1.1 Prologue

A green gem sits upon its altar, shining as brightly as the day it was cut and polished.

The rock lay next to it, unmoving and uncaring, oblivious to the suffering of the outside world. Here was warmth. Here was home.

Of course, the rock knew none of this. It could not think, for how could it? And yet, the rock sat at the base of the altar, and it felt, it felt something rising up within it.

[Sentient being recognized. Designation Assigned: USER]

[Congratulations User! You are the first of your kind to achieve sentience. Please select a class]

The rock stirred, and a gust of wind forced it to roll over. It considered the text appearing in its mind's eye. It knew nothing of language, of speech, and so it sat.

[User, please select a class]

[Usuario, seleccione una clase]

[المستخدم ، الرجاء تحديد فئة]

[Utilisateur, veuillez sélectionner une classe]

…

And on and on it went. The system, shifting through the myriad languages at its disposal, finding none that would mesh with the stone’s mind.

But even if the rock could have understood the complexities of a sentient race’s language, it could not have done anything. For what is a decision without options?

[Error: No class selected]

[ErRor: No class available]

[eRrOR: Must have class]

[ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR]

---

[System improvisation status granted. Nobilis assumed: First of stone]

[Welcome User, to the Abyss]

The rock considered all of this with the intelligence of, well, a rock. Then it went back to sleep