“What’s she like?” Guin asked as she and Starshine meandered through Bade. “Our third roommate, I mean.”

“She... seems nice.” Starshine gave Guin a playful glance.

Suspicious, Guin leveled eyes with her. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Ha!”

“Seriously!”

“I may not have known you long, Stella, but I know you well.”

Stella's familiar calculating gaze sent a shiver down her spine. Her grin made it worse, even as she calmly took Guin's hand and squeezed it in an attempt to be reassuring. “It’s nothing. It’s just...”

“Just?”

“It’s just... going to be so. Much. Fun!” Bubbly laughter filled the air as Lady Starshine left Guin’s side and began to dance back down the road.

Raising an eyebrow at her, Guin said, “You are the worst friend ever.”

“On the contrary, dear Guin,” she said, wagging her finger in the air. “I am the bestest best friend out there! Should you ever need me, call my name, and I shall be your fairy godmother! But for now... What should we do?”

They weren’t the only ones who had reached the same conclusion about the school. As they walked through the streets, Guin watched the others as they found their way through the tutorial.

There was a distinct difference between those who were already well into the game and those who were just starting. Longer-term players invested in their chosen roles could be easily mistaken for NPCs. They carried large sacks as they ran errands for the local townsfolk. They plied trades, working as blacksmiths hammering away in the summer heat and tailors turning delicate fabrics into beautiful clothing. More than a few had taken up farming. For a while, they followed a group of players with hoes and bags of seeds tied around their waists. It was such a pretty, peaceful place, busy with the work of the common man.

But what about those who didn’t want such a common life?

Guin put her hand to her forehead and looked up. The sky was a clear white-blue. Fluffy clouds moved ever-so-slightly in the breeze, casting shadows over the fields.

“Hey,” Starshine said suddenly. “I think Bahena needs help with something. I’m going to log out for a bit. See what you can find out?”

“Yeah,” Guin said. “If you need help with anything, let me know.”

“Will do! See you soon!” Starshine said before fading into a flurry of cubes and sparkles.

Alone again, and at a lack of better direction, Guin headed towards the stables. It seemed to be a less popular location than others, and when Guin saw the price tag that accompanied each of the dozen or so horses kept there, it was no wonder. Why they had even bothered adding mounts to this zone?

The silence gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. Guin offered her hand to the horses at the front of their stalls as she passed through.

Securing an apprenticeship at one of the many shops in town was probably the easiest thing to do. The best thing would probably be for her to find an apprenticeship in something that she had some sort of skill or talent for in real life.

There wasn’t much to that, though, if she were honest with herself. What skills did an English major have that would be useful in a video game? She could be a scribe or something, but where was the fun in that? She could play a little ukulele. A bard, maybe?

Guin looked at her hand and balled it into a fist. The real talent she should be utilizing was that if she knew anything, she knew games.

Knowledge. That was her real talent, here. Now how was she supposed to use that?

A blindingly white stallion breathed into her face. Guin giggled and stopped to pat its warm nose. Its breath tickled her fingertips as she stared into its pretty blue eyes.

“You. Girl,” a voice said.

Guin looked around, but she couldn't find where the voice was coming from. A few players passed by in the distance, but they were too far away to have been the speaker.

“You, yes, you! Look, here now!” said the voice. It felt as if it was speaking into her mind, but the direction seemed to be coming from the horse. Furrowing her brow, she looked stared back into the horse’s eyes. “Yes! There you go! Is it clear now? It’s clear to me. Yes! You can see me. I mean, you are petting me, which is far odder.”

“You...?” Guin muttered, pointing at the horse.

“Shocked, are you? Think about how I feel,” he said, flicking his tail. “There aren't many people who can see me, forget even talking to me.”

Wracking her brain for the words to express her shock, she realized there was an obvious answer. “You’re a spirit, aren’t you?”

“Am I the first spirit you've met?”

“You are.”

“Well aren’t you a lucky little Veil child.”

“Why are you here in town? And in a stable, no less. Shouldn’t a spirit like you be out in the forest, or running wild in some field somewhere?”

“If only,” the spirit horse said, shaking his silvery mane in the sunlight. “Sadly, I am tasked with greater purpose. I am here at the will of the great Dragon King, to seek out the Children of the Dusk.”

“Children of the Dusk?” Guin asked.

“Those who are born with the power of the Veil,” he explained. “Unfortunately, there are precious few born in this village; much rarer than those silly little dawn children. They don’t even know I’m here. It’s enough to give a poor horse a broken heart.”

“Sorry, but what is a Child of the Dusk?”

“Those who have the potential to follow paths greater than those found in the dreams of simple men; they are those with eyes that see past the Veil,” he eyed her. “Those very much like you, I'd say.”