As Edward walked through to the other side of the massive portal, he was met with the sight of a massive and sprawling medieval city. Ikarus, who still rested on his usual spot atop Edward's shoulder, immediately perked up as soon as they crossed into the city. Edward first noticed the massive castle on the other side of the city— one which put the rest of the buildings to shame.
This castle was five or six stories tall, yet with such an irregular frame that it was hard to tell where the defenses ended and the bedrooms began. Hundreds of windows, each lit with a golden light, acted as the central landmark of the city below. Atop of the castle's massive towers were golden and red coned roofs, each more pointy than the last. Even on the castle's smaller outer wall, Edward saw watchtowers decorated with similar coned roofs.
Surrounding the castle were hundreds of homes, each built out of beautiful wood and straw. The shortest building was three stories tall and covered in more windows than expected. Even the tallest building was six stories tall— almost a skyscraper in fantasy terms. Most of these homes were decorated with vines covering the corners and widows— as if nature had a symbiotic relationship with the buildings themselves. Most of the buildings had ropes connecting each other by the roofs— each with miniature flags hanging from the ropes over the streets below.
The roads themselves winded and bent with the land— each like a miniature river that only obeyed the natural order of the land. The houses were built around these bends, though some houses were built like a tunnel over the road to accommodate for market stalls that were set up underneath. When Edward looked from the castle to the open space in front of him, he first saw the massive fountain spewing crystal-clear water from the top.
He saw several hundred people relaxing near its waters. Some of them wore armor while others wore ordinary clothing. However, all of these people had a common feature. Each of them had a green light glowing from the center of their right eye. This tiny glowing light was the only indication that the person was a player participating in Avalon Online. This glowing light had a simple function, for if one inspected it their system would summon all of the relevant information about that player in a status screen— or at least what was permitted.
Almost everybody near the fountain was a player— as well as those standing near the edge of the open square. After all, this place was the largest city in Avalon, as well as the most popular starting zone. It was the city of festivities, Pathe.
As Edward readjusted the black mask covering his face he flipped his hood over his hair and began to walk forward. Only a few hours ago had he been informed about the portal's function. Ever since then, he had been making sure he was completely prepared before he stepped through the portal. His mask— which was made out of obsidian— carried special properties that prevented anybody from seeing any part of his face. His mask didn't even have any holes for the eyes or nose, yet he was able to breathe and see just fine. It didn't prevent anybody from appraising him, but he didn't have his real identity posted on his status anyway.
His hood was an ordinary cloak— only really big enough to cover his torso and shoulders. It was grey and ragged— torn apart at the edges and seams. It was a miracle the hood still worked. Edward regretted not being able to afford a better cloak— but almost all of his starting money was spent making sure his mask was perfect.
As Edward stepped out of the portal and saw the players in front of him, he immediately appraised the first one he saw.
︽
Derek Jewels
Lvl 4
Fencer
︾
'My appraisal skill's level isn't high enough to provide more information,' Edward quickly realized. He appraised a few more players and found that the average level was level five. Some players were above that, with the highest being level six, 'My level is below average, but not too low compared to some people.'
"You bastard!" Edward heard from nearby. He looked to the source of the voice and found a young woman— about his age— and an older man facing each other. The woman wore a set of light leather armor and a green cloak that covered her shoulders and upper back. She had black shoulder-length hair and eyes as green as grass. The man opposite her appeared to be twenty years older than her. He wore heavy armor— probably a gift from his Maester for his origin— and held a large great sword. The man appeared angry at the woman— angry enough to yell as soon as he saw her. Edward slowly stepped forward but made sure to keep a decent distance from the disruption. Then, before he became noticed, he quickly appraised both of them.
︽
The Forgetful One
Lvl 1
Amnesiac
︾
'How is she only level one?' Edward thought, surprised, 'Not to mention, it appears she has a title. Her equipment and the way she carried herself implied she had already gotten used to this game, yet her level was so low that it was almost embarrassing. He looked to her origin, yet didn't understand what abilities it granted, 'there has to be a deeper reason. Was her level reset?'
He was tempted to turn his attention to the man, yet the name of her origin made him curious. He quickly appraised it to gain more information.
︽
Amnesiac - Blood Origin
An Amnesiac is an origin shrouded in adaptability. An amnesiac is not born with any unique abilities. Instead, they must gain them by 'remembering' their identity. The amnesiac origin is an origin created to copy the identity of another blood origin— usually, the first one the user meets, but only through the help of another can the Amnesiac 'remember' their identity.
Will you allow the Amnesiac to remember her identity as a Dragonkin?
︾
'Damn! I can give her a copy of my Origin! That's crazy!' Edward thought to himself. Luckily, nobody nearby could see his face. Otherwise, they'd see him with his jaw practically touching the floor, 'I didn't think I'd see another blood-origin player this soon! What an upset!'
Edward quickly looked at the man, his eyes glimmering with hope. Maybe the man also had a blood-classified Origin?
︽
Dan Butler
Lvl 5
Paladin
︾
'Tch, how lame,' Edward thought to himself. He took a step back from the fight and continued to watch from a distance. He had no intention of helping Mrs. Forgetful with her Origin today. He didn't know her, so he decided it would be best if he didn't get involved.
However, that didn't stop him from enjoying the drama unfolding before him.