“Well, let’s see it.” Saewulf said. It did not escape my notice that the fingers of his left hand tapped on the hilt of his dagger. I had not fully convinced him I was “me”. Surely, the stone had not done something to warrant that much suspicion?

“The Ledger?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah, the damn ledger. Show it.”

“How?”

“Focus your thoughts and say Ledger in your head.”

I did as he instructed, and nothing happened for a few seconds. Just as I began feeling stupid, a massive golden book dropped into my waiting right hand. The book was so heavy I nearly lost it, barely steading it from tumbling to the ground with the help of my left hand.

“Whoa!” Ingrid, still naked on the bed, exclaimed. But her words hardly registered.

My eyes roved over the black gold metal book, taking in the mysterious runes etched into its surface, and only stopping at the center symbol that nested in the center of the book.

A sprig of white hemlock.

“T-that’s…” I started and stopped.

“...Vascora, Goddess of Misfortune, Spite, and the Unwanted.” Saewulf finished for me.

With wide eyes, I looked up from the book to his stern face, searching for an answer. Movement from behind caught my attention, and I saw Rollo enter the room behind Saewulf.

“Who the fuck is that?” Rollo asked, a frown on his giant bald mug.

“W-why do you guys keep saying that?” I asked.

“Lad, take a look at yourself,” Saewulf said, reaching into a pouch to pull out a small mirror he used for signals and starting fires.

Since I was still sitting against the wall on my ass, I set the Soul Ledger down on my lap so I could snatch the mirror with my hand.

The face that stared back at me was not my own. Instead of a weak pointy goblin chin, my jaw was iron firm and square. My turd colored eyes had turned the color of shining gold, and my crooked hook-like nose had become straight, prominent, and free of any curvature. Once sallow cheeks were healthy and reflective of a perfect facial symmetry. Even my eyebrows looked like a professional handmaiden had shaped them. I opened my mouth, and the expected snaggy yellow teeth were now white and princely. Finally, my once thin limp brown hair flowed down in stunning black locks over two ideal sized ears.

The Harald in the mirror wasn’t just resplendent, he was the fucking ideal. Scars, marks, moles, acne were all gone from my fair white skin. It was like I had the glowing, healthy sheen of youth.

I dropped the mirror with a trembling hand, but the face I saw reflected continued to linger in my mind’s eye with an enchanting clarity.

“What is this?” I whispered, looking at the two sellswords.

“That’s what I want to know,” said Saewulf, picking his mirror back up. “You need to open the Ledger and tell us what it says,”

I nodded, then flipped open the cover.

A vision of a hideous crone with milky eyes, surrounded by chained, tormented souls appeared before me. Tears streamed down the hag’s face, and she whispered in a gentle voice, “I see you, and I love you as only a mother could.” Then my life flashed. Beaten and bruised as a child, I lay in bed at night wishing for the downfall of the other children that made my every day a living torment. And the Hag listened. Pride filled the goddess's face as I stoically stood at the altar, already knowing the truth, refusing to listen to the hateful whispers of the villagers. The scene changed again, and Vascora cackled in glee when I punched the Godstone in a rage.

When the vision disappeared, I wept. I felt the utter truth of her words, and I knew this Goddess had been watching my struggles in life. And that she cared. I had been one of her faithful my entire life and had not even realized it.

“You okay?” Rollo asked. I guess Saewulf had clued him in to what happened. Or more likely, Ingrid, who was still chattering in the background.

“Yeah,” I lied. Vascora’s love for me had shaken me to my core. It hinted that there was more to being an ascended than I had ever imagined. Knowing that the Gods watched was not a simple thing to accept.

“The first page should have your basic information,” Saewulf said, ushering me out of my thoughts. “Why don’t you tell us what it says,”

I looked down and began reading.

Name: Harald Horste

Ascended Class: Hexcaller

Rank: 1

Essence: 0/100

Attributes (5)

Strength: 1

Agility: 1

Constitution: 1

Intelligence: 1

Perception: 1

Willpower: 1

Presence: 1

Boons

Flawless Face: Your face is unforgettably perfect. Your looks will draw the opposite sex in, however you can never wear a disguise or hide in a crowd.

Know thy Enemy: Those that hold spite toward you cannot hide it from you with deceit.

Abilities

Fate Shielded: You are immune to curses.

Evil Eye: You can inflict Hexes with your eyes and can see in perfect darkness.

Summon Familiar: Call a beast to permanently aid you.

Hexes (1)

Choose - Spoil Vegetation or Haunt

Spells

Detect Magic

Detect Poison

Skills (2)

(Class) Herbalism: F

(Class) Alchemy: F

Reading and Writing: C

Contracts: D

Math: C

Knife Fighting: F

Cooking: E

Skinning: E

Tracking: E

“That is all there is on the first page,” I finished.

Both Rollo and Saewulf were silent for a few moments, surprise written across their faces.

“I don’t know where to start,” Saewulf admitted. “Vascora gave you two boons and three abilities to start with. That’s saying nothing of starting with 5 attribute points. Us regular classers only start with three and get a single point every rank. You might start off behind most people, physically at least, because of your lack of training. But if you wanted, you could catch up in no time. I expect you will get two points every time you rank up.”

“Are two boons a lot?” I asked.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing. Almost every ascended gets one boon, and one ability at Rank 1. Of course, I’ve also never heard of an ascended of Vascora, or a [Hexcaller]-- which by the way sounds terrifying. It could just be she chooses quality over quantity, unlike the other gods. Who knows what she has planned for you.” Saewulf shrugged. Apparently, we had both decided her designs were worrying.

“What about attributes, is it bad that everything is a 1?”

“Nah, everyone starts off that way. A 1 is just the baseline number for you at the time of getting your class. So, a 3 for you still might be weaker than a 1 from me, for instance. The only way to know for sure if you are better than someone is to go against them. You can still upgrade your attributes through hard work. It’s why Rollo and I still try to train every day.”

“And skills?” I asked.

“Those are a bit more objective. The system the Gods created measures you from F to S, against mastery of skill, with F being something like a novice and S being a Grandmaster. Each time you spend a skill point, the skill will go up a rank; however, I recommend trying to improve it the natural way if it's really low. Skill points are rarer, you can expect to get one around every other level. Regular class folk get more of them, it’s one thing that separates us from the Ascended.” Saewulf said.

“It’s… strange, I have a bunch of knowledge about plants and brewing potions that I never had before.”

“Those two skills are your class skills, right? Believe it or not, before I took up the ranger class, I had never held a weapon in my life. I was a farmer until I ran away to join a merc company at 14. I touched the stone, then suddenly I knew how to draw a bow and swing a hatchet.”

“What do you recommend I do with my points?”

“If you were a Ranger, I could help you. But you aren’t and I don't know the first thing about what a Hexcaller should do. That said, Constitution and Intelligence are always winners in my book. Constitution lets you fight off stuff like infections and fatigue, and Intelligence makes it easier to learn skills. Those two attributes help everyone.”

“The others seem pretty self-explanatory, except for Presence, what is that?”

“Presence helps you manipulate people. A person with a high presence can lie believably and bolster the morale of those around them. It’s important for anyone that wants to be an actor or commander.”

I ruminated on his words for a few minutes, thinking about what I wanted to do with my new life. I already knew that I had low strength, constitution, and presence compared to the average person. Likewise, I expected that my intelligence and perception were above average.

My new reality, or more specifically face, warranted that I do something about my presence. As one might expect from the goddess of misfortune, each boon Vascora gave me had a downside, and I reasoned that Presence might off-set [Flawless Face].

“So should I decide everything now?”

“You don’t have a choice. The first time you open the soul ledger, you have to spend everything. They say it is the last step to bind it to you. The book won’t go away until you do.”

“That’s… upsetting. I hoped to do a little more planning before jumping in.” I admitted.

“Don’t worry about messing things up. Training can off-set any mistakes you make early on, and I’m positive that you will have a lot of practice in your future.”

“Wait! You mean Ashmere!?” I had not expected to become ascended, and the full implication of being chosen had not set in.

“Yep. Look at your second page, see if there is anything on your quest roster.”

I did as Saewulf instructed, gently turning the first page of the Ledger. The page’s texture was airy, bereft of resistance. It gave the impression that the book was illusory and manipulating it was an act of will, despite seeming physical.

Quest

Report to Ashmere Academy for the Ascended as per Ergentein Royal Law.

The moment I finished reading the quest, I felt a “snap” in my mind, then felt a tugging sensation pulling me north. My soul ledger planted a mental compass in my head, leading me toward what I presumed was Ashmere.

“Wow,” I said, then explained to the others what happened.

“It’s best not to hold off on anything the Soul Ledger tells you to do, lad,” Saewulf said solemnly.

“B-but, my Da,” I started.

“We will send word for you, Harald,” Rollo said. “It is the least we can do.”

Saewulf nodded his agreement then said, “Aye, we’ll travel to your village and tell him. Rollo and I are shipping out with a caravan at noon to head back to Hornebolt. It would be a small thing for us to ride to Weston. So be at peace. You have a destiny now, and it’s best you keep your mind focused on that.”

His words set my mind at ease, and I took a deep focusing breath. “All right, one thing at a time. I’ll start with the Ledger first.”