"So… what's up with the glowing thing?" Leta asked, making a general gesture at her face.
"Oh, not really sure why, and I haven't really seen anything yet that explains it." Ismene shrugged, her shawl falling farther down her shoulder, "Just a weird bi-product of my gift."
Ismene's word seemed to have a lot of sway over the group, because after she'd vouched that Leta was an ally, Allister relaxed and even offered to make her a cup of tea.
They were now sitting around the dining table, tea and coffee in hand and plates of portokalopita in front of them.
[HOST HAS REACHED NANITE CAPACITY. NANITES CONSUMED FROM FOOD WILL NOT BE ABSORBED UNTIL SPACE BECOMES AVAILABLE.]
"I think one of you guys mentioned something about gifts earlier but I can't remember who." Leta said as she used her fork to cut into the sweet orange dessert, "Are you guys referring to your super powers?"
"Yep. Some call them gifts, some call them talents, powers, abilities, whatever. Pa-tato, pa-toto." Ismene replied with a sigh. She'd already finished nearly an entire moka pot of espresso and Leta was concerned that her heart would start to give out with the amount of caffeine she'd consumed.
"So, your gift is foresight?"
"Something along those lines. Eriene," Ismene looked at the older woman, "We're gonna need the job book in about six minutes. Also, what time is it?"
Eriene looked at her wrist watch, "It's nearly 20:05."
"Can you translate that for me? We don't do military time back in the States."
"8:05 p.m." Eriene said calmly, like a gentle but exasperated grandmother.
"Cool. In about a half our Affra, Kaviah, and Aetrus will be walking in and Aetrus is going to look a little beat up, but he's fine. He's just going to need an ice pack for his shoulder."
"Thank you, dear, for the warning." Eriene smiled, giving the dark skinned girl's shoulder a squeeze and excusing herself from the table.
Allister laughed at Leta's bewildered expression.
"You'll get used to it, lass, for the most part. As ya said, gifts are what separate us from yer everyday folk. Don' reckon you've met others like our Ismene here."
Leta shook her head, "Can't say I have. So Ismene sees the future and I'm guessing from what I saw Eriene can heal people. What's your gift?"
Allister smiled behind his red beard and pointed to his eyes, "First is me sight. Can spot a dove in snow ten miles away. I've also got what they call 270 peripheral vision. It's like my eyes are wide angle lenses and I can sense things nearly all the way around, which makes it hard to sneak up on me, but also allows me to spot details quickly. Despite me hight, I'm an expert when it comes to blending into the background when I want to."
"Best of all?" He chuckled, "I got Bonnie."
"Bonnie?"
"Aye." He whistled and what the tipper tap of nails on the hardwood floor pattered down the hall behind her. Leta turned and nearly choked on her tea as a massive black wolf came trotting into the room, tail up in excitement and yellow eyes bright.
The beast came and sat obediently next to Allister, looking up at him like an expectant puppy.
"Meet Bonnie Lass."
"A wolf?" Leta gasped.
"Aye! You think a Hunter would settle for some mutt when nature had already made the perfect Companion?" He grinned, one meaty hand landing on the wolf's head and giving it a scratch behind the ears.
Eriene came back into the room with an ancient looking leather bound book, its pages stained yellow with age and bound with metal finishings.
"Right on time." Ismene smiled, taking the book from her and flipping through it.
"Now, to answer your question…"
"I didn't-" Leta started, but Ismene interrupted without looking up.
"You don't have to. To answer your question, thousands of years ago the gods needed to get the human race out of the whole hunter gatherer thing, so how do you do that? Back then, humans didn't need Wall Street bros or people with a business major. They needed hunters, farmers, guards, blacksmiths, bakers, you get the idea. The gods selected the best of the best and sort of gave them a pretty sweet upgrade, let's say."
Ismene finished flipping through the pages until she came to one in particular. Flipping it around and pushing it to Leta, she pointed across the table at the page. "Sound familiar?"
One the left side was a depiction of a man that was the definition of a stereotypical mediaeval hunter. Dark hood, bracers, musketeer boots, and jerkin covered a strapping man that carried a quiver full of arrows on his back. One hand held a shortbow while the other brandished a bastard sword. At his side was a large brown bear that stared forward menacingly, as if daring you to try and hurt its master.
On the right side was written in old calligraphy that had faded to the point it was almost illegible in some spots.
THE HUNTER
Leta read allowed.
"Blessed by the God of the Sixth Kingdom, the Hunter was born to track and hunt the most ferocious of beasts. They are endowed with a heightened sense of smell, sight, and hearing, with the sharpest eyes of any Chosen save the Archer. Hunters are able to easily sense the world around them, as if they have eyes in the back of their head. The Hunter has an innate ability to camouflage themself while on the hunt, able to blend into their surroundings and disappear in plain sight.
Most notedly, the Hunter is well known for its animal Companion, who they form an incredible bond with and share senses as well as mental communication."
Leta looked up at Allister sceptically, "You talk to the wolf?"
"Talkin's a bit of a stretch. It's more of sharing intentions and impressions. Bonnie could in the other room and be wanton' 'er favourite treat, and I'd feel her in ma mind with images of what she wants."
Leta looked back at the book and flipped the page.
This one read THE WARRIOR, and featured a man in leather armour, sword in one hand and axe in the other. The next page read THE ARCHER.
Leta continued to turn pages, seemingly absorbed in learning more about the Chosen.
There was a page for Blacksmith, Silversmith, Jeweller, Scribe, Lecturer, Merchant, Farmer, Healer, Sailor, Musician, Miner, Architect, Fisherman, Weaver, and many, many more.
As Leta perused the job book, as Ismene had called it, she started to get a feeling of unease had begun to settle in the pit of her stomach.