Reincarnation initiated.
Entering zone: Tiganna/Tempest/Corwen
Local time: 9:13 pm, November 30th, Year 729 of the Age of the Green Fox
I am suddenly aware. I’m more than this tiny, weak form, but memories of other lives fade upon incarnation into my new body. The emotion they left me with remains, however: Excitement. Anticipation at experiencing new things.
A crackling fire in the middle of the room bathes me with light and warmth. I see faces and hear voices around me. My infant senses can’t make out much, though.
You have been given the name: Drake
You are now a member of faction: Corwen Hearth
Another box springs up in my ‘third eye’. I’m pretty sure there isn’t actually an eye visible from the outside, but I can clearly see these system interface windows without impeding my vision.
Corwen Welcome to the world, little one! My name is Corwen, and I’ll be your Hearth! I’m here to assist you with adjusting to your new life. Would you like to open the system interface tutorial? Accept Cancel
Okay, I have no idea what in the heck sort of world I just reincarnated into, but apparently there are smart homes with neural links that get implanted into newborns. I’m not sure whether or not I should find this disturbing, but that’s apparently the world I’ve got.
Fine, let’s see this tutorial. I try to think in the general direction of the ‘Accept’ button. Fortunately, the interface is designed to be intuitive.
Corwen All right! Check out this button. This opens your character screen. That will show you all sorts of information about yourself! Try it out and take a look!
An arrow points to a highlighted icon with a rough humanoid silhouette. I select it.
Name Drake Corwen Tempest Tiganna Race Human Class Child Gender Male Rank Basic Age 7 days Attributes Health 1/1 Stamina 1/1 Sanity 10/10 Inspiration 37/37 Strength 0.1 Dexterity 01 Perception 0.1 Endurance 0.1 Intelligence 23 Willpower 16 Charisma 19 Soul 5,780,912 Skills none
It seems I wasn’t actually named until I was seven days old. That’s an interesting array of attributes, now what the heck is up with that Soul level?
Corwen The Soul attribute is representative of how many lives you have lived. You have lived a great many lives!
Too bad I don’t remember any of them but the first one. Or at least I assume my life in 21st century Earth was the first one. Maybe it’s just as well, though. What, exactly, does that sort of absurd number get me?
Corwen The Soul attribute governs the following general skills: Recollection You can recall knowledge and skills from previous lives. Clairvoyance You can detect and identify vis around beings and in the environment. Additionally, class skills will be available to you when you turn 7 years old: Flashback You can bring up a memory of a moment in time. When you reach Elite rank, you will have the following skill available to you: Necromancy You can call up spirits of the dead.
I go through more of the tutorial in between growing up. I’m fully conscious on some level that doesn’t just involve the meat brain I’m in at the moment, but there’s only so much I can do as a baby. I get to know my family and try to unlock skills.
Including whatever language it is they’re speaking. Sounds like gibberish at first, but after listening to them babble for an indeterminate amount of time, I get a notification.
Skill acquired: Language (English)
Fantastic, they speak English here for whatever reason and I still apparently had to actually ‘learn’ it. Fine, whatever.
I share a room with a woman I assume is my mother and another woman who seems to be the same age who I think is my aunt. I spend an excessive amount of time listening to them bicker, and while I don’t catch all the words yet, the tone definitely sounds like sibling rivalry.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
We spend a good deal of time in a large room with a big, warm fire in the middle along with a number of other people. I have no idea yet whether they’re relatives, villagers, servants, or what. I haven’t seen the outside yet.
People are singing Christmas carols. Except they’re not really Christmas carols anymore, and many of them have had completely different words put to them, which I’m not sure if it helps me figure out their language or not.
Still, I try to act like a normal baby and not worry too much about stuff. I don’t know how they would react if they knew how old my soul is. For all I know, they’d consider me a demon and throw me into the closest volcano or something. I need more information. And while Corwen’s tutorials are useful for system info, it doesn’t tell me anything about the attitudes of my relatives toward reincarnators.
The first time I see the sky, though, I know for sure I’m not in Kansas anymore. (Not that I ever spent much time in Kansas.) There are lights in the sky, but they aren’t stars. It’s hard to make out with my infant eyes and puny Perception score, but that much is easy to tell. Blobs of light hang in the sky like distant lamps, most of them green, some blue or yellow.
Naturally, I babble and try to reach out my tiny hands toward them. I am a baby, after all, and that might be what a normal baby would do, right? My mom says something I don’t quite catch and snuggles me close as she carries me across the village green.
High, solid walls surround the small village, and there’s a nip of winter’s chill in the air. Ahead, a large evergreen has been decorated with little lights and ornaments. I haven’t heard anyone say the word ‘Christmas’, but that looks very much like a Christmas tree. And that’s very much the tune of ‘O Christmas Tree’ they’re singing even if it’s not the same words. It’s all a little surreal.
My mom sits down at a bench and a man approaches her with a large box covered in blue and gold wrapping paper. She encourages me to tear it open, but I need a little help with the ribbons. Once free of its festive packaging, my gift is revealed: a plush mallard duck, with a green head and larger than I am.
“A drake for Drake,” my uncle (probably) says merrily. At least I can make out my own name now.
I put my little arms around the soft toy and babble happily. This is the best present I’ve ever gotten! That I remember, at least.
An older woman comes up with another gift, this one containing a onesie made of soft wool. My mom takes that aside for the moment and I continue hugging my new duck.
My attention is shortly drawn away from my gifts. Something is happening in the sky, and the lights on the tree have gone… weird. That’s the only way I can describe it and I can’t see it too clearly from here. The lights on the tree shimmer for a moment longer, and then streak up into the sky.
The sky is starting to glow violet. No, not the sky, a giant crystal sphere so large that it takes up most of the sky. I didn’t even see it at first since it was dark before. Sparkles of light play across its surface as it brightens quickly to bathe the village in violet light. Around me, the villagers are cheering and applauding, and burst into a rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, but I can’t make out half the words anymore than I could the original version.
I wave my tiny hands to the sky and babble in unfeigned wonderment.
It is now Year 730 of the Age of the Green Fox.
The box in my third eye helpfully informs me of the change in date. There doesn’t appear to be a sun, but it seems there’s some sort of year cycle anyway. What a peculiar world I have reincarnated into.
----------------------------------------
The following months see me growing and learning. Talking, walking, and potty training are on the agenda, and I’m looking forward to two of those more than the third.
With the New Year having come and the skies turned light, the village becomes less crowded as people go traveling again. My mom and I no longer need to share a room with her sister.
Most of the people in the village live in the big building called the Hearth. It reminds me of a castle, but it’s very homey, and people spend a lot of time in the large round room at the base of the central tower, also called the hearth, although I think this one is lowercase. Not that I can actually read yet, but it sounds lowercase.
Around the village, there’s a workshop I’m not allowed into, a store where I’m not allowed to touch anything, and an inn where the people who aren’t related to me stay. There’s also a fenced area with a barn containing terrifying black goats the size of mustangs, with glowing red eyes that feel like they burn into your soul if you catch their attention.
I’ve gathered that my mom’s name is Anise. I haven’t seen any sign of a dad around here, but I seem to have plenty of aunts and uncles. I have a grandmother named Kestrel that I don’t see much as she spends most of her time traveling.
I also have a great-grandmother named Laurel whose only sign of age is a white streak in her black hair. Everyone treats Laurel with great respect. I’m not sure if she’s the one in charge of the Hearth, but she’s definitely in charge of the barn. Not many people actually want to go near those devil-goats, but she treats them like her babies.
I can’t keep track of all the names of my aunts and uncles. I do, however, quickly learn the name of Aunt Myrtle. They refer to her as the Elder Hearthkeeper, and she rules the kitchen with an iron skillet.
The lights in the sky don’t stay the same color. The smaller ones change colors throughout the course of the day, although not all in sync. The big one that takes up most of the sky only changes colors every six weeks. Come mid-February, it shifts to a deep, clear blue. My relatives say the indigo season has begun.
My physical stats have also gone up another 0.1 points each. If anyone suspects I’m not just an ordinary baby, they don’t say anything in my hearing. My efforts pay off with an unexpected message.
Skill acquired: Subterfuge (Acting)
I’m certainly not going to complain about filling out my status screen. I’ve played enough games to appreciate the feeling of seeing numbers go up. I do have to wonder if anyone in the village is capable of seeing my stats somehow, though. Can anyone see what skills I have? I suppose it’s not worth worrying about, though. Either they can or they can’t and there’s not much I can do about it either way.