Author's Note: As always thank you to everyone for the support you give me for this story I write. I enjoy sharing my imagination with you and the ways how I picture such an event to occur. That being said, I love to take suggestions, sometimes they fit pretty well for a certain character. Oh, almost forgot, the first ten chapters are a sort of introduction. The story is being set up before we get into the meat of things, of course, that doesn't mean there isn't going to be chaos and shenanigans!
Finally, I'll like to say, I've never read the Light Novels. I should probably do that soon. I have read info on them and the differences though, so Saito is going to be different for sure than his Anime Counterpart, but a few comedic moments will still come at him and Louise.
PEJP Bengtzone V2: The idea about having a Player meeting a group of Commoners upon discovery of a 'Fountain of Mana' is really interesting! Thanks for the suggestion, I might just use it!
MasterXMaster: Thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying it! The many possibilities and consequences brought up by the introduction of a Warcraft 3 Custom Map is just a blast to write!
Life of a Zero Dragon
Chapter 9: Kingdom Thoughts
Young King Aylmer, the royal leader of the Human Kingdom of Kayla, which is the name that describes the human kingdom within the Warcraft custom map Life of a Dragon Sequel. Aylmer stood on the strong walls that made up the Capital's outer boundaries, his eyes looking over the vast naturalistic view that surrounded the area.
"Man… They don't have many sights like these back on Earth anymore," Aylmer commented to himself, glancing back to see the two Legionnaires behind him that guarded their King with great fervor.
Kaylan Legionnaires were the strongest Kingdom units in the game, but they were also very expensive and took a while to train.
He looked back towards the outside world, 'But many things have been altered… One example would be that a footman in the map would take fifteen seconds to make. Now it takes fifteen hour to do so, on the other hand they can be trained six at a time now."
"Not to mention what happened to Abigail yesterday…" He trailed off as his memories of the day before came into play.
Aylmer stood in front of the throne, his young sister having a pleasant conversation with the Royal Caretaker, Marthan. He, on the other hand, was sparking a crucial chat with the recently arrived Mercenary Sorceress. Indeed, they both figured out early on that both were true players of the same Warcraft 3 lobby.
"So what occurred to you after the initial blanket of darkness when the game started?" Aylmer questioned.
"It's difficult to describe," Elizabeth, the Mercenary Sorceress, said.
"Try your best, at least, this could help us find a way back, if only a little bit," The Kingdom King stated, he had to find a way back for Abigail.
"Well… At first, it seemed like I was… Bodiless?" She said questionably, "Then there was this divine-like voice, but also somewhat artificial."
"A artificial sounding divine voice? Like, how artificial did it sound like? Robotic?"
She shook her head in denial of the guess, "No, it was just… Divine yet artificial. It's like trying to describe something that can't truly be understood by human minds."
He crossed his arms, "So, back to square one for you… How did you manage to choose your Mercenary choice?"
"My bodiless spirit appeared in some sort of gray floored room, with multiple floating bodies before circles of power. I just floated to the Sorceresses and suddenly I appeared in Arcantis." Elizabeth explained as her hands motioned to futilely describe it.
"As expected, just like in Life of a Dragon…" Aylmer said.
"Princess? Are you well?" Marthan suddenly spoke in a matter that attracted both the young girl's brother and Elizabeth.
Aylmer looked to his little sibling, "Abigail?" He said in concern.
Abigail had strange stopped talking, her body a bit rigid and her breath soft. Then, suddenly, she spoke in a beautiful matter, angelic in sound, yet the voice that came off her lips did not fit that of a six-year-old, rather, a mature women.
"Two centuries fly away like the passing of the winter's fall. Lost in the realm of the old kingdom, an old king who sought greatness against the roaring elements of creation. Once upon a time, there was that kingdom, surrounded by shadows of a war. There was a king, born with the mark of the void, controlled by the high demon that burnt the kingdom into the ashes."
With the passing of the last word from her mouth, Abigail collapsed into a state of unconsciousness, leaving behind a flabbergasted audience, and a brother who rushed to her side.
What exactly had happened, had Abigail been affected by more than he realized in the transition into this new world?
"Aylmer,"
He turned around, and caught sight of Elizabeth Loyal standing just outside the two bodyguards assigned to him.
"Elizabeth, what is it? Is something the matter?" Aylmer questioned.
"I want to head to Desert City, and then try to find out where the Elven Forest disappeared too, and also discover where the location of the Dragon Knight City lies," She said to him. "I was hoping you might be able to give me some currency to purchase some items that will help me out."
"Are you sure, it's probably a lot safer to stay here."
"I'm level 2," She said to him.
The young King's eyes widened, "Leveling still works?" He replied.
The Mercenary nodded, "Yes, and I suspect a lot of systems from the map work as well. I have a theory that this new world is a sort of mix between Life of a Dragon's systems and the reality of fantasy likened to those of say, the Inheritance Cycle novel series."
He nodded in agreement, "I've only read Eragon in that series, but I got a clear indication of what you meant by that. Alright, let's go by your theory for now with most in-game systems like leveling, inventory slots, hero skills, and the such functioning."
She smiled at him, "So, about that gold for buying items from the shop?"
"Oh, yeah… Um…" He scratched his chin deep in thought, how would give gold to players work now? In the Warcraft 3 map, you could simply click the Allies tab at the right and give gold to players that way.
He felt his magic tingle within him, and out of curiosity, he 'reached' for it so to speak. His mind came up with his Kingdom's current resources of Gold and Lumber.
'How the hell… Just… Nevermind, maybe it might work if I focused on giving 1,000 gold?' He thought to himself as he did so, he felt a pouch appear in his hand.
"What the?" The Mercenary yelled in alarm, before calming. "So… Gold giving is different too I guess?"
Aylmer blinked as he weighed the pouch in his hand, "It's light, catch."
The pouch tossed into the air and the Sorceresses grasped it easily, tieing the pouch inside her clothes and feeling like the number 1,000 was added to her gold count.
It was an odd sensation, but something she'll have to get used too.
Suddenly a footman, which is a basic plate wearing swordsman, came rushing towards Aylmer and then kneeling before him.
"My King, word from Arcantis!"
"Speak, soldier." Aylmer put on his royal emotional mask.
"A foreign Kingdom has made contact with us, sire! They introduce themselves as residents of the nearby Halkeginia nation, Gallia!"
Louise, Siesta, and Saito Hiraga found themselves within their original destination. The townsfolk were attempting to go about their daily lives, but it was clearly apparent they were affected by the sudden appearance of Orangebark Forest just a few hundred meters away from the town itself. To the shock of Louise, some of Tristan's military appeared to have made its way here and was trying to rid the Orangebark Forest, or at least, decrease its reach towards the town.
The issue is that any axes, nay, anything that attempted to chop at one of those trees either broke apart or bounced off harmlessly against the invulnerable trunks of those trees. There was even an attempt at using magic to rectify the situation, but it proved fruitless against it.
"They are only dot or line perhaps…" Louise trailed off, "But that doesn't explain why none of the Orangebark trees are being affected.
Erisdar came close to Louise's side, whispered an explanation, "It's because unlike other trees, Orangebark classifies as doodads. They're normally indestructible and can't be cut down."
Doodad, another strange term used by her familiar.
"No tree can be indestructible, they're probably using the local tools and they aren't getting the job done." Louise stated as if the tools of commoners were lackluster and useless.
"Even magic won't work, not unless you're the map maker…"
"Map Maker? That a type of mage?" Louise questioned, briefly looking around to make sure nobody else was paying too close attention. They were in a relatively safe area outside the crowd, the Orangebark Forest's appearance distracting many of the residents.
"I guess a kind of god in your terms-"
"There is only one god and the Founder Brimir!" Louise immediately yelled to halt the dragon's heresy.
Erisdar shut up quickly, "Rawr!" He said.
The pink haired Valliere stood back up, noticing her shout drew a few stares before they shrugged and went back to their own business.
"Ms. Valliere, look what I got!" Siesta came up with a peculiar item.
"What's that…" Louise said.
The maid brought it up to sight, "A ribbon for Erisdar to wear at the exhibition!"
Erisdar looked displeased at the maid, not interested in wearing the item despite the good intentioned.
"Erisdar is a dragon, not a dog," Louise stated firmly, "He needs something more grand, more spectacular… I'll go see what's in store, maybe armor of some sort… Do any stores even sell dragon armor?"
Louise began to walk forward, Siesta sighing in the defeat of not being able to see Erisdar with a ribbon. But Louise Valliere took notice her familiar was not following her.
"Erisdar?" She questioned, looking to him, "What are you staring at…"
The Princesses' Carriage had appeared coming over the horizon on the road.
Current Status:
Chosen Dragon Player 1: Saito Hiraga - Alive - Dragonet (Agility) Level 5
Chosen Dragon Player 2: Alex Storm - Unknown - Hatchling (Strength) Level 2
Chosen Dragon Player 3: Asuna Godiva - Alive - Hatchling (Unknown) Level 1
Chosen Dragon Player 4: Artos Archway - Alive - Dragonet (Agility) Level 7
Chosen Dragon Player 5: Cora Rune - Alive- Hatchling (Intelligence) Level 4
Dragon Slayer Player 6: Celdrahil - Alive - Slayer Level 5
Dragon Catcher Player 7: Rosina - Alive - Catcher Level 5
The Human Kingdom Player 8: Aylmer and Abigail - Alive - Royalty of Human Kingdom
The Fel Empire Player 9: Grom - Alive - King of Fel Empire
Mercenary Player 10: Elizabeth Loyal - Alive - Sorceress Level 2
Observer Map Maker: Map Maker - Alive - The World Editor