The darkness was complete when Nate awoke. The bed he seemed to be laying on was soft as a cloud, and he felt the bed spring back as he pushed it in various places. The blankets were thin but kept him warm enough to be comfortable. But the blankets on his bed were thicker to defend him from the winter chill. He realized he was somewhere else. He sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed, surprised when the floor felt as springy as the bed had.
“What in the hell is going on?” he whispered into the darkness. His voice sounded muffled, like being in a sound proofed room. He stood and reached blindly around for a wall, finding one immediately on either side of the bed, made of the same soft material.
“Am I in a psyche room?” fear briefly gripped his insides. Instinctively he wrapped his arms around his chest, finding bare skin. “And why am I naked?”
A dull glow began to emanate from what Nate discovered was a small table a few steps from the bed. The glowing object was a sphere completely covered in a language that he didn’t understand. “This is a fancy nightlight.” When he picked up the sphere, the lettering drifted off into the air before him.
The words shifted into English. You have activated the Interface Sigil Stone. You currently have zero of five active sigil stones. Once the Interface Sigil Stone is accepted, it cannot be removed. Accept? Yes No.
“This can't be real,” he whispered. “I'm in the funny farm for sure.”
This is indeed real, Nate. The object seemed able to answer his unasked questions.
“Are you a type of high tech AI?”
No. Sigil stones are manifestations of magic that grant the user abilities beyond mortal bounds.
“Yeah? Sure thing, magic rock,” Nate did not believe it for a second. “I accept.”
To his great surprise, the sphere lifted from his hand, the lettering returned to it, and it flew into his chest. Nate reflexively tensed, but there was no push from the sphere. The darkness returned in full once the sphere was gone. He touched his chest and around the floor, but found no trace of it.
A word appeared in the center of his vision.
INITIALIZING.
Nate jumped back in shock, the word staying in his view. When he blinked, it went away for a split second. So he closed his eyes, his breathing growing faster. When he slowly opened his eyes, the word had been replaced by a small, white circle that was always in the middle of his view while his eyes were open. In the upper right corner of his vision, an image of what looked like a closed moleskin journal blinked subtly.
When his thought focused on the journal, it moved to cover up the dot, growing larger and opening to the first page. Though it was pitch black, he could see and read the journal without trouble.
Quest: Choices
Objective: Choose your race.
Reward: Sackcloth pants, 10 gold pieces.
Quest cannot be declined.
Nate stared for a long time at the words in the journal. Panic swelled up in him, and he fumbled around to the bed, crawling back in. At another thought the journal went away.
Closing his eyes, Nate focused on his breathing, trying to calm himself down. How did this happen? Did playing too many video games break his brain? Was he right now strapped down to a bed in a rubberized room somewhere to keep him from harming himself?
He opened his eyes as his breathing normalized. The tiny white circle was still there. Why did it remind him of something? As he sat up, a light began to shine ten feet away from the bed, revealing a wall mounted full length mirror. The light fully illuminated the room he was in. The room looked to be made of red thunderclouds. He sat back down hard on the bed and looked at the pillow. When the tiny white circle touched the pillow, text appeared below it.
Cloud Pillow. Pick up? YES. NO.
“Yes?” Nate said. The pillow disappeared. “No way,” Nate whispered. “Do I have an inventory?”
The white circle expanded out a translucent window, showing a table labeled ‘Inventory.’
Cloud Pillow. Type: Decoration. Weight: 0.01 lb. Value: 1,000 gp. A lightweight pillow made from cloudstuff.
He reached out and touched the text on the table. The pillow appeared in his hand, as soft and lightweight as ever. “That’s awesome.” He fiddled with his inventory window for several minutes. He could sort by item name type, weight, and value, and found lthat he didn’t need to touch the item to bring it out from his inventory. He also picked up the Cloud Blanket, then turned to look at the mirror. The circle widened to fill the shape of the mirror, and returned when he looked away.
“Oh!” he realized. “You’re my targeting reticle!” Nate thought about changing its appearance and found that he could, changing its color, shifting it from a circle to a small cross, to dismissing it entirely. He changed it to a nice light green and back to the circle.
“Not a bad way to go insane,” he said to the empty room. He’d always been a go with the flow kind of guy, and he decided that if he was crazy, he might as well enjoy it. He then noticed that the room had no windows or doors, and it suddenly seemed smaller than he’d like. He pushed that disconcerting fact aside and stepped closer to the mirror. He was reasonably tall, standing right at 6 feet, and the only place he tended to show his being overweight was his belly. He turned sideways and made funny faces in the mirror like he always did.
The mirror rippled, text appearing large enough for him to read it. He reached up to adjust his glasses, only to find both that they were missing and that he no longer seemed to need them.
The text at the top showed his race as human, but had arrows that pointed left and right. Below them were a series of sliders that he found very familiar, such as mouth shape, chin depth, and other such options. There were also ones he was less familiar with that could control even more finite aspects of his body.
“There’s my handsome guy,” Nate mimicked the main character’s wife from Fallout 4, a game in which he’d had entirely too many hours of playtime and likewise shared the main character’s default name. He ran his fingers through his relatively short auburn hair.
Then he reached up and tapped the arrow to the left of ‘Human.’ It changed to ‘Gorgonian,’ and a tingling sensation spread over his body. Scales grew over his skin, his hair extending and thickening into individual snakes, his own face elongating to a more snake-like appearance, though he still somehow kept enough features to recognize his own face.
As he wondered what a Gorgonian was, more text appeared on the mirror. Like the legendary Gorgon, Gorgonians have serpentine features and can petrify with their gaze. They are skilled in the arts of illusion and deception, generally living in hidden enclaves deep within warm deserts.
He bent over laughing so hard that tears welled in his eyes. His mind locked onto an old video he’d seen online. “I’m a snake! I’m a slithery, sneaky little snake! Catching me a mouse.” The sliders changed to reflect the new form, being able to change his scale colors, snake hair length, shift his face between more snake-like to more human-looking with just the slitted eyes.
“This is so cool!” he decided to go through all of his other options before making any kind of final decisions.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Chimeran.
Perhaps descendants from the legendary Chimera, these beings possess a blend of features from various animals, such as lion heads, goat horns, and dragon tails. They are the most varied and numerous of the races, and are skilled hunters and craftsmen, often living in wilderness areas.
The amount of options for Chimerans was staggering. Nate moved slider after slider, giving himself the face of a purple shark, the brawny arms of a bear, and the legs of a lion.
“Jawsome!” He cheered, smiling with his rows of sharp teeth. “Nah. Not for me.”
Dwarf.
Made of the stone they mine, dwarves have gemstones for eyes and bushy hair that often resembles moss that grows from rock. They live underground or in fortresses made of stone that jut from mountain faces.
Shrinking to the height of a Dwarf felt a bit strange, vertigo making Nate dizzy. He shook it out as he gave himself diamond eyes and bright green mossy hair and beard.
“Doodad!” He exclaimed, running his fingers through the beard. “Majestic beard, indeed,” he affected a Scottish brogue, “we Dwarves are natural sprinters!”
Elf.
Tall, thin and with pointed ears and typically long hair, Elves are long lived and are gifted in archery, stealth and magic. Elves have variable skin and hair tones based on where they are living, but for the most part are fair of skin with lighter hair if they live on the surface, and darker skin and darker hair if underground.
More vertigo as he grew to a few inches taller than his human form. He thinned out and his ears elongated. His chin softened and his nose became sharper. His auburn hair returned and grew to long luxurious locks.
“Legolas, eat your heart out. I make a damn fine elf. They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard!”
Gorgonian.
Like the legendary Gorgon, they have serpentine features and can petrify with their gaze. They are skilled in the arts of illusion and deception, generally living in hidden enclaves deep within warm deserts.
“Nah.” Nate, having already fiddled with this one, quickly passed through.
Human.
Humans are incredibly varied in skin tones, hair types and styles, and places they are capable of living. Being adaptable does make them generally resilient to living in harsh environments, and they can thrive where others could not.
“I really am ruggedly handsome, aren’t I?” he said as he scrolled through the sliders. “Later, I need to see the others.”
Kappans.
Kappans are humanoid creatures with turtle-like features, including a beak and shell on their back. They are mischievous and also wise, known for their affinity for water and martial arts prowess. They often live in towns built over and within lakes and rivers.
Feeling a shell shift from his human skin was disorienting. He read the text again as he touched his scaled face. “Teenage me would have jumped at this choice! Cowabunga, Dudes!”
He tried to pull his head into his shell, surprised when he was suddenly encased in darkness. He peaked out, “Now I’m definitely turtley enough for the Turtle Club. Turtle! Turtle! So many turtle jokes, so little time.”
Krakenkin.
Sea-dwelling beings with tentacled features reminiscent of the Kraken. They are skilled sailors, expert navigators, and have a deep affinity for the mysteries of the ocean depths. They often live in towns out to and under the sea.
The shell seemed to gelatinize, oozing back into his body as his skin became slick and shiny. Tentacles erupted from his face and his fingers similarly elongated.
His voice sounded as though he were underwater, “What in the Davy Jones hentai monster is this?” He quickly moved on.
Mothkin.
Resembling giant moths or butterflies, these ethereal beings possess delicate wings, luminous antennae, and the ability to manipulate light and shadow. They are often associated with dreams and illusions. They dwell in high mountain cave systems, or in housing built near the tops of tall trees.
Seeing his facial features somehow reflected from the moth face in the mirror silenced him for several long moments. “I can be a Mothman. No thanks, but that is wild.”
Myconid.
Also called fungus folk, the myconid race appear as humanoid mushrooms. While genderless, they can present as any type of gender, though they tend to appear feminine in reverence to the Undermother. They can communicate via spores and are gifted alchemists and gardeners. They prefer to dwell in any place that is dark, cool, and damp enough for them to thrive.
His red hair color was perfectly recreated for the mushroom cap that flared out from his head. His neck thickened to even out with the rest of his body, and his human face was set on the surface of the mushroom body.
He laughed, “While I am a fun guy, pass.”
Nessian.
These aquatic beings have serpentine bodies, long necks, and mysterious powers over water. They are skilled swimmers and guardians of hidden lakes and rivers. They often live in towns built over and within lakes and rivers.
He grew taller as his legs fused together and coiled beneath him. His face elongated, his nose flattening to slits. His arms thickened with ropey muscle.
“Why iss thiss sso familiar?” Nate flexed one of his arms, making it look larger than the other. It clicked. “TROGDAR! If he wass guarding the chamber of ssecretss. Yikess.”
Oreforged.
This race of people are metallic in appearance, with stone filling in the joints. Their movements can be as quiet as anyone else, or they can make the sound of grinding stone louder for distraction. They live deep underground and are expert miners.
Slick, translucent skin hardened into metal and stone. His face was the last to change. His body was dark metallic in color, with granite filling in at the points of articulation. His face seemed almost liquid metal, shifting seamlessly as he changed facial expressions.
“I love you,” he said in his falsetto. “I know.” He made a distressed face and held up his arms, palms out before him. “Heh. Neat.”
Phoenixfolk.
These beings are reborn from their own ashes. They are wise scholars and mystics, keepers of ancient knowledge and guardians of sacred fires. They usually live near volcanoes, and some believe that they are in fact the ones creating the volcanoes.
Bright orange and red feathers spread across his body, his eyes glowing like molten lava. His feet and hands grew rough and taloned. He turned slightly to see that he had grown a lustrous tail.
“I wonder if my tears in this form heal wounds like Fawkes? Love what I'm doing with the feathers!”
Sasquatch.
Sasquatch have long coarse fur that makes them resistant to the elements and physical attacks. They tend to live in dense forests where it is easier to hide. If there is a community of Sasquatch, it has never been found, and usually are only seen in small numbers or singularly.
Nate had to crouch to stay fully in view of the mirror, his auburn hair spreading across his newly hulking form.
“I could change my name to Harry or be the River Shoulders to someone's Dresden. Neat.”
Thunderstagian.
Resembling humanoid deer with crackling lightning antlers, these beings harness the power of storms. They are revered as shamans and protectors of the wilderness, wielding the forces of nature in defense of their lands. They are also skilled enchanters, generally living in hidden enclaves deep within dense forests.
“Okay, lightning deer man kinda rules,” Nate said as he gently touched the bright blue antlers that had sprouted from the top of his head.
Having reached the end of the list of choices, Nate scrolled through them several more times, tweaking the sliders if for no other reason than to see how it worked.
“This part always takes so long,” he muttered to himself. Despite having numerous options, he couldn't bring himself to be anything but what he was. Looking at himself in the other forms felt unnatural on a fundamental level.
So he stuck with human. That's not to say he didn't tweak himself a bit. The musculature slider was somewhere on the lower end. As he moved it up, his paunchy gut pulled in, his chest thickened, and his arms took on the svelt muscles of a rock climber.
“Oh, I think I like this a lot.” He only minutely altered his face, chiseling his chin a bit and giving his eyes a slight shimmer. He looked through the eye colors, too, and had trouble picking between grey and a vibrant purple. “Aragorn or Drizzt, Aragorn or Drizzt,” he switched back and forth before settling on grey, which went better with his now full auburn beard. He'd never been able to grow a full beard in the past, and he wasn't going to squander the chance to have one now.
Satisfied with the results, he took a step back from the mirror. “Done.”
Quest: Choices complete. Quest rewards have been added to your inventory.