[PP - F1] Life Continues Past Midnight

[Boreas 0]

Today felt like every other day in Sword Art Online for Boreas, he awoke in a small Inn in the Town of Beginnings, an Inn he once stayed in very frequently but now for the last time as he sought bigger and better things with himself. There hadn't been a day, especially during his depression where he didn't think about his friends and fallen guild members he met in the real world, now all taken away from him. But, today was going to be a bit different for him, as his last overnight stay in Floor 1 would be an occasion where he would come to finally say goodbye to them and to the past that continued to echo throughout his mind. He gathered his mind and left the Inn and walked to towards his destination:

The Monument of Life.

A place not many frequent, as the names inscribed on the walls show every single living player currently in Sword Art Online, and those who fell have a red slash through their name. Boreas arrived at said Monument to pay tribute to his guild mates who had fallen. He gazed upon each of the walls to find his comrades names one by one, hoping for a chance that they wouldn't be crossed out today, however of course that had always been wishful thinking. After a moment to reconfirm all their names, Boreas with a sigh opened all of his menus into his inventory and pull out from his menu his lyre harp that he would soon use for his performer profession and said out into the presumably empty halls "I don't have much to offer you all that I lost and those whose lives were wrongfully taken from our world, but perhaps you all would hear a tune of mine one last time. And to all that may still linger, may you find solace when you finally pass." then taking a moment to prepare himself and with one last deep breathe he began to play his tune. 

Word Count: 337

it probably doesn't matter at all but here's his stats

Spoiler

Level: 34 - Paragon Levels: 10
HP: 740 - EN: 90 - DMG: 22 - ACC: 5 - EVA: 4 - LD: 1 - Bleed: 48 - Para: 9+
SP: 180 - Used SP: 168 - Unused SP: 12
Skills:
[Rank 5 - 30 SP] Rapier (+7 to base damage.)

• [Rank 5 Addon - 4 SP] Stamina (Reduce EN of all attacks by 2.)
• [Rank 5 Addon - 2 SP] Precision (+1 to accuracy.)
• [Rank 5 Addon - 4 SP] Rapier Ferocity (+2 to base damage when using a rapier.)
• [Rank 5 Shift - 10 SP] ST Specialist (+3 to multipliers, +2 to EN costs, access to ST-1, ST-II, and ST-B)

[Rank 3 - 13 SP] Combat Mastery: Damage (Gain +1*tier*rank base damage.)
[Rank 5 - 30 SP] Battle Healing (While in combat, recover 5% of maximum HP at the beginning of my turns.)
[No Rank - 10 SP] Charge (Perform a single attack/Sword Art with +3 base damage. Charge attacks have a -1 Accuracy debuff and cannot be affected by any auto-hit effects.)
[No Rank - 15 SP] Unhindered (+1 to accuracy, +1 to evasion, +1 to loot die, +5*tier HP, mitigation is capped at 0 slots.)

Extra Skills:
[Rank 5 - 50 SP] Leadership (Able to use all Leadership Arts, however must expend a mod slot for each.)

Other Buffs:
[Paragon Level 10] +1 base loot die for looting, searching for, and opening chests.
+40 HP, +4 EN, +10 SP for 10 Paragon Levels

Inventory:
Equipped:
[Tier 4 - Perfect Rapier] Internum Sanguin (Enhancements: Bleed/Bleed/Paralyze)
[Tier 1 - Perfect Jewelry] Insignia Bangle (Enhancements: Accuracy/Accuracy/Accuracy)
[Tier 1 - Perfect Trinket] Eternal Reminder (Enhancements: Evasion/Evasion/Evasion)

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya sat up in bed. Light shone past the sheer curtains of her inn room and she rubbed at her eyes in an attempt to will the sleepiness away and clear the lingering fog in her brain. Her plans for today were already decided, so staying in bed just wouldn't do. With a yawn, she pulled her legs over the side of the soft white sheets and pushed herself up to her feet.

Taft was as bright and quaint as always. The sun was out to greet her, peeking up over the tall clocktower that stood on the far side of the city as it brought the morning with it. Her typical 'adventuring' attire sat tucked away in her inventory. Had she not been dressed in a relatively modern fashion, she might have blended in among the NPCs that went about their days on this peaceful European-style floor. Today wasn't for fighting or exploring or gathering loot. No, Telrenya carried herself with purpose as she smiled and called pleasantries over her shoulder to the shopkeeper. Her arms carried more than one arrangement of flowers and she pushed the door open with her elbow as she continued to the teleport gate.

The air shifted when she had reached her destination. Entering through the large archway and making her way down the long empty tunnel on the first floor, the sounds from the bright, lively city behind her seemed stifled. A stillness took over. Her footsteps echoed across the smooth, polished marble and soon she could make out the light that shone through the many curved windows, casting a calm blue light across the interior chamber where the monument stood. But that wasn't all. Another sound reached her ears. The soft tones of plucked strings called sweetly, sorrowfully, from the room ahead. She wondered briefly if a recording crystal might have been left at the altar, but as she crossed the threshold to the large room she was quickly corrected by the sight of a man playing the tune. A gentle smile rested on her lips while she paused to listen. The last note carried through the air, and she waited another moment in the silence.

"That was a beautiful song." She said softly. Telrenya continued her path, her steps once again creating noise that disrupted the still air, and she approached the monument. She gazed at the long, long list of names and her practiced eyes fell onto one with ease. She took her time, standing there in silence with her arms wrapped around the small bouquets she had brought with her, perhaps lost in her thoughts.

[no active quest]

Telrenya | HP: 720/720 | EN: 110/110 | DMG: 21 | MIT:44 | ACC:3 | EVA:4 | BLD: 48  | PARA | LD:1  NOTES   Hide contents   THREAD INFO   Hide contents equipped none - casual clothing   battle-ready inventory none - no loadout prepared skills »Rapier R5 (+7 DMG) »Cloth Armor R5 (+20 MIT) »Energist (+20EN) »Combat Mastery: Damage R3 (+3 DMG) »Protector Familiar extra skills (4/5) »First Aid R5 »Survival (10% increased healing from all sources, immune to damaging environmental effects) »Meditation (+16EN | 3 post CD) addons »[Rapier] Precision (+1 ACC) »[Rapier] Stamina (-2EN) »[First Aid] Hyperactive (+3EN for 3 turns on party member or self | Unique | 3 post CD | 5EN) »[First Aid] Field Medic (Heal self and all party members 25% max HP | 3 post CD | 15EN) »[Cloth Armor] Nimble (+1 EVA, +1 LD) mods »Athletics (+1 DMG) »Purify (Remove all status conditions on self or party member | 1 post CD | 3EN) »Energize (Restore 8EN to party member | 10EN) »Barrier (Reduce final dmg from all sources by 15% on all party members for one turn | 2 post CD | 15EN) buffs »

Edited March 2 by Telrenya

[Boreas 0]

Boreas' tune lasted only but a few moments, while he was still rough around the edges in terms of his string play he was proud of the song he played before the empty mausoleum at least so he thought to be empty. Once he finished the last note of his song a voice exclaimed out to him in compliment, "Hm?" Boreas hummed as he turned to face the blonde figure that had entered. Boreas slightly smiled at her placing his hand on his chest bowing slightly and replied "Thank you miss, I still have a bit to polish on but I appreciate you complimenting my performance."

He straightened himself then noticed that the woman looking outward had gotten lost within the list of names on the monument, Boreas looked back to the names behind him and scrolled its list as well alongside them. After a few moments, Boreas readied himself once more and played yet another tune. However, as he played his soft yet slightly more uplifting song, he figured to speak with the player that had shared the room with him than to awkwardly play the Lyre as they tried to mourn or study the list of names "Are you here to honor a fallen friend as well? I don't mean to pry, just figured to offer conversation miss."

Word Count: 220 (sorry for lower word count it was harder to respond than I thought AAAAA-)

[Telrenya 0]

She smiled warmly at his polite demeanor and cast a glance over her shoulder at his invitation for small talk. "Yes," She gave a single nod, "it's a bit of a new practice for me, but I wanted to start leaving flowers for some of the people I knew." Her cheeks took on the slightest touch of pink embarrassment after saying it out loud, and she shifted back to the bundles cradled in her arms. Pulling one aside, she set it down gently underneath the column where her brother's username was listed.

Blue irises intermingled with daisies were wrapped in pale yellow paper. She wasn't good with the language of flowers, so she was thankful for the knowledgeable NPC that had helped her pick out just the right combinations of blooms and colors for each of her loved ones. They settled in place and she'd straighten back up. There they would lay until gradually, eventually, their durability would run out and they'd disappear without a trace. Until next she would arrive to replace them.

"My name's Telrenya." She offered. Being called 'Miss' didn't bother her any, but she also didn't mind matching his pleasantries.

[Boreas 0]

Boreas looked upon her as she spoke, still continuing to play his tune, after she finished her statement he looked back to the list of names where she had left flowers "People she knew... seems like I am not the only one that lost more than one person." he had thought to himself for a second before saying out to her "Not a bad practice to have Miss, it is no bad thing to honor the fallen and leave something for them in tribute. Tis why I play my music here, I have nothing else to offer at the given moment so I offer what I can."

After another brief moment, Boreas had finished his song then placed his Lyre Harp onto the ground as Telrenya given her name. Boreas shifted his body toward her and he placed his hand on his chest and bowed a bit toward her and said to her "Boreas, at your service Miss Telrenya." he straightened himself then picked his Lyre Harp back up, but instead of playing it, he just kept it in his arms until he had the muse to play another song. He shifted back towards the columns of names and with a saddened grin said to her "If it's any comfort, I too came here to honor people I once knew. A whole guild of players, five of my friends perished in attempts to reach the frontlines. And only I remain from the terrible mistake we all made reaching for strength."

Word Count: 250

[Telrenya 0]

Another bundle of flowers. Red hibiscus and yellow roses cradled in white parchment, this one placed on practically the other end of the monument. She stole a glance at Ruby's name before turning back in time for Boreas' fomral introduction. He shared his own reason for visiting and the people he mourned. "Your whole guild...?" She echoed with disbelief. The thought made her heart hurt. How heavy would her shoulders feel if it wasn't just Ruby's name crossed out from the Holy Dragon Alliance. Ruby, Kimi, Hestia, Spencer, Jomei...

A somber silence fell between them, as did Telrenya's eyes. "That's... That's awful. I'm sorry for your loss." Her lips pursed into a hard line, knowing that no kind words could ease that kind of pain. Not really. She could feel that little tickle at the back of her throat just sitting with that uncomfortable hypothetical and turned her head back to the monument before it overcame her. ”One of my friends here was a guildmate, too.” She spoke up again weakly. A smile wrought with emotions played on her lips as she reminisced. ”We weren’t exactly a frontline guild, but she was one. She was so tough.” Telrenya finally had to bring a hand up to hastily wipe away the beads of moisture that welled in her eyes.

”How long has it been?” She asked.

[Boreas 0]

Boreas mournfully nodded his head in response to Telrenya "Yes. My whole guild, we tried to do a dungeon that were a handful of levels above us to try to gain more in levels to reach the frontlines, and I had the displeasure of seeing them perish one by one. To put it bluntly, it was a nightmare given form. Yet designed by our own mistakes." while he said this with obvious sadness and almost a tremble in his words, somehow managed to keep a more composed face and glance onto the wall of names. 

Eventually a silence was shared between the two, Boreas thinking only of everything he had seen that day. He remembered the whole strategy crumbling apart as they couldn't handle how much stronger the enemies actually were, and remembering how quickly the tank fell, then followed by his friends enraged at the loss of another in attempts to avenge their fallen friend, yet if only a surge in strength to get revenge worked the same way in this world as it would the real one. However, breaking back into reality from his thoughts he looked over to Telrenya with a slight smile to her offer of a kind gesture "It's alright. Their memories shall not be forgotten, I don't intend to let their deaths control my will to fight any longer."

Though, it was soon after he said his own words of self-encouragement where Telrenya had begun to talk about her own loss. Boreas listened intently and kept his gaze upon Telrenya as she spoke of her own story, eventually Boreas looked to his Lyre Harp and played a tune before he spoke "I see. It would seem your guild had different goals in mind, hers was to face the heat of battle but met her fate either in the blaze of glory, or met a eventual end of vanity. Either way, a loss of a loved one is never news one wishes to hear or see, especially inside a world such as this; a game with no real prize waiting for us at its end, yet a prize we all still fight for. I offer my condolences for your loss Miss Telrenya."

Boreas as he still continued to play his song, had to think for a brief moment trying to remember how long ago it was. It had been so long, and Boreas spent so much time on his lonesome that he admitably lost track of time. He replied "At least half a year id say, though I spent so much time on my own that I have lost track of time. It could've been a lot longer than that Miss. What about you?"

Word Count: 449

Edited March 5 by Boreas

[Telrenya 0]

He was incredibly well-spoken, almost intimidatingly so. His formality, composure, and polite demeanor all intermingled together in a way that seemed well-suited to him, she thought. She watched as he plucked away at the strings while he spoke, and the return of his question gave her pause. How long had it been? Since Ruby died. Since she’d learned about her brother’s death. Since they’d been trapped here.

”It’s… It is hard to keep track, now that you mention it.” She forced out, having searched for an answer that would never come to light. She wondered if anyone knew exactly how long it had been since their first days in Aincrad. She almost didn’t want to know. Months, years… At least a year had to have passed by now, right? Maybe even more than one? Recent things, when it was just a month or so ago that the newest floor had been unlocked, things like that were clear. It was easy to remember. But the disbanding of her guild, that party at Ryo’s mansion, her separation from Jomei… How long ago had all of those things happened?

Her brows knit and she shook her head, lest it ache under the weight of her troubled memory. ”I’m not sure exactly.” She was pained to admit. ”Many months, certainly.” It felt like she’d been gone a lifetime. Twice over for her brother. Letting out a steady sigh through her nose, she took a few small steps towards the center of the monument to look for one more name.

The last of the flowers she’d brought were laid beneath the column bearing Lowenthal’s name. Dark gray paper wrapped around orange chrysanthemums and yellow crocuses for the one she’d never actually met. Even so, he sounded to have been a good friend to Jomei and Ryo alike, and if nothing else she wished she could have known him.

With the last of her offerings placed, she took a seat on the steps. ”How did you survive?” She’d ask after a short time. ”If you don’t mind me asking… Has it changed your opinion of the frontlines? Do you ever still hope to make it there?”

[Boreas 0]

"You too huh?" he thought to himself with her initial reply to him. Though, it shouldn't come too much as a surprise to Boreas, time flies by so quickly in a world such as this additionally if you are trying so hard to forget the pains of losing someone or people who meant a lot to you. Eventually Telrenya would give a rough estimate of a reply, in which Boreas would nod his head and reply "Time is not important, what is important is that you still remember them for who they were and what they meant to you. Not how long time had passed."

After Telrenya had asked how had he survived, Boreas had stopped playing his tune albeit briefly. It wasn't a question he was entirely prepared for, however he cooled himself down with a breathe and he replied "Only barely Miss Telrenya, we were in a fight beyond what our level should've been doing, and while one by one my friends had all perished, I somehow was able to destroy the last mob from that battle and find my escape out of the dungeon. I haven't dared return to that very same dungeon." then she asked Boreas a question that, actually required him to fully stop playing his tune to fully think on as he looked upon the list of names seeing his fallen comrades names once again. However after a small period of silence he cracked a small grin "It has. And I don't hope that I will ever still make it there. I know I will. I cannot stand here forever and do nothing letting their deaths forever scare me from completing the goals we had in mind in the first place. Even if they aren't here to help me anymore or see the light at the end of the tunnel, their aspirations in this world shall not be forgotten and I will complete what we started. Even if it means my own life to complete the cause."

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya shifted to plant her elbows on her knees and place her head in her hands as she sat on the stairs to the monument. She briefly wondered if her bids for conversation were disruptive or unwelcome, though based on his polite demeanor she was already sure that he would deny any such suggestions. Each time his music paused, she vaguely hoped that she wasn’t being too intrusive. The sounds of the harp were nice–angelic, even, with how their light tones bounced off the polished stone walls. Maybe she would ask if he’d made any recording crystals for his music. It had been a long time since she’d played anything herself…

…Right?

She listened to him speak and she watched the colors that danced on the floor from the sunshine pouring in from the stained glass windows. Stained glass struck her differently now. Its beauty meant something else. It made her think, perhaps too much. His talk of the frontlines tore her sights away and pulled her eyes up to land on him, surprised by his conviction. She wouldn’t have blamed anyone for avoiding the frontlines, with or without something as heavy as loss weighing squarely on their shoulders. Yet Boreas doubled down on his goal, with a smile no less. She stared for a moment, then a small smile broke across her own lips. She laughed lightly, a quick exhale through her nose as she dropped her gaze. ”That’s really impressive.” She admitted. ”After all that, I would have understood if you never stepped foot outside of a safe zone again.” She’d done the same, not that long ago.

Right?

She pushed herself up and turned to cast another brief look to the memorial. That last bit he’d said was bothering her, and she’d be remiss to let it go unaddressed. ”Be careful. I’m sure they would want to see you make it all the way to the end.” She said softly.

The air was feeling heavy again, and so Telrenya consciously relaxed her shoulders and turned to look down the long tunnel that would lead back to the starting city. ”There’s a couple of shops I was meaning to visit while I’m out today.” In that moment of not knowing whether or not it was socially acceptable to invite someone along to your own errands, and then not knowing how one would even go about phrasing such an invitation regardless, she ended up with a vague statement.

”Um, if you ever just, want some company…” Again, she couldn’t figure out the right way to say whatever it was she was thinking. Her hands fidgeted a little amongst themselves. ”Well, I can send you a friend request, if you’d like.”