on his right shoulder. It seemed he was reaching for an old injury by the way he was acting. ¡°No, no, no, no, no. Don¡¯t you dare bring that up? You didn¡¯t have to shove me out the way and taken the cross bolt. I would have seen that Orc if it wasn¡¯t for those pesky kids and dog running past.¡± Hephaestus tried to argue his way out, but Marion simply started pantomiming another injury to his side. ¡°Fine, you win okay. You get the family discount, now get out of here and go bother someone else.¡± He shooed us out of the blacksmith The rest of our time in the city was spent going from shop to shop acquiring various clothing and necessities for me to live comfortably. Age 6, Day 30. Twelve days is what it took for me to successfully stand in one place for four hours while reading a book. You think standing in one place is easy for any amount of time try to support a 3 lb book while you are at it. That book can give a work out the long you hold it up. Not to mention the aches you feel in your feet just supporting your own body weight. But perseverance is the key and I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. I left the reading room to find my Linsette to tell her of my accomplishment. She was in the garden getting ready for our lunch time discussions. Today it was going to be on enchantments. ¡°I finally did it, I went the full four hours standing without taking a break.¡± I am sure I was puffing my chest out at my accomplishment. ¡°Nicely done, and what enabled you to endure.¡± ¡°Three things: Legs should be shoulder width apart to evenly distribute my weight, keep my mind busy with reading, and finally place the book against my body to support the weight. Also, my strength and stamina went up by 2 each.¡± ¡°All are correct ways. The next stage for you is to read for four hours on one leg. This means that it needs to be 4 hours on left leg and the next day four hours on right without the other foot touching the ground once. When you can do both come back and tell me.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am¡± I replied meekly. ¡°On to our discussion on enchantments, please tell me what you have learned.¡± ¡°Enchantments come in two categories: the Enchanter class (enchants both animate and inanimate) and the enchantment skill (only inanimate). Of the two the enchantment skill is easier and more widely learned as no class change is required. Also, the enchantment of inanimate objects allows for an easier path for energy to flow.¡± I began to recite the information. ¡°Wait, expound upon the energy flow.¡± ¡°Enchantments are energy that a caster sends out from himself or herself as the case maybe. An inanimate object is something that an energy field that is dormant. Imagine if you came across stones in a pile. They are doing nothing; if you exert energy you can create a building out of them and giving them a purpose. Now take an animate object. A human¡¯s energy field is in constant flux no discernable pattern. In order for us to enchant someone we would have to first get permission from them. Or if we exerted a greater force and overcame their energy we could thus enchant them. That greater force would align their energy field with ours. I like to think of it like a field of wheat or corn. A breeze won¡¯t affect them greatly, but if a steady wind or a tornado came through a change will be seen.¡± ¡°Close enough you may continue.¡± ¡°To enchant one inanimate object another inanimate object is required. The primary tools for enchantments are metals and stones. As one advances through the ranks the use of different substances becomes easier.¡± ¡°List the Progression and the amount of materials per level.¡± ¡°Beginner ¨C 1 stone or metal, Apprentice ¨C 2 stones or metal, Intermediate ¨C 3, Journeyman ¨C 4, Master ¨C 6, Grandmaster ¨C 8. Since I am not an Enchanter the farthest I can go is to the Intermediate level.¡± ¡°Correct¡± For the next two hours Linsette would quiz me and ask questions. I could be mad that I was stuck inside learning and basically going through a college level education as a 6 year old, but I enjoyed every minute of it. That first week I think I gained at least one point of wisdom every day. That growth slowed to 1 per week by the second month allotting me 63 points of wisdom that year. Age 6, Day 31 Today was supposed to be a rest day, but nobody told Marion that. This morning when I had come down stairs, Marion wasn¡¯t in his usual spot at the table. Upon asking Julia, she merely waved at the doors leading to the courtyard from where a steady grunting could be heard. I grabbed a roll of bread and went out to see what was going on. Lo and behold, my spears had arrived and Marion was testing them out on a hale bale. His stood with his left hand centered in the middle of the spear and his dominant right hand towards the butt. His legs were slightly spread with the left foot forward. He seemed to collect his breadth and then exploded out at the bale with a large yell. With that yell he thrust with his body adding momentum as his body twisted into the thrust and his right hand extended. It was one smooth motion from beginning to end. ¡°Logan, did you see what I did there.¡± ¡°Yes sir, I did.¡± ¡°Good, you are lucky the mercenary hall requires us to maintain at least Beginner status in the standard weapon sets. I will be able to show you the basics and guide you until you are ready to become an Apprentice.¡± ¡°For now you are to perform that thrust a thousand times each day. I do not expect you to accomplish this readily, but set it as a goal to obtain. On average our recruits take 4 months to continuously thrust a thousand times within a 31 minute timespan, almost 2 seconds per thrust.¡± Age 6, Day 245 I had become stymied in my pursuit of both my parents tasks (spear work and balance), as well as, my daily running. My routine was pretty simple: run to the library each morning, take a quick swim at the harbor, go to the library read my assigned books, travel back in the carriage with Linsette, and spear work until dinner. Everything was great with the exception I could not overcome the Beginner to Apprentice barrier for running, balance, and spear. Thus, my runtime was stuck at 13 minutes 48 seconds per mile, I could balance for three hours without wavering but not for four, and I could only bust out 800 thrusts in 30 minutes. What was I doing wrong? ¡°Come on Erebos, let¡¯s see if we can beat Linsette into the city today.¡± Summoning him to the courtyard with a mental command. Saying that I was going to beat Linsette¡¯s carriage to the city was my morning challenge, but she always passed us at the three mile mark. However, today felt different. I thought back to my days running track in high school and tried to remember some of the forms that I did for long distance running. Granted that was going back 90 something years, but surely Coach Threson instilled something that I was forgetting: posture, stride, or equipment. Outside of equipment, I was resolved to change up my run today to figure what I was missing. Starting off with my normal stride I headed down the road waving to Lional who was leading the sheep to a new pasture. After three minutes of running, I was sufficiently warmed up to start experimenting. First off, I monitored my breathing. Short quick breathes, breathe in on the left and breathe out on the right. It sped me up but I tired quickly as my stamina drained rapidly to the point where I had to stop running to regain my stamina. It wasn¡¯t until I began to breathe in on the one foot take three strides breathing out on the other that the stamina bar stopped draining as fast, especially when I alternated between feet. Score one point for the home team. Now, to focus on my primary means of locomotion, my feet. In my previous life, sprinting was my forte; however, a constant sprint over long distance will not be beneficial. So, I didn¡¯t resort running on my toes. Paying close attention to my feet made me realize I was running on my heels. ¡°I¡¯m an idiot.¡± I gave myself a slap to the forehead not realizing sooner. Erebos lumbering along besides me just shook his head. For the past year and half I had been running around on my heels. I should¡¯ve known better but I got lazy and ran by rote. Within a few steps, I combined both my breathing and stride and entered a surreal mindset. It wasn¡¯t until I was covered in a cloud of dust caused by Linsette''s carriage rumbling by that I shook myself out of my zone. A beautiful thing had occurred, I was at the 3.5 mile marker and I had gained an upgrade to apprentice in running. Footwork was the key to my troubles. Later that day, I applied the same analysis to Linsette¡¯s balance training and to Marion¡¯s spearwork. For Linsette, I tried moving the un-supportive foot into various positions in front of me and behind me, all the while varying heights. Once I placed my foot up against me knee did I succeed in obtaining an optimal position of balance with my arms centered and clasped before me. Four hours later, I succeeded in passing the first day of her training. As for Marion, I found that the positioning of the foot was vital, but it couldn¡¯t be static like my balance training. For the spear the foot needs to have a dynamic aspect throughout the thrust. An attack must have a Point of Origin (not going to use POO). Up to this point, my point of origin was centered on my waist. By twisting into the thrust my waist added a slight increase in power to my attack. However, I was not getting the fullest range possible and the return to neutral stance was delayed. Thinking logically through the problem, I found that by adding a step forward by the leading foot allowed for a greater range. The lead foot also acted as the return mechanism pushing me back to my neutral stance allowing for me to attack again. The main thing that I learned to day, outside of footwork, is that this world would not give its answers easily. My adopted parents might have set tough goals for me, but they were confident that they were surmountable. I look forward to whatever training they can give me over the next couple of years. Chapter 4: Mercenary Hall Age 10, Day 1 ¡°Stupid Rooster, why¡¯d you have to be crowing this early in the morning?¡± But who was I kidding though, I couldn¡¯t wait to get up and get downstairs. Today was my 10th birthday. Five years since I had first step foot on this plane of existence, the times sure flies. It¡¯s almost like a book where a single page is a lifetime. Running down the stairs two at a time I ran into the kitchen looking for my dad. Yep, I call him dad. I have grown quite fond of my adopted family and count them as my own, all four of them. Linsette, Marion, and the twins. Atlanta and Artemis, who were born two years after I arrived to the surprise of everyone, two little half-elves added to our potpourri of a family. Anything they needed I was there to provide. Diaper changes, burping, keeping an eye on them when they crawled outside. I made sure Linsette was not overwhelmed taking care of two additional tykes. The beautiful thing was I knew I wasn¡¯t going to be pushed aside now that they were here. My relationship with Marion and Linsette had solidified over the past two years and they were not going to discard me like trash. Anyways, I was excited to get on the road, because today was the day that Marion had promised to take me to the Mercenary Hall. I did not want him to leave without me. I should have known better, because as I entered the kitchen everyone was already there shouting out a resounding ¡°Happy Birthday¡±. With my family around me, tears almost came out making me realize how these people had become so special to me over the years. I was led to the head of the table and presented with my celebratory glass of milk and a heaping pile of pancakes. ¡°Your tenth birthday. How times flies. What do you plan to do today?¡± ¡°Nice try dad, don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t forgotten your promise to take me to the Mercenary Hall today.¡± ¡°Your father is kidding with you, Logan. He made sure to get the Guild Master¡¯s approval last week to bring you in today. You make your mother proud today.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t a father joke around with his son anymore? Once you finish your breakfast we will head into the city and see if you can make your mark on the guild.¡± With that statement, I shoved whatever food Julia put in front of me in the need to get into the city as quickly as possible. Sorry to say, I don¡¯t remember what the pancakes tasted like, but Julia would understand why I rushed to finish. Her patient ear has been a God-send for me. There are just some things only grandmotherly type can be there for and she full-filled that role for me many times. Once the last morsel went down the hatch and I headed out the door to collect Erebos. ¡°One moment, don¡¯t you dare step out that door. No son of mine will be showing up to see my boss looking like that. What do you think you are doing leaving the house with those old leathers and worn spear?¡± ¡°But, dad, these are the best leathers I have, and I tried telling you last month that this spear was breaking down. I am sure it only has a couple more weeks left of use in it.¡± ¡°That just doesn¡¯t suffice,¡± Marion replied with a stern demeanor. Then he cracked a wide smile and pulled three packages out from behind him. The first gift he gave me was wrapped in felt and had Clotho¡¯s sewing logo in the corner. As I began to unwrap it, I could sense several enchantments emanating from it thanks to Linsette¡¯s training. As I removed the last vestige of wrapping a full suit of leather armor was revealed.
Hunter¡¯s Armor
A complete set of leather armor crafted by multiple craftsmen. Set includes Brigandine, Pants, Bracers, Helm, Boots. Brigandine: 25 defense, +20 Vitality, +20 Agility Pants: 15 defense, +10 Agility, + 5 Strength Bracers (each): 5 defense, +2 Agility, + 2 Luck Helm: 10 defense, +10 Intellect, +10 Wisdom Boots: 10 defense, +5 Agility, +5% speed increase
¡°Are these from the wolves Lionel asked me to get rid of last summer?¡± Several wolves had been harassing our sheep herds and we were losing them at a steady pace. Lionel had come in one morning looking for Marion to inform him of the situation, but he had left already. After explaining the situation to me, and finding out that the wolves were roughly level 15-20 I knew I could take them on. Erebos and I left later on that day to hunt them down. All told it took us several days to hunt down the remnants of the wolf pack, but a nice boost to our levels was the result of all that hard work. Little did I know Lionel had been following us each time to make sure nothing bad happened to us. In essence, he designated himself as our over watch with his trusty crossbow by his side. ¡°Yes, they are. Lionel, skinned them for you, and saved them for a special occasion figuring something good should come out of them. Between Clotho, your mother, and him they were able to shape and enchant a nice set of armor for you. This other gift is something that your mother and I have held on to for several years now. I think it will be perfectly suited to your set of skills.¡± I could guess what it was just by the shape. Even though I knew it was a spear, I couldn¡¯t wait to open it up. What met my gaze though was something I never could have imagined.
N/A
A pole-arm made of a Shadow Dragon¡¯s tail. The pole-arm maintained the Dragon¡¯s morphing capability and will adapt overtime to its owner¡¯s will. The pole-arm will evolve upon the owner¡¯s attainment of a new mastery level in pole-arms. If damaged, can be repaired by channeling mana into the weapon. 5 mp/min per 1 point of durability. Form 1: Spear; Durability: 200/200 Level 1: 25 atk, 5 Shadow damage, 1 sp/swing
Before I could even pick it up, I looked to Marion. ¡°Are you sure you want to give this to me? It¡¯s an honor that you thought of me with this gift, but surely Atlanta or Artemis should receive this over me.¡± ¡°Be at ease, the spear came from the Dragon¡¯s horde and was not the only thing we looted in recompense for your mother¡¯s arm. We have several other things that will be inherited by them. Go ahead and claim a weapon truly suited for you.¡± Placing my hand on the spear¡¯s shaft caused a message to appear:
You have acquired a unique weapon that has not been named. Upon naming, the pole-arm will be bound to you until your death.
There was only one name that I could go with for a spear. ¡°Gungnir.¡±
Your Spear skill has been upgraded to the skill Pole-Arm Mastery. Your Spear skill will now be a sub-skill of Pole-Arms.
¡°Interesting, what does it mean?¡± Linsette asked, as an enchanter she knew the power names can have. ¡°It means swaying one in the language of my ancestors. In my world, it represented one of the strongest weapons ever used. Hopefully I will be able to reflect even a portion of the fame that spear had.¡± ¡°A strong name, may Gungnir protect you in your journeys.¡± Replied Marion, as he waved Linsette forward to present some more gifts. ¡°My gift to you is part birthday present and part graduation gift from my tutelage. You have been an astute learner in all aspects and I look forward to your accomplishments at the Mercenary Hall. I only wish I could have trained you to become an Enchanter, but your advancement to and mastery of Intermediate enchanting skills has been a joy to watch. Please take these rings as reminder of the skills you have learned.¡±
A Mother¡¯s Pride
A ring crafted by a Master Enchanteress combining 3 metals and 3 precious stones. Effects: +10 vitality, +10 agility, +10 hp/min
A Mother¡¯s Joy
A ring crafted by a Master Enchanteress combining 3 metals and 3 precious stones. Effects: +10 intelligence, +10 wisdom, +10 mp/min
¡°Mother, thank you for your gift, I hope that my skills will never bring shame to you.¡± ¡°Logan, they won¡¯t. I would have given you a necklace as well, but if the Guild master accepts you, you will be given a necklace to symbolize your rank and your group affiliation. Here let¡¯s go outside, this final gift is for Erebos. We can¡¯t let him feel left out now can we.¡± Upon summoning Erebos to the courtyard, he must have felt something was up because he was grinning in the cheesiest way possible. I don¡¯t think that grin could have gotten any bigger when I showed a surprisingly heavy package to him. Opening the wrapping revealed what had happened to the remainder of the wolf pelts Lionel had skinned during last summer¡¯s slaughter.
Protector¡¯s Armor
A set of leather armor meant for a large animal. The set consists of a Leather Cap, Collar, Breastplate, Spine Protector. Leather Cap; +10 Defense, +10 Hp/min, +10 Sp/min Collar: +10 Defense, +10 Vitality, +10 Str Breastplate: +50 Defense, +25 Str, +25 Vit Spine Protector: +50 Defense, +25 Str, +25 Vit
¡°Now both of you go change, you will need to leave soon in order to beat the morning rush. Today you will be taking the carriage into the city.¡± It was almost a superman drill the way I ran upstairs to my bedroom and changed. One instant the door had closed and the next instant I was back out fully clothed in my new regalia. As I climbed into the carriage, I called out to Erebos who was trying to catch a glimpse of his armor in a nearby puddle. Trying to coax that bear away from the puddle was difficult; I swear sometimes he can be such a prima donna. But, as soon as he heard we were going to the city he bolted to the carriage. He just likes showing off in front of crowds, it comes from all the stares we get each time we meander through the capitol¡¯s markets. I don¡¯t blame him though, we both looked like mean, lean, fighting machines in our matching black leather armor. The sun was barely up over the horizon as the carriage proceeded along the coast. The crowds that were usually in front of the gate were absent with the exception of several ambitious merchants in search of the best buys. Captain Lucius waved us through after the usual questions, and didn¡¯t even stick his head in to check on us. I think he was still nervous around Erebos. To give him credit, every time he was on guard duty Erebos had gained a level or increase his size. I never caught him, but he was probably playing with the shadows each time we came close to the city to bulk himself up even more. Five minutes later we pulled up to a one story building that was situated on the northern perimeter of the Solaris¡¯ wall. According to Marion during times of trouble the Mercenary Guild acted as a city militia and per the city¡¯s charter had to supply 200 mercenaries to man the walls. Stepping down from the carriage, I was surprised by how big the building was. The main building was at least 200 meters long and I couldn¡¯t tell how deep it was due to a wall surrounding the perimeter. Even this early in the morning I could hear a clamor of metal striking metal and the yells of mock combat. My adrenaline started rushing just thinking about the additional training I hoped to gain from within. Walking up to the front door, Marion pulled his necklace out from underneath his shirt and showed the Warrior standing at the door. How do I know he was a warrior? The huge bastard sword strapped to his back, his calm demeanor, and his battle scarred armor all lent the atmosphere of one who has seen many conflicts. A deep bass rumbled out of the guard ¡°Marion welcome, who¡¯s the midget?¡± ¡°Samson, meet Logan my son, the Guild master has given permission for him to enter today under my guidance.¡± ¡°Understood, be careful some of the new recruits from the academy are throwing their weight around.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t Chiron keeping an eye on them?¡± ¡°He was but he got called away on some personal business. Something about checking up on the training for a young boy named Jason. He will be back next week.¡± With a final handshake, Marion walked me through the doors I was partially blinded by the darkness within. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw mercenaries of all types staring at me judging me. The trick of the door was immediately evident as anyone who came through the door suddenly would not expect the light change and would backlight themselves to any attacks. ¡°This way Logan, ignore them they¡¯re not used to seeing one so young as you within these walls.¡± Walking through the various mercenaries groups that congregated in the atrium revealed the wide range of individuals and it surprised me. My assumption was that a mercenary group would be dressed the same, and have similar backgrounds. However, I saw at least 5 different races, full-plated knights, clerical robes of at least 3 religions, and several archers. The more I saw the more comfortable I felt about fitting in. ¡°Makorov, may I introduce my son Logan.¡± ¡°Welcome, I am Makorov, leader of the Mercenary Hall for the past 10 years and a humble mage. Marion has told me a little of your back story and some of the training you have undergone, but I would like to hear about it from you. Please have a seat.¡± Thankfully he offered us a seat, because I felt bad standing over him even at my height of 5 feet. You see, he was a gnome and I was unsure of the exact method of addressing him. Dwarf, Elf or Human I knew some of the intricacies of addressing a superior, but for a Gnome I was unsure. So when in doubt, be polite. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I gave him the full run down, from my transition to this world to my class assignment and even included the training Marion and Linsette had given me. As I talked, Makorov would interject a question or two to understand a point of my story and showed surprise when I offered my status table to him. ¡°You my boy are definitely blessed by the Aspects. For now, I give you leave to wander the compound and try out the various weapon ranges. I will need to speak to your father for a few minutes.¡± ¡°Thank you sir.¡± I gave a short bow and left them to their discussions. Wandering through the compound, I stayed quiet and observed everyone about me trying to see the bigger picture and where I would fit. Down various hallways I saw dormitories for the new recruits or the bachelors who had not earned enough money to support themselves, or didn¡¯t want to spend money on housing. On the opposite side of the dorms was the kitchens, where there was a constant flow of people going in with raw materials, and others caring laden trays of food to the dining areas. However, I was more interested in the training grounds and proceeded outside to see what there was to do. The central area was dedicated to a solitary ring with a radius of 45 feet. Nobody was within it but I could surmise it was some sort of challenge ring. It was still ensconced in the morning shadows, but the sand was disturbed from a recent fight. To either side there were smaller rings that had people sparring with swords, spear, and several types of exotic weapons that I couldn¡¯t name. To the north there was an archery range with targets set at 25, 50, 100, and 200 yards. I watched the archers rain arrows from the sky at the targets and marveled at the precision each one demonstrated in nocking and loosing each arrow. Traveling clockwise around the compound I came across several practice dummies with training weapons available for use. Thankfully Makorov had said I could make use of the training grounds for today, and I grabbed a wooden bastard sword. I was thinking about Samson with his sword, and what his strength must be to swing that monster around. ¡°Look at that shrimp trying to swing that sword around. Why is a wimpy little elf trying to handle a sword like a true warrior. Shouldn¡¯t you be over shooting arrows with your toy bow?¡± Someone was attempting to taunt me as I attempted to figure out the sword. I heard his taunts, but my concentration skill was allowing me to focus on the dummy in front of me ignoring his poor attempts at insulting me. A few moments later, I was on the ground rolling trying to figure out what happened. I tried to focus on what was going on and could feel a line of pain along my side. Trying to remain calm while catching my breath, I stood up to face my attacker. In front of me was a teenager, probably 16 or 17, with a long sword in his hand. He might have been a foot taller than me and had me by a good 25 or 30 lbs. That smile on his face was so twisted that I felt a shiver run down my back. I don¡¯t know who he was, but I figured I was in for a rookie beating. ¡°As I was saying, you are holding it all wrong. You need to be more balanced and your foot placement is all wrong.¡± With each word, he swung his sword and tapped the offending appendage forcing it to where it was supposed to be. Now a tap from a wooden sword swung in jest, or in ridicule in this case, hurts, but it isn¡¯t something I was going to get into a fight over. ¡°I thank you for your insights, but I believe I have had enough for today. I think I shall head back inside and find my father.¡± As soon as I said my father, I realized I had said the wrong thing. Oh for a simple display where I could choose my words when interacting with someone. ¡°He wants his daddy. Is the poor little baby scared of the big ole sword?¡± With each childish insult that was thrown my way, the teenager¡¯s cohorts let off a round of laughter. I saw several of the more seasoned veterans around the compound stop what they were doing to see what the commotion was about. Everyone was watching us, but I knew that they were not going to help. Until such time as I was either physically unable to move or had several people attacking me, no one was going to anything. As Marion said ¡°Mercenaries respect ability, and abhor weakness.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want my daddy; I just want to prevent someone from getting hurt.¡± Diffusing the situation was my final resort, but this was heading in a very predictive route. ¡°Someone hurt is right. I don¡¯t know what some little snot-nose brat is doing wandering round in here in the first place. Was it take your pet monkey to work day.¡± He said over his shoulder to his gaggle of pimple faced friends. ¡°Don¡¯t you know who I am?¡± ¡°Absolutely, an over pompous blowhard that is so sure in his abilities he decided to pick on a kid 5 years younger than him.¡± I was getting riled up, if this kid kept pushing I might have to push back and hard. ¡°POMPOUS, BLOWHARD, that¡¯s it. I am Erik von Slatten. Second year graduate from the Academy, warrior recruit to the Royal Wolves, and I will be sure to see that you are kicked out of here for your disrespect of an elder.¡¯ ¡°Well Rik wanna Slapstick. I am sorry you only lasted two years Academy, I hope you last longer for your future wife and don¡¯t quit to early. But I am afraid I am going to be sticking around here for quite a while.¡± ¡°Shut your Mouth.¡± Erik came at me and shoved me to the ground. I rolled with the push and tried to gain a little distance and a hopefully more defensible position. As I backed away, I glimpsed a group of people heading our way. ¡°Teach this brat a lesson.¡± The group spread out forming a semi-circle around me with my back up against a wall. ¡°STOP.¡± That yell came from the depths of a crusty old veteran. Just that yell, almost made me snap to attention, brought back my days in boot camp. ¡°What in the hell do you idiots think you are doing? This is my training pad, and no one, I repeat, no one is authorized combatives outside the rings without my permission. If you two good for nothing squirts think you want to swing your manly swords around, you do it in the ring. I will not accept anything else. Do I make myself clear?¡± ¡°Sir, Yes, Sir,¡± Came my ingrained response to a tongue lashing like he was giving us. I knew I had done nothing wrong, but when someone¡¯s yelling you just shut up until they are through. Afterwards you can explain what happened, but until then you remain silent even if it rubs you the wrong way. ¡°Hartman, this kid was using the practice dummies, and I was just showing him the proper way to swing the sword. But, he started back talking and insulting me so I thought I would teach him a lesson.¡± ¡°A lesson is it, so you¡¯re an instructor now. To the ring with you then. You can instruct him in there. You, you¡¯re Logan right? Come here. Don¡¯t worry Erik can¡¯t hear us, Marion¡¯s kid right. The one who took on the timber wolves with your familiar. Are you okay with fighting with Erik? He is level 20 warrior that has had two years of training at the Academy, you think you can take him?¡± Hartman seemed concerned, but more of I don¡¯t want this to land on my head then will this kid get beaten to a bloody pulp. ¡°Oh, for sure I can. Just what are my restraints in this fight?¡± The training I put myself through over the past four years should far exceed what this spoiled brat has received. If he can¡¯t show enough dedication to get through a full four years of Academia, his repertoire of moves should be very lacking. ¡°Let¡¯s head over to the ring and I will explain there.¡± Hartman escorted me to the ring. In the couple minutes that Hartman was conferring with me the whole training area had emptied out and everyone was gathered around the ring. Moving closer I even saw my father and Makorov discussing something. Sensing my stare, Marion looked up and gave me a wink, mouthing ¡°Have fun,¡± and went straight back to talking to Makorov. Those two words lifted a burden off my shoulders, because I didn¡¯t want to bring shame to my father¡¯s house especially in his place of business. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today for an instructional session by the renowned scholar and fighter, Erik Von Slatten. Today he is going to grace us with a demonstration on how to fight.¡± Hartman started clapping, but no one joined in as they knew he was making a statement. ¡°His opponent will be young Logan.¡± As he mentioned my name he waved me into the ring. Stepping in, I felt all eyes on me and felt a slight blush creep up my cheeks at all the attention. There were many looks of disgust, but none directed my way. Everyone knew that Erik was trying to make a name for himself, but to do it versus a kid was just plain stupid. Hartman continued, ¡°I assure you this fight is more than fair, if not slightly one sided. I will let you all judge who the fight is in favor for in a moment. Erik, what weapons will you choose?¡± ¡°The sword.¡± You could the perspiration beading up on his face as he realized this had gone far deeper than he ever wanted it to go. The only problem was he didn¡¯t know when to jump ship. ¡°Logan, since this is your first time in a ring, you are allowed your choice of weapons.¡± ¡°Understood, I choose the spear. What about magic? Am I allowed to use any skills at my disposal?¡± ¡°Anything and everything is allowed within the ring. The choice of weapon is merely a verbal formality.¡± Turning to the crowd, Hartman cried, ¡°I need two clerics as witness to this fight. Ahh, thank you Gale and Howser. Gale you will monitor Erik, and Howser you can monitor Logan. Logan as the student in this fight you may choose East or West to start the fight from.¡± ¡°May I perform any spells before I enter the ring?¡± There was something I wanted to try and I needed to make sure no one would cry foul. ¡°As long as it is a spell that you know, and no one here casts one upon you there will be a two minute period where buffs may be applied. Remember until given permission no contact may be made with the opponent.¡± ¡°Understood, in that case I take the West side, Erik may have the East side.¡± I pointed towards the shaded area, and gave flick of my fingers pointing towards a particularly shaded area to the East. The looks on the mercenaries faces stated that I had made the wrong decision by starting off the fight staring into the sun, but I had a plan. Howser came over to me ¡°Logan, I will be your cleric in this fight. I will not heal or aid you in anyway. However, if your health should reach 5% or I feel your life is in danger I will cast Holy Succor on you. This will immediately heal any injuries, but also prevent any attacks either by you or against you for one minute. If this occurs, please leave the ring without an argument. My job is to remain impartial throughout the fight and ensure your health. With that can you please share your status window with my avatar? This is so that I can get a rough estimate on how much damage you will take or can take.¡± ¡°Not a problem, please keep in mind that I request you keep the status to yourself and tell no one. Let me activate a skill real quick and then you are free to look.¡± Activating Aura of the Familiar (a nice 3% of Erebos status), I took a look at my status window as well. I hadn¡¯t done much leveling in the past four years outside of the timber wolves around the homestead, but I had managed to reach level 15. Most of my improvements came from all the training I had invested my time into, and I was anxious to see what I could do.
Status Window
NameLoganAlignmentNeutral
Age10Level15
RaceAos SIClassGrand Beast Master
Strength92 + (.92+5.1)Vitality115 + (1.15+4.95)
Agility149+ (1.49+1.05)Luck60 + (.6+.3)
Wisdom196 + (1.96+3.66)Intelligence159 + (1.59+2.85)
Health (Vitality*10)1211Health Regen ((Hp/100)*2)34.22 hp/min
Stamina ((Str+Vit+Agi)/3*10)1235Stamina Regen (Sta/100)12.35 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)1634Mana Regen (Wis/10)30.16 mp/min
Critical Chance6.09%
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark-5+ (.05)Light0
Nature20 + (.2)Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive an additional point to Vitality per level You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.-Health Regeneration is doubled -Low light vision -Nature Affinity and Nature Resistance: +20 -Dark Resistance: -5% -Elven relationship: Friendly -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious -REQUIREMENTS NOT MET
Blessings
Do to being of the Aos Si race you are favored by the Aspects Blessing of the Aspects: +1% to all stats and resistances
Skills
Summon Familiar (Beginner lvl 8)
Summon period: 23 hrs 62 min Cost: 250 mp
Call of the Wild(Beginner level 7)
Number of Animals: 3 Duration: 64 secs Cost: 100 mana per animal
Aura of the Familiar(Apprentice Lvl 1)
Percentage: 3% Cost: 10 mp/min
Jumping(Beginner level 5)
Jump distance = 95 inches Jump height = 48 inches Cost=25sp
Skills
Climbing(Beginner lvl 5)
Climbing weight = support your own weight + 50 lbs (125 lbs) Climbing type = need full hand/foot holds Cost=5sp/min
Imagination(Apprentice lvl 6)
The ability to imagine scenarios in greater detail and see it play out before you. 4 Scenarios at a time 4 components (people, time, scenery within 90 feet, weapons) Duration: 8 minute Cost=8 mp/sec
Running (Apprentice Lvl 5)
Run time = 12 minutes 32 secs per mile Cost = 7 sp min
First Aid (Apprentice lvl 3)
You are able to seal medium cuts/abrasions and set basic fractures. Only applies to surface wounds. 1 hp/min reduction per level. (Bleeding out at 3 hp/min apply first aid now bleeding out at 1hp/min) Cost = 50 sp and 50 mp Requirements: 1 silk bandage
Pole Arms (Beginner Lvl 1)
the ability to learn a wide range of pole arms. Effect: Skill mastery is hastened by 1% when using a pole arm.
Spear (Apprentice lvl 8)
Effect: +15 Atk, +10% Atk speed
Concentration(Beginner Lvl 9)
The ability to concentrate on a single task. Effect: Skill mastery is hastened by 1%.
Balance(Apprentice lvl 5)
Effect: Footing is assured in battle. 10% chance that knockback attacks will fail.
Tailoring(Apprentice lvl 3)
Capable of manipulating basic leather and cloth. Effect: 20% chance of failure, material loses 10% durability Effect: 5% chance of producing an Intermediate item,
Cooking(Apprentice lvl 5)
Restricted to basic components (eggs/meats/vegetables/starches/soups) Effect: Various.
Enchanting(Intermediate Lvl 10)
Restricted to inanimate objects only, allows for the combination of 3 separate enchantments. Can also strip Enchantments from objects of equivalent skill level or less to learn Effect: Various. Cost: 20 min cast time, 100 mp/min
Status Window
NameErebosAlignmentNeutral
Age5Level17
ClassSpectreRaceShadow Bear (Elite)
Strength170Vitality165
Agility35Luck10
Wisdom122Intelligence95
Health (Vitality*10)1650Health Regen ((Hp/100))26.5
Stamina ((Str+Vit+Agi)/3*10)1233Stamina Regen (Sta/100)22.33 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)950Mana Regen (Wis/10)12.2
Critical Chance.1%
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom0
Dark15%Light-5%
Nature0Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive 6 points per level -Low light vision -Dark Resistance: 15% -Light resistance: -5% -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious
Skills
Darkness (Apprentice lvl 5)
Absorb shadows within a radius of 1.5 meters For every .1 meter absorbed: strength increases by 1%, agility decreases by 1% Cost: 7 mp/min
Shadow (Apprentice lvl 3)
Able to move in shadows at a walk. Running, noise, or attacking someone will cancel the affect. Cost: 100 mp
Bite(Apprentice lvl 1)
Attack an opponent with your teeth. Effects: 10% chance to crush armor, 15% chance to cause bleeding. Cost: 50 sp
Swipe(Apprentice lvl 5)
Attack an opponent with your paw. Effects: 10% chance to stun, 15% chance to shred leather or cloth. Cost: 25 sp
Howser seemed slightly stunned at my status window, ¡°I don¡¯t think I have seen such stats from one so young in a long time. I don¡¯t think you will have much trouble with Erik, but you should still be careful.¡± ¡°Understood, is there a time limit to this fight? Or should I just go full out?¡± ¡°No one will fault you from going full out. But, however you do it, keep in mind Erik has had 2 years of training and should not be taken lightly.¡± With that final word of advice, I walked into the ring to face my first human opponent since Jimmy the Rat all those years ago. Erik walked into the ring and his stance took on a more formal appearance. To me that meant he was going to take the fight seriously and I meant to as well. That doesn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t going to use every trick in my bag to take him down. Settling into a ready stance, spear pointed slightly upwards towads the heavens, my weight distributed equally across both my feet, I contemplated the upcoming fight. My imagination skill went into overdrive as I sifted through all the permutations I could envision for this fight. Settling on the best course of action, I signaled my readiness just as the two minute mark for personal buffs elapsed. ¡°Gentlemen, on my mark you will fight until someone admits defeat or your respective clerics cast Holy Succor. Ready, Fight.¡± Harmon stepped out of the ring with those final words. Erik approached slowly with his long sword raised before him. Each step he made was short and choppy movement that would enable him to lunge forward or back at the slightest opening or provocation. I wasn¡¯t going to let him get a chance for either. Preparing my spear, I sent Erebos a mental command ¡°Now.¡± You see one thing that enabled us to take down 45 Timber wolves was that I acted as the bait to pull them towards the nearest shadows. What was about to happen next was a surprise for those mangy curs as much as it was going to be for Erik. I started thrusting and grunting making myself look like a martial artist hyped up on caffeine to keep Erik¡¯s attention on me. Looking at his face was a comical site, he must have thought I lost it and was going crazy. But, the distraction was working allowing the shadows from around Erik to slowly recede and be absorbed into Erebos granting him strength and mass. There was a slight intake of breathe from some of the audience, but they were all experienced enough not to give anything away in the face of combat. By the time Erebos was done his strength had reached 195 and he had gained another 40 lbs. He struck Erik from behind doing a critical attack and stunning him with the surprise blow across his back. Stumbling forward he came in reach of my spear and I started my attack. Due to the metal armor that he was wearing, I was not going to commit futile attacks against his strengths, but instead went for his outer extremities. Marion, as a Knife Master, always told me ¡°Death by a thousand cuts might be slower, but you still get the job done, but if an opening presents itself strike hard and strike fast.¡± With that simple constant in mind, I sidestepped to the left swinging my spear at his kneecaps. Utilizing the full spear and not just the pointy end allowed me to use the shaft to act as a force multiplier. As soon as the spear came in contact his knee it bowed backwards disregarding any semblance that it was folding against its nature. The combination of Erebos¡¯s attack and the sudden loss of his right knee planted him face first into the ground. Seizing my advantage, I kicked his sword out from his hands and pressed Gungnir up against his throat. Sure the fight could have lasted longer, but surprise and decisiveness are surer ways to finish a fight. One single mistake in a prolonged fight could end badly for me, and I wanted to make a statement. Mess with me and I will take you down fast. ¡°Do you yield?¡± Praying that he was smart enough to realize when he had been beaten. ¡°I yield,¡± he faintly whispered. Hartman came forward and declared ¡°Logan is the winner.¡± Turning to the crowd of onlookers ¡°Now, get back to your training you slackers.¡± The round of applause was intermingled with a few clandestine exchanges of wagers from around the circle. Reaching down I offered Erik my hand. Reluctantly he took it, once up he dusted the dirt off himself he hobbled over to his sword. ¡°Logan, masterfully done. I see Marion had given you several pointers in the art of combat. Come see me before you leave today.¡± Makorov came over to congratulate me. ¡°I am sorry that one of the new recruits decided to make you his target.¡± Turning to my father, ¡°I think Erik was slated to be one of yours. I leave the choice up to you, do you want to discipline him or shall I have Hartman dish it out instead?¡± ¡°Dad, wait. You don¡¯t need to punish him any more than I already have. It was just a playground tussle.¡± As I spoke, I felt my age as I remembered all the fights I used to get into with people. The glory of it was, guys fight and determine dominance and then become best friends. With Erik, it might settle at acquaintances, but I was prepared to let it go. ¡°If you take it out on him, it will just look like I am using my connections. I don¡¯t need that. I took care of the problem, leave it alone. I don¡¯t think he will be messing with me anytime soon.¡± ¡°As you wish, Erik come here. I believe you have met my son; he has vouched for you even when you clearly were misrepresenting everything a mercenary stands against. Consider yourself on probation for the next 3 months. During that time, I expect you to be a model recruit. After that time, I will consider accepting you into the Royal Wolves. Do you understand me? ¡°Yes sir.¡± Erik mumbled, ¡°Logan, I am sorry for treating you like I did. I should have realized that anyone within the compound would have some sort of fighting experience. I underestimated you, and paid the penalty.¡± ¡°No worries Erik, it¡¯s in the past. Next time you want to tussle just ask, and I won¡¯t pull the Erebos trick on you again.¡± Snapping my fingers, I called Erebos to my side. ¡°I never saw him coming. Well played Erebos,¡± Erik reached out to pet Erebos, and had to jump back a little as he snarled. ¡°Fair warning, he saw everything you were doing from the shadows. Be grateful he respected my abilities or he would have attacked in earnest. He doesn¡¯t appreciate individuals who pick on beings weaker than they are. I suggest giving him a wide berth for a bit, unless you want to be bitten, clawed, and then dismembered.¡± I laughed as I said the last to show I was not trying to threaten him. ¡°As you say, I think I will go wash up now.¡± Erik hurried away trying not to notice the angry glances of the veterans around him. Some might wonder why I shrugged the whole situation off, but Erik was not going to be my greatest enemy. He was a young teenager full of testosterone, and seeking to make an impression on his idols within the Hall. Giving Erebos a good scratch behind the ear for a job well done, I looked up to see I was surrounded by a sizeable crowd. Everyone started bombarding me with various questions and I was dazed by the enthusiasm they showered me with. ¡°What level are you?¡± asked one of Erik¡¯s cronies. ¡°How did you get the familiar, and if it is one what class are you?¡± asked a fellow in forest greens. ¡°What class is your familiar?¡± this coming from a burly warrior. ¡°Whoa, slow down folks, I can only answer one question at a time. This is Erebos a level 17 Spectre, from what I can tell he is a warrior specializing in Shadows. I am Logan a level 15 Grand Beastmaster. Not sure on all the aspects of my class, but I hope to learn from some of you.¡± For the next hour, I mingled with the mercenaries swapping information and stories. Thanks to my young appearance, I knew I was probably going to be made a mascot for them. Being a younger brother to several hundred individuals couldn¡¯t hurt; I just need to convince them to pass me their tricks of the trade. Age 10, Day 2 Yesterday¡¯s events were very fortuitous for me. Makorov, having witnessed my fight, suggested I could become a probationary member. I couldn¡¯t become a Recruit and go out on missions or accept official jobs on behalf of the Hall, but I could come and train until such time the Guild Master and his senior group leaders vote me in as Mercenary Recruit. I would fall outside the official structure of the guild, not quite a Recruit, but not an average citizen either.
Guild Master
Royal WolvesHawksSharksOwls
4 Lieutenants4 Lieutenants4 Lieutenants4 Lieutenants
8 Sergeants8 Sergeants8 Sergeants8 Sergeants
128 Mercenaries128 Mercenaries128 Mercenaries128 Mercenaries
~128 Recruits
From the chart they showed me there were approximately 693 individuals attached to the Solaris Mercenary Guild. The high amount of recruits depicted was due to a slow period between campaigns, and the recent Academy graduation. To become a recruit was simple, all one had to do was show up to the front door of the Hall and request membership. A trial phase would begin where the actions and skills of the individual would be under evaluation by the various Captains and Lieutenants. However, until there was an opening within one of the four branches no recruits could be promoted to the basic level of Mercenary. So the recruits were always vying with each other to catch the eyes of upper management to obtain a highly coveted spot. For some it wasn¡¯t just a goal of becoming a Mercenary, but to get into a branch that matched their class or skillset. Every branch had their own specialty and clients would pay heavily to ensure they got the best squad or platoon. The Royal Wolves were heavy on Melee, Solo Artists, and those that worked best on land. Hawks were comprised of Casters and Ranged Attacks. Sharks specialized in Large Groups (Squads of 32 individuals) and were devastating at sea. The Owls were entrusted with all the Craftsmen, Siege workers, and those that have taken Holy Orders. Depending on the missions assigned, various sections would inter-mingle their personnel by lending squads of 17(1 Sergeant & 16 mercenaries) to another section, as the need arose. The Royal Wolves was where I wanted to be, but I did not want to rely on my father¡¯s connection to obtain a slot. So, I had to buckle down and start my next phase of training, but where to start. One of the busiest hubs of people was the dining hall, and whenever people sit down to eat, conversation will flow. Maybe by over hearing the chatter, I can key in on a few good trainers. So to the kitchen I went, because the way to a mercenary¡¯s heart is often through his/her stomach. Whether in the field, on a long march, or in the barracks a full Merc is a happy Merc, and a happy Merc will hopefully share information. This truism seems to be the same across multiple universes and I aimed to familiarize myself with everyone in this Guild. Getting permission from Makorov was easy, as every Recruit, or in my case potential Recruit, needs to have a duty to perform in order for the wheels to run smoothly. The next obstacle was to persuade Chef Tony. Chef Tony was a mammoth of a man, standing 6 feet tall and weighed close to 300lbs. Never let his girth belie his ability to move around. He had some serious muscle packed underneath his fat. My assumption was that he was this world¡¯s equivalent of a Sumo. On an average day, he would go through several chickens, a couple dozen bread rolls, and multiple buckets of vegetables. His workout routine included, but wasn¡¯t limited to, lifting and throwing rocks that weighed close to 200lbs. Hartman banned him from using the training dummies due to his hammer obliterating them in a single hit. I attempted to lift that hammer once and couldn¡¯t even lift the handle off the ground. Inspecting the weapon gave me a glimpse into Tony¡¯s capabilities.
World-Smasher
Durability: 8,785/10,000 350 atk, 100 Earth damage, 100 sp/swing Requirements: 1,600 Str, Stamina 14,000
Approaching the door to the kitchen, I looked in to see the bustle and clamor of individuals running everywhere. The chaotic scene slowly revealed that there was a distinctive pattern being followed with Tony manipulating each individual in the same manner a conductor leads a symphony. I was not about to enter this man¡¯s domain without his consent so I waited patiently at the cusp dodging waiters as they hurried to deliver their orders. An hour later, Tony looked over at me and beckoned me to come in. I proceeded to him in the most efficient way possible, keep an eye out as boiling water was passed over my head, and hot plates came sizzling by my face. ¡°Thank you for not barging into the kitchen. I was curious to see if you were willing to wait until I gave you permission or not. So what does the Mighty Logan, master of the training yard want from me?¡± ¡°Not the master of anything yet, sir, just a person who used the tools at his disposal to surprise someone. I wouldn¡¯t be able to duplicate that fete here again or against a more seasoned fighter. But, to business, I would like to expound my culinary chops by aiding you in the kitchen. I don¡¯t expect to start cooking, but I would like to have some sort of job where I can progress to being your sous chef. Be it cleaning dishes or waiting tables please give me a shot.¡± ¡°Alright, see the sink over there, wash away.¡± Looking to where he was pointing was a sink with three tubs. Due to the nature of a kitchen there was not a large stack of dishes waiting to be cleaned, but I knew they would be incoming once people started finishing their meals. Hanging up my Brigandine in an adjacent closet, I put on an apron and began to scrub away. In the first tub I ensured it had hot, soapy water, second tub I placed plain hot water for rinsing, and the third was for a final rinse. Within minutes I recalled my routine I had mastered as a teenager in a local restaurant. Grab a dish scrub the backside, scrub the insides, shake the soap off, and plunge it into the rinse tub. Once the rinse tub was filled, run the dish through the final tub and place in the drying racks. Rinse and Repeat. For the next four weeks, I showed up in the morning before the first breakfast was served and stayed until the last plate came into the kitchen. It was repetitive, but I wanted to show Tony I was not afraid of a little hot water. I hoped to gain a least a small boost to my core stats, but nothing came of it. The silver lining though came from my Heat Resistance which plateaued at 5% by the end. If the heat from the water can raise my resistance, maybe just maybe, I can find other ways to boost my resistances. What I found out was that the kitchen was a virtual gold mine of avenues I could explore, and over the next year I gained several useful resistances. Once Tony found out some of my experiments he started pointing me in more constructive ways so that I wouldn¡¯t permanently injure myself. He fed me some of the strongest peppers on the continent laughing each time tears started to flow down my cheeks. Let¡¯s just say my stomach rumbled more than any active Volcano. But, once again the 5% heat bonus was worth the punishment my gut took. By eating the peppers, my cooking skill also went up a level as I began to see the correlation between food and status bonuses. The stronger the pepper the better heat resistance buffs offered to include a temporary bonus in stamina point regeneration. To counterbalance the heat, I needed to work on my cold resistance. Our meat storage was contained in a freezer adjacent to the kitchen that was periodically refreshed by an Ice Mage. Tony had me stand in the freezer at steadily longer times in nothing but my skivvies. A few of the younger folks laughed at the snotcicles that I had, but the 10% Cold resistance was worth it. Tony¡¯s experiments and my willingness to do them entered the rumor mill with a flourish and strangers started offering me various tidbits they had come across in their travels. A Nature mage offered to set up an area with a continuous low grade lightning spell. Paladins stunned me with Holy Light, Fire Mages cast fireballs at me, and so forth. The only resistances that I didn¡¯t get any bonuses in were Darkness, Venom, and Poison. As these three were not readily available to Good/Neutrally aligned races. My familiar did not get a free pass, if I was training so was he. I couldn¡¯t take him into the kitchen, but he could eat the things I did and get blasted by trigger happy mages. But, resistances weren¡¯t the only thing he needed to focus on. His fighting skills were lacking in certain key areas. One his agility was so low that he was prone to getting hit during any confrontation; two he attacked best from the shadows, but relied too much on them; three his offense was restricted to biting and swiping, and his roar was just noise. Several martial artists came to our rescue after seeing Erebos knock Erik down, and would often wave him over to a ring for a fight. When this first started, Erebos did not know what the waving went and just proceeded to the practice dummies. There he would swipe and bite to his hears content. Finally, Bruce came over and explained they were interested in learning how bears fought and if I would explain that it would be friendly bouts. Knowing Erebos, he wasn¡¯t going to just wrestle with anyone, and would need some sort of incentive. I suggested that if anyone wanted to go a round with him they treat him with a tasty morsel. Also, that if they had any skills that they thought might aid him to demonstrate it in the match. Sadly, he was only able to learn Bellow and Stomp, the first for group buff restoring stamina while imparting strength and the second to knock opponents off their feet. The one thing that disappointed me that first year was that I didn¡¯t meet a single Summoner, Beast Master, or Nature Warden amongst the mercenaries. So, I kept myself busy assisting Tony and training with a couple of the new recruits in the use of spears under Chiron¡¯s tutelage. As for Erik, well he left me alone but started copying my training methods. Hopefully, he learned his lesson and will use it to flourish. Chapter 5: On a Mission Age 12, Day 128 I am starting to get bored of all the training I am going through and to top it off I am still a recruit. When will I be able to take on a mission? Its times like this when I wish I actually looked like me true age and not some pre-teen adolescent with acne. Today was the selection process to take 32 recruits out on a reconnaissance mission. Everyone had gathered in front of the hall and Chiron began to call out name after name. As each name was called, I just felt like another weight was added to my shoulders, knowing that I was going to be left behind again. After the final recruit was called, and everyone was dismissed I put on a poker face and tried to suppress my disappointment in not being selected. ¡°Chiron, may I have a word with you in private?¡± ¡°Logan, of course, and I can guess what it is about. Come to my office and we will discuss it.¡± I tried not to shrug his hand off my shoulders as he guided me back into the hall. He must have sensed my frustration because he removed his hand. ¡°Have a seat. So, what seems to be the problem?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this. This is the fourth time this year you have selected recruits to go out on a training mission, and I have not been selected once. Here I am training day in and day out to better myself and I haven¡¯t gained a level in over a year. But every recruit that comes back from a mission has gained two, three levels or a new piece of equipment. I enjoy your tutelage, but I would like to get out from these walls and maybe earn some cash.¡± I had to let out a frustrated sigh ¡°I feel like I am floundering in the ocean not knowing which way the shore is.¡± Chiron was an excellent listener, probably from all those heroes he has trained over the years. He let me vent for a few more minutes letting me wind down. ¡°Logan, I can understand your frustration, but let me say a few things. Out of all the recruits, who is the most proficient in their choice of weapons? You are. Whose resistances without equipment are comparable to some of our seasoned veterans? Yours are. Who can fight, and win against opponents 5 levels higher than they are? You can. Your trainers believe you would excel on the training missions, but our hands are tied. Solarisian law dictates that no one under 15 may leave these walls in any martial capacity. Even with the full backing of Makarov and all his captains, the city council would not budge on this. This law dates back three centuries when a city on the main continent let a young noble join a force to wipe out some brigands in the nearby hills. He was captured and the brigands thought to use his young age, 13 years old, against the city. Upon threat of torture and dismemberment, the boy¡¯s father opened up the gates during the night, letting them into the city. They ran amuck, killing, destroying, and looting one fifth of the city, before they were run out by the militia. The city, in my opinion, overreacted and placed a ban on children under 15 from leaving the walls. They focused on the age factor, and not the fact that a father would do anything for his son. From that one city, the law meandered across the central continent until it reached our shores with the first wave of settlers. For you see that boy was the good King Alfred¡¯s ancestor, and the family has felt responsible for the deaths of that night. So, it might seem like a ridiculous law that was put in place so long ago but we are forced to abide by it out of respect to the King. Your father probably never thought to bring it up in the hopes that you would be satisfied training and expanding your skills.¡± ¡°So, that¡¯s why. I don¡¯t appreciate everyone holding that information out on me, but I can understand not making waves in the city. But you did say I couldn¡¯t perform military actions outside the walls, what about inside the walls? Surely there is something that I can do inside the walls that could enable me to break up the monotony of training? What about hunting skeletons in the sewers or killing rats in a warehouse?¡± ¡°Why would you want to kill rats? That¡¯s what traps are for, and the sewers are barely big enough for a child to stand up in. You are welcome to wander the streets to see if anyone is in need of your particular brand of assistance, but you will have to wait until your fifteenth birthday to go on training missions with the Mercenaries.¡± ¡°I thought every city had trouble with rats and things living in the sewers. Fine,¡± I had to let a disappointed sigh out as I said this ¡°I will go see what there is to do.¡± Age 12, Day 160 Four weeks. Four weeks I spent trudging back and forth around the town trying to find a part-time job. My work in the compound¡¯s kitchen is fun and all, and I have worked my way up to line cook underneath Tony¡¯s tutelage, but I need change and some spending money. That desire for change came, in part, from my prior life. As a military brat, I expected to move around every three years, and once I joined the military it only strengthened that mindset. Also, if I am not challenged or the job gets to repetitive I look for an out. I still work the morning shift with Tony, but I am desperate to find something to challenge me. The sad thing is that each business I applied at responded in one or two ways: You¡¯re too young or require more time than I can afford. There isn¡¯t a tailor, restaurant, or dive that I haven¡¯t gone into to see if there are any job openings. Walking down by the harbor, I felt a gust of wind hit my back. The slight chill that went down my spine reminded me that fall was here and it was going to get a whole lot colder real quick. (NOTE: Summer:1-128, Fall:129-256, Winter: 257-384, Spring: 385-512, based off being born on the first day of Summer.) Looking around I saw several street vendors selling various foods, but nothing for the cool weather. Its times like this when I wish I had a nice bowl of chili in front of me. ¡°Yummm, Chillliiii.¡± I must have sounded like a zombie or a Homer. All I could think about right then and there were all the various snacks, meals and options I had whenever I went out to eat. But, I could nto find their counterparts here. Just thinking about that made me take a second look at some of the vendor¡¯s stalls around the harbor. Not a single one was selling any sort of hot ready to serve meals; maybe this is the niche I was looking for. One second to the next is all it took for me to make up my mind; it¡¯s time to start my own business venture. I just needed to start collecting the necessities. A license to sell food was easily appropriated through Lucius at the gate. A silver piece a day or 5 gold at the beginning of each year seemed expensive, but that is the cost of doing business. I made sure to ask about taxes, and found that Avatars keep track of all sales. At the end of the year, Lourdes will report all my earnings made to the Kings taxmen and I would have 30 days to pay my 10% tax. Fortunately, I don¡¯t have to worry about the various guilds weaseling in on the street vendors as they do not make enough money, but I will have to prepare myself for that eventuality. The next thing was a stall, but I planned to deviate from the normal stall. Those four weeks wandering around town revealed the ebb and flow of humanity throughout the day. No one place was ever fully busy 24/8 and every part of town will experience dead periods that didn¡¯t see any foot traffic. So, I would need a transportable stall. So, to Hephaestus the Blacksmith I went. Marching up to his forge, I steeled myself for whatever verbal flack he might send my way. ¡°Greetings keeper of the forge, may your hammer strike true, and your fires never go out.¡± ¡°May you find the vein you seek and you profits be bountiful. Tread lightly Aos Si, I am tolerating your presence only because I respect your father. Speak and get out.¡± ¡°I come with a business venture, one where your apprentices will gain experience and you will gain coin as well. What I seek is a metal cart in which I can keep food hot or cool, and maybe containers where the heated food won¡¯t burn the customer¡¯s hands but let warmth emanate through, and spoons for them to eat it with. I have the exact dimensions here.¡± I placed the parchment for him to look at in the hopes his interest will be piqued. He looked over the schematics while scratching his scraggly beard. ¡°Rotten drawing you have here, the axle should be place here to allow for easier pulling, the legs should be place in such a way as to provide a counterweight. How do you plan to keep these two sections hot and cold at the same time without bleed off?¡± ¡°My mother has taught me many things in the arts of enchantments, and I have three sets of enchantments that will enable it to work. One for heating, one for cooling, and the final surrounding the previous two reflecting their energies back into them thus amplifying there effectivity.¡± ¡°It could work, but why should I let my apprentices work on such a crackpot idea?¡± ¡°Easy I offer to split the proceeds of the bowls/containers/spoons with them 70/30. They made them so they should get the lion share of the profits. Furthermore, if any should need repairs or seek to find out what other work they can do I will be a walking advertisement for them.¡± ¡°Hmmph, profit and wise words from such as you. I don¡¯t know, the cart itself would be 40 gold to build in just raw materials.¡± He seemed to be wavering, so I pull out what I hoped would be the trump card.
Logan¡¯s Chili
Chili that is made from beef, pork, red beans, black beans, onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, black pepper, and salt. Effects: For 32 min your body is immune to the cold, For 2 hrs +10 Cold resistance.
¡°Boy, you have yourself an idea there for sure. This is like eating a piece coal from my forge, but much more savory. You have yourself a deal with one stipulation. You have 2 months to pay me back the 40 gold or I repossess the cart and receive the recipe for your Chili.¡±
A dwarf has looked favorably on a business deal with you. Dwarf relations +10. However, if the business deal should fail your Dwarf relations will lose 100 points.
¡°I accept your terms.¡± Age 12, Day 224 ¡°Here you go sir, your chili. That will be 2 silver for the chili, and 5 for the bowl. Remember to bring it back next time. Have a nice day. Next! Welcome to Logan¡¯s Chili Stand.¡± It had been a great month since I started selling. I made 3 silver and 50 copper (3s50c from now on) off each initial sale, and was able to pay Hephaestus off within a months¡¯ time. Averaging 100 customers a day brought in 128 gold (128g) by the end of the first month. That was more than triple what I expected, and a good thing to. 30g went into procuring the raw materials for the chili, since most were scarce commodities during the winter months. But that was all worth it. ¡°Welcome back Anna. Here is your bowl as promised.¡± About three weeks ago, I happened to be wheeling my cart down by the baking district after a day of selling my wares and had seen a woman coughing against a wall. As I watched she huddled up against a wall trying to stay out of the wind and catch some of the warmth escaping from the bakery¡¯s basement. Stepping closer, I noticed that she had wrapped a shawl around a young child and was shielding him from the wind and snow with her body. Hurrying to their side, I made two bowls of chili and handed them over. ¡°Please take these, it will warm you up ¡°Thank you, master, but we can¡¯t accept this, we couldn¡¯t afford it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, I can afford it and I can¡¯t stand the sight of the two of you freezing out here.¡± They both gobbled up the Chili as if it was the only meal they have had in several days. A passage came to mind talking about looking after the widows and orphans and I knew there was anything I could do to help these two I would. They were done within minutes and I gladly refilled their bowls with seconds smiling as they began to show signs of warmth. When they had finished the second bowl, they sought to return it to me but I refused. ¡°Hold on to those. Any day you need a bowl come find me and I will give you one on the house.¡± ¡°But, why? Why are you helping us? You don¡¯t know us and yet you are giving us your food and these bowls?¡± The look of amazement in her eyes and tears flowing down her cheeks made me want to look away in embarrassment. ¡°I want to help out, but if you feel like you need to repay tell me your names. And, should you come across anything interesting that might be useful to me come and find me.¡± The second part I said in jest in order for her to feel like there was a way to repay me. ¡°I am Anna, and this is my son, Sebastian, master. Say hello to the master, Sebastian.¡± Sebastian, being 4 years old, did a curt little head nod and hid behind his mother¡¯s skirt. ¡°Hello, Sebastian, I hope you enjoyed the Chili and I will see you tomorrow. Don¡¯t lose your bowl now, you hear.¡± I smiled as I heard a little voice mumble ¡°Yes sir.¡± Their story was a familiar tune on the docks of Solaris. The father was a sailor on one of the many merchant vessels that called this port home. The owner had decided to do one last foray to the southern continent for spices before winter set in; however, the ship never came back to port. Any attempts to contact his Avatar were deemed futile as there are still places on this planet were communications are inaccessible. She had been living hand to mouth for the past two months in the hopes that a miracle would happen and her husband would return. After hearing her story, there was no way I could refuse them. Even if they could never repay me, I felt it was my civic duty to help. So for the past three weeks, they would routinely show up to wherever I was setup and wait in line for a bowl. That brings us back to today. ¡°Master, you said that if ever I should hear something useful to bring it to you, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Anna, what do you have for me?¡± ¡°Well, I was down by the baking district, you know where you found us that night, and overheard Juniper the Baker talking with one of her apprentices. You see she thinks someone is following her. I didn¡¯t hear the rest, but hopefully it is something you can use.¡± ¡°Who knows? I look into it and see if anything comes out of it.¡± I finished up the final couple of orders and packed it in for the night. It was two days later as I rolled past the baking district that I caught a glimpse of Juniper¡¯s Bakery that I remembered what Anna had said. Curious as to why someone would be following a Baker I parked my stand in the alley next to her store. Telling Erebos to stand guard, I went into see if I could get to the bottom of this mystery. The doorbell gave off a cheerful tinkling as I entered. The colors and aromas within the bakery assaulted my senses. It was like I had gone to my happy place. I saw cream buns, multi-tiered cakes, frosted treats, salt-water taffy, and treats galore. Just entering the foyer of this establishment made me want to buy a bag of treats for my family. ¡°Be right with you,¡± Called out a lovely little elf. She was in the middle of some very delicate piping on a magnificent ivory cake. The piping was so intricate that I could recognize fleurs-de-lis, lace work, and patterns from over twenty feet away with nary a flaw to be seen. Putting a final embellishment on the third tier, she set her icing down and rolled her sleeves down before coming to greet me. It was quick but I caught a glimpse of an emerald and sapphire tattoo on the inside of her right arm that pulsed with enchantments before it was covered. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± ¡°May the Wind guide your path, and the Stars light your way.¡± That tattoo was linked to Elven nobility, and a proper greeting was due to her. I performed a formal bow, right leg extended with my right arm sweeping down with a flourish. ¡°None of that now, I am just a third daughter of a third daughter of a minor duke. I don¡¯t need the royal treatment here, just call me Juniper. And who are you that knows the ways of the People?¡± After a quick introduction of myself to include my parents and my ties with the Mercenary Hall, ¡°I am here because you think someone is following you. Is there anything I may assist you with? ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Linsette in years, you tell her to come in some time she needs to try my newest creations. As for someone following me, I might just be paranoid, but for the past week whenever I go to the bank it feels like I am being followed. Two days ago, I saw a couple of men following me up Main Street and then again over on Market Avenue. Plus the only times I think I am being followed is on the days I deposit my money. I fear they are going to rob me the next time I go. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t go yesterday.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s easy enough; would you like me to escort you?¡± Call me old-fashioned, but I cannot resist a damsel in distress situation. ¡°Hopefully, by me just being by your side will deter any would be thieves, but if not, Erebos and I can take them on.¡± Juniper started to say ¡°I don¡¯t know, you are kind of young¡­¡± I had to interrupt, because sometimes that whole you look young thing gets very annoying. ¡°Juniper, I killed my first man at the age of 5 defending what is now a boon companion, between that companion and myself we have hunted and killed 45 Timberwolves, and I have been training my mind and body for the past 7 years so that I can help those that need it. Please take a look at my status and then tell me what you think.¡± ¡°Level 18!!! That¡¯s 3 more levels than me!! (Note: Outside of the original pioneers of this continent and those that actively fight and hunt experience levels are very low. Killing things for experience is the only route to level up. Any other actions taken can give a status bonus, but no experience. The wealthy buy groups in order to kill monsters, the poor are stuck in the city. The few ways to get out of the city are through the mercenary halls, military, sea (navy or merchant), or to gain a job skill that can earn you money. That¡¯s why you can have Master Craftsmen at level 15.) I¡¯m jealous, but obviously you have had some experience. I would be honored for you to escort me to the bank.¡± The way she said it was like I was given permission to take her to a royal wedding or gala but without any notable sarcasm. ¡°Well, alright then, shall we proceed?¡± Extending me left arm to her, I hoped to emulate the actions of a proper gentleman. ¡°We shall, let me lock up the store.¡± Turning the OPEN sign to CLOSED, Juniper and I proceeded down Baker Street heading for bank. If nothing went wrong it would be a lovely 20 minute walk enjoying each other¡¯s company. But, alas, as most stories go it was not meant to be. Not even 3 minutes into our journey, Juniper caught a glimpse of one of her previous followers behind us as we turned a corner. Feeling her arm tense up, I could guess the reason why and began to lengthen my stride to hopefully get us there sooner. I turned my head to catch a glimpse, but all I saw was a mass of milling individuals. Looking forward just in time I prevented Juniper and myself from running into two rough looking characters. They were deliberately blocking our path and gestured for us to proceed down an alleyway to my immediate right. ¡°Right this way Ms. Juniper, come quietly or your little brother here is going to get hurt.¡± The shorter one opened up his vest to show a vicious bowie knife tucked into this belt. His taller friend just stood there taking it all in. His hands were the size of hams and which cracked very loudly as he cracked them. His demeanor said to obey, or else get pounded into the gravel. Tiny motioned for us to hurry up ¡°Get in there before it gets messy.¡± Pulling Juniper in behind me as fast as I could we proceeded down the alleyway. It was only 2 meters across and about 7 meters deep. I was overjoyed to see that everything was in the shadows of the buildings around us and knew we had home turf advantage. ¡°Juniper get behind me and keep backing up until you hit a wall or find some sort of covering.¡± Subtlety pushing her behind me with my left arm, I then pulled Gungnir out of its carrying case hanging on my right hip. Gungnir had evolved in the past two years, and was now a much more formidable weapon. I was looking forward to using it.
Gungnir
Form 1: Spear; Level 2: 30 atk, 6 Shadow damage, 1 sp/swing Form 2: Baton Level 1: 25 atk, 5 blunt damage, 1 sp/swing Durability: 250/250
¡°Son, put that stick away, your sister has some money on her, and we want it. Just hand it over and I won¡¯t have to beat you senseless. You don¡¯t want to your sister to see you bleeding now do you?¡± The little one kept walking towards me, and I think that was my first mistake, I let him talk too much. Because, it allowed a third man to enter the alley. ¡°Hey, Rand you get the money yet?¡± This guy called out to the short one. ¡°You idiot, no names, and no I haven¡¯t. This kid is trying to be a HERO and I am running out of patience. Get him out of the way.¡± Rand gestured to the brute, who shrugged his shoulders and came forwarded. This was going to be a very tough fight so I called out Erebos and shouted ¡°Back two are yours. Be there in a moment!¡± Rand looked around at my exclamation but didn¡¯t seen anything and assumed I was bluffing at least he was until Erebos let out a Bellow. I love that buff as I felt my strength increase and my stamina felt like it was ready to burst. I ran at the behemoth knowing I would not entice him into a charge like Erik. Instead I needed to use my environment to my advantage. Three meters out from him, I jumped 3 feet up onto the left wall, then jumped across the alley to the other wall, and did one final jump at my attacker. Doing this placed me would place me on a normal persons weak side (left) and would cause him to become off balance to reach me. Nothing fooled this guy however; he had kept track of me the whole way and was reaching out his left hand to catch me on my descent. That¡¯s ok I had a surprise for him I transformed Gungnir midair extending it out to its full 6 ft length and brought it down in front of me in a vertical swing. He moved his arm to block my swing and absorb any punishment I might deliver. Underestimating my strength and what a spear can do proved a painful experience for him. As my spear came down, I heard a snap of a twig as Gungnir broke his arm in two. The downward momentum of the spear and what was left of his arm acted as a fulcrum swinging the top 2 feet of the spear down slicing his shoulder muscles furthering the uselessness of that appendage. He sank down to his knees in pain, but soon began to straighten his body with resolve. With a glance over at Erebos, I saw he was managing to keep the other two off their feet, but he had several cuts on his arms and was starting to bleed profusely. Needing to get to him, I performed a 360 degree spin and thwacked the giant upside his head for a knockout blow. His body crumpled in place giving me room to run over to help out Erebos. ¡°Behind, Bos.¡± Calling out to Erebos letting him I would support from behind and that I was there for him. Hephaestus had it right when he suggested I use Erebos as my meat shield and support him from a distance. Once I was there, Bos rose up to his full height and started send clawed swipes at Rand and the other accomplice. Each swipe could only focus on one of the two foes leaving the other one to attack his side. That¡¯s why when Erebos is fighting alone he tends to stay on all fours allowing for greater maneuverability but sacrificing his more powerful strikes. That formula changes when I fight beside him, I can read his body movements and know where I need to be to be his protector. Erebos swung out to his right at Rand, and as he did I spun around to his left blocking the machete that was coming at his legs with a vertical block. Using the momentum of the attack I let the spear rotate around my hand and it brought down on the top of his head before sending it across Erebos¡¯ back towards Rand who was seeking to capitalize on Erebos returning to all fours. The unexpected attack caught him squarely in the chest puncturing his stomach knocking him out of the fight. Our sudden change in opponents threw off the third punk¡¯s rhythm as Erebos doubled back and bit his sword arm crushing the bones. With a final stomp, Erebos ensured all the would be robbers remained down on the ground and were not going to get up. All told it was a rough and tumble fight that lasted less than 2 minutes. It¡¯s weird how fights go, no matter the skills used it just flashes before your eyes. ¡°Juniper, can you kindly go get Lucius at the gate? I think he would be the best person to talk to about this.¡± I didn¡¯t have any rope on me or means of transporting these people to a jail, and I was not going to kill them in cold blood. I did however apply some First Aid to their various wounds to ensure I wasn¡¯t going to be accused of failure to aid a citizen in need. Five minutes later, Lucius and several other guards flooded the alley and began to ask questions. Juniper backed me up by explaining the situation. Lucius was unhappy that there had been fighting on his watch, but the culprits were detained and no one was dead. ¡°Logan, be thankful I know both Juniper and yourself, there better not be a repeat of this.¡± He waved us out of his crime scene as his cleric healed up the three culprits. They were loaded into a horse and carriage and taken to the city gaol. These three guys should consider themselves lucky that they weren¡¯t going to be sent to this world¡¯s version of Australia. Operating on a much smaller scale, there were several islands around the world were, upon conviction, prisoners were sent to never to return. Unless these were known felons, or had been through the judicial systems multiple times they would probably get a two year sentence. As we walked away, Juniper was ecstatic that we survived in one piece and didn¡¯t lose a single copper piece. The way she described the event was almost like a school girl describing her favorite Pop Star. I almost blushed as she kept describing my antics in that alley, and was relieved when we arrived at the doors to the bank. Stating that I would wait outside for her return, I thought back to the events and decided to see what had popped up during the fight. It looks like I had gained two new skills Triple Jump and Whiplash.
Triple Jump (Beginner Lvl 1)
Three jumps that allow you to rapidly gain on your opponent using the terrain around you. There is a possible chance of confusing the enemy. Requirements: Jump at Intermediate Level Effect: If opponent¡¯s level is lower, 50% chance they will lose sight of you. If opponent¡¯s level is higher, 10% chance they will lose sight of you. If any jump is interrupted, the skill will fail. Cost: 25sp
Whiplash (Beginner Lvl 1)
You have learned new ways of using your polearm. It can now attack your opponents using their body/weapons against them. Your weapon will appear to bend with every attack. Effect: Damage is halved, but opponent is stunned for 1sec from receiving an attack from an unexpected angle Cost: 100sp
Thinking on how to use these skills, I missed Juniper coming down the stairs. It wasn¡¯t until she tapped me on the shoulder did I realize that she was back. I really need to work on my situational awareness. ¡°I want to thank you for your assistance in this. If I had been by myself I would have lost most of my money. Who knows what would have happened? Please take this as recompense for your aid.¡± Juniper handed me a small pouch. Just by the weight I could tell it was 5 gold pieces. ¡°While I was in the bank, I got to thinking. We may have beaten those three now, but if someone else decides to emulate them I might not be as lucky next time. Would you be interested in delivering my weekly income to bank? I will pay 25 silver per delivery and I will encourage my fellow Bakers to do the same.¡± 25 silver per Baker across 20 or so Bakers could net me 320 gold a year with a possibility of more clients coming in as my name gets spread around. That is a nice sum of money to earn and combine that with the cart I will have a nice nest egg to rely on. I now could afford to expand my food catering business, and I figured I knew just the person. The return to the bakery went off without a hitch, and I waved goodbye to Juniper with promises to bring mother by the next time she was in town. An hour later I had found the person I wanted. ¡°Anna, I want to thank you for pointing me in the direction of Juniper. If not for you overhearing her conversation I would have missed out on a very lucrative deal. Question for you though. Have you had any luck in finding a job?¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome young master, and no luck yet. If not for your generosity, there would be nights where Sebastian and I would go to bed hungry.¡± ¡°Well, if you are up for it, how would you like to have your own chili stand?¡± My grin widened even more as she stood there stunned. She was probably expecting a few coppers or silver for her efforts not a job offer. ¡°Now, you won¡¯t have to worry about the cooking recipe or providing any payments. 30% of your income will go towards restocking your supplies, 30% will go to me as your employer, and the rest is yours to use as you see fit. Do we have a deal?¡± ¡°Yes, oh yes, yes, master. I wholeheartedly accept.¡± She didn¡¯t know what to do, bow, curtsy, turn around, jump to the heavens, or start wailing. I reached over and grabbed her hands and tried to calm her down. ¡°Anna, take it please, I need to expand, and you deserve the chance to provide for your son. Now for the 100th time, stop calling me Master, and let me show you the ropes of operating this stand. I will have Hephaestus make you a cart. Everything should be ready by next week, but you can start working right now.¡± For the next couple of weeks, the two of us sold Chili to everyone we could bringing in a nice steady cash flow. It was nice to see Sebastian begin to fill out as they were able to afford more substantial food. As spring got closer, I knew we were going to have to figure out a new item to sell as Chili is more of a Cold Weather food. But, I had thought ahead already and my next venture was going to be homemade ice cream. An easy to make treat that requires few simple ingredients: salt, milk/cream, sugar, and flavoring. Mix it all together in the right quantities and you have a nice treat to cool you down after a hard day¡¯s work. I was going to be making so much money Weed and Ark would be jealous. Age 12, Day 384 The first day of spring had arrived and not a single speck of snow to be seen anywhere in Solaris. It was a good to be out and about, but I was beginning to get worried that Anna had not shown up to collect her portion of the food. I wasn¡¯t in too much of a hurry, but it wasn¡¯t like her to be an hour late. As I was about to get ready to go and look for her, a man came up to me and took a knee before me. ¡°Are you Logan, the owner of this stand?¡± ¡°I am. Why are you kneeling?¡± I looked around nervously, as some people were staring at us. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.¡°I am Raphael, husband to Anna and father to Sebastian. I owe you a life debt for the care you provided my wife and son ever since my ship went missing last fall. I beseech you take me as your servant so that I might repay this debt. I am yours.¡± ¡°Raphael!¡± I was so excited to see him that I gave him a big hug. I knew Anna had gone every morning to the docks to look for his ship to come in and gone to her church every night to pray for his safe return. ¡°Stand up, what is it with you and your wife. I saw someone in need and helped out. There is no debt between us. If there was any, you wife has more than repaid it by working for me manning my second stall. I have no need of a manservant or slave.¡± ¡°But, this can¡¯t be, I have to do something to repay you, there has to be something. I quit my job as a sailor in order to become your servant. You can¡¯t turn me away.¡± His words and actions seemed to get more desperate with every statement he made. ¡°Raphael, calm down, if you want to repay me because you think you owe, fine. I am looking to expand my ventures anyways. How are you at defending yourself? What weapons and skills do you have at your disposal?¡± ¡°I am currently level 56 Merchant Marine. I am well versed in the cutlass and close quarter fighting.¡± As I looked at his stats I decided to take another chance with this family. ¡°Okay, here is the deal. I am currently acting as a courier between 93 businesses and the bank. It is getting so busy that I cannot do it all by myself. I offer you the chance to become my head courier in S.P.E.E.D. (Secure Personal Efficient Economical Delivery). As Head Courier, you will hire and ensure that whenever packages need delivering you get them there. Our goal is to insure every package against theft or damage. I will back up each package personally with my money. I will give you free reign in hiring, but do have a few stipulations.¡± I went on to explain how I wanted everything to go. I would provide several bags with the logo stitched into them and enchanted so that they could not be easily duplicated. I would also, unbeknownst to Raphael and his future crew force, place a tracking enchantment within the fibers of the bag. This would allow me to use a rudimentary tracking spell via Lourdes to know where each courier bag was at any time. Since he would be doing the labor and I would be providing the supplies and monetary backing we would split the income 60/40. His 60% would go towards the payroll, and my 40% would allow me to build up a deep enough well to pay of any losses. It¡¯s weird, a new world, new body and I am still looking for business ventures. I might not be a merchant in this life, but I can still find ways to bring in money. I for one do not want to rely on my parents for income. The equipment they gifted me for my birthday, but I was going to need upgrades and replacements. Age 15, Day 1 Today was the selection process to take 32 recruits out on a goblin raid. Everyone had gathered in front of the hall and waited for Chiron to start calling out the names. The Royal Wolves (my dad¡¯s group) would be leading this mission, and everyone was excited to see who would be going. Climbing up onto the stage, Chiron pulled out the List. ¡°Today we will be sending a group of 32 out on an 8 day mission. Our rangers have found a small goblin outpost at the foot of Talon Mountain range and our task is to wipe it out before they get a stronger foothold on this side of the mountain range. There are approximately 200 goblins reported to be in a makeshift fort. Lieutenant Dan will be leading this task force with his four Sergeants: Erik, Leiber, Jackson, and Dirk.¡± At the mention of Erik¡¯s name, my head snapped up. Not in outrage or terror, but in delight. Since our little scuffle 5 years ago, Erik had been training continuously and taking on every mission possible. He was now level 74 and he regularly beat me in our practice sessions to include those where Erebos helps out. Training my skills is great and all, but a 54 level difference is still a tough hill to climb. ¡°As I call out your names please form column behind your Sergeant. For Erik¡¯s squad: Logan, Jonathan Swiftfoot, Max, Korin, Slater, Barbara, Jane, and Michael.¡± I tuned out the other squads names as I proceeded to line up behind Erik. Finally, I was going to be able to leave these walls and experience some actual fighting. Once all four squads were formed up, Chiron dismissed us to get acquainted with each other. Erik led us to a secluded corner underneath a massive oak. ¡°Everyone pop a squat. For those that do not know me, I am Erik, level 74 Warrior specializing in sword and shield. This afternoon everyone will put together their kits and tomorrow we will head out. Before we start on what you need, I want everyone to give a brief description of themselves. Age, Class, favorite weapon, and anything else you want. Logan you start off first, and bring him out so there are no surprises on the road.¡± ¡°Well, I am Logan. 15 years old, a level 20 Grand Beast Master and I have two favorite weapons. The first is Gungnir here and the other is behind you. Be warned Erebos is a level 24 Spectre. Consider him a Shadow Warrior, specializing in attacking from the dark.¡± A couple of the recruits had seen Erebos and were prepared, two of the guys let out little yelps of surprise as Erebos waddled past to sit by Erik in the shade. The two of them had made up a couple years back. Let¡¯s just say a lot of beef steak was involved and several jars of honey. ¡°The two of us have been together for 10 years and have had fun hunting down wolves, deer, and a couple of thieves. However, this will be our first real conflict I look forward to working with everyone.¡± ¡°Thank you, Logan. Now most of you might wonder why a 15 year old is involved here, but let me assure you his skills will be a great asset to us. As each of you introduce yourself I will also assign your jobs. Logan your primary job will be Cook, Tailor, Item Enchanter, and third string healer due to your First Aid skill. Erebos will be a scout for us and appraise us of any possible hostilities along the way. For any conflicts, I want the two of you to focus on our right flank. If no one is coming from that way, I want you to come in a pincer movement to attack the enemy¡¯s sides. If I should be incapacitated you will take command in my place. Next.¡± ¡°Jonathan Swiftfoot, level 22 Ranger, my long bow and my traps are what I use. Look forward to this.¡± ¡°Thank you, Jonathan. Your jobs are procuring food for Logan while we travel to supplement our stores, as for conflicts you will keep an eye for leaders or severally injured. Either one you take out as fast as possible. Next. ¡°Max, level 24 Berserker, and my Hammer is my weapon of choice.¡± That hammer was massive, standing 5 and ? feet tall. The hammers face was the size of a dinner plate and it had a nasty looking claw on the opposite side. That weapon was made to do massive amounts of blunt force trauma to anyone unlucky enough to get caught in swinging range. ¡°Max is going to be our off-tank in any battles. Your job is to ensure that no enemy slips by to attack our healers or ranged attackers. You will be responsible for setting up and tearing down of camp. Next.¡± ¡°Korin, level 24 Warrior, I specialize in sword and shield.¡± Main tank. ¡°Slater, level 22 Adventurer, Crossbow and traps.¡± Ranged damage. ¡°Barbara, level 21 Wizard, fire.¡± Ranged damage, no Area of Effect. ¡°Jane, level 23 Cleric, hammer and holy damage.¡± Primary Healer, focuses on Korin only. ¡°Michael, level 22 Cleric, hammer and holy damage.¡± Secondary Healer, focuses on everyone else. After we had all shared our information, Erik had us give Jane and Michael our hit points. Once that was done, we went over to the quartermaster to receive our necessities. They included bedroll, canteen, tents, personal hygiene items, and a rucksack. Mercenaries and Armies have many differences in their modus operandi, but one thing I noted was in how equipment was issued. The hall provided us with basic items, but no equipment. We were responsible for equipping ourselves either through our own money or looting on the battle field. Just looking at my squad mates gear, I was a little worried about what we might have to face. Hopefully I could enchant their gear and see if Jonathan can get some leather for us along the way to augment several items. Age 15, Day 2 The next morning we all arrived at the front gates of the Mercenary Hall. Lt Dan had us empty out our rucksacks and do an inventory of everything in there. I heard a few yells coming from another squad which only got louder as one poor recruit scampered off to get an item he lost. Mental note: keep track of items. After everything was checked off one last time, we loaded the wagons (one for each squad) and set off on our adventure. It was slow start though as it took us one hour just to get out of the main gates. Once out of those gates we headed due west. In the distance the Talons could be seen clawing at the sky around them. Between them and us were 3 days of plodding through fields and forest. To pass the time we shared stories of our youth, but as my squad was made up of Academy graduates, their outlook was slightly different. They knew each other and their capabilities and I was the only unknown factor. Not wanting to be an outsider, I offered to enchant whatever equipment they had. I couldn¡¯t use my full talents as most of their gear was only simple iron or leather, but I could give them status buffs. Leather items gave agility, Iron gave strength, Wool gave Wisdom, and so forth. Even a status increase of +1 or +2 gave everyone a confidence boost. As we went along, Jonathan brought me several boar and deer hides that I was able to outfit everyone with a least one item (leather belts, a vest, new moccasins) Age 15, Day 5 It was getting dark and we were supposed to be making camp. The Ranger that was supposed to direct us to a good camp ground was nowhere in sight. Lt Dan stopped us on the trail near a clearing in the woods and had us start to set up camp. Calling out to his Sergeants, he gestured to a log where he spread out a map. They all went over and began to have a heated discussion. After a while, Erik came over and had us gather round. ¡°The LT is worried that the ranger hasn¡¯t appeared. He was supposed to meet us four hours ago. Jonathan could you please scout out the area and see if you can see any sign of him. Logan, can you send Erebos out as well.¡± ¡°Sure thing, boss.¡± I gave Erebos a quick rundown and sent him out to look around. Before he left, I told him to check in every 15 minutes with updates as there might be Goblins roaming about. An hour later, Erebos sent me a mental image that I was not ready for at all. In it I saw a man hanging from a scaffold, but his legs had been flayed. Erebos was too far away to hear anything, but the contortions running through the man¡¯s face clearly showed he was in pain. Even as I watched, he was lowered feet first into a fire and left there for a minute before being raised back up. The level of pain he must be going through must be mind-numbing and to be able to carry on spoke to his fortitude. I tried to make out who was doing this to him but my eyes wouldn¡¯t tear themselves from the sight. One of my squad mates, I think it was Jane, nudged my shoulders. Later, she told me my face had gone white and my body had tensed up. Turning towards camp, I shouted out ¡°Sergeant Erik, Lt Dan come here.¡± While waiting for them, I tried to see anything else through Erebos¡¯s eyes. Hearing my leadership approach, I started to describe everything to them. ¡°I think I found our ranger, at least someone wearing a Royal Wolves badge. He is currently being tortured 3 miles East North East of here. He is on scaffolding located in the middle of a palisade. The palisade is made up wood placed vertically into the ground and covers a good acre of ground. I see two log cabins within that could hold 50 of us easily and masses of creatures running around. They stand about 4 feet tall, misshapen heads, long scrawny legs and arms, and seem to be wearing wooden and iron armor. I can¡¯t get a head count as they seem to be constantly moving. There is one main gate in and no covering for a couple hundred meters around them. I don¡¯t see any watch towers, and only 10 or so guarding the walls.¡± ¡°Well done, keep an eye out and try to write down anything that might help us. Everyone gather round. This has now become a rescue mission and we will not be attacking tomorrow afternoon, but instead we will be attacking in 6 hours. By the numbers: 1st squad is on guard duty, the rest take a 3 hour nap rotating out every hour. Sergeants, Logan with me we are going to see if we can find a weak spot to manipulate and save Longstride. I don¡¯t think he has let any information out about us, but we must plan accordingly and be prepared that they are waiting for us.¡± We sat around the fire and the five of them quizzed me on every aspect of that palisade. I instructed Erebos to get as close as he could and see if there was any way we could open the gates. Erebos crept closer and began to circle the goblin fort looking for ways to get closer. The moon was hidden behind a thick cloudbank that had rolled in during the past hour. Our rangers prayed that it would not rain because it would cause their bowstrings to become useless. However, those clouds made everything that much darker and allowed Erebos to sneak right up against the walls. Hugging close to the wall he encircled it clockwise pulling at beams to see if any were loose. A quarter circle away from the gate he came across a narrow opening between two beams. Using Erebos eyes, I saw that one of the log cabins was almost butted up against the wall, but there was a crawl space someone could fit through. That hole was going to be our entrance. A few more minutes of discussing which group should enter and open the gate and a few more on what types of distractions should be implemented. We all dispersed to sleep and prepare for tomorrows conflict. Age 15, Day 6, 0300 Mud crawls. Pushing yourself through mud, weapon in front of you cradled in your arms trying to cover 200 meters without being seen or heard is extremely difficult. I hated it in basic and I hated it now, but it was something that had to be done. Our targets were pre-coordinated and we were not to deviate from them. If the gate was at the 6 o¡¯clock position on a clock, my squad was coming in from the 3 o¡¯clock. Our job was to get to the wall, infiltrate the palisade, and open the gate. Squad 2 would provide a distraction at the 9 o¡¯clock position at 0332. Pulling myself the final foot, I rolled up against the wall and looked through the hole that Erebos had indicated. Looking through I saw underneath the cabin to the central fire pit. The fire had died down to embers leaving a soft glow and giving off a few sparks every time a log settled. There were a few goblins on the ramparts, but otherwise it seemed empty. Getting a time hack from Lourdes, I saw that we had 10 minutes before the fireworks were going to start. Taking a deep breath, I shimmied my way through the hole wishing at times I could meld into the shadows like Erebos. Pulling myself through, Erebos sent me a mental picture of myself wiggling like a worm and covered in mud. His mental laughter at my predicament was annoying especially when he simply dropped down into his shadow and appeared on the other side of the wall. After the last person was through we lined up to prepare for the dash to the front gate. At exactly 0332, Squad Two¡¯s mages set off several lightning bursts. They might have overdone it a bit, because the woods around the strikes caught on fire. The fire began to rage and we could hear the exploding sap from where we were at. From the initial strike to me covering the 100 meters to the gate was under 12 seconds. Upon arrival I put all my strength into lifting the cross bar from the gate in order for our reinforcements to get in. I heard a wet thunk from behind, but I trusted my mates to watch my back. With a final heave, I pushed the gates open to allowing the other 3 squads to pour in. Turning around I found the prone body of a goblin sword in hand lying at my feet with a crossbow bolt sticking out the back of his head. Sending a salute towards Slater, I fell in on my group¡¯s right flank and rushed towards the ranger. Squads Three and Four were assigned a log cabin each to watch. Poor goblins, as they came rushing out of their domicile, ran right into a blade storm of death. The warriors in each group were elated at the carnage they were bringing down on the goblins with very little risk to themselves. As the doors on the cabins only allowed two or three goblins to come through at a time, a steady pile of dead bodies was growing at their feet. The ranged members of each squad split off to climb up onto the ramparts sweeping them of any remaining guards. With 8 of our archers keeping eye on the outside of the fort, the rest picked sniping positions and aiming through the open doors. Each arrow that flew through a door hindered the crowd coming out. Those that did come out were hobbled by arrows in their legs or torsos. Since we were considered a platoon everyone was sharing the experience of each kill and getting a sizeable amount of it. Each level 25 Goblin gave 600 xp per kill meaning everyone was going to get a minimum of two levels tonight. Glimpsing the carnage being wrought by our folks, I was glad I had such people on my side. ¡°Michael, cut him down and start healing. Logan do a quick field dressing on him to staunch the blood loss, then circle round back and keep an eye out for any surprises. Alright folks Turtle formation.¡± With these words Erik took point. There were no complaints that he was stealing experience from us. In this type of situation any support counts, and have someone who is level 74 is a great boon. I applied my bandages to the ranger¡¯s legs, and then got in position. The sounds of fighting from both cabins were quieter and the battle looked to be over. Squads 3 and 4 lined up to do a sweep of each cabin, but as Squad 3 placed their feet on the first step the cabins walls exploded. A behemoth came lumbering out kicking debris all over the courtyard. ¡°Earth Elemental¡± Lt Dan shouted ¡°Sergeants to the front, Casters use Fire and Ice, everyone else back up!!!¡± Lt Dan and the four Sergeants went charging at the monster as everyone looked stunned. The switch from a 3 foot tall Goblin to an 8 foot tall monster made of rocks, earth and malice was a shock for everyone. Erebos had my back once again, and gave off his Bellow. I used that as a reminder that I was second in charge to Erik, and I had to make sure my squad was taken care of, to include the ranger. ¡°Michael, Slater, and Swiftfoot take the ranger and head out now. Rendezvous at the wagons. Jane you keep your eyes on the Lt. Toss minor heals in. Nothing major, do not attract attention. Everyone else sweeps the area and kills any remaining goblins. Remain in groups of two at all times.¡±
By taking command during a fight, you have gained 10 points in leadership
Following my own directions I swept to the north with Erebos to see if any Goblins were left. However, there were no Goblins left anywhere in the fort. The elemental was the last combatant for us to deal with. It must have been a failsafe placed by the Goblin leadership in case the camp was overrun. Their foresight was commendable, but they didn¡¯t see Lt Dan and his 4 Sergeants coming. The five of them went to work on the beast tearing it apart stone by stone. 5 Bull Terriers that would charge in do a little damage then jump back before being caught by the things arms. One hit by those pile driver arms and your ribcage would be snapped into a thousand pieces. The way they fought the elemental seemed like a training exercise to me. Lt Dan would direct one person to circle round while he taunted the mass. The other three would hold back until all the focus and rage was on the LT. Lt Dan would coordinate any attacks telling them when to rush in and when to back out. He made sure that if attention was off him to get everyone out of range and use a critical strike or powerful blow to enrage the monster again. Jane never tossed a single heal their way the whole time they fought. It should have been over in minutes, but it was their chance to show us how to take down Boss type monsters. The primary lesson learned was that backup weapons are always required. Erik¡¯s sword would have been useless against an opponent that had no flesh or blood to capitalize on. Instead everyone used magically reinforced maces and claymores to crush the being into submission. Crying out in pain the elemental went down on one knee bringing his head to the LT¡¯s shoulder height. Lt Dan gave a cry out to the Creator for strength, and brought his hammer down on top of the skull crushing the spark of life contained within. A cloud of dust rushed out from the body covering everyone within 10 meters in a light film. ¡°AOOOOOHHHHHH¡± The wolf¡¯s cry echoed and reverberated across the glade released from 36 conquering heroes. We had won and without a single loss. There were cuts, bruises, and one person had loss their arm, but no deaths. Lt Dan directed each squad to start searching the debris for anything lootable, because it is our RIGHT to claim the bounty of our vanquished foes. It also was a celebratory rite of passage for those of us who had never seen this level of combat before. Each silver coin, or iron dagger was bagged and set by the gate to await our departure. After every scrap of useful equipment was looted we hauled our load back to the wagons. Before we left though, we set fire to the camp to cleanse the infestation that had been there. The next morning, we did a final check to make sure the fire was out and the wooden walls had all been destroyed. Ten years from now there would not be a single piece of evidence that a battle had been fought here. The goblins bodies were buried by an earth mage who had opened up a pit underneath them. Twenty minutes to dispose of 200 bodies was amazing. Remind me never to piss off an earth mage. The ranger was awake when we arrived back at camp and wanted to thank each and every one of us for coming to his rescue. His name Leland Longstride and had been awaiting us for two days. Traveling around the fort he had gotten trapped between two scouting parties and was captured. The loss of his legs could be seen on his face, but the joy of facing another morning amongst friends was a blessing only the Creator could provide. ¡°I am forever grateful for rescuing me. I am not a rich man, but if there is anything I can do to aid you please call on me.¡± A formal bow from the seated position may seem silly at any other time, but the gravitas of the situation was felt throughout the camp. Every one returned the bow in the spirit it was given. ¡°Leland you would have aided us if we had been in the same situation. I am glad that we arrived in time to save you and destroy the camp as well. As for the rest of you, well done. Since we are all gathered a quick rundown on the fight is in order. Archers good control with your rate of fire, I did count 30 arrows wasted however. Casters, thank you for not doing out of control area attacks. I understand that mana was kept at 25% across the board. Melee, good job of keeping the Goblins contained within the cabins. Only real critique is that when the Elemental attack, everyone froze. It took Logan 5 seconds to rally his squad and then everyone else. Remember, surprises on the battlefield will happen. Take them, learn from them, but don¡¯t let them distract you from the job that needs to get done. I will let your Sergeants divide the loot amongst their people. You are dismissed.¡± That¡¯s what I like, Lt Dan gave us the down and dirty, but didn¡¯t go on for hours. Erik waved us over to our wagon. ¡°Well, done folks, you kept focus throughout and I appreciate working with you. Now it¡¯s time to divide the spoils. Each of you receives 5 bags of silver at a gold per bag, as well as, several precious stones. Our portion of iron daggers, breastplates and miscellaneous armor will be melted down. If you desire a portion to work on your blacksmithing skills or jewelry craftign, be sure to contact the quartermaster on our return. The same goes for the skins we found in one of the cabins. Get a good night sleep; we have the last rotation for guard duty tonight. In the morning, we head back to Solaris.¡± Age 15, Day 10 We had arrived in the city late last night and Erik had everyone bunk up in the dormitory. According to him, we had one final thing to do in the morning before we were officially released. After eating breakfast and getting a resounding round of applause from the rest of the Mercenaries we gathered in the courtyard to await our directions. ¡°Alright folks, follow me.¡± Erik headed out the gates and into the city without another word. Everyone looked at each other and just shrugged their shoulders. Max and Strider tried to pry something out of Erik, but he was being obstinate. Nothing was forthcoming so we simply followed him. A fifteen minute hike brought us down to the docks and to the front of building. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was; there were no signs or clues that could inform us where we were. ¡°Listen up, when we enter here; I want everyone to remain quiet. The person within used to be a member of the Mercenary Hall and offers us a unique service. He does this as a side business and doesn¡¯t want his services plastered across town. If anyone destroys that trust, that will be means of disenrollment from our rosters. Do I make myself understood?¡± ¡°Sir, yes, Sir.¡± Entering into the building we found ourselves in a parlor that could be in anyone¡¯s home. Chairs were spread out across the front enough for everyone to sit down in. Since Erik was standing we all remained standing as well. After a couple minutes, an elderly gentleman entered. His back was hunched over from many hours at a desk or working at some project with his hands. ¡°Welcome, I am Kiath, a level 134 Enchanter and an Inkmaster. Erik has brought everyone here for the unique service I can provide. You see I have learned how to enchant tattoos that will give permanent buffs. I can¡¯t reveal how I gained this skill, but the Crafsman blessed my hands with the ability to imbue ink with power. I will give everyone here a shield, the crest of the Mercenary Hall. Once you have been accepted into one of the four branches I will place the branches symbol into your crest. The crest can go anywhere on your body, but usually it will go on your left breast. For you ladies, I can tattoo through clothes so you needn¡¯t worry about that.¡± His smile reflected he had protests on the subject before. ¡°Umm, Sir.¡± I politely raised my hand and waited to be acknowledged. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you or will you give other types of tattoos?¡± ¡°Yes, I do. Depending on the size and shape of the tattoo. I usually charge 5 gold per square inch as there is no ingredients besides ink and my mana required. The effects are reflective on the subject matter. For example, the crest you will receive today will give you +10 to your defense as for the color I leave that up to you. Black gives bonus towards sneaking and dark resistance, Blue allows for a swimming bonus and water resistance. If you have the money today I can provide other tweaks to your tattoos.: ¡°Thank you sir.¡± We lined up one after another to receive our tattoos. I decided to be the last in line, because I had some money to spend and this would be a perfect time to do it. Each tattoo took about 30 minutes as Kiath had to recover his mana and prepare himself for the next round. The variety in each tattoo was amazing, I saw reds, blues, and many other colors that I wished my wife was here to tell me what they were. It soon came clear I wasn¡¯t the only one that decided to spend their money on upgrading or adding onto their tattoos. There were tiny swords, arrows, pictures of mana, and the elements encircling the main crest. Then it was my turn, everyone else had left to go about their business leaving just me and Erik. ¡°Erik, can I see your tattoo?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± He revealed his tattoo, but it wasn¡¯t a little crest with a wolf. His tattoos went from his right shoulder down his right side. One quarter of his chest was covered in tattoos. It must have cost him a fortune, but I was glad I guessed right. Here was a way to augment your armor without having to get rid of a really useful piece. ¡°Just let your imagination run wild Logan. If Kiath can imagine it he can draw it.¡± ¡°Alright Kiath here are the tattoos I would like. The crest done in black with gold lining and a spear behind it. On my right shoulder I would like a bear; I will introduce you to the subject matter in a moment. Wings on my feet, then I need strength, agility, and vitality tattoos and any other status you can give me. Also, can you give me a color wheel on my stomach symbolizing the resistances. Each resistance blending into the next.¡± Oops, I did it again. I had stunned the people around me with my actions. What I had just described was going to cost me 720 gold and cover 144 square inches of my body, but it was going to be worth every copper. Several hours later I was the proud owner of 10 new tattoos.
The crest of the Mercenary Hall. +10 defense, +5 resistance to dark, 5% movement in the dark. +5 to Leadership
A Shadow Bear standing up on his hind legs roaring in defiance. +10 attack, +5 resistance to dark, 5% movement in the dark
Wings of a sparrow located on the heel of the left foot. +5% movement
Wings of a sparrow located on the heel of the right foot. +5% movement
A color wheel representing the resistances. +5 to all resistances.
A fanciful depiction of Gungnir. 5% damage with spears
A chimera on the right leg. +5 Strength, Vitality, Agility.
A sphinx on the left leg. +5 Wisdom, Intelligence, Mana Regeneration
An Oak on my right forearm. +5 Strength, Vitality, Stamina Regeneration
A Willow on my left forearm. +5 Agility, Luck, Health Regeneration
These tattoos had seriously put a dent in my wallet, but I had been saving for the past 2 and half years for something like this. The upgrade in power was tangible as I made my way back to the Mercenary Hall. I was looking forward to any other missions I might go on. This time next year I would be at the Academy, and I wanted every advantage I could when I entered those hallow halls. Chapter 6: Freshman (Part 1 of 3) Age 15, Day 509 It was sad, I was leaving the Mercenary Hall to report for my first year of school. Since it was my last day to say goodbye to all my friends I had made over the past six years, I made sure to make the most of it. Through all the sparring, jests, pranks, and every mission I had been on had only strengthened the bonds of friendship. These were people I would fight and die for once I graduated the Academy. I only hoped that when I returned everyone would still be here. As I bid my last adieu, the Call to Assembly sounded. According to rumors there were five openings to be filled by recruits. Three for the Royal Wolves, one for the Sharks, and one for the Owls. I mentally wished the recruits the best of luck and headed towards the gates. ¡°Where do you think you are going, Logan? That was the Call to Assembly, and that means everyone within the compound is required to attend. You know better.¡± Called Chiron from the Assembly Hall. ¡°Get in here, or do I have to drag you in.¡± ¡°But, I have to get home to pack for my trip.¡± I tried making excuses, but I knew the rules. If the horn sounds you come running, it applied here and on the battlefield. ¡°Never mind, I¡¯m coming.¡± Entering the hall, I squeezed through the crowd to get over to the recruit section and waited for Makorov to make his announcement. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank everyone for coming. Today is both a joyous and sorrowful occasion. We mourn the loss of five of our brethren who gave their lives over the past month in various endeavors. We shall keep their names in our hearts and remember the times spent with them. They shall not be forgotten and will live on in the annals of our Hall. We have mourned them, but now is the time for us to rejoice for the new blood that will be stepping up and carry on our traditions. As I call out your name please take your place with your new company.¡± One by one the names were called out. Thunderous applause came after each announcement. These new mercenaries had trained for a least a year without quitting. They had faced all challenges, undergone at least five missions, and met the approval of all the Captains. It was good to see the smiles on everyone¡¯s faces as the greeted their newest brother-in-arms. ¡°I wanted to make one final announcement, but Marion requested that he make this one in my stead. Marion over to you.¡± ¡°Makorov had said that there were only five openings within our ranks, and that is true. However, upon great discussion we have decided to allot one more position. This will not affect our current numbers as this person will not join our ranks for several years. This person has performed above and beyond all expectations and deserves to the title of a Royal Wolves Mercenary. Recruit Logan, Front and Center.¡± The howl that went up was ear shattering, as I went forward my back and shoulders were slapped raw from all the well-wishers. ¡°Recruit Logan, Reporting Sir.¡± ¡°Recruit Logan, it is my honor and privilege as the Captain of the Royal Wolves to formally extend an invitation. Will you don our Crest?¡± ¡°I do.¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything else. To become a Mercenary in my father¡¯s company before graduating the Academy was more than I could ask for. ¡°Then I charge you with the following: Will you uphold the ideals of guild? Will you follow the leadership place above you? Will you defend your comrades, and perform all duties assigned you?¡± With each question, I responded in the affirmative. ¡°Then I welcome you to the Royal Wolves.¡± I saluted, right fist over the heart, and shoot my Captain¡¯s hand. ¡°Take this as a necklace as a symbol of your rank, and your ties with this hall.¡± One of the other Captains brought a tray over with my necklace on it. From here I could see it was made out of steel with a wolf¡¯s head medallion. The necklace was unadorned, no jewels, no filigree, just plain metal. With each promotion, there were elements added to show the authority bestowed upon an individual.
Solarisian Mercenary Necklace
Symbolizing your acceptance into the Royal Wolves. Level 1 Effects: +10 Agility, +10 wisdom, Will evolve upon promotion. Durability: N/A, will remain with your until death, or disenrolled as Mercenary.
¡°Well done, I am so proud of you. Wear this with pride at the Academy.¡± Marion pulled me in for a quick hug, before taking me down back down the stairs to take my place with the Wolves. With one final round congratulations, everyone dispersed to celebrate. The other newly minted recruits and myself made a beeline for Kiath¡¯s place to get our crest¡¯s upgraded. As we walked we compared our medallions, the Owls stats were intelligence and wisdom, the Sharks were agility and strength, and the Wolves was agility and wisdom. I guess each one was a representation of the characteristics of the company. This was reinforced when Kiath updated our crests.
Royal Wolves Coat of Arms. +15 Defense, +10 Agility, +10 Wisdom, +5 Resistance to dark, 5% Movement in the dark, +5 to Leadership
No additional tattoos were added this time. I gave a formal thank you to Kiath, and then began my run home. This would be the final night I would stay at the ranch, but not just for me. My whole family had decided to move back into the city now that I no longer needed a place to train. I felt sorry for the twins, but they did not have the advantages I did. To make myself clear, they were not imbeciles or incompetent, just still learning about the world around them. Speaking of which, I had to do a quick duck and roll as I made the last turn into the courtyard. It had started when the girls had turned four. After I had told Dad about my several lapses in situational awareness and asked if there was anything he could do to help me out. His answer was to pick up two stones and hand them to Artemis and Atlanta. ¡°Okay, you two throw them at Logan anytime you see him. Do not call out, do not warn him. You can hide, you can throw more than one at a time. Logan, you cannot throw anything back at them. You can catch whatever objects they throw at you, you can knock them out of the air. The competition will not be over until the girls hit you or you tag them.¡± The first few weeks were easy wins for me. They were four years old and their aim was terrible. I think I gained a point in agility and that was it, until Lionel got in on the action. He showed those girls how to hide and sneak. That turned the battle their way for several months. That forced me to start looking for changes in my environment. A rock upside your head is a great motivator to learn something I have found. One tool I started to use in the game was Erebos. When traveling around the ranch or on the road we never traveled side by side anymore. A minimum distance of 6 feet was kept between us at any time. This provided a staggered setting so that if one of us got hit the other would survive. Or, if using our Avatars, send a quick message if something is seen. For example: Bush, 3, close or Corner, 5, medium. Meaning bush at three o¡¯clock position, 1 meter out and Corner of a building at 5 o¡¯clock 10 meters out. The code also worked for objects flying at us. After several weeks of practice, a welcome site appeared for both of us.
Syncopation (Beginner lvl 1)
By working together you have learned how each other¡¯s body moves, and can direct them to dodge attacks. Effects: You can see through your companion¡¯s eyes. Duration: 5 seconds Cost: 200 mp
Situational Awareness (Beginner lvl 1)
You are in tune with the area around you and can sense living things Effects: 1 meter radius Cost: 10 mp/min
My battle record against the twins is almost even these days and will be missed. But, let¡¯s see if I can notch a win for us one last time. Erebos melted into the shadows and would standby as over watch for me. I walked out into the middle of the courtyard to get a clear space surrounding me and waited. Patience is a virtue that I have long held dear. The girls had yet to master it and it was soon evident. I activated Syncopation and my vision doubled. The best way to imagine it was to think of left eye right eye. My right eye was normal vision, while my left eye showed myself in a fight stance. There was no loss of depth perception and there was no blindside that I had to worry about. Working hard over the past three years has brought the level up to Intermediate levels and we can hold it for three minutes at a time. The only downfall is when the skill releases and whoever is receiving gets slight dizzy from the loss of information. The answer to that was to have our Avatars give time hacks. Also, before it would expire I would perform a barrel roll and Erebos would do a Stomp. This allowed us to recover and stay semi-safe through the fight. Using Erebos¡¯ viewpoint, I saw an object flying at my back at roughly kidney level. Spinning around I used an overhead swipe with Gungnir to knock the rock straight down. Another attack was soon incoming from my left which I easily avoid with a simple sway to the right. Remember when fighting minimal movements are essential. It conserves energy, and thus you have a greater stamina pool to pull from. Slowly turning in place I was on the lookout for the next attack and decided to spread my situational awareness out in front of me. (Note: Once your Situational Awareness reaches Intermediate levels you can manipulate the fan.) In this fight, I trusted Erebos to watch for any attacks against my back, and changed the parameters to 10 meters in front and 2 meters behind, bringing the sides in close as well. Spinning in place allowed me to find everyone within a 20 meter radius and decide my next move. Artemis was the first one I found hiding behind a shed with three stones posed for tossing. She must have sensed that I had homed in on her because she stepped out and threw the first stone. Using triple jump got me out of range of that attack, but she had thrown the other two stones along my path of travel. I cut my momentum off before committing to the third jump and slid underneath her toss. The speed I had been traveling allowed me to slide right pass Artemis and tap her feet. With the first foe vanquished I looked around for Atlanta. Out of the twins, her sneaking skills were rather scary. The only way to combat her was to keep your eyes on her. Once she hid herself, you were in trouble. Today I was going to go all out and I had a surprise for her. She might not realize it, but she was very predictable in her attacks. Attacking from the roof or any raised location was her preferred method of attacking me. In our previous sessions, I would get out of her throwing range and force her to come down to fight. Not today. Activating Triple Jump one more time, I used the gap between the storage shed and the house to get up on the roof. Once there I sensed her on the other side of the roof trying to find me. Now, our roof is pretty substantial and can hold my weight which gave me courage to do the next attack. I jumped up on side and slide down the other. She must have heard me impact on the top of the roof, because she jerked around to attack. It was too late though, I had slide down the roof and grabbed her in a hug. Gravity was still in work though, and my momentum was carrying us to the edge. Going with the momentum, I placed my feet underneath us and jumped straight out tucking Atlanta into my body. Rolling in mid-air, I had Atlanta on top of me and my back to the ground. We bypassed the chicken coop like this, but did not travel far enough to land in the haystack.
You have lost 300 hp from hitting the ground. You are stunned. You are having trouble breathing.
Hitting your back against the ground was no fun, and having Atlanta¡¯s weight slammed down on my stomach knocking the air out of me was no fun. However, once I gathered my breath I burst out laughing. We were safe, and Atlanta was laughing as well. No parents were around to scold us and it wasn¡¯t like we hadn¡¯t done stupid things like this before. Dusting ourselves off, we went inside to get ready for dinner. Age 15, Day 510 Forty miles is what I needed to do over the next two days. I wasn¡¯t worried, as it was a straight shot south from Solaris to the Academy. There was no rough country to cross, and merchant roads the whole way. Even so it would be my first two day marathon, and I was looking forward to the challenge.
Running (Journeyman lvl 1)
Running is second nature to you. You blaze a trail where ever you go, terrain is no hinderance. Mile = 8 min 32 sec Cost = 20 sp/min
Waving goodbye to the family, I shouldered my bag and set out. Tears had been shed, hugs exchanged, but my mind was on the future. The goal for tonight was to arrive at a inn at the 20 mile mark for grub and a good night¡¯s rest. Then hit the road once more and arrive at the Academy the next night. Now, when I say Academy, please don¡¯t think of a High School or a College of several hundred kids. Think more of city of 50, 000 that has for its backyard more than hundred thousand square miles of forest, hills, rivers, lakes, caves, and practices fields. This was all used to support the Academy, Sunhaven¡¯s representative in a worldwide network of inter-dependent schools, where young men and women like me go to understand their place in the world. Our academy is slightly smaller than those of the main continent with approximately 1400 students each year. To me this reminds me of my high school days, back in Ohio, so if I use terms like semesters, freshmen year, and other jargon please forgive me. The semester starts off on the 1st day of the Summer, but everyone is required to show up on the last day of Spring. That last day is hectic in so many ways. Arriving on the outskirts of the Academy and trying to obtain a room at a local inn is nigh on impossible. It was a stampede of people coming in and out of the city and every step of the way there was push and shoving from all angles. However, it was a festive mood and no one was getting angry or frustrated. I almost wondered why there were so many people here, but then I realized that everyone was graduating to the next year or receiving their 4 year diploma. Families were coming to see how their son/daughter did over the past year, and tomorrow the standings would be revealed. For me the most pressing need was to get a room for the night. Makorov had given me a letter of introduction to an Innkeeper at the Wandering Minstrel, a water hole frequented by the Solarisian branch when they were in town. The Innkeeper was happy to meet me, but didn¡¯t have any rooms that I could have to myself. He did say that there was a spot with one of the students if I wanted it though. That night I had the joy of meeting up with what would be a true friend in the coming years. It was quite apropos for where we met who this student was. Not even one minute after I walked into that room, I pegged this guy for an aspiring Bard or a Musician. It was almost a nervous twitch for him, always drumming up beats of one sort of another on the beds, walls, or whatever surface he could find. Fortunately for me, I could appreciate a good rhythm and could join in. However, my measly attempts were no way on par with Fidel¡¯s tempo. He didn''t laugh or mock me, he just took my attempts and built a staccato beat around them allowing for a nice blending. That night we stayed up until 0100 sharing stories, and wondering what the school would have in store for us. The next morning we woke bright and early with the sun and trudged down the rickety stairs to get our complimentary meal. It wasn¡¯t my mother¡¯s cooking or even my own, but it would suffice. After eating our fill, we headed out and towards the courtyard of the Academy. The crowds got thicker and thicker until it was a river of men, women of all races and creeds. As we approached the gates, the crowd was divided by soldiers into five groups. New entrants, second, third, fourth years, and the graduating class. Walking into the courtyard, the sound grew exponentially, as the spectators filled the stands surrounding us. Fidel and I were slightly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of folks that were around us. All told there were approximately 1600 students ready and waiting for the commencement speech. As we watched, a fanfare of trumpets was heard and an individual ascended the podium waving his arms to quieten us. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my privilege to welcome everyone to the 96th graduating ceremony and induction ceremony. As headmaster of this Academy it is an honor to present these students before you as they take on the next stage in their lives.¡± The headmaster went on for another 20 or so minutes extolling the virtues of each class until finally he stated ¡°and now it is time for each class to present their three top individuals one for each of the following: Combat, Education, and Challenge Winner.¡± (I later found out that each year an individual or individuals can receive bonuses from the Creator through the academies for each title earned.) As each student was presented, starting with the freshman year, the crowd roared with excitement. In the past, a couple of the students have received awards in two of the three categories, but I didn¡¯t see any this year. ¡°Everyone once in a while, a student does get all three, but it hasn¡¯t happened here since General Tris went through 44 years ago. Even then that was only his Senior year during the group trials.¡± Fidel replied after I had wondered aloud if anyone received all three. ¡°Once again, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the 96th graduating class. May the Creator shine down upon you as you go out into the world.¡± With the exception of the freshman, meaning Fidel, me, and 500 other students, the upper class-men dispersed to their families and friends for day of relaxation and determining if they should apply for the next year. The way the Academy worked was that anyone is allowed entry, Pauper or Lord; however, everything is earned along the way. Some students easily get through the first year of having a class assigned (warrior, healer, warder, or some such), but do not pursue subsequent years thinking they know it all. These students take their first year diploma and head out in the world after formally dis-enrolling from the Academy. The teachers warn us again and again that if you dis-enroll from the Academy you cannot re-enroll again. It seems harsh, but students are warned of this. Those that dis-enroll usually are satisfied with just the basics of whatever craft/class they receive and do not have the imagination or drive to excel in the world. So, unless they have a rich family, they have a very slim chance of becoming high class mercenaries, middle-class to upper-class merchants, or even a General in the Army. Each year that a student stays in the academy, shows their dedication and grit and allows for better opportunities within the system. Another way for students to leave the Academy is to fail a year twice. Everyone is given a second chance at a year to learn and strengthen their knowledge (so technically as student could stay for 8 years before graduating). If at the end of the year, the student does not meet the requirements, they are dis-enrolled but with a diploma of that year dictating their strengths and weaknesses. Back to where Fidel and I were standing in the crowd of other plebes/newbies/fresh fish or whatever you want to call us. We were conducted to a hall where we were told that we would be again be divided up by but this time by race and assigned a class best suited to us. Being the only Aos Si in a sea of humans, dwarves, hobbits, and elves, I knew I was in for an interesting selection. As I approached the registration table, I felt a tap on my shoulder. ¡°Excuse me, but would you happen to be Logan, son of Marion, Captain of the Royal Wolves, and Esther, the Royal Librarian.¡± Asked a rather distinguished but elderly gentleman. ¡°I am, and who may I be addressing.¡± ¡°I am Triton, Sea-farer, but also this year¡¯s Master of Inductees. I am to conduct you to your choosing interview, and provide any assistance to the new students of the Academy.¡± A quick side-note, all adults, ages 20 and up, must volunteer to teach at the Academy, at least once every 10 years if they want to maintain their citizenship. It seems like a good method fostering a sense of community involvement and allows students to interact with people that have seen the world. Also, for that year, you are immune from taxes. That being the case, the Academy has no problems with its permanent staff (longer than 1 year) and its migrant staff. As we walked down a corridor, Triton filled me in on the upcoming interview. I tried several times to interrupt and explain that I already had a class and did not need an interview, but he seemed so delighted to talk to an Aos Si. Upon entering the room, one thing that came drew my attention was a single chair in the middle of the room. About 10 feet in front of the chair in a semi-circle facing me were 8 individuals with placards in front of them. My footsteps echoed through the hall as I approached the chair. I used all my old skills from the military to maintain my bearing and posture. It was so tempting to look around the room and see the art and d¨¦cor and especially see what those placards said. However, not knowing whether or not this would set the tone for my next four years, I put on the proverbial blinders and stared straight ahead. There was no chance in hell I was going to let them intimidate me. After what seemed like an eternity, I arrived at the chair and waited for direction. Too many times, have I been part of a panel and some young Airman or Soldier just come in and slouch in the chair. Plus, I didn¡¯t want to embarrass my parents. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Triton took his seat at the center and stated ¡°Logan, please introduce yourself a little before we start asking questions.¡± ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Logan, an Aos Si, a Royal Wolf Mercenary, son of Marion, Captain of the Royal Wolves, son of Linsette the Royal Librarian. As of tomorrow, I will be16 years old and have obtained 30 levels in that time. I am have Intermediate Levels in pole-arms, tailoring, cooking, and several other skills. Furthermore, I was given the class of Grand Beast Master by the Creator and I currently have one familiar, Erebos.¡± Stunned silence met my introduction. After a minute of people trying to figure out what to say, everyone started shouting and exclaiming at once. ¡°Aos Si, whats that I thought he was an elf.¡± ¡°Level 30, that¡¯s impossible, stop lying you little punk.¡± ¡°Already has a class, never heard of it, you pulling a fast one on us Triton.¡± ¡°Mercenary, they don¡¯t accept anyone before finishing their first year at least.¡± ¡°Intermediate in so many skills, hmm, this must be an amazing individual.¡± This went on for a couple of minutes and when there are 10 people yelling back and forth trying to understand what is going on, it can get loud especially in a hall like that one. Triton, who had remained sitting the whole time, slowly pounded his gavel on the table. One by one the other teachers and masters of various trades sat down and tried to put a visage of calm across their faces. ¡°Ethan, I was told by your old Cr¨¨che Master that you were something special. Yes, he and I used to sail together many moons ago. Where are my manners? Please take a seat.¡± Triton gestured towards the chair charitably. ¡°First off please assuage my fellow colleagues of your claims.¡± ¡°Sure, Lourdes share just my status with the people you see before me.¡± By working together you have learned how each other¡¯s body moves, and can direct them to dodge attacks. Effects: You can see through your companion¡¯s eyes. Duration: 30 seconds Cost: 200 mp [/td100][/tr]You are in tune with the area around you and can sense living things Effects: 19 meter radius Cost: 15 mp/min [/td100][/tr]
Status Window
NameLoganAlignmentNeutral
Age15Level30
RaceAos SIClassGrand Beast Master
Strength165 + (1.65)Vitality200+ (2)
Agility235+ (2.35)Luck80 + (.8)
Wisdom302 + (3.02)Intelligence268 + (2.68)
Health (Vitality*10)2020Health Regen ((Hp/100)*2)60.2 hp/min
Stamina ((Str+Vit+Agi)/3*10)1465Stamina Regen (Sta/100)24.65 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)2707Mana Regen (Wis/10)50.32 mp/min
Critical Chance6.09%
Resistances
Fire10Heat10
Ice10Cold10
Poison0Venom0
Dark15+ (.05)Light10
Nature25+ (.2)Wind10
Racial Benefits
-Receive an additional point to Vitality per level -Health Regeneration is doubled -Low light vision -Nature Affinity and Nature Resistance: +20 -Dark Resistance: -5% -Elven relationship: Friendly -Dwarven Relationship: Suspicious -REQUIREMENTS NOT MET
Blessings
Do to being of the Aos Si race you are favored by the Aspects Blessing of the Aspects: +1% to all stats and resistances
Skills
Summon Familiar (Apprentice lvl 9)
Summon period: 21 hrs 24 min Cost: 250 mp
Call of the Wild(Apprentice level 5)
Number of Animals: 5 Duration: 3 minutes Cost: 100 mana per animal
Aura of the Familiar(Intermediate level 1)
Percentage: 5% Cost: 10 mp/min
Jumping(Apprentice level 5)
Jump distance = 145 inches Jump height = 69 inches Cost=30sp
Skills
Climbing(Apprentice lvl 9)
Climbing weight = support your own weight + 140 lbs (300lbs) Climbing type = need partial hand holds Cost=5sp/min
Imagination(Apprentice lvl 9)
The ability to imagine scenarios in greater detail and see it play out before you. 5 Scenarios at a time 4 components (people, time, scenery within 120 feet, weapons) Duration: 9 minutes into the future Cost=8 mp/sec
Running (Journeyman lvl 1)
Running is second nature to you. You blaze a trail where ever you go, terrain is no hindrance. Mile = 8 min 32 sec Cost = 20 sp/min
First Aid (Apprentice lvl 8)
You are able to seal medium cuts/abrasions and set basic fractures. Applies to surface wounds, broken bones, and burns. 1 hp/min reduction per level. (Bleeding out at 18 hp/min apply first aid now bleeding out at 1hp/min) Cost = 50 sp and 50 mp Requirements: 1 silk bandage
Pole Arms (Beginner Lvl 1)
the ability to learn a wide range of pole arms. Effect: Skill mastery is hastened by 1% when using a pole arm.
Spear (Intermediate lvl 1)
Effect: + 25 Atk, +15% Atk speed
Concentration(Apprentice Lvl 5)
The ability to concentrate on a single task. Effect: Skill mastery is hastened by 4%.
Balance(Apprentice lvl 5)
Effect: Footing is assured in battle. 20% chance that knockback attacks will fail.
Tailoring(Intermediate lvl 3)
Capable of manipulating leather and cloth. Can disassemble clothing to learn patterns. Can repair to full durability any material. Effect: 15% chance of failure, material loses 0% durability Effect: 5% chance of producing an Journeyman item,
Cooking(Intermediate lvl 9)
You have learned all Tony can teach you. Seek more specialized training to advance in levels. Effect: Various.
Enchanting(Intermediate Lvl 10)
Restricted to inanimate objects only, allows for the combination of 3 separate enchantments. Can also strip Enchantments from objects of equivalent skill level or less to learn Effect: Various. Cost: 20 min cast time, 100 mp/min
Syncopation (Apprentice lvl 7)
Situational Awareness (Apprentice lvl 9)
Triple Jump (Apprentice Lvl 7)
Effect: If opponent¡¯s level is lower, 60% chance they will lose sight of you. If opponent¡¯s level is higher, 15% chance they will lose sight of you. If any jump is interrupted, the skill will fail. Cost: 25sp
Whiplash (Apprentice Lvl 8)
Effect: Damage is halved, but opponent is stunned for 1sec from receiving an attack from an unexpected angle Cost: 100sp
¡°I will give you some time to look at Logan¡¯s status, please bear in mind that a student¡¯s skill set is not to be shared with anyone without his permission. Now, Logan let me explain why these individuals here were so surprised. A student that enters here normally will have obtained level 4 or 5 at most from hunting with his/her family members or neighbors. Their stats and skill sets are nowhere near advanced as yours as they would be busy playing or goofing off in the streets. Can you give a brief synopsis of why you were able to get to where you are?¡± Triton gestured as if to say the floor was mine. ¡°Hmm, where do I start?¡± I began to tell them of my encounter with Johnny the Rat and how I got my first levels and later my class. Of how I was adopted by the Mercenary Captain and his Enchanting wife (pun intended) and how I was given free reign of both the Mercenary hall and the Library. From an early age, I knew I should learn as much as possible of this world and strengthen my position in any way possible. I further told them that, there would be other Transferees like myself who would excel in this world. I kept to myself the fact that some of those would also be imbeciles, and would think everything was due them. The panel one by one began to ask me questions, trying to see my strengths and weaknesses. I want to say I did my parents proud with my general knowledge and my practical skills. The second to last individual had a huge smile on her face once it was her turn to speak. The placard in front of her said ¡°Druid¡±. Instead of staying seated like the rest of her fellow panelists, she got up and walked around to me. She was a human in her early thirties with a slight twinkle in her eyes and she walked toward me. ¡°Young Ethan, I am Altha, could you please summon your familiar. I would like to see what type of beast would seek to become your traveling partner.¡± ¡°Madam, he is already here, I try to let him have as much leeway as I can, and he followed me in.¡± ¡°Where is he, is he perhaps inside your jacket?¡± I let out a good laugh at that ¡°I apologize, I shouldn¡¯t have laughed, but you will see why I did. Erebos, come one out and introduce yourself.¡± As soon as I called, the shadows behind me began to coalesce and lengthen. A darkness within those shadows began to take on a life of its own and two golden eyes shone forth. Erebos lumbered out of the room¡¯s shadows and up to my side. The panel was visibly shaken at such a large beast. I didn¡¯t think much of it but the final gentleman had a jolt of recognition and his face went abnormally white and then turned crimson red. While everyone was busy trying to keep the table between Bos and themselves, the Druid was positively dancing up and down with joy. ¡°A Shadow Bear¡± she exclaimed, ¡°what is he six or seven feet at the shoulders, and how much does he weigh? How old is he, what¡¯s his level at? How do you share your experience? Tell me, tell me, tell me.¡± ¡°He is six feet at the shoulders, close to 350 lbs. He is 12 years old by my reckoning, but besides getting bigger he doesn¡¯t seem be aging. He aged until he was 5 years old and then his age just froze. He is level 30 as well. Whenever we do missions, quests, or simply hunt our experience is split evenly, otherwise one would get ahead of the other.¡± ¡°Oh, his age will stay the same as long as you¡¯re alive. For him being 5 is being an adult of his species. As someone with a familiar, your familiar will age normally until they become adults and then stay that way. This is a great reason for them to become our familiars, as it will greatly extend their lives. It means a lot that you think about¡­Erebos, was it?....sharing your experience that way. Most summoners or those with familiars only give their familiars the minimum 10 percent.¡± ¡°10 percent that ridiculous, how will they help out if they are such a low level?¡± I asked. ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s the mentality of levels is power not skill. Sharing experience means more power later on, I am glad that you understand delayed gratification. I look forward to working with you in the coming year. Also, if you want to know more about your Shadow Bear please come find me.¡± With that the Altha went back to her seat and yielded the floor to the final gentleman. ¡°Well, if you are the luckiest little brat I ever did meet. Again, I ask you Triton why we are wasting our valuable time with this student. Our other students come here to learn and be molded into upstanding citizens and this guy comes in and pretends to know everything. Not only that, he brings a dangerous animal into our midst. I say give him a one year diploma for past experiences and kick him out.¡± This came from the final panelist a rather pretentious looking gentleman with a collar so tight I am surprised he could breathe let alone talk. I could almost see ¡°Teacher of the Dark Arts¡± on the placard in front of him; alas, it stated ¡°Swordmaster¡±. ¡°Lord Belvadear, I understand your concern. However, did not your own son enter this morning boasting of reaching level 15 this summer after going hunting with you. Should we not do the same thing to your son as well?¡± ¡°How dare you compare my son to this son of a bloody merc. A Belvadear has never quit or been expelled from the Academy, either here or on the main continent in the past 400 years.¡± ¡°Excuse me, may I respond.¡± I asked of the panel as I stood up. I had done nothing wrong and it might come to bite me I wasn¡¯t going to take this sitting down. ¡°Lord Belvadear, I don¡¯t know what I must have done to anger you so, besides being myself. I was blessed by the Creator to have saved Erebos here from continued life of pit fighting and a possible early death. I have a small inkling of what my class is capable of, however there is so much more I need to learn about him and what I can do. Please do not throw me out of here without giving me the chance to earn a place in your world, no our world.¡± ¡°Hmmph.¡± Snorted Lord Belvadear (henceforth to be called Belladonna). ¡°Well said Logan,¡± said Triton ¡°If only your fellow students could enter here with the same sentiment. Well, ladies and gentlemen of the panel, we have a choice to make. Which school shall he be placed in: the Melee School, the Hybrid School, or the School of Magic. What say you all?¡± It was a school vote down the line with the exception of Belladonna who abstained. In the end it was 3 for Hybrid, 3 for Magic, and 2 for Melee. Triton took one look again around the room to see if anyone wanted to change their vote, and then turn to me. ¡°Which school would you like to go to Ethan?¡± ¡°I can guess some of the implications of each school, but what is the benefit of each one? ¡°The Melee school is primarily for your warriors, weapon masters of various types, rogues, archers, and support classes such as merchants and artists. The Hybrid, which suits you very well, consists of nature wardens, bards, various weapon mages, and other casters that like to mix it up with the enemy. The school of Magic has your clerics, magicians, summoners and enchanters. Also, if a student should stay until the third year they can cross train with the other schools to augment their class or even specialize in a particular skill. Nature wardens can focus on summoning and strengthen their warders. Archers can train as nature wardens and become rangers. Warriors can learn healing or clerics can learn fighting either way they both can become paladins. Just a warning, the specialized training will add bonuses to your class, but your primary class will still be dominant. There are several ways to blend your specialized training into your class. In your case, you have a pretty specialized class already; you just need to figure out what additional training will benefit you the most.¡± ¡°If I were to go to the Hybrid School, I would be trained as what?¡± ¡°You would be best suited as a nature warden. Each warden bonds with an animal to best assist him/her in the wilds. From the mountains to the ocean, wardens assist folks in traveling, hunting wild animals, and exploring uncharted areas.¡± ¡°If that is your council, I accept tutelage with the nature wardens.¡± Age 15, Day 512 As I walked out of the interview, I could still feel the sharp glare of Belladonna boring into my back. I shrugged it off once the doors were closed behind me, and went back out to the courtyard. The crowd in the courtyard was in a constant state of flux, as first years came in and out of their interview. Walking down the stairs wondering what to do next, a shout rose up to my right. ¡°Ethan, over here.¡± It was Fidel and he had a grin worthy of a Cheshire cat. ¡°On the Bard train here, let the sweet music flow.¡± ¡°Congrats man, Nature Warden here.¡± I replied, but as soon as I did Fidel winced. ¡°Nature Warden, who did you piss off.¡± ¡°Piss off, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Really, you¡¯re an Mercenary, and you don¡¯t know about the schools internal hierarchy. First off you have your year group, we are bottom feeders already compared to the fourth year group. Then it is broken down by class. Warriors and healers are the top tier, then the mages, archers and other true classes, then weapon mages (the only hybrid to get any status) and finally there are the hybrids, even merchants are higher than us due to their support capabilities. The bottom of the barrel is us bards and nature wardens. Bards are looked at a little favorable for the music and group buffs we can do, but nature wardens are made fun of because of their low damage in a fight. Also, be prepared for jokes about you and your warden.¡± Another laugh shot out of my mouth before I could stop. I had no qualms about the damage I could do in the fight, or the massive amount of damage that Erebos could do. Then and there I decided to keep my abilities on lock down until I absolutely needed them. They could come in handy if everyone is looking down on me and my class. Let them think I am a Nature Warden, and when push comes to shove I will fight tooth and nail, literally and figuratively, to protect me and mine. ¡°No worries, I think I have an idea of how school hierarchies work. Let us just say, I am confident that over the next four years there will be some surprises. Enough of that doom and gloom, you still seem happy about your class as a future bard.¡± ¡°Well, never was the popular boy growing up and I figure since I love music so much, might as well do what I like.¡± ¡°Good on you, so where to now?¡± ¡°Dormitories, the hybrid dorms are that way¡± he points to the east ¡°let¡¯s see if we can bunk together, us lowlifes need to look out for each other.¡± As we wandered down the passage way to the east of the courtyard we picked up a group of other hybrid potentials. As I looked around at my future friends and competition, I noticed one strange thing. Back in the courtyard there were many students that had brand new uniforms, shiny shoes, luxurious cloaks, but in this gaggle I think I was the only that stood out that way. Even Fidel was lacking in that type of material wealth. After quietly and kind of embarrassingly asking Fidel about it, he replied that hybrids are the red-headed step child and nobility frown on their offspring being associated with such degenerates as us. Every family wanted the next High Cleric or General to come from their family, not some roaming troubadour. I made yet another checkmark on the chalkboard of my mind why I dislike the upper crust. Upon arrival at the dorm, we were assigned our rooms that would take us through the next four year voyage of learning blah, blah, blah. Since, Fidel and I had clicked so well, we requested to share rooms. Trudging up the three flights of stairs carrying our luggage I almost offered to carry Fidel¡¯s but thought against. Those stairs made me glad of the countless hours I spent running around town and working out at the mercenary guild. We arrived at our room and looked in to see a standard dorm room that could be found in any university on this world or in any universe. He took the left side bed and I took the right. There were no closets, but two armoires were there for our clothes and personal items. I set to, putting my various outfits and uniforms in their place. Once done, I took out the enchanted bag my mother gave me. I pulled out my two items that I need wherever I go for a good night rest. First and foremost, my spear. A man¡¯s weapon is always by his side. Secondly, my pillow. Don¡¯t judge me; a good pillow is essential to a good night rest. Fidel jumped when he turned around and saw me with a spear in one hand and a pillow in the other. I quickly tossed the pillow on the bed and placed the spear at the head of the bed within arm¡¯s reach. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Can you keep a secret? I will take that head nod as a yes. That my friend is Gungnir, a weapon given to me on my tenth birthday and soul bound to me.¡± I did not want to tell him the other functions it could do, but I could at least share the basics. I even told him about how my parents receive it fighting that black dragon. ¡°I can see why you were not too worried about the hierarchy if you have a weapon like that.¡± ¡°Fidel, remember this, it is not the weapon, but the one who wields the weapon who is dangerous.¡± ¡°Yes, oh great and mighty Sage of Eternity.¡± Fidel bowed as he mocked me. I turned around grabbed my pillow and swatted Fidel upside his head. Now a feather pillow packs a wallop if you swing it just right. Fidel caught the brunt of it and went butt first onto the floor. ¡°Have at you, you varmint¡± Fidel came swinging back with his own pillow and we traded blows until we both fell over laughing onto our own beds. Thus, our first night came to an end at the Academy. Chapter 6: Freshman Year (Part 2 of 3) Age 16, Day 1 The amount of course work I had to do this semester was daunting, IF I was a brand new student. Not a single teacher was as tasking as Linsette in instructor mode. She had me go through so many different subjects each month the course load at this school was going to be a walk in the park in comparison. As a Nature Warden, I am required to take the following courses: Nature Warden, Herbology, Cartography, Zoology, Nature Magic, and Beginner Weapons during the first four months of the school year. The latter four months of the school year were dedicated solely to finding, bonding, and learning about your familiar. These six classes were divided up to the first six days of the week and were eight hours long. The classes I wanted to take the most (Orienteering, Wilderness Survival, Celestial Navigation, Tracking) were all second year courses and required the first year pre-requisites. Pass the first, to take the next. The Academy strictly adhered to this, no skipping grades here. However, unlike several schools I have gone to in the past, trust played a major part into campus life. For example not a single class had mandatory attendance. Students were allowed and often encouraged to re-arrange their class schedules to meet their needs. A student who had mastered Cartography could attend Herbology two days in a row to catch up on any trouble areas. This flexibility made a lot of sense and put the onus on the student and not the faculty to learn the subject. Furthermore, if someone didn¡¯t take advantage of this, the consequences could mean failing a year (or not understanding a subject) leading you to a life of poverty or an accidental death because you were clueless in your line of work. According to Altha, Nature Wardens could easily be killed by not paying attention to their surroundings, as Nature was a fickle beast. At any moment weather patterns could change or a mama bear could charge at you. Every class that we took over the next four years was there to make us stronger as individuals, but also to become stronger Nature Wardens. As a Warden, the primary duty will be to travel through the assigned areas either in wilds or near city boundaries and assist any villagers and farmers they come across. Most of the times it will be to simply heal a sick animal or pet, other times it means tracking down wolves that have been killing sheep in the area, or on rare occasions tracking down escaped convicts for the military. What sets a Warden apart from other Nature Classes (Ranger, Druid, Trackers) is that the Nature Warden bonds with a familiar to accompany them in the wilds. The setting for my first class seemed appropriate to what we were going to be studying. Every aspiring Nature Warden had woken up early and hiked down the valley to the Habitat. The Habitat was a place where students could learn about the flora and fauna of Aether without being attacked with a couple of exceptions. As freshmen, we would be responsible for cleaning and feeding of everything within the confines of the Habitat. Primarily, this was to acquaint us with the behavioral patterns of a diverse ecological system, secondarily it was to allow the animals within to get a sense of who we are. It is not us who chooses the animal, but the animal that chooses us. We can present ourselves to the ones we like, but it is not guaranteed they will accept us. In my case, Erebos chose me because I fought and saved him from captivity. My classmates would have to scoop poop, wash backs, and toss slop to gain approval of a familiar. ¡°Students, gather round. Today you begin your journey as a Nature Warden. For the next four months you will be coming here every First Day(Reminder eight days in a week: First Day, Lunar Day, Terra Day, Aqua Day, Animus Day, Flora Day, Solar Day, Holy Day) to take care of the animals.¡± Altha was escorting us around the Zoo highlighting our workload. ¡°Don¡¯t worry you are not solely responsible for their well-being, as we have a dedicated staff to take care of them. But, in order to pass this class you will have to identify 4 random animals presented to you, use the correct grooming methods, demonstrate the best form of aid, prepare the correct food, and to be selected as a companion. Take care of these animals, and hopefully one of them will soon take care of you. For today, explore and introduce yourselves to each other.¡± There was a stampede of students, all seeking to find what types of animals there were. Everyone was looking to find the most exotic or dangerous animals to work besides. The whole Habitat was divided into three areas: Aviary, Forest, Aquatics. Unfortunately, for them there would be no Gold Dragons, Gryphons, Hydras, Chimeras, or Basiliks to be found. Instead, there were leopards, wolves, several species of birds, farm animals, dolphins, turtles, and various other domestic animals. Since I already had a companion, I was kind of worried about whether or not I would be able to pass this class. I held back to let everyone disperse, before approaching Altha. ¡°Mistress Altha, you know my situation, will I able to pass this class without bonding to a new companion, or have I already cleared that portion.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you worry now; you have more than fulfilled that portion. When the time comes for your classmates to bond, you will simply bring forth Erebos. Until then enjoy working with the other animals, and learn all you can over the next four months.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief. Yesterday, you mentioned you had some information on Shadow Bears, may I ask what you know?¡± ¡°When I was about 27, I would go exploring with some friends on Prime (the main continent). One of our expeditions took us to the southern mountain range. Well, one of our Adventurers had come across indications of ruins within a cave system. In the hopes of some interesting Artifacts we charged in. That¡¯s when we met the Shadow Bears. One moment we were wandering through the various tunnels, the next we were surrounded by fifteen angry bears. They had simply stepped out of the shadows like Erebos did during your interview. Their coordination was remarkable almost choreographed with each attack flowing into next. Now, tell me Erebos has how many shadow skills?¡± ¡°He has two right now. Darkness and Shadow, one is a self-buff and the other is what allows him to enter and exit the shadows.¡± ¡°I asked because, several of those bears sent waves of darkness along the ground that ensnared our feet, and other bears sent claws of darkness at us that drained our mana. If it wasn¡¯t for us having a Paladin we would have been killed. He summoned a Holy Light that banished the darkness around us. Using the light as our perimeter we hastily exited the cavern and never returned. If Erebos practices his racial skills, maybe they will evolve into those attacks. Speaking of which, where is Erebos?¡± ¡°I told him that I was going to be studying here for the next four months. So, I gave him the option of sticking around the Academy, exploring the forests around here, or heading back to Solaris until I summon him. He decided he will go off and explore for a few months, but I will pass on your suggestion for him to focus on his dark skills. It will be interesting to see where they take him.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t he be near you at all times, what if he is injured or is killed by a hunter?¡± ¡°If a hunter should find him or attack him, I feel sorry for that person. However, I can summon him at a moment¡¯s notice, or if worse comes to worse I can revive him. Well, as long as he is within two levels of me. The way it works, and I hope I never find out, is that if we are equal level I lose one level, if he is one level higher I lose 2 levels, and if he is 2 levels higher I lose 4 levels. Anything more and I wouldn¡¯t not have enough experience to revive him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very fortunate then. If a Nature Warden¡¯s companion dies, he would have to find another. The only other option would be to fight on without a companion, and be considerably weaker by not being able to utilize several spells.¡± ¡°Spells? As in magic? What can they do and could I learn them?¡± ¡°Several spell groups are shared between Druids and Wardens. For example, I can summon a spirit animal to aid me. I can cast Bear¡¯s Strength, Monkey¡¯s Agility, Ox¡¯s Stamina, and Elephant¡¯s Vitality which all come from the Nature School of Magic. You will find out more in your class on Nature Magic. Now go and explore. Next week you will start working and need to know where everything is.¡± Age 16, Day 5 Magic. To be more specific, Nature Magic. Today I would find out if I was able to add this to my repertoire. Up until now, I have used mana but for simple things like summoning Erebos to my side or to call an animal or two to aid me with a task. But, I have not cast lightning or shot flames from my hands. When I asked the other Mercenary Recruits, they said every class had its own way of passing on the Magic and that I would have to wait and see. The place where we were to learn Nature Magic was not hard to find. I just had to look for the largest tree around and walk straight to it. If you ever had the pleasure of seeing a Giant Redwood or a Sequoia, you would be looking at something one tenth the size of this tree. It would almost be equivalent to Yggdrasil of Norse Mythology, but I don¡¯t think this one connects us to other worlds. Approaching the base of the tree, I had to lean back to fully appreciate the wonder of the Tree. The base was massive, easily 50 meters in diameter. To accurately measure the height would be difficult by simply staring at it, but brave men have climbed to the upper branches to find out. From their estimates it reached a staggering 300 meters, and you could see for miles around. Navigating the base of the tree brought me to one of the two entrances to the school. Each entrance spiraled down into the earth and was framed by massive roots. Following my classmates we proceeded to use one of the roots as a path down into an underground cavern. Luminescent fungi provided us light as we entered into one of Nature¡¯s greatest Cathedrals. ¡°Welcome, everyone please gather round. I am Ptior, a Druid, cleric of the Shepherd. Today, we will be introducing everyone to Nature Magic. One by one you will enter into the Alcove and pray to the Creator and his two Aspects, The Shepherd and the Farmer. As you pray, seek their guidance and blessing to become their followers. One of our Druids will come pray with you and direct Nature Magic into and through you. Once you receive your magic you will need time to acclimatize yourself with this new ability. If by any chance you receive any spells or know of any from previous exposure please do not cast them. The reason is we don¡¯t want anyone experiencing any backlash or cause any foreseen mishaps. If no one has any questions, please enter your alcoves.¡± I entered my alcove and made myself comfy on the floor. This room was made for us to focus solely on the blessing of the Aspects as there were no cushions, chairs, or any decorations. Not knowing how long it would take I thought of what was going on. In my world, I had not been a big follower of religion, but with this world religion was evident on a daily basis. Marion and Linsette never took me to services, but they believed in the Creator and constantly tried to follow the teaching of his Aspects. I decided to follow in their footsteps. Bowing my head ¡°Creator, Shepherd, and Farmer. You know who I am, you have seen me travel from a distant planet and arrive here as a young child. I seek your guidance as I take this next step in my life. Guide my path as Grand Beast Master, that I may find adventure, assist those that need it, and to enjoy this world you have made. I seek your blessing.¡± Keeping my eyes closed, I waited for whichever Druid was to attend me. After an hour of silent meditation, I heard footsteps approach. ¡°I greet you Nature Warden, please remain seated as I bestow the blessing of the Aspects on you.¡± Placing his hands on my shoulders, I felt something akin to a thousand needles igniting all over my body. Messages starting appearing, but I couldn¡¯t pay attention to all of them as the influx of mana and power momentarily stunned me. Touching a frayed electrical cord or rubbing your feet on carpet to shock a friend was mild compared to the force that went through my body. When I could finally open my eyes, there was a green aura emanating from around me. ¡°Congratulations Nature Warden, may your growth be blessed by the Aspects. Rest here until you mana is fully restored then we will show you how to use your new found magic.¡± My mana was full already, but I did want to take a moment to see what messages I had received.
Nature¡¯s Healing
You can now heal your companion of his wounds. Effect: 100 hp per cast Cost: 30 mp / 1 minute Restrictions: Only can be cast on your Familiar.
Bear¡¯s Strength
Effect: +10 Strength for 8 minutes Cost: 30 mp / 1 minute Restrictions: Can be cast on group members only
Monkey¡¯s Agility
Effect: +10 Agility for 8 minutes Cost: 30 mp Restrictions: Can be cast on group members only
Elephant¡¯s Vitality
Effect: +100 Health for 8 minutes Cost: 30 mp / 1 minute Restrictions: Can be cast on group members only
Ox¡¯s Stamina
Effect: +100 Stamina for 8 minutes Cost: 30 mp / 1 minute Restrictions: Can be cast on group members only
+10 Intelligence
+10 Wisdom
+5 Nature Resistance
Beast Language
Your ties to Nature and already having a companion allow you to communicate with any animal of Good or Neutral Standing.
Going down the list I was astonished at the various attributes, and spells I had been granted. Looking up at the Druid I asked if all these were normal. ¡°All but two of them are the normal skills bestowed. The two exceptions are Nature¡¯s Healing and Beast Language. That healing skill should apply to anyone, but yours is familiar specific. Also, Beast Language is earned when a Nature Warden¡¯s summoning skill reaches Apprentice Level. For you to receive it now means you must have received your class at an early age. Sadly, you did not receive Nature¡¯s Bolt, but be glad in the ones you did receive. The Creator gives but he can also withhold. Congratulations, once again. If you would like to go to the practice hall, you can cast your skills on your fellow Nature Wardens.¡± For the next three hours, my class sent spells back and forth at each other to determine the various uses. Nobody noticed that I never cast Bolts at any targets or offered to heal anyone from their injuries. In order to blend in with the crowd, I watched three or four of them and meditated when they did. By my calculations, they had about 500 mana each and had a regeneration rate of 7 mana per minute. I was a monster compared to these children, and I did not want to scare them away. I just had to remember to remain to never be complacent and to continuously strive to improve my status so that they would not catch up. Age 16, Day 62 Kicking my heels up and onto my bed, I stretched out my body to attempt to relax my body. As my Spear skills were so far advanced and beyond my year group, I was placed into the Senior Group in order to challenge me. This was beneficial to me at first and I enjoyed it, but the upper classmen took every opportunity to belittle me and try to knock me down a peg. Nothing overly flagrant, just a jab of a spear butt into my ribs when I was on the ground, or dust kicked into my face. I just grinned and carried on. Those dirty tricks they played on me would just be another weapon in my repertoire. My thoughts were interrupted as Fidel stormed into the room slamming the door behind. Tossing his wooden sword into the corner, he stomped over to his bed in frustration. ¡°I give up!! I can¡¯t deal with it anymore.¡± Sensing I was in the room, he turned and said ¡°Don¡¯t lay there grinning at me, you don¡¯t have to put up with Lord Bellevadere teaching you the sword. I just wanted to do my dad proud and learn a classic weapon like the sword to aid me in my travels. But, no matter what I do, that asinine teacher mocks my every movement. I need to pass a weapons course in order to graduate to the second year. What do I do?¡± ¡°Was that a question? Or just frustration?¡± I asked. ¡°Have you tried any other weapons? What do bards normally do for attacks? What¡¯s your favorite instrument?¡± ¡°Bards normally don¡¯t have any dedicate weapons, because our primary tool is our voice. But, the Academy wants everyone to become an apprentice in a least one weapon because mana will be depleted at the most inopportune time.¡± That reference repeated so often by the Weapons Masters, every student had it memorized. ¡°No I haven¡¯t tried any other weapons. And why you asking about my favorite instrument?¡± ¡°Think of it this way, if you have an instrument that requires both hands, your feet are free to kick. But, if you could use your instrument as a weapon your problem is solved. So again, what is your favorite instrument?¡± ¡°Drums, but I don¡¯t want to use my hands to fight, and drumsticks are useless as weapons.¡± ¡°Think, take a drumstick and lengthen it to two feet and what do you have. A heavy stick. Now, I haven¡¯t seen any fighters here that do stick fighting, but between the two of us we can come up with a fighting skill for you.¡± ¡°But, how do we know it will work? I have to become an apprentice by the end of the year or else I repeat the year.¡± ¡°Tomorrow stop by the carpenter¡¯s shop and get me four wooden sticks about two feet long, and about an inch in diameter. Let¡¯s see if we can make magic.¡± The next morning, I went out to the woods to a little clearing about a mile from the village. I wanted to try this because one of Gungnir¡¯s forms was a baton, and I had no skills to use it as it was not a polearm derivative. If I could figure out a fighting style with Fidel, I might have a close quarters option to fall back on. The way I learned other skills in the past was to simply repeat the movement until I got a skill, so it couldn¡¯t hurt to try. The plan was to use our weekend break to figure it out. Worse come to worse we would get a good workout in. ¡°As you requested, your wooden sticks.¡± Fidel tossed two of them towards me. Snatching them out of the air I slid my hands to the base and tested them out. Sturdy wood made out of oak with a nice smooth texture. I would have to wrap leather around the handles to provide a better grip, but for now they would work. ¡°Alright, I am not sure if this will work, but what I would like to do is set up a series of strikes and blocks. This will allow both of us to adjust to the weapon and hopefully a skill will appear.¡± This was a crapshoot but I wanted to help Fidel out as much as possible. I started off swinging my right hand towards Fidel, he brought his left arm up to block. We then switched roles and he performed that attack and I defended. After we did that several times, I switched my attack to come from the other side. Each attack went through four or five renditions as our body got used to the constant jarring of the sticks in our hands. From side strikes to over hand blows to rapid cross body exchanges we slowly built up a nice routine. That day I didn¡¯t add any foot movement or outlandish attacks into the mix. This was going to be built from the base up and I wanted the both of us to be prepared. It was a quiet Holy Day, with no homework to do, we headed back out to our clearing. My plan for today was to translate some knife skills I had seen my dad demonstrate and see if they could apply with sticks. Placing a lot of trust in my memory, I had Fidel do several thrust like maneuvers to see how sticks would counteract those attacks. There were several ways to this, but for now we stuck with crossed sticks upwards and downwards to ward off thrusts. The other way was a simple, depending on the hand, a counter-clockwise flick of the right wrist that guided the thrust away from our bodies. Putting everything together we had 10 moves divided between attacks and blocking. ¡°Okay, now comes the test, start off slowly we will take turns attacking each other. If you¡¯re the one defending, no counter attacks. We go until one of our stamina is fully depleted. You ready? You want attack or defend first?¡± ¡°Defend, that way I can repay any knocks you give me.¡± Fidel said with the most innocent smile I ever did see. I buffed him up with a full set of my spells to give both of us a nice boost. Normally his stamina only lasted three minutes, but with a full set he lasted a good five minutes. During that time I managed to hit him several times on the legs and shoulders as I saw openings. Curtailing my strength here was necessary, as Fidel didn¡¯t need any broken bones to compound his troubles. Once he was fully rested we switched roles and Fidel began to attack. Remembering to only block, I let Fidel choose the pace. Starting off slowly, he would aim first right then left alternating his attacks. Thanks to various status benefits my speed was more than able to track his movements. The frustration began to mount in his face as he was unable to land a single hit on me. Amping up the tempo he came at me as fast as he could, but he failed to hit me a single time. I felt bad, but I wasn¡¯t going to let him hit me if I could afford it. These sticks hurt. His stamina was almost depleted when I saw smile break out on his face. Taking a step back he looked at me in wonder. ¡°That¡¯s it. You¡¯re a Genius Logan.¡± I think I knew what he was talking about but I let him elaborate. ¡°I noticed it when I upped my speed, the constant Rat-a-tat-tat of our sticks reminded me of one of my dad¡¯s favorite battle songs. The rhythm we set was perfect for that song. Using these sticks, I won¡¯t need a drum; I can use them against each other or against an opponent.¡± ¡°Not a genius, just someone who saw an opportunity for you. Think of it this way, if you can control the speed of the fight, any object around you can be used as a drum. The ground, the opponent¡¯s weapon, your group¡¯s armor. Each one is just a small part in your orchestra, you just have to figure out how to use it best. Now go again. You attack again, and see if you can replicate a good fighting song.¡± Fidel was more than happy to break forth in a song, and started to sing a little tune. I am terrible at songs so I can¡¯t remember all the words but something along the lines of¡± Fighting, stomping, attacking the enemy; Grinding, chopping, killing the enemy; Going high, going low, pursuing until their dead; Attacking, scaring, maiming the enemy; Slashing, piercing, crushing the enemy; Going left, going right, until you take their head. Don¡¯t remember much else after that, but I do remember the sudden rush of stamina that came in with the song. Just like how I received my spells from the Druid, Fidel had received his songs. He had received one to hasten his party¡¯s attacks by 10%, another to restore stamina by 10% per min, and another to restore mana at 10% per min. At his current level he can only sing a single song at a time, but at later stages he will be able to have song¡¯s effect last for several minutes. The hard part is getting him to that level as during the early stages, a bard cannot provide any form of damage per second (dps). However, if I have my way, his dps will at least be bumped up a notch or two. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. With him infusing the stamina effects into a song, our fight lasted 6 and half minutes. During that time, we both received a welcoming sight. I had received Stick fighting and Ambidextrous. Fidel¡¯s was slightly different, he received Musical Beats (Stick Fighting combined with Music) and Ambidextrous. Like the Cheshire Cat, our grins slowly increase until we were beaming from the accomplishment, now all we had to do was gain Apprentice by the end of the year. With his songs and my buffs, we were able to knock this one out of the park within 5 months for the both of us. With us figuring out our own weapon skills, Fidel and I used the days meant for weapon training to experiment with our fighting skills. Fidel decided not to go back to Belladonna¡¯s class, and put the whole mess behind him. Unfortunately, he was not forgotten. I had gone to the library to meet up with him for some studying, when I heard laughter and taunting coming from around the corner. Turning the corner, I saw Fidel surrounded by a group of teens. Unlike my situation with Erik, this was not going to be settled in a training ring. One reason was Fidel did not have the fighting background I had received; the other reason was the person doing the taunting. ¡°There¡¯s the little birdy, my father said he looked like someone chasing a mosquito. Flailing wildly about. What¡¯s the matter? Scared to fight?¡± It was Marcus Belvadear (Belladonna¡¯s son). ¡°You Hybrids should know better than to try learning the Sword from your betters.¡± ¡°From our betters, huh, can you show me who those might be? I don¡¯t think I see any around, do you Fidel?¡± I quipped as I walked up to the group. ¡°If it isn¡¯t the A O Sissy, come to protect his little friend. Get out of here you giant freak.¡± Lil¡¯ Belladonna tried to puff up his chest in disgust of my interference. ¡°Really giant freak is the best you can come up with. I can come up with at least 15 different and more colorful insults for a tall person.¡± I laughed in his face; no measly insult would cause me to get into a fight. When I arrived here, I had just gone through a growth spurt and was close to 6 feet tall at age 16. In my stocking feet, I would easily stand out amongst the other students. Going to the Mercenary Hall so often, and working with adults made me disregard my height over the past couple years. It wasn¡¯t until I got here that I found myself standing a head taller than the whole student body. If he wanted to call me names fine, I was not going to be kicked out of the school for instigating a fight. But, if he wanted to trade insults with me, I would bring it. ¡°15 different insults, I bet you couldn¡¯t come up with 5.¡± ¡°Alright you asked for it,¡± Thank you Cyrano de Bergerac and Steve Martin, ¡°all right let¡¯s start off with an easy one: 1. How¡¯s the weather up there? 2. Solaris needs a new Light House you would be perfect what with your flaming personality. 3. A Giraffe would hang their head in shame when around you 4. There is the short Emperor (Note: this one is attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte) route: You stand a head taller than me, put that problem is easily removed. 5. Crude: I wonder if you are equally proportioned I would hate to mislead the ladies by false advertisement. 6. Does your girlfriend have to use a ladder to give you a kiss? 7. When you go to sleep which time zone is your head in? 8. You¡¯re so tall be careful birds don¡¯t nest in your hair¡­.oops too late. 9. Quick spread your arms out so I can use you as shade. 10. Go pick on someone your own size, like that mountain. 11. We don¡¯t need a bridge with you around, you just lay down and we can cross a river on your back. 12. Are you a windmill? Because the way you swing your arms surely grinds my grains. 13. I¡¯m surprised your brain still works from the lack of air at that altitude, never mind trees don¡¯t have brains. 14. How intoxicated are you? Because you are high. 15. Finally, are those brown eyes? I am surprised they could stack feces that high. With each insult I listed, the crowd around us began to swell. After the fifth one I came up with, someone started counting out loud encouraging those around them to join in. Soon the crowd of thirty students was yelling at the tops of their lungs ¡°THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN, FIFFFTEEENNN!!!¡± The crowd got so into that I heard a couple tall jokes tossed into the mix. Marcus just got redder and redder as the crowd that had initially backed him up, turned on him. It was nice to see the bully getting a little comeuppance. ¡°As you can see, an insult can be humorous, insulting, and witty. But, in a battle of wits, I think you came unarmed. Come on, Fidel, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¡°Just you wait Logan, my dad will hear about this!¡± Marcus called back over his shoulder. ¡°Go right ahead, and I am sure the board will like to hear how you were using your fathers rank to bully a fellow classman.¡± ¡°Consider yourself lucky that you¡¯re not a swordsman, because you would not last a second against.¡± ¡°A duel, you know the rules. Save it for the end of year tourney. Bring your sword, and I will bring my spear. Hopefully your sword isn¡¯t as limp as your wit.¡± With that I turned my back and walked off, I wasn¡¯t going to put up with him anymore. I couldn¡¯t wait for the tourney to wipe the floor with him. Let¡¯s see how he performs under pressure. Not wanting to study, Fidel and I headed out to our clearing to vent a little frustration through a couple rounds of stick fighting. Later that night we both had some stiff muscles from strikes that got through our defenses, but it would be a good reminder to focus our anger in the right way. Age 16, Day 248 The last week of the semester, and today was the day the Nature Wardens would be forming pacts with their prospective familiars. The tension in the air was palpable as everyone walked through the gates of the Habitat. A couple of the more assured ones said they were going to get one of the Tigers, and another said that he was going to get the sole Komodo Dragon (Everyone was surprised when George ended up with the Komodo). Truth be told I think they were all just hoping to walk away with some sort of familiar, because no one wanted to wait until the next semester for additional animals to arrive. ¡°Listen up, today is a special day for everyone. As you walk through the habitat, present yourselves to the animals that you have worked with. Do not try to force a bond on any animal. For today, we have asked several teachers of the Nature school to follow you around to bear witness to your bond. If at any time they feel that you are acting in away contrary to the animal¡¯s wellbeing they are authorized to escort you out of the Habitat by any means necessary. Sorry to be so dark on such a momentous day for all of you, but there have been instances in the past that have caused concern. Don¡¯t worry, all of you have worked hard caring for the animals, and all have passed your exams on how to care for the various species within. Enjoy and may the Creator, Shepherd, and Farmer bless your forth coming bonds for years to come. Now go!¡± Throughout his speech several students were inching towards the enclosures to try and get a head start on their classmates. With the final release, the crowd surged in forty different ways. Some student headed for the wolf dens, others headed to the reptile rooms, and still others headed to the aquatic enclosures. I felt jealous of the way everyone was about to receive a new familiar. Thinking back to the first couple of days I had with Erebos and how it was such a delight to have a friend that I could share anything with. The enclosures that people keyed on were a good indication of where they wanted to be Wardens. The only choices that people made that I could not figure out were the aquatic creatures. Yeah, if you wanted to be a sea for the remainder of your life, it made a little sense. However, I preferred to stick with Erebos on land. To be able to wrestle with him or just lay back against his fur and read a good book were the things I enjoyed the most. ¡°Logan, aren¡¯t you going to go look for a companion?¡± It was Jonah, a sea-faring Druid. His specialties lay in the summoning of sea creatures and various forms of water damage. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much Triton let the teachers know, but I am not slated to be a Nature Warden. My class is comparable to them, and Triton thought I would benefit the most from this training.¡± ¡°Yes, he did mention that you were slightly different than the other Nature Wardens. However, shouldn¡¯t you at least try to create a bond?¡± I thought of telling him about Erebos, but I still felt that I should keep the fact that I am a Grand Beast Master quite. Information is power, and if people know my capabilities I won¡¯t have the element of surprise when I need it the most. ¡°Okay, Jonah, I will try to find a companion, but I am telling you it won¡¯t work.¡± I already had a companion and I was not going to trade him for any other animal. Even if a Golden Dragon would to fly out of the sky and alight in front of me begging to be my familiar. Out of the various animals that I had taken care of, I decided to go to the woods were the various insects and arachnids dwelt. I had enjoyed my time there especially watching the tunnels, hives, and webs that grew out of the simplest materials. Each day a new home was built, and I could stare at them mesmerized by the patterns made. Making one final walk through of the area, I saw a faint glimmering in between two trees. Remembering what was over there I decided to go take a look at one of the arachnids that made this forest home. The spider web wasn¡¯t the classic web spun by house spider in your garage instead it looked like a huge funnel that was set on its side. The resident of this particular funnel had made the whole web on a massive scale compared to your garden variety spider. Spread out across 15 feet it narrowed into a tunnel approximately 5 feet across and stood about 10 feet high. The strands of the web glistened with the morning dew that had accumulated across the web. As I approached the denizen slowly stuck its front two legs out to test the vibrations. Determining that there was no food to be had and that we were not hostile it came out fully to greet us. To describe this thing could bring some people nightmares and cause others to run away screaming. To me it was another of the Creators creatures to be respected. It¡¯s color scheme was primarily black with several reddish splotches on the legs. This was no dinner plate spider or even the size of a small bird. If the legs were to stretch out flat on the ground they form a circle six feet in diameter. The central abdomen and cephalothorax was two feet long by themselves. The mandibles and claws on the legs all had a shimmer where if you were to closely examine them would turn out to be a thin layer of venom. (Note: this spider is modeled after the Australian Funnel Web Spider, with some artistic license.) Part of my job each time I came was to feed this particular spider her rations. Since no one else wanted to feed live rabbits to the spider, I had volunteered. I couldn¡¯t let something starve, because it couldn¡¯t hunt within the Habitat. ¡°Greetings majestic lady, I come to bid thee farewell. Today, is our last day as trainees and my classmates are all being chosen by their future companions. I have enjoyed watching you over the past four months and wish you all the best.¡± Waving goodbye, I turned around and headed over to see the Lynx I had taken care of next. A high pitch chittering and I sensed an object dash by me. Following the movement, I saw that it was the spider blocking my path towards the cat enclosure. Not wanting to antagonize the spider, I turned left and went down another path to the aviary. Again the spider dashed in front of me and waved its two front legs in a very agitated way. This is one of the few times I wish my Animal Language skill worked on Arachnids. Thankfully, Jonah was there to assist. ¡°I think she wants you to bond with her.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, tell her it¡¯s not possible.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t speak Arachnid, but I do understand her body language. She will not let you go until you offer her the oath.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± throwing my hands up in the air, I went over to her and slowly reached out my hands. ¡°I wish I could take you as a familiar, but maybe you will let me go if I present the oath.¡± Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I intoned ¡°¡°In the days of old, man and beast formed bonds of familiarity, as then so it is now. I offer my friendship and companionship to you. Let us travel together. Follow my lead and I will take care of you. Do you accept this bond?¡± Before my eyes, I saw a spider avatar appear before me. ¡°Greetings master, I wish to thank you for accepting me as your familiar. I have been here for two years, and during that time you are the only student that has come and fed me without any signs of disgust or disdain. You accepted me and I have accepted you. My name is Iktomi, because that¡¯s what you called me the first day we met.¡± ¡°This, this is impossible.¡± Came stammering out of my mouth, at the same time I was think how can I have two familiars? I had to sit down in surprise. I had not even suspected that I was able to receive another. Taking a look at my status table I saw several things had changed with her accepting the bond.
Skills
Summon Familiars (Apprentice level 1)
You are able to summon multiple familiars. Experience will be shared evenly. Familiars allowed: 2 Familiars bonded: 2 Summon period: 20 hrs Cost: 250 mp per familiar
Skills
Aura of the Familiar (Intermediate level 1)
You can adjust your Aura to reflect your familiars. Three options: All Erebos, All Iktomi, or 50/50 Percentage: 6% Cost: 12 mp/min
+10% Venom Resistance
+15 agility
+5 Luck
My mind was reeling from this discovery. I could have multiple familiars, and I had received a spider as my second one. Playing the options through my mind, I tried to figure out if it was a good thing or not. How would this spide¡­. How would Iktomi play into my fighting style? ¡°Iktomi, to answer your question, seeing you reminded me of a Trickster Spider I used to read about in some of literature classes. And, please forgive my shock at your acceptance, I am glad to be your companion, but I thought I couldn¡¯t receive one. Can I please see your status? That way I can know how you will compliment me.¡±
Status Window
NameIktomiAlignmentNeutral
Age3Level6
ClassAssassinRaceHexathelidae (Elite)
Strength45Vitality25
Agility65Luck10
Wisdom25Intelligence25
Health (Vitality*10)250Health Regen ((Hp/100))2.5
Stamina ((Str+Vit+Agi)/3*10)450Stamina Regen (Sta/100)4.5 sp/min
Mana (Int*10)250Mana Regen (Wis/10)2.5
Critical Chance.1
Resistances
Fire0Heat0
Ice0Cold0
Poison0Venom20
Dark10Light0
Nature0Wind0
Racial Benefits
-Receive 6 points per level -Low light vision -Venom Resistance: 20% -Dark resistance: 10%
Skills
Venom (Beginner lvl 4)
The ability to produce venom on demand. This venom is a neurotoxin which causes spasms in the muscle structure, thus causing the affected limb to become unresponsive. Effects: If applied via a bite, limb is paralyzed for 1 min and 4 damage per second (dps). If applied to a weapon, causes 10% slow, and 2 dps. Cost: Bite: 225 sp; Venom Application: 50 sp per application and lasts 1 hour CAUTION: Just because you wield the weapon, you are not immune to the venom.
Web(Beginner level 2)
Web spinning is second nature to you. You are able to control how long your webs last. Cost: 1 mp per foot
Pierce(Beginner level 4)
Your two front legs act as piercing weapons. Cost: 10 sp per strike
Sprint(Beginner level 8)
Effect: 100 meters in 15 seconds. Cost: 30 sp per 100 meters
Sneak(Beginner level 4)
Running, noise, or attacking someone will cancel the affect. Cost: 50 mp
Traps(Beginner level 4)
Ability to create traps in and under the terrain. Cost: 100 sp
Climb(Master Level 1)
Ability to climb any surface. Cost: 1 sp/min
The glee meter only continued to rise with each new skill I saw on Iktomi¡¯s chart. Between her and Erebos it looked like I was beginning to get my own little army. To compound the benefits of this were that their skills sets seemed to play off one another as they were both covert styled skills. I had my own Ninja bodyguards and the world better watch out. I could foresee situations, in the future where this specialization could hinder us, but knowing your weakness is the first step in mastering them. Iktomi¡¯s venom was a great boon as well as the web. I had my own form of crowd control that I didn¡¯t have to worry about. Linsette told me that enchanters were one hit wonders, one hit and they died. The beauty of Iktomi was that I could buff, heal, and conduct specialized training to smooth any foreseeable rough patches. ¡°See you were worried that you couldn¡¯t get a companion. Congratulations to both of you. I wish you the best of luck, and please proceed to the Glade for the formal gathering of Familiars when you hear a horn.¡± ¡°Huh, what, oh yes, yes. We will be there.¡± As he walked away, I sat down and started a conversation with Iktomi. I decided not to summon Erebos in, but did call his Avatar to introduce him to the newest member of the family. There was no bickering or jealous fits of rage when their Avatars met. Iktomi greeted Erebos as an elder brother, and he respectfully treated her as a younger sister. Both new instinctively I guess, that I was not going to favor one over the other, but due to Erebos being with me longer he would have a better understanding of who I was and what I wanted. After an hour of talking and finding what Erebos had been up to (leveling up and he said he had a few secrets to show me when he came back) there was a loud trumpeting heard in the distance. Bidding Erebos Adieu, we headed to the Glade to see what other companions had been selected. We weren¡¯t the first to return to the glade, but definitely not the last. This allowed us to look around before the ceremony started. I saw every possible type of species the Habitat had to offer. You see every Nature Warden that was at the school and had a familiar was in attendance or was going to be arriving soon. There were the standard wolves, a snow leopard, hawks, a parrot (Poor guy hope it has some awesome skills), the Komodo was there (George was simply beaming), and one or two other reptiles. It took me a few to find an older gentleman that had a spider as well. Figuring that this man might have some clues to how to best train Tomi, I meandered over to him. But, it took a bit as I was stopped several times by classmates to congratulate me on my bond, and I had to return the favor. A few had a few nervous ticks on meeting a spider the size of them, but it was well hidden. Just as I was about to call out to the man, a voice rang out. ¡°Will all newly bonded Wardens please come to the front. I repeat will all newly bonded Wardens please come to the front.¡± My classmates lined up at the front of the amphitheater and looked out at the mass of claws, fur, and feathers staring back at us. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, today I am glad to announce that we had 100% bond rate within this year¡¯s class. Please congratulate them as only we can.¡± Even before the sentence was finished, the cacophony of noise that rose up and washed over us was over whelming. The baying, howling, screeching, yelling, stomping, clapping, whistling, and every other type of noise rose up and continued for a good three minutes. After everyone finally calmed down, we were all directed to find others with familiars similar to ours. I was finally able to meet Wilber and his companion Lette. Wilber was getting up there in age and his gut was starting to extend past his belt, but he had a content look about him. ¡°Greetings, and welcome to the few, the proud, the outcasts of the Warden world. Not really, we are not outcasts. Until now, it¡¯s just been me with a spider. I am glad that you befriended such a majestic creature, and I will share some tricks to help you.¡± For the next two hours, he shared his wealth of knowledge on how to best train a spider. He showed me Lette¡¯s skill tree and we compared both spiders. He told me I needed to get Tomi trained up in her venom/web as they had many applications inside and outside of combat. Also, that Iktomi needed to learn three skills as quickly as possible: web shooting, and surprise attack. Each would help control a battle field, and provide that little bit of assurance when facing multiple enemies. I filed every bit of information I could away as I listened to this man. The urge to charge out and start hunting prey was almost overwhelming. Instead I bided my time knowing that I would have plenty of chances to work with my familiars in the months and years to come.