While new prisoners came out of the portal, Xavier observed his surroundings keenly. Looking around, he noticed that everything was seemingly made out of polished grey stone, and the walls were atleast four meters high. Next, he noticed that a few meters away, there were four pillars, made of golden coloured stone with five guards posted around it, making him realize that it was important. Slowing moving among the crowd of prisoners to get a better view, trying his best not to alert the guards, he soon found the perfect position. Between the guards, and the golden pillars, was a floating purple orb that let off a mystique feeling and a sense of awe.
'What the fuck is going on here?' Xavier thought as he looked at the floating orb. For the next three hours, he kneeled on the ground with his hands behind his head, until all the prisoners arrived through the portals, along with a few hundred more guards. A total of 870 prisoners and 300 guards crossed the portal, including the warden, who wore a black hat, distinguishing himself from the other guards.
"On your feet prisoners!!" He said in a loud vouce and they happily got onto their feet.
"Today is the day we make history, and people will sing songs of your bravery for generations. For today, you journey into the unknown for the benefit of the human race. Now, form four lines scoundrels!!" He shouted, and the guards quickly organized the prisoners into four lines, each infront of a gap in the four golden pillars. Xavier found himself at the back of the line, which made him unable to see the complete spectacle that was unfolding at the front, but he could hear shouts of astonishment and see flashes of light. A few hours later, he found himself at the front of the line.
"Place your hand on the orb, the guard ordered." The guard ordered and he quickly followed his instructions. As soon as his hand touched the orb, he felt slight pain in the palm of his hand, and the orb glowed with bright purple light, and he felt like something was crawling under his skin. As soon as he took his hand off the orb, a purple tattoo, that looked like a majestic bird with it's wings spread wide open and flames burning at it's tail, appeared on the back of his hand.
"Stigma Window"
Name: Xavier
HP: 11/20
Energy: 5/5
Class:[]
Skills:[]
STR: 5
AGI: 7
VIT: 2
FORT: 13
Points: 100
"What the fuck?!" Xavier exclaimed, when the interface suddenly appeared infront of his face.
"I take it you are able to see it as well. Write down what you see here." The warden said as he handed Xavier a pen and paper. Xavier stared at the paper for a few moments, before he took them and started to write. He contemplated forging what he saw for a few seconds, but ultimately decided not to, as he had no idea if they could check for themselves.
"Good now go join the others and await further instructions. Next." The warden said and Xavier walked to join the others who were sitting on the ground, looking at thin air, and he guessed they were checking out the weird interface that appeared after they touched the orb.
'How do I get rid of it, it would be kind of distracting if I had to see it all the time?' Xavier thought and looked at the purple tattoo, which was slightly glowing. He rubbed his left hand over the tattoo, but nothing changed. He sat there for thirty more minutes, unsuccessful, until all the prisoners had touched the orb and received their tattoos.
"It seems the preliminaries are done, and it's time for us to step in." A voice said, as a floating, grey orb flew towards them, immediately grabbing everyone's attention.
"I am Zelda of the Ashari, and I have come to shed some light on the situation. You humans have been selected to participate in a monumental task, the task of exploring and conquering the Deceitful Maw, a chain of isles, each more beautiful and treacherous than the last." The orb said and immediately, everyone started to whisper amongst themselves.
"Quiet." The warden commanded and they immediately settled down.
"Now for the more important bits. This is one of the few safe places on this isle, called the Grey Sanctuary. This place is safe from most of the creatures that wonder this isle. The second thing you need to know is that orb is called the Orb of Eldara, an ancient item, it's origins unknown. It bestows you with stigmas, those crests on the back of your hand, and the stigma window. Your stigma window displays your basic attributes. This attributes can be raised by collecting monster stones and trading them for points using the Orb of Eldara. You can also trade points for items such as weapons, armour and other such items using the Orb of Eldara. That is all, more information will be available over time. Good luck." The orb said and floated into the sky, and disappeared.