A Dark, Unfamiliar Room

When your consciousness returns, you are cold, sore, blind, and disoriented. Opening your eyes cures the blindness, and you find yourself laying on a plain stone floor, which explains the soreness. Your chill, you realize, is because you’re completely naked, your skin tight with goose flesh, and your tail draped over your torso like a blanket that’s far too small. There is no explanation or cure for the sense of bewildered disorientation, though, even as you begin to sit up and take in your surroundings.

You are in a spacious, featureless stone room, and though you can tell that it is only dimly lit, you can see quite clearly. You suspect that you have your cat eyes to thank for that. You look down to examine yourself. You have the body of the avatar you spent time sculpting, everything seems to be the right shape and color, and moving around feels quite natural. You are admiring your sharp claws when a voice from behind causes you to practically jump out of your skin.

“Good morning, kitten. I see you’ve finished your little catnap. Are you prepared to join the Realms at large, now?”

You whirl around on the floor to face the source of the voice, discovering that the room is not so featureless as you first thought. Reclining languidly on a stone bench is the most beautiful man you have ever seen, wearing a loose, open tunic that allows your curious eyes to take in his slender, smooth chest and muscled abs. No, not a man, you realize, not with those pointed ears, the angular face, and those deep, deep, impossibly sexy eyes that you could just get lost in forever and ever...

You shake your head to break your mild trance. The elf, or perhaps fae, or whatever-he-is chuckles musically, and suddenly you’re aware of your nudity again, and you pull your knees up to your chest in order to hide your exposed breasts.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Lucia. I know the kind of effect I can have on you mortals.” You didn’t notice it at first, but as he speaks, his voice echoes off the walls, and, disturbingly, the words that return on the echo are in a language you can’t comprehend, perhaps even multiple languages. It’s rather distracting, and your ears struggle to twitch and turn in order to discern what’s going on.

“I can see you’re still a bit dazed, but do your best to focus, Lucia,” He continues, “Keep your eyes on my lips as I speak. Yes, don’t look away. Try to relax, and pay attention to what I’m telling you. You have at long last been Chosen, and your Patron has sent me to ease your transition into the Realms.” Watching his lips makes it a little easier to understand him without your head feeling like it’s about to burst, but you can’t help but notice that the way his lips are moving doesn’t necessarily line up with the sounds he is making. Maybe one of the echoes is his real voice? You hope the game isn’t experiencing some kind of audio glitch. Hopefully it goes away after this introduction scene is over.

“First, I regret to inform you that whatever life you had before coming here, and whatever world you came from, is now a closed book. There is no going back. You might not believe me, and you might, in time, be tempted to search for a way back, but this is wasted energy. You are beginning to write a new chapter in a new life, now, and clinging to the old one will do you no good.” That sounds somewhat dire, but it’s also good lore and background information, so you make sure to remember it.

“Next, as a Chosen, your Patron has plans for you, and has provided you with some gifts, as well. Prepare yourself: this will be uncomfortable.”