The Oath of Nivel

Steam drifted lazily around Kralle as he relaxed into the hot bath. It was the first real bath he’d had since… Well, he couldn’t remember. Most of his baths were with a bucket next to the canal with freezing cold water. Now he was in a bath so big he could submerge himself entirely in it. And that he did, staring up through the ripples to the dimly lit ceiling.

Nivel had vanished somewhere, and Kralle was alone for the first time in months. A lot had happened, and it didn’t feel quite real. His missing eye told him that it was, though. Does a rat lord need depth perception?

He surfaced from the bath and relaxed against the edge. Adventurers all had one special way to check if something was a dream, at least. He focused his attention carefully and a box appeared in his vision. He’d always thought of it as a scroll or signboard, but the other adventurers called it a “stat screen”. People said it was related to the old heroes who supposedly came from another world, but either way, all adventurers could view it to see their attributes, skills, and spells.

The information panel showed his name as “Kralle”, his magic class listed as “Illusion”, and his job title as…

He laughed. Huh, guess I really am a “Rat Lord” now.

Thanks to the attunement of his soul, he still had the Illusion magic panel, which had its own tree of skills he could unlock, but there was something new. A second tab, named “Oath of Nivel”, adorned with a little rat skull icon. Examining it, he saw it contained Shadow and Soul magic and surprisingly, a few Illusion spells he didn’t have access to before.

I haven’t really been training since the oath, and my level hasn’t changed, but I have enough points to buy a few things. He thought about it for a moment. Nivel’s oath must have given me access to things I wasn’t able to learn before, and some points as well... Interesting.

He’d learned Shadow Tendril from Nivel while he was healing, but that was different from this system. Most people could learn the common spells with enough time and practice—it was really just a matter of mindset, mana, and the right words—but only Adventurers could rapidly learn them through leveling. The only caveat was that it could only be spells that your soul and attributes allowed for… or so Kralle thought. Nivel’s oath granting him an entire new set of spells and skills to buy meant there were likely other ways to open up such avenues, too.

…

After his bath, he found a meal waiting for him in his room. A meal of bread and meat, in his room. Between the food, bath, and new clothes, he felt like he’d stepped into someone else’s life. If it wasn’t for his eye itching, he’d think he really had fallen asleep in the bath and dreamt his horrible part.

As he ate, he examined his skills. The skills and spells he’d already unlocked were Vanish, Shadow Tendril, Ratspeak, and Ratboss—which he expected—but also one more:

Poppetry? What is that?

The description read: “Shadow Poppet to play and dance. Give it instructions, give it a spell!”

Memories of his sister came to his mind unbidden. Nights where she would entertain the children in the Church shelter by performing shadow puppets on the wall, telling stories of her grand adventures around the world.

The stories were probably fake, made up to entertain us poor kids, he thought as he smiled wistfully to himself. Guess they were shadows, too.

“Poppet.” he whispered, holding his hand at the wall. A shadow rose from the light of the lamp, dancing and pirouetting, then bowing to an invisible audience. Its limbs looked thick and round and it wore a dress and bonnet, almost like it was the shadow of a stuffed toy lady. It pulled itself off the wall and plodded over to him. He grabbed it by the back of its dress and lifted it up, seeing the wall through its transparent body.

It squirmed out of his hand and crossed its arms in anger.

“Sorry, little one.”

It theatrically pouted before doing a quick spin, then patted his hand.

“What can you do?”

It picked up his fork and waved it around, then tried to pick up his now empty plate and failed. It can pick up objects, but only light ones? I’ll keep it in mind.

“I can give you a spell to cast, right? Hold out your hands…” The pair held their hands together, and he visualised sending the Shadow Tendril spell into the poppet’s body. A draining sensation crept up his arm as he felt something moving between them. “Alright, try to use it.”

It held out its shadow hand in the direction of his plate. A tendril shot out and yanked the knife back, sending it flying through the poppet’s shadow body and clattering on the floor.

“Are you alright?!”

It flopped over and mimed dying, then laughed silently. It pointed at the lamp, and then itself, and drew its hand across its throat.

“Only the light can hurt you?” It nodded. “Got it. Do you have a name?” It shrugged. “Well, I’ll have to come up with one…”

As Kralle thought, it grew bored and started taking on different poses that looked a little silly on the round-limbed poppet. They reminded him of the elegant dancers he’d seen at the festivals that pranced around the stage on long legs. A name from one of their story plays came to mind.

“How about Clara?”

She patted him on the hand again.

“Good. Your name is Clara, then. I’ll summon you when I need you. Poppet.” He deactivated it and it dissolved into the table, just another shadow in the flickering light.

Kralle reopened his spell list, turning to the tab for the Oath of Nivel. It was almost overwhelming how much choice he had now, and across multiple kinds of magic, too. Shadow, Soul, and Illusion all had wildly different uses—on and off the battlefield.

If I want to get revenge, then the best spells and skills to buy would be… He drew a blank.

My Lord, do not forget your oath. Nivel’s voice crept into his mind. This revenge is not just for you, but for the lost little ones of the city, the rats and the humans alike. You are the only one on their side.

He weighed her words. All he knew was that the Guild was corrupt and now he might have the tools to start breaking it down…

“Kralle, do you know why I sent you to Jasper?” Nivel’s voice came from behind him. The rat god was watching him from the bed, where she’d snuggled up under his sheets in her human form.

“Oi! That’s my bed!” he growled. He grabbed for her and she yelped, transforming into a rat again. He gently placed her on the table and she turned straight back into her human form, her legs dangling off the side.

“I don’t know why you brought me here, no.” he replied, glaring at her.

“Jasper is a merchant of good standing, my Lord.” she said, ignoring his anger. “He’s not rich or poor but in the middle, and that distance allows an observant man to observe both carefully. Ask him what ails this city and he will know.”

“Are you saying I don’t know how the poor are hurting?”

“More than anyone else you understand how the little ones hurt. It’s why I chose you as my champion!.” He could hear the proud smile in her voice. “But do you know why they’re hurting? Or who’s doing it?”

Growing up a street kid, the poorest of the poor, he actually didn’t know much about the workings of the city. He knew what streets were the best to beg in, or which alchemists would give him a discount for his sister’s medicine, but… why was the amount of poor growing each year? Why was everybody so sick?

How could he protect the little ones when he didn’t even know what threatened them? Nivel was right: he’d need to rely on Jasper because this task required talents and experience he didn’t have. His mind settled on an uncomfortable question.

Why me? What do I even have to offer here?

“My Lord, your task for the rest of the evening is to examine your new magic and learn everything you can about yourself. When you discuss the city with Jasper tomorrow, then you will be able to decide which spells and skills would be most suitable for the challenge ahead.” Nivel said as she picked crumbs off of his plate.

He nodded. She’s annoying sometimes, but she’s right.

“Hey!”

“I told you to stay out of my head! Now go away so I can study.”

Nivel pouted as she faded into the shadows in the corner of the room. Now immersed in the silence of the night again, he checked the list of skills and spells he was able to unlock from the Oath of Nivel. They were all much more useful than the ones available on his Illusion tab, but a few caught his eye in particular:

“Soul Mask (Illusion): Mask the appearance of one’s soul, as if they were attuned to any other kind of magic.”

“Illusory Veil (Illusion): Changes one’s own appearance and status screen.”

These weren’t on my old skill tree. Maybe they were supposed to show up later, when I was higher level? Either way, knowing that I can disguise myself, my soul, AND my status screen is interesting… His mind drifted back to the Festival of Attunement, where his soul was read by the Archmage and the lamp. Could this spell trick that?

He moved onto the Soul spells, which currently only contained the two he had already unlocked:

“Ratspeak (Soul): Understand the language of the little ones.”

“Ratboss (Soul): Issue commands to rats that don’t already dislike you.”

The names and descriptions are… Did Nivel invent these spells? He frowned. And what does it mean, “doesn’t already dislike me”? Well, at least I don’t have to spend points on them.

“Shadow Step (Shadow): Fade into the shadows.”

“Realm of Shadows (Shadow): Darken the sky and coat the world in your shadows.”

“Terrify (Shadow): Show them the truth of this world.”

More odd descriptions… Despite how strange the spells sounded, his mind lit up at the possibilities they would grant him in combat. They were cheap, too: he could unlock most of the ones he liked straight away, and it wouldn’t take him long to get the rest.

After the betrayal, the world felt like it was going crazy, or Kralle himself was, but it was a feeling he was getting used to. With his new skill tree and his growing list of “interesting” companions, he could take on anything this city would throw at him.

He felt a strange feeling growing in his stomach. The food? No, excitement!

The last time he felt excitement was when he stood at the entrance of the Guild on his first day, before he realised how hopeless it all was. Was this destined to be as hopeless as everything else in my life?

He grit his teeth.

Even if I’m doomed, this time I’ll drag them down with me.