“At a certain point, the effects of Skills, Classes, and Aspects can no longer be explained by the transitions and transformations of energy achieved by applications of Source. While it is widely accepted that the System can alter reality on a fundamental level, as [Scientists] it is our duty to figure out how. The concept of String Theory, which states that reality is made of vibrating filaments and membranes of energy, gives us many to clues to the Systems reality-altering properties. In this essay, I will explain why I believe that we can learn to alter reality in the same way.”

-Excerpt from the essay ‘Pulling the Strings of Reality’

-

Quinn woke up to an empty bed. It stung, for a moment. Like it always did. The ache in her heart at his absence was as fresh now as it was the first time she woke up alone.

After wiping the sleep from her eyes and sitting up, she remembered. Angosin was on a mission for the Guildmaster. The reason for his absence was easier on her mind, and heart, than the alternative. He made sure to spend the majority of his nights with her, of course. But the nights he was frolicking with one of his-

She ripped the blankets off herself and hoped that the chilled air would wash away her insecurities. No such luck. With an unreasonable amount of awkward finagling, she managed to haul herself out of bed. The two large wings attached to her back made most tasks difficult. When not flying, wings were by and large more hassle than they were worth.

Some days she dreamed of her life without them. The result was always the same though. She was not ready to let that part of her life go.

It had been a long time since she had flown. Too long. If the pain of waking up alone faded a distant and familiar ache after the initial burst of agony each time, then the pain of her lost ability to fly was like an incessant itch that never went away. Alas, such was the price of love.

As Quinn got prepared for the day, she fought against the lingering memory at the back of her mind. Thoughts of Angosin and her wings often brought it swimming to the surface of her mind from the depths of her consciousness where she tried to bury it.

Quinn tried to bury it again. Reliving the moment she was cast down was never pleasant. She had done it enough to know. The guilt and failure was bad enough, but the feeling of falling… Not a week went by when she did not wake up screaming at least once, terrified that she was falling with her wings broken and limp at her side, unable to catch herself.

Sword on and pouch of bullets attached to her belt, Quinn checked the mirror to make sure her illusion held. Emerald eyes stared back at her, framed by hair that could have been spun from pure gold. She checked her wings twice to make sure not a single snow-white feather was out of place. In her head she thanked the System, once again, for her first and most important Skill. [Illusionary Physique: Ideal Self] was the only reason she could allow herself to be seen in public.

Mastering light and sound energy to the point where she qualified for the [Illusionist] Class had been an ordeal like none she had ever experienced before. She had never regretted it. Not for a single second.

Well, perhaps for a second or two. That time could have been spent learning what magic she needed to master to regain the ability to fly. There was nothing physically wrong with her wings, of course. Healing here was as basic as magic got, unlike her old world which required specialist for such feats. Her ability to fly had been stripped from her by the gods she was created to serve when-

Quinn, with a supreme effort of will, broke off that train of thought.

Out of habit, she pulled a worn but well cared for piece of metal from her pocket. Intricate scrollwork designs were carved into the edges framing the round, bronze piece. The top of it featured a scale balancing a heart and a sword. The heart was faded where she would rub her thumb against it. Another habit, for when she felt stressed. The object was a reminder, a gift from her love. ‘For the heart is heavier than the sword,’ he said when he gave it to her. That memory often comforted her.

She flipped it open to reveal a small mirror. Trying not to feel obsessive, but failing as per usual, she checked her appearance again. Still an angel; still beautiful and whole. At least, to the people who saw her. Most people, in fact. Never to her love though.

His Unique Skill saw to that. Some days she cursed it, but others she felt it was fitting. If anyone should see her in her hideous, fallen state it should be the man that caused it. Such was the price of love.

They had warned her, the gods that created her and sent her to him. ‘Do not love a mortal,’ they said. Of course, she thought nothing of it at the time. Why would she? Her home had been in the heavens, filled with wonders a mortal could not even begin to understand. What could a mere mortal possess that would tempt her from her path?

But then, she met her Angosin. He was so driven, a burning flame beating back the darkness. His singular pursuit of truth was something to be admired, envied even. He refused to bow before the whims of the powerful and mighty in his search for truth. His passion raged like nothing she had ever dreamed, and it ignited something inside her. But then… Then he turned to the gods themselves and the dark secrets they hoarded, high up above in their heavens full of wonder.

The memory consumed her and before she knew it she was standing in the training grounds, watching Honey and Snowflake battle with their arms and legs. She could not remember how she got here.

Brushing off the strange feeling of lost time, Quinn watched the two spar. Her other two charges stood off to the side, but she felt no need to stop the training for their sake. Snowflake looked different today than he had yesterday. Stockier. She did not mind though, it made him look powerful. If she had to guess, he got a new Skill that effected his physique.

Watching him trade blows with Honey made Quinn feel guilty. And excited. More excited than guilty if she was honest. Honesty was important after all. ‘The truth is as bold as it is ugly…’

It had started as a small piece of harmless revenge. Angosin spent so much time ignoring her feelings to pursue his little flings, believing that every protagonist deserved a harem. Flirting with a potential recruit he thought of as a kindred spirit was petty, sure, but… Well, she deserved to be a little bit petty.

That said, she hadn’t expected it to be so much fun. She knew she shouldn’t, but that made it even more thrilling. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she thought about what would happen if Angosin found out about it. Would he be mad? Jealous even?

Not to say that the witty banter with Snowflake, or the light touches they shared, did not have inherent value. In fact-

“Morning already?” The object of her musings interrupted her thoughts. A small piece of irony, but amusing nonetheless.

He must have caught a glimpse of her after Honey knocked him to the ground. With a quick movement he sprung to his feet, looking far more agile than he had yesterday.

“Mhmm,” she said, trying to suppress a smile as she regarded him. “And here I was thinking that you would be up all night playing with your ‘edged club.’”

Snowflake blushed, the lamia chuckled from off to the side, and Honey stepped in front of her charge, ever the protective mother hen. Quinn often wondered how it went so wrong between Honey and Dave. There had to be more to the story between them.

“I would like to observe the assessment,” the badger-kin said, her eyes glued to Quinn’s own. Uncomfortable with the prolonged eye contact, Quinn weaved a quick illusion out of light energy. Confident that her illusionary eyes would stare into Honey’s without her input, she allowed her real eyes to roam.

“If I could, I would let you.” The lie sent a twinge down Quinn’s spine, but Angosin wasn’t around. A little lie would make things smoother. The next part was true at least. “But it is against Guild policy to allow instructors to watch Guild assessments. Their relationship with new members is too personal and the Guildmaster frowns upon bribery and coercion.”

Quinn neglected to mention that such frowning was purely a one way street. The lie of omission was walking the thin line of what was acceptable to her love and what was not but… Well, it was a little thrilling to walk the razor’s edge. Besides, no one was being hurt.

The badger-kin’s glare was much like the rest of her, small and ferocious. Quinn let the other woman glare into her eyes in an illusionary battle of wills as her own eyes examined her charges for the day. R’hel, the lamia, looked almost exactly like she did the day before. There was a contented glow about her, but no new armor or weaponry as far as Quinn could tell. In contrast, the strange little dryad, Bonehammer, was wearing head to toe armor. Not forged metal as one might expect, instead it was armor made of leather and bone.

It looked… functional. There were odd seams and jutting bones here and there. At a first glance it was obvious the green skinned girl- err dryad, had made the equipment herself. Itself.

Quinn struggled to correct the cute and feminine dryad’s pronouns in her head. Of all people, she knew what it was like to want people to perceive you in a certain way. Given her own circumstances, the least she could do was be respectful.

“Fine,” Honey said. It must have been a full minute since Quinn told her no. Part of Quinn was surprised the other woman had given up so easily. Was she that confident in her trainee’s abilities?

“So,” Snowflake said, his eyes flickered up and down her body in manner that he surely thought of as discreet. She felt a small glow bloom in her chest at being desired in such a forthright manner. It was flattering. And far too rare. “What does the assessment entail?”

Quinn felt a slight frown furrow her brow as she noticed the bags under Snowflake’s eyes. When he asked if it was morning she assumed he had gotten up early for some last minute instruction. It made sense because he was weeks behind the other two. However, she would be quite upset if he performed poorly due to some misguided attempt at training though the night.

“The Guildmaster has tasked us with removing a local threat,” Quinn said, making it a point to not acknowledge Honey’s guttural growl. The other woman knew how things around here operated just as well as Quinn did. There was nothing either of them could do to fight the status quo. “A band of goblins has set up an outpost nearby. Guild [Assassins] are in position to remove the tier 3 threats, but you will be expected to deal with the rest. I will evaluate you on several criteria during the process.”

“What criteria?” Bonehammer said. The dryad looked unperturbed at the thought of impending violence. Of the three, Quinn had expected her- them, to resist the most. Dryads were known for being peaceful.

“What did they do?” Snowflake said, his question mere seconds behind Bonehammer’s. His innocent curiosity reminded her of when she first fell in love with Angosin. It felt so long ago these days.

“As part of the process, to help eliminate bias, I am not allowed to share the criteria.” And that was the truth of it. Except for how some of the criteria was less than palatable to most potential Guild members. It was rare to find an Awakened who saw ‘obedience’ as a positive attribute. The other question was much more difficult to answer. “Goblins are- You could say that the Guild considers them pests. If left alone they will consume valuable resources and become a dangerous menace.”

She left it unsaid that the reason resources were an issue was because it would undercut the Guildmaster’s monopoly on all purchased and sold goods if the goblins started trading with the Awakened. Also, the real reason they would be a menace was if the Native nations that sent these small colonizing tribes found out that the Guild was exterminating their people like pests. It was well beyond Quinn’s paygrade though. Long and bitter fights with Angosin had made that clear, not that he was happy following Guild orders. He just saw an opportunity to pursue his own goals at the same time.

The second half of their sacred mantra-- ‘And so we pursue it, no matter how ugly it may be’ – had justified many an atrocity. But still she followed him. Such was the price of love.

“The Guild does not value Native lives,” Honey said from her position in the sand, arms crossed and snarl peeking through her lips.

“I’ve heard that term mentioned before,” Snowflake said, a thoughtful frown on his lips. The way his brow furrowed as he tried to figure something out was cute. Adorable even. “What exactly does it mean?”

“It’s a term for non-Awakened.” Honey gave the answer without ever removing her locked gaze from Quinn. “Some believe their lives are worth less than ours.”

“The Guild’s official stance,” Quinn said with a gentle but firm tone, attempting to take hold of the conversation. “Is that Awakened lives are to be protected at all costs. Sometimes this means our lives are valued more than the native peoples of this world. However! Across the majority of our former worlds, goblins are amoral and dangerous, if not outright evil.”

That was true, but misleading. If Angosin was here she would have been it a lot of trouble. That thought gave Quinn a bit of unexpected satisfaction.

As the trainees pondered what she said, Quinn used [Illusion: Duplicate Self] and [Invisibility] to leave a copy of her standing where she was. The trick was to let her true self and her [Duplicate] overlap until [Invisibility] was cast. Only then did she move.

Now invisible, she relocated, touched her hand to her ear, and manipulated sound energy to cast a [Whisper] spell toward Honey. She was careful to stand well out of Honey’s range, just in case.

“Make an excuse and leave.” Quinn all but hissed, causing Honey to jerk and narrow her eyes. She cast her gaze about, trying to find Quinn’s invisible form. The badger-kin mimicked Quinn’s gesture and touched a hand to her ear. She twitched her lips, but her voice did not emerge for everyone to hear. Instead, she spoke into Quinn’s ear from at least a dozen feet away, like she was whispering into it from mere inches.

“They have a right to know.” Honey was firm and unyielding in her beliefs. It was one of the reason there was so much strife between her and the Guild. Quinn admired her for it, in a way.

“Then take it up with the Guildmaster. I’m just trying to do my job.” Quinn said, hoping to appeal to her. No such luck.

“Typical.” Honey growled. The bestial noise was caught by the [Whisper] spell and transferred to Quinn’s ears with the trainees none the wiser. “You all shift the blame while perpetuating murder and debt-slavery.”

The accusation caught Quinn off guard. Honey was acting as if this was her choice! Quinn was as bound by the situation as Honey was. What a hypocrite. Still, she tried to keep the vitriol from her voice.

“We’re the same as you.”

“But I don’t run errands and commit murder for our owner.”

In the heat of the moment, Quinn could not resist the sharp retort that danced on the tip of her tongue

“No, you just train his soldiers.”

That shut her up. Instead of responding, Honey turned on her heel and stomped away. How on brand for her. If she can’t kill or threaten an issue, then she runs away from it.

“Well,” Quinn said through gritted teeth. She dispelled the illusion and her [Invisibility], not bothering to return to her former position. The trainees swiveled their heads back and forth, trying to make sense of the sudden change in position. That might have amused her earlier, but Honey had put Quinn into a foul mood. “If that is all, we should be off.”

“Wait,” Snowflake said. Quinn almost snapped at him, but managed to reign in her temper before she did. It wasn’t his fault she was irritated. “Just for clarification. What separates Awakened from Natives?”

Wow. If such a simple subject was still unclear, then maybe Honey was not as good as an instructor as everyone seemed to believe.

Quinn took a deep breath, her hand straying to her pocket to rub the heart on the face of her mirrored locket. Her eyes closed, she could feel her feathers fluttering in a passing breeze. It reminded her of her love, and the sky. Two things she longed for. Feeling calmer, she answered as best she could.

“Awakened are individuals like us who were real in a fictional world. We have proven our existence by discovering for ourselves that our old worlds were lies and making our way to this new one. Natives are people born into this new world, who could be just as fictional as the people populating our old ones. There is no way to know for sure.”

So saying, she turned and began to lead her charges out of the city and toward the goblins they had been tasked with exterminating. Behind her she heard Snowflake mutter a soft ‘oh’ but paid it no mind. If she had been looking at him, she may have seen the dark and conflicted look on his face. But, she did not.