Jae

Jae gave Nymoria a curt nod, her silver-white hair shifting as she inclined her head ever so slightly. "Apologies." The word was simple, succinct, yet entirely intentional. She had no need to elaborate; anything more would have felt forced. She kept her expression unreadable as Nymoria turned to speak with Wulfrin, her hands weaving through the air with fluidity—at least, until they didn’t. Jae didn’t pry, but her sharp gaze picked up on the hesitation in Nymoria’s fingers, the momentary falter. She only caught fragments of meaning, stray words drifting through the conversation like page

The shore was little more than jagged rock and restless water, slick with rain and foam, the wind carving merciless fingers through the darkness. Jae stepped from the swaying boat with stiff limbs, her balance shifting as she landed on uneven stone. Her fingers uncurled from the boat’s edge, knuckles pale, stiff from the cold. She had gripped too tightly, a reaction she hadn’t fully registered until now. The NPC boatman said nothing. He had barely spoken at all, and even as she turned her head slightly, she could feel his vacant gaze on her back, waiting. Perhaps for her to leave, or perhaps f

Ryo’s assurance drifted through the desert heat, casual, self-assured. "I'll make sure you don't die." Jae’s lips twitched—not quite a smirk, not quite amusement. A breath of laughter, dry as the dust beneath their boots, slipped past her lips before vanishing beneath the murmur of the market. She adjusted the strap of her gear, fingers deft and unhurried, before casting him a sidelong glance. “The ones who say that usually go first.” Her tone was light, almost absent, but there was a weight behind it, a certainty etched into the space between her words. She brushed a stray wisp of silver

Jae’s cat-eyes flicked toward the voice, sharp and unyielding as a blade catching the sun. She had been mid-motion, tightening the worn strap of her pack, when the stranger’s casual “Yo” threaded its way through the market’s hum. Her movements stilled, emerald eyes glinting beneath the low shadow of her hood, catching on the figure weaving toward her. He wasn’t an NPC—his gait was too easy, his grin too unburdened by the heavy heat pressing down on Fortaleza’s sandstone walls. Another player, then. The faintest twitch of her eyebrow betrayed her interest as she studied him. Sunlight dance

The market buzzed with life, a symphony of voices blending into the metallic chime of goods exchanged and the shuffle of feet on worn cobblestones. Jae moved through the chaos like a shadow, her hood drawn low, emerald eyes sharp beneath the brim. The air carried the mingled scents of dried herbs, leather, and sweat—a far cry from the cool, resinous calm of her forest home. It was then, as she waited for the vendor to count her coins, that she caught it: the faint murmur of something unusual, a thread of gossip woven into the noise. "Fool’s errand," one voice scoffed, muffled by distance. Anot

Buying the following items: Water Canister (x3) | [400col] Grants +(5 *Tier) health regeneration while out of combat. Effect lasts for one thread. Total: 400col Math: [2,900col] - [400col] = [2,500col]

Days Later Dawn broke over the forest in a delicate symphony of gold and amber, light threading its way through the latticework of branches overhead. The soft, luminous glow spilled into Jaelynn’s hollow like liquid fire, pooling in uneven patches across the bark walls and the mossy floor. The world below seemed to slumber still, its breaths slow and steady, the muted rustle of leaves a mere whisper. But here, high above the forest floor, energy sparked and coursed through her, a silent crackle of anticipation that had been building for days. She had waited long enough—too long. Fo

The rumors wove themselves into the air like threads of smoke, drifting from table to table in the dimly lit tavern on Floor 02. They were fragmented, half-whispered tales that dissolved as quickly as they formed, leaving only the lingering taste of intrigue. Jae caught the murmur first as a stray thread—something about a quest unlike any other, a challenge that had broken even the strongest among Aincrad’s warriors. Even those who walked the frontlines, whose blades had tasted victory over countless foes, those under them spoke of the quest with hesitation in their voices and shadows in their

weight of the hammer (Quest) | Exp: 1,749 | Posts: [21] | Status: Waiting For approval Once more, the frontliners shattered the chains binding Aincrad’s next floor, their triumph a distant thunder that barely stirred the quiet corners where Jae lingered, hidden from the storm of their progress. But the shadows no longer comforted her; they suffocated. Enough. With a resolve that burned brighter than her fear, she stepped into the labyrinthine wilds of Aincrad, her heart pounding to a rhythm of ren

Jae paused for a moment, the remnants of her shattered attempts scattered at her feet like broken promises. The heat from the forge clung to her skin, seeping into her very bones, but it no longer felt like a punishment. The flames had become her crucible, and she, the metal—tempered, not destroyed. The fractured pieces at her side gleamed like jagged stars, pieces of her soul that refused to submit. The weight of them was heavy, yet strangely freeing, a reminder that even in failure, she was something more than she had been when she walked in. Callum approached, his steady footsteps the only

Name: Veil-Piercer Item Tier: Weapon Item Type: Longsword (Straightswords) Item Rarity: Perfect Enhancements: Accuracy III Cost: Free - Earning A Living Desc: "Made with Aursteel, the shape of the blade resembled a flame, etched with small symbols and patterns reflecting the internal thoughts of its creator." Post Link: Post #16

"Fuck." Jae would exclaim after laying the saved piece to the side of the forge. Despite her momentary smile, she was still not any further in creating her armor. The air around her pulsed with the rhythmic beat of the forge, each strike on the anvil a declaration against the weight of failure. The flames crackled and swirled, their molten dance a wild, untamed force that mocked the stillness of the world beyond. In the quiet corners of her mind, the sprawling labyrinth of Aincrad seemed like another life, a faraway dream from a forgotten time. Here, within the forge's embrace, ev

The forge’s glow was a subdued ember, casting wavering shadows across the soot-streaked walls. The air within the smithy was heavy with the scent of iron and fire, a mixture that wrapped itself around Jaelynn as she stood before the anvil, the failed attempt still cooling in her hands. Her earlier triumph sat sheathed at her side—a reminder of her potential—but now, the twisted metal in her grip seemed to sneer at her ambition. The light armor she’d tried to craft lay misshapen, a haunting echo of what it might have been. Its surface bore the scars of uneven heating and a misaligned strike, it

The anvil awaited her next attempt, and she would answer its call until her strength or her materials ran dry. The forge glowed like a sleeping dragon, its heat licking at her skin as Jaelynn spread the next material across the anvil—a piece of ore she hoped would bend to her vision. She wasn’t crafting for battle this time; she sought something protective, a second skin to shield her in the wilds where the wind bit and the shadows lingered. Light armor, she decided. Practical. Nimble. The tools in her hands felt heavier now, as if the weight of her recent triumph and subsequent f

The forge was alive with heat and the roar of flame, but Jaelynn’s focus was sharper still. Her newly forged blade rested on the workbench behind her, a masterpiece of balance and power, its markings glinting like the constellations she often gazed upon from her hollow. She could still feel the hum of the perfect weapon in her hands, a creation born from sweat, determination and isolation. Yet, the perfection of that blade was not enough to satiate her hunger for mastery. She turned to the anvil again, untying her satchel to retrieve the next piece of raw material. Her fingers lingered over th

The walk back to her hollow was unhurried, each step weighted with a quiet satisfaction. In her pack rested the fruits of her labor: five distinct ores, their edges sharp, surfaces uneven yet gleaming with potential. As the forest of Floor 2 welcomed her back, the thick branches overhead swayed in silent acknowledgment of her return. Reaching her hollow, Jaelynn climbed swiftly, her muscles aching but eager for rest. Once inside, she knelt and gently placed the ores on the woven mat near her lantern. They reflected its golden light, each unique in its composition. Aursteel, the rarest among th

The sun dipped low as Jaelynn stepped away from her previous failure, her breath shallow and her resolve stretched thin. The path ahead led her into a secluded meadow where the light seemed eternal, caught in a perpetual embrace of dawn. She had no name for the place, only the awe it inspired—where wildflowers, splashed with a painter's palette of color, waved gently in the breeze, and the soft gurgle of a stream threaded through the air like a song. Her footsteps were quiet as the wind that tugged at her cloak, urging her onward—toward the wild expanse that awaited

The forest stretched on, silent and inscrutable, as the emerald-eyed seeker pressed forward. The shard of metal from her earlier find rested securely in her pouch, but it felt like a hollow victory now. Her breaths came in steady pulls, misting faintly in the chill air, yet the tension clung to her like a shroud. Somewhere out there, hidden amidst the labyrinth of trees, lay the final piece she sought. But for now, the land offered her nothing but its endless, indifferent sprawl. The light began to fade as Jaelynn moved deeper into the wilderness. Shadows grew long and jagged, reaching ou

Jaelynn’s boots found purchase on the uneven terrain of Floor 1 as she descended from the cliffs, her mind fixed on a single thought: she wouldn’t stop. The sun had barely brushed the treetops when she left the canopy of her home behind, weaving her way toward the border between Floor 01 and Floor 02. It was a place where the land met the open sky, a place of possibility and failure. And now she would retrace her steps, stay near her home of humility. The jade-eyed sentinel moved through the forest like a shadow, determined, yet torn between the thin line of hope and the suffocating weight of

The sun had barely touched the sky when Jaelynn left her hollow, a quiet resolve in her chest. The morning air was sharp, the first breath of the day biting at her exposed skin. She marched, determined, to the edge of the forest where the tree line started to thin, leading her toward the edge of the jagged cliffs that flanked Floor 2. It was a location she hadn’t yet explored—a craggy expanse where the earth seemed to crumble and fall away into the abyss below. The cliffs were silent, save for the occasional screech of a distant bird, and the wind that swept over the stones with a haunting, lo

The air felt thicker this morning, the weight of her past failures lingering in the space between her breaths. Five. Five times now, Jaelynn had searched, strained, and fought for something to bring back. And five times, she had returned empty-handed. The thought gnawed at her insides, threatening to unbalance her, to drown her in frustration. She could feel the frustration like a knot in her chest as she stepped from the shelter of her hollow, the first light of dawn spilling over the forest in delicate threads of gold and lavender. The earth beneath her boots was cool, and the forest around

Under the pale gaze of the moon, the moon-borne seeker stood at the edge of the forest, staring at the ground as though it might offer some answer. She had failed again. The same miserable, rusted scraps littered her satchel, mocking her every step, each piece just another reminder of how she was falling short. Her breath came in sharp bursts, the cold air burning her lungs. The weight of failure was settling into her bones, heavier than the pack on her back, heavier than her frustration. She didn’t know when she had stopped caring whether the forest heard her muttered curses or not, but tonig

The world outside Tolbana’s borders was vast, and tonight, it felt like it mocked her. The sky hung heavy with stars, their brilliance indifferent to her failures. Jaelynn stood alone beneath the spindly limbs of a leafless tree, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. A low growl escaped her lips as she tilted her head back, staring into the void of the night. “Three tries. Three damned tries,” she muttered through gritted teeth. The bark of the tree before her seemed to leer, daring her to act. Without thinking, she slammed her head against it—not hard enough to hurt, but enou

Jaelynn’s steps were slow, the world around her stretching out in shades of soft amber and pale blue as dusk bled into the horizon. The outskirts of Tolbana were not far off, but she didn’t head toward the town. The call of the forge, the weight of the blacksmith’s task, still clung to her like a second skin, and she needed something—anything—to make this failure feel less like defeat. She walked, the earth soft beneath her boots, but the sense of direction had abandoned her. The hills were empty, the air still, save for the faint rustling of the grass beneath the gentle push of the wind. Her

The scent of moss and damp earth mingled in the cool air as the frost-kissed shadow stood at the edge of the hollow, gazing down at the sprawling expanse of forest below. From her vantage point high in the trees, the world seemed both vast and intimate, as though she were suspended between the earth and the stars. The canopy above shielded her from the worst of the night’s chill, but the wind still found its way through the cracks. She adjusted the bundle of vine and bark wrapped around her shoulders, her fingers working with practiced ease as she secured another length of rope to the surroun