Though still feeling nauseous, Kus forced himself to stand upright. T trees stretched above him, their trunks thid gwisted into unnatural shapes as if the forest had grown wild for eons. The opy was so dehat only slivers of pale light pierced through, creating long shadows that flickered across the ground of the small clearing he had been portalled to. Vines and roots coiled across the ground uhe trees beyond the clearing, and he could hear the sounds of what he assumed to be unfamiliar birds in the distahe air was thick with the st of moss and damp earth, which was quite pleasant for Kus after what he had just experienced. He wiped the vomit from around his mouth as best he could.
A grey hand darted into view to seize him by his shoulder. With a jerk, Kus ulled backward out of the circle. A behemoth of a man in heavy pte armor, wearing a tabard adorned by a bck sword, had him firmly in his grip. Beyond his height exceeding seve, Kus immediately noticed the grey skin and sharp teeth bared in a grin.Before he could react, a bck stone ressed firmly to his forehead. A wave of heat and then pleasant cold flowed over him.
“There,” the man grunted, “now you should be able to uand us, Lord Krion.”
“Uand you?”
“Yes,” a lilting voice called from further back, and a woman in red robes modified for travel, also wearing a tabard adorned with a bck sword, stepped into view. Fme-red hair and obviously pointed ears were the first things Kus noticed, and he froze upon making eye tact with a living, breathing, elven woman. “Unless you’d somehow been studying Imperial on, which I doubt, then you would not be able to uand use without that stone.”
“Imperial on?”
“Yes,” the mao Kuss said as he released his grip, then stepped baext to the elven woman. “The nguage of the Treverorum Empire, my lord.”
“Oh, I see,” Kus respohen asked while staring at their tabards, “Am I corre assuming you are the ones who will be esc me to the… school?”
The two of them exged long looks.
“Did Franz really say nothing about us?” the elf asked.
“Not really,” Kus shook his head. “He said two retainers of House Bcksword would be here to ese, and that I should trust you, but that was it. He didn’t even tell me your names or what races you were.” Kus blushed as he realized what he said about not knowing their races.
Rather than being upset, they both doubled over in ughter.
“That sounds like Franz, alright,” said the behemoth of a man. “Sharing the bare minimum theing you figure things out by yourself.”
With a grin that showed his sharp teeth in profile, the man tapped his chest, making the pte armive a light ringing sound. “My name is Rolfun, and I am a half-ogre Berserker sworn to House Bcksword.”
“And I’m his wife, Alesin,” the elven woman said, lightly resting her hand on Rolfun’s shoulder to push the half-ogre into a bow as she did, “and I am a sun elf Fire Mage also sworn to House Bcksword. We have been charged with esc you from here, in the Wildnds on the edge of an Imperial Frontier World known as Verdant VI, to the perma portal hub that will allow you passage to the Imperial Academy in which your family has secured your enrollment, my lord.”
“It is o meet you,” Kus said, still feeling somewhat awkward from asking them about their races, and even more so about the tohey were addressing him with. While he had known intellectually that being a part of the nobility would mean ges, given how Franz had been iing with him, he hadn’t expected this type of treatment so quickly.
“And it is our honor to be esc the s of House Bcksword to the Imperial Academy,” Alesin said, then stood up from her bow. “If you will follow me to the other side of the clearing, we unlock your access to the System and we begin our jouro Ilthis.”
Kus nodded and followed Alesin to where she had set up a small ritual circle, this one already glowing red. A single white sto o it, which Alesin promptly picked up.
“If you have a seat within the circle, we get started. It might take a few mio unlock the System.”
“That is it? I thought this would be a bit more of an involved ceremony or ritual of some sort?”
“No, my lord. This is the most basic of initiations into the System that all gh. By design, it is simple so anyone gain access. Now, make sure your entire body lies within the circle.”
Sitting within the circle, Kus pulled his legs in tight so that they didn’t overp with any of the lines in the dirt. Without a word, Alesin leaned over him to set the white stone on top of his head. As soon as it made tact, it burst into dust that quickly faded into the air around him, the red circle pulsing once befoing dull. Even though Kus guessed what was going to happen, it was still a jarring surprise to see a blue box appear in the air in front of him. No matter how he turned his head, the box tio hover in the middle of his gaze.
“It will take a few minutes for us to get everything together. You should take your time to get familiar with your HUD, Lord Krion.”
“Lord Krion?” Kus asked softly, the way they had been addressing him finally sinking in, but Alesin had already turned away to join Rolfun in pag up a small campsite hidden in the shadow of a tree on the edge of the small clearing. He turned his attention to the box h in front of him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: START]
Wele, Krion Bcksword. An initial e to the Mutiversal System has beeablished. You have been granted [Basic Level Access] — the standard interface given to all individuals of natures that range from [RESTRICTED] all the to [RESTRICTED]. The current level of access you possess allows you to view your character sheet and core attributes and i with the essential funs of the System. Given your status as [RESTRICTED] the level of access be expanded.
Additional Information: Your jourhrough the System has only just begun. tinue growing in strength and knowledge to push beyond your limits so that you might increase your ces of gaining access to special quests, titles, unique abilities, and more.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: END]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO VIEW YOUR INTERFACE?]
YES/YES?
Sn softly at the ck of options, Kus mentally selected both ‘YES’ options at once. His breath seized in his chest as it appeared.
Name: Krion von SturmwachtRace: Human (Noresyn)Css: TBD - Level 0Profession(s): TBDEssence(s): TBD
Fa: Treverorum Empire - House BckswordRank: S - Unnded
Strength: 12Dexterity: 10Vitality: 14Endurance: 19Intelligence: 17Wisdom: 8Charisma: 7Luck: 4
Traits: Greater Soul Oath (Unknown - Hidden)Skills: N/AAbilities: N/A
This Interface finally firmed what Franz had been alluding to ba Earth. His real name was Krion, not Kus, and his homeworld was marked as Noresyn, wherever that was. The System also, apparently, reized him as being both a part of the Treverorum Empire, as well as being a s of House Bcksword. Anyone who had access to a way to view his Interface would immediately know that.
While ‘Krio fn, acc to the System, it had always been a part of him, hiddeh the yers of his life oh. Deg at that moment to follow through with the promises he had made to himself earlier, Kus set aside his old o embrace his new one. Krion was who he was meant to be.
Skipping over Essence, as he had no text to guess what that meant, he moved on to his stats. From what he could tell, his stats looked alright apart from Luck, but without ao pare them to, there was no way to tell just how good they were. Thankfully, he rgely reized each of the different stats, given his time pying RPG games with friends. Hopefully, he would have little fusion as to what eae did for him.
Less familiar were the tabs presenting information on Traits, Skills, and Abilities, all of which were empty except for Traits. As soon as his eyes nded oer Soul Oath, he kly what it referred to: that visitor in the hospital years ago. As hard as he focused on it, even going so far as to mutter a few words under his breath about opening or expanding information while staring at it, nothing happened. Perhaps that was somehow due to the current level of access he had. Acc to the message, his access could be expanded in some way, but there was no information provided as to how. Banishing it from his mind for now, Krion closed his HUD and stood up from the ritual circle.
Behind him, Alesin and Rolfun were in the process of putting the st of their supplies away. Finally, they stuffed their tabards into their packs. Everything packed away, Rolfu over and muttered something to Alesin, pointing in two different dires. Likely going over which way to leave the ing. Krion walked over, and as he grew closer his escort stopped talking and turo him. It struck him all at ohat, not only were they not human, but the sun elf and half-ogre radiated a carefully trolled aura of violehat he was only pig up on now. He scrambled for something to say.
“Why did you put the tabards away?” he blurted.
“Well, you see,” Rolfun awkwardly scratched the side of his head with one massive finger, “House Bcksword is a bit… stretched thin at the moment…” Rolfun awkwardly paused, gng down at Alesin.
“And we are well on the edge of Imperial territory out here on this frontier world,” Alesin tinued, eyes making their way to Krion’s face as if to judge his rea to their words. Apparently seeing whatever it was she was looking for in his expression, she took a deep breath then tinued. “Look, my lord, while you might feel it due your station to have use escort you the whole way with the tabards on, that might not be the best idea, since…well…” the sun elf paused.
“Yes?”
Taking what he said as permission to tinue, Alesin said, “You house has a lot of enemies and the tabards would make us, and by extension you, a target if we were to e across the sworn bondsman of any number of noble houses that might have a presen this world—” Alesin full-on flinched as something in Krion’s expression ged. “We will of course wear them, my lord, should you and us to.”
Before she even fully finished speaking, Krion was shaking his head. “No. If you say they would make us targets for enemies we might otherwise be able to avoid, then by all means, please make sure they are packed away out of sight. Could… could I see one of them before we leave?” He awkwardly shifted his weight. “It’s just… I have never seen the symbol of House Bcksword before.”
“Of course!”
Almost before he had finished asking, or perhaps at the relief that she would not be ao wear it while they escorted him, Alesin ulliabard free from her pack. Unfolding it, she prese to Krion in a half-bow.
Gently taking the tabard in hand, Krion was immediately surprised at the sturdy weight of the azure material. Flexing his arms, he put the weight at ten pounds at least. For all that, though, it still had a texture almost akin to silk. He stared down at what he now held, eyes roving over the details woven into it, which showed more than the simple bck sword he had seen in passing when he first saw Rolfun and Alesin. Now that he was closer to it, he could make out a helm, winged dragons, and s in various pces across it.
“I don’t know much about heraldry,” Krion fessed as he looked down oabard, “but could you expin to me what all this means?”
“You really don’t reize it?” Alesin said, again in a tone Krion could nnize. Was it doubt or fusion he heard in her voice?
“No,” Krion replied as the awkwardness seemed to increase another notch. Better to get everything right out in the open. “It has only been a few days since I have learned about all of this. Before Franz saved my life, I was just a doctor’s assistant with no idea about who I really was, House Bcksword, the Empire, or anything really.”
Without another word, Rolfu in close and began to point to the various is oabard.
“The Sable Sword at the ter symbolizes the martial might of House Bcksword.” His fihen taped the ed helm that hovered over the hilt. “The helm itself indicates not just elevated status and authority within the Empire, but also a legacy of rulership that spans geions.”
“And the dragons and s?” A part of Krion hated how eager he souo learn more. House Bcksword had apparently abandoned him oh and, pletely ung of the impacts revealing the truth to him in the middle of his normal life would have, ordered him retrieved so that he might attend some school for nobility.
Another part of him, however, truly did want to learn more about his past, if only to better prepare for what the future might bring.
“The Winged Dragons oher side of the bde symbolize strength, ce, vigince, and House Bcksword’s itment to proteg its territories and allies while pursuing power, magid learning. The Interwoven s surrounding everything show how unity and loyalty within House Bcksword hold everything together. ” Rolfun’s fihen traced lower, lightly tapping the words uhe crest. “Bdes Unyielding, Honor Unbroken. The motto of House Bcksword and the greatest itment of all sword to it.”
Rolfun’s expnation done, Krioly hahe tabard back to Alesin so she could pack it away. “Thank you for telling me what everythi.”
Rolfun gave another half bow to Krion. “Of course, my lord.”
“So, even as a S of House Bcksword, you really have no knowledge about…” Alesiured vaguely around herself, theween her and Rolfun.
“No, absolutely no idea about anything.” Krion grimaced.
“Well, that expins why you are not such a pain i—”
“Rolfun!!!” Alesin half-shouted, pung the rger half-ogre in the side, causing him to grunt and slump slightly. Rolfun rubbed his side with a wihen apologetically looked at Krion, fully aware of the brea respect he had almost made
“My apologies, Lord Krion. Sometimes I speak without thinking.”
Rather than respond, Krio loose a light chuckle that quickly turned into full-on ughter as he doubled over in mirth. Once he was done and took a few moments to catch his breath, he looked back up at the bemused faces of his escorts. He finally uood the looks they had been giving him, and the stant ‘my lords’. He remembered Franz’s advid it sparked an idea in him.
“It’s alright, Rolfun. While I admit I occasionally be a pain in the ass, my life never allowed me to develop the personality traits I’m now realizing you seem to be worried about.” He straightened up to make eye tact with them both. “I appreciate you both beio ese wherever it is we are going so I attend the Imperial Academy you mentioned. I would appreciate even more if you would keep those tabards hidden and drop the ‘my lords’ if you feel doing so will increase our ces of running into trouble on this trip.” He then bowed his head to the sun elf and half-ogre, at which he could almost feel how they froze in shock at the sight. “Most of all, I would appreciate it if you would teach me anything you think I would find useful on the way.”
“Lord, please raise your head. It is nht for you to bow to us.” Alesin said nervously. When Krion did not move, the sun elf asked somewhat softer, “Please… Krion… raise your head.”
Thinki what he wanted, Krion did as she asked. The sun elf stared awkwardly at him for a moment, clearly not sure what to say when Rolfun took it on himself to speak.
“Well, it will be o escort a S that wants to avoid fights for once.” When Krion looked at the half-ogre, some of the fusion must have shown on his face. “What? Just because I have the Berserker css doesn’t mean I look for every battle I find.” Rolfun gave him a teasing grin, though it looked weird on the massive half-ogre’s face. “Especially when I have to escort a young lord who ’t tell his ass from a hole in the ground.”
Alesin hit her husband a bit harder at his disrespect, causing him to double over once more. She couldn’t help the slight smile that appeared on her own face, however, especially when it because clear that Krion had taken no offe her husband’s disrespect.
“Very well, Krion,” Alesin said in agreement. “The list of things we might find useful for you to know is a bit wide. We will promise to teach you what we , but only if you agree to follow a few rules as we escort you to our destination.”
“What rules?”
“The first should be the easiest for you, given your requests just now. Since we are ged with your safe escort, you must agree to keep quiet about your true identity. We are not exaggerating when we say there are many that would take advantage of any situation where a young s of House Bcksword is vulnerable and open to attack.”
“Agreed,” Krion said. “What else?”
“The sed rule is that you must follow any and all instrus that we give you. This frontier world is far from the seat of Imperial power in this sector of the Empire. There are many creatures, many things, that could kill us out here.” Seeing Krion grow nervous at her words, she hasteo add in reassurance, “We are experienced bodyguards, and we have much experien the wilds of untamed worlds. So long as you listen to what we tell you, there will be very few things you will have to worry about.”
“Done. Are there any more rules?”
“No, Krion,” Rolfun shook his head, shifting his pa his shoulders to settle it. “So long as you obey those rules, this trip will be far easier than expected. For all of us.”
“So, are you ready to go?” Alesin asked.
“Yes. Oh!” a thought struck him, and without a word, he pivoted to rush back over to the ritual circle he had been sitting in. With a few quick kicks of his boots, he destroyed the markings on the ground, removing the st evidehat anyone had been in the clearing. He hurried back over to his escorts.
“There. Now I’m ready to go.”
Rolfun and Alesin shared a look, the half-iving a smiling nod of approval at Krion ag to cover up the st piece of evidehat they had been in the clearing, after which Alesin spoke up. “Alright, Krion, stick close to us. We have a ways to go until we reach the road.”
Rolfun took the lead into the trees, Alesin motioning for Krion to go . She moved close behind him, eyes alternatiween Rolfun’s bad the surrounding trees. As the clearing disappeared into the woods behind them, Krion couldn’t help but feel a mix of fear aement. He was fully itted now.
There was no going back.
