[Please select your class
Time remaining : 000:59]
I bolt forward, and out of the corner of my eye I see other people take off as well. So, I wasn’t the only one who figured out this strange little gimmick. Within seconds shouts of “I did it!” “I’m a soldier!” and “Wait! What is a good choice?!” echo around. I glance back, the little kid who was standing next to me was reaching for a sword that was almost as big as him.
“Hey!” I shout back, “Little kid!”
The boy’s head snaps up in my direction, frown already in place, “I’m not-,”
“You don’t want that one!” I cut him off, turning back to the front so I could leap over a pile of rusted armor. “Pick something smaller! You need to be able to carry it around easily!”
The boy glances down at the sword, before frowning even more and taking off further away from the center, allowing a girl with bright green hair to grab the sword instead. She picks it up and immediately goes tumbling to the ground from the weight.
With a loud sigh, I turn back around. Most people had just taken whatever they were able to reach first. A few had moved further in, attracted by the shiner and less rusty weapons further from the starting area. But only me and one other guy were still without a weapon.
“Hurry little miss!” the old guy shouts from behind me.
I risk a glance up from the floor.
[Please select a class.
Time remaining : 000: 12]
I was almost out of time!
“Ahah!” someone shouted from behind me, I glance back and see the other guy who hadn’t chosen anything yet, “you walked right past this one you loser!” the guy yells, pulling what is very obviously a wizard’s staff out of the pile of rusted armor I jumped over.
I grit my teeth and keep running, even as the screen floating above me starts to turn red, making an angry buzzing sound as it counts down each second.
“Lady hurry up!” the little boy yells from somewhere behind me.
I had reached the edge of the area, falling apart cabinets full of armor and cloaks lining the walls. Beautiful swords and bows haphazardly tossed around. I just need something- all of these weapons would be a bad fit. But I wasted too much time and there’s nothing here-
My eyes catch on something glittering tucked behind a shield that was so well polished it was almost reflective. There’s no logical reasoning behind my snap-second decision, but I go full in, lunging for the small glittering item. The cabinet above me sways, before crashing down on top of me, burying me in a pile of ornate weapons and armor. The sound of metal clashing into metal is near deafening but my hands close around something small and smooth and-
“DING!!!”
[Every player has selected their class.
Please now select your background.
Each background may only be selected once.]
A sigh of relief. With a loud clattering I slowly pull myself out of the pile of gleaming silver and gold, flinching as I stand, I was definitely going to be feeling those bruises for a while. “Pings” and yells of annoyance and joy rang around me as I examine the item in my hand.
It was odd, a perfect flat circle of metal completely blank on both sides, about the size of a sand dollar. There was a little hole in one end where a simple braided rope cord was strung through. I had no idea what it was, and because the background selection window hovered above my stats, I didn’t know what class it belonged to either.
“Hey, I was going to pick Fire Elemental!”
“Too slow kid!”
Ah right, I should probably pick one of the backgrounds.
Clutching the circle tight I look over my options, most had been picked through already. All of the familiar backgrounds, elves, humans, halflings, orcs, goblin, etc. had already been chosen, leaving only a few choices. These remaining backgrounds seemed to be made-up words, and if this was a fantasy game or novel that I was reading these words in I would have questioned how much free time the creators had. Sometimes too much worldbuilding was a problem in understanding the actual story.
Each name seemed more complex than the last, with a few towards the bottom containing hyphens and dashes. All of this is gibberish to me. The clock was counting down again, and I needed to pick something. Giving up, I randomly select a name on the list I think I might be able to pronounce.
[Background chosen!]
An even more yellow text box appears.
[You are now a-]
Between one blink and the next my vision goes dark. Panic claws up my throat. I made the wrong choice, or time ran out. Something has gone horribly wrong, where am I now, what do I-
Lights, millions upon millions of lights flood the darkness. All colors and sizes and shapes and with a sharp breath I realize what it is I’m staring at. The endless universe of stars.
“Ping!”
A white window appears with simple and elegant black handwriting.
[Gallaxskye]
[More commonly known among the mortal races as the “Dream-borne”.
This background is not one with a defined culture or realm of origin. Gallaxskye can be born on any realm, but all start their lives among the stars. When a mortal wishes with all their heart upon a falling star, the fallen star is embedded with the wish and becomes a Gallaxskye, a creature with the heart of a wish.
Gallaxskye’s treat their wishes as their most precious of secrets. For knowing a Gallaxskye’s wish-heart allows you to take it. Many of the dream-borne have met their end at the hands of greedy mortals who have hunted and killed them for their hearts. For their hearts hold a wish that may be used to grant the holder one request, no matter how impossible.
The mortals who make the wish upon the shooting star that becomes the Gallaxskye are known as “Wish Givers”, and they are their matching Gallaxskye’s best ally and worst enemy. For only a Wish Giver holds the key to fulfilling the wish-heart, but they are also the ones who are most able to take it. Once the wish a Gallaxskye is made of is completed they can return to the stars and become the ‘Starlit’. Sentient stars that care and live in the cosmos outside the reach of the mortal races and their gods. Only a handful of Gallaxskye have ever achieved freedom this way.]
[Special Traits:
Space Bound (Fallen): because you hail from the stars beyond you can choose to defy the laws of gravity which bind the other mortal races, but because of your fallen status you can only hover at max three feet from the surface below you.
Wish-Heart: Gallaxskye are created from a wish and this wish influences their entire being. By following the wish you can achieve great boons and bonuses, and the opposite is true if you do not. Failing to strive towards the wish you are forged from will dim the light of your wish-heart and place negatives onto your abilities. If the light of your wish-heart ever fully fades, you will cease to exist, and your wish-heart destroyed. If another creature learns of the wish you are born from, they will be able to claim your wish-heart for themselves. A wish-heart is still useable even if the Gallaxskye it is tied to dies.
Otherworlder: for all spell and ability effects, you are considered an Otherworlder. All abilities that would affect creatures of the mortal realm will have no effect on you.
Fallen Star: while once you dwelled in the realm of the heavens, you are now bound to the world below. Any special abilities you would gain as a heavenly being are void until you regain your place. All other heavenly beings will be able to tell you have fallen and will be forbidden to interact with you. You may only regain your original abilities through a Legendary Heroic Deed.]
Oh no. I was right, I’ve made a terrible mistake.
“How did I manage to choose the one background with a lore death flag?” I mumble to myself as the white info screen glitters and then a new window appears.
[All your kind are born from a wish.]
[Your wish is: -]
I’m surprised by the sudden dead-toned voice. And I am even more surprised that even though the words were being read by an unemotional robot, I could still hear the pain of the original Wish Giver.
“I don’t want to be alone.”
Something heavy and cold curls in my chest, right where my heart should be. The wish settling in place. I had thought it would feel warm, a hope so bright it almost burned. But this wish is cold, laced with fear and bound to my bones with chains.
I was a Gallaxskye and I could never tell anyone or it would be my grave.
I laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but it sounds hollow and sad rather than amused, “This is far worse than a death flag...”
After giving its horrible message the white info screen slowly fades back into the void.
“Ping!”
I glance up only to frown automatically at the return of the blue screen with yellow font.
[Since the player has chosen a harder starting background, the player will randomly be assigned a boon.]
“Well, at least they know this kind of background is completely unfair.”
[Your boon is:
LEARNED SPELL – ALTER FORM]
“So, I can change how I look?” I wonder out loud staring at the screen, “I mean it’s pretty fun I guess… but it seems more like a cosmetic thing than a helpful ability….,”
“Ping!” and a new message appears this one is written back in the elegant black font on the white background.
[Now assigning base form]
“Wait-,” and the shimmering stars that had surrounded me start moving closer and begin to spin around me like a tornado of lights. “Hold on here! What do you mean base form?!” I yell at the message window, but no response comes, the lights just start spinning even faster, their shimmering colors blinding, “Hey-!”
It feels like I’m both too hot and too cold at once. My skin tingles and itches like a tiny thousand little beads suddenly just poured over me. My bones ache, as though I just worked out for days straight. Every part of me protests but never fully gives in, only bends.
The lights vanish as I gasp, having only now realized in my panic I had held my breath. I’m more numb than sore, my body feels weirdly fuzzy- as though I’m feeling it through a thick layer of cotton. Nothing feels out of place or damaged, at least I’m still alive.
“That was horrifying. God what-,” I stop talking, and stare down. My hands are no longer the tan color I remember, instead they are a light lilac. Small star shaped ‘marks? Blemishes? Freckles?’ cover the back of my hands and trail up my arms. But even that’s not what alarms me so, I can almost see through my hands, as though I were a ghost.
I quickly reach up and grab my face, nose, eyes, mouth, ears- oh my ears are pointed now. I follow the points with my hands, trying to get a mental image of my new face. Even though I look intangible I can still at least feel my own touch. I reach out, gently cupping one of the buzzing little stars in my hand, it's warm and softly floats atop my palm like a dandelion seed.
Lifting my hand, I return it to the sea of stars around me, spinning around to see if I can find any other clues. As I shift something white and glimmering spills over my shoulders, it takes me a second to realize it's my hair. As soft and shimmering as the stars that glitter around me and flowing all the way down my back to an impossible length. I lightly brush it off my shoulder and am mesmerized as the strands bob and float in the air as though completely weightless.
[Would the player like to activate [LEARNED SPELL: ALTER FORM]?]
I glance back down at my purple hands. Weirdly the purple has already become something I’m attached to, and I hesitate at the prompt. Then –
A new message overlaps the blue prompt window, this one is a white text box with an elegant black font.
[Gallaxskye are easy to recognize by their appearance. It is advised that the player change forms.]
That’s… oddly helpful. I glance back and forth between the screens. I thought the white screen was just because of my background, but is it something else? Is it… someone else?
I stare at the white screen for another few seconds before I sigh and shake my head, “I think I’m already starting to get paranoid, and even if it was something else how would I be able to know or why would I care?”
I reach up and hit [yes]
The white message again slowly fades back into the void and another “ping!” echoes as a blue-yellow message appears.
[Please chose which form you would like to transform into]
1 – Half Orc
2 – Half Elf
3 – Half Wara ]
Well, that’s a fairly easy choice. Only two of those I recognize, and while being a half-orc would let me be taller, I don’t want tusks. I pick [Half Elf] and another overly artificial “Ping!” echoes.
[Please now select how you would like your avatar to appear.]
“Wait there’s character customization too?” as soon as I ask, a new floating box appears, it has an outline of my current form and tabs lining the sidebar full of categories like “eyes, hair, special markings, etc.”
Out of curiosity I hit the hair tab and select the first option. The stars flit around me again, focused this time around my head, and before my eyes I watch as my ridiculously long hair fades away. I lift my hands up as the little stars scatter around me like fireflies, twinkling and chiming as they float about. It’s just as the option said, I now have a bob of short white hair.
A smile blooms across my face. Customization was always my favorite in any video game I ever played. “This is going to be fun.”
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