Gripping the bark of the sycora tree, I gritted my teeth, the wood pricking my skin. As I pulled myself up the branches, my shoes scraped against the bark, chipping pieces off, scrambling to gain footing.

  “You’re too slow!” Varis ughed from atop the tree.

  “Sh-Shut up!” I finally found footholds and once again raced to the top. The branches became thinner and more numerous near the top, making my ascent more fluid as my small, light body scurried up the branches like they were a dder. Eventually, I poked my head through the cherry-pink leaves beside my brother, who straddled the highest branch. We were greeted by a cold breeze blowing from the nearby mountains that surrounded our valley in a bowl.

  Before I could take in the wonderful view around us, my brother’s fist pyfully slugged me in the shoulder, making me wince. “Hey, what did Papa say about hitting girls?” I yelped, then grumbled as I rubbed the pain away.

  “Father is not present.” My brother smirked and swayed from side to side. “And you act more like a boy than a girl. So, I get a pass!”

  Like that makes any sense, I thought as Varis stuck his tongue out at me.

  “Now you have to do the dishes tonight with Mother.”

  I gawked. “Si—Since when?!”

  “Since now. I won the climb.” He puffed his chest out.

  God, I was starting to despise him again. “We never agreed to that!” I protested.

  “Losers are losers, so you have to do it.” He ughed, but the moment he saw my pout, he sighed. “Luna, I’m just joking.”

  This trick got him every time. Instantly I brightened up. “So am I!” I spped his shoulder lightly. “So, we both do the dishes tonight.”

  Varis blinked his green and blue eyes, looking around as he realized he had fallen for my trap, before scowling.

  “Fine.” He harrumphed and looked towards Oren, our hometown. It was a beautiful little pce, home to only a few hundred citizens. The town itself was really only one main street with a couple offshoots for the houses of those who owned the few shops on the main road. Many of the residents lived in farms just outside of it, like the Hautchkinses, whose windmill was close by. Further on, we could see our house on a nearby hill. Our parents weren’t farmers like the Hautchkinses; instead, our mother was a baker, and our father was a constable—basically a police officer.

  You probably noticed that I’m not calling Mother “Boss” or Father “Bonehead.” While they were both totally those things, I had long since stopped freaking out over whether or not I was in a coma. Around the time I started learning to speak, I just accepted this new life. Part me felt off about letting go of everything I’d left behind, even though much of it wasn’t great. But lingering on that stuff wasn’t good for my mental health, so I just took all those bad thoughts and, logically, shoved them deep down inside of me where I didn’t have to think about them. I then corked that bottle and prayed that it never burst open. I never said it was a good idea, but it’d worked so far.

  My brother turned to me with a mischievous grin after recovering from my trap. “But don’t think you’re getting away with it next time! Soon, you’ll be doing all the dishes!”

  I chuckled and nudged him. “Nuh-uh, I know your weakness.” I fshed him a devious smile.

  “I doubt it.” He stuck his nose in the air as he shifted on his branch. “I have no weaknesses. You heard Momma, I’m perfect.”

  “She says that to both of us,” I added.

  “Uh, well, Papa says so too!” he said, his eyes flicking left to right.

  “Papa is a bonehead.”

  Varis gasped. “I’m gonna tell him you said that!” He smirked, thinking he had me.

  While I didn’t call my parents by their nicknames anymore, they used to slip out occasionally. My father was angry when I first called him a bonehead, but my mother found it hysterical. Now it was an inside joke in the family, so much so that even my mother called him that.

  “You know Papa secretly likes it.” I stuck my tongue out. “Face it, Varis, if you’re perfect, and I’m perfect, then that means we cancel each other out. If I go down…” My eyes narrowed. “I’m bringing you with me.”

  My brother had to think for a few seconds as his mind processed my threat. His gaze turned away. Then he faced me and gulped. “Well… then… we both do the dishes together?”

  I smiled and leaned over to pat his shoulder. “I’d like that.”

  From far off, near our home, a sharp whistle sounded. “That’s Momma! We gotta go!” Varis announced, and the two of us began to scamper down the tree. “First one home gets the st of Momma’s cookies!”

  I groaned. “Why does everything have to be a competition?” I grumbled to myself.

  It’d been six years since I’d awakened in this new world, and quite a while since I’d accepted my pce in this life. Of course, my parents had noticed how intelligent I was, and oh boy, they were going to be disappointed when I got older. Sure, I was smart for a kid, but man, back then I was a dumbass. My parents thought I was some sort of little genius. To fool them I tried to act my age—my new age, I mean—but I forgot sometimes, especially when I thought I was alone.

  Adapting to this world was still immensely difficult, but I’d learned so much. The biggest help was our home tutor. Since Mother was always busy in the bakery out back now, and Father was off doing small-town police work, neither one was around to teach us. So, in came our new teacher.

  Ma and Pa pooled as much money together as they could and hired Madam Isa Soza, a gorgeous serelli woman. A what, you ask? Well, let me expin: her species was one of several known as the beast-kin or beast-folk, though those terms were considered taboo. Serelli were human-feline hybrids. Heh. You might even see them in anime or games. I think folk on the internet called them catfolk, or nekos. Something like that. I swear, I never got into it… Okay, I lie. I was super into that stuff, but mainly for the character designs, okay? That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. God my life got better when she showed up.

  Madam Soza was a brilliant teacher: she was kind, patient, and, well, very good-looking, if I’m being honest. Like, super pretty. For a homeschool teacher, she had the build of an Olympic track runner and assets of a nightclub dancer. Before anyone says anything, during css, I was always looking respectfully. That I can say with one-hundred-percent honesty, and any rumors you hear coming from some kid whose name rhymes with Baris are not to be trusted.

  Anyway, Madam Soza was the one who taught us the common tongue and, more importantly, the Maurich nguage. Common was the lingua franca—or whatever the term was in this world, the world of Enora. It was the nguage used a lot for big important political things, kinda like how English is used back on Earth. Maurich, however, was the nguage of the Fathernd, Heinmarr. More specifically, the Heinmarr Republic, where my family and I lived now.

  My parents were Maurich speakers, and my mother was also fluent in Common. Actually, the two nguages were very simir—like Common was Latin and Maurich was one of the many Romance nguages descended from it. In this case, the linguistic ancestor was universal. Soza taught us that the downfall of Common came about when all humanoids spoke the same nguage, and all the known races colluded to overthrow the gods. Disapproving of this, the gods forced everyone to forget, thus leading to the creation of many different nguages. Or something along those lines.

  Naturally, I’m greatly paraphrasing this. Perhaps I should sit down and read more of the narrative ter, because it was extremely interesting. Also because I didn’t really have much to do around the house.

  Nevertheless, Soza taught Varis and me for many days and sleepless nights in the interim. For obvious reasons, I picked up most things more quickly than Varis did. Take mathematics, for example, which was the same, save for the numerals. And I may have made Varis feel a little dumb. I was awful at algebra in my previous life, but everything below that level was a cakewalk. If I could find a calcutor, oh man, I would be unstoppable!

  I pretended to be incompetent for a while, but Soza quickly realized, with pleasant surprise, that I wasn’t as clueless as I seemed. It seemed to annoy Varis a little, but hopefully I didn’t injure his pride too much.

  Ah, what the hell.

  Me: 2

  Small Child: 0

  I’d also learned how to properly pronounce my name as well as those of my family. “Roona” was actually Luna, which at first, I thought was the name of one of the two moons above Enora. No, my mother expined that I was actually named after the consteltion of a famous adventurer from back in the day, Luna Mayfly: an elven sorceress who had once fought in a legendary group known simply as the Seven during the Twilight War, which to me sounded metal as hell! Now, that made me feel special. A sorceress? I wondered what she was like, or what she looked like. If she was part of some heroic group, she had to have been super powerful. Also, Twilight War, that’s a cool name for a conflict. Eh, okay, hold on, I mean the name of it is cool. I doubt the actual event was anything but… anyway.

  I’m getting sidetracked.

  The l’s of Maurich and Common sounded simir to English r’s. This was what I struggled with the most. Madam Soza always teased me about my “speech impediment,” which I simply considered the American Debuff. She also told me that I spoke too boyishly and, as a dy, should spend more time with Mother or make other female friends. Like, come on! That wasn’t fair. Then, again, eh… she wasn’t wrong.

  Through my reading and eavesdropping, I’d gathered that this world was fairly open-minded. While there was still some inequality between genders, it was nowhere near as harsh as Victorian Britain. Men and women shared the same jobs, women could join the army, and apparently, this country had elections, which women could partake in too. Yet even then, there was a familiar expectation looming over them. You know, the whole start-a-family-and-raise-kids sort of thing.

  Hopefully as I grew up, that would change for the better.

  “Is something bothering you, Luna?” Gentle purring came from Madam Soza as she set the portable chalkboards on the dining room table. “You look like you’re thinking really hard.”

  The serelli woman’s red feline ears whirled like radar dishes to follow the ptes Mother ccked together in the sink. I blinked and looked up at Soza, then lowered my head back down to the toast and coocha eggs I was having for breakfast.

  What a name for a creature. At first my man brain spped the nickname “coochie” on them, because I’m immature like that. Coochas are weird. They’re like fat little chickens, but not. Instead of feathers, they have fur. They have no arms or even a beak. Instead, they have a mouth full of small sharp teeth, and around their head they’ve got these frills that shoot out like that dinosaur from Jurassic Park that spits venom. They’re freaky-looking things, but… they do y some good-ass eggs.

  I sighed as I zily twirled my fork around on the table. “I’m just wondering what life will be like as I get older.”

  When Soza didn’t reply right away, I gnced up. She was gazing at me in astonishment, her green eyes wide, as she brushed her red hair out of her face. “Well, that is quite a big thing to be thinking about for someone your age.” She ughed as she sat down in the chair opposite me. “What exactly are you thinking about?”

  As I picked at my eggs, I heard a sleepy Varis stumbling down the stairs to join us. “Nothing major, really,” I said, “nothing specific. I wonder if I’ll join the military like my father did or go on adventures.” On another day this might have excited me, but right now… I just didn’t know. I let out a deep sigh.

  Oren, the pce we called home, was a tiny vilge located sixty or so miles from the Veilnd border. Agriculture and mining the neighboring vein of magrite (which I assumed was a magical crystal) were the town’s two main industries. Only a handful of travelers or merchants went through here. But none ever stuck around, as a much rger town in Veilnd was close enough for people to travel to and stay there.

  With her long, fluffy scarlet tail flicking behind her back and forth, Soza tapped her chin. “Well, I’m not surprised. Many children fantasize about traveling the world. Being a soldier or an adventurer would grant you such wishes. Do you yearn for adventure, Luna?”

  Varis pulled his chair out and sat next to me, just as Mother came over and pced his food in front of him before ruffling his hair. “Maybe…” I mumbled; honestly, I had no idea. I had been in my room for over six years of my previous existence. I’d spent a quarter of my life online, only leaving when I absolutely had to. Even back then, I wanted to do more outside, but I couldn’t bring myself to go.

  Seeing my conflicted expression, Soza purred and smiled, and her tail sped up. She gestured to my breakfast with her calloused, cwed hand. “Think about it. Though do not think too much, Luna, or else you may forget what it’s like to be a child. Pondering the future too long will leave you blind to what is here in the present. Enjoy life for what it is now and take things as they come. Now, finish your breakfast. Today we’ll be working on grammatical writing and math. Varis, you’ll be working on addition, and Luna, I noticed you seem to already be aware of multiplication.”

  “Aaaaah, I hate math!” Varis grumbled tiredly as he slurped up his eggs.

  I blushed and rubbed my neck. “I, uh, found a book upstairs that talked about it,” I lied, and Soza smiled and shrugged.

  “I will not discourage outside study. It does make my life easier.” She chuckled as we finished up our breakfast and began our morning lessons.

  “How’re you so good at math?” Varis asked me as we walked out the front gate of our property. He tightened the full backpack on his shoulders. He was carrying an order for the Hautchkinses, along with even more baked goods Mother had made to thank them for letting us use their mill.

  I turned and waved goodbye to Mother, who stood on the front porch beside Madam Soza. “Be back soon!” I shouted, then turned back to Varis. Part of me wanted to be honest and tell him that pying years of D&D and calcuting stats and difficulty modifiers had done more for me than school, but instead I chose to say, “Because I study, unlike you.” I poked out my tongue, only to yell when his fist struck my shoulder. “Hey!” I slugged him back, though he didn’t flinch, and huffed.

  Varis rolled his eyes and said, “I haven’t even seen you study once. You just read all those books you take from our father’s room.”

  “And that’s called Father’s study, Varis. Duh!” I swore this kid was a doorknob sometimes, though I got him. Back in my old life, I despised studying. I could never understand those kids who just seemed to know everything and got to do whatever they wanted. To him, I must’ve seemed like one of those kids. Little did he know I already had a high-school education and a background in IT—not that IT would help me in this world—and of course, those years of D&D.

  I shrugged. “I dunno how to say it; it just comes to me easily.” I tried to give him a cute smile, hoping it would put him at ease. “If you ever need help, I can help you study… Varis?”

  My smile didn’t work. He was looking straight ahead as we walked towards the Hautchkinses’ mill whirling in the distance.

  Varis sighed. “I don’t get it… I want to be as smart as you. Every day since Soza came, you’ve shown Mother and Father how smart you are. Now all they ever do is talk about you!”

  I blinked. “That’s not true. Mother and Father love us equally, Varis, and like I said, I can help—”

  Varis threw his hands in the air and turned to face me. “I don’t want help! I just want to be as cool as you!”

  Though I wanted to snap at him, I bit my lip and counted inwardly to three. It’s painful trying to talk to a child. Yet, once again, as irritated as I was, I could identify with his inferiority complex: I used to suffer from one and, in some ways, still did. So, I counted down, took a deep breath, and smiled at him once more.

  “Brother, you are cool.” I pointed at him and began my next operation. Operation Gze. “Already, you have our father’s tough looks. You have those super cool eyes, and you can climb trees really fast. You’re special in your own way. You know?”

  “Well, you’re pretty like Mom!”

  I smacked his shoulder as my cheeks burned a bright cherry red.

  “No! I’m saying nice things right now; shut up! You’re special in your own way, just as I’m special in mine. We’re hum—elves! All elves are different. I may be good at learning things, but you’re strong and look super cool, like a superhero!”

  “Superhero?” He blinked.

  I guessed those weren’t a thing here, yet. “Uh, yeah! Like adventurers, like the wizard Merlin or the sorcerer Luna!” I said, listing off the only ones I knew. “You can be those guys. Leave the books and such to me, and I’ll leave all the swords and athletic stuff to you. We’ll be like a team!” I pounded my fist into my palm.

  This seemed to lighten the mood a little. Varis blushed deeply before nodding with a smile. “Thank you, Sister.”

  I returned his smile and gave him a pat on the shoulder, having to stretch up on my tiptoes. “No problem! You and I, we’re siblings; we should work together, not compete.” I wished I’d done this in my prior life. Worked together with my brothers instead of pushing them away.

  “Y-Yeah.”

  Silence fell over us as we walked. Seconds ter, it was broken with, “But I can beat you to the Hautchkins’, though.”

  Oh no he didn’t. “Doubt that! Y’know, I can run pretty fast!” I bolted down the dirt road with Varis running by my side.

  By decree of the Global Allied Nations, it is forbidden for one to speak of the Dark Lord’s name, ancestry, or homend. To speak its name only cements its existence in our realm. From here on out, those discovered flippantly using the Dark Lord’s true name will incur the ire of the global courts. Let it be known that the courts will not show mercy to those who put all of us at risk. Ignorant or not, you have been warned.

  —Codes of Peace, Article I.