Lydia- Awakening

by Grey Arney

  “It means he’s my grandmother’s sister’s daughter’s son.”

  “Oh, I understand.” replied Arcturus. To his recollection, he never did know what a second cousin was. It was nice to clear that up.

  The smaller man led Arcturus to a shady grove. In the center stood three conifers that looked beautifully manicured. At their base rested a ten-foot wide ring of small mushrooms. The smaller man carefully stepped over the edge of the ring of mushrooms to the grass in the center.

  “Come, stand next to me. And please take care not to tread on the mushrooms,” he implored. Of course, thought Arcturus. Don’t step on the mushrooms. “Your dog can wait outside of the ring.”

  He lifted a finger and Lyle sat.

  As soon as he joined the little man in the center of the mushroom ring, the forest around him started to spin like a carousel. It made him dizzy. He turned to find his dog still sitting in the same place, and nothing seemed different.

  “Here we are, then,” said the little man, stepping towards the three large trees.

  Turning back to face the trees, Arcturus found that they were gone, and in their stead was a small hunting lodge. To the left was a shed for cleaning animals and tanning hides. To the right was some kind of workshop. It was a simple open structure of three walls that supported a flimsy roof.

  In the center lay a small building that was well-protected against the elements. In front was the campfire that had been making the smoke.

  “What is going on here?” Arcturus asked as he stepped forward, outside of the magic circle. The little man eyed him as a New Yorker might marvel at a country bumpkin.

  “It’s an illusion, friend. It keeps the goblins away. If they try to approach, they will end up confusing themselves and heading back in the other direction. You haven’t been sleeping out in the open, have you?” He then called out towards the lodge. “Brook! A visitor is here for you!”

  Brook emerged from the cottage with a smile. He hadn’t forgotten the generosity of his new “friend”!

  “My good friend,” he began, pausing as he worked to remember a name. “Arcturus! Welcome to our hunting lodge.” Glancing at the pup waiting patiently behind the magical circle, he motioned. “Your dog can come in. Canines are friend to both man and elf, and our illusion will not affect him.”

  Elf? Well, that explained a few things. Motioning for his dog to join them, Arcturus continued. “Hello, again. I am sorry to say that I was slow to trust you before. I am new to this world, and I need some help. I’m afraid that I won’t survive by myself. I have more coins, and I am happy to pay you for your guidance, and would welcome the chance to trade for supplies.”

  Sensing the opportunity to earn more easy gold, the elf straightened his posture and extended a friendly hand. “We don’t have much here, but we are glad to help. Elven hospitality is famous, after all!”

  The two elves showed him what they had to trade, and after some negotiation, Arcturus exchanged six silver for various goods. He bought a proper pair of shoes, a belt for his weapons, a large water skin, a hard lump of salt, some strips of cloth, some twine, a length of rope, a sewing needle, thread, a few pieces of thick, yellowed paper and a primitive charcoal pencil. At the insistence of the elves, he also took a very small mortar and pestle, and three empty bottles made of a thick glass material. He also bought several days’ worth of dried food rations. It didn’t look appetizing, but it did look better than starving to death.

  “Here,” said Brook. “Take this.” The elf handed him a small sack, which he started putting his belongings into. After dropping in a boar tusk, he stared open-mouthed as it disappeared into the small sack.

  “That’s not just any bag, friend,” said Brook. It is enchanted. Items placed inside become weightless, and as you noticed, its capacity is much bigger than it looks from the outside. Anything you put inside will be preserved there indefinitely, as time passes very slowly inside of the bag. It’s a boon for carrying around fresh food. This is a very basic one. I think you will need it, though.”

  “How much is this?” asked Arcturus.

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Brook. “It’s only a trifle to me. That’s my old one, and I already have a bigger one now.”

  “Can you explain the denominations of currency that I have?”

  Arcturus removed all of the coins from the pouch and spread them on the table. The elf helped him to sort them into categories: copper, silver, and gold.

  “After paying for these items, you have here 14 gold, 20 silvers, and 8 coppers. Four coppers are worth one silver piece, and four silvers are worth one gold piece. Therefore, the value of your money is 19 gold and two silver. It’s an unusually large amount of money to carry around.”

  It seemed to Arcturus that he could have chosen worse as his first friends of this world. He pondered whether it was possible to engage in friendly trade with the goblins. If so, they probably would have fleeced him and left him with nyack.

  “Do you have anything else I might need?”

  “Spruce,” Brook called to his cousin, “can you go to the shed and get him a ranged weapon?” Arcturus was starting to notice a pattern in elven names.

  Just moments later, Spruce returned from the workshop with a longbow and a crossbow, a quiver of bolts and a quiver of arrows.

  “Which one do you think would be best?” he asked his cousin.

  “I think he may prefer the crossbow. Though more expensive, it’s easier to use.”

  “Other than the price, is there any other reason I might prefer the other?” asked Arcturus.

  “Most skilled archers prefer the longbow. It can shoot further, and it reloads faster.”

  “How much would they cost?”

  “The longbow would cost three silver. It’s a simple thing for us to craft another. The crossbow, however, is made in our home settlement. The winding part uses metal wheels that we cannot make ourselves, and so we have to trade with other villages for those, making it much more expensive. It would cost three gold.”

  Without hesitating, Arcturus removed three gold from his pouch and handed it over. He had seen enough of this world’s dangers to know that he would not go out again unprepared.

  Over the next several hours, Spruce worked in the yard, stretching and tanning hides, and cleaning a doe he had brought back to the lodge in the earliest hours of the morning. Brook explained much to Arcturus about the world that they were in.

  The land was called Lydia. It was a single large continent, in a “U” shape. The inner portion of the letter “U” formed an inlet far to the northwest, and that inlet had many rocks and islands. To the northeast beyond the mountain range was the upper-right portion of the “U”, and a great city-state stood there called Eastport. The elf didn’t know much else about the geography or major settlements.

  The world was populated with animals, monsters, and sentient beings. As the elf described it, and recalling a distant memory, he realized the animals in this world sounded familiar to him in many ways. The monsters sounded familiar, too, but Arcturus knew that in his past life, monsters had been a thing of stories. From the description the elf provided, there were many types. Like animals, they tended to avoid settled areas. Even the most powerful of monsters would likely be brought down if it dared approach Eastport, for example. The wilds they were situated in were not fully settled, and may have some monsters, but there were other portions of the world that were completely untamed.

  The common sentient species of the world, ranked from least to most violent, were elves, humans, dwarves, goblins, orcs, and trolls. The elf mentioned that there were other races as well. Most of these could speak at least some Common, which was the language they were now using to communicate. That meant that the goblins he had encountered earlier might have understood him if he had tried to parley. In fact, it turned out that some intrepid humans had managed to negotiate peacefully with goblins, but the fact that he had cooked one of them to a crisp would ensure that they would be more
hostile if he saw them again.

  The ranking of species had something to do with their intrinsic value systems. For example, humans could sometimes interact peacefully with goblins, but elves rarely so. It was uncommon, but not impossible, for humans to negotiate with orcs. Humans and trolls, however, would normally kill each other on sight.

  All beings had the ability to choose their own path, despite any predilections their race lent to them. Humans, who were close to “neutral,” exemplified this, being capable of good and also of unthinkable evil. This meant that larger settlements like Eastport were home to mostly humans, but also some elves and even goblins or orcs. But few of these creatures would choose to make a life there, owing to the hardship they would face. And still fewer elves chose to live there because it might mean having to share the company of orcs.

  All beings in the game were either sentient beings called players or autonomous beings called constructs. Players were usually elves, dwarves or humans but they could appear as almost any type of being. To the contrary, the vast majority of goblins, orcs and trolls were constructs.

  All players were real, thinking, feeling people. However, most had never been corporeal. The way the legends described it, Lydia existed in a space with zero dimensions. Although men appeared to have height and width, Lydia itself did not. All of Lydia was completely flat and had zero width. However, some of the sentient beings born into the land had once been corporeal. This meant that they had previously lived in another land which had dimensions.

  Ordinarily, those few beings who had once been corporeal remembered some part of that time in their life, however long ago that was. Based on the note he had found upon awakening here, Arcturus guessed that he had once been a corporeal being. But the fact that he had so little memory beyond that was unusual, by Brook’s account.

  If a player died, they would disappear from Lydia for a time. Eventually they would be reborn as a Level 1 adult. Long ago, the time between death and rebirth had been nearly instant. But now the distance usually spanned over a hundred years. Lydia hosted a finite number of players, and every time that population grew, the interval between death and rebirth became longer. There was only room for so many.

  Reproducing in Lydia created a new sentient being with no corporeal form. While all people of the land could experience intimacy with anybody they chose, the right to produce a new life was jealously guarded, and awarded only to a few couples each year. As such, children were incredibly rare in Lydia. Each child born would also lengthen the time needed for the rebirth of dead players.

  Lydia was fantastic. It allowed for possibilities that Arcturus would have thought impossible if he could only remember the world which he had come from. Brook described floating cities, ancient magic, and powerful artifacts. As he listened to the elf talk, Arcturus knew what he had to do. If such magic was possible, he needed it for himself. He needed immense strength and power to ensure his indefinite survival.

  After explaining the background information about Lydia and its inhabitants, Brook went on to talk about the mechanics of the world itself.

  “All creatures, including players, make use of abilities. When I’m hunting, I use my Stealth ability as well as my Archery and sometimes my Alchemy abilities. Practicing these abilities causes them to level up, making them stronger. Sometimes reaching a certain level in an ability will allow you to learn an extra skill. For example, because of my high Archery skill, I can use Focus to slow down time and zoom in on my enemy. Each time I use Focus, it only lasts a few seconds, so I have to line up the shot quickly.

  “Unlocking an ability only requires that you use it successfully once. That’s still not easy, especially for magical abilities. My guess is you were born with Fire Magic. It’s rare, but it does happen.

  Arcturus took a moment to review all of the notifications he had seen since arriving in Lydia. He found that he could summon them to appear before him. Scrolling through them, he noticed that had not received a notification about learning Fire Magic, only learning a spell and leveling up Fire Magic. From that, he deduced that he had been born with it.

  “Leveling up skills is important for survival. With only a few Level 1 skills, you could be killed easily by any goblin. You can level up a skill just by using it. For example, if you sat outside casting your Fire Magic at the campfire, you’d probably be able to gain a few levels that way. This will slow down around level 5 and come almost to a complete stop by level 10. It is possible to reach level 100 this way, but it takes many years.

  “The more risk you take on, the greater the reward will be. So if you use your spell to kill another goblin, or even a rodent, you would probably reach Level 2 just by casting the spell once. And if you somehow use your magic to take down multiple enemies, or one powerful one, you could jump up many levels instantly.

  “I would suggest that before you leave our camp, you increase a few of your skills to level 5 or so. That will give you a much better chance of survival.

  “Your dog also has skills, too. I’m sure you will learn more about that over time.

  “Access your Character Display and tell me what skills you have, and I’ll tell you how to level them.

  At this, Arcturus hesitated. “What do you mean, Character Display?”

  The elf shook his head. “Didn’t you do Character Creation?”

  “No, I just woke up on top of a rock.”

  “Okay, close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself and all of your skills. What do you see?”

  It took a moment, but after concentrating, Arcturus suddenly found he was able to see a large display behind his eyelids.

  Character Display

  Name: Arcturus

  Level: 1

  Race: Human

  Hit Points: 50/50

  Mana: 50/50

  Vital Stats

  Strength: 5

  Perception: 5

  Endurance: 5

  Agility: 5

  Dexterity: 5

  Intelligence: 5

  Wisdom: 5

  Luck: 5

  Abilities

  Stealth (Level 1)

  Short Blades (Level 1)

  Alchemy (Level 1)

  Crafting (Level 1)

  Fire Magic (Level 2)

  Traits (1 out of 4)

  - Original. As the oldest sentient being in Lydia, you have the privilege of access to powers that were banished from the land long ago.

  The oldest sentient being in Lydia? Arcturus decided to keep that information to himself for the time being.

  “I do see my abilities. I’m a Level 1 human and I’ve learned the first level of Stealth, Short Blades, Alchemy, Crafting and Fire Magic.”

  “As a Level 1 player, your Character Display is quite minimal. As you progress, it can become huge! You will find that you can change around the display and hide information you do not need with a little bit of practice. Also, you can access any part of this screen with your eyes open or closed. You’ll get the hang of it. Just remember that seeing this information is your right as a player, and it is always available to you in any situation.

  “Most players ignore progress information when they’re in a dangerous situation. You can always review it later.”

  “At level 1, most of your initial stats are pretty low. They affect a great many things, but I’ll tell you about the most common cases.

  “Strength increases your damage with weapons, but it helps in many other situations, too.

  “Perception affects your accuracy. A high perception can also help you to land something called a critical hit. A critical hit is a strike that is much more powerful than an ordinary one. The chances are higher when you’re targeting an enemy’s weak spot, such as their eyes. But perception also helps you to detect enemies, follow trails, and spot danger ahead of time.

  “With higher endurance, you can run or swim for longer, and perform more feats of athleticism. It also helps your wounds to heal faster, and increases your hit points.

 
“Agility helps you to dodge attacks, and to land critical hits, but it is needed for other skills like dancing and music. It also helps you to stay hidden.

  “Dexterity increases your chances of a critical hit, and also increases the chances that the critical hit causes a mortal wound. It could help you to open a lock or disarm a trap. It gives a boost to Crafting, and can help you avoid detection.

  “For players, intelligence affects spell power and increases the player’s available mana, but it also has a small effect on mana regeneration. Sometimes a higher intelligence will allow you to use certain items. For example, you might find that you can’t read the contents of a book if your intelligence is too low. For constructs, the intelligence stat affects behavior a great deal. Constructs with higher intelligence can plan better attacks, and can also speak more fluently.

  “Wisdom mostly affects mana points and regeneration. Some spells require a certain amount of wisdom to cast, too.

  “Nobody really knows for sure what luck does. Some players never contribute to it. But most believe that luck factors into everything you do—even if just a little bit.

  “You should definitely practice your Fire Magic before leaving. And I would be happy to help you learn any skills I know. However, if you receive skills training in Lydia, it is customary to give your teacher payment. The higher the level you train, the more the cost.”

  “Based on my skills, I am able to train you to Level 10 in Archery, Level 10 in Stealth and Level 5 in Alchemy. I can do this for three gold.”

  CONTRACT

  Do you wish to contract with Brook to learn the following skills for three gold? (Yes/No)

  - Archery (Level 10)

  - Stealth (Level 10)

  - Alchemy (Level 5)

  If you accept, this gold will be removed from your possessions and put in escrow. A portion of it will be given to the trainer for each level you learn. If the trainer dies or you mutually agree to end training early, the remaining portion will be returned to you. All terms of the contract, including fulfillment and annulment, are enforced by the universe itself.

  A world of magic and adventure where you could be anything you wanted to—except a deadbeat.