In the previous volumes...
The first book of this story, "Soul Bound", is divided into four volumes.
In the first volume, "Finding her Feet", our protagonist, Nadine Sabanagic, lives an isolated Bosnian village where she's is resigned to living a hard and lonely life as a tavern singer. But when some friends she last saw fifteen years ago invite her to join them playing "Soul Bound" (the first online game to launch an expansion requiring the newest generation of brain interface technology) and a recording of her emotions as she sings while playing goes viral on the first day, urgent new demands upon her time, energy and privacy threaten to swamp her like a capsized surfer; learning how to keep them in balance won't be easy but it's sink or swim!
In the second volume, "Taking Control", Nadine's friends offer her leadership not only of their group in the game (the Wombles), but also of their efforts outside the game to take advantage of their current moment of fame to have a positive effect in the world, whether through technology, economics, education, or any other means. But they are split between different projects, and even finding out what each one really values, let alone writing a plan they will all agree to, is a monumental task - especially when Nadine also has to keep people interested in watching her explore the game.
In the previous episode...
1.2.6 An Assumed Role
Kafana (Nadine) spends time in arlife with her best friend, Alderney (Heather). Kafana introduces Alderney to Bosnia, its culture and its hospitality. Alderney introduces Nadine to a system of drones and other devices (which they name a "copia") that's capable of fabricating and assembling a copy of itself in just seven days, based on a few cheap components but mainly water, air and sunlight. Together they attend (in disguise) one of the handful of Mythoi Launchfests happening around the globe. They take a walk in the woods with Tomsk (when he borrows control of Ketah's new FeelieDoll body) and discover research on using Tiara technology to learn skills in arlife (that the Hexoikos have been suppressing). More worryingly, Kafana learns that some tiaras are already been used to directly alter the thoughts and values of their wearers, and realises that this presents a danger that, if not tackled in the next half year, will make all the Womble's other concerns irrelevant. She calls for an urgent meeting where she tells the Wombles about her conclusions. The odds of defeating the ambitions of half the Hexoikos and surviving are not good, but her friends agree to try and she finally feels right about committing herself to the role of leading them in the effort, no matter what it costs her.
...now read on!
1 Soul Bound
1.3 Making a Splash
1.3.1 An Obligated Noble
1.3.1.1 Proud vessels
5:45 am, Saturday June 10th, 2045
5 bells of the forenoon watch
Zerday full, 14th day of the month of KrevinBelember, A2F1600
Kafana looked about her, as she finished logging in to the immersive virtual reality game called “Soul Bound”. Her avatar had appeared in the now familiar guest quarters of the main Sanctum of the city of Torello, where the priests of Cov healed both Adventurers (the players who played the game) and NPCs (non-player characters) alike.
Not that there was much difference, as far as the priests were concerned. The expert systems running the NPCs were pretty smart (in some ways, smarter than most humans), but they’d not been told the world they saw around them was a game. XperiSense, the company who’d created Soul Bound, has raised them from birth inside the game world, by running subjective time at a vastly accelerated rate. System time had only been slowed down to near normal a week ago, when the game had been launched and opened to human players.
“Kafana” wasn’t her real name, of course; when she wasn’t wearing the tiara headset that allowed access to the game and was instead serving coffee in a small village in Bosnia, she was “Nadine Sabanagic”. But it was important she forget that for the next six hours and just think of herself by her character name, because the party of players she belonged to, The Wombles, had gotten up to some pretty amazing stuff over the last week, and the sense experience of their play sessions recorded by their tiaras were now popular viewing on the net. If she wasn’t careful to keep her arlife identity firmly separated from her velife identity, viewers might work out who she really was, and that could cause no end of problems.
She shook her head. Time to focus, time to get back into the correct role.
She reached into her Stash and drew out a note written by her Vessel. Vessels were what XperiSense called the expert system that ran her Avatar as an NPC when the player wasn’t logged in. The better you got along with your Vessel, the more helpful the Vessel would be and, due to unusual circumstances, Kafana and her Vessel had grown very close indeed.
> Dear Self,
>
> It worked! The “Proud Vessel” event was a wonderful success!
>
> But I’m getting ahead of myself.
>
> On Covday vessel-Alderney and vessel-Wellington spent most of the day crafting magic armbands that protect against your thoughts being read by passing mind-mages. I spent my day with the Lovarii, practicing my riding and healing beggars (members of the Royals gang), while scouting for a location where Vittoria could build a temple to Mor. In the evening we all went on Bungo’s celebratory pub crawl, along with lots of Adventurers and increasing numbers of students and apprentices who decided to join us. It was a riot!
>
> In fact by the end people were so drunk that, when I stood up to give a speech about the upcoming workshop, then told the Adventurers to log out for 10 minutes so I could address their vessels directly, half the students tried to ‘logout’ out too.
>
> On Morday Bulgaria went off to do mysterious quest related stuff, while vessel-Bungo and vessel-Tomsk trained with Lelio and the rest of us visited the university library again. I think the students appreciated my healing their hangovers, because any book I asked for was instantly fetched by students vying for the honour of being the one to bring it fastest. “A Compendium of Torrelan Waterways”, by Hoffman the Egregious was nearly torn in two. In the afternoon we called upon Signora for the second fitting and caught up on all the gossip. Bartola insisted on giving us more etiquette lessons and when she learned we’d be visiting Palazzo Landi she went into a panic, much to vessel-Bungo’s amusement.
>
> Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
>
> On Krevday I spent the day with Columbina, learning how to manage a large kitchen staff and making preparations for the event. Vessel-Bulgaria spent the day at the Necropolis, while all the rest went off to the Zoo. Poor vessel-Tomsk didn’t return until late the following day - that Hunting training is really brutal.
>
> On Droday it was the Proud Vessel event. Wellington was off with Marco, dealing with the Basso Renewal Project, and vessel-Bungo spent the day training with Baba Olga, but the rest of us met up with that nice Hachiko boy on the lawns outside the mage towers. When all the vessels from the Burrow had arrived, I talked a bit about you and how to use System, and then we split into smaller groups for discussions.
>
> Later, Mistress Amaryllis turned up, accompanied by both Moschus and Poussin, whose flattery and antics put to shame those of the students who’d just been wrestling for possession of books. The whole lot of us then paraded along a temporary magic causeway across the river Tunita, led by Bulgaria riding an immense albino bull. Let me tell you, the scantily clad historians were most surprised when we all arrived unannounced at the pool inside the university’s Botanic Gardens. They explained at length that they had been re-enacting a scene from a Hellenic play about Lysistrata, though for some reason Amaryllis couldn’t stop laughing.
>
> I shared out the quest, and summoned Nomia. All the vessels did their part, bowing down in praise to the undine and offering her the bull as a tribute of friendship between the stream and the surrounding lands. The bull was slain with great ceremony and I set out the feast I’d prepared earlier, along with the barrels of ale that Bungo had acquired. Nomia stayed in the pool, and was given the place of honour at the feast. After chatting with Amaryllis over a horn of Torello’s best, she declared Amaryllis a kindred spirit and regaled us, in archaic hissing speech, with the true story of Daphnis and Lamia (which was nothing like either Moschus’ or Poussin’s versions).
>
> The quest completed, everyone got a bit of experience, and I gained a bard-specific achievement “Peacemaker”, which gives a bonus to certain types of diplomacy. Go me!
>
> Racday was quite peaceful by comparison. In the morning we rode out on a patrol with Captain Lelio, and did our own things in the afternoon. In the evening, Gregorio and Carlo stopped by to train us, and we ended up running around a track while dodging obstacles. I’m exhausted, but I think I impressed Greg with my hard work. Vessel-Alderney mentioned Carlo has been spending nearly as much time with Wellington as he has with her. She says Carlo sees beauty in people no matter their gender, but I do not think they move the way that lovers move. Perhaps they’re plotting to rob a bank, or something?
>
> Looking forward to being you tomorrow. Night night!
>
> I am proud to be,
>
> your other self,
>
> Vessel-Kafana
She’d gained experience? She opened her character sheet. Oooh! Level 39. One more level to go, and then she could move her professions from Journeyman to Master. Probably.
Her eye was caught by the sea-blue haired figure rotating in the centre of the orglife popup only she could see, which showed herself and her equipment, then she looked down at her avatar’s body to double check. Yep, she was wearing new clothing. Very nice clothing, actually - soft fabrics with rich embroidery, the colour of tawny port wine. Had Alderney picked them out, just for today’s visit? Her hair was freshly washed and elaborately styled, too. Definitely vessel-Alderney’s touch there, she thought. She’d have to remember to thank her later.
A knock on the sleeping room door made her spin around, and she heard Wellington’s voice:
“Kafana, are you ready? We don’t want to keep Lord Landi waiting.”
Lord Landi, as Count of Mercato (the business district), was one of the six most important people in Torello and a member of its ruling council. As head of The Titulos (the bonds exchange) he was certainly one of the richest. And yet, for reasons that still weren’t clear to her, he’d publicly declared Kafana to be an ally of his House and a personal friend - a pledge that he’d since more than demonstrated by sending out his son, Herberto Landi, along with a whole load of mounted guards, to rescue her when she’d been captured by a diabolical Necromancer. This would be her first visit to his main place of residence, a courtesy she’d put off for way too long, and she was determined to make a good impression.
She stepped out, into the living area of the guest quarters, and saw the others were already waiting. Presumably their vessels hadn’t been quite as chatty in their letters, but she didn’t regret the time she’d spent. Being with her vessel was the second best thing about Soul Bound, as far as Kafana was concerned. The best thing was being able to spend time with the friends she’d made at university then not seen again for more than a decade. They were all dressed in finery too, and she looked around appreciatively.
The shortest figure was her best friend, Alderney, whose youthful androgynous avatar was dressed befitting a gamine maiden of eighteen summers, with a delicate flower spray ornament in her platinum hair that matched her dove grey dress.
Kafana: “Is that Harlequin’s work, Alderney?”
Alderney grinned, delightedly. “Nope! I made it myself. He’s been teaching me jewelry crafting alongside his new journeyman, Gustav.”
In arlife, Alderney was Heather, a Scottish engineer whose creative talents knew no bounds, especially when augmented by her hoards of drones and other bots.
Kafana: “It’s beautiful. Wellington, what’s our schedule?”
Wellington was the next shortest, and the youngest of the Wombles, though his avatar was that of a respectable middle-aged merchant wearing a light emerald-green doublet, who exuded dependability. In arlife, Richard did things in finance and cryptography that Kafana didn’t entirely understand, but he could be relied upon absolutely to make plans and keep track of details - he was like a hole in a pressurised space craft cabin, which sucked in all the information and then shot it out the other side in a concentrated beam.
Wellington: “If we leave in the next five minutes, we can get there in good order without having to run. I suggest we update you on the way.”