I unslung my flimsy cloth bag and put it aside, before sitting down and once more reading through 'On the banishment of Imps: A practical guide!'.

Apparently if one had access to a room like this, using rituals was frightfully simple. It required that blood was used on the correct symbols in the correct order and a power crystal to fuel it. That was all that was needed.

The small bag and the box, which I had gotten from the abrupt woman, held a power crystal and an athame respectively. With a perhaps foolish amount of hope, I pricked a finger and begun.

In stories, pricking a finger to bleed on something always seemed so neat and clean. This was anything but; I had to make several cuts in the end, to the point that my left hand now looked a frightful mess. But I had finished the ritual, using thirty-eight of the symbols while leaving many more unused. I fished out the crystal from the small bag and walked into the central circle. From the book I knew that I should now push Mana into the crystal. This would make it disperse its physical shell and let loose a burst of Mana that would fuel the ritual.

I did wonder why I needed a crystal in the first place, from the feel of it there could not be more than a few hundred points of Mana in it. But I followed the instructions, until with a low booming sound and rush of Mana the bloodied symbols on the floor lit up.

The density of the Mana around me kept increasing, as more and more was being pulled into the room. The amount I could feel now was truly staggering and far more than I could hold myself.

Finally, the pressure let up as all of it was drawn into the ritual. A bright light filled the space and I could have sworn I heard a distant scream.

Then the pain began. I could feel that something within me was being dragged out. The symbols, which moments ago had begun to dim, lit up once more. The pain kept ramping up and with eyes watering I tried to hold out against whatever this was. Could I not even banish the imp without the bond dragging me with it? The creature had said it would drag me with it if it died, could it do so even if banished? With gritted teeth I held on as best I could, but with a mounting sense of hopelessness.

A tall man with broad shoulders limped slowly up a hill. His right hand was closed hard around the hilt of a bloodied sword and from his right leg dragged the end of a chain, fastened to a shackle around his ankle. It was clear that he had problems staying upright, as evident by his staggering. His arm shook with the effort of keeping the sword from dragging on the ground.

As he crested the hill a multitude of people could be seen on the other side. They appeared human in shape for the most part, but their skin ranged from a light blue to a dark purple, and rarely one would have an extra pair of arms and a slightly longer torso. They mostly sat or lay on the ground, seemingly exhausted and many sported wounds. Those who seemed hale though, stood armed at the edges of the crowd facing outward.

The man came to a stop to look down at the people, as they in turn looked up at him.

'It is dead! We are free!' He shouted and the people cheered in reply.

'No bond shall hold us!' The mans voice rang loudly and the crowd took it up as a chant, repeating it over and over.

The man's eyes fell to the shackle on his leg, and it opened to fall to the ground. He spoke softly, 'No bond shall hold me.'

I blinked my eyes and drew a ragged breath as the vision faded. Whatever had been pulling at me snapped painfully, sending me sprawling to the ground as the light from the symbols faded.

Your bond to the imp, Zackary, has been lost.

I took the information in with a sense of elation, I had done it! While slightly shaky, I got myself to a sitting position and out of my sprawl as the ritual finally came to and end.

That strange vision had seemed too real, almost more real than the room around me. As if the thought had been an invitation, I could feel that something was trying to reach me. I got a sensation of warmth and with it, the idea of family, a promise; be a part of something greater than yourself, to serve, be respected, have a place to belong, a shoulder to cry on, be a pillar for others, and have a multitude at your back.

The concepts rocked my mind and I felt my whole being recoil at the idea. It was all lies. Family was pain and suffering. Family was control and scheming. This was a lie, I pushed back at whatever sought me and it faded.

You have rejected a Bloodline, you are Aberration.

You must choose a Focus!

Mental Focus

Balanced Focus

Physical Focus

I was now Aberration, with no idea about what that meant. I had a bounty on my head from the kingdom, as far as I knew from a book title. With my mind still reeling from what had happened, I grumbled under my breath.

The question from the Order was different from any that had come before and it was becoming more and more insistent, to a degree I had not previously experienced, while still being just as uninformative as ever.

With an inward sigh, I picked Mental Focus, hoping that the inevitable downsides would not be too bad.

As I made my choice, pain came once more. I had thought the pain during the ritual had been bad, but that had been nothing like what I felt now. My back snapped straight from the shock of it and I was dimly aware that I smacked the back of my head against the floor. Pain became all I knew and I lost my grasp on time.

**

As my agony stopped abruptly, I took a sobbing gasp of breath. The sensation of the Order wanting my attention was nagging in the back of my head and I was coming to loathe the feeling.

You have lost a hidden racial Trait: Greater Balanced Focus.

You have lost 2 Strength, 4 Agility, 4 Dexterity, 2 Constitution, 4 Wisdom, 2 Willpower, 4

Intelligence.

You have gained and advanced your racial Trait: Mental Focus.

You have gained 2 Wisdom, 4 Willpower, 4 Intelligence.

You have lost hidden racial Traits: No bond shall hold us, Child of Flame, Fortified Body.

You have lost the Ability: Fervent Casting!

You may choose a new Trait or Ability!

You gain 842 Experience!

As I lay there looking up at the stone ceiling with a Mage Light hovering in the very center, I felt surprisingly good; the pain was gone, the imp was gone and there was nothing to panic about at this very moment. However, I was slightly worried about the loss of Traits, not knowing what they had done for me. How much help had those been?

With the vision in mind; 'No bond shall hold us', was not too hard to guess at. It might have been the reason for me waking up in the slave pens without a collar, and maybe even the cause for my resistance to the imps control over me?

Fortified Body and Child of Flame were harder though. I could not recall anything about me that was connected to fire, except my one spell. Fortified body was vague enough to mean just about anything.

The loss of Fervent Casting struck me as strange though. Was it connected to the Bloodline? But not my class? The question made a sense of dread come over me, surely my class had not changed?

Status.

Ewynne

Age: 18

Level: 7

Experience: 1606/2000

Race: Aberration

Class: Enchantress

Strength: 4

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 8

Constitution: 10

Endurance: 8

Intelligence: 20

Wisdom: 11

Willpower: 22

Perfection: 14

Charisma: 12

Health: 48/100

Mana: 530/530 (12/minute)

Stamina: 80/80 (18/minute)

Unallocated Attributes: 0

My race had changed. I was no longer half-blood, now I was Aberration, which was apparently a race? I looked at my hands and touched my face. But I could not spot any difference, everything seemed the same as ever.

The change did not make me feel much, unless it affected my appearance. I poked and prodded myself a while longer, finding nothing of note.

To my mind being Aberration meant little as to how others would view me, a half-blood already meant a death sentence from most humans, if it was known. The Race War and the splitting of the First Empire had made sure of that, the sense of self righteousness was deeply ingrained.

Thankfully though, my worries about my class were unfounded; it had not changed.

Abilities.

Sense the Flow, rank 1

You can perceive the flows of Power around you. Limited to the basic Powers.

Cost: N/A

Cast Time: Instant, Instinctual, Intentional

Range: 2 meters

Upkeep: N/A

Enchant, rank 1

You can imbue objects with the Magic you know.

Cost: Variable.

Cast Time: Variable, Intentional

Range: Touch

Upkeep: Variable

Having seen that things where as they should, I took a calming breath. I needed to make a new choice of a Trait or Ability, and a moment of focus brought the options up for me.

Paranoia

You are not paranoid, they really are out to get you.

Effect: +4 Willpower, +2 Endurance, -3 Wisdom

Paranoid Negotiator

There are always plots within plots within plans, everyone is several steps ahead of you. But you try to keep up.

Effect: +2 Intelligence, +2 Willpower, +1 Charisma, -2 Wisdom

Forced Calm

Things really are as bad as they seem. But you have learned how to cope.

Effect: +3 Willpower, -1 Wisdom

Aberrant Mind

Construct a mental landscape of insanity. A contest of your Willpower, Wisdom and Intelligence against the Willpower, Wisdom and Constitution of your target.

May be used once per day.

Damage: 13 times the combined difference between contesting Attributes as mental damage.

Cost: 215 Mana

Cast Time: 6s, Intentional

Range: 6 meters

Upkeep: N/A

The Traits where just as I remembered them from the cell, what felt such a long time ago. The thing about the paranoia stood out more to me though. The Traits seemed very random when compared to the ones I had gotten later, which had a clear connection to things I had done and been through. Where did this harping on about me being paranoid come from? While there might be some truth to it, it struck me as strange and was annoying.

But the Ability was something new and different, but again seemed to not be on the sane side. At first glance it seemed very powerful, but as usual there was a lot that was not explained. The Ability was clearly the most powerful against someone weaker than I, at least when it came to Attributes. It might be very strong against a Rogue or a Warrior, unless they had many levels on me, as they probably did not focus on Willpower and Wisdom. But I would not bet on it against a Mage or a Cleric. Which brought up the next question, the damage description could be read several ways; what happened if the combined difference was not in my favor? Would nothing happen or would I take the damage? Just like Fervent Casting it had a daily limit on use and I had no idea how that worked, when was a new day? Dawn? And finally; mental damage seemed to have some limitations in what it could be used against.

Despite all my concerns, the Ability seemed by far the most useful. I would pretend I knew it was a reference to me being an Aberration and not another snide remark on the state of my mind.

As I made my choice, I once more took in that the imp was really gone and I smiled. I would not miss that murderous pest.

Though the loss of so many Attributes hurt, it seemed inevitable that it would have happened eventually, the idea of family was not a pleasant one to me. I would have rejected the Bloodline at some point. Better it happened now than at an even less opportune time.

I started to shiver on the cold stone floor and hurriedly clambered to my feet, unsteadily. I swapped out my sweat-dampened shirt for the blouse in my bag and used the less than clean one to wipe my face and hands. It would have to do for now.

Now that I had moved, I felt as if my body was somehow foreign to me. With a shrug at things I could do nothing about, I gathered the box and bags and left the room.

Walking back to the desk was uncomfortable, as my feet itched and hurt. The wounds that had earlier not bothered me, was starting to now.

At the desk sat the same woman as earlier. She was currently leaning forward and conversing with another young woman,

'... they rode out, all pale faced and ...'.

As I approached, the woman I had not seen before trailed off. She was stout, blond, and freckled; in sharp contrast to the terse one I had met earlier, who was thin, dark, and pale.

"Done, good! Give me the key, the box, and the bag."

"How much longer is the library open?" I asked while handing the items back to her. She rolled her eyes and waved a hand at me.

"Your medallion will stop working at midnight when the magic rhythm of the world renews, as with all temporary spells. The library never closes. You will be sent out when the medallion's magic fades."

Not being quite sure if I was grateful for another piece of information or upset at her behavior, I chose to ignore her and moved back among the shelves. I should begin reading the books I had, before getting more, as time was limited.

It was frustrating that I could not get to any information on Aberrations, now that I was one.

It did not take me long to find my way back to my cart where I had left it. To my joy the two volumes I had gathered before were still there. There was an addition though; on the cart rested an apple.

The sight of it sent a hunger pang through me worse than any I had ever felt before. I clutched my stomach as it cramped up and a slight sheen of sweat covered my brow.

I had never gotten breakfast; I ended up buying clothes, going to the Chatheza, and finally came here. I could not judge the time of day in here, but I would guess at late afternoon or possibly early evening. My sense of time during the ritual had been more than fuzzy, it might even be later.

I had gone whole days without food before, and my meal yesterday was better than anything I had ever eaten. My reaction seemed exaggerated.

I picked the apple up to eat it, but stopped mid motion. I could feel a core of Mana roiling within it, and the spell was nothing I had seen before. If it was in fact an open Sphere spell I would have been surprised. The structure was nothing like that of Fire Burst or even the well wrought barrier on the lantern. This was an intricate thing, I could tell that it would do something to the body of whoever ate it; my understanding of physiology came up short however, I was no where near knowledgeable enough to figure out what it would do. Who would put an apple here and why? I sighed loudly. I hoped it was just someone trying to be funny and with a loud grumble I put the apple in a nearby bookshelf and shelved the book on banishing. Having done that I started wheeling the cart toward the middle area, where I could sit and read.

I could manage my hunger for a while longer and then eat before bed. I should go back to the inn and get my stones of Fire Burst and make sure the imp was gone. The innkeeper would no doubt be unhappy to see me so late, I had left with the key to the room without paying or even saying anything. Hopefully paying for the room should alleviate any hard feelings. I could find another place to live tomorrow, that was more affordable. Having decided on what to do I focused on my reading.

I sat down at an empty table with two chairs, off to the side of the open space. There were quite a few people here, all focused on their reading or quietly talking to each other, and so I left them to their pursuits.

The book 'A summary of the advancement of levels' turned out to be rather basic. It explained that when gaining levels you could gain Attributes, Traits, or Abilities. That there were combat and non-combat classes, the latter also referred to as profession classes. A profession class did not gain any experience from killing. Classes could at points evolve into other classes, many of the requirements of which were unknown according to the author. All in all, it was very unspecific.

Turning to 'The Balance of Attributes, and the understanding thereof' things became more interesting.

'... ways, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Willpower are less direct in what they represent as compared to their physical counterparts. What the Order provides through Attributes is a way for a class to function with more power. Increasing Attributes help you accomplish things like hitting harder, using more complex spell structures, or moving faster. The mental Attributes are primarily a way for spell casting to become more refined, not as a way for us to become more ingenious or wise. While this might be cause for some contention, the evidence speaks for itself.

Much study has shown that Intelligence improves memory, speed of thought, and the splitting of focus to many tasks. As is readily evident; none of these improves comprehension. While that effect may be achieved over time, as has also been shown, that requires work and effort. It is a process which no mere increase of Attributes achieves. In conclusion, the spark of genius is not found in the Attribute of Intelligence; for that is clearly not its purpose.

The same logic can be applied to Wisdom, and it has; distance and perspective does not automatically grant wisdom in actions. One does not become wise through an Attribute. Willpower is of the same ilk; when it is not resting on the bedrock of experience and conviction it is more akin to bullheaded stubbornness than strength of will.

It is important to remember that Attributes are foreign to our natural selves, they have the purpose of empowering a class; while helpful they need to be handled with care so that one might cultivate traits and habits that...'

The tone and language of this passage seemed different from others I had read in the volume, and I was unsure if this was even the same author. As I kept reading the book turned more into a discussion on Attributes from different points of view than statements of fact, as it sometimes seemed to contradict what had been written as little as a page earlier. Though fascinating, I doubted I could assume anything in it was the unvarnished truth, but it still presented interesting perspectives.

'... and so it is stipulated that if one person could change his class, his Attributes might very well change as well. Attributes do not mean the same for all classes. The easiest example of this is Mana; For Mages and Clerics alike Mana is determined by Wisdom and Willpower. Mana regeneration on the other hand, is based primarily on Intelligence for a Mage and Wisdom for a Cleric. The same universal power is approached and used in very different ways. This can be further shown by how casting a spell differ; a Mage powers a construct while a Cleric will use chants and ...'

I was lost in the book, pouring over things I had not thought of before, or often even heard of. I did not take note of the passage of time, until there was a sudden flash of light and I found myself sitting on the stairs outside the library.

I looked out over the Mage Guild, before checking myself over. The medallion I had been wearing was gone, but my bag of clothes was still with me and so was my coin pouch.

I sat there for another moment and wondered about the why of the seemingly negative sides of Attributes. Were they truly a mere side effect or were they intentional? What I had read certainly seemed to have the common theme that the Order had a plan and a purpose. Even though it was never spelled out as such.

At a reminding pang of hunger that put a stop to my musing, I got up and headed off towards the inn, through a night lit by flickering lights.