Aira stood together with a dozen or so of her fellow villagers as the Awakener's carriages rolled down the main road into the village. Flanked by high level guards on both sides, the large Mana-powered carriage gave off an imperious and authoritative air. Aira had of course seen this procession before when they came for last years’ Awakening ceremony, but they hadn’t felt like this then. The only words to describe her feelings were awe mixed with a healthy dose of anxiety and fear. She felt a squeeze on her hand, and looked to her side to see Athilana.
The elven girl stood half a head taller than Aira, with the curly green hair common to her people tied up in ornate braids for the occasion. She gave Aira a reassuring smile, who returned it and squeezed her friend's hand in thanks before turning back towards the procession.
It was stupid to worry, anyway. Everyone Awakened. Everyone got their Class and Glyph. Why did everyone always make such a big deal out of it?
Because there is always a chance someone gets a special Class. She reminded herself. That was what her mother had always told her. The reason why the Church and the Guilds cared to send their own members of the Awakeners, even to a small village like Coltmoon, was just for the tiny, tiny, chance that one of them Awakened with a Tier 2 class at Tier 1.
It would never actually happen here, of course. Things like that didn’t happen in small villages. They didn’t even happen in large metropolises more than once every few decades. But the ceremony was also an opportunity to recruit those with impressive Glyphs, regardless of their Class. Her eyes turned to look at Vireld, who stood off to the side. The symbol of the Kiyan church embroidered on his chest. She hadn’t known him very well, but his Glyph had caused quite a stir in the village when he’d Awakened three years ago. Aira understood the reason. An additional [Skill] with each tier up was already good, but adding an ever growing increase to Vitality on top of that? That was a good Glyph. One any organization would want to recruit.
Her gaze turned back to her compatriots. More specifically Vireld’s brother Daren, who’s awakening was the reason he was back in town today. She knew him better than she did Vireld, they were the same age after all, but she wouldn’t call him a friend exactly. Still she hoped he’d get a good Glyph. She looked at the group of people crowding around Vireld and shivered. If anyone had reason to be nervous today, it would be Daren. Compared to him, what expectations could people have of her? None whatsoever. She felt a bit bad about it, but the thought did help relieve her anxiety somewhat.
The thump and buzz of the Magitech of the carriage powering down jerked her mind back to the moment, and she turned her attention back to the procession. It was almost time now.
“Next!” An Awakener in front called out. Aira squeezed her clammy hands together. This wasn’t a big deal. She shouldn’t be this nervous about it, not when she’d managed to calm herself down a minute ago. Athilana had even been excited when her turn had come. Why couldn’t she be more like her… She shook herself and forced herself to step forward. The Awakener took her name, checked it off his list, and guided her silently into the carriage. Once inside she was surprised by how light and airy it was. The outside looked domineering, but the inside was outright comfortable and spacy. She forced herself to pay attention and walked up to the Awakening table and sat down. Opposite her sat another Awakener, this one with a sigil for the Adventurers Guild on her white robe. She gave Aira a friendly smile.
“Hello, young lady.” She said.
“H-hello.” Aira stammered.
“No need to be nervous.” The woman said. “I will be here and talk you through the whole process. You can take a second to take a deep breath if you need to.” Aira nodded and did so, then the woman continued by gesturing to the contents of the table between them.
“This is the Mana Crystal we’ll be using.” She said. “It came from a mine outside Ebereya to the northeast, and is certified at 98 percent purity by the local Miners Guild.”
“Oh”, Aira said. She supposed that was impressive, though she didn’t really have the reference frame to understand why. She didn’t really know much of the world beyond a few days' walk from Coltmoon. Even the nearest town, Aspenfield, was further away than she’d ever been before, and all she really knew about it was that it was the place where the Count that ruled this land lived. Seemingly noticing her lack of understanding, the Awakener didn’t seem discouraged by her response, and instead began explaining the process that had been used to mine the crystal. As well as how it was used to speed up the awakening process.
She talked about the natural Awakening that would happen on the seventeenth day after a person’s nineteenth birthday. Why on that day specifically was supposedly the topic of countless research and discussion, much of which went way above Aira’s head, and even the Awakener admitted to only understanding the basics of it. Still, she explained that finding everyone on their own specific day was simply not feasible, regardless of how large their organization was. And relying on people to travel to them was beyond what could be expected of the freshly awakened. This was why there were the Awakeners. As Aira listened as the woman went on to talk about her role within the Order, and how life was on the road, she found herself calming down. Her breathing slowed, and her heartrate steadied. Before she knew it she simply wasn’t that nervous anymore. The woman on the other hand seemed keenly aware of her anxiety, because not even ten seconds after Aira herself realized it she stopped her story and transitioned to the actual Awakening procedure. Aira listened attentively, though her role was extremely simple. All she needed to do was hold her hand on the crystal, and wait patiently.
She placed her hand atop it. It felt cool to her touch, yet alive with a kind of crackling energy, hiding just beneath the surface. She hadn’t felt mana like this before. Sure her parents, and every other awakened adult for that matter, had mana within them. But not like this. Not this concentrated. She shut her eyes, and breathed.
In… and out… In… and out…
She briefly wondered how long it’d take.
[System Connection Established. Initiating Awakening Process]
…
[Awakening Complete]
Aira’s eyes snapped open as she felt an insane rush of mana flooded into her, flowing all throughout her body. Everything from the base of her feet to her scalp tingled with energy. She gasped and threw herself backwards into her chair. The sides of her vision grew blurry, and her mind was struggling to adapt to the surge of new sensations and information.
She shut her eyes and breathed. She’d known this would happen. She could get through it. Eventually the rush faded, and though she still felt light-headed she could at least think properly. She opened her eyes and couldn’t help but smile. She’d Awakened.
It wasn’t an accomplishment, really. Everyone did it, after all. It still felt special, though. She felt… alive in a way she hadn’t before in her life. Was this how Classers felt all the time…
Stolen story; please report.
She blinked. Right! Her Class and Glyph!
“Status Open.” She said aloud. Eventually she knew she’d be able to open her status with a thought. But for now she felt it best to speak the commands, just to be safe. She couldn’t help but grin as the slightly transparent blue window manifested in front of her eyes for the first time.
Name:
Aira Carinon
Biological Age
18
Numerical Age
18
Bonus Years
6
Species:
Human
Glyph:
Glyph of the Silent Hunter
Tier:
1
Level
1
Class:
[Ranger]
Strength
15
Vitality
16
Dexterity
17
Perception
15
Spirit
15
Force
16
Attribute Points
5
Innate Class Skills:
[Detect Entity]
[Focused Shot]
Skills:
[-]
Talents:
[-] (1)(1)
Health
160/160
Mana:
150/150
A Ranger… She thought. Not a Tier 2 class, of course. Why was she even a bit disappointed? She shook herself back to the present. [Ranger] was not what she’d have guessed she’d get. Though considering what her Glyph was called it wasn’t that big of a surprise. Glyphs and first tier classes tended to go hand in hand. She forced herself to check the description of the Glyph before the butterflies could sneak their way back into her stomach.
[Glyph of the Silent Hunter]
Human Glyph
See clearly, both in the dark or through obscured terrain.
Move silently, without rousing the attention of those around.
[Skills] that are Imbued onto Bows or Arrows do increased damage per Tier. (+10%)
Gain an additional Talent Point on odd levels, only to be spent on Imbuing talents.
That was… good? She thought it was good. It wasn’t remotely close to the type of Glyph she’d hoped for, or thought she’d get, but it was definitely powerful. Most Glyphs only had an effect on the System and how you interfaced with it, whether it be making [Skills] cheaper, or available earlier, or more powerful. This one did that too, though the increase wasn’t nearly as high as she’d heard about from other Glyphs. That was made up for by the additional Talent points she’d receive, even if she’d be restricted in how she used them. You could say that it was half a power increase Glyph, and half a Talent increase Glyph, with some restrictions on both sides. What made it stand out though were the passive everyday life bonuses. Moving silently and seeing clearly weren’t game changers, and would probably not work a hundred percent of the time, especially against magical detection or concealment. But it was active all the time, which made it all the more usable.
“Something good, I take it?” The Awakener woman said from across the table. Aira flinched and tore her eyes from her System window. She blushed awkwardly. She’d actually forgotten she was still in the carriage. She took a deep breath to center herself.
“I think so”, she said after. “I’m not that familiar with all the effects to be honest, so I’m not sure.”
“Oh?” the woman said, raising an eyebrow. “Multiple effects, you say? Interesting. Most Glyphs only do the one thing. Would you describe the effects for me, please. This is of course private and won’t be shared with anyone outside the Awakeners. Oh and if I could get your Class as well?”
Aira nodded. “I got [Ranger] as my Class, and my Glyph seems to be derived from that. Or the other way around I’m not sure.”
“It isn’t fully known either way.” The woman shrugged. “It’s the subject of some debate whether our initial classes determine our Glyphs or the other way around. Though the opinion held by most is that it is the Glyph that influences the Class.”
Aira nodded. “Well, the Glyph is called [Glyph of the Silent Hunter], and it helps me see clearly and move silently, regardless of terrain I think.”
“Passive benefits outside the System connection.” The woman said as she wrote. “These kinds of bonuses aren’t the most common, and are often harder to rank than normal ones. But with enough testing you should be able to get some idea of exactly how much it helps.”
Aira nodded. “In addition the Glyph has a mild strengthening to Skills that are Imbued onto Bows or Arrows, and grants me additional Talent Points on odd levels that can only be spent on Imbuing talents.”
She looked at the Awakener woman curiously, trying to ascertain her reaction to what she said. Though the woman only looked focused, if a bit pensive, as she dutifully recorded down Aira’s words in her ledger. Once she was done she looked up and gave Aira a small smile.
“I can tell what you’re thinking.” She said. “Let me think… It’s certainly a very wide Glyph in how it spreads out its benefits. Yet it’s still united in purpose. In a way it’s a bit restrictive despite its wide variety of effects, since you’ll have to utilize them all to gain the most you can out of it. If you go down that path though, it seems like a good Glyph to me. Besides, what are Glyphs for if not lanterns sent by the System to guide us along our individual paths.”
Aira smiled and nodded eagerly. That was true. The Glyph was just a guide. It would be up to her to take full advantage of it and actually walk the path to its conclusion. She closed her ledger and took out a piece of parchment and handed it over to Aira. She looked it over, then stared back up at the woman with wide eyes.
“Like I said, the Glyph could be powerful if you’re able to take full advantage of it. And it’d be downright irresponsible of me not to invite you to take the [Ranger] course at the Adventurers Guild. We are the guild with the most members for a reason. We can help you, and in return you can eventually help us.” She smiled at Aira. “What do you say? Do you want to become an adventurer?”