The next few years were peaceful for Reissdown Village and the lands beyond. The people of Erlich were a hardy lot, owing to the mountainous and rugged lands that made up most of their kingdom, and constant strife with the monsters on the northern border and within the kingdom meant that they were able to deal with a lot of hardship. Thus, even though the recent winter had been one of the most devastating on record, mainly due to the ridiculous tax claimed by Baron Faust just before the onset of the frost, the villagers just worked twice as hard as before to make sure they wouldn’t end up losing farmlands or business to nearby towns and villages over claims they didn’t have the numbers to keep up anymore. The population recovered somewhat, thanks to the ever present movement of refugees and wanderers from various places, and there hadn’t been any more surprise taxes since then.
People were always in need of a place to live. There were those forced out of their old homes due to monster attacks, war and natural disaster, or simply those seeking their fortune or a better life elsewhere. Baron Faust, unlike his pampered son, was not a complete idiot. He knew the limits of his subjects, and wouldn’t extract so much that he destroyed the economy of his own lands. For most of the village folk, this prosperity and peace was paradise, and they couldn’t ask for more. The only person who wasn’t satisfied was Elaria. She was happy for the villagers of course, they deserved it after what they’d suffered through, but ever since the day Jacob had left, she’d been restless. Unable to wait for the day of her birthing ceremony, she’d actually tried to run away from home once, the day after her eighth birthday, and head to the capital in search of her friend.
That had been a rude awakening to the harsh reality of life outside the safe confines of human settlement. Once she passed through the nearby forest, and began to venture into the wilder lands between Reissdown Village and the nearest city, she’d run into a small pack of wolves. Despite her best efforts to escape, a child was no match for a beast in terms of stamina or speed, and they had quickly caught up to her, relishing in the fact they would have a fresh meal that night. Perhaps by a stroke of luck, or maybe divine intervention, her father had arrived at that moment, and along with a few of the men from the village, they killed or scared off the wolves. It turns out the moment he discovered his daughter missing, he’d organised a small search party, and guessing her intentions, had decided to look in the direction of Cloudvale first, knowing she was likely to head towards the capital.
She was exceptionally grateful that he knew her so well, because if not, she might have been on her way to start a third life before ever reaching her tenth birthday. After that day, she learnt her lesson well, and remained in the village until she had her birthing ceremony and was strong enough to fend for herself. It didn’t prevent the boredom though. Ultimately, her patience was rewarded, and the moment she had been waiting for since the day she’d arrived in Teron was here. It was the night before her tenth birthday, and her father had prepared her an extra special dinner, with all her favourites. Crispy roast potatoes, a perfectly seared ribeye steak, and a special gravy made with herbs her mother had grown in a small garden behind the house. It had been a struggle to fall asleep, but eventually the soft embrace of darkness lulled her off, and she dreamt of legendary heroes and mythical beasts. Reincarnating had brought back the sense of wonder and fantasy possessed by children that she had lost somewhere along the way in her past life. Being in a world where magic and monsters were real definitely helped.
The day of her tenth birthday arrived, and it was a beautiful one. The sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky without a cloud in sight, and Elaria felt like nothing could bring her down right now. She had originally intended to go through the birthing ceremony alone, in the grove in the forest, following Jacob’s footsteps, but while they were eating breakfast her father had requested to join her for the ritual, and seeing his puppy eyes and excitement, she had accepted. Elaria was going to be leaving him alone after all, so it was only right to let him take part in the process of her becoming an adult in the eyes of the Chain and the world. He had been a good father to her, and despite losing his wife, he hadn’t allowed it to break him, making sure to keep up his responsibilities and work. He’d given her everything she wanted, within reason, and showered her in care and affection. Darius Highgrove was a good man.
The trees of the forest were a verdant emerald green, and softly whispered under the touch of the summer winds. Taking a seat at the base of a large tree, her father standing opposite, wearing a proud expression, excited for his child to be making the first great step into her future, she brought up the prompt from the Chain which had appeared the moment she woke up that morning. It had been torture to not immediately accept and start the ceremony, and despite it being common knowledge that where you were didn’t affect the outcome, doing it properly was important to Elaria. This location held huge symbolic importance to her, and making it the place she truly started her second life felt right. It was a simple message, and there was only one option to choose.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Congratulations, Elaria Highgrove, for reaching ten years of age! You are now eligible to undergo the birthing ceremony and take your first step towards the future of your choosing. The ceremony will begin the moment you accept, or, if you do not manually initiate the process, it will be forced upon you at midnight. Going through the birthing ceremony asleep can lead to undesired outcomes, so we highly recommend you do it at a convenient time, while fully awake!
[Initiate birthing ceremony]
The message was a lot less whimsical and carefree than the previous ones she’d received from Zel, so she had to assume this was the standard greeting for everybody who reached this point of their life. Zel had said she would be able to talk to them again once she turned ten, so perhaps there would be some interference once she started the ritual. Regardless, there was only one path forward, and she was determined to take it. She tapped the button to begin the process, and immediately the familiar motes of white light began to spark into existence around her. The forest around her and even her father disappeared from view as an endless torrent of light flooded from nowhere, drowning her in brightness. It was overwhelming, and she almost lost focus, but she knew that it wouldn’t last for long. The pillar of light descended from heaven, and it felt warm and safe. Her father came back into focus, and he smiled when she caught his eye.
All of a sudden, her vision faded, and her consciousness was pulled into a completely separate space. Looking around, the space was utterly devoid of anything, and was entirely pure white, the same colour as the mysterious motes of light that represented the start of the ceremony. Confused, she looked around, but there really was nothing there except her and her thoughts. Writing began to appear in the air before her, and reading it, she realised what had happened.
Hello again my dear, sorry about the sudden imposition on your birthing ceremony. Typically, people just get some boxes and choose their options while remaining conscious, but since you are a very special person, and this is a very momentous occasion, I had to personally intervene. It’s usually my policy to be hands off when it comes to the system and the planes, but you deserve that personal touch. It’s taking quite a lot out of me to be here right now, so I’ll try to be brief. I’m glad to see that you’ve grown up healthy and mostly happy. I know it wasn’t all good, but I did warn you when I brought you here that Teron isn’t exactly the nicest world to live in. Suffice to say, it takes experiences both good and bad to make a person whole, and I need you whole. Other than my gift, and my presence here, try to trust me when I say I haven’t tampered with anything else, and any decision you make today is yours and yours alone. Whatever options the system presents are completely related to your experiences and talents, and are not a result of me fiddling around where I shouldn’t. I’m sure you have plenty of questions, but unfortunately with the energy I have, I’ll only be able to answer one before the firewalls force me out. I think the first thing you should do is choose your personal ability. Based on everything you have experienced, your ambitions and desires, your talents and skills, and many other factors, the system will give you three options. The choice is permanent, and cannot be reversed. Pick the one you feel suits your dream for the future best, and don’t look back.
Zel
They were right, she did have a lot of bloody questions, but the fucker apparently only had time to answer one. Well that was just wonderful wasn’t it. Fat lot of good this Zel was, thrusting her into an unknown world with nothing but a ‘good luck,’ and now after waiting ten years for more clarity, she would only get to ask one. Whatever, she wasn’t going to let it affect her too much. She’d survived ten years in this bloody place after all, and had managed to understand it fairly well on her own. Three boxes of text appeared in front of her, each one representing an option for her personal ability. Elaria took her time, carefully reading over each one, lest she miss anything important. This would be an exceedingly tough choice to make, and it would impact her life forever, she didn’t want to leave any regrets. Frankly, she didn’t know where to start, every single one of these abilities sounded ridiculously strong, and without any hands on knowledge about how they worked in a real world setting, it would be difficult to know which one suited her best. Not knowing what else to do, she asked a question to the white void, hoping this wasn’t a waste of her one answer from Zel.
“Hey Zel, which one of these do you think would suit me best? I have no clue how magic works, or if it’s powerful compared to physical combat. It’s your fault I’m here right, so I think you should show a little favour. Also, I’ve never even heard of these grades. None of the writing or folklore in Teron has records of them, which one is better?”