Exposition

It's the year 3000, and the Earth is in ruins. To escape the dying planet humanity created the Arc Mother, an interstellar vessel slowly traversing the universe in search of another home planet. Despite near magical advances in technology, the Arc Mother will spend thousands of years charging across the void.

The creators of the Arc Mother had access to technologies far beyond man. Cryosleep, alternate reality simulations, quantum computation, you name it. In the final moments, the designers of old seized an opportunity to advance mankind. To achieve this feat, they created the Arc Mother to be 100% automated. The residing human's consciousnesses would be spirited away to the virtual world of Ae (Æsc, pronounced ash).

In Ae, each person is a perfect representation of their physical body. The Arc Mother would instigate the health and reproductive choices each inhabitant makes. Natural selection would persist. Humans would continue to evolve.

(The exposition isn't all that relevant right now, but it was fun writing it. Just know that the characters are in a high fantasy environment. Although they are in a 'virtual reality,' there aren't any status screens or game elements, and nobody knows that their world isn't 'real'.)

Synopsis

Aolin Paug is the fifth son of a high noble. Paug is an ancient bloodline, as pure as it is strong. Like his brothers, Aolin was sent to the best tutors and academic institutions Ae has to offer. Unlike his brothers, Aolin has no natural talent for magic. He detests the high expectations and tediousness that comes with the family name. Sometimes he wishes he could leave his world behind and adventure like those in the days of old; to forge his own path using his own two hands.

School is waaaay more time consuming than I thought. Hiatus until I can figure out how to manage all the work. Every time I manage to cobble together some money I'm going to commission art.

Obligatory 'first story; be nice' tag.