After bathing in the closed-off the guardsman's washroom, Astrid needed to take a second to let her eyes adjust to the early afternoon's sunlight outside. The cobbled streets of Stalstadt were bustling with activity. At least, for a small town like Stalstadt, the streets were busy. Astrid had been brought to the capital once before, and Ginnastadt could fit her entire hometown's population into one of its busy streets. Even so, she could see how all the visiting people gave her a large berth as soon as they noticed her.
"Hello, Astrid." Marck the vendor greeted her as she walked past. His sausage rolls were divine, and if she had even a little bit of coin in her pocket, she would have bought three right at that moment. The savvy man knew that, and when she shrugged helplessly, he chuckled and called out, "Maybe tomorrow, for celebration?"
"Maybe!" Astrid called back. The Stalstadt citizens nearby called their well-wishes to her for the Bestowal, which was less than a day away! She smiled just thinking about it. This small town would hold her prisoner no longer! She'd take her place as the finisher in her party, and they'd start raiding the Dungeon. It was all laid out in front of her, and it'd be perfect.
Thinking as much was… strange. This place was her home, and always had been. Right there was Bjorn's Butchery, and over there Thali's Threads. Stalstadt had always been her home, and now… she was less than a day away from becoming Astrid Spellblade. Her plan had always been to be delver instead of a soldier or anything else, and she needed a combat Class for that, but now that it was looking her in the face… she couldn't help but remember that corner there where she'd gotten into her first fight, or that one there, where she'd first protected Ahna from a stray dog.
There was so much history here, and she was about to leave it behind.
Astrid's parents had both done that, Brighid becoming a soldier manning the walls of the Bulwark, fighting on the Barbarian front. That was where she had met Savraba, a human held in slavery by the Barbarians that escaped his captors with an illegally acquired Class. Astrid was deeply proud of both her parents' histories, but she would travel across the continent, getting stronger than either had ever hoped to become, and come back to show the world that humanity wouldn't give in to any of their many aggressive neighbors!
"You don't belong here, you damned firehead!" A particularly fearless kid yelled at her as she passed by one of the market's stalls. His parents' eyes went wide as they tried to silence him as Astrid looked over. The kid was young, maybe eight, and he couldn't have been the reason why his family of five was in town. They had the look of farmers, calloused hands, worn but well cared for clothing, and tanned skin nearly as dark as her own. As two parents gathered their youngest into their arms and tried to decide if they needed to escape her wrath, their other two kids looked at each other before the oldest stepped forward.
"Please forgive my little brother, my… friend?" He obviously didn't know how to address her, and Astrid appraised him in turn. The apologizing farmer's son was tall and strong, about as tall as her mother. His shoulders pulled against the fabric of his shirt, and he doffed his cap as he asked for her forgiveness, revealing thick black hair. Blue eyes and a full mouth completed the handsome face, but Astrid only noticed that as an aside. Behind the boy who was obviously here to get his Class stood his sister, about 14 years old. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears of terror, and Astrid sighed, knowing what was about to happen. His father stepped forward to stand between them but he didn't need to worry.
"I'm Astrid." Astrid said with a nod. "My mother's the guard captain here in town. I'm not a Barbarian, it just so happens that both my parents are tall and I got my mother's dark skin and my father's bright hair. When I get my Class tomorrow, you'll see I'm 100% human."
"Yeah, don't bother Astrid!" a familiar voice came to her rescue, and Astrid felt the tightly restrained anger in her drain away as she laughed to herself. As Ahna rushed out of her family's bakery, she brandished the rolling pin in her hands.
"Step back there, Ahna." Astrid said. "A kid said something stupid. Nothing none of the rest of us have done. Words like those never come from the kids anyways." She stared at the two farmer parents, the man having the good grace to look a little embarrassed by being indirectly called out like that. Even so, hatred towards the people from the Bloodshot Hordes was not uncommon, nor unwarranted. Just… only hate the actual Barbarians, how'd that sound?
"Well, they should know better." Ahna harrumphed before turning and disregarding the people behind her. Astrid nodded to the family with a forced smile on her face as she walked away. She did make sure to call over her shoulder to her fellow Class hopeful, "Hope you get the Class you want!"
Ahna grumbled to herself as they walked away. "Really? That's how they're gonna act in the city? Might as well not come in the first place!"
"Everyone deserves to get their Class, Ahna." Astrid calmed her easily worked up friend. The round-faced girl scowled up at her much taller friend, but Astrid patted Ahna on the head and jogged forward. "I would come by and talk, but I'm getting some last-minute practice in. I hope you'll forgive me for that?"
Ahna shook the flour out of her apron at Astrid and called out, "See you tomorrow morning, then. I won't see a late redhead, will I?"
"I'll drag the sleepy Healer out of bed before that!" Astrid retorted as she jogged towards home. Ahna called something Astrid couldn't quite hear behind her as she ran along home. The sun was passing midday, and Astrid wanted to get as much practice in as she could. Sure, she didn't enjoy the magic practice, but it was necessary. Mother couldn't teach her magic beyond the forms of basic sigils (which were worthless without mana), so instead, Astrid learned the movements and inscriptions necessary for a talisman.
But she couldn't really put that much effort into the talismans, right? She didn't want to be a Talismartist, so she'd make sure she didn't put too much effort into them and confuse the Great One. Mortals could be difficult for them, so she would make sure she didn't give any mixed messages!
Astrid walked through the gate into the front garden as her justifications for why she shouldn't apply herself wholeheartedly into her practicing today faded away. There were quiet sounds of something inside the house, and she didn't need to think about it to know that her father was experimenting on something. When she poked her head into the home and called out, "Papa, I'm home!" she got the answer she expected.
"In the shop!"
Astrid turned the corner and saw her father hunched over his workbench, red hair and white skin so bright that, in the light coming through the window overhead, it kept Astrid from seeing what exactly he was doing. When she stepped closer, though, and he stood up, she saw it was a worn leather patch, maybe 10 by 20 centimeters. There was an amazingly intricate design in the center of the talisman, something that he'd obviously spent days, weeks, and maybe even months working on.
"Welcome home, my light." Savraba smiled up at his daughter. He was taller than her mother, but not quite two meters tall, and Astrid had grown taller than him when she was 15. The heavily scarred Talismartist enjoyed pretending to need to be protected by his daughter, but even though his Class didn't give him basically any physical attributes, he was fit and more than strong enough to overpower or defend her. Just another remnant of the influence of the Great One.
"How was your training?" Savraba asked as he turned away from his little project.
"Good." Astrid smiled, neglecting to share the details. Her papa would listen attentively and ask all the right questions, but he didn't care about training, not like this. His mind twisted over the details of talismans whenever he had the opportunity, and that was where his strength lay. He knew the way that the magic would flow through the ink, and that was what he loved. Not the glory of physical combat.
"That's all you have to say?"
"For now. I wanted to get in some last minute practice to ensure the Great One saw fit to deliver to me the Spellblade Class."
"If that is what you want." Savraba bowed his head before jumping right into practice. "Would you show me how to activate these five talismans I have here?"
"Once someone has access to their Class, they have mana. To activate any magical item, any Classed person simply needs to push their mana through the correct channels to activate the item."
"That's not what I asked." he chuckled. "Show me how and where your mana would need to flow to activate these talismans."
Astrid sighed and picked up the first, examining the tracks of the imprinting on the sheet of paper. After half a minute's evaluation, she pointed at a particular line, "There's the beginning, you'd follow the line for the next… seven centimeters, and that would activate it."
"How much MP would it take." It was a statement, not a question and Astrid let out a long, hissing breath.
"I… maybe… I don't know."
"Hmm." her father nodded knowingly before explaining, "You won't expressly need to know that, given that I doubt you'll become a Talismartist, or that your Class will include such a delicate type of spellcraft, but knowing the specifics and how to read it in a talisman will be particularly beneficial to you."
"I know, Papa. The lines of Talismartistry are the same as those that dictate every magical effect in the world. The Great One is one of logic and order."
"Ok." Savraba chuckled. "I won't beleaguer the point. The way you can tell on this example would be this series of sigils here."
As her father explained the way the magic worked through the ink and paper, Astrid fought to keep her attention on the paper. She tried to understand the intricate details of everything he'd done, but she quickly found her mind wandering to other, more interesting topics. When the time and promptings came, she engaged with the lesson her father was giving her, but Astrid knew her heart wasn't in it. She was too busy thinking about tomorrow, about how magic would actually feel when she used it to make a staff into a deadly cutting weapon. Or, how she might have Spellmanship at Bronze offered?
No, that wouldn't happen. Nobody who hadn't spent years sitting behind a desk studying the intricacies of creating and maintaining the massive rituals in the Capital had been offered a Bronze tiered spellcasting Skill. Her Blademanship, though, would be Bronze, for sure. Probably Shield Wielding too, though she wouldn't take that, since it'd be offered in the same slot as Spellmanship. And what active Skills would be offered? There were only three, and she could only take one, so…
"—Astrid." A firm poke accompanied Savraba's words, and Astrid pulled herself from her daydreams of delving and Skills. She blushed, though it was hardly noticeable on her face.
"I'm sorry, Papa."
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so technical with you when I know that your focus is completely on the Bestowal. It's nearly time to prepare dinner. Do you want to help me, stay in here practicing, or go out and see your friends before we eat?"
"I'll stay here." Astrid answered. Her initial reaction had been to go out, but the closeness of her time living here coming to an end pulled her from that idea. She'd have every day to spend with her friends, as they went out delving. Her parents, though, were going to be left behind. For now, she could spend the time with her father, enjoying the quiet companionship as they made a familiar dish of potatoes, turkey, and assorted greens from the garden.
—
"Brighid is here." Savraba said as he and Astrid cleaned the dishes they had used to eat. The sun had only recently set fully, and she couldn't believe that her mother was back so early. She never was home before full dark, especially not in the spring like now!
"Still can't get the drop on this Iron, can I?" Brighid sighed as she walked into the house. The two always competed against each other like this, seeing which could surprise the other, or which could predict something better than the first. They never fought over who won, but there were moments of genuine celebration when one of the two could "defeat" their lover.
"Not yet." Savraba left the kitchen and walked towards his wife, kissing briefly in the entryway. Brighid walked straight to the table, where a plate was prepared and mostly-warm food waited for her. "I'm sorry, if we'd known you would be so early, we would have delayed preparing."
"It doesn't matter." Brighid waved him off. "I was trying to get home even earlier, but I had an altercation that needed my attention. Some merchant's caravan coming in and thinking they could set up shop in the middle of the market without prior notification or any permits. They wouldn't listen to anyone… No, it doesn't matter. You two don't care. Just know, it was frustrating, and I'm glad to be home. Now, I'm told that your bet on Astrid is for five Bronze Skills?"
"That is my bet." Savraba nodded.
"I'll say four."
"Then you have lower expectations and trust than I do!"
"That's what I said!" Astrid jumped in with a laugh. "She—"
"No, you don't talk now." Brighid cut her daughter off. "For now, your father and I argue and you stay to the side."
Astrid smiled at the easy companionship her parents shared, and enjoyed the night. When she wanted to go out to just excitedly plan about the future with Ahna, Liesl, Borus, and Jan, though, she kept herself inside. There was a small battle inside of herself that she only barely won to go to bed while it was still early. She'd exercised enough through the morning that she hoped sleep would come easily, but, of course, it didn't. Hours later, when the moon was high overhead, sleep finally found her.
Even with much of the night lost from her usual sleep schedule, Astrid woke early. The sun had risen less than an hour before, and she was ready. Well, not yet. She grabbed her comb and drew it through her hair a couple times. It was still the same thick, wavy mess it always was, but she quickly braided it and left the thick knot hanging at the back of her neck. Then, after relieving herself and splashing some water on her face, she was truly ready. When she left her room, both her parents were waiting for her, fresh bread baked by Brighid sitting on the table.
"It's time!" Brighid said, walking forward and patting Astrid's cheek. "We can leave now and wait in line for an hour, or sit on our comfortable chairs for most of that time instead."
The look that passed between them had Savraba laughing. He raised his hands in apology as he said, "I can't help but remember the time I got my Class. Under the darkness of night, after cutting my bonds free. A different situation, and I am glad this is your experience. Now, I think it would be best that you eat something before we leave. If you can manage it."
She did, if only barely.