“Uncle!” young Robert called out into the barn.
“Uncle!” Still, no reply came, and Robert continued to wander around the farm, wondering where his no-good relation had disappeared to.
“Uncle!” he tried once last time before giving up. Cresting back over the hill which the house stood on, a flicker of movement at the village only a kilometer away caught his eye. Peering closely, he saw a crowd starting to form just out of sight behind some buildings.
Oh well. Might as well go see what’s happening. And hopefully someone will have seen Uncle, Robert thought as he began a light jog towards the village.
A few minutes later, and he regretted ever getting up that morning. For the crowd was watching his uncle slaughter a cow in the village green while wearing a shabby black cloak with hastily attached feathers to it. Robert’s face drained of blood in horror, then filled with it in shame, and he briefly considered leaving. But no, he had promised his mother that he’d keep his Uncle out of too much trouble and, well…
Actually, he had no idea what he was going to do.
Pushing his way to the front of the crowd, Robert stepped apart from it and closed half the distance to his uncle. “Uncle!”
“Ah, Robert,” his Uncle replied with a winning—or possibly manic—smile. “Good, good, you’re here. Help me butcher little Timmy here.”
Actually, now that he mentioned it, Robert noticed that it was not a cow, but a very young steer. Wait, did he name the calf before he slaughtered it?! Robert palmed his face before any more terrible idea crossed his mind. “Uncle. What are you doing?”
“Huh?” his Uncle looked up, bewildered for just a moment, before his mask went back on. “Oh, of course, of course. Well, you see, I ran into these two fellows, most interesting gents they were, and they were telling me about these rumors spreading all through the Oster Highlands, about these—you recall seeing those specks in the sky recently? Of course you do. Well, apparently, those are supposed to be divine beasts sent by the Pantheon to keep an eye out on Creation itself. Blessing villages, slaying [Eldritches], and even rescuing [Princesses] if that one story is to be believed. Well, it turns out that a few villages that figured out that if you can appease them, you can get them to divert from their mandated course, and will come to assist. So, I figured that with that big [Troll] infestation we can’t get rid of, I’d call them down and ask for their help.”
Robert had begun to massage of his temples somewhere around “rumors,” and only deepened the massage as the monologue had continued. “Uncle… No. We don’t need some bird-brained idea of yours to, to—how did you describe it? No, no, I’m not even entertaining the idea. Uncle,” Robert clapped his hands. “The Williamson twins are expected back in the village next week. They’re the youngest gold-ranked adventurers that the District has had in a generation, and will be more than enough to handle a couple of [Trolls].”
“But, but I—” Uncle stuttered, then whipped his head around and up. “They’re here,” he breathed, then started leaping back and forth, flapping his cloak about him.
As Robert (and the crowd) followed Uncle’s gaze, he saw the black pinpricks of two raptors soaring high overhead. They seemed like they would continue unabated, until they suddenly rolled, tucked, and began to dive towards the village. Robert was surprised, but still not impressed until he noticed that the pinpricks continued growing and growing in size as they approached. His eyes widened ever so slightly in amazement when the pair spread their wings to halt and land gently, their wingspans more than two horses long. As they perched on the ground before his Uncle and his offering, he saw that even standing, they were nearly as tall as Uncle, but far wider and longer.
These were no mere raptors.
----------------------------------------
Anthony—Uncle to his dear nephew, Robert—was agape as these two magnificent sky kings landed before him and his offering, staring him down with the glare of an apex predator.
“Oh great sky kings, this humble village…” Anthony began.
“Yes, my lords, I thought that a veal offering would be best to…” Anthony continued addressing the birds ignoring him.
“Well, you see my lords, we are having a bit of a [Troll] problem and…”
“Umm, yes, my lords, I can hear you just fine. Well, in my head mind you. Not—“
Anthony was cut off as Edea hopped right in front of him and brought her foot-long, blood-covered beak right in front of Anthony’s now blood-drained face. She stared into his eyes and he felt like his own soul was being judged.
“Y-yes.”
“Yes?”
Edea squawked lightly, hopping back a step.
Rhys abandoned the offering to approach Anthony as well.
“Umm, my name is Anthony, lord. [Human]. And I… do not know?”
Several moments passed with nobody communicating.
“What? You can speak?” Robert responded.
“Verily. Mine company and I were discoursing with this gentleman with a Skill of mind-speak. That dost not work on thou. And so, pray, will thou answer the query?”
“You’re pretty scary, but I’ve met my ma.” Robert said confidently, then idly noted that the big bird wore a small backpack.
“Ah, verily. Motherhood.”
“Why do you speak funny?”
“I do not speak funny. My manner of speaking is proper [Ostesh], which, pray, is rank forty. Fi. Thou dost—“
“Forty!”
“Pray, do not interrupt young one. As I was saying, thou dost raise a riddle. For we are mutually understanding of each other, and so it is still [Ostesh]. Yes, yet a few millennia past and so different doth the tongue diverge. Riddle indeed.” Rhys ◐ concluded.
Edea replied privately.
> Ding!
>
> You have received the [Village Blessing of Rhys] (ultra rare): HP and MP recovery are tripled. Your ability to learn new Skills or rank up existing Skills is increased by 75%. Expires in three days.
As the villagers marveled at their notifications, Anthony was the first to recover. “I thank you my lords for this blessing. However, this was not the purpose for which we sought to capture your attention.”
“Pray, and what was that?” Edea asked.
“We have a bit of a monster problem you see. Five [Trolls] have encamped at a cave a few kilometers from here and have been troublesome for months.”
“Solely [Trolls], verily? That is a simple enough boon to also grant.” Edea then turned her head back to the unintimidated child. “Pray, child, what is your name?”
“Robert, ma’am.”
“Pray Robert, what is thy Class and combat capability? We would be glad to share the Experience with you.”
Robert raised an eyebrow at that. “I haven’t Classed yet. But I’m planning on being a [Farmer]. And no fighting Skills.”
“How disappointing. And truly none? How would thou fight off [Goblins] or [Kobolds]?”
“[Goblins]? Haven’t had any [Goblins] for a century, ever since the [Gobbertons] came through. Anything else… I’d get the village to help.”
Edea hummed to herself, which ended up more trill-like than she cared, then turned to the crowd. “Doth anyone else wish to join mine party to smite the [Trolls] and gain Experience?” The crowd remained silently, a few slowly shaking their heads in the negative. “Truly? Well then. Robert, would thou care to observe? Shall I issue thee a quest?”
> Ding!
>
> Edea has issued you a Quest: Accompany her and observe her might as she slays the nearby band of trolls troubling this village.
>
> Reward: 500 XP.
>
> Penalty for failure: Edea is disappointed in you.
>
> Penalty for refusal: Mockery by a bird.
“You can do that?! But System Quests are supposed to be for epic adventurers not… errands?”
“’Tis one of my many secrets. So, are thou coming?”
“What about my Uncle?” Robert asked, pointing at Anthony, who had wandered off with Rhys ◐ to the far side of the green. “Oh, he? My partner shall keep him company until we return. Come, climb onto my back and wrap your arms around my neck.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You can fly with me on there? I’m not exactly an [Elf].”
“But of course. One does not reach the third tier by being weak.”
Robert shuddered at the casual reference to third tier. If that was true, well, maybe Robert’s ma wasn’t quite as intimidating.
----------------------------------------
Any negative doubts turned to exhilaration as Edea ◮ careened with Robert across the valley’s sky. Edea mentally smirked—beaks not conducive to the humanoid gesture—but decided it had been long enough. “Young Robert,” she called. “I believe thou were to give directions.”
“Huh,” Robert yelped. “Oh, right,” then turned his head around, orienting himself. “You see that mountain,” he pointed, holding on carefully. “Head that way.”
Edea banked, turning back towards the mountain in question.
“Hey, ma’am,” Robert asked. “Why was your friend wearing a backpack?”
“Oh, you noticed? Few do, even up close. Illusion enchantments. Are thou certain you wish to be a [Farmer]?”
“Well, sure. It’s been in the family a long time. And ever since the agricultural revolution, it’s been a (remarkable) Class, which is pretty good.”
“Agricultural revolution?”
“You haven’t heard of that?”
“I am a bird.”
“Oh yeah. Well, supposedly happened back during my grandpa’s grandpa’s time. Back then, [Farmer] was (common) which could be real hard on those Classed into it. Couldn’t grow that much food, and couldn’t get the towns and cities to pay enough. Fewer kids were Classing into it, and you even had the occasional [Farmer] give up the Class and the XP for better prospects.
Then, one day, whabam! It flipped over to (uncommon) for everyone. Food production boomed, city populations boomed, but [Farmer] incomes stagnated, then fell as we overproduced. Lost an entire generation of kids who skipped being a [Farmer] and there were even more stories about failed [Farmers] giving up the Class. The oldest [Farmers] died, the middle-aged became old, and just as they were starting to die off,
Whabam! The Class flopped to (remarkable). It was too late for the old one’s productions to increase more individually, but as the generation died off, food prices climbed again. With the recovered incomes and the (remarkable) Class, a generation of youngsters picked it up again. And once the oldest generation died off, they found themselves wealthier than a lot of town and city folk.”
“Remarkable, indeed. You seem well-informed for a village boy. So, where is our destination now, Robert?”
“Loop around the mountain about a quarter way around. I’ll point out where they’ve been camping.”
“Ah, I see them now. Hold on tight, dear Robert.”
“Aaaah!”
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Being reincarnated as an animal, while retaining most of their sapience, was both difficult and easy for the pair to deal with. On the one hand, they had a freedom of action that would make [Philosophers]—naturally antagonist to societal pressures—drool in excitement. On the other hand, they literally had no one to talk to except each other unless, like Bo and Bella, those chose to associate themselves with a society.
And so it was, with a few cracks, that Amen ◐ and Pamu ◮ were reborn as [East Ayres Falcons] (rare) in, naturally, the eastern part of The Ayres. Born in adjacent clutches, they were quite sure they were third or fourth cousins but, well, birds for all their vocalizations didn’t have much to say.
Of course, then the mama birds returned.
And while being in the body of a bird helped, there was only so much they could do. After two weeks, the pair juiced themselves to adolescence with [Magical Growth], got [System Access], and hopped the coop.
Their parents returning to see the two chicks gone, assumed that the chicks were unfit, and were glad to be rid of them.
Putting several kilometers behind them, the pair—well, Amen—used stone magic to dig out a woodpecker style den in the side of another cliff face, while Pamu requisitioned some furs for bedding. And, after settling in, the first thing both did was buy one of the strangest perks:
> [Early System Access] (F): You will now have access to the System from birth, but will still Class at the usual maturity for your species. Who would even buy this Trait?
While getting System access in two weeks this life wasn’t too bad, they had cheated by accelerating their own growth habit. Really, reflecting on their past lives made them realize that as much as they didn’t need System Access at birth, it would simplify things.
The second thing they did, with that aforementioned [Philosopher] drool-inducing freedom, was replicate Nameless’ totally broken XP scheme for Pamu by not leveling up Pamu while killing beasts 30, 40, even 50 levels above them. Of course, with [Bond Balance], that meant Amen couldn’t level either without slowing them both down, but the risk paid off. It took almost a year, but when they were done, Pamu went Classed and went straight to level 101 in both Race and Class, grabbing those powerful Traits that Amen already had:
> [There Is No Queue] (F): You have jumped your Race directly from Level 0 to Level 51 and your first tier up, bypassing all before it. Obtain XP at 2x. Additional options unlocked.
>
> [No Interference] (F): You have jumped your Race directly from Level 51 to Level 101 and your second tier up, after immediately earning [There Is No Queue]. You’re a complete beast. Obtain XP at 8x. Additional options unlocked. Sapients trying to interfere with you will find it 50% more difficult to do so.
>
> [A Choice in Class] (F): You Classed and uptiered twice in the same day. Spend XP and SKP to preview your next Class selections and learn the missing prerequisites for any Class with only one missing prerequisite.
Curiously, [No Interference], which had been (unique) for Amen, was only (fantastic) for Pamu, and then a moment later, Amen received a notification that [No Interference] was downgraded to (fantastic), though without a change in effect.
Both of them evolved their Race from [East Ayres Falcon] (Ra) to [Slayres Raptor] (UR) then to [Ager Eagle] (F), a task which required a quick remodeling to make more room in their cliff cave.
Pamu couldn’t use [A Choice in Class] this life, but Amen finally could and he did so. First, he used it in order to get an initial Class—[Wild Blue Mage] (UR)—that was a step rarer than the [Sky Mage] (VR) he once had as a [Wyvern]. Then, in tiering up, he got [Empyrean Mage] (F), and then [Jovian Mage] (U), both being essentially higher forms of [Sky Mage].
He was a bird after all.
Pamu on the other hand—the renowned melee combatant—selected [Sky Mage] (VR), the look on Amen’s bird face totally worth it.
After the cawing laughter finally ended, she pointed out that some wind magic would be good for birds, and then tiered up the Class into more physical directions with [Arcane Monk] (UR) and [Judge Above] (F).
Finally, after a year, they decided to name each other.
Pamu declared, picking an old [Elven] male name, which the System adopted.
Amen ◐—now Rhys ◐—was grooming his lucky feather on his right wing, an avian tic that he was thinking hard.
After an hour of the two examining each other and concluding they had no idea how to tell if they were male or female, they went with plan B: disable any interfering Traits and consume overripe fruit until they were drunk and their animal instincts took over.
One awkward coupling later, and figuring that Rhys was male and Pamu ◮ was now female, he declared, picking an old [Elven] female name for her ◮.
The two lazed about for a few months until the big question came.
And with that they left.
A week later, after countless hours staring down at the ground far below them and wishing she had maps this good when she was ground-bound, Edea realized something so hard that she would have facepalmed if she had the right anatomy.
----------------------------------------
“So, uh, what’s in the bag?” Anthony asked awkwardly. He had just withstood an extended interrogation by the third-tier [Ager Eagle] named Rhys about how he could hear Rhys’ brain-talk to his partner. And, well, it had been silent now for several minutes.
“[Cartographers]?”
“Oh. So, uhh, what are you mapping?”
“Well, clearly, but what part?”
“The whole world?! But how do you cross the oceans?”
“Oh, right, I forgot,” he trailed off lamely. “So… how’s it going?”
[https://i.imgur.com/F312y0D.jpg]
As Anthony gazed upon a map of the entirety of Ager for the first time, a tear welled up in one eye, soon rolling down his cheek. “It’s beautiful,” he declared.
“I never would have thought I’d have seen all of Creation at once.”
----------------------------------------
Indeed, Edea’s idea soon after leaving was to make maps. She had the [Cartography] Skill already, and both of them had keen senses and other Skills related to geography. And so, after a brief incident where they robbed a bandit and then used the bandit’s funds to rob involuntarily purchase supplies from a stationer’s store, the pair began a slow hopping grid across The Ayres, creating both a world map and a series of regional maps.
A year for The Ayres.
A year for Slanemore.
Two years for the ocean east.
Two years for the ocean south.
A year for Breibone.
Two years for the ocean west.
Two years and counting for Eurial, perhaps for a total of three years.
Eleven years had passed and perhaps another year until they were done.
And then what? They had no means for money, no matter how lavishly they would be paid. No, instead, they had been dropping off regional maps at major cities, academies and libraries throughout their travels. And once the global map was done—no, not done, the [Dragons] at The Top of the World were wholly disagreeable—they planned to do another quick visit to drop off a copy of that as well. Without needing to move in a grid pattern—and knowing now where the major centers of learning were—they’d be able to move quickly, even around the world as they had planned.
----------------------------------------
“Travel? Travel... That is most wise my lord. I will take you up on the suggestion.”
“As you say my lord,” Anthony replied, as Edea ◮ landed before them, Robert sliding off her back. “How was the hunt?”
“The hunt was a fair thing,” Edea replied verbally. “They died quickly.”
“It was incredible!” Robert beamed. “She took them all out with but a single strike each.”
“Well, but of course my dear. I should hope I would indeed. Still want to be a [Farmer]?”
“Absolutely. But I’ll think about it,” Robert replied with a shit-eating grin.
“Well, I’m glad you had a good time, Robert,” Anthony said. “Thank you lady Edea for your assistance. And to you lord Rhys for showing me Creation.”
“’Twas no trouble at all. But we shall be off. Be sure to use that blessing while you still have it,” Rhys replied as he took off, blasting air around the two [Humans] and the other bystanders.
“Goddess be with you,” Edea called as she in turn followed.
Uncle and nephew stood there on the village green as the two disappeared out of sight.
----------------------------------------
A year later, Edea ◮ was putting the final touches on their master copy of the global map, when she got a notification.
> Ding!
>
> You have received the Trait: [The First Global Mapmaker] (U): For successfully mapping the entirety of Ager, receive a +15% bonus to INT.
> Ding!
>
> You have received the Trait: [The First Global Mapmaker’s Assistant] (F): For assisting in the successful mapping of the entirety of Ager, receive a +5% bonus to INT.
----------------------------------------
With the map completed, the pair began to make copies and distribute them as planned. If their random bouts of kindness and [Eldritch] slaying weren’t enough to earn them a myth or two, the appearance of the global maps—enchanted by Rhys into Objects for preservation, durability, and authentication to those with the right Skill—would have been. Throughout Eurial—and then, in time, each of the other continents and inhabited islands—bewildered but excited academics, adventurers and statesmen all began to ponder where to go.
----------------------------------------
A year of distribution finally found the pair return to their mountain range of birth in The Ayres. There actually were a handful of [Ager Eagles] in the area, but they kept fairly small territories and the duo were quick to locate a good spot to settle down in. A dozen years of work and they were keen for a bit of retirement.
And maybe raise a chick.
Squawk, squawk!
As much as they enjoyed being parents again, there was something a little melancholy about having a non-sapient child. She was perfectly healthy as an [East Ayres Falcon], and if anything their superior parentage gave her a big wing-up on the other members of her generation, but it was still deeply uncanny.
Once she left the nest with a relatively flamboyant male adolescent, the pair vowed to never again have animal offspring.
And so, once again, they settled down into an even quieter retirement.
Not too quiet though. After an awkward introduction or two—being mistaken for monsters was common—they found themselves serving as guardian elders for a handful of nearby [Garuda] and [Rabbitkin] villages. They killed beasts and [Eldritch], showed up for the festivals, and blessed the babies and the villages. Though there were no epics—neither heroes born nor ferocious enemies slain—in one small part of The Ayres, another set of legends were being carved into the hearts of the people there.
To the duo, their reasoning was more visceral. If they could not have children to care for, then they would care for all the people.
And thus the years passed until that oddly-familiar final ding graced them once more.
----------------------------------------