- Three Days Earlier -
“What is a brand?” Glade asked.
Riya’s face screwed up in exasperation. “Just like I explained to the Mede, I’m not qualified to give either of you advice about your brands.”
“We’re not looking for advice,” Glade responded gently, easily seeing this topic of conversation was quickly crossing over into uncomfortable territory. “Just some education. We don’t have brands where we come from.”
Riya’s eyes narrowed. “I haven’t asked too much about your world, seeing as the more I learn the happier I am you brought me back to Veil. But if you don’t have brands, how do you follow your destined paths?”
“Not sure what you mean by destined paths,” Kedryn chimed in. “There are some on Earth who believe in destiny, but those are mostly the superstitious kind. You know, the ones who believe that a blue moon or hooting owl in the middle of the day means you’re about to lose your hair or something.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Riya said.
Kedryn laughed. “I know, right?”
“A blue moon has nothing to do with hair loss. It means you should stay away from still water, or you will lose your soul. Owls are protectors, which means if one calls in the day, you’ll have good fortune.”
Kedryn coughed, choking on the water he had just been drinking. Glade caught Riya’s mischievous smile. He was starting to like this girl.
“Let me see if I can explain,” Riya said, schooling her features as Kedryn finally cleared the water from his lungs. “Every sentient child comes of age when we turn eight…”
“Eight seems to be a prominent number,” Kedryn interrupted with a final cough.
“Stop interrupting,” Riya said, another pebble bouncing off the Kid’s forehead. “But you are right. Eight is the prime number. It’s part of everything around us. From music to the elements. It’s why there are eight Adjudicators, eight planes of existence, even eight attributes. At least, most have eight attributes,” She grumbled, looking at Glade like he was a freak of nature. “It’s just the way of our world. Why, doesn’t Earth have a prime number?”
“Prime numbers have a different meaning where we come from,” Kedryn replied.
“I’d like to hear about that sometime,” Riya responded with a genuine look of interest. “Anyway, when a child comes of age, we are granted a brand by the Adjudicators. It’s the one tradition that is celebrated the world over, especially amongst my people. We call it our Fated Day. My father spared no expense as I turned eight. Everyone in our House was invited. It was… the best moment of my life.”
Riya’s voice tapered off as her expression soured. Glade knew better than to push.
“Wow! That sounds incredible! What brand did you get?” Kedryn blurted.
Glade sighed. Apparently, not everyone could read body language.
Riya took a deep breath. “Meekness,” she confessed. “I received the brand of meekness.”
“Really? That’s cool. I don’t have that one. What does the brand of meekness do?”
Riya’s look of shock stopped Glade from asking his own questions.
“You don’t mind that I have the brand of meekness?” She asked, a clear look of surprise on her face.
“Riya, we’re new here. We’re not even sure what brands are, let alone have enough of an understanding to judge anyone because of them,” Kedryn said. “Besides, we’ve been through a great deal together. Why would it matter what kind of brand you have?”
That was surprisingly well put. Who would have thought that Kedryn of all people would have something worthwhile to say?
Riya looked between the both of them for several long seconds.
“And you say there are no such things as brands on earth?”
“Well, we have tattoos and birth marks,” Kedryn replied, “but nothing like the brands on our arms.”
Glade’s eyebrows shot up. They had literal brands on their arms? He fought the impulse to pull up his sleeves and look. Instead, he gave the Kid a deadpan stare. That would have been good information to know before this conversation began.
“That must be so… freeing.” Riya sighed. “On Veil, when we come of age, we are granted a brand by one, or more, of the adjudicators. There are eight in total. Honor, perseverance, courage, creation, intellect, sacrifice, passion, and meekness. A mark for each of the qualities the Adjudicators embody.”
“Some of the greatest philosophers throughout the ages have debated whether brands are granted by cosmic design or simple happenstance. My people,” she said sourly, “believe marks are the will of the Eight, dictating our destined paths.”
Glade raised an eyebrow, his immediate thoughts going through the cultural and societal implications of such a practice. No wonder Riya was worried how they would judge her now that they knew of her brand.
Riya must have seen his expression and quickly offered an explanation.
“Let me explain. The mark of courage, for instance, means you are destined to be a warrior.” She said, voice laced with longing. “Creation for crafters, intellect for scholars or mages, perseverance for hunters and farmers, honor for the council members and house guard, sacrifice for the marshals, passion for well… you know…”
Kedryn’s eyes widened, his face turning red. Glade smacked him upside the head.
“What?” he stammered.
“You know what,” he replied.
Riya giggled, looking between the two men. Which made Kedryn turn another shade of red, causing another round of giggling from the girl.
Glade smiled. This was a good sign. More often than not, Riya was just as serious as he was. The world didn’t need another grump like him.
“Then, there is meekness,” she said after calming down. “It’s considered the least of the brands. A brand destined for servants and followers.”
“I disagree,” Glade said. “Where I come from, meekness is one of the most sought-after traits we can find in people. It means they’re teachable.”
“Truly?” Riya asked, giving him a guarded look.
“Of course. Don’t get me wrong. We look for arrogant people as well. Each have their place. Personally, I prefer leading those who are willing to learn. Mean’s they have a better chance at staying alive.”
“I… need to think on this some more,” she finally said.
“Anything else about brands we need to know about?” Glade asked. So far, it didn’t sound so bad. Brands were part of the belief system on Veil that centered around destiny. If that was all, then there wasn’t anything to be overly worried about. Too bad they didn’t grant any additional abilities. Then again, he was swimming in new abilities that he had no idea how to use.
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“Oh yes. We’ve barely even begun to scratch the surface of what brands are and what they do. Scholars make it their life’s work to study brands. In fact, I believe it is the most studied subject worldwide.”
“Without getting into the prevailing theories of the day, what I can tell you is when a sentient is branded, the Adjudicator associated with that brand becomes their patron. Hence patron brands. Your patron oversees your path toward advancement.”
Both Glade and Kedryn gave her a blank stare.
“Let me try to explain it in a different way. Remember how I said that advancement is everything one Veil? Well, the Adjudicators have been charged with overseeing and driving this principle. They have varying methods to accomplish this, from issuing quests to twisting fate to test their charges and everything in between. There is a great deal of speculation as to the how. The fact of the matter is, you won’t know if you are correctly following your destiny until you successfully level your brand, and that only occurs after you have been judged by an Adjudicator.”
“Wait, did you say judged? As in, being tested? By one of the Eight?” Kedryn said.
“Of course. Don’t your Adjudicators judge you?” Riya asked, confused.
“Ummm… that’s up for debate,” Kedryn said.
“What do you mean?” Riya asked, brow deepening. “Either they do, or they don’t.”
“There are several belief systems where we come from. Some of those beliefs include judgement by whatever God or Gods they believe in. I guess you could call them Adjudicators. But no one knows if they exist for certain,” Glade stepped in. This conversation was quickly moving into the murky waters of religion. Something he just wasn’t ready to deal with at the moment.
“Adjudicators are not the Overseer!” Riya snapped. “Or God, as you put it. One. Not plural. I can’t emphasize this enough. The Adjudicators are swift to punish any who proclaim otherwise.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend,” Glade said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Just trying to get us on the same sheet of music.”
“What has music got to do with anything?” Riya asked, even more confused.
“Apologies,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It means making sure we understand one another.”
“Hmmmm,” was all she responded with, clearly still trying to understand the idiom.
“By the way,” Kedryn chimed in, “how are you judged by the Adjudicators?”
“You die,” Riya said with a shrug.
Both men gapped at her.
“Say that again?” Kedryn asked.
“You die,” she repeated. “That’s how your soul is brought to be judged.”
“But,” Kedryn said, confused. “You said that you had to be judged to level your brand. Does that mean brands can only be leveled after you die?”
“Not quite,” she said, clearly exasperated. “Please remember, I am not qualified to be teaching you any of this. I do know of another way, but you might as well wish for the sun to rise in the west.”
“Remember how I mentioned labyrinths earlier? If you have access to a labyrinth that is associated with your corresponding brand, then all you have to do is successfully pass its trials to commune with your patron. As you can imagine, those are extremely rare. Labyrinths are protected with an iron fist. Most of us only have the opportunity to level brands after death.
“Do you know anyone who has a leveled brand?” Kedryn asked.
Glade snorted. What a stupid question. How could anyone have a leveled brand if they had died? Likely part of their unique belief system.
“Of course! We have a few in my house alone. We even have one who has a level three brand! I’ve never dreamed of being able to reach that height. But now, if I’m lucky, I might make it there.”
Glade pinched the bridge of nose, fighting a growing headache. Riya wasn’t making any sense.
Kedryn was blessedly quiet for a few moments, working through his own thoughts. Then his eyes lit up as he asked, “So, if your people don’t have access to a labyrinth, does that mean they have the ability to resurrect others?”
“No,” Riya said, rolling her eyes. “Only the extremely rich can afford resurrection. Besides, you can’t be judged if you’re resurrected. Doesn’t work like that. The Adjudicators don’t allow loopholes.”
“Then how…” Kedryn began, stopping mid-sentence. Glade didn’t know what to think either. He was lost. How could someone die, but then come back to life? It made no sense.
“It’s the brands,” Riya said exasperated. “Each one grants you a single rebirth. When you’ve died more times than you have brands then you go to your final judgement where the Adjudicators present your soul to the Overseer, who places you in either the celestial or abyssal planes. Surely, you know this?”
“We get RESPAWNS?!” Kedryn shouted, leaping to his feet.
“Respawns?” Riya asked, her face screwed up in disgust as she leaned away from the Kid’s sudden outburst. “That sounds revolting. What are respawns?”
“Extra lives! You know, in case you die?”
“Yes, of course. Every sentient creature on Veil has at least one rebirth after they come of age. Don’t you?”
Glade’s head was spinning.
“No,” Kedryn whispered, a manic grin spreading across his face. “No, we don’t.”
“You only have one life?” She gasped, eyes wide with horror. “That… that means… that you’re not sentient? But that makes no sense! You both have status screens. And can allocate your own attribute points. And can reason... Surely, you’re joking.”
“Back on earth we only had one life,” Kedryn said, dancing with glee. “But we were given brands after we landed in the Eights domain.”
To prove his point, Kedryn pulled up one of the sleeves of his voluminous robes. Three brands were clearly marked. A simple triangle, a tick that looked like a house top, and a small red flame.
“You have three marks!?” Riya exclaimed, eyes widening.
“Oh, I’ve got five,” Kedryn said proudly, revealing his other forearm. A circle bound in chains was above a black crescent moon so black it looked like it was devouring the grotto’s minimal light source.
“Five!?” Riya gasped, blood draining from her face.
“You think that’s cool? What till you hear how many Captain Glade has!” Kedryn said.
“Corporal,” Glade warned.
“He has all...” Kedryn began.
“CORPORAL!” Glade snapped, cutting him off. “Give the girl some time to breath. Besides, I think we have a sufficient answer for now.”
“All?” Riya whispered, her head snapping in his direction so fast he could have sworn it created a breeze.
“It’s nothing,” Glade said, shrugging away the question. He regretted telling the Kid anything about his brands.
“No. It isn’t nothing. Please, show me,” Riya said.
Glade sighed. It wasn’t like he knew what he was going to find, having not known beforehand that he had actual brands. He was just as curious as she was.
He rolled both sleeves up and held out his arms.
Eight brands glistened in the blue light of the grotto. Four on each arm.
He had the same ones as Kedryn did on his left forearm. A triangle, the tick mark, and a small red flame. Except, he had one extra, an octagon with elegant, multi-layered spirals twisting like it could go one forever.
His left arm had the same circle bound in chains and crescent moon as Kedryn. It also had a unique looking starburst with eight rays of light radiating from a golden circle. The last symbol was hard to describe. It looked like a gear you’d find in an old clock, but with interwoven layers. It was just as elegant as the octagonal spiral, but very hard to follow as the lines bent in on themselves in a never ending pattern.
“Can I touch them?” Riya whispered.
He sighed but nodded his assent. He was already uncomfortable with the attention, but if her verifying the brands were real got this conversation over faster then he’d allow it.
She reached out, gently taking one of his arms in her hand, tracing her finger along the marks embedded into his skin.
She did the same with his other arm, her finger stopping on the octagonal spiral.
“Eight,” she whispered in awe. “You have all eight brands…”
An especially long and uncomfortable moment passed as she continued to study the marks on his arms.
“We should probably go back to using our mana processing technique,” he said, his voice gentle.
Riya looked into his eyes. There were so many emotions swimming in those depths. Fear and sadness were the most prominent. But he could see more than what he had seen since meeting her. Hope. Determination. Will.
“Brands are granted to those who have drawn the Eight Adjudicators attention,” Riya said, finally letting his arm go. “All have at least one brand, granted on their Fate Day. Having two is a great gift, three even more so. It means they have the eye of heaven upon them. They will be offered more quests, experience more unique trials, and generally help make their people wealthy in both power and resources if they succeed in leveling their brands.”
“A person with four brands is extremely rare, and typically found in houses of great influence and power. They need the backing and protection of those houses as they are tried more heavily than most.”
Riya turned to Kedryn. “It does not surprise me that a Royal Elf of the Serevlir line has more than four marks. Still, the royal family would surround you with guards at all times as a trial of heaven-sent proportions could arise in your immediate vicinity at any time.”
Glade’s gut churned, remembering a notification he had read just days earlier.
The attention of the remaining Adjudicators has been drawn to Designation Glade… know this is your own fault.
Riya turned back to Glade, her voice trembling, refusing to meet his eyes.
“There are only three in recorded history to have all eight brands. Each one was considered a walking calamity. The trials and quests that followed them literally reshaped the world as we know it. The only difference between them and you are they actively sought to acquire their brands for power. Your brands were thrust upon you.”
She finally met his eyes.
“And you have been appointed as my personal Sah’eld. A protector appointed by the very Adjudicators that branded you. May the Overseer preserve us.”