Aegis Online

(Warning: this chapter features some graphic violence!)

 I freeze, and Jeffrey and Jared move next to me. I look up at them, before turning to the girl. “I was, but I wasn’t at the same time.”

She tilts her head, brow furrowing. “I don’t get it. What do you mean, you were but you weren’t?”

I take a deep breath, and just… say it.

“I’m trans. I may have been born a guy, but I was supposed to be a girl. I wasn’t ever happy with who I was, until I figured out why I felt wrong in my own body. I’ve been seeing a therapist, I’ve spoken to my parents about it, and every single person who knows can tell I’m happy for the first time in my life.”

The girl took a step forward, raising a hand. I flinch, and she laughs, “No, dummy, hold up your hand!”

Slowly, I raise my hand, and she high-fives me. “Two things! First, welcome to the winning team! Second, it’s so cool that you’re telling me this. Sorry for putting you on the spot, Kylie. I… guess you use female pronouns, yeah?”

I nod, and she smiles. “That’s cool with me. Welcome to college for real, Kylie!”

A couple of the guys nod and I relax. The class moves onto the next period, and I find myself explaining a few more times throughout the day. Pretty much everyone seems to be weirdly chill, and, when I mention it to Jeffrey, he laughs.

“You DO remember that this is a LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE? I’m pretty sure most people here are aware and relatively knowledgeable about the community. I mean, I don’t go out of my way to hide it,” he gives Jared a quick kiss on the cheek. “Sure, there are probably a few jerks on campus, but there are jerks everywhere. You shouldn’t concern yourself with what others think. The only opinion that counts is your own.”

I blush, fiddling with my hair. Thanks to my mother’s genetics, it grows fast, and it’s getting pretty long, easily coming down to just above the small of my back. It’s such a relief that I won’t need to wear a wig!

As I turn the corner, I almost bump into Coach Owen, who smiles. “I guess you finally sorted out your issues, then? Good on you!”

I blush and nod. “Thank you, coach. Yes, I’ve been making great progress!”

“That’s great to hear. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get assigned to the girl’s teams from now on. Anyway, you get to lunch, okay?”

I nod and smile, continuing to the lunch hall and joining up with Jeffrey and Jared again. I make my selection and take a seat, the two boys on either side. About halfway through lunch, I have a thought.

Jeffrey, Jared? What act are you two putting on for the talent show?”

They grin. “Ah, we’re taking a song and making it a duet. Did you get your form?”

I nod. “Yep. Dana and I have an idea, too. We’re doing a duet as well.”

The two boys grin, and we finish our lunch. I head to my next class, while they head their own ways. The day ends much the same way as it started, and I head out, making my way home on the grav-train, practically skipping my way home and grabbing a quick snack as I settle down to do my homework. About two hours later, I’m done, and I dive into my pod, returning to the world of Aegis Online.

I spawn in right where I’d logged out, starting up my stream as I begin making my way to the Trevalli estate. It’s completely been restored, even the gardens filled with blooming roses, flowerbeds, a hedge-maze, a pond filled with gleaming fish… and, at the door, is the ghostly Duchess, waving at me. My chat always loves ‘Dorothea time’, with plenty of viewers gushing over how adorable she is.

“Ms. Kettrin! Welcome! I wanted to see you, so I’m glad you came on your own. I have a gift I would like to bestow upon you. Do you have a second?”

I smile and nod, furling my wings. “Of course, Dorothea. I always have time for you!” I follow her inside, and she pauses, looking up at the massive emblem of her House’s crest, a pair of crossed swords beneath it. She gestures at one, bringing it from its mounting, and ‘holding’ it, using her telekinesis to grasp it in her spectral fingers.

“Kneel, please.”

I drop to one knee, and she brings the sword down, touching the flat to my left shoulder, then my right.

“Kettrin of the Skyborne, I, the Duchess Dorothea Trevalli of House Trevalli, commend you for your bravery, your unflinching courage, and your generosity. By the power vested in me, I hereby dub thee Dame Kettrin, and grant you the title of Knight of Vassim!”

I blink, gawping. My stream is going ballistic, and I bow my head. “I humbly accept this honour, Duchess. Thank you.”

The sword is returned to its bracket, and I stand, ruffling my wings as I try to adjust some of the feathers.  The Duchess smiles. “I wish I could do more, but I cannot bestow a true noble title upon you. Only a member of royalty can do that, and the royal family of Vassim has apparently died out during the last century, which one of the nice Argonauts informed me about.… although, a noble title just needs to be granted BY royalty, so if you made your way to another country or empire, you might well be able to earn true noble status there.”

I smile, and bow again, flaring my wings. “Thank you, lady Trevalli. I must go now, I have much work to do, but I will always make time to visit you when I can.”

She smiles and curtseys, and I turn, taking off, slowly rising into the air in a lazy spiral, before beating my wings harder, catapulting myself through the clouds as I head away from the city of Vassim, hunting for anything that looks like a good spot to farm for exp.

As I cruise over the forest at a decent altitude, I look around, my eyes focussed. My vision is raptor-like, the trees beneath me perfectly clear. I spot signs of movement below, and dive, swordspear and greatshield manifesting in my grip as I plunge through the thin branches, my wings furled enough to avoid damaging them, and I land, wings flaring as my clawed sabatons dig into the ground, my armour gleaming.

With shouts of surprise and fear, the group of bandits I’d spotted from above whirl and draw. I activate Sky hammer, launching myself into a shield-bash, sending two men flying back, before I slam the butt of my spear into the stomach of another.

They rally, and I realise there were more than I’d first thought, and I stop thinking, slashing and thrusting with my swordspear, battering with my shield and wings. Small wounds and dents start appearing as I fight. Bodies cover the grass, and I finally stand victorious, the brigands scattered and slain. I gasp for breath, taking a few minutes to loot the bodies for any cash or useful items.

Amongst my loot, I find a couple of healing potions. Chugging one, I feel my minor lacerations knit together. Taking off, I resume the hunt. Over the next few hours, I find two more camps, a fair number of Diomedan Deer, a pack of massive wolves the size of carthorses, and, finally, in a large clearing, I spot two enormous figures, at least 20 feet tall.

They’re swinging fists at each other, the sound of impacts ringing out like boulders shattering under great pressure. Judging by the number of felled trees, it looks like they’ve been clashing for quite a while. One of the giants is wearing crude but sturdy armour that shows the signs of battle, while the other is dressed in furs and roughly-made bone plates.

I beat my wings, hovering, and the armoured colossus roars up at me.

“You there, winged one! Be you an ally of the city of Vassim, or nay?!”

I call back, “Yes! I am indeed!”

The other titan lets out a bellow, and the armoured giant rears back and socks the barbarian in the side of the head. They seem evenly matched, and the barbarian booms, shouting something in a language I don’t understand.

The armoured titan rumbles, “Help me bring this savage down, and I will assist you, once, with anything you may ask that is within my power to grant!”

I smirk. I wonder how much exp. a giant is worth?

“Hey, chat… watch this!” I exclaim to my streaming orb, then go full speed, as the barbaric giant rises, uppercutting the armoured one in the face. My wings beat furiously as I loop, working to get around behind my foe. As I skim the ground, I bring my swordspear down in a slashing motion, a spray of dark blood gushing past me as I open a gash in the back of one ankle. A bellow of pain rises above the melee, and I spin to avoid a hurled tree-trunk, the rooted end impaling the ground like a thrown javelin. I loop back on myself, spinning rapidly, drilling through the air as I hold my spearblade at an angle. A deep series of gouges open up on the giant brute’s back, and I narrowly avoid the noxious spatter of blood.

A massive fist slams down just behind me, and I flip myself back, spinning in mid-air, rotating as I kick my legs round like a bird of prey taking prey, my clawed sabatons slamming into one of the barbaric giant’s eyes, sinking in up to the knee. It pops like a disgusting grape, and I shriek in revulsion, yanking myself backwards in the air, frantically shaking my legs to try and clean off the eyeball goop.

The armoured hulk brings his hands together and brings them down like a hammer on an anvil, and a resounding CRACK! splits the air. With a slackjawed expression, the barbarian giant collapses, face down, head lolling at an unnatural angle.

I land, shaking my feet one after another, as the huge armoured figure approaches, his footfalls shaking the ground.

“Well fought, little warrior! Not many of your size would be so willing to tangle with a Fomorian!”

I look up at my ally. “A what-now?”

He lets out a chuckle that would scare the birds, if any had been around. “A tribe of giantfolk from the far north. Cruel, brutish, and greedy, they take what they want. And they want EVERYTHING. How this one made it so far, I have no idea, but I will need to investigate.”

He idly nudges the corpse with his foot. I ask, “Sorry, but, if you’re fighting him, does that mean there are giantfolk who aren’t like that?”

He nods sagely. “A fair question. There are many who wish to be left alone, but there are also those like my men and I, who are pursuant to the fact the Fomorians don’t CARE if you won’t fight back. They will still take from you if they can. Thus, standing against them is a worthwhile effort. Now, your reward…”

The giant reaches into a pouch at his waist. Between thumb and forefinger, he removes a horn. It looks like a hollowed out tusk from some great beast, but in his palm, it’s tiny, like a toy trumpet.

“My men and I use these to signal each other. Simply blow it, and I will come to your aid with as many of my men as I can. However, I will only do this once, so do not use it unless there be naught else you can do. My duty will not permit me to assist more than that. May your gods watch over you!”

He drops the horn in front of me, and turns, bounding off in great, earth-shaking leaps and jumps, disappearing surprisingly quickly for such an immense being. I pick the horn up, smiling. This could definitely come in handy…