Chương 11: Chapter 10

Praying as a concept had always been a bit of a hard one for Selessa. The gods of the Aeldari had died with the birth of Sai'lantresh, with minor exceptions, and all they'd really known of gods afterwards was the laughter and thirst of the dark abominations in the Warp. You certainly didn't pray to them. Praying to their old gods didn't do anything, though it was somewhat culturally ingrained in the Aeldari people, so it wasn't entirely forgotten. On the other hand, the Mon'keigh prayed to their Emperor.

They were quite fanatical about it too. You were either a fervent believer, or their inquisitors did horrible things to you, before your eventual, painful death. Dissent was not tolerated. The bitch of it was, it worked to a large extent. She didn't believe the Emperor was really a god, not in the traditional sense, but faith itself came with benefits and faith and the Warp interacted in complicated ways.

You could make a good argument that the Mon'keigh wouldn't have survived as long as they had without their faith and prayers. That brought her to her current dilemma. The Light wasn't a deity. Neither were the Naaru. Yet, your connection with the Light grew stronger if you had faith and performed actions associated with said faith, such as praying and singing songs that could be considered hymns.

There was a reason she had started a religion of sorts when she'd first gained contact with the Light instead of just spreading a philosophy. Well, she hadn't originally planned to start a religion, but that's the way it had worked out. She had aimed for a movement, and religion was the easiest outlet. So, now she prayed. Sort of. She aimed her prayers to the Light, but she used the gods of her old life as a sort of personification for the prayers. And the Light apparently approved. Ot at least didn't care.

Her prayer finished, she opened her eyes and got up from the kneeling position she'd been in. She didn't even need to turn to hear the prayers and songs of the other servants of Light. She glanced at the high arched ceiling of the church they were inside of, a much larger building than most in Silvermoon. A gift from one of the wealthy noble houses, who'd been very grateful after she'd healed their youngest child, who had managed to contract a magical disease.

People in general could become very thankful when you saved their lives, or the lives of their loved ones, and that donation was far from the only one. It turns out the Quel'dorei were a very prideful people and didn't like to feel like they owed you for saving their lives. She turned around and gazed over the well-illuminated interior of the building. Thousands and thousands of candles were placed everywhere, not only in chandeliers and candelabras, but also on floors, stairs, or any other flat surface.

It would be kind of odd if the church of Light was not well illuminated, and the priests and the worshippers really loved their candles. Just lighting one was considered a show of faith and an act of service.

"Saint." One of the priestesses made a deep bow, her voice only barely carrying over the chanting and singing.

"The king would like to meet with you." The Light apparently had several beneficial effects, some of which had to do with appearance, because it seemed all the priestesses became more beautiful the more skilled in the Light they became. She'd sensed the priestess waiting for almost the entire time she'd been praying, which told her a lot about what the woman considered more important.

"I shall have to attend to him then. Did he give any indication of what it was about?"

"The Amani." The priestess said simply.

"It is time then." She nodded in understanding. It had been a long time coming.

"Spread the word. Have our people prepare. We'll need supplies and healers on the frontline. Have the paladins complete their preparations as well. We march for war." The priestess smiled beautifully.

"The paladins have been ready for a long time. They ride as soon as you give the order." She laid a hand on the woman's shoulder as thanks, and a sort of blessing, before walking towards the rather grandiose double doors seemingly made of gold. As soon as she stepped out, a pair of Quel'dorei dressed in heavy armor stepped forward, one handing her the reins of her Hawkstrider. Onyx butted her hand with his head in greeting and a show of affection.

The hawkstrider had grown smarter and closer to her as their bond grew. The bird was also much larger than most hawkstriders nowadays. The two armored warriors mounted their own hawkstriders and wordlessly set off behind her, guarding her and keeping her safe at least in theory. They knew she could protect herself, as she'd helped train them, but just their presence kept some undesirable elements away. They also didn't want to leave her alone after House Luminaris tried to assassinate her four years ago.

It hadn't gone well, of course, but her guards felt bad that it had even happened. Incidentally, it seemed that the church and the believers had adopted the traditional colors of the Quel'dorei, red and gold, only reversed. Instead of red being the main color with gold highlights, gold was the predominant color, with red highlights. The metal of their rather heavy armor was gold in color, though it was made of thorium and enchanted to look gold in color.

She'd been slightly disappointed when she found out the color was the result of a simple cantrip. They had red tabards with a golden phoenix rising from inside the sun as the insignia. Very traditional iconography for the Quel'dorei, though with a definite flavor. The church was not that distant from the palace, residing in the same part of the city, and the guards at the palace didn't make a move to stop their entry.

Even if she still wore a veil, the guards all recognized her eyes, as well as the guards behind her. They went as far as to guide her towards the doors to the meeting chamber, where familiar faces were gathered. Anasterian was looking at a report with a grim expression, while Queen Elessine was summarizing the salient points to save time, leaning close to his ear. Nallorath was calmly leaning back in his chair behind Sapphiron, who was here in his role as the Grand Magister.

Talanas and Thelion were arguing some points of logistics, while Admiral Goldleaf was leaning over the large map spread on the table, with several figures depicting military forces spread across the map.

"Ah, you're here. Good." Anasterian glanced at the two guards who had followed her in and raised an eyebrow.

"You can wait outside." She said to the two faithful warriors with a small smile, hidden by the veil. The two were obviously not happy about it, but they didn't argue either.

"Your paladins are becoming more dedicated every day," Anasterian commented good-naturedly.

"I suppose that's no wonder, considering the whole religion is becoming more and more accepted and widely adopted."

"It's a bit of a cumulating effect. The Light rewards a certain mindset, and the stronger they become in the Light, the more they prioritize service." She explained. It also helped that she trained them. They were still very much a work in progress, as they'd only had a few years to figure things out while mostly fumbling around in the dark, trying to find the best ways to do things.

"We'll be glad to have them soon enough," Talanas commented.

"Indeed," Anasterian confirmed.

"Several things have happened in quick succession. The first thing is that the elites of the Amani have left Zul'Aman for a large gathering in the center of the Amani Empire." The queen picked up from there, standing by Anasterian.

"It is likely meant as a show of force. My spies tell me that Zandalari have sent a delegation to finally select a leader for the Amani Empire, and the Amani don't want the other tribes to get the nomination that, in their mind, rightfully belongs to them. As soon as they select a new warlord, they're likely going to turn the united forces of the trolls against us."

"This, of course, provides us with an opportunity, like we've been waiting for. Now would be the perfect time to make our move." Talanas suggested.

"Agreed." Anasterian nodded in approval.

"Muster our forces, and prepare to move out immediately."

"There's something else." Queen Elessine continued.

"The human tribes have also finally finished their unification. The one called Thoradin has managed to unify all the human tribes under the threat of the resurgent trolls and is preparing for war as we speak."

"We'll need to send emissaries to them as we talked about. It would be much easier to fight this war with their help, and while I'm sure they'll occupy the western troll tribes even without an alliance, a coordinated effort between our races would make things much easier. Despite all our preparations, the trolls still outnumber us greatly, even if we have managed to reduce the disparity." Anasterian decided.

"Talanas, I want you and the Grand Magister to lead the force striking towards the Thalassian Pass. We need to close that door decisively as soon as possible."

"It shall be done, my king." Talanas bowed, and Sapphiron nodded in agreement as well.

"In the meantime, I'll nominally take the lead of the forces pressing towards Zul'Aman, but we both know you'll likely be doing most of the planning and leading Selessa." Anasterian looked towards her.

"The good news is that we moved the siege weapons pre-emptively to Tranquilien and the neighboring towns. Father, could you teleport me and some of my forces to Tranquilien so we can start sweeping through the forests for Amani scouts and warparties while the King leads the main forces south?" She requested. They'd quietly moved much of their forces towards the south already, but since this war had been in the making for over a decade, people couldn't be stationed in place and waiting for years.

Most people still had lives to lead and jobs other than soldiering in the meantime. Jobs that contributed to the economy and the war effort.

"Why don't you do it?" Sapphiron asked with a teasing smirk. She'd learned to teleport when she'd reached Arcane 5, though only in a limited fashion.

"Because I've never been to Tranquilien, and I can only teleport myself for now. No teleporting others, I'm afraid." She retorted. Sapphiron had been teasing her about her teleportation skills, or lack thereof, for months now.

"Are you sure your paladins are up to the task? I don't mean to impugn their skill or power, but they only have a few years of training under their belts." Thelion questioned rather fairly. Some of them had even less, as they got new recruits all the time.

"No, but we need to use what we have. I'd like nothing more than another decade or two to perfect our techniques and up their training, but we are where we are. They certainly beat any rank-and-file soldiers, and at least their loyalty can't be questioned. Besides, they can improve the strength of the people around them. A group with a paladin is a fair bit stronger than one without." She argued.

"Fair enough." Thelion nodded. The two of them had continued her Spellbreaker training through the years, even if she'd been busy with other things, and he trusted her judgement.

"I'll give you a few hours to prepare before I teleport your group," Sapphiron promised, the moment for teasing having passed.

"I'll be needed at the front as well. We'll need to grab most of the southern garrisons for our operations though, so that won't leave you with much to harry the Amani with." He sounded apologetic.

"That's fine. I don't need a lot to start with. What I need are mounted units and Farstriders. You can take the rest for all I care. I'll also have the church start moving some of our more skilled healers towards the south. They'll likely tag along with Anasterian as he marches south." Those healers were already prepared. Had been for a while now, though each day that passed allowed more to join their ranks.

In fact, all of Quel'thalas had been preparing for the war, so this would be the quickest mobilization ever performed. So far. Selessa had some ideas for the future.

"I'll handle the negotiations with the humans then." Queen Elessine claimed the role of a diplomat.

"We've already discussed the terms we're willing to offer for such an alliance."

"I'm not happy about teaching the Arcane to such barbarians, but I do understand that it is what they will most likely ask for," Sapphiron commented. In his role as a member of the Blue Dragonflight, propagation of the Arcane wasn't exactly a great thing, but he also understood it was inevitable. The humans would make their own attempts either with their help or without. Better to guide them to avoid the most obvious pitfalls and to set some of the ground rules.

"I'll leave a squadron at Lake Elrendar to ferry people and supplies across, but I'll take the rest of our ships to get rid of Zul'Aman's naval asset, and to pressure them from the sea." Admiral Goldleaf knew his role. He was a fervent supporter of the Light and knew this plan was cooked up by Selessa, so he had faith.

"Alright." Anasterian clapped his hands loudly together.

"We all know what to do, so let's get to it. No plans survive contact with the enemy, so we'll need to adjust as we go. Keep in touch. May the fortunes of war favor you all." They all left the chambers, scattering in their own directions. As Selessa exited the palace, with the two guards in tow again, she was ambushed at the doors by a familiar face.

"Sister!" A young boyish voice called out to her happily.

"Raiel!" She responded with a wide smile as the boy rushed towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She ruffled his reddish-blonde hair playfully.

"Did you escape from Magister Levalin's clutches again?" A pair of the typical Sunstrider cerulean eyes looked up at her with worry.

"No!" He hesitated for a moment before breaking his facade.

"Yes." He admitted right away, knowing she valued honesty, which also brought a small chuckle from the two guards following her. The young five-year-old made a face.

"It's not fair. The lessons are too hard! Mother expects me to keep up with how quickly you learned things, and I just can't. Sister, I can't! I'm not as smart as you!" Yeah, that was something she'd been concerned about. She was not a fair comparison when it came to learning. Not only was she a reincarnation, but also a psyker. Little Raiel was already doing well for his age. She knelt in front of him and pulled him in for a warm hug.

"I know, little one. I've tried telling mother. We all learn in different ways and at different speeds. Besides, you might not be as quick on the uptake right at this moment, but you might become a great hero and a warrior later on. Some of us mature a little more slowly, but that doesn't mean you can't achieve greatness. Besides, you're doing well, even if mother is not happy. Didn't Magister Levalin tell you he was proud of you?" He sniffled a bit.

"He did. He doesn't compare me to you like mother does. And I don't need to be a hero. I just want to become a healer like you!" Luckily, he cheered up quickly.

"I'm sure you'll be able to do that as long as you keep at it." She reassured him. He was a good kid, just dealing with a ratty mother and a father who hadn't really cared as soon as it became clear he exhibited no draconic features or qualities. Or indeed any of Sapphiron's looks either. He might have a draconic view on infidelity, but he also had a draconic view on parenting other people's kids.

"Where are you going?" Raiel asked with the curiosity of a child.

"To war. We're finally taking the fight to the Amani." She didn't sugarcoat things. She might not go into any gruesome details with such a young kid, but she didn't hide the truth either.

"And I'll be leading the armies."

"Do you have to? With you so far, who's going to spend time with me?" He asked. He spent a lot of his free time in the church with Selessa and the priests, who were more than happy to take care of the young boy. Raiel liked to run around the church, listening to the songs and lighting candles. He was almost the mascot of the church.

"You can still come to the church. Not all of the priests are going. Some of them are going to have to stay to heal the people of Silvermoon, and to keep things running." She reassured him. She knew this would be hard for the boy.

"It's not the same." He complained.

"I know. Hopefully, it won't be for too long, and I'll be able to return for short periods at least. You'll have to be brave." She knew it wasn't much, but it was the only thing she had to offer. She could also see his teacher already waiting nearby, having expected where he would run off to.

"Come, Raiel. It's time to finish your lesson." Her brother gave her a last squeeze.

"I'll be brave, as long as you'll come back." He promised and ran off with his teacher in tow, suddenly bashful.

"Cute kid." One of the paladins with her commented. Ophelia Dawnspark was one of the first paladins to join, and one of the strongest.

"Mistress, there is something before we leave." The other paladin, Vyas Duskforge, added.

"There's a new sister who would like to join our order. It would be better if we could perform the baptism before we leave. We won't likely have time after, and she's showing great promise. She could be a real asset, and the war could use someone like her."

"Let's get it done then." She agreed with a nod. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. They quickly rode back to the church, where she gave the instructions they'd all been expecting for a while. While the rest of the people got busy, she led nine other people to a chamber to the side of the church.

The chamber was bare of anything else besides large windows that allowed the light of the day to flood the room, while she and eight of the paladins took positions around the last one, a young woman who'd shown both mental fortitude and strength of arm, enough to impress all of them and to be accepted among their ranks.

"Seraphina Dayfeast. You stand before us, a supplicant to become a servant of the Light. The role of a paladin is not to gather glory but to heal those in need, to protect those who can't protect themselves, and to strike down the enemies of our people. We are the raised shield and the mailed fist of Light, ready to strike down those that would defile the land and our people. It is our job, more than anyone else, to hunt down the servants of the Shadow and the slaves of the Fel.

Are you ready to take up this burden?" They'd already done this enough times to have a proper ritual down, even if it still required some work.

"I am." The young elven woman spoke with a voice filled with conviction and a tinge of zeal. She was clad in a simple tunic in the colors of the church.

"Are you ready to dedicate your life to the service of the Light? To forsake your own gain in the service of others, and, if necessary, to lay down your life to protect our nation?" She continued to ask the questions they'd felt necessary for the ritual.

"For you and the Light, without hesitation." Her response fulfilled the needs of the ritual, but it wasn't exactly standard. She wasn't the only one to deviate though. In fact, it was frighteningly common. The zeal in her eyes was now clear, and the reason obvious.

'Ah. She's one of those.' Selessa thought. She was still one of only a handful who could heal severe injuries like lost limbs, severe burns, and diseases that others could not. Like so many others, Seraphina was likely one of those she'd healed in the past, and in doing so earned the young woman's loyalty.

"Then let your body be cleansed and baptized by the Light." She declared, and all nine of them pointed their palms towards the young supplicant and channeled the power of the Light through her, cleansing her body of all impurities and reinforcing it against certain influences. The ritual was based on one of her Perks, aptly named as Baptism of Light I, which granted her practical immunity to diseases, poisons, and resistance to curses, while also making her sturdier and faster to recover.

As she'd gotten the Perk once her Light skill had reached 4 th level, she'd also learned how to perform the ritual on others. Ironically, she knew this was just the first step, as she could already see Baptism of Light II waiting for her at 6 th level, and Baptism of Light III at 8 th level. They'd have to do this again for everyone. The process itself wasn't difficult, though she suspected the later levels would be more involved. All official paladins were baptized like this.

The process wasn't pleasant, though there hadn't been any deaths so far.

"Rise. Rise as a member of the Order of Light." She declared, as the others clapped with their armored hands. She stepped to the young woman and helped her back into a standing position, as she had collapsed during the process.

"I imagine you'll need a few days to recover. The process isn't gentle."

"No!" She exclaimed.

"I know we are traveling to the front, Saint. Allow me to come along. I will not hinder you or slow you down. Just let me show you that your trust was not misplaced in me!" She asked fervently. She glanced at the other paladins, who seemed to be nodding in approval. Maybe she had pushed them a bit too far in their desire to serve. Nevertheless, she knew denying her would only hurt in the long run.

"So shall it be then. Gather all you need. We will leave in a few hours."

The sudden appearance of the Grand Magister, the Ranger-General, the Saint, and thirty people in heavy golden armor drew a bit of attention. They were soon followed by dozens of other teleportation spells as the magisters moved people and materials to the gathering point of Tranquilien in preparation for the offensive. Tranquilien itself was the largest city of outer Quel'thalas, and it was the cornerstone of the Quel'dorei defenses in the region.

The city was densely populated and surrounded by tall and sturdy protective walls. Yet despite both of those factors, the city had a lot of space inside the walls, mainly in preparation for large numbers of troops and material coming in, just like they'd just done. The architecture was also relatively rare for the elves in that it was very utilitarian and built to withstand damage instead of purely for aesthetics. The city had been recently remodeled with the war in mind.

Their arrival hadn't been entirely unexpected, so in less than twenty minutes, the leaders of Tranquilien and the leaders of forces stationed in the surrounding areas gathered at the town hall.

"Esteemed guests. I'm the ruler of the city, Magister Evergreen. I welcome you all to Tranquilien. I also represent the interests of the region's magisters. With me, I have the leader of the local Farstriders and rangers, the leader of the local militia, the chief engineer, and the leader of the unit of knights sent here in preparations." He gestured towards the gathered people. The mayor looked like your typical magister, wearing fancy clothes and a dainty appearance.

The Farstrider was more rugged, wearing leather armor and the magical cloak of the rangers. The chief engineer had arrived in his work clothes, which were covered in splotches of grease and oil, and he wore a magical monocle of some sort. The leader of the knights was the most heavily armored, wearing full scale mail, and she was also the only female of those introduced. She was also the only one to move as she came to stand at attention in front of Selessa.

"Ma'am! We've conducted an initial assessment of the area and are prepared to act on your orders. All three thousand of us are fully equipped and supplied, as you ordered." Her prompt report drew surprised stares from the other local leaders, mostly nobility and magisters. Talanas glanced at Selessa in amusement.

"Why am I not surprised you've already acted? No wonder you were fine with the local cavalry forces." She laughed.

"I might not have known when exactly the war was starting, but the signs have been there for a while now. I was actually expecting to have a month or two for the second unit to finish preparing and arrive as well."

"Ah! Knight-Commander Starsunder did mention she had been sent here as a precaution by the church!" The mayor suddenly exclaimed in realization.

"We were just happy to have the reinforcements." Talanas took charge of the situation.

"As you may have inferred from our arrival, the time for war has come. King Anasterian is gathering and leading an army south from Silvermoon, while our ships at Lake Elrendar will be ferrying our militia forces from that area closer to Zul'Aman. We're here to make the first strategic moves.

I will take the bulk of the local forces and the magisters under the Grand Magister south to occupy and fortify the Thalassian pass to cut off any reinforcements, while Princess Selessa here will start sweeping the forest between here and Zul'Aman with the knights and Farstriders. It would be easier if we split up accordingly, so we can plan." Knight-Commander Starsunder and the leader of the Farstriders followed Selessa to another room, where they were quickly seated.

"Could you introduce yourself?" Selessa asked the Farstrider-Commander.

"Of course, Saint. I'm Commander Silverfan." The man answered, and the fact that he addressed her as Saint was rather telling.

"I'm in charge of the Farstriders in outer Quel'thalas, and especially in the surroundings of Tranquilien."

"Alright. What I'm going to say next will not spread outside this room, even if everyone will soon know anyway. King Anasterian's army will be aimed squarely at Zul'Aman. We'll be wiping that city off the map." Selessa revealed. Many may have suspected, but very few knew.

"It's about time we lance that boil on beautiful Eversong." The knight-commander said with an eager smile, and Commander Silverfan nodded in agreement, sudden fervor in his eyes.

"Our job is to prepare the way for him. It will take weeks for the army to gather and arrive, and in that time, we will bleed the Amani dry. We will operate kill parties in the forest, burning every village and outpost, and killing all their patrols and scouts. However, we need to be smart about it, or we will be the ones bleeding instead. This will be a death by a thousand cuts, not one decisive blow. I need you to make this your mantra for the next weeks: strike and fade.

We will be like death delivering ghosts, shadows in the forest who reap a handful of lives before slipping back into the forest. I don't want to see any casualties on our side. Strike fast and leave. The only time you'll let them chase you will be when you lead them into traps and ambushes. In fact, in the first two weeks, we will be ambushing them so often that they'll learn not to chase. We will not be taking a single fair fight. Fair fights are the luxury of the idiotic and those with superior numbers.

We shall endeavor not to be idiots, and we don't have the luxury of numbers." She continued.

"To facilitate things, we'll be dividing the cavalry into thirty groups of a hundred knights, each accompanied by one of my paladins. Now take note, the paladins are not there to lead, but to support and heal. Maybe to bring a bit of extra oomph when necessary." She looked towards Commander Silverfan.

"I'd like to have provided the same courtesy to your men, but I could bring only so many with me, and stealth will be your main advantage. The paladins aren't exactly stealthy." The man laughed at that.

"The golden armor isn't exactly subtle, true." The armors were supposed to be a symbol after all, and symbols needed to be easy to see and recognize.

"We will have the way clear before the king arrives." Knight-Commander Starsunder promised eagerly.

"Good. We'll have to make especially certain the shores of the lake will be cleared, because ships will be bringing our reinforcements and supplies. Now let's get to specifics…" They set to planning the details of operation and how to deal with various situations, something that had to be done thoroughly with so many units functioning autonomously.

In her previous life as an Aeldari, she'd gotten used to the fact that their military all knew how to react to different situations, and how to work on an autonomous unit level to maximum gain for the whole. The Quel'dorei didn't possess that capacity and training. Unlike the Aeldari, they hadn't been in constant war for thousands of years. Some things you could only learn by doing, and the Quel'dorei lacked the institutional knowledge that came from such experience.

They also didn't have veterans who could quickly teach young recruits and volunteers. So, they needed to set down the rules of engagement now that the elves had to learn and begin to employ. The process took hours, and they decided against any of the groups setting off that night, unlike Talanas and Sapphiron, who had marched out during the day.

Waking up practically paralyzed was not a comforting experience. Luckily, she didn't have to wonder about the reason for very long. [Happy eighteenth birthday! Apologies for disabling the use of your body, but there are a few things you should be made aware of before you start moving around.] [Congratulations on unlocking the System!] [As you might expect, you've undergone and are undergoing significant physical changes due to certain attributes, especially since we delayed the effects of one in particular. As unlocking the System is a rather arduous and lengthy process by itself, it's also taking longer than the standard eight hours to apply the changes to your body. It was decided that we could use the last bit of that time to give you some information and explain a few things.]'I'm listening, though could you remove the complete paralysis? The fact that I can't even feel my body is… distressing. The last time I had something like this happen, daemons were involved.' She mentally requested.

[Would if I could, but like I mentioned, the physical changes are still underway. Normally, these changes are small and gradual, thus not requiring such drastic measures, but you're quite literally growing up in a single night. Some of these changes would cause rather significant pain, and while I'm sure you think you could manage it, we would prefer not to risk it. Especially since moving, or in this case writhing, around could be detrimental to the process.]'Oh.'

She hadn't quite realized the implications, though it made sense now that it was pointed out. [Right. Let's start with the fun stuff, and I'll explain things at each step. You will be able to ask questions as they come up, but save the big topics towards the end, please, as some of those will get answered in the course of this.] [Your Body attribute has increased from 2 to 5! Body Perk point gained.] [Your Athletics skill has increased from 2 to 5! Athletics Perk point gained.] [Your Heavy Weapons skill has increased from 2 to 4! Heavy Weapons Perk point gained.] [Your Durability skill has increased from 2 to 3!] [You did a fair job in training yourself physically. You were told that the training would be beneficial even if the attribute was capped. We thought it fair that you go from the peak of fitness as an adolescent to a slightly above average adult. You kept up your Athletics training and did decently with Heavy Weapons, considering you didn't really benefit from the training, but you did slack off in Durability due to personal biases and lack of time. Thus, the spread is what it is.]'Question? What is considered average for an adult?' She mentally called out. [Great question! The average is somewhere between values 3 and 4 for a complete civilian. Anything above implies concentrated effort to improve or a job that is physically demanding.] [Your Reflexes attribute has increased from 2 to 4! Reflexes Perk point gained.] [Your Light Weapons skill has increased from 2 to 3!] [Your Nervous System skill has increased from 2 to 3!] [Your Subtlety skill has increased from 2 to 3!] [In contrast, you did not put much effort into training your Reflexes attribute, though you did a fair bit of normal activities that qualified somewhat. No concentrated effort though, hence average score. You did train with the bow, but you still suck, although less, and you almost entirely ignored your skills with one-handed weapons. Nervous System improved almost entirely due to your vigilance, as wasted as it was most of the time. Your training with the rangers gained the improvement to Subtlety.]'Fair. Harsh, but fair.' [Now for the big one, and the source of the current difficulty.] [Your Charisma attribute has increased from 1 to 17! 8 Charisma Perk points gained.] [Your Politics skill has increased from 1 to 16! 8 Politics Perk points gained.] [Your Social skill has increased from 1 to 5! 2 Social Perk points gained.] [You've unlocked the Pleasure skill!] [It might come as a complete shock and surprise, but basically guiding the direction of a very important kingdom, changing its politics and direction almost completely, as well as starting what's becoming a major religion, is just the type of thing required to max out an attribute. Who would've thought? And you doing it without any of the benefits from Charisma, and as a child, have been taken into consideration. We did mention that we'd be making improving the attribute easier, and that was before you started a religion. The result is as you see, and as you might expect, the resulting changes to your body are the major reason for the lengthy process of readjustment. A confession is due. We might've underestimated you a smidge when you were granted that accelerated leveling.]'I'm going to go ahead and guess that 17 is a lot.' Somehow, she managed to make her thoughts sound sarcastic. [You might want to look into someone called Queen Azshara. Attributes scale rather linearly before reaching 10, but the scaling gets rather ridiculous rather quickly after that point. For comparison, if this was the Magic attribute, you'd now be considered a big deal on the cosmic scale. The sort of being that can conquer planets almost by yourself. Charisma is much more subtle, which is why we allowed this to happen, and because you genuinely qualified for the improvements, but you get the idea.] [Incidentally, all your achievements that pushed the attribute to such a degree were political, hence the skill gaining so many ranks, but your social achievements are less stellar. You spent no time with others of your age, and the only reason we gave you above average is that the few people you are friendly with happen to be very important. You also had so little leisure time that you didn't even manage to unlock the Pleasure skill. Now, granted, most of the things that usually improve this skill are activities better enjoyed with an adult body, but you could've at least played some music or, I don't know, gotten a hobby that didn't double as training.]'I'm not sure if I should be worried that the System is telling me I have an issue with pleasure…'

She was loath to do anything that could be considered associated with Sai'lantresh, which excluded most pleasure-seeking activities.

'How come I didn't get a rush of information? The previous two attributes were more performance-based, though I would've expected at least something from them as well. [Because if we dumped all that information into your head at once, your brain would be fried despite being a psyker. It's being slowly assimilated this time. Moving on. The other attributes remain unchanged, though their leveling has become a little easier now that you're no longer a child. You at least managed to unlock all six attributes. Incidentally, there might still be skills for you to unlock that are not considered to be part of the base skills for every attribute.] [You've gained 8000 EXP!] [You've leveled up from lvl 1 to lvl 4! You've gained 3 base points. You currently have 2000/4000 EXP!]'Level up? EXP? Base points?' She raised the obvious points. [Leveling up is a way for you to gain power without solely relying on training. EXP is something you gain from killing enemies. Base points are a rather versatile way to improve yourself as they can be used to improve both your skills and attributes, among other things, like Perks.]'Among other things?' She asked, noticing the wording right away. [Among other things, yes. We'll leave some secrets for you to discover. You gain one base point for every level. Every fifth level, you'll gain one advanced point, and every tenth level, you'll gain one mastery point. Improving a skill one level between levels 1 to 5 will require a single base point. From 6 to 10 requires two base points. From 11 to 19 requires advanced points, and 20 and any potential levels beyond require mastery points. All costs are doubled for attributes. You can still improve via training, but it gets increasingly harder as the level of the attribute or skill grows. We'll go more into that once you reach level 10 in any attribute aside from Charisma. Speaking of, your Charisma and Politics were anomalies. Do not look into them as examples.] She thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

'I'm guessing these points are a way of improving the racial limits of attributes. You mentioned those in the past.' [I cannot confirm or deny, but I will point out that should such a possibility exist, it would not be cheap in points.]'I think I see where this is going.

The points offer a chance for immediate improvement, but they're going to become increasingly difficult to get, not to mention the fact that they require me to kill living things, so using them sparingly, and saving some of them for later on seems like a good idea.' She speculated. [I cannot confirm the veracity of that supposition. In all honesty, being too liberal and too sparing with the points can both be detrimental. They were originally conceived as a way to train skills that you had difficulty training otherwise, due to circumstances. That is not the only way to use them, however. Notably, if you improve a skill or an attribute, the change will only take effect after a proper sleep. They cannot be used to power up in the middle of a fight. I would also advise against taking multiple levels in a single skill or attribute at once.]'I think this all brings up a question. Why me and why the System?'

That had been bothering her for a while now, and the System seemed talkative enough to answer. [Two reasons. We felt it rather fair that you be given a second chance, given what you sacrificed yourself for. It fits with what we need. Which brings me to the second reason. This world is not exactly warm and cuddly currently, but it will be a whole lot more dangerous in the future. This place needs help. Only thing is, as this world can be rather dangerous even now, someone from a cushy universe would not have a good time. You, on the other hand, come from a place where this world would be a vacation. Which it kind of could be for you, if you actually spent any time relaxing. The world needs help, and you can provide it. Though you could take a break every now and then.]'I suppose I should ask the big question. We?' She had no idea who she was talking to.

The announcement windows gave nothing away, aside from maybe some sense of humor and the ability to at least fake empathy. Even a daemon could accomplish that much. [Fair enough question, but one you will not get an answer to. Not at the moment, at least. You might in the future. But I believe you can figure some things out by now. And no, we're not what you'd call daemons.] She could. Obviously, they were something powerful enough to yank a soul from another universe and transport it elsewhere.

They were also powerful enough to create and run the System.

'Any suggestions on how to deal with the fact that I suddenly look different?' She had her own ideas, but if they had a solution… [With your current Charisma? Doesn't really matter, does it? Just say the Light did it. Ah! Your change is coming to an end, and you'll regain full mobility in a few moments. Last chance to ask questions!] There were many, but one in particular bothered her.

'Should I expect anything to have followed me from my old universe? And are there other people like me here? [Good questions again. Let's take the latter one first. No. We aren't allowed to definitively say whether someone has the ability to reincarnate or body swap within this universe, but we have not brought others from the outside. I would like to say that nothing followed you here for certain, but you know how Chaos can be. Nothing with them is certain. And you certainly gave them enough incentive to try.] That was not very reassuring. She had no chance to ponder on it though, as she suddenly felt her body waking up and her senses returning. She could feel the difference right away. This was not the same body she'd gone to sleep with. Or to be precise, it was, but it had changed greatly. As she sat up, she could tell her weight was distributed differently, and certain areas had grown more than others. Not surprising, considering her supposed Charisma of 17.

That was supposed to mean she was universally not just attractive but stunning and alluring, which did come with some assumptions. She also realized her mind was filled with new information, mostly from Charisma and Politics, but a bit from Body and Reflexes as well. She initially felt sluggish and ungainly, but that was mostly her mind trying to get used to her new proportions and functionality. The first thing she noted as she stood up was that she was taller. Significantly taller.

She'd gained at least 20cm, and she was also much stronger physically, thanks to the Body attribute. She wasn't as fit comparatively as she'd been as an adolescent, showing she had work to do, but she wasn't out of shape either. The magical bodies of the Quel'dorei also made them stronger than they biologically really should be. At least twice as strong as before, as the System had mentioned. A single glance at the mirror made the physical changes obvious. Quel'dorei were beautiful as a people.

Even their men were beautiful. Her current appearance was as if someone, the System obviously, had taken all the best features of her race, and then placed them into a single body in a way that made the whole even more than the sum of its parts. Aside from her eyes, she was the epitome of what it meant to be Quel'dorei, her features quite literally a perfect representation. And then the System had said more. Her skin smoother and shinier. Her lips softer and glossier. Her waist narrower and hips wider and rounder.

Her bust larger and perkier. She combined the awe-inspiring beauty that painters and sculptors desperately tried to capture in their work depicting divine beings like Isha, and the sort of sinful lust-inducing body any servant of She Who Thirsts could only dream about being blessed with. However, her most striking feature was, by far, her eyes. Still. They hadn't changed much, but they now seemed appropriate on her face, instead of being weird on a child.

They practically jumped out at you, doing nothing to hide the power and wisdom that was blatantly obvious to anyone with any perception. They seemed to have an inner glow that was almost magnetic. They also seemed impossibly expressive, yet at the same time seemed to be stuck in the sharp look of alertness, combined with world-weariness, and a quiet desire to murder anyone who stood in her way. She had to admit that the System had done a great job.

She'd never been that focused on her appearance, but it was better to be attractive than not, and that fact had benefited her in her previous life on a few occasions. She'd always been wary of the dangers of attraction and pleasure, as the shadow of Sai'lantresh loomed over the shoulder of every Aeldari, but she wasn't unaware of or a stranger to those either. They were an asset to be utilized like any other, only more carefully.

She was also practically falling out of what remained of her clothes that were now desperately too small for her. It was almost a miracle they stayed on her at all, but they had been rather loose on her before, as she preferred sleepwear that wasn't restrictive. Something that she might have to reconsider with her new assets. On that note, she went towards the door and peeked outside, not surprised to see two paladins standing guard outside. One of them was Seraphine, the young woman they'd baptized yesterday.

She decided to address her instead of the male paladin.

"Sorry for the bother, but I'm going to need new clothes." Both of the paladins looked at her, not recognizing her voice and appearance until their eyes met hers.

"Your holiness! What's happened?" The male paladin was the first to ask. The change was just too large and obvious to ignore. She decided to just go with what the System had suggested.

"The Light apparently decided to grace me with a miracle." She could feel the power inside her digesting those words. The Light didn't exactly forbid lying, but it wasn't encouraged either. Finally, it felt like the power just decided to go with it and take credit. She had a feeling her new Charisma had something to do with that. The fact that a universal power seemed to be affected by her put into perspective what an attribute that high could accomplish. She was going to have to continue using veils, wasn't she?

STATUS: 3 Base Points/0 Advanced Points/0 Mastery Points Body: 5/11 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Athletics 5 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Iron Lungs Heavy Weapons 4 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Cleaving Strikes Durability 3 Immovable object Reflexes: 4/12 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Light Weapons 3 Swift Strikes Nervous System 3 Keen Eye for Hidden Subtlety 3 Arcane Shots Charisma: 17/17 (+2 Max due to Eyes) (8 Unspent Perk Points) Politics 17 (8 Unspent Perk Points) Social 5 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Pleasure 1 Crafting: 2/12 Magical 1 Creation 1 Nature 2 Eye for Errors Eye for Improvement Discipline: 4/12 (+2 Max due to Past Experiences) Commander 4 Battlefield Awareness Ambush Expert Cavalry Tactics Squad Leader 2 Sensei Soldier 3 One With Your Steed One With Your Steed II Magic: 5/13 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Light 5 Severe healing Baptism of Light I Arcane 5 Massive Spells Master Conjurer Spellbreaker 4 Magic Sight Anti-Magic Zone Projected AMZ