Dawn heard her mother calling for her as she opened her eyes. “Dawn! Wake up!” Sleepily she blinked, then sprang out of her bed abruptly, when she remembered the last night. The Trickster had given her a Blessing! And she would be able to choose her skills today. But first, she would have to eat breakfast with her mother and the children and try to act as normal as she could.

She ate her porridge distractedly, itching to call up her skill list, but managed to restrain herself. She couldn’t risk her mother noticing that she acted strangely. They allowed Sara and Bran to go out and play with a gaggle of village children after breakfast so they wouldn’t be underfoot when Dawn and Elaine cleaned the cottage together. Dawn was stunned when she unexpectedly got the skill Cleaning halfway through. Obviously, she could easily earn simple skills by herself without the need for skill points. That was good to know.

Later they sat together, her mother knitting a jumper for Cord and Dawn stitching on a quilt destined for her dowry. It was almost finished, a simple pattern, because Dawn did not have a talent for sewing. This time she was not surprised when she acquired the skill Sewing after a short time.

Secretly, Dawn called up her skill list and looked over her possible choices:

Silently, Dawn contemplated her choices, her mind churning. Nurture was a must, she felt a healing spell was priceless. She would also take Shadow Play, if she wanted to train up her skills she saw a lot of secret excursions in her near future and it wouldn’t do to get noticed by the villagers or, Gods help her, Father Jergen.

But what to take up as her third and last skill? She would love to take Alchemy. It would help her to make up her own medicines and would aid her with her dream to become a wise woman. But if she wanted to train her skills and earn some levels secretly she might have to do it at night and she felt Dark Sight would be a necessity. Gnawing on her lip she tried to decide on her last skill.
She had heard it was possible to earn some further skill points later on but didn’t know exactly under what conditions. She decided to put two of her skill points into Nurture and Shadow Play but held off picking her third skill.

Pensive, she looked at her mother who sat contentedly knitting.
“Mother?”
“Yes dear?” Elaine looked at her daughter inquisitively.
“Why do I have to marry Beran? And so soon? And why can’t I make my own choice for my path? I don’t want Cord to choose for me.”
Elaine sighed. “It will be good for you to have your own family, Dawn. You will have responsibilities and Beran is not a bad man. He is very well off, you know. As for your Path, Cord knows best and he will make a good choice for you. And please don’t get any weird ideas like sneaking into the Temple the night you turn 15. Even if you managed to get a path, Father Jergen would take it away if Cord would not be willing to accept it.”
“You can take away someone’s path? That is impossible!”
“it is done very rarely but it is possible. The Goddess will not allow you to make your own choice before you are 16 years old. So, your parents have the right of decision. If you defy your parents in choosing your path, a priest can petition the Goddess together with your parents to change it.”
“But I could wait until I am 16 then, and choose for myself? Beran is not that interested in me, he never even really talked to me before. Why did you not even ask me before you agreed to marry me to him? Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of me?” Dawn swallowed, she had a lump in her throat

“Cord was afraid you would do something stupid if we waited for much longer, Dawn. We will not wait until you are 16 just for you to choose some entirely inappropriate path. Traditionally, parents make the choice for their children when they turn 15 and there is a good reason for that. You are headstrong and don’t listen to anything we say. Once your path is chosen and you have your own family you will settle down and be content, I’m sure ”
“How can I be content with a life I don’t want at all? You didn’t have to marry with 15, mother, you had a choice!”
Shaking her head, Elaine said: “And see how well that choice turned out for me. It is true I was seventeen when I married and very much in love with Marek, but his parents were appalled that he married me instead of the rich heiress of a competing merchant house like they planned all along. Living in their house in Atelang and knowing they detested me was awful. And after your father was killed and most of his trade goods stolen by Bandits I was left alone with you and almost penniless. Marek’s parents didn’t lift a finger to help me, they didn’t want neither me nor you. I was lucky my own parents were willing to take me back. They weren’t exactly well off, you know. I was so grateful when Cord wanted to marry me. Having my own home and being cared for by someone seemed heavenly.”

“I’m sorry your first marriage didn’t work out so well, mother. You never told my anything about that.” Astounded, Dawn looked at her mother.
“Well, I tried to forget it, dear. It was a bad time for me.”
Dawn said: “But that doesn’t mean you have to marry me off to the first man you can find. I don’t even understand why Beran wants to marry me.”
Elaine gazed at her: “Beran needs a mother for his children, and of course he wants another son or two before he is too old. You know he is Cord’s friend, it was only natural that Cord thought of you when Beran mentioned he wanted to marry again.”
Dawn retorted: “So he needs a housekeeper, childminder and broodmare. It is practical for him to marry me, but what do I get out of that trade? Nothing I want, that’s for sure!”

“You will be very well provided for and never want for anything. That’s no small blessing.” Agitated, Elaine laid down her knitting. “And irresponsible as you are behaving now, it is a good thing for you to have your own family and home, Dawn. You may think it is cruel, but sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind in the end.”
“Cruel yes, but I don’t see how kindness enters the picture!” Dawn was angry now.
Elaine stood up. “I’m sorry you think so, Dawn, but it has been decided. I was afraid you wouldn’t take it very well, but you will get used to it in time. We already talked to Father Jergen about the handfasting, and he will stop by the day after tomorrow to talk to you about your Goddess given duties once you are a wife and mother.” She began to tidy up her knitting and went out into the garden.

Dawn sat like frozen. What? Father Jergen was coming by? He would notice that she was already Awakened. What then? Would Cord and the priest take away her path? Her chance for a self-determined life? No, she could not accept that. Furiously thinking, she tried to find a way out of her predicament.
Her mother had said she needed to be 16 to make her own choice. After that, no one would be able to take away her Blessing. So, she needed to avoid Father Jergen and Cord until then. As long as she stayed in the village that was impossible. Where did that leave her? Marjah couldn’t hide her for over a year. And even if she could, Dawn suspected that she wouldn’t help her to defy her parents anyway.

That left only one way out. Running away. She might try to live for a while in the hidden valley she had found. Train and level up her skills.
Dawn swallowed. It would be hard. Very hard. She had never lived alone in her life, and she had no shelter and had never hunted her own food. Well, the Trickster had told her there would be a price to pay for her Blessing. Somehow, somehow, she would manage. She needed to spend her time today and tomorrow to prepare herself as best she could. Before Father Jergen came by for their talk she needed to be gone.
Hours later, Dawn once again lay in bed and waited for the cottage to quiet down. Finally, she slipped out of bed and activated Shadow Play for the first time. Stealthily she crept down the stairs and left the cottage through the backdoor on her way to the storage shed.

She would look for some things she could use in her new life. When she entered the shed, she cursed. It was pitch black here, she couldn’t see a thing and lighting a lamp would mean possible discovery. Resigned, she put her last skill point into Dark Sight, still not convinced it was her best choice. Still, necessity drove her to pick it. It wouldn’t do for her to stumble over some garden tools and make a racket by accident. Feeling lightheaded, she realized Shadow Play was draining her Stamina fast. She deactivated the skill and at last able to make out her environment, she started searching.

An old pot her mother had sorted out a while ago and a well-used Firestarter set she laid aside to take with her. In the corner of the shed, almost completely hidden behind some buckets and old gardening tools she found a dusty chest. When she tried to open it, she was disappointed though. Strangely, it was locked. Dawn looked around helplessly, where could the key be? She saw no real hiding place in the storage shed. She felt around the chest and was thrilled when she realized the key had been stashed on the backside, hanging from a small nail. Curious she opened the lock and started to look through the contents.

She found several sets of men’s clothes protected from moths and other vermin by little herb packets. A dark green cloak, very well made to hold out the rain and a shaving set. Dawn realized with a start that these must have been the possessions of her father Marek. He had died soon after her birth and she didn’t remember him. But with this discovery, she felt as if he lent her a helping hand right now. She would take the clothes with her. Even if they were too big for her, they were far more practical out in the forest than her usual dresses. She would shorten the trouser legs and roll up the shirt sleeves.

On the bottom of the chest Dawn found a folding writing set suited for travel. It must have cost a pretty penny, the box made from gleaming dark wood and the paper of excellent quality. Regretfully she put it back. She wouldn’t have much occasion for writing letters once she left. The only thing still left were a pair of well-made boots, and a small pouch. The boots were much too big for Dawn, sadly she wouldn’t be able to wear these.
She opened the pouch and found two rings, one a marriage band the other a signet ring. She put the marriage band back into the pouch but decided to take the signet ring with her. It would be a memento of her father. She slipped the ring on her thumb and was astonished to receive a notification.

Flabbergasted, Dawn stared at the notification. A storage ring. She found it almost impossible to believe. Storage devices were rare and costly, the ring must be worth a small fortune. But her mother had told her she had been left penniless after her father’s death.

‘Of course! She is not a member of the family by blood. I guess she couldn’t access the ring.’ Dawn realized. Perhaps her mother hadn’t even known it was a storage device. She bound the ring and checked the contents. Several letters and a map. Nothing she could use, but she left the papers inside.

“At least the ring will save me from lumbering around overloaded with all that clothes and pots. Goddess bless!” she mumbled. “Or perhaps I should say Trickster bless, now that he is my Patron.” Swiftly, she put everything she wanted to take with her into her new storage ring. Feeling glad that she didn’t need to carry around a large bundle now, she took the writing set too.

Closing the chest back up, she felt guilty. In the end, she was stealing from her mother. But she needed to take some necessities with her or she would never be able to live on her own and survive. Shaking herself off and activating Shadow Play once again she sneaked back into her bedroom. On her way she got a notification that the skill had levelled up. Tired but satisfied, Dawn closed her eyes and slept.