There\u2019s a feeling I\u2019ve had once before. That of standing on the edge of a cliff.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a different sensation than you\u2019d expect for someone who\u2019s blind. Because, obviously, any time I stand on a ledge higher than three feet, I can\u2019t tell how far the ground below is. I\u2019ll feel the missing space with my walking cane and back away.<\/p>\n
But a cliff? A cliff is different. I have to know it\u2019s there for it to be really special. As it happened, I was standing on a ledge on the side of a mountain and when I was told what was below, I tossed a rock over the edge.<\/p>\n
I never heard it hit the ground. It was probably too far for my ears to pick up and it was a windy day. But that\u2014that convinced me. And the feeling of standing on the edge of something I couldn\u2019t fathom was truly frightening. And exhilarating.<\/p>\n
The unknown. A future I can\u2019t predict. If I was told there was a path forwards, a thin ledge to stand on while the abyss howled around beneath me, would I have the courage to keep going?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know. But this is my only choice. I, Laken Godart, am an [Emperor]. I know what I must do. There\u2019s no going back.<\/p>\n
So I suppose\u2026this would be a fine way to die.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Day 55<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLaken? Laken, wake up. You\u2019re snoring.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone pokes me and I wake up. I jerk upright, and look around. I don\u2019t bother opening my eyes. There are some reactions that I suppose some people instinctively perform, but eye-related activities are generally a waste of time for me. I can\u2019t see.<\/p>\n I can hear, however, so I turn my head and look slightly miffed in the direction the voice and the poke came from. It takes my brain a second to process why I was woken up, and then open my mouth to scold.<\/p>\n \u201cDurene. I was having an enjoyable nap. What\u2019s wrong with me snoring?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not very noble. You said that an [Emperor] should be dignified in all situations. Snoring isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n I sigh and sit back. I\u2019m back in reality and I can feel reality around me now. What was I thinking of? I was just dozing, remembering the past, perhaps. I remember a cliff\u2026now I can feel a hard surface beneath me, and a rumbling and forward motion. I\u2019m on a wagon, and it\u2019s just past noon, or so I\u2019m told.<\/p>\n \u201cSnoring is a very human trait, Durene. Not just human either\u2014it\u2019s a natural thing everyone does. Even if I am<\/em> an [Emperor], I\u2019d expect anyone to understand that I snore and sleep like everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but you were also drooling. That\u2019s not dignified.\u201d<\/p>\n The voice, deep and female, points that out. I brush at my face and find she\u2019s right. I scowl and sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cFine. I\u2019ve stopped. But you could have just let me sleep. There\u2019s no one to see me drooling, objectionable as that may be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I think one of the adventurers is coming. So I had to wake you.\u201d<\/p>\n Durene\u2019s voice is self-assured and confident. I have to look my best when strangers are around, therefore I must be awake. I sigh, but give up the argument. Instead I lean back into my seat and center myself in the world. Where am I? What am I doing? I\u2019m sitting in a wagon. Existential problems solved.<\/p>\n I\u2019m on the road again. Or more accurately, I\u2019ve been on the road for the last four days. If I\u2019m honest, it\u2019s not actually me on the road. I\u2019m just sitting on a bumping wagon while a rather smelly horse pulls me along. Sitting in a very comfortable seat of padded cloth that Durene and Gamel worked up for me of course, but it does get boring.<\/p>\n Hi. I\u2019m Laken. An [Emperor]. I\u2019m currently travelling down a cleared road of dried mud, sitting in a wagon while my girlfriend\u2014or perhaps lover\u2014walks beside the cart. She\u2019s too big to ride with me and Durene says she prefers to walk. I would too\u2014it\u2019s good for the legs, but it\u2019s just a bit too likely that I\u2019ll have my foot crushed by a wagon wheel for me to risk it.<\/p>\n Honestly, a 1% chance of having my foot get run over by a rolling mass of several tons of weight is too much for me. So I sit and talk with her, or occasionally Gamel, who walks and sometimes sits on the wagon. He\u2019s one of my subjects, a young man from a village called Riverfarm.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Laken! I think we\u2019re only a few miles from Riverfarm if that\u2019s the place your man Gamel has described, sir!\u201d<\/p>\n A voice shouts at me and I turn my head in the direction of the call. I raise a hand towards the adventurer. That\u2019s Beniar, the leader of the Windfrozen Riders. He\u2019s a [Rider], and one of the two Silver-rank adventurer groups that I hired to escort me and protect the village.<\/p>\n I hear hoof beats, and then someone rides up to the wagon. I sigh. Not because I\u2019m unhappy about reaching Riverfarm\u2014on the contrary, I can\u2019t wait to be back. One of the reasons why is because it means I\u2019ll have more space from Beniar. He\u2019s a chatterbox and annoying.<\/p>\n \u201cAllow me to say, sir, that it\u2019s been a pleasure escorting you this far. I hope you\u2019ll recommend my team to the Merchant\u2019s Guild and for future assignments. Not that our job is ended\u2014we\u2019ll be patrolling around your village for the month, as you know. So I hope to work together well with you, sir. Or is that my lord?\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t need eyes to hear the impudent tone in Beniar\u2019s voice, or know that Durene\u2019s probably scowling at him. To stop her from arguing with the young man, I smile in his direction.<\/p>\n \u201cMy lord is acceptable, Beniar. Sir, your majesty, or any other title you\u2019d prefer to give me I would also be content with, however. Thank you for telling me. You may go.\u201d<\/p>\n That throws him. I hear Beniar\u2019s horse lag behind for a moment, and then a cough. Durene giggles, his voice sounds strained.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, yes sir. We\u2019ll signal the village that we\u2019re arriving. I uh, well, I\u2019ll be going.\u201d<\/p>\n He rides off. Durene starts laughing out loud and I think Beniar can hear her. I smile, but covertly, so that if he looks back he won\u2019t see.<\/p>\n \u201cShush, Durene. That\u2019s not nice. Beniar is a good sort, even if he\u2019s\u2026inquisitive.\u201d<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t stop Durene, of course. My half-Troll lover, protector, and sometimes nap-waker has not enjoyed Beniar\u2019s company. He\u2019s just a bit too fond of bragging about his accomplishments\u2014which are decent, enough for his team to be called Silver-rank despite his age\u2014and a bit too interested in who I am.<\/p>\n I arrived in Invrisil, the city of adventurers and one of the hubs of the northern part of the continent around a week ago. I caused a stir and spent lavishly at the Merchant\u2019s Guild there\u2014buying supplies for Riverfarm, magic-users with flame spells to clear the snowy roads so I could ride back, and hired two Silver-rank teams to protect my village.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a lot of money, and a lot of influence to be used for a no-name village in the middle of nowhere. By the time I left the city, several days after Ryoka Griffin delivered aid to my village and then disappeared in a carriage owned by Magnolia Reinhart, rumors were flying about exactly who I was and what my interests were.<\/p>\n I received several invitations from reputable [Merchants], [Bankers], adventurers, and so on, and refused them all. Is it any wonder people like Beniar want to know if I\u2019m some sort of rich lordling or other important figure? The information could be worth a lot and help a young adventurer with his career. So he\u2019s pestered me and bragged shamelessly on the four-day trip. I understand, but just wish he were as adept socially as he is with a sword.<\/p>\n Apparently I\u2019m not the only person with that view. I hear an indignant murmur from my left, and then a voice. Gamel speaks up for the first time, and I hear the snow crunch as he paces to the left of my wagon. He has to work to keep up, unlike Durene, but he seems to think only I deserve the comfort of the wagon.<\/p>\n \u201cHe shouldn\u2019t be so direct with you, sire. He should be bowing and saying your majesty without it being a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n I sigh again as Durene voices her agreement from my left. Here I am with my two vassals who seem to think everyone should bow and kiss my smelly feet every two seconds. And soon, I\u2019ll be in the midst of a village full of them. How will I manage?<\/p>\n Well, I have a few ideas. And of course, I must manage. I am their [Emperor]. I accepted the responsibility when I saved Riverfarm from an avalanche. Getting the [Emperor] class was almost a joke, a chance decision. However, I have embraced what I am now. I have a duty. I cannot turn my back on it now.<\/p>\n So I straighten my back. I am<\/em> an [Emperor]. And if I am, there are some things I have to get right. Starting now. After all, there is a problem with my subjects telling me how I should be treated. They mean well, but that\u2019s their opinion. I have mine, and they have to understand that. And obey.<\/p>\n \u201cGamel, I appreciate your input. And yours of course, Durene. But please understand this: I will be treated like a commoner, disrespectfully, flippantly, and sometimes rudely by the people I meet. That is not their fault. They do not know I am an [Emperor], or if they do, they might not believe. That does not mean you two should reprimand them. In fact, I insist you do not. I order<\/em> you not to. Is that understood?\u201d<\/p>\n Durene\u2019s laughter cuts off. I can\u2019t see Gamel, but I imagine him straightening up, flushing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m terribly sorry, sire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEnough of that. I told you, sir, or my name is fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026sir.\u201d<\/p>\n And here comes the hard part. I modulate my tone; try to explain why I say what I do. It\u2019s one thing to command, another to lead. I was told that just recently. I may be an [Emperor], but I must inspire and teach, not just tell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason why I say this is because titles are meaningless to me, Gamel. No, don\u2019t gape. I may be an [Emperor], but being called and treated like one isn\u2019t strictly necessary. Yes, I insist on respect, but that comes in a different way from people I meet. I would rather know how people feel about me than ruin their impressions of me and mine of them from the start. Rudeness of course is different, and you can be offended about that. But simple ignorance or casual incivility is to be welcomed, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a thoughtful silence from Gamel after that, and I hope I\u2019ve reached him. However, Durene\u2019s voice is troubled.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Laken, if you\u2019re an [Emperor]\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n I raise a finger and she breaks off. Where has this come from? Durene\u2019s changed a lot from the timid girl I met in the forest almost two months ago. Oh, she\u2019s mainly the same, but she\u2019s bolder now. She\u2019s gotten a lot more opinionated\u2014mostly about how I should be treated. That doesn\u2019t mean she\u2019s right of course.<\/p>\n \u201cDurene, I understand your concerns. However, my ego is large enough that I don\u2019t need to be called \u2018your majesty\u2019 every two seconds. Think of it from my perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n I smile slightly.<\/p>\n \u201cI am an [Emperor]. You know that. Gamel knows that. And I know that. That fact will never change. Why should what other people say or believe matter? I know who I am. That\u2019s all I need.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n Durene\u2019s voice sounds awed, and Gamel makes a similar noise. I sigh. It really wasn\u2019t that special. It\u2019s just about self-confidence. But perhaps neither Durene nor Gamel has ever thought about life in that way. They both grew up in a tiny village. Gamel can barely read; Durene can\u2019t.<\/p>\n Neither one knows about psychology, economics, mathematics, germ theory\u2026so much. They know a lot about living, and they\u2019re good people who don\u2019t need the rest to survive. But it could help them. So now and then I try to teach.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, every action has consequences. And my little speech has roused the final occupant of the wagon. I hear a screech and flapping wings. I sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cFrostwing, shut up.\u201d<\/p>\n The loud shrieking cuts off. I turn in my seat and get up onto my knees. It\u2019s not hard to find the perch anchored to the top of a bag of grain\u2014although I do get my fingers in a bit of fresh bird droppings. I grimace and then find Frostwing. The bird recoils a bit from my touch, and then rubs her head against my palm.<\/p>\n Frostwing. I have a bird, by the way. She\u2019s just a fledgling, but she\u2019s getting bigger each day\u2014she\u2019s already about as long as my hand and forearm. I wonder how large she\u2019ll get by the time she finishes growing.<\/p>\n She allegedly has blue feathers, the better to hide in the sky, I suppose. I\u2019m still not sure if Durene\u2019s playing a trick on me. I keep thinking that blue is an odd color in a bird\u2014but I can\u2019t remember what eagles and hawks are supposed to look like from my world. I\u2026think they have brown and white feathers, but honestly, listening to descriptions of birds isn\u2019t like seeing them. It doesn\u2019t stick in the mind.<\/p>\n Or so I would imagine.<\/p>\n Right now it seems like Frostwing wants to learn to fly. She keeps flapping her wings on her perch as I find her head and stroke it. A beak pokes my hand gently and I sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cI think she\u2019s hungry. Again. Gamel, do you have\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome jerky. Here, sire.\u201d<\/p>\n Gamel\u2019s already got the dried meat ready. I break some off as Frostwing tries to snatch the entire strip from me. She\u2019s voracious, but I am her owner\u2014and a [Beast Tamer], so I scold her and force her to take pieces from my hand one at a time.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure this is how you raise birds, but hey, I\u2019m giving it my best shot.<\/p>\n Lecturing Gamel and Durene, talking to nosy adventurers, and dealing with my pooping bird take up a good amount of time after I\u2019ve woken up. However, I must admit that for an [Emperor], someone with a class who\u2019s supposed to rule over countless people and an empire, this isn\u2019t exactly very fulfilling. I\u2019m restless, and I want to be in my village soon. There I\u2019ll be able to see\u2026in a way.<\/p>\n And there\u2019s so much to do. I have a thousand and one things I know I have to take care of, but I\u2019ve been confined to the wagon for the trip. When I am outside of the lands I own, I am blind and to some degree, helpless. This world is filled with monsters and I must rely on other people for help.<\/p>\n Like any good [Emperor], in fact. There\u2019s some irony to that. But I\u2019m keenly aware that as loyal as Durene and Gamel are, and as faithful as the villagers of Riverfarm seem to be, they\u2019re not exactly capable of everything. None of them are fighters, although I wouldn\u2019t ever bet against Durene. But despite her having a [Paladin] class, she\u2019s never been in a life-or-death battle, and there are dangerous monsters in this world.<\/p>\n Not that I\u2019ve ever seen one. I\u2019m blind. If I\u2019m in a situation where a monster is close enough for me to hear or touch, I\u2019m probably dead since running away when blind is very, very difficult.<\/p>\n So the adventurers like Beniar are essential. Not just now, but in the future. I have thought and been advised on the future. That\u2019s why when the second adventurer rides towards my wagon, I make sure Frostwing\u2019s poop is off my hands and try to look as dignified as Durene thinks I should be.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Laken, may we have a word? It\u2019s me, ah, the leader of the Celestial Trackers.\u201d<\/p>\n I hear a young woman\u2019s voice, and then another as two adventurers ride down towards me from the wagons ahead. Did I mention the other wagons? Some of the adventurers not riding next to the wagon I\u2019m on are filling the ones ahead and behind me. I, as an important person, get a wagon to myself.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly. Come by this side and we can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n I move over to the right side of the wagon and hear Durene making room for the horse. Someone else speaks politely to me, the owner of the second horse.<\/p>\n \u201cI am here as well, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n I nod. I\u2019ve met these two adventurers as well, and they\u2019re considerably easier to work with than Beniar is.<\/p>\n \u201cWiskeria and Odveig, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right. We were hoping to speak with you about our duties when we reached the village, Mister Laken. Is now a bad time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly not. Did you have any concerns? What are your expectations from what the Merchant\u2019s Guild hired you for?\u201d<\/p>\n The two confer as I wait patiently. Odveig is the leader, a [Macewoman], and Wiskeria is her subordinate. They lead the Celestial Trackers. Well, Odveig is the one who calls herself the leader, but I feel like Wiskeria is the brains behind the group. She\u2019s a [Witch], a specialized type of [Mage] who can apparently use spells to hinder her opponents, brew potions, and assist her friends.<\/p>\n In short, she\u2019s fascinating and I\u2019ve wanted to talk with Wiskeria, but haven\u2019t had much time to do so. In the few interactions I\u2019ve had with their team, I got the sense that Odveig is rightly paranoid that Wiskeria might take her place as the leader of the group. Wiskeria herself seems disinterested in the role of leader, but she\u2019s far too sharp to be excluded from the decision-making process.<\/p>\n Which is why both of them are here now. Odveig is the first to speak to me. She has a husky voice, and a very pleasant tone with a slight accent on the \u2018th\u2019 sounds she makes.<\/p>\n \u201cGenerally, these sorts of contracts have us patrol an area by day and night, Mister Laken. We ah, are expected to be fed and given adequate shelter, but that\u2019s all our contract entails. We can hunt and scavenge for our own provisions, but that generally takes up a good deal of the time we\u2019re supposed to be guarding, you see\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFood is not an issue, Miss Odveig. And I\u2019m sure we can find indoor spots for your entire group\u2014unless you\u2019d prefer camping in the tents you brought. As you know, there are not many buildings in the village that can be used, but we\u2019ll try to accommodate you as best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe do appreciate that, sir. May I ask what trouble you\u2019re expecting? Hiring two Silver-rank teams is not\u2014not\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n She stumbled on her words and Wiskeria took over. Her voice is quieter, smoother, and precise. It makes me think she\u2019s had some kind of formal education\u2014or perhaps it\u2019s just her personality.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo Silver-rank teams are generally only called for when protecting areas at immediate risk of monster attacks, sir. To escort so many wagons two teams is quite appropriate, but we\u2019re afraid our services might be considered wasted when guarding an entire village for a month.\u201d<\/p>\n I smile. Do they fear inactivity, or that I\u2019ll try to pay them less? Their fee has already been paid\u2014half now, and half held by the Adventurer\u2019s Guild when they return. Either way, I should reassure them.<\/p>\n \u201cCall me paranoid, Miss Odveig, Miss Wiskeria. But I feel that two Silver-rank teams are better than one, and both are essential in case trouble comes to Riverfarm. That might not happen, in which case you\u2019ll have a quiet month. However\u2026if it does happen I\u2019d rather be ready for it, which is why I\u2019m willing to pay for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll get that, Mister Laken, rest assured!\u201d<\/p>\n My words seem to reassure and invigorate Odveig, who I\u2019m sure is sitting straighter on her saddle. Wiskeria takes a more measured response.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that case, we\u2019ll set about ensuring there are no threats to the village, sir. And if there turns out to be no threats nearby\u2026will you have us patrolling the entire duration?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a good question. I wouldn\u2019t like to waste your time, and if you find nothing, I\u2019m sure your group doesn\u2019t all need to scout at once. I\u2019d be fine letting your groups train or\u2026doing whatever you feel is necessary. However, my village is in need. Could your groups help rebuild? A few hands to help lift and carry things would be welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n Another brief moment of whispering, and then Wiskeria speaks up.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure our party can send some of our group to assist with whatever rebuilding is necessary, or lend our Skills where we can once we\u2019re sure the area is secure, sir. I expect the Windfrozen Riders have useful Skills in their group as well. We may be able to hunt for game as well, once again, after ensuring the area is clear of monsters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent. I will speak with you when we reach the village, then. I\u2019m told it\u2019s just an hour or two away?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be arriving within the hour, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery good. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n They withdraw. I sit back in the wagon and after a moment, Durene steps up next to me.<\/p>\n \u201cYou aren\u2019t expecting trouble, are you, Laken? I\u2019ve heard monsters and bandits like to prey on villages that get into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n Her voice is worried, and I nod while turning my head up to the sky. It\u2019s still so cold<\/em> out here! Winter in this world doesn\u2019t play around. Thank goodness for blankets and thick coats.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the same thought. That\u2019s why we have two Silver-rank teams, Durene. They\u2019ll deal with most problems quite easily, unless I miss my guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s true. I haven\u2019t heard of any village rich enough to hire a Silver-rank team, let alone two!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Durene\u2019s voice beams with pride at that simple fact. I laugh, and lean back.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, yes. Don\u2019t let it get to your head. I\u2019m going to take a nap now, Durene. Without snoring or drooling, hopefully. Wake me when we get close to the village, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n It feels like I\u2019ve just closed my eyes when a broad finger pokes me awake. I feel Durene jabbing me at the same time as I hear her voice.<\/p>\n \u201cLaken! We\u2019re here!\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t need to be told that. The instant I sit up, I hear a huge mass of voices cheering like wild, making Frostwing wake up and panic on her perch. But that\u2019s not the special bit.<\/p>\n The special bit is that I can see<\/em> all the villagers cheering me, see the adventurers guarding the convoy of wagons gaping, see the people of Riverfarm rushing towards me, waving their arms and calling my name.<\/p>\n Well, see is a strong word. It\u2019s more like a vision in my mind. A\u2026sense, if you will. I call it sight because that\u2019s the closest thing I can think of to this power I have.<\/p>\n As an [Emperor], I own Riverfarm. I claimed it to save the village, and as it turns out, whatever land I possess, I can sense, down to the smallest rock. I know instinctively that Riverfarm has eight buildings that have been excavated of snow\u2014three more than when I left\u2014and nearly thirty buildings still buried beneath. I can sense Durene hovering by the wagon and beaming while Gamel stands up on another and waves to his sweetheart.<\/p>\n I can see. That\u2019s the gift of my class and it is worth beyond worth to me. However, my \u2018sight\u2019 has its limits. I see expressions, open mouths, and so on. Moving outlines of people too, but there is no color in my mind, and no detail. It\u2019s more like what I imagine a bat\u2019s echolocation might describe the world as. I see shapes, but not nuance.<\/p>\n It\u2019s good enough. It\u2019s more than enough. However, it means I do still need to rely on others for some things. I stand up from the wagon and hear the villagers shouting my name.<\/p>\n \u201cLaken! [Emperor] Laken!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour majesty!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur [Emperor] has returned! Praise Emperor Laken!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Unseen Empire! Emperor Laken!\u201d<\/p>\n That last cry makes me start a bit. The Unseen Empire? Now how did they\u2026? Oh, right! I once claimed Riverfarm as part of the Unseen Empire. It\u2019s a fitting name, if embarrassing.<\/p>\n However, the cheering is genuine and it puts a smile on my face. I don\u2019t deserve it, but I did save a lot of the village after the avalanche. I\u2019m touched by their belief in me. I raise a hand, and they go wild.<\/p>\n I imagine this is what being a celebrity feels like. As I step down from the wagon people rush to surround me. I clasp hands, let people gently touch me, and then Durene and Gamel are forcing people to stand back. And just like that, the wild exuberance turns into deference as the villagers form a path for me to enter the village.<\/p>\n I can sense Prost waiting with some of the older villagers. I\u2019m anxious to talk to him, but I can\u2019t help it. I nudge Durene and she bends down so I can whisper to her.<\/p>\n \u201cPsst, Durene. Describe the faces of the other adventurers to me.\u201d<\/p>\n I can sense them, well, most of them, the ones within the village\u2019s radius. In my picture of the world all of the adventurers are standing stock still, gaping. However, I want to know what their expressions are like. I can sense Durene as she straightens, and then I hear her voice, full of merry laughter.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can\u2019t believe it! Beniar\u2019s face is\u2014I think his eyes are going to pop out of his head! And Odveig looks like she\u2019s going to choke!\u201d<\/p>\n She sounds gleeful. In fact, Durene might have been waiting for this moment. I never mentioned my true nature to Odveig or Beniar\u2014people assumed I was some sort of noble, or a very rich stranger, but an [Emperor]? I can\u2019t imagine what they\u2019re thinking at the moment. I nudge Durene one more time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Wiskeria?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. She\u2019s\u2026staring at you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoes she seem surprised?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but she\u2019s not gaping or anything\u2026why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothing much. I just wanted to see how she\u2019d react. Quick thinking and being able to adjust to any situation is important.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay?\u201d<\/p>\n She doesn\u2019t get it, but Wiskeria is already part of my plans. I stride towards Prost and the other villagers as people shout my name.<\/p>\n Emperor Laken. I guess I can\u2019t hide that fact any longer. And as I think that, I wonder if Wiskeria or the other two [Mages] in the adventurer groups can cast the [Message] spell. If they can\u2026word about me might be spreading very quickly.<\/p>\n I smile faintly. Oops. The secret\u2019s out of the bag. Not that I had any real hopes of keeping my class secret. But the dice have been cast. What will happen next?<\/p>\n It\u2019s odd, but I actually think I know.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Day 56<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The first day after I came back to Riverfarm was pure chaos, plain and simple. It was already late when I returned, and between hearing Prost and the other villagers fall over themselves to thank me\u2014and assure me they hadn\u2019t eaten all of the food Ryoka had brought\u2014I was hard pressed to get a word in.<\/p>\n Or rather, because I\u2019m an [Emperor], my words cause a complete hush and everyone has to listen to what I say, rather than let my voice be one of the many and get work done. Ah, well, we had a banquet on that first night and that\u2019s probably all I was going to get done anyways.<\/p>\n A celebration to welcome an [Emperor] back. More than that, a celebration because I brought back exactly what I promised. Food for Riverfarm, supplies, tools to help rebuild, and adventurers to keep them safe. Everything the village needed to start rebuilding.<\/p>\n And now it\u2019s the day after. I slept like I was in a five-star hotel in Durene\u2019s cottage. My blankets and pillow felt like they were made of silk or clouds, and I woke up feeling full of energy. That\u2019s thanks to my Skill as an [Emperor]\u2014[Empire: Blessing of the Hearth]. It makes sleeping pleasant, even if you only have the floor and some blankets for a bed.<\/p>\n I\u2019m grateful for that. My subjects need their rest, and lots of energy. Because today I\u2019m going to start\u2026everything.<\/p>\n \u201cLaken, do you want eggs?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Durene. Give me some bacon too. No, Frostwing, you can\u2019t have any. This is my bacon. Peck me, and I\u2019ll halve your breakfast, understand?\u201d<\/p>\n Breakfast is quick, serene, and over in a flash. Once I leave the cottage I find several people waiting for me. Waiting in the cold, although not in the snow since Durene shoveled her pathway this morning.<\/p>\n Prost, Gamel, Odveig, Beniar, and Wiskeria are all waiting for me by the time I come out with Durene. I\u2019m surprised Gamel\u2019s here, but I suppose he thinks of himself as my personal manservant. Prost speaks for the villagers, so his presence makes sense. As for the adventurers\u2026well, at least they\u2019re ready to work.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, Mister\u2014that is to say, Emperor\u2014ah\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Beniar calls out hesitantly as I walk towards him, a smile on my face. I can hear him tripping over his words and imagine his blush. Gamel and Prost bow deeply to me as soon as I come near, and the other adventurers awkwardly imitate them.<\/p>\n I think they\u2019re still reeling from the revelation that I\u2019m an [Emperor], to be honest. Well, it makes sense. In their world, a class defines who you are. So if I have an [Emperor] class\u2026I\u2019m an [Emperor]. Simple as that.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s not dwell on formalities, Beniar. I told you any form of address was suitable. Sir works well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh. Oh? Yes sir! Uh\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria clears her throat. She seems the least tongue-tied, as I had expected. I glance towards her and notice how she\u2019s watching me. I think the other adventurers are surprised as well; I\u2019ve forgone my walking cane and move about surely on Durene\u2019s land. Because of course, I can see as well as anyone else now. Better, perhaps.<\/p>\n Whatever her thoughts, Wiskeria politely bows her head as she speaks. She doesn\u2019t stumble over her words.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you have orders for us, sire? We\u2019ve made a small camp next to the village and we\u2019ve got a good sense of the immediate area. We only need your word to start scouting the landscape. If we could speak with some of the locals who know the area, that would help as well.\u201d<\/p>\n I nod thoughtfully. Adventurers\u2026I have a lot I\u2019d like to talk to them about, especially Wiskeria, but for now I need to talk to Prost more. So I let them do their job.<\/p>\n \u201cIf your group will divide the scouting and patrolling with the Windfrozen Riders, I\u2019d be most grateful. I believe I will talk with Odveig and Beniar more specifically about their duties later\u2014but as you can see I have a lot to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, sire. We\u2019ll get to work right away.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria nods to Odveig, and then has to drag both her and Beniar away. They\u2019re still staring, which I have to say, I\u2019m getting more used to. I turn to Prost as Durene joins me with Frostwing perched on her shoulder. The bird pecks at Durene\u2019s cheek as I smile at Prost.<\/p>\n \u201cFarmer Prost. How has the village been since I left? I\u2019m told you got the food I had delivered to you alright\u2014did you have an enjoyable Christmas? I hope my Runner, Ryoka, explained what that was.\u201d<\/p>\n Prost starts, and I think he\u2019s surprised at my warm greeting. Well, we did have an unpleasant first few encounters where he was against me and Durene living together. After I saved the village he was falling over himself to help me, and his attitude\u2019s much better. For my part, I haven\u2019t forgotten the past, but Prost lost his youngest boy in the avalanche. That kind of pain\u2026no, I would never hold a grudge after all that has happened.<\/p>\n \u201cMiss Ryoka, your majesty? Oh, she came by not a week ago\u2014we were so grateful for her arrival we wept, sire. It was a blessing, and the food she brought\u2014I know I said it too much yesterday, but the village can\u2019t thank you enough, your majesty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSir, or sire\u2019s fine, Mister Prost. Don\u2019t worry about the titles\u2014I\u2019ve told Gamel the same. But now I\u2019m back, and I\u2019ve got all I promised.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore food and supplies? Your m\u2014sire, I have to tell you that we\u2019ve been rationing what Miss Ryoka brought. We made sure to not overeat, and I think we could stretch it till the spring if that\u2019s all that could be bought.\u201d<\/p>\n Responsible, thoughtful\u2026the villagers of Riverfarm aren\u2019t idiots, for all they once were small-minded. You can\u2019t be stupid and live out here, where a bad harvest might mean starvation if you hadn\u2019t planned ahead. I wave a hand and start heading down to the village, speaking to Durene, Prost, and Gamel all at once.<\/p>\n \u201cRyoka delivered a good bit of food, but hardly all of what I bought, Mister Prost. Don\u2019t fear, we\u2019ve enough food to last us the winter and a good ways into the spring. However, making sure we have food for the times after that is one of our biggest priorities right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes sir. We\u2019ve been digging out more of the buried buildings, but it\u2019s painfully slow work\u2026but with you and Durene here, I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll do all that needs doing!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout that. I think clearing the snow is a good start, and so I hope I can ask you, Durene, to help. Gamel can also lend a hand\u2026I\u2019ll speak with Mister Prost about other matters, unless there\u2019s something pressing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope! I can do that, Laken. I\u2019m ready for work, and there\u2019s an extra-large shovel in the wagons I can use!\u201d<\/p>\n Durene\u2019s clearly ready for hard work, and she hands Frostwing to Gamel, who\u2019s gotten used to handling the cranky bird. I nod to Gamel. If he\u2019s my assistant\u2014and he\u2019s very loyal and does what I ask him to\u2014then I should use him as one.<\/p>\n \u201cCan you ask Odveig and Beniar if their [Mages] can use their spells to melt the snow, Gamel? I know you know some fire magic, but I believe some experienced spellcasters might help quite a bit with the excavation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt once, sire.\u201d<\/p>\n He and Durene head towards the village. I can sense the villagers waiting for me, but a few shouted words from Prost and they disperse. After shouting greetings at me, of course. I walk slowly with Prost around the village, making my way over huge drifts of snow.<\/p>\n The avalanche that hit Riverfarm buried almost all of it. Some houses were only half-consumed by the snow, but in the first few days after the disaster the villagers couldn\u2019t walk without sinking into the deep snow. At the moment there\u2019s a good section of the village that\u2019s been cleared of snow, but there are still walls of hard snow and ice.<\/p>\n Prost is busy showing me the new houses the villagers have dug out. I can sense how battered the buildings are. Oh, the supports have held in most, but the wood is broken in countless places from the sheer force behind the avalanche. It will take a lot of doing to restore the buildings to any sense of working order, and there are still fields buried in the snow, dead animals still frozen where they were engulfed, scattered tools and belongings\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a mess, Emperor Laken. I\u2019d despair at restoring anything at all if you weren\u2019t here, I really would. Most villages suffer a disaster like this and, well, it\u2019s over. We\u2019d have to pack up and move, what few of us survived. It\u2019s that or starve or freeze or be eaten by monsters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot exactly a pleasant choice, Mister Prost. However, even with what I brought, rebuilding Riverfarm will be a chore and a half. I hope everyone knows that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAye, we do. Don\u2019t fear sire, we\u2019re no strangers to hard work and we\u2019ll do whatever you think is best.\u201d<\/p>\n I can sense Prost nodding as he takes me around the barn, the main hub of the new village. There are simple beds inside, piles of recovered goods, several cooking fires outside\u2026rudimentary stuff, but at least the villagers sleep like rocks. Everything else will have to be remade, and I\u2019m the one in charge. Oh dear.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get down to business, then, Prost. I\u2019ve got some good ideas on how to proceed, but I\u2019d love to hear what you\u2019d do in a situation like this.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got more than just a few ideas. I\u2019ve spoken to several people, Ryoka among them, who gave me excellent advice on what to do. And honestly, I needed it. Rebuilding a village and managing everyone is not among the skills I brought from Earth, from my world, but I feel oddly confident now.<\/p>\n Prost shakes his head in response to my question. He has to break off to tell someone where the hammers are\u2014in the wagons and two in the barn\u2014and then he tells a group of young men and women to go help dig where Durene\u2019s at. He\u2019s in charge, as are a few of the older villagers. But that\u2019s in charge under me, I feel. If I wasn\u2019t here, would things go this well?<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, your majesty? I wouldn\u2019t know where to begin, aside from digging out what I can. There\u2019s so many farms ruined\u2026I supposed I\u2019d try to dig up fields, get as much land cleared as possible so I could sow all the plants I could after the last frost, but that\u2019s all I know. I\u2019d be hoping to trade what valuables I could gather for supplies, some chickens and other animals maybe, but I wouldn\u2019t know where to start. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re here, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI find your faith in me disturbing, Mister Prost. I\u2019m no miracle worker.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSay that to my daughter, sir. And my wife. You saved them and over half the village. But for you we\u2019d be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Prost turns to me, and grips my shoulder before he remembers I\u2019m an [Emperor] and starts apologizing. I stop him. That\u2019s right. That\u2019s why people have faith in me. Because I saved lives. I cannot betray that faith, although it\u2019s more than any person should have placed on them.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, we\u2019ll see if my ideas work. For now\u2026let\u2019s talk about the villagers, Prost. What do you think they need?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNeed? Well, you\u2019ve given us warm bellies and your Skill makes us feel as though we\u2019re sleeping on pure cotton, sire. Give us some more rooms and a place to work and I\u2019d say that\u2019s all I need. With these adventurers around, we don\u2019t have to fear monsters and that\u2019s a relief.\u201d<\/p>\n I smile as I find a place to stand with Prost, out of the way. I can sense villagers staring at me as they work.<\/p>\n \u201cInteresting. You thought of that off the top of your head, didn\u2019t you, Mister Prost?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes sire. I just said what I could think of.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what you could think of were the essentials. Food, shelter, and security. I\u2019d say those are the three basic elements all people need to survive, don\u2019t you, Mister Prost?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d agree with that, sire. That and a good drink now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n I grin and see Prost smiling in relief. An [Emperor] needs to be human too.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s my point. In rebuilding Riverfarm, I\u2019m looking at the essentials first, Mister Prost. Not just for now, but for the future when the supplies are gone and the adventurers leave.\u201d<\/p>\n I start ticking off points on my hand as Prost listens.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need space for the people\u2014not just somewhere they can live for the moment, but permanent homes. We need to grow food and raise animals, enough for the village to survive on. And we need a way to defend ourselves if monsters attack. Now, two of those issues can be solved by building the village again. However\u2026it\u2019s occurred to me that here might not be the best place to build it.\u201d<\/p>\n I gesture towards the nearest house. Half of it has been collapsed inwards, and the other half is badly damaged and just patched over with boards to keep the wind out.<\/p>\n \u201cThe buildings we uncover are damaged. Some of the supports have shifted, the walls are blown out and the foundation\u2019s destroyed on some of them. It would be just as much work to fix one up as make a new one, I\u2019m thinking. Plus\u2026I\u2019m not sure the villagers would like to live in a place where so much grief has been caused.\u201d<\/p>\n Most of the villagers buried in the avalanche were trapped in their houses, suffocated or bashed to death when it happened. The digging teams I led had to cut through roofs and dig to find the doors in order to save lives\u2026or recover the bodies.<\/p>\n Prost nods heavily.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s true, sire. But then where would we build the village? We\u2019ve lived here all our lives, most of us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understand. And I\u2019m not suggesting we abandon this place, but digging out houses takes time, and I\u2019d rather have some of the villagers building new ones. It can\u2019t be fun sleeping crammed together, even with my Skill. So what if we\u2026drew up some blueprints for a new village right now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBlueprints?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA simple map. I can\u2019t see well, but let\u2019s assume Riverfarm is here. And if we\u2019re rebuilding the village, why not make it efficient? We can put all the fields together here, rather than each farmer have their own. And houses could go here\u2026feel free to tell me if I\u2019m making sense, Mister Prost.\u201d<\/p>\n In a few minutes Prost and I are scuffing at the ground with a stick, plotting out a village in the wet dirt. I can\u2019t sense the impressions in the ground unless they\u2019re fairly deep, but it\u2019s simple enough for Prost to get a handle of my idea, and then he\u2019s off with it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could certainly build more houses like you\u2019re suggesting, sire. The ground\u2019s uneven over here, but if we had a few [Diggers] or Durene picked up a shovel, I don\u2019t see why we couldn\u2019t smooth over parts and\u2014and well, the village could be twice as large as before! And the fields\u2014some of us [Farmers] have talked the idea over, and some fields we could all work on is an enticing idea, \u2018specially if we combined teams of oxen. We never tried the idea because we quarreled over sharing the harvests, but if it\u2019s all of us working in the village together, I don\u2019t see why not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent.\u201d<\/p>\n I have an idea of Riverfarm in my head. It\u2019s got a river running by the village, which is where the name comes from, but until recently the villagers had a very small plot of land they\u2019d tamed and farmed on. The new village, the rebuilt one would expand that space and create a space with larger fields, more houses\u2026and more organized structure, too. There would be a main road and houses would be adjacent to one another, rather than built wherever the original owners wanted them.<\/p>\n Prost and I stare at the blueprints in the dirt for a few seconds, before reality hits. The older man sits back on his haunches and shakes his head slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a grand idea you\u2019re thinking of, sire. But can it be done? We\u2019ve a few folks with Skills in woodworking and building, and I reckon Durene could lift up a beam herself, but it\u2019s such a large thought I can\u2019t imagine it. You think it can be done? Truly?\u201d<\/p>\n I smile. Here\u2019s one of my tests. Prost doubts we can do this. I do too, honestly\u2014my ideas are so nebulous, I can\u2019t figure out how to put them into action. However, I\u2019m a leader and so I have to reassure him. And myself.<\/p>\n \u201cA new village? Why not? There are trees aplenty in the forests, and I know we have people with [Carpenter] classes here. We can build the houses one at a time and create a new village while the adventurers guard us and we live off of what I brought from Invrisil.\u201d<\/p>\n I reach out and clasp Prost on the shoulder, making him start.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember, Mister Prost, we\u2019re not doing this by ourselves. A house is a challenge for a single person or a family, but a village? We could put up the first house in a matter of days or less. Why don\u2019t we do it like this? We\u2019ll build three houses, lay foundations, and get to work measuring, cutting wood, and so on, while we reclaim the village from the snow. We build them where we planned\u2026and go from there. Sound good?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you put it like that, sire, I can\u2019t help but think it sounds easier. Truly.\u201d<\/p>\n Prost nods as he stands up. He\u2019s hesitant, but now I\u2019ve reduced the problem to a manageable one to him, he\u2019s already thinking of who has the best Skills to start work.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what I need. Because I don\u2019t know the villagers well enough myself. I go with Prost out of the village limits, towards the new building spots. Halfway there I pause and grimace.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething the matter, sire?\u201d<\/p>\n I hear Prost\u2019s voice, but I can no longer sense him. I\u2019ve gone\u2026well, blind again. I must have left the village\u2019s limits.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019ll have to stay here, Mister Prost. You check the spot we were discussing and see if it\u2019s usable. I\u2019ll wait here.\u201d<\/p>\n Prost leaves and I kick at the invisible boundary where my sense of the world starts to fade away in my head.<\/p>\n \u201cThis might be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n My [Emperor]\u2019s senses don\u2019t extend outside of the limits of the village. The land I claim is the only place where they work. Which is a problem whenever I go travelling, or in cases like now.<\/p>\n I have an idea about how to fix that. Well, I didn\u2019t come up with the idea. But still.<\/p>\n It\u2019s something for later, though. Prost comes back with the news that the spots I suggested would work. He\u2019s talking about asking the Fairfield family to help out, and getting Gamel and a few of the \u2018lads\u2019 to get some axes to cut down a few good trees\u2014only the best wood will do, obviously, so we\u2019ll need to find someone with a good eye for it.<\/p>\n I take a breath and cut Prost off. There\u2019s something I\u2019ve been meaning to do, something I\u2019ve been advised to do. It might work, and if it does, it\u2019ll help Riverfarm\u2014and me.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Prost, there\u2019s one last thing we need to talk about. That\u2019s why I wanted to talk alone with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Instantly the man becomes wary. He clears his throat.<\/p>\n \u201cI uh, wondered if it might come to this, sire. About Durene\u2026I can\u2019t say how sorry I am about how I behaved. And the others too. But myself\u2026I can\u2019t apologize. I can only ask for\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? Oh. Not that.\u201d<\/p>\n I wave a hand at Prost, surprising him. He blinks, and I shake my head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? But sire\u2014the way I behaved\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to berate you for the past, Mister Prost. Not now. Not after what\u2019s happened. What you\u2019ve all lost. No. That would be petty, and cruel, I think. You\u2019re trying to make amends. I know you apologized to Durene and frankly\u2026no. There\u2019s something else I want to speak to you about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sire?\u201d<\/p>\n He sounds more nervous, if that\u2019s possible. I try to reassure him, but give up and get into it. I walk with Prost around the edge of the village, feeling my sense of the world dim and brighten as I stumble through deep snow. Prost walks with me, tense, watching me. But trusting, too. He trusts me.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to rule the village. I claimed it, and I am an [Emperor]. I\u2019m a bit surprised you all would want me to lead you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n I silence Prost as he opens his mouth again.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2014But I understand. However, I\u2019m not experienced. I\u2019m a low-level [Emperor] and frankly, I have no idea how to build anything. I\u2019m not a [Farmer] and Durene knows more about raising animals than me. I need someone with all these Skills to help me coordinate the villagers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMilord, I\u2019m happy to do what I can. Me and the other older folk\u2014we\u2019re at your disposal. And young Gamel seems to be growing up right quick. If you need something, all you have to do is ask.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but asking means I have to think of it. And there are things I won\u2019t think of, Mister Prost. That\u2019s why I need a second-in-command. Someone who can do the thinking\u2014and the asking\u2014without me.\u201d<\/p>\n I hear Prost gulp as he understands what I\u2019m getting at.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that person who\u2019s doing the asking\u2026is that me, sir? Why me? I know I\u2019ve taken it upon myself to take our orders, but I\u2019m hardly like our last [Village Head]. I\u2019m no leader.\u201d<\/p>\n I nod. A [Village Head] is a type of [Leader], if a weak one. I suppose I fill that role, but an [Emperor] is too large to lead a village. All my Skills would apply to my empire, not an individual farm. Which is why\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI know that. You are a [Farmer], Mister Prost. A good one, I think. Well thought of, but a farmer nonetheless. I need a leader, someone who can inspire people and manage them in my stead. Which is why I\u2019m asking if you would take on another class for me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnother\u2014another class, sire? You mean become the village\u2019s head? I reckon I could, but I\u2019d only be Level 1, and you\u2019re an [Emperor]\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not that. I mean, take on another class that I gave you. [Steward], to be exact.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Steward]? Me?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Prost stops in his tracks. He stares at me.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2014[Steward] is a noble title, sir! It\u2019s as close to a lordship as\u2014most [Kings] appoint a [Lord] as a [Steward]! I\u2019m not worthy of such a class!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, well, I could make you a [Lord] too, but I think that\u2019s too many classes to handle at once. Don\u2019t gape, Mister Prost. I said I wasn\u2019t going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2014why me, sire? Why me?\u201d<\/p>\n I stop in the cold snow and run a hand through my hair. I look at Prost, and wish I could see him, not just sense what his face is roughly doing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not? A ruler needs a [Steward], someone to manage their affairs. I am an [Emperor]\u2014why shouldn\u2019t I be able to give you that class? I made Durene a [Paladin]. If you\u2019re willing, I\u2019ll name you as my [Steward] and put you in command of all of Riverfarm. Under me, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n He pauses for a long time in the snow. I think\u2026no, I can\u2019t tell what he\u2019s thinking. But when Prost speaks, I can hear the wobble in his voice. The uncertainty, back again.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not worthy, sire. No\u2014your majesty. Emperor Laken. I wouldn\u2019t have imagined you were such a man, to be honest, but I can see it in you now. But sire, I know myself and I<\/em> am not worthy of the class. I couldn\u2019t be a [Steward], not a good one. I know that. You know that.\u201d<\/p>\n I shake my head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. You are not worthy. I agree with you on that, Mister Prost. However\u2026none of us are. I need a [Steward], and you are the only person I can think who might fill that role. Gamel is too young, and I don\u2019t know the others. But you? You are a man people trust. A man I think I can trust. And you have that one quality which makes me believe in you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n He stares at me, hungry for an answer, words that can reassure him. I look into Prost\u2019s eyes and open mine. Just for a moment. He flinches as he stares into my pupils, but he meets my gaze. And I speak from the heart.<\/p>\n \u201cChange. I have seen you change. If you can change from a man who refused to accept that I could love a half-Troll, Durene, to a man who calls me [Emperor], then perhaps you can also become a man worthy of leading others. Because you must. You are needed, Prost Surehand. The village needs you. Your family needs you. I need you. Will you help me?\u201d<\/p>\n For a long time he\u2019s still. So long in fact that my eyes hurt and I have to close them. I\u2019m not used to keeping them open. But I can still sense Prost there. At last he does speak.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not\u2014but you know that. Milord, my [Emperor]\u2026you say you need me. I\u2026I\u2019m humbled.\u201d<\/p>\n There are tears in his voice and on his cheeks. They freeze in the cold. Prost bows towards me, deep.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ask, I will do my best. I cannot promise\u2026that is all I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat is all I ask. In that case, Prost, kneel if you would.\u201d<\/p>\n He goes to his knees in the snow. I reach out. There\u2019s no grand pronouncement on my part, no long ceremony. I speak and it is done.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are my [Steward]. Manage my village, Prost. Direct my people. I have faith in you.\u201d<\/p>\n Tears fall into the snow. Prost stands.<\/p>\n \u201cWill I gain the class tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n I have a suspicion. A hint. Prost wipes at his eyes and blows his nose on his sleeve. I smile, and bring him back into reality.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright then. Let\u2019s get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n The moment passes. Prost and I head back to the village and we\u2019re consumed by people. People, villagers with no idea what to do or what tomorrow holds. But they look towards me, and as Prost raises his voice and steps forwards, ordering the folks he knows around and dealing with minor squabbles, small complaints, they look towards him as well.<\/p>\n All in all, not a bad start.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Day 57<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The next day I\u2019m nearly shaken to death as Durene seizes me out of my bed and rattles me around.<\/p>\n \u201cLaken! Laken! <\/em>You won\u2019t believe what\u2019s happened to Mister Prost! He gained a class! And\u2014and lost his levels!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? What? Stop shaking me, Durene! Put me down and tell me what\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Having a half-Troll lover is a wonderful thing in many ways. But when she\u2019s excited, Durene is fully capable of lifting me up like a kitten. And I, like kittens, do not take well to being shaken.<\/p>\n When I\u2019m on the ground and sipping some tea, Durene spills the entire event to me, which everyone in the village has already heard of. Prost went to sleep late last night and heard himself get a new class\u2014[Steward].<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t surprise me, although it\u2019s similar to someone winning the lottery as far as the other villagers are concerned. This class makes Prost important, just as being an [Emperor] makes me important. After all, [Stewards] are hardly common. Well, not in this world. Airline stewards are hardly anything to write about\u2026but I digress. The thing that makes me sit up and has Durene in more of a frenzy is the other thing that happened to Prost, though.<\/p>\n \u201cHe lost his levels! All of his levels in [Farmer] and [Builder]\u2014and the one level he had in [Trader]! It\u2019s all gone!<\/em> And he leveled up eight times as a [Steward]! Can you believe it? Can you believe\u2014<\/em>oh, sorry. I didn\u2019t mean to shake you again!\u201d<\/p>\n When I\u2019ve gotten the hot tea cleaned off of me, I get the fine details. Last night Prost lost all his [Farmer] levels, and he had been a Level 20 [Farmer], as well as the few levels he had in other classes. In exchange, he became a Level 8 [Steward] right off the bat.<\/p>\n No one in Riverfarm had ever experienced anything like it. I hadn\u2019t either, but I knew what it was.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s called class consolidation, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what Prost said! I heard about it\u2014like how a [Commander] could take the [Soldier] class and [Sergeant] class and turn it into one thing, but\u2014all of Prost\u2019s levels? They\u2019re all gone and\u2026he only gets eight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s because all of his farming experience doesn\u2019t transfer over into being a [Steward], Durene. It gives him some insights, but it is a sacrifice. Mind you, he can still farm and I think he\u2019ll have some of his Skills or all of them still, but he\u2019s got a new class now that supersedes his old ones.\u201d<\/p>\n Durene is tearing at her hair, practically out of her mind with all these revelations. She paces around the cottage, and now she stops and stares at me.<\/p>\n \u201cWait, you knew<\/em> that was going to happen, Laken? How?\u201d<\/p>\n I smile mysteriously and tap at my lips.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s just say I had an inkling, Durene. As for the how\u2026I\u2019ll tell you later. How\u2019s Prost taking the change? Never mind, let\u2019s go find him. I\u2019ll have breakfast in the village.\u201d<\/p>\n We hurry out of her cottage. For once no one\u2019s waiting to greet me\u2014everyone\u2019s too busy gawking at Prost. He\u2019s at the center of attention in the village.<\/p>\n It seems his family, his two surviving daughters and wife regard his loss of levels as a terrible thing\u2014but more than made up for by taking a \u2018superior\u2019 class. When everyone finds out that I\u2019m the one behind Prost\u2019s class, I think they might mob me, demanding how I did it and asking\u2014hinting, rather\u2014that they would love to be a [Lord] or [Knight] or so on. Prost has to assert his new class and Skills to restore order.<\/p>\n After a while, we get back to work. Prost has several valuable new Skills, all of which he confides in me and no one else. Chief among them are [Talent Finder], and [Eye of Need], which helps him find the people best suited for a task, whether they know it or not. He can also tell what we\u2019re low on and what issues are most critical and require attention.<\/p>\n In short, he\u2019s turned overnight from a [Farmer] into someone with the right skillset for what I need. The change in his class doesn\u2019t change him as a person, but it\u2019s terrifying to see how competent and sure of himself he became from me telling him he had a different class.<\/p>\n That knowledge and the knowledge that the advice I was given was right weighs on my mind for all of twenty minutes before the adventurers get my attention. Beniar and Odveig have apparently nominated Wiskeria to talk to me, perhaps because she\u2019s the most well-spoken.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t care, but it gives me an opportunity to get another measure of her as she delivers her report. The adventurers have traveled in every direction for quite a few miles thanks to the Windfrozen Rider\u2019s mounts, and found any number of spots devastated by the avalanche, but few dangers to speak of.<\/p>\n \u201cWe uncovered what looks like a bear\u2019s den in the hills, but there\u2019s no other large animals or monsters nearby. We\u2019ll keep an eye on it, but the bear should stay put until the spring. With your permission, we\u2019ll range further afield and try to bring back some fresh meat.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiskeria\u2019s report is concise and to the point. She gives me her opinion that the village is safe from all but opportunistic scavenger animals\u2014the occasional fox and squirrel\u2014and the adventurers are already growing restless, looking for a challenge.<\/p>\n I give her full rein to have some of the adventurers hunt and others help with the village, and then bring up a topic more important to me.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope you and the others weren\u2019t too surprised by my, ah, class. I didn\u2019t mean to keep it hidden, but the attention would have been troublesome in Invrisil. Are you surprised, Wiskeria?\u201d<\/p>\n The [Witch] pauses for a moment before she replies.<\/p>\n \u201cI am\u2026amazed, your majesty. I hope my team has not offended you in any way. Odveig was worrying, and I think Beniar is afraid to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n I listen to her voice. Wiskeria\u2019s tone is straightforward, but there\u2019s not as much stunned incredulity in her tone as there is in the other adventurers when I speak to them. I shake my head.<\/p>\n \u201cI took no offense. But I hope your teams can be counted on to be a bit discreet?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, sir. If you wish it, none of us will speak about your class.\u201d<\/p>\n I smile.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you haven\u2019t already sent back word to Invrisil that I\u2019m an [Emperor]?\u201d<\/p>\n This time I sense Wiskeria hesitate. Aha.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t mind. Just please know that I\u2019d prefer an unpleasant truth to a lie to my face.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, your majesty. My deepest apologies.\u201d<\/p>\n She bows her head and I feel uncomfortable. I cough.<\/p>\n \u201cI imagine you have some questions about why I choose to settle in Riverfarm. And who I am, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA\u2026few. Would you indulge me, sire?\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s looking at me. I smile again.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid that whatever questions you have will have to wait, Wiskeria. However, I do want to talk with you soon about what I\u2019m doing here and what the Celestial Trackers and the Windfrozen Riders might gain from staying here longer.\u201d<\/p>\n A pause. Then Wiskeria\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want us to stay here. To become your subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019s sharp. I cover my reaction with a delicate nod.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an offer I\u2019m thinking of. I\u2019m not asking you to decide right away. And if you think it would bother the others, by all means wait before telling them. I\u2019d just like you to watch what\u2019s going on here. And then decide.\u201d<\/p>\n I left Wiskeria with that. I can\u2019t force her to do anything, and there\u2019s so much I have to do. I\u2019ll show her what Riverfarm could be by doing. And learn more about her too. But what was it I was told? Ah, yes. An empire is built upon the strength of its subjects. I need more than Riverfarm\u2019s villagers if I want to create someplace safe.<\/p>\n It really was <\/em>good advice I got.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Day 59<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I was in the center of the village, going over plans for the new village with Prost when it happened. The bear that the Celestial Trackers had found woke up. It may have been hungry, or perhaps the avalanche changed whatever internal clock it was using for hibernation. Maybe it was just pissed off, but the results were the same.<\/p>\n The bear came down into the village. That might not sound like much, but I think anyone who\u2019s ever seen a bear up close would understand.<\/p>\n \u201cBear attack!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet to safety!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDead gods, look at the size of it! It\u2019s not a bear! It\u2019s a Mossbear!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet around it! Wiskeria, cast a spell! Someone get me my horse!\u201d<\/p>\n Adventurers scatter and horns blow as the scouts on the perimeter sight the bear and raise the alarm. The bear, or rather Mossbear might have just woken up, but it charges into the village with incredible speed.<\/p>\n From my position in the center of the village, I can sense the villagers rushing away from the bear. Prost is busy shouting for people to retreat to the barn as adventurers try to form up. Some charge the bear and strike at it from the side. It turns, knocks a girl with a sword across the ground with a single paw and roars as an arrow bounces off of its fur.<\/p>\n \u201cOh shit.\u201d<\/p>\n I can \u2018see\u2019 the bear\u2019s form as it scatters the adventurers. It is easily three times as large as the biggest warrior here, and it looks like a tank made out of fur and muscle. Its coming right in my direction, too, towards where all the food in the barn is kept\u2014and all the people.<\/p>\n \u201cFire! I mean, loose the arrows and get me a fire spell!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not working! It\u2019s too wet and the fur is too thick!\u201d<\/p>\n Adventurers are loosing arrows at the bear and I can see Beniar running for his horse. But the problem is that a bear of this size is a huge armored target with all of its fur. Wiskeria scorches it with a spell and another adventurer mage hurls shards of stone at it\u2014the bear just roars and keeps coming.<\/p>\n Towards me. At some point I realize I should run, but it is far too late. The bear is moving across the ground faster than I can run. I look around, searching for somewhere to hide where it can\u2019t reach me. Then a huge figure slams<\/em> into the bear from the side. I hear a roar almost as bestial as the bear and see Durene.<\/p>\n I\u2019d forgotten how tall Durene is, and how large. She towers over the other adventurers as she grabs the bear, punches<\/em> it, and sends it reeling backwards. One of the adventurers lashes at the bear\u2019s side with a sword, barely cutting into it, but a second punch from Durene makes the bear back up.<\/p>\n It rises on two legs and tries to slam its entire weight on Durene. She grabs a paw and head-butts it. The bear growls, tries to bite Durene\u2019s neck, and then claws her as she dodges.<\/p>\n Its claws are sharp, and they cut into her arm. Durene cries out and I sense blood hitting the ground. But she doesn\u2019t fall back. She raises a fist as Beniar races towards the bear. It\u2019s growling, and I know how dangerous bears can be. I don\u2019t realize I\u2019m running forwards until the bear is right in front of me.<\/p>\n \u201cStop!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n My voice is a shout, and I can feel the command in my tone strike the bear. And everyone else as well. Durene, Beniar\u2014his horse slows and the world pauses around me. The bear stops too. It stares at me, making a faint noise that\u2019s half warning, half inquisitive.<\/p>\n \u201cStop.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n I stare at the bear, quivering as I sense how huge it is. Durene\u2019s got a handful of its fur, but it looks like it could savage her in a moment if it gets the upper hand. How would the adventurers kill it? It would be a terrible battle and there are too many innocents around. I stare at the bear.<\/p>\n It\u2019s starting to move. My command only works for a moment. And the bear is hurt now, angry. It growls at me and I see Durene take a firmer grip on it. Her fist is clenched. She\u2019s unarmed. My [Paladin]. Why haven\u2019t I gotten her a weapon?<\/p>\n This is my battle as much as hers. I stare at the bear. And then I open my eyes. I stare, sightless, at the huge bear. I can feel an\u2026intensity in my gaze. Something stronger, frightening. A Skill. [Intimidating Glare].<\/p>\n \u201cBegone. Go back to your home. Leave my subjects alone.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n The bear whines. It\u2019s not aggressive. I stare at it, forcing myself to keep up the intensity, project my will. It\u2019s a battle of wills. I\u2019m a [Beast Tamer] in this moment and an [Emperor]. I tell the bear that I am not food. My village is not food. I speak to it.<\/p>\n And it obeys. The bear twists and Durene lets go. It slowly begins to lope out of the village, into the forest. Adventurers hurriedly make way.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll take a force and go after it!\u201d<\/p>\n Beniar is the first to recover. He gestures at the others and I stop him.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Don\u2019t antagonize it. That bear could kill some of you\u2014leave it be for now. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n He hesitates, and then bows his head towards me. I stumble backwards, and someone catches me.<\/p>\n \u201cYou scared me to death! Don\u2019t do that! What if you\u2019d gotten hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou did get hurt!\u201d<\/p>\n I reach towards Durene as she cradles me in her arms. I know she\u2019s wounded. I can feel the blood and hear her beating heart. Durene grunts as she puts a hand over the gashes on her arm. I feel anxiously at them. They\u2019re not thick, but I demand a healing potion for Durene, despite her objections.<\/p>\n Gamel rushes towards me with a potion. Odveig and Wiskeria approach with deepest apologies and explanations for why the bear could have woken up so suddenly. I calm everyone down, assure the adventurers I\u2019m not angry, talk with them about safeguards, have a watch posted on the cave, and life resumes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s moments like that which break up the day and make you realize how special life is. Which is why Durene and I retired to my cottage for a few hours.<\/p>\n Ahem. Afterwards, I ponder the encounter with the bear as Durene lies beside me in bed. It was startling and frightening to me more than the others for one reason.<\/p>\n I hadn\u2019t sensed it coming. Oh, I\u2019d known the instant the bear entered the village\u2019s radius, but the adventurers had already raised the alarm. I hadn\u2019t known the bear was coming. If I didn\u2019t sense that, what else might happen that I\u2019m unaware of?<\/p>\n The bear. It\u2019s apparently a Mossbear, a subspecies of the regular bear group that\u2019s bigger and tougher than usual. Magic plus biology comes up with some scary stuff. Although Moth<\/em>bears are even more feared. Mothbears. What would one of those look\u2026? Never mind.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t tell where it lives. It\u2019s outside of the village\u2019s range, as are the new houses we\u2019re trying to build. That\u2019s a problem. Knowing what\u2019s around me is essential. I can sense the entire village and when someone gets hurt I can tell at once.<\/p>\n Like when one of Gamel\u2019s friends slipped and nearly cut his hand off while trying to cut through a broken beam in one of the houses. I shouted and got a healing potion to him in time. If we\u2019re making a new village, no, if we\u2019re going to keep this village safe, I need to be able to \u2018see\u2019 more.<\/p>\n Which means I need to expand my claim on the lands around. The problem is, the area around Riverfarm is wilderness, forest, open ground, rivers\u2026no one owns it and I can\u2019t just say that\u2019s mine. I tried, and it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n I have to do something about that. But maybe later. I lie down next to Durene, my head\u2019s spinning with ideas and thoughts. Safety is a relative thing. It can leave you at any moment. But I\u2019m very grateful I hired the Silver-rank adventurers. They could kill the bear if they had to, despite its size. And Durene\u2019s here. She wrestled<\/em> the bear.<\/p>\n The village has its guardians. What would happen without them? The next day\u2026I find an answer to that question.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Day 60<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Windfrozen Riders picked up the man on the horse at the road and brought him to Riverfarm. By the time he arrives, looking frozen and practically tumbling off of his saddle, I\u2019m there with Prost, Gamel, Durene, and a hot mug and food for him.<\/p>\n He eats like a beast and nearly weeps when he tastes the hot sausage. He does weep when he takes in Riverfarm and hears about the avalanche. I see him hugging Prost and crying into the man\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n Apparently this man is named Helm, and he\u2019s a [Blacksmith] from another village nearby. Well, nearby is a relative term. His village is a good fourteen miles east of here, located by a big prairie. It is called Windrest, and it is burning.<\/p>\n Mister Helm practically throws himself at my feet when he hears who I am. I have to make him sit, and he keeps bowing his head as he explains what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n \u201cGoblins, milord. There are Goblins attacking every village from here to Mafalt. Raiding parties. They say there\u2019s a Great Chieftain of the Goblins who\u2019s rising in support of the Goblin Lord. They attacked our village\u2014we have nowhere to go.\u201d<\/p>\n I listen in grave silence with the other adventurers. A group of around sixty Goblins had hit Windrest last night. They\u2019d slaughtered a dozen people and torched a few buildings, but what they were after were the animals and winter stores the people had. They made off with two thirds of the village\u2019s goods and a lot of their supplies\u2014and two young women. The villagers had sent word to the nearest town and received assurances that adventurers would be sent out. But the village as it was right now was practically helpless.<\/p>\n They didn\u2019t have coin to hire protection. And they were terrified the Goblins or some other monsters might come back. With nowhere to turn, they\u2019d sent Helm and others to look for aid. They needed food for the winter, someone to protect them\u2026Helm had despaired at the task as he\u2019d ridden from hamlet to village, until he\u2019d come here.<\/p>\n He knew Riverfarm, and when he hears there are two Silver-rank teams guarding the place, his eyes nearly pop out of his head. When he hears I\u2019m an [Emperor], Helm gets down on his knees in the snow and muck.<\/p>\n \u201cSire, we\u2019ve nothing to offer you. But Windrest will perish as sure as I\u2019m speaking if the Goblins come back. If you could spare your adventurers to guard us, give us just a bit that we might live, I swear we\u2019ll repay you!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t ask Emperor Laken for that!\u201d<\/p>\n Prost is outraged. He speaks up before I can calm him down, addressing me as much as Helm.<\/p>\n \u201cTake away our protection? We\u2019ve barely enough food for ourselves! If we spared the grain and meat to keep your village alive, we\u2019d be stabbing ourselves in the back!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t live, Prost. Not with what we have. We\u2019re this close to selling what we own and going to the nearest town to become [Beggars], the lot of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Helm turns his ashen face towards Prost, looking wretched. He knows what he\u2019s asking, but he has to ask. A small village that suffers this kind of raid in the winter\u2026I understand.<\/p>\n But still, I can\u2019t give him either adventuring team. Goblins. If they hit Windrest, they will come to Riverfarm. I know it and feel a chill. But the people\u2026<\/p>\n What would anyone do? I look at Helm and know there is only one thing I can say. Prost is looking at me with pain in his eyes. I glance at him, and nod.<\/p>\n \u201cBring your people here, Mister Helm.\u201d<\/p>\n The [Blacksmith] looks up, eyes widening. I look around at the other villagers, at the adventurers, at Prost and Durene. I nod at Prost.<\/p>\n \u201cWe might not have enough food for all of us at the moment. We don\u2019t have much room, but we do have people who can protect everyone. I\u2019ll do something about food if it comes to it. But I will not let your people die if I can help it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, your majesty! Thank you! We\u2019ll never forget it!\u201d<\/p>\n Helm tries to kiss my hands. I order him to get some hot food in him and tell him I\u2019ll send an escort to Windrest. When the man is eating a second meal\u2014he looks half-starved\u2014I glance over at Prost.<\/p>\n He looks worried. Mister Prost meets my eyes, a thousand unspoken problems at the tip of his tongue. I understand. But I can\u2019t address his fears now. That\u2019s not what I need to say. Not in this moment. I glance around as I see every eye in the village fixed on me and smile slightly. I nod at my [Steward].<\/p>\n \u201cMister Prost, I think we\u2019re going to need a lot more houses.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Previous Chapter<\/a> Next Chapter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a feeling I\u2019ve had once before. That of standing on the edge of a cliff. It\u2019s a different sensation than you\u2019d expect for someone who\u2019s blind. Because, obviously, any time I stand on a ledge higher than three feet, I can\u2019t tell how far the ground below is. I\u2019ll feel the missing space with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52856846,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"patreon-level":0,"patreon_level":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11693084,349],"tags":[7224,250708,4330244,4472517,11693079],"twi_volume":[11693133],"twi_collection":[],"class_list":["post-4122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-volume-4","category-writing","tag-fantasy","tag-inn","tag-web-novel","tag-web-serial","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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