Bearkin are much like their lycanthrope ancestors, lazy isolationists. They often pick up a crafting hobby such as carving or smithing and are valued for both their innate talent with their hands and the strong bodies their ursine blood gives. Like most therianthropes in the human nations among the Althaen Council most of their population is enslaved or outside of human lands.

Lykou

It takes me a short time to begin meditation as I feel restless but soon enough I am met the screens from the Architect.

Gain: +25 XP Tracking, +35 XP Meditation, +10 XP Woodsman, +3 XP Evasion, +1 XP Sense Motive, + 5 XP Range, +5 XP Archery (Bow), + 1 XP Dagger,

Meditation 0 -> 1 + 1 SP, Tracking 0 -> 1 +1SP

Lykou

Gender: Male

Race: Void Draconian?

Age: 10

Strength 14

Intelligence 15

Mana Potential 8

Skills

SP: 41

Dexterity 14

Wisdom 14

Mana Potency 7

Languages

Titles

Agility 16

Cunning 13

Luck 16

Traits

Options

Endurance 14

Willpower 17

Perception 12

Magic

???

Vitality 14

Alertness 15

??? 1

Classes

Racial Class

Appearance 15

Charisma 11

Health 17/17

Mana 8/8

Bonus experience and learning, I mentally smile before dismissing it all.

I try to find the drifting thought that is my memories of today to look closer at Analais's use of magic but grab onto something else instead.

I find myself reliving a sparring match between myself and a silver haired and eyed woman with a very nice rack. No matter how I strike at her she easily blocks with superior speed and strength.

I throw a punch and she dodges before grabbing my wrist and pulling me forward and striking my elbow with more than enough force to break my arm. I feel myself scream but remain calm, the pain muted by it being a memory.

Then I do something after she let’s go and my broken arm looks and feels like the injury never happened. I get into a stance whose name I was never told and we start again. Every attack I make countered and my defenses destroyed in her brutal style. All the while a word is not spoken.

Who is this woman? Why did she teach me? Why does she look over the injuries she inflicted with eyes of pain and pride?

I try to restart the memory as I did with this morning's events in my last meditation but it slips away. I need that memory, the combat skill and then there is the magic I did. I don’t know how to explain it but it has to be the unknowns on my sheet.

In a slight panic, I try to pull it back as it slips from my mental grasp but it only drifts further away and I latch onto a memory of similar subject but far less helpful.

I watch it anyways on repeat as Naliya demonstrates spear and sword techniques to the youth of the village, correcting them as they mirror her movements. That spar held far better information but this is closer to my current level.

Bryan

With a throbbing headache, I bolt to an upright position on the cold stone floor I find myself lying on. Words in a language I do not understand or have heard anything close are being spoke as I quickly look around while I try to remember what happened.

I was driving back from game night with my friends and Abagail. Then a flash of light as I tried to get out of the way of a drunk driver. . . Am I dead? A hallucination?

Adrian, Tomas and Abagail are slowly getting up as well as some other people I do not know. A man in white and gold robes walks over to me and passes me a metal bar covered in runes while he speaks in his strange tongue. I accept it, after all we’re dead or this is a dream. What can go wrong?

As soon as I touch the bar it breaks and he pulls another out to give to someone else but that is not what draws my attention. A character sheet for a game I’ve never played appears in front of me.

Greeting being from another world, this is the world of Althrá. Due to the ongoing invasion of demonic forces on this word the gods have come to create this system to aid the denizens of this world in surviving. Regardless of the circumstances of your arrival we are unable to return you to your origin while our followers are still under the demonic threat. Instead we extend to you the same benefits as the denizens of this world though to a higher level of access.

Basic knowledge of this system of my design will be directly granted to you, along with the common tongue of this world.

Notice: You have been put under the Mark of Obedience.

Bryan Grace

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Age: 17

Strength 15

Intelligence 14

Mana Potential 10

Skills

SP: 0

Dexterity 13

Wisdom 13

Mana Potency 11

Languages

Titles

Agility 12

Cunning 14

Luck 12

Traits

Options

Endurance 15

Willpower 14

Perception 11

Magic

Vitality 13

Alertness 12

Classes

Racial Class

Appearance 12

Charisma 13

Health 58/58

Mana 10/10

Not dead, this is going to either be a great dream or even better if it’s real. Mark of Obedience doesn’t sound like something beneficial though. I want to see just what that is.

Mark of Obedience

An effect similar to the geass, this is a compulsion to obey the bearer of some sort of item rather than to follow a command. The bearer also receives a fraction of your experience.

Shit, I’m effectively a slave and experience generator for someone else. Please don’t be some pit fighter bullshit, that dream would suck. Goal two after figuring out this game's system will be to deal with that curse. At least my magic stats are high, so I should be able to get to a point o can use something like Break Enchantment or Remove Curse.

I open up the class section to see what choices I have.

Class

Experience

Acolyte 0

0/50

Apprentice 0

0/50

Man-at-arms 0

0/50

Student 9/10

864/1000

Not choices multiclassed, but I’m human. Okay I need more information.

Title

Description

Exalted Champion

The Architect considers you a champion beyond reproach, he is willing to be a patron for any divine sponsoring, regardless of your future actions.

Favored of the Architect

As all those called from another world the Architect has extended his blessing to you at a greater level than others

I need to make sure to pick up divine caster stuff.

Skills

Crafting

Conditioning

Combat

Ranged L 4 15/400

Firearms L 3 237/300

Pistols L3 12/300

Rifles L 3 98/300

Shotgun L 3 1/300

Melee L 1 2/100

Evasion L 1 12/100

Knowledge

Althrá L 0 0/50

Arcana L 4 15/400

Biology L 0 32/50

Chemistry L 5 15/500

Mathematics L 5 38/500

Nature L 8 378/800

Physics L 5 28/500

Religion L 3 12/300

Tactics L 5 12/500

Technology L 5 12/500

Senses

Perception L 2 12/200

Social

Empathy L 4 32/400

Sense Motive L 1 1/100

Persuade L 1 12/100

Supernatural

Mana Control L 0 0/50

Meditation L 0 0/50

Other

Computer L 6 213/600

Driving L 6 358/600

Looks surprisingly accurate. But why am I playing myself as a character?

“Adrian, Tomas are you seeing the same type of stuff I am?” I ask them.

“Ourselves as character sheets? Then yes, am I hallucinating or was that first thing it said true?” Tomas responds.

Adrian however is glaring at the man in white and gold bath robes. “We aren’t hallucinating, this isn’t a dream. And these people do not have our best interests in mind” he answers us without letting down his guard.

“Welcome, chosen one’s. I am Lord Thaddeus of the Northern Woods and by the grace of the gods you have been brought to this world to be heroes!

No more are you whatever you used to be but something greater by the blessings of the gods! Help me save my people and you can be rewarded beyond your greatest dreams!

Now follow my soldiers for your preliminary training, prepare to go forth and become heroes of humanity!”

Before I know it I am following his direction as are everyone else. Only later will I realize how our minds are being manipulated. We soon find ourselves in a line waiting for a census of some sort to determine what we will be training in.

I hear the questions asked before we reach the table where two men in blue robes are sitting several guardsmen waiting to escort us to what will be our lessons.

“Will you be forming a group with those you already know? Do you know magic?” are the two questions the older of the two at the table ask after having us touch a crystal ball.

Adrian is in front of the rest of our group in line and answers with a frown that I do not currently understand.

“I’ll be working with the three behind me and yes.”

“Show me” the old man commands while presenting a pendent I had not previously seen and Adrian smirks.

“As you command, slaver” he says while whispering the final word.

The jeweled pendent vanishes from the man’s hand and appears in Adrian’s for an instant before it vanishes once more.

“Return that item right now!” both of the men at table shout.

“Can’t, I no longer know where it is. Beyond that we are called individuals, not conjured. As such you had no right to compel us at all. We can serve in this war but not as you treat us now.”

The two stare at Adrian for a moment visibly angry but do nothing for a moment and then the older calms himself, “how do you know that?” he asks.

“You attempted to bind us with a second spell, a conjure summoning would not have needed it. Either bargain with us or release us to go home.”

Tomas and me move to stand behind Adrian, showing our support of his words. My questions of Adrian’s magery can wait.

“What is it that you want?”

“We will be taking a moment to discuss our price.”

Adrian turns to me and Tomas for a moment, “what is it that we want?”

“What can we even ask for?” Tomas asks.

“Probably money, knowledge and maybe land and status” I answer.

“The first two are probably how they planned on keeping us docile in the first place. I wouldn’t trust being able to collect on land or a title” Adrian comments.

“You think we will be assassinated first?”

“What is the role of summoned creatures?”

“Cannon fodder” Tomas answers with a frown.

“Why are you jumping to the conclusion that they will betray us?” Abagail interrupts.

“They essentially kidnapped us to fight in their war” both Adrian and Tomas answer her.

“They can’t be that evil, can they?”

No one answers that question. They are already angry that we are not going to be free soldiers, they are not good people but can we take advantage of this?

“I suggest taking any training and books we can. Money as well so when we end up in a suicide mission we can flee somewhere else” Adrian says.

“Can we get magic items?” Tomas asks with a grin, he always does go for maximizing what we can get out of something.

“Maybe, I don’t know but we can try.”

“What is your initial offer?” Adrian asks the mages.

“Land and a title of nobility when the demons are all dead” the older mage states.

“No, no one will ever get to collect on that. There is no way to kill every demon in existence” I interrupt, unsure of how it is that I actually can understand and speak this tongue.

“Then what do you want?”

“Gift us full access to your libraries and training grounds for several months to prepare and then hire us as mercenaries.”

“Of course, you do not look like you are prepared as you are. We planned on doing that to prepare you anyways. Do you already know your areas of expertise?”

“We do” I answer.

“We’ll take a place to rest, and a guide to the training grounds and library when we are ready” Tomas states and the two men in blue robes motion for one of the guards to be this guide.

Adrian

Once at the room rooms provided by these Althaen I sit down at my bed and begin to go through this game-like interface. I don’t know how it is that we were brought here nor how we will be able to survive. All I can be sure of so far is that these Althaen are not good people and that their magic is not the same as my own.

Adrian Ravnos

Gender: Male

Race: Human?

Age: 17

Strength 12

Intelligence 16

Mana Potential 6

Skills

SP:0

Dexterity 15

Wisdom 16

Mana Potency 5

Languages

Titles

Agility 13

Cunning 15

Luck 14

Traits

Options

Endurance 10

Willpower 14

Perception 14

Magic

Reality Control

Vitality 11

Alertness 12

Reality Control 2

Classes

Racial Class

Appearance 14

Charisma 11

Health 72/72

Mana 5/5

I begin to go through the various other pages but only a few of them draw my attention far more than the other.

Class

Experience

Man-at-arms 1/10

12/100

Student 10/10

-

Learned 2/20

15/2000

Racial Class

Experience

Dragon Knight 0

0/50

As interesting as these classes are the lack of anything relating to my magic concerns me. I don’t think I’ll be able to find anything to further my magic here and my low attributes for mana will likely bar me from learning theirs at least if it is mana based as the screens hint at. Perhaps I can find information about dragons in the libraries here but even this is not the most concerning thing.

Title

Description

Doubleganger

There exists another you in this world, should you ever come in contact with each other the weaker will be absorbed into the stronger. The sum of the two will continue on as a single being afterwards.

Favored of the Architect

As all those called from another world the Architect has extended his blessing to you at a greater level than others

The first of these titles is not something I can ignore. Is this other me the same as I am? Would he act the same as I would in a given situation? Whoever would be left after the merge would have all my memories so would he help my friends as I would? I need to find this out before I accidently meet this other me?

I need more power, if I become stronger than this other me I’ll take over but I cannot count on this being guaranteed. I need to make sure Bryan and Tomas are as strong as possible as soon as possible.