Babies grow fast, babies with strong Traits, Physical Cultivation, and good nutrition grow faster than normal. Luca had all three.

  “Shada, go get Shinobin. I think Luca is getting close,” Mina said.

  “Isn't it too soon?” Shada asked, via Spirit Speech.

  “Of course not! Luca is special after all. Besides, Westlin should be ready soon as well. My family is known for growing fast,” Mina replied.

  Mina was a large woman. Taller, broader, and plumper than the local Wylderfolk or the Imperials Shada had seen.

  He was actually surprised that Westlin's physical growth was keeping up with Luca’s. Mina was evasive about it. She said that she came from a hearty stock.

  Shada did as he was asked and he went to fetch Shinobin.

  “Are you sure he is ready Mina? Shinobin asked.

  “Oh yes, he can already manage with help, but I figured you would want to be here for this,” Mina responded.

  “Of course, let’s see!” Shinobin said in anticipation.

  Everyone watched as Mina helped steady a standing Luca. Hesitantly, he took first one step then two. His legs wobbled, and his arms flailed a bit, but he did it! He had started walking!

  “Come on Luca, you can do it!” Shinobin said encouragingly.

  Shada was ambivalent, but also as happy as he could be as a spirit. Fear and excitement resonated from little Luca as he waddled to his mother's waiting arms. He was embraced tightly by a thrilled Shinobin.

  Westlin managed the same feat a few weeks later. The speed confused Shada. Both children were only a little over a half year old. Even advanced children back on Earth didn't manage this quickly.

  —

  “Meh nah,” Luca said suddenly one afternoon. He had been babbling for weeks, but this was the first recognizable word.

  It was just Shada, Mina, Luca, and Westlin in the nursery. It was nearing lunch time.

  “Good job Luca! That’s right! I’m Mina! What a smart kid you are,” exclaimed Mina. She had just picked Luca up to feed him.

  Shada had been playing with the babies in his Root golem form. The boys loved the little animated talking tree person. He was surprised to hear Luca speak. It hadn't been long since Luca had taken his first steps, but he was already talking as well?

  “Can you say, Shada?” Shada asked in a bemused voice.

  Luca crunched up his face as if concentrating very hard, or maybe pooping, it could be hard to tell with babies. Then suddenly he let out his second word.

  “Sha Sha!” Luca chirped.

  "Close enough, good job Luca!" Shada said, even as the dissonance, of essentially talking to a child version of himself, hit home.

  Luca's speech improved rapidly from that point. Shada suspected he was tapping into Polyglotism somehow. His language acquisition speed was impressive. Westlin, while matching Luca's physical development, wasn't developing other skills as fast.

  —

  “So Raelis, what am I conjuring today?” Shada asked as they entered one of the workrooms in the Mound.

  “Let me check the list, Master Shada. You have learned various earths, woods, and metals. You also learned intangibles like light, heat, force, electricity, and magnetism. That last one you figured out without a magnetic spell form, it seems. Hmm, you also learned fire, water, acid, and poison. I think the next thing would be food. Mage Bread is part of the basic conjuring lists,” Raelis said.

  “Isn't food too complex for basic conjuring?” Shada asked.

  “You would think so, but for some reason it is included in the lists. Here is the spell form,” Raelis said while handing over the drawing.

  After studying the spell and testing it, Shada started practicing the manual version. The mess was a bit much compared to some previous manual conjuring practices because failures resulted in crumbs and various goop all over the workroom. Luckily Raelis could casting cleaning spells or the room would be filled with debris.

  When Shada finally managed a small, well formed, cube of Mage Bread the System let him know he qualified for the Conjure Mage Bread Skill. However, it also, finally, offered him the Conjure Material Skill, he had spent months working on.

  Shada accepted the Material Conjuring Skill knowing it would later merge with the others in the set. That's how Essence Manipulation and Essence Shaping had become Essence Control. Another thing Shada noticed was how the information the Guide provided adjusted to his knowledge.

  “Congratulations, young Master Shada! People normally only get the Material Conjuring Skill from Classes. Even then the general version is very rare!” Raelis said, to a surprised Shada,

  It had taken months, but he finally got the first Skill on his way to Material Mastery.

  —

  It had been a year since Shada had arrived on Sierrallas. Luca was now the size of a 1-2 year old from Earth. Westlin was actually larger than Luca somehow. Shada often wondered if the toddlers were being dosed behind his back, but just as easily dismissed the thought.

  Today was a special day. It was Shad’s ‘birthday’ and the day of Spring Frolic for the Wylderfolk. Frolic took place on the Spring Equinox and was a local Wylderfolk holiday celebrating the beginning of Spring and fertility. Young unmarried Wylderfolk would chase each other around the woods, at night, as part of the celebration of sex and fertility. Fae and Elves from the Glade often joined in.

  However, today was special for another reason. Shada, and by proxy Luca, had reached level 10. Luca couldn't access the Guide until he was older, but Shada's Guide was telling him that he could visit a System Shrine now and pick a Path.

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  Shinobin and Mina each wore a toddler on their backs. Their elven Shadows formed a hidden box around them. The city was alive with activity. Decorative ropes and wreaths of flowers were everywhere. The street food vendors were out in force. People wore more vibrant fabrics and the whole town seemed to buzz with excited talk; of who would catch who, in the Wyldwood that evening. Shinobin had a wistful look on her face. Likely remembering her last Frolic.

  “The Shrine should be practically abandoned due to Frolic. Only the Pathfinder and Keeper should be there,” Shinobin said as they walked the festive streets.

  “What do they do? I assume Pathfinders help people find their Path, but what about Keepers?” Shada asked.

  “Keepers are guardians and custodians. They can be found at Shrines, Temples, Dungeons, Glades, etc. My brother is a Keeper in a place far from here,” Mina replied.

  “I didn't even know you had a brother Mina!” Shinobin siad. “You don't talk about your family except for Westlin here.”

  “My people are pretty insular and my leaving left me estranged,” Mina replied. She politely declined further questioning about it.

  “You're sure that the Pathfinder and Keeper will help, and not tell everyone about me?” Shada asked.

  “Absolutely, they are Contractually Bound by the System to keep things private. They literally can't tell anyone, not even each other,” Shinobin said with conviction.

  “Sha Sha will get bestest Path!” Luca chimed in from his mother's back.

  “Hush now Luca sweetheart. We don't talk about Shada outside the nursery or cottage, remember?” Shinobin admonished lightly.

  “Yes, mama! I sorry. I forget,” Luca replied in their cute little voice.

  “It's important,” Shinobin replied more sternly.

  “Important!” Westlin chimed in though not as clearly as Luca.

  The System Shrine was a relatively small structure, tucked away down a side street, that ended in a small park with the Shrine in the center. There were buildings surrounding the park, but they all presented blank stone walls to the Shrine. It gave the feel of being in an enclosed grotto or canyon.

  The Shrine itself was made of smooth white marble with blue crystalline veins. In shape it was pentagonal with five columned walls. The park paths formed a pentagram with the Shrine at the center. Shada doubted that was a coincidence. The structure was three stories tall and crowned with a stone dome. Five different colored flames shown at various points.

  At first glance Shada thought the lizard man standing in front of the Shrine entrance was a statue cast in bronze. He stood perfectly still, eyes closed, hands behind his back. Only the rise and fall of his chest and his flowing bronze robes, moving in the breeze, gave him away.

  “High Keeper Saznek, what are you doing here today? Don't you normally serve at the Dungeon?” Shinobin asked, as she recognized the lizard man.

  The lizard man, High Keeper Saznek, looked up. “High Healer Aseralis, it’s a pleasure to see you. I could ask you the same. What brings you to this humble Shrine today?” Saznek asked.

  “Ah, that we must discuss in private. Will you guide us inside?” Shinobin responded.

  “Of course, do follow me. You are the only visitors today. As to your earlier question, the young are enjoying the festival so I took over, for the normal Keeper, for the day,” Saznek said as he turned and gestured them forward.

  The group followed the bronze scaled lizard man through the columns and through the front entrance. Decorative carvings and bas reliefs showed people doing a plethora of things; from the mundane to the fantastic.

  The structure was surprisingly open on the inside. Most of the space was taken up by the most complex ritual circle Shada had ever seen. The language used was unique and new to Shada. His Skills called it Systemic and he couldn't even begin to decipher it. At the very center was a large five sided floating blue crystalline obelisk. It was suspended at least 12 feet in the air by nothing like a crystalline sword of Damocles waiting to strike. Overall the Shrine was beautiful, mesmerizing, and arcane.

  “We will need to speak to the Pathfinder as well, High Keeper,” Shinobin said when they reached the walkway around the sunken ritual circle.

  “Pathfinder Johon is here of course, but I see no Aspirants among you,” Saznek asked curiously.

  “You might need to look more closely, High Keeper Saznek,” Shada said from the shoulder bag he was being carried in.

  Saznek started, at the Root Golem that Shada was inhabiting, like a strange bug that somehow found itself inside.

  “Who or what do I have the pleasure of addressing?” Saznek asked formally.

  “I am Shada. I am here to seek my Path,” Shada replied without elaboration.

  “I see or rather I really don't, but come I will take you to a consultation room,” Saznek sighed in a hissing manner. The first reptilian sound he had made.

  “Thank you, High Keeper. I know this is strange, but please be patient with us,” Shinobin said as they entered a sitting room.

  The consultation room was far more modern and futuristic than anything Shada had seen on Sierrallas. The room was dominated by a chair that looked like something out of a science fiction movie or a dentist's chair. There was a podium and chair near the bed with what looked very much like a touchscreen interface.

  Saznek went to the interface and tapped a few places.

  “Pathfinder Johon has been notified you are here. I would normally suggest the Aspirant be placed on the Assessment Chair...” Saznek said with uncertainty.

  Shinobin simply placed Shada in the chair. He looked positively tiny in a chair meant for people.

  “I suppose that is…appropriate. The rest of you may take the extra seats or wait with me outside,” Saznek said.

  “Mina, if you could follow the High Keeper? I will wait with Shada and Luca for the Pathfinder.” Shinobin told Mina.

  “As you wish, mistress. Shada may you find your Path,” Mina said cheerfully before leaving.

  Shada thought the whole situation was rather bizarre. Here he was a grown man, inside what was essentially a wooden doll, in a quasi-mystical structure linked to a planet spanning A, on a world filled with magic. His physical self was sitting on his new mother's lap, playing the local equivalent of peekaboo. Luca himself was in an undyed plain dress-like outfit common among Wylderfolk children. Shada's mind wandered as they waited on the Pathfinder.

  He didn't really understand Paths. The explanations were often vague. He had been told it would be revealed at the Shrine, somehow, but no one knew how the process worked. It had been frustrating. What was a Path and why did everyone need one? He lacked a clear answer.

  When Pathfinder Johon entered the room he stopped and stared in puzzlement.

  “Excuse me, why is there a doll on the Assessment Chair?” Johon asked Shinobin.

  “That would be the Aspirant you are here to help. His name is Shada,” Shinobin said simply while continuing to play with Luca.

  “Madam? Is this some sort of joke?” Johon asked.

  “It is not a joke Pathfinder Johon. I am here to find my Path,” Shada's small voice said from the Chair.

  Pathfinder Johon blinked in confusion before moving to his seat behind the interface. He began entering a sequence of commands, as different sections of the interface lit up, showing information.

  “Name: Lucanarius Intarius Aseralis/Shada Aseralis…what? You have two entries for your name. One is shown as eligible for Path Assessment, but the other is simply greyed out like, a child that’s too young…can someone explain please? I have never seen readings like these. They don't make sense.” Pathfinder Johon was deeply confused by the read out.

  “It is somewhat complicated. Luca is the child over there. I’m Shada…I am not sure how much I should tell you honestly...” Shada tried to explain, but trailed off.

  “I see…Race…Precursor Half Elf/Precursor Spirit (Golem-Root). Ah, so you are inhabiting a golem, but wait…if you are in the golem then who, or what, is animating the child?” Johon asked in confusion. He was trying very hard to maintain his professional facade, but the situation was odd.

  “Since you can see my status I assume that includes Traits? That will clear things up for you.” Shada responded calmly.

  “I can indeed see your…FIVE Traits!” Johon exclaimed as he continued reading.

  “Is there a problem with my Traits Pathfinder Johon?” Shada asked after the Pathfinders outburst.

  “No, no, no problems. It's just that I have never seen someone with more than one or two. I have heard of people with more, but five is excessive. Ok, do excuse me, this is all quite unusual,” Pathfinder Johon said as he looked at the Traits more closely.

  “I see, those do explain the situation somewhat. They don't explain how you are Level 10 and clearly quite articulate for a child less than one year old…” Johon said in a questioning tone.

  “Can you see Contracts on your screen Pathfinder Johon?” Shada asked.

  “Of course, I can see everything the System knows about you. Let's see Contracts, yes you are Contracted too…the Goddess Sierra Herself…what? A Divine Contract!? How? Why? Let me read it…I…dear Goddess…there is literally a note…for me specifically…” Johon trailed off as he read his personal Divine message.

  “Wow, your’s is the strangest case I have ever encountered and I have been doing this for more than 100 years! However, we do serve at the whims of the Divine. According to this I can't help you find your Path Shada. I can only act as a facilitator,” Johon said with what sounded like a sigh of relief.

  “What do you mean? What did the Goddess say?” Shada asked in concern.

  “A Pathfinder acts as a guide on a spiritual journey to find your Path. I can't do that for you, as you have an assigned Pathfinder that greatly outranks me. Pathfinder Asonia will be your guide I can only help you start the journey. Would you like to begin now?”

  “I don't see why not. It is why I am here after all, but can you answer more questions?”

  “I actually cannot. Pathfinder Asonia can if he so chooses, but there is one other thing. You can't go on your own. You are two halves of a whole. You can't find your Path without young Lucanarius,” Pathfinder Johon explained.

  Shinobin looked up from Luca at that statement. She looked back at her child, then at Shada, and then Johon before standing.

  “Sweet Luca, Shada needs your help. Can you be a good boy and help Shada?” Shinobin asked as she reluctantly laid her, less than one year old child, in the Chair next to Shada.

  “I help Sha Sha. I help me!” Luca exclaimed much to both Shada and Shinobin's surprise.

  “Luca, sweetheart, you know about you and Shada being one person?” Shinobin asked in confusion.

  “Yep, use be Jon. Now ShaSha and Luca. Luca knows!” The precocious child said as eloquently as possible considering his age.

  Shada and Shinobin were surprised, but didn't know how to react.

  “Ok Luca, Shada, I love you both. Have a safe journey. I will be waiting when you return,” Shinobin said with tears in her eyes.

  “We luv/love ya/you ta/to mama/mother.” Luca and Shada said in harmony. Each in their own distinct voice.

  “I will start the Journey now. Please be safe and follow your guide. Stray not from your Path lest you be lost…May your Path become clear,” Pathfinder Johon intoned formally while entering commands.

  Then as had happened twice before, consciousness disappeared, and suddenly Luca and Shada were elsewhere.

  —

  Shinobin stared at her child…no children, as they lay like corpses in the Assessment Chair. The Shapeshifting Skill had deactivated. Luca was revealed in their true form. The golem was now plain, inert, and ugly like it always was when unused. Luca's glow was missing, adding to the corpse-like effect. A protective bubble surrounded the two. She wept quietly and waited for her children to return. Even the one that was mentally older than her, and raised on another world.

  —