Chapter 104: Chapter 104 – Expressions of Character

Amber is, for once, soundly asleep when I’m awake again; or awake for good, I suppose, since getting up in the middle to drink water and take a piss hardly counts as anything but continuing the circle of life. Not wanting to disturb her, I lie beside her, looking at her and letting the quiet happiness fill me.

There’s a lot wrong with how she came to be, and I am determined to not forget that, determined to make sure that things change so that people aren’t created as she was. I have a plan for that, though, so I don’t see any need to linger on it, or to let it dominate my thoughts and feelings on the subject of her.

Motivated reasoning? Probably. She’s beautiful and powerful, she loves me, and she’ll never leave me. Well, that’s not exactly true; I’m pretty sure she’d leave me if I turned evil, and not just because she wouldn’t approve of shrouding, monochromatic attire, but that just means that she can be a touchstone, someone whose strong opinions I approve of and whom I can rely on to jerk me up short if I start going down a wrong path.

I can see that in so many ways now. There’s her behavior, which I have so much less trouble interpreting than anyone else’s, probably thanks to her being “my” Reca, but now there’s also my model of her, a world too complex to hold in my mind which describes in every way the beauty of who she is. It’s a thing of a core that is too calmly confident to be changed, it’s a thing of weather systems made out of moods or moods made out of weather systems. It’s none of these in actuality, of course; it’s a whole lot of machine learning and evolutionary algorithms integrated with the System-granted ability to transmit information from and to souls, all powered by the hypercomputational—in more ways than one—wonder that is my Visor.

It’s perfect, but it’s also useless. There’s a reason that the System grants people Statuses and visually-integrated displays, or at least, granted me those things, so I prop myself up on an elbow, idly watching the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathes, and feed that world-model through Omniglot into a neural network. That network’s training data takes a bit of finagling, because I don’t exactly have a singular thing for it, but what I do have is my mental model and understanding of humanity’s, my humanity’s rather than Cador’s, I suppose, way of representing characters in games on paper, and also my own Status and however Amber saw hers, which I can reference but not examine for some reason.

I get a whole lot of nonsense and churn, something differentiated only from nothing by the fact that I can tell it’s going nowhere.

On a hunch, I pull the references to Amber’s own interpretation of her Status out of the neural network. That starts running and looks to be going somewhere in something of a hurry, though not instantaneously, so I put some thought into formatting and readability. I spin some ideas through the Visor, trying to come up with something that looks good, but eventually my indecision turns to displeasure.

I don’t like any of it.

Not the spreadsheets, not the grids, not the structured graphs. Not the mass of icons, not the blue boxes, not the glyphs.

Text, I decide, will do, unstyled and plain, readable and comprehensible, and the information starts to flow through into my view.

Name: Amber Ashborn

Class: Paladin [Kazir]

Tier: Journeyman (Restricted; Effective Tier: Novice)

Title: Reca

I frown at my Visor, aborting the ongoing operation. It’s not quite right; there’s something missing, or rather, there’s a lot missing. The amount of basically-data that flows through to Omniglot and should be becoming text is vastly higher than what is being represented here, and it takes me an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize why.

It’s not exactly context, which I had thought about and discarded almost immediately. That’s probably why it takes me so long to realize the answer, hundreds of seconds of my mind going around in circles; anytime I got too close to the answer, it slipped into the rut of context.

Descriptions, that’s what I’m missing. Even if some of them come out a little… strange.

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Name: Amber Ashborn

Ilk: Human

Tier: Journeyman (Restricted; Effective Tier: Novice)

Divine Patron: Kazir, God of the harvest, growth, and festivals

Class: Paladin [Kazir]

Crops feed the bodies and festivals the souls; the Paladin’s blade protects them all.

Title: Reca

Retroactive continuity, whether rooted deep or shallow. A Reca is drawn out of the domain of the possible, within the structured constraints and optimization parameters provided. Reca, once brought into the world, are indistinguishable in body and mind from natural-born persons, and engage with the System on terms appropriate to their Ilk. This Title, when active, grants a significant boon or malus to any endeavor you undertake, depending on whether it is in line with the precepts of Seidr.

Class Skills (4/5):

Healing Touch - Restoration in full, though not in swiftness. Requires sustained contact.

Endurance - The Paladin is endless and unwavering in mind and body.

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Channel Divinity - Whether in granting boons to your allies, maluses to your enemies, or the favor or presence of your God, you are a gateway to the demesne of your Divine Patron.

Paladin’s Grace - Occupy yourself perfectly, and your every word and motion will draw from the perfection of that harmony. Fill yourself with grace, and be graceful in turn; find yourself at peace, and wield serenity as though a blade.

General Skills (5/5):

Instrumental (Anomalous) - Reca Only. A Reca is the instrument of their Lordship’s will and the fulfillment of their needs. Reca are more powerful and find increased growth when they are instrumental to their Lordship’s plan. Reca are more powerful and find increased growth when they are used as an instrument, rather than as while also being considered people. These two bonuses stack. This Skill is anomalous in form.

Conjure Weapon - The mind is stronger than any blade, but this provides a more cutting retort.

Dampen Damage - Heat stolen from the flame, and momentum from the strike. Discrete damage effects are reduced in magnitude.

Endure Elements - Neither heat nor cold nor firmament nor void shall stay you from your duties. Does not reduce damage taken; only permits you to endure it.

Adaptive Resistance - What you have been dealt, you know you can take anew. Instances of damage or harm reduce subsequent instances of that same type of damage or harm. This is fully refreshed and extended each time damage of that type is taken.

Feats:

From The Void, Preserve Them - You have saved at least one member of your party from falling into the Void, and the certain death that would have resulted. You will gain insight, luck, and skill in any circumstances relating to the Void’s hunger.

Make Your Own Path - You have made your own path through a dungeon encounter and survived doing so. Gain an innate sense for when a dungeon’s wall, ceiling, or floor can be safely broken through.

No Kill Like Overkill (Upgradeable) - You have slain an enemy with at least one order of magnitude’s grace. When unleashing everything you have in an attack, gain a marginal increase to effectiveness.

In One Motion III (Upgradeable) - You have slain five or more enemies in one unbroken motion. When you strike or parry as part of the same motion with which you unsheath or otherwise ready your weapon, gain sureness, grace, and lethality.

Stood Against the Tide II (Upgradeable) - You have successfully defended the innocent against a tide of foes that out-numbered you and your fellow combatants by over a hundredfold. When you hold your ground, your footing, your shield, and the very ground you hold are strengthened.

Traits:

Reca - Reca Only. A Reca is summoned out of the realm of possibility, and is not subject to the vagaries of genetics or environmental factors. You possess a perfection of body, mind, and soul, with some degree of randomness. Any attempts to suborn you will fail. This Trait is considered a blessing of Seidr. Any attempt to suborn your mind or soul is considered a heresy before Seidr, and will draw the God’s attention to bolster you if needed.

Amorous - A desire and a hunger, whether expressed as a need for skinship or a need for sexual intimacy.

Deadpan - Dry wit with an imperturbable mien comes naturally to you. So too comes an appropriate quip, witticism, or joke within this domain of humor in times both stressful and relaxed, along with an improved delivery. Within this domain of humor, you will be more effective and less likely to wear out your welcome.

Devoted - You are devoted to a person or cause. They are your beacon and your guide. Any attempt to sway your devotion will fail unless the person or cause has lost the qualities which sparked your devotion. You gain substantially improved capabilities when acting in direct defense or fulfillment of the person or cause you are devoted to.

Faithful (Kazir) - You have a true faith in the precepts of your Divine Patron, Kazir. He guides your path and lights your way. You pursue correctness of action, thought, and Self through your understanding of His Truths. If necessary, you may call upon Him. If necessary, He may call upon you.

Literate - You can read and write in at least one language with unconscious ease.

Union - Your mind, body, and soul are unified and at peace with each other. Your magical and physical actions hew more closely to what your mind wills. Your reflexes extend to magical and spiritual domains, and you interpret stimuli more rapidly. You instantaneously integrate System effects rather than having to take time to do so, and your soul cannot be damaged through your body.

Inactive Titles:

Chosen of Kazir - The land nurtures the Mortal Ilks, but under Kazir’s eye and aegis, the crops grow taller, the harvest comes in easier, and the festivals are more joyous. When active, this Title identifies you as an anointed avatar of Kazir’s Truths and His Path. When active, you may call the adherents of any God who sympathize with Kazir to your aid. When active, Kazir’s grace will aid you in adhering to His Truths and Path.

Dedicat of the Temple - As the Age turns, the Temple wanes; but the great work is not yet done, nor has the long watch been fulfilled. When active, this Title identifies you as sworn to the Temple Lands; to preserve the honor of the Temple, your words and deeds may be recorded and reviewed. When active, this Title empowers you to identify any Firstborn you see, to actively detect any Firstborn presence within a radius of one mile, to hear any call for investigation of purported Firstborn if you are the closest Temple Dedicat to the call, and to hear any call to the Temple for aid if you are the closest Temple Dedicat to the call.

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When I start paying attention to my surroundings again, I realize that I’m lying on my back, eyes on the Visor. Amber leans on an elbow, eyes drinking me in, and I pull her in for a kiss as my stomach rumbles loudly. “Right.” I cough, trying my best to be present once more rather than poring through and refining data. “Breakfast.” And then, I think to myself, so many questions.

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