Path of the Pioneers

Only 50 years ago, a chosen few around the world began to see sparkling panels filled with odd writings, mentioning things like ‘classes’, ‘skills’, and ‘levels.’ Those who saw these panels were imbued with otherworldly powers, and grew into existences beyond the understanding of their time. They became known as “Pioneers,” the first of the awakened.

Most kingdoms and territories, as a matter of cause, forbade any awakened from existing within their territory that weren’t directly loyal to its leaders..

Name: Sybil Sagecrest

Class: Apprentice

Level: 9

For a year I’d lived peacefully in a village of little note, Gallwold. My days had been littered with pregnant women, children with the pox, and figures of various scrupulousness seeking medicinal solutions for their “drive.”

I’d been an awakened (an unsanctioned one, at that) for six years, making no real progress in the span of two of them, save for the development of my [Alchemy] skill. Calling it ‘development’ would be perhaps a slight bit deceptive, though, since I had only spent the time producing the most basic of items.

It was undoubtedly simple, repetitive, and plain. In Gallwold, there was no trouble to be heard of aside from the occasional tavern brawl. My master had always wanted me to go out and see the world, but I confined myself to a tiny cage of hovels and farmland.

The ringing of the bell at my door stirred me from my thoughts. A customer had come in. I had grown to know just about every person in the village, given my profession. It was Anabel, an older woman. “If I recall, it was.. Her daughter?” 

She smiled at me, “Sybil, dearie. I’ve just come t’thank ye. Becka’s right as rain, thanks t’yer medicine!” She seemed almost relieved. “I just wanted t’give ye this as thanks.” She lifted up a basket, setting it down gently on the counter. Inside were a few loaves of bread. A generous gift, considering the medicine had been paid for.

Still, turning down a gift like this would be considered rude of me. I smiled back at her. “Thank you very much, I’ll make good use of this.”

I felt miserable living in this village. But the people made me doubt my feelings.  The people here were kind, almost to a fault. How cruel would I have to be to reject a place like this?

My blade made a thunking noise each time it passed through the root and knocked against the board below. With each slice, I’d slide the edge of my knife further along the root. Within moments, the reagent was dismantled. Just as I’d been trained to do. 

I used the blade of my knife to slide the bits of root off of the cutting board and into a bubbling cauldron, filled halfway with boiling water. With the snap of my fingers, the flames below the cauldron dimmed, leaving only smoldering embers. The water began to turn a muddy brown from the roots boiling within.

Two products were most successful in a small village such as this one: pain relievers and healing salves. And as fortune would have it, they were incredibly simple to make. Once a week, I spent my night making a fair amount of them both.

Because of the [Alchemy] skill, I could make them both with my eyes closed, if I wanted to. That isn’t to say that I ever chose to actually try; you would have to be a fool to risk the wholeness of your fingers and hands on a skill working properly. 

These roots were a very vital part of the process for the most basic of healing salves. They contain compounds that allow for great benefits in the body. Unfortunately, they also contained startlingly potent toxins. This was an easily solved problem, however. Boiling the roots leeches out the toxins, while leaving behind everything else. 

The water they’re boiled in becomes a frightening poison, though. Thus, one must never forget to rinse them afterwards. Something my master always…

My attention was drawn away rather suddenly as I heard the shuffle of heavy footsteps almost right outside.  The loud, ringing clinking of metal armor was what made me rush to the window, drawing my curtains aside just enough to form a crack for me to peer out through it.

The kingdom was perfectly fine with apothecaries and herbalists of any variety. After all, people had always been able to make medicine with plants, without the advantage of awakening.

The Crown did, however, step in at the merest whiff of magic.  If I may have accidentally produced an item that was far too good for a simple countryside apothecary to have made… 

Through my window, I saw a woman in plate armor, grimacing in pain and staring upwards. There were seven men, soldiers of the kingdom. They wore armor emblazoned with the sigil of the kingdom, proof of their position. All of them were standing on the dirt path running through this part of the village, and it just so happened to go right past my shop.

The sun was just beginning to set outside, darkness would soon take the village.

A nervous, shaky sigh slipped past my lips, fogging up the window just slightly with the cold, evening air outside. So they hadn’t been here for me, after all.

This was a sight I’d seen before, nobility of all ranks wielded their authority to bully the lowly and weak. I was familiar with it more than anything else. I didn’t know what their reason was for beating her down and attacking her, but it didn’t matter to me. Whether she be a thief, heretic, or killer.

My master had despised these crooks, and she did everything in her power to avoid them. But in the end, it was all for naught. I never wanted to meet an end like hers, as callous as that may sound. Stepping in to aid this unfortunate soul would surely bring about the end of my calm, comfortable days.

The woman’s eyes were practically burning up, but her body was clearly losing its hold on life. The longsword she held at her side was sparking and popping weakly.

Regardless of her state, the soldiers were clearly hesitating. Were they afraid of her?

My eyes widened as I noticed six soldiers laying in the grass behind the rest, darkening sky and the mist clinging close to the ground almost entirely obscuring them. Could she handle another seven? Even as an awakened, something she would have to be in order to accomplish what she had, this was a tall order. 

I glanced back at the interior of my home. It wasn’t exactly nice by the standards of many, but it was certainly comfortable, and it was mine. My eyes strayed to a pointed hat, its tip drooping ever-so slightly from its age. It had been the last thing my master gave to me, and it was now hanging on a hook on a wall.

At the sight of it, I couldn’t help but remember my time with her.

“Master, what made you decide to help me? I was a simple stranger to you."

I remember her smile, a flash of white as she grinned widely. The confidence she exuded made it feel as if the answer were obvious. “You were a kid in a bind, do I look like a monster?”

My fingers ran along the brim of the hat, plucking it off its hook and resting it gently atop my head.

I swung open the door to my home, stepping outside and looking out at the woman and the soldiers. They had a serious look on their face, gripping the hilts of their blades tightly in their hands as if they feared whatever this half-dead woman could do to them. To me, it looked as if she were hanging on purely from adrenaline.

The two parties were still lined up on the road, facing one another. It looked as if the soldiers were too agitated to perform a coordinated attack against the woman. 

It was a beautiful evening. The last bit of sunlight shone through the trees of the forest outside the village, highlighting the buildings I had grown accustomed to. I was a little sad to have to give it all up.

I opened my lips to speak, “Are you lot soldiers?”