Path of the Pioneers

Blue light paints my face, and the silhouettes and footsteps to my side keep me assured that I'm still walking in the right direction. The shift in my skills list is sizeable enough to make my skin crawl with excitement. Looking over each new thing I've been given from completing my trials has me feeling like I've gone through a dozen birthdays in one week. The rewards were substantial, bordering on excessive - not that I'm complaining at all. I'd be a fool to get upset about this level of generosity.

Name: Sybil Sagecrest

Class: Pioneer of Sorcery

Level: 1 (0%)

Mana: (690/690)

Status Points:

• Strength: 6
• Agility: 16 (+3) 
• Intellect: 23
• Resilience: 15
• Luck: 14

My stats are the same as they were when I hit my fifteenth level in Apprentice, but I've been pulled right back down to level 1. In essence, I've gained fifteen levels of stat growth (at Apprentice's accelerated rate) for free. Or, well, as close as you can call what I went through 'free.' Outside of my level and experience, only one other number on my status window has changed: my mana.

It very nearly sent me toppling out of my bed when I saw the number - out of pure shock. Triple the mana? It still makes me feel a bit lightheaded to think about, and the reason behind the increase has only left me with more questions.

"Are ye certain yer well, Sybil?" Maeve asks in a hushed tone. "After what ye've been through, t'go right into fightin' only a day after wakin' up..."

That's the strange part, isn't it? My body feels fine, in spite of all of the terrible things it's been through. A proper miracle - the work of Stella, Maeve, and becoming a Pioneer. "Right as rain." I say.

She hardly looks convinced, and Aisling looks about as worried - maybe in a different sense or for a different reason. She's definitely hard to gauge...

The both of them were in an uproar when I asked for a spar, but it was nothing compared to Cairbre's reaction. "Are ye out of yer damned mind, lass?!" He roared, "Yer heart was punctured and doused in bleedin' fire!"

"Literal bleedin' fire." I remember Aisling muttered under her breath, perhaps unconsciously.

I insisted on it, in a way that I hadn't done in years. It was difficult going against someone's wishes to such a drastic extent, but I forced myself - to great success. They were reluctant and grumbly about it, but I managed to get them to agree. Given, of course, that we're all on our best behavior and make especially sure not to kill or maim one another.

It wasn't ever a problem with Adeline, so I don't expect anything lethal to happen.

"Where're ye takin' us, anyways?" Aisling remarks, "We aren't gonna fight in the city, are we?"

"It's a secluded spot," I say, "at the back of the city. With waterways and willow trees - real ones, I mean."

"Ye wanna fight us near the Source?" Maeve asks, confused.

I stop walking for a moment, staring back at Maeve a step below me, "I've sparred there before..." I lick my lips nervously, "Is it wrong to fight in that place?"

"Hm." She puts a hand to her cheek, contemplating my question. "I hadn't thought about it before..." She says.

"Most spats in the city're resolved in the streets or outside the gates." Aisling adds, "Though most o' those spats're caused by drunks, so they aren't very creative. I fer one am more'n happy for a change o' pace." She grins.

I think about it for a moment, take a deep breath, and then decide to simply keep walking instead.

I've learned quite a bit since the class transfer. For the most part, each of those things that I've come to find out relate to the reason behind a Pioneer's strength. Those things, to keep it brief, are an excess of traits that would make most normal awakened weep on the spot. I thought that I got quite lucky with [Apprentice], but even I felt sort of discouraged when I saw what I had been given.

Traits

Path of Sorcery

The Pioneer of Sorcery is one who wields mana; one who manipulates the energy of the soul. Controlling mana and casting spells comes more naturally to them as a result.

Nigh-Boundless Vessel

The Pioneer of Sorcery's soul is able to harness a great deal of mana, bordering on {Boundless}. Their mana reservoirs are tripled from their standard amount. In addition, the Pioneer of Sorcery recovers mana faster than normal (even while awake.)

Child of the Sea

The Pioneer of Sorcery is inextricably bound to the Sea of Mana. They can sense its flow, and can even extend their senses through it as a conduit.

Swift Growth

Stat points acquired increased, skill growth increased.

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The Pioneer of Sorcery has been branded an enemy of the Pioneer of Virtue. The Pioneer of Virtue can detect the Pioneer of Sorcery's location perfectly from anywhere within a half-mile.

Ridiculous, truly ridiculous. I don't even have to sleep anymore to get my mana back - it all just comes back over time. The thought of recovering mana at any sort of accelerated rate makes me feel a touch nauseous, though. [Nigh-Boundless Vessel] essentially allows me to get 30 mana for 1 point. I'm still confused about the inclusion of {Boundless} though. I asked Cairbre about it when I first saw it, but he was just as confused as I was.

I'm exceptionally curious about what [Path of Sorcery] really does, but I'll have to dig deeper another time. At the very least, it almost certainly makes casting spells an easier process. Maybe the flow of mana within myself is more smooth?

[Child of the Sea] was the second-most perplexing, especially with what it seems to imply. "Extend their senses through it as a conduit." Is it saying that I can sense through the Sea of Mana? I don't like the sound of it, in truth - especially because of what Jemith had told me: The Sea of Mana is supposed to be the source of all souls.

It doesn't seem like I sense the flow of the Sea by default, it's likely something that I have to choose to do. I've chosen not to, for now.

Then, of course, there's what appears to be [Anathema]. Startled the daylights out of me when I first read it. I very nearly panicked thinking that Selene would start hunting me down right away - but again, it's only a half-mile. For the time being, I'm safe. Or so I hope. It may become a problem if the woman decides to make good on her promise of visiting Ashglen.

I'll just have to worry about it if it happens. There's nothing more to do now.

Of course, I didn't just receive new traits. I received a few different skills as well, and all of them seemed to be fairly useful. I'm looking forward to trying each of them.

"This is the place." I say.

Going this deep almost makes this place feel like it isn't even a part of the city. Just some lonely corner. There are no buildings to speak of, and no signs of life save for those somber-looking trees. Beyond us, the road just continues onward, likely toward the "Source" that Maeve spoke of. Clear, fresh, flowing water runs along either side of the road, same as before.

This place feels more beautiful than before, somehow. I wonder if I just never took the time to look at it properly, back then.

Right. 'Back then' was only a couple of weeks ago.

I continue along, leaving Maeve and Aisling at their starting positions. It's only as I turn to face them that I realize that this was the side Adeline faced me from. Where the pair stands is where I stood. Where I lost to her.

I'm filled with hope beyond hope - a longing and a wish for them to lose so badly to me that they simply cannot reason joining me on my trek. If I can defeat them here, I may yet be able to spare them from dying at the hands of an awakened, a soldier, or gods forbid Josephine herself. I'd rather go at it alone than have a friend's blood on my hands, even if it's Cairbre's desire to save Adeline.

"At yer signal!" Aisling calls out, and Maeve nods.

I take a deep breath and nod in return, "Let's begin."