His grandfather wasted no time in starting the lesson. “Glassblowing is fundamentally about breath and heat,” he said. “Air and fire allow you to turn sand into beautiful and functional creations.”
Something inside of Jeb recoiled at the Skill he was attempting to learn. It was the first time that his Class seemed to dislike something that he was attempting to do. As soon as he probed the feeling, though, Jeb understood why he had was having this visceral revulsion.
The Paragons had been explicit about what they gave him his Class for. It was to cultivate Water and Earth to destroy a being of Fire and Air. Thinking about it more, Jeb realized this was the first time that he was doing something so explicitly against the spirit of his Class.
As he tried to justify it as learning how his enemy functioned, the disgust died down, if only slightly. Of course, he knew that it was a lie, so he wasn’t able to hold onto the feeling for very long.
“Are you ok, Jeb?” his grandfather asked, seeing his obvious discomfort.
“I think that my Class really doesn’t want me to learn this Skill,” Jeb replied honestly.
“Hmm,” his grandfather rubbed his chin but didn’t follow up with anything else.
“Hmm?” Jeb parroted, hoping that his grandfather would get the message.
That seemed to break his grandfather out of whatever reverie he was in. “Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts for a moment. As far as I had always known, Classes have borders for what Skills you can learn. The fact that you hadn’t run into any borders yet made me think that the borders might not exist for Magical Classes.”
Jeb nodded, “so what do you do when you run into a border?”
His grandfather paused, clearly considering his next words. After a moment, he spoke, “has anyone had a conversation with you about the Currents of Fate?”
Jeb racked his mind, trying to think of whether he’d heard the expression. His struggle must have been clear, because his grandfather held up a hand.
“I’ll take that as a no. The Currents of Fate are used to explain a number of events and truths about life, Class borders included. Imagine that you are floating in a calm and quiet river. The current is slowly but inexorably pulling you down.”
Whether it was his Statistics, his Class, or his proclivity to daydream, Jeb had no issue visualizing it. Seeing Jeb’s nod, his grandfather continued, “how much effort does it take to go with the current?”
“None?” he responded hesitantly. It seemed like an obvious answer.
His grandfather nodded. “If you stopped wanting to follow the pace of the current and wanted to set your own pace, which directions would be easiest and hardest?”
“It would be easiest to go faster than the current, harder to go orthogonal, and hardest to go against the current,” Jeb said, seeing where the metaphor was going. “And Fate is like a river? I can resist where I’m being told to go, but doing so is difficult?”
His grandfather beamed, “normally I need to use at least another metaphor or two to get the point to sink in,” he said. “So, do you want to take the Fated path and trust your Class that this Skill is bad for your future development.”
That stopped Jeb for a moment. Something being difficult and something being actively detrimental were two very different ideas. His grandfather laughed.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I will stand by the fact that if it’s a Class set border, learning Glassblowing will make it more difficult for you to remain a Mud Mage. Since I don’t think that’s your goal though?” he ended in a question. Jeb realized it had been a while since their last conversation, and he had devoted himself far more to Magic during that time.
“I’m still not planning to remain a Mud Mage,” he confirmed.
“Then let’s get to work.”
Jeb had hoped that the conversation would make the unease inside of him fade, if not disappear entirely. To his disappointment, it did not. Gritting his teeth, he tried his best to listen to his grandfather’s lesson.
Of course, Jeb had been working in his grandfather’s forge long enough that he should have known that the lecturing portion would be short. Handing Jeb a rod, his grandfather showed him how to pick up a piece of molten glass. With a steady breath, his grandfather blew a small orb of glass.
Seeing a nod that he should do the same, Jeb tried to blow out a stream of air into his tube. Tried was the operative word there. No matter how much he willed it, his body refused to shape the glass.
After a minute of struggling, his grandfather motioned for him to put the rod down. “Well, it’s good to know that this is an actual Class block and not just a mental one,” his grandfather said.
“How do I fix it?” Jeb asked in a bit of a panic. He had tried plugging his nose so there would be nowhere for the air to go except into the tube. His body would not let any air out. Being choked by his own mind was not an experience Jeb was keen to repeat.
“Great question,” his grandfather replied, “I’ve never taught Glassblowing to a Mud Mage before, so I don’t know what the general restrictions are for your Class and what restrictions come from the Paragons directly.”
“I don’t understand,” Jeb said honestly, “what do you mean restrictions that come from the Paragons directly?”
“Every Class has Skills that are anathema to them. Most Combat focused Classes, for instance, absolutely abhor learning a Skill like Tilling. The System’s explicit goal for someone with a Combat Class is, well, combat, so a Skill which does not interface with combat does not mesh with them. Those are general Class restrictions.”
Seeing Jeb nod, he continued, “the Paragon’s restrictions are tailored to the individual. Sticking with the Combat Class example, most First Tier Swordsmen can learn how to use a bow. In fact, it is a common recommendation to learn a ranged weapon as a melee fighter or a melee weapon as a ranged fighter.”
Jeb wanted to ask why his grandfather knew so much about Combat Classes, but he continued speaking before Jeb could ask.
“Every so often, though, there will be a Swordsman that cannot even draw a bow. One common thread that they all share is that they were given a mission during their Class Awakening. Even if they did not receive a Major Quest,” he gave Jeb a pointed look, “they still reported that the Paragons told them something that, in retrospect, should have implied that they would not be able to use a bow.”
“I understand that in general terms,” Jeb said, “but what about my case?”
His grandfather blushed a little, “sorry, the Theorycrafting for forbidden Skills has always been fascinating to me. If you want to teach a Swordsman Tilling, it is possible, though painful for everyone involved. Though, I suppose a Swordsman might have an easier job of it if you were able to convince them it was cutting the soil...” his grandfather trailed off, clearly lost in thought.
Jeb coughed.
“Sorry, returning to your case. To teach a Class forbidden Skill, most advice is twofold. First, it is important to convince whoever the Classholder is that the Skill is, on some level, related to their Class. With a Swordsman, that might mean pointing to the ways that Tilling would help develop her control over her blade. Otherwise, finding a way to frame it as conditioning is often helpful.”
Once more, Jeb wondered why his grandfather had so much experience making Combat Classholders into Farmers. As before, his grandfather continued speaking before he could ask.
“Depending on how successfully a Classholder can be convinced that the Skill is actually helpful to their Class and its natural progression, the second part of the advice becomes more or less important. The remainder of the process is entirely just forcing your way against the Current of Fate, actively and intentionally committing to changing your Class. That will likely be more relevant to your specific case.”
“I appreciate the broader picture,” Jeb said, “but what specifically should I do?”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
His grandfather led him through a few exercises that could help with both approaches to learn a Class forbidden Skill. “Come back when the idea of Glassblowing doesn’t feel too uncomfortable,” his grandfather said, shooing Jeb out of the shop.
Jeb started to walk over to the hive. When he felt a few first drops of rain, though, he looked up. The sky was dark and angry, and he could already tell that it would be a stormy day.
Thinking of the rain coming down and mixing with the ground to make Mud resonated with his Class so strongly that Jeb nearly forgot about the discomfort of his failed attempt to learn Glassblowing. As comforting as the feeling was, he knew that it was a perfect time to start practicing the exercises his grandfather taught him.
Slipping into the feeling for just a moment, Jeb rejected it. The Currents of Fate metaphor flashed through his mind, and he could feel the river trying to get him to just accept the comforting feeling. Instead, he stood his ground.
“I am not a Mud Mage,” he said, trying his best to project confidence. “A Mud Mage would not know Bardic Magic. A Mud Mage would not have raised a hive of bees.” Jeb was about to continue when he was cut off.
He saw a flash of lightning off in the distance. A few seconds later, he felt his body shake from the thunder. His Class gave another feeling of revulsion at the idea of lightning burning the earth to a crisp where it struck.
Once more, Jeb felt himself pulled by an unseen current, and once more, he rejected it. “Lightning is a natural part of storms,” he said, for all that he could not say for certain if that was, strictly speaking, true. That didn’t feel like the right kind of rejection to him, though. It was less a rejection of Mud Magic and more a reframing of lightning as a part of Mud.
“I have learned Glyphs of Air and Fire,” he tried, “they are as much a part of me as the Earth and Water Glyphs I’ve learned are.” He felt the dissonance inside of himself building. Something inside of Jeb wanted to reject the Major Quest he had been forced to accept. A much louder voice in him reminded him that the Paragons could absolutely use this storm as an opportunity to smite him if he was so bold in his disdain for the assignment.
“I am no more bound to Mud than I am to Glyphs,” he said instead, feeling the way that his Skills and Class warred with each other. That wasn’t something that his grandfather had given him specific advice about, but Jeb felt like leaning into his Skills would help him. By the time he had finished listing all of the Skills he had earned and their own dissonance with Mud Magic, the rain was actively pouring down onto him.
Jeb made his way back inside. With a quick application of Least Shape Water, he dried himself off and went to his room. There, he went through a similar effort of rejecting his Class. This time he focused far less on the specific situation he found himself in and far more on the broader picture.
Too quickly, Jeb needed to stop. It was a new form of exhaustion to him. It was not the tiredness he felt after a long run or lift. Neither was it the mental exhaustion he felt after learning a Glyph or working a Song. It was closest to the feeling he had when he had filled too many pages of Manaweave, but even that wasn’t quite right.
The feeling of discomfort around Glassblowing hadn’t gone away, though, so he switched tasks. His grandfather had told him to work on Skills he had that felt like they refreshed his soul, so he picked up his lute.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 5721/100
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Total Statistic Load: 336 Physical Load: 124 Strength: 28 Dexterity: 21 Endurance: 30 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 212 Intelligence: 47 Willpower: 48 Magic Affinity: 54 Mana Depth: 33 Charisma: 30
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Mana: 910
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Glyph Attunement: 25 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Bardic Magic Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Enchanting
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)