Shade pushed aside a branch, not for the first time thinking that Awakened Aspirations Online was just too freaking big. When he had agreed to travel to the continent of Elysium at his mediocre starter level from the southern Kingdom of Brack he had no idea what an ordeal it would be.
It was just a game, he had thought, how long could it really have taken?
His first death after reaching the requisite level of 20 had been a mere handful of miles outside the city as he was passing through a well-maintained road near the Sleipnir magical academy. He had been nose deep in his map when spiders had dropped from the tree. Boldly, he hefted his spear and started poking at them, but once they realized he couldn’t reach that far they all started netting him and spitting more and more ichor. He couldn’t even flee at that point and basically tripped over his own robes. That was his first death, and had immediately sent him back to the Cathedral closest to him, basically where he started. He lost an entire level and had to go acquire several quests to hit 20 again so he could leave the borders with permission.
He still remembered complaining about it that night to Sen. She had laughed and laughed over the terminal, reminding him that he didn’t have to come play with her. If he didn’t mind waiting a few weeks she would make the trip back to Brack to sell some of her sculptures. She was, she had confided, a huge fan of Pluto so she had taken up the Sculpting job. Shade had no idea what that meant but agreed that Pluto was the best. If Sen said he was amazing he probably was the best in whatever it was that he did.
“Best of luck. See you in a week then if you aren’t held up.” She had said before logging off. Her sweet tone made him think of her tousled hair and sea green eyes, and he could only sigh wistfully as the connection terminated.
The next day had been better. He had made it all the way to the coast with no close calls. It had taken him all day on foot, running for the most part, and largely ignoring the scenery and the sights and sounds. Most of the roads, fortunately, were well-travelled so the few people he did see were regular Transients out adventuring, none of those terrible murderer bandits he kept hearing about. Because of the relatively high amount of foot traffic the road was clear from wandering and unleashed monsters -- creatures that had a wider roam area than normal spawns. Shade was once again, for the second time today, grateful that there weren’t any murderers running amok near him. Though, by and large, he didn’t expect to see them because apparently the high stakes thrill-seeking murderer Transients had all set up shop in Elysium, that place formerly referred to as the far north continent.
Port Laudable had been fun. There were several historic statues around depicting a fight with a bunch of what looked like reptile creatures. He asked a Resident near the wharf and they just smiled, telling him that those very creatures had once attacked the coastline several years ago and been fought off by a group of heroes that became the saviors of the world.
Shade didn’t know what to make of this information, new to the game himself, but decided whoever had sculpted the creatures certainly made them look ferocious. With a bit of suspicion he examined the statues and found that they were stylized with the inscription Pluto. Apparently that guy was pretty good after all.
“Examine.”
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Light of Hope - The Brilliant Debut of Shadow Fall and The Scarlet Raven
The snarling creatures commonly referred to as Visage attacked the docks of Port Laudable and were repulsed by the small adventurer band known as Shadow Fall. When all hope seemed lost and the northern ports were in jeopardy of being lost to the hated enemy, Shadow Fall and a mysterious pirate band appeared and defended the town at great peril. This is an opening piece to the saga of the Half.
-Pluto
-Exceptional Piece
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Examining the piece plunged his viewpoint into a cutscene. He was startled when the arid day turned into steamy night. All around him fires were starting to be lit along the shore and the screams of Transients fighting great shadows on the shore filled his vision. The acrid scent of the dying creatures and smoke filled his nostrils. He watched in rapt attention until the point where the ship that had showed up, miraculously began firing on the shore and the Transients gained the upper hand. He finally ended his view when the call for Shadow Fall victory sounded across the shore. It was a strange victory call. Perhaps this place was called the Shadow Fall wharf or something?
Strangely, getting across the sea wasn’t even that hard. There were a number of re-commissioned warships that were now acting as courier and transport vessels. There was even one that went out to the Western and the Eastern Islands. He had to take a lesser ticket, one that required him to do menial tasks while he was onboard a re-serviced pirate ship. Shade didn’t really mind. He was amused when he was asked to scrub the decks and carry drinks and food to the lookouts nest. Moreover, the smell of the sea and the actual feel of the ocean splashing over the deck and onto his skin was amazing.
VRMMO’s were really amazing!
He was also highly amused to note that he had gained a passive skill called Sea Legs. Of course, he also improved his Climbing skill from Beginner 1 to Beginner 5 by the end of the journey. Sometimes Shade stayed logged in well after he could have left when his job was done because at night the former pirates came out and told the most incredible stories about sea battles and famous Transients they had journeyed with. From the treacherous whirlpools to the surprise encounter of a large seafaring serpent.
“Tell us about Captain Raven!” Someone in the back the first night had called out. There was some general agreement even as the pirate had looked around nervously, obviously uncomfortable with the request. Acting Captain Swabby Jones wrung his hands nervously again in an obvious fidgeting motion and would have probably just ignored the call except that most of the Transients on deck were now egging him on.
“Yeah!”
“C’mon! Is it true she really kept getting lost and fumbling into Kraken and Sea Snake Epic Class creatures?”
“Did you ever get strung up by her?”
“Arr, we be likin’ the honest work that let’s us keep sailin’ the sea’s without being blasted from the waters, but de crew and I have a rule. We don’t talk about Admiral Raven, lest she show up from the darkness and string us all up by our jolly peg legs for tellin’ stories ‘bout her when she ain’t around. Savvy?” He sounded so serious that there was snickering on the deck, but no one pressed him. Someone mentioned that they needed to work up their reputation with the pirates if they wanted to hear those stories.
“I heard she isn’t around anymore!” Someone said, complaining. “Don’t worry we won’t tell.”
“The admiral and captain could show up any time lad.” The pirate had replied soberly. “I don’t know ye well enough to risk her wrath.”
“The crew will tell you different things based on your reputation?” Shade asked, surprised despite himself.
“Yes. I wish someone was high enough rep with them to ask about Raven. That’s one of my favorite old streams. You know the one where she takes over the ship?” The person asked Shade, laughing. He had laughed too, agreeing even though he had no idea what they were talking about.
“If you’re new then here’s a good piece of info for you. Your reputation with certain races and even your renown will open up dialog and stories with all sorts of people, not just the pirates!” Shade had nodded, a little overwhelmed at the information. The sheer amount of time to increase his fame and reputation at his low level seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle right now. When he mentioned this the person had just smiled at him oddly and assured him that it would increase faster and more reliably at higher levels.
His second death had been on the path between the beach and the Winter Silf forests. Dark shapes had come out of snowdrifts and pounced on him. They were some kind of cat or leopard. Truthfully, they finished him so quickly he didn’t get a very good look at them. Mostly Shade was happy that he resurrected at the Cathedral near the beach. As a ‘reward’ for making it to the new continent for the first time, he had been offered a one time bonus as he resurrected, negating the experience loss penalty. He was really relieved he wouldn’t have to meet some sort of leveling requirement to continue his journey.
The temple was interesting, too. It wasn’t like the temple he had been in before and differed greatly from the Cathedrals he’d walked past in the Kingdom of Brack. Of course, he was by no means an expert -- but this temple just had a really valorous feeling associated with it. A temple dedicated to Vienne, some famous god in the area.
It was strange though, since in the other Cathedrals he had seen there were Residents that maintained them and walked around taking donations. When he resolved in Vienne’s temple it was empty of both priest and Resident parishioners. A few people were looking around but it looked more like an open and welcoming space than it did a place of worship. Not only that, but the people that seemed to be loafing around were just peculiar. They all had high level clothing and were poking around as if they were on a scavenger hunt or moved like maybe they were in some old lost temple that had yet to divulge it’s true secrets.
“Is there a high level event here?” Shade asked, curious despite himself.
“You could say that there could be.” Mystified, the woman he had asked raised an eyebrow as if she couldn’t believe he didn’t know. Shade smiled and winked as if he knew what she was talking about and quickly excused himself.
He had been on his way out when he was startled by shadows playing on the floor above the archway. He looked up into the sun seeing bare ankles waving lazily from the rooftop. A girl who had to have been half his age reclined luxuriously in a golden silk shawl, her modesty kept only by the very same crossed ankles that had first caught his eye from the corner of his vision. She had smiled at him slowly, and winked. Her pane indicated she was a Resident of some variety but her pane was on private so he couldn’t see her name.
“Hello Shade. Mind the cats this time, hey?” Her voice was soft and sweet and reminded him of the old videos where the world-wise girl who was timeless beyond her years offered advice to the beginning adventurer or hero. Her eyes sparkled at him and she lifted her chin, seeming to indicate something that was behind him.
He blinked, looking around rapidly to see if anyone else was viewing this exchange, and when he looked up after checking the area she had nodded to, she was gone. Shade spent the better part of the next hour looking around for that Resident, thinking he might have missed some small side-quest; his dalliance ending with nothing to show for it. With a great deal of regret, he finally gave up and started back on the road where he had initially perished. He had a pretty good idea of where he got jumped last time and would do his best to go around it. It would mean going into the woods and away from the road, killing travel time, but it would also take him closer to some of the more populated Resident areas of the Winter Silf Woods.
“Hey Shade, where are you going? Should I be expecting you today?” Sen sent him a voice message. Moments later they were in a party chat. It was much easier to chat aloud if they didn’t have to keep playing each other’s messages.
“I’m heading to the Winter Silf for the second time. I should be in Blutonsi by the end of the day.” Shade sighed. It had taken a bit of doing but it seemed like his misery was coming to an end.
“Cool deal. I’ll meet you by Keristrazly, err, the Dragon Statue in the center. Ask if you can’t find it, everyone will know what you’re talking about.” Sen explained. He nodded, as if he understood, and then realized she couldn’t see it and replied verbally in the affirmative. “So glad you’re making it. I’ve been lonely since I got sick.” Her voice was teasing, but he heard a thread of truth.
“Dragon statue. Keriwhoever.” Shade said hurriedly. “Leave it to me.”
“Kay. I’m going to unparty for a minute. There’s a crowd gathering here. Some sort of upcoming event I guess? Weird that no one posted it.” Sen sounded distracted. Shade guessed she was already bouncing around, and smirked.
“Alright. I’ll let you know when I die again and give you my new arrival estimate after that.” Shade muttered.
“Okay!” Sen didn’t sound sympathetic in the slightest. She left the party channel they shared, but not before snickering and adding, “suffer well.” He had no idea what that meant.
“I’ll just be here,” Shade said to empty air as he pushed his blonde hair out of his eyes and shivered slightly in his long red robe. “Freezing in the creepy woods where I just got eaten. All alone.”
He pulled his hood up and walked, using his spear as a cane. Instead of running as before he took careful measure of his surroundings, determined to make it through this time without being killed. Technically he was a wizard, but there was nothing prohibiting a wizard from carrying a martial weapon so Shade had chosen a long spear instead of the usual ceremonial staff. He could still channel spells through it and he felt like it was more useful than a long stick.
The spiders had terrified him into forgetting he could cast spells, and by the time he remembered and tried to use any they had largely silenced his meager pool of spells with complex layers of webbing that had made spellcasting impossible. Fighting with the monsters leaping at you was taking some getting used to for sure. The clicking and clacking of mandibles and the weird way he had seen his own avatar’s reflection in their murderous multi-eyed gaze had pretty much guaranteed he ended up their snack. The cats had been much the same, pouncing him and shaking his entire body with their enthusiastic pleasure purr as they tore into him.
This time, at this pace, was better. He was feeling pretty good even though it was cold and dark under the coverage of the trees. Dark pines swayed in the breeze bunched together so that in many places you couldn’t walk between them. It wasn’t impassable like it might have been in other games, he could always, he decided, cut the trees down and go in that direction if he felt like it. Linear wasn’t a word you could ever use to describe AA and the landscape, after all. Shade had heard that the world was created using a variant of Earth and was almost as expansive, if not more so. Even now there were whispers of new continents viewed off in the distance of ships whose sole purpose it was to make maps and find new routes. For now, they were out of range of the vessels but expeditions were already outfitting for long journeys.
He was just poking some of the pine needles to see what they felt like when he heard the noise. Cries of unmistakable joy as well as those of defeat. Someone was over there battling monsters. Despite his overwhelming curiosity he decided to stay on track and return to the road. He didn’t want to get mixed up in whatever high level event was going on over there. Imagine his dismay when the road curved and the battle he had thought was far out of sight was instead right in front of him, showing a battle taking place with deadly and lethal intent on the road.
“No running!” A dark-haired woman in cunning black fox leathers over lacquered plate leapt after a man who was actually running toward Shade. Shade caught the brief look of terror in the man’s eyes before he heard her call out behind him “[Crush - Oversoul]!”
The man who had looked wounded practically vaporized less than two meters away from Shade. In fact, when he turned into digital ash the wind actually carried it over Shade and he coughed as the scent of burned hair hit his nose. That man wasn’t the only one. All around Transients were being murdered wholesale. Red named panes were running around chasing each other as well as several blue named panes.
The dark-haired girl shouldered her two-handed sword with one arm, noticing him for the first time. Her head tilted slightly and her chin jutted upward. The smile she gave him chilled him to the bone. Her name pane was dark, indicating for privacy reasons she wasn’t showing her name, but it beat an unhealthy red denoting the fact she had killed players who weren’t murderers in the last several hours. Well, in the last few seconds as well, Shade reflected.
She seemed to glance passed him for a moment and then turned, losing interest as she wandered back toward the fight. There was also a tall ferocious figure in a half-mask and dark armor with an equally ferocious two-handed axe who was finishing up on the side. A Silf Ranger was calmly shooting ensnaring arrows of some sort. Shade didn’t recognize the ability but tangles of electricity seemed to spring up within meters of the arrows that fell to the ground tripping up the remainder of those trying to getaway. A man in a white robe and dark brown tousled hair was supervising near the arm of a short-spikey brown-haired woman in a blue robe. Amazingly, she had a book out and seemed to be writing in it while the death and murder happened around them.
All of them wore white armbands on their left arms, and all of them had their names hidden from view with the privacy setting. Additionally, all of their name bars, though dark and not revealing their identities, beat a blood red.
The last Transient not in league with this group had died moments before Shade managed to take all this in. Shade decided this was none of his business and turned around to leave, nearly falling all over himself to stop when he realized there were two more murderers standing behind him waiting for his attention. The first was a very tall man with a blank look on his face. He carried an ornate saber and held it loosely at his side. The second was a young woman with golden-brown curly locks. If her name hadn’t been a murderous red pane above her head she would have looked friendly even with the way she peered at him around the man who was a mountain of muscle.
“Hello.” The tall man said. Shade focused on him and involuntarily breathed in heavily. This man was dangerous!
“Hello?” Shade said slowly.
The man waited, and Shade waited. He seemed to want something from him but Shade was uncertain as to what exactly that was. Screwing up his courage, Shade started to take a step to the left to go around the man but the way the man shifted to keep him in front made Shade realize that this was an impossible endeavor. There was no escaping, this man had clearly put his entire attention on Shade and if Shade moved, the man would move.
“How are you?” The tall man tried again.
“Still scary, dad.” The girl next to him giggled. “You gotta smile.”
Hideously, the tall man with the blank stone face smiled. It looked like a cobra trying to imitate human facial expressions. He wasn’t bad looking, or even hideous really, but he was pretty freaking intimidating with that blood-drenched garb and pulsing murderer title. “How are you?” He tried again.
“I think I’m lost.” Shade finally said, feeling faint.
“I think you’re prey!” Shade whirled around to find that the man in white was looking at him, peering closely at him as if to ascertain his motivations. “I think maybe you were bait. More tasty bait to lure in the unwary! Shall we judge you with Fred?”
“Fred?” Shade shuddered, wondering what that stupid ritual could be. At this point he was wondering if he should just let them kill him and be done with it. He really wasn’t carrying anything valuable enough to worry about losing. All new AA members were given satchels to place their really valuable items in that would keep them from being looted or lost upon death.
“Now Aidan,” now that he got a good look at her she was slightly shorter than the one she called Aidan, who ducked behind her easily as if willing to cede her command. Her spiky hair give her a youngish look and her brown eyes stared earnestly at him. There was a kindness in her eyes, as well as a timelessness that he had seen earlier in the day from the young girl on the roof. “You can tell this one is new can’t you? So we’ll let him off easy, providing, he can tell me a story.”
“A story?” Shade deadpanned, pretty much convinced he would be killed now.
“Oh yes,” She took her book in front of her, a marvellous thing. For a long moment Shade stared at it trying to figure out what it was. It shone slightly in the light and the words, while visible, were completely unrecognizable in golden script.
“Tell me why you joined the game and where you’re going. Or tell me something you’ve never told anyone else. Depending on your answer, I will lessen your punishment. I may even let Fours let you go.”
There was some strange looks passing behind the woman’s back, as if the warrior woman, the masked warrior, the one in white called Aidan, and the Silf ranger seemed to all think this was hilarious.
Shade didn’t see the joke. “Uhhh.”
“Uhh…” The brown-haired woman repeated drolly and dutifully, even as she began to write it in her book. “Let us hope it picks up, this story of yours.”