An excerpt from "Thoughts on the Nature of Energies" by Unknown Author

I met a monk today who claimed to have unlocked the Higher Energy - Connection. He said that years spent meditating on a barren and nearly empty Dungeon World had given him a sense of awareness, a 'connection' to all life. When I asked him to prove this claim, he merely smiled and walked away.

This interaction got me thinking of how esoteric the loosely bound collection of ideas we call 'Higher Energies' really are. They range from Shadow to Faith to Emotion to Community. To make things more complex, each one can accomplish different things, all entirely dependent on the user. What are these ideas? How does Genesis decide what does and does not register as a 'Higher Energy'? Is it possible ... that it isn't Genesis, and is actually ourselves?

Waking up in the pile of leaves that had served as a sad excuse for a bed, Carmen whispers a few choice curses under her breath as she yawns her way into consciousness. The black cloth digs into her eyes as it is tied too tightly to fall off. She’d initially planned on taking it off the second she wasn’t in Cael’s sight but her Foresight had warned her not to do so, suggesting other plans every time she considered the action.

Blind to the world around her, she feels the now familiar feeling of frustration building up again, quickly returning to the levels it had reached before she managed to fall asleep. Who did Cael think he was? He’d always been an annoying kid, too obsessed with his precious books to have any fun, but this new version of him was just plain irritating. Her Skill was immensely useful to the city and she would be damned if she wasn’t respected for it.

That being said, she wasn’t willing to risk losing her cushy new home over wearing a strip of cloth. Carmen had no idea how Cael had managed to convince his parents that banishment was an appropriate punishment, but she intended on making him pay for it. But that wasn’t happening anytime soon; no, she would take her time to hurt him in a way that would leave him frustrated and annoyed for days, perhaps even weeks on end.

If there was one thing Carmen was good at, it was annoying Cael King.

That was a plan for another day, however, as the wilderness demanded the bulk of her attention in order to survive.

Activating Foresight, she feels her mind open up to the endless possibilities that spread out in front of her. She had been cryptic when first describing the Skill, not because she felt that she needed to keep it secret, but because she was worried people would begin to understand the truth behind its usage and realize she was far less confident than she seemed. With countless different possibilities that branched out endlessly in her mind’s eye, there was no way to truly know the ‘best’ decision. In fact, Carmen’s go-to strategy was to simply go with the choice that resulted in the least amount of work from her.

Deciding to once again follow this path of least resistance, she focuses her mind on the idea of not working and feels the possibilities begin to shrink as the path of least resistance becomes more visible. Within seconds, the paths have been narrowed down to a few hundred that are all basically the same, miniscule permutations of difference between each one. They only showed Carmen a few minutes ahead, but that was more than enough right now. To her dismay, even the most optimized path of laziness showed her a future filled with actual work, starting with constructing a shelter and scavenging for food.

Once again cursing Cael and his idiotic plans, she shuts off Foresight, starting to feel the beginning of a headache, and begins following the plan that had been shown in her mind. It doesn’t take very long before she has drifted off what had seen through her Skill. The Carmen in her mind had walked with a calm surety while the real Carmen tripped over countless rocks, roots, and random shrubs that she couldn’t keep track of.

Growling in frustration, she once again activates Foresight and uses the same thought to bring forth another plan, noting the differences in this one and the last. She’d experimented a little upon first unlocking the Skill and had discovered that things subtly changed after each viewing. Stable factors like weather remained generally consistent, while inputs from people were able to massively change the direction of the path. She wasn’t one to wax philosophical, however, and had spared the realization no more than a second’s thought.

It takes her a dozen more uses of her Skill to actually make it to the area recommended for her shelter, constantly falling off the path shown to her by Foresight. To her complete dismay, she finds that Cael’s observation, that using her skill repeatedly would make it easier to use, was actually true. In just the short time she’d been walking she’d noticed a decrease in the time it took to activate her Skill and narrow down her focus to a relevant path.

Conflicting emotions play out in her head. On one hand, she’s pleased that the Skill is becoming more intuitive, as it means that she’ll be able to better use it to her benefit. On the other hand, it annoys her that Cael was right. He’d only be more insufferable if she ever admitted this to him.

Expelling the thoughts from her mind, she reactivates Foresight and focuses in on her next step, trying to distract herself with the thing she hated most: work.

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Eyes closed and his entire focus locked on to feeling the Mana flowing through his body, Hakim brings his hands up and wills the Mana outwards, imagining the hypnotic blue ball that Cael had shown him during their short training session and trying to materialize the same through sheer force of will.

The Mana follows his will and rushes through his body and into his hands, where it reaches the same issue that had occurred during the last few trials: his skin. Seemingly impenetrable, his skin acts as an impassable wall to his Mana. The Mana continues to build up within his hands, slowly reaching the dangerous levels that Cael had warned him about, and, despite his best efforts, is unable to push through this final barrier and materialize into the world. A small amount is able to bleed through but is instantly absorbed by his skin, further strengthening its resistance.

Afraid of losing his hands, Hakim finally gives up and yells in frustration as he stomps around the hill that had served as his training area for the last few hours. He’d followed the direction Cael had pointed out to him, believing that it would take him to the perfect location, and had ended up at this hill. Teeming with peaceful life, he had found it covered in countless bushes filled with berries, dozens of small rabbits that approached him curiously, and large trees to take shelter under. Any lingering doubts he had about Cael’s ability as a mentor were erased from his mind with the discovery of this perfect area.

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The only flaw in the training relationship was the one aspect outside of his idol’s influence; himself. Despite Cael’s perfect description and demonstration of how Mana had to be withdrawn from one’s body, Hakim just couldn’t push it through his skin and extend his Mana into the world.

If there was one thing that he refused to do, however, it was give up. The whole reason he’d been chosen by Everwall’s hero was because of his tenacity and work ethic. To disregard those traits now, when his dreams of having the power to protect was so close would be the height of hypocrisy and idiocy. Obviously he was doing something wrong and the only way he knew to discover the reason was with constant repetition.

Natural ability can only take you so far in life. Success only comes to those who work for it.

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Alejandro finishes setting up the miniature forge and claps his hand at a job well done. He’d spent most of the night looking for the perfect location to build a shelter, one with enough natural light, that was easily defensible, and proximity to more dangerous hunting grounds. A lucky stumble down a ravine, that had nearly killed him, had ended up allowing him to discover the perfect location.

Set into a deep canyon, he is currently in a small cave but comfortable cave. A large rock overhang that protects him from the elements allows in just enough natural light for him to see without blinding his eyes. A hole in the ceiling, normally a hazard that would make him doubt the cave’s structural integrity, serves as the perfect exit point for the smoke that would be produced from the small forge, ensuring that he wouldn’t suffocate.

However, while all of these things are important, they pale in comparison to his excitement for what he’s been given.

Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, he pulls out the Sigil of House Dor that Cael had thrown at him as he was leaving. There is a beauty in the design, a simplicity that also hints at a mastery of the techniques involved.. The grooves and lines are all perfectly aligned to create just the right amount of space for the runes, a difficult task to accomplish. Not only that, the runes themselves are expertly carved into the metal, their depth and thickness consistent through every line and curve. To be able work with such precision on such a small piece … the skill involved… he finds himself wishing he could meet the craftsman behind this masterpiece.

Of course, that wasn’t the reason that young Cael had been willing to part with it. The notification he’d seen upon first holding the Sigil had completely shocked him, the implications and possibilities running through his mind. Not only was it a massive game changer for the city of Everwall, it was a representation of the trust that Cael was putting in Alejandro. To willingly part with such a powerful tool in order to further someone else’s understanding … any doubt he’d previously held about Cael’s sincerity towards Everwall were all blown away. The boy was obviously committed to the town’s survival and had won his complete loyalty with this display of trust.

Pulling out a magnifying glass from his pile of tools that had been haphazardly placed onto the cave floor, he individually analyzes the different marks and makes mental notes. It seems as if the symbols can be classified into six unique runes, each with slight differences depending on their position on the band of the sigil.

After an hour of careful observation, he realizes something that had been bothering him. While four of the runes only appear once, the other two runes appear multiple times, as they’re placed between the other symbols. They’re also smaller than the four main ones, roughly half the size of the larger marks.

A thought enters his mind, a possible explanation for the strange placement. What if … what if the four larger runes were representative of the very Attributes that the ring was enhancing? If that was true, could it then be possible that the two recurring runes, even with their differences between each one, were somehow serving as the base of power? Or perhaps one of the two recurring runes served as the source of power while the other connected the different enhancements into one cohesive Item?

Smiling at the possibilities, he brings out a notepad and a few pieces of metal that he’d brought along.

Time to experiment.

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Still in the same spot I was in when I sent those three off, I now stare up at the sky, considering the base of my new Higher Energy. Just as the class had predicted, the beginning of the idea had taken almost no time at all. I’d entered into an almost trance-like state where ideas had simultaneously flowed into and from within me, the different ideas coming from both directions and combined in my mind, forming a sum that is greater than its parts.

Where … where did these ideas from outside come from? The ideas that come from within made sense to me, as they were the ones I had initially considered as possibilities for the base. I’d spent hours coming up with them and was proud of what I’d managed to construct. The ideas that had flowed into me from some outside source, however, had been so far outside of my realm of understanding that I never would have been able to create them even if I’d been given an endless amount of time.

These external ideas and concepts hadn’t clashed with my own ideas though. They had somehow managed to perfectly complement and amplify my original idea, creating a stronger and more stable mental image that would undoubtedly lead to a stronger Higher Energy. In only an hour of contemplation, I’d managed to somehow create something that should have taken me multiple days.

What was the source? Obviously the information was a byproduct of my choice to become a Remnant, but where was it coming from? Was it Genesis, feeding me information to help satisfy the conditions of my Class, or was it some other source, some connection to the remnants of my old universe?

This thought haunts me as I lie on my back and watch the clouds go by. Both answers have frightening implications. If the first is true, that Genesis is the one feeding me the information, then that suggests an understanding of the old universe that is limitless. It brings my back to my thoughts on the purpose of why we were chosen and why we were taken, thoughts that I’d managed to repress for a long time.

The other answer is even more terrifying though. If the source of the information isn’t from Genesis and is instead from some other source, then that raises the possibility that the old universe is still out there. If that’s true … does that mean I suddenly hold a possible route of return within my hands? It may be out of my current realm of power, but perhaps, somewhere down the line where I’ve gained far more power, my Class represents a possible method of returning.

Would … would I even want to return? This is the thought that haunts me. I know that the possibility of return purely hypothetical at this point, but I’m honestly not sure that I’d want to return. For all of its flaws, Genesis has served as the catalyst to my growth, helping me transform into the person I am, someone that I’m proud to be. It is a world where the strong survive and where every person, regardless of background, has the same potential to grow.

This also means that certain people, namely those who are willing to throw away their morals in exchange for power, have an advantage, but that doesn’t inherently make this a bad world. It just puts more responsibility on those like me, those lucky and resilient enough to gain their power without sacrificing their humanity.

All in all, we sit on a world of massive potential, one without the millennium of accomplishments and mistakes that the previous one had. We exist in a world where one’s actions can truly make a difference, where one person’s ability changing the world isn’t just fiction. It’s with that thought that I realize I know what I would do if it eventually became possible to return to a time before Genesis.

I’d say no. I would help anyone who wanted to return, but I would stay in this world of potential, one where I finally hold the power to make a difference.

My mind slightly more at ease, I hop off the ground in one smooth motion. Better to spend my time working on improving my Skills then worrying about a future that may or may not arrive. Alejandro and Hakim will be returning tomorrow and I need to make sure that I’m ready,

Sitting down in a meditative pose, I decide to get in a few more hours of work towards my next Higher Energy before I begin preparing for their arrival. This month isn’t just about improving the power and capabilities of my team, it is also about improving my own.