The Weak Humans looked to Veuce in awe and reverence. She had delivered them from their dark and pitiless existence, protected only by the boundless mercy of Amma. Veuce had provided guidance so that they could take their first step from the nest, and what a world it was that awaited them.

******

Transitioning from his stateroom to flying over a vast landscape that could only be that of Vos was nothing like the transition from the viewing deck to his stateroom. That was like blinking, one moment seeing the world literally laid out at your feet, then next looking at what could be compared to palatial chambers. Sure that was kind of awesome, but it paled in comparison to what Aiden was feeling now. The wind beat at his face and whipped his new white robes around his body. The sun warmed his exposed skin while he simultaneously shivered from the sudden drop in temperature.

Already such a vast difference in experience, and that was not even accounting for the view. What he was seeing could only be a world out of fantasy. Water fell into clouds around floating islands which drifted lazily in their aeronautic currents. In the sky above him were two moons; one a pale blue, the other a flaming gold. Below him the land stretched out into deserts infested with massive sandworms, an endless mountain range which cut the continent in half, a towering tree only just visible in the distant horizon. Then he collided with a bird and forgot about all of that.

“Fuck, that hurts!”

He knew that low-level pain was enabled in this game module, but seriously? Ouch. Even as the pain quickly faded, the mess the bird left behind was hardly better. His pristine white robes were now stained red and decorated with broken feathers.

“Eww…”

“Welcome, Hero, to Vos. I have been expecting you.” A wisp-like light popped into existence only inches from Aiden’s face. “Apologies for my late greeting, but there have been many new arrivals today and I can only stretch myself so thin. Let me get that for you.” Without a sign to mark the change, Aiden’s robes returned to their pristine state. “Much better.” The light glowed with satisfaction.

“Thanks—”

“Right then! Let us get along with business, shall we? Vos is as vast as it is dangerous, each new area presenting its own form of dangers and opportunities, some more alike than they would first appear, some more different. Not all danger is obvious and conflict brews in hidden corners. Will you act as a hero to the people? Adventurer of the unknown? Saviour of the realm? It is all possible within Vos. For your name to bear such great prestige that it be renown in all corners of this land, which path would you embark upon first?”

“Adventurer I guess.” Aiden liked that sound of all of them but, well, exploring this place was awfully tempting when getting a bird’s eye preview. Was that a unicorn?

“Wonderful!” The light swirled and sparkled. “Do you delve into the dark recess of that which lies below? Search that which is forgotten under the unforgiving sun? What is lonely in the dark oppression of the greatest blue? Or stand at the bulwark of the world withholding great evil and wonder?”

“Definitely that last one.”

“So it will be. Your journey begins in the small village of Cairn at the joining of three mountains. It is a peaceful place at the edge of civilization and the darkness that should come. Venture out, oh brave Hero! And may my voice guide you on your journey.”

“And you are?”

“Veuce!” There was a smile in that bell-like voice and it tinkled even as the light faded.

Below him, the land erupted into a quick blur of motion and stopped right as Aiden found himself looking down on an alpine valley. Then lunged towards him. No, that wasn’t right. He was falling towards it, and before he could even think to scream the fall was over and he was gently touching down on well-worn dirt.

Around Aiden was a rustic little village square full of little log cabins with steeply angled roofs and decoratively carved window shutters. Small yellow flowers bloomed from well-tended flower boxes, and though the road was entirely comprised of packed dirt, it was clear of any trash or debris. This was a simple, idyllic little mountain village from an era so distant he’d only ever seen pictures of it.

The smell was overwhelming. Not bad, but complex? It carried the scents of pine, pollen, wild mountain flowers, and a fast-flowing creek. Fresh mountain air that was somehow sharp in a way that the regulatory filtered air never even pretended at being. And the manure! He’d never really bought that primitive civilization would use literal shit as fertilizer—this only supported that assumption—who would willingly live with that smell? What did trained historians and archeologists know anyway?

There were people walking about, villager NPC’s and what looked like other players. If it hadn’t been for that fact the players were dressed almost identically to each other––and to him now that he inspected himself––Aiden wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. They were also all completely ignoring him, and his sudden descent from the sky.

“Wait… Is that it?! No tutorial, no character creation? Just ‘good luck brave Hero’?”

Character initializing…

“What?” It was the return of the bright blue menu box, though this time he felt as if it was speaking to him like some kind of voice in his head.

Would you like to customize your appearance?

A double appeared before Aiden. It was identical in every aspect, right down to the mole under his chin. To the side of his double were a variety of sliders and options. It was all rather overwhelming. Normally he’d be ecstatic over all the options presented before him but now, with the game already playing out around him, all he could do was to quickly clean up his looks with a few default adjustments and change the colour of his eyes to his favourite emerald green.

“So do I set a name now or? And what about setting up my character build?”

Both will occur naturally as you travel VOS. Remember it is the actions that tell you an individual’s worth and only through those will your name earn great prestige. Please note that while you will lose your identity upon death, your actions will remain.

“Well, that isn’t ominous. Not at all. I mean it must be talking about the prestige system in conjunction with death penalties. But what’s all this talk about actions?”

There are no character stats as you Heroes seem to expect, only the Skills, Talents and Gifts you possess. Skills may be learned through actions. Talents can be earned in a variety of ways, but most often by following the quest of growth. Gifts must be received from a being of higher power or rarely some other unlikely source.

New Quest!

Quest of growth I: Learn 5 skills

Reward: 1 Talent point

“Was there an update? The last I checked on earth the game was pretty normal besides the prestige stuff.”

The blessing upon heroes has changed in Nature as a new cohort enters the stage.

As this is a new server made specifically for the colony ship. some changes have been made based on the ships’ unique capabilities. Interactions with Sol system players will still be possible until the ship is out of relay change, but after that, the ship will be running a private instance of VOS Kingdoms.

The second box was almost jarring in how plain it was, that, and it didn’t speak in Aiden’s head.

“Right then, when do I start?”

The world shifted almost imperceptibly. The previous sensations that felt overwhelming to Aiden now came into full vibrancy. It was shocking and amazing and Aiden thought he was going to throw up.

“Ah, a new Hero, I see that the transition to our humble village is hard on you poor lads. Take this.”

An old man held a wooden cup of water to Aiden with gnarled hands and he gulped it down gratefully. The cool liquid felt like heaven pouring down his throat and the slight mineral taste just made it that much more refreshing. Aiden didn’t even know it was possible for water to taste like that. Fruit infusions sure, but who would think to infuse water with rocks? Aiden looked to the man to thank him but was shocked by the thick wrinkles layered about a face dark with tan and a light dusting of earth. Did he want to look like a tree? but—no, it couldn’t it be.

“Right thank you, er..” He was stumbling on his words again. Damn it.

“Elder Cohler.

“Thanks, Elder Cohler.”

“You're most welcome. I welcome all Heroes to the Cairn and get them settled. Veuce told me of your arrival, and I prepared a space for you at the town hall.” He gestured to the largest of the log cabins behind him with a crossed square carved on the signboard. “There you will find a safe space to sleep as Veuce herself protects the sleeping Heroes inside from all danger. Mind you, that is rarely the case elsewhere, so I suggest you go to Hunter Boyd and learn light sleeping. You can find him at the hunter's lodge in that direction.

“Other places of note include Maya’s general store right behind you and the Yates’ Bakery next to it. Ask Glinda for any tailoring work you need to be done, but for most things, Maya will have you covered so long as you have the coin, of which you should have five denna. And that is it for the grand tour.” The old man smiled and winked his already squinted eye.

“Thanks, umm, you wouldn’t happen to have any problems I can help with, would you?” asked Aiden, the village elder being the standard newb quest-giver after all.

“Ah, young Heroes always so eager to help. Ask around the villagers if they need anything. There’s always something going on. Besides that, you could help with clearing the bush down south of Celties to help make way for a field expansion, or if you're less battle inclined, our village could always use the help of an eager scribe to record our history.”

New quest!

Clear the way: Dispatch of 25 Celties

Reward: increased favour with Cairn Village, Unknown

New quest!

Save the Past: Talk to, and record the stories of 15 Villagers

Reward: increased favour with Cairn Village, Unknown

Aiden considered what the Elder had told him. It was a start. Two clear paths forward that would likely lead to more. Money in his pocket and a store to spend it on only a few feet away. It was time to make use of it.