The Way It Is

let the game begin! - part 2

"Please remain calm. I know the sensations you are feeling are unusual. Please follow the sound of my voice. Once you reach me and form your virtual selves, your disorientation will dissipate."

I am really glad the speaker is Squardrim. Her voice soothes my nerves and compels me to her. I just want to find the beautiful voice. I feel myself move blindly through the darkness as the voice continues to talk to us.

"Once the game starts, you will not be able to contact me until it's over. I suggest, if you have questions, to ask now."

"Is the crowd watching this? I mean, can they see us right now?" It is a male voice. Deep and raspy.

Without seeing the person, I guess he is Gnarr. It is a Heavy-G planet. Most Gnarr have muscles on muscles, short, and don't live much longer than Humans. Hard workers, though. And unmatched physical strength. Not always that book smart. But they don't need to be.

"Yes. Right now, the view screens are focused on me, here at home base. Ah yes, you have made it. Welcome, Zea. You are faster than most."

The Squardrim female stands before me finally. She is taller than most Squardrim, wearing a flowing purple gown that sparkles in the dim light. It swirls around her with some unfelt wind, reminding me this is all in my head. Like I said, trippy.

I look around. It is a plain silver dome. I can barely decipher where the curved wall meets the floor. The light is dim and seems to come from nowhere and everywhere.

"Welcome Nort. I had a feeling you would be next. Hmmm, impressive form."

An abnormally large Gnarr male appears. He walks out of the darkness behind us, stopping several feet away from me to my left. His form is primarily that of a Gnarr but larger. About eight feet larger, to be exact.

I am slightly disturbed to find he only wears a loincloth. That is a lot of male exposed. Heavily muscled male. His muscles bulge in his arms as they hang awkwardly out from his massive chest.

He is oddly silent as his massive form lumbers to a stop, his meaty legs a little shorter than his arms, huge muscles flexing with each step.

Suddenly another form races to a stop between us. Chest heaving, panting heavily, nostrils flaring. A female Dukri. They have long skinny figures. More or less looking like a Human, just slightly taller, faces a little leaner and grey skin.

The most significant difference is the muscular legs with backward knees. She is built for speed and jumping. She had most of her head shaved except a thin strip of hair that runs down the middle. Bright orange hair reaches the middle of her back in a thin line. Strange orange tattoos cover all of her exposed skin. I swear they glow.

Her clothes are pure black. It was made of some sort of shiny material that reflects light. It looks armoured. Some type of hard material that forms to her thin body perfectly.

And out of thin air materializes a Feyronian to my right, wearing bright coloured flowing robes. I shouldn't be surprised. They have strong telepathic skills. Their minds being one of the most talented next to the Zukrog's in energy bending.

He is unmistakably Feyronian, yet there is something significantly different about him. I can't put my finger on it. His hair is buzzed short. Brown, like his skin. Nothing special about that.

They are primarily a humanoid species as well. Resembling Zukrog's in pretty much every way, except their hair doesn't change, and their skin tones vary from pale white to as black as deep space. Perhaps they are more humanoid than Zukrog's in that respect. However, they do live as long as Zukrog's, which is bloody long.