Private Western Brisshal Into the Wild

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

Frey had begun to notice how the Landers started coming and going from all corners of Astorea far more frequently than they had done before.

Officers, usually armored or with carefully elaborated weaponry sheathed at their sides, sometimes even behind themselves, spoke to the masses. People naming themselves Knights of the Lions, members of the Adventurers' Guild, researchers from the Institute... Amongst others unaffiliated, hired by each of the companies in turn to distribute papers signaling the call to adventure.

A call for the Starcalled to respond.

One such man stood taller than the others, his absurd physique commanding the attention of those who would pass him by, slowly coming to create a gathering around him, all eager to listen to what he had to say. Assistant of his traversed the crowd, spotting fellow Players with a keen sense of direction and pushing the pamphlets onto them, no matter how they tried to deny them.

Frey was one such individual, a beastfolk taller than him, cornering the Faerin with a mischievous grin tugging at either corner of their mouth. They spoke of glory, of duty to his fellow Starcalled Travelers, how many of them had already signed up and he was committing the equivalent of treason to his kin by not doing as the rest.

Not that he so easily believed any of it. Not that it had been necessary in the first place, not when he had already decided from the first string of overheard rumors that this was something he would like to partake in.

"Fine, fine, okay, I'll go! Geez!" A hurried hand seizes the parchment that is offered to him, detailing the basics of the assignment and where to head to in order to formalize his recruitment into the expedition. The Beastfolk gave a satisfied nod before they went about their business once more, bothering the next unfortunate Traveler to cross their gaze.

"Already? Guess those people back at the tavern weren't lying when they said this game was a special kind of brutal, hm?"

@Essence

 

[Essence]

Naturally drawn to a crowd, Essence found herself standing amongst a small gathering of players. She wasn't particularly interested in the man speaking until she heard about adventure. That word beckoned her as it usually led to action in Terra. Whatever morals or factions or ideologies were underlying in the man's words - or anyone's words - weren't really important to Essence. She's merely along for the ride in any given situation, ever-willing to quench her thirst for something more.

So when the Beastfolk chose her as a target of intimidation she seized the parchment for herself before they could even muster a single word. Her genuine desire to learn more beat out the tactics the Beastfolk had prepared in order to recruit as many players as possible. In an attempt to cover up their confusion toward Essence's abruptness, they moved on with haste to the next player that suited their interests. Essense - completely ignoring the presence of the Beastfolk up until then - lifted her eyes as they began to harass another player nearby. She shuffled through the crowd and settled before the Faerin as the Beastfolk walked off, clearly pleased that they were able to re-assert the dominant presence that she temporarily stole.

"Already what?" she asked, glancing down at her parchment and back at the Faerin. "I mean, it doesn't seem so brutal. This is all just mindless fun at the expense of... well, probably at the expense of someone or something," with a confused expression, she shrugged, and continued speaking, "I don't really care. They were probably aggressive with you because you're cute, or short, or both. Probably both. I mean... they targeted me, and it's probably obvious I'm new to the game. So that leaves me being tall and pretty. It's a common pattern, right?" With a smile replacing her confusion, Essence straightened her posture and flipped long, white locks back over her shoulder. She was teasing a bit, using the situation (that was way too serious, if thought about in-depth, for her liking) to strike a conversation.

Though Essence often failed to see her own beauty in the mirror, deep down she knew she was - at least - somewhat attractive, based on comments she's heard throughout her life. She often utilizes the outsider's perception of her attractiveness to bring it up as if she's confident.

But she has absolutely no qualms with telling others that they're attractive to her, despite her own insecurities. And the soft-boy aesthetic is totally one Essence is into.

"I'm Essence, by the way. I mean you could find that out yourself but I think formal introductions keep things classy in virtual reality. We should probably read whatever crap is on this paper. Wanna do it together?"

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

Words catch on his pointed ears, a colorful string of curses welling up inside him to what he assumes is the return of the Beastfolk who had left him alone not five seconds ago. Tearing his gaze away from the paper not only reveals his initial suspicion to be incorrect, but an entirely different, much taller lady standing in front of him, a smile pressed gently to her lips.

Frey cannot help but stutter, surprising even himself at the sound of his struggle to formulate speech even when this unknown person, who soon introduces herself as Essence, continues to be the picture of kindness.

Cute? Him?

"Why thank you," he has the decency to momentarily shy his eyes away from the taller woman's, ignoring the fact she had both insulted and complimented him in the same breath, feigning a burst of embarrassment that culminates with color taking to his cheeks. "My, aren't you quite the friendly one? You flatter me."

"Some random guy I met a week or so ago said this game will intentionally go out of its way to make things specifically to kill you. Between that warning, and this," he waves the pamphlet, clearly unconvinced of whatever he is about to say, "it is starting to feel like a coincidence."

Yet before he can continue his rant, his mouth shuts itself on instinct, something clicking in the back of his head as she mentions her status as a new player. What use would it do to terrorize a fellow new player with rumors and ideas that couldn't possibly be true?

"Bah. All doom and gloom, I say! Isn't it fitting that someone trying to stop people from playing would choose to be in the game too?" Amusing though it would be to entertain the idea of the grim rumors being true, the faerin resists the urge to indulge in such a fantasy in the face of a possible new acquaintance. "Not anything we should worry about, Miss Essence. Let's not speak of it anymore, shall we?"

He plucks the crown sitting over raven hair and presses it to his chest, lowering his head with a bow to the player in front of him. When he comes back to his full height, there is a smile just as warm as her own tugging at the corners of his mouth. "The name is Frey Elzeiros, title pending."

"That we should, that we should. Let's see…"

Ad

Come one, come all,

In collaboration with the Lion Arms, the Magical Institute of Theory, and the Adventurers Guild, the Explorers League is setting off on an expedition to northern Isulus.

The goal of the expedition is to figure out what happened with the missing whistles, secure the encampment, and resolve whatever caused the camp to go dark in the first place.

If you have been looking for information on any of the player factions, what they stand for and how they operate, here's a rare chance to find out!

Faction members will be joining the expedition and assist and answer any question you might have.

The expedition will set off on the morning of the 29th at the League's headquarters: The Embertorch in lower Finweald.

See you there, recruits!

"Huh. First, the Lions try to recruit people under their banner by using their guards to drag potential recruits to meetings, and now all the Guilds are coming together..." His attention stolen from the elf, he muses his thoughts with nary a second of consideration that he might be disturbing those around him.

"Depending on how long you've been around these parts, perhaps I could help. How much is it you know about the factions?"

 

[Essence]

"If someone wanted to kill us the game would drop an asteroid or something. I think, for now, we'll be fine. But I'll keep an eye out," Essence hardly minded listening to what @Frey Elzeiros seemed heated about. If things were going on in the game, she definitely would want to know, so in a way she saw this as a warning. Not that she would remember or actually keep an eye out. But it sounded good for her to make that false promise out loud. "My lips are sealed," she motioned to her mouth, "zipping" it up.

"Title pending? You have a crown! Let's call you..." she tapped her lip in thought. "Prince Elzeiros. It's such an honor to meet you."

The Elf read the Ad alongside Frey. Having not heard of factions yet, Essence stopped reading from the Ad to glace up at Frey's face, once again confused. Obviously, she understood the word but hadn't been aware that Terra had joinable factions for players. Inherently more comfortable existing as a follower, Essence enjoyed the concept of a faction to associate one's self with. Perhaps not now, or any time soon, but later on she would explore the options and join in. After all, factions likely bring in a lot of people, which meant more chances to utilize her ability to light up the room with a performance or two. More people, more affection, more attention, more escapism.

"Umm... so what are factions? To be honest with you, I'm wondering why they are coming together for this expedition-thingy. Maybe it's big trouble? Like, shouldn't one faction be big enough to go out there and solve the problem?" Fortunately, to the Elf, trouble sounded fun. Exciting. Like an adventure. Internally, Essence wished for the possibility to join in on the expedition, regardless of the dangers that could come to her. Though Frey would have to explain them a bit to her because she hadn't known about the possibility to join a faction up until now.

"We should walk and talk. Get the blood going, and get outta the way of those dumb recruiters. They may have big, hunky muscles but anyone who corners people and threatens them, like they did with you, is ugly. Nothing worse than putting attractiveness to waste, UGH. C'mon," she began to walk away from the crowd, moving slowly so as to not lose Frey among the plethora of players continuing to accumulate around the large man. Upon reaching the outskirts of the crowd, Essence gestured, with a wide arm-sweep, to the rest of Western Brisshal. "Here, now I can be the follower. I'm thinking you might know more than I do," she winked. The differences between their experience in Terra was more than obvious. "And it's only the gentlemanly thing for you to do. Mind giving up some time out of your day to help a newbie? I'll take any help I can get!" by help, she meant attention. But Frey didn't need to know about her insatiable desire to be talked to, taken care of, praised... the (very long) list goes on.

 

[Frey Elzeiros]

.

"Prince Elzeiros?" A smile touches his face, twitching at the corners of his mouth, not out of secret distaste for the suggestion, but quite the opposite. It occurs to him then and there, that while he wouldn't mind the nickname shared between the two, almost every other player out there would have half a mind to say something insulting to one who holds such a lofty title, as if picked by themselves.

"A more princely introduction is in order, then." What is a prince but a token of its people? Except that Essence is not one of his people, but she is the first to give him the name, and so he must honor her in return. While he had previously bowed to the woman, he had no trouble doing so again, this time taking one of her hands into his so he could bring it to his lips and press a chaste kiss to her knuckles.

A hundred questions, most of them shared with the sentiments the elven woman beside him speaks into being, spark to life inside his head.

Isulus reads as a foreign name that barely registers in his head, a name that he can't associate with anything he's heard of before. He hadn't had time to venture away from the starting zone during his endeavors to map the neighboring areas, limited as his time for exploration had been because of real-life constraints following him around.

"Haven't heard of the factions, then?" It is a wild thing to imagine, that someone might've gone so far as to reach the Western parts of Brisshal without knowledge of the factions that populated the world. Frey's lips part, an answer at the ready, but out of chance he thinks to look up only to see the elf already walking away, occasionally glancing back at him with a gesture to follow. The sound turns into a halfhearted chuckle, and he does as instructed.

Panic surges through him as, for a moment, it seems she might be intent on walking outside of the town's gates, yet she only makes it so far as to liberate themselves of the crowd. His steps fall into rhythm with her own, an arm stretched for her to take if she pleases, but not something required for him to impart the limited knowledge he possesses.

"First thing you would like to know is that Western Brisshal is far more dangerous than its Eastern counterpart. Part of that is because with all the new people showing up, there's been a recent incline of people wanting to prove themselves by thinning out the Wolf and Bear population... " A chuckle tumbles forth, as if to disguise his own part in that. As he talks, he guides her through the settlement, pausing at every point of interest such as a shop, a quest giver he had previously acquainted himself with, places to rest and eat at. All the stops a new player would require. "An active leyline makes navigating through the forest harder than it should be. It also makes the things living in it far more vicious."

"The Lion's Arm is probably the first faction you'll encounter. They are there to make sure people follow the 'law' and 'behave properly'. Think of your standard fantasy knights and then take it up by several notches of magnitude. That's them."

@Essence