Chapter 124 – Pattern Recognition
I find Kanin in one of the palace’s lower halls that I’d set aside for future use as a classroom. On the far side of the room, a prismatic scattering of sunlight streams in through a stained glass window, meaning I can renovate that wall into a balcony for Ollie when I’m ready for classes to officially begin. It’s smaller than the throne room, though still features lofted ceilings to accommodate harpies, and the swirling red and orange mosaics on the walls exude a more cozy, casual feel. I’m not sure who told Kanin and the Travelers to gather here, but it’s a good venue choice for our needs.
Echo identifies only a dozen Travelers in the room. Some are probably still resting from last night’s excitement, the kids are with Ollie and Sora, and a handful of others have already been assigned to Fyrethian wards with skills relevant to the Traveler’s Role Requirement. Of course, Mirzayael doesn’t want any of our new guests wandering the city unaccompanied; just because we helped them escape from the Heavens doesn’t mean they can be trusted (her words, not mine) and I reluctantly see the wisdom in this. Even if none of the Travelers harbor any ill-will, their Roles might still force them to act against our interests. I’m sure she’ll come around on them, just as she eventually came around on Gardi.
The tapping of chalk on stone draws my attention to the front of the room, where Kanin is writing out some large, wobbly letters across the slate wall as three Travelers huddle nearby to watch. Echo informs me it’s the Valenian alphabet—a script I haven’t had much opportunity to study myself. And frankly, with Echo’s ability to translate it for me, I haven’t really had a need to learn it. But it now occurs to me that if I want to be able to write in that language, I’ll have to learn it the hard way, just like everyone else.
The sound of Kanin’s voice draws my attention away to the opposite end of the room, where he’s speaking with a nereid. I do a double take, looking between the two Kanins.
Dizzi catches the look with a snicker. “Pretty neat, right? I wish I could be in three places at once.”
Which is when I notice the third Kanin, signing with a small group of Travelers toward the middle of the room.
“I’m impressed he can hold up three conversations at once,” I admit. Though as I’d witnessed the night before, it seems he’s more than capable of splitting his attention multiple ways when his remnant is assisting.
A set of disembodied glass hands float over to me and sign, “Hi, Fyre.”
“Hello Kanin,” I reply, not sure which Kanin I should be looking at, exactly. After the confrontation with Lorata, his glass form was mostly destroyed, so now he’s less humanoid glass in a trenchcoat and more several blobs of glass and void assembled into the vague impression of a head, torso, and arms. It’s slightly unsettling, if I’m being honest. “That’s an impressive feat. You could be all of our school teachers at once.”
“Hah,” he signs flatly. “I only have one translator, though. The Travelers have all figured out how to use Echo to understand my signs, and I can use the Contact interface to message each individually, but I can’t exactly do that with anyone who isn’t a Traveler. Also, you do not want me teaching math.” He points me toward the back of the room, to the version of himself talking to the nereid. “Can I get your help with this one? I’m not sure what to do with her Role Requirement.”
“That’s why I’m here.” I gesture for him to lead the way, trailing the floating set of hands over to nereid woman.
A floating set of hands. What a strange, wonderful world I live in, now?
Sandro excuses himself to speak with the group of Travelers who is huddled around Kanin #3, but Dizzi curiously follows me over to Kanin #2 and the Traveler with the troublesome Role Requirement.
Echo identifies the woman as Fatima and her Role is The Guide, which immediately piques my interest. As a nereid she’s a little on the short side, her scaled skin a swirl of light pink and purple with frills that run from her head down her neck and back. She wrings her hands as she nods at something Kanin says to her, then glances toward me with a creased brow as I approach. Her Sanity stat is at 92%. Not dangerous, but still the lowest I’ve seen in any of the Travelers so far.
“Hello, Fatima,” I say, stopping a healthy distance away. I don’t want her to feel cornered. I have no idea where everyone came from, what the circumstances of their death were, or how they are emotionally dealing with this new life. Until I have a better instinct for where everyone stands, they all get handled with kid gloves.
But Fatima’s worried expression smooths into a relieved smile. She bobs her head in greeting, touching a hand to her chest. “It is good to speak with you, Auntie.”
I blink at the unfamiliar title. It sounds friendly, at least. “You as well. I hope you are adjusting alright?”
The woman runs a hand over her temple, as if instinctively reaching to tucking a lock of hair behind her ear that she no longer has. The hair, that is—nereid ears are an impressive set of fins that compliment their frills rather well. I’m sympathetic to her plight; it took me months to stop reaching up to adjust my non-existent glasses.
“Yes,” she says, nodding back toward Kanin. “Lord Kanin has been helping me with this… Requirement.”
A notification appears in my Contact interface
[Kanin: Some of these guys keep using titles with me. It feels weird as fuck]
I maintain a straight face.
[Fyre: You brought them here, and you helped free them. They probably see you as some level of authority figure and respect you.]
[Kanin: Still feels weird as fuck]
Fatima’s gaze questioningly shifts over to Dizzi.
“Sorry,” I say, stepping aside to beckon Dizzi into the conversation as well. “This is my friend and advisor, Dizzi. She’s here to help however she can as well.” Dizzi grins and waves, and Fatima smiles shyly, bobbing her head once more. “So what seems to be the issue with the Role Requirement?”
“It’s called The Guide,” Kanin explains. Fatima seems happy to let him talk, so he continues. “She said Echo told her, ‘The Guide must offer counsel on that which the Seeker pursues,’ which is obnoxiously vague. The Seeker seems to be the person who is coming to her for help.”
“What sort of help?” I ask.
Fatima shrugs, tugging at the cloak around her shoulders as if to wrap it more tightly around her. The gesture reminds me of Sandro, though this woman’s discomfort doesn’t seem to be caused by a remnant.
“I don’t know,” she admits. “This Echo does not specify. Just someone who seeks guidance from me. But I do not know what guidance I could possibly offer; I am hardly wise, and I know very little of this new world.”
“Has anyone come asking for your counsel yet?” I ask.
Fatima shakes her head.
“Sounds like the opposite of my Role,” Kanin muses. “I had to complete a task when I was asked to do something by the wizard that created my original body. If I didn’t, my Sanity stat would decrease. But in her case, her Sanity stat is decreasing because no one has asked anything from her yet.”
Dizzi hums thoughtfully. “So why can’t we ask her something?”
That’s exactly what I’d been about to suggest, and in fact I’m surprised Kanin hadn’t tried that already. Although, perhaps given his own Requirement, he was hesitant to make her do anything in a similar way he was made to unwilling do things for his Role.
“Like what?” the woman asks.
Dizzi lifts her hands with a shrug. “Anything! Um, like… I lost one of my artificing tools a week back. Can you help me find that?”
I chuckle to myself. Leave it to Dizzi to interpret the question literally. No one said the Guide had to provide spiritual guidance or wisdom, that’s just what Fatima had assumed.
The woman blinks, her eyes going unfocused. Then she looks back at Dizzi with surprise. “I—I’m not sure how to explain this. I just received a vision. A dark place of stone, with strange runes drawn over the walls. There are ancient weapons, and a musky smell… And… and children's books?”
“Oh!” Dizzi cries, loud enough for Fatima to startle. “Ollie’s cave! Stars above, you’re right. I was totally working on his translator there last week. Wait, I have to go get it before I forget again. Thanks, Fatima! Great to meet you.” She jumps into the air with a flurry of feathers, jetting toward an open window before any of us can get another word in. Fatima watches her fly away, mouth slightly agape.
“Sorry,” I say with a small laugh. “Dizzi can be a bit enthusiastic. How are you doing? That vision you mentioned sounds intriguing.”
I Check her Sanity stat as I ask, and to my delight the numbers are ticking back up toward one hundred.
“It is strange,” Fatima admits, touching a hand to her temple. “As if I were seeing it through your friend’s eyes, I think. Is that normal?”
Kanin shakes his head—or at least, his translator around his “neck” swivels in a way that indicates he’s shaking his head. “They all work differently. I don’t know if there is a normal. I’m glad to hear that worked for you, though. Seems simple enough.”
“And useful,” I admit. “I’m quite sure we won’t struggle to find people who would be grateful for your help on a daily basis.”
A faint smile touches Fatima’s lips. “That’s good. I like helping people. I’m glad I can be useful.”
Hmm. The way she speaks about her Role tickles something in my mind. I’m still mulling this over when Fatima bobs her head at Kanin and myself in turn.
“Thank you, both,” she says. “I appreciate your assistance. Both with this Role and with this new world. It is very foreign to me, in so many ways.”
“I understand,” I say softly. “And I know it will take some time to adjust. If you need anything at all please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can use the Contact interface for privacy, too, remember.”
Her eyes light up. “Ah yes, thank you. I think I will do that.” Once more she nods to us both, excusing herself as she drifts away toward a different group of Travelers.
“She seems to like you,” Kanin remarks as she leaves.
“Oh?” I watch her hesitate near an elf woman and say something to her. “She seemed plenty friendly with you as well.”
“Nah, she was pretty quiet until you came over,” Kanin says. “Thanks for your help, though. I didn’t want to do anything that might make her Role worse.”
“Yes,” I say distractedly, pausing to Check the Roles and Sanity Stats of everyone else in the room. Most are near 100%, thankfully. I turn back to Kanin. “I’ve just had a thought about the nature of our Roles I want to run by you.”
He tips his head. “What do you mean?”
“You know my theory about our bodies being influenced by whatever remains were nearby when we reincarnated in this world,” I say.
“I remember.”
“Well… I think I might be wrong.”
He laughs. “Okay?”
“I now wonder if maybe it’s the other way around. If the remains that ended up being used as a template to create our new bodies were chosen because of us,” I say, voicing my thoughts aloud even as I work through them. “Like, perhaps, some of us were drawn toward certain forms. And similarly, our Roles might also be influenced by our subconscious. Or one or the other. Or both.”
Kanin shakes his head. “You’ve lost me.”
“Okay, let me think.” I steeple my fingers with a frown. “This could be entirely incorrect. But what Fatima just said about how she likes feeling useful, and how she has a Role that lets her help people, got me thinking. I never knew that I was trans as a human, but I knew something didn’t feel right. Maybe the System picked up on something I was still working through when I received a new body on this world. And Ollie—how many kids dream of being able to transform into a dragon? Fatima has a Role that lets her feel useful. And the teenager, Aliz, she’s a felis now, and mentioned being excited about her new features—and having magic, of course.” I scratch at my chin, thinking of others. “The Bard said he’d played the flute when he was a kid, and he’d fondly recalled his mother playing as well.”
Kanin laughs. “Wish he’d practiced as an adult, too.”
“Fair enough,” I chuckle. “But it seems like there might be a connection with most people—either their Role or the new body, or for some maybe both.”
“Maybe,” Kanin says, sounding doubtful. “What about Sandro?”
“An elf Dragon Slayer?” I pause to think. “I’m not sure, I’d have to ask him. Perhaps a love of fantasy? Or even the desire to be strong, independent, prove one’s worth…” I shake my head. “As I said, speculation. But there’s enough of a pattern that it could be something. Even if the body or Role isn’t a perfect fit, maybe it’s simply whatever ‘closest-fit’ the System could come up with in the spur of the moment.”
I immediately imagine a confused, overwhelmed magical program with a hundred new souls to sort through, and it haphazardly assigning each one a body and Role. Maybe it didn’t get everything right, but it was trying its best.
Mirzayael says I need to stop anthropomorphizing things.
Kanin is silent for a moment. “What about me?”
“Ah.” I grimace. I hadn’t even been thinking of what I might be implying about Kanin. “I think, perhaps, you are an exception to the rule in many respects. You didn’t fall into this world by accident—you were magically trapped and bound to the form you ended up in. And it does seem your Role—Homunculus—is based on your form, even if you didn’t have the opportunity to influence which form you got.”
He grunts. “That’s for sure.”
“Sorry,” I hurriedly say. “As I mentioned, this is speculation. I could be entirely incorrect.”
“No,” Kanin says, his translator producing an artificial sigh. “I think you’re probably onto something. You’re way smarter than me—if there is a pattern, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the one to notice it.”
I start to object, but Kanin cuts me off.
“It’s okay,” he insists. “In a way, it makes me feel a little better. If it’s not totally random, then that means it’s less likely anyone ended up like me. You know, you’re right that at least it seems like everyone who identified as a man or woman ended up in the body they were most comfortable with. If it was totally random, there would be a lot more mix-ups. So that’s a nice thought. And if some people ended up with Roles that they don’t mind, that would be nice, too, given the circumstances.”
I give him a sad smile. “I’m sorry you weren’t afforded the same opportunity.”
A strange ripple runs through his form, and when he next speaks, the voice coming out of his translator sounds more upbeat.
“Nah, I’m fine. Really!” he adds as I give him a skeptical look. “I’ve had plenty of time to get used to this body. And like you said, it comes with certain perks. How many people do you know who can be in three places at once?”
His levity sounds a little forced to my ears, but I can also tell when someone doesn’t want to be pushed on a topic.
“If you say so,” I reply. “Anyway, keep an eye out on everyone’s Roles, won’t you? I could use an outside perspective to determine if there might be something to this theory. Not that there’s anything we could do with this information, but…”
“...But it would be nice,” he agrees. “Yeah, I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks, Fyre.”
Both of us stand there quietly for a moment, and I can’t tell if Kanin is too awkward to disengage, or simply wrapped in his thoughts. The lack of body language does make it a bit difficult to tell.
“Well,” I say, turning back to the other Travelers. “Are there any other Roles you could use some help with?”
“Actually, yes,” Kanin says, pointing me over to the group at the front of the classroom. “There’s one with the Role of Tailor. I’m pretty sure I know how to address that one, but you’ll know who to match him up with.”
“I’m sure Yequariel would love a new apprentice,” I agree. “Lead the way!”
Kanin takes me over to the group to introduce me once more, and I’m greeted with a variety of reactions from shyness to amazement. The previous conversation has me reflecting on my Role as well. The Dark Lord. The name was based on an Earth literary trope, but the actual scope of the requirement revolves around me protecting a group of people. And not just protecting them, but forcing a closeness—a closeness I hadn’t known in my previous life.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I’d like to think that perhaps the System attempted to design my Role to my benefit as well.