Chapter 79

In the wake of Lady Yalindra’s ousting from our community, I had gotten exactly what I desired — a time of peace and progress. A year and a half had passed in quiet certitude. Initially, Ser Joss and his forces had occupied the wooden fort, but that had been short lived with the Duke of House Landrin indicating his support for Ser Joss and claiming the village and silver mine. Ser Joss, now Baron Joss, had been given control of the area under the auspices of House Landrin.

With the approval of his Lord, Baron Joss had set about building a stone keep for himself and his soldiers. The new works had masons moving into the town, along with carpenters for furniture, tailors for clothes, and many more. With more residents came the need for more services. Farriers to see to the needs of the horses for both the merchants as well as the Baron’s own forces; Coopers for barrels, the list went on. There had even been a hunting lodge built for the hunters who migrated.

Once just a small outpost and stopover for merchants, the newly named town of Hornpeak had continued to grow by the week. The amount of silver flowing from the mine had increased consistently as new miners moved to the town and joined the rebranded Hornpeak Mining Company. In the wake of the theft, which Baron Joss had seemed more than happy to lay at Lady Yalindra’s feet, the mining company had undergone a change in leadership.

Previously Kole, one of the original discoverers of silver vein, had been considered in charge. While Baron Joss had ignored the theft, his compatriots with a stake in the mine had not. Dorothy, Brin’s mother, had taken over and the growing mine had purchased the wooden fort from Baron Joss. This had allowed her to set up the smithies that smelted the silver ore within the protected confines of the fort which seemed to settle plenty of nerves — especially Ser Joss’s — about the veracity of the reported silver coming out of the mine.

With the wealth now flowing into the Hornpeak Mining Company, Dorothy had seen fit to capitulate to her daughter’s wishes, and at the age of ten Brin had left for Ajinport to attend Clawcrest Academy. An expensive investment but one the newly rich Matron could afford. The farewell had been a simple one, with Brin vowing she would return and beat me for once after she completed her training. I had appreciated her aspiration, even if I knew she would fail. Maybe that was my growing pride speaking, but I just did not see it happening.

Two winters had passed in the year and a half and I had grown accordingly. Seven years old now and already a third of the way to being eight I had continued to grow taller at a steady rate. I would never be a towering edifice like Griselda, but it seemed like I would probably reach Gramps’ height once I was done growing.

With time had come progress as I completed Path after Path and picked up new ones to work on in their place. My time had been spread evenly across my various Paths and, once I got on a roll, it was as though I were completing a new Path every month. The notifications simply kept appearing.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Running X(10000/10000)

Reward: 2 Unallocated

My first free slot in a long time — so I brought the Path of Coordination into my active list after it had languished for so long in dormancy.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Balance X(10000/10000)

Reward: 2 Unallocated

I replaced it with the Path of Footwork.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Body Strengthening X(10000/10000)

Reward: 2 Unallocated

My Path Manuals for the Shadow Paths that Gramps had requested were yet to arrive — so I started working on weapon Paths to take advantage of my Child Warrior Boon. I chose Shieldwork. George wasn’t much of a teacher so it was slow going.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Aethersensing X (10000/10000)

Reward: 2 Unallocated, Advanced Attribute Unlocked: Aethersensing, Advanced Path Unlocked

Free Advanced Attribute Slot available. Would you like to select Aethersensing as an Advanced Attribute?

Obviously I had. How long had I waited for that moment? Years. Literal years. We celebrated my achievement with a honeycake. The honey came from the Endless Plains Dungeon at no small expense. The love came free from the best Mum in the world. It was one of the greatest days of my life. But there was more.

Advanced Path available. Please select a single Advanced Path from the following:

Path of Affinity SensingPath of AethersensitivityPath of Aether MemoryAt Gramps urging, I had selected Path of Aethersensitivity — which would increase my effective range. Affinity Sensing was more useful for crafters apparently, and Aether Memory focused on storing the exact feel of someone's aether for tracking purposes. I got back to work. Aether Manipulation was the Path I took as a replacement though.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Deception X (10000/10000)

Reward: 2 Unallocated, Advanced Attribute Unlocked: Deception, Advanced Path Unlocked

No Free Advanced Attribute Slot available.

Two slots filled. What an awful reminder. Not that I would have taken Deception anyway.

Advanced Path available. Please select a single Advanced Path from the following:

Path of MediationPath of BargainingPath of NegotiationI chose the Path of Bargaining. Mother was very happy. I guess she hoped it meant I might choose a Merchant Class Path in the future. Small hope of that happening. A free slot meant Path of Aethersensitivity though. The grind continued.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Coordination IX (5000/5000)

Reward: 1 Unallocated

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Coordination X(10000/10000)

Reward: 2 Unallocated

Another slot opening to be filled with a weapon Path. This time it was Daggers. Hells, I would sell my soul for a weapons instructor! Well, maybe not that extreme. I just had to keep reminding myself that some progress was better than no progress.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Footwork I (10/10)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Footwork VII (1000/1000)

Reward: +5 Coordination, +2 Mental

Just hard work.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Swordplay IX (5000/5000)

Reward: 1 Unallocated

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Hatchets VI (1000/1000)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Hatchets IX (5000/5000)

Reward: +2 Strength, +1 Stamina, 1 Unallocated

Child Warrior Bonus: +1 Strength, +1 Stamina

Hard work plus decent teachers.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Shieldwork I (10/10)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Shieldwork VI (500/500)

Reward: +2 Strength, +2 Stamina, +2 Coordination

Child Warrior Bonus: +1 Strength, +1 Stamina, +1 Coordination

Out went Shieldwork. The time to get to the seventh Tier was just too long without an instructor to show me what I was doing wrong — plus I wanted the extra Physical Stats from my Boon. In with Long-knives, and on I went.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Daggers I (10/10)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Daggers VI (500/500)

Reward: +4 Coordination, +2 Strength

Child Warrior Bonus: +2 Coordination, +1 Strength

Just like Shieldwork, Daggers had to drop. Axes were a good replacement. I needed to build my muscles more. Griselda helped a little.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Long-knives I (10/10)

…

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You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Long-knives VI (500/500)

Reward: +4 Strength, +2 Coordination

Child Warrior Bonus: +2 Strength, +1 Coordination

Finally, after an interminable wait and very possibly some direct interference with Gramps’ request — clearly he still had enemies — my Shadow Path Manuals arrived. Path of Shadow Magic was the easiest to pick up, so it was first. Still took me a few weeks to manipulate my aether into something resembling a spell. Just to be clear, it wasn’t a spell, but it was enough for the Myriad Paths. Gramps credited the strength of my affinity for making the unlocking process easier. I couldn’t argue. An archmage I was not. A sneaky little shit though… well, my history spoke for itself.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Axes I (10/10)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Axes VI (500/500)

Reward: +4 Stamina, +2 Strength

Child Warrior Bonus: +2 Stamina, +1 Strength

Even with Griselda’s help, the Path of Axes had to go. I replaced it with the Path of Obscuring Shadow. It was an Advanced Path that was based on using my Shadow Affinity to conceal my aether. My Royal Cloak of Shadows Skill was far more effective than I was at hiding my aether usage, which was a low bar considering I was admittedly ordinary so far at Aether Manipulation. Gramps said I shouldn’t have even been able to unlock the Path of Obscuring Shadow till I completed the Path of Shadow Magic. Potent Shadow affinity to the rescue once again!

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Aether Manipulation I (10/10)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Aether Manipulation VII (1000/1000)

Reward: +7 Aether

I was proud of the results of my hard work despite my lacking talent. That was what I kept telling myself after Etta managed to advance her Bloodline Path a Tier and grew her aether core to the Greater grade. Gramps acknowledged she had even more aether than he did. Sometimes, life just wasn’t fair.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Aethersensitivity I (10/10)

Reward: +5 Aethersensing

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Aethersensitivity II (50/50)

Reward: +5 Aethersensing

Working on extending the range of my aether sensitivity was paying dividends. It’s also how I learned that Advanced Paths related to Advanced Attributes you possessed awarded Stats in those attributes at a greater rate than the Unallocated ones I normally got. I hadn’t decided how I felt about that. Less Stats going to Gifted, but then extra Stats going to developing as a Mage — my weakest area so far. I guessed I was okay with the tradeoff.

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Shadow Magic I (10/10)

…

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Shadow Magic II (25/25)

Reward: +2 Aether

At least my affinity let me spend a lot of time working on learning how to cast some Shadow spells detailed in the Shadow Magic Path Manual — even if I could only reliably cast Nightvision. Still, one spell was one spell more than I could cast before! I was an actual Mage now! Also, no need to try and buy any more nightvision potions off Magatha!

You have advanced the Tier of your Path! Path of Obscuring Shadow I (10/10)

Reward: 2 Unallocated

The fact that I could hide my Nightvision spell from Gramps if I was in the common room was not the achievement I hoped it was. Any closer, and he could tell. Still, I was a work in progress. At least now, I could actually use my aether, even if it was only a little.

My Skills had been worked on as well.

You have advanced your Muffled Steps (Minor) Skill to the end of its Path! Would you like to Evolve it?

Evolving from the Minor Grade to the Lesser Grade will take one additional Skill Slot. You may choose to evolve your Skill at any time or never.

Evolutions available:

Muffled Aura - Reduce the noise for a very short distance around you. Light Movement - Reduce the noise you make while moving and you are less likely to leave a trail.Phantom Step - Project the sound of your movement to another location.I chose Muffled Aura — Mum disapproved. Gramps quietly slipped me one of his fiery aether coins as a reward. It went straight into my stash, alongside my illusion aether coin from the foxkin and my reclaimed Greater Infiltration Skill Seed that I had swiped from Gramps’ office. He didn’t notice for three weeks. I didn’t think stealing back something that belonged to me counted as steps on the Path of Thievery — nor was I likely to find out as I didn’t want to break my Mum’s heart so I never activated it.

My Royal Cloak of Shadows had seen plenty of practice, but even with my amazing Affinity, it was still slow progressing a Greater Skill. Controlled Grip was even harder since it hogged aether like Griselda’s goats hogged the feeder.

I had unlocked more Paths, but my time was finite, and I needed to focus on the ones that were going to help my future. With a year and a half gone, I only had another two years till I would be almost ten — the age of enrollment at Songleaf for new students. By then, I hoped we were already in Helenica with my Grandaunt Agnes. Opening my Status, I looked at how far I had come and lamented the issue staring me right in the face. How in the hells was I going to complete the Path of Exceptionalism before I turned twelve?

Name - Sebastian

Skills (8/12)

Class - Locked

Muffled Aura (Lesser) - 7

Controlled Grip (Lesser) - 40

Basic Attributes

Royal Cloak of Shadows (Greater) - 55

Strength - 143

Stamina - 140

Body Features

Coordination - 154

Aether Core - Lesser (107)

Mental - 158

Aether Channels - Moderate (113)

Aether - 117

Affinity (1/1)

Advanced Attributes (2/2)

Shadow (Potent) - 113

Gifted - 184

Aethersensing - 110

Boons

Child Warrior

Paths (10/10)

Path of Exceptionalism II (163/500)

Dormant Paths (5)

Path of Swordplay IX (9269/10000)

Path of Brewing IV

Path of Hatchets IX (7958/10000)

Path of Shieldwork VI

Path of Aether Manipulation VII (1464/2500)

Path of Daggers VI

Path of Aethersensitivity II (53/200)

Path of Long-knives VI

Path of Footwork VII (1777/2500)

Path of Axes VI

Path of Shadow Magic II (33/50)

Path of Obscuring Shadow I (12/50)

Path of the Completionist III (307/500)

Path of Soulstealing II (39/50)

Completed Paths

Completed Paths

Path of Basic Numeracy X

Path of Climbing X

Path of Linguistics - English X

Path of Stealth V

Path of Endurance X

Path of Infiltration III

Path of Willpower X

Path of Running X

Path of Eavesdropping X

Path of Balance X

Path of Linguistics - Helenian X

Path of Body Strengthening X

Path of Crawling X

Path of Aethersensing X

Path of Sneaking X

Path of Deception X

Path of Hiding X

Path of Coordination X

Path of Walking X

Available Paths

Available Paths

Path of Reading - Helenian (B)

Path of Pranking (B)

Path of Writing - Helenian (B)

Path of Acrobatics (B)

Path of Warhammers (B)

Path of Acting (B)

Path of Shortbow (B)

Path of Lockpicking (A)

Path of Shortsword (B)

Path of Jumping (B)

Path of Knives (B)

Path of Cleaning (B)

Path of Cooking (B)

Path of Reading - English (B)

Path of Arming-swords (B)

Path of Writing - English (B)

Path of Stretching (B)

Path of Throwing (B)

Path of Parrying (B)

Path of Awareness (B)

Path of the Messenger (B)

Path of Gardening (B)

Path of Smithing (B)

Path of Conversation (B)

Path of Animal Husbandry (B)

Path of Persuasion (B)

Path of Knitting (B)

Path of Drawing (B)

Path of Woodwork (B)

Path of Mentoring (B)

Path of Spying (A)

Path of Thievery (E)

Path of Bargaining (A)

Cont.