by Edward Brody
“But he’s not an orc, Gunnar,” Rina explained.
“Yeah, he’s not an orc, but he’s different; not accepted.” I shifted the baby in my lap so that I could free both hands and lift them in the air in front of me. “And you know what? Barbaros aren’t afraid of orcs. The orcs and Barbaros are at peace, so it’s not like orcs are incapable of… you know… not killing everything they see.”
“We’re not Barbaros,” Jax said. “The Scourge would love nothing more than to kill all us humans, and once they accomplish that, I’m sure they’ll turn on the Barbaros as well. They’re nothing but savages.”
I gritted my teeth. “Dryden fears us Reborns because we’re Reborns—and so did Solomon. But you, Jax…” I sighed low and turned to him. “You should understand what I’m saying more than anyone here. Your own mother wouldn’t let you stay in Mist Vale simply because you’re a human. Your own family did that to you out of prejudice or maybe just fear. All of this hatred comes from fear.”
Jax’s shoulders slumped, and he looked down to the ground. “It’s just the way things are in the world, Gunnar.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “It’s the way things are now, but it’s not how things always have to be.” I looked to Sung, Aaron, and Jeremy. “We Reborns know how a world can change—how people of all different types can come together—how they can learn to live peacefully together, just like we are now.”
Aaron smiled, and I saw subtle nods from Jeremy and Sung.
“So, you want to make peace with the orcs?” Rina questioned.
“No,” I explained. “I’m just saying that everything is subject to change. And from what I’ve heard a few times, there’s some prediction out there that Reborns will somehow shape Eden’s Gate. Am I right?”
“That’s what’s written,” Keysia said.
“Then maybe there’s some truth to that,” I said. “I’ve heard stories that, once upon a time, all the major races of Eden’s Gate lived together peacefully.” I raised my chin towards the depths of the forest. “Now we’ve got High Elves guarding Edgewood, and in turn guarding dark elves. I don’t think anyone here would argue that it’s abnormal—High Elves, dark elves, and humans all living together.” I looked down to the child. “Someone once told me...” I raised an eyebrow to Aaron. “I believe it was you—that somewhere in Eden’s Gate there’s probably an elf falling in love with a stinky orc.”
Aaron laughed. “Hey, the world’s fucking huge, man.”
“Well, if that’s the case, orcs might not be as evil as they’re made out to be. There’s always a possibility for change.”
“I’ve never really thought of it that way,” Jeremy chimed in, “but I’ve got to say I agree.”
I took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m not asking any of you to accept orcs. Just bear with me while I complete my quest to return this child. It’s not like I’m joining forces with the Scourge.”
Keysia snorted. “Imagine that… a human joining the Scourge.” As soon as she finished talking, the possibility of it actually happening seemed to really cross her mind, and she looked down, frowning.
Jax huffed. “I don’t like anything that helps the Scourge, but I guess since it’s one little quest and one baby, I’ll give you a pass on this, Gunnar. It seems that you like to learn things the hard way, so don’t be surprised if you get your head lopped off in the process.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “And you might be right. I could be making a mistake, and I’ll find out if that’s the case.” I turned to Keysia and stared, waiting for her approval.
“It’s just one child, I suppose,” she said. “We can’t have it here long though. It’ll bring nothing but trouble.”
When I turned to Rina, she shrugged. “You’re crazy, but I think I realize now that you’ll never be another Dryden.”
I grinned. “I hope not.”
“Slayers would’ve been a cool name for the guild,” Aaron said, smiling wide, “but I guess Unity turned out to be a more appropriate name. It’s pretty cool that you realize now how dynamic the G-A-M-E can be.” He looked to Trynzen to make sure the Barbaros hadn’t picked up on the spelled-out word.
“Yeah, Unity,” I said, creasing my brow. I glanced down to the baby in my lap before looking up and scanning our odd cast of characters “What’s our guild all about?”
After a few seconds of silence, Sung asked, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what’s our guild mission, our guild creed? Do we even have one?”
Sung looked towards the starting wall of our castle. “To build a castle, grow the village, and get as big as we can?”
“I thought we were just a group of friends, leveling up, having fun, and trying to get ahead,” Jeremy said.
“What Jeremy said,” Jax agreed. “Though you’ve promised to help me take down the Dark Hand.”
“To take care of each other,” Rina said, placing her hand on Jax’s shoulders.
Jax smiled, and all the tension in his face seemed to melt away.
“I didn’t know we had any specific goals besides our quests and trying to do what’s right,” Keysia said. “But I agree with Rina that we’re here to take care of each other.”
“Yeah,” I concurred. “I think you’re all right. We’re a group of friends, helping each other, taking care of each other, building something special, and having fun in the process. That’s what makes our guild great, and maybe that’s good enough. But I think we should add another layer to that…”
“Such as?” Rina asked.
“Unity…” I said with a brief pause. “To be a guild where anyone, regardless of race or class can join, so long as they’re the right fit for our group. We won’t welcome anyone who asks, of course, but we won’t deny someone simply because they’re not a human or an elf or because they look a certain way.”
“Hah!” Jax said. “So now you expect orcs to join the guild? Is that where you’re going?”
“What if one did?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Not now. Not anytime soon. But maybe we could sow the seeds of the future. We’ve already brought dark elves, High Elves, and humans one step closer together. Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to worry about battling every orc, just because they’re orcs? What if we could rewind time and bring Eden’s Gate back to an era where all the races lived side by side again?”
“So, then we’re peacemakers?” Jax asked.
“Oh, that would’ve been a good name,” Aaron mused, snapping his fingers. “Peacemakers.”
“Not necessarily peacemakers,” I answered. “But we can be an example, and I’m sure other Reborns who form guilds will follow suit—it’s in our nature, at least in the good ones amongst us. It wouldn’t make sense to have a guild with an orc now—but who knows? Maybe not an orc but a qualified dwarf, krazir, or maybe even a Barbaros.”
“Well, we’ve got a Barbaros already,” Jeremy said. “I mean… Trynzen is here.”
“Right,” I said. “Trynzen drives the High Elves crazy, but otherwise he causes no harm.”
“So why not invite Trynzen to the guild?” Jeremy asked snarkily.
I paused, jerked my head back a little and swallowed. I had no problem with Trynzen staying in the village for a while, but I had never considered the idea of him being a guildmate. He was far from what I’d call an ‘ideal’ member of our guild. I cleared my throat. “Trynzen?”
“Yeah, why not?” Jeremy asked. “Everyone likes him. He has his issues, but don’t we all?”
Keysia looked down to Trynzen who was lying on his back, looking up to her almost like a puppy would its master. Her face shifted, her lips pursed, and it seemed as if she had a sudden realization as her eyes shifted back up to me. “Yeah. If our guild creed is acceptance, Trynzen should be welcome in the guild.”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be comfortable in a guild with an orc,” Rina said, “but I’d have no problem with Trynzen joining us. He feels like family already. I was quite sad when I thought he’
d be gone for good.”
Aaron had his palm on his forehead and his mouth was hanging open. It seemed like he was struggling with the idea. “Bro…” he muttered.
I looked to Jax, and we made hard eye contact for a few seconds. After a moment, he said, “It’s hard for me to understand you Reborns, but it’s clear you have good intentions. Do what you want with the orc child, but keep it away from me, and try to get rid of it as soon as you can.” He turned to Trynzen and nodded. “As for him… I kind of like him. He can fight, that’s for sure. Following orders, well… maybe we can work on that.”
“I like Trynzen,” Sung said and glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes, “And if we ever fix his little problem…”
I had yet to explain that there was a possibility to cure Trynzen to the rest of the guild, but none of them seemed to pick up on Sung’s reference.
“Really?” I asked, raising my eyebrows and wrinkling my nose. “You guys want Trynzen in the guild?”
There were several nods, and Aaron looked to the side and sighed. Jax was hesitant to give a final acknowledgement, but when faced with Rina’s puppy dog face, he nodded his head as well.
I realized then that while there was some caution, everyone seemed to be somewhat on board with the idea of ‘acceptance’ in the guild. There were still some chinks to work out, of course, even with me. I was hesitant to let Trynzen join our core, even after everything he had done for me, even after killing his own dastardly brother to save my life, to save his friends. Like everyone else, I was flawed and had my prejudices, but along with my guild, it was something that I was willing to work on.
“Trynzen,” I called.
Trynzen continued lying on his back, looking up to Keysia, lost in thought. He reached one of his claws up slowly and was about to hook it on the center of Keysia’s skimpy top, right where her cleavage was most prominent. It looked like he was about to do something very naughty. I guess even someone with 1 intelligence would find Keysia’s attractiveness hard to resist.
“Trynzen!” I yelled louder.
Trynzen jerked away, flipped over, and jumped to his feet. “Trynzen!”
I chuckled, smiled at him, and willed him a guild invitation. “Do you want to join our guild?”
“Guild?” Trynzen asked. “Trynzen guild?”
“Would you like to join Unity?” I asked, opening my hands wide, motioning them towards everyone around me.
“Unity?” Trynzen asked.
I nodded. “That’s the name of our guild. You can stay with your friends here in Edgewood. Fight with us. Adventure with us. You’ll be in a guild with all your friends.”
“Friend?” Trynzen asked, smiling and nodding. “Trynzen stay with friend!”
“Your home will be here,” I said, pointing to the ground.
“Home?” Trynzen asked and he smiled, showing his sharp fangs. “Home here? Take care with friend?”
“Yes,” I said, holding my hand out towards him. “If you want, we’d like to have you as part of Unity.”
“Yes!” Trynzen shouted loudly. “Trynzen want stay with friend! Want home here—take care with Unity!”
Trynzen Warclaw has joined your guild: Unity!
“Well then, welcome aboard…” I tilted my head and grinned. “…Trynzadoo.”
Everyone except Jax stood and started clapping, but after a few seconds, he calmly clapped and stood as well. He looked unsure of how he felt about the acceptance idea, but I could see in his eyes that he was starting to come around.
“Welcome aboard, Trynzen,” Jeremy said as he strode up to the Barbaros and slapped him on the back.
“Welcome aboard,” others repeated as they moved in to congratulate him.
Sung sauntered close to me. “I guess that gives us a little more reason to finish the quest that Jenzyn gave you—to find the reagent that could lead to his cure. It’ll be a pretty big win if he’s normalized.”
“Yeah, but that’s not at all a straightforward quest—looking out for reagents with the letter ‘E’… That could be anything.” I shook my head and shrugged as I looked to Trynzen, who was lighting up with joy from all the hugs and attention he was getting. “But whether he’s cured or stays the way he is now forever, I think Trynzen’s gonna be just fine.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Day 50 (Earth)
Post #1239
I think there’s a good chance that Eden’s Gate is real and still operational. I mean, we know that people were in a virtual *something* from beta tester testimony, but the idea that people are actually living in the game is a little hard to believe. If it were a real world, why would the government care if people decide to move there? I think it’s more likely that Dr. Psycho just killed everyone and the video that played at the keynote was pre-recorded. I mean, you could tell by his hair that he looked a lot younger. It must have been shot at an earlier time.
Kendra sighed as she sat in her bed, reading through posts in an online forum where people were discussing Eden’s Gate. The posts got a lot of things right, but they also got a lot of things wrong. Some of their false theories made her frustrated, but she couldn’t blame them for their assumptions; if she hadn’t worked for Nexicon and experienced Eden’s Gate herself, she might have had some of the same misconstrued thoughts.
Post #1240
Nah, according to beta testers, the game portrays you as how you see yourself, so Dr. Winston would look younger if he saw himself that way.
Post #1241
Guys, can we stop debating whether the game is operational? We know with certainty that it is. I mean, we all have Nexicon apps on our phones and can see the pings going to the blockchain—the same kind of pings that were being sent on launch day. We don’t know why, but I’m certain that the government is lying about the game being shut down. All our devices are powering something, but they don’t want us in there, and they can’t shut it down for some reason.
Post #1242
Because of taxes, lol! That’s why they don’t want us going in there. They don’t want people transferring into the game, because every person who leaves this trashed planet won’t be slaving away and paying taxes anymore. Duh!
Post #1243
Pings being sent don’t mean anything, dude. Nexicon could be using the data we’re sending for ANYTHING. They’re probably tracking everything we do so they can sell us the next product under a different name. Eden’s Gate is a ruse.
Post #1244
So, then you guys think everyone jumping into the game now are just killing themselves? Like the Nexicon headset is just a murder machine?
Post #1245
Lies guys! It’s all lies! Everything we hear about Eden’s Gate is a lie!
Post #1243
Look guys. I beta tested Eden’s Gate, so I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty that it’s real. It’s hard to explain, but once you’ve been there, it’s a whole lot easier to accept that, yeah… It’s really possible that people are living in another plane of existence. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a completely different world. That’s not Eden’s Gate. Now, open your eyes, and stop imagining things completely. That’s Eden’s Gate, or at least what it feels like—with some tweaks. Some people have said “It’s so realistic,” but it’s not realistic. It’s just freakin’ real! It’s as real as what you’re experiencing right now. You can feel, touch, smell like you can on Earth… think, laugh, love. There’s virtually no difference.
Eden’s Gate is 100% real.
Post #13423
I think you’re all a bunch of crazy sheep. This whole thing is nothing more than a con to trick weak-minded people into killing themselves. People who see past the lies will live, while sheeple and diltards kill themselves for a fake chance at immortality. Fuck Dr. Winston, fuck our government’s lies, and fuck Eden’s Gate
.
Kendra groaned, shook her head, and closed her laptop. It was getting late, and she had work to take care of the next morning. Reading the c
omments was stressing her out, and if she kept at it, she’d be up all night worrying about the state of the world.
She carefully leaned her laptop against the nightstand, turned off the lamp, and pulled a blanket over her legs.
As she adjusted herself on the pillow, a pinging noise ran out, and she groaned before turning on her side and reaching for her phone that was resting beside her lamp.
The screen read: Johnny Calling…
Kendra clicked the ‘accept’ button while simultaneously sitting up in bed. She leaned to her side and turned her lamp back on.
“Hey, babe,” her dark-haired husband said via the video chat on her phone.
Kendra tossed a loose hair back with her fingertips and creased her brow. “Hey, Johnny! What happened? I thought you were on a plane.”
Johnny grinned playfully, showing a bright white smile that matched the speckled white stubble of his beard. “My flight was delayed, so I just wanted to give you a call.”
“Oh no,” Kendra whined. “How long?”
“Just thirty minutes or so, they say. Some Karen spit on a kid with an Eden’s Gate t-shirt on. It was wild.”
Kendra rolled her eyes. “Well, thirty minutes isn’t much of a delay. Why’d you call? Just out of boredom?”
Johnny shrugged. “I’m not so bored, but I miss you.”
“Awww,” Kendra said with a grin. “I miss you too, but I literally just dropped you off two hours ago.”
He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I can’t get enough of you, baby. I love you.”
Kendra looked away and smiled. “After eight years, you still know how to make me blush.” She shook her head slightly. “I love you too.”
Johnny grinned widely. “I’m sorry if I woke you, but that’s all I needed to hear.” He moved his phone around as if it somehow allowed him to inspect Kendra’s off-screen surroundings. “You don’t have another guy over there, do you?”
