You could have asked me.
And you would have told me a couple of facts, then explained why my information was limited. This way, I might learn enough to have non-ignorant questions. Let us hear what a knowledgeable Heere native knows.
Teacher Marson answers, “I do not know anyone who has ever seen one of the wraiths. They are the only sapient residents on the Haunted Continent. They do not actually haunt though. In fact, they tend to ignore any visitors there unless they start to forget they are guests and begin acting like they should own the place. They are actual spirits, many thousands of years old, fully cognizant of the world. They have not moved on due to an ancient curse and a counter-curse.”
“The tales say the curse on the Skolturi people was slow-acting, taking years to fully penetrate the original society. It was like a poison of the spirit, passing slowly from one individual to another. A cursed person’s mind would begin to cloud, their body would atrophy over time, and eventually the remaining husk would die. No cure could be found.”
“Is she right so far?”
Probably. But this goes beyond what I know and even beyond accessible galactic records. The curse came from off-world. Since that time, interstellar travel has been halted to prevent these types of disasters. Destroy your own world if you want, but do not mess with anyone else’s.
“... I’ve got more questions for later.”
I noticed that all of us at the school had gathered by now, and we all were highly interested. Maybe wraith lore is not well known to everyone.
“Remember, this was thousands of years ago. Great mages of the four peoples – Skolturi, Covargh, Human, and Trinchyan – all worked to overcome the curse. If it could destroy the Skolturi, why not all on Heere? No cure was found, nor a counter-blessing. The Skolturi isolated themselves to their continent, and no one there could leave. A full quarantine was put in place, and it held. Anyone elsewhere thought possibly cursed was killed and burned. What else could they do?”
“A counter-curse was eventually developed. However, it would kill the bodies of anyone who chose to be afflicted by it. It would also free an individual’s spirit from both the curse and their body, leaving their mind and personality intact. Actual death, to move on to another incarnation was still possible, but most of the remaining Skolturi and many others trapped there chose to press on as survivors, in defiance of those who had cursed them.”
“An age of darkness descended on Heere for millennia. It is estimated only 25% of the Skolturi survived, as wraiths, and 35% of we other peoples were killed in the Fires. The age of intercontinental trade and discourse ended. It was thought that we were regaining our past when Trinchyan arrived on our shores again for trade and exploration. But after time that did not seem enough for them, and the kingdom had to be established to successfully drive them away.
Arrjee asked, “Who cursed the Skolturi, and why?”
Teacher Marson replied, “That is not known. The curse has never reappeared, though. Many think the gods would not allow it to happen again.”
I asked what to me was the obvious follow-up question, “Why did they allow it to happen in the first place?”
“We do not know.”
“Do you know?”
Yes. Gods from another world were behind it, although it was delivered by mortals. The gods of Heere could not override what the other gods did.”
“Do any mortals of Heere know this?”
No, nor should they. Even current intragalactic matters are beyond their scope, much less galactic history in general. The only reason I can tell you is because you are immortal.
“Holy Hell. Am I considered that far different?”
You are that far different. Only the gods are more aware than you.
…
Forrest?
“Yes?”
Just so you know, you are still a dumbass.
A short snort escaped my nose, and a quick grin on my lips.
“Awareness, but not knowledge. Got it.”
Arrjee was looking at me. I’m sure he saw that I was talking with Interface. “Everyone, I asked my interface about this. What it told me is that if anyone knows any more, it would be the gods.”
Teacher Marson responded, “I understand they have been asked, as well as the Skolturi. Either they do not know any more or they will not tell us.” Then to me specifically, “Thank you for asking, but I am not surprised it did not know any more. Anyway, I think that is enough ‘world’ for today. As soon as school lets out next Thirdday, come here, and we should have a better prepared training session for you.”
…
“Unless you boys bring another visitor to the village with even more of the unexpected.”
I smiled at her. “No promises. But I look forward to it, and I very much appreciate your time. Also, I may be able to teach something useful, as part of the children’s grades. Have you heard of First Aid?” She had not, and I gave her an overview. I told her that on Earth kids as young as 11 learn it. She thought that sounded like a wonderful idea, and we would discuss it more next time.
----------------------------------------
Then I spent some time with Master Yon. We talked about his experiences as a pure warrior, and I learned that he had a lot of fighting experience against both dangerous animals and monsters. Usually monsters were fought within dungeons, but sometimes they would get out and begin causing havoc. Most monsters were sentient, although high-level ones tended to become craftier and sapient. There were also whole races of sapient monsters deeper in the dungeons, such as goblins and, even deeper, oni.
“Why don’t the sapient ones come out and form societies outside the dungeon?” I asked him.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“If any came out demonstrating they would behave non-violently, the duchy would allow it. That has not happened yet. It is possible it has happened in other duchies or continents, but I have not heard of such. Maybe they just feel safer within their dungeon, and they have everything they need. I do not know.”
“Interface?”
I do not know either. One possibility is that one or more of the gods forbid it. What Asha said is equally possible.
“I would like to teach you something useful. Lieutenant Wern Ograth told me you were interested in common ki skills. I am sure you would be. For me, they are the only aetherial capabilities I have. Do you have any yet?”
“Just Analyze. As Rhetta explained it to me, that is barely aetherial. We just pay our interfaces mana or ki for information.”
“I agree with her on that. How would you like to learn Dark Sight? You should be able to pick it up with 30 minutes of practice. Or wait, did you have a similar skill, currently nascent? It would probably take less than 10 minutes then.”
I started laughing, and I managed to get out, “Not nascent.” He asked me what was so funny. “That evening when your squad helped us? I tried to imagine what common ki skills there might be. I wondered if there was an equivalent to the common magic Torch skill. What occurred to me at that time was maybe glowing eyes that would shoot out rays of light. Something as obvious as Dark Sight did not even occur to me.”
The other teens had been attracted by my laughter. Onre said, “I am beginning to understand what your grandmother told me. ‘Never overlook the obvious things.’ Now I see it. If we could realize what we should realize, we would realize a lot!”
Arrjee giggled and said, “I realize you are a dumbass.”
“Elbows, wolf. Dumb elbows.” That cracked Arrjee and I up, but no one else had more than a clue what we were laughing at.
When I stopped, I said, “Master Yon is going to tell me how to learn Dark Sight. Sir, Is it alright if anyone else interested learns also?”
“Yes, it is not a secret. It is just like the common magic skills in that way. Most interested people learn them as a matter of course. Forrest has already shown he can move quantities of ki to various parts of his body, and even outside it through touch. Dark Sight is simply that. Concentrate on moving ki into your eyes and also seeing. Learn the skill outside in the dark, in a dark room, or, not recommended, in a lit area with your eyes shut. That last is not efficient, either in learning or ranking, because your mind has mixed signals. It wants to both ‘see’ and ‘not see’. It does work, but maybe only 25% as well as looking into the darkness with your eyes open. Once you obtain the skill, increasing rank improves how clearly in the dark you see, and how far away you can see things.”
“I am at Rank B. As a pure warrior, my class skills do not use ki, and I have no need to preserve it. I keep Dark Sight on almost full time when in the dark. I can see just about as well on a moonless night as I can in the daytime.” He grins, “F should keep you from walking into walls and trees.”
Hey, that’s something.
Teacher Marson had been listening. “Learning almost all common aetherial skills is similar. Do if you can, and visualize if you cannot. Then focus on using magic or ki to accomplish it. Clean is an example of a ‘do-er’. You have to actually clean, but imagine yourself using magic to do it, to learn the skill. Then you rank it by actually using it.”
I thought about what they were telling me for a minute. In a world of magic and ki, this makes sense. A specific question occurred to me. “Could I use that method to learn the common magic skill Heat Liquid, but using ki with my finger in a glass?”
Teacher Marson and Master Yon looked at each other for a second, and shrugged. He said, “I have not tried it, but you probably could. However at some point the liquid would become hotter than your finger could stand. A mana user would not have that problem.”
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Master Trillet announced that we only had about a half hour before we would have to head to the city gate. I saw that two large wrestling mats had been rolled out. They looked to be leather on the outside.
“Let us close with some rounds of wrestling. Each round will be seven minutes. This will allow us to evaluate your athleticism. Many find the challenge and exercise just to be fun.” Master Trillet smiled. “Undo smiling may lead to demerits. Young Forrest, young Arrjee, you will be one pair. Keen Kossa, young Onre, you will be the second.”
I should have realized there would be a female equivalent for the honorific “young”.
“We will begin the first round once you strip.”
Well, if Arrjee and Onre could wrestle naked in front of a goddess, I can do it here.
We all began stripping. It took me longer because I had on my leathers and boots, and everyone else just had loincloths and sandals. Once I was nude, our pairs each chose and went to a mat. I saw Kossa and Onre get into a starting position, which they obviously knew well.
In school I had wrestling regularly during gym class in both middle and high school, and this looks to be much the same. I never joined a team, though. Now, instead of “shirts and skins”, this was going to be “skins and a lot more skins”. I just hoped I could avoid sexual thoughts and feelings.
“Each pin will count as a point. Once I acknowledge it, get back into your starting positions. Begin!”
Arrjee lunged at me, grabbed my torso and forced me to the ground. It was on! And it was fun. I had to get used to a bit of slipperiness due to his fur, but those old school memories came back. He pinned me after about 2 minutes.
“Point, Arrjee.” We positioned ourselves to restart and did so. Onre had just earned a point as well. Then a message I should have expected popped up.
Learned Skill: Wrestling, F
We completed the seven-minute round smiling, happy, and slightly drained. I lost, three to two.
“After a one minute break, Young Forrest and keen Kossa will pair off, as will young Onre and young Arrjee.”
Kossa’s Human breasts might eventually find some support useful, but at 14 she was only developed as much as a fully grown Covargh female. Yes, I was aware of them as we wrestled, just as she was aware of my junk. But it was not anatomy which was on our minds, but pinning. She was good at it. Tie, three to three. I was pretty sure I only did that good because I had more mass.
The final pairings were Arrjee and Kossa, and Onre and me. He kicked my ass, seven to zero. He is definitely a disciple of the goddess of sparring! I was sure my agility and strength exceeded his, all the other teens really, but attributes don’t count much without skill to back them up.
“That’s it for today. Let's get the mats put away and Teacher Marson can tell us where she wants the desks and chairs. This has been very educational, I am sure for everyone. It is 14:33 now. In 17 minutes, meet at the village gate.”
As I was starting to get dressed, Arrjee stopped me and suggested we go home and put on vests, loincloths, and sandals for the meeting.
“Sounds good, but I have to get home first.” He asked me what I meant. “Do you want me to run through the village naked?”
“Yes, it is nice out. It would be silly to dress just so you can undress and redress. And we do not have a lot of time. Carry your stuff home.”
Onre and Kossa were going to stop by her house so she could get something nicer to wear. We told Onre we would bring him a vest from our house. He said that he had one in his backpack. The others were all stopping by their homes as well.
I am definitely not used to the whole “nakedness is not a taboo thing”, but, “when in Rome …”. We ran home. The longer Heere minutes would give us plenty of time to stop there and still get to the gate by 15.
Only Carrie was there. She was studying something. “Hi, wolves.” Then with a grin, “Forrest, you certainly have gone native. Mom and dad went to some boring meeting about a school. I have still got to study for the one we have. If you guys are going, good luck.” We told her it was a thing we had to go to, but she was not very interested.
I dropped off my leathers and boots in our room and dressed as Arrjee had suggested. They had gotten me a few clothes while I was away, so I did not need to borrow anything from my brother. Arrjee grabbed a vest from Onre’s pack.
I saw that my undergarment was clean and repaired, the one that Skawa had supplied with my leathers. I could not even tell where the leg had gotten torn. To Arrjee, that was normal.