“Mr. Banderford, I’m sorry but it's been a week and we have found no trace of your daughter. We can’t keep searching but you will be in my prayers. I'm so sorry.” The forest ranger that had taken the time to sweep through the woods behind the quaint one story ranch house stood on the wrap-around deck staying out of the sunshine that was streaming from above and heating up the air.

“We’ve spent the last week with one another. You can call me Daryl. I won’t give up yet. I’ll search on my own but thank you for covering what ground you could.” The officer pat Daryl on the shoulder before turning and walking away.

Daryl turned and limped back into the house. The boot on his ankle didn’t help at all in moving around and he winced everytime he put weight on the blasted thing. A torn ligament from the fall. The floor thumped each time he stepped while his heart sank at the news. Without the help of the troopers he couldn’t have covered a tenth of the ground they had searched for Cindy. He wouldn’t let himself give up though. He knew Cindy was out there somewhere, that she was safe and he hoped that he would find her soon. That was all he could think about, hoping she paid attention during their camping trips and she could at least survive halfway decently on her own.

Daryl grabbed his coat and a walking stick. Tucked his sports bottle full of water onto his backpack and checked it for emergency rations and things that Cindy might need if he found her. Putting on his gear he limped to his backyard and started off back into the woods where Cindy had run to. He understood why she had done it. It just wasn’t like her to be gone for so long. His heart ached so immensely with what had happened in his life and he pushed through it. Keeping some hope alive in his heart as he limped into the forest.

The day slipped by as Daryl walked endlessly into the woods. Heading to the first place he always checked each day to see if she might have returned to it. The badger den. When he got there he sighed to see it missing his little girl and pulled out the vacuum sealed bag he had prepared. It had a change of warm clothes and some dried ready to eat foods. The water bottles he had left there before lay undisturbed and Daryl sighed, leaning against the tree to catch his breath.

Walking with the boot was no easy task, especially through the woods which seemed to grow more and more wild each time he trekked out here. He rubbed at his face with calloused hands, work would have to wait for now. Thankfully he was self employed and owned a small business that could survive without him while he looked for Cindy.

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A whisper floated through the air, “dad…”

Daryl looked up and around suddenly alert like his body was struck by lightning. Like he had chugged a dozen Blue Cows in a row. “Cindy?” He called into the wind.

“Dad,” Came the voice from what felt like far away. Barely more than a whisper. “Dad help me.”

Was his mind playing tricks on him? In an instant he was to his feet ignoring the walking stick as he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “CINDY! WHERE ARE YOU? I'LL COME TO YOU!”

“DAD! HELP!” Her distressed voice rang out, he could tell it was coming from the creek. Maybe she had followed it and had come back now that she had come to her senses. He bolted, ignoring the jolting pain roaring through his leg as he ran through the woods towards the creek.

“I’M COMING BADGER! DADDY’S COMING TO HELP!” He screamed into the air as he ran. His boot caught and he tripped. Just as his face was about to slam into the ground before him the world flashed into light and he stood in an endless void of white.

A blue box popped up in his vision, “Welcome to Character Creation. Choose a name.”

Confused, he looked around everywhere for Cindy. Had he brained himself on a root or something. Who would look for Cindy if he was knocked out somewhere in the woods?

“ERROR! NAME ALREADY SELECTED: You are designated as ‘Dad’.” The box flashed and new words and a list of stats popped up on the screen.

“Choose your race. ERROR race already selected. Giant. Distribute 100 stat points. ERROR stats already assigned.

Body: 90 assigned.

Strength: 40

Swiftness: 25

Toughness: 25

Spirit: 10 assigned.

Focus: 5

Channeling: 0

Concentration: 5

Giant Racial Trait gained. Unending Stamina. Giants cannot feel the weave of magic and are generally resistant to all magical attacks. In return their bodies are refined to have excessive stamina and recovery. They do not have a Mana stat and instead all Mana is converted to Stamina. All Mana regen is converted to Stamina regen.

Stamina: 200/200

Regen: 20/per 5 seconds

Mana: 0/0

Regen: 0/per 5 seconds”

“What? What is going on. CINDY WHERE ARE YOU?!” He called into the void.

“Hit points generated. Hit points equal to 20x Toughness stat.

Final stats calculated.

Hit points: 500/500

Stamina: 200/200

Mana: 0/0.”

“Character generated. Spawning into the world. Welcome to Gaia.”

“Wha!” The world fell out from under his feet.