She awoke one morning to the gentle patter of rain…on her face. Eyes blinking open. She sat up and looked around her. This wasn't her room any more. She had fallen asleep waiting for the new patch to go live at her desk, but it didn't explain why she was staring at the chocobo stable, or why she was feeling the rain on her ears... She wiggled her ears and a tail was right beside her. With a scream, she jumped up. Groaning was heard around her as she realized she wasn't alone in this place. She looked around and no names appeared, but she recognized the people. These were the people she played with on a regular basis. As everything was coming into focus, she could see where she was now, Shadowstorms House, in The Goblet, in Ul'dah, on Final Fantasy XIV. She shrieked when an Au'ra male stood up beside her. The familiar light blue skin calmed her though. 'Thanos' she thought. She looked around as her vision was adjusting. She went down the list of her Free Company members. She only counted 10 in the yard. The rest sat up and had similar reactions and adjustments as she walked to the gate. Four more members of "Dusk", as they were nicknamed, were outside the gate. She looked over and to their neighbors were having similar goings as them.
"Shaline, what happened?" A female voice spoke behind her. The girl turned to see the familiar white fur of their leader, Lycentia Yorea, or Lyc for short. She stood by her and gazed out to the other Free Companies and land owners.
"I'm not sure. But I don't think this is a game anymore." She said.
The girl's name is Shaline Lawrence…well her game name at least. Her real name is not important, but she is one of the millions of Final Fantasy XIV players to be trapped in the game. Final Fantasy XIV, or FFXIV or XIV for short, is a MMORPG game released by Square Enix. With two expansions, one in the works, and many patches released, the game is one of the most popular MMORPG games out there. Of course, most of the players were playing the game for the MMO portion. The interactions with people are what made this game unique. The current patch, 3.8, brought the game to a whole new level. Developers promised a more realistic story interaction, and many new features, just shy of what a new expansion would contain. And all the players that had been logged in the day prior to maintenance were drawn into the game.
