My eyes opened to another world, and another body. I looked around and tried to absorb it all at once. It looked like I was standing in the middle of a marble room, complete with huge marble pillars and tall archways above decorated with various scenes. The walls, the same white marble as everything else with veins of crystal running through it, had purple hangings trimmed with gold roping. Plush seating lined the walls, also in a deep purple trimmed in gold. The floor was made of marble tiles in alternating white and off-white, each with subtle patterns engraved in the surface. They were cold too and I looked down and saw my new body.

Leaner and more fit than I was used to, I also had a much darker skin tone, almost like a deep tan. I was also nearly naked but for a simple cloth wrap which would explain why I was so cold. Or was it just because everything felt like… more? I raised a hand up to my ear and sure enough it went up and up and ended in a sharp point. I’ll be damned if I wasn’t an elf. Recalling the recent orientation, I tried out the mental command for Character Sheet.

Name

James

Race

Half Dark Elf / Half Wood Elf

Level

1

Experience

0/1000

Health

100/100

Mana

100/100

Stats

Strength

5

Agility

17

Endurance

10

Intelligence

10

Wisdom

10

Skills

Arcane Magic

Level 1 (0%) [Novice]

Dark Magic

Level 1 (0%) [Novice]

Lockpicking

Level 1 (0%) [Novice]

Traps

Level 1 (0%) [Novice]

Spells

Mage Sight

Rank I (0%) [Arcane - Novice]

Mana Bolt

Rank I (0%) [Arcane - Novice]

Curse of Blindness

Rank I (0%) [Dark - Novice]

Embrace the Darkness

Rank I (0%) [Dark - Novice]

Passive Abilities

Keen Senses

[Racial - Wood Elf]

Nightvision

[Racial - Dark Elf]

Everything looked to be as expected, though I was kind of surprised I had my actual name instead of getting the chance to pick one. Maybe I just missed the option somewhere. In any event, the character sheet reminded me of the spells I now had access to. I figured they’d be triggered by mental commands as well so I tried Mage Sight.

And was instantly blinded by a searing light that seemed to come from everywhere. Closing my eyes didn’t help any and I screamed in pain. It felt like a thousand daggers were piercing into my brain but even if I were capable of conscious thought I wouldn’t have known how to cancel the spell. Abruptly, both the spell and the pain vanished without a trace.

Deep breaths wracked my frame for a moment as my mind caught up with itself. I looked around and spotted a beautiful woman descending the marble stairs in front of me in a rush. She had a green name hovering in the air above her head but I didn’t need to see it to recognize who she was. Miris, the Goddess of Wealth, wore her signature deep purple dress and golden jewelry that matched the surroundings.

She looked concerned and vaguely apologetic as she approached me, “I’m sorry about that. Normally I give new arrivals time to adjust before introducing myself, but nobody has cast spells so quickly before. Still, I must insure that doesn’t happen again,” she muttered the last to herself but my hearing picked it up.

Apparently looking to see the essence of magic in the heart of a goddess’ domain wasn’t the smartest thing to do. Fortunately, the pain was just a shadow of a memory at this point and I shrugged it off. I didn’t want to think about it, nor of how the pain and all traces of it disappeared so quickly.

While I massaged away the last vestiges of the phantom pain I realized that I was still mostly naked. Then I figured it didn’t really matter. Miris had probably seen countless naked idiots passing through these halls over the last few days. Looking back around the room I could only see the stairs Miris had descended and an empty, albeit very large, alcove behind me.

I turned back to the goddess and addressed her, “So, what now?”

Miris looked shocked for a moment then smiled, “You do like to dive into things head first, don’t you?”

“Well, let’s get right to it then, shall we?” She went on, “You’ll need some basic equipment to get you started,” she waved a hand almost negligently and dozens of ornately carved tables appeared from nowhere, laden with all sorts of items. My eyes popped open at the plethora of goodies on display. They were probably all just basic fare, but never having seen an actual set of platemail or a health potion before made them all treasures to me.

“By way of apology I’ve increased the starting allotment you are to receive for your purchasing of gear,” Miris told me with a charming smile.

“The Goddess of Wealth resorting to bribery?” I deadpanned, “I’m shocked.”

She grinned and I swear she even looked a little abashed.

I turned my attention to the loot laid out before me but I soon realized I didn’t really know what I was looking at. I had no way of valuing things, either on a personal level for what I might need or in terms of the different economies on Novarra. I just didn’t have enough information. But there was someone who did and she happened to owe me a favor.

“How about, instead, you pick whatever you think would suit my needs the best?” I requested of the goddess.

She blinked at me and then for the first time I got the impression that her full attention was on me. It was not exactly a pleasant feeling. I imagined it felt much like what an ant experienced looking up at someone peering down through a magnifying glass. I did notice that her eyes were a violet color though, a match for the rest of the purple in the place. Although, as I focused on them more, my enhanced vision picked out other details I would have otherwise missed. The purple color actually looked like it was cloudy or hazy and the flecks in the iris looked more like individual points of light. Almost as if I were looking at the edges of a nebula and into an infinite field of stars beyond that. Gaze long enough into the abyss…

My mind had wandered off so far I almost missed it when she said, “You’re the first to ever ask that, you know.”

Due to finding myself in the presence of a being much more powerful and intelligent than me, I naturally reverted to flip and a hefty dose of irreverence, “Yeah, I’m pretty special.”

Fortunately, Miris just smiled and didn’t strike me down for blasphemy or anything. Though she probably could have easily done so considering the whole palace was a massive magical mind-vise. I’m not sure what I was expecting to happen next but it sure wasn’t for Miris to wave her hand again, just like when she summoned the tables the first time.

I looked around for more loot and found it in the last place I was expecting. I was wearing it. Completely decked out in leather armor and wearing a dark gray cloak with a hooded cowl, I suddenly looked every inch the fantasy rogue. A leather belt even held up a small sheath with a dagger of some kind alongside a pouch that I just knew had something in it. Not only that, but I knew the detailed list of the contents. It was strange and more than a little creepy. If it wasn’t for the massive amount of weird assailing my senses for the last five minutes I’d probably have been freaking out about it.

Miris clasped her hands in front of her and spoke up again, “There. Now we just need to find a starting location for you. Normally, I’d just assign you to one of my temples somewhere but you’ve proved to be interesting so far.”

She hummed in thought for a moment before continuing, “Let’s do this: I’ll ask you a question and, if I find the answer relevant, I’ll use it to influence my choice.”

“What is your guiding principle in life?” the goddess asked.

As tempted as I was to answer sarcastically, I just didn’t have the energy in me anymore to be that creative. So I went with the first thing that popped into my head, “Do what’s best for me and what’s best for the whole, in equal measure.”

She gave me another of those looks, but this time I was sure to avert my gaze. I wasn’t sure if there really were freaky goddess powers at work here but I figured it was better safe than sorry.

“If I didn’t know you were telling the truth, I would think you were just trying to flatter me,” Miris muttered softly, but not softly enough for my hearing. Figures the Goddess of Wealth would like some old fashioned economics.

“Well, that settles it then,” she said with a blossoming smile that ignited my nerves all over again, “You may find your fortune, but nobody ever did so from nothing without difficulty. Welcome to Novarra. And good luck.”

Miris and everything else faded to darkness.

“You’ll need it,” was the last whispered message I heard.