Vina and Norimor walked all day the next day. She began to realize that Norimor had a really bad habit of talking to herself. With her Listen skill, Vina could hear everything Nori was saying. “They chose me because we have similar builds…. When her throwing skill gets high enough... Those blades... Could she really? I bet they know exactly what her class does… so rare I've never seen it?”

Vina just listened when Norimor didn’t stop talking. When there was a pause in her monologue, she tried to ask a question. “Uhm Norimor…”

Norimor seemed to wake up as if daydreaming, “Huh? Vina, we’ve dueled with each other. You may call me Nori now if you wish.”

“Oh. Thanks. Nori, what does it mean to specialize a skill? I have specialization points, but I just realized I haven’t used any of them.”

Nori stopped walking and looked back at her, “You have more than one specialization point? Are they normal specializations or greater specializations?”

“They don’t say greater, so I think they’re normal. I get one at every level”, Vina answered.

Nori made an exaggerated sigh of relief, “One normal specialization at every level is potent. If you have four points to use, I recommend Mobility, Throwing, Avoidance, and maybe Running. Those are actions you’ll be performing basically all of the time.”

“What happens if I specialize in a skill?” Vina asked.

“The effect is typically random. Some classes can pick the specialization bonus they receive. I would be interested to know how yours works, but I understand if you don’t want to share with me”, Nori said, her eyes searching Vina’s face.

Vina opened her skills menu and selected to specialize in Mobility. She had a window pop up.

Skill specialization: Mobility. Mobility now provides three free activations per day.

Vina smiled at that prompt. That was basically three life saving actions every day. In the past she had used mobility a lot, but the thought of using it three times meant she would be nearly untouchable at least a few times in a battle. Norimor watched her eyes, “Oh. Whatever that was, it made you happy.”

Vina only grinned at her. She selected to specialize in throwing next and received another window.

Skill specialization: Throwing. Thrown objects impact a target with twice the normal force.

Vina looked at the notification with some consternation. “Nori… is it good for a thrown item to have twice as much force?”

“Yeah. That’s a good one. If you have a lot of force behind a thrown object you can knock someone back or even off their feet. The throwing skill already provides that bonus, but I’m guessing your specialization doubled down on it?” Nori said.

“Yeah. It did.” Vina looked next at running. This skill still sat at just level 4. She was close to reaching that 5th level, but she rarely did any running at all. Her plans to run with Etana every day had died when she was forced to leave. She sighed and added a specialization into running.

Skill specialization: Running. New Passive Free Running: Once per day you may choose to run stamina free for 10 minutes.

“Wow….” Vina said aloud. “That’s over a mile of running for absolutely free!” she thought to herself. Most battles were done in seconds to minutes. She could run around in a battle without consequence now. Even better, if she ever needed to escape, she would be able to get more than a mile away from something before her stamina would be impacted.

Nori just kept walking, but Vina could sense a smile on her face.

Vina considered her last specialization point. Nori had suggested Avoidance, but Vina’s blood would not be denied. She placed her final point into Blood Runes.

Skill Specialization: Blood Runes. Blood runes no longer need to be carved.

She gawked at the popup window. She no longer needed to carve runes? Vina stopped in her tracks and Nori stopped as well. “What’s the problem Vina?”

“I uh… hold on.” Vina popped a knife out from her own blood and picked up a nearby stick. She then cut her finger. Her blood dripped onto the stick and Vina used her Blood Runes skill to try to move the blood. Her once limited blood moving ability had changed drastically. The blood slid over the stick where she desired. She formed two runes just by looking at the blood and willed it to move. When she had finalized the position, she simply accepted that it looked right.

To her amazement, there was a sizzling sound and the blood burned into the stick in the pattern she had imagined in her mind. She squealed with joy and Nori looked at her in confusion. “It’s nothing. Where are we going by the way?” she said, laughing.

“We have been given orders. We are to clear out a large encampment. Kill everyone within.”

Mission Received: Find the encampment and kill everyone within. If you decline or fail this mission, you will be punished by The Twelve.

“Wait. Why? What did they do?” Vina inquired.

“Who knows. The Watch basically never explains the missions we get sent on. They give orders and we listen”, Nori answered, matter-of-factly.

Vina’s mood soured, “You are required to do this kind of stuff often? What exactly are your responsibilities with The Watch?”

Nori looked at her in a serious manner, “We..”, she stressed the word, “... are assassins today. Some days we will be heroes, and other days we will be diplomats. Today we are going to murder a couple dozen people. Well, we will in the next couple of days if we keep moving at least.”

Vina suddenly grasped the gravity of the situation she was in. If she didn’t follow through on these missions, Haco would punish her for not complying. She had no idea what that punishment would entail, but Haco had been more than clear about wanting to kill her before. Yet, she was being ordered to kill people for a reason she didn’t even know.

Nori saw the conflict on Vina’s face, “If we have any hope of killing the twelve, we have to survive long enough to get a chance. It sucks and I don’t like it either.”

“How… how long have you been doing this?” Vina asked.

Nori sighed, “Too long, Vina. Longer than anyone should have to. But there is hope. When I met you, I was also notified that Ebba Verax, The Eleventh, had been killed by someone. The twelve are not invincible.”

Vina kept her mouth shut as they continued to walk. She didn’t feel like she was ready to admit that she had killed Ebba. They continued their walk for the next two days and Vina practiced her skills as they did so. She tried hard to distract her mind from the work that was coming.

Skill Level Up: Throwing has reached level 10. Your current throwing distance is 40.5 feet. You can throw harder and faster You have one skill point. Skill Level Up: Juggling has reached level 9. Your hand and eye coordination is improved by 8%. You have gained 300 experience points.

Vina looked at her skill options for throwing.

Where would you like to spend your throwing skill point? Option 1: Throwing uses 10% less stamina. Option 2: Thrown items are 10% more difficult to avoid. Option 3: When throwing a weapon, a second copy of that weapon will be created. The second copy does not do damage.

Vina was perplexed about these options. They all seemed quite good to her. With all of the juggling she has been doing with these knives, the stamina enhancement was quite attractive. As it was, she could juggle for quite some time, however. She also considered the second option that made avoiding a weapon more difficult. She shuddered when she thought about how accurate Nori’s knife throw was. Vina considered the final option. “How dizzying would phantom knives be?” she thought to herself. As it was, she could manage six knives in the air at once and recall them fairly easily. Nori’s knife throw was too impressive though and Vina went with the second option.

Vina didn’t play with her new dagger skill immediately. Part of her was growing more concerned about how her attributes and skills were developing. In the past she had just taken whatever felt right in the moment. Now that she had battled Ebba, met Haco, and dueled Nori, she was feeling inadequate. She looked at her attribute screen.

Name

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Vina

Level

9

Health

140

Stamina

85

Experience

2705/18000

Class:

Blood Weaver

Attributes

Points

Description

Strength

13

You can lift 60% of your body weight and weapons do 6% more damage

Endurance

17

Your stamina is increased by 35, and your stamina recovery is increased to 1.35 per minute.

Dexterity

20

Your body is 10% more likely to do exactly what you intend, you are 40% more likely to hit your target

Agility

25

Your movement is 45% faster, you are 60% more elusive, you can react 30% sooner.

Vitality

14

Your health is increased by 40, you clear poisons 20% faster, you are 12% more resistant to disease and infection

Charisma

11

People like you 5% more and you are 3% more likely to persuade someone

Mastery

20

You learn skills 40% faster. You are 10% more likely to learn a skill on your first try.

Divinity

0

Locked

Points Remaining

9

“Nori, I have some nine attribute points remaining. How do you recommend I distribute them?” Vina asked.

Nori looked at her consideringly, “That depends on a lot of things, Vina. It depends on what attributes your class places points into automatically. For instance if your class is dumping points into Vitality, you might not need to add more yourself. If your class doesn’t add anything to Vitality you should add some points. It also depends on what you want to be capable of. If you want to be strong, strength is the obvious answer. If you want to be liked, then charisma. I know this isn’t very helpful. I’m just stating the obvious.”

Nori looked away and spoke again, “It is recommended that you add one point to Vitality at every level at a minimum. Some people say the same thing about strength. Many people ignore mastery despite its clear bonus to improving skills. Basic Aspects are easily available for most people, so skills are not something most people focus on. I personally am a major advocate for Endurance. I don’t like getting tired. I suppose that is for a personal reason, however.”

“What about Divinity? Do you have points in Divinity?” Vina asked, hoping to glean new information she did not have before about the attribute.

Nori’s next step hesitated, before resuming its normal rhythm. “I... do have points in Divinity. I believe that attribute itself is the most personal of all. I cannot provide you guidance.”

Nori went mysteriously silent and Vina could tell she hit a nerve. “Did I say something to offend you, Nori?” Vina asked, hoping to smooth over any social blunder she may have committed.

Nori gestured with her hand dismissively, “Not really. It’s just not a topic I like to discuss. I think most people don’t like to discuss it.”

“I’m sorry Nori. You know my situation. I do not know how things work here. Any information you can give me or suggestions about this would help me greatly”, Vina said.

Nori took a deep breath and turned to face Vina, “You’re right Vina. I’m sorry for trying to shut down this conversation. This is a topic you need to know if we are to accomplish our shared goals. Let’s take a rest. This conversation will be difficult for me.”

As Nori settled herself, Vina quickly laid out some of her foraged foods. Her foraging skill had grown quite a bit and the flavors of the wild were starting to become quite good.

Skill Level Up: Forage has reached level 9. Items foraged from the wilderness are 16% bigger and foraged items will taste 40% better. You have gained 300 experience points from leveling a skill.

Nori took a particularly large berry from the stash. She chewed it like it was taffy in her mouth. “The forage skill is greatly undervalued in this world. I lack the ability to learn it for some reason. Thanks Trina.” Nori rolled her eyes to the sky.

“Anyway, the topic at hand is Divinity. Did you know before The Severing, Divinity wasn’t an attribute at all?” Nori asked.

Vina nodded, remembering Jan’s description.

“Well that tells us something. When Trina vanished from the world, somehow this attribute was added to the system. That’s strange because most people believed only Trina could make modifications to it. Professed are all over the place on this, but most people believe one prevailing theory. Just like the scattered Aspects are of Trina, Divinity is an attribute of Trina. It makes sense then that when someone bonds with an aspect of Trina, they gain access to the attribute that Trina used.”

Nori paused as she let Vina absorb that, taking something that looked like a mushroom next from the pile. “Taking a point in divinity is different from the other attributes however. With Vitality you feel full of life, and with strength you feel powerful. Divinity feels like dying. It hurts to take a point in it. With every point you take, you lose something, but the attribute doesn’t tell you what that is. I can feel the pain of the loss even now. Taking divinity is a sacrifice. You lose a part of yourself, but you gain something else.”

Vina saw that Nori did not take a bite of the mushroom in her hand. She seemed to be staring through it, looking at something only she could see, or maybe feeling something only she could feel. Vina had her confirmation now. Nori had an aspect at some point in time. “What do you gain?” Vina asked quietly.

Nori exhaled her held breath, “You gain another bar. Just like health and stamina, a yellow bar appears in your vision. Thankfully, it refills very quickly, so not many points are needed. The bar fuels whatever aspects you have bonded with. Depending on the attunement rate you have with an Aspect, taking action may require more or less divinity.”

Vina cocked her head to the side, “Attunement?”

Nori looked up at her, “Yes. Attunement. Everyone is compatible with an aspect at a different rate. Those with 90% or more attunement are the most powerful. People like Haco are on that list. All of the twelve are on that list I would say. If you are less attuned, you may not be able to use the aspect to its full capabilities.”

Nori paused for a moment as if reliving an old memory, “Having an aspect bonded to you is an amazing feeling. Some say having an aspect makes up for what is lost by adding points into divinity. I’ve seen some friends go too far down that road, and I can’t say I entirely agree. Even at the amount of divinity I’ve taken, I feel something pulling at me.”

Vina’s face grew concerned, “What is pulling at you?”

Nori looked at Vina’s red eyes, “Death maybe or perhaps enlightenment. Without going further down the path, I can’t say for sure. Haco is further down that path. Do you feel she is enlightened?”

Vina shook her head, “No. She’s definitely lost something.”

Nori took a steadying breath, “Whatever divinity does, it is not good for us.”

Vina looked down at Nori’s chest. “You lost an aspect, didn't you? I can see a hole in your heart.”

Nori looked at her in surprise, “Your eyes?”

“Yes”, Vina said.

Nori bowed her head, “I’ll tell you. But you have to make me the same promise I made to you.”

Vina considered it for a few minutes. She had no idea how to live with a promise that bound her very life. She decided the risk was worth it. She needed information like this.

“I promise I will not share anything I learn about you over the next hour with anyone under the penalty of death.” Vina had a window popup.

You have sworn to keep Norimor’s secrets to yourself. If you attempt to share one of her secrets, you will have a confirmation message appear before attempting to do so. Sharing Norimor’s secrets will result in your death.

Vina sighed in relief. Having a confirmation appear before she accidentally spilled any secrets would literally be a life saver. She had never been very good at keeping secrets.

Nori looked down at her feet and spoke slowly, “I was pressed into service with The Watch at just eight years old. They did something to me that broke the system’s age limiter and allowed me to gain levels, improve skills, and to bond with aspects before the age of eighteen. The process was painful, but for me it was permanent. I don’t even know what aspect they used to do it.”

“I was one in a batch of people they did this to. They worked us hard to learn every skill we could. They told us we were the first generation who would prevail against The Darkness. But the system kept reasserting itself over some of my peers. Some of them had the limiter broken again and again. Only a couple of us survived to the end, but the twelve felt that was success. I guess a five percent success rate was acceptable to them.”

“What happened to the others?” Vina whispered, but she felt she knew.

“If the limiter being removed didn’t kill them, someone else would when they weren’t able to function anymore.” Norimor wiped a tear from her eyes before continuing, “When we had finished our training, they bonded us to true aspects. They had claimed that the earlier a bond could be established, the higher the attunement would be. They said the aspect would force our minds and emotions to be compatible with it from an early age.” Nori took a deep breath and let it out. “And they were right. Our attunement was higher than average. They bonded me with the Aspect of the Hidden. At the time I felt honored and I even became one of the twelve.”

Nori rubbed one of her hands with her thumb, something Vina could tell was a self soothing action. “One day they sent me on a mission to kill someone. I did what I always did. Tracked down the person, set up a plan, and executed it. Everything went wrong however. I survived only by the grace of Trina herself. Suffice it to say, I am now a true follower of Trina’s and no longer support The Twelve.”

Nori looked up at Vina with a smile, but it didn’t last. “Word of my failure spread to the rest of the twelve. Three of them cornered me one evening and they stripped me of my aspects. I am now unbound.” Her eyes met Vina’s and she could tell there was fear there. Vina looked back passively.

“Oh. You don’t know.” Nori said, “Of course. Removing an aspect is typically a death sentence. They kept me alive through the pain. Probably to punish me…” her voice trailed off and Vina almost spoke, but Nori continued. “I cannot bond with any other aspects except the ones I already had. Since those will never be returned to me, I am left empty. I feel a part of me has been removed and never filled again. I only have my skills to rely on.”

Nori went quiet for a few minutes and Vina could feel her pain. Nori’s blood was singing a sad song to her. After a few moments, Vina spoke, “You said you were one of the twelve. Did you have a secret name? What did they do with the Aspect of the Hidden?”

Nori gave her a silly smile and nodded her head slowly, “I was The Covered Lady, for a time. I honestly don’t know where my aspects are. I figured they would give it to my replacement, but Ebba received the Aspect of Truth instead.”

“What was done to you was horrible, Nori. I can understand why you are fighting back”, Vina said.

Nori looked at her for a moment and Vina thought she saw something flash in her eyes, “My loyalties lie with another organization. Together, we’ll destroy the twelve and rebuild The Watch.”