I had no idea where I was and everyone around me was either fleeing or shouting at me in a language I didn’t understand. Five men in brown leather armor with swords at their hips cautiously crept forward and started fanning out around me. They each wore a patch emblazoned with the black and white profile of a woman’s face over a sky blue background. I backpedaled and raised my hands in what I hoped was a calming gesture. One of the men pointed at me and shot out a string of heated, foreign words. My back thumped against the door. “Hey, guys, I’m just as confused as you are.” Their aggressive postures didn’t relax and no comprehension showed on their faces. What the hell are you doing? They clearly don’t understand you… One of the men barked something and was answered with the rasps of swords being unsheathed as the men drew their weapons. Flight won out over fight as I spun around and wrenched open the sturdy wood door. I slammed it shut behind me and found myself in a tave

I’d spent the next three days in a barred wagon with a thick, black cloth tarp firmly fixed in place over it. The obsidian fabric had let just enough light pass through it to dimly illuminate my surroundings, but wasn’t sheer enough to see outside. Inside the cage, there had only been an itchy straw mattress and a bucket. And my only contact with any other people had been when the same three guards delivered my ‘food’ each day. One with the tray while the other two pointed spears. I’d mentally named them ‘Bitchy Spice’, ‘Garbage Spice’, and ‘Martin’. Bitchy Spice because he’d constantly bitched about everything, Garbage Spice because he smelt like garbage, and Martin because he just looked like a Martin to me. All three had one thing in common though: No matter who brought the tray, it’d always ended up ‘accidentally’ falling to the floor, sending most of the ‘food’ splattering across the planks. All three men had cackled each time as though they were comedic pioneers fine-tuning

“Fifty-three years!?” I sputtered. I’d had the impression that outworlders weren’t super common, but isn’t this a jail or something for outworlders? And there hasn’t been one to come through in at least fifty-three years? But also… “There’s no way you’re a day over thirty…” I said, unable to hide my mixture of surprise and suspicion. Her attempt at professionalism cracked as she snickered. “I’m a shadow primal and am magically gifted, I age slowly.” “Oh…” I said, “What’s a shadow primal?” “My… aren’t we curious?” she teased, seeming to grow more relaxed as she tentatively let her tone thaw into something less coolly detached. “A shadow primal is the offspring of a human or elf and a shadow elemental.” “How does that work?” I asked, the image of a dude unsuccessfully trying to bang a shadow cropping up in my imagination. “I think I’ll decline on explaining the finer details about the coupling between my parents…” “Fair enough.” I chuckled, pleased that she seemed to prefer a

An hour later, I descended the stairs leading to the ground floor of Stone Lock, my body clean and my mind clear once again. Warden Ivory was draped gracelessly across one of the couches, reading her smutty novel. She snapped it shut and sat up as I approached. Her solid black eyes turned to me and her mouth curled into a knowing smile. “What took you so long?” “I had some frustration I needed to vent…” I parked myself on the cushion beside hers and leaned back with a satisfied grown as I let my relaxed body slide down. “It’s been forever since I had a chance to sit my ass down on something not made of wood.” “I’m glad it’s to your liking,” she snickered. I rolled my head to the side to look at her and offer a grin. “So, what now?” “Now we talk about magic.” “Finally!” Giddy eagerness filled me in a way I hadn’t felt since I was a kid and found out where my parents hid the Christmas presents. I sat up and repositioned myself to face her more directly. A warm smile formed on

The warden's palms came up in the universal pantomime for ‘slow down, buddy’. “One at a time, Bryan,” she laughed. “No, it's not possible for someone to gain more fate aspects. There are seven fate aspects and nine divine aspects. I’ve got books for you to look at later outlining the different classes. As for getting divine aspects… that’s a bit more complicated.” “What do you mean?” “The way most of them get one is by being granted one by a god. This usually happens when a god takes an interest in someone’s birth for one reason or another and blesses them with the divine aspect associated with their domain when they’re born. For instance, the goddess of fire would give the flame divine aspect. However, gods have also been known to grant a divine aspect when someone impresses them somehow.” “How so?” “Oh, it depends on the god. The god of light might grant his divine aspect to someone who makes a great discovery, the god of earth might bestow one to a person who tends to a forest…