“What you discover about life’s shell game is that it’s hardest to follow the pea when you’re the pea.”
Robert Breault
As we watched the two envoys set sail together, I mused that the pea that was the hardest to follow in the shell game of your own life; was yourself. I had so many irons in the fire that most of them had cooled, and I had lost myself in the morass. I was still moving forward but had lost the drive and focus along the way. My little kingdom grew day by day, but it would do that with or without my input now that our revenue streams were secure and our population continued to expand. Sure, I could continue to add strings to the Silversea bow, but it felt like my personal progress had slowed despite my bloated status. We returned to town.
As we descended the slope toward the slowly expanding town walls, I realised it would have been my ninth birthday today if time was measured like on my former earth. It was no longer unusual that I could read and write, expected even as a young noble lord. I still excelled in a multitude of subjects beyond my years. However, Lady Acacia had insisted it was time I switched out of my Singer metier into something more appropriate for my station in life. Lords were not Singers; they had magic, and most would claim the metier Mage—just another way to separate the haves from the have-nots.
“Why the hesitation, Kai? At level 11, you will gain little more from the Singer metier without dedicating your life to it or evolving it further.” She explained as we headed to the Church of the Lodestar.
Perfect points to be making, but I would hold onto it if I could. I just needed a little luck when I finally reached the Lodestar. “I like singing,” I replied.
“And you do so beautifully, but your house will need to rely on far more than just your voice. There are many who see might and right. Ultimately magic is might.” She refused to allow my reluctance to delay us further as she walked the pair of us up the steps. Bargaining with Mercurio, Kashif and the two envoys had pushed Aleera up to level 10 in her Merchant metier, and she would be joining me in reclassifying as a mage—the plan to level this and possibly another before picking lady for her debut in the capital.
The bishop met us at the door, wisdom or a cleric warning him of our coming. “Welcome, picking another metier for the young Lord and Lady?” he smiled pleasantly. He was as involved in our training as Lady Acacia.
“It’s past time. Singer has stalled at level 11 without a larger crowd or significantly more time devoted to it. It is unlikely to level much further.” Lady Acacia answered for me. “Likewise, Merchant for Aleera is unlikely to make any more quick progress now that the envoys and merchants have left us for a while. It is time for them to take Mage.”
“Follow me, then.” The bishop happily led us into the church and the room holding the Lodestar.
Interestingly enough, through his lectures, he had told me that this was not strictly necessary. He could offer the light of the lodestar and the metier selection through a touch of his hand. Not strictly his hand but the ring with a shard of a lodestar sealed within it. It allowed them to carry the light with them wherever they went. I wanted one and was sure that with a bit of experimentation, I could probably, possibly, make my own. The challenge was the mithril needed to make it out of. But that is what merchants were for, and I had already made my requests.
We stepped into the room of the Lodestar standing on its altar, and made our way to it.
“Ladies first,” I let Aleera take the lead rather than rushing forward. She smiled. What could I say? I was finally growing up a little.
We all watched as she closed her eyes and laid her hand on the stone. A second later, she was opening them and smiling. It would take little to level up the first couple of mage levels, especially with the spellcraft, Spellsong, glyphs, runes and sigils we had already studied.
It was my turn. At least with my mana contained in my cores, I would no longer light up the whole building by touching it. Closing my eyes and crossing my fingers for good luck, I placed my palms on the stone.
Immediately the world fell away.
Welcome, Lord Callen Kai Caelus Kasai Silversea!
Yes! Fourth name, fourth metier available. I wouldn’t have to give up Singer just yet. Brief, simple and to the point, the window somehow filled my vision. It seemed to be going through my status one line at a time, like last time. That was lucky timing with the extra name.
“You deserved it.” I jumped at the unexpected voice beside me. It looked like the gods or at least one of them, were watching.
“Can they hear you?” I whispered harshly in response opening my eyes only to find myself standing inside my metal fortress without entering the skill. Crazy wouldn’t be a good look. However, talking to gods might be a step up in the Bishop’s book. At least in my mind, they wouldn’t be seeing it.
“Of course not. The temporal bubble we are in will be but a flicker for them if they can even notice it. So much simpler to meet in your soul when you are touching the light.” She replied.
“My soul? This is my mind.” I pointed out.
“Yes, and I love what you have done with the place.” She mentally flickered through the rooms that made up my Fibonacci expanding spiral of a fortress. “But it is only a mental construct to make sense of your soul to your mind. Did you really believe that the developing brain of a fetus had enough space to house half of this?” She moved us both outside of the mental fortress to the observatory-like planetarium I used to help me see the minds of others.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I couldn’t see the minds of others at the moment so bright the light of the sky. It looked like Fortuna surrounded me, or her presence overwhelmed all others. She didn’t give me an opportunity to respond.
“But no, we are meeting in your soul. Here let’s change your perspective.” She lifted me up into the sky, and with a metaphysical wrench, I was now looking down on my soul. A mere marble she held in her hand. This was disconcerting, my disembodied perspective zoomed closer, and I could see my mind fortress, a mental construct within my soul. A mountain fortress in the sea of experience that made up my soul. I felt it flexing and straining as two more skills were added to my soul.
Ding! Sense Soul Lv1
Ding! Astral Projection Lv 1
The light of the lodestar, the system informed me of my progress. I could sense the skills forming alongside the notice.
“And back we go.” She stopped me from contemplating myself any further, and I found myself back on the edge of my mind fortress; only now could I see how my soul surrounded and supported it. She stood beside me. “About that favour.” . . .
Here was the other shoe dropping now that I was safely home. “It’s nothing too onerous.” She started as if already anticipating my objections.
“What do I need to do?” I asked apprehensively. I had not made a deal with a devil, but I was not yet sure that a deal with a god was much better.
“Just a bit of sightseeing.” She smiled, happy I was listening. “Follow in the Archbishop's footsteps, so to speak.”
“A circumnavigation of the entire compass kingdoms?” my eyebrows rose. Despite my interest in seeing more of the world, that was hardly a little favour.
“No need to sound so alarmed. I’m not expecting you to start right this instant. You don’t have to travel alone.” She carried on as if this would not be the trip of a lifetime.
“Why not ask a member of the church? They’d be happy to circumnavigate the kingdoms in your honour.” I pointed out. A party had only just passed through. However, that had been the first in my lifetime here on Wester Ponente.
She thought for a second before replying, unconvinced by my argument. “You’re welcome to travel with them if you’d like. But no, it needs to be you. Was your life and freedom not worth the chance to see the world?”
“Of course it was,” I remembered the dire straights I had found myself in and how she had helped me to escape them. “When do I need to leave?” I asked resigned.
“10 seems an auspicious number. So in 3 ¼ years from now.” She answered as if picking a random number.
“The year people unlock their status?” I asked.
“You will always stand out if you don’t keep your head down. But at least at that age, you will be officially old enough to have assigned your free points.” She answered. “Now, would you like to unlock magic or luck for your cousins?” she pivoted from her earlier point, offering something new as if in recompense.
“Magic,” I answered determinedly. Maybe we would finally even out the scales.
“Fair enough, not everyone likes to rely on me. I’ve assigned your free points to make you my lucky prime. But that is as far as I can bend the rules. My time with you is up.”
“Thank you?”
“But I can give you a little time to check out your status before you return. Remember 3 ¼ years. I expect you to be ready.”
. . .
Time to focus on myself, I delved inside.
Level: 49
Title: Lord
Métier: Singer Lv 11
Métier: Sailor Lv 11 -> Lv12
Métier: Merchant Lv 6 -> Lv8
Métier: Mage Lv 1
Name: Callen Kai Caelus Kasai Silversea
Age: 6 years 12 months 0 days (Old World 9 years)
General Experience: 123,000 /3,276,800
Health: 1600/1600 Stamina: 1600/1600 Mana: 1900/1900 Psi: 1600/1600
Trait: Long-Lived, Fast Learner, Super Senses, Source of Mana, Quick Witted, Celerity, Durability, Supreme Strength, Charming, Lucky
Vitality: 157 -> 163
Endurance: 158 -> 163
Strength: 157 -> 163
Dexterity: 158 -> 163
Senses: 158 -> 163
Mind: 157 -> 163
Clarity: 158 -> 163
Magic: 157 -> 193
Charisma: 157 -> 163
Luck: 158 -> 163
Free Points: 60 assigned 10 unassigned
Skills Tier 1:
Dance (LV100) Sailing (LV83-> 87) Singing (LV80 ->83) Trading (LV77-> 82) Meditation (LV75->82)Time Sense (LV80-> 82)Balance (LV55 -> 60) Fishing (LV43 ->58) Sneak (LV57) Acting (LV 56)Drumming (LV55) Whistling (LV50) Farming (LV50) Knots (LV52 ->55)Draw (LV52) Listening (LV50) Stitching (LV50) Humming (LV50) Insight (LV47 ->50) Glide (LV45) Poise (LV43) Grace (LV43) Charm (LV42) Composure (LV41) Ambidextrous (LV29 ->36) Silent Step (LV29->32) Inspect (LV29 -> 31) Sketching (LV21->27) Drafting (LV21->26)Lie (LV26) Deft touch (LV24) Posture (LV22) Riding (LV20) Cook (LV20) Etiquette (LV20) Appeal (LV20) Sight (LV20) Scent (LV20) Detect (LV20) Taste (LV20) Measurement (LV 15 ->19) Blacksmithing (LV10) Carpentry (LV10) Mining (LV10) Teaching (LV10) Underwater breathing (Lv1)
Tier 2:
Sense Mana (LV65 -> 68) Quick reflexes (LV65 -> 72) Eavesdrop (LV63) Spellcraft (LV55 -> 59) Spellsong (LV53 ->55) Order (LV44 ->49) Linguistics (LV40) Memorisation (LV40) Recall (LV40) Composition (LV40) Pain Tolerance (LV36 ->38) Stealth (LV36 -> 39) Mind Sense (LV29->35) Knife Arts (LV25 -> 29) Misdirection (LV23 -> 26) Haggling (LV22 ->25)Observe (LV25 -> 26) Martial Arts (LV22 -> 25) Transplant (LV20) Cruising (LV18 -> 21) Dart (LV 18 ->25) Heal (LV13->16) Poison Tolerance (LV10 -> 11)Treasure Sense (LV10 ->17) Intimidation (LV9 -> 12)
Tier 3:
Expel Mana (LV63 ->64) Mana Manipulation (LV62->63) Gale (LV63) Echolocation(LV63-> 65) Absorb Mana (LV40 ->42) Boil (LV50) Ignite (LV40) Melt (LV40) Command (LV40) Deception (LV24 -> 26) Bargain (LV21 ->23) Freeze (LV20) Racing (LV15 -> 17) Analyse (LV13 -> 15) Flash Step (Lv13 -> 15) Seismic Sense (LV11) Danger Sense (Lv7 -> 10) Smuggling (LV5) Telepathy (Lv2 ->5)
Tier 4:
Block Status (LV100) Iron Man (LV64 -> 66) Parallel Processing (LV37->40) Material Manipulation (LV31->33) Stone shaping (LV30->33) Mana Drain (LV 30) Flight (LV17->20) Sonar (Lv9 ->19) Seafaring (LV7 -> 11) Air stepping (Lv2 ->7) Contract (Lv1 –> 5)
Tier 5:
Mind fortress (LV21->25) Multiple minds (LV3 -> 4) Omniglot (LV25) Weapon Prodigy (Lv22->23)Music Prodigy (Lv31) Polymath (Lv10) Enigma (Lv1) Astral Projection (Lv1)
Tier 6:
Sense Soul (Lv1)
I had time to go through my progress and status before opening my eyes to my smiling, supportive family. But I was distracted by my conversation with the Goddess Fortuna. I would have to leave in 3 ¼ years? I was her lucky prime?