The light surrounding Pandora started fading as it was absorbed into her skin. She also watched as the tattoos on her body faded from sight as well. Mother had called her Pandora, the All-Gifted. For all her gifts she’d still been torn from her. She was able to think and reason but She had no sense of reference to what She was feeling. Her thoughts told her this, even though She didn’t exactly understand what the words in her thoughts meant.
Her thoughts were overridden when her instincts screamed “Danger!” She looked around quickly and noticed a blob of darkness barreling toward her. She tried to scramble away, scooting back on her hands and feet as something with huge claws and a tail that hovered over its back rushed toward her. It was just barely bigger than her but moved quickly over the rocky terrain on six legs. The claws, no mother’s memories called them pincers, the pincers reached for her arms as the stinger darted toward her chest and red text started filling her vision.
You have been attacked by a Level 3 Hunter Scorpion.
Pincer Strike hits for 2 points of damage
Pincer Strike hits for 1 point of damage.
Special attack Stinger Strike hits for 3 points of damage
You have been poisoned for 3 points of damage and will take 1 point of damage per second for the next 10 seconds.
Scarred out of her mind she wished the prompts out of her sight so She could see her attacker. Abruptly the prompts disappeared. The Pincers had grabbed her arms and were trying to hold her arms to prevent her from moving while the stinger on its back prepared to strike again. She brought her legs up in a tuck, using the pincers as a lever, and put her legs under her so she could plant her feet. Then she pulled her arms towards her quickly and pushed against the scorpion with all her might. The scorpion’s pincers were ripped free as it was launched away from her to land and tumble away from her. At a guess she figured she’d launched it at least 30 feet. The Pincers had been ripped free and She was bleeding freely down both arms. She’d taken 9 points of damage and could feel the poison burning in her chest. She watched as the scorpion righted itself and started to rush back toward her even though it only had it’s stinger left to attack with. As the scorpion rushed back something inside her snapped and She became angry. As she did, She noticed that the glow that had been fading brightened again. As the Scorpion came within striking distance the light surrounding her reached out with tendrils of power that she didn’t think she was controlling and attacked. Moments later the scorpion was a smoking husk.
The smell of cooked meat caused her nostrils to flair, and She moved forward quickly searching for what smelled so good. The shell of the thing was tough, but She was able to get to the meaty insides and scooped some of the steaming white meat out with her hands, and took a bite. While She was trying to eat She looked around to make sure there were no other creatures. She probably should have done that first. The light surrounding her, which was once again fading, must have drawn this little critter to her. She wondered how the meat had become cooked but realized She didn’t care. As she took her first bite of anything, ever, all she could think about was how good it tasted.
After the first couple of bites, She decided to look at the prompts her mother had told her about. She’s said all Pandora had to do was concentrate on them and they’d appear. Then just had to think about what she wanted the messages to do, and they would. Starting at the top she began reading
WARNING: You have been Ejected from the Soul Space of Adamantadine
WARNING: You have been affected by a Realm-wide Unification event.
ERROR: No Cosmic Identifier located
ERROR: No Realm Identifier located
ERROR: No Layer Identifier located
ERROR: No Reality identifier located.
ERROR Elevated
Criteria met, Recall initiated.
Cosmic Identifier set to 1
Realm Identifier set to 1
Layer identifier set to 0
Reality set to 1
WARNING: You have entered a Region of Primal Chaos. As a Creature of Chaos, you are 100% resistant to random changes that occur to any creature entering Chaos or Primal Chaos.
WARNING: You are entering a Reality with variables different from the Reality you just departed. All experience is removed. You are now Level 1
WARNING: a Chaos Symbiote has formed from your experience and chosen you as its host.
WARNING: As a creature of Chaos, you may not remove a Chaos Symbiote
WARNING: You have entered a new Realm
WARNING: You have entered a new Cosmos.
WARNING: You have struck the ground at Terminal velocity. Chaos Symbiote has absorbed the damage from your Impact. Damage taken 0.
Perception Check failed.
WARNING: You have been attacked by a Level 3 Hunter Scorpion.
Pincer Strike hits for 2 points of damage
Pincer Strike hits for 1 point of damage.
Special attack Stinger Strike hits for 3 points of damage
You have been poisoned for 3 points of damage and will take 1 point of damage per second for the next 10 seconds.
You have pushed Hunter Scorpion away from you inflicting an additional 5 points of tearing damage.
The Hunter Scorpion has taken 12 points of damage from your attack.
The Hunter Scorpion has been attacked by Chaos Symbiote for 50 points of fire damage.
The Hunter Scorpion has died.
Attacks from Chaos Symbiote are considered attacks from you, you have earned 30 points of experience.
Congratulations you have killed a Level 3 Hunter Scorpion
Congratulations you have learned the skill Melee, Hand to Hand. Skill Level 1
WARNING: Magical attacks made by Chaos Symbiote do not earn experience towards character skill levels.
Some of the information She read didn’t seem to make any sense, but the rest was pretty straightforward. With nothing else to do She opened up her status window.
Name: Pandora
Age: 1
Weight: 130
Birthday, July 15th, 2031
Abilities
“Creature of Chaos” - Your body has been inundated with Chaos. During this process, your will was strong enough to hold your core identity together and permanent changes were made to your body. You May now enter and exit Chaos at will 100% resistant to any further changes.
“Chaos Symbiote” – During your travel through Primal Chaos, a Symbiote attached itself to you. While you do not control the Chaos Symbiote it will react to strong emotions. The Symbiote does not gain experience instead reducing XP gain by 50%. NOTE: As a Creature of Chaos, the symbiote is maintained by your inherent nature, no experience is lost. Once your level is equal to or higher level than the host the Symbiote may be removed safely. NOTE: ERROR The Chaos Symbiote cannot be removed. If the symbiote is removed before this point the host has a 1% chance per level below the symbiote of instantaneous death.
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Soul Type: Nascent
Soul Level: 0
Soul Rank Disparity: 0
Attributes
Strength 16 503
Agility 6 493
Dexterity 6 493
Endurance 16 503
Constitution 16 492
Intelligence 5 492
Wisdom 5 492
Willpower 5 492
Perception 5 492
Charisma 5 495
Luck 5 492
Karmic Luck 0
Primary Stats
Carrying Capacity 104 3270
Hit Points: 5 151
Base Health Regeneration
1 per Day 1 per minute
Stamina 160 4997
Base Stamina Regeneration
17 per Minute 8 per second
Mana: 50 4920
Base Mana Regeneration
4 per minute
Movement
Normal Running Speed: 8 mph, 13 mph
Standing high Jump: 16 inches. 21 inches
Note. Falling Damage is not mitigated by maximum jumping Distance.
Base Attack
Unarmed Base Attack: 1 6
Max Damage: 2 12
Critical Damage Maximum Damage x2
Skills:
Melee, HTH level: 1
After looking at the information she queried, “What do the green numbers represent?
Initial values are non-symbiote adjusted values. Green values are adjusted values due to the presence of Chaos Symbiote.
The Symbiote added that much to her attributes and combat values? She wondered what level it was. She played with the prompts for a few minutes. She set the prompts to only display when out of combat. She also knew why She hadn’t died. If it’d just been her She’d have died when the second pincer hit. As it was, having 151 points of health was 30 times what She would have started with.
She was shocked out of contemplation when a soft voice asked from the darkness, “Is anyone there?”
She turned to look at where the voice had come from when she felt a pinch in her back. She reached for her back as her hand went limp and She fell over. As darkness started to close in on her She heard
“What is she?”
“No idea, we’ll let the Oracle figure it out.”
“You saw what she did to the Scorpion?
“Yeah, that’s why we drugged her. We’ll ask questions where everyone will be safe, including her.”
“You think she is a djinn or an elemental.”
“No elemental I’ve ever seen that looked like her. Pull a blanket out of your pack, we need to cover her up or the Oracle will have our hides for acting improperly toward a female,” were the last words Pandora heard before the world blacked out.
* * *
As Pandora came to, She found herself lying on a bed in a small room. She was wearing a simple robe and there was a small cup of water on a table by her. She looked around and felt like she was underground. She couldn’t explain the feeling, as she’d never been underground before but Pandora felt that she was underground. She took a drink of water and looked around. As she looked around the room she noticed that one of the walls had seams in it that showed the outline of a door. There was no handle on this side, but it looked like a door.
The door opened and a young girl looked in, “You are awake, the Oracle said you would be. How’d you sleep?”
“Where am she?” She asked.
“You are near the city of Romus on the Continent of Deeds on the World of Midor. The Oracle told me to say it that way and ask if those words meant anything to you?” The girl asked.
“I can’t say that I’ve ever heard those words before, though we are talking in the same language, you know common?” She asked.
“Of course, we know common, it’s the Universal language,” the girl answered gently, “We can talk more later if you like. Right now, I was told to bring you before the Oracle.”
“Am I a prisoner?” She asked
“Not unless you commit a crime. No, I am simply your guide,” the girl said as she motioned for Pandora to follow her and turned to go.
“Do you have a name?” Pandora asked as She stood to follow.
Pausing for a moment, she turned her head and said, “You may call me Cara. What is your name?” she asked
“I am Pandora, it is nice to meet you, and thank you for your hospitality”
Cara turned and started walking slowly, making sure that Pandora followed her before continuing, “We didn’t know what to expect when Gerome and Jueles brought you in. They said you fell from the sky. The Oracle looked you over and said that you weren’t a monster or evil so a few of the women brought you here and cleaned you up, dressed you, and put you to bed until the poison Gerome used to knock you out wore off. He’ll probably want to apologize in person since you’re not a monster. He said you smoked one of the larger scorpions outside the city with energy that surrounded you. He’d thought you were an elemental until you scavenged to the scorpion to eat.
“I’m not evil, as far as U know, and I was so hungry. In fact, I still am. How long was I unconscious?” Pandora asked.
“The poison can knock a full-grown man out for about 12 hours. It’s only been six and you’re up and walking about,” Cara said as she led her through some tunnels, took a few turns, and then went up some stairs that lead out of a small cave in a small hill.
As they walked out of the cave Pandora looked around a very flat expanse that fell off into the horizon. She could just barely make out the tops of buildings that looked a lot like the tops of the buildings She’d seen in New York City. She walked around a little bit and found that She was at the center of a flat plane that had only two structures in it. The hill with the cave She exited from and a small stone building off to the right of the cave entrance. The building had a single door and window.
Cara walked toward the building. As she neared the door opened. A small elderly woman with graying hair stepped out and looked at Cara.
` “Thank you, Cara, that will be all,” The Oracle said. Cara bowed then turned and headed back towards the cave entrance. After Cara was out of earshot the oracle asked, “Would you please join her inside? There isn’t much comfort to be had out here but the little I do have I will share.”
Pandora nodded and followed The Oracle into the hut. The Oracle led her to a couch and motioned for her to sit while she moved over to a comfortable-looking chair. Pandora looked around the room and realized…No that couldn’t be right, Was the inside bigger than the outside? This room seemed bigger than the entirety of the building She’d looked at. They both sat and looked at each other. Pandora didn’t know what was going on, who this Oracle was, or what she wanted but she did know how to stalk prey from her mother’s memories and the one thing that might help her here was to sit and wait patiently, so She did.
After a little bit, the Oracle spoke, “Nothing to say, child?”
“No”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“Because I do not know what to do, I have memories that aren’t my own hinting at how I could act but I don’t know how I should act,” Pandora said.
“How could you not know how to act, you are a grown woman?”
“I am in the body of a woman, but I do not have the experiences of a woman?”
“How is that possible?”
“I do not know,” Pandora said as she started to get flustered.
The Oracle paused for a moment then asked, “Would you mind if I divined your history?”
“Will you share what you learn with me?” Pandora asked.
“I will.”
“Then yes, please divine my history,” She said.
The Oracle stood and walked over to her. Placing her right hand on Pandora’s forehead and left hand on Pandora’s left arm the Oracle concentrated, and a message prompt appeared.
The spell “Know Origin” is being cast on you, Resist Yes or No?
Pandora chose “No.” A radiance filled the room, and the Oracle opened her eyes, “So little?” she asked questionably before she looked at her and asked, “Am I to understand that you were just born?
“I believe so, yes” Pandora answered.
“I must cast another spell and seek guidance from my God. Please do not interrupt,” the Oracle said as she stepped back and raised both hands to the heavens. “Mistress I beseech thee, what path do She follow here, I am unsure of what to do with this one that has no thread from the past or a thread into the future.”
A voice answered in the air around her, filling her body with a sense of wonder and trepidation. “She will be needed in the times ahead. Teach her as you would a newling. She has much to learn..”
The voice finished speaking and the Oracle lowered her hands, “It would seem that the Mistress favors you,” The Oracle said then called “Cara!”
“Yes Oracle,” Cara answered immediately as she stepped back through the door.
The Oracle smiled knowingly, “I take it that you heard our Mistresses Decree then?” The Oracle asked.
“I did Oracle.”
“Good. when we are done, please escort our guest to the newling area and have her begin her education.”
“What will she be learning?” Cara asked.
“You heard the Mistress; she is to be treated as a newling. A child that has matured to the point of being able to learn and remember. She will be taught the ways of the world and prepared for her place in it.”
“What about finding my mother and father?” Pandora asked.
“I know not where they are or how to reunite you with them. If we hear from either, we will bring them to you immediately. For now, my Mistress. my Goddess has instructed me to get you ready for what comes next. Cara will escort you to the other newlings for your education. Do I you have your word that you will not hurt the children?” The Oracle asked.
“I will not hurt the children,” Pandora agreed easily.
“Very well then. I am sure we will talk again in the future. Cara, make sure to take her by the kitchen on your way.”
“Yes Oracle,” Cara said as she turned and opened and held the door waiting for her.
“I do not know the proper way to leave your presence Oracle as I do not know your customs “
The Oracle laughed joyfully, “That you knew to ask is a sign of wisdom and character. Those that come to me often stand, bow slightly, and say, “Thank You, Oracle,”
Pandor stood, bowed slightly, and said, “Thank you Oracle.” Pandora straightened, turned, and followed Cara back out of the Oracle’s presence.
Cara led her back to the cave and down the steps. When they came to the bottom they took a different path until Pandora smelt food. Cara came to a place that had small baskets, grabbed two and two glasses and they moved to an area Pandora was having a hard time describing. Cara handed her a glass and then said, “Like this,” as she held the glass open end up and pressed it against a lever. Water flowed from above the cup into it. She would later learn that this was a water fountain. She filled her glass with water and then followed Cara over to a table. They sat opposite each other, and she handed her one of the baskets, “Just a sandwich and a piece of fruit but it should hold you over until dinner in two hours.
“Thank you,” Pandora said as she ate the sandwich and fruit and drank her glass of water. Cara just watched her until we were done eating.
“I have never heard The Mistress’s voice before today,” Cara said. “I felt the power and rushed back to see if the Oracle needed anything and heard her voice.
“Who is the Mistress?”
“The Oracle follows Fate, or as she’s more commonly known, the Goddess of Fate. We refer to her as The Mistress because none of us are clergy. We are merely servants to the Oracle.”
“So, what happens now?” Pandora asked.
“Now, we put our dirty glasses over there,” she said pointing to a stack of glasses in the corner, “and place our baskets over there so they can be used again,” she said pointing to a different corner. “After that’s done, I take you to your new home.
Cara stood and Pandora followed her as we turned in their dirty glasses and baskets. She followed as Cara led her to a completely new area. She entered a room with a large circular metal plate in the center of the room, “Please step onto the plate.”
“What does it do?” She asked.
“It takes us a great distance to our new home?”
“We can’t walk there?” Pandora asked.
“No, we can’t walk there. The place we are going to is further away than the buildings you saw outside earlier. We are actually going to those buildings but on the other side of them.”
“Is it safe?” She asked
“Perfectly, we are traveling via teleportation magic. “
Pandora had no idea what teleportation magic was. Cara hadn’t led her wrong yet, so she stepped on the plate. Cara touched a jewel on one of the bracelets she wore, and they were suddenly in another room. This room had a door. Cara walked up to the door and put her ear to the door, “Sound’s clear,” she said.
She stood there and watched as Cara opened the door and dozens of little eyes looked at Cara and yelled, “It’s auntie Cara,” as little boys and girls rushed forward to envelop her in hugs and rapid-fire questions; “Where have you been?” “Who is that?” “She’s pretty?” Simple questions from children. That is until She heard one question that drew her attention instantly, “Aunt Cara, is she a Dragon?”
