A saying among the Ando'Rashai

There are three parts to any life: The struggle, the accomplishment, and the fading.

The wind whips my hair backwards as I walk through the shadows. Liquid darkness gathers at my feet and hides my presence from the flickering light of the torches held at the entrance.

Just a short thirty feet away, three guards meander at their post, exchanging words and laughing at a crude joke. Their poor eyesight doesn’t allow them to see beyond the limits of the firelight and it is at this point that I hide, enveloped in the darkness that I can somehow see into.

The 20 Attribute points into each pool had filled me with an invigorating sense of strength but this is the strangest side-effect that I’ve noticed so far. It is as if my eyes have become more hawkish. I can pick out details over long distances that would have only been blurs before my return to Earth.

Not wanting to let the entire city know of my return, I turn and walk away from the guards, gingerly taking my steps through the moonless night. My path takes me in an arc around the city until I stand at the end of the wall. A final tower lies against the shores of the lake, stone and wood standing as a final bulwark.

I watch as a guard makes his rounds on the wall, marking his position as he repeats the same circuit every five minutes. Intellectually I understand that the job is boring, but I can’t help myself from gently reprimanding him in my mind. Laziness and repetition are the signs of a weak defense. Although, a small part of me notes, it isn’t as if he is expecting something capable of scaling a fifteen-foot wall without any noise.

As soon as the guard reaches the perfect position, I sprint towards the fall and infuse my body with Mana. A sense of strength and speed, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, overtakes me as I leap into the air. I go hurtling thirty feet into the air, tumbling head over heels and barely keeping myself from letting out a cry of shock.

My landing is less than graceful. My arc takes me far behind the wall and I land in a heap onto the cobblestone road of the docks district. The smell of stored fish, of human bodies pressed together, of lake water, and of a dozen other small but distinctive scents overwhelm me as soon as I manage to get myself upright. The increased Perception has supercharged my senses and I find myself squinting my eyes and curling my nose back from the smells. After a few moments it becomes overwhelming enough that I raise the crook of my arm and stuff my face into it.

The next hour is spent jogging down the streets and hiding when I sense the mind of a roving patrol of guards. Hints of conflict and tense feelings flow through my mental connection and all I can tell is that something must have happened while I was gone. The city almost feels on edge, like a knife balancing on the tip, waiting to be blown over by the slightest breeze.

My destination is not the manor. It isn’t the management bureau. It isn’t even the homes of any of my friends. No. The place I finally end up at is my room within the Genesis Academy. Luckily it’s late enough that all but one of the students have left the school and a simple Mental Illusion hides my presence from the particularly dedicated, if somewhat challenged, student. Her tears of frustration tear at my heartstrings but this isn’t the time to make my presence known.

Things have changed, and I can’t act as if everything's the same. At least, I can’t if they know I’m here.

I throw open the door and collapse onto the soft feathery bed that envelops around me. I don’t know if any gods exist in this new world, and the existence of whatever the Allfather was didn’t make that any clearer, but I praise the idea of them as my head hits the soft pillow. It only takes seconds for me to fall asleep.

Soft beams of sun fill the room with a warm light. A hue of white and yellow greets me as I wake up, stretching my arms wide and letting out a yawn. My Physical Attributes may have made sleep not as necessary but there is nothing that can compare to the feeling of waking up from a long night’s rest.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I spin off the side of the bed and take a small sip from the glass of water that has probably been beside my bed for weeks. Despite its stale taste, the sensation wakes me up fully and I begin to get dressed.

It’s only after changing my shirt for the third time that I come to terms with the fact that I’m stalling. Things have obviously changed and I’m not entirely sure I’m ready to handle being the leader of the entire planet. The responsibilities and pressure weigh down upon me like a heavy blanket.

How will I handle things with the people of Everwall? I don’t know what has made them so tense but perhaps it is because of my new position. Is it possible that people were alerted after I won the position? It would certainly make sense.

I lose myself to the imaginative thoughts of how my friends and loved ones would have reacted to the notification. Was my mother pleased at what I’d accomplished or was she threatened now that I am officially her ruler? Hakim would have been pleased, but Carmen might have seen something on the horizon that made her hesitant or worried about what I would do. Alejandro probably hadn’t even given it a second thought, too concerned with his research. Lilly most likely thought it was some sort of game and was just pleased to see my name.

These imaginary scenarios play out in my head, each one more grand or self-deprecating than the last. In one I’m supported by my family and in another they actively work against my interests, convinced that I’ll take Earth down the wrong path.

In a sense, it’s the worst position someone like me could be in. Before I was a person of action, of pursuing my goals, I was a thinker. Someone who thought about the implications of every social interaction, of every word, and dissected them in my mind for months or years after they actually occurred. Or before they did. This lack of certainty of what my friends and family think fills me with an anxiety that hasn’t bothered me for months.

And that calms me down.

If I’m still someone that is concerned about what others think and about how I impact their lives, then I know I’m not too different from the person that used to dream of finding himself in a situation like this. A position of power and influence. Only this reality is far beyond what I ever could have dreamed of.

Calmed down and no longer plagued by imagined scenarios, I pull up my Status Screen and get to work. Underneath my Attributes and Skills, is a new section. Labeled in bright gold, it is a simple button with the word “Primus” upon it. I take a deep breath and click it.

Welcome to the Primus Screen! This tool will allow you to carefully manage and oversee your domain. Everything from setting trade policy, to social restrictions, to worldwide laws can be accomplished from this screen. Decisions that are made on this screen are generally instituted 24 hours after they have been selected. During this time, any change can be made without penalty. Certain options will only become available once prerequisites have been accomplished.

As this is your first time within the Primus Screen, here are the different components. The Information section contains general information about your world.

Information

Planet Name: Earth

Intelligent Population: Human 100%

Gate Location: Unplaced

Gate Policy:

The Economy section allows you to set trade policy, tax local goods, establish tariffs or import/export laws.

Economy:

Status: Local (Fractured)

Trade: Nonexistent

Market: Unselected

Trade Policy:

The Government sections allows you to establish the type of government, your ruling structure, your rule of law, and dozens of other options that become available based upon government type.

Government:

Status: Unified

Type: Nonexistent

World Laws:

The Dungeon World section pertains to a captured Dungeon World that your planet has claimed and established control over.

Dungeon World:

The Diplomacy section allows you to communicate with the leaders of other worlds or civilizations on behalf of your own. Communication among Primus’s of the same wave are free while communicating with other waves has certain costs attached.

Diplomacy:

Patron: Undeclared

Allies:

Enemies:

I nearly fall back onto my bed from informational overload. The anxiety returns but it is tinged with a healthy dose of excitement. For the first time, I’m able to see the level of influence that I’ll be able to have over the entire planet. The vast majority of the screen might be blocked off from my sight right now, but I can finally make plans on what I intend to do.

Rough ideas begin to form within my mind, tackling a broad range of issues. How to improve quality of life, establishing a defensive force, and, surprising myself with the thought of it, creating a group that can infiltrate places and gather information.

Any qualms I would have had with the idea beforehand were washed away the moment I saw the Primus Screen. It’s clear from the massive amount of information that I have a lot of work in front of me and I need to be more pragmatic about it.

A pained thought fills my mind. I need to be more like Astrid.

Guilt begins to creep in as I remember our last encounter before we were transported back to earth. I’d been to busy to help her and then it had been too late. Before I had a chance to do anything, Linus had already pulled me aside and pushed me into the light.

I just hope she made it back to her city. Her other personality may have been a bit bloodthirsty, but this isn’t the time for me to turn away those who can help.

At that thought, another notification pings into my vision.

You have 6 days to select your Racial Power. Based on your previous choices and personal Skills, you may select from the following options:

Abundant Energy (R-1): Your commitment to Mana has left its mark upon you and that mark can be passed to your entire race. Every Human will have their Mana Regeneration doubled.

Empathetic Teaching (R-3): Understanding your student is the most important thing a teacher can do. Due to your actions, Humans are able to learn at 2x speed when their teacher actively applies the Teaching Skill.

Endless Creativity (R-6): A font of new ideas and boundless creativity wells within each of you. Such widespread creativity is a wild and rare thing. Skills that relate to undiscovered, forgotten, hidden, or new ideas are more easily created.

I begin to follow my immediate reaction, throwing on a coat so I can go to the manor and debate the options with the Council. It’s only when I’m a few feet down the hallway that I stop and actually evaluate my actions.

Am I truly a leader if I go to the same group of people for every decision that matters? It made sense when I was a Candidate as I was a representative to the entire city. But that time is passed. I am the Primus now, a representative of far more than just Everwall. I need to make decisions that are best for our race as a whole, not just the city that I live in.

With that in mind, I reach the stairs and sit down, considering the options in front of me. Abundant Energy would be incredibly helpful for me, especially when used in conjunction with Effortless Presence. Unfortunately, it is also the selfish option. An incredibly small part of the population uses Mana and to make that choice wouldn’t benefit the average person as much.

Endless Creativity is also a great option, but I feel myself hesitate. Undiscovered and forgotten Skills served as the base of my Class but it is limited by the capability of our imagination. While I generally try to see the best in people, I know that creativity eventually runs out and that would be the limit of this Power.

The true power of Humanity is our ability to pass down our information and knowledge from generation to generation. We learn through iteration, each one becoming better educated than the last. If I can speed up the efficiency and speed of that teaching spirit ... We'd be able to spread our Skills and knowledge like never before.

With these points in mind, I press my finger down upon the final option. A resounding gong echoes outwards and then the familiar ping chimes within my ear. A notification appears.

Your Primus has chosen the Racial Power – Empathetic Teaching. As long as Primus King remains in his position, the Human race will be able to learn at 2x speed when their teacher actively applies the Teaching Skill. All hail the Primus!