2When I awoke I was lying on the grass next to a large building. People were running all around me, shouting and fighting. I saw two other people with the same lost expressions as me, a young woman in a blue and purple gown armed with a dagger, and a young man with an extremely large hammer tied to his back. Gathering my courage at facing two unknown, I decided to see if they knew what was going on, why I wasn't back at home on the farm.
"What's going on?" I asked, and both people jumped. "Sorry to be a nuisance, but do either of you have a clue what we are doing here?" I asked, gesturing to the castle-type building behind us and the forest surrounding us.
"I don't know, one minute I was asleep in my castle after being ill for a couple of days, and now I'm here. With two peasants." He said with disdain,
"Oh shove it up your ass pretty boy." I snapped, not in the mood for the "being-wealthy-makes-me-better-than-you" speech. "You aren't in a castle anymore, and you look like a peasant too."
"Well at least you have gold on, I'm in this weird blue shade" He said, fingering his slightly ragged collar. I looked down, and realized not only was I dressed in gold and white, like he had said, but there was a long and graceful sword attached to my back.
"Ummmm ok, this is majorly freaking me out. And why is no one else confused?" I wondered out loud, looking around. All of the other people who had woken up beside us had immediately jumped up and joined in with the shouting and fighting. I didn't bother to pay attention to what they were saying; I was planning on sticking with these two who were more like me as if my life depended on it. I didn't want to get left behind with no one and risk the chance of being attacked by someone or something in this strange new world.
"It's because they all knew this was going to happen." The girl in the dress said quietly, pushing back a lock of her long black hair. "The only explanation I can think of is that when we were on death's door the spirits decided to spare us and sent us to World of Warcraft. Our spirits must have leaned towards staying in our race, as we are all human. I still look the same as I did as a human back home, only prettier. I guess my spirit contained suppressed magic, or at least the ability to wield it, because I am dressed in mage robes. And you," She said, pointing at me, "You must have a very strong fighting spirit, as they have gifted you to become a warrior. And you must have had a spirit filled with light, as you are in paladin clothing and wielding the paladin weapon of choice." At the end of her speech she looked a little shy, staring down at her shoes and fiddling with the tie on her robe.
"Wow. How did you know all that?" The man next to me asked, and he stopped trying to get the non-existent "peasant dust" out of his dark hair. He looked at her with something close to awe.
"Well my father back home was a librarian, and I learned a lot from the books there. I'm Minaryll, by the way. But you can call me Mina." She replied, looking up at both of us with bright green eyes. "And you are?" (pronounced mee-nuh-rill, or meena)
"Toryn, prince of Delmont, expert in riding, hunting, fencing, and archery. Betrothed to Amarissa or Builchad." (pronounced tor-in)
"And my name is Leiloni Jennifer Marie Wheekler, Daughter of Buschold and Renee, Sister of Nicole. I am from the town of Luzon located near Delmont, actually. You may call me Jenny." I announced, blushing at my professional greeting. In my town, traditions are very important, and in the tradition of introducing one's self, you basically sound like an idiot, but hey, that's how I was raised.
"Nice intro." Toryn scoffed.
"Lay off, prissy boy." I shot back, glaring at him.
"Well I guess the books were right about the violence." Mina laughed.
"Huh?" I asked, with attitude. I know I am coming across as a bitch right now, but when I am in a very stressful situation, that's how I tend to act.
"Another one of the descriptions for a warrior, from my father's books." Mina replied, "A man by the name of Thomas Burone joined World of Warcraft after catching pneumonia in the Arctic. He pleaded with the spirits to send his book about this world back home to his family, along with a note saying how much he loved and missed them. His family later published the book in memory of him, and that's how I got a hold of it."
"So, why exactly did you look so confused when we came here?" Toryn asked.
"Well, I didn't know that this is where we were until I heard someone shout 'Long live World of Warcraft!' Then I kind of figured it out. But I was confused because I wasn't ill, I was perfectly fine. The last thing I remember is my father saying goodnight to me, and falling asleep. I must have been murdered in my sleep. Oh no, what about my father!" Mina cried in panic.
"I'm sure he's fine, if you have no one to live for back home, the spirits usually take mercy on you and send you to heaven or whatever is next to be reunited with them." I said soothingly, rubbing her back.
"Wow, and here I thought you were a total bitch!" Toryn exclaimed, looking surprised at my caring expression. I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Okay, we need to figure out what we are doing here, why don't we go ask someone what we should do. From the stories I have heard, you can rise up in 'levels' of some sort that make you more powerful. The higher the level, the easier it is for you to kill things. And once you reach a certain 'level', you can have the opportunity to send a message to your family or proceed to where you would have gone if you died, right?" I asked, looking at Mina for assurance. What I knew about World of Warcraft was limited, based on legends and scary stories told around the fire. Truthfully, I was much happier that I was in World of Warcraft then well, dead.
"Yep." Mina said, slightly shook up still, "Except that most people either die along the way there or just choose to move on in hopes that something better will be waiting for them."
"Wait what do you mean 'die along the way' I thought you couldn't die in World of Warcraft?" Toryn asked.
"Well if you are killed, per say, by a beast or another person here, you become a spirit, As a spirit you feel a pull towards you body, but if you don't find your body in time, you pass on to the next life. The book didn't know how long that time is; because the guy said he didn't care to find out. It also may be different for each person." Mina replied, completely calm. I, on the other hand, was completely freaking out inside.
"Okay, so possible death, no worries. Oh Ya, the only thing is, how do you not die?! I have no clue how to defend myself!" I panicked, throwing my arms in the air. I felt my sword thump against my thigh as I did so.
"Maybe you could try using your sword" Toryn said to me, looking at me like I was an idiot.
"Well you may be an expert in fencing or whatever," I shouted, "But not the rest of us! I'm a farmer's daughter; I didn't have time to learn this stuff!" I felt a tap on my soldier, and turned around to see a seriously wicked looking guy, with long gray hair and glowing yellow eyes, he looked like someone who stepped out of my nightmares. I let out a bloodcurdling shriek and ran towards the building behind us.
"Wait, wait, wait!" The beast shouted in a deep voice, as he picked my up and dropped me back down by a stunned looking Toryn and Mina. "I'm not going to kill you, silly newb. I'm going to help you because I am in a good mood today. And, because your kind of cute." He said, winking at my shocked expression.
"So here's the deal on being a warrior. For one thing, we fight the best, so don't worry about getting attacked, you will learn quickly. And, once you rise up a couple of levels, you can learn some light magic that will basically enhance your fighting abilities or weaken your opponent. If you want to go up a level, you're going to have to kill things. Don't feel guilty because they can come back to their bodies by using the spirit world, and aren't truly dead. Plus, if you don't attack them, they attack you. When you get the chance, try to get a better weapon. Always loot things that you kill, don't go to Stormwind until you are a level 5, and always stick to the road." He smiled down at me.
"Any questions?" He asked, ready to leave already. So much for helping the newbs.
"Ya, you know, just a little teeny one." Toryn said, "What about us?"
"Okay, well you're a paladin, so you can use some magic, you will know how to do it instinctively. And you, cute mage girl, you can use fire bolts to kill your opponents from far away. Mages typically aren't so good at hand-to-hand combat so get far enough away that you can kill them with just magic before they kill you. Make sure you don't run to low on mana (your magic power) and make sure you take breaks in between spells or you can't do magic for a while. And get a better weapon when you can, 'cause a short sword won't protect you for long." He paused, and raised his hand up in the air, green fire spiraling down his body. A horse appeared by his side, with blue fire on its hooves and glowing blue eyes to match his yellow ones.
"What are you?" I asked in wonder.
"I'm a night elf, and if you think I look scary, you should see the horde."