[https://i.imgur.com/VGCFMQy.png]

Helus, the closest thing the caravan had to a priest, said a few words of comfort and mourning to the crowd gathered in quiet contemplation in front of the twisted house. Refenial stood with them in respectful silence, watching as people performed their solemn duty, lighting the house aflame with torches that flickered in the morning air.

He watched as the house began to burn, to be reduced to nothing but ash, dust, and memories best forgotten. Though his eyes outwardly watched the cleansing flames, his focus was turned inwards to the sight, sounds and smell of the terrible place.

No one had wanted to sift through the house to try to piece together the bodies. The caravaneers and three survivors wanted to see the house remain standing even less. It was a horrific folly, a stain upon the world and a reminder of the evil of monsters and their twisted imitation of humanity. It had to burn, it was a wound that needed cleansing, or its existence would fester in people's hearts and minds.

He could feel the warmth of the fire on his face, despite the distance. In his hand, he gripped tight the tiny vial that he had found beside him when he woke. The small booklet of notes that had laid beside it had detailed stats. He'd quickly packed that away for later.

The vial, that was what he wanted most.

There was a creaking and crunching as the blazing house collapsed in on itself, sending embers flying high into the sky at dizzying speeds and patterns.

He looked at Nia standing next to him, leaning heavily on her crutch.

The vial was for her, he had asked Griselda for help, and she had responded. He knew he'd be a fool to unthinkingly trust a monster like Griselda just because she was willing to gift him things, but for now, for today, Griselda's true intentions didn't matter.

[https://i.imgur.com/oMrGBK6.png]

Once the house had burned away and little more than tiny swaying flames sat atop the blacks and greys of its ashen remains, the caravaneers returned to their work, readying the trade caravan to move forwards once more.

Refenial walked over to Nia, who was still standing there watching the dying fire of the house. He looked around, making sure that no one else was close enough to see or hear their conversation.

Satisfied, he turned to her. "Nia."

She looked down at him, "Yes, Reffy?"

"You trusted me yesterday when I asked for your help. You risked your life for me, and you were hurt because I couldn't protect you from the monster."

Nia frowned irritably. "I've already told you I'm responsible for my own actions. You aren't responsible for me getting hurt."

Refenial held out his hand, the vial in it.

"What's that?" Nia asked, confused.

"Medicine, it'll heal your leg."

Nia looked at it and laughed. "I don't know who sold you that, but you've been tricked. There's no way anyone in the caravan is carrying around some magical medicine that'll heal my leg just like that."

"It's not from the caravan," Refenial said calmly.

"Then where is it from?"

Refenial shook his head, "There's a lot I don't understand myself. But I suppose, if I owe you anything, I owe you an honest answer."

Refenial took a deep breath. "It came from an ancient crow monster, one that looks almost entirely human, called Griselda. I think she might be the Ravenous Mother from that story you told me about. She took away my friend, Obit and has been trying to get me to go live with her.

Oh, and the woman you met, Hildegard, the woman who founded this kingdom, and the one who taught me magic and adopted me as her apprentice, told me not to trust Griselda.

I don't trust Hildegard, though, I saw her murder a boy, Maxit, and she killed the entire village I was living in, including Obit's parents."

Nia's face went from grinning as he began to speak to shocked, her mouth hanging open.

Refenial looked down at the vial seeing his sad face reflected back at him in the glass.

"Those are the main parts, of course. There's also the horror that's hiding away in the core of my soul and the fact I have no memory before waking up a few months ago, and the fact that apparently, my soul wasn't the original one for this body, that one is trapped inside with the horror."

Nia just kept staring, unmoving, as Refenial looked up at her nervously.

"Those are the main points of what I've been hiding from you, at least off the top of my head. So much has happened it's getting hard to keep track..."

Nia lunged forwards pulling him into a hug. He felt the warmth of her clothes against the skin of his face and realized he'd been crying while talking.

Her hug felt warm in the cold morning air. He hugged her back for a long time until the tears stopped, and he could trust himself to speak again.

He pulled back from her holding out the vial again. "Take the medicine."

She rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, taking the bottle. "You're just determined to make it, so I owe you more and more."

Refenial shrugged, "Honestly, I don't feel like you owe me anything after yesterday."

Nia lightly cuffed him on the back of the head. "Don't be daft. I owe you the money from the day we met. If all it takes is someone doing you a small favour and then giving you a hug for you to forgive all debts, you're going to have trouble holding onto money."

Refenial nodded, but his heart wasn't in it. The scathing look she gave him showed she knew, but she said nothing. Instead, she opened the vial.

She looked down at the red liquid inside, "So how sure are you that this isn't poison?"

Refenial smiled, "Griselda has been nothing but nice to me, to the point where it's a little creepy. I'm not sure why, but I think we can trust her on this."

Nia threw her head back as she drank the vial in a quick gulp. She looked down at the vial appreciatively. "That tasted really good. I'd have that again."

Nia looked down at her leg, "It feels the same soooooo- ow, ow, it's cramping, muscle cramp." Nia dropped her crutch hopping on her good leg as she massaged her injured one.

Refenial couldn't help but laugh at Nia's antics.

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Nia shot him back a murderous glare as she rubbed her leg. After a few moments, she stopped. "I think..." She experimentally moved her injured leg before cautiously placing it on the ground. "I think that's better." She took a couple of cautious steps. Then a few more normal ones.

"It worked?" Refenial asked, relieved.

"Yep, though, people might start asking questions if I suddenly start walking normally." She picked up the crutch. "I guess I'm stuck with this for now." She said as she hobbled with the crutch.

"That's annoying."

"Yeah, I'll just pretend that my leg is getting better over the next few days. Then get rid of the crutch."

Refenial looked over to the distance where the caravan was, "I think we're leaving soon."

Nia looked up from her crutch. "But we still haven't talked about everything. You told me so much at once."

Refenial rubbed his arm uncomfortably. "Yeah..."

Nia gave him a knowing look, "Don't worry, we'll talk about it another time."

Refenial nodded, not wanting to talk more about the past.

"let's go back to the coach."

[https://i.imgur.com/oMrGBK6.png]

The pair walked, or in Nia's case, pretended to hobble back to the trade caravan and sat down in the coach. Talot the Plumber was already in there, gently snoring, hat on face, when they arrived. The other passengers were yet to arrive.

Nox was the next. Refenial hadn't seen him yet this morning. Nox gave Refenial a sheepish and embarrassed look, clearly remembering the conversation last night, but he sat down next to Refenial, saying nothing.

Iln arrived shortly after, giving everyone his usual judgemental glare.

Helus was the last, he struggled slightly to get up the coach's narrow steps with his arm in a sling, but he smiled broadly when he saw Nox.

"Nox! I'm glad to have seen you. I was worried you might have been hurt worse than I knew." Helus said, sitting down but leaning forwards towards Nox.

Nox grunted in response.

"you look a little down. Perhaps if the foreign girl, Nia, promises not to get her weapon out, we could even have a little chat. I'm still sure I could win you over to the Order."

Nox gave Helus an angry look and leaned forwards as if ready to yell at the would-be priest.

Nox stopped, his shoulders sagging. "Thank you for saving me," Nox said haltingly as if he had to forcefully drag every word out of his unwilling mouth.

Helus waived his good hand dismissively, "No, no, don't thank me, thank the Systemic Order. It is only through their teachings of the wisdom of the System that good can be spread through the world."

Nox sat back slowly and deliberately. Refenial noticed the ghoul's hands were clasped so tightly closed that the skin had turned a shocking white.

There was an awkward silence in the coach as no one spoke, the Palpable tension in Nox a stark contrast to the good-natured smiling of Helus.

Refenial jumped as he heard a noise and looked over to see Matrill at the coach's door.

"We're heading out," Matrill said, returning the step from the ground to its hooks.

Within a few minutes, the coach, still wreathed in silence, was on the move again.

Refenial looked out of the window. The last wisps of smoke from the burnt house were slowly drifting apart as they floated uncertainly above the ruins of the village.

As he looked, he noticed something else, in between the patches of snow that littered the ground by the road, there were hints of green, the first shoots of a new year.

Refenial smiled, it had been a long and brutal winter, but soon, spring would come.

He turned away from the window. He knew he had so much to still do. He was still weak, much too weak.

He pulled out the music book and carefully slid the booklet Griselda had left him about stats inside so no one, especially Helus, could see what he was reading.

The booklet was short, and most of it seemed less than useful, but he soon found a page detailing everything he needed to know.

[https://i.imgur.com/oMrGBK6.png]

While Systemic magic is most famous for its extraordinary abilities and skills, it gives its wielder a wide range of boons, from the ability to speak almost any language to incredible healing abilities.

Most scholars believe the most significant boon is actually to be found within the stats.

A high-ranked user is capable of feats that will strain the credulity of all around. Take, for example, Resilience, seen by many as the least overtly showy of the physical stats.

Adin Starfire was a user who invested heavily in this trait despite his title seeming to be specialized in some form of teleportation magic.

Adin would, during war, teleport himself as well as large boulders high into the sky above enemy positions. He would then fall to the ground riding the boulder at terrifying, magically enhanced speeds.

Despite the fact that these dramatic attacks could kill entire armies and level castles, many reports state Adin was able to walk away with at most minor bruises and burns due to his focus on the Resilience stat.

While many scholars and learned gentlemen have spent decades studying the stats trying to deduce a mathematical theorem by which their effects and abilities can be quantified and codified, to date, all have failed.

One trait noticed most consistently by these experts, however, is that stats seem to range in effectiveness depending on the capabilities and proclivities of the user.

For example, users already noted to be particularly dexterous before gaining their title seem to gain more from each point of stat gained in agility.

Users who exercise regularly have also been noted to have much greater strength than those that don't, even with the same amount invested into power.

I will now list what is known of each stat. While all have been researched, some are much better understood than others.

Fate

Out of all the stats, non are less understood and less documented than Fate.

Investing points in Fate seems to have little to no apparent immediate effect, unlike the other stats.

Some have theorized that the stat is in some way broken, a belief deemed heretical by the Systemic Order.

Others have noticed that a number of titled who have invested in the stat have met legendarily unpleasant ends. Those tend to argue that Fate is, in fact, a cursed stat.

A third theory, and the most popular one, is that Fate somehow magnifies your destiny. If this theory is true, it would make this stat an uncertain gamble at best.

If a user was fated to be a great warrior, by investing in this, they become much greater than they otherwise would have. However, if they are fated to a life of tragedy, they are guaranteeing that their life will be dramatically worse.

Charm

Charm seems to hold its dominion mostly over the use of certain skills and powers, most notably powers that seek to befuddle, confound, bewitch and beguile others. Because of this, charm is often an all or nothing which titled either invest in heavily or ignore completely.

That isn't it's only use those who do invest often seem to develop a gift for convincing others and making friends, though this effect is much more subtle than many of the physical stats.

Mana

It is said by those who practice true magic that all magic requires mana. All powers granted by Systemic magic also use this ethereal energy.

Users who invest in mana are unsurprisingly able to more effectively and quickly draw in mana. This has the effect of allowing true magic users to cast more powerful spells as well as magnifying the power of any System granted powers the user may possess.

This is a popular choice for titled who rely on their powers but struggle to increase their power's rank.

Reason

Reason, along with Cunning- which we shall address below- is a mental stat. Users who invest in this stat show a much-increased capacity for memory retention, problem-solving, and resolving issues that follow clear, logical frameworks such as those of law or mathematics.

Many true magic users who use scriptic magic rely heavily on this to ensure the accuracy of their spellforms. It is also popular among those with more academic leanings.

Cunning

Cunning is a valuable stat with an unfortunate reputation, those users who invest heavily in Cunning report a fluidity and speed of thought that can verge on the fantastical.

This has led to the stat being very popular among Titled of less reputable dispositions, which has tainted its reputation.

In some ways, Cunning even overlaps with Reason, such as when it comes to mathematics. Someone focused on Reason might be able to quickly solve a problem due to the gift it gives them with logical systems. Someone focused on cunning, however, may be able to solve the problem just by being able to think so fast, even if their mathematical skills are more limited.

Resilience

Resilience is a seemingly straightforward stat, but it possesses many hidden boons.

While most noticeably, it increases a user's resistance to damage - to ludicrous degrees if invested in heavily enough. It also has many minor boons.

Users report healing faster, getting sick less or not at all, and in many cases, increased lifespans, on occasion reaching as high as 170 years.

Almost all titled invest partially in this stat. Few, however, make it their focus due to its passive nature.

Agility

Agility is a straightforward stat that increases the skill with which a user can manipulate their body.

This skill is popular both among artisans and those of a more martial disposition.

Power

Like Agility, Power is a straightforward stat. Users invested in this stat show increased physical strength.

It is often said that investing too heavily in this stat without also investing in Resilience can lead to the body tearing itself apart under its own strength. However, there are no documented cases to say if this is definitively true since most who invest in power typically also require a great deal of Resilience.

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