Life is an MMO. Here is a different guide

This isn’t the game guide where I tell you the quickest way to level up in your job. It certainly isn’t a list of cheat codes for finding your dream spouse. If you’re searching for a bonus level with heaps of cash and an impractically large sword, I expect to disappoint you.

Strategies are helpful and specific choices important... but what’s most crucial now is your understanding of what sort of game you are in. Real life is an MMO (massive, multiplayer, online video game), and it’s currently a beta.

The Road Untraveled

Out of a winding crevice in the natural rock wall, two weary Wood Elves wielding bloodied steel emerged from a haze of shadow to the clarity of noonday light.

In typical circumstances, distinguishing individual characteristics within the pair would be a fruitless endeavor. Padded fur hoods concealed all but the key features of their faces-- prominent pointed chins, gaunt cheekbones, and ebony-coated eyes, which are all to be expected from the stripe of mer originally hailing from Valenwood (or in the case of the first two traits, common in all of elven kind).

On this particular day however, dusky armor failed to hide the two very contrasting spirits swaying each Bosmer adventurer’s demeanor. Faendal took long swaggering strides northeast - towards his hometown of Riverwood - that crunched over the wooded valley’s thin carpet of olive and umber. Trodding more lightly and several paces behind - yet not quite following - Teira hesitantly advanced while wearing a tense frown, making an arc north and northwest to the nearest river bank.

Despite the relatively temperate weather and pleasantly pine-tinged air, Teira sensed he was unwelcome in the northern countryside. War bled the warmth out of Skyrim.

Holy Spirit and Gifts

Imagine our world, if Jesus had not left after His resurrection. How would our surroundings be different?

Imagine our triumphant Savior - His body physically tangible, visibly marred with scars, and perfectly renewed all at once - marching into the Jerusalem Temple with eleven elated disciples following His heels. The dumbfounded religious leaders depart in shame, as the Gospel of the One who holds true authority is proclaimed. Would “Christianity” still exist as a common label, or would the movement simply be known as Judaism in its fulfillment?

Imagine our modern landscape, in this scenario where the immortal King faithfully guards Israel over two millennia and teaches other nations the way of His peace (the United States, of course, would be His favorite student…). Skeptical atheists, commanding no more attention than proponents of a flat earth, expose their blindness as they deny the Son of God broadcasted from television. Could a “relationship with Christ” be reduced to spiritualized jargon, if one has personally visited the risen Lord during a Christmas vacation, or had their online posts retweeted by their Redeemer?

Such an alternate history would be awesome, in the truest sense of the word, and it’s this sort of earthly kingdom (minus my modern flavor) that Jesus’ disciples once envisioned. Along with so many other Israelites, the twelve desired a warrior king to drive out foreign oppressors and return the nation to its golden years. However, Jesus shared to his followers an even greater plan-- for them and for us today.

New Chapter's Resolution

Hi there, and welcome to my new blog!

You, kind reader, have caught me at what I sincerely hope is the beginning of a fresh life chapter-- one where I treat writing as a purposeful and professional pursuit, even if it is not yet my job. I will explain, without using too many paragraphs, what this means to me… but first I feel an introduction is due.

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My name is Taylor Lewis, with T.C. Lewis being my pen name.

I am twenty years old, though as someone who has been called a mature adolescent but is now uncharacteristically youthful for an adult, I have to wonder what an objective age is meant tell about a person.

I’m trusted with (and paid for) the weekly set up of chairs and tables at Clovis Christian Church-- a humbly built yet modestly adorned structure despite the stained glass stereotype, which houses a similarly normal-seeming yet living and loving community. I also volunteer as a youth teacher and tech team member here.

I am the youngest of two sons, currently living with my parents and two birds (an Indian Ringneck and Cockatiel). God has blessed me with my captivating and strengthening girlfriend, who I have better befriended, persistently pursued, and delightedly dated, beginning halfway into this year after a frustrating (but far from meaningless!) season of singleness.

I was raised with Christian beliefs, but questioned them during high school, eventually considering myself an atheist. Since I was holding tightly to this skeptical stance even as my parents brought me to Clovis Christian, it came as a pleasant surprise that meeting real imitators of Jesus and finding genuine acceptance among them catalyzed the development my own faith. I found answers to my questions along the way, too, but mainly it was seeing God’s love through people that drew me in and transformed me.

I enjoy reading, writing, and video games… but in all three, what I love is immersing myself in a good story. Until now, I shared my writing in two blogs: one featuring works of fiction based in the Warcraft universe, and another dealing with weightier matters of Truth through apologetics and Biblical teaching (which contains my full testimony, too, if you’re one of those rare folks that does enjoy having a life story thrown at their face).

The Draconic Passage

The pale dragon stretched his iron jaw to its full expanse, broad enough for gulping three grown men, although at this time he needed only to motionlessly maintain said opening for admitting his clueless yet willing prey.

Meandering in a drone-like trance, a steady stream of human pilgrims, nomads, and thrill-seekers proceeded along a deceptively glowing tunnel which ended where the gaping maw began. It was at this very point that several serenely visaged guardians - descendants of Adam like the others and yet bound to the drake’s will by their livelihood - regarded their guests with a false warmth… encouraging them to continue through the monster’s gullet.

Even in the depths of the dragon’s stomach, the illusion remained unbroken. Pre-dawn light filtered in from a series of transparent plates in the dragon’s armor, deflecting the reality of every visitor’s cornered state. Consulting a shred of parchment given by strangers, these victims sluggishly settled into their own portion of the dense enclosure. Immaculate white scales across the organ’s ceiling swallowed each person’s possessions, while a row of dark, leathery glands underneath relaxed, then absorbed their temporary hosts.

The travelers assumed they had arrived of their own volition, and not by fate-- the first of three arrogant follies.