Creation of a Guild

Vane was in the living room in the morning when I awoke, there were bags of street food on the counter, and three steaming cups of coffee. I sighed in delight and walked over to the counter.

"Good morning." Vane started, I held up a hand for him to be quiet. I took a deep inhale of the aromatic beans; I tilted the glass to my lips and groaned at the rich earthy flavor. I saw his eyes examining my face, and my cheeks heated. I remembered the heat of his body, the curve of his lips. The memories of last night flashed in my mind.

"Now you may speak." I smirked, he chuckled and rose to grab his own coffee. 

"Did you do any reading last night?" Vane rose a brow. I nodded, taking another sip of my coffee.

"I'm still really early into the journal, but so far its outlining how he was a prisoner in the real world, someone named Remy who was really important to him passed away, and Kaillean offered him a deal."

"A way to see Remy again." Vane murmured. I nodded.

"He was brought in to manipulate the game, drive players to fight, manipulate the streams. And if he clears the game, he gets the same benefit as any of us Lost Souls." 

"We still need to learn more about exactly what he is doing, and why." Vane answered. I nodded my agreement again and noticed a pinging notification in the corner of my vision. I waved in front of me to open my inbox.

FROM: Axel

SUBJECT: Personal Property

Fayre,

I know you have my book. Maybe if you have questions you would ask them of me yourself.

Thinking on our time fondly,

Axel

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I closed the message window. I knew it wouldn't take long for him to notice that his book had gone missing, especially if it is an item he uses frequently. It wouldn't take much to put together the situation with Aine at the party, and my connection to the book. He proposes as if he's willing to talk, but can I trust his answers? I scoffed at his comment regarding thinking about our time together. My face flamed with humiliation. Vane looked at my face, suddenly alert.

"Axel knows we have the book?" I nodded. He sighed and bit his lower lip. His brow furrowed in thought.

"He wants me to ask him questions myself." I answered.

"Before you talk to him you need to know what the book says." He was right, it looks like I was in for a day of reading. I couldn't confront Axel until I knew what he could be hiding. His words could be lies, but the text in his book are his personal thoughts.

I went to my room to retrieve the book and sat down on the couch in the living room intent on reading through as much as I could. Vane strapped his twin swords to his waste and rose, he headed toward the exit of the apartment.

"I'm going to take care of some errands in town before the battle. I'll be back later." I acknowledged him with a nod and flipped open Axel's journal. Aine was lounging in an armchair nearby with a book.

January 4th, 2157

I did it. I'm here. This place is beyond anything I imagined. A world where some areas are medieval, others made of glass. Magic exists, monsters and mythical creatures. I started alone in the woods, alone with my Axe. I see people running around with cursors above their heads, many of the employees of the game are criminals, and run the shops and inns. The cities are filled with life, the nature is resplendent. Its the first time I have seen the free sky from outside of a cell in years, I can move, I can fight. If there's one thing I know how to do, is survive.

The next chapters outlined his early days in the game, leveling up. Discovering he had a blue smoke that came out as a special ability, that allowed him to create deep lacerations on the victim. That would be something to tuck away in our memory for later. We now know his Lost Soul ability. He began in Vale, doing fetch and carry quests, and setting out as a solo player into the mountains. He began recruiting criminals who were in the game to follow him, as they were the most malleable and had the most to gain from clearing the game — freedom.

The first man Axel recruited was Darius, a criminal who had been recruited into the game from prison to escape a death sentence. He had been given a life sentence for murder and battery. He hoped by clearing the game he could regain his freedom. Axel and Darius met when Axel was gravely wounded following facing a giant chimera. Darius found Axel in the woods, and cleaned and bandaged his wounds, gave him healing crystals to boost the healing speed. He saved his life.

Darius had a few friends he had met in the game, throughout his early days working. The four stayed together, completing quests and aiming to level up. They planned to take on the boss of Raezar from Vale on their own, or recruit others who could help. This was the fledgling beginning of the Scythes. The original four members. They spent months gathering resources, earning money, developing their skills and weapons. They targeted specific monsters to gain more points in strength, agility, defense. Darius was the only one who knew that Axel was a Lost Soul.

The journal outlines the battle with Raezar, he had similar experiences to Aine and I going against him, except he went in with a group of seven men. They took down Raezar in a glorious battle. Axel struck the killing blow to Raezar's skull with his giant Axe. This victory gained their group notoriety amongst the guilds already formulated in Aether. And with that, they opened the way to Mikado. They gained new applicants to their guild in masses, and were especially popular amongst the criminal class, as the one thing they were known for is no discrimination.