Kelsey watched Thadius as he came to terms with her being in Anoura. I can’t believe he’s here and walking around. He seems strong too. Really strong. Old as dirt though, damn.
Thadius, who was only a few years older than her last time they had seen each other, now looked to be in his mid 60’s with graying hair and a heavily wrinkled face.
Moments later Thadius had Kelsey wrapped in a hug while trying to stop himself from crying. “It is really good to see you, Kel. I wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen... I’ve missed you so much.” he said, trying, and then subsequently failing to hold back his tears.
“It's good to see you too Thad, I see you can walk again.” she said while patting him on the back. It’s only been a couple months since I’ve seen him, but from his perspective it seems like it’s been 30 years or more based on those gray hairs.
Thadius pulled away, wiping tears from his face. “Oh, yeah. When I woke up in the Mageblood Forest my legs just suddenly worked. It's a common thing for Otherworlders that are brought here. Our bodies get remade during the transition it seems. I have to admit, it was quite a nice moment when I walked for the first time again… I’m sad you missed it.” he said regretfully.
Thadius then looked over at Gregory who was sitting behind his desk with a huge smile on his face.
“‘Urgent matter that involves the safety of the town’, Gregory? Really?” Thadius asked, his voice dripping with exasperation.
“Honest. Yer little sis here said she would start breaking things if I didn’t get you here as fast as possible.” Gregory said with a hint of mischief in his eyes.
“Well, I put my wife and kids into my vault before I left, I’m going to need to make sure they’re okay. Kel, would you like to meet my family? I know they want to meet you. I’ve told them tons of stories about you over the years. I can make us some dinner while we chat.” Thadius said, putting his arm around Kelsey.
“Sure, I’d love to. Hey Greg, can we modify that Oath to include my brother? I’d like your help explaining everything to him. I’ll be back tomorrow morning since you held up your end of the deal so perfectly.” Kelsey said while walking towards the door with her brother. “Although it does seem a bit unfair that all you had to do was laugh in my face and write a letter.”
“Oath? Deal? Kelsey, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?” Thadius asked while looking back and forth between Gregory and Kelsey.
Gregory completely ignored Thadius’ question. “Ah it's no big deal, we can replace the Oath to include him no problem. And I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Kelsey. Have a nice night. Congratulations on the reunion.” Gregory said as he stood up and gave Thadius and Kelsey a wave goodbye.
Kelsey and Thadius made their way down the stairs chatting. “We’ll talk about it when we get to your place. I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that I should be careful with who learns this information.” Kelsey said as they made their way down to the first floor of the Guild.
“Thadius! Is that her?” shouted a young peppy voice from behind them.
Kelsey and Thadius turned around to see Fiona standing behind them, eyes wide.
“Yeah, this is her. I won’t be coming back to check the registry for her name every week any more Fiona. Thank you for your patience with me.” Thadius said as he gave Fiona a slight bow.
“I knew it was her! It didn’t occur to me when we met, but she actually came through my line a couple hours ago and since then I’ve been having this tickle in the back of my mind. A brand new Otherworlder arrives in this area. She’s a young woman around the same age as your sister. If you had given me a description I would have realized it sooner. The key giveaway was that she blushes just like you.” Fiona said, smiling brightly at both of them. “Have a good night you two, and Kelsey, again, if you need anything please don’t hesitate to reach out.” she said excitedly as she once again gave Kelsey a suggestive wink.
After saying their goodbyes, they made their way to Thadius’ house where they released his wife and children from the vault and were all introduced to one another. The next few hours of Kelsey’s life were a whirlwind of new information. First, she learned all about Thadius’ life in Anoura. He had become an Immortal and was one of the most important people in Whitebranch. He was responsible for the Guild building, the walls, and many of the houses. He had explored the majority of Cardona and even visited the other nations. His wife was an amazing Alchemist who was working her way to immortality and would likely reach it in the next few months. He had two awesome kids who were named after their parents. All in all, he was happy. As happy as she had ever seen him on Earth.
After learning all about Thadius’ life, Kelsey told Thadius, Claire, and the kids the abridged version of what had happened to her over the past two months. It’s not that Kelsey didn’t trust Claire or the kids, she just didn’t want them getting involved in something that could endanger them and thought it was best if she told Thadius about all the Creator, Path, and Mageblood stuff in private. A few hours after they finished a delicious dinner prepared by Thadius, Kelsey and her brother made their way down to Thadius’ vault so they could talk in private.
In the vault Kelsey was able to tell Thadius everything that Gregory and she had discussed earlier in the day. The whole conversation lasted over an hour and a half where Thadius had the same reaction as Gregory did to the new information about what benefits the Mageblood ritual really grants. He asked many questions that she simply didn’t have the answer to, like if her mana quality or density was any different than before the transformation. She explained to Thadius that this is why she asked Gregory to have the Oath modified to include him. She simply didn’t understand enough about the world yet to answer the questions. Thadius assured her that she would be fine as long as she stayed in Whitebranch.
“Yeah, about that. I’ll be leaving right after I gain my Guild membership.” Kelsey said guiltily. “I want to explore and get stronger. According to Gregory I have the opportunity to become incredibly strong if I can level up and stay alive.”
“It will be dangerous.” Thadius said trying to not sound worried or judgmental but failing.
“I know, but now that I’ve found you, and I know you’re not just safe, but happy, strong, and safe, I feel like I can finally go do what I’ve been dreaming of since I got here. Fight monsters and protect people.” Kelsey said. “From your story, I gathered that you aren’t a fan of all the fighting that happens in this world. I’m the opposite. I arrived in Anoura, got my class, and instead of immediately following the river to find civilization, I stayed and fought for almost two months just because… I wanted to.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Kelsey sat down in the corner of the room before continuing. “I always felt like there was something missing back on Earth. Like I wasn’t doing the thing I was meant to. I don’t feel that way any more. I feel like this is exactly where I’m supposed to be and exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I want to get stronger. Strong enough to make a real difference.”
Thadius sat down next to Kelsey and let the silence hang for a few seconds before responding to Kelsey. “Good. I feel the same way. The ‘where I’m supposed to be’ part I mean” he chuckled, “I miss mom and dad, but it’s already been 80 years since whatever happened to bring us all here. Chances are they’ve already passed away.” he said sadly.
“Yeah, I considered that when I learned that people have been arriving for that long, but I didn’t want to dwell on it.” Kelsey said as she put her head between her knees. “Oh well, at least we still have each other. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been for me if we switched places and I had to wait around for 40 years, not sure if you’d ever show up… Thanks for waiting on me big bro.”
Thadius put his arm around his sister's shoulder and said “Well I’m Immortal now, so as far as I’m concerned, the wait was worth it. Oh, also, since I know how competitive you are. The Otherworlder who reached Immortality the fastest did it in 2 years and 7 months after arriving in Anoura. Think you can beat that?” he asked, chuckling.
Kelsey looked at him questioningly, “I was planning on having it done before I turned 31.” she said seriously. “You mean it took the fastest Otherworlder in Anouran history two entire years to achieve immortality? Unless leveling seriously slows down, I was expecting to do it in 20 months.”
“Yeah, that’s really fast. It took me 33 years and I was pretty consistent.” he said teasingly.
“All I’m saying is that If I'm not an Immortal sometime in the next two years, I will consider my mission a failure.” she said with a grin on her face. “No way I’m going to take over two and a half years.”
“Okay, sure sis. You tell yourself that now, just you wait till you get to level 100 and you have to level two classes at once.” he said with a grin on his face. “Now, why don’t you get some sleep. Big day tomorrow. I’ll go prepare the guest room for you.”
Kelsey and he walked back up to the living room where Claire and the kids were playing. Over the next hour or so, Kelsey spent some more time with them before realizing she was quite tired and excused herself for bed.
As Kelsey was drifting off to sleep, she considered all the things that had happened in the past 3 days. I arrived at the plains bridge and met Owen, Lisa, Fin, and Grant, saved a woman and her child from a tree monster, visited the Whitebranch slums, flirted with a Guild representative, and learned that the skills I have as a Spatial Mage are considered rare and special for some reason. Then to top it off I discovered that I’m the first known person in history to have a Mageblood body, reunited with Thadius, and tomorrow I’m going to be joining the Adventurers Guild.
Hopefully tomorrow is slightly less interesting. She thought, feeling truly at peace for the first time since coming to Anoura.
Kelsey woke to the sound of delighted screaming children “Daddy made eggs and bacon again!” David shouted at the top of his lungs. Kelsey smiled as she rolled out of bed, summoned her clothes from her vault, and got dressed. She walked downstairs and ate a wonderful breakfast with her family for the first time in two months and simply enjoyed life for a few precious minutes.
“Alright, I’m heading down to the Guild for my exam, any idea how long it’ll take, Thad?” Kelsey asked after finishing her food.
“Maybe two or three hours. Depends on who Gregory has as your instructor. Based on your story, I have a guess as to who it will be, and I think you’ll be in good hands.” He said as he began cleaning the kitchen. “I’ll be heading down there in a few minutes. Make sure you talk to Gregory before I do. I have some question I’d like to ask him.”
“Will do, thanks bro, I’ll see you in a little bit then.” she said as she began walking out the door. “Bye Claire, bye kids!”
She made her way down to the Guild Hall and asked one of the representatives to let the Guild Master know she was there. The Guild in the morning was a completely different atmosphere than in the evening. There were dozens of parties huddled in small circles talking to one another in hushed voices, clearly discussing contracts they were planning on taking. The lines to see the representatives were short, fast, and orderly. She then saw a group she had seen the previous night. I know I recognize that party. I’m pretty sure I saw her doing a keg stand like 13 hours ago. Now, she looks so serious; it’s almost like she's a completely different person. Work hard, play hard, I guess.
A few minutes later, she was told that the Guild Master was ready to see her and to meet him in his office. She walked up the six flights of stairs to the Guild Master’s office and knocked on the door gently. “Come on in, Kelsey.” The Guild Master’s deep booming voice said from the other side of the door.
Inside the room were two people she was certainly not expecting to see today. Owen and Lisa were sitting in the two leather chairs in front of the Guild Master’s desk looking back at her as she entered. “These will be your exam instructors. Due to some… personnel changes. Lisa and Owen were asked to come back from their long-term contract early." He said with a knowing grin. “I believe we have some document changes to go over before we can continue, correct?”
*ding* You have been offered a replacement for an existing Blood Oath
Blood Oath
I, under the threat of death, will not knowingly share the secrets behind Kelsey Kain’s Class, Skills, nor her Mageblood Body to anyone who is not also bound by this Oath.
Accepting the Oath, Kelsey looked at the two adventurers she had met just a few days ago. “We can create an Oath for them too, correct?” she asked Gregory who simply nodded his head in confirmation.
Both Owen and Lisa clearly had something arrive on their system screens as they began reading carefully. “What's this about?” Lisa asked, eyes going wide. “This is one serious Oath.”
Gregory nodded understandingly. “I dislike saying this, but if these terms are not accepted, you will be unable to take part in the examination for Ms. Kain.” There were a few seconds of silence before Gregory nodded his head in confirmation. “They’re both good to go.”
The next half hour was spent bringing Owen and Lisa up to speed with everything that had been talked about in the past day between Kelsey and the Guild Master. Owen and Lisa were both shockingly understanding and had very few questions about the whole situation.
As the trio were planning on leaving to begin the exam, Thadius entered the room and introductions were made all around. Thadius and Lisa had met before this as her parents used Thadius’ architecture services to build their estate a few years ago.
After introductions were finished, Owen and Lisa led Kelsey down the stairs into the basement underneath the Adventurers Guild into a large underground training room with a dirt floor. The space was huge. Roughly 100 square meters big. Plenty large enough for multiple lower levels to have exams conducted at the same time.
As the three of them entered the training room, Owen placed his hand on a small rune near the door and sent some mana into it. A large blue shield of energy sprung up around the edges of the room protecting the walls and closing off the exit. “We should be safe to talk in here. The shield not only blocks physical entry, but magical entry as well. You should find that your domain is unable to pierce the shield.”
Kelsey quickly inspected the shield with her domain and found that to be true. By this point, she was so used to her domain being shut off from the outside world thanks to the Guild Master’s office and Thadius’ vault that having her domain contained barely even registered to her anymore. “Yeah, it’s working. My domain can’t get through anywhere.”
“Good. Let's get started then.”