[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
You walk in the door of the cottage, putting your rifle in the gun rack. Father is there, waiting for you.

"Ah, Jacob, you're back. I was getting worried," he says. "Did you set up the traps?"

You stare at him. For some reason, you feel you shouldn't tell him about the strange girl. He's always been a very puritanical person, hence the religion. When old Mister Kenneth taught a bird to sing in your last town, father wanted him burnt at the stake for witchcraft.

[User] You lie

[Assistant]
"Yes, father, I set up the traps," you lie.

"Good," father nods. "Now, we have more chores to do."

You nod, and prepare yourself for a long day of work.

[User] You later that night...

[Assistant]
You hear the soft snoring of Meredith in the bed next to you. Father and mother are in the next room, but they're definitely asleep. You slowly slide out of bed, and creep over to the closet. You slowly open the closet, pulling out a black cotton dress and slinging it over your shoulder. You creep out of the house, walking towards the woods.

Rose waits there. She leans against a tree, giving a little wave as she sees you approaching. When you reach her, you hold out the dress and she takes it from you, pulling it  over her head and putting it on.

"How do I look?" she smiles.

"Pretty," you admit, before mentally chastising yourself for being so lustful.

Rose smiles, and gently kisses you on the cheek. You blush, stepping back.

"Rose!" you say, embarrassed.

"What? It was on the cheek, we're just friends! Not even my mother could think that was bad!" she asks, confused.

"You're being lustful! We're not married, we shouldn't be..."

Rose puts a finger to your lips, nodding towards the house as you remember your sleeping parents and nod.

"You're weird," she says, before walking into the woods. "Come on, I'll show you where I have the hares."

You follow Rose into the darkness of the forest, and you walk alongside her. Soon, you find a dozen hares strung up from a tree by their neck. She cuts the rope keeping them up, and catches the string of hares as it falls, holding it out for you.

"Here," she says.

"That's a lot of hares," you say. "Fair trade."

Rose shakes her head.

"No. If you had just laid down your snares, you would've got a few hares. I still owe you something."

"Like what?" you ask.

"You're new to this place. I'll show you around."

"Uh, OK, " you say.

You follow Rose around as she leads you through the forest.

"So, do you... have a house around here?" you ask.

"Um... no. I sleep a lot of places. I used to sleep in my mother's cottage, but we don't get on. Now, I like to sleep in the trees. Find a nice big branch, hold on tightly. It's nice."

Over the next hour, Rose shows you the things of importance in the area. The good grazing areas, the most populated hare trails, the wild vegetable and fruit patches. Eventually, you reach within sight of an old, burnt out cottage. Rose stops you before you can get close.

"That's my mother's house," she says.

"Oh. Did... did she die?" you ask.

Rose shakes her head.

"No, no she's alive. It's just she... well, it's a long story."

"That place is all burnt out. No one should live there."

"She should," Rose says, spitting on the ground.

Rose quiets up as she leads you away from the cottage. After another few minutes, you come across a mountainous area, with a visible cave further up it.

"And that's where my father lives," Rose says. "Well, sort of."

"Does he move around a lot?" you ask.

"He lives in a lot of places. But he's there," Rose says.

"Is he a trapper, or something?"

"No, he's a..." Rose says, before pausing. "Yeah, trapper's a good definition. He traps things."

You dismiss her comment, and continue walking. Suddenly, Rose perks up.

"What games do you know how to play?" she asks.

"Games?"

"Do you like tag?" she asks.

"I don't know."

"I tap you and you become it, and then you have to tap me."

"Oh, OK," you say.

"So, tag," she says, tapping your shoulder. "You're it."

Rose bursts off, quickly running through the trees.

[User] You run after her

[Assistant]
You sprint after Rose, laughing as she playfully lets you catch up before evading your lunges at her. She dances at the edge of your reach, and you continue running through the forest.

You spend at least an hour playing but eventually, Rose leads you home. You talk for a bit more, but you arrive back at your cottage.

"Well, goodnight," she says.

"Goodnight, Rose," you reply.

"Can we do this again sometime? It's nice to have someone to be around."

She's right. It is nice. Your short time with Rose has been fun and really helped with your loneliness.

"Yeah. I'd like that," you say.

"Great," Rose smiles. "See you soon."

"See you soon," you say, as you walk back to the cottage to get to bed.

[User] One Month Later...

[Assistant]
Your secret friendship with Rose develops quite a fair bit. You have quite a bit of time to play with her. Due to your success at "hunting", father seems more than happy to leave you in charge of the hunting. Everyday, you head out to do the snares, Rose awaits with a string of hares for you. Then, you have a while to play and have fun, before you need to head home to avoid arising suspicion. You gift Rose with a few luxuries that she can't scavenge from the woods such as preserves, a blanket and a few other man-made goods. Father notices your rise in behavior, but he simply dismisses it as you enjoying the woods and all the time you're spending in it. Like you, Rose assures you that it's best you never meet with her parents. When asking if her parents even know of the friendship or whether they're in the dark like yours, she vaguely implies that her mother does know, and watches you two playing occasionally. You never see her, mother, but you don't mind. For now, all is good.

You run through the undergrowth desperately with all your speed, but like always, Rose is much faster than you. She taps you in the shoulder before speeidng away in the blink of an eye, stopping by a tree to lean against it for you to catch up.

"You're too fast!" you complain.

"You're too slow," Rose says, sticking out her tongue.

"Let's play another game," you say.

"Hide and seek?" she asks.

Despite Rose's unnatural ability to find you during hide and seek, by what she claims to be "sniffing" despite her being far away, you have much more of a chance of success in hide and seek rather than trying to outpace her. She's faster than a deer, you'll never beat her in that field.

"Yeah, let's do hide and seek," she says. "I'll be on first, if you want."

You nod eagerly, as  she spins around on the balls of her bare feet, clasping her hands over her eyes.

"One, two, three…" she begins to count, as you turn and sprint off into the woods.

You have a few places in mind that would make a good hiding spot. There's a little den underneath one of the trees that you could hide in. It should be easy enough to crawl into, although you've had similar hiding spots before. Still, it's one of the best spots you have, and the closest one.

There's also a more risky choice. The burnt out cottage that here mother supposedly lives in is close by. Rose says she only uses it for sleeping in, so you could hide out in there.

There's also her father's cave. It's slightly father away, but Rose seems to have an aversion to it. You could get to it if you run past enough, and hide away in there. There's been no reports of trappers in the area and Rose hasn't mentioned seeing him in a while, so you should be able to hide out there.

[User] You hide in the den

[Assistant] You quickly make your way to the den, finding it in the exact spot you remembered, just squirreled away under the twisted roots of an ancient Oak. You drop to your knees, lifting yourself down into it and scrunching up. You wait patiently, closing your eyes.

[User] You wait

[Assistant]
It's not long before you hear a gleeful "Found you!". You open your eyes and look up at Rose, who stands by the den opening with a smile.

"Ah, rats!" you say, as Rose grabs your hand and helps pulls you out of the den.

"That was fun," she smiles.

"Yeah, I'm only just realizing that hide and seek is mainly one person waiting in a hiding spot," you say, before looking up at the sun as it falls through the sky. "It's late. I need to get home soon."

"Oh come on! I didn't even get to hide yet!" Rose complains, pouting in an exaggerated fashion.

"Sorry. You can hide first time," you say.

"Fine," Rose says. "Come on, let's get you home."

[User] Another month later...

[Assistant]
You stand in the goat shed, feeding Nick and Puck. You put the rest of their feed down, walking out to talk to father. Father chops wood by the wide of the house, while mother cooks and Meredith washes clothes by the stream. You walk to father, who seems quite content. Thanks to Rose, you've been eating well, and she even brought you a full deer the other day. You had to shoot it to make it seem like you had hunted it yourself, but other than that it was a cause for celebration.

"Ah, boy! Have you checked the traps today?"

"Not yet, father," you say.

Father smiles, motioning towards the soup mother's making.

"Go, get some venison soup and head out. I need to head to town tomorrow. Get some salt to help the meat last through winter, and sell some of the excess meat. We're truly blessed with your hunting and trapping skills, Jacob. Thank the Lord for it. So tell me, will you come to town with me tomorrow?"

[User] You agree to head to town with father tomorrow

[Assistant]
"Sure, father. I'd love to."

"Great. I'll be seeing if there's any fathers with girls your age in the town, you know. You're getting old, and I'm sure with your strong features, ability to provide for a family and your humility to God, you'll have no trouble finding a wife. Ah, I'm talking too much. Now go, boy, have some soup and check the traps."

You begin walking away and head to mother, who stirs the soup slowly.

"Do you want some, Jacob?" she asks, not looking up.

"Yes, please," you say, as she dumps some of the soup into a wooden bowl and hands it to you.

You say your thanks to her before praying to say the same to the Lord, and then quickly devour the soup. It's fairly delicious and both easily warms and fills you up easily. Now, you're ready to head out.

[User] You head out to the woods

[Assistant]
You turn, walking off into the woods. It's only a few minutes of strolling before Rose appears behind you, smiling and happily fiddling with her wooden ring.

"Hiya," she says.

"Hello, Rose," you say.

"So, Jacob, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know," you say. "Did you get me any prey to bring home?"

Rose nods.

"Yeah, I got you five hares. Is that enough?"

"Perfect," you nod.

"Come on, then," Rose smiles, bounding away. "Let's go find something to do."

You look at her, thinking. Father said you were to find a girl relatively soon. A wife to raise a family with. From what you've seen of the outside world, the girls are all the same as Meredith and mother. They do what they're told, they pray, they're humble. But you don't want a wife like mother or Meredith.

You wonder if Rose would be a suitable partner. She doesn't know how to sew, or clean, or cook, or wash clothes, or really do any wife stuff. But you'd prefer a second out here with her rather than with Meredith or mother. She's the one who hunts. Maybe you could learn to do the wife things for her if you got married. You...

An acorn hits you in the head and you step back, startled. Rose throws another acorn at you, which you duck under.

"Hello! Anybody there?" Rose says, gently tapping her knuckles against your head.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," you reply, as you begin walking alongside her.

You walk down towards the stream, where Rose's catch awaits. Five hares hang from the branches alongside three squirrels. Rose hops across the river, water splashing the edge of her dress. You follow her, jumping from rock to rock to cross the stream. Rose sits down on a rock basking in the sun that  sits at the edge of the stream, water rushing past. You sit down next to her, staring at her. With long blond hair, shockingly blue eyes and a pretty, if a bit animal-like face, she's definitely pretty. Her eyes lock into yours, as you both stare into each other.

[User] You kiss her

[Assistant]
You lean in, kissing Rose on the lips, closing your eyes. Her lips are warm, and you feel yourself meld into the kiss.

You feel her pull away and open your eyes just as she slaps you hard across the face. You stumble backwards, as she stares at you, nervous and panicked.

"No, no, no!" Rose says, looking scared. "We're not allowed to kiss!"

"What? What's wrong?" you ask.

Rose looks off into the woods, panicked and scared, as she stares fiddling with her ring again.

"I promised, Jacob! I promised her I wouldn't kiss you or fall in love or anything! I promised!"

"Rose, calm down, OK! It's fine, we're fine!" you say, trying to calm her down.

"No, no, no! I told you my mother watches us playing sometimes. I told you! Now she saw you do that, and she's going to be so angry at us, and... and..." Rose says, looking absolutely terrified.

"I'm sorry, OK! I can explain this to her!" you say.

"No! I need to... I..." Rose goes even paler than her natural pallor. "You need to go."

"Rose, I'm not going! I...!"

"Take your stupid prey and go! Just go!" Rose shouts at you. "I need to deal with this."

"Rose, pl...!"

"Go home, Jacob! I'll deal with it!" she screams, bounding up from the rock and sprinting off into the trees.

You stand to sprint after her, but she's long gone into the woods. You sigh, walking over to your prey and grabbing the string of squirrels and rabbits. With that, you turn, walking home.

[User] You hours Later...

[Assistant]
You sit at the table with your family. Mother puts the meal down on the table, strips of cooked venison and corn. You grab one of the strips and shovel it into your mouth, feeling bitter.

"Jacob!" your father shouts, aghast. "Where are your manners? How dare you take the bounty of the Lord without thanks!?"

"Sorry, father," you say, bowing your head. "I didn't think."

"No, you didn't!"

"I'll include this in my prayers for redemption tonight," you say.

You hold out your hands, grabbing your Meredith's and your mother's.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty," you all say in unison. "Through Christ, our Lord. Amen."

You release your hold on Meredith and mother's hands, making the sign of the cross. Then, you start to eat, devouring your venison and chewing down on the corn.  Eventually you finish, and hold out your hands to pray, though your heart isn't in it, let alone your soul.

"We give Thee thanks, Almighty God, for all Thy benefits, and for the poor souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, may they rest in peace. Amen," you all say, before making the sign of the cross a final time.

You stand for the table, pushing in your chair. Your father looks at you with a worried look in his eyes.

"Look, it's dark. Say your nightly prayers and head to bed."

"I..." you start to say, before pausing. "Yes, father."

You sigh, before walking to bed.

[User] You sleep...

[Assistant] You're awoken by the noise. A horrible, long, incredibly loud, screeching howl that penetrates your very core. The noise floods into your mind, as horrifying and scary as when you first heard it. Only now, you can hear it outside your house. You hurry to clamber out of bed, clambering out of bed as you hear the door smash open. The creature lets out a chattering, screeching howl. You freeze, feeling cold, as shivers run down your spine. You need to act, fast.

[User] You get your parents

[Assistant]
You charge into the next room, and finally glance the creature. It looks vaguely human, a fact even more terrifying. It stands at seven or eight feet, it's skin as white as bone. It has long black hair, matted with blood and gore. It's hands have transformed into horrible, mangled claws, with long, bloodstained claws. It's face is mangled and misshapen, but its eyes are filled with malice and hate.

It stares at you. Then, with supernatural speed, it bursts forward. It hits mother first, its claws rending through her in seconds, tearing her apart. Father's barely out of bed before it turns to him. The superstitious man has reached for his crucifix rather than his rifle, but gets neither as the monster slashes his throat open, staining his mustache red as he collapses to his knees.

Meredith appears in the doorway, terrified and confused. The monster bursts towards her, impaling her fragile body on one of its claws. It raises her up, growling in her face, before tossing her aside. Finally, it turns to you, it's horrible, mangled mouth seeming to turn into a grin.

It steps forward slowly. You know there's no use running. You stare at the monster as it brings its claws just next to your face, still grinning with satisfaction. It motions as if to slash open your throat, but stops suddenly. It motions to do so again, but pauses once more, this time hissing in pain. It stops, before howling up towards the sky. Then, it brings its face up to yours.

"Leave this place," it snarls.

Its breath reaches your nostrils, warm and toxic. You feel your head going black, before collapsing onto the ground.

[User] The Next Morning...

[Assistant]
You awaken in the house, surrounded by the bodies of your loved ones and covered in blood. You stand, staring around your destroyed house. It seemed the creature took time to destroy the place. It's dead silent despite the sun having risen, so the roosters must be dead. You sit there, surrounded by bloodshed and death. You cry for a bit, sobbing into your hand, but eventually you stop. You know you need to be strong. You have to think about yourself. You have to think about Rose. You have to think about the future.

You stand, staring out at the woods. You wonder what you should. You could flee. The nearest town isn't too far. You could most likely walk to it in a few hours.

Or, you could venture out into the woods. Find Rose, attempt to find what's going on. It's a more dangerous approach, but at least it'll get you answers.

[User] You find Rose

[Assistant]
You walk out of your ruined house, not looking back, and begin heading towards the woods. It takes an hour of searching, but you find her. She sits by the same rock as yesterday, staring into the water.

"Rose!" you say.

Rose looks at you. She looks... strange. She's the palest you've ever seen. She's missing her wooden ring, as well. Her eyes are different, however. They're dark, the blue of her eyes now almost being black. Tears stream down her face as she stares at you.

"Jacob!" she says, crying. "I'm so so sorry, Jacob. I tried to stop her. I tried my best. But my father's greedy, and he'd only..."

Rose bursts into tears as you quickly cross the river. You wrap your arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"It's OK. It'll be alright. We're fine, OK? We're fine. We need to get out of here."

"It's my fault," Rose cries. "I know what my mother's like. I should've never talked to you."

"It's OK. It's OK," you say. "We just need to go, OK?"

"No, Jacob, I can't. I can't," she says.

"It's OK. Just take a deep breath, and tell me what's going on," you say.

"My... my mother... she saw us kiss. It took a lot for me to convince her to let us be friends, and I promised her we'd never kiss or marry or anything. I knew she was going to try kill you, so I had to make a deal."

"That... the monster is your mother?" you ask, stepping back.

Fay nods slowly.

"She wasn't always like that. When she met my father, he made her like that. She wanted to be like that, to have power. She gave him so much... she gave him everything... eventually, her gave her something in return. A child."

"Who... who is your father, Rose?" you ask.

"It's..." Rose says, before bursting into tears. "I'm so sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I thought you wouldn't want to be my friend if I told you."

"Rose..."

"It's... my father is Lucifer, Jacob. I knew mother was going to try kill you, so I had to do something. I couldn't stop her, but my father could. I tried to convince him, but he wanted something in return. I had to..."

"Rose..." you repeat again.

"I had to sell him my soul, Jacob."

You stare at her in shock as she nods slowly.

"I'm sorry," she says softly.

"We... we can fix this," you say.

"Jacob, you need to go. You can't stay here with me. Please, just go."

"No, no! We can fix this! I can fix this! If you turn to Jesus Christ, he can save your soul! No matter what kind of deal you've made, if you've accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, you'll be saved!"

"I'm too corrupt for that," she says softly.

"Then we can purify you! We can purify you! Or I can go talk to your mother! If I can convince her to let us be, she can... talk to your father, or something. I mean, that's got to work!"

Rose stares at you blankly, her eyes still dark and lifeless.

"She'd kill you on sight if my father's protection has warn off. If it hasn't, she won't care."

"Then I can go talk to your father! I'm sure I can convince him, or trade something with him, to give you your soul back."

Rose slaps you hard across the face.

"You don't go up there, do you understand?! You stay away from him! I'll tell you what the plan is. You leave. You get out of here. Go to town. Find a pretty girl, get married, settle down. Be happy, understand?"

"I can't do that to you," you say, exasperated.

You could try to purify her. Then, with Jesus Christ, you could get her soul saved. You could also try to talk to one one of her parents. Or... you could just leave. You could abandon everything, and try to find a happy life.

[User] You try to purify and save Rose

[Assistant]
"Come on!" you say, grabbing her hand.

"No, Jacob, leave me alone," she says.

"Please, Rose, trust me! If this doesn't work, I'll leave, and I'll never bother you again! We can purify you! The lord will accept you! I promise!"

Rose stands up, nodding slowly.

"Fine. You promise you'll leave if this doesn't work?"

"I promise," you say.

You lead Rose back towards the house. It takes you some time to gather up what you need, but you do. Your father's crucifix as well as your own, the family Bible and a small flask of holy water that your father brought from the last town's chapel. Rose looks at it nervously.

"I'm not sure about this, Jacob."

"Trust me," you say.

[User] You begin the ritual

[Assistant]
"Kneel," you say, as Rose kneels.

You stand over Rose, opening your bible and beginning to read.

"In the Name of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, strengthened by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Blessed Michael the Archangel, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints," you begin to read, as Rose begins to wince in pain. "And powerful in the holy authority of our lives, we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and deceits of the devil. God arises; His enemies are scattered and those who hate Him flee before Him."

You begin pouring the holy water over Rose, who begins to scream. You grit your teeth, and continue the ritual.

"As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; as wax melts before the fire,

so the wicked perish at the presence of God," you say.

Suddenly, Rose screams as she sets alight. She howls desperately in pain as the fire quickly burns through her dress, the very dress you stole for her. She screams horribly as she writhes in pain, and before you can act, her flesh and bone have burnt to ash. You drop to your knees over the ash, staring at it in shock.

God has failed. He has failed to save your love. He took her from you. You stare at the ash, your hands shifting through it. Rose is gone. Your tears fall into the ash as you cry.

After an hour of crying, you final stand. Your bible and crucifix lie next to you. You stare at them, wondering if God is truly with you.

[User] You accept him

[Assistant] No. God is with you. He always is. You turn away from the scene, picking up your bible and crucifix. With a prayer on your lips and tears in your eyes, you walk away from the horrors of the woods and all around it.

[User] You continue

[Assistant]
God's Child

After a few hours of walking, you find a town. You find yourself the nearest church, and pray in it. Soon, God provides. You find a job with the pastor, and are eventually ordained a full minister. You eventually end up as the town pastor, and accept your former life as sinful. Rose burnt because she rejected God in her heart. Your love for her fades, and you soon find a new wife who you marry.

You wonder if this is what joy is. You don't feel happy like you did with Rose, but that was the pleasures of Sin. You have a strong connection with God, a nice house and a loving wife who is with child. That's certainly more than enough, isn't it?


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You kill someone

[Assistant]
You were planning on killing Big Red and he was a demon, you think you'll be able to handle killing someone else that's less formidable.

You head back to the seedy part of Nuro at night. There are plenty of winos and ladies of the evening you can kill and then practice on.

You enter the alleys like some common murderer and begin to do your dirty work on those unfortunate enough to be in the general area. You typically drag these victims into some abandoned building and cast your spells.

You do this over the course of a month before one night while you're raising another prostitute you're walked in on by some common thugs who were using the building you were in as a hide out.

"Oh shit! That's Tina! I wondered what happened to her, she was my favorite whore!"
"And that's a fucking necromancer! Let's get outta here!"
"Fuck that, I don't back down from shit!"

You order your dead whore to attack one thug and then blast another with a beam of negative energy. The last one escapes screaming about a necromancer.

"Well, I guess it's time to play…" you giggle and raise the two thugs to join you.

You march through the slums killing everyone; it's all so easy for you. You don't feel a challenge; your dead horde just grows as you fill its ranks with the poor. You aren't even fatigued, you feel invincible and you're now determined to bring death to the entire city. No one can oppose you and if Mr. Demar and his Dark Order tries too, they'll get the same, for you're going to be the head necromancer in this city!

Soon your horde is numbering in the hundreds and you've drawn the attention of Nuro's mage guards at last. They do everything in their power to stop you, even leveling entire blocks to get to you. It's at that point you realize you might be in over your head.

You continue to fight however, you refuse to give up, but the odds are too great, and eventually a single sniper on a rooftop with a crossbow takes aim and pieces your skull, putting an end to your petty desires of conquest and your necromancer career.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] The city of Klyton and the surrounding area (History lesson)

[Assistant]
Klyton

This is the city-state where you live. As far as city-state go it's not a big one yet, your parents are still able to remember when it was still just considered an " independent large town", but when you have steady population growth combined with an good location relatively free of major dangers it's only natural for a community to grow unhindered.

It is primarily run by a small council of elected officials to govern major matters such as defense of the town, administering punishments for crimes or issuing licenses for magic use. While Klyton doesn't have a major standing army, it does have a strong voluntary militia to fend off a potential attack, though there has never ever been a serious threat to Klyton. Most militia duties are reserved to protecting miners in the mountains or apprehending criminals. The idea of forming a proper military has always been brought up once in awhile, but again due to the lack of real danger to Klyton, and the cost of keeping a standing army has always been put on the backburner.

The Klytonian community has always been a mostly self-sufficient one, but if anything else is needed, most of their trading is done with the port town of Hessla, the Cloudspeak dwarves or even the Delantium Kingdom. Mining is still a major job field and the beginnings of industrialization is starting, (a couple of small factories have already been built) but Klyton doesn't ignore other fields such as medicine or education.

The city is still primarily made up of humans, but there has been a small creep in other races making their homes there as well over the years, for better or worse.

The surrounding area

To the north, the Cloudspeak Mountains form a natural barrier to any possible marauding barbarian tribes. While the mountains themselves are dangerous, it is rare for monsters to venture very far from them. Klyton worked out an agreement with the small dwarf community that lives there long ago for mining rights. A river originating from the Cloudspeak Mountains runs directly east of Klyton. The dwarves keep to themselves for the most part, but sometimes a few come to the city on business.

To the south is a mixture of forests and swamps and home to an on going battlefield. The elves and sotakan (A race of lizard like people) have been involved in an ongoing tribal war for at least as long Klyton has ever existed and probably even before that. Neither side ever gains the upper hand for very long and the cycle continues. Klytonians don't exactly know what it's all about, they just know they're glad the savages have always kept their little fight confined to their area. Sometimes elves come to the city to trade, but they're looked down upon as trouble makers and savages. No Sotakans have ever come to the city at all.

The closest human settlement is to the west, a rough port town on the ocean called Hessla. Despite having immediate access to the ocean (or perhaps because of it) it hasn't grown to a large size like Klyton has. That might be due to several factors. Hesslans have a habit of engaging in piracy other criminal activities involving high levels of violence. There's floods that occasionally hit the town. But even while teetering on the brink of total anarchy Hessla stays together mainly because a strong leader to prevent that from happening usually always runs it. (Weak Hessla leaders don't last long) While they have extreme differences in society and some past bad blood, Klyton and Hessla have always maintained a good trading relationship. As far as both are concerned trading with each other is good business regardless of their personal feelings are.

To the east past the Cloudspeak River, exist long stretches of plains, scattered woods and the occasional small village. Past that is the Delantium Kingdom. The occasional merchant from there comes to trade and then leaves, though they usually also act as "emissaries" speaking of all the positive things about the Delantium Kingdom and saying how Klyton would be much better off if it joined it. While the Delantium Kingdom has never shown any signs that it would try to take Klyton by force, this sort of talk still makes most Klytons a little wary, as they value their independence and the thought of having to serve a "king" is not appealing at all.

[User] Back to the story

[Assistant]
Another day home from school…

"I'm telling you Ms. Zelamoyer is a witch, there's no way she could know what we did unless she read our minds!" David says.

"Yeah maybe she's even a demon in human disguise!" Tom adds

"Or maybe you two looked guilty as hell and laughed the loudest when she sat on the thumbtacks you put in her seat." You say. "I told you guys that was a bad idea. I'm surprised she only paddled you and didn't have you kicked out of the school permanently."

"Yeah well it didn't even hurt. My dad beats me harder than that. Though I guess Tom thought it hurt with the way he cried! Hahahaha!" David taunts.

"Shut up David!" Tom exclaims.

"So are you playing Smash Sphere over in the park today?" David asks you.

"I hope so, but my dad's been on my case about me studying harder. Says he wants me to make something of myself when I grow up."

"That sucks. My dad is always either at the mines or drinking at your dad's place. The only time I have to worry about him is when my mom tells him about something I did, then I get a beating. I don't think I'd survive it if he was always around." David replies.

"My mom doesn't beat me, but she'll yell and throw me into a small dark closet without food if I do something bad." Tom says.

"Your mom is one scary ass dyke, Tom. My dad said he saw her scare away a mountain troll in the mines once."

"Shut up David! My mom's not a dyke!"

"Yes she is! What about that other lady that lives with you then?"

"That's just mom's roommate! She needs a place to stay so she helps around the house, like cook dinner or clean up. Mom is at the mines all day, so she can't do that stuff, so it works out. She's kind of like a live in maid!"

"Sounds more like a second mom…"

As much as you enjoy Tom's naïve defense of his lesbian mother and David's taunting of it, you arrive at the Inn where you say goodbye to your friends and tell them you might see them later.

As soon as you get in, you dad calls you over to the bar.

"So do you have any homework?" he asks.

"Yeah, but it's not due until next week."

"Hmm, well if it's not due until next week it must need a lot of attention, better get started on it."

"It's really not that much dad, I can do it over the weekend. I'm going to go out and play smash sphere with David and Tom."

"Is that what you think? Better cancel that idea. You're hitting the books, besides I vaguely remember you mentioning you were also going to have test next week too."

"But dad!"

"Don't dad me! You've been letting your school work slide lately and getting into trouble at school with those two little hoodlums you hang out with."

"They're not hoodlums, and I didn't get into trouble today!"

"You aren't supposed to be getting into trouble in the first place! Look son, I know you think I'm being hard on you, but this really is for your own good. Your little friends don't have fathers that give shit about them, I should know because David's dad is in here all the time and as for Tom, well the less said about his situation the better."

Doesn't look like you're getting out of here today, but you make one last attempt.

"But I really don't have that much homework, I really can do it quick over the weekend!"

"Well if that is the case, you can help me out here instead."

"What?"

"One of my barmaids is sick and I'm expecting a full house here tonight due to it being one of the miner's birthdays today, so you can carry food and drinks."

You certainly weren't expecting that.

"What? Can't mom do it?"

"Your mother is going to have her hands full attempting to cook the giant cloudspeak ram in the kitchen for the celebration, in fact you can start off by helping her chop up the beast."

As usual your dad has given you no "choice" at all.


[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] You resist the urge

[Assistant]
As much as you would like to, you know it would be folly. You're in no condition to attack again and you've already underestimated her enough today. Besides, she's probably expecting you to attack her, perhaps even hoping you will just so she has the excuse to kill you.

In the meantime, Mr. Mol has stopped speaking with her and points over at you.

"You. Report to the medical ward and get yourself healed up as quickly as you can. You've got an important meeting soon and the appropriate clothing for it will be provided for while you're there. And for the Emperor's sake, put your damn pants back on before you leave this room."
"Uh, yes sir." You say sheepishly.

Mr. Mol gives a disapproving look and shakes his head before walking out the door.

You pull the knife out of your leg and stagger up to retrieve your pants. While putting them back on, you see Mistress near the door casting some sort of spell over her broken arm. She appears to be healing it all on her own and within the moment it takes you to get over to the exit, she has healed it completely. Once again she turns her attention back to you.

"Too bad you can't heal yourself so easily, but I couldn't teach you all of my tricks now could I? Mind if I have my dagger back? No wait, why don't you keep it as a reminder of our quality time together…and your complete and utter defeat." Mistress says with a big grin.

She sees your hand tightening around the handle of the dagger.

"Do it. I know you wanted to earlier when my back was turned to you." She grabs your hand with the knife and presses it in her stomach and then moves it upward between her breasts. She presses deep enough that the point is cutting her skin a bit. "Thrust that blade deep into me. This is your best chance Eternal."

You want to, you REALLY want to…but this is just another head game she's playing. There's some sort of trick, you know it.

"No, I am to report to the medical ward immediately." You say trying not to look into her eyes or focus on her naked body.
"Ah yes, duty calls. Very well. Another day perhaps." She says and then lets go of your hand only to rub up against the side of you and press her lips near your ear.

"You were right not to do it. I would've killed you. And this…my dear Eternal, is why you will never beat mommy. Remember this." She says and licks the side of your face followed by a sensual kiss to your lips as her hand rubs your chest.

Once again your hormones impede your better judgment and the temporary distraction is just another tactic for her to hurt you in some way. She suddenly bites your lip hard enough to draw blood and then spits the blood back in your face laughing the whole time.

It is at this moment that even within your short amount of years on this world, you can't ever imagine encountering a more cruel and twisted creature. If there are other such people, beings, or whatever, Mistress has managed to completely desensitize you to the point that you aren't going to be surprised by them.

But then maybe that was one of the things she was trying to teach you.

With Mistress' laughter still ringing in your ears, you exit the room holding your bleeding lip and head to the medical ward. While you're waiting you examine your last "gift" from Mistress. It is a very fine weapon and probably svelk made given that its blade is made of an uncommon material. You want to say its mithril, but you can't exactly be sure since studying various types of metal wasn't really in your schedule. It certainly isn't common steel that's for sure. As for the hilt you can't even guess, except that it's some sort of dark metal, sturdy and has a simple design. You eventually put it away when the medical mages are ready to help you.

You're healed relatively quickly by the medical mages. Apparently you are not to waste time lying around in a bed, as this meeting of yours is very important. When you put on the new clothes that have been provided, they are of a higher quality cloth and definitely fancier than what you're used to.

You don't have wait long before Mr. Mol arrives.

"There you are, hmmm well you look presentable enough I suppose. I trust you're all healed up and feeling better?" Mr. Mol says looking you up and down.
"Yes, much better sir."
"Good, because you're going to meet the Emperor himself. This is a great honor for you Eternal, I hope you realize this."

This revelation that you're going to meet the Emperor in person is more than enough to put you in better spirits.

"Of course sir. I know that the Emperor is all-powerful and all seeing and I should be grateful for my existence to him. And I am."
"Well, don't tell me, tell him when you meet him. Let us be on our way."

You follow Mr. Mol outside, something you rarely do. You're usually cooped up inside the training facility all the time. A carriage waits for you and you enter it with Mr. Mol. Along the way to the capital Mr. Mol tells you how you should act and various other things to expect. The one thing he doesn't tell you is what the Emperor looks like, but you suppose you'll find out soon enough.

When you reach the capital Qale, it's just as big as you've heard. Though you sort of thought that everyone would be dressed similar to you and the place would be practically paved in gold. Not that you're disappointed, but it's just much…different than you expected.

The palace on the other hand is as impressive as you thought it would be. The inside and out. Royal guards are everywhere and you see more than a few people in the fancy clothes similar to your own and Mol's. You expect to enter a grand throne room, but Mr. Mol tells you that the Emperor hasn't used the throne room in all the time he has known him. In fact, from what he's heard, the Emperor hasn't used it in centuries since he rarely meets with anyone directly anymore except with a few trusted associates.

With this sort of information, you truly realize what a really rare opportunity this is and how proud you are that you're getting to experience it.

After going down a long stairway and through several corridors, you eventually come big empty room with a giant sturdy silver door with two equally large black statues on either side, which are made of some sort of crystal. They appear to be warrior figures of some sort, but when you look at the face, they have none; or rather their face is that of a skull. Each one carries a battle-axe in their hands, which arc over the top of the door.

Mr. Mol approaches the door and whispers something and in a few moments, the door creeks open just enough for the pair of you to enter.

The room opens up and all you see are shelves and row after row of books. You'd almost think you'd stepped into a library of some sort. After the rows of books the room opens up to a more spacious area, which consists of luxurious furnishings from the carpet to the tapestries on the walls. And there in a fancy leather chair sits an old man in a robe reading a book. You draw his attention when you and Mol approach and stands up.

Is this the Emperor? If it is, your perceptions have been challenged again. He doesn't look anything like the figure you imagined.

"Ah, Jacob. Good of you to be on time as usual. And this…this must be the one I've heard so much about! So am I everything you expected me to be? Well? Speak up son!"
"Uh…yes my Emperor?"
"You're a bad liar son. I thought your previous teacher would've taught you better in that regard. Oh well, you're still young and I can probably teach you better than anyone."
"Teach me my Emperor?"
"Of course teach you, you'll be learning everything you need to know from me from now on."
"I…I'm honored my Emperor!"
"And you can stop with that my emperor nonsense every time you address me. I'm not Mistress, or whatever the hell that svelk bitch is calling herself these days. I don't demand some sort of power trip formality."
"Of course my…of course."
"Ha ha! They told me you learned quick! Now let's get to…eh? Jacob you still here? Don't you have something important to do?"
"Yes, but I needed your input sir, it's about the shadows, something needs to be done with them."
"Don't you have those other two eternals to use as spies? Wasn't that your idea?"
"Yes, but…"
"Well don't bother me with it again until you find out more. Now leave us." The Emperor says and waves Jacob away.

Jacob looks like he wants to say more, but he stops and instead just nods and makes his exit, leaving you alone with the Emperor who turns his attention back to you.

"So, back to you son. Where do you see yourself in say…oh five years?"
"Well, I suppose on the battlefield destroying your enemies and serving you of course."
"Of course you would, if you were some grunt destined for sword fodder. No you're destined for much greater things. That, I promise you. But we can talk about that all in good time for right now I'll bet you have some questions of your own. Go ahead, ask me anything and I assure you there is no question that will be too personal. If you ask something I feel you do not need to know then I shall not tell you. Simple enough right?"
"Yes, sounds reasonable."
"Good, so why don't you start?"

The first problem is that you don't even know WHERE to start. You eventually do ask some things you're curious about and the Emperor is very forth coming with information. You do not want to take advantage his kindness though so you stop after you feel most of your curiosity has been sated. Besides, there will be opportunity to learn more later.

And so the Emperor begins his process of mentoring you…

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Year 19

The day of reckoning is coming soon for all traitors; particularly the shadows and you're just itching to play your part. It was you after all that influenced the Emperor on such an important decision. You just wonder what that role will be since the Emperor is currently explaining part of the plan to you and you're still not entirely sure of how this is going to play out.

"But isn't the military already going to wipe out the shadows?" you ask.
"I told you son, I had a contingency plan for the shadows a long time ago. Our military isn't even going to be involved for the most part. Maybe a few soldiers to mop up a few escapees, but their subterranean fort called Gloom is also serving as their handy underground tomb…heh that rhymed. Anyway what I'm saying is I have an old alliance with the derro and the fort the shadows are currently using as their headquarters was originally created by the derro who abandoned it because there wasn't any worthwhile mining prospects in the area any longer. The derro still know every secret passage and inch of that place and can launch a surprise attack at anytime. And before you even ask, yes they'll be MORE than enough to finish off the shadows. Personally I wish I could use them against the Felkans, but that's not meant to be since they don't do favors like this on a regular basis."
"Can we be sure to get all of the shadows though? Won't a lot of them be on topside?"
"Well we're trying to coordinate the attack so there won't be a lot of shadows on the surface at the time. However we do keep track of their patrol routes and schedules, we even try to keep track of their unofficial patrol routes that they seem to prefer. Basically the derro will get most of them underground, the more tedious thing isn't getting rid of the shadows, it'll be wiping out any of non-shadow sympathizers they've recruited to their cause. I might use specialized teams to take care of that…in fact I think I'll put you in that group. It'll give you an opportunity to put those combat skills of yours to good use! And it'll also give you a good opportunity to be in demonstrating your ability to lead since I'm also putting you in charge of it."

You don't know what to say. Not that you're displeased with such an opportunity, its just you really weren't expecting it.

"I won't fail you Emperor." You remark.
"Of course you won't since it's not an option, but as I said I have complete faith in you. Now I'm going to tell you right now all of them have got more battlefield experience and in some cases several decades, but don't let that intimidate you. YOU are in charge. Never forget that."

The Emperor goes on to explain that while you'll be working with a specific group, you naturally won't be working without the full support of the Empire. He states that there will be other groups like yours scouring the countryside for shadows and any other potential rebel types.

"Most of those scum are probably going to be hiding out in that backwards swamp province of Delerg, so that's where you'll be heading. It'll probably be a good idea to do a purge anyway, so you've got full permission to use whatever means to stomp out anyone who even remotely is showing signs of rebellious behavior. The derro are still getting prepared, so you'll have a little time to get to know your team before we stop this misguided revolution before it starts. You'll head to Delerg in a couple days and await further orders there."

Your trip to Delerg is an uneventful carriage ride, though it does give you time to see a little more of the Empire countryside. Along the way you read up a little more about the Delerg area and how it used to be the original home of the shadows. It was there where the Emperor first made his alliance with them. You also refresh yourself on the shadows themselves and how they typically go about fighting. Their favored tactic is to remain cloaked invisibly and then launch a sneak attack followed by hasting themselves to finish off anyone else.

When you reach Delerg you stop in a rundown town appropriately called Sinkhole. From there you are told the rest of your team is meeting you there. No sooner have you gotten off the carriage when you're approached by a large scarred orc in battle armor.

"You the Emperor's boy?" he asks in a gruff tone, though much more coherent than you were lead to expect from his kind.
"I am in his service and was sent here, if that's what you mean. Who are you?"
"All business, I guess you're him. I'm Captain Gruz at your command I suppose since I've been informed that you're in charge of this thing. The most of your command is in the local barracks. The svelk mercs have been busy scouting though, better that they stay out our way until its time anyway."
"Wait, svelk mercs?"
"Yeah, they're trying to find any hidden safe houses and such that the shadows might have scattered about in the deeper reaches of the swamp. Figured you knew seeing as you're buddies with the Emperor and all."
"I'm not his buddy, I'm his dedicated agent who is honored to serve him to the best of my ability!" you say starting to get annoyed by the orc's choice of words.
"Okay, I meant no disrespect…I will say though you need to lighten up a bit lad. Even the other Eternals I trained weren't quite as serious as you seem to be."

While this is news to you that he was a trainer to some of your other classmates, you don't see as that having any bearing on how he should tell you how to behave.

"Well YOU didn't train me, because I surpassed my classmates! I survived ordeals that would've most likely killed them! So do not presume to tell me how I should act!"

Captain Gruz's stoic expression cracks a bit, you at first think his face is going to turn into an expression of anger, but instead he smirks a bit.

"Mistress trained you didn't she?" he asks.
"Yes, and what of it?" you snap.
"Nothing, just explains some things. Come then, I'm sure you'll want to talk to the troops and enlighten them how you're going to be running things. Now I know this is your first command, but don't worry, I'll be here to give advice and make sure the rest of the troops take you seriously."
"If I want your advice, I'll ask for it captain. And the troops should be taking me seriously regardless of your presence. I am here by the orders of the Emperor himself! That should be more than enough motivation for them to obey my commands!"
"…I suppose so sir." Gruz answers though you get the impression he'd like to say more.

When you and Gruz enter the barracks, you're welcomed to a surprising sight. It's filled with orcs! First svelk mercenaries and now orc troops! You didn't know you were going to be leading two distinctly different races! When Gruz notices your expression, his own is one of amusement. The other orcs stop their loud discussions and begin to study you. They appear unimpressed.

"Ey cappin' ooo dis humie in da fancy leather armor? You get 'im from the local 'orehouse fer me? Har har har har!" one orc says which is followed by loud laughter from the rest.
"Alright everyone calm down this is…" Gruz tries to interject, but you stop him.
"I can speak for myself!" you say realizing that you must take an aggressive stance. It is clear that the Emperor put you in this situation to force you to deal with surprises and how well you can handle commanding unruly troops.

"All you need to know about me is that I am your superior for the duration of this operation and you will cease behaving like the near mindless beasts you are and start earning your keep for the Empire by following my orders!"

This works on a few of the orcs, but the outspoken one has decided to keep pressing the issue of challenging your authority.

"Beast iz it? I'll have you know ima fookin' lady!" the orc says standing up. To be quite honest you thought the orc was male, but between the battle armor and ugliness of all of them they all look alike to you.
"I don't care what gender you are, you WILL follow my orders or…"
"Or whut? Whachu gonna do?" the female orc says getting closer and staring down at you ready for a fight.

You look over at Gruz who just gives you a look that expresses "Hey, you said you didn't need my help." and you're right you don't need his help. You know how to handle this.

You scan another orc who is egging on the loud female. The orc looks fairly formidable and is on the larger side (though they're all bigger than you).

"HEY YOU!" you shout out to the orc.
"Huh? Whut?"
"You male?"
"Yeah."
"Good." You say and immediately attack him after pushing past the female orc.

While this battle could be over within seconds if you used magic, you can't do that here. The orcs need to respect your natural battle skills if they're going to properly respect you. Of course you need to beat said orc first and one you've decided to make an example of isn't about to just let that happen and readies his morning star.

[User] You go for his eyes and face

[Assistant]
You attempt to slam the pommel of your sword into the orc's face, but he anticipates that move and blocks it with ease. Using his strength he manages to push you away so hard that you end up tripping backwards over a small stool on the floor. Now that he has a bit of distance he swings his morning star at you and you just barely manage to get out of the way before it crushes the stool you just tripped over.

You grab the chain of the morning star in an attempt to take it away from him, but he jerks back so hard that you end up being pulled with it and land right in front of his feet. Then you get a hefty steel boot to the face, specifically the nose…which unfortunately due to the angle of the kick, the bone inside goes inside you brain.

You convulse on the floor, gurgling and bleeding from the nose and mouth for a few seconds before dying.

Captain Gruz is naturally furious at his subordinate who insists that he didn't mean to kill you and can't help that humans are so weak and squishy. Ever the wily one, Gruz tells some of the other orcs to get rid of your body and ultimately blames your disappearance on the svelk scouts. The svelk being who they are, are not believed when they protest their innocence and those that don't immediately flee are rounded up and executed by the Empire.

The Emperor laments your death for a few days, but soon comes to the conclusion that if you were dispatched so easily then you must not have been worthy anyway.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You let someone else deal with them and focus on getting all the money you can

[Assistant]
You move towards the counter and as you do Cole fires a shot that hits one of the men in the hand. He yells in pain but a moment later the four customers have scrambled out the door leaving the three of you alone in the bank with the dead teller on the floor behind the counter. "Quickly, grab the money" you tell the others and moving fast you snatch up all the money you can find on the counter. In less than a minute you are back outside to find Frank, Clell and John firing their pistols into the air as you, Jesse and Cole scramble back onto your horses. A man runs out onto the street and fires a pistol at you, Jesse fires back. Both miss but Jesse's shot prompts the man to take cover and the six of you are able to spur your horses out of town and escape.

Riding hard you do not stop until you are a long way from Columbia. When you pause to count the money you find you have escaped with less than $1,000, which makes your share $200. Frank is especially unhappy.

"We're killing too many bank tellers Jesse," he tells his brother. "This will bring the law down on us."

"Maybe we should lay off banks for a while," Jesse says thoughtfully and grins. "I have a mind to rob a ticket office at the Kansas City Exposition."

After a quick discussion Cole and John both offer to join Jesse but Frank and Clell decide it is better to lay low - Frank is going back to the James Farm while Clell is going back to his own family's farm. You consider what is best to do.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You confront Butch

[Assistant]
Butch has been treating your sister like this for too long. Its time to stand up to him, since she won't do it.

You immediately pull him aside and tell him to stay away from your sister.
He laughs in your face and pushes you to the ground. Then his six friends stand up...

However your recent actions of defending Aaron cause him to try to help you out, by kicking Butch in the shin. Butch winces in pain, but immediately turns his attention to Aaron. He and his friends ignore you and beat the shit out of him. Seriously injuring him.

The following events occur due to your hubris...

Aaron has to be hospitalized and never fully recovers from suffering minor brain damage.

Butch and his friends are charged, but ultimately nothing comes of it, since most of their parents are rich and Aaron's weren't. Charges are dropped. They're all expelled and school is sued however.

You are also expelled since its determined that you started the fight in the first place, not to mention you your previous actions of fighting with Henry earlier that day, displays that you're a trouble maker.

You sister blames you for Butch dumping her permanently, despite the fact you were actually trying to help her.

Finally Mom gets SUPER pissed off at you for causing all this shit, causing her to miss lots of work. She sets you straight by breaking your will once more which is rather easy since you blame yourself for all of what happened. If you hadn't indulged you emotions this all would've never came about. You make sure it won't happen again.

Another day arrives and once again you feel nothing...


[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] You moonlight attacks

[Assistant]
You wait as midnight comes and goes and give the new guards on the walls a couple of hours to get comfortable and sleepy before you make your move. The moon is out in a beautiful crescent, looking every bit like a blade cutting down at the little community ahead of you. The light it provides is more than enough for you to see clearly but you know it isn't enough for the guards who have lit torches on the railings "They have lit themselves up like candles but the light will blind them to my approach!" You think to yourself gleefully as you move closer with the six shamblers near you.

You are within a few metres of the first guard when you realize the problem. You can get over the wall easily but the shamblers will never make it. You hiss at yourself for being so stupid and take a few minutes to send them all round to the ditches near the front gate. You will have to open it to get them inside to fight for you.

You move to a dark spot between the torches and leave your bat and pack against the wall before jumping up incase they banged against somthing and gave you away. You reach the railings easily and swing yourself over in one smooth movement, landing quietly on a wooden platform behind the walls "Smart, they built a little walkway all the way around for their guards" You think as you sneak back towards the guard you were near before. He had seemed extra sleepy earlier, and sure enough, you find him napping.

Two steps into the light from the small torch and you have and hand clamped over his mouth and the other around his throat, crushing his windpipe. It gives way with a pop and you finish him off by snapping his neck. The hunger surges up but you have to ignore it for now. You can feast once you have control of the entire compound.

You start sneaking along the walkway toward the next guard and once more find a sleepy man, relaxing in his chair in the torchlight, you smile to yourself, they had become too lax in the peaceful times after the raiders all died. You once more move in close and before the man even wakes up enough to react you have you hand over his mouth and throat. You clamp down, crushing his windpipe but as you feel it give way, you hear the thump of his heel hitting his chair. You quickly snap his neck but the damage is done and the chair tumbles off the edge and into the compound before you can stop it.

You swear to yourself and you hear the noise it makes but you know it wasn't really that loud, You almost think you got away with it when you hear the next guard calling out "Hey Kiel, you fall asleep again!" You quickly drop to the ground, the guard wont take long to get suspicious when their friend does not reply so you need to get the gates open fast.

You sprint between the houses, luckily finding most quiet and dark and come to the main gate. there are two guards here, one either side of the gateway and they are awake and chatting to each other. But you hear the shout going up. The guard has found the body. "Kiel is dead! we have intruders! help!" You swear and rush towards the gate, leaping up and vaulting yourself onto the walkway behind one of the guards. He saw you coming and tries to raise his gun but you are faster and a punch to the throat sends him stumbling over the wall, only to get impaled on a spike before he can fully fall. the haze of his mind already gone by the time he hits the spike. You run and leap at the second guard, but this one has had more time and you see her with rifle ready. She takes the shot as you leap and you feel the impact in your side. You are certain she just got you cleanly in the kidney as you land and start punching her, not giving her time to work the bolt action for another shot.

She shot you though and the hunger fills your mind with anger as you punch her repeatedly in revenge, even though she was dead after the second hit.. The shouts of humans running brings you back from your rage and you can sense the minds of several humans headed your way. You leap down and wrench the wooden bar off the gate, swinging it open.

"Time for vengeance!" you think as you order your horde inside and lean up against the wall for a moment to stop your own bleeding. You will easily survive this, but it is still not trivial, you will need a few moments to bind it before you move.

You simply order your horde to attack while you tear a strip off your shirt to stuff into your wound when you hear the shots starting and feel your horde reduce in number quickly. You look up to see the humans aren't all carrying bold action hunting rifles or pistols, several have assault rifles and they are tearing your horde apart with ease.


[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] You say no

[Assistant]
Why should you have to pick her up? It's bad enough you had to walk her here, but Tina is old enough to be walking to and from her own high school.

"No, you can walk home yourself. Grow up already."

You reply coldly, turning and walking away. Tina doesn't reply back, and merely walks to the school. She should have expected that answer, given you have no reason to pick her up. Returning to your house, you do what any high schooler does, you spend the day sleeping.

Or rather, you would have spent it sleeping, had you not rudely been awoken at about two by the smashing of fists against your front door. You groan as you exit your bed and move downstairs to answer the door.

"What?"

You ask angrily as you open it, only to find Allison happily standing in front of you. She smiles as you open the door.

"Why hello there, Jacob, or should I say good morning?"

She says cheekily. You open your mouth to retort, but she interrupts you.

"Anyway, I've been out here for a while, so can I come it?"

She continues, you go to reply, but she again interrupts you.

"What do you mean no? Would you really leave a cute girl outside in the cold?"

You stand silently and glare at her as she attempts to make a cute pose.

"...Done?"

"Yep!"


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You ignore him and wait for your meeting with Mr. Berringer.

[Assistant]
This conversation is getting out of hand; encounters in a public space like this one is not how these transactions usually occur. It is becoming clear to you that Mr. Plaid Suit is an amateur at this kind of game, and based on his appearance it seems unlikely he has two million of anything to give you. Best to end this now, you think.

"Not interested," is all you say, your jaws clenched and your voice low. The last thing you want is to be overheard by anyone else on the plane.

"Can I interest you in a soft drink?"

The attendant's voice startles you; the cart has now reached Row 30, but you were so distracted you had lost track of it's progress. The woman in the window seat seems to wake from her nap in an instant. "Yes," she says. "Do you have Coke or Pepsi products?"

"We have Coke products: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite. We also have coffee, orange juice, and water."

"I'll have a Diet Coke, please," the woman says.

As the attendant pours the soda out of the can into the plastic cup, she asks Mr. Plaid Suit, "And you, sir?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

The attendant hands you the Diet Coke to pass along to the woman in the window seat. "How about you?" she says to you as you hand off the cup.

"Coffee will be good," you say. And a moment later you are cradling a paper cup full of black coffee in your hands.

This entire interruption has thrown your neighbor off his game. He continues to fidget in his seat, but with the woman to his left in the window seat no longer napping, and with you clearly not interested in his solicitations, he acts as though the remainder of the flight has no purpose for him. Out of the corner of your eye you see him reaching for the newspaper again, only to put it pack in the magazine pouch as if faintly disgusted with it. He pulls out a dog-eared copy of Condé Nast Traveler instead and pretends to be interested in some article about an apple festival in Upstate New York.

The plane touches down at Logan before you even finish your coffee, and you make a hasty exit off the plane. There is no need to go to the baggage return because everything you need is in your carry-on — traveling light is always a boon in your profession. So you rush through the terminal, not even looking to see if Mr. Plaid Suit is following you. The airport is already filling with people, a medley of humanity in motion, and you can only assume that the bald man with the bagel breath is now busy looking for the next flight back to New York.

Outside the terminal, dozens of people are lined up at the taxi stand waiting to hail a ride, or waiting for their Uber to arrive. You're already ahead of that game; as soon as the plane landed and you were able to turn on your phone, you hailed a ride of your own. Now you have a message that your ride has arrived: a black Camry driven by someone named Julio.

Indeed, you see a car matching the description across the street, just behind a family of weary but excited travelers loading their suitcases into the back of a minivan, telling the relative who is picking them up about their flight from Cleveland. You are musing to yourself about how every man, woman, and child in this family is wearing either a Red Sox or a Patriots shirt when you hear the whiny revving of a four-cylinder engine. Too late, you turn to see the Camry charging out of its waiting spot, clipping you as it weaves through the dawdling taxis and Ubers and then speeds toward the city.

The last thing you remember is your face hitting the hard pavement.

__________________________________________________

[User] Next page.

[Assistant]
When you come to, you are in a hospital room. There is a window, but the only thing it reveals is what must be the next wing over. The TV is turned off, and the only voices are coming from down the hall.

You have no time for this; you're going to miss your meeting with Berringer! Swinging your feet out of bed, you realize you are wearing nothing but a standard-issue hospital robe; and as you try and sit up, your left arm tugs at all the medical equipment that you didn't realize were tethered to you.

Two nurses rush into the room. Are they more concerned about you, or the equipment you almost toppled over?

"You're awake!" the lead nurse says, wearing a loose-fitting maroon scrub and paisley leggings.

"Yes," you say, "but I can't stay." Your voice is raspier than it should be.

"Oh, is that so?" the nurse says.

"I have a meeting. I can't afford to be late."

"Well how about we just lie back in bed and get yourself comfortable? Then we can get Dr. Green to come in and have a chat with you." She is speaking as though she is making a suggestion, but she and her confederate are already lifting your legs back into the bed and guiding your head back toward the pillow.

"But—"

"I'm sure your meeting can wait," she says. "Besides, you're in no shape to be interviewing for a job, or wherever it was you were going. If you like, I can turn the TV on for you. Do you like Jeopardy! ?"

Who's got time for game shows? you think, but you're starting to realize you don't have the energy to put up a fight. The nurse points the remote control at the TV, and indeed Jeopardy! is the first thing you see.

Alex Trebek is reading a clue off the blue video screen. "In the 2002 movie Gangs of New York, the Five Points crime boss William Cutting is also known by this macabre nickname."

"Who is Bill the Butcher? I'll take 'Scorsese Flicks' for five hundred."

The nurse stands back to regard her handiwork, once you are tucked back in the bed where she seems to think you belong. "There. Better?"

Maybe. Probably. Actually, you have no clue what happened or why you are here, except that you have this unusual headache. The pain is dull, so you must be medicated.

"Oh, by the way, these flowers came for you today. Would you like to read the card that came with them?"

She points to a small calling card, propped on a plastic stick and surrounded by a bouquet of blue and white flowers. Who even knows you are here? You nod, and she hands the card to you. It reads:

Get well soon.

Regards,

Walter Berringer.

PS: Better luck next time.

THE END


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You stay with Dick at the Hite Farm

[Assistant] You remain with Dick at the Hite Farm while your companions head south to rob the payroll in Alabama. The robbery goes off well but afterwards Bill Ryan is arrested in Adairville after he draws too much attention to himself. The news is bad but Bill refuses to talk and soon after Jesse and Wood Hite return to the Hite Farm with Wood's younger brother Clarence Hite and Jesse's brother Frank who has been lured out of his retirement as a farmer in Tennessee by his enthusiastic younger brother. Jesse has a summer of crime planned for his native Missouri.


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You leave and head to the den

[Assistant]
You quickly head down the mountain, skidding down the mud and rocks, but by the time you actually reach the bottom and walk any reasonable distance, Rose races up to you with a gleeful "Found you!".

"Ah, rats!" you say.

"You didn't even hide!" she smiles.

"I didn't have time to!" you say, before looking up at the sun as it falls through the sky. "It's late. I need to get home soon."

"Oh come on! I didn't even get to hide yet!" Rose complains, pouting in an exaggerated fashion.

"Neither did I," you smile. "Don't worry. You can hide first time," you say.

"Fine," Rose says. "Come on, let's get you home."


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You stay silent

[Assistant]
These soldiers seem to have made up their mind about you and trying to explain things is probably just going to get you a beating. You figure if you're going before a judge, you can always explain things to him and hope he takes mercy, though you aren't optimistic about it.

Lacking any other plan, you just sit in silence as the soldiers take you to your appointed destination. It's times like this, you wish your sister was here, she'd be able to help you.

In fact you're starting to have a greater appreciation for your parents as well at this point. How many times did you avoid real trouble thanks to your father's influence?

As you ponder your life choices you glance at the other man in the cart who doesn't say anything to you. In fact he doesn't even really look at you. Upon a few more glances at him, you notice he has a tattoo of a black claw on his shoulder. You wonder if this man is a member of the Ebony Claw Syndicate.

If that is the case you realize it's probably a good thing that you didn't say anything about Flynt. The last thing you need right now is a pissed off gang member wanting to kill you for being a rat. In fact, it makes you wonder if you should say anything to the judge at all. If this Ebony Claw Syndicate is as sinister as they sound, it might be dangerous to go ratting on their people. Of course that doesn't leave you many options.

You mostly pass the rest of the time observing the scenery as you travel through Hegglesberg and farmlands.

Eventually though the sky darkens and the soldiers prepare to camp for the night.

"Alright we'll stop here for tonight and set up camp. Anders and Levin, you two can watch Mr. Scars and the kid and make sure they can't escape." The sergeant says.

With a few gruff orders, you and Mr. Scars are both taken to a nearby tree and tied to it securely with a rope while the rest of the soldiers make camp.

As you're watching the soldiers go about their jobs (And your guards doing more talking with each other than actually watching you) Mr. Scars finally says something to you.

"So, busted with twenty vials of Blue Dream eh?" he asks in a low tone.
"How did you know?" you ask.
"I heard the sergeant talking with one of his men about it earlier."
"Oh. They think I'm some big dealer and part of the Ebony Claw Syndicate too, but I'm not either of those things."
"Hm. Didn't think you were Claw, but I thought maybe you might be a prospect….hmmm…let me guess did you run into a man going by the name Flynt?"

You aren't sure if you should be talking, so you don't say anything.

"Heh, I'll take your silence as a yes. Though I suppose it's a good sign that you're not very forthcoming with that info. Talkers don't last long in this business. Of course maybe you're not telling me because you ripped him off…"
"I didn't!" you exclaim which causes the guards to look over at you and then you get quiet again until they look away.

"I didn't, he paid me to deliver a package to someone. I didn't even know what was in it, until the guards confiscated it. Hell, I didn't even know about the Ebony Claw Syndicate!"
"Yeah, sounds like Flynt. It's an unconventional method of recruitment, but sometimes he likes to randomly test youngsters that he feels could be useful. Dunno why he does things that way, but when you've got drugs and coins to blow, I guess you can afford to take risks like that. I dunno, I'm just in it for the violence myself."

You continue to stay silent.

"Anyway, you're probably looking at twenty years kid. One for each vial. The kingdom has been really cracking down lately on it. Probably get sent to Dreadcage too. They send all the serious offenders there."

Fear wells up inside you upon hearing that news. You try to keep it together, but you're having a hard time and you start exhaling multiple times, closing your eyes and muttering, "oh fuck, oh shit." several times.

"Wow, kid. You're not going to last in prison if you take that approach. They see you come in like that and you're gonna be sucking every dick in the joint and worse."
"Isn't there something I can do to stop this?" you ask.
"Well, you could try to escape I guess, but I'm betting you already figured the soldiers would easily run you down before you got very far. I suppose you could try to beg for mercy when you go before the judge, maybe even use your youth as an excuse. Depending on the judge, that MIGHT get you some time shaved off, but you'll still be doing a lot of it…and I think I don't have to warn you about the dangers of ratting out Flynt and whoever it was you were supposed to deliver to in the first place to try to save your ass."

This is just a nightmare. You're almost thinking maybe you should have just risked getting lynched back in Teckleville. At least there you would've had your parents to help you and maybe even Annah, assuming she lived. At worst, you would have at least died at home.

"Well…I ain't no rat, so that wasn't ever a possibility anyway." You say in an attempt to at least make Mr. Scars less likely to be suspicious of you.
"Bullshit kid, in your situation and first time? You probably thought about it. Don't worry though, everyone usually does at one time or another, just as long as you don't actually do it…well either that or make damn sure the reward is high enough." Mr. Scars chuckles.
"Yeah, well I might do better in prison than you think…" you say and then you whisper…"I've killed someone before."

Mr. Scars looks at you as if to detect whether you're lying or not.

"Hm, maybe you have, or maybe you haven't, but that really doesn't matter. You're going to be locked away with a lot of killers. Most of them a lot tougher and bigger than the likes of you. So just because you killed your girlfriend or mom because she pissed you off doesn't mean you're some hard man."
"I didn't kill my…" you start to say before the one of the guards starts actually paying attention to you.

"HEY! The two of you stop fucking conspiring over there! In fact the pair of you need to shut the fuck up and just go to sleep because tomorrow you'll both be going before the judge and sentenced for your crimes! Enjoy your last night of freedom criminal scum!"

And with that, you and Mr. Scars do no more talking for the rest of the night, though Mr. Scars was done talking and ready to sleep anyway. You on the other hand have a hard time getting to sleep, knowing what awaits you.

The next morning, you're put back on the cart and continue your journey to Sivak. You reach your destination by midday. Sivak is larger than anything you've ever seen and some of its buildings are very impressive. It's a very bustling place with people walking around everywhere. You just wish you were free to enjoy it.

At this point you wonder if you shouldn't just try to escape now. The streets are very busy and it would be a lot harder for the soldiers to get around on their horses. If you're quick enough you might even lose them in an alleyway or something. Of course that doesn't stop the fact that you're still shackled and ultimately surrounded by more soldiers than ever, but maybe you can figure that dilemma out later.

[User] You escape

[Assistant]
Maybe this is a foolish decision, but you have to try. The more you think about having to spend twenty years in a prison the more you know you aren't going to be able to handle it.

You stand up in the cart at which point several soldiers tell you to sit back down and begin pointing their spears in your direction and closing the gap. Mr. Scars just smiles a bit sensing what you're going to do.

You jump from the cart and into a group of passing citizens, which happily prevent you from falling directly into the cobblestones. You quickly get up off the mass of bodies and start running.

"STOP! STOP THAT MAN!" one guard shouts.
"Somebody grab him!" another remarks.
"Don't just stand there, get his ass!" the sergeant exclaims.
"Run rabbit! Run!" Mr. Scars laughs.

You run through the streets of Sivak, crashing and bumping into people along the way. Surprisingly or maybe not so surprisingly nobody is really trying to stop you on purpose, the average citizens seem to be more concerned with getting the hell out of your way.

The soldiers are still trying to chase you on horseback, but it's proving a little more difficult with all the people in the way. The funny thing is they're actually doing MORE damage by trampling over several citizens in their efforts to get to you!

Eventually you make so many turns down various twisting narrow streets, the soldiers on horseback can't effectively follow, but the new ones on foot that have been alerted continue the pursuit just fine.

You probably would be able to evade your pursuers if not for the fact that your hands are shackled behind you and you don't know your way around the city. That's very apparent, when you find that you've just run around in a circle and surrounded by soldiers.

"Surrender now and we might even leave you in good enough condition to stand before the judge!" one of the soldiers says.

You can't surrender. Not now. You were meant to be free and if you can't be free then it's no life at all.

You attempt to pass the soldiers in front of you and are met by their spears. To their credit, they actually do try to subdue you first by slamming you to the ground, but when you continue to struggle and kick, one of the less patient ones skewers you in the side which is then followed by another spear to your chest. You bleed out like the proverbial stuck pig and wheeze like one as breathing becomes more difficult.

It isn't exactly a quick or dignified death, but at least you didn't die in a cell.


[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] You help the right flank

[Assistant]
Year 378 of the Second Era

You aren't Byron. You won't be able to lead these men better than him, or lead them at all. You're just another soldier, but you do think it matters where you go. You happen to be right handed, so you'll likely fight better in the right flank. With this hope in mind, you go over to your destination.

The fighting over here doesn't seem nearly as intense as the fighting near the center. You pull out your sword and shield, and immediately get to work. Most of the people fighting are beginning to get tired, so the addition of a fresh, well equipped soldier vastly improves the line. So much, in fact, that it seems that the entirety of the right flank almost molds around your fighting. Which strikes you as odd specifically because of the way you're fighting. You don't rush in and throw yourself at the enemy in a fit of battlefield rage, or anything of that sort. No, you're calm in the heat of battle. You have a focused determination, and because of this you don't make any brash moves. Your goal is to stay alive while keeping everyone else alive as well. Defense is the best offense, and it happens to make the fight last a hell of a lot longer. Maybe this will buy enough time for the griffin knights to take care of the wyverns.

With this thought in mind, you fight. Not for glory, nor for yourself. You fight for Liliana, and the chance to see her alive and well again.

"Retreat!" The sound of a despairing voice breaks you out of your focus, and a kobold nearly guts you because of it, but you quickly block the flimsy attack and return it with one of your own. It dies before you, and you have a sacred moment of rest before another kobold comes to fill its spot in the line. It gives you time to think about what the guy meant by retreating. Your line was doing so well, and retreating now would be suicide. The kobold would have a field day with chasing down and killing everyone on the ground. It was a cowardly, foolish mistake.

Hopefully no one would listen to the fool's order, but, to your chagrin, they do. Soldiers from your left and right start disappearing, and, soon enough,  there is no longer even the semblance of a line. You're quickly surrounded by kobold, and while you make a valiant effort to stay alive, it isn't enough.


[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] You wait for the others

[Assistant]
You continue circling the man the as he jabs at you, as you back step to avoid the jabs. Soon, other rats arrive. You can see the man's eyes bulge as he realizes how outnumbered he is. He jabs at another ratling and you take advantage, grabbing your sword forward and stabbing him in the throat. He tries to yell but blood bursts into his throat as you pull out your blade.

You turn to one of the caravans, where rats have killed the guards and are dealing with the merchants. The merchants are surrounded, looking terrified, as all those willing to fight have been cut down.

Although the majority of them are to be enslaved and sold to the Lizards or the Eastern Tribes, while the women will be taken back to the burrows for a less than kind fate, one unfortunate soul has made his presence known by trying to negotiate.

"Please, taken the cargo! It's yours! Keep the men as well, we'll fetch a heavy ransom! But leave the women and the child go, won't you?" the merchant leader says.

Bad choice. The boys have taken note of him now, and he's a fat one. His weight, the fact that he has so much food he can grow weak and fat, only angers you all thanks to the fact that you're all constantly hungry and eating scraps. One of the ratlings slashes his axe, cutting open the man's belly in a superficial wound. Another ratling jabs him with a spear, as the boys begin to jab and slash at the man as he yelps in pain as he's slowly cut and hacked apart.

The torture has drawn the others attention away from the actual carriages. You stare at them, contemplating sneaking away and grabbing yourself some more food.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You join Norman

[Assistant] You join Norman aboard the HMS Duke but your mutual experiences in Tahiti and the trial have weakened you both. Just three months after joining the ship an outbreak of cholera decimates the crew and both of you quickly catch the disease and weakened. You die of the illness just one year after the execution of your companions and are just one of the several anonymous bodies cast into the sea that day.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You try something else

[Assistant]
This isn't "your time" and something is very different. You can sense it. Something is here that wasn't before.

You quickly scan the room again and from the far left side of the room you hear a little giggle.

One of tentacle creatures appear once again and you fight back the nausea long enough to cast a blast of negative energy towards the sounds of the laughter.

Trelik materializes from your lucky direct hit and howls in pain before collapsing on the floor. His high pitched screech seems to irk the creature and it grabs him with one of the tentacles.

"NO! NO! HAHAHAHA! I WAS GOING TO CONTROL TIME!" Trelik laughs before they turn into screams when the creature proceeds to devour him.

Trelik might've been dealt with, but you still have to preserve the time line! You immediately rush to tackle Quayle and narrowly dodge another tentacle beast that appears near you.

You are just about to reach Quayle…

"…once again…the future…the past…unite…" you hear Quayle just as you're about to collide with him.

Except instead of colliding with him you collide into the stone floor of the vampire fortress! Or at least you thought it was…

You stand up and find yourself in the middle of a castle, but it's different. You see dead elves and humans lying on the floor. Looks like they were fighting each other. You attempt to raise them, but nothing happens. Your powers aren't working at all and in this living flesh cage you've been once again cursed with, you feel pretty vulnerable.

You hear human soldiers laughing and running and you hide.

"Har har! This was a good idea. Elves can't fight worth shit! Where's the captain anyway?"
"Oh you know him; he's probably finding something of more value to keep to himself."

After they pass by you proceed to make your way through the ruins of this castle which is obviously under siege. You think you're nearing the exit when all of a sudden you hear the sounds of battle and a very familiar voice…

"You better save your own ass elf, I mean to have whatever is behind that door and the likes of you aren't going to stop me!" your Dad remarks.
"Never! I have sworn to protect the treasure behind here with my life!" the Elven guard exclaims.

You see your Dad and this elven guard clash swords. You watch from the shadows and it's obvious that this elf is slightly more skilled than your Dad. You might not have your powers, but you realize what has happened. You've been transported to the past again. This is the elven castle that your Dad laid siege to. He's supposed to meet your Mom here. She's probably the "treasure" that the elven guard is protecting.

Another familiar voice calls out to you in your mind with a sorrow filled tone.

"You wish to end all life because you loathe it so? Or is it that you loathe your own life? I have seen you set out on this path and while regrettable I see that it was inevitable. Perhaps I am to blame. I give you a chance to make things right and allow life to bloom once again instead of an existence of ultimate isolation and loneliness."

That voice sounded very much like your Mom. But you haven't discovered any trace of her despite your searches. Then again that might make sense if she's gone into this time slipping business.

"Mom…do you defy me as well? Have you and Trelik formed some unholy alliance?" you whisper under your breath to her while attempting to contain your anger and wounded feelings. Feelings you haven't really had in a long time.
"No, my son. Trelik's mad plan was his own. I have merely taken advantage of his poor judgment in attempting to alter time. Yes son, you are not the only one in the family who has the knowledge of forbidden magic and a master of it. I give you a choice…life or death. Think carefully about making your decision. Think about your possible future. Think about what you've become. Think about what you've done. Your existence has caused the end of the world's own. Is that really what you want?"

This question has been posed to you many times before in the past. Every time you've dismissed it because it's been so far off before. But as the end grows ever closer, you'll have to come to very real possibility that immortality on a dead world may very well grow dreary. This latest time trip has been the most excitement you've had in years…

You look over at your Dad, who is losing his battle with the elven guard.

Maybe it would be better had you never been born…

[User] You help your Dad

[Assistant]
Destiny can be changed, but you're not changing yours. You were meant to do this. You'll see this out to the very end.

Since you don't have any of your powers, you pick up a hefty nearby vase and hurl it at the elven guard from the shadows. Your aim is pitiful as the vase completely misses him and instead flies over his head and hits the wall.

However, the elven guard glances briefly in the direction to which the vase was thrown long enough for your Dad to take the advantage. He skewers the elf and smashes him in the face with his armored gauntlet.

"Ha ha! Stupid fucking elf! Shoulda been paying attention to the fight!" he laughs and gives the guard one last kick to the head before opening up the treasure door…

You slink away. Your birth has now been assured and you suddenly are transported back to your proper time period and back in the ex-vampire fortress. Once again you are undead, however, you find that you have a letter in your hand which is addressed to you

Son,

If you're reading this then you have chosen death, as was predicted. I do not blame you for embracing your destiny. The pull of dark magic has always been strong in the bloodline. Elves typically can control such urges, however as you know you are not full elven, but still I did not think this possible of you though. You were so unskilled in the ways of magic that the chances of you becoming a competent necromancer seemed so unlikely, let alone an emissary of death. I will not stand in you way for I cannot bring myself to destroy you, even though I could. This is why I gave you the choice to destroy yourself. Do not look for me as I have long left this world and time, a simpler time, long even before the rise of the first Great Lich Lord. Indeed, I am already long dead by the time you have read this. My final gift to you my son, one less death you need concern yourself about. I only hope that you can find peace in your path for eventually you will be alone.

Love Mom.

You crumple the letter.

"Thanks Mom." You say and return to Aftermath as you have shed one more link to your mortal life.

Thirty years pass…

Fifty years have passed. Peace reigns. There is no more conflict. All serious resistance has been eliminated. There will be no heroes to save the world. Death has won.

Your powers have grown to the extent that your mere presence is slowly killing the world. You tested out this theory when you spent some time in one of the last elven defended forests. The trees began to rot and wither within a day. Reports talk of even the creatures in the oceans dying and you haven't even been anywhere near there. Anything still alive will die soon; it's only a matter of time. Your poison is enveloping the skies, the waters and the ground far beneath the earth.

You truly have become death personified.

Your necromancers have all died and you didn't allow them to try to become liches either. A small coup was attempted, but it was easily put down. You're controlling it all.

The one last link to your mortal "life" remains. Catalina. She lies on her bed dying. It is only due to her own powers that she's been able to survive your presence this long, but she can't do it any longer. You're too powerful.

You sit by her bed to talk to her one last time. You stroke her hair and hold her hand relishing the warmth that it still gives off even in this near death state.

"…I'm sorry I can't stay with you." she says.
"You could. You have the power to become a lich."
"…no…I don't want that. It's not my desire or path. I once said I thought the differences between us would be too great for us to stay together."
"I remember. And you were right. You usually are."
"We had a good run though didn't we?"
"Yes, yes we did." You agree.
"Are you going to be alright? I mean what are you going to do?" she asks.
"Me? I'll be fine. I'll stick around and oversee things I guess. Watch the world die. I have to carry this out to end."
"I know you do…maybe we'll meet again? On the other side?" she smiles weakly.

"I'm sure if it's possible. We will."
"I love you…"

You then kiss her one last time as life finally fades from her body.

"My love from this world is now gone, what little was left has followed you to the other side my beloved queen. May it be with you always."

Death now walks alone.

After burning her body, you retire to your study, waiting and wondering when the end will finally come...