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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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Hector braces himself against Fai, a hand gripping hard at his shoulder to steady himself. The warp isn't the problem, no; he wasn't sure how much longer he could take the whispers...
But now that they're gone, he almost misses them.
Hector lets loose a sigh and straightens himself, looking up at his friend. His face looks more tired, more worn than usual, but there's relief in his eyes. ]
...Same here. Thanks for that. [ There's a clear attempt to pull his mouth into a smile, but it falls flat.
And in typical Hector fashion, he quickly pivots the attention away from him. ] You doing okay? Did you hear voices, too?
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Fai puts a hand on Hector's shoulder, just in case he needs to be steadied more. ]
I did. But are you alright? Those whispers seem aimed at making us feel terrible, don't they?
[ It's a small admittance of his own in exchange for Hector hopefully being honest in return. ]
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His sore spots were peeled bare, and Fai is dangerously close to poking at them.
Hector stares at Fai, debating how much he should tell him. Terrible? Maybe for Fai. ]
...I'm fine. [ He reaches up to gently coax the hand off his shoulder. He can stand, thankyouverymuch. ] You're not...still feeling terrible, are you?
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I feel the same as I always do. You don't need to worry about me.
[ In other words, he's already worked on repressing it. ]
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Hector steps back, though, hand balled at his chest, as though fighting back heartburn. It's a somewhat meaningless gesture, though, since he can't get heartburn here (or can he?).
His eyes drop, then quickly raise again. ]
Wine?
[ Maybe he'll let a thing or two slip, if Fai's lucky. ]
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Sure. Why not?
[ He shrugs as he settles onto one of the couches, slumping back against it. ]
I think I could do with just about any wine right now, so take your pick.
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Careful not to spill, he comes to sit beside him on the couch, hands him a glass. ]
I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume you need just as much as I do.
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It doesn’t make him feel better. ]
I could use a little more actually.
[ He laughs lightly, but it’s devoid of humor. ]
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The man's voice still rings in his ears, his timbre a smooth cadence in his memories, talking with delight of all the vineyards they could visit while off-base, how he hasn't had anything to drink in a long time, dreaming of candlelit dinners...
Fai's voice snaps him out of his thoughts, and he realizes he hasn't had any. Without looking at him, Hector plucks the half-empty glass from Fai's hands and replaces it with his own.
He gets up off the couch and wanders back to the bar, not bothering to look at him when he talks. ]
That bad, huh?
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[ An incredibly noncommittal answer that still gives everything away.
Fai stares at what is supposed to be Hector's glass now in his hands, as he slowly swirls the wine around. It's hypnotizing, almost. The fact that Hector is looking decidedly anywhere but Fai is what makes it easier for him to actually say something, vague as it still is. ]
It's difficult, coming to terms with regretting a promise that has already been fulfilled.
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And he quickly downs the rest.
As he reaches for the bottle again, he briefly glances back at Fai, but then looks away again. He feels like he shouldn't be looking, that that's a side of Fai not meant for him.
He doesn't respond right away. ]
...No way to go back?
[ Red liquid pours into the glass, and he watches the way it fills again, nearly to the brim.
Fai's welcome to elaborate if he wants. Hector won't pry. Especially not when he himself is reeling. ]
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Nope. Sometimes, fulfilling a promise is permanent.
[ Not everything can be taken back or reversed. Not everything can be fixed. Sometimes, all you can do is deal with the broken pieces.
At least, that's how Fai feels. ]
The wine is good.
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When he sits, he looks to the other man and sees that smile. And for reasons he can't explain, he immediately doesn't trust it. There's no substance behind the smile.
Hector frowns. ]
Permanent or no, you wish it wasn't.
[ Pure conjecture...based on the fat natural 20.
He brings the glass to his lips, but doesn't drink yet. ]
I hope it isn't hurting you.
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But he's right not to trust that smile. It's interesting though, because Fai smiles almost all the time, doesn't he? How many of those smiles can he even trust? ]
Some pain never goes away, only lessens over time.
[ So in other words, yes, he's feeling hurt still. ]
I hope the whispers you heard don't continue to hurt you either.
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Hector looks at Fai, sympathy in his eyes. He's about to open his mouth, offer his well-wishes, when—
The whispers themselves? A wry little smile crosses his face. ]
They don't.
[ They just remind him of what he could never have.
And finally, he takes a long, long sip. ]
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But he can never simply drop things, can he? It's his fatal flaw in the end. ]
...Is that true? Surely what the whispers remind you of hurt you.
[ After all, he saw the way Hector reacted. There's no denying that. ]
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It is.
[ It is true. The voice, the dreams they had together—those themselves were harmless. What hurts is the reminder of what he could never have, yes. But he could have steeped in his dreams, his imagination for a little bit. If it weren't for his history, he would have lost himself in that world, laying there in the sky, talking to the wind.
But considering very recent developments in the house of mirrors... ]
But I laid those memories to rest a long time ago. They don't need dredging up like this.
[ He doesn't know why this game insists on ripping those wounds open again. That's what angers him. ]
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[ And yet here they are, constantly reminded of loved ones lost and past failures. What's meant to be an escape in the form of a video game has only served to remind them of all of these painful things instead. ]
I hope you're able to lay them to rest once again, for what it's worth.
[ Despite his hope, Fai knows that it's an empty and meaningless sentiment. It won't help. ]
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Hector sighs. It seems like a great deal of effort for him to turn his attention to Fai. When he speaks, his voice is low, sincere, tired. ]
...You too.
[ He doesn't even bother with trying to put on a smile for this one. It's a brief moment of honesty, for the both of them.
And down goes the rest of the wine. ]
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I appreciate it, even if I have my own doubts that I'll ever be able to.
[ May as well keep up this honesty while they're at it. What's the worst that could happen? They're both already raw from the pain of their past. A little salt in the wound can't be too bad. ]
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It feels weird. Hector wants to talk to Fai, to help him, to forget about himself and see what he can do to make the other man feel at least a little better, but he's met with the same walls, same evasive steps he himself is all too familiar with.
And strangely enough, this means he has no idea what to say. ]
...Yeah. I get it.
[ Is that good enough?
He turns to look at Fai, his expression painfully earnest, sympathetic, and altogether closed off. ]
I know how you feel. I'm...here for you.
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But this? There's room for him to reject it, to put those walls right back up again, and so he takes it.
With a gentle shake of his head, Fai smiles down into his glass of wine. ]
You don't need to be. Don't waste your energy on my troubles.
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It's too late for that, because he's already decided he's going to. It's not a waste of energy if he wants to do it.
He just chuckles in response as he places his wine glass down, opting not to rattle the locks now that they're shut. ]
...I appreciate the help, Fai. I feel better now.
[ He stands, stretches lightly. ]
I'm not going back to that city, but I'm heading out anyway. You're welcome to come if you want.
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...Where are you going?
[ While he isn't sure that he'll actually accompany Hector, he can at least consider the idea. It's a step in the right direction, maybe. ]
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[ He pats his hips, like checking for his wallet and keys—a weird little habit he has when he checks his inventory.
He doesn't look at Fai. ]
Might just loiter a bit before logging off, though.
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