Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. I stood in an unrecognizable world, but I felt wind pass through me. I looked down at my arms, but I could see through them; it was like my body was a milky sort of transparency. I used my right hand to grab my left arm, and it felt solid enough, but it still didn’t feel as an arm should.
“Welcome to Loka!” I heard comforting words say off in the distance.
“Uh, thanks?”
I stepped forward, walking along a path that led out of a cave, into a small town. As I crossed the threshold of the town, I was reminded of how I showed up:
I was standing in a Wizard Tower, my Wizard Tower, surrounded by local barbarians trying to get in. Usually, this would be no issue for me; there were many barbarian clans around my Tower, but they were always at war with each other. Whenever they tried to storm my tower, I would always cut them down because there were so few of them at a time. It seemed that, this time, they had gotten smart: they decided to unite the clans and attack me all at once. I tried holding off for as long as I could, but to no avail. After using up so much of my energy to cast spells and protect my home, I could barely muster the strength for an escape portal. As I made my way to this portal, however, the memory suddenly stopped. Everything faded to black and I was tossed into a void of darkness.
After a bright flash of light, I found myself back at the town, yet nothing had seemed to change. I found a few others, also waking up from the dreams like I had, but they all had solid bodies. Me? I was still transparent. All of those that had awoken seemed to pass right through me.
A bell nearby rang. “The ship for Eldritch is leaving soon!”
Weird, I thought. I wonder what went wrong?
As I walked towards the ships, I noticed the sailors were friendly to all the newcomers, but no one seemed to notice me. I climbed aboard the boat and, after a little delay, the ship set to sail, yet still not a word from the passengers or crew.
We sailed to the Western Region of Eldritch, as I had learned from the various maps around the ship. It was home to the great Birch and Oak forests, along with the Great Plains. Hmm, the Great Plains seems like it’d be a nice place to check out.
As we landed on the shore, we all disembarked. Everyone went their separate ways, and I found my own route. I gathered some nearby resources, some simple stuff like food, stone, and timber, but enough to get me well on my journey.
I continued on to the Great Plains, but the voice still rang in my ears, “Welcome to Loka!”
They couldn’t still be talking to me, right? Even so, why could I still hear them?
I continued on my journey, passing down ruins of old adventurers who had tried to settle in the dangerous lands. Even as I travelled, night settled in and I knew danger was coming. That’s when the mobs started appearing.
In my experience as a wizard, I’ve gotten to know the undead beasts of the night very well: all creepy, ghouly, and crawly creatures alike were no match for my magic, but it seemed like all of that had been wiped away when I arrived, almost as if something here was either stopping it, or something in transit had washed it all away. Plus, I hadn’t given it much time to prepare my gathered materials. With no way to safely protect myself, I dashed into a nearby building to burrow in for the night.
The building was nice! It used a black rock to cover the ground. It was glossy and smooth in nature, and my instincts told me it was obsidian. There was also a chest there, but upon further investigation, it seemed to be empty.
“Welcome to Loka!”
It was the voice again. I tried calling back to it. “Uh, hello? Is there someone there?”
“Oh?” It calmly replied. Instantly, I felt a warm presence in the room with me, yet there was no one there. “Hi there! What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here, not like this anyways.”
I looked around the room, but still no one was there, yet I was sure someone was. “If you’re talking to me, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Hmm, something tells me you’re stuck between realms. A ghost of what is and what should be.”
“Excuse me? What’re you talking about?”
The room got warmer, fighting off the cool night air. The presence, however, said nothing. A blade and some protection appeared near my feet, along with some provisions to last me a few days. The room was instantly cold again, and the voice drifted back into my head.
“Welcome to Loka!”
I dressed in the armor I was given, and stuffed the food into a small pouch. I gripped the sword and tested its balance in my hands. It felt light, despite being made of iron, and I swung it with ease. It wasn’t much, that’s for sure, but it would be enough to get me through the night.
The warm presence came back and the landscape around me disappeared. As I regained my vision, I realized we had transported back to the town I had awoken in. The warm presence started to materialize before me. “Sorry about all of this. You must be quite confused.”
“Just a little bit, You said I was stuck between realms?”
“Aye, but first, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jedoi. I’m what we like to call a Guardian around here. I have specific powers that allow me to guide the newcomers of Loka and get them safely to our realm. Most travelers between realms seem to have an easy time doing so, but you got stuck for some reason. I can’t exactly figure out why, but I’m trying to get in contact with our god, Cryptite, but he seems to be at rest.”
“You’re a ‘Guardian’? Like, a Valkyrie? An angel of death that helps guide humans to Valhalla? Does that mean I’m dead?”
“Whoa, slow down. No, you’re not dead. That’s impossible around here, because of the Artifact.”
“Artifact? Never mind, I probably don’t want to know.”
At that, Jedoi chuckled. She smiled and extended her hand. “And your name? Or are you going to forever be the Mysterious Ghost between Realms?”
It was my turn to chuckle. “No, I definitely have a name. Officially, it’s Wizard Teepot, but all of my friends back home, not that I had many, just called me Tee.”
“Well, I apologize for all of this, Tee. Like I said, your travel seems unnatural to us. It rarely happens.”
I shook my head and darkly laughed. “Stuck between realms? That’s quite a weird circumstance. In all of my years meddling with magic, nothing like that has ever happened. Hmm, must be a first for everything.”
She had a sad smile on her face, but her eyes suddenly brightened up. “Well, if Cryptite can’t exactly help you right now, why don’t I show you around?”
I looked back at Jedoi and smiled. Whether this place was foreign to me or not, it definitely seemed like it had some welcoming people. I nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
We jumped onto the next boat to Kalros, the Northern Island of Aladra, the current home of the Lokans. Jedoi filled me in on minor details of the Lokans’ history along the way of our trip, even saying how one of the factions in the North had a great library full of all of this information. I appreciated her telling me all of this: the lore that filled these people and not only united them, but gave them strength...well, who would want to forget any of it? She told me that as more people find their way into the Lokan community, they contribute their own stories to the massive halls of history, forever adding to the lore and legends of this realm.
“So what’s your story, Tee?”
“My story? What do you mean?”
“I mean, one doesn’t just find their way to Aladra, trapped between realms, and not have a story. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t happen. So, what’s your history. What’s your home like?”
I laughed softly, but looked over the ocean waves and reminisced on everything I had left behind. “Honestly, it was a lonely life. I was brought up in the world by my mentor, and when he passed away three-fourths of the way through my apprenticeship, I was given his Wizard Tower to watch over. I had every type of book on magic or creatures or weapons, but nothing stopped the night the barbarians attacked. I tried to learn everything I could from the books in that tower, but there was so much information there, I’d never have enough time to read it all. I always just wonder how much of it my mentor really knew.”
Jedoi walked over and patted my shoulder. I looked up to see the caring glance she gave me. “I apologize that you lost someone near to you. If it makes you feel any better, I’m sure everyone will be very accepting of a newcomer such as yourself. You seem to have more history than you’re telling me, and one day I’d love to tap into some of it. Everything at your own pace though, I don’t mean to rush you.”
“Thanks.”
The rest of the trip was very quiet.
The next dawn we appeared in Kalros, a snowbound territory filled with wolves and spruce trees. Jedoi disappeared again to become the warm voice I had gotten used to, but I could still hear her off in the distance:
“Welcome to Loka!”
She reappeared at my side and noticed me petting a nearby wolf. She raised an eyebrow at me and I just looked back at the canine at my feet. It reminded me of a dog I had back at the Wizard Tower, Shadow I had named him. I was going to miss that dog.
Jedoi started walking down a constructed path made of cobblestone, when suddenly I noticed a bright orange light in the sky. Pointing at it, I asked Jedoi what it was.
“Oh!” she responded. “That’s the capital of Auru!”
“Auru?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s a faction...my faction...of the North.” She handed me a map and circled a large portion it, about 75% of the lands of the North. “Auru owns most of this territory, but we’re constantly at war for it.” She pointed to the area she hadn’t circle, a large area just west of Auru. “That’s where our rivals are, the Hilo.”
I nodded and whistled slightly. The wolves in the area cocked their head at me and I briefly chuckled. I turned back to the orange light and started walking towards it.
“Where are you going?” I heard Jedoi ask from behind me.
“Auru? Where else?”
She smiled, nodded, and fell into step beside me.
When we had reached Auru, I was mystified by the gigantic wall that surrounded the town. “The wall is a symbol of the strength of Auru, and its will to stand the test of time. We’ve had many problems in the past with Hilo, when we were still part of the Vanaheimr Alliance, but that was a long time ago.” With that, the area around us disappeared and we were suddenly within the walls. I was so disoriented that I nearly fell over, but Jedoi was there to catch me. “Sorry about that, but you’ll get used to warping soon enough, I hope.”
I nodded my head, and turned to puke.
Jedoi gave me both a look of laughter and concern. She shrugged it off and started walking into a cave. I followed suit.
What I found was hundreds of tamed wolves. “Whoa” was the only word to escape my mouth.
“Welcome to the wolf den! Like you, many of us have come to love the feral beasts that roam around our home. It seems like you’ll fit right in here.”
I nodded. “Yeah, for sure.”
“Some of us even have titles because of our love of wolves. I, for one, am otherwise known as the ‘Wolf Mother.’”
I chuckled, but also looked at Jedoi with newfound respect. Was she given the name because of her large pack, or because of her loving and motherly nature? I doubt anybody knew for sure.
“Come on, I want to show you The Spire next.”
We traveled away from the Wolf Den, more towards the center of the bustling city. I looked around, amazed at all the wondrous buildings and people I saw. I went to go wave at some of them, but the sad look on Jedoi’s face reminded me that I was still stuck between realms and none of them could see, nor hear me.
We got to a large building we stepped inside. The architecture was both beautiful and tactful: like someone was trying to decorate it to be a nice center piece in the town, but also use it as a functioning garrison if the need for it ever arose. One level up from the garrison, and I was met with a peculiar but welcoming sight.
“This is our recruitment center. Here we have people sign up for different guilds and to help out the city of Auru.”
I started pacing near some of the signs, reading details on what each one did and how to apply for a position in it. I found my way towards a wall detailing the Historian’s Guild and stopped in front of it.
“Ah yes, the Historian’s Guild. They organize the History and lore of Loka and place it into the Historian’s Hall, otherwise our town’s Library.”
It seemed intriguing and I read closer into the details of how to join. “Jedoi?”
“Yes, Tee?”
“Who should I talk to about joining the Historian’s Guild?”
“Actually, that would be me. I own the Historian’s Guild.”
I whipped around to see Jedoi blushing and smiling, showing off her pride in the Guild she ran.
I chuckled. “That would explain why you know so much about the lore of Loka.”
“Is there a problem with that?” she asked, looking a little flustered.
“Actually, no. One more thing, Jedoi?”
“Yes?”
“When all's said and done, and I’m actually in the realm of Loka, would you mind if I joined Auru? It seems like such a nice place to be, very well organized, with a ton of history of the lands that I need to read. Of course, you’re also a part of it and, well, you’ve grown on me. So, do you think it’s possible-?”
“Of course!”
I jumped back in surprise of her excitement.
“I could always use someone like you to join the Historian’s Guild, and you already know more lore about Loka than anyone else who’s ever found their way here.”
I flashed her a smile. “Well, I had a good mentor after all. But...thank you. I’m glad to know I have a place to belong when everything is right in the world.”
“Aye, and we’d love to have a member such as yourself: young, brilliant, vibrant, and full of spunk!”
I started laughing and couldn’t contain myself. Through struggling for air as it was hard to breath, I noticed a lonely tear roll down my face. After I was done giggling, I wiped away the tear and confessed my sorrows.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ll miss my Wizard Tower, but that life was so lonely. Despite having met many people, I already feel welcome, and much more at home than my real home.”
Jedoi’s face went from one of worry to one of pure joy. She smiled, and turned around to start walking off. I was very confused but started following her.
“Where are we going?”
“The Library!”
I smiled and continued walking.
As we left The Spire and headed towards the Historian’s Hall, I noticed the mass of wolves that gathered on the streets. At one point, after walking up a flight of stone steps, Jedoi pointed out on particular wolf. “Meet Stairswolf. He’s currently a running joke in the Auru community, but I see him as our formal mascot.”
I walked over to him and rubbed him between the ears. He nuzzled of into my warm hand and licked my face. Both surprised and amused, I slowly backed away from the wolf, and we continued on our journey.
We entered the Historian’s Hall and I saw how impressive it was from the inside. Every wall was packed floor to ceiling with bookshelves, containing masses of books. There were small tables set up around the ground floor, covered with books and stacks of paper, just waiting to have amazing legends written upon them. There was a spiral stairwell leading up to a floor above us, surrounding a massive waterfall sitting in the middle of the library. It seemed dangerous to have something that could ruin all of the books in the building, so close to all the books in the building, yet I loved it’s placement and the risk it took to have it there. I walked further into the Hall, my jaw nearly hanging to the floor as I took in the brilliance of what I had to work with. I jumped from one bookshelf to the next, seeing how diversified the books were: everything from the birth of the Lokan race, to the construction of Auru, to the Invasion of the Wolf Fortress. So many books for me to read, that I was both eager to start, but scared on where to begin.
Jedoi took pride in my readiness to learn the history of Auru. She strided over to an older looking bookshelf, covered with dust and the formation of small cobwebs. She picked up a small book, brushing it off, and handed it to me. She laughed:
“You seem lost and need a good place to start. I suggest this, it’s a piece I wrote myself.”
I looked down at the book. The Basics of Lokan Lore, the title read.
“Unfortunately, I must return to my duties as a Guardian, but I hope to come back soon with good news from our god, Cryptite!”
I nodded, looking between Jedoi and her book. “Thank you, Jedoi. I appreciate everything.”
“Of course. Now study up, there’ll be a quiz on all of that later!” she said jokingly as she disappeared.
I laughed and sat down at one of the nearby tables, moving piles of books and papers so there was enough room for me and the books I was to read.
As I started to read the book, and the many others that would follow it, I noticed the quick movement of time. By the time dusk was due to roll around again, I had given up any hope that Cryptite was going to save me. Not that I minded much, I was in my glory right where I was. Despite how foreign it all seemed to me, Loka had quite the history, jumping between the five worlds and surviving as a whole. Even despite the most hated a rivalries between towns, like the major one that existed between Auru and Hilo for example, at the end of the day, they were all Lokans, all one people from the same tragic history.
It wasn’t until well into the night while I was lost, thoughtlessly thumbing through another book about Auru origins, that I felt a warm breeze drift into the Hall.
I stood up fast from my chair and looked around. “Jedoi?” I asked silently.
The girl, once again, slowly manifested before me. “He’s awake.”
“Who? Who’s awake?”
“Cryptite! He’s going to make you whole again!”
“What, really?” I smiled and grabbed her hands, jumping up and down with excitement.
She just smiled back and joined in with my jumping. “Yeah, come on! Let’s go find him!”
The world around us vanished once again and I found myself standing in the town I had once started in. There stood a young man with a mysterious aura surrounding him. “You’re the one between the realms?”
I gulped. “Yes sir.”
“Come here, child.”
I complacently stepped forward, at every beck and call to this powerful man.
He watched my every move, like he was bored to be here and ready to smite me whenever he got the chance. I finally stopped, about three feet away from him, shaking with nerves. “Very well. Let’s make you whole again, shall we?”
He gripped my arm, and I felt myself being torn in two, almost like he was dragging me into the realm of Loka. I screamed in agony, but he seemed not to show much sympathy for my pain.
“Rest easy now, child. This shall all be over soon.”
With that, I blacked out.
I woke up again to find myself surrounded with concerned villagers and townspeople I had seen in Auru. I was sure there were more people from the other factions, but no one I would recognize.
It wasn’t until a familiar, warm air brushed against my skin that I felt welcome again.
To the people’s surprise, I stood up and brushed myself off. I looked towards a nearby rooftop to see the man that had just ripped me out of devastation. He had a small smirk on his face and slowly raised his right hand. With a snap of his fingers he was gone. I’m not entirely sure if having a god watch over me is going to be a good or bad thing in the future.
I looked back towards the crowd, seeing all the surprised and excited faces that surrounded me. It wasn’t until I saw Jedoi’s face, however, that I truly relaxed.
“Welcome to Loka, Wizard Teepot. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
IRL Dates and Times
Joined Loka MC on 12/8/16 about 4:00 p.m. EST (Server Time)
Yes, these bugs really happened
Became a fully functioning member on Loka MC on 12/8/16 about 8:00 p.m. EST (Server Time)
“Welcome to Loka!” I heard comforting words say off in the distance.
“Uh, thanks?”
I stepped forward, walking along a path that led out of a cave, into a small town. As I crossed the threshold of the town, I was reminded of how I showed up:
I was standing in a Wizard Tower, my Wizard Tower, surrounded by local barbarians trying to get in. Usually, this would be no issue for me; there were many barbarian clans around my Tower, but they were always at war with each other. Whenever they tried to storm my tower, I would always cut them down because there were so few of them at a time. It seemed that, this time, they had gotten smart: they decided to unite the clans and attack me all at once. I tried holding off for as long as I could, but to no avail. After using up so much of my energy to cast spells and protect my home, I could barely muster the strength for an escape portal. As I made my way to this portal, however, the memory suddenly stopped. Everything faded to black and I was tossed into a void of darkness.
After a bright flash of light, I found myself back at the town, yet nothing had seemed to change. I found a few others, also waking up from the dreams like I had, but they all had solid bodies. Me? I was still transparent. All of those that had awoken seemed to pass right through me.
A bell nearby rang. “The ship for Eldritch is leaving soon!”
Weird, I thought. I wonder what went wrong?
As I walked towards the ships, I noticed the sailors were friendly to all the newcomers, but no one seemed to notice me. I climbed aboard the boat and, after a little delay, the ship set to sail, yet still not a word from the passengers or crew.
We sailed to the Western Region of Eldritch, as I had learned from the various maps around the ship. It was home to the great Birch and Oak forests, along with the Great Plains. Hmm, the Great Plains seems like it’d be a nice place to check out.
As we landed on the shore, we all disembarked. Everyone went their separate ways, and I found my own route. I gathered some nearby resources, some simple stuff like food, stone, and timber, but enough to get me well on my journey.
I continued on to the Great Plains, but the voice still rang in my ears, “Welcome to Loka!”
They couldn’t still be talking to me, right? Even so, why could I still hear them?
I continued on my journey, passing down ruins of old adventurers who had tried to settle in the dangerous lands. Even as I travelled, night settled in and I knew danger was coming. That’s when the mobs started appearing.
In my experience as a wizard, I’ve gotten to know the undead beasts of the night very well: all creepy, ghouly, and crawly creatures alike were no match for my magic, but it seemed like all of that had been wiped away when I arrived, almost as if something here was either stopping it, or something in transit had washed it all away. Plus, I hadn’t given it much time to prepare my gathered materials. With no way to safely protect myself, I dashed into a nearby building to burrow in for the night.
The building was nice! It used a black rock to cover the ground. It was glossy and smooth in nature, and my instincts told me it was obsidian. There was also a chest there, but upon further investigation, it seemed to be empty.
“Welcome to Loka!”
It was the voice again. I tried calling back to it. “Uh, hello? Is there someone there?”
“Oh?” It calmly replied. Instantly, I felt a warm presence in the room with me, yet there was no one there. “Hi there! What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here, not like this anyways.”
I looked around the room, but still no one was there, yet I was sure someone was. “If you’re talking to me, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Hmm, something tells me you’re stuck between realms. A ghost of what is and what should be.”
“Excuse me? What’re you talking about?”
The room got warmer, fighting off the cool night air. The presence, however, said nothing. A blade and some protection appeared near my feet, along with some provisions to last me a few days. The room was instantly cold again, and the voice drifted back into my head.
“Welcome to Loka!”
I dressed in the armor I was given, and stuffed the food into a small pouch. I gripped the sword and tested its balance in my hands. It felt light, despite being made of iron, and I swung it with ease. It wasn’t much, that’s for sure, but it would be enough to get me through the night.
The warm presence came back and the landscape around me disappeared. As I regained my vision, I realized we had transported back to the town I had awoken in. The warm presence started to materialize before me. “Sorry about all of this. You must be quite confused.”
“Just a little bit, You said I was stuck between realms?”
“Aye, but first, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jedoi. I’m what we like to call a Guardian around here. I have specific powers that allow me to guide the newcomers of Loka and get them safely to our realm. Most travelers between realms seem to have an easy time doing so, but you got stuck for some reason. I can’t exactly figure out why, but I’m trying to get in contact with our god, Cryptite, but he seems to be at rest.”
“You’re a ‘Guardian’? Like, a Valkyrie? An angel of death that helps guide humans to Valhalla? Does that mean I’m dead?”
“Whoa, slow down. No, you’re not dead. That’s impossible around here, because of the Artifact.”
“Artifact? Never mind, I probably don’t want to know.”
At that, Jedoi chuckled. She smiled and extended her hand. “And your name? Or are you going to forever be the Mysterious Ghost between Realms?”
It was my turn to chuckle. “No, I definitely have a name. Officially, it’s Wizard Teepot, but all of my friends back home, not that I had many, just called me Tee.”
“Well, I apologize for all of this, Tee. Like I said, your travel seems unnatural to us. It rarely happens.”
I shook my head and darkly laughed. “Stuck between realms? That’s quite a weird circumstance. In all of my years meddling with magic, nothing like that has ever happened. Hmm, must be a first for everything.”
She had a sad smile on her face, but her eyes suddenly brightened up. “Well, if Cryptite can’t exactly help you right now, why don’t I show you around?”
I looked back at Jedoi and smiled. Whether this place was foreign to me or not, it definitely seemed like it had some welcoming people. I nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
We jumped onto the next boat to Kalros, the Northern Island of Aladra, the current home of the Lokans. Jedoi filled me in on minor details of the Lokans’ history along the way of our trip, even saying how one of the factions in the North had a great library full of all of this information. I appreciated her telling me all of this: the lore that filled these people and not only united them, but gave them strength...well, who would want to forget any of it? She told me that as more people find their way into the Lokan community, they contribute their own stories to the massive halls of history, forever adding to the lore and legends of this realm.
“So what’s your story, Tee?”
“My story? What do you mean?”
“I mean, one doesn’t just find their way to Aladra, trapped between realms, and not have a story. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t happen. So, what’s your history. What’s your home like?”
I laughed softly, but looked over the ocean waves and reminisced on everything I had left behind. “Honestly, it was a lonely life. I was brought up in the world by my mentor, and when he passed away three-fourths of the way through my apprenticeship, I was given his Wizard Tower to watch over. I had every type of book on magic or creatures or weapons, but nothing stopped the night the barbarians attacked. I tried to learn everything I could from the books in that tower, but there was so much information there, I’d never have enough time to read it all. I always just wonder how much of it my mentor really knew.”
Jedoi walked over and patted my shoulder. I looked up to see the caring glance she gave me. “I apologize that you lost someone near to you. If it makes you feel any better, I’m sure everyone will be very accepting of a newcomer such as yourself. You seem to have more history than you’re telling me, and one day I’d love to tap into some of it. Everything at your own pace though, I don’t mean to rush you.”
“Thanks.”
The rest of the trip was very quiet.
The next dawn we appeared in Kalros, a snowbound territory filled with wolves and spruce trees. Jedoi disappeared again to become the warm voice I had gotten used to, but I could still hear her off in the distance:
“Welcome to Loka!”
She reappeared at my side and noticed me petting a nearby wolf. She raised an eyebrow at me and I just looked back at the canine at my feet. It reminded me of a dog I had back at the Wizard Tower, Shadow I had named him. I was going to miss that dog.
Jedoi started walking down a constructed path made of cobblestone, when suddenly I noticed a bright orange light in the sky. Pointing at it, I asked Jedoi what it was.
“Oh!” she responded. “That’s the capital of Auru!”
“Auru?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s a faction...my faction...of the North.” She handed me a map and circled a large portion it, about 75% of the lands of the North. “Auru owns most of this territory, but we’re constantly at war for it.” She pointed to the area she hadn’t circle, a large area just west of Auru. “That’s where our rivals are, the Hilo.”
I nodded and whistled slightly. The wolves in the area cocked their head at me and I briefly chuckled. I turned back to the orange light and started walking towards it.
“Where are you going?” I heard Jedoi ask from behind me.
“Auru? Where else?”
She smiled, nodded, and fell into step beside me.
When we had reached Auru, I was mystified by the gigantic wall that surrounded the town. “The wall is a symbol of the strength of Auru, and its will to stand the test of time. We’ve had many problems in the past with Hilo, when we were still part of the Vanaheimr Alliance, but that was a long time ago.” With that, the area around us disappeared and we were suddenly within the walls. I was so disoriented that I nearly fell over, but Jedoi was there to catch me. “Sorry about that, but you’ll get used to warping soon enough, I hope.”
I nodded my head, and turned to puke.
Jedoi gave me both a look of laughter and concern. She shrugged it off and started walking into a cave. I followed suit.
What I found was hundreds of tamed wolves. “Whoa” was the only word to escape my mouth.
“Welcome to the wolf den! Like you, many of us have come to love the feral beasts that roam around our home. It seems like you’ll fit right in here.”
I nodded. “Yeah, for sure.”
“Some of us even have titles because of our love of wolves. I, for one, am otherwise known as the ‘Wolf Mother.’”
I chuckled, but also looked at Jedoi with newfound respect. Was she given the name because of her large pack, or because of her loving and motherly nature? I doubt anybody knew for sure.
“Come on, I want to show you The Spire next.”
We traveled away from the Wolf Den, more towards the center of the bustling city. I looked around, amazed at all the wondrous buildings and people I saw. I went to go wave at some of them, but the sad look on Jedoi’s face reminded me that I was still stuck between realms and none of them could see, nor hear me.
We got to a large building we stepped inside. The architecture was both beautiful and tactful: like someone was trying to decorate it to be a nice center piece in the town, but also use it as a functioning garrison if the need for it ever arose. One level up from the garrison, and I was met with a peculiar but welcoming sight.
“This is our recruitment center. Here we have people sign up for different guilds and to help out the city of Auru.”
I started pacing near some of the signs, reading details on what each one did and how to apply for a position in it. I found my way towards a wall detailing the Historian’s Guild and stopped in front of it.
“Ah yes, the Historian’s Guild. They organize the History and lore of Loka and place it into the Historian’s Hall, otherwise our town’s Library.”
It seemed intriguing and I read closer into the details of how to join. “Jedoi?”
“Yes, Tee?”
“Who should I talk to about joining the Historian’s Guild?”
“Actually, that would be me. I own the Historian’s Guild.”
I whipped around to see Jedoi blushing and smiling, showing off her pride in the Guild she ran.
I chuckled. “That would explain why you know so much about the lore of Loka.”
“Is there a problem with that?” she asked, looking a little flustered.
“Actually, no. One more thing, Jedoi?”
“Yes?”
“When all's said and done, and I’m actually in the realm of Loka, would you mind if I joined Auru? It seems like such a nice place to be, very well organized, with a ton of history of the lands that I need to read. Of course, you’re also a part of it and, well, you’ve grown on me. So, do you think it’s possible-?”
“Of course!”
I jumped back in surprise of her excitement.
“I could always use someone like you to join the Historian’s Guild, and you already know more lore about Loka than anyone else who’s ever found their way here.”
I flashed her a smile. “Well, I had a good mentor after all. But...thank you. I’m glad to know I have a place to belong when everything is right in the world.”
“Aye, and we’d love to have a member such as yourself: young, brilliant, vibrant, and full of spunk!”
I started laughing and couldn’t contain myself. Through struggling for air as it was hard to breath, I noticed a lonely tear roll down my face. After I was done giggling, I wiped away the tear and confessed my sorrows.
“I’m not going to lie, I’ll miss my Wizard Tower, but that life was so lonely. Despite having met many people, I already feel welcome, and much more at home than my real home.”
Jedoi’s face went from one of worry to one of pure joy. She smiled, and turned around to start walking off. I was very confused but started following her.
“Where are we going?”
“The Library!”
I smiled and continued walking.
As we left The Spire and headed towards the Historian’s Hall, I noticed the mass of wolves that gathered on the streets. At one point, after walking up a flight of stone steps, Jedoi pointed out on particular wolf. “Meet Stairswolf. He’s currently a running joke in the Auru community, but I see him as our formal mascot.”
I walked over to him and rubbed him between the ears. He nuzzled of into my warm hand and licked my face. Both surprised and amused, I slowly backed away from the wolf, and we continued on our journey.
We entered the Historian’s Hall and I saw how impressive it was from the inside. Every wall was packed floor to ceiling with bookshelves, containing masses of books. There were small tables set up around the ground floor, covered with books and stacks of paper, just waiting to have amazing legends written upon them. There was a spiral stairwell leading up to a floor above us, surrounding a massive waterfall sitting in the middle of the library. It seemed dangerous to have something that could ruin all of the books in the building, so close to all the books in the building, yet I loved it’s placement and the risk it took to have it there. I walked further into the Hall, my jaw nearly hanging to the floor as I took in the brilliance of what I had to work with. I jumped from one bookshelf to the next, seeing how diversified the books were: everything from the birth of the Lokan race, to the construction of Auru, to the Invasion of the Wolf Fortress. So many books for me to read, that I was both eager to start, but scared on where to begin.
Jedoi took pride in my readiness to learn the history of Auru. She strided over to an older looking bookshelf, covered with dust and the formation of small cobwebs. She picked up a small book, brushing it off, and handed it to me. She laughed:
“You seem lost and need a good place to start. I suggest this, it’s a piece I wrote myself.”
I looked down at the book. The Basics of Lokan Lore, the title read.
“Unfortunately, I must return to my duties as a Guardian, but I hope to come back soon with good news from our god, Cryptite!”
I nodded, looking between Jedoi and her book. “Thank you, Jedoi. I appreciate everything.”
“Of course. Now study up, there’ll be a quiz on all of that later!” she said jokingly as she disappeared.
I laughed and sat down at one of the nearby tables, moving piles of books and papers so there was enough room for me and the books I was to read.
As I started to read the book, and the many others that would follow it, I noticed the quick movement of time. By the time dusk was due to roll around again, I had given up any hope that Cryptite was going to save me. Not that I minded much, I was in my glory right where I was. Despite how foreign it all seemed to me, Loka had quite the history, jumping between the five worlds and surviving as a whole. Even despite the most hated a rivalries between towns, like the major one that existed between Auru and Hilo for example, at the end of the day, they were all Lokans, all one people from the same tragic history.
It wasn’t until well into the night while I was lost, thoughtlessly thumbing through another book about Auru origins, that I felt a warm breeze drift into the Hall.
I stood up fast from my chair and looked around. “Jedoi?” I asked silently.
The girl, once again, slowly manifested before me. “He’s awake.”
“Who? Who’s awake?”
“Cryptite! He’s going to make you whole again!”
“What, really?” I smiled and grabbed her hands, jumping up and down with excitement.
She just smiled back and joined in with my jumping. “Yeah, come on! Let’s go find him!”
The world around us vanished once again and I found myself standing in the town I had once started in. There stood a young man with a mysterious aura surrounding him. “You’re the one between the realms?”
I gulped. “Yes sir.”
“Come here, child.”
I complacently stepped forward, at every beck and call to this powerful man.
He watched my every move, like he was bored to be here and ready to smite me whenever he got the chance. I finally stopped, about three feet away from him, shaking with nerves. “Very well. Let’s make you whole again, shall we?”
He gripped my arm, and I felt myself being torn in two, almost like he was dragging me into the realm of Loka. I screamed in agony, but he seemed not to show much sympathy for my pain.
“Rest easy now, child. This shall all be over soon.”
With that, I blacked out.
I woke up again to find myself surrounded with concerned villagers and townspeople I had seen in Auru. I was sure there were more people from the other factions, but no one I would recognize.
It wasn’t until a familiar, warm air brushed against my skin that I felt welcome again.
To the people’s surprise, I stood up and brushed myself off. I looked towards a nearby rooftop to see the man that had just ripped me out of devastation. He had a small smirk on his face and slowly raised his right hand. With a snap of his fingers he was gone. I’m not entirely sure if having a god watch over me is going to be a good or bad thing in the future.
I looked back towards the crowd, seeing all the surprised and excited faces that surrounded me. It wasn’t until I saw Jedoi’s face, however, that I truly relaxed.
“Welcome to Loka, Wizard Teepot. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
IRL Dates and Times
Joined Loka MC on 12/8/16 about 4:00 p.m. EST (Server Time)
Yes, these bugs really happened
Became a fully functioning member on Loka MC on 12/8/16 about 8:00 p.m. EST (Server Time)
And he writes! I win!
