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It's hard to explain the sensation of existing without a body, being only consciousness. It's far more than being weightless, it's freeing, while also being terrifying. Jonas had finally agreed, and helped me upload my consciousness into Auriel Online. Now I just had to wait in this white space, with nothing but a countdown clock to keep me company. We had decided to upload me well before the game actually goes live, so that if it worked I would have time to collect myself and decide on what to do. "Who am I kidding, I've known since the 10th grade what I would do." I thought. "Dwarf, has to a dwarf. Mountain maybe... or... Highland. Yeah Highland Dwarf." Decided all I could do was wait. I had been fascinated by dwarves ever since I read the "Hobbit" as a child. There is just something about them that resonates with me. Their ability to make masterful crafts, while still being incredible warriors really appeals to my gamer roots. Crafting and Fighting, the foundations of RPGs.
Attention!
Auriel Online will be launching in 2:00 minutes.
"And so it begins." I whispered to myself. The terrifying feeling from before gripped me again. It's cold claws searching for purchase in my chest. I had come so far now, the chance of it failing now was immensely frightening. Jonas had told me that once I was uploaded, it would be a truly unique experience. He really had no idea. We had talked for a long while about what it would be like living in the game. Had numerous discussions about what I would do, and how I would do it. What it really came down to was a set of rules/goals for myself. #1 Treat the inhabitants of Auriel as I would the inhabitants of Earth. #2 Find a purpose beyond exploring, something to strive for in my new life, and finally #3 Tell no one who I am, or the reality of my new life. They were pretty simple rules, there to allow me to live my new life to the fullest. It would get pretty boring if I treated all the NPCs as if they were just 1's and 0's now that I was basically the same 1's and 0's, not to mention highly hypocritical. Hence rule #1. Rule #2 was more of a goal than an actual rule. Jonas and I decided that, if this worked, I would need something to spend my now relatively unlimited time doing. Exploring the world I had helped create and design was all well and good but, just like the real world, the lands of Auriel were only so big. I had to find something else to spend my time on. Rule #3 was the big one, and in Jonas' opinion the most important. If anyone found out that I was living inside the game, the fallout in the "real" world would be huge. Technically I was the first human test subject, which was okay in the grand scheme of things, except it wasn't approved. By anyone. "So no telling other people about why I never log out. Which means no adding people to my friend's list. Which means no friends... Sigh." Jonas had always been a worrywart.
Attention!
Auriel Online will be launching in 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...
Ding!
Welcome to Auriel Online!
Would you like to proceed to Character Creation?
Yes--No
"YES!" I screamed in my mind, the white space was starting to scare me again. The fright seemed to become stronger whenever I thought about it, and I now had the ability to leave it behind. And I damn sure was gonna use it.
I seemed to speed forward through the blue screen hanging in front of me, and ended up in a circular room of white marble. High columns rose around the perimeter stretching towards the domed ceiling above. In the space between each pillar was a body, each a representation of the different races found in Auriel Online. I quickly found the one I wanted. [Highland Dwarf]. It was a stocky being, reaching a height of 4'6'' and seeming incredibly stocky. He had wide shoulders, connecting to a barrel chest. Short sturdy lookings legs, and a wide waist. Atop his wide shoulders sat a short, muscled neck attached to a somewhat large head with a tall, flat forehead. He had thick, flowing red hair, streaked with grey and long braided beard, with the same coloring. His body was well muscled, but not overly so. "Pretty sturdy looking. Broad shoulders. Strong Legs. Giant fucking hands though. Heh, he kinda even looks like me." He did indeed look somewhat like what I used to. At least facially. Blue/grey eyes, bushy eyebrows, red hair, overly large nose, wide mouth, square jaw. He had it all. "Fuck it. Let's do it. He looks good, and I'm ready to get out of here!"
Confirmation Needed.
You have chosen the Race [Dwarf] and the subrace [Highland Dwarf]
Are these choices correct?
Yes--No
"Hell Yeah!" I thought. I was ready, I had waited my whole life to play this game, dedicated my future to creating it. Just so I could play it after I did.
Thank You!
You will enter the World of Auriel momentarily. If you have further questions once inside the game, just access the "Help" menu.
Enjoy your Journey!
My consciousness flew into the dwarf in front of me, then the world went black. Next thing I knew, I felt the wind on my face. Cracking my eyes I saw a clear blue sky above me, dotted with the fluffiest white clouds I had ever seen. Lowering my gaze I found myself in a valley of sharply jutting rock and crags, lying upon one of the few patches of grass not covered in snow or ice. It was in that moment that I realized how cold I was, I was shivering. With my teeth clattering I looked around, trying to find some clue as to where I was. Just as I was about to step forward to try and figure out a way out of the valley, I heard a sound.
Ding!
Attention!
You have entered the World of Auriel.
You have chosen the starting race of [Highland Dwarf].
You have been placed in the starting location of the [Frost Crags].
Warning!
This is a dangerous location for your level. Please be careful!
"Well Shit, that never came up in our conversations." I thought as I was reading the screen before me. "Well, guess I'll just have to deal with it. Not like I can create a new character." I was preparing to take my first step into what I now know as the [Frost Crags], when the ding of a notification interrupted me again.
Ding!
Attention!
Please choose a name for your Character.
_______
Accept?
Yes--No
"Hmmm, Delg sounds like a good, strong dwarf name to me." I thought to myself, as I typed my new name into the line. I accepted it, then tried to take a step again, only to be interrupted a third time.
Ding!
Congratulations!
You have chosen a name for yourself.
You now have access to your Character, Stat, Skill, Spell, and Inventory Screens.
Please just think of the screen you wish to access, and it will appear.
Ding!
Attention!
Your first quest has been offered to you.
[Find Civilization]
Ding!
Quest: [Find Civilization]
You have appeared in the far north of Auriel among the dangerous [Frost Crags]. Having not a copper to your name, or more than the rags on your back. Find the nearest settlement and start your journey through Auriel.
Rewards: 200 experience, 5 copper
Accept--Deny
Ding!
Title Received:
[First of the Dwarves]
"Jesus Christ, I'll never get anywhere with all these notifications popping up" Frustrated I swiped them all away, with the hope that was all of them for now. I waited a moment, trying to see if anymore screens were going to pop up before I finally moved. Taking my first steps across the frost ridden ground, I realized I needed to hurry. With no clothes suitable for this environment, no food and no weapons, I was in an extremely dangerous situation. Food was indeed an important part of Auriel Online, as was protection from the elements. Not only that, but enemies were everywhere this far north. With most of them being far above my level. I had never considered that choosing to be Highland Dwarf would start me in a different location than everyone else. Normally one would enter Auriel Online in a forest glade near one of the starting cities, surrounded by other new players. I seemed that we gave the AI running the game more leeway than we had imagined if it had decided to take that to literally mean a city near the players chosen race. However unlike a normal player, I could not return to character creation to choose a new race and therefore a new location. "Fuck... Well I did want to explore..." I mumbled to no one in particular.
“Ok first thing. Need to look at my character screen, and figure out what I’m working with here.” After think this another screen appeared before me.
Character Screen
Name: Delg
Level: 0 (0%)
Race: Dwarf
Subrace: Highland Dwarf
Main Class: None
Secondary Class: None
Fame: 100
Infamy: 0
Main Profession: None
Sub-Profession: None
Titles: First of the Dwarves
Achievements:
Stats
Health: 17/17
Mana: 10/10
Strength: 15
Agility: 10
Vitality: 12
Spirit: 10
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Melee Damage: 5 (Fists)
Spell Damage: 0
Ranged Damage: 0
Magic Defense: 0
Armor: 0
Unallocated Stat Points: 0
Skills
Darkvision: Level-Max
Dwarven Endurance: Level-Max (Unique)
Identify: Level-Beginner I
Spells:
“Well shit, I’m weak as hell. Nothing I can do about it I guess. Going to have to level my ass off, which shouldn’t be too hard being in a dangerous starting location and all.” I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that leveling without a weapon… or armor… or spells. But this is what I had always dreamed of, forging my own way in a world of might and magic. “I better make sure all the stats still work the same, then see about what my skills do” I said to myself. With just a thought I brought up the stats and skills screens in front of me.
Stats
Strength: The Strength statistic measures how strong your character is physically. It improves how much damage you are able to deal with melee weapons, as well as increasing the amount of weight you are able to carry. Strength also factors heavily into how well you perform professions based on the strength of your body.
Agility: The Agility statistic measures how quick and and agile your character is. It improves your aim and speed of all weapons, and damage of melee weapons. It also affects running, climbing and swimming speed. Agility factors heavily into how well you perform professions based on hand-eye co-ordination and movement.
Vitality: The Vitality statistic measures how well your body adapts to changes, whether it be fatigue or wounds. It improves your ability to wear heavier armor, how long you are able to last without rest, and the amount of health you have. Vitality also factors heavily into how well you are able to perform professions based on physical endurance and exhaustive work.
Spirit: The Spirit statistic measures your ability to commune with the mana present throughout the world. It improves the damage of your spells, and the amount of mana available to you. Spirit factors heavily into how well you are able to perform professions based on dealing with magic.
Skills
Darkvision: Level-Max
Darkvision allows you to see shades of grey in complete darkness, it limits depth perception and limits the ability to identify color.
Dwarven Endurance: Level-Max (Unique)
Dwarven Endurance is a skill unique to Highland dwarves, due to the hardships the experience in the Frost Craigs.
+5 to Health per Level.
Identify: Level-Beginner I (0%)
Identify is the skill that allows you to gain information on items, people and enemies. The higher the level of this skill, the more information you will gain
The stats were just as I remembered them to be. Simple and easy to understand. Unlike a lot of the more recent games developed, Auriel Online wasn’t bogged down by an ever increasing amount of stats to keep track off. Unlike other games, this game was full immersion. So we had decided that stats like intelligence, wisdom and charisma didn’t have a place. There was no way none to make an actual player’s brain power smarter, and since the player was actually inhabiting their character, it didn’t make sense to have a stat that reflected how “smart” they were. Same goes for wisdom and charisma. We had simplified stats to things the game could affect; Strength, Speed and Vitality of your game body, and access to mana for spells. That’s it. No pages and pages of stats to worry over.
Skills however, were where Auriel Online shined. Not counting racial skills, and the “Identify” skill given to every player. Skills were earned. By doing things in game, like say chopping down a tree, or mining some mineral your character would earn the skills “Lumberjacking” or “Mining”, respectively. There were an infinite number of skills to learn and explore. The AI running Auriel Online would determine what you were trying to accomplish with a certain action and, if applicable, allow you to learn a skill relating to that action. Each player could choose to accept any skill they earned through this process, so as to help them see if what they were doing would grant them a unique skill. Spells developed along a similar vein.
Looking over my Character Screen, and Skill Description I decided I would need to learn some new skills. Fast. Although, seeing in the dark and a flat bonus to hp per level was awesome. Taking another look at my stats I realized my strength was pretty high for a level 0. 10 was about the average, with certain races giving positives and negatives to certain stats at the start. I pulled up the race description to see where I was getting my extra points from.
Race
Dwarf: Dwarves dwell in the mountains and hills throughout the land of Auriel. They are known culturally for their master craftsmen, and cunning tradesmen. Militarily, their Dwarven Legions have no equal when it comes to frontline infantry, and their craftsmen have invented deadly weapons of war.
Dwarves gain a +3 to their base strength and +2 to their base vitality, however gain a -2 to their base agility. They also gain Darkvision at Max Level.
Highland Dwarf (Subrace): Highland Dwarves are the most menacing of all their cousins throughout Auriel. They live in their small communities in the far north, among the Frost Craigs. They face constant struggle in all areas; the frozen climate, the dangerous wildlife, and the ferocious Orcs who frequently raid their lands. However, through sheer determination, and strength of will, they persist, refusing help from all others. Even from other dwarves.
Highland Dwarves gain a +2 to their base strength, and a +2 to their base agility. They also gain the unique skill Dwarven Endurance at Max Level.
“Ahh, there it is. Guess [Highland Dwarf] was a good choice then. Shores up the one weakness dwarves get, while giving some impressive bonuses.” I realized now that I may have rushed through character creation in my mad rush to regain a body for my consciousness. “Luckily, it worked out alright. Plus, Dwarves are awesome.”
One final thing interested me about the notifications I had received upon arrival. Titles. These were given to players who had achieved something that others would recognize them by. Whether they were other players, or inhabitants of Auriel. They could be amazing, they could also be devastating. If a player was known to steal from others, they could receive the [Thief] title, and other players and inhabitants would know to be wary around them. They could also receive a title like [Defender of the Weak] if they went out of there way to help those who were weaker than themselves. All in all titles played an important role in Auriel and a player could gain many of them. Bringing my title page up I studied the title I had gained.
Titles
First of the Dwarves: You are the first player to choose the Dwarf as your player race. This title does not give any bonuses, but it does let other players know you were one of the first to choose a race other than human. Inhabitants of Auriel will know you as the First Dwarf Traveller.
+100 Fame
“Wow, that’s cool. To think I got a title because I was terrified of floating in white space. Hehehe” Laughing to myself I realized I had been standing in the cold, staring at screens for the last few minutes and my teeth were now chattering.
"Right. Time to go, really dont want to freeze to death for my first respawn." I said while gathering myself. Finally beginning to move forward towards the not so distant entrance to the valley, I heard a howling from behind me that brought my steps to a halt. Turning slowly, I looked over my shoulder to see a large, grey wolf-like creature stalking me about 30 feet away. "Damn, no way I can outrun that. I don't even have a fucking weapon." I thought. Realizing that my first death was only 30 feet away. I turned fully to face my soon to be killer fully. "Right... look her Mr. Giant Wolf Thing, I'm going to back away slowly." I told the creature across from me. It tilted its head at me, as if it understood what I was saying. It paused for a moment as if considering letting me go, then raised its lips as if smiling at my attempt to persuade it to let me go.
I focused on it and used [Identify], hoping it would show that the creature while looking quite fearsome, was in reality a weak beginner monster. It wasn’t.
Enemy: Highland Warg
Level: 12
Health: 55/55
Description: ???
The warg started walking slowly towards me, and I realized there was no walking away from this monster. Thoughts swirled in my head, mainly focusing on how not to die. I frantically searched around me for some kind of weapon to at least give me a chance against it. It chuffed in a deep base, as if laughing at my attempts to avoid my doom. "Nothing but rocks here. Rocks and my fists, not looking too great here."
Giving up on finding anything better I reached down to grab a rock that caught my eye. It was about the size of my fist, with a sharp point on one end. Hefting it in my right hand, I readied myself for the attack I knew was coming. Breathing deeply, I knew I only had one chance at this, One strike with my newfound weapon, before the creature tore me to bits with it's razor-like teeth and claws. "Alright you Fucker! Let's Dance!" I screamed at it while bending my knees, preparing to strike it as hard as I could with my rock.
It growled at me menacingly then leaped, rapidly eating up the distance between us. It's jaws opened wide, as if to devour me in one bite, it flew through the air towards me. I raised my arm, ready to bring down my rock upon it's head, hoping that I was strong enough to kill it with a single blow. Just as It was close enough to feel it's rancid breath I brought down my rock in a mighty arc. *Thunk*
*Thwonk* *Thwonk*
The creature froze as if my strike had stopped it cold. Surprise showing in its amber eyes, then it slowly crumpled to the ground. I raised the rock to my face, seeing no blood or any sign that it had dealt damage to the creature. I stood there shocked "Am I THAT strong?" As this thought passed through my head, I heard gruff laughter behind me. Turning quickly, readying my rock for another attack, I saw two figures ahead of me. Squat and sturdy, covered in furs, and holding a large crossbow each, were two dwarves.
"Aye laddie, what're ya gonna do wit' tha' rock? Beat mae' to death wit' it?" the dwarf on the right said, while eyeing my rock.
"Hahaha, Grungas I think he be lookin a wee bit crazed... maybe we shoulda let the warg eat 'im" the figure on the left responded. I stood there shocked, I had been sure that the creature, a warg I now knew, was going to finish me. Then I had been surprised when my newfound weapon, and seemingly stopped it cold. But now, I realized what had happened these two dwarves had killed it. Not me. "Guess I'm not that strong" I thought.
"Well laddie, are ye mute? Or just dumb?" the dwarf, I assumed to be Grungas from his partner's words, said. Grungas stared at me, waiting for an answer.
"Uhhh... well no, I'm not mute or dumb, just... surprised is all" I said trying to find my voice. "When the warg appeared, I thought I was dead for sure... I suppose it's thanks to you I'm not."
"Aye, me and Grungas jus' migh' be the best shots in the whole clan! Lucky for ya' tha' is." the other dwarf said excitedly "Wargs don' normally be comin' this close to the village. He mus' a smelled ya, an tracked ya down." he said while walking forwards towards the corpse of the dead warg. looking closely I could tell that the pair of dwarves looked strikingly similar. As if they were brothers, maybe cousins at least.
"Kormund! Skin the beast, then we best be takin' this mighty rock warrior back to the village... hehehe" Grungas said giggling to himself at the end, seemingly amused with his own joke at my expense. Most people would be furious at this point, being made fun of after almost dying was embarrassing to most. But to me? This is what drew me to dwarves. They were fierce combatants, but never lost sight of the humor in their lives. Always cracking jokes, and ribbing their fellows, never taking their lives to seriously even in the face of death.
"Grungas, you better be prepared for me to bash your head in with this rock, if you keep giving me a hard time. It was all I had to fight, and I'll be damned if I let some beast gnaw on me without at least giving it a good fight first!" I told him. "And who knows, one day, this rock warrior might bring a mountain down on your head for offending his preferred style of fighting" I quipped while giving him joking grin.
"Ahaha, that ye may, that ye may." he nodded. "What be yer name? Ye know mine, and me brother's name is Kormund" at that Kormund, who was busy And what were ye doin' out here on yer own?" He asked after realizing he hadn't introduced himself.
"I'm Delg. And I'm not really sure how I ended up here..." I trailed off, suddenly realizing that these were inhabitants of Auriel, NPCs. "How do I tell them I'm a player? Is that even possible?" I tried to think of a way to tell them that I had just "woke" up here, but wasn't really seeing a good way to explain it without sounding crazy.
"Grungas, maybe he's one of them Travelers the shaman told the clan about. Wouldn' make a bit of sense for a normal dwarf to be wanderin' around out here on his own otherwise" Kormund spoke up while being elbow-deep in the stomach of the warg.
"Aye, could be. Delg are ye a Traveler? If'n ye are, we were told by the shaman to bring ye to him in the village." Grungas said, eyeing me with newfound curiosity. As if I went from being just a dwarf to something much more intriguing. "Travellers are said to be strong as an ogre, and quick as warg, pardon me words, but ye don' look like much of either." he continued.
"Yeah, I think I might be... but I'm different too. I... well it's hard to explain..." sighing, I readied my thoughts to explain how I wouldn't be able to come and go like other "Travelers" and was in Auriel permanently. "It's..."
"Aye, save it for the shaman. He be the one who will care." Grungas cut me off. "To me, ye be just another dwarf" he said smiling. "Kormund ye damned slow bastard, are ye done yet?" yelling to his brother Grungas peered around me to look at his brother hard at work skinning the warg.
"Ah, Fuck off Grungas, I be finished in a momen', don' get yer knickers in a twist. We can fetch a good price fer this big bastard with Morgan when we be gettin' back." he yelled over his shoulder while cleaning the blood and viscera from his hands with snow from the ground. Standing up, he turned and began to pack up his skinning tools while putting the skinned hide from the warg into his pack. " Ye know Grungas, we migh' jus' make enough coin from this her' beastie to get that new crossbow design from Morgan".
"Kormund, I don' understan' why ye need a new crossbow. Tha' warg there is proof enough tha' ye don' be needin' a new one." Grungas said. "Well Delg, I think it be time for us to be gettin' ye back to the village. What do ye say?"
"Sure, that sounds fine to me." I told him. "Well at least I won't wander around looking for a village and end up freezing to death." I began following Grungas and Kormund out of the valley. As we exited, I took the time to survey the surrounding lands and realized we were at the foot of a long range of rocky highlands and hills. Behind us stone crags and rolling hills formed a natural border, running of to the east and west. Forwards, or south I guessed from the direction of the sun, were frosted plains, dotted with rocky outcroppings and shadowed gullies. We walked south-east after leaving the valley for a few miles, avoiding the gullies and outcroppings and sticking to the snow covered plains. Eventually we came upon the village. Surrounded by wooden palisades and boasting some impressive wooden stakes facing outwards, it did seem to be well protected from the creatures that inhabited the wilds. Though I didn't think it would stop a concentrated force of invaders. It seemed purpose built to protect the villagers from wargs and such, rather than to stop opposing forces from laying siege.
"There it is laddie, home of the Ironspike Clan. She ain' no mountain fortress, but she be our home." Grungas told me as we approached. As we moved closer to the walls of the village, I saw a wooden gate with a heavily armored dwarf standing to the left. Grungas called out to him as the guard saw us. "Alrigh' there Vokun? We got ourselves a Traveler her', gonna bring him to see the shaman." As we stopped in front of the gate, the dwarf eyed us heavily, glancing at the two brothers and inspecting me up and down.
"Grungas, ye rotten bastard where ye been? Haven' see ye our your brother for nigh on a week at the tavern." he bellowed. Vokun's voice was a deep gravely pitch, like a rumbling rock slide. He seemed to chew each word then spit it out as if speaking caused him pain.
"Aye, we been on a hunt. We be tryin to convince ole Morgan to trade us her new crossbow plans. Ye know how crusty the old hag can be." replied Kormund with a smile. He hefted his pack showing him the warg pelts, as if to prove his point.
"She is isn' she. Hah! Don' let her hear you be sayin' tha' though. Get on in ye crazy bastards" he said as he moved to open the gate. Pushing the gate open, Vokun turned to me with a smile and said "Welcome Traveler, to the humble home of the Ironspike Clan!"
Ding!
Quest Completed: [Find Civilization]
Reward: 200 experience, 5 copper
Ding!
Level Up!
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