Saint Paul's Cathedral

[Apollymi]

A small parish town set up around an old Cathedral. It is a quiet farming village with only an Inn with a Tavern, a Market and a few small farm houses. Within the area though is a large old Cathedral with a storied history. It is said that the King of Britain, the true king would one day enter the courtyard and remove the sword from within the stone. But that story was a legend and the Cathedral itself a mere tourist attraction, but barely that. It would be more apt to say, it was a spectacle for the local tavern goers to occasionally show up and wander through the delapidated Cathedral out into its courtyard. In the middle of it, some hundreds of years old, a shining sword locked within an Anvil. No matter how hard many try to remove it, it never seems to budge even an inch. It is more like a curiosity, a town legend even. But some nights the old priests and monks who can barely keep the place running, swear they see the spirits near the sword and keep up the building as a landmark around it.

[Bloodedge]

It was a mostly silent day around Saint Paul's Cathedral. Churchgoers were scarce, but this particular building was not primarily one of worship. Many men who fancied themselves the 'strongest in the land' were nearby, some even drunk from a recent visit to the tavern. Boasts were thrown left and right. Each one who stepped into the cathedral swore by their names that it would be them to retrieve the legendary, ornate sword. Of many attempts, none were even the slightest bit successful; that sword didn't move an inch.

Ah, but this was merely an everyday occurrence around this place. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all, until a brand new figure appeared... through the roof of Saint Paul's Cathedral. A blonde male with emerald eyes came crashing through the ceiling, landing among the crowd. He wore the garb of a simple village boy, sporting a tattered brown tunic and trousers, as well as shoes that were mostly made of cloth. He landed with a crash, scattering all but the drunken folk who sought the glory of pulling the sword from its resting place. "Hngh!" he grunted, wondering if he'd broken his back during the landing. In fact... how did he even get here? Where was he? The last time he checked, he'd been looking for someone by playing a video game that made numerous players go missing somehow. Was this some cult of kidnappers, perchance? "Ugh... where..."

He had so many questions, but not a single rational thought about the current situation. He had to find answers from someone, but... who to ask? No way could he tell whether he'd been knocked out in his chair, or simply damaged his head during the fall. Why did he fall through a roof? Where was he before hitting said roof? Now that he thought about it, a kidnapping didn't make sense; he hadn't been bound, gagged, or anything. It even seemed no one truly cared about his crash landing; he was just another poor, unfortunate boy probably playing around on the church's roof well past the age at which he should be hard at work. None would offer him any assistance. . . What a shame. "On my own then, huh? Well... she must be here too─"

[Apollymi]

Another day, another group of males... trying their hand at removing the sword from the stone. "Tsk..." a sound like a gentle inhale of annoying breath took place. In the back of this church a young woman sat, just out of sight. Her hood up, she seemed to be unamused by the goings on. She'd seen this sight before. Time and time again, day in and day out, for a number of human lifetimes. Everyday, she came to this church anytime there was a large gathering of males, and every day, no one managed to pull the sword from the stone. It was almost as if no one was ever going to show up. 'Gambare yo!' she thought, in an absent sort of way, magenta eyes coming to a close. There was nothing to see here, nothing of interest ever happened here. She'd just close her eyes and pretend to nap, until the rabble left...

Ah, but the moment one got used to droll normalcy of village life, that was the moment at which it changed. A boy, young, blonde and green eyed fell through the roof of Saint Paul's Cathedral. She'd been here for quite a while and she'd never seen anything like this happen before. He looked like every other farm boy from the nearby parish, aside from having a marginally cleaner appearance, but still... it was a point of interest. People fell all the time so the towns people had no interest, but this lass in the back, with her hood up and a tuft of white hair sticking out seemed to be at least subtly interested. Perhaps she'd watch for a while longer, and see if this lad was indeed the one she was waiting for. He didn't look like much right now, but then again, in stories like these, they never did.

[Bloodedge]

The young man was left to recover by himself for several minutes, but he eventually managed to pull himself up. Luckily, he hadn't broken anything. Now then, perhaps he could gain the assistance of someone in the vicinity. "Excuse me," he said timidly to a strange woman, reaching out to tap her shoulder for attention. Little did he know, these people were not exactly accepting of strangers. The woman jerked away from him, even pushing him as she sneered. "Bugger off, farm boy! Go find you's some work!" she yelled. When pushed off, he stumbled back... toward an anvil with a fancy sword of some sort in it.

He stumble into a rather muscular man, bouncing off his hulking body before being grabbed by the tunic. "Woah woah!" he yelped. "What's the matter, kid? Some scrawny cunt like you think you deserve a go at being King? Go on, then! If you can pull it out, I'll forgive ya' being rude. If not... I'm gonna make you my manservant!" said the older, clearly stronger male. Hearing these words, the blonde thought something was... quite strange. He looked around. This place was... a church? There was a sword in an anvil, and people trying to pull it... and it was somehow related to being King?

... Impossible.

This entire scenario was what he expected to walk into during his gaming experience. His character had even been named Arthur Pendragon, after the old legends─ mostly due to knowing how one of his sisters approached the game. Was this some strange bug, in which his consciousness had somehow been sucked into the game? Well, if it was... there was only one thing to do. "Oh. Well, if I'm right, and I think I am... This is my sword." There was a sudden, strange amount of confidence in the young man now. His current oppressor and the other onlookers seemed to take exception to what he'd said, though. Who did this measly farm boy think he was? Even those with royalty in their blood couldn't make that holy blade budge from its resting place; there was no chance of some commoner doing it without incredible strength. Nevertheless, the mighty male who could easily throw this lad around stepped aside, arrogantly gesturing toward the legendary sword. "Oho! We've got a cocky, scrawny little shit today boys! Go on; give 'im room! He's gonna show us all up!"

[Apollymi]

'Hm, he doesn't know that people around here aren't that friendly, he might actually be him...' thought the young woman who was now watching. Her hands were open propped up on her knees and she was hunched over one of the pews. Her hood was still up but there was something of an enchanted glow in her eyes, as if she was seeing something strange before her, but not truly before her. There was always a strange conversation taking place, in this case, it seemed this newcomer had managed to earn the ire of a nearby young man who thought to have his turn pulling the sword from the stone. It wasn't the first time she'd seen this young man attempt such a thing, but maybe just maybe it would be the last.

'Hm... those words belie outside knowledge...' the light in her eyes gained something of a devious glow. She was indeed excited. Gone would be this hole of a town surrounded by nothing but farm boys and old women and onward she would go, to somewhere worth looking at. A grin spread across her face in this moment as she gained some amount of knowledge about this lad and the immediate actions surrounding him. She'd not been certain if her charge was going to be the Once King or the Future King, but... it was becoming clearer by the second. With these events unfolding before her, she saw clearly within her mind's eye, all of the events surrounding the Once King, this gave her the knowledge necessary to figure out how to potentially guide the future King. Strangely, she'd never seen these visions before now. And she'd watched and waited... day in and day out, years and years of watching the saddest existences dream of nothing but pulling this sword from the stone. Several times since she'd come here she'd regretted sticking that there... but now, a light of shining hope played out in front of her, as she gained the sensational knowledge that she might have done the right thing. That she might finally be able to go have some fun, and escape this shitty land and head for the other.

[Bloodedge]

'Alright. Keep calm; think it through. Is this consciousness being put in the game? That doesn't make sense. If it did, their bodies would have been around. Ugh, kuso! Ashikaga-san might actually take my head off!' The blonde's mind was racing at several kilometers an hour. Whatever the case, he was here now... in the same world he'd been imagining himself in since trying out that cursed game. If the girl he sought was also here, then it was best he set himself up to find her, wasn't it? With that in mind, he gazed upon the hilt of the sword.

His name here was Arthur Pendragon. This character had been designed for the sole purpose of reaching this cathedral, and acquiring the holy sword held within. He doubted there was another sword that could be considered holy within these walls, so there was surely no way he wouldn't be capable of pulling it. If he was right... then it was time for a dash of fanfare, offered with a smile. "Hear me! I am Arthur Pendragon, your King! And this is..." Pausing for dramatic effect, he wrapped the fingers of his right hand around the sword's hilt. Watchers had already begun laughing at him since his speech began, but they would all be silent. Voices gone quiet were replaced with Arthur's call, as he pulled the sword with the ease one would have simply unsheathing such a weapon. In one movement, the weapon was swung upward and held overhead, allowing its bright glow to veil itself over the crowd. "EXCALIBUR!" The air itself seemed to vibrate around Arthur as locals and tourists alike, in shock, kneeled before him.

Excalibur's light receded only slightly, the bulk of it encompassing the blonde. His ragged clothes would soon be no more, as the sword itself accepted him as its wielder─ as its King, even. He soon wore garbs comprised of a blue tunic underneath shining, silver knight armor. Strangely, there was also a black and white hood attached to the back of his torso armor, though it fell back from his head as he looked up into the─ no; into his sword.

[Apollymi]

This boy had plenty of worries and sadly they would only become more over time. Well, at least sadly for him, for the white haired lass who took in the spectacle of this entire situation, life had finally gotten interesting again. She had a great understanding of what was going on now, Clairvoyance as she had it, was such a bane to her existence. It only told her information after she had contact with it, she needed to see it, in the present, to understand the path to be taken in the future. Here and now, she was able to witness the lad who was apparently Arthur Pendragon, announce himself to his naysayers. This was good, at least the lad wasn't one of those who didn't have faith in himself. But perhaps... she should knock him down a peg or two. After all, he couldn't be left to believe he'd just instantly get to be king, there was a lot of work to do between now and then. And all of it, would be a feast for the white haired young woman.

In the light show presented by his sword, the lass made her way to his side. She'd appear to him in the reflection of his sword having a bit of a chuckle at his expense. Her outfit white robes with a hood, and long black leggings etched with gold. She wore high boots and carried with her a long staff in a brilliant white color. On the sides of her head, just barely peaking out from underneath her hood, were two hair clips which looked a bit like blooming flowers. "That's one hell of an announcement, but you're a bit far off from becoming King. I'm sure you understand it's a lot more complicated here than that~" she said offering the lad a wink with those magenta eyes. "But that's fine. That's why I am here, consider me your navigator on the way to your Kingdom. First things first, you need to do good king things, knightly things... let's go~" the lass mentioned more than ready to move along. Though a bit abrasive, she'd rather get away from this area as quickly as possible. She knew the young man would have questions, but maybe, just maybe she could keep him from asking them immediately. She had hope at least.

[Bloodedge]

As the others in the vicinity knelt, there was one who stood next to Arthur. He could see this feminine figure in the reflection of Excalibur's blade, and she was markedly different when compared visually to... well, anyone else he'd seen in the area. He lowered his sword, turning to face the strange, white-haired woman directly. His face bore the slightest hint of pink when he did so, but beyond that, this woman had some very interesting things to say. One could assume she had a great deal of knowledge about this world, though she definitely wasn't some sort of tutorial... or was she?

"My navigator? I'm guessing this isn't Camelot, then. Whatever. I didn't design an NPC guide, but... maybe I should name you or something," he said in an oddly casual manner. Interestingly enough, the woman's hopes would be paying off. This was just a game in the mind of Arthur, and as the player, he was sure to be all-powerful. Even if this was some setup, he would emerge victorious. With that in mind, he gestured toward the church's exit, intending to pass through it with this apparent companion of his. "Guide away then, O Navigator! I'd like to find some people as soon as possible."

[Apollymi]

The light tint on the face of this man when he met her face was far from abnormal. For the most part this young woman was quite used to people being enamored with her almost instantly. What was more, he didn't seem to question her very much at all. This was quite good, it would make their transition quite easy. Even so, there were a couple of things that needed clearing up, a good natured laugh escaped her as she shook her head. "Definitely not Camelot. It used to be nearby but... you our Future King are taking the long way around~," she said of the lore based place known as Camelot. "And I am not an NPC or rather, it would be more legitimate to say I am not native to this place, in the same way that you aren't. My name is Merlyn," she gave herself this introduction and managed not to look anything other than amused. This lad was apparently looking for some people, she was at least, casually aware of this, mostly due to what she'd seen upon laying eyes on him. Perhaps she could allow him to ease a bit of his weary mind. She motioned for him to follow and began a conversation with them in earnest, as they began walking out of the church and into the parish at large.

"I should clarify that I know a lot of things, but not all things. Some things... are still being decided. Some haven't come to be just yet. You having all of this knowledge isn't good but this place probably isn't what you think it is. Who are you looking for?" she asked of the lad. She had a general idea of who he was looking for, at least so far as his relatives were concerned, if only because of the fact that she knew about the other King and the Holy Knights in general. Ah, this boy was going to need a crash course in world politics and mechanics. Beyond that he would also need a few other things. Merlyn as she was called took a look at this lad with the smallest twinkle in the corner of her eye and they widened in the moment. She was quite certain she'd made his sword herself, but strangely the lad's level was quite high now, perhaps this wouldn't be quite so difficult then.

[Bloodedge]

"The long way," he repeated with a slight upward inflection. As a human, he was no stranger to taking the 'long way' as this woman put it. His sisters, especially his twin, were miles ahead of him at every turn. If he had to take the slow and steady path yet again, it was nothing new. One new thing, though, was the idea of this woman being anything but an NPC. Even more surprising was the name she gave; he knew it well. Alas, that name was associated with a very different image in the young man's mind, so of course he would view her with light confusion. "Merlin?! You're supposed to be an old man, not some pretty sorceress girl!"

In spite of the fact that the mage attached to him wasn't lore-friendly at all, he was content to hear her out. He followed along as well, noting that she spoke very... strangely. Oh well; oddities were to be expected of grand wizards and the like, so it wasn't much of an issue to just listen past the cryptic messages. Merlyn thought to ask who he was looking for. Ah, what a loaded question. There were multiple answers, in all technicality, but there was an order of importance to them. "I'm looking for... my boss, technically. Also my sisters. Oh, and whatever person is responsible for all these disappearances; I guess I could use that information too. Yeah, I think that's the order I'd like to get the answers in."

[Apollymi]

"Hai, though perspective says it depends on how you define long way~" she said happily. Strangely after seeing him, she gained extra insight into the other version of him. She knew that though he wouldn't immediately get to Camelot, he didn't have to deal with growing up in this world a second time and rising to become King in the same way as the current version of Arthur Pendragon. It seemed though this lad was familiar enough with the legends of their home world to be surprised by her appearance. His words would garner a laugh from this white haired young woman and also a gentle bit of teasing. "Ara? You think I'm pretty? Well, I am flattered and all but I don't know if you're my type~" she mused seeming to find it funny for just a moment. Her finger underneath her chin as if she was giving actual consideration to liking the lad in a more than advisory sort of way. "My name is Merlyn, with the 'y', the one you are thinking of may also exist. Maybe not yet, or maybe they already did but... this world is a bit more flexible about such things, it's best if you don't get too hung up on what you know," she said carefully. "Or do, it could be fun for you to try and figure out how your story could play out~" she said with a bit of mocking in her tone. Of course, she knew now the path he had to take, and it was a doozy, but it'd at least be interesting to watch.

Moving right along she received an answer to her question which wasn't at all what she assumed it would be. Still, she'd answer his questions in reverse order to help him out a bit, also with a bit of teasing. "Ah, mostly brawn then. There is no specific person who brings people over. It's... the world. It chooses and you end up here, at some point in your story and you live the life it set for you. Or rather that you chose for yourself. As for your sisters, I will confirm that you will see them on your journey. And they are as safe as they can be in this world..." she mentioned. About his boss though there was mystery, mostly because she had no idea who such a person could be. "That last one is a bit harder, I don't know who your boss is. I haven't seen that person..." she said softly. Still there was a curiosity and now that she'd answered his questions to the best of her abilities she was going to get her own answered as well. "So, why your boss first? Like what kind of person looks for their employer before their siblings? What do you do? Or rather what does your boss do that you assume you'll find them here?!" she asked suddenly nothing really made sense to her. Most people who showed up in this world from the other, fully immersed into it, they wouldn't have cared about their former levels of employment nor their bosses. Then again, given this lad's words he expected his boss to be here. What kind of person's boss played video games enough to end up in this world? There were too many questions she didn't have an answer to.

[Bloodedge]

The definition of the 'long way' as a matter of perspective, was at least something worth thinking about. The way he saw it, it didn't really matter. His kingdom would come eventually, and the journey to it was something worth looking forward to─ especially if his goals were met along the way. Arthur could imagine the expression of his boss and sisters when he offered them a recreation of Camelot to live in, if this was not something they were able to come back from. As he thought about this, though, he also had to consider the fact that one of his sisters had a very similar character design to his own. In fact, they had once agreed to create twins to match their actual selves. She disappeared some time ago, so what if...

Well, that wasn't worth thinking too much about! The same could be said about the physical appeal of this Merlyn, as she insisted, though Arthur found himself a bit bashful as she pointed out his mention of her attractive features. "Honest compliment. Don't take it as me coming onto you. You seem far from my type as well," he declared. Shortly afterwards, he would be receiving incredible information. No person was involved with the disappearances of many who played Age of Eternity, but instead... the world itself? That sounded utterly ridiculous, but, so did the idea of being teleported into a video game. "This isn't just some uploaded brain thing though, is it? Bodies have gone missing, so... what? Am I supposed to believe this is all real? Like an anime or something?"

Arthur didn't need to know specifically that his sisters were safe. He knew that if there was any chance of them being together, they were together. They could each survive on their own, and just as he trusted them to survive and find one another, he trusted his ability to find them eventually. He wasn't pressed for time when it came to them, but that brought their conversation back to the matter of... his boss. "My sisters will always be fine. Just as easily as I managed to pull this sword, they can all take the world by storm if they please. As for my boss... she's the one I'm looking for, because she went missing while I wasn't looking. I come back to see this game on, and knowing my sisters also played, I decided to finally delve into it and find out what the connection in disappearances was through experience. This isn't what I expected at all, but that's fine. As long as I can make sure she's safe, maybe I can either bring her back, or make sure her dad ─ my employer ─ has nothing to worry about. Knowing we're here now though, I want to assume she's fine as well."

[Apollymi]

"Oh? Then my powers don't fully work on you. That's probably for the best~" she said seeming to find this entire situation way too amusing. It was often said that those with a certain kind of existence could easily resist the wiles of those who bore the same kind of heritage that Merlyn did. Beyond this point though, it seemed Arthur indeed wasn't all brawn, he thought through this situation enough for him to understand that it wasn't simply an out of body experience. "Sou ka, I didn't expect your type to be that much of a nerd. Yes, all of it is real... it's best to think of it that way. Not a video game one... but a different one. The mechanics of the game seem to exist by the will of the world, but..." she paused making a random hand gesture at the world at large. "Think about it like the world is being formed not just by you our new protagonist, but by every protagonist both living and dead... and every villain as well," she said to help clarify the situation, still it was left a bit vague. Vague was for the best after all, she couldn't have him too hung up on the details when he needed to do several jobs, some of which he may not find as likeable as he might think.

Moving right along, the lad explained his thinking. He claimed that his sisters could have taken this world just like he took the sword from the stone. A knowing smirk came to Merlyn's face, this lad had no idea how right he was... On the matter of his actual boss, apparently it wasn't really 'her' he worried about, but instead his employer. He wanted to guarantee the lass' supposed safety because she'd gone missing while he wasn't looking. Still it seemed quite strange to her, that he would manage to care about something like that after being transported into another world. Still, it was somewhat admirable, but that wouldn't get him anywhere without a bit of teasing. "Hm? Worried about what a girl's dad will do if you messed up on your job... Does that make you a body guard or something? I mean if you can already fight this whole thing will be a lot easier..." she said giving a little nod. "As for your boss, if she's rich enough to need a bodyguard, she likely wouldn't struggle here much at all. Considering how much stuff you can buy to make the game easier, she's likely in no real danger. If you have any idea what she played like, I might be able to help you look into that situation as well..." she offered. As his guide this was her job, of course, but she'd also enjoy meeting some new people after being stuck in this godforsaken parish for so long. Of course, getting out of this parish was no easy feat, the direction she wished to travel would mean that they had to get past a certain giant monster cat thing. If he could fight, they could do so successfully. The only thing that kept her from slaying the creature herself was the knowledge that it belonged in Arthur's legend.

[Bloodedge]

"Powers?" Arthur questioned without a second thought, but was quick to move on as if he didn't truly care. Obviously, this world had powers; Merlyn even confirmed it functioning in ways similar to the video game. He surely could have gone without being referred to as a 'nerd' of some sort, though that didn't matter much either. What mattered, was what had to be done to persist in this alternate reality of sorts. "Every hero, every villain. That's all I need to know; just point me to where I need to point this," he said, brandishing his blade with every intention of having it used relatively soon.

Merlyn's assumption about his job was pretty spot-on, in all honesty. He could be considered a bodyguard, among many other things that would classify as secondary jobs. "Bodyguard, butler, personal chef at times, chauffeur... etcetera~" he chimed. He was more than capable as a fighter in the other world, and this sword of his seemed perfectly balanced in his hand. All would be fine, at least against humanoid enemies. Anything else would be a learning experience. "I'm sure she's alright, as long as her start wasn't a horrible one. She might be rich, but she's not the type who would have spent much, if any money on the game. Assuming she's fine, she's probably filthy rich in this world already. Nothing to worry about; let's just move on and do... whatever it is you're expecting me to do."

[Apollymi]

This man seemed to catch on pretty quickly, that was probably for the best. It would have been more difficult to explain so much in such a short amount of time. After all, they were headed towards a mountain pass which seemed to be swirling with large blizzard in place. Still, Merlyn herself seemed unaffected by by the now plummeting temperatures. It would seem they were headed for a certain new place and she would continue explaining on the way, even with the lad brandishing his weapon. "Yeah yeah, well we are coming up on the place, but I have good news and bad news. The good news is, you're going to have some monster slaying adventures," she said with a happy chuckle.

She was then content to let the bad news build in the moment. Apparently, this lad was employed as a catch all. In this current world he would have been called a 'manservant' but for him to work for a girl likely made that sound a bit sketchier than it had to be. Still, he was well on his way to house-husband material if he had that many skills under his belt. "Oh? All of those things... I didn't know boys came with home skills in our world. I've apparently been missing out~" she chimed finding the entire situation to be rather funny. Of course, his speech about his supposed boss made her more curious and not less. What kind of actual girl who could, wasn't spending money in a game like this. And how did he make the assumption she was already rich again? Unless... making money was her skill... ah, she'd go asking about the branches of banks eventually and find out if such a person existed. Even if the lad claimed he wasn't worried, bad starts in this world weren't that uncommon. It was possible the girl could have fallen to her own choices, or the bad influences of any random player. Such things were as always in the back of this girl's mind.