Open Eastern Brisshal A Firefly Descends

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

Once again, a shooting star blazes the clear skies above Eastern Brissal. Flying over the small towns that populated the area. And soon crashing down next to the Blue Rapids.

Ishtara sat quietly. Her tail slowly beginning to wag gently as her eyes opened. The first thing she did soon after, was approach the water to look at her reflection. Her head tilting one way to another. A light twitch of her elven-ish ears. She smiles. Satisfied with her selections. Ishtara stood up, twisting her body to look herself over. A couple nods. But she noticed one important detail...

"I... didn't spawn with anything but my clothes, huh?" She asks as she once again looked herself over. Then went to try opening her inventory or something but couldn't quite figure it out. "How... does this game work?" She tried a variety of hand motions before giving up. Maybe someone could tell her?

Her head turned to begin looking around. Spawning in the middle of the woods without a weapon? Seriously is this some sort of death game? Ishtara sighs. A town might have something. "... Oh! I have magic! How does..." She continued muttering to herself as she began walking towards where... she hoped was a town. And likely walking in the wrong direction to boot.

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The bells of her outfit rang as she took one, two, three steps forward skipping in what it looked to be a playful dance as she moved, swaying tail and blade as if it was just a fun distraction. Each inch moved was almost a dance step, and harmonica notes followed her.

The peaceful path seemed so far very quiet, at least until a lone figure showed up.

As usual, Ruby's tail swayed close to where it would be her Jian's sheath, but this time she already had it on her hand which made it a quite redundant maneuver. Redundant and dangerous, she didn't want to look like some hostile person right away, so she simply interrupted her steps, allowing the bells to ring one more time and stare at the girl.

She tilted her head, watching her for a moment before twitching her ears.

The way they looked, the place they were, and of course the shooting star she had just seen.

"New?" She asked.

@Ishtara de Vanteau (Yes, I know, bot said Hanno, but then I saw the similar mastery set and Ruby it shall be).

 

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

Upon hearing harmonica and bells, the woman known as Ishtars froze. But soon enough a cat girl... it is a cat girl, right? Made an appearance! Her tail curled around her a bit nervously. Her hand instinctively coming up with a defensive gesture. Holding both in front of her, like she had been taught in her self-defense classes.

But then the question filtered through and we're brought to her ears. Ishtara's head tilted to the side. Her tail curling around her waist to sit in front of her.

"It's that easy to tell, huh?" She asks with a tilt of her head. A soft smile. Well, they didn't outright attack her! Though that's a vicious looking sword- Chinese? Why was that her wonderment she would never know...

"But yes, I am- how do I open my inventory? Or... cast magic?" Ishtara's hands slowly lowered from her defensive posture to rest at her side. It wasn't like anything bad would happen around this person after all. R-right?

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The grip tightened when the girl suddenly got on a fighting stance. But Ruby wasn't too hasty on acting, considering the nervousness of the other, it was clear that a misunderstanding was happening. Of course, Ruby, you are wielding a sword with a lone, unarmed person in the middle of an isolated forest.

Her ears twitched at the question, and her sword was quickly sheathed as she smiled faintly. "My name is Crimson Ruby" She said, first and foremost.

Followed by it, she clenched her fist shut and opened. "Do like this, it will open your User Interface. You can see your things this way-" Ruby said, checking her own UI that should be invisible to the new girl.

"Casting magic... Uh, it has been a few years, I don't remember if the default setting is with assisted mode or free mode..." She rubbed her chin, expecting the other to tell her as soon as she opened the UI.

@Ishtara de Vanteau

 

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

Ishtara's stance lightened. Relaxing as a smile quickly formed on her face. She was perfectly fine now! And even told how to open her UI! No danger.

Her hand lifted up, typically she would swipe down to open herinventory and character screen so this not working was surprising. She held her hand up, clenched her fist and and then opened her palm. Her smile grew.

"Thank you!" She gives a very deep bow. Her tail twitching above her. "My name is Ishtara de Vanteau! It's nice to meet you." She stood up straight shortly after her line.

Her eyes scanning over the settings and other such things the UI contained. Finding the inventory tab and... as expected she found nothing of use there.

A couple more swipes of her fingers as she found the magic. Pursing her lips. "Hmm... it looks like... Assisted. I'd rather not turn that off just yet." A few nods to herself as she closedour the invisible screen.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby watched the girl moving her hand around, clearly playing with her User Interface. She waited, somewhat patient until she was thanked in the deepest bow she has ever received. Was the other girl Japanese? That would be the only explanation. "You are welcome. It is nice to meet you as well." She said, nodding while swaying her tail.

"Assisted, in that case, all you need to do is to initiate the first movement of your skill or spell, and your body will do the rest by itself," Ruby said, resting a hand on her hips. "It isn't ideal, since you get limited. But honestly in my first playthrough in this game I only used assisted mode."

She flexed her arm with a confident smile. "I've played a lot of VR games since then though, so now a days I'm good enough to try free combat." Ruby said, with her tail wrapping around the grip of her sword and pulling it out of her sheath, swinging it before tossing it upwards so she could grab it with her hand. "Like this!"

@Ishtara de Vanteau

 

[Ilya]

Ilya somehow always managed to find her way back into the area that new players spawned, as to why, Ilya could only realize in slight irritation. She liked being looked up to, as a stronger player, and as a hero. WHY do themes of my past have to still carry with me, even after four years have passed?? Ilya hated herself for it, why the need to always be regarded as a hero? It was an annoying trait to say the least, but her pride didn't enable her to stop. Even if she refused to admit it, she liked the compliments from other players.

A shooting star had made its way into the sky and Ilya knew exactly what it meant, a new player.. Ilya made her way in its direction, in hopes to witness the birth of what could be, potential. She had made it just in time to hear someone unsheathing their sword. Her enhanced hearing coming in clutch, 'Like this!' Ilya wasn't sure what was happening but upon hearing the sound of a hand catching something midair, she connected two and two together. Someone was most likely either showing off, or teaching the basics.

Ilya made her way through the forage of leaves and branches until she popped out into the open. Her eyes landing on two girls. Both of them happened to be taller than she was, something she was used to due to making her character just over five feet. One had adorning red hair, the other what appeared to be a golden blonde. Ilya could instantly tell that the ginger was a Beastfolk due to the ears and tail adorning her head and back.

The other, not so much, she had features of a Faerin but also she had a tail like that of a Beastfolk. Not fretting on their racial identity, Ilya waved her hand in greeting her tail flicking as she observed the situation trying to figure out the vibe of the conversation and what was going on. "What do we have here?" Ilya would then ask to try and get a better grasp on the situation at hand.

 

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

There was a short pause as she opened her hand again and opened the UI again. Her head tilting to the side as she tried to figure out what exactly the first movement was that she needed... But also... She still had no way to use it. So finding out the movements now was useless! "Ah-- what do you need to cast magic and stuff in this game?" Her head tilts. But then she heard another woman. A light jump, the UI closed on her and she turned to look at the new girl.

"Oh! Hello!" Ishtara grinned widely at the presence of yet another person. New friends! And people to meet! Her tail gave a happy lil twitch behind her. "I just logged in for the first time so... I'm just trying to figure out what exactly it is I'm doing! Can I have your name? I'm Ishtara de Vanteau!"

Ishtara's right hand came up over her chest and she gave a quick bow.

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"It should be written in your skills. Some of them are premade, others you can make yourself- I mean, you are a newbie, so for now you probably only have premade and basic ones-" Ruby leaned in, moving her sword back to her sheath after the demonstration of free combat.

Her attention then shifted when a third voice appeared, with her becoming a bit jumpy and quickly turning in the direction of the voice. When she noticed it was just a fellow beastfolk, and one that didn't seem to be outright hostile, her muscles relaxed and she mused about the girl's question, half-opening her mouth before the other was already giving all the information the other one could wish to know.

"Yeah, was just showing this one how things works," Ruby said, tilting her head to Ilya. "Name is Crimson Ruby." She introduced herself, waiting for the other to do the same.

@Ishtara de Vanteau @Ilya

 

[Ilya]

Ilya would glance from one to the other, they seemed friendly enough, "You can call me Ilya, and to help answer the question further... It sorta depends what kind of magic you're gonna use. Some people use chanted words, but with the auto-assist system in place it makes it a heck of a lot easier. You just have to think of the spell you wanna use, or chose some of the presets that come into your vision when you're about to cast." Ilya placed her hands in front of her body.

"Let me show you an example." Ilya quickly opened her UI and enabled the casting assistance that many new users used, then she focused on her hands, envisioning a light being held in the palm of her hand. Almost as soon as she thought it, it was brought to life. The divine light fluttering in between her palms. "Without auto-assist, I would have had to do a ritual or speak a chant... For example..."

Ilya dismissed her magic and opened her own UI once again. After disabling auto-assist, she held her hands out. She took a breath, trying to remember the exact basic chant. "Tyldr lend me your assistance, and bring a light to shine in the darkness." After completing her chant, the same divine light lit up and flickered in her palms.

"I personally just use simple chants to empower my fists. Though there are a lot of hand movements and rituals you can learn to make casting a lot faster in combat. Though the more complex the spell, the more you have to chant or the longer you have to do your movement rituals for... Though assist mode makes it easier, having it off definitely lets you do more."

 

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

Ishtara was quick to glide her hand up to the skills menu when Ruby mentioned that is how she would learn the basic movements. Though after just a second her gaze was turned to the new person as they showed off their skill and so did Ruby. "Oooouh! Both so impressive!" She claps then looks at her menu again. Since assist mode was on...

Her tail twitched. She held a hand out to the side. A thin blue blade appearing in her hand. "Ouh! So that's how that works! Now I don't entirely need a physical sword to fend things off!..." She trails off a bit.

"But I should maybe get one anyway, huh...?" She closed the menu, looking over the sword she had made with magic. A weak lil thing, really. She grabbed one end with one hand and then the blade end. And bent it. It immediately shattered from the force of it. "Ah... not very strong yet..." She mumbles.

"So ah-... What do you guys do for fun around here?"

@Crimson Ruby @Ilya

 

[Crimson Ruby]

As soon as the other woman started talking and explaining a lot of things, Ruby found herself having her tail swaying around and taking mental notes about all of that. Honestly, she did engage in games after her first Terrasphere experience, and it was four years of gaming experience*

Not much in comparison to others.

But it seemed like she didn't think of every bit of possibility. "I see, so you can use assist mode for that. Hmm-" She crossed her arms, pondering about it. "Yeah, but like you, I only use magic to empower- And music and dancing are actually a bit easy for me to handle." She said.

Her eyes then shifted to Ishtara.

"Kill and get loot, of course." She said, blinking as if that question was a bit silly. Of course, it wasn't silly, it was just silly in the mind of a murderhobo. "But there is other stuff to do. Like exploring. I am part of the Explorers League, for example." She said with a smirk, tucking her hand into her collar and pulling out a shiny, golden whistle.

@Ishtara de Vanteau @Ilya

 

[Ilya]

Ilya nodded her head, "At the end of the day, everyone has their own style. With that, it helps build this world. Endless possibilities after all..." Ilya also followed Crimson's eyes, focusing back on her other companion Ishtara.

Fun... In fact, Ilya realized with a start that she rarely did anything just for "fun" in the game. She had been so focused on fighting. "I uhm...." Ilya stuttered, thinking of what to say. "I mean, I guess I just sorta...." She stuck out her finger, drawing it under her chin to visualize the fact that she was thinking. "I sort of just fight, I haven't really spent that long having a day off. I know of a few things I want to do... I just haven't done them yet." For one, Ilya wanted to get a pirate ship and see what sailing on the sea in a fantasy world felt like.

Though that was not something Ilya would admit just yet, as she had to still put together the plan. "I'm part of the Adventurer's Guild.. Which kind of makes sense for me, since all I really do is fight, and fight... and fight. It would be nice to just have fun. Though I guess I convinced myself that I don't have the luxury." Ilya was disappointed in herself to say the least. "Why don't the three of us go and do something fun?"

 

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

Ishtara looked between Ruby and Ilya. Her head tilting lightly to the side as she listened to the words they said. No... fun? Except killing? How did she end up meeting such boring people on her first day!? Though one thing did catch her attention. Her head turns to Ilya once again.

"How do you... not have a day off? You're playing a video game? Is this like a second job or something? Is real money trade something you can do legally?" Her head tilts the other way. Her tail giving a curl to form the shape of a question mark. "No that can't be right..."

Ishtara looked towards the sky. "Yeah! Let's find something fun to do. I mean it's not like we don't have the whole... needing to work thing to do? And it's still around midday." She grins. Her tail wagging simply now.

"And I can practice more of this magic stuff on the way!"

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"Fighting does give a lot of exp after all. It is the fastest way to become strong." Ruby said with a nod to Ilya, then glancing at Ishtara, crossing her arms. "But that doesn't mean you only need to do that. You can get exp by simply existing in this place, it is crazy." Maybe because experience, or Mastery, in Terrasphere was... literal, rather than just a name to value something.

The way Ishtara worded it made Ruby laugh. "No no, you are overthinking. Some people just like the adrenaline." She explained, lowering her ears and tilting her head.

"About fun things... hmm, I vote for exploration. There are plently of new areas and dungeons after all these four years, so it is a lot of sightseeing that may need puzzles to go through." She suggested, hoping that the other two would like the idea.

If there was three things that she liked more than looting and fighting was dancing, singing and exploring.

@Ishtara de Vanteau @Ilya

 

[Ilya]

Ilya nodded her head as Crimson Ruby confirmed the reason why so many people enjoyed fighting. "Yeah, I do suppose it's about the fact that we get adrenaline from fighting, and I just find it really satisfying to beat up stuff." Ilya chuckled, it really was an odd way to find fun now that she thought of it.

Moving closer towards the two, Ruby then suggested that they go exploring, "I'm not opposed to exploring and finding something like that. Even if we don't it still let's us see all kinds of new things!" Ilya flicked her tail, maybe if they encountered some kind of beast she could also take it on and enjoy some fighting... "If you're opposed to doing that Ishtara, we could always go to the Blue Rapids... Either go fishing or swimming, there's lots of cute aquatic monsters that aren't prone to attacking!"

No matter what the group wanted to do, Ilya decided that she would agree. It would be a nice change of pace to do something other than fighting.

 

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

Ishtara's tail curled around her waist, listening to her current companions speak in turn. While she knew fighting would get her exp and the like... but there were other things to do, surely. She rubbed her hand along her arm. The fact that she could feel this movement so readily meant that the game was also much more advanced than the other games she had played before.

But- Ishtara heard something interesting from Ilya. Her head turned and a smile grew on her face just at the words she spoke. "Fishing? Oh- you've said the words that I enjoy hearing, fishing is always a good pastime. And sadly one I rarely get to indulge in real life." Her tail uncurled from her waist and began quickly wagging back and forth. Her eyes went to Ruby.

"Could we go fishing?- Ah... I don't have a pole or tackle or net... wait maybe I could... hmm... " She looked at her hands. The idea of creating her own popped into her head. In an instant the menu was open as she turned off the assist mode. And there she was, trying to make a spectral hook, line and bobber.

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby's ears perked up instinctively at Ilya's mention of fishing. "Hmmm, I wouldn't reject some fish-" She muttered, raising her posture and resting a hand on her hips. "The Blue Rapids sounds like a good plan, I didn't check that place out too much yet, so it would be fun to see it better." She said, waving her tail happily and then looking at Ishtara trying to make use of her magic in a freeform way.

"Ooh, good job. That's how you do it!" She nodded eagerly. Even if it was being done in the wrong way or anything, practice made perfect.

"We could also try and fish in the old way-" Ruby suggested, mimicking an attempt of grabbing something on the ground.

"Like meow! Snatch it with-" She paused, realizing she meowed before clearing her throat. "L-Like, snatching it with your own hands." Ruby finished her sentence.

@Ilya @Ishtara de Vanteau

 

[Ilya]

Ilya couldn't help but laugh at Crimson Ruby's performance. The little nya was adorable, Ilya found herself leaning in towards the two of them. "If all else fails, I still have fishing gear in my inventory from my time fishing down at Ilmea's Lement. Though I think there's only enough for one, we can always swap it out. I wouldn't mind trying it the old way-" She winked at Ruby, almost mimicking her before turning towards where she believed the river to be.

"Now i'm not the best at directions, so you'll have to tell me if i'm going the wrong way. If all else fails, we'll flail around till we find it." She had completely forgot that she had been there before, meaning it would be on her player map. Instead of moving however, she would turn back around and watch Ishtara work on making her rod.

She didn't want to rush anyone, despite itching to get to where the water was. Despite being a "catgirl" (lions are cats too D :<), Ilya loved the water. The only thing she hated about water was the ocean, cause well, sand. While waiting, Ilya would flick her tail, swiping through her inventory to find her fishing pole. Upon finding it she would summon it, watching it materialize in her hands. She leaned it against her shoulder, ready to head out for when everyone else was ready.

 

[Ishtara de Vanteau]

Ishtara glances up from her work, her fingers already tangled in a blue string-like substance, looking at Ruby as they meowed. A grin formed on her face. "That was adorable!" Was all she said.

her head turned to look behind her.. "The blue rapids are a river going through here, yeah?" Ishtara turns back towards Ilya and Ruby. "I think it's where I first spawned before I began walking around to try and find a town."

Her eyes glanced back to her work, fiddling with the string that had simply become more dense around her fingers. Ishtara tilts her head at it and pulls, resulting in the string breaking and shattering into globs of mana. "Dang it..."

"Hrmmm... Perhaps I did it wrong... imagining a spool instead of a long line..." Her tail twitched. Her eyes went to look once more at Ilya who had gotten her own rod out. "Oooh- that's a nice one! But I kinda wanna see if I can do this..."

@Crimson Ruby @Ilya