The Dreamscape was slowly changing around Ritalassa again. It seemed to do this almost every hour, sometimes she would see scenes from her past, or just strange things that could only exist in a dream. Every time she tried to wake up, only to feel exhausted and sink back to the dream.

Slowly she found herself walking through a castle, Ritalassa recognized it as her's the one she had spent nearly twenty-five years in. Passing a window, she could see her soldiers training under the sun. A cold dread filled her body, for she recognized this dream, for it was more of a nightmare.

Ritalassa watched in horror, as a giant pulse of magical energy suddenly descended and destroyed her men in an instant, and the window shattered, and she was slammed into a wall. Coughing from the smoke coming through the broken window, a black form descended from the sky and stepped through the broken window.

"Here you are Princess," the figure said cloaked in darkness.

Roaring in anger, She pushed herself up and drew her sword to swing at this thing, yet like every time the figure merely waved and she froze. Ritalassa could only watch in horror as the figure reached out and... also froze. Ritalassa found she could move again.

Confused, she heard the sound of someone walking down the corridor. Looking over she found she was looking at a strange sheep girl. This had never happened in her dreams before, and she was alarmed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kelsey, Goddess of Dreams. I think it's time for you to awaken."

"I've been trying to for so long, I'm not even sure I'm alive. I've thought I was in hell."

Kelsey came closer and patted Ritalassa, "It's alright, you can wake up now. Listen, do you hear that?"

Listening hard, Ritalassa heard a strange melody coming, and a surge of power began to pour into her. "what is that?"

"The one who is waking you up. Go to him." Kelsey pushed Ritalassa out the window.

Instead of falling, Ritalassa found herself floating up into the sky, and then it went strange. Her vision was off, like she only had one eye. She couldn't move the rest of her body. It felt incredibly stiff as if would not bend from her will. There was a part of her that she could move, which only freaked her out more, several small tentacles came into her vision.

They were tiny perhaps maybe only five inches, which made her realize she was definitely no longer in her body. Looking up, she found she was looking at a Human man. He was at least moderately handsome, at least for his race and he was speaking to her.

"Ritalassa, I see you have awoken, how are you feeling?"

Trying to speak, she found she couldn't vocalize like she used to, then with a mental nudge she found she could speak somehow mentally with this man. "Yes, I have awoken after so long... who are you? Where am I? What is wrong with my body?"

The man frowned and said "Do you recall who you are?"

"I am Ritalassa, Princess of the Dark Elves, of the Elven Kingdom of Loas."

"I'm afraid I have bad news for you. It appears that something ripped out your soul and forged it into this sword." The man said creating a shiny surface in the middle of the air. Then Ritalassa could see her new form, instantly she wished this was another dream.

She was inside a purple longsword. A large jewel in the middle was where she was looking out. Several small tentacles were also emerging from this jewel. "This jewel looks like a soul gem. Though how they attached it to this sword, I have no idea." The Man continued.

Trying to take a deep breath only to freak out again when she realized she didn't need to breath, Ritalassa spent the next several minutes being consoled by the man. When she finally got a hold of herself, she asked "Who are you?"

"I am Jack a System. You were placed on auction, I saw you were an sentient being, and thought it was my duty to awaken you. I would like to offer you a contract to become one of my Users."

Examining Jack, Ritalassa could feel a strange power coming off him. "What do you mean contract? What is a System?"

"A system is a being that aides those who contracts with it, and gains strength from helping them as well. By a contract I mean you would become a User, and have access to new abilities and skills. I must warn you, the only reason you are awake at the moment, is because I poured some power into you. If you want to stay awake and not be a User, you have to find a high-powered Mage."

"My Kingdom has several High Powered Mages, that will most likely be able to sustain me. My Kingdom will reward you if you take me to them. They might even be able to recreate my body."

"I'm sorry Ritalassa. You might be unaware, it's been a few thousand years since you been asleep. I've looked for your kingdom once you mentioned it, but it doesn't look like it still exists. In fact, I don't see any Dark Elf kingdoms. Your people are pretty scattered at the moment."

"Elves live thousands of years, are you telling me there is none of my people left?"

Jack was silent for a long time as he looked deep in thought. "This is strange, the oldest Elf I can find at the moment is only six hundred years old. Did something happen to decrease the lifespan of elves? Or did something kill all the oldest elves at one point?"

"Where is the largest population of the Dark Elves?"

"Down south in the empire. They have several small villages."

"Which Empire?"

"The Empire of Tiaran, who claim they are descendants of the Kingdom of Sevaris."

"I have heard of the Kingdom of Sevaris. They were actually neighboring my kingdom. We were preparing to go to war with them, as they had declared war on one of our allies."

"I'm afraid it appears as if your Kingdom lost, because I've heard they ruled the entire continent."

"How is that possible? Even if they defeated my Kingdom, The Northern kingdoms were backed by Demi-gods. No army could surely have stood up to them."

"I don't know. I know little about this Sevaris Kingdom, other then they are Masters of Magic."

"I would like to speak with another Dark Elf. We are well known to preserving our heritage. They will surely know what happened."

"I do not have another Dark Elf as a User, but one of my Users is close with one. I'll take you to him tomorrow."

Ritalassa said a bit depressed "I do not know what is worse, the my Kingdom was destroyed, and I could not stop it, or the fact that I no longer have agency over myself. I'm stuck to be carried like some object."

"I do not want to pressure you, but if you take my offer, I have several classes that could grant you more agency over yourself. At the very least, you would no longer fear falling into a deep sleep."

Considering his offer for a while, she came to a decision. If she was to find out what happened to her, and to her kingdom she must gain the power necessary to make her own decisions. "Very well Jack, I will accept your contract."

A strange blue window popped in front of her.

Accepting the strangely simple contract, Ritalassa was filled with energy pulsing through her. She became more aware of her body. She could even feel how sharp her blade was. The Tentacles waved a bit excitedly from the energy going through them.

 

Examining this status screen, she took a look at the classes she had available. In her previous form, Warrior would have suited her perfectly. Yet, it hasn't been useful to her at the moment. Mage might work, she would have to cast several spells. But then there was the risk of running out of mana.

Skipping the divine classes, Ritalassa found what she was looking for. It was the Summoning class. If she could summon something she would be able to control it to wield her. With a thought she chooses it as her class.

Taking a quick look at the skill, she gained, Ritalassa found it did not tell her what would be summoned. It said that the familiar would only be decided on first use. Jack cut in and said "I don't think it would be a good idea to use that spell here. I would recommend waiting until we get back to the inn."

"Understood Jack. I thank you for awakening me, and offering this chance to become a follower of yours."

"No Problem."

Ritalassa took a look at the feats she had available. Without knowing what shape her familiar would take, she did not choose any that dealt with her familiar. What she needed at the moment was a way to do more without her familiar. Looking at the options, she found her choices were limited with her form. However, she spotted one that would suit her at the moment.

Taking the feat, she found her tentacles enlarging, and she found she could use them to move around a bit. While she was doing that she heard a woman say "That is strange. I was unaware that the sword could do that. It seems you have a knack for unlocking enchantments Sir Jack."

Taking a look at the woman, she saw it was another human, in a very pink dress. Ritalassa had never seen something so pink before. If she had a mouth, she would gag. "Ritalassa this is Lady Niadas. Lady Niadas this is Ritalassa."

Lady Niadas looked confused and said "Are you talking about the sword Sir Jack?"

"Yes, he is talking about the sword Lady Niadas." Ritalassa said at her.

Surprise flew over her face, and Lady Niadas said "I have heard tales of intelligent weapons, it is even rumored our King has one. But to think you are one. You got a good deal Sir Jack. Had it been known it was intelligent, the price would've been tenfold."

"She is my User Lady Niadas. I ask that you respect her. She is not an Item meant to be sold at one's leisure. She is a person with an identity, one that deserves respect."

"Of course Sir Jack. My apologies Ritalassa."

Ritalassa waved her tentacles at Lady Niadas "You may refer to me as Princess Ritalassa."

Lady Niadas eye twitched and looked at Jack for a second before saying "Of course Princess Ritalassa."

While Ritalassa played around with her tentacles seeing the limits, by crawling around the balcony, she watched Jack buy several more things on auction. "What are you buying Jack?"

"Just things I think will be good quest rewards for my Users."

"Why not just create new items for them?"

"I can't create new objects. It's beyond my powers at the moment. I can reshape objects, but that takes some power. Later on I will open a class that can make items for me, but for now this is the easiest to get suitable quest rewards."

Curious on the Auction, Ritalassa pulled herself to the edge and took a look down on the stage. The Presenter carried a small box to the table in front of the podium and said "This will be our final item of the night. It comes directly from a hidden treasury of the Kingdom of Sevaris. Renowned for their magical items, may I present to you one of the crowning achievements of Sevaris, The Pyramid of Mana!"

Pulling away the box, on the table was a strange glowing pyramid. It was glowing a strange yellow color, and she could vaguely see several designs carved on it. From this distance she could tell it was a very powerful artifact. "This Pyramid will amplify any spell cast through it by a minimum of tenfold. We will start bidding at Ten thousand Big Gold Coins."

"Will you bid on this item Jack?" Ritalassa looked back.

"No, I don't like the look of it. Something feels off about it."

The bidding for it took it up to the insane price of thirty-five thousand big gold coins. The person who won it was a woman in a cloak in a nearby balcony. Her cloak was elegantly designed, and a strong wisp of magical power flowed from her.

Lady Niadas was staring at her and said "Oh dear. I believe that is a Empire Noble. Which means we will need to adjust our timeline."

Jack nodded and said "Indeed, I think we will need to speak with Lord Attomas."