Jake stirred, feeling the cool breeze wash over him. “Did he leave a window open last night?” he wondered to himself. As his eyes opened, expecting to see the familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling, he found himself staring at a forest of tall pines. The soft light of an early dawn pierced through the canopy, illuminating the forest floor around him.
With an abrupt start, Jake pushed himself upright. He looked around, confused, as he took in his environment. Peering at the forest surrounding him, his eyes were sharp. Somehow, colors seemed richer, and detail was enhanced. A small, deep blue pond rippled in the light breeze, the sun's rays reflecting across the surface. On a tree across the clearing, he could make out a line of ants, carrying foraged food back to their colony.
“This has to be a dream,” Jake muttered to himself. He remembered falling asleep in his downtown studio apartment after a Friday night happy hour with some coworkers. He pinched himself in an attempt to wake up. “Ouch!” he exclaimed, as the sharp pain shot through his arm. He shook his head, laughing at himself for thinking that would wake him from his slumber.
He stood up, deciding to see where this unusual dream would take him. Jake scanned his surroundings, taking in the natural beauty of the forest around him. It looked untouched, like a scene out of a fairy tale. The trees were tall, towering over him at a height he had never witnessed before. He breathed in the fresh air, which reminded him of camping vacations with his family as a child. There was no trace of the smell of the city he had grown so accustomed to. As the last sign of morning drowsiness left his body, he knew he was awake.
A feeling of panic rushed over Jake’s body. How did he get here? Where was here? Certainly not his small apartment where he fell asleep the night before. He put his face in his hands and rubbed his forehead, feeling the wrinkly skin of his palms. He took a deep breath, knowing that panic would get him nowhere.
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“Wait,” Jake thought to himself. “Wrinkly skin?”
He glanced down at his hands, trying to comprehend what he saw as he held out his arms. His hands were a shade of dark green. The palms were covered in a deeply creased skin, almost frail looking. Three fingers and a thumb extended from the palms. His fingers looked disproportionately long, compared to the rest of his hands.
His gaze continued down, taking in the rest of his strange body. His skin was the same everywhere, the unnatural olive color. In some places it was tight over his small body and in others it had the same crinkled texture as his hands. He wore simple clothes, a brown shirt that looked and felt like burlap, and baggy pants in a material comparable to the denim jeans he liked to wear. His bare feet were as inhuman as his hands, with long bony toes and sharp nails.
“Or claws,” he thought to himself. “What happened to me,” he exclaimed in an exasperated voice.
The fairy tale forest had started to feel like a scene out of a nightmare. Glancing around again, Jake remembered the picturesque pond. He scrambled over to it, slipping on pine needles around him in his haste. He fell to his knees on the edge of the water, staring into it.
Jake did not recognize the face reflecting back at him. It was grotesque, with a broad nose and sinister beady eyes. Two batlike ears protruded from each side of his head and as he opened his mouth he saw his teeth, a row of small sharp fangs. Jake shook in terror and rage as he studied his reflection. He knew what he had become.
His appearance was the same as so many enemies in video games he had played throughout his life. Jake was a goblin. He fell backwards onto the soft pine needles covering the forest floor, confused and horrified to what his new life had become.
A screen appeared in front of Jake, and he heard a voice.
Welcome to Aetherforge, Voyager. To begin, please select a name.