"Next, I explain the choices you have to make. As mentioned before, you will have a package of energy attached to you. This manifests as the powers and abilities you may choose for yourself. Whatever you choose, just being in the world and using your choices serves as a source of renewal. In fact, you could arrive and swear to never use anything you gain here until the day you die. Just existing is enough. The energy will also be released upon your death if there isn't anything like immortality or reincarnation to stop it."
"You're telling me I can choose to be immortal. Like right out the gate?"
"Yes, I mentioned another reason why you are given these choices: a karmic balance for removing you from your world and the life you were living. Add to this the fact that you are going to a place with little to no knowledge of the culture, geography, history, or anything else, and bookend it with the chance that regardless of whatever it is you choose, you may still die quite easily. When you look at it that way, you begin to see the large weight needed to bring the other side of the scale to balance."
It took a few heartbeats to stop the surge of anger once more. The idea that such strong things would be available to me was indeed a welcome thought. The reason being because of how much people lost, soured it. After those few heartbeats, I reminded myself that I had very little going on for me back on earth, so aside from my right to choose being taken from me, this entire deal was a soaring windfall. Time to collect.
"Ok, is there anything else I need to know before I start choosing? Also, how do I go about that? Do you have a catalog tucked away somewhere?"
"You will also be allowed to customize your physical form however you like. Whether you want to take this chance to be another race or species native to the world itself, or you simply wish to negate the effects your current lifestyle would have on the new world, As for the mechanism to make your choices and changes, that is up to you. Simply focus on a medium that you are comfortable with, and it shall manifest for you."
After the mention of lifestyle, I gave a glance down toward my stomach. By no means was I obese, but 31 years of eating whatever I wanted coupled with a VERY sedentary life in front of my computer meant not only was I out of shape, but I was incapable of even normal extended physical activity. So boosting myself was going to be the bare minimum. But other races? That could be awesome. I was about to ask another question about the number of races before It occurred to me that I could just find the answer myself by focusing on how to show my options. I was about to just imagine my computer setup back home, but I couldn’t help but take in the space I was standing in. The unreal impossibility of this place made me realize I didn’t need the hardware. She said it could be whatever I wanted, right? If I have learned anything from playing videogames, it's that floating menus are not only cool as hell, but pretty useful.
I focused on the idea of rectangular panels made of nothing more than light and text. A blue colored window appeared in front of me at a comfortable viewing height. Four tabs were marked at the top of the window, with white text showing the following:.
Physicality: Primary Power/Magic: Secondary Power/Magic: Abilities/Skills
The first was clearly what Amy had just explained, but the others made me begin to get excited. It looks like I would get to choose more than just one thing in terms of special powers. But I had to make myself stop. I knew I would get nowhere if I didn’t do this in some kind of order, plus I could always come back and make changes if I wanted to…right?
"Yes"
That was becoming annoying. And the small smile The Goddess flashed didn’t help. I tapped on the physicality tab. I guess I didn’t need to use my finger, but this was already weird enough; some bit of normalcy would be helpful.
The tab showed a window with two sub-tabs.
Race/species-customize body
I was sure I was going to be something other than human, so I tapped the first tab. The window was filled with more things than I thought I could count in a lifetime. There was a scrollbar on the right-hand side of the window, not that you could see it without pressing your face against the window and squinting hard. Was that a beetle? Wait, you can choose animals? Can you be a Pidgeon with lightning powers? Fucking hell, this was going to be tiresome. Can I sort this in anyway? At that thought, two subtabs appeared, showing sentient and non-sentient as options. Well, that was helpful. Scrolling through the Sentient options was significantly easier but still daunting. So I changed tac. What did I really want? What are my priorities? A question occurred to me.
"Amy, what can you tell me about the world I'm going to?"
It happened again. Whatever it was, that thing with Amy happened. Yes, that was focus. Why is she focusing more intently when I ask certain questions or think certain things? And dammit, once again, a part of my mind told me to keep going and not acknowledge it. What am I missing?
"The name of the planet is The Elder Realm. In its history, the current world is a reflection of ages past. The realm is cyclical in nature, meaning traits and major events repeat. Sometimes it is the same in form, sometimes only in spirit. It is what you would call a medieval fantasy world using earthly terminology. The current era is nearing the end of its first stage. There are many nations across the planet with long and storied histories, but a large part of the world is still unexplored or unknown."
Ok, so magic was definitely going to be something I do, so maybe I should narrow my search by races that have some interaction with magic. Once again, at the thought the window changed to add a filter, it already showed the races in question. As I began to tap through and skim some options, a new thought occurred to me. Willing a search bar into the window, I typed in elf. About six options showed up. I willed the filter to show me results with more than a basic connection to magic. I also threw in the reason I thought of elves in the first place: long lives, for good measure. Three options remained. At the thought of an extended lifespan, I noticed the same intensity in Amy once again. By this point, I was actively flicking my gaze towards her every few seconds. This time, I think I understood the look a little more. It felt like approval for looking at something for more than what I would gain right now. I guess many people don’t think long-term during this part of the process. I'm beginning to grasp what I keep noticing from Amy, but I'll let that sit a bit longer.
The 3 elves were labeled as Aetheriel, Naturalis, and Fadeborn. I opened the first in a new window.
Aetheriel
More commonly known as ghost elves, the aetheriel are born striding both sides of life and death. While they are still in the womb, a spirit that is still in the material world will be invited to commune with the soul of the child during a secret ceremony. If the child and spirit resonate strongly enough, the spirit will bond with the child. For the rest of the aetheriel's life, the spirit and the soul of the aetheriel meld in such a way that allow the atheriel to occupy the world of the living and the dead at the same time.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Traits
-resentence against any magic that targets the soul
-natural affinity with death and spirit magics
-the ability to, for short periods of time, fully enter the world of the dead and become incorporeal and invisible to anything in the living world.
-though they have resistance to many death and spirit magic effects, spells or other magics that bind or otherwise control spirits or the dead also work on aetheriels due to being in both worlds.
Under the description, it showed a picture of a pale-skinned man, albino-like, with striking golden irises. Another thing to note was a section detailing average details like height, weight, and, more importantly, lifespan. It was in the thousands of years. Being partially in the world of the dead seemed to increase the normal lifespan of elves by leaps and bounds. The more I thought about it, the more it made no sense, but hey, magic.
This one didn’t quite feel right. The lifespan was a major selling point, but I didn’t want a permanent ride-along, and I was never a fan of necromancy. So I read the next one.
Naturalis
More commonly known as tree elves, the Naturalis slowly replace parts of their body with their chosen natural substance. Bark, flowers, vines, or any other form of vegetation or fungi, the older a Naturalis gets, the less flesh remains. This has given them a natural affinity for the various natural magics. Personal choice and the substance they replace themselves with mean a high degree of difficulty in guessing what magic a Naturalis wields. Finally, as more of their body becomes plant life, the natural magics they wield becomes stronger. The older the elf, the stronger they are.
Traits
-natural affinity with various forms of nature magic
-increased resilience to differing forms of damage depending on plant life substitutions
-drop in physical capabilities and possible loss of quality of life due to transformation
The accompanying pictures were nightmarish. Elven forms in progressive states of transformation showed things like bark for most of its skin or arms and legs fully made of vines. One of them had a mushroom for a head. Like just a mushroom, I didn't even see any eyes. No. Just no. I was not becoming a plant monster in exchange for an array of nature-based magic affinities. Naw man, I ain't about that "life.". I was beginning to lose hope; I may have to settle for the choice between lifespan or magic. One more to go.
Fadeborn
More commonly known as Dusk Elves, these elves are rarely seen around most of the Elder Realm. Said to have been born during the first era of the world, when the various magic forces first collided, the fadeborn have developed the natural ability to sense and see magic. Fadeborn also have a much easier time learning any form of magic, though few have been seen by the rest of the races; those that have are known to dabble in many different practices of the magic arts. Also known only to the fadeborn themselves, if they reach a high enough level of proficiency with magic, their body will begin to process the ambient magic in the world around them, granting them biological immortality.
Traits
-the ability to sense magic and visually see magic in differing colors and patterns
-minor affinity with all magic. Less than the affinity of any other race but able to begin a new magic with less effort.
-reachable biological immortality
-higher profile due to the insular nature of native fadeborn
I knew I had a winner before I even looked at the picture. Dusky gray skin, black hair, and gray eyes, they looked like the edgy mirror to your classic elf, ears and all. But I didn’t give a damn. BINGO. Everything I wanted. The magical sense ability touched on something I was thinking about for a choice I had later on, but now I was thinking about the advantage of synergy. This choice as well as what I am thinking about later could turn what I would get from two choices into effectively something I would get from three. Once again, that look from Amy. This time, I was sure. It was approval. My mind went back to her initial explanation of why she was here. She said she was here to help me. But from the intent gaze she gives me when I come to certain conclusions but lack of any audible response, it looks like that help only reaches so far. Unless... what if I have to ask for advice? The small but obvious smile spurred my question.
"Amy, what do you think of this dusk elf? Is there any advice or information you could give me?"
"Of course"
The small smile grew to become a full grin.
"The Dusk Elves have a natural talent for magic that not even demons can rival. Not necessarily in quality, but in quantity. The affinity they possess does not reach higher than that of the other races, but their ability to learn any magic or practice shows their true power with time. And given that they tend to live around nine centuries, a middle-aged dusk elf can truly be a monster to deal with. With time, you would be a man that no one could guess what tools you have at your disposal as you could with the other elves you read about. The fact that they are so rare is truly a major factor to deal with. There will be little to no social stealth. Everywhere you go, people will remember you. Day-to-day actions with others will be a coinflip of normal or some flavor of annoying."
I took in what she said. For the sake of being thorough, I looked at the other elves, but they were expectedly lacking when compared to the Dusk Elf. I even read through the demon, and though they had a monstrous ability with magic, there was information about allegiance to one of the 72 kings of hell and something called devotion I would have had to keep track of or drop down in power. In the end, I knew the Dusk Elf was going to be my choice. So I tapped the customize body tab.
The window expanded to the size of a full-size mirror with the various buttons and sliders you would expect to find in a video game. The speed and unexpected change in the interface I had been using for the past 20 minutes made me pause for a few moments. It was only after that I noticed the window functioned as a mirror, showing my full body, save for the fact that it showed me as a dusk elf. I wish I would have had some warning, so I could have prepared myself for the familiar reaction to seeing my own face. As my mind tried to separate from my body for the millionth time, that piece of myself I was able to hold on to noticed that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. This dissociation was easier to deal with because the image I saw wasn’t quite my normal appearance. Grey skin and black hair were different enough from my sun-starved white skin and brown hair to ease the uncomfortable struggle of self-identity. I got to work making changes to help the process along.
Thankfully, there was a "Physical Peak" button, though Dusk Elves seemed to run on the skinnier side. I had to spend some time moving other sliders to get a level of agility I would never have been able to achieve before. Strength at what a peak human would have back on earth, I quickly moved through appearance changes. This lovely effect of my mental illness was always difficult to deal with. If I looked too close to my normal self, my mind would scream, incorrectly, mind you, that what I was seeing in the mirror wasn’t me. If I went too far, I would have the same reaction, except this time it was true. So I kept the shape of things as they were. It was the same face, just trimmed of some fat. Same closely shaven beard, same widows peak, and same eyebrows that could stand to be a tad less thick. I couldn’t get rid of the point in my ears, but the lowest setting was fine, if still undeniably "elven." The hair I made shoulder-length; I normally can't stand my hair anywhere near that long, but that’s because my normal hair is incredibly thick. Now I could make it much thinner and straighter, so even if I didn’t like it, I could cut it, so there was no harm in testing it out. The body I went full out. I knew I couldn’t change my height; the change in perspective would leave me in an eternal dissociative state. But my belly turned into flat, chiseled abs. Every part of me, in fact, looked like a master craftsman had carved me from gray slate. And yes, some other "enhancements" were done as well; shut up, you would have done it too. I chuckled at the fact that the most likely scenario was that the world of The Elder Realm was about to have 1000 gorgeous people show up from nowhere. As I stared at who I would become, I needed one more thing. I still had a slight reaction to seeing my face. I needed one more remnant of my previous self. Instead of using the window, I willed the color of my eyes to be the same as it is now. A blue a few shades lighter than average. Nothing fancy. Nothing supernatural or extra about it. But undeniably familiar. A message appeared saying that the eye color was nonstandard for my chosen race, asking if I wanted to continue with my choice. I said yes; after all, we got blue eyes on earth from a mutation; why not this new world as well?
I tapped the "complete physicality" button, and in less than a moment, I was a dusk elf. Quickly tapping the next tab to give my poor, damaged mind a rest from looking at myself, I began to get excited. This was the start of the real choices. The ones that mattered. What magic would I wield in my new world?