The First Legacies Of Zion: Omaye

A Druid's Quest Of The Moon

NATHANIEL

Nathaniel turned to see a giant of man, standing at almost eight-foot-tall and covered with muscles that made him look like the second coming of the terminator.

His dark brown skin glistened with sweat under the sunlight, but the white tattoos that criss crossed all over his body gave him a more intimidating look. At first Nathaniel thought those tattoos were painted on his body with the same chalk used on the wall of his mud hut. However, when he took a closer look he saw that those tattoos were really tattoos and not chalk painted on his body.

His tattoos seemed to sparkle under the sunlight, and on his bare chest the tattoo of an eagle could be seen. In his right hand was a spear that had tiny gourds hanging from the tip where the metal head meets the wooden shaft. And with every step he made and brought the spear to the ground, the gourds rattled in protests.

Nathaniel was intimidated, this man was huge, and the sharp eyebrows pointed nose and narrow eyes made him like a predator about to spring for an attack. He looked like a bird of prey, and Nathaniel felt like the little chick about to be snatched up by an angry eagle.

He did not say anything, but instead chose to walk round Nathaniel while rhythmically striking the ground with his rattling spear. Nathaniel felt so self conscious that the only thing he could think about was that he has not had a shower today at all.

“Calm your troubled heart boy. The path of the druid is the path of nature. It is a path that does not see you controlling nature but serving it. And nature with all it’s splendor is a fickle thing, one minute it would be the calm that soothes and heals the broken, or it would be the breaker and harbinger of destruction. Without a sure mind and a confident soul, you would loose your way, or be swallowed and destroyed by nature itself for not being up to task.”

His impromptu speech did not serve to calm Nathaniel down, instead it made him a million times more conscious, because now he has to prove himself worthy to nature. Somewhere at the back of his mind Nathaniel wondered if it was this complicated and hard to pick a class in Zion, and if his sisters had to go through the same things as him.

“Perhaps it’s too much to ask such from you, after all the path of a druid is also a journey of self discovery and learning. You have shown that you have perseverance and the will to go past the limit, but be careful boy, do not live your life by the clarity of your eyes. But by the strength of your heart, and the will of your mind. My name is Luke, and from this moment forward I’m your teacher and guardian in the way of the druid. Kneel.”

Nathaniel went down on his knees to much in shock and in awe to say anything. It would not take much of his brain cells for him to realize that will be an N.P.C (non-player character). This eight-foot-tall beast of a man was a part of the game, but he knew what was wrong. Every word he had spoken had hit the points and biggest angles of Nathaniel's insecurities, and it freaked him out badly.

“Repeat after me boy, and say this words with all sincerity.

This is the path of life.

This is the path of destruction.

This is the path of creation.

This is the path of understanding.

This is the path of protection.

For this is the path of my father.

The sworn path of a druid.

One with the land.

One with the trees.

One with the beasts.

One with the sky.

One with the world.”

[Congratulations You Have Completed The Druid's Oath And Have Become A Druid.]

[You Have Gained Passive Skills: Nature Guard, Beast Tongue, Elemental Resistance. You Have Gained Active Skills: Rain Dance, Vine Hold, Shock. You Have Gained The Stat: Wisdom.]

[You Received 10 Exp, You Are Now Level One.]

Nathaniel did not really feel different, but he really found it difficult to reconcile the fact that he now suddenly had the knowledge of the skills he just received in his head. Zion was a lot more flexible than other games, these skills still had a cool down, and cost and an amount of damage they could deal. But the owner of the skill can use it in a manner of different situations, and you can modify the skill to fit your play style or situation completely making the skill personal rather a rigid system animation.

But now that Nathaniel had become a druid, the next question to come to his mind, was what was he supposed to do next. He raised his head up only to see Will staring at him intently, whatever question Nathaniel had to ask the massive druid disappeared right out of his throat. This guy was really huge, and the action of him staring at someone alone was enough to make someone loose control of their bladder.

“This is just the beginning of your journey as a druid young Nathaniel, and there’s still many things for you to learn. In twenty days the great moon Artemis will finally wake up from her three-year slumber. And on that day it would be quite fortuitous if you receive your awakening ceremony and fully become a druid. But for that to be possible, you have to be worthy and stronger than you are right now.”

[SYSTEM ALERT: QUEST]

[GRADE: E+]

[TYPE: CLASS]

[Twenty Days From Now, The Great Moon Artemis Will Wake Up From Her Three Year Slumber. This Is An Important Event For All Druids And Practicioners Of Other Magic Professions. Your Master Luke Has Asked You To Prepare For An Awakening To Fully Come Into Your Abilities As A Druid And To Receive Blessings From The Great Moon.]

[Conditions: Reach Level 10 In Twenty Days, You Must Have Gained Your First Familiar Before The Ritual. You Must Keep Yourself Pure By Not Engaging In Activities Of s*x, Or Killing A Human Being Between Now And The Day Of The Ritual.]

[REWARDS: +4000 Exp, + 10 Skill Points, Druid Mantle, Moon Child, Moon Wail]

This was rather unexpected, and Nathaniel wondered if this was one of those plot armor stories where everything the main character did only ended up as a favor from the system. Nathaniel would not be to picky, but a significant amount of luck and being the system’s love child will definitely work in his favor.

After Nathaniel accepted the quest Will did not say anything else and strolled back into his hut, with a gait that almost seemed as if he was rolling on the ground. The clump of black and brown shadows beneath his feet did not help either as it really left Nathaniel confused. He gave what could be considered an awkward series of bows as he turned and left the hill that was not a hill, that place was weird, but you have to consider the fact that this druid witch doctor guy, knew a lot of things about Nathaniel that no one else other than his profile in his citizens’ database should know.

It seems he brought along more than just his consciousness from earth. He also came with his identity, and with it every secret about his past. The system would definitely make use of all that information to make every encounter he had with magic somewhat supernatural. But there was nothing he could do about it, this game did not have a GM, but was completely controlled by a series of A.I (artificial intelligence) That formed up the high council of Gods and creators for Zion. In the end it meant everybody had no choice but to be fully immersed into this game, since even their identities and past have become a part of it.