“What the hell, Mero? Are you trying to get me killed?!” Jeremiah stood, his heart racing as his wide eyes darted to the shadows of his room as if something might pop out of them at any moment.

  Jeremiah dropped the blade as if it were on fire and slid it across the table.

  With great effort, he lowered his voice, stared into the fairy’s eyes, and repeated the statement in an almost whisper. “Are you trying to get me killed, Mero? Why would you give me something like this?” Jeremiah’s eyes flicked from the blade to Mero. “Don’t you know what this thing is?” the young man’s voice cracked slightly.

  Mero only frowned and raised an eyebrow.

  Jeremiah froze, then sunk back into his chair and rubbed his temples. “Of course you know what it is… Maker above, Mero, are you serious? A Namekiller?!”

  Mero broke out into laughter at the look on Jeremiah’s face while the young man in question frantically shushed him, his eyes darting around as if terrified someone would hear. “Will you be quiet?! Do you know what will happen if someone learns this is here?” Jeremiah whispered, feeling slightly queasy at the idea.

  Historical records said that they were forged during the Fae Wars, during the formative years of Reliquum, before Nexus had even been created and the Cosmic Wheel set in motion. During that time, the Fae — creatures of pure identity — were nearly unstoppable. After all, how do you kill an idea? The solution was weapons like the blade sitting on Jeremiah’s dining table.

  Weapons that could kill a ‘Name’.

  To the Fae, a name wasn’t just an identifier. It was their identity. It was literally ‘who they were,’ the part of them that separated ‘them’ from the greater Wyrd. The thing that allowed them to ‘exist’ at all. To kill a name was to erase everything about them. The fate of a non-Fae who lost their name wouldn’t have been much more pleasant if the rumors were true.

  They were weapons so dangerous that of the few ever verified, every single one was locked away in some top security vault somewhere.

  Mero shook his head and wiped away a tear. “Calm down, Jerry. It ain’t as bad as ya think.”

  Jeremiah gave Mero a flat look.

  Mero flicked his finger, and the switchblade flew into the air, back toward Jeremiah. The young man caught the blade on reflex, nearly tossing it as he did, though he thought better of it at the last moment and gently laid it down on the table. Only an idiot would carelessly toss something this dangerous around… ya… an idiot.

  Mero chuckled and pointed at the switchblade. “Look, the number’a folks on this entire planet who could even spot this old gal? Ya could count ‘em on one hand. The ones who could recognize her for what she really is? Even less. She’s a shy one, she is. As long as ya don’t go online and start blabbin’ it to the world, no one’s even gonna give that switchblade a second glance. Hell, I ain’t even sure that would work.”

  Despite Mero’s reassurance, Jeremiah still eyed the blade like it was a wild animal that would snap and bite him at any moment. Mero slumped and sighed. “Look, kid, even if ya don’t trust me, at least trust yer sis. After all, I said this thing was originally meant for her.”

  Jeremiah tore his eyes from the switchblade and frowned at the fairy. “What the hell did Sarah want with… this thing?” he asked.

  Mero shrugged. “Dunno. And I don’t mean that in some kinda mysterious mentor way, either. She was real secretive about it. All she’d say was it was important for her project. And that’s sayin’ a lot, considerin’ how... talkative she could be about everything else.” Mero’s eyes glazed over slightly, and he stared off into space. It was a look Jeremiah was intimately familiar with, as it was one he’d worn himself on numerous occasions as Sarah tried to explain the ‘fascinating’ details of whatever insane things she was working on at the time.

  The memory sent a spike through Jeremiah’s heart, and he glanced back at the switchblade.

  He stared at the cursed thing for a long moment, his knee rocking under the table while his hand resting on top twitched.

  “AAAARUGH! FINE!” Jeremiah finally spoke and reached for the blade on the table.

  “OUCH!” only to suddenly pull back as a sharp pain shot through his hand when he made contact. For a brief moment, Jeremiah thought he might have nicked himself by mistake… but how could he do that? The blade was closed. Moreover, he didn’t see any blood while he nursed his hand.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The next instant, the switchblade ‘pulsed’ with a red light, like the color of blood or the single beat of a heart, and then it was gone.

  “So it is done,” Mero spoke in a totally not ominous voice at all.

  Jeremiah glared at the man like he was the one who had just zapped him, but reached for the switchblade all the same.

  He knew he was being manipulated, even if he couldn’t tell exactly how. Yet, it wasn’t like he could just leave such a dangerous weapon lying around for anyone to find. He had to trust that Mero was telling at least part of the truth, that Sarah had a reason for wanting this thing. Maybe he would regret it in the end, but what else could he do? Maybe he could show it to someone he trusted. Get advice on how to best handle it. Ryan was one of the Five. He would know how to deal with things like this, right?

  Jeremiah shook his head and stuffed the blade into his pocket. He would have to deal with it later.

  For now… Jeremiah turned and glared at Mero, who grinned back like he saw something funny.

  “So… what now?” Jeremiah asked.

  Mero’s grin grew wider. “Now? Now we start can start the fun stuff.”

  Jeremiah narrowed his eyes… and slowly pushed away from the table. Before he could stand, however, Mero snapped his fingers, and a new screen appeared.

  ——————?——————

  GREETINGS, NEW USER!

  The System welcomes you to the Tutorial Phase of your training!

  During this, and the sequential lessons, you will learn more about your personal Iteration and how you can best use the tools provided to you by the System to become the best ‘You’ that you can be!

  Once finished, you will understand the basic operations of the universal System and key aspects of your Iteration: Designation [Mystical Menagerie]. If you have any questions or concerns during this period, please direct them to your Guide!

  *Warning: neither the System nor any associated entity may be held liable for any damages, trauma, or losses incurred during the use of the System and its Iterations. Users are advised to take caution and use the tools provided responsibly.

  ——————?——————

  Jeremiah stared wide-eyed at the screen, suddenly having the distinct feeling he’d made a terrible mistake.

  “Mero…” he softly said, his eyes unblinking as he read the screen again.

  Mero waved a hand as if to brush his concern away, “Ignore the legalese. That’s mostly to cover arses where needed, not that it helped much in the end,” he said, muttering the last part.

  “Bull!” Jeremiah snapped, “What had you gotten me in —” In the blink of an eye, a new screen replaced the window, and Jeremiah flinched, his sentence cutting off.

  ——————?——————

  Congratulations! You qualify for a new Mandatory Mission! Please check the |Mission Board| for details!

  TUTORIAL MESSAGE - Mandatory Missions are, well, mandatory. Duh. If a Mandatory Mission is not accepted within 72 standard hours, the mission will be considered failed, with all applicable penalties applied immediately.

  Extenuating circumstances may apply that lengthen or shorten this deadline. In such instances, the User will be notified of any changes.

  ——————?——————

  Jeremiah stared blankly at the screen before slowly turning to a grinning Mero.

  “Well? Go on! Ya can find the |Mission Board| on yer System HUD tray. See, Ol’Mero’s helpin’ out already!” his ‘Fairy Guide’ cheerfully said.

  Jeremiah sighed and pulled up his HUD.

  As Mero said, he had a new icon on the previously empty HUD tray. A tiny, folded scroll sat in the tray, complete with an equally tiny quill and inkwell beside it. The detail was exquisite, so much so that Jeremiah almost felt like he could have picked it up and written a tiny letter if he hadn’t already known it was just an AR image on his HUD. For just an app icon, it was major overkill.

  Jeremiah reached up and tapped the icon, once more marveling at the quality of the textile sensation the System provided with his HUD.

  The scroll unfolded with the sound of unfurling paper, and his HUD tray vanished. In its place was an AR corkboard. If it weren’t for the fact the thing was hovering over his kitchen table, Jeremiah wouldn’t have been surprised to find this very board in any number of CSA lounge rooms across the city. It even had a few aged flyers advertising various services in various languages pinned to the sides of the board.

  What the hell is a ‘professional teeth scrubbing?’ And why does it need a ten-man team? Jeremiah couldn’t help but wonder. He wasn’t even sure if any of these businesses were even real, as those he could read made just as little sense. One flyer even physically hurt to look at in a weird way he couldn’t quite describe.

  Instead of focusing on the strangeness of the board, Jeremiah turned and looked at the center, where important notices and the like were pinned. The center of the board was empty, except for a single piece of rough, faintly glowing parchment pinned to the board with a cheap tack.

  Almost in habit, Jeremiah reached for the parchment. As soon as he touched the pinned parchment, the |Mission Board| vanished, and the parchment enlarged, becoming a new screen.

  ——————?——————

  —?————?—

  Purpose guides and directs us. It gives meaning to the meaningless and pushes those who have fallen into Stagnation forward. Even a single step a day will, in time, become miles.

  —?————?—

  Tutorial Mission #1 - Find a suitable location for your Menagerie.

  Rank - G

  Description - What is a Gardener without his Garden? An Artist without his Studio? A Keeper without his Menagerie? Find a suitable location for your Menagerie and establish yourself there. Expand this Mission description for details about building requirements.

  Reward - Prima City Business License x 1.

  Failure - System Shutdown. [Warning! The System is currently in calibration mode. Shutdown may result in unpredictable consequences for the User].

  Time Limit - 3 days. (71 Hours - 59 mins - 22 seconds)

  ——————?——————