[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] Continue

[Assistant]
You're a murderer.

Running head first into that place and blasting everything to hell. Raiding the detention center just to get a few kills on those who raped and pushed your crush to suicide doesn't seem like a good idea after all. You're not even her type to bother, you should just have left them rotting in jail instead. Now you got yourself rows and rows of police forces chasing after you and there is no such thing like a way back. You're brown bread to the eyes of your loved ones now, and you gotta make a run for it. Whenever you see a turn, you can only hope that it doesn't lead to a dead end.

That phone call should have never reached you. Crazy love, you blame all the things you've done to it. It forced you to flee your office, turned your mind into a madman and put that thing on your hand. After that, it was only chaos. You were gonna going to end your life when the flame inside died out...but didn't...and you still can't find the courage.

"PULL OVER!!! PULL OVER NOW!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!! I'M GOING TO SHOOT YOU!!!"

They finally talk with bullets huh? Maybe you should focus on stepping on the gas instead of having random flashbacks.

[User] You shoot them, it's self-defense!

[Assistant]
You're not surrounded so it'll be a real pain in the ass for them to even get a clear shot on you unless you stick your head out like a sore thumb. The tires though, immediately get your fingers fondling over to the stockpile of mass bloodshed you got straight from market. Unlocking the safety, you sprayed a barricade of piercing bullets with the friendly-user Uzi towards them. You don't dare to look, too nerve-retching and you can't afford to waste your focus on the road.

"THEY'RE FIRING AT US!!! CALLING FOR SUPPORT!! CALLING FOR SUPPORT!! HOLD THEM UP!!!"

So they think there are accomplices involved? Man, that would have been very comforting at a time like this. This stuff is the thing that you can only see on movies, not experiencing it in real life and you can't have the fortune to share it with anyone...at least you'll have everyone wanting you in custody till death after this, a nice bonus for a loner like you.

It looks like your firepower struck them as the deadly stuffs, they pull over and start to station in one place, aiming solely at your buggy and throwing rounds as you speed up to oblivion. You're safe...at least for now. From a runaway, you've became a wanderer. The future ain't going to got any lights for you but you'll have to bear with that, you just have to. You don't want to die. No matter how much the world spy on your fear or judge you, you will not die on this small world.

... Looking through the door and feeling all the wonderful sensations the wind let you enjoy, you seize your mind back in its origin, a calm and successful mind.

"Ha...Haah hah hahh! A hahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" You fake the laugh of a psychopath to let all the tears built up inside fly along, waving your brows in every fit. "...hahaha...damn..."

You had sat there, laughing exactly like this just 2 hours ago, it more likely was belonged to a maniac, the one who put a bullet through a helpless person and cracked up in awe as his lover guided him towards the next targets. Revenge is never meant to be sweet, but it sure feels great afterward! Rocking the flow of blood in your veins, you drive through the clearing, followed by rains of falling leaves marking your exit.

[User] You need a smoke after all of that first...

[Assistant]
You are John Namour, 28 years old, a normal secretary from some wealthy company which tries so hard to maintain its image that you have to question if all of your hard works really paid off working there. It's only thanks to Laura that you could enjoy your days signing sheets.

A real beauty, she was...she was so naive, the things she could do sometimes. The opportunity of you getting to hold a conversation with her was like the Solar System lining up straightly. 21 vs 28, you thought you'd had your chance someday, assuming you could improve yourself into a braver, better man to give her the ring. You tried your best to understand her mind, her standing, her habits...by yourself. Hell! You even bought and gave expensive jewelries to her mother and her sister. Winning your soon-to-be-lovely-wife's family is your first...and your last affection.

Your boss just couldn't allow it, could he?  What a friendly bunch of meatdrops he had in store for young women. You knew something was wrong when you saw that fucker's smug sweep at her. Just when things could have gotten any worse, Laura hung herself in her room. The moment her mother read the first word of her suicidal note to you over the phone, you were downright demonic. Instead of assuaging her, you scared her and everyone off with your sudden loud tone, demanding a clear explanation. The rest of the writing was about you, how you've cared for her and her family. You drew your first blood afterward.

"...hahhhh..." You blow a few smoke off your lungs, a burning nicotine stick between your fingers. "Useless...doesn't do a damn thing..."

You are not made to love her, you're a hot-headed psychopath and you cringe at the thought of you abusing her. Before, you were writing paper and now, those fingers nearly mark you as a dangerous crackshot, an inspirational killer to the news and an idea living target practice for weapon maniacs.

'Now is a good time to quit.' You think, looking at the remains of the cigarette before throwing the entire pack down to the road. '...I-I can't...I don't want to die.'

A place where you can temperately settle down for a bit and hide from the eyes of media is crucial to you. Speaking of media, you have a thought of buying a mini TV to keep an eye on your case. You can bet your life on the police shooting you on sight right now. Mass shootout at the local and getting out alive, how much luck can you have?

One thing for sure, a trip to another country even though it seems like a good idea, you're not sure about the possibility of you getting on one without asking for an arrest. You don't even know if it's safe to buy some breads from a mere bakery. The more you think about it, the more you realize how deep the grave you have dug for yourself.

Killing some rapists bastards...You should never expect society to forgive them or you. What a terrible crime you've committed!...You miss your home, your family. But you can't contact them, the cops will track your location, too risky and certainly isn't worth it. They probably are cursing themselves for having raised a murderer right now.

...Besides, you can't even call for anyone if you want anyway.

[User] You drive to another town

[Assistant]
TV...checked.

Sunglasses...checked.

Trench coat...Unnecessary but you couldn't just leave your skinny bones out, it has doubled your luck and your appearance to be unique...Also checked.

Good thing your face hasn't really hit the mark of any media type out there yet, but your time is running out. Lying low will have to be in another place, a safe and secure one far away from here.

You check the plate covering your gas meter and see that it still got 2/3 left. You have to stock on some large litters to cross the border. The nearest place to refill would be...about 15 miles from here, not really hard to come by and if they try something funny, your guns will do the job. You decide to go there.

...Hmm? It's nearly night time. Anytime now...

You have arrived at a gas station. There are only a few local houses and shops nearby, an empty place and probably not in any urban business.

[User] You buy it legally

[Assistant]
You carefully stopped your car in an isolated place and quickly wrap your firearms inside a bag, not forgetting to cover it with a large blanket and hide it in the corner of you before driving straight into the yard. The lights are starting to shine the area.

"A full refill! And I'd like to have 5 cans of fuel please." You speak to the one who is cleaning the equipment from your seat, a middle age man comes to you.

"Wow, you are a big spender, aren't you?!" He says, opening the cover. "May I ask where ya going?"

"That..depends." You response, already prepared for a conversation. "I'm heading to a friend and I heard that there are many byways so I think I'll stock some before I depart.

"Yeah, that's about right." He says, pumping your gasoline. "You'd better step it up if rocks on the road found yer."

"Rocks on the road?"

"You haven't heard?  Apparently there has been a bunch of fools riding their bikes and hijacking any car they find around these places. Drop a few prices at Black Market I bet."

What kind of joke is this? Escaping the police chase and having a biker gang waiting for you in your next run, your life can't never be anymore playful than now.

"It's nearly dark too." The man snaps you out of your thinking. "Maybe ya should stay the night here, it's too dangerous to travel at this hour."

"Has there been anyone dealing with this gang?" You ask in hope for a safe route. "Anyone at all?"

"Nope. Bastards got busted a few times but another just raises and repeats like generating task. That's that then, they will never be done."

Well, aren't that just the thing you need? Turn back now and the cops might not let you go again, advance and take the risk of losing four wheels may cost you your life also. You cannot afford to wait here either, the news is going to spread and letting your guard down at a time this...So much mayhem for you to take.

Challenge the law enforcer or the nasty gang? You're in deep trouble, a really, really deep trouble.

[User] You stay the night

[Assistant]
Tick...tick...tick...

You've been staring at your watch for nearly an hour and there isn't any sign of stopping. Normally you'd take a shot to calm your nerve since you deciding to enter the bar but the mood here failed to meet your taste. It's too quiet, too eerie at the time. Maybe it has something to do with the place itself as the bartender doesn't particularly enjoy any conversation with visitors just like you.

Who designed this place? No wonder why there are so few people setting their boots here. You cannot find any positive point except for the waitress, a hot brunette who unfortunately doesn't appear to be working properly, she nearly spilled the entire claret on another customer without apologizing. Good thing kindness is still among some people these day.

"Oh, Laura..." You sigh at yourself, pulling your forehead. "Why did you have to leave?"

[User] You get out of here

[Assistant]
You're slowly deteriorating and you need a fresh bite to eat. Without any hesitation, you make your way towards the food stall across the street. It will take more than a cheap meal to satisfy your hunger.

...

Hmm, the inside is not so bad, better than the shitty bar for sure. They got clean table clothes, beautiful decoration and most importantly, more people. You'd give it an above average rating if it wasn't for the space in here, a bit too narrow to move. You quickly come to the counter and order your dinner. A pancetta with fried eggs covered in hot sauce and an applepie as dessert seem like a great stomach filler for you.

You find a seat and make yourself comfortable as you wait for your meal. You silently hope that this wouldn't become your last time eating outside.

"Wah HAH!!"

That sudden loud and squeaky yell from behind nearly scares you to death. How can you be so defenseless at a time like this? You turn around to see a school-grader boy who is focusing on your mini device.

"A mini TV! It's just like in the game!!" Very enthusiastic and eager, he says while searching inside her bag and then shoves a small looking object to you. Upon looking, you see that it's a Nintendo DS. "Are you a Pokemon instructor?"

"...Wa-what? What the...?" You start to sprout nonsense at the flashing screen before you as it changes to a different one with each button the boy is pressing. It's one of those Pokemon games for the DS, been selling high among youngsters and does not have any sign to stop.

"Mr?"

"Uhh..." You have put up with a lot of things today but for the first time, you're actually speechless at this.

"Pip! Pip! You found someone?" And now it's the girl, who is also a school grader, to join the little trainer pestering around your coat. Goodness! Now you've realized that the light giving off by the portable TV inside the coat is attracting their curiosity, you have been hearing it constantly to check the news. And from what you can see from the boy's 2 screens machine, you can see what has grabbed his attention.

[User] You pokemon...sounds nice

[Assistant]
You are not particularly into video games nowaday but it sure doesn't hurt to relax and play with them for a bit. You haven't played any of their Pokemon games but you still remember the show you were always watching as a kid.

"What's this game, little fellow?" You get your glasses out and casually ask the game's name from the boy, interested.

"Poom!" He spat an unnecessary but delightful slang before speaking. "It's Pokemon FireRed! My favorite of any kind!!"

"Everyday you just want to play it all the time!" The girl adds to his statement, making a quality prospectus for this game.

They seem so happy when it comes to this subject, you have the thought that you might be the only person in this town who has ever spoken openly to them. Considering how empty it is, not a surprise.

"Do you want to see my collection?" She says sitting down right next to you, not bothered by the fact that she's with a stranger, a creepy stranger you might add. "Come on Pip! You too."

"So, what's all about, your collection?" You say, eager to know about them.

"Hold on...Here!" The girl put a bunch of colorful cards from that orange bag of hers on your table and continues. "Straight from the show and the game, I got them all!" The cards are all fully organized and you can almost see the light reflecting on the surfaces, a nice deck of Pokemon cards.

"It's a nice deck. May I see them?"

"Please, mister!!!" Aww! How could someone not wanting to talk with these little darlings? They're so full of life and adorable.

Having the owner agreement, you reach for the deck and...Wow! you can still recognize most of them! You actually feel something warm inside you when you pick one by one and tell them the name of each Pokemon, the feeling from your innocent days, the love you've had for what you enjoyed. You are still a normal human being like everyone else.

...You've just realised something. You, a shade-wearing man cloaked in trentcoat, are catching most of the few attentions and you clearly do not want that to happen. A friendly stranger who wants to have a little chat with some random kids, that'll raise some eyes. You'd better have to act like a Pokemon maniac in this situation. Man, how you really want to have your food be right here for you, the sooner the better.

"Hey mister, do you collect Pokemon cards?" The boy, Pip is what she called, asks you out of the blue while you are trying to drive yourself completely into those Pocket Monsters.

"No...Not right now at least." You mumble, not really knowing what to say.

"Eh?! Why not?" Both of them speak up, they have caught you red-handed. Ok...What can you tell them? You cannot tell them that it's just for kids, that's ridiculous but hey! Maybe that will give them the sign to stop now.

[User] You tell them it's for kid

[Assistant]
"Young master!...And miss Jenny! What are you two doing??!" Just when you're about to say something, a grumpy yet elegant voice comes to you across the dining place. You turn around to see a huge guy tucked in a classy black tuxedo dragging himself towards your table. "Please stay away from that man!" Finally, someone with common sense and willingness to act in this forsaken town...and he doesn't seem to be the type you want to mess with.

"Eww! Manny the Orge, what??" The girl who now known as Jennifer nearly gives a shriek at the sight of him. "Let's go to another room!" Alongside with her, Pip is already fleeing.

"Who are you?! You didn't do anything to them, did you???" Wow! This guy is fast, completely contradicted to his mountainous figure. And his voice has gone into a raging fit waiting to release on you. He grabs your collar and shouts directly at your face, nearly giving you a heart attack. "You prick!!! What did you do???"

Then without waiting for an answer, he throws a punch at you!

[User] You block with your hands

[Assistant]
You try your best to get your butt off the chair as quick as possible to stand but the blow is still making contact when you raise both of your palms! You manage to drive his punch to your forehead by just an inch. The force is somehow absorbed but still knock your balance.

Your body pulls along the chair with you and you fall to the  floor with an unbearable pain and crazy tingles. Seem like you grab the table cloth with you too, flying cards are flickering around between you and the dangling light bulb on the ceiling.

You also hear a loud thump falling after you are on the ground...Look like your legs trip this monster down too, good thing he didn't fall on you.

"Manny!! What did you just do??!!" This is your chance to get up! You only heard a little bit of the girl yelling before your legs carry you out of the diner.

...

Well, that went quite bad but at least it's not worse than ending up on the hospital bed.

You put on your shade and the earplugs on and hit the street, waiting to hear your wanted public display. After that event on the diner, you have to resort to feeding on street food. Applepies, pancakes, disgustingly sweet desserts...You'll just have to endure those if you don't want to sleep with a growling stomach.

[User] You later that night

[Assistant]
<At 4:23 this afternoon, there was a shootout at the Police Detention Center caused by an ET employer, John Namour, 28 years old with 7 criminals, 2 security guards dead and 9 officers were heavily injured during the fire-> The mini TV says in its demonic sound, you can actually feel the devil's tongue making out with your ears passionately as you sit inside your vehicle. <He was driving brown buggy, 2D74->

The doom train has came and it is waiting for you. As fearless as you can get, it only takes 1 second before your head starts making up shit and panic settles in. You hitch the blanket which has been covering your weapons and throw it on top of the trunk to cover the number plate. After that, it's the car seat that will make you comfortable for the night. You lock the handle tight and lie down, making sure there is no light remain while you tune up the TV and cover your face with the trentcoat, watching your case.

To be alone and surrounded by silent cars and motorbikes under the darkening night, it's not a good feeling...not a good feeling at all. Good thing that the weather is nice, you could never hope to sleep inside a car like this in your hometown...Such a hot and busy place. Hiding, living on the run and evading attentions from people, what a fantastic life you've gotten yourself into! Throwing your humanity away to fade and becoming a criminal.

Oh well, shit happens. You only did the right thing. You set everything you've bought from the shops to the front seats. Mostly basic things like medical stuffs, sweet toasts and water bottles,...but right now, they are packs of gold to you. Who know how much magic that could happen in your travel? It's always better to be careful.

You decide to switch channel to something else, something that can cheer you up in this gloomy moment, a TV or music shows. You turn down the volume and close your eyes, trying to sleep and listening to the entertainment that tonight might provide. It doesn't take long for the snooze to hit you, you are so tired from all that running and you need the most of full sleep. You have to wake up early and leave this awful place before anyone can get a bite out of you.

[User] You midnight

[Assistant]
Oh! something is dropping on the car. Rain? How appropriate, you really need some lullaby right now. It's kind of cool to be free and alone for once, taking up shelter by yourself and sleeping in piece. You must enjoy it while it still lasts.

...Hmm, it has became a little cold in here. You begin to shiver as you get yourself up and look through the glasses. Everything seems to be quiet around here. Man, you would kill to have a smoke right now.

You suddenly think of the metal brick which has been hiding in the compartment the whole time. You head to the dashboard and hold the broken cell phone to your view. 'It has been out since the hit, what a waste...' This thing has taken 3 bullets for you and still, it refuses to die.

But it has to be gone now, such a tragedy...You throw the phone away, finding it unbelievable that you forgot to get rid of it earlier. No use in keeping the potential tracking device for the police.

The rain is falling quite heavily. That biker gang would have to be the most hard-working thugs of the Earth if they still wanted to run their business in this state. You start the engine and get out of the parking line-

And the first sight that greets you after you turned on the light is a bloody cloth which looks like it is wrapping something inside too, lovely! You step on the gas and speed up like a madman, driving towards the exit of the garage. Watch out!!!

...

It never turns out well for you, isn't it? Hell of bullets are unleashing directly on the street, right under this heavy rain! What is going on with this place?? You can't drive through the danger zone out there that's for sure, you can't even see clearly what's ahead. Uh oh! Bad turn!!! Someone has noticed your light and they don't waste any second to get rid of you.

"Get the hell out of here, shithead! OFGG!" You shoot him dead before he could do anymore damage to your car and drive its tail back to the parking section while trading fire with the attackers who are on his side.

Your day now has officially gone further beyond the worst. There is some serious conflict going on between these punks and they are powering their own dominance through the use of lethal firearms. You have to avoid getting nabbed in these.

[User] You break through the rear

[Assistant]
You decide to bust through the rear entrance with your car and drive as fast as you can out of the harm way. With excellent handling reflexes, you manage to hit the road and onto the escape. To stay inside your precious vehicle over night was indeed a good choice. You blend into the rainfall and drive under the darkness...And a giant mosquito get splashed by your windshield in the process.

Peaceful time has ended and the Dark Lord is coming to spread chaos on humanity, starting with you.

"What the..." You have to yell out word of confusion at the brownish liquid remained on your sight before attempting to wash it away. It's just then, you notice something is scratching on the top of your car. You are surrounded!!! It doesn't take long for them to show their abomination form to you, gigantic mutated bloodsuckers. Why so many of them???

Just when things can't get any more cute, your car now is totally decorated in black and you hit straight to a tree, breaking your cheap windshield and allowing several tubes of death inside to harass your veins.

Y.O.U  F.A.I.L

"What has killed them?" You, now have became a spooky skeleton, fold your bones into the Thinker pose and sit on the pile of dead mosquitoes. "Hmmm...They looked completely zoned out around me, like they were possessed by something."


[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 finish the job

[Assistant]
You're here now, you might as well finish it. Besides, it would be best if you saw to eliminating Sneaks because you sure as hell don't want him escaping somehow to give you grief later.

You tell your people to extra careful for traps and to keep alert, you then proceed to hunt down the last of the JCR.

Things go very slowly, but initially at least people aren't getting themselves killed. Trouble comes when you actually come up against the remnants of the JCR who have made several cubbyholes and the like to launch ambush attacks. Not to mention you're practically waist deep in water now and as far as the Jicol Watch is concerned, there is no sign of them. Apparently they've all just decided to stay up top and let you take the beating.

On top of all that, you still haven't found Sneaks. With only you, Marco and a couple others left, you're finally done.

"Fuck this Marco, we're going back. This has been a fool's errand and we're done with it." You say.
"But Boss, what about…" Marco starts to say before a loud explosion from one of the corridors suddenly interrupts him.

You soon look on in horror as a surge of water starts coming at you. You don't even have time to run. More explosions are heard and then the water hits you hard. You struggle to swim as the torrent takes you, but with now water seemingly rising and pouring in from everywhere, you can't even find an air pocket.

Several minutes pass and you eventually can't hold your breath any longer giving into a watery death.


[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 memories (Igor)

[Assistant]
The Assistant: Igor

You've never really had much contact with Igor, other than knowing he's Victor's assistant. For awhile you thought he and Vic had something ELSE going on, (Much like Vlad and Renfield) but that's not the case. Igor's just a loyal henchman.

You always wondered why he is though. Despite general public perception, he's not stupid. In fact, he's been the one that's given Vic most of his "successful" experiment ideas. Vic wouldn't even be around if it hadn't been for Igor. Vic doesn't seem to appreciate any of his help though and doesn't treat him very well. He treats his experiments better than he treats Igor. You can only guess Igor is a masochist, or has some severe self-esteem problems.

Probably both.


[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] Begin a new story

[Assistant]
Year 555

"Reports as usual say that the Xi have been becoming more frequent in the Arat region and that they have been sighted close to Empire borders, specifically near the city of Regnik." David remarks.
"Well that would be the most logical place for them to attack first seeing as it's the closest. Seeing as the Xi like to attack from underground, have all of our kobold units on alert and have the seventh scaly brigade stationed in Arat. I know they're the best of those little vicious bastards and I'm confident that they can slow down or repel such a Xi attack before the rest of the armies get mobilized. Probably can do some tunnel scouting and digging as well." You remark.
"Very well, but I also have a report stating that the Xi have mostly been focusing on the Arat Confederacy. All four cities have been attacked and apparently Eldolith wants to speak with us about coordinating forces to destroy the threat. Apparently she's also been sending people to speak with the Redcap Kingdom too. No idea if that was successful."
"So Eldy's having a bug problem and now she's begging for help. I'm a little surprised that she swallowed her pride enough that she's willing to talk at all. So when is she due to arrive?"
"She isn't, she claims that if you want to talk that you should meet her on neutral ground between Lenay and Regnik."
"Typical svelk arrogance. Call for help and then insist that it be on their terms. (Sigh)"
"You're aren't thinking about going are you?! Surely it will be some sort of trap."
"Of course it will be a trap. But if I did go I could probably learn more about what she's been up to if I go and in the off chance that this isn't a trap and completely on the up and up then I can still better assess what her situation is and the Xi Hive threat."
"But Emperor, your condition…I mean not to say your aren't a fit man for your um…age…but that battle with the sea beast five years ago…well I just mean I don't want to see you walk into something a tad overwhelming for you again. The Empire needs you."

These are some pretty bold words, though David was as diplomatic as he could've possibly been. Really brave on his part, though he didn't need to fear anything from you. He's right, you're still feeling that battle to this day and will continue to until the day you die.

David's actually been a bit of a surprise to you. When he first groveled for the job of being your top advisor you assumed that like most of the senators of the old Nalin republic he was just looking to save his skin while also looking for the best possible position he could get in the new order of things. He got it because he seemed to be competent and the least annoying at the time. Since then though he's proven himself to be good at his job and genuinely care about his work and the good of the Empire.

"While your concern is noted, I'm not going anywhere. Send a message to her stating that if she really wants to discuss terms of an alliance or something similar she's going to have to drag her svelk ass here."

David nods and leaves your presence.

Seeing as all your major business is concluded today you head back to your personal chambers. You spend a little time reading a new book that Jennifer has written with her new husband. It's all about the old Empire and called "The Glory Before the Fall" Fairly accurate, but then again she did have your input on the thing. Still never told her (or anyone for that matter) about you her ancestor being involved in killing the Emperor which indirectly caused the Cataclysm. You suppose that'll just be one of those secrets lost to history when you die.

As you're reading you begin reflecting on your old relationship with Jennifer. It sometimes seems strange that the two of you have remained friends despite not being romantically involved anymore. Of course the two of you just see one another as much anymore either so that might help.

Really your relationship with her was more due to a young crush on her part and perhaps a bit of loneliness on your own. She saw you as a "pillar of strength" and the pinnacle of a "warrior." Basically someone who got things done which was somewhat lacking with most of the leaders and citizens of the republic. You were different and it was attractive, then she slowly grew out of it.

Now she's happily married to someone more similar to her. A scholar interested in history. She even had a son a couple years ago. And that's all okay with you. You're happy for her. You've got so many more concerns nowadays that you can't be bothered to feel pangs of regret of "what could've been."

Besides, Jennifer was and will always be nice and one of the few people you could consider a friend, but she was no Alison. Nobody ever will be.

All this self-reflection and thoughts about Jennifer's family makes you ponder your own lack of one though. Not so much due to an overwhelming desire to have one, but more of what's going to happen to the Empire after you die?

You've been thinking about that on and off ever since your last brush with death actually. To be quite honest you never really thought about a successor mainly because for a long time you were focused on actually being the Emperor rather than passing the title on. It would be easier of course if you could have children, and then just pass it on that way, but then even if you could, that wouldn't be a guarantee they'd be worthy or show the desire or interest. You were unnaturally molded into the way you were, who is to say how your imaginary children would've turned out even if you attempted to mold them into mirror images of yourself.

That of course just leaves passing the Empire on to someone worthy. You've briefly entertained the idea before and believed that Crowley would potentially be the best candidate. Of course given that he's around your age, he's not likely to live any longer than you are, assuming you die of natural causes which isn't necessarily a given even if you are taking less risks nowadays.

You begin thinking that perhaps you should get some sort of list of the Empire's best and brightest and subject them to a series of tests to see if they're worthy enough to be an apprentice of sorts. Basically what the Emperor did with you except without all the magical alteration and the sadistic svelk taskmasters.

You spend the next few days going over records of various soldiers, Eyes, administrators, technicians, politicians and others, though being a warrior yourself you can't help but be biased toward the military types, but you don't want to overlook anything.

During this time David reports to you that Eldolith is actually in Dalt and demanding an audience. That didn't take long though you're a little surprised she actually showed up in person, you figured she'd send a flunky of some sort.

When you go to meet her she's standing with her personal guard and looking around as if just being in a room full of humans is tainting her svelk "purity."

"Hello Eldy, I'm sure you're anxious to get this over with…"
"Don't address me by a shortened version of my name in an attempt to be condescending, I am Domina Eldolith D'vessa of the Arat Confederacy!"
"Hrm, and I'm sure that sounds very impressive when you tell your subjects in that little nation of yours."
"Yes, a little nation that stood strong against the Xi for years and managed to survive your expansion efforts. A testament that it's the QUALITY of the nation rather than the size."

You chuckle.

"Eldy, the only reason your nation is still around is because I've allowed it and I suggest that YOU do not come here grand standing when you are in no position to do so. We all know you're here to beg for my help with the Xi because they're kicking your ass. Now we can make this as easy OR as humbling as possible. Your choice."

Eldolith gives you a look of absolute burning hatred and is silent. Her personal guards shift uncomfortably and your own soldiers are fondling their rifles looking for an excuse to open fire.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Eldolith remarks.
"Actually not as much as you'd think, mainly because I don't want you here anymore than you want to be here, so how about we get to the point like I originally suggested?"
"Fine, here it is. The Xi are beating on the Confederacy's doors. We've been your buffer zone between them and you. If we fall then you're going to have to face them in full force."
"And? You seem to believe that we aren't going to be able to handle that. Not a very compelling argument Eldy."
"Because you're a short sighted f…" Eldolith stops herself. "What I mean is you haven't let me finish. We have an ancient magic weapon at our disposal that could end this threat completely, but the problem is…(sigh) none of our own mages are powerful enough to tap its full potential. As much as I hate to inflate your ego any more than it is, I believe you magical abilities would be able to. So as you can see, you don't need to marshal armies to our defense or waste any resources. All that is required of you is to get up off your throne for one moment and take a trip to Lenay and we can get started…"

You burst out laughing.

"Oh yes, let me just go walking into a city filled with svelk! That won't be a death sentence at all! You expect me to just trust you at your word? Even if you do have this so called powerful weapon, I still have a hard time believing that there isn't some sort of trick or catch or angle that doesn't involve me dead in some way."
"I thought you were the Emperor? Mr. invincible and fearless? Have you gotten so cow…cautious in your old age that you can't handle being alone?"
"Eldy, if you think this pathetic attempt of character assassination is going to suddenly cause me to behave in some erratic manner and go to Lenay you're sadly mistaken. You never were any good in the art of persuasion. The only way you're going to see me in Lenay is if I'm leading a conquering army through it which given your continued insolence is starting to look more appealing, so who knows maybe you will see me there soon. Now get out of my sight before I put an end to your miserable life before the Xi do!"

"Fuck this, I told her this was futile!" Eldolith exclaims and her personal guards surround her with a magic shield. Bullets from your soldiers are absorbed into the barrier.

"Congratulations, you just made this easier." You say and focus on bringing down the shield, while your soldiers advance with their weapons.
"I think not, a lot of time has passed since I was a mercenary captain and you were an Empire puppet who had not yet cut his master's strings!" Eldolith says and suddenly she floats above her own personal guards followed by a red glow of light from her. Her personal guards at this point all begin screaming in pain. Whatever it is she's doing she's sacrificing her own people to do it. Then a super blast of telekinetic energy repels all of your troops back. You even have a hard time not falling over.

Eldolith casts some sort of spell that literally starts melting your soldiers' weapons. Some manage to drop them before the hot metal scalds them too much. Your own Eye mages lob offensive spells at her, but they aren't penetrating the shield. Some aim for her soldiers, but they aren't moved despite some of them even being on fire. They're already in a living death state anyway.

Eldolith never had any magic abilities, and while its possible she studied and trained herself, but something seems off about all this, not to mention her odd comments.

Just as you bring her shield down, a portal opens up behind you. You have no idea where it's going, but you can feel it pulling you in slightly.

"Time to be reunited!" Eldolith shouts and a red beam of magical energy is thrown in your direction.

[User] You put up your own shield

[Assistant]
Given that your reflexes aren't what they used to be, you don't risk physical avoidance and instead put up your hands to create a shield for the oncoming beam of magic. At first you assume that the beam will either absorb into the shield or deflect completely, instead the force of it knocks you back much more than you were expecting.

And right into the portal.

You don't feel any pain or anything really other than a minor fall on your back, which hits a stone floor. You're not in your palace anymore, but what catches your attention immediately is what is in the room with you.

A fancy chair with an old withered looking body in it. You can tell its svelk, but you've never seen an "old" svelk before, or at least not one that displayed this great deal of age. At this distance you can't even be sure if its alive or not.

Surrounding the chair are several tall rods, which emanate a magical field. The rods are embedded in the floor, they look like they're made of adamantium. Very strong material usually used by the derro. Nearby there are several orbs mounted on similar shorter rods, they aren't glowing or anything, but you assume that they're also magical.

Other than this sight, there isn't anything else in the room, which is made of solid looking stone. The other notable feature is the fact there aren't any doors or any other apparent way out…

"I knew one day, you would return to me." You hear a voice utter in your head. The voice is familiar and for a brief moment you think you're dreaming, but a closer look at the withered body in the room and you know this is all too real.

"So you survived after all. Explains why there was no svelk body nearby when I got dug up." You say.
"Not without a price as you can see." Semra says. Apparently she can only communicate through your mind. The magical field prevents you from getting too close, but Semra's face looks like it's in a permanent slack jaw state. It would also appear that some magic never dies as you can sense Semra's "emotions" right now thanks in part to that little spell she cast on you before you faced the Emperor.

Right now Semra's probably gathering all the information of what you've been more or less up to since you were freed. As always, your own ability is limited and you can't read what she's been up to, however given her current state you don't imagine it's involved much physical activity.

You can sense a faint sign of…happiness(?) from her because you're here, but then you never did quite understand her unnatural obsession for you. You also sense a slight feeling of shame for appearing the way she does (Though she's trying really hard to block it from you). Vanity of course. Really though you're more concerned with how you're going to escape from here. You doubt that you can destroy the field surrounding Semra, if you could, you wouldn't have been brought here in the first place. It's obvious that Semra really wants to talk with you.

"Do you have no desire at all for a brief discussion with me after all we've been through?" Semra asks.
"Not particularly, though since I can see no apparent way out at this time, I suppose I'll indulge you for now."
"Don't worry, unlike me, you are not a prisoner here. (Sigh) You don't know how good it is to see you again, even if you are a little older…ha ha like I'm in a position to judge." Semra remarks.
" Yeaah, about that…so…what is this? Are you dead? Are you alive?"

"Oh I'm alive, but thanks to my daughter's treachery I have been reduced to this pathetic shell."
"When did that happen and how?"
"How, why and when it happened isn't important. The fault is mine for not being more observant and allowing myself to still hold a torch for you which contributed to my weakness. I cannot blame Eldolith for her actions that lead me to this fate. She only did what a true svelk daughter would do."
"So I take it you're proud of her for turning you into a wizened invalid?"
"I was for a time, however despite a few shining moments she has ultimately proven to be a failure in her ambitions. She could've expanded the svelk so that we had our own Empire once again, but she was too busy bedding and torturing her slave girl lovers or indulging in other petty pleasures. She ultimately has no real confidence in her own abilities, if she did she wouldn't keep me around."
"I figured she kept you around as some sort of torture for you." You remark.
"While you're partially correct, the other reason is she still needs me around to hold her hand and tell her what to do next. She claims that she keeps me around because she enjoys mocking my decrepit impotent form while occasionally tapping my powers, but without me advising her, she wouldn't have even held on to THIS city for as long as she did. If she's trying to torture me by continuing to display her idiocy and making foolish decisions, while I can't actively do anything about them, then it's working. I urged her that she should've sought you out as soon as I sensed your active presence, but she just ignored me, claiming I was just being a sentimental fool. She never saw the big picture until it was too late, but I did. I still do. Which is why I wanted to see you."
"What, the Xi threat?"
"That is indeed a threat, but it is perhaps just the catalyst for what is going to come."
"And I suppose you can see into the future? I don't remember you ever having that ability."
"I didn't, but after Casimir's death, or the Cataclysm as most call it, many things were unleashed. Large waves of wild magic being one. Wish I had developed the ability BEFORE I was reduced to this husk, but then I suppose my current state allows for such dormant powers to manifest themselves due to being unable to do anything else except sit and think. Another thing that was unleashed was the Xi. Did you know they've lived far underground for millennia? Even further than the Derro or any other known subterranean race. Practically unknown to the surface world. It was only due to the massive upheaval of the earth due to the Cataclysm that they slowly started to make their way up to the surface. I believe they thought it was an attack, and now they've finally amassed their numbers to a point where they can overrun the surface world. Took them a few centuries, but here they are and they will be very difficult to stop."
"But you said they weren't the only danger."
"They aren't. The old Empire may have died, but its actions are going to be the destruction of the new one you have forged one way or another. The Xi are just one way, the other way is much more personal and the wound still runs deep. Wounds that we were also both were responsible for."

You think back and you can only think of one thing…

"The gnomes?" you ask.
"Correct. My daughter has clumsily acquired info on the Redcap Kingdom over the years, but I trust my visions more. And if any of this is remotely accurate, they plan on committing mass genocide to everything in the area. This apparently will be done with a combination of weapons only their expertise in technology could've brought forth, it will also be done far above the ground."
"What from the air? What did they figure out how to fly or something?"

You hear a small chuckle in your head from Semra.

"I see that you have not been very observant of the gnomes. You probably just heard that they had become less peaceable creatures, but the reality is much much more than that. In their war of survival against the Xi, they have been developing technology that can kill as quickly if not as elegantly as battle magic. Their most recent inventions have been strange flying machines. Airships for the lack of a better word, from these they rain down explosive death on the Xi."

This is a lot of information to assess, but thanks to your link to Semra, you can sense no trickery from her. She has indeed been having visions similar to how Trog had them, except perhaps stronger.

"Okay, so basically I should just let the Xi and gnomes continue fighting until they wipe each other out to a point where neither one is a threat."
"You can't afford to do that, lover. Letting them battle it out hasn't worked. That's what my fool daughter thought and it's proven to be a failure. The Xi AND the gnomes have managed to avoid extinction despite being at each other's throats for decades now. The Xi has just expanded towards our direction and the gnomes have just developed more powerful weapons. If it keeps going, the war is going to ultimately engulf the entire area and chaos will ensue. The line needs to be held here in Arat if only to prevent the spread and that's why you're needed here."
"So I've heard. Your daughter mentioned an ancient magical weapon that would only work if I helped charge it or something."

Semra's voice chuckles again.

"Yes, that was her way of insolently describing me, though I suppose it isn't too far off as a description. Really though it isn't a true solution. Basically you and I would join our energy together and form a protective barrier over this city. Something great enough that I doubt if even gnome weapons could penetrate it and I know the Xi wouldn't be able to dig through it."

You can't believe that would be an option.

"This sounds pretty sketchy that some how I would be the convenient answer to the problem. I mean you've got other mages here and your daughter…"
"My daughter is a fucking charlatan. She has learned no real magic herself. As I've said she only taps my own powers which is why she can cast magic in the first place. As for other svelk, most of them are pretenders as well. The few that do actually have magical talent they wouldn't be able to handle the full might of my magic either. But you. You are different. YOU actually have the ability. The power. I know because I trained you myself and what I didn't teach you, Casimir certainly did. YOU and I could join together and survive the coming destruction like we did before."
"Yeah because that turned out so well right? I was in stasis for five hundred years and you…well just look at yourself. You'd be better off dead. Am I to join your fate when I join with you in this magic spell that is supposedly going to save this city? And why would I want to save a city full of svelk?"
"Because you could be their ruler? What difference does it make when in the scheme of things you do not really care about your subjects so much as you care about the power you wield over them? I have seen your thoughts. Lately you have been dwelling on your own death and who will be worthy to take your place. Let me answer both questions. Nobody will EVER be worthy to take your place. Your Empire, what you have built will fall even if you do manage to save it from the Xi invasion or the inevitable revenge of the gnomes. You WILL be forgotten in time. But I'm offering you a chance at avoiding that fate. I'm offering you a kind of immortality and the chance to be in power FOREVER. Yes it is true, you would be confined to a state similar to mine, but you do not know the true power of the mind. Your body might be in a prison, but your mind would never be. I could teach you if you just join with me."

As strange as it may seem, Semra's words do hold a little weight. Immortality is appealing and lording it over the svelk would probably be amusing, but at what cost? Semra claims that her mind allows her freedom in a way that her physical body never could, but you just can't see living like that voluntarily. You might be facing your own mortality soon, but if that is going to happen then that's how it shall be. The future hasn't been written yet as far as you're concerned.

Plus there's also the fact that Semra just wants someone to join in her living death misery, who better than you?

"Semra, I've listened to your offer and indulged you long enough. I decline and will deal with the threats to my Empire on my own terms. Now then, I trust you have the ability to let me go?"

Semra says nothing, for a moment you think you're going to have to make a threat. While you aren't sure if you'd actually be able to take down the magical field around her, you'd give it a good try. It doesn't come to that though and soon another portal open up.

"Go then. You will see that I'm right though and you will come back to me. You know we were meant to be together." Semra remarks.
"Well thanks to your daughter, your nation has officially declared war. So perhaps you're right, maybe I will be back with an entire army." You answer.
"I will be looking forward to that day, lover."

You step through the portal and find yourself back in your palace where things are in turmoil. Your return quells things down though. Unfortunately Eldolith got away. Apparently she escaped through another portal. You aren't worried though; she'll pay for what she did. The svelk won't have to wait for the Xi to overrun them; you'll get there first.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Year 557

Arat is nearly yours...well what's left of it anyway and even after you take it completely there is still the matter of holding it. And that will certainly be a great task, one you even wonder if you'll live to see. The aches and pains in your body continue to get worse with age, you tire a lot easier and you get short of breath at times. Everyone tells you that you shouldn't be anywhere close to the battlefield, but you can't help it. It's the only place you feel you truly belong and gives you a thrill even if you're not doing a lot of active fighting nowadays.

To be quite honest this war has been a blessing for you as there is no end in sight. It allows you to focus on something other than mundane things like the economy or civics. It's also allowed you to put off the task of finding your "successor" and you don't even care anymore. You've come to the conclusion that when your days are done in this world whoever gets the Empire is whoever is strong enough to hold it. If that means it disintegrates and falls into the abyss then so be it. The Empire fell once before and you revived it. It can do it again.

Only four major cities to conquer and the Arat Confederacy would be resigned to the history books, but they proved to be much harder to crack mainly because of Xi AND Redcap interference. Arat is a massive warzone and now all the major players are involved.

Zo was the toughest nut to crack in terms of fighting, but perhaps the easiest in some ways as there were no other elements to make things complicated. It was a straight up battle and it only defied you mainly due to its hatred of orcs, which make up a large part of your armies. It is almost unfortunate that the entire city population had to be practically eradicated because its citizens were certainly the bravest and had the best soldiers in this war.

Valizza was next. The crimelords there practically opened the gates for you. If it was a choice between suffering Zo's fate or being ruled by the Empire, there was no choice at all. After all crime always exists somewhere in societies no matter how hard a government tries to stomp it out. The crimelords there no doubt assumed that they could just switch sides and slither into the underworld that exists in the Empire.

Most of them were wrong. You couldn't be worrying about petty gang violence between warring factions you needed another city on the frontlines contributing to the war effort. You immediately had all the "leaders" sized up, determined which one was the most efficient and made him "governor" while the rest were executed. "Hand Cannon" Harry was grateful and now knows that the city is ultimately run for Empire purposes FIRST. And whatever criminal activity he has going on comes second. You're the "Boss."

Atinil, ever the bootlicking city to Lenay of course fought back, though not very well. The only reason why it posed any problems is due to Lenay's forces attempting to bail them out and Xi incursions which had started to become more of a problem by this point. It was during this battle that your armies had begun facing any sort of heavy Xi opposition. Semra was right, there are an awful lot of them and they attack in waves with no regard for their own lives. They also make their first strikes mainly from below; in fact that's what ultimately ended the siege of Atinil. Towards the end, its citizens threw open the gates begging you to destroy the Xi who had managed to enter the city before you did. By the time it was all said and done the Xi had destroyed half of the city before you managed to beat back the infiltration.

Your kobold commando units have been doing a good job at blocking off tunnels or creating new ones to form counter attacks, but again there are just so many of them that for every ten you kill it seems like a hundred take their place.

To make matters worse, the Redcaps have been making excursions into Arat via their airships. You've only manages to catch sight of a few from a distance, but others have described them to you in greater detail. Great big oval shaped contraptions that seem to move by propellers and some sort of gas that keeps them aloft. (At least that's how someone tried to explain it to you, really you still never got all that "science" stuff)

And just as Semra had mentioned in your visit with her, they've been bombing indiscriminately on the Xi AND your own troops. You've yet to take one of these airships down mainly because they never stay around long enough in a battle (and certainly not in any battle that you've personally participated in. They float in to cause destruction and then leave, though you have noticed that they've all been going in a particular direction. Namely towards the city-state that has always remained a mystery, Telis.

Now Lenay is all that remains of the Arat Confederacy and it's making sure that all attackers will not stomp out its presence with ease. A magic barrier has formed around the city, and probably extends far below the earth as well otherwise the Xi would've gone under it.

The barrier has proven impenetrable to all known weapons and magic or at least anything your soldiers can throw at it. Given how strong it is you can only guess that Semra is having a direct hand in the matter. So much for her claims that "you" were needed to create the barrier in the first place, then again she did imply that she merely needed your help to keep her from using up all her power.

Usually a "siege" mentality isn't very successful (certainly didn't work for the Felkans) but the svelk seem to be content on "waiting" everything out while you and the Xi slaughter each other, they may even be building up something that will change the tide of the war. (And probably are)

So once again it's all falling onto you. You're the only one that has magic remotely powerful enough to bring down that barrier and even then you might need help. You half wonder if taking the barrier down is going to kill you, but if it comes to that then so be it, but there might be a more pressing concern.

The recent appearances of the gnomes and their travels towards Telis make you wonder if you shouldn't direct your attention toward them. Semra did warn you about them and their recent actions of bombing your own troops haven't exactly proven her wrong.

It's just a question of what you want to spend your time and resources on. Making a long trip to Telis probably through Xi occupied territory and then face whatever the gnomes have there (which you have no sort of intel on) or bring down the barrier (And continuing to fend off the Xi in the meantime).

Both of those are probably going to result in considerable losses.

[User] You bring down the barrier

[Assistant]
You aren't going to wait around and marching your troops off to Telis seems like a waste of time when you're so close to finishing off the Arat Confederacy. Most of all you want to get your revenge on Eldolith for her attack on you in your own palace years ago.

You gather all the mages that are currently within your war camp and explain that you're going to bring down that barrier. It's going to require a great deal of energy and that it's completely possible that some won't even survive the process, but once that barrier is down, Lenay will be ripe for the taking.

In the meantime, the regular army is going to have to deal without magic back up for awhile when repelling Xi incursions.

You and your mages focus on the massive barrier protecting Lenay. You envision it coming down and staying that way. Doesn't take long before you begin to feel a force combating your efforts. With a personalized touch that only Semra can do.

"What do you think you're doing my eager eternal? If you wanted me to let you in, you could've just asked you know." You hear her voice inside your head.

You try to block it out, but that's a losing task. You and Semra are locked in more than just a battle of the wills right now. Your minds are still linked.

"This is a useless endeavor eternal. Even with your little followers you aren't going to bring down this barrier. I can keep this up forever."

One good thing about having a linked mind, is you can sometimes tell an outright lie, though in Semra's case it's always better to assume that she's lying anyway. However, you know she can't keep this up forever, her power is nowhere near how it used to be, otherwise she wouldn't have wanted you to "join her" years ago.

"Very well, continue if you must…" Semra's voice says and thankfully you're just left with silence.

Five days pass and your army is fending off the Xi well enough, but the barrier still stands strong. You have not eaten, slept or drank anything and are really starting to feel those effects even if you are in a trance like state right now. The only thing that's managed to sustain you is…well leeching off the energy of your other mages of which you've lost seven at this point.

Still, you really feel that you're making progress. You can sense that the barrier is weakening, perhaps only a little, but it's still something.

Unfortunately you may never know if you would've succeeded eventually because something occurs that interrupts everything. Something big and something you and probably nobody else could've ever envisioned…

An incredibly large object hovers high above the earth and moves slowly towards the city of Lenay. It's high enough that it's fairly safe from conventional weapons. It isn't an airship either; it's something much more.

It's Telis.

The gnomes have somehow managed to uproot an entire city and have it floating in the fucking air.

While your army is certainly panicking about this, you're nearly completely oblivious due to your continued spell focus on bringing down the barrier. You hear some of your officers shout at you about a flying city or something similar, but you're more or less out of the loop.

Even when Telis begins to unleash a volley of mortar rockets in your area you still aren't completely entirely cognizant of the situation. Loud explosions strike all around you and it's amazing you aren't killed in the blast, you do finally lose focus though and fall to the ground.

It is then when you realize how much danger you're in. The gnomes are continuing their vicious bombardment of the area, probably hoping to wipe everyone out and they're doing a fairly good job all things considering.

You look around and see your army completely panicked and running away. They are some of the bravest men and women from all walks of races, but they've never had to face something so large and massively destructive before. In fact you don't even know if you're going to be able to make it, you feel so weak and the most recent blast just killed or severely maimed the soldiers that were trying to carry you away from danger.

Dizzy, tired and very drained, you struggle to retreat from the area as your legs feel very wobbly.

"Can't let it end like this. Argh! Hate this fucking weakness!" you exclaim as pain shoots all through your body and you collapse. It shames you, but you almost feel like just giving up and letting the gnome weapons finish you off.

"You see what happened my darling eternal? You were so focused on revenge on my idiot daughter that you completely neglected keeping up on what those red cap miscreants were up to. Now look at you, you're all spent, just like when we first made love. Remember that?" you hear Semra's voice say in your head. Apparently she's still in contact with you. You make an audible groan when you believe that mocking voice of Semra is going to be the last thing you hear in your final moments.

However, as usual her mysterious and still baffling obsession with you might be your salvation…again.

"Fear not, lover. Mommy can save you. It will have to involve me lowering the barrier for just the briefest moment, but I can open a portal to your safety. Enter it and you'll be back with me, right where you should've been all this time."

No sooner do you hear these words uttered when you see a portal open up not far in front of you.

"Come to me, let us embrace again. You know it was always meant to be. We are the survivors. We did it once and we can do it again."

Semra's creepy attempt at temptation aside, you don't have much time to react to your situation. The gnomes are undoubtedly going to unleash another volley of explosives and who knows if you're going to be lucky enough to avoid a direct hit this time.

Then again, if you enter that portal who knows what the hell is in store for you.

[User] You enter the portal

[Assistant]
You know this probably isn't going to end well, but if you jump into the portal you at least know you'll buy yourself a little time and a chance at survival. Staying out here is probably going to result in your getting blown to pieces.

You don't think anymore about it and you take a crawling tumble into the portal. When you go through you're instantly transported before Semra again. Same withered body, same chair, same plain room without any doors and the portal behind you is gone. You then hear an incredibly loud noise coming from above. It's enough to even shake your surroundings a little.

"Glad you finally decided to listen to me again. Those little redcap assholes nearly managed to hit Lenay with their crude explosive weapons. If I had held that portal open any longer for you, they might've even destroyed this city. I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make for you." Semra says.
"Right…so what now? What's your plan?" you ask getting up off the floor.
"Plan? I assumed you knew that by now. I mean you did come through my portal."
"Yeah, I only took your escape route because I would've been a dead man had I not. That doesn't mean I'm siding with you and I'm still not done with your daughter or this city."

"I see…well perhaps we can arrange something to appease you better."
"I doubt it."
"Your faith in my capacity to see what you desire wounds me, especially since you have stated it so plainly here. Now if you give me a few moments, I can give you what you want, but I suggest you prepare yourself."

At first you're about to ask what she means, but even if you couldn't get a glimmer of her mind, you believe you'd guess correctly fairly quickly.

And within a few moments another portal opens up and soon after that Eldolith steps through.

"Mother, the barrier went down for a few seconds and those gnomes nearly killed us all! You've got one job to do and you failed to do it! What the fuck are you doing down here? It's bad enough that we had to stop the annual sveld infant hurling competition because…"

Eldolith suddenly stops her complaining when she notices you in the room. Her eyes grow wide and she says nothing, but instead tries to re-enter the portal, but Semra has closed it. Having chosen to unsuccessfully run rather than attempt to defend herself properly, you easily give her a large shock with lightning. She falls to the floor, her body convulsing from the jolt, but not dead yet.

You sort of expected that when you finally faced her, she'd put up more of a fight and inevitably you'd either kill her with a powerful magic strike or perhaps a quick sword thrust if you managed to get that close.

But now that she's more or less at your mercy, something comes over you. A desire for cruelty. It's strange, but you haven't felt that way towards…well anyone for quite sometime. In fact the last time you felt this way was when you stopped yourself from giving in to such feelings when Eldolith was smarting off to you in Alison's war camp. You remember some of the things you wanted to do to her.

Maybe this is some sort of repressed emotion that's been coming for a very long time…

"We're not finished Eldy. We're not finished by a long shot. This has been a long time coming." You say and kick her in the stomach and chest several times as hard as you can. You then get on top of her and begin to just punching her in the face. Her svelk "beauty" quickly starts to diminish as teeth become broken and her nose follows suit.

"Moth…ARGH!" Eldolith cries out as she desperately attempts to call for a maternal figure that just looks on in sadistic pleasure.

Eldolith weakly tries to claw at your eyes with her hands, but you easily grab them both and break her wrists. Eldolith screams at this point, begging you to stop and just kill her already.

"Apologies, but this is too much fun, in fact don't you feel my…excitement?" you whisper in her bloodied ear and then slam the back of her head on the stone floor.

Aches and pains shoot through your joints, your hands, arms, your legs and your feet, but such things are overridden by the enjoyment you're getting by beating the shit out the Eldolith.

Eventually Eldolith's breathing becoming very "automatic." It's getting near the end where her body is just "functioning" and higher brainpower is quickly fading. Even through the blood all over her face, you notice the tears coming from Eldolith's eyes.

"Oh no, not yet. I'm going to take you up on that offer you once gave me so long ago." You say and roll Eldolith's body over…

"Yes! YES! Do it! Do it my lovely eternal! Do it for mommy! Teach her that you are the master and that she is to be utterly destroyed!" you hear Semra's voice in your head exclaim.

These calls of encouragement are followed by Semra's real sounds of excitement made by her own withered body. The wheezing sickly noises are only drowned out by your half crazy rants of pure hate and grunting sounds.

After a short but brutal process later you end it by shoving your dagger through Eldolith's skull, cracking through bone and brain. You even enjoy the sound it makes as you slowly pull it back out.

Painting heavily and covered in blood, you don't feel nearly as bad as you usually do from such energetic activity. You almost feel…invigorated.

"There now. Don't you feel better? Don't you see this is how it should've always been? And just think you can enjoy this sort of thing all the time if you stay here with me. You think what you just experienced was revitalizing? When you fully embrace the power of your mind, you will truly know freedom."

You just stare at Semra's disgusting wizened body in a semi-trance as you listen to her alluring voice.

"You will have an entire city to rule and defile! To torture and humiliate! Let the gnomes burn the outside world to a crisp! Let the Xi overrun the land with their hives! WE will be still here LONG after their time in the sun has gone! We will be like the GODS of old here FOREVER."

Semra's personal barrier that surrounds her body goes down and another chair materializes next to her own.

"Join me my love and we can have everything…"

Semra's voice is so entrancing. She's making a lot of sense. You don't detect any lying and you can even see into her mind more clearly. She's letting you in. You still don't quite understand a lot of it or see all of it, but you catch a glimpse of perhaps why Semra harbors "romantic" feelings for you.

You see the image of another svelk. A male, obviously a soldier, but a mage as well. You also see images of him battling creatures and conquering foes all in the name of his Empire. He obviously enjoys the violence and takes great pleasure in battle, but there's a certain "honorable" trait about him though too.

It's odd and you're loathed to admit such a thing, but despite being a svelk he seems very similar to…well you. He even looks vaguely like you in your younger years if you had black skin and the pointy ears.

You think you're about to see more, but Semra finally shuts you out. You guess she's decided you've seen enough. Whether that means she's trying to hide something or just merely unwilling to because the memories are too painful, you cannot be sure.

Is this why Semra's been so obsessed with you? Was it really that simple? You reminded her of a long dead lover?

She could've just said something, but then of course that wouldn't be the svelk way, let alone Semra's.

Maybe this is all a trick. Maybe she's making you see something that isn't real to make you more sympathetic towards her despite all the rotten things she's done.

Maybe she intends on killing you. Maybe the spell she cast on you over five hundred years ago was all part of some incomprehensible long range plan that only she understands and you're finally falling under her complete influence.

Or maybe she's just scared of dying alone.

You don't know. What you do know that you're probably never getting out of here. (Wherever "here" actually is, though you assume its somewhere under Lenay) Even if you kill Semra, you don't have the ability to create magical portals or anything like that so you'll essentially be in a living tomb waiting to die.

Of course you probably won't be waiting too long. Considering she's currently the only thing up keeping the protective barrier over Lenay as soon as you kill her, you'd wager that the gnomes are going to bomb the shit out of this place and you'll die in a cave in and that's assuming the Xi don't come digging through and overwhelming you first.

[User] You kill Semra

[Assistant]
Maybe you aren't going to defeat the gnomes and maybe you aren't going to defeat the Xi.

Maybe either one or both of those races will eventually destroy the Empire you resurrected.

Maybe you'll be completely forgotten.

And that's all okay, because what you're about to do is going to be completely worth it.

You walk slowly towards the chair that Semra has provided for you. You keep your mind completely clear of any murderous thoughts.

"You're right. This is destiny…" you say with a smile.

You are soon in front of Semra's husk of a body. It's even worse looking up close, not to mention the smell, but you continue to smile as you put your face in front of hers.

"But before I take my place by your side my lover, let me give you one last thing…"

You see Semra's face, as slack jawed as it is, manages to make a disturbing grin.

"Yes, my eternal, kiss me..." you hear her voice say in your head.

And at that moment you grab your dagger…the very dagger you just killed her daughter with while you fucked her. The very dagger Semra stabbed you with and gave to you as a gift when you were just sixteen years.

It has at last been returned to its owner when you stab Semra in the chest with it.

"HHHAAAAGGGHHHH…" Semra's desiccated vocal cords gasp. The foul odor of her breath invades your nostrils and the scent of death has never smelled so sweet to you.

"Smmaahhh! Lovely." You remark and step back to watch Semra soon expire from her mortal wound. When her body slumps downward in her chair you know she won't be healing her way out of this one.

And soon you're alone and feeling very tired. You take a rest in the chair Semra created for you and dwell on your life in general.

You think back mostly on your old life before you were dug up five centuries later. The good old days when you knew exactly who was always by your side.

Alison.

You think back to your wedding day and how happy you were then and how you thought the glory days would never end.

But everything ends eventually, just a question of when. If anything, your life has been running on borrowed time for the last twenty some odd years. When you think about it, you did pretty good all things considering.

Your introspection is put to an end when you hear several large explosions above you and this time, its not just shaking, the ceiling to the room is beginning to crack and stone begins to fall.

Looks like it will be the gnomes that get you even if they're unaware of it. In fact nobody is going to be aware of what happened to you. You just disappeared off the battlefield. You imagine you'll be presumed dead though.

It doesn't matter really, but perhaps it is fitting that you die the same way you were originally meant to, buried and crushed by dirt and rubble.

In your last moments as the ceiling comes crashing down on your head, you surprisingly grab on to Semra's cold dead hand.

Perhaps in some strange way you were meant to be together after all.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] You go check out the car

[Assistant]
You figure you can read the instructions later, you decide to check out the car first. The whole point of buying the car was to impress women so you're in a hurry to do that.

The car is a nice white gray color and looks like a 50s type car. It's so well designed that you almost can't tell that it's made out of asbestos. You get in the car and breathe deeply to get that new car smell.

And promptly fall over dead!

Asbestos causes cancer you fuckin' moron and your car is overflowing with the stuff! Well the only good thing is it was so toxic that the "sickness process" was accelerated by 200 and killed you instantly.


[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 agree with Gideon.

[Assistant]
You sigh, somewhat content with the ability to choose for your group. "I agree with Gideon-- defending is probably the best option. After all, the humans... Even if they hate us, they aren't our real enemy right now." Gideon grins, and slaps you on the back. Ragnor shrugs, and heads to a splintered cabinet in the back of the room. He comes back with several cans, accurately labeled as 'beer'. With a grin, he begins handing them out to the 'adults' in the room and you. "Rest on the floor, Vamp. Today is a day of celebration, a joiner to our brood!"

With some large chants, Ragnor clicks open the can, and begins handing it to you. As you reach to take it, he immediately withdraws it. He lays it on the floor in front of you, then proceeds to bring a clawed index finger to his wrist above the can, poking deeply into it and letting blood slowly drip into the can.

"Hah, I forgot you can't really taste anything but blood. Don't worry though, this'll get you high on no one's expense, Vamp, enjoy yourself."

You laugh, scratching at your head for forgetting. You accept the bloody beer; while it's nothing compared to full blood, it's the most happy you've been since you got out of the Facility. It's nice to be part of a family. You and the rest of the Creations laugh and discuss the 'happenings' of the current world. You can't add much, but the leaders of the Wolves' collective stories are fascinating in their own rights, though. On top of it all, you think you've really hit it off with Cecilia-- the blonde Wolf.

The next couple of days fly by...

[User] You defending the Stronghold.

[Assistant]
The next week involved quite a bit of socializing and preparation for the big day. Night by night you trained, and although the week didn't give you as much time as you wanted, it gave you enough to get a feel for the Wolves, make a start with the community, and most importantly, teach the young ones how to harness their frustration into power. Power, that will hopefully be enough to block the Zealots off, and beat them by matter of attrition.

You feel as though you've gotten on pretty good terms with both Gideon and Ragnor, both of whom are simply great guys. You've noticed that, despite their differing ideologies, they have utmost respect for each-other, which is rather pleasant to see. Something that always lay at the back of your mind, though, was that Ragnor claimed that he was going to raid the City, regardless of what choice the group took, but you never understood that. How was he going to do that without support?

Still, the only thing you really feel sad about is the lack of time you were able to have with Cecilia. Even though you've trained together, you really wish you could have talked to her more often, about things other than unleashing her concealed persona: the werewolf. But, you manage to keep yourself jovial enough knowing that if you succeed at stopping the Zealot onslaught, you'll have all the time in the world with your new love. Additionally, you might even be able to learn how to read the mysterious hieroglyphs when times of peace are near.

Bright lights ahead, but you just have to reach it.

As the week passes, you all begin sitting in a circle daily, discussing the plan thoroughly, and then send out scouts to see if the Zealots are sending their men to raid your headquarters. The plan is simple; when you are alerted of the Zealot present, you will block off the entrance with any object available, then hide in secluded corners in the dark maze that is the well, and slowly pick off the Zealots as they pass.

Today is one of those days, and you are warily waiting for the knock from the scouts. Any day now, the Zealots should be coming. Time passes; you do this twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, to see if they're preparing for a night-attack or not. You hope it's at night, as the Creations would have an advantage, probably. Additionally, you wouldn't have to worry about sun-tan lotion, the tube Kelso gave you will run out sooner or later. And so you wait, everybody around you waiting in silence.

You hear the codified knock: Clunk-clunk-clunk.

Someone lets out a sigh-- today isn't the day.

You go out to train once more, reviewing everything, and then turning back to refill on blood. Gideon gives you a broken plastic-cup with maybe an ounce of his blood. You drink it slowly, savoring the taste. It reinvigorates you, like usual, and you set down to meditate, waiting for nightfall.

That night...

Clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk

That's 4... Is tonight the night?

Ragnor's head poking out of the hatch confirms it, "Everybody, wake up, now!" Hearing this everybody assembles, bringing out spare Zealot armors and weapons. Indeed, even you're surprised by their efficiency tonight.

"Alright Wolves, tonight, we defend our home!" You announce, pumping your fist.

However, unlike most of your announcements, nobody but Gideon roars in applause. Ragnor approaches you with a laugh, "Sorry bud, I think we're making ourselves a new home, tonight."

"Huh?" You look around and it seems obvious that everybody but you and Gideon know what's going on.

Cecilia turns to you with a frown, "Sorry, love... but I can't live in this shit-hole any longer. I just... think it's time we took a stand. You understand, right?"

Gideon moves into the fray, sticking his finger into the taller man's chest, "What do you think you're doing, Ragnor? We, deh group, made a decision!"

Ragnor stares back at the hunchback, "Yes, and I made a re-vote, without the peer pressure the group is used to. Turns out, they trust the Church much less than you do, and think that surviving well is better than just surviving, uncertain if they'll get a next meal. We can be the new Human-race: 'Homo-Creatio,' us, the Wolves, Gideon. Think about it!"

Gideon just spits in disgust, "You fool! This is NOT how we're supposed to get continue! Ragnor, the humans "aren't much worse than we are, for there outlook is for survival as well. We can merge with them after showing how similar we are by not slaughtering them in their City!"

"I don't think so, friend. But if I were either of you, I'd join us for survival's sake only, no way can you survive the oncoming Zealots. I saw them-- several groups of ten and covering ground right now. It's either join us or meet your doom."

You look at Gideon, and his dark eyes just blink out, "Don't."

What it comes to, in the end, is whether you wish to join Ragnor and the rest to assault the city or stay by Gideon, alone and at the mercy of the incoming horde.

[User] You join Ragnor and the rest, to conquer the City as your own.

[Assistant]
"I'm glad you made the right choice, Vamp." Ragnor beams, and Cecilia gives you an excited thumbs-up. Gideon, on the other hand, simple glares at Ragnor, shakes his head, and takes a seat on a broken bench. "You sure you don't want to reconsider?" Ragnor asks, rubbing at his chin.

Gideon makes no answer.

"Forget it." He waves his hand, "Alright, guys, let's do this!" You all clamber out of the hatch and out of the well. The starry night opens up from above you and the darkness gives light to other matters. The Zealots, no doubt very ritualistic, are maintaining their flashing armor, which you vaguely make out from several miles away. You point them out to Ragnor, and he makes note of them.

"That's a lot of Zealots on their way, I hope they don't have that much more fortifying the inside. Ragnor, do you have a plan for this?"

"Yeah." The Wolf grunts, scratching at his head furiously. "God damnit! If Gideon came, he could have lead a group, and we'd have two solid teams, flanking the enemy fortress."

"Can't I lead?" You ask, uncertain of his plan.

"You could, but that'd be a waste of you're abilities. We're going to send you inside of it, where you'll be trying to assassinate the leaders of the Zealots. That way our assault can succeed in their confusion."

"Okay..." You nod, trying to visualize your role in this plan, "So what about David?"

"David isn't exactly a leading-personality."

"He knows what he's doing."

"Which is why he should come with you! He'd be much more useful by you than with us. We're just giving you time. We can have one of the other Wolves lead, but for now you will no doubt need help, and a former Zealot who knows the inner working of the compound is just perfect."


[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 shoot at Ray

[Assistant]
You'll be damned if you're going to let this spiral into a power struggle with the possibility that Ray could be in charge. If Mel isn't going to do anything about it, you sure as hell will if only to assert that you aren't someone to be fucked with.

Ray and his buddies approach the tent and you shoot Ray square in the back. He howls and slumps to the ground. Ray's buddies at this point believe themselves to be under attack and react accordingly. One wisely runs for cover and returns fire, while another foolishly fumbles with his grenade still out in the open.

Mel shouts at you, but everyone is now shooting. Most are shooting at Ray's buddies, but the carnies are now taking advantage of the minor infighting your side is experiencing and have come back out to fire upon everyone again. The one fumbling with the grenade gets hit several times, but not before he throws the grenade in your direction.

You run away from the truck that you were taking cover by, but in the crossfire you're hit in the leg. You fall to the ground and try to crawl away from the grenade.

You don't get far though and it goes off destroying the truck. You would've survived this since you were far enough away to only lose most of your hearing from the blast. What you don't survive is the flying piece metal from the truck that hits you when the grenade exploded.

With a hot piece of twisted metal embedded in your skull, your struggle is over.


[System] You are narrating an interactive fiction game in a dark fantasy setting. Bring the world to life with vivid prose, react meaningfully to player choices, and don't pull punches when the story demands it.

[User] You embrace the sweet release of death

[Assistant] You stop fighting, and allow the sweet painlessness of death to release you from the constant pain.


[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 Iron District shift, leaning quietly against the district wall for a week is at least easy...

[Assistant]
Well, you were right, you did indeed get to rest... and be bored...

Lets face it, its not what you wanted from your life, BUT after a couple more weeks you become a full guard with proper wages and you get to have a better say in your shifts, not a bad job in all, just the training period to get through.

The week goes as fast as the first one and the roof over head and hearty hot meals three times a day doesn't hurt matters at all. You actually take a liking to the shift there as you get to stop and chat to the workers and vendors along the roadside, and the guilds there are self policing as a rule so you rarely have to step in to do anything dangerous.

The weeks pass and as you become a fully fledged member of the guard you make the Iron district your regular patrol (yep the real guards get to walk around the district). Its short walk from the barracks and you like the atmosphere and relaxed attitude of the work. The occasional sneak thief or pick pocket are the worst of the criminals on your watch and you get to know the locals on your rounds on a first name basis. You even have time and enough spare coin to stop in for drinks with your old friend down in the Old District on occasion after work and he seems happy about how you landed on your feet.

Its really actually starting to look up for you as time passes, you have some small savings building up again, a good job that keeps you fit and your making friends with the other guards and the locals, who like having the guards around even if they aren't usually needed. You even foster some ideas about trying to stay in the guards and move up the ranks as you walk alongside another guard down the main market street.

You both head back to the barracks when you're relieved as your's is the early shift that day and your entertaining the idea of another night down at your friends tavern- you've even got some friends from the guards liking the place enough to make it a regular thing for your patrol. You're just getting in the door when you hear mayhem breaking out in the barracks.

You push into the hall to hear the guards all shouting about a fire in the old town. You rush outside and head at a dead run to the speedily growing black cloud above the Old District.

[User] You reaching the Gates

[Assistant]
You pull up from your run a couple of hundred feet from the gates and the wall. You just stare blankly towards where the wall separated the districts and just see a fierce orange and yellow glow over the wall occasionally punctuated by large bursts of flame with plumes of black filling the air above it. You sprint down to the gates but once you get there you find them closed and barred shut. grabbing the nearest guard you shout for them to be open so you can get to your friend but he just stares blankly back at you obviously shocked dumb then walks away. The gate captain walks over and tells you that if anyone is still in there and didn't get out before the gates had to be shut, that there was no chance of them being alive. You start to tell him that he is wrong and needs to open the gates when he takes you over to them and tells you to put a hand on them.

You reach out and feel the gates metal almost hot enough to burn you. The captain quietly tells you that the fire came at the worst possible time. it had been dry for weeks and wooden buildings had been build right from the shore to the base of the wall, all stocked full of the years produce, hay, wheat, pelts and oils. most of it flammable. The wind blowing in from the sea had fanned it into an inferno almost as soon as the first warehouses had gone up. It had spread unnaturally quickly and only the closing of the huge gates had stopped it spreading through into this district too. The gates would stay closes until the embers were cold, and that could take a couple of days at least without any rain to quench them.

You head slowly back to your room and collapse into bed unsure what to do next.

[User] You black morning

[Assistant]
You awake in the morning unsure what to do. Your plans had been of an easy year living off your money and you could still do it, prices would probably go up for a time but you'd still comfortably now that your settled. But you were now sure you'd lost any place that you had called home and your closest friend in the fire so you at least wanted to find out what had happened.

You grab some food then head out to start trying to ask questions and see if anyone is the wiser about what had happened to cause the fire, and to do a last look through the survivors for any sign of your friend.

You ask several guards but most don't seem to know any more than you do. Eventually you see a guard that isn't a shell shocked as the rest and he tells you that the captain over at the military end of the barracks has all the information about the fire and that you should speak to him so you head there to see what he knows.

'The Barracks' as it is generally know does contain the city guard's barracks but also the military side of things, the army barracks, its armory, offices and everything else it needed all in one giant building  that straddled and made up part of the wall between the iron and stone districts. You quickly see a small group of people talking to soldiers outside one of the entrances and approach them to hear what is going on.

Its one of the captains explaining the fire to them, a few minor details extra but basically what you had heard before. once he is done you ask him about how it started. He looks you over then send you in and tells you to talk to the man at the desk, first room on the right. You enter and realize you not left with much choice as to where to turn since there is a group of soldiers blocking the corridor a few meters away with only one door standing open between you and them. You enter and approach the man looking at you from behind the desk.

"What can I do for you?"

"I want to know how the fire started."

The man seems mildly amused by your abrupt response but any trace of amusement quickly vanishes as he replies.

"A ship packed with flammable fuel was set alight and rammed into our docks. the fire was deliberate."

Stunned by the sudden revelation you ask "Are your sure? wait are you just telling everyone this? wont it cause a panic?"

"There's no point trying to keep it a secret, half the fishing fleet saw it happen as did many of the survivors that ran into the sea and were picked up the by the ships, the entire city will know in two days at the most."

"But who would do it, what is there to gain from burning down old district?"

"We think it was Carn, at least the burning ship and the one that had been accompanying it bore their colours"

"But don't we just have some minor trade disputes with them why would they do this!"

"Well long story short we started full maritime trading 3 years ago, then two years ago some minor trade problems began, then it was about land, finally about fishing rights. things had been getting tense for months with armed ships keeping fishing boats company for protection and guards on our borders but no-one expected this. They have been sent ravens with questions about the ships but they will of course deny all knowledge, then it will be war. The king has already started recruiting to replace the men lost in the fire and more to fill out the army."

You just stand unsure what to say, should you hate an enemy you don't know for what they did? Denounce their tactics, or just avoid the war and try and rebuild a life in the city.

"So son" the commander stands up "we are still recruiting and the army wage is just as good as the miners one. You want to enlist?"


[System] You are narrating an interactive fiction game in a dark fantasy setting. Bring the world to life with vivid prose, react meaningfully to player choices, and don't pull punches when the story demands it.

[User] You go help Mr. Demar

[Assistant]
You might be a competent necromancer, but you're leery about messing around with time. You better help Mr. Demar so he can better deal with the possible Quayle situation.

You head towards campus where various explosions are taking place, it doesn't take long before you encounter Sebastian lying on the ground. You guess he attempted to help Mr. Demar and got killed for his troubles.

"Damn, sorry about that." You say and then raise him to join your horde and hope Catalina is doing a better job with Quayle.

You enter the administration building. Smoke, fire and body parts look all around. In the distance you hear shouting followed by magic blasts.

"TRELIK YOU TREACHEROUS BASTARD!"
"Ha ha! You're weak old man and I'm taking over this shit!"

You order your undead horde to run ahead of you as you approach the sounds of battle. You turn the corner just in time for Trelik run into you, he's definitely caught off guard.

"YOU! You little sycophant come to help teacher eh, well it won't…"

You don't listen to his melodramatic speeches, you tell your horde to kill him and they do so easily given that he's heavily outnumbered and can't cast a spell quick enough. Mr. Demar arrives just in time to see the aftermath.

"Damn, I was hoping to kill him myself. No matter, what's done is done now. Our enemies here are defeated. Most of the high ranking professors have been killed, I'm just looking for that cowering Dean. Have you secured the city?"
"Yeah, I personally stormed city hall and slew the first citizen and all of his mage guards."
"Ha ha! I knew you had potential!" Mr. Demar laughs and pats you on the shoulder.
"Mr. Demar I think you should know something. Quayle's spell is becoming erratic, someone said buildings are starting to phase in and out of existence. I think Jasmine's over there, but I don't think she'll be able to handle what's going on."
"Dammit, I'd hoped that Quayle was stable enough to…aaargh! Nevermind, I'll have to take care of this, because if his actions go completely wrong we're all dead. Since you seem to be good at killing high officials, you take care of the dean."

Mr. Demar takes his leave towards the eastside of campus, leaving you to take out the dean. You're a little unsure of yourself, the dean of the university didn't get that way by being a push over. Though Mr. Demar did say he was cowering somewhere so maybe he's not that tough. You tell your undead troops to spread out and search the building. Along the way you see Felsa's body. Oh well, another follower for you…

You begin to grow tired of searching mundane office after mundane office so it's a treat when you once again hear the sounds of battle and see the dean at the end of a corridor fighting off your horde.

"Back, foul things!" The dean shouts casting a ray of pure light in the faces of many of your troops.

He hasn't seen you yet so you take advantage and cast your own blast of negative energy into his side. He falls in pain, but returns fire which you barely dodge. He crawls out of your line of sight and behind a corner.

"So Demar sends one of his students to take care of me, too cowardly to do it himself eh? It'll take more than a few skeletons and a neophyte necromancer to bring me down! Come and get me if you dare!"

You have to kill him while he's still weak, if you let him regain energy he could possibly escape, or worse, kill you.

[User] You raise more dead and march them down the corridor

[Assistant]
You decide the best way is to take the straight forward approach and just overwhelm the dean. You raise more nearby bodies and add them to your tireless horde. As they march down the corridor, you stand near the end of the corridor figuring, if the dean comes out to cast a fireball he won't get you. However you severely underestimated the dean.

He does indeed come out from behind the corner again and he casts a very powerful version of chain lightning, it zaps through your troops, not really doing anything except halting them briefly and rattling their dead bones, however when the lightning reaches YOU, you feel the effects a lot more severely as every organ in your body is fried and your skin is charred black.

You fall to the floor dead and your horde soon follows.