Rowena had been at a loss for what to say when she remembered the Class and Subclass she’d chosen, despite the very obvious curiosity of her friends. Kieran didn’t try to hide it at all, and had begun submitting her to a deluge of questions about the Subclass. Calla was hardly any better, eager to understand how her sister– a Merchant-to-be, the very opposite of everything a Rogue stood for– could have made such a choice. Sorel said nothing, but Rowena thought she saw some distrust behind her eyes– not that she could blame her!

Thankfully, Mattie had dragged them all out of her room, practically by their ears. As it turned out, she had chosen MAGIC USER - Healer, and apparently that calling trumped any curiosity. And since Sorel had Selected WARRIOR - Shield, she asked Sorel to stand outside of Rowena’s room and prevent anyone from barging in.

“You need,” Mattie said after she had ushered everyone out, “time to rest, and also time to acquaint yourself with… with that.” She pointed at Rowena’s wrist.

“Are you– what do you–” Rowena started almost shamefully, searching Mattie’s eyes for evidence of judgment or fear.

Mattie shook her head. “You’re going to need to figure it out on your own.”

Rowena looked down at the permanent mark on her wrist. With a quick jerk, she pulled the woven wrap back up over the Sigils and looked away.

“I’m sure you had a good reason for doing what you did,” Mattie added softly. “Be gentle with yourself. And drink lots of water.”

And with that, Rowena was left alone.

She looked around her little room. Usually, she was glad to be left in peace by herself. Just a few minutes before she’d felt overwhelmed at the amount of people crowding around her, more people than had ever been in her tiny bedroom before. But with the memories of her Selection returned and the– understandable, she knew– reaction of those closest to her, she wanted nothing less than to be left alone with her thoughts.

After all, that’s how she got into this mess in the first place.

If Kieran, Mattie, Sorrel, and Calla looked at her that way… what must the rest of Tunehlan be thinking? And her father… no wonder he couldn’t bear to come see her. ROGUES were a complete outcast class, almost never heard of outside of very large cities. Even MAGIC USERS were rare– though not as despised as ROGUES, they were often just as feared, aside from Healers, of course. WARRIORS could sometimes go down a less than savory path (Barbarians and Mercenaries did exist) but they typically were Soldiers or otherwise organized to protect and defend their homes and populace. And of course, no OTHER Subclass posed an active threat to others.

Not like ROGUES. Rowena couldn’t think of a single positive story she’d heard of a ROGUE. The only ROGUE she’d even ever met in person was Leo, the crotchety old owner of the Jellied Eel Inn. At least, she reflected, the only ROGUE she’d ever met that she was aware of. It was possible she’d encountered someone whose wrist she hadn’t seen or bothered to check. But that was why, in the small countryside towns, it was so common to greet each other with the Hail, exposing the wrist to show you meant no harm.

That you weren’t a ROGUE.

Rowena felt sick to her stomach, but took a deep breath. Per Mattie’s orders, she reached for the waterskin that had been left on the floor next to her bed and guzzled some down.

She calmed herself as much as she could. Right… what was done was done, she reminded herself. Now, to deal with the facts as they were, and gain a little understanding of her Class and Subclass.

Rowena pulled the rough wristband back down, mentally noting that, first things first, she’d need to get a proper wristwrap, something subtle so as not to draw attention to the fact that she was wearing one, yet sturdy enough to be worn all day, every day.

But as she looked at her Sigils, all thoughts of practicality melted away. A sense of calm washed over her, not unlike how she felt when Kieran had used his Influence Individual Ability on her inadvertently. But this was no external influence– this came from deep inside of her.

Rowena slipped into a deep meditative state as she gazed at the delicate, intricate symbols, and was suddenly reminded of just how it had felt when she’d been in the foggy nothingness of the Heartstone’s– core? Alternate plane? She had no idea what that had been. It didn’t really matter, though, did it?

As she considered the ROGUE Sigil, it came to life in a way it never had on the few pieces of parchment dedicated to it at Martha’s house (obviously, Martha had never expected any of her students to actually choose such an option, but she prided herself on giving them all of the information). In its delicate curves and curls, she felt a sense of independence, of subtle power.

Of freedom.

Rowena smiled, and looked down at her Subclass Sigil: Secretseeker. That was not one she’d ever read about before, but as she looked at it she felt a sense of connection.

With a mental whoosh, Rowena felt once again transported into a different realm. She knew she was still in her room– if she thought about it, she could see the space around her and move her body without issue– but it was like a film had been set over everything. It was similar to what she’d experienced with the Heartstone, but different. More like an overlay.

You can activate your Sigil at any time, she heard as a whisper. You will get better at interacting with the world around you in this state. Again, it was similar to the chorus of voices she’d heard in the fog, but this voice was singular, and sounded… well, it sounded like her. Her own voice, from deep within, speaking to her. Teaching her. Guiding her.

Go deeper, the voice commanded, and she obeyed.

Still staring at her Secretseeker Sigil, her mind dove deep into its pattern, and she felt the fog thicken around her and her focused narrowed until there was nothing left but the Sigil and her soul.

She felt like she was coming home, if home could be such an isolated and dark place. Yet it was neither cold nor frightening, and Rowena smiled and settled in as if she were by a warm fire on a winter’s night.

Secretseeker. She sensed the attributes within her: inquisitiveness, intelligence, perception, confidence, a desire for truth. All pieces of herself already, but rebalanced, sharpened, and honed within the context of the Subclass. This was her starting point. Ahead of her, she saw paths available, depending on the choices she made.

She could focus on learning Abilities in the mental arts: Abilities to cajole and persuade, to convince and influence. She sensed the Ability Kieran had used on her previously, Influence Individual, readily available to her, along with Calm Person, Inspire Confidence, Detect Secret. Much further away– they felt faint in her mind– were more advanced options like Extract Secret or Change Opinion or Distort Reality.

She hadn’t known that Abilities could overlap between classes, she thought with a frown, but tucked that thought away for later.

Another pathway would take her in a more practical direction: Abilities to actually acquire physical items, like Pick Lock, Spring Trap, Counteract Poison. Rowena frowned more deeply, wondering what sorts of poisons Secretseekers had found themselves in contact with that it was a readily available Ability for an early level Secretseeker. Turning her attention to the more advanced options in this pathway, she saw Abilities like Dissolve Barrier, Compel Confession, and in the far distance– Levitate.

Levitate?! She thought incredulously. Surely something like that was only available for Magic Users?

It’s all magic, she heard the fog echo of her own voice say– with a hint of impatience, if not disdain, she noted. Now. Choose two Abilities, and two Proficiencies.

Do I have to choose between the paths? Rowena wondered with concern. She was both intrigued and frightened by both pathways– on the one hand, she hated the idea of actively influencing other people without their permission, which was entirely what the mental pathway was about. On the other, the physical pathway seemed geared mostly for, well, for ROGUE-ish things she didn’t necessarily want to do.

Not necessarily, the voice said. But you’d do well to specialize if you want to go far. Using your Abilities is as natural as breathing. They aren’t inherently wrong, it added. When your customers in the shop are kind to you, they might just be buttering you up for a discount– does that make them immoral? You wouldn’t have chosen Secretseeker if it wasn’t the best ROGUE option for you.

The best ROGUE option, Rowena thought bitterly.

If a disembodied voice made of fog could roll its eyes, this one did. Remember how it feels when you look at your Sigil?

Rowena thought of it, and immediately felt that sense of comfort and homecoming, of rightness.

I hate to break it to you, but that’s because this is one of the pathways you were meant to take.

One of? Rowena thought, bewildered.

Someday, if you meet the originators of the Class System, you can ask them all about it, the voice chortled. For now… choose. Something interesting, please.

After a moment’s consideration, she selected Calm Person and Detect Secret. She thought she heard the voice sigh, but it didn’t say anything.

Calm Person - Level 1

Reduce a person’s overall excitement or anger level by five percent.

Detect Secret - Level 1

When using Secretseeker vision, see indications of objects with a Secret attached. Warning: do not bother attempting on sentient beings until at least level 10.

That made sense, though she wondered why she shouldn’t use Detect Secret on people. Still, she didn’t have any interest in delving into people’s private lives… she just wanted to find her brother’s murderer.

Rowena turned her attention to the Proficiencies. How are these different from Abilities? she wondered. Of course, she’d heard the adults talking about the two, but they seemed to use the words almost interchangeably.

It seems that way because most everyone you know is the OTHER class, the voice explained. And they do overlap. For example, you can have the Pick Lock Ability, or you can become proficient in Lockpicking. Though I wouldn’t recommend it. Seems kinda redundant.

So what’s the difference? Rowena asked.

Abilities are grounded in magic. Proficiencies are grounded in skill, usually but not always attached to an object. So for the Pick Lock Ability, you can simply undo whatever lock is within your Ability level to unlock. For the Lockpicking Proficiency, you become very good at using actual lockpicks.

That does seem redundant.

Ah, well… there are reasons, the voice said mysteriously.

I don’t understand. You sound like me. Are you me? Rowena asked suddenly.

In a sense, yes. In a sense, no. ‘Sort of,’ is the best answer I can give you right now. You don’t actually have to think all of this in words, you know.

Rowena considered that. Obviously, she was deeply connected to the… whatever it was that ran the Class System, so it made sense that she didn’t have to articulate what she already knew. Still. I’m more comfortable this way, I think. I like things laid out clearly.

Suit yourself. Now. Proficiencies.

Once again, a range opened up ahead of her. She saw the more distasteful options readily available– Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Sleight of Hand– but her attention was drawn in a different direction. There were physical abilities associated with ROGUEs that she hadn’t yet considered: physical traits like Acrobatics, Stealth, Endurance and a variety of small weapons.

She considered what she intended to do with this new Class– pursue the mysterious stranger and bring him to justice for Tommie’s and Mason’s deaths– and swallowed hard. After a few moments, she selected Truncheon and Agility.

You would have been better served with Daggers, the voice said, but Rowena ignored it.

She might need to defend herself, but she didn’t want to kill anyone.

You say that now.

Mentally she shook her head. So… how do the levels work, anyway?

She felt the voice push back on her. That’s enough for now; we’ll get into that later. It sounds like someone wants your attention, anyway.

Indeed, now that the voice mentioned it, there was a sound like a pounding she could hear through the ears she’d nearly forgotten she had. Being in this inner space was so comfortable, it was practically addictive and she didn’t really want to go. But she as she noticed the pounding, her consciousness withdrew automatically. Feeling like a cork popping out of a bucket of water in which it had been submerged, she emerged from the trance-like state and refocused on the real world.

Someone was yelling her name and intermittently getting a knock in on the door. She wondered briefly why they didn’t just come in, and then remembered that Mattie had insisted Sorel stay and guard her room.

With a mental note to thank Mattie later for giving her the time to feel out her Abilities and Proficiencies, Rowena called out, “Sorel, you can let whoever it is in.”

Everything quieted for a moment, and then the door swung open.

“What have you done?” her father’s voice boomed as he made his way into the room.