Months ago

Chris

Frostheim

Seeing that I still had a little time before Abigail's scheduled gathering, I took some time to admire the differences Frostheim had gone through. It was so easy to forget what the city had once started as, compared to the monolith it now was. Hundreds of acres of forest around the City had been cleared to make room for an expanse of farmland. Farmers were out in their fields harvesting the last of the Winter crop, making way for the Spring Plant.

Getting seeds that grew in the Winter from the frosty Merchant had more than doubled our yearly food output. And it was much needed, too, as the population increase hadn't slowed as the years went on. It also helped that it tasted good. Winter rye made the perfect bread.

While taste was important, amount was even more so. The double harvest we could no pull off helped keep our growing city fed. Not to mention the children. Not many babies were born after the Change happened. The upheaval and the chaos worked to stamp down on new births and it wasn't until people felt safe and secure that it began to change.

It started after the Walls were built, and only increased since.

The amount of Schools Abigail had to plan for was nearly double what she had thought. Healing magic and Endurance did a lot to ease the burden of childbirth. Stats also had a noticeable increase in family size, even if that sounded outlandish. The thought of taking care of three or four children wasn't as daunting with superhuman abilities involved.

I saw the oldest of such children running around in the fields under the watchful gaze of their parents. Some would grow up to be Farmers, just like their parents. It was safe and secure. A good, honest living. Others would grow up to be fighters. Either independent, raiding Dungeons on their own, or becoming a member of an Order. Some would go on to be Crafters, while others would go on to do something else the world had to offer now.

The three Orders were popular, still growing in size, even to this day, but they weren't the only option people had.

Past the farms was a towering Wall nearly twice the height it had once been. The Boss of the Baron Wave was nearly tall enough to reach the top, so the Architects figured a change was in order. Phillip had worked wonders to get it done in a reasonable time, which had been a marvel in it of itself.

I didn't stop them.

It was also built much deeper into the Earth. While it stood 80 feet tall above ground, another 40 delved deep into the ground and was fused with the stone below. It required both powerful D-rank Builders along with a contingent of D-rank Earth Mages to accomplish, but it was a sight to see after it was done.

Staying true to form, I spent years pouring my Spirit into every Block, and was still in the process of doing so. The previous Wall had taken months to saturate, and this one took even longer. Some parts of the Second Wall still needed it, which spoke to how long it was taking me. The practice had trained and grown my Spirit, but I could feel the effects diminishing.

My eyes wandered over the precisely placed stones and I grinned at one of the new additions. It wasn't only Stone that made up the new wall. Ice had found its place there as well. The Glacial Seed was slow to grow, but it had been a few years since it had been placed. The mana gathered from the Formations in addition to the supplemental mana crystals worked to supply it with enough energy to grow swiftly.

Ice had started freezing around it and it was to the point we could siphon a bit off for other projects. We had to let it build up first, so as to not stunt its growth, but the Glacier was large enough now we could afford to do so. It was so large that it had outgrown the initial iceberg I had created.

Phillip and some of the Builders under him wanted to make the entire thing out of Ice, but we didn't have nearly enough of the stuff to do so. They also weren't as skilled with the new material, but they were getting there.

Maybe the next one.

A Wall of Ice felt right. It would take some efforts to keep it frozen throughout the summer months, but the season was short up here and there were plenty of Runes and Formations I could think of to help.

Especially because the ice was stronger even than the stone surrounding it. A Wall made entirely of the stuff would be an imposing sight to any opposing army. Not to mention the strength of the ward that could be layered on top. The ice was forged from the mana and essence of the Glacial Seed, which made it very, very receptive to any prospective enchantment engraved upon it.

Still, for now, we settled for a mixture of stone and ice. The new ward running through them made it orders of magnitude stronger than before. Even though it had never been breached before, it didn't hurt to stay up to date with our defenses.

The guards at the Gate saluted me as I passed through and I was glad to finally rid people of the urge to bow. When's the last time someone bowed? I couldn't remember, it had been so long ago. The salute itself wasn't going anywhere. The Order members staunchly refused to do nothing and they said it was a sign of respect. Seeing I would get nowhere, I endured it.

A fist to the chest. A Warrior's salute, they called it.

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It was growing on me. I blamed Anders, he was always trying to show his respect in similar ways.

Inside the Walls was a riot of activity. There were more people here than I ever imagined. The last count put us near 50,000. An outrageous number. Sure, it was small, albeit tiny, compared to some of the other Cities that had popped up after the Change, but it felt monumental to me. Empire City, what had once been New York, housed millions, but that was different.

That city had always been a madhouse of people, it wasn't a surprise that it still was.

The new height of the Walls did more than just look intimidating, it also allowed buildings to be built much higher than before. Three or four stories tall used to be the limit we imposed, so as to not get in the way.

Now that limit was closer to seven or eight stories. Most didn't even reach that as it wasn't necessary except for in a few cases. The apartments, mainly, but there were a few others standing tall as well. Inns and restaurants, mainly.

Frostheim had gone through more than just a cosmetic change. The People were different, too. Abigail had gone on and on about building a 'culture' and stoking a 'nationalism', and now that I could see the difference, I wholeheartedly agreed with her. Even something as simple as the style of dress played a role, no matter how much I claimed it wouldn't. I'd been proven wrong.

With Spring fighting off the chill, furs were slowly being phased out and wool became dominant. Those with higher tolerance were already thinning out their attire further than that. Wool from sheep we had bred and raised here, processed here, and tailored here.

Something as simple as a deal to buy sheep had birthed an entire industry.

Glancing at my timepiece, I had to cut my leisurely walk short. If I dawdled, I'd be late.

Having a pocket watch again made everything all that much easier. No more estimating the sun or guessing at the hour. Sure, I'd gotten quite good at it, but watches were more precise.

It was a Tinkerer who had reinvented them, not that they had needed reinventing. A second was still a second, and a minute was still a minute. It was the production of them that failed, not the concept or engineering of them. The gears still ticked at the same rate, even with magic.

The man made a pretty penny selling them. Others had tried to repeat his feat with various results. Most fell away as the hassle was too great, but there were a few who still dabbled, but none reaching the first man's height.

Watches weren't the only advancement we had reclaimed. Miles had figured out electricity years ago and it had been implemented swiftly. Electricity once again became a staple of daily life. The man blew himself up a few times, but he'd figured it out.

He was now working on planes in his personal time, as I didn't see them getting very far. Sarah and the Breeders would manage to birth some aerial beast that I pictured taking over the transportation industry. Likely Griffins or Giant Eagles, as the Owls just weren't large enough.

Beasts were swift and enduring, and in my opinion, second to none and I doubted planes would ever beat them. Not unless manufacturing took off, but even then, I still didn't see them becoming as big as before.

The Inner Wall received the same treatment as the Outer Wall, standing nearly 80 feet tall and dozens of feet thick. The Castle itself got reworked and it was a gem to my eye. A crowd of people were among the courtyard and I could already see the decorations in place. Abigail would no doubt be flitting around to make sure everything was as it should be.

Grace would be with her, as the Assistant had picked up my sister's perfectionism. Sophia, sadly, wouldn't be making an appearance. She was tasked to go along with Rachel to the Assembly.

All of the Family was back in one place again, except for the rare few. Austin had returned from his travels, and Hal from Emberhold. Jonathan had planned ahead with this Trading Trips to make sure he would be here.

It seemed I was the last to arrive as everyone was already standing around enjoying the atmosphere.

This wasn't the first time we had gathered like this, as Ashley's daughter Lilly went through it the previous year. Anna had sulked as Lilly went off to learn under her Mother, but she knew her time would come soon, and now it had.

The young girl chose Healer and hadn't asked once to be trained for War. Ashley was beyond happy about that and took the girl to work in the clinics and the young girl was still sitting at level 10, as there was no reason for her to rush ahead.

I had tried to sneak in to the courtyard and attempt to surprise the birthday girl, but my gifts at stealth hadn't increased with time. If anything, they had gotten worse. It was hard to be stealthy when everyone around felt me coming.

"Ha, I knew you'd come!" Anna proudly proclaimed with a wide grin after noticing that I had arrived. I may have been late, but my arrival was never in doubt.

She ran over and gave me a tight hug, telling me all about what she had done while I was gone. I hadn't even been gone for that long, only a few hours in the dungeons, but she prattled on excitedly all the same.

"Come on, come one, come on," She pulled my hand, or tried to, in order to pull me along. "You're the last one and Mom said I could finally pick once everyone was here!"

Her glee and excitement were impossible to miss, and I was glad I had made it in time. I'd had to speed up my delve, but it was worth it to not miss this. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the usual gatherings around our Family. The good, instead of the bad.

"Now hold on there, Annabeth, you don't need to do it right now." Abigail tried to calm the girl.

"No! You said I could do it when everyone arrived! I've already waited hours!" Anna whined.

"Alright, alright," Abigail caved, knowing it was a lost cause, "Whenever you're ready, sweetie."

The crowd all gathered around Anna and watched as she stared off at something only she could see. Calling up a Status could be done as young as 7 or 8, but choosing a Class was reserved for 14.

My aura was already calmly settled over everything inside the courtyard and I had to strain it to feel the change. It was small enough I would have missed it if I hadn't explicitly readied for it.

One second, [Aura Detection] read Anna as just [Human]. No level, no Class, nothing.

The next, it read [Human – Level 1].

My detection skill didn't state a Class, as that wasn't how it worked. Level and Species was all it was say outright, the rest was gathered through feeling.

Mages had a touch of arcane to them, mixed in with their element, or elements, of choice.

Rogues had a slipperiness to them, that made feeling them difficult as without direct intervention, my aura slid off of them naturally.

Rangers felt like a taught bow, if that could be described. Some felt like the outdoors and of fresh trees, but not all. Some were strictly Bowmen.

Healers had a warmth and healing air to them that was impossible to miss.

Warriors, though, felt like a blade. Like violence, if it could be distilled into a feeling. Some more so than others, but all Warriors, no matter how far away from the base Class they ventured, the stout, contained violence never went away.

Elements could be added, Ice like my own or Stone like Jonathan's, but it was coloring.

Feeling Anna, I knew I was feeling a Warrior. A level 1 Warrior.

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