2 The Beginning - Chapter 2
"That's a lot of jobs." I said, reading down the list. There was no way that I was going to pick a job like cook or apothecary. That added option caught my attention though.
MANA WEAVER
A JOB CHOICE INDIVIDUAL TO -YOLEN- IT ALLOWS THE MANIPULATION OF MANA, THE ENERGY THAT SURROUNDS THS WORLD AND MAKES SPELLCASTING POSSIBLE.
AS A MANA WEAVER ONE IS ABLE TO GRASP THAT ENERGY AND MAKE IT INTO SPELLS FROM THE GROUND UP. WHAT SPELLS AND ENCHANTMENTS YOU BECOME CAPABLE OF DEPENDS ON YOUR IMAGINATION AND JOB LEVEL.
JOB SPECIFIC SKILLS
ARCANE EYE AND MANA WEAVING
Arcane eye was a skill that allowed you to see mana and how it is acting. Mana weaving was a skill that allowed the direct manipulation of mana. It definitely did sound tempting.
CONFIRM JOB CHOICE
MANA WEAVER Y/N
I pressed the Y.
ACKNOWLEDGED
I looked back at my stat screen. Sure enough the job had changed. Looking around, I noticed feint trails of blue slowly drifting in the air.
'That must be mana.' I thought, reaching out to touch it. My touch didn't affect it. "Hmm" I checked the mana weaving skill.
MANA WEAVING - LVL 1
ABLE TO GRASP THE RAW FABRIC OF THE ARCANE AND SHAPE IT TO YOUR WILL.
MANA COST - 0
"Alright, let's give it another go." This time I tried to attract the mana into my hand. Small streams of blue light flowed into a globe above my hand. "Well I guess I just have to think about it. Now to try and make some magic." I said grinning. I held the mana out in front of myself, picturing a small, heatless flame. The blue light became more substantial and a dull azure glow lit the cell. The globe of energy became a flickering blue flame that began to glow lightly.
SKILL EARNED - BRINGER OF FLAME
"Didn't expect that." I pressed on the skill and apparently it gave me 10% resistance to fire per level of the skill. So at level ten it should give me full immunity.
'Surely this isn't common in this world?' I asked myself. Suddenly I thought of an idea. Holding out both hands in front of me I opened my empty hand, right next to the hand containing the magical flame. Bright blue light coalesced into the form of a blue, heatless flame.
BRINGER OF FLAME - LVL 2
GENESIS/DESOLATION - LVL 2
'So I can level up skills by using them, wait, not exactly.'
I had leveled up bringer of flame by making more flames but not though burning myself which I was thrilled about to say the least.
"Hey!" A gruff voice yelled from one of the cells down the hallway. "You! What you doing there? You a caster? Get us out of here!"
I quickly shut off the two lights.
"What're you then?" I asked, my voice a but different.
"I'm an assassin. Killed the mayor's son."
"Doesn't sound like I should let you out then." I called back.
"Well you're that mysterious thing that fell out of the sky. I hear they're going to question you later on, this town isn't kind with their questions."
"I'll clear myself by then."
"Like hell you will. You crushed the guard building."
"I what?" At this point I was uncomfortable talking to someone I didn't know what looked like so I tried to will the mana to create that heatless flame. A small flame burst to life in the cell next to mine, illuminating it. I moved the flame until it reached the cell that the man was in. He was a thin and dirty person with pointed ears. My first time seeing an elf. I then created a flame next to my head.
"You crashed through the guard building, I heard a few guards have been injured. People thought you were a sky rock."
"A sky rock?"
"Yeah, rocks that fall from the sky."
'Ahh, they don't have a name for meteors.'
"I'm still not breaking you out."
"Come on, I'll make it worth your while." The elf said grinning.
"No thanks." I said, turning off the lights.
"You'll regret this." The man said from his cell banging on the bars.
"Don't think I will." I said.
After waiting to see if he would talk anymore I turned back to my status screen which popped up as soon as I thought of it. I decided to place 5 points in constitution, intelligence and strength.
NAME - YOLEN ARCANUM
RACE - FALLEN
LVL - 1
HP - 560
HP/s - +5.6
MP - 294
MP/s - +1.5
JOB - MANA WEAVER
INDIVIDUAL SKILL - GENESIS/DESOLATION
STR - 20
AGI - 11
CON - 20
INT - 21
FTH - 2
ABILITY POINTS (0)
The hp and it's regain went up as I put points into constitution. I did feel slightly better, suddenly realising that the illness that I had before had gone. Well, at the moment that was the least of my worries.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway, the opposite direction from the elf.
"Here we go." The elf said from the dark.
The orange wavering light of a flame lit torch began to make its way down the hallway. Soon the sound of metal clinking together became audible.
"Where is the prisoner?" A commanding female voice asked.
"Just down this way ma'am." A male voice applied.
I caught sight of the two and quickly checked that my binds were still on, standing to see more. It was a man clad in plate armour with red cloth with a sigil adorning it. Next to him was a middle-aged human woman with short cropped hair speckled grey with age. She had stern looking eyes and wore light armour adsorbed with the same sigil. A small bird of some kind. The man in armour pointed toward me.
"That's him. Looks like he's awake."
"Thank you Graham." The woman said, stepping towards my cell, retrieving keys from her belt while the man made a show of putting his hand on his sword.
"Hello prisoner, we are going to take you to questioning." She explained while opening the cell. "Follow me and do not try to escape, that will not go well for you."
"Alright." I said, shooting a glance towards the elf.
--
The two officers took me out of the cold and dark stone hallway, up and into a larger wooden room. The room then led into a chamber with a podium and small circular cage. They placed me in the cage, it came up to about waist height and so I could lean on the edges, they also tied a rope to my binds and connected that to the bars.
Gradually people in light armour, those in heavy plate and people in simple farming clothes filled the room behind me. A man in a silk tunic came into the chamber followed by several people in guard uniforms, the same as the man who had come to retrieve me.
The eyes of everyone in the room were directed towards me, some had disgust, others, curiosity.
Finally the man in silk took his place at the podium, holding his hands up. The whispers in the room subsided. Even though the man was slightly portly he seemed to have an air of authority about him that the villagers responded to.
"We are gathered today to question this creature," guesturing towards me. "To find out its origins and its intentions. We will first proceed with the appraisal."
'Ah' I thought, 'the appraisal, they'll be able to read my stats.'
A woman dressed in deep purple robes strode into the room, her face obscured by the hood she wore. Some whispers spread through the room of "mage" or "outsider" this woman, whoever she was, was not a usual occurance in this village. She got to within arm's length of me and then began to mutter some words, impossibly feint lines of mana began to drift towards her, so many less than my small flame had used. As I studied how the mana moved towards and around her, a tendril of it, almost non-existant latched itself onto me. The woman then held up a hand and the mana coalleced onto a stat screen.
NAME - YOLEN ARCANUM
RACE - FALLEN
JOB - MANA WEAVER
INDIVIDUAL SKILL - GENESIS/DESOLATION
STR - 20
AGI - 11
CON - 20
INT - 21
FTH - 2
It only contained a few of my stats but a couple of damning ones as well.
Gasps filled the room.
"It is a fallen." The man on the podium, presumably the mayor, announced. "Intelligent as well."
I took a risk. "Yes I am, I know this but I do not remember anything else."
"Silence!" The mayor shouted, guards stepping towards me. "You will only speak when questioned. Beast."
It seemed this man and most of those in the room would detest me for what I was.
