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“Wait, what do you mean become a harlequin? Only Dark Elves have that, right?” I was shocked. The very thing he was asking of me was unheard of.

Steve shrugged, “It’s really up to me, and I have decided that you walking the path of the Harlequin would be the best trial for you to take. You earn a mark and a new class. I earn a new harlequin and a follower. It's a win-win for both of us.”

He had a point; another class for me would be a major boon, not only that if I succeeded, I would be a step closer to completing this quest. I thought it over for a moment and nodded my head. “I accept your trial then.” Once the words left my mouth, a bright light pierced the cell's murkiness, and a notification appeared on my screen.

The light faded and left a pleasant warmth on my soul, reminding me that it was there. Why does it seem like death is a recurring theme for these quests? Steve clapped his hands together and tore me from that thought. “Perfectly splendid. Come along, little mortal, let's go get this quest started.

I pursed my lips and nodded, and stood up. Steve wasn’t quite what I expected a god to be. He seemed to be very free-spirited. He waved his hand, and the room around us vanished, and we appeared in a dimly lit amphitheater. The night sky was visible through the open roof. Stars twinkled softly in the distance, and the rings that orbited our planet filled the vast majority of the sky and cast a light blue glow on the exposed parts of the theater. Thousands of seats sat around us, with a vast majority of them empty. I looked around the large platform that we stood on. Dozens of finely crafted tables surrounded us with an untold amount of weapons on each one. All around me were dozens of Dark Elves of various ages. Some looked like they had expected this, while others were wide-eyed and scared. From what I could see, there were various ages, some that looked like they were just children to ones that looked far older than anything I could imagine. “Fellow Harlequins! Before you stand, the next generation of my chosen! However, some of you may have noticed that there is a human amongst them!”

Steve stepped up and spun around, “I have chosen this human to join our exalted ranks.” The Dark Elves that sat in the amphitheater remained silent, though I could feel their learning gazes focus on me for a moment. I couldn’t see anything past their mask. I glanced around to the others surrounding me. I could see some of them staring at me from the corner of their eyes, trying to hide the malice they felt towards me.

“As is tradition, today the head of the Troupes and various Solitaires will get to choose their next members.” Steve flourished his hands, and a shimmering yellow powder appeared above us and slowly rained down and basked each of us in a brilliant display of color.

Wow, what a class. The skills that came with it were heavily focused on subterfuge. I gained more skill points, but I will worry about that later. For now, I should focus on what is going on around me. This is about my future, after all.

Steve looked away from the Dark Elves that sat in the stands and looked at us. “Now, Neophytes. Today is the day you shed your old identity. If you wish to change your name, now is the time to do so. If you wish to change your first class, now is the time to do so. Once you are done, please step forward. Next, you will choose the weapon that will define your life as my future Harlequin.”

My screen blinked as it awaited my response. I thought it over for a moment and decided to remove my last name. I didn’t know much about my family and its past. My mother did a good job keeping it hidden from me, so it's not like I am overly attached to it. Besides, I never cared for it anyway, and it's not like I actually used it. I always used my first and middle names. From now on, I will be known as Ziva Estelle. I confirm the name change. As for my class, it doesn’t really matter; I can switch it at will.

I stepped forward and looked at the Dark Elves in the stands. I could feel their distaste radiating from their masked faces. They must have hated me being here. But they wouldn’t dare voice their displeasure in front of their patron god. But it's not like I wanted to be here either. I was basically kidnapped and dragged to Helios knows where to attend this meeting. The only good thing about this is that I am on the path to complete the Everchosen quest now. But it doesn’t mean that I have to like it.

One after another, the Dark Elves around me stepped forward, and eventually, everyone was finished with their name change. Steve waited a moment longer before he spoke again. “Now. One at a time, each of you will step forward and take a weapon. Be warned that this weapon will be a permanent part of you, and it will define your life and future as a Harlequin.” He pointed to the first Dark Elf, who was dressed in a soft magenta magus robe, though it looked nothing like the one from the Imperial Academy.

The Dark Elf stepped forward and looked at the various weapons that awaited him. He looked at each one carefully before walking over to the staffs that were resting against a small weapons rack. He picked up a twisted wooden staff that wound around itself and came to a stop at the top before changing into the shape of a gnarled hand that grasped a cloudy orb. He froze for a few moments before he stepped back and looked at Steve.

“The first Neophyte has chosen! This Dark Elf is a budding Pyromancer from the Arcane Academy and from a very prominent family in the magistracy! Which troupe will accept him.” The various Dark Elves remained motionless until one wore a bright orange mask with a neutral expression as its face flashed a jade-colored sign.

“The Troupe of the Burning Sun has taken you. Please, young Dark Elf, take your seat with your new family. Welcome.” Steve called out as he pointed to the next Dark Elf in the line. On and on this went, and the collection of Dark Elves around me slowly dwindled until finally, it was my turn. I felt my gut churn a little as I was put in the spotlight, but I did my best to shove that emotion down. I wouldn’t show fear or hesitation to anyone in this room.

I swallowed back the saliva that was building in my mouth and stepped forward. What weapon did I want? This time, I wasn’t limited by money, so now I only had to decide what weapon I would use. I could choose anything. I felt excitement start to build as so many possibilities sat before me. On the first table were various swords. Some were the curved beautiful designs of the Dark Elfs, while others were basic human designs that were still well crafted. In the mix were other designs that I have never seen before. They even had Drow designed weapons. I looked over the swords for a while and decided that I would look around more before choosing.

On the next table were daggers of various makes and designs, just like the swords. I already had a dagger, so I really didn't want to get a new one. Which reminds me, I need to ask about my stuff; I would hate to lose all of that. Even if it wasn’t worth a lot, it still meant something to me. I quickly moved on from the daggers and onto the next table, which held fist based weapons. I guess these were made for monks or classes that focused heavily on hand to hand combat, which definitely wasn’t my style; I was far too weak for something like that. The only fist weapon I had were my nails, and that was good enough for now. I kept walking and looked over the ranged weapons, but sadly nothing was catching my eye. I walked past the various staff related to magic since I much rather have an actual weapon to defend myself with.

Finally, the last table were weapons that were more exotic and seemed promising to me. Though a few were already missing. I touched a set of leather gloves that had a latch on the wrist. I pressed the latch, and a thin wire came from the tips of the fingers. What was this weapon? I have never seen anything like this before. I pressed the latch again, and a weird noise came from the glove, and the wire quickly retracted. This was very interesting, and I may have to consider it. The next was a large spear that held two scythe-like blades on each side. Both of the blades twisted in opposite directions of each other and glowed menacingly in the ring light. The haft was a soft black with a blue undertone that was mesmerizing to stare at. I touched the haft and noticed that it left me with an empty chill. I liked the design but let's see what else there is in this section before choosing.

Next to the spear was a sword that was gently curved and had a small handguard. Coming from the bottom of the handle was another sword that curved in the opposite direction. The blade was black and had a red trim through its backside, which led to a golden laced handle. This was a beautiful blade. I ran my hand over the blade's handle and saw that I could pull them apart into a sword and dagger, which would solve the issue of sheathing it. I looked between the sword and the spear, unsure which would be the best choice, but they both seemed to speak to me.

I kept walking and found another weapon. It was a slender blade with small, almost imperviable serrations across its edge. The blade itself was a very soft blue. It looked almost like ice, actually. The metal was cool to the touch and sent shivers through me. However, this chill was far different than the other blades. This was the chill that whispered the coming of winter. One that reminded you that the true cold was on its way. I pulled my hand from the blade and looked over the rest of the weapon. The tar black handle was a little warmer and was comfortable to hold. Overall I felt drawn to the blade, even more so than the others. I pulled the sword to me, and a notification appeared.

Wait, a soul binding? I didn’t realize that this was such a rare item. But upon closer inspection, though I realized that all of these weapons were rare. Why was Steve giving out such powerful weapons to the Neophytes? This was a question for later, I suppose. I confirmed the choice and I felt a wintery chill rush through my body, and a new notification appeared before me.