Ryees

Time wore on, minutes stretching into hours as Altimeda and Aurora carefully plucked their way across the fields. After some time, Altimeda had taken the liberty of climbing to a higher ground, lamenting the lack of Skyrim-tactics available as he unceremoniously clambered up a spire of stone to survey the surrounding landscape. What he had found atop that rock, however, saw him surge with hope and open his mouth to shout down to Aurora. He quelled that urge, snapping his jaw shut in a crash of teeth as he realized he was not certain what was lurking around them and that screaming from on high was perhaps unwise.

Altimeda scrambled to the edge and picked his way down a few handholds before peering downwards and pushing away from the face, thunking to the ground and bending his knees—before clicking his tongue in frustration and letting out a hushed, "Really?" as his health bar ticked down one notch. "I'm pissed," he shot at Aurora, pointing above his head. "You see this [censored]? That wouldn't have even hurt in real life." He glanced up to where he had jumped off, calculating the height in his head... and coming to the conclusion that perhaps game physics had helped him with his landing. "'Kay fine, but still. Town."

He threw his arm up and pointed into the distance, the mild frustration on his face disappearing as excitement took over. "Real town. Safe zone. Maybe two miles out, it's close, we—" He cut off, something beyond Aurora catching his eye. "[censored]."

The sword on Altimeda's hip flew out as he took a quick step to put himself between Aurora and the trio of boars that had just rounded the corner. He did not say anything out loud, but internally Altimeda was cursing himself out for taking such careless damage, which he wholly assumed was the reason for the mobs' appearance. The luminescent 1 above the head of each creature did not do anything to ease his nerves.

In any other game, he would have obliterated them without a thought. Here, though, everything was different. He had had no chance to experiment with his Sword Arts, no chance to test how much damage they had done, and without those things, he was not content to put his life on the line. Standing and fighting was a risk he was not prepared to take. Not yet. And not with May here.

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Words: 405

Tags: Aurora, Altimeda

The town had been fun; loading into the game had seen Altimeda giggling like a child on holiday, running to and fro with the energy of that same child when given a large dose of caffeine. Entering the world for the first time had instilled a sense of excitement and adventure that he had not been inspired to by any game before. But even that had not prepared him for what lay before him.

It occurred to him, somewhere in the back of his mind, that being so entranced by a simple field was perhaps a little frivolous, but that did not stop him from grinding to a halt and staring. The sun, the wind, the waving grasses, the not-quite-orange clouds as the sun began its lazy descent towards the horizon; outside of the game world, Alphonse had never found much of an appreciation for these things, instead preferring the much more fantastical vistas found in the digital world. Altimeda, however, was stunned by the simple, natural feel of the grass under his boots, the breeze on his skin, and the soft warmth of the setting sun. Aurora, beside him, seemed to have suffered a similar shock, but a sidelong glance at her showed that his wonderment was not shared.

"So, sure, death game and crazy programmer and whatnot, I get that that's not ideal, but..." He took a few steps forward and threw his hands out wide and grand. "This is seriously awesome, right? Maybe it's not the situation we wanted to be in, but you gotta admit, this is dope." One hand was held out to her, his face beaming and full of real, visceral excitement, excitement that was perhaps enhanced by the literal do-or-die nature of the game. "C'mon, Maybe. We have adventuring to do!"

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Words: 298

Tags: Aurora, Altimeda

The moment the words left her mouth, Altimeda began shaking his head. "That would be too easy," he answered back, shooting Aurora the self-assured smile she knew so well by now. "This place is going to be a hell-hole within the hour. If not sooner," he added quickly with a meaningful glance over her shoulder. "We won't be able to do any good here; what happens, happens, and we just need to get the hell out." A quick flick of his finger brought up the in-game map. A ton of foreign names populated the screen, names that meant nothing to him now and likely would not for some time. What he was looking for were the roads and paths between here and the nearest town.

"I figure... I dunno, here-ish?" He turned around and put himself shoulder to shoulder with her, enjoying the both the contact and the practicality of being able to view the map with her. "Not exactly the straightest shot, but all this crap"—he waved an indistinct finger over a field in between their current location and the next one—"looks like monster fields and I ain't havin' none of that bullshit yet."

He blinked, turning to her with an abashed grin. "Never thought I'd see the day where I'm running from level 1 mobs. Gone are the days of level 100 with max e-level, I guess." Altimeda's lips met hers for a brief moment before he rested his head on hers, on arm drawing her close while the other poked dots onto the map to route their path. "S'just us, for now. Us and this garbage starting gear. So obviously we're gonna crush it."

His voice was cheerful, hopeful, bright. It had to be. He could not let it show the panic that was building in his belly or the discomfort clenching down on his lungs; he could not let it show the nausea that gripped him every time he took a breath or spoke a word. This was his world, not Aurora's. She needed him to be her rock, and Altimeda was more unwilling to leave her to falter than he was to drive them out into the fields. Computer AI was predictable and easy at this stage; even if it was life or death, he would rather have faced those creatures than left his Aurora to the same fear that had settled heavily on his shoulders.

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Words: 403

Tags: Aurora, Altimeda

"We're not heroes..." That was a new concept, for sure. He was so used to being the main protagonist, the center of the proverbial universe, and even in MMOs he had always been at the top of the food chain. It had been taken for granted long ago that this would remain the case here in SAO, assuming that an early grind and a capitalization on early resources would cement their position as players of importance for the lifetime of there gameplay.

"We aren't. You're right. But neither is anyone else." He glided up to her, taking her hands in his and holding them tight. "It's us against the world. And think how many other people out there are thinking the same thing right now. How many of them are going to try and get ahead, only to end up dead data?" He shook his head, his normal strength faltering just enough to show the pain that that notion brought him. "These people need someone to help them get through these initial stages. If you [censored] up in the tutorial here, you die. But"—he huffed frustrated sigh, but his expression had changed to one of agreement—"we're no use to anyone dead. So you're right."

Altimeda leaned down to kiss the backs of her hands, holding them close to his chest. It was a comfort to know that even in this digital world, the heart beating in his chest could still reach her, still provide that gentle thumping across the backs of her knuckles as he held her hands close. "We'll get the hell out of here, settle down, regroup,get the hang of the game mechanics, and figure out what the hell we're doing with ourselves. After that, we can get the word out that there's people looking to band together the newbies and the unfamiliar, teach them the ropes, give them some basic tips—maybe gear, depending on our resources—to keep them alive. Turn ourselves into the tutorial that this game doesn't have."

Aurora had always been fantastic at managing his initial knee-jerk reactions. Altimeda's hyperbolic nature tended to see him get ahead of himself, and her calming hand had yet again settled them on a path of combined logic and passion. "What'cha think?" he queried her with a hopeful smile that touched his eyes. "Think we can manage that?"

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Words: 394

Tags: Aurora, Altimeda

We can't be stuck here.

Those words rang in his head what seemed like a thousand times. Altimeda—Alphonse—had simply leaped straight to the acceptance step of his thinking without stopping at denial or any of the other related steps. A psychologist might have questioned his ability to so easily write off the real world as a loss, and he certainly had no intention of communicating that notion to May. Or rather, to Aurora; he could feel his mindset changing already, shifting towards that gamer mindset he adopted when he settled in for long grinding sessions. During those times, the real world faded away and all that mattered were the numbers, the mobs, and the dungeons. It was somewhat jarring to feel that mindset so easily adopted even when the implications of this world were so much more drastic, but he could not deny that he found some comfort in it. Not that he would tell Aurora about that, either.

He wrapped his arms around her as she crashed into him, rocking her comfortingly back and forth and petting her hair. "I think the folks at the bookstore will be understanding of your situation," he chirped in that familiar, amicable tone that he typically assumed when trying to comfort her. "I don't think Lieutenant Folsom would be very happy when I didn't show up, either, but you saw those news feeds. People know what's happening." Altimeda put his hands on Aurora's shoulders and held her at arms' length, taking her gaze and regarding her sternly.

"Whether or not we can or can't... Well, we are." He sighed, letting his hands fall away and turning away from her, staring down the alleyway. Trying to gather his thoughts was difficult, his mind a whirlwind. There was little he could say or do to change the situation, but he was determined to make the best of it. "I'm sure that sooner or later we'll just pop out when they figure out whatever workaround Kayaba used and it'll all be fine. Until then, though..."

He sighed, turning back to her, and the light in his eyes could only be described as determined. "We're smart. We're careful. I have thousands of hours of MMO backgrounds and you have the economic know-how to help us make our way in this world. Look at that town square. How many people in there do you think honestly know what the hell just happened to them?" His eyes flicked over her shoulder at the town square, the shouting and near-rioting now audible from where they stood. "Someone is going to need to set up a place for them to not get themselves killed. If just to offset the power-gamers who are going to exploit this." Altimeda's lips twisted at that, well aware that player-killing in this world was not going to be a pretty sight.

"Let's do it. If we're going to be trapped here, let's fuckin' do it and make this place a little brighter."

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Words: 498

Tags: Aurora, Altimeda

The day one marketplace of any MMO would always be a sight to behold. Players scurrying everywhere with Day One Loot™ that they claimed was a rare drop, and the occasional lucky player who actually had a piece of unique or legendary gear drop from a mob and now wanted to sell it at an astronomically high price of money that no one had yet.

Altimeda had a mind to get used to these markets early and visit them often, and it was with this motivation that he had led Aurora through the game world to the bustling square just outside of the main city plaza. He had explained that no matter how hard and fast they hit the grind, there was so much competition on day one that trying to accomplish any real leveling would be impossible. Fields would be overpopulated to their maximum capacity, instances would be crowded, and you would have to race for every kill on every mob for meager experience gains. It would be much more prudent to work the marketplace early and get to a town farther from the main hub to begin their grind.

Searching through the initial haul from the first few hours of question did not yield much in terms of surprise or product; it looked to be all common materials and standard pickups from the fields around, mostly sold in bulk to take the edge off material gathering for early crafting. It was easy to move on from those stalls without taking a second glance.

Idly browsing wares, the couple became aware of a strange sensation; the ground beneath them was glowing bright white, and a light was coalescing up around them. Altimeda's mind riffled through the possibilities; he quickly assumed that this town was a safe zone, so they should not have been in danger, and as such, he looked around. The same phenomenon could be seen on every player character within sight, and it was not long before that light engulfed them.

They were deposited in the middle of a town square with a large number of other confused-looking players, everyone peering around and asking questions. A single blinking hex flickered on and off in the sky, drawing the eyes of many. Seconds later, that hex was joined by dozens, then hundreds more, spider-webbing across the sky to form a dome of eerie, red "WARNING" signs. Signs that, shortly thereafter, started oozing a viscous red liquid that dripped down from the sky. Altimeda's hand rested comfortably on the sword hilt at his hip, ready to draw it on a hair-trigger but refraining for now. After a minute, that liquid had coalesced into a cloaked form; undoubtedly, it was a Game Master. 

"Attention players. Welcome to my world." The voice rang out with ominous reverberation, filling the large space of the square easily. The recognition in Altimeda's mind was instantaneous, and it was followed by swift confirmation. "My name is Kayaba Akihiko. I am currently the one and only person who can control this world. I'm sure you've all already noticed that the logout button on the main menu has been removed." Altimeda was surprised at that, and flicking open his menu, found it to be true. He had settled in for the long haul on this first run; it had never even occurred to him to find the quit button.

"However, this is by no means a mistake. I repeat... It is not a mistake, but a feature of the true Sword Art Online. You are all unable to log out of SAO, and nobody in the real world can remove the NerveGear or interrupt its operation." Kayaba paused, beginning to bring up holo-menus as he spoke. An uneasy pit was beginning to form in Altimeda's stomach. "Should it be attempted, a powerful burst of microwave radiation emitted from a transmitter in the NerveGear will destroy your brain, thus ending your life. Unfortunately, it's certainly possible that a player's family or friends would ignore this warning and attempt to forcibly remove the NerveGear. As proof of this, 213 players have retired from both this world and the real one."

It took a moment for Altimeda to realize that the world was not flashing; he was blinking, repeatedly and confusedly, recognition trickling into his brain slower to him than chilled molasses.

The holo-screens started floating about the cloaked man in circles, displaying news feeds from around the world reading, "Online game sees trouble at launch," and similar, grossly understated messages. "As you can see, news of my warning and the numerous victims are being spread worldwide. Thus, it should be safe to say that the danger of removal attempts has become minimal. I hope you will all be at ease and focus on completing the game." By now, thoughts were flying through the up-and-coming swordsman's mind at frightening velocities. It was almost cruel, the way the apparition spoke, as if trying to comfort them and provide solace immediately after notifying them that they were all trapped here. Realistically, it would be a shorter period for someone on the outside to find a hardware workaround for the game than it would for them to clear all 100 floors of Aincrad. He supposed he should be reeling, but his panic response had never been one of fear, instead immediately moving into preparation and analysis.

Kayaba paused, closing the menus and folding his hands within the billowing sleeves of his red cloak. "But I'd like you all to keep this in mind. From this point on, all methods of revival in the game will no longer function. If your HP hits zero, your avatar will perish for eternity, and at that moment... the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

Finally, his facade broke, and Altimeda could not help but give a sharp inhalation and pull his lips back in a snarl. Clearing the game was one thing, but a no-death run of all 100 floors would have taken years just to route, much less clear.

After a short pause, Kayaba continued, explaining, "There is only one condition you must meet to be free: the completion of this game. You are all currently on the first floor, the lowest point in Aincrad. If you conquer a floor's dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may continue up to the next one. Assuming you manage to defeat the final boss on the 100th floor, the game will be considered cleared."

Another cruel joke, and this time Altimeda gave a dry, scoffing chuckle at it, shaking his head dejectedly. Resolve had settled in his mind, though. He silently took Aurora's hand and began carefully maneuvering towards the boundary of the square.

"And lastly, I've prepared a present for all of you in your item storages. Take a look." Altimeda flicked his hand to open his own, and his was just one of thousands of inventories that opened up in the space of a few seconds, finding only one item in the Special Storage, simply titled "Mirror." As that enormous number of players activated it, the square was engulfed in a blinding corona as thousands of light spikes flared up nearly simultaneously. Altimeda among them, he halted in place and spun about to peer at Aurora. After some seconds, the light subsided. Appearances had changed; two people standing next to each other were unlikely to recognize each other was the characters they once were—but if those people knew each other outside of the game, they would recognize the real-world appearances of their friends and teammates. Looking into the item, Altimeda was surprised to see his face—Alphonse's face—staring back at him. "So it reverts us to our real-world appearance...?" he murmured curiously, watching the mirror disappear in a shower of iridescent sparks.

An uproar went out as people exclaimed confused, angry, and frightened remarks, but it was not long before Kayaba Akihiko was speaking again; Altimeda gave the man his full attention. "Right now, you're probably all wondering, "Why? Why would I, Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do such a thing?" I have already achieved my goal. I created the world of Sword Art Online solely for my personal enjoyment. And now, the preparations are complete. This concludes the tutorial for the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck."

As if Kayaba had pulled the trigger of a gun, Altimeda took off, snatching up Aurora's hand and tearing through the crowd while the majority of people stood in a combination of terror, panic, and confusion. He saw the barrier around the square lift, a little curious as to when it had appeared but marking it as irrelevant as the duo blitzed over the threshold and into the alleys around.

"That square is going to turn into a mosh pit," he explained to his love as he finally let them slow down. "People are going to get trampled and mashed in the panic that's about to happen over there. Sorry." He turned his attention to her, well aware that it was extremely likely that she was not going to be as accepting of this news as he was.

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Word count: 1532
Tags: Aurora, Altimeda

Profile
Username: Altimeda
Real name: Alphonse Gabriel-Doud Quinn
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Height: 6'5" (200cm)

About: History/personality
Alphonse was born to a distinctly middle-class family that became distinctly lower-middle class when Alphonse's father died of a sudden illness before he really had a chance to remember him. The stepfather that took his father's place was kind and caring and it was not until he was nearly done with middle school that Alphonse even found out the man was not his biological father. Even then, the news did not hit him very hard, as he had the same relationship with the man as he would have his first father. Curiosity stuck to him for a while, but even that faded away with quick acceptance.

An early aptitude for electronics and the privilege of being born into the modern age saw Alhponse take a fast fondness for all things touchscreens and computers, shooting into the gaming world as soon as he could hold a controller. His primary pastime, he spent a great many hours in front of game consoles and personal computers alike, learning his trade with almost frightening efficiency as he began to grow competitive as the years rolled on and that became more appealing to him.

It was during his childhood that he met the girl he originally had no idea would be his lover for the foreseeable future. Maybelle Clearwaters, his girlfriend-, fiancé-, and likely wife-to-be, was among the many friends he made during his childhood years, but the sole survivor of time's cruel, endless advancement. Where others came and went, she stayed, spending her formative years by his side at every chance they could find and pressing into their high school years as fast friends. Puberty being the eye-opening experience that it is, it was not long into that schooling that they decided they should have a more formal relationship, and that status has not changed since.

Coming out of high school, college was appealing enough as a rule but he did not really have any solid direction. His grades were only so-so in high school, so scholarships and grants did not come very easily to him. Fortunately, his stepfather worked a reasonably successful government job and managed to pull some strings and land Alphonse a position as a nighttime security guard at a power plant near the edge of the city. Luck and chance lined up well and he moved around a fair bit before settling on what he assumed would be his career: full-time security at the capital building in Sacramento, the city where he had lived since the day he was born and now would likely live for the rest of his adult years.

The job came with a number of perks: Solid pay, good benefits, and a very stable schedule that allowed him to plan a good deal of his free time around his then-fiancé and his hobbies. Alphonse and Maybelle moved in together as soon as they could afford to, his security job and her writing (not to mention her trust fund) supporting a comfortable-but-not-quite-ritzy lifestyle.

Gaming was always an interest of May's, but she did not adhere to it with the same passion and competitiveness that Alphonse did. With the advent of TI gaming, though, her interest was piqued, and it was with only a small amount of reluctance that she allowed Alphonse to drag her into the SAO project. Present during the launch hour and excited as could be, they shared one last real-world kiss before the words "LINK START!" changed their lives forever.

Appearance: 

Dark hair complimented by uncannily sparking green eyes—a trait shared by both of his sisters and his mother—set into fresh, just-barely-adult features paint an attractive face atop a surprisingly well-toned frame for your average darkness-dwelling gamer. Physical training is an everyday part of the security force, and as such he is forced to keep his body in good shape whether he wants to or not—all six-and-a-half feet of it. Alphonse has a tendency to stand and sit upright, as well, further lending to his impressive height. His skin is just barely colored, a mark of his heritage more than his habits, and he has no scars, tattoos, or birthmarks to speak of.

Virtues:

Altruistic
Above all else, Altimeda strives to keep those around him alive. From the moment Kayaba's announcement was made, his entire world view shifted from one of power-gaming and optimization to one of protection and preservation. Gone were the ideas of gaming the system and exploiting mechanics for his own benefit, and in were the ideas of gaming the system and exploiting mechanics for others' benefit. The optimization and theory-crafting he had done before entering the game would pay off, he knew—but he had never thought they would benefit anyone but himself or Maybelle. Now, there was a whole world out there for him to share his knowledge with.

Focused
Whether it be on a single task at hand or a larger overall achievement, Altimeda very rarely finds himself wandering from a goal he has set for himself. Everything he does is a step towards that goal, every action he takes is a piece of the puzzle. His master plan can change, over time, but he is constantly vigilant in maintaining consistent progress towards any individual item he intends to complete. 

Astute
Fortunately or unfortunately, the sensors never turn off in Altimeda's mind. This manifests most when he is in combat and manages to keep absolute knowledge of both his teammates' and his opponents' exact position on the battlefield while maintaining focus on his own individual tasks. Whether it's a result of being hyper-observant or simply of spending unholy amounts of hours in other MMOs, it is very difficult for anything to escape his notice. Out of combat, this is seen in his uncanny capability to read social situations and people as easily as he does text

Flaws:

Harsh
It is sometimes true that Altimeda's focus and candor come across too strongly, especially where Maybelle is concerned. He is not particularly quick to anger, but it is a simple fact of his character that his passion can sometimes lead to him snapping or being otherwise terse when frustrated. The only person immune to this is May; it is almost as if all his patience and understanding is reserved solely for her, while the rest of the world gets the raw, unedited version of whatever mindset he is in, be that positive or negative.

Authoritarian
Altimeda is knowledgeable, focused, and accurate—and he knows it. When he is right, he is quick to make that very clear, and expects people to fall in line with the simple, objective logic he provides. While that logic is not always simple or objective, he makes an attempt for it to, at the very least, be sound, in an effort to not undermine his own knowledge and skills. When disagreed with, he is slow to budge until a very concise case is made against his course of action, though he is not begrudging or resentful when it happens.

Flirtatious
While Altimeda is certainly faithful, he is not without his wanderings, particularly in the case of those who share his own traits. Putting an intelligent, independent, self-assured girl who can also give him a run for his money in combat in front of him is a surefire way to get him flirting and giving Maybelle the puppy dog eyes requesting they have a guest over that night. While he is not prone to sleeping around, he does not always portray that with the same clarity he lives it.

Profession: Altimeda hasn't gotten around to Earning a Living quite yet.

Skills
Non-combat:
»

Passive:
»

Combat:
» Heavy Armor I

Weapon skills:
»


Inventory
Weapons/Tools:
» Starter Iron Straight Sword
» Starter Iron Breatsplate


Roleplays
» Previously On SAO


Relationships
Aurora: Fiancé
Life before Aurora is fuzzy and, in Altimeda's mind, not worth overmuch. Trust, passion, and a myriad other Shakespearean adjectives are barely adequate to describe the depth of their relationship and the sum of the moments they have had together. Their life is not one without flaws, especially considering his tendency to be distracted by pretty girls with swords and her nature to be distracted by pretty girls with a pulse; but even through their mutual wanderings, their lives are irrevocably intertwined, and neither would have it any other way.


Story Thus Far 
Coming soon!