Ash, fire and steel covered the broken landscape of a once idyllic slice of wilderness. Marcus slowly regained consciousness, both confused and in no small amount of pain. As he became more aware, confusion and surprise dominated his mind – the latter being the dominate of the two. The fact that he still had surroundings and wasn’t dead was rather shocking, regardless if those surroundings resembled a hellscape. More of the scene came into focus and his point of view was dominated by a gigantic split in the airframe, where the two halves appeared to be barely holding together by miscellaneous pieces of metal. Sensation began to return, starting in his extremities and working towards his chest. Marcus wasn’t appreciative of the reactivating nerves, even if it meant his back hadn’t been shattered, due to the intense heat that quickly spread up his limbs.

Removing himself from the flames became his immediate concern, but movement was difficult while remaining strapped into a seat. Luckily, airlines seats aren’t the most robust items in the world, especially because the one he pinned to was in tatters - appearing as if it could crumble at any moment. Escaping from the chair was easier said than done as many parts of his right leg remained pinned under debris. Decisions needed to be made quickly, and they would almost certainly decide his immediate survival. Gritting his teeth, Marcus jerked his leg out of its fix causing excruciating pain as jaws of metal forcibly extracted their morbid price for being denied their meal. His flesh parted with little fanfare and blood flowed unrestrictedly onto the floor.

Falling to the ground and sliding as far back as possible away from the heat, he finally had a brief second to take a breath. Before Marcus could take more time to see his surroundings, he needed to stop the severe bleeding that was even now beginning to pool. Tearing a huge piece of cloth from his shirt he quickly bound his upper thigh with the tightest tourniquet possible. With the blood staunched for now, he was able to relax for a moment, which was immediately regretted when sharp aching radiated from his ribs. Currently the blaze was less than 10 meters from himself and looked to be spreading towards his location. Recent events had most definitely caused Marcus to be scatterbrained, but his basic survival instincts began to scream that he needed to move soon.

Finally having a moment of respite, he leaned again a wall and took stock of his current condition. Marcus believed that rescue could be minutes or perhaps hours away depending on exactly where they had gone down. Aside from that he couldn’t help but curse and mumble out loud, “How in the hell did I survive this shit and what was that message... or was that just a hallucination?” Deciding that it was important to at least be prudent, he closed his eyes and attempted to see that image again. What he discovered shook him to the very core.

Designation A31G-6, or Earth, as you call yourselves, prepare and celebrate for full Integration. Let it be known that death is merely the catalyst to allow those who strive for greatness to exalt themselves over the undeserving!

Complete Manifestations will begin in 10...9...

Ten seconds is but a blip from the perspective of humans, and as such this left Marcus with only scant moments before ‘complete manifestation.’ It went without saying no one on Earth understood the significance of those last 10 seconds, as they were the dying moments for the past, but the first breaths of a new era. As the last second ticked to zero space itself seemed to shift for the briefest of an instant, and in that moment, all was still, time becoming inconsequential. Marcus felt something call to him through the void of reality, while part of his mind told him to ignore the call, another was screaming for Marcus to answer. The call rang out once more, the second wave brought with it an impression, and in that Marcus found a sea of unbridled power. Inexplicably, or perhaps subconsciously, Marcus reached out to this source of power and pulled.

Searing pain lanced through his body as if molten metal was being pumped into his veins. Agony also beget pleasure, as his wounds began to fade slowly. The previous damage that had covered his body healed even faster as it began to adapt. After what seemed like an eternity the waves that had been coursing through him subsided, leaving Marcus in a heap; breathing deeply, now free of pain. Upon collapsing he heard three loud pings, followed by several boxes that popped into the middle of his view.

New ability learned - (U)Mana Manipulation – LV.1| By pulling on the Aether itself you have learned the very basics of utilizing raw Mana. Mana is now easier to use and change.

New ability learned - (U)Elemental Manipulation – LV.1| Elemental mana is different than raw uncharged mana. Elemental sources can offer different effects when channeled through diverse mediums, such as a body or the air.

Miscellaneous Knowledge skill gained - ©Field Medicine – LV.1| Field Medicine is a broad field of study that encompasses many aspects of emergency care in a non-dedicated facility.

Marcus read through the messages slowly, and as he got to the end was simply flabbergasted at what this meant. Before he had still been skeptical that the world had changed, and now he truly believed it. There was no question in his mind if these were just his imagination anyone, as he seen his wounds physically close as that strange energy coursed through it. During the repair his mind was also fed a trickle of new information on his new ability, or specifically, Mana and Elemental manipulation.

He was no stranger to some of these terms as they paid homage to the board and video games of his youth. Dungeons and Dragons or DnD had been a staple of his life and he pleased with all that ‘wasted’ time paying off now. The gears in his brain were thrumming along and he finally had a flash of inspiration. If he now had ‘abilities,’ he also must have attributes, but the question remained; how to see them. After trying different phrases such as ‘Show Character Sheet’ or ‘Main Menu,’ he finally stumbled upon the magic word, “Status.”

Name: Marcus Diamandis Level - 0

Class - None Health: 80/80 Regeneration 0.8/Minute 1.0 x Multiplier

Stamina: 80/80 Regeneration 20/Minute 1.0 x Multiplier

Mana: 120/120 Regeneration 13/Minute 1.0 x Multiplier

Free Attributes: 0 Path Points: 0

Damage Multipliers: 0%

Basic Statistics

Total

Strength – Strength functions as a scale of how much individual can physically affect the environment around them. Raises physical damage, health and carrying capacity

10

Constitution – Constitution measures how tough an individual’s body is and how much damage it can take. Raises health, mundane and magical resistances.

8

Agility – Agility is how fast or nimbly someone can move. Raises speed, and accuracy.

6

Perception – Perception is an attribute that has many applications, but in the end focuses on sight. Effects are wide ranging but include accuracy and body/mana manipulation.

16

Intelligence – Intelligence plays an important role in critical thinking and memory. Raises magical damage and mana pool size.

12

Wisdom - Wisdom is the primary driver of stability and adaptation. Raises mana regeneration rates and improves mental wellbeing.

13

Charisma - Charisma is a manifestation of various factors such a physical characteristics and social skills. Acts as a modifier when attempting to barter and communicate with other intelligent beings.

9

Luck – Luck is simply luck. May increase or even decrease the chances of finding better equipment or having a stroke of inspiration.

4

Mana Skills: Elemental Manipulation – 1, Mana Manipulation – 1

Physical Skills: None

Miscellaneous Skills: Field Medicine – 1

Spells: None

It was a ton of information to make heads or tails of. Having one’s entire beings quantified and put onto a chart was more than a little chilling, but Marcus imagined it was something that he would simply have to get used to. Perhaps five or so minutes had passed since the timer ended, and he was still wondering what was really going to occur. As if the world decided to answer him, a loud cry rang out, and it certainly didn’t sound human. Coming to terms with this reality would certainly take time, alas time was something he did not have. Another cry sounded out, closer than the last, and it clear that whatever beast he had heard was clearly headed towards the crash zone for a reason he didn't understand; then it hit him, bodies. Whatever was out there had smelled the burnings corpses and decided that it was VERY hungry.