[center][h2]Alfheim Online: Fairy Dance of Death[/h2][/center]

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/uvvBYNe.png[/img][/center]

Players who had been scattered across the world of Alfheim Online had all been abruptly teleported to Arun, the neutral city located at the base of the world tree; Yggdrasil. 20,000 players found themselves confined within the central plaza. However, before any commotion actually began, the setting sun seemed to freeze in place in the west horizon, framed between two of the mountains that straddled [i]Butterflies Valley[/i] leading towards Sylvan land. The hue of both the sun and sky shifted rapidly towards a deep orange-red, throwing a crimson cast across the players. The air, thick with the fears of the assembled players, began to distort and a crack in space formed. From within appeared a vague humanoid form that was over a hundred meters tall.

Beta testers that were present recognized the robbed hoods the figure donned signified a GM or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the robes of a GM appeared but noone seemed to be wearing them. Although it was draped around a gigantic humanoid form, it was a form unseen and without substance: the depths of the hood were nothing but the blackest of nights. The words the figure - later revealed to be Kayaba Akihito - spoke would forever change the lives of every assembled player.

[i]"Understand this: Alfheim Online is no longer a game. Players may no longer respawn in their home city when they die and the only means of resurrecting a player's Remain Light is through the use of rare items or high level healing magic. If your HP drops to zero and your Remain Light disapears, the Nerve Gear will destroy your brain thus ending your life forever, in this world as well as the real world."[/i]

[hr]
[h3]One month later...[/h3]

Ironically, the first month of Alheim Online was rather uneventful. Although there were a considerable amount of deaths within the first week due to the ensuing panic and confusion, it ceased when the beta testers took control. Although the exact number beta testers who made it to launch were unknown, it was rumoured to be slightly under a thousand. Through sharing their information and guidance, players had begun to settle down in the digital world known as Alfheim. Regions close to the safezones were littered with players. By looking for each other, there were virtually no chances of death against the beginning mobs such as «Slime» or «Giant Rat». Though there were those who outright refused to leave the towns, they still had the blessings of being able to work on their crafting so they could generate yurudo (currency) for their living expenses such as satiating their digital hunger or paying for an inn. As such, the towns were bustling with activity. 

All this was possible because of the unspoken peace treaty between the nine races. The beta testers who had revealed themselves made it known that any attempt on PKing would result in a huge negative backlash on the perpetrators. This combined with travelling between borders being frowned upon allowed the game to remain relatively PK free despite Kayaba's intentions.

However, things were reaching a turning point. An announcement had spread throughout the world notifying players that the first faction leader elections were about to begin. Faction Leaders would function similarly to guild leaders, except for the entire race; in addition they would possess additional powers over the laws and foreign relations for a given race such as the ability to formally create an «Alliance» or declare «War». The announcement also contained an alarming piece of information that the beta testers had tried to keep from spreading; should a Leader ever be killed, his or her race's territory will become the territory of the race that slayed them for a month.

[u][i]Information[/i][/u]
[i]+Current player base: 17,768.
+Faction Leader elections have begun.
+Travelling across borders is frowned upon.[/i]