“The hour is late. But we always welcome an Abyss Walker -- especially now.”

The burly man had briefly introduced himself as Dax Arngard, the elder of the settlement. Dax was broad chested, his muscular arms were thick like small tree limbs. He wore a finely woven cotton shirt with pants to match and thick leather boots. By the looks of it Dax was in his mid thirties. He looked about as Dax guided him further into the town. Initially He felt puzzled, though it was the middle of the night it seemed as if everyone was going on about their daily lives.

“Your name?” Dax asked, bringing his attention back to the conversation. He’d never really thought about it, actually.

In fact, the more he thought about the question the more elusive his memories became.

“Agni.” The alert appeared, blinking with yellow letters spelling out a single word.

“A-Agni.” He replied to Dax, a tone of uncertainty in his voice.

“Are you sure? Ha.” Dax said with a hearty laugh.

He had no idea how close to true that may have been for ‘Agni’.

“I’m just joking. I know, you Abyss Walkers give up everything when you come to this world. Judging by the fact that I can’t see your Symbol, you must be new. Well..that and your clothing-- no offense.” Dax said as he inspected Agni from head to toe.

“None taken.” Agni replied as he watched the local townspeople walk to and fro. They seemed busy, unbothered by the horrors that lurked just on the other side of the settlement walls. Spiders..and other things.

“If you’re new to this land, the first stop should be here.” Dax said, coming to a halt as he motioned to a small wooden building before him. There were large black veils hanging from the portal, a familiar symbol woven into them - crossed barbed wire.

“This is the Temple of Acolytes. Well, what passes for our temple anyway. I’m sure you’re weary, take a rest here. Besides, I’m sure Alynna can explain your situation far better than I can. Once you’ve spoken to her, come and find me.” Dax said, bowing his head slightly before walking away.

Left to his own devices, Agni had little else to do by step inside the structure. As he parted the drapes and stepped inside he immediately noticed a sweet smelling scent hanging in the air. It was pleasant, soothing even. He had barely taken two steps inside when the sound of a woman’s voice beckoned to him.

“Welcome. I’ve been expecting someone -- it seems to be you.” She said. Agni’s eyes were immediately drawn to her. She was dressed in translucent material from head to toe -- scantily clad might best describe it. She wore a red sash belt around her waist, a sleeveless robe which had long running slits along the side and front and very little else. That is, except for her headwear. He immediately recognized the veil covering her face. It reminded him of the same old woman who’d wounded his arms. He rubbed his scars out of reflex at the thought, his mind recalling the heat of flames nipping at his body.

“This is the Temple of The Night Mother, and I am Acolyte Aynna. Please, sit.” She said, motioning to a small, wooden seat next to a large statue. Rather than argue he did as asked and watched curiously as the young woman knelt and tended to his feet. She dipped a rag in a nearby bucket of rosewater and gently washed away the dirt and grime from his soles. She then took a seat before him, sitting on her calves before she spoke once more.

“You’re probably wondering why and how you’ve come to a world like this. You see, you answered the call of the Night Mother. I applaud your bravery and it’s something you will need going forward. The journey to this world stripped you of many things. They were the price you have to pay in order to gain the uncommon strength. This world is quickly spiralling into darkness as imbalance is infused with decay. Left uncheck all will succumb to death and be made into mindless husks. Do you know of which I speak?” Alynna asked suddenly.

Agni couldn’t help but think back to the snarling faces of the undead.

“Yes.” He replied, still a bit uneasy. It wasn’t that her explanation was difficult to follow, after all he’d experienced a plethora of things. His mind was clear, yet he felt as if there was more to him that he simply couldn’t access. Memories, voices, sights -- the second he would recall anything aside from the time in this “world” it would simply vanish before being realized.

“The undead are a blight on this world. They ravage man, animal and planet alike. The Night Mother has given people such as you the strength to battle this darkness. Some call you adventurers, walkers of the Abyss and still others say -- the bane of existence.”

“This ‘Night Mother’. You speak of her as if she’s good, but she did this to me.” Agni said, holding up his hands.

“Yes. Once she was Goddess of this realm. But she was betrayed and cursed, her powers syphoned away. With what little power she has remaining she now uses to call forth warriors. What was once was freely given must be earned -- all power comes at a cost.”

"All power requires sacrifice in the world to come. Know yourself, lest the power you seek crush you beneath its heel." Agni could hear the words of the old woman ringing in his head as he recalled them.

“So what have I gained? To be attacked by spiders and undead on sight?” Agni then asked. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but the thought of being hounded by creatures of the dead didn’t sit very well with him.

“Lend me your hand, please.” Alynna said, extending her own as well.

As Agni sat across from her he couldn’t help but notice the sultry shape of her body, the fairness of her silky smooth skin. Even her lips, dyed in black and red trim seemed to call to him. He did as requested and watched as Alynna thanked him, then turned his hand over -- palm facing up. He could feel a strange sensation flowing through his hand as she used her pointer finger to trace what appeared to be a glowing sigil.

“Necromacy System - Features Unlocked. Status, Inventory, Lore.”

“Agni, is it?” Alynna asked, already knowing the answer.

He didn’t recall sharing his name, but he nodded anyway.

“In exchange for your blood, for your flesh and for your memories you’ve been granted just a tiny portion of the Night Mother’s powers. By slaying your foes you can obtain the essence of their souls -- free from the mark of decay. Using these soul orbs you can then improve your strength in many different ways.”

As Alynna spoke Agni’s status window opened, revealing a set of several stats and attributes.

Stats

Vitality (30) (Phys) - A measure of health. When this is depleted, your days are done.

Stamina (55) (Any) - A measure of conditioning. The more you have, the more you can undertake strenuous activities.

Mana (0) (Spi) - A measure of your ability to cast magic. Higher mana results in more powerful spells, as well as more spell usage.

Attributes

Arcane (0) (Spi) - Determines which arcane abilities you can learn and how powerful they are.

Fortitude (0) (Any) - A person with strong courage will not be easily shaken, even in the worst of situations. Resistance to ailments and after effects decrease in duration -- or cancel altogether.

Strength (2) (Phys) - A measure of brute strength. Determines which weapons can be wielded as well as additional damage with all types of physical strikes.

Agility (4) (Phys) - Those who are light on their feet can easily avoid danger.

Beside each listing was also a number which detailed the current level of each attribute or stat.

“Orbs you’ve collected can strengthen you. Red Orbs are used to improve your physical characteristics. Blue Orbs are used to improve spirit characteristics. And it seems you already have Yellow Orbs, interesting. That can be used to improve your skills. Unfortunately you don’t have any of those -- yet.”

“It seems here that you have quite a few unclaimed Souls. Did you perhaps get into battles before you arrived?” Alynna asked as she gazed down at Agni’s palm. She tapped her finger against his flesh and an alert flashed before his eyes.

“528 Orbs claimed.”

“A few. Yea.” He replied.

“Hmm. This is...a lot of orbs. I’m surprised you made it here unscathed if you managed to collect these. Did the Night Mother’s Blessing not prevent the undead from attacking you?” She asked.

“It wasn’t undead. They were spiders. Giant spiders. Lots of them.”

“Ah, that explains it. Even here in the village we’ve been having trouble with arachni.” Alynna seemed displeased with the news of spider attacks.

“Unfortunately the blessing only works on the undead. Living creatures normally wouldn’t act against adventurers. I wonder if there is more to this...” She said as she continued her explanation.

“To distribute these orbs you only need to have collected the desired type and place them into the attribute you’d like to improve. Once you’ve spent enough, the attribute will grow -- along with your strengths. Think carefully, for each improvement makes the next slightly more difficult to obtain. What’s more these changes are permanent and cannot be undone.” Alynna said, finally ending her explanation of Status.

“There is one more thing to show you. Perhaps the most important of all.” Alynna said as she got to her feet and walked over towards the nearby statue. It resembled a beautiful goddess, covered in flowing robes -- majestic wings spread across her back.

“This is the shrine of the Night Mother. In order to improve your status you must either touch a likeness of the Goddess and offer a sacrifice, or speak to an Acolyte of The Night Mother like myself. This statue also performs another important function..” Alynna said as she motioned for Agni to join her nearby.

She then pulled out a small silver dagger and sliced into her free hand. The blood trickled down in thick red droplets as she held her wounded hand over the nearby statue.