1.01 Welcome the Jungl...er Realm

I have always had problems explaining Transition, and the other realms of the Inbetween. It was more than a conversation, like there was an other dimension that is normally missing. I do not know how long I considered, seconds or years blend together in that place. My choice to accept the Realm was practical. Who would listen to a comic book store manager about the potential end of the world? I wanted to take advantage of the additional Boons Janus had dangled in front of me, which meant swearing a Vow of Neutrality. Not some rote promise everyone aligned with the Ethos of Neutrality swore, but a personalised Vow that came from within. If accepted I would gain the Boons requested on my arrival to the Realm. This is what came to me:

-”I accept the Necessity of Neutrality, and Commit to do my best to follow the Principles of said Ethos.

Neutrality is not Indifferent to the Evils of Life, nor Extreme in the imposition of Balance, Rather Neutrality is Patient, Tolerant, Calm, Persistent, Tenacious, Resolute, Considerate, Thoughtful, Discerning, Observant, Examines all sides of an issue before reaching a Conclusion. Neutrality ponders all Choices and their Consequences before Acting.

Neutrality Balances short term Advantages, with medium and long term Results. Neutrality seeks to act in Harmony, Valuing both Individuals and Community, Nature and Society, the Cosmic and the Atomic, Law and Liberty, Morality and Survival, Truth and Wisdom, Justice and Mercy, Courage and Honour, Practicality and Ideology, Eternity and Momentary.

Neutrality is not Static, understanding the Cycles of Change are the motivator of Evolution. Neutrality adapts to Difficulty, understanding all Problems have multiple Causes and Solutions. Neutrality promotes Equality and Equity, between Individuals, Peoples, Creatures, and Nations.

Neutrality avoids overt Aggression, seeking to use the least Required Force when Interceding, but does not shy from Necessity. Neutrality seeks not for Authority, but is Diligent when Leading, Helpful when Following, and Restrained when Watching.

May these Principles Guide my Choices, my Actions, and my Example.”

No sooner did I finish speaking, then I found myself laying on my back, staring off into the bluest sky I had ever seen.

I hurt, every nerve ending and neron in my body was screaming in pain. My mind was jumbled, like a jigsaw puzzle put back together wrong, the pieces forced together. I closed my eyes to try and pull myself together when blam!

Congratulations User! Welcome to the Realm of Triquetra! Please wait while the System is Initialising…….Initialisation is complete!

Wait? I was paralyzed with pain. I could not move if I wanted to.

Congratulations! New Achievement Completed! Journey to the Realm of Triquetra! For surviving the journey to a new World, you have earned the Title of Otherworlder! For being new to the Realm you have earned the Title of Realm Newbie!

Can pain be colored? I swear the soul wrenching flashes of pain were blue. The agony was so intense I could not even take a breath.

Title:Otherworlder- As you have arrived from Beyond the Realm, Natives will treat you with trepidation, but your former experiences will aid System progression.

Passive Effects: Whenever a new Class or Ability is acquired, a percentage of you past experience equivalencies will be applied as immediate progression. For the first year in the Realm, 100% of your past experiences will be applied. The following nine years, 50% will be applied. The next ninety years, 10% will be applied.

Active Effects: Only apply when Title is equipped.

+5 Intimidation to all Natives.

-50% Reputation Modifier with all Native Organizations.

There is a limit on the number of Titles that may be active at one time. While the passive effects apply whether or not the particular Title is “equipped”, the active effects are limited to “equipped” Titles. Active Titles are easily detected by lower level [Identify] spells, passive Titles are difficult to detect even with [Examination].

Title: Realm Newbie-As a recent arrival to the Realm of Triquetra you are starting at the bottom. While others may look down on you because of your newness, much like a young child your growth and development are accelerated.

Passive Effects: +50% bonus to all Realm acquired Experience for one year. +10% bonus to all Realm Experience for another nine years.

Active Effects: -20% Reputation with all Realm Organisations.

The Title will be lost once ten years have past, or you exceed ten levels in a single Class.

I opened my eyes and the Blue Pain stopped. My nerves were still raw, but at least I could breathe. I was outside, laying down on a flat rock, some sort of stone table or altar. Surrounding me were great stone menhirs, a Dancing Circle more than a Henge. I must have closed my eyes again, because the strobing Blue Pain returned.

Congratulations! You have Learned new Spells and Skills!

You have Learned the Personal Spell [Tongues]!

You have Learned the Personal Skill [Introspection]!

You have Learned the Personal Spell [Examination]!

Personal Abilities do not count against the limit for maximum number of non-class (Amateur) Abilities known.

I quickly opened my eyes again. While the information download was important, I felt like I was an appliance plugged into the wrong socket. Breath, exhale. Breath, exhale. I could feel the pressure from the message queue build, all the information the System was trying to force into my brain like using a firehose to dampen a sponge. Ok, let’s try blinking.

Congratulations! The Ethos of Neutrality has accepted your Vow of Alignment.

New Attribute, Alignment, acquired!

Alignment Score set to 10.

Positive Progression Experience Awarded for all behavior that is intune with, or promotes the Ideals of the Ethos of Neutrality, by Word, Thought, Speech,or Deed.

Negative Regression Experience Awarded for all behavior is that is contrary to, or discourages the Ideals of the Ethos of Neutrality, by Word, Thought, Speech, or Deed.

Amount of Experience Earned is dependent the difficulty of Ethos implementation.

Blink!

Congratulations! Honorary Caste , Imperial Citizen, acquired!

Implementing Otherworlder bonus……

Achievement detected: Freeborn Citizen, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Full Tax payer (Locality) 10 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Full Tax payer (Locality) 20 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Full Tax payer (Regionality) 10 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Full Tax payer (Regionality) 20 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Full Tax payer (Nationality) 10 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Full Tax payer (Nationality) 20 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Voter(Locality) 10 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Voter (Locality) 20 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Voter (Regionality) 10 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Voter (Regionality) 20 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Voter (Nationality) 10 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Voter (Nationality) 20 years, +1 Honorary Level.

Achievement detected: Juror +3 Honorary Levels.

Honorary Caste: Imperial Citizen Level 17 set.

Error! Imperial Citizen is a Tier 1 Caste, MaxLevel of 10.

Does the User wish to upgrade Imperial Citizen?

Initiation choices:

Imperial Citizen (Jurist)

Imperial Citizen (Elector)

Imperial Citizen (Publican)

Elite Imperial Citizen, MaxLevel of 15.

Imperial Aristocrat, MaxLevel of 20.

Congratulations! Honorary Caste , Imperial Traveller, acquired!

Implementing Otherworlder bonus……

Achievement detected: Regional Visitor: Five Region/States Visited, +2 Honorary Levels.

Achievement detected: Foreign Visitor: Three Foreign Nations Visited, +3 Honorary Levels.

Achievement detected: World Visitor: One Continent Visited, +1 Honorary Levels.

Honorary Caste: Imperial Traveller Level 5 set.

Honorary Caste Levels do not impact Realm Newbie Title.

That was a doozy! Good to know jury duty counted for something. Although the Regional Visitor Achievement bothered me. I had driven through a lot more than five states, but I guess it only counted those I had spent significant time actually visiting. Or maybe it was a sleep thing? The math didn’t seem to work out for me. Honeymoon to France was a plus, got both a Foreign Nation, and Continent visit out of it. I wasn’t sure using up one of my free Initiations to upgrade Imperial Citizen would be worth. After all, no more Empire. Castes were considered a sort of half-Class that affected Social Status but didn’t give any Combat, Crafting, or Magic Abilities, I was in too much discomfort to decide now any ways.

Blink!

Please Register User Names…...

Well that was unexpected. Should I go all Dark EdgeLord, or something silly. I certainly was not going to use my real name from Dirt. I’ve read too many stories about the impact of True Names to be throwing that one around. Neither did I want to use the name of my Paladin from Lorecraft, Sir Gabriel Bram Hellsinger, too much potential baggage. Or at least not the Pally’s full name, yes it’s not a great movie, but I love me some Hugh. Maybe another one of his characters, Logan Valjean sounds nice. Too on the nose. How about some other inspirations? Well if I’m going to borrow, borrow from the best.

New User Name Registered:Gabriel “Gabe” Aragorn Valjean

User System Identification changed to “Gabe”.

Cogonomonic Associations detected……

Name is associated with multiple archetypes:Holy, Ranger, Redemption, Royal

Connection to Sir Gabriel Bram Hellsinger detected….

Connection to Strider detected….

Connection to Jean Valjean detected….

Cogonomonic TrueName Protections Activated

Welcome Gabe to the Realm of Triquetra!

Updating Status

Either I was adapting to the pressure, or the System was adapting to me. I really wasn’t sure of what Cogonomonic meant in this context, other than something to do with names.

I looked around, feel a little dizzy to be honest. The sun, slightly larger and a deeper gold than what I was used to, had moved. I saw a forest of mixed trees, surrounding the hill on which the Stone Circle stood. Each blink seemed to have lasted an hour or more. I had been an Eagle Scout, although I focused on the more urban friendly Merit Badges, I knew enough about being lost in the wilderness that I needed to find water, shelter, and food. I also knew that I would not be able to do anything if I kept suffering from the blinding Blue Pain every time I closed my eyes,

Blink

Bonus Class, Scholar, Acquired!

Implementing Otherworlder bonus….

Achievement detected, Matriculation: Grammar School…

Achievement detected, Matriculation: Middle Preparatory School…

Achievement detected, Matriculation: High Preparatory School…

Combined Achievement Award: Initiation Tier upgrade to Elite!

Bonus Class, Elite Scholar, Acquired!

Achievement detected, Acceptance: University…

Achievement detected, Acceptance: Graduate Program…

Achievement detected, Acceptance: Doctoral Program…

Combined Achievement Award: Initiation Tier upgrade to Tier 2!

Bonus Class, High Scholar, Acquired!

Achievement detected, Graduation with Honors: Preparatory…Converted to Title: Student of Letters

Achievement detected, Graduation with Honors: Bachelor of Science: Major Focus Comparative Literature…Converted to Title: Bachelor of Letters

Achievement detected, Graduation: Master of Arts:Literature…Converted to Title: Master of Letters

Achievement detected, Coursework Completion: Doctor of Philosophy: Literature…

Processing…

Realm Equivalency Requirements Differential Integrated…

Title upgrade Master of Letters -> Doctor of Letters 95% Complete.

Diverted Experience forwarded…

Title upgrade Doctor of Letters -> Professor of Letters 30% Complete.

Combined Achievement Award: Bonus Elite Sub-Class: Literatus!

Bonus Class, High Scholar(Literatus), Acquired!

Implementing Otherworlder bonus….

Five Levels of Realm Equivalent Experience detected.

Frankly, five levels was rather generous. Although I had earned degrees, most of my practical real world experience was selling comics and games. I had expected Merchant as my bonus class. However, Janus said the bonus class would be based on my Qualifications, not Experience.

I remembered Scholar. It was a Tier One NPC Class, no combat Abilities, limited crafting, and spellcasting Skills. At least my version had been upgraded to Tier Two. Since a Class’s Tier limited the maximum number of Levels and Sub-Classes a main Class could have, the higher the Tier the more potential a Class could have. A Tier Two Class was allowed up to 20 Levels, and up to 2 elite sub-classes, or 3 normal sub-classes. I just hoped I could find a Scholar subclass that would provide some wilderness Skills.

Well once more, back into the breach. I took a deep breath of clean fresh air, smelling vaguely of pine and cloves? Blinked my eyes, and promptly lost consciousness.