Reinhardt’s birthday was actually a week before the final day of Schulef?higkeit, which was the first week of the last month. The wait after Otto and Magdi’s Revelations, and the incredible Innates they held, had been interminable. The two older boys ribbed Reinhardt relentlessly, calling him “Spring Chicken,” or “Kiddo,” and saying phrases like “Back in my day...” Whenever they were discussing various Innates and their virtues or drawbacks, any opinion Reinhardt held that was deemed stupid by the others would be soundly denounced by saying “You’ll understand when you’re older,” or “Quiet now, the adults are talking.” Otto and Magdi had already decided that the best Innate Reinhardt could receive was Pack Mule - so he could carry all the loot the others found. Reinhardt took it all in stride, but there was an air of increasing nervousness as his birthday drew near - the others would support and carry him in the wake of a disastrous Revelation, of course, but after the calibre of the other’s revealed Innates, there was a certain expectation and pressure on Reinhardt.

  He was the last in their class to receive Revelation, as well. That just made it worse. All the other young adults knew their God-granted Innate already, and with the broad range of Innates revealed, all eyes turned expectantly to Reinhardt. There were Logger, Stonemason, Apothecary, Tracker, Baker, Fisher, Horsemanship, Animal Husbandry and many other Innates, mostly Black, with a few Blue. Not many surprises besides Otto, Magdi, Bruna - who had Enchanting, a highly sought after skill that had already garnered her an irrefusable offer at the Mercantile, which suited his skeezy, oily personality; And Harald - who raised a few eyebrows when he received Armsmaster, a relatively weaker version of a Weapon Proficiency, but one that applied to all weapons. The boy had been hoping for Geology - he did love rocks. As Schulef?higkeit had all but wound down and final exams had been taken already, the entire class was there for Reinhardt’s Revelation, along with all the teachers, most of the parents, the old geezers (and ladies,) and a half dozen other spectators besides. Reinhardt could have done without such a large crowd assembling to view the pronouncement of his inadequacy. Even though he didn’t have to do anything except stand there while the Cleric performed the ceremony, culminating in Reinhardt opening the Book of Revelation resting on the altar, he still felt as though he was doing it wrong.

  His mind was also churning the entire time. Innates were a big deal. They could make or break a person - ensuring a life of hardship, or guaranteeing success. Innates were informally known as “The Three Ey’s,” as they came in three flavours - Abilities, Affinities or Aptitudes. Abilities were things that one could do. Otto’s Twin Casting was an example of an ‘Ability.’ He could choose to ‘activate’ it, using it much like shooting an arrow or swinging a hammer. Other known Abilities were things like the “Strikes:” ‘Sure Strike,’ ‘Quick Strike,’ and ‘Power Strike.’ This last one was not the same as ‘Heavy Blow,’ which increased the relative “mass” of the weapon without actually increasing its weight, increasing the potential kinetic energy. ‘Power Strike’ worked instead with the inertia of the weapon and the transference of that energy. The difference was subtle, but it boiled down to a ‘Power Strike’ being able to be used with any weapon and needing more skill, and ‘Heavy Blow’ needing more strength and ramping up with the weight of the weapon. Yet even a less efficient could match or exceed the efficacy of a specialised if there was enough of a Grade imbalance.

  Grading was an important factor in rankings, and was arguably the most important when it came to an Innate - as it did not progress alongside personal growth. The Grade it was was the Grade it stayed. A being’s Innate was an immutable passive that could not be modified or repressed, being linked to their Absolute Level. Even low Grade Innates could be unimaginably powerful with a high Absolute Level. Especially as acquiring a Progressing Skill through hard work and exertion or a Skill Shard could lead to synergistic effects. The Gradings in order were Black, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple and Gold - the widely accepted rankings, in any case. There were rumours of Silver and Grey, and even Brown, although these so-called “Brown” skills were always ridiculous or obscene. Jokes about “Two-Handed Weapon in the Pink” being the most accurate Innate for someone were usually responded to with insinuations the joker would prefer getting “Penetrating Thrust in the Brown.” Whilst most were dismissed as apocryphal, Mythic Red Grade were known to exist among mortals that had undergone apotheosis into DemiGods. Each ‘Grade’ represented a slight increase in the overall performance. Somewhere, a researcher with a bulging cranium had poked, prodded and massaged candidates with an identical Skill across every Grade and Level to figure out exactly how much each Grade shift affected each Skill and by how much per Level. Reinhardt had read the results of this research, and studied the tables extensively. Whilst he was no great shakes at maths, he knew enough to see the patterns.

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  Affinities are natural predilections toward a specific concept. Learning came easier, and knowledge often seemed instinctual or able to be accessed as though it was a memory learned by rote. Affinities ranged from purely mundane subjects like ‘Herbology,’ ‘Biology,’ or ‘Botany,’ to more esoteric gnosticism like the ‘Magics.’ Reinhardt was not magically gifted and couldn’t wrap his head around spellcasting, but he had learnt all the theory side of it - enough to earn a passing grade, in any case. He knew there were at least eleven schools, or elements, or disciplines (each nation, academy and generation seemed to have their own word for the branches of magical energy and method of harnessing it,) as well as nearly 120 known multi-discipline Magical Affinities. Having a Magic Affinity Innate, even at the Black, was a golden ticket into the respective college, unless the crown or military offered you something even better.

  Aptitudes were by far the most common and varied Innates. To concisely summarise their function, they improved physical interactions with items or the material plane. There was an Aptitude for virtually every single thing ever - every weapon, armour, and action - Running, Jumping, Long Sword, Short Sword, Dagger, Blades, Climbing, Writing, you name it, there was an Innate Aptitude for it. But then, an Armour Innate could be as broad as Light Armour, Medium Armour or Heavy Armour, but also as specific as Barding Armour, Padded Armour, Leather Armour, Gambesons, Scale Mail, Chain Mail, et cetera ad nauseam. There was a lot of overlap, especially if someone received Medium Armour Expertise, and through constant wear, combat and movement, acquired Half-Plate Proficiency. There were also a few synergies between Aptitudes and Affinities - take “Farmer” and “Farming” for instance - one increased the physical actions undertaken while tending a farm, the other, made the knowledge required to farm the land intuitive. Having one invariably led to having the other Bestowed through recognition of learning or repetitive actions over many years.

  Aptitudes also came in three variants - Proficiency, Expertise and Mastery. Like Grade and Level, Rank affected the efficacy of the Innate. Reinhardt didn’t actually know exactly how they all interacted, but some mage with a perfectly spherical head had spent dozens of years studying hundreds of beings, making tables and plotting curves and figuring out exactly what each Grade, Rank and Mastery was the best, followed by the highest Grade Expertise, and that even mid Grade Mastery was better than high Grade Proficiency. Having a Purple Grade or better Mastery would provide Bonuses that even Mythic Red Proficiency needs to be one Grading above an Expertise and two Grades above a Mastery to garner the same benefits. A Black Mastery is equal to a Blue Expertise and a Yellow Proficiency, at the same level. For obvious reasons, Gold Mastery was the best combination available, but hoping for anything above a Black Expertise or a Blue Proficiency was for day dreams only, not for reality. Reinhardt would be ecstatic with any weapon or armour aptitude or any combat ability - although he would also be thrilled with any ability that would be useful for Dungeon delving, Tower climbing or Vault Diving. Hel, even one of the “Senses:” Life, Beast, Magic, Undead, Trap, Danger or Common would be acceptable to his mind.

  All this was rolling around in Reinhardt’s head while the Rassaphore of the local Church droned and intoned on Atean-given gifts and gratitude. When he finally hit the final note of the sermon and gestured to the Book, Reinhardt was caught completely by surprise, and there was a distinct beat before he jerked forward from a flat-footed start. A rustle swept through the gathered crowd as they collectively breathed slightly harder through their noses at his antics, and the knowing grin from the Cleric. Reinhardt had forced his hands to be steady by his sides, but now when they reached for the Book of Revelation there was a distinct tremor that he hoped none but the priest could see. He let his hands rest for a moment only on the cover to steady them, and then peeled the book open, its platinum pages flashing to rest about a third of the way through the tome. All Reinhardt saw, before the calamitous cacophony of gasps, screams, hollers and yells filled the church, as rough hands grabbed him, a hard palm slapped him and strong arms embraced him, was a flash of Gold.