The next day when I woke up, my first impulse I to check my Tokens, but I abstain and instead start on my plan to earn some new skills. When I start dressing up I do all the buttons and belts of my clothes with just my left hand. I then begin an extensive stretching routine similar to yoga, but it isn’t yoga, because I know fuck all about what exercises they do. Yesterday, when I was reading about all the skills and what stats they gave, I started wandering about the human body’s basic stats and if they could be increased with training or if you actually needed to use the stat points from leveling and skills to raise them. So I will be trying to limber my body up to the maximum and if I twist or dislocated something, there is Dian Keto. Come to think of it, don’t all the specialists say humans can’t do gravity and excessive weight training, because they would wear out their hips and knees? I wonder, with the help of Healing magic, does that obstacle still stand? In this world of Magic, will I be able to do some Goku style weight training? Maybe they have some books on physical conditioning in the library.
When I am done with my stretches, all my joints hurt a little, but not enough to waste a card to heal them, so I wash up and go down to have breakfast. This morning there is some kind of cereal boiled with milk, just not exactly clear what kind. I use my left hand to scoop the food with a little more difficulty than before. It was buttery and creamy, but also had some unfamiliar scent to it, but not entirely bad. It won’t be a bad idea to find a book on animals and monsters too, while I a in the library. Maybe on plants too, so I would be more informed on what exactly I am eating. I finish my gruel, pay for the meal and exit the inn.
While walking on the streets, something is gnawing at the back of my mind, like something is missing that should be there, I just can’t put my finger on what exactly. I hear the DING of a new skill and I suspect I know what it is, but check just in case.
| New Skill Learned: Intuition |
In the library, the same librarian lady is at the reception, so I greet her and ask for some new books to read.
“Hello, again. I will need to buy some more books from you and borrow more to read here. I need the Common Language Dictionary, with full word definitions, primers for Sidhe and Stonekin languages and Common to Sidhe and Common to Stonekin dictionaries. And whatever else will make learning these languages easier. The books I will read here are the one from yesterday about the Magic affinities, books about the System, everything you have about dungeons, magic items and monsters. I will also need a book on harvesting plants, dismantling monsters and animals as well as every book on plants and animals you have, both mundane and magical, for eating and medicine. Also a book that dives in the occupation of Summoner a lot deeper than the one I read before, one about theology and a book with the dates of all festivities, holidays and festivals.”
The librarian looks at you and blinks a few times, before sighing and going to the back room. After a few minutes she comes back with 5 thick books. I pay for them and she gives them to me, after which we again take a stroll around the bookcases as she takes the books I asked for and piles them on a cart. “Some of the books here aren’t the latest edition. The ones about monsters are from last rotation and if you want the latest research, you will have to visit the Adventurer’s Guild archives. The same is true about everything concerning dungeons. The books about items are compiled by the Merchants Guild and a new edition is released every 2-3 rotations. Most guilds have more thorough collection of research in their area of expertise than you will find in any library.” After she finds the last book I am escorted to an empty table and all the books are transferred to the table and the librarian leaves to go back to the reception.
I search the pile of books and take the book about affinities and start reading. It turns out, the people of this world know how to do good research. Every single affinity was explained thoroughly and the research that was done to confirm or deny certain theories. It looks like everyone has very high affinity for earth, because we constantly are surrounded by it while awake and subconsciously accept magic from that affinity every day. The same is true about light affinity for the same reasons, we are most active during the day and receive light affinity magic. Fire affinity is mostly increased by blacksmiths and people spending a lot of time around fire and during the winters when people are heating themselves with open fire. High water affinity is most common around lakes and seas and mostly with the people who spend a lot of time in the water, like fishermen and sailors. Wind surprised me a little, because it turns out you don’t just have to be in contact with air to increase it, but in contact with wind and at a certain height. That explains why my affinity for wind is so low. Even though I love hiking, I haven’t climbed a mountain high enough to reach the needed height and contact with wind to increase it. Darkness was also explained and why I had such high affinity for it, and probably every human on Earth. You have to spend time awake during the night or in dark and shadowy places. Most people in this world get up with the sunrise and go to sleep soon after sunset. Sure they have good lighting technology with their magic tools, but not a lot of people have a reason to stay awake late at night. There isn’t a lot of entertainment in this world. The only affinity that boggled me was Divine, the source of Healing magic, because even thought I went to church with my family every now and then, I don’t think it was enough to raise it this high. Does my Dimension traveling have anything to do with it perhaps?
The explanation of the affinities didn’t stop at the primary elements however. People who had their affinity above 5 could use higher element Magic. Earth affinity could use, conjure and manipulate Metal. Some people would think crystal, but that was already a part of Earth affinity. Water could control the state of the element and turn it into Ice and Steam. Wind branched out into Sound, by controlling the vibrations in the air. Fire according to the book could use Lightning, but I wonder if it wasn’t just some kind of plasma? Now Light and Dark were interesting. Light could use Time Magic, while Dark was related to Space. According to the book Dark Spellcasters with high affinity could teleport and manipulate gravity and Light Spellcasters could slow and speed up time. And then there was the higher form of Divine, Soul Magic. It is meant as a guide for departed souls to deliver them to their intended destinations, but some people turned that pure magic into something sinister. Once they had the power to touch souls, they had a means to manipulate, transfer and wound them.
Once the higher attributes were explained, the book started mentioning fusion of other elements in order to achieve some spell effects. There was Nature Magic that combined Earth, Water and Divine. Barrier Magic that involved Wind and Dark. Chaos Magic that was made from Dark and Light and much more.
When someone becomes a Spellcasters Apprentice, they are measured for their affinities and recommended on what path of Magic to walk. They are commissioned a staff, wand or other focusing tool with an elemental stone that helps them convert their Magic into that element, until they raise their affinity sufficiently. When a Spellcasters reaches the Journeyman stage of their education, they go on, well a journey in order to develop both their Spellcasting and elemental affinities. Earth Casters find a cave, the deeper the better, In order to be closer to the Pure Iron core and start meditating and accepting the Earth element inside them. Fire travels to a volcano or finds a Pure Flame and starts meditating close to them. Water travels on the oceans of the world, in order to be surrounded by water, or to the mountains, where the Pure Water source is close. Wind spends their journey predominately traveling on flying ships, riding flying Beasts or on the highest mountains. Light and Dark, travel to the poles and meditate there, close to the Magic of that affinity.
All of that was all well and good, but I have a lot of study before I am able to use that information, except maybe the information about the elements stones, so I move on to the next book “Summoning and the magic involved”. The path to the occupation of Summoning of any kind is long and it always starts with the basics of Spellcasting. Some people who are impatient only learn the part about Magic Control and how to sign a Magic Contract, but don’t level the skills higher than needed. They then find a random Summoning circle design and summon something random, that is usually stronger than their Magic Contract skill can control, so they either become a victim to their summon or are rendered insane and go on a rampage. Well trained Summoners not only learn Magic Control and Magic Contract to a high level, they also learn the Magic Language and the basics of Spellcasting. A talented individual can become a Summoner in just 5 rotations.
When a Summoner performs a Summoning ritual for a contract, the ritual must be performed during an equinox. Once a contract is signed, the Summoning becomes easier and can be performed any time. There are several types of summons, Beasts, Creatures, Undead, Demons, Dragons, Fairies, Insects and Plants. They can’t stay summoned without accepting a Magic Contract with a Summoner. Only Fairies and Undead have human forms with the rare exception of some humanoid Demons. Extremely rare summons are Items, Spells and Machines. But there is very little information on how there can be a contract, being inanimate object and all that. The predominant theory is the contract is signed with their wielder or maker. There are theories of more summons, but so far nor evidence has been found to confirm it. There is also a very special church Summoning method that can summon humans from other worlds. Once Summoned, they receive an occupation that allows them to stay in our world, until they are returned to their own world or they can decide to stay here.
There is a tendency for Summoners to worship the Goddess of travel Torepta. They mostly pray to receive the type of summon they want from their first random Summoning circle for their first contract, but mostly receive what they need. Some Summoners are not satisfied with what they summon for their first contract and decide to not sign a contract immediately and wait for the next equinox and next Summoning. Every Summoner can skip the first 2, but must sign the 3rd time or forfeit his chance to be a Summoner. They can also sign contract with all 3 random summons that appear and have 3 types of summons to call upon if all of them are different.
A Summoner can sign a contract with another Summoner’s creature, but the contract must stipulate when the creature can and cannot be summoned and who has priority. A Summoner can also inherit some or all of their master’s contracts after they die or retire.
Most Summoners level their Summoning skill fast enough, they can use H rank Summoning circle on the second equinox of the rotation, so most Summoners only ever have 1 I rank Summoning contract. H rank ones are harder to level, so a person usually manages to summon 2 or 3 of them before they level enough to need G rank Summoning circle.
After reading all that, I can come to the conclusion my Summoning method is unique in this world. Not only do I not have to perform the rituals during an equinox, every card is actually a contract and Summoning tool. I will have to summon a talking creature and ask it what exactly is contained in the contract and if they can sign Magic Contract with another Summoner once they are here.
There next book I take out is on the Deities of this world and their worship. I have read mentions of them in the book about taboos and Summoners, so it is finally time to see what the churches in this world did and what God’s are worshiped. I open the book to the first page and start reading carefully.
There are 11 Gods looking over our world and guiding us through the word of the church. Okay, I am on the first verse and I am already suspecting this is a propaganda book for the church, but I will give it the benefit of the doubt. The Gods arrived in an uninhabited star system after leaving their old pantheon behind and decided to settle here. The 6 Gods in charge of the 6 elements of Magic, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Light and Dark combined their powers and created a planet around our star, where they could establish their new pantheon. The God Goddess of Life planted the seeds of life in the waters and land and nurtured them and helped them grow. The Goddess of Death created a place for the souls of the death to go to once they finish their mortal journey. The Goddess of travel made a path to our world which the Lost and Banished could follow to arrive here. Soon the new races found their way to this world and some asked for help to return to their own world, but 3 races choose to stay and populate this new world. They were the Humans, Stonekin and Sidhe. The Humans settled the plains and grasslands of the world and build cities to defend against the natural life. The Stonekin dug the mountains for their bounties and established mining and smiting towns close to and inside the mountains. The Sidhe settled the forests of the world and started living in harmony with the nature around them. The God of Occupations created the System to help the races develop easier in this new and unfamiliar world. And the Goddess of Strength blessed all warriors to help defend their people from harm. They Humans soon started worshiping the Goddess of Strength and the 6 Gods of Magic. The Stonekin started worshiping the God of Earth and the God of Occupations. The Sidhe started worshiping the God of Earth, God of Water, Goddess of Wind and the God Goddess of Life.
I change the page of the book and start reading the beginning and when I see the God’s being mentioned by name and domain, but don’t see something else I stop and light bulb suddenly flicks on in my mind. There is no art anywhere I have been so far. No paintings or sculptures in the government building, no decorations in the inn, no flair to the road or buildings in the town, no illustrations in any book I have read so far. No visual depiction of their deities in the book I am reading. This is what my subconscious, my intuition was telling me previously. This world celebrates Strength and Magic and tolerates necessities for living, but painting, sculpting, art and music, they are not needed for them. I am sire the skill for drawing exists, I have it, but I don’t think they use it for more than drawing maps and schematics for devises and Magic items. Now that it no longer nags me at the back of my mind I continue reading the book.
The God of Earth, Magg’Corr, taking the form of an earth golem, using his divinity gathered debris from the asteroid belt of the star system and constructed a core from Pure Iron. Then he infused it and the rocks, metals and crystals from the asteroid belt with Earth Magic and constructed our planet Coralia.
The God of Fire, Pyro’Plasm, taking the form of a white hot humanoid flame, using the already existing pressure and rising temperature in the center of the planet, infused his Fire Magic in the magma to make it move around the core and keep the planet warm. He created a Pure Flame and planted it close to the core. Since then after every volcanic eruption, parts of or maybe copies of the Pure Flame can be found close to the volcano.
The God of Water, Hydr’Liqui, takes the form of a water spirit, having a base to work on, guided a comet to the new planet and melted it as a basis for the water she will use. She infused all the water with her Magic and then planted a Pure Water source in the highest mountain.
The Goddess of Wind, Breeze, taking the form of a wind spirit, used all the elements already present on the planet to create the air we breathe and then created 4 spirits of the wind and released them on the planet as it’s first inhabitants.
The Goddess of Darkness, Void’Noxx, taking the form of a dark humanoid silhouette, infused the planet with her Magic and regulated the gravity of the new planet, making it just right for new life to prosper. She then created a core of Pure Darkness and placed it on one of the poles. Every rotation the core migrates from one pole to the other, covering it impenetrable darkness.
The Goddess of Light, Crono’Luxx, taking the form of a glowing human silhouette, used her Magic from the very beginning of the process making it so thousands of years pass between the actions of the other Gods. She the regulated the rotation of the planet so it had 24 arns and moved around the star in 374 days. She then made a core of Pure Light and placed it on the other pole. Every rotation the 2 cores of light and darkness change place, changing the pole from day to night and vise versa.
The God Goddess of Life, Flux, changing her form from a dick-girl to a pussy-boy, used their Magic to create 2 seeds of life and planted them in the oceans and on warmth, then asked the Goddess of Light to speed up time to accelerate their development into an ecosystem.
Okay, that could explain some of my questions about why there was no mention of same sex relationships being forbidden. In my world with all the wars in our history, the continuation of the species was a high priority, so relationships that could not lead to the conception of a child were all forbidden. If their Life Deity is gender fluid, there is probably a spell or a blessing to grant the couple the attributes needed to bear a child between them. So if there could be a child conceived between them, there is little that could lead to banning that kind of relationships. I should probably inquire more on the subject in the future.
The Goddess of Death, Grimmalda, taking the form of the one she would embrace into death, seeing the need for a place where the souls of future creatures should gather as a reward and a system where evil should be purged constructed an afterlife and a cycle of reincarnation for every creature, sentient or not.
The Goddess of Travel, Torepta, looking like a hooded traveler that could be of any race, opened the dimensional borders of the world in few weakened places in order for them to serve as a guide to the Lost, Banished or Called creatures from other worlds. At first it worked as intended, but soon miasma from demonic places began to seep through the openings, so with the help of he other Gods, she made places where it could gather, transform into monsters and be purified. She made the first dungeons.
The God of Occupations, Toolostrom, taking the form of a mechanical golem or maybe a machine, in order to help the sentient creatures on this world prevail against the monsters spewing from the full dungeons, created the System and introduced the Skills and Occupations in it. Borrowing some even from other worlds, that would never be seen in this one.
And the Goddess of Strength, Toph, in her form of a towering, muscular humanoid, blessed the world and every creature that isn’t a monster with her strength. She manifested an Avatar in the first ever church created in this world and personally taught the first paladins how to fight and defend the people of this world.
The Gods appoint 11 oracles in every generation to speak for each of them and in order for corruption not to take root in their church, they make them wear lie detecting badge with the symbol of their pantheon. They watch over the world and when there is danger that could not be faced by mortals, they manifest an Avatar to take it on. When demonic beings invade through a dungeon and start conquering the world, a Summoned Hero is asked to come for help, or the Goddess of Travel redirects a Lost one to our world, a Called Hero by the world.
The Gods take oaths seriously and when their name is invoked for a task, especially for something they do not approve of, there is a lot of Smiting involved. In fact that is how the first and last ever crusade was ended. Their leader claiming to be going to war against another race in the name of their God and the next thing everyone saw was him being Smitten by a fist from the sky above.
Okay, no swearing oaths or invoking the name of the Gods for crusades and battles and shit. And it looks like this church knows how not to lose it’s way, unlike some fictions with evil religious organizations. I close the book and look at my time piece. It is approaching lunch time, so I tidy my table and go to the receptionist desk.
“I will take a break for lunch and then come back to read the rest of the books on my table.” The librarian just waves me away and continues minding her business as I exit the library building. Looking around, now after the realization that there is no art, I see it clearly. There are no different buildings, no decorated pillars, no statues of heroes or important figures, no colorful roof tiles. Every building is square and block y and utilitarian.
I make my way to the inn and order a steak with side of vegetables. At least their food isn’t just the needed calories and carbs with no added flavor. I would have left town the very next morning and gone in the wild if that was the case, consequences be damned.
