Something doesn't feel normal as you wake. Your mind is foggy and slow, like someone came along while you slept and stuffed it full of cotton wool.

You struggle to remember what cotton wool is.

You try to remember if this is normal, but you can't remember... anything, actually. Just the vaguest impressions. Instincts coloured with flashes of what you know used to be memories.

You open your eyes, and shake your head. In front of you, so large it fills your vision no matter where you look, is a vast wall of text. As you shake, the text moves with your head, maintaining its annoyingly central position. At the top, only visible by rolling your eyes, is the title

Shards of Arkus

in large, white lettering. Below it, in slightly smaller writing, is the subtitle

Keeps and Settlements update 1.0.0.0.0.2

and bellow that, low enough now that it is no longer uncomfortable to strain your eyes upwards, begins the text wall.

* Claimant Crystals no longer drop from unique bosses, you will get one automatically at level 3

* Changed Claimant Crystal behaviour when owner dies

* Fixed Visual Bug on Claimant Crystals

* Changed Monster Memory feature to better allow rivalry, championing and seeking behaviours

* The Grue no longer able to bypass darkness immunity

* Added the Wandering Merchant

* Added the Carpentry, Stoneworking and Artisan optional Skill Trees

* Removed Brine Hero

You skipped down a few, not really understanding how many of the arrow points could apply to you, till you reached the last one.

* Added many new features to Monster Lairs. Beware, Adventures!

You finally succeeded in blinking away the notification, and stretch. A few fragmented memories were starting to broil up. Game Updates and Memory wipes had been less and less common as Shards of Arkus steadily lost players, till they'd all but stopped some months ago. Now however, something was different. You're pretty sure this is the third or fourth major update lately, that might be why your head is so foggy.

Still, no matter your confusion about a great many things right now, one fact had bubbled to the surface of the misty swamp that currently served as your mind. You were a mob, and that meant you had a job to do. When the players finished downloading whatever this update did, they'd start taking over their avatars once more and coming to kill you.

Again

and

again.

You can't lie, even to yourself in the comfort of your own cave. It's not a fun life. Sometimes days at a time can pass where no adventurer seeks you out and you nearly convince yourself that this time you'll be able to do something with your short existence, but no. When, inevitably, you are found, you die. Sometimes painfully,like that time a massively over levelled fighter fed you your own legs. Sometimes mercifully, like the ranger who discovered you crippled after a battle, and fed you some herbs which took away the pain before drifting you off to sleep. Sometimes, you can admit, quite comically. The bard with the exploding deck of cards had certainly been a surprise, and she'd been quite nice company up till your Royal Flush. And then, once they were gone you'd wake up once again, your bed and cave trashed as they'd searched for loot. Anything you'd managed to make taken to be sold for a few gold, and any place you'd managed to travel to long gone.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Now a-days you tend to stay in your cave.

You wander over to the pool of water in the corner of your cave and take a drink. When the water stops splashing and settles mirror smooth once again, you get a good look at yourself.

You see red scales and fiery eyes.

You are what is commonly called a Drake...ling.

Drakes are majestic creatures, dozens of feet long, taller than a human at the shoulder, and possessing innate magical properties. Four legs, the front two as capable at fine manipulation as any elf; a pair of wings capable of keeping them aloft for days at a time; curling horns and the wisdom of the ages.

You are all that... but much, much less. You are, based off of a few animal companions you're starting to remember, around the size of a dog. A largish dog, certainly, but not a big one. Around four feet long and three foot high, with wings that allow you to glide short distances or leap about six foot straight up and front arms which, while capable of holding objects, are never going to win art awards. Your horns are small, back pointing nubs and your wisdom of the ages is still rather young. You are, however, proud of your innate magic. Your ability to breath fire is unmatched by all the goblin tribes nearby, and many an unwary adventurer has been surprised by your ability to project a twenty foot tongue of flame with near pinpoint accuracy.

You frown. Wasn't there a way to get this information? Some sort of... Character Sheet?

As you think the command, your character sheet blinks open in front of you.

Level 5 Drakeling

Monster, Drake, Explicit

Experience to level up – 500

Atributes

Strength 23 Dexterity 17 Endurance 25

Charisma 32 Manipulation 32 Appearance 32

Perception 27 Intelligence 25 +0 Wits 23

Skills

Brawling 25

Athleticism 25

Presence 20

Lore 25

Occult 20

Stealth 10

Dodge 10

Crafting (Stoneworking) 5

Feats

Fire Breath – Can make a Ranged Spell Attack, treating Occult as 10 higher than it is for the purpose of hitting, at Occult feet range. Deals Fire damage, has a chance to set foes on fire.

Monstrous Appearance – when attempting to use Appearance in a positive way on creatures without the Monster subtype, count it at 20 points lower until the target gets used to you.

Natural Weapons – You are in possession of a set of Natural Weapons. You are immune to Disarm attacks. However, crippling effects have a chance to disarm you instead.

Winglets – Your Winglets let you glide, slowing your falling speed to one tenth and allowing you to move at your normal speed in any horizontal axis while doing so. Alternately, they can be used to triple your athleticism for the purpose of a single jump

Wisdom of the Ages – gain a constant, passive buff to your intelligence based on the time since your last death.

You frown to yourself. Stoneworking? You don't... remember having a skill for that before, you just... made things. You shrug. You didn't exactly think you knew much about magic and your occult wasn't too bad. Sometimes you just had to trust the Gods you guessed.

You blinked away your Character Screen and got ready for a long day of, hopefully, staying alive.

You strode out of your cave, and out into the morning sun. Your cave was situated around a third of the way up a mountain called, you believed, Imphorne. The lowest quarter of the mountain was still covered by the forest that surrounded it, leaving you with a stunning view of a nearly endless ocean of softly rustling leaves stretched out beneath you. Goblins lived out there, you vaguely recall. In little wooden caves they built out of logs. You frown. You're pretty sure they're not called caved, but your mind is probing for something like a man groping for something in a dark room. You know the knowledge was there, but now it is notable only in its absence. You think you knew the goblins. It might be worth going and seeing if anyone else remembers more than you from before this Update. And if not, making allies with the locals would help pass the time before any adventurers came this way. With a new update to download and the fewer players recently, you could have some time to wait.