Devi didn’t like children.

They were noisy-unruly and insolent. Part of Devi’s dislike came from her own aversion to bear children; younglings were constant reminders that Devi was shirking her duty. But now it seemed like she would have to learn to deal with it, because two days ago the entire building had become a playground.

“Me too, me too!”

Devi leaned against the railing just outside the entrance of her home, watching Randel down below play with the children. Today’s game was painting; Randel had bought buckets of wall-paint in every imaginable color, then asked the younglings whether they wanted to make his house the prettiest in the neighborhood. The result of this? Chaos. By Devi’s reckoning the pavement around the building had more paint on it than the walls themselves.

“Higher! Higher!”

“You’re too heavy, Rei!” Randel groaned, but he lifted the little Thardos girl higher nevertheless. The girl pressed a large brush against the wall, smearing pink color wherever Randel dragged her.

“More! Need more paint!”

Devi’s lips curled up in a smile before she caught herself. What in the name of Creator happened to her? She turned to climb down the stairs, pondering on her feelings. As much as she disliked children, seeing Randel play with them felt strangely heart-warming. Almost alarmingly so.

She was getting rather fond of Randel, unfortunately. Not only was he kind-caring and wicked-sharp at the same time, but he was also really fun to spend time with. He had a unique way of looking at life that fascinated Devi to no end. He was also terribly lazy and lied to himself all the time, but at least he showed the willingness to change. That he didn’t bother to paint himself in a better light just added to his charms.

All things considered, if Randel were born as a Sylven man and he wanted to court Devi, she would have let him—and this frightened her utterly. She didn’t want to throw away her freedom to become someone else’s. She didn’t want to, yet if that someone was Randel … it was better to not finish that thought. She didn’t need to finish that thought, because Randel wasn’t that kind of person.

“Going somewhere?” Randel asked when he saw her. He let go of the little girl and wiped his hands into his shirt, which was already dirty-blotched with all sorts of paint.

“Yes,” Devi replied. “I will meet some Players again. What about you? No work today?”

“Not the usual kind,” Randel said. “I plan to spend the day here.”

He had already explained Devi that he didn’t need to go to the bountyhouse every day, because his contract allowed him to take some days off in order to deal with Player-stuff.

“Okay,” Devi said. “I’ll be back in the evening.”

“Sure. Have fun!”

And that was it. Devi was off to do her own thing, and no one stopped her from going wherever she wanted. Randel hadn’t even told her to be careful, trusting her to know what she was doing. Devi wasn’t going to admit it to him, but she felt elated each and every time she left. Free to go wherever she wanted. She had lived her entire life on the Lynn estates, but now she was finally unchained! She didn’t know if she would ever get used to this feeling.

The wall was right in front of Randel’s home-building, and Devi started to walk alongside it. The wide road under the wall had proven to be a really good path for her training-runs, because it didn’t get clogged like most of the roads in the lower ring. Devi was tempted to run now too, but her current clothes weren’t made for it; she was wearing a semi-formal outfit that consisted of a cream-colored blouse and leather leggings, with nice-but-practical shoes on her feet and Silverfang on her hip. She liked Human fashion quite much. The woman-clothes covered her body properly, and carrying a weapon was considered normal for all genders!

Devi liked lots of other things about Human culture—she didn’t even mind how vulgar life in the lower ring was. What a far-throw away from the life she had led in Ylvasil! Not everything was easy to get used to, but she did her best to be open-minded. People were people, no matter what species they were. Devi found it surprising that everyone in Fortram lived together in relative peace—without trying to enslave each other like the people on her home-world would. No matter how she looked at it, Humans had every incentive to resort to slavery; they were superior in numbers and their magic was based on taking magic from other species. Devi couldn’t quite wrap her head around what got them to build enormous exchange-centers to pay non-Humans for taking their magic.

Was it empathy? Surely not. There were plenty of Humans who spurned her for being a Sylven, and also plenty of Human men who ogled and leered at her. Living in the lower ring didn’t leave the impression in Devi that Humans were any more virtuous than Sylven. But even if some Humans lacked empathy, most of them held a certain amount of acceptance in their hearts. Perhaps that was the spring behind the forward-momentum of their society! A Human man could be a painter, and he could still find his place in society in spite of doing a woman’s job.

Devi found a gate coming her way and stepped over to the middle ring, where most of the institutions could be found and people lived in nicer buildings. Contrary to popular opinion she found this place more dangerous than the lower ring, simply because the chances that Tengi’quinn’s men would find her was much higher. After some discreet-inquiries Devi had learned that only a few Sylven lived in Fortram; most of them were in the upper ring, belonging to House Quinn.

Players were rich. Almost every Player could afford to live in the middle ring, and so it made sense that if someone was looking for Devi, they would first search this place. Oh, they would find her anyway—sooner or later! Randel had already obfuscated Quest notices about her in the bountyhouse, but Devi knew it was only a matter of time before word about a Sylven woman living in the lower ring got out.

She could have escaped further into the Terran Empire, of course. She was free, wasn’t she? There were aircrafts in this world; wondrous vehicles that sailed over the clouds like the ships across the Poisoned Sea. Those air-ships could have taken Devi to another city, far from Tengi’quinn and his sleazy men. Except … there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t find other unsavory men there. Devi refused to live in fear, refused to back down just because some leftover-filth from her home-world thought they could dictate her life.

And so she took a deep breath and entered the inn she had just arrived to.

“Welcome to the Fire Lighter! Oh—! I remember you, miss!”

Devi smiled stiffly as she approached the red-headed innkeeper who had greeted her.

“Hello, Tom,” she said, placing a few silver coins on the counter. “If you remember me, then I ask the same as last time.”

“Mandragoor juice with a dash of cinnamon, was it? Ready before you say that it’s the best non-alcoholic beverage on this side of Nerilia!”

While the innkeeper mixed her drink, Devi glanced over the patrons of the Fire Lighter. There were only a few Human men sitting in the back of the room, drinking ale. Devi had no idea why Humans liked to poison themselves so much, but allegedly everyone did it, be them poor or rich. One of the patrons gave Devi the eyes, but she craned her neck to flash her collar at him and he looked away quickly.

“There you go, miss!”

Devi said her thanks to the innkeeper and sat down to an empty table by the windows, sipping her drink. She did her best to overcome her self-consciousness. People came and went, many of them giving her glances. She kept expecting them to rebuke her for being so careless, for sitting here all alone and without any guards—but of course that wasn’t why they were looking at her. She was alien to them and so she stood out. Not in the same way she had stood out in Ylvasil, but it was unwanted attention nevertheless. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait for long before the people she was waiting for arrived. The first to enter was Jack, the oldest Player Devi had seen so far. Humans had a peculiar trait, namely that when they grew old their hair turned beautiful-white, almost like a Sylven’s. Jack was already halfway there, by the looks of it! With the battle-scars on his face and his piercing pale-gray eyes, he held a quite respectable image. Jack was followed by a man Devi hadn’t talked before but remembered seeing at the training-grounds. He was a short man wearing a flowing cape around his shoulders and a funny hat with a rainbow-colored feather sticking out of it. The third and the last Player was a tall woman with shoulder-length yellow hair, decked in heavy armor. A wide smile spread across her face as soon as she spotted Devi.

“Hello,” the woman said, striding toward Devi’s table while her companions ordered drinks. “You must be Devi, right? Nice to meet you, I’m Heda.”

“Nice to meet you,” Devi returned the greeting, then – as per Human customs – she extended her hand for a handshake. Heda seemed to be surprised at the gesture, but she clasped Devi’s hand with her gauntleted fingers gently. Devi had a feeling that it went more awkwardly than it should have.

“Sorry about the armor,” Heda apologized as she sat down. The chair creaked loudly under her weight. “I’ve only just arrived back to the city and didn’t have time to change.”

“No problem,” Devi said. She took another sip from her drink, using it as an excuse to have a better look at Heda. The finely-made metal armor made her look bulkier than she probably was, but she definitely had a warrior’s physique. In Player-terms, she had to be something like a tank or a bruiser. Devi already liked her.

“And sorry for staring too,” Heda said a moment later. “I have to admit that I’ve never met a Sylven woman before. You look so … exotic.”

“You never met a Sylven woman?”

“Never in my six years on Nerilia,” Heda said. “I was starting to believe that Sylven were agender.”

“Heda believes in lots of stupid things,” the man with the feathered hat said, placing two large mugs of ale on the table. “Hi Devi. I’m Kim, Heda’s devilishly good-looking boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Devi said, nodding. She already knew that Humans called each other boyfriend and girlfriend when the man courted the woman … which for some odd reason could last even years-and-years long. Human relationships were awfully convoluted by Randel’s admission, though Devi had a feeling he wasn’t the best person to learn these things from. Hopefully Heda and Kim would be more willing to enlighten her in the future.

“As you can see,” Heda said, “not only is Kim extremely humble, but he also likes to sleep on the couch.”

Devi blinked, trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind the Human-words. It was frustrating in its own way; just because she was able to speak in more-or-less proper sentences now, people assumed that she understood every slang and veiled-word.

“Don’t mind them too much,” Jack said, taking a seat by the table too. “They bicker all the time.”

“I don’t mind,” Devi said, “but understanding is difficult. Players, Humans, and language are new to me.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Jack said. He took a sip of his own drink – some clear liquid served in a small glass – then returned his eyes to Devi. “I say we start with the initiation, so that we can talk freely afterwards. Unless, of course, you’ve changed your mind about joining?”

“I want to join still.”

At her response, Jack pulled a small item out of his vest and put it down in the middle of the table. Created from some kind of metal, it was shaped like a well-worn boot.

“Then I hope you remember our three maxims,” Jack said.

“Traverse the forest, see to Fortram’s prosperity, and protect the citizens,” Devi recited readily.

“Wow,” Heda said, chuckling. “You’re already better at this than Kim!”

Kim huffed, crossing his arms.

“Devi,” Jack said, “to join the Rangers of Fortram, you’ll need to touch our emblem and repeat our maxims—with your honest intention to follow them as long as you’re part of our covenant.”

Devi nodded, then reached out for the small metallic boot. In spite of how serious Jack made it sound, joining a covenant was nowhere near like taking a Vow of Blood. The closer the covenant-members followed their three maxims, the better rewards they got from Quests and the more experience they received from their kills. Doing activities according to the maxims also granted Players the Guided boon, which Devi interpreted as luck—or as Randel had put it, the Inspector’s greasy fingers. There weren’t any consequences for not keeping to the maxims, but the number of Players allowed in a covenant was limited. Covenant-leaders preferred to recruit Players who were willing to contribute actively. Players like Devi.

Congratulations, you’ve joined a Covenant!

You’re now the member of Rangers of Fortram.

“Welcome to the team,” Heda said, raising her mug. “I can’t wait to get to know you better!”

“See, you’re already making her regret her decision,” Kim said, and got a finger-jab in his side for it. “Hey, I was only stating the obvious!”

Heda pointed at Kim warningly. “Next time it will be two fingers.”

“That’s what she said,” Kim replied, smirking.

Heda gasped, then poked Kim again.

“You’re our fourteenth member,” Jack told Devi, pointedly ignoring the other two as they began poking each other. “You’ll get to know the rest of us in time. Although we are based mostly around this city, many of us are coming and going, making use of our first maxim. You can see who is nearby if you check the covenant tab under your collar’s Company menu.”

“Alright,” Devi said. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” Jack said. “And on the matter of thanking each other: now that you’re officially a Ranger, I have something for you. I believe that the last time we spoke, you inquired about ways to read someone’s subconscious, right?”

“Yes, I did,” Devi cautiously answered.

“Not asking why, don’t worry,” Jack said. He placed another item on the table, something that looked like a shriveled bird-foot. Devi took the item carefully, turning it over in her hands. The bird-foot had a red gemstone embedded in it where the four toes met.

“It’s called Dreamcatcher,” Jack said. “I’m not sure if this will be any help of you at all, but it allows you to join someone else’s dream. That’s your best bet at reaching a person’s subconscious, I’m afraid.”

Devi ran her fingers over the relic, her mind spinning. She couldn’t decide whether Jack was just surprisingly insightful, or he knew more about her and Randel than he let on. Did he have ulterior motives by gifting her this?

“This is very generous,” Devi said at last. “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Devi fixed the Dreamcatcher to her belt, thinking about what Randel’s reaction would be when he found out what it was. He wouldn’t appreciate her help, she was sure of that. It made her feel churning-sick about herself, but then what else could she do? If Soul Eater was influencing Randel’s thoughts, the only course of action was to act behind Randel’s back.

Devi could only hope that he’ll forgive her in the very end.