Chapter 2: Guildsmen

There were no words. There was no explaining the terror that locked itself deep inside of my heart. Even the sun's mid afternoon orange hues could not make the knot in my stomach unravel. I just laid there, grass laced between my fingers, every part of my body numb from the encounter with Darious. Draven stood then, balling his fists in anger. His appearance had changed from the taller, more lean Drake; now he resembled his normally shorter, more broad frame. Anger boiled over his caramel skin, his now bronze eyes glowing slightly in the sun.

"Dammit!" he barked loudly," What the hell are we going to do now?"

"What can we do … " Hyperius spoke up, but nothing more than a low mumble.

Hyperius had changed as well; now he stood slightly shorter than Draven, but with a more childish frame, being fourteen.

"We are going to be annihilated!" Draven yelled at him, "There's nothing we can do!"

My fists balled over that. Darious' smirking face filled my mind, as did the young boy that died in my arms. I can't.. I'm … I'm not strong enough.. That kid.. Died in my arms and I did nothing.. Dad.. Logan.. There faces filled my mind then, pulling me out from the cloud of despair. There was no way that I could die in this world or let Darious kill my family.. I refuse to let that happen. To many people, too many innocent people's lives hang in the balance. Another bastard with a big stick thinks he can take lives for sport..

"We fight," I spoke softly.

"Are you serious?!" Draven barked even more as he grabbed my collar, "You saw what happened in there. That kid got greased with the swipe of Darious' hand and here you are wanting to take him on again after getting the floor mopped with you?!"

He stared into my face for a moment with gritted teeth; my hair over casting my eyes. He dropped me roughly to the ground and, literally, roared in anger. Hyperius, who was sitting a few feet from me and was holding his knees to his chest, looked over at me with terror.

"Matthious.. How.. How do we fight him..?" He asked lowly.

"We do what he says," I sat up slowly, "We build a guild and beat the arena."

"Just the three of us?" Draven raised an eyebrow at me.

"With others. This isn't something the three of us can do on our own."

"Well, I'm sure everyone is wanting to join us after the little spat between you and Darious," Draven scuffed.

"So who do we recruit?" Hyperius looked up at me.

"You're an idiot.." Alexandria chastised me.

"Yeah, like I haven't been called that today," I chuckled slightly to myself.

We sat in the back room of Alexandria's Smith Shop. It was no more than a twenty by fourteen foot stone room with dark wood floors. Alexandria stood behind a crescent shaped counter, where she laid out the tools used in the forge. I sat in front of her in a high stool as she criticised me on what happened in the arena and my decision afterwards. Gavlan stood at the forge itself, only a few feet to the right of Alexandria and I. Embers blasted on his skin, his muscles moving under them like boulders under a sheet.

Strangely, Gavlan had the same gruff, and muscular form hadn't changed since the announcement. Although, Alexandria had changed; her hair shorter, darker and her body slightly skinnier than her avatar was. Draven and Hyperius sat behind us, playing chess on a small, round table that cleared their knees just barely. Draven seemed to have an advantage over Hyperius at every turn. The walls of the dark stone were adorned with all sorts of weapons; swords, maces, axes, everything with the exception of staffs.

"So.. where are these recruits of yours going to come from?" Alexandria asked.

"Well, I was sorta hoping you and Gavlan could join up with us."

"W-Wha.. U-Us?" she stared at me blushing and shocked.

Gavlan pressed the finished blade into the ice water to his right, before dipping the blade again into a blazing inferno to his farthest right, which clung to the wall and was made of the same type of dark stone. After releasing the blade from the fiery oven, he cooled it in water again before walking with it towards me.

"Holy Avenger," He smiled cheerfully.

"Wow.." I examined the white blade and thick hilt guard speechlessly.

"No break," Gavlan warned before handing it to me.

He handed it to me, hilt first. I softly grasped it in my hand, stepping back, away from him for a moment before swinging it a few times. It was heavy, the hilt guard thick and white with a line that divided three circular indentations. The decorative piece was drawn delicately onto the spade and cone shaped piece on either side of the guard. Extending outward was the white blade, wide and strong just like the hilt guard. It was absolutely perfect and it worked well with me; as though it was forged for my soul.

"Thank you, Gavlan," I smiled widely at him as he threw me the sheath, which I quickly pulled around my shoulder and placed my new blade.

"Me join," Gavlan stood beside Alexandria, a smithing hammer over his shoulder.

"I.. I guess.." she sighed," I'm in."

"That's great!" I smiled happily at them both.

"But," Alexandria raised her hand to my cheers," We need to talk on a few things first."

"Like what?"

"The mechanics of Irkalla," Draven said from behind us as he beat Hyperius in their chess game, "Check mate"

"Well, Irkalla Online is a real world physics drive game developed by a small group form Zaskar, the company behind Gun Gale Online. Everything you can do is based upon all that you can do in the real world. Based on your body type you'll be able to perform certain maneuvers or actions that other players may not; it all depends on what you can do in the real world. The technology has evolved enough that every touch, smell or sound is most accurate to the real world. This also means that pain receptors are more prominent, but do not cause extreme effects in real life.

"As for player mechanics, there is no auto aiming or target assist, so you have to make it happen. Something like Sword Skills, called Critical Attacks, are more like a finishing combo, but look like a Sword Skill from SAO. Also, there is a way of conditioning your body to perform better, like working out or training. Just like the real world.. Also, race and class play an import part in how your stats look overall. Being a knight, my strength, dex, endurance and constitution are higher than Hyperius', however, he may have a higher dex, intelligence or charisma due to his class...You can bleed to death. Getting your throat cut, stabbed in the abdomen, and if your arm is severed without medical attention, will cause death." I said in a sturn, even tone.

"As for enemies and leveling scales, it's a bit more complex. Just like conditioning your body, if you wish to improve, you have to use the same skill continuously to improve it effectiveness. As warriors in our world have been for centuries, you'll continuously get better the more you fight and level up; your body changing to the degree of your level. Enemies are on a whole different playing field though. The NPC boss or opponent you fight will either be two to ten levels above your own. Only major arena bosses are higher than seven and can seriously do some damage. Player opponents will be different because it's hard to tell the level your opponent will be. There are guilds, like the Blood Moon and Thieves Hand that kill players. They can do this even in towns and villages because there is no rule governing otherwise. There is the main quest of beating the arena, but there are assorted quests and dungeons scattered all over the world. Think of irkalla as earth, so may places to explore and unique wildlife.."

"So.. we're screwed either way?" Hyperius asked from his chair.

"No. We can beat it, I know we can" I looked at him seriously.

"Darious said that we needed to build our guild right, where do we go for HQ?" Draven spoke up then, folding his arms.

"I have a place," I said and smiled happily.

"You have a place, already?" Alexandria questioned.

"Yep," I said and stood for a moment, stretching, " I got it as a pre-order bonus."

"Lucky ass," Draven shook his head.

"What's a pre-order bonus?" Hyperius asked.

"It's a item that you can get in the game that only comes when you pre-order a game. Some were other items like weapons or xp," Draven punched his shoulder roughly.

"Well, I hope you can accommodate a half Vampire and a Dwarf," Alexandria said under her breath.

"You're a vampire?!" Draven, Hyperius and I said at once, in surprise.

"Yep"

"And he's a Dwarf?!" we said again.

"I thought the Dwarves were all killed off a thousand years ago?" Draven spoke up behind me.

"Me last Dwarf.. " Gavlan pressed his fist over his heart sadly,"My kin all die thousand years ago.. Me all there is.."

"Damn.. " Hyperius shook his head.

I walked up to the hulking Dwarf and offered my hand, smiling up at him.

"We'll make your kin proud." I said softly.

He nodded with a wide grin and shook my hand back as carefully as he could. Alexandria and Gavlan gathered all that they required for the trip while Draven and I bartered with a carriage driver for a ride into the Rah'kin Mountains. The mountains themselves were located due east of the arena hundred miles and, unfortunately, the teleport gate in the Square only can be used through another gate channel. With these channels one could travel from their kingdom or city into the Square. Luckily, the guild home that I was given in the pre-order bonus has a teleport gate, however, we need a ride to get there first.

"How much for five to the Rah'kin Mountains"

"That's ten gold pieces a person." the driver said coarsely.

"Yes sir," I said and quickly paid him before climbing into the wide and covered wooden carriage.

Steadily, all of us piled into the carriage; even Gavlan, without damaging anything also. The driver stopped Draven, gripping his bicep and staring deep into his eyes with hate that seemed etched into his soul.

" I will not allow you to ride, filth!" he said menacingly.

"And why is that?" I asked from behind the driver.

"He's a damn Drake" he yelled at me,"I won't ferry his kind."

"Stop," Hyperius grabbed the driver's shoulder," We'll pay you two hundred pieces for his ride."

"Fine, just this once!" he said and began to take us through the mountain pass.

We were then off into the mountains. Considering the drivers pissed off attitude, we blazed through the mountain pass that cut through a beautiful valley filled with rare and unusual flowers. We then dipped into a tunnel formed from curved and melded tree branches. More of the same unique flowers adorned the inside of the tunnel, orange light showing through the gaps in the canopy. As we approached the exist, bright, bewildering light welcomed us through its warm glow. The tunnel opened into a open lakefront view, a Bluff stretching out teen feet over and slanted over the water. The bluff itself seemed to jet out of the white sand, a path curving around the lake and along the mountain in the background. The water sat still, shimmering a beautiful crystal blue.

We steadily made our way down the gravel path along the face of the mountain. Rounding the mountain, the woods greeted us, the wall of trees stopping our advance.

"Thanks for the ride," I said and jumped from the wooden carriage.

"Right.. Just remember this is a one time thing," the drive mumbled at me crossly while everyone exited our ride.

He drove away, leaving us at the cusp of the treeline. Light shone through the canopy of the tall oaks, animals calling from hidden dwellings. Draven stepped closer to me and wore a face of criticism.

"This is it?" he asked incredulously,"A forest in the middle of nowhere?"

"Not quite.." I said with as smile as I walked towards the trees.

I was then absorbed into an invisible sheen that resembled the forest. Ripples in the liquid fabric flowed all around me as I passed completely through the camouflage. Everyone stood on the other side in bewilderment at what had happened.

"Come on guys, we're almost there!" I called excitedly.

Draven and Hyperius passed through first; Hyperius with his eyes closed and arms out in front of him. Gavlan carried Alexandria on his right shoulder, his other arm full of smithing gear. I nodded towards them and smiled as the trail in front of us lead far ahead of us and to the left, a curved canopy over our heads as we walked.

"So, an enchantment protects the home, huh?" Draven smiled at me,"The spell seems far too powerful to be cast by you."

"The spell was already in place my friend," I said as I chuckled, clapping his right shoulder.

We walked further into the overlaying foliage. The sun trickled through the canopy to illuminate our path every few feet. The gravel path curved to the left, a grey archway barely visible through the trees. Walking further and further, both the archway and the lite exterior of the home came into view. The archway was made of carved stone and hung looming over our heads. The surrounding area was nothing more than tall grass and overlapping trees, which was guarded by a fence that ran along the path up to the porch. The covered porch and first floor were made of wooden planks that contrasted the protruding stone above the held the second floor. As for the second floor; it was also built from wood, with stone supports on the outside for support against any serious attack.

"You got this?!" everyone spoke, astonished, and at the same time.

"Yep," I said chuckling,"It's bigger on the inside. Gavlan, I have to ask you to wait here until I can show you to your quarters."

He nodded as I lead the rest of our group into the house. A open living room sat to our left; two couches facing each other in the center of the room, with a coffee table and small bookshelves behind them that held up ferns and roses. Lamps sat in the corners and the two slender, long windows even spaced apart and provided adequate view of the front yard. A staircase stretched up to our right, into the living quarters and a wall divided the hallway beside it from the stairs. Down that hallway and illuminated by lamps, was a small bathroom with a sink, hand towel rack and a single toilet in the corner. A ceiling light lite the room and the dark wood floors really shown in contrast to the lighter walls. To the right of that was the library; an open ten by three by seven foot room with slender windows, towering bookshelves, paintings, and two tables with matching chairs.

Draven all but bounced in excitement at the library, his bronze eyes lighting up happily.

"I thought you would be pleased with this, Draven," I smiled at his as the others marveled.

"It's okay.. " his face quickly changed back.

I lead them back through the corridor and to the large twelve by sixteen dining area which dipped down a set of small stairs and only a foot deep. The table was lit by a beautiful chandelier and could accommodate twenty people. Paintings sat upon the wall in front of us and to both the right and left where long tables that sat along the walls; housing the food that was brought from the kitchen. The kitchen itself was down the small hallway to our left with a small closet that housed cabinets of food. The tiche itself was a long and slightly narrow room with the same long and slender windows that hung over the light brown counters and double sink. Opposite the sink and counter is the oven and stone, a dark grey with green hand towels hanging from the oven door handle. A small fridge and cabinet sat beside the oven, the cabinet itself the same shade as the counters. Laps in the far corners of the room provided great light for preparing meals.

"You must like to cook," Alexandria said softly behind me.

"I do and I'm pretty good!" I smiled and chuckled softly.

The hallway on the other side of the kitchen lead into the kitchen and a doorway to the left that stretched into a long, somewhat crooked hallway that doubled as a sitting area and an entryway to the forge and outside, The sitting area was a few feet wider than either side of the thin hallway; the walls lined with bookshelves, tables and chairs. The forge was through the next open doorway on the left. It opened into a thirty by twenty foot room with a twelve by fifteen depression in the center of the room, an open flame blazing beside an anvil and a long , wide cauldron of water. In the righter most corner was a wall of furnaces and a crescent shaped workbench a few feet in front of it. A few feet from the forge, on the wall across from the flames, was a bench and storage units for potion crafting. a few feet to the left of that is a small enchanting station, with a table, bookshelves and potion storage. An elongated square room sat beside the furnaces, housing stores of materials and books for creating weapons, enchantments and potions. There was also a bed in the corner of that room as you turn through the doorway.

"W-Wow.. This is so cool!" Hyperius cheered behind me and Alexandria's face shined happily.

I lead down the other end of the hallway then and outside; a gravel path stretched forward and curved before us, a covered patio to our left and a gazebo in view ahead of us, We followed the path and examined the long, wide patio that housed a long table with seating arrangements for twenty and a beautiful chandelier. The gazebo was round and wide, holding two long couches and two chairs facing each other with a table between them, chess pieces resting on top. Following the curving path, we came to a large training pad and a long, thin patio that stretched the length of the house's width. It was made of chiseled stone and enhanced to suit the needs of any training situation.

Quickly, I ran around the house to lead Gavlan back through the house and into the forge. Gavlan stated he didn't sleep on a bed so the accommodations were fit for such a hulking all but cried at the blazing stones and the smell of fresh anvil. The last thing to do was to visit the living quarters upstairs. I lead our group up the staircase by the forge room. The staircase lead to a wide sitting room with open windows complete with a couch, small coffee table and fresh flowers on either side of the couch. A long hallway stretched from this sitting room, lined with doors on either side of the hall. A final doorway sat at the end of the fall, which opened into a massive bedroom and shower; this room was for the Guild Commander. The other rooms were ten in number and could hold two roommates at any time. All were small, but luxurious to say the least.

"Ladies on the left, gentleman on the right" I smiled.

Everyone piled it separate rooms and settled into their person living accommodations. Draven roomed with Hyperius and Alexandria open the door across from them. Mild bickering could be heard from the room that the Drake and Thief shared as they got their things in order.

"Haha.. Maybe if we could bathe Draven in ice we could Have Hyperius sleep at night.. hahah. Meet me outside on the pad when you're done."

I stood on the white stone and stretched for a while. Gavlan had already been waiting for a moment, his arms crossed over his wide chest. Alexandria quickly followed alongside Hyperious and Draven. I instructed them to stand up on the pad and listen closely to what was said.

"If we are going to be in a guild together, we need to see how well of of us fight. My uncle taught myself and my brother a bit of martial arts when we were growing up, so I will teach it to you as well. All of you need to know a few things first.. It's not all about the sword, the ability to throw around a blade. You need to be a well rounded combatant to win in situations where utilizing your weapon will be difficult. We will move from unarmed combat to weapons and then team building skills. Any questions?"

"U-Uh… You have all this planned out already..?" Draven looked at me incredulously.

"Yes, I did. If we have a chance, we need to do all we can to prepare"

They all looked at each other and then at me. I motioned them forward and stood ready for anything. Hyperious and Draven stood ten feet apart, Alexandria behind their position in the middle. With a nod, Draven leapt at me with a wild haymaker. I acted instinctively, blocking with my left hand to swat away the attack before landing a solid punch to his cheek. Hyperious closed the gap at my right and sung openly, allowing my elbow to slam into his nose, my foot pushing his back out, causing him to fall past me. Alexandria landed a punch to my face, sending me stumbling back a bit before a wild kick whizzed passed. I pushed her away and back flipped, Draven running at me with another forceful punch to which I blocked and kicked him away.

Hyperius lunged and flew passed me to hit his head on the pad with a loud thud and a whining noise. Alexandria glared at me and stood ready to charge, staring at my composed face. My own stance was charged with defense, my legs shoulder width apart and arms ready to block. he speed was already so blinding; making my body react to her blurred movements. A solid punch to the cheek sent me back onto the stone platform and I instinctively rolled to a stop. She kept lunging forward with the same blinding pace and it too all I had to evade her. My face was numb with pain, making my movements more sluggish. Her vampirism increased her strength and agility so much that I was sweating bullets.

I caught her next punch and pushed her stomach to gain some distance. The next option would be to anticipate her movements to gain an advantage. With her next lung, I placed my foot against her to falter her speed and caught her waist.

"And here I thought vampires were fast," I teased with a chuckle.

She wasn't in the mood for my joking and grabbed my arm from her stomach and threw me across the pad. I stopped my slid quickly with my hands and ran forward. Flipping diagonally, I kicked her side and sent her tumbling. Her recovery was almost immiscible, followed by a pissed off shriek.

"Wow.. Looks like she's giving him a run for his money," Draven Scuffed from beside the mate.

"Better than we did," Hyperius sat there and began to pout.

Another wild attack was launched by my beautiful opponent. I made sure to evade to the left and catch her wrist and locking it behind her. As I did, her leg came up to clip my arm slightly. I held her there and panted for a second; her speed still a major factor in our bout.

"You smile lovely.. Like.. roses and .. embers." I smiles playfully.

This set her off for the final time; She moved forward blindingly and kicked my stomach, swinging around to hit me square in the face with full force. I flew out towards the edge and half slide off. I scrabbled to stay on and goofily flipped to crawl on my stomach to get off the edge.

"W-Wow.. What a punch.."I smiled and stood, my nose bleeding profusely.

Alexandria stood perfectly still, frozen in place at the site of me. I only looked at her in confusion as she stood horrified.

"W-What..? Is there something in my teeth?" I picked at my teeth for a moment.

"Get out of there you idiot!" Draven roared over to me.

At that moment Alexandria's outwardly appearance began to change. Her eyes burned red with hunger, the iris of her eyes shifting from green to crimson in a matter of seconds. The pallor of her skin changed to a faint shade of grey, her teeth now fangs. She now, in a speed unseen by my eyes, she was lifted from the ground. Held by Gavlan, a mere eight inches from my face, she struggled desperately in his massive arms. She clawed and ripped at his arms and face and yet he stood with no emotion on his face.

"I'm sorry.. "Gavlan muttered to me as her shrieks continued,"Be back in morning.. "

"Okay.. I promise it's fine. " I nodded up at him as he carried her off.

Draven jumped up beside me and shook his head. His face roiled in anger and some of disappointment in my actions.

"This is on you," he scolded,"You just had to get all.. flirty with her"

"It was just playful banter.. " I bumped his shoulder.

"Whatever. Just be more carefully. Between me and the vampire, our party seems to be more volatile than I originally thought.. "

"I'm sure we can work things out," I only smiled.

"Stupid fool.."

To our east came a rustling from the trees. Our heads quickly turned to see what it was and the bushes parted as a tall, armored warrior strode towards us. He said nothing, wearing silver plate armor with a purple tunic underneath that ran between his legs and draped off both sides of his legs. From under his hood, we could only see the piercing orange eyes that seemed to peer into the soul. I jumped from the platform and smiled happily.

"So you finally found us huh? Took your damn time with it too!"

"It wasn't easy getting up here you know," said the figure as he lowered his hood.

He was lean, dark brown hair flowing to his shoulders. A strong nose and jawline framed his face, along with squinty, mesmerizing eyes. This was my brother, Logan, his avatar, Orsoe Sabbath, first son of the House of BloodMoon.

"Nice to see you, Little brother,"I chuckled happily.

"Wait a minute, little brother?" Hyperious chimed in and trotted beside us.

"Nice appearance Logan," Draven spoken softly,"If you were here, why didn't you join us at the launch announcement?"

"I was there, but after we were all teleported out of there I had to deal with an unsavory quest in my homeland," he crossed his arms,"So as of now I am the ruler of the BloodMoon House. Oh, and way to get knocked on your ass there, Hero."

"Haha, thanks for your concern, shit-bird," I chuckled,"Or should I say, Orsoe Sabath?"

"So what's the name of the guild?"

"O-Oh.. um.. i haven't named it yet.. or created one yet.. "I chuckled a bit embarrassedly.

I pulled up my menu and moved to the guild menu. I clicked the small plus to create one and filled out the information. I sent Orsoe a friend request and then added him and the rest of us into the guild. I froze on the name and hovered my finger over it. That boys bloody face popped into my head at that moment. The way Darious thought human life was expendable, how all of us are his slaves turned soldiers.. That isn't a life I wanted to live, or see others live… I wanted our name to embody what direction I want us to go. To show everyone that we can beat this darkness that has swallowed us all up.. To show virtue, truth, justice, patience, kindness and peace. I typed in the name and pressed create. Everyone around me got the request to join all at the same time, everyone taking the time to read through the information provided. Only Draven spoke up about the name.

"Irkalla Knights.. Really?"