Trials Of Fire, Blood, And Desire

With my hands shaking, I try to hang on to Eugene's neck as we run towards the Forest of Whispers. I'm glad Eugene doesn't seem to mind the darkness, because going this fast and feeling the wind in my face feels like freedom. I don't remember the last time I felt so alive. It's hard to disassociate my two realities: I'm in Asunción, Paraguay, sitting on a chair in a shack and I'm also Stormborn the Sorgin, cutting through the grasslands on a rhea mount that rides like the wind.

We cross the grasslands, avoiding the ant mounds, past the bridge above the Orgus River and I stop him just as we reach the forest. The trees' thick foliage doesn't allow any light to go through, and I'm not sure how to get to my farm without using a portal stone. It's been a long time since I've had to move my character through the forest to get there. There's no path, and certainly no markers to lead the way.

I'm usually proud of the location I chose to build the farm. Concealed by the gnarly trees, the small clearing where I've set up my home base doesn't get too much sunlight, which is perfect to grow mushrooms and herbs for dyes. It's also hard to find if you don't know where you're going. Tonight, though, that's a disadvantage.

The leaves rustle with a soft breeze, casting dancing shadows over the dimly lit woods. Squeaks and squawks from the night's critters interrupt the steady crunching sound of Eugene stepping on the dead leaves covering the ground.

We move west, in the general direction where I believe my farm is. In a few minutes, we reach the stream of glowing mushrooms. I don't know if it has an official name, but that's what I called it the first time I came here. It's the only place they grow, and they're the reason why I came upon my farm.

We reach the clearing about half an hour later. Eugene's hunger is almost down to nothing, so I set him loose and he wanders over to a patch of grass and begins to chew on it. I've never had pets before, and I'm already fond of him.

The gas lights inside the hut go on as soon as I enter. Everything is the same as the last time I saw it through a computer screen. But nothing is the same, now that I am walking into the farmhouse on my own two virtual feet.

Home.

The wooden walls are covered with tapestries I sewed as I was leveling up my Tailoring skill. They're made of screenshots I took from the game. It's so different to be inside as opposed to seeing it from the screen. My crafting station is a mess, littered with cloth and baubles and dyes. One corner is empty; it's where the pink piano would have been if it hadn't been destroyed.

How can people play Amoria with the Neural X and then return to their real lives so seamlessly? After about two hours of playing, I don't ever want to leave.

I wave my hands and several interfaces pop up, and I organize them in my field of vision so I can see all of them at the same time. There's a blank one where the map should be, but I don't have one in my inventory. I make a mental note to buy one at a vendor the next time I see one. There's the friends list, a character skill chart, and one for milestones and experience.

My experience bar is at 3%. I need two hundred points to level up to 101, and I don't even know where to start. A small bell is jingling in the corner of my empty inventory interface, which means I have mail. I go outside and open the mailbox. This opens up another interface, showing what's inside.

It's the usual: some gold sent by the auction halls, my subscription to the Toy Store, which sends a new toy every month, and a scroll sent by someone named Galven.

This one's new, and I open it. It's a letter, calling me to go to the Sorgin hub to continue on my journey. That must be where I have to go level up. I close it and check the rest. In the bottom, there's an option I've never seen before.

LOST AND FOUND

I place my hand on it, and there's a small note attached to a few icons.

Attached below are the items you lost. Take care of them. We don't have time to return everything to their respective owners.

I touch the icons and several items materialize, dropping to the ground.

One is a golden piece of paper.

The motherfucking god damned golden pass. On it, a phrase in black letters stands out.

"The ruler we seek must their fate meet, by trials of fire, blood, and desire."

I can't believe I'm in, and I start dancing around to a soundless tune in my head.

This changes everything. Three trials, one of fire, one of blood, and one of desire? What could the trial of desire be?

Thalla was right after all. In the seconds after I killed Lobison before the server went out, the pass was somehow sent to my inventory. I never grabbed it from the chest. It's just a thick, leathery piece of paper that shines with a light of its own. I'm not sure how to activate it, or if having it means I'm automatically in the tournament. Just to be sure, I store it in my bag and I wave my hands. I log out selecting the menu interface.

The flickering halogen lamp lighting my bedroom welcomes me back to the real world. It's 1:00 AM, and I don't remember how long I've been playing. My neck is stiff and my hair is dry and sticky. At some point, I've leaned back into the chair and let my head rest on my shoulders. Perhaps it's better to play while lying down.

I turn on my computer and go to the game's forums. Other games and platforms using the Neural X have moved on to other communication systems, but Amoria Online still uses forums like the olden days. A big banner at the top of the page shows a countdown of 9 days before the tournament begins.

They're expecting the heroes to level up to 101 in nine days? I don't even know where to go get quests. I'm so terribly unprepared for this. But then again, I never thought I'd participate. It had always seemed so unattainable, with Lobison being the only monster I could get a try at, him being hard to find, and the purists taking over all the hunting zones. And even after Thalla said I had the pass, deep down, I hadn't believed her right until the moment I saw the pass in my mailbox.

In the forums, there are hundreds of posts complaining about everything, from the lack of portals to people getting stranded in remote places because they can't figure out how to use their mounts. I skim through one where a disgruntled player describes how he lost an entire collection of gems because he couldn't carry them in his bag.

There's nothing official about the tournament except for player discussions, because of course, nothing has been disclosed by O-light. The only ones who would have information right now are the heroes themselves, and if they're mostly Starfordians like Desdenia, they aren't the kind of people who usually use the forums. They've got their own platforms.

Before I close the forum, a post catches my eye. The headline says "Desdenia's Demise (Almost!)" I open it, and my heart almost stops. Someone has uploaded her live stream.