~LoneJones POV~

Welcome back to Twoen, LoneJones.

The log in screen welcomed me back to virtual immersion. I looked around our hovel, it looked like we were safe. It didn't even seem like the gorillas came into the throne room.

"We all good?" Cobb was regretting not finding a comfortable position. "Cause i'm not." His face was the picture of pained annoyance.

"Warm up your muscles, you know Fire Magic don't you?" JST pointed out.

Cobb manifested small orbs of gentle green flame and brought them close, using their heat to stave off the stiffness. There was a small smile on his face while he let out a sigh of contentment. His green features never seemed so fragile, they normally looked focused and sharp but now his translucent emerald skin was soft on the eyes. It reminded of a complete different satisfaction there was to playing. Besides following stats and anticipating new levels or abilities people often forget the possibility of other things. You could go into town and get a genuine message and enjoy life, you could drink a night away with strangers, you could talk to a Tyou. Right now though, well, we were basically huddled in a hole in the wall. The gentle green glow from his flames lit up the whole alcove and JST's face as well, sitting close together the scene gave me a sense of deja vu. The memories of another world played through my head.

~FLASHBACK~

Unidentifiable floating specks permeated the air, behind them an endless jungle. The trees, if you could call them that, were a gentle lavender. Despite their soothing color, they loomed overhead and around the jungle, their presence was foreboding, their scent lulling us into a sense of false safety. In their branches they housed the deadliest animals on the planet, some not even predators. Their flowing branches gently lead you astray until they change from flowing to twisted, their true nature revealed, the apex predator. Above, the sky, what little of it I could see was a baby blue in direct contrast with the imminent danger we're in. My feet sank into the strange purple grass as I followed the two figures in front of me through the twisted branches. They were my brothers, both didn't seem to appreciate the danger of the Purple Wilds. If I didn't know any better I would assume they just took the name at face value and thought it was some children's playground.

"Ah, here it is!" My oldest brother slew a hunk of charging purple fur but he wasn't talking about that. He was pointing to the trunk of a tree.

"Now little brother, watch this." My other brother winked at me. "As we slay the so called apex predator of the Purple Wilds!" He swished a cape he didn't have.

That day we killed a Laven, one of the predatory trees in the Purple Wilds. It was in Proyu Systems a game focused on alien life, there was no space travel however, you began in an alien world. It was launched with an agreement between a research agency curious to see how humans would interact with different forms of viable life based off readings of distant planets possibly supporting life. I was around eleven years old at the time, still not old enough to realize my brothers were completely lame. That night we killed a Laven we spent it in the hollow of its trunk we carved out, nothing but a small fire and the scent of lavender as they recounted their adventures in games I wasn't old enough to play. That day was when my real love of gaming began.

~END~

"So how do we find the Queen?" I wondered as I stopped my illusions and we exited our resting spot.

"I say we go grab a couple of Geckans and torture them to find out." JST gently suggested. "My new sword is thirsty for killing!" He poked at the air like a fencer, sending drops of water forward.

"Wrong sword." I pointed out.

"Where'd you get that anyway? The last thing we need right now is for you to steal something from a cursed necromancer's dragon again." Cobb looked at him expectantly.

"That was an accident alright, how was I supposed to know that dragon was cursed? I got it off the blue gecko in armor so we're fine, chill out." He crossed his arms. "It's called Riptide! I named it myself." He said with a smirk

"Riptide? It looks more like Drip." I quipped. "There's not even enough water on that for a puddle." I noticed the thin layer of condensation.

"It doesn't matter if you thought it was cursed or not it was a fucking dragon!" Cobb raised his voice a bit. "Forget it, forget it. Let's focus on our next move."

After much debate, that is JST arguing to fly down using one of the flying serpents rather than walking. Even through his assurances of our apparent safety we decided to walk down. On the walk we experimented with our magic deeply since we weren't in any danger in these tunnels, we were friends with the inhabitants. Illusion Magic and Animation Magic don't mix. It's as if Illusion Magic has a mind of its own too wild and fickle to be tamed and tied down to reality. When Cobb had tried to animate my magic directly he said it felt like it was already alive. In a sense it was. What would he breathing life into? My magic already lives.

The idea stemmed from his creation of Greenhat, he had animated him from Earth Magic so he proposed his idea to me. I agreed, it was something to do on the walk after all. My illusions weren't real, they weren't supposed to be, but they were alive. He actually succeeded in animating his Fire Magic though. The animation held strong and the entity of fire walked around with us for a while, even conversing to an extent.

"Hello?" His voice sounded like a waving torch, discovering tunnels long forgotten.

"Woah, fire guy. Cool." JST tested the heat with his sword, which steam rose from the second he got close. "Hey there."

"My name, what is it?" The entity spoke again.

"FireGuy." JST declared, Cobb shrugged apparently he didn't care too much this time.

"Where are we?"

"In a tunnel." I chimed in. "We're gonna go kill a Geckan Queen."

"Do you feel like joining us?" Cobb probed. Of course he could've brought the hammer down and commanded him to, at least I think he can. For now he was experimenting and taking mental notes on FireGuy's behavior.

There was silence for a long time as we continued walking. It was completely dark and we all had our own way of seeing things but FireGuy was looking around since he was literal lightsource. His body was solid fire but his facial features were covered in flame so they were hard to discern assuming Cobb gave him the knowledge of them. I was hearing some type of hissing sound barely perceptible.

"Is there more to see? To experience?" It asked.

"Yes." Cobb kept it simple.

At that point FireGuy abruptly turned green and flickered back to red. He was blinking red and green until it stopped, he didn't even seem to notice. At the same I realized the hissing sound was JST making a show of inspecting his scimitar before flipping it over and sending droplets splattering against FireGuy. I didn't think he was doing it on purpose until I saw his mouth curl up a bit.

This guy is such a child.

"Huh." I heard Cobb say mostly to himself.

"Then I will go." And then he died. Or rather dispersed.

The problem was that although Animate gave it life, the target of the animation was the Fire Magic itself. Without Cobb constantly fueling the Fire Magic the creation would fall apart. In the end FireGuy as JST called him was a cool existence, or should I say hot? His creation gave deep insights into the magic.

"So it's useless then? I mean, if you're trying to combine magics with it?" JST asked, looking dissapointed. "You'd have to fuel it the whole time."

"Not necessarily, as long as I have the mana it could be very useful. I don't have to think at all, only fuel the magic, of course normally it wouldn't be a problem for me. In a large scale battle though? Can you imagine the things i'd have to keep track of? The strain on my mana might be worth the relieved mental pressure." His jet black eyes were sparkling.

"Always for the strategy." Me and JST shared a knowing look.

An hour later we were leaving the shade of the Great Tree and trekking towards the Geckan Battle Arena. We were going for the bonus. When we arrived the Arena was no more, I noticed the distinct lack of the structres presence after we passed the guard building. As we neared it became clear that the sturdy wooden beams had collapsed and the Arena was destroyed.

In the ruins of the structure, dog-sized creatures feasted on the remains of various other bodies, Geckans among them. With a gesture from Cobb I scouted forward looking for a passage into the battle cages. I found a half broken trapdoor about ten meters from the nearest body flipped open and I crawled through the sandy tunnel. When I emerged into the battle cages they were all broken open, metal cages were crushed inward so that they couldn't close, metal doors were detached from their hinges. The gates that were sturdier were swinging on their hinges sending creaking noises echoing up and down, the noise was jarring. On the walkways there were a myriad of paw prints, clawmarks and other footprints I couldn't attribute to a particular creature. Under all of them however was the same deep rugged groove in the sand. I followed the groove around the complex and realized it led straight back to me, it seemed whatever came in and freed everything entered through this Arena entrance. As I exited I registered that the trap door even when unbent wouldn't have fit over this tunnel. Something had burrowed down?

I reported my findings to my brothers.

"Not good Cobb. This whole area got a lot more dangerous." Though we were quite covered JST took a cursory glance around.

Cobb raised three golems from compact sand around us. They were clad in rock armor and weaponry pulled from an outcrop nearby. Two had a shield and spear, one had a sword and shield. They were reminiscent of roman spartans. Behind me a samurai formed from the sand at my feet and behind JST a military commando formed. I was surprised at first but then I realized why limit yourself to the fantasy setting? We've been using techniques across games, across worlds. Why recruit a Sand Geckan where there deadlier warriors from other worlds, from earth? It was something I haven't thought about and I was honestly surprised Cobb could still impress me like this.

"Hah!" All three Sand Spartans jerked me back to reality. They stomped their feet and banged their sword on their shields, it wasn't as effective as metal on metal but it worked.

The spartans had a cape of sand flowing behind each of them. They had the traditional spartan helment with the crest on top. Their arms were defined and muscular, they wore a rock curiass and greaves. Each of their faces seems slightly diffrerent yet very detailed, Cobb had outdone himself. They already looked battle-hardened and had dark stubble across their face. How did he make sand darker? Watching them stand together was almost like glancing in a mirror, their interactions between each other showed a sense of ease and comfort only found in brothers. They seemed so alive, what was his stat, ENL, Enliven, what was that at?

"We await your command my liege!" They came to a knee and thumped their hand arm to their chest. Their voice was powerful and filled with vitality.

"Rise!" They did. "I'm no more your master than I am your brother. "

"Hah!" They shouted.

The Sand Commando looked like he was wearing desert camo, mainly because it was actual sand. He actually had a rifle slung across his chest and he was holding it in a resting stance, finger near the trigger and pointed down. In his cargo pants were various pockets and holsters. One of which contained his pistol. He had knives strapped to his hips as well. Adorning his head a hat with a wide brim covered his neck from all sides. Taken together, along with his stance and professional air yet rested ease the man seemed deadly. His countenance was that of a grizzled veteran and scars accentuated his jawline. His jawline probably cut itself, it was so sharp. At the moment he was talking to JST whom he formed behind.

"Sir!" He didn't have the display of respect the spartans did but it was clear he was talking to an authority.

"Hey I like this sir business! Can you hold your own in a fight, George?" JST inspected his gear. "Or is all that just for show?" He gestured.

I raised my eyebrow slightly as he took off his rifle sling and adjusted his hat. I had just assumed all his equipment stuck together. He stood there and beckoned JST forward a grin on his sandy face. The man looked capable.

"First would-be lethal." JST said. He set Drip down and apporached bare-handed, that earned a raised eyebrow from the man named George.

"Isn't your Strength stat kind of overpowered here?" I asked remembering the other figure behind me. I gave the stoic samurai a glance, he was just watching the fight. I trusted my green brother to not create a hostile samurai so I turned my attention back to the fight.

They clashed going for grapples and takedowns instead of punches. Surprisingly I watched as JST was brought to the floor, it wasn't for long though he escaped in the next second. JST was constantly shifting his method of attack lunging for George's base and manipulating his momentum masterfully. The spartans were cheering, for who I couldn't say. Cobb was by them smiling at his work just as incensed as the spartans were. George came out in a roll as JST went on the offensive, abruptly he turned around and froze surprised. He had paused to turn around only to find JST closer than he judged.

"Gotcha." In my brother's hand was a knife made of sand. It was a standard military combat knife.

"Likewise friend." His mirthful voice followed his smirk.

I walked a bit to get a better angle, between them George had his pistol aimed for the bottom of JST's head.

"Draw." Cobb's voice broke the silence and the two combatants seperated.

George holstered his pistol with practiced ease, despite only existing for ten minutes. JST returned the knife and George stashed it away.

"Alright I'll believe it. If his pistol actually shoots." JST picked up Drip and used it to gesture to a nearby tree.

"Come on friend try a bit harder." He gave JST a suffering look.

A bird cawed overhead.

"The bird." JST crossed his arms.

George tracked the bird for only a moment, his eyes tracked its path under the shade of his hat. In a short second his pistol was out and bang resounded across the ruins. There was a squawk from above and feathered carcass fell at JST's feet. Impressive. JST uncrossed his arms and inspected the shot, the sandy wound was clean through the chest of the bird, which seemed normal despite living in the Uncharted.

"Alright you win George." JST threw up his arms. He got up and they clasped hands.

"A good match, kid." He said.

It made sense, normally you would think that guns were overpowered and shouldn't mix with the fantasy setting. However when magic is as versatile as it is and there are armors made from dragon scale and giant leather? Modern weaponry becomes less efficient, it technological superiority always equaled by magical application. It's no surprise that Twoen allows it. In fact with a world as detailed as Twoen I probably should have expected it. If you allow guns in a fictional world you have an excuse to add other technological advancements from the real world and then you have more plot material and world depth. Civilizations and races like the Dwarf are usually the ones who have that type of background but judging from the various sentient races just from character creation Twoen may indeed be different. One of the things I look forward to is finding civilization and how this world is outside of the Uncharted.

I sat there also wondering how these animations would function. How did they even get that level of skill simply from Cobb's imagination? Did the system fill everything in? Are they under complete control of Cobb or not? Actually, I remember Cobb imbuing Greenhat with a sense of loyalty so they aren't directly tied to Cobb's will after creation. This type of magic seems to have a lot of holes but so far I haven't seen any technical problems with any skills otherwise so maybe Twoen actually has it figured out. Earlier JST brought up the fact that if you could breathe life into things could you bring them back from the dead? Could this magic step into the bounds of Holy Magic, Necromancy or the equivalent? We tested this out by choking a Geckan to death and trying to animate it. It didn't work. Theoretically it should at least move the body but even that didn't work. I wouldn't put it past Twoen to have a plausible reason that it didn't work either. For now I'd just leave that for Cobb to get frustrated over.

A tap on my shoulder, I almost forgot about the samurai.

"Jack." He introduced himself. He had a japanese accent but it wasn't heavy.

I bowed, mimicking his gesture. His armor was heavy, various plates made of stone hung from his body. His head had the samurai helmet that covered the neck completely. He was wearing armored gloves and greaves as well. His face was sharp but he seemed age, wise. Somehow he had a whispy goatee made of sand, if that's even possible. His curiass covered his torso and if I didn't know it was sand I would've thought it was leather. In his hilt was his katana and on the other side was a shorter tanto. He was older than George going from looks alone but instead of looking battle-hardened he exuded a sense of wisdom beyond his years. He was holding his helmet on his hip and his hair was in a bun.

"Samurai Jack huh?" I repeated amused. I wonder what the spartans were named?

He nodded in response. Not one for words then.

"Cut!" I gripped a pebble with my toes as I turned around to walk away and threw it at him, fast.

The sound of his katana entering back into it's sheath was the only thing I heard before two soft thumps in the sand.

"Good." I said.

The dog-sized creatures earlier were some type of large insect, they were more scavenger than hunter though so we were left alone. I had gotten used to their chittering mandibles but another sound now caught my attention. From within the forest I could clearly hear a galloping gait. What exited the forest were two white creatures, they loped toward us in a relaxed fashion but their speed was nothing to scoff at. They seemed capable of bipedal movement but they moved like a gorilla, walking on large knucklsd, there were blue streaks on their otherwise white skin. They were large and had a ridiculous hunchback. Their back protruded up at nine feet tall whereas their head was only at four feet, I couldn't think of a viable reason for that at all. The rest of my group seemed to notice and we turned to face them as they loped through the ruins. Swords being sheathed, weapons unholstered, shields being leveled and a green flame prepared for battle. Their fangs were bared but every now and then their mouth would close as they cast worried glances behind them. Right before coming into our range they split and passed us on each side running away like puppies dissapearing into the forest.

We had all turned our heads to follow the beasts not quite relaxing until they fully dissapeared.

Quest: Track down the Beast

A monster capable of destroying the Geckan Battle Arena has freed the monsters living within. Track it down and decide what to do with it.

Rewards:

+Dependent on method of completion.

"I say we kill it. Those in favor say aye." JST broke the silence.