“This building is larger than it looks,” I mused. The elven clerk sped up, ignoring my feeble attempt at conversation.

  He led me through a series of hallways to a door of ornate silver and polished stone, the triple arches of the guild formed from woven silver vines.

  He opened the door and gestured for me to enter, closing the door as soon as I walked through.

  I stepped into a moderately sized room and the first thing I noticed was a sweet aroma. Shelves lined the other three walls of the room and a multitude of flowers grew from beds of earth built into the shelves.

  A beautiful elven woman sat behind a massive desk made up of delicate silver vines, the surface was a wide expanse of polished white stone. The desk had but one item which made both the desk seem larger and the object upon it seem smaller — my chit.

  “Welcome to the Verdantbrook branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, prospect,” she said as the door closed behind me. “I am Eylva Vinay, Guild Master of this branch. I apologize for Kleyn’s… demeanor.

  “He failed to get your name. What is it?” She smiled, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. I returned the smile, realizing I had never named my character. I hadn’t been given the option during character creation.

  I wasn't sure if this was an odd game design decision, or a result of the glitch that led to my racial randomization, but I thought about my name for a moment.

  My thoughts once again returned to my brother and his easy laugh. A memory surfaced, a trip we took one summer to a distant beach with our grandparents, shortly after we had moved in with them, after the death of my parents. Death, the great looming spectre of my past, taking all I held dear.

  An algae bloom had resulted in green goo covering the beaches and shallow ocean. We spent the vacation alternating between the hotel pool and watching TV in the room. Both of us had been disappointed by broken promises of clean water and sandy beaches, but my brother worked hard to cheer me up with games and jokes.

  We met another child around our age, and my brother told him our names were Aiden and Chanter, a name he jokingly called me. It was how he pronounced my name, Chandler, when he was first learning to speak as a toddler. Neither of us remembered that, but we both shared an early memory of our mother telling us the story.

  The memory of my mother resurfaced. She had been laying in bed, that sterile antiseptic-smell of hospitals strong in my nose, laughing with us as she talked about our early years. It was a well-worn memory, oft-returned to, frayed at the edges like a favorite blanket.

  Chanter. It was a running nickname Aiden had called me. The last words he spoke to me, saved in a voicemail because I had been sleeping, returned to me.

  “See you soon, love you Chanter!”

  A fresh wave of grief washed over me, surprising me. Just when I thought it was over, that the feelings had been felt so many times that I had grown numb or distant to them, they returned.

  I missed my little brother so much. He had excelled at everything in life, striving and thriving with a smile while I struggled. I wouldn’t be here if not for him, but I would have given everything in the world for him to be around and experiencing this incredible new digital world instead of me.

  “My name is Chanter,” I said with a sad smile and a bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Good, likewise,” she responded, picking up the Chit of Admittance. “What is your class, Chanter? Your area of expertise?”

  “I…” I hesitated for a moment, thinking. “I don’t have a class.”

  “You will need a class so we can match you with a potential mentor of the same skillset. That will be the first step, then.” She placed the token back on the desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a piece of paper and an elegant ink pen.

  “You will be provided a temporary resting room until the testing chambers are prepared. Come see me again once you have completed the examination and I will provide a mentor recommendation.” A quest notification generated in front of me.

  New Quest! Survive the Adventurer’s Guild Class Selection Examination and be assigned a new class! Reward: 1 Copper Class Chest, 1 Copper Adventurer’s Chest, Copper Coins x25, 2,500 Experience Points.

  Eylva laid the paper on her desk facing me, and placed the pen atop it.

  “This is the basic application for admittance to the Adventurer’s Guild class examination. Read and sign here.” She indicated a line along the base of the document.

  I read through it. It went into detail about the dangerous nature of the exam and how the guild was not responsible in any way for injuries that occurred. There was more, a lot more, but I got distracted and didn’t read the whole thing. Something about not damaging guild property while housed.

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  I picked up the pen and felt a sharp pinch when I went to sign. I realized I was signing in blood, which made me uncomfortable. Shoving the discomfort away, I signed with a flourish. I was already too deep to back out now, and what else would I do?

  I could have likely found something else to do; the variety of options available to players was one of the aspects of Veil that was expected to draw in so many people, but I had long decided I would pursue the path of adventure. It’s what Aiden had talked about the most.

  The blood dried black, resembling ink with a faint metallic shimmer. A small pinprick of blood welled up on the outside of my pointer finger. Eylva handed me a small square of tissue paper and I used it to wipe away the bead of blood. The wound healed in seconds.

  Eylva placed the signed document and pen in a different drawer before gesturing to the door, which opened in response. Kleyn stood on the other side.

  “Kleyn, take Chanter to room 24, and notify Helga to prepare the examination chamber and retrieve our prospective applicant once it is prepared,” she turned back to me. “Chanter, I will see you after the exam — should you survive… whom should we contact in the event of your demise?”

  “Demise? I could die? What happens during the exam?”

  “Every second of life has a chance of death, though choosing the path of an adventurer increases that chance exponentially. The exam is individualized and reflects the increase in danger inherent to the career you seek.”

  “Oh, uh, thank you, I don’t have anyone to contact.” I was starting to get nervous and focused on breathing to try and slow my racing heart, with limited success.

  “Understood.” She opened another drawer and pulled out a large parchment scroll, which she unrolled and began reading. “Dismissed.”

  Kleyn led me to a panel that held a multitude of keys affixed to wooden plaques denoting numbers. He pulled off the number 24 key and led me deeper into the guild, to a long hall with numerous unadorned wooden doors. To the side of each of these doors was a number. We stopped outside of 24. Kleyn inserted the key, opened the door, and left without saying a word.

  “What’s his problem?” I mumbled as I stepped into the room. It was simple, a small room with a bed and a small side table with a chair. A narrow window let in sunlight near the ceiling on the far back wall. Small motes of dust drifted in the rays of sunlight.

  I sat down on the bed with a sigh, and took a moment to look over my Status menu for the first time.

  Current Form: Human (Basic)

  Level 2 (Undefined class)

  Experience Points required to level: 3,000

  Health Points: 14 of 14

  Magic Points: 8 of 8

  Charisma: 7 (8-1 from Human (Basic) Form)

  Constitution: 8 (7+1 from Human (Basic) Form)

  Dexterity: 7

  Endurance: 6 (5+1 from Human (Basic) Form)

  Intelligence: 5

  Strength: 6

  Available Stat Points: 2

  STAT POINT DISTRIBUTION DISABLED UNTIL CLASS SELECTION HAS OCCURRED

  I wondered for a moment how the initial stats were distributed. My character’s physical features resembled those of my own in real life to a certain extent, especially once I had transformed into a human. I tried willing my face to change shape, and nothing happened. It seemed like I would maintain the facial features specific to me in whatever form I took.

  I noticed a tab on my Status window labelled Skills. I selected it and there was just one. Transform (1/50). I remembered with dread how painful transforming had been the first time. Levels in the skill meant I would need to practice. More pain.

  I stood, checking to make sure the door was locked. Secure behind the locked door, I tried my best to mentally prepare for the pain as I activated Transform to once more shift back into my Changeling form. The pain was there, but it was nothing like the first transformation. Within a few seconds, I was a Changeling again.

  I took a few deep breaths and transformed again. The pain diminished by a barely perceptible amount. A notification appeared, and I smiled.

  Transform has leveled up! (2/50)

  I spent the next several minutes changing forms. It leveled a few more times. With each level the transformations were less painful, and happened slightly faster.

  I received a notification that the skill had reached level 5, when a knock came at my door. I stood from the bed, breathing heavily and sweating, and approached the door. I took a moment to ensure I was in human form — all of the transformations had become a blur — and swung the door open.

  A dwarven woman stood in the hall, a massive white smile splitting her bushy blonde beard. Her hair was tied up in a thick braid, and she wore leather armor. Two hatchets with wicked spikes along the backs crossed over her shoulders, forming an ‘X.’

  “Ah, 'ello there, recruit. Tha name’s Helga Stragham. It’s a pleasure to meet ya!” she reached out a meaty hand that was much larger than mine. We shook, and the slight haptic buzz I received — along with a notification that minimized — was nearly drowned out by the incredible pressure she exerted. I shook her hand and laughed.

  “You could squeeze coal into diamonds with that grip, Helga. Nice to meet you. I’m Chanter.”

  “Eh? Eh! Sorry, lad, sometimes forget me own strength. Just Chanter, aye? Don’t you worry, you’ll be addin’ more to that name in no time on account o’ your exploits, I’m sure. But we best be off— exam room’s ready for ya. Are you feelin’ aright?”

  I wiped my forehead and smiled. “I’m okay, just warming up to prepare. What’s the exam like?”

  Helga started walking down the hall and I followed as she responded.

  “Can’t rightly say. It’s different each time. Depends on the person. You’ll see. Just know, whatever it is ya see, and whatever is it what appears, they are real and will kill ya right dead if given the chance. Be careful.”