Aegaeon rubbed his eyes wiping away the remnants of dreamless sleep. Surrounded by a deep green forest he groggily arose noticing words blazing across his vision.
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“Welcome to your new world; one of many that has been created as a training grounds. Like the foundation you will build, this world is merely a stepping stone towards the World of Kings! The Journey to Nobility and Recognition is long and arduous. Stand firm and hold onto who you are; your Path is yours, and yours to walk alone.”
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While it sounded like great advice to hold to yourself and strive for this "Nobility", Aegaeon had one major problem; he had no idea who he was or how he got there. Aegaeon looked around and saw that he stood in a clearing surrounded by incredibly tall trees; the tops of which he couldn't clearly make out as they stretched for the sky. Moss covered trunks and almost idyllic spears of light coming through the canopy and resting on the forest floor. Lush grass and moss sprawled before him and crawled over hills, boulders, and the occasional fallen log or branch. Aegaeon heard the soft sounds of water bumbling down a nearby river or creek, and the overall feeling he had looking around was one of serenity. It definitely helped with keeping the anxiety about not knowing who he was out of his mind as he took stock of the situation.
Aegaeon walked across the clearing to where a boulder was resting against one of the wider trees of the copse; sitting down on the rough surface he looked down at himself. Seeming to be in decent shape, as far as he could tell, he was dressed in loose linens that breathed freely and allowed the cool breeze to blow against him without resistance. While considering if he'd need to seek out a new wardrobe for potential inclement weather, more words popped into his field of view.
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"Just as it is your prerogative to grow and progress, so too is it the intent of Monsters that roam the land. All creatures have access to a Status Screen showing their traits, skills, and abilities. Each individual has unique traits, skills, and abilities that define them; not all of which are worthy of mention. Most will fall, many will survive, and few will thrive."
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"Okay, so there are monsters, I know that much." Aegaeon muttered to himself while looking around. With a thought he turned to his status screen, which appeared much easier than he figured it would.
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AEGAEON-
LEVEL: 1
CLASS: N/A
SKILLS: N/A
ABILTIES: N/A
TRAITS: N/A
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So a whole lot of nothing, huh? Aegaeon was a bit concerned seeing the lack of anything in the way of his Status Screen, especially with the promise of monsters roaming about. Stressing about it isn't going to help me out, might as well get going and see if I can find anything. Aegaeon left from his clearing of solitude and headed off towards where he heard water. At least with water he wouldn't be thirsty, surprisingly something that hadn't come to mind until he focused on it. Now that he thought of it, Aegaeon realized he hadn't ever had anything to eat or drink, at least not that he could remember. Was I taken from somewhere else? Who am I? Do I need to kill something and eat it? If I do how do I cook it? Is water wet? Before going too much further down the rabbit hole of existential dread Aegaeon snapped himself out of it.
It's not like it matters right? I'm here now and even if I did have somewhere else I called home it's not like I can get there sitting here and being depressed about it. Besides, if I sat here whining to myself I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last long, something tells me that the "monsters" those words warned about are coming around sooner or later; might as well try to get prepared. Besides, I don't understand how I even know what water is since I've never seen it before, but I know that's what I'm hearing..... weird. These thoughts raced through Aegaeon's mind as we walked between the massive trees, treading carefully around the roots haphazardly spreading across the ground and knotting around themselves. Moss covered everything and the humid air felt crisp and fresh. The smell of the soil hung powerfully in the air, promising abundant lands where any were willing to cultivate it. If it weren't for the thirst and the background worry about monsters, it would be tranquil.
Aegaeon started to move more quickly, picking up the pace proportional to his growing sense of familiarity with the landscape; after all, the moss and roots can only be so different from the rest of itself right? Getting to an almost jog, Aegaeon felt he was getting closer and closer to the water; at this point his thirst was driving him mad. Aegaeon had probably been walking in the forest now for over an hour and the sound of the water always seemed to be just right around the next tree, or over the next bramble of thick roots. With another disappointing sight around a particularly large rock, Aegaeon started to really thirst. Entirely new and never before felt feelings welled up in Aegaeon as frustration, anger, and desperation set in; leading him to start running for the sound of water.
Pumping his legs with all he could while not intentionally tripping over rocks and roots took all the mental power Aegaeon could afford. The burning in his lungs and legs the only physical feelings as the seconds trickled by; as he hoped water would soon; like hours. Euphoria all he could feel as Aegaeon tore through the space between monolithic trees finally seeing the blue and white shimmer of rushing water flowing past a small clearing. Aegaeon excitedly dashed forward, prepared to jump into the currents of relief and satiety... and promptly fell on his face. Annoyance at himself for losing it at the final moments with the least amount of obstacles filled him as he stood but the direct faceplant with the ground caused him to mentally recollect himself. Aegaeon felt a shiver pass through him as he felt the prickling sensation of being watched. I'm not alone.
The once overwhelmingly tempting waters rushed past as Aegaeon focused on the feeling he couldn't shake. Looking around there was nothing he could find. Just more trees and rocks, with now water breaking up the monotonous view. Moss was thicker here than deeper in the forest with virtually everything having a strong green coating. Seeing where the grass met roots and the bases of trees was difficult with how thick the moss clung to everything. The waters seemed to momentarily still as Aegaeon looked around at the almost too quiet scenery. There is definitely something off but what? Is there something wrong wi. His thoughts were cut off as a hurling mass flew out of the water towards his direction, it broke the tranquility so suddenly that Aegaeon had to take a moment to process the change. Jumping backward he narrowly avoided the moss covered thing that flew at him and struck into the ground inches from where he now stood; it was taller than his waist and by the impact seemed pretty heavy, and he started to look for what threw it. Is there a monster in the water? Even more jarring was feeling the wind knocked out of him as he noticed movement, not from the waters, but from the thing that almost crushed him. A rock came flying out of the moss covered boulder and struck his midsection, hard enough to move him back a foot or two and force the breath from his lungs. Keeling over to recover Aegaeon almost got hit by another rock that came flying out of the moss to strike him; aiming directly for his head.
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Jumping back to hopefully gain some distance Aegaeon tried to understand what was going on, the creature that attacked him look like a massive bunch of moss covering rocks, but looking closer the moss was moving around the rocks. Was the moss a monster holding onto rocks to shoot at him? This was confirmed as the moss shot out another rock, noticeably getting smaller as this one was quite big. Aegaeon jumped to the side and tried to run around the moss while thinking of how to handle this situation. He was level one, didn't have any skills, had no idea what the path thing was supposed to be... was he seriously going to be killed by some moss on the first day of this new world? Aegaeon tried not to get lost in what he couldn't do and focused instead on what he could. He tried to keep distance from the moss expecting it to run out of rocks from throwing them, the rocks following just barely behind him as he managed to keep ahead of the projectiles. He figured he would only have to hold on for a bit longer when we looked at the monster and noticed it was getting bigger; while it was removing mass throwing rocks, it was slowly moving and grabbing onto the moss and the moss covered rocks around it. Hopelessness flooded Aegaeon's mind as he ran around the moss trying to pick up any rocks he could to return fire, clearly this moss had more ability than him in combat; which also struck him as weird. How is moss so strong? It's moss!
Aegaeon could only keep running and dodging behind trees as he barely avoided being struck by more rocks, soon joined by clumps of moss also flying at him as he dodged behind a tree. It's throwing the moss it's picking up too? Aegaeon tried to think of options for his situation; he couldn't keep up running and dodging as much as this thing could clearly keep attacking from a distance, he didn't think he could fight it close up either, there's no way he could dodge the rocks from that range. Aegaeon figured his only course of action would be to run, he was sure he could go faster than it. Listening to the water and the pelting rocks and moss, Aegaeon cut from behind the tree wanting to dash past the moss close to the river, maybe he could get far enough downstream to avoid it and finally get a drink. Maybe recoup and get stronger fighting something a bit more manageable? Then he would come back and show this moss a lesson, after all it was only moss. Dashing to the river he was unprepared for the moss adjusting it's aim and nailing him in the side of the head with one of the clumps of moss. It packed more of a punch than he thought it could and felt like it was boulder instead of weak plant matter as it lifted him off his feet and dropped him in the water.
Aegaeon felt like a ragdoll as he was slammed into the water and current dragged him around, he couldn't breath, he couldn't see anything, and he felt too weak to move. It was with bitterness that he had his first sip of water as he was thrown around. The only thing more pathetic than dying to moss on my first day would be to drown. As Aegaeon was thrown about in the current that threatened to drag him down, panic consumed him as he struggled to cling onto life. He was just 'born' as far as he was concerned and he would NOT let go of this life this easily. Reaching for anything and trying to twist in the water his feet hit something solid and he lunged with everything he had. His head broke the surface of the water and he gasped in the air that had left him so quickly. While it felt like he had moved miles while trapped within the current it was only a few meters down from where he entered that he found himself at now. The current still pulled him onward and he noticed that the moss was moving back into the water to head towards him as resignation started to eek back in; this world had dealt him a cruel hand with no memories or allies to aid him, he was alone. But the spark of determination that was lit within him still hadn't given out. Trying to swim with the current Aegaeon managed to resist the current that still tried to pull him down, but he just kept swimming as that was all he could do, he couldn't fight back so he had to get away. The moss, however, proved itself more adept in the water it had waited in as it advanced continually until it was upon him.
In order to move effectively in the water, the Moss had dropped it's rocks and focused solely on catching it's tantalizing prey. The Moss caught up to the creature and took hold upon it's leg, pulling from there it crept up his body until it was firmly holding around his waist. The Moss planned to drag this thing down and let the currents kill it while it reaped the benefits. This tactic had worked a few times since the Moss started to think earlier that day. Had it always had thoughts? It didn't know. But it knew that two other creatures with 4 legs instead of this one's two had both tried to drink from the water, the Moss pounced and both fell in without much of a fight. The water killed them after a little but the Moss had felt messages imparted to it relaying that it had gained... levels? It didn't quite understand but it felt stronger. There was one beast though, also with four legs that didn't easily fall in. The Moss was losing the fight and in desperation it grabbed a rock from the riverbed and threw it at the creature that was beating it. This seemed to put the creature to sleep and the Moss dragged it into the water where history repeated, the water killed the creature, and the Moss felt like it gained more of these levels.
How did this moss catch up to me! It moves so slowly and I'm actively swimming! Aegaeon was overwhelmed from the constant bounce between determination and desperation, and doubt once again filled his mind. With the moss grabbing around him, Aegaeon had to fight harder against the current to not be pulled down; and he tried to push against the moss, trying to rip it apart but he wasn't strong enough to tear through the weird moss. Taking a deep breath Aegaeon allowed the currents to pull him under trying to get help from the tumultuous waters. If he was able to break free from the currents once, he could probably do it again, and he needed the waters to also fight against the moss. As he slipped under it felt like the moss around him started to get excited, the thing probably felt like it was winning; and unfortunately it probably was. Aegaeon tried in vain to rip the moss apart, the water beating against them both as they bounced against the rocky bottom time and again. Nothing else mattered to Aegaeon as he kept trying to tear the moss free; even disregarding his lungs burning from the lack of air. In his mind Aegaeon yearned for the waters to help him, to assist more in tearing the moss apart than battering against them both equally; he called out with his soul for the water to help him tear this thing apart, even if it meant him dying as well. Aegaeon felt pressure within himself building up as his mind was clouding over; not breathing finally taking its toll; and pushed for that pressure to help his will for the water to obey. Aegaeon felt a snap within him as a weird sense of relief flooded him and the water seemed to listen to his call. No longer was he being forced down, but the currents felt like a breeze against him; the contrast enough to help him forget his lungs that felt about to burst. He pushed against the floor of the river and easily launched into the air, getting the breath his lungs so desperately craved for the second time today.
A sense of power filled him as Aegaeon fell back into the water, the moss still clinging to his body; willing the water to help he felt strength he didn't have before as he started to tear into the moss again. What was useless earlier proved much more effective as the combination between his hands and the water filled with intent started to rip the moss to pieces. In an act of desperation for the first time in this drawn out battle, the moss seemed to try and flee but Aegaeon wasn't having that, he pushed with the water and forced it to stay as he shredded the moss to pieces; he didn't stop even when words started floating around his vision again. When the rest of the moss was torn apart, Aegaeon stopped pushing with the water, and a sense of exhaustion swept through him. Aegaeon tiredly swam with the current to the edge of the water, the water no longer antagonistic to him, and pulled himself out onto a patch of grass. The only satisfaction that Aegaeon felt as darkness consumed his vision was that he didn't see any moss in the area around him.