Chapter 3 - Myrrdell

The town was quite beautiful, Thalion could see the homes nestled in between the towering mountain slopes appear as he walked along the margin of the Myrr River that ran through Myrrdell.

As he was approaching, Thalion received a notification.

>>>Personal Quest Triggered: Become the city lord of Myrdell.

Rewards: 100 EXP, [Lord of Myrrdell] Endowment<<<

'Well, that's free.' He thought as he went to pick up his town deed.

The sun hadn't risen yet, so there was only fog populating the streets.

The night watchman warily greeted the stranger coming through the fog, "May I ask who goes there?"

"Hello, I'm Thalion Ah'Vaialum. I'm here from Cael'therin. The capital's Guard Captain assigned me here as city lord. Where do I report to?"

"City lord, aye? I did hear the Elvar used to own Myrrdell, I guess it's true. You can just go to that two-story house over there, see? That's steward Himeron's place, an Elvar like you. He should also be awake now, actually." The watchman was actually a little excited to be the first to meet the alleged city lord, "I'm Wendell, by the way. Also, are you half-Elvar, sir? Your eyes, they're not both golden like them Ah'Vaialum. Is the green one from human blood? I've never seen that." Thalion was slightly tan and white-haired like all Ah'Vaialum—but his left eye wasn't golden like theirs. It was green.

"Yes, I am. But it actually turned green when I was an infant, I wasn't born with it. Well, see you around, Wendell, I'm going to Himeron's place since he should already be up." Quest first, chit-chat later—or never, honestly.

"That's interesting. See you around, too. Should I call you mayor?" Wendell said half-jokingly, as an Elvar would probably never take on an inaccurate title.

"Sure, mayor is short and sweet, unlike city lord." As he said that, Thalion walked away.

"Sure, then, Mr. Mayor." Wendell responded.

...

Moments later.

Steward Himeron, who was reading a book, heard a knock on his door.

When he opened it, Himeron saw a young Ah'Vaialum with heterochromatic eyes in front of him, "Silmaveth, young fellow. I don't think I've seen you before, have I?"

"Silmaveth. No, you haven't, sir. I'm Thalion Ah'Vaialum. Did you receive any news about my arrival? If not, here's my letter of appointment from the Guard Captain, I've been assigned as the new city lord of Myrrdell. I heard you were the guy to talk to from Wendell." Thalion quickly explained himself.

"I see, I did receive a message. They only said that they'd send someone. Turns out it was a new city lord." Himeron shot Thalion an inspecting gaze before saying, "Alright, then, follow me. Let's get you to sign the deed and make a lordship certificate." Himeron quickly verified the authenticity and content of the appointment letter, then he led Thalion upstairs to his office and archive.

The workspace and archive occupied the entire second floor of his home.

There was a distinct smell that Thalion simply couldn't pinpoint, 'It must be the ink, paper, or wood, I guess. Interesting, it smells so nice.'

Noticing the sniffing inhales of the new hire, Himeron explained smiling, "That's a type of artificial magic beast. It's microscopic and preserves the documents and wood of many Elvar archives. They were named Librekeepers by the other races that bought them, but we Elvar originally called them Ye'eldrae. It's because their smell is just like the fruits of eldrae bushes."

"Oh, I was wondering why it smelled so nice. A magic beast, huh? Are you a mage or a druid, by any chance?" Thalion didn't know anything about what kind of forces were stationed here. He had only heard there might be a couple of elite retirees and maybe some good talents—which didn't really explain much.

"Yes, I'm an old druid, been a [Grandmaster] for half of my life."

"That's impressive." Although every Elvar had at least [Grandmaster] Potential, it was just that–Potential–so they still needed to train to reach it. "I've heard that druids and mages are more difficult to progress in than other classes, is that true?"

"I'm not sure. I think what they mean is that it's less instinctual and physical when compared to other classes. I think it might be an aptitude you're born with besides what we call Potential."

"Good point." Noticing Himeron finally grabbing a file, Thalion asked, "Oh, is that the town deed?"

"Yes, it's technically the Myrrdell Deed of Municipal Governance. Now we just need to give you a city lord documentation and use your blood for the stamp."

Thalion noticed the stamp was quite fancy, so he observed it with the UI.

>>>Ah'Vaialum Royal Seal [High-Tier]

Effects: Encrypts both blood and ink seals with a special encryption. Uses imbued Mana to cleanse itself.<<<

"Wow, that stamp is nice." Thalion had to openly acknowledge. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Nearly half an hour later, they had completed the process.

The lordship certificate took some time to make, but now Thalion was officially the city lord of Myrrdell.

>>>Endowments: (Racial) - [Nature's Blessed], [Elvar Elegance], [Adaptive]

(Personal) - [Dense Soul], [Lord of Myrrdell]

[Nature's Blessed] = Increase all stats and recovery by up to 100% depending on the amount of natural plant life in the vicinity of the endowed.

[Elvar Elegance] = Dexterity greatly increases balance and coordination. Born with a minimum Charm stat of 90.

[Adaptive] = Improved memory and understanding. Can learn all different styles and disciplines, isn't limited by Racial tendencies. Chance to increase Potential in extreme cases, incredibly rare.

[Dense Soul] = A rare soul quality born from deep metaphysical condensation. Grants a minimum of 100 Will. Dexterity significantly enhances reflex and reaction speed. Immense resistance to soul effects.

NEW! [Lord of Myrrdell] = Holds official ownership of the recognized territory of Myrrdell. Every time you complete a personal or faction quest related to Myrrdell, gain 1 stack of [Civic Points]. Each stack can either increase your HP and Mana regen within Myrrdell by 10% or increase the fate value of Myrrdell by 1.

(Unassigned Points): 2/10

Personal Regen = +0

Fate Value = +0

Locked (?/?)

'Fate Value? Let's assign the two points to that for now, then. I guess the locked ones will be available later with quests or town progress.' Thalion quickly came back to reality when Himeron invited him to tour around in town.

At this time, he sun's first rays of light could be seen coating the distant horizon in blissful dawn.

There were now a few more people that were awake, though most were still inside their houses.

"There's not much to see as the town is quite small, but it's still important to get to know it." Himeron introduced. "Since you arrived here in the north region, you didn't have to cross the town to get to me. Let's cross the bridge down the road there so I can show you the other side of the river. This side basically has my house and a market further south, with the rest being regular homes."

"I see." Thalion nodded, and as they reached the bridge, he could see a tower in the far side of town following the direction they were walking. So he asked, "What's that?"

"Well, it should be fine to tell you since you're the town lord. It's where Lady Thelrania lives, and she's a royal Ah'Vaialum Mage. I've been told she was already at the [Legendary] level, but she's quite down to earth. She's rarely seen outside, though, because she's a night owl." Himeron seemed to hold the esteemed lady in high regard.

"That's incredible! Do you know her class or how old she is? I'm sorry if that seems a bit rude, but my curiosity is piqued." Thalion didn't expect an actual [Legendary] here, he had only hoped for a couple of [Grandmasters] and maybe an [Epic].

"It's fine, she probably wouldn't mind. Thelrania is fourteen hund..."

"Hey! Why are you doing my introductions for me, Himeron? Is this the kid they were sending? What's are you here for in the end, darling? What's your name?" Thelrania was a beautiful young lady wearing luxurious Elvar Mage robes with golden ornaments.

'Darling, that sounds nice to the ear. Maybe she's just attractive, though.' Thalion noticed he had been staring at her respectfully for a second or two too long and tried to recover, "Sorry, you just surprised me, so I got a bit distracted. I'm Thalion Ah'Vaialum and I was sent to become the new city lord of Myrrdell."

"City lord? Are you serious? I know this place recessed after the mithril and iron mines were depleted a couple centuries ago, but aren't you too young for a city lord?" She suddenly grabbed his hands, then frowned, "Twenty years old? Are you kidding me, kid? And why are you so strong for your age? I guess you do have something special, especially for a half-Elvar, you guys are usually underwhelming when it comes to Potential."

"You can know all that just from touch? That's a bit scary, but awesome. Do you mind sharing your Class with me? Himeron told me he was a regular [Elvar Druid] and that you had a [Legendary] Mage class."

"I don't mind, it's not a secret. I'm an [Enforcer of Heaven's Wrath], I can use some spells that encompass Nature's wrath and have a higher affinity to natural elements and Mana, basically." For most, it really wasnt a big deal to share your class with allies. "You're a [Yggdrae Hunter], right?"

"You also discovered that? Yes, I am, the scroll was left to me by my father." Thalion inwardly sighed as he remembered his exiled parents. 'They seemed pretty great, it's really a shame they chose to resort to stealing. Mom must've had a truly incurable illness.'

"I see, that's quite a versatile physical class, and perfect for a half-Elvar, you're lucky. Anyways, I'm going to back to dine and sleep, so Silmaveth, City Lord."

"Oh, alright, but call me Mayor, please. And have a nice dinner. Silmaveth."

"Mayor? Alright, then." Thelrania disappeared into thin air in the next moment.

"You were right, Himeron, Lady Thelrania really is nice. And she's quite beautiful, too." Thalion commented.

"Yes, everyone loves her. Anyways, let's go down the river." As they walked along the margins opposite to Himeron's house, they reached a watchtower located in the center of the town. "Let's go up."

Once up there, Thalion could finally see the small town in it's entirety—one story homes built of all sorts of materials and stone, most of which had big patches of land for personal farming or husbandry in their yard space.

"There's my house and there's Thelrania's tower at the north. On the directly opposite river margin is the market and following this side's road south is the adventurer guild and artisan hall, even though they have seven and two members each."

Thalion nodded, then he felt something and opened the UI.

>>>This is your town.

Current Regen Boost: 0 (+0%)

Current Fate Value: 2

Current Civic Points: 0/10

Population: 2,742

Adventurers: 7

Craftsmen: 2

Active Resource Nodes: 0

NPC trait detected...

Adapting system...

Done!

New Faction Leader Position now Available: [Lord of Myrrdell]

You are now eligible to form a recognized Faction under the Neutral Territories Authority.

Do you wish to found the Faction of [Myrrdell]?

Faction Benefits:

- Myrrdell Faction Quests Unlocked.

- May designate Lieutenants and Officers.

- Can store up to 20 Civic Points in the Faction Treasury.

- Unlocks [Faction Development Tree].

[Confirm / Delay Creation]<<<

Thalion was immediately excited, 'Confirm!'

>>>Name: Thalion Ah'Vaialum

Race: Half-Elvar

Age: 20 (juvenile)

Potential: Mythic (+25% Stats)

Level: 25 (4,300/5,000) [Low-Tier]

Class: [Legendary] Yggdrae Hunter

HP: 100%

Stamina: 99%

Mana: 100%

Stats: STR 31/DEX 32/END 31/INT 31

Free Stat Points: 0

Stat Bonus: +25% (Mythic Potential)

Final: STR 40/DEX 40/END 40/INT 40

Innate Stats: Charm 96/Luck 50/Will 100

Equipment: "Motherly Reaper", "Fatherly Protector", "Temporary Khopesh", "Temporary Bow"

Skill Points: 0

Skill EXP: 2

Skills: Lvl 0 [Dawn Heavenpiercer], Lvl 0 [Uprooting Slashes], Lvl 1 [Dew Mist Flicker], Lvl 0 [Twin Rend], Lvl 0 [Ambrosia Yggdrae Mana]

Endowments: (Racial) - [Nature's Blessed], [Elvar Elegance], [Adaptive]

(Personal) - [Dense Soul], [Lord of Myrrdel]

Faction: Neutral [Myrrdell]

Position: Faction Leader

Current Regen Boost: 0 (+0%)

Current Fate Value: 2

Current Civic Points: 0/10

Active Resource Nodes: 0<<<