Alex jerks awake with a scream. He'll doesn't keep screaming for long but definitely for a few seconds he frantically looks around the room. He notices the quest dialog but he isn't quite in a place to read it or work out the implications yet.

Well, that actually makes Ser Peckingsworth shut up! For about five seconds, anyway. Then the neighbor's rooster resumes crowing.

He's in his bedroom. Was it all a nightmare? It would be a shockingly detailed on of it was but... no the quest dialog. "Quests." He commands.

Active Quests
None

Completed Quests
About the Town
Party Like There's No Tomorrow

Failed Quests
The First Time's Always the Hardest

So the system is real. The whole sequence of events on the festival day was probably real too. What's even happening?

Failing the quest probably confirms that he died, but if he died, how exactly is he back home. He reopens the quest to see if rereading it will tell him more or jog his memory.

The First Time's Always the Hardest (Failed)
Trouble is coming to Eriksmont. Will you meet it when it does?
Objective: Survive for a year and a day. 
Success: +5 Might XP. Unlock status: New Game Plus. ???
Failure: An important lesson. Unlock status: New Game Plus. Return to start point.
Bonus Objective 1 (Failed): Jennifer is still alive after a year and a day. ???
Bonus Objective 2 (Failed): At least a thousand of the people of Eriksmont are still alive after a year and a day.

"Info New Game Plus."

New Game Plus 1: This status marks you as one who persists and perseveres through the ebb and flow of this world and its stories. You have returned to the beginning 1 time(s). 

Well that's his somewhat wild suspicion confirmed. The good news is that Jen is alive again. The bad news is that unless he figures something out she'll die again tonoght and he will too.

He should go talk to her about this.

Before that though... he picks up a small notebook and tries something.

"Store."

The notebook vanishes in a wisp of black smoke. It can be seen in his Inventory if he checks.

He does check just to confirm the name of the item for the retrieval command. The he goes to talk to Jen.

He's already had this conversation once and he doesn't want to have it all over again. Still there's things he needs to explain. He tells her about the strange blue boxes and demonstrates retrieving and storing his notebook. He also recounts what he can remember of the box describing his choice and how he's on the path to being a named. And then he explains how he died and returned.

It's a lot for Jen to take in, she almost interrupts several times but she knows that look, more from the mirror than from Alex but she knows it. He needs to get it all out.

Once he finally does, she takes a moment to contemplate it all. "Do you have any idea how many chances you get? Surely, not even the gods could loop time forever."

"I hadn't thought that far. I don't think there's any way for me to know though. I would expect it's a high number, but then I expected that the quest saying I had to survive for a year and a day meant that I probably wouldn't die today.

"I don't really know what to expect. I think if I had survived for that year and a day, I would still be back here but there isn't any way to be sure except surviving that long."

"That's unfortunate. Knowing what the limit is seems important, but if you don't have a way to find out I think that you need to try to succeed every time, rather than just treating things as an opportunity to learn."

"I'm not really sure I know how to do that yet. Unless I learn a lot more about magic really fast, I don't think I can stop that woman. So either I need help from someone else, or we need to flee. Or both. I don't think just fleeing will work, if I'm truly on the path to being a named the narrative won't just let me run but it might be enough to survive for more than a day."

Jen nods slowly. "Such a heavy burden you've accepted. I can't say I like the idea of running again and this time with no planned destination but perhaps it's our only choice. Then again... if you were to only have two chances I would agree with you with respect to it not making very much sense. Perhaps this is your safest chance to try to do something."

"I think, if I'm going to try something my best chance is Lilian. The imperial mage I mentioned. She most likely died with everyone else but maybe if she was forewarned she could do something or get that other imperial mage, Aeschivus, to help somehow."

"It's as good a plan as any I suppose. Do you have any way to convince her you're telling the truth?"

"Not something I would want to rely on but my ability to store objects is incredible magic and I picked up on enough anecdotes that I at least won't seem to be a loon. She might see me as dangerous or threatening instead but she should at least take me seriously."

"Well then, I guess you somewhere to start. I'll leave for Isvos after this assembly of the town. I expect my absence would be quite notable otherwise."

"I guess I do. And good luck. If all goes well I'll meet you there in a few days." Alex doesn't bother with chores this second go around instead he dresses up nicely again and heads to the tavern where he found Lilian the first time.

On his way out, Alex nearly runs into a greying man in travel-stained robes in the very act of knocking on the door. 

"Hello. Can I help you?" Does he recognize this man at all?

The face isn't familiar, though maybe the robes sort of remind him of someone he saw talking to dockworkers in the tavern? Alex never got a good look at that person's face. 

"I thought I heard screaming, is everything okay?" asks the man, lowering his knocking-hand to his side.

"I had a nightmare. At the end, someone stabbed me through the throat. It was... upsetting. I'm still a bit shaken to be honest but trying to move on. It's the festival today afterall."

"Oh, I'm sorry, that sounds distressing. I'm glad you're alright, though. I'm Batrakos, just passing through, but I'm also looking forward to the festival myself. Do you know where I might go to acquire a bit of local flavor?"

"People are probably already setting up for some of the earlier events. I know all the bakeries in town are likely already focused on baking up a storm for the competition later. The grounds outside of town and the town square are the other big event spaces."

"Thank you. What about food and lodgings? Is there anywhere you'd recommend for a weary traveler?"

"There's a tavern with some rooms that I'm actually heading to now there's also an inn that I think has cheaper rooms if that's a concern."

"Oh, excellent, would you mind terribly if I tagged along? I could do with some breakfast." 

Alex doesn't quite hide his brief grimace but it doesn't last long. "That's fine."

If Batrakos notices the grimace, he gives no sign of it. He cheerfully accompanies Alex to the Vorkenfalx.

...which, as it happens, is somewhat less populated at this hour. There's just Gaedoris setting up for the day, Grumio the drunk, and a couple of dockworkers. (It is perhaps seven in the morning, a couple hours before Alex arrived in the last iteration, since he skipped chores.)

Oh... right, he'll just order breakfast then and something without much alcohol to drink. And then he'll settle in to wait.

Batrakos thanks Alex, orders a breakfast himself, then goes to introduce himself to the dockworkers. Grumio orders an ale. 

As Alex waits for Lilian, others trickle in: an off-duty guard, a couple more dockworkers. A local woman stops by to chat briefly with Gaedoris, complaining about the festival preparations, the flood of rude visitors, and "some floozy" who's been seen talking with the town watch. Batrakos introduces himself as she's leaving and asks some questions about the town; they speak for a bit before she departs to go about her day.  Batrakos himself leaves shortly thereafter. 

At about nine in the morning, Alex finally spots Lilian, Welligan, and Priscus descending from the upstairs rooms of the Vorkenfalx. 

Unlike every other person Alex has seen today, Lilian is (apparently) wearing a completely different outfit than last time, a blue dress with matching earrings and a fur overcoat. 

That's confusing. He wonders how that happened. Is there some chance Lilian remembers what happened too? Regardless he'll give a gentle wave when she comes into view and see how she responds. He doesn't really want to have this conversation here in the midst of so many people so the best option he has is to be her guide again.

Lilian doesn't appear to notice, at first, although Welligan glances in Alex's direction and frowns. 

It doesn't take her long, though. She orders breakfast for herself and her guards, "and a Tutovan red if you have it," and then spots Alex and strikes up a conversation as before. She doesn't immediately mention that she's looking for a guide; she does ask Gaedoris and Alex lots of questions about the town and the festival. Alex notices that Welligan seems to be studying him silently. 

At any rate, Lilian's not hard to convince to accept a town guide a second time. 

He's pretty sure he's acting a bit weird. Once they're on their way Alex will start to open with his real topic. "So, Lilian, I have something of an unbelievable story for you. I'm not really sure how I would go about proving I'm telling the truth though and I want to try to convince you." He pauses awkwardly for a moment before rushing into it. "I've met you before on a previous version of today."

"That...is quite the claim. Could you elaborate?" 

"Well as a bit of a strange starting point, you're the only person who was wearing something different today. Did you by any chance consider several outfits including," he goes on to describe her previous outfit in detail. He spent the day with her and it's one of the fanciest outfits he's seen so he remembers a lot of details.

"I don't recall ever considering that particular outfit, but granting the premise, I would not be surprised that's what you saw...remind me to explain the particulars if we manage to establish that this is not an elaborate hoax. In the meantime, I think this calls for a bit of discretion. Ah, here will do nicely." Lilian leads the way to an unoccupied alley just off the main street, open enough to be visible but not bustling with people. She casts something that faintly colors the cobblestone ground in a white circle several paces across, with Alex and Welligan inside and Priscus standing just outside. She then casts something else, following the circle all the way around at a brisk walk. After completing the circuit, she steps inside the circle herself. 

"I've made it more inconvenient to eavesdrop on us, for the moment at least. I would like a more thorough explanation, if you wouldn't mind, starting with what exactly you mean by 'a previous version of today' and what supposedly happened then."

"Well... to start at the ending, I'm pretty sure everyone here in Eriksmont is killed by a rogue mage in some sort of ritual tonight... well I don't know it's a ritual but I don't know another reason someone would want to kill everyone here. And I don't know for sure that she killed everyone as opposed to just people on the festival green outside of town. But she killed a lot of people including me. If I wasn't on the path to being a Named I'm pretty sure that would have been it."

"If what you say is true, I'm certainly glad you chose to warn me.

"...perhaps things would make more sense if you started at the beginning. I expect you could predict some events I've yet to see happen, if you've lived through this day already." 

"Well... the true beginning happened before I met you earlier in the morning for the first version of this morning. A mysterious box of text appeared in front of me." Alex proceeds to lay all his cards on the table including demonstrating his inventory trick and then goes into recounting the events of the day highlighting details like who won various competitions and the arrival of Aeschivus and the events surrounding that including who in the Eriksmont was noticed and taken and the fact that he wasn't noticed because he was standing next to her. Then he finally moves to recount everything he can remember about the woman and the short window between waking back up and dying.

Lilian listens intently without interruption. When Alex finishes, she is quiet for a long minute in thought.

"That is an unusual story even by what I understand to be Named standards. I admit I don't know what to make of it. Strange things do tend to happen around Named. But if your predictions about the competitions bear out, that's highly suggestive." 

Welligan clears his throat. "All due respect, Lilian, I recommend leaving town. This ritual sounds like bad news. I can't keep you safe from whatever that was, and if we're being conned, well..." 

"Quite," Lilian answers drily. "Nevertheless..." 

There is a pause while, outside the circle, Priscus encourages a gawking urchin to move along. 

"...I intend to at least see if Alex's predictions hold true."

"If he wanted you in a specific place —"

"Then he needn't have bothered spinning such a risky tale, and could presumably have simply told me there was Eriksmont excitement to be had there."

"—Well you know how I'd feel about that," Welligan grumbles. 

"A word of caution, Alex. Be careful who you tell about these experiences of yours. There is magic to ensnare the mind which might well persist even through death and rebirth, magic which might be known to someone who can knock out an entire town with a song. And I know of a few people who'd be more than happy to dissect a burgeoning Named, given opportunity or excuse." 

"Oh, I'll be more careful going forward. I just... I don't know how many chances I have before I die for real and I don't know how to leverage what I have to do anything personally. I'll probably try leaving town myself next time to see if that means I have more than a day to try and find some way to be able to do more, maybe try letting Aeschivus take me if running myself doesn't keep me safe."

"That's very reasonable of you." 

"Now, let's go watch some highly athletic men fall off logs. Trust but verify, and all that."

Lilian casts something else, gesturing towards the ground, and the circle she drew earlier melts away.

It's a short walk from there to the river, out the southwest gate and down the road past homes and warehouses.

The logrolling competition goes the same as before, the birlers pitching one another into the Cabelpas to the delight of onlookers. The matches play out exactly as Alex remembers, including the dramatic win by Raskos.

That's good, it would be unsettling if this changed and undermine his credibility.

Onto the field to see Aeschivus or does Lilian want to go see the baking competition and wait for Aeschivus's messenger to summon them?

"I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but I'd rather see Aeschivus arrive. If things play out the way you described, I want to witness them. And then I want to have a talk with the man about this ritual." 

"Okay, this way then." He starts walking, "If you can keep my name out of it I'd prefer that based on what you said earlier but I'll trust your judgement about this."

"Oh, I agree." 

They arrive in time to see Aeschivus and his entourage speaking with the dancers on the green. Before long, Alex sees Aldric the blacksmith abandon an archery target he's hauling and march towards the gathering to investigate. Minutes later, Aldric calls over an apprentice and sends him running into the town. 

From a distance, the discussion looks to be growing heated, with Aldric making increasingly agitated gestures at the magus. Eventually a pair of soldiers interpose themselves between Aldric and Aeschivus, forcing the blacksmith away. 

Mayor Daertes arrives next, not-quite-running to greet the magus and his people. His arrival triggers another round of heated discussion, and more officials crowd around as time goes on.

Lilian chooses to mingle with the confused dancers, keeping half an eye on Aeschivus from a safe distance; this time he doesn't seem to notice nor approach. 

When Aldric is dragged off to the square, Lilian excuses herself. "I'd like to see this in person, and check on something at the inn," she explains. "I'll be back shortly." 

"Okay, I'll be here." Alex will keep his distance from Aeschivus. Maybe in a future attempt where he's planning to be taken he'll try getting closer.

"Aeschivus, what a pleasant surprise." 

"Lilian. I trust you're not here to interfere with Imperial business."

"On the contrary, our meeting is sheer happy coincidence. I'm just here for the festival. I do hope to speak with you on a matter of great import, once your current task is finished. I've learned some alarming news while in town." 

"...very well."

"Splendid, I shan't delay you further." 

Aeschivus completes his survey as before, and allows Daertes to dismiss the townsfolk. Instead of riding off to the north, however, he and his people wait for Lilian at the north edge of the green. Lilian warns Alex that she might be gone for a while, but that she'd be back well before the time of the supposed ritual. Then she and her guards approach Aeschivus for a lengthy conversation. His group departs after that, heading north, and Lilian goes with them. 

The Feast of Thresholds proceeds, subdued but yet unconquered. The procession, the mock battle, and the dances follow as before.

And at about eight in the evening, an old woman Alex doesn't recognize, accompanied by a pair of men in the uniforms of the Eriksmont town guard, sits next to him on the green. "Well, this has certainly been an interesting evening. I am less inclined to doubt you, now."

It takes him a second but he manages to stop himself from saying her name aloud. "Oh? What did you find out?"

"It just so happens there's a woman calling herself 'Clarisse' who's been spending an awful lot of time with the Eriksmont town guard these last few weeks. It also happens that positively everyone she's met thinks she's wonderful, just wonderful, and quite the singer too, don't you know, and in fact she ever so kindly offered to give a private concert for the guard this evening, in honor of the festival, of course."

"That is better than I had feared. I believed she might have mentally dominated them just before she arrived and that this town might just be a small part of a bigger plan. I suppose it still might be."

"Outright domination isn't completely out of the question, but it's harder than many assume to cast, maintain, and conceal. At any rate, Aeschivus and I intend to crash that party in less than an hour. If all goes well, we'll catch her in the act of attempted mass mind control and that will be that. 

"If not...I'm loathe to rely on it, but perhaps you'll get a third chance. If you do, you can tell...other me...that we attempted a Wine Cellar Special and it didn't work. Also that I should do the obvious check sooner and it comes up blue-white. I'll know what you mean. 

"If there's anything else you need to ask me before the excitement starts, now's the time."

"Do you think it's a good idea for me to join an order and which order do you think I should try to join if so?"

"I think that if this situation keeps repeating, you should first attempt to enroll in Grawtosh Academy at Arbis. Grawtosh provides the most comprehensive education on Petronian theory, associated skills, and the Orders to be found anywhere, and useful connections to boot. It won't be easy or comfortable, at your age, but I think it's worth the attempt. 

"Tuition at Grawtosh is a pawn of vis* per season, or else a rather large sum of money. Students without wealthy families typically commit to joining an Order after a year or two of lessons. Grawtosh provides a basic grounding in theory, then the graduate apprentices to an Order magus for some years. 

"I'd only advise otherwise if you want to specialize in a specific magical tradition other than Avernian ritual magic. The Order of Aetherics has its elemental magic, the Order of Device its Gnostic crafting, the Order of Cognizance its Enigma of Twilight, and so on. The first two require opening rituals that are widely considered mutually incompatible with standard Avernian practice, although perhaps being Named offers a way around that. If you are confident in a focus on one of those, you could perhaps convince the corresponding Order to accept you directly. 

"What classes are available to you will be determined by your performance on the entrance exams, so in theory you could attend Grawtosh multiple times if you...reset. You may need a story the second time which explains how you were opened to the Arts without there being an Imperial record of it. It had better be a good one, too; it is not generally considered wise or easy to lie to Quaesitores."

*According to Alex's books, a pawn of vis is the smallest easily-measurable unit of concentrated magical essence in Petronian theory. It is typically attuned to exactly one of the ten Petronian Forms.

"I'll look into that, if I commit to joining an order in advance is the tuition waved or is it just that people join because they can only afford a year or two? If I'm understanding correctly I'll loop before a year regardless but in case I'm wrong about that, do I also have to choose which order in advance?"

"Oh, the Order pays. Usually. You do have to pick an Order in advance, although you can in theory swap if one Order is interested enough to reimburse another for your tuition costs.

"Alternatively, you could formally enlist with the Imperial army and study for a while at a provincial military school. Those mainly exist to prepare passable magi for the Order of Wrath. Destruction and dispelling magic, mostly, crude but viciously effective. They don't teach much else, though. 

"There's laws that govern apprenticeship and enlistment agreements, enforceable by everything from corporal punishment to compulsion spells, but I didn't pay nearly enough attention in lectures to know how they'd apply to a time loop. The loyal and correct thing to say, of course, is that if one makes a commitment to Empire and Order then one ought to keep it regardless of surrounding circumstances, and regardless of whether Empire or Order are capable of actually remembering said commitment. And if anyone asks, you may tell them that's what I advised. 

"Oh, there are also a few interesting independent schools around the Empire as well. They've sadly declined over time, as the Avernian tradition became more popular, and they tend to have peculiar conditions for entry, but they do exist and they can be quite enlightening." 

"With that in mind do you have any suggestions? I'm a little unsure how much the choice of order restricts what I'm likely to learn or how much independence I'll be able to have."

"Well, if I were advising a normal Gifted, I'd say it depends a great deal on what kind of magus you want to be. If you apprentice with an Order, you'll spend most of your time doing grunt work for a senior magus and the rest learning whatever Arts they specialize in. Assuming you are not presently sitting on a small fortune, that's the standard way to become an accomplished magus in a decade or three. This commits you to at least one season a year of Order-assigned duties, and often more. 

"Independence is hard to come by, I'm afraid, but if you'd rather not commit to an Order, there are a few covenants that still occupy legally-protected niches.* The monastery at Viginti traditionally makes a study of Yan Tei philosophies and magical traditions, for example, and they are mostly autonomous but obliged to share any findings with the Orders. Also, their cook makes an exquisite roast duck. 

"The Order of Wrath is the other extreme; they commit you to full-time military service, but also focus almost exclusively on training combat magic. If you urgently want to be able to personally win a fight against a powerful magus, that's the place to start. I believe there's a small academy in Isvos,** you could inquire there.

"If you want generalist experience before you pick an Order, Grawtosh is still a good choice. I can put in a good word with the Order of Dreams; they'll happily sponsor you to get a basic education on my recommendation, and I expect they'll also be willing to trade you to another Order if you so choose. 

"You could get special treatment by admitting you're on the path to being Named, perhaps demonstrating that pocket-dimension trick, but then absolutely everyone is going to want to sink their claws into you one way or another. If you're like most Named, you won't be able to hide your nature forever, but you should treat notoriety as a resource and spend it wisely. Otherwise, unless you are quite extraordinarily good at intrigue, you're liable to end up on someone's leash, if not their laboratory table.

"As to how all of this interacts with the possibility of repeating the same year more than once, I must admit I can't confidently say much more than I have. It would certainly make you the envy of many a magus, if it proved true. You could afford to take some quite impressive risks in pursuit of knowledge, and take them repeatedly. Go forth and try things, I suppose."

*The practice of magic is tolerated outside the Orders, but it's (mostly) illegal to teach magic in Miezia without being part of a Petronian Order. 
**Capital city of Umbrica province, in which Eriksmont is located. Named for the Aspiring Commander who conquered much of the region. 

"That seems like a reasonable plan then. I'll happily accept your recommendation. I'd prefer to at least not start out operating under false pretenses so planning to go to Grawtosh with your recommendation. If I'm wrong it doesn't sound like too bad a life and illusions have a lot of potential utility even if they won't carry a battle alone. I get the impression Aeschivus is formidable so I don't really expect personal direct combat magics to be what carries the day if the two of you don't suffice."

"Quite. And if for some reason I don't survive this, do please contact the Order of Dreams anyway and tell them what happened. Although I imagine the province governor should be your first stop; we don't know what happens if the entirety of Eriksmont is slaughtered tonight, but I'd wager it doesn't stop there. We have a fast horse and a couple of scouts posted just out of sight along the east road. If all else fails, they will accompany you to Isvos." 

"My grandmother already left to head that way so that works. Is there somewhere I should wait? Should I just start walking that way now?"

"Perhaps close enough to see whether this Clarisse emerges from the east gate again, but far enough to flee unnoticed if she does? The edge of the green could work, but you know this town better than I."

"I think I might be able to find somewhere in the hills that I can see the gate from. A woman accompanied by a number of guards is distinct enough to see from a distance and so would everyone on the green falling over."

"Then go, and the gods be with you."

And the "old woman" and her escort set off towards town.

Alex ventures off to the hills and settles in to watch once he finds a good spot.

If the magi and their entourage double back to enter Eriksmont, they do a good enough job of disguising themselves that Alex can't tell them apart from festival-goers.

For about an hour, everything is quiet, if one ignores the raucous partying of several thousand townsfolk.

A bit after nine in the evening, a woman and a group of guards do indeed emerge from the eastern gate...

...but it's a considerably different group than last time, if the dark evening dress and bright orange coat are any indication. 

Aeschivus walks stiffly at the head of the group, with his own guards in tow. Behind them, a woman in a black and silver dress is thoroughly bound, gagged, blindfolded, and draped across a horse, with the horse and its passenger being led by one guard and diligently watched by three more from beyond arm's reach with spears at the ready. 

(One does not take chances with magi of unknown origin and powers.) 

A small horde of townsfolk and Eriksmont garrison troops follow after, craning their necks for better view. At the pointed looks (and more pointed weaponry) from the rest of the entourage, they keep to a distance that might be called barely respectful. 

By saving the town of Eriksmont from mass slaughter, albeit in a thoroughly undramatic manner, you have gained 2 Might XP! 

You are now Might 1! 

You have unlocked an Aspect! 

At first Alex is apprehensive but when the woman doesn't go towards the stage and especially once Aeschivus appears it's clear they've succeeded. The system notification is just confirmation. He'll start making his way back down aiming to come from a low profile angle.

In the meantime, "Info Aspect."

Info/Aspects

Just as a Name is a way in which your story reflects the stories of others, an Aspect is a way in which your story reflects your own aspirations and accomplishments.

Aspects unlocked: 1 of 3

Grow 0 (0/5) 
Gain additional XP from long-term study or practice, scaling with the level of this Aspect. You ignore penalties to experience gain from having scores in multiple Supernatural Abilities, including magical Arts. You may gain unique abilities from books, training, or defeated foes, even if you would not normally be capable of using them. You may gain Might XP by consuming vis, up to a limit of this Aspect's level in pawns of vis each season. 
Apply Might XP to advance this Aspect. 

???
Defeat a difficult enemy or obtain a rare skill to unlock your next Aspect. 

That is an excellent ability.

Alex won't approach the mages given that he doesn't think Aeschivus knows about him and also he doesn't want the woman to know to try to get revenge on him.

Aeschivus and his larger group peel away to continue east, prisoner in tow. 

Well he can do as he likes, but it sounds like her work here is done. Therefore: 

DANCING!!!

The Festival of Asteron officially ends at midnight, although festival-goers trickle back to bed in various states of exhaustion and inebriation for some time afterwards. 

In the morning, Ser Peckingsworth greets the actual dawn as enthusiastically as usual. Jen's still away, and the green is still somewhat trampled from the prior night's partying. 

Alex will celebrate with everyone else. He won't drink too heavily but he'll definitely have some. When morning comes he'll eat an early breakfast and then go to Lilian's inn to try to meet with her again.

This works! She's still staying at the Vorkenfalx.

She looks completely different again and is only a little bit hungover. 

"Good morning Lilian. Come to think of it, you never did explain how you have quite so many outfits. Are you using magic for that?"

"Oh yes, and I did promise to explain how that might be such a persistent trait, didn't I. Tell me, how much do you know about magical sigils?"

"I know they exist, from context I'm guessing they might have something to do with anchoring spells or perhaps randomness?"

"Oh no, that's just mine. A magus's sigil, you see, is a personal concept that shows up in almost any spell they cast. Sigils can be practically anything: roses, bronze, fearsomeness, smallness...there's an Order of Sustenance magus in Isvos whose every spell reflects the essence of swine. Remarkably straightforward young man. Anyway, my sigil is...well, I suppose you might say it's the concept of never being the same thing twice." 

"That's very you. And somehow that can tap into the narrative or some deeper level of magic?"

"Well, sigils can be very insistent. It's supposed to be possible to conceal or fake them, but I could imagine mine persisting even amidst something as strange as repeating the same day. As for any deeper connections with magical theory or namelore, I'm afraid I couldn't say." 

He nods, "Perhaps I'll find out one day. I wonder a bit what mine will be."

"I look forward to finding out."

"On a perhaps more somber topic, how did things go down last night? A woman with that kind of ability seems potentially very difficult to subdue."

"Yes, she had most of the garrison eating out of her hand by the time we arrived, and I'm honestly not sure how she did it. Aeschivus didn't think they were actively enspelled. She might have convinced the lot of them to defend her, if we hadn't been prepared for exactly this sort of scenario thanks to your warning. It turns out that it's terribly difficult to be enchantingly helpless at people when you suddenly look and sound like a demonic frog.

"That leaves her actual magic. Now, a general rule of thumb in these matters is that if a magus and a metamagus get into a fight, all else equal the metamagus wins. Well, the first rule of thumb is that the first magus to get a spell off usually wins, but the thing about metamagi is they tend to have contingencies. Also rules of thumb are nonsense much of the time. Anyway, she tried to croak everyone to sleep, it did not work, say what you will about the man but Aeschivus is no slouch in a crisis." 

"That's concerning, that it doesn't show up as a spell effect. I wonder how she accomplished that. Maybe it's as simple as using a temporary spell to convince them, Jen says that nobody likes to believe they've been tricked but that that can make it harder for people to realize when it's happened."

"A good thought. I have found that sometimes the best effects can be created by timely removal of illusion. 

"Now that she's properly contained, 'Clarisse' will most likely be taken to Arbis to stand trial. Her spell attempt violated Order and Imperial law, so I expect things won't go well for her with two magi as witnesses. I'll be along to attend once my business here is concluded."

"Indeed, speaking of travel plans, you said that you'd give me a recommendation to Grawtosh. Would it make sense for us to travel together?"

"For complex reasons, it's best if we travel separately, I'm afraid. I do hope your journey is a safe and enlightening one."

Before they part, Lilian will write two letters for Alex, one for the governor of Isvos to please take reasonable measures to facilitate the travel of a prospective magus, and one for the Order of Dreams in Arbis. 

"Safe travels then, perhaps we'll meet again one day."

With that not being an option Alex will pack for the long journey and then set out.

It's a mercifully uneventful journey along the Via Janus, through the rolling farmlands and occasional sparse forests of this part of Umbrica.

The province capital, Isvos, is a large step up from Eriksmont in size and population. Guarding the only bridge across the Cabelpas for a hundred miles, it boasts fortifications raised and enchanted by (former) Primor Magnus Phrainia herself, scarred by age but still thrumming with magic even to Alex's rudimentary senses. Its red-roofed homes huddle behind the supernaturally smooth walls, and newer houses spill out along both banks of the river. It is surrounded on all sides by farms and pastures, with the notable exception of a cluster of buildings on a hill to the northeast, the lee side of which hill is a fenced-in area containing several hundred pigs. 

After making some inquiries — the residents speak a mixture of Miezan and native Umbrican — Alex learns that Jen is staying at the Fifth Crossing, a modest inn that nevertheless boasts an impressive view of the Sanguine Span and Redwater Spur. Although the Empire has been officially at peace with the neighboring Long Gardens for longer than Alex has been alive, the fortress that guards the Cabelpas remains an imposing sight. 

Jen embraces Alex warmly when he finally meets her. "I'm so glad you're okay. How did things turn out?"

He'll return the hug with equal warmth, "Everything was fine, it seems I was scared for no reason and you didn't need to make this journey after all."

Jen scrutinizes him for a moment but realizes he's worried about eavesdroppers. With that in mind she invites him back to her room for a bit more privacy.

Whereupon, Alex actually explains everything that happened in a quiet voice and informs her of his plan to join the academy.

Jen in turn fills him in on the fact that there's a small Order of Sustenance convent in the city and lets him know that Aeschivus arrived with two prisoners rather than just the one she might have expected from Alex's story.

"Strange, I wonder if they found a co-conspirator or it's unrelated."

"I don't know. I hope you have a safe journey. Be careful at the academy, I don't remember hearing about it being quite as cutthroat as the orders can get but powerful people are never safe to be around."

"I will."

Finally saying goodbye stretches out a bit longer with many more hugs and not a few tears. Afterwards, Alex goes looking for a caravan headed to the capital or in the absence of that some smaller travelling group.

Thanks to Lilian's letter, Alex need not worry about the cost of mundane travel. But it will still take most of a season to reach Arbis. The main routes are overland via the magically-secured Miezan road system (lengthy but widely considered safe) or sailing down the Cabelpas to the sea and then either east overland or farther south and then up another major river.

(The Empire can, rarely and at great expense, teleport people between cities. Isvos does not command nearly enough strategic importance to merit an investment like that, especially since Imperator Khale outlawed human blood sacrifice.)

Given the length, Alex will see if he can find some new books in the city to occupy himself with. He brought a couple from home but you can never have too many books.

Given he has some time and more privacy than will easily be available while travelling he finally gets around to asking the system for info on more of the abilities he has. He'll prioritize any of the ones that seem related to magic but he'll try to read all of them eventually in case they have hidden secrets he doesn't expect.

Books are expensive. Affordable, on a healer's income, but at a rate of something like "several months' salary" if they are sold at all. Nonetheless, the military academy at Isvos has a few books they could be persuaded to part with, on topics including Imperial law, Petronian law, the Miezan language, philosophiae, history, and the seven Artes Liberales (grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music, with most emphasis on the first three.) All the books available are in Miezan, of course. It's a treasure trove of knowledge compared to Eriksmont. 

According to the scribes, the Sustainer covenant of Moccus might have a few books on magic. 

The mundane Abilities are more or less what he expected. As for the magical: 

Creo (Cr) 4 (0/5 XP)
Creo magic makes things that exist independently into better things of their kind, which includes bringing them into existence from nothing. Things that exist independently are called “substances,” and include people, trees, and rocks, but do not include colors, weights, and sizes. Creo can thus both create and heal things.

The kind of thing that something is depends on its form. Natural things, such as plants, animals, flames, and so on, have simple forms, which means that the form is just one thing. This makes them easy to create and heal. Natural things created by magic are always perfect examples of their kind unless the magus wants them to be damaged. Similarly, magic can heal a natural thing even if the caster has no idea what is wrong, as it simply restores the form.

Artificial things, such as bread, swords, and books, have complex forms. Their forms are combinations of several natural forms put together in a particular way. Creating an artificial thing by magic requires some skill. An Int + Finesse roll is made to determine how good the created thing is. You can only create something you know about. Any magus can create bread or cloth, but in order to create an elaborate mosaic depicting the foundation of the Petronian Orders, you would need to know what it should depict. If you were wrong, the mosaic would also be wrong. Similar considerations apply to repairing artificial things. 

You need not be able to create an artificial item by mundane means in order to create it by magic; you need only be somewhat familiar with it. A magically created item will always be the right sort of thing unless your Finesse roll botches. Thus, absent a botch, magically created cloth will always be a whole piece and keep people warm, but it might not be very attractive.

You can also use Creo to make something a better example of its kind, even if it isn’t actually injured or damaged. Thus, Creo can make a horse as swift as the fastest horse, or a man as strong as the strongest man. Creo cannot make a horse able to run as fast as the wind, because no ordinary horse can do that, nor can it make a man strong enough to lift a castle. Since maturation involves becoming a better example of your kind, Creo magic can make something mature quickly. Aging after maturation involves becoming a worse example of your kind, and thus is covered by Perdo.

Magically created things last for the duration of the spell, but their effects last indefinitely. Thus, the footprints of a magically created horse do not vanish, nor does its dung, if it was fed on mundane food. If a magically created horse was fed on mundane food for a year, it would leave a mundane corpse when the spell expired, as the mundane food has been converted into mundane body. Conversely, magically created food only nourishes for as long as the duration lasts, and someone who has eaten it becomes extremely hungry when the duration expires. Things washed with magically created water stay clean, but people made drunk with magically created alcohol instantly sober up.

Intellego (In) 1 (0/2 XP)
Intellego is the Art of perception. It allows you to gather information directly from the forms of things. This information does not deal with the appearances of things, unless Intellego Imaginem is used. Rather, it provides information about the actual nature of a thing. Thus, Intellego magic is not deceived by mundane disguises.

Animal (An) 2 (0/3 XP)
Animal concerns animals of all kinds, from the fish of the sea to the birds of the air. Animal spells cannot affect humans or humanlike people, unless they for some reason take the form of an animal.
Form Bonus: Soak against animal attacks (claws, bites, etc.), rolls to resist animal poisons.

Corpus (Co) 3 (0/4 XP)
Corpus is the Art of human bodies. This Art affects dead bodies and the bodies of magical or faerie creatures that look human, as well as those of living humans and humanlike peoples.
Form Bonus: Soak against human unarmed attacks, rolls to resist disease. It does not apply to aging rolls. 

Herbam (He) 1 (0/2 XP) 
This Form concerns plants and trees. This includes plant matter of all types, including that which is no longer alive — like dead wood and linens.
Form Bonus: Soak against wooden weapons, rolls to resist herbal poisons, rolls to resist starvation.

And:

Magic Sensitivity 1 (1/10 XP) 

You are often able to identify a place or object as magical. However, your sensitivity makes you more susceptible to magical effects. Subtract your Magic Sensitivity score from any Magic Resistance you possess. When attempting to sense the magic nature of a place or object, the System will assign an Ease Factor, against which is rolled a simple die + Perception + Magic Sensitivity.

Detecting a Magic aura would normally have an Ease Factor equal to 12 – aura level, so 9 for a level 3 aura and 6 for a level 6 aura.

For spells and enchanted items, an Ease Factor equal to 21 – the magnitude of effect is typical.

Enchanted items use the magnitude of the most powerful effect in the item.

For magical creatures, 15 – one fifth of the creature’s Magic Might is typical, so for a creature with a Magic Might of 25, the Ease Factor would be 10.

Common specialties: auras, magical creatures, enchanted items, active spells. 

He can afford to pick up one new book, Petronian law might be boring but it also seems like it will be very relevant to him going forwards so he'll get a book on that.

The mundane details of the skill descriptions are all things he basically already knew. The mentions of dice rolls are not. He actually finds the concept disturbing. It's true that the world is a chaotic place but he hadn't thought such things came down to a literal roll of some sort of godly dice. He'll try and ask the system for more details about that focusing on keywords like simple die, soak and botch.

Info/Dice

A simple die is a discretization of the metaphysical nature of chance in Creation as applied to the Player of Games. Its default odds are equivalent to those of as a ten-sided die numbering from 1 to 10, with equal odds of each. 

A stress die is as a simple die, except that additional effects occur on a roll of 1 or 10. On a 1, there is a possibility of a botch, represented by a separate roll of botch dice. On a 10, another stress die is rolled and the result doubled; this can occur multiple times (though it never results in a botch). 

A botch die represents a chance of major failure. Each is a ten-sided die; if any die results in a 1, the roll is a botch. If multiple dice result in a 1, multiple things go wrong. The more complex or dangerous a situation, the more botch dice are rolled. Some traits and effects may also influence the number of botch dice rolled. 

Info/Soak

Your Soak total against a particular type of damage is subtracted from the damage before calculating Wounds. Against most forms of harm, your base Soak is equal to your Stamina + armor bonus + Form bonus (if applicable). A Form bonus is your score in the associated magical Form / 5, rounded up. 

Info/Botch

When rolling botch dice, if any die results in a 1, the original roll is a botch. The roll not only fails, but fails spectacularly, usually to the detriment of the Player or their goals. 

The higher the stakes and the greater the powers involved in a roll, the more spectacular a botch can be. Some traits, effects, and circumstances, including adequate precautionary measures, may reduce the odds or severity of a botch. 

In addition to the unpredictable effects of a failed spell, magical botches typically also result in the magus gaining one point of Warping for each botch die that rolls a 1. Gaining two or more Warping Points this way also causes a magus to enter Twilight.

After the realization about chance, the idea of damage being represented by numbers is positively mundane.

Onto the journey ahead, based on his options he could go overland or over the water. If everything goes well the water journey would clearly be superior giving him more time to himself and requiring less effort on his part on top of being a shorter journey by a little.

As he's been reminded though he's on the path to being a named. Planning for things to go smoothly seems like an unavailable luxury so despite the disadvantages he'll go opt for the overland route and the protection of the Empire's enchanted roads.

The next overland caravan headed to Arbis is a sizeable one, bearing pearls and trinkets brought upriver from the Iridescent Archipelago, ceramics and alchemical ingredients from Quedlin, and some local furs and crafts. It includes a bevy of merchants and their hirelings, and — a far rarer sight, even in Isvos — one male gnome, his small cart covered in some kind of water-resistant fabric and pulled by a chestnut pony. 

On the one hand... this seems like exactly the sort of story hook he was worried about. On the other hand he's curious. Also he has the excuse that if he tries to avoid all the story hooks that the narrative will just try harder. If he finds a chance he'll introduce himself and see where that goes.

An opportunity arises almost as soon as they set out from Isvos; it's a long walk and there's not much else to do. The gnome goes by Trefoil, and claims in moderately accented Miezan to be a traveling scholar.

"That's exciting, I'm on my way to enroll in a school in the capital. What sorts of things do you study?"

"Many subjects, young student, or at least I once did. Linguistics, philosophy, mathematics, and others that I and mine have forgotten since the Fall, even their names lost. I suppose they all round off to history, now." 

"A grim topic to have such treasured knowledge stolen. I hope one day your people can recover or rebuild what you lost."

"As do I. What do you intend to study in the capital?" 

"I'll be studying magic at Grawtosh Academy."

"Gifted, are you? Unusual, to discover the talent so late. The students of Grawtosh often begin much earlier in life. What curious twist of fate brings you there now?" 

"I've known I was gifted for much longer but my grandmother didn't want me getting involved in such things. I changed my mind recently when a rogue mage attacked my small town. Fortunately there were a couple imperial mages passing through who were able to stop her. I don't want to think how bad it would have gotten otherwise, she had ensnared the whole town guard to doing her bidding."

"Ah. I can see how such an event could change one's perspective. May I record the tale?" He withdraws a battered notebook from his many-pocketed vest and sets it on a curious protrusion jutting out from his cart, where it nestles comfortably in an indentation in the wood.