Destiny's Calling

Who would have thought that a boring, simple, country-born girl would be the foretold Queen of the Destined. Who would have guessed that a handicapped child would be the Protector of Realms. Well, I can say for a fact that it is all true. How can it be, you ask? Let me tell you. It. Is. WILD.

It all started two weeks ago. In the small town of Gallant, nothing is as exhilarating as riding your horse through a pasture, or visiting your friend down at the lake. Even walking your dog was normal here. Well, I was anything BUT normal. You see, I was a gamer. Any game you put in front of me, I would own it. Easy. Got a game you needed help with? Send it to Jasper Cordell. Needed a cheat? Ask me. Everything was hunky dory until the day I purchased "Keeper of the Dawn". That was the day everything changed.

Someone sent me the game reviews, I said cool let's try it. Bought it online. And I also got these weird goggles and headset. Weird but as I am a hardcore gamer, at the time I didn't think much of it. So I gear up, click on the game... And THAT'S when it happened.

It was like the strangest dream, like I could crawl through the computer. Every sensation I had, felt amplified. Then the feeling of someone or something pulling me in began. I tried to take the goggles off, but it almost felt... ATTACHED to me. Then BAM! I hit the ground hard. Except it wasn't anyplace I recognized.

The skies were a purple haze, cloud nonexistent. The ground looked like nothing I ever seen, strange plants and trees that seemed to move (I later learned those were called Tree Giants). The castle before me was humongous, towering overhead like a ominous threat. The doors were elegantly marked, windows from the clearest glass. Vines wrapped around the bulky exterior like snakes.

"My Queen, you have returned!"

I swirled around and looked at who said that.

A tall, muscular soldier with two swords that were illuminated in both sheaths stood before. Boyish looks came my way as he bowed before me. A sudden flash of words appeared before me, stating I chose the Destiny of Queen, and I am dumbfounded. Me? A Queen? Nonsense, even as experienced as I am as a gamer, I know not to chose the hardest level without knowing the gameplay beforehand. So as I am about to explain to this dude why I CAN'T be the Queen, a loud roar bellowed overhead.

"My Queen, run to the Castle!" the soldier screamed.

I began to run, but as I got to the castle doors, a fireblast tore through the thick walls overhead, and stone began to fall towards me. I began to frantically think of what to do, when I felt a growing tingling in my hands. Were my hands falling asleep? I shook them, and lightning erupted from my fingertips.

"Woah! No way!" I exclaimed, as I thought of a gameplan to defeat this creature. I could hear people inside the castles' domain screaming in sheer terror. Why wouldn't they? A huge dragon was threatening their life.

Then a thought came to me. I ran back to the soldier to tell him my plan.

"It just might work. But can you hold him for long enough for me to get on top of him?" Travor asked.

I nodded. It was the only way we could get it before it went berserk and destroy us in the process. Because it seemed like we were the last of the defense of these townsfolk.

I watched out for the dragon to come back again, and as soon as I saw him, I began to frantically hurl lightning bolts at it. Shocking it repeatedly at different areas didn't seem to be working, so I added a new element - arrows.

After hitting it with electrified arrows, it began to get mad and started to dart at me. With one good shock to the head, I managed to force it to crash into the marsh surrounding the castle. Travor then took his illuminated sword and decapitated the beast. It disintegrated almost instantaneously.

After the celebrations of us defeating the beast, credits began to illuminate the skies. My name came through as Queen Cassadana, then Travor's name came up. Arjay Cordell. My brother in real life who was handicapped. I was flabbergasted. Was my brother really playing a newly released game? I wanted to ask Travor some questions, but just as suddenly as it happened, the sensation of me being pushed back occurred, and I jerked back to life. I threw my headset and goggles to the floor, and ran to my brother's room and hugged him. We both sat there crying. I asked him if he was the anonymous friend who recommended me that game. He said yes. He was the co-designer of the game itself and he wanted me to be one of the first to try it. He was the only one I knew that was passionate about game designs other then me but had a disability that limited his actions.

That was two weeks ago. My brother died from complications with a surgery he had undergone. But ever since then, I learned the way of game. That game is my own personal portal to relive my brother's heroic actions that he could never do in reality. Every day I log in and learn the characters of the story. I learned after my brother's passing to not just play a game to win it. Play a game to live the story of it. Get to know the game. Get to know and understand the characters of the game and learn from them. Add your own twist to the game. Don't let life tell you what you can and can't do. THAT is the most important lesson I learned from "Keeper of the Dawn". Each time I log in, I am truly in my own paradise - and in my brother's heaven.