Aaron leaned back in his chair and stared out the window. "Another sunny day," he sighed. "I almost regret not being able to go out." He looked down a the headset that he held in his hands. "Almost." And then he put it on, and reality faded away into a distant memory.

[b]Welcome to Haven[/b]

Tabula Rasa

He barely saw the words as he fell through the darkness. His gleeful laughter echoed in the empty space. "This is what I'm talking about!" One, two, three somersaults before he landed on his back on a flat surface. "Whew, that was fun. I almost wish this game had loading screens if it would mean more of that." Looking up, he saw a mirror waiting in front of him. How convenient.

Rolling to his feet, Aaron waved at himself in the mirror, and unsurprisingly, he waved back. But then his reflection started blurring. He had a moment of panic before he remembered that he was in the game. Mirrors in real life didn't go changing on you. 

An NPC appeared beside the mirror. "Hello, what is your name? I am here to assist your character creation process." She was pretty, tall and fair and dressed in a silver gown.

"Mercury. My name is Mercury." He didn't wait for her to start talking again, he just wanted to get to the game. "Hey, can you make the mirror go back?" His reflection returned. "Okay now, let's get to it." He peered closely into the mirror. "Blue eyes. Point the ears... Little bit less point... Perfect. Make me a half-human and half-elf hybrid." He looked at his half-elf child. It was perfect.

An impossibly long list of classes, all with different skills and playstyles, appeared in front of his created being. How was he supposed to know what he wanted to pick with so many amazing choices? Aaron, or Mercury, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and the majority of the long list collapsed. The first class on the shortened list said 'Temporal Mage'. He'd never heard of a class like that before. "Sure, I'm up for something new. Tabula Rasa, I accept your challenge. Temporal Mage confirm." He'd expected that to bring him to the game. Nope. Just to another menu. Mercury selected the outfit he wanted from another long list and then distributed his starting skill points. When the last of the option menu had closed, Mercury was once again standing facing the mirror. On the other side of that mirror, his avatar slept. Looking around, Mercury easily spotted the NPC standing a few feet away from the mirror. He asked the AI helper, "So what now?"

The NPC nodded and Mercury fell through the imaginary floor and more darkness. When his eyes again opened, he was blinded by the light of an impossibly real sun. He stood next to a fountain. That much he was sure of even before his eyes were adjusted. Other characters - or were they NPCs? - walked past him. It was hard to believe that this wasn't reality. It just felt so real.

Mercury checked himself out in the reflective waters of the fountain. Huh, he didn't look too bad. Then he checked his gear. The clothing was really well made. Why did he have a sword though, if he was a mage? Shouldn't he have a staff or a broom or some thing? Oh well, no use worrying about it. 

A fountain would usually be in the middle of the town, which is where Mercury assumed he was. Picking a random direction, he sprinted away from the fountain. The real fun to be had was outside the village. Mercury wondered if he'd be able to fight a dragon. More importantly, how the hell did a "Temporal Mage" even fight in the first place? Only one way to find out.