《Sandshard Online》


 Chapter 1: A Black Halo descends

    "Finally! It''s here!" A young man says, opening the door for the delivery men to bring in a machine as big as a single person bed. This man is named Dave. He is 21 years old this year, has a part time job at a book store, and is a frequent user of the popular messaging app, Descorn. He is roughly 5''10", has dark blonde hair, almost brown, has light skin, and is pretty fit looking, but thanks to his body structure, he somehow weighs 240 lbs while looking skinny, for the most part.


    He is excited today because he has finally received his Full Dive Pod, nicknamed by the masses as "Sand" or "Sand Pod" due to how soft the materials on the inside are, and the fact that you sink down into it. With this, many people are able to play games using vr even in their sleep. For most games, there is an accelerated in game time of roughly three days in game to 8 hours outside. With such an option, people can play the game, while also sleeping and recovering their physical energy and mental energy they overused in the day.


    Along with this, was that recently a new FDVR game called Sandshard Online has been coming around, created by an unknown entity known simply as Re:Deux. It boasts almost realistic graphics, many classes, some still undiscovered, a large, open world, with a built in language translator that effectively conveys what a person is saying in a different language. It also has a neat selection of Races to choose your starting character from. Players are allowed only 2 characters in game, however, they must be the opposite sex of each other, and must have the same naming scheme, such as Holy Sun and Deadly Moon, or they can opt to just simply keep at least four letters of their main accounts name, such as Swifthead and Swiftanya.


    Finally, the preparations Dave set have been complete, his landline and cellphone connected wirelessly, allowing to have notifications if anyone called. the time was 9 am, and Dave just finished his meal. He had the rest of the day to play this game, as his book store is currently closed due to the cold last night and today, and should be open in a day or two. Using this time, Dave would set off on his journey in the land of Sandshard.


    Dave finally laid down in the Sand Pod, sinking down in, relaxing his body, as two pads attach themselves to his temples, as his vision goes black. When he wakes up, he is a vague mound of white motes of light, with a discernible mouth and no eyes,in a pure white room, with a lady at a desk, smiling as she waved him over. This girl was blonde, and definitely had the airs of being a Secretary type. She kept her smile up, her voice sweet as her ice blue eyes stared at Dave.


    "Hello there! You must be new to this. My name is Anetta, and i will be acting as the proxy game maiden."Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "A... Game Maiden?... Whats that?" Dave responded curiously.


    "A Game Maiden is usually one of the sisters who have the ability to bring people into the world of Sandshard. However, the Game Maiden on duty today has ran off to play, as usual, and I am usually her replacement, so I''m called a Proxy Game Maiden." Anetta said.


    "Ah. I see." Dave said, nodding.


    "Anywho, lets get you registered. What would you like your First accounts race be?" She said, as a selection screen appeared in front of her.


    [Choose one of these races. Depending on which you choose determines where you start.


    Elven Race


    Dwarf Race


    Gnome Race


    Monster Humans (Demihuman) Race


    Human Race


    Devil Race


    Seraphim Race


    Undead Race


    More races can be unlocked and used with your second account, as long as your main account completes whatever to meet the condition to unlock that race.]


    Dave read through this heavily, reading through the various Races and sub races of the list, before a light covered the whiteness in read, as the selection flickered randomly, landing on a subrace of the Devil Race, and locking that down as Daves'' first accounts race. It was the subrace simply titled ''Fallen'' it was a choice that wasn''t there before.


    Anettas face paled as she saw what happened, the world turning to white again. "Dear user I am so sorry for this. It seems like an external force did something to slightly dislodge the Gamecart right as it was about to integrate with the FDVR system, causing a malfunction. The only way this would be possible is if some outside force affected it. Please use your FDVR system Outside capsule camera to see what happened.


    Dave nodded, saying a command, as a screen appeared in front of his face, showing the outside view. and in that view, the culprit was... Daves'' Ragdoll cat named Muffin, attempting to find a place to sleep on the side of the Sand Pod, and having chose to lay down on where the game cart is inserted, purring away as she settled down to sleep.


    Dave sighed, smiling. "Its fine, i guess. obviously if it was because Muffin did it, it must be a good thing."


    Anetta sighed in relief. "Alright then. please choose what you want your grown body structure to be, and what you want your account name to be."


    After some minor scaling to alter his appearance to become like his real world body, with a slightly more handsome face, and a lighter and slightly skinnier build. He then chose to have Black hair with two blonde golden streaks about a few inches long, coming from the middle of his hair. After looking in the mirror that Anetta provided as soon as she realized she forgot to bring it out, Dave nodded, and went on to write down his name.


    "Remember" Anetta stated, "Indigenous races and players will be calling you by this name or a variation of it."


    Dave nodded, before deciding to use the name he used in regular PC mmorpgs, Black Halo. As he completed it, Anetta smiled and asked. "Would you like to start the tutorial? It will take place roughly around the time your character is 2 years old."


    Dave was startled at the fact that he would be 2, before nodding, accepting the tutorial. He stood still as a white light flashed, taking a picture of Black Halos'' face. Before teleporting him away, Anetta had looked down during the flash, and sucked in a cold breath. In the split second instance, on the ground Three things appeared as shadows. A set of wings, and a halo appeared, while giving off an aura that was not at all angel like.


    Anetta thought to herself before she mumbled "...Wait, aren''t all the Fallen dead...?" She looked towards the direction the teleportation light went towards, sighing. "Mr Black Halo, I wish you luck..."

 Chapter 2: This is a Tutorial?...

    Darkness. The Ripping and tearing noises. A child screaming, even after they lost consciousness. Then silence. This is what Black Halo heard. When he opened his eyes, once more, he finds himself in a deep crater, scratches and bruises all over him. The pain was horrible. The pain was about to pick up once more, before a soft, green light appeared over him, and a soft piccolo playing a piece was heard, soothing Black Halos'' wounds.


    As BH looked around him, he saw an old woman, smiling softly at him. He stood up slowly, standing on wobbly legs. He looked up at her and said "Ma''am... where... where am I?..."


    She sighed lightly, coming down into the crater, and picked his small body up, holding him in her arms. "You''re in the land that the Fallen reside in. Or at least, where they used to reside. I am Dashalla, a Mid Level Devil. I am also a longtime friend of the last Fallen seen on the planet."


    He nodded, looking at her. "What... do i do now...?"


    She smiled slightly, as she started walking off towards a patch of trees in this land. Her home was in the forest. The forests name was The Minkah Forest. within a few minutes of walking, they came upon a log cabin, with training dummies lined up in a row, and many other training equipment. She set him down, holding his hand as they went into the cabin, where she washed him up and fed him, and told him the story.


    "Young one, you said your name was Black Halo? I hope you don''t mind if I call you Blake. Most Fallen have a name similar to your name, Black Halo, and usually nickname themselves to what the closest normal name it sounds like, such as black and Blake, although they don''t sound the same, it is simply just changing the intonation of the a. Any how, I will tell you about the fallen, or at least what i knew."


    "The Fallen were a tribe who appeared out of nowhere, and never stated where they came from, almost as if they were ashamed of it. They were good fighters, and had a knack for being able to easily use most any weapon as they leveled up. They were fast and lithe, and fairly strong to boot. They cared for each other like family. Their Chieftain was a beautiful male. He was also strong, and smart. He led them to this land, and, after getting permission from the overlord of this region, created a land that the Fallen could call home. It''s name was Minkahret, and it was a small nation, barely much bigger than the size of a city and this forest combined. They lived here quietly and in peace. At least, it was peace, until the Paladins of the humans arrived, claiming that their God told them to kill and destroy the Fallen."


    "They rushed the city, killing and pillaging, young or old. Some licentious ''Paladins'' who sneaked in along with the Paladins ''played'' with the women, from young to old, until they were broken, at which point, they were killed. The Devil King found out about it too late, and by the time we, members of his army, got there, the town was destroyed, dead bodies strewn about, some even in a pile and slowly burning."The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "At the time, I was still a young woman, and a member of the infantry. I was friends with some Fallen there, and even treated a Fallen family as if they were my own. I searched in the wreckage and aftermath, and found the Fallen Family. The parents were huddled over top of one living being, a boy of 18 years. I took him in, and the Overlord kicked any human who followed the Paladins God out of the Devil Lands. Henry, the boy i took in, died not too long ago from complications to his health."


    "However, he made me promise that if anymore Fallen appear in the fallen lands, i would take them in and teach them how to live and fight." She said, a faint glimmer stuck in her eye.


    A box appeared in front of the now nicknamed Blake, stating [The Fallen Land Caretaker is offering to teach you the ways of life. Will you accept? Y N] Blake stood there silently, before clicking on the y, starting the tutorial stage.


    15 years later, a strong and lean young man was using spears, swords, daggers, and bows to attack the dummies outside. The Fallen ability showed its potential, as he had mastered 4 different weapon types, and could even use too long or too short weapons with just as much ability as a regular sized weapon. Blake wiped the sweat off his head, heading inside to eat some food the Dashalla made using the meat that Blake got from hunting trips in the forest. He then went to the bedroom to take a nap to restore his energy.


    He happily ate, as Dashalla drank some tea, looking outside with a worried face. "I''ve been hearing there have been sightings of them... scurrying around, trying to see if any special beings on their list are around before running from the authorities..." she mumbled quietly to herself, sighing.


    Suddenly, the chirping of the birds disappeared, causing the forest to fall quiet. She sucked in a deep breath, before a lone arrow thumped onto the cabin, followed by a multitude of them, sticking into the cabin with force, as men with swords and spears came out of the surrounding woods, and rough looking women stepped out, Bows pointing to the door and all exits of the house, as a deep voice boomed out from the forest.


    "You who lives on this land, surrender now and we might spare you, but we want the boy. He''d be a good trade for our Slavery Group. Should you resist, we will kill you." A mans voice said, as a human male walks out of the word, a giant halberd in hand, engraved with an eastern dragon..


    "Ha!" An aged voice said, as Dashalla stepped out of the house, rolling her eyes. "As if i would allow you all to do such a thing!" A heavy wind blows in, as her eyes glow slightly red, her aged body turning into a lean feminine demon with dark, bat like wings. "I still have this technique to beat you fools into submission. While I''m saying it, you all should know I''ve already contacted the Overlord to help me. Ha ha URK?!" She said, before sounding like she choked on something as she held her neck, blood flowing between her figures as a figure appeared behind her, a bloody knife in hand, as she looked at him in fear, before she fell to the ground, dead, blood draining out.


    "Good work Apostophes. You''ll get two times the reward for killing her before she could kill us." the middle aged man with the halberd said,, before motioning people to go in and capture the boy who bleeds black.


    Blake was laying down, sprawled on his bed, snoring lightly, when loud thumps and a shout woke him up, by the time he stretched and got up, four men rushed into his room, tackling him down, keeping him on the ground.


    "W-WHAT the HECK?! Who are you all?!" he said, managing to break free from the grip of the four people, kicking them away. He took a sigh of relief that they weren''t all too tough, when a middle aged man walked in, exuding a strong aura.


    "We are slave traders, and you are not but trash who thinks he''s strong." The man said, before appearing in front of Blake, a punch drilled into his stomach, causing Blake to cough up blood, slowly sliding down onto the floor, where the four men from earlier walked over, kicking him while insulting him, before the Middle aged man said "Give him the mind numbing pill." At which the four men nodded, as one took out a dark green capsule, shoving it into Blakes mouth, and forcing him to swallow it, causing Blakes eyes to turn dull, and his body to go limp, as the men took him away, put him in a cage, and ferried him away.

 Chapter 3: Thank You for Your Patronage

    Days went by, as the Slavery party headed to their home base, a town called Huyodin. Blake was unable to keep his mind on anything due to the mind numbing drug, but every now and then he could make out a few peoples names.


    From what he heard while under the effects, the four people who held him down were Kuyo, Tuyo, Muyo, and Puyo, a team of brothers. The man with the halberd was the leader of the Slave group was called Mont Taimen. Finally, the last thing he was able to make out before they arrived in Huyodin, was that the Slave groups name was simply Saludin.


    As the group came into the town, many people gathered around, and looked at a cage on a trailer, along with a few batches of loot obtained. They saw a young man, approximately 17 years of age. he looked strong and lithe. His arms were muscled, his legs lean but strong looking, and to top it off, he also had a handsome face.


    After seeing this boys face, they realized that he could be a strong manservant for ladies, as well as something good to look at. Some of the strong women in the town started asking for prices, and even some men came over, asking about prices. Most of these men were married. However, Mont turned them all down for now stating "The sale of this rare young man will be set two days from now. We have already agreed with others on this. So please wait until then, and come to the Saludin Post to get in the auction."


    Everyone sighed at this, knowing there was no way he would let one of them take it early, and risk offending prestigious guests. For now, they all went their separate ways,anxiously waiting for the day to come, because almost all the slaves Saludin brought were High Quality beings.


    The Saludin Caravan moved into their Post, dumping off Blake''s cage at the corner where they kept their slaves, telling him that he will receive two meals a day, and that there will be two hours of heavily supervised body training.


    Following this new set schedule, two days passed quickly, a slightly weary Blake wiping sweat off his head, as he was brought to a special Hall within Huyodin, called the Trading Hall. Today, all matters were moved to the side in preparation for this auction. Many high class entities were gathered here in anticipation for this event. The Saludin Auctioneer was Matthias, a well known auctioneer usually used for the rare slaves. He had everyone gather together and sit down in the provided seats, as it was time to start the auction.


    Matthias nodded, as a low ranking grunt came out, carrying a chain that led to a chained and handcuffed young man. There was some sweat on his head, and he had black hair that oddly had two small streaks of blonde in it. He was also somehow even more handsome than when he was brought to the post through town. you could see his muscular arms and legs, as well as the start to what could be considered abs, as the shirt he was wearing was sleeveless, and had his stomach area showing, as the design of the shirt seemed like it was meant for a much smaller man. It and his pants that were incredibly short were made of burlap-like materials that somehow didn''t take away from the charm of the man, but amazingly also added to it.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Matthias cleared his throat, before proceeding. "This young man was found in the demon region, being protected by a Mid level Devil. We don''t know why this is, however, from reports, the young man was extremely agile, and strong, as well as extremely proficient in the sword, spear, bow, and dagger, as well as showing aptitude for most weapons given to him, according to our sources. He is also pretty handsome for someone belonging to the Devil race that isn''t an Incubus. Thus, the master of this Post, Senior Taimen has set the starting bid to 10,000 Silver coins.


    At this price, most people were stunned at how pricey he was. Then they remembered what Matthias said about showing aptitude in almost all weapons given to him, they figured this was a fair price, as well as also getting a handsome face like that. Like that, the bidding started feverishly, many bidding, while some dropped out with looks of defeat on their face, as they no longer had the money to bid with them. eventually, the price was at 90,000 Silver coins, nearing a single gold coin, and only three bidders remained.


    One was a man who exuded the aura of being a highbrowed gentleman, the other was a mysterious figure wearing a mask that covered everything except their elvish ears that poked out from holes on the hood on their head. Even their voice was an obviously manipulated sound. The last was an older woman, nearing somewhere between 50 to 70 years old, wearing a light plum colored Victorian dress.


    The price had now reached 95,000, and the mysterious elf back downed from the auction, turning to leave, as the man and woman were slowly bidding before the woman bid 1 gold coin. the old gentleman sighed, looking to the woman. "This is my loss, Cyndi. I relent." The woman, Cyndi looked smugly at him, before nodding. "It was a good try, Williart. but you should know i get what i want."


    Everyone left the auction hall, as Cyndi handed a gold coin to Matthias, smiling. as a big man from Cyndi''s bodyguard team came over and took the chain for Blake from the grunts hands, before wrapping Blake up securely with it, and tossing Blake onto his own back, as he followed his lady, exiting the hall, and heading with his fellow bodyguards and his lady to her estate.


    A few hours passed, and they reached a large estate, just a few hours out of the town on foot. The gate guard respectfully smiled at his lady, before opening the gate, allowing them access inside. From there, Cyndi had sent the big man to take Blake to the Servants quarters and give him a room there. She then also told him to get the antidote for Mind numbing pills, as well as a battle ax and a slave contract, stating that he would follow his ladies orders, and would not sellout information to others who wished to seek harm to Lady Cyndi.


    Accepting his ladies command, he did just as she ordered, having Blake sign the contract before giving the antidote to him, before putting down a large battle ax that required being held by two hands, telling Blake that he must learn how to use the Battle Ax as Lady Cyndi wold eventually want to see how he had progressed, and she could not be disappointed. Blake nodded, now working for his lady, Lady Cyndi.

 Chapter 4: That Which You Have Lost, I Shall Return to You.

    Two years and four months have gone by. Blake was now a man, and was the age of 19. His muscles were defined, and he was no longer a slave, though his contract still stood. During his first year, it had taken him roughly a year and six months. It turns out, Lady Cyndi had actually set a deadline of two years for him to master using the battle ax. Seeing that he finished early, she had sent a long and thick pike to Blake, as the buff man, known as Gromar, told him he had a six month deadline to learn how to master the pike, as his mastery of the spear could help. Five months have passed, and he had finally mastered the pike.


    The Lady had sent one last item covered in cloth, as well as a saying that ''she would no longer be putting a time constraint on your learning skills, and that this would be the weapon she would want him to use.'', according to Gromar. He had unwrapped the cloth covered item, to find a small box, with a ring in it. Upon inspection, it turned out that this was a space ring. it was small however, roughly 2 cubic feet in the inside. There were higher ones that had upwards of 1000 cubic feet, that cost a fortune. Inside of this ring were two items. One was a log halberd, a white pike like body, and a dark black Ax head, both of which having a single inscription of a large angels wing, although on the ax head, it looked as if it was a pitch black wing. the other was an envelope that contained a note, and a jade shard.


    On the note was a hand written letter by his Lady. "Blake. It is such a good thing that I had bought you. You have been a wonderful addition to our power, and everyone has agreed o something. Following the time that you finish reading the entirety of this letter, your slave seal will disappear, and you will be treated as one of our own. The jade shard attached has three options for you to choose your first class. In the future, you will be able to change your class, should you want to. These classes are The Jade Halberdier, The Jade Soldier, and The Jade Cavalryman. Please choose which ever one you like, then report to me immediately. to access the jade shard, simply put some of your power into it. Warm Regards, Lady Cyndi Jade."


    As Blake had read up to this point, a burning sensation appeared on his head. it was an odd S made with straight lines, with a line going vertically through the middle. This was the symbol of being a slave caught by the Saludin. It slowly started burning itself away, leaving nothing of the mark behind. Another mark then appeared, a J, written as if it was in Gregorian font. It too, lifted and burnt itself away. Blake had felt a pressure on his back lift away, his body suddenly more flexible and lithe, feeling as if part of him that were sealed had finally been freed and returned to him.


    Blake smiled lightly, at this feeling of being free, before thinking on which class he''d like to take. After a few minutes of deliberation, he nodded to himself, sending a piece of his power into the jade shard and selecting the class of Jade Cavalry. as information flooded into his brain about the class, a jade furred horse in the unawakened stable suddenly woke up, and looked around, a small black and white wing pattern appearing on its forehead, as a stableman led it to the chosen stable,This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Blake had then went to the Lady Cyndi''s mansion, being brought up to her by a butler. As he sat in a chair to wait, Lady Cyndi walked into the door and sat down in her chair, nodding at Blake. "So, you have chosen the Cavalry. That''s a good choice. You now have your own seal, which is the wing marks on your halberd. I had chosen such a seal for you because that halberd was to be given to someone of low status who is able to master the weapons necessary in a short amount of time. You have been the only one to do that thus far. We are not sure as to what the inscripted wings mean, but, this choice is something i cannot go against."


    "On another note, I suppose i should introduce myself formally.My name is Cyndi Latif Jade, the second young miss of the Jade Family. We are a strong family group, and although we would love to have you, an oracle for the god Narzaak, the guider, has told us that after you learned how to use your halberd and whatever it is that your chosen class will give you, she will come to pick you up, and take you to where your adventure will truly begin, as people will need others like you." Blake took all of this information in, before nodding silently. "Come, boy." She said, sighing. "Please feel free to speak. you haven''t talked at all around here."


    Blake sat silently for a few seconds, before pointing at his throat, then making an x with his hands in front of it, before gesturing to let him have something to write on. Cyndi looked at him blankly, before giving him a sheet and a writing implement. On the paper, Blake started writing. "It seems that once the slavers had caught me, they used some magic that negated my ability to speak." Cyndi looked at him, mumbling, saying something about a mute side effect. "Here, Try this, Blake." she said, handing him a cup of tea she pulled out of thin air, that she had added an odd looking herb that looked like bells to it.


    Blake nodded, downing the cup, as he felt a reverberation going through his body. , shaking away the effects he was placed under with a loud clanging sound, hearable even to Lady Cyndi. A few moments later, Blake opened his mouth, as a timid but firm voice with not too deep but not too light sound to it spoke out. "Mi-Milady Cyndi... This one... This one thanks you for saving him." He said, getting on his knee. "If there is ever a reason, I will make sure to help you, in return for your kindness."


    That day was still fresh on his mind. it hadn''t been that long ago, roughly five months ago. since then, he had pretty much mastered his halberd, and was plenty sufficient at horse back riding and fighting. On this day, a visitor came. She had short, Black hair, a gray robe with a red design in the middle, and two gray wing arms showing out of the sleeves. a set of three talons on the end of the wings could be seen on both sides. Her name was Robin. and she was the oracle of Narzaak.