Yvvaros: The Digital Frontier by Alex Mulder Page A

later.”
    In Yvvaros property was earned, not bought. If an un-confederated group of players defeated all of a zone’s monsters, the right to build belonged to the player with the most kills. On the other hand, if the group was a guild, the group as a whole retained rights to the land.
    Once the zone was developed, NPCs or even other players could be hired to serve as farmers, merchants, and innkeepers. With the basic need for food and water to restore stamina came a type of economic order that mirrored the real world.
    “Alright,” said Tess. “But what are we going to call ourselves?”
    Luke glanced over at Silverstrike and Arex. Both of them looked as though they had no real ideas of their own.
    “KTSA,” said Luke. “It’s just the first letter of each of our character names put together. Kato, Tess, Silverstrike, and Arex.”
    Nobody said anything for a moment. Finally, Tess stepped toward him and set her hand on his shoulder.
    “I like it,” she said. “What about you two?”
    “Yeah, it works,” said Silverstrike. Arex nodded slightly but looked distracted by his own thoughts.
    “Alright, let’s get the charter written up,” said Luke.
    The guild charter was a way of defining the laws and mechanics of a faction. In its most advanced form, it could include provisions that required players to pay taxes at regular intervals, contribute to the guild in different ways, and fight against the guild’s enemies as a single unit.
    More often, it was just a simple contract that defined a particular property or zone as the home base controlled by the players of a guild. That was the kind of contract Luke scribbled down on the empty sheet of parchment.
    “Alright,” he said. “We’ll share the zone together for now. I also specified that the guild hall that we eventually build will be communal property as well. If that sounds good to you guys, just sign right here.”
    Luke had already signed it. He passed the charter over to Tess, who didn’t hesitate before signing her own name. Silverstrike didn’t have to think about it either, and after a moment Arex signed it in his own stoic fashion. Then, Luke folded the document in half, which caused it to glow with orange light. He then stuffed it back into his satchel.
    “Alright, it’s settled,” he said. “Let’s take out the last few of these desert scrubs and then meet up at the oasis.”
    The group spread out across the zone, which was only a square kilometer. They began cutting down the tiny, aggressive hyena-like monsters called Saripeds.
    SARIPEDS: A native desert specicies. The Saripeds cry sounds like a cackle. They are solitary hunters and prey on desert mice and insects.
    The guild members split off to cover more ground. The Saripeds were much easier to take out than the worm had been. Luke was the player who slew the very last one.
    ZONE CLEAR
    A flag suddenly appeared in his freehand, with the newly formed guild’s name scrawled across the fabric of the banner. He smiled and jogged over to show the other three.
    In the center of their zone was a crystal clear oasis, about the length and width of a medium sized swimming pool. The area surrounding it was covered in lush grasses with clusters of palm trees close to the water’s edge.
    “We did it,” said Luke. “The second I put this flag down, the zone is ours.”
    “This is just the beginning,” said Silverstrike. “This could be a thriving area. We’ll build a guildhall, sure, but we’re so close to Stark Town! We can hire NPC merchants, and maybe even some farmers to irrigate the water and grow food and raise livestock.”
    “Speaking of food, my stamina bar is depleting fast,” said Luke. “Let’s get down to business.”
    “This could be our home,” whispered Tess. “In-game, I mean.”
    Luke nodded to the ever silent Arex and then made his way over to the side of the spring. He brought the flagpole down into a spot on the ground that was more dirt than sand and watched as it