The dust slowly settled as Aiden found himself in a heap on the ground. Instead of the grand entrance to Mythendel and the countless adventures he would face as a direct result of it, all he had were feelings of indignation, embarrassment and a desperate hope that nobody had witnessed his less-than-graceful landing.
His hopes of having gone down unnoticed were almost instantly shattered by the sound of bright laughter coming from behind him.
"Well done Aiden!" he thought to himself as he felt his face turn bright red. "Not even 15 minutes in, and you've already made a fool of yourself!"
As he turned to face his audience, he was struck by a sight unlike anything he had ever seen before. Standing next to him was a tall slender figure with pale blue skin, her shoulder-length black hair shimmered like polished metal, all while flowing gently in the soft breeze.
Her features were marked by a long neck, at least according to human standards, and disproportionately long thin fingers. She was currently enjoying the entertainment Aiden was unintentionally providing, the sound of her bright laughter ringing loudly at his expense.
"I've seen a dozen different approaches when it comes to making an entrance," she said while attempting to mask her bright smile that was followed by another fit of laughter.
Once she'd recovered enough to be able to speak she continued, "But I must admit, yours was quite memorable."
Aiden, still slightly disoriented from his crash, pushed himself upright and blinked at the stranger who had approached him. His gaze landed on an amused expression, and he couldn't help but offer a sheepish grin in return.
"You know, they say first impressions are everything," he quipped, brushing off the dirt from his clothes as he stood. "I just wanted to make sure I stood out."
She raised an eyebrow as she watched him regain his footing, his infectious grin causing her to grin right back at him.
"What a delightful choice of words," she said, as she took a few steps closer to him.
"Oh, the irony of me saying that right after crashing ungracefully is not lost on me," he added.
Her sudden burst of laughter caught Aiden by surprise, but its sound was so bright and clear that he couldn't help but join in.
After they both recovered, Aiden couldn't help but be curious regarding her appearance and asked, "I don't think I've ever met somebody of your kind in ROTA before. Would you mind telling me what Race you have chosen?"
She looked at him with amusement and answered, "I haven't made a choice at all. This appears to be the race we've all been assigned by default."
Aiden who suddenly felt very troubled by what he was hearing asked, "By default? Meaning, that in addition to not having a tutorial, there also won't be a random government official, old wizard or seasoned professor who will ask us to tell them more about ourselves, which then cuts over to a character creator?"
"I take it, you haven't opened your character sheet yet?" she replied, enjoying his ignorance.
He grinned, unwilling to yield to her superior knowledge of what he guessed couldn't have been more than 10 seconds' worth of additional time on Mythendel, and said "Between pancaking the ground and meeting you, I haven't had the chance to take a look around."
He gave the mental command to open his inventory and was relieved when he saw three familiar holographic windows pop up in his field of vision, blurring out the rest of the world into the background . It was of no surprise to Aiden, that his storage and journal screens were both practically void of anything useful, so he focused on the one that currently mattered.
He looked at his character sheet, on which he could see his portrait and a summary of his character details.
Aiden
* Level: 1
* Race: Spawn
* Class: None
Racial abilities 1 of 3
Class abilities 0 of 7
Racial Abilities:
Ability: Arcane Scavenger
* Increased chance to find random magical objects.
* Current bonus: 25%
When his gaze landed on his character portrait, he was able to see a miniaturised version of himself. He had similar features to the person standing next to him. The same pale blue-coloured skin, a similarly long neck and long fingers with shimmering metallic hair, except that his was fairly short and didn't go past his ears. He was even wearing similar clothing made of white linen with dark blue geometric patterns on them. The only difference was that while his outfit hung on his wiry frame like a circus tent, hers seemed to fit perfectly, tastefully complimenting her figure without being revealing.
"Blue is definitely not my colour," he said while processing his current condition and poking at his face.
"Speak for yourself," she said, "They absolutely nailed my avatar. I'm Winterhell by the way," she said as her name and player level became visible to Aiden above her avatar’s head. It was of little surprise that she, just like him, was level 1.
Had Aiden been looking for something to confirm that he wasn't in a casual realm, Winterhell's name appearing after she introduced herself to him would have been it. In casual realms, the names and levels of all players, NPCs and Monsters were visible above their character's head. Only competitive realms hid this information as part of the experience, forcing players to try to obtain crucial details about any unavoidable fight, and in cases where that wasn't possible, to take calculated risks when facing an unknown opponent.
He suddenly remembered his manners. His head shot up as he noticed his breach in decorum.
"Sorry, I'm Aiden. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Aiden glanced around at his immediate surroundings and saw that there were already large amounts of players who had previously arrived, with more arriving by the second. He noticed that each new arrival had the same pale blue skin and shimmering metallic black hair.
As he took it all in he realised that he had severely misjudged the size of the green circular area he had landed in. From above it looked like a large field within the city. Now that he was no longer airborne, Aiden quickly noticed that the space he was currently standing in, was in itself roughly the size of a small city.
As he looked around, a system prompt appeared on his screen.
New location discovered: The Evergreen Glade
"What sort of place is this? It's too large to be just a spawning zone right?" he wondered out loud.
"I'm not sure," Winterhell answered, "But imagine the size of the actual city surrounding it all."
Now that she had mentioned it, Aiden tried to guess just how huge the ruined city had to be, if it was large enough to surround the Evergreen Glade. But despite the glade's impressive size and the steady stream of players arriving around them, there was an immediate issue they both felt that needed to be addressed. While the air was filled with nervous excitement and players conversing curiously all around them, with some already banding into small groups, there was an all-to-noticeable lack of any obvious danger or apparent threat.
"Any idea what's supposed to happen next?" Winterhell asked, echoing Aiden's thoughts.
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"Your guess is as good as mine," Aiden said.
“Do you think we're going to have to fight all these players until there's only one left standing?” Winterhell asked, a worried look appearing on her face.
Aiden gave it a brief thought, playing the scenario out in his mind, and finally shook his head. “No, that doesn't seem very likely,” he said. “A bunch of under-levelled characters thrown into a sudden but predictable battle royale wouldn't make for a very memorable contest.”
As he spoke, Winterhell's face visibly relaxed, with some of the tension from her shoulders lessening.
“I think it's far more likely that our main objective will either reveal itself to us once somebody stumbles across the trigger for the quest chain by accident, or it will do so on its own in due time. Whether the first or the latter or perhaps an entirely different scenario is proven to be correct doesn't really change our current options though.”
“I think your guess was way better than mine,” Winterhell said, giving Aiden a flat look. “Hopefully you're right about there not being a spontaneous large-scale fight to the death,” she continued, “I don't think the odds would have been in our favour.”
Aiden was about to respond, when he was rudely interrupted by the sudden impact of a new arrival landing no more than a handful of metres away from where he and Winterhell were standing. The ground shook with terrible force and the air was torn by a deafening crack that gave Aiden uncomfortable flashbacks of his own less than elegant arrival, while dust and grass was blown into their faces.
As the dust settled, the sight that presented itself left Aiden and Winterhell staring in disbelief. The new arrival had landed forcefully on one knee, his right fist slammed into the ground, where the impact had left an inexplicable spiderweb of cracks radiating around him.
For a moment, he remained crouched in his landing pose, head bowed, as if gathering the wrath of the storm he had just ridden in his descent from orbit. Then, with dramatic flair, he lifted his head, his eyes blazing with smouldering intensity.
A deep gravelly voice pierced through the veil of dust, as the newcomer slowly rose to his full height, “Behold, forces of darkness! The light rebukes thee, and thy doom is at hand. I am justice.”
“A Superhero landing,” Aiden whispered with reverence, as the behemoth of a man turned to face him and Winterhell. As he did, Aiden could swear he could hear a swell of inspiring cinematic music emanating from nowhere in particular. It was as if the universe had queued an epic soundtrack to reward a flawless landing, further pointing out just how poorly Aiden’s own had gone.
Doing his best to shrug off his awe for the scene unfolding in front of him, Aiden gave the stranger, who was impossibly tall with the the stature of a man who had eaten a herd of bodybuilders and was looking to get into a brawl with a grizzly bear just to burn off the calories, a look filled with disbelief.
“What a show-off,” he muttered, not at all trying to lower his voice.
Winterhell caught his mutter and nudged him playfully. "Oh, come on, Aiden. Admit it, you're just jealous," she teased, her voice mingling with the fading notes of the music. "That was exactly what you were trying to do, wasn’t it? But, let's just say, your version had a bit more... impact."
"Yeah, impact right into the dirt," Aiden grumbled, but he couldn't help the small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. He turned back to the newcomer, who was now strikingly posed in front of them, still basking in the glory of his cinematic entrance.
The newcomer, catching Aiden's look, spread his hands wide as if to say, 'Can you blame me?' "Couldn't resist making a grand entrance," he said, his voice carrying a playful arrogance that somehow didn't irritate Aiden as much as he thought it would.
“But definitely not as much as it should,” Aiden thought to himself trying to hate the newcomer, but failing.
“Well you did alright, I suppose,” Aiden said with a shrug, then continued, “I personally would have gone with a dark avenger approach, I can see you took a different path, but to each their own.”
“Oh?” the stranger said, “Was that how you arrived? A dark knight, come to strike fear into the hearts of evil-doers?”
“Aiden is too grounded for that kind of theatrics” Winterhell laughed, cutting Aiden off before he managed to give a clever answer, “He wanted to take a practical approach to the question why do we fall?”
Aiden gave Winterhell an indignant glare that promised nothing good, swallowed his pride then raised his arm towards the newcomer with a challenging motion. “It’s not about how we arrive that matters, in fact, I would say that those circumstances are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of time that determines who you are.”
He could feel his words carrying him away, but at this point, he didn’t care, and gave in to the surge. "Your arrival was indeed something to behold,” Aiden remarked, his words deliberate, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. He let the silence hang just a moment too long before adding, "Forgive me—what was your name again?"
“Gavril,” the big man answered, perplexed by Aiden’s sudden presence, his name and level becoming visible above his head.
Aiden’s voice carried a newfound determination as he turned back to face the towering figure. "Your arrival was indeed something to behold Gavril! But in Mythendel, and all of ROTA for that matter, it’s not just about how we enter, but what we do once we hit the ground.”
He winced as he could feel Winterhell positively gleaming with delight. He clenched his fists and took his foot out of his mouth, while summoning his resolve, not willing to lose his momentum.
“It’s about reaching out and seizing our fate with our own hands—through the sweat of our brow and the strength of our back," he continued.
Aiden stepped closer, his gaze locked with Gavril's, intensity burning in his eyes. "We might not all choose to enter with thunder and spectacle, but make no mistake, we’re all here to carve out our destinies, and sometimes, the quieter steps tread the deepest."
Winterhell joined Aiden, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, her presence reinforcing his words.
"And so, Gavril, while you seek your glory in high tales," Aiden continued, "know that we, too, will be forging our own paths. Perhaps our roads will converge again. Whether as allies or as rivals, you'd do well to remember this day—the day you witnessed the rise of Aiden and Winterhell."
With a firm nod, Aiden stretched out a fisted hand towards Winterhell, signalling it was time to depart. "Come, Winterhell, let's find our adventure, one that speaks of our deeds and not just our entrances."
Winterhell, not missing her que bumped her fist against Aiden’s and asking him, “But we still don’t have a quest, or a real purpose, what shall we do? Where shall we go?” a bright smile on her face, setting Aiden up for his big finale.
Aiden who was now buzzing with bold excitement continued, "We might not have a clear path, and the dangers are unknown, but let’s not back down, not when now is the hour for us to show the world what we are made of.”
He frowned for just the briefest of moments, as if deep in thought, then pointed towards the edge of the glade nearest to where they stood with an exaggerated gesture and said, "Those ruins seem quest-worthy!" He turned towards Winterhell and exclaimed “Let’s go forth, boldly and without fear. Onwards!”
"So be it!" Winterhell exclaimed with a bright smile. "Onwards! For death and glory!"
"How about something a bit safer, like for minor injuries and moderate fame?" he answered, suddenly taken aback by her outburst of bravado.
"No Aiden! Nobody ever achieved greatness by taking the safe road."
She took a deep breath and shouted as loud as she could "For death and glory!"
Aiden who couldn't resist her infectiously grim optimism replied equally loudly "For death and glory and chocolate chip cookies!"
Aiden and Winterhell suddenly both started to run towards the ruins that were nearest to them, all while laughing with delight and excitement. Their absurd display was earning them a fair amount of attention, to the point that a few players who had witnessed Aiden and Winterhell facing off with Gavril, waved and cheered them on, as the duo took off towards the ruins encircling the Evergreen Glade.
Gavril, who was left both in the dust of Aiden and Winterhell’s departure, as well as utterly speechless by what he had just seen and heard, took a couple of moments to take it all in. Finally he smiled and spoke in what was almost a hushed whisper, “I look forward to meeting you again soon Aiden,” and with a stride, made his own way towards the ruins surrounding the Evergreen Glade.
-
Once Aiden and Winterhell arrived at the border between the Evergreen Glade and the ruins encircling it, both Aiden and Winterhell were reminded by their depleted stamina bars that they were, for the time being, still low-level players.
With their hands resting on their knees, and their hearts pounding inside their chests as if trying to get out by any means necessary, they were panting while catching their breaths again.
"You know, we could have gone for a dignified slow walk instead of running at full speed the entire way here," Aiden complained in between deep gasps for air. “I bet that’s what Gavril did.”
"I didn't hear you complain when that small band of players was cheering us on," Winterhell replied while trying to keep a smile on her lips, which only yielded mixed results.
"Fair enough," Aiden said, his heart still racing. "We're here now, so let's make the most of it."
They were standing on a moss-covered road that led from the ruined city and ended no more than a dozen metres into the Evergreen Glade, after passing through an ancient arched gateway. The remains of the heavy reinforced wooden gate were now but a mess of rotten wood, rusted metal and broken hinges lying on the ground.
The city once had a tall inner wall that separated the city from the glade, which just like the rest of the city had lost its fight against time and the elements. From where they stood, Aiden and Winterhell could see several gaping holes in the wall being used by other players as an entrance to the ruined city.
Winterhell suddenly spoke with excitement, "Are you seeing what people are saying in the world chat?"
"No, I have it faded out by default. I grew tired of the endless stream of 1V1 challenges and players who think that spamming that they're new and looking for a guild is an intelligent use of their time," Aiden answered.
"Well aren't we a bundle of joy," she said teasingly. "You've got to see what other players are writing. A couple have already claimed to have found magical items in the ruins!"
While Winterhell was speaking, Aiden gave the command to open the world chat window on the left side of his visor screen.
EpicGonzo: Yo, just found a rare magical item! #loot
Fruity_Ninja: Got an epic consumable here!
DemonHunter: What did you guys find? There's nothing in the Glade where people are landing… Where can I find some?
Coonicon: In the ruins duh!
DemonHunter: You're not helping @Coonicon. Guys, what exactly did you find? Did you have to fight mobs?
Coonicon: Go to the ruins and figure it out for yourself kiddo.
DemonHunter: @Coonicon stay out of it, @EpicGonzo and @Fruity_Ninja, what did you guys find?
Lanzalot: Dude, calm down, they're obviously in the ruins. Just go there yourself.
DemonHunter: @Lanzalot, shut up, I’m a sponsored player and will take you 1V1 if I have to!
Lanzalot: Troll in the dungeon!!!
Aiden sighed softly as a flame war erupted and closed the world chat window again. "You believe these guys?" he asked Winterhell. "Don't you think they're just baiting casuals?"
Winterhell gave him a flat look, "This isn't my first day in ROTA thank you very much. Of course, they might be making it all up, but is that a risk you're willing to take?"
Aiden who knew when he was beaten conceded and answered, "Alright, let's not waste any time then. If those guys can find rare and epic items, then we'll just have to find legendary ones ourselves, just to shut them all up."
They passed through the gateway and entered the city. As they did, they were greeted by a system prompt:
New location discovered: The Ruined City of Lockhaven