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⬣//A SINGLE CRACK LETS THE LIGHT IN.
As they say, fortune favors the brave. Five lucky players took part in a Limited Quest: The Mysterious Sky Islands, in which they discovered a brand new Root Town. While the team was largely successful in their efforts to make the mysterious floating town in the sky habitable, not everyone embraced the spirit of teamwork on this journey.
When you gate in to this shiny new Root Town, you'll notice something curious: it has no name. Its name simply displays as "???" in every context menu and there is no signage around the Root Town itself that points to its true name— rather, the name it had before they came along.
Whispers on the wind tell of an evil wizard in flowing white robes who ruthlessly boiled the village elder alive. With him died all of this mysterious Root Town's lore and history, and in its place are tales of the monster who robbed this land of its identity. The elemental sprites that populate this village refuse to speak their name, simply wishing you "good luck, have fun!" as you turn to leave.
While on your journey to check out the island, you'll notice how unstable the bridges are. Unstable might be putting it lightly, because for some unlucky souls, crossing the wrong bridge means plummeting to your death. It seems that whoever was put in charge of constructing these bridges didn't give a damn about structural integrity.
The local sprites are pleading with adventurers to assist them in building better, more stable bridges, but bridging the gap between one island and the next is not a job for a single person. If you have enough of a heart to heed the pleas of the sprites, you'll want to work with your fellow players to get the job done. All the wood, nails, and rope you need to construct better bridges has been helpfully supplied to you by the sprites. You could always sabotage the project too, of course, but what kind of person would you be if you did that?
The professions system has been added to fragment. Rejoice, busybodies, for there is much furniture to be built and dubious potions brewed.
In celebration of the new crafting & gathering system, a crafts festival is being held in the Unnamed Root Town. Take care not to plummet to your death while traversing those rickety bridges.
Players are encouraged to set up a booth of their own and trade their unique handcrafted items with their fellow adventurers. In addition to being supplied with enough level 1 and level 2 crafting materials to give the crafting system a spin, the local NPCs are running a contest encouraging people to come up with their own for a chance to have their creations canonized as real crafting recipes.
To submit your own recipe ideas, you need only fill out this handy form:
Recipe name:
Recipe category: Alchemist, Carpenter, Chef, or Jeweler?
Which two items does your recipe call for? Choose two items to combine. Only gatherable items (refer to the professions page) can be used.
Effect: What does this item do, if anything?
Description: A brief description of your lovely new product.
Fragment's beta test has seen its fair share of unusual bugs and unintended features, and with the latest update bringing many new changes, it's inevitable that some things have broken behind the scenes.
If two players happen to log in at the same time, they might find their avatars swapped with one another's. Thankfully, this issue doesn't lead to the unpleasant exchange of deep-seated memories or anything of the sort, but getting used to a body that isn't yours takes time. Thankfully, this particular bug resolves itself when both players log out.
The windy town of Unnamed Root Town is generally quite scenic and pleasant, but there's just one issue. It's far, far windier than it should be. If the rickety bridges don't kill you, the gusts that intermittently blow across the sky islands might knock you off your feet if you don't watch your footing carefully. Thankfully, the crafts festival on the southernmost end of the island hasn't been impacted by the severe winds. Among them is one voice that you don't recognize: a voice that promises a death, gruesome and bloody, in the days to come.
To everyone's relief, the carnival and its notorious hall of mirrors has packed up and left Lumina Cloth, but your past hasn't finished haunting you. The foul winds carry whispers of the past along with them, uttering words and phrases uncomfortably familiar to you. They're the voices of your past, the voices of people you've known, loved, and lost. Covering your ears won't keep the voices out of your ears. Nothing will.
Finally, on the more mundane some of things, professions have a few kinks of their own that need to be worked out. Occasionally, a crafted item won't come out quite right, instead resulting in one of the following "items":
Alchemist: Truth Serum. Become unable to lie for 24 hours.
Blacksmith: Whatever you're enhancing transforms into a denim disaster. Introducing your new "body" armor, "leg" armor, "head" armor, and "arm" armor.
Carpenter: Mirror Mirror. Reflects the person you're most afraid of becoming.
Chef: Durian Delight. A succulent durian pudding that reeks so strongly that its stench can be smelled all across the Root Town or Area you're occupying.
Jeweler: Crystal Ball. Breaks after one use but allows you to read another player's thoughts for five minutes.
With crafting in full swing, a certain admin has been lured out of his hidey hole by the smell of delicious chef-prepared meals. Hien is hungry, and you will feed him.
Chefs are not limited by the recipes they know like some professions are, so players are encouraged to think outside of the box and combine unique ingredients to cook up something truly special.
Taste, however, isn't the only important part of a perfect meal. Chefs looking to impress the big man himself are expected to present their culinary delights to him with pomp and finesse. You need to impress Hien if you want to gain more from this venture than the participation prize of a chef skin.
Those who successfully woo Hien with their delectable dishes will be given an additional prize: a little black pomchi pet to accompany their avatar around Root Towns and Special Areas. Hien will be giving these out at his discretion, so you better suck up to the dogboss in charge if you want a pomchi of your very own. If you catch Hien in a good mood, he may even agree to give you a different breed of dog if you ask nicely.
Hello, everyone! Can you believe it's been an entire month since our beta test began? Even though we've already been through a lot together, we've still got three months left! I'm rooting for you all!
As of today, the level cap has increased from 25 to 50. That means new armor and weapons will be available to you! Get out there to different Areas and start leveling up! But don't forget to stop every once in a while and enjoy your surroundings, too. Which reminds me—don't forget to check out the new Recreational Areas! We have a beach and hotsprings for you to enjoy now. I hope everyone continues to have fun exploring!
We've also opened up the GP shop, where you can create your own special armor set for a certain price, along with a few other things. Please check it out!
Oh, and don't forget to use these three new greeting cards I've made! Here they are! Make sure you use them so you can connect with your fellow players! We're all friends here, after all.
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[ He stares hard at Leo, unblinking. If he can focus on him, and Leo can do the same in turn, they can probably get through this together.
"Not at all. I think this might be the best idea we've ever had. And I don't say this lightly."
He can't stand this voice. ]
Focus on my voice instead, Leo. If you want, I can keep talking.
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Please. Keep talking.
["You're no son of mine. Not anymore."
Sharply inhaling, he grips Hector's leg tightly. Please. Just let this nightmare end.]
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We're here in a new Root Town, fixing bridges. —Weird how it doesn't have a name, huh? It's just a few question marks.
[ There comes another gust of wind.
"I never thought I'd start dreaming of a life like this, but...I can now. With you."
Hector grimaces, grabs Leo's arm to pull him to his feet. ]
They should really pick a name for it, otherwise I'm going to name it myself. You think they'd trust me with something like that?
[ He's trying to joke, but it doesn't come with his usual grin or playful nudge. He's putting all his concentration into ignoring the wind, and taking Leo back to the path to the nearest exit. ]
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His focus continues to hone in on Hector's voice, enough so that he's able to utter a few words in response.]
You have a way with words. I think you could come up with a good name.
[Back to silence.
"Get out, Leonard. Take your things and leave."]
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Not now. Think of names. Names. ]
Sky... [ He glances down at the drop, then focuses his attention ahead again. ] Sky...watch?
[ A few more steps, back on solid ground. ] Skywatch...Island? No, there are multiple islands, so... Skywatch Islands? No—Skywatch Archipelago? How's that sound?
[ He stops, cups Leo's face with his hands to get him to concentrate on him again. Think about the new name. Ignore the voices. ]
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That sounds... nice.
[A stray tear falls from his cheek, easily brushed aside with his hand.]
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He sets his jaw as he watches Leo cry, and the spark lights. ]
There'll be another chance to visit this town. Skywatch Archipelago. [ He repeats. He's proud of that one—he's determined to make it stick. ]
Go to the guild @ home. I'll meet you there. Okay?
[ The Epicurians guild home, he means. ]
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Okay... Don't take too long to follow. I'm worried about you. [He says, while being the one that's clearly more devastated by this turn of events.
With a couple of hand swipes, Leo clutches his hand to his chest and starts glowing, then warps away to the guild home.]
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Worried about him? Leo shouldn't be. Hector doesn't like that. People don't worry about him.
"I've put together a little list of flowers I think might look nice in the garden..." ]
I wish you didn't. [ He speaks to no one. ] Because I think all that dreaming only hurt us in the end.
[ And finally, he warps to the guild home.
He's not long after Leo. He finds his buddy quickly, his expression stuck in a neutral hold. ]
Hey. [ He approaches, claps a hand to his shoulder. ] You feeling better now?
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I suppose it's easier to be 'better' once you've hit rock bottom. I'd say I'm... neutral at the moment.
[In one hand is a bottle of some kind of whiskey. He didn't bother to look at the label - he just needed something to help numb the freshly opened wound in his mind. After another swig, he offers the bottle to Hector.]
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Was it that bad? ]
That doesn't sound good. [ He doesn't like hearing that. He takes a step closer, trying to read the expression on Leo's face. ] You wanna talk about it?
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Do I want to talk about it? Fuck no. Should I? Yeah. I think so.
[With a sigh, he plops down on one of the lobby's many couches.]
When I was younger, my parents decided they didn't like certain behaviors I exhibited, so they sent me to a camp. I'm not going to go into details about that, but I'm sure you could imagine what they did to us there.
[If Leo's lips could curl anymore downwards, they would.]
Me being the stubborn bitch I am, did not let this dictate how I behaved, so when I was around seventeen or so, I was caught fooling around with another boy in my room. This was the last straw for good 'ol mom and dad. So when I officially became an adult, I was swiftly disowned and kicked out of the house.
Whatever the fuck was happening at that Root Town caused that night to replay in my head like it was happening again. Wounds that I had only just managed to close split open again like they were fresh.
[He rubs his eyes, not wanting to let Hector see his tears again.]
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As he listens, he carefully places the bottle down on the floor, but keeps his eyes on Leo the whole time. It doesn't take very long into his talk for him to know exactly where this is going. Hector's brows twitch into a sympathetic frown, and there's a furious lurch in his chest. He knows this all too well. It's a story that hits way, way too close to home.
No matter how okay his own relationship with his parents might be, it stings knowing they'll never truly accept every part of him. And he's even angrier knowing that the whispers were picking at similar wounds for Leo.
So when Leo's done talking, whether he's ready or not, Hector swiftly pulls him into a tight, comforting hug.
There's a short pause, while Hector debates how to phrase this, without letting too much of his own cracks show. ]
I was kicked out of the military for the same reason. My parents... That was all they could concentrate on, too.
[ Literally nothing about anything else in the situation. Their priorities were truly in the wrong place. ]
I'm so sorry. You don't deserve that.
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...Thank you.
[He debates clinging onto the other man long after the hug is complete, but Hector needs his space too. So he reclines deeply into the couch, letting its softness wrap around him.]
You too, huh? [Leo sighs.] If you feel like you need to talk about it, I'm all ears. It's only fair.
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He studies him for a fair moment. It's...far too painful to really share in detail. Just thinking about it brings a simmer of guilt to the forefront, but he quickly shoves it back down. But he owes the other man this much. ]
It was a long time ago. [ He exhales, not in a sigh. But in away to rid himself of his tension. ] But our squad was deployed. I lost him in battle. It all came out after that, and...no one really took it well.
[ No sympathy in the face of such loss.
His gaze drops. ]
We were going to get a house together.
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I'm so sorry. No one should have to go through something like that.
[A sympathetic hand is placed on Hector's thigh.]
This feels weird to say... but I'm glad this game brought us together. I'm not sure I would've been able to handle what just happened on my own. It feels good to have someone that'll watch your back.
[A small laugh escapes Leo's lips as he wipes a stray tear away.]
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Same here. You're a good guy, Leo. I'm here for you.
[ He'll shoulder Leo's burden if he has to.
He reaches out, righting himself without his support, and wipes at his tears. ]
I can give you another hug if you still need to cry it out.
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Thanks...
[In-between quiet sobs, he manages to speak a few words.]
I'm here for you too. If you need anything, anything, just ask.
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Leo's offer, though, has him pull back, just a bit. He looks at him, gives a light little laugh. ]
I should be asking you that. [ He wipes away another tear from his cheek. ] I'm not the one crying here.
[ That isn't the point though, is it? Is he ever going to learn to let people in?
...Probably not, but. ]
...Thanks, though.
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People deal with grief in different ways. I don't know what's going on in your head, but if you're feeling even a fraction of what I am...
[He loosens his grip, placing one of his hands on Hector's shoulder.]
...the offer will be open. Always.
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Isn't that what happens with kindred spirits, though? Easier to pick apart and see what they really are?
A bit of light fades from Hector's eyes, and it's the slight way his shoulders heave, the way his hair is just slightly in disarray, the way the wrinkles on his face sit—he looks tired. It's the face of a man who's still grieving, nearly ten years later.
He folds forward, presses his forehead to the crook of Leo's neck, and he holds him tighter.
He doesn't say anything, or do anything in particular. But it's the most he's allowing himself. And Leo. ]
...Thank you.
[ His voice is quiet, more sincere, audible only to the people on this couch. ]
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He begins lightly rubbing the back of Hector's head as a silent 'you're welcome', and smiles softly.]