Zalia stood outside the house, breathing the fresh, cold, mountain air. After she had told her story, the claustrophobic space had become too much for her, so she’d left to take a breather.

Having found Zen, she finally felt like things were back together again. Her team was all alive and well, even if they weren’t technically a team anymore and might never be again. Glemp was alive and well and she planned to go find them again later. They hadn’t come to Zen's house, probably having some other duties to attend to. Well, she remembered where their house was, unless it had moved to some other part of the caves.

The starlight wolf had said that the first part of her goals would be in the north where heat met stone met ice. She had assumed that meant the home of the Heat and Stone denizens and in part it made sense. One of her goals was to see her friends protected and those who had already been harmed avenged. Had the starlight wolf meant for her to find Zen here?

For some reason though, she didn’t feel like that was all it had meant. Sure, protecting Zen was part of those goals but it seemed like he was doing just fine. Hell, the people here were doing better than most of Endaria was from what she could tell. They were relatively safe from the goings on of the kingdom, perhaps even far enough that the demons didn’t come here at all.

She turned as she heard the crunch of feet walking on snow behind her to find Zen walking up.

“Hey,” she greeted.

He walked up to lean on the tree next to her, looking her up and down.

“You seem healthy.”

“Hard not to be when you have healing constantly flowing through your body,” she pointed out.

“Fair point,” he said, letting out a quiet chuckle.

“What happened with the ritual site up on the mountain here?” Zalia asked.

Zen frowned.

“You know, I never asked. It didn’t seem like Glemp’s people even knew about what was happening until we showed up on their doorstep.”

“Perhaps I’ll ask them later.”

They fell silent for a while, looking out over the snowy landscape filled with trees interrupted by the odd spike of a mountain here and there.

“I’m glad you got most of your family out safe,” Zalia said, interrupting the silence.

“Most,” he echoed.

“I’m sure you did all you could,” Zalia comforted.

“I did but… it wasn’t quite enough. It feels like a running theme in my life of late,” he murmured.

“None of us have had a good time recently. You’ve done well for yourself and your family considering what we’re up against.”

“You didn’t tell the full story in there, did you?” he asked.

“No, no I didn’t. I left out the worst of it or glossed over the details. It’s nothing the younger ones need to hear.”

“They’re stronger than you think, all of them are. They’ve all been through their own share of horrors.”

“It feels like we’ve all been changed by this. You have mellowed down, Ember has someone become more outgoing, Indis has gone from poised and in control to an absolute mess, though I suppose she always was but was just better at hiding it. At least Boreal is still a cute menace, I hope that never changes.”

“I’ve missed all of you quite a bit. Boreal has grown a lot for the time you were gone,” Zen said.

“Yeah, she seemed to grow quite a lot as she got closer to ascending to Bronze rank. I wonder if those are related at all.”

“I believe someone actually studied that at one point. There is a link to the life stage of animals and the rank they have. One advancing quicker than the other can actually drag the slower one ahead,” Zen said.

That made sense to Zalia. She had definitely advanced in rank significantly faster than was normal, that was for sure. She had thought it was because she had gotten her classes so late in life compared to the average person. Did the speed at which Boreal reached Bronze, certainly faster than was normal for her species, make her grow bigger quickly?

If that was true, did that mean by ranking up Zalia was actually becoming older? Or did it only affect the growth not the real age of a person?

Questions for another time, maybe.

“That’s interesting. How old were you when you got your class again?” Zalia asked.

“I was seventeen and I think I remember Ember saying she got hers at eleven, why do you ask?”

“Aylie in there was given a blessing by the starlight wolf and she said that it would give her a class option. I was wondering when she would be old enough to actually choose one,” Zalia explained.

“Well, if it gave her a class option she should be able to choose it now. People should be able to take a class as soon as one pops up.”

“Really? Why hasn’t she taken it yet?” Zalia said, more thinking aloud than asking Zen.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Zen asked.

“I will, I will. I just need another minute,” Zalia murmured.

She really did enjoy the snow. It brought back memories of her time in her own world, living in the wilderness with no more worries than what she was going to be eating over the next week and what preparations needed to be made for the coming season.

“Do you ever just want to pack up everything and leave?” she asked.

“Sometimes. I kind of did that coming here, though I guess I still want to help the kingdom however I can. Where would you go?”

“North, further north. Maybe I could go east and find out what is up with the Astar. I met a nice woman in the south who could probably show me around the desert. Do I really need to be here to help the kingdom, won’t it be ok without me?”

“Maybe, maybe not. You’re the only one who has been to Cormaine, the only one who has come back with their mind intact at least. A feat that I still don’t fully understand. You are also the only one who has been able to heal the damage that has been done to the land by the corruption,” Zen said.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Zalia remained silent, letting out only a small sigh.

“Boreal, can you bring Aylie out here please?” she sent to Boreal.

She got a mental affirmation and waited.

A few moments later, Ember opened the door of the house from the inside and let Boreal and Aylie out, closing it behind. Zalia gave Zen a meaningful look and he gave her a nod before leaving. He walked past Aylie on the way to the house as Aylie came and stood next to Zalia.

“You told me that the blessing gave you access to a class. Are you able to accept that class now if you want?” Zalia asked.

Aylie hesitated, looking up at her with wide eyes beneath a thick fur hood.

Zalia could see the answer in her expression but still waited until she got the affirming nod.

“Why haven’t you taken it?” she asked.

“It’s scary,” Aylie whispered.

“How so?” Zalia asked, crouching down to Aylie’s height.

“Mum never told me about this class,” Aylie explained.

“Well, maybe if you tell me what it is, I can help you understand what it means?” Zalia suggested.

“It says… it says Druid and the only specialisation option says Starlight priestess,” Aylie whispered even quieter.

Zalia was taken aback. She hadn’t met anyone else who had the Druid class as it was a combination of her other two classes that formed a unity class. Aylie had the option to take it as her main class.

“Well, luckily I can help there. One of my classes is the Druid class. Do you want to know what mine does and what it means for me?” Zalia asked.

Aylie nodded.

“Well, there are a few parts to it. The first thing is the abilities it gives me. Do you feel the calm and warm presence around me? That is an aura the Druid class gives me that lets me heal people. It also gives me access to two very strong abilities that let me control nature to fight my enemies and protect my friends. Those are only part of it as well, it gives me… instincts that help me to understand nature a little better, which helps me protect nature in turn.” Zalia explained in an even, calm voice.

She had noticed Aylie’s expression light up at the mention of Zalia also having the class. Despite that, she still seemed unsure as to whether she wanted to take the class.

“Why do you hesitate?” Zalia asked.

“Big decision,” Aylie murmured.

“It is, though I was much less indecisive to take the classes I did, I’ll admit. I took the first ones I could get my hands on. Take your time, think it over. I think you should, though. Druid is a strong class and the specialisation is obviously part of the blessing given by the starlight wolf. It’s not every day you get an opportunity like that.”

Aylie hesitated still, then nodded, her face changing to resolution. It looked like she had decided.

“Are you certain? You can still think on it some more, there is plenty of time” Zalia asked.

Aylie nodded again.

“Yes, I want to save people like you saved me,” Aylie whispered.

“Alright. I’ll be here with you the whole way. Whenever you’re ready,” Zalia said, holding onto Alyie’s arms now.

She could see the moment Aylie accepted the classes, as her expression went through a journey. She remembered going through this herself, the slight burning sensation, the disorientation, and the many, many messages that appeared.

She held her steady throughout, Boreal standing nearby looking mildly concerned.

Eventually, Aylie blinked as if she had just woken up, looking about.

“Well?” Zalia asked.

“So much,” Aylie said quietly.

“It is a lot to take in. Do you want to share your abilities with me? I can try to help you figure them out if you’d like,” Zalia asked.

Despite that, she could already feel one of them. It was a feeling very much like one she knew so well, one that had kept her alive many times. She was glad that Aylie had it. A slight warm comfort permeated the area coming from Aylie, the effects of Healing presence.

Aylie nodded and the second she did, a list of abilities came scrolling through Zalia’s own messages.

PROFILE - AYLIE

Health - Excellent

Mana - Full

Stamina - Full

Class one - Druid - Tin

Linked attributes - Resilience, Vitality

Active skills

Plant manipulation - Tin

Nature’s Wrath - Tin

Dreamweave - Tin

Passive skills

Healing presence - Tin

Spiritual connection - Tin

Specialisation - Starlight Priestess - Tin

Linked attributes - Wisdom, Intellect

Active skills

Starfall - Tin

Starlit Portal - Tin

Passive skills

Astral Walker - Tin

General Passives

Cold resistance - Tin

Weapon proficiencies

Druid

Active skills

Active 1 - Plant manipulation - spell - targeted

Tin - You are able to manipulate plants within a small distance from yourself.

Active 2 - Nature's wrath - spell - area

Tin - You invoke the wrath of nature. Nearby enemies are bound by vines, sinking sand or other area related hazards. Enemies are also subjected to a damage over time effect relevant to biome that lasts until the restraint has ended. The damage over time effect deals moderate damage per second.

Active 3 - Dreamweave - spell - varies

Tin - You may weave the dreams of creatures that are asleep. The more familiar you are with the creature the further away you may use this.

Passive skills

Passive 1 - Healing presence - passive - aura

Tin - Your very presence grants life to all around you. You, nearby allies and any flora and fauna you so choose within your aura are affected by a heal over time effect. The heal over time effect heals for low health every second.

Passive 2 - Spiritual connection - passive - enhancement

Tin - You have a strong spiritual connection to the world. You are able to interact with the spirit and soul of creatures and plants alike, living or deceased.

Starlight Priestess

Active skills

Active 1 - Starfall - Spell - Area

Tin - You may cause stars to fall in target area, dealing a high amount of damage to enemies in the area.

Active 2 - Starlit Portal - Spell - Target

Tin - You may teleport a short distance

Passive skills

Passive 1 - Astral walker - Passive - Enhancement

Tin - Part of your soul walks the astral plane, allowing you insights into otherwise invisible or unknowable things.

“Oh, wow. You’ve got a good set of abilities there. Some of them are a bit… undefined but many of them seem pretty strong. Plus, I can see many of them becoming quite powerful with future rank-ups as well,” Zalia said, reading through a second time.

Some of them were simple, abilities such as Nature’s wrath one she had as well, Starlit portal probably being easy to use with just a simple activation. Others like Astral Walker, Dreamweaver and Spiritual Connection were a little more complicated. Zalia feared she wouldn’t be able to help with those ones.

“Would you like to try out some of the abilities now, or would you rather wait a bit longer first?” Zalia asked.

“Try!” Aylie said, the excitement in her voice spreading to the expression on her face.

“Alright, start with something small first. How about Plant manipulation? Focus on that tree and try and move it around,” Zalia urged.

Aylie turned about as Zalia stood up and looked at the tree. Slowly, the branches began bending around and the trunk rippled, the entire thing changing shape as Aylie willed it. It grew thinner and taller, the branches forming wild patterns, before changing back to become exactly as it had been.

“Very nice,” Zalia said.

“Its soul. The shape changes but its soul doesn't,” Aylie whispered.

Zalia frowned.

“Well, that must be one of your abilities showing you that. Want to try out some more abilities?”