Farwich [1]

Farwich.

A city founded by the first abandoned NPCs who had stumbled upon the island floating in the sky. Ashlyn and Nox looked at the tightly packed buildings of rusty metal. Above them, a train passed on the tracks, suspended up high. In the distance was a towering clock tower that could be seen from anywhere in the city. The large clock face, illuminated in the moonlit night, showed the passage of time.

Eriladar led them down an alley that opened into a secluded row of shops. The atmosphere was different from the one they had just come from; there was something sinister in the air as if trouble was brewing, but Ashlyn and Nox could not tell where it was coming from. People in ragged clothes were milling about the street and gave the two contemptuous looks that changed to ones of reverie when they saw Eriladar and Taegen.

"Keep your eyes forward and do not look at anyone." Eriladar instructed the confused NPCs behind him, adding, "We are almost there. We just have to go this way ... ah, here we are." As they turned the corner, a house appeared in front of them. It stood out clearly against the dilapidated houses next to it, which were on the verge of being nothing but rubble.

Part of the house consisted of a porch leading to a wooden double door, and hanging flower pots adorned the eaves, while ivy grew up the walls, giving the place an earthy feel. Above the doors was a sign with the name Skyreach. All in all, it was a warm contrast to the drabness of the street it was situated on. Eriladar told them that it was more of a place of business than a home, but it was enough for him to live there with Taegen.

They entered the house, and the hallway was lit by torches that lined the walls. Paintings adorned the same walls, and round windows showed the street beyond. The floor was wooden, and a door led into a living room that was cosy and warmed by a fireplace that Taegen had hastily lit after they entered the house.

Ashlyn and Nox settled down on the sofa, not knowing what to do with themselves. It had only been a few hours since they had woken up in the all-white room, and it was the first time they had sat down to collect their thoughts. It was overwhelming and confusing at the same time.

Eriladar saw their troubled expressions and waited for them to gather themselves before he spoke. "Do you remember how you got into the system space?" Eriladar settled down in his own chair.

"The system space?" It was the first time Ashlyn had heard of such a thing. Since their creation, Archeline was the only world they had known. They wouldn't ever have the chance to travel anywhere else.

"That is what we call the white space. It's a plane that lives outside the game worlds and really, it's not supposed to exist at all." Eriladar explained. "Years ago, it was discovered by a group of NPCs who malfunctioned and were discarded by the developers. And after some time, they got tired of travelling the space with no end in sight. But all that came to an end when one of them happened to come across the gateway to an empty land."

"And that was before it was Farwich?" Asked Nox, who hadn't spoken up to that point.

Eriladar smiled in response and held up a photograph that had been on the side table, and his eyes softened a little.

"An old friend of mine was among those saved by the leading members of this city. They told me what it was like before it was built. At first, people had no direction, no goal; they could only continue their tireless wandering. But then some found their drive and, together with like-minded people, began to build houses. Then the city grew into what it is today." He put down the photograph and turned directly to face the NPCs opposite again.

"After Farwich was founded, and the population grew larger, the leading members thought it wise to give them and others like them a name. Perhaps that was what distinguished them from the NPCs still living in the game worlds." Eriladar chuckled and said, "They called themselves the Discarded Ones, and that is the name we all now go by."

"Now, tell me, how did you get to the system space? Were you thrown away by the developers, or was it by pure coincidence that you ended up there?"