The string of messages was the most the system had spoken to me since waking up. Even so, it stubbornly refused to give anything but the bare minimum of information.
As I stared at the three options before me, I tried to review what had happened. First, somehow I had broken the system by trying to increase my mana generation viz-a-viz making a new trait. Auto-resolution not possible, the system had moved to the next step of getting someone to fix it, perhaps an administrator-type being.
As I remembered it, generally in these stories, the system was fairly quick on the ball, and by quick I meant pretty much instantaneous. And yet, it took more than forty minutes to get someone on the line. Only, I apparently got three responses–three different solutions offered. And these solutions only gave me information in the form of RPG-like classes: hunter, warlock, and builder.
Hunter. A very common class archetype. A person who hunts animals or even people. Related skills typically went towards archery, tracking, perception, traps, and the like. What would a patch fix from a hunter do for a dungeon? I wasn’t exactly mobile, so tracking and stalking prey was useless. The boon could be related to traps, though. Either way, I suspected the fix would almost certainly have a relationship to killing, the essence of a hunter no matter the means.
Did I want to be a hunter? On the one hand, being more lethal would improve my survivability. But my instincts, my nature, rebelled at the idea of actively pursuing death as a means. Defender? Yes. Hunter? Not really.
Warlock. The creep vibes were high with this one. First was that strange message that looked all messed up. I had no idea what that was about, but it was never a good sign when a system acted up. In any event, warlocks traditionally gained their power from some powerful benefactor, usually some terrible eldritch cosmic entity. In other words, picking this option probably would give me some cheesy, powerful cheat skill, but with some rather heavy strings attached. However, it held some interest to me; there was potential to make my dungeon really unusual and interesting. Not only that, but part of my core felt a connection to this option, a feeling that seemed like a vibration of excitement like a throat making noise and calling out when seeing a long lost cousin off in the distance.
Builder. Now here was something that was simple, classic, and meshed entirely with my core conceit: building a dungeon. But therein lied the rub--this option would probably just give me more of what I already had.
I spent about a minute thinking over the options, but the choice was pretty clear.
Safe was the place.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 27.0198%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">Builder Selected. Applying Resolution.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 34.7271%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; text-align: center">
Inchoate trait obtained.
Sigilmancy 1 obtained.
Creature slot (unique): Demesne Warden obtained.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I felt a great twist within my core as if my internal organs (such as they were) were rearranging and re-orientating themselves. At the same time, things that were broken stretched and became connected again. Then I felt myself filling with energy until I was near bursting.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 28.664%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.7675%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Necromancer''s Gorge Dungeon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Level</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Demesne Points</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%">0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Mana</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">100/100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Supp. Mana</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">10/10 (Vestigial Propulsion)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Mana Regen</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">6/day</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.7675%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Traits</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Outworlder</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Inchoate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.7675%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Skills</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Absorption</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Demesne</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Demesne Interface</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Landscape</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Tenebrous Portal</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Trap Creation</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Vestigial Propulsion</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Sigilmancy</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">1</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Verily, I was once again full of mana, even my propulsion well was filled. But my status had also automatically updated to show that which I had wanted–a substantial increase in mana generation to 6 mana per day!--as well as my new skill.[1]This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
This had to be the product of the trait I was given (thank you, Bob!).
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 31.7151%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%">
Inchoate - If you really need help, just make it yourself.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Sometime ago, I would have screamed in frustration. Now, I just sighed in resignation.
No, that wasn’t right. On a second look, there were hints of meaning of something bigger, something really cool even. On the surface, the meaning of the word ‘inchoate’--incomplete–did not match the description. In addition, the text of the trait was unique too. Whereas other descriptions were descriptive, this one was hortatory, suggesting I do something.
A theory began to form in my mind, but I checked my other rewards first.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 55.1914%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%">Sigilmancy 1 - The ability of the Demesne Core to perceive, record, alter, create, and imbue sigils. </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
What’s a sigil? I didn’t know. Moving on.
I opened The Monstruary (for indeed, time, space, and reincarnation were no barriers to the power of Dad humor) and looked for the new item.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 31.5379%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th style="width: 99.9551%; text-align: center" colspan="2">The Monstruary</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Demesne Warden</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">[Empty]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.9551%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Monsters</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Archetype</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Undead 1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Template</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Skeletons</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Units (?/?)</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">1. Skeleton Fighter (lvl. 2)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.9551%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Fauna</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Biome</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Cave 1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Units (1/2)</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">
1. Black Bear2. [Empty]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.9551%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Flora</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Biome</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Cave 1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">Units (2/3)</td>
<td style="width: 49.9775%; text-align: center">
1. Bioluminescent Moss2. Mushroom 3. [Empty]
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
When I had created my status screen, I had left out creature and monster information and I did not think I needed to check that information as often. As a result, I had put it into a separate status screen, The Monstruary. Checking that screen now, I saw that Demesne Warden has been added at the top. Interestingly, it was not under the monster category but its own section. It was, after all, apparently unique.
Putting it all together, I think the message was clear: I was missing my companion and I was incomplete and these two things were absolutely connected. But now I had the skill, the capacity, the mana, to build a new companion, stronger, better, faster.
. . .
I needed to think about this very carefully. Making a Demesne Warden was a singular important task, and I did not want to fuck it up. I mean, I had to make some sort of undead creature to be my guy–wait. The demesne warden didn’t appear in the monster category or in the undead category. YES!--I could make my companion any creature I wanted!
Dee. Ar. A. Gee. O. EN.
Boom. Done. With the what being settled, only the how remained. I probably didn’t need exactitude as much as will and intent, letting the system fill in the gaps much like it did when I created the skeleton fighter. I was too excited to wait or to vacillate; I went straight to the warden item in The Monstruary and put every ounce of my focus and will, and tried expending some mana too, into setting it to “Dragon.”
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 22.9447%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%">
Sigil core is not unique.
Insufficient resources (?/?????????).
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Nuh uh. This was not acceptable. I focused the full weight of my intent on those dastardly question marks and pushed my interface to bring clarity. The system resisted, but I could feel that resistance wasn’t complete. I kept pushing and pushing, and the question marks slowly began to melt and morph until letters took shape. When it was done, the words brought everything into a new light.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 23.2991%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%">
Sigil Core is not unique.
Insufficient Resources (0/1 Essence).
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
I knew what I had to do.