Chapter 1: Aegis Online

(Hey there! So, this is the first chapter of my story, Aegis Online! I've been inspired to write after reading through quite a few stories on here, and this is the first part in a tale I hope to continue for quite a while! Anyway, this story features themes of dysphoria, transgender characters, and lesbians. If you don't like that, or want to be hateful, do it elsewhere, thank you. Right, on with the show~!)

 

  I sighed, rolling my head loosely on my neck, feeling a little of the tension ease, as I eye the rest of my classmates. I hated college. The guys are always too rowdy, making stupid jokes about dicks. What’s so great about a penis? I have one and I still can’t figure out why anyone would enjoy having it swinging around and getting in the way. And the girls? Despite the fact that my chest hurts a little whenever I see one or two of them, I don’t really get on with them either, preferring to skulk alone in the back of the class and only interacting if I have to.

This part of the day was always the most tedious; the last college lesson before the final bell, and, to make it worse, the teacher was old Mr Simmons, a wizened, dull, dried-up stick of human boredom who wore the same drab suit every single. Fucking. DAY. In fact, no-one was even sure if he actually owned anything else. True to form, he was wittering on about how ‘the world has changed’, like everyone in the world hadn’t grasped that. 2215, a year that our ancestors would probably have thought would be way cooler than it actually was.

In 2039, we’d had the Third World War, with Canada getting eradicated by North Korean nuclear missiles. In retaliation, the USA, England, Russia, China, and half the countries around the world fired on each other as well. North Korea ceased to exist, along with Belgium, Spain, and several other landmasses being rendered uninhabitable.  It had taken quite a few decades for everything to settle down, with floating nations taking the place of some of the now-destroyed countries, complete with new names. New Esperanza, Neo-Russkaya, that sort of thing.

It wasn’t all bad, though. The Internet, already growing obsolete in 2079, was replaced with a hyper-advanced system using revolutionary wormhole technology, with incredible efficiency and speed becoming the norm for every civilised country. It was called the WDTN, the Worldwide Data Transference Network, and, along with a better internet, we got better games, and better things to play them on. The old, clunky headsets were a thing of the past. Full-immersion VR pods became not only common, but surprisingly affordable, too, with each entertainment company striving to create the next ‘Big Thing’ that would launch them into the heights of fame and profit.

The remaining governments banded into one over the next hundred years or so, forming the Global Coalition for Independence in 2150, and set up laws to reign in the wild creativity of the tech developers, but  eventually, enough games came out that full-immersion VR was the way to go. And now, in 2215, after what must have been half a dozen years, Powercom, the current front-runner of the gaming industry, had just released its biggest and most ambitious project yet.

A new MMO, promising incredible amounts of freedom in class- and race-choices, deep, AI-generated quests, a creative and fulfilling combat and magic system, and NPCs more realistic than anything ever seen before. It had been in development Hell for a while, but, finally, today was the commercial release, and my friends and I had all pre-ordered it, with Amazon delivery confirmed for just after school. The guy in front of me twists round and grins.

“Yo, Kyle! You looking forward to tonight? It’s gonna be a total blast! I can’t wait to go full-on mad Mage!” he holds his hand out for a fistbump. I reluctantly reach out and bump my knuckles against his. “I don’t know, I think I want to go healer, or maybe a melee class?” He chuckles and nods. “Yeah, I think that would be a good idea, we should party up or form a group, yeah?” I shrug, tugging my hoodie on and picking my bag up as the bell rings, allowing us to escape and head home.

By the time I got home to the outer city habitation-blocks, climbing the stairs to the upper floors, there on the doorstep is a small, glimmering black box. The Powercom logo flashes holographically, winking in the lamplight. Happiness bubbling through me, I scoop it up and use my code to open the door, bounding in as it closes behind me. “Hey, Houseworth, I’m home!”

A monitor lights up by the doorway, displaying a stylised company emblem, and a soothing voice filters from the speakers. “Good afternoon, Kyle. I see your package was successfully delivered? Are you going to be in the pod later?”

Houseworth was the AI that governed the systems and appliances throughout my habitation, all of them, from the kettle to the pod networked into his processors. I’d named him in a fit of boredom one day, and he seemed to appreciate it. Some AIs were… almost human, which was kinda creepy, but Houseworth was more like my caretaker than just an AI. My parents were away on business a lot, and having some…one… around to keep an eye on things put their minds at ease, so I accepted the fact that Houseworth was here to stay.

“Yeah, but don’t worry, I’ll do all my homework first! I know you don’t approve of me leaving it till the last minute.” I chuckle as the AI lets out a sound that could easily be read as a pleased hum. Grabbing some leftovers from the previous night, I start working through my assignments as the microwave zaps my dinner, bringing it up to temperature in a few minutes. I shovel rice and reconstituted soy-chicken into my mouth as I scribble in my book, making good on my promise to finish all my college work before I go off to play.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, I close my books and shove them back into my bag, dumping my plate in the dishwasher and legging it upstairs to my pod. The blocky, worn green frame of my old military-surplus pod takes up most of the spare room, the large piece of tech having been retrofitted from ‘military drone piloting’ to ‘videogame console’. I power-up the pod and slide the game box open, slotting the chip into the drive and climbing in. The pod’s doorway slides closed, and I select the new game, downloading it and then leaning back in the padded seat, the oxygen mask and feeding tubes readying to slide down my throat, keeping me supplied with nutrient paste while I’m in VR.

Closing my eyes, I hear the systems inside my metal eggshell whirring up, before the metal crown positions itself around my brow and I black out, light filling my mind as I leave my body, the sounds of music boiling out from the nothingness and I find myself in mid-air, suspended above… Oh, fuck yes. Beautiful, rolling green landscapes spread out far below, mountain ranges and forests, snowy tundras, deserts, and deep blue oceans, stretching on forever. Without conscious thought, I feel my ethereal body begin to dive down towards the vibrant world beneath, buildings coming into view in cities and towns, tiny villages and the odd ruin sprinkled across this vast map. A voice fills the air as I turn my gaze in every direction I can, devouring the glorious sights laid out before me like the most sumptuous feast.

 

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“The land of Vassimar is a rich, bountiful one, but not a peaceful one. Monsters prowl the forests and forgotten places, while merchants and politician vie for greater wealth and influence in the kingdoms and empires. It is a time of turmoil and great change, for, as the darkness rises on the horizon once more, as it did in eons past, heroes have been called from among the races in order to stand firm against the oncoming nightmare.”

“Noble Alvs and half-Alvs, the sentinels of the forests. The reptilian Lizzara, scaled protectors of the swamps and waterways. The mighty Orbex, the giants who dwell in the mountains, whose strength is that of legend. The diminutive Vulpa, fox-like Fae beings who hide in the long grasses, and craft clever devices and weapons. And countless others, rising to do battle with the unceasing tide of those evils that serve the whims of whatever fell god rules the darkened realms…”

As I stare out towards the edge of the world, I can swear I can almost see a billowing, smoky blackness, before a trumpet sounds a clarion call, and a massive, silver shield appears in front of me, seven glowing golden swords arrayed around it. In brilliant letters, the title engraves itself on the surface:

 

AEGIS ONLINE.

 

 

 

As the game’s title screen fills my vision, I can feel myself being pulled into it, before everything fades to black. A text box pops up, informing me that I have only one character creation available. If I want to reroll, it’ll cost real money. I hit the accept icon, and the darkness draws back, revealing a room that wouldn’t look out of place in a grand library or church, with dozens upon dozens of statues lining the wall, each one depicting a different race. I approach, and look up at the nearest.

As I make eye contact with the stone sculpture’s blank gaze, it shimmers, flesh replacing the cold marble. A slim male with pointed ears, long blonde hair tied back in a plait, holding a long bow, a still-living vine entwining its way along the dark wood curve of the smooth, carved timber. The word ‘Alv’ appears on the plinth the statue stood on, and I nod slowly. This is the game’s equivalent to elves in other media. I step back, and the Alv solidifies back into cold, unfeeling rock.

A slow circuit around the chamber takes about an hour, while I get to grips with what I liked the look of the most. I wanted to play something powerful, but cute. Wait… Cute!? I shake my head and brush the thought from my mind. I must still be tired from college! I finish my lap of the room and stand in the centre, biting my lip as I debate on the races I’d most liked the look of. There was a tough-looking demon called an Andromal, dark fur covering his body from waist down, with a sturdy, flexing tail with a bludgeoning mace at the end, cloven hooves instead of feet, crimson wings spread as he roars, and a massive axe held in one huge, muscled paw.

The next was a gnome-looking creature called a Pictsie, some kind of race of Celtic fairies. Specialising in illusion and enchantment, they took to mischief well, preferring to cast spells or buff allies with staves or wands. Short, playful and kind-hearted, Pictsies were firmly on the side of good.

Another option would be the Alv I saw earlier, but something told me they weren’t supposed to be frontline tanks. Sure, you could make them into one, but their specialities lay with ranged combat and druidic abilities, using natural magic in all its wildness to bring the wrath of nature against their enemy. I shook my head and moved on.

Finally, I turned to the last of my prospective choices. A white-winged humanoid, holding a huge lance and a greatshield, clad in burnished bronze platemail. An eagle helmet with backswept wings raised proudly, the beaked head forming the nose-guard. The Skyborne. This feels like it’d be the most fun, with the impressive racial prowess in flight, strength, and some pretty decent defensive and attack magical powers. Reaching out, I touch the statue, and it brings the statue to life once more, allowing me to tweak the appearance, customizing my new avatar’s features and setting it up the way I want.

As I reach for the button to confirm my choice, I feel a strange vibration that seems to shake me from my non-existent feet and hurls me forward. My hands flailing, I slam into the confirmation window, hitting several buttons at once as darkness plunges up to meet me.

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