Lost Ingdoms

It has been while since I've posted. Writers block came up a long with the busy season at work. I've also been working with an amazing editor who has been helping me revamp the first few chapters and this one as well. I hope you all enjoy and like always feedback is welcome!

****

Jumping off the mount that had collected him from the Tournament Area, the Game Master couldn't help but grin. His dream was finally coming true, even if it was at the expense and lives of those he'd tricked onto the island. His parents had been made fools of, his family name ridiculed for believing in something the modern day world refused to believe. Though, now before the thousands there with him and the millions around the world, he still believed magic would return.

Growing up wasn't easy when your parents were housed at the local asylum. Growing up wasn't easy for a young man who knew magic existed in a world where it was all make-believe. And so, he'd become someone else - someone who had no past, someone who wasn't the little boy with the insane parents; he'd become the Game Master. The Game Master was who he was. His real name would reveal his history and the true nature behind what the world was calling a mass kidnapping.

Strollingthrough the inner tower of the castle of the final boss, the Game Master looked over the newspaper clippings that littered the walls.

"

Family torn apart by fairy tales."

His fingers moved over a few of the clippings;one of them showed a happy couple, followed by another clipping of the same couple in straightjackets.

Science was trusted before magic, and because science could not find any rhyme or reasoning of magic, it did not exist. When his parents came forth with proof of the island, proof that magic existed with his birth, they were presumedinsane by society, stripped of their parental rights, and the Game Master was thrown into the adoption system. Living a life in and out of foster homes because of the trust and belief of his parents, the Game Master decided at an early age to do whatever it took to prove to the world that they were not crazy. Even with the world against him, the people on his island would survive or die by the magic no one believed in.

Moving to the crystal balls that served as televisions as well as a way to communicate on the island, he smiled. Placing his hand over the main crystal ball, he waved into the foggy orb and began to speak. "Welcome one, welcome all. Now, please don't be upset. I brought you all here because I believe that you all are the future." He grinned and spread his arms wide as a picture of the island appeared behind him.

"Do not fear - everything you know of

Lost Kingdoms

is true here." He removed a spell book from what looked like his pocket and opened it. Once opened, a menu screen hovered before himand was touch-activated. "I've tried to make things as simple as possible for everyone to get used to.Simply put, the controls of the game are the same here."

An avatar appeared on screen,demonstrating how to change equipment and skills via the menu. Everything wastouch-activated, which would come in handy.

"One more thing!" The Game Master's voice boomed as the avatar held up one finger with a wink. "Your HP bars are displayed on your chest." The avatar pulled the top of her shirt down slightly so that her collar bone was displayed. In the middle of her chest was a green diamond.

"The new armor that you will find will have that portion missing." Once again, after the Game Master finished speaking, the avatar went into a small dance of sorts as new armor appeared on her body. One could only think of Sailor Moonduring this sudden transformation. Once her sudden alteration was complete, the diamond could clearly be seen through the armor. "It's your job to keep the crystal from becoming empty. There are four stages: green means you are completely healthy, orange means your health is only a bit lower than complete health, red means your health is extremely low or your health is being otherwise affected by a status change, and emptymeans . . . well . . . that's obvious."

Just as she had before, the avatar mimicked what he was saying. While she was in green health the avatar flexed and blew kisses to the screen. When the crystal turned orange, she placed her hands on her cheeks and dropped her mouth agape in mock horror. Once in the red, she fell to the floor and began to cry, only to stop moving once the crystal was empty.

"It is up to your Healers and potions to keep you alive. No pressure, right?" The Game Master grinned once he was back on the screen. "Enjoy the stay and get to know the game.Remember: magic is returning to the land, and you all are the future."

With a click, the crystal's transmission stopped and the Game Masterwas left alone. He believed what he was doing was for the best. No one believed him but soon everyone would. There was no flaw in his plan: first, magic would flourish on the island; then, the barrier would be lifted- and magic would return to the world.

****

Diana looked up the stairs that lead to Leon's tower,and her footsteps echoed in the hall with each step she took. It was pretty obvious that she was nervous -her fingers kept tapping at the brick wallsas she walked. She wasn't climbing the stairs very fast; in fact, she kept stopping after each few steps. This was the first time she'd been up in his tower- and to top it all off, she'd be

alone

with him! Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and clenched her fists. She was dating him now . . . well, sort of.Either way, she needed to stop being afraid of every little thing. Decidedly taking the final steps through the winding corridor, she peeked through the open door.

"Hello?" shemeekly called, keeping her place at the doorway.

"You can come in," Leon called from another room.

With a slight bow to no onein particular, Diana entered almost coyly, looking at the simplistic setup of the room. It was decorated in his favorite colors, and red and black bedding sat neatly upon the full sized bed in the corner of the room. Taking in a few things, she found herself drawn to the swords hanging upon the walls. It seemedhe'd never sold any of his swords. There was a small plaque beneath each set of swords that displayed the levels he'd used them at. Diana smiled, tapping the small level one blades. She hadn'tknown him then; she hadn'tactually met him untilthey'd both been about level twenty or so.

"I keep them all."

Jumping when she heard him, she turned to face him -and her eyes went wide. "What are you—?" Her words were cut off with a squeak as she slammed her hands over her eyes and shook her head.

Tilting his head, Leon shrugged. "I was changing." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the bathroom behind him. "I'm not naked," he laughed.

"Put a shirt on!" she squealed, peeking through her fingers -only to jump again and squeeze her eyes shuteven tighter than before.

Laughing again, he moved to her and gently patted her head. "You truly are innocent."

She looked up. She didn't close her eyes, though.She was an adult for heaven's sake; seeing him without a shirt shouldn't scare her so much. "I've just never really experienced this."

Nodding, he bent down and met her eyes, tapping the spot on her forehead again. "It's alright; I'll teach you."

Diana nodded and kept her eyes on his. Leaning into her, he pressed his lips to hers firmly. Like before, Diana let him take the lead, her eyes closing quickly as the kiss deepened. The two stood still, their lips parting every few moments for a brief breath. When the kiss finally broke, Leon wrapped his arms around her and laid his head against hers.

"I'm sorry." His voice was uncharacteristically hesitant."I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"It's not just your fault." Diana spoke softly, her face still flushed from their kiss - and his partial nudity. "I shouldn't have let it get to me."

After a moment, the tension seemed to drain from them both, and they shared a smile. Their relationship was awkward - but it was theirs. While the two had kissed and held hands, they had yet to put a label on what they were. Patting his chest lightly, she pushed him away and pointed to his suitcase.

"Put a shirt on." Smiling, she walked to the door. "I'm going to change, too; these robes are too heavy."

"I'm sure we'll get used to it," he said sadly, running his hands through his hair.He looked out the window and pointed towards the mountains that marked the beginning of the final area. "I don't think we'll be leaving here for some time."

Looking to where he'd pointed, she nodded. "We'll figure things out. If everything he says is true, we're going to have to start raiding again- and soon."

The thought of raiding was not a happy one. Diana's hands clasped together before her as she thought about it. She was never really in any danger, being a Healer; everyone always protected her with their lives. Though there was now the very real fact that she'd have to protect them even harder.

"How will we know when we're hurt?" she asked, looking to Leon with tears in her eyes. "It's not like we have an HP bar."

"I don't think he's told us everything. It's still very early into his game." He moved over to her again, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll figure it out - and we'll survive." Bending, he kissed her eyes before wiping the tears from them. "Don't worry; I won't let anything happen to you or to anyone in the guild."

Nodding, Diana rested a hand on his cheek. It was the boldest thing that she'd done with him.Hegrinned and closed his eyes, nuzzling her hand. "I know you'll protect us."

The two shared their moment for a little longer before Diana pulled her hand away at the sound of the crystal turning on behind them. Both looked at it, confused, before seeing the transmission about how to use the menu.Many users had discovered that and the HP display on their first day on the island. Without realizing what she was doing, Diana quickly turned to Leon. Sure enough, once the Game Mastermentioned the diamonds on their chest, Leon's appeared.Reaching outwith a trembling hand, she touched the diamond with wide eyes.

"That's how we know if we live or die," she mumbled, looking up at him.

"Seems that way," he mumbledback, looking down at her chest. Her robes were low cut, and her diamond could be seen resting above her breast.

After a moment of the two not speaking, Diana smiled and pointed to her clothing. "I think I'll actually go change now. We're not going out anymore today, are we?"

Shaking his head, Leon smiled and moved to where his own clothing was, still in his suitcase. "No; I think it's best that we stay in for today. We'll talk about raiding and questing tomorrow."

Diana smiled and beganmaking her way down the stairs after a small wave to Leon. Looking about the great hall,she noticed almost everyone was staring at the newfound life bars on their chest. It was just something to get used to: new powers, new lives, and now death at almost every turn. Spotting Ace, Miranda, and Randal, she made her way over to them.

"What's going on?" she asked once she was near enough for them to hear.

"Just checking out our cool new, oh, so depressing gages of life," Ace quipped, tapping his chest where his life bar was.

"A little diamond that dictates life and death . . . .How cruel can you be?" Miranda said, looking into theholographic screen that was replaying the Game Master's message.

"They're small, but they hold a lot of life. Remember how our HP bars worked in the game? I have a massive amount of health compared to you two." Randal pointed to Miranda and Diana. "But my life bar still looks the same as yours."

Nodding, Ace clapped his hands, realizing Randal was right. "That's right!Even though it looks small, it doesn't show our true amount of life force."

"Life force?" Diana asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Isn't that technically what it is now?" Ace asked hesitantly, frowning slightly.

They couldn't help but laugh. Most of them usually saw the glass half empty - except for Ace. He was always the one that tried to see the glass half full. Diana shook her head and finally pointed to her tower. "I'm going to change. I think Leon will be down soon, so we should start coming up with a plan."

"You're right; we can't stay hidden forever," Miranda said with a little sigh. "We have to figure out how we're going to bring money back into the guild."

Looking at the new faces of those who seemed gladof the protection that Lunar's Eye offered, the original five members knew it wouldonly make them a target. There had always been player killers in

Lost Kingdoms

when it was only a game. There was no telling if those same people, namely Dark Horizon, would dare to attack a player who couldn't protect themselvesin real life.

They would have to find some way for the lower level players to get strongerwithout making too big an impact on the way the guild was run. But it was going to be harder than they thought - and trouble was right around the corner for the once happy guild.

****

That night was a rough one; it sounded like the island was in constant battle. The crystals blinked on and off with tales of players duking it out - both in and out of the arena. While there were no deaths, many players took the time to adjust to their new powers. Lunar's Eye was the same; many of the newer members took to dueling in the courtyard with supervision. Diana stayed awake almost all night to heal members when the duels seemed to get out of hand.

Randal stood strong throughout the night as well, taking three fellow tanks under his wing.

"It's all about your Resistance," Randal pointing out, bringing up his character sheet. Pointing at the Resistances at the bottom, he named them all. "Fire and lightning seem to be the favorites amongst mages, but that doesn't mean the other elements should be forgotten." He grinned as he pointed to the other elements. All his resistances were the same, over one hundred points in protection for water, fire, earth, and air.

The three tanks pulled their character sheets up to compare their Resistances to his. "I can't even compete," one of the newer members mumbled with a laugh.

"I have high dark and light Resistances," a young redhead stated with a grin.

"That's not a bad idea," Randal mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, "While there aren't many light or dark mages out there, we never know when they might pop up. Nothing is guaranteed in this world anymore."

"I see you have a lot of armor as well," the elder of the three said, pointing to Randal'sstill-displayed character sheet.

"Armor is always a must. You're going to the front lines, so you'll be taking a lot more physical damage than magical. Mages always try to blow up the squishies."

The three nodded and once again compared their stats. None of them came near Randal's, and all three sighed. "Even put together,you'd still beat us," the red head said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

"It's his gear." The older one pointed to Randal's character screen, tapping the armor icon. "His gear is all legendary."

"It took weeks to get this gear," Randal said proudly."We don't just do one dungeon and move on. If there's something I want in there, I'm going to keep going for it, no matter how long it takes."

"This piece took forever." The voice and touch made Randal jump. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Diana pointing at his chest piece on the display.

"That was from the Goblin Lord, wasn't it? The little ones kept trying to overwhelm us. You died twice in that dungeon," Diana stated with an almost girlish giggle.

Randal's cheeks and ears went red as a beat. "I did not!" he shouted, looking to the three in front of him.

"You can actually die?" the red head asked incredulously.

"Anyone can!" Randal sniffed matter-of-factly."I didn't start out this strong."

"You did die, and I almost did, too, trying to get you back up." Diana crossed her arms.In her robes, the simple action jutted her chest out.

All four men noticed and quickly looked away; Diana, on the other hand, was naïve and thought nothing of it. "You'll all get there, and we'll help. A new dungeon was discovered, so we'll be heading out." She patted Randal's shoulder. "Leon wants the original five to show the new members how we do things."

Randal clicked his display away with a bright grin. "Finally, we'll see some action." Pulling his shield from the ground, he stretched and waved the others on. "Let's go; the sooner we get there, the sooner we beat this thing."

The small group made their way to the front of the guild hall. Most of the guild was standing there already, watching the members who were going to the dungeon get their gear ready. Diana and Randal made their way to the front and were instantly greeted with wide smiles- those of which would be friendly faces in normal circumstances.

"We ready to do this?" Leon asked and placed a hand on Diana's shoulder which made her face turn bright red.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Randal sighed, digging through his pouch as he made his way to the gate. "Everyone have potions ready?"

"Why potions?" Ace askedas he slung his bow over his shoulder.

"We don't know how things will go. If I can't heal you." Diana's voice seemed panicked, and her breath began coming in short puffs.

"Don't worry about it; we'll be fine. This shouldn't be a hard dungeon. It's just to show them how we'll be training them to work with us," Leon explained,looking to the others for reassurance.

"Diana, it's still a game.

Our

game!" Miranda said, poking at her forehead. "We trust you, no matter what."

Nodding, Diana looked up at Miranda, and slowly, she calmed down. If she went into this panicked, she really would mess up. These people were counting on her, and she wasn't going to let them down. "Alright . . . . Let's go beat this, then."

All nodding, the group slowly pulled open the gates of the guild hall and filed out, keeping their Healer and Mage in the very middle of them, protected at all times. "You'll be able to get this?" He looked towards one of the new members everyone called "Gadget".

"Sure can; I built this thing just for this." A small orb flew from his hand and over the group that was on the other side of the fence. "It'll follow you guys and stay above the battle. We'll be able to see everything."

"You crafted that thing?" Ace said, hopping and swiping at it as it flew by.

"How'd you think I made my money?" Gadget said with a toothy grin. "When people want to record something cool and there's no outside party recorders allowed,I find a way."

"So it'll record our fight?" Randal asked as he slapped Ace over the head to make him stop.

"More than that, it'll broadcast it here live." Gadget pointed to the long hall where multiple crystals were already set up. "And it'll record it so we can go over it once you get back."

"Pretty cool;you're amazing." Leon waved to get the group's attention before heading towards the dungeon opening. "We'll take the mounts."

"Really?" Miranda asked, slightly confused.

"I want to see if it's true. We've seen almost everything but them." Leon was busy clicking at his menu, items flying by as he dug through his inventory. "Ah, here we go."

Once he found his mount whistle, he clicked the item, and it appeared in his hand. Gripping it, the others watched as he brought it to his mouth. "Here goes nothing."

Taking a deep breath, he blew into the end of the whistle as hard as he could. Everyone took a slight step back, but no sound could be heard coming from the whistle.