December 4, 2022. Floor 2.
Haru Hayai:
"Where is this guy Karu-chan?" I asked impatiently, trying not to wake a sleeping Maru, who's head lays in my lap. We've been waiting for nearly an hour in the first town of the second floor for this guy from Cygnus to meet us, but he hasn't shown.
Karu sighed, "Patience, Haru-chan. This guild is supposed to have some of the highest level players in the game," Which isn't saying much, I thought, "And almost all of them are tanks!" His voice rose saying this and, he had a childish school-girl look of admiration in his eye. He's been anticipating this meeting since he first met the Cygnus man a few days ago. All he ever talks about lately is how cool they are but I'm positive that he hasn't even met anyone else from the guild though.
Karu begins to talk about Cygnus again, animating the motions and adding sound effects of battles that we'll be going along with. How manly.
I lay my head back against the bench, staring at the clouds. I zone out, daydreaming of the girl I met last night, Lucy.
I can't seem to get her out of my head, I thought, it's annoying... but... do I want her out of my head?
I think this over for a few moments, deciding that I'd rather keep her memory on tab until we meet again. She said she fought in the first floor dungeon, so maybe later on in the game we'll run into each other in another one. Damn it... if I keep thinking about her I'll get my hopes up and that'll end up getting me no where.
Karu waves his hand in front of my face, blocking my view of the clouds, "Haru-chan, are you even listening?" He asks with a frown.
"Well, I hear you talking Nii-chan." I mentally high-five myself.
He locks his hands together and rests his head on his wrists, plopping down next to me. I ignore his pretending to be upset and look down at Maru, still asleep.
His soft sighs were rhythmic and soothing. He lay on his side with his head resting against my lap, his face was in the direction of the plaza. The town lit brightly with a morning sun and hummed with the busy rings of bartering and parties planning their adventures. The air was cold, with a slight breeze to it. As expected of December days. I began to stare up at the sky again, becoming lost in its overwhelming endlessness.
Slaps to my left arm woke me out of my daydream, I looked over to Karu standing up, greeting a robust man in white robes with cyan detailing.
"Nice to see you again, Karu-san," He said, shaking Karu's hand. His voice was deep, but he didn't look as old as he sounded. He couldn't have been over twenty-five. His face was strong and broad, his hair; a dark gray that seemed to glow in the light. His eyes were thin and dark, giving him an almost menacing look.
Puberty must have been a bitch to you, I smirked at the thought.
He looked down at me, "You must be the middle one Karu-san has told me so much about," Middle one? He offered me his hand, "I'm Atlas, the right hand of Maxis."
I shook his hand, I know Karu would kill me if I were even a slight-bit rude, "I'm Haru," I introduced myself, offering him a smile, "What do you mean by 'right hand', Atlas-san?"
He scratched his chin and looked up for a moment, "Well I suppose you could say that I'm the subordinate for Maxis, who's first in command," He smiled at me again, "You'll be meeting him soon."
He noticed someone unconscious on my lap, "And who is this sleepyhead?" He chuckled, pointing at Maru.
"This is Maru-chan," Karu spoke up and softly shook Maru's arm. Maru sat up, wiping crust from his eyes. He looked around, confused. When he saw Atlas, he flinched ungracefully and clung to my coat.
"Don't worry Maru-chan," I laughed, "He won't bite." Maybe.
Maru looked at me with a terrified face, "He's huge!" he whispered.
"Introduce yourself, Maru-chan," Karu urged, giving him a devilish smile saying: 'Don't screw this up for me.'
Maru stood up and shook Atlas's hand, "I'm Hayai Maru, nice to meet you." He didn't look at Atlas, probably too scared. Childish fears I guess. Then again, Atlas towered over him quite a bit, so Maru's fears were pretty justified.
Atlas gave a deep, hearty laugh, beaming at us, "Maxis will like you three, let's go introduce you." He began to walk away from the plaza, towards a less populated area with rows of shops lining either side of the street.
Karu followed like a dog to his master. Maru hung on to my arm as we followed Atlas to the Cygnus base.
"We've been looking to size up for a while now," Atlas began, "We're still relatively small. We only have about ten or so members," You call that small? "And the majority are all strength players, so it'll be nice to have some fresh blood!" he roared enthusiastically.
Maru gripped tightly onto my arm, he looked up at me with tears forming in his eyes, "Did he say... f-fresh b-b-blood, Nii-chan?"
I chortled at his childish innocence, "It's a saying, Maru-chan," I explained, "It means they want new members."
He sniffed and wiped his eyes, "Are you sure?"
I winked, "Have I ever been wrong before?"
"Well, yeah..." he said, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
"That's not the point."
"Here we are boys!" Atlas turned towards us and held his arm to the base, "Home of Cygnus." It sat between two shops, the outside of the base was an ebony brown, it looked like an inn, almost. With a one way door in the middle, and large windows on either side. Two silver stakes hung from above each side of the door, baring bright white flags with cyan crosses and angel wings on each side. I admired the simplicity of the symbol, the colors fit together so well, it brought along with it a sense of warmth and protection. I noticed that Atlas's armor was the same color as the flag, so cyan and white, unless I'm colorblind, must be the guilds signature colors.
Atlas opened the door, inviting us inside. The inside of the base was the same ebony as the outside. Tables were arranged neatly around the main room, with various swords, axes, and poles scattered about each of them. The bar area was placed on the far right side, where a few players sat, staring into their mugs.
Greatswords and axes were hung on the left wall, a small wooden plaque was hung next to a doorway, which probably led to the kitchen and sleeping quarters, the plaque read: 'To protect the unprotected.' Oh how noble..
At the back of the room sat a large, round table. Eight chairs were evenly spaced about the table, a white, throne-like chair sat closest to the wall, with the flag of Cygnus draped behind it, two torches with silver handles on either side.
"This is amazing..." Karu said quietly, his eyes darted around the room, sparkling from excitement.
Maru stated simply, a wide smile on his face, "Cool."
I have to admit, it was impressive. Especially since we've never seen anything like this before. It really felt like a business building, the kind you'd see back in the real world.
Atlas began to show us around the room, introducing us to the players sitting at the bar, and telling us about the flag and the uniforms.
"The cross represents sanctuary, the wings represent the ascension of the floors," He paused, admiring the flag, "The color white on the flag and the uniforms represents the unity of the guild, all of us here are brothers," Whatever helps you sleep at night man, "The cyan..." he paused, scratching his head, "I'm not really sure what that could mean. I designed the flag, but Maxis decided on the colors."
I spoke up, "Maybe strength? As everyone here is strength based, and blue is a rather strong color." I don't really know that, I'm just trying to sound correct.
Maru agreed, nodding his head, "Yup. Yup. Brotherhood and strength. Nobility and justice."
Karu and I turned our heads towards Maru in shock. His vocabulary must have doubled in size since the last time he spoke, or he's just trying to sound smart. It's working, though.
Atlas let out his deep, heavy laugh, "Good deal, kids! Good deal."
Thunderous footsteps stomped down the hall, everyone turned their heads towards the direction of the doorway. A towering man standing well over six feet had to bend his head over to fit through the doorway, Atlas called out to him, "Ah, Maxis-sama. Nice of you to join us."
The leader of Cygnus, Maxis was giant to say the least. His torso was guarded by a silver breastplate, he wore a long white robe with cyan edges, naturally. His legs were massive, he wore white pants with silver shin guards and boots. A great-sword half his size hung from a strap on his back. His hands looked like iron ingots, protected by silver gloves.
His bald head was unusually shiny, and his face was hard and chiseled. A black soul patch clutched his chin, giving him a little bit of youth, though he couldn't have been very young to be that size.
Atlas introduced us, pointing as he went along, "This is Karu-san, Haru-san, and Maru-san," He gave us a small smile, "The new recruits."
Maxis grinned widely, his voice carried his weight, "Welcome to Cygnus boys."
Notes:
Cygnus is a nod to the Cygnus Knights in my favorite MMORPG, Maplestory.
Atlas is a voice of reason in the video game Bioshock, but later becomes the players greatest enemy. Hint hint.
The round table with the eight chairs is a dumb reference to the Knights of the Round Table.