Maggie entered the top floor hallway and gently closed the [Hall Mistress’] office door behind her. She’d just let the woman know about her new flagship party and still struggled to conceal her excitement.

  Untold tapestries flashed past her as she ran through the halls of the keep towards her room. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this excited. Her Awakening Day maybe? Two long years of searching from the capital, all the way to this little backwater frontier town, had finally paid off.

  The door to her room swung open and the scent of sage and other sacred herbs filled her nostrils. The night before the youth program started, she left a bundle of the sacred plants to burn as an offering to Erhard, founder and patron god of the Adventurer’s Guild, for good luck. That small gift paid off more than she’d ever expected, and she promised herself to make offerings more often. Especially if this was the result she could expect from them.

  She settled into her desk, placing the paperwork she still had to do on top of a book about butchering various species of Offspring and their prices. The wicker chair she’d hauled all the way from the capital groaned and squeaked under her as she got comfortable.

  The chair had been a housewarming gift from her old Maggie’s Raiders squad mates. After she’d finished her year as a journeyman adventurer and bought an apartment in the capital. As far as Maggie was concerned, the chair was a family heirloom now.

  She reached into one of her desk drawers and retrieved a small gem, square cut and almost transparent. And set the gem into a small wire frame she’d commissioned when she first arrived in Woodsedge six months ago.

  Maggie pictured her father’s face in her mind. His salt and pepper beard, shaven head, broken nose, and willed a sliver of mana into the gem. Her mana, a burnt orange color, pooled in the center of the gem and spun until it formed a whirlpool. Once the mana got up to speed, its connection to her snapped and through Intermediate Mana Sense, she felt it fly off into the distance so fast it was invisible to the naked eye.

  Request sent, Maggie tilted back in her chair, threw her arms behind her head, and admired the small shelf of knickknacks she’d set up. She knew her dad would answer the Manamirror as soon as he felt it vibrate. He was the [Head Steward] for the Teles Empire branch of the Guild, and once you’re that high in a bureaucracy, you’re practically on call twenty-four seven.

  She was right. It only took thirty seconds for her Manamirror to chime and project an image of her dad’s frowning face above her desk.

  “you’ve got Frank.” He said, tone business-like and brusk.

  Maggie didn’t blame him for that however, Manamirrors couldn’t tell you who was calling and their weekly call was still a couple days away.

  “Hey dad, it’s Maggie!”

  “Mags! It isn’t Ember’s Day yet, is it? How are you?” Her dad replied. The frown had melted away from his face and transformed into a wide smile.

  “It isn’t, but I’ve got news. Big news!” Maggie said, a smile of her own threatened to split her face.

  Her dad took one look at her and said.

  “Hold on, let me patch in your mother. I can tell she’s gonna want to hear this too.”

  Frank put actions to words and within seconds, her mother’s face joined her dad’s in the air above her desk. Tired brown eyes, framed by a shock of white hair, gazed uncomprehendingly at the two of them. Apparently, they’d caught her while she was sleeping.

  “Agatha, it’s Frank. Maggie’s got some big news she wants to share.”

  Her mom’s eyes shot wide instantly, and Maggie recognized the activation of one of her mom’s skills, {Mercenary’s Presence}. The skill brought her mom to full alertness in case of an ambush. But, more often than not, her mom used it to give her a refresher after a nap.

  “She’s pregnant!” Agatha joked.

  “No mom, something else.” Maggie sighed back fondly.

  Her cousin had recently had a kid and ever since her grand niece visited their camp, her mom had jokingly bugged her for grandbabies. Even though they both knew Maggie wasn’t ready for kids yet.

  “That’s too bad. Layra visited again last week, y’know. Brought little Payton with her too.”

  “Sorry to disappoint mom.” Maggie teased. “But I think I’ve got something better. I finally found my flagship!”

  There was a certain joy in watching your parents’ faces light up in excitement for you. Even after forty years of life, and two decades on her own, Maggie still felt that same warm joy as she watched pride wash over both their faces.

  Both her parents spoke at the same time, drowning each other out in their excitement.

  “Sorry guys, couldn’t hear you, dad you first. What’d you say?”

  She’d heard them perfectly fine; it was almost impossible not to with her stats, but she wanted to revel in their excitement for a little longer. It was a childish impulse, she knew, but she didn’t care.

  “That’s incredible Mags! What makes these kids different? You’ve rejected what, ten parties since you got out there?” Maggie could tell by his loving smile that he knew what she was doing.

  “Twelve.” Her mom said helpfully. “Yeah Maggie, tell us about them!”

  “Okay, so it’s a party of four. One dedicated frontliner, one middle/flank, and two back-“

  “Classic.” Her dad interjected.

  “Yup! Anyways, even though the party composition is pretty basic. Individually, each of them has the potential to make a good flagship by themselves.”

  Maggie really believed that. Each of them had something that made at least one of her people appraisal skills go nuts. And now that they were a party, it became a matter of chaining all the things that made them special together until they reached a point where they might shake the Weave itself.

  “Alright, walk me down the list.” Her dad said. His voiced gained that intense edge he got when he really listened to someone. “Start with the frontliner. What’s their deal?”

  “Okay, so Bran, that’s his name, was the first of the group to catch my eye. Kind of hard not to with the size of the kid honesty.”

  “How big?” Her mom asked.

  Maggie understood the question. The size of your frontliners was important. Too small and unless they were fantastic with aura or mana projection, then it was harder for them to take up the space and grab attention, like a frontliner was meant to do.

  “Don’t have the exact measurements yet, but I’d guess he’s around six foot eleven and three hundred pounds without armor.”

  “And how old is he?”

  “Sixteen, just awakened too.” Maggie replied, feeling a little smug.

  “Damn me. That’s going to be a big boy.” Her mom said.

  She wasn’t wrong, either. Bran still had plenty of time to grow. With the influx of mana the System brought with it, she guessed Bran still had a foot, foot and a half to grow. Plus, maybe another hundred and fifty pounds.

  “I know right? Honestly, I want to find someone to test for giant or titan blood.”

  “Not ogre or troll?” Her dad asked.

  “Nah, his skin’s too clean for that. Not to mention that from what I know of his hometown, I doubt that kind of heritage would go over well.”

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  “Where’s he from?” Her dad asked, even more intrigued.

  Out of her parents, her dad was far and away the more politically savvy of the two, so it figured he’d be the one asking about the backgrounds of her party.

  “You’re not going to believe this, but he’s from the forest.”

  “Native or expansion?” Her mom asked.

  For a couple of decades now the Hillhomes had tried to found hamlets within the bounds of the Weeping Forest, and like clockwork, every couple of years the hamlets vanished. No one knew for sure who or what was behind the destruction, but most of the people in the know were convinced it was the Cult of Weeping Grace behind the slaughters.

  “Native.”

  “This kid is trained, right?” Frank asked. “He’s not some cast out learning to wield a sword for the first time, is he?”

  “Nope, he’s definitely trained. Fucking scary too. Nearly killed his first sparring partner before the trainers stopped him.”

  Her mom’s eyebrows had shot up, and she had an oddly approving look to her. Her dad, however, was frowning. A single scarred finger tapped repeatedly against his lip as he thought. Both Maggie and Agatha gave Frank the time he needed to think. Lip tapping was a tell he didn’t bother to hide when he was around them.

  “Did he ever mention if he was part of an Order?”

  “Yeah, how’d you know? I talked to Regis about it the day after; and apparently all the trainers were ready to kick him out on the spot, but Ruth just asked him if he was a part of an Order back in the forest.”

  “And?” Frank asked, finger still tapping against his lip.

  “Apparently, he’s part of something called the Order of the Black Hand. Said a guy named Eric Witherrose trained him when Ruth asked.”

  “Gods above. The fuck is he doing out of the forest?” her dad asked, more to himself than her.

  “Dad?”

  He looked up at where her projection must have been on his end and sighed.

  “I guess you have a right to know. Seeing as you’ll be in charge of the kid for a while. As far as the Guild is concerned, the Cult of Weeping Grace isn’t your average ascension cult.”

  “Why not?” Agatha asked, more entertained than worried.

  “No one within leadership is clear on the details, but what we know is that there are at least thirteen, and up to twenty-six ascenders who’ve been at war since their apotheosises.”

  “Okay, I mean, that isn’t exactly uncommon. Divinities fight all the time when they’re young.” Maggie said, not yet seeing the problem.

  Her dad paused, clearly trying to figure how much he could legally tell her without breaking his Oath.

  “That is true… but, as far as our insiders can tell; the war in the Emerald Ocean has been far bloodier than is common. The Grace Mother also seems to be the most militant of her siblings.”

  “And I take it the Order of the Black whatevers is some kind of military division for your young goddess?” Agatha asked.

  Her tone was flippant, but Maggie knew anything that involved the militaries of other powers intrigued her.

  “It is. We don’t know much about them except that they’re the honor guards for the Grace Mother and her kids, as well as the cult’s shock troops.”

  “So the boy trained to be the bodyguard for a demi-god. Impressive, but not all that shocking with how many half-gods there are walking around.”

  Again, her dad paused, his finger tapping against his lip, as he tried to figure out how much he could tell them.

  “It’s a little trickier than that. From what we’ve been told, the Black Hands train from the time they can walk. Both in combat and as religious leaders for the military. Take this next bit with a grain of salt as it could just be propaganda, but apparently the mortality rate for Black Hand trainees is around ninety-five percent.”

  “It’s a harsh life being a child solider, but he survived so he can’t be that bad at his job.” Agatha said. Her mom had a bleak sense of humor and one thing Maggie didn’t miss about being a mercenary was the constant gallows humor. “Besides that, anything else stand out about him, sweetie?”

  “Just one last thing. He’s got a rare class.” Maggie said, a smug grin on her face.

  The knowledge of Bran’s background was nice to know, but the Guild had plenty of experience dealing with the mortal warriors of divinities. Now at least she knew how to research to find the best methods for him.

  “At his first Tier? That, Frank, is what I’d call impressive.” Her mom teased.

  Her Dad looked like he was about to agree but stopped with his mouth half open. That look of pride she’d chased earlier returned, and he asked instead.

  “Mags, when did you master Request an Excerpt?” Frank sounded proud, even more so now than when she’d announced she’d found her flagship.

  “Last week, I wanted to try it out at the youth program before I told you guys.” Maggie said.

  Request an Excerpt was a spell her father taught her back in her first Tier. Supposedly Mera granted it to their ancestor Santeri, one of the Knowledge Gnomes who worked maintenance for her Library. As reward for meritorious service.

  It was an incredibly powerful spell that allowed the user to look in on a person’s aura and send that impression, via their link to their ancestor, to Mera’s Library. In return, they’d receive an entirely random tidbit about the person back to them. It could be as simple as their favorite color, or as detailed as an exact retelling of the time they lost their virginity.

  It was entirely up the present [Divine Librarian], the Saints of Mera’s Church, to decide what you learned, and Maggie had gotten lucky. Whatever saintly figure received her request saw fit to tell her the rarity of Bran’s class. Even with the randomness and once a week restriction she had right now, the spell was incredibly powerful. Saving her dad’s life on more than one occasion.

  “Words cannot describe how proud of you I am.” Frank said, his expression completely earnest.

  “Anyway.” Maggie said and tried to hide the joy she felt at hearing that. “The next member of my party is none other than Ellen Smallbard herself.”

  “You landed one of the Smallbards?” Her mom asked. “What’s she like? Has Cyrus started training her yet?”

  “Not yet, as far as I know, at least. However, based on her mana channels, I can tell she’s using some kind of mana technique. Right now, though, she went through the program with a maul.”

  “A maul? The Hells is she doing with a maul? Cyrus is the best on the frontier, in the name of all the Divines. Why isn’t she training with him?”

  Her mom and Cyrus Smallbard campaigned into Latell together several times, and although they were never close, Maggie had listened to her talk about how good of a [Summoner] he was on multiple occasions.

  “I’m not sure, but even without magic, Ellen is incredible with her hammer. Stable Foundations agrees with her choice of a maul and I can tell she’s had some training in it, but her style’s a little rough on the edges. She’s got incredible instincts for melee combat, however, which is how she won most of her spars.

  “I’m desperately excited to see what she’ll become after me and Cyrus are done with her. If I’m right about her, in a couple of centuries maul summoners will replace spell blades as the ‘it’ archetype on the frontier.

  “That’s without all the doors having her on the team will open. Plus, if I’m lucky, by the time they’re ready to be introduced to the peerage; the Smallbards will have their expansion plans well underway.”

  “Oh, they’ve already started.” Her dad said casually.

  “What? How do you know?”

  “The Guild’s been keeping track of their activities lately, what with Cyrus and all. They’ve been buying real estate and failing businesses in bulk in the other frontier provinces. As well as some small-time printing houses in Byzaris. They’re also sourcing arms and armor in bulk from the Iron City. They’ve begun funding and outfitting a personal army. What I don’t know is where they plan to expand.

  “The risk a common enemy would cause all the cults in the Emerald Ocean to ally is too great. The [Emperor] would never allow that. Right now, our best guesses are that they’re going to supplant Ajax’s bastard onto her mother’s throne, focus on annexing land from some of the border barons between the frontier and heartlands, or they’re going to try to conquer a portion of Latell.

  “It’s too early to know for sure, but my guess is the Smallbards have their first ever military campaign within the next five years.”

  “Mera guide me. That could complicate things. You’re sure they won’t attack the forest?”

  “I doubt it’ll happen, but I can’t say for sure.”

  “I’m surprised Bran and Ellen partied in the first place. If the Smallbards attack the forest, I doubt the party would survive.”

  “What do you mean you’re surprised they partied?” Agatha asked.

  “Ellen’s the trainee Bran tried to kill on the first day. Got her in the liver then tried to break her neck with the rim of his shield before Matt stopped him. I thought the two of them would avoid each other like the plague, maybe be the first Duel of the group. Nora somehow bridged the divide thankfully.”

  “And who’s this Nora?” Agatha asked.

  “Another party member.”

  “Well, what’s she like?”

  “She’s a [Mage]. Right now there’s nothing spectacular about her combat abilities, but she shines in other areas.” Maggie said.

  Nora was the party member she was the most worried about her parents’ approving of. Nora was fantastic and had the potential to become a fantastic [Mage] perhaps one of the best in her generation, but unlike the other party members, she didn’t have a flashy talent or background.

  “Go on.” Her dad urged.

  “Okay, foundation wise, Lil says she’s as solid as they come. Solid talent in mana manipulation and intake. Plus, Matt says she has far and away the best aura control in the program. I was talking to him the other day and apparently all of her spells are subconsciously altered by her aura.

  “Matt thinks that if she put the effort in, she’d have a promising future as a [Sorceress]. Aside from the raw potential, she got some connections with the theatre scene in town. Not a lot to work with for me, but, as far as I can tell, she’s the social glue that allowed for the party to form.”

  “Sounds like Danny.” Frank said.

  “She does.” Her mom agreed.

  “Uncle Danny?”

  Her uncle Danny wasn’t really a relative but a close family friend, and the best [Mage] she knew. He was the leader of the Mage Corps for Maggie’s Raiders, and she took Nora’s comparison to him as a great sign.

  “Not current Danny, obviously.” Her mom joked. “Back when we served in the Iron Legion, your uncle Danny was about as average a [Mage] as they come. He was so middling at the time he got passed over by all the dinky little schools that serve as ‘magic academies’ here in Teles. Danny was determined to make it as a [Mage] however, so on the advice of one of our captains, dedicated himself to improving on his foundations. Spent decades working on nothing but, and by the time we were in our fifties, he was the best [Mage] in the Legion.”

  “Got to agree with your mom here Mags, if Nora has as good a foundation as Lilly says, then I’d recommend you keep her focused on that. Turn her into the next Danny. What about your last kid? He as special as the rest?”

  “From a combat sense, no. He’s more of an artisan than a true combatant, honestly.”

  “Oh? You’ve rejected entire parties for less. What got him past the smell test?”

  “As far as I can tell, he’s sculpted and built his own golems. Not to mention, come up with a, if not new then novel, runic school to animate them. Without training.”

  Her dad’s jaw dropped, and she could see the gears in his head turning. Next to him, the projection of her mom’s face was looking back and forth between where she assumed their projections were for her.

  “You’re joking.”

  “I’m not.” Maggie said. “He’s found some way to animate them with a mix of curse magic and a couple basic rune series.”

  “I have thousands of stewards who would kill to have charge over a party with half as much potential.” Frank said, more to himself than his family.

  Maggie just smiled. Assassination had been a major problem for the first couple of millennia of the Guild’s history. But Mera and Erhard sought the help of a now dead Justice Divinity to write the laws for the administration.

  Now, if any member of the Guild’s administration was found to be involved in any part of her death, they’d be excommunicated from Erhard’s pantheon; which included access to the System.

  Not that it mattered. Maggie had no idea how a party like hers’, fell into her lap. Besides intervention from Erhard or some similar divinity, the chances of Bran leaving the forest, and Ellen, Nora, and Mika all joining when they did was infinitesimally small. Not that she’d ever admit that to her dad, of course.

  “Patience dad. All it took was patience.”

  “Maggie, stop teasing your father.” Agatha said with a loving smile. “So what’re your plans now that you finally have a party? Got any idea where you want them to campaign first?”

  “I’m not entirely sure, mom. Bran’s background makes me think he’ll be hesitant to leave the frontier, but both Mika and Nora have expressed an interest in meeting Aunty Ester. Plus, if Cyrus hasn’t begun Ellen’s training yet, then she could also benefit from going to Hymeri.

  “However, it’d be foolish not to take advantage of Bran’s connections and knowledge of the Emerald Ocean. With him, the party can gain experience they won’t be able to get anywhere else on the continent. Hells, maybe the forest has a cult similar to Hymeri or somewhere else I could take them.”

  “Do you know if Bran had plans to expand into mana and aura? Could you push him to Hymeri through that?” Her dad asked, the [Head Steward] now present in the conversation.

  “I got a vague feeling aura was a part of his class when I used Request an Excerpt but aside from that, I’m not sure. Still, that could work. He’s going to have to get into one of the two, eventually.”

  “Don’t worry about it too hard, sweetie.” Agatha said. “Hymeri still has its gates closed remember? Besides, it’d be foolish to not use Ellen’s status here in Teles. Let them earn some glory before you worry too hard about their future.”

  Maggie spent the next hour and a half on the Manamirror with her parents. They didn’t say on the topic of her new party for long after that. Instead, they transitioned to how each of them was doing. Her dad didn’t have much to talk about besides tensions in Byzaris rising and the Exiles offering jobs again. Mom had more exciting news. They’d sacked a temple to the Hare three days ago and found one of his leveret’s pelts hung up in the [Head Priest’s] office. Now the Raiders were on the trail of a pack of griffin who’d been harassing the local baron’s herds.

  Before they ended the call, her dad told them that his own flagship party was set to return from the Under Tunnels any day now. They’d called him two days back on their own Manamirror that they’d finished their contract.

  Once the call finished, night had fallen over Woodsedge. The stars and moon provided Maggie with just enough light to work by without a candle. Unwilling to work on the paperwork with the night still so young, she slid out a notepad from her top drawer to plan.

  She wrote the strengths and weaknesses of each party member both in and out of combat. Once that was done, she wrote a few plans on how she could fix those issues and improve what they already had. Often the plan was just to hire a trainer, but it was a plan nonetheless.

  It took her an hour to finish her plans, and another three to do all her paperwork. She spent a few minutes organizing her desk by candlelight before she slipped under the covers of her bed. Hopeful for the future, and beyond excited to finally have a party.