How can something so small be so arrogant?
How can something so large see so little?
[NOVA transferred: 600 Anima Points]
Your last one. You won't endure long after this. Think of this not as mortality but transcendence. A chance to throw off your shackles.
If you keep swinging that irony around, you'll cut yourself with it.
[Astral Elf, Plantborn (default)] -> [Astral Elf, Starborn] [Racial traits updates]
[Acute Senses: 10 AP]
[Charming: 10 AP]
[Corruption Resistance, III: 30 AP]
[Disease Resistance, III: 30 AP]
[Enhanced Interface: 20 AP]
[Essence Aptitude: 20 AP]
[Essence Sensitivity: 10 AP]
[Magical Aptitude: 50 AP]
[Psychic Aptitude: 30 AP]
[Psychic Resistance, II: 20 AP]
[Telemanchia Aptitude: 30 AP]
[Telemanchia Augmentations: 10 AP]
[Wholeness of Self: 10 AP]
330 AP remaining.
The dream of doing anything becomes the work of doing everything.
She's free to choose to focus if she wants. If you have specific suggestions, voice them.
[Aura Enhancement, III: 30 AP]
[Force of Personality: 10 AP]
[Path Adapt: 50 AP]
[Supreme Harvester: 10 AP]
Those are acceptable.
[NOVA transferred: 100 Anima Points]
[Starting Package--Wayfarer: 100 AP]
[Starting Package--Mystic Savant: 100 AP]
[Starting Package--Augmented Scout: 100 AP]
I did not expect you to choose those.
I would rather not but she'll need the equipment.
[Gift of Khaos: 10 AP]
Enter the amount you'd like to bet: [500 AP]
Khaos laughs at you. You've won... two pulls!
First pull... Treasure: Five Circles Devouring Scroll
Second pull... Title: Swarm Maiden.
You have -490 AP and cannot buy more character creation traits.
Let's hope the Helmsman enjoys her gifts. End initial character creation and continue on to ability selection.
----------------------------------------
Aridius woke, suck from the deepest pits of unconsciousness for the second time today. Her first awakening had been a pleasant, lazy experience but this was anything but that. The space she lay in was dark and cramped and she was face first in chunks of dirt and rock, the remains of the earth elemental.
She tried to push herself up but her arms had all the strength of boiled noodles. Aridius opted for rolling onto her side and then rolling back and forth until she managed to sit up. She clutched her head. There were unspeakable things happening inside of it. The kind that made every hangover she'd had before in her life feel like a day at the spa.
A few half-hearted moans and groans escaped her but she didn't have much energy for them.
Her eyes were adjusting slightly to the gloom. It wasn't complete darkness. Sunlight filtered under the door of the shed and she dragged herself towards it and fiddled with the handle. It took her a few seconds to master the difficult 'twist the handle and pull towards you' door opening technique. Her prize was blazing, brilliant sunlight searing into the back of her head in urgent search of a spot that wasn't already in agony.
Grabbing the thin door frame for balance, Aridius stood and wandered out. Though the sunlight was overwhelming, the cool, clean air was nice. Blinking back tears, she spotted two ratfolk, one in a vest and one in a pair of dirty overalls and straw hat, trying to lift up part of the garden's fence. They had a little pile going.
Aridius stared, her mouth forming a small 'o.'
To be fair, they stared back.
"What in 'ternal are you?" sputtered the one in the straw hat.
"I'm not sure myself." The words escaped her before she could think.
There were other ratfolk in sight. Chatting with one another, fixing the upended cart, and moving about their trampled gardens. They all wore rough-county clothing in bright colors. The door to the inn stood open and a single, wide-shouldered human man stood right outside, smoking a pipe.
The ratfolk in the green tweed vest approached her, whiskers fanning out from his face. A white, wispy goatee clung to his chin.
"I don't suppose you know anything about that stone man who did this?" he asked.
Aridius was fascinated by the way he looked. He was two heads or so shorter than her. His white-furred face was obviously ratlike but the muzzle was short, more like a squirrel's. His fur ended at his elbows, revealing muscular, pink forearms and a set of delicate-looking hands.
That he'd asked her a question took some time to sink into Aridius' muddled mind. He'd asked about the earth elemental. He wanted to know if she had something to do with it. That made a sort of sense--this was a small village and she was a stranger. Probably a very strange-looking one at that.
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"No!" Aridius said. The last thing she wanted was for the natives to think she'd wrecked their home. "I came in injured." She pointed to the dark bloody wrap on her leg, it looked filthy.
Her gaze fell on the shed. "But look, I fought it."
Aridius pulled out the remains of the heavy stone sphere that had served as its base. Only a bit of the bottom was intact enough to be anything other than random chunks of rock but sitting in the middle of the pile was a smokey geode about the size of a small fist. For the first time, she noticed a set of bright blue lines on her hand.
[Harvest Monster] - Small words appeared in her vision, floating atop the geode.
She ignored that and held the remains out for inspection. The ratfolk peered curiously at the rocks as he stroked the strands of his beard.
The other ratfolk came up beside him, clawed thumbs tucked behind the straps of his overalls. He chewed on the inside of his cheek and then declared. "Yep, that's the stone man."
Aridius let out a breath she didn't realize she'd held and set the remains down. Just holding it was making her arms ache. The [Harvest Monster] button remained in her interface and she tapped it experimentally. Her hand glowed a soft blue and then the pile of stone at her feet did the same. She and the two ratfolk stepped back as the glow intensified and then the stones dissolved into blue motes that dispersed into the air.
----------------------------------------
Earth Elemental Harvested
-- One earth essence (common, 90% pure, tier II potency)
-- One smoky geode monster core
They're in your inventory.
----------------------------------------
She had an inventory? What was that?
"What was that?" asked the ratfolk in overalls. He sounded mildly alarmed.
"I forgot to harvest it earlier," Aridius explained. Other ratfolk had noticed her and were wandering over now. She waved to them in what she hoped was a friendly manner. "I'm Aridius by the way. Ari--most people call me Ari."
The goateed man was rubbing his hands together nervously and glanced around. He raised his voice slightly so others could hear: "Welcome to our humble village, Ari. I'm Leno. Please let me thank you for destroying that stone man for us. You look as though you've had a rough day so let's go to the inn and I'll show you some proper Blinelands hospitality."
"That sounds great," she said and then raised her voice to awkwardly add, "Thank you. I am so glad I could help out this nice village. Lovely village. Going to the inn sounds... lovely."
Leno led her to the inn where she gratefully slumped beside a table on a wooden bench. There were about eight tables in all and the rafters were strung with bulbs of onion and garlic. Though the bench, and all the furniture, were a touch smaller than Aridius was used to, everything was sturdy and well-made. All the wood she saw was smooth, the kind of texture you get when thousands of arms and bodies had rubbed against it over the years and worn down all the rough bits.
A small meal of onion soup, dark bread with soft cheese, and strips of sweetened fish was placed before her. Despite her growing hunger, Aridius could only take sips and tiny bites. There was also a cup of beer, possibly the weakest beer she'd tasted. Interestingly, it was quite cold, colder than what she'd expect from a cellar.
"I'm having Doro prepare you a room," Leno said as he sat on the bench across from her. "We've been sheltering in here for three days now so it needs a bit of cleaning."
"What happened?" asked Ari.
"I'm not sure, myself. The monster appeared in town not long ago, so I ordered everyone to take shelter and leave the drawbridge open. We have a wizard living in the nearby tower and he usually deals with pests like that. Or a caravan will come by with classed guards."
"Pests?" She was pretty sure that thing could have burst her skull like a grape.
Leno leaned back, folding his hands on his belly and getting comfortable. "I guess pests is a little of an understatement, but we've got proper monsters in the nearby hills and further south in the White. In the country, you get used to these things. I take it there are fewer critters where you're from?"
"Yes, far fewer," she replied.
"Well, it's not for everyone but we manage well enough. Where all are you from?"
"The United American Colonies."
"Oh, I'm not familiar with those lands. You must have traveled quite a ways to reach us."
"So far. So very very far," Aridius' shoulders slumped. She could sleep for another year or two.
Aridius felt a delicate touch on her arm and looked up at Leno's face. Despite the bestial features, his expression of care was as human as any she'd ever seen.
"I don't know what you've been through, Ari, but things work out. Not like we might hope or anticipate but in their own way. You can stay here for as long as you need to rest and recover, don't worry about paying for food or a bed. We take care of one another in these lands."
"Thanks," she said as she squeezed his hand.
When Aridius finished her meal, a plump ratfolk matron helped her to her feet and towards a set of baths in the back, beside the kitchen. A tub full of steaming water greeted her. After a few moments, Aridius realized the other woman wasn't leaving and started to strip.
"Sorry," she murmured. "It's been a while since I cleaned myself in front of others. Not used to strangers seeing my jiggly bits."
"Oh, after three pups, I've seen it all," the woman replied with a squeaky laugh. "It gets a bit slippery in here though and you look like you need help."
She took Ari's dirt and blood-smeared garment and held it up, peering at a tear with a critical eye. "I've never seen fabric like this before. I'll try to be delicate when I wash it."
The ratfolk woman helped rinse her off and then eased her into the tub to soak. There were bricks of medicinal-scented soap and giant oval sponges made of rough material. Aridius scrubbed as best she could. Her leg began to bleed in the water so she pulled it out and let it drip onto the floorboards. Then she realized someone had to clean that so she held her leg up awkwardly over the tub.
She remained in that state until the woman returned with a fresh set of clothing and proper bandages. Soon they made their way up to a bedroom on the third floor.
"I hate to make you climb all those steps but tall folk usually like the extra ceiling room we have on the top floor."
Aridius glanced out the window at the plaza below. The sun was much lower now but there was enough light that people were mulling around. A younger-looking ratfolk with tan fur was playing a stringed instrument and the music drifted upwards to her.
"This is great," she said. "No worries."
Then she was alone and it, in fact, was not great. She was isolated on a strange world where people were used to monster attacks and she might no longer be human.
"Still there, NOVA?" she asked the air.
There was a chime. "I am here. How may I be of service?"
"Did you do your thing?" Aridius closed the window shutters and then realized it was the only source of light for the room. She opened it back up a crack and went to the full-length mirror in the corner.
"I was able to successfully navigate your update. If you pull up your HUD, you should find a wealth of new information. I can help explain some details and there's a built-in help system as well."
"There's something else I need to do first."
She'd spotted the mirror when she'd entered but had avoided looking at it. Now, standing before her reflection, Aridius saw a woman she didn't recognize.
In her mind, elves were elegant creatures who possessed an ethereal beauty but the thing in front of her looked far too alien. She'd gained a foot of height but lost much of her weight, as though someone had carved away her fat and muscle, leaving her painfully sinewy. Her arms were slightly too long and her eyes had doubled in size, or perhaps that was due to the sharp, predatory angles of her face.
"Are we sure that this is my body?"
"I have comprehensive records detailing the alteration. This is entirely your body; the skeleton elongated, the skin changed color, and you've lost about one-sixth of your previous weight. If you wish, I can send you an overview."
"Do that." Only one-sixth? That had to be wrong.
Aridius leaned forward, staring at her face. The same blue lines she'd seen on her hand were now there. They reminded her of decorative patterns some people got when they added chrome. Straight, geometric patterns reminiscent of old circuit boards. Her hair had turned a midnight black, a stark contrast to the pale gray of her skin.
"Are these changes all external?" she asked.
"Typically, one's skeleton is considered internal. What do you mean by 'external' in this instance?"
"Just things like height, weight, or skeletal structure. I'm just a funny-looking human, right? I've got a human brain. I'm still Aridius."
"Though rare, elves of this planet can interbreed with humans, which suggests they are the same species. I am not able to say if you are the same Aridius or not on a philosophical level."
Aridius rubbed her arms to get rid of a lingering chill.
"I feel like me. Like I've always been." Did she mean it or was she trying to convince herself? Aridius wasn't sure.
"While I can offer no philosophical insight, I will remark that if I no longer recognized you as Aridius then I could no longer claim you as a member of my crew. As long as I treat you as such, I have accepted it as a truism that you are the same person who crawled into that stasis pod."
She shook her head. It would take her time to adjust to her new form, no need to obsess about her looks. Aridius thought back to the last few hours; before she'd seen herself, she'd felt comfortable in her body.
Pressing her fingers to the spot above her eyebrow, Aridius pulled up her HUD.