Jack opened his eyes with a gasp, surrounded by magical blossoms of every color imaginable. The sky overhead was a brilliant cerulean blue, the clouds so bright they glowed. He did not dare look at the blue-white sun, his astrological recollections pertaining to the mathematical rules followed by a universe long gone made it clear that such a blue-white giant should have exploded in a supernova long before life could possibly evolve on any planet orbiting it… but such clearly wasn’t the case here.

For just a second, he was struck by bittersweet melancholy for a life he had lost countless years ago, and the loved ones he had been forced to leave behind.

Before shaking those halcyon memories free with a rueful chuckle, breathing deep of the honey-laden air, savoring the rich spicy scents of endless magical blossoms, laughing with wonder at being able to live in a world he could already tell was just filled with magic and wonder.

Before lurching back to himself with a hiss, the deadly buzz of massive bees reminding him of the druid's warning. Licking dry lips and walking carefully away from the buzz, he focused on the mission at hand, eyes quickly spotting the brilliant red and impossibly blue flowers that could only be crimson blossoms and violet bells.

The bees seemed reassuringly distant, yet the moment his fingers caressed the violet bells, the stigma rang against the petals like its namesake, and he heard the sudden irate buzzing of bees closing in.

Finesse check made! Quickness check made! You have successfully gathered the required ingredients for your quest!

Jack’s eyes widened with wonder and horror both as he beheld the massive foot long bee buzzing for his face, massive stinger dripping visible venom.

“Fuck!” He screamed, a word that now sounded strange and alien to his ears as he frantically drew his dagger and lashed out at the be as he stumbled back to where he was sure the barrier between this flowery realm and Eltier’s Garden was.

Only to stumble back into more flowers as his dagger rang against a carapace as hard as a rhino’s horn.

You have successfully struck Killer Bee. Killer Bee is uninjured by your attack.

You have successfully parried Deadly Stinger!

You have successfully parried Deadly Stinger!

Your ability to read and counter your opponents has increased!

One Handed Blade is Now Novice Rank 3!

You have failed to parry Deadly Stinger!

You have taken 1 Light Wound. You have been Poisoned! 20 Health lost!

Jack cried out, in shock and horror as he saw the singer plunge in his abdomen.

Terror and fury took over. He dropped his dagger and grabbed both pairs of wings, wrenching the awful bee out while tearing off its wings and stomping it in furious panic, the relief he felt in the creature’s death nothing compared to the terror he felt as awful pain began flooding his body as if acid now burned in his blood.

“How do I get out, how do I get out?”

Desperate hands grabbed what he could, shoving it into the bag he had been handed as a suddenly dizzy Jack lurched desperately back towards the oddly shimmering patch of light he was certain led back home, but his wobbly footsteps could only find yet more brilliant red and violet flowers to trod as he tried fruitlessly to force his way out.

To no avail.

You have taken an additional Light Wound due to Poison. 15 Additional health lost. You are at -4 to all combat rolls while under the effects of dizziness/pain/disorientation.

Jack groaned, stumbling to his knees, eyes clenched shut with pain.

And there it was. The window between realities plain as day. Just a step away, and he was back into the Druid’s well-kept and quite earthly garden, neither magical blossoms beyond count nor deadly bees in abundance.

And it was only a few feet away.

He sobbed with pain-filled relief.

And that’s when Jack heard the faint angry buzz of a swarm of bees.

With a panicked cry, he lurched and stumbled through the interdimensional rift between worlds, sobbing with relief to feel earthly soil once more, his dizzy swoon snapping back into focus as his facepalmed into a bushel of peppermint.

“Boy, watch what your doing!” Snapped the gnome, before his eyes widened with concern. “What ails you, lad?”

He tried to speak, coughed, and realized his throat was swelling.

Eyes snapped open in sudden panic. “Bees!” He whispered.

“Yes, I know, boy. Did you see any?”

“One stung me!” He quickly handed the druid his bag. The druid’s furrowed gaze widened with surprise when he found his requested flowers, Jacks dagger, and a mangled giant bee within the bag.

Harvesting Quest complete! Experience earned!

He gazed curiously at Jack. “I’m surprised you could bring it through. Well, if I had any doubts as to your destiny, I certainly don’t now.”

Jack had no room for insinuations or hints, his world suddenly one of intense pain.

But the gnome seemed pitiless. “You want to feel better? Follow me, boy.”

And it was all Jack could do to stumble back into the hut, the pain where he was stung growing from dizzying discomfort to an awful throbbing agony. It was all he could do not to vomit, now wheezing for breath.

But the gnome’s brusque tone was belied by the gentle way he led Jack forward. “Good. I can tell by your rune magic that you do have some skill for the arcane, whether you realize it or not. Now take the stinger… don’t flinch at the bee, you already killed it! Now take that stinger and squeeze… just a drop into the mortar and pestel. Good. Now note how I place exactly 2 leaves from the Crimson Blossom and 1 petal from the Violetbell into the mortar, yes? Good. Now take this sprig of peppermint, a twist of thyme…

And for all that he was lost in agony, that part of his brain that had been half in trance taking in all the druid had to teach earlier was back in the fore once more, absorbing everything the gnome told him to do, even making Jack do the grinding, and he could all but feel the complex myriad of ingredients blend together like notes into a song, given potency and potential by the magical petals he had gathered at such peril, and with a final drop of his blood at the druid’s insistance...

“Because I don’t have time to teach you how to access your potential any other way. Now drink the damned potion!”

The brew was done.

Congratulations! You have manufactured your first magical potion! This cure poison potion, forged with the power and potency of 2 magical plants for power, 8 mundane herbs for focus, and catalyzed by your own blood counts as a Superior Cure Poison Potion! Forging alchemical concoctions while on the cusp of mortal peril appears to agree with you! And it looks like your mentor is recommending you drink it down, quickly, before your throat closes completely!

You have achieved familiarity with Alchemy.

Alchemy is now Novice Rank 1 for all Alchemical disciplines you have gained sufficient familiarity with. (Plant-based Alchemy)

The electrifying brew scent Jack’s heart racing as his wheezing gasps became deep, life-giving breaths of air, the agony in his side subsiding to a dull throb.

Jack blinked, realized he had stumbled to the ground and was now near eye-level to the gnome, solemnly handing back the mortar he had drunk from. “Master Druid, thank you. I think, maybe, that saved my life.”

The druid grinned. “Well done, lad. Well done indeed. Now don’t get me wrong, getting stung was stupid. But for your first alchemical brewing, your potion was as potent as I could hope of an apprentice, for all that you are an utter novice to the Alchemical arts. Now come, boy. Are you able to stand? Excellent. Let me show you what else you can do with Crimson Blossoms and Violetbell petals and stems, along with the right mundane ingredients.”

Jack’s eyes lit with wonder as he felt the potency of the magical petals and how they infused and catalyzed the healing potentials of the various herbs and flowers included in the brew. His Arcane perception only heightened with each batch they made, his mentor’s careful instructions seeming to blend and echo with the voices of countless others, Jack finding his hands reaching for various ingredients before Eltier even instructed him to. He was as thrown off by Eltier’s odd smile whenever he did so as he was filled with wonder by the potions he created, delighting in seeing his concoctions flash a brilliant shade of ruby or a soft glowing blue the moment the magic locked away in the petals, and his own arcane potential, successfully catalyzed the brew.

And ever there was a quiet sybillant voice in the back of his head whispering darker versions of every formula he learned. It radiated neither the solemn grace of a sage master nor the warm throaty tones of a lover lost to time, nor the gruff, goodnatured voice of the druid gazing at him so intently with each potion he forged.

What it radiated was cold discipline and a fearless hunger for knowledge and power at any cost.

Slowly, Eltier was able to instruct Jack on how to push a little bit of his own arcane potential, an infusion of his own magical energies, into each brew, leaving him feeling momentarily breathless, for all that he would quickly recover. But the last potion of each batch he would always infuse the same way, with a drop of his own blood.

Feeling his life force catalyze the brew in ways slightly different from using his mana alone. There was a cost, yet he felt his affinity with that crimson discipline growing. If anything, it was easier to catalyze the potions with his own life force infusing the brew than not, for all that Eltier had implied it was normally the reverse. And those potions were far more potent as well.

Arcane Perception is now Novice Rank 2!

Alchemy is now Novice Rank 2!

Alchemy is now Novice Rank 3!

Alchemy is now Novice Rank 4!

You have successfully learned how to craft 2 different types of Cure Poison Potions. (Plant and insect based poisons.)

You have successfully learned how to craft 3 different types of healing potions!

You have successfully learned how to craft 2 different types of stamina recovery potions!

You have successfully learned how to craft 2 different types of cure disease potions (fever and lung infections).

You now have affinity with both plant-based alchemy and blood-alchemy!

The tiny alchemist grinned up at Jack in warm approval. “You do me proud, boy! Your instincts are remarkable, and your memory is what every master hopes to find in a worthy apprentice. You’ve absorbed an impressive amount of lore in a very short period of time!” He then gazed pointedly at Jack’s throbbing thumb. “And your knack with blood alchemy, intuiting just how to catalyze the brew with your own life force, is a rare gift indeed. It was desperation, not instruction, that compelled me to instruct you to do that with your very first brew. And much to my surprise, you understood how I was manipulating the arcane potential of blood and brew both, mirroring it perfectly with every batch you’ve made under my guidance.”

His congratulatory smile became concerned. “But all types of bloodmagic, even the most sacred, the most natural, and what could be more sacred and natural than druidic healing potions? Has a cost. How are you feeling, boy?”

Jack flashed a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, sir. The experience I spent on the blood potion variants is only just over what I made on the foraging quest and fighting that bee. And being able to absorb so much under your care, as if I had awoken another memory seed, was a priceless boon to me as well.” He swallowed and lowered his gaze. “Even if, well, hearing so many voices echo inside my head, memories not my own yet feeling so visceral, so real, was a bit tough to bear.”

Concerned blue eyes met his own. A sympathetic hand patted his shin. “It’s been many years since Hidden Valley was blessed with an Original. I can only imagine the burden to your soul, now living two lives as one.”

Jack paled. “So you understand, then. I mean, my father knows enough to be concerned, but you...”

The gnome winked. “I’ll tell no tales, boy. But yes. I know.”

Jack felt his heart race. He forced himself to ask the question. “Are you like me?”

The gnome laughed at that. “Fortunately, no! Now come, lad, let’s tap into that wonderful potential of yours before fate decrees your soul too heavy for our ephemeral little valley to hold onto any longer, shall we?”

Something underneath the gnome’s smile sent shivers racing down Jack’s spine, struck by the image of an hourglass, the sense that he was running out of time.

“Yes, I’d really like that.”

“Good! Now, how about we take a look at your impressive prize from regio. You might not believe this, but your getting stung by a creature that near killed you isn’t the worst thing in the world. You have a strong bond to the beast in question that not even the most experienced beastmasters can claim, traces of the bee’s poison still in you, even now.”

Jack winced. “I’m painfully aware of that truth.”

The tiny gnome pinned him with his gaze. “So tell me, Jack, how would you like to be able to summon your erstwhile opponent at will? To serve you as best it can before being reclaimed by Mother Earth once more?”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Magic. You’re going to teach me magic, aren’t you?”

“If you have the aptitude, boy. Only if you have the aptitude. And considering you surprising mastery of potion and blood rune both, I would be very surprised if you didn’t.”

And in a very short period of time, Jack was gazing up at a foot long bee in slack-jawed awe.

Feeling the arcane connection between him and his summoned beast, a full fourth of his available mana, that golden flood of energy he had only just now realized was within himself, tied off into his happily buzzing construct.

Congratulations! You have learned the Druid Animal Summoning Spell – Summon Giant Killer Bee at Novice Rank 1. Duration – Indefinite. 25 mana reserved.

“I did it, Master Eltier. I did it! Just look at him buzz around!”

Yet as awed as he felt, it was nothing compared to the strange look Eltier was giving him.

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Tie off the mana flow! That bee looks as solid and real as the one you brought through!”

Jack shrugged, thinking back to the flood of golden energy leaving him as he whispered arcane syllables that seemed to resonate within his soul, the image of that bee, the weight of it’s body, the hot burning feel of its venom searing his soul all visceral memories he didn’t think he’d ever forget.

And when the summoned creature was fully formed, he quickly tied it off like an earlier version of himself would have tied up a balloon so the air couldn’t escape. Only now he found that he had tied off a good chunk of his mana as well.

“It’s just how the spell works for me, sir. I poured myself into bringing it forth, then I tied off that portion of my energy I used to bring it forth.”

Jack’s eyes widened in sudden alarm. “Wait. You don’t think I’ve lost my mana forever, do you?”

The druid scowled. “Doubtful. But just to make sure...”

Jack gazed almost sadly at his creation, almost imagining he could sense its simple insect-like sentience savoring existence and about to investigate some nearby flowers while always keeping protectively close to its queen bee when suddenly everything grew misty and faint. A momentary confusion… and nothingness.

The bee was no more.

Jack’s sigh was equal parts regret and relief. “The mana pours right back into me when I untied the knot I used to lock the spell.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” The gnome took a thoughtful sip from the cup of tea he poured himself from a steaming brew of cuttings, the discarded remnants of their earlier alchemical experiments, all beneficial, from what Jack had recalled. “Still, it’s curious. The Bee should have lasted at least 1 minute per Rank you had achieved. Even Novice Rank 1 should have given you a full minute of use. Instead, the poor little bugger disappeared immediately.”

But Jack was speechless, gazing at the gnome. “So you can see skill ranks too?”

The gnome’s eyes widened in alarm. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, clearing his throat. “You are clearly a Novice, and a starting novice at that. A first tier novice. Yes. Now how about you try casting that spell a good dozen times or so, so you remember it long after you forget about old Eltier!"

Diplomacy check made! Congratulations. You’re not a complete idiot.

Jack smiled, more than happy to let his mentor’s slip go. He was learning real, honest-to- goodness magic, and he’d be a fool to risk losing out on this golden opportunity by pushing the gnome for answers he clearly wasn’t ready to give.

“Of course, master. You showed me how the first time, let me see if I can imitate it successfully. First I summon the golden energies I can feel at the core of my being… visualizing my target, remember the burning flow of it’s venom caressing my flesh...” Jack could feel it coming together perfectly, and, not one to hold back at the last minute, when he felt a sudden urge to prick his thumb and let the blood flow, he did just that.

Surprised by the dizziness he felt, he and his mentor both looking at the larger crimson bee he had summoned.

You have successfully summoned Giant Blood Bee! +100% greater resilience and venom toxicity. 25 Experience expended & 25 Mana reserved.

Congratulations! You can now use Blood Magics to enhance Druidic spheres and spells you have affinity for! (Animal – Blood Bee).

“I definitely felt it that time,” Jack whispered, but his mentor was scowling.

“Don’t be a fool, boy. You’ve given enough of your life force making those potions, and I’m making sure you take them with you. No one but your heart’s love or yourself should benefit from your own essence like that. At least if you take them, you’ll benefit from your own sacrificed energies.”

Jack nodded. “And now I definitely want to make sure experience points and mana both return.”

His eyes widened, calm demeanor turning to one of concern as he found this bee’s life-knot far more difficult to unravel. In fact, he even sensed faint stirrings of alarm from the bee. As if it was being killed by its own mother.

He felt a sense of profound relief when the flooded back into him, and regret for the tiny portion of his potential in the form of experience points fading along with his bee. A part of him almost hoped the potency he had expended would allow his little familiar to continue its bee-like existence, assuming it had faded into Regio, and not oblivion.

Blood magic was powerful, but it came at a definite cost, it seemed.

“Alright. I think I’m going to practice with the normal version of the spell from now on.”

“That would probably be for the best, lad.”

And Jack diligently cast the spell a dozen more times, reveling in the exhilarating rush of summoning arcane sentinels to do his bidden.

Summon Giant Killer Bee (Normal, Blood Bee) is now Novice Rank 2!

He smiled with fierce satisfaction, now finding the flow of power that much easier to channel, earning a full point reduction in reserved mana costs. Curious about just how rapidly he could improve with successive castings, he took careful note of just how many times it would take to reach the next rank. But time seemed to be stretching oddly once more, unexpected memories flooding his mind with every casting, not sure if it had been another dozen castings or a dozen dozen when the notification pulled him out of the odd trance he had allowed himself to fall under.

Summon Giant Killer Bee is now Novice Rank 3!

He blinked, gazing up at his mentor, tilting his head thoughtfully.

“How do you feel, boy?”

Jack grinned. “Happy. I’m now Rank 3 in casting that!”

“Just Novice Rank 3,” his mentor cautioned. “You still have all the Apprentice, Journeyman, Adept, and Elite ranks that any and all casters must surpass before they can achieve even the first rank of mastery in any spell or skill.”

Jack grinned and nodded, grateful for the information, careful not to ask the gnome how exactly he knew all this, lest he end his welcome prematurely. He said only: “Is there anything else you’d be willing to teach this unworthy student, master?”

Jack’s ears tingled as the gnome snorted. He could have sworn he had caught the words ‘wuxia’ and ‘cosplay’ as the gnome puttered around his ingredient bins, pulling out a chestnut, of all things.

He beamed proudly at what was an admittedly impressive nut.

Jack’s eyes widened when he felt the flow of green, life-giving energies wash through the seed, wonder turning to outright awe as a single shoot blossomed into a willowy little tree complete with roots by the time the mage was finished.

Jack had collapsed, gazing at the former acorn, now very much a year-old chestnut tree with something bordering on horror. “That’s impossible. Absolutely impossible!”

The Druid was giving him the strangest look. “Lad, you just stepped into Arcadia and returned, mastering the formulae of over half a dozen healing potion variants in a span of time stretched out in ways you can’t even fathom. And you’re alarmed that this chestnut is now a sapling?”

But Jack was having none of it. “Do you have any idea how much energy had to have been extracted from the environment in order to spontaneously form several pounds worth of organic matter? This whole province should have just entered an ice age!”

The gnome snorted. “E=mc2. You’re worried about constants pertaining to a universe that perished in the Big Rip a long, long time ago, boy. Different relativistic constants hold true here, Jack.”

Jack paled. There could be no mistaking it. “You know.”

The gnome rolled his eyes. “Of course I do, boy. And how strange it is to find the autumn of my very long life serving in the nursery of your own tale. Now come along, child, and don’t give matter-energy equivalences a second thought. After all, you did just summon that killer bee from the ether, just as I did my sprout. And now that the spell is finished, best we plant it, lest we’d have it starve for lack of nutrients.”

Jack blinked, utterly speechless.

The gnome stared up at Jack. “Talk shop? Or learn magic. You’re choice.”

“Magic,” he said, after an endless moment gazing at a fellow traveler between worlds.

“Good choice!” said the gnome, rubbing his hands animatedly. “You can help me replace the stock we used up with our foray into alchemy.” He handed Jack various cuttings as well as a handful of tiny seeds. “Now visualize your power flowing as a tiny green shoot of potential. You’re going to allow the seed to direct the flow of your power. You need but feed it your energy, and the seed’s genetic code will do the work of actually regulating growth.”

Jack gave a satisfied nod. “So biology and genetics, at least, mirrors what we know.”

The gnome smirked. “Yes. The gods, or AI, or whatever forged this realm, did use our own templates for storehousing sentience; neural networks being ideal resonance chambers for what we like to think of as the soul. What happens below the cellular level? There, the physics is wildly different from what you or I might expect. But in the size ranges we understand reality, you would find no difference in your experience of a fine spring day here, or back on historic Earth. You could dance between worlds and hardly see a difference, save for your ability to level up, accrue powers, and use magic. But that is neither here nor there. If you’re interested in pondering how things work on a fundamental level, you can always attend the great academies to glean whatever truths the fools who pass for scientists here have discovered since I last attended."

Jack blinked, gazing at the smiling gnome with something very close to awe as the plant he was touching flourished under his care.

The tiny man chuckled. “But since our final conversation is about magic, not shop, best you steady that mana flow, lad. Or we’re going to be hip deep in peppermint. As you can see, it’s a plant that grows quite well in ideal circumstances.”

A dizzy Jack abruptly cut off the flow of energies to the massive bush of thriving peppermint, surprised to find his mana had dipped down to just 20% of maximum. The moment he cut off the flow, however, he could sense it trickling back at a steady rate.

The gnome smiled. “Much like stamina, you need to rest between spells, especially when you tap most of your energy. Fortunately, mana recharges relatively quickly in this reality, especially when journeying in Regio. Of course, the better you master a school of magic you specialize in, the more spells you can cast before risking mana depletion, and the more powerful they will be.”

He gazed down at the bed of aromatic leaves Jack was slumped over in. “Wonderful job on the peppermint. Now let’s see what we can do about the fox glove and the hawthorn. And after that? The entire garden could benefit from your green thumb!”

Congratulations! You have learned the Druid Herbam Spell – Fecund Growth at Novice Rank 1. You have achieved competent usage with all plants you are familiar with. (You have practiced your skill upon all mundane plants within Druid Eltier’s garden.) Duration – Permanent. Your plant takes on all normal characteristics once the flow of mana has stopped. If you wish for long term arboreal survival, planting in an area with fecund soil, sufficient water, and the ideal amount of sunlight is recommended. Cost to cast: 1 mana per second. Enhanced rate of growth: 1 day in ideal conditions per second. (Increased Ranks will increase both the mana efficiency and growth rate of this spell.)

Fecund Growth is now Novice Rank 2!

Fecund Growth is now Novice Rank 3!

By the time Jack had directed his mana into the final cluster of plants an intently gazing Eltier was gazing at, the flow of magic was almost second nature to him, much like summoning the bees had been. And Jack couldn’t shake the feeling that every moment was precious, priceless, and endless within this tiny glade.

“Master Eltier?”

“Best not say it, lad.”

Jack blinked, chilled by what he saw in the druid’s gaze. He took a deep breath, and turned his focus to something perhaps even more important.

“What are we going to do about the traitors who intended our village to fall?”

“Good question. Tell me, Jack, what do you think we should do about them?”

Jack’s gaze hardened. “Make sure they can never ever do that to anyone again.”

“Good answer, boy. Exactly what I wanted to hear before we began our final lesson.”

Jack frowned. “Final lesson?”

The gnome nodded. “I pride our forest to being home to all manner of creatures. But sometimes there are creatures so vile they have no place in this forest, or any others.” He pointed to the rose. “Do you see what deters grazers from plucking too many roses?”

“The thorns, of course.”

“Exactly. Just like a knight’s sword, a good thorn is excellent for warding off trouble.”

He then pointed to a small cluster of black-leafed blossoms “And can you guess what keeps those plants safe from anyone or anything save the careful bee that pollinates them?”

Jack frowned, shaking his head.

“Why, the answers simple, boy. Poison. Not as direct and brutal as the blade. It's a far more subtle killing tool, but one that has evolved in nature to brilliant effect over countless millennia. Now I know you are no assassin, boy, nor am I. But only a fool denies the tools at their disposal. Now wear these gloves and pluck fifteen leaves each from those last few plants you tended to so well. And it is now that we shall use the Crimson Blossom Stems.”

Intent eyes held Jack’s own. “Bear in mind, I am teaching you what some would consider forbidden arts. Best to share your knowledge with none save the future disciples you trust, those possessing a sense of honor and character much like that which I sense in you. After all, it is far easier to kill than to heal. In fact, you don’t need magical ingredients or any knack with alchemy at all, if you’re just making a crude poison. But if you wish to make its effects trigger-dependent, so that a poison works on everyone save its maker, or with the help of Silver-nettle, such that only those who hide their truths in shadow will suffer… for that you need magic.”

And soon enough, Jack found himself compounding once more, using a separate mortar and pedestal than the one he had used before, showing exquisite care under his mentor’s careful instruction. First, he mixed various herbs from the garden, forming a gray paste. Next went in several blackleaf blossoms, and Jack could sense a wave of malignant magics infusing the mixture. Only then did he pour his own mana into the mixture, forging an exceptionally deadly brew.

Only the first of an even dozen, his hawk-eyed mentor making it clear that his preparations must be close to perfection, if only to assure his own safety.

Jack quietly promised himself that this was the path he was going to take, he’d always have a cure poison potion on hand.

Herbalism is now Novice Rank 4 and now includes poisonous plants and their safe cultivation.

Alchemy is now Novice Rank 5 and now includes poisons and their ideal preparation.

You have achieved affinity with the Druid’s Path.

All Druidic spells and skills will now be learned at 20% greater speed!

Druidic Mage, Dark Druid, and Druidic Warrior Classes are now available to you, should you choose the Path of Peril!

And just as Jack and his mentor shared a silent, pleased nod, a sharp knock could be heard on the door.