Nick's Perspective
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Welcome, Novice!
Congratulations! In the aeonic scan of the whole of reality, you were found to have access to the primeval energy of Mana! The spark inside of you qualified you for relocation to the realm of Alara. Here, you will live out the remainder of your years. We know you have lost a lot with this transference, but fear not! You will gain as much as you have lost, and if you work hard, more! To help you on your way we have included for your convenience
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When Nick woke up this morning there were a few things he had expected. The single ray of sunlight that managed to focus itself unerringly on his face no matter what position he was in? Almost certainly. The honking of horns outside his shitty apartment as people drove to jobs that they weren’t fulfilled in? Yes. The demoralizing feeling of realizing that in less than half an hour he would be one of those people that was dragging themselves to work? Definitely. What he hadn’t expected however was the feeling of grass underneath his face and floating text that appeared as soon as he blinked himself awake.
After having finished reading the message, Nick held himself very still. The world around him continued, oblivious to both it’s impossibility and the panic attack it’s newest inhabitant was experiencing. For a moment, he thought he may be dreaming, but he immediately dismissed the thought. He knew he was awake. He didn’t remember ever breathing in any dreams before and he definitely didn’t remember ever not being able to get enough air, as his breaths came faster and faster. He didn’t know how long he sat there trying to make sense of his situation. Logic and experience told him that there was no way what was happening could at all be possible and yet logic and experience told him that it was happening nonetheless. His brain was far too underprepared to be able to deal with the contradiction. It wasn’t far into this struggle, that something in the woods to his right rustled and his eyes snapped too it immediately.
For a moment he thought he had imagined it, until it happened again. Nick could feel his heart hammering in his chest. His eyes stayed glued to the spot, as another moment, this one of silence, stretched into eternity, as moments seemed to be doing since he woke up. Then it happened, another rustle, then another, then another. A voice in his brain told him that this was going to be exactly like in the movies, where the main character is terrified of the rustling, and a harmless bunny hops out of the forest, innocent and adorable. It turned of the voice in his head was a fucking idiot. A bear, larger than life, and angrier than he had ever seen a bear pushed its way out of the bushe, attention focused entirely on him. A rumbling began deep in the beasts chest, and saliva dripped began dripping from its snarling maw.
Slowly Nick pulled himself to his feet, and the stupid fucking voice in his head shouted at him stupid fucking things that definitely weren’t helpful in situations where you were about to be mauled by a bear. It pointed out things like the fact he had boots on, somehow, despite having definitely not gone to sleep with boots on and that the bear was definitely larger than a black bear but probably smaller than a grizzly, as if those things could at all be immediately helpful. Having reached his feet and his eyes never having left the bear, Nick stood there feeling locked into place. The rumbling sound, the growl, grew louder as the bear stood equally as still, looking at Nick. The tensions grew and grew, much like the growl, until the bear took a step forward, and something broke in Nick. He turned and tore off into the woods.
Nick was never a runner, but the adrenaline from his fear was fueling him and he reached speeds that he never had before. The voice in his head pointed out that if the bear was chasing him it was only a matter of time before he was caught because he definitely could not outrun it. Before this moment, he hadn’t so much as looked in cardio’s direction in well over a year. Nick told the voice to shut the fuck up. Nick ran as hard as he ever had despite his chances, arms pumping in front of him and chest burning like hellfire. Nick didn’t know how long he ran, oxygen deprivation combined with emotional shock and disorientation absolutely decimating his sense of time, but after a while he turned his head around to see where the bear was, never stopping his flight for a moment. Miraculously, the bear was nowhere to be seen. It took Nick a moment to register this and he could have cried from relief. He began to stop his run. Unfortunately, the message took its time traveling from the motor control center of his brain to his legs, and Nick turned around only to find a branch directly in the path of his face, while he was traveling near full speed. Nick didn’t even have time to think an expletive before darkness took him.
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The Forest Around Nick
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A being shimmered into existence near the unconscious body of Nicholas Strand much like a mirage shimmers into existence in a desert. It dressed as one might guess an being with an entrance like that might, with grand robes, gorgeous and obviously expensive, but without crossing the line into gaudiness. It stood the feet in the air as solidly as a regular person might stand on the ground. It stood there for a moment, arms crossed across its chest as it stared down at the unconscious Novice. Then the being spoke, it's voice as androgynous as it's features.
"We should have known better than to expect they follow their own rules." It seemed to speak into the air. "Another generation or two would have been perfect. We could have guaranteed the Novice thrived. This one? This one might not even survive"
The being cocked it's head as it lapsed into silence, listening to some unseen voice.
"You're right as always. Besides he may survive. It wouldn't be the first time we had a pleasant surprise like that."
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The being crouched in midair, resting it's forearms on its knees, peering into Nick's bloodied and unconscious face. It let out a soft grunt of approval.
"Look at his nose. So sharp. We've always favored ones with noses like that. They seem luckier."
Again the being paused to listen. "Of course there isn't any evidence for that. It doesn't make it any less true. But that's enough. We've spent enough time in this cesspool of a plane. It's time we let the Council know what will happen the next time they break one of their rules just to vex us."
At that the being stood, patted its hands together to knock away non-existent dust, and faded out of existence much the same way it entered, just as Nick slowly stirred, coming to consciousness and oblivious to much more experienced extraplanar existence's presence.
Nick's Perspective
Nick had always found that headaches had a remarkable way of destroying the relative importance of just about anything. They were literally the bane of his existence. They had prevented him from doing just about anything whenever he had them for most of his life and Nick had just had the misfortune of waking up to the mother of all headaches. It took him a while after waking to form any conscious thought beyond the recognition of the all consuming pain that had taken residence inside his head. Groggily, he pulled himself to a sitting position and gingerly explored his forehead with his fingertips.
When he finally mustered up the courage to open his eyes and add sight to the terrible concoction of sensations inside his head, he saw that his fingertips had come away red and covered in a not insignificant amount of blood. Nick would have groaned, but he had the impression that anything of the sort would likely make him throw up from the involved motion. At that moment there was literally nothing, Nick wouldn't do to have a ceasefire with the rebellious nerves inside his head.
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Congratulations! You have discovered the weave of: Restoration - Organic (General)!
This weave allows for the general restoration of nearly any organic structure. Be warned, it is highly ineffective and heavily Mana intensive due to its lack of a specialized nature. It's impressive that you at all manage to heal with it, though it was easier due to both strong desire and a clear picture of a previous state.
Congratulations! You have discovered the weft of: Self - Internal (General)!
This weft allows for weaves to be directed internally. Be warned, it is highly ineffective and heavily Mana intensive due to its lack of a specialized nature. It's impressive you managed to target an injury, though it was easier due to both strong desire and a clear picture of intent.
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Nick flinched back at the sudden appearance of words floating in midair inches from his face and immediately winced from the expectation of pain that would follow. When the pain didn’t come, Nick opened his eyes in shock. He could feel the fire in his brain receding, more quickly than it ever had before. Headaches had never left quickly before, but this one was already almost gone. He touched the same hand he had before to his forehead and it wasn’t even tender any more. There was still blood on it, but it didn’t hurt any more. Nick was never one to believe in miracles, but this seemed as good evidence as any.
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Warning! Mana Overdraw! Mana - (-7/3)
You have significantly overdrawn your mana! As a result you will suffer the consequences of mana weakness! Your coordination will be impaired until the mana debt is paid and you will suffer from minor nausea and tiredness. Be more careful with your spellweaving next time, Novice!
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As he finished reading the words, a faint feeling of nausea filled Nicholas, just like when you’ve eaten far too much and your stomach starts to rebel. At the same time a cloud seemed to settle over his head. Even through the fog, relief washed through him. He would take nausea and confusion over a headache any day of the week, especially when the nausea was hardly debilitating and the confusion felt no different than when you wake up from a nap, slightly disoriented. The only difference was that it didn’t fade after a few seconds. Nick pulled himself to his feet and brushed off twigs and leaves that had attached themselves to his clothes after his forehead’s thunderous collision with the tree branch, clothes that Nick was now realizing were definitely not ones he owned before today. Before he had a chance to consider what that meant another set of words floated before his face.
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Congratulations, Novice! You have unlocked the archetype of Healer!
Because you have discovered rudimentary skills involved with healing yourself and others, you are being offered the illustrious position of Healer! You should accept this position quickly! It allows you a significant mana reduction cost to spells involving any restoration weave and any organically focused weft. It also comes with a significant bonus to skill growth and understanding of related wefts and weaves. Nothing could be better for your continued survival in this mysterious land.
Do you accept the archetype of Healer? *This choice is irreversible*
Yes/No
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Despite the seriously heavy handed sales pitch, or maybe because of it, something inside of Nick immediately rejected accepting the archetype. He had no idea what was happening. He had had almost no time to recover from the shock of waking up in a forest when he should have been in his bed and then near immediately being chased by a bear. He had been told he could do magic, he had done magic, and he had done it while concussed. All-in-all he had been through significant emotional turmoil that had changed fundamentally his perception of reality and would probably recover a therapist to recover from, if this world even had therapists. Now he was being offered a quick path to easy power that would keep him alive while he was scared and confused alone in the woods. Something was definitely off about that, Of course, these thoughts didn’t occur to Nick until much later, mostly because of the fog of confusion still holding sway over him, but the end result was the same. Maybe it was because he was just a contrary bastard but Nick still selected no. He watched as the glowing words fizzled out, instead of the usually sparks swishing them away majestically. As he watched, another set of words took their place.
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Beware Novice.
You have rejected the first archetype offered to you. These opportunities are limited and each rejected opportunity reduces your chances of survival significantly. You have 3/4 opportunities remaining. Think before you reject the next offer that comes your way.
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The switch in tone between the two messages confirmed Nick’s actions to him. He might have had no idea what was happening or even if he was still sane, but when floating words go from being overly nice and helpful to vaguely threatening, something nefarious was certainly afoot. He pondered this for a while, trying to think past the ephemeral tar slowing down his thoughts. The effort was draining, and soon enough, Nick found himself wanting a nap. He walked for a bit before he found a dry enough patch beside a tree to lean against. He sat down and got himself comfortable and drifted away in a not-very restful sleep. Still, it was better than being clotheslined unconscious by a hardwood tree branch. He would figure out what was happening when he had more energy.