by Jay Boyce
Name: Jade Winward
Age: 18
Strength: 23.63
Dexterity: 22.78
Constitution: 23.77
Intelligence: 24.7
Magic: 27.12
Charisma: 21.38
Luck: 20.83
Special Abilities: Adaptable, Keen Senses, Siphon(2)
She stood there, gaping at the mirror a bit. Sure, she’d prioritized taking the magic stat, but...she hadn’t expected it to jump a full eight points! Strength and constitution were up by five, dexterity and charisma by four, intelligence and luck by three.
She pulled up her skills list, mentally comparing it with yesterday morning. The two new skills on her list were aura manipulation and disguise; aura she’d taken from the doppelganger and then discovered went up after her lesson with Ashanna, and disguise came from her illusions around town. She’d even found two life mages who had aura in their list. Of course, the merged skills were missing now, and merchant had been added, but she didn’t count that as new, merely changed.
Accessorycraft
Intermediate 4
41%
Acrobatics
Intermediate 10
27%
Animal Handling
Intermediate 5
66%
Archery
Intermediate 10
6%
Athletics
Advanced 2
5%
Aura Manipulation
Beginner 9
65%
Bluff
Intermediate 10
38%
Cleaning
Beginner 10
59%
Climbing
Intermediate 2
75%
Cold Resistance
Beginner 10
61%
Compulsion Magic
Intermediate 5
45%
Contractual Magic
Intermediate 8
70%
Danger Sense
Intermediate 10
54%
Death Magic
Beginner 7
45%
Deception
Intermediate 10
20%
Disguise
Intermediate 5
54%
Dodge
Intermediate 10
12%
Eating
Intermediate 9
69%
Elementalist
Advanced 8
43%
Engineering
Intermediate 4
52%
Firearms
Beginner 6
37%
Flight
Intermediate 3
89%
Glasscraft
Beginner 6
53%
Gravity Magic
Intermediate 2
50%
Healing Magic
Advanced 3
6%
Heat Resistance
Intermediate 6
24%
Herbology
Intermediate 3
66%
Hypnotize
Intermediate 3
29%
Illusion Magic
Intermediate 10
70%
Insight
Advanced 3
30%
Life Magic
Intermediate 3
35%
Light Armor
Intermediate 2
37%
Magic Resistance
Intermediate 5
52%
Mana Sense
Intermediate 7
21%
Mental Fortitude
Advanced 4
43%
Merchant
Advanced 10
12%
Modeling
Intermediate 5
82%
Navigation
Intermediate 6
79%
Pain Tolerance
Advanced 1
15%
Perception
Advanced 3
11%
Perseverance
Intermediate 10
71%
Poison Resistance
Beginner 8
99%
Resilient
Intermediate 8
6%
Riding
Beginner 9
61%
Running
Intermediate 8
96%
Shock Resistance
Beginner 9
89%
Singing
Intermediate 2
20%
Sleight of Hand
Advanced 1
10%
Small Blades
Intermediate 8
91%
Spatial Magic
Intermediate 7
9%
Stealth
Intermediate 5
19%
Stun Resistance
Beginner 9
3%
Summoning Magic
Beginner 4
65%
Swimming
Beginner 6
77%
Tailoring
Intermediate 1
8%
Tracking
Beginner 10
86%
Unarmed Combat
Intermediate 9
2%
Walking
Advanced 1
20%
Well, it seemed merchant was now her highest skill, on the cusp of...whatever the next level was. She realized she didn’t know what the next level was, but figured she’d find out soon enough. It was interesting though, because two of the combined skills were at advanced 2 and 4, some of her highest. Apparently the learning curve got a lot steeper the further along you got. Made sense.
Elementalist was her next highest at advanced 8, and animal handling, athletics, healing, insight, mental fortitude, and perception all increased by one or two levels. Pain tolerance, sleight of hand, and walking had also broken the barrier into advanced. Climbing, gravity magic, life magic, spatial magic, and tailoring all broke into intermediate. Those were the most notable changes, though almost everything went up at least a level. Only compulsion magic, danger sense, herbology, magic resistance, modeling, perseverance, running, shock resistance, and small blades hadn’t gone up more than a few percent. Cleaning and firearms were the ones that didn’t change at all, but she hadn’t expected them to.
Satisfied that her progress was worth the pain, she finished up and went back to her room to make sure she didn’t forget anything. She thought about putting her little tree into her ring so she could pull it out for her babies, then rejected the idea and decided to grow them a new one because she still didn’t know the aftereffects of putting living things in spatial storages. Instead, she expanded her ring on impulse. Something made her feel like she would need it.
Thanks to Kaylee’s warning, she wasn’t totally surprised to find the common room packed as she walked down the stairs. They must’ve cancelled classes today, because aside from Raphael, Jessica, and Kaylee, she also saw Will, Camille, and Victor standing to one side, Eric, Stephen, Lucas, and Jarom with them. Jackson, Evan, and Adam stood with Ian, Mathis, Chloe, Travis, and Steven, and she was glad they’d become friendly after her introduction.
Tristan stood with Randal and Dante, and she figured the assistant teachers were sticking together. Carter, Brady, Delaney, Edmund, Rachtin, Eamonn, Aiden, Vincent, Shara, and even Morpheus stood from the table where they were sitting when she entered the room, and she smiled fondly at her teachers. She noticed Glen, Jayce, Angus, Seamus, Bryoni, Chase, Jeffrey, and even Kevin beaming happily at her behind them. Nearer the door stood Mike and Elisa holding hands and chatting with Sharon, little Tina, and Damien.
Nearly everyone she’d come to know and care about in the last week was there. Even though it was a solemn occasion, saying goodbye, hopefully not, but ma
ybe for the last time...she had a bright smile on her face. In the quiet that descended on the room, she spoke gently, “Thank you all for coming to see me off.” She opened her mouth to continue, but found she didn’t know what to say. There were a few nervous chuckles before people started to move forward.
“Remember, you promised to come back safely. I’m holding you to that. And here, take this food with you. Heaven knows you’ll probably need it.” Jessica spoke for her and Kaylee, pushing a large bag into Jade’s arms, which she quickly deposited into her ring so she could hug them. Her conversations with the rest of the room were along a similar vein as they hugged her and told her to take care. Only Eric’s was noticeably different, with her giving him an extremely quick rundown of her new merchant skill and what went into it. She promised to keep in touch via her mirrors, which seemed to appease them somewhat.
At the door she took a deep breath, straightening her spine and donning a calm smile as Mike opened it for her. She inclined her head ever so slightly to him in thanks, aware that there were a great many eyes now focused on her. She stepped into the sunshine with the royals right behind her, showing their determination to see her off as far as they could.
“May the heavens bless the traveler!” She recognized the voice, belatedly realizing that it was the man she heard orating in the church. The cry was taken up by other voices in the crowd, the roar almost deafening as people showed their support? Faith? She wasn’t really sure what.
At least people weren’t throwing flowers or palm leaves. She already felt a bit sacrilegious at the procession. She was only a normal girl who’d been thrown into a world where she was trying to survive and thrive. She had no desire to be a messenger or avatar of the gods, or even the target of the mesmer and a Dark One. All she wanted was to live peacefully and comfortably, and now she was off on a war raid.
Just where was the sensibility in that?
Chapter Two – Flight
Jade couldn’t decide if it felt like a funeral procession or a parade. There was hope in the faces around her, but it was simply a mask over the shadow of sorrow. They knew disaster had fallen upon the royal family, but dreamed she would deliver what she promised.
She felt her danger sense tingling, but it was her keen vision that picked out the tiny figure trying to push through the crowd. She saw the exact moment the young boy managed to make it to the front, only to trip and go flying forward in front of the crowd. Diving toward the little one, her heart lurched as she realized she was too far away to catch him. It was only after he hit the ground hard that she realized she could have used her wind magic. Mentally cursing herself, she continued to race forward even as the boy sniffled and began to cry.
“There, there; it’s okay. You’re all right.” Jade was there, her hands lifting the small child. With a twitch of her fingers, the dirt flew away from his clothes and face as she straightened his clothes and hair. The tiny boy stared at her in awe while she healed the small scratches he’d gotten. He couldn’t be more than three years old, and he was gaping at her with huge blue eyes. She smiled at him, asking softly, “What’s your name?”
He tucked his thumb into his mouth and mumbled around it, “Henwy.”
Smiling, she nodded as she remained crouched at his level. “It’s nice to meet you, Henry. Can I help you find your parents?” He nodded and she beamed, scooping him into her arms as she turned to meet the curious gazes of the crowd. She turned to the little one, asking softly, “Can you see them?” As he shook his head in denial, she nodded again.
Concentrating, she made them lighter until they started to float into the air. Over the gasps of the crowd, she heard a panicked voice from her left. “Henry? Henry, where’d you go? Henry!?”
She pinpointed the mother as a harried looking young woman who was clutching a small baby girl to her chest. She was searching the area around her frantically, ignoring the fact that everyone else broke out into excited whispers at Jade’s display. Motioning to the woman, Jade asked Henry in a whisper, “Is that your mom?” When he nodded, she smiled, lowering them back to the ground and walking towards the woman. The crowd parted before her until she was face to face with the woman.
Her eyes were wide with fright as she realized Jade was holding her son. She dropped into a deep curtsey, saying softly, “Lady Jade, I’m so sorry if my son has bothered you!”
“Please, stand up. He was no bother at all.” Jade let little Henry down, and he was smiling up at her as he grabbed her hand.
“Mommy, we fwew!” Henry happily announced his news, much to the horror of his mother, who’d started to stand up straight only to freeze at his pronouncement. Jade reached forward, touching her shoulder gently and pulling her upright. She tucked a curl behind the baby girl’s ear, smiling.
“You have very beautiful children. Take care now. Stay with your mother, Henry. Okay? Don’t make her worry.” She gave the little boy as serious of a look as she could manage with a smile, and he nodded solemnly, transferring his tiny hand from hers to his mom’s.
“Thank you.” Her voice was almost lost in the cacophony of voices all around her, but Jade waved her thanks off and turned, walking back through the parted crowd to the walkway, nodding to the royals before she continued on as if nothing happened, head held high.
Her babies had been sitting so quietly on her braid, and she smiled as a thought occurred. She paused, holding her hand out. One by one, they alighted as she gave them trails of dark sparkles that could be seen in the bright sunshine. “Fly around me; let them see your beauty.” She mentally asked her babies to obey, and they happily flitted through the air to the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ of the crowd.
She may not be able to do much, but she could leave them with an image of confidence and wonder. She could give them hope. So she smiled until they reached the gate.
The makeup of the crowd shifted from civilian to uniformed guards. As she passed through the gates of the inner wall, all civilians except the royal family were left behind. Instead, she was met by a group of people supervised by Marcelle. Several people behind her were tending to animals that, if she had to describe, were something of a cross between a horse and a reindeer.
“Jade! You’re here. Wonderful. Let’s get you set up with a capall and then we can be off.” Marcelle walked over, greeting Jade with a kiss to the cheek. Jade reached out, grabbing her hand before she could pull away. She sent a healing surge through the woman, easing her exhaustion and giving her a personal vitality buff. Marcelle visibly straightened, a grateful smile on her face. “Thank you. I needed that.”
Nodding, Jade smiled and said softly, “I’ll be right there. Just going to say goodbye.” Marcelle nodded, and she turned back to Victor, Camille, and Will. She scanned the assembled crowd, and noticed one person conspicuously absent. “Your dad decided to not let Brodie come, didn’t he?”
Victor and Will exchanged glances before looking back at her. Victor nodded. “Yes, he decided...we couldn’t risk anyone else…”
Jade smiled, patting him on the shoulder. “It’s okay, I understand. I’ll bring them back for you. Have a little faith in me.” She hugged each of them once more as she said quietly, “I’ll stay in touch. It’s going to be okay.” They nodded reluctantly, and she turned, approaching where she spotted Christopher holding the reins of a slimmer capall. She smiled at his nervous look and asked quietly, “Is this one for me?”
He started, only now seeming to notice her as he quickly nodded. “Jade! Yes, this is Daisy. She should treat you well. Do you know how to ride?”
Shaking her head, she smiled. “Not at all, but I’ll learn quickly, I’m sure.” I kinda have to, she added mentally. He nodded, helping her up to the padded saddle as he explained the different commands Daisy was used to. She paused, looking down at him from her high seat. “You’re not coming, are you?” It was more statement than question.
He shook his head. “No, I’m no good in the forest. But you’re in good hands. They’ll take care of yo
u.”
She laughed softly. “It’s not me I’m worried about, but thank you.” She glanced at the giant reindeer horns in front of her and asked quietly, “Does anyone ever impale themselves on the horns?” She was rather worried about it. If she got tired and fell forward in a daze, if there was a jump and she was flung forward upon landing…
Christopher smirked at her. “A few. But like you said, you’re a fast learner, so I’m sure you’ll be fine. Besides, Daisy has been with us for years. She’ll take care of you.” He patted the magnificent white beast fondly and she shook her head, looking around. Daisy had beautiful white fur with black socks, but when Jade inspected the others, she saw all sorts of colors. They were more like the coloring of horses, then. She did notice hers was the only white one.
Raising a brow, she asked, “Is there a reason I got the only white one?” Were they trying to give her the prettiest one or painting a giant target on her back?
Nodding, he replied in a low voice, “Yes. They’re bred to be the fastest, but also…” He paused as if hesitating, then shrugged. “Daisy belongs to Princess Tisha.”
Oh. She swallowed, nodding to indicate she understood. It was funny though; Daisy’s head popped up a little at the sound of Tisha’s name. Patting her neck, Jade crooned softly, “There, there, girl; let’s go find your master.” She’d noticed the group beginning to move towards the gate and, with a last smile at Christopher, directed Daisy to follow.
The road leading out of the city was smooth stone, flanked on either side by wildly waving stalks of grain. The sky was brilliantly blue overhead, and she felt like she could see forever now that there were no buildings blocking the way, with just mountains and forests in the distance. It was breathtaking. She shifted multiple times before she found a position that was comfortable, but probably wouldn’t be after a few hours of constant riding. She urged Daisy up to join Marcelle, who nodded to her and continued her quiet conversation with whoever was in the mirror.
