A Jaded Life Chapter 5

The black faded and I was back in the adow on which I had started the testing. Alkne was with again. "Welco back, traveller. I see that you had an impressive performance in your testing. Why, the gods themselves judged you and I can tell you, so of them were quite impressed by your feats, well, impressive for a mortal, that is. Let's see how they rated your attributes, then we can see where you might fit into the world of Mundus."

It feels like the developers wanted to make everything clear like a nice, muddy puddle. 'Impressive for a mortal'? What on earth does that an? A blue screen interrupted my musing.

NaMorganaRaceUndefinedLevel0Health???/???Stamina???/???Astral Power???/???Divine Power???/???Strength10Agility12Dexterity12Intelligence15Intuition15Charisma10Courage13Endurance11Vitality12Special Ability gainedYou gained the Special Ability: OverflowFor having Intelligence of 15 or higher, you gained the skill Overflow. Overflow allows you to let your Astral Power burst forth, charging a spell beyond the maximum, increasing it's effect. Most spells however can only take a limited extra charge before shattering with unpredictable consequences.Special Ability gainedYou gained the Special Ability : Bullet TiFor having Intuition of 15 or higher, you gained the skill Bullet Ti. Bullet Ti allows you to boost your mind to the maximum, decreasing your perceived flow of ti, giving you more ti to plan out your actions. Note that this does not increase your physical speed. The duration depends on your Intuition, your Intelligence and your remaining Stamina and is not known before hand.

Ok, so if I read this right, my physical stats except strength are on the high side for a normal human but my ntal stats except charisma are exceptional. But what are Astral and Divine power? Let's ask my companion. "Can you tell what Divine Power and Astral Power are?"

"In simple terms, Astral Power is extracted from the astral rivers that flow all around Mundus, it's used by mortals to cast spells. It can also be given to the gods in prayer, hoping that you gain so of his power for yourself. And that is Divine Power, power that a god lent you, it allows you to perform small feats of the Divine, those depend on your chosen deity."

So if I understand it correct, there are two ways of spell casting, Astral and Divine, one for the classic mage-archetype, the other for priests or clerics? Alkne went on with "Sadly, only extrely few mortals have the natural aptitude for true magic, most of their so called casters simply know on which deities door they can knock to get help and boost their pathetic skill."

Your performance during the tests gained you traits.Trait gainedYou gained the trait: Natural MageNatural Mages have an inborn connection to certain elents, which allows them to gain understanding of the true runes of that elent. This allows them to read those runes and create new combinations, that beco the 'spells' of later generations.

You gain Special Abilities: [Rune ditation], [Rune Comprehension]

You gain Traits: [Rune Affinity: Ice], [Rune Affinity: Darkness], [Rune Affinity: Blood]

Special Ability gainedYou gained the Special Ability: Rune ditationAllows you to ditate on Runes, possibly increasing your Affinity with them or inferring different runes of the sa type. The ability to infer runes depends on your Affinity and the specific Rune-Magic SkillSpecial Ability gainedYou gained the Special Ability: Rune ComprehensionAllows you to gain understanding on the aning of Runes. You need to either draw, see or ditate on the runes to understand them. The complexity of the runes you can comprehend depends on your Rune Affinity and the specific Rune Magic-Skill.Special Ability gainedYou gained a Special Ability: Rune TriangleFor being a Natural Mage and reaching 10 Intelligence, you gain the ability to link three Runes into a single spell. This is the basic form of rune-magic.Special Ability gainedYou gained a Special Ability: Rune PentagonFor being a Natural Mage and reaching 15 Intelligence, you gain the ability to link five Runes into a single spell, increasing their possible uses.Trait gainedYou gained the trait: [Rune Affinity: Ice]This trait grants you understanding on runes regarding the elent Ice. The elent Ice stands for freezing, solitude, calculated action and eternity.Trait gainedYou gained the trait: [Rune Affinity: Darkness]

This trait grants you understanding on runes regarding the elent Darkness. The elent Darkness stands for concealnt, uncertainty, devouring and change.

Trait gainedYou gained the trait: [Rune Affinity: Blood]

This trait grants you understanding on runes regarding the elent Blood. The elent Blood stands for sacrifice, regeneration and the cycle of life.

Trait gainedYou gained the trait: RuthlessYou don't hesitate to do what you have to do to reach your goals.

Your allies are less likely to trust you to guard their back.

When the boxes appeared, Alkne was visibly surprised and told , “Truly impressive, I was not aware that you did that well. I only saw the attributes and was unaware of your other achievents. It is a rare being that steps into the world a true Mage with multiple affinities. Now, however we have to see about your race. I feel that using the guise of a human would be a burden to you. Here are so races I feel would be better suited as your guise.”

Suggested RacesMoon-ElfThe Moonelves dwell amongst the ancient forests, they worship the moon and natural order, they value community, piety and continuity. Within their forests, they create fantastical feats of magic, in symbiosis with nature. To attack the elves is to go to war with the forest itself. On average, they are tall, slender and graceful. They defend their ancient trees and seldom venture from their magic kingdom.NagaNaga dwell in the shallow parts of the oceans, they are creatures with a human torso and a snake-like lower body. Their cities are under water, protected from sea-monsters by artificial shallows or hidden within underwater caves. They are masterful swimrs and tend to stay close to the ocean. Their natural affinity to the ocean makes them the best navigators and sailors.Firn-ElfThe Firn-Elves are not true elves, as elves view those things. They are the outco of an experint by a mad god. He crossed the Svartalfar with Jötun in order to create a highly magical race of loyal soldiers. His experint failed, Firn Elves are highly magical but also independent, headstrong and ruthless. They don't form tribes but individuals wander the northern reaches of Mundus.White KitsuneKitsune in general are magical fox-beings, they value secrecy, intrigue, magic and sensuality. The White Kitsune live in small, tight-knit communities in the high mountains, secluded from the world. Little is known about their internal workings, only few venture forth to study from foreign masters. The study of magic and martial arts is their main path, pursuing balance in all things.

Wait, four races? “Are there more races to chose from? Can you show them to ?” The next thing I saw, was a long, long list of races, containing pretty much everything from Amazonian to Zora. I scanned the nas but nothing truly jumped at so I decided to go with one of the four suggested by Alkne, after all she was a lot more knowing about the world than I was.

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Going by exclusion-principle, I wasn't too hot with Moon-Elves and White Kitsune, both seed rather bound in their culture and I wanted to walk my own path after I had lost the team I had nurtured for years to the greed of others and the dictatorship of the majority. No, if I would be in a community it would be either strictly short-ti for a certain purpose of mine or I would be the uncontested leader, no more feel good democracy for . Both Naga and Firn-Elf have their own appeal but the snake-body and the 'sticks close to water' are off-putting. So, Firn-Elf, sounds good to . Fitting.

“Well Alkne, I think my guise will be that of a Firn-Elf, I think it fits best. Can I alter my appearance to fit as a Firn-Elf?” I asked. “Why, yes, of course. There you go.”

An editor appeared before , to show my looks as a Firn-Elf and customize on them. I didn't change much, I wanted to keep my overall body close to my real body to keep my body-coordination so I mainly sharpened my features. I resisted the temptation to get so strange hair-colour and stayed with raven-black. That contrasted nicely with their natural slightly bluish hue. I chose my natural green eyes and silvery-blue lips to finish the look.

Race gainedYou belong to the Firn-Elves.You are one of the few remaining Firn-Elves, product of the experints of a mad god shortly before the cataclysm. Nobody knows how many there are or where you ca from, Your people have a few settlents in the far north. Rumours have it that the mad god not only used the blood Jötun in his experints but also his own blood that has spawned many a monster in the past.You gain Attributes: 2 Intelligence, 1 Intuition, -1 Charisma, 1 Agility, -1 Vitality, -1 Strength.You gain traits: [Frost-Resistance], [Lowlight Vision], [Denizen of the Dark], [Denizen of the Eternal Ice], [Heat-Sensitive], [Glare Sensitivity]Trait gainedYou gained the trait: Frost-ResistanceYou are used to a cold and chilly climate. Arctic cold is no danger to you and magical cold deals reduced damageTrait gainedYou gained the trait: Lowlight VisionYour Ancestors lived underground and did not need light to live. That trait is weaker in you but your vision is strong enough to make you able to see normally in dim or gloomy light. Total absence of light or magical darkness robs you of your sight like everyone else.Trait gainedYou gained the trait: Denizen of the DarkYour people lived in the Darkness for a long ti, they beca accustod to it, lding with it, taking it into their very souls. All magic with the Darkness-Attribute costs less.Trait gainedYou gained the trait: Denizen of the Eternal IceYour people lived in the eternal Ice of the North for a long ti, they beca accustod to it, lding with it, taking it into their very souls. All magic with the Ice-Attribute costs less.Trait gainedYou gained the trait: Heat-SensitiveYou are not used to hot climate. In hot climate, increased Stamina consumption, magical heat deals more damage.Trait gainedYou gained the trait: Glare SensitivityYour eyes are used to lowlight conditions, sudden, strong glares will disorient you and cause strong pain. Your eyes are unable to adapt to extrely strong light sources.

“Now, Morgana, we need to talk about the path you want to walk. The decision which path to walk is a monuntal one, your path can't be changed and while it is possible to stray from your predestined path, walking on the path will always be faster and smoother.”

Please select your pathMartial PathThe follower of the Martial Path believe in strength of arms above all else. They are the warriors on the battlefield, the knights leading the charge, the general at the head of an army. But they are also the ranger in the wild, tracking and hunting with spear, bow and his wits.Divine PathThose who walk the Divine Path, believe in sothing bigger than themselves. They are pious believer in their chosen deity and further their will whenever they can. They are the proud Paladins protecting the faith, the inspired Preacher tending their flock but also the ruthless Inquisitor hunting for heretics.Arcane PathThe Arcane path might be the narrowest path of them all but also the most branching path, with each branch being a narrow path of their own. Followers of the arcane path value magic and secrets above all else. They are the hedge-witches, the guild-mages, the warlocks and the sorcerers. They delve into the unknown in search for truth.Civilised PathThe Civilised Path might be the widest of them all. All walks of life can be found on this path, the greedy rchant grabbing for coin, the talented crafter plying their trade, the sly diplomat furthering their lords goal but also the sinister assassin stalking the shadows.

Ok, I'd be a fool if I discard my already gained traits, I have a feeling they can be incredibly usefull on the right path and if I'm honest, I want to play a caster anyway and not feeling terribly devout I think the Arcane Path will be for .

After selecting the Arcane Path, Alkne was visibly relieved. “It would be sad if you were to beco one of the sheep, blindly following a cult. Walk your path and later you can still look for the divine on your terms.” she told . “And here I thought you are a servant of Hecate and would be happy to add soone to her believers.” I replied. “Yes, I'm a servant of wise Hecate but do you think that she who guards the crossroads would take any traveller into her cult? Only those who are worthy may join and only the mistress herself is able to make that distinction. So if you want to join, you will have to summon at least an avatar of the mistress or even herself. Not like those other cults in which even mid-level clerics can induct newcors. They only value quantity, Hecate places little value in having a herd of bleating sheep, she prefers a small stash of true gems.”

Sounds like there is so resentnt there, interesting.