I started walking faster, my singing accelerating along with my pace. She matched and surpassed my pace.
Soon, I was running full tilt down the road as an angry Elf girl charged after me. The sharp stick she was carrying jabbing for my heart while she screamed at the top of her lungs about how much she hated my taste in music as I sang as fast as I could:
“Dadada(dadada)
Dadada(dadada)
Dadadadundiddleundiddleundiddleuhda.”
I'm not sure what would have happened next if I hadn't rounded the bend and crashed head long (solar plexus long?) into a very solid Dwarf.
I saw him at the last moment, tried to dodge and was only partially successful. Instead of hitting him full on I bounced off his side and tumbled painfully into the ground.
“Owwww… Forget dexterity. I need to put more points into agility.” I coughed in the dust before rolling onto my back just in time so see Aeria round the corner.
“I surrender!” I screa - uh, yelled in a masculine manner as I threw my hands up to cover my face.
She skidded to a stop, her sandals sliding almost five feet across the dirt road and kicking up a low cloud of dust.
She held the stick in the “Ah, You're On The Ground Where I Can Impale Your Face From Above” position as she came to a stop.
Unfortunately, the point of the stick wasn't threatening my face (a threat I had grown accustomed to) but a significantly lower and more important part of my anatomy.
Manfully, stoically and totally not squeakily, I said, “I totally surrender!” And threw my hands down to cover my mentionables.
And yes, I mean mentionables, not unmentionables. Because I am not ashamed of my body.
Also, I have no shame.
Aeria, meanwhile, wasn't even looking at me. Instead, she was staring at the Dwarf.
I glanced away from my potential soprano singing career to get a look at said Dwarf.
Even looking at him from an upside down point of view, he was obviously an Aegis Dwarf. I could tell just by looking at his overly long pointed ears.
He was a little on the large size, about five foot three with skin the color of dark coffee. His black hair was neatly dread locked and his black beard was braided together into intricate patterns.
Dwarf:
Earth Sense: (Buff) (Passive) Dwarves have the ability to sense stone, metal and gems. They also have an affinity for a variety of Earth and Fire Magics. The greatest smiths in Dwarven history could shape stone and metal with their bare hands.
Yes. Aegis Dwarves are racially predisposed to be magic based tanks and unparalleled smiths. If you haven't noticed by now, the people from Aegis are locked into certain skills and abilities when they choose a race.
This Dwarf smelled like magic, earth, metal and stone. He was wearing the same starting gear as Aeria and me but instead of a stick or a rusty dull dagger, he had what looked like a decent, short handled, double headed axe.
“Taren?” she whispered.
The Dwarf stared right back at the Elf. Open mouthed and his blue eyes wide in surprise.
“Aeria?”
More staring.
Then, they both screamed and ran towards each other.
♦♦♦
The Last Day In Hell.
They came for us in the night. In the dark, empty stillness of the legally mandated eight hour sleep cycle.
They came with light, raised voices and threats.
We called them “Punishers” because that's what they did. To the rest of the world they were called “Orderlies” or “Guards” or “Councilors” or “Temporarily Guardians” but to us, they were always the Punishers.
“Do not resist,” they said.
“There's nowhere to run, Sub,” they said.
“Don't cause us any trouble,” they said.
I would have laughed at them if I hadn't minded the abuse that would've followed. I would have laughed anyway if it had just been me.
Their threats were unnecessary, of course.
Five seconds after the lights came on we were lined up as always. Standing in formation, dead eyes staring forward, faces blank and unwilling to make a move without a direct order.
Just like the Overseers liked it.
It was almost comical, the disturbed expressions on the Punishers faces when they ordered us about.
We were told to stay in line, to not speak, to not move unless ordered.
Every single one of us did so without protest, without hesitation, without question, without making a sound. Most of us were still half in and half out of our own worlds.
The Broken, of course, were barely aware of the Grey Hell at all.
The Broken were what we called those who submerged themselves into their game world. They rejected everything about the Outside and pretended that the Grey Hell was just a bad dream.
Reminding them otherwise only distressed them.
Some went so deep, that if the connection to their world was broken, they became almost catatonic.
They were broken to the point where they did what they were told and only what they were told.
A few months ago several of the Broken were taken, to where we didn't know. We had hoped they were going to get help but they were brought back about two weeks later.
Getting anything out of them had been almost impossible. It was only when we started asking about their "bad dreams" did we piece anything together.
Evidently, somebody had noticed that something wasn't right with them and they decided to do some tests.
Some of us hoped that this would break the Grey Hell's hold on us. Others were afraid that Gray Hall Enterprises would try to turn us all into Broken.
So when our connection to our world was suddenly cut after we were taken by a small army of Punishers, our reactions were understandably mixed.
Mostly mixed with terror.
We were ordered into nondescript mass transports that could be loosely called buses under the still dark sky.
After we were seated they ziptied our hands to the seat in front of us through the headrest. Then they started talking, watching us with expressions ranging from confusion to actual concern.
“What's wrong with them?"
"They don't speak, don't talk."
"They don't do nothin’.”
“Are they drugged?"
"They don't act drugged.”
“... but they don't look right either.”
“This is freaky. It's like they're switched off…”
"I've never seen a Sub so… docile before…"
Then an Overseers stepped onto the bus and one of the Punishers called out to him.
“Hey! What's wrong with them?”
The Overseer looked us over, the blank, white round goggles they always wore automatically fed him data on each of us. “They're fine. They’re always like this. If you want to communicate with them switch to this channel.”
The Punishers all wore the same shatter proof AR glasses that bodyguards in the movies always wore and it looked like the Overseer just sent them a message.
“It's not necessary though,” he continued. "They obey verbal orders as well. Besides, we're almost done with them."
Then we received a compressed data packet labeled "Game Guide" and a system message.
LOADING ICARUS PROJECT CHARACTER CREATION. THIS WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY 6.43216 HOURS.
I read through it, absorbing and internalizing the data without conscious thought.
Being able to read about 20,000 words per minute was due to growing up with augmented reality.
You didn’t get a lot of comprehension out of what you read. But, being able to pick out what was interesting or relevant to you when you have so much information coming at you all at once, was a necessary skill.
Partway through it however, I had to stop and re-read It. I couldn't believe what it was telling me. Then I read further and, well, it was still unbelievable.
At first, I thought we were moving to
another facility. When we were disconnected from the game, I thought they might be switching game worlds as well. Which would of been incredibly distressing in itself, but this was much… more.
The United Nations had finally decreed that what Gray Hall Enterprises was doing was illegal. That the people, collectively referred to as Subadults, were to be freed, effective immediately.
Then they said that Subadults currently had no place within society and that if we were released into the general population, it would destabilize the world's economy.
Therefore, we were to be sent to a newly discovered world for an indefinite period. It went on to say that Gray Hall Enterprises fully intended to retrieve us at a later date when it became possible to do so.
While I read and re-read all this I received a message that said, "This is 24601-03. One of the other Chains sent out these backdoor codes so we can communicate."
I immediately used it to send a query to Three that had, “The Icarus Project?" embedded in it.
He sent a confirm signal back. “Researching Icarus.”
Two sent a confirmation. "It's a myth about a master craftsman and his son trying to escape a prison with wings made of feathers and wax. But Icarus flew too close to the sun and his wings got all melted and he crashed."
"True," confirmed Three. "Although, that's not how that works. Thermal dynamics I mean. Or aerodynamics either. However, that is not what the Icarus Project is regarding."
I sent a query saying, "The data said 'newly discovered world' but this information reads like a game world."
Three confirmed with an embedded, "That is part of what is being researched. Please go through the available data while they research what they can."
There wasn't much else we could do, so that's what we did.
The information the system sent us wasn’t complete. It had Caster Classes, Combat Classes and a truly enormous number of professions but not much information about the world itself.
It explained the basic game mechanics of gaining experience and had some lore about how the magic system worked.
Experience was gained by killing enemies and actively absorbing their energy.
When you chose a Class and a specialization you were given one spell or one weapon skill or one profession skill to start with.
The magic on Icarus was based on the idea that everything is made of essence, the raw, unfiltered power of creation.
Everything in existence is made from it, organic and inorganic. People, animals, plants, mountains, spoons, everything.
Souls are what creates this essence. The greater the Soul, the greater the energy. The more souls in the world, the more the world expands.
Souls emanate ambient essence and generate the energy commonly referred to as Spirit. You can spark a bit of your Spirit, burning energy to create magic.
The stronger the Soul, the more Spirit it produces and the more Spirit you can spark into magic.
It wasn't just about how much magic you had but how well you can use it.
Someone with sloppy control will end up wasting energy and be at a disadvantage regardless of how much magic they had.
Three sent a query to the rest of us, asking if we had noticed the multiple ways such a system could be exploited.
"No," Five confirmed. "But send me that list."
"I agree with Five," I sent and went on to read about the various Caster Classes.
Priests: Do not prioritize Spirit pool over magic regeneration.
Priests are dedicated and empowered by the four Gods and Goddess of Icarus. Fate, Strife, Empathy and Death. They have few attacking spells, limited buffs and utility spells. Their main role is as facilitators for the Gods.
Specializations: Fate, Strife, Empathy, Death.
Note: Priests are not a starting Class in the game and can only be granted by the Gods and Goddesses themselves.
My idea of being an over the top gothic Death Priest crumbled to disappointment as I read the last bit of the description.
"You wouldn't want to be a Priest anyway." Two sent a negation when I relayed this to the others. "They sound incredibly limited."
"I would of liked to have the option," I confirmed. "Otherwise, why even mention it?"
Two's response was a confirm signal with the word. "Shrug."
I mentally rolled my eyes and went back to reading.
Wizards: Approximate analog to Occultists in Midian, Enchanters on Aegis and Mystics on Rath. Prioritizes regeneration over Spirit pool.
Wizards understand the fundamentals of how the world is shaped and use that knowledge to create spells. This is predominantly done by learning, researching and gaining knowledge of the Source Language. A language developed and refined over thousands of years in order to shape magic. Anything another Caster Class could do, a Wizard could do with time and preparation.
Specializations: Offensive, Defensive, Support, Utility.
The Class description went on at length and gave examples of how the Source Language worked. It seemed to be a three dimensional, symbolic alphabet that had more in common with computer programing than any spoken language.
The Wizard seemed to be a powerful Class, able to do any type of magic with the right knowledge and materials which, I admit, would be highly useful.
I imagined myself in robes, a pointed hat and holding a gnarled staff. Standing in a circle of complicated, glowing diagrams as I chanted various words over reagents.
I gave it a hard pass.
I was not book smart. I knew that the amount of studying this Class needed would have me tearing my hair out until I was bald.
Witches: Approximate analog to Shamans and Warlocks on Aegis. Similar to the Witches of Midian. Prioritizes magic regeneration over Spirit pool.
Witch magic is inherently less powerful and is used primarily for curses, blessings, bindings and utility spells. While tied to their perceptions and emotions, they shape their magic with will and intent. They may use words with elements of euphony and cacophony or images and items as symbols to help shape their magic.
Specializations: Blessing, Bindings, Curses, Fareseeing.
Witches were interesting and definitely suited me better than the Wizard Class. However, I was never really interested in Buff/Debuff Classes. More importantly, I was terrible at it.
I tried being the healer in a group once.
It did not end well, so I decided to do everyone a favor and stick with what I was good at. Breaking things.
Mages: Approximate analogs to Spiritualists in Midian and Sorcerers on Aegis.
Prioritizes Spirit pool over magic regeneration.
Mages do not create magic from the Source Language, nor do they use pure will and intent to cast spells. To them magic is instinctive. They perceive it as shape and sensation. They can change that shape. Bend, stretch and twist it to create other spells
Specializations: Fire, Frost, Force, Air, Earth, Light, Shadow, Restoration.
This looked promising, very promising. This looked like something I wanted.
Have you ever been somewhere, school, work, or wherever, doing something you really didn't want to do and think to yourself, "Man, I wish I could just… blow stuff up with my mind."?
Of course you have. I'm sure it's a very normal urge that everyone has occasionally and I'm not just destructively impatient.
Anyway, it looked like being a Mage would let me do exactly that and so far, it seemed like the best fit.
Bards: Approximate analogs to Sirens in Midian. Prioritizes magic regeneration over Spirit pool.
Bards are similar to Witches in that much of their magic is focused through will and intent. However, they use an abbreviated form of the Source Language to create specific effects. With their voice, instruments or both together, they focus their magic into spells. Bards have very few attack spells but several buff/debuff and crowd control spells. They also have a wide variety of utility spells.
Specializations: Restoration, Illusion, Physical Alteration, Se
nsory Manipulation, Detection.
Having a Bard around sounded incredibly useful. I know in Midian Sirens were always wanted. Not just because of their buffer/debuffer/thief skills but also because they can play music.
Being in the Grey Hell meant no music from the Outside, making everyone starved for it.
"Three!" I suddenly realized. "You have internet access! Send us some music! Why didn't you think of this sooner! What's wrong with you?"
He sent a negation back saying, "We can not. We have tried but we are limited to text only."
I sighed. Okay I didn't sigh because that would of showed emotion but I wanted to. Instead I went back to reading.
Psionics: A Psion has difficulty using magic and in fact the more adept a person is with Psionics the less ability they have to perform magic. Because of this they are not limited to a Spirit pool and can use their abilities until the mental strain of it becomes too great.
Added stat: Mental Fortitude.
Specializations: Telepathy, Telekinesis, Sensing.
Note: Only those from the world of Neon can use Psionic abilities.
That was probably for the best. The amount of trouble I would have gotten into with telekinesis would of been… on second thought.
"I want telekinesis! I want it! I want it so bad!"
In the end, decided on being a Force Mage. It was the closest I could get to having telekinesis and when I told the rest they agreed that it suited me the best.
Then Five asked what weapon I was going to choose.
I queried, "Does it matter?"
In answer she sent me a section of the information packet I hadn't read yet.
Weapon Skills:
Blades: Two handed Swords, Long swords, Katanas, Curved swords, Short Swords, Small Blades, Thrown Blades, etc.
Axes: Double Handed Axes, Single Headed Axes, Hand Axes, Throwing Axes, etc.
Blunt Weapons: Hammers, Spiked Hammers, Maces, Clubs, etc.
Polearms: Spears, Throwing Spears, Javelins, Halberds, Naginata, Glaives, Poleaxe, etc.
Chain Weapons: Flails, Nunchaku, Three Section Staff, Chain whips, kusarigama, Chigiriki, etc.
Ranged Weapons: Bows, Crossbows, Slings, Bolas. Atlatls, Blowgun, etc.
Fist Weapons: Spiked gauntlets, Suntetsu, Claws, Deer Horn Knives, Tekko, Brass Knuckles.
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