“Everyone, may I have your attention...” Isil clapped her hands.
Almost as though they were all of one mind, the gathered guild members turned to face Isil. Isil trembled a little at their immaculate cohesion, but kept her calm. She repeatedly refined the draft of her speech in her head, and then began to speak.
“I shall be blunt with you, something has happened, and I am not entirely sure what it is.” Isil allowed a moment for the crowd to be shocked. “It is likely that whatever removed some of our members from us is divine in nature. Moreover, it seems that they have done more than physically remove some of ours.” She paused. “After discussing with Likan, it seems that both of us have gaps in our memories. It is likely that whatever removed some of our own, also removed our memories. To be certain of the extent of damage, I’ll have to ask all of you to see if the same has happened to you.”
Isil allowed the others to discuss amongst themselves. It took only a moment to see panicked faces emerge amongst the crowd. Isil opened her mouth, about to continue, when she thought of something. They could be panicked because it didn’t happen to them. Having just two people lose parts of their memory would be just as scary as all of them losing parts of their memory. She kept her mouth shut, and sat back down.
A few moments later, someone stepped out of the crowd. A lean, pale-skinned elf with long blonde hair stopped after a few steps, then bowed.
“My lady, it is the same with all of us. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the missing memories, however. Some of us have memories of the days someone else can’t remember, even if they saw each other that day.” He reported, sounding slightly shaken.
‘Fuckingshit!’ Isil’s eye twitched as she screamed in her mind.
“I see… Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean a lot at the moment. It is good to know it wasn’t just us then. However, I think I can draw some conclusions.” Isil said, rubbing her chin with her hand.
“My lady, do you have any idea of who did this?” A mage with snow-white hair and similarly colored pointed animal ears came forth and asked incredulously.
“No, I do not, but I think I’m beginning to see what happened…” Isil said, attempting to look brooding. “Bear in mind that I can’t guarantee any of what I say is correct – these are just my suspicions. The first thing I see is the conundrum of lack of power. Whoever did this to us ran out of power mid-way, and thus decided to try and erase our memories. Now I can see this going two ways, either they ran out of power while randomly deleting memories, or they targeted specific memories that hold clues as to who the perpetrator is, or possibly memories of an ally they want to turn into an enemy. They could also be attempting to spread chaos in the world, and then coming in, fixing everything, and then becoming ruler of the world. It could also be some random act of whimsy, done for amusement. Of course, what they did costs a lot in terms of effort, so I doubt this is was done for fun.”
The crowd was silent as they mulled over the possibilities. Isil allowed them that moment as she instantly turned her focus on to other things. She knew she couldn’t falter in this moment. Being confused and looking for an explanation was natural, but she knew one couldn’t get hung up on it. While identifying the causes would certainly go a long way in reversing it, it wouldn’t be of any help if they were all dead because they refused to act. Knowing that apathy meant death, Isil made a list of things she needed to get done.
First, was assessing the damages. This was the most crucial point, and she would be able to figure out what she needed to fix. Second, was securing resources. Dirak-Feûr was not self-sufficient, and would need to be supplied to continue running properly. Third, was establishing a position of power. Considering Isil might not be the only person dragged into this fantasy-reality, she would have to be wary of other players – specifically those from other servers, whose strength was unknown. Fourth, was attaining Heaven, as the message described. Even if she didn’t need what was in Heaven, it would probably shed light on the situation or get her home.
For a moment, Isil stopped. Why would she want to go home? While it would be an exaggeration to say she lived miserably, she wasn’t happy with her life. Here, she was a master of magic, and ruler of an extremely powerful guild. She had admirers, servants, and power; it was everything she wanted. Even now, she could tell that she was already happier than before. While she could probably connect that to the lack of serotonin problems in her current brain, she could keep the same brain, and still be happier. What more was there to want?
But it wasn’t hard for her to understand. Isil did not feel fully comfortable here. She couldn’t explain why, but she had an intense longing for home. Dirak-Feûr and Endless Conquest provided her so much, and she hated leaving to deal with real world problems. But why was it, that now she was here, she couldn’t get the thought of going home out of her head?
Perhaps, in the back of her mind, the little part of him refused to simply fade away and be replaced was outraged with the face that he was a woman. While it sounded plausible, it ran much deeper than a simple sense of uncomfortableness. She was drawn to home by more than just a gender crisis.
Though her thoughts took time to describe, in reality, it only took a few seconds.
“Wracking our heads over this problem doesn’t help us, we’re missing too much information,” Isil declared, once again capturing everyone’s attention. “Now is not the time to sit and think, we must first come to a full understanding of what was damaged. Our minds are not the only things in existence, and we must see to it that we are not lacking in resources. I shall be selecting leaders to head damage assessment. Feel free to pick a team of up to 5 other members. First team, Likan!”
“Here!” Likan boomed, walking up to the base of the stairs and kneeling. “I await your orders.”
“Good. You will be in charge of assessing the situation of our farmlands. Ensure that you visit every one, and make sure to take note of even the tiniest detail. If you encounter problems… Defend it, destroy it – I leave it up to you to make the right decisions.” Isil said, casting out her hand authoritatively.
“Your will be done!” Likan bowed his head deeper.
“Good. Second team, Yorij.”
“Here!” A much quieter voice spoke loudly, reveling it’s source to be the thin, snow-haired fox man that stepped out before. He knelt next to Likan
Yorij was a member of the snow fox tribe, a resident of the far north, where the cold was so biting it would kill a normal human within seconds. Yorij didn’t have a sob story like Likan, and his was by far the most uneventful of all possible companions. Yorij was born a precocious child, mastering the fox tribe’s basic spells at only five years old. He went on to become the tribe’s greatest mage at only 21. Bored with his own talent, he left at 23, and traveled the world. As the snow fox tribe was comparatively quite weak, Yorij was continuously impressed with the breadth and vastness of magic. As Endless Conquest used a class system, Isil, as a mage, was able to recruit him. He joined Isil after traveling for some time. The two were partners for a while, and Yorij eventually formally asked to be a disciple of Isil. Isil accepted, and Yorij became her first, and only, disciple. Yorij held the class of Illusionist, but was also quite good at destructive ice magic.
“Yorij, you’ll be in charge of seeking out the status of our subsidiary guilds, as well as checking up on our magic refineries. Your orders aside from that are the same as Likan’s. Act according to your own judgment, but try and preserve the sites if you can.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Understood. I will not fail you!” Yorij bowed his head deeply.
“Third team, Julian.”
“Present.” Another voice replied, this one much calmer than the other two.
Julian was a blue-haired, blue-eyed male of the whale tribe. He didn’t look much different from humans, only that his lungs also worked underwater. Julian was a deposed warrior of the whale tribe, which ruled most of the oceans. He was a masterful spellsword, but his repeated conflicts of interest with the whale emperor led to him being framed by the third prince. His “crime” was the brutal murder of the first princess, another thorn in the side of the emperor. His reputation amongst the rest of the whale tribe was already quite low, and the murder of the popular first princess was the final straw. Without the emperor needing to apprehend him at all, the people rose against him, and cast him out.
Angered by the crime against him, Julian joined up with some whale tribe revolutionaries. His entrance quickly shifted the revolutionary movements from covert, to war. In a span of a month, the revolutionaries had captured three cities, and were marching on the gates of the capital. It was then that Julian saw the worst side of the whale tribe. Many of the revolutionaries slew innocent people on their way through the streets. Julian was distressed by their actions, but kept working with them until he reached the palace. There, he split off from the revolutionaries and took the emperor’s head. Feeling that their cause was right, Julian did not take justice against them, and instead opted to simply leave.
A year later, he was chased on to land by the awakening Kraken. He sought help from numerous sources in hopes of finding someone to defeat the Kraken. On land, he found Isil, who offered to distract the Kraken above water while the whale tribe attacked from below. The plan worked and the Kraken was sealed, but not killed. It would awaken again in time, but the underwater tribes were safe for a long time. Expecting a hero’s welcome, Julian was shocked when the people hurled insults and demanded his immediate departure. Shaken from their actions, Julian returned to the surface, and asked Isil for help. Isil help mend relations, but instead offered a place in Fallen Crescent until the people knew the truth and forgave him. He accepted and became a companion. Julian held the class of Spellsword, but was more inclined to the sword.
“Julian, I’m putting you in charge of checking on the situation underwater. Once again, your orders are the same, I trust you to make your own judgments.” Isil ordered.
“I shall carry out your orders.” Julian bowed his head deeply.
“Fourth team, Blank.” Isil hoped the name would not be confused with “leaderless”.
“Awaiting orders.” An emotionless voice replied, stepping into view.
Blank was a mimic doll. A mimic doll held true to it’s name, a humanoid-shaped doll created with powerful magic with the intent to copy and replace someone else. All a mimic doll needs to copy someone is to have seen that person before and a drop of their blood. Almost everything could be copied, save strong emotional responses. Blank was created by a mad magician who sought to revive his dead wife. He spent most of his life creating Blanks, and in the end, Blank was a flawed product. It couldn’t copy emotions like it should’ve, and after noticing that, the mad magician killed himself in despair. Blank was left completely ownerless, and without orders. Thus, it remained it the mad magician’s place until it ran out of mana to burn.
It was a long time until Isil found Blank. At the time, she was exploring ruins with Likan when she found it. As she knew what a mimic doll was, she was absolutely happy to see an ownerless one. She immediately went to work on Blank. As she had already become experienced in all that was magical, she rapidly identified the faults in Blank’s enchantments. Isil wanted to fix it immediately, but a mimic doll was a massive project, and she would need more resources and materials than what she had on hand. Thus, she left Blank there and continued on with her current quest.
When Isil came back for Blank, it had been captured by a roving bandit clan. As she had put numerous wards and other identification markers (including death threats) around Blank before she left, she was understandably incensed that it was gone. She followed up on their trail, and eventually caught up with them. She ended the clan and reclaimed Blank. Isil then immediately went to work on Blank, and fixed it fully. As a touch of individuality, Isil expanded Blank’s combat intelligence, making him better at using what abilities he copies.
When Isil restarted Blank, it immediately morphed into the mad magician’s wife and began crying. With the repairs Isil had done to Blank, all the emotions that it should have felt when with the mad magician came out all at once. After calming it down, Isil imprinted her mana mark, marking Blank as hers. While in base state, a mimic doll shouldn’t be able to any more capable than simple orders, however, Blank exhibited a surprising intelligence and creative thinking in base state. However, in base state, it kept the same emotional lifelessness as it’s counterparts. Blank’s class is Mimic Doll, but it’s secondary class changed based on the person it mimicked.
“Blank, you will be in charge of infiltrating nearby villages and reporting any oddities. Do not let anyone know of your true identity, but feel free to take action if a problem comes up. Once again, I trust you to make your own decisions.” Isil commanded.
“Understood.” Blank stated, but did not bow his head deeper.
“Team five through ten will be in charge of aerial reconnaissance. The leaders will be Namou, Umoa, Kreia, Ladsr, Quasir, and Potaema. I don’t want any of you to take action unless you see a threat to Dirak-Feûr. Even then, I want a report sent to me immediately. Until you receive orders, I want you to use delaying tactics without revealing yourselves. Use discretion.” Six winged humanoids stepped out of the crowd and knelt.
““““““We live to serve!”””””” They said in an impressive display of coordination.
The leaders mentioned were all avians that were not companions. Somehow, out of the combined 128 companions (which was the maximum amount of companions one could register in a single guild), not a single one of them was an avian. It was slightly weird, but not implausible. After all, the amount of avian companions was only 3.
“You have your orders, now go and carry them out!” Isil ordered, and was met with a resounding affirmation, followed by a rather rapid selection of team members.
“Everyone else should return to your duties. I will try to get in touch with those that went missing. Dismissed!”
The crowd began to leave at the word. Isil did the same, but instead, simply vanished from her spot, reappearing in her office. She slowly walked to the window ledge, and sat down upon it. She gazed out the window. The land had not changed, and the last light of the sun was vanishing beyond the horizon. Like the light, the last vestiges of her old life disappeared. Perhaps, one day, the sun would rise again, and he would return. But in the night, he was her. And she would not sit still while the wonders of the night were free for the taking.
“Cheers,” She raised the empty wine glass she had picked off the desk. “To the new life. To the new sights. To the new friends.”
“… And to the old ones as well...” Isil muttered sadly.
The glass refilled itself, and Isil drank deeply from it.
“Bleh.” She stuck her tongue out. “I hate alcohol...”