“Cass? Cass!? Sis, where are you?” yelled Eli. He was already outside the spawn that contained Theron; since he already made 2 other characters beforehand, he was able to expedite the process of character creation and take his choice of weapon and stats instead of taking a developer preset or talking to Theron in the beginning. Although he knew that he didn’t have to always be restricted to any weapon forever, it doesn’t hurt to get a small start into a preferred role.
A simple visual UI window popped up showing a Social tab that included current parties, guilds, friends, and chat; even though Eli knew that he could simply bring it up in his mind, he always preferred the more interactive method of doing so.
“Hmm, let’s see...Cass is definitely online. Huh, I didn’t know that Fated Realms already linked my real life social contacts to the game, but I guess that’s convenient…” thought Eli, “Now, I just need to find her. Hopefully she’s not too far. Can I set a custom marker towards her?”
Suddenly, a prompt popped into Eli’s mind asking if he wanted to enable markers, stating that he can disable other forms of UI later. Without a second thought, he decided to say yes and instantly a marker in the shape of a crystal appeared in his field of vision. It was a translucent blue color, indicating that it was different from regular quest markers that were yellow.
“Woah, it actually gives me approximate directions like a normal quest? Well, I’d better get going, I don’t want to waste any more time.” thought Eli. He observed his surroundings and felt at home; no matter how many times he saw the starting area outside of the spawn, he was always enthralled by the amazing visuals. It was akin to something like the garden of Eden, with elegant arches that held lanterns powered by magical white crystals, quartered off gardens with beautiful birch trees and silver benches to let players sit underneath the shade and enjoy the scent of flowers and fresh grass year-round, and light grey brick pathways that lead to the other hubs near Theron, such as the marketplace, sea ports, city square, the Crystal Inn, the crafting district, and combat district. Eli reminisced over the first time he made his character; he spent an entire afternoon in the real world exploring everything. Fated Realms went even further than other VRMMO’s by simulating all the senses. The salty air near the ports, the cozy heat and smell of the dining hall at Crystal Inn, the sound of metal hitting metal at the blacksmith, the brilliant and blinding sun, shimmering stars and magnificent moon at night: he truly felt at home in a game more than in real life.
Of course, Eli knew that his recollection of these areas were vague and nostalgic at best, but every player knew that for as long as anyone could remember in the game, the city, or realm, was known as Theron, named after the crystal. Even the NPCs don’t remember a time before Theron; as far as everyone was concerned, no matter how they were created in this world, Theron was always a permanent fixture.
“The old man stuck in the crystal doesn’t lie...this city always feels alive because of him.” noted Eli. He walked past several players that were wearing a variety of clothing, such as silk robes, hardened leather, steel plate, and of course weapons such as staves, swords, shields, knuckles, and more. Eli wasn’t entirely sure how many weapons there were in the game, but he certainly knew what he had picked: a bow, a long-sword, and a small kite shield, each with the attached moniker of “Beginner”. He heard the distinct clinking of chainmail as he moved, feeling grateful that his leather boots and light pauldrons were well fitted and comfortable. Underneath he wore a simple pair of rudimentary cotton underwear, and on top of that was some regular slacks and a coarse green collared shirt. As he approached city square, he was starting to feel the heat of the afternoon sun and decided to roll up his sleeves when he noticed that his marker was pointed directly to the city archives.
“You’re still trying to study even in a video game? C’mon…” thought Eli, unable hide his smirk; he was glad that some things didn’t really change. “Maybe I’ll surprise her with a hug...now that I think about it, this will be the closest thing we’ve really had to a hug in over a year.” He made a beeline towards the ornate double doors of the archives, but as soon as he reached the front steps, the quest marker dissipated.
“Damn it, I guess I’m gonna have to look for her without the extra help.” He looked up and down the doors and admired the intricate pattern. The color of the wood was a rich dark brown, with a white birch inset, shaped to resemble Theron itself in the center of both doors, parting when someone opened them. Another inset made of white birch also circled around, with 7 points all set apart representing the different attributes in the game and were symbolically represented by the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Eli spent a few more seconds inspecting the double doors, and then pushed them aside and saw what seemed to be endless rows of shelves filled with books. In front of him was what seemed to be an NPC serving as the archivist sitting behind a desk; she seemed to be a stereotypical old lady in her 60s, wearing a red cardigan, a pair of gold horn-rimmed glasses, and a black dress. The only things that could be heard were the sounds of flipping pages and clicking heels as she tapped her feet waiting for someone to approach her...or make a mistake.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Hey, have you se--” blurted out Eli, before he was cut off.
“Shhhh!” screeched the archivist. “Please keep your noise to a minimum. What are you doing here for, shouldn’t a man like you be out adventuring?” At this point, she quieted down and started to whisper, but Eli could still sense the death stare towards him.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” whispered Eli, feeling bad that he forgot that the archives were the equivalent of a library, “What’s your name?” He desperately didn’t want to anger her anymore.
“Hmph. If you must know, my name is Mrs. Kara,” said the archivist, “and thank you for apologizing. Please remember that there are other people using this building for a variety of purpose.” Eli looked around, and saw that there were no other players or NPCs even using the adjacent tables next to the desk, but he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt; maybe she knew the amount of people in the archives right now. After a moment of awkward silence, Eli noticed that Mrs. Kara was already not paying attention and flipping through her book again.
“Um, Mrs. Kara?” asked Eli. She placed her book down gently and tilted her head to look directly at Eli. “Have you seen anyone, especially a girl with some purple hair, come into the building?”
“Yes…” mused Mrs. Kara, “I think so, but what relationship do you have with her? I don’t want anyone to be hurt when the archives are in my care.”
“Oh, she’s my sister. Do you know where she went off to and maybe give me some directions to a section to the archives?”
Mrs. Kara stood up and looked Eli up and down. “Hmm...okay then, I believe you. She came in and politely asked to see the history section because she wanted to inquire about how Theron came to be.”
“Why did she do that?” thought Eli, but aloud.
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” replied Mrs. Kara, her lips forming into a slight smirk. “Go towards the 2nd to last shelf on the left. If you don’t see her reading something, you may have to explore a bit more.”
“Oh...I’m sorry, I didn’t know you heard that,” confessed Eli, sounding rather sheepish and feeling his cheeks flush with crimson, ”but thank you for your help!” He began to stumble away, and regaining his composure after a couple of minutes. He followed Mrs. Kara’s instructions and wondered to himself; what class would Cass be playing as?
While there were no hard-set classes like the MMOs of olden days, there were still classes and their skills that players could progress in. Depending on how many times a player used those skills and weapons appropriate to the class, they could progress further down the class and unlock new skills, in addition to improving their proficiency in those skills. In Eli’s case, he decided on playing a more agility focused class, specialized in hit-and-run tactics and finishing moves, utilizing short-swords, bows, and light to medium armor as standard equipment.
Eli swept that out of his head, and instead focused on finding Cass. “There’ll be more time to explain that to her later, maybe she’ll get a chance to teach me the history of Fated Realms.” Eli. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a relatively slender feminine figure, with dark hair having a streak of purple. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed that she was wearing plate armor with a faded luster, along with a hefty kite shield and a longsword in its scabbard resting upon a nearby bookshelf.
“That has to be Cass...she used to play the knight all the time!” concluded Eli. He still had the intention to surprise her, and started to crouch down, reducing his stature as if stalking prey. Cass was engrossed in the book, nearly placing her nose in the crook of the pages, and Eli knew there was no better opportunity than now. He was getting ever nearer, and with each step, his heart beat a bit faster, until he knew he could pounce on her. It was only a few more steps...until--
“Shit!” yelled Cass, as she felt arms surround her. Eli could feel her squirming sister and started to burst out in laughter.
“Hahaha, calm down sis, it’s just me!” laughed Eli, unable to control his happiness to see Cass again, “What, you don’t like having a hug from your own brother?”
“Can you let go of me? We have plenty of time to hug later!” fumed Cass, losing her grasp on the book she was carrying before the “attack”.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry--” chuckled Eli, before being interrupted once more.
“You’d better be!” roared an all too familiar voice.
Cass and Eli froze, as they both turned to face the source of the complaint: of course, it was the archivist, Mrs. Kara.
“I told you both to please keep it down in the archives? What do you have to say for yourselves?!” scolded Mrs. Kara.
Before Eli even had a chance to reply, Cass said in a very dignified and relaxed voice, “I am so sorry Mrs. Kara, please forgive us. I have, however, decided on the book I wish to check out.”