Force Priestess of Sadness

(Early chapter today. I have a paper due tonight that I haven't started.)

The voice made my heart tremble. It was filled with an overwhelming amount of sadness and grief. It really sounded like whoever spoke had eyes filled with tears as they sobbed about a loss incomprehensible to anyone else.

Suddenly, the room slowly materialized. The walls, floors, and ceiling were made of moss covered cobblestone. Flowers and vines penetrated through the cracks, giving the room the feeling of an ancient ruin. The lighting in the room was very moody and gentle, emanating from bulbs in the flowers.

While I was taking in the beauty of the room, the voice spoke again. "It has been so long since I've had any visitors."

Looking towards the source of the voice, I found an alien looking figure. She was floating in the air and her posture made it look as if she was resisting curling into a ball. I at least presumed she was female due to how her voice sounded.

She wore black robes with twin stripes going down the sides. A black, wrinkled tube-like piece of clothing extended up her neck and covered her head but leaving her face exposed. Her eyes were black like the void with a glowing yellow pupil. Other than that, she quite literally looked like the stereotypical alien.

I took a deep breath. "Who are you?"

She sucked in a deep breath, the sound resembling a sobbing maiden. "I am the Force Priestess of Sadness. Welcome to my home."

I nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you, priestess. My name is…"

I suddenly found that I wasn't able to say my name. I wanted to, but it just wouldn't come out.

The priestess sighed. "It's quite okay if you can't remember your name. We can give you one in a bit."

I tilted my head, slightly confused by that. Was this the character creation area? "Why am I here?"

The priestess nodded, understanding my confusion. "This place… It is the center of all life in the galaxy. While there are many nexuses of power throughout the galaxy, this one is for that purpose. The Wellspring of Life is home for my four sisters and me."

She began floating around the room, caressing the occasional flower. I thought I could even see tears drop from her face but they dissipated before hitting the floor. "While it is home for me, this place is where your journey will begin. The fate of this galaxy is uncertain. In an effort to better understand what is happening, we have created new life forms that we refer to as travelers. This is in the hopes that you may fit in with society and bring some clarity to this situation. Let us create your body now."

I nodded, looking down and realizing that I was still in underwear. "Yes, that'd be nice. Would you happen to have any spare clothes?"

The priestess sighed, waving her hand as clothes materialized over my body. The shirt was made of beige linen and while there was no collar, the front of the neck split and folded over. This split continued down to the middle of my stomach but was closed with buttons. The pants were a black cloth that was soft, flexible, and durable to the touch. Lastly, I was wearing tall and brown leather boots that the pants were tucked into. Fortunately, it felt as if she had given me socks as well.

She then turned away from me, waving her hand again. As she did so, countless pedestals emerged from the floor. They lined the walls and completely covered the room. "There are many races out there. You may choose to identify with one of them. This can be anything from the Mon Calamari, to the Chiss, to a Gungan, to a Human. The race you choose may also affect your home world. There are some races, however, that you cannot choose due to some complications. This includes the Hutts, Neimoidians, Sith, and a few others. You can just make your selection from the pedestals around us."

I shook my head. "There is no need. I will be human."

The priestess nodded, waving her hand. The pedestals all sunk back into the floor. "Since you are already human, I will make a copy of you. Just will it and any adjustments you wish for shall be made. I will warn you, do not change too much. The more foregin the vessel, the more difficult it is for the force to flow through you as it does all living things."

I nodded in understanding, seriously taking her warning into consideration. Essentially, she was saying that making too many changes would harm my chances of becoming a Jedi.

She waved her hand again as a bundle of lights formed in front of me. "You may begin."

I watched as my own body formed in front of me. My short, dark brown hair perfectly replicated the messy look I held right now. I didn't bother to do my hair after I showered. I was just going to be putting the headset on so it would get messed up anyways. I laughed, imagining if the indentation in my hair from the headset showed up on the clone.

The dull green color of my eyes also came into existence as my pale skin also formed. Once my body finished forming, I sighed. The clone was fully naked, so everything was on display. I wasn't skinny, but definitely not muscular and ripped either. I believe the proper word is toned. I was somewhat strong though as I did short bouts of strength and endurance training every morning.

What really made me sigh was how short I was. Well, I wasn't actually short but 5'8 is definitely not tall. Thus, this was the first thing I changed. I didn't want the change to be too drastic, so I pushed it up to 5'10. In most places, two inches doesn't make too much of a difference.

Speaking of inches, my eyes wandered down to the nether regions as they widened slightly. "Well, no need for adjustments there, hehe."

Getting back on track, I noticed that with the increase in height, everything such as limb length and torso size also increased proportionally. This made it so that if someone were to be an idiot and extend their height greatly, they wouldn't have tiny T-Rex arms. It would be comical but quite unfortunate.

Looking at my face, I made a few minor adjustments. I made my nose just a tad bit smaller in all aspects. It was now the perfect size. I also slightly sharpened my jawline so I looked a bit more masculine. After that, I lengthened my hair, extending it down to my shoulders. "Excuse me, priestess, might I be able to use a hair tie?"

She tilted her head, looking interested in me. I'm not quite sure why I was being so polite to her despite her being just an NPC. Despite her state of existence, she just felt so real. I felt that she deserved to be treated like a person.

[+20 reputation with the Force Priestess of Sadness]

It was then that I almost thought I saw a hint of a smile form on her face. It was the only thing other than an expression of despair that I had seen her adorn thus far. "Yes, you can do that. Are you looking for something in particular?"

I nodded, smiling back. I still wasn't sure if she had smiled but I did it nonetheless. "I am, actually. I wanted to have my hair tied into a bun. I've always wanted one."

She nodded, waving her hand. The clone's hair then started worming and twisting as it formed into a ball that was then pressed against the clone's head. Then, a ring of light formed around the ball of hair. It shrank until it firmly grasped the hair, locking it in place. I now had a man bun.

At this point, I thought I was done. As I was about to tell her I was finished, I noticed one last thing. I willed it, and my green eyes became more vibrant, giving them a light that would entrance others. It was a small change but had a huge impact.

With this, I was done. I turned to the priestess. "It is finished, priestess."

She nodded, floating up to me. "Close your eyes please."

I nodded, closing my eyes as she requested. I then felt a finger tap my forehead. My senses faded momentarily but they quickly came back. My body felt slightly different.

She then spoke again. "You may open your eyes, traveler."

Following her instructions, I opened my eyes. I was immediately floored with shock. The world around me looked just different enough to be noticeable. Colors were a bit more vibrant, small movements from the plant life around the room was easily discernible, and countless cracks on the mossy cobblestone were now visible.

I looked down, closing my fist. My body felt a bit more powerful. It felt amazing. While I was looking down, I felt a weight on the back of my head. It was light but still noticeable. I opened my fist and reached towards the back of my head. "Oh yeah, I have a bun now."

Thinking back to the website, I recalled the line that stated we could experience anything in the game. I presumed that this included getting a haircut. My hair would probably grow too.

The priestess's voice interrupted me. "Now, traveler, you need a name. Please choose something that will fit in."

I understood what she meant by this. We wouldn't be allowed to choose some gamertag such as xX_Pu$$y_3xecut0r_Xx. I would have to choose a real name. Unfortunately I was drawing a blank.

She sighed, waving her hand. A list of names appeared before more. There were both surnames and forenames. The forenames included names such as Shan, Sion, Redar, Soont, Jado, and Kenth. The surnames included examples such as Korden, Halcorr, Vane, Horne, and Olphen. "I understand that it is difficult to come up with a name. Here are some ideas that you can use as inspiration."

I stood there, staring at the list and repeatedly hitting the refresh button, receiving different combinations. I then thought of something. "Am I able to change my surname?"

She nodded. "You would only need to submit a request with the government of your homeworld. You can also not pick one for now if you wish. However, you do need a forename."

I nodded, quickly thinking of my name. "I think I'll go with Soryn."

She smiled, waving her hand. "I quite like that name. Before you go, however, I would like to ask you something. You are free to deny my selfish request if you wish and proceed on your journey."

I chuckled. "Please, priestess. Do you think I am so shallow? Ask away."