Having double checked to ensure that both Leif and Angus were indeed still alive and planning to stay that way, as well as having devoured sufficient water and nourishment to last him a couple hours, Eric returned to the FateGear.

Hauling himself off of the now familiar couch, he turned to observe the right hand wall.

“0d 0h 5m 32s” it read.

Just in time, Eric thought to himself, connecting quickly to the Strife call.

Kyp has joined the room.

Mark: Alright we’re all here now. The plan stays the same as it’s been for the last few days.

Eric: Level like demons and group up as quickly as possible?

Griffin: While learning as much as we can about the game.

Mark: Pretty much. Also try to find some strong players who would be willing to join the guild once we create it. While seven people should be enough for a team, we have no idea what the rules for the tournament are going to be. If it turns out we need ten, twenty, or even a hundred people, we’re in trouble with just us. You don’t need to recruit them immediately but try to make friends.

Ryan: Should we try infiltrating other guilds to draw members away?

Mark: Nah, that would just get us targeted. Making friends with members of other guilds is fine though.

Jun: Can we PK people we don’t like? Not a question, I’m doing it anyways.

Mark: Just try not to be a dick Jun. All I ask.

Eric: lol not a chance.

Jun: Suck my dick Eric.

Eric: Does the FateGear have a magnify feature? Maybe I can actually find it for you.

Gio: lol

Mark: Alright focus guys. Two minutes to launch. Power your way through the tutorial, I’m not sure if Strife will work in game or not. There were rumours on the net that only Hurricane’s partychat voice system will work ingame to increase immersion. Also there’s a chance we won’t be able to select our starting zones. I’m not sure if that’s true or not but be prepared to meet back here in four hours to discuss.

Rob: Will do.

Griffin: Gotcha.

Eric: Will do.

Mark: Alright the game is launching in one minute. Let’s get ready.

You have been disconnected from the call.

Reason given: Conflict with Fate PartyChat System

Eric smirked. Looks like Mark was right. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with Jun for a couple hours. As the last grains of sand fell from the giant hourglass, the hourglass’ figure suddenly blurred, morphing back into the enormous Fate logo.

As the logo finished forming, the runes on its rings flared once before the entire logo seemed to detach from the wall, flying out and enveloping his body. The rings quickly began to spin before blurring together, the glowing runes melding into a single multicoloured light. As the brilliance began to overwhelm him, the rings expanded, forming a large dark coloured circular room, dimly lit by the runes which had settled into small alcoves on the walls.

“Welcome to Fate.” A disembodied voice echoed through the chamber. “Synchronizing with player’s FateGear. Synchronization complete. Loading Fairy Guide.”

As the voice finished speaking, the familiar figure of Eleanor took form in the middle of the room; only unlike the normal Eleanor, this Eleanor was a legitimate fairy. Only six inches tall, with a pair of shining faerie wings, she slowly hovered there.

“Welcome to the character creation room. Your avatar in Fate will be an extension of yourself. As a result, you cannot create an avatar whose gender differs from your own. For those who are transgender, please contact Hurricane support. Height changes are permitted but it is not recommended that you create a character whose height differs drastically from your own height. Creating a character whose height is different from your own may make acclimating to your new avatar difficult. You also have a selection of races to choose from, but for the more monstrous races, do be warned that similar to changing your height, getting used to your new form will make playing difficult.”

Eric nodded at Eleanor’s explanation; it made sense. After spending several decades in the same body, suddenly being thrust into a new form would be pretty jarring.

“With that explained, are you ready to begin?” Eleanor tilted her head in askance.

“I’m ready, let’s get to it.” Eric responded. With a nod, Eleanor fluttered her wings once causing the wall to give way. A perfect representation of Eric’s body stood behind it, arms casually at his sides and clad only in a loose fitting pair of boxers.

“To begin with, please choose your race. The choices available are human, elf, halfling, half-elf, dwarf, and half-orc.” As she spoke, several other bodies appeared next to the first, presumably the other races.

Eric stared at these alternate representations of himself. The elf was slim, even compared to his own somewhat malnourished standards. With pointed ears and a slightly haughty visage, it was like staring at a royal portrait of himself. With key features enhanced and others subtly faded, the elfin form was definitely a cool look, Eric thought to himself.

The halfling was too short, while it may have looked a little cute for some people, it really just made him look like a chubby midget.

The dwarf was a taller, more heavyset version of the midget. It also had what Eric hoped was a beard that mirrored the one he’d be able to grow in the future. Tempting… he thought.

The half-orc was much bulkier than his normal form, with large well defined biceps and pecs, as well as a slightly reddish skin tone. The half-orc was almost like the opposite of the elf. Where the elf had noble, haughty features, the half-orc’s were much more ugly. With a smushed nose, exaggerated features and slightly sunken eyes, the half-orc was definitely not the one he’d be going with. It would look good for warriors though, at least if they could find a full-face helm to cover that face, Eric thought.

The half-elf looked the most similar to the base human form. The features were slightly more refined than his human form, but not as haughty and icy as the elven form was. The ears were tapered, but the points much less obvious than the full blooded elf’s. The half-elf’s frame was also much more pleasing, retaining his own slim looks, but filling them out much more pleasingly than his real body did, he thought sadly. Bulkier than the elf, the half-elf looked like he would be as comfortable swinging a blade as he would be firing an arrow or casting a spell.

"Are there any differences between the races apart from size?" Eric asked. "Racial bonuses, special skills, anything like that?"

"There are no racial bonuses for any of the starting races. In some areas, you may be treated differently based upon the race you choose, but that isn't too much of a concern for players."

"I see. In that case then..."

Walking over towards the half-elf, Eric extended his hand; the half-elf avatar mirrored this action, reaching out to entwine its fingers with his own.

“Is the half-elf the race you would like to choose?” Eleanor asked from behind him. A confirmation screen appeared next to him, prompting him to place his palm upon the screen. Letting the half-elf’s hand go, Eric placed his hand upon the screen. With a bright flash, the other five avatars disappeared, leaving only the half-elf standing in the room.

“Would you like to make any modifications to your avatar?” Eleanor asked. Fluttering over to hover just above his shoulder.

Eric stared at his avatar, the half-elf combined his favourite elements of both the human and elf races, most modifications that he would have made to his own avatar had already been made and he really didn’t care to change his look too much in the first place.

“Can I have longer hair?” he asked, turning to look up at Eleanor. With a nod, she waved her hand at the half-elf whose hair suddenly began to grow at a visible rate. From Eric’s own slightly messy hair that had reached just past his ears, the hair began to extend slowly down the half-elf’s neck. Once it reached just past the shoulders, Eric had Eleanor stop.

“I’ve always wanted to see what I’d look like with long hair,” he commented with a grin. Eleanor returned it with a smile.

“Will that be all?”

“Yup, looks good. Wait. Can I see what I look like with a beard?”

With a knowing smile, Eleanor waved her hand once more and a scruffy beard began to sprout from the avatar’s chin, complete with sideburns and a small moustache.

“Can I lose the moustache? And make the beard a little more… Trimmed?”

As he spoke, the moustache faded and the beard became more aesthetically pleasing, with a five o’clock shadow visible on his cheeks.

“Perfect!” he said, observing his avatar’s new facial growth with interest.

“In that case, I will be transferring you to the tutorial zone, this is the only instanced zone you will experience for quite a while in Fate. Everywhere else, even dungeons, are open to all players. In this tutorial, you will be taught several important skills for survival in the world of Fate. There will be several other players undertaking this tutorial with you; afterwards, you will be sent to your starting town. Your starting town is based on your geographical location in the real world. Also please be aware that the time dilation in Fate means that two hours of ingame time is only equivalent to one in real life. You can check the time both ingame and in the real world by summoning your status window using the “Profile” command. Do you have any questions before beginning the tutorial?”

Eric shook his head, “Nope, I’m good. You can send me in now.”

“In that case, good luck,” Eleanor replied, raising both hands above her head in a summoning gesture. As Eric looked on, he saw a strange glow appear around her hands before he suddenly felt a strange tugging sensation. Reacting a moment too late, he was abruptly teleported several feet to the side. Stumbling a little he looked around, only to notice that the half-elf avatar had disappeared.

No, he realized. It wasn’t the half-elf that had disappeared, it was his own body which had merged with the half-elf’s. As he turned his gaze back to Eleanor, he thought he saw her give the faintest of smiles before the magical glow surrounding her hands intensified and that tugging sensation returned.