A curious anecdote of my time spent traveling. I have spent much of my life as a nomad. I have accumulated Skills to only help this lifestyle further along. I have come across so many individuals unique and exotic that they blend together indefinitely. But, there are some among them that I could never forget. No matter how hard I try to wipe them from memory, their faces and personalities are stamped into my consciousness. Some terrible, others not.

The [Jokester] was perhaps the most entertaining, tear-inducing, laughable man I'd ever met. Try as I might, I could not detect any real Skills coming from him, not all times, at least. It was a nod to old theories. That a person often becomes the Class as much as the Class becomes him.

To be quite honest, I think the man was born to be funny.

-The Origins of Skills and Abilities, The Untethered Tomes

Cool refreshing water carved rivulets in sand caked skin. The water carved its way down the sides of a mouth, framing the throat until cutting down the chest and soaking a shirt in moisture. The cold drink easily found its way to his center. It's arrival was marked with a satisfactory sound that only the most parched could ever genuinely muster with any believability.

Jayke let out a loudly content sigh. "Ahhh." He expressed his satisfaction.

The cool water was bliss upon blistering skin. The stay in his [Safehaven] was pleasantly comfortable and away from the beating heat of the sun, but some things one just had to face. He had to eventually leave. It hadn't taken long for him to dry out.

He pulled up an arm and wiped his mouth, wiping the moisture from his lips and neck. He'd been getting the last gulps in before filling up his flask a final time and heading for the Coterie building. He'd be more cautious this time than last, fully expecting the possibility of death. He hadn't thought the proctor would be so cruel, but that reality was one Jayke was a little more accustomed to than most.

He had perused the shops and stalls for a while before coming to the oasis. He had wanted to see if there was anything he might like to buy. Consequently, that was what led him to notice the person who was following him.

The person in question hadn't tried to keep it surreptitious at all. Though, perhaps that had something to do with the fact he was approaching.

Jayke got up and pointedly started making his way to the Coterie's building. He'd hate to be late.

He heard words get caught in a throat. "Hold on!" A light boyish voice, young.

Jayke turned around and recognized the figure immediately. His mind flashed back to the battle with the [Giant Pincer Shell Burrower]. He wore a robe different from before, his face was scraped.

"You're from the tests." Jayke placed him.

"You saved me. That very last attack before it died. It blasted water from its claws." He stood rigidly. "I wasn't paying attention. I would've died right then."

Jayke had thought he was a man. The guy was small in stature, some mix in his genes. His eyes were sharp but large. A teenager. Having faced death. "That's the risk people take with these tests." Jayke wouldn't stoop so low to demand thanks or even mention it. Some things he just did because they were right. Nothing more. "If you're heading there now I wouldn't mind company."

The teen only seemed eager. His step was spry and Jayke noted the boy had a strong physique. Jayke wondered what that said about the world if it said anything at all. Despite his step, it was like a bad memory took the boy, his mood gloomed.

"I hadn't expected... that." He said solemnly. There was an air about him.

"You've never seen someone die," Jayke said with a small glance. "That's surprising. Did you come here alone?"

Jayke enjoyed the passing sights. The Marketplace Between was wonderfully lively. The type of atmosphere that had been completely impossible in Jayke's recent past. It was the movement of living things that weren't trying to kill him. He quite liked it.

The boy looked up in surprise, snapping out of his gloom. "How can you know that?" He slumped, something haunting him. "I arrived alone. And you're right I never even saw them die." He whispered and the noise was nearly lost in the sound of the bazaar. Jayke's ears were keen.

Jayke noted the bright sky, reflecting on a similar time. "It's in the way you stand." Jayke patiently told him. "Like you're seeing their ghosts. They're not there, you know. No matter how hard you look. The ghosts."

The boy was younger than Jayke thought. Yet his every feature was aged with trauma. Jayke should've noticed it earlier. Jayke doubted he could offer any help to the boy. There was nothing for him to do. At that stage, people became stronger or they broke, but all in due time.

"I wanted to say thank you, that was the reason I sought you out." He said suddenly. "What's your name, sir?"

Jayke stifled an unguarded laugh. "No one's called me sir since the last intern." The words came out unbridled. Jayke's memory flashed with a guy no younger than he was. He shook his head. "Jayke Cipher." He answered.

"I am Hughanz Meath." He said with some mustered strength. "When I become a great [Mage] and fulfill the wishes of my late companions, I will be in your debt for it." The boy was strange to Jayke's ears and he realized he was detecting some type of accent, different than most he had encountered.

It was like time had frozen, just for a moment and no longer. In that lapse of chronology, Jayke made to scoff but found only seriousness. A child who knew no better what he promised. Jayke nodded only a second after seeing it. Some things, though childish, could be delivered with all the seriousness of the future. He pictured the man that might once repay that debt.

"Then remember my name," Jayke said, having nothing better to say. "Maybe I'll see you in the test, Hughanz."

Hughanz steeled himself and nodded.

The moment passed and the boy darted off towards the Coterie building. Jayke was glad he did, it'd have been awkward if he had stayed and they walked together. He truly wished the kid well, no matter the odd interaction.

Jayke spent the walk reflecting. Teenagers traveling and dying to become part of something they'd only ever have a chance at. In that short exchange, Jayke felt he might have gotten just a little better understanding of the world. Where even people as young as that experience death. What's more, the kid was still on his feet. People from his world would've shut down, curled up.

Jayke picked the kid out from the crowd, he'd only exchanged a few short words with him but he spotted him darting between stoic myconids and blurry dwei. The teenager was practically a stranger. Yet, Jayke felt he had some inkling of the hardships the teenager was going through. This world was one that didn't stop in the face of trauma.

Maybe if his people were cut of similar cloth...

Jayke shook his head, taking in the sights as he had always done to keep his mind busy.

Hucobb stood among other members of the Coterie. Each exuded some invisible pressure that Jayke couldn't quite pinpoint despite intent focus. In his focus, he swore that one of them had grinned at him. Most of them wore clothing suited to the weather, light and airy. The majority wore white and light brown garbs. Each cut impressive figures framed by the marble floor.

Most of the static fixtures, like benches and standing signage, were removed. The polished marble reflected the magical mural above, completely bared.

A group of forty testers stood in front of nine proctors. Jayke was sure not everyone who had passed made an appearance. There were people missing. And Jayke didn't blame them at all.

"You'll be tested by the proctor of your choice," Hucobb spoke. "You've all demonstrated some magical aptitude. Not only that, if you've come this far you've been deemed semi-competent in the face of danger. Magical aptitude and competency are expected from one who bears the crest of the Practitioner's Coterie. "

A lithe woman, feline, gracefully interjected herself into the monologue. Hucobb seemed to be expecting it. "The Coterie expects excellence, perhaps not at this stage, but certainly individuals with the means to attain it. We seek potential and natural talent, lacking that then a burning determination and unyielding will to strive. We accept no less."

A woman who seemed as colorfully patchwork as Hucobb had propped herself daintily against her walking cane. She was shorter than an average grandma. Her voice was wizened but lively. "All of you younglings are unaware of the true extent of the Coterie's testing. In my own time, I had lost many friends during their trials. These tests are not as simple as passing a handful of criteria. The Coterie has very high standards, that is why we are so select and few. There are many trials ahead, much time to be invested, and many deaths to be had."

An old lizard person spoke relaxedly. "This is why right now we offer you the chance to turn back. These tests may very well last months, the very length of them being a test in and of itself." He spoke. He looked around meeting everyone's eyes.

No one made to leave. Jayke gathered anyone that had decided that fact had already done so. The old man nodded gruffly.

"Right now, we consider this the first stepping stone. The other branches will be doing similar testings today." He said. "Today marks what may be the easiest or hardest step for the majority of you. Provided you pass today, we'll be leaving at first light tomorrow."

"Where to?" Someone echoed Jayke's thoughts.

"That's for anyone to pass to find out," Hucobb answered, then he turned to regard everyone as a whole. "As I said, you may now choose a proctor. Their tests are up to their discretion, but neither will they be easy. You may begin."

People instantly began milling about. A confident handful approached random proctors with little thinking. Of them, he spotted the wolf man, or the wolfar as he'd heard. He found the two elves walking. He even spotted Hush, surprisingly. He hadn't seen the other people he had been with earlier but he hadn't predicted they'd necessarily be associating often.

The feline proctor smiled like a predator when a small wave of students approached her. The majority of them were male and Jayke briefly wondered if interspecies attraction was a thing. He glanced at her, realized it was, then turned his attention to the other eight proctors.

Hucobb was left entirely abandoned. None had approached him, but that might've been because of his rumored abilities to use 'mental' Skills. Jayke wasn't sure what that really meant, but digging into the horrors of his mind was out of the question. The 'born of the mind' thing from earlier was enough for him to steer clear of Hucobb, he didn't want to face anymore shieldshots. Let alone something like facegators. He shivered, some of the early encounters with the most commonplace abominations still shook him even after a year of desensitization.

The old grandma-esque lady attracted a large number of people. Large being relative, still less than ten. Others were split up among the rest unevenly. The old lizard man had attracted a number of people to him.

Jayke realized he was one of the last people to decide. He made his way to the proctor that had grinned at him earlier. The woman had a fierce air about her, nearly savage. Her body was bared, but instead of the supple skin most men might pine for, her arms and legs were scarred. Warpaint adorned her battle trophies and she closely stared at Jayke as he approached.

For a brief moment of clarity, he registered that the reason he was the only one to approach her might've been because her gaze was unsettling. He also perceived that her battle-worn aesthetic may have been offputting. The details clicked idly in place but changed nothing.

"Hello." Jayke dipped his head nominally.

The woman stared at him for nearly ten seconds in complete silence. After checking no one was behind him or even approaching, he was content to return the stare. It was nowhere near as unnerving as some things he had faced, but he was self-aware enough to realize it would've been awkward to a past version of himself. Currently, his face wasn't a bored and curious mask, it was bored and curious. It was a practiced expression, in fact, one he knew quite well. Though in this instance he wasn't acting or anything.

The woman broke eye contact and glanced to the other proctors. She scratched her neck. "I thought I did a pretty good job at scaring everyone away." She grinned at him and Jayke confirmed his suspicions. "I really didn't want to test anyone."

"That's my bad then." He said after a pause. "Sorry about that. I could change proctors if you think they wouldn't care."

"Oh, they'd definitely think something was up if my lone tester decided to walk away." She grinned unabashedly. "I don't mind testing you. You deserve that much after approaching."

Jayke stood patiently, turning slightly to observe the other groups. A number of proctors were leading their crowds to side rooms.

"Just how to test you though?." She turned to Jayke and regarded him closely. "Potential is largely tied to current growth and I'm looking for that. So, if you don't mind me asking, are you still a [Mage] or any similar basic Class or have you specialized? Generally, I wouldn't bother with the questions, but seeing as you're my only problem I won't mind giving a more accurate test."

He may have understood the question was inherently rude but Jayke didn't particularly care. Jayke quirked a frown, the lady just called him her problem. "I've specialized." He responded, quietly amused.

"Good, good." She said thoughtfully. "You don't look like you could manage to land a hit on me, so that's out of the question. Might be too new to your magic to really demonstrate any mastery of it." Her fingers drummed against her thighs as she looked towards the other proctors.

Jayke had the acute sense she was trying to see what they were doing. Jayke took offense, he could probably hit her.

He scrunched her mouth but then her features lit up. "Okay, how about this?" She looked at him with interest. "Impress me."

"Impress you?"

"Impress me." She said. "It's that simple."

"Well, what do you find impressive?" Jayke blinked, off-guard. "You want me to use magic to impress you?"

"Magical ability is the main principle that spurs the Coterie but beyond that, we desire resourceful individuals with the capabilities to realize that ability. " She said. "I'll say magic is both your worst and best bet in this case. Take that as you might. "

"And the bounds for the test?" Jayke asked.

A nearby proctor had opted to stay in the large marble room. The scarred lady looked at him. "You have until their test concludes. If you haven't impressed me by then, you've failed."

Jayke began by pulling out his [Potion of Desert Blurr].

The woman looked at with interest but waved. "Relying on Items? Not impressive." She said simply. She seemed to enjoy watching the other test take place simultaneous to his.

"Well, then that probably disqualifies the [Sand Rabbit's Foot]." He said to himself. The lady looked at him in askance but he didn't elaborate.

He defaulted to his most familiar magic. "How about this then?" He created a shield of grey-blue magic in front of him. Expecting some sort of attack, he poured magic into the shield-

She reached out, touched the shield, and made it shatter. "Not impressive either. If you'd have withstood that bit of dispelling maybe."

Jayke frowned. He hadn't actually felt her do anything. He didn't even know that was possible.

The scarred lady helpfully chimed in. "Looks like Chawerthian is doing an old school elimination test. The guy's softhearted so I'll bet he's letting everyone through so long as they try hard enough." She glanced at him. "You might've been better off following the crowd, to be honest. Not many come to test with me because I look scary, but its probably for the best since I'm a terrible proctor."

Jayke glanced over to the many people getting bruised and battered by animated stone. Grunts and rumbling rock echoed through the room. Jayke frowned.

Jayke held out his [Code Magic], swirling with raw randomness. She looked at it briefly, then stared at him. "What?" She asked. "This is just a ball of magic. Not a magic I recognize, granted, but not enough by itself to impress me. Show me what it does."

He frowned, unsure if it was really demonstrable. He reached into his pocket to pull out a test subject of his. It was a small ragdoll, apparently a dwei child's chewtoy of sorts. Jayke thought it'd be a perfect subject for his [Code Magic] so he had tried bartering for one. Apparently, the metal trinket he had offered was too valuable and so the shopkeeper had given him two.

He tossed one to the woman. "What's your name by the way?" She asked him as she caught the ragdoll, confused. "And what is this?"

"Jayke Cipher." He responded. "That is a dwei toy for children. Apparently, the kids like to teeth on them. Verify that there are no strings or any such hidden mechanisms. I don't want you to think I'm tricking you."

"There are none." She held the floppy toy, seemingly amused with its sewn eyes. The texture of the ragdoll was like sandpaper, which said something about dwei teeth.

"I have a similar one here." Jayke pulled out the second. "Trade with me." He tossed it to her and she gave him the former.

"What's your magic supposed to do?" She said curiously. "Obviously it needs a target."

Jayke focused on the doll. He had intentionally chosen a toy that was small enough that barely any force would be needed to support its movement. Jayke had wanted it to walk after all. 'Move' was a very abstract command and it might've worked with a slime, but with the doll, he got no such feeling. His [Lesser Data Sense] had clued him in on that much.

An inanimate object was just that; inanimate. He did a number of complex calculations regarding the balancing and movement of its limbs. Calculations that would've normally been done by a computer, and tested and simulated virtually. He'd eyeballed it immensely. Anything actually accurately done manually, even for such a small project, would've had to have been perfected with hours and hours of tweaking.

Currently, the only things his magic was keeping track of was which foot had taken a step, and which one to step with next. A step, in this case, being an applied force to the back of the legs. Turning left and right were out of the question. He didn't think too hard on the application of physical force and he felt instinct fill the gap. Directing the magic to understand what 'back of the leg' meant was the hardest thing about it. He had noticed that actually, the hardest part of this magic wasn't the logic, he was well versed in that. The problem, more commonly, was understanding how to interpret everything.

The function that glowed in his hand was a fantastic piece of garbage.

"That should do it." Jayke intoned cheerily, sarcasm in his voice to the confusion of the presiding proctor.

He pushed the magic into the doll, feeling it settle less smoothly than with the slime. The digitized pixels that faded out from the application was a curious effect that Jayke observed, it seemed rather cliche. Then the doll decided it was time to walk, and proceeded to swim vertically. It got all of two steps before its 'step' became an obvious hobble-swim breaststroke.

The doll flopped over like the ragdoll it was. If Jayke had coded the thing to have a seizure he would've called it a success and taken notes. Unfortunately, he did not, but nevertheless that was what it was doing.

"Well, that wasn't at all what I was expecting." The scarred woman said helpfully over his shoulder.

"Neither was it for me." Jayke sighed, cutting off the magic. "I hadn't been meaning for it to be a demonstration. It was supposed to be a project for later." He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't suppose that was impressive at all?"

He noticed the other proctor had concluded his test. People groaned, lying on the floor or rolling around. Small golems of stone tried helping them up, but a handful of the testers flinched away from them. He could see people cradling injuries.

"It was quite the spectacular failure." She said finally. "I'll give you it did impress me, albeit not in the way I'd have liked. So I'll give you one more chance despite your time being up."

Jayke racked his mind quietly. If nothing material impressed her and none of his magic was developed enough to garner any such reaction then... well he guessed he might as well see how he performed in real life.

In some sense, Jayke had already been part of something like the Practitioner's Coterie. He had been part of an organization leading the world in the realm of virtual reality. At least, one of the leaders. The capsule that brought him here had been produced by a competing company that appeared out of nowhere, even now he still couldn't quite recall their name. Where they had invested in fun and entertainment, Jayke's company had researched memory retention and learning.

They didn't have something as convenient as a capsule, however. Muscles had to actually be worked to memorize movement. Jayke spent a lot of time in those training rooms, fighting against virtual opponents with the feedback as high as the system allowed.

Various skilled individuals offered their assistance with the development of these regimes. The system, conceptually, was easy to understand. One stepped into a room and trained. Only, the trainer was virtual and self-learning in its teachings, seeded with the knowledge of the world's best. At least, that would be what it seemed like. After the setup, that is.

Behind the scenes, he'd be harnessed, his body would be electrically stimulated while his mind worked with the AI as fast it could without breaking. The AI only kept up with as much speed as was deemed safe. Every individual was scanned uniquely. Jayke managed up to a ten times dilation.

"Spar with me."

"Spar with you?" She laughed. "You realize I'm a wartorn right? Nomadic warring race of tribal warriors, the scary people who eat other people?" She looked at him. "Haven't met a wartorn, huh?"

"No, I haven't."

"I don't think I've met one of your kind either." She regarded him. "You're serious." She said with an amount of surprise in her voice.

"I am." Jayke was unflinching.

Inwardly, his heart raced. He had never actually used those skills. Having gotten this far though, he was loath to not go through with it. He'd already set his heart on exploring the world, the Practitioner's Coterie was a most fitting first stepping stone.

"You're aware this is the Coterie, right?" She reminded him with an arched expression. "We don't generally test on the martial arts. Our focus is magic above all." Her eyes drifted down to Jayke's posture. "Judging you based on physical merit is atypical. No, I'm sorry, but if that's all you can offer then I'm afraid you've failed." She said the last part with a sigh. "From our short interaction, I think you have the mettle for the next round of testing. Flailing pointlessly at a proctor won't cut it-"

Jayke bit the bullet. "It seems to me you're scared you might be more than impressed."

Silence.

"Did I hear that right?" She craned her head like a nail on chalk.

"Oftentimes, the better [Mage] is the one who can use his fists." Jayke quoted from his readings, carefully tense. "How often is it a [Mage] faces danger with magic alone? To make it real clear, I'm saying you're a bit scared to find out how you fare without magic."

"Well," She looked at him like an ant. "now you've done it, Jayke Cipher. There's a thing about the wartorn people that you should know." She smiled savagely. "We don't take well to insults or threats. I think you genuinely didn't recognize me for what I am and if you've pulled that bravado out of your ass then consider me already impressed, few would ever dare that." She smiled, blood in her eyes. "I'd have passed you right then if you'd have insulted anything but physical prowess."

She scratched her head, but Jayke noted the-

"Now, you actually need to prove yourself!"

The quick punch came with incredible force. Eyes widened and instincts from years of practice kicked in. Jayke ducked out of the way, slapping away the other jab aiming for his moving head. She blinked.

Years of practice. He'd spent months in those training rooms, correlating to a handful of years dedicated to training. All under the careful instruction of the leading technological AI and the leading authority in their respective field. Given his previous situation, he had focused on firearms and fighting.

Because of that, he knew when an attack was called for.

He approached evenly and quickly, no sudden desperate movements. When he came into range, he spun into a backhanded hammer fist. The impact was enough to indicate he'd been blocked despite the inherent speed of the technique. The return strike caught him powerfully in the shoulder and he turned the momentum into a powerful low sweep.

Then Jayke was on the defensive. His bones were strengthened considerably from the training, but in the face of this woman's onslaught, he felt heavy bruising. He blocked a fist aimed at his jaw, crossing the arm with his own. The following punch came from below but Jayke tucked himself to the side. The frontal kicks zoned him backward and he forced to cut a temporary retreat. There was a moment when he was on the backfoot.

Jayke spared a glance and found glee-filled eyes.

They flashed and the woman jumped forward in the air with a vicious spin. Her leg snapped out with enough force to decapitate a lesser man. Jayke ducked under the kick and coughed up air when the other leg found his ribs. Jayke slammed into the ground, rolling with the force and managed to make it all the way to near the finishing testers.

"What the hell?" Someone groaned from his own pain, shortness of breath. "Are they fighting?"

"Did he anger the proctor? I knew we should've stayed away from that one."

Jayke groaned, moaning.

The woman approached grinning. "Looks like you'll need to do a little better than that. I will say you put up a decent fight. " She looked down at him, found Jayke staring at her feet, and her expression widened.

Jayke spun up quickly from the floor like a breakdancer. He extended his legs out like a windmill and swept the woman's legs from under her. She tripped and fell, immediately moving to roll away.

It was a somewhat funny move to watch, but pulling the foot was the easiest way to grab someone. She was dragged backward. It didn't look like she knew what to do on the ground. Her movements were sloppy, relying on disengaging and the strength behind it.

That didn't matter with good leverage at least, it shouldn't have.

Jayke frowned as an absolute submission was slowly being broken. Her arm shouldn't have been able to withstand the forces she was using on it, no matter the pain she should've been experiencing as a result. Her body flailed against him, but with the arm slowly being ripped away from him, his entire leverage was altered. She was, slowly, escaping.

She was face down and Jayke had her arm between his legs. The rest of her body could do nothing, or shouldn't have, but she was rising.

Jayke tightened, and she yelled. "Yield!"

He released her, rolling away and getting to his feet. She gasped once her arm was released, cradling it closely. Then she rolled away face up, turning her head to Jayke to squint at him.

The other male proctor approached. "Morn, what is the meaning of this?" He addressed her.

She, like Jayke, was out of the breath. Still staring at him. The other proctor looked between the two, genuinely curious. Jayke had thought the man would've been mad, but he guessed wrong. He seemed only curious and interested.

"Chawerthian, this right here is a man capable of taking on a wartorn and winning. At least, without the usage of my magic and Skills. But that wouldn't have been fun. " She said breathlessly, getting up. "And the bastard is signing up for the Coterie. You pass, asshole." She stared at him. "Tomorrow we set out for the Mountains of Rune. You have the day for your affairs."