Introspection

It had started to rain outside.

Julian could hear the pitter-patter as drops of water pounded against the roof of the mending ward.

Izel had left less than half an hour before, pledging to return soon after gathering her things from wherever she had been holed up in the city. He hadn’t wanted to let her go, but then she’d flashed him a beautiful smile that aroused such adoration within him and he’d acquiesced like a smitten fool.

Weakness, he thought. I should have made her stay. I ought to know better by now than to let her out of my sight. Gods, why did I tell her I love her?

She hadn’t reciprocated, and why would she? Their relationship, such as it was, had only just begun.

Stupid.

He clenched his fist, frustration coursing through him as he sagged back down onto his cot. The Menders had given him a change of clothes. A simple purple tunic worn by the novices of their order and a pair of black pants.

His boots sat on the floor against the wall next to the door. They were the only part of the outfit he’d left home with that had survived unscathed. The dagger and coin pouch he’d brought were gone, as was Vern’s bone sword.

I can’t believe I survived. And leveled up twice. I don’t recall gaining a new Skill when I reached level 7. Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 7 Psion)

HP: 142/142

ST: 119/119

WP: 401/470

Skills...

<Four Skill Points Available>

Attributes…

Effects…

Just as I remembered, no new Skill gained. But I received one when I turned level 5 and another when I reached level 6. So is it random, or does my class only award a free Skill when certain conditions are met? If so, what are they?

He looked around the room.

“I don’t suppose you have any answers for me, do you?” he asked the strange mental hitchhiker that had been with him since he’d classed. Who or what was it and why had it latched itself on to him? Was it even real?

He felt something. Indignation? Exasperation? All he knew was that it was not his own. It was like he was peering behind a wall and seeing only the vaguest outline of what was inside. It stirred silently within oily blackness, glowing red eyes alight like distant embers. Watching.

He shivered. He hated not knowing. Being left in the dark. After Izel had so skillfully fellated him and eagerly swallowed his load, he’d prodded her for answers on how Psions leveled, but she’d just looked at him quizzically and asked how she was supposed to know the inner workings of a class that hadn’t been around for well over a thousand years.

Apparently Omreus never left any guides or journals behind. If he did, they are almost certainly lost to time.

“I won’t get anything by musing or pondering. There’s nothing I can read that I know of that can help me. All I can do is train, level up, allocate my Skills, maintain my secrecy, and hope for the best,” he muttered, not knowing if he actually believed the words or if he was trying to convince himself. He hated being uncertain. Not knowing something with absolute certainty was like trying to balance on a rope over a field of lava. And he despised being out of control, **** to bear the burden of a legacy he knew nothing about and never asked for.

He crossed his arms over his chest.

“And most of all, I hate you. You, who won’t even tell me your name or why you’re even here,” he whispered.

Or what being a Psion really means.

He sensed its smile, its tongue flicking across perfect teeth. Its red eyes flashed, capturing his own. He saw the broken, damned world again that he’d visited in his dreams, the soil crumbling like ash beneath his feet. A pit opened in his chest, and he nearly wept.

“Gone,” he whispered. He felt like his heart had gone hollow, like a tree whose bark was paper-thin and being gnawed at from the inside by insects. “All gone.”

The presence nodded, and Julian didn’t understand why.

Why am I whispering? What’s gone?

“All gone,” Julian repeated flatly. He shook his head. Something wet trickled down his cheek. A tear?

Why am I crying?

He shook his head, and balled his fists again. He wiped away his tears, fury burning within him like the sun.

These feelings aren’t my own. They’re the work of the presence! They have to be. Well, I won’t be affected by them so easily! My mind is my own! My mind is my own!

Its red eyes closed, and he was finally alone.

He sat for a while, calming himself.

Mother...

He tried to focus. He couldn’t afford to let anything distract him. Not when he had such little time.

She said I have to report to Captain Ulner by dawn tomorrow. I should allocate my available Skill Points before then. Gods know I am well past due for that. Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 7 Psion)

HP: 142/142

ST: 119/119

WP: 402/470

Skills...

<Four Skill Points Available>

Attributes…

Effects…

Skill Tree.

Select a Discipline to reveal currently available Skills.

[Manipulation]

[Affliction]

[Connection]

[Matter]

[Knowledge]

He stared at the text. Each Discipline to him in its own way. Like before, but not. This time was so much more intense and gratifying. But why? What had changed?

Manipulation whispered to him in a sweet, saccharine voice as it always had, tempting him with his darkest fantasies and urges. Yet there was something more. Black tendrils spread outward from his skull, infecting those around them. Tainting them. Perverting them. Bringing them over to his side.

A pleasant shiver ran down his spine.

Connection touched him; he felt it in his mind. Then he saw it. A web. A river. Not a tendril, but just as powerful, and invisible to those who could never see. It was beautiful. It churned with promise. He sensed a touch of irritation. Neglect?

Shame filled him.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Things have just been moving so fast.

Acceptance. And an urging. Julian nodded automatically, and turned toward the others.

Affliction didn’t speak it all; it crackled and hummed, like lightning. Prideful, secure in what it was. Like a **** of nature, but more aware somehow. It was jubilant and energetic. It burned with unquenchable rage. It hated and loved and dazzled in equal measure. Mercurial and stoic. Life and ****. Power.

At least I know where you stand.

Matter rustled. It moved and bent and twisted. He felt the walls caving in around him and then exploding, showering the world with stone. Then nothing. The dust cleared and he realized he was flying, far above a city wreathed in blackness, its lights flickering like stars in the night sky. Waveyourhand. He did, and the city crumpled beneath him. He waved his hand again, and it was rebuilt.

He sighed with satisfaction.

Knowledge sang. It whispered. It called. It begged. It preached. It knew. It wanted. Words on a page, chiseled into stone, stone words cemented into his mind. Arcane facts. Hidden secrets. The correct words. The correct actions. futurepresentPast. He wanted to be correct.

Oh gods, so much to learn!

He giggled. He wanted to scream. His fingers twitched. His heartbeat slowed. He calmed himself.

“My mind is my own,” he murmured softly, desperately.

All of you, show me what you have to offer at once. I don’t feel like going through you one by one again.

A chorus of jealous whispers and shouts ensued. A moan. Muffled words behind shattering glass. The crackle of a lightning bolt. Finally, an accord.

[Manipulation]

<1 SP> Block Memory (cost: 15 WP) – Create a mental block within a person’s mind and make it difficult for them to recall a recent memory.

<1 SP> Sleep (cost: 30 WP) – Shunt a targeted mind into a state of restful sleep.

<1 SP> Illusory Disguise (cost: 10 WP) – Create a false image of yourself in a target mind, allowing you to appear to them as someone completely different for a time.

<1 SP> Command (cost: 20 WP) – Telepathically implant a single one-word order into another person’s mind which hijacks their nervous system to carry out an action. The target will be aware that they are acting against their Will.

<2 SP> Beginner’s Telepathic Invisibility (sustained cost: 150 WP) – Send a compulsion into the local Noosphere which urges those nearby not to notice you.

<2 SP> Barrier of Intent (sustained cost: 30 WP) – Manifest a telepathic shield to safeguard your mind or the mind of another from mental attacks and influences.

[Connection]

<1 SP> Connect Mind (cost: 5 WP) – Choose two minds glimpsed with Detect Mind and link them together for a time, allowing a psionic Skill used on one mind to affect the other.

<1 SP> Monitor Thoughts (cost: 40 WP) – Manifest a temporary, one-way telepathic link between your mind and another, allowing you to read a person’s inner thoughts in real time.

<1 SP> Beginner’s Telepathic Speech (cost: 2 WP) – Utilize telepathy to convey a simple thought into the mind of another.

<1 SP> Illuminate Mind (cost: 10 WP) – Infuse up to three minds glimpsed with Detect Mind with your telepathic signature for a time, allowing you to perceive and interact with each as if Detect Mind were active.

<2 SP> Psychophysical Senses (sustained cost: 100 WP) – Deepen your psychic connection to the physical world, enhancing your senses to supernatural levels. Reduces the WP cost of some Matter Skills while active.

<2 SP> Open Mind (sustained cost: 50 WP) – Lightly attune yourself to the local Noosphere. For as long as this Skill is active, you may hear the surface thoughts of nearby sentient beings as if they are spoken aloud.

[Affliction]

<1 SP> Psychic Shock (cost: 30 WP) – Manifest a current of psychic electricity that causes moderate Electrical damage and low Psi damage to a target, with a low chance of stunning the target briefly.

<1 SP> Miasma of Prejudice (cost: 30 WP) – Shroud a circular area up to thirty feet in diameter in a cloud of elusive psychic energy. When a current of psychic electricity makes contact with it, it conducts the electricity into anything present in the cloud to equal effect.

<1 SP> Captivating Spiral (cost: 40 WP) – Manifest a spiral of alluring psionic energy. It has a chance to transfix those who look directly at it.

<1 SP> Energetic Palm (cost: 10 WP) – Empower a single unarmed strike with baleful psionic energy. It deals Psi damage equivalent to the Physical damage of the attack. If the attack inflicts no Physical damage, the Skill will deal low Psi damage.

<2 SP> Energy Weapon (sustained cost: 75 WP) – Create a shimmering red weapon in your hand that burns with your Will. It cannot be knocked from your grasp and will return to you if thrown.

<2 SP> Barrier of Purpose (sustained cost: 50 WP) – Wrap a crackling shield of psionic energy around yourself or another that mitigates non-physical damage.

[Matter]

<1 SP> Telekinetic Shove (cost: 20 WP) – Focus your Will to propel a nearby object or entity away from you.

<1 SP> Telekinetic Pull (cost: 20 WP) – Extend your Will outwards to grip a nearby object or entity and pull it towards you.

<1 SP> Psionic Leap (Cost: 20 WP) – Telekinetically increase the range and height of your next jump.

<1 SP> Close Wound (cost: variable WP) Telekinetically seal a wound shut, knitting broken flesh together and healing yourself or another.

<1 SP> Inflict Wound (cost: 50 WP) – Tear at an enemy's body with telekinesis, possibly inflicting an injury that causes moderate Physical damage.

<1 SP> Piercing Field (cost: 15 WP) – Imbue a weapon or projectile within range with an impossibly narrow telekinetic field, allowing it to cut through armor. The field dissipates after a single attack.

[Knowledge]

<1 SP> Nerve Art: Incapacitation (cost: free) – You’ve learned the location of the **** nerve clusters in sentient beings and how to exploit them to trigger unconsciousness or paralysis.

<1 SP> Inner Awareness (cost: 5 WP) – Focus your Will inward and gain knowledge about the functions of your body and their current state.

<1 SP> Beginner’s Meal Preparation (cost: free) – You have learned how to quickly and expertly prepare several simple, yet tasty meals using the most common ingredients.

<1 SP> Beginner’s Psychometry (cost: 3 WP/s) – Extend your Will to the edges of your body, using your sense of touch in tandem with your psychic perception to determine the recent past of any object.

<2 SP> Meditation (cost: free) Clear your thoughts and retreat into an introspective state within your own mind. Your WP regeneration is significantly increased while meditating. Meditation is a viable substitute for the equivalent amount of sleep.

<2 SP> Healing Trance (sustained cost: 150 WP) – Fall into a psychic sleep to heal yourself from all but the most fatal wounds. You cannot wake from the Trance of your own volition.

Julian stared. He swallowed.

I wish I’d been in a better frame of mind when Izel was taken. I could have used some of these Skills earlier in the fight against Valda.

His eyes widened when he noticed that some of the Skills had a “sustained cost.”

I assume that means that whenever I use the Skill, that amount is taken from my WP pool and won’t refill until I stop using it.

He felt the presence nod in affirmation, its attention returning to him.

At last, you do something useful!

It rolled its eyes. It lingered at the outskirts of his awareness, seemingly careful not to try to influence his mind again as it had before.

Or it’s waiting for me to lower my guard.

His eyes narrowed slightly as reread the Skill Tree.

Open Mind and Beginner’s Telepathic Invisibility both mention something called a “Noosphere.” What in the name of the gods is that?

The presence shrugged. Figure it out yourself.

Asshole.

It smirked, red eyes twinkling.

Julian sighed, resolving himself to ignore the presence and focus on his available Skills.

They both seem like incredibly useful Skills. Too bad they both apparently cost 2 Skill Points each to acquire. If I purchase both, I won’t have any left for any of the other Skills.

Connection nudged him. A reminder.

Right. I haven’t put any points into the Connection, Matter, or Knowledge. And I have no Matter Skills whatsoever. And there’s a Connection Skill, Psychophysical Senses, which would seem to benefit a Psion who invested Skill Points into the Matter Discipline. If I didn’t know any better I’d say Connection was trying to encourage me to invest a Skill Point in Matter.

He blinked.

The Disciplines. They seem to have awarenesses of their own. It seems preposterous that aspects of my class could have their own wishes and wants. Why was I so ready to go along with the idea earlier? Perhaps I'm just projecting my own feelings on to them.

Another nudge, this one slightly impatient and perhaps even a little offended.

“Sorry,” he whispered automatically, and immediately felt foolish. He put his head in hands.

Gods, I’m glad Izel’s not here to see this. She’d think I was going insane, and perhaps she’d be right. No one I’ve ever heard of has had elements of their status screen communicate with them as if they had their own wishes and wants. I wonder if Omreus had to put up with this.

He looked over the list of available Skills again, his mind dazzled by the sheer number of possibilities laid at his feet. He noticed that some of the Skills that had been available when he’d last checked the Skill Tree were no longer present even though he hadn’t picked them. He wasn’t too sorry about their loss, he just wished he knew why some of the Skills had been cycled out and others hadn’t.

“It doesn’t matter. I need to make some choices,” he whispered to himself. “I need to become stronger. For myself. For Izel. For survival.”

Meditation stuck out among all the Skills.

A way to quickly regain WP should not be discounted. It’s also free, and if the description is correct, I can meditate in lieu of sleeping, not only ensuring my WP is always constantly topped off, but have a way to rest on demand. It might be tough to explain it to others, but I suppose I can always pretend to be asleep. The only negative is the 2 SP cost.

Something occurred to him then. His heartbeat quickened.

If I meditate instead of sleep, does that mean I won’t have to dream anymore? If that’s the case, I won’t have to risk Fardreamer sending my consciousness somewhere even less welcoming than the realm I think was Nethruan.

He remembered the red-eyed woman. He wasn’t eager to be near her again after she’d so casually asked the dark man if she could destroy him. And what of the other gods? Would they show “Nethrus’” restraint or wipe him out of existence? Some of the crueler ones might keep him around as a pet to **** and prod for as long as they wished. He couldn’t risk it.

He chose Meditation. The Skill Tree flickered, and Meditation disappeared.

He felt something skin to a soothing breeze caress his skin. He breathed slowly, in and out, and felt an irresistible urge to close his eyes.

Meditation.

He thought about Izel. Her beautiful amber eyes glittering with amusement as she stared at him. Her smooth, exotic dark skin. The fullness of her breasts. How wonderful and warm she had been when they had made love. He heard her laughter and smiled.

Flicker.

His mind went back to the Imerdan manor. The early days, before any of his sisters had classed. He remembered them all running with him outdoors, playing. A few of the bannermen and servants’ children had joined them. The sun was high in the sky. He was happy. Content.

It’s been so long…

Someone knocked on his door.

Julian blinked his eyes open, and he soon realized that the rain had stopped its rhythmic pattering on the roof.

How long had he been meditating?

He pooled psionic energy into his palms and stood up from the bed. The stone floor was cool beneath his bare feet.

“Who is it?” he asked cautiously.

“Reyna Tenhart, my lord." A feminine voice came in through the wooden door. “I’m here with the rest of your new retainers. May we come in?”

“Reyna Tenhart,” he muttered, his eyes widening with recognition.

The Tenharts are some of my family’s bannermen. If I recall correctly, they originally hail from Hylan. And Mother assigned me retainers? I shouldn’t be surprised. After what happened, I’d be shocked if she allowed me to go anywhere without someone loyal to her babysitting me.

He almost growled out of frustration.

My sisters will no doubt find this amusing, but I have to cooperate for now. After my punishment is done, I should be able to operate as I have before. Perhaps even more freely, with some of my family’s vassals answering to me directly.

“Very well. The door’s unlocked,” he said, deliberately keeping his voice level.

The handle twisted and the door squeaked open, revealing a beautiful red-haired woman with wild green eyes that burned with a fierceness that unnerved him. She was clad in a set of dark leather armor and a navy-blue cloak with silver highlights along the edges. The Imerdan coat of arms was proudly emblazoned upon the armor. It depicted a man of silver riding a horse. Clutched in his right hand was a spear. Painted blue lightning bolts sprouted from the tip.

Aldun Imerdan. Our earliest known ancestor and the founder of our house. Wielder of the Dultheus Stormspear. He fought the Tenlani in the Wars of the Dead five-hundred years ago and brought many victories to the Empire.

Julian let his eyes drift over the woman’s form for a moment, taking in her curves and the largeness of her breasts that her armor did very little to conceal. He guessed her to be in her mid-to-late twenties. Her red hair was tied into a short ponytail. At her sides were two sheathed short swords and a multitude of daggers and flasks and some other implements he could not identify. A longbow, a quiver full of arrows, and a spear were slung over her back. A small jagged scar stretched from the bottom of her plush pink lips down her chin.

She entered the room quickly, her booted feet making not a sound against the floor she walked on. She gave him a bow, low enough to be considered deferential to one of his station, but only just.

He inclined his head, reciprocating her respect even as he struggled to keep his irritation at bay.

This Reyna is my mother’s creature, without a doubt. Any order I give her to abandon me will almost certainly have been countermanded in advance by my mother. I’ll have to bend her to my Will if I’m to regain any semblance of the freedom of movement I once enjoyed, even when I was unclassed.

“I don’t believe we’ve met before,” he said.

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“We have, my lord. I watched over you when you were a newborn. It was my first assignment after my training. Your mother honored me greatly by trusting me with that task, and it seems I shall be performing it again.”

Yes, you are certainly my mother’s servant first and foremost. If you believe I’m akin to some helpless babe that you can carry about as you will, you have another thing coming, Reyna.

Julian smiled back, his heart thudding with anticipation.

“I of course will be happy to welcome you into my retinue. I couldn’t help but notice that you said you’ve arrived with the rest of my retainers. I assume they’re waiting out in the hall. Did my mother also assign others to help you watch over me all those years ago? If so, that’s understandable. I’m told newborns can be quite a handful to the unprepared." He couldn’t resist casting the barb, wondering how she would react.

Pleasure filled him when he caught the flicker of irritation, when her mask dropped for the briefest moment and he saw the woman underneath. She recovered almost instantly, however. Faster than most he had ever seen.

Impressive. I cannot wait until she’s mine, just like Izel. The two seem somewhat alike in strength.

“They certainly can be,” she remarked easily. “Especially when they soil themselves. It’s quite a mess, as you can imagine.”

He laughed genuinely, and was warmed by the sight of the beautiful woman’s lips twitching upward slightly.

“And yes, your other retainers are waiting in the hallway. Shall I call them in so you can be properly introduced?” she said.

Might as well get this over with. I can send them out after we’ve made introductions and finish selecting my Skills.

“Yes, do so,” he commanded.

She obeyed.

Movement from behind Reyna drew his eyes to an additional three figures in the doorway. Two young men and a young woman.

Julian recognized them immediately. The men were black haired and dark-eyed, but where one was large and burly and sported a thick beard, the other was thin and wiry, his face gaunt and clean-shaven. The woman had dusky skin, dirty-blonde hair and distinctive ice-blue eyes that were narrowed into thin, hostile slits.

Gartho and Zoris Deridan. And Petra Ulner, Brianna Ulner’s daughter. Gods, she must hate me for her mother being stripped of rank! It’s not enough Mom is putting me at Captain Ulner’s mercy, she has to assign her daughter to my retinue to be another constant reminder of her mother’s demotion. Gods, Mom, you have absolutely no shame.

“Gartho. Zoris. It’s been a while,” he said, studiously ignoring Petra’s withering glare.

“You know it, Julian. Uh, I mean, Your Lordship,” Gartho corrected himself and bowed when Reyna shot him a look. He was taller than anyone in the room and wore a shining suit of gray-silver metal armor. The young man was a year or two older than him at most. He clutched a large halberd in his right hand, resting the bottom of the shaft against the floor. A longsword was sheathed in his belt. “Congratulations on classing, by the way. Zoris thought for sure you were never gonna class, but I always believed in yeh.”

Zoris leveled an icy glare at Gartho.

“Pay no attention to my fool brother, my lord. He hit his head in combat a few years ago. He hasn’t been the same since. It’s good to see you again.” Zoris bowed, lower than Gartho or Reyna had. Julian inclined his head respectfully, warmed by the other man’s deference. Like Reyna, Zoris wore a suit of dark leather armor and a blue cloak. He clutched a wooden staff in his left hand. A ruby gem glimmered dangerously at the tip.

“I’m glad to see you as well, Zoris,” he said. Warmth suffused him. It had been so long since any of the classed he had known looked at him with anything other than shame, pity, or scorn. Then he remembered that they were only treating him differently now because of an accident that led to him discovering his class and his good mood shriveled like the leaves of a dead tree. “You and Gartho are doing well, I assume?”

Zoris nodded.

“As well as can be. Gartho completed his initiation quest with flying colors and I just recently returned from an expedition to the Serithar Wastelands,” he said, his lips pursing into a thin line. “The orcs there have been growing restless lately, and if they sense weakness we may have another incursion on our hands.”

Julian frowned.

“Serithar. My father’s supposed to be there now, on an expedition of his own. Did you two happen to cross paths?” he asked, a sudden eagerness burning within him. “I would love to hear how he is doing.”

Reyna, Gartho, and Petra stared at him.

“I did not have the honor of meeting Lord Krevos there, but I have heard word that his expedition clashed with forces of the Greensun Horde. Many orcs and goblins were killed as the lord’s forces chased them deep into the desert.”

Julian nodded.

“Thank you, Zoris,” he said.

You and the rest of the Deridans have always been good vassals. When I’ve ascended, I’ll make sure your house is duly rewarded.

The dark-haired man bowed.

Finally, Julian **** himself to look at Petra. They had interacted a few times in the past. Her mother had always been kind and welcoming to him, even when he hadn’t discovered his class. Her daughter had followed her example.

And now when I’ve finally attained my class, she hates me.

“Petra.”

“My lord,” she said coolly, ice-blue eyes staring at him as she inclined her head slightly. She wore a form fitting blue tunic and brown leather pants that hugged her athletic body and exposed her toned midriff. The tunic’s low neckline teased at the shape of her perky breasts, and he **** himself not to look.

Petra’s loyal and disciplined. She’ll follow my orders and do her best to serve me as my retainer, but she probably won’t speak to me unless she has to for fear of slipping up and damning her house further.

Julian looked at Reyna again. She met his gaze expectantly.

“So, you’re just going to follow me around everywhere?” he asked.

“Yes, Your Lordship,” Reyna said. “Lady Maela’s orders. We are to escort you home before dawn arrives and make sure you carry out your assigned tasks.”

He nodded and said, “What time is it now?”

“The sun set over two hours ago,” Reyna replied without hesitation. “You have around seven hours before you are due at the manor. I recommend you go there at once and get as much rest as you can.”

“And if I don’t go, are you prepared to **** the issue?” He challenged her, knowing it was foolish. His mother would not have assigned Reyna to him if she didn’t already have orders to that effect.

Gartho gasped in disbelief.

“Y-you wouldn’t make us do that, right, uh, my lord?” he gulped. A bead of sweat pooled along his brow before sliding down the side of his face.

Zoris glared at him, and he wilted. Julian found it almost comical how the large man seemed to shrink into himself.

Petra’s eyes lit up, and he knew the young woman hoped that he would give her an excuse to use **** against him. She shifted her stance slightly, and her breasts jiggled.

“Forgive me, but that was quite an unnecessary question to ask, my lord,” Reyna said, her face a total mask. Her emerald eyes stared into his, and he felt as if she were seeing right through him. “Yes, very unnecessary.”

“So it was,” he replied, nodding. “Give me a few moments to collect myself and I will join you in the hallway.”

“Very good, my lord.” Reyna bowed, accepting his dismissal for what it was. She turned and left, her cloak swirling behind her. For a moment he glimpsed the shape of her big round rump in her pants. And then she was gone. The others followed after her, Gartho and Zoris bowing. Petra was the last to leave, her eyes lingering on him for a full ten seconds before she turned and entered the hallway.

Julian returned to the cot and sat down.

Status.

Julian Imerdan (lv. 7 Psion)

HP: 142/142

ST: 119/119

WP: 442/470

Skills...

<Two Skill Points Available>

Attributes…

Effects…

Excitement filled him.

442 WP. I don’t know how long I meditated, but it couldn’t have been that long if Izel hasn’t yet returned. She told me she’d be gone for three hours at most. I doubt it’s been nearly that long since I meditated. An hour, hour and a half maximum. Another hour and I may have been able to refill my WP pool completely. Whatever the increase to my WP regeneration Meditation affords me, it’s rather significant if it can refill my WP pool faster in an hour than a few hours of genuine sleep.

He summoned the Skill Tree. The Disciplines enthusiastically showed him his options again, seemingly pleased by his attention. Knowledge hummed soothingly. He was tempted to Meditate again, but this time he was ready for the urge, and resisted it.

[Manipulation]

<1 SP> Block Memory (cost: 15 WP) – Create a mental block within a person’s mind and make it difficult for them to recall a recent memory.

<1 SP> Sleep (cost: 30 WP) – Shunt a targeted mind into a state of restful sleep.

<1 SP> Illusory Disguise (cost: 10 WP) – Create a false image of yourself in a target mind, allowing you to appear to them as someone completely different for a time.

<1 SP> Command (cost: 20 WP) – Telepathically implant a single one-word order into another person’s mind which hijacks their nervous system to carry out an action. The target will be aware that they are acting against their Will.

<2 SP> Beginner’s Telepathic Invisibility (sustained cost: 150 WP) – Send a compulsion into the local Noosphere which urges those nearby not to notice you.

<2 SP> Barrier of Intent (sustained cost: 30 WP) – Manifest a telepathic shield to safeguard your mind or the mind of another from mental attacks and influences.

[Connection]

<1 SP> Connect Mind (cost: 5 WP) – Choose two minds glimpsed with Detect Mind and link them together for a time, allowing a psionic Skill used on one mind to affect the other.

<1 SP> Monitor Thoughts (cost: 40 WP) – Manifest a temporary, one-way telepathic link between your mind and another, allowing you to read a person’s inner thoughts in real time.

<1 SP> Beginner’s Telepathic Speech (cost: 2 WP) – Utilize telepathy to convey a simple thought into the mind of another.

<1 SP> Illuminate Mind (cost: 10 WP) – Infuse up to three minds glimpsed with Detect Mind with your telepathic signature for a time, allowing you to perceive and interact with each as if Detect Mind were active.

<2 SP> Psychophysical Senses (sustained cost: 100 WP) – Deepen your psychic connection to the physical world, enhancing your senses to supernatural levels. Reduces the WP cost of some Matter Skills while active.

<2 SP> Open Mind (sustained cost: 50 WP) – Lightly attune yourself to the local Noosphere. For as long as this Skill is active, you may hear the surface thoughts of nearby sentient beings as if they are spoken aloud.

[Affliction]

<1 SP> Psychic Shock (cost: 30 WP) – Manifest a current of psychic electricity that causes moderate Electrical damage and low Psi damage to a target, with a low chance of stunning the target briefly.

<1 SP> Miasma of Prejudice (cost: 30 WP) – Shroud a circular area up to thirty feet in diameter in a cloud of elusive psychic energy. When a current of psychic electricity makes contact with it, it conducts the electricity into anything present in the cloud to equal effect.

<1 SP> Captivating Spiral (cost: 40 WP) – Manifest a spiral of alluring psionic energy. It has a chance to transfix those who look directly at it.

<1 SP> Energetic Palm (cost: 10 WP) – Empower a single unarmed strike with baleful psionic energy. It deals Psi damage equivalent to the Physical damage of the attack. If the attack inflicts no Physical damage, the Skill will deal low Psi damage.

<2 SP> Energy Weapon (sustained cost: 75 WP) – Create a shimmering red weapon in your hand that burns with your Will. It cannot be knocked from your grasp and will return to you if thrown.

<2 SP> Barrier of Purpose (sustained cost: 50 WP) – Wrap a crackling shield of psionic energy around yourself or another that mitigates non-physical damage.

[Matter]

<1 SP> Telekinetic Shove (cost: 20 WP) – Focus your Will to propel a nearby object or entity away from you.

<1 SP> Telekinetic Pull (cost: 20 WP) – Extend your Will outwards to grip a nearby object or entity and pull it towards you.

<1 SP> Psionic Leap (Cost: 20 WP) – Telekinetically increase the range and height of your next jump.

<1 SP> Close Wound (cost: variable WP) Telekinetically seal a wound shut, knitting broken flesh together and healing yourself or another.

<1 SP> Inflict Wound (cost: 50 WP) – Tear at an enemy's body with telekinesis, possibly inflicting an injury that causes moderate Physical damage.

<1 SP> Piercing Field (cost: 15 WP) – Imbue a weapon or projectile within range with an impossibly narrow telekinetic field, allowing it to cut through armor. The field dissipates after a single attack.

[Knowledge]

<1 SP> Nerve Art: Incapacitation (cost: free) – You’ve learned the location of the **** nerve clusters in sentient beings and how to exploit them to trigger unconsciousness or paralysis.

<1 SP> Inner Awareness (cost: 5 WP) – Focus your Will inward and gain knowledge about the functions of your body and their current state.

<1 SP> Beginner’s Meal Preparation (cost: free) – You have learned how to quickly and expertly prepare several simple, yet tasty meals using the most common ingredients.

<1 SP> Beginner’s Psychometry (cost: 3 WP/s) – Extend your Will to the edges of your body, using your sense of touch in tandem with your psychic perception to determine the recent past of any object.

<2 SP> Healing Trance (sustained cost: 150 WP) – Fall into a psychic sleep to heal yourself from all but the most fatal wounds. You cannot wake from the Trance of your own volition.

Again, he was stunned by the variety of options available to him. He wished he were at an even higher level. He would dearly love to add quite a few of the available Skills to his repertoire.

It is rather funny that Knowledge will offer me a Skill that essentially teaches me how to recover from almost any injury by sleeping while also offering what is essentially a cooking Skill. Not that such wouldn’t be useful, it’s just funny. I imagine if the Imperial Watch heard something like that, they wouldn’t believe it. Gods, most people wouldn’t be able to wrap their heads around the sheer versatility of my class, and I’m only level 7!

He let out a sigh.

So, what to pick next? I should choose something from the Matter Discipline. It’s the only one that isn’t offering me any of the 2 SP Skills, and I can only surmise that’s because I don’t have any Skills from that Discipline. I could be wrong, however. Gods, don’t let me be wrong. A Matter Discipline shield Skill that would allow me to resist physical damage would be invaluable.

Telekinetic Shove and Pull seemed useful. Shove in particular would have come in handy while he was fighting Vern. Pull might have been useful as well if he’d had a sword of his own at the time. He might have been able to pull the Amyss off its feet and run it through with a blade. Energy Weapon, from the Affliction Discipline, had stood out to him for exactly that reason.

Unfortunately, Hexers aren’t known for their ability to manipulate physical objects like **** Mages are, though they can enchant them to make them do things they normally wouldn’t. Who’s to say a Hexer can’t make objects or people fly if they put their mind to it? The texts I read certainly didn’t.

Psionic Leap also seemed very useful. Combined with Safe Fall, it could significantly improve his mobility.

If anyone asks about it, I can just say that I enchanted my boots to let me jump higher. Eh. Then I’d probably never hear the end of requests to do the same for others. Ugh, I’ll probably skip this one for now.

Close Wound was also a Skill he’d like to possess. Having the ability to heal himself or someone else without relying on Rila or another healer to do it appealed to him. Unfortunately, healing was something Hexers explicitly could not do. The books he had read about them had been very clear about that. Something about their magic just wouldn’t allow them to heal a living being.

I could select it, but I’d have to use it surreptitiously and only around people I can trust not to reveal my secret. As of now, that’s only Rila and Izel. And Rila’s a healer.

Reluctantly, he decided to pass on the Skill.

I can always select it later. I’ll rely on Rila and healing potions for the time being to deal with any injuries.

Inflict Wound was interesting. On one hand, it afforded Julian an opportunity to gain an attack that dealt pure physical damage. Hexers, while not the most adept at physical attacks, were known to make their opponents bleed or crush their bones with their curses. On the other hand, he already had the means of dealing physical damage thanks to his experience with swords and other bladed weapons.

Besides, the Mind Jab into Psi-Bolt combination seemed to get the job done, even against Valda, who was undoubtedly much more leveled than I am.

Last, but certainly not least, was Piercing Field.

For a measly 15 WP, I can buff a sword to a point that it can potentially slice clean through armor. Or perhaps even other weapons. If I’d had Piercing Field earlier, I might have been able to destroy Vern's sword with my dagger and kill him before his bone-knives could do their work. I’m already proficient with several blades, so I might as well lean in to that. Piercing Field it is.

The Skill disappeared from the Tree. He felt a tingle as something rippled invisibly across his skin without touching it. The air around him shimmered. Specs of dust which had accumulated along the floor began floating, and so did his boots. For a moment he felt as if he were entirely weightless, and that if he pushed off from the floor, he would launch himself at the ceiling. Then the tingling stopped. He couldn't help but gasp at the loss.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus.

What… What should I pick next? Several of the Manipulation Skills seem interesting, particularly Sleep, Command, and Beginner’s Telepathic Invisibility. Barrier of Intent would allow me to shield Izel’s mind from mental attacks, but she seemed adamant that the necklace she wears would shield her from mind magic. It requires two SP anyway, so the choice is moot, at least for now.

But what about the Connection Skills?

A friendly nudge. Despite his discomfort, Julian couldn’t help but smile.

Eager, aren’t we? Let’s see. Connect Mind… I wonder if it would transfer the effects of damaging Skills like Psi-Bolt or Mind-Jab to multiple targets. For 5 WP? I’ll keep that one in mind.

He thought Monitor Thoughts seemed incredibly useful.

I could read a person’s mind and hear their thoughts. Unfortunately, the Skill description doesn’t say whether or not it will allow me to explore their secrets at will. Still, it would be nice to be able to know if someone were about to betray or attack me, and what they are thinking in general.

Beginner’s Telepathic Speech also sounded like it would be useful.

I could issue orders to Izel and others under my control without speaking aloud, allowing me a little more leeway in what I can say as well as avoiding any potential eavesdroppers. It’d also be useful if we were near enemies. It’s too bad it doesn’t allow me to receive thoughts in turn. Combined with Monitor Thoughts or Open Mind, though, and I can see it becoming a very powerful tool, at least until I gain access to the implied advanced Telepathic Speech Skills.

He had only one Skill Point remaining, so Open Mind and Psychophysical Senses were out for now.

That leaves Illuminate Mind. It’s an interesting Skill. It’d be great to be able to see up to three minds without the constant WP drain Detect Mind demands. It would be nice to be able to keep track of people around me without necessarily looking at them.

He recalled using Suggestion on Velri by targeting her mind directly while using Detect Mind. He’d been able to influence her without seeing her.

Not sure if I can justify taking Illuminate Mind over Monitor Thoughts, Connect Mind, or Beginner’s Telepathic Speech, though, especially since it is not clear how long Illuminate Mind’s effects will last or whether or not the effect is limited to Detect Mind’s ten-foot range. But I can see it becoming very useful when combined with Connect Mind or if Detect Mind’s range were somehow increased.

Connect Mind alone offered so many possibilities for a mere 5 WP per use. If Mind Jab’s effects could be spread out over multiple targets, he could incapacitate up to two enemies at once, and if Psi-Bolt’s damage could also be spread out, potentially kill them as well. The only downside was that it was slaved to Detect Mind’s crippling ten-foot range.

Gods, Connect Mind would have so much more potential if Detect Mind had greater range. Even so, much as I’d like to take one of the other abilities, I think Connect Mind would be my best choice right now from the sheer economy of what it offers to what it costs alone. And I’m almost certain that I’ll gain access to the means to extend the range of Detect Mind as I level up. There’s a good chance that whatever that Skill is, it’ll cost 2 SP. Picking Connect Mind now would save me from having to wait for a level up later on to accumulate the points and test it out.

Mind made up, he selected Connect Mind. Immediately his mind was filled with whispers of thoughts that were not his own. Foreign emotions lingered just within reach. His fingers curled tightly around the cot beneath him and he felt his sense of touch extend out into the floor and the ground and beyond. Wool, wood, stone, and dirt met his fingertips as if he were touching them directly. He sensed insects crawling through the dirt far beneath him. He felt their legs skittering across his skin and nearly jumped. He frantically held his hands out in front of him, but saw no insects.

As quickly as the sensation had visited him, it was gone. Julian sat for a few more moments, contemplating what he had seen and felt like he had just dipped his toe into an unfathomably vast, dark ocean beneath which great, unknown monsters slept.

He swallowed uneasily and stood up from his bed and fetched his boots, deciding he would much rather wait for Izel in the lobby.

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Julian Imerdan (lv. 7 Psion)

HP: 142/142

ST: 119/119

WP: 449/470

Skills...

Attributes…

Effects…

Julian's Skills

[Manipulation] Suggestion (cost: 20 WP) – Telepathically implant a suggestion in the mind of a target to influence or induce an action, thought, or emotion.

[Manipulation] Hypnosis (cost: 30 WP) – Lull someone into a hypnotic trance. Requires the use of a pendant or other foci to draw the target’s gaze.

[Affliction] Mind Jab (cost: 15 WP) –Project a weak bolt of psionic energy that attacks the mind of an opponent, causing crippling mental pain that lasts for a few moments.

[Affliction] Psi-Bolt (cost: 5 WP) – Emit an unguided bolt of psionic energy that inflicts low Psi damage to a target upon impact. It deals moderate Psi damage against targets affected by Mind Jab, but clears them of the status.

[Connection] Detect Mind (cost: 2 WP/s) – Focus your awareness outward to detect the minds of sentient organic beings within ten feet.

[Connection] Connect Mind (cost: 5 WP) – Choose two minds glimpsed with Detect Mind and link them together for a time, allowing a psionic Skill used on one mind to affect the other.

[Matter] Piercing Field (cost: 15 WP) – Imbue a weapon or projectile within range with an impossibly narrow telekinetic field, allowing it to cut through armor. The field dissipates after a single attack.

[Knowledge] Safe Fall (cost: free) - You have learned how to shift your body mid-air to significantly mitigate falling damage.

[Knowledge] Meditation (cost: free) –Clear your thoughts and retreat into an introspective state within your own mind. Your WP regeneration is significantly increased while meditating. Meditation is a viable substitute for the equivalent amount of sleep.

[Innate] Focus (cost: free) – When in combat, enter a state of emotional detachment which allows you to ignore pain and resist negative mental effects.

Julian’s Attributes

Human - As a member of the human species, your body is more resilient than most other sapient races.

Magical Ancestry - Several of your ancestors possessed powerful magical abilities and talents. The barest hint of their talent resides within you, granting you easier use of magical items.

Psionic - You are capable of affecting physical and nonphysical reality through Will alone. You are resistant to mental effects and psionic damage. You can perceive all spectrums of psionic energy.

Fardreamer - While you sleep, you may randomly send your mental awareness to another place in the universe.

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