La'ar
(Guest Suite on Society grounds)
"3 Days left." La'ar was practically giddy. Almost half of the Attuned had accepted the Agreement after the special Link announcement, and more were trickling in every hour. It seemed like the right call to make after all. He had made sure to study up on the Humans so he could communicate effectively. It had paid off.
La'ar had been overseeing the biome restoration, as well as the 'humanitarian' efforts by the Livari over the past month. A Micro-Fusion reactor had been erected in every country, and installed into their grids. In so-called 'third-world' countries, where there was no infrastructure, grids had been created for them. Access to the power of electricity was officially granted to almost 92% of humanity. Where the Livari had met resistance, sometimes in the form of what the humans called 'gunfire', it had been dealt with in kind.
Where political squabbling had broken out, the Livari had swooped in to smooth it over. Where wars, religious or otherwise, had broken out, the Livari had put a stop to it incredibly effectively. The Livari were being called the 'Green Angels', as well as some rather unsavory names on top of that. La'ar's two favourites were 'Devils of the Sky', and 'Wardens of the Stars'.
Both are quite fitting, honestly!
The World's leaders had all agreed, in writing and otherwise, that Earth be ceded to the Livari for a duration of 25 years, after which an evaluation of the integration into Galactic affairs would be undertaken and amendments made. This meant that the Livari, in essence, had free reign to do as they pleased. A freedom, history would note, they would never abuse. The consequences of such actions were beyond severe.
The authority the Livari held, being absolute, meant that stability and the prosperity of Earth could be their primary objective, without being beholden unto human rules.
As the 'Indian' Prime Minister put it, 'I believe that a race which could cross the stars, master literal magic, and still have the wherewithal to respect those so infinitely less powerful than they, likely understands how to run a world far better than we could ever hope to, in our lifetimes at least.'. What a wise man, I suppose schmoozing is a universal trait then.
There were a few pesky nations that simply couldn't keep their populace in check, regardless of the leader's intentions to honor their agreement with the Livari.
The Humans live in such a disparity of situations. The majority of them have lived 'hand to mouth', as they say, their whole lives. The rest live with so much excess, that their worldview is completely detached from reality. Moral high grounds exist everywhere, and almost all of them with fundamental contradictions born purely out of ignorance. To say their education systems are shocking would be... Well, generous.
La'ar was, nonetheless, fascinated by the Humans. Truly you could search a thousand years and never find a more chaotic yet indisputably talented race brimming with untapped potential. And search the Livari had, to no avail.
His attention shifted to the efforts to erase hunger across the underdeveloped and neglected populaces of Earth. It was a truly shameless thing to witness, that upon investigation into the now-disbanded UN, the funds to end world hunger had existed many times over but had been 'repurposed' time and time again, and sheer lack of care and empathy had robbed so many of such a basic 'human right'.
Many nations were now literally ceding governance directly to the Livari, and it was no surprise. Most of the nations that had ceded, now held emergency elections once the Livari had clearly shown themselves willing and able to make a difference. These citizens were asking the Livari to oversee everything, from elections to government.
It's amazing what universal access to food, shelter, and power can do for beleaguered people. It's even more amazing how differently nations look once their elections aren't tampered with.
One part of the Livari's governance and practices that didn't sit well with Western nations was the universal surveillance used by the Livari. However, since it wasn't being abused by power-hungry madmen, the results spoke for themselves.
Being able to literally see through walls, hear every conversation spoken, and read every sliver of communication between people meant that organized crime had been almost completely eradicated across the globe. It had only taken a single week.
The drug trade? Destroyed.
Human trafficking? Destroyed.
Corporate Exploitation and Espionage? Destroyed.
The Livari had tracked down and uprooted every single major criminal and cartel from Mexico to Russia in the tiniest amount of time. Was it really any wonder that over half of the world leaders were also found guilty of heinous crimes? Hence the nations that were now petitioning the Livari look after their nations.
Which we'll do, at least for a generation or two, so they can learn and change their nations themselves.
Another thing that didn't sit well with the West was the Livari's 'punishments'. The Livari held the view that seeing as life is precious, and a Livari could live for an excess of thousands of years, to snuff out a life blossoming with potential was a true cardinal 'sin'. Thus, many criminals had simply... vanished. Some reappeared to their families, utterly broken and changed from who they were, whilst others simply never returned. If families went to the Livari to ask for their whereabouts, they were always told the truth. They seldom came away happy.
Whilst there was initial grumbling regarding all this, one thing that made every implementation of the Livari beyond effective and accurate without fail was one simple fact: Humanity had no magic.
No magical defense against even the most basic mind probing. A planet of open books. Proving it to the world's media was hilarious though. He chuckled to himself.
Yes, so far, things were going well!
There was just the small matter of a certain someone. La'ar sighed to himself.
Never in a thousand years did I think she would bend the rules so far. Choosing a Champion before the Link had even been cast? What was she thinking? She could have killed him before he'd even had the chance to know what was going on.
It wasn't that he was angry, per se. It was more a question of her 'conveniently' forgetting to tell him. It boded well for the future, however. She seemed to have incredible instincts, extreme magical control, and a Champion that had responded naturally to her magic even without a Link. That wouldn't have been abnormal on its own, however, when the Champion in question was from a species that didn't even naturally possess magic in the first place? Well, that was...
Unprecedented.
Truly, the Luminary was wise to have the foresight not to discard this planet outright.
This is going to be interesting.
* * * * *
Mike
"I'm beyond jealous right now. Not only do you get magic, but you also get an alien girlfriend!? How is this fair?" Joe exclaimed once Mike had finished letting him in on the previous week's fiasco.
"Geez Joe, she's not my girlfriend, she's just some alien who..."
"Nah, sorry. Not buying it. A chick reaches into your brain, 'illegally' teaches you magic, then tells you you're the only one she's spoken to? " If Joe's eyebrows could climb any higher they'd join his hairline. "My dude, if that's not screaming 'I'm interested' to you, then I don't think all the magic schools in the world can save you from dying alone." Joe said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.
"Joe, Firstly, there's no way, secondly, whether or not some alien is interested in me or not is the literal least of my worries, I have to..."
"Woe is you, my friend!" Joe interrupted dramatically, placing the back of his hand on his forehead. "Truly, no soul has ever seen such despair as I, for my fallen brother, doomed to a life of solitude and chastity, who will never know the loving embrace of an alien ooof..."
Joe got an elbow in the gut for his trouble as Mike walked past him to boot up the Playbox in the living room.
"Fine, I'll wait till I've kicked your ass a bit so you can take this more seriously, dumbass." Mike said with a smirk.
Joe was still gathering his wind, but managed to croak out, "That's fair, I deserved that..."
"You know what you get to sit and watch." Mike said with a grin.
"Geez, remind me never to tease you about alien girlfriends again..." Joe rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.
"Serves you right." Mike said as he changed out the discs. "Space Wars: Squires of the Old Republic, and you get to watch for a whole 2 hours."
"Woohoo, lucky me." Joe said dryly as he got comfy on the couch.
"You brought this on yourself. Maybe now you'll learn not to Chasé coupé Jeté across the line."
Joe fixed Mike with a blank stare. "You know, if I wanted to know about ballet, I'd Google it. Stop trying to get me in on your ballet jokes!" he said mock-severely.
"Ah, but you do know those are ballet terms!" Mike said smugly as the game loaded up.
"Only because you keep telling me they are! If I didn't know any better I would think you were learning French to impress some girl. Not that you need to try anymore, since there's an alien interested now, no one can beat that!" Joe said in a dreamy voice.
"Ugh, have some standards dude. Have you ever seen a hot Livari?" Mike asked incredulously while cycling through the characters.
"Nope!" Joe said expectantly, "Though I bet that there's one out there! You know, they look just like elves! Just a bit weird on the forehead side, but beyond that...I could see myself with a green-skinned beauty..." he trailed off into a daydream once more.
Mike sighed. "I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled just for you." he said, rolling his eyes.
"It's the least you could do! Soon you're gonna be rich and famous and you'll forget all about me! You gotta leave me with something to remember you by, like a date with a certain..."
Mike interrupted Joe, "Yeah, yeah, I promise I'll try my best. But, please Joe, let's focus here for a bit, What should I choose? I mean, it's kind of, to be or not to be, you know?" Mike said staring at the character choices on the screen.
Joe diverted his gaze subtly, "Well man, I think you already know what you're gonna pick, and you should just go for it. I mean, you are kinda on a time limit. The sooner you choose, the sooner you get to see what it's like. I mean, it's new and all, but I'm sure it'll be worth it." Joe said matter-of-factly.
"Just like that?" Mike asked cautiously, mentally pulling up the Link interface with the two options hovering in his vision. "You don't think we should discuss it a little more?"
Joe looked Mike right in the eye. "Mike, knowing your luck, there's no way your choice could end badly. You're probably gonna end up discovering something no one's ever seen before knowing you, and we've already talked plenty about it. Seriously, if so many people have done it, how bad could it be?" Joe said with a knowing smile.
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Alright, I'll trust you, Joe. You're the best friend I've ever had, and you've never once let me down. Mike thought as he took a steadying breath.
With that, he plucked up his courage. Aunty Lauren and Uncle Ray had already given him their blessing, now all he had wanted to do was chat to Joe about it. His choice was clear.
"Alright Joe, here goes. This is gonna change everything." Mike said excitedly.
"It sure is." Joe said, looking at the screen.
Then, Mike mentally pressed • Accept •
In a flash, the Link lit up with a large 'Welcome', then changed to show more information than he'd ever seen before. Statistics, his Name, Race, Eye Colour, there was so much to unpack!
This is...actually like a game! This is incredible, it's...
Mike's wonder was interrupted by Joe.
"Sooo, you gonna choose him or what?" Joe looked at Mike.
...
Mike looked at Joe in confusion, then the TV, and then it clicked.
Oh.
Oh no.
Joe, you're the worst friend I've ever had. Mike looked at Joe utterly dumbfounded.
Joe looked back nonplussed. "What?"
"Joe!?" Mike nearly exploded.
"What?" Joe replied in confusion.
"I was...I wasn't talking about Space Wars you idiot!" Mike couldn't believe it.
"What do you mean, jackass!? Why are you so mad? You haven't even picked your char..." Joe saw the sheer panic in Mike's eyes, and then it clicked.
"Oh boy." Joe said quietly.
"Yes! Oh boy exactly! I just accepted the Agreement dude! I thought you were telling me to go for it!" Mike said accusingly
"How was I supposed to know!? You're the one with the Link, not me! I can't see whether you're looking at it or not, it looked like you were looking right at the TV!" Joe said in exasperation
Mike groaned aloud and slumped back into his seat pinching the bridge of his nose. "What the actual hell?"
Joe looked at Mike with concern. For all his brusqueness, he did care, and right now, he felt terrible.
Mike was quiet for a few moments, while Joe sat on the edge of the couch nervously.
Mike finally looked at Joe seriously, the tension palpable. Then, once the feelings had subsided, the ridiculousness of the situation struck them both, and they gradually cracked, snorted, and finally burst out into the most raucous laughter either of them had experienced since the Livari had come to Earth.
Tears were streaming down their faces, and their stomachs hurt. "Joe, you're an idiot." Mike said as he sat back, wiping his eyes.
"That goes for you too, maestro of dumbasses." Joe said between the now subsiding laughter.
"Oooh, my goodness. Now that's a story I won't be forgetting in a hurry." Mike took a sip of cola, before turning back to Joe.
"Geez, who needs situps when you can just laugh like that? Wow, remind me to invite you over, who knows, we could become friends." he said with a knowing look at Mike.
As they caught their breaths, Mike realized something about what Joe had said earlier, and now again. "Joe, do you think I'm gonna forget about you?" He asked with some concern.
Joe sighed, before looking back at Mike. "I don't know man, your life is gonna change pretty soon, and you're gonna become who knows how amazing. And I'm...just normal." Joe looked down. "I'm not mad or anything, it would have been nice, but honestly, I'd much rather be going with you than back to school. There isn't really anyone there for me, and school without the most stuck-up guy in the world?..."
"Hey!" Mike exclaimed mock-indignantly.
Joe snickered, "...yeah, it's gonna suck."
They both got quiet after that. Mike put down the controller and turned to face Joe.
"You know, something might come up! Earth's soon gonna join the Galactic stage you know? We'll probably start building a fleet and everything! Maybe we can teach the aliens a thing or two. We're 'magicless' after all, so who knows? We're gonna need some smart people in brand new fields soon. Keep your ears open, maybe the Livari are planning something we don't know about yet."
Joe smiled at that, "Thanks Mike."
"Also, you're still my bro Joe. No one gets that place except you. Just to prove it, don't forget, I'm keeping my eyes open for that alien booty call, alright? While I'm at it, maybe I can find you a job too." Mike said with a wink.
"Alright Casanova, whatever you say. While you're at it, make sure it's in magic studies too so I can make you even stronger. We all know you're actually hopeless without me." Joe said, folding his arms in mock seriousness.
"Hah! Deal!" Mike shot back. They were both grinning now.
Joe cleared his throat. "Anyway, sooo, what does the Link look like now?" he said, trying to hide his excitement. Mike wished desperately Joe could have been picked too...
"Well, it's still the very 'technological' look, for a supposed magical apparatus. Though, after I accepted, it said 'Welcome'. Right now, it's busy showing my 'stats'!" Mike said, barely concealing the excitement himself. They were geeks after all.
"So, what's it say?" Joe asked wide-eyed.
"I haven't checked yet, I was too busy laughing! Let's see..."
• Welcome to your Vital Statistics •
• Here you will view your statistics, choose your attributes, apply skills, and advance in rank. Additionally, your magical ability and subsequent magical skills will be acquired, advanced, and cataloged. •
• These are your Basic Statistics •
Basic Statistics
• Name - Michael Seagal Baker •
• Title - None •
• Race - Human •
• Gender - Male •
• Class - Adolescent Civilian •
• Level - 1 •
• Eye Colour - Blue/Green •
• Hair Colour - Brown •
• Skills - Body Control, Flexibility, Minor Enhanced reflexes •
• Magical Skills - Magic Sense, Minor Magic Manipulation •
• Special Attributes - Champion, Lucky •
• Magical Attributes - None •
After Mike read out loud what he'd just seen, Joe was in awe. "Mike, this is insane! You're literally living the dream! You actually get to see your stats in real life, no guesswork, no wondering if you're advancing in life, it's all there for you to see! It's like you're at the start of a game, and your character was just created!"
For Mike, it was incredibly surreal. "Yeah, this is... Amazing! I'm a little confused though... I already have a few skills and attributes.. aren't you supposed to start with nothing?" He peered at his stats.
"Well, think about it, a Skill is something you can learn, right? But an Attribute is something you are. I'm guessing your 'real-life' skills would be from your ballet and conditioning. I know I can't do half of what you can while moving, so maybe that's part of your skills?" Joe chimed in helpfully.
"Hmmm... Well, that actually makes a lot of sense! That would mean that the 'Magical Skills' came from talking to Eris maybe? She did say it was 'skipping over a lot of steps' or something like that when she showed me what to do with the mind magic stuff." Mike fumbled for words.
"Seriously Mike, have you paid no attention to the lore of fantasy and the like? It's Telepathy! Seriously powerful too if it's coming from far away I'm guessing." Joe reprimanded.
"I do, I promise, I just don't wanna jump the gun and label something wrong. Since I'm definitely going to 'The Academy' now. " Mike gave Joe a sideways mock glare.
"Hey, it's not my fault you're a doofus." Joe held up his hands placatingly.
"Mike smirked and continued, "Still, I get that I have no Magical Attributes since humans aren't even supposed to be magical at all, but what's this about Special Attributes? I've got two." Mike was puzzled.
Joe backtracked, "Read them for me? I think I was glossing over at that point, I'm still kinda geeking out that this is all real."
"They are Champion and Lucky." Mike frowned. "You don't think the Link has a sense of humor, do you? Cause I know I call myself lucky a lot, but..."
"You sir, are firstly an idiot..." Joe listed on his fingers
"Hey!" Mike shot back.
"Secondly, you are quite literally, Lucky! All that joking aside, it was real all along! It's literally a part of you Mike, you are intrinsically lucky, in your very being!" Joe exclaimed
Mike wasn't sure what to make of that. There were a couple of reasons not to feel 'lucky' in his life, but...
"You know what this means?" Joe snapped Mike out of his reverie.
"I'm guessing you're gonna tell me?" Mike said half-mockingly.
Joe ignored the jab, "It means that no matter what happens to you, you should be safe! No matter what you try or take up, you ought to be better than a normal person at it! Even in dangerous situations, things that might be fatal to most, you might end up miraculously surviving, seriously, it's the ultimate overpowered attribute!"
Mike was beginning to feel a lot more at ease now that his friend was telling him he was actually 'blessed' with intrinsic Luck at his core. And that it was supposed to keep him safe. Aunty Lauren would be pretty happy about that...
Wait...
"Joe, how do you actually 'know' that these things are what you say they are? For all I know this could be nothing more than a joke or wishful thinking." Mike said skeptically.
"Well, it just so happens that, unlike you, I don't cheat my way through every game to play it. So I know that what you're seeing is a classic 'Role Playing Game' or RPG type of setup to a character, just like Space Wars, where you level up your character and apply skills, etcetera. What all the RPGs I've played have told me is that the Luck attribute is tied to giving you an advantage in situations, depending on the game, but in the 'Game of Life' as it were, that you're just starting out in, there are countless variables that most games can't account for. I mean, come on, the only reason we've joked about your luck all the time is that, as someone wise once said, 'every joke has an element of truth in it', or something like that." Joe said thoughtfully.
"You saw that on Instabook yesterday didn't you?" Mike deadpanned.
"That's not the point dude! The point is, stop worrying. If I'm wrong, you can laugh it up to my face on your first visit back, then I'll bow seven times, turn around, and jump into the splits as an apology. Deal?" Joe said with a grin.
Joe was not in the business of making outrageous bets he couldn't win. If he bet on something, you could be certain he was right.
"Fine, but I'll hold you to that! Just now you'll be doing the splits next time I see you." Mike grinned ear to ear. Joe grimaced.
"I don't even wanna know how sore I'm gonna be after trying that! Hit me up, what's the next one?" Joe asked curiously.
"Actually, it's the first one. Champion. When did I win anything?" Mike asked in confusion.
"Hmmm, you're right, that is a little weird for a beginner, and as the first one too..." Joe said thoughtfully. "Is it, Champion as in, 'winner', or the older Champion as in 'someone who champions a cause'?" Joe thought for a few seconds, and Mike let him. Joe usually came to a great conclusion if you let him think for a little.
"Yup, I got nothing."
Joe also had a way of infuriating people who took him too seriously.
"Thanks, Joe, real helpful. I should sign you up for the Most Useful Person of the Year award."
"Why thank you, you're too kind! You know I'd win after all." Joe said with a mischievous grin. "With that said though, I believe we aren't done with your introduction to the Link are we?" Joe asked excitedly.
"Yup, it's asking me if I'm ready to move on to the next portion of the 'Tutorial'." Mike 'pressed' • Yes • with his mind, and a new screen popped up which Mike read out loud."
•Gift •
•This is your Gift Page, where the name and all discovered information concerning your primary Magical Gift can be found. Would you like to learn the name of your Gift? •
"What kind of question is that?" Joe asked impatiently. "This thing is really polite, too polite if you ask me. You should say 'no' just to show it the middle finger."
"Sure Joe, and piss off the very thing I'm literally stuck with the rest of my life? I don't think so."
"Say yes already man, you're killing me here!" Joe exclaimed.
The moment of truth. I finally get to know what my power is!
Mike mentally pressed • Yes •
• Congratulations, your Gift is called 'Will o' Wisp' •
• There is no information on this gift at present within the Commonwealth Database •
• Congratulations, you have acquired an unknown gift, you are its first carrier •
Mike slowly turned to Joe with a blank look on his face.
"So that 'luck' attribute we were talking about, wanna run that by me again?"
Joe slowly shrugged his shoulders and held and held up his hands placatingly, "Maybe it's really good?"
For not the first time, nor the last, Mike sighed and had a very simple thought.
What. The. Hell.