Town Portal Cht. 3
You walk across the bridge, firmly gripping your staff. When you stop, and think, Hey, what kind of abilities do I have?
So you stop, and close your eyes. The familiar screen appears, and you go to the skill tree option. And what comes up is very confusing; hellish, even.
Eighteen trees are jockeying for position. One gets to the top, but then it flickers and is forced back down, to be replaced by another. Merely looking at it is giving you a headache. I've got to stop this! you scream to yourself. Or else I'll tear myself apart!
You bring up the little mental cursor, and you wait for the Sorceress fire magic set to come up. When it does, you hurriedly lash out and click on it. It stops, and stays there, clear and visible. Another weight rolls off your shoulders.
The ice tree comes up, and you click again. It solidifies, and your shoulders lighten up yet again. The lightning set shows… and you pause. You remember a thought you had to yourself a long time ago; What if I could mix up the skill trees, and make my own Diablo II Character? You even wrote it down; a Sorceress, born in Harrogath. She was very good with fire and ice, but she couldn't even summon the smallest spark of lightning. That was alright, though, since she was strong, like her Barbarian cousins. She may not have had the combat training, but she could still fight with the semi-best of them. Her name: Zelda.
You don't know why you named her Zelda; it just sounded right. Either that or you were still celebrating over finally having beaten The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest. One or the other.
So you let the lightning tree sink down, and wait for the tree that contains the Barbarian weapon masteries, and the resilience feats. It comes, and you click…
And darkness overcomes you. You feel the flying sensation of transport, and some seconds later, light and sensation return to you. You are in the middle of a huge hall, and you have a vague sense of titanic figures lurking beyond the shadows;
A slithering to your left, and a faint whisper. The slithering subsides. You look over and get a sense of two figures surrounded by a faint green light; one is an impossibly tall, thin human, and the other seems to be a lizard of some sort. Rathma and Trang' Oul, some inner voice tells you.
You look in another direction, and see more tall human shapes, each with separate auras; fire, light, ice, and electricity. The Amazonian deities, the voice says.
Another direction, and your eyes are greeted by two shapes. You get the sense of great physical power from one, and the other gives off a calming aura. But beneath it is a great rage, sleeping deep. Woe be to the one who could make enough noise to bestir that rage. Bul' Kathos and Fialca Gear, the voice says.
You look in yet another direction, and you see, not a god-like figure, but a man, walking towards you. He is bearded, with hair to his shoulders. He wears a simple white robe, with plain sandals and a belt of rope. He looks familiar to you, but you cannot place it. The voice helps you; the Zakarum Emissary, what would be the White Christ in your world.
The man stops before you and holds out his hands. You see scars there, deep scars. You look at his face, and it is kind, benevolent. Yet there is also a tinge of worry, of fear. Then he speaks.
"You are trying to mix things up, Hero. We can't let you do that, not without validation. Prove that it can work, and we might let you." His voice is calm, soothing. Yet there, too, fear and worry can be sensed.
No problem, you think, I'll tell them about Zelda. So you do.
At the end, the fear had gone out of the Emissary. "Very well. But you must still pass the test given to you by Akara. Away with you, now." Once again, the flying sensation of transport overcomes you…
(A/N- If I misspelled the gods' names, get over it.)
