Chapter 1
It has been almost twenty since the release of Olympian Anarchy Online. Though it wasn't the end all be all of the genres. It had become a mainstay on the adept rank professional circuit. While most would never disparage fighting games and Moba’s influence on the competitive scene. This was a brand new stage for the RTS genre.
The fans loved how the gameplay worked. During a match, your mobs spawned into a random map with a hundred of the creatures you had bred. Following that you are allowed to connect to one of the mobs you select as your champion. From that moment, it is up to you to lead your team to victory. At least that was how it went in the Novice to adept competitive levels. The higher ranks were a true RTS match with base building and unit management.
— – – – – – – – – – – – –
East London, South Africa
2022-04-30 09:30
“Yawn” was the first sound heard in Dorian's bedroom that morning. He’d been up very late the previous night, trawling through forums and the official site for more information. His excitement for today kept him going until his dad threatened to take his electronics away. Today was his birthday, and he had been sure what gifts he could look forward to.
He had received an email from his uncle earlier that week. Uncle George was a professional O.A.O. player. In it, he had promised to buy Dorian the basic system for him to play. That meant, he spent nearly all of his free time studying guides and watching videos of gameplay during the following weeks. He hoped that his race would be one of the rarer options. Either celestial or vulpine. Most people looked down on the foxes even though they were classified as an expert rank race. Eventually, he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to start his day properly. After a shower and the rest of his ablutions. He went downstairs to embrace the day. “Good morning, Dorian. How did you sleep? Are you excited about your birthday presents?” his mother asked. “Your father and I were hoping to go out this afternoon, so he went to get supplies from the corner store,” she added.
Dad has always been the type of person to get an early start on the shopping. So, after getting a fresh bowl of cereal, Dorian had never been a fan of pancakes, so he sat to enjoy his meal. When his father returned, Dorian was looking up new updates for O.A.O. online.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
The return of his father was the cue to the start of their family excursion. It started with a trip to the local arcade, a business model that saw a resurgence in the late 2030s. After a few hours spent going through beat-em-ups, fighting games against Dad, and a few songs on DDR between his parents, they went out on their picnic for lunch. Thankfully, the autumn weather was still warm. There was also a nip in the air warning of the coming winter.
Dorian was soothed by a sudden feeling of contentment. The easy way his father, a tall dark-skinned man of African descent, was joking with the other park visitors over the public barbecue stands. While his Mom, a slight Asian woman with near porcelain features, prepared the sides.
It always made him wonder how they met. Every time he asked, his father told him to wait until his sixteenth birthday. For four whole years, it was nearly maddening. He didn't know whether the anticipation he felt was fear or excitement. What he geussed was that his uncle was just as tight-lipped about the debacle. It was the same when he asked about his maternal relations.
The whole thing stank like a three-week-old pilchard. In the end, there was nothing to be done about it until the time came. His blended features, however, did come with their baggage. At times, the attention he got was enjoyable, allowing him to scam the older girls at the corner store for extra treats. While the other kids his age took it as an opportunity to dust off their grandparents' books of racial slurs, a few of them even managed a sliver of creativity on rare occasions.
At the end of the day, we were weighed down by grilled pork and sausage. Dorian nearly forgot about his uncle's gift until he noticed him stepping out of the house. Dorian barely managed to wait till the car came to a full stop in the driveway, before jumping out and racing to interrogate Uncle George. As tall as Dorian's father, but wide like a school bus. The gentle giant simply stepped aside to let him in. Racing through the house and up to the bedroom, he found the room unchanged. Crestfallen, he dragged his feet back downstairs, only for Uncle Geo to suddenly appear with Oneroi Technology dive helmet in hand. Shocked and confused, he barely had a moment to piece the clues together when a deep rumble passed through his chest. "George and I decided to have everything set up in the old cave," his dad's voice said. 'How about we head down there for you to do the setup.``
The smile that split Dorian's face had the room reverberating with the adults' mirth. Which was pursued by the pitter patter of Dorian’s feet, as he raced to the basement.
There he found his dream layout. His uncle had gone to the highest-end builds for the system. He found that Uncle Geo had gotten him the 3x3m holo-deck stand that had a slight in the middle panel. That depression was used to house the holographic emitters. On one corner of the stand was a miniature holo-globe floating over another 30cm^2 mounted projector. The globe was currently covered in a densely opaque fog of war.
Dorian quickly jumped onto the nearby chair and began the log-on process. As he entered the last bit of personal information, a prompt flashed on the screen to sync up his helmet.
That's when his father grabbed him by the shoulder. "Alright, son. We'll be back down to see what you get in two hours." His dad smiled down at him, "I've already installed the companion and peripheral apps on your PC and datapad, so you can keep up with your breeding at school. Remember, the AI needs you to guide it to follow what you plan to do."
With those parting words, the adults left him to don the helm.