Elsbeth Ordheim, or Aunt Elsbeth was actually the younger sister of my late Grandfather, the former Duke who had died before I was born. She spent most of her time in the Capital, Caras Purgoth, where she served in the household of the Empress, which was likely why I had never met her. I learned a short time later she had met me when I was a baby and Alaric and Errol both remembered her. She was an older woman with a fierce face, straight backed and clothed all in dark colors that had been in fashion over a decade earlier. She intimidated me immediately.
Now, we all sat together at dinner. It was mildly amusing to see all my siblings cowed when she sat opposite my father at the other end of the table and delicately ate from the expensive Moon Glass plates, which were only brought out for special occasions. Even Errol, who normally ate with gusto and with little regard for table manners, sat quietly and picked at his food. Tanis, his usual self, was humming a song and giggling while he banged his fork and spoon together while his personal nursemaid quietly shushed him and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“So,” Aunt Elsbeth began, dabbing at her own mouth with a napkin. We were all sitting at our long, cherry wood table we only ever ate at when important guests were in attendance, but her voice was much stronger than one would expect from such an older, smaller woman and it filled the room. “You want to become a Priest, do you?” I slowly raised my head and found her eyes staring into mine. My parents looked back impassively. Alaric was swirling the wine in his cup and had a bored look on his face. Errol smirked as usual. Gwyneth rolled her eyes at me.
“PEEEASSST!” shouted Tanis, before the maid whispered something in his ear which made him quiet down again. As usual, my parents ignored his antics and my Aunt did too.
“Why?” my Aunt asked. I needed to watch my words, but honesty is always the best policy even if I chose to omit certain facts.
“I want to help others. I want to heal the sick,” I said. I congratulated myself on not stuttering.
“You can help your family as a Merchant. The Church of Light, the Church of Shadow and the Green Clergy are all a bunch of politicians!” I wasn’t sure to what to say. I glanced at my father who cleared his throat.
“There is a tradition of sending younger sons to the Church of Light and didn’t Uncle Graf become a monk or some such…”
“I am aware of what the family’s traditions are and Gurn is still a priest. I received a letter from him recently now hush!”
I had never heard anyone speak to my father like that before and I was sure he was going to say something, but to my surprise he complied and raised a finger to have a servant fill his wine cup again as he kept silent.
“Now then, Kenric. Do you know what the Holy Land is?” I needed no time to think. I paid attention to my tutors.
“Yes, it is across the Orichalcum Sea and south of the Northern Ural Barbarian lands and west of the Elven Empire.”
“I didn’t ask where it was child, I asked what it is!” she snapped.
“It is the Holy city of Nephalim and the territory that surrounds it, which is mostly made up of small fortress-towns and outposts. It is where Ord ascended first to Purgatorium and then to the Heavens after he defeated the Great Evil.” I took a breath. Aunt Elsbeth scoffed.
“The educated answer I would expect. The real answer is that it is a never-ending battlefield where our people clash with the Elves now and likely forever. There are areas where the sand has turned permanently red from all the blood that has been spilt there. It is also where all servants of the Church of Light eventually find themselves and where many end up buried.” Aunt Elsbeth smiled mirthlessly. “And just in case you think it is only those demon loving Elves that are a danger that entire territory is filled with high level monsters, bandits, harsh weather and from what Gurn’s last letter told me the Murk is spreading there too!”
“Shadowmurk? In the Holy Land?” My father asked quietly, his brow furrowed.
“Yes,” Aunt Elsbeth answered. “It has apparently covered twenty miles of the southwestern coast no less than a day’s ride from Aire. The Orders are covering their panic well, but letters have been winging their way across the ocean for weeks asking for more aid. Gurn thinks the Pope will call for another Crusade.” His Aunt took a sip of wine, and I turned my head to look at my father. He was staring at some point on the wall as he mulled over all that he had heard. Everyone else at the table watched him and waited for him to speak.
“Well,” he finally began after a full minute, “there are rumors and then there are facts. Nobody knows what Pope Eremon V is going to do until he does it, not even the Emperor.” He addressed Aunt Elsbeth. “You are extremely well-informed Aunty. If the Pope does call for a Crusade to the Holy Land, I have no doubt many will go regardless of whether they are feeling pious or drawn by gold and loot.”
“Oh, do not misunderstand me Varus, the boy has my full blessing to join the Church. He’s earnest enough that at least one of the Gods will bestow him with a Class. I also hope he is smart enough to avoid the behind-the-scenes politics or how others might try to use a Duke’s son if he gets caught up in someone’s machinations. I also hope he knows when to keep his mouth shut too.” My Aunt fixed me with a piercing look that made me wonder if she could somehow see my Class. I had heard that there were some high level abilities that could, regardless of receiving permission. I covered my nervousness by drinking some of my lemon water. My father cleared his throat.
“Very well then,” my father said. That was the end of it.
That night, finally alone in my room, I decided it was time to not only invest my available Experience points, but to also try to do something with the Shard of Ara. The light from the shard illuminated my face as I held it above my head as I lay on my bed.
If my guess is correct, absorbing this will grant me the Skill I received in the Dungeon. Lore Sight. Well…here goes!
Do you wish to absorb [Shard of Ara]?
Yes/No ?
WARNING! Activation of this item will result in the restoration of an unspecified system which may affect the overall mana of the Seeded Lands. Proceed with caution!
I don’t know what that means, but there is no turning back now. Eliana said to hold it close to my heart…
I laid the shard upon my chest and selected my desire to absorb the shard. There was a tinkling sound as the crystal sphere surrounding the shard shattered into tiny motes of light that swirled and disappeared into thin air. The shard itself sank into my chest above my heart and there was a brief moment of cold before it flared into an intense heat that made me gasp and grit my teeth until the moment passed. Two soul windows outlined in gold appeared floating above my head. I wiped the sweat from my brow before I examined the first one.
Shard of Ara
Grade: SS
Level: 999
Quality: Legendary
Primary: Unlocks access to [1] ARA Skill
Secondary: +10 to All Attributes
“Level 999? Is such a thing even possible?” Soul windows didn’t lie, to the best of my knowledge, but by the Gods it was hard to swallow that I had just absorbed an item that even merchants would have been hard pressed to put a price upon. I imagined what I had just done could be considered similar to spending several kingdoms yearly GDP. I now knew everything there was to know about Shards of Ara, both the obvious that they unlocked lost skills of the Ara priesthood and that they granted huge attribute gains too! Eagerly, I examined the second window.
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You have successfully unlocked the Skill: Lore Sight!
Lore Sight: Fate Skill
Description: Gain insight and lesser knowledge into Target’s background and motivations/functions. Raising this skill’s level will allow for greater knowledge to become available and a deeper understanding of the Target itself/themselves. No level limit.
Fate Skill?
Spells and Abilities are divided into two categories within the FACTION WEB TERMINAL. Active and Passive. You may only use those spells/abilities which you are able to slot into either Active or Passive. Spells/Abilities NOT slotted cannot be used until they are set within your STATUS, regardless of unlocking them. You currently have 9 ACTIVE Divine Slots and 1 FATE Domain Skill slot available. Additional slots can be unlocked through breaking through into higher tiers and/or unlocking specialized Slot Nodes (Silver).
*Mana will be automatically allocated to each slot.
I had to reread the descriptions a few times, but my eyes lingered upon the ‘no level limit’ and that I couldn’t use any of my spells or abilities until I set them Active or Passive within my Status. That seemed fairly straightforward. Then there was the part that the Lore Sight skill also could be leveled up. So as I used the skill, it would also gain some form of experience and grow stronger as well. Perfect! As Lore Sight was my only Fate Domain Skill currently, it was the one I would obviously be focusing on.
Switching spells from Inactive to Active turned out to be simple enough. I found the area in my STATUS that read ACTIVE/PASSIVE and where my one Fate Domain skill was listed willed Lore Sight to active.
Lore Sight-Fate Skill (Active)
How do I use it? Do I just…
I stood up and made my way over to the mirror that hung against one wall. The mana stone came alight at my approach and I beheld my disheveled appearance.
Name: Kenric Ordheim
Lore: A translocated soul from another reality has been born again in the form of Kenric Ordheim, 4th son of the Duke of Ordheim. His spirit has synchronized with the rare Fate affinity.
I blinked my eyes and willed away the notification. This was the first time I had ever seen anything that acknowledged the fact that I was from another world and I found it a bit unsettling. Lore Sight could see everything! If others could see who I was, what would it mean for me? Exactly how rare was this skill anyway?
I returned to bed and laid down. What’s done is done. Now we see how far my banked experience can take me.
Name: Kenric Ordheim
Class: Prophet
Title: 4th Son of the Duke of Ordheim, Squire of Eastcheap Manor
Level: 1 (4900 XP available)
Divine Domain: Fate
Attributes
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 27
Perception: 15
Charisma: 16
Skills:
Lore Sight
Spells:
(None)
Okay, so how do I do this? Do I just mentally will the experience into the Class somehow?
It apparently was just that easy. I had 4900 points from the dungeon to spend and with a thought 500 of those points pushed me to Level 2.
Ding!
Congratulations! You have reached Level 2 as a Prophet! You have been awarded two Green Node points. Access Faction Web Terminal to select your node placement.
Do you wish to use 1000 XP to level Prophet to Level 3?
Ding!
You have reached Level 3!
Do you wish to use 2000 XP to level Prophet to Level 4?
Ding!
You have reached Level 4!
That was as far as he could go for now. It would cost him a whopping 4000 Experience points to get to Level 5 and he only had 1400 XP remaining. Ugh, I don’t even want to know how many Dungeons or quests I have to do in order get so much XP!
Congratulations! You have completed the Hidden Quest: Path of Hope, Part I. By unlocking the first of Ara’s lost skills, you gain access to forgotten powers and skills to return hope to Aramyr! Lore Sight is one of the six lost powers of Ara.
Reward: 10,000 Experience Points, Quest: Path of Hope, Part II.
Quest: Path of Hope, Part II
Locate and unlock another of Ara’s lost abilities.
Reward: 20,000 Experience Points, Quest: Path of Hope, Part III
“Ord’s Goblet, ten thousand!” I had just jumped to 11,400 points available by completing another hidden quest, but why were they hidden? Were quests of this nature too dangerous or too important to give to just anyone? “Mind your ego, Kenric,” I muttered. “A servant of the Gods does not put himself above others, neither does he seek to glorify himself.” I nodded my head. The Gods have a plan for everyone. Mine is just a little more complicated, is all.
Do you wish to use 4000 XP to level Prophet to Level 5?
There, Level 5 and I’m only 600 points from Level 6! “Ha! Only 600 points of experience. As if that is so easy to gain.” Yet, look at what you’ve accomplished so far. Is it so unbelievable to think I might gain even greater power sooner than I or anyone else might believe possible?
Now to the next part and regaining some of the spells the Gods had allowed him to experience while in the dungeon. Only this time, it would be permanent if he had enough Faction to purchase them.
I gained five levels, so that means I have ten Green Nodes to spend? Let’s look into that.
You have 10 Green Nodes to advance. See Faction Web Terminal to advance Nodes.
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. An incredible new skill that I suspected would make me one of Aramyr’s biggest voyeurs and now it was time to learn how to advance along the Faction Web. I opened the Tab for the Terminal and examined the Web once more. I already knew which spell I wanted to take first.
Do you wish to spend a Green Node point on the spell Minor Heal and advance upon Mir’s path? Gain further Faction standing with Mir to gain access to higher Tier spells and abilities. This choice is irreversible. Yes/No?
I currently had 100 Faction points with Mir, which unlocked the first three available nodes on Mir’s path, the first of which was the Minor Heal spell. I selected Yes and once more knowledge of how to cast the spell filled my mind.
Minor Heal
Cost: 1 Divine Active
Description: Channel healing mana by touching the distressed area upon the recipient. Restore between 2 to 7 HP per second.
Cool down: None
Eagerly, I willed the spell into a free Active Slot and a burst of light told me it was now available to use. Next, I looked to see what the next two nodes on Mir’s path offered. Neither were skills or spells, but my eyes widened when I saw what they were.
Mir Node 2: + 8 WIS, Mir Node 3: +8 WIS.
“That’s incredible!” I covered my mouth with my hand. The last thing I needed was one of the servants to burst in to see what I was shouting about, but Gods above! 16 Wisdom! I had thought the 10 points added to my Wisdom from the dungeon reward was generous. Absorbing the Shard of Ara, a Legendary item, had given me an additional +10 in all of my attributes. Now this! “This is not how other priest classes level up,” I mused. “I don’t think this is how other classes level up either. Alaric never mentioned anything like this.”
Wait a moment. I have the Node points to take the attributes or I can take the starter spells from any of the other Gods I have the Faction with! Let’s take a quick look at where I’m at with my Faction standing.
Faction:
Mir: 100
Wik: -50
Eui: 60
Qas: 100
Sul: 50
Tek: 100
Hul: 100
Gor: -450
Cel: 60
It looks like there isn’t anything I can do right now with Wik or Gor’s Nodes, but at least they aren’t completely grayed out like Ord’s. I can only advance two nodes with Eui and Cel, but I could at least take their starter spells. Likewise, I can only take Sul’s starter spell for now. Everyone else I can advance a bit more even if I don’t gain any additional faction for a bit.
With 100 Faction, it looked like he could advance along the web to the 3rd Node, which included, in most cases, another attribute bonus.
“I want more spells, but adding more attributes is a definite must since I’m not getting any additional Attribute points when I level.” I couldn’t fall behind on that, especially with my primary attribute of Wisdom.
I decided to spread the remaining nine Green Nodes around and took the next two Mir nodes for the additional 16 points in WIS, but I also took Minor Cube of Confusion and a +6 to my PER from the Tek web. What I really wanted was Lesser Shadow Leech, but that wasn’t possible with my Wik reputation at the moment. The cube had come in handy in the dungeon as a Stun and I wanted something offensive for myself. I also decided to take Caretaker’s Guidance and Lesser Barrier of Light from the Hul and Qas web respectively. What was interesting is that the next available nodes for Hul were CON increases while Qas gave something completely different.
Increase Damage Mitigation by 1% of Base Armor. This node could also have additional Green node points put into it for a total of five for 5% Damage Mitigation.
I don’t wear armor, so that probably won’t do anything for me. At least for now. Who could say what the future held, however? It certainly wouldn’t have been bad to have been wearing a breastplate when he’d taken that hit from the Blight Ogre! Still, he would set aside progressing down the Qas web for now. The Hul web however…
Hul node 2: +8 CON, Hul node 3: +8 CON. I decided to take them both and with that I was finally starting to feel the dramatic increases to my stats. I felt good. Better than I ever had in my entire life. I had one Green Node point left, but decided I would hold onto it for now. I could always unlock a spell I needed should the situation call for it.
I could get used to this.
With four active spells, a rare skill and a few extra attribute points I felt more accomplished than I ever had before. I was a Priest. A Prophet of the Gods…somehow! With that in mind, it was at least an hour before I was able to finally calm down and fall asleep.
