We all gained something. In one way or another, our personal abilities were partially shared with the Family in new and unique ways. Our Blessings were updated once again. I’ll share them here, even though much of it has been recorded before.

  A new sort of optimism arose within our group. It had always been us against the world, but now it was more formal. More upfront and personal. We had each other's backs before. Now we were a single unit with an upgraded attitude. We threw ourselves wholeheartedly into the future.

  Acolyte of Huron’xhan, God of War and Blood

  Blessed by Azazel, Lord of Chaos

  Curse [Unbreakable]: Child of Carmilla

  Magic Energy Type: Spirit, Mana

  Affinities: Holistic, Vampire {Blood, Mind, Soul, Dark, Body Enhancement (Conditional)}

  Skill Sets: Mind Control (Legacy), Apathy (Curse Sacrifice), Blood Binder (Curse Boon), Communication (Family Boon)

  Roles: Chaos’ General (Acolyte Boon), Shadow Mage (Summon Boon), Kindergarten Cop (Hidden Boon)

  Acolyte of The Fates (Ljouyhfoiwe, Vnueiweh, and Emily)

  Blessed by Azazel, Lord of Chaos

  Curse [Unbreakable]: Chains of Anima

  Magic Energy Types: Primal, Spirit

  Affinities: Oracle {Fate (Primal), Holistic (Spirit)}, Gravity (Primal), Body Enhancement (Constitution)

  Skill Sets: Mnemonist (Legacy), Cold Heart (Curse Sacrifice), Lover (Curse Boon), Database (Family Boon)

  Roles: Clairvoyant (Acolyte Boon), Gravity Mage (Summon Boon)

  Acolyte of Chen Lhun, the Great Beast

  Blessed by Azazel, Lord of Chaos

  Curse [Unbreakable]: Gulliver’s Legacy

  Magic Energy Types: Primal, Spirit

  Affinities: Time Lord {Space, Time}, Seeker {Light, Dark, Holistic}, Body Enhancement (Strength, Speed, Endurance, Constitution)

  Skill Sets: Collector (Legacy), Big Brass Ones (Curse Sacrifice), Tiny Giant (Curse Boon), Shared Inventory (Family Boon)

  Roles: Huntress (Acolyte Boon), Time Lord (Summon Boon)

  Acolyte of Fardenes, the Great Spirit

  Blessed by Azazel, Lord of Chaos

  Curse [Unbreakable]: Blind Io’s Protegé

  Magic Energy Type: Spirit

  Affinities: Spiritwalker {Spirit Energy Manipulation, Soul, Life, Death}, All-Healer {Life, Death, Mind, Heart, Holistic}, Body Enhancement (unknown type)

  Skill Sets: Origamian (Legacy), Pure Instinct (Curse Sacrifice), Spirit Sight (Curse Boon), X-Ray Specs (Family Boon)

  Roles: Summoner (Acolyte Boon), Healer (Summon Boon), Love Crush (Hidden Boon)

  Acolyte of Manalea, Lady of Order

  Blessed by Azazel, Lord of Chaos

  Curse [Unbreakable]: Daughter of Dan

  Magic Energy Type: Mana

  Affinities: Enchantress {Mana Energy Manipulation, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Electromagnetic, Kinetic, Light/Dark}

  Skill Sets: Scholar (Legacy), Pure Reason (Curse Sacrifice), Seal Artist (Curse Boon), Focus (Family Boon)

  Roles: Destroyer (Acolyte Boon), Sorceress (Summon Boon), Tater Tots (Hidden Boon)

  Acolyte of Tremina, Goddess of Knowledge

  Curse [Unbreakable]: Crystal Heart

  Magic Energy Type: Spirit, Mana, Primal

  Affinities: Angel {Life, Soul, Light}, Kinetic, Time

  Skill Sets: Eternal Wayfarer (Curse Sacrifice), Undying (Curse Boon), Mistress of the Aedificium (Family Boon)

  Roles: Librarian (Acolyte Boon), Book Binder (Divinity Boon), Sand-Girl (Hidden Boon).

  Week 6

  It’s another knock down drag out fight. At least this time it isn't in front of all the troops. I step in to break it up as usual but that doesn't go very well.

  “You need to treat your people better! They're human and they deserve some respect!” shouts Tia.

  “I need to treat my people like the soldiers they are! Being nice to people isn't my responsibility. Bringing them home from the fight is. Or, at the very least, winning the fight.”

  “But…”

  “No buts! If they get killed fighting under my command, do you think their family will be happy? Will they say,’at least the Great hero Etienne was nice to them’? Do you think that the demons will look over a battlefield covered with our corpses and say to themselves, ‘I wish my commander was nice to us like these guys' commander was’?

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “I don't think so! I think my job is to win the battles and bring as many people home as I can. I was given that responsibility. I'm the one who will have to answer the questions if I fail. I'm the one who has to bear the guilt when my people die. So until I'm relieved of my commission, I will do it my way. Because that's the only way I know. And the rest of you can just fuck off!”

  With that Ettiene turns on his heel and leaves. Tia's shoulders slump and she looks at the ground. I reach out and gently touch her shoulder. “He's not wrong, you know,” I say quietly. “He's doing the job Commander Travess gave him.”

  “I know, it's just…”

  “It’s just he's not doing it the way you would do it. But he is doing it and he deserves credit for that. We never thought he would. He's taken the responsibility and we have to step back and accept that his way will never be the same as our way.”

  She gives a sigh and then visibly braces herself. “You're right, Altan,” she says. “When did you turn into an old sage?”

  “I know, right? Who would have thought dumb jock Altan would actually start using his brain? Maybe I should start a career in philosophy?”

  She looks at me and smirks, “Maybe you should get a job in the stables. You'd have plenty of time to think while you were shoveling all that shit.”

  What to talk about in a team meeting? I'm not quite sure. We’ve all seen our new Blessings, but what does that translate to in real life? It's a bit frustrating. A Title of sorts but nothing else to support it except trial and error. And hard work. At least we are good at that part.

  "Um, okay." A strong forceful opening statement. Go me!

  "We all apparently have a new Blessing. We should also have some Family abilities developing at some point. Let's share what we know one by one and see where things tie together. Kari, you go first."

  "My new Family Boon is called Shared Inventory. I guess that could mean a lot of things."

  "Any clue how to use this ability?" I ask.

  "I did have a weird dream last night. It suggested that my current Inventory abilities may now be linked to the members of the Blood Family. At least in a limited way."

  "Such as?" asks Rio. Such a precious straight man!

  Kari picks up an apple from the table in her right hand and takes a bite out of it. "You all know that I now have an Inventory space. Which is to say, a kind of bottomless bag that is anchored to my Soul instead of a physical object. Nix and Saki helped me make it. The dream I had last night indicates that all of you have access to that Inventory space now as well. Watch!"

  Everyone sits up a little straighter and leans forward. "To put this apple into my Inventory, I just focus on it and imagine placing it into an invisible bag."

  Kari does so and the apple disappears. "To get it back, I just imagine the opposite." She brings the apple back out, now in her left hand. "My dream implied that I now have two different Inventories, a personal one and a bigger one that belongs to the Family."

  She puts the apple back into Inventory. "If I put this into the Family Inventory, then any of you should be able to bring it back out."

  Taking her cue, Saki holds out her hand and the apple appears in it. Awesome! The look on their faces is priceless. She grabs an orange. "Nix, I'm going to put this orange in the Family Inventory. I want you to pull it out."

  She Inventorys the orange. Nix gets a funny look on his face. Holds out his hand...and nothing happens.

  "Just clear your mind, and imagine reaching into a bag and pulling out that orange." He hesitates a moment and then physically mimes reaching into a bag. He pulls out the orange.

  "Woohooo" "Way to go!" "Awesome" shouts, clapping and whistling laud the feat. Nix physically blushes.

  Then the room descends into chaos as everyone starts grabbing things and playing with Inventory. My Family is awesome. They have the basics of Personal and Family Inventory management worked out in a matter of seconds.

  Rio gets kari’s attention and asks, "What kind of clothes were we wearing in your dream?" She blushes and doesn't answer.

  I call everyone back to order and pass the baton to Penny. She can't speak, of course, so she passes each of us a sheet of paper she's prepared in advance. Does that make it … pre-prepared?

  New Blessing:

  Family Boon: Mistress of the Aedificium

  That isn't a very good clue: Saki tells me that aedificium is Latin for building. However, it makes more sense from a literary standpoint. Rio thinks it refers to the book 'The Name of the Rose'. The Aedificium was the building which housed the monastery's Library and Scriptorium.

  Just like Kari, I took a clue from a strange dream I had last night. In my dream, I woke up in a Spirit Library. The rest of you were there, also. That implies to me that family members should also have access to this construct.

  This morning, I tried different methods to get to the Aedificium. I found that I can access it through focused meditation. I suspect that Addie may be able to use her Mesmerize ability to implant some mental trigger that will make it easier for us. We'll have to experiment.

  Based on the experiments I've been running this morning, I have the ability to put the spirit of any book I physically touch into the Library space. I don't even have to read it. Just touch it and imagine putting it on the shelf. Once I'm in the Library space, I can take the book off the shelf and read it.

  I also think that I have the ability to print books that are in the Aedificium. I have only been able to do it with single page documents so far. That's how I made the copies of this paper. I haven't been able to get it to work for entire books yet, but I conjecture that I need to have all the paper and other materials that books are made from in order to make it work.

  Everyone sits around looking at each other for a minute. Kari finally speaks up, "I've been trying to access the Aedificium through meditation as well. I got a glimpse of it once, but I'm not a good meditatalator."

  "We'll look into it more after the meeting," says Addie. "Let's move on to Rio."

  "My new Family Boon is Database. This implies that I can somehow share my memory abilities. I had a dream last night too, and in that dream I was in a library. That Library had some data terminals that connected somehow to my Mind Palace. So maybe if you can get into Penny's Library you'll be able to get into my memories as well? Not sure I like that, but it is what it is. That's all I have."

  "Okay. Let's table discussion until we've all reported. Nix? You're next," I say.

  "My Family Boon is called X-Ray Specs. I’m assuming that means I can now see a woman’s underwear. Unless she’s standing behind a lead planter. I tested it on Saki this morning and it worked just fine.”

  He senses the heat of a fireball lighting up near him, and shouts, “Just kidding! No such ability has manifested! What it is is that I’ve gained the ability to sense all kinds of energy. I can sense Mana, Spirit, and Primal energies now."

  Nobody says anything.

  "Oh, I almost forgot. I had a dream too. In my dream, my ESP skill was connecting to all of you. I tested it this morning and my ESP range is extended according to where you guys are. Like you're wifi repeaters or something?"

  We all quietly consider that idea. I take the reins back into my hands and turn to Saki, who hands a paper to Rio to read.

  Family Boon: Focus

  So far I’m stymied on what that means. I study magic. Which is pretty much all I've been doing since I got here. Focus is a big requirement for that. Don’t know how that would extend to you in a practical way.

  I had a dream last night. In that dream I was casting spells. But not just with Mana, which is the only magic I can do personally. Spirit magic and Primal magic as well. I was able to do that because of my Family connection to all of you.

  I think that I will be able to use my knowledge to create any type of magic - through spells, enchantments, etc. Then draw on your magic energy to power them. This will require study.

  "Okay. My turn. My new Family Boon is Communication. I’m guessing that it’s based on the Magic Skills for long distance communication I developed in my third trial."

  "I had a dream last night, too. In my dream, we were all sitting around a table just like this one. Probably somewhere in Penny's Aedificium. We didn't talk, just did our own thing. As I looked at each of you, I could feel connections forming. Like pieces of my soul, mind, and heart being stretched out to meet pieces of yours. Once that connection was made, it would light up and slowly fade into the background."

  "I could see all kinds of connections being made between all of us. It was kind of scary but definitely cool."

  "When I woke up this morning, I had a small problem. I was seeing a map of the area around me. Like an overhead view with me at the center. It moved with me as I moved. It took me a little while to figure out how to tone it down so I could walk."

  "It shows people as colored dots and kind of like a wire diagram of the structures and objects around me. Nix, does this sound familiar?"

  Nix answered, "It sounds a little bit like my ESP abilities. But I don't see it from the top down. I see things just as you would with your eyes. But in 360."

  "That's kind of what I thought. From today forward, I want each of you to document and share any new or strange abilities you’re developing. I have a feeling there are a lot of surprises in store for us."

  "Now, there’s only two other things I want to know about last night. First, who had dreams where everyone was naked?"

  Four tentative hands went up. Surprisingly, not Rio's.

  "Second, and I'm directing this at Rio," I'm sure I must have had an extremely menacing glint in my eye.

  "Why did I have bunny ears?!?"

  Excerpt from Saki's Journal

  In what later became known as 'The Bunny Ears Incident', Addie chased Rio around the room until she finally pinned him down in a corner and made him confess. Surprisingly, his explanation had nothing to do with sexy bunny costumes but everything to do with cartoon characters. Strange. Why was I dressed up as Tweetie Bird?