Reminiscing on the past events . . . Can be utterly destructive . . .

The descending golden rings which were more or less the Trademark of anyone leaving or entering anywhere in “The World” suddenly appeared in the silent and desolate town of Dun Loireag. They were bright yellow and glimmered in the evening sun that was forever setting in Dun Loireag. With the gleam, it made a bright light around the player who just entered the beautiful city. His outline was all in the light which made his body look all dark and black, but it really did not matter anyway since he was dressed in black anyway. With the sun to his back, the player made a slight yawn as he began to walk away from the light and toward the actual city part of Dun Loireag, the floating city in the sky.

The player let down his hood and as he did he felt it cover the hilt of his mysterious black blade that was on his back. The sheathed sword looked as if it was darkness itself, and in fact it was. Another sword was on the side of the player. All that could be seen about it, was that the hilt of the katana was glowing a crimson red from the countless monster blood that it had on it from each defeat. Though, once the sword was unsheathed, it was back to its silver color. This was because, Hac had just played around with it in a low level field before he came to the floating and soaring city. Still walking, the Heavy Blade suddenly stopped and looked up into the air and felt his hair fly back as a small and fierce wind began to blow. “Ahh . . . how the wind replenishes your soul.” Hac said as he took a deep breath and stretched out his arms.

As he brought his hands back down from the air, Hac ran his fingers through his soft blond hair and looked around to see where he was. To his amazement, Hac was close to the clan house, he only had to go down a flight of stony steps, and into the stony door in the wall which led into the clan mansion. Hac went to a slight jog and ran down the steps and touched his hand to the wooden door with two letters on it, FX. This was the abbreviation for Fatal Exception. The Heavy Blade then pushed with his hand, and the door began to glow blue and then opened. As he entered the house, Hac grabbed a yellow sticky note and then a pen that was next to the stack of sticky notes and began to write a letter. Hey Guys I will be out on a quest. I will call if I need you, or if you would like to come along tell me. ~Hac

If I am right about the looks of the inside of the clan house and the door then this note will go to both houses, one which is in the Delta Server and then this one which is in Theta Server. If this does not work, then I guess I will just go out on a limb and go solo. It cannot be that bad to do another solo quest. I am already used to being by myself a little since I am one of the only ones aloud to access Dun Loireag without someone level fifteen or ups invitation. Not like I would be here anyway at a low level unless I was really needed. Mac Anu and Delta Server was a lot more fun then this deserted ghost town. Maybe in a while it will be bustling just like Mac Anu, the Water Capital of “The World”.

As he left the Clan house, and walked up the stone stairs, Hac looked around and then still saw no one at all in the city. “Wow, how long does it take these people to level up, I do not want to be alone forever.” Hac told himself as he crossed his arms and started to shiver since the wind suddenly started up once again. The Heavy Blade’s strides slowly decreased into a small shuffle like walk. Hac was not trying to go slow, since the slower he went the colder it got. Noticing his small folly, Hac sped up, but it would be his luck that as soon as he started into a fast walk, the cold breeze went on by and stopped. Once again, silence reigned over the city. With a small smirk, Hac stopped and looked around. He had never really noticed anything about the city since he had always been in a rush when he came here.

As he looked up, Hac saw colorful balloons floating in the air. The balloons looked a little like hot air balloons, yet they were not giving off any sound at all, and they did not look like they had any devices on them. Hac then noticed more colors draped from the balloons and to the floating city. It was a long rope, with many triangles shaped flags. The flags ranged from about an inch from the balloon and ended about an inch before the grassy land. Hac then turned around away from all the balloons floating in the air and made his way to the Chaos Gate. As he got closer, he began to think about past events that happened to him.

“It all started with those . . . cats . . . ” Hac whispered to himself as he gazed into the blue center of the Chaos gate which was surrounded by two gigantic golden rings which inter circled each other. As the rings passed in circles, Hac got a little dizzy and then shook it off as he got lost deep within his thoughts.

I remember it as if it were yesterday. The cats they saved us. Yet, they tried to destroy us. Are they the enemy or are they our friends? It is hard to tell. I need more information on how they work, how they tick. Morgaine could help if she were around, but alas she has not contacted me in a long time. But, she was once a hacked woman with the cat looks. I guess I need to grow stronger anyway before I ask her for any more favors. Just in case she wants a duel in the process of her explanations. If I lose, she would make a mockery of me and then not tell me what I need to go. Well, I guess it is back to going to random fields to grow stronger and stronger. Then, once I find them, I can defeat them. Well I am ready to take the plunge into a field. Just which one to choose. Ahh . . . Here is one that looks interesting. Hac thought as he looked at the random keyword list that popped up on his screen when he clicked the Chaos Gate.

“Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel!”

The Heavy Blade yelled as the three rings passed over his body once again, except this time sending him to the field.

Maybe I will get a lead on the hack cat . . . things.

A trio of glowing golden rings descends with a silent rotation. The data of a black figure is loaded to the field, materializing with the rings until the final circle pants the last blonde hair of his head. The player finds himself within what resembles a town square. Cream brick ground supports the weight of his body. A grey cobblestone well creates a deep abyss that runs through the ground at the center of the square. A wooden beam hangs over the well to support the rope running a bucket into it. The square is large enough to resemble the space around a Chaos Gate on a server. Sunlight shines down in spotted patterns through the graceful cover of large trees growing in the square.

The shade ends just past the edge of the square with the beginning of tiles paving delicate white. The green and yellow leaves around Hacorie tilt back with the caress of winds. These winds travel through his garment and turn the great blade cross of a towering windmill at the back of him. The western building is mounted on the ground of steep earth incline about two stories high, rising from it as an obelisk of grey bricks. The door into the windmill itself carves a tunnel through the rock wall.

Opposite to the windmill is a magnificient building composed of oak and mimicking a donut shape through a figure of 20 sides. The east structure is built in the traditional English style of the 1600s, a sight unique against all other parts of The World. The edifice feels gargatuan when compared to surrounding ones. Each face of the figure measures about dozen feet wide, giving the building an enourmous 80-foot diameter. Its walls are white from lime plaster laced in maroon wood, topped in an inclined green tile roof. A glass window faces out at each floor on every face of the building. The center of it houses a tower that holds the stairs links each floor and a garden. Nailed above the giant's doorway is a sign that reads "Globe Library."

The northern side of the town square leads to a church made of dark brown stones. Cream outlines flow through the spots along the building where stained glass windows have been placed. Its roof is slanted in grey tiles and reaches a bit above two stories. The entrance to the church faces the square, with a clock tower at the left side of the building that rises to three stories. The metal hands of the clock point somewhat after noon.

To the south of the square is the broad of a two-story house. Its wide sides glisten on every floor with four windows, hinting at the amount of rooms that could be inside. A brick chimney runs along one tip of the humble space. Its walls have the same style of the library: white from lime plaster and tan of wood lacing. Red tiles comprise its the roof. Above its door is a board with the word "Mariam Inn."

The steep earth wall that the windmill is founded on blocks the horizon on all sides of the town. Its almost like the place was fashioned from a polished crater. Tucked into the northeastern and southeastern corners are eight buildings. Each two stories high, the square homes are designed to resemble the inn and its antique demeanor. Four to one corner and four to the other. Simple quaint businesses, two of them exuding a gentle stream of smoke from their brick chimneys. Six of the buildings present a board above their doors that name the general craft conducted in them. Their roofs are slanted red tiles and each of their doors has a mailbox to its side.

The place is anything but lifeless. The sound of footsteps and chatter comes to Hacorie from beyond the trees in the square. Outside are people of varying classes and appearances, minding their lives and apparently buzzing with activity. The town is almost like being at Mac Anu but without a Chaos Gate. There is no dungeon in the map and there appear to be no monster portals as far as the eye can see. A calm weather of sky made ocean blue covers this town that should not exist. Suggesting towards the unnatural feeling of the village is the fact that the option to Gate Out is unavailable to Hacorie.

Flashmail To: All of FX
Fwd to: Kiwi, Rhilla, Rico and Asura, Curia
From: Hac

Hey guys, I am trapped in a field. That is right, trapped. I went for a solo, and then I once i was teleported in, I was in a gigantic city. It seems there are many players here, but this is a little too spooky. It is almost like a city, except there is no Chaos gate to get out. Also, there is no dungeon. Something very mysterious is going on. I am going to investigate, of you would like to come then come.

To the FX part of this message:

Hey you all have grown strong, and if something is up here, I would like for you to assist me. I trust all of you, and with all of us together we can conquer anything.

To: Rhilla, Rico and Asura, and Curia

I have talked tou you all about questing with me before, so I thought this would be a good oppurtunity to explore something new.

To Kiwi:

As said above i need help. With our swords, and power I would be grateful if you came to help. I just do not feel like this is right.

Guys, if you come, be prepared for you cannot gate out. Well I will see you here. I will stay put until you arive or reply to this message.

Ps: I almost forgot...You got to know the field before you can find me. I am at Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel, Theta Server

~Hac

END FLASHMAIL

Kiwi finds himself receiving a flashmail from Hacorie while on duty somewhere else. Due to being unable to leave his current place, even for a friend, the Heavy Blade decides to pitch in his own resources. He sends a flashmail out to the members of his clan explaining the current situation in the hopes of getting some of them to help.

To: The Swordbreakers
From: KamiKazeKiwi3

Hacorie is currently in need of some help at a field that he has disclosed to me. Anyone who is willing and able to go should do so. Here is his message:

"Hey guys, I am trapped in a field. That is right, trapped. I went for a solo, and then I once i was teleported in, I was in a gigantic city. It seems there are many players here, but this is a little too spooky. It is almost like a city, except there is no Chaos gate to get out. Also, there is no dungeon. Something very mysterious is going on. I am going to investigate, of you would like to come then come."

It sounds like he found special field of some sort. The keywords to the field are Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel, on the Theta server.

End of message.

Elius stared forward, blankly. He appeared deep in thought, but worrying would give him nothing. Without a word, he reached forward, in his dark room, to the mouse beside the computer. In response, the log in screen to “The World” came up. Code’s death was still fresh on his mind – his weakness at the time of that AI’s death. If only he could have done something, but what could he have done but watch as that ‘angel’ killed her. No, it that wasn’t what brought on a feeling of doubt. It was that other presence, that ‘false’ girl, which seemed, almost, to fail to exist. ‘False’ was the best way he could describe her. After all, her form failed to take full form, as if seen through distorted light. Still, her face would stay in his mind like a scar – a face that shown clearly on a girl that the very fabric of reality had seemed to forsake. However, even in her weakened, incomplete form, Elius found his self completely frozen in her presence. It wasn’t that he was too afraid to move. He simply ‘couldn’t’.

With that thought, Elius entered his password into the computer terminal before him. Perhaps he would find something. He slid on his VR helmet, clicking enter simultaneously. The image of his room blurred to nothing as a virtual world rose up to meet him. As his feet touched this virtual world, three golden transport rings set his figure down. His green cloak, shirt, and pants stood out against the brick walls of Mac Anu. A shining blade also lay sheathed at his side. The young Blademaster smiled as he drew his new Executioner, examining it carefully. Its new edge held not one hint of a scratch on its metallic surface. Hopefully, he wouldn’t destroy it anytime soon. No sooner then a second after that particular thought, the swordsman stumbled with his sword, nearly dropping it to the stone ground at his feet. “That was close.” He thought, examining a new flash mail that just popped up before him.

“Sounds like Hacorie could use some help.” Elius finally spoke up through his own silence as he finished going over the message. “Then again, what could I do to help? Oh well, It may be interesting. I have never once found myself within that server before.”

The Blademaster looked up, brushing a few blonde strands of hair from his emerald green eyes. It was then that the masses before him had become apparent. It was almost ridiculous how he had failed to notice the great gathering in the town up until this point. Knowing the Chaos Gate stood just feet behind him, he spun around as three additional glowing rings descended upon his form, blurring the his vision of Mac Anu to nothing.

Once his vision had returned, Mac Anu was gone. He was now in the floating city of Dun Loireag. The young Blademaster stood in awe as city’s image became clear before him. The sky was filled with masses of huge balloons, but the city loomed before him as nothing more then a dry husk – a ghost town. “This is definitely on the eerie side. Maybe this is why Mac Anu is always so crowded, but there is no time for sight seeing.” Elius said to his self. “I have come to assist in a field, not wonder of the reasons for an empty root town.” With a smile, he turned around, noticing a cold ominous breeze. Luckily, the chaos gate lay just a few yards away.

The eager Blademaster ignored the cold as he approached it at an accelerating pace. Within a moment, he was within its range.

“Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel!” He exclaimed with out a second thought. The next moment, three transport rings consumed him, removing his figure from the town.

As the rings set him down once more, he found his self in a huge crowd. “Who are all these people?” He thought to his self, attempting to free his form from the choking mass. “I thought Dun Loireag needed players, but this is just plain ridiculous.” Finally, the Blademaster forced his self forward, knocking a few hapless random people from his way. “Excuse me.” Elius said, finding his self along the ground with the unlucky few. They didn’t seem to mind, or didn’t show it in any case as they rose to resume their business. Elius quickly followed their example and rose from the cream-colored brick ground, noticing Hacorie not too far ahead of him.

“Hi Hacorie,” he said, approaching the Heavy Blade that had previously flash mailed him, “I received your message. This field definitely proves to be on the strange side doesn’t it?”

"Hey, you!" Mirelle ran up to Elius, nervously looking about at the bustling town. The Long Arm held her spear tightly in both hands, afraid that something might happen. She shivered nervously as a group of people brushed past her. "I don't like this," she whimpered. "I wish I knew where Ha-chan was..."

Suddenly she became aware of Fatal Exception's leader being there. She beamed happily and hugged Hacorie as tightly as she could. Letting go, she skipped back a step and examined his face. "Ha-chan, you made it," she squealed happily. The Long Arm grinned widely at her "boss" before looking at the sword the Heavy Blade was carrying.

She raised one blue-green eyebrow in appraisal. "You done pretending to be somebody else... "Ice"?" She smirked at the alias before sitting down on the cobblestone wall. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "So, now what, oh fearless leader?" She smiled crookedly at both Elius and Hacorie. This was going to be fun. No, more than fun. This was an adventure she would never forget.

Senna had decided to do something very unusual for her. She'd gone shopping.

For some it might be the typical girly thing to do - browsing, trying things on, heaven forbid, asking if something made one's backside look large. For Senna, it was a sort of ruthless mission - find what best serves your needs, get it and get out. Using that style of browsing, she'd managed to hit every store and get what she figured she needed in the space of about twenty minutes.

She was just trying on the new equipment she'd bought, as well as what she'd found in her recent quest with Duo, when the flashmail came. Curious, she abandoned the equipment-switching to see who'd sent her a message. To say she was surprised to see it was from her clan's leader would be an understatement, but then, a flashmail from just about anyone would have been a surprise to the less-than-social long arm. Slowly, she read the contents.

To: The Swordbreakers
From: KamiKazeKiwi3

Hacorie is currently in need of some help at a field that he has
disclosed to me. Anyone who is willing and able to go should do
so. Here is his message:

"Hey guys, I am trapped in a field. That is right, trapped. I went
for a solo, and then I once i was teleported in, I was in a gigantic
city. It seems there are many players here, but this is a little too
spooky. It is almost like a city, except there is no Chaos gate to
get out. Also, there is no dungeon. Something very mysterious is
going on. I am going to investigate, of you would like to come then
come."

It sounds like he found special field of some sort. The keywords to
the field are Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel, on the Theta server.

She read it through three times to make sure she hadn't missed anything It seemed straightforward enough, but it also seemed... odd. Getting stuck in a field? A city with people but no chaos gate, no dungeon. Too strange.

Her first impulse was just to ignore it. What good would a level 10 - who was still in so aggravatingly many ways a newbie - be in a situation like that? She didn't know anything about oddities in The World. She barely knew the basics of survival in The World, after all. She started walking parallel to the river in Mac Anu. The warm sunset colors that always warmed the faces of the buildings danced in broken swaths across the choppy surface. So serene...

But the flash mail stuck in the back of her mind. This was from her clan's leader. And what was the motto? Noble through eternity. How noble would it be to turn down someone asking for assistance because, basically, she didn't think she could help? And besides, with all the time she spent making friends with people who had animal tails, she wasn't really in a position to label anyone or anything strange.

"You never know until you try," she mused aloud to the water. It didn't answer. But she didn't need it to. With a lopsided grin on her face, she headed up to the chaos gate.

She'd never traveled to another server before, and expected something different, but all in all it was like warping to a field. There was the blackness, then the gold rings and there you were. But what a place.

The highland city was made of pillars of land connected by scaffolding-like bridges that looked so flimsy, she was scared just watching people walk, or run, across them. Quickly she turned her back on the cloud-misted city. She didn't like heights. Just glancing at the yawning spaces between the bits of land made her queasy. It was like standing at the edge of that bottomless pit before.

As Senna focused on the chaos gate, familiar despite the slight wisps of fog that occasionally insinuated themselves around it. A bit of poetry drifted into her mind. And indeed, there will be time to wonder, "Do I dare?" and "Do I dare?" Time to turn back... T.S. Eliot. One of her favorites.

But she didn't turn back. She checked the flash mail again to be sure of the keywords. "Here goes. Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel." And as Dun Loireag faded, a sense of relief rose. she did NOT like that city at all. Empty and way too high in the air for her taste.

As the fade reversed, she found herself in a city that thankfully seemed to have its feet on the ground - so to speak. The buildings were beautiful and, in at least one case, enormous. they had signs, but she couldn't read them from where she'd arrived. She just turned in a slow circle for a moment, taking it all in. As far as style, it looked unlike anything she'd seen so far in The World. Everything seemed so light. The windmill's blades cast revolving shadows over the square. she watched it a moment, smiling in spite of herself.

And it was then she realized she had no idea who Hacorie was or how to find him

"Do I dare disturb the universe?" she commented to the ocean-blue sky. Like the river in Mac Anu, it made her no reply. Then, using her lance for balance, she hopped into the edge of the well and began scanning for the person who'd sent Kiwi the message - or at least someone to ask about him. She saw two male characters with swords talking. As good a place to start as any, she guessed. So she hopped off the well's edge and began walking toward them, using her lance as a walking stick.

"Excuse me," she said as she neared them. "Hope I'm not interrupting. I'm looking for someone named Hacorie?"

"You comin' over tonight?"

"I have errands to run, Johanna. I don't think I'll be able to," Anne said casually to the phone, tracing imaginary circles around the receiver.

"You can't come then," the voice implied with a hidden harshness. Anne hadn't noticed, but the next minute would imply there was tension on the other end. Tension, between both Johanna and her closest friend, Anne. A few nights ago they had, both, agreed to go out together, perhaps to the park or the mall; the destination hadn't been decided, but plans were made. And now, this: Anne making excuses for, possibly, her own personal benefit and secluded reasons.

"Sorry."

"Whatever." The line cut off and left Anne in silence. She hugged the blanket she'd been holding to her chest and placed the phone back in its place. She shivered once, then twice, perhaps from the way she felt or from the coldness. Actually, she hadn't felt warm at all since the moment she woke. It didn't come as big surprise, considering she was in New England - a land known for its unpredictable weather and insane temperatures during the school year. She didn't seem to mind this bizarre environment either. If anything, she enjoyed the cold weather. It kept her mind from straying to rather depressing subjects and memories she'd rather not discuss. She looked over her shoulder toward the window and discovered it had started snowing out there; a now constant coating of white spots in the sky.

"Wonderful," she said, shifting her weight against the swivel chair. "Just as I was thinking of taking a walk." Her hand, in the dark, felt around the top of the desk for the computer mouse, and moved it towards her. The monitor suddenly came to life, its bright light illuminating the dark corner her desk sat in. There was nothing new, nothing that grabbed her interest the way 'The World's' icon did. So she double-clicked the small pixel-generated image and reached inside the desk's draw for the one and only headset she owned.



Arin breathed a sigh of boredom and tapped the wall behind her with the heel of her boot. Mac Anu was quiet as usual, and the very thought coursed through the twin blade and made her blood boil. Here she was, absolutely bored to death, and there was nothing to eat that tiredness away. She'd been hoping to see something, anything going on, perhaps a player being robbed or an argument between friends and foes. Hell, if a PK had been spotted and people were screaming their heads off, her attention would be held nicely, since excitement in a situation such as that left no room for thinking and afterthought. But unfortunately, there was nothing.

Darn! Should've went for a walk or something, she shook her head, closed her eyes, and then crossed her arms. Maybe someone would realize how she felt and offer to bring her along on a quest or even talk to her a bit. Instead, a quite hum persisted the back of her mind and a sudden flash mail broke her train of thought.

Brown eyes read the message carefully, paying close attention to who it was from and it was for. So, Hacomy needed help. And the Sword Breakers had been called upon. Her lips turned up in a small smile, "Gosh, makes me feel as though I'm part of some super-hero team." The very thought brought a kind feeling upon her and immediately she stood from the wall and darted off to the left.

Across a bridge and past a couple of groups later, a gauntleted hand led the twin blade up a few stairs and towards the Chaos Gate where dark green shadows danced amongst her person and along the cemented ground. She lifted her head and gave the portal a knowing glance before saying, "Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel," in a slow, firm tone, as if trying out the name for the first time after years of learning it.

A number of golden rings encircled the girl's form and rose until she finally disappeared altogether.




Her form materialized into the city. Buildings surrounded buildings and these structures towered high above her, to the point where Arin had to glance up in order to see things as a whole and not incomplete images. The ground consisted of old dust, particles swaying to and fro as the wind carried it in and then out form the city.

So, this must be place. The twin blade searched for a portal serving as an exit, for a dungeon, for any sign of life. She found none and concluded she had, indeed, arrived.

With nothing else to look at she started forward, and spotted a group of players she guessed was the group she had been informed of meeting. Sure enough as she approached, familiar faces came into view.

"I suppose this is where we're meeting."

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to say goodbye to James Tanren; loving father and husband. Let God no judge us by the sins we bear, but by the faith that we have. James was a man who followed…” Spark began block out all sounds from his ears and his mind began to explode with various emotions.

He remembered the last day he spent with his father, only a few minutes in total at the most. The blood that slowly spread across the hard tiled floor and the large bullet wound in his father’s chest. He remembered it like a horrible scar that would never go away.

He had succeeded in completing his job, he had killed Magus; but not without sacrifices. Probably the only reason he was able to beat Magus was by the pure rage that bubbled up inside of him. He really did sometimes wonder, but the deed was done and no longer a concern to himself.

Several hours later, Spark slowly walked in through the door of his house. He was a lifeless doll, controlled only by the forces around him. He placed his suit coat on the coach and proceeded up the stairs. Spark’s mother tried to stop him, but she knew it would be best. She was no in any better emotional condition than he was.

Spark slowly took off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. He walked over to his computer and noticed that he had received a Flash Mail. He clicked the ‘OK’ button and began to read the message with little enthusiasm for its contents.

Spark lifted his finger to the power button on the monitor and clicked it off. He had been drained of all life, compassion, and goodness in him. He was truly a zombie in a sense.

Spark fell onto his bed and gazed up at the ceiling; not to fall asleep, but just take his mind out of this world. The bright ceiling lightly flickered slightly, creating a dark, shaded image up against the wall behind him. He tilted his head upward to look at the dark form on his wall. It almost resembled an evil creature that lurked in the shadows.

Why did this happen? Why did it have to happen to him of all people…Why not me instead? Spark slammed his face down into his pillow and began to cry out in agony over the loss of his father. He could not even think of one slightly good thing to salvage out of debris of destruction in his mind. He mind began to sink back to the last words he had with his father.

Spark awoke a few hours later, small droplets of tears still clinging from his eyes. He wiped them away with the top of his arm and got up from the bed. He then sat down at his computer and turned his monitor back on. He read through the message once again and thought about it. With little hesitation, he quickly got himself prepared.

Three golden rings slowly drifted to the ground at the entrance to Mac Anu, releasing Savior X onto the familiar streets. He slowly proceeded down through the crowds, focusing straightforward and at no one else. His body may have been there in the town, but his mind was up in the clouds.

He finally reached the Chaos Gate and Spark selected the Theta Server. He was then transported to Dun Loreing. Once he got there though, he did not waste any time on his new scenery.

Spark searched through the menu for the keywords and selected them. If I can’t escape from this area, then at least I’ll be able to escape reality forever… “Theta, Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel.” Three golden rings descended down and swiftly transported the avatar to the unknown field.

Savior X stared around at this bizarre new area, but showed no real interest in it. Coping with other problems had taken away all energy from him to show any emotions what to ever. The buildings were designed like a Medieval Village; thatched roofs, small cottages, wooden linings, and even stone walls. It seemed as though he had almost gone back in time.

Savior X began to look around for his comrades and noticed a small group of people gathering. He slowly walked over to them, hands in his pockets and head cocked forward. He noticed Hacorie there in the center of the group. He knew of the FX and a little bit about Hacorie himself. Apprently, the FX and the SB were / are brother clans.

He also noticed Senna and Arin, as well as two other people he did not know. He slowly blended himself into the crowd until he got up to Hacorie. He lightly tapped him up on the shoulder and spoke to him with his head facing down somewhat. “Hey Hacorie, the name's Savior X."

“Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.” the voice of a male Long Arm said.

“Well, aren’t you sweet? But sorry, I’m not interested.” A soft female voice said. It came from a Heavy Blade.

The Long Arm walked away, with his head bowed down in shame. The Heavy Blade sighed. The person was quite stunning really. The Heavy Blade wore a Little School Girl’s Outfit. It was a rare costume item. Didn’t really help out the player in any way, but it looked surprisingly cute. The item had two parts. One was the top part, a white blouse. It curved around the Heavy Blade’s body. It moved all the down to the waist of that same person. It tucked into the second part of the costume item; the skirt. The skirt was a dark blue color, sort of like a river when the sun was about to set. It ran down to about the knee caps of the player. After all, CC Corp didn’t want this to become an adult game, though with the release of this item, it seemed that they might be heading slightly that way... Moving back up, long red hair flew freely in the wind. The player’s hand came up to it, and moved it aside from the player’s face, only to reveal a small metallic strip that ran from the glasses to her ear, supporting the two pieces of glass within the middle of the Heavy Blade’s face. The Heavy Blade used the other hand, and moved the glasses up a bit, covering up blue-green eyes. The person didn’t seem to be carrying any weapons.

The Heavy Blade looked up at the sky for a second, watching the clouds roll slowly along, almost as if currents of waves washed over it, pushing the clouds towards their next destination. I want to stop this acting... it’s just so... not me. The thought crossed the Heavy Blade’s mind. Even though the Heavy Blade looked surprisingly like a female, he wasn’t. He was a... he. Aqua Blade Slicer, Sword Wielding Swordbreaker. Member of the clan anyway, he just added that title out of no apparent reason. Suddenly a Heavy Axe came. “Oh fair one, please go on a quest with this lowly one.” Slicer would have bursted out laughing, but she didn’t have time. Suddenly, a Flash-Mail came.

Thank you kiwi! You really are Kami! Slicer thought, as he looked at down at the Heavy Axe. He smiled his sincerest smile and said, “Sorry, but I’ve gotta go now. Maybe next time.” Slicer quickly jumped off the crates he was standing on, hair flowing in the wind and skirt moving as the wind touched it. She landed softly, one knee touching the stone floor underneath, and both hands touching down beside it. Suddenly, she lifted up her arms and straightened her legs, and started running for the Chaos Gate.

As she rushed towards the teleporting device, she notice many other players, mostly males, stare at him. He smiled a bit, thinking about what would happen if they found out that his character was actually a male.

It would indeed be odd for someone like Slicer to pull off such a great cover/makeover. Who did he owe this too? Well, lots of people really. First and foremost was Kiwi. He had lent Slicer this awesome Little School Girl’s Uniform. Sure, there were some odd points between the transaction, but it was still nice of him to lend these rare items to Slicer. Next, there was the system administrator. Slicer had requested for a pair of glasses to be used whenever, and after telling them the situation, they agreed. The next thanks would have to go to Saphyre. Sure, she didn’t know how useful the wigs would be, but he would still have to thank her. Sure, they were 1 Health Drink, 100GP each, but that wasn’t much, and Slicer could easily get all the money back when needed. The last thanks had to go to himself. He had spent some money on a voice transformer. It wasn’t exactly the best thing ever made, but it was quite useful. It only had a few settings, but luckily, one of them was perfect for what Slicer was doing. The cute, anime sounding voice was awesome...

His dash slowly came to a stop, when he saw the Chaos Gate. It was an odd design. Blue liquid seemed to be formed within the Golden circled that formed around the liquid. It slowly spun clockwise, moving around and around. It could confuse someone if they stared at it too long; Slicer had tried before from the rooftop...

“Theta Server!” Slicer shouted. Three golden rings formed around Slicer’s body, engulfing him, and slowly separating his data into smaller and smaller pieces, before finally, his entire body disappeared.

A few seconds later, the data began to form again. This time, it was in the Theta Server, somewhere Slicer had never been to before. As his data was reformed, he looked at his surroundings. They were awe inspiring. A small pool of water circled around the Chaos Gate, leaving only one exit. Large mountains could se seen in the horizon. The loomed above clouds it seemed, and the server itself was in a cloud. Slicer looked down, to see a white abyss, covered by fluffy clouds, giving no view of the world underneath. Blue walkways seemed to be here and there. Slicer moved forward to see a couple pieces of wood, lined up across pits to keep anyone from falling in, yet there didn’t seem to be anything to keep them from falling off the sides. A couple people seemed to run to and from someplace. They were all quite powerful to be able to come here, what with the level 15 limit. Well, I better go help this... Hacorie was it? Slicer wondered, before turning around. Oh wait... wasn’t there something about not being able to gate out? Couldn’t someone just pull the plug?” Shrugging off the random thought, he shouted out the passwords to the Chaos Gate. “Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel!” Soon enough, the three rings fell upon Slicer again, breaking down his character data and reassembling it at the desired location.

As he reappeared, he noticed something he would never expect on a field. It was a town... A well was at the center of the entire place, almost like a centerpiece of the town. Maybe it held some sort of value... Slicer had appeared where the handle of the bucket was. He looked around at his surroundings and hopefully, he would be able to find someone here that he knew.

A spinning windmill could be seen on one side. A tunnel, sort of like the entrance to a dungeon in a wood element field, seemed to go into the windmill.

On the opposite side of the windmill, a massive oak building could be seen. It seemed like it was from an old design, yet it stood over almost everything else. White paint sticks to the side of the building. The roof was green, except for one part, where a large tower stood out. Windows seemed to be lined across the walls of the building. There was a sign above the doorway, indicating that it was some sort of library.

Infront of Slicer, a building was seen. It seemed as tall as the one next to the windmill. There seemed to be many places within the entire place. It could have been bigger than it first appeared, by the looks of it. It’s roof was red, and above the door, another sign was hung. It pointed this place to be an Inn.

Behind Slicer, another building stood. It was made of stones. Stain glass windows shown through the tops of the building, giving away the fact that it was a church of sorts, though Slicer had never heard of such a thing. The roof was gray instead of green upon this building, shielding it’s top from rain and other natural disasters, if there was such a thing within “The World.” At the left side of the church, there seemed to be a clock tower. It seemed that the time at this perticular place as of the moment was a bit past noon, though not by much.

Now... where should I begin... Slicer wondered, as he looked around for some people he knew.

The sound of descending golden rings is heard for any in the area: it’d he hard not to in the echoes created by the buildings set up in the old European manner. As the golden rings ascend once more and disappear, they leave behind a single Whipmistress covered in dark green cloak, her face shadowed by the cloak. A green tunic lies just beneath that, perfect for combat, though at the moment it seemed that no combat would be needed on the field, based on the flash mail she had earlier received.

With a sigh, she pats the new Rose Whip at her side, wondering how the whip would work out in combat, unlike her old, albeit level 9, trusted Ensui. It remained neatly rolled at her side, the Whipmistress taking careful, steady steps in order to glance around the town and take a quick look at all its splendor.

After some looking, she finally notices a small group of players standing and making small talk, likely introducing themselves. Based on the message that had been received, this mystery would involve the Fatal Exception and the Swordbreakers. Both names were familiar to Asura: Kiwi of the Swordbreakers had helped out on the Gelsen quest with items as well as on numerous other occasions. Also on the Gelsen quest, the Whipmistress had journey with the now rather rarely on leader of the Fatal Exception, System Slayer. It had been an interesting quest, though getting captured at the end by a false AI would have been no fun at all.

The Whipmistress strides over to the player in that small group identified as Hacorie, knowing him from second-hand information and the fact that his weapon was rather rare, not to mention high level, nor the fact that she had a minor memory of having met up with him in a duel that never really completed, compared to the other members of his group. With a grin, she walks over, looking at the lower level players who had seemed to be caught up in this and wondering what they would do in the end, having no option but to run away in the case of any large fight and let the higher level players deal with the combat. Asura had no intent of helping them if it put herself in danger, though she felt she would likely not have to worry about being in too much danger in a field like this.

The Whipmistress then notices that a good deal of other players seem to be walking around, chatting as if nothing was wrong, leading Asura to tilt her head in thought. As she thinks, she starts to take off the heavy cloth of her cloak, deciding that in open blue skies like this that it wasn’t entirely needed. She folds the cloth into a small, pillow-sized bundle and slips it into the bag at her side, the bag not seeming to grow at all despite the added load. She then continues her walk over to where the others gather, thinking of all the information gathered and wondering what could be the deal with such a mysterious town. From the information obtained, she personally thought it must have been an initially developed town that was scrapped. Perhaps a hacker or somebody had gotten hold of the data and switched some keywords to lead to it, likely with the intent of trapping players with this. That would mean the other players so calmly chatting were probably thinking it was a special event or something. That sounded like a plausible explanation for her. However, she throws it out of her mind: now that she was within the World, she learned to throw away what seemed plausible at times. She steps up to Hacorie, waving a bit as she nods her head to acknowledge each of the people in turn.

Suddenly, she sees her move, grinning as she slips forward with a show of speed, giving Hacorie a hug, while simultaneously taking a quick motion to poke the Moumo (though she doesn't let Hacorie see that) just to make sure the incredibly rare sword is real. She then takes a step back, grinning a bit as she smiles at Hacorie. "Long time no see! Except this time I'm here to help you!" She then grins and holds out her hand. "I think an acceptable cost for my expert help will be that rare sword though!"

Well... this is gonna be interesting.

I was happier than I had ever felt in my life before. Wren, the leader of the Vanguards of Twilight, had invited me to join the clan, so I happily accepted. He also told me of an upcoming quest that the VoT had been invited to, which also involved the Swordbreakers and the Fatal Exception, two other clans with high-leveled members. This quest would take me to the Theta Server, somewhere I had never been before, making me feel a little bit scared, but somewhat protected knowing I had some high-level players questing with me -- Asura, Hacorie, and KamaKazeKiwi3 among them.

I had just gotten a new weapon, temporarily from the VoT stocks, in lieu of my now higher level. I had a slightly used pair of Phantom Blades now at my disposal, although they probably wouldn't do much good against the stronger monsters of Theta. Well, I can always just stay back and cast my mediocre spells... although I doubt I'll need to. These players are insanely strong - compared to me at least. But at least I'm here.

I approached the Chaos Gate in Mac Anu, somewhat scared of what would be happening in Theta. "Theta Server!" I shouted, a touch of fear in my voice, for apparent reasons. Although I was unaware of it, I was shaking a little bit. God I'm nervous... what if I do something stupid in front of them? What if I say the wrong thing? I thought to myself. All sorts of nervous thoughts were going through my head at the moment. I can't screw up... that would be so embarassing, especially in front of everyone... hogeez, what have you gotten yourself into Tommy?

I gated into Theta, a city set in the midst of the clouds, simple plank bridges crossing from small island to small island. This is like a ghost town... there isn't anyone here. Was this all just a cruel joke? Tears started to well up in my eyes, as I thought that I had been tricked, tricked by the high-leveled players, as some sort of joke. I wiped my tears away, and started for the chaos gate, when I received a flashmail. It seemed it had been forwarded from Asura, one of my fellow members in the VoT.

Flashmail To: All of FX
Fwd to: Kiwi, Rhilla, Rico and Asura, Curia
From: Hac

Hey guys, I am trapped in a field. That is right, trapped. I went for a solo, and then I once i was teleported in, I was in a gigantic city. It seems there are many players here, but this is a little too spooky. It is almost like a city, except there is no Chaos gate to get out. Also, there is no dungeon. Something very mysterious is going on. I am going to investigate, of you would like to come then come.

To the FX part of this message:

Hey you all have grown strong, and if something is up here, I would like for you to assist me. I trust all of you, and with all of us together we can conquer anything.

To: Rhilla, Rico and Asura, and Curia

I have talked tou you all about questing with me before, so I thought this would be a good oppurtunity to explore something new.

To Kiwi:

As said above i need help. With our swords, and power I would be grateful if you came to help. I just do not feel like this is right.

Guys, if you come, be prepared for you cannot gate out. Well I will see you here. I will stay put until you arive or reply to this message.

Ps: I almost forgot...You got to know the field before you can find me. I am at Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel, Theta Server

~Hac

END FLASHMAIL

Well then.. Hac's trapped in a field. I guess everyone else went there already. Maybe it wasn't a joke after all... I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes, and walked up to the chaos gate. "Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel!"

I was transported into an empty town, save for a few players about 20 yards in the distance. That must be them... pull yourself together Tommy. You can't screw up... not now... I walked over to the group, and saw a female whipmistress giving a hug to a man with soft, blonde hair and blue eyes. Must be them... do NOT screw this up...

Hac gazed on as he leaned against a wall of the town. He waited and hoped to find some way to get out or find what the place was. All the players in the town seemed content and did not panic on the site they were stuck, if they even noticed. He then shifted his eyes to the hard brick ground that lay beneath his feet. “This place is different in some way. Besides the not being able to gate out part,” Hac said as he continued gazing at the ground. Hac then felt the wind blow against his face and cradle his hair out of place. Small spots that were on the ground then shifted their position as leaves on the trees fell off and landed at the Heavy Blade’s feet. A creaking sound then came form beside the trees and as Hac looked up, he saw a gigantic windmill slowly starting to turn itself.

This structure got the Heavy Blade questionable about where he was since he had only seen one of the Windmills in a grassland field like Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field. Hac slowly walked up to the high building and touched it to make sure it was real. It was. Turning back to where he was earlier, Hac saw that opposite of the Windmill was another building that had a sign above it. “A library in this place? Maybe it will have facts about where I am and the history of this place. Getting closer to the building, Hac stopped in his tracks as he heard the sound of someone logging in or out of the town. With a swift turn, he saw it was a Blademaster who was had come in.

Wanting to get to the library and do a little research, the Blademaster called out to Hac as he drew nearer. As his footsteps pounded into the ground behind him, Hac stopped and slowly turned around once again. “Hi Hacorie. I received your message. This field definitely proves to be on the strange side doesn’t it?” The Blademaster said as he looked up at the Heavy Blade. “You must be Elius. It is nice to meet you. Also, yes this field is strange, but an even more strange thing that gets me about it is that windmill, and the library I was about to head to. I think we need to go explore both to see what we can dig up about this place. Though, now that you have arrived, I think it would be safe to wait right here for the others because they cannot be too far behind you,” Hac said as he leaned back up against the wall which he was on earlier.

“Hey you! I don’t like this, I wish I knew where Ha-chan was . . . ” Said Mirelle the Long Arm who gated in soon after Elius did. She then stopped and looked at the Heavy Blade in front of the Blademaster Elius. Mirelle then ran up to the Heavy Blade and wrapped his arms around him and squeezed tightly with a hug. “I am glad to see you again, Mirelle,” Hac said as he hugged Mirelle back and then let her go as she stepped back. "Ha-chan, you made it. You done pretending to be somebody else... "Ice"? So, now what, oh fearless leader?" The Long Arm said as she gave a smirk toward the two other players. “Just waiting for everyone else to arrive.” Hac said as he looked at Mirelle.

Three golden rings then came again, and Hac watched as an unfamiliar Long Arm came into the field. She looked around and then walking with her lance next to her. She neared the players. The Heavy Blade stared into her eyes and saw them to be friendly looking. He then relaxed his body and as she got near she began to talk. "Excuse me, hope I'm not interrupting. I'm looking for someone named Hacorie?" “I am he... how may I help you. By you looking for me that must mean, either your in Add, FX, or SB. I can rule out FX, but not the others. But, Welcome.” Hac said as he stepped forward toward the Long Arm when he spoke.

Approaching behind Senna, the newly entered Long Arm, was a Twin blade. Hac made a small smirk toward the Twinblade as she made an approach toward the group. Let’s see, there is another, so that makes one Heavy Blade. One Twin Blade, two Long Arms, and a Blademaster. By the looks of them this will be a fun quest. Though, I cannot really call it a quest since we are fighting nothing, but maybe the Library is the key. We must go inside and search. “I suppose this is where we are meeting?” Asked the Twin Blade as she got nearer and nearer to the group. “That is right, and let me introduce myself. I am Hac of Fatal Exception. I was the one who called a few of you here, and I think Kiwi sent you SwordBreakers an invitation to join me. This is exactly what I need, though if we do not find a way out, we will be stuck here forever.” Hac said as he gazed into the eyes of the players.

“Hey Hacorie, the name’s Savior X,” Came a call from the crowd as a Twin Blade sort of forced his way through to the group. “Hi Savior, before I go into anymore explaining I think I should now wait since I do not need to be repeating myself time after time. That makes me tired haha.”Hac said to the Twin Blade as he held out his hand for a handshake. The Twin Blade shook the Heavy Blade’s hand and then stepped into the group. Just then a weird looking player Gated into the field. He was just . . . weird. Though rare items were not common in “The World”, Hac thought that this rare item on a male was quite disturbing, but he would have to deal with it if the Heavy Blade was on his team. As he Gated In, the player looked around as if looking for someone, or at the surroundings and then stopped. “If any of you know him, then tell him to come over here,” Hac said as he looked at the Player.

A familiar Face then gated in and soon spotted the group of players and whisked over near them. It looks like Asura, but the weapon is different, way different. I wonder if it is her or just someone with the same looks as her. I guess that will come to show in a minute. As she got closer, Asura burst out in tremendous speed around the Heavy Blade. Not that fast, but I will not let her know that for now, I think she is friendly since we are not dueling. Then, from behind the Heavy Blade, Asura, the Whipmistress, clings onto Hac with a hug like Mirelle gave. "Long time no see! Except this time I'm here to help you! I think an acceptable cost for my expert help will be that rare sword though!" Asura said as she held out her hand. Tell her to stop poking me. The Moumo said as its voice rang inside Hac’s mind. “Sorry Asura, I do not think Wren would be too happy if I gave it to you. As soon as he said that another Twin Blade walked closer to the group.

“Well I think that is all of us, so let us make an introduction to one another. I, am Hac. I am a Heavy Blade, and I want out of here. I am the co-leader of Fatal Exception also.” Hac said as he grinned at the people who entered.

(OOC: Everyone here so far let your next posts be an intro of you, clan, and just about you, and then state any ideas on getting out so we can start to move ^^)

Mirelle tried to perform a fancy-looking bow she had seen in a movie the night before, but she only succeeded in falling straight onto her face. "Owie," she maoned as she sat back up. Noticing the looks of amusement she was getting, the Long Arm scrambled back to her feet and blushed a furious red.

She rubbed the back of her head with one hand and grinned sheepishly. "Hey eyeryone," he said to the gathered players. "I'm Mirelle Tsurugu of Fatal Exception!" Smirking at Hacorie, Mirelle began nodding at everyone. "Please just call me Mirelle, k?" She suddenly walked over to Asura and studied the girl for several moments.

"...'Sura-chan? Is that you?"

Asura blinks a few times as it appears that the Moumo is Wren's, kicking at the dust on the ground with a bit of disappointment. The disappointment quickly fades away though into a bit of laughter at Mirelle's short, albeit funny, performance of an introduction. The funniest part had to be the bow, in which the Long Arm manages to fall flat on her face before getting up, her cheeks now noticeably red. After than introducing herself as Mirelle Tsurugu and a member of the Fatal Exception, she moves over and starts to study the Whipmistress, causing Asura to tilt her own head in confusion.

“…’Sura-chan? Is that you?” Mirelle asks with a bit of interest, causing Asura to assume it was likely time to make her introduction at this point. The Whipmistress makes a quick, flourished bow in order to draw attention to herself as she gives her introduction, grinning a bit over to Mirelle once the bow is finished, giving a quick, knowing nod.

“Well, for those who don’t know, I’m Asura… or Asura-chan or any of the other nicknames that have been given to me that I’m not aware of. I’m a member of the Avantgarden der Dammerung, a level 25 Whipmistress, and the premier rare item collector in the World!” With that, she shoots her hand down to her side to grab the Rose Whip at her side, quickly cracking the long, thorny stem of the rose whip in front of the approaching Slicer, shooting a quick glare at him. “And you… you have one of the rare item costumes that I can only assume Kiwi lent you. And I’m slightly disturbed by it. Anyways, my personal opinion on this area is that it was likely an area from Fragment that was deleted afterwards. A hacker likely brought this area to life, unfortunately trapping people inside. At least, that is the most obvious idea. I seem to think it is likely otherwise.”

Everyone was chatting normally about 20 yards off, in the middle of this ghost town that I had gated into. This is weird... why doesn't this place have a Chaos Gate? Oh well... might as well make the best out of a bad situation...

I walked up the group, who were chatting among themselves like nothing was going on. "Um... hi. I'm Kumori... newest member of the VoT. " I held out my hand, waiting, hoping, that they would accept me into their group.

[Bad opening... baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.... must drift far away...]

So... I’m completely lost now... Maybe I should have asked the people by the well place where I am and some stuff... Slicer thought, as he ran towards the windmill a bit, before heading back towards where he first got transported too.

As he walked the stone path towards the well, he noticed a couple players. They seemed to be normal enough. A pair of Twin Blades were chatting aimlessly about something. It sounded like a obstacle course in PE class. Slicer tuned them out, before catching another conversation. This one seemed more interesting. Something about killing ten goblins in one attack. Well, I could do that... given the right stuff... Slicer thought, grinning a bit, before getting close to his target.

As he got closer towards the group, he heard a voice. “Hey everyone, I’m Mirelle Tsurugu of Fatal Exception!” Wait a minute... Fatal Exception? Wasn’t that the group where that Hacorie guy is affiliated with? So, are these the people I was suppose to meet? Slicer wondered as he looked around. Next, a whipmaster made an introduction. It seemed that she was a rare item collector. And she even had a pretty hard class; whipmaster. Slicer had once known a whipmaster, but he didn’t seem to go on as much anymore. Suddenly, Asura pulled out her weapon, a rose whip, and lashed it out infront of Slicer, almost like a warning. “And you… you have one of the rare item costumes that I can only assume Kiwi lent you. And I’m slightly disturbed by it.”

Slicer was a bit surprised. There were some other words said, but he didn't really listen to it. Slicer had known that Kiwi had quite a couple costume items, but had never known that they were suppose to belong to this character. Slicer quickly looked up at Asura, and told her, “I’m sorry, but I think you’re mistaking me for someone else. I’m not this Slicer character you speak of. My name is Cynthia. I got this item from a dear friend of mine, who was also an item collector. His collection never got that big, but he had always decided to hang onto these pieces. One day, he decided to go on a vacation, and he’s letting me borrow the School Girl’s Uniform. He thinks it’ll fit quite well on me, and I think he’s right.” As he finished his speech, Slicer smiled at Asura, not showing any teeth, before turning towards the rest of the group to hear another person make a speech. “"Um... hi. I'm Kumori... newest member of the VoT.” The person seemed to be a Twin Blade, but Slicer couldn’t be a hundred percent sure, but he could had some confidence on his assumption. As he finished his speech, he held out his hand, hoping someone would accept it. Slicer had never been good with the whole hand shaking thing, so he acted like he didn’t see, trying not to be rude.

Slicer, noticing that no one else was going, took off the glasses, and said, “My name is Cynthia. I’m a Heavy Blade. My weapons in my inventory somewhere. I’ll get it out later. I’m a Swordbreaker. I just got accepted, so I don’t think anyone has even heard of me yet. I’m at level 10. And I hope I don’t make too many errors here.” With his closing statement, he closed both eyes, tilted his head a little towards his right, and smiled.

(OOC: Here’s a picture of what my character currently looks like.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/lug...Schoolgirl1.jpg
Just minus the school bag, eyes are blue, white blouse, and blue skirt... but... yeah. It's the same person :o And don't mind the shady guy standing to my right (your left)... And I just noticed. He looks exactly like Rayo... character description wise anyway. Blue pants and green cape thingy....

Oh, and if you somehow see Slicer in that, then you’re either blind as a bat or can see into the past/future... (for Slicer description, see profile))

Elius seemed to have a satisfied look since as Hacorie introduced his self to everyone. In truth, he was happy that the group wasn’t much bigger. The Blademaster knew that it had potential to grow bigger, but he just never really liked crowds. Somehow, introducing yourself seemed to make it less like a crowd regardless of how big it grew.

“I give my greetings to everyone. I am Elius, a Blademaster of Fatal Exception.” Elius looked around at the gathered group. He never really was great at introductions.

“Anyway, I’m as lost as everyone else is on what is going on, yet I am strangely not scared of being trapped here. I fear more for the consequences in other areas. I have encountered some strange areas before called data bubbles. They were an area where the virtual world and the real world had combined to some extend. That may be the reason why I’m not afraid, but I doubt this place is a data bubble. At least I hope its not. The ones I encountered in the past seemed to get their strength to remain stable from a relatively powerful data anomaly within it. One of such a size as this would take a very powerful creature to sustain it. Besides, the atmosphere tends to be denser within data bubbles. It is almost like walking in a liquid, especially when one nears the outer boundaries. Unless we are directly in the middle of what ever this is, I can rule that out. However, if data bubbles can connect virtual to reality, they may be a way out if we can find one. It is unlikely that a data bubble would exist here, though. Another thing we might want to consider is that, if the well is dry, we may want to see what is down there. As far as I know, there may be an entire city under this one. Regarding how this got here, I doubt it is by chance. It looks like it was designed. The question is who made this. It could have been an AI, some other virtual anomaly, or maybe a hacker. I myself tend to have bad luck with AIs.”

Senna watched with interest as the introductions went around the circle – like in a class at school, she thought wryly. Hacorie’s (Hac, as he introduced himself) greeting had been fair-spoken enough, and he seemed, from his interaction with those he knew and those he didn’t, to be a good person. That assuaged some of her worries about coming to this place. If they truly couldn’t get out of this field, she’d have hated for it to be at the request of a jerk.

She tried not to, but it was hard to refrain from judging these people as they spoke. First impressions left indelible marks. Mirelle reminded her of Amber, but with far more sugar and caffeine in her system than she remembered Amber ever having. Asura… well, Senna couldn’t pretend to like the whipmistress off the bat, though the woman’s class certainly intrigued her…

The heavy blade (her name, she said, was Cynthia) spoke next. Senna stared hard at her as she introduced herself and went on in great length about how she claimed to have gotten the outfit. She also said she was a swordbreaker.

Then Kumori gave his introduction. He kept it short, which she appreciated. She nodded a greeting to him, and gave him a smile. She felt like that too – first quest with fellow SwordBreakers, say ya true.

Elius, going after Kumori, did not keep it short. Mostly she let his speech wash over her, just listening enough to get the gist. Once he completed his talk, she let the silence settle for a second, then leaned on her lance and gave the group as a whole a nod.

“I’m Senna, from the SwordBreakers,” she said. “Brought here by… curiosity and an intriguing flash mail. And I admit to being curious about what’s in those.” She released the lance with one hand to gesture at the buildings, most prominently the enormous one.

EDITED to correct factual error :)

Asura nods her head as she listens to the various speeches that are given, taking in all the information and carefully calculating it for the various ideas behind the origins of the strange buildings. The data bubble idea seemed likely, however this seemed more like a scrapped root town then anywhere ripped out of current reality. From what it looked like, it was old Europe: Europe now was very technological and something of this size sent back a few hundred years probably wouldn't still be around at this point. Certainly not after the severals wars that engulfed Europe in that time period. So that likely ruled out the idea of a data bubble: however it was something that she would have to look into in the future. The idea that reality and the virtual could merge was something that would be closesly related to the other trapped players.

The Whipmistress rolls back up her whip and puts it to her side again, keeping a careful eye on the person wearing the schoolgirl outfit. The person said that she had gotten it from somebody else, but there weren’t many other players in The World that had collected a rare item like that: she doubted any would freely give them away, or even loan them in cases. Only that bird-brained Kiwi would do something like that: he seemed to have a Santa Claus complex that baffled Asura at times. With a sigh, she looks over the field again, wondering what to do at this point now that all the players were trapped in the field at the moment, meaning there was no turning back from this point.

With a sigh, she waits for more introductions, grinning a bit as she pulls out a small bag of candy corn and nibbling at a few pieces. The idea for a bag of candy corn within the World had been somebody elses, but it was an easy matter to get a programmer to program in an item into the World for a small fee. In many cases, people had been bringing everything from sake to white cherry wine into the room. She remembered that back at the final match of the World Invitational Tournament that Kiwi had managed to program in a hot dog of all things. With a grin, she resumes eating her candy corn at the thought, soaking in the information of the surroundings as she slowly intakes the sugary sweet into her system.

"Okay. Since I'm fairly sure that no area such as this exists in the real world, we can probably rule out the idea of a data bubble. And while this might be some hacker's work, I think they would be gloating about it at this point. Any other ideas?"

Elius listened to Asura’s reasoning. He already thought that this wasn’t a data bubble, and Asura’s words reinforced this. However, as intricate shadows danced about the town-like area, another thought seemed to take form within the inner workings of his mind.

The Blademaster drew his executioner, examining the edge of its blade. It glistened in the ever-changing lighting as high altitude clouds shifted in the stratosphere. Elius swung his blade in a low arc, carefully to not dull the edge. A single slit in the regular pattern of the brick floor proved to be the result.

“This area doesn’t seem that different from a regular field with the exception of monsters. Then again, maybe there are monsters here.” He said with a thought full expression. “If this isn’t the work of a hacker, perhaps it’s the work of an AI or false AI. By false AI, I mean one that wasn’t made by people. I have heard of some that originated from another world – more like another dimension to tell the truth. It is my guess that that group is more digitally based in make-up when compared to beings from our world. To such life forms, this game may serve as a gateway between two different dimensions. A gateway where they may remain unchecked since the government would never acknowledge they exist as long as they remain here.”

Elius paced back and forth a few times, sheathing his Executioner. “If such an AI is working on something from the inside, this place may be their doing. Furthermore, we wouldn’t have seen them since this place would quite literally be a lock to keep players out of a second field. That would also lead to the conclusion that this place may have guardian creatures set up as a defense. All the crowds of players here are painfully obvious. They may not be as they seem and instead prove to be a type of camouflaged defense for this area. I have no way to know if they are real players or not, but none of them seem to mind being trapped here. As far as I know, they might attack us as soon as we try something.”

((OOC: ~Nooootttteeeee~ I have been on a bus for about... twenty-five hours. I'm still tired, so this isn't the best post of mine. Plus, remember I haven't been doing any writting for awhile... so this quest'll probably be like... a thing to get back in to the swing of things 'n such.))

Andrea lay in the bouncing bus which rocked vigorously back and fourth as it made its way home. Andrea had been gone all day Saturday for a band competition, and it had been very draining. She lay in the back of the bus, lying on B.K.’s chest. Of all the tuba players in band, B.K. did seem to be the sanest one of all. Quiet at times, and yet he could hold a fun conversation for hours on ends. He seemed to be a small paradox, but that didn’t keep Andrea away from him.

B.K. nudged Andrea a bit, and muttered, “Look up two rows ahead of us…” Andrea sighed, and sat up. She stood up a bit, her head resting on the ceiling, and in the distance she saw her big brother, Garrett, and Kelli. They laid long ways on the two seats, Kelli on top of Garrett, with his neck crammed against the window. She seemed to be rather content and happy, but Garrett looking very uncomfortable. Andrea giggled a bit, and sat back down. “Jeez, they should get a room already…” She said.

The rest of the bus ride seemed to drag on and on, until eventually they reached the school. Andrea and B.K. jumped out of their seats with their things, and tried to get to the front of the bus before the other band people could get up. They made it relatively close to the front before the others managed to get up. After a few minutes of waiting they hopped out of the bus and started up towards the band hall. They walked through the darkened pathways of the massive school, until they finally reached the band hall. They left their uniforms with the Quartermasters, even though the four of them were Quartermistrisses.

Andrea and B.K. found themselves at the road with the others waiting for their parents. The couple walked to the back of the parking lot and threw their bags in the bed of his truck. The man, very kindly, opened the passenger door for her, and she climbed in. He hopped in the driver’s seat and Andrea dozed off before he could even turn on the engine. “Andrea, get up. We’re here…” She very droopily woke up and clambered out of the car. “Thanks for the ride home…” she said. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She ran in to the house and waved good bye to the driving off B.K.

Andrea clambered up in to her room, and dropped all of her things down at the foot of her door. As she walked to her bed, a message on her computer caught her eye. A window flashed on the screen of her computer, a Flashmail from The World.

Flashmail To: All of FX
Fwd to: Kiwi, Rhilla, Rico and Asura, Curia
From: Hac

Hey guys, I am trapped in a field. That is right, trapped. I went for a solo, and then I once i was teleported in, I was in a gigantic city. It seems there are many players here, but this is a little too spooky. It is almost like a city, except there is no Chaos gate to get out. Also, there is no dungeon. Something very mysterious is going on. I am going to investigate, of you would like to come then come. The field is Theta: Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel.

~Hac

Trapped in a field…? That’s pretty farfetched… I better go to make sure this isn’t just some crappy hoax by morons… in which case some painful killing will have to occur.

Andrea sighed and plopped down in to her seat. She set her goggles over her head and her controller in her lap. She brought up the log in screen and readied to get in the game.

Name: Rhilla
Password: •••••••

Verifying password…

Welcome to The World!

Three golden rings fell over Rhilla’s body as she found herself back in the city of Mac Anu. She looked around to see a small amount of people casually speaking to each other. She brushed her left hand over her sword, dozing off a bit. She turned around and looked up to the Chaos Gate. “Theta server,” She muttered. Three golden rings fell over her body, and she soon found herself in the mystical Theta server. A solemn wind blew over the city, which stood thousands of feet above the normal ground.

Normally, she would go around exploring the Dun Loireig, but she being too tired she decided just to cut to the chase and go to the field. “Theta: Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel!” she yelled out. A third set of three rings fell over her body as she waited to find herself in a massive field.

She soon found herself in a massive city-like setting, with massive buildings towering above and around her. She wanders around the city a bit, until she comes across a group of players talking. Rhilla walked up to the group, and one player in particular took her eye. “Bullshit… that can’t be… Asura!?” Rhilla screamed. She ran over to the player, and looked at her from head to toe. “You’re a Whip Master now? Why?” Asura is SO not a good dominatrix.

She looked to the side and saw Hacorie standing in the middle of the group. Rhilla held out her hand to the player, and smiled, “Good seeing you once again, Hac. Hope you’re still not bitter about the tournament.” She said. She took out the Holy Cross from her belt, and stuck it on the ground in front of her and used it as a cane. “To all you who don’t know who I am, I’m Rhilla. What’s goin’ on now…?” She asked candidly.

Clasping the new-found locket in one hand, and the new darkness wand in the other, Curia reread the flashmail. Dropping the locket around his neck, he tucked it into his robes. Walking to the chaos gate in Mac Anu, the mage opened the gate menu and logged into Theta sever's Dun Loireag. Smirking at the total lack of all players, the wavemaster made plans to haunt this server more often. Looking around briefly, while letting the brisk winds chill him, Curia once more opened the gate menu. “Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel!” He called to the gate, as the trio of golden rings began to sweep him from the root town.

Opening his eyes upon the small town, the wavemaster immediately scanned it for anything hostile, or of interest. Tan bricks comprised the walkways of the strange town, and a Grey cobblestone well sat in the center of a large square, exactly where the Chaos gate should be, had this been a root town. Hearing the creaking of the rope in the well, Curia calmly nudged the bucket into the endless darkness. The long fall was silent, save for the light clatter of the bucket brushing the sides of the stone tunnel. Frowning as the rope snapped taught, before the bucket reached bottom, the mage turned from the well and continued to survey his surroundings.

The sunlight was pleasant in the light breeze of the square; covering broken smatterings of ground, where it had broken through the lush trees growing in scattered groups about the area. To the west, Curia noted a large building, housing a windmill. Opposing this, to the east, is a large, multi-faceted building comprised of plastered wood, and green tiled roofing. Marked by a huge sign, this building is titled "Globe Library." Moving a short distance to the north, he encountered a stone-work church. The large building peaked somewhere near two stories from the ground, with the slanted grey tiles meeting a large tower on the left side of the building. The clock tower failed to interest him, so Curia turned once more, this time to the south to witness a large room and board named "Mariam Inn."

Walking around for a bit, the wavemaster became bored and somewhat disaffected by the fact the town was encased in a large bowl-shaped crater. Small businesses dotted the small nooks and crannies behind the larger buildings, and even encompassed a smaller square that was led to by a small walkway. Eerily bustling, the town held many people, yet they all seemed to look in the opposite direction or to avoid walking near the mage at all. The eyes of the people seemed to wander from where they were going, out of the way just to avoid him.


The lack of a dungeon or any monsters seemed to bother him more than the fact he couldn't log out; the complacent weather doing nothing to excite him, but more boring him than anything. Thinking of ways to stay his attention, the mage moved once more to the east, and entered the Globe Library. The many large windows, and broad staircases did little to indicate the level of information held within. Frowning as he thumbed through book after book on meaningless information such as crop cycles and clock and windmill maintenance, the mage slammed the book closed - not even stirring the attention of any others - and proceeded to exit the large Library.

Allowing his black robes to billow around himself, Curia drew his hood up, hiding all his features save his golden, hourglass eyes. Walking quietly toward the growing group of players, Curia reread the flashmail one last time before discarding it.


*FLASHMAIL*

To: All of FX
Fwd to: Kiwi, Rhilla, Rico, Asura, and Curia
From: Hac

Hey guys, I am trapped in a field. That is right, trapped. I went for a solo, and then I once I was teleported in, I was in a gigantic city. It seems there are many players here, but this is a little too spooky. It is almost like a city, except there is no Chaos gate to get out. Also, there is no dungeon. Something very mysterious is going on. I am going to investigate, of you would like to come, then come.


I have talked to you about questing with me before, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to explore something new.

If you come, be prepared for you cannot gate out. Well I will see you here. I will stay put until you arrive or reply to this message.

I am at Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel, Theta Server

~Hac

*END FLASHMAIL*


Deleting the mail from his folder, Curia clicked the sharp point of his wand against the stones, and surveyed his avatar. His black robes now bore fine silver glyphs, sewn into the hews, and a small silken pouch on his back which contained his many wands. Clasping his hand around the newly acquired locket, he cleared his throat as he approached. Eyeing the group, Curia took a loose tally of the participants. A few members of his old clan were present, along with Hac, and a well known player named Asura, a loose assortment of others he didn’t recognize were also present. Seems Kiwi alerted the Swordbreakers.... Meeting eyes with Hac then Asura, Curia spoke softly. "Well, here we are....."

(OOC: Get ready for a very odd intro... the first paragraph gives one idea, and the second and third ones are supposed to surprise you a bit :P)

It was great, the feeling of pure bliss that carried one's soul forth to a new dimension of greatness. The speed of a roller coaster was something that begged to be ridden over and over again, some of them accelerating from nothing to one hundred miles per hour in under a second, others of them letting you rot your heart out as you look at the inevitable drop that is slowly creeping towards you torture you with the notion of zero-G motion that eventually turns into all out ecstatic fun as you are thrown through loops and turns. The roller coaster I was riding was flying through loops and turns, hitting boosters that sped the small carts that lay a top the tracks into jet aircraft.

"Time for lunch!" I heard a loud yell coming from behind me.

Of course, nothing too good can last forever, virtual or not, so I threw down the VR helmet that I had immersed myself in and spun the office chair I was sitting in, accelerating until I finally threw myself out of the chair and into a sprint as I leapt down the stairs to find a nice meal awaiting my devouring. It was only a few minutes before my stuffed body found itself back in the office chair, spinning with excess momentum until I finally came to a stop, my dizzy head searching for my VR-Helmet as my hands tried to get a grasp on it.

********************************************************************

Having uneasily strapped my helm to my head, I commenced with starting up 'The World', letting my mind rest from the intense spinning of the chair.

No sooner had the program started to vocalize the word 'World' that a triplet of beeps came from my VR-Helmet, startling me from such an instant noise. It even preceded that of the low rings that signalized the warping entrance into Mac Anu. Taking no time to open up my menu, I scanned over the sub-menus to find that I had new flashmail, having been forwarded from my Clan-Leader, Kiwi.

"Theta Server???" I was almost impulsed to yell it out loud, but quickly hushed my voice before I uttered even a single syllable. "Trapped in a field... Hrmph... And what would searching a field do? It's not like we can waltz into the inner programing core of the mainframe to correct a problem!" Solemnly thinking over the odd predicament of this fellow player, Hacorie, of whom I loosely knew (simply from reading over his BBS posts), I finally decided to go the 'what-the-heck' way and be done with it.

Turning towards the mysterious golden ring that floated in the air behind me, I decided not to warp into the Theta Root town, and instead made a straight order for a warp that was directed for the anomoly of a field.

Whispering out the command, "Theta: Bursting Fantasy Fallen Angel," All reality, or digital reality, seemed to rush past me in a flash of light as the golden rings of transportation engulfed me, the golden runes spinning in their own chaotic fashion. In a few mere moments, I was standing in a town, only, it wasn't a town. It was a field, and had I been a total newbie, I would have probably thought I had warped into Theta server's root town of Dun Loireig.

The town was quite actually the total opposite of the Theta Server root town. Instead of being in high mountains, a deep crater engulfed this field, and gray cobblestone covered the ground while pale buildings stood erect on the field's surface.

The bustling community had everyone moving from shops or shop owners tending to their wares in an endless digital game of stocking and selling.

Pulling up my black stealth suit, simply for the comforting feel and not for any futile purposes in this well lit area, I started to wander around, absent mindedly flipping my blades into all sorts of forms. My new Phantom Blades, which quite actually weren't new but from an old questing partner who seemed to have disappeared, seemed to have many more combinations of forms than my near archaic steel blades.

Everyone seemed to avoid me, a radius of a yard always seemed to be clear around my walking body, and even the occasional person who bumped into me seemed to glare with eyes that almost seemed to scream a death sentence every moment my eyes met with their's.

Finally seeing a few friendly faces ahead, I ran with relief as I left the uneasiness of the open streets and into an open area that held members of both Swordbreaker and Fatal Exception members. Both clans had answered to the call of Hacorie, I assumed. Moving forth, I casually listened until a short pause came from the group, when no one was speaking.

"I'm FireX of the swordbreakers..." I said to the FX clan members, giving a slight bow of the head. Turning to my fellow clan members, I hoped desperately to get the up to date info on what I have missed with this assemblance of probably the most unlikely mix of players. Out of all of them, I could only draw my eyes towards two people besides those of my clan. The infamous occasional PKer, Asura, and what looked to be a person in a school girl uniform. I knew that I knew this person from somewhere, but because of the rare item that this person possessed, I had no idea where to place him... or her???

(OOC: Yah... I mean... you are playing with a character who is being played by a something or another with a school girl uniform and I am getting all too confused oh what the heck.)

Everyone had welcomed me, with open arms, as one of them. After I finished my introduction, Senna, a female Long Arm, gave me a short wink. Must not be a fan of introductions... I agree. This is a bit like school. I can't blame her. Everyone resumed chat normally, Asura and Elius discussing Data Bubbles, everyone else chatting normally. Better not join Asura's conversation... I don't even know what a data bubble is, let alone know how they work and the like... Senna then pointed at some of the buildings in the distance with her lance, with an intrigued look on her face. Well... always worth a try... I walked over to her.

"Hi. I'm Kumori, as you may have already noticed. Your Senna, right?"
"You assumed right. I'm Senna, Lady Longarm of the Swordbreakers."
"Hey, those big buildings over there look interesting... wanna go check 'em out?"
"Sure, why not? Couldn't hurt."

Senna and I walked over to the large building in the distance, a library of sorts. I walked in, and pushed on the door, which opened easily. I fell flat on my face, on the library floor, and Senna laughed a little. "I feel like Mirelle... well, I'm going in. You coming?" I said, and lauged a little. Why did that happen... hogeez... I walked in, and my eyes amazed me. Rows upon rows, shelves upon shelves, of books, large and small. God... there must be a hundred thousand books here... "I'll be in the row over to the left. Call me if you need me, ok?" I said to Senna, and walked off, veering left and into a row, disappearing from view.

I walked for a little while, until I passed a particular book that caught my eye. "History of the Guardians..." I muttered quietly. History of the Guardians? What the hell is that? Guess it can't hurt to look... I went over, and pulled the somewhat large volume out of the dusty shelf, and sat down on the floor, crossing my legs and opening the volume, plopping in onto my lap.

I turned a couple of pages to the table of contents, a list of names filling the page.

1. Introduction
2. Brahma the Creator
3. Vishnu the Protector
4. Laxmi the Provider
5. Shiva the Powerful
6. Parvati, Consort of Shiva
7. Saraswati the Wise Teacher

The list continued on, for another page, at least thirty names gracing the pages. These are all Hindu Gods... what the? Who, or what, are these "Guardians"? I need to find out more... I guess I'll be staying here for a while... it's not like I don't have the time. We are stuck here after all.

[Sorry If I God-modded you a bit Senna... -sigh-

I'm only level 3 for a reason :lol: ]

(OOC: Fire X...Kiwi is not here yet, also this is my placeholder for the quest so ill edit this when i get my post together)

"Hey everyone. I'm Mirelle Tsurugu of Fatal Exception! Please just call me Mirelle, k?"
Hac then made a small smirk at Mirelle as she made her introduction to everyone without actually embarrassing herself this time. The Heavy blade then widened his smirk to a full-fledged smile and shook his head up and down showing Mirelle that she did okay and had nothing to worry about. As soon as he nodded at her though, Asura interrupted as if wanting the most attention.

“Well, for those who don’t know, I’m Asura… or Asura-chan or any of the other nicknames that have been given to me that I’m not aware of. I’m a member of the Avantgarden der Dammerung, a level 25 Whipmistress, and the premier rare item collector in the World!” Short, simple, and to the point. At least she did not make some long speech saying how she is the best. I am still wondering why she changed classes. Asura was one of the strongest Blademasters I knew, but maybe this will be the best of it. We do not need too many sword wielders if monsters attack. Hac thought as he stared at the Whipmistress.

"Um . . . hi. I'm Kumori . . . newest member of the VoT. " As this one spoke, Hac said something after him. "I am glad to see you Vanguards answered my call. All of our inter clan relations need to be increased to the maximum so no fights break out between us. So I just want to thank everyone ahead of time for coming." Hac said as he looked around at everyone and then waited to see who would speak up next and introduce themselves.

"My name is Cynthia. I’m a Heavy Blade. My weapons in my inventory somewhere. I’ll get it out later. I’m a Swordbreaker. I just got accepted, so I don’t think anyone has even heard of me yet. I’m at level 10. And I hope I don’t make too many errors here.” This one still scare me for some reason, but if from the Swordbreakers then she/he is a valuable asset to this team. So adds to the number of Heavy Blades here.

“I give my greetings to everyone. I am Elius, a Blademaster of Fatal Exception.” Elius looked around at the gathered group. He never really was great at introductions. Anyway, I’m as lost as everyone else is on what is going on, yet I am strangely not scared of being trapped here. I fear more for the consequences in other areas. I have encountered some strange areas before called data bubbles. They were an area where the virtual world and the real world had combined to some extend. That may be the reason why I’m not afraid, but I doubt this place is a data bubble. At least I hope its not. The ones I encountered in the past seemed to get their strength to remain stable from a relatively powerful data anomaly within it. One of such a size as this would take a very powerful creature to sustain it. Besides, the atmosphere tends to be denser within data bubbles. It is almost like walking in a liquid, especially when one nears the outer boundaries. Unless we are directly in the middle of what ever, this is, I can rule that out. However, if data bubbles can connect virtual to reality, they may be a way out if we can find one. It is unlikely that a data bubble would exist here, though. Another thing we might want to consider is that, if the well is dry, we may want to see what is down there. As far as I know, there may be an entire city under this one. Regarding how this got here, I doubt it is by chance. It looks like it was designed. The question is who made this. It could have been an AI, some other virtual anomaly, or maybe a hacker. I myself tend to have bad luck with AIs.”

Hac's jaw dropped for a slight second as he tried to comprehend everything as fast as Elius was saying it. Hac understood every bit of what he was taking about, but the words Elius used were just so gigantic that it took Hac a minute or two after his speech to comprehend it all. After Hac got it all in his mind he made a small clap and looked at Elius.

“I’m Senna, from the SwordBreakers,” she said. “Brought here by… curiosity and an intriguing flash mail. And I admit to being curious about what’s in those.” Another from the Swordbreakers. It seems more of them answered my call then the FXers, but my clan could be somewhere else doing something else right now. I am glad though at least two came to my aid. Thank you Mirelle, you are a very loyal person to me, and I am glad you are a part of this clan. Also Thank you Elius. Even though I do not know you that well. I am glad you answered my call Hac thought as he looked back at Mirelle and gave a brief smile and then turned back around.

Elius and Asura then conversed about their views on what the field was and why no one could log out. Hac slowly popped out an answer. "What if it is a hacker. I mean an AI maybe, but I met a hacker once who had the ability to erase ones memory in the real world and game world, and then program them both on whatever he wants. It was very mysterious, and it was also weird at the same time. " Hac's conversation with the two was then interrupted by the sound of three more sets of golden rings appearing in the field.

As they set on the ground, a dog player and two other characters entered. The dog quickly rushed up and introduced herself as Rhilla. Hac knew right off the bat who she was, but soon she held out her hand toward the heavy Blade. Hac quickly took her hand and then pulled Rhilla in closer and gave her a hug. As he let her go, Rhilla stepped back and withdrew her Holy Cross and sat it on the ground using it to balance herself up. "I have something like that too." Hac said as he took the Moumo off his back sheath and held it like Rhilla was holding hers. He then gave her a smirk and spoke again. "I have nothing to be bitter about Rhilla. Let us keep the past, in the past."

A Wavemaster of old then came up behind her and just said a few words. Another, who soon introduced himself as Fire X said a few words and then stopped.

Soon after they entered, Hac watched as Senna and Kumori talked a bit and then headed off toward the Library building. "You two, send a Flashmail or call if you need anything or if something happens. I do not want us all getting lost so let us try and stay near each other." Hac said as he watched them shake their heads and then enter the building.

(OOC: Okay i really was braindead for this post so its just a recap really, nothing new but my thoughts. My next one will be better ^_^)

Out from the crowd of people into which Elius collided at the beginning comes a woman not to pleased with his treatment of her. The others involved choose to divert their gaze and continue speaking to each other. An accidental occurence to them while they walk on to their works. A grumble escapes her tossed violet hair as the girl passes one light-toned hand over her face and shifts rogue strands out of her vision. A five and a half footer with a mean spirit when it comes to men pushing her aside without proper reason. She steps up to Elius with a determined blue eyes and lets her hand do the talking for her. Within moment, she gives the Blademaster a rude shove and stands there awaiting his reaction. The wind causes her brown coat to shift a bit over her white tank top. Her pants are cut off abruptly at the knees and colored the same as her coat, while her feet are fitted into short white boots.

"What the hell was that for!? You visitors should watch your step here. The festival is approaching and we're all so busy with our chores that we have no time to be distracted by you. I swear... I guess the other towns don't teach people common sense," Sophie then says. She lowers her hands to her hips and utters a humph at the group. Her fingers are near but not interracting with the sword held to her hip in a plain scabbard. It is not possible for the weapon she has to be discerned at the moment.

Even as Elius, Hacorie, and Asura discuss the possibilities of what the field could be, more players start to gate in. The Heavy Blade Rhilla gates in, holding a Holy Cross she uses to rest much like a cross, at least after questioning with what seems to be aghast horror at Asura’s latest class change, which Asura answers with a simple, “Yes… yes… more important matters to be dealing with.” Rhilla is followed by a player called Fire X who, after a few short words, moves in with the rest of the group, not talking nearly as much as the three trying to figure out what this field might be. Kumori and Senna wander off towards a library, Hacorie yelling at them to flash mail if they find anything interesting or need help.

Suddenly, a villager comes out of the crowd that had been pushed to the side by Elius, a sword using girl who seems rather angry at the Blademaster. She rudely goes up and pushes Elius, shooting a glare at him and the rest of the group that had gathered together. "What the hell was that for!? You visitors should watch your step here. The festival is approaching and we're all so busy with our chores that we have no time to be distracted by you. I swear... I guess the other towns don't teach people common sense," the apparent villager starts to scold the party as other villagers look on, likely holding in chuckles at the anger.

Before anyone in the group does anything to what appears to be a villager program, she quickly pushes herself between Elius and the villager, grinning a bit as she raises her hands up in order to show the villager and the group that they didn’t need to start a fight, glancing over her shoulder at the rest of the group in order to see what they their initial reactions of the villager were. Asura quickly snaps her head back around, offering a hand to the villager, who appears to be a sword wielder, grinning a bit as she keeps a large smile on her face in order to at least attempt to establish good relations after the trouble Elius apparently caused. She shakes the villager’s hand before the sword user can pull away, thinking of questions to ask.

“Excuse me… Miss. We seem to be lost in this area and we’re not entirely sure where we are. Could you possibly give us some information? We don’t mean to interrupt any festival preparations or anything, but this land is rather foreign to us and we’re not sure what it is.” Before even waiting for an answer, Asura spins on the heel of her boots to walk back over to the rest of the group, addressing them more directly then she had the villager. The question on the tip of her tongue slips out quickly, not as quite as she would have hoped, but still likely not heard by the villager.

”Herein lies the question people… we appear to be in a village in which the other people think is an actual village. That brings up one solution to our all important question of ‘where are we?’ It could very well be that we’re in a village that was initially scrapped but was prepared for special events and all the people in this village are AI programs. Or, on the other hand, this person might NOT be an AI program and could be a real person, except tricked in some form into acting like this. Or the person could be a hacker who is prepared to kill us at any moment if we make a false move. There is actually a lot of possibilities here we must wonder.” Even as she goes over the newly acquired information in her head, lots of solutions are now coming up, none of which seem particularly pleasing for the results of which. It would take more time and more information in order to find out more about this village and it would be rather nice to have infinite time to gather that information. However, a gut feeling said that there wouldn’t be much time to deal with at all.

Senna was half paying attention to what was going on – useless speculation, frustrating and stupid in her opinion. If you want to figure out what’s going on in a place you don’t just stand around and throw out useless suggestions when you’ve done no research. Data bubbles, AI… it seemed like a whole lot of jumping to some very extreme conclusions. Who’s to say this wasn’t just some incomplete area that got inadvertently connected to the keywords?

She was looking around, squinting at some of the signs and watching the round-and-round of the windmill when she noticed someone approaching. Glancing over, she saw the add twin blade… Kumori was it? She offered him a half-smile as he approached.

"Hi. I'm Kumori, as you may have already noticed. You’re Senna, right?"

She nodded and said, "You assumed right. I'm Senna, Lady Longarm of the Swordbreakers." He remembered her name as well. A small thing, but two check marks on the right side of the page for Kumori.

"Hey,” he said, “those big buildings over there look interesting... wanna go check 'em out?"

You read my mind, she thought wryly. Or at least my gestures. But all she said was, "Sure, why not? Couldn't hurt."

She didn’t even try to feign disappointment at leaving the group. All those people made her edgy anyway. Never a social creature, she found groups to be a little too easy to make an irreparable fool of yourself in.

As they walked away, she heard Hac call after them, "You two, send a Flashmail or call if you need anything or if something happens. I do not want us all getting lost so let us try and stay near each other."

She didn’t stop walking, but did turn around and offer a wave to Hac, to let him know his words were heard and understood. Then she turned her attention back to the building. The sign on the front declared it a library. So people will come into a game to read books? Seems a little twisted to me, she thought as they approached the doorway. Behind her, she heard sounds of a verbal spat, but didn’t pay attention. There were enough people in the square that they could take care of things, and if not, they’d call for help or send a flashmail, right?

Kumori reached the door first and pushed it open… then seemed to trip over the door jamb. Senna tried to keep from laughing, but couldn’t keep a little chuckle from escaping. It had been so unexpected and, much as she might try to deny it, amusing to see people trip as long as they weren’t hurt.

"I feel like Mirelle...” he said as he got up and laughed a little. “Well, I'm going in. You coming?"

She didn’t answer him aloud, just nodded her agreement as she entered after him. But her eyes were soon drawn around the room. The English major in her, as well as the side that could tear through a medium-length book in two days, were equally in awe. It was the same feeling she got stepping into a well-run library or a huge bookstore.

"I'll be in the row over to the left,” Kumori said. “Call me if you need me, ok?” Again she nodded her agreement, mind still trying to encompass all of this… in a game? Still, Hac’s advice stuck with her and she moved in generally the same direction, browsing along shelves where she could keep an eye on the twin blade. She didn’t pull any books just yet, however. She ran a finger along the spines of the books, taking in the titles. They even had the rough-and-smooth feel of real books. But how strange, she thought again. How strange, in a game.

((OOC: just keeping myself alive. posting-wise :) ))

Eyeing the sword-wielding native with interest, Curia waited for the whipmaster Asura, to finish her short interjection before stepping forward. Allowing his golden eyes to run over the strange girl, he took in her every detail. Standing a half-head shorter than himself, this fiery swordwoman more than proved her toughness; shoving the player named Elius, she silenced the small gathering with her sharp words.
Brushing the deep violet hair from her flushed face, the woman stood, hand on her hip - resting on the hilt of her blade - waiting for a reply to her question. Her sparkling blue eyes seemed to flash dangerously as she clearly vented her anger over the rough handling she had received.

Looking over her attire, the mage couldn't help but smile: The avatar had obviously taken some careful planning to create, the matching brown coat and cut-off pants, offset by a white tank top and low-cut white boots accentuated all of her features without overly focusing on any specific one. Looking at the lightly tanned skin that comprised her arms and legs, Curia stepped forward with calm ease. Holding his Diabolical wand in his left hand, the wavemaster used his right to sweep his hood from over his head onto his shoulders and then to swiftly catch hold of the woman's free hand. Raising her knuckles to his lips, Curia looked up and met eyes with the mysterious woman. "Please excuse any rude jestures made by any of my fellow companions, some of them clearly don't understand the manners required in the presence of a fine lady such as yourself." The mage stated with a directed warmth in his voice, as he cast a sidelong glance at Elius. Smiling warmly at the look of startled confusion on the woman's face, Curia swiftly filled the silence as Asura made a statement to the group. "My name is Curia, and I am at your service, my dear woman. Might I ask but a single favor, the blessing of your name..." The weak smile that spread to the mouth of the young swordswoman, shone with approval. "Sophie, my name is Sophie....." Allowing her hand to fall from his, the mage bowed low before her and smiled as her eyes followed his golden iris'. Retreating a few feet, the mage spoke softly to the beautiful Sophie. "I humbly apologise for our intrusion upon your preparations. If you would but explain them to me, I might be able to help you recover any lost time and labor." Pausing for a moment, Curia continued. "This festival seems to be a big event, if the whole town is preparing for it. What exactly is this event to honor? Oh....excuse my bombardment of questions, it's just that I am unfamiliar with this place and am eager to learn as much as possible about your culture." The smile that had only just touched her lips previously now spread, somewhat larger, making the shade of pink in her cheeks even more becoming. The flushed red of anger had now become a blush of flattery. "Anything that you would ask of me shall be done for you, my lady." The mage stated, as Asura turned from the group of players. Sensing that Sophie was about to speak, the wavemaster pressed his lips into a warm smile and awaited the girl's reply.

Elius stood there, going over theory by theory. Just as he was about to reach the apex of his latest thoughts, the young Blademaster felt a swift shove, forcing him back to the present. A woman, standing two inches shorter then he, stood before him. Her expression seemed that of anger.

"What the hell was that for? You visitors should watch your step here. The festival is approaching and we're all so busy with our chores that we have no time to be distracted by you. I swear... I guess the other towns don't teach people common sense,” The enraged lady exclaimed.

For a second, Elius could do naught but stand, showing wide eyes of surprise. The event, which had unfolded, wasn’t entirely his doing but that of bad luck. He didn’t even like crowds. Why would he purposely gate in within the inner workings of a tightly packed crowd? He was still trying to forget that moment, but now that seemed all but impossible.

The next moment, Asura had managed to squeeze herself between the village lady and him. “Excuse me… Miss. We seem to be lost in this area and we’re not entirely sure where we are. Could you possibly give us some information? We don’t mean to interrupt any festival preparations or anything, but this land is rather foreign to us and we’re not sure what it is.” Asura quickly said to the villager.

As Asura finished the conversation she had begun, Curia stepped forward to talk to the villager his self. Elius noted from the look of things that this would be one long conversation. Still, it didn’t feel right to leave others mad at you without even an apology.

Seeing that there was no reason for a fight, the Blademaster waited for a pause in the conversation and then bowed deeply, showing great respect to the disgruntled villager.

“I am sorry to trouble thee, madam. It wasn’t my purpose, and I mean to convey no harm. It was a clumsy act that wasn’t meant to be. I am truly sorry for thy misfortune as I am for the misfortune of all involved in that incident. Please, forgive me for the trouble I have doth caused to thee and thy fellow villagers, madam.” Elius’s voice flowed smoothly through his short speech with a truthful and honorable tone, apologizing to the enraged lady. In his emerald green eyes, his sorrow shone clearly to be true.

The Blademaster then took a few steps back to leave Curia with the chance to talk to the villager named Sophie more directly.


OOC: I know this post isn't that long, but I couldn't think of much to post with what had already been posted in this event. Still, I felt as if I should post something in this event. The edit was to fix a few gramatical inconsistances :OOC

Mirelle looked from the strange Blademaster (who was rather naggy, it seemed) to Elius in utter confusion. Elius's language had thrown the Long Arm for a complete loop; all she could do was gape at him in surprise. "Sheesh, he sounds like he stepped right out of a Shakespeare play or something," she thought to herself. A slight grin came onto her face at the ridiculous notion.

Snapping rather abruptly back to reality, she decided that she was next in "Calm the Possible Crazy Person" game. She put on her most sunny grin and faced the woman Blademaster. Mirelle slung her spear over one shoulder and acted as though she understood exactly what was going on. "Forgive my companions, miss," she said warmly. "We're from a village far away and have never heard of your customs before." She sent the other (equally confused) players a look that said play along.

Mirelle then turned back to the strange player with an apologetic look on her face. "But we would be delighted to watch your festival." The Long Arm glances over her shoulder at the others. "Right, everyone?"

OOC: And here I go, trying to be the peacekeeper. ^_^; Heh.

Sophie senses her temper cooling for the few instants in which she awaits the reaction of Elius in pride. However, the sudden intervention that Asura causes in interjecting herself between the two people is sure enough to earn another blast of ire from her. The woman even goes as far as to take Sophie's hand away from her side without announcement or previous relation. She quickly attributes their assuming ways to foreign unbringings and tenses her grip. Her lips prepare to answer the questions Asura leaves when her eyes catch Asura turning her back to speak to the party. Growling, Sophie feels the thorough temptation to grab Asura at the back and thrust her back to attention. All the babbling of programs and hackers serves only to reinforce a stereotype of inconsiderate strangers with awkward dictions upon the party through her perspective. Her hand is poised to rush and give Asura a rude awakening when her grasp is caught in an intrepid approach from Curia. Blue eyes turning to him, she instinctively edges on tensing her arm and drawing back her hand from the mage. Yet her curiosity gets the best of her as she holds her breath and watches him kiss her hand with slight amazement. Swallowing while the words return to her, Sophie listens to his polite request for a name and gathers up enough sense to utter a redundant introduction. Her attitude shifts gears in an attempt to remain at least partially stern so that she does not appear easily pocketed. Dropping Asura into the grudge bin for later disposal, she regains her speech in moments and prepares to answer the vast questions the wizard has left her.

"The town is preparing for the Autumn Hope festival. Everyone meets at the central square the night after tomorrow to celebrate the coming of another autumn. Our trees change drastically on that night to brown and red shades. The six muses diligently practice their instruments for the festival night and the rest of the town prepares the square so that we can all gather. We also mean to hope that we can find a way out of our town someday," Sophie says. She makes no expression to suggest that her final sentence was in jest. It doesn't take more than a few instants for Elius to be upon her in apology as well. Sophie observes the person in silence for a moment as his words pass through her mind. Curia did a better job at convincing her to forget things but she still decides to let the incident with Elius slip as a way of perhaps seeming less belligerent. After all, she prefers a straight answer and less dependence upon elaborate wordings. The mention of her name as madam also manages to strike a nerve but fades quick before it can alter her reaction. Then comes Mirelle along with her own attempt to calm Sophie. The act is growing old and pointed to her so that she raises her eyebrow towards Mirelle. Sophie feels a certain degree of oddness at the third apology from its tone that depicts her implicitly as off her rocker. It is also too casual for her to believe when coming from a stranger.

"So, Curia..."

Meanwhile, Kumori and Senna spend their time in the innards of the Globe Library. The first floor is an extensive single room that loops around the central garden. Direct from the front door is the door leading into the central garden itself. The stairs between the different floors are located within a part of the building that protrudes only a few feet into the garden when compared to the rest of the circular wall. The stairs can be accessed through the side of the library center opposite from the door into the garden. The smooth floor of the first level shines from the reflections of constant flames encased in their glass along the walls. The spherical flames are made of spells instead of natural fire so that they provide a more dependable source of light from their lanterns. The bookshelves run along the donut building in divisions of various categories. They range from the mundane crop cycles and dictionaries to the more technical of mathematics and magic. A minute segment stores the unexpected: programming books. A small distance from the side of the entrance is a half-circle desk placed against the wall with space for a few people and a chair.

Honey gold eyes follow Kumori as the steps come near to him and cease to his side. A woman stands near him at five feet and seven inches tall with snow strands flowing back from her head into a ponytail. She reaches up with her milky hand to adjust her gentle spectacles made small. She wears a white robe of buttons tight with the first top ones loosened to an extent that gives her room to breath and better illustrate her features. The sleeves of the robe end loose at her wrists. The buttons cease at the length of a common shirt but the cloth continues down her body to her thighs, widening somewhat to relate to a skirt. That suggestive fusion of a shirt and skirt also means she wears no pants.

"Is there something in particular that interests you," asks the librarian. The first level of the library is the only place accesible to visitors. An intriguing door blocks the stairs leading into the higher levels. Quite a solid monolith with a smooth surface as the touch of glass. Intricate little symbols are carved along the golden restraint to serve as clues of a puzzle.

Slicer looked around watching and listening to the players around him. Well, actually just sort of glazing around at the players, not really paying much attention to most of them. He didn’t like to listen to anything that was too hard to understand. He just listened for names, before tuning out most of the other speeches. He heard Elius say his name, before going on about... something. He didn’t really care for the facts. After all, he had been a man of adventure, and not talk. He yawned silently, trying not to seem disrespectful, before sitting down on the well, putting his hand over the handle of the bucket rotator and making sure nothing would show from under his skirt. I seriously don’t get why anyone would make stuff like this... Slicer thought, thinking of the skirt. But something that I don’t get even more is why anyone would wear this...
~Pink Rose~
Soon after the history lecture, a member from the Swordbreakers spoke. It was a Long Arm named Senna. Slicer had seen her around the clan house a slight bit every now and then, but had never really talked to her. I really should get to know my own clan mates someday...

Silence broke out from the group, with pieces of debating or something between Asura and Elius, that Slicer completely and utterly ignored. He yawned again, and took out his Magnifier. As soon as he equipped the weapon, it appeared on his waist. He had made it so the weapon would appear here incase someone knew how Slicer usually held the weapon behind his back. He looked at the smooth red blade. It was a bit scratched and nicked here and there, but nothing serious. The blade wasn’t exactly a rare item or anything, but Slicer liked. After he had named himself after water, he had gone in the complete opposite direction; fire. His victory in the Back to School Event proved that, when he won his Suzake Fiery Pants, which were currently unequipped, due to his School Girl’s Uniform.

Suddenly, just as Slicer was thinking about his weapon, another player came. Slicer recognized her immediately. It was Rhilla, from the Figment Raiders. An odd fellow indeed. Slicer had actually gone on two quests with her, but she never did notice him. Perhaps it was a good thing. Perhaps it was a bad thing. Only time would tell, unless it never revealed it’s secret.

Almost as soon as Rhilla entered, another player, by the name Curia, entered. Slicer had heard about this person from Kiwi. One of the oldest members in the Swordbreakers. He had just quit the clan because he couldn’t be as active in “The World.” Slicer watched as the player scanned the group, perhaps looking for someone he knew.

Soon afterwards, a third person appeared. Slicer knew this person immediately. It was FireX. A person who Slicer had gone with to a field, and now he regretted it painfully. After his first encounter with that hacker he had met way back when, Frame had been following him, stalking him. He was also one of the main reasons for his current disguise. Sighing a bit, he looked around, wondering how many more would come.

After a while of waiting, it seemed that Kumori and Senna got restless. Kumori went over to Senna, asking if she wanted to go to one of the buildings over there. The two went away, but not before Hacorie shouted to them to Flash-Mail him if they found anything. It seemed like something a mother would do, but Slicer was in no place to judge. He quickly dug into his mind, trying to recall his last quest.

His last quest had been... odd. He had went with two newbies for a single reason: to search to see if one of them would become a Swordbreaker. After going through a hacker, it didn’t seem like they measured up to the job. Maybe this is where we’re headed... Slicer thought, as he rested his back against the wooden pull of the well, looking up at the sky, where trees covered and white clouds shown. Maybe this will be what the game will be full of. Newbies...

Almost as if wanting to break the silence, another person came. This one didn’t gate in, like the others. Instead, she crashed through the party, bumping Elius down to the ground, who was still talking about something with Asura. "What the hell was that for!? You visitors should watch your step here. The festival is approaching and we're all so busy with our chores that we have no time to be distracted by you. I swear... I guess the other towns don't teach people common sense.” This quickly struck a bit of interest in Slicer. Festival? Other towns? Odd... Slicer began to go into deep thought, still listening a bit, as Asura talked to them. A festival? So, these people seem to have a will of their own, at least. Unless the Administrators made these characters do this. Or maybe the Administrators wanted to trap Hacorie here for some reason. Could be hackers, though I doubt it. A hacker wouldn’t go through that much trouble. Hey! This could be a special event! Maybe Hacorie was selected for a special event. Then... what about us? Are we in the way or is us being here ok? If we’re in the way, then I should tell Senna and Kumori... And yet, if we’re suppose to part of this, I guess we should act like we normally do. That seems to be the best option. Slicer nodded to himself, as he looked at the player.

The woman had a pretty cool character. Or maybe it wasn’t a character... Maybe she was an NPC to help guide us in this event?? She had violet hair. It looked beautiful on her. Slicer doubted that even his current wig could compare to the perfection that was her hair. It was perfectly straight, no split ends could be found. She seemed to be a bit shorter than Slicer, but not by much to really be noticed, and her current intensity made up for that, making her seem to look down upon all the other players. She had blue eyes, just like Slicer, except these seemed to be two perfect raindrops. Pure with a black dot within it. She had on a brown coat, with a white tank top. Another perfect combination, mixed with her low cut brown pants and white boots. She quickly gave Elius a shove, knocking him down.

Slicer shifted his hand over towards his weapon, the Magnifier, only to see Curia standing there. Or rather, kneeling there. He seemed to be acting like a medieval knight, kissing the hand of the princess after a victorious battle or going into a battle. Slicer almost laughed, but held it in as best he could, hoping it wouldn’t be seen.

He sighed a bit, as Elius and Mirelle both tried to make peace with the Blademaster. It’s getting too cluttered! Can’t they see that she isn’t liking this? Slicer wondered, before getting up from his sitting position, his skirt scrapping a bit against the rock of the well. His hand moved away from the Magnifier, and over toward the hair that had blown over towards his right eye. With a quick flick, Slicer moved it back behind his ear. He looked towards Sophie, wondering if maybe he should do something. I’d probably just annoy her... but there’s no harm in doing anything... other than the possibility of a PK. Maybe they don’t allow PKs here... Shrugging off the thought, Slicer opened his mouth, and spoke, in the voice of an innocent school girl, thanks to the voice changer that he had installed a while ago. ”So, this event seems important." He said this, just as the Blademaster was about to speak again. He smacked himself mentally, and began what he started. "Maybe we can make it up to you by helping you out with the event in some way?” It probably sounded dumb, but hopefully, it wouldn’t sound offending in any way.

(OOC: It’s bad. It’s horrible. I know... Anyway, I’m like so tempted to say she instead of he XD)

Hacorie suddenly hugged Rhilla. Her eyes shot open, and she didn’t know what to say. AHHH! PERSONAL SPACE! You’re in my bubble! Rhilla slowly hugged him back and stepped away. She scanned the group, sort of knowing most of the players, but one stuck out in particular. She looked over at a pink haired heavy blade oddly, and sniffed a bit. “I don’t know why, but you have an odd aroma to you… like… I’ve met you before, but you’ve changed or something… I’ll be keeping an eye on you…”

Rhilla cracked her neck to the left, then the right, and continued looking around. She wished Kiwi were here, but it appeared the player was no where to be seen. Rhilla sat on the ground and yawned, wondering what there was to do in this field. God, where’s the monsters? Something has to die… jeez, I’m bored.

Off in the distance, she could see a massive two story building that stuck out over the others. Rhilla scratched her head a bit, and wondered what was over there. She jumped up to her feet, looked around to the group of talkative players and said, “Hey, I’m going to go explore over… thataway!” Rhilla said, pointing down to the south. “If anyone wants to go with me, then common,” She quickly strapped in her sword, and began walking down to the building.

What’s up with this place? Everyone’s so… busy. This festival thing must be important… Hey, maybe it’ll be like in that one game from the olden times where you got to go kill monsters… I’d love to do something like that…

Rhilla soon found herself in front of a massive building, with a sign saying, “Mariam Inn.” She scratched her head, and slowly entered the building. “Welcome to the Mariam Inn! Currently, we are booked due to the festival, but please feel free to browse around for future references,” the clerk said as Rhilla entered. “Um… thanks,” She said. A small book case caught her eye; it seemed to be a kind of rack for when you’re waiting. She crept over to the rack, and knelt down. Her tail swished back and forth as she browsed through the books. An odd thing these books were, as the spines all read books from the nineties. “Patriot Games… IT… What the hell? It’s like I’m in my mom’s little book case…”

She stood up and looked around. A stair case stood directly in front of her, and seeing as how the clerk said she could explore, Rhilla began walking up the stairs. Up the velvet steps she walked, wondering what the top of this inn would look like. She peered around, and in the halls she spied dancers. They seemed to be practicing a dance for the festival, which felt all too familiar. She walked forward and tried to pry open a door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Odd…” She walked to the next door, and entered. Inside, two double-decker beds stood parallel to each other. Another bookcase stood against the wall on the opposite side of the room, and a massive mirror stood parallel to it.

She peered in to the mirror for a minute, and then sat down on the bed. She peered behind her, and noticed a small window over looking most of the city. Rhilla pried open the window, and slid out to try and get a good feeling for the city. She sat on top of a nice red shingled building, with chimneys on opposite ends of each other. In the distance, due north, she spied a massive windmill. She suddenly noticed that wrapping around the city stood a massive wall.

I wonder… I doubt I’d be able to scale that wall, but I wonder… could things enter the city?

Rhilla looked around and could see a massive church, over shadowing most of the buildings in front of it. Maybe this festival has something to do with religion? Guess I’ll have to wait and see… To the opposite side of the church, another building stood. A two story building that seemed just like the Inn, only bigger.

Can’t be another Inn… I wonder what it is... Now I’m interested in what’s going on in this city…

"The town is preparing for the Autumn Hope festival. Everyone meets at the central square the night after tomorrow to celebrate the coming of another autumn. Our trees change drastically on that night to brown and red shades. The six muses diligently practice their instruments for the festival night and the rest of the town prepares the square so that we can all gather. We also mean to hope that we can find a way out of our town someday,"

"So, Curia..."

The warm smile spread a little bit further, extending for the first in a long time, to the wavemaster's glittering golden eyes. Looking at the blademistress before him, Curia heaved a small jovial shrug - almost as if to say "beats me..." - at the two overly-dramatic apologies that had seemed almost plastic in their presentations. Allowing his eyes to run over her avatar once more, Curia delayed his actions till Sophie had noticed his pleased appraisal. "Mightn't you be so kind as to show me around your lovely town? I'll do whatever I can to aid you in your tasks." The mage spoke, the warmth pervading in his voice. Smiling and offering his right arm, the wavemaster matched pace with the blademistress, as she began the guided tour of the town. "There are the four major buildings, north, south, east and west; The Church, The Miriam Inn, The Globe Library, and The Windmill." Cutting her off briefly, the wavemaster shot Sophie a spry grin. "I have an idea...." Clasping her hand in his, the wavemaster dashed toward the large windmill. Reaching it after a short run, the mage looked to his panting companion. "Don't worry, I'll explain in a moment...." Looking from her flushed face, he raised his eyes to the spinning arms of the tower. "You like excitement, right?" Tying his diabolical wand around his shoulders with a silken cord, the wavemaster freed both of his hands. Rubbing his palms together, he spoke in excited pants. "Let's see,................ how this town looks, .................from up there!" He shouted the last three words as he carefully timed the jump. Clasping onto the cloth wrapping, of the windmill's arm, Curia began his ascent. Reaching the high walkway at the top of the building, he let go, and fell the few feet to the stone walk. Teetering for a moment on the thin railing, he puffed out a breath as he tipped off the railing, landing on the cool stone shelf. Smirking as he rose to his feet, the wavemaster peered over the edge, to survey the town below. "Cmon up, it looks beautiful from up here...." He called to the shocked looking sophie below.

Emerging from a small wooden door, the blademistress spoke through a sidelong glance as if to say "men..."

"There is a staircase, you know." She spoke through a weak smile. Walking to the railing to look at the town below, Curia caught a far-away look in the girl's eyes as she gazed out beyond the high walls of the town. Remaining silent, so as not to disturb her thought, the mage placed himself shoulder to shoulder, and followed her gaze. Dropping his hand to the stone parapet, the player was surprised to find his hand closing over sophie's. Drawing back for an instant, Curia let go of all his inhibitions and smiled as he placed his hand on her's. Speaking softly, he stirred the girl from her daydream. "....it's beautiful, isn't it." Stirring with a start, Sophie looked down at her right hand, and realizing he was holding it, drew it away; a flutter of pink rising to her cheeks as she looked at her feet. "How about you tell me about the town from here, we can see everything...." The mage stated to fill the silence.
Then looking out over the wall, he placed his eyes on the wide swaths of trees surrounding the town. "Then you can tell me why you want to leave...."


Lifting his eyes to the buildings about him, as she began to speak, the mage spotted a player, on the far side of town, sitting on a rooftop of the inn. Smirking, the mage thought for an instant he saw a tail swish in the light breeze. Lifting his hand in a casual wave, the wavemaster continued to survey the town. "That one there is the Post office, and that one, the Smithy, and the one over there is the print shop...." Listening as her lilting voice filled his ears, Curia felt a small pang in his chest as memories flooded his mind. I miss her..... brushing the thoughts aside, he listened again as sophie pointed out more buildings. "And that last one is the clock shop."

At the sound of a voice – not loud, but startling in the overall quiet of the library – Senna’s attention came instantly (But oh, how reluctantly) away from the beautiful books. She didn’t move her feet, not just yet, but turned her head to see who’d come in.

She expected it to be one of the people from the square who’d been called, directly or indirectly, by Hac’s flashmail. What she didn’t expect was… well, a total stranger. And one who, judging by her question, was from here. Was familiar with the library.

"Is there something in particular that interests you?"

The woman wasn’t talking to Senna – no big surprise there – but to Kumori. She was pretty, and looked just like a librarian. Like an almost stereotypical librarian, she thought with an inward smile - the glasses made the look. She hadn't apparently noticed Senna, which was fine by the Long Arm. Socializing had never been a strong suit.

Senna took in the scene a moment, then turned her attention back to the bookshelves before her. She decided not to wander too far – Hac’s warning, needed or not, stuck with her – but doing a little more exploring couldn’t hurt.

After some consideration, she headed for the curved desk. If this was a library, she wondered if there were library cards. Also, libraries – at least the ones she’d been to – often had information about community events. Maybe if this was some sort of special event, there would be information on it at the desk.

Guardians... who are they? What are they? What are they here for? Only a few questions that will never be answered...

As I read through the volume, I thought questions... things, questions that could never be answered. I slowly drifted off, my head falling against the bookcase, soft snores echoing throughout the library.

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I was in blackness. An inky blackness, nothing other than myself occupying. "Hello?" My voice echoed throughout the inky blackness, fading into nothingness later. "I see you. Come closer... I will show you the way..." a voice said, echoing.

"What? Hello? Who are you? What are you?"
"All will be answered... now come, come forward my child..."

I've got nothing to lose.

I stepped forward, my ears leading me on, following the voice, the ever loud, but yet strangely silent voice. On... onward I walked, onward for what seemed like days. I finally came upon a light, a statue in the light, surrounded by light, contrasting in the darkness from where I stood.

What is it...?
"All will be answered... come forward..." the same, strange voice said.
Can you read my thoughts? What are you?
"Come forward, and all will be answered..."

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"Is there something in particular that interests you?" a voice said, awaking me.
"What...? No, I'm fine... don't worry about me."

(ooc: Bad post, but I have a taped up hand, so it would have taken me a LOT longer to type up a better post. And for those of you who don't know, this is what Kumori looks like.)

Mirelle heaved a sigh and watched Curia and the Blademistress dash off towards the slowly turning windmill. She giggled in amusement at the expression on the nameless Blademistress's face. Grinning merrily at the remaining players, the Long Arm suddenly had a spark of inspiration. "Hey guys," she said in a cheerful tone. "Anyone want to come with me and investigate the church?" She nodded at the building in question and winked. "I mean, since everyone's kinda splitting up right now."

She took a step towards the chruch, then turned and looked over her shoulder. "'Sura-chan? Elius?" She stomped one foot in annoyance. "Come on, I don't wanna go alone!" Mirelle was willing to beg on hands and knees for a companion. The truth of the matter was that she didn't like this strange town. And she certainy didn't like what the Blademistress had said ealier... about never escaping this place.

I hope... I hope we aren't stuck here forever, too!

"The town is preparing for the Autumn Hope festival. Everyone meets at the central square the night after tomorrow to celebrate the coming of another autumn. Our trees change drastically on that night to brown and red shades. The six muses diligently practice their instruments for the festival night and the rest of the town prepares the square so that we can all gather. We also mean to hope that we can find a way out of our town someday," the lady who came up with a mean personality said.

A festival? Hm, sounds fun, I wonder if we can all participate in it. It would be quite fun to actually have a little fun. This game has become so corrupt inside itself. This place seems nice and peaceful. That also worries me though. I have never heard of this festival or place before. If a special event, then why was it not announced. This is really weird and I am quite confused at it all. I think I need to get some more information on this place before I decide on any major action. I am going to go out on my own then. I guess I will Flashmail a few people to keep in contact with me of every event that happens.

A church, I wonder why there is a church in a place like this. I mean I have never heard of a church in “The World” at all. So that must mean that this place must be like a real city in the real world. If correct it would be good to know what they worship to understand about their culture. Well I better get started toward it. I wonder if anyone else will follow, or if anyone in their mind cares about it or noticed it. I will just have to wait and see.

“Anyone want to come with me to investigate the church?” Mirelle said as she spoke up to the group. “I will Mirelle,” Hac said as he spoke up and slowly started to walk toward the church that was close to him. “You coming?” Hac asked as he stepped closer to the doors of the church.

Flashmail
To: Senna, Asura, Rhilla
From: Hac

Keep an eye out for anything suspicious about the library, I think the group is splitting up into different directions, so I am flahmailing someone in each subgroup to keep an eye out.

“Mirelle, be careful what you say in here. Remember we are guests, so we do not want to offend their culture in anyway possible. So let us keep this in mind.” Hac said in a serious voice as he put his hands on the giant doors of the church and pushed them open to only reveal . . .

(OOC: Can you say bleh? xD)