Zelrius had returned to the rolling fields and open farms known as Brisshal for the first time in quite a long while. It was funny, for a time he had called this place home, yet, hadn't been here since he had set out toward Astorea sometime ago. Though the timeline was vague to him; so many things had blended together those days and counting them was hardly possible, especially since he spent many full days within Terra itself, and as little time as he could get away with in the real world. Nowadays, he legitimately only spent as much time as it took to get his basics done, and then it was back into Terra. He was reminded of his early days, though not that far back, here in Brisshal, when he would spend tiny spinets of time in the game at a time, frustrated with the learning curve, and even more so with his dead end life. The memory of his life caused the golden haired man to instinctively tug at his long sleeves, pulling them down as far as he could; a habit he had picked up in recent years due to other things. Still, it was something that he had not done in a while, the sleeve tugging. He had simply been too preoccupied, enjoying his time in Terra far too much. Between the meeting with D'Vangelline outside of Dormont, the meeting he had with the elf afterward, the rescue mission, his time on the island with Vina dealing with Pirates, and the recent Investigation he undertook with Kijin, life in Terra always seemed to remain quite interesting. He had no need nor want for other things right now, his true goals staying in his mind. It was with this that Zelrius was reminded exactly why he was back into the place he originally called home here in the game. The man always strove for power and greatness, and there was no better way to do that then to always be busy. And the easiest way to forever be busy, the man concluded, was to listen to what NPCs had to say always. In his mind's eye, the man saw a conversation he had with a Farmer from the area not that long ago; About the NPC Trinity teaming people together to complete various tasks. After inquiring to a few other of the Locals, Zelrius was able to Locate this Trinity, but was then quickly whisked away from this quest by the information that the Princess De Falder was in Astorea. Knowing that was his only chance to catch her out in the open for a meeting her took it. It was a damned good thing he did, because his assumptions about all of it were right. She was a busy woman, as a princess would be, and even more so because she was a supposed Revolutionary. Or Rebel? To be honest Zelrius didn't know the difference. Yet he didn't need to know or care, just that she was in a position of power. And in that position of power gave him two things, one physical and one intangible. The Physical; A golden handkerchief that the tall swordsman wore as an accessory piece around his collar. The Intangible coming with it; Hope and a Dream. The hope that there was more to this game afterall, and that maybe for once in his life, the young man could actually accomplish something and impress somebody. Her only stipulation was that he needed to be worth a damn. Which leads us back to the NPC known as Trinity. Within an hour or so of being back in the midst of the wheat fields and mooing animals, The man found himself in a place he had only heard of, avoiding it like the plague until now. He hated large crowds, and the Beginner's cave always seemed to be stock full, though now he had actual reason to be here other than the suggestion of the game. The aforementioned quest seemed to be in full gear, as Zelrius approached, his name being spoken into a group within moments. @Zelrius @Magdalyn @Comet Three names, equally spaced by a second or two in between, and then a moment as those people registered who they were and their groups, followed quickly by an explanation of what they were to do. Seemed easy enough, and the man even recognized one of the names: Comet. With a grin he scanned the area finding the pink haired woman and quickly half-dashing right to her, greeting with a simple jeer. "Good to see you in a hole again, lucky for you, this one is vertical. We can just walk out this time," In reference to their first encounter together.
It was pretty easy to draw parallels between Brisshal and her own hometown. The geography, for one thing, was quite similar. Rolling hills gave way to dense forests, with pastures and fields filling the spaces in between. The generally agreeable weather was familiar enough, so much so that she could still feel the approaching rain. There was the faintest shift in the air, a new scent that reminded her of countless hours spent wandering the Michigan countryside. But there were no clouds in the blue sky today. Birds sang, cows mooed, and long blades of grass bowed beneath the warm breeze. It was perfect, just like her home. But the similarities did not stop there. Perhaps the most interesting was her attraction to Brisshal. This was a place of beginnings, of ease, and of familiarity. There was no fear here, no rush, no threat. There was merely existence, and a more quiet sort than any she had experienced since leaving home. Years of college had left her drained, and a dorm-room with paper-thin walls did not offer the same restoration as the country. When she was gone, all she had wanted to do was get back. Mags wondered if she was the only one who felt that way. Most could not leave fast enough, given the molasses-in-February pace. She, on the other hand, thrived on it. So while everyone else fought to leave small-town Michigan behind, she could not imagine anywhere else she would rather be. The same went for Brisshal. Still, she could not spend her entire time in Terra skipping through fields and petting cows. She had thrown herself into the world event for the fun of it, and had never been more useless in her entire life. Magdalyn needed to hone her skills, and grow more experienced, if she hoped to avoid that miserable feeling again. At the suggestion of a party member, she approached the NPC named Trinity. She'll give you a solid starter quest, the man had told her, and a party to complete it with. Easy enough, Mags had determined. Yet the first rumbles of anxiety turned in the pit of her stomach as she surveyed the crowd. Of course there would be people - it was a starter quest in a starter area. But she still hung back a few paces, uneasy in a crowd of strangers, despite her chosen profession. In the classroom, she knew what she was doing. Here, not so much. When her group was announced, she strode toward the two waiting players. One addressed the other in a familiar, lighthearted way that suggested they already knew each other. Great. But she worked her face into a friendly, relaxed smile, and lifted a hand in greeting. "Hey, I'm Mags," she stated simply, when the man had fallen silent. When she finally studied her newest partners, her blue eyes widened with recognition; it was the pink-haired player from the Green team. "Oh hi, Comet." @Zelrius @Comet
Violet integrated herself into Terrasphere and wasted no time in doing so. A sudden name change released her soul from chains; temporarily, and only from those yanked by her parents, but providing an escape nonetheless. Comet could hardly recall her moments spent within Brisshal for she left as soon as possible. Once adjusted to the required firm hold to work a bow and a few pinches to stimulate sensitive nerves, her eyes were set on the rest of the world to admire. Not the beginning where inferiority would set loose caged insecurity. Comet automatically pursued the hardest work because her heart felt an unease towards such a sudden weakness. In the outside world Violet ruled all: money, popularity, the social ladder. In Terrasphere it'd been as if she turned back time to when she'd only been a shell of a girl trying her best to survive. Currently the ambitions remained, however, the shell had cracked open. Exploration. The word sounded sweet to the ears and tasted similar on Comet's tongue. Her boot-clad feet had touched many areas of Terrasphere in quite a short time but never were truly satisfied. Until her fingers could skim every inch of terrain special to the area, until an arrow from her bow pierced every animal or monster alike; the pink-haired woman decided she wouldn't rest. She wasn't going anywhere on the outside and spent a multitude of her time on the inside. Protected and constantly intrigued and truly enjoying herself. Her appearance - albeit a dangerous choice - remained the same but the inside brewed with opportune to change. For now Comet stuck to a similar routine day to day unless adventure arose in some inconvenient way. Events involving near-death situations already on the list. Accepting Trinity's quest hadn't bothered her in the slightest for it pertained to her interests. Brisshal wouldn't usually capture much attention but her gut said every part of the world needed to be visually mapped into her brain. An easy quest felt degrading but at least, Comet thought, it would mean she'd get to tour sights she skipped over. The names she'd received to meet up with - much to her resent since exploring always seemed to be easier alone - were familiar. That provided no sort of ease whatsoever on her weary soul. Brushing her attire smooth, fixing her hair, long legs worked themselves to an inevitable quest with Zelrius and Magdalyn. The latter better liked than the former overall due to the situation in which they were introduced to one another. Magdalyn held her own during battle yet held a sense of self-doubt that made itself noticeable to any observant player; a friendly aura made her somewhat enjoyable to be around, if not a bit annoying. Zelrius came to Comet's aid rather selflessly but such an embarrassing situation had the pink-haired woman apprehensive to make contact with the blonde again. She promised herself that afterwards they would never meet again. Fate had different plans. She nearly jumped out of her skin when @Zelrius approached, and then grew pink in reaction to his comment. "Lucky me," her eyes rolled to pair with a sarcastic tone. Cold hands lifted to both hide and quickly get rid of the hue consuming her cheeks. Fortunately a life's worth of practice meant controlling these things - that could potentially throw her persona of a confident and composed girl off-guard - came as a natural skill. When @Magdalyn approached only moments later Comet shifted both her attention and the impending conversation to the other woman. With a wave of her own she flashed pearly white teeth, "Good to see you nice and clean instead of charging head-first into battle, Magdalyn,". The nickname offered seemed far too personal to use despite Magdalyn's obvious approval of it. Comet wasn't prepared to make a commitment with words; that's what nicknames mean to her, anyways. "This is Zelrius," her thumb jerked towards the blonde standing next to her to get the awkwardness of introductions over with.
Zelrius began immediately, invigorated quite a bit from the task laid out before them. A strange determination filling the man to the brim with fire. The type of fire you only get when you're in a hurry. His grin widened at @Comet's immediate reaction to his 'appearance'. He hadn't expected her to seem so.. apprehensive? His insecurities quickly took over, a step being taken back as his nerves calmed just a bit, unsure if she was acting this way because she didn't like him. It was always hard for Zelrius to deal with, the man could never wrap his head around what made him so unlikeable to some people. Maybe it was his hedonistic tendencies? Perhaps it was his constant self-doubt, though hehad always taken himself for one to hide such things, especially more so in Terra than anywhere else. Or maybe it was that he was bold and brash? Some people interpreted that as annoying and loud. Whatever the reason, the golden haired man just couldn't place his finger on it. Though he quickly masked that with his returning to his nearly vibrating state of vigor, waving as Comet introduced him to their new party member.. "I know my own name, I can introduce myself." Though it was largely a joke, as he stepped forward to further talk with this 'Magdalyn'. "You may also refer to me as, 'M'lord'. That goes for both of you." His grin remained firmly planted on his face, as he scanned through his inventory, inviting them into his party, the prompt coming up to do so. With that, he tried to recount the tasks that Trinity had wanted them to do. Though thinking about his time with the rescue party, he cringed at the thought of taking the lead again. Not only did he utterly fail at doing it last time, he wasn't exactly the one in charge, Blithe more was. So, to avoid that again, the golden haired man had the thought of simply letting his allies take the lead. "Whatever you guys wanna get started on first, I'd love to follow up and provide any necessary information. I've spent a good amount of time here in Brisshal and know it like the back of my hand. So, if you're not so sure, feel free to ask questions!" And with that, the ball was now in their court.
At Comet's comment, Magdalyn beamed. "I was a mess during that event," she admitted, finding humor in the situation that had terrified her in the moment. "Literally, and figuratively." She had stumbled along in the shadow of those more experienced, swinging her spear like a blindfolded party-goer hacking at a pinata. And there had been so much dirt, plastered to her skin due to the sweat she had worked up climbing the mountain. "But it was a really great learning experience. I plan to be a lot more useful next go-around." When Zelrius offered a secondary alias, her grin morphed into a crooked smirk. "Zelrius," she stated, placing emphasis on the name, "it is very nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you on this." The woman rolled her shoulders, working the kinks that had collected from the morning's walk. Then, in a gesture of eagerness, she rubbed her hand together. "I've spent a lot of time here," she informed her party-mates. "But mostly wandering aimlessly, enjoying the view. I don't know too much about what's actually here, so I will need some help. But I don't mind making some calls. How do you guys feel about hitting the plains first?" She glanced from Zelrius to Comet, and then back again. "Does that work?" @Comet @Zelrius
Magdalyn's recollection of the event had Comet nodding in agreement. The entirety of their team emerged with battle scars in the form of a disheveled appearance. Though a hand brought itself to her lips upon sensing the emergence of a smile. Her fingers stilled themselves, mind focused on the objective, arrow plunging into targeted foes; that day, ultimately, had been as success. Now if only, she thought, I could've persuaded everyone to comply with my idea. Groupies were inclined to follow every word of their so-called leader. Not yet wielding such an authority among others fueled a different kind of determination that Comet hadn't ever faced before in the real world. Perhaps, because she'd always been handed authority without so much as a word or second thought. The players of Terrasphere seemed different than anyone ever encountered by the pink-haired woman. Virtual Reality served as an escape for others that before had been oblivious to her; too focused on her own problems to realize the most everyone else had issues of their own as well. Internally groaning, Comet wished she could've challenged @Zelrius and @Magdalyn to a competition of their knowledge of Brisshal. With a mind that never forgets she could've easily won if it weren't for her skipping over Brisshal. This, at first, gave the impression of being a pleasant thing for it gave her a reason to sight-see among an unknown region. Now she felt foolish for deciding that the beginner's area wasn't worthy of her attention. Slight envy touched Comet's heart at the sound of Magdalyn's words. Zelrius hadn't given as much of a "nice" meeting yet seemed laid-back; as if nothing had happened. Embarrassment and a red hue tainted the memory she'd attempted to forget. At the time running away proved an easy task. The thoughts remained, anyways, much to her displeasure. The pink-haired woman hummed in response to the suggestion. She desired the role of leader but found herself stuck in a submissive situation where she couldn't obtain power without the required knowledge of the land. Comet promised to scope out the land for predators, significant objects, and important landmarks to make up for this lack of superiority she often held. "I'll follow," she shrugged and smiled in Magdalyn's direction. "This should be fun." her lips held the rare, genuine curl. Exploration gave Comet a giddiness akin to a child's excitement on Christmas Eve. Not to mention this adrenaline rush allowed the tense part of her - regarding rosy cheeks and fleeing and a ton of mud - to rest for the moment.
