The Wanderer's Rebirth: Other Paths

*One month later*

Myra marvelled at Joram’s new “house”, for it was anything but a mere house.

She was astonished by just how fast he’d completed it after the celebrations. Even though he’d complained about things like “stone insulation”, “wiring”, and “proper plumbing”, it had only taken him two weeks to finish the ridiculously large building.

It was a good hundred feet wide, one hundred sixty feet long, and- as of now, for Joram had said that he might add more!- four stories tall. She was pleased that it wasn’t as ugly as his old house, though. That thing had just been… bad. For this house, he’d adopted Kirkwall’s style… for the most part.

The walls weren’t the standard white-washed walls from her home, but were instead made of ridiculously expensive moss stone and the even more rare star stone, the black variant of moss stone. It was absolutely ridiculously opulent.

Then the interior had nearly floored her. Not only had he reproduced the weird lighting that he’d had in his old house, but also the “plumbing”. He had running water in his kitchens- he had two!-, and in every toilet and bathroom in the house. Not only that, but he’d also installed “plumbing” in his laboratories and crafting areas.

Then he had a ridiculous cellar that he called a “basement”. Not only that, but there were two of them, one under the other! Who did that besides rich nobles and such?!

Myra shook her head again as she practiced, trying her hardest to follow Joram’s instructions. He claimed to not really know much about fighting- hand-to-hand fighting that is-, but for all that, he was able to show a variety of styles.

He’d shown her the basics of two styles that he said he was only passingly familiar with. One was “Wing Chun”, a style he claimed excelled at defense, the other called “karate”, which he claimed was perfect for offense. Well, for her “style” of offense, anyways.

She didn’t know what he meant by that, but she continued punching a rope-wrapped wooden post with her bandaged fists as she thought about everything.

He’s astonished her by giving her a Skill Book, something that was ridiculously rare, to the point that the whole village had only gained a few since her birth. Yet he’d said that [Pyrokinesis] suited her well, and had proceeded to help her get used to her new Skill while he wasn’t working on his various projects. While he was away, Asami Miki had taken over her instruction, for which she was very grateful.

For as talented as Joram was, he evidently didn’t know much about magic in general. Asami’s instructions had been a life-saver, but also informative and intuitive. Given that Asami was basically a master in the ways of [Pyrokinesis], she was able to teach Myra many subtleties that Joram didn’t know about. Things that helped her to use her fire in the same ways that not only her ancestors used it, but also in the ways that Spirit Foxes used it.

Which led to her gaining the [Illusion] Skill just yesterday, making her so excited that she’d impulsively hugged Asami because she’d been so happy. Which turned out better than she’d thought it would after she realized what she’d done. Asami had merely returned the hug and given her a pat on the head to congratulate her. Which made her think that Asami was more approachable than she’d initially thought she was.

Myra paused to wipe away the sweat on her brow, then turned to the “training dummy” that Joram had made for her to practice “Wing Chun” on. She took a moment to shake out her hands and use [Heal: Minor] on herself, ridding her hands of the bruises she’d accumulated by striking the post one thousand times with each fist.

Another benefit of her insane training regimen that Joram had set for her was that she’d gained [Endurance], [Toughness], [Parry], [Dodge], and [Martial Arts] over the past month. Not only that, but after having practiced for the first three weeks- and having gained a level!-, she’d been offered a new class!

Of course she’d taken it once she’d read through it and had seen that not only did it retain her [Miko] class abilities, but also offered [Pugilist]-like benefits as well. It was called [Retsu Ken Sei no Miko], and Asami said that it was very impressive that she’d been offered it so young, especially since it was an [Epic] Class. She’d been so thrilled that she’d given everyone present a hug, including Joram!

Well, she reflected as she started going through the forms of Wing Chun, it was nice to hug Joram. It was made better by how red he’d turned, she thought with a smile, remembering how stiff he’d become when she’d hugged him.

But what had made her happiest about that was when he’d returned the hug, making her feel as though she’d melt in his arms. The weirdest part, though, had been when Asami had later encouraged her to give Joram more hugs in the future. Which had made her very uncomfortable at first, but after having Asami encourage her several more times, she’d warmed more to the idea.

The thing that threw her off the most, though, was that when she’d gained her new Class, she’d grown another tail! She now had three!!! She didn’t know what it meant, but she was certain that it was important. Just how important, she wasn’t sure, but she’d decided to keep the extra tail hidden when she wasn’t in their bedroom….

Which led her to recall her new living arrangements.

Her parents hadn’t been happy when she’d told them that she would move in with Joram after he’d finished building his house. Things like “inappropriate” and “marriage” had been said by her parents more than once, but she’d bulled her way past their objections with the help of Asami Miki, of all people. Though, given how she’d been encouraging her, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

Asami had vouched that nothing “inappropriate” would occur, somewhat relieving her parents’ worries. So, for just over two weeks now, she’d been living with Joram… and Asami, of course. Given how nothing had happened between Joram and Asami yet, she’d reluctantly agreed to sleep in another room from them. She was still sure that nothing “adult” had happened between the two yet, so that was a relief to her.

Even then, she’d already snuck into Joram’s room to sleep beside them a couple of times, much to her embarrassment. She’d just been so lonely that she couldn’t help it!

Myra paused her practice for a moment to take a few breaths to calm her beating heart.

Yes, it had been borderline inappropriate, but she’d made sure that she was fully dressed in the luxurious night clothes that Joram had provided her, while making sure to place a blanket between her and Joram. Still, she’d slept better than she thought she would, waking just after dawn.

Shaking her head, Myra started working through her forms again, rhythmically striking the training dummy.

One thing that she was grateful for, though, was that Joram had created a “small” barn for the foxes that had decided to keep following him around. Though, she found that Harumi, the six-tailed dark purple spirit vixen that had first taken a liking to Joram, still slept in the same room as he did. Though, she gave deference to Asami’s seniority and let her sleep with Joram. So, he’d made a large cushion for her to sleep on that Harumi had moved to lay beside the head of his bed.

Myra still didn’t know why the foxes were following him around, but she saw it as a sign that her… preference for Joram was a good thing, even if he wasn’t a foxkin. Which others still derided.

Even after Joram had saved Kirkwall, there were still people who were less than trusting of a “human”. Not only that, but some of the young men who’d been pestering her for years to marry them had started badmouthing Joram. Saying things like “a human can’t continue our legacy” and such nonsense. If the Spirit Foxes approved of him, then she saw no reason to stay away from Joram… or to not… like him.

After the second time that she’d snuck into his room to sleep with him and Asami, she’d finally realized that she liked Joram that way. Which had caused her quite a bit of confusion. And, to be honest with herself, still caused her a bit of difficulty in being around him.

But it was getting better.

Myra smiled as she continued going through her forms, using the repetitive motions to help ease herself through those thoughts.

On another note, Joram had surprised them all by suddenly using a wide variety of elemental manipulation Skills. From using [Earth]-type spells to help with reshaping his land and unearthing more stone for his ridiculously huge walls that surrounded his property, all the way to using [Water]-type spells to shift where he wanted two streams to flow, he’d quickly proved just how versatile and powerful he’d become.

She couldn’t help but chuckle when she remembered when he’d decided to finally take a Path…

- - -

“Holy Mother of,” Joram said, confusing her by using his native tongue.

“What was that?” she asked, glancing over to Asami who now appeared to be very focussed on Joram.

“I, ah…. I think I found a good Path,” he said, getting their attention, though not likely how he’d thought.

“Wait,” she said, a bit confused. “You have more than one option for your Path?” she asked, then vaguely remembered that that question had been asked before.

“That’s not… common?” he asked, looked a bit unsure.

“The most I’ve ever heard of was a young woman being offered three Paths,” Asami said with a shrug, though Myra could tell that she was excited.

“Huh…” Joram said, thinking for a bit before continuing. “I have more than that. But, I think that this [Gestalt Path: Mage/Psion] would suit me best,” he said, managing to say such an absurd things with a straight face.

“I’ve never heard of that…” Myra said, shaking her head as he glanced at Asami, who also shook her head.

“Well, seems like a good fit for me,” he said, then seemed to read something before he nodded. “Then I think that the [Creationist] class fits me pretty well.”

“The what?” Asami asked, looking torn between shock and confusion.

“[Creationist],” Joram repeated, looking over at Asami. “It’s labelled as [Unique], but I think it’ll still be pretty good.”

Myra looked over at Asami and saw that she’d turned to regard her in turn. They exchanged dumbfounded looks for a minute or so before turning back to Joram.

“Well, you do like making things,” Myra said faintly, still off balance at hearing of a [Unique] class; something that she’d never heard of before.

Joram nodded, distracted by what he was reading, then he shrugged and muttered “yes” before his eyes shot wide open. Then he fell over.

Panicked, Myra quickly jumped to catch him, but was beaten by Asami who arrived a heartbeat sooner. She nevertheless helped Asami to carry Joram to a “couch” and laid him on it. They quickly checked his breathing and heartbeat, but found that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” she turned and asked Asami, even more worried than before.

“No, I have not,” Asami replied, also looking worried. “I only registered surprise from him before he collapsed, so I can’t even guess what the problem might be.”

The first few hours passed without incident, so they had decided to bring him to his bed for proper rest. After having- reluctantly!- undressed him, they’d tucked him into bed and proceeded to watch him for any changes.

The first day passed slowly as they began to nod off, trying to stay awake and alert. After the fourth time they’d started to fall asleep, they decided to take shifts, especially when their stomachs had also weighed-in on the situation.

So, they’d divided their shifts into five-hour blocks so as to make it easier to divide them evenly into the day. On her first break, Myra had gone to the kitchen to see what she could prepare for the three of them, but was at a complete loss when she tried to figure out… everything.

Myra was dismayed to realize that Joram had been doing all of the cooking for the three of them since they’d all moved in. Wracking her brain, she finally remembered how Joram had activated his “stove”. From there, she rummaged about until she found a large pot, then the cutting board. The knifes were easy, for they were all in a weird wooden block on the counter for some reason.

A bit more rummaging found some of the strange vegetables he used in his cooking. She went to the “fridge” and opened the top door and shivered at the cold that flowed out of it. She quickly found the cloth-wrapped meat that he’d bought the other day, then quickly placed it in the “sink” where she turned on the hot water with a simple lever-like metal… lever.

Once the hot water had thawed the meat enough, she unwrapped it and placed the lump of frozen meat into the large pot. From there, she made sure to wash the veggies before cutting them up and adding them to the pot.

Once done with that, she filled the pot with some water, put the lid on, and placed it on the stovetop, right in the centre of one of the circles drawn on the weird glass.

“Hmmm, I’m not sure what those symbols mean, but halfway should be good,” she mumbled as she tried to twist the dial like she’d seen Joram do.

It didn’t move.

Getting frustrated, she twisted harder, then nearly shouted in dismay when the knob broke off in her hand.

Panicked, she looked around before trying to fit it back into place, but it was futile. So, she looked around for a bit before she shrugged and picked up the pot and headed outside.

She was much more used to cooking over a fire anyways….

…. Which didn’t turn out well. In fact, Asami was both so dismayed at her attempts at cooking and amused by those same efforts, that she alternated between rolling on the floor laughing at her and crying because she was so hungry.

So it was that over the following two days that she had just gone into town to buy food from the stalls for them all.

Well, she said “them all”, but it was really just her and Asami that were eating as they couldn’t pry Joram’s jaw open to even spoon some soup into his mouth, let alone get him to drink any water. They’d grown so concerned that Harumi had gone and fetched Melois to do a checkup on Joram.

“You say that he’d been unconscious for over two days now?” Melois had asked, getting nods in return. “Well, I can’t see anything wrong with him, nor do I see any of the usual signs of dehydration- which is weird given what you’ve told me. But, again, he seems well enough, so just come fetch me if things turn for the worse,” she’d finished before giving Joram one last worried look before taking her leave.

By the third day, she’d gotten into the habit of laying beside Joram instead of sitting in the chair while she watched over him. She’d noticed that Asami had been doing this from the start and had become a bit… curious. So, she’d given it a try on the second day.

Well, the results spoke for themselves. She couldn’t help but admit that it was nice laying beside him. Even though he hadn’t eaten for two days, he was just as warm as he’d been the moment he’d fallen unconscious. Which was probably why she was enjoying her one-sided… cuddles.

Not that she was snuggled right up to him like Asami or anything! No, she was just…. OK, she was laying snuggled up to his side with her arm draped over his chest! But! He was just so… comfy! Sure, he was muscle-y, but oddly… soft. She’d been sure that it’d feel like laying on a rock given how muscular he was, but that misconception had been quickly tossed out the window.

“Mmm, I hope you’ll be OK,” she murmured, worried that he wouldn’t wake up like she’d seen happen to a couple of people over the years.

Sure, they’d gotten head injuries or had a blood issue, but he hadn’t hit his head, nor had Melois been able to find an issue with his blood or heart. She-

“Mmhmmm, I’ll be fine,” Joram suddenly rumbled, his voice especially loud in her right ear that was pressed against his chest.

Myra froze as her heart stopped in her chest in fright! She finally managed to pull in a breath of air many seconds later when she felt Joram’s hand on her head. With tears in her eyes, she finally lifted her chin enough so that she could look up at his multi-coloured, smiling, eyes.

“Hi,” he said when she just stared at him for another minute or so as she processed him being awake.

When it fully sank in, she wiggled up onto his chest then hugged him for all she was worth as she began trembling, then shuddering as hot tears began leaking from her eyes.

“It’s OK,” Joram rumbled as his arms wrapped around her back, fully enveloping her in his embrace.

“I was so scared!” she managed to finally get out between sobs, made worse by his rumbled “Mmhmmm”s that seemed to pull more sobs and tears from her.

Then Asami had landed on them, sharing her own excitement that Joram was OK, tangling them all up in a mess of limbs and tails in her rush to join in on the hugs and cuddles.

- - -

At the time, it had been somewhat mortifying. But now… now she could admit to herself that it had been a bit funny, just a bit.

Then, thinking about just how… “broken”- as he called it- Joram was, she couldn’t help but think that such a development was par for the course given everything else he’d done even before having a Path.

“Yeah, he’s broken,” Asami said from her side, shocking her out of her musings.

“We’re still keeping quiet about it, right?” she asked once her heart had calmed down after the fright.

“Hmm, yes. Doing something like he’s done won’t go over well with those stuffy old farts,” Asami said, frowning in thought.

Myra nodded, accepting Asami’s reasoning. Mostly because she was much older than her, and thus more experienced with things.

“Rude,” Asami said, giving her shoulder a casual backhand. “We don’t want him disappeared on us.”

She nodded again, very much in agreement with that statement. It was well-known that nobility weren’t very tolerant of factionless dark horses emerging that might challenge their authority one day.

“We’ll keep him safe,” she said, clenching a fist until her knuckles cracked.

“Mmmm, then keep training. We’ll need it if any of this gets out,” Asami said as she stepped over to her own training dummy and began going through a different set of forms from her own.

Myra nodded, resolved to protect her brilliant Joram, who also happened to be incredibly clueless when it came to society.

I’ll get strong enough to protect him, she thought fiercely as she resumed her own practice, her jaw locking in determination.