World Turned Inside Out

Why did people seem to put so much importance on making friends in real life when it was easier to make them online?  This was a question Lena took much solace in and felt that she was doing nothing wrong spending her summer playing her favorite online game “The Isle of Levianna”.  Her parents felt differently and so this year she was spending her summer at her grandparent’s beach house.  It was not in her mind fair, her grandparent’s did not own a computer much less the internet.  As she wandered up the stairs into what would become her room she discovered that their only source of entertainment was some dusty old books.  A heavy sigh shook her body; at 14, she was still young enough that her imagination was not completely gone even though she did nothing to enlighten it.  “Fine,” Lena muttered to no one in particular. “I’ll go outside since there seems to be no television either.” 
         
Stepping out into the sand a voice followed her on the wind it was her grandmother. “Lena honey be careful not to wander off too far, the caves are quite dangerous at night.”  Lena did not pay much heed to old people, all they seem to do was complain.  The way she saw it, if she were being forced to stay they would have to give her some freedom.  Out on the beach she felt a little better, the wind blowing in off the waves felt cool on her skin causing her long black hair to tickle her face.  As she walked, she began to notice the sand became rockier and decided to put her shoes back on.  Climbing over the rocks, she came to an entrance. “This must be the scary cave my grandmother was mumbling about,” she muttered to herself. 

Inside the cave was cool and the walls had an eerie sheen to them.  Lena was excited because this reminded her of an area she visited in her online game recently.  The light from outside was beginning to fade as she continued further inward.  Stumbling through the darkness, she decided to take out the small flashlight that was on her keychain.  The light reflected off the caves wall and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something had been etched there.  On closer inspection, she noticed it looked to be writing.  She could just make out what seemed to be a poem or maybe lyrics to a song, she was not sure:

One who has raven hair
Stumbles blindly without care
The outside world turns inside out
An epic battle one must win
Or years of darkness will begin.

Just as Lena had finished reciting the last line, a flash of light enveloped her.  Her body felt numb and her head was pounding.  Lena awoke to the sound of a woman’s voice it was full of concern. “Lady Lena you must wake up, the duke is on his way.”

“Huh?” Lena moaned. She had no idea who the duke was but she did find it curious that this woman was addressing her as Lady Lena.  She looked up at the elderly woman’s face and forced herself to sit up. “Where am I? My grandmother is going to be pissed if I’m not home in time.”

“Now, now there is no need for hostility, I mean you no harm.” The woman reached over and placed a cool cloth on Lena’s head forcing her to lie back down. “The duke will be here shortly and then you’ll have to be on your way.”

“Well if you can’t tell me where I am can I at least get the time?” Lena was becoming impatient.

The woman had a puzzled look on her face, “If you mean where the sun sits in the sky then it would be mid afternoon and the night will soon be closing in.”

Just as Lena began to try to make sense of things in her head, she heard a door open somewhere. She appeared to be inside of someone’s house, however she did not remember passing by any on the way to the cave. “She’s in here.” Now a man’s voice was coming from the front side of the house.  Lena tried to sit up again, her head felt heavy, and it was hard to focus.


“Lady Lena, I’m glad to see you are alright.” A young attractive man stood in the doorway. “The king was worried that he would have to offer your mission to someone else.”

“My mission?” Now Lena was extremely confused, “Why are you calling me Lady Lena that is my online name!” Just as Lena finished her sentence, she caught her reflection in a nearby mirror. She was quite buxom and her once teenage body was now the body of a full-grown woman. The longer she stared the more she realized who she was, “How could this be?”

“How could what be? The innkeepers wife had found you passed out on the road, seems you are suffering from memory loss as well.”  The man in the doorway chuckled, however Lena was not finding this situation funny. “Are you going to be ready to talk with the King in the morning? He is very eager to speak with you.” 

Lena just could not seem to grasp the gravity of the situation; she knew there was no possible way for her to be here. “What is the name of this place? I want to make sure my memories are intact.”

The duke leaned over and whispered in her ear “My lady we are on the Isle of Levianna and you have told our good King Dargon that you would go on a mission to retrieve..”

Lena cut him off right there, “The epic sword of Vestra.”

The duke seemed pleased and smiled, “So you do remember your mission, I’m glad. I was also hoping you’d remember you were to dine with me tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Lena began to stammer, she had never even been on dates with boys her age before. “I’m supposed to dine with you; I can’t seem to recall your name.”  The redness crept up into her cheeks and she was glad the candle light hid her shyness.

The duke looked hurt but held her hand, “I’m Ladymaster12, duke to our King Dargon. Don’t worry about forgetting I’m sure the rest of your memories will return when the sun rises.”

When he left, she began to piece together the last quest she had completed.  She remembered the screen name Ladymaster12 and put him off as arrogant.  She had no idea how cute his online avatar was up close but he was still arrogant.  All of this was almost too strange to comprehend, how could she be inside the game? Lena figured the only way she was going to work this out was to go along with the story and see where it took her.

Before the sun’s rays hit the sky, Lena was wide-awake.  She was somewhat surprised not to find herself back at her grandparent’s beach house and instead still inside the inn.  Her armor laid strewn about the floor and she struggled to figure out how to get the stuff on.  Sure when you are playing the game it is easy, you just click on your character and move what you want to wear into the box.  Actually putting it on was a completely new challenge.  As she struggled with various buckles, she made a mental note that if she ever did find her way out her avatar needed to be less curvy.  Finally, as the light of day sparkled into the inn she was ready to head out and talk to the King.

As she walked through the bustling streets she noticed many familiar sights, her fear subsided a bit as a sense of wonder took its place.  She checked the small leather bag that held her potions and she seemed to have plenty.  This was rare for her character since she always seemed to wait until the last minute and then have to bum items from her friends.  Since all the streets lay before her, exactly as they were in the game navigating the city was easy.

Arriving at the castle’s entrance held a new sense of fascination, a spiral staircase led up to a magnificent doorway that blocked out the sun.  As she headed up the stairs, she heard someone calling her name, “Lady Lena, you’re here!”

“Oh god,” Lena thought. “Ladymaster12 has found me.”  She tried sprinting up the stairs but her armor made an awful racket and everyone turned and stared.  Last night when she realized just who he really was, she found it was best not to associate with him.  Once inside the large doorway all the noise from outside was instantly silenced.  The hallway that lay before her was magnificent and more impressive than the outside had been.  One of the King’s royal guards led her down the hall toward the throne room and parted as soon as she entered.

Inside the room, only a few guards and King Dargon were here.  This was her first invitation to meet the King she remembered, she had finally made it far enough into the game to become one the top ten players.  All that stood in her way was this quest. “As you know,” The King’s voice filled the room, “you are one of only a handful of people in all of Levianna to under take this quest.  Are you prepared?”

Lena had been hiding from that question this entire trip here.  She wanted to say no or ask if her friends could join her but how could she. She had no clue where here really was.  Sure, it looked like her online game but that just did not seem logical to her.  She tried to remember the last thing that happened before waking up in the inn.  As she sorted through her memories of the beach house and the cave, only one thing stuck in her mind, one line: An epic battle one must win, or years of darkness will begin.  What did it mean and was it a clue for her to get back home?

The King seemed to think that maybe things were not all right with Lady Lena and that maybe whatever had happened to her was still affecting her.  He asked again, “Are you prepared?”  Lena knew that she had to go forward with the battle she had no choice and no other way of getting back home. 

“I’m ready, your majesty.” Lena forced out a smile.  She was more scared than she had ever been and would gladly listen to her grandmother scold her for being late getting home, if she could return home. 

King Dargon looked at her and returned her smile. “Follow my guard down the hall and pick out your new set of armor and weapon. The rumors of your strength in my realm seem to hold true, you are quite brave.”


Lena could not seem to keep her legs from shaking as she walked; she knew she might not return from this mission.  Inside the armory, a vast amount of weapons and armor lay about ready to defend the King in some great war.  The guard told Lena to choose whatever weapon and armor she felt fit her best and he stepped out to give her privacy.  As her hand grazed over the each piece of armor, she realized that she was no longer looking for adventure and very likely would stay away from online games forever.  This time her armor was easier to adjust and fit her quite snug.  As she headed back to the throne room, a stabbing pain shot through her arm and then was just a dull ache.

King Dargon had the teleporter ready and motioned for Lena to step inside.  As she stepped into the green glowing ring, she squeezed her eyes closed because she had no idea what would be waiting on the other side.

When Lena opened her eyes, she was in a field and all around flowers were blooming.  How could anything in a field this pretty be dangerous?  As she moved away from the teleporter, she soon realized she was not alone.  A large shadow blocked out the sun and swooped down at an increasing speed.  Lena rolled across the ground as the creature landed causing the entire field to shake. A scream caught in Lena’s throat the beast loomed over top of her and was getting ready to swipe at her again.  She dived in the opposite direction but the beast caught her off guard and snagged her shoulder.  Pain ripped through her body and left no room for doubt that this was really happening.  She was unprepared, deep down inside she felt she should have awakened when she went through the teleporter.  Again, the beast lunged, its scales reflecting the sunlight and caught her off guard ripping into her other shoulder.  She did not know how much longer she would be able to survive the attacks.  There were no hit points here and she knew if the beast killed her there would be no resurrection spell either.  Just as the beast was positioning itself for another attack a figure stepped out of the portal, it was the duke, Ladymaster12. “You must run for the portal the beast is too strong for you.” As the beast began its charge, the duke grabbed Lena and pulled her back through the portal.

Lena’s body tingled as she remembered the last line of poem: Or years of darkness will begin.  What exactly did that mean?  What is going to happen to the “Isle of Levianna” and will I be able to return home?

Four figures loomed like shadows around the bed.  A tall man enters the room, a grim look cast on his face.  The four figures know that the news they are about to receive is not good.  He begins, a woman weeps and her grief is too much to bear.  “If only she had not gone into that cave, you may have found her in time. She lost so much blood. When her head hit that rock, her brain swelled from the pressure. In her current state she will not wake up, the chances of that are grave.”  As the figures left the room, only the beeping of the monitor remained and darkness.