Starling woke to the sound of rain hitting the tin roof of their tower. The sounds made them smile, rain meant a quiet morning where they could stay in bed and not feel guilty. After a couple of seconds of self indulgence they realised the sound wasn’t right, and then their memory came flooding back in a deluge of emotion and imagery, washing away the sleepy feeling and replacing it with one of mild concern.
They weren’t in their tower, they were in a shelter, dry and warm after setting it up during the previous night. In fact, dry, warm and comfortable. Starling opened their eyes slowly, surprised to find a warm, reddish light was filtering through the leaves above them,. The drumming noise they were hearing was rain on their shelter roof, which was now coated in a thin layer of the red crystalised sap that was common to most plants here. It had sealed with the leaves of the branches overnight while they slept making for a water and windproof roof under which they were now lying. This layer had trapped their body heat, making the shelter warm and comfortable to be inside. As Starling lay on what had been hastily swept ground yesterday they realised there was a softness against their bare skin, and their joints weren’t sore and stiff from lying on hard ground. In fact the ground had molded and shaped itself to Starling’s sleeping position while they slept, and a strange unknown moss had grown around and under them, cushioning them and stopping the ground from leeching their body heat.
[Foundation Aspect: Temporary Site Ascended to Permanent]
[Local ████████ Link Established]
[Convergence Point Resonance Initiated]
[Trait Unlocked: Site Attunement]
- Always aware of direction and distance to established sites
Wow, who needs a compass?
Starling could feel the trait already. Home was now *here* and they could feel it in the same way that they knew their fingers were all on their hands. It was part of them in a way that felt like it had always been part of them.
On that note, I should probably actually look at my status screen or whatever, in detail.
Starling took a deep breath and called up the Status screen, selecting the mental option for the full detailed list. Their vision cascaded with information, and it took a coulple of seconds to assimilate what they were seeing and start to digest it.
[Name: Starling]
[Level: Beginner]
[Status: Alive - Rested]
[Core Stats]
[Health: Full (Warning, class restrictions prevent full Health Details from being displayed)
[████: ███ (Warning, current class restrictions prevent full ████ Details from being displayed)]
[Stamina: Full (Warning, class restrictions prevent full Stamina Details from being displayed)]
[Class: Convergence Point]
[Aspect Manifesting: Foundation]
[Additional Aspects: ███████]
[Primary Focus: Create stable foundations for future growth]
[Warning: This Class has Action Restrictions]
[Status: Active/Developing]
[Note: Structures naturally improve over time]
[Current Known Limitations: Cannot harm living creatures]
[Hidden Potential: ████████]
[Traits Unlocked: Site Attunement]
[Core Attributes] (Detailed View)
[Physical:]
[Strength: 8 (Base)]
* Lifting Capacity: 45kg
* Construction Material Handling: Basic
* Current Status: Stable
* Growth Potential: Average
[Agility: 12 (+2 from past experiences)]
* Movement Speed: Above Average
* Balance: Enhanced
* Climbing Ability: Advanced
* Growth Potential: High
[Endurance: 11 (+1 from past experiences)]
* Stamina Recovery: +1/hour
* Physical Resistance: Moderate
* Current Status: Stable
* Growth Potential: Above Average
[Dexterity: 13 (+1 from past experiences)]
* Fine Motor Control: Advanced
* Construction Precision: Enhanced
* Tool Handling: Skilled
* Growth Potential: High
Good well rounded physical stats. If this really was a video game I think it would probably lean into some sort of sneaky acrobatic character rather than a sword swinging adrenaline fueled murder hobo.
[Mental:]
[Intelligence: 14 (+2 from professional training)]
* Problem Solving: Advanced
* Pattern Recognition: Enhanced
* Learning Speed: Accelerated
* Technical Understanding: Advanced
* Growth Potential: Very High
[Wisdom: 8 (-2 Compromised by past experiences)]
* Decision Making: Impaired
* Risk Assessment: Conflicted
* Current Status: Recovering
* Note: Past trauma affects judgment
* Growth Potential: Blocked (Requires Healing)
[Focus: 15 (+3 from past experiences)]
* Attention Span: Extended
* Detail Recognition: Superior
* Skill Efficiency: Enhanced
* Current Status: Peak
* Growth Potential: Exceptional
[Negative Effects:]
* Hyperfixation: May disregard environmental threats when engaged in task
* Sensory Overload: Extended skill use can cause mental fatigue and disorientation
Hyperfixation and Sensory Overload? How come my most developed and powerful stats have downsides? Surely the bigger the number the better right?
[Creativity: 12 (+1 from personal interests)]
* Problem Solving: Enhanced
* Design Innovation: Above Average
* Adaptation: Flexible
* Growth Potential: High
Emotional:
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[Willpower: 16 (+4 from past experience)]
* Mental Resistance: Superior
* Determination: Exceptional
* Task Completion: Enhanced
* Crisis Response: Peak
* Growth Potential: Maximized
Negative Effects:
* Destructive Persistence: Continues tasks despite physical harm or warning signs
* Suppression Response: Uses Willpower to mask trauma rather than heal
Destructive Persistence? Suppression Response? Why am I being punished for being good at what I do? Masking trauma? Who am I hiding it from exactly? I’m on my own here aren’t I?
[Trust: 6 (-2 Compromised by past experiences)]
* Social Connections: Impaired
* Cooperation: Limited
* Current Status: Severely Damaged
* Note: Trauma significantly impacts interactions
* Growth Potential: Blocked (Requires Healing)
[Empathy: 8 (-2 Compromised by past experiences)]
* Social Awareness: Reduced
* Connection Capacity: Limited
* Current Status: Damaged
* Note: Self-imposed isolation affects growth
* Growth Potential: Blocked (Requires Healing)
[Leadership: 7 (-2 Compromised by past experiences)]
* Command Presence: Suppressed
* Group Coordination: Limited
* Current Status: Severely Damaged
* Note: Past failure impacts confidence
* Growth Potential: Blocked (Requires Healing)
-----
[Active Skills]
* Environmental Awareness (Intermediate)
* Physical Assessment (Novice)
* Natural Climbing (Novice)
* Wilderness Navigation (Novice)
* Basic Construction (Novice)
[Purpose: Create. Build. Improve.]
[Note: Mental state directly influences attribute effectiveness]
[Warning: Some attributes locked by psychological barriers]
[Opportunity: Personal growth may unlock restricted potential]
Starling read through the statistics floating in front of them. Proud of the Physical and Mental attributes. It was when they got to the Emotional ones that the world flipped on them.
Leadership: 7 (-2 Compromised)
Compromised…
Compromised…
----
“Would you say that your operation was compromised, Starling?”
The harsh white light from the bulbs overhead flooded the nearly empty sterile room with a flat ugly light. The Air Conditioning was up too high, making it feel cold, unfriendly and the hair on Starlings arms stood up. It made the air taste stale and old. The seat Starling was sitting in was hard and unyielding, the metal cold to the touch, they were sure it was lower than the ones the people across from them were sitting on as well, forcing Starling to look up at them across the room. Their faces were hard to make out, somehow shadowed even in the harsh light. All except for Dr Chen.
Starling gripped their hands together tightly under the table.
Dr Chen leaned forward, and Starling realised they were waiting for an answer.
“I followed protocol.” Starling was startled at the tone of their reply. Argumentative, defensive, spat out like something that tasted foul.
Dr Chen sat back and raised their eyebrows behind their glasses.
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
She looked down at the pad in front of her and wrote a note, pen scraping loudly across the paper in the quietness of the room. The only other sound was the hum of the air circulation.
Starling gripped their hands tighter.
Someone else leaned forward, the face of Captain Walsh revealed itself. The wise old expert looked concerned, his face creased into a frown. His usually clean shaven face showed several days worth of stubble growth.
“Starling, your team trusted your judgement.”
Starling bit back a reply and took a breath.
“That was their mistake.”
The frown on the captain’s face deepened.
“Why do you say that?”
Before Starling could reply there was a loud scraping noise as another of the shadowed figures stood up abruptly, revealing the young face of Lt Rameriez, their once friend and member of the same training cadre.
Starlings hands were hurting from gripping so tight.
“Walk us through your decision process” Martinez barked.
“I followed protocol. I deferred to senior judgement. I was wrong.”
“Wrong about following protocol?”
“Wrong about trusting judgement over instinct.”
Captain Walsh leaned forward again and put up a hand to stop Rameriez saying anything else.
“Your technical decisions during the operation were sound,” he said, almost kindly.
“Technical decisions don’t bring people home.” Starling replied acidly.
A flash of pain brought Starling back to the present, they were gripping their hands so tightly they had cramped up. Suddenly they were back in the shelter, nestled in the moss, safe and warm from the rain.
“Crap.”
I thought I had pushed that right down. Damn it, I can’t go back to having panic attacks and thinking about that damn tribunal all the time. That mission.
Starling opened and closed their cramped hands, making fists and then relaxing them to try and shake off both the physical pain and the memory. The rain continued its steady drumming on the crystallized sap above a noise that would be comforting if they had a blanket, cup of coffee and a book.
Speaking of coffee, Starling realised they were famished. Water was easy to deal with but food was a problem they hadn’t solved yet. Reaching into their pocket they took out the jerky they had stolen from the clearing last night, remembering guiltily they had snatched it right as they had left.
Delicious, old gamey dry meat. What I wouldn’t give for some cereal and fresh orange juice right now.
The meat was hard, chewy, salty. Starling could feel the fibers catch in their teeth and they grimaced, knowing that working those offending pieces out could take days without a proper way to care for their teeth.
Another thing to add to the list, a toothbrush - and floss.
With a wry smile they forced them to roll out of the cosy hollow under their shelter, marveling at how comfortable it was. Already looking forward to getting back in there at the end of the day. Starling thought back to the last time they had slept in a shelter like that, how cold the ground had been and how stiff and sore their joints had felt when they had woken from what had been a sleep of exhaustion rather than comfort. In comparison the bed of moss was like sleeping in a hotel for the night. If this was how their powers manifested in a basic shelter, how would they contribute to an actual hut?
Already their mind was working, it looked like they would be stuck in this strange place for the foreseeable future, so it made sense to start planning a more suitable structure. Hopefully they could find some flint or other sharp rock to split and use as an axe, they could cut and dry some of the strange leathery wood and see how it would do for logs. Judging by this strange resinous sap they might dry very quickly if left off the ground and out of the rain.
Their stomach rumbled, reminding them that all they had eaten since beans on toast was a handful of gamey jerky. They needed to find some food and find a way to make it sustainable.
At least I have fresh water.
Starling knelt down and scooped some of the absolutely crystal clear water out of the natural mossy bowl that held it near the strange inscribed stones. It was ice cold, but delicious, and extremely refreshing.
Ok, it doesn’t beat orange juice but damn that is pretty close.
Starling cast an appraising eye over down hillside while they supped on handfuls of fresh water. The golden familiar style sun was cresting the top of the mountain, and it seemed like this slope was going to get the best of its light for at least the morning, if not the whole day. For a second Starling saw the whole side of the hill covered in small fields, growing different vegetables.
If I could find some edible plants, maybe a garden isn’t a bad idea. Not that I have ever managed to keep a plant alive before, at least not one that wasn’t made of little plastic pieces that fit together.
It was a nice image, something to work towards, then their concentration was interrupted. As a noise cut through the still morning air, something that Starling had heard before.Someone was screaming for help, down in the woods below.