Freema-

  It took a long time for me to calm down after I returned home. Mommy eventually tucked me in for the night, promising that the trauma would fade soon and that she was really happy I made it back. Eventually it was just me in my tent, and in the quiet the ring spoke to me.

  “Brave child, I think now we finally have time to talk. There are a great number of questions you want to ask, and I promise to answer as best I can.” The voice was soft and deep like a man's voice, but with an elegance that nobody in the tribe matched. I quietly struggled to figure out where to start. Everything was so scary that it was hard to form the words to describe it.

  “Maybe it would be best if I share my perspective first and then you can ask questions.” The voice went silent briefly before continuing. “In the first age it was the beings of higher rationale that ruled the world. Shaped thought alters reality in ways few could perceive; most beings of that age still hold powers unlike any of this age. The world was ruled by a council of the acknowledged. Beings empowered by the trust and subservience of countless others. It was that council that devised the system that empowers all. It was an attempt to empower all beings under them so that the power would feed back into themselves. It succeeded, but the consequences were great. All civilization began to collapse, and it was the intervention of the divine altering the system that preserved those who remain.

  That is the background, but now I’m going to tell you of a being who dwells within the ruins. She is the Witch of Illusion. One of the seated councilors of our people in the golden age. She preserved and protected our people from most of the harshest fallout using illusions so powerful that they became real. Our capital was built against the sea, and her illusions kept the mighty beasts at bay, but when a dragon razed the city, it was beyond her power to save us. Instead, she wove an illusion over the entirety of our people to hide the living among the dead.

  She died, but the spell returned her as it did all who died. So they kept fighting in defense of the city even as they lost sight of who lived and who died. Any who enter the city bearing arms are also taken under her spell to fight in its defense. They repel anyone among the living who stands on their grounds, but in the absence of enemies to repel, the dead are called to the center to fight the dragon. The living, meanwhile, are released to do as they wish. Your people are then able to collect trinkets and escape the direct control of the witch.

  The reason the people of your tribe are decaying is because the illusion still resides over them. It draws from their body to maintain itself, but none can wield old magic, so it gradually consumes them. The elders are another part of the witch’s illusion meant to safeguard the survivors and provide leadership. Now they are stuck repeating the final instructions before the witch died. The desire to recover remnants of the capital mixed with the purpose of safeguarding the survivors. They now endlessly repeat the easiest and safest method to sacrifice the least while also protecting the people in their care.”

  I shivered under my blanket as the ring's speech drew to a close. The reality it described was confusing, but for some reason it also all made sense to me. The meaning of words I didn’t recognize and the perspectives of the calamity that destroyed the city. It all just made sense in a way that speaking with words wouldn’t. Various questions came to mind, but eventually I settled on the most important one.

  “What are you?” From everything it described that still felt too incredible to be true and the fact that it could speak so clearly to me despite being a ring.

  “Look at your system traits first, and it will confirm the words that follow.” Hesitantly, I pulled up my status.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “I am the ring of Councilor Vesk, the Wizard of Enchantment. I am not Vesk but an echo of his memory meant to grant guidance and atone for mistakes. To elaborate, in the old times, Vesk was the greatest weaver of thought into permanence. When he lived, he was the architect of the System his greatest failure. I do not carry his power, but I can grant unique authorities over the system.” I gulp slowly at the enormity of what he just admitted and at what I found. Still, there remained one question I needed to answer.

  “Can you save Mommy?” The trepidation made my voice crack slightly. The ring was quiet for a time, raising my anxiety before carefully answering.

  “I was created to interact with the system, and the old powers hold precedence over the powers within the system. However, you are not without hope. There are four paths of which I know that may save our people. A being with power outside our reality, like the fae, another councilor from the old age, removing the witch of illusion from the city, or divine intervention. I would not consider the fae an option; any bargains they offer will assuredly hold tricks most vile. It is unlikely any councilor still lives to this age except Thrammax the dragon king. Perhaps the most reasonable option would be to seek aid from outsiders to gather an army and overwhelm the witches' undead.”

  All of the options sounded so incredible yet impossible. I clenched my hands tightly. It didn’t matter if it was impossible. I already cheated my adulthood trials, so instead I’ll set off to save Mommy and everyone else. Since the ring thought I would need an army, I’ll go out and make one. If I meet a fairy, I’ll make a deal, and all along the journey I’ll pray. Maybe, just maybe, I can save Mommy. With more resolve than I knew I could have, I settled in for the night, planning and praying like how the ring described our ancestors did.

  Lexia’s hunt

  Lexia inhaled deeply of the forest air. A feeling of refreshment settled over her as the strange obsessions cleared from her mind. It had taken nearly a day, but the craving that plagued her gradually passed. Something about Callen’s presence was incredibly intoxicating, and even after receiving multiple lessons from her father against cannibalism, the idea of tasting his flesh was something far too intriguing for her to manage. Now that she had space, the craving had faded, and she could look back on the encounters with clear thought. Callia was very much the kind of companion Lexia had originally wanted setting out, but that town was a treasure, or maybe it was that family specifically. Nobody else seemed to have the drive nor the skill levels they had.

  Lexia spotted a small snake blending perfectly with the foliage on the ground and pounced down silently, shattering its spine with her claws. Nothing outside seemed to be able to notice her, which led even more credence to the idea that Callia and Callen were special in ways that she was eager to learn more about. However, she would need to limit contact with Callen, which was frustrating since convincing both to follow her would’ve been preferable. Still, Callia’s craving to see the outside world might just be the perfect tool to leverage the girl from the comfort of home. All she needed was some time for the girl to get restless again. In the meantime, regular hunts in this forest and spars with the twins to build rapport should be a decent start.

  As Lexia moved north deeper into the woods, she found a large fissure splitting the ground and pawprints of a massive beast. Not many traces remained, as whatever fought here was some months ago, but the smell of old blood spoke an interesting story. Lexia’s skill took hold, and her gut whispered of an alpha critically weakened some time after this blood was spilled. She was quietly intrigued and excited about what could’ve weakened the beast so much. She quietly let her tracking skills take hold, guiding her first back to the town but then retreating from the town deeper north. Hunting other prey for this trip was set aside for later while she investigated what might be an interesting encounter.