The running water was clear and fast but quite shallow at least from where I stood next to it.
"there's no point in hesitating i mean how much could i have changed other than being an elf how much" i questioned to no one in particular
"Well I could tell you but i think it may just be more fun this way" replied my ghost sighing to myself. I grit my teeth and walked to the water's edge to get a look at my face.
what stared back was quite surprising to say the least. My hair had stayed the same curly way with the height reaching down a little past my pointed ears but the color change was quite surprising. My hair which was once a dark brown had changed to a snow white.
The rest of my face had stayed relatively the same although I looked way better in my opinion. After all, I was an elf and somehow all elfs are beautiful. My glasses had also changed somewhat. They were once a silver wire frame pair but now they were a black wire frame.
why i had poor vision while being an elf I'll never know but the most important change or lack there off was that i was still male i don't know what i would have done if i changed gender along with losing my memory in a fantasy world.
"Well I can say that I look pretty much the same minus the hair and my newfound handsomeness "turning around from the water and starting on the road to Bree.
I remembered something my ghost had just said "you said that you could show me what I looked like?"
i asked my ghost "yes in fact-"my ghost burst out in a crackle of electricity"-i can also show you your gear and objectives"
Replied my ghost as it hovered above my left shoulder turning around and looking at my ghost i asked it to show me it responded by projecting a white screen with a character at the center which i could tell was the current me with 9 boxes around it 3 on the left and six on the right i instantly recognized it as the character screen from destiny 2 although it was missing a few features my skill tree for example.
"that is quite useful" and looking to my slots i noticed that two slots were filled one for my trench coat and another for my messenger bag with the bag taking the bottom slot which in the game was meant for artifacts but i suppose that a mystical mag that can create inorganic objects would count as an artifact.
Looking at the screen some more i noticed another tab reaching out my finger and tapping it the screen changed to show all of my current objectives there were three there currently the first was my statement earlier about seeing all this world has to offer the second one was to get to Bree and the third was joining the company of Thorin Oakenshield.
"Yes, quite useful, do I get any rewards for completing objectives?" I asked my ghost if we had both stopped heading to Bree at this point.
"No there just to track what you want to accomplish like a goal sheet if you will" nodding my head and resuming my walk. I checked the sun noticing that it was about 4 or 5 meaning that I should be able to get to Bree before nightfall.
"While that is somewhat disappointing it makes sense but hey if i really need anything then i can use the Messenger bag "I said whilst patting the bag that was resting on my left hip.
"i would advise against anything unless you have a sufficient payment small things, food, and clean water would work with just your energy but things like me could very easily put you into a coma "stopping i remembered the cryptic warning the paper had given me before disintegrating resuming walking i asked my ghost what he knew about the bag to which he replied.
"the bag itself works something like an exchange you take something from it you get something from it but it takes something from you and since you didn't put in anything for me beforehand it took your energy causing you to fall into a coma for 3 and a half weeks" we walked in silence for a few moments before i asked it something.
" if i don't know anything about this bag how is it that you know what it does?" my ghost flew in front of me and to the left before giving me a sideways glance "did you forget that ghosts can scan objects to figure out what they do and since that bag is filled with void energy it would be incredibly easy for me to do so" feeling a bit embarrassed by the obvious information that i really should have remembered i just stayed silent.
2 hours later with the sun starting to set we made it to the gates of Bree and just outside the gates i told my ghost to hide itself before walking up to the gate and knocking although i couldn't help but think i was forgetting something
'did you forget that you're an elf already' my ghost mused in my head causing me to panic.
'crap why didn't you say anything earlier before i knocked' looking around my clothes and pockets, seeing if i could find anything that would hide my ears i realized that i didn't have anything.
But then realization struck 'THE BAG!' quickly flipping open the bag and reaching in i thought about something that would cover my ears and some of my face i then felt a piece of soft fabric grabbing the fabric and pulling it out i quickly put it on my head just trying to get something on.
The fabric then shifted around and I felt a hood cover the sides of my vision followed by a scarf that covered my mouth and nose with it wrapping around a few times with it then flowing over my right shoulder.
A small hatch opened to the side to reveal a young man about 20 or so looking into my eyes.
"state your business stranger" asked the young man with a polite but skeptical tone.
"I'm merely a traveler. I was hoping that I could come to stay in the town for the night" I said to the man, trying to smile with my eyes because my mouth was covered by a scarf.
"alright then" he said before unlocking the gate and letting me into the town.
"haven't seen you around before here but then again you are a traveler the best inn in Bree i would say is the prancing pony just down the street a bit" thanking the man i headed down the road to the prancing pony.
'ya know magically correcting clothes aside thanks for reminding me' my ghost replied a few seconds later.
'you're welcome and i just equipped the hood for you in the inventory slot nothing magical about it' that was a neat function probably could use it to get dressed instantly.
Readjusting the bag a bit, I looked around the medieval town. I looked for the sign of the inn seeing it down the road a bit and headed towards it with a quickened step.
Reaching the inn's doorway and opening it I was assaulted with various smells and sounds, hobbit men and even a few dwarves were eating and drinking some were singing others were just flat out drunk.
"What can I get for you Mr.?" said a waitress who was to my left after I walked into the room a bit more.
"Yeah I'd like to get some food. I just got here in Bree so I don't know what food there is so surprise me" i said while turning to the waitress she nodded and told me to find a seat or booth telling me the food would be ready in just a minute.
Walking around a few tables and a few hobbits I found a table in the right corner away from some of the noise.
'can you scan anyone in this place without being seen i think you know who I'm looking for' i asked my ghost while sitting down in a chair facing most of the room.
'Yes I can, although I don't think the dwarves you're looking for are going to be here' said the ghost as if it was obvious.
'why do you think that they won't be here?'
The waitress arrived with a plate of that I assumed to be steak with a side of potatoes thanking the waitress I went back to my conversation.
'it's quite obvious actually it's because the dwarves had already left by the time that you left the forest' drawing a blank i asked the ghost what it meant by that.
'when we exited the forest i scanned the area and saw a few of them heading away towards Hobbiton' and you didn't tell me this why i replied.
'because 1 you needed food and 2 you wanted to see your face at the river and 3 you didn't ask' all valid points but that means we missed them.
shoveling the food into my mouth and leaving the payment on the table (acquired from the bag) I ran out the inn door.
The sun was now heavily setting the bright orange gold sky illuminating Bree and beyond. Making it to the gate instead of waiting I just put my foot on the lock and boosted myself over it landing in a sprint on the other side.
Running along the road for what felt like hours, the sun was now down meaning it was night but my eyes had adjusted to the low light level allowing me to continue my sprint but i was forced to stop when the road forked.
One on my left the other on my right. I had reentered the forest a while ago at this point asking my ghost to scan the area wouldn't have worked, They were too far away now.
Sighing to myself I walked over to a tree on the side of the road, climbed it and tried to sleep but before I had the chance to I heard a voice call out to me in elvish.
"Hello, I would like to know why a stray elf has entered our lands," asked the female elf who was standing at the bottom of my tree.
'i don't know elvish so I'm just gonna assume that its you ghost, thanks' i didn't get a reply but i got the feeling i was being thanked, surprisingly when i responded my voice came out in elvish.
"Well I am travelling actually, heading for Hobbiton just north of here and why would an elf come and personally greet me? "I responded curiously as this was my first meeting of an elf of Middle earth.
"Well quite frankly you shine incredibly bright so my lord sent me to find out who this new light is" hopping down the tree and walking to the elf i managed to get a good look at her.
Her delicate features covered in long brown hair with two light green eyes she was quite beautiful if I do say so myself.
"and who is this lord of yours?" I asked when I was standing right next to her.
"I will answer your question but I must ask to see your face as well as know your name." Nodding to her I had a realization that I don't have a name.
'ghost this is kind of a problem'
'agreed' my ghost said immediately 'ill scan your memories to find one suitable for this world' nodding mentally I flipped my hood down as well as pulled off my scarf to reveal my face.
"your an elf granted i assumed as much but still" she said with little surprise in her voice
"although i will say that your hair is unusual even for an elf".
raising an eyebrow at this "you know it's not polite to stare" she quickly apologized but i laughed it off.
"My name is ëthune" she said to me while moving off the road and into the underbrush. "And yours is?"
'ghost got a name yet' i asked while moving to follow ëthune. 'Yes i found one, go with Mavirince' nodding mentally and agreeing with the choice i told her "my name is Mavirince"
she turned around and eyed me before saying "well Mavirince welcome to my lord's home" as i was about to ask what she meant we came into a clearing that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
The clearing held a table lined with various plants and fruit. There were also elves at the table and at what I assumed to be the head of the table sat a blond haired elf who seemed to be filled with a noble air, when we entered he looked directly at me.
A silence filled the clearing and most of the eyes were on me. The strange haired elf "ah i was wondering when our guest would arrive, welcome back Ëthune, and welcome Mavirince" said the noble elf.
Not wanting to ask how the elf knew my name I just nodded to him. ëthune walked towards the elf and seemed to converse with him while i waited at the edge of the clearing soon she returned followed by the noble elf.
"Welcome Mavirince, child of light. I saw you enter this forest and I would be pleased to house you for the night," said the elf with a warm smile.
"thank you but i must leave in the morning. I have something I must do," the elf lord nodded his head and waved his hand to the table.
Taking his advice i sat down near the foot of the table and began eating the food was incredible to say the least the apples fresher and more juicy than any other, the bread was the perfect texture and tasted like honey the water was fresh and crisp and for what felt like days i just ate there before falling asleep at the table.
'Guardian get up it's morning' my ghost said inside my head a bit dazed, I got up and looked to find I was lying in a bed of green grass that was surprisingly comfortable.
'jeez i haven't felt that at ease for a long time' i thought to myself whilst pushing myself up and walking to my bag that was lying at my feet along with my scarf and hood.
Grabbing my bag and swinging it around my shoulder I bent down and grabbed my hood scarf thing.
Looking around and seeing that I was in a different clearing than the one I was in last night, this clearing however was completely enclosed by trees with not a gap in sight.
I also noticed that there were also no elves in sight. 'This is weird. First I get invited to a feast of elves, pass out, then wake up in a bed of grass with no elves in sight' thinking to myself and trying to find my way out of the clearing.
After a few minutes a path seemingly appeared out of nowhere to the left of my grass bed.
'i checked that i swear i did' i thought aloud to my ghost to which he responded with a helpful 'are you sure though'. Grumbling a curse under my breath I walked to the newly created/found? Path.
Now well into the path I noticed that none of this place made sense, I noticed after the first few minutes that the path behind me disappeared and seemingly was replaced by a regular forest then after a few more minutes I came across a fast and deep river at which I was currently at, the river however was filled with eels.
'Ghost what is going on i understand that this is probably the elves but still' i thought to aloud to my ghost whilst looking at the river of eels.
'ya know maybe if you were a little more cautious we wouldn't be in this mess' my ghost said whilst materializing above my left shoulder.
'how was i supposed to know these elves would essentially drug me and place me in a forest labyrinth!'. Looking for something that could get me across the river I had a thought come to me.
'ghost I'm a guardian right so that means i probably have some sort of double jump or if I'm a hunter then triple jump' waiting expectantly and waiting for my ghosts answer i went over all i remembered about the various classes from destiny trying to come up with my abilities but i was interpreted by my ghost.
'ya know I'm surprised it took you long enough and to answer that I'll give you a hint. What class where's what is essentially an armored trench coat?' Thinking about it a mentally facepalming while thinking I'm such an idiot.
"I am really dense sometimes, a ghost as well as an armored trench coat. Why didn't I figure it out sooner…". inhaling a bit and with a large grin i shouted "I'M A WARLOCK!''.
Doing a sort of victory dance that i got one of the most powerful classes as well as my personal favorite. I then realized where I was and stopped my victory dance. I couldn't see emotion in my ghost but I could tell that if it could look like someone about to burst into laughter then it certainly was.
"oh shut it" grumbling to my ghost who had turned around to look at the forest behind me.
'Well no time like the present to test out my power' Sighing to myself i walked a bit into the forest before turning around and sprinting to the edge of the shore before jumping off feeling the wind rush past me and descending towards the river i panicked a bit but i suddenly felt a rush of power in my right arm reaching out my right arm and gripping the feeling and pulling it closer.
my body suddenly disappeared in a blaze of purple and black flames. The first thing I felt was a pressure around my whole body followed by a light breeze that seemed to chill the bone and just as the feelings appeared they disappeared followed by me appearing in a burst of purple and black flames just a few feet on the opposite side of the shore.
Stumbling a bit and Standing upright to turn around I looked to see my ghost on the opposite side of the shore staring at me with what I sensed was disbelief.
"That was awesome i can't believe it actually worked, although that probably was a bit reckless" my ghost was now on the same side as me stopping just in front of me it looked right into my eyes.
"the fact you tried a void jump right after learning you were a warlock was incredibly stupid" my ghost said in its signature robotic voice before heading to the forest behind me.
Grinning from ear to ear i turned around and followed my ghost. The forest was much the same as it was before except this time there was no path and after a few minutes a thick fog surrounded me causing my ghost to light his flashlight but it had little effect as the fog was incredibly thick.
Keeping to a northern direction that the previous path was following I eventually came across a clearing filled with a large grey triangular shaped stone building that seemed to be on its last legs with holes everywhere on it followed by a large tree growing out of one of the larger holes near the top of the building.
"ok last i remembered a large ruined triangle building was not in the books or movies not even in the sim-" i was cut off by an arrow impaling the ground right in between my feet my ghost sensing the danger disappeared in a crackle of sparks.
Standing still and trying to see where the arrow was fired I was greeted with silence then I sensed danger from behind me rolling to my left.
I heard an arrow whiz pass me standing in a crouch. I decided that I would have better cover in the building than out here. Sprinting to the building I dodged a few more arrows 3 from the tower and 5 from the forest.
Reaching the building and quickly doing a lap of it dodging arrows from above and behind i realized there wasn't an entrance except there was a hole a few feet out of reach above me.
Dodging the arrows i took a few steps back and jumped, having my left arm on the bottom of the hole and my right hand on top of the hole pulled my left leg and pushed myself into the hole and into the tower but not before i had 2 arrows pierce my left thigh and my right shoulder respectively.
Falling a few feet to the cold stone floor and landing on my left shoulder I groaned a bit at the pain from the fall before standing up and wincing at the pain in my left thigh as I tried to put my weight on it.
Limping to the wall behind me and sliding down it careful not to push the arrows in further i looked around the room i was in, the tower had a spiral staircase in the center descending from the top to the ground and further below there was also a large amount of dust as well as plants that were growing around the room with the beginnings of a tree growing to my right but other than that, that was it.
'i'm gonna need some help here buddy' i thought to my ghost a few seconds later he appeared and cast me in a blue light that encased my whole body
'you're going to need to pull those arrows out before I heal you' replied my ghost as he stopped the light sighing and nodding to myself.
I reached the arrow on my left thigh gritting my teeth. I pulled it out, the warm blood dripping down onto my hand and the floor. Blinking away the pain i dropped the arrow and reached my left hand that was covered in blood to the second arrow in my back grabbing it and pulling it out the familiar sensation of blood flowing down and staining my clothes feeling a bit woozy from blood loss i looked at my ghost who had immediately started encasing me in a soothing white light feeling much better but still light headed i mumbled a thanks to my ghost. Breathing in deep breaths, I sat there for a few minutes expecting my attackers to appear but they never came. Instead the tower was quiet and dark, bracing myself against the wall. I stood up and my shoulder and thigh had completely healed at this point but due to blood loss I still walked slowly towards the staircase.
Reaching the stairs I went to a platform that was on this floor and looked down into the descending stairs before looking to the ceiling.
Sighing i walked up the staircase and towards the opening in the ceiling noticing the pale moonlight that was trickling in surprised that it was night i cautiously stepped off the staircase but immediately i sensed danger and realizing that i couldn't roll i did the only thing i could think of, i summoned the void and jumped appearing a few feet in front of my previous position noticing a strange machine that resembled a cross between a crossbow and a Gatling gun.
Summoning the void again i appeared next to the machine and tried to break it when i went to punch it my right fist crackled with pale blue electricity before connecting when my fist hit it the Gatling crossbow basically fell apart in an explosion of electricity.
'well looks like i can use both arc and void at the same time' i mused to myself as i felt the power in my right hand fade away.
Though I should have anticipated the arrows fired from the forest, an arrow appearing right between my eyes was the last thing that I remembered before everything went dark.
Authors note: fixed the formatting a bit to make it easier to follow. This middle earth is bit different from the one seen and will be further explained in the next chapter.