Project: TheirWorld - Chapter 042 - Part 1

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To The Next Adventure

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TheirWorld

Sniffling, she shivered in the blank.

As she looked around and down; she didn’t even have a shadow. Guin rubbed her eyes. Somehow, the endless white was far more unnerving than the world of black she had been in at the start.

A small black spark flickered into existence beside her, glowing against the seamless white.

“Welcome,” can a high pitched voice from the spark. “I am Buri Buri, servant of the Second Fate. I shall help guide you as you enter the main game.” Guin nodded and stood straight. She would finally be able to enter the main game. “First, let’s look at what you look like.” Like Biku Biku, Buri Buri transformed into a naked copy of Guin as a child. In mild horror, Guin watched as the avatar grew from child, to a young adult as if it were on fast forward. Buri Buri-Guin’s eyes shot open, and she said, “This is what you will look like going in to the main game. Now, there are several choices before you. Second Fate?”

Guin felt a warm breeze rush over her skin lightly. “Welcome,” came a voice that made Guin feel warm inside. “Welcome. We are the Second Fate… We will guide you now, to the next part of your journey…”

“What do I need to do?” Guin asked, far more prepared this time.

“Your journey will start as all do,” the fate said. “As all do, you have come from somewhere. Somewhere… Where do you come from? From who did you learn? Learning is the key to knowing - knowing what, only you know…”

Buri Buri-Guin held out her hand, calling up three cards, as Gomi had. “In the tutorial, you were but ten years of age,” it said. “Now, eight years have passed. In this time, tell us: who are you this day? Three choices, based on your interactions in the tutorial, lay before you:

"First,” the avatar held out a card with what looked to be, appropriately, a fox spirit. “You have developed a good relationship with the spirits, and they have taken you as their own. The spirits you have befriended have set you up with a place to live, or perhaps you have chosen a road of your own and they followed you. Whatever the case, they have -”

“That one!” Guin interrupted. Buri Buri-Guin gave her a look of concern. Goodness, she thought, looking at the avatar’s face. Is that what I look like when I’m cross?

“It is recommended that -”

Sighing, Guin told it, “Look. I understand, but that’s the one I will probably choose anyway. I chose to stay with the spirits.”

“Very well,” answered the avatar. “In which area would you like to have lived? The available areas and specializations are -”

“White Fox Forest,” Guin said. “And if foxes are a specialization, I’ll do that.”

“Well - they are, but -” Buri Buri-Guin looked frustrated as it stopped mid-sentence to regain its composure. “It is recommended that -” It stopped again when it looked at Guin’s face. “Fine. After living with the spirits of White Fox Forest throughout your youth, you have come to a city seeking work. Which of the Mist Clan cities do you go to? Your options are -”

“I’m sorry,” Guin held up a hand. “Can I make both our jobs a little easier by telling you that I will choose options that involve the spirits? I’ve been in this tutorial for a week; I just want to get into the game!”

“Well,” Buri Buri-Guin cleared her throat and considered. “Then I shall send you to Miala’de Rii, City of the Dead. Should I assume that you wish a spirit related profession as well?” Guin nodded. “There are three spirit-related professions: The Mist Scribe, with a general focus, the Mist Mortician, with a physical focus, and the Mist Priest, with a casting focus.”

“No cards?” Guin asked. Buri Buri-Guin snorted at her and put her hands on her hips. “Scribe.”

“Then this is how you shall, officially, appear,” The mist snaked around Buri Buri-Guin’s body and formed some basic clothing that was just a shirt and shorts. “I wish you luck then, Guin Grey,” Buri Buri-guin shrunk back into a small black wisp. Feeling her own body start to shift and change, Guin watched as her hands went from small and plump to long an willowy.

“This is you,” came the voice of the Second Fate. “You have chosen; chosen to walk into the world of Uldarin with your head held with confidence. Confidence that you will step into a journey that will lead you home.”

“Home?” Guin asked, furrowing her brow. “Is that some kind of quest?”

“Home is where the heart is,” the breeze told her as it brushed her face. “The heart is what you seek. Seek meaning. Seek truth. Seek the answers to who you really are.”

“Who I am? But, haven’t you all been asking me who I am? Didn’t I make the choices I needed to?”

“Who you really are - you do not know. You do not know. We know.”

This must be part of the character story, Guin decided. After all, she still had to meet the last of the three fates eventually. So she answered, “I see. What should I do then?”

“Travel,” the voice told her. “Travel to the ends of the world and back, for in order for the story to be known, the journey must be taken. Take that journey, Guin Grey, and write your story. Their story. The story of Guin Grey and all those who would fight for her, against her; for you. You will find your truth only then, Candidate.” The breeze grew stronger, brushing against every bit of her body as it lifted her off the invisible ground. “Go now, into the world of Uldarin.”

And so her vision faded into black, leaving her completion screen behind:

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With that, she logged off.

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