Where am I? Why is it so dark? Where are my comrades? They were just behind me, were they not? I can't hear them anymore. So frigid, why is it so cold? It shouldn't be this chilly in the jungle. Am I unconscious? Was I shot by the rebels? Why can't I move, and why can I not sense anything?
A gleam, a tiny fragment of light, is descending towards me. How long has it been? How long have I been gazing into this void?
As the fragment of light touches me, I blink. I see the sky above me, but it's gray, and snow is falling heavily. How can there be snow in a jungle? Was I transported home through a med-evac? Why am I unable to speak? I'm also unable to stand up. I can hear a baby crying and the smell of iron, but there's no blood in the air. I try to turn my head, but it won't budge. What's that in the corner of my eye? As I focus on it, a window materializes.
Status Page:
Race: Blueblood
Age: 0
Class: Legionnaire Captain
Magical Affinity: Water, Fire
Skills:
{Commanding Presence} [F]
{Indomitable} [F]
{Tactical Planning} [F]
{Inheritance} [C]
What does this even mean? Is this some kind of sick joke? Am I in a virtual reality game, or is this some new medical treatment where they throw you into a game? I can hear footsteps approaching. They're getting closer until an older man leans over me. I don't recognize him. He has grey hair with a few strands of black in between. He has to be at least 60, but he towers over me like a giant. He must be the leader of the rebellion, and I'm a captive.
He leans down towards me. I suppose this is what I was trained for: don't speak, and if they break you through torture, give them meaningless or false, unverifiable things that are of no use to them.
He's picking me up. How? He's cradling me in his arms. I can hear the baby stop crying. It's silent. I try to look down at where my legs should be, but all I can see is my body wrapped in a small brown blanket with a green fox stitched onto it.
I'm the one who was crying. I'm the baby. I can't believe it. Reincarnation. The Hindus were right, I suppose, or whichever religion came up with it.
The old man seems to be no enemy, and even if he were, what could I do? He could just leave me in the snow, and nature would take care of the rest, but he's not doing that. He's carrying me to his horse. I assume I'm somewhere where horses are still in use, somewhere in Eastern Europe, perhaps, or South America. His coat is poorly stitched together, but it seems to be genuine leather of some sort. A rose is engraved on his shoulders, but those roses are withering away, much like the old man himself.
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We've been riding for a while. I see the old man carrying a sword. I'm not joking; it's a sword. I've never seen a sword with a blade split in the middle. It almost looks like a fork.
I can see steam and smoke rising from a massive city in the distance. It's no city I've ever heard of. It appears to stretch for kilometers, with walled districts breaking it up, with slums festering around like a tumor.
The old man takes me to a large building, three stories tall. It's old, with bricks and wood holding it together. Steam rises from one of its three enormous chimneys. I can hear children playing inside, but the letters on the building are not ones I've seen before.
He's talking to a young woman, who can't be older than 30, and then he turns to me for the first time and says,
"Goodbye Volkher, I will be back for you soon enough. You are safe here, safer than being with me, at least."
It has been four years since the old man left me here, and I have learned a few things. Firstly, magic is real, but not everyone has the ability to access its powers. It seems that magical abilities are predetermined by birth. Secondly, I find myself in the Empire of Novus, a technocracy that relies heavily on steampower. The empire has mostly outlawed magic, but they are unable to enforce it strictly as they have not enough guards. The city of Asperity is made up of five walled districts, all connected by steam trains to avoid crossing the slums where the orphanage is located. The nearest district to us is the so-called Bastion, which appears to house the military and secret police. The slums are widespread, spreading like a cancer over a withering body. There are millions of people living in ramshackle buildings, some of which cannot be called buildings at all, more like a roof with a floor to sleep on.
Thirdly, none of my skills have had any effect except for {Inheritance}. It allows me to take one skill if someone dies near me. I learned {Mana Flow} after a child was taken on claims of using magic. Although I did not see him die, we heard the ghastly sound of the steam-powered gunshot, I should test how this ability truly works and how much I need to know about the person that dies.
It's astonishing to think that even guns run on steam. All soldiers carry two giant tanks on their back that power their rifles, filling it with steam and releasing devastating power. It appears that this is their only weapon against their most powerful enemy: magic.
I've been practicing in secret, trying to figure out how to use my so-called magical affinity.
Status Page:
Race: Blueblood
Age: 4
Class: Legionnaire Captain
Magical Affinity: Water, Fire
Skills:
{Commanding Presence} [F]
{Indomitable} [F]
{Tactical Planning} [F]
{Inheritance} [C]
{Mana Flow} [F]
I still don't know what a "Blueblood" is, but I should be able to find out once I am able to read their language. Some of the older kids have mentioned a war that is currently taking place, but I haven't been able to gather much information about it. They have been discussing the possibility of joining the army to fight against the "long-eared monsters," which leads me to wonder if humans are not the only sentient beings in this world.
I continue to study in secret, learning more about the Empire of Novus and their strict laws regarding magic. It seems that those who possess magical abilities are not viewed kindly by the Empire, and I fear for my own safety if I am discovered.