It didn’t take much, once I knew what I was doing. It’s not like there was a button to press or any sort of overly complex finger movements to make

  (I’m looking at you Magicians).

  I just thought the spell, had the mana and …

  Spirit Avatar: [Active] [Transmogrification Spell] [Domain: Fauna] Transform into your spirit animal for a short time. Your avatar has its own health pool and if destroyed, you automatically revert to your original form. The shape of your avatar cannot be chosen, it is an inherent truth. Please consult the glossary for more information on your form, once it is revealed. (Mana cost: moderate).

  My body erupted with energy. It was a golden glow radiating first out from my eyes, then my mouth, and then whatever cracks and crevices were apparently readily available. And then, what was once me now seemed to exist in a protective shell in the shape of… I looked down at myself.

  ‘Oh, what the fuck?!’ I yelled, internally.

  Trelain was under me, just dancing away, staff in hand with a goofy look on his face. He clearly wasn’t even paying attention to what was going on.

  But I was.

  ‘Does magic have a sense of humor?’ I thought.

  Trelain clearly had his own thing going on and was just cackling and dancing. If he was the bar for magic users, and this first spell in my new life was an indication, the short answer was yes. Yes, it did in fact have a sense of humor.

  My spirit animal…

  A fucking gazelle.

  Trelain reached some sort of crescendo in his head and pointed at me again, disappearing whatever magical barrier he had been using to hover me above the ground.

  My little hooves hit the mossy forest floor, which honestly felt kind of good. I began running around the clearing, feeling my new form and getting used to the weight distribution. I was fast, like, really, really fast. I could dart between the trees with little effort, jump higher than an average Globetrotter, and my vision was superb. A little way down through the trees, I saw a murder of crows having a meeting. In the branches above, I could see the claws on squirrels darting from tree to tree. I decided to open up the glossary for the first time to check my new form’s base stats. All it took was a thought.

  Lesser Gazelle

  Special attacks: Gore, Ram, Savage Kick

  Special skills: Hasty retreat, Mountain Leap

  Spell: Elemental Imbuement (*this skill remains locked until the appropriate skill is acquired in the applicable Discipline by Gregory Zell*)

  Okay so I didn’t like the whole, lesser Gazelle thing. But hey, I guess I had to start somewhere. I made a mental note to check out the skills and special attacks in the glossary later on. I had more spells to unlock.

  I knew I had mana in this form so I wondered... 'does that mean I can use it to cast a spell from a different Discipline?'

  Trelain somehow read my thoughts and said, “Oh yes, yes you can. And yes you will! Let’s see your burning form. Oh I can’t wait! I’ve never seen a gazelle on fire. Though I did accidentally set a deer on fire once. Oh dearly me, that was unfortunate. I sure think that if I had only just—”

  I cast Furnace.

  Furnace: [Active] [Elemental Spell] [Domain: Metallurgy] Engulf your body in flames as hot as your forge. Become invulnerable to elemental damage while the spell is active. Gain the retribution passive. Lasts a short time. As a passive trait, become invulnerable to base level fire damage after first use of the spell (Mana cost: moderate).

  My snowy white gazelle form erupted in flames. I thought I would be freaking out. I mean who wouldn’t? Engulfed in flames is a bad way to go. I saw that shit once, and the lady wouldn’t stop screaming… until she did. But this?

  This felt powerful and energizing.

  It almost felt like I was running faster, too? Maybe that was just wishful thinking, but I couldn’t help but think of Fast and Furious and their love of Nos. I was smokin through these trees though.

  Five minutes elapsed and my first sortie into quadrupedal life came to an end. Because I had cast furnace on myself a minute after Spirit Avatar, the fire still licked around my body. But it didn’t burn my clothes. I casually walked up to Trelain.

  “Hey want to do a barbeque tonight?”

  “A what?”

  “You know… sizzling steak, grilled meat, roasted dogs. A BBQ.” I said, gesturing at my burning form.

  “I think we should get back inside before nightfall.”

  “That’s not a no,” I pointed out.

  “No. It’s a no. I made stew.”

  We made our way back up to the treehouse for the first time, together. A few messages popped up in HUD.

  Quest complete! Achievement unlocked! Burning Body! You have successfully cast your first furnace spell and are now immune to base level fire damage. Careful! Don’t forget, not everyone is flame retardant. A reward has been deposited into your inventory. Enjoy!

  Quest complete! Achievement unlocked! So that’s your spirit. You have successfully cast your first Spirit Avatar and unlocked your true form. A gazelle? Really? At least it makes remembering your name easier. A reward has been deposited into your inventory. Enjoy!

  “Tre, why are my messages so snarky?”

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  “Oh that’s just your internal voice intellectualizing your achievements. Why? Are they mean?”

  “No… just… well, yeah,” I grumbled, and then thought about how I might never see my therapist again.

  Now back in the treehouse sitting across from each other with bowls of stew in our respective hands, Trelain looked at me in what looked like a more than usual state of lucidity.

  “You’re very tall.”

  “Thank you…? We’re sitting.”

  “Yes but, you look tall still. What’s wrong with you?” He asked, looking under the table, “Are you sitting on some books?”

  “Nope, that’s just my torso.”

  “Ah. Well stop that, you’re making me tired looking at your perfect posture. Slump like a real Initiate.”

  “Is that what we are? Initiates?”

  “You are. I’m an Apostle. My power suite is full, my mandates are complete, and my magic has grown. But, it’s more of a title, yes it is. Or wait! It is more of the way of being, actually. Following disciplines isn’t for everyone, you know. Plenty of normal folk around here. But if you’d like… you can be one too. An Apostle. Some day. An Adherent, sooner. But you’ll be an Acolyte, next. Once you fill out your potential.”

  … “Thanks?”

  We sat in silence for a minute, munching. Weird dude or not, Trelain made a mean mutton stew.

  “So can I do this last quest?”

  “After dinner, boy. After dinner.”

  I worked on figuring out my interface a bit more.

  I hadn’t even explored the inventory space yet. If it was anything like most RPG’s I’d played with Naomi and my friends it would be subject to a carrying capacity and have limited space, growing as I leveled up. Following Trelain’s previous guidance, I thought ‘inventory’ and focused on the space in front of me and it popped up.

  Just like I thought, there were 24 spaces, 2 taken up by a large question mark. In the top right corner, there was the carrying capacity I had expected: 10/200. Inventory management, great.

  Why didn’t I get transported to a place with dimensional bags of holding?

  Maybe that’s a possibility?

  “Tre, how do I identify things?” I said while looking at the question mark in space one. “Oh never mind.”

  Using your inherent skill, identify, you have identified one common bandolier of the alchemist. Complete with a set of 12 potions, 6 mana and 6 health, this nifty chest belt is sure to keep you in the game.

  Well, that should be helpful. I went to try to grab the bandolier from my field of view, almost forgetting it wasn’t in front of me. When that didn’t work, I just thought about wearing the piece of equipment and in a few seconds, it was snugly across my chest.

  Using your inherent skill, identify, you have identified one uncommon pair of velveteen moccasins.

  Velveteen moccasins [Utility] [Shoes] [Uncommon] These moccasins have the swiftness of a gazelle imbued into their soles. As long as you’re wearing these, your stamina and speed match 1/4th of your Spirit Avatar’s speed on top of your own. If your Avatar was recently destroyed, you cannot harness this power for a full 24 hours, bringing your speed back down to a normal range for your level. If you do not have a Spirit Avatar, these will replicate the speed of the last known Avatar wielder that wore them.

  Current Spirit: None.

  “Well, these are pretty fucking amazing.”

  I equipped those immediately, getting up to run. But, Trelain held up a finger in the universal wait sign as he drained his flagon. I paused, waiting patiently for the old man to finish. He burped loudly, giving a satisfied pat on his belly and then looked up at me.

  “We should talk about your last spell, GZell. The Mirror Discipline is a difficult one. I’m sure you felt it,” Tre said.

  “Felt it?”

  “The power. The very essence of the power. There’s a coldness to it, and I want you prepared before you cast it. But that’s for later. Eat up, boy. Eat up,” He gestured at the pot in the hearth.

  I held up my empty bowl for him to see, “I’m done. Absolutely stuffed.”

  “And? Do you have enough mana to cast Mirror Door?”

  “Feels like it? I don’t know. I’m a little surprised there isn’t something more… visual to show me where I’m at with mana levels,” I said.

  “You’ll get used to it. Everyone does. Most likely by the time you hit Acolyte, it’ll be second nature. But for now, try to think of it as energy within,” Trelain tried to explain.

  “Isn’t that what we’re talking about?”

  “No, no. I mean, yes. But what I mean is… you know when you’re running and you still have a few miles to go? And you can feel your energy waning?”

  “Wait, hold on. You run? For fun?”

  “I did… long ago. But I still remember the pain. That lactic acid build up. But all that goes away when you become Initiated, and then as you rank up you’ll find your strength and stamina double and even triple. Why, I can run for hours without needing to stop.”

  I rolled my eyes, “Trelain… you’re losing me.”

  “Fine, fine. Just check in with yourself. Feel like you have more in the tank?”

  I thought about how tired I was. It was bad, but still not after a double shift of crazy motherfuckers trying to die on my rig in creative ways. I shook off the thought. Yeah… I could cast again.

  Mirror Door: [Active] [Conjuration/Escape Spell] [Domain: Mirror] Conjure two 12 ft tall mirrors that you can jump through. You must be able to see your exit, visually. Mirrors can be destroyed by your enemies. If destroyed while you’re in the mirror, you may be subject to temporal displacement. Use at own risk. (Mana cost: low).

  “Come over here to the window and look out on the clearing below. Set your mirror by the well, and your entry door should appear next to you.”

  “How do I—”

  A big 12’, gothic looking, wrought iron monstrosity of a mirror appeared down by the well, where I was looking. Crackling into space.

  “Never mind.”

  Next to me, another mirror appeared, right in front of the bookcase where I had gotten the spell in the first place. Instead of a reflection, the mirror gave off the appearance of choppy lake water… slightly roiling with energy.

  I poked a finger at it, and felt cold envelope my hand and shoot up my arm. I took a deep breath and stepped through.

  A millisecond, and a uniquely distorting sense of chill later, I was down by the well.

  “I CAN FUCKING TELEPORT!”

  The mirror I exited through did not disappear, right away. So I stepped back through and wound up once again in the treehouse next to Trelain.

  Quest complete! Achievement unlocked: Portal Away. You have successfully completed your first three basic spells. A reward has been deposited into your inventory.

  New quest! Round out your power suite. Your current standing as an Initiate of the Mirror, Fauna, and Metallurgy Disciplines needs further training. Acquire applicable skills, passives, spells to complete this quest and become a full-fledged Acolyte. Completed: 3/18.

  New hint! You may acquire the aforementioned skills, passives, and spells by finding and reading skill books. These rare and powerful magical objects can be found in places of great significance and power, on your local apostle’s bookshelves, in a noble’s strong box, from doing intense quests, or from a random monster drop! We don’t know where they come from, but they’re very unique.

  Don’t give them to proletariat, or they’ll rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie and noble houses! Haha!

  Please note— because you acquired your first three skills from Discipline books, you may not use them to replace your bonded Disciplines. That’s impossible! However, you can use these wildly rare books to fill out your power suite. You may not use the same book twice, even if there are skills you have not unlocked contained within.

  That would be cheating!

  Again, I wondered why my internal quest giving dialogue sounded like a dumb mixture of claptrap and an overly enthusiastic preschool teacher who obviously hated their job. I absently wondered if I could change that, or if I had to change myself first.

  That’s probably what my therapist would say.

  My mind wandered a bit.

  Getting more powers sounded exciting. But getting enough power to go back home, was still my priority. I loved my wife, and my life. Maybe if I became an Apostle or whatever Trelain was… I could bring her back with me?

  Maybe Doug, Jason, Lynn, and Dot would come too? Who knows. I couldn’t do much about that right now, anyway. My energy was flagging, and my mind was wandering.

  After a minute of musing about how I even got here, my thoughts turned to perhaps an even harder realization.

  “Tre?”

  “Yes boy,” he said, looking up from his third flagon.

  "There’s a dead body in the well.”

  “Oh.”

  Everysekai

  by Bluesycobalt

  > Female Lead with cast of developed side-characters

  > A lot of poking at Isekai tropes

  > Rational and Underpowered Protagonist fighting for her life

  > 1500-2500 Word Chapters

  Updates MWF at 7:10pm EST