While the World System can quantify an absolute value for the mind, only the whole world over time can qualify the value of a mind. ~Unknown scholar of the early system era.
Guildmaster Grey’s pale eyes glanced from the dossier he was skimming to the recruit in question. This interview was on the side of a stone block highway miles between their homes. The rolling plains were full of grass twice Grey’s height and more so for Deliv. She was wrapped up in black cloth that seemed to extend toward the shadows of their own accord. Stealth was a fine property for protection but it would fail and when the hit came could she take it?
Grey stored the dossier in the overcoat of his leather armor the memory of a beast’s strike rolling through his mind. “Nice to meet you Miss Soteria.”
“You as well Sir.” She nodded her head toward him. Reserved and respectful.
Tempus pati. Grey thought to himself. It was a shortened form of “immortales haber tempus pati.” Popularized by the most influential intellectual of the immortal era. It meant something like immortals have time to suffer. A cautionary tale for those who would stir up trouble given how long it could haunt ones self. While Deliv was clearly schooled in the good manners that this phrase encouraged, Grey had to get through her civility to find out who she really was.
Change of pace then. Walking into the tall grass Grey directed his awareness inward. The core of Grey was like the core of most people. A bubble of space that generated mind power. Manifestation of a soul, the residence of the mind outside the brain, theories abounded to it’s nature but one didn’t have to know what it was to use it. Awareness passing through the membrane like layer he tapped into his mind power. The foggy white material responded as an extension of himself.
From his core he moved rivulets of this power into a force type casting around himself. The shell of force began to press back at the tall grass surrounding him, bowing it away from his moving form. Grey added edges to the shell. Watching the grass begin to cut away from the barrier sliding down its side fibers splayed out, clearly he could improve on making it sharper. Good enough though. To finish this casting Grey expanded the shell. Growing in size with each step he poured the will power of his mind into this effort. By the time he was done he had cleared enough flatland to put a house in.
Rather than letting the bladed shell of force casting dissolve he took what remained and broke it down himself. From a solid force casting back into his mind power. With a large casting like this he was able to return a sizable amount of power and nestle it back in his core. For what he had planned he may need it.
Deliv waited at the edge of the boundary for the barrier to disappear. Seeing it fade she asked. “May I approach.”
“Let’s play a game for that. We’ll call it Guildmaster says.” Grey said. “Guildmaster says, give me a good answer to get closer. Are you ready to approach?”
Deliv nodded her tilted head. “I think so.”
“Good answer, one step closer.” Seeing her follow Grey continued. “Why are you here?”
“I’m interviewing for a place in your class.” Deliv said.
“Correct, One step closer. But why my class?” Grey asked.
“Ah… I don’t know.” Deliv said
“Wrong. One step back. You are doing so because you were told to.” Grey watched her closely. Looking for any sign of how she handled blunt corrections. Nothing yet but it was early.
“Tell me who you are.” Grey asked with a pleasant smile.
“I am Deliv Soteria of the Soteria Origin. Awakened and ready to start harvesting.” She said. It as like watching her talk to herself in the mirror. Practiced, something she felt comfortable with.
“Wrong, one step back.” Grey paused, again watching her. Deliv’s eyes widened and the trace of something more, maybe anger, was quickly hidden. That damn mummy wrap made it hard to read anything but her eyes. “The question was tell me who you are. Subject is you. Not the things around you. Your name belongs to others who call you it, the Origin you call home is not who you are, and ready to start harvesting is my call.”
“Tell me who you are.” Grey repeated.
“I don’t know how to answer that question.” Deliv said with a confidence that didn’t match the fear Grey caught from her. Fear… fear of failure then, or fear of not knowing herself? Either was a decent thing for a harvester to have.
“Good answer, one step closer. Let’s find you an answer to who you are then. Have you met love yet?”
“Yes, I love my mom and dad.”
“One step closer.”
“Have you met hate yet.”
“Yes.”
“One step closer.”
Too much of a rhythm going he would have to change it again before too long. Adapting quickly was another decent trait for a harvester a point on her favor even if it made his job harder.
“Have you dedicated yourself to anything?”
“Yes, the Origin of Soteria. Security and protection, I will be a guardian in the dark.” Conviction was in her voice but would it translate into her actions?
“Would you kill for it?”
“I already have.” Her steady gaze held his. Matter of fact tone assuring him that she wouldn’t be overly squeamish at the slaughter harvesting could be.
“Would you die for it?”
“…I don’t know. I’d like to say I would but how would I really know for sure?”
“Would you die to protect those you love?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Guess we see now where your dedication really lies. Four steps forward, dedicated daughter and killer. Now that you have told me who you are…” Grey tapped his chin. “Guildmaster says, show me who you are.”
Grey drew his sword with his right hand and with a small crafting of mind power pulled the round shield from his back to his left arm. Sockets he could channel mind power into left unused. The power he could unleash with them was more than he could easily control and if he hurt Deliv the Origin of Soteria would return it on him many fold over. Plus this was only an interview.
From the folds of her black wrappings she drew a polished pink dagger. Grey felt her awareness expanding through his own like a bull in a porcelain shop. Probably unaware his awareness was already there monitoring. Mind power spooled out from her into disks on the grass around the whole clearing. Pillars of darkness sprang up from them, the effervescent material breaking into wisps curling in eddies of air that didn’t exist. The motion at the edges of his vision and at the edges of each pillar did a good job of playing with his imagination.
Worry hit Grey for a moment. This strategy was good. Create a home field advantage and strike from stealth. If she beat him here, how would he justify to her that he would be a good teacher and leader? Pushing the distractions away he flexed his awareness. Rippling an obvious wave of awareness from himself Grey used it to tear away at the disks closest to him. Manipulating solid mind power was harder than it’s raw cloudy form, this effort was made even more strenuous because her mind power started with her imprint. Imprinted mind power would fight any will but the imprinted one. He continued anyway this process was one he had specialized in… ever since the incident.
Flexing the disk caused a crack to run through it’s structure. From the crack it began to leak the cloudy material of mind power. Grey paused his destruction for a moment to sample it. He did a double take. Light and fluffy? You could only learn so much from the imprint a person naturally left on their own mind power but it generally communicated the broad strokes of a person. Grey grinned. She was more than the dark and broody cut outs Grey expected members of her Origin to be. If he wasn’t convinced she made the cut yet this made him sure, now he had to earn her.
With more pressure he flexed the three closest disks until they shattered. The fragments spreading dark trails as they expended what remained of their power. Grey collected the clouds of mind power within his awareness an almost thoughtless habit he began to overwrite her imprint with one of his own.
The whole time he tested her display of field casting he observed Deliv’s efforts to move to a hidden striking position. She stole around the edge of the clearing to get behind him. Long threads of power lead to where she started her casting from and it may have fooled him if he hadn’t already spread awareness across the whole field.
Reaching further from himself he began flexing the next set of disks. These resisted him. Deliv was holding them together. Grey turned a nearby cloud of mind power he controlled into a spike. With no type it passed harmlessly through the air not even rippling the shadow of the pillar. The shadow node that told Grey where she was attacking from was began to move in toward his back. Grey had to make this quick. Lifting the spike further in the air to give it room to gain momentum Grey forced himself to take the time to do it right.
Heart thrumming Grey realized she was gaining speed. Deliv knew that at some point she would enter his awareness and wanted to get to him fast enough he wouldn’t have time to react. No more time left he drove the spike down at the shadow plate. All the while flexing harder. Not with all his strength but enough to make her struggle harder, focus more. Then the spike hit.
Mind shock had to have hit her. She was using a significant amount of her awareness on that disk, linking her mind to the material of the disk by the same amount. Driving apart that mind linked material would feel like a spike to the skull. It may be a dirty trick but nothing she wouldn’t recover from.
A heavy footfall and the sound of cracking grass stalks drew his attention to the side.
The moving node of strings coming at his back was a decoy. No not just a decoy. It was a decoy casting a decoy to where she first started her casting. If the pain of mind shock hadn’t made her slip up she would have got the drop on him.
A shudder ran through Grey at how close he came to proving he wasn’t worthy to call himself a guildmaster. No more leaving chances to fail.
Charging forward in a low stance he bashed his shield up into the pillar he’d heard the noise from. Rewarded with a meaty thump and resistance of a slender body being driven into the air, Grey pressed forward to the other side where he could see again. Deliv’s feet hadn’t found the ground yet. This was the enhanced strength Grey had purchased from the World System showing it’s worth. Thrusting his sword forward Grey checked the sword short of her black wraps.
“Thank you for showing me what you can do.” Grey lowered his sword and returned the round shield to his back.
Stowing her dagger away as well she asked. “So am I good enough to join your guild?”
Grey let a pause grow. Uncertainty had a way of making people want something more. As if they could will it from unknown to certain. The focus highlighted what was important. Theatrics really but Grey had lived with immortals long enough to see how crafted theatrics made a world of difference. “On one condition.”
“I am a dedicated son, brother and Guildmaster. Harvester of farms and guide to killing… I’m also a child compared to every other Guildmaster. I only have a decade of harvesting under my belt. The rest of the Guildmasters have centuries more experience than I. In some ways I’m as much a child to this as your are. I want you to choose for yourself without regard to the choice your Origin made for you. Knowing there are better out there than me do you choose to follow my lead and learn what I teach? You are good enough for my guild but am I a good enough Guildmaster for you? What is your choice?
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“Dedicated Guildmaster, would you really kill for your guild?” Deliv asked softly.
“No. But for my guild members I already have.” Grey held her eyes.
“I understand.” Deliv paused for a thoughtful moment. Is she using theatrics now? Grey thought to himself.
“I’ll choose your guild for myself.” Deliv said.
Walking back toward the road Grey caught a dark shape on the edge of his vision. Not one of the pillars or a shadow the tall grasses cast against their neighbors. Grey should have expected this from an Origin of security. Does she even know she has a guardian tailing her?
“Welcome to Dauntless, now your introductory harvesting guild.” Grey said. “I expect to see you at the Archolt Harvesting Guildhall tomorrow morning. The guilds next harvest is the day after so you are going to be on a time crunch. Don’t compound that by being late. You will be challenged, you will work to Ascend and become an immortal, and you will face death. These things you will learn to do Dauntlessly. A word of caution though.”
Grey stopped and looked Deliv in her eyes. “I will die. As a Deadwalker, my fate is sealed it’s just a matter of time. I’ve instructed five classes before yours. Each one tried to carry me for a while or funnel gifts my way so I could grow fast enough to reach Ascension with them. It didn’t work. It won’t work and I refuse to hold anyone back anymore. When you graduate my class you will move on and become an immortal without me.”
The confusion in her eyes gave way as she accepted his words. “How can you be a Deadwalker? I though they are sickly or mentally not all there… but you are Awakened as I am.”
Grey kept the bitterness out of his voice, but it was a near thing. It wasn’t her fault or her burden and asking an innocent question wasn’t wrong. “I have a rare World System health condition. It keeps me from processing essence effectively. If that was all I’d simply be behind the curve or expensive to Ascend, but unfortunately that isn’t all. The more essence I process the less efficient it becomes. I haven’t been able to afford an enhancement for my mind or body in over a year now. I’m sure it is weird to think of someone so much like you as a Deadwalker but I assure you I know what I am. You aren’t like me. You have an endless future and some day that path will take you away from where I am. Calling graduation that day just helps the both of us. If you can’t handle that then tomorrow will be your time to make it final or not.”
What Grey could see of Deliv’s cheeks rounded out with what could only be a big smile. “Now I’m sure this is where I belong. I’ll see you tomorrow Guildmaster. Is there anything else?”
“Nothing that can’t wait for another day.” Grey said. “Farewell Miss Soteria.”
They parted ways on the highway. Grey going north Deliv south. Both to get ready for the next day.
As Grey picked up speed on the stone block road he checked his status by the Words System. Using the power began to drain a well of energy the World System stored inside him, but he didn’t need much for this. The heat on the side of his face from the sunlight cooled. Grey couldn’t see it directly himself but when he used the World System his eyes began to emit an area of darkness. Everyone had this telltale sign though the color was different from person to person.
The menus of the World System shifted at a practiced thought.
Grey Arc Current/Max Net Change Stamina 485/500
+1.1/day (jogging)
Upkeeps Air 300/300 Breathing air Food 35,229/55,000 -60/min (jogging) Water 8,674/10,000 -8/min (jogging) Sleep 4,951/5,430 -1/min ...
Close enough. Grey liked to keep his stamina topped off with usage matched to his recovery. He had a pretty good feel for how much effort matched his stamina recovery but checking with the World System let him know for sure. After so many years he didn’t have to check it was just a habit he had gotten into.
The Awakening process in some ways made it difficult for someone to understand their own body. The pre-Awakened concerns of hunger, thirst, sleep and fatigue were absent or muted until you ran out of whatever kept them at bay. Even then, running out wasn’t dangerous or crippling on its own but as time went by the weakness of a pre-Awakened body would reassert themselves. This would be particularly bad if it happened during a thirty mile an hour run across a roadway.
With powerful strides eating up the distance of the road it took Grey two hours of travel before the tall grass gave way to rolling fields covered in a multi-color carpet of wild flowers. Opening into view before Grey was a distant hill just short of being worthy of calling a mountain. The burial mound of the First Lord of Archolt. It was said that the first lords wife loved wild flowers and for the rest of his life after her death the First Lord grew them in honor of her. Now even in death they grew for miles around their tomb.
Running through the outer territory of the Origin he called home Grey wondered about what Origin he would make if he could. All Origins were limited based on the idea they embodied. This home territory was the absolute force within their borders but only held a fraction of it’s power outside. None of the Managers told him what the core idea was but he could vaguely understand that it was something like “protect the home.” While the strength wasn’t something Grey would scoff at, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was a better core idea that would give an Origin member more power at a lower cost. With something like that he’d be able to fight above his weight further. Maybe even catch up to the curve of power one was expected to accumulate if they were to Ascend.
And there it was. Coming back down to Earth Grey shook his head. He would never be able to make an Origin, that was the domain of the Ascendants. If his resistance to essence stayed the same as it was now he wouldn’t ascend until his late eighties. That was assuming he could keep fighting monsters at a respectable rate until his eighties. The Awakened body would begin to slowly degrade starting as early as forty years years old. That left a little over a decade to catch back up and reach Ascension. Already years behind and a cripple of the World System he didn’t have a chance in hell. No Ascension, no Origin, no family. Who wants to have kids with a dead man walking? Swallowing the bitterness the reminder caused Grey pressed on, he was almost home.
Reaching the inner territory at the base of the hill there was a statute of the First Lord Archolt. The likeness stood tall behind a brazier. Carved with a stern scowl the unblinking eyes surveyed the land and roadway in an eternal vigil.
Grey slowed and came to a stop in front of it. Folding his awareness back to his core Grey pulled out a cloud of mind power and sent it into the brazier. As the amorphous material entered the black iron cage it began to ignite. This burning didn’t have feedback to his mind. It consumed the offering without harming or taking more than given. The statue of the First Lord didn’t move but Grey got the impression of it giving him a stoic nod. This ritual of gratitude was the least Grey could do.
Passing the statute he felt an embrace over his awareness like stepping into a bubble. The territory boundary was a physical manifestation of the Origin that his early life had revolved around. Lord Archolt had been a Burner, a man who exceeded the limits of power and personal enhancement. To the point that the cost to purchase another year of longevity couldn’t be earned in a year even at the highest levels of farms. Hell, farms didn’t even describe the untamed wilds of the highest levels. The First Lord drove his power so high that the vast wealth of those virgin grounds wasn’t enough to support his metaphysical mass.
Grey smirked. He was the pale imitation of one of the most powerful men in history. Fated to die from the ravages of time but he would leave no foundation for the future. Paying the price demanded for greatness but not rewarded by the world for the unwilling sacrifice.
Crossing the invisible boundary the wild flowers on the side of the roadway gave way to a vine choking out all other plants. Sprouting flowers and juicy red fruits the vines were an endless supply of food and water. Pulling a string of vines out by the roots Grey continued toward his home. The tuber like roots were going to be crushed and baked into a spartan bread that reminded Grey very much of the people who lived here. Robust, bland and having an eternal shelf life.
Chuckling to himself Grey went to open his door. The doorways design was inspired by the mailbox at his other job. Pressing his hand to the crest of crimson fire on the center of the door Grey pushed a stream of mind power into the structure. The materials Grey chose when making it were reactive and resistive to mind power. This made putting in the right combination guesswork unless you already knew how to unlock it.
The doorway responded after the last trigger was powered and no false triggers powered. It opened as several geometric forms line, triangle, diamond, pentagon, and hexagon. Across the threshold the squat building opened into a studio home. Stepping through the portal Grey activated the mind power circuit on the wall which lit up the space. This lighting just like the darkness his eyes produced when he accessed the World System was not directional. The device built into the low grade stone walls generated this area of light.
Putting his copper sword and shield into their stands by the door with a clunk Grey passed his fingers over an emerald set in the same design. He hoped to have the power to wield these in his lifetime. Stepping into the kitchen Grey sorted his bundle of vines into tubers, fruit, and everything else. Munching on the sweet fruit he put the tubers onto a stone rack to dry. The fruit didn’t provide very much food even hundreds of them wouldn’t provide the energy in one root.
He began crushing some already dried tubers over an urn with his bare hands. This was one of the most important lessons an Origin would teach their children. The superhuman strength that came along with the path to immortality meant becoming a danger to the delicate objects and people around. Protect others to protect yourself. Carrying around guilt was one of the most deadly afflictions to immortals. Claiming more lives than even harvesting the highest grade farms.
Maybe it was overly cynical but Grey though that it just culled the good ones from the pool of immortals. Only those who lost their care of people to the cycle of time remained unaffected by the harm they caused others.
Using a small casting of mind power Grey cleaned the powdered residue off his hands. Grey was topped off from eating earlier in the day. He wouldn’t need to eat for a few days unless he really exerted a lot of energy. So he turned his attention to a worn secretary desk.
His mother and father had both offered to get him a new desk when they came to visit last time. They would dote on him if he let them. While he often turned them down on principle that wasn’t why he turned them down in this regard. Tracing his fingers over the rounded edges of wood that had once been squared Grey couldn’t help but think of all the weights that this desk had helped carry. So many shuffled papers that had worn away the sharpness from it’s from. It reminded Grey that everyone carried burdens. The weight of his mortality was just a period in the book. So many more stories than his many times over own had carried enough burdens to mark this desk. His whole adult life he had never seen it change at all. Maybe by the time he kicked the bucket he’d make a mark by rounding a corner just a little bit smoother.
Reaching into a slot for letters he pulled out a teal metal cage. The metal cube held a perfect white crystal inside it. Into this memory crystal Grey cast his thoughts of Deliv. This was to be her graduation gift. He made one for all his students. Something for them to remember him by in the short term and something they could put into a museum of their life when they were older. Usually he tried to make the content of the memory cube fit the museum aspect. Thinking back to the imprint of her mind power Grey decided that he should keep a lighter tone. A full analysis of her abilities and tactics reveled in their fight, mixed with Grey’s speculation on what the future would hold.
Not only would this make a nice gift it was also a good practice for him as a guildmaster to ensure that he was doing his job with hindsight. Comparing predictions to conclusion and learning from the deviation. That was the cycle that forged Grey through his failures into a better leader. Grey put the cube into a new slot sorted beside two others belonging to the rest of Grey’s current class. Thinking of failure Grey rested his hand on a lone and dusty memory crystal. Grimacing he pulled his hand back and went to reviewing some scouting reports. Not dancing with the demons of grief that haunted his mind was a struggle he finally got better at winning. The weight of his new students helped anchor him.
Scouting reports were from a farm Grey was already very familiar with. The ancient saying was that familiarity breeds complacency. Knowing full well how true this could be Grey chartered a scouting of every farm before a harvest. Nothing in the report was new information, but it was comforting to verify that nothing had changed. Putting the scouting report away his desk was clear of things to keep him busy. Looking one last time at the lone memory cube of his late student Grey pushed his chair back and closed the desk.
Making a compressed mind power link Grey anchored the other end in the air. Selecting the frequency of the World System with practiced ease his eyes began to emit a strong area of darkness. The pool of World System power refilled.
Welcome back to the World System
Digging into his status sheet Grey navigated to a planning section he had already set up.
2245 days behind essence goal
Updating plan to current information… 2247 days behind-
Grey stopped reading. He had set his essence goal to match a slow curve to Ascension. Even for a slow pace he was behind more than six years and growing. This was the proof that he would never amount to anything. More than not reaching Ascension this curse would probably keep him in the lower quarter of Awakened ranks as well. This low grade stone of his house began to feel like a tomb more and more as he sat there. It was a calculated construction. Low grade stone was still stronger than he would break in his lifetime. The unbreakable walls pressing in like the unbreakable skill he had been awarded by the world system. No, Grey shook his head to clear it. He would join the dead soon enough no need to act dead before he got there.