A carriage made a loud creaking sound as it drove over the pavement nearby.
The town was more than bustling. For the 'City of Slumber,' its lively citizens were anything but.
"I'm starting to question the name. I've seen more relaxed citizens at a riot."
"It gets its name from a fable actually," Rosa said, holding a pointed finger up as if she were a school teacher.
"It's named after the holy warrior, Armina the Hundred. She was said to be a legendary dragon that forsook her form and true nature and became a knight. Using her draconic might, she slayed one-hundred dragons and stole their strength. Then she, alongside an army of powerful heroes attracted by her might and beauty, staged a war against a terrible sorcerer. She wasn't able to defeat him fully, but sealed the both of them deep into the earth in eternal slumber. It's said this city was built right on top of that."
With that kinda story, this was starting to sound like a real fantasy world after all!
"Then what's with not calling it 'Armina,' instead of Arden?"
"Oh, that's just how all our settlements are named. They're each named after the heroes that followed her into the war. No city would be so crass to take her name for themselves"
"Huh. So, uh, what do I do now? You mentioned bringing me here but not much else."
She playfully elbowed me in the side.
"Inquisitors of the faith don't really need to do much aside from keep the peace and go on missions. I'll check the post sometime later, but otherwise I can hang around and help you out. If you're really from some far away land, you're going to need help settling in."
Wait is she actually a decent person? Did I have her pegged wrong this whole time—?
"Sides, you're still not off the hook from earlier. You could still be a serial killer or a spy for all I know!" She laughed, patting the hilt of a sword at her side.
There it is.
For an inquisitor she's certainly casual about the whole situation. Weren't inquisitors supposed to be grimdark and serious? No nonsense assholes that jumped on you the first chance they got? Well, she hasn't proven to not be that just yet... But this brash justice freak could just be the end of me.
Still. I needed a guide.
And I certainly could have done worse than some magical warrior inquisitor person.
Even if she is a little bit off her rocker.
Wandering through town, I couldn't help but notice the scarcity of magic flowing around. It was certainly out and about — a floating pot here, a street-food vendor starting a fire there — but it wasn't abundant enough that it looked like everyone had it. Some folks had it, some folks didn't.
"Hey Rosa, how'd you do that fireball thing earlier?"
"Huh, what?"
"...When we first met... like an hour ago. The fireballs you attacked me with."
"You're still on that? You need to learn to live and let go, Eno!"
Ugh is it okay to hit her? It's okay to hit her right? This world has gender equality yeah?"
"Did you miss the 'it was an hour ago' bit?"
"It feels like forever ago but okay. So what about it?"
She lit up a small ball of flame on her fingertip as if punctuating the point. The grin on her face was palpable. How can one woman who was about to kill me be this level of smug and casual?
"Can I learn how to do that? I figured if I have to navigate this land, the first thing I should do is find a way to defend myself."
"Oh we were headed for that anyways. We're getting you registered with the Royal Institution. Part of that is registry with the Library. They can help you with finding your [Gifts]."
"The bandits said something like that earlier. [Gifts]."
"You don't have Gifts where you're from? Even kids know this stuff over here. Man, what sort of backwater place is it?"
Oi.
"Anyways, Gifts are... I guess you could call em magic. Maybe a science? Everyone has them, kinda? So like there are two parts to a Gift, the [Core] and the [Traits]."
Cores? Traits? Was this the sort of world I was in?
"So. Everyone has a [Core], or the basis of your power. A core is kinda like... you? Kinda? It's a type of thing associated with your being — like an extension of your soul. [Traits] are the things that affect and change it. For example, my Core is [Blaze] which lets me create powerful fires. but I have traits like [Double] and [Truth].
"So I, say, had one like [Scream] I could yell real loud?"
"Yeah that sounds about right."
"So what about your other ones? How do Traits come into play?
"I was getting there! So, for me, I can use Blaze on its own. But also I could do something like [Blaze+Double] or [Blaze+Truth]. Traits don't really work on their own so I can't use something like "Double" and start creating duplicates of weapons. They kind of... leech onto the Core? Like a parasite or something. They can't live without it."
"...Hm so like a spice then?"
'Haah? Like salt and pepper?"
"...Okay first off I'm surprised you all have salt and pepper in the first place but nevermind that, yeah. It's like... you can add salt and pepper to a meal, and it'll make the meal taste better, but you wouldn't go around just eating salt by itself."
"But what about salt rocks and goats? They eat that all by them—"
"You're not a goat are you? You certainly have the brains of—"
"Watch it."
A sudden intense heat from her finger stopped me in place. Ah yes, a reminder for something I haven't had the opportunity to forget yet. She pointed at me accusingly, wagging it as if it were some cute gesture.
I gulped. Nodded.
"Either way, so the combination of a Core+Trait, is called one's 'Gift.' Not everyone is able to manifest it, even thought everyone has the potential to. A Core is... it's like a part of you. It's something at the center of your being. It's the formula of your soul. Not everyone gets a good one, but everyone has one. And you can't manifest a Gift until you fully understand your Core and a Trait."
"So why do you have two? Is that something everyone that has em can use?"
"Kinda, but hold on, we're almost there. We can talk more later."
As we rounded the corner to a shimmery, immaculate sort of building she ran off ahead towards. She was practically skipping as she did so. It would've been cute if it weren't for the sheer intensity she put behind every bound.
==Royal Central==
Apparently Royal Central got its name for being the major headquarters for the organization Rosa was a part of. They called it the 'Royal Institution,' a collective mix of bureaucracy, academia, and a theistic religion surrounding that Armina lady from earlier. The Royal Institution included the Royal Library, the Royal Church sect Rosa belonged to, and a handful of other branches of loose government.
The inside of Central was a goddamn maze of lines and booths and wide open spaces. It was like if New York's Grand Central Station mixed with the DMV and had more fantasy looking people wandering around and waiting in lines. It was fairly easy to get registered. Rosa pushed us along the lines with her status position and, after answering a handful of questions, they gave me a small booklet that resembled a passport. I tried to register my name as 'Flint Lock,' but seeing her glaring at me with small flames at her eyes... Well she wasn't having any of that.
"Alright, gimme your finger."
Rosa was holding out what looked to be a sewing needle in one hand, while the other held my passport.
I complied, closing my eyes tightly as I held out my hand.
It's not like I was afraid of needles. I wasn't. I was a bloody adult. Only a baby would be terrified of needles. It wasn't a big deal it was just—
"Ouch! Hey watch it! That almost went through!"
Rock smirked, holding back a chuckle as I nursed my index finger.
"Oh don't be such a baby. Everyone has to go through this. Now watch."
As the bead of blood lingering on the needle dripped down onto the passport looking thing, a small red and white glow emanated from the yellowed parchment. The whole thing shone brightly as the area gleamed with light. I watched as the blood coalesced into a red bead looking like a wax seal on the bottom right, as an image of myself appeared on the top left. I would call it photo realistic, except my hair isn't that messy!
Right?
"Here ya go," Rosa said, handing back my passport. "Here press your finger on the stain."
I did so and the book started glowing with a soft, white-yellow light. It was pretty.
"There. Whenever you press your finger right there, it'll glow if you're a match. It's how we keep tabs on everyone in the kingdom. Nifty, ain't it?"
I glanced over through folded booklet, pressing my finger on and off the seal and watching it glow.
"Alright, I give. That's pretty cool. Though right here it has nothing in the Gift, Core, and Traits section."
"That's for the Royal Library to fill in when you find out what they are. We're headed there next, c'mon," she said, pulling me along by my arm.
==The Streets of Arden==
I get this is supposed to be some sort of tutorial section, but can she give it a rest? Rosa has been pulling me left and right and running me ragged. She had this weird sort of glee on her face. It was like a cat having a new toy to play with.
Greaaaaaaaat.
Apparently the 'Reader' for the Royal Library was out for the day so we'd have to come back later. In the meanwhile Rosa was dragging me around town and showing me all the major sites. She showed me the Royal Post, where people can receive mail and where requests and major notices from across the kingdom get posted. Then she showed me the local tavern, The Snake's Cradle, where adventurers gather from all around for good times; the tavern even has its own Job Board where locals post their own requests for pay.
Something I should get used to seeing, to be honest. Unless I was planning on getting immediately getting a stable job or adventuring out in the wild, getting situated with the locals might be good.
"Hey, hold up a bit."
While I was starting to get tired, that wasn't why I stopped her.
"All this is great and all, but this world has like, monsters and stuff, right? I need something to protect myself."
"Oh we can head down to Zahir's later then. He's got the best weapons around. We can get you a sword or something — you'll have to repay me later though~~"
"A sword? Hell yeah! But I was looking more for something like ammunition for a gun."
She looked at me like I had grown a second head, her own head tilted cutely in confusion.
"Ammunition? You mean like arrows?"
"No no, like... like bullets. Pellets. Don't you have like, flintlock pistols or something like that? Anything to put in here."
I could feel sweat beading down my neck. She wasn't kidding around was she? Come on world. I get this place is old but gunpowder has been around since the 9th Century! There have to be some sort of similar thing around here, right?
In a desperate plea I pulled out Mary-chan and showed it to her.
"Like, like this. You've seen something like this before haven't you? Pistols? Rifles? Hand cannons? Firearms? Boomsticks? Anything?"
Rosa's eyebrows furrowed in intense thought. It looked like she was trying to think, but instead her eyes were filled with what looked to be pity.
Pity or confusion.
I'd rather it be pity. Cause if it was confusion it meant that I was possibly the only one with a gun around. If it was confusion it meant that I had already used one-of-fourteen of my only shots here on some random bandit. If it was confusion and I didn't have some sort of wondrous magical ability held dormant inside me, it meant I was possibly screwed.
She raised one eyebrow and opened her mouth.
"That's... that's a wand right? Like a metal wand?"
Fuck. [Bullets: 13/14]