《Futilely Feudal》 No Way! ¡°I am so excited!¡± Amy Westfield smiled at her best friend, Claudine Humphrey. ¡° I have two weeks off and a ten-day tour of castles in the UK.¡± ¡°Why do you want to see piles of crumbled stone?¡± ¡°They are so beautiful, and I love history.¡± ¡°You love historical romances and computer games.¡± ¡°Exactly. History.¡± Amy smiled. ¡°So will you drop me off at the airport tomorrow. I have a redeye to Heathrow.¡± ¡°Sure. I hope your tour group is a group of geriatric Californians.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. I just want to dream of England in the dark ages.¡± ¡°Finally.¡± Amy sighed internally as she left the terminal on a double-decker bus. It was as Claudine had predicted filled with single elderly Californians. Before she had time to get her bearings she was inundated with questions. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°What made you choose this tour?¡± Amy took a deep breath. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Amy Westfield, 34 from Colorado. I chose this tour because I love castles, and this tour goes to some of my favorites.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Hilda Giles, from SoCal. I¡¯m 89. I want to see Dunnottar before I¡¯m too old. What castles do you want to see most?¡± ¡°Dunnottar, Holyrood, Edinburgh, and Eilean Donon. I¡¯ve learned to love them because of historical romances and my games.¡± ¡°Me too. I love my romances. You¡¯re a girl after my own heart.¡± Hilda patted her shoulder and turned to the man across the aisle, ¡°and you sir?¡± Amy tuned them out as the group continued to introduce themselves and ask questions, they her dragged back into bus wide conversations repeatedly. She enjoyed herself as they left London and was surprised how quickly they arrived at their first stop, they were at Haver Castle, their first castle tour and a bed and breakfast. Eight days later, after touring many other castles, they got to Edinburgh and Holyrood Palace. ¡°Amy are you still having fun?¡± Hilda asked. ¡°So much.¡± I love castles even more since seeing so many. The hike to Dunnottar was enchanting and the ruins even better. Eilean Donon was as breathtaking as I expected. Now we are touring Holyrood.¡± They started walking toward the palace, ¡°This place has so much history and mythology surrounding it. I can¡¯t wait to see it¡­ Watch out!¡± Amy screamed as a car came barreling around the corner. She pushed Hilda out of the way and her world went black. Amy felt like she was waking up after a long sleep, but she was in a gray space, a great nothing or an in-between. As she tried to see anything a screen was in front of her. ¡°No,¡± she thought ¡°it¡¯s in my head just seems to be in front of me like a vr.¡± She read the screen. Do you want to enter The Northern Empire 1023 Yes No ¡°Yes,¡± she thought. The screen changed. Gender Male female ¡°Female, I¡¯m a girl.¡± she thought flippantly. The screen changed again. Race Human Fae Beast ¡°Still human¡± she thought. And again, the screen changed. Class Royal Upper Middle Lower ¡°I may as well be royal.¡± she shrugged. The screen changed again. You are entering the Northern Empire 17 May 1023, as Princess Erameya age 16 Yes No ¡°Yes.¡± she silently selected. Are you sure? ¡°Yes.¡± Amy was getting annoyed. Suddenly she felt like she was being sucked through a high-pressure suction tube, flying so fast she was afraid she would fly to pieces. The sensations continued for what seemed like hours or seconds time was confusing when suddenly she opened her eyes. ¡°Gareth?¡± ¡°My princess?¡± The old man answered her back as she again lost consciousness. Amy blinked as she opened her eyes and looked around. The walls were stone with thick tapestries like the ancient ones she had seen a few of the castles they had visited¡­ except new? ¡°Something strange,¡± she muttered, ¡° is going on¡±. ¡°What was that dear?¡± ¡°Gareth? What is going on, and how do I know your name? Is this a bad dream?¡± ¡°I summoned a sprit into the body of our dead princess. You must have just died in your former life.¡± ¡°I think I got hit by a car.¡± ¡°I have no idea what a car is. Could it kill you?¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± ¡°Now you are Princess Erameya of the Northern Empire. You should be able to access her memories somehow and that is how you instinctively know my name.¡± Amy looked around the room seeing a flask on a table, a square seemed to hover around the flask, a hamburger menu in the corner she instinctively knew that it would have three options. Identify Uses Create She chose to identify: Healing Potion number six 6 She selected uses: Antiviral Create: Three ounces purified water, boiling. One spoon each Oregano Sage Basil Fennel Garlic Peppermint Rosemary Echinacea Sambucus Licorice Astragalus Ginger Ginseng Dandelion Let sit for 5 minutes stir with magic to completely incorporate all herbs into potion. ¡°No way, you have magic!¡± Amy looked at Gareth. A square shimmered around him and she decided to identify.
Basics
Name Gareth
Title Master Healer 56
Class Upper
Race Human
Gender Male
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Attributes
Strength 45
Agility 50
Dexterity 80
Wisdom 85
Intelligence 90
Perception 65
Available Points 0
Statistics
Health 29
Stamina 298
Mana 395
Skills
Potion making
Healing
Accuracy
Survival
Spell Casting
Dancing
Diplomacy
¡°You have mana!¡± ¡°My dear, what is mana.¡± ¡°The accumulation of magic. Like a pool of magic, you can use.¡± ¡°So, my magic reservoir is a mana pool to you?¡± ¡°Does everyone here have magic?¡± ¡°Magic. No just a few that I know of.¡± ¡°Does everyone here have a screen so they can identify things?¡± ¡°What is a screen?¡± ¡°A visual representation of a person in numerical value.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a clue what you are talking about, but I believe it is a coping mechanism of your brain going from one reality to another. Is this screen something from your previous life?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Keep the fact you are a traveler to yourself and all advantages it gives you. I know of some but not all. I do, however; know you are a traveler so if you need to talk come to me.¡± ¡°I will and thanks for summoning me, I guess. My stepfather will be happy I¡¯m alive. Now let me see my options.¡± Character sheet
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Attributes
Strength 15
Agility 15
Dexterity 15
Wisdom 15
Intelligence 15
Perception 15
Available Points 90
¡°Perception will help me the most right now, so I¡¯ll add 17 Points. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need too much strength, so 10 points. That leaves 16 each for agility, dexterity, and wisdom with 15 for intelligence. I¡¯ll have to add to intelligence as soon as I have more points.¡±
Statistics
Health 50/100
Stamina 50/100
Mana 50/100
Skills
Languages
Identify
Survival
Choices Crafting: Absolutely. Potion Making: That could be useful. Healing: of course, healing is important for every vocation. Sword craft: I guess, could help me survive. Warrior: No, I don¡¯t want to be forced into a war I don¡¯t believe in.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Tapestry weaving: What kind of a joke is this I hate sewing. Chatelaine: Why not just say housewife? NO. Archery: sounds fun, and so far, no courtly traits. Sewing: again? No! Spell casting: Yes. Horticulture: sure, Plants are useful. Agriculture: could be useful, and I like animals. Cooking: No way. I hate cooking. Flirting: oh, hell no. Fan skills: fans can be used in self-defense, yes. Dancing: I guess. Weeping: Not going to happen. Swooning: again, no. Dressing: fashion can be important, yes. Hair Dressing: I guess. Leadership: yes, very necessary. Charm: useful. Diplomacy: necessary. Deception: why? Am I to be an assassin? No. Stabbing? I guess. This must end. The screen disappeared. ¡°Master Gareth, I have mana, could you teach me magic and the healing arts.¡± ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s see if you can get out of bed. You¡¯ve been sick for weeks. I haven¡¯t sent for your parents or sibling yet, so you are the only member of the royal family here. That should help you acclimatize before your parents get back next month.¡± ¡°I am grateful. I have been my own person for so long I don¡¯t know how I will take to obeying. How does this summoning work? I had choices.¡± ¡°You should have. Tell me about your experience and I will try to explain what I know from that.¡± ¡°I was in the parking lot, about to tour Holyrood palace, when a car came around the corner too fast. I pushed my friend Hilda out of the way, and everything went black. I woke up in a gray in-between and there was a screen that asked if I wanted to enter the Northern Empire circa 1023. After answering yes, I was given the choice of gender, class, and race. Race was the most confusing, it had three options, human, fae, or beast.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy, human are humans, fae are the fairies, brownies, nymphs, dryads, pixies, elves, gnomes, gremlins, sprites, and all the rest of faery kind. Beasts are dragons, merfolk, selkies, lycanthrope, satyr, centaur, minotaur, and other beast folk.¡± ¡°Okay, so you are saying I could have chosen dragon. Likely, but there either had to be one that died or will die this year, otherwise: you wouldn¡¯t have been given the option, unless the year and possibly location had changed. Because I summoned you, entering my timeline first will be automatic. You just made all the choices that brought you into the princess¡¯s body.¡± ¡°And how do magic and Christianity co-exist?¡± ¡°Christianity. Oh! You mean the illegal religion in the Roman empire? What do they have to do with anything?¡± ¡°Sorry, I just realized a few major differences in timelines. In my timeline Cnut was a second generation Christian and England has been Christian for five hundred years by this point. Another dramatic difference is that everyone in your timeline is educated. There is also the fact that King Edward ruled until my father was twenty-seven and died of natural causes. And my father was sick when he asked my stepfather to kill him so none of his sons would have to inherit the throne. Oh, and Aunt Elfie married my Uncle Ed and not my father.¡± ¡°Wait, in your timeline why wasn¡¯t everyone educated?¡± ¡°The priests and some of the aristocracies were the only people educated.¡± ¡°That sounds horrifying.¡± ¡°We call it the dark ages.¡± ¡°I cannot even imagine.¡± ¡°I cannot wrap my brain around it either. The time I grew up in, encouraged everyone to get the best education they could.¡± Amy forced herself to stand. She was a bit wobbly but eventually got her footing. Gareth supported her as they wound down the stairs through the healer¡¯s tower. ¡°Sorry to make you walk so many stairs. I just felt you would be better served to be in the upper tower due to your passing out in the great hall. I believe that the congenital illness that killed your uncle, father, and cousins is the same one that took you. I just hope the summoning somehow cured you of it.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see any sickness warnings, so I¡¯d guess yes.¡± ¡°Good the curse, as your father called it, is the reason your father didn¡¯t want his boys to inherit the throne. After both of your young cousins died, your father decided to give the throne to Cnut if he ever became king and got sick with the curse.¡± ¡°You sound like you don¡¯t believe in the curse.¡± ¡°Yes and no. Kings Egar and Edmond as well as most of their progeny dying of this illness it makes me wonder if it is only the ¡°curse of kings¡± or if there was an underlying health factor that made your father and uncle more susceptible to being cursed.¡± ¡°So, you think that my grandfather and great grandfather died of the same disease but the curse the crone put on my uncle killed him and his sons and my father at a younger age because the degeneration happened more quickly.¡± ¡°Degeneration?¡± ¡°From my memories of the symptoms and signs both in myself and my father, I believe it is a congenital disease we call muscular dystrophy.¡± ¡°So, you believe I am right?¡± ¡°I do. One of the girls in my collage class had it and I learned how to help her . We shared a dorm for three years.¡± ¡°Good then you can help me if any of your siblings get it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s pray they don¡¯t.¡± They finally made it out of the tower and into the courtyard. Amy looked around in awe, the castle was beautiful. Even more stunning than the old castles she had been touring. The castle was alive. ¡°Is the fact that I was killed in Edinburgh make it easier for me to come here? Even in my world Scotland is considered magical.¡± ¡°I believe that fact that the locations of summoned and summoner being similar made it, so I had to expend less magic, but I am not sure. Remember, we should not talk about this outside of my tower, and you should probably start thinking of yourself as Erameya.¡± ¡°Erameya!¡± An older woman was walking toward them from the main keep. ¡°Aunt Elfie!¡± Erameya let go of the healer and started to run. ¡°I thought you were in London.¡± She smiled as she wrapped her arms around her aunt. ¡°Oh, Dearie, I was but, but I came as soon a Leon told me you passed out in the great hall while the two of you were having dinner. He carried you to the healer¡¯s tower and feared you would not live. He said you were much like your father in his last days.¡± ¡°The healer somehow broke the curse in me. He is not sure how he did it or if he can do it again. We can only hope, if any of my siblings get it. ¡°Where is Alec?¡± ¡°Home with Leon and Gerda. ¡°Let¡¯s get you inside, better or not you have been suffering for years. ¡°Master Gareth, if you would join us, we are going into the main keep.¡± As they walked Erameya pulled up the information on her aunt:
Name Elfie
Title Dowager Queen
Dutchess of South England
Politian 159
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Attributes
Strength 90
Agility 120
Dexterity 131
Wisdom 190
Intelligence 209
Perception 189
Available Points
Statistics
Health 395/458
Stamina 325/345
Mana 16/29
Skills
Dipolmacy
Dancing
Chatelaine
Minor Healing
Soothing
Sword Play
Archery
Stabbing
Martial Arts
¡°I want that, ¡±Erameya thought, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the UK had a discipline like martial arts.¡± As they walked across the courtyard Erameya noticed how smooth the cobble stones were, and the many trees and flowers were potted around the area. There was a fountain in the center running with clear water. They were greeted by most of the people passing by if only by a wave. The children were laughing, the adults were smiling and everyone she could see was clean. Erameya was aware it was a small sampling of the people in her father¡¯s empire, but she could only remember a few discontented people. She had not traveled much in the last few years, but she was glad that she was in an empire where the people were treated well. She remembered history as depicting this time as a dark and dirty time, where people were rife with disease and life spans were short. It amazed her how different this world was to hers. The most significant difference she could see was the education of the people. Everyone in the northern kingdom was educated for at least the first few years of their lives. Magical studies and the inclusion of races were just a part of everyday life. ¡°Did you hear me child?¡± Aunt Elfie asked. ¡°No, Auntie, I was wool gathering.¡± ¡°I asked if you were tired.¡± ¡°I could sit down. A nice warm drink would be nice.¡± ¡°Delphy, get us some mulled cider.¡± Auntie Elfie waved over a serving girl. ¡°Master Gareth, what would you like to drink?¡± ¡°Mulled wine.¡± ¡°Aunt Elfie, could you teach me hand to hand combat?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not proficient enough. Master Bracken could teach you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask him. Thank you.¡± ¡°Why the mind change?¡± Aunt Elfie asked as they were served their drinks. ¡°Now that I¡¯m not in pain, I have some holes in my education I¡¯d like to sure up.¡± ¡°Does this mean you are finally going to take an interest in sewing and cooking?¡± ¡°No. I would like to focus on healing and magic. Self-defense and other martial skills are important too. I do not think I¡¯d like cooking and sewing and even if I tried when would I make the time?¡± ¡°You are and always have been spoiled.¡± Her aunt smiled, ¡°I had to learn to weave tapestries as part of my chatelaine training. You think your parents would have learned after Goda, but they never did. Do you remember the wild girl your sister was when she got married?¡± ¡°Goda only got married last year and Drogo has gotten used to her enough to have her large with child. I do remember how appalled he was when she came riding in on a dragon to meet him for the first time.¡± ¡°And when he asked her how she expected to be a good chatelaine she said, ¡°I¡¯ll just ask the brownies to help me. They keep house much better than I do.¡± Aunt Elfie said with a chuckle. ¡°And when she asked him if he¡¯d like to have the dragon fly them to their home, I thought he would die of fear.¡± Master Gareth added. ¡°I think he was only shocked by her because she was a princess. Father never promised him a perfect lady, just his eldest daughter. Goda was never a lady.¡± ¡°Is Edward going to marry soon?¡± ¡°He and his dragon thunder were in Iceland last I knew. I believe he is going to marry a dragon shifter, but I always thought Goda would marry a faery or beast. ¡°She did have a thing for that elf prince in Denmark.¡± ¡°And the Lupine in Germany.¡± Erameya said. ¡°And the Dragon is Iceland.¡± Aunt Elfie reminded them. ¡°And the Selkie here.¡± Master Gareth said, ¡°Callan was heartbroken when she got married.¡± ¡° I don¡¯t think we know how many men were heart-broken when she got married.¡± Erameya shrugged. ¡°Cnut did the right thing, Goda was wild but the ties with Vexin and the Mantes have expanded the empire further south and made Drogo the Viceroy of France.¡± ¡°Aunt Elfie, I know Leon is Viceroy of Southern England, but I worry Edmond ¡®s territory is too large.¡± ¡°With your help he has been doing fine. Ireland has been your greatest struggle. I think that the fact the people genuinely love Cnut makes it easier for him to rule a large area. As for the areas Edmond is viceroy of, they are mostly filled with beast and fae. As they have their own hierarchy, he is more an ambassador than a ruler.¡± ¡°After what the minitours did in Spain last year, I am grateful Cnut made peace with the magical people.¡± Master Gareth said. ¡°King Ernesto has been good. He is much better than the Roman Empire.¡± ¡°Okay, Aunt Elfie, enough politics. How are your boys?¡± ¡°Alec is going to be fostered in Wales, Lionel is, as you know, is with your parents.¡± ¡°And Leon?¡± ¡°You saw him a few weeks ago. I think he is going to go mental when Alec leaves.¡± ¡°I think so too. I cannot believe how much Father missed Alfred when he was sent to foster. I Know Uncle Richard is good for him. I think Mother wishes that fostering was for girls too.¡± ¡°It can be, but your education system here is amazing. You have so many masters, it was right to keep you here. Now, my dear, you look tired, let¡¯s take you to your room so you can rest up before dinner.¡± ¡°I think that would be good.¡± Master Gareth agreed. As soon as Erameya was alone she again pulled up her system.
Basics
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Attributes
Strength 25
Agility 31
Dexterity 31
Wisdom 31
Intelligence 30
Perception 32
Available Points 0
Statistics
Health 51/100
Stamina 53/100
Mana 70/100
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 1 Swing a sword.
Archery Level 1 Shoot a Bow and Arrow.
Spell casting Level 1 Cast a Basic spell.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 1 Animals love you too.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 1 Be very loyal but bendable
Stabbing Level 1 Poke with a sharp knife
¡°Amazing,¡± Erameya said aloud. ¡°I didn¡¯t see the level and descriptions. Let¡¯s see what else we have. Wait a minute. Gareth has survival. Does this mean he is a traveler? I¡¯ll have to ask him.¡±
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 97 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 25
Agility 31
Dexterity 31
Wisdom 31
Intelligence 30
Perception 32
Statistics
Health 51/100
Stamina 53/100
Mana 70/100
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 1 Swing a sword.
Archery Level 1 Shoot a Bow and Arrow.
Spell casting Level 1 Cast a Basic spell.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 1 Animals love you too.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 1 Be very loyal but bendable.
Stabbing Level 1 Jab with sharp object.
Choices
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 1 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Warrior Level 1 Kill on command.
Tapestry weaving Level 1 Weave beautiful tapestries.
Chatelaine Level 1 Castle Management.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
Flirting Level 1 Get another''s attention with your actions.
Weeping Level 1 Cry on a moment¡¯s notice.
Swooning Level 1 Faint over anything.
Deception Level 1 Lie, cheat, sneak, and any other devious actions.
¡°Really, I already rejected most of these. Probably due to the extended lists. I do want martial arts and meditation, and I guess I will learn basic sewing for my healing as much as anything, and basic cooking could help with potion making.¡± Erameya got up and looked in the mirror. She was a beautiful, if too thin sixteen-year-old girl. Her eyes were a large almond shaped emerald green, her hair was a wavey dark brown, she was about average height. She marveled at the buoyancy of her breasts and the beautiful roundness of her hips and butt. All in all, she was happy to be in such a beautiful body. She put her night gown back on and sat down to meditate. She sat on the floor with her legs crossed and her hands on her knees. She remembered from her previous life how she meditated before she did yoga every morning and started her normal routine. As she meditated, she found a new feeling inside of her and passed it through her body. The more she circulated the strange current, the more the current grew. Suddenly there was a cracking like sensation in several points of her body and the energy flowed so fast it filled her. She continued to pass the foreign current through every cell until she found it flowed freely through her body. Exploration When she was done meditating and playing with the strange current, she did her yoga and laid down on her bed. No sooner had she fallen asleep, than there was a scratch on her door. ¡°Come in.¡± she called. ¡°M¡¯lady?¡± ¡°Yes, Delphy?¡± ¡°Would you like help dressing for dinner, Her Highness would like to eat in an hour, if that is your will?¡± ¡°An hour would be fine. Run tell her and the kitchens, then you may come help me dress.¡± Erameya stood up and stretched. She glanced in the mirror again and did a double take. Her eyes and skin seemed to glow with something other than health. The paler of illness was completely gone replaced by a golden glow. Even her hair was shinier. She noticed the strange current flowing through her and started to circulate it faster. It seemed like the faster she circulated it the brighter she glowed. She let go of it and let it keep circulating at the speed it seemed to naturally resume. Again, there was a scratching on the door. ¡°Enter.¡± ¡°M¡¯lady? What dress would you like to wear?¡± Delphy said as she bustled into the room. ¡°The emerald green with pink rosettes.¡± ¡°That will be beautiful M¡¯lady.¡± She pulled undergarments from the cupboard and handed Erameya a pair of silk drawers and shift. The shift had cups and laced up the sides. As Delphy laced up the sides Erameya was shocked at the support of the garment. ¡°How would you like your hair?¡± ¡°Just plait it.¡± ¡°Yes M¡¯lady.¡± After Erameya¡¯s hair was braided Delphy slipped the cotton gown over her head and fastened the laces in the back. Erameya arrived at the great hall to find her aunt and the healer already at the table. She took her place and motioned the servants to serve the food. ¡°My dear, you are positively glowing with magic.¡± Master Gareth smiled, ¡°you must have opened some nodes.¡± ¡°Is that the cracking feeling I felt while meditating?¡¯ ¡°It must have been. Describe it to me.¡± ¡°I was meditating when I noticed a weird energy inside of me, so I tried to circulate it. I felt a cracking sensation and continued to circulate the energy.¡± ¡°Good, good, you must keep the pathways open to control magic. Blocking a node can be dangerous. After this meal we need to talk about your magic. Do you feel it is stronger?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°We need to talk about it later.¡± Master Gareth mused. ¡°I hope you are feeling well enough to meet with some ambassadors.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember ever feeling this well.¡± ¡°Good, Andrew, said you have a full morning of royal duties tomorrow. Including the Laird of Skye, Tokavaig.¡± ¡°Laird Tokavaig requires so much pomp and circumstance, I just glad I¡¯m not still in the healer¡¯s tower. Did he give any reason he chooses to grace us with his illustrious presence?¡± Erameya said sarcastically. ¡°Be diplomatic. Remember to receive him with grace, even when he is absent. You wouldn¡¯t want an unfavorable opinion to reach his ears. He is a good man, and yes, he requires all the pomp due to a man of his age.¡± ¡°It would be easier if he didn¡¯t look twenty-five.¡± ¡°I think is nearly twenty-five ¡­ hundred. He proposed he invite the whole royal family to his two thousand five hundredth birthday party next year. Maybe that is why he comes. He did not give a reason, just a message by Pixie Post that he would be here tomorrow morning.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Did Goda get involved with one of his sons?¡± ¡°No. His great grandson in Iceland. Ivan said they were just friends and that his great grandsire had no idea they knew each other.¡± ¡°Is he the Laird of Callan?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°When did the message come?¡± ¡°While you were resting. Just before I sent Delphy to wake you, I believe.¡± ¡°Can he feel influxes of magic Master Gareth?¡± ¡°I believe so. He could have felt your healing.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. He will be here in the morning.¡± Aunt Elfie reminded them. ¡°Too true. We will have to prepare for his arrival. Did he give an approximate time?¡± ¡°Morning.¡± ¡°Fabulous. How is Duncan doing with the preparations?¡± ¡°They have been busy since the post came. Duncan told me they would be ready.¡± ¡°Good. Will my burgundy silk be proper?¡± ¡°I believe so. I never know what will offend him. Just no white!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen that the less you fear him the more relaxed he is. Just great him properly and let him tell you why he is here. He doesn¡¯t only leave the Isle of Skye when he is angry.¡± ¡°I just remember how angry he was when he came to my wedding and Edward and I were both wearing white. He informed us, that white was a color only worthy of those who earned it, which we had not. According to him. It is the reason he would not break the curse of kings after that witch cursed Edward.¡± ¡°Is that what he told you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°He lied. He couldn¡¯t help Edward. The only cure for him would have been Ethelred stabbing him in the heart with an athame.¡± ¡°Is that what Cnut did to Ethelred?¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know if it broke the curse or not. The fact the Erameya is the only one of King Ethelred¡¯s children to get the curse makes me think it was broken.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Laird Tokavaig told me that the only way to break the curse was for the future king to stab the current king in the heart with an athame he gave me. King Edward and King Ethelred talked about it, but Ethelred was out of the country when King Edward died. That is the real reason King Ethelred called his friend King Cnut to be his successor. He didn¡¯t want his son to have to kill him.¡± ¡°I never knew.¡± Elfie dabbed her cheeks with a handkerchief. ¡°I despised Tokavaig for so long because of the deaths of my children and husband.¡± ¡°He would be unhappy that you knew he came to me after he left the throne room. He told me I could only tell King Ethelred. King Ethelred is the person who told your husband.¡± ¡°I am grateful I know. I believe the curse is broken. Erameya was sick before Ethelred died.¡± ¡°Remember how much less pain I was in for years after Father Ethelred¡¯s death. I had little pain until last year.¡± ¡°True.¡± Elfie smiled. ¡°The curse must be broken. You know your grandfather and great-grandfather died of a similar illness?¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°I am so happy Master Gareth was able to heal you.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Erameya drank some wine so she would not blush. ¡°I¡¯m just happy to prove the curse is broken so her siblings don¡¯t have to live in fear.¡± After dinner Delphy helped Erameya change into a green knee length tunic, leather chausses, and riding boots. She added a wide leather belt, a sword, daggers, and her bow and arrows. Taking her time to marvel at the construction, she wandered through the castle admiring the architecture and tapestries. She decided to check out the garderobe knowing they were much different than she had seen in the castles she had visited. She opened the door and was shocked. Except a shower she could have been in a modern bathroom. There was a magical sphere that lit up when someone walked into the room. A chain opened a pipe that filled up a bowel that doubled as a sink and poured into the toilet bowel when full. The water was lukewarm, but it was not the smelly chamber she knew it could have been. The tub also had a faucet with a chain that poured hot water into the tub. There were runes on the faucet that must have been heating runes. It amazed her how much education and magic had changed some of the most basic parts of life. After she was done reacquainting herself with the castle she made her way to the stables. She walked through the horse stables, talking to, and petting the horses as she went. She then went to the wyvern stables. She reintroduced herself to each wyvern and patted them each on the head. Soon, she walked into griffin and hippogriff stables. She loved the beautiful animals. Each one had a distinct personality and unlike the horses and wyverns bonded with their rider. She talked to each animal being careful to let them make the first move before she touched them. When she got to her griffin, Ailish, she sniffed her hand and backed up. She turned her head from side to side. ¡°Ailish, you know I¡¯m different. I¡¯m the same on the outside but you can feel the difference in spirits, can¡¯t you?¡± Ailish nodded. She took a cautious step forward. Sniffing Erameya¡¯s hand and finally she laid her face in Erameya¡¯s palm. As they connected Erameya felt like they were pulled into a swirl of magic. When the whirl wind of magic settled down, she heard. ¡°That was weird.¡± ¡°Was it?¡± ¡°I believe so.¡± ¡°Ailish, is this you?¡± ¡°Yes. I never could talk to you before. You have more magic now. We are bonded much closer than before.¡± ¡°I feel that too. Do you want to come with me? I don¡¯t have time to ride today, but I¡¯d like to see the tulpars, cerapters, and unicorns, then train with my weapons for a while.¡± ¡°Sure. I have been in this stall for weeks. I got a little worked up when you died.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Again, Erameya introduced herself to every animal as she walked through the stalls. She wished her father¡¯s big black fire tulpar, Logi. She loved to watch the big Viking warrior fly next to her mother on her palomino cerapter, Gaoth. She looked away from Logi¡¯s gigantic stall to Ailish. Ailish was, what appeared to be, speaking telepathically to a small chestnut tulpar. ¡°Hello, beautiful, who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Tintreach, my parents are Logi and Gaoth,¡± he said telepathically as he nuzzled her palm. Ailish turned her head and laid it on top of Tintreach¡¯s head. Once more, they were pulled into a tornado of magic. ¡°Wow-wee,¡± Ailish said, ¡°a bond of three. I¡¯m moving in here with the Tintreach, he has been lonesome since his parents left with your parents.¡± ¡°Good are you two coming to the training grounds with me?¡± Training The training field was a large dirt arena with several obstacle courses, training dummies, targets, and a dirt track for running. Erameya started her workout by running. She wanted to gain stamina and knew from computer game that grinding was the best way to build a stat. Ailish and Tintreach chose to run with her. As she ran, she sped up the flow of the energy coursing through her. Ailish and Tintreach saw what she was doing and followed her example pushing the energy through themselves. They ran until Erameya felt she couldn¡¯t take another step and then finished the track. Once Erameya caught her breath she started shooting arrows at the target. After a while she actually started to hit the target. She continued practicing until she could hit a bullseye. Next, she went to the training dummies and stared to swing her sword. At first, she did not hit anything just swinging in the air. Once she learned control of the cumbersome weapons she progressed to the training dummies. She continued with her basic sword practice until she was exhausted. She knew her stance was wrong and that she had no technique, but she felt like she had learned enough for her to control the sword. She next tried to extend the river of energy into the sword. The sword started to glow. He stamina seemed to increase, the sword felt lighter, and she hit the training dummy exactly where she wanted. She went back to the targets and started to throw her daggers. After a few throws, she hit a bullseye. After she was able to hit a bullseye on every throw she nearly passed out with exhaustion. Ailish and Tintreach held her up as she walked over to a spectator bench. She lay her head against the back to recover and pulled up her character sheet. Notifications: Attention! Meditation level up. Attention! Health capacity increased. Attention! Stamina capacity increased. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Cultivation tab unlocked. Attention! Mediation level up. Attention! Health capacity increased. Attention! Stamina capacity increased. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Mediation level up. Attention! Health capacity increased. Attention! Stamina capacity increased. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Agriculture level up. Attention! You bonded a griffin. Attention! Agriculture level up. Attention! You bonded a tulpar. Attention! Stamina capacity increased. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Stamina capacity increased. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Stamina capacity increased. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Archery level up. You can now hit a target. Attention! Sword craft level up. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Spell casting level up. You have infused a sword with magic. Good job. Attention! Stamina critically low. Attention! Stabbing level up. You can throw a knife. Attention! Stamina critically low. Don¡¯t die.
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 100 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 25
Agility 31
Dexterity 31
Wisdom 31
Intelligence 30
Perception 32
Available Points 11
Statistics
Health 110/110
Stamina 10/122If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Mana 150/159
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 2 You may hit your opponent.
Archery Level 2 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 3 You have two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 2 Don¡¯t offend the ambassadors.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 3 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
¡°Princess?¡± Master Gareth sounded concerned, ¡°Did you overdo your training?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± ¡°I have been trying to get your attention. You seemed unconscious but your eyes were moving quickly behind your eyelids.¡± ¡°I was reading my stat screen. My stamina was down to ten. BTW what is your integration tool?¡± ¡°BTW?¡± ¡°By the way.¡± Erameya smiled, ¡°I see you didn¡¯t deny being a traveler.¡± ¡°I am, but as you just realized not from your world or time. I am from an earth full of cultivators.¡± ¡°Like farmers?¡± she asked sarcastically. ¡°Kind of. Cultivators of magic or as we called it essence.¡± ¡°The energy that is running through my body?¡± ¡°Yes. I was only a child when I died and had only just started cultivating. I only know enough to open and circulate the rivers. I don¡¯t know of any but the foundation levels of cultivation. I will see what I can do to help you progress, but I don¡¯t know enough not to mess this up for you.¡± ¡°Were you originally Asian?¡± ¡°Yes. The world was full of cultivators and dragons ruled. Only those who cultivated were respected. I was shocked to feel the amount of essence in this world. I am unable to cultivate because of fear. I died from crushed nodes. The fears of a child are hard to comprehend or overcome. Now tell me all you have done with your cultivation.¡± ¡°I sat down to meditate. I could feel this current flowing through me. I started to circulate the current and soon I felt a cracking sensation. After that the energy seemed to flow faster and easier. I soon felt full of the strange current. It felt like it was burning any impurities out of me. After that I can push the current into any part of my body, and I just pushed some into this sword.¡± She held up the sword and a text box appeared. Identify: Short sword level 2. A beautifully crafted short sword. Class: Magical Statistics: Increase Stamina of user. Decrease weight felt by user. Increase weight of sword on impact. Accuracy bonus. The sword will guide you if you let it. Illumination bonus. Tell the sword to be your lantern and it will. ¡°I guess it is now a magical sword.¡± ¡°May I see it?¡± Erameya handed him the sword. ¡°This is amazing. It is simple to do a spell inanimate objects, but to do this without training is stunning.¡± ¡°It is cool.¡± Ailish said to her telepathically. ¡°What are you going to do with it?¡± ¡°Keep it. I don¡¯t know if it will help with my training or not, but it will be good in self-preservation.¡± ¡°You look exhausted. I¡¯ll walk you to your room. Wait, we need to care for these animals.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll care for them. I¡¯m moving Ailish in with Tintreach. The colt is lonesome without his parents.¡± ¡°Okay. Good night. Get some rest.¡± After Master Gareth had left, Erameya bedded down the animals and went to her room. She sat down in the lotus position and again, pulled up her status sheet. She had available points to distribute and a whole new tab to explore. Attention! Agriculture level up.
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 100 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 25
Agility 31
Dexterity 31
Wisdom 31
Intelligence 30
Perception 32
Available Points 12
Statistics
Health 110/110
Stamina 55/122
Mana 150/159
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 2 You may hit your opponent.
Archery Level 2 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 4 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 2 Don''t offend ambassadors.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 3 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
¡°Okay. I¡¯ll put four of those in strength, one in agility, one in dexterity, one in wisdom, three in intelligence, and two in perception. Now I¡¯ll look at the cultivation tab.¡±
Foundation
Awakening You have felt the essence in the world around you.
Gathering You have learned to gather the essence into yourself.
Circulating You have opened the rivers of power and can circulate essence.
Purifying You have used the rivers to break open the nodes of power.
Directing You have directed the essence inside and outside of yourself.
¡°So basically, my cultivation tab tells me what I have done and not what I can achieve. I guess my character sheet does too.¡± Erameya meditated, did yoga and went to sleep. Glowing ¡°Young lady! You are positively glowing!¡± Laird Tokavaig exclaimed, breaking all protocol, as he was led into the room. ¡°Your Grace, Lady Elfie,¡± he walked across the room to talk quietly to Elfie, ¡°Could you please have these chambers cleared out, and send for master Gareth immediately. Princess Erameya is in trouble. I fear she may die any minute. Cancel all her engagements. I will do what I can for her.¡± ¡°You heard him. Everyone out! Duncan, send your fastest runner for Master Gareth.¡± Laird Tokavaik walked over to where Erameya sat next to the throne. He studied her as the throne room emptied. ¡°My dear how far are you in the path of cultivation?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t even know about it until yesterday. I felt a strange current running through me, circulated it, and when I felt overwhelmed, I empowered a sword.¡± ¡°So, you can direct. The next step is to conserve. You need to use the minimal amount of essence possible. Try to stop pulling in any more essence for now. I know it will be difficult but try to focus on closing the inflow of magic.¡± ¡°Like tuning off a tap?¡± ¡°Exactly. The pressure might be too high, so closed it as much as you can. Try to hold it closed for now. After Master Gareth gets here, we will leave, and I will help you advance in your cultivation. If you keep pulling in essence you will explode.¡± Erameya pictured turning off a difficult faucet with a lot of pressure and was able to turn down the flow of mana into her body. If she kept mental pressure on it would stay closed, but if she relaxed even a little it would spring back open. ¡°Good. Now, relax. I can feel you fighting the flow. Stopping the inflow doesn¡¯t mean stopping the rivers inside of you. Just let the essence flow through you naturally like a river in the mountains. Did Master Gareth tell you, his story?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°He was a six-year-old boy and had opened his nodes. He was much too young to cultivate, but had the examples of his parents, and trained himself. His father had to step in and teach him. He was kidnapped to force his father to do something or another, but when his father did not do it, the kidnapper crushed the nodes of that small boy. I had a friend, a farmer, who was diametrically against magic. His son had died, but he was away and had no idea he had died. The boy had a diseased heart but his mother begged me to bring him back. My friend had no idea I had magic or that I was a dragon. I summoned a spirit into his body and a baby dragon answered the call. He is fearful but has the spirit of a grand dragon. His father is a god over earth in that reality.¡± ¡°Master Tokavaig, are you telling secrets?¡± ¡°I am. I needed to relax this child. She was glowing when I walked in. Brighter than she is now. She needs more training in cultivation, and I¡¯d like you to come with us.¡± ¡°I will. Where are we going? We need to take her bonds also. I noticed they have followed her example and opened their rivers.¡± ¡°Inchkeith.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to get some things together and send to the kitchens for some supplies.¡± ¡°What are your bonds child? ¡°Ailish is a griffin, and Tintreach is a tulpar colt.¡± ¡°Good you can fly on your griffin and Tintreach can ride on my back. Gareth, do you have a mount?¡± ¡°I have bonded a hippogriff.¡± ¡°Good, go make the preparations you need to. Now child. I need you to push all the essence you can into this money pouch.¡± Laird Tokavaig said as he handed Erameya a small leather pouch. Erameya started to meditate and focused on her hand holding the pouch. She forced the essence through her hand and into the pouch. Attention! Mana level low. When the notification appeared, she stopped. Feeling as though she had run ten miles, she looked at the pouch and found an identify square around it.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Identify: Pouch of infinity. Touch any inanimate object and will it into the pouch. Object will stay in stasis while in the pouch. Aunt Elfie looked into the room to check on them. Laird Tokavaig summoned her over. ¡°Good now go change from your beautiful gown into traveling clothes. You can pack food, clothing, and extra weapons in your pouch. Lady Elfie, go with her. Bing her to the arena when she is ready to go. I will have the stable master gather her animals.¡± When everyone was ready, they met in the large training arena, Tokavaig transformed himself into an enormous white dragon and somehow coxed Tintreach onto his back. After binding him on with magic they flew off. In less than an hour they landed on the Isle of Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth. Laird Tokavaig stretched his wings and grinned a dragon grin as he landed. ¡°I do love being in my true form.¡± he said as he transformed back into the young-looking man. ¡°You are magnificent as a Dragon.¡± ¡°You have not seen a truly large, magnificent dragon until you have seen my father.¡± Master Gareth smiled. ¡°His head is larger than Laird Tokavaig.¡± ¡°Your Father is a God. Both because of worship and cultivation. An enlightened dragon, such as myself, cannot hope to be as grand as the true immortal. Now let¡¯s get you cultivating properly before you die. I am shocked at how much essence you are cultivating again after depleting yourself. As, I told you. The next step in cultivation is conservation. Learning to bring in the least amount of essence you can. Try thinking of it as taking a sip.¡± Erameya sat in the lotus position and focused on the energy around her. She felt what she believed were the rivers of essence running though the world around her. She continued to keep pressure on her valve, but the mana continued to trickle in. She continued to circulate the essence inside of her but the minimal amount that forced its way in, kept filling her mana pool. Once her mana pool was full, she was able to stop the inflow and just circulated the mana in her body. ¡°Very good. Now force as much of the essence in your body into your essence pool.¡± ¡°She calls it a mana pool.¡± ¡°Good name. Force as much mana as you can into your mana pool.¡± Erameya forced the mana into her mana pool. As it filled, she pulled back and then tried to fill it again. ¡°Gareth. How are your rivers?¡± ¡°Flowing.¡± ¡°Good. Meditate like Erameya and focus on your rivers. Try to over fill them. Tintreach, that filling is your nodes opening keep your rivers flowing. Ailish, try directing your mana into different parts of your body. Erameya, you now need to learn to transform the mana. Picture a small dagger and see if you can make it manifest.¡± Erameya pictured a magical dagger hanging in the air in front of her face, she opened her eyes to see the faint outline of it. Startled her concentration broke and the magic back lashed and caused her a lot of pain. ¡°Sorry , my dear. Open your eyes and try again. Do not just let go of any spell but disperse it. Think of the mana floating back into the ether. Now once you build your mana back up you can try again. I am going to take my true form and go rest in the sun, up there. He pointed to a cliff. I¡¯ll return when one of you needs my help.¡± Tokavaig flew off and Erameya started mediating again. Once her mana pool was overfilled again, she opened her eyes and envisioned a dagger. Again, the outline of the dagger hung in front of her. She poured all of the mana in her into the image. It did not seem to matter how much she poured in the dagger never took solid form. She remembered to disperse the mana back into the air. ¡°He said transform¡± she said half aloud as she slowly pulled in mana. It took he longer for her mana pool to fill but she could feel how much more refined the mana was when she used it slowly. This time she pictured the dagger in her hand. She felt the mana flow out of her hand and transformed it into metal. Once her mana pool was empty again, she had a solid dagger in her hand. She heard a deep intake of breath and turned to look at Master Gareth. He looked like he was in pain and stuck between fear and joy. ¡°What is the matter, Master Gareth?¡± ¡°My dear I go so focused on your efforts to make mana into steel that I forgot my fear and broke open my nodes. I had forgotten how good it felt to have pure mana running through me.¡± ¡°Why was I not supposed to make it solid?¡± ¡°Try to dispel it.¡± Erameya tried but could not change the shape of or dispel her dagger. Identify: Magical dagger: Picture where you want it to hit and throw it. Erameya followed the directions and pictured a tree about a football field away from her. She threw the dagger as hard as she could and was shocked to see it embedded in the tree. She then pictured the hilt of the dagger back in her hand and it flew back to her. She turned toward Laird Tokavaig as he started clapping behind her. ¡°Good job Master Gareth, you did the impossible. Overcoming that fear is amazing. How do you feel?¡± ¡°Good but still fearful. I forgot how amazing pure essence feels as it flows throughout the body. Look,¡± he made a shadow of a dagger picked it out of the air and dispelled it. ¡°I¡¯m ready to start crystalizing. I cannot believe it. Thank you.¡± ¡°Erameya. I have never seen anyone with the control of mana you have at your level. You should have been able to make an impression of a solid dagger that you could stab with, and it could be easily dispelled; instead, you make a solid steel dagger that is a god level weapon. May I see the sword and pouch you poured mana into?¡± Erameya pulled out the magical sword and the pouch of infinity and handed it to him. ¡°Picture the sword in your hand.¡± She did and the sword flew to her hand. ¡°And the pouch?¡± She handed the pouch to him. When she pictured it in her hand. It also flew into her hand. ¡°I cannot get any of the three to move. It must be the affinity with their maker. Now for the next step. Crystallization.¡± Crystallization ¡°Crystallization is the prosses of compacting essence or mana into a simile of a core. Start by filling your mana pool. Then compress the mana. Keep doing that until the mana is so dense it crystalizes. Remember this is a level up. It will hurt physically and possibly mentally. Each time you level up you have to go through the same nine steps: awakening, gathering, circulating, purifying, directing, conserving, storing, transforming, and dispelling. You can rest and eat while you fill your mana pools. Tintreach, Ailish go eat. Erameya, when you have finished resting, we should work on your martial arts and combat skills. There is a cave up there,¡± Laird Tokavaig pointed to a hill, ¡°you can use for shelter until you are safe to be around.¡± Laird Tokavaig rubbed his chin. ¡°I realize we left your aunt in a panic. I¡¯ll go let her know you will be fine and get the supplies she will demand I bring. Master Gareth is there anything I need to do for you in the city?¡± ¡°I had several patents to see today, as well as some elixirs, poultices, and potions to make. Lady Elfie would have let everyone know I am busy. You can ask her if there are any emergencies that need taken care of.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Laird Tokavaig shifted into a huge white dragon and flew off toward Edinburgh. ¡°Lady Elfie?¡± Laird Tokavaig asked as he walked into the great hall where she was mending a tapestry. ¡°Laird Tokavaig!¡± Lady Elfie jumped to her feet dumping the tapestry, needles, and thread onto the floor. ¡°How is Erameya?¡± Laird Tokavaig could read the concern on her face. ¡°She is coming into her magic and doing well. I am sorry for frightening you.¡± He kissed her hand. ¡°I am just happy she will be okay. Is the curse truly broken?¡± ¡°Yes. I have found no trace of the curse on any of Ethelred¡¯s children.¡± The laird scowled. ¡°Truthfully, I found no trace of it on either of your boys, before or after they died. I didn¡¯t tell Master Gareth, but your boys both died of a childhood illness. I know it doesn¡¯t bring them back, but that crone¡¯s curse did not take them.¡± ¡°Thank you. It helps, as did master Gareth¡¯s confession that you helped him and Ethelred find a cure. I just wish I had known sooner. I would not have resented you for so long.¡± ¡°You needed someone to blame, and I was convenient. I forgive you. Also, your niece will be better than fine, she has more power than I have seen in anyone except myself. That includes my children.¡± ¡°Thank you. How long will they be gone?¡± ¡°I do not know. Even though she has learned to pull in less essence, her output is too powerful to let her around other humans. The possibility of her losing control and harming herself or someone else is too high.¡± ¡°Let me have Duncan get a pack of supplies ready for your return.¡± ¡°M¡¯lady! A pixie is looking for Laird Tokavaig. Laird Tokavaig?¡± Duncan did a double take as he saw the grand dragon in the hall. ¡°Duncan. Send the pixie to me. Lady Elfie has some instructions for you.¡± Duncan nodded and returned seconds later with a blue light flying behind him. As he walked over to talk to Lady Elfie, the pixie flew over and landed on Laird Tokavaig¡¯s outstretched hand. ¡°Laird Tokavaig. I have a message for you.¡± The six-inch-tall man bowed as he handed a small scroll to the dragon. A pixie said after flying into the room. The scroll was sealed with magic. Laird Tokavaig felt the magic and found the signature of his favorite son, Ian Donan. Ian¡¯s mother, a human named Eilean Donan, was a powerful witch. Ian had her magic as well as his. Although Ian had never learned to cultivate, he was a powerful warlock in his own right. Laird Tokavaig opened the scroll with a smile. Father. I am unable to teach your grandson anything else. He has far surpassed me in magical abilities; as well as all other fields of education. Please find someone, who will not bore him, to teach him. Love, Ian Laird Tokavaig started laughing. ¡°So, young Angus is more powerful than his father?¡± ¡°Pixie, will you wait for me to write a letter?¡± ¡°Yes M¡¯laird.¡± ¡°Duncan, could you find me a pixie parchment and pen?¡± After Duncan handed him a small sheet of parchment, he wrote, Master Gareth and Erameya, I had a family emergency and will return as soon as may be. Master Gareth don¡¯t let Erameya do anything stupid. Laird TokavaigStolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He sealed the scroll magically and sent it to Inchkeith Isle. ¡°I will return for the packs you have put together or you can send them to Inchkeith. I¡¯ll go there first so if the supplies are not there, I¡¯ll come for them. Farwell, Lady Elfie.¡± He bowed, ¡°Oh, before I leave, is there anything I can do for you or any of Master Gareth¡¯s patients?¡± ¡°Yes. There was one patient I couldn¡¯t help, and Master Gareth didn¡¯t have the potion he was going to give another person.¡± ¡°What do you believe is wrong with each patient?¡± ¡°The first was Abner, our gardener. There is a cut on his leg that is not healing. I put honey on it but was unsure what else to do.¡± ¡°Honey was the right treatment. If he can be found before I leave, I will try magical healing.¡± ¡°The other is young Callie, our cook¡¯s daughter, she is in need of more of the potion to help her urinate without pain.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the potion, but I will try healing her. While you send for her, I would like some of your fine whiskey.¡± ¡°Very good, sir.¡± Elfie poured him a drink as she gave instructions to Duncan. Duncan soon returned with a small girl who felt way too hot for a human. Laird Tokavaig took her in his arms and felt the pathways of her body. He could tell the channel between her kidneys and bladder was too long for her, causing the infection and fever she currently had. He gently coaxed them to shrink as he burned the infection out of her. He pulled the heat out of her fever as soon as he knew everything was working right and the infection was gone. He handed the little girl back to Duncan. ¡°She should not have the pain or the fevers again.¡± ¡°Is he still here?¡± A young man hobbled into the room with the help of a cane. His face was creased with pain as he looked around. ¡°I beg your pardon, M¡¯laird, I didn¡¯t see you.¡± He bowed slightly toward the dragon. ¡°Abnor, I presume.¡± Laird Tokavaig walked over to the gardener and motioned for him to sit down. ¡°Tell me what happened.¡± Laird Tokavaig had him remove his chausse from his injured leg and removed the bandage. There was a wound that appeared to have once been a scratch just below his knee. It was about five inches long and had red lines running from it. There was puss seeping from the angry sore. ¡°I was working in the herb garden when one of the plants scratched me. I didn¡¯t see which one it was, but I fear it was poisonous. It didn¡¯t hurt at first, I think it numbed me.¡± ¡°I think it was a spider plant. They can crawl around and their poison is a narcotic. We use it in mild sedatives, but the thorn can be deadly.¡± Laird Tokavaig placed his hands on either side of the leg to feel the pathways. The infection had spread through the man¡¯s body and he drew out as much as he could without damaging the patient. ¡°Lady Elfie, will you apply honey to this wound again? I have pulled out most of the poisons but I will cause more injury if I pull any more out. You need to keep off of your leg. Lady Elfie will set you up with crutches from the healer¡¯s tower.¡± ¡°How do you know when and where it hits?¡± Master Gareth asked Erameya after she had again thrown her dagger further than either of them could see. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I can just feel exactly where the dagger is. Same with the sword. It¡¯s like they are a part of me.¡± ¡°Okay, is your mana full?¡± ¡°It was, I compressed it while I was throwing the dagger at the target with my eyes closed. It hasn¡¯t refilled.¡± ¡°Very good. I have an exercise that the all-powerful dragon may not think of. Try to picture a ball of energy in your hands. Trickle energy into that, until you feel it become viscus. Once it is thick enough to hold together, toss it back and forth between your hands. Eventually you should be able to play catch with it without it exploding.¡± Erameya started to gently push mana into her hand, concentrating on moving the mana as slowly as she could, ¡°Why would Laird Tokavaig not think of this?¡± ¡°It is a human method of magical control. I learned it from the healer who taught me. We used to try and keep as many balls of energy in the air as we could without losing focus. We got up to twelve. She had the most amazing control of magic.¡± Erameya felt the ball of energy becoming viscus and moved it to one hand. She tried to toss it but it stuck. She pictured it gliding through the air and landing on her other hand and she was able to do it. After she perfected, tossing the ball of energy back and forth, Master Gareth threw one at her and she pictured her mana ball flying into his hand. It worked. They tossed the balls back and forth until a pixie from the pixie post got their attention. ¡°Master Gareth, Princess Erameya, I have a note from Laird Tokavaig.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tutu.¡± Erameya said as she took the note. ¡°How is your daughter?¡± ¡°Very well, M¡¯lady, she just learned how to fly. Bonbon is the proudest mother you have ever seen. You¡¯d think no other pixie ever learned to fly. Thank you again, Master Gareth, I was scared that her wing would always be crippled. You have no idea how sad it is when a pixie cannot fly.¡± ¡°Tutu, you are more than welcome. My job in this kingdom is healer. King Cnut takes care of me very well so I can help every citizen and ally of the empire. I am just happy Laird Tokavaig taught me to heal that particular deformity. As someone who flies, he would not like any being to be denied the opportunity.¡± ¡°Read this!¡± Erameya interrupted. ¡°Master Gareth! Laird Tokavaig thinks I am going to do something stupid.¡± ¡°He said not to let you, not that you would.¡± ¡°I still take offence. I think I will throw a mana ball at him when he returns,¡± she laughed. ¡°I just wonder how you would try to stop me.¡± Erameya taunted. ¡°Should we have tea and then work on archery? Tutu, would you join us for a meal?¡± ¡°Gladly. I believe your aunt is sending more supplies.¡± Tutu sat down on a toadstool. They all ate a picnic dinner, then Erameya started to practice her archery. ¡°Erameya, put one foot forward like this¡± Master Gareth showed her how to stand, hold the bow and knock the arrow. After she learned the basics of stance and draw, he taught her to look at the fletching and make sure her arrows were strait. She tried to attach a mana ball on the end of her arrow and explode it after her arrow hit. It worked a little too well, destroying the target and the ground around it. ¡°Try not to blow up the island. How is your mana?¡¯ ¡°Still compressing. It feels like it will compress infinitely.¡± ¡°Technically it will. Cultivation is a journey, not a destination.¡± ¡°Eastern proverb?¡± ¡°No something my mother used to say.¡± He smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s play with mana balls again for a while and see how small we can make them. It is a good way to learn to condense mana and still keep it in an energy form.¡± They were throwing the mana balls back and forth playing around with number and size when they were startled by a great beating of wings, and a young man was falling from the sky. ¡°Grandfather, I have no idea what Father said,¡± he yelled as he fell, ¡°but I hate being picked up and flown around without my permission!¡± He threw the javelin that he held under one arm at Laird Tokavaig. The dragon rolled in the air, transformed, and landed in human form. ¡°Angus! You are here to learn.¡± ¡°I was jousting. You scared my horse half to death.¡± ¡°If your horse was scared, he hasn¡¯t been at your father¡¯s keep long enough.¡± Angus ¡°Even you smell like a dragon.¡± Laird Tokavaig said to Angus, ¡°your father can shift for a short time, and your uncles and I are at your father¡¯s keep enough that all of your animals should be inured to us.¡± ¡°Grandfather, you are a predator.¡± Angus rolled his eyes. ¡°So are you. Even humans are predators and horses let them ride them. There is a griffin and a tulpar colt sleeping together. Get a new horse.¡± ¡°Not the point.¡± Angus yelled. ¡°You took me off of my horse in front of everyone and flew off. Father will be laughing about it for years; mother will pretend to sympathize but laugh behind my back; my friends will be jealous or fearful enough to never return to our keep; and I hate flying in your claw!¡± ¡°Your father sent for me; your mother is the kindest person I know; and I don¡¯t care about your friends, or your feelings.¡± Laird Tokavaig glared. ¡°Pull you head out of your ass and let me introduce you to your fellow students.¡± ¡°What?¡± Angus turned around. He looked at Erameya, smiled, and stepped forward. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Angus Donan,¡± he said smoothly as he held out his hand toward her. When she started to take his hand, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the lips. Erameya used the hand still by her side and punched up into his solar plexus, she then kneed him between his legs, then punched him under the chin as hard as she could with the hand she has jerked out of his. Angus toppled to the ground. ¡°Laird Tokavaig, I am going to retire to that hill and meditate. Ailish, please take me.¡± Erameya said politely as she walked away. ¡°Be glad she didn¡¯t use magic boy,¡± Laird Tokavaig roared with laughter, ¡®She would have killed you.¡± Erameya heard as Ailish flew off. She got to the top of the hill and sat down to meditate. While she was alone, she decided to take a look at her character sheet. Attention! Stamina Low. Attention! Diplomacy level up. Attention! Agriculture level up. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Mana low. Attention! Magical reverb. Debuff employed. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Mana low. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Mana low. Attention! New skill: Magical creation. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! New skill: Magical push and pull. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! New skill: Listening. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! Archery level up. Attention! New skill: Magical explosion. Attention! Mana capacity increased. Attention! New skill: Self-defense.
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 29
Agility 32
Dexterity 32
Wisdom 32
Intelligence 33
Perception 34
Available Points 7
Statistics
Health 110/110
Stamina 55/122
Mana 586/325
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 2 You may hit your opponent.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 3 Don''t offend ambassadors.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 3 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 1 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-Defense Level 1 Don''t let others pick on you.
¡°I wonder why I got the one notification while not in the screen?¡± Erameya asked herself. The screen changed: Notifications will appear when you are actively thinking about any statistic that has changed. ¡°Good to know. Can I make it so specific notifications stop appearing?¡± The screen changed: Settings: Notifications: On Off Auto popup On Off Read aloud: On Off Specify notifications received: Yes No ¡°Turn all notifications off.¡± ¡°Princess Erameya?¡± Erameya dismissed the screen and turned to Master Tokavaig. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I believe I have visited your original world in my travels. I remembered it when flying to rescue my son from his demon spawn. While there I noticed the mana was so thick it was nearly impossible to cultivate. I believe your magical intake can best be described as: you were trying to drink honey through a straw; the honey was replaced with water and now you have a clean larger straw; thus, you are drowning because you haven¡¯t learned to sip.¡± ¡°That makes sense but how do I learn to drink water?¡± ¡°We will have to learn that together. I believe you said you meditated at least once a day?¡± ¡°Yes, I meditated and did yoga every night and most mornings.¡± ¡°You were likely cultivating without realizing it. It is why you have been able to advance in cultivation so rapidly. How is your mana pool? You are glowing again.¡±
Mana 689/368
¡°Six hundred eighty-nine of three hundred sixty-eight. I am compressing it as tight as I can. I am also trying to drink in the mana only when my pool gets close to empty, then compressing it. My mana capacity has been increasing rapidly.¡± ¡°Is the way you check something you could share with me?¡± ¡°Maybe, let me see if I can project the screen.¡±
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 29
Agility 32
Dexterity 32
Wisdom 32
Intelligence 33
Perception 34
Available Points 7
Statistics
Health 110/110
Stamina 55/122
Mana 689/368
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 2 You may hit your opponent.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 3 Don''t offend ambassadors.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 3 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 1 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-Defense Level 1 Don''t let others pick on you.
¡°That was easy.¡± Erameya said in surprise. ¡°I recommend keeping your attributes as even as possible. It looks like we need to work on health and stamina. As for the rest, it is a great way to display your growth. If I knew how, I¡¯d make something like this for my idiot grandson. By the way, thanks for not killing him. I do love him even if he has much growing to do. It is time for you humans to get some rest. You and master Gareth did a good job setting up the cave. I will take the idiot ¡­ or not. I see your aunt is here. Let¡¯s go meet her.¡± ¡°Aunt Elfie, thank you for coming. Duncan, thank you for accompanying her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to see you child.¡± Elfie said and gave her a hug. ¡°Master Gareth, Laird Tokavaig.¡± ¡°M¡¯lady.¡± Laird Tokavaig nodded his head. ¡°Thank you for the supplies. If you hurry you can return to the castle before dark.¡± ¡°Sending me away?¡± Lady Elfie raised one eyebrow. ¡°Yes. Erameya is still dangerous and my idiot grandson will try to seduce you. Then you will kill him.¡± ¡°What? I don¡¯t kill children, just maim them.¡± Elfie laughed. ¡°Grandfather!¡± Angus looked appalled. ¡°I would not attempt to seduce this beauty. I would seduce her.¡± He bowed over Ladie Elfie¡¯s hand before kissing it while looking into her eyes. ¡°Lady Elfie, Angus Donan, Angus, her Grace the Dowager queen of England, Dutchess of Southern England. And if you think you want to seduce her, you should hear how she met her husband.¡± ¡°How?¡± Angus asked with curiosity. ¡°She rescued him from a kelpie.¡± Laird Tokavaig said deadpan. ¡°A kelpie, I couldn¡¯t defeat a kelpie. They are one of the most powerful of the aquatic races.¡± Angus huffed skeptically. ¡°She was dead when I arrived.¡± ¡°She was kidnaping a knight of my kingdom. Even though I was no longer the queen, I still care about the people. I stabbed her in the neck with a poisoned dagger.¡± ¡°That is the first and end of the story. It completely leaves out the fact that you sent a pixie and a wyvern for me while wrestling her in the sand and the water.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know she was a kelpie, at first.¡± ¡°But you were able to get the upper hand and kill her with a poisoned dagger.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave her alone.¡± Angus said as he backed away. Mana Balls ¡°Today I want you to start with sword skills. You can pair up against Angus. Use your magical sword to start with. Later I will want you to train with a regular sword.¡± Erameya nodded and pulled her magical sword from the scabbard. She had no idea how or where to start so she followed Angus¡¯s actions. Angus, she noticed after a few lunges and parries, seemed to be pouting. It didn¡¯t matter how proficient he was with a sword, he could not get a hit in. As he realized that even with her lack of skill, he couldn¡¯t touch her, he settled in with a determined look. They went back and forth until finally Erameya hit Angus with the flat of her sword. ¡°How?¡± ¡°My sword is magical.¡± ¡°May I see it?¡± Erameya handed him the sword and he looked at her shocked. It is so heavy; how do you lift it?¡± ¡°With my arms.¡± Erameya sniped. ¡°Honestly, it is lighter for me than it was before I sent the magic into it.¡± ¡°You infused something with magic? How¡± ¡°Angus this is not your concern. Now it is time to train her with a non-magical sword. I want you to teach her all of the techniques you know and after she gets one hit in, I want you to race her to the hill and back.¡± ¡°That is over two miles.¡± ¡°It is five miles.¡± ¡°One way?¡± ¡°No.¡± After a morning of training with Angus on her sword skills Erameya was exhausted. She pushed herself as they raced to the hill and back. Even with all of her effort she was nearly unable to run the last few feet. Erameya was happy for the rest as she sat down to meditate.
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 29
Agility 32
Dexterity 32
Wisdom 32
Intelligence 33
Perception 34
Available Points 12
Statistics
Health 120/120
Stamina 15/198
Mana 994/435
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 4 Don''t offend ambassadors or their grandsons.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 4 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 1 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-Defense Level 1 Don''t let others pick on you.
¡°I¡¯ll put five to strength, two each to agility, dexterity, and wisdom. The last one to intelligence. Ouch!¡± the screen flickered out as a stabbing pain hit Erameya in the stomach and in the head. She stayed in the lotus position as she tried to breathe through the pain. She realized that all the mana from her rivers was rushing to her mana pool, she let the rivers drain before she opened up the inflow of magic just enough to keep her rivers nearly full. She felt a spike form in her mana pool. It grew then broke itself apart, then grew again. Each time it grew, the formation was denser and more spherical. Finally, her pseudo-core was created and her mana pool and rivers were full so she stopped drawing in magic. She collapsed to the ground. Mentally and physically drained. ¡°She can cultivate?¡± Erameya heard as she started to wake. ¡°She can.¡± ¡°You said you¡¯d never seen a human cultivator.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t until yesterday.¡± ¡°Yesterday? and she just awakened crystallization?¡± ¡°My guess is she has been purifying her pseudo-core and that is why she fell asleep.¡± ¡°How long have I been asleep?¡± ¡°About three hours, here is some water and some soup. Eat.¡± ¡°Now that you know humans can cultivate, can I learn?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Master Gareth would be a better teacher than I will be. It has been thousands of years since I built my foundation.¡± ¡°Master Gareth can cultivate?¡± ¡°He is a special case; he knows how and he has the foundation.¡± ¡°What? I feel cheated.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. I could go into long expiations, but I won¡¯t. Just know I would have taught you if I could have. Erameya, could you display your screen?¡± ¡°Character sheet or cultivation?¡± ¡°Start with your character sheet.¡±
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
TitleThis content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 34
Agility 34
Dexterity 34
Wisdom 34
Intelligence 34
Perception 34
Available Points 0
Statistics
Health 120/120
Stamina 98/198
Mana 351/549
Core 2
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 4 Don''t offend ambassadors or their grandsons (just knee their jewels).
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 4 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 1 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-defense Level 1 Don''t let others pick on you.
Listening Level 1 Listen and learn.
¡°Good. I like how you distributed your available points, and we¡¯ll have to keep an eye on your core value to see what it means. I see your stamina and health went up after today¡¯s training so we must be doing something right. Your stamina is low, but rest should fix that. I¡¯m impressed.¡±
Foundation
Awakening You have felt the essence in the world around you.
Gathering You have learned to gather the essence into yourself.
Circulating You have opened the rivers of power and can circulate essence.
Purifying You have used the rivers to break open the nodes of power.
Directing You have directed the essence inside and outside of yourself.
Conserving Use the least amount of mana needed for any given situation.
Storing You can reserve the mana you have purified.
Transforming You can change your mana into physical objects.
Dispelling You can disperse the spell or unused mana to prevent refraction.
Crystallization
Awakening You can feel the mana you have compressed start to become solid.
Gathering You have gathered the compressed mana shards and compressed them into a pseudo-core.
Circulating You have shattered the crystalized mana and reformed it and shattered it again.
Purifying You have reformed your pseudo-core.
Directing You can send mana from the pseudo-core into the different parts of your body.
Conserving Use the least amount of mana needed for any given situation.
Storing You can store the mana you have purified in your pseudo-core.
¡°I see you have been directing and storing since you woke up.¡± ¡°I think, I just start at foundation awakening and keep going until I hit a wall; then restart again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly as it should be.¡± ¡°How did you start cultivating?¡± Angus asked. ¡°I was meditating and felt a weird current in me, so I started circulating it.¡± Angus sat down in the lotus position. He closed his eyes and began to breathe regularly and deep. After about fifteen minutes he opened his eyes, ¡°I feel it, I really feel it!¡± ¡°Slowly, boy, slowly. Remember cultivation is a journey not a destination.¡± Master Gareth cautioned. ¡°While he is meditating, let¡¯s do some martial arts and close combat training. You then need to practice transforming.¡± ¡°Let me look in on my bonds first. I feel Tintreach needs to transform his mana. Ailish is compressing her mana; about to form her core.¡± They walked over to where her bonds appeared to be sleeping. The tips of Tintreach¡¯s wings had turned white. He took stood and flew up into the sky. He created an enormous lighting sword. He played with his magic for a while with Ailish and Laird Tokavaig joining him. Once they had landed Tintreach¡¯s wings were outlined in dark blue. They all went to an open part of the field. Laird Tokavaig guided them in martial arts and then instructed Erameya in close combat moves. When Laird Tokavaig went to check on Angus, Master Gareth and Erameya started to play catch with mana balls. Each ball was a different size and density. When Laird Tokavaig and Angus got over to them, Laird Tokavaig watched them for a minute and then joined in. Angus watched for a little longer and then tried to form a mana ball. After a few tries he was able to form one. Master Gareth told him to start by tossing it between his hands. When he was able to toss it around, he joined into the magical ball game. Suddenly, Angus screamed and collapsed to the ground. ¡°I said slowly.¡± ¡°He started grinding his nodes and I believe his meridians are open also.¡± It must be all the magical training his parents did. His mother, as a druid, would have taught him how to balance and open his meridians. His father learned magic from me as well as his mother. Eilean is a witch.¡± ¡°Eilean Donan?¡± ¡°Yes, she is my wife.¡± ¡°There is a castle in my reality called Eilean Donan. I had just visited it before I was killed.¡± ¡°I visited it when I was in your world. Speaking of your world I need a hamburger.¡± ¡°I bet we could make some.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s, after you have become less volatile.¡± ¡°On that note, I just learned dispelling what is the next thing I need to do?¡¯ ¡°The next step is Spiritual Tempering. This is one of the hardest steps. It is hard to explain and even harder achieve. Once you have tempered your spirit you become a true cultivator. Meditate and focus on your spirit instead of your body. When you awaken to your spirit, it will guide you in the remainder of the sub steps.¡± ¡°So, I need to start with foundation focusing on my spirit.¡± ¡°Yes, that is the best way to explain it. Remember, conservation. You do not want to deplete the mana in the world around you. Sip. Try exchanging that bug gulp straw you are using for a coffee straw. Let¡¯s practice conservation by using different magical affinities. Start with fire, it is easiest for me.¡± Erameya focus her mana in her hands and pictured a ball of fire. The mana in her hand was hot and looked like a spinning ball of fire. ¡°Cool, is this wizard¡¯s fire?¡± ¡°No, it is fire essence. It is a much purer form of fire than wizard¡¯s fire. Wizard¡¯s fire is greasy.¡± ¡°Throw it at the target but instruct it not to burn.¡± Erameya threw the fire willing it not to burn. ¡°Very good, now dispel it.¡± Erameya imagined the energy leaving the fire and returning to the atmosphere. ¡°Now try water.¡± Erameya repeated the prosses but with water, wind, lightning, earth, plant, light, shadow, ice, and soul. She was able to control each one. ¡°Good, keep trying, think of anything and try it as a mana ball, throw it at the target, and dispel it. Try not to drink in any more mana until you are using the last of the mana from your pseudo-core.¡± Erameya tried thread and it worked so she tried rubber, plastic, aluminum, lead, iron, steel, rock, hair, paper, glass and even spaghetti. She had fun making oddities from her old life to throw at the target. She kept at it throwing elements and anything else she could picture in a sphere at the target. She eventually stopped making it into balls and threw a pizza slice, a hamburger, an earbud case, a cellphone, a pencil, even a peach, at the target. Then she started mixing elements together. Fire and water, metal and ice, light and shadow, lighting and water, and anything else she didn¡¯t think would just blend. Finally, she started throwing mud balls, snowballs, and paint balls. Paint balls were the best they would splatter and then dissipate. She played with color and viscosity. Without the hard shell the paint balls splattered beautifully. ¡°That is an interesting waist of mana.¡± Angus pointed out haughtily, from behind her. ¡°Then, maybe you should remember that I am your grandfather¡¯s student, not yours.¡± ¡°Maybe you should move, and let the expert show you how fire balls are made.¡± He waves her aside. ¡°Do you use wizard¡¯s fire?¡± ¡°I do¡­ I used to. My magic is different now. I can feel my fire, ice and nature magic all flowing through each of my meridians and nodes.¡± He focused and soon had a ball of fire on his hand. He threw it at the target and the target was engulphed in flames. He focused again and the fire dissipated. ¡°Wow, cultivated essence is much more pure magic than I am used to working with. I cannot wait to show my father. He will be so jealous. His fire is sticky, and oily compared to the fluidity of mine. Now I am going to see what I can do with nature. Mother will be so amazed if I can grow a sturdy tree faster and denser than hers.¡± He focused on an apple seed left from Tintreach¡¯s lunch. The tree grew quickly and looked sturdy, until it fell over. He tried again with another seed. This time making sure to plant it. The tree grew, blossomed, and grew fruit. Once the apples were ripe, he went and picked one. ¡°This apple is good, but not as good as my mother¡¯s.¡± He scowled and threw the apple to Tintreach. ¡°I wonder if I can control ice like my grandma?¡± ¡°Stop trying to outdo everyone,¡± Erameya interrupted. ¡°You do the best you can and it will not matter what other¡¯s do.¡± ¡°It matters. I need to be the best.¡± He stomped. ¡°You¡¯re such a little princeling,¡± Erameya rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re such a princess.¡± He huffed back. Erameya shrugged. ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯m not an entitled brat. My parents taught me responsibility.¡± ¡°My parents tried to teach me responsibility, I just chose not to learn.¡± Erameya started to walk away, Angus grabbed her arm, ¡°are you walking away from me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a selfish prick. I don¡¯t have to listen to you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a proud princess.¡± ¡°Yes, and I am going over by Master Gareth and your grandfather.¡± ¡°Stay, I am used to being the most important young person in the room, I forget I am just human.¡± ¡°You are a child. You need to listen to those who try to teach you.¡± ¡°You are younger than I am.¡± ¡°I am more mature.¡± Erameya said throwing a snowball at his face. After he wiped the snow off. He threw a snowball at her. She waved her hand and the snowball dissipated while she threw another one. Soon they were throwing snowballs and trying to dispel the other person¡¯s as quickly as they could. Finally, Erameya erected a magical barrier of air in front of her that stopped his snowballs while letting hers through. Angus tried the same thing but failed. ¡°Lad!¡± Master Gareth smiled. ¡°You have just started opening your nodes. Directing your mana internally is the next step. You also need to learn to conserve. You are putting way too much mana in each ball. How do expect to erect a shield? Feel inside of you and realize how depleted your mana is.¡± ¡°I wish I knew how to give him a screen like Erameya¡¯s. The boy is hopeless.¡± Laird Tokavaig moaned. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. He just needs to grow up.¡± Master Gareth tried to console him. ¡°I¡¯m right here!¡± Angus hollered before collapsing to the grass. ¡°I see. You are quite pathetic.¡± Laird Tokavaig pointed out. ¡°Grandfather!¡± ¡°Learn to pay attention to your mana pool. Over draining your mana can hurt you almost as much as overfilling. Conservation is equal parts maintenance and economy. You use the least amount of mana possible for every action, you also have to maintain your levels and your pathways. Do you think your mother just has open meridians with no effort?¡± Laird Tokavaig shook his head. ¡°Erameya, excellent job. What is your mana now?¡± Mana 156/670 ¡°One fifty-six of six seventy¡± ¡°And now?¡± Mana 156/670 ¡°One fifty-six of six seventy¡± ¡°Good you have stopped, or at least slowed, your mana intake. Try to continue, to keep your pseudo-core empty. Go work on your archery and sword skills with Angus. After lunch, we will again check on your mana level. Angus get up and go practice archery.¡± Erameya and Angus went over to the targets and started to practice. Shot after shot they each hit their target. When Angus realized he could not outshoot her, he got angry. In his rage, he lit her arrow on fire. Erameya calmly cast about five gallons of water over his head. ¡°Not fair. Did you open a portal to the water realm?¡¯ ¡°No. I made a ball of water over your head.¡± ¡°That much, that fast?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded. ¡°Hey, I know you are a selfish prick, but will you teach me how to grow things?¡± ¡°Why would I teach you?¡± ¡°I taught you how to cultivate.¡± ¡°The first thing my mother taught me was to open my meridians. Meridians are kind of like the rivers you push essence through. They are not deep they are just under the skin. Rub your palms together in a circle. Now close your eyes and focus on your palms. Now push them back together. That feeling is your meridians. Now feel the life flow throughout your body. Now coax that feeling into the grass. Remember you are inviting it to grow not forcing it.¡± ¡°So, this is Druidry?¡¯ ¡°No. This is life energy manipulation. You will have to study with my mother if you want to become a druid. My grandmother is a witch, she uses mana like grandfather she just cannot cultivate. My father is a wizard and he has some amazing spells that even grandmother cannot do. Grandmother said his power is because he is half dragon. All I know is I have life energy, mana, and now I can cultivate. I have been trying my whole life to be as indominable as my parents and grandparents. I still don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be as good. Did I tell you my mother is the most powerful druid of her clan? And her father? Well, he leads their grove.¡± ¡°So, you are an ass hole because you are insecure?¡± ¡°No, I just know how good looking I am.¡± He preened. Erameya really looked at him for the first time. He was tall, over six feet, he had long blond hair, and silvery blue eyes. His build was muscular, but not like a gym rat. On the whole he was aesthetically pleasing but he ruined it with his arrogance. Identify:
Demographics
Name Angus Donan
Title Wizard 9
Class Upper
Race Human, Beast
Gender Male
Loyalty The Northern Empire, Dragon Kingdom
Attributes
Strength 165
Agility 194
Dexterity 124
Wisdom 54
Intelligence 40
Perception 32
Available Points 0
Statistics
Health 351/351
Stamina 628/659
Mana 512/592
Skills
Sword Skills
Archery
Warrior
Hand to Hand Combat
Horticulture
Martial Arts
Stabbing
Arrogance
Potion making
Healing
Accuracy
Life Energy Manipulation
Spell Casting
Dancing
Diplomacy
Listening
Magical Push and Pull
Magical Explosions
Teaching
¡°I cannot believe how low your wisdom, perception, and inelegance are.¡± ¡°Did you just read me?¡± ¡°Yes. It is the first time I have really looked at you when I wasn¡¯t doing something else. I chose to identify you.¡± ¡°Can you show me.¡± She projected his character sheet so he could see it. ¡°I am highest in agility? I cannot believe it. I should have more strength.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get up and train. Grinding is a great way to increase your stats.¡± ¡°You are so strange. What does grinding have to do with training?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain it. On guard!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what someone says before they practice with swords?¡¯ ¡°No. No they don¡¯t. And why do you do the funny half bow?¡± ¡°I thought it was fencing etiquette.¡± ¡°What is fencing? And what is etiquette?¡± ¡°French words.¡± ¡°Just swing the damn sword.¡± Flash Backs ¡°Erameya we¡¯ve had a good morning and I don¡¯t feel any mama flowing into you. Can you display your stat screen?¡±
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 34
Agility 34
Dexterity 34
Wisdom 34
Intelligence 34
Perception 34
Available Points 16
Statistics
Health 120/120
Stamina 198/200
Mana 154/673
Core 2
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two bonded animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 4 Don''t offend ambassadors or their grandsons.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 7 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 2 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Sel-defense Level 2 Don''t let others pick on you.
Listening Level 1 Listen and learn.
Teaching Level 1 You can teach.
Life Energy Manipulation Level 1 You can use life energy to heal and help things grow.
¡°Interesting your stamina has gone up, and your mana capacity has grown, but you haven¡¯t refilled your mana. Good, good.¡± ¡°Grandfather, why is conservation so important?¡± ¡°Think of mana like water. If you use all of the water in an area, even when it rains, there will be a drought in the surrounding areas. Take a god level dragon who is so large his head is larger than I am, if he were to fill his massive mana pool all at once, he could deplete an entire planet of mana in seconds. In Erameya¡¯s case, too much mana is killing her. Maintenance is also a part of cultivation. You don¡¯t want your mana pool to ever get completely empty.¡± ¡°Erameya, can you show me my screen like yours? With all the levels and descriptions?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Angus, if you give me permission to see your extended character sheet, maybe.¡±
Demographics
Name Angus Donan
TitleRoyal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Wizard 9
Class Upper
Race Human, Beast
Gender Male
Loyalty The Northern Empire, Dragon kingdom
Attributes
Strength 165
Agility 194
Dexterity 124
Wisdom 54
Intelligence 40
Perception 32
Available Points 4
Statistics
Health 351/351
Stamina 638/659
Mana 552/592
Skills
Sword Skills Level 22 Dancing with a sharp object.
Archery Level 13 Shoot a stick.
Warrior Level 6 Do as your told.
Hand to Hand Combat Level 8 Fight up close and personal.
Horticulture Level 9 Take care of your grove.
Martial Arts Level 3 Kick butt.
Stabbing Level 9 Poke your opponent.
Arrogance Level 24 Better than everyone else?
Potion making Level 12 Craft brews.
Jousting Level14 Knock the other guy off his horse.
Healing Level 5 Send Life Energy into another living being.
Accuracy Level 10 Know where to hit.
Life Energy Manipulation Level 16 Move life energy around.
Spell Casting Level 13 Throw magic around.
Dancing Level 20 Vertical seduction.
Diplomacy Level 3 Be kind.
Listening Level 2 Learn by paying attention to someone else.
Magical Push and Pull Level 4 Send and retrieve magic.
Magical Explosions Level 10 Use magical grenades.
Teaching Level 1 Show someone something.
¡°I think your screen hates me.¡± ¡°I think it knows you. Your highest skill is arrogance.¡± ¡°Children! This is very interesting. Now we have a comparison. Angus put all of your available points in perception. This says your race is human and beast. You should be able to shift. I think you will be able to as you learn to cultivate. I don¡¯t see meditation as a skill, you¡¯ll have to gain it to be a true cultivator. We have time to work on improving your skills. Okay, Erameya, we can return to the castle. Today has been amazing. I think if we come here to train when we need to, and I keep an eye on you, we will be all right. I will send Tutu to Andrew and let him know you will see ambassadors tomorrow. Tintreach and Ailish were happy to be home. Erameya made sure they had food and water then went to bathe and get some rest. ¡°M¡¯lady, is there anything else you need mended or cleaned?¡± Delphy asked as she dried Erameya¡¯s hair. ¡°Yes. I want leggings.¡± ¡°Leggings?¡± ¡°Yes, like tight drawers that go the whole way to my ankles.¡± ¡°Instead of drawers?¡± ¡°On top of drawers. I want several pairs of leather and a few of cotton.¡± ¡°I also want pockets in my tunics and leggings.¡± ¡°Pockets?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ll show the seamstresses what I mean.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to meditate for a while. Unless it is an emergency, I¡¯d like to be alone until dinner.¡± ¡°Yes, M¡¯lady.¡± Erameya sat in the lotus position on the sheep skin rug next to her bed and started to meditate. She made sure she wasn¡¯t taking in any more mana, then started back at her foundation awakening. She felt for the mana current in her body, focusing on her spirit instead of her body. It took her a while but soon she felt the difference. The mana in her spirit was different than that in her body. She had an epiphany. Erameya was her body. Amy Westfield was her spirit. To cultivate her spirit, she had to be only Amy. Amy focused on the mana in her spirit. It was still drawing in magic at an alarming rate. She stopped gathering mana and started circulating. Her spiritual nodes or chakra seemed to be grinding open. ¡°Amy, Daddy¡¯s home, come to dinner.¡± Amy¡¯s mother called out the back door of her home in Denver, Colorado. Amy jumped up, dusted the sand off of her and ran in to give her parents a hug. ¡­ ¡°Amy, could you stay in the classroom for a moment?¡± All of the other students ran out to recess. ¡°Amy. I just got a call from the office. An officer came and let us know that your parents were hit by a drunk driver and are in the hospital. Would you like the officer to take you there?¡± ¡°Yes. Please.¡± Amy sat in shock as an officer took her to the hospital and to the ICU to see her parents. Her mother was awake, but unable to talk. Her father was in a coma and hooked up to machines and tubes. ¡°Mommy?¡± Amy cried. Her mother patted her head as she cried next to her mother¡¯s bed. ¡­ ¡°Amy, help your father into the living room.¡± Amy was sad every time she saw the pain her father was in. They were not hurting for money but both of her parents had side effects of the crash. The money paid by the rich boy¡¯s father didn¡¯t fix the pain. She was glad neither of her parents used pain meds or alcohol to cope, but she wished she could do more for their pain. ¡­ ¡°Are you Amy Westfield?¡± The police officer at her dorm room door asked. ¡°Yes. Can I help you?¡± ¡°Can you tell me if your parents had any enemies?¡± ¡°Had?¡± ¡°Slip of the tongue, your parents were killed in what appears to be an arson fire, early this morning. It looked like your mother was trying to drag your father out. The electricity was off and there was a cellular signal blocker on the front lawn.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know of any enemies, maybe the father of the drunk kid that hit them ten years ago, but that was settled out of court.¡± ¡­ ¡°Amy, you have to take some time off. I know this plant cannot run without you but you put in more hours than any other employee.¡± The plant manager was in her shop. As and mechanical engineer, Amy knew the plant couldn¡¯t run one day without her, she didn¡¯t even have an assistant. ¡°What do you need to stop spending so much time here?¡± ¡°Competent help.¡± ¡°Hire someone and take two weeks off. If we have to shut down for two weeks that¡¯s our problem.¡± ¡­ ¡°I am so excited! I have two weeks off and a ten-day tour of castles in the UK.¡± ¡°Why do you want to see piles of crumbled stone?¡± Claudine asked. ¡°They are so beautiful, and I love history.¡± ¡­ ¡°Amy are you still having fun?¡± Hilda asked. ¡°So much.¡± I love castles even more since seeing so many. The hike to Dunnottar was enchanting and the ruins even better. Eilean Donan was as breathtaking as I expected. Now we are touring Holyrood. This place has so much history and mythology surrounding it. I can¡¯t wait to see it¡­ Watch out!¡± Amy screamed. Amy was pulled out of her memory. And found she was actually screaming. Her chakras were flowing with mana that was becoming purer and purer. She noticed she had taken in a bit of mana while meditating. She directed the mana into each chakra and into each limb. She directed it to all areas of her spirit. She felt full of life and like herself for the first time since waking up. She again made sure she was not taking in any more mana. She compressed the mana into her pseudo-core binding the spiritual and physical mana together. She used only her spiritual mana and created a mana ball and dispelled it. She then started again with her foundation awakening. After she had gone through the entire cultivation process several times, she pulled up her character sheet.
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 34
Agility 34
Dexterity 34
Wisdom 34
Intelligence 34
Perception 34
Available Points 17
Statistics
Health 126/126
Stamina 200/200
Mana 659/700
Core 3
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 1 Create things.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two bonded animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 4 Don''t offend ambassadors or their grandsons.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 8 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 1 Attach two pieces of fabric.
Cooking Level 1 Don''t burn water.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 2 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-defense Level 2 Don''t let others pick on you.
Listening Level 1 Listen and learn.
Teaching Level 1 You can teach.
Life Energy Manipulation Level 1 You can use life energy to heal and help things grow.
¡°Seventeen points, if it were eighteen, I could put three in each attribute so I¡¯ll put two in strength and three in the rest.¡± She then did yoga and rested. After dinner Erameya met with the seamstresses. She helped them how to make pattern for a basic pair of leggings with a draw string waist. She then showed them how to make several different kinds of pockets both on her leggings and her tunics. While she was there, she designed herself a leather vest with hidden pockets on the inside. Once the seamstresses had finished the first pair of leggings, she tried them on. They were a little tight in the rear and little too wide on the ankles. They fixed the seams and added some outside pockets. They used the pattern and designed a pair of leather leggings including pockets and a button flap. She showed them how to put belt loops on the leggings and left to talk to the black smith. She walked out of the upper bailey into the lower bailey where the shops were. She met with the blacksmith and the tanner and had them help her design a belt buckle and a belt. They also gave some suggestions for the vest and leggings. The tanner¡¯s son decided to try to make him some leggings and she told him about carpenter pants. She showed him an image out of magic but forgot to make the fly with buttons. He and the blacksmith¡¯s son got intrigued with the zipper and snaps. They asked how they worked and she was able to show them by making a zipper and a snap out of magic. The boys decided to make them. She was glad she had done a research paper on zippers and was able to explain the mechanics to them. She told them to try with a larger version before they tried to make it small enough for clothing. While she was describing how snaps worked, she looked up to see Angus looking at himself in the tanner¡¯s crafter sign. He pulled the rings holing his hair back and tossed his blond wavey hair like a lion tossing his mane. The gaggle of girls following him sighed or swooned at his antics. Each on trying to react in a way to catch his attention. He then pulled his hair back and expertly pulled his ponytail through the rings. Erameya was shocked at his following but remembered the movie and music stars back before she died and their inability to have a private life because of their fame. She wondered if the crowd of girls were attracted to him or just fans. He seemed to feed off of the attention and performed beautifully for the crowd. He looked into the tanner¡¯s shop and seemed to see her for the first time. He smiled and sauntered in. ¡°I didn¡¯t know a man could saunter so beautifully. I thought people only acted like you in the movies or in romance novels. Are you abandoning your fans?¡± ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t understand a word you said, as usual. Did you say I act romantic?¡± ¡°No. you remind me of an actor who portrayed Thor. I just didn¡¯t know people acted like that in real life.¡± ¡°You saw an actor depict the Mighty Thor? He was brave.¡± ¡°No, just arrogant.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t personally know Thor, but I believe, if the actor were arrogant enough, he might not kill him.¡± ¡°I keep forgetting where I am.¡± Erameya muttered. ¡°Hey, what is this?¡± Angus picked up the sketch of carpenter pants. Can you make me a pair but with this,¡± he pointed out a pocket on the upper leg, ¡°long enough to hold my dagger and this sturdy enough to hold a war hammer, and a flail loop here?¡± he pointed to the waist of the other side. ¡°You use a war hammer?¡¯ Erameya asked. ¡°No, but I¡¯ll learn. I just to wear it around. Can you imagine how nice this garment will be in battle? What do you call it?¡± ¡°Pants?¡± the tanner¡¯s son said hesitantly. ¡°Why pants?¡± ¡°Trousers?¡± Erameya suggested. ¡°Better, but why plural?¡± ¡°They cover both legs.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll accept that. Will you, young tanner, make me a pair of trousers?¡± ¡°We are looking into making this closure system do you want to wait until it is finalized?¡± ¡°A pair with a button closure will work for now. I will want to try your new closure methods later.¡± ¡°Let me get my sister so she can help us design your trousers. She will help with the sewing. She sews the leather for the castle seamstresses and tailors.¡± ¡°She may be busy. I just put in a large order. Do tell her about your new closures so she can use them on my leggings.¡± ¡°Leggings?¡± Angus asked. They are trousers for women. Like these. Erameya showed of the lower leg of her leggings.¡± ¡°So, fitted drawers?¡± ¡°Kind of.¡± ¡°I am headed to the healer¡¯s tower, if you¡¯re going to the upper baily, you may escort me.¡± ¡°The healer is in the ambassador¡¯s tower with my grandfather. I¡¯d be happy to take you there.¡± Angus held out his arm for her to take. Taking his elbow, they walked together up the street to the upper bailey. Before they had gone far, Erameya noticed they were being followed. ¡°Angus, we are being followed.¡± ¡°We do make a beautiful couple. Me with my luxurious golden hair and my tall, muscular body; and you, a willowy, stunning dark beauty. Why would people not stare?¡± ¡°I forgot, for a moment, how arrogant you are.¡± Spy Angus showed Erameya into the tower that was made for his grandfather when the castle was constructed. The tower was constructed with more magical runes and shields than the rest of the keep to make it strong enough for a large dragon to land on top. It had rooms and aeries made especially for the dragons. There was a large lawn where a dragon could bask in the sun. The tower was opulently decorated with precious metals and gemstones. The floors were covered with a plush carpets, exquisite tiles, and a variety of woods, each room had a different feel to it. The entry hall was white and gold. The tiles were white with golden inlays, the walls were some kind of white carpet and the ceiling was gold with white trim. There was a large golden dragon in the center of the room. The chairs were white velvet. The tables were a golden wood and the trays were white porcelain. ¡°Is this Lebanon Cedar?¡± Erameya asked as they walked past a table. ¡°It is. Grandfather brought it back when one of my great uncles was captured by a Babylonian. He burned the hanging gardens and stole a cedar tree.¡± ¡°Erameya, come in here.¡± Laird Tokavaig called from a breakfast room. They walked in to see Laird Tokavaig and master Gareth dinking whiskey. ¡°My dear, what are you doing here?¡± Master Gareth asked. ¡°Can¡¯t you feel it? She has broken into the spiritual refinement. Her spiritual nodes are even slightly open. ¡°Tell me what happened.¡± Erameya looked at Laird Tokavaig , and then at Angus and back to Laird Tokavaig. ¡°Angus, I need you to run to the library and get a book for me. It is called The First Babylonian Scholar. It is bound in red leather.¡± Angus nodded at his grandfather and left the room. ¡°Now tell me before the boy realizes that that book is in mt study.¡± ¡°Is it one of the ones you stole from the library of Alexandrea?¡± ¡°Yes, but do let Erameya tell us what happened before she cannot.¡± ¡°I was meditating and going over my cultivation again when I found my spiritual rivers. I learned that in order to do spiritual cultivation I have to do it as Amy Westfield and not as Princess Erameya. I can add the spiritual mana to my core but my rivers for my spirit and body are entirely different. Is this normal?¡± ¡°No. You are two very different people. One of you is a thirty-four-year-old female from a different time and reality; the other is a teenage princess who had a congenital illness, but is now healthy and strong. Even if you were just one person, you would have a very difficult time adjusting to your new reality. As a combination of two entities, you have much more to adjust to.¡± ¡°Then why summon a different spirit into the princess and not her own?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t let the princess die of the curse of kings.¡± Master Gareth said. ¡°If I had summoned her back into her body, the illness would have still been there. A new spirit wouldn¡¯t have the same markers as the original. Your body is healed, you have a much stronger grasp on magic, and you have all of your memories as well as hers. The problem I had, as a kid, was not having the same emotions.¡± ¡°I remember how much she loved Aunt Elfie, and I know I will learn to love her too. I felt a pull toward Ailish and Logi, even before I went to the stables. I remember missing my parents but I do, somehow, miss Logi. It¡¯s like my feelings for people are missing but not my feelings for animals. I think it is may agriculture skill but how do I know?¡± ¡°You cannot. I think if you look closely in the mirror you, will notice that your eyes are those of Amy, not Erameya. I saw, the first time I saw you, that your eyes were different. It¡¯s not the shape or the color more the glint. I think you have other features and characteristics that have blead through. but I didn¡¯t know the child.¡± ¡°If you folks are done talking about thing you don¡¯t want me to know, here is your book.¡± Angus said as he walked into the room. ¡°I was wondering if we should just tell him. If he can be relied upon to keep our secrets, and he is spending enough time with us, will he not just figure it out anyway?¡± ¡°No. No possibility.¡± Laird Tokavaig shook his head. ¡°But if you tell him or not is up to you. I trust him.¡± ¡°Master Gareth?¡± ¡°I trust him, he¡¯s arrogant enough to keep our secrets.¡± ¡°Do you want to know?¡± ¡°I think so, will it crack my brain?¡± ¡°Possibly.¡± ¡°Tell me and I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯ve had enough.¡± ¡°I was born January 12, 1990, as Amy Westfield. In April 2023 I was hit by a car and killed. My next memory was waking up with a little girl¡¯s memories in a world of magic. We had magical things like cellphones and internet. We waisted a lot of time with movies and computer games. I had a collage education and a job as a mechanical engineer. Our clothing was comfortable and easy to put on, for the most part. There was a lot of good and a lot that could be improved. I used meditation and yoga to relax myself and that apparently gave me a dangerous jumpstart to meditation.¡± ¡°You skipped at least one important point, but why are you in Princess Erameya¡¯s body?¡± ¡°Master Gareth summoned me.¡± ¡°And how did you know how to do that or that it was possible. ¡° ¡°When I was six years old, I was kidnaped by some rebels that were trying to get my father to do something he was morally opposed to. My father was a dragon, a god level dragon who when he was in his dragon form was, I¡¯d guess, about thirty miles long. He told me that as a dragon gets higher in cultivation his body grows and becomes more pure. My kidnapers crushed my nodes and killed me. My father didn¡¯t want me to enter back into that damaged body so he found your grandfather, who was playing farmer, and gave him knowledge of how to summon a spirit. The Farmer he was working with had a little boy with a backwards heart. He died. Had your grandfather summoned his spirit back into his body the boy would still have been sick. Just like Erameya would have still been sick if I¡¯d summoned her spirit. So, he summoned me. I knew your father was a dragon but Gareth didn¡¯t. Thankfully, I was only six, and Gareth was only four. Erameya has two much longer lives to braid together. Her lives were even more different than mine. There were no dragons in her world. Any questions?¡± ¡°Thousands.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Erameya grimaced, ¡°Laird Tokavaig, is the problem with my rivers being separate going to hurt me overall?¡± ¡°If they stay separate too long. You need to accept both your former self and your current self. Fully accept, then braid. You will never be able to merge the two lives but you if can braid the pain of Erameya¡¯s life with the loss in your life, incorporating all the love and joy in each you had, you will eventually have a rope you can use as a cultivation guide. Your rivers are not in tubes but more like electrical impulses. You need guides but not tunnels. When you are whole, you will have many different colors if wire in your rope. Does this make any sense? I am trying to use examples you will relate to.¡± ¡°It does, thank you.¡± ¡°Grandfather, is the farm you were working on, Grandmother¡¯s old neighbor?¡± ¡°Yes. He never knew I had magic. Even more than her. We remained good friends until he died. His wife knew I was a dragon, and used to blackmail me with it, but was so grateful when I married Eilean, that she never told him. I have never met anyone who hated magic as much as he did.¡± ¡°You have been to my world. There were several times in our history where all witches were burned, and in our fairytales, princesses were always being rescued from a dragon who the prince had to kill.¡± ¡°Sounds exhausting, having to kill all the princes.¡± Laird Tokavaig wrinkled his nose. Angus laughed, ¡°After what Master Gareth just told us? I wonder how a human killed a dragon.¡± ¡°In the fairytales they used cunning and knowledge but the dragon in the stories were never as mammoth as Master Gareth¡¯s father.¡± Erameya laughed. ¡°Why fairytales?¡± ¡°Fairytales were stories with fairies in them. The term was used for any fictional story.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have Faries?¡± ¡°As far as I am aware we had little to no actual magic. Magical beings, gods, undead, shifters, they were fodder for stories. I don¡¯t know of many people who actually believed in any of it. I think there were some true believers in some of the religions, but so many people went to church out of habit not belief.¡± ¡°You said you had magical items like cellphones?¡± ¡°The magic of technology. They were a very convenient means of communication that used radio frequency to send your voice form one device to another.¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Laird Tokavaig laughed, ¡°if you try to tell the boy about your world his brain will explode. Now I could use a hamburger and a strawberry milkshake with a side of fries. Food is the real magic of your world.¡± ¡°You are such a man. I miss cloths and technology and you want the food? Food can be made it this place. I don¡¯t know how to make buns, but I bet the cooks can figure it out. As for ground beef and vegetables, you eat beef and make sausage, so grind the beef, slice the vegetables, and put them on the bun.¡± ¡°Mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and cheese.¡± ¡°Mayonnaise is oil, eggs, and acid whipped together. With magic a blending device shouldn¡¯t be hard to make. Ketchup is tomatoes, vinegar, sweetener, and spices, and mustered is ground mustard seed, vinegar, with spices. Cheese is a longer process but you can use milk in a goats stomach and make some okay cheese by letting it cure. The generally accepted method is to let a baby goat drink until the stomach is full and killing it . you then take the stomach and tie it off.¡± ¡°I want cheddar cheese.¡± ¡°Then make refined rennet.¡± ¡°You will have to help me.¡± ¡°I will. I need google. I could search how to make cheddar cheese.¡± ¡°I will go to your world and get the recipes I want, after you become stable.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°Will you two let the rest of the class in on the secrets?¡± ¡°You will have to taste it once we perfect it.¡± ¡°Are you telling me all of this is for food?¡± ¡°Unhealthy food.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Angus rolled his eyes. ¡°Yes, ¡±Erameya shrugged. ¡°I would prefer, socks, shoes, and jeans. Rubber. Rubber trees. This world could make rubber! With the possibility of flight, we could have someone farm rubber trees, harvest the latex, and make into rubber thread. The weavers could then weave elastic and socks!¡± ¡°You would be loved by all if you invented rubber.¡± ¡°Stop! Please, you¡¯ll make my brain explode.¡± ¡°We may, at that. Erameya, will you show me your screen?¡±
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 36
Agility 37
Dexterity 37
Wisdom 37
Intelligence 37
Perception 37
Available Points 3
Statistics
Health 120/120
Stamina 198/198
Mana 156/673
Core 3
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 2 You have conceived a way to get elastic.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
HealingRoyal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 1 Know how to dress for each occasion.
Hair Dressing Level 1 Comb your hair properly for each occasion.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 4 Don''t offend ambassadors or their grandsons.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 8 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 2 You have designed a pattern.
Cooking Level 2 You thought up something for someone else to cook.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 2 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-defense Level 2 Don''t let others pick on you.
Listening Level 1 Listen and learn.
Teaching Level 1 You can teach.
Life Energy Manipulation Level 1 You can use life energy to heal and help things grow.
¡°Why does your demographics extended show your weight, height, eye color, and hair color, and mine not?¡± ¡°Maybe the system thinks you are arrogant enough. Honestly. I believe it has more to do with what you wanted and expected the system to show.¡± Laird Tokavaig steepled his fingers in thought. ¡°your core is now three. You are not finished with spiritual refinement, so I don¡¯t think it has to do with cultivation. I could do with size or refinement.¡± Erameya focused on the word core and thought that if this were a game she could right click and have the stat explained. A small screen overlayed the main screen. Core: You now have a core instead of a mana pool for mana storage. Your core is able to store much more mana than a pool. ¡®Core 1¡± is a one-to-one ratio. ¡®Core2¡¯ is a two-to-one ratio. ¡®Core 3¡¯ is a three-to-one ratio. E.G. if your mana capacity is 120 and your core is two, if there is 20 points of mana in your rivers, your total mana would be 220 if you had a mana pool. ¡°Could you be more wordy and vague? Basically, the number represents the multiplier for core density.¡± ¡°You do realize that your mana stored is over 400?¡± ¡°Yes, and my mana pool would be about 1800. I don¡¯t know of any way to see how much of the stored mana is in my rivers and how much is in the core.¡± ¡°What matters is conservation.¡±
Foundation
Awakening You have felt the essence in the world around you.
Gathering You have learned to gather the essence into yourself.
Circulating You have opened the rivers of power and can circulate essence.
Purifying You have used the rivers to break open the nodes of power.
Directing You have directed the essence inside and outside of yourself.
Conserving Use the least amount of mana needed for any given situation.
Storing You can reserve the mana you have purified.
Transforming You can change your mana into physical objects.
Dispelling You can disperse the spell or unused mana to prevent refraction.
Crystallization
Awakening You can feel the mana you have compressed start to become solid.
Gathering You have gathered the compressed mana shards and compressed them into a core.
Circulating You have shattered the crystalized mana and reformed it and shattered it again.
Purifying you have reformed your core with more pure crystals.
Directing You can send mana from the core into the different parts of your body.
Conserving Use the least amount of mana needed for any given situation.
Storing You can store the mana you have purified as well as mana in the core.
Transforming You can transform your mana into physical objects.
Dispelling You can disperse the spell or unused mana to prevent refraction.
Spiritual Tempering
Awakening You can feel your spirit.
Gathering You have gathered mana using your spirit.
Circulating You have used your spirit to move mana.
Purifying Your spiritual nodes are 10% open.
¡°Your cultivation looks good. I am glad to see you are grinding open these nodes not smashing them open. When you get to ninety percent open you need to spend the rest of your cultivation in my molting room. The last part of spiritual purification is body purification. You want that to only happen when you are naked in a molting chamber. If you feel your body is going to start its cleansing, stop cultivating, and get here as quickly as possible. You do not want to touch anything once you start molting.¡± ¡°Thank you. I have a long list of royal duties to attend to tomorrow. Master Gareth, will you teach me potion making if you have time after court? I have martial arts training mid-afternoon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make time.¡± ¡°If it is your wish, I¡¯d like to be in court with you.¡± ¡°Please. I have so much fear of making a mistake and ruining someone¡¯s life. The amazing thing is both of me fear this.¡± ¡°You are the leader, your job is to make decisions others have to live with. Making ones you can live with too? That is more tricky. You have to follow your heart.¡± Erameya was up early. When Delphy came to help her dress, she had a pair of leather leggings with all the pockets she wanted and the closure was a zipper and snap. Once she was dressed in her tunic and leggings, she sat in the lotus position to meditate and cultivate, after about half an hour she did her yoga. By the time Delphy came to help her dress for court, she had had breakfast, gone running on the track around the training field, checked on her animals and bathed. She was grateful for Delphy¡¯s chatter as she helped her dress and combed her hair. Delphy disapproved strongly about her putting her leggings on under her shift. She smiled as Delphy berated her. Anything to distract her from the day ahead. As she finished getting ready, there was a light knock at the door. ¡°Erameya? Would you like to walk down with me?¡± Aunt Elfie asked, ¡°I know how much you dislike court days.¡± ¡°That would be fantastic. Is Laird Tokavaig here?¡± ¡°He is seated in the throne room.¡± ¡°Thank you. We had better go and do our duties.¡± After hours of listening and talking, pandering and domineering, judging and sentencing, Erameya was striving to pay attention to a farmer as she went on and on about how her neighbor stealing life from her plants with his magic, and how his farm was beautiful and green while her farm was dry and brown. ¡°My first question is, do you irrigate?¡± ¡°No, it rains enough for my oats.¡± ¡°Is your ground too wet or too dry? There can be any number of reasons two farms next to each other have different crop yield. Is your neighbor here?¡± ¡°He is. Hugh, get up here.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Erameya paused as she accidently identified the person standing.
Demographics
Name Hugh McGilius
Title Druid 10
Farmer 9
Class Lower
Race Human
Gender Male
Loyalty The Northern Empire
¡°Mr. McGilius, approach,¡± Erameya beckoned him forward. ¡°Are you a druid?¡± ¡°Aye, M¡¯lady. I am a member of the local grove.¡± ¡°Mr. McGilius, do you irrigate your land?¡± ¡°I irrigate or drain as needed to keep perfect growing conditions. I also feed life energy into my plants to speed up the growing prosses.¡± ¡°And how do you do that?¡± ¡°I sing to the seeds as I plant them. I sing to them as I weed. I sing to them while I water. I sing to them while I harvest. I will, once in a while, let life energy flow directly from me into a plant. My skill is song.¡± Eamey nodded and looked around for Andrew. She needed to ask Angus before she proceeded with the explanation she wanted to give. She found Andrew in the back where he was supposed to stand, but when she met his eyes, her identify skill activated.
Demographics
Name Anthony Loucci
Title Spy, Assassin 8
Class Knight
Race Human
Gender Male
Loyalty Roman Empire
Her identify skill shocked her with the revelation, Erameya lost control and started to draw in copious amounts of mana. As he turned to leave, she threw a three-inch rubber ball of magic at his head. It hit his temple and knocked him unconscious. She forced herself to breathe deeply, and realized Laird Tokavaig, Master Gareth, and Angus were all touching her trying to get her attention. She stopped drawing in mana. ¡°Duncan? Will you remove and restrain him? I will see to him when we are finished up here.¡± Erameya noticed the stunned faces of her court and smiled tentatively. ¡°I beg your pardon, I just realized he was the spy I was warned of. ¡°Mrs.? In all the excitement I have forgotten your name. Would you kindly remind me?¡± ¡°Mrs. Hently. Most call me Farmer Hently.¡± ¡°And which do you prefer?¡± ¡°Mrs. Hently.¡± ¡°Great, Mrs. Hently, did you see and or feel what just happened?¡± ¡°Both, My Lady.¡± ¡°Good. That was magic. I took the energy out of the air to the extent that everyone could feel it. Druidry is different. Prince Angus, may I tell her what you told me?¡± ¡°Yes, your highness.¡± Angus bowed his head towards her. He, Master Gareth, and Laird Tokavaig were all still hovering behind her. ¡°Rub your hands together in front of your stomach until they are hot. Now focusing only on your palms, pull your hands apart and push them back together. What did you feel.¡± ¡°The air was a little thick when I was trying to push my hands together.¡± ¡°That is life energy. Did it come from inside you or from the world around you?¡± ¡°Inside.¡± ¡°Your neighbor is a druid. They use life energy, not magic. Maybe you should ask him to show you how he cultivates instead of being angry and blaming everything on him.¡± ¡°I will, thank you.¡± Mrs. Hently smiled and curtseyed. ¡°I need the room cleared now. Any supplicants I didn¡¯t get to, I will see on my next court day. Do inform Duncan of your name and basics of your problem before you leave, so I can talk to you first. ¡°Guards, take me to where my former steward is being held.¡± After they left the throne room Erameya nearly collapsed onto Laird Tokavaig. He held one arm and Angus had the other. ¡°Check your character sheet.¡± Laird Tokavaig whispered.
Demographics (extended)
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Height 5'' 6"
Weight 110 lbs.
Eye color Green
Hair color Dark Brown
Attributes
Strength 36
Agility 37
Dexterity 37
Wisdom 37
Intelligence 37
Perception 37
Available Points 6
Statistics
Health 120/120
Stamina 188/198
Mana 964/678
Core 3
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 2 You have conceived a way to get elastic.
Potion making Level 1 Create and understand potion making.
Healing Level 1 Heal both magically and mundane.
Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 2 You can choose your clothes with pride.
Hair Dressing Level 2 You know a good style when you see one.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 5 Make as many people leave happy as possible.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 8 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 2 You have designed a pattern.
Cooking Level 2 You thought up something for someone else to cook.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and pull Level 2 Throw and retrieve objects using magic.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-Defense Level 2 Don''t let others pick on you.
Listening Level 1 Listen and learn.
Teaching Level 1 You can teach.
Life Energy Manipulation Level 1 You can use life energy to heal and help things grow.
¡°I have way too much mana, I have been trying to compress it into my core but I am too worked up.¡± ¡°Push it into your leggings.¡± ¡°Magical leggings? How did you know I was wearing leggings?¡± ¡°You¡¯re you.¡± Erameya put her hands in the slits in the side of her dress made for reaching her coin purse. She placed her hands on her new leather leggings and pushed her magic into them. She continued feeling it go into her socks, shoes, chemises, drawers, and her dress. Even her belt and the little jewelry was filled with magic. She pulled her hands out, of her dress slits, and stumbled. Catching herself against Angus¡¯ thigh, her hand landed on his new leather trousers for support. Once all of his clothes were filled with mana, she felt a little better. ¡°I am, I believe down almost to my full mana capacity.¡± ¡°What did you do to my clothes?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was just expending mana.¡± ¡°You had better look at them with your screen.¡± Trousers, Magical: Self-Healing Self-Cleaning Minor Adjustments Durability increased Flexibility increased ¡°They are just better.¡± Erameya tried to smile but was still overwhelmed with magic. ¡°Master Gareth, do you happen to have a potion on you?¡± ¡°A minor healing potion.¡± ¡°Give it to her, she can fill it with all the mana she can fit into it.¡± Master Gareth handed the vial to Erameya. She pushed as much mana as it could hold into it. Mana not only flowed into the potion, but into the bottle and cork. Unbreakable Glass: Glass cannot be broken even when dropped or crushed. Infinite Cork: Cork will fit most receptacles it is placed in. Cork can only be removed with will. Healing potion, Major: Will heal any wound before death. Will heal most illnesses. Erameya smiled. ¡°Give this to Abner, it will heal the wound even Laird Tokavaig could not. You will have to use will to pull the cork.¡± ¡°Thank you, and how are you?¡± ¡°Better, let us go see our spy.¡± Healing Chapter 10 ¡°Andrew, or should I say, Anthony Lucci? Tell me your story.¡± ¡°First, you are looking better. What happened when you knew who I was? You started to glow like an angel, but looked ill at the same time.¡± ¡°I am better so don¡¯t worry. Now, tell me your story. I know you are a spy and still loyal to the Roman Empire.¡± ¡°I was the steward of the Primus Pilus, Markus Vibonna. He sent me to get close to King Ethelred. My instructions were to keep an eye on him, and to kill anyone I felt was a threat to the Roman Empire. The longer I was here the less I felt England was a threat to the Roman Empire. When King Cnut came, I was wary at first, but he treats all of his citizens and allies with such respect I cannot help but like him. Cezar Trajan is brutal, especially to those he feels are lesser than he. He doesn¡¯t believe in the equality of people, beasts, and fae. I have seen how everyone is educated, treated fairly, and taken care of in this empire. I have not sent a message to Markus for over a month. I didn¡¯t want him to know you were sick and England was without a true royal. I need to send him a message soon or he will get suspicious, but I cannot lie in them. He has a magical powder he can sprinkle over any missive, anything the writer knows is untrue will be highlighted. I would like to send a note that Laird Tokavaig has seemed to take an interest in Princess Erameya. It may hold him off longer. I fear he is going to try to sail a fleet up here and attack before King Cnut comes back. If I subtly let him know dragons are here, he may be cautious.¡± ¡°Can I trust you at all?¡± ¡°I have told you nothing but the truth. I use a flying seahorse and attach a waterproof tube with a note. The flying seahorse can both swim and fly at great speeds and will find him with the message faster than the pixie post could get from here to Rome. There is a bucket of them in my room. There is also a special pen with ink that turns invisible when dry, and waterproof tubes. If you would send someone for my things, I¡¯ll write the letter and see if I can hold him off longer.¡± ¡°I,¡± Aunt Elfie said, ¡°believe him and will have him escorted to his room. I will stay with him while he writes his letter and have him confined to his chambers.¡± ¡°When did you get here?¡± Erameya smiled at her aunt. ¡°When he started talking about Markus Vibonna, Duncan and I were just arriving. How are you dear?¡± ¡°Better, thank you. I am going to the healer¡¯s tower to make potions with Master Gareth if you need me. Remember to trust but verify. Anthony Lucci, is a spy and assassin, if his Cezar told him to, he¡¯d kill any one of us he likely would.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Her aunt reassured her. ¡°Duncan, send someone for Abnor, have him meet me in the healer¡¯s tower. I have a potion I think will heal him.¡± Master Gareth asked. ¡°Yes, Sir.¡± Duncan motioned for one of the servants to go. ¡°Duncan. Have the guard posted inside and outside of every possible exit. If Anthony makes the least misstep. Trank him.¡± Erameya commanded. ¡°Trank?¡± Duncan asked looking at her like she had two heads. ¡°Sorry. Use a sleeping dart or just knock him out. Only kill him if it is absolutely necessary. Keep him secure at all costs. If he has the names of more spies, have him give them to my aunt. He can also tell her everything he knows about Markus¡¯s plans. ¡°Aunt Elfie, do we need Leon?¡± ¡°No, you know how overprotective he is. Go do what you need to do. I will have plenty of guards with me and placed around his room.¡± Erameya, Laird Tokavaig, Master Gareth, and Angus, walked to the healer¡¯s tower. ¡°May I join you?¡± Laird Tokavaig asked Master Gareth as they walked. ¡°I also would like to join you. I feel I have a lot to learn about healing. My mother is a druidic healer and my father a magical healer but I have never studied the arts.¡± ¡°That will be fine. Just don¡¯t scare away my patients. Or flirt with them.¡± Master Gareth glared at Angus as he spoke. ¡°I have a few patients visiting the tower and a list of others I need to visit. I have potions, poultices and teas that need made. If each of you children pick an item to craft, Laird Tokavaig and I will watch and make sure you don¡¯t poison anyone.¡± Erameya looked over the list of items that needed made. She chose a burn poultice. She started with the list of herbs Master Gareth gave her. Comfrey: Herb: Uses: Topical: Sprains Bruises Strains Breaks Arthritis Wounds Burns Frostbite Pain relief Internal: Can be used in small amounts for pain Mullein: Herb: Uses: Topical: Sprains Bruises Strains Breaks Arthritis Wounds Burns Frostbite Pain relief Hemorrhoids Skin infections Ear pain Gout Internal: Asthma Bronchitis Cough Inflammation Antimicrobial Earache Sour throat Pain relief Antioxidant Gout Gastrointestinal pain Head aches Garlic: Herb: Uses: Seasoning Topical: Fungal infections Psoriasis Scars Corns Wounds Burns Internal: Infections High blood pressure Anti-inflammatory Antimicrobial Bronchitis Colds Earaches Sinus infections Flu Gastrointestinal infections Worms Parasites Tooth and gum disease Lowers cholesterol Immune builder St. Johns Wart: Herb: Uses: Topical: Wounds Burns Bruises Muscle pain Varicose Veins Internal: Mental illness Nerve pain Arthritis Menstruation pain Kidney pain Lung pain Menopause Goldenseal: Herb: Uses: External: Skin disorders Ulcers Fevers Infections Burns Antimicrobial Internal: Antimicrobial Diarrhea Urinary Tract Infections Canker sores Vaginitis Yeast infections Immune booster Heart disease Stomachache Colds Flu Hay fever Sore throat Malaria Respiratory problems Ginger: Herb: Uses: Seasoning Topical: Wounds Burns Pain relief Headaches Anti-inflammatory Internal: Nausea Arthritis Circulation Toothache Pain relief Menstrual pain ¡°So many of the uses if these herbs overlap, how do you know which one to use?¡± ¡°Trial and error, history, training, intuition, and/or inspiration.¡± Master Gareth shrugged. ¡°Grind each of the herbs in the amount listed in the order listed. Mix as directed and seal in this pouch. Fiona will be here shortly. When she gets here, slather it on her burn and wrap it with this cloth.¡± It took time to get used to the mortar and pestle but Erameya found the work relaxing. Soon she had the poultice made and decided to identify it to be sure it was made correctly. Burn Poultice, Magical Will heal most burns after several applications. Apply liberally to affected area. Wrap with cloth and then oil cloth. Keep moist. Reapply often and before it dries. ¡°Master Gareth? This poultice is classified as magical. Is that going to be a problem?¡± ¡°No, mana will leak into everything you do. You are focused on healing so you will have infused it with healing magic.¡± ¡°A lot of healing magic, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Laird Tokavaig added. ¡°Child you need to learn conservation. Once you got lost in your work, mana was infused into not only the poultice, but also the mortar and pestle and the table. You should feel better with that outflow, your mana should be about even. Check your screen.¡± Demographics (extended) Name Erameya Title Princess Class Royal Race Human Gender Female Loyalty The Northern Empire Height 5'' 6" Weight 110 lbs. Eye color Green Hair color Dark Brown Attributes Strength 36 Agility 37 Dexterity 37 Wisdom 37 Intelligence 37 Perception 37 Available Points 9 Statistics Health 120/120 Stamina 188/198 Mana 558/699 Core 3 Skills Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language. Identify Identify any object or person. Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills. Crafting Level 3 You have crafted a poultice. Potion making Level 2 You have crafted a poultice. Healing Level 2 You have crafted a poultice. Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself. Archery Level 3 You can hit a target. Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object. Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants. Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals. Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons. Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face. Dressing Level 2 You can choose your clothes with pride. Hair Dressing Level 2 You know a good style when you see one. Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice. Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you. Diplomacy Level 5 Make as many people leave happy as possible. Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife. Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense. Meditation Level 8 Achieve a state of clarity of mind. Sewing Level 2 You have designed a pattern. Cooking Level 2 You thought up something for someone else to cook. Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana. Magical Push and pull Level 2 Throw and retrieve objects using magic. Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic. Self-Defense Level 2 Don''t let others pick on you. Listening Level 1 Listen and learn. Teaching Level 1 You can teach. Life Energy Manipulation Level 1 You can use life energy to heal and help things grow. ¡°Very good your mana is more manageable and you have increased you core again.¡± ¡°Erameya, Fiona is here. Go greet her and apply the poultice. Once you have it wrapped in cotton, wrap it in this oil cloth. Give her the rest of the poultice and theses wraps. Tell her to keep it moist an reapply the poultice at least daily.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Erameya walked down the stairs and greeted Fiona, a flower pixie, in the bottom floor of the tower. ¡°I¡¯m going to put this poultice on your burn. I need to see it.¡± The pixie took off her clothes and her left side from her arm to her ankle was covered with burns. ¡°Wow. Lift your arm and I will do my best to get this all over your burn. Can you tell me how this happened?¡± Erameya pushed cleansing magic into her hands so she wouldn¡¯t spread anything to the poor pixie. While she applied the poultice and wrapped the burn, she listened to how the flower pixie was caught in a forest fire. She was too burned for her natural healing to help her so her father brough her here. He sent her brother to Master Gareth first so Master Gareth could find or make what was needed to help her. Fiona exclaimed at how much better she felt and her father and brother thanked her profusely. She gave them the supplies and instructions from Master Gareth, and, after they were gone, went up to start her next project. This time she mixed up a tea to ease labor pains. After that she made a healing potion, an anti-viral potion and a rheumatism poultice. She made a headache powder to be stirred into tea, eye drops to help with an eye infection. Sleeping potions, stimulants, and a contraceptive potion. She made skin creams for beauty, skin creams for rash, and skin creams for discolorations. She was shocked at the amount of work they did between seeing the patients Master Gareth was expecting and a few he was not. One girl had a cut Master Gareth had to sew closed. Another person had been cut while practicing their sword craft. There was a father whose daughter had suddenly stopped breathing. It was overwhelming to see what Master Gareth did every day. Once they were done making everything Master Gareth thought they might need, they packed up the supplies and left the tower. They walked down to the lower baily to visit the first person on the list. The butcher came running out of his shop. ¡°Master Gareth, my Maggie is in labor. She needs help! She has been in labor for nearly a day now. I was on my way to get you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be right in. Princess, will you finish my rounds?¡± ¡°Angus will join her. Butcher, send your apprentice to the keep for Lady Elfie. We are going to need her help. Master Gareth the situation is urgent.¡± Erameya looked after the two older men as they hurried into the house behind the butcher¡¯s shop. They didn¡¯t let the butcher follow them and he was pacing outside the door. ¡°Angus, you may need to stay with the butcher. He looks frazzled.¡± ¡°I think he needs a good mead and a friend. Let¡¯s go to the tanner and ask him if he will take the butcher some mead and sit with him for a while.¡± They started towards the tanners. ¡°Sounds good. I have this mild sedative we could give him to put in the mead if the tanner thinks the butcher needs it.¡± Erameya smiled at the tanner¡¯s son as they entered his shop. ¡°Hello, again. Will you get your father?¡± ¡°Yes, M¡¯lady.¡± He ran into the back and retuned with his father. ¡°Are you and the butcher friends?¡± ¡°Yes M¡¯lady. His wife is my sister.¡± ¡°Good. She is having a difficult labor. Master Gareth and Laird Tokavaig are with her. They have sent for my aunt. This leaves the butcher alone. He needs a friend and a drink. If you feel he needs it this is a mild sedative. Will you go be with him?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be happy to. Let me get my best mead and I¡¯ll be off.¡± He took the vial. ¡°Are those your new trousers?¡± the tanners son asked. ¡°They are. Thank you. I love them.¡± Angus postured. ¡°I just finished mine. My sister did most of the sewing on yours and the princess¡¯s. I did have been working on Hugo¡¯s and my pairs. Hugo made the zippers and snaps. Da even wants a pair.¡± ¡°May we see the other two pairs?¡± Erameya asked. She looked at Angus with a mischievous and questioning look. He smiled and shrugged. ¡°Here they are.¡± He pointed to the trousers laid over a saw horse. Erameya placed one hand on each and filled them with magic. They ended up with the same properties as Angus¡¯s trousers. ¡°There, now they will mend and clean themselves.¡± ¡°Thank you. My sister said most of the servants in the castle have ordered a pair and many of the people who have come into the shop today and have seen me sewing have ordered a pair. I just hope Hugo can keep up. The zippers are a lot of work. He will be excited that he has a magical pair. Nearly as excited as I am. We are neither of us easy on our clothing.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been too easy on mine since I was healed, so don¡¯t feel bad. If there is anything I can do for you let me know.¡± ¡°I will. Thank you again.¡± They left the tanners. ¡°Should we go say thank you to Hugo too?¡± Angus asked. ¡°We should. Master Gareth wants us to drop off the burn poultice he keeps in their shop and restock their emergency medicine cabinet. The butcher¡¯s wife is a midwife. She helps with his patients when she can. It is too bad she is visiting her sister this week. I cannot believe how quickly they were able to make these trousers. The seamstresses made me a basic pair of leggings while we were talking patterns.¡± ¡°They are very good at their trades. I believe that is the beauty of cities. Even on my father¡¯s land everyone specializes, but outside of Grandfather¡¯s keep no one specializes. He has brownies that clean and cook in the keep. They have no other specialists. Everyone has to do everything from slaughtering their own animals, tanning, sewing, cleaning, cooking, to teaching their children. Grandmother tried to teach the village children but she is human and most everyone on the island are dragons or dragon kin. My grandfather¡¯s first wife tried it but she has no patients for the hatchlings. His second wife is in Iceland with your brother, and the third wife died when they went to meet a challenge to his rule. Grandmother never met her. She is the fourth wife and, I believe, his favorite. The fact that she is human not a dragon shook the whole dragon kingdom.¡± ¡°In the world I¡¯m from dragons are depicted differently in different parts of the world. Is this true?¡± ¡°No. Grand dragons are Grand dragons. There are lesser dragons all the way down to wyverns. Wyverns are not really dragons or dragon kin but are dragon like.¡± ¡°What about long skinny dragons with no legs or wings, or the skinny long Dragons with four legs and no wings?¡± ¡°Wyrms have no legs and no wings. They are elemental dragons. The air wyrms swim in air, the fire wyrms swim in fire, earth wyrms swim in earth, and water wyrms swim in water. I have never seen a fire wyrm, but there is an ice wyrm that lives north of the Shetland islands. As for Wyrms with legs. They are old wyrms that have chosen to grow legs. They can have anything from two to hundreds of legs. It depends on their choice.¡± They walked into the blacksmith¡¯s shop. ¡°Welcome. Hello!¡± Hugo smiled. ¡°I it is good to see you two. I made molds like you said for the zipper parts and a teeth setter. It takes me only minutes to make a zipper now. I also made molds for the snaps. I think they are both going to sell very well. Do you like yours?¡± ¡°I do. I infused your pair with magic to make it more durable. It is now self-cleaning and self-mending.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Here is the burn poultice from Master Gareth. He said to remind everyone who uses it to put it in cold water until the burn is cool before applying the poultice. Here are several pots of comfrey salve, and some toothache powder for your cabinet also. We have to do the rounds today. So, we had better hurry.¡± ¡°Where is Master Gareth?¡± ¡°He and my grandfather are delivering the butcher¡¯s baby.¡± Angus told him. ¡°We sent the tanner to sit with the butcher but I am worried.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send my father to see what he can do. I¡¯ll see you two later.¡± As they left the blacksmith¡¯s shop, Erameya asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you believe in patient confidentiality?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Does that mean not talking about patients?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No. If I don¡¯t talk to everyone about everyone else, they will believe I am hiding something.¡± He bumped her shoulder with his arm, ¡°Honestly, the butcher and the smithy are brothers in law.¡± Past After they had made several stops, they entered a small cottage outside of the castle walls. The door was answered by a girl no older than Erameya who was obviously frantic about something. After they told her they were there for Master Gareth to see Abnor she hurried them into her house. ¡°I cannot wake my husband up. He has been sleeping for hours.¡± Erameya asked her if they could apply salve to his leg and drop healing potion into his mouth. After the wife gave them permission, she knelt next to the bed and removed the bandage. The side of his leg with the scratch was putrefied. She was surprised the man was still alive. She laid one hand on top and one under the leg and diffused magic into the leg. She had no idea how magical healing worked but she felt she could at least sooth him. ¡°Angus, place a drop of the healing potion under his tongue. Mrs. Will you help him?¡± Abnor shuttered as the liquid was absorbed and he started to wake. Once he was mostly awake, they fed him the rest of the vial. He slowly came to and they watched as the puss was forced out of his wound. There was so much corruption they ended up placing a pan under his leg to catch the awful. Within the hour, his leg looked almost as good as new. There was still swelling and redness where the injury had been, but the scrape was gone. The pan had little spider plant seeds swimming in it so they burned the discharge in the fireplace. ¡°Thank you, Princess! Thank you so much. And you too, Angus. I don¡¯t know who you are but thank you.¡± ¡°He is the grandson of Laird Tokavaig, the dragon king.¡± ¡°Thank you from me too. And thank your grandfather for me. He is the only reason I am still alive. He pulled out as much of the infection as he could.¡± ¡°We will. Do you know where the thatcher¡¯s cottage is? His wife needs an elixir.¡± ¡°They live just down the street. Five houses down. They have a big pine tree in their back yard.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± They were worn out when they left. It surprised them both how much healing took out of a person. ¡°The thatcher¡¯s wife is our last stop then we can go see if Master Gareth needs anything.¡± Erameya looked at the list of people they were sent to see. ¡°I am glad I got the opportunity to meet so many of my father¡¯s subjects.¡± ¡°About that. You don¡¯t act a thing like a princess.¡± ¡°What?¡± Erameya looked at him with confusion. ¡°First, you made an emotional display in front of the court; second, you said you would see peasants before their betters; and third, you have treated everyone we met with as if they were your equal. You are their better.¡± ¡°I grew up with everyone being equal. In my reality we had this government system known as democracy. It is a government for the people by the people.¡± ¡°Forget about it. We live in a kingdom. There are people who rule and people who are ruled. You have to accept the obeisance and do the best you can for these people. The people depend on us for everything. We are their rulers, their caregivers, their heroes. We are larger than life to the majority of people, and we have to stay that way. Taking care of the sick and injured is a proper way to show your people how benevolent you are, but you are not their servant, you have stooped to care for them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand. How do you take care of people yet stay aloof?¡± ¡°I believe this is the house of the thatcher. Watch and learn.¡± He knocked on the door. When the door was answered he inclined his head with haughtiness and grace. ¡°Good afternoon, Princess Erameya and I, Prince Angus, are here to give you the medicine from Master Gareth.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. Would you like to come in? Kippy is in here.¡± The frazzled lady curtsied as she spoke to him. ¡°Thank you, I believe it would be best if we see him.¡± He again inclined his head before following her into the house. On the bed was a small boy. He was sweating and covered in a rash. ¡°Angus, stop. Leave now.¡± She pulled him out the door. ¡°I believe this boy has scarlet fever. Go to your grandfather¡¯s and bathe in very hot water, use plenty of soap. Go tell Master Gareth, I will stay and see what I can do. I don¡¯t believe it is airborne but take precautions because of the baby.¡± ¡°Can I send someone to tell Master Gareth, before I go bathe?¡± ¡°Yes, just don¡¯t touch them.¡± After Angus had left, she calmly reentered the cottage. ¡°Mrs. Thatcher? Will you help your son sit up so I can give him this potion. She poured a small amount of mana into the antimicrobial they had mixed up. She used her skill to identify it and be sure she hadn¡¯t ruined the medicine. Antimicrobial, Magical Healing, Bacterial focus Uses: Illnesses caused by bacteria She knew that was not the same statistics that it had before but she was happy with the results. She helped the mother feed it to the boy encouraging him when he didn¡¯t want any more. She used her life energy manipulation to give him enough strength to fight the illness with the help of the cure. With in an hour the boy¡¯s fever was dropping and he was getting a little better. ¡°Stay home and away from others until Master Gareth lifts the quarantine. Wash everything. He should get better quickly but the sickness he has will spread to others very easily. The best advice I can give is wash. Here is a preventative medicine for you and your husband.¡± She infused two more antimicrobial vials with mana then handed them to the thatcher¡¯s wife. ¡°Make a list of everyone you have had contact with and give it to Master Gareth. He will need to check on each one. Get Kippy in clean clothes and bedding as soon as possible and do send to the keep if you need anything.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you. I will do everything just as you say.¡± ¡°You are very welcome. Goodbye, Kippy, get better.¡± Erameya smiled at the boy before she left the house. ¡°Good you are still here.¡± Angus came running up to her. ¡°Master Gareth said to quarantine them and have them get him a list of everyone they have been in contact with.¡± He stopped to catch his breath. ¡°I did and gave them each a vial of antimicrobial potion. I told them to clean everything and get the boy in clean clothing and bedding.¡± ¡°Good. That is exactly what he told me to tell you. The butcher¡¯s baby is here. Grandfather said his wife is very weak so he put her to sleep. Your aunt is with her. She is helping the nurse maid take care of the baby and the mother. The nurse maid will stay with them until they are both healthy.¡± ¡°Good. After I get cleaned up, I am going to study martial arts and close combat. Do you want to join in?¡± ¡°Yes, Grandfather is worn out. He is resting. I had no idea he ever needed to rest. He sunbathes but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever even seen him sleep. He is almost a true immortal.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he is physically tired it is more likely emotional. He has had a stressful day. He started by helping me not explode. Then watched us bumble around in the healer¡¯s tower. Now, he just finished saving two lives. Maybe he needs to meditate for a while.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I am worried about him.¡± ¡°Stop. Honestly, he is the healthiest person I have met.¡± ¡°He had a son that died during childbirth. His first wife will not speak of it and has completely quit cultivating because of her loss. When she does shift to human, she looks hundreds of years old. I know she is nearly as old as grandfather but she feels so much older. I think this experience has brought back the memories of Grandmother Margaret¡¯s pain. She never had another child in human form. She blames her human form for his death.¡± ¡°And all of her hatchlings lived?¡± ¡°They did. Everyone was hatched strong and grew to adulthood. Even after sixteen healthy hatchlings she will not cultivate. She blames it on the death of her oldest but I wonder.¡± ¡°What else could it be?¡± ¡°What if her first child wasn¡¯t grandfather¡¯s, but a human¡¯s? And what if she loved that man, but she and grandfather decided to marry because when they were hatchlings it was even more taboo for a dragon human relationship? What if the boy lived but they hid him, somehow, from the dragons? And what if that boy¡¯s descendant was the farmer Master Gareth was given to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. What if your Grandmother Eilean is her descendant?¡± ¡°They are close, but I thought it was just because they are sister wives. I never considered that grandfather married the great something granddaughter of his wife.¡± ¡°She is a powerful witch.¡± ¡°And it is none of your business.¡± Laird Tokavaig growled behind them. ¡°So, we are right?¡± Angus turned accusingly toward his grandfather. ¡°I just walked over, of what were you speaking?¡± ¡°With your hearing? You knew we were talking about Grandmother Margaret and her oldest son.¡± ¡°He died.¡± ¡°When? At what age? Is he my ancestor?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Laird Tokavaig said succinctly as he herded them to the ambassador¡¯s tower. ¡°Yes? to what?¡± Angus pushed as they walked in. ¡°Yes, Margaret had a child with a human man. She loved him but she was afraid her father would kill her if he found out. I found her crying in the woods and asked her if there was anything I could do for her. ¡°Will you marry me?¡± Margaret said with a sob. ¡°The only thing that is keeping me alive is that my father thinks I carry the child of another dragon!¡± ¡°Tell me all about it.¡± Tokavaig said as he took the weeping woman into his arms. ¡°I was sent here to meet the prince. I got lost on the way but found a small village south of here. I was taken in by a kind family and found myself spending a lot of time with his son. He taught me how to live. He showed me there was more to life than cultivating. He had a weak connection to magic so I taught him how to use it. Eventually we grew in love. His parents disapproved and I don¡¯t even want to know what my father would do if he knew. We married in secret and conceived a child. Shortly after, my father came and I felt his displeasure down in the village when he couldn¡¯t find me. Now I have to protect Angus and his village.¡± She sobbed. ¡°You are here because the king wants the prince married?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°If we marry, I will not be your husband in anything but name until Angus dies. I will claim his child as my own, and do the best I can for their village. I will protect you from your father, but you will also have no relations with your husband.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I cannot have a child that is half human. My father hates humans.¡± ¡°We will ask Angus to raise the child. We will have to teach the child magical control and cultivation.¡± ¡°We will not teach him to cultivate.¡± ¡°Okay. He is your child. Why do you say he?¡± ¡°I just know. Also, I will not cultivate.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It takes the joy from my life. After Angus dies, we will be married for real and I will lay your eggs. But I will never cultivate again.¡± ¡°As long as you maintain that is fine by me, we will tell our parents we met months ago but have been living in my cave. We are married and with child.¡± ¡°Her son was Donan. A gift from the gods. His Father taught him magic. Margaret and I both taught him as much as we could without trying to teach him cultivation. The Donan family became known as powerful magic users. We have watched over them throughout the years. Margaret was so happy I met and fell in love with Eilean, neither of us thought I could grow in love. She loves you and your father but your name still makes her sad sometimes. She is still in love with Angus.¡± ¡°That is so sweet!¡± Erameya smiled. ¡°I need to get cleaned up. I¡¯ve been with a patient that had scarlet fever.¡± Laird Tokavaig¡¯s eyes burned for a moment. ¡°You have no harmful microbes on you. I burned them off. Now, Mr. Inquisitor, what made you think you had been lied to?¡± ¡°A lot of little things. Grandmother Margaret gets a hazy look in her eyes when people say my name. She claims to hate humans but dotes on me. She loves Grandmother Eilean like a daughter, not a sister, and she treats father as if he were her own son. Also, she loves all of her children, but will not cultivate. And you both hate her father even though he died.¡± ¡°He died challenging my throne. He kidnaped my young wife, Winnie, and killed her. Winnie had a hatchling at home. I didn¡¯t even have to kill him. Winnie used some of her insidious poisons on him before he was able to kill her. By the time Margaret and I got there they were both dead. We both mourned the fact we made it too late to save Winnie, and that neither of us had the skill to reanimate him so we could kill him again. In her anger Margaret wiped out all of her siblings making my children and a large group of humans being his only offspring. We had a lot to hate her father for; Angus wasn¡¯t one of them. He lived a full and happy life. He got to see his wife, once in a while, and he raised an amazing son.¡± ¡°How did you show us your memory like that?¡± Erameya asked. ¡°It was better quality than a movie but not on a screen.¡± ¡°Tricks of old age. I sent a pixie to get Master Bracken and bring him here to teach you martial arts and hand to hand combat while I meditate in the sun. Erameya, try not to blow up anyone while I¡¯m resting.¡± ¡°I was startled so the tap flew open. How was I to suspect a loyal retainer I¡¯d known all my life was a spy?¡± Erameya defended her loss of control. ¡°You nearly killed yourself and others. You need to conserve. You have to find a way to keep the valve off. Your rivers and nodes will be damaged if you don¡¯t explode. Remind me how it felt when you broke open your first nodes verses how it has been with your spiritual nodes.¡± ¡°It felt like I was exploding in many points in my body at once. My spiritual nodes feel like a slow steady grind.¡± ¡°And which one do you think is better?¡± ¡°Grinding.¡± ¡°Good. Next. Act like a Princess! You are better than everyone around you, even me.¡± ¡°You are a king.¡± ¡°And you are the daughter of a king. I prefer the title Laird among humans. Now let¡¯s see how your skill sheet is doing.¡±
Demographics
Name Erameya
Title Princess
Class Royal
Race Human
Gender Female
Loyalty The Northern Empire
Attributes
Strength 36
Agility 37
Dexterity 37
Wisdom 37
Intelligence 37
Perception 37
Available Points 15
Statistics
Health 120/120
Stamina 178/198
Mana 423/738
Core 3
Skills
Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language.
Identify Identify any object or person.
Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills.
Crafting Level 3 You have crafted a poultice.
Potion making Level 2 You have crafted a poultice.
Healing Level 4 You have cured a deadly infection.
Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself.
Archery Level 3 You can hit a target.
Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object.
Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants.
Agriculture Level 5 You care for two boned animals.
Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons.
Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face.
Dressing Level 2 You can choose your clothes with pride.
Hair Dressing Level 2 You know a good style when you see one.
Leadership Level 1 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice.
Charm Level 1 Everybody loves you.
Diplomacy Level 5 Make as many people leave happy as possible.
Stabbing Level 2 You can throw your knife.
Martial Arts Level 1 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense.
Meditation Level 8 Achieve a state of clarity of mind.
Sewing Level 2 You have designed a pattern.
Cooking Level 2 You thought up something for someone else to cook.
Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana.
Magical Push and Pull Level 3 Knock out that spy.
Magical explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic.
Self-Defense Level 2 Don''t let others pick on you.
Listening Level 1 Listen and learn.
Teaching Level 2 You have passed on knowledge from your past life.
Life Energy Manipulation Level 3 You have used life energy to heal the sick.
¡°You need to assign your 15 points. Your mana is at a sustainable level. I see you have done some compressing. Meditation seems to have stopped increasing, why?¡± Leveling skills: Level 1: 0 xp to 2 xp Level 2: 3 xp to 10 xp Level 3: 11 xp to 50 xp Level 4: 51 xp to 250 xp ¡°Great. The higher you get the harder it is to get the next level. That means by level ten you would need three million xp to level up.¡± Erameya calculated. ¡°What is xp?¡± Angus asked. ¡°Experience Points.¡± Erameya shrugged, ¡°it¡¯s a gaming term. I sometimes feel like I¡¯m in a game world. As for my points, if I put three in strength and two in the rest I will be balanced at 39.¡± ¡°That sounds perfect. As for feeling you are in a game world, spiritual cultivation should help with that. You are in a different world and if the feeling of being in a game helps use it. What would you do if you were playing a game?¡± ¡°With a new game I would first read the rule book. I would use the rules to create or choose a character. This would include race and build. If I chose a fighter, I would be a strength and/or dexterity build. A monk would focus on dexterity and wisdom. As I gained levels, I would gain skills and attributes, depending on the game. There are whole books on how to play and the different levels. I just don¡¯t know who I am in this world.¡± ¡°To start with, life is not that simple. Just because you are a monk doesn¡¯t mean you are wise or agile. A monk can be stupid and clumsy. Secondly, there is no rule book. I will help you where I can, but this is your life now. I know you have a different face and name, but your spirit is still you. You will have to accept that if you want to be able to cultivate your spirit. Your spirit is who you are. Your body is a borrowed shell. You¡¯ll find as you get into soul cultivation that you can change your body.¡± ¡°Grandfather, you are scaring her.¡± ¡°No,¡± Erameya said, ¡°I¡¯m just trying to digest his concepts. If I hear you right, I will eventually be able to look however I want.¡± ¡°Not only that. You will be able to shift into any shape.¡± Laird Tokavaig closed his eyes and his body changed into that of a small white fox. He then shifted back. ¡°When you shift where do the materials you don¡¯t need go?¡± ¡°My theory is a pocket dimension.¡± Laird Tokavaig smiled. ¡°My father said, ¡®magic¡¯.¡± ¡°Pardon, M¡¯laird.¡± A servant cleared his throat, ¡°There is a soldier here, he said you sent for him.¡± ¡°Take Master Bracken to the courtyard. We will join him shortly.¡± Yuck In the courtyard they were met by a giant of a man. Erameya was taken aback, she was picturing a small lithe man not a seven foot five, four-hundred-pound juggernaut. ¡°Laird Tokavaig,¡± he bowed, ¡°Prince Angus, Princess Erameya, I presume.¡± ¡°Master Bracken.¡± Laird Tokavaig acknowledged, ¡°Thank you for taking the time to come here teach.¡± Master Bracken nodded in acknowledgement of Laird Tokavaig. ¡°When I am your teacher, I am the ruler.¡± He said to his students. ¡°I will not address you by title, and you will address me as Master. You will learn to control your bodies. Control is the basis of martial arts. Let¡¯s start by removing all footwear, weapons and any belts not needed to hold your clothing up.¡± They quickly followed his instructions. ¡°To start, we will breathe. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and distribute your weight evenly. Now, clasp your hands behind your back. This is the starting position. Place your arms to your side we are going to breathe deep, seven breaths in and seven breaths out. When you breath in let your arms float up. As you breath out bring them down.¡± While Master Bracken was talking to them, Laird Tokavaig had shifted into a dragon and settled onto the lawn. He watched as they went through the forms and movements Master Bracken demonstrated. After half an hour of basic martial arts they moved onto hand-to-hand combat. They started with weaponless moves and moved on to blades and gauntlets. ¡°You need a pair of good leather bracers Erameya. You can use have them made to carry weapons or just protect your arms. If you are a magic wielder, use magical bracers that can help with defense. As a small person you need to use every advantage you can. I will teach you how to use people¡¯s weight and size against them, but you have to use everything available to you. Your aunt has a necklace with a poison dagger in it. Her greaves have daggers and a blowpipe. Her darts are in her bracers, and there are several vials of poison on her belt. Those are just the weapons I know of. I am sure she has more.¡± Master Bracken bowed and left the courtyard abruptly. ¡°You may feel that starting at with breathing and positions is going slow but it will give you a good foundation. I am glad he didn¡¯t so much by way of movement and just treated you both as beginners. Even with your knowledge Angus, you can learn a lot by starting again at the basics. The control that martial arts teaches will help with your other martial trainings. Now, you may both sit and meditate. You each have nodes to grind.¡± Erameya found a sunny area of grass and sat in the lotus position. She began again at essence awakening. She felt the mana in the world around her. She noticed that there were areas where the mana was thicker and areas where it was thinner. She felt that mana being slowly pulled into Laird Tokavaig and to a lesser extent into Angus. She felt the wards on the tower and the keep. The more she felt the world around her, the more she felt connected to the mana rivers as well as the life energy around her. She became absorbed in the patterns of life and mana around her; how they were separate and intertwined; she realized that she was accidently weaving herself into the pattern of mana and life energy. She looked at her rivers and realized that they were taking only the smallest whisps of mana at brief intervals. She looked at her meridians and saw the life energy being shared between her and the world around her. She felt the way the oxygen, mana, and life energy passed through every cell in her body. Together they made a magical essence that was a power balance between herself and everything else. For the first time since her summoning, she felt one with the world around her. She pulled the strings of the tapestry inside of her and layered it over her pseudo-core. She used the fabric she had weaved as a means of compression. The more she compresses the pseudo-core the more layers of essence she was able to wrap around it. She pulled the essence through her nodes to heal and reinforce them. She felt the essence heal her sore muscles and reinforce her body as it flowed through her. She made sure she was still only taking sips of mana while she compressed the essence to store it. She made sparks of mana on her fingertips and dispelled them. Erameya continued to breathe deeply and felt the mana in the world around her, she again felt the web of life energy. This time she felt how the essence of the world connected with her spirit. As she felt the world¡¯s tapestry weave it¡¯s self into her spirit she again felt one with this world. ¡°Amy,¡± Hilda said as they sat on the bus in the parking lot of the castle of Eilean Donan. ¡°I wish we had time to go to the Isle of Sky, I¡¯d like to see the fairy pools.¡± ¡°Do you think we could get the tour guide to skip some of the other castles and take us there?¡± Amy answered. ¡°I bet he would if you asked. Look there he comes. He should know the schedule for today. Just watch he is going to come and try to flirt with you.¡± Hilda winked. ¡°Nigel? Is there any way we could see the Isle of Sky while we are in this area?¡± Amy asked after he got back on the bus and walked down the aisle to where she was sitting. ¡°I just found out the next tour is not for over an hour. We can either spend it waiting around here or we could drive up to the Isle of Sky, where would you like to visit?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see the Fairy Pools and any castles on the Island.¡± ¡°All in favor of a side trip to the Isle of Sky say aye.¡± ¡°Aye,¡± the whole group chorused. After about an hour of amazing scenery, Nigel spoke into his microphone. ¡°We are on our way to see the Fairy Pools, if we were to turn left, we get to the ruins of Tokavaig.¡± Erameya was nearly startled out of her memory, Tokavaig? Did Lord Tokavaig¡¯s influence bleed into her world. They enjoyed the Fairy Pools and marveled over the views. They stopped at a small tea house for luncheon and were soon back at Eilean Donan. They walked across the bridge to Eilean Donan castle and the tour guide came out to meet them. ¡°Angus?¡± Erameya was jerked out of her memory. Their tour guide looked just like an older Angus. How much have our realities overlapped? Could the guide have actually been a descendent of a version of Angus? ¡°Yuck, what is that smell?¡± ¡°Child, get into the molting chamber!¡± Laird Tokavaig growled. ¡°And take off your clothes. I warned you to let me know when your spiritual nodes were ninety percent open.¡± Erameya ran. The smell coming out of her pores was making her gag. By the time she made it into the tower and had undressed she was seeping black goop from everywhere. The molting chamber was a dragon sized shower. It looked like a huge white marble shower. There was, as far as she could tell, a huge shower that covered the entire ceiling. There were also several different shower heads closer to human height, and what appeared to be a pressure hose. Erameya screamed as her body felt like each cell was being pulled apart and scoured. Her pseudo-core was shredded and scrubbed again and again. She was freezing and on fire. She was broken and whole. She was nothing and everything, nowhere and everywhere. Erameya pulled in her thoughts and focused on the flow of essence in the world around her. She started her cultivation over again. With her meditation, she was able to overlook the feelings of her body and focus on patterns of the essence in and around her. After what felt like hours she stepped out of a pile of black excrement. Even though her body appeared to be clean she felt like she needed to be pressure washed. Suddenly a huge stream of high-pressured water was spraying her. She was knocked backward before she told the room to turn the pressure down. Once she felt clean and the filth was off of the floor she went into the next room. It was a giant swimming pool fed by a hot spring. With soap and drying sheets on a shelf the room felt like a big spa. She got in the shallow end of the pool and luxuriated in the hot spring¡¯s water. She washed her hair and again scrubbed herself clean. She saw her clean clothing in a pile on a bench as she toweled off. ¡°M''lady? Would you like help dressing?¡± a servant girl asked from a doorway. ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Erameya smiled at the girl. The servant helped her put on and tighten her chemise. She noticed that the fit was different. She pulled on her drawers, stockings, and leggings an noticed her size change with each of them also. She was grateful her leggings were magically fitting. She pulled on her boots and put on her belt. She sat down for the servant to brush her hair. While she was waiting, she pulled up her stat sheet. Demographics (extended) Name Erameya Title Princess Class Royal Race Human Grade 2 Gender Female Loyalty The Northern Empire Height 5'' 8" Weight 120 lbs. Eye color Green Hair color Dark Brown Attributes Strength 39 Agility 39 Dexterity 39 Wisdom 39 Intelligence 39 Perception 39 Available Points 8 Statistics Health 200/200 Stamina 250/250 Mana 537/1000 Core 4 Skills Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language. Identify Identify any object or person. Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills. Crafting Level 3 You have crafted a poultice. Potion making Level 2 You have crafted a poultice. Healing Level 4 You have cured a deadly infection. Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself. Archery Level 3 You can hit a target. Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object. Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants. Agriculture Level 5 You care for two bonded animals. Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons. Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face. Dressing Level 2 You can choose your clothes with pride. Hair Dressing Level 2 You know a good style when you see one. Leadership Level 2 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice. Charm Level 3 Race upgrade Diplomacy Level 5 Make as many people leave happy as possible. Stabbing Level 3 You can fend off a combatant close to you. Martial Arts Level 2 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense. Meditation Level 9 Achieve a state of clarity of mind. Sewing Level 2 You have designed a pattern. Cooking Level 2 You thought up something for someone else to cook. Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana. Magical Push and Pull Level 3 Knock out that spy. Magical Explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic. Self-Defense Level 3 Don''t let others pick on you. Listening Level 1 Listen and learn. Teaching Level 2 You have passed on knowledge from your past life. She noticed that she had grown two inches, put on ten pounds, even her breasts were a little larger. Thankfully not enough to cause back pain. She looked into a mirror on the wall and noticed that with the changes to her build she looked more like Amy. She sensed the life energy around her and noticed that the threads flowing through her seemed thicker. She looked at her mana rivers and was surprised to see that they were moving more smoothly. The valves she had placed on her intake didn¡¯t have to held shut any longer. The mana now flowed with her instead of forcing itself inside of her. She was surprised and excited at the changes that came with the molting. Suddenly she noticed she was starving. ¡°Miss, will you take me to Laird Tokavaig and then get me some food?¡± ¡°Yes, M¡¯lady. I will get you a small snack but you may want to go to the castle for dinner.¡± ¡°How long have I been in here?¡± ¡°About half a day.¡± The servant girl said as she led her out of the room. They walked up several flights of stairs and down the hall and into a beautiful mahogany and leather library. The servant stopped only once to pass on her instructions to a passing servant. ¡°Erameya, how do you feel?¡± ¡°Hungry. I have never been hungrier in either life. I also feel more powerful connections between my life energy and the life energy of this world. My mana valve is no longer hard to keep closed, and my mana rivers run more smoothly. I feel like the same persons but a new person too. I don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡± ¡°I know the feeling. You have upgraded your race. May I see your screen while you have a bit of food then we will walk up to the keep.¡± Laird Tokavaig asked as a servant set down a tray of finger foods. Demographics (extended) Name Erameya Title Princess Class Royal Race Human Grade 2 Gender Female Loyalty The Northern Empire Height 5'' 8" Weight 120 lbs. Eye color Green Hair color Dark Brown Attributes Strength 39 Agility 39 Dexterity 39 Wisdom 39 Intelligence 39 Perception 39 Available Points 8 Statistics Health 200/200 Stamina 250/250 Mana 527/1000 Core 4 Skills Languages Automatically be able to translate and speak any language. Identify Identify any object or person. Survival Acclimatize in your new environment, retrieve memories, and integrate host body skills. Crafting Level 3 You have crafted a poultice. Potion making Level 2 You have crafted a poultice. Healing Level 4 You have cured a deadly infection. Sword craft Level 5 You can now defend yourself. Archery Level 3 You can hit a target. Spell casting Level 2 Feed magic into an object. Horticulture Level 1 Know your plants. Agriculture Level 5 You care for two bonded animals. Fan skills Level 1 Fans can be weapons. Dancing Level 1 Don''t fall on your face. Dressing Level 2 You can choose your clothes with pride. Hair Dressing Level 2 You know a good style when you see one. Leadership Level 2 Example or fear, it¡¯s your choice. Charm Level 3 Race upgrade Diplomacy Level 5 Make as many people leave happy as possible. Stabbing Level 3 You can fend off a combatant close to you. Martial Arts Level 2 Acrobatic weaponless self-defense. Meditation Level 9 Achieve a state of clarity of mind. Sewing Level 2 You have designed a pattern. Cooking Level 2 You thought up something for someone else to cook. Magical Creation Level 1 Create solid objects from mana. Magical Push and Pull Level 3 Knock out that spy. Magical Explosion! Level 1 Blow shit up with magic. Self-Defense Level 3 Don''t let others pick on you. Listening Level 1 Listen and learn. Teaching Level 2 You have passed on knowledge from your past life. Life Energy Manipulation Level 4 You have used life energy to heal the sick. ¡°Interesting. This shows grades of race. I wonder how this will work with Angus. He has two races. We think of ourselves differently. The higher letters in the alphabet the lower the race. In the English alphabet this would be ¡°j¡± for those who have not ever cultivated. ¡°i¡± for those who have gone through their first molting, and so forth.¡± ¡°We have some RPGs like that. Every RPG has slightly different leveling systems. I have a question now. How connected to this reality is the reality I came from? I remembered something when I was meditating. We went passed a castle ruin called Tokavaig. Also, our tour guide at Eilean Donan looked just like an older Angus.¡± ¡°The realities are very close. Unfortunately, your old reality is lacking usable magic. I don¡¯t know what the bleed through is. I specifically stayed away from this time when I went there.¡± ¡°If Eilean Donan is part dragon, and Angus is part dragon, how is it that the tour guide looked just like Angus?¡± ¡°Angus looks like Margaret¡¯s first husband.¡± Laird Tokavaig smiled indulgently. ¡°Now your Aunt, Angus, and Master Gareth are all waiting for us to join them for dinner.¡±