There was an awkward tension in the room as Jordan’s offer hung in the air. He winced, already regretting asking the young Wrathborn to join him, but her reaction caught him by surprise.
While at first she seemed rightfully shocked, her expression quickly changed to look contemplative. Right before she appeared ready to accept his off, however, a voice called out making it clear their conversation wasn’t as private as they’d hoped.
“Absolutely not!” Nereida said, standing up nearby. Fury was flashing across her face. “Mercia, please tell me this wasn’t your plan all along? You know my daughter’s path lies with the Cavegar’s noble guard.”
Mercia stood up alongside her, face like stone as her guile was raised. “I assure you, Cousin, this wasn’t something I planned.”
The two adults' outbursts drew the attention of Catella and their combat instructor, both pausing to watch. Nereida and Mercia beelined towards Jordan and Anthemia, who both shrank back reflexively from the oppressive presence crashing against them.
“Come Anthemia. It’s time that we take our leave.” Nereida grabbed the girl’s arm and began to drag her along. Anthemia turned back to look at Jordan. Her face was filled with worry, even a bit of fear as she stared at him. Jordan couldn't understand why.
Mercia’s hand rested on his shoulder, and while she had a calm expression on her face, the tension in her grip left Jordan with no doubt of her displeasure.
What the fuck is this all about? Jordan thought. Sure he hadn’t meant to ask the girl to join his party—he’d just wanted to know what that damn tugging on his emotions were towards her. And now she was being forced to leave?
Remember the context of a conversation. Mercia’s advice drifted back into his mind, but the situation was moving too fast for him to process anything!
So it was, almost by accident really, that Jordan activated something he hadn’t touched on since he’d first arrived in Ænerith. His experience with his Pattern and Skills had improved enough that he finally understood what was happening as he did.
Ki began to flow and his Skill [Enhanced Concentration] activated. The meditative state it gave him allowed him to open his [Psychic Realm] and he fell into it. His once beloved ‘Bullet-Time’ power that he relegated to a cheap ‘Time-Out’ trick was active once more.
Within his mind, he stood in a formless space with only a window to the outside world to gaze out of. Everything beyond appeared frozen in time, but Jordan knew that wasn’t entirely true. It’s just moving so slowly I can’t tell the difference. He knew he could also dilate his experience of time, but strong sensation would draw him out. Plus, he couldn’t actually control his new body from within his inner realm. It's technically meditating after all, he mused.
Looking around, expecting to see nothing new, Jordan was caught off guard when he found he had a fully formed spiritual body. Right, the last time I was in here was before my Cultivation. My astral form has gotten a lot more, ah, cohesive? After that at least. Beyond him, was only the pale, purplish horizon that stretched on forever.
“Alright… what the hell am I doing then?” Jordan said, not to anyone in particular. Thankfully, he felt, no one mysteriously answered him. Instead, he began to pace back and forth as he stared out the window. The last image to fill his eyes was that of Anthemia’s anxious expression.
“Context… context… Mercia said they could be really sensitive, right? I guess she just meant testy rather than anything else? But why would Nerevada, or whatever, be so upset about me asking her daughter to join my party? Is that just…”
Looking back now, Jordan thought of how his sparring with the girl had begun. He’d briefly realized that his position over her could have given him the authority to order her around, but he’d dismissed the concern out of hand.
“Is that what I’m doing here? Did I just throw my weight around like an asshole, or something?” Jordan tsked. He’d never have done that if that stupid connection thing between him and Anthemia hadn’t made him!
“And what the fuck is even up with that!? First that familiar, then the cat-boy, and now her. And why does it feel so much like what that damn Spider-God was doing to me?” The connection he felt was so... familiar.
He thought back to his experiences in the Celestial City. In his mind, the whole trip really had been awful. Traipsing around some heavenly realm that was far above his pay grade, fearing death around every corner. Fearing that he also wasn’t… fully in control of himself.
A cursed ring. A kidnapping. Then some stupid fate breaking bullshit that…
“That I… tore apart?” Jordan frowned.
He hadn’t really thought about it after the deed was done. He’d been so fed up with the situation he’d only wanted to screw as many things up as he could for the Gods that had puppeted him. But he’d become an Anomaly, and what had that damn Spider-God said about them?
Concentrating, and feeling his mind working with a clarity that seemed... impossible, he realized he could recall the Spirit's words. He could even vividly remember the floating image of what, to him, had looked like a yarn ball. Though, it had actually been the left over fate of the very person his body had gained its replacement heart from.
‘This was Westhell Demetria. She was a Rank [A] Anomaly that really upset folk with all those threads she pulled. You see, we can’t actually do anything to stop Anomalies since they kinda disconnect from the Loom, but it doesn’t stop them from grabbing lines all willy-nilly, you know?’
Jordan gagged slightly, still remembering the smell of the damn Spider-God who’d been getting plastered. It’d all been a ruse in the end, but still! Ugh…
Shaking the memory off, he realized another thing. The connections he was feeling to these people, they felt an awful lot like the threads in the loom. He’d only grabbed a few, but it stuck with him now.
“Did I get some sort of ability to manipulate fate then? Or no… I’m not changing fate, I'm just interacting with it differently, aren’t I?”
Pacing faster, hand on chin, Jordan rambled on. “Fuck me dead, I’m somehow stumbling onto other people’s fates. But how the hell am I controlling it? Every time I’ve been doing it, it’s just been by accident. Just me acting…”
Foolish, he thought. He paused in his pacing and turned back to the girl in his window.
“Right now… I’m drawing her in aren’t I? Tying our fates together somehow like an idiot. I almost did that with the Chef’s kid, and… probably someone in that summoning chamber. But to what end? Is this good? Bad? Stupid? Fuck!”
Out of nostalgia, he activated his [Visualize Words] Skill and manifested his ‘Fuck.’ The words floated in front of him, looking oddly smaller than they used to. Or was his ‘grown-up’ astral self really that much bigger in this realm? He didn’t know, but he juggled the word around for fun as he thought.
“Sheesh was this all just because I wanted to form a party? I probably shouldn’t drag these randos into my trouble, not like some…”
His fuck fell to the floor, the word breaking apart against the unseen surface he stood on. Jordan froze in horror and then face palmed.
“Like some fucking player in a game! Fuck me sideways, and six times till Sunday! And then once more for good fucking measure!” He screamed as he scooped up all the fucks appearing in the words flashing in front of him and hurled them into the distance.
“Of course! It’s some sort of stupid party formation thing isn’t it? If this is a game world, then it would have something like that, wouldn't it? Even if some things are different, there's still menus and all that, and all RPG games have freakin' companion stuff. It also didn't start happening until I broke my fate. Does this make me a main character? Wait, the game could support up to a dozen people multiplayer, couldn't it? Which is also... how many other Anomalies there were. That wasn't a coincidence... right? Am I... not alone?"
Jordan groaned as he sat down with a huff. It wasn’t really the idea of storylines and companions, or even other people, that was bothering him. It was once more simply the realization of how much he didn't know. While it was nice that fate couldn’t control him, it meant he was now in a position to follow these threads freely—only he had no way to anticipate where they’d go.
“What I’d give for a fucking wiki right about now…” He missed the internet more than anything in the world at that moment. “But hey at least I figured something out? Maybe?”
He wasn’t entirely sure, but his gut was telling him he was correct about the threads at least. Still, he figured it'd be prudent to verify that theory with Kioko, or possibly Rahm. Maybe later he could also look into the other Anomalies.
For now, he had to decide what to do with Anthemia and his immediate future.
“If… if I can tell who would be a companion, should I really just disregard it on the possibility it could be bad? If this follows game logic, it’ll boil down to how close I get with them, won’t it? Their potential will be linked to my choices. Then again, some will be stronger than others, won't they?”
He picked up the word ‘choices’ and stared at it. Staring at the rest of the sentence as it faded, he thought about looking at it from a different perspective, and it shifted, bringing up his previous words. He grabbed Anthemia’s name and held it next to choices as he thought.
It took Jordan a while, sitting there pondering. Weighing different options, playing with a few more memories and sentences until he felt his Ki reserves starting to wear thin. He couldn’t check his actual numbers without his CSSM, but he was sensitive enough to the fluctuations that he was sure he’d run past his half way point. With a sigh, he stood up and turned back to the window.
“I really hope I don’t regret this,” he said. With one final look at the afterimages of his words fading away, he left his mind’s realm.
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“Wait!” Jordan shouted, and to his astonishment Nereida did. She also ground her teeth unhappily, giving him a glare that would have likely frozen him to his core had he not experienced worse.
It was hard to find anything as scary as a mountain-sized Tiger-God that was threatening to damn you to hell, after all.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spring that on you both. Please don’t go.” Jordan said, giving a deep bow.
The furious woman paused, before sighing out. “I… very well then. I'll accept your apology.” She let go of her daughter, but stood next to her crossing her arms. “I don’t approve, however, of you conscripting my daughter.”
Oh, it really was that simple, wasn’t it? Jordan’s sense of… how this world operated socially was still shaky, but he got the impression the woman was more concerned with her own pride than with anything else.
She’d been dismissive of my efforts during the conversation, hadn’t she? Does she just not think much of my chances, or just not like me in general? It seemed more likely to him that she believed Jordan’s future would prove to be a poor choice for her daughter. As such, he wasn't sure what to say, but relaxed and tried to speak as naturally as possible.
“I never meant to force her to do such a thing,” Jordan said with all sincerity. “However, I was extremely impressed by her dedication and capabilities, Lady Kerularia. I know that as a Freyhell, I may be imposing by asking her for help, but we're family, aren’t we? I hope you will consider helping a Cousin in need. Nothing more.” Jordan bowed once more.
While facing downward, he also bit his lip to keep from gasping in surprise. The words he’d just used, and the way he’d used them… none of it felt like the kind of thing he’d have said. He’d just wanted to apologize and ask them to reconsider. Was Mercia pushing me to say those things? Or was this…
With a start, he realized that it was no different than how he’d just fought. Or how he’d learned to speak the Brat’s name, or even to speak at all for that matter. If he didn’t resist it… his new body was capable of being downright elegant all on its own.
…how many things have I fucked up because of that? He tried not to think about it.
Nereida stood there pensively, deeply considering Jordan’s words. She then turned towards Mercia. “Well?” She asked.
“I believe that I… would feel better knowing a trusted family member would be watching over Aureliana.” Mercia answered.
Nereida tsked, rubbing at her chin as she continued to mull the request over. Glancing to her side, she met her daughter’s eyes. Anthemia had said nothing, which from what Jordan had seen from her seemed par for the course. She didn’t appear to be the type to countermand or speak up against her mother’s wishes.
Yet that didn’t change the look of determination in her eyes from speaking volumes now.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
With a sigh, Nereida rubbed at her temple. “Fine, if my daughter has a choice in the matter, I will… allow her to make the decision.”
With that, Anthemia wasted no time as she strode up towards Jordan and bowed regally. “If you will have me, then I would like to help you get into the Academy, Cousin.”
"I would be most grateful, Anthemia." Jordan said with a [Perfect Smile]. His goal of getting into the Academy seemed a little bit more doable now.
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The afternoon waned into evening. While their family’s guests had been prepared to stay for the night, Mercia worked to ensure they were both prepared for a longer stint. Given the way that his new mother was going out of her way smoothing things over with Nereida’s prickly temper, Jordan suspected that she must have approved of his actions.
He got his chance to confirm that later on. While Jordan was sitting at his writing desk scowling at a book, with a bored Kioko reading through her own material nearby, Mercia paid him a visit.
After greeting them both politely, the Brat’s mother took a seat in the pseudo-living room. Taking the cue that she wanted to do more than simply chat, Jordan stood up and joined them on a couch.
“I must say,” Mercia said, “that was rather unexpected, darling, but not the worst choice you could have made.”
Jordan raised an eyebrow at what he felt was a borderline compliment at best, but he’d come to learn that really was his new mothers way of showing a great deal of approval. So, he nodded to her. “Thanks. I hope things weren’t too awkward, or whatever, with Nereida?”
Mercia looked a tiny bit irked at Jordan’s verbiage, but he wasn’t about to start breaking out Brat-Speak for a casual conversation. Instead he sat there, trying to look polite as he waited for a response. His new mother sighed melodramatically, shaking her head in that classic ‘what am I going to do with you’ manner mothers seemed to love.
“Not quite.” She said. “While Nereida was concerned this could impact her daughter’s future in joining the Cavegar’s family guard, I assured her that we would smooth things over with the Count and his family. We’ll have to schedule some time to visit them, and to prepare suitable gifts, but that isn’t anything more than we likely would have been obligated to have done at some point.”
Jordan reluctantly nodded. He still wasn’t looking forward to going to parties and social events, not when he hadn’t even begun questing yet, but he'd already mentally prepared himself for Mercia’s requirements on that front. After all, if I hadn’t agreed to be a sociable noble and all that then she never would have let me leave the house, he thought.
“Speaking of obligations, however, there is something that I need to discuss with you.” She said.
Raising an eyebrow, Jordan suddenly recalled the offhand remark she’d made at the late luncheon. “Is this about that required party member you brought up?”
Mercia nodded. “We’ve had a bit of an issue lately with the Westhells.”
Jordan sighed. He hadn’t even met them yet and already they were going to start making demands on him? “What’s the problem?” He said as he curled his feet under his backside. Mercia eyed the inelegant posture but didn’t comment on it, especially given that Kioko sat nearby in a similar pose.
“It seems that ever since your trip with your Grandfather to the Celestial City they’ve had difficulty… tracking your activities.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Jordan’s jaw dropped. Those fuckers were spying on me?
Reading his expression quite clearly, Mercia frowned in sympathy. “Believe me, I was equally unhappy to learn they'd been doing so. Your father and I believe they must have kept something linked to your new heart that allowed the clairvoyant connection.”
“Damn mystics,” Kioko growled from nearby. Jordan echoed the noise in solidarity.
“Quite.” Mercia more eloquently agreed. “However, they’ve demanded to have a means to keep track of your activities, as an assurance that you aren't doing anything untoward that could jeopardize our arrangement with them, nor cause any embarrassment for the families.”
“Well that’s just swell,” Jordan muttered. “So what, they want me to take one of their family members in as a party member then?”
“Actually,” Mercia replied, “they haven’t made any formal overtures in that regard because your father and I haven’t exactly been… forthcoming with your plans.”
Jordan cocked his head quizzically before gasping. They’re covering for me? They were the ones pushing this down my damn throat but… Now he realized just how unhappy they truly were with this arrangement.
“So… you’re hoping that we can somehow head that off then?” He said, and Mercia nodded in agreement.
“They won’t be happy to learn you’re trying to get out of the contract in such a manner, however, our agreement doesn’t specifically list which member of their family will be your betrothed. While they’ve said that they will be selecting Lord Harmatius, if you offer a chance for his younger brother to join your party we may be able to appease them by… playing to their egos, so to speak.”
“How… so?” Jordan asked.
“I know you only heard it in passing earlier, but Lord Harmatius is currently enrolled in His Majesty’s Immortal Academy. He’ll be graduating this year, and that puts him, in the Westhell’s mind, in the perfect position to marry you and begin ingratiating themselves into the political scene.”
Jordan scowled at the talk of his impending marriage arrangements, but kept from snapping out. It’s just further motivation to try as hard as I can, he told himself.
“His younger brother,” Mercia continued, “Lord Valens is closer to your age. I believe he’s 12, similar to Anthemia in that regard.”
Wait, she’s only 12? Holy shit she had a growth spurt then, Jordan thought. “So what’s the plan with giving him a spot in my party then?”
“Well, you are attempting to enter the Academy, Aureliana. If he joins you, he may also be able to enter alongside you. In the event that you fail or drop out, he could make for a suitable replacement for his brother. And if we play up how… grateful we’d be,” his poor mother looked like she swallowed nails with her statement, “to have him assisting you, while they may be irritated at what they’d perceive as attempted rebellion on your part, they’ll feel more comfortable allowing it to continue if they have a backup option. Especially given the prestige they could gain along the way.”
“What…” Jordan took his own hard swallow, “What, ah, happens if they don’t feel comfortable?”
“Then you may have to re-evaluate your options.” Was all she said. He didn’t need magic to read between those lines, however.
So we’ve got to sell them on this party idea, or they may interfere with my goal? This shit just doesn’t stop, does it? Jordan muttered some choice words under his breath, but cut off any truly offensive curses lest the Brat's mother overhear him. He wasn’t happy, but there was no doubt in his mind Mercia really was going out of her way to help.
“So what do I do for now then?” He asked.
“For now, train, study, and prepare. Visit the Adventurer's Guild when you're ready to register, as well as to continue your recruitment efforts. I’ve also received word that Grand Justiciar Crito has arrived in the city, and you’ll be expected to see him at the Cathedral in the city as soon as convenient. You and I will need to have a discussion pertaining to that, but that can wait until tomorrow.”
“Right…” Jordan said, remembering the ‘parole’ he’d more or less been slapped with to ensure he wasn’t casting forbidden magics anymore. “Okay, I guess that… oh, wait.”
“Yes, darling?” Mercia asked.
Jordan grimaced; sure his next question was absolutely going to be taken the wrong way. “Do you know if it’s possible… for me to recruit that Tigerborn kid of the Chef’s?”
One of Mercia’s eyebrows visibly twitched. “Aureliana…” She said warningly.
“Look, it’s not what you think!” He said, hands up to placate his mother. “I just, ah, I think he’d make a good addition to the team, that’s all.”
“Under what possible grounds, Aureliana? You’ve literally seen the boy once since your accident. You know nothing about him.”
“I just… have a good feeling about it.” He said lamely.
Mercia gave him a flat look, but Kioko’s eyes narrowed. Does she suspect? She did see how I reacted with the summoner’s exhibition. Bah, it doesn't matter. She’s one of the people I want to bring it up with anyway.
“Fine." Mercia said. "I’ll speak with Chef Duan to see what he thinks. I’m sure he’ll actually be quite thrilled, boisterous as he is about how wonderful his son is and all that.” She waved a hand with an annoyed look on her face, but Jordan didn’t detect any real malice to her tone. “Just, for the love of the Princes, please tell me you are not developing romantic—”
“No! Definitely not,” Jordan interrupted adamantly. “It’s just a, ah, hunch. That’s all.”
Mercia looked less than convinced, but thankfully let the matter drop. “Very well, if that is all then, daughter?”
Jordan nodded, and Mercia gracefully made her exit after a quick kiss to his forehead. After a moment passed when she was out the door, Kioko made a whistling noise.
“So, you and the Chef’s kid, huh?”
“What? No! It’s not like that, damnit.” Jordan huffed. “Listen, there’s something I actually wanted to bring up with you.”
Kioko was all ears, though clearly looking to enjoy ribbing Jordan about what she must have hoped was a blossoming crush. Her expression got a lot more serious as Jordan explained his ability to sense connections with people. While he left out his theories on the game elements, he laid everything else out as succinctly as he could.
The next whistle the Cat-woman let out was a borderline hiss. “Well, that complicates things, but I think you might be right about it.” She said. “It is a documented phenomenon that heroes and their counterparts tend to attract various sorts to them. Hells, pick up any history book about the High King and you’ll read about his Companions in equal measure.”
Jordan nodded, having picked up on that much at least. “But do you think it’s a good thing to trust it wholesale?”
Kioko hesitated, but then shook her head. “Completely? No, you should never fully trust an effect you have no way of measuring. CSSMs are good, but there’s plenty they won’t tell you that you have to figure out, and it’s entirely likely this Fate calling effect you’ve developed will have drawbacks.”
“Thought so…” Jordan sighed. “There’s always a cost or drawback.” He complained.
Kioko sagely nodded. “It may be a cynical way to view things, but you’re not wrong there. Try not to let it cloud your judgement too much, okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she said, “that you can’t overlook that it could equally be helpful for you. Just because we can’t read into it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it—only that you should be cautious. Got it?”
Jordan shrugged before reluctantly nodding. He didn’t like the idea of relying on anything he couldn’t pin down, but he could agree he tended to… think the worst of things. Just one of the things I need to get better about. Speaking of getting better though.
“By the way, Kioko, I, ah, I've given it some thought. I think I would like to commit to Oneiromancy.”
“You sure? Once you form a Specialization with it, that’s it. You know the penalties if you try to remove it later.”
“I do. But it would also take too long to develop anything in Invocation since I don’t have anything in the ability. I already have to start learning Sorcery at some point, which means Oneiromancy is my only option for being able to do anything now, you know?”
Kioko nodded. “I understand. Just so long as you understand and accept it, okay?”
“Well... I can accept it, it's just that I worry I won’t be very good at it." Jordan admitted quietly. "The descriptions I read said it’s really good for those who are creative, and stuff. But so is Sorcery, so I have to get better at that all around I guess.”
Kioko sprawled her legs out, stretching lazily as she lounged. “Well, I mean you could always just invest more in your Mental Attributes or get some Skills if you’re that worried about it.”
“Huh?” Jordan grunted.
“Skills, Aureliana. You can use them to help with any weakness or shortcoming.” She said matter-of-factly, staring at Jordan like he was an idiot.
Which… maybe he was? “You can use Skills… to better at things you aren’t good at?”
Now she looked at him like he was unquestionably mentally deficient. After a moment to reflect on the absurd statement that had just come out of his own mouth, Jordan flushed a bright red as he silently concurred with her visible assessment.
“I-I misspoke.” He tried to excuse himself. It was quickly becoming a go-to defense for him.
“Yeah. Sure. Look, I’m going to go for the evening, but before I do, will you do me a favor?”
The tomato-red Jordan nodded, and she asked him to open his experience page on his Chasm. Jordan gasped when he saw his xp bar was full.
“That’s what I thought. At least this proves you were putting your all into studying,” she said, smiling warmly.
“Wait, I can get an xp in a day? Really?”
“Er, xp? Do you mean Experience?” She asked, and Jordan quickly nodded. Continuing, she said, “You can, so long as you have something relevant to study or training you can take part in. Just don’t burn yourself out, and make sure to rest. Okay?”
“O-okay!” Jordan said. His face had mostly lost its ruby-luster as a [Perfect Smile] filled his features. Kioko narrowed her eyes at him, however.
“Hey, keep in mind it’s more economical for your time to go out questing. You can run out of things to study and train, especially at the later Levels. Relying too much on that is going to slow you down.”
Jordan startled, his smile twisting with his chagrin at having been so transparent to his Governess. “How much can you get fighting monsters and all that then?”
Kioko paused to think. After a moment she stood up and shrugged non-committedly. “Maybe 2 to 3 Experience a day? Not accounting for Quest rewards too.”
It was Jordan’s turn to whistle. He frowned shortly after, however, when he had a thought. “Wait, wouldn’t everyone be super powered then?” When Kioko looked at him blankly, he elaborated. “I mean, if everyone can get an Experience a day then won’t everyone have tons of skills and stuff?”
“Well, most people do tend to sit on their Experience cap, but no, People don’t just get every Skill or upgrade they can. It still takes money to afford the necessary training in the form of Instructors or books. Most folk can’t afford that on the regular.”
Jordan nodded. He’d seen how skill books didn’t come in anything less than Tier One, which still cost 10 Crowns, or 50 Crowns for the ability tomes of the same level.
“Also, never forget,” she said, “that the Academy is a Meritocracy. If you can earn coin from quests and use it for your improvements, it’ll look a lot better for you. At very least, it could give you less to have to justify at the end of your journey.”
Jordan tsked, but nodded in understanding. “How much do instructors cost then?”
“Eh, it can vary. Usually it’s a matter of finding the ones that can teach what they know, but they’ll set the price. Even then, it’s not exactly common.”
“But you were able to teach me. Does just knowing the skill let you do that?”
She shook her head. “No, I’ve put a lot of work into… how I’m put together, so to speak. As a side effect I happened to have enough Pattern reading and manipulating Skills to help you. Mostly, at least.”
She gestured then to the book in her hand. Peering at it, Jordan could see it was a Skill book.
“Speaking of which, I’ve actually been investing in getting better at Handling," she said. "On the off chance you needed someone to help you learn Oneiromancy in the future.” She tapped the tome. “This book, for example, has an instructional Skill that allows you to overcome the Penalty for teaching brain dead youths. It's quite useful!”
She smiled warmly, and Jordan nodded along before freezing. “Hey, wait just a—”
“Ho ho ho!” Kioko cackled merrily as she waltzed out the door, with a promise to help him form his new specialization the next day. A stirring shape drew Jordan’s attention to his bed, where he saw Charlie had been napping. The tiny critter stretched adorably and then jumped out to chase its master.
In the silence, Jordan ground his teeth. He really hoped his bed wasn’t going to be full of fur now. Turning to his Chasm, he began to work on coalescing his raw experience into his second point of xp.
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