PART I - THE WORLD WORKS IN A STRANGE WAY
With the conclusion of the Legate’s remarks, a relief seemed to come over the entire crowd. Callie felt a weight of worry lift off her chest, yet she was still filled with an inspirational excitement. She was safe here, even though it was a place of war. The people around her, the Legate, the Commandant, the Captain, and all their subordinates, were there for them. She didn’t know what would happen next, and yet she was content that everything would work out precisely as it should.
“Very good words,” Xin said, breaking everyone out of their self reflection. “I feel much better than I did before.”
“Command Aura,” Vanis said. “And an excellent use of the skill at that.”
“It’s a skill?” Callie asked.
“Yes. All officers know it, but not all officers are able to use it so effectively.”
“What does it do?”
“Command Aura allows for inspiring one’s subordinates, as you just saw, but on the battlefield it can push the troops beyond their normal limits and help them work together; to make them better as a group than the sum of their individuals. Commandant Xera and Legate Galin are truly masterful users.”
“Wait, you mean it’s like a magic spell? To influence our mind? Mind control? That’s really invasive!”
“It’s a morale boost, that’s all,” Vanis said. “and a way to inspire military discipline when needed. It can’t tell you what to think, or really what to do, but it can encourage you to be a better soldier. What is most important, however, is that Command Aura cannot project a lie, only amplify a truth. The Commandant and Legate truly believe what they said about getting everyone home alive being the most-important.”
Callie was torn. If she had this Conscription Curse, then she would need to be around someone with this magic spell? That was what Vanis and Lena had said. But the idea of someone being able to use magic to mess with her head was not very appealing. At the same time, if used correctly, it could also change the course of a battle, and knowing that the words had to be sincere brought at least a small comfort.
On the other side of the courtyard, two red flags were raised. Soldiers began walking up to groups of recruits, directing them to form the two lines that Kela had mentioned. One of them walked up to Callie’s group of five, a male Elf wearing simple leather armor.
“Corporal,” the man said to Tazrok, “Get the rest of your group in line for evaluation and registration.”
Tazrok again pointed at himself in confusion. “Was serious? I am Corporal Punishment?”
The soldier shrugged. “That’s what Commandant Xera said. Congratulations.” He then turned and walked off to the next group, relaying the same instructions.
“I assume we’d all like to bunk together?” Lena asked. “I know some of us just met today, but it’s that or end up somewhere random.”
“Yes. Protect Little One,” Tazrok said firmly.
“I too think this would be a good idea. I am curious how Miss Callie’s situation resolves itself,” Vanis said.
Xin nodded her long face. “I would like that. You all seem very nice, and Vanis still has more of his grandmother candy.”
Callie smiled, feeling a warmth of new friendships. For a moment she imagined what would have happened if she had not met Tazrok or Lena. She thought of the Dwarves from the wagon, the confusion, of being so very scared. Part of her actually hoped she had this Conscription Curse so that she could stay with her new friends rather than face this strange, strange world alone.
“I think we should hold back until the end of the line,” Vanis said. “We need to have a long conversation with someone about Callie, and I’d rather not hold up the rest if we have an opportunity to do that.”
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Tazrok grunted an approval. “Yes. Go last.”
The group of five, Callie still riding on Tazrok’s shoulder, made their way towards the end of one of the forming lines. Standing aside, they allowed a few others to pass and take a position before them, Callie doing all she could not to squeal in excitement as she was momentarily distracted by an adorable cat person with scruffy, white-tipped ears and a fluffy tail.
Focus, Callie! Concentrate on learning how things work! “Vanis, you said learning your first skill will reveal your class. Doesn’t that mean everyone can control what class they get just by studying something they like?”
The Elf shook his head. “It doesn’t quite work that way, and this can get a little complex to explain, so I’ll try to keep it simple. For some, they may learn their class before any skill comes to them, often by parents eager to find out what class their children may be. For many others, they learn they have come of age when they awaken one day and have a skill, which will always be related to your class. My first skill was Ritual Circle, and that is unique to Warlocks, so I was able to deduce my class from that. Someone else may receive a skill that more than one class has, and would need a Scryer to determine for sure what their actual class is.”
“That is what happened to me, Little One,” Xin said. “I awoke one day knowing the skill Ball of Light. Now that I had my first skill, I knew I had received my class. Because Ball of light is a common skill among many classes, a Scryer was able to determine my actual class, which is Shaman.”
Shaman. Callie was trying to remember where she had heard that word before and it was fuzzy. From one of her college friends talking about a video game, maybe? Yes! Something about ‘raiding’ with some guy named Leeroy Jenking, whatever and whoever the heck that was. She never saw the appeal of video games, so didn’t pay much attention. Now she wished she had!
“A most excellent class, Xin,” Vanis said cheerfully. “Very potent in combat, and you are able to heal as well.”
“So I am told. In the past, I did not wish to be a Shaman, and I have trained all my life as a Spearmaster, instead. I have even learned Spearmaster skills as I have improved. But the Army wishes me to embrace being a Shaman, so I will learn to be that. My hope is that I can combine that with what I already know, however.”
“Wait,” Callie interrupted, holding up a hand. “You can learn these magic skills by studying, too? Even if not in your class? Is that how you learned that light spell, Vanis? The one from the wagon? I think Lena said it was for some other class.“ Callie tried to remember, but at that moment she hadn’t really been absorbing much.
“That’s right, Callie. Dancing Lights is an Illusionist skill, which is a Specialist Wizard class. I regret, my skills with it are quite subpar.”
Lena spoke up to add more clarity. “Skills in your class are much easier to learn and master, and may continue to come to you in your sleep throughout your life. However, with proper study and practice, anyone can learn most anything, with a few exceptions. I, myself, know many skills that are not part of my class that I have worked hard to master.”
Callie pondered this. Vanis had said Gnomes were often Wizards, for example. If that was her class, then she would have woken up one day knowing a Wizard spell of some kind. And over time more would have popped into her head. That actually sounded kind of cool. If she wanted to learn something from another class, she could go to this world’s equivalent of Hogwarts or something to study and practice.
"I think I’m understanding a little bit,” Callie said slowly. "It’s still confusing, too. I don't have a class that I know of, but I have been trained as an Accountant and have worked in that field for a while. And my dad taught me a little about woodworking and fixing things around the house."
"Accountant? What is that?" Vanis asked.
"You know, working with money and numbers? Keeping track of sales and amounts owed. I have a thing for numbers, actually." Callie said with a shrug.
"Ahh, like a bookkeeper, perhaps? Many merchant guilds and banks employ bookkeepers."
"Yup, just like that."
"Those that work in that vocation are often of the Scholar class, then, so perhaps that will be what class the Scryers find when they look at you," Vanis said.
“So, if I’m one of these Scholars, I would get special skills for that class?”
“That’s right,” Lena said, “But remember, it just means that some of those class skills are easier to master, and may come to you without work. You don’t have to follow that path if you don’t want to. For Gnomes, it’s pretty easy to guess what your class may be, though. Many combinations of race and class do not happen. An Elf, for example, cannot be a Berserker or Barbarian. A Gnome would never be a Paladin or many of the other combat classes.”
“Honestly, Callie, until we know what class you may be, it might be more work to speculate than it is worth,” Vanis said. “Just know that every person is unique in some way, and no person is forever locked into only one thing. Just that some things would be easier than others.”
Xin had a perplexed look on her face as she followed the conversation. Something did not seem right. “Little One, did you not say you had no memory?”
Immediately, Callie realized she had forgotten that Xin hadn’t been privy to her secret. Her mind scrambled to reply with anything that might make sense. “Huh, why is it that I remember that?” she finally said, hoping that would be enough of a vague deflection.
“That is good you remember,” Xin said with a firm nod, seeming to accept the explanation. “That surely means your memory will return in time. Perhaps it is not brain damaged after all.”