Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku nodded.

"Ordinarily something like this would get you a warning but tonight is a special event so the rules are a bit different. Go ahead and aim it up at the sky and channel one Mp. Make sure not to hit any buildings though, that will still likely give you a warning." He said with a soft chuckle.  

[Mega90]

Rin aimed the sparkler into the air and began to channel her MP into it. The small object in her hand exploded into a flash of light that shot up with a train of sparkling mist high into the sky. It disappeared for a moment, and in the wake of the hiss, there was silence. Then, suddenly and without warning, the sky erupted into a brilliant flash of crimson. It looked like fire was dancing in a circular orb that floated high above the town of beginnings. A red light washed down from it and bathed the streets below. Cheers went up from the crowd, and throngs of patrons rushed past them in an attempt to get to the stall and purchase their own Flame Sparklers. Rin paid them no mind. She didn’t notice the people bumping into her as they rushed past, nor the din that had arisen from the various people who were all converging on their location. Her eyes were glued to the sky, watching the brilliant display before her.

For all the stress that the new guild held, or all the times that she had considered quitting the game over the past few days, she now knew that she wouldn’t There was nowhere else that she could find experiences like this; not even in the real world.

Her mouth hung slightly open as the lights danced overhead. Without turning her view away, she spoke softly. Despite the roar of the crowd around them, her words somehow carried to the tall teens ears.

“This world is really amazing, isn’t it?” The second half of the performance began as the flames exploded from within the bubble and blanketed the sky in a wave of fire. Slowly, it began to dissipate, and the embers rained down, seemingly in slow motion, creating a weeping effect in the sky. She continued, the same soft, surreal tone in her voice. “Hey, Hiroku….thanks.”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroiku watched as the sparkler exploded in the air, keeping his eyes on the dazzling effects until the throngs of people began to converge on them.

He carefully leaned to and fro, allowing the mob to pass buy him. Once the majority had past he returned his attention to the sky, just in time to catch the young girls words.

A soft smile spread across his lips and he reached out, placing a strong, gentle hand on her shoulder nut said nothing as the red colors began to fade.

The sky was illuminated once more by countless other sparklers exploding in various patterns and colors. The crowd around them let out an excited cheer as all over the town of beginnings fireworks danced in the sky.  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga walked long, casually chewing on a small pastry that he had purchased from one of the nearby stalls.

“Pretty cool festival, eh Eve?”  

[Zarkon90]

Eve looked around, her eyes shining bright with wonder. The familiar cold composed girl you knew seemed to have given way to an almost childish nature as her ruby eyes darted from stall to stall until they were suddenly drawn to the sky as fire seemed to engulf it, exploding in various shapes and patterns.

"This is incredible.. I have never seen anything like this..."

The young girls voice was soft and full of bewildered excitement.

"So many...people."  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga nodded and took another bite.

“Yeah, people look forward to this festival every year. Pretty impressive that a single guild puts it all together.” He took a moment to watch the first Flame Sparkler dissipate before dozens more filled the sky in simultaneous wonder. “Tell you what, kiddo. Tonight is my treat. You can get whatever you want, and as much of it. Sound good?”  

[Zarkon90]

Eve's eyes widened slightly and she regained her normal cool composer.

"I appreciate that but these festivals are nothing more then a way for their guild to extract Cor from people. I for one won't be giving them a single cent." With that the young girl tossed her hear back and continued walking into the festival.

"Honestly, I don't know how they even get permission to do something like this. The dev's are pretty up tight about things in this game. Something as massive as this would have taken a lot of bribing to make happen."  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga shrugged at Eve’s refusal and walked after her, his hands in his pockets.

“The bigger guilds have a little more sway with the Dev’s on account of how popular they are. If they start talking bad about the game, people will listen. Plus, the guild pretty much takes care of all of it, so the Dev’s get to advertise content they don’t have to make. It’s a win-win, really.” Kaiyaga finished off what he was eating and threw the paper away. “They’ve got singing, dancing, fireworks, and live music. Basically anything you could think of in a real festival, they have here. Plus there are various games and what not that you can play if you’re up for a bit of sport. So, where do you want to start?”  

[Zarkon90]

Eve slowed to a stop, her head lowering slightly.

"I don't know, what sounds good to you? Where do people usually start at these kinds of things?" Her voice was soft as she spoke, a hint of hesitation and uncertainty in it.  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga smiled and placed a reassuring hand on her head.

“There’s really no order. People just do whatever they think sounds fun. It goes on for a few hours, so we have plenty of time to see everything that the festival has to offer.” He leaned down closer to her. “Now, you just have to decide where to start. Personally, I normally hit the more…adult areas of the festival. The bars, the arena fights, the card tables, and what have you…but, I decided I’d see some of the other areas of the festival this year. Especially since I’m going with my favorite little “Ring of Hell” in training.  

[Zarkon90]

Eve slapped his hand away, turning to hide her face as she blushed.

"Figures you would want to go to a bar, gosh I swear you live there. Well if it's my choice then I say we go to soo some music or some of the game stands. Can I win stuff there?"  

[Mega90]

Kaiyaga laughed and playfully shook his hand, feigning injury.

“Yeah, you can win all kind of prizes, from weapons, to cute stuffed animals for your house, or even a few badges that you can display. I think they are even running a competition, and the ‘lucky’,” he made air quotes. “Winner gets to join the Heaven Spire guild.”  

[Zarkon90]

"Really? Huh that could be fun. Been awhile since I actually fought when my life wasn't on the line. Though those are the best kinds of fights. Only a fool would go easy in a fight, practice or not. You never know when that fight might be your last..

Eve shook her head. "Anyway, where are these games? We are wasting time."  

[Mega90]

“Right this way, Princess.” He said as he gestured towards a collection of stalls off to the right. They crossed a small bridge and came to another section of the town. Here, there was carnival music playing dozens of stalls with all different kinds of games, and prizes as far as the eye could see. A nearby stall vendor called out to them.

“Hey there, little lady. You look like a good shot. What do you say you put your skills to use in a little game of luck and skill? How about it? Only 100 Cor to play.”  

[Zarkon90]

Eve narrowed her eyes but approached the stall none the less.

"Exactly what kind of game is this? What do I have to do?" She asked, her tone clearly skeptical.