Dorcas was met with a blank eyed stare. And he couldn’t be less ashamed. Honestly, what the hell did the big guy expect from him. Just a week ago he was positive he’d be a cadaver by now. The Guildmaster shook his head and proceeded to go into great detail about guild rules, regulations and expectations.
He talked about the contracted workers and associated shops and businesses. He spoke about guild hierarchy. He waxed poetic about the Adventurers guilds good or bad relations with other guilds and the kingdoms nobility. On and on he went about the level of education and training even the lowest amongst them were supposed to meet and even exceed. Dorcas knew all of the information being dumped on him was important for his continued existence but the bored manner of speech the Guildmaster used was pushing his attention span to the max. Eventually the giant took a deep breath and spoke the magic words.
“Now that all of that is out of the way we can start the Awakening.”
Dorcas forced tears of relief back and stood straighter. Soon, his journey into manhood will be complete and his new life-
“Sir! We have a situation in the lobby. Two Gold ranked teams are baying for blood!”
Dorcas whipped his head around so fast he thought his eyeballs would fly across the room to stare at the man who postponed his Awakening ceremony with some of the crummiest news he’s heard all day. The man has bright red hair and very pale skin and was obviously from across the ocean. People who looked like him and were natives to this part of the continent were nonexistent.
The Guildmaster stood with a blank look before flaring his nostrils.
“Dorcas your Awakening must wait while I deal with unruly dogs. I would have you stay here until I am finished cleaning things up but that seems unnecessarily cruel. Caoimhe will guard you while I am preoccupied with everything; won’t you Caoimhe?”
A short nod was given and then the Master Adventurer’s long legs were eating up distance and the two younger men were scrambling behind him. Dorcas huffed as they sped down the hallway and his guard only smiled nervously as he kept a relaxed pace comparably. Soon they were thundering down the stairs and saw what the problem was. Most Adventurers were on their feet shouting and making threatening hand gestures to the two groups who were slowly being encircled. The pretty secretary who was behind the only open desk was bravely standing between the two groups of powerful Adventurers, red-faced and mad as ever.
One group wore leather and lamellar armor and had a more even mix of male and females while the other group were in mostly full plate and carried long and great swords with massive shields. They seemed to be hack and slash types and it was a sausage party. Not one boob in sight. They were in fact definitely in the mood for murder as one of the fully plated Adventurers was being helped up from the floor and had a bloody nose and the fine gentle-lady who gave it to him had a big ass Warhammer and was going in for more.
“Arnhea walloped him good.”
Dorcas turned to look at the smiling foreigner who seemed to be enjoying the way things were going and the Guildmaster broke away from them to enter the melee.
“You know her Caoimhe?”
“I do.”
“She gonna be in trouble?”
Caoimhe tittered like a noble lady and replied matter-of-factly; “Nay. That asshole Kevan deserved it. In fact, that whole adventuring party deserves a walloping. It’s obvious their mams didn’t do it enough.”
“Oh?”
“You’re new here?”
“I was thinking of asking you just the same.”
Dorcas was met with a lopsided grin which he happily returned.
“You’re funny! Well since the Master is only yelling and not beating anyone yet I guess I can be nice and give you a summary.”
“Please do.”
“I am from the continent across the ocean you all call Thresh. The continent has 3 major Kingdoms. The one I am from is called the Wildling Kingdom since it’s ruled by many clan leaders who come together in times of need to declare a King of Kings. We, however, call ourselves something different. And no, I won’t tell you what. I decided to leave the continent after an incident and now I am here. Making a living as an Adventurer and having trouble getting laid. The ladies here are beautiful, but they seem to think I look alien. I can’t believe it lad. Even the whores don’t want me!”
‘Okay didn’t need to hear that last bit but this was educational.’
“So, you don’t want to be called Threshian I assume?”
“Yes and no.”
“Ah… um…”
“The Kingdom of Thresh is what you people on the continent believe to be the most civilized and who your nobles consistently do business with, so the continent was called Thresh and all those who come from it, Threshian. This is something that has been the case for centuries now and it would make no sense for me to begrudge you that. But I, and the many other people who are not part of the Threshian kingdom have never been Threshian until coming here. So, yes and no.”
“I had no idea Caoimhe.”
“I know.”
“Is Kevan and his party from Thresh as well?”
“Aye. He’s from the theocracy though.”
“Ah! They are the one’s who worship Yhoun and Lhourn exclusively?”
“They don’t use those names, and the duties of the deities aren’t exactly the same but yes, the worship of a mother and father deities define those from the theocracy. They also have no king. Only a holy father and holy mother who are thought to be the avatars of the two deities.”
“Why are they here?”
“I did not think to ask…”
Dorcas turned to look at the taller man who was maybe 3 or 4 years older than him. The man was giving him a sharp look and Dorcas smiled weakly. He didn’t need the man to beat anything into him. Caoimhe was a Wildling and the men of the adventuring party from the kingdom Caoimhe simply called the theocracy were not. Just because they’re from the same continent doesn’t mean they’d be friends or willing to share life stories over a pint. Plus, the redhead pale man did not seem to like Kevan, which mean he probably didn’t like his friends. Dorcas didn’t have enough time to truly ponder this information because a man in full plate was bodily thrown over the crowd and through the doors to the guild.
It was quiet for a while as everyone seemed to be processing.
Caoimhe’s face went tight and then a smile that had too many teeth made an appearance. The mad grabbed him by his shoulders, roughly too, and said, “Stay over here. The Guildmaster has made a decision, and those sky worshippers are on the bad end of it. I’m gonna see if I can help.”
“But the Guildmaster said-”
“Just don’t move!”
And there went his protection. It happened at an awesome time since that’s when every Awakened in the guild lost their marbles and went to assist their master in getting rid of the said sky worshippers. The people near him moved so fast that he was blown off his feet. He smartly curled into a ball until the thumping of feet quieted down near him. He peeked through his arms and saw more armored men being thrown and then zealously dragged and beaten towards the guild doors. Being a clever gutter rat, he crawled to a mostly empty corner of the lobby where chairs and drinks were overturned.
Stopping by a group of overturned chairs he saw a bunch of overturned bags and sacks with lots of beast parts and shiny things piling out of them.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
And boy did it take all his effort to keep his sticky fingers to himself and crawl further away into a less preoccupied and tempting corner. Eventually his back met the wall and before he could sigh in relief, his ass settled on something round and hard. Praying to any being that would listen, he hoped it was not something exceedingly freaky and lifted his bum to see a pale blue ball. It looked to be a large glass marble but he was in the adventurers guild, so no doubt it was magical.
Reaching through his legs and happier than ever that damn near everyone was preoccupied with beating the snot out of the decked out religious fanatics from across the sea, because this would look super freaked out, he pulled the little treasure from under him.
‘Fuck this thing is kinda heavy!’
Rolling it around in his hand, he wondered how much this thing could cost if he had the money to buy or even better how much he would get if he sold it? Dorcas snorted in derision. He wouldn’t be able to sell this shit! How would he explain how he even got it? The question was if it was worth even trying to keep? He didn’t know what it was or what it did and probably wouldn’t learn until he was literate and had some experience under his belt.
‘Leaving it here in this corner for whoever owns it to come back for it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? It could only invite trouble if he kept it… but then again. When will I ever get my hands on something like this again?’
His subconscious answered with a loud ass never and his decision was made.
‘You know what? I think I’ll keep it!’
Dorcas smiled brightly to himself and was about to roll his fancy magic marble some more but it sorta exploded into dust right then and there.
Dorcas seemed to have an outer body experience as the glittering dust fell through his fingers.
‘What the fuck-’
“Dorcas!”
Dorcas was yanked from the depths of human despair by the sound of Caoimhe shouting for him. He honestly wanted, no he needed, more time to grieve whatever the hell just happened but his bodyguard was frantically calling for him and he didn’t want to start shit with people he would call his allies soon. So, what if he just broke an expensive and super cool magic marble without even trying.
Fighting back a torrential downpour of tears, he stood up and waved and shouted at Caoimhe to come and collect him. He would deal with these feelings later like an adult would. But he knew him and his pillow would have a date that was all tears and snot later.
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Caoimhe ran up to him and yelled.
Dorcas still reeling from his loss only barely got the gist of what the man was saying. And he didn’t like it one bit.
“Caoimhe. You left me alone to go beat on your continental rivals and make merry. I was forced to find some place to hide because your fellow Awakened pals almost blew my skin from my bones with their speed. I don’t appreciate the hemming and hawing. Especially not from someone who has a fancy accent and fancy gear and can’t convince a single woman to screw him.”
Caoimhe gaped at him and Dorcas decided that before the man’s brain and pride could catch up he’d start making his way towards the stairs and to the Guildmaster’s office to finally be Awakened. He was halfway up the stairs before Caoimhe came to his senses and easily caught up with him. The walk to the Guildmasters office was silent until Caoimhe spoke up.
“You know… if you were anyone else, I would have folded your clothes… while you were still in them.”
Dorcas peeked at the man from the corner of his eye. Caoimhe stared ahead and Dorcas relaxed his shoulders a little bit.
“But I won’t because the Master will beat the piss out of me and you’re right. So, no hard feelings.”
Dorcas’s shoulders fell completely, and he openly smiled in relief.
“But if you ever speak to me like that again, I’m gonna skin ya and wear you as a cloak.”
A hard gulp was all the response the ginger foreigner needed.
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Sitting on the nice comfy cushion of the chair in Asla’s office he understood entirely why he wouldn’t want his stinky ass on it. This shit was well made. Figuring which buttocks needed the most support was the least of his worries, but it was good to keep himself occupied.
“Stop squirming. You’ll imprint your stink into the fibers.”
Dorcas stilled and his eyes timidly met the Guildmasters. The man wasn’t cut or bruised but he was covered in puke, blood and maybe ale. He methodically straightened papers and other knick knacks on his desk. It seemed to be some kind of calming ritual and Dorcas would rather mop the ceiling than disturb it. He smartly picked an ass cheek and sat as still as humanly possible.
The Guildmaster sat back into his chair and squeezed his eyes closed. Dorcas hoped that he wouldn’t find himself exploding or worse.
“No questions Dorcas?”
“No sir.”
“Really?”
“No sir.”
“Just ask.”
“I- well… Caoimhe- sir I honestly don’t know where to start.”
“Start somewhere.”
Dorcas leaned back into the chair carefully and bit his bottom lip. The last thing he wanted to do was be smattered across this nice ass rug or bodily thrown through a door. But the Guildmaster gave the okay.
“Will you get in trouble for thrashing the Threshians?”
“No. I explained to you the hierarchy of the guild, and that I am at the top. You didn’t seem to fully grasp what I meant. When you join this guild, when it comes to guild business, I am the law. Judge, jury and executioner. My will is absolute in this branch. The only person who outranks me is a Guildmaster of a higher level and rank or the Guildmaster of the Royal headquarters. The local Lord can do me no harm and neither can the other Guild master of other guilds. Not to say there won’t be troublesome people doing troublesome things to annoy me…” Asla looked off into the distance. The man seemed to be looking beyond the mortal coil and Dorcas found it prudent to not interrupt.
“Do you have anymore questions?”
“Why are their so many foreigners in this guild? I don’t have any gripes with foreigners, it’s just odd that I’ve seen so many Threshians in one place.”
The Guildmaster answered with a smile.
“Good question Dorcas. The answer is simple. I spent my youth continent hopping and networking. So, when young Threshians or Kortessians want to come to our continent, their seniors speak of fair and powerful Asla who slew a mighty Gryffin or conquered a C rank dungeon all by his lonesome. And what do you know, I am a Guildmaster. My guild branch would seem ideal.”
‘Damn. This guy looks like a rock golem. Doesn’t mean he has the brains of one. Pretty savvy.’
“Wow… sir that’s pretty-”
“Yes. Yes. I know. But I have problems that other Guildmasters don’t you see. I get all kinds of foreign talent but all of the foreign disrespect. I don’t have to break locals over my knee.”
Dorcas tried to smile in agreement, but he had no idea that the hierarchy meant Guildmasters could break you over their tree trunk knees.
“I have one more question sir.”
“Out with it.”
“Can I pretty please be Awakened now?”
Asla tilted his bear sized head and seemed to force a smile back.
“Yes of course.”
The big man bent down and opened his bottom drawer and slapped a crystal on top of his desk.
“There’s usually more decorum involved to indebt a young man or woman to the guild more but honestly, I want today to be over with. There’s wine and whore’s calling. I will say this, whatever class you choose if permanent so be mindful as this is the rest of your life. Take however long you need to take, time in the Awakening realm is not equal to time outside of it. 6 hours there is like 6 minutes here. So, 30 hours is like 30 minutes. I am not expecting you to take 30 hours but I will say I have a single hour of goodwill left in me.”
Dorcas understood completely. No extra context needed.
“Levels are technically unlimited but there are keystone levels. Level 5. Level 20. And level 25. Level gives you access to certain Structures if you are lucky or born with a good pedigree. Like an Spatial Storage or Founding Skill like Inspect. Level 20 means your body or magical tier can be progressed from the base tier and level 25 is when you can choose a Profession. Professions can be changed but it is costly to do so. Lastly, some people are lucky and get Titles or Perks or extremely lucky and get both. Titles are permanent once activated and so are perks so be wise.”
“I understand sir.”
“Good. Now place your hand, it doesn’t matter which one, onto the Kindling Crystal. I will use my mana to activate it, and things shall move on from there.”
Dorcas nodded resolutely and placed a hand on the crystal. He thought he would be more nervous but after the day he had, he simply wanted things to be over. A much larger paw- well hand was placed on top of his and he felt a sharp warmth piercing through his hand and then the softly glowing purplish crystal. Before he could open his mouth proclaim his pain his senses went haywire.
Up became down. Light became dark and the dark exploded into colors he didn’t have a name for. His stomach felt as if it was floating to his chest, and he felt he would lose control of his pisser.
He felt like he was a small creature being violently shaken in a metal jar before all of his sense returned to him and his sense of being equalized.
He felt his heart should be racing but it only calmly thumped. He knew his palms should be sweaty, but they were dry or just numb?
His vision slowly came back like his eyes were trying to become accustomed to a dark room but that wasn’t right either. Long story short, he was discombobulated.
It took 10 minutes for him to truly feel like himself and when he did, he took in his surroundings. A pale glowing blue expanse surrounded him. It glowed like the light bugs that came out every Spryng. Soft and hospitable. In front of him, stood four large cards. All four had a distinct glow that he couldn’t make out unless he really focused. Being the bright sort, he focused on the one with a perfect circle on it to get the ball rolling. This was the Crafters class card. All Crafter clicked this circle. From the lowly Pewter-smith to the great Alchemist. It was a pale blue color meaning that anything being recommended to him was Common. Which meant he wouldn’t even look unless his other options were horrible.
Pulling himself away from the Crafters card he looked to the next card. It had a just as perfect Triangle. This was the Hunters card where people with Hunter class or Rogue like classes got their ambrosia. He didn’t care too much for this class which explains why he didn’t care for the dark blue color. Which meant he wasn’t offered any options. He can live with that. Once again, he pulled himself away from a card. Smiling with excitement he quickly focused in on the Warriors card. A Square that was once again perfect pulled him in. This card glowed a beautiful Yellow and he metaphysically jumped for joy. The color grade was a simple system to rank the potency of your class. Blues were Common or Basic. Greens were Uncommon. Yellows were Rare. The lighter the color the better. Dark yellow was still Rare but not as potent as a bright sunshine yellow. Reds were Unique classes that were held by one or three persons in any given generation and had the power of Yellow classes but none of the information to help build them. Having a unique class was better than a Blue or Green one but only if you have the resources to build it optimally. For example, Potter was a middle of the road Blue class but Ceramicist was a Unique variation. In the early levels, training from a Potter would help but eventually you’d need to find a Glasser or Jeweler. The most famous Ceramicist of the last generation, Lhourdes of Glym, wrote a book and publicly spoke about their hardships in growing their class because the Ceramicist before them never wrote anything down to help the next generation. But with his Yellow warrior class waiting for him he wouldn’t need to worry. He was sure it was a spear focused class. His father, once again, was looking out for him beyond the pale.
Dorcas almost pushed further in and selected the class waiting for him, but he decided to check the last card just because. He wasn’t expecting anything, he had no great Mages in his bloodline as far as he knew but his Awakening wouldn’t feel complete if he didn’t check all the Gods given cards. With a soft look at his shiny Yellow rank Warrior class waiting for him he pulled out and away from his bright future. After coming back to himself he focused in on the Diamond or Rhombus shape of the Mage’s card. Its shape was perfection and the color…
‘What the fuck-”
Dorcas stared numbly at the roiling mass of colors on the Mage card. It wasn’t one solid color. It looked like a rainbow or the inside of a shell. Sister Enas had a clam shaped body powder holder whose inside was… pearlescent he supposed. The Mage card glimmered the same and he did not know what this meant.
Dorcas felt he should check it out because he was guaranteed a nice Yellow class and maybe this discovery was something never seen before. If he reported this to a magical consortium, he might even get a large lumpsum of ducs. With a confident nod he focused on the Mage’s card.
This would be a piece of cake.
Do you want me to add the expository chapters to the beginning of regular chapter or you don't mind the occasional 300-500 word expo dump?
