Sign: Snake
Buffs: Serpent’s Kiss (Romance twice as easy)
Debuffs: Curse of the Unspecified (Start the game with no gender, no name, and no other identifying feature)
EXP: 1,164
Alchemy
Coagula (LVL 0, 24 SKP)
Solvé (LVL 0, 19 SKP)
Theoria (LVL 0, 23 SKP)
Botany
Tending (LVL 0, 5 SKP)
?
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Cooking
Fire (LVL 0, 26 SKP)
Water (LVL 0, 11 SKP)
?
Homesteading
Fire Tending (LVL 0, 7 SKP)
Tidying (LVL 1, 5 SKP)
Dirt Buster: The magical branch of Purification lends this Sorcerer the ability to ‘Bust Dirt.’ Dust and grime accumulate at a infinitesimally slow rate on objects you have cleaned.
?
Speech
Logic (LVL 1, 13 SKP)
Rhetoric: The magical branch of Entreatment lends this Sorcerer the ability to heightened ‘Rhetoric.’ The structure of your arguments is smooth, regular and orthogonal. Spirits and people are more likely to agree with you.
Linguistics (LVL 0, 17 SKP)
Cajoling (LVL 0, 10 SKP)
Total SKP: 175
Inventory:
Auros: 0
Cards of Destiny: 5 of ?? Discovered
Names: 3
Vitas, The Wind Thief (Sparrow)
Gillygad, The Stiched-Up Wonder (Pitchfork)
Zinia, The Serpent’s Caress (Snake)
Tess brought the hefty manual to me. I thought she would start reading, but instead she deposited the heavy book into my arms. I almost lost the page she had opened, but managed to rescue it in time.
I started scanning the text, my eyes getting lost on the page. What was I looking for exactly?
Tess stepped next to me, looking over my shoulder, and helpfully pointed to the section I should read.
6.3 Moot Initiations
A moot initiation occurs when conditions outside of the Apprentice’s control necessitate overturning the results of the initiation. Usually, these conditions are seen as that which would halt the progress of the Apprentice, or otherwise, make the initiation unsafe, overly difficult, or laborious to an extreme degree. The conditions under which an initiation may be declared moot are detailed below. These are the only conditions under which the Guild will consider declaring a moot. If there is cause for rectifying this list, whether by adding or excising any of the following sections, please refer to section 1.2.4.c of this manual, which details the process of submitting edits for review.
6.3.1 The death of the proctoring Master Sorcerer during an initiation results in an automatic moot. The Office of the Coadjutant shall immediately halt the initiation proceedings, and alert the Apprentice.
6.3.1.a In the event that the proctoring Master Sorcerer has died, yet the Guild is unaware, and the initiation is carried out to completion by the Apprentice, a Guild Representative proctor may be called to conclude the initiation without the original, deceased proctor.
I was very excited at first to read about the moot initiations. Certainly, the Midnight Game could be considered as conditions that “make the initiation unsafe, overly difficult, or laborious to an extreme degree.” But, when I finished with the section and went on, I felt my hopes plummet again. From what I could gather, Tess was my proctoring Master Sorceress.
Mistress Addlebern hadn’t tragically died during the course of my initiation, so my initiation couldn’t be considered moot.
Perhaps sensing my train of thought by the grim expression on my face, Tess took the book back and started flipping pages.
“You’ll have to get used to doing research on your own one day.” She said, as she found a page, and held it out to me.
There was a section here, underlined with pencil. I read it.
6.3.17. For the full list of guidelines on assessing Familiars for suitability as initiating Familiars, refer to section 4 of this instruction. Failure of Familiars to be present through the entire course of an initiation may result in a moot.
6.3.17a ‘Black Forest’ initiation must have no less than 2 and no greater than 4 Familiars present during the course of the entire initiation. Either a lack or an excess of the above quantity of Familiars will render the initiation moot.
6.3.17b ‘Locked Door’ initiation must have no less than 1 and no greater than 2 Familiars present during the course of the entire initiation. Either a lack or an excess of the above quantity of Familiars will render the initiation moot.
6.3.17c The Academy of Sorcery does not have a set requirement for Familiars. If the initiation is performed through the Academy, Familiars may not cause a moot initiation.
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“What are Familiars?” I asked aloud, confused by the text.
“Aleister and Cheerful are Familiars. They are animals that assist Sorcerers in their duties.” Tess answered mechanically.
I re-read through the underlined section. I was starting to come to some kind of an understanding.
I wasn't sure if I had done the ‘Black Forest,’ ‘Locked Door,’ or the Academy, but I had a feeling it was the Locked Door, judging by my struggles of unlocking rooms when I first woke up in this house. This manual said that I had to have at least one Familiar through the entire initiation.
Alesiter had sent Cheerful away, when the cat smelled something off. And then, I had told Aleister to leave, because it was starting to become dangerous to be in my proximity, when the Midnight Spirit possessed me. So that means…
“Yes. Both Familiars assigned to you left. Your initiation is moot.” Tess confirmed it.
But, that’s not what happened. Hadn’t Aleister told me that he did not leave the house? That he had hidden in the kitchen cabinetry while the Midnight Spirit pursued me through the impenetrably dark house?
“Aleister didn’t leave though, he stayed behind…” I said out loud, without thinking. I realized what I had done a second too late.
Tess suddenly looked very cross.
“That’s not what he told me.” She said, under her breath. Uh oh, did I just screw it all up again?
She took the manual from my hands.
“Let's go talk to him and find out, for certain.”
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“Aleister! Cheerful! It’s so great to see you again!” I said, as we entered the kitchen, and I spotted the two animals (Familiars, I reminded myself).
Cheerful whooped and flew a circle around my head.
“Adrienne! Adrienne! It’s Adrienne, Adrienne is back!” The bird twittered in excitement.
Aleister was sitting by the fireplace. He glanced once at us, and then resumed staring into the fire.
The huge smile on my face at the sight of my two friends faltered. Why didn’t the cat say anything to me? He didn’t even greet us.
Aleister’s silence didn’t bother Tess in the slightest. She strode right over to him, and asked, in a rather confrontational tone: “Did you, or did you not leave during the initiation?”
“Of course I left, Mistress. Would you expect me to stick around when that thing was in the house?” The cat spat. He sounded very bitter.
Tess wheeled around, and glared at me. I balked.
“But you said you stayed?” I asked the cat timidly under the Sorceress’s glare.
“Oh, did I say that? My apologies.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Us cats are known as easily frightened and cowardly creatures. You must not judge me too harshly, Apprentice, that I lacked the courage to stay.”
I didn’t like the way Aleister was talking. I knew for a fact that he was a very brave kitty. I was confused as to why he was acting in this manner, but Tess didn’t seem to notice anything wrong.
“That clears it up, then.” She said, “You ought to attempt to make dinner. There’s fresh groceries.” She told me, and then made to walk out of the kitchen, but I ran after her.
“Wait! What does all this mean? What do we do next?” I cried after her.
The Sorceress stopped, and turned around.
“I don’t wish to burden you tonight with the long and difficult road that lays ahead of you. A moot initiation will be a nightmare to sort out. However, I am confident that we are up to the task. For now, I recommend you increase your skills as much as possible. Ultimately, that will be the best thing you could do for yourself.” She lectured.
I stood there looking at her. Increase my skills? Like tidying and cooking? How did that even tie in to the initiation into Sorcery?
I was about to ask her more questions, but she held up one hand.
“I will explain tomorrow. I, myself, have to brush up on a few finer points. I do not wish to misinform you. Give me the evening to finish formulating the plan of attack, and then I will brief you.” She concluded, and left us downstairs.
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Aleister kept his stony silence through dinner. I had tried being friendly, asking questions, or telling him about my brief adventure on the road, to lighten the mood. The last, especially, seemed to aggravate the cat. He hopped off the hearth, and bound over to the cabinetry. Three easy jumps, and he was up top, near the ceiling, where I could hardly see him.
On the counter there were some paper bags, and they did have fresh food in them. It was fish again, and some green vegetables.
I already knew what to do with the fish. For the greens, I just cut them up and threw them into a bowl. In a bout of inspiration, I even added salt and drizzled some oil on top.
I didn’t get any EXP for preparing the salad, but I did get another message.
New Recipe Unlocked!
Simple Greens (Lunch or Dinner)
I got 5 EXP for cooking the fried fish. At this point, I was getting good at cooking it, but also rather bored with eating fish.
There was enough food that I portioned off a section for Tess. I didn’t know when (or if) she would come down again, so I covered it, and left it on the counter.
I chatted with Cheerful as I ate, and stole glances up at Aleister. I had set out some fish for him on the table, but he never came.
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It was late at night, but I hadn’t gone to sleep yet. Truthfully, I was hoping to wait out Aleister, and see if the cat would finally talk to me. He didn’t. In fact, he had probably fallen asleep atop the cabinets, where I could just see his white tail hanging down.
Despite the good news that Tess was on my side, and by all appearances, would help me through the mess I was in, I was feeling rather miserable. When Tess came and got me from Mr. Beaugiron's house, and I realized we were coming back here, I was so excited to see my favorite cat. But he didn’t want to even look at me!
I wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong.
Just as I was about to call it a night, and head upstairs to my anonymous bedroom, I heard the kitchen door open. It whirled around in my chair, my heart thumping, but it was only Tess.
She seemed as surprised to see me, as I was her.
“Good evening.” She quietly muttered, and came in.
I told her I had left some food out for her, from what I had cooked. A perplexed look crossed her face, but she thanked me, and settled down at the table with her late dinner.
“You know, you’re not my servant or anything. You don’t have to prepare meals for me.” She stated.
“But I do have to clean?” I asked. It felt to me like I was a servant. Hadn’t I gotten in trouble for not having the house clean, when she returned?
But Tess shook her head.
“No. That’s not for me. It would take me seconds to put the house to rights again,” She said, and took another bite of food. “And believe me, I don’t enjoy living here with an inch-thick coat of dust on everything. It’s completely contrary to my nature.” She finished.
“So then why…”
“You need to do it. It’ll help you later. Trust me.” She stated.
“Right.” I answered.
She ate in silence for several minutes.
“Tomorrow, I will perform the Closing Ceremony. That will officially end your initiation.” She spoke up.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You’ll see tomorrow. You won’t have to do much but watch and listen, so don’t let it worry you. The hard part will be after.” Tess explained.
I stared at her with wide eyes, hoping she would continue talking.
Tess looked above my head as she spoke, as though one of those Guild manuals was floating there, and she was reading from it.
“After a moot, the proctoring Master may make a recommendation on the outcome, but it will be up to the Guild to ultimately decide the fate of the Apprentice.” She looked at me. “You’ll have to come with me to Celine City, be examined by a board of other Guild members, and show them what you learned during your initiation. If they agree with my positive recommendation, you will be approved.”
Oh, that’s all! I felt myself grow nervous at the prospect. I wasn’t sure that I learned anything! What would they ask? Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to brew a potion for them. I’m sure my Awful ratings would not fly with this officious Guild.
“When do we have to go?” I asked in a tiny voice.
“That’s the big question.” Tess answered. “I’m not sure. Normally, an initiation may take as long as four months. Yours, I believe, ended after a week. So, obviously, you haven’t learned nearly as much as someone who had done nothing but Alchemy for a third of the year.”
I looked down. Tess was going to bat for me, but I had a feeling I would find a way to screw this up, like everything else. It would be so humiliating, if after all this effort and planning, I failed in front of this board of Guild members.
“Now, no one knows I’m back with you. As far as the Guild is concerned, you’re still in the thick of it with unlocking doors and learning skills. I don’t see any reason to let them know, either. There’s no instruction I could find that dictates how long we can wait until visiting Celine City, and completing this process.” Tess almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
I looked up at her.
“And I don’t intend to take you, unless I think you’re ready.” She finished.
Overall, I thought that was a really good plan. This Sorceress would surely tutor me well. Maybe, with her help, I would manage.
We sat there in silence, the fire slowly dying, and I thought about what laid ahead, and what was already behind.
“You know,” I started to say, “when I woke up here, I couldn't remember anything. I don’t even know what my real name is.” I said, barely above a whisper.
Tess nodded.
“Yes. You picked Snake. That’s the downside of that particular Sign.” She confirmed.
“But you must know, you would have remembered… Who was I? Before?” I asked her.
Tess shook her head.
“I don’t care for Zinia, and judging by my love life, she doesn’t care too much for me. Still, I wouldn’t go so far as to throw this in her face.” Tess answered.
She was talking about the Patron of my Sign. Zinia, the nude woman-spirit, who wore a giant serpent, would apparently not be happy if Tess revealed anything of my past.
Another dead end. Would I ever find out who I really was?
“Listen, people don’t generally pick Snake, unless they have a reason they want to forget the past. I wouldn’t let it bother you so much.” Tess added, her voice softer.