Congratulations, Milly Brown! You are the third player to reach Level 20 and unlock the next tier of talents.

“Wha…what?” Milly groaned. Her head felt foggy and her throat was parched. There was a tingling sensation in her arm, as if she had fallen asleep on it. She felt like she was waking up from a long dream, torn between the two worlds.

Something had happened. But what was it? It was so hard to focus.

Upon reaching level twenty, a player may select a Class Advancement.

Advantage: Selecting a class will provide the player with immediate enhancements and grant access to higher tier talents.

Disadvantage: Talents in opposition to selected Class will be permanently unavailable to player.

The wolves. It was starting to come back to Milly. The battle in the fairy camp. The screams of children and the smell of burnt fur. The fire consuming her. And then…what happened then?

Would you like to view available Class Advancements?

All she could remember was flashes. Brief moments in time when she had awoken, surrounded by winged women. The pain had been unbearable, and she remembered herself screaming. Then an elder frog would appear, and the world would go black again. Which was the dream, and which reality?

“Yes,” Milly answered the system’s question. Her whisper emerged as the faintest squeak. The light that shone through her shut eyes was uncomfortable.

A list of class advancements appeared before her, the list descending so quickly that she struggled to keep up. “Actor, Advocate, Agricultural Scientist, Architect, Artist, Assassin, Baker, Berserker, Blacksmith, Builder…” she thought, immediately dismissing each one. Her head ached with the effort, and the classes started to blur together.

She had reached Druid when the descending list suddenly stopped. There was a flash of static, and then a new message appeared, overlayed on the class list.

A specialty class has been unlocked. Specialty Classes are unique classes that players can earn through their deeds and story.

Specialty Class: The Scarred Witch is available to Player Milly Brown.

Do you wish to know more?

“Yes,” Milly mumbled, her thoughts growing more coherent. The pain in her arm was building. What was wrong with it?

Specialty Class: The Scarred Witch

The Scarred Witch’s life has been marred by isolation, yet that isolation has born a fierce will and desire to protect those whom she has grown to love. She will not hesitate to sacrifice anything, even herself, to keep her loved ones safe. The Scarred Witch specialty class grants the following to the player:

No Limits: The Scarred Witch does not place limits on how she will obtain the power she requires to protect those she loves. She gains access to the next tier of all available magic talents, including angelic, demonic, and chaotic magics. She immediately gains two magical talent points and gains a magical talent point every two levels, in addition to the standard talent point progression.

Weaver: The Scarred Witch has an instinctual understanding of the nature of magic. She can weave together different types of magic to cast unique spells with devastating potential.

Relentless: The Scarred Witch is an unrelenting force. She immediately increases her magic and toughness attributes by twenty.

Outcast: The Scarred Witch has been forgotten by society. All society-based talents, such as architecture, agriculture, and law are permanently unavailable to the player.

Consequences: The Scarred Witch wears her failures on her sleeve. While her injuries can be healed, her scars shall always remain with her.

Milly fought through the fog, reading through the description again. “Forgotten by society? Is that who I want to be? What if I refuse?” she asked herself uncertainly.

The system anticipated her question.

A specialty class may be refused but is not recommended. If refused, you may select a standard class.

Milly mentally selected the ‘Actor’ class for comparison.

“Actor. Gain access to the next tier of actor talents and immediately select two talents. Gain five agility and three strength,” Milly read, unimpressed. She scrolled through a few more of the basic classes, but all paled in comparison to The Scarred Witch.

Milly thought of the scars across her wrists. Constant reminders of the worst day of her life. If she took The Scarred Witch class, they would never be healed. Could she live with that?

The pain in her arm was throbbing. It felt hot. Was she sweating?

“I accept The Scarred Witch class,” Milly decided. She had lived with her scars until now. She could keep living with them if it meant keeping Calista and Rain safe.

Congratulations, Player Milly Brown. Best of luck to you on…

The static returned, and for a moment Milly thought she could hear the clicking of fingers racing across a keyboard. Then the message changed.

Congratulations, Player Milly Brown. You have been assigned a sub-class!

Error: Sub-classes are unavailable to players until Level 30.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Error overwritten.

“What?” asked Milly, confused. It felt like the system had finished with The Scarred Witch. Why was this still going on?

Sub-class: Her Inquisitor

The Inquisitor is the independent hand of authority. A finder of truth in a world gone wrong. She seeks out those who threaten the very fabric of our existence and brings them to justice, by speech or by sword.

Oracle’s Avatar: The Inquisitor takes on the legacy of the mother. The attribute bonuses of all Oracle gear worn by the Inquisitor is tripled.

Ceaseless Skepticism: It takes a skilled liar to fool The Inquisitor. The Inquisitor gains an instinctive ability to know when someone is lying.

I Need to See You: The Inquisitor must explore the hidden corners of the world to uncover the truth. The Inquisitor gains ten to their agility attribute.

Find a Backdoor: The Inquisitor must fight her way through unknown perils. The Inquisitor gains ten to their strength attribute.

Milly, I am Afraid: The Inquisitor holds secrets close to her chest. The Inquisitor gains immunity from mind control effects.

“Luna…?” Milly whispered, but she could no longer think. The pain in her arm felt like it was on fire. She felt a scream build within her and escape her parched lips.

“Shit! Twotongue, she’s waking up again!”

Was that Calista’s voice? Why did she sound so scared?

The fire spread from the tip of her finger to the top of her shoulder. The pain enveloped her, and another scream tore itself from her.

“Milly, hold on. Elder Twotongue is coming. He will help.”

“Cally?” Milly asked weakly. She forced her eyes open until a tiny slit of light flooded in. “It hurts…”

“I know, baby. I know. He’s coming. It will be better soon.”

Milly could see a faint wisp of red hair in the sunlight. She wanted to open her eyes. She wanted to see Calista. And then she saw the frog and felt something moist run up her arm.

The pain faded away.

And she returned to the dream.

* * *

Milly felt a drop of rain land on top of her head. Then another, and another. And then the drops stopped. But it was enough to rouse her from her slumber.

Her body was bobbing in a steady rhythm, and her chest was pressed comfortably against someone’s back. She could feel gentle hands supporting her legs.

She took a deep breath and felt as though she were cleansing herself of a deep sickness that had finally passed. Stale air fled her lungs, replaced by the pleasant fragrance of flowers and summer rain and…

And Calista. Milly knew her scent. The feel of her hands. The way Calista’s hair tickled her nose.

Milly eased open her eyes. It was late afternoon and a rainy gloom had settled on the world. Calista carried Milly effortlessly on her back, surrounded by the frogs and fairies of The Tribe of the Lost Foal. Rain was at the head of the procession, speaking in excited tones with the Elder. Calista had formed a tiny shield of light above Milly’s head to protect her from the rain.

“Hey Cally,” Milly said softly, surprised by the weakness in her own voice.

“Hey yourself, beautiful,” Calista responded, her voice filled with relief. “How are you feeling?”

“…Comfortable,” Milly said, leaning her head against Calista’s shoulder. “What happened?”

“You beat up a great big wolf,” Calista said simply. “You had me worried. Rain too. It took the fairies three days to heal you, but even then…”

“That was nice of them,” Milly mumbled into Calista’s shoulder. “Did you make some friends? They seem… wait… three days!”

Milly was suddenly alert and slid off Calista’s back before Calista could stop her. She landed in the damp soil, her legs buckling. Calista quickly spun and caught Milly before she landed face first in the mud.

“Careful, baby,” Calista cautioned as she eased Milly back to her feet. “You have been out of it for days. You’re still weak.”

“I feel fine,” Milly protested. She flexed her arms dramatically. “See, I’m strong.”

Then Milly saw her left arm. It was covered in a patchwork of scars from fingertip to shoulder, a network of speckled blotches that varied in color from faded pink to a bright, sickly red. Milly ran her finger across the scars, feeling the rough, raised patches. It did not hurt, but it would never heal. The only thing part of her arm that remained unaltered was the scar across her wrist.

“The Scarred Witch,” whispered Milly to herself, torn between laughter and tears.

“Whitewing and her healers did as much as they could. They tried to heal the scars, Milly. They really did. But after the first day, your scars resisted everything they tried. Rain has been working on something that might help, but it requires a rare ingredient that we don’t have and…”

“It’s okay, Cally,” Milly interrupted, pulling her sleeve over her scar. “It’s okay. It’s not like I’m going to win any beauty contests anyway. What’s another scar?”

“Milly…” Calista said concerned. “You are beautiful to me.”

“It’s fine,” Milly stated, frustrated that her sleeves were not long enough to cover her forearm.

Calista leaned in and gave Milly a kiss, and for a moment, Milly forgot about her arm.

“Milly, you’re the bravest, most beautiful person I have ever met,” Calista whispered in her ear. “Don’t you ever doubt that. Not even for a moment.”

Milly felt her ears grow hot, still subconsciously tugging on her sleeve to cover her scars. She rested her head on Calista’s shoulder as Calista pulled her into a delicate hug, until a high-pitched voice finally broke their embrace.

“Calista! The Elder wants to talk with you and … hey! Your mate is awake!” Flutterwing said in delighted surprise. She floated up and sat on Calista’s shoulder, gently bouncing with excitement.

“She is awake,” Calista replied, giving the fairy girl a kind smile. “Flutterwing, this is Milly. My, umm… my girlfriend. Milly, this is Flutterwing. It was her mother’s team that healed you.”

Milly stared at Calista. “Girlfriend?” she whispered.

“Is that okay?” Calista nervously whispered back. “I know it is fast, but who knows how long we have in this world. After what happened to you, I decided I don’t want to go slow. I want to spend whatever time I have in this world together with you.”

Milly leaned in and gave Calista a gentle kiss. “Okay,” she said simply, butterflies in her stomach.

And there it was. It felt like such a small thing. Such a small word. But somehow Milly knew it was far more meaningful – more lifechanging – than any scar.

Flutterwing gave an impatient cough.

“Right, the Elder,” Calista said, reluctantly to leave Milly’s embrace. “Lead the way.”

Calista grabbed Milly’s hand and led her through the small procession of fairies, each laden with the barest of necessities. They were greeted joyfully by each one, and Milly was soon overwhelmed with introductions from the odd creatures who wanted to thank the woman who had sacrificed to save them. It felt so strange to receive accolades. She had spent her life in the shadows, and the attention made her feel uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, Tentongue. We’ve got to go,” insisted Calista after Milly was introduced to a very energetic frog child. “The Elder is waiting for us. You know how he gets if anyone keeps him waiting.”

“Okay, Calista. Will you play with us later?” Tentongue asked, expectantly.

“We’ll see, Tentongue. Something tells me you will have lots of frogs your own age to play with soon,” Calista said with a playful wink. Tentongue grew excited and started hoping between the adults.

Calista lifted Flutterwing off her shoulder and set her gently on the ground. “Milly and I need to talk with your grandpa. Will you go keep your brother occupied?” Calista asked sweetly.

Flutterwing gave a very serious nod as she accepted the mission. Then she laughed and chased after Tentongue.

“They are good kids,” Calista said. She looked over to Milly, who was beaming at her. “What?”

“Nothing,” Milly responded, admiration in her eyes.

“Milly!” Rain’s shout from the hilltop drew Milly’s attention, and a moment later Rain rushed down the slopes and wrapped Milly up in a massive hug. “You’re awake! I missed you so much.”

“Hey Rain,” Milly said simply, hugging her back.

“I have so much to tell you. But first, come look at this,” Rain pointed towards the hill, where the Elder frog stood staring at the horizon.

Milly climbed the slopes of the hill effortlessly. She could feel her increased strength and stamina in every step. She felt like she could run a marathon and then climb a mountain, and then be ready for more.

“You wanted to see us, Twotongue?” Calista asked as she moved to his side.

The Elder pointed his staff towards the plains below. “You have completed your end of the bargain. We have arrived.”

In the plains below, at the intersection of two rivers that fed into a long, narrow lake as blue as the sky above and surrounded by rolling hills, were thousands of fairies. Their camps stretched along the perimeter of the lake, hidden beneath scattered groves of poplar and spruce. Cooking fires burned low, and the smell of roasted fish and sautéed mushrooms reached the hilltop, causing Milly’s mouth to water. Children played in the deep lake, and adults gathered after long absences to greet old friends and share stories.

“Welcome, my friends, to the Gathering of the Fairies.”

* * *