Affinity Test Successful. Affinity(ies) Present: Light Affinity
Well, I guess technically, this was actually the worst-case scenario. Even Dark Affinity couldn’t be selected with Light Affinity and that was unavailable due to Humanity possessing “Heathen Status”. I took a deep breath and yelled, “So what do I get then!?”
There was no response. I was raging and now shivering as my body’s regulation system continued to go haywire. I shivered and reviewed the other Skills. Based on not being able to get any fire or lightning magic, which was bullshit, there weren’t many choices. Under the ‘Requirements’ column, it appeared like Skills had to be earned or qualified for, which was also bullshit. What about a list hundreds of rows long that instantly gave master-level abilities? No extra Feat Points or stats for being stranded out here? I started to work my way up to a truly impressive grumble but stopped, I could barely be bothered to commit the audible effort of complaining, even with my returning Fortitude.
It was between picking up a Weapon Competency, Speaking with Animals, a Mini-map, and Bulwark. I debated saving up my Feat Points, but before I knew it I had already focused in on the Mini-map because I was feeling childish and I wanted a damn video game skill if there was going to be a system and I was being forced to exist within its confines. I told myself that it would come in handy, “Purchase Mini-Map”. A map popped up in the upper corner of my vision. I mentally willed it to move around and it did. I was annoyed by that discovery.
“So mental triggers ARE possible!” It felt like someone half-assed this whole thing, or maybe made it as purposefully difficult as possible to find any information. Can’t have the humans be too prepared for alien invasions after all. Such bullshit.
At least the minimap was kind of cool, even if it didn’t really show much except for a couple of trees and my car in the center of it, all from a top down view. There was no information download or intuitive grasp of how it worked that downloaded into my brain. Figures. At least some video game skills did come in handy here. Playing with it a bit, I discovered that it logged what I saw and, even after turning away, those items were still present on the map.
I looked through all the windows and caught some movement in the treeline before it moved on and I lost sight of it. A smaller animal. It showed as a brief red dot on the map, and then, a few seconds after I lost sight, the dot disappeared. Well, at least its red dot had still been visible on the minimap for a few moments after I lost sight, so it was still kind of helpful. I was kind of hoping for some persistent omnipotent mini-map. I could have built an entire skill set around that.
I wanted to grumble, but I couldn’t help but be a little stoked from the fact that I actually did have a functioning mini-map.
The next choice was between Bulwark and a Weapon Competency or Speak with Animals.
That was a tough choice. On one hand I’d be slightly better at not being knocked down and, at the same time, could be more ‘competent’ with a weapon. I didn’t really have any weapons except some smaller camping knives, my most effective being the strange kukri-axe-hatchet-whatever the hell it was.
I was already getting a feel for the Penitent System, and had a sinking suspicion that it would, more likely than not, require me to specifically say what type of weapon I wanted to be competent with. I had no idea what this weird blade thing would be classified as.
On the other hand… Speaking with Animals seemed like a good choice. Chances are I wouldn’t be getting a wolf companion, that bridge seemed well burned, but maybe a different animal? I remembered that mouse attacking the shit out of me for seemingly no reason. At that reminder, I pulled down my pants and started treating those scratches and bites. Shit, what I really needed was a Healing Skill. Priority One.
Well, maybe if I couldn’t get an animal companion, then at least I might be able to convince them not to suicidally attack me on sight.
“Purchase Skill with Feat Points: Speaks with Animals.”
Nothing happened. Then, I heard shouting at the edge of my hearing. I looked around and didn’t see anything. Then, I opened the other door and looked toward the forest. The yipping and whining of the wounded wolf was replaced by an image, a sense. It was like a different language I had never heard before, but somehow still understood. Pain, anger, grief, regret. Not quite images, not quite words, although I felt like I could translate it to people-speak once I got more familiar with the way they spoke.
The sun entered an area parallel to the treeline as it touched the edge of the horizon. Its oppressive heat didn’t disappear or decrease in intensity, I was forced to shut the door as it near instantly sunburnt any exposed skin, even now. Shit, the sunburn was already hurting. Everything kind of hurt. At least it would go away at sunset. I stopped and my eyes widened. What had happened the night before? Before the sun had come out? Cold.
“Oh shit oh fuck oh shit.” I scrambled to put back together my cold-weather sleeping bag. I would need more coverage than last night, I was in considerably worse shape. My head spun but I pushed through it after slamming into the side of the door. I pulled out article after article of clothing and put them on, even as my body protested before starting to shiver again even though it was still scalding. That actually helped with wearing so many clothes. I refilled the bladder again and put a huge pinch of salt inside then placed it inside my sleeping bag and the cheap space blanket that was torn in half. I pulled out every scrap of material I had and put it inside the sleeping bag. I put on layer after layer of socks while I dry heaved and my eyes watered. Shit, don’t people actually die from heat stroke?
Having worked on an ambulance had the advantage, or disadvantage, of knowing how to keep people alive, for a while. After all, you just had to get the person to the hospital and then it was a doctor’s job to do that whole thing. I was clearly aware that some fixes were technically harmful in the long-term, but were called for by increasing a patient’s short-term survivability. Like a tourniquet. Good for saving your life, kinda bad for long-term health. The damage it caused was mitigated by the fact that a hospital couldn’t resurrect you, but they could handle the deadly side-effects of taking one off and resuming blood flow from a wounded extremity.
I’d dealt with plenty of heat exhaustion patients. That was easy, hydration, elevated feet, and ice packs. I had water that I couldn’t hold down and hadn’t been sweating for a long while now. That put me firmly in Camp Heat Stroke which was also something I had transported people to the hospital for. I didn’t know the follow up treatment or deadliness of it.
I plunged myself into the covers as I indirectly watched the last rays of sunlight disappear. I summoned the will to move and shut my door and locked it just as it slipped from the horizon. I felt terrible. The icy bursts of my breath brought scant comfort as my body started to violently shake. I buried my head in the sleeping bag and… dammit, I prayed.
----------------------------------------
I woke sometime later and blearily looked at my watch. 23:00. I was still shivering but my breath was no longer misting out. I drank some water from the bladder. I made it. I almost immediately puked it back out. I amended my statement. “I made it… so far.” I groaned as I closed my eyes.
Sufficient Cause was Found and a Mortal Enemy has Traded their Soul Seed, their most precious possession, for the Strength to heal themselves and strike you down. You’ve entered into a Nemesis Relationship with another Sentient Being. Someone really hates you. In exchange for their Soul they’ve gained strength, a regenerative Quality, and dark abilities that are enhanced when fighting Heathen: Doubting Thomas. As you grow stronger, so do they. In exchange, you will always be aware of their presence when they draw near.
I felt a shiver on the nape of my neck and passed back out, occasionally waking up to swirl small amounts of water in my mouth before spitting the rest out. I knew this trick at least, the mouth had amazing absorptive qualities, so if my stomach couldn’t absorb water then I’d have my mouth do the job.
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I pinched some salt on my tongue and repeated the process over and over between passing out and coating the inside of my mouth with water. A day passed where nothing happened, then another where something buffeted my car. I was lost in a haze of poor thermoregulation and finally, the first thing that actually registered over the last two or three days, I started to sweat. I weakly wormed my way out of my sleeping bag and risked a deeper pull of water. It sat comfortably in my stomach so I risked another then pulled out a ration bar, making sure to take small bites and chew it thoroughly.
What a pain in the ass.
I felt a shiver on the nape of my neck and dismissed it as a side-effect of the heat stroke I’d just gotten through the other side of.
I heard a growling and thud that rocked my truck gently back and forth.
“Huh?”
I looked around and pulled off some of the window covers, I caught the sight of… a wolf?
“Who’re you?” That’s right, I could talk to animals now.
“I really don’t know you.”
Its eyes glowed a deep red and some things started to filter through the confusion of the last few days.
“You are my…. Nemesis?”
“Why are you my Nemesis?”
This wolf was jet-black and had red-glowing eyes. I definitely would have remembered fighting this one. Well, correction. I would have been dead if I had fought one like this.
I rummaged around until I found my old pants and took out the belt and holstered pistol. Next I took out the box of ammunition of .38 special, opened the chamber, emptying the spent shells to the floor, and then started feeding new rounds into it.
I didn’t like how it said ‘human’, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to shoot you in the fucking face until you’re dead.”
It yip-barked in surprise then ran away, fading into the darkness. I thought it had decided to fuck off, but I still felt tense as I clearly watched its red dot on the minimap. The very next moment it moved back, even closer than before, and stationed itself under a different window. This sneaky fucking wolf. If not for the minimap, I would have thought it had gone away. This thing was far too dangerous to let live.
I raised the pistol to where I had last seen it on the mini-map. Then, thinking better for a moment, I plugged my right ear and unloaded all 5 shots through my car’s frame.
The yips of pain meant that at least one shot had hit. I calmly reloaded.
“It’s called a gun and I’m just going to keep shooting you until you’re dead.” There was no fucking way I was going outside to fight that thing. I also probably shouldn’t have told it my future plan.
Before I could finish reloading it jumped up and looked through the back window at me with its sole, baleful eye. We stared at each other for a moment before it took off and melted into the shadows. The feeling of tension left the back of my neck and I started picking up the rounds I had just dropped, feeding them into the chamber.
“I knew I should have killed that fucking wolf.”
Once that was done and I had appropriate clothing on, jeans, a shirt, a light jacket, the loaded revolver on my left hip and the velcro-canvas sheath for my weird blade on my right, I checked the time, 02:52.
I finished the rest of my ration bar as I debated what to do next.
“Display List of Purchasable Skills with Feat Points.” Unwieldy bullshit.
Skill List:
Unspent Points: 0
Requirements:
Cost:
External Will
Summon Will within, without.
Innate to Humans
N/A; Already Possess Quality 'External Will'
Inner Peace
Place yourself in a state of true understanding
Be near someone who Raptured
All Current Feat Points
Divine Touch
A burst of light from a snap of your fingers. Rescinded Due to 'Status: Heathen Most Foul'
Inner Spark: Activated
Light Affinity: Test Required
Not being a filthy, God-less little heathen.
N/A
Touch of Evil
Deepen Shadows around you with a snap of your fingers
Inner Spark: Activated
Heathen Status bypasses Affinity Requirement*
*Must Not Possess Light Affinity
N/A
Sorta Speak with Animals
Adam had this, and now you can too.
CLOSE Contact with Animals
Quality Possessed
Mini Map
This one sounded good, a little spiritual HUD
Spend some time in the great outdoors
Quality Possessed
Bulwark
Find yourself slightly harder to move against your will
Get knocked down and survive
1 Feat Points
Weapon Competencies
Imparted knowledge of basic weapon competency
Kill something with a weapon
1 Feat Point per weapon set
Great, so the other Affinity Skills had disappeared, but it looks like ‘Divine Touch’ and ‘Touch of Evil’ were there to stay as they cluttered up my pitiful Skill List. Both of those would have disappeared if anyone competent was managing it. Otherwise it just looked like some bug that hadn’t been bothered to have been swept away.
“This is it? No other skills? New Skills? Additional Skill List, Display Expanded Skill List.”
My anger condensed into calm. This thing... changed? Adapted. It Adapted Feat Skills based on what we did so...
"Display Adaptive Skill List."
The Adaptive Skill List: If you suggest a Skill while browsing this menu there is a chance it will be logged and assigned a Feat Point Value according to Administrator Discretion.
Error: Current Administrator ArchAngel Gabriel is currently absent from active system monitoring. Automatic System Engaged. Permissible Skill List Reset to Default. Analyzing Tone of Past Administrator Actions and Current Sets of Implemented Qualities/Skills. Evaluation Finished.
Permissible Skill List Set to Restricted-Discovery Mode, dirty heathens.
So we weren’t supposed to have to ‘earn’ every single Skill, but apparently, this was a ‘hard-mode’, so that’s how it was going to go. Instead of making me angry, I felt calm with the knowledge. At least I knew.