The worst kind of death is a slow and painful one. Trust me, I’ve tried it both ways and going quickly is much easier to handle

  -Quoted from The Dreadbone Mauler, Terror of Xandor

  “Father!” exclaimed the prince.

  “Your Majesty,” said Varion, slightly more composed than Everyn.

  Everyone present fell to their knees. Some because they recognised the man himself, others because they recognised the golden crown that sat on his greying locks.

  Everyone except Rose.

  Rose let out a dry chuckle as she looked at the King of the Emerlan Isle. She’d never met the man before today but his crown and the reactions of those gathered were enough for her to make the deduction.

  Varion’s thick neck twisted as his frosty glare landed on her. “Girl, you dare!? Kneel before your king,” he snarled, no longer the friendly giant he’d been a moment ago.

  She frowned as she observed the change in his behaviour. Even her father was tugging on her sleeve as he knelt beside her.

  Objectively she knew what one was supposed to do when greeting a King. The issue was, she’d felt far greater presences weighing on her and lived to tell the tale.

  Standing before a man who she knew was weaker than her while simultaneously being told to show him deference didn’t make sense. To be honest, I don’t think I was the kind of girl to bow to a king even before I set sail… she bemused.

  “My King?” she replied with a wry smile. “I suppose you could say that. I was born here after all. However, there’s only one man who’s made me kneel and I don’t sense him here.”

  “Audacious! King-” Varion began a furious rant but was quickly cut off by the king himself.

  The king lowered his hand when the warmaster trailed off and fixed Rose with a heavy stare, his sunken eyes carrying the weight and wisdom of age. She met it with a defiant gaze of her own, the two unmoving as the gathered crowd watched with a mix of curiosity and fear.

  To the average citizen of the Emerlan Isle, the thought of daring to defy a member of royalty was akin to throwing yourself into the merciless depths. A suicidal affair.

  Suddenly she felt the ground beneath her feet split open and she tumbled into the dark crevice as magma bubbled up from below. The earth slammed shut around, a pressure like the ocean’s depths weighing on her shoulders.

  Vines burst from the soil and grasped her limbs, small tendrils splitting off and insidiously burrowing into her skin. It burned and stung at the same time and she grunted as she tried to reach for the arcane energy in her core, only to find it empty.

  Rose despaired, wondering what the hell was happening and how she could break free when she heard a rumbling crash in her ears. The soil beneath her feet grew damp and then her dark prison exploded.

  The next moment she found herself being carried on a towering wave as it crashed against a cliff. More waves joined it and she was tumbled about, but never once felt at risk. A dark shadow fell over her.

  A colossal fish the size of a mountain emerged from the stormy ocean and slammed head first into the cliff, shattering the sturdy rocks into a thousand pieces that fell into the waters below.

  The sea rushed to claim the empty terrain and her vision faded. The scene flashed white and she found herself back in the stables, staring at the king.

  A dozen splashes sounded in her ears as he suddenly coughed and doubled over, blood spurting from his nose and mouth. He stumbled, Prince Everyn and Warmaster Varion leaping to their feet to support him.

  “Your Majesty!”

  “Father, are you alright!?”

  Rose tuned out the shouts and panic from the crowd as she read through the whorls. Her confused frown morphed into a smile the further she read.

  You have been subjected to the [Divine Burial of Thoramir]! Arcane connection has been severed

  Your [Blessing of Sylack] has interrupted the [Divine Burial of Thoramir]! Arcane connection restored

  You have earned a new skill!

  Divine Resistance 0 > 1

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Skill up!

  Divine Resistance 1 > 4

  Skill up!

  Divine Attunement 9 > 11

  You have earned a new trait!

  Acolyte: You have felt the touch of divinity and even wielded it for yourself. This power transcends mortal understanding but can be just as deadly as it is potent. Your arcane circuits will allow divine energy to flow more easily and will take less damage from its use. All blessings are 5% more effective.

  Every single one was golden, almost blending in against the gaudy backdrop despite being in the palace stables. The strange vision had been a divine skill, most likely used by the king, given the backlash he was now suffering.

  Rose didn’t feel bad for the old man. He had tried to test her and failed. If his skill had worked what would have happened to her?

  She suspected something much worse than what he was experiencing right now. Or perhaps it had only been a harmless test, designed to see if the rebellious child had the strength to back up her audacious defiance.

  Either way it didn’t matter. Her blessing was stronger than his, or maybe her connection with Sylack was deeper than the king’s was with Thoramir, the God of Slumbering Earth.

  The new trait was interesting and the skill, while not unexpected, made Rose laugh. The trait read more like a title, but she couldn’t deny that the effect was potent.

  Divine energy wasn’t something she would wield with regularity, but using it more efficiently and receiving less backlash was a great boon. The permanent increase in her blessing’s effectiveness was by far the greatest part of the skill, especially given how often her blessing came into play during her battles.

  The reason the Divine Resistance skill was amusing was because of the implications behind its existence. The tide had been created by the gods—supposedly—so for them to include a skill which allowed mortals to better resist their powers was a curious notion.

  Although it does improve the general standing of gods in my mind if they gave us a way to retain our free will against their scheming. Sylack had only been a generous patron thus far, but that didn’t mean Rose trusted him blindly the way others were faithful to their gods and goddesses.

  She quickly opened her status to check her overall growth after the recent improvements, again marvelling at how lengthy it had become.

  Name: Rose Everblue

  Blessings: Blessing [Sylack]

  Race: Human

  Occupation: Apprentice Scholar 24

  Title: Quintessential Skill

  Available Titles: Slaughterer, Apprentice, Quintessential Skill, Ambitious Harvester, Godtouched, Traitor

  Bound Items: Sunsplitter 51 (Damaged), Divine Serpent’s Lure ★27

  Skills:

  [General]: Cleaning 12, Fishing 26, Butchery 10, Cooking 8, Herding 2, Crafting 12, Sailing 15, Field Medicine 1

  [Cerebral]: Reading 12, Writing 17, Focus 18, Drawing 21, Appraisal 3, Precision 11, Whispers of the Deep 3

  [Physical]: Swimming 10, Endurance 14, Athletics 18, Toxin Resistance 2, Climbing 6, Stealth 8

  [Martial]: One Handed Weapons 9, Blades 20, Pistols 12, Firearms 6, Unarmed Combat 2, Dual Wielding 17

  [Arcane]: Arcane Attunement 18, Light Attunement 22, Arcane Resistance 8, Water Attunement 7, Frost Resistance 1, Beast Attunement 6

  [Divine]: Divine Attunement 11, Divine Resistance 4

  Traits: Sensitive Line, Deft Hand, Good as New, Tunnel Vision, Endless Inkwell, Quick Consumption, Knot my Problem, Reliable Duelist, Steady Slash, Smooth Strokes, Agile, With the Grain, Ambidextrous, Thick Skin, Energetic, Inventor, Seductive Lure, Keen Eye, Radiant, Acolyte

  She was broken from her admiration by a hand on her arm. Prince Everyn yanked her towards the king, icy fury in his eyes. “You! What did you do to my father?” he snarled.

  “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” she retorted, grabbing his wrist firmly and removing his arm from hers.

  He raised his other hand but she squeezed his wrist hard enough to make him wince. He seemed ready to start a fight when the king spoke up.

  “Enough, Everyn. The girl did nothing except defend herself from my ability. I am only injured by my own weakness and hubris,” he said, standing tall and wiping the remainder of the blood from his face with a handkerchief.

  “Your ability? Wait, surely not…” his face paled as he spoke, coming to some kind of realisation as he stared at Rose like she was a sea monster.

  Rose returned a beaming smile to everyone present. Most of those kneeling still had no clue what was transpiring. No doubt they were wondering how she hadn’t been clapped in chains for disrespecting the king.

  “At the very least, child, you have the strength to support your flagrant ignorance of decorum. I heard you fought valiantly for my people, which is the reason I didn’t arrive here with a dozen guards instead of on my own,” the king said, all traces of his injury now gone.

  “You may all rise,” he said, motioning to the gathered crowd. “You have suffered much and it is my duty as your king to alleviate that. You will be fed and given temporary accommodation here in Greengate until you are settled.”

  The people of Fairwater Bay cheered, praising the king and his kindness as they were led away by Everyn’s soldiers. Rose was glad the man wasn’t as cruel as other powerful people she’d encountered in her journeys.

  “Now, perhaps we can finally return to the throne room. The War Council has been waiting long enough for your arrival,” he scolded the prince and the warmaster. “You should join, Rose—your uncle will be present. This invasion was just the beginning.”