“Hello,
My name is William Wrynn, a role-player by hobby.
I am a 23 year-old man, who currently lives in the outskirts of Great Britain’s capital. I’ve just gotten my Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, in a fairly decent University here in London, and I do live a fairly ordinary life. I have friends and family I care about, and I've never really experienced money troubles.
However, should you be interested in hearing it, here’s my sob story: I don't know what my "dream job" is. Have no idea, really. Never have. You remember when you were kids and said that you wanted to be Rockstars or Astronauts, or Firemen? Because I was saying "I don't know what I want to be” even back then. Without wanting to sound pretentious, I’ve always been a smart guy and ended up running through my school years without too big an issue. This made me ultimately not worry too much about my adult years. I somehow thought that everything’d work out for the best. Ever since I noticed that the end of my school days approached, I’ve found myself aimless growing despondent, and figured I needed a way to spend my time productively. I am, however, still optimistic, and my hard-headedness helps.
This was probably what led me to Role-Play in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, though, I'm not particularly discontent with who I am, I am simply trying to state that, in spite of currently crossing a rough patch, I’m a sociable person who completely understands the allure in wanting to be someone else for a while.
The challenge you posed us was a tad vague, so I figured I’d be as truthful as I could and, paraphrasing JFK, tell you what “I could do for you”. This is my answer: From me, you can expect complete and total honesty. Although I wouldn’t exactly call myself an average joe, but I do believe that I can represent the population your game is trying to appeal to. I am well read and have a University degree to prove it and more importantly, I’ve always enjoyed a good fantasy story. I’ve read the classics like the works of Homer, Virgil and Dante, and have dabbled into “modern” fantasy like Tolkien’s realm. Thanks to those, I do believe that I will fit into your game well enough.
Furthermore, as has been written in the beginning, I’ve currently found myself with a lot of free time on my hands for the following year, and what better way to go about doing it than to dive headfirst into an exciting new game?
Sincerely,
William Wrynn”
[Raevan235]: ... I still can’t believe that that's what you wrote… You honestly believe that you’ll get drafter with that?
[MrWhatsHisFace]: What the hell are you two going on about?
[Raevan235]: Wrynn’s saying he’ll give me his his characters if he gets drafted into Pangaea’s Beta. I’m sad because he’s totally not going to get picked, and I really wanted his Sith.
[Wrynn]: Up yours! I told you before I’m getting it, and that I’ll rub it in your face when I will.
[MrWhatsHisFace]: That’s the new virtual reality game, right? I’ve heard of that. Yeah, good luck man. Dibs on your Tauntaun!
[Wrynn]: I hate you two so much right now… Lol. I’m off to the gym. Later.
—————
With a mild grin, the twenty-three year old exited the chat on his favourite RP community and got up to see what he had in his kitchen. Noticing that he’d exhausted most of his food, he made a mental note to stop by the market on his way back home.
The man would put his sports gear, went down the stairs of his flat and, upon having both feet firmly planted on the sidewalk, proceeded to jog towards his intended destination… It wouldn’t take him more than 10 or 15 minutes to reach the “Health Club” or whatever it was the place was named, and it served as a good warm-up. Upon stepping inside, and dropping his things inside, Will would begin to stretch before getting to work.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Wrynn was about 6’1, had light skin, black hair and green eyes. He wasn’t exactly a traffic stopper, but none ever thought him to be ugly. An above-average appearance, if you would.
The man had begun his near religious visits to the gym about half a year ago - when he wrapped up his thesis. The amount of time on his hands suddenly went from none to full days. Most of his friends either remained in class, were slaving away on their thesis, or had already found work, but not him. He wasn’t interested in working as a Mechanical Engineer. Certain things, like renewable energies, had a certain appeal to him, but ultimately, he’d chosen this degree because a Mechanical Engineer studies motion, and that’s basically everything. He’d gotten bases on economy and management and had a good deal of knowledge in physics and maths - his two best courses in High School.
Unlike what one would see in films, his schools never really differentiated between “Jocks” and “Nerds”, though the man didn’t really fit into either category. His father’s side of the family was littered with stories of athletic “feats”. Though none of them were professional athletes of any kind, they had good genes. Having surfed from a young age - a behaviour no doubt instilled into him by his father - who discovered the sport not long after his eighteenth birthday and never really let go, Will had exercise drilled into him. He’d get restless without things to do. It wasn’t really the physical work that had him pinned, but the adrenaline it instilled in him.
This was the reason why he’d gotten into games. Apart from a good workout or meeting new people, the man couldn’t pass on a good, thrilling storyline. So one could only imagine his excitement at the idea of the up-and-coming game, Pangaea.
The game had four main servers. One for Oceania and the Americas, a second one that for Africa, the third one encompassed Asia, and the last one, the “original” one, encompassed the European populace.
One’s entry into a server depended on where they resided, and the idea behind them was simple: It was a collection of all the History and Lore in that area, compiled into a virtual realm that resembled the supercontinent of the same name, which is where the game had gotten its name from.
The European regions was highly coveted because of its rich mythological background. From the Norse Gods, to the Greek Pantheon, to Angels and Demons, to Celtic Legends like that of King Arthur himself, to the works of Fantasy writers like Tolkien. All of these entered the story in some way, shape or form.
Virtual Reality games like Pangaea had been released for years. “Immersion Games”, they were called. But Pangaea was different. News had been heard of a groundbreaking AI technology that had made the game incredibly lifelike. Senses of both pain and pleasure were ultimately toggled down, but everything else felt incredibly real.
The game was to be released in a single language, English and, as such, in being the country that held the largest amount of English Native Speakers in Europe, the United Kingdoms alone were given ten thousand beta keys.
Will, whose handle had been Wrynn ever since he can care to remember - awfully original, yes - wanted one of these keys enough to murder for one… Figuratively speaking, of course.
A few months after the competition had opened and he’d sent in his application, a reply came… He was in.
— First draft; Subject to change —
Do let me know what you think. I'm still hugely apprehensive about the story, and may end up changing it around. This is really just a test chapter.
Cheerio