BECMI Chapter 34 – The Alternate Road

“This is not a dream, this is not a curse, this is not heresy. This is a man improving himself in this life, his mind and soul and body, not just walking the long path of warrior, priest, mage, or rogue to the end the Immortals have decreed.

“It is not being more than human. It is being all you can be AS a human!

“Do not disappoint me in being satisfied with your limits. You are a priest of a god of battle! His inspiration is right before you! Be stronger! Be wiser! Be the man you are meant to be, and stand proud and strong before your Patron!”

He flushed at my remarks, for they cut as much as they challenged, tearing him down even as they lifted him up.

“How does one do this, then?” he demanded, gripping the table in front of him. “This, this warrior’s magic… it is not like receiving prayers and invoking the will of Donner!” he finally blurted out.

“Well, of course it isn’t.” My sniff of disdain was a clear dismissal of that idea. “This is The art is wrapped in skill and muscle, in reflexes and will, in battle and in training! This is the magic of learning, of tapping into the knowledge of the countless ancestors who have gone before you, and letting them know you are worthy of more!” I scanned the crowd. “Who is willing to step off one road for a moment, and take a step forward as a man?”

Hands rose as a chorus of agreements came from absolutely everyone. Even Hammer Donner had to nod and agree.

“The moment you advance along the Warrior’s Road frequently comes in the middle of battle. If not, it comes in the middle of training. There is just that moment of realization, when you realize… something.” My voice was soft and low, and their eyes flickered as they remembered. “Something that worked. Something that would have worked, if you did it correctly. The way your feet were off. Your balance wasn’t right. You weren’t focused. You weren’t paying attention. You were distracted by the wrong thing. Your grip was wrong. Your stance was off. You held your weapon low. Your shield was off-center.

“That moment, when you knew, and you realized, and you made it a part of you, and you took that step down the Warrior’s Road, and were better in that moment than you were before.

“You may not have known what it was, but it happened. That, was the moment you took your Karma, your shout-out to the gods, to your ancestors, to the world, to Creation itself, that you were more than a farmer, more than a dockhand, more than a scribe.

“For spellcasters, that moment is easy, because that is the moment your soul grows, your mind expands, and more magic is yours to command. We can see it and feel it in ourselves, we have that metric.

“The same thing is going on for warriors, Hammer Ogvier. They do not need to Cast spells for it to happen. Indeed, because they do not Cast spells, it is even stronger for them!”

That straightened some of those fighters right up. It was true, too.

“But now, we’re stepping off to the side.” I stepped sideways. “The magic is there. The Karma is there. But we’re not going to use it to walk down the Road. You’ve all fought hard and well and recently. Perhaps you’ve earned enough to take that step down the Warrior’s Road.

“No. Not today. Today, you take a step on the path of Men, and walk the Road you did before.”

“And that Road is letting you know… you can take a point of Soak towards the maximum the Immortals will allow you.

“You can be tougher. Just a little bit! Tiny bit! But tiny bits add up!

“Take that step on your new Road, and take it NOW.”

They all jerked at the , unable to stop it, and the looks on their faces were priceless as they felt it.

Karma, going to pay something inside them.

Stunned, they all gaped at me, even Buck, who had gotten a point of Soak off his Scout/1, a Class he hadn’t even known was possible until that moment he was allowed to take it.

“Do you remember your numbers?” I had no doubt they did. I looked over them all, lifted an eyebrow, and nodded slowly as they looked back, and names and numbers rose up behind me.

Hit Points and Soak, one point higher for every single one of them.

“The first point is always cheap,” I went on, pointing down, and excited fellows getting to their feet all felt my presence weighing in on them, and sat back down. “Now we take your second. None of you had maximum Health. Take that step, spend that Karma, and buy that point of Health and vigor.

“Again!”

Lingering commands made them all twitch again, and they gasped as they felt it one more time. Their heads turned quickly to me as I scanned all of them, inclined my head, and numbers flashed up beneath their names.

One point of Health and Hit Points, each. Grins and cheers broke out all around, even Hammer Ogvier, everyone able to feel SOMETHING had happened.

It was Bjorn who rose to his feet now. “Can we, can we just… spend this Karma to buy skill in a weapon, too?” he asked in some disbelief.

“It is not ,” I informed him loftily. “That amount of Karma is equivalent to . But yes, it is completely possible. It is Warrior’s Magic, the magic of learning, of asking your ancestors for enlightenment and finding it.

“You can do so now, if you think you’ve enough. Pick the weapon you wish to be inspired on, call out to your ancestors, and offer up that Karma.

“Or wait. Because you’ve a great deal of Soak yet to raise, and it only gets pricier and harder to do so.”

The two brothers didn’t hesitate, closing their eyes and tilting their heads back, spreading their hands wide and clearly calling out with their hearts and souls.

They didn’t really see the acknowledgment, their faces twisting as they didn’t feel anything happening, shoulders slumping as they brought down their heads to look at me unhappily.

“On guard!” I flashed up my Staff, the Spear-head jack-knifing out and headed for one throat, then the other.

They both shouted, their axes springing to hand, knocking aside the serpent-quick thrusts to save themselves, before snapping out into perfect guard positions.

I withdrew point and stepped back. “Successful, I see. Your ancestors favor you.”

The two brothers blinked at me, down at the axes held so steadily in their hands, then at one another in thunderstruck realization. The whole crowd cheered with them as they lifted their axes up and howled, feet stomping and fists pounding.

Many of the men had spread around the building to sleep. There were actually enough beds in good shape to fit all of them, and even take baths, even if the floors were dirty as heck.

Sheets and towels carpeted the crappy floors. Tomorrow they’d all clean themselves up, but we’d no longer be here.

I was speaking with Buck, having taken the owner’s room for my own, as I had in the future. “We aren’t humans,” I began calmly as the short fellow clasped his hands and listened very attentively. “I told everyone there are two Roads. One of them is the Road of or . Humans advance easiest along that Road. For Northmen, and are two of the easiest to advance along. The other common ones are and , all of whom you’ve certainly met in your career.”

Buck nodded slowly. “You never quite know what a human is like,” he had to admit.

“Whereas species that are not human tend to be… more focused. We advance along the Road of Race, or Species. Most creatures of the world do. A bear is a bear. Ogres tend to be very much like other ogres. They just are, and if they get more powerful, they become more powerful versions of what they already are.

“So it is with elves and hyn… and dwarves and orcs and goblins alike.” I lifted my finger and pointed around. “But I just related to them all that there is a Human Road they can walk on. They just can’t walk it to the same degree we do, but you will see it as they advance, particularly if they reach Human Three. They will start to converge, and you’ll blink at them and realize those are Humans, and what you called humans before were just children playing at other things.”

Buck grinned. “That sounds fascinating to anticipate, Lady Edge. You and I are on the Road of Elf and Hyn, then?”

“Yes. But, as humans can dip into the Human Road long left behind by their ancestors, so can we touch the Classed Road that for ever what reason doesn’t come easily to us, perhaps because it would cause a level of racial disunity that would tear our peoples apart and render them vulnerable.”

Buck shivered in anticipation. “And that of the hyn is-?”

“Scout. Basically, you’re stealthy little gits and survivors who can find a way to endure almost anywhere,” I informed him without judgment.

He considered that for a quiet breath, looking a little depressed before nodding in acceptance. “I had hoped it had something to do with magic.” He paused a moment before forging on. “The elders in the Shires are sometimes called to serve the Immortals, and can gain potent spellcasting ability…” he told me importantly.

“The libraries of Erendyl noted that some of the elves had encountered hynfolk who had Druidic powers in the Shires. Notably, however, there are no hyn encountered of the Shires who have ever shown the slightest spellcasting abilities.” I kept his startled gaze. “This magical ability is likely limited to the Shires themselves by it being the land of the hyn and theirs alone. Likewise, there are no records of such Druidic elders arising among the hyn in any other land the records cover, although they are by no means complete.

“Given the magic they wield is Divine in nature, such a magical blessing is likely made possible by the direct will and intervention of the Immortals of your people. This is not that. This is you stepping away from the default Road of your people and dipping your toes into another one.

“It makes you newer and different from what you already are, but it does not detract from the essence of a hyn.”

“Tell me, then, what I can expect of this Road of Scouts?” The hyn’s dark eyes gleamed in anticipation.

Oswald Brandybuck was satisfied, indeed, when he left my room to rest in his own with the mage Hanvol, who he got along with remarkably well considering the lack of magic among the hyn.

I had spells to regain, power to restore, and with more people to take care of and guide, more area Buffs and Boosts to memorize, and niche spells to leave go for now.

Also, eight hours of Burning up gemstones in defiance of the shadenelf way of doing things. Improving Gear was a never-ending job, after all.

I entered Meditation as the fighting men moved to rest.

It was, after all, going to be a very busy night, and we were going to get further and further from our own times. What we were going to find in the past certainly wasn’t going to get any kinder and gentler. After all, nothing had come through to the future or survived, which meant we had to kill our way through everything in the past, or there was something in the past which had stopped everyone from coming in this direction.

Any way you looked at it, we had to be prepared for it.

And the gammathauma was about five percent stronger now than it had been in my own time…