Thread: A New Life: Cataclysm || ƒeral x Denna

Elayne lay on her stomach, crawling slowly through the slimy swamp mud. Her blonde-brown hair was a tangled mess, nearly green from all the mud and algae covering it. Her white tunic and blue courset were filthy, and her pants, oh, her pants! Once a pretty shade of light blue, they were now dyed a green so violent, she wanted to puke just looking at them. She would never get the stains out, and she could hardly afford her guild fees, let alone equipment maintenance. But she mustn't let that distract her. She was on the hunt,, and had been for over eight hours. This creature had evaded hunters for months, displaying incredible amounts of guile, along with excellent stealth and perception. Most relied on their combat abilities, and when stumped with challenges such as this, simply moved on to easier challenges. But not Elayne. She had spent nearly eight hours crawling through muck to reach the creature, and now she was almost there. She was always on the lookout for unknown creatures, new dungeons, and anything unexplored. She loved the thrill of defeating the unknown. She didn't enjoy defeat. Unfortunately, she was defeated often. Thanks to that, she spent very little time improving the looks of her more recent characters. This latest character was almost an exact match of her real self. Shoulder length golden-brown hair matched with deep green eyes. Average breasts, with a tight butt, and curvy thighs. Her face wasn't much to look at, and when others saw her, she looked incredibly plain. Most either made the most beautiful character they could, or covered themselves in expensive-looking equipment and jewelry. Elayne wasn't like that. She wore clothes that were simple, but matched her eyes and hair. And while she was no great beauty, she stood out amongst others, intriguing with her own, mild beauty. She was like a daisy in the midst of roses, plain, but exotic. It caught the eyes of some enough to look a third time as she passed. But once they realized who she was, they ignored her. She was Elayne Briarheart, Champion of the Road, and Purveyor of Junk. The last was a nickname given to her by the player merchants, tired of her constant trade in seemingly useless baubles. Elayne was never one to rely on established methods, but rather tried new and exotic paths, finding pleasure in the few gems she found in the muck. And she hoped she was about to find just that. She inched forward, peering between a small bunch of green water-reeds. There it was. Long and thin, with a whip-like tail. The illusive swamp kobold. Renowned for it's lack of combat skills, but excellent camoflauge and quick wits, swamp kobolds were notoriously hard to catch. It didn't help that it offered next to no loot. Rumor had it that it was worth a few achievement points, but none came forward to prove true. Not that Elayne cared. She just wanted to see if anything interesting happened after she had hunted every known variety of kobold. She had recently killed all 10 varieties of goblins, and had been given a special achievement, earning a handsome By her standards reward from one of the NPC guardsmen. Now she hoped she could duplicate the same if she killed this last kobold. Her hands reached low into her pocket, pulling out a small green rock. She had been told it would summon a great lightning bolt, capable of slaying most low level creatures in a single hit. She had purchased ten of them. She had focused solely on learning the varied arts of weaponry, and their vast forms and uses, but had neglected her base stats, leaving her a Jack of All Trades, Master of None. She had a weapon for nearly any situation, and could fail spectacularly attempting to use them. Her low stats mean low damage, low health, and weak resistance. Her poverty left her with basic equipment, with only a single magical item. A ring that could summon nearly any mundane weapon imaginable, for a brief time. She had gotten it for a pittance. Who would want access to a variety of weapons, when one could focus on one or two styles? And the weapons themselves were mundane, no magic or skilled crasftwork, they were little better than training weapons. But she loved it. She could have any weapon she could imagine, and she had some wild ideas. Her latest was a crossbow that would launch pebbles. An oversized slingshot, by all accounts. And that was the weapon she conjured now. She slowly loaded her miracle stone into the crossbow, and took aim. She waited for the kobold to step into the water, hoping to catch him walking on poor footing. Then she would strike. The kobold slowly made it's way through the swamp, eyes peeled for danger. And then he took that fateful step. The water must have been deeper than the kobold expected, for he lost his footing, struggling to right himself. Elayne fired. The small green stone flew towards the kobold, and struck him clean in the forehead. Elayne shouted for joy, jumping up from her hiding place. She stood there, waiting for the lightning to strike. And waited. And waited... And waited...... Nothing. No lightning. Just a lightly bruised kobold, now calling out curses and threats. It didn't work, why didn't it work? The old lady had sworn they worked! ' A sure fire way to kill a low level. ' She had said. She had also laughed heartily after Celes had purchased ten. She realized the true meaning of the old woman too late. The low level that would die was her! The kobold came racing after her, flint spear in hand. It had considered running, but this foolish girl had angered it. ' How dare it shoot shiny pebbles at it?! Shiny pebbles were for keeping safe in den! ' thought the kobold. Celes stood there, dejected, as the kobold came rushing to end her. Then she was in her room. She had been disconnected from the game. ' Had she died? No, there was no death screen. Then what-? ' ATTENTION. ALL PERSONNEL. Over the intercom, the robotic voice monotoned, the ship's AI breaking the silence in a rare announcement. A NEW LIFE WILL BE DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE FOR THE NEXT FOUR HOURS. PLEASE CARRY ABOUT AS NORMAL. She was saved. But that cursed old woman! She had sold her phony magic items! Elayne was furious! Oh wait, she meant Celes. Celes was her real name. Her in-game name was Elayne Brairheart. And she was proud of the name. She had come up with it herself. ' Brairheart, like a thorny heart. Almost like a rose. Roseheart.... wait, wouldn't Roseheart sound better? Drat! ' Celes cursed herself, thinking of a better name for the hundredth time. But she was Celes Brairheart. Every character she had made was named Celes Brairheart. From the Staff Dual-Wielding Priestess, to the great Fish Summoner. All amazing ideas, all dead and buried. She cherished every one. She was distracted with thoughts of past characters when her door announced a guest. Raine requests entrance to Celes' Room. Will you accept? Yes. She called out. She jumped off her bed, incredibly excited to see Raine. Raine was her best friend, her step-sister, and benefactor all rolled into one. And she was gorgeous! Just one look sent her mind reeling with thoughts that left her breathless. But Raine had no interest in her. Raine had a girlfriend . ' Stupid Riane, aren't I good enough? ' Thought Celes. But she was used to these thoughts. She would just have to settle with being Raine's friend. That, and mooching off her success. Raine was always good for a little mooching.