There were a few of us left in this position. A chance to get humanity ready for the invasion. We would go back in time with our Magic’s unleashed and guide humanity to a position to resist the arrival of hostile aliens. I had a choice of selecting two magic spheres before I was thrown back in history. I could select a primary sphere and secondary sphere. Within my primary sphere I would get two abilities and four spells. My secondary sphere would grant me one ability and two spells. There were 34 spheres of magic in the book but I was mostly concerned with getting abilities that would make surviving in 1700 America bearable. After searching abilities I found one in stone magic that appealed to me.

Ageless (Stone Magic Ability) – like all stone you are ageless, your body ages 1/10th as fast greatly increasing your life expectancy, each level increase slightly slows aging even further

The second ability that I found would be very useful was in the nature sphere.

Shapeshift (Nature Magic Ability) – you can shape change into one beast form healing injuries, each level increase adds another beast form

The shapeshift had a conservation of mass…so selecting a 220 lb bear was probably not good. A bird probably wouldn’t be able to fly. I decided to go with a panther for my first form, a predator that could move fast. I had one more ability to select from either nature or stone magic…whichever I choose would be my primary magic sphere. There were four options for stone magic and five for nature magic. In the end I choose a defense ability.

Stalwart Immunity (Stone Magic Ability) – you have resistance to disease and infections, each level improves the speed at which you heal from injuries and poisons

So stone magic was my primary sphere. I could select four spells but spells were ranked 0 to 10 and I could select a total of 15 ranks.

Stone Golem (Stone Spell – tier 9) – create a golem from stone, each level increase adds density, strength and durability

Soften Stone (Stone Spell – tier 3) – turns 1 cubic yard of stone to clay, each level increases affected volume

Strengthen Stone (Stone Spell – tier 3) – improves 1 cubic yard stones resistance to damage, each level improves the volume and the stones strength

Stone Bullet (Stone Spell – tier 0) – temporarily creates a small stone and fires it at a target, each level improves the density and speed of the stone

I only had 5 ranks to select my two nature spells.

Nature’s Growth (Nature Spell – tier 5) – complete 1 year of growth on a single plant in 60 minutes, each level increases the plant’s growth

Plant Snare (Nature Spell – tier 0) – activate a square yard of plants to entangle an animal within 50 yards, each level increases the area and range

My spells should help me build a safe shelter, hunt in the wild and grow food. I wasn’t sure where I was going to be transported to in 1700 but I would build a large stone house. I would be able to level my spells and abilities by using them.

The transition happened and I was soon standing on a beach a little disoriented. Crap I was naked. It was chilly too and it was close to sunset. I climbed the sand dune and looked around…no settlements Indian or European. I started moving south following the ocean…the sun was setting inland so I was on the east coast. With the chill I was probably somewhere between Georgia and Maine depending on the time of year. The sun set and I used my panther form. It was cloudy and dark and I moved swiftly and stealthily.

Soon I came upon an Indian community. It was dark and I could smell smoldering fires. I moved inland and climbed a massive tree near the camp. I fell asleep 20 feet above ground in a crook of the tree. When I woke it was light out and I was extremely hungry. I was still in my panther form and stretched and yawned. Looking down languidly I was shocked to see four indian hunters. After observing it was obvious they had followed my paw prints. I kept my body low and watched them. They were alert and talking among themselves. I wished I had selected a multi-lingual comprehension ability. I would need to find an English colony. The Indians were probably concerned a large predator was in the area. Eventually all but one left and he hid behind a rise and watched the tree. The tree had a 6 foot diameter so I would be able to descend out of sight of the spotter. I waited an hour scanning to make sure he was the only one before descending and running away. I transformed to my human form. I created a stone knife using my magic. First I formed the knife then I hardened it twice with the strengthen stone spell. It had a good edge and was as good as any modern ceramic knife.

Using plant snare I harvested two rabbits. I didn’t know how to start a fire. I started moving down a stream bed looking for flint. Nothing. I tried friction with dry wood. Maybe I should have taken fire magic. Eventually I found an old fire that had hot coals underneath. Just hot enough to start a fire with shavings. It was poor cuts of rabbit overcooked but it tasted fantastic as I was starving. I ate all the meat and cleaned the hides. I continued my way south in human form. At night I made an effort to hide my tracks. I wrapped my knife in rabbit hides, transformed, then climbed a tree with the wrapped knife in my mouth. I slept well enough.

It was a cold night and the panther form was a good choice with the fur insulation. I wasn’t sure about finding a colony and I needed clothes. I decided to try my luck with an indian tribe. I approached a village of 7 homes and after a while I exchanged my knife for some used simple leather clothes and moccasins. I received some flint for starting a fire and I got a handful of corn seeds as well. I was lucky the tribe was friendly and they invited me to stay but I decided to move on. My knife crafting skill should be of use if I found an English settlement. I was suppose to be in 1700 America and I was surprised I hadn’t found people on the coast.

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A few hours south I used my plant growth skill on a corn kernel and even though it was late fall the stock and ear grew. It had three good sized ears on it and it was definitely not sweet corn but was satisfying raw. I made six knives during the evening. I slept as a panther that night in a tree again for safety.

The next day I finally found a rough dwelling with a man who spoke English. He called himself John Abbot. Although it was hard to understand his English I learned he had fled Virginia. He was an indentured servant but the colony was starving so he left. He thought the year was 1662 but wasn’t sure the month…maybe October. He was really skinny and had survived the last winter with a friend but his friend died during the summer. He traded furs with Spanish ships coming up the coast. The English in Virginia had fought with the Spanish and John expected war soon. I traded two knives for a bunch of different seeds; tomato, two types of beans wheat and barley. I even got some orange seeds from a rubbish pile and a rotting apple from his stores which I harvested seeds from. I thanked John and left.

It was 1662, so I was 38 years earlier than I thought…somewhere on the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina. I didn’t have a firm grasp on history but I knew the Americas would be overrun with settlers in the next 100 years. I had to establish myself somewhere. I went a few hours inland and used an apple seed to grow an apple tree to five years old by repeatedly casting the plant growth spell. I had a makeshift sack and filled it with apples. I walked west until sunset. Should I go to the west coast? Not yet. I should establish myself here first. There was a gem mine in North Carolina…out in western North Carolina by the Appalachian mountains. I had gone on a date there once. That would be a great place to stake a claim. How I was going to find it, I had no clue.

I moved carefully west over the next few days. I traded three more knives with tribes I encountered getting more hide clothing, furs and 3 squash for the coming winter. I also crafted and now carried a spear. When I got hungry I grew food to eat and my seed stores grew.

I did meet one hostile hunting group and took an arrow to the chest. I transformed to a panther after pulling it out to heal and that act scared the three hunters. From that point onward I moved cautiously. I grew my first orange tree to six years and enjoyed the citrus fruit. I started growing an apple or orange tree in the evening and was soon carrying a large sack of fruit to eat during the day.

It took two weeks of walking west to reach the mountains. I was positive they were the Appalachian. I decided it was time to build my golem. I used my soften stone spell to make a life like statue in human form over two days. He had a smooth body and looked great as I animated him. I found my magic reserves drop by 30% and not recover. Did that mean I could create three golems? I named my first golem, Flint. I set him to building a temporary shelter while I crafted a second golem. I gave this golem feminine features and called her Ruby. After her animation my magic reserves were down to 40%. This was enough magic to grow two trees every day and recover in twelve hours. It was nice to dress the golems and have them carry my gear.

I found the golems understood my commands and when I told them I was looking for gem stones they helped. It took us six weeks of wandering to find the significant deposits. The golems had a type of mineral sense that was good to about 10 feet. They were north east from where I hit the Appalachian mountains. I found a wide stream nearby. On a hill overlooking the stream and within 4 miles of six gem mining sites I decided to set up my homestead. Ruby and Flint made a 100’ x 100’ clearing and started piling up large stones. About two days into the project my Stone Golem spell skill leveled up. It was more of an internal knowledge than an actual level up notification. When I recast the spell on Ruby and Flint they improved slightly and the magic reserves I needed to sustain them slightly decreased.

Over the next month, while the golems worked on the homestead, I grew an apple orchard in an open plain, 100 apple trees all aged in ten rows of ten. I also had made numerous stone cooking tools, axes, chisels, shovels, hoes and scythes. After hardening the stone 5 times the implements seemed indestructible. My plant growth, soften stone and strengthen stone spells leveled which increased my magic pool and spell efficiencies.

The site for the homestead had a pit dug 50’x50’ in the center of the clearing. The corners had large 10’x10’ stone blocks set. These were stones that I had merged with soften stone and had Ruby and Flint press them together. I created a jig to hold a stone blocks and they could be trimmed under soften stone spell. This gave me roughly uniform stone blocks measuring 3’x2’x2’. It was the largest stone block Ruby and Flint could currently easily handle. I decided on a round building, a tower. There would be a central hollow pillar that would serve as the flume for the fire places. The plan was for a 50’ tall building with 4 floors. A single stone wall would bisect on each floor with arches to allow travel.

I spent much of my next month in the cold working on the foundation, adding a small 20’x20’ basement. The corner stones served beginning of laying stones, hardening stones, softening rock and repeating. The first floor was looking good. The floor was paved in a white limestone that I had hardened to a smooth glossy finish. I had sealed the basement walls making it watertight to store food. The outer wall was 10’ thick, which expanded the diameter to 70’. Each successive floor outer wall would be 2’ less thick, tapering, with the top floor having a 4’ thick wall.

It was slow progress and the cold weather eventually broke. Spring was here. The tower was 15’ tall… The golems had moved hundreds on stones. It was a grossly over engineered but I was ok with it. I hadn’t seen any Indians or people in months and was getting lonely. All my spells with the exception of stone bullet had leveled. My plant snare had been sufficient to harvest wild game to go with all the vegetables I had grown. I was eating well.

I started to explore the country around the tower at night in panther form. I was looking for natives and I wanted to level my shapeshift ability. I found two villages, one 12 miles north and the other 15 miles east. I observed both during the day and the group to the north had twenty Indians the one to the east over 40. I decided to try to trade my stone knives and stone arrow heads hardened to the equivalent of steel with the smaller village.

They were terrified of me. It took half a day of gesturing and remaining calm to start communicating. I received some good hides for the arrow heads and a lot of smoked meat for three knives. I began the process of learning their language. I returned every third day for a few hours to trade and get language lessons. Eventually I learned they thought I was a spirit beast, my footprints turned into a large cats tracks. They also thought Ruby and Flint were my ancestor spirits. Apparently their hunters had spied on me in the past and now it was forbidden to go near my burial ground. The other village apparently thought the same thing. I decided to go with it and told them I would visit them and they shouldn’t come to me.

On a visit to the tribe I found three white men there. They were speaking English and I entered the conversation. The first thing I noticed is they smelled bad. Indians smelled like nature but these men smelled like ass and BO. I didn’t like them. They were arrogant and spoke abusively about the Indians. They told me the king’s men would be coming through later in the summer with a force to find good lands for settlements. I just nodded along. After the English left I told the tribe they were planning to take all the lands from the indian tribes. They asked what they could do to prevent this and I told them they could unite to fight them but it would be like holding off waves in the ocean, they would just keep coming. I left the tribe deeply troubled.