When I was not in the Lore Society, Kiri pointed me toward working with the Harmonic Order, which was a group of healers and other do-gooders. They held clinics for the poor. Some healers despised them as they took business away, but others didn't care, as the poor couldn't afford them anyway. They handed out cheap, and therefore weak, potions, and used a variety of first aid practices to stop infections and set people on the right path to health, or a harmonic life, they called it.

At their small shop, they provided free meals and education for the children. They also took donations of both time and goods. Harmony in all things was what they strived for.

I didn't know they existed. I gathered that the people I hung out with were all rich and well off. However, many people in this city were struggling and needed help.

I practised my First Aid and quickly levelled it under their guidance. I got to identify various illnesses that plagued the poor and were rarely seen in the rich. I even helped a person give birth.

These people didn't have fancy skills or classes. They were labourers, cooks, and runners with little hope of improving their status, and many older ones had lost the drive it required.

This is also where I ran into the gangs and criminal elements of Jern. I knew Jern had a darker side as the Black Butcher rose to be a Crime Lord here in this city. I was not prepared for how extensive it was.

Some of those kids had faster hands than I did when they were trying to pick your pocket. I never tended to carry much, so I started keeping a few coins in my pockets. I would use my Swift Hands and attributes to catch their hands in the act, and if they got away with a few coins, that was their reward. Then I started carrying a few of the cheap potions for them to try, and for me to stop.

I stood out wherever I went, and the poor districts were no exception—the first time someone tried to mug me earned the start of my reputation. I sense them coming, of course. Two ahead and two behind to try to block me in.

Let's just say, training Unarmed Combat with Kiri has raised its level, and it was the first time I used Rake and Roar in combat. I even managed to get some Dread behind it, but it will take more practice.

I am a physically big man, and my roar is loud. I made a statement that soon circulated the district. I left claw marks that would turn into scars that I was sure these poor thugs would not be able to afford to remove. I would be surprised if these four even had their first class at Journeyman, let alone a specialisation. Their skills in backing their classes were not high, and they obviously had no formal training.

I made sure I didn't damage my new eye. I am now known as The Beast.

I actually felt some sympathy for my attackers, as I could see myself being similar if I had not run into the dwarves in the Arctic. Training makes a big difference.

During these weeks, Kiri was bored. She and Pānihi would go hunting and fishing for days at a time. She didn't need me as a guard.

Leif left soon after the first mines to head back to Hrothgar. I am sure he was waiting for the results of my time there to report back. He took all the extra people, and the mansion was empty except for Kiri, me, Kevin and the regular Jern Guards who watched the place.

Kevin and Kahz moved in as soon as Leif moved out. Kiri obviously didn't want her brother to know what she and Kevin were doing. I would leave them practising in the morning as I went to the healers, Lore Society, and/or Harmonic Order. When I got back, they were often gone, and when Kiri left hunting, Kevin had a specific list of things to do. He was developing a smooth, lethal movement style like Kiri had.

I was curious, but I was encouraged to leave and not ask too many questions. My own training was largely suspended until I had the Healer all clear.

Three weeks went fast. "I am going to take the eye patch off now," The healer said. "The room is dark, so we will see how clear your sight is."

She pulled off the eye patch, and I opened the lid. I had been tracking its growth over the last three weeks, but that didn't tell me how well it would see. The room was dark, but there was plenty of light sneaking in past the dark shades.

"Look with your original eye and then close it and look with the new eye. Is there any difference? Blurring, colour, light intensity?"

"They both seem the same," I replied.

"Good, good. Check the light intensity again, as that is linked to your Nightsight." She did something, and the room got darker.

"No difference that I can tell,"

"Right, read those letters with both eyes open."

I did so, then repeated it with each eye separately. Then she blew smoke in front of it to check my Clearsight in each eye. Then she lit the room and went through a variety of tests. No Pain. Clear eyesight, and the Skills Nightsight and Clearsight are working well.

I felt strange with two working eyes again. I was used to relying on my Void Sensing for depth, and now I had to practice with just my eyes. The Healer gave me a series of exercises to do twice a day. "Practice and practice some more," she told me, "You will not shame me by developing lazy eye!"

It was a common problem for people who had been without limbs for a while to have to relearn how to use them. The eye was similar, but it should catch up quickly.

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I had grown accustomed to being without one eye and was often distracted by things in my peripheral vision that I was not accustomed to seeing. I had to retrain Throwing Weapons and Knife Throw to work with my eyes and not my Void Sensing.

My new knives were weighty. They were small and evenly balanced, but they weighed like they were made from Deepiron, not bone. They were nice to throw, and I was getting better with my accuracy at a distance now that I had two eyes. My accuracy with moving targets requires some improvement. Practice and more practice.

The knife's return enchantment was controlled by the bandolera it was sheathed in. The sheaths had the connecting enchantment that I triggered by charging them with a small amount of spiritual energy. Each knife had an individual enchantment matching the correct sheath, and I could trigger them individually. The enchantments had a range of about 150 meters or so.

I had a leather worker and enchanter alter the Bandolera and enchant it so that when I changed to my bear form, it also changed and adjusted to remain strapped to me even as a bear. I didn't know that could be done, but Kiri had seen it before on some wolf-kin. The enchanter had to learn how to do it as beast-kin were uncommon here.

The Bandolera went over my left shoulder and connected to my belt, and I withdrew the knife with my dominant right hand. When I was a bear, the belt and bandolera adjusted to remain in a similar place. I no longer had hands to withdraw the knives, but they were still with me, and I could still trigger the recall enchantment. This also meant I could add pouches to both the belt and bandolera that would stay with me in both forms. I added a larger bag to the back of the bandolera that was the size of a small backpack.

All this was hugely expensive. It was the cost of a small house, as I also used Troll hide boosted with self-repair enchantments. I felt it was a better investment than a small house.

"We are here to kill the beast."

Unfortunately, winning one brawl was not enough to be left alone on the streets in the poorer areas. Having a reputation was like a flag that others felt they needed to challenge. There were six this time. One had a spear, although he was not highly skilled from how he held it. The others had a mixture of knives, swords and clubs. I saw two of them with claw scars from my first fight. Some were wearing a mixture of mismatched leather armour, while others were in work clothes.

They were here to build their reputation at my expense. Some were also here for revenge. I had spent enough time mixing with and helping these people, and I now understood some of their motivations.

We were in a narrow street in daylight. The street was muddy after the rain, and the few people around scattered.

The speaker was a large, bearded human wielding a sword, and he appeared to know how to use it. The spear wielder was also human. A dwarf wielded a heavy club, and there were three orcs.

I understood Makara's confidence better now. Affinities allowed us to turn the tables on any fight. I could use Frigid Void to end it now. I could freeze the muddy street and take them out. I could give them all mental seizures. Sure, some of them would resist some of those things, but not all, and it would leave them in disarray for me to finish them off.

Having an affinity gives you a feeling of power and confidence. It enabled me to look at these six and feel like this would be good skill practice, instead of a fight for my life. I wasn't certain they wanted to kill me, but serious and permanent damage was definitely on their minds. They wanted to make a statement.

I didn't bother responding verbally, but took a step toward the leader, threw a knife at the one to his right, and then did a Lunging Maul to the leftmost one. My footwork was not quite right, and I lost my balance and fell into a tangle with the orc. I rolled to keep moving, countered his knee strike, and got him into a Crushing Embrace. My claws and teeth drew blood.

I could sense the others' approach, looking for an opening with their weapons. I didn't bother trying to finish the orc but had to use Fang Reversal to twist him into the path of a club blow. That was better, as my mouth filled with his blood.

A kick crashed into my ribs, and a knife raked a leg, but my Tough Hide stopped any real damage.

I tossed the damaged orc into the largest group and rolled the other way, avoiding a sword strike, and using Swift Hands to grab and throw another knife. The move gave me time to roll onto my feet.

Three enemies were wounded, two with knives and one with Savage Wildfang. In order to get Savage Wildfang recognised on my Status, I need to be at least competent in each of the five moves and be able to use them together as a comprehensive technique.

I triggered the return on the two knives I had thrown. I only had six of them.

I moved to deflect the spear thrust at me, responding with a thrown knife in the spear wielder's shoulder. The Swift Hands is a fantastic skill.

I felt a sword pierce my Tough Hide and cut my shoulder. I started to move out of the way with Unarmed Combat, but the footwork was close to the starting move of Tooth of the Mountain, so I changed the next move, and I surged forward into the strike, triggering Damage Mitigation. It worked, catching the sword wielder off guard. My Quick Claws drew blood as my teeth missed his neck but dug into his shoulder, and I activated Crushing Bite, breaking a collarbone.

A knife pierced my back, but the combination of Tough Hide and Damage Mitigation meant it didn't pierce the kidney it was aimed at. I spun with a Rake and Roar and moved into a Lunging Maul. It was better, but my footwork was still not up to par.

Something hard slammed into my leg, and the joint was weakened. I rolled, again moving into the Tooth of the Mountain. Most people will move away from the damage dealer, but the Tooth of the Mountain is the opposite and therefore surprising. I latched my jaws onto the club wielder's arm and bit down with Crushing Bite, breaking bones.

The first Orc was lying on the edge of the road and would bleed out if he didn't get help. Broken collarbone was out of the fight, and I stomped on the knee joint, making sure the broken arm didn't get up.

The spear-wielder was there with an orc. The leader was the one with the broken collarbone. One of my thrown knives had missed where I aimed, and the orc was dead.

The spear wielder and the orc looked at me, and the spear wielder did the sensible thing and turned and ran. I threw a knife at his retreating back as the orc charged me. I roared again and moved into the Lunging Maul, and we crashed together as I felt his knife cut into me, while my claws ripped into him.

I move into the Crushing Embrace, my claws sinking into his shoulder joints and bending his arms back in a way they were not designed for. He was strong. He probably has a few more strength attributes than I, but I had the technique and the leverage. I dislocated a shoulder and pushed him away.

I triggered the recall on all my knives, leaned into my beast side, and roared my victory.

I moved over to the leader with the broken shoulder bone and kicked him back onto the ground. I then raked my foot claws down his face, taking out one of his eyes. I knew how much that would cost.

I spat blood out of my mouth. It probably wasn't mine, but I had several cuts, one serious one. The Harmonic Order was not far away, so I headed there.

I checked my status, but I already knew I still had much to learn about my technique, before my Status would register it.

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