Chapter One: The Reveal
What is it that night elf deer thing always says?
Oh yes..
"Ahh The great outdoors."
Wait. That wasn't my voice. I finally get a good look at my surroundings. All I see before me is the corner of a room. The paint is a gray-blue color and the molding at the top of the room doesn't seem to match the baseboard. There are two massive windows looking out into a world I've never seen before. I notice that there is a mirror standing in the corner with a rug to match the curtains.
About that time, I hear someone cough behind me. I realize that I'm not the only one in this room. There are several people here. Some are whispering to one another. Others seem to be sleeping against the wall. One old guy with red skin just caught a fly and ate it. He gave a look around to see if anyone noticed while he wiped what was left of the remains on his caveman suit. That's when he noticed me.
"Hey Everyone. Check it out. Newbie in the Sim Bin."
"What's a Sim Bin?"
The old red guy looked at me like I had two heads. He turned from me to address a blue skinned female to his left. "Can you believe this? Doesn't even know what the Sim Bin is. I swear. With each of these new expansions, they just keep messing things up. Sims used to be made with some basic knowledge and now? Just look at her."
The female just turned her ice blue eyes towards me for a moment. She put her hand on the older gentleman's shoulder and patted it. I get the feeling it was not meant to be a nice gesture. She then reached out towards me and turned me back towards the mirror. "Come here, hunny. How about you take a look at what you see there?"
The moment I got a chance to look at my reflection, I screamed. How could I not? Jordi's broken transporter completely discombobulated my molecular structure. I look nothing like my original adult state. Then the light finally came on above my head. All those nights at the sprocket parties where we had joked and conjured other worlds to explore and here I was in one. In my surprise, I said as much to my blue companion and she just gave me a slow smile.
She pulled me back away from mirror to the corner where we were joined with a few others from the crowd. They explained to me that I was now in Sim Land. Unlike my world, there is only one type of person: a Sim. Gnomes were apparently garden decorations or little magical creatures that cannot be controlled. This, of course, made me giggle for quite some time.
The people I met were all very helpful and kind. Some had come from things called dynasties. One came from what he called a failed decadynasty. There was also an older lady who was very quiet. She listened to all of us chatter as I tried to regain my bearings. That's when she moved to stand at my side. I turned towards her in greeting and she took the moment to stare me down.
I, who had fought against the likes of Ony, Nef and Rag, was now being frightened by a woman I had never met before. I couldn't believe the feelings she gave me. The others who stood near just watched us as if they weren't sure what to expect.
"You have no traits or name. You don't even have a lifetime wish. How could you have possibly made it into the Sim Bin, young lady?"
I didn't know how to answer that question so I just shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not from around here. Last place I remember standing was Booty Bay waiting for Jordi to send me to Hellscream."
This information seemed to have shocked the whole room. Now I had all of them staring at me while this woman glared at me with her beady gray eyes.
"No, you were definitely not one of us before but you are now. What is it you did back in Booty Bay?" She said the name of BB as if she was trying it on for size.
"I was an herbalist and an engineer. I collected pets, fought bosses and hung out with my guildies."
"So you have a green thumb. You're a bit of an eccentric, probably quite handy, too. You confess to being an animal lover and family-oriented. I do not know what you mean by fighting bosses but you've already gotten your traits so I do not wish an explanation. Now, what do you want to do with your life? What would be the ultimate goal for you?"
"Well I've been so bored lately that I'm basically just looking to get a group of five together for dungeons, achievements and whatever else."
"So you wish to be surrounded by family. Excellent." She turned away from me with a light pat to the top to my bicep. "Natalie, dear, I do believe we have the perfect candidate for a legacy. Next time that pops up, make sure to shove her in front of the mirror will you? I think it's time for my first afternoon nap."
I watched the old lady shuffle off. A legacy? What the devil was she talking about. The blue female, who had been helping me, turned out to be Natalie. She stepped over to me and gently pulled me back into the corner where we had been standing. She explained to me about the rules that sometimes governed the way a family had to live. She told me what would be expected of me and what had just happened.
"How will I know if I've been chosen for a legacy?"
"One day, you'll open your eyes and you'll be on a piece of land with nothing on it but a mailbox and a trash can. Then you'll know you've been chosen for something. Sometimes the watcher actually talks to you to tell you if it's a legacy or a dynasty. If you wake up in that moment and still want five kids, then you'll know it's a legacy. I don't know anyone that would try to do five in a dynasty. House space is just too precious."
I just nodded my head as she spoke. Even though people had been explaining things, I still wasn't entirely certain I knew what was going on. When Natalie left me to my thoughts, I started to use my former gnomish intellect to figure out everything I had heard so far.
I'm also trying not to think about the fact that my current state may not be reversible. All my friends, companions, mounts and achievements are gone. Could I start one of these legacies? Do the things I never thought to do when I became an adventurer? Settling down and having kids had never been in the cards. Of course, back home in Tinkerville, you could rise up from the dead, too. Hmm, I wonder…
"Hey..Old Red Guy.. Get away from me!"
He just laughed evilly as he snapped my photo to put on the wall with everyone else's.
