The Gilded Lion

The walk from the palace out into the city seemed to take both forever, but was over sooner than I expected. Arriving at a small tavern, I stop for a moment and look at the sign. For a moment the words seem to swim before my eyes before rearranging themselves into English letters that I can understand, finally stopping and reading The Gilded Lion. Looking down, I see Ellavessa watching me with a curious look on her face. Following her, I enter the tavern and struggle to keep my mouth from hitting the floor. I saw plenty of humans on the way here, as well as a few dwarves and elves, I suspected, but that didn't prepare me for the tavern. Long and short-eared beast people sat at the tables with elves, dwarves, and dragon humans. As I step inside fully, a small hush settles over the crowd, and they all turned to look at me. Looking over to the bar, I see a late middle-aged woman with cat ears and fiery red eyes look at Ellavessa. With a barely perceived gesture, she sends a young wolf eared girl over. Whispering to Ellavessa, she looks at me, nods and then heads back to the bar. Talking to the older woman, the young girl looks at me wide eyed. Looking around the room at all the people, an uncomfortable prickling feeling settles on my shoulders as they all talk in hushed whispers. Tugging on my arm, Ellavessa gestures for me to follow her deeper into the tavern. With a sigh, I follow her to a private room out the back with a small table. Gesturing for me to sit, she goes over to the older woman standing at the door.

"Really, Ellavessa, a human? Why would you bring him here?"

"Relax Marianne. He's an outlier. He'll cause no trouble. You have my word."

"Make sure he doesn't. I'll bring you something soon." Walking out with a huff, Marianne shoots me one more look, her eyes glaring a brighter red before she rounded the corner. Coming over and taking a seat, Ellavessa sighs heavily and leans back into her chair.

"Sorry for that. Despite what Elias said, it's not all peaceful in the kingdom. Demi humans are treated like second-rate citizens. They don't always take kindly to humans." Settling into my chair, I size her up.

"Then why would you bring me here? Seems like that's not the wisest of choices."

"Despite how she may seem, Marianne is an old friend, and we can talk comfortably here. The palace is not the place to discuss sensitive topics."

"You mean the fact that I'm an outlier? What is that? Why did the king react like that?" Gesturing for me to be silent for a moment as a young girl comes in with two plates of food and two tankards of drink, she waits until she leaves until she talks.

"You saw how the king gave your daughter the oracle. In this world, most people's skills are granted by the goddess Alyssa. These are oracle skills. But you're something different. A relic from a bygone time. At the beginning there were two goddess twins. Alyssa and Firentia. When Saetaen rose to power, he killed the Goddess Firentia. Outliers are Firentias heroes. That's why you can't have an oracle, as the two goddesses chosen work in vastly different ways. These days your existence is outside the natural order and laws of this world as people have forgotten Firentia. If Saetaen isn't stopped soon, Alyssa won't survive either, and then this world and all its inhabitants are doomed. Eat your meal before it gets cold." Taking a bite of her meal, she smiles at the food. Letting her words sink in, I take a bite of my meal and shock runs through me at the amount of flavors in the food.

"This is amazing. What is it?" Letting out a small laugh, she looks at me.

"You're better off not knowing. Trust me. Just enjoy the food and drink. It's some of the best in the city. We'll talk after. I've always found heavy topics go better after a good meal." Taking her words to heart, I force my mind to stop thinking about what the food could be and just enjoy the taste. Taking a swig of the tankard reveals a light, refreshing ale with citrus and spice mix through it. Not the worst beer I've ever had, admittedly. It's definitely the kind of food and drink I could get used to if this is what this world offers. Finally finishing our meals, I place my fork down on the plate and wait for Ellavessa to talk. She whistles and waits until someone comes and removes the dishes before talking.

"Being an outlier makes you unique compared to regular people. I will show you why. Hold still for a moment, as this may be uncomfortable." Reaching over to me, she mutters some words that I don't understand, and a small sphere of blue light appears above the tip of her finger. Reaching over, she presses it to my forehead and for the second time in several days, pains sears through my brain. Closing my eyes as the pain peaks, I open them as it wanes, and shock runs through me. In front of my eyes, a board with numbered stats and writing follows my eyes wherever I look.

"What is this?"

"It's your status. Here, wave you hand to the left and say articulus." Following her instructions, the board disappears.

"It worked. It's gone."

"Well done. To bring it back up, simple wave right and say sensillian. Bring it back up and I'll explain why your existence is outside the rules of normal." Following her instructions again, I wave my hand and say the incantation. Watch as the status board materializes in front of my eyes again. Looking over the stats, I noticed a lot of them have the symbol for infinity on them.

"It seems like you've already noticed. Your stats don't register like a regular person. Unlike regular people with an oracle, an outlier has no limit on their skills. They will automatically increase as you gain experience. Oracle users chose their own destinies. Their choices shape who they are and who they become. Outliers evolve instinctively, through action and survival. You will gain skills automatically. However, your power can easily destroy a God."

"Or a Demon King?" At my words, a dark look crosses her face for a moment.

"Listen closely Oscar. I'm going to tell you this once. You cannot kill the Demon King. Only the hero can." At her words, a shadow crosses her face and I make a mental note to look up more information later.

"I can't let Hannah fight him. She's my daughter."

"I understand why..."

"No, you don't. Ever since I lost my wife a few years ago, I have given everything I have to keep Hannah safe. I promised my wife on her deathbed that I wouldn't let anything happen to our daughter, and I mean to keep that promise, whatever it takes." As the words pour from my mouth, Ellavessa expression softens.

"I understand more that you think. You are not the only one who has lost someone close to them, Oscar. And you're not the only one who is on the outside of the world. There is a reason they call me heretic."

"Why's that?"

"Another day, perhaps. I think we have discussed enough. You should head back to the castle and head to the training grounds to get a grasp of your powers." As she finishes speaking, I noticed a small red word on the status board. Reaching out, I touch it and it flashes that up a warning.

"What's overdrive?" She turns toward me, fear in her eyes. Something I hadn't seen since arriving. Even standing toe to toe with the king, she was composed. But this was unnerving, seeing her react that way. So much that it sent a shiver up my spine. Getting up from her chair, she races over me, getting so close I could see the colors swirling in her eyes.

"Never use that skill under any circumstances, or even mention that you possess it. Promise me you won't. Promise me?" Grasping my shirt and pulling me closer, I can see the look of desperation written across her face.

"I...I..."

"Tell me you understand. Please Oscar. This is more important than you will ever know."

" I promise." Seeing the look of relief cross her face causes my stomach to tie itself into knots. Pushing herself clear, she adjusts her clothing and recomposes herself before heading towards the door.

"I'll settle up, then take you back to the castle." Watching as she walks through the door, I couldn't help but wonder why she was so adamant about the skill. I should look into it later.