“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”

Albert Einstein

During the night I awoke, startled from my sleep, wrapped in my mother's arms. I had been dreaming of falling, waking before I hit the earth, and I realised I still had a lot left to learn about this world. My growth had only just begun and I was not ready to stop or leave it quite so soon. As my heart calmed once more I resolved to find out the answers tomorrow if I could and I fell back asleep.

When I awoke in the morning it was to find myself still wrapped in my mother’s arms. Crying last night had been cathartic and after sleeping soundly and deeply I felt refreshed and ready to face the day. Hesitating to move I lay there enjoying being held unsure if my mother was also awake we lay there together as if asleep until father awoke with a start.

Getting up I finally changed out of my salt-encrusted clothing, something I probably should have done before bed but too exhausted to attempt it. Aware they all knew about my abilities I unapologetically heated the washing tub before carefully climbing into it for bathing. My mother perhaps anxious to be close after my near-miss with death insisted on cleaning me and washing my hair. After months of intimate attention, I was unashamed of my nudity only splashing Aleera when she came to poke fun at me probably she only teased me in an attempt to hurry me out of the tub so that she could make use of the hot water. Something that would normally take them a lot longer to arrange and usually result in lukewarm water at best.

Once I was dressed again, I finally felt like my ordeal had come to an end. I was a new baby. A baby with plans and ideas. Aleera had finished her wash and Des and Sinis were invited to use the water before throwing it out. It was only as we were sitting down to break our fast that the grandfathers arrived.

“We need to sit down and explain what and how everything happened.” Grandpa Smit started before being talked over by Grandfather.

“We need to work together as a family now to plan our way forward, to sail a clear course through the reefs we now find ourselves plotted into.” Grandfather started clearly laying the blame for our recent problems at Smit’s feet.

“We spoke last night after we left and we have a lot to explain to make sure that everyone understands where we are, where we have come from, and how we are going to be moving forward after yesterday.” Grandpa continued where he had left off before he had been interrupted.

“Do Kai and Aleera need to be here for this discussion?” Questioned father always the last to treat us differently and ever the first to say let's go for a swim or a sail. Problems or dangers he often seemed to think could be put over the edge of the horizon. Faced tomorrow rather than today.

“Yes, they do because we all need to understand where each of us is currently and where we are aiming for as a family and as individuals.” Grandpa Smit counseled. “Besides Aleera has always understood everything and Kai has certainly proved himself capable far beyond his years.”

A round of nods of agreement or partial agreement went around the table.

“Kai, Aleera, we are going to explain who and where our family came from and where we hope to get to. I'm going to have to explain a little bit of the background of the world, our kingdoms, and our place among them first though." He started looking at both of us to see if we understood what was going on.

I didn't fully but dutifully nodded along with Aleera. It looked like I might be getting some of those answers I was looking for.

"First off it boils down to stats and the system.” He paused seeing if he was going to have any more interruptions before going on to explain. “There are differences between species in terms of their balance and growth of stats for example Elves will start life with a high value in vitality and it will continue to grow quickly compared to their other stats allowing them to live longer than all other species reaching in some cases 1000 years old. Dwarves, on the other hand, their racial bonus, is in endurance giving them greater durability both in stamina and body allowing them to generally reach at least 500 years old. Giants have strength and so on. But within that, there are also differences with species. Now I don’t know how it is different within other races but within humans, we are special in that we are not special, at least to start with. We have no stat we are particularly inclined towards.”

Intrigued by this explanation I moved to interrupt his monologue and question him about the other races and their bonuses, “What about senses? What race are they the bonus of? And . . .” but I was halted by his hand and he continued talking.

“Beastkin. Now don’t interrupt until I’ve finished. I might very well answer your questions if you just wait to hear what I have to say. As I was saying humans are not special, we have no racial bonus to our stats but we are also not bound as closely to them.” Grandfather continued to lecture us. Aleera listened eagerly while the adults seemed to know the majority of what he was saying so far.

“What about the mind stat? What race has a bonus in mind?” I interrupted still wanting to find out about the stats I had managed to unlock traits for. Did all of these species have the same traits I had unlocked? That would make sense with the long lives of elves and the super senses of beast kin.

“Gnomes Kai. Gnomes have the bonus for the mind stat. This enables them to build fantastical things and level up, where their size would otherwise hinder them in gaining experience, particularly in a world so dangerous for a people that size. Now don’t interrupt your Grandfather again.” My mother calmly answered preventing Grandfather from blustering me back into silence.

“As I was saying,” repeated Grandfather frustrated from being interrupted again but unable to do more than begin again, protected as I was by the presence of my parents and family.

“The average human on this island will awaken their 6 stats by the age of 5 when exactly depends on the child’s understanding and circumstances of birth, education, etc. The old argument of nature versus nurture. Then when they are 10 regardless of when they awakened their status they will be able to allocate their stats and for most of them, they are called the simple six. Owning to the fact that they only have the six base attributes. Those with the simple six stats are the commoners of the Compass Kingdoms, the serfs, and the slaves. Free men and women too but the majority of humans are afforded the simple six when it came to their stats.”

Hang on a second, most people only had six stats? I had been born with eight. Why the discrepancy. Was it nature my genetics and lineage? Or was it nurture? The fact that I already had several decades of schooling and further education under my belt. My attention returned to Grandfather as he began talking once more taking up the baton of explaining the world to us. I wasn’t sure quite how this was all relevant to yesterday but I was sure the link would become obvious in time. Best to sit quietly and not interrupt anymore. Questions could always come at the end and I had a lot of them.

“Vitality, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Senses, Mind are all a man needs to make his way in the world and this is what I and your Father have. It may mean we have less flexibility in spending our stats across six instead of 7 or more stats but having only six is also a strength in that as we have fewer attributes to allocate them to it also means we have more stat points in comparison to be placed in them.” Interrupted Grandpa Smit this time unwilling to let Grandfather belittle him or my father.

I turned to look at them seeing no difference between them and myself. There was no way to tell just as there was no way to tell when comparing them with my sister, mother, or grandfather. But I could see how others could see it as a disability or a lesser type of people. Being different in any way was all too often used as an argument for discrimination be it gender, race, or belief in my old world. Here it would appear stats would be the ism over which people fell out.

“Yes, well this is where our race is different from the others because we have a certain adaptability to our stats. A seventh attribute that we can add. The lucky seven who can raise themselves up from their birth and reach higher in society.” Continued Grandfather, neither abashed nor repentant for what he seemed to judge a factual explanation of the world around me. “Vitality, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Senses, Mind and Magic are your mother’s build and the bare minimum that you could have before you could even think about making the move up the social hierarchy into the nobility.” He paused here staring at Grandpa Smit pointedly because as far as he had been aware I had not had that when he had me buy my patent of nobility.

“I am happy where I am.” Added mother patting father’s hand. “I have no wish to move up in the world, having heard enough about its ups and downs from Grandfather. This little island isolated from the political turmoil of the continent is perfect. Here there are only sea monsters to worry about, not human ones, at least until yesterday.”

Father squeezed her hand back, happy to hear she was happy where she was with him and us. He had had time to adjust to the fact that mother was more than she seemed but loved him despite or because of the secrets she had kept from him. As Grandfather pursed his lips it was impossible to tell whether he was happy with his son-in-law or not. Just as it was impossible to tell if he was happy in his daughter's choice in husband or not.

“Be that as it may, unlocking an extra attribute has always been a cause for celebration and it is not always Magic that is unlocked it could also be either Clarity or Charisma. Unlocking one of these stats is what would support your jump into high society but with that jump, there are hidden dangers. Think first about unlocking Magic as providing a mage path into the nobility. As much as it provides you with equal magical strength to their retainers or themselves you are equally likely to be snapped up by them in the process of developing your potential.”

“Next up is my build. I have all of the above as well as Clarity. It is not enough to have intelligence but you have to be able to make good use of it. Everyone has a brain and a mind stat but how many people make full use of it. Fully utilising your senses, your magic, your physical abilities to gain this one. This is what I have been working on unlocking on the island. Putting you into situations where you have to make the most of all your senses, magic, and physical abilities. It may have been tough but I am sure that you have unlocked it and it will appear when you can view your stats. The ability to not panic under fire, to stay calm and collected. To react to changes in circumstance rather than be acted upon. Clear thinking under pressure or thinking at speed. This is the path of warriors into the nobility. Maybe one day if I had not been noticed so soon or had been a little bit luckier I could have been a knight or a mage but I never had that option. Taken from my family before I was 10 I did as I was told by the house until there was no one left to tell me what to do.”

He paused once more considering a past he rarely thought about and talked about even less before continuing. The adults around the table sat silently waiting for him to continue. Maybe as equally astonished by him opening up as much as he had.

“Finally, there is Charisma, it will aid leadership certainly but moving from a commoner to a noble with this extra ability is the path of the bard. Although many a merchant makes excellent use of this stat should they be able to gain it. Bear in mind this is all for low nobility, the knight, the mage, the bard, while merchants are still seen as commoners until they have enough wealth not to be. What Grandpa Smit has signed you up for is high nobility. The blue blood nobles, who have been nobles all of their lives, have not risen to their positions from lower down in the social hierarchy. Or at least not in the last two or three generations of their house. You have not just been entered into low nobility through your abilities or actions though. No, your place at the table has been bought without a true foundation to stand upon." he said with exasperation all his efforts to keep us hidden undone by a well-meaning gift from Grandpa Smit despite the strings that would have been attached.

He frowned as he thought about the situation that we all now found ourselves in. Life can be simple but sometimes other people make it far more complex.

"As Baron of Wester Isles, you will be expected to have the Noble Nine in terms of your stats. You will need all nine attributes Vitality, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Senses, Mind, Magic, Clarity, and Charisma just to be at the same starting position as them. These were the complete attributes of the higher lords having unlocked 9 attributes into which to place their points. Having 9 of them on which to spend their points. You would be forgiven for thinking that their individual stats would be lower than average. But this is where they used their strength, power, and connections to gain more experience than most and level quicker."

I kept tight-lipped about my 10 attributes they seemed to have had enough surprises for the day and I had no desire to make myself a bigger target. Keep it secret, keep it safe. My understanding of my Grandfather’s actions had crystalised after the disastrous afternoon and evening I had had. The fewer people knew the safer I would be, I had no desire to stand out at all among noble society.

"Now you developed Magic on your own gifted in your own way. I have hopefully forced clarity into you and you have had charisma bought for you by your grandfather. When your stats become visible you will not be hopelessly behind but that only makes you a valid threat or tool to the nobles of Ponente. Something Grandpa Smit should have realised before attempting to make you one." He glared once more at Grandpa Smit.

"A threat half will want to see eliminated and a tool the other half will want to use." He paused here before looking at us, gauging our thoughts and feelings.

"There is really only one solution," he said heavily.

Before sighing, "Kai needs to die."