Before

As I watch the four-legged bird fly away, I...feel good. I know that it’s a potential future threat to the cubs that we’ll have to keep our eyes out for, but I’m glad I released it.

Somehow, it feels like I took a step away from the darkness which would be all too easy to give into. I can’t ignore that I could use Dominate to make life so much easier for myself. I could take and take and take, without giving anything in return, and as long as I never attacked a creature which could properly defend itself, I would get away with it. Yet I’ve already experienced what it’s like to be someone who just takes – even when I thought at the time that I was in fact being generous. Giving someone something they don’t want isn’t generous: it’s a sop to the conscience and nothing else.

But this...I could have taken the bird’s life very easily. Logic would say I should have. But it truly had little chance against me: killing it would have gained me nothing but a bit of Energy, and a burden of guilt. But its life, its freedom is all it has. Releasing it...well, we’ll see. For now, I don’t regret it. After musing over the encounter for a moment longer, I turn to my companion.

“Are you hungry?” I ask the raptorcat. She sends eager agreement through the Bond, licking at her lips, so I pull out a couple of the monkile corpses “Well, go on then. Join us at the shelter when you’re done." We should be far enough from the shelter itself here not to have too much of an issue from her leaving scraps of the carcasses behind. Not needing to be told twice, she digs into the belly of the creature with gusto, eating its entrails and organs first. I don’t watch, not exactly squeamish – how can I be after all I’ve seen in this place? - but still not particularly keen on watching her tear a corpse to pieces.

Walking over to the shelter, I take the burning torch with me – it’s not like Bastet needs it, after all. The cubs are snuggled into the leaves under cover of the branches and leaves of our temporary shelter. They’re asleep but half-wake as I ease myself inside: the shelter only comes up to mid-thigh on me at its highest point so it’s not like I can crawl in. Making cute sleepy noises, the cubs shamelessly take advantage of my body heat and press their bodies in close to mine. I try to say to myself that I’m just virtuously letting them take their comfort from me, but I know it’s a lie: I’m getting as much out of their unhesitating signs of trust as they are from my body warmth. Once inside, I tuck my torch into my Inventory, extinguishing it instantly, dropping us all into almost complete blackness.

It’s odd that the fate of a creature which tried to kill me and which I didn’t spend more than five minutes with could affect me this much. The description of Dominate didn’t say anything about prolonged emotional effects: it only talked about a short period of vulnerability as I recover from the Battle. But then, maybe not everyone does Dominate the way I just did, a negotiation more than a show of strength.

Each time I use Dominate, it seems like the creature and I connect on a different level. I don’t know if souls exist and that’s what’s happening here, or if it’s that I gain such a sense of the creature’s life and motivations that I feel like I’ve known them for some time. Either way, I don’t know how other Tamers push through it to forcibly Dominate creatures. Or maybe they don’t. Maybe it’s an acknowledged fact that Dominate is a negotiation rather than a true Battle, despite the name. I don’t know.

I stop myself there. Like so many other questions that I have, I’m not going to get any answers until I speak to Nicholas and see his world. And to do that, I have to get through this year in the wilderness. I have to make a decision about how I’m going to use my Skills: choosing a course of action which will both work and fit with my principles. I have to somehow compromise between what will keep me alive and what will keep my sense of self-worth intact.

Having been put to the test, I now know that it will be difficult for me to force through a Dominate when it is not absolutely necessary. Not difficult because the actual challenge is any harder, but because I feel like I would lose something of myself if I do it. Nor do I like the idea of killing a creature with which I’ve had such an in-depth connection. I could do either action, potentially, if it’s immediately threatening my life. I don’t really know how I’ll react if put in the position of it being my life or my opponent’s, and don’t really want to find out. However, I’m sure I’ll find out sooner or later: when, is not entirely within my control. There are things I do control, though.

In that spirit, I turn my attention to something I can affect – the aftermath of levelling up.

Bringing up my status screen, I look at my new stats with satisfaction.

Name: Markus Wolfe

Race: Human

Class: Tamer

Level: 3

Energy to next level: 0%

Energy absorption rate: 21u/hr

Energy towards debt: 4%

Intelligence

16

Mana: 160/160

Wisdom

14

Mana regeneration rate: 350u/hr

Willpower

19+3 (+20%)

Health regeneration rate: 22u/hr

Constitution

15

Health: 150/150

Strength

12

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Stamina: 60/60

Dexterity

13

Stamina regeneration rate: 130u/hr

Class skills

Dominate – Beginner 6

Tame – Beginner 3

Fade – Novice 9

Non-Class skills

Lay-on-hands – Initiate 3

Stealth – Beginner 9

Animal Empathy – Novice 2

It’s less of a drastic change this time than the previous two times – six stat points to distribute looks a lot better when I have less than six points in most stats than when I’m already over ten in each. Still, it’s a nice step forwards.

I decided to put two points each into Intelligence and Wisdom because of how difficult they are to train in this environment, and how regularly I seem to run out of the ability to cast Lay-on-hands. So far I’ve mostly managed to keep myself and my companions alive and unmaimed – Spike being the most obvious exception. I’d like to avoid losing any more of my Bound and having the ability to heal them seems a key factor to that. It’s been far too close to the knuckle sometimes.

My two points mean an automatic extra two casts with my increased mana pool and a faster regeneration rate. By this point, I’m earning more than five mana points per minute meaning that it takes about ten seconds less than previously to regain the mana to cast another one. That may not sound significant, but when it comes to a poison or a persistent hemorrhage, it really could be.

Besides those points, I dedicated two points to Constitution, reasoning that increased health points can’t hurt. I hesitated for a while, tempted to put a point in Dexterity for the increased stamina regeneration. I also considered a point in Strength (Endurance) since adding a point there would have directly increased my stamina pool as well as helped refine my muscles further. In the end, though, I thought that both Dexterity and Strength are still relatively easy to train, the point I got in Dexterity earlier being a key factor in my decision. I may revisit the issue later since if I can get it to the point where my regen rate is equal to, or even outpaces, my use of it, it doesn’t really matter what my actual pool is. At least, that’s my reasoning.

I’ve done a bit of estimation, more ‘eyeing it’ than genuine calculations, but I reckon that I should be able to match my stamina consumption when jogging fast within a couple more points to Dexterity, and then a few more should allow me to run nonstop. By the point I approach twenty points in it, I should barely ever run out of stamina: really only when I use stamina-consuming Skills as well as moving with speed. If I do choose to add points to Strength, I’ll probably add the majority of them to the Power subcategory so as to improve my combat capabilities.

What is confusing me is that I’ve actually gained four more points than I was expecting: I have two more points each in Wisdom and Willpower than should be there. Why, I don’t know. Perhaps something in my messages will explain it? I don’t think there was anything special about level three that would account for it. At least I’ve been able to answer a query I had about the percentage increase to Willpower – it only works with whole numbers so I still only have three points in addition to my base points. I should get an extra point every five points I have in there. It actually makes me seriously wonder whether to dedicate one of my six points to it next time – that way it’ll almost be a two-for-one deal. Hmm, for later consideration.

Before switching across to check my messages, I first scroll down to the bottom to see my Skills. Another surprise is waiting for me: the number of levels Dominate has increased by. I was half-expecting it to move from Beginner four to Beginner five, though was wondering whether failing the Battle would even increase the Skill, but instead it’s leaped to level six. Not that I’m complaining, but it would be good to know why so I can try to repeat it.

Animal Empathy is another unexpected change – it’s actually ranked up from Beginner to Novice. Maybe that’s the reason I was able to understand the communication between Bastet and the cubs earlier? Or maybe the increase is because I was able to understand them. Or maybe this is linked to the way the flying creature and I seemed to link minds – or souls – in the Battle of Wills, either as reason or result.

Other than that, Lay-on-hands is slowly but steadily improving with use as expected. Tame is a surprise, though. Considering that I haven’t actually used it at all, I’m surprised to see that it’s increased in level. The only reasons I can think of is that either the relationship I’m developing with Bastet is closer to a Tamed creature than a Dominated one, or that I’m slowly managing to Tame the cubs without even trying. I guess I might find out one day.

Switching across to my messages tab, I access the first new message.

Congratulations!

You have advanced a Skill past Beginner. Animal Empathy is now Novice 1. You are now able to interpret some communications between animals to which you are not directly connected. Increased familiarity with the animals in question will improve the accuracy of your interpretation.

Next message? Y/N

Well, I guess that answers my question – I must have improved my ability to understand Bastet to the point that I understood her message to the cubs and then that triggered the Skill rank-up. It’s sitting at Novice two rather than Novice one, though, so I must have done something later to help it level up.

I often wish that the System was a little more explicit – I don’t always know exactly what caused the increase to happen, which means I have to stumble in the dark when it comes to repeating it. Still, I’m grateful to have the System at all, all things being equal. Moving to the next message, my eyebrows shoot up as I read it.

Achievement Awarded: Steadfast I

Your principles were put to the test and you stood by them even when every benefit to you would require you to put them to the side. For your resolve and sagacity, you have been awarded +2 points to Willpower and +2 points to Wisdom.

Close message? Y/N

That also provides an answer, this time to the question of the mysterious additional Willpower and Wisdom. It’s an answer, however, that poses more questions, not least because the memories I’ve absorbed from the System stone don’t mention Achievements at all. Not even tangentially. Either it’s something I lost when I absorbed the stone or it’s rare enough that it’s not included on the stone.

I close the screen down and lie there in the dark, thinking. Too many questions without answers for my liking. Another thought occurs and I open my status screen up again for a moment to find the information. Seeing that the Energy towards my debt has once more increased, I figure that I’ve at least definitively answered one of my long-held questions – that about what happens with the Energy of the creatures Bastet kills.

Given that my Energy debt was sitting at three percent before I levelled up, and is now sitting at four percent, I have to conclude that I gain at least some of the Energy from her kills. Whether it’s some, most, or even all of the Energy, I don’t know yet. The lack of clear numbers makes it hard to guestimate. Also not yet confirmed is whether it only happened because I was so close, or whether the Energy would somehow be sent along the Bond if she went out hunting without me.

Then, another question that’s raised is about Bastet’s own progression. If she’s sending Energy to me, how is she getting stronger? Actually, how do beasts get stronger? I have to assume that they improve by killing other creatures, at least. But how does that work practically? They don’t have a Class, I imagine, so how do they grow? How do they end up like Kalanthia, capable of telepathically communicating with others and commanding the very earth to move? I guess that if – when – I get Lathani back and return her to her mother, I can ask the giant nunda. Maybe her gratitude will even get her to answer.

Because, honestly, there has to be a way to help my companions improve. My Class can’t be all about just using creatures and then discarding them when they fall behind the Tamer’s level of advancement. That just doesn’t make sense. And if I can help my companions to grow, there will be less of a requirement for me to continually Dominate new creatures, allowing me to set my moral dilemma to one side.

I fall asleep while musing on the possibilities, only briefly waking when Bastet joins us, using her own body to shield all of us from a potential threat coming in the open end of the shelter. My sleep is a lot better than the first time I used this kind of shelter: I feel safe with her around. Or safer, at least.

Tonight, sleep. Tomorrow, the lizard-folk.