A Taste of Power

Hang on, was that a golden flash or a white flash.

A cold and warm liquid air sensation passes through my arm. My vision wavers, the world tilts on an axis I can’t comprehend. More runes reappear in my side vision, they move with the motion of my head as if stuck to my eyes. Again my brain can process the data and translate them.

Class Unlocked: Shepherd

Ability Unlocked: Tame Lesser Cattle

Empower to unlock more abilities

“I play Russian roulette with cosmic forces for a Goddamn minimum wage job." I gawp at the sardonic joke.

“The symbols of Order have poisoned your mind. Mother protect us.” States the Satyr.

I stare into the green ether above me, imagining an obese, acne ridden dungeon master cackling at his ruse. This is a cruel world.

"Human are you well? Have you lost your leaves?" She questions me with genuine concern for her own safety.

“It was a class reward or supposed to be one. I defeated the enemy and the runes were offering me a prize to claim. Far stretch to consider herding cattle a prize!” I scream the last part at the imaginary DM.

“There are no cattle here human!” The Satyr snaps with flaring nostrils.

Her anger kills my self-pitying thoughts, I should think before I speak.

“Of course you would dream of gaining a Class from Order. It is your way.”

My Class is Shepherd then. It’s exactly like a game, except, instead of DnD, I’m playing Sheep Simulator. Brilliant, my 5 year plan now includes immediate survival in the gloomy forest, then start building my flock and looking for new pastures.

Right I need to focus, the sheep won’t come to me.

“What is this Order you keep mentioning?” I need to figure this stuff out if I'm going to live through this crappy coma dream. Maybe I just need to survive long enough to wake up.

“Order, your petty God. I will not believe you have no knowledge of him.”

“We have many Gods in England, not everyone is a believer. I am being honest when I say I haven’t heard of Order.”

“Order is the god of humans in Silva and anything associated with their lives. Such as their hunting dogs.” She explains gesturing to the bloodied corpse.

“I haven’t believed in a higher power since I was twelve when I realised it was all a farce.” I say with content. My parents are deeply christian and forced me to go to church for years, despite my protests and clear disbelief.

“I have never known or heard of a human that doesn’t dedicate their worship to Order. How have you survived these lands without being burnt in the pyre?” The confusion is evident on her face.

“With a bit of child cruelty and a sharp stone.” I chuckle to myself, the Satyr smiles too, her ears twitch in amusement. She attempts to stand with great effort.

“Let me help you.” I reach down and take her arm, she flinches at my touch, but doesn’t resist my assistance. She lets out a deep moan of agony, I hope she lives nearby or we may be in trouble.

“Thank you, human.” She stares at me with a queer expression, then sniffs deeply.

“What? I probably smell like crap, I just fell in that dirt over there.” I say while inspecting my clothes, nobody likes to be accused of poor hygiene.

“No, the opposite, which is odd. Humans always carry the smell of muck and urine. You do not sound like them either. Are you from their inner-circles? Is that why you are so different?” She says with suspicion.

Again I consider telling her the truth, that this isn’t my world. However her lack of trust is clearly apparent, I wouldn’t want her questioning my sanity as well. How can I change that?

“You just need to look at it as if we’re almost completely different people. Everything from our culture, morals, hygiene, clothes, education and classes. In fact we don’t even call them classes, we call them jobs.” She peers down at my alien attire with a quizzical expression, I think my argument is starting to sound legitimate.

“If you are not the same then explain how Order has rewarded you with a class or job?” Her scepticism is heavily fueled by a justified intolerance to my kind.

“I am not sure about that myself. I had never heard of Order, until just now. But think about this, you said followers of Order cannot collect Spirit from their own kind. Which I just did from their bloody sheep dog. Then this ‘Order’ makes me a Shepherd for killing it.” I try to reason out my defence while simultaneously figuring it out myself.

Her eyes widen at my words, stalling for a moment while she digests them.

“A Shepherd.” She repeats to herself.

“Yes, but call me Seth.” I stick my hand out. The Satyr stares at it in confusion.

“We shake hands where I am from, it's a custom of greeting.” I explain.

She slowly takes my hand in her own and we awkwardly shake.

“Seth the Shepherd, I am Piia.” She reveals a small, pleasant smile.

“It's nice to meet you. Now I hate to be a burden on you, but I am actually lost and have no idea what I am doing out here. Could you help me?”

“Seth the Shepherd, Mother’s Voice spoke of the coming of the Shepherd. Tell me human what brought you to these lands?” She says with rapid enthusiasm, revealing my name and class seems to have reinvigorated Satyr with renewed energy.

“Oh that’s a good question.” How do I explain without revealing anything that will make me sound insane or untrustworthy. Did she just say someone spoke of a shepherd coming? Assuming that is a good thing, I could play on that foretelling and maybe the Satyr will help me.

“To tell you the truth, I had a dream that brought me here.” I admit.

The Satyr ponders this for a few seconds, mulling over the situation.

“You should come with me, Seth the Shepherd. Mother’s Voice will know what to do.”

“Mother’s Voice? Sorry, I am still wrapping my head around this place. You knew I was coming to Silva?” I hear the wheels of destiny turning over, being the main character in my own dream isn’t strange, having a prophecy written of my coming is a little egotistical though. Am I truly dreaming?

“I will explain on the way. My people are a few suns away, through Silva. Seth you must understand that humans have not been our allies for some seasons and have rooted out my people. The coming of the Shepherd was foretold in the last luna prophecy, it said they will lead us to Mother’s new lands.” She explains the situation to me flatly.

Pressure and responsibility flash through my body. A few seconds ago my main dilemma was being lost in this magical world. Now I am on the edge of a deep prophecy hole, am I supposed to lead a whole tribe to new lands? I have no idea where I am right now, how can I shepherd anyone. I assumed the Shepherd class was a random reward, caused by choosing the wrong symbol.

What if it was fate? And this explains my purpose for arriving in Silva. I take a hefty breath and decide to jump in, whether this is reality or not, I need help immediately. I literally had no idea what else I was supposed to do.

“Okay.” Is all I can muster while my brain ticks over slowly.

“Amazing.” Piia’s ears twitch in joy.

“I have a ton of questions though.”

“We have plenty of time for that. Let me rest a while longer, the pain in my leg is starting to fade.” I look down at her wound, the blood had coagulated in her fur leaving a terrible mess. I am surprised she is still standing, Satyrs are a hardy species.

“Are you going to be okay walking with that injury?” She nods with determination.

“I believe it, you will probably out pace me with one leg. I’m bruised all down one side and hiking isn’t exactly my forte.”

“You should empower with the Spirit you collected.” That word, empower, triggers a memory of those strange runes I saw in my vision. So collecting the Spirit alone isn’t enough, there are more steps to this magical system.

“Empower. What is it and how?” My mind starts to connect the dots.

“To empower with the Spirit of your enemies. Human’s do it after battle, they call it the ‘The Victors Prayer’. This land must be very far to not use this common practice.”

“Far far away. You wouldn’t happen to know this victory prayer?” The taste of empowerment was on my tongue and I was thirsty.

“It will be painful to show you, I can explain how.”

“Perfect.”

“You need to kneel and bow your head in submission to Order. Then offer the Spirit you have collected and beg for a taste of his power.”

I immediately drop to my knees and lower my head.

“Oh mighty Order, benevolent God of man, please take this humble dog spirit of the Herder and bestow upon me an inkling of your great power.” I beg without grace or true veneration, hopefully this God can’t see through the guile.

Piia makes a strange teeth kissing sound at my display.

I look up at her. “What happens now?” I ask the Satyr.

She stares back at me unblinking. I notice behind her, through the dense forest that fallen leaves sit perfectly in the air. Like a snapshot frozen in time, nothing changes. No breeze ruffles the shrubbery, no animal or insect sound reaches my ear. I scan my surroundings, hoping the world hasn’t broken in my attempt to gain magic or power. Panic creeps through until a woman’s angelic voice sings to me with pure joy and hope that fills the void of silence.

“Honourable man of Order. Present your collected Spirits and the liquor of Gods will be yours.” Her soothing voice wraps me in a blanket of bliss, any anxiety or stress I felt before is swept away with each soothing word.

“How do I give you the dog’s Spirit? I have never done this before.”

“Strong warrior, search deep within yourself for a warmth, an energy detached from your own life. Look inside with the mind’s eye and think about the Spirit of another stored in your heart.” I was in love with every sound she made, closing my eyes to truly enjoy her with pure bliss. I wish she would talk forever in my ear. Her words reverberate through my consciousness, unshackling my lost thoughts from the pleasant noise and guiding me through the process. I found the Spirit almost instantly, foreign to my own internal being, it was clearly distinguished.

“I have found the Spirit. How do I give it to you?”

“Wonderful, you are such an adept Hero of mankind, now see yourself grasping the Spirit with an imaginary hand and consensually part it from yourself and on to me.”

I do as she instructs, easily following her words even in my trancelike state. Bringing the Spirit out was met by minor resistance, another energy held on for a few seconds before succumbing, did I just feel my own Spirit? I open my eyes to find a shining white light being drawn away by an invisible wind and abruptly vanishing into thin air.

“Noble adventurer, you have brought forth an interesting Spirit.” Her gentle voice sings out to me. My brain, so high with her calming energy, wasn’t processing her words at all now.

“The Spirit of Herder. Tell me, how has a Man collected a Spirit from one of Order’s own followers? This is… unique.” The softness of her voice fell away slightly, breaking the illusion of my trance.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I didn’t know.” I say with desperation to return to the Xanax high.

“Peace, young legend of man. No insult was meant or taken. A Spirit from all walks of life is welcome to the kingdom of Order. The Elixir is yours to enjoy.” Her soothing words return with full force. I stood swaying with tears of happiness streaming down my cheeks.

A golden goblet appears before me, empty at first until a shimmering ultraviolet liquid begins to trickle in.

“Drink the Elixir and empower yourself with Order’s will.”

The goblet floats to me with a mouthful of the ethereal liquid inside that resembles shimmering Mercury. Grasping the handle, I gulp down its contents without a worry in the world. Like a weighted frictionless gas, it flows down my throat. The effects are instantaneous, energy courses through my body revitalising my muscles and joints. My vision and hearing sharpen to perfection for a few seconds before reducing to a slightly improved baseline. My head clears from the lack of caffeine, leaving me with a clarity I never knew possible. Aching bruises from my fall are washed away as if they never happened. Runes appear in my vision.

Empowerment:

Order’s Herder

Ability unlocked: Command Cattle

Passive unlocked: Improved Cattle Vitality

Attributes increased:

Ordo - 3/5

Neuo - 1/5

Chao - 0/5

A class ability to command my cattle will be useful for a Shepherd. I will need to gather my flock before I can use it. What are these hieroglyphic attributes I have increased?

“Collect the bounties for Order and stronger boons you will receive.” The voice promises more and time begins again upon her final word.

The leaves swish and twirl to the forest floor, a breeze tickles my face with smells of nature. Insect orchestras enact their continuous daily performances and Piia stares at me.

“Seth, why are you smiling?” She questions unaware of what just transpired.

“It worked, the victory prayer worked and a beautiful angel of Order empowered my class. I feel amazing, like I could run for days.” I can’t help but grin from ear to ear.

“Good, you will not mind helping me walk for a few hours then. We should begin our journey.”

“Of course.” I take Piia’s outstretched arm around my shoulders and with renewed energy we set off into Silva, sinking deeper into the green sea.