Mirrond: It took us some time, but we’ve finished it, and let’s all be happy about that. I mean, it’s quite a success considering that Resus recently decided that he wants free weekends.

Resus: Just because I occasionally don’t have classes during weekends doesn’t mean that you can use me to write this…

Mirrond: YES IT DOES, SHUT UP.

Resus: As you can see, our dear readers… all throughout the chapter I have to add exclamation marks after his shouts… Because he always ends them with a simple period xD

Mirrond: *Here should be a smart riposte, but screw it.*

********************************

Chapter 13: Silence (in the library) before the storm

The next day I wake up early in the morning, which means that I have some time to think… About many things.

Up until today I spent too much time on complaining and negative thoughts. The reasons for that were mainly my hatred for Shadow, my own pessimism, and all the cultural and religious differences that kept showing up. I can only try to fight the second one - and hopefully I’ll eventually succeed - and I am absolutely content with the first one. But then there’s the last reason.

I still feel like an Earth resident and that’s stupid, as I’ll never return there. I keep commenting events and things like I’m an outsider. The only ‘progress’ that can be seen is the fact that, for some time now, I think of myself as Varth Veles… and that I treat Meritri and Lena like my relatives. I even use the word ‘father’ when talking about Naharius… albeit a bit reluctantly.

I need to get rid of this ‘Earthling Identity’ of mine. Ok, local tradition may look ridiculous, but this isn’t some sort of xianxia story. I am not overpowered, I can’t be above the local culture. I need different approach than ‘that’s just so stupid’… I need to assimilate.

Yeah. So, from now on, less pessimism, less complaining, less raging over unimportant details… and I need to finally get used to living here. If I’m going to spend my entire life here, I’ll better like this place.

Thinking about my previous attitude took me so long that Gavlan had to come in and get me out of bed. That’s actually quite sad. I woke up earlier than usual, and I wanted to spend some time just lying in my bed, hugging a pillow or something… beds here are just extraordinarily fluffy, and the bedding hugs you like a soft cloud of bliss…

I reluctantly get up, and proceed to the bathroom. There I brush my teeth just like a good little boy should do every day. But in case I would turn out to not be a good little boy I’m watched over. I’m given a little bit of privacy only when the time comes to dress myself. Then comes time for breakfast, that I eat alone… aaand it’s more or less free time for me. I can’t describe how boring this free time really is. No computers, nearly no books (all of those that I managed to find on my own were just some account records…) and lack of other kids means nothing interesting to do. Meritri doesn’t count, as all her relation with me is based on The Book, and we had to leave it in school.

I’ve never thought it would come to this, but I’m actually grateful that I was given homework. Mainly reading practice with some absolutely basic writing. Sure, it’s absurdly easy, but it’s still a way to spend time.

In the end it only lasted for about… five hours, according to the HUD’s clock. And even that only because I was doing it the same way I was learning for most exams on Earth. Five minutes of concentration, ten minutes of lazing around… This Saturday is especially lazy as grandfather, father, uncle and Iverie (so, basically every important person in the family) are out doing business. Normally there’s at least a dinner we eat more or less together.

After I finish doing my homework I’m practically desperate to find anything interesting to pass more time with. And there is Gavlan… Since yesterday he’s in a very good mood for some reason, so… maybe I’ll question him some more? But… Is there anything left that I can ask him about, without making it sound suspicious? I asked him about the Council and the Houses, so that’s out of the question. I definitely can’t even mention the Old Gods or Lost Deities, as that would be suicidal. What else? Well, surely I could ask him about the place he comes from - what was it called again? Leana? But that’s not really interesting now, is it? So let’s call it a plan B. So, what else? Slavery?

Hmm, that may ruin his mood, as, judging from what I know, it’s a pretty sensitive topic for him. But I think I should know something about slavery as it’s a pretty important business here, right? If my life is to go on in a cliché way, as a reincarnated person I‘ll probably end up as an owner of a small ‘orphanage’ full of liberated slave girls, haha! … Let’s forget what I just said, for some reason I ended up talking like Shadow. Madness must be infectious.

Gavlan noticed that I am gazing at him, and now he gazes at me. I guess that he expects me to ask him something, but he says nothing because of hope that in the end I’ll just get back to lazing around without bothering him. Sorry, not this time. Because I just thought of something interesting!

“Gavlan, I have a question.” He sighs. Poor bodyguard, he can see his worst nightmare unfolding right before him and there’s absolutely nothing he can do to stop it. “Why is your collar grey? The slaves in the Temple wore collars that were either half violet half green, or entirely violet.” Look on his face is decisive sign that it’s a painful matter for him.

“Color of the collar indicates a type and status of a slave. Gray color of my collar means that I can carry a weapon and, as long as my master orders me to, I can use it. Bodyguards, bouncers and sailors in Resian Navy, they all belong to this category.” Interesting. Now I wonder who is held responsible if a slave kills someone. Owner? If he issued an order, then probably yes, but how will they prove that he did it? Can a slave just attack someone if he wasn’t specifically forbidden? Is there even a written law regulating things like that?

“The violet collar is a sign that slave belongs to the Temple, this means that they are heavily protected by law. Even members of the Great Houses can’t harm them, and they are treated with respect by a free people.” I guess this really is a theocracy… Becoming a violet collar slave seems like a dream for every unfortunately enslaved. Even Gavlan has visible envy in his eyes when he speaks about them. He’s silent for a short moment, then he continues.

“Black collars are worn by soldiers and officers from Res’s military. The collars… ensure their… loyalty, to the Goddess. But beside that, their actions are practically not restricted. They protect the city from outside threats, and are responsible for enforcing laws in it. In other words they make sure that nothing bad stalks good kids at night.” Gavlan, Gavlan… seriously, don’t try acting like a nanny, this doesn’t suit you at all. The ‘WTF’ look on my face isn’t there because I can’t understand, but because I’m admiring a splendid idea. I mean, using any kind of slave army normally would be stupid, but with these magic collars? You can just order them to not retreat without a specific order, and tell them to fight with all they got, and you have an army that doesn’t bother itself with things like morale… It’s really, really ingenious… and really, really not humanitarian.

“Green are servants.“ Gavlan continues after a while. ”Blue are workers, orange are craftsmen. Red collar is a sign that the slave can use magic. They either work for the Council, or are a part of an army… rarely you can see a red collar slave in hands of Houses, not to mention free citizens. Then there are yellow and pink collars… ummm…“ He… really look as if he just said something stupid. “I can’t talk about those until you are older.” Now he tries to avoid losing face… yeah, he is just so easy to read… it’s not even about what he says, it’s all written on his face!

Well I can pretty much guess why he can’t talk about the last two categories. Sex slaves. That’s something I expected from the start. I’m only a bit surprised, that with their belief that slaves are somehow inferior the people of Res actually publicly announce that they are using them for… stress relief. I mean… as long as there is a sex slave there is also an owner, right? Only… why divided? I never saw a yellow collar… but I think I saw a pink one, I just can’t remember where… oh!

I remember now! That one slave girl who gave birth to my unfortunate brother had a half green half pink collar. It’s nothing strange that I didn’t remember her at the beginning, as she - for obvious reasons - doesn’t participate in our family dinners, and only serves my father. That means I barely had any contact with her, as he keeps her really close. She’s also surprisingly normal looking and very silent young woman (no more than twenty years old I think). And even after all of this mess she remains my father’s replacement for his unfaithful wife. One would expect him to use some stunning beauty for stress relief, but instead he sticks with that average looking girl. Maybe he actually loves her? That would be… I have no idea what would it be, I just can’t picture him being in love with a slave. He may also have some strange tastes, although… No, I don’t even want to think about it.

So, getting back to the actual topic… maybe pink means something like a ‘personal escort’? Urgh, such a pretty little euphemism for being a talking sextoy… that’s another matter I would prefer to not think about, it’s disgusting. But… if I am right about this, would that make yellow collars prostitutes or something?

Damn it. My blessing is silent for some reason, so all this speculating leads me nowhere. I’ll have to wait until I’m older and people start talking with me about such things… or I might’ve to find books about history of slavery. Because one thing is sure - a six-year-old kid asking it’s caretaker about social and historical genesis of slavery and legal status of various types of slaves would be suspicious as hell. Well, maybe I am overreacting, but if some ‘gods’ really are after me, I definitely prefer to be extra cautious. I read enough about ancient execution and torture methods on Earth to know that I don’t want to be exposed as some sort of otherworldly demonspawn. And for some reason I doubt that Amnesty International has a bureau in Res.

There are still holes in my knowledge about slavery that I’ll have to fill sooner or later. Why to class slaves, when you can just order them to do whatever you want? Is there a law about that, or is all of that just a matter tradition or something? So many question, so few answers.

This talk and my subsequent thinking give me like half an hour of occupation. Then, once again, I’m getting bored to death. Damn, I better find myself a hobby or this is going to be a loooong childhood. Time to do something.

“Gavlaaan.” I can see him suddenly getting tense. “Is there something to read in the mansion?” I can be really dense sometimes… six months of learning how to read and I never thought about the origin of all the books my tutor used to teach me. I don’t think he got them from the Temple, so there should be real, readable books hidden in one of many still unexplored rooms, right? All Hail The Great Me for gaining this wondrous revelation.

Surprisingly the books around here aren’t as rare as in medieval times, as the locals already discovered the printing press. Or, I should rather say ‘rediscovered’, as according to my knowledge they copied some Old Empire’s artifact. I think - I mean it’s more like just a theory of mine, created from scraps of knowledge that I connected with baseless speculations only barely supported with my blessing. But, of course, practically every printing press is under control of the ‘Gods’ which I assume must mean than they are Temple-controlled. So I doubt that I can find a good thriller or horror, but hey, even stories made for five to six year old kids are better than nothing.

“Yes, there are books in the library.” THERE IS A LIBRARY HERE?! AND I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT?! “Do you want me to take you there?” I don’t even have to answer. One look at me and Gavlan rolls his eyes, and leads me out of my room.

As it turns out, the library is behind one of the doors I never saw opened. And I rather quickly discover why. It’s small, and… well… I doubt that many people even visit it. All books I can see look brand new… so I doubt that this library was created for anything beside allowing Veles to boast that ‘but of course we have a library, knowledge is important’ blah blah blah nonsense… And I think that there are fewer books than in my ‘Earth bedroom’… which still means plenty of reading, as I actually owned more than eight hundred books. Yay! I just hope they are all written in local language… it’s not like people are using them besides learning how to read, right? How many books do you need like that?

Gavlan seemingly wants to get me something to read as fast as he can. He might think that it’s the only way to prevent me from asking him more question. He quickly takes one book from the top shelf and hands it to me. It’s small and has black cover, and I don’t think he knows what book it is, because I doubt if he can read. He probably just picked one that didn’t look ‘to heavy for a child’ or something…

There is a place for reading. A table and few chairs… so it looks like I’m going to spend the rest of the day here. Well, it seems like I’ll have to leave my bedroom from time to time… unfortunately.

The contents of the book are actually quite engaging, despite terrible writing… It seems to be some kind of novel with quite a few characters and their daily struggles. I can’t see the conflict yet or a point of this story… And after roughly half of it behind me I’m starting to think that pointless dialogues and inconsistent descriptions were in fact intentional. But I still can’t grasp the big idea behind all of this.

Only after I reached more or less three fourths of the book I finally noticed. On my defence I’d say that it really wasn’t that easy… It’s a fucking porn… Or, what might be regarded as porn here. Behind all those roaming dialogues and twisted descriptions, between piles of euphemisms and generalisations, in hints so subtle that took me so long to ‘click’... This whole goddamn book is about people fucking. And I literally didn’t notice. Did they do it to make Temple print it without a censorship problems? … Smart.

What actually, finally let me understand the real context was… ‘baker’s cucumber’… This whole time it was his ‘loaf’ and then, when fifth woman in a row visited his house… she referred to ‘it’ as a cucumber. I went back a few pages and this revelation changed what seemed to be a poorly written novel into a horribly idiotic idea of a small town where everyone screws everyone else… And the writing is still terrible.

Although it’s still hilarious. I mean… WTF! It’s so bad and so idiotic that it’s actually funny. I’m laughing - hard, and I just can’t stop… And there’s something even funnier - Gavlan’s face, full of relief that I can only translate to ‘He’s laughing, so it must be a funny kid’s book, so it looks like I chose right.’ I mean, IF ONLY HE KNEW WHAT HE DID!

I manage to finish this… ‘book’ in two hours. Good mood really makes reading faster. Funny thing - there is no author mentioned by name, and I’m not sure if this is because of some local custom, like early medieval european - ‘God writes book by using author’s hands, so authors are to remain anonymous.’ - or if author just wanted to remain anonymous because of… well… the contents.

But there is a dedication in the end. I notice it right before Gavlan tells me that it’s time to return to my room. The dedication says: ‘To Varthia. For the one night I shall never forget.’

I. Don’t. Want. To. Think. About. This. I just don’t. Let’s pretend I never saw this. That will be for the best.

* * *

Sunday. Just one more day of this boredom.

I find it strange. I mean, I always loved it when I had free time, and attending school was always something completely opposite. So it’s quite peculiar of me to actually wanting to return there… And it’s even stranger considering what a bunch of arrogant, racist and plain idiotic classmates awaits me there.

STOP - I think to myself. I’m lying in my bed early in the morning, thinking. And, of course, it quickly got much too pessimistic for my liking… Just one day after I decided to stop doing this to myself. Urgh, God, sorry for being such an incorrigible idiot!

I lie there for maybe twenty minutes… hugging my unbelievably soft and simply awesome pillow, all the while forcefully thinking about optimistic parts of my new life… but I quickly run out of them. Damn. In the end I leave the bed. It’s already morning - or at least there is some light coming in through the windows - and it’s not like there is a time limit for breakfast. Servants should be already working, as most of Veles family wakes up much earlier than myself.

So, now I should inform Gavlan that I’m awake and that I am to proceed with all morning rituals, right? Eh, they really should just let me wear this crossover between fancy nightgown and pajama for the entire day and, instead of me going anywhere, simply bring books and food to my room… urgh.

I’m almost at the door, when I can hear someone speaking.

“...he’s asleep right? So, we can talk for a moment. Besides tomorrow you’ll be mostly free, again, right?” That voice definitely belongs to a woman, but I don’t recognize it. I would give her… well, she is definitely somewhere between twenty and thirty years old. Blessing is silent, urgh, sometimes I just wish there was a button to activate it...

“Yeah. Tomorrow he goes back to the Temple… I’ll find you.” Could it mean… well, that explains why he suddenly become much less angry at everything during the first week I spent in the school. He found himself a woman! I kinda want to suddenly open door just to see who is it. Or rather which slave it is, as I doubt it could be anybody else.

I decide to give him some time. I brush my teeth, and dress myself. Once again I feel sorry for Gavlan… that’s totally not the work he should be doing. Absolutely no talent for bodyguarding. He should notice movement in my room, and check it just in case somebody entered through the window and is now strangling me or stabbing… He is probably a competent warrior, but that’s just not his line of work. I just hope I won’t get assassinated (again) because of it… because one thing is sure, I am not going to complain loudly. I actually like him - he is a decent person, and his reactions are quite funny - and if he was branded as incompetent, then considering the strange ways of this family, he could end up being send to mine or something… Sometimes I think I should just get more evil for my own sake, urgh.

So, I finally finish getting ready for the day and open the door to the corridor. Gavlan is standing by them, leaning against the wall. When he sees me he says that I’ll have to wait a moment for breakfast. Is this just a polite way of saying ‘It’s not ready yet, because you never get up so early you lazy fuck’, or I am overthinking it?

Soon a slave brings my food, and I proceed with eating. I must admit that local food is tasty. Although, that’s probably mostly because Veles are rich, so the ingredients are top quality, cooks are rather talented and the species are used in appropriate quantities... BUT IT’S JUST TOO MUCH MEDITERRANEAN FOR ME! Well, at least most of it is, as there are plenty of… strange things mixed in. I would kill for a good pork chop… or a chicken breast… like the ones my father from Earth used to make every Sunday… aargh, I swear, if I’ll ever actually go on a world conquest, I just HAVE to find a place where they have a good cuisine and conquer it at once. Yeah, I’ll definitely do that.

When only I finish eating, I send Gavlan my most beautiful smile. I can see him cursing at me in his head.

“Can you take me to library again?” He only nods, and leave the room.

* * *

Well, it’s actually pretty surprising to see someone beside me - and visibly bored Gavlan - in the library. Although the person we run into thankfully isn’t Iverie. Which is a little bit surprising, as I tend to think about her as some sort of herpes-woman, that just keeps popping up when you don’t want to see it… and when you least expect it.

The person in the library is our family chief bookworm Ni’ren. In a way it’s not even all that surprising. I mean, all the books she read must’ve came from somewhere, right?

“What are YOU doing here, little cripple?” Yeah, I love you too, my oh so lovely cousin… No seriously, can’t they just fuck off of my walking problems? IT’S A TOUCHY SUBJECT OK?! What, are there no other insults they can think about? That’s actually pretty insulting for both Ni’ren and Kiera… although Sabir’s only contribution is calling me also a bluehead…

“And what can I do in the library? I’m looking for a book to read.” I’m in no mood to escalate this… But now that I think about it, my answer here might’ve been a little bit too mature because Ni’ren actually seems surprised and doesn’t bother me any further. Well, at least it worked, all hail the great me.

This time I decide to choose the book myself. I don’t want to rely on Gavlan any more. His yesterday failure wasn’t really his fault, but it’ll be better if I won’t let him repeat it. I am studying the bookshelf thoroughly, and… surprise! I find a reaaally big book, with ‘Theories on Old Empire’ printed on it’s cover. Well, okay, maybe it looks… tough… and the letters are surprisingly small… but at least I might gather some important knowledge!

Or not… I spent about four hours trying to decipher it, and my efforts turned out absolutely pointless. Oh, sure! There must be all kinds of knowledge hidden there… BUT I CAN’T READ IT! Too many words I don’t know yet… most likely some rarely used and complicated - as I can’t even figure out how to pronounce most of them - that a six year old kid just isn’t supposed to know. And for some reason I’m nearly sure that this is just a translation… of a translation… and a really poor one at that. Must be my blessing speaking.

Thankfully Ni’ren left some time ago, so she’s not there to witness my failure in battle against this book. That would be humiliating.

I put the book back on the shelf where it belongs. I’ll have to try again when I’m older.

Unfortunately, now there is no time to start reading another one, as I still have to do my writing practice. Yesterday I decided to left it for today so that I’d have something to do… but it was before I found out about this library! Procrastination will kill me one day.

I, along with Gavlan, return to my room as fast as I can and begin my writing homework. Mainly unspeakably boring - writing the same words over and over… but sometime when near the half of it is done I suddenly have an idea. What if i were to become ambidextrous?

I’m young, right? Still many years before I’ll begin any serious fight-oriented training, right? And as far as I know, being ambidextrous has it’s advantages in both combat and normal life. So, I have several years to train my left hand! And what’s a better way to train that than writing?

I need to gain all advantages I possibly can! Even if teachers will probably think that I’m retarded and can’t even write properly… well, who cares about their opinion? Besides, I can just alternate between my hands when doing homework. Or write everything again with my left hand on a separate piece of paper. Yes, that’s a great (albeit a bit terrifying, as it requires me to do more things than I have to) plan!

In actuality, I barely manage to finish the exercise normally and once more after that - with my left hand - before it’s time for me to go to sleep. Trying to write properly with my off-hand is damn hard! And it takes plenty of time. Well, at least now I’ll have something to spend my excessive free time on. I mean, library, writing practice… maybe my second childhood won’t be as boring as I thought? Let’s just think about it as a God’s reward for no longer bothering him with my useless complaining about everything… although I doubt he can hear me from here… eh, and here I go again. I guess trying to stop being an Earthling will be a much harder than I initially anticipated…

********************************

Resus: I know that this chapter was slower (I really don’t want to use the word “boring” xD), but in the next one the “Teamwork Project” kicks in… and that’s gonna be practically lore free… and right after that comes a timeskip… So we just needed this “just a little bit more lore and resolutions” chapter right before that :P

Mirrond: At least we finished it, that’s something…

Resus: You say that after every chapter.

Mirrond: Because for me it’s always surprising.

Spoiler: Status ||===================||

||=====Varth Veles=====||

||===================||Race:HumanSubrace:Northwestern RepublicanNationality:Free City of ResOccupation:ChildAttributes:Health Points:10 / 10Mana Points:0 / 0Physical attributes:Vitality:1Resistance:1Strength:1Endurance:1Dexterity:2Agility:2Intelligence:5Wisdom:6Social attributes:Charisma:2Attractiveness:1Intimidation:1Fear:2Faith:1Fame:1Menus:SkillsSpells (LOCKED)QuestsCodexActive EffectsPossessions (LOCKED)Companions (LOCKED)OptionsReal Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Skills ||==============||

||=====Skills=====||

||==============||Combat System:Active:NONEPassive:NONEMagic:Proficiencies:NONEAffinities:Spoiler: Magically Talentless: When it goes to magic your talent is literally nonexistent. You are absolutely, totally magicless. And it doesn’t even give you any antimagic bonuses. Too bad for you ;_;

Better hurry towards gaining magic… oh no, I forgot - you can’t. You can’t do shit about it till your 16th birthday ;_; It’s a real tragedy.

Master

Miscellaneous:Lingual:Spoiler: Western Republican (Southern Coast variant): You possess average skills in using the Southern Coast variant of Western Republican language. This allows you to communicate freely with people who are capable of using it, you can also read and write in it.

You are using it fluently, but you still lack some vocabulary to truly master it.

Expert

Social:NONEUtilities:NONEReal Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Spells LOCKED ||======================||

||=====Spells LOCKED=====||

||======================||

This function is currently LOCKED.

Real Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Quests Quests Unchangeable Main Quest: Ragnarök DelayedSpoiler: Description You are now playing a game you don’t understand. You don’t know the rules, you don’t know who plays with you…But you must win. And to achieve that you need to learn the rules… And find a way to break them. Or write them anew.

For now follow Shadow's orders. He wants you to be a hammer that will shatter this world’s political and economical order. While doing that, look for clues about fate of the Old Empire, and the truth about Lost Deities.

Avoid the Old Gods’ attention at all cost.

Success conditions:

World Stability Old Empire Capital discovered

Fate of Old Empire discovered

Truth about Lost Deities discovered

Progress:

World Stability 100%

Rewards:

???

Secondary Main Ouest:End of Veles Family?Spoiler: Description You were born as a part of ancient bloodline of Veles. This family has long since fallen from grace. The corruption within grows and its members are too busy fighting each other to cleanse it. The power of family slowly fades.

Will you become family’s head, and reform it to become more powerful than ever? Or maybe you find it’s sins not redeemable… and you will decide to destroy it?

Only time will tell.

Success conditions:

(one of the following is true)

Varth Veles is the Head of the family

Slave trade controlled by Veles is destroyed

Varth Veles is a sole survivor of the family

Veles successfully framed for plotting a revolt against the city of Res

Progress:

Naharius Veles Senior is the Head of the family

Veles slave trade on its peak

45 family members alive

Veles reputation remains untarnished

Rewards:

(depends on which conditions were met)

Gaining control of Veles family

???

Secondary Main Ouest:Followers, Servants and Allies (FSA)Spoiler: Description There is no way for you to finish your mission alone. You will need help from other people. It’s not easy to find people you can trust. Most of your supporters will never knew the truth about you.

Search for people that can be of use and recruit them to your cause.

Success conditions:

Recruit a follower whom you trust enough to tell the entire truth… and link him to Real Life Game System

Recruit at least seven companions without knowledge of who you really are

Rewards:

???

Side Quest:Dish Best Served ColdSpoiler: Description When Iverie murdered your brother you were too young and too weak stop her. You could only be a powerless witness.

But… things change.

Success conditions:

(one of the following is true)

Kill Iverie

Be a part of a scheme that leads to her death

Rewards:

(depends on which conditions were met)

???

Side Quest:Dark LordSpoiler: Description Your received a blessing from a Lost Deity. There are still many of them out there who can be... persuaded to assist you by clearing various requirements.

You will need every possible blessing to finish your mission… but unfortunately you don’t know what those requirements are. Continue to do evil deeds to unlock more blessings.

Success conditions:

All blessings received

(other conditions will be unlocked after gaining access to magic)

Rewards:

???

Side Quest:FSA: LenaSpoiler: Description Your half-sister Lena is younger than you… and alone. As a single person from her family who treats her as a human being you can influence the way she will grow and thus gain a truly helpful and trustworthy companion.

Success conditions:

Lena Veles possess knowledge about Lost Deities existence

Lena Veles is a follower of Varth Veles

Rewards:

???

Side Quest:FSA: GavlanSpoiler: Description Your bodyguard – Gavlan - is a capable warrior. While his ardent faith in Old Gods makes him incapable of accepting the knowledge about who you really are his hatred towards slavery and current state of the world can be of use as a way to recruit him.

Success conditions:

Gavlan is freed from slavery

Gavlan decides to remain in Res and serve you

Optional conditions:

Find a way to weaken his faith, to make him capable of accepting the full truth

Rewards:

???

Side Quest:Coup de grâceSpoiler: Description While your… intrigue managed to severely cripple your uncle’s influence within your family, if given enough time he will recuperate by persuading others that he was framed by your father.

You should find a way to eliminate him… decisively.

Success conditions:

Lenniel is dead or banished

Iar’e is dead or banished

Rewards:

???

Side QuestAcademic KnowledgeSpoiler: Description You are new to this world. To ruin it, you must firstly understand it. Gaining common knowledge is a necessity but it’s not going to be enough. You will also need insight into politics, trade, sociology, geography, history… and many other subjects.

Not to mention learning languages as there are plenty of them out there.

Success conditions:

A tutor

Access to a library

Fluency in at least four languages

Rewards:

???

Side Quest:Conquering KindergartenSpoiler: Description You just started going to school, and you already know one thing.

Your classmates suck.

You have at least ten years to conquer this place. You need to forcefully drag all potential recruits to your side, and change the lives of your enemies into living hell.

Let the hellish school life begin!

Success conditions:

Survive

Graduate

Gain at least four potential allies (but the more, the merrier)

Rewards:

???

Side Quest:CK: ReconnaissanceSpoiler: Description Know thy self, know thy enemy.

The first part you have more or less behind you, now you need to move on to the second one.

If you really want to turn this classroom into a warzone, you need to at least know something about your classmates. And that’s only the very beginning.

Success conditions:

Codex entry for every classmate.

Progress:

Codex entries for 5/28 classmates:

Kiera Veles

Meritri Veles

Ni’ren Veles

Saamor Saorg

Sabir Sivalis

Rewards:

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, but I wanted to let you feel the sensation of fulfillment at least for once before your fifteenth birthdays… oh, and this can be the beginning of a questline.

Side Quest:Weeding The GardenSpoiler: Description There is a mysterious organisation inside Res. It’s powerful, and ruthless. You don’t know what is their target… but you know that your aunt Iverie is helping them. The Temple is trying to fight this threat… but without a success.

And now you know why.

There is a traitor within a Council of Eight. The highest levels of Res government.

He is a deadly threat for both - you and the city. If you want to have revenge for your brother, you need to find him and eliminate him.

The first step is finding out what Iverie knows about him. And that surely won’t be easy.

Success conditions:

Iverie has been interrogated

Loyal elements in the Council are informed about the traitor’s existence

Traitor is exposed and eliminated

Progress:

Iverie still hasn’t been interrogated

The Council is unaware of traitor’s existence

Traitor roam free

Rewards:

???

Side Quest:Every Dark Lord’s NecessitySpoiler: Description What kind of Dark Lord can exist… without his faithful harem!

Begin gathering some nice girls :D

Or boys. Or trees. Or horses. Or whatever!

I’m too busy not giving shit about stupid details to be intolerant.

Success conditions:

Harem! Harem! Harem!

Progress:

Well, no progress so far… which is understandable as you have only five years… but you still suck D: Not literally as that would be some kind of a progress in that quest D:

Rewards:

Oh, I guess they will reward you in MANY different ways, hihihihi :D

Real Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Codex ||===============||

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||===============||People:Dramatis Personae:Veles Family:

Spoiler: ??? Veles - Iverie’s son.

That’s pretty much everything you know about him.

Spoiler: Alva Veles - Your mother and… well… not the smartest person around. She holds absolutely no contact with you. Recently she also lost all contact with your father, after she betrayed him with a slave and gave birth to Lena (whom Alva openly ignores).

It is still unknown to you why she remains Naharius’s wife.

Spoiler: Damit Veles - Son of Paforth and Ferke, younger than you.

Has the best name ever. xD

Spoiler: Ferke Veles - Paforth’s wife, mother of Meritri and Damit.

Her mother-in-law think she’s adorable.

Spoiler: Iar’e Veles - Your cousin, son of Lenniel Veles, and a person you have mentally scarred for life. Even after your coming out he still fights with lingering fear of darkness.

He is also doing everything he can to avoid any contact with you.

Spoiler: Iverie Veles - Your ‘aunt’, daughter of your grandfather’s sister. Avoid her at all cost - really talented in schemes, and ruthless. . She is also a member of a mysterious underground organisation that plagues Res, or one of its pawns. Either way, she has access to rare poisons, and feels no moral qualms about using them. Also there is at least one magician that she can ask for help.

You were already killed by her once… just as your brother, though he didn’t have any helpful deities to resurrect him.

Currently she is the most probable successor of your grandfather.

Spoiler: Kiera Veles - Iverie’s daughter. Looks like younger Iverie. It seems like she is growing into a younger version of Iverie.

Might be a pain in the future.

Spoiler: Lena Veles - Your younger half-sister, born from your mother and a slave whose name you don’t know. Openly ignored by everybody in the family except you.

Still very young, so she isn’t really useful to you.

Spoiler: Lenniel Veles - Your uncle, father of Iar’e and one of three important figures in family who compete to become the next head of Veles family. Pretty straightforward in his schemes, mainly because of the fact that his mind is pretty much like a hammer - large, powerful… and blunt. Might be cooperating with Iverie but she may as well only manipulate him. It’s unknown if he knows anything about her business with one of Res mages.

Currently has a very low level of influence within Veles because of your ‘molest’ lie.

Spoiler: Meritri Veles - Daugther of Paforth and Ferke. Around your age, and rather shy, or simply scared of you.

Spoiler: Naharius Veles Junior - Your father. Firstborn son of your grandfather, and one of three potential successors. Through your early childhood he more or less ignored you because of your mental disability but his fatherly feelings reignited after you turned out to be normal. However, continuous calamities that befell him (your mother’s betrayal, you being ‘molested’ and death of your brother) are making him sink deeper and deeper into paranoia. Especially the death of your brother was a painful blow to his sanity, as even though he was only a bastard, Naharius really loved him. Now you are his only kid left, and he is stuck in a very unhappy marriage… it’s hard to say how he will this change him in a long term.

He lost big part of his influence after he knocked up a slave girl. Currently he is more or less second in line to the ‘throne’.

Spoiler: Naharius Veles Senior - Your grandfather. His continuous attempts to ease tension within Veles family suggests that he is either delusional, or have some lingering trauma with family infighting. Most likely the latter as he is much too good in administering Veles slave empire to be mentally impaired.

You rarely see him or hear about him… thankfully. As every time you hear his name, some bothersome shit happens.

Spoiler: Nameless Veles - Your dead brother, killed by Iverie and one of the eight Res mages.

An unfortunate victim, whom you couldn’t help. However, you still feel guilty (you idiot).

Spoiler: Ni’ren Veles - Older than you, and a bookworm. Granddaugther of Varthia, but you don’t know her parents.

Rather cold to you.

Spoiler: Paforth Veles - Son of Varthia, father unknown. Seems like a decent man. Hates Iverie, but not as strong as his mother.

He also seems to be at least a bit better in hiding his thoughts than her.

Spoiler: Varthia Veles - Younger sister of Naharius Senior. She has at least two children (one of them is Paforth, the second is Ni’ren’s parent). She likes to drink alcohol, speak before thinking… and hates Iverie, whom she sees as a plague that threatens entire family.

It is a diagnose you definitely agree with.Others:

Spoiler: ??? - One of the eight Res mages. Helped Iverie in killing your brother. His agenda is currently unknown, just as his identity.

Spoiler: Cool Priestess - The cool priestess you met your first day at school. A Hydromancer. She’s swarthy and has long, straight, black hair.

Rather decent person.

Spoiler: Gavlan - Your bodyguard. Wolfman warrior from Leana, taken as a slave by one of Veles fleet slave raids. Shows deep hatred towards slavery and Veles family.

Recently he started to show no signs of hatred towards you just because you are a member of Veles family.

You discovered that he has a lover, most likely among servant slaves. This, together with a free time he has when you are in the Temple, made him less grumpy than before. Although he is still rather terrible as a bodyguard.

Spoiler: Saamor Saorg - A minotaur from House Saorg, and your classmate. Currently a sidekick for Sabir Sivalis. Big, strong and not really talkative. His family deals in Resian navy.

Spoiler: Sabir Sivalis - A boy from your class. He hates you, you hates him (such a healthy relationship!). He is a Succubi, and looks like Hitler’s wet dream - 100% Aryan, with exception of wings and horns. He comes from House Sivalis, that deals in jewelry.Companion / Ally / Friendly / Neutral / Hostile / Dangerous / EnemyRaces:Spoiler: Bearmen - A beastmen variant, most commonly found in Leana continent, but is also quite widespread in Free Cities, Protectorates, and some other areas due to frequent slave raids and ‘normal’ emigration.

Either humans with bear-like features, or a humanoid bear capable of speaking. Rather rare variant, that excels in strength and toughness.

Spoiler: Catmen - A beastman variant, most commonly found in Leana continent, but is also quite widespread in Free Cities, Protectorates, and some other areas due to frequent slave raids and ‘normal’ emigration. Either humans with cat-like features, or a humanoid cat capable of speaking.

One of the most common variants (together with wolfmen they make up for at least 70% of beastmen). They excel at agility, but are rather lacking at strength.

Spoiler: Coralies - An Arcane Race popular on the costs. Anatomically they are very similar to humans but they are partially made out of similar material as coral reefs and need sea air to survive as it provides them part of their obligatory nutriments.

Spoiler: Crystallings - An Arcane Race that’s a popular sight pretty much everywhere. Anatomically speaking they are humans infected with a parasitic crystal at birth, which replace their hair, fragments of eyes, nails, bones etc. It also gives them (or at least - some of them) magic talent.

Spoiler: Dark Elves - Elf variant that’s rather rare but can be encountered pretty much everywhere. Black skin, red or violet eyes. Moderate magic-user ratio, most of them have talent towards black magic. Severely disliked in many parts in the world, just as most elves.

Spoiler: Dragons - Rare Arcane Race. To be precise they should be called ‘High Dragons’. They are the only variant of dragon that’s fully sentient, and capable of speech. Highly increased lifespan, and - when adult - capable of limited shapeshifting between several forms (normally - dragon, human, and several in between).

They have a multitude of sub variants (mainly elemental - like ‘fire dragons’), but they are considered a single race, as they are all birthed simply as dragons, and their subtype is chosen by them before becoming adults.

Filthy little copycats. ~Shadow

Spoiler: Dryads - An all-woman Arcane Race. They have leaves instead of hair, long lifetime and extremely low fertility. Their eyes are green (entirely eyes, as they have no visible ‘moving parts’). They have pale skin, and their blood is green (that’s why their faces are getting greenish when blushing). They have a natural talent towards nature magic.

Spoiler: Northwestern Republican - Human race variant, that can be most commonly found in the area of Free Cities, and eastern/central Protectorates. Caucasian, with a tendency of having white (or even pale) skin even in the mediterranean climate of Republican Coast. Hair either normal or in various shades of blue (very pale blue is most common). Eyes either normal or in various shades of blue.

Spoiler: Foxmen - A beastman variant, most commonly found in Leana continent, but is also quite widespread in Free Cities, Protectorates, and some other areas due to frequent slave raids and ‘normal’ emigration. Either humans with fox-like features, or a humanoid fox capable of speaking. Inferior in strength to nearly every other beastman variant.

They make up for it in cunning and agility. They have relatively high ratio of magic users, at least when compared to other beastmen variants.

Spoiler: Hydromancers - Arcane Race that is especially common in the South. Visually they are nearly identical to humans, the only difference is a passive aura of increased humidity and the fact that they possess a natural magical talent towards water magic.

Spoiler: Minotaurs - An Arcane Race that is pretty common in the South and on various islands in the West. High strength, but at best moderate when it comes to intelligence.

Among races classified as Arcane Races, they have one of the lowest magic users ratio.

Spoiler: Nymphs - An Arcane Race that can be found mainly in the South and on various islands in the West. Their… slightly wider than normal mouth and extremely pale skin makes them look a little… discomforting. They also have seaweeds instead of hair. Similar to Dryads, as they are an all-woman race, have prolonged lifespan, and extremely low fertility. But they have a tendency to have a natural talent for water magic.

Spoiler: Pyromancers - Arcane Race that is especially common in the South. Visually they are nearly identical to humans. The only difference is their hair (in various ‘fire’ colors), and the increased air temperature around them. Also they smell like smoke. They possess a natural magical talent towards fire magic.

Spoiler: Stone Golems - An Arcane Race that can be encountered everywhere, but in rather low numbers. They are big, they are strong, and their flesh is more mineral than organic. But they are a living, breathing organism. If you see a person that looks like a very rough, moving human statue, it’s one of them.

Funny things happen when magic meets biology, hmm?

Spoiler: Succubi - An Arcane Race that is pretty common in most places in the world, although they are an especially frequent sight at the south part of the known world. Humanoid figure, but plenty of demon-like features (horns, wings and tail are most popular). ‘Succubus’ is a word used to describe both their specie, and all of its female representatives. Males are called ‘Incubus’, but many people refer to them as ‘Succubus’ (their specie name) which creates many misunderstandings.

While common, they have a pretty low ratio of magic users, at least for an Arcane Race.

Spoiler: Titans - A rather rare Arcane Race that can be found practically only in the South. And adult titan is 2,5 to 3 meters tall. They excel both at strength and mental capabilities, although they are known for not being overly imaginative and creative. Long lifespan, but very low fertility. Their dry and grey skin makes them look like they are made of stone.

Most of them are rather pacifistic, but they tend to get into a truly berserker’s rage when cornered.

Spoiler: Winged - An Arcane Race that can be found pretty much everywhere. They look like humans but have white-feathered wings (not strong enough to fly, but enough to glide), slightly increased lifespan, resistance to common diseases, and magic talent, especially to light magic.

PS. I hate them. ~Shadow

Spoiler: Wolfmen - Beastmen variant, most commonly found in Leana continent, but is also quite widespread in Free Cities, Protectorates and some other areas due to frequent slave raids and “normal” emigration. Either humans with wolf-like features, or a humanoid wolf capable of speaking. Strong, and tough, makes good soldiers and warriors, but have a relatively slow ratio of magic users in their population.Humans / Beastmen / Elves / Arcane Races / OthersOrganisations:Res:

Spoiler: Temple of Res - The one and only religious organisation in Res, that worships the goddess of sea and water who doesn’t really have a name - for her worshippers Res is more or less an extension of herself, so to some point she IS a city. The Temple as an organisation is an important player in political schemes going on in the city. It possess its own military force (one hundred warriors - they protect the city’s one and only grand temple), can pass judgment on various crimes that were taken out of city’s jurisdiction (for example - heresy/blasphemy/participation in some underground sects).

It’s head is a Grand Priestess, but she rarely leaves the temple.

Spoiler: House of Veles - One of the weakest Houses in the city of Res, the only one composed of humans. It mainly deals in slave trading, and possess a formidable fleet of warships.

However those ships deal mainly in slave raids, and are at best moderate when it comes to ship-to-ship combat.

Spoiler: Council of Eight - Council of Eight is more or less unofficial (but widely accepted) name for an ‘association’ of Res mages. It’s composed of all eight sorcerers residing in the city.

They serve the Goddess, and receive her orders through Grand Priestess. They are chosen from magic users in Res after the death of previous members. Their leader is fire dragon called Firewind. The other members are: catwoman Stormfang, dark elf Killchain, winged Silverblade, dryad Bloodflower, hydromancer Waterslicer, wolfman Sculptor, and stone golem Ironfist.

One of them is a traitor leading an unknown underground organisation that remains a serious threat to Res’s stability.Religious / Political / Magical / UndergroundGeopolitics:Countries:Spoiler: Free Cities - Union of independent merchant republics spanned along The Southern Coast. Most likely merely a defense treaty against foreign enemies, always full of internal strife and without anything that could be described as central government.

Together, with their military, maritime and industrial power, they could became a leading superpower.

Spoiler: Resian Republic - Also known as Free City of Res or Republic of Res. Merchant republic on the Southern Coast, independent but remains a part of Free Cities. Oligarchy, ruled by a handful of wealthy families.

Other groups with wide influence within Resian Republic are Council of Eight - organisation composed of eight Res magicians – and the Temple. Great Powers / Secondary Powers / Independent Nations / Vassals and Satellite States / Uncivilised and TribalRegions and Places:Spoiler: Southern Coast - Coastal area near the south border of civilisation. Mediterreanean climate, only two seasons. Important hub of trade, full of coastal cities bursting with activity.

Spoiler: Republican Sea - Sea between Southern Coast and continent of Leana. Dominated by Free Cities navies. Calm and more or less safe for travel.

Spoiler: Silverwater River - River that flows through the city of Res.

Spoiler: Leana - Small continent to the east from Republican Sea. Inhabited by beastmen, and full of barely civilised countries and tribes. Frequent target for slaver raids, because of its residents permanent inability to defend themselves or retaliate.Southern Firell / Northern Firell / Leana / Meronia / Northern Khar / Southern Khar / Western KharCities, Fortresses and Villages:Spoiler: Res - A coastal city located on Southern Coast. Build alongside Silverwater river estuary. Notable areas: massive harbor, and a grand temple dedicated to local goddess-protector, that also possess a clocktower visible from nearly every part of a city. Village / Town / City / Fortress / OtherHistory:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITMagic and Religion:Magic:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITSpells:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITArtifacts:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITDeities and Religion:Spoiler: Res - The goddess-protector from Free City of Res. Commonly associated with water and sea.

Spoiler: Shadow - The Most Awesome God, and your divine patron. Lost Deity of anarchy, revolution, chaos, darkness and madness. His symbol is red sickle like moon, his favourite colors - black, crimson, violet and stygian blue <3Bestiary:Corrupted Lands:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITInhabited Lands:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITGeneral Lore:Alchemy:Spoiler: Dream Resin - Rare poison created by the Old Empire. First symptoms of poisoning includes headaches and sleepiness. Then, after the victim falls asleep, vivid dreams and nightmares. The end is death by CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE :D. Diluted 1:1000 in water creates a drug that induces vivid dreams. Can also be used as a lubricant for heavy machinery (especially good for ones that use magic) or as a way to restore magic power (by rubbing it into the skin).

There is an underground ‘cult’ in Res that has access to this poison and uses it for assasinations. Also Iverie has access to it, most likely through that group.Weapons:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITEquipment:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITResources:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITDiseases:YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ITFolklore and Culture:Spoiler: Res Funeral Rites - In Res, the dead people are cremated. Then, their ashes are offered as a sacrifice to the goddess of water and sea that is this city patron and protector. This is achieved either by throwing them into Silverwater River or Republican Sea or by storing in them in stone bowls filled with water. The former is done by poor, the latter by the wealthy.Spoiler: Slavery in Free Cities - In Res, slavery is allowed and widespread. Slaves wear collars that restrict their actions. Color of the collars indicates the type of a slave.

Violet means that slave belongs to the Temple (and is protected by law). Black is a soldier, gray a civilian slave that can carry and use weapons. Green is a servant. Red is a magic user. Blue are workers. Orange are craftsman.

You aren’t sure about the yellow and pink collars, although you believe that the first one can indicate a prostitute, while the second a personal ‘escort’.Real Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Active Effects ||=====================||

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Blessing of Shadow

[Lesser]You have received a lesser blessing of Shadow, Lost Deity of anarchy, revolution, chaos, darkness and madness.Learning skills +10%

Your flashes of intuition will be accurate much more often.Side effects may include…Your nervous system is completely healed, but there are side effects of regenerating half of it in just six months.

You need to master using your limbs (and vocal chords) again, so when you are tired, you may start having problems using them.

This effect should disappear within another six months. It takes so long simply because it can’t be sped up it with HP.When tired, your ability to move and speak drops.Real Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Possesions LOCKED ||===========================||

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This function is currently LOCKED.

Real Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Companions LOCKED ||===========================||

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This function is currently LOCKED.

Real Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3

Spoiler: Options ||=================||

||=====Options=====||

||=================||UI:Interface Activation Trigger:Gesture (presets)>Gesture Presets:27. Reach with your right hand as if the status window was already there./Map Activation Trigger:Voice command>Voice command:“Open map.”Chat Activation Trigger:Voice command>Voice command:“Open chat.”System Messages:When the status windows is opened.>HUD:Heads Up Display:ON / offOHP bar:on / OFFOMP bar:on / OFFOClock:ON / offOUpdate pop-ups:ON / offOHostile Status Display:ON / offOOther:Automatic Translation:ON / offOMonths names:ON / offOWeek days names:ON / offOIdioms:ON / offOReal Life Game System by Shadow666 <3…

Current number of users… 3