As I considered the multiple ways of going about what I wanted, I decided on one thing first. That despite my anger at the kingdoms of men, I didn’t want to see humanity lost with the end of an Age. I was half-human, after all. So I began my work with a letter. One that I hesitated to write, if only for a moment. To the honorable and respected Count Shielding, I write to you to inform you of a matter of great import. I hold your family in high esteem and believe your line to be one of the cornerstones of this kingdom. A colleague of mine has discovered what lay over the western mountains. You may recall in the annals of our kingdom’s history a period where our armies did battle against a great beast called the Pestilence. A monstrosity of such danger that those records cannot fully describe its threat. My colleague describes not one of those beasts but a number of such great multitude they could swallow these very lands. As you are no doubt aware, the debt your family has belabored me with was never a debt in my consideration. That your line continued generation after generation to uphold your belief only speaks to the high honors you and your kin warrant. I could think of no more worthy family to hold a noble title. I never conceived of a time where I would need to call upon your family’s believed debt. I wish that events allowed me to continue without doing so. Unfortunately, I ask to lean upon your honor to bestow upon you a grave task. The king and queen need to be told of this danger forthwith with as much urgency and expediency as you can muster. Should you do so, then I will consider your family’s debt completely discharged. Should you do so, I believe that the entire kingdom will be indebted to you. I understand the threat that war with Mirktal represents, perhaps better than any other. Regardless, I fear that any battles between our two countries will be as the squeaking of mice compared to the cat that lurks beyond those mountains. Cordially, Nemon Fargus I rolled the parchment and sealed it with wax in an ornate jade scroll case and then stared at the thing. What could the king do, truly? I didn’t know what ancient artifacts the crown held in their vaults. If they had something they could use, why would they have allowed the Pestilence to rampage? I also didn’t know if the things could swim or not. Maybe he could order the construction of a fleet of ships for humanity to flee on? With a scowl, I resigned myself to send the missive anyway. While I didn’t know what the crown could do, I would rather that the leaders of men know than be surprised. It would be something of a parting gift. I could send this and know that the obligations of any last vestiges of loyalty I held for the Kingdom of Sena were met. Oh, I wasn’t about to revolt anytime soon. But I wasn’t going to lend aid either. I considered my next steps. I had several plans that I wanted to begin, but there was one thing I had delayed for a long time. Decades delayed. It was time I ascended to the fifth tier. I would have preferred to increase my [Enchanter] class one more tier before merging it, but I worried my time for preparation was at an end. For many of the plans I had in mind, I would need to be at a higher level of power. With that in mind, I left the sealed scroll on the table, grabbed an empty tome, and descended my tower until I found Walker. I charged him with seeing to the tower residents' needs and to ensure I was not to be disturbed, by even the king himself. With that out of the way, I made my way to the room that held the tower crystal. It was the most secure room in the tower, and I added another few layers of powerful defenses to it before I began. With my legs crossed and the empty tome before me, I opened my Soul Scroll to my [Class]. Class: Elementalist, 4th Tier Subclass: Enchanter, 2nd Tier Details Ascend Merge Classes I felt reluctant. I originally planned to get to the next tier in the enchanting class, but I had been putting this off for a while. The kingdom heavily monitored all fifth-tier class holders, and I didn’t want to be subject to that scrutiny. Regardless of my feelings, I still selected the Merge Classes option. I felt something inside me shift. The shift was something I had tried to research in the past, but found my magics blocked by a powerful divine barrier. I once planned on continuing to study it in the future before I became preoccupied with my longevity spellwork. When the shift completed, I returned to my Soul Scroll. Class: Elementalist, 4th Tier Subclass: None Details Ascend I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. The ascension process could be painful. It could also be pleasant. It was a gamble for those who ascended, though common thought was that it depended on how ready one was. In my opinion, that was idiocy. Likely the ones who experienced pain were the same ones that chose class evolutions that didn’t fit who they were. They reached too high or too far, and the pain was the difference between where their capabilities were and what they wanted to be. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t need to reach when I ascended, however. I fully expected that I would. And with that expectation, I knew that I might be subject to a crippling level of pain. So, after I breathed out and readied my mind, I chose to Ascend. Class Options Available: High Elementalist Elemental High Magus Grand Magus Grand Elementalist Dominion Territorial Lord Dominion Dungeon Keeper Planar Lord Wizard I looked through the list, surprised at some of the options available. I expected the first four. In the [Mage] class, the first-tier was [Apprentice]. The second was [Mage]. If a [Mage] chose to specialize, the third tier was based on their specialty, such as [Geomancer]. If they didn’t, the third-tier class was [Magus]. This was followed by [High Magus] at the fourth-tier and [Grand Magus] at the fifth-tier. Many classes worked in that way, with the descriptor ‘High’ or ‘Grand’ used for the upper tier versions of the class. What I didn’t expect was the last four options. The two High Elven classes seemed related to my most recent work with the tower and the dungeon beneath it. The last two classes I had never heard of. I jotted down each option in a separate page of the tome. While I might choose one, that didn’t mean I shouldn’t record the requirements of the others. One by one, I went through the options, each detail recorded as I saw it. High Elementalist Requirements – Reached Level 100 of the 4th Tier Class Elementalist. Description – You have mastered the four primary elements, and used them to advance to greater heights. This class allows an Elementalist to obtain greater control and wield higher amounts of authority within these elements. Bonuses to wielding four primary elements. Elemental High Magus Requirements – Reached Level 100 of any 4th Tier Magic Class, Mastered an Elementalist Class. Description – You have mastered the basics of magic, and continued on the path of magical mastery in the elements to advance to greater heights. This class allows a Magus to obtain greater control and wield higher amounts of authority within all known magical specialties. Bonuses to wielding four primary elements, and casting spells. Grand Magus Requirements – Reached Level 100 of any 4th Tier Magic Class, Mastered at least two Third-Tier Mage Classes. Description – You have mastered the basics of magic, and continued on the path of magical mastery in other specialties to advance to greater heights. This class allows a Magus to obtain greater control and wield higher amounts of authority within all known magical specialties. Bonuses to casting spells. Grand Elementalist Requirements – Reached Level 100 of the 4th Tier Class Elementalist, mastered Manipulation Skill of at least four additional elements. Description – You have mastered the four primary elements, and continued on the path of elemental mastery in other elements to advance to greater heights. This class allows an Elementalist to obtain greater control and wield higher amounts of authority within all known elements. Bonuses to wielding any element. Dominion Territorial Lord Requirements – Reached Level 100 in any 4th Tier Class, Noble Title, Control of Building or Territory Crystal, Elven Heritage. Description – By Right of Conquest, you have been granted the Authority of Command within the Elven Dominion. This class allows a Lord to obtain greater control and wield higher amounts of authority within all territorial areas. Bonuses to citizen production, attack, defense, training, or fertility. Dominion Dungeon Keeper Requirements – Reached Level 100 in any 4th Tier Class, Noble Title, Control of Dungeon Core, Elven Heritage. Description – By Right of Displacement, you have been charged with the Obligation of Alteration within the Elven Dominion. This class allows a Dungeon Keeper to obtain control over and alter a single dungeon core. Bonuses to control, domination, linkage, directed growth, and lifespan. Planar Lord Requirements – Reached Level 100 in any 4th Tier Class, Noble Title, Visited Another Plane, Contracted with Nobility within a Plane of equal or greater power. Description – You have met and negotiated with an Elemental Lord and are seen worthy to be elevated to greater status. This class grants a Planar Lord the Authority to create and maintain a [Tiny] Plane of Existence for so long as they live. Any created Planes are subject to Territorial Rules of Conquest. Bonuses to Planar Travel and Summoning; citizen attack, defense, and fertility. Wizard Requirements – Reached Level 100 in any 4th Tier Mage Class, Mastered at least 10 Third-Tier Mage Classes, Discovered new forms of magic. Description – You have walked the corridors of magic, and peeked into the hidden secrets of the world. This class allows a Wizard to hold Rights of Authority within up to three magical fields. Bonuses to wielding magic, casting spells, comprehension, and alteration. Just by their descriptions, I immediately knew which I would choose. I took a moment to consider the implications of the others, though. Mostly out of hesitation to face what might be overwhelming pain. I’d read about two different people that died from their Ascension, though I hadn’t seen or heard that occur in my lifetime. Most of the options within the fifth-tier Elementalist and Magus fields were both expected and previously documented. The [Elemental High Magus] was something I hadn’t read about before. It didn’t appear to offer much more than a [Grand Magus] or [Grand Elementalist], but seemed superior to a [High Elementalist]. I reviewed the list again and confirmed that it seemed the classes were ordered by power level. Which gave several implications about the High Elven dominion’s social structure. Was a [Territory Lord] less powerful than a [Dungeon Keeper]? Is that only within the Dominion? Is it based solely on personal strength? It didn’t seem so. Both mentioned Rights and either Authority or Obligation. Given how my tower crystal looked like the dungeon core, I could only imagine that the [Dungeon Keeper] class was responsible for turning a core into a territory or building crystal. If that responsibility was greater than the responsibility a [Territory Lord] held over citizens, then it could mean… well a whole number of different things. I made an annotation to follow that line of thinking later, and to find if there were any remaining tomes or documents from the sixth age that would provide me more answers. I was most assuredly not choosing either class. I had no desire to antagonize the gods. The [Planar Lord] option was something I had never seen. There were no records that ever indicated such a thing was possible. It also mentioned authority, but there was no reference to the Elven Dominion. I wondered who granted the authority here. Was it the gods themselves? The Planar Lords? I didn’t know. Even more unsettling was the reference to Territorial Rules of Conquest. What rules were those? Who established them? What happens if a rule is broken? The class’s very existence caused me to rethink much of what I thought I knew, and I was left with more questions than answers. Yet despite my desire to expend myself researching the peculiarities of that class, the final option presented was the one that drew nearly all my attention. I had been calling myself a wizard for so long. I introduced myself as such. I referred to others of a certain station the same way. To me, I had used the term as a catch-all for those magic users of a specific disposition, and never even remotely considered the possibility that there was a class for it. But there was. Even more, the class itself spoke to me on a personal level. Walked the corridors of magic. Peeked into the hidden secrets of the world. These were… me. That is what I do and have done. To not select this class would be to forever deny a part of myself that I couldn’t part with. Even now, my right hand shook from withheld desire. The fear of pain and possible death no longer caused even the faintest doubt in my mind. I chose [Wizard].