by C. M. Carney
“You and I have very different definitions of the word cool.”
“Trust me in the game you’ll be happy you were a real life Rambo.”
“What?”
“Great movie. You need to watch the classics, bro.”
Finn shook his head at his oh so odd banner and returned to the prompts.
You have learned the skill PERCEPTION
Level(s) 1-5 - Skill Type: Passive
You are able to spot traps, secret doors, passages and hidden foes. 25% Chance to detect traps. 25% chance to detect secret doors and passages. 12% chance to detect foes using Sneak. “Yay, no falling in spiky death pits. Huzzah, no stabs in the kidney.”
You have learned the skill DISARM TRAPS
Level(s) 1-5 - Skill Type: Active
You are able to disarm traps. 20% Chance to disarm traps. 10% chance to acquire traps. 5% chance to understand traps (For use with the CRAFTING skill). “Pick, tinker, no ‘sploding shrapnel in face.”
“Quit adding commentary to the skills Lex.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” his banner said with feigned annoyance.
If Lex had had a physical form, Finn would have smacked him. A part of his mind, the one trained to see subterfuge and danger everywhere, wondered if he could trust Lex. Brynn had been working with their father. Could the Colonel have got his hands on Lex, or worse had engineered the delivery of the odd banner to Finn?
Despite the red flags, there was nothing he could do about his suspicions at the moment. He returned his attention to the prompts.
You have learned the skill ALCHEMY
Level(s) 1-5. Skill Type: Active.
You can mix various ingredients to form useful potions, tinctures and poisons. +10% to potency. 10% chance to understand item constituency and recipe formulas. “Mix, mix, yay, herbal Viagra.”
“Why are some stats listed as active and some as passive?”
“Active skills require not only focus, but stamina, usually at a point per second cost. Passive skills are always active so do not need concentration or a stamina cost. For example Stealth, ‘ya know, sneak, sneak, hide, hide’ is an active skill and sneaking about is more tiring than walking around all normal like. Then there are the knowledge skills such as Perception. There’s no active participation in that, you just know what ya know. That’s a passive skill.”
“You do realize you just outed yourself on the skill commentary, right?”
"Crap,” Lex whispered.
Finn chuckled to himself, getting an odd pleasure from ribbing Lex.
“Why do all the skills level out at five?”
“Yeah that one blows. The designers capped any real world skills at five to balance the scales somewhat. They wanted to make it so nerdy losers who smoked pot and ate Doritos all day could compete with badasses like you. And let's face it there’s a lot more of them type than love children of Jason Bourne and James Bond.”
“Quit making stupid movie references Lex.”
“Pffft. You just ain’t cultured enough to appreciate my references.”
The skill prompts ended and another slice in reality opened. Beyond was a grand chamber of tall windows and massive arches.
9
T he chamber was a gothic cathedral, but circular, like the massive Orthodox churches that dotted Eastern Europe. Thirteen alcoves held ornate statues, surrounding a raised dais on which a throne sat. Finn knew that this was the Pantheon, the new cadre of gods led by Aluran. Each god stood rigid, shrouded in shadow, but the power possessed by these beings held heavy in the air.
“Well, this is a little much, don't ya think?” Lex asked. “Awesome, but over the top.”
Finn nodded and looked from one statue to another. They stood six to a side and at the center stood the larger form of Aluran, standing tall. His sword held point down, tip piercing a coiled serpent that lay dead at his feet. While Aluran's statue was as lifelike as the god he had met moments ago, the others were shrouded in robes of deep, undulating shadows. None of their features were visible. Only differences in stature suggested they were different beings.
Was one of these Brynn? Finn’s eyes came to rest on a smaller figure in the third alcove to the right. It felt right somehow.
“Which of the gods shall you fight for Crusader? Which of the gods will you worship?” boomed a voice that could have been Aluran’s. “Gaze upon the Pantheon. Let your mind find freedom and your heart will choose.”
Finn didn’t know what to make of it, but a nagging feeling tugged at the corner of his being. He suspected picking Brynn would put her at risk. His gaze moved along the line of immobile gods. None of them felt right and none could be trusted. So Finn made the choice to choose none of them.
A thin god to Aluran’s left came to life and walked towards Finn. A sharp metallic beak protruded from his hood. He gazed upon Finn with eyes the color of blood diamonds. Incredible power emanated from the god and Finn took an involuntary step backwards.
The god continued towards Finn and pulled his hood down to reveal the metallic beak was part of a mask. Finn took another step back as the regal figure came close. His crimson gaze pierced Finn from a height of at least seven feet. With a wave of his hand, the mask disappeared revealing a thin face and a bald head.
“Welcome Child of the Crusade, I am Zeckoth, the God of Knowledge. You have taken the unusual step of refusing to select a deity. So, I will aid you and help you learn. Together we will discover the truth of your nature and make you anew. To help set you on your path towards destiny.”
Zeckoth gazed upon Finn with black eyes and Finn’s mind expanded with knowledge as if the god were downloading information directly inot Finn’s mind. Around him a variety of bipedal figures stood and Finn knew that he had to choose his race. As he focused on each figure, they moved to the fore and information about each race came to the fore.
His gaze passed over the assembled figures. A tall and regal sea elf stood next to a pale, almost silver, skinned wood elf. An albino white fell elf scowled next to a haughty human known as an Eldarian. A tanned desert dwelling human known as an Aegyptian scoffed at a burly Ordonian, a human race that dwelled in the northern wastes. Next were a pair of dwarven races, the stocky and dour mountain dwarf warily eyed his hill dwarf cousin. Lastly, standing apart from the others was a fierce half orc.
Finn assimilated all the information and cast his gaze back and forth along the assembled races. He knew that this decision was one of the most important he’d make in the Realms. And despite his misgivings he knew he needed some advice. Question is, could he trust his odd banner?
“Lex, any thoughts?”
“Hmmmm,” the disembodied AI mumbled. “Well, let’s analyze what you hope to do here. Since your main mission is to find…”
Finn gave a sideways glance at Zeckoth and cleared his throat, causing Lex to pause. He assumed that this was a recorded intro message. But had no wish to put Brynn in further danger by letting Lex blab like some muahahaha villain.
“To… find wealth and fortune and glory for the Pantheon. All hail to thee,” Lex continued much to Finn’s relief. “So, it would behoove you to get along with others, or at least not be hated on sight.”
“So, that eliminates the dark elf and the half orc,” Finn said.
“Yeah, they’re both usually pricks,” Lex said.
Finn examined his current skills and knew that to survive he would need to maximize their early efficiency. “My skills are skewed towards being lean and agile, with a quick strike capability.”
“So, I’d say that eliminates the dwarven races,” Lex agreed.
Finn’s eyes came to the Eldarians, Aegyptians, sea elves and the wood elves. All four held some appeal.
“Wood elves are snobs,” Lex said with distaste as if he was struggling to recall a half forgotten memory. “And the Aegyptians think they’re the god’s gift to Korynn.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Not sure,” Lex said
sounding bewildered. “Just a feeling I guess.”
“And I’m supposed to accept these feelings?”
“You must get over your trust issues buddy, or your time in the Realms will be short and sucky,” Lex said, a hurt tone to his voice.
Finn sighed in irritation once again wishing he’d been able to debug Lex before entering the Realms. Despite being his constant companion for a year, Finn had always thought the banner was a bit odd. Now, suspecting his father may have had a hand in the AIs creation, his suspicions intensified. How can I trust him? He’s so… off. After a moment, Finn shelved the thought. He knew he had no choice but to trust the quirky AI. But I’ve got my eye on you.
Finn looked at the sea elf. He was tall and lean and bore a spark of keen intelligence behind his eyes. The race’s style of fighting favored Finn’s own, and he pulled the figure forward with a motion of his hand. As he did so, the man’s features morphed into a visage like his own, except for the pointed ears.
“Woah, a handsome hipster version of you,” Lex said. “Course you could always go as a woman. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.”
It was then that Finn noticed a shadowy form behind the male sea elf and with a flick of his wrist, she came to the fore. She was shorter, but no less lean and graceful than her male counterpart. The woman was stunning and the idea of experiencing life as a woman held some appeal.
“She looks like your sister,” Lex said.
“Well, that ruins that,” Finn thought with a scowl and spun back to the male sea elf.
Finn drew the figure forward and adjusted his features. Lex was right, the man did look like him. Likely the same technology that extrapolated skills from his mind. He needed to be incognito in this world and hoped that Aluran had no way of knowing who he was. He had only met the man once, and that was in passing, but he had no idea if this Aluran had any connection to the real one or was he simply a computer generated avatar? In Finn’s experience no risk was too small to ignore, and while he wasn’t overly vain, even he had a few things he’d like to change about himself.
Finn nudged the nose stronger, changed the eyes to a pale blue and turned his dark brown hair to a deep black. He couldn’t help but add a few inches to his height, bringing him to 6’2”. He knew he wanted speed and mobility, so he didn’t bother to add any bulk.
Finn examined his avatar and smiled. He approved the sea elf. Zeckoth stepped forward.
“As a purchaser of the Deluxe Beta Preorder, you are awarded the Ancestor’s Boon Perk,” the God of Knowledge said with a tone of wonder. “You are upgraded to an El’Edryn, the legendary high elves of yore, from whom all elven races devolved.”
Finn’s sea elf morphed again, becoming taller still. The eyes turned a wondrous blue with flecks of silver. His cheekbones sailed higher on his face, giving him a regal appearance. His skin darkened to a well tanned hue and his dark hair transformed into a cascade of flowing platinum.
A prompt popped into his vision.
El’Edryn are stronger, smarter, faster, wiser and longer lived than their descendants. You have also been awarded three Racial Gifts.
You have been awarded a Racial Gift: +10 bonus Attribute Points (for a total of 30) to distribute as you choose.
You have been awarded a Racial Gift: Night Vision up to 120 feet.
You have been awarded a Racial Gift: Quick Mana and Health Regeneration: Mana and Health regenerate 25% faster.
“Sweet,” Finn thought, before realizing that the system had essentially ignored his selections and preferences. But, the high elf’s perks more than made up for any cosmetic irritation Gryph felt. He sent a silent thank you out to Brynn, his eyes drifting to the hooded figure he imagined represented his sister.
“Are you done selecting and modifying your race and gender?” Zeckoth prompted.
With only the slightest hesitation, Finn nodded yes.
10
F inn became a stream of energetic particles that launched into the sky. In moments he reached superluminal velocity and moved through all existence. The particles that were Finn screamed through space-time and then sprung back as if pulled by an elastic band. Then he was back in the room with Zeckoth.
A prompt blinked in the corner of Finn's vision and he tapped it open. An Inventory screen opened. On the left was a slotted grid where he imagined items could be stored. The right side was dominated by an avatar of this man Gryph. The tall, regal elf bore a look of fierce determination and endless potential, despite being dressed in rags. He barely recognized himself in this new being. Nothing but the eyes. The eyes were still his, and they held a fierce determination.
I will find you Brynn, Finn promised.
A new round of prompts filled his vision.
You have 30 Attribute Points to distribute between your five base attributes. They are…
Strength: Measures the characters physical power. Determines damage bonuses with melee weapons, encumbrance, stamina and the AC (armor class) bonus for heavy armor.
Dexterity: Measures the characters agility and speed. Determines damage bonuses with ranged weapons, the chance to hit bonuses, speed and AC bonuses for light armor.
Constitution: Measures the characters endurance. Determines health, stamina, speed, encumbrance and the AC bonus for wearing heavy armor.
Intelligence: Measures the characters ability to solve problems and use logic. Determines mana.
Wisdom: Measures the characters common sense, spirituality and willpower. Determines spirit, and ability to withstand spells and prayers that affect the mind.
“Lex, any thoughts?”
“Based on your personality and existing skill set, I’d suggest you play an agile warrior who augments his abilities with magic,” Lex said. “So far you have no magic skills, but once we’re in the game we’ll find some wussbag caster and make them teach us.”
“We’re not mugging people for knowledge.”
“Have it your way,” Lex said with a definite pout. “Anyway, with 30 Attribute Points to spend you have a lot of flexibility. I’d say up your physical stats until we learn some magic and then we’ll go from there. But, I wouldn’t completely ignore Intelligence, since it has tons of less obvious benefits. ”
Finn studied the Attribute descriptions again, and decided Lex’s theory had merit. He put 10 points into Strength, 7 each into Dexterity and Constitution, 6 into Intelligence . He ignored Wisdom for now,.
“It is now time to complete your character and choose a name,” Zeckoth said. “Be warned, once you choose a name it cannot be changed.”
A field popped into his vision with a blinking prompt that reminded Finn of an old word processing program. He knew what name he would choose. “Gryph,” he said, and the name appeared in the spot. It hung there blinking for a few seconds until Finn accepted it. From that moment forth he was no longer Finn Caldwell. Now he was the high elf warrior mage Gryph.
Gryph’s Character Sheet came up, and he checked it over one last time before continuing.
Gryph - Level 1
High Elf (El’Edryn)
Deity: None
Experience: 0
Next Level: 2,000
Stats
Health: 134
Stamina: 137
Mana: 132
Spirit: 120
Attributes
Strength: 20
Constitution: 17
Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 10
Gifts
Health Regeneration: +25%
Mana Regeneration: +25%
Night Vision: 120 ft.
Master of Tongues
“Lex, explain the Stats to me.”
“Stats like Health and Stamina are measurements of your overall well being. Mana measures the amount of magical power you have to cast spells and Spirit measure the amount of divine energy you can call upon to cast invocations, which are basically spells using the power of your god. “
“I’m guessing I have no access to my S
pirit because I’ve refused to worship any of the gods?”
“Right. Since Spirit is the energy of belief and you’re a heathen, atheist, unbeliever you don’t get none.”
"Right," Gryph muttered.
Zeckoth stepped forward again. Gryph had forgotten he was there, as much as you can forget a seven foot, bald god. This time he walked right up to Gryph and before he could react grabbed him by the head. Gryph panicked until Zeckoth spoke up.
“It is time to awaken your magic,” the god intoned.
Tendrils of energy wormed their way into Gryph's brain. It started as one filament, but then branched and split, becoming thirteen distinct strands. He saw as much as felt pops of light explode in the various parts of his mind. Some were large, some so small as to be mere pinpricks in a star filled sky.
There was no pain, but for reasons he could not quantify, Gryph screamed. Time became still and Gryph lost all sense of place. Then, suddenly he was back in the cathedral surrounded by the hooded deities.
“There are thirteen spheres of magic,” Zeckoth intoned.
“I got this chum,” Lex said. Then added under his breath. “You’re likely to bore the dude to death.” He continued with his normal snark filled tone. “So Old Baldy here is right, if dull. Magic is the ability to rewrite the underlying code of the Realms. It manifests itself in thirteen spheres. Each sphere represents one of the primal building blocks of reality.”
“Now long ago in the primal blah, blah, blah of creation the spheres came into being during a massive battle between aether and thought. Life and death came into the Realms for the first time. These four spheres became known as the four primal magics.”
“Okay, that sounds...logical,” Gryph said.
