Broken Lands

“That’s something to talk to your mentor about, once you have one. If you decide to go that way, I’ll recommend that you join the group Fila’s currently shepherding. They’re less than a moon ahead of you and need another person or two to balance the group. I believe there’s a Wind specialist that will also be joining them, so you won’t be the only new face. Fila’s skilled with a blowgun herself, so she’ll probably be your trainer even if you don’t join the group she’s shepherding. What do you say?” Rensyn watched Dykken, but Sophia could tell a lot of his attention was on Sylva.

Sophia was certain that the “Wind specialist” that Rensyn mentioned had to be Revina. Sophia was happy to hear that the young woman they’d shepherded through her own Vocation-granting feat was being taken care of. If nothing else, it meant Sophia didn’t have to worry about her.

“I wouldn’t commit to anything before I knew what my Vocation was,” Sylva interjected before Dykken could answer. “You might not get to use your blowgun after all.”

Dykken frowned for a moment, then nodded decisively. He spoke to Sylva instead of Rensyn. “Even if I get something else, I might still fit in the group. I want to have a plan laid out; if it doesn’t work, that’s life. Things change. I was supposed to get a Profession two years from now, but that’s not going to happen. Maybe I’ll hate them or maybe I’ll find friends for life; I have to try.”

Sophia was certain she didn’t imagine Rensyn’s reaction to Dykken’s words; it was fast, but she saw his lips twitch in a grin before he resumed his formal expression. “Good. I’ll talk with Fila once we’re done here. Miss Sylva, I expect that you’ll wait to formally enroll until after you have your Sphere?”

Sylva’s lips were pressed together in a thin line. Sophia doubted that she’d also seen the crack in Rensyn’s facade; instead, she was probably mad about Dykken arguing with her. Sylva seemed like the type to get mad about that, but she didn’t seem like the type that would do anything about it as long as an authority figure watched.

Sylva gave a slightly delayed short nod in answer to Rensyn’s question.

“Good,” Rensyn continued. “Sophia and Dav, there is no group forming that needs a pair like you two. There are several you could work with, including the Fila’s group, but their front line and mage spots are already full, so you’d end up working in secondary roles that I’m not sure you’d enjoy. I’d like to form a group around you instead. It may take some time, but I’d like to see how you fit with some of the other relative newcomers who’ve trained for most of their lives. If you’re amenable, I’ll register as your mentor and see who is working with a temporary group to try and pull a group together.”

Sophia glanced at Dav. Her initial reaction was that she liked Rensyn enough to give it a try. “If we don’t like the group, we don’t have to stay with them.”

Dav already had a smile on his face. “The search is always the hard part. I’m happy to let someone else start the process.”

“You’ll be able to refuse to work with anyone you want,” Rensyn confirmed. “You agree, then?”

Sophia and Dav both nodded.

Rensyn’s smile looked practiced, but Sophia could tell that he was actually happy this time. “Good. In that case, it’s time for the last topic: Spheres. Miss Sylva, from what you’ve said, I believe you already know this, so you may leave if you want. We’ll still confirm to your mother that you attended the session.”

Sylva stood up and walked out without another word. Sophia was glad she didn’t have to work with the girl; she could already tell that they wouldn’t get along well. Sylva rubbed Sophia the wrong way.

Rensyn waited until the door closed behind Sylva before he spoke. “Right, let’s get started then. Professions aren’t important to this discussion, except for a general reminder that you can’t take one until you’re twenty-five and that once you take one, you can never gain a level or buy an ability or ability slot in a Vocation. They’re structured similarly to Vocations, but when you take your first Profession, you are no longer considered Called.”

Sophia took advantage of Rensyn’s pause to ask a question that she hoped sounded natural. “What about Hallows?”

Rensyn tilted his head to the side, almost like he was tipping a hat he wasn’t wearing. “Hallows are different, but they probably are worth mentioning; there are quite a few Hallowed in the Registry, which is why you’ll find us talking about Spheres and Called instead of Vocations most of the time. I know you two are from a long way away; how much do you know about the Broken Lord?”

Sophia glanced at Dav, then back at Rensyn. “Nothing?”

Rensyn’s eyes widened at the admission. “We definitely need to fix that. I can tell you some of the stories later, but the important piece for now is that even though He was accompanied by others through the Maze, all of the Shards we can reach are ones held by the Broken Lord. All of the Gates to other Shards were Broken by him long ago. He sets the rules for the Broken Lands, and one of those rules is that He is the only Patron with power here. Many people follow him; if you see anyone with an emblem that contains a broken sword, they’re proclaiming that they follow the Broken Lord. Your sigils proclaim that you don’t.”

That definitely explained why the Wanderer told them not to mention that they had Hallows. He wasn’t supposed to grant them here.

“Is that a problem?” Sophia definitely didn’t follow the Broken Lord. Despite the fact that the Wanderer being her Patron was listed somewhere deep in her Status, she didn’t follow the Wanderer either. That didn’t mean she wanted to offend a godlike being; far too many gods were petty, and their followers usually weren’t better.

Rensyn shook his head. “No, it’s a common symbol for swordsmen. Both of you use blades, so it will be seen as that, rather than disdain for the Broken Lord.”

Sophia relaxed at that response. That meant it was something she’d have to watch out for, but she probably didn’t have anything to fear as long as she was careful. It also meant that she was going to have to be careful whenever she saw a broken blade. It reinforced the Wanderer’s instructions to not mention the Hallow, but it also meant that people would assume she didn’t have one because she didn’t follow the Broken Lord.

“How are they different from Professions and Vocations?” Dav sounded far less concerned about the possible social implications than Sophia was; he clearly just wanted to know what it meant. He was right to ask; this was definitely the best chance they’d had to get answers.

Rensyn tipped his head again. “Hallows are close to Vocations; like a Vocation, you must complete a Vocation-granting Feat to gain your first Hallow. They are granted by the Broken Lord instead of the Guide. It is rare, but the normal sixteen-year-old requirement to gain a Vocation does not apply; we have records of Hallows being granted to children as young as twelve. Other than that, the main differences are that the Broken Lord presents only one choice instead of the five Vocation or Profession options the Guide gives, and the Broken Lord can allow a Hallowed to continue to improve their Hallowed Sphere even if they have taken a Profession. He usually doesn’t, but there are verified cases where it’s happened.”

Sophia could already tell that she wasn’t going to be able to base her experience with her Hallow on the ones Rensyn knew. Anything that was the same between a Hallow and a Vocation would probably carry over to hers, but anything that was different was clearly something the Patron could choose, and it was blatantly obvious that the Wanderer and the Broken Lord didn’t make the same choices. She’d had hundreds of choices to look through for her Hallow and for every Ability she’d chosen.

Actually, that might make a good question. “Does the Broken Lord limit Ability choices, too?”

Rensyn nodded. “Yes; Hallowed usually have only two or three options available at a time, and some things that would be choices in a Vocation are the only option a Hallowed will have. They’re always good options, and Hallowed tend to be relatively powerful in their specific area of expertise for the number of Wisps they’ve Dedicated, but they also tend to be more focused and to require that their groups cover whatever weaknesses they haven’t covered.”

Sophia chuckled at that. It was the exact opposite of what she’d seen. She wasn’t certain if it showed two different types of laziness or simply a difference in philosophy. Sophia hoped it was a difference in philosophy. She could get behind someone who said “I trust you to make your own choices” more than someone who believed that people had to be forced into a “known good” option.

She wondered if the Wanderer would be willing to limit the number of options presented if she asked.

She had no intention of asking.

“If there are no more questions about-”

Rensyn stopped short as the glass globe on the end of a chain that dangled from his belt lit up with an orange light. He lifted it to look into it, then dropped it back to the end of its chain. “Shit. I wanted to talk about upgrading Spheres, but I need to run. We can talk later. Dykken, make sure you mention the topic to Fila.”

Rensyn spun on his heel and headed towards the main Registry buildings. He wasn’t running, quite, but he was walking fast enough that only running would be quicker.

Sophia traded a glance with Dav. He didn’t say anything, and Sophia didn’t either; there was no need. She wanted to know what was going on and she was certain Dav did as well. They hurried after Rensyn. Sophia didn’t see which way Dykken went, but she did notice that she didn’t hear any running footfalls other than Dav’s and her own.

They reached the door to the building in time to see Rensyn disappear around a corner. He’d abandoned his attempt to look like this wasn’t an emergency and was now running slightly faster than Sophia could manage. The reason became obvious a moment after the door closed: the loud CRACK of breaking wood came from ahead.

Sophia thought it was the direction of the tavern. It was too early in the day for a bar fight; no one should be drunk this early. It sure sounded like a bar fight, though; even the shouting was right.

She didn’t let her confusion at the discrepancy slow her feet.

Sophia skidded to a halt just inside the door to the tavern. Part of the room was the calm restaurant they’d seen at breakfast, but nearly a third of the floor space was covered by wild fighting. Most of the combatants seemed to be having a good time, at least by the standards Sophia knew from bar fights, but there was one person that looked more like she was getting a beating than having a good fight. She was huddled in a ball next to a table she’d clearly ducked under to try to protect herself. This wasn’t a normal bar fight; it almost looked like it was deliberately started to hide a beating as “got unlucky in a fight.”

Sophia’s eyes narrowed and she started to pull together a spellform as she watched Rensyn pull one of the fighters back and tell him to sit. He wasn’t the only one trying to pull people out of the fight, but it was going to take some time to break it up and she could already see that the Registry staff were being hit by people who didn’t realize they needed to stop.

Dav moved past Sophia and pulled one of the people on the edge back from the fight, the same way Rensyn had. It would work eventually, but it wasn’t fast.