Morningstar

There was something that dwelled in the darkest parts of the cavern. Something that terrified Stephen. He knew because moments after stepping onto the ice, the beast's bellowing call echoed through the air, vibrating the walls and paralyzing him and Lexa. They stared at each other, eyes wide. Thumps and scurries grew louder and louder as seconds passed. What happened? Had he activated something by accident? He looked in the direction of the sound saw something large and ice-blue swiftly stomping through the cave. "Run!" Stephen cried. He moved first, pulling Lexa from her fearful tra

Stephen lost track of how much time they'd spent in the dungeon. He estimated an hour but it could have been longer. "Has it gotten colder in here?" Lexa asked. "I mean, we're pretty far in. Sun's not really touching this part," Stephen shrugged. "I guess." Groups of frost lizard-men had attacked multiple times while they explored but there were never enough to worry Stephen. The cave was lacking the challenge that they had expected. Where were the strong monsters? The rare loot? He glanced at Lexa. "Does this seem weird to you?" "What?" "We've seen nothing b

Stephen looked down from the cave entrance, waiting for his partner to join him. When she was close enough, he held out his arm to help her. He pulled her up and they looked out together at the world. The view was spectacular. From their position, they could see across the mountain range, even as far as Deepedge. He tapped her shoulder, motioning her to follow him. They moved onward, ducking under jagged rocks and swerving around sharp corners. The cave became darker the deeper they traveled. "Any chance you brought a torch?" Morningstar asked. "Of course. One of us needs to come pre

The suddenness of the situation frightened Morningstar. His hand dipped low to the hilt of his blade but he did not draw it. He stared down the length of the stranger's sword, holding his hand out as if to say 'hold on a minute'. He listened to the man's request—actually, it was more of an order—and stopped in his tracks. Was this a mistake? Had he been fooled by a lone Player Killer? His eyes darted up to the man's cursor to confirm its colour. It was green. Could it have been a misunderstanding? Internally, he told himself to calm down. Adrenaline had taken control by this point and it

"That makes four in a row. Want to go again?" Morningstar shuffled his deck of cards elegantly, smirking at the hooded figure across from him. The man snickered, flipping a dagger between his fingers. "Fine. One more time but only because I like you, Mr. Morningstar," he said. Cards flew to the other side of the table, landing in front of the man. He peaked at them nonchalantly, hiding them from Morningstar's view. The blonde didn't look away from his own cards. He placed the shuffled deck in the center of the table and traded one of his cards for a new one. The hooded man

Morningstar’s fixation with insignificant things was not something he ever considered to be unhealthy. By no means did he view himself as a philosopher; however, he relished the act of thought. The seed that was an individual idea or belief could, with time, develop into a theory. Theories lead to innovations and innovations to more ideas. An endless cycle of thinking and learning. That’s not to say all of Morningstar’s thoughts were rational. He basked in the sun’s angelic glow as he so often did on his days off. The existence of it puzzled him. If there was a sun, as well as other stars

"Sure, let's head back." The owl was beautiful, Morningstar thought. Its white feathers matched nicely with the snow. "Congrats on the owl. You're like Harry Potter now." He wondered what she'd name the bird. They walked back through the thick snow that covered the ground. Their snowshoes helped speed up the travel time. They followed the trail of their footprints back to town where the traveling gypsy awaited them. Upon returning to the center of Snowfall, Morningstar stopped. "I suppose I should get going now. It was nice seeing you again. Glad I could join you on this quest,

It didn't take long for his help to arrive. Two players appeared simultaneously regarding the request that Morningstar had made. The first to join him was a girl who stood about a foot shorter than him. Her hair was a shade of dark purple and her clothes appeared to be particularly chosen to match with it. Her weapon of choice was an assault spear that came approximately to her shoulder. The next was a brown-haired fellow who seemed to carry a lack of energy with him. They would do, he thought. "I'm Morningstar, yeah. I appreciate the help. It'll be nice to know someone's covering my

Morningstar lagged behind a bit, not wanting to interrupt the taming process. He followed Rebekah, her focus maintained on the snowy owl. He wasn't alone, but it almost felt that way as Rebekah left to look over the animal. The crunching of the snow beneath his feet was more audible and the winter air felt cold against his skin. Star had the habit of losing himself in conversation at times. He was present now. He stopped to watch the scene unfold ahead of him. Rebekah sat in the snow, examining the owl carefully. From where he was, it didn't seem like the owl minded her being so close. Maybe t

Being busy was what Morningstar wanted. Less free time meant less boredom, which recently he'd had an excess of. The focus that would come along with blacksmithing was exactly what the swordsman needed. He smiled, glad that Rebekah supported his idea. He looked down at his gear when the girl spoke of tier four perfects. "Yeah, I guess I do need some upgrades. I see what you mean about growing out of the lower tier items, even what I've got is outdated. I'll have to find a tailor to replace my armor. Maybe I'll hold off on a weapon and make myself a sword, though." And then there was

"Thanks," Morningstar smiled. It felt like there were a million quests for him to do. Actually, he really enjoyed taking them on, especially alongside other players. "I'll let you know next time I plan to do one." Rebekah's advice was solid. He took breaks regularly but still felt burnt out from time to time. Helping Rebekah with her quest was actually a break for him. Aside from walking, he didn't have to do much. It felt like a better way to spend his time off than wandering aimlessly around different towns. "I guess I need to start crafting then. I think I'll take the quest

"A giant scorpion, huh? Sounds like quite the story," he chuckled. Morningstar would have to wait and hear from his friend about his experience with the quest. He intended on challenging the quest soon, although he didn't know much about it. "I think you're right," he said, "Survival's an important skill. I've only picked up a few basic combat skills, so I'd like to get it later this week if I can." "I've still got a long way to go before I'm caught up to you," he swished his hand, a blue screen appearing a foot from his face. He looked over his stats. In the last month, he'd improve

The way Astralin spoke of her past was surprisingly similar to his own. His busy life never truly felt like his own. He never felt like he had a place. The difference, he supposed, was his family's fame he'd been born into. She mentioned her real name, but he didn't ask what she meant. Like Morningstar, Astralin didn't know anyone at the tournament—any of the guys, at least. It was relieving to know that he wasn't the only one without a clue who he would choose if he were to win. "I'm in the same boat. I met a few people today, including you two, but I dunno. It's hard to pick, you k

"I guess fighting a mother bear doesn't sound that fun," Morningstar admitted. They avoided the mother and its babies. Star casually scanned the area for animals as they talked, but nothing stood out to him. She brought up owls again. "Owls are absolutely birds," he laughed. "Actually, now that you mention it, an owl would be a cool pet. Or maybe a hawk." Her idea of a floor full of dinosaurs sounded both exciting and terrifying. He'd read dozens of books on them and although they interested him a lot, he also didn't want to meet one face to face. That being said, he was a bit d

The mountains of the seventh floor were cruel and unforgiving. The higher you traveled, the more ice and snow you were met with. They'd followed a path up the mountain as far as they could until they were forced to climb instead. Their goal was to find the entrance to a cave system that lead deep within the mountain. It was unexplored, to their knowledge, which meant more of a risk. High risk often came with a higher reward. "Catch me if I fall?" Stephen joked, placing his foot steadily on a rock. "No promises," Lexa laughed. He lifted himself up, securing his other foot on a di

The house that piqued their interest was modest, yet comfortable. It was in a quiet section of the Town of Beginnings; or at least, it was quieter than the markets were. You could still hear the liveliness coming from across town, even from inside. Stephen stood in the living room, admiring the space. It was a step up from the inn they'd been living in. "How much will this cost?" He asked Lexa. Even when she looked sad, she was beautiful. She stepped down the stairs, frowning. "A bit under 135,000 col." He sighed, smiling softly. Stephen reached out, pulling her into a hug. They

"I really like exotic crystals, don't judge me." "I'm not judging you, you can like whatever you want." "You're looking at me like you're judging me." Stephen leaned back, his arms crossed. "Maybe I'm just a little skeptical." The blonde woman lightly kicked Stephen's leg from across the table. "I don't think they're like, magical or anything. I think they're pretty!" Stephen smirked playfully. "Good, I thought I was going to have to break up with you for a second there." Her mouth hung open in disbelief. "Honestly, you're the worst." Stephen stood up, adjust

With a hand on the basket's handle, he dropped down from the rock wall and landed gracefully in front of the cave. The entrance of the cave was small, but not so much that he couldn't fit through. Morningstar peeked down, making sure Peaches was okay. She still sat idly without a single care. Morningstar didn't bother equipping a weapon or any armor. During his week on the islands, he'd yet to see a single monster. He wasn't worried about what hid in the dark; it was unlikely that there was anything at all. Still, he kept the rabbit close to him as he entered. Both the width and height of

"You don't think a bear cub would be cute? They're small and furry," Morningstar said. He thought it'd be cute. He smiled when Rebekah agreed with his bird idea. "I liked birds a lot growing up, so I spent a lot of time reading about them. Even if I don't manage to find a hummingbird, I wouldn't mind some other species." The wind began to pick up a bit. His hands left his pockets, holding the furred part of his hood to keep it from falling down. The fourth floor could go from beautiful to unbearably cold in a heartbeat—another reason he avoided the floor. There was a love-hate relati

Rebekah had taken his sarcasm seriously. He shook his hands in front of him. "No, no. I was just joking," he chuckled awkwardly, "I don't think Santa's real, even in here." Although, he could have been wrong. It was a video game, after all. Were there any rules, really? Magical reindeer and a round man in a red suit wasn't the weirdest thing he'd discovered in Sword Art Online. He thought back to the five-headed frogs he'd fought a few days earlier, shuttering at the idea of them. Rebekah took his seal recommendation seriously as well. This time, he was pleased. He loved seals but agreed

Nimbus - Floor 7 "This is it then? You're heading for the mountains? It was hard to tell what Joaquin was thinking. His eyes were so analytical, so cautious. Unreadable. "Yeah," Morningstar spun the ice cubes in his glass, "I'll wait a bit longer, see if anyone bites." Joaquin sighed, pushing back his sandy brown hair. "Are you sure you don't want me to come?" "You can't miss another guild meeting. They'll start to wonder why they even promoted you," Morningstar chuckled, sipping his drink. Joaquin tapped his fingers on the table nervously. He was always worrying

Rare, huh? Maybe he'd look into the artisan profession some more. It fit under his hobbies, after all. He'd never sculpted before but he was sure the system had something in place for incompetence. His drawing skills were, at the very least, up to par. Anything that wasn't acting sounded good to him. Rebekah's reindeer question was an odd one. "Yeah, Santa's real too," he said sarcastically, a smirk finding its way onto his face. "Sorry. Reindeers can't fly," he admitted. His next thought was a seal, but that seemed even more restricting than a reindeer. Seals couldn't do much outsid

"It's okay," Morningstar laughed. "Believe it or not, her reaction wasn't the worst I've seen. Don't be too hard on yourself." One of the first people he'd met in Aincrad had been a huge fan. Not of him, of course, but of his dad. She'd stalked Star for three days hoping for the chance to meet the great Keith Star but to her dismay, Morningstar entered the game alone. When he told her, she looked like she was about to cry. Astralin wasn't the worst reaction he'd seen. At most, she was in the top ten. "Besides, a few people were bound to know. You two seem alright. Maybe not trustwort

Rebekah spoke proudly of her line of work. As she should, Star thought. He respected cooks; they were essentially artists. After her failed attempt at taming a penguin, the man couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't think they liked you," he teased. He thought a bit about choosing a profession for himself, but it felt impossible to settle. There were so many choices and not enough chances to give them all a shot. Up until now, he'd only given alchemy a shot and he hadn't been very successful at it. "Artisan maybe? I like to draw and paint. Blacksmith also sounds like it could be fu

The sun had peaked now. Morningstar accidentally nudged the rabbit, waking it. "Sorry." He lifted himself up wearily. After all the time he'd spent basking in the sun, his body had grown tired. He stretched his back, satisfied by the subtle cracks he heard. The rabbit stared up at him curiously. Star felt bad. He'd intended on leaving this spot for the time being. There were still some parts of the island he wanted to visit before departing the next day. He tapped his index finger against his leg a few times, thinking. Then, he knelt down again. "Want to come with me?" The rabbi