TaroAndSelia

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

That doesn't apply to the Wilds, though. And since entering a dungeon at level 1 would be tantamount to suicide anyway... Hijinks ensue!

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

“If you guys want to go kill stuff, I’m totally up for it!” the rogue answered with a bright smile.

Alisea was momentarily stunned by the reply. She blinked once without a word. In a game of life and death where going out to "kill stuff" meant that stuff was trying to kill you, this odd peer appeared quite... happy. And ready to kill.

Alisea smiled--an affectionate, pleased, bone-chilling smile. "I do believe we will be fast friends," Alisea promised quietly.

Snapping herself back to the task at hand, the magess opened her menu to reach the party options. Her hand paused when she noticed something had changed since she started a party with Br- with that swordsman earlier. Curious (and half-listening to Fyaira's words), Alisea tapped on the news and announcements. A new message sat there, which she scanned briefly. Under her breath, Alisea muttered, "Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-four." Players were dropping like flies.

Dismissing the announcement, Alisea continued to the party screen and sent invites to both Fyaira and... Jack? What a normal name. Alisea closed her menu and faced her new partners. "I am Alisea--a mage, if that wasn't obvious. Not to be impolite, but we are in a rush: whenever these people finally accept this new life--maybe tonight, but definitely by tomorrow--the fields around this town will be flooded with players looking for experience. We need enough levels to stay a jump ahead of that flood, so we're going out right now.

"Oh," Alisea remarked as an afterthought. "Would either of you like a buckler or longsword? The... last person won't be using them anymore." There was a conversation Alisea didn't want to have right now, but she wanted to use every advantage they had. She considered it a calculated risk; if it was important to Jack (Fyaira probably wouldn't mind, Alisea was sure), she would answer him... later.

_{Interacting with:
@Thecrash20
@Airalin}

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

"What's he think he's saying?! I'm not dying here!"

"Calm down, Brad."

"No! I'm leaving! I'm turning it off! I'm never playing again!"

"You can't leave. He just told you that."

"Forget that! There has to be a door, or something!"

"What are- Don't run!"

Brad took off at a full, athletic sprint, his direction random. Alice gave chase, but he was a swordsman and she a mage. Her agility was barely enough to keep eyes on him--to follow him out the gates and into the wilds. His steps didn't slow, and Alice knew he was heading for danger.

From where she was, Alice had seen the boar well before her boyfriend; yet her attempt to shout a warning had fallen on deaf ears. The monster crashed into his side, knocking the swordsman out of his path and to the ground. It followed through with several forceful stomps. Alice raised her hands to cast, but all that poor, stupid boy did was scream. She cast the only damaging spell she had, cursing the severe limitations of character creation. One cast on the boar, then two--

And Brad shattered into shards of light.

The boar rounded on the witch attacking it. She kept her head cool, waiting as it charged. The boar's movements were slowed from the Frostbite; that gave her some advantage and time to prepare her next spell. As the boar drew near, she unleashed Flash of Light. The boar squealed and reared, and Alice took the opportunity to cast Frost Bite one more time, followed by a pair of swift punches to shave off the last of its HP. The boar fell dead and exploded into shards of light.

Alice took a deep breath, stood up straight, and went to check where Brad had disappeared. All that was left was the longsword and buckler she had helped him purchase, and the leftover 27 Renn. She took it, of course, hoping it would be enough to buy her some party members. Looking at the empty grass, Alice summed up her situation in her mind.

"Goodbye Brad. And goodbye, Alice."

She turned and left, jogging back into the city.

---

Alisea blinked, letting the memory finish replaying for the third time. The pixels that were her former flame flying apart. The boar disappearing in like manner. The feeling of energy rushing through her hands as she froze the boar to death. The fleshy thump as her fists finished the job.

'I think... this game can satisfy.'

She scanned the central plaza, looking for anyone prepared to face reality. A majority of players were still in a panic. But at the center of it all, sitting happily on the fountain, was a girl radiating all the confidence Alice had shown on the court. Alisea made a beeline for the girl, sidestepping a few of the more hysteric players, until she finally stood over the seated rogue.

"You look ready to fight," the magess remarked. "Come with me?"

_{Interacting with:
@Airalin}

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

Alisea

Appearance: Long, brown hair touches the small of her back; clear, blue eyes brighten her smile. Her light frame is a few inches taller than the average girl—enough that she was a good basketball player, though not a gifted one. Her skin is very fair from a good deal of time spent indoors.
Name: Alisea / Alice Averly
Title: -
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Race: Human
Background:

Logging In

“Custom appearance? But that’s such a waste of time. Look: long, brown hair; big blue eyes; five feet tall; slightly tan skin. Anything more? Randomize. Good.
“Class will be a magic-user of course. Umm… Mage it is, then. So very general, but the promise of specializing lies several levels in. Attributes to go with that would be lots of intelligence and mana and—Wait. Brad is totally new here, right? He won’t care if I have some fun. Let’s have a bit of Agility.
“Skills! This is the exciting part. What options do we have… Acupuncture? I can’t resist the thought! Just a few levels, though. Linguistics will be a usable skill? That’s terrific! Lots of levels there. Further down is… smithing? Yes, I think I would quite like to craft my own jewelry later on. I didn’t see an Enchanting skill, though; I wonder if that’s part of smithing or magic? I’ll just have to find out later. Only a few more levels for—here we go! Unarmed combat. Brad won’t mind, I’m sure; he’s only an amateur. It’s a small miracle he was willing to play at all. And after all the trouble I went through to secure two copies! Heehee. This really will be the best game ever. He’s so lucky that this is his first.
“Anyway, I need some spells. Only three? My, but that’s so restricting! Is it limited by level? Or will it just be a matter of affording more? Some of these actions look useful, too, but… with only three, I can’t afford it. *sigh* I’ll focus on spells for the start. Jabs and strikes come later.
“All done? Good. Now let’s see just how real this virtual reality is. I hope it can… satisfy.”

June 17, 2076

Today was the beginning of the world of Talrae. It seems pointless do dwell here on what that meant for us; a “death game,” as I hear other players mutter in the streets, is the simplest description. This is a journal, so I will record my own journey in this world.

Firstly, the swordsman I brought into this world is dead. I don’t let myself think about it—or at least, I try not to let myself. For the sake of whomever it is that will read this, I suppose I should be clear though. Brad was my boyfriend. I watched him die, and I realized even then that a part of who I was died with him—not because of what I felt for him, but because of what I didn’t. But again, I do not wish to dwell and so will leave it at that.

From there I met up with a pair of eager fighters: Fyaira, a rogue who seemed pleased with being imprisoned in the world of Talrae; and Jack Goldart, a tinker who didn’t seem to notice or care about the threat of death. We started a simple adventure together: slay ten wild boars. We did so, but the rewards for each boar individually were minuscule. Deciding grinding those starter monsters was inefficient, we returned to the city to restore mana and rest for the evening.

That was where we found another group of players who had readily embraced the challenge that is Talrae. (Rather, I learned later that these were two groups who had simply met up before I arrived.) I was eager to join the large group, but Fyaira and Jack didn’t seem to appreciate the crowd. That was there choice, and we’re still friends—meaning we have exchanged a friend request and can communicate through the chat system. In the meantime, I’m with a larger group of allies and we have a goal to conquer a dungeon beginning tomorrow.

That is my history, short as it seems. There are less noteworthy events: shopping for gear for the swordsman and myself; and again, going out this evening to purchase this book and ink. That particular endeavor led to something interesting: the non-player characters here seem to have personality. I met a shopkeeper and her husband, Francesca and Vincenzo, and I must aver that they are caring persons and pleasant company. Why would the man who created the “death game” create these NPCs? For that matter, why did he create Talrae?

Speculating here would yield little to nothing, so I shall forbear. The final event for the night was meeting the swordswoman, Aster, who is willing to help me practice my fighting abilities in the morning. The party is gathering at nine, and I have quite the to-do list for the morning before then; so I shall conclude my writings here with only this:

Talrae is amazing. And I have seen only the tiniest part of what we might do here.

June 19, 2076

The past two days have been tremendously informative.  The party I had gathered with on that first night set off the next morning to raid a dungeon.  It was a full eight hours of travel to reach the site--and certain members arrived late that morning, so we spent a night in the woods and entered the dungeon the following morning.  Much to my disappointment, we spent less than an hour inside:  three encounters with wolves and one set of chests were all we discovered.

It seemed the party’s morale hit its limit there.  I confess, I bear some blame in that.  The man called Dubstepp, who had claimed to be a mage (and, much to my vexation, still does) is in truth a trainer.  Why he insists on lying about such a fundamental I cannot fathom.  In the heat of the moment (and it certainly was hot, for we had just finished combating a large, white wolf), I lost my temper with him.  Then the one called Karma attempted to shame him--poorly, I might add.  That was effectively the end of our raid.

It should come as no surprise to me that people continue to be people, even in this new world.  Perhaps it would be better to say people are even more like people here; many of the social barriers imposed in the modern world can be neglected and forgotten in this place.  I suspect we shall see more and more of men’s baser instincts the longer we remain here, as more and more players realize old conventions are not being enforced.  I dare say I may fall subject to such notions; the thrill of combat is something new to all of us, and I find myself enjoying it every time.

Not that I believe this to be an evil in and of itself.  I feel that many people will find this time to be a refining period--a time to rise above what we may have envisioned on earth.  Some will continue to lie and to shame, this is true; there are far fewer repercussions to face now.  But some will step forward and offer the best they have, and that best will become something even better now that it is free of the needless rules of the modern world.  Take, for example, Reylan:  he stepped forward not only to be our scout moving into the dungeon, but also took up a role as our commander to improve our safety.  Or look at Dirk who took the brunt of the attacks in our place, or Aster who readily threw herself into the battle.  None of these opportunities would ever present themselves on earth.  Each of us is slowly discovering a new self for this new world--or, rather, discovering parts of our self we never would have found without Talrae.

Class: Mage
Subclass: -

Attributes
Health: 800
Mana: 2200
Strength: 3
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 27

Level: 9
Renn: 20
Experience: 815 / 2570

Skills:
Unarmed Combat: 30
Acrobatics: 10
Linguistics: 15
Lip-Reading: 2
Literature: 9
Smithing: 9
Acupuncture: 4
Searching: 5
Gathering: 2
Tracking: 1
Hiding: 1
Geology: 1
Monster Knowledge: 1

Favored Disciplines:
Pure Magic
Ice
Darkness

Spells:
Fire Burst (1) - User makes target catch on fire, dealing low damage. 50MP.
Fire Strike (2) - User shoots out a stream of fire in a line, dealing moderate damage. 100MP.

Create Water (1) - User makes target common object, no bigger than the user, into clean water. 50MP.

Frost Bite (1) - User shoots out a magic beam that slows target's movement briefly and deals low damage. 50MP.
Icicle Shot (2) - User shoots an icicle at target, dealing moderate damage and slowing target. 100MP.
Cold Touch (3) - User’s hands will emit a chilling energy that will freeze any objects they touch if they hold onto it long enough. Freezing time is proportionate to Intelligence Attribute stat. User may disable or enable this ability whenever they wish. Passive.
Ice Lance (4) - Ice grows out from User's hand and deals damage. Target is slowed. 100MP.
Emit Cold Air (5) - User emits cold wave of air, chilling all nearby targets. Targets are slowed and takes small amount of damage. 200MP.
Cold Skin (6) - User gains damage reduction against heat-based attacks. Passive.

Nether Pull (1) - Target is pulled towards the User by shadow energy. 100MP.
Nether Push (2) - Target is pushed away from the User by shadow energy. 100MP.
Hidden in the Shadows (3) - Whenever user casts a spell from the Darkness Discipline, user becomes covered in shadows, making them harder to see and hit. Passive.
Darken Vision (4) - User disrupts target’s vision with darkness. Increases the target’s chance of missing attacks. 100MP.
Shadow Raze (5) - User razes an area in front of them with shadow energy, dealing damage. 200MP.
Attuned to the Night (6) - User slowly regenerates mana during nighttime. 50 mana per hour. Passive.
Shadow Bind (7) - User holds down target's shadow, freezing target in position for a while. 200MP.

Strengthen (1) - Target gains +5 Strength for a few seconds. 50MP.
Healing Beam (2) - User emits a healing beam of light to a target. 100MP.
Attuned to One’s Body (3) - User gains 50HP whenever they cast a spell from the Body Discipline. Passive.

Chakra Magic (1) - User restores small amount of mana in target. 0MP.
Cleanse Magic (2) - Remove one negative status caused by magic from target ally or self. 100MP.
Mana Payback (3) - Every time user casts any spell, there is a small chance of recovering 50% of spent mana. Passive.

Actions:
Dash - User dashes forward for a short distance. 30MP.
Palm Strike - User strikes out with a palm. Low chance of stunning target briefly. 10MP.
Stunning Punch - User punches target. Medium chance of stunning target briefly. 30MP.
Sidestep - User steps aside. Low chance of evasion. 20MP.

Items:
Equipped
Cloth Armor (Rare)
Solace Cloak
Leather Boots
Sturdy Clothes (Common) (for mobility in combat)
Cutthroat's Gloves (AGI +5)
Solace Medallion (INT, AGI, STR +1)
Jewelry

Inventory
Wooden Talisman
Ancient Mage's Talisman
Waterskin (full)
Purple Potion
Magic Scroll (Miracle) - Magic Scroll item. Contained spell: Miracle
Blanket
Nuts and Seeds (3)
Fresh Vegetable (1) (Suspect it to be a zucchini; should ask River)

Storage (rented from Day 6, 13:24 to Day 20, 13:00)
Fancy Clothes
Sturdy Clothes (common) (long skirt, long-sleeved blouse)
Clothes (common) (crafted by Karma)
Cloak (common)
Shoes (Common)
Air-Walker's Sandals - Up to 5 steps in the air
Empty Book (2/20)
Ink and Quill (18)

✧ Talrae ✧ (LOOKING FOR CO-GM)

Well, uh... Hi! I'm that last Mage that jumped onto the train as it was leaving the station. She'll be a witch, so her focus is on curses: debuffs, status effects, some damage-over-time. I am leaving some room for pivoting as the guild grows and needs change, though.

As for me, I'll be here every day except Sundays. If you need (or want) me, PM is the fastest way to grab my attention. I love seeing mail in my inbox. If you have a specific scene in mind and I can help make it happen, don't hesitate to ask. I may do the same of you, so... yeah.

I'm looking forward to slaying with you all!

Dear Gamer: Let's Seek Each Other Out

Okay, so last weekend was a wedding and this weekend is another reception, but next week life will return to normal. If you're just worried about filling the slots, I offer to submit a female character.

Worlds Apart

“Pumpkin,” the woman answered Anni with a sleepy smile, “I’m Stormy Jeans. In the flesh. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit a little longer,” she finished, nearly asleep in her seat.

Anni may have mentioned that she did mind, just a little, because of a rapidly approaching deadline. But the chance to say it departed before she could choose. A police officer, Officer Keahi he said, stepped forward to put a stop to the, well, the dying. Anni would think that to be all well and good--officers were supposed to save people!--but a small voice at the back of her mind was... resenting? Yes--resenting the man's attempt to prevent her--them, all of them--from taking part in this.

That stream of thought dried up when he spoke several choice words directly at Anni, accompanied by the flash of a handgun. Her mind fumbled and dropped the words as soon as the pistol caught her eye, but whatever he had said she knew he wasn't happy. Time slowed as her eyes remained fixed on that small piece of metal. It wasn't aimed right at her, but she certainly felt it projecting her way.

Then someone--Kate?--ran in front of her, breaking her line of sight and the enchantment the appearance of a weapon had had.

“‘Bullseyes and Targets,’ say the Bells of St. Margaret's”

Stormy's words floated into Anni's thoughts like a dream. Everything about the moment was surreal.

The crack of gunfire cut through her thoughts like a blade. Reality--or what was left of it--turned to a nightmare.

Anni jumped out of her seat and watched, wide-eyed, as the officer tumbled off the platform and onto the tracks. She took two steps before whirling around to face Stormy. "There's no time! If you're going to come, it has to be now!" Anni cried. She reached for the woman's hand to tug her to her feet, but she couldn't stop and wait for her. Sitting or standing, Anni left Stormy and sprinted to the platform's edge. She didn't even notice the other body, the person who had attacked the officer. She didn't notice any of the other people anymore. Her gaze was fixed on the place she had seen Officer Keahi fall from.

In a moment she was at the edge; there she only slowed enough to plant one hand on the ledge and push off from the wall. Landing with a soft thud nearby the officer, Anni dropped to her knees and stared at the blood on the man's chest. Her hands began searching her person for anything she could use to stop the bleeding: a bandage, a jacket, even a handkerchief. All they could find were the loose folds of her skirt. Without even waiting to think on it, Anni pulled herself right up against the officer's side and draped as much of her red skirt over his torso as she could, then pressed it down over the gash.

As crimson blood soaked into the fabric, Anni felt small vibrations through her knees. She looked at the officer, panic evident on her face. "You have to get up!" Anni told him. "The train is almost here!"

Worlds Apart

Oh, thank goodness. Somebody who hasn't lost it steps forward. That's exactly the part that Anni's uncertain about, actually; part of why she's trying to talk to Stormy is to see if she wants to go or not. The only rebuttal Anni would have to offer is to hold up her Semblance--and to point at the one the Ghost Girl just materialized for Stormy. Anyone else want to try to talk Keahi down first?

(Or do we let Vlad... Um, probably not. Bad idea.)

Worlds Apart

Anni had been calm. Seeing many strangers--and a few friends--gathered at this place had not been frightening. The Ghost Girl arriving wasn't scary in the slightest; it was rather exciting, in fact, to finally meet the rumor in person. She wasn't terribly bothered by the reactions of any of the other people; although Ascot's words had been enough to make her consider her actions, her determination to press on was unshaken.

Then a girl jumped onto the train tracks. Anni's anticipation wavered, confusion pushing against it and worry for the girl flowing in. The train was coming! She would die!

All of Anni's eagerness (had she been eager? Such an emotion felt so out of place now) shattered as the Ghost Girl's words made it plain that was exactly what she desired. There was no boarding a magic train to another world. There was no mystical gate to jump through. There was one horrible impact, then death. Yes, the Ghost Girl promised life on the other side of that death, and Anni wanted to put faith in that. She had great faith in a life after death; she just hadn't expected it to come in quite this manner. She had always imagined growing up, meeting a charming and handsome veterinarian, buying a ranch, raising a family--and somewhere far, far at the end would be death and an afterlife. Facing death now was, in a word, mortifying.

'No!' her mind cried out instinctively. Pictures of her mom, her pets, the animals at the zoo, the family she wanted to have in the future, even the stack of homework papers she had on her desk all swam through her thoughts. Her body gave her every reason she had to not die tonight. All of it tried to press upon her mind with savage ferocity, trying to fuel the survival instinct rooted deeply inside every living soul. Yet the entirety of it was inadequate to drown out one small thought--born of charity learned through a short lifetime of caring for others (even if most of them were animals).

'What did she lose?'

Anni looked back up at the Ghost Girl. Though she was looking at someone else, Anni watched her face intently. Truly there wasn't much to read; her face was as cold as death. But Anni thought--Anni wanted to believe--she could see something in the girl's eyes. A pain, a sadness, a loneliness and sorrow. Surely the girl understood loss, so she was here to protect others from it.

But... Death. Death. How many people had already died here, truly? Rumors said hundreds, though the actual body count wasn't that high. How many of those people had she made this same offer to? How many trusted in her promise of life after death in this subway station?

A warm hum in her hands jolted Anni out of her introspection and back to the situation. Two more stood between the rails--one of whom, to Anni's shock, was Ascot. The hum didn't allow her time to wonder why he had changed his position so completely; instead, her attention was pulled down to the mask in her hands. It wasn't making any noise; Anni didn't hear it humming so much as knew it was humming. And she knew, looking at that impossibly wide mouth, that it was grinning at her.

A strange memory raced through Anni's mind. She saw the first time she lost a pet--a hamster. Anni had been distraught--she was barely six--but Mom had explained how little Huey would become part of the soil, and then beautiful flowers would grow out of the soil. They buried Huey in the garden bed and went inside to watch The Lion King.

Such a memory seemed entirely out-of-place; nevertheless, Anni grabbed it and used it to pull herself back out of the shock and fear. Death seemed less frightening--less an end and more another step. Anni clenched her eyes shut, sent a silent plea to heaven, then opened her eyes and stepped forward.

"I'll help carry her!" Anni cried. Not giving herself time to back out, to reconsider or second-guess, the young girl quick-stepped to the woman collapsed on the bench. Sliding one arm under a shoulder and behind her back, Anni looked at her face with some concern. She knew she couldn't lift the woman by herself--the woman definitely weighed more than a tiger cub--so she waited for someone else to take the other side. "Hey," Anni said in a low voice, looking for a response to see if she was totally unconscious. Asking 'are you okay' in that situation would have been ridiculous, so instead Anni inquired, "What's your name? I'm Anni."

@jdh97

Dear Gamer: Let's Seek Each Other Out

If killing 'em off doesn't fit right, you could invoke GM powers and move them as necessary--or delegate that to whomever is with them at the moment.

There's also a panic attack that renders them unconscious, refusing to move until help arrives, unable to wake up at this time...

Um, I mean... No, I don't spend far more time than necessary thinking about how to remove characters from a story through death or less fatal means. Just spur of the moment here, yes sir. =P