Across the cosmos, past all of the bright twinkling stars, lie an infinite number of realities. Some contain universes that run parallel to each other save for minute changes, others are places ruled by different systems of physics and chemistry, places with wondrous magicks, places with [systems]; and each one with their own myths and legends, heroes and villains, histories and glories. It would be impossible to tell the tiniest fraction of the stories that exist; But to start with, here is one of them.
This story starts, as many stories do, without flair or drama; It starts with two horses pulling a wagon down a road. The horses had brown coats and came from a large draft breed. Well suited, and accustomed, to their heavy burden. The wagon was made from rough-hewn wood, but it had been well crafted and solidly made. The wood had worn smooth over the years of use.
The wagon rumbled and creaked as it carried two passengers, many bags of wheat, several crates filled with bottles of wine, and a large backpack, slowly down the road.
The road itself was hardly what one would call proper. The route was more of a blemish on the steppe. A path where countless generations had packed the dirt firm and trample any plant life trying to reclaim the strip of land. An occasional rut filled in with gravel and rocks were the only real signs of domestication.
As the not quite proper road had been borne along the path of least resistance, it lazily wound around large hills and crested small ones; all the while leading, depending on your perspective, away from or towards the town of Mijn Dorp.
One of the wagon's occupants, a middle aged [farmer], barely held onto his reins. The horses knew the way well enough, and he was more interested in talking to his younger passenger.
“If you change your mind,” the farmer said, “you know I’ll be staying at the Fierce Korrenwolf, and won’t be leaving until after the festival is over.”
The farmer’s name was John, and John had been selling his goods at Mijn Dorp for over twenty years. He had realised years ago that to make the most money one needed to hold off on selling the wine. John always waited until the end of the week when the barrels and bottles started running dry, then and only then would he be able to name his own price.
John would indeed go on to have a great week of feasting and to make a good amount of money, but that is a different story.
This story is about the [farmhand] that was sitting next to John, who would not go on to change her mind. This story is about Anika. And to describe her you might first know that Anika was fire-touched as it was known in this time and place.
To understand what it meant to be fire-touched you must understand the geography and history of Mijn Dorp. The town, its surrounding villages, and their surrounding farms were all part of the United Provinces of Ambres which bordered a great desert called, aptly enough, the Great Desert. This desert was a place with an abundance of fire mana which led to fire people; and Ambresians had once freely intermingled with the progeny of fire.
Even in those days, unions between these peoples had been rare. And with each generation the blood of their descendants was diluted. But, occasional heritage ran true. Which led to a few Ambresians being fire-touched.
Some claimed to be fire-touched meant to be born special. A portent of great destiny. Perhaps they would grow up to have vast powers. Or become a renowned figure. And for a few this was partially true. For example, fire-touched mages often had an affinity for that element, which aided their abilities. For most though, it was no different than having green eyes or curly hair. It was merely a sign of one ancestory that ebbed and flowed like any other.
For Anika it meant that her skin was a dark bronze colour; but for a few faint lines of red that started at the corners of Anika’s eyes and mouth, ran across her cheeks and brow, under her dark hair, crossed her shoulders, and spiralled down her arms to her hands.
Anika was fire-touched because her mother had been fire-touched. Esmee’s complexion was much like her daughter’s, but instead of fine lines, her birthmark was a bright red splotch on her left cheek. During her childhood Esmee tried to hide her birthmark with long hair, hooded cloaks, when the weather allowed, and creams that never quite covered it up.
The other children in the village were sometimes cruel to Esmee, they bullied those that were a bit different as children sometimes do before learning morals and decency. For Esmee it was not only for her birthmark that made her a victim but also because she had been born outside of their village.
Despite the experience of being bullied; Esmee grew up to be a kind gentle soul who wished no harm on anyone in the world. She levelled as a [farmer] and married a [farmer] who thought his wife was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Esmee learned to be proud of her heritage and that is the Esmee that Anika remembered. Unshambed, unhidding, and loving.
Like her mother, Anika did not hide and wore a short sleeve tunic that was this really cute pinkish orange, similar to coral but darker.The dark-coral tunic went well with Anika’s jean shorts. It was not an outfit you would want to wear in the fields, but the tunic was loose and breathable which meant the wind felt particularly nice in the hot spring weather.
In contrast to the rest of her clothing, Anika wore black leather boots and thick socks. She expected to do a lot of walking over the next few days and her only other pair of shoes weren’t very practical.
The wagon was approaching the town and [farmer] John had made an offer to take Anika home if she changed her mind. He didn’t think a fifteen year old should be on their own, and was really hoping she would reconsider.
“Thank you John, but like I’ve said, I don’t want to become a [farmer], or to stay a [farmhand]. Life can be too short to stay in one place. Mamma saw more than just a village and a town. I want to too.”
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Anika truly was thankful to John. He had taken her in after her parents had died and John had always been patient and gentle, even when Anika rebelled as she grieved. And Anika regarded John as a second father, and had helped her gain her first class. [Farmhand].
The system of rules that governed Anika’s reality did not automatically assign classes at birth. There were prerequisites that needed to be met. As babies turn into toddlers and toddlers into children, they grow physically and mentally. At some point these little people start earning responsibilities.
A [farmer]’s child would naturally be expected to help around the farm. Collecting eggs, weeding; easy tasks that gave them the experience to earn the [farmhand] class. Likewise, the child of a [innkeeper] would likely earn the [dishwasher] or [sweeper] class. Those that attended school, [student], and the children of trades, [apprentice].
Anika had been given her own chicken to raise, then a small garden to tend. Responsibilities that grew as Anika did. Responsibilities that gave Anika experience and let her gain proficiency with working on a farm.
Ambresians believe that adulthood began at level 10, as it was the only universal requirement for progressing a class. Denary was seen as a sign of maturity, and at the age of 15, Anika was free to determine her own destiny, and pick her own progression.
Anika could have become a [farmer] if she had wanted to. The requirements were very simple. Reach level 10 in any farm related class, and plant a seed on land owned or rented. Although it was overgrown and derelict, Anika had inherited her parents' farm.
[Proficient farmhand] was another option available to Anika. Not everyone qualified for a [proficient] class at level 10. It meant Anika had grown skilled quickly, before she had had enough experiences to level. likely for the same reason she had reached level 10 at a young age; Anika had an amazing teacher in John because he had progressed into an [expert wheat farmer] and treated Anika like she had been his own daughter. Imparting as much knowledge and skill as he could.
While she had great potential, Anika did not want to become a [farmer] or continue on as a [farmhand] even though she loved John like the second father he was. As she had said, Anika wanted to see more of the world, so she was taking her farm’s deed to sell at the Chag Herfst, the autumn harvest festival.
Herfst was celebrated with a week of festivities and business. In ancient times there would be a procession to the Temple of Amber in Vredestad. It was a parade that started in the furthest provinces and grew in each village and town. The parade would be filled with merrymaking, music, and feasts.
The travellers brought the best of their harvests to sacrifice to Freyja the local goddess. The biggest and juiciest melons that could quench thirst as well as abate hunger; Firm meaty olives, some already pressed into the purest of oils. And hommes, a small legume that when mashed into a paste composed one of the staples of the Ambresian diet.
Over time the gods lost interest in mortals, and people stopped participating in a one sided relationship. Processions started to end at the local towns and cities, and other than the faithful, farmers were more interested in bringing their harvest to sell instead of to sacrifice, and in Mijn Dorp the procession was less of a parade and more of a traffic jam as a multitude of wagons converged on the town.
The celebrations would come at night after the markets and auction houses closed. This was one of the few times farmers would have a lot of money on hand as their harvests were sold at auction or at the markets.
The extra money would be spent as quickly as it was earned; on beer and wine and lavish meals to be sure, but also on cloth and shoes and spices and all sorts of household sundries on sale. They would be commissioning new wagons, and builders for expansion. There would be trinkets and baubles not readily available in the smaller villages. And some people would be sure to be looking for land. Land to expand their holdings, or perhaps to gift to a child or relatives starting their own journey.
Anika wanted to see the world, and she had a very simple plan. She would become an adventurer. Adventurers protected the innocent from malcontents, braved the bush to protect settlers from threats, and explored ruins and caves battling ancient foes and great evils.
Anika thought adventurers were wicked cool.
To become an Adventurer Anika would need to join the Adventurer’s Guild. It wasn’t necessary to become an [adventurer] to join the guild, anyone with a suitable class could apply. Unfortunately for Anika, [farmhand] wasn’t one of them.
The lack of a suitable class did not deter Anika. She wanted to see the world, and had a not too complicated plan. Get a class that the Adventurer’s Guild recognized, and then join.
John was a fair man and paid Anika a fair wage. The same wage any other [farmhand] would expect after getting room and board. He also provided Anika with books and clothes and toys as a good guardian should, so while a farmhands wage wasn’t great; Anika had more money than the average child did for funding her interest.
Most of the money went into buying a sword. John wouldn’t buy Anika a weapon. He thought she would poke her eye out, so Anika had to save and buy her own.
Anika spent a year practising with her sword. Around the time she became a level 10 [farmhand] Anika also became a level 3 [amateur fighter]. The Adventurer’s Guild didn’t accept [amateurs].
The lack of a suitable class still did not deter Anika. She wanted to see the world, and had a multi-stepped plan. It was the traditional route, and Anika was sure she wouldn’t fail.
The plan required Anika to sell her farm. Selling her land would give Anika enough money to travel to Vlamberg, a city several times the size of Mijn Dorp.
A bigger city meant better amenities. One amenity was a school run by the Adventurer’s Guild. For a fee the guild would train a person up to level 10 and to meet the requirements for a class progression. Anika could continue her [fighter] path or consolidate into a [trainee] or [novice] class.
Another option would be to apply to the city watch. They offered their own training program. The program was a paid position but Anika would be contracted to the city for at least a year.
The most expensive option would be to find a private trainer. With a tutor, Anika would be able to progress to a more advanced class like [duelist] or [fencer]. Anika didn’t think she would be able to afford this route.
Training with the adventurers guild would not be a set cost. There was no scheduled class to join or a time based curriculum. Students joined when they wanted, and graduated when they reached their desired level. For some it would take longer than for others.
Anika would also need to find a place to stay while she trained, and pay for food, clothing, and the equipment she would need to begin adventuring. She hoped that she would have enough for everything and enough left over for an emergency fund and the occasional treat.
So Anika had her plan, and the first step was underway as two horses pulled a wagon down the road.