Kernstalion 25: Sandra or Eliandra?

I looked at the two female knights and smiled, hoping this would go as smooth as the first gate. They didn't respond, but one thick brown eyebrow rose in obvious question.

"I am Est. I am here to see Eliandra," I said, stepping towards them.

This time the guards reacted, and they shared a quick, confused look.

"Stay here. I'll see if she has time," one of them said before turning and striding inside.

The other knight was scrutinizing me, seeming very interested in the ax on my shoulder. I angled it a bit so she could see the blades, and she whistled.

"That's the largest single piece of Winding Weed wood I've ever seen," she said. After examining the ax for a while, she looked at me.

"You wouldn't be willing to sell that, would you?"

I shook my head. "No, it's both a gift and my sole weapon."

The knight frowned, shaking her head in annoyance. "I was under the impression that Grablons don't use axes. What if I trade you four Winding Wood daggers for it?"

I was about to say no when I saw the glint in her eyes. She wouldn't accept anything I said, having said her mind to my ax. I didn't know how I knew, but I did. Annoyed, I wondered what to do now. I wasn't going to give her my ax, but I also didn't want to make any trouble for Sandra. Thinking for a moment, I took a few steps back, looking around. The nearest person to me was the knight, the others leaving the area in front of the gate free.

"Let me show you something," I said, smiling at the knight.

Taking the backpack off, I put it on the ground before taking up my ax. Taking a deep breath, I snapped into motion, moving the ax in swirling, winding motions. As I flowed into the moves, Haltir had taught me, I found them easier than I remembered, the motions flowing perfectly from one to the other. I'd never been one for dancing, but as the movements continued, I completely forgot where I was, taking joy in the fluidity of the motions. In my mind-eye, shadowy images of demons attacked me, and I began using the form to slay them.

How long I danced the form, I don't know, but when I slew the last of the imaginary demons, sweat was streaming from my face, and I was slightly out of breath.

A group of people stood around me, workers and peddlers, and armed guards. At the gate stood seven knights, staring at me in amazement. I almost feared they were about to applaud, but then the common people and others turned and headed back to what they were doing previously. Some did cast covert glances at me, and I heard them talk about an ax dancer.

Turning to the knights, I saw the one who had wanted my ax stare at me ruefully. She shrugged and nodded.

"Est?"

I recognized the voice immediately as I snapped my attention to the gate. In it stood a tall woman in halfplate. Her long black hair moved from the wind, and the handle of a long sword poked across her shoulder.

Seeing the slightly familiar face, different from before, sharper and leaner, I couldn't hold back the grin forming on my face.

"Heya, Eliandra. Did you miss me?" I said, putting the ax on my shoulder. I'd half expected her to run to me for a hug, but she just stood there smiling at me.

"You took your bloody sweet time!"

Picking up the bag, I held back my desire to rush her for a bear hug.

"Well, I awoke in Sart. That's almost twenty days by foot, and near the coast, if you don't know the place," I replied, walking towards her. The other knights were staring at us, some grinning, others with a frown. All but one were women, and when they saw Eliandra's gesture, they dispersed back through the gate.

The original two guards stayed behind, and I could almost feel their gazes on me as I followed Sandra. Her step was fast and with purpose, and I could see she had changed. People training swords and bows filled the castle's courtyard, and soft thumps and splashes drew my attention.

To the far left, close to the were a group of women in front of a stone-walled pond that ended against the side of the wall. As I looked, one stepped forward and raised her hand, making odd hand gestures. A stream of water rushed from the pond, forming into an amorphous mass above her hand. With a twirl, she hurled the water at the wall. As it flew, it changed shape to a short spear and slammed into the wall, shuddering for a moment as if made from wood. Then the spear disintegrated into water that splashed back into the pond.

Magic, I sighed.

"Come, Est," Sandra said.

Taking a last look at the women, the next forming one of the water attacks, I sighed. Perhaps I could get them to teach that to me? I hadn't picked four arms for nothing. Wielding a shield and an ax would still leave me with two!

I turned to Sandra, who was staring at me quietly and moved across the yard to what looked like a side entrance into the castle. As I hastened after her, I frowned at the difference I saw in her. Gone was the uncertainty, and for the first time, I saw a woman I'd only seen glimpses of during our previous, short stints into VR games. A sudden flash of worry made me move faster until I was one step behind her. How much had she changed? It was almost two monthst since I got here, but it felt so much longer…

I barely took notice of the narrow corridors we moved through as I scrutinized the woman walking in front of me. We had been together for a few years now, and I knew most of her quirks. Or so I had thought. A little insecure due to what had happened in your childhood, and using bluster when in company to hide it. Never satisfied with what she looked like, but finding sports too boring to keep doing any for longer than a few months. A strong sense of justice and anger when things were unjust. The last was how we met in the first place, trying to stop an over assertive mother from beating her child in a small shop while the rest of the shoppers just tried to ignore it.

Sandra moved up a small staircase, through a door, and when I followed, she closed the door behind us. Before I got a chance to look around, two powerful arms wrapped around me.

"I am so glad you made it!" She muttered in my ear, and I could feel the stress ease from her.

"You and me both," I replied. Two of my arms were around her waist, while the others around her chest. My hands began exploring her body, and she immediately pushed me back. I felt right away that she was stronger than I was.

"None of that! First, I want to hear what you've found!" She stated, but at the same time, I saw her grin as she scanned me. I'd always known she liked muscular men and at the same time didn't. It had something to do with her past and was one of the few things she'd never wanted to speak of. But with how much muscle mass I had now, I had known she would aprove.

Stepping back, I made a pose, flexing all of my four arms while grinning at her. "You sure? We could talk in a few hours?"

She laughed, a sparkle in her eyes. "Since when can you last hours? Do these four-armed types have some magically enhanced stamina?" Then she turned and walked through the room.

With a shrug, I followed her to a long wooden table that dominated one side of the table. High back, wooden chairs stood haphazardly around it while maps, scrolls, and books sprawled across it.

"Don't know. I've not had the chance to find out."

"What, with all the elves running around, you haven't even…?" Her question seemed lighthearted, but for a moment, I saw the fear in her eyes.

I shook my head, looking deep into her eyes. "Nope. Between staying alive, not starving, and traveling here, I didn't get the time." Remembering Egilla's obvious attempts to flirt, I cocked my head. "There was a half-elf that seemed interested in my… arms… though!"

I grinned and blew her a kiss.

"Sure!" She muttered distractedly, her eyes locked on a part of the map. Then she shook herself, her attention turning back to me.

"Half-elf?" She said, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes. We were traveling here together with an old man called Haltir. I lost both of them halfway here..."

As I thought of Haltir and Egilla, I hoped both were alright. I had to ask the guards at the gate to tell them I was here when they arrived. If those were willing to do so.

We sat, looking at each other, our knees touching.

"Est, this is all real! It's not a game or some sort of dream," Sandra finally said, looking confliccted.

Frowning at her use of my ingame name, I wondered if she was afraid someone was listening in on us.

"I know. Did you have dreams?"

"I did at the start, but after I became a paladin of Flowheart, they stopped, "Sandra said.

At the mention of Flowheart ter eyes widened and started to sparkle.

"She is amazing, Est! Protective and good, her paladins and clerics help everybody! She even spoke to me! Told me what is going on here!"

Suddenly she jerked forward and grabbed my hand.

"You need to pray to her at her chappel! I know what you think of gods and all, but this is important! If you don't, Preyatar, Lischen, or one of the other evil deities will force you to worship them!"

She dragged my arm, trying to pull me to the door.

"Wait, it's fine! I already have a deity!" I said, feeling the strength she had as she dragged me off my seat.

Sandra turned and looked at me, inspecting me with sharp and curious eyes.

"Really? Who is it… you didn't go to Gramanite yet, so it can't be one of the Grablon deities… is it The Stone?"

I shook my head, wondering how I should explain what had happened.

"Please tell me it's not Percussion!" She said as her eyes widened.

"She is called Rathica," I muttered, my thoughts a bit of a mess. I knew I had something to do with her birth, and from what the status message said more than a little, but besides some fragmented dreams, I only remembered something about odd dreams and choices. What remained was the strong image of a big, powerful sister who was there to help me become strong enough to defend myself and others.

"Odd, I can't recall reading about her, "Sandra said. She turned to the table and grabbed a thick tome from one of the books.

Take the book before she can read through it fully!

The thought rushed into my mind, and I blinked. I knew right away, it was Rathica, and with the message came understanding. She wanted me to take it so she could add herself to the book. Curious why she said something and how long she had been looking, I got up and moved to Sandra, who was flipping through the thick pages.

"You have books here? I haven't seen one since arriving," I said, putting my hand on the pages as if feeling them.

Sandra looked up and grinned. "They have such an enormous library here that you could get lost in it! Spellbooks and tomes too!" Her attention diverted, I lifted the tome and flipped through it slowly. I felt something happen, and when I reached one of the pages in the middle, I saw a small note. The name's seemed in random order based on their rough alignment.

"Here she is, "I said, trying to hide my own confusion.

Sandra took the book and frowned. "I must have missed this entry. There's only one line, so that must have been it," she muttered to herself.

"A young, recently formed deity for guardians of justice and punishers of evil. Core followers, Vigilantes, rangers, and free-riders."

She put the book back and frowned. "I've never heard of any of that, so she can't be that powerful. Besides, if she just formed, she won't have many followers. Where did you even find one of them?"

I shrugged, deciding more truth would work better than less right now.

"I found an old temple with a fountain dedicated to her order a few days' travels from here. I got the option in my status, and I already knew the dangers, so I accepted."

"That's too bad. New deities don't always give out classes, so you will need to get a generic one," she said, staring at me and shrugging.

"I can't change my faith?" I asked, not really interested, but curious nonetheless.

"From what I've read, changing your deity is dangerous and almost impossible, "Sandra said, with a shake of her head. "Well, she's a good one, and from what I see, her decrees don't clash with those of Flowheart. So it's fine to just leave it like that."

"Est, I have to tell you what is going on…" Sandra said, a sad look on her face as she motioned me back to the table.

Both of us sat back down, and Sandra started telling me what had happened when she arrived. Her story started like mine, although her starting NPC was a lot less grumpy, and she ended up close to a caravan. Telling the curious people that she had lost her memory, she was taken in by two Flowheart clerics, who took care of her.

She laughed when I told her I'd done the same thing before continuing.

The caravan she had joined was en route to a large city. A few days after she had joined, it was attacked by demons. Sandra managed to survive and defend some children, resulting in the clerics inviting her to join the church of Flowheart.

The way she told it made it sound as if it was nothing, but I could see there was more to it. I could tell from her way of speaking it had unsettled her greatly.

She told me of her dreams and how she freaked out when she realized she couldn't log out or exit the game. Afraid and uncertain of what was going on, the prospect of becoming a paladin in service of Flowheart had greatly appealed to her. Determined to survive and find me, she had accepted. And as soon as she did, Flowheart spoke with her.

"It was incredible, Est! She knew everything I thought, and I just had this feeling of magnificence when I was in her presence! She told me she would protect my essence if the Guidar in my body destroyed it, and I didn't have to worry about anything!"

Staring at her, I vaguely remembered it had been the same with Rathica.

Ten minutes later, she was done, and I had told her most of what had happened to me. I still didn't tell her about what had happened with Rathica, but that was mostly because I barely knew myself.

"I'll have the guards be on the lookout for your friends," Sandra said.

"So what do we do now?" I asked. "Find and help the other players, help them find faith, and then prepare for more people from the earth that will come over?"

Sandra sighed, shaking her head. "There is more going on here than just the trouble on earth, Est. When the Guidars opened the portals, some of the other dimensions were also reconnected to Kernstalion. Demons are attacking whole cities, while elementals are unbalancing the natural order in certain areas."

She got up and began pointing at markers that covered one of the maps on the massive table.

"If we are to live here, we need to guard this place."

"So, you don't want to go back home?" I asked, and Sandra froze mid-step. A look of pain made me want to hug her, but then she turned to me with a glare.

"There is no going back, Est. Haven't you realized this by now? Even if we did, we would be on earth in our old bodies that need to start from scratch with the system in place. There would be no deities to help us, and-"

"Sandra, easy. I know. I just wanted to be sure," I said, holding my hands up in a soothing gesture.

Sandra closed her eyes, breathing deeply. When they opened, she looked at me with calm determination. "I like my new self, both my body and the responsibilities I have here. Back on earth, I'd just be Sandra Gonzalez, and if I even survive, I wouldn't have any influence on what is to come." She stepped back, standing straight, a grin on her face.

"Here I am Eliandra of the Shield, paladin of Flowheart, and second in command of the Dursic temple."

Second in command? How had she managed that on such short notice?

I nodded, wondering what all of this meant for us. Somehow the way she was speaking right now gave me an odd feeling. She had hugged me, but there was a distance to her.

A loud horn blow stopped my negative chain of thoughts, and Sandra shot to the window.

"One of the scouting parties is coming back! I'll have you brought to a room where you can rest, and I'll find you as soon as I know what happened."

I blinked and looked around the room. There was a big bed in the corner and a small pantry with fruit. I was about to ask if I couldn't stay here when Sandra opened the door. Seeing her pointed look, I moved to the door, but she blocked me as she looked deep into my eyes.

"And Est, don't call me Sandra anymore. Here, I am Eliandra. I am not going back, so I don't want to use my old name anymore."

I was about to comment on rename's when I saw the seriousness in her eyes and the set of her jaw. She wasn't joking, not even a little. Feeling a stab of pain at the thought of never calling her by her birth name again, I nodded.

"Ok. Eliandra."

Eliandra looked at me for a moment longer before she stepped outside, beckoning me to follow her.

I quickened my pace to keep up with her and sighed to myself. This was not going exactly as I had expected or hoped.