I didn’t feel movement; there was no experience of traveling as S-Prime trans-located me from where I was to the sublevel Universe I’d selected. One moment I wasn’t, the next I was.
Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself to notice the heaviness of my body, the pull of gravity, the warmth of the air. In those first few seconds, the unconscious reflexes that allow us to operate our bodies were obvious.
The muscles needed for breathing, the blinks that moistened my eyes, the minute muscle adjustments that allowed me to balance and stand. I noticed everything and gloried in those achievements. I’m not sure how long I was ‘dead’ but I had spent over a decade bedridden in my past life. Being able to simply stand was a miracle.
Past life?
Wait, a moment. I wasn’t supposed to remember my past life this clearly, was I? It was supposed to be events and memories you might find in a dream. Soft reflections of possibilities.
S-Prime had made a mistake?
Somehow, I doubted that was the case. A being, capable of establishing rules and orders for all those multiple dimensions and Universal sublevels, wasn’t likely to make mistakes. But that meant it left my memories for a reason, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
The prospects that S-Prime had left my memory intact because there was something in them, I would need to survive, frightened me. What could be so bad that the evils and technologies I understood from Earth would be needed and migrate to this world?
I wasn’t a technophile by any stretch of the imagination. I was like so many other people. I knew how to use cell phones, the internet, an automobile. But I had no clue on how they really worked. The science behind combustion engines, micro-circuitry, or satellite technology required knowledge that I simply hadn’t invested the time or effort to learn.
I wondered how all those people who transmigrated in novels I’d read conveniently had the knowledge to create innovations using Earth’s technology. Bring Gunpowder to this world? I didn’t see how I could do it. I knew saltpeter was one of the components. Every novel I’d ever read mentioned it. But where to get, how to process it, and the formula?
About the only product I could think of that I could make use of in this world was fiction. I was well-read, so if there was a market for fiction, I should be able to reproduce at least the characters and plots of some of the most popular novels.
S-Prime had said this Universe had amenities comparable to Earth, hadn’t it?
“Caraid? Are you with me?” I asked as I began to glance around and examine my surroundings.
[Yes, Mac. It looks like we have returned to wh…]
[WELCOME TO TALAHM, MAC DE Beleros
RANK SET: LEVEL ONE PRINCE
REWARDS: 100,000 GP
RING OF HIDDEN DEPTHS]
***
RESPAWNS ARE POSSIBLE ONCE EVERY SOLAR CYCLE.
AS A NEWLY ASCENDED PRINCE YOU WILL NEED TO REPORT TO THE CURRENT SEELIE RULERS.
***
QUEST: TRAVEL TO THE CAPITAL AND REPORT TO KING LUGH AND QUEEN MAB
REWARD: 50,000 EXP.
FACTION SEELIE COURT – 1000, FACTION UNSEELIE COURT - 1000
[ACCEPT YES / NO]
A quest?
This world really was going to work on game mechanics.
I understood from my dealings with S-Prime that status screens would exist to display abilities and skills, but I hadn’t realized the similarity to game mechanics was going to be such an intrinsic part of my new life. That System mechanics was going to be so closely parallel the games I was used to playing.
At least my first quest wasn’t to go out and kill ten rats. I chuckled softly before wondering how dangerous this trip was likely to be. Fortunately, I remembered I had my very own guide to help me figure things out.
“Caraid can you see my quest screens?” I asked.
[Yes, Mac. I am here. I have been integrated with your S-Prime architecture and can view and manipulate menu’s, sub-menus and sorting features. I am unable to accept quest prompts unless you change settings in the configuration menu to allow advanced access.]
There were even configuration and setting menus? 'I hope the profanity filter defaults to off,' I thought.
“This quest, should I accept it?
“Do I even have a choice but to accept?
"I mean, it should be pretty safe, right?” I asked almost babbling.
[It should be safe so I would say yes, accept the quest.]
[You could reject it, but you will go to the Capital at some point, you might as well be rewarded for it.]
[I would wait until we leave the ascension chamber before accepting though. By waiting until we leave the room, you ensure the mythical properties of this chamber aren’t interfering with quest mechanics.]
[Travel to the capital should not be dangerous, merchants, caravans, and the kingdom’s subjects make use of the trip daily. Although there are no ‘roads’ as you understand the concept, the paths have been well-traveled so wild creatures and monsters have learned to avoid those areas.]
[You are aware that once you arrive, things will get tricky? You are a new Prince, a Sidhe royal, you have the ability to bind with the land and establish your own kingdom. Politics are going to come into play, and there is nothing more dangerous than politics amongst the Seelie and Unseelie.]
[You will be tested by those hoping to make a name, gain levels, and experience; or by those that will from machinations and jockey for position and power.]
[It is the only way for the nobles to gauge your strengths and find out what the lineage and heritage you now claim means. Some might and will attempt to utilize you and your abilities for their own advantage.]
[You probably will be challenged to duels. We better hope Beleros’ Aura is powerful because there are some duels you simply can’t refuse Prince or not. Politics and nobility are not for the weak.]
“You know you seem pretty well informed and knowledgeable for a commoner, Caraid.”
[You thought I was some poor little goatherd, did you?] Caraid snorted in amusement.
[No, even with my hybrid birth, I was educated.]
[The Seelie were embarrassed enough at my existence; they certainly weren’t going to allow me to shame them further by being stupid.]
[Plus, I think S-Prime may have tweaked my memories and racial knowledge a bit. I seem to know more about historical events for both Seelie and Unseelie than I did. All that back story and history on Beleros wasn’t common knowledge. More something a scholar would have.]
“Speaking of S-Prime didn’t it seem a bit rushed at the end?” I asked.
[Almost as if IT were afraid you would change your mind.] Caraid agreed.
[How exactly did you come to choose my body as your new host form?]
“I selected from a list S-Prime generated. You were the only Seelie, Unseelie form offered. The other choices seemed to be more servant based, and I didn’t want to live my life completely at the whims of others. I’d experienced that enough in my past life.”
[Strange that you choose me then. I have lived a life of austerity, biting my tongue and accepting slights and slanders almost since birth. That stigma I mentioned is very real. Why put yourself in that situation?]
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“Some of it was lack of choice, as I mentioned. Some of it was because my soul seemed to resonate more closely with yours. We had similar histories. Childhoods filled with pain and deprivation.
“Maybe it is naïve of me, but I thought, that in some way I could redress some of the wrongs you experienced and get closure for both of us.
“My choice aside, I still don’t understand why S-Prime seemed to rush the process towards the end?”
[There have been rumors that this Universe’s System has been having problems. Guests not rewarded correctly, S Ranked quests made available to F-Ranked individuals. It hasn’t been going on long, the last few decades maybe. But the reports of inconsistencies reported have grown.]
[Perhaps S-Prime was responded to System errors?]
“System? Not S-Prime?” I asked uncertainly if there was a difference.
[S-Prime is the framework that enforces Universal Laws. Insures Order and Chaos are regulated. And dispenses Karmic justice across all multi-verses.]
[System is this Universes method for tracking experience, levels, quests, factions, and Ranks. The operating system restricted this multi-verse. The system is a sub-routine of S-Prime.]
“So, you think S-Prime manipulated my choices to insert me in this Universe? Hoping or planning for me to figure out why the System seems to be error-riddled?”
[I’m not sure. But I wouldn’t rule it out. ITS cosmic imperative seems to be to fix problems and maintain order. Maybe IT needs to use tools to impose those fixes.]
I’m not sure how I felt about being used as some kind of cosmic tool. I suppose it beats the alternative. At least I hoped it did.
“How are we going to explain this?
"New name. New class. New appearance. Are they even going to realize that Odharc entered and Mac exited?” I wondered.
[You aren’t going to have to explain.]
[This is rare, a person Ascending and gaining Rank and levels, but it isn’t unknown. It has happened before.]
[Considering the rumors about System errors, most people are going to assume this was another System glitch. It would explain and simplify things in their minds. How else would you explain a Seelie bastard becoming a Prince?]
[He certainly couldn’t have earned the Rank.]
[Plus, even as rare an occurrence as this is, the Sidhe consider this proof of Divine will. That those Gods that have entered Sleep are still aware and influencing events in the world around them.]
[The Sidhe believe it is further proof of divine providence and firmly establishes that our forefathers were more than myth and legend, that they did exist, and that they were celestial in nature.]
[Proof of concept that we are truly the offspring of Gods.]
[It is one of the reasons that the Sidhe can be so arrogant. When you can trace your lineage and heritage to the Powers of creation and destruction doesn’t that provide evidence of superiority? If you are a direct descendant of a God, you must be better than others.]
[By the way, you realize that not only have you retained your memories of past life, but we both have retained full memory of S-Prime. We may be the only people who really know what happens once one dies. Not just hope and guess, but really know there is an afterlife and karma has real consequences that affect reincarnation.]
[S-Prime has allowed us to retain the knowledge of how the Universe works. That reincarnation and soul evolution have method and reason. That death is just the beginning. And good or evil, individuals do not experience divine retribution. There is no atoning for one’s sins, after death.]
[Just an endless cycle of reincarnation. You either grow and evolve or not.]
That couldn’t be good, why would S-Prime allow me to retain these memories? They were especially useful, the concepts of reincarnation and Karma were bandied about by philosophers since people learned to walk upright. There was no real earth-shattering bit of wisdom that would allow for enlightenment.
Honestly, it didn’t make a difference. It was just one more thing to add to the list of things that didn’t make sense. There had to be some hidden reason why S-Prime had allowed us to retain those memories. Although there was nothing, we could do to change this, I did think it was something I wouldn't mention. Something I would only discuss with Caraid.
There seemed no downside to sharing my experience, but keeping this quiet seemed the smartest and safest thing to do. Who knows if S-Prime was testing me. Additionally, I had to consider if this really was some kind of cosmic hiccup, a mistake that transcended the rules of the multi-verses.
Better to just keep my mouth shut. I already hoped the Gods and Demons in this Universe wouldn’t be able to use their abilities to ferret out my secrets. I really did not want to draw their attention, as such, it was smarter to ignore what I knew, and not dwell on what I couldn’t change.
Looking around to orientate myself to where I was, my first impression was that I was in some kind of a dungeon.
Not dungeon as in a game instance with monsters, traps, and treasure, but an honest to goodness dungeon. Complete with the brick walls, dripping water, moss on walls, flickering lights, and oppressive feeling could most certainly have been stolen directly from a 16th-century castle’s dungeon.
The only real difference between this room and something I might have found on earth was the exit.
The doorway existed, at least the framework for a door. But the actual opening was covered by a softly glowing wall of purple energy. Walking closer, I slowly extended my arm to see if I could feel any heat radiating. Honestly, it seemed to give off a null impression, not radiating, not absorbing, just something suspended in time.
Was it a portal, some kind of membrane that acted as a barrier between in and out, I wondered?
“What is this room?” I asked.
[An Ascencion Chamber.]
[When children of the Sidhe reach their majority, they have the option of entering the ascension chamber. For most the chamber wakens an ability or two, but there are those rare few, like you, that come back completely changed, with upgraded skills and advanced Ranks.]
[The process is not without danger. 1 in 100,000 people die. And chances of dying increase for those that make the attempt before their majority. For that reason, there are strict enforcement protocols that limit access to Ascension chambers. Only those that have reached the proscribed age or those that have the blessing of their liege are able to enter.]
“So, if you can’t enter until your age of majority, what is the age of majority, and how old does that make you, err, us?”
[My Ascension was unique, a special circumstance. For Seelie and Unseelie the age of majority is 45 solars. But the bias and hate I have endured carried over into my Ascension. The liege lord’s son, Knight Thom A’Kel, has taken me into severe dislike. He ordered me into the Ascension chamber the day after my 16th solar anniversary.]
“He meant for you to die,” I concluded.
“This was a sanctioned murder?”
[Essentially, yes. But not sanctioned by Lord Kel, at least I hope not, I hope My Lord had nothing to do with this. At least those were my thoughts when I was forced to enter the chamber.]
[There are going to be repercussions when you exit the chamber. Thom won’t be happy to find his plans failed. And to add insult, he is now forced to bend the knee to a person he considers his inferior.]
[That alone almost makes my death worth it. He will have no choice. In the matter or Rank and Level Sidhe hold firm, be wary, be vigilant, and trust no one. As an Ascended Prince, most will think you ‘cheated’ to gain the Rank, that you don’t really deserve it. You will have no friends once we leave this chamber.]
[And the fact that you are a Seelie-Unseelie Prince is only going to worsen the envy and hatred you will experience from some. Prince or not, you are still a hybrid abomination.]
“Just step through the opening like a normal door to exit, will I feel anything?”
[You will feel a slight tugging, a moment of disorientation as if you were falling, but there is no pain if that is a concern. Some people are uncomfortable with the feeling and get nauseous. If you feel you have the urge to vomit, try to aim for the liege lord’s son] Caraid suggested humorously.
Taking a deep breath, I tensed up, expecting this to be uncomfortable no matter what Caraid said and took a step forward.
There was that slight tugging sensation, and a bit of vertigo, but he was right, the experience was similar to taking an elevator ride, that sinking feeling in your stomach as the elevator began to drop down quickly. It wasn’t bad, in fact, that feeling in my stomach was rather pleasant. Mainly because there was any feeling in my stomach. The connection between my soul and this body seemed to be well established, and even the small nuances of vertigo were aligned perfectly.
It shouldn’t surprise me. I doubt S-Prime did shoddy work.
As I finished taking that step, I wondered if this was how Buzz Aldrin felt when he stepped out of the Apollo Lunar module and took that first step on the moon. The idea of that first step may have been the same, but the reality was very different.
My body seemed to atomize and coalesce as I moved into a new room, breaking down into my constituent atoms and molecules and reassembling instantly into the Me that would take shape and form in this new world.
The room I entered was a stark contrast to the austere dungeon-like room S-Prime had placed me in. Richly appointed, with marble floors, wooden panels, and gold accents. The room radiated wealth and luxury.
The transition wasn’t without problems. I had been crippled and bed-ridden for years so moving and balancing a body was interesting to say the least, let alone a body that wasn’t mine. Learning to move again was going to be an experience. But my body seemed to stabilize and adjust as my ‘soul’ quickly began to resonate and establish ownership. That last tiny bit of unfamiliarity as body and soul merged completely.
The changes to my body hadn’t included a new wardrobe. Caraid’s clothing was ill-fitting. Gaining a foot in height, as well as my new musculature meant the clothes I was wearing were too tight, too short, and too restrictive. My transition back into the real world was accompanied by the sound of cloths ripping and shredding.
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: ODHARC OF THE SEELIE FACTION HAS COMPLETED THE ASCENSION PROCESS AND HAS ASCENDED. HE WILL HENCEFORTH BE KNOWN AS PRINCE MAC DE BELEROS, ACKNOWLEDGED AS A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF AND PURIFIED WITH THE BLOODLINE FROM THE GOD BELEROS.
ALL HAIL PRINCE MAC DE BELEROS!
***
EXPERIENCE GAINS WILL BE INCREASED BY 10% FOR THE NEXT SOLAR IN CELEBRATION OF PRINCE MAC DE BELEROS ASCENSION FOR ALL FACTIONS AND RACES OF SIDHE, IN HONOR OF THE DISCOVERY OF THIS NEW ROYAL AND AS A REWARD FOR THE REINTRODUCTION OF AN ADVANCED BLOODLINE.]
Well, that had done it. No way my entrance into this world was going to be ignored now.