In order to truly advance beyond our fated station, there is no path but to submit to suffering. For in order to grow beyond what is intended for us, we must suffer the loss of that which is comforting

  -Excerpt from ‘The Cruel Tides’ by Rhiannon Melastromoz

  As they passed through familiar hills, Rose was numb to what went on around her. She didn’t miss the tracks of doori and the occasional lost possessions littered on the mountainside.

  Only people fleeing for their lives wouldn’t care about dropping their valuables. At the very least it comforted her to know that some of the people of Fairwater Bay had survived the attack.

  And for those that hadn’t, they could at least pass into the afterlife knowing that they had been avenged. That didn’t put Rose’s conscience at ease but it at least allowed her not to fall into despair.

  There was another way to distract herself for a while, which she dived into without much excitement: inspecting her status and the new whorls. First, the one she’d casually dismissed earlier.

  Skill up!

  Arcane Attunement 17 > 18

  It still left a bitter taste but with the discovery of survivors she at least had a glimmer of hope that her parents were still alive. Most of them were just the gains of her battle with the commodore, but a few curious entries caught her attention.

  You have earned a new skill!

  Beast Attunement 0 > 1

  Skill up!

  Beast Attunement 1 > 6

  You have earned a new skill!

  Whispers of the Deep 0 > 1

  Skill up!

  Whispers of the Deep 1 > 3

  The Beast Attunement skill made sense at least. She had summoned sea monsters quite a few times using her blessing and even made… friends? With the octopus.

  So to have the tide acknowledge that in the form of an attunement was quite rewarding. And Rose felt that attunement skills made everything related to them a lot easier.

  Her high level in Light Attunement and Arcane Attunement had definitely contributed to her early arcane awakening and the creation of her miniature sun technique. High relative to others her age at least.

  The second skill was a lot more enigmatic. She could guess at its origins from the name, likely some kind of communication based skill related to the ocean.

  However, what it actually helped her do or unlocked in relation to her future path was a mystery. Maybe if I could find a way to talk with Sylack again, I could ask, she thought.

  Though the chances of that happening again so soon were quite low. In fact she’d been so caught up in the destruction of her home and the subsequent battle she’d not really grasped the importance of talking with a god.

  What was more strange was how… familiar Sylack’s presence had felt. If she had to think of a similar feeling, then Rose would say it was like how she knew her father had walked through the door without turning to see him.

  Which was a ridiculous thing to think about the presence of a god, but it was the truth. Something to dwell on in the future, rather than when she was dealing with a world shaking sense of loss.

  Rose pulled up her status to get a sense of her overall progression. She was pleased about most of it but a few areas were lacking.

  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:

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  [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 9

  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

  The area she felt she was lacking in most was her occupation. If she’d waited and managed to choose a combat related one, perhaps she would’ve seen the same meteoric growth as she had in her skills.

  Unfortunately she’d been impatient and tempted by the description of Apprentice Scholar, leaving her with an occupation that was fast becoming a hindrance instead of a boon.

  Many times she’d told herself she would simply take some rest and develop the related skills in order to complete the occupation and start a new one, but Rose kept finding herself thrown from calamity to adventure. It was what she’d always wanted, but right now it was more… personal than she’d wanted.

  Perhaps it was childish naivete but she thought that Fairwater Bay would always stay the same. A backwater fishing village where her parents lived their ordinary lives; a place to return to if she ever needed respite from her journey to the pinnacle of piracy.

  Never would she have expected to find herself back home again so soon, especially not under these circumstances. In part she blamed herself, their recent battle with the Saff brothers one of the leading factors in Minenblum going on a warpath.

  Rose consoled herself with the knowledge that they likely would’ve done the same regardless of her involvement, just later down the line. That didn’t help much.

  The bleating of doori broke her from her stupor and she looked up to see a huge herd ahead of them, the colour of the scales and different horns indicating that this was a blend of various herds from across the island. All of the doori in the local area seemed to be gathered here, surrounding something that she couldn’t see yet.

  Or more accurately, protecting something.

  The doori bleated anxiously as they approached, but the much larger war-doori seemed to be able to exert a strange influence on their smaller cousins, calming them. The sea of scaled bovines parted to let the group through, Prince Everyn in the lead.

  As they passed, Rose heard shouts from within the herd and when the last few doori stepped aside she saw a load of familiar faces. Fishers and herders, clutching a sorry assortment of pitchforks, pans, and kitchen knives.

  The survivors were covered in ash and blood, looking haggard and terrified as the massive beasts approached. However, one of them seemed to recognise the prince and shouted out.

  The bravest defenders at the front relaxed immediately and started to smile, with cheers soon breaking out and cries of “Hail the prince!” Rose grimaced at that. She’d barely heard about the royal family growing up, so why was everyone suddenly a patriot?

  Tragedy apparently did strange things to one’s mind. She was relieved to see many of her neighbours alive, but none of them seemed to recognise her. And she couldn’t see her parents yet.

  The procession continued until they reached the group of survivors. Prince Everyn raised his fist in some kind of heroic victory pose.

  “The vile invaders have been repelled and the Emerlan shores are safe once more!” he cried, earning another round of cheers. “I cannot bring back your village or restore your homes, but I promise you that as your crown prince I will do everything in my power to rebuild Fairwater Bay. Vengeance has been claimed today, but this is not the end. Minenblum will pay for their arrogance.”

  Rose had to admit he was charismatic. He certainly was fit for the job. Though she felt his claim of further punishing Minenblum was dubious at best.

  He’d not even managed to defeat a single commodore on his own, even after Rose had weakened him. How did he expect to take down a vast kingdom with far more powerful figures at the helm?

  After saying his piece, the prince dismounted and began to make his rounds of the survivors. Him and his soldiers handed out food and medicine which they’d brought from Greengate, treating the most injured survivors first.

  His care for the people seemed genuine, which made Rose push up his approval rating in her head a little. She got down from the doori she’d been riding, borrowed from one of the soldiers who’d fallen in the battle.

  Wandering through the crowd, she was shocked. Not by the injuries or devastation, but by the fact that not a single one of the villagers had recognised her yet.

  It was… refreshing, yet also upset her. Had they truly forgotten her in just a few short months? While she wondered whether to laugh or cry, she continued making her way through the crowd.

  She even spotted Daniel with his family, though his father was noticeably absent. Her heart ached for her old friend—no matter how annoying he’d been, he didn’t deserve to lose his father.

  Daniel didn’t look her way, but she decided to speak with him. He might know what had happened to her parents.

  However, she didn’t even make it halfway to the boy and his family when her wandering gaze found a pair of familiar eyes, set deep in a weathered face. Her father stared at her for a few seconds before his eyes widened in realisation.

  “Rose?”