Don't Destroy the World

The heist didn't happen right away. There was too much that Ember had to prepare. The first was convincing her parents to go with her alter-ego, Bloom Larisel. Surprisingly, her parents weren't as against it as she first thought. Talking with them proved that they were cautious but the knowledge that they would be able to come along had eased most of their fears. It also became clear they were considering taking the opportunity to escape the village.

In the past few nights, Ember had woken up to her parents talking in muffled voices and making plans. She knew it wasn't easy for them to leave their home but with Lord Felis's special interest in her mother they knew it was a matter of time before something happened they were powerless to stop.

Honestly, it was a miracle that Lord Felis hadn't done anything yet but as much as he desired to possess Ember's mother he also didn't want her mother to truly hate him. Unfortunately, Ember knew from experience that wouldn't last forever. He had already shown that when he grabbed her by the hair in front of her mother.

Lord Felis hated Ember. She had been the sign that his childhood love for his dear Camila had been snatched away by another. Just the sight of her caused a burst of hatred through him. At first, he hid it well but over time he would nitpick or humiliate Ember whenever he would see her alone. Back then she had been timid and in awe of the noble so she never spoke about it to her mother and often would simply hide from his sight whenever he was around.

The day he grabbed her by the hair was the day his need to protect appearances in front of her mother had waned. Perhaps, it was because he already had a plan to entrap her mother. It had been secured the moment her mother accepted his offer of a healer. A payment they couldn't afford.

Ember sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Finder"

A large scroll appeared in front of Ember and unfurled, showing her the world of Ellasyr or at least portions of it. Finder never revealed an area she hadn't been to. She could get a general shape of areas she might have seen on a map but it was blank or fuzzy. The only areas she could see clearly were places she actually been. On the map that meant the country of Nivikes and some areas of Farru, a country she fought in the past.

Seeing the expanse of the map, Ember was struck with just how much of the world she hadn't seen even with two lives in Ellasyr. Even back when she lived on Earth, she had traveled very little. Perhaps it would be something she did once she had secured her family.

"Finder, find hidden coins."

Immediately, dots appeared scattered all over the map. She looked them over in curiosity. She knew it was too wide a search but she liked to look around in case something stood out to her. She sighed at the many dots clustered all over the country.

"Finder, find hidden coins forgotten by others besides myself."

Immediately, tons of spots vanished and only a few remained. Ember looked at them. Almost all of them were in oceans, deep in woods or mountains. There were several locations but not as many as she might have hoped given that she was looking over the entirety of Ellasyr. Still, it was fine. In her previous lives she had discovered two in Ellasyr and she had plans to recover them once she was capable.

Taking in another item in her future goals she decided it was time to focus. She needed money now and she knew the perfect place to rob without major repercussions if she played her cards right.

"Finder, find hidden coins gained through embezzlement in a range of 10 miles from me."

She had widened the area because she wanted to test a theory. Several dots appeared but none in the area of Lord Felis's manor. She frowned. She knew for a fact Lord Felis was hiding some coins he had embezzled but it didn't show on the map. She had expected as much but had hoped her Finder might have reset due to hew new life but it looked like her ability had no intention of letting her cheat.

The way Finder worked was that she had to find an object. It meant that if she already knew the exact location of something it wouldn't show up on the map. Since she knew where Lord Felis hid his ill-gotten goods it wouldn't show on the map. Finder was a finicky ability that had many little rules.

She often had to be precise in her asking otherwise she would get a jumble of dots like she had when she asked for hidden coins. It didn't just show buried coins, but a person hiding a coin under their pillow or behind their back. What was considered hidden provided a wide interpretation.

The same with forgotten coins. If a person read about a legend of lost treasure, then it wouldn't be considered forgotten. And obviously she had to consider herself in the equation. On top of that it didn't say how much was hidden so it could be a single coin or a mountain of them. The one time she had sent Lord Felis's men out on a treasure hunt only for them to retrieve a single lost gem had not been appreciated.

She shuddered at the memory. Back then he had beaten her so badly it took her weeks to recover. Her hand went to her chest but the brand was no longer there. A reminder that she had an opportunity to start over.

Now focus!

She turned her attention back to the map. There were four spots on it. Zooming into the map she noticed right away three of the spots were in town while one spot was three miles away from the town and deep into the woods. She stared at the spot within the woods.

Was it a secret cache hidden away by the guard captain? She stared at the spot, debating whether it would be worth it. It would clearly be dangerous, especially in her weakened state and she had no idea what traps or guards might be there. She looked at the other three spots. They were all in town and would be easier to enter but she might be noticed by others, though her stealth should help her with that. Still, it was a tricky situation.

Lord Felis's guards were a group of retired mercenaries that he hired when he was able to regain some of his family's fallen fortune. Retirement had made the ex-mercenaries lazy and lose some of their edge but they were still mercenaries deep down and Ember knew that one thing about mercenaries were that they were unpredictable.

She frowned. Things would have been so much easier if all the treasures she collected in Keeper's Hold had been there. Unfortunately, only one item had been inside of it and that item had been the most important item of them all - her soulbound weapon, Malleable, Mally for short. As disappointing as it was to lose all the treasures she had kept in Keeper's Hold having Mally was more than enough.

"Whoa, what's that?"

Ember jumped. She really wished her keen senses ability actually worked right now. She frowned at herself. She would have to do better if she wanted to rob a few mercenaries. Turning around she faced Rowan and Patricia. Rowan was staring at the map in excitement and even Patricia's eyes sparkled.

"It's a magic map that my teacher lent me," Ember explained. She had gotten so comfortable she hadn't really thought about how, unlike Keeper, Finder could be seen by anyone.

Rowan gave her a sharp look at her explanation. He opened his mouth and then quickly shut it, glancing at Patricia. Patricia didn't notice. The girl took a hesitant step forward and then fidget from side-to-side.

"You can both look at it if you want," Ember said, moving to the side so they could see it.

"Really?" Patricia squeaked out, taking another step forward.

Ember nodded, giving Patricia a reassuring smile. Patricia hesitated for a moment more before rush towards the map in curiosity and started examining it. Rowan, though, stayed where he was. It was clear he wanted to look at it but he held himself back.

"Your teacher gave it to you? You mean Bloom Larisel?"

"Yeah," Ember said, joining him.

Their eyes met and an unspoken battle of wills commenced but in the end her brother realized that any explanation would have to wait until later. Rowan huffed and then walked over to join Patricia.

The day after Patricia had shown her the cave, she had asked her if Rowan could join them. Patricia had been hesitant at first but agreed when Ember explained that she wanted a private spot to teach them both what she learned about Seedlings. Since then, they would meet every day in the cave. But Patricia didn't know Ember was a Seedling and had bought into her being the Apprentice of a Bloom.

Ember felt bad for keeping it a secret from Patricia but she promised to tell the girl once they had escaped Lord Felis's grasp.

"So...it's just a map?" Rowan asked a moment later, obviously less impressed than he had been before. "Is it at least a treasure map?"

Ember joined the pair. "It can be. It lets me see the location of things that I can't find."

"Really?" Rowan asked, his interest a little more piqued. He turned to the map. "Show me, Rigel."

Nothing happened. Rowan frowned and poked the map only for his finger to phase through it.

"Is it broken?"

Ember laughed and took a step forward. "No, it's just only responds to me." She looked at the map. "Finder, show Rigel within Goros."

Two red dots appeared on the map. One stayed in place while the other moved around.

"Wow!" Rowan leaned forward. "But why are there two?"

Patricia looked thoughtful. "Does it mean there are two Rigels in Goros?"

"That's right," Ember said, giving Patricia an approving look.

Patricia blushed with delight before quickly looking back at the map.

Rowan gave Patricia a funny look before turning his attention back to the map. "How about dad?"

From there, Ember found herself finding multiple things and people. It was mostly Rowan but even Patricia joined in. It went on for a while until Ember put Finder away and started her lesson for the day.

"Do you know how many ranks Seedlings have?" Ember started.

"Five!" Rowan shouted out.

Ember nodded. "That is the official answer."

Rowan puffed up at getting it right.

Patricia raised her hand, something Ember had taught them to do though Rowan tended to just shout out his thoughts.

Ember gestured for Patricia to speak.

"If that's the official ranking, does that mean there's an unofficial ranking?"

Ember grinned. "That's correct. In actuality there are six ranks. Seedling is an unofficial rank."

Rowan frowned. "That doesn't make sense. Seedling is anyone that gets an ability."

Ember nodded. "That's right. But what would you call someone who doesn't have a rank but has been chosen by Akashic?"

"Oh! A Seedling!" Patricia said then clamped her hand over her mouth.

Rowan glared at her before folding his arms with a huff. "That's not really a rank. I mean they'll get a rank after their registered."

Ember shook her head. "That's not always the case. There are several reasons a person might not get a rank. The first is if they never register."

Patricia raised her hand before speaking. "Isn't that illegal?"

"It is but people still do it. They might stay hidden if they can though the King has Knights that search for illegal Seedlings."

"The Thorn Knights," Rowan said with reverence. "The go after Seedling criminals."

"They do. They are very strong and take their orders only from the King. The King is also able to gift them with the ability to recognize Seedlings."

"Why would a Seedling not register, then?" Patricia asked.

"Because they're dumb," Rowan answered.

"There are many reasons," Ember said, ignoring Rowan's outburst. "It could be a commoner who doesn't want to join the Akashic Order or be bound to a noble. It could be someone who became awaken in an undocumented way and wants to keep it secret. Of course, there are people who don't register because they are ashamed of their abilities or want to hide them to do criminal acts. The reasons are endless, but no matter the reason, they are considered criminals by the King."

She paused, meeting Rowan's eyes. Her brother quickly looked away.

"Of course, there's a grace period as well. You have two months to register. This rule allows people time to get their affairs together or at least travel to the closest temple to register."

When there were no more comments, Ember returned back to the topic. "Another reason a person will not get a ranking is if they are considered too weak. A normal practice is to determine a person's rank by how many abilities they have. In order to get the lowest rank, Leafling, you have to have at least two abilities."

Rowan frowned and this time he raised his hand before speaking. "But aren't people awakened by priest given only one ability."

"That's right."

"B-but that's not fair!" Rowan shouted, jumping to his feet. "The Choosing only lets you be awakened by a priest. We don't have a choice."

"It's not fair," Ember said flatly. "Most commoners will never get a rank."

Patricia looked between the two and then raised her hand. "But there have been a few people who have gotten more than one ability from a priest. Knight Luther is even a Trunk that has only one ability."

"That's correct," Ember said and she noticed Rowan relax a bit though he didn't seem quite satisfied.

"It does happen but it is very rare. In most cases to get multiple abilities you have to access a sapling or even the Akashic Tree itself. But sometimes a two ability Seedling will awaken under a priest." She paused. "As to the one-ability Trunk, that brings me to the other way to get a rank."

"While many people can get a rank when they register, people can raise their ranks through magic school. It gives people a chance to grow their abilities. Even a one ability person can gain a rank if they are shown to be powerful. Unfortunately, most magic schools require a person to have at least two abilities to join."

"That means the only option left is achievements. A one ability person can earn a rank through achievements. That means going to the royal capital for the King's Arena or being acknowledged by three nobles for acts directly tied to your ability and a rank petition to the King. Most try their luck in the arena since it's the more straightforward though it can be extremely dangerous."

"How did Knight Luther do it?" Rowan asked.

"He did both," Ember said with a smile. "He fought in the arena and was also acknowledged."

"That's fantastic!" Rowan said. "If I only get one ability, I'm going to do the same thing. Though I'm sure I'm going to get, like twenty."

"I don't think anyone has gotten twenty abilities," Patricia said thoughtfully.

"I'll be the first then," Rowan said puffing out his bony chest.

Ember grinned. "Maybe you will."

For the rest of the lesson, they went over the five ranks:

Leafling (2 abilities)

Bloom (3-5 abilities or power range)

Branch (6-9 abilities or power range)

Trunk (10+ abilities or power range)

Root (One of the top 25 most powerful)

While Leafling rank was based on number of abilities, the other ranks were a combination of number of abilities and the quality of skill or power. It was why magic schools were considered so important.

From there they talked about some of the more well-known Seedlings and their ranks so that they could have a better gauge of just how powerful a person had to be in order to gain a particular rank.

The lesson ended up going on for much longer than planned and so it was almost dusk by the time they headed back. As usual, they walked Patricia part-way home, knowing that if they walked her all the way to her house it would just cause problems for her.

What was unusual was how quiet Rowan had been the entire way. Despite his excitement about the Seedling heroes they talked about, when they started on their way home he grew quieter and quieter.

Ember left him to thoughts. It was only when Rowan stopped just before they reached their house that she questioned it.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't get you."

"Same," Ember shot back.

Rowan scowled. "I'm being serious. You said you were woken by a priest then how do you have so many abilities? And how are you different from me? You said I'll turn out as a dud but what makes you so different? Why weren't you a dud?" He balled up his fist. "And are you planning to register or are you going to be a criminal? What happens if the Thorn Knights come after you? What happens if you-"

"Hold on," Ember said, making a placating gesture. "That's a lot of questions."

"You have a lot of secrets," Rowan shot back.

Ember winced and then rubbed her forehead. Was the past already repeating itself? No, she wouldn't let it.

"Look, there's a lot of things I haven't told you but it's not because I want to keep secrets from you. It's because I want to make sure we're safe first. I promise to answer all your questions but we have to get out of here first."

"Why do we have to wait? Don't you trust me?" Rowan said in frustration.

"I do!" Ember shouted and then calmed herself. "You're my one and only brother and I trust you the most. What I don't trust is Lord Felis and his group. I'm worried if they find out they'll force me to work for him and use it against our family. I just want to get us out of here and then I'll tell you everything."

Rowan's face twisted up and it was clear he was struggling but eventually he nodded. "You promised. Don't think I'll forget."

"I won't. It's a promise."

Rowan seemed to relax after that and they continued their walk home. As they walked, Ember couldn't help wondering what would happen once she did tell Rowan the truth.