Einar reached up to touch the red scales beneath his neck but he only found human skin. It truly was only a tattoo.
“I look weird.” He admitted with a downcast gaze.
“You look magnificent,” Helga’s voice reached out to him along with a gentle hand that raised his head back up a bit. “The Arnessen clan was always known as the descendants of giants and you have awakened that inheritance. As for the eyes and scales of the dragon; that should be proof of your father’s greatest achievement. Isn’t that right, dragon hunter?”
“More like dragon survivor. It hardly counts as any sort of achievement.” Björn scratched his beard.
“Injuring a fire dragon and surviving the foolish act of drinking its blood is nothing to scoff at.” His wife chided.
“That was decades ago,” the hunter grumbled. “This is about Einar.”
“You need not to worry. The blood of the dragon awakened in him and is now every bit a part of him just as your giant ancestor’s. It will only aid him in the future. But enough about that,” Helga waved her helpers to retreat. “He must still go through the Ritual of Bestowal. Come with me.”
They followed the priestess to the central altar where the most important ceremonies were held.
“Place your earnings from the ritual of Gathering and whatever else your family wishes to offer to the gods. Let us see what they decide to bestow upon their new seeker.”
Einar placed the two scrap-filled mill sacks on the altar while his father put a large, folded-up hide beside the sacks.
“This belonged to the bear that gave you the chance to become a God-marked. It should make a fine offering. And here; I want you to also have this.”
The giant of a man pulled out a palm-sized greenish-brown scale from his satchel. He handed it over to his son, patting him on the shoulder.
“This scale was said to have come from the Great Serpent itself and it was passed down to the firstborn son in every generation. The gods should look favourably at such a treasure.”
“But...”
“Take it,” Björn closed his son’s fingers on the scale. “It should be of some use.”
“Look at you two,” Astrid chuckled as she placed a handcrafted leather satchel on the altar. “Getting sappy at a time like this. Just put the scale on top of pile and hope for the best.”
Einar nodded as he put the large scale beside the mill sacks and stood back.
“Let us begin then.” Helga said before she began to pray in the old language, her voice echoing everywhere as if a thousand ghosts were there to repeat every word she said.
The flames on both sides of the altar became restless, reaching high before spilling over the offered items. Everyone except the priestess stepped back out of instinct. They watched as the flames surrounded the offerings for several minutes before the priestess spoke up once again.
“The two of you should leave. The last part is between Einar and me. Join the rest of the people at the village hall and wait there.”
Astrid wanted to say something, but her husband just placed his hand on her shoulder while shaking his head. The two of them left, only Helga and the young seeker staying behind.
“While the gods decide what to bestow upon you, I shall teach you what you must know about your mark. It is not only a proof of your standing but an anchor to tie your spirit and body to a higher realm. It allows you, after your calling has been found, to tear away some power from the essence of other beings. From now on, whatever you kill will make you stronger."
Her words felt heavy and meaningful, but the young giant had yet to fully understand their true weight.
"You will steal a part of their very essence, earning valour for every battle or noteworthy deed which you can offer to the gods and for yourself. I will teach you how to enter into your inner world, where the source of your future power resides. In there, you will find an altar with a heraldry stone and a chest with goat skin scrolls. All of these are important, so treat them with respect.”
While she explained, the priestess pulled out a couple of leather scrolls from her satchel that she soon unfolded and showed to Einar.
“You can offer the valour you gather at your inner altar to better yourself by relying on these scrolls. Each of them will show you a star drawing that you can reform in your inner world. They will each grant you different boons. These, I believe you’ll need, but they are only meant to be the beginning of your journey. You must discover the ones fated to you on your own.”
As the youth stared at the strange drawings, he felt something change in his very core.
“Good,” Helga nodded as she watched his reaction. “Now sit down. You must clear your mind and even your breathing. Focus on drawing the power of the world to you. It should happen naturally as long as you will it.”
Einar tried to even his breathing, but nothing really changed after that.
“Close your eyes and try to shut off your stray thoughts. Just breathe.”
Sitting in the dark helped little to nothing as he waited. Soon his mind went a bit hazy from the deep breaths and as his thoughts waned, a sense of warmth began to spread outwards from his chest. A sense of falling got hold of him for a moment and when he opened his eyes, he sat in front of a pair of burnt-out braziers. Their light was so dim, that he couldn’t see further than a few steps before everything got shrouded in pure darkness.
Einar reached towards the dying embers, a strong and bright flame waking up in their place. He covered his eyes for a moment, then he saw the darkness being pushed back step by step. It was then that he could finally see where he was. The young seeker stood in front of a crude stone altar with a large flat stone behind it. There were four small carved figures on the altar; one of them seemed to be the effigy of a warrior.
The second figurine was a carving that depicted a giant holding up a dragon with a tiny human on top of its head. As he looked at the third one, it seemed to be a tome with a sword placed on it. The fourth one was a warrior standing beside a dead creature with one of his legs stepping down on the carcass. Not knowing what the small figurines meant, Einar decided to take a closer look at the first one.
When he touched the tiny stone warrior, the flames in the braziers flared up, lashing out at the clear stone slab behind the altar. Glowing words appeared on the stone, along with a drawing that looked a bit like Einar. Ancient runes flitted by and turned into new ones that he could read properly.
{Name: Einar Arnessen}
{Title: none}
{Ancestry: dragon/human/giant}
{Age: 18}
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{Valour: 240}
{Calling: Seeker}
{Renown: unknown}
{Attributes}
* Charm:12
* Deftness: 14
* Divinity: 1
* Grit: 14
* Heart; 20
* Luck: 10
* Might: 25
* Mind: 13
* Soul: 16
Vigour/Spirit/Fortitude
45/39/34
It was a strange sight to behold as Einar could not understand what all of this meant. As he stared at his so-called ‘attributes’ the burning words changed on the stone slab.
{Charm}
{Charm is the measure of one’s appeal and presence. You can only make a first impression once so make it count. Charm also helps one haggle for better prices or gain another’s trust faster.}
{Deftness}
{Deftness improves one’s overall hand-eye coordination and movement speed. A high deftness will help you dodge the enemy’s attacks better. Every 5 points beyond the first 10 will also increase your ranged weapon damage by 1.}
{Divinity}
{Divinity is the proof of your belief in yourself and other higher beings. It allows you to form a stronger connection to the mystical and divine forces, so you could rise to godhood one day. Every point in divinity allows the conversion of 2 specks of valour into 1 divine essence by praying to yourself in your inner realm. You can only do so once a day. Every 5 points increases the damage of blessed weapons and divine spells by 1. Every point increases your spirit by 10.}
{Grit}
{One’s willpower can help push through extreme dangers and dark influences. Every 2 points of grit beyond the first 10 will increase your resistance to charm, fear and illusions by 1. Every 5 points beyond the first 10 will increase your passive spirit regeneration by 1.}
{Heart}
{Your heart is the core of your life itself. While a tougher body lets you survive wounds that would kill a lesser man, a stronger heart will beat with more blood coursing through it. Every 5 points beyond the first 10 will strengthen your body’s natural defences and increase your resistance to poison by 1 %.}
{Luck}
{Luck is behind every attack that misses you by a hair’s width, or the moments when you know that you’re going to fail miserably, yet miraculously succeed. It’s an attribute that can only be raised if fate wills it. Every 2 points beyond the first 10 will increase your chances of successful dodging by 1%. Every point beyond the first 10 will increase your chances of finding better resources and treasures.}
{Might}
{The might of the body doesn’t stop at one’s muscles. It’s present in every fibre of your being, including your bones, joints and sinews. Every 5 points beyond the first 10 will increase your melee damage by 1.}
{Mind}
{Having a sharp mind is a blessing when learning things. It helps you think faster and understand the deeper truths that govern the world, tapping into them more naturally. A strong mind is also necessary when one hopes to deal with mysticism. Every 2 points after the first 10 will increase your learning speed when it comes to crafts, skills and spells by 0.5 %.}
{Soul }
{The soul of a warrior is more than just superstition. It is a source of power for those who learn to harness it and the last defence against the dark forces that try to influence you with or without your knowing. It also helps forge a better connection with the world’s mystical energies. Every 5 points beyond the first 10 will increase your passive spirit regeneration by 1.}
“So many strange new things! I must ask Helga about these later.” Einar huffed as he rubbed his eyes while reaching the bottom of the lengthy description.
When he looked at the three numbers that governed his future in this world, another set of short explanations appeared beside them, just to annoy him a bit further.
{Vigour}
{Vigour is the quantity of the life force coursing through one’s body with every heartbeat. Every point in your might and heart attribute increases it by 1. If your vigour reaches 0 you will perish. Your vigour can only be three times that of your ‘heart’ attribute at the maximum.}
{Spirit}
{Spirit is the mystical essence used to alter the world through magic. Every point in your mind and soul attribute increases it by 1 if your soul attribute is at least 11. Your spirit can only be three times that of your ‘soul’ attribute at the maximum.}
{Fortitude }
{Every action, be it a swing of a sword or a jump in the air requires fortitude. Every point in your deftness and heart attribute increases your fortitude by 1. Your fortitude might be replenished quickly with a few breaths’ worth of rest, but continuous stress and hard activities will tire you out, lowering it until you’re properly rested. A high deftness attribute can lessen the cost of your physical deeds. Your fortitude can only be three times your ‘heart’ attribute.}
Seeing that nothing else appeared on the stone, Einar reached out to touch the second figurine. As soon as he did, the glowing words on the stone wall changed. The new words that appeared felt just as strange as the previous ones.
{Traits}
{Draconic inheritance}
{You have inherited the blood of dragons. This grants you both benefits and disadvantages.}
{Giant’s inheritance}
{You have inherited the blood of giants. This grants you both benefits and disadvantages.}
{Golden greed}
{Due to the awakened dragon blood coursing through your veins, you will have a harder time giving up on anything that is considered valuable. Gold is particularly hard to resist.}
{Giant’s might}
{Due to the awakened giant blood coursing through your veins, you tower over most people in size. Both your heart and might attributes are far above that of ordinary mortals.}
{Giant’s stubbornness}
{Giants are considered one of the most stubborn races. Once you decide on something, it will be almost impossible to change your mind about it, even when you know that it’s a fool’s errand.}
{Unhindered growth}
{Not even the weight of the world could stop the dragons from growing the way they want to. You are capable of increasing your attributes at a rate beyond what ordinary mortals are capable of.}
When he finished reading, the words on the stone changed, as if reacting to his thoughts, new ones appearing. The newly formed descriptions were likely the second half of the previous one.
{Feats}
{Draconic hide 1}
{Your skin is naturally tougher thanks to your draconic heritage, granting you ten points of passive damage resistance.}
{Draconic pride 1}
{Dragons are naturally prideful beasts, seeing themselves as the strongest creature in the world. Those that challenge their pride shall raise their ire...}
{Fire resistance 1}
{Your awakened dragon blood grants you ten points of passive fire resistance.}
{Frost resistance 1}
{Your awakened frost giant blood grants you ten points of passive frost resistance.}
{Heavy armour proficiency}
{You are proficient in wearing heavy armour, reducing the fortitude cost of movement and general activities by ¼ while wearing such equipment compared to untrained people.}
{Light armour proficiency}
{You are proficient in wearing light armour, reducing the fortitude cost of movement and general activities by ¾ while wearing such equipment compared to untrained people.}
{Medium armour proficiency}
{You are proficient in wearing medium armour, reducing the fortitude cost of movement and general activities by ½ while wearing such equipment compared to untrained people.}
{Might of the hoard}
{Dragons are known to be able to draw strength from the treasures they hoard. You can gain an increase in your attributes based on the kind of treasures you hoard for yourself once you have claimed a lair.}
Einar found it somewhat difficult to make sense of what he read so far, but the gist of it was that the dragon and giant blood in him granted him some boons and he instinctively knew how to wear armour properly.