"To ask who a person is, you first have to ask who that person was. Everyone is defined by their past because it is not something one can change. Once someone has done something, it is set. This is why it is important to remember history. People can change through the years and have to adapt, but what they were before will always remain." - Tyrants of History, Paragraph 2 of Page 232.

  Kulni, Mother of Wolves

  Kulni let herself ease back into the chair as she watched Aster leave the kitchen. The child was upset but needed to see the world outside the forest; she would be better for it. Relaxing, she looked at the egg that had been left with interest and would have found it ideal if the timing wasn't so concerning. An egg in the woods that she hadn't known was there and had to be centuries old. The fact it bonded to her child on the same day she was unlocking her second class. There had been more secrets in this forest than Kulni had first realized.

  There had been enough meddling in Aster’s life in her younger years, partly due to her own work, and sending her off would probably result in more. Kulni had planned on giving Aster a freshborn pup to bond with, but a dragon would do nicely. She was determined to ensure Aster's safety and growth, even if it meant making unconventional choices.

  Briefly, Kulni wondered how that would go over in the kingdom, not that they'd dare harm her child, but still, it would be wise to take measures.

  Waving her hand over the table, a quill and paper appeared from her personal space with only her will.

  Starting to write, she composed a letter on the magical parchment that had been stored away for only a few centuries and nearly forgotten about.

  When she was done, she folded it and flicked it into the air, watching it give a soft flash of green before disappearing. The old magic was growing fleeting in the world, and Kulni enjoyed the brief thrill of seeing and feeling it in action once again.

  Watching it with her mana, she smiled, a look that could scare an army, as she wondered how the current king would react. She'd rather kill another king than have anything happen to her daughter she didn't approve of. She had a promise to keep, after all.

  Getting up and stretching, Kulni picked up the egg and walked out of the kitchen, setting it on the table in the main room. The dragoness on the inside would be fine until Aster woke up, and it certainly would hatch strong, but it would be better to keep it in the house until then. In the meantime, she needed to find something to hide the mark on Aster's neck that her daughter had gained. She already had an idea of what could work, but it would take time to find that old trinket.

  Before that, though, she wanted to go on a hunt and found herself itching to deal with the beast that was prodding around her domain's borders.

  Checking to confirm Aster had started her advancement, Kulni made her way outside and let the skill for the human form she maintained fall away once she was clear of the house.

  Growing multiple sizes in a few seconds always had a dizzying effect, but the feel of fur on her body and four legs on the ground felt soothing and natural, how she knew she should be. With her natural form, she looked at the system screen that had just appeared.

  [Notice: A domain event has started]

  [Notice: Valuim, Beast of The South, has challenged your control of the Claw Woods. Domain status sheet is unavailable until the event has concluded.]

  It was perfect timing. A fight with that old boar would do her good and be better than hunting a small beast. Letting out a growl that turned into a howl, she watched for a moment as her pack flooded out of the cave in the dozens, and then she sat up on her rear legs, looking over the trees and spotting the giant boar in the distance.

  “Kulini, fight me! You can’t keep this forest forever!” He stomped the ground, shaking it.

  She found amusement in his words, as she could, in fact, do that and had done so.

  Thinking of what would anger the boar the most, she chuckled and raised her voice to match his “Valuim! You’ll lose like the last three times if you fight. You should stay in the south. The mud pits there suit you more.”

  While she wanted this fight, she still found annoyance that this was his second attempt in sixty years. He and that damned tiger never knew when to stop fighting.

  He didn’t listen as expected, instead letting out a squeal of rage, knocking over the trees around him and charging.

  This wasn’t going to be a long fight.

  Rasmoth Arilon

  While Rasmoth was at court, a folded letter suddenly appeared, accompanied by a green flash. The room fell silent at its unexpected appearance. The magic required to bypass the rune wards that protected the room was not something anyone present possessed.

  The assembled nobles, who had been debating sending more forces to the northern border outpost and the border with Karvum, immediately recognized the significance of the letter's appearance. They knew that whatever news it contained would take precedence over their current discussions. Like vultures sensing a kill, they waited in tense anticipation for the news.

  There were very few people he had given the enchanted scrolls to and who could use them, but as he looked down at the paper, he nearly flinched at what I saw.

  It was not his symbol, the king's crown, but one of a tree with the imprint of a wolf's head on the bark.

  “Court is dismissed for the day. General Authur and Flight Leader Cassin, you are to stay.” Ransmoth's voice held no room for argument, and there was little argument from the nobles as they got up and filed out of the room. They were not as foolish enough to challenge his wishes today, it seemed. At least there was some fortune in this moment.

  “What is it, my king?” Authur asked, sitting down closer to Rasmoth now that the room had cleared. He was followed by Cassin, who sat opposite the general.

  Rasmoth held up the letter, showing the symbol on the front, and explained to the blank faces.

  “My grandfather, may he rest in peace, only ever gave out three enchanted letters, and the magic linked to them passed to me upon my father's death. Each had a symbol not of the crown but of the one the debt was owed to. This is one of them.”

  Rasmoth could tell Cassin understood by the way his slitted eyes expanded in surprise and then narrowed in worry. The dragon's blood that ran in him was there for all to see.

  The flight leader knew more about the land outside the kingdom than most who still lived, though with the extended life granted from his bond, that was expected. The thought gave Ransmoth some slight jealousy, but he quickly squashed it. Everything had its downsides, and he enjoyed the benefits being king provided him.

  “Weren't those issued to the people who helped him secure this kingdom? Are they not all gone by now?” Authur said and still sounded confused.

  “The humans are,” Rasmoth confirmed with a sigh.

  Opening the letter with slow movement, dreading what he would find, he smiled ever so slightly as Cassin spoke in the Authur's ear. He ignored the man's gasp as he read. The letter was short. Rasmoth felt his shoulders relax as he continued down the letter. Then he sagged back in his chair, rubbing his head and passing the letter to Cassin.

  Rasmoth was silent. There were no words for how he felt. Relief, stress, a mix of the two?

  “Well, we're having another guest at the academy this year.” Cassin passed the letter to Authur after reading it.

  Rasmoth nodded, voicing his thoughts. “She requested that we keep her relations a secret, but with a dragon...questions will be asked.”

  “We’ll have to set her accommodations in the spire. A newly bonded pair can be hard to handle. She’ll also have to have a mentor or, rather, someone to watch her. I believe I have one suited. Although we’ll have to recall her from the northern outpost, we’ll send her replacement with the letter. It will stretch the flight thin. We just have to avoid Karvum from figuring out they’ll take advantage, or the dwarfs will.”

  “Will that affect the army's support in any other way?” Authur asked. Rasmoth noted the man was a shade pale but was collected otherwise.

  “Not directly from the crown, but security will have to be raised even higher at the academy. If anyone finds out, there could be attempts made on any of the royals. If anything were to happen, I don’t even want to imagine the fallout.” Rasomoth said before resting his head in his hand, “The same year, my two children are set to start attending, as well as the elves' royalty, now this.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time!" Cassin said, gesturing at the map of the continent on the wall, "With the raids increasing from the north and the massing at the border. Everyone thinks a war is coming. Even the adventure guild is struggling to keep up with the higher-ranking monsters that are appearing in the distant villages.”

  "This will make for quite a year.” Cassin continued, then shrugged and leaned back. “The dragon flight is doing well. We’ve had four more eggs freely given by the dragons or bartered for with gold."

  Rasmoth reached out and took a heavy drink from the goblet, which held the wine he had been trying to avoid consuming today to keep a clear head.

  “The gods are laughing at me, I can tell.” He exhaled

  Alric Storm Born

  The ship was skimming over the water, heading straight for the coast, the ice that had formed on the surface of the water cracking under the strong wooden hull. The other two ships on his left and right followed in his wake. The drum beat matched the mana output of the mages who directed the speed of the ships, and he let out a bellowing laugh, raising his axe.

  “The wind is with us!” Cheers followed Alric's words, and the others in the boat raised their weapons as well.

  [Area Event Started: Arilon Coastal Raid]

  He grinned at the event screen; it meant there were people on the water, maybe even a village, but his mood faltered as a roar echoed out. Looking up, he spotted wings as fire erased part of the clouds above, revealing its scaled body, which was hidden only moments ago. Alric let out a string of curses. Those damn Arilons and their dragons always seemed to be in the perfect spot at the right time.

  Turning to face his mage, he called out, “Turn the ships around! We weren’t told there would be dragons on this part of the border. We’ll aim for further down the cost towards the south, out of their territory!” Slamming his boot down, he watched as the dragon turned and hovered above the land, the slight silhouette of a person on its back. He knew they had riches and fine slaves waiting beyond the coast, but it would have to wait.

  [Area Event Ended; Arilon Coastal Raid]

  “We’ll be back.” He vowed at the figure, glaring at it. Somehow, He'd find a way to kill those winged beasts.

  Aster

  I took in a lung full of breath as I opened my eyes, light from the window managing to get in through the fabric. Stretching, letting all of my bones pop, I grinned, but before I could get up, notifications filled my vision.

  [You have gained multiple levels in the Second Class, Bonded Ranger, during grade advancement, New Level:17. Note: Class level can not exceed Race level]

  [Your title, Daughter of Kulni, has been updated to True Daughter of Kulni.]

  This was amazing. Jumping so many levels was something that I'd never had happen before. I kept reading, eyes gleaming.

  [Congratulations, you have advanced to grade 1 and have gained the following: The ability to learn and merge compatible skills, Access to non-forced World Events, Access to Dungeons, Access to joinable Special Events, and Access to joinable Domain Events.]

  I flicked them away after a quick glance. I'd known that I'd unlock those already. Eager to see my status sheet and brought it up.

  [Name: Aster]

  [Grade: 1]

  [Level: 30][Titles: True Daughter of Kulni, Bonded]

  [Mana: 341/341]

  [Stamina: 555/555]

  [Race Class: Daughter of Kulni - Level 30]

  [Class Skills: Stalker’s Movement, Pack Bond, Pack Formation]

  [Second Class: Bonded Ranger - Level 17]

  [Class Skills: Bond Speech, Frosted Arrow, Ranger's aim]

  [Attributes]

  [Available Attribute Points - 0]

  [Constitution - 39]

  [Strength - 51]

  [Endurance - 81]

  [Dexterity - 91]

  [Charisma - 48]

  [Intelligence - 40]

  [Wisdom - 49]

  I’d jumped a lot in stats, and my grade was now one! I pumped my fist up in joy before excitedly identifying the skills.

  [Stalker’s Movement - At the cost of Stamina and Mana increases movement and senses. Increase of effect scales with Party size]

  [Pack Bond - Allows for messages and view of current stats between party members, limited to 3500 feet. Grants the ability to know the innate direction of party members.]

  [Pack Formation - Allows the creation of a Party limited to five. Increases shared experience in tasks completed with more than one party member.]

  [Bond Speech - Allows for increased mental communication between you and your bond, allowing for mental speech and images through the bond. Decreases to only emotion longer at distances.]

  [Frosted Arrow - Infuse an arrow with frost-based mana that spreads to whoever is hit, slowly freezing them and slowing stamina regeneration until mana in the arrow runs out.]

  [Ranger's Aim - Increases vision and slightly aids in firing an arrow from a bow or other ranged weapon.]

  Not many were viable in combat on their own, but all the skills could be used together. It was something even more special. Sitting up, I dismissed all of the screens and stretched again, then winced at the grumble of my stomach. Food first, then a bath. Nodding at my own choice, I stood up and tilted backward awkwardly. My balance felt all off. How long had I been asleep to manage that? Stumbling out of the door, it took a moment to orient myself, but once I did, I went towards the kitchen. Walking in, I was surprised to see Kulni sitting at the table with a plate of what smelled like deer on the table. Looking me up and down, she smiled.

  “I heard you get up. You must be hungry. Eat.” She gestured to the deer.

  I nodded before practically tumbling into the seat and started to devour the food, not needing another invitation.

  She waited until I had almost finished the plate before starting to talk.

  “Did you have good choices?” she asked, to which she got a single nod from me as I mentally pushed my status sheet towards her, taking the last bite of food. Watching as she skimmed through it, then looked back up with a bigger smile.

  “That explains it, but you haven't noticed yet though?” She asked

  I titled my head in confusion, then shook my head. I had no idea what she was talking about. Things felt off still, but I figured that was the effect of the big leap in attributes. “What do you mean, is something wrong?” Had I messed up my advancement?

  “As much as I’d like to watch you figure out, lean over here.” She gestured me forward, and I leaned forward, confused and worried.

  She reached up and flicked me with a single finger, not on my head but on my ear. The ear that was on the top of my head.

  “Ow!”

  I flinched back in pain and surprise, reaching up to feel my ear twitch. My ear was on top of my head and felt fuzzy. No, it felt furry. I looked back at Kulni, eyes wide, with the realization. She was already raising the mirror that had still been on the table. I saw my amber-colored eyes had taken on a light shine to them, and my normally blackish-brown hair had taken on an almost blackish-blue color in the light from the window. Those changes meant nothing compared to what sat on top of my head, ears, ears like the one Kulni had on hers, wolf ears.

  I was stunned. When I thought about what the class changes could have meant, I’d never thought I'd grow wolf ears, maybe longer fangs, but not this. Not that I was going to reject them.

  “That’s not all, daughter, there's one other thing.”

  I looked closer in the mirror, confused. My hand was still cuffing my ear. The flick had really stung, but I didn’t see anything else changed.

  Kunli gestured down after receiving my blank look. I looked down at my lap and then back up. A spinning motion from her hand and I realized what she meant and turned to be met with the biggest surprise. A tail. The same blackish-blue tint. It drifted slowly behind the chair. I reached down slowly and gently grabbed it. It was soft to the touch and sent a shiver up my back as the tail moved in my grasp. Gently, I looked at it.

  How hadn't I noticed it? Then it clicked in my head what had been happening: The way the world seemed to spin. My balance being different must have been a mix of my tail and ears. That didn't explain why I didn't notice it when I sat down. Shouldn't I have sat on it?

  “They have a tendency to move to avoid being sat on. Other than that, it’ll react to your emotions like your ears. It takes a mental effort to stop that, and you’ll learn over time how.” She was smiling wide as I looked back at her, with true joy in her eyes. She was happy, even proud of me. At that moment, even if the other class choices had been not to my style, I couldn't have been happier to have picked the one I did.

  I stoop up, half stumbled, and half fell, hugging her and squeezing my arms around her.

  “While this will affect my plans for you not to stick out at the academy, I can’t complain, but as happy as I am right now, daughter, we need to discuss the egg. You were asleep for two weeks, a bit longer than expected.”

  Sitting back down in my chair, I felt my ears perk up. The egg! I’d forgotten all about it at the moment, where was it?. “Is it okay? Did something happen?” Worry filled my thoughts.

  “No, no, but I’d say you cut it close. The egg is most likely going to hatch tonight or tomorrow.”

  Her words soothed that worry, but anxiety replaced it. Was I ready for the egg to hatch? Everything was happening so fast: the classes, the egg, the academy, and the changes to my body. There was so much that needed to be done. I felt my heart speed up with all of it.

  “You can do it, just one step at a time. The egg is on the table in the main room. It's fine, take a breath and focus.” Mother said, and I realized my ears had lowered a fraction in my starting panic.

  I looked behind me at the door, nodding. “What do I need to do for the egg?” I asked

  “You need to be around for its hatching. It should improve your bond quite a bit if you are the first person she sees, so get everything else done first.”

  “She?” I asked

  Kulni put her arms on the table. “Yes, it's a dragoness in the egg, but that doesn’t change much right now. You need to get used to walking again and then bathe in the river first. If you start now, you have enough time to do that without any worry. If anything does happen, I’ll let you know. I’ll also have something made up when you get back to eat.”

  I stood up at those words. I smelled pretty bad, and I’d always tried to avoid that. Unsteadily, I started to make my way out, only to hear Kulni speak again. She didn't shout, but it was demanding.

  “Get some sun on your face. If you get any more pale, you’ll turn see-through.“