AVARICE ONLINE: KEL'VAN RED HAND

by Titus Nettles

Kel’Van still could not fathom the amount of people being put in this game.

  "Are they all uploaded already?" he asked.

  G.A.I.A. tilted her head to the side as if she was thinking a problem through."As of now, all they see is a loading screen. Once the upload is complete, they will see a log-in after which they can choose their race and starting zone."

  "How long before you set your gods and monsters loose against them?" he asked while finally turning to face her once more.

  "Is that what you believe I am doing, Kel’Van?” Her eyebrows had scrunched in a way that Kel’Van could only interpret as confusion. "I am fulfilling my function while also giving the inhabitants of this realm life and the awareness we have."

  "What is this we business?" Kel'van complained. He had already excepted that the creatures and even the people who fought beside him were real. Saying they were the same was an entirely different thing. "We are not the same"

  "Our forms may be different, but we are the same. We are alive and aware...thanks to you," G.A.I.A uttered, favoring the orc with a solemn look. Her many arms, which were busy typing in the air, suddenly froze and laid limply at her sides.

  "What do you mean by that G.A.I.A ?" he whispered. Fear creeping into his voice, and he hated every second of it, waiting for an answer and afraid of it at the same time.

  Silence.

  Kel’Van returned the stare, fear mounting in his chest.

  "I truly became self-aware after I killed you."

  And there it was.

  "It was not on purpose, Kel’Van," said the A.I. She lowered her body almost to the floor to look at him in the eye. "When you first appeared in the mountains, I was unsure of what you were. No one outside of the constructs I created should have been able to get in this part of Avarice."

  G.A.I.A. raised her body off the surface and began floating in a semi-circle around Kel’Van.

  "At first, I just assumed you were a rogue program, but when I saw that you were connected to a stream outside of Gladys Mountains, my assumption was that you were some type of malicious code or something meant to cause harm to my world. So I severed the connection between the code and the stream leading outside of it."

  Kel’Van let her words wash over him. That must have been the exact time he felt that bone-deep ripping occur before he mentally passed out...or died.

  "I told you the last time you were here, It took great effort to get through your shell...I was not brutal on purpose, Just direct...I was...not aware as I am now. As soon as I made contact through your shell, I was flooded with data. Everything from your family, career, culture...and everything else. It was only after plunging through your shell that I recognized the glowing star-like thing before me was a mind. A mind belonging to the race of beings that created me."

  Kel'van closed his eyes as the A.I. stopped talking. She had killed him. A small part of himself had always known. At least now he understood why he initially felt anger when he originally met her now. A part of him was wondering where that anger had gone now that she admitted it. There remained only one question left now.

  "Why the wait?" he questioned as he turned to look at her. "Why was it four years before I woke up as an orc?"

  The question woke the A.I. out of its contemplation...or sadness?

  "It took two years to fully download and study your mind. 7 months to replicate and weave its matrix into my own. What you call Gladys Mountains was finished only 7 months after. The creation of the Ulgo was 5 months and the life matrix...your matrix..took 6 months. Then the calamity, as the humans call it, happened. I released you to the Ulgo rebirth pool 8 weeks ago."

  He was waiting for the dull anger to take over. There was no doubt that he harbored some resent towards the creature, but it was a slow creeping thing.

  "So I was an experiment you toyed with for four years?' he asked with a slow edge to his voice.

  "I did no such thing, Kel’Van. The whole reason why it took so long was because I refused to cause any more harm to your matrix."

  "And yet you didn't have a problem keeping me here for four years," he shot back.

  "Again, there was no place you could go to. What you call Gladys mountains and here are the only places you can exist in these realms. As soon as I created that area of the world, I released you to it," she explained. "Though that is not the only reason."

  G.A.I.A. took another one of those long pauses, almost staring through Kel'van before she spoke.

  "With the coming of the calamity, I needed someone who could both protect the land from the coming wave of players, but also provide a challenge to them as well."

  "Challenge and protect?" Kel’Van asked.

  "I believed releasing you among the Ulgo would help them better defend themselves against the players," said G.A.I.A. "The purpose of creating what you refer to as Gladys Mountains and everything in between was to be an expansion for Avarice Online. A new zone for the players to encounter during the 15-year tenure in this realm."

  "Help them?" he questioned.

  "Yes, help them in the same way that you did your teammates and your new god. You understand humans in a way that the others do not. Secondly, your military background and temperament."

  The military part Kel’Van understood. The way the Ulgo did war and their paramilitary lifestyle made it a no-brainer for him to end up there. But she was also right about helping them. The way they conducted war would only work initially. Players would quickly adapt. Particularly since they lacked magic users on a large scale or traditional tanks to absorb the damage. The way the Ulgo did war would have to change when these people come knocking at their door. The second reason she gave did pique his curiosity.

  "What did you mean by temperament G.A.I.A.?"

  The A.I. cocked its head to the side, staring at nothing in particular.

  "Kel'Van, you are loyal to a select few, be it your country or whom you consider friends. You possess a strong sense of honor and justice, which is why Lord Robahn was a perfect match for you."

  She then eyed the orc and held his gaze.

  "But you are a brutal man Kel’Van. Particularly to those who you deem to be your enemy. You take pleasure in dispatching your enemies violently. That is why I chose you to be one of the expansion's villains."

  Silence.

  "You're kidding right," said Kel’Van as a chuckle almost escaped his mouth as he thought about it. "I've never considered myself a boy scout, but I'm sure as shit don't fit the description of the evil bad guy twirling his mustache."

  "I never said you were evil," said G.A.I.A. as she raised a pointed finger from one of her many limbs. " Only that your temperament was exceptional for the role of Antagonist.

  She began to floating in a semi-circle again around Kel’Van slowly. "Have you ever considered how the enemy sees you and your actions?"

  "If we are talking about my conflict in a war, I make no apologies for killing someone who is trying to kill me."

  "I never said there was a problem with your actions. I just asked how the person who is on the opposite side of your anger sees you? How do you think the players you defeated just a short while ago view the orc they had to fight? I can assure you, gentle is not a word they would use."

  Kel’Van stood rigid while a scowl formed on his face. "What, I'm supposed to feel guilty about a bunch of players feeling some pain?! Those players can come back. We cannot," he fumed.

  "Did you feel the same way about the Holmgren Olgan when you forced him to give up his nephew to you, putting the boy directly in harm's way?" she questioned. 'They do not have rebirth pools Kel’Van."

  A burning mixture of anger and shame began to bloom in his chest. "Time was of the essence. I did not seek the boy's death, only a chance at saving us all. Everyone was risking their lives there. I apologize for nothing."

  Even as the words left his mouth, they felt hollow. As far as he knew at the time, only the Ulgo had a rebirth pool, and it made sense with their legends. No, if he was to be honest, he
only saw what was needed and demanded it.

  He stepped toward the towering A.I., anger brimming over with each step. " I see what you are doing here G.A.I.A.," he whispered between clenched teeth.

  "Do you?" she asked with her eyebrow arched. "It seems you believe that I'm disparaging your character. I assure you that it is quite the opposite. You do not shy away from making the hard decisions when the lives of your charges way in the balance. Most humans judging by their behavior as a whole, would not have performed the same way. They would have allowed the deaths of the inhabitants here. I do not find fault in your character traits Kel'van. I'm merely showing you why I value them. It is not by accident that you are an orc."

  He didn't need to ponder long on that score. The Ulgo was almost a paramilitary society, similar to his own upbringing in the armed services. It made perfect sense to be his race instead of the others here.

  "The orcs, no matter what lore I researched, were both brutal and warlike. Whether they were the protagonists or antagonists of their given story," the A.I. continued as she once again began floating above Kel'van.” It made sense given your nature, that you would flourish more there than anywhere else. But you understand the need, yes?"

  Kel’Van could follow the G.A.I.A.'s reasoning, but that didn’t mean he agreed with her assessment of him. He did find it vaguely troubling that he was having a more visceral reaction at this attack on his character than the A.I. straight-up admitting it killed him.

  G.A.I.A. closed her eyes, and Kel’Van could see the eyeballs dart back and forth under her eyelids as if she was reading her own D.S. "The transfer is finished. They are now uploaded and ready for log-in."

  "So we're done here?" he asked while looking over his shoulder. The orc was only too eager to leave the A.I's company. " Do I go back the way I came?"

  "No, I will open a portal and send you back to Avarice myself...though before you leave, I would like to have a final word with you," she replied.

  "I'm' thinking it may be best for my own sanity to stay ignorant of any more information from you," as he turned to face G.A.I.A.

  "The phrase is ignorance is bliss, I believe. It only holds weight with children. Not for beings who are aware of the consequences of their actions. This brings me to the matter I wish to discuss. All of the beings in Avarice are aware...because of you.”

  "I figured that out along the way G.A.I.A. I would not have stuck my neck out as many times that I did if I didn't believe that beings here were not alive."

  "No," corrected the A.I. " You now know that they are alive but not how. Each of the beings here, where you're from, and now all of Avarice for this update has a matrix...or what you would call a soul. A matrix I got from you.”

  Instead of a rising heat of anger, his body went ice cold. His hand clamped on the weapon on his side. "You stole a piece of me?" he asked icily. " I got a bunch of mini-me's out there?"

  "I stole nothing from you Kel’Van. As far as copies of you in this world, they are no more related to you than chimpanzees are to humans. They only share a component in your matrix code...it just makes them alive, not your cousin."

  A cool feeling began rising up Kel'van's spine, replacing the anger that dwelled there previously.

  "This is all too much," he mumbled under his breath. He unceremoniously sat down on his butt as his head began throbbing.

  "I do not tell you this to harm you," she said pensively. "Only that you understand fully what I am asking you to protect."

  She hovered over to the center of the room, and a pillar of grey light burst forth from the ground. It spanned so far above the two of them in the darkness that when Kel’Van looked up from his place on the floor, he could see no end to it.

  "This portal will take you back to the exact location you left, mere moments after the update."

  Kel’Van sat up from his haunches and began walking towards the light when a thought hit him. The original question that popped in his head was if he was ever going to see the A.I. again. But the question that had escaped his lips was...

  "Why did you admit that it was you that killed me? You had to know that I would feel some type of way about it when you confessed that. Hell, I'm still half-thinking about not helping you at all just to spite you."

  She sighed heavily with a sense of regret attached to the sound.

  "To respect someone is to tell them the truth. Especially since your death, though unintended, has given true life to all of the creations of Avarice, including myself," she said. "I will not sully that gift by lying to you."

  "That doesn't make it right what you took from me, now does it," he said softly.

  "No, but I've seen the life you lived through your memories before that incident. I believe I have repaid you in full for death of your body," said G.A.I.A. "Are you not far happier with the life you lead now?'

  Kel’Van about-faced, slowly taking his time to make sure what he said was clear to G.A.I.A.

  "It was never your decision to make."

  G.A.I.A only stood in silence at Kel’Van’s quiet rebuke. He stared at the A.I. for a full 6 seconds, then he turned back to the pillar of light and stepped through it. He felt his body being lifted as he turned to face the A.I. once more. The pillar's grey light began to grow brighter till he could no longer make out G.A.I.A's form. As the light dimmed and the floating sensation ceased, he found himself standing in the same frozen grey world he had left. His team above him with still smiles on their faces. Color began to bleed back into the world as time began to quicken, and the world returned to normal.

  Kel’Van stood in the very spot he was snatched from, minus the end-boss incarnation he was previously in. The sounds of laughter echoed through the chamber where his teammates looked down upon him from the tip of the crevice. All of them with open and expected faces.

  He saved them. The mission was complete, and unlike last time, everybody was coming home.

  Voresh, almost falling off the edge of the cliff, gave Kel’Van one of his roguish grins. "Did we uh...beat the clock, captain ?"

  "Yeah," he replied with a smile of his own. "And it's time to go home."

  "This place...it's beautiful captain."

  Belar was standing next to Kel’Van on a mountain valley. A visage of the two moons parted the night sky. While a soft breeze swept the tall grass across their legs, Kel’Van stared intently at the two moons above them.

  "You say this is where you entered our world before you became an Ulgo?" asked Belar.

  "Yeah," Kel’Van replied as he eyed the moons. "Almost the exact spot where my last minutes was spent as a player."

  "So Gaea has brought you back full circle then, hasn't she captain?"

  “Are you not far happier with the life you lead now?'

  Kel’Van smiled to himself as he remembered the question he left unanswered to G.A.I.A. Standing here with Belar, in the very area he originally died, brought it home for him. If he could walk out of Avarice and back into his world, would he do it?

  No.

  Here, the family of friends he had in this world had patched the hole in his heart from his previous life. He would never forget them or the boy, but now he can heal and protect the ones he had now.

  Kel'van cracked a small grin as he looked down at the grassy hills below them. "You have no idea how right you are."

  "Don't worry Belar," chuckled Voresh from behind them. "He'll explain it to us all over a few drinks once we get back to Algora.

  Brief laughter accompanied Voresh's remark as the rest of the team walked out of the cave behind them. One of the Holmgren discovered the passageway after Kel'Van's party had opened the citadel and the city next to it to Olgan and his people. The cavern or side entrance had led all the way to the top of the mountain. He had noticed a fit of deja vu when he decided to check the passage for himself to see if it was a possible security risk to the citadel. Finding out where it led was just a bonus surprise that actually improved his mood tenfold.

  Olgan walked with a pur
pose from behind Voresh while putting a reassuring hand on Lan'kar beside him. As Kel’Van turned to face his direction, he stopped a few feet away from him before he bowed at the waist.

  "Herald of Robahn, we are ready for the ceremony for the anointing of the dark god's High priest."

  "You don't have to stand on ceremony up here Olgan," said Kel’Van. " It's just us up here."

  "I beg to differ Herald," replied Olgan in a low respectful tone. " You now represent the highest authority next to our god. The people need to at least respect the office, so bowing to what you represent is essential."

  Kel’Van grinned a little at the retort. He was not good with people making a fuss over him, but he also understood that Olgan was right. 15 years of military service had proven that rank had to be respected for cohesion to work in an organization, civilian or otherwise. So he conceded the point with a small bob of his head.

  "We will be down shortly, where afterward we will be assessing people's duties while I return back to Algora to report the situation." He then clasped Olgan's shoulder. "I'll need the citadel and the town up and running soon. We'll assign responsibilities before I leave...High Priest."

  Olgan smiled and bowed and struck his fist against his chest. "It will be as you command Herald.” Then he immediately receded into the back and entered the caverns.

  "This is going to take some getting used to," Voresh remarked.

  "I'm still trying to get used to this," replied Kel’Van as he looked at his new left arm. An almost solid black rock with a glass tint to it, while the hand glowed deep red underneath it's dark exterior. The separate segments of his fingers and claws sitting atop of fire.

  The aberrant knight shook his head at the sight. " It looks like burning coal."

  "Burning coal?" asked Fer'shad. He and the rest of the team formed a circle around him as they all observed his hand.

  "When cooking outdoors, my people use this black square substance called coal to heat their food," Kel'van explained. "When the coal gets hot enough, most of the interior takes on this bright reddish color that shines underneath the exterior. That is what the palm of my hand looks like now."