Month 1, Day 1, 22:45:12; Arvium, Docks

She stopped in front of the townhouse, marked 52 on a small sign on the side of the road, taking in the white marble facade.

A small garden was enclosed by a black iron-wrought fence, with brick pavers leading the way to the front marble steps. The house had four floors, and a fifth inside the roof, noted by two gables with flower boxes. Each of the windows on the first floors had their own flower boxes as well, filled with draping greenery that swayed in the gentle warm breeze from the sea, smelling of salt and fish. By the dim light of the streetlamp, she could see deep blue shutters and recessed deep blue double doors.

She opened the gate and stepped inside, making her way to the front door. A small, gold wolf's head knocker sat on the right door, and she knocked it several times, hearing the sound reverberate inside the house.

Footsteps came nearer, and the door was unlocked before swinging open to reveal an older man with golden skin and ashy blue hair tied back in a low ponytail. He wore a simple outfit of white pants and a loose white shirt, and he smiled, showing dimples when he saw her. His eyes crinkled when he smiled, and made his whole face seem to light up.

"Aella Rynnex, I presume?" he asked, his accent thick.

She nodded. "Anadon?"

"The one and the same," he said, giving her a short bow and opening the door wider. "Please, come in."

She entered and waiting patiently while he closed and locked the door behind her. She took the moment to look around, seeing a staircase behind her leading upstairs, and a long, narrow hallway to the right of it. There was a small room to her left with chairs and a crackling fireplace, and a room to the right of the entryway with a dining room table.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Anadon said, turning to her. "You will be living here until you have completed your Assistant training and gained enough credits to buy your own home, or you have chosen a mentor. Most of your fellow players have checked in, though only one has arrived. If you will follow me, I'd be happy to show you to your room."

He led her up the stairs, explaining that the second floor was used for instruction and had a training room for practicing spells or weapons techniques. The third and fourth floor housed the bedrooms.

"But you," he said, pausing at the base of a much smaller staircase that led to the fifth floor. "Will be on the fifth floor. It's a smaller room than the others, but it has access to the attic and a flat area on the roof. It's customary to give Elites their own space, preferably at the highest point as they serve as lookouts and long-range fighters for their teams." He laughed, waving his finger at her. "The Elite on my team loved being in the skies. She would jump high in the trees from one to another, and always managed to befriend the flying companions in World Three. She was more bird than human, I think."

Aella smiled. "Maybe I will follow the same path." she frowned as he quieted and she saw a faint trace of sadness cross over his face before he nodded, and bowed to her.

"If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. The door is unlocked, and hopefully everything is to your liking."

Aella looked up the staircase to the wooden door and smiled. "I'm sure it will be."

Anadon moved his hand in a motion for her to continue. She started up the stairs, and smirked when the stairs creaked with each step. She stopped at the door, then paused.

"Oh," Anadon said. "I almost forgot. I'll be hosting breakfast in the morning at 7:00. Shall I see you there?"

She turned around and nodded.

Anadon smiled and nodded his head to her, then walked down the hallway.

She turned and opened the door, peering inside to her room. It was wide open. The area to her right held the full-size bed, and the two windows with a seat beneath each one. A massive wardrobe sat against one wall, and a desk sat in the same place on the opposite wall.

To her left was a wide open area easily big enough to be used as a training area, and there was a door on the farthest wall. She walked over to it, opening it and stepping outside. The roof was flat in the center, with raised walls where the roof sloped from. From this point, she could see across the other roofs, the two neighboring houses so close she could jump from one roof to another, and yet with the walls, someone on the ground would be unable to see her.

She looked up, seeing the massive planets hanging in the sky, and the white moon directly overhead that provided light. Beyond them all was the dark sky littered with twinkling lights. A breeze ruffled her hair and she turned and went back inside, closing the door behind her.

She yawned as she sat down on the bed, and sighed as she laid down. She frowned as she remembered the book she had gained in the library and she swiped her hand up, looking at each of the icons on her player menu. A red number 1 was illuminated on her inventory icon and she clicked it, seeing the book in one of the slots. She selected it, and chuckled as it appeared on the bed next to her.

She moved to a sitting position and dismissed the player menu. The book was soft, the leather cover velvety to the touch. She turned it over, and took in the design on the back.

I didn't notice that before.

The same symbol as the sheet she had seen in the terminal outside of the Capitol Complex, three lines extending through a circle, was etched in gold on the surface. Five other symbols were etched onto the surface, but she had never seen them before. The pages were welded shut, made from a gleaming golden metal. The book seemed to hum with energy and the runes lit up with a blue and gold light when she ran her hand over the top of them. She turned it over, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion as she realized there was no way to open the book.

"Luke," she said.

The earpiece crackled as his voice came through. "Yes?"

"First off, why is there a crackle when you talk to me?"

"I'll have the techs run a diagnostic when you're asleep," he answered.

She nodded. "What is this?" She waved the book back and forth.

"I don't know," Luke said. "I've never seen it before, and since you can't open it, I don't know what is says. My best guess is that it is spell specific or rank specific and will unlock once you reach a certain point."

Aella rolled her eyes. "So it's useless?"

Luke chuckled. "I didn't say that. It might be worth quite a bit of money--but you won't know until you unlock it."

She sighed, then waved her hand over the book. A Return symbol appeared and she clicked it, the book disappearing.

"Book returned to inventory" the mechanical voice said.

"Set this location as log-in entry Home" she said.

"Log-in entry Home has been added to list of log-in locations" the mechanical voice said. "Would you like to review the list of log-in locations?"

"No," she said, running a hand through her hair. "Disconnect from game."

"Disconnecting," the mechanical voice said.

Everything in her screen turned black and the I.L.S. Beta Game symbol appeared in her version, slowly rotating in a circle.

"Your guard has been paged and will arrive within a few minutes," Luke said through her earpiece. "Would you like me to order you something to eat and have it delivered to your room?"

"No, but thank you," she said, feeling her stomach move as the pod began to lower. "I'm going to get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"I understand," he said. "Watch your eyes."

She blinked as bright light filled the pod as the lid slid to the side.

"Hey," Luke said. "Maybe tomorrow you'll get your first quest. The first few days are mainly for orientation, but you seem like the type to get up and go do things."

Aella nodded. "Maybe I will."