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

[User] You train a successor

[Assistant]
There is too much that is unknown to you about the Ascension Ritual that you don't want to risk it. Maybe it would result in better protection, but at what cost? The problem is you don't know what the cost is and Dendrin isn't forth coming about the information anytime soon.

There is also placing faith in others to think about. You mainly considered the Ascension Ritual because you had concerns about any successor doing your job as well as you could, but really the shadows have had many Shadow Masters in the past and the order never suffered complete destruction. They endured centuries under the Empire, and they'll easily endure centuries now that they aren't under it. If anything the shadows are in the best position than they ever have been.

You tell Talia that you've decided to train a successor and that you'd like her help on the matter. She of course agrees, but asks you about the Ascension Ritual.

"There's no need for it. The shadows will be alright without me." You say with a smile. "But we should still pick the best candidate for the position just to be sure."

The follow days are busy ones after you announce that you're choosing a successor. This news is somewhat surprising since you're so well respected that it is almost inconceivable that you'll die one day (Especially since you've come back to life once already). Still, those that are chosen are very honored that they have been considered for the position.

"How come you chose all younger shadows? I would've thought you would've chosen those more experienced." Talia asks.
"If I was going to do that, I would've just made you my successor and been done with it. But since I don't plan on dying just yet, I figure it would be better for when the inevitable does happen the successor won't be ready for the grave themselves. Besides, it's easier to train young people they aren't set in their ways of doing things yet."
"I suppose that's true. I just realized that most of these candidates were born after the Empire fell. That almost seems surreal that most of them only know about the Empire through stories now. The youngest one here…Sister Celia is only twenty years old. She was just coming into this world as you were putting an end to Theo's rebellion."
"Yet she's one of the main candidates I'm leaning towards. She has shown a lot of promise both magically and combat wise. I believe Glen saw her as a potential future Blade, but I think she'd make a fine successor if she passes the tests. She has proven to be wise for her age as well."
"You seem to be quite fond of her." Talia remarks.
"You aren't jealous are you?" you chuckle.
"Pfft, hardly. I'm still an Eternal and there's no way any mere human girl could compete with me for your affections. If I believed that to be the case, then I'd just call for you to step down as Shadow Master right now because obviously you'd gone feeble minded with age."

This last remark causes you to laugh out loud in agreement before kissing her in a loving manner. It is true though, probably more than Talia even realizes. If you hadn't fallen in love with her, you question if you would've ever stuck with the shadows in those early years. Cyrus' last rant that somewhat "outted" you as unbeliever back in the day never was questioned since Dendrin brought you back from the dead. It was more than enough proof that you were his chosen and believer now.

Still, you've gotten the impression that Talia has almost wanted to ask you for a little more detail on that matter, but she never has. Of course, maybe she always had her suspicions and didn't care since she knew you were still doing what she saw as the right thing. On that matter you've almost wanted to ask her, but you never have.

Some things are better left unsaid especially if they aren't true anymore.

After the first day of testing the candidates, you finally get a visit from Dendrin that night.

"So, you've finally decided to train a successor. Gone are the plans for the Ascension Ritual?"
"Is that what you wanted? Because I tried to ask you, but I got no answer."
"And you'll continue to get no answer. That's something only you can decide, besides I think our relationship has worked best when I let you make your own decisions. Are you confident in your decision?"
"Yes, I am."
"Then that's all that matters. I'm sure it will work out fine."
"Will you still be watching over the shadows after I'm gone?"
"That, I will answer, but I can't give a solid one because I haven't made up my mind yet. I hate to tell you this, because you've been so very interesting, but you've started to become dull to watch lately. This isn't your fault though; you are mortal and getting old. It was bound to happen that you would start slowing down eventually. This latest dilemma that you were having about the Ascension Ritual was the most interesting you've been in years."

You don't know quite how to respond. You're not angry. You've passed that stage long ago. You are somewhat insulted though, since despite it all, Dendrin has always been fascinated by your actions. Takes a bit of wind out of your sails to hear he's getting bored even by you. Disheartening even, especially since you've taken the steps to best ensure the survival of the shadows as well as making your own leap of faith.

"Yeah, well we can't all be deities." You answer, as you do not wish to argue.
"No, but perhaps…"
"What?" you ask, but all you hear is Dendrin speaking to himself.

"…hmmm…maybe that would work…but…no…I suppose I could try that…yes that will take time…but then…oh well if it doesn't work it's no loss of mine anyway."
"What are you talking about?" you ask again.
"Can't talk right now. I need to work on some things. As I said you've got the situation well in hand it looks like, so I'll speak to you again when you die."
"Wait!" you say and then you wake up.

You spend the next few days wondering what Dendrin has planned, but of course you can't really know. All you do know is he promised to speak with you when you die, whenever that is, hopefully not too soon.

Realizing that you can't worry or actually do anything about it, you focus your attention back to testing the potential candidates. By the end Celia does indeed prove to be the best one and you make it official.

"Sister Celia, I hope you realize that by being chosen, a great amount of responsibility will be placed upon you. I also hope you will be prepared to endure whatever it is that I will ask of you." you start to say.
"Of course Shadow Master I…"
"The Shadow Master was not finished speaking! Speak when you are allowed to do so!" Talia snaps causing Celia to shut up immediately.

"As I was saying, you will be working closely with me directly or Talia in most cases, but who knows where you may need to be sent in the future. Perhaps we will need to send someone to speak with the Warden Matron of the Nalin Empire. Perhaps you will have to patrol the Delerg border with your fellow shadows. Any and all of these tasks from the complex to the mundane may be asked of you, because if you are to perform the duties of the Shadow Master you will need to be skilled in everything. Dendrin may watch over us, but that does not mean you can rely on him to pull you out of every situation. He favors the strong and the intelligent that can be self-reliant first and foremost. Remember this."

After a bit of silence Celia realizes that she can now speak when you nod to her.

"I will Shadow Master. I will."
"Good. That will be all for today. I suggest you get some rest, for tomorrow you will begin your TRUE training." You say and dismiss her.

After she leaves you turn back to Talia.

"Nice job in putting a little fear into the girl, though I can't help but think you enjoyed that a bit."
"Of course I did, but I bet she'll remember not to do it again."
"Oh of that, I have no doubt. Really as long as she remembers everything we plan to teach her she'll be fine I think."
"Hah. No small task."

Talia's right about that, it won't be a small task, not for Celia and not for you either. Still, nothing is worth doing without hard work and that's basically been your whole life.


[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 say "My liege"

[Assistant]
Inclining your head respectfully, you murmur solemnly

"My liege"

King Harold laughs madly, and then punches you light-heartedly on the shoulder

"You always were a mannerful bastard, Aethelwulf!"

He chuckles, long and low.

"But come, I haven't seen you since our last battle! That was two bloody months ago, near as! Where've you been! Avoiding me, have you?"

You laugh, your respectful tone undone by his amicable nature.

"If I went to another feast of yours, I wouldn't fit into my mail"

He shakes his head ruefully

"You should learn to unwind more! Live your life, you know? Speaking of, how's your wife?"

You nod solemnly

"She fares well, and yours?"

Harold snorts derisively

"Fat and ugly, as always. Ah well, that's what tavern girls are for, eh?"

He grins and nudges you with his shoulder; you shrug. Harold notices your expression and laughs again

"As chaste as a damned priest! Ah well, we'll break you in eventually."

Again you shrug. You and Harold have very different views on the matter, he won't change, nor will you. The best course, you decide, is to skate around the issue altogether. Nodding towards the hill, you speak seriously

"What do you make of our defenses?"

Harold frowns, his earlier humor gone. He throws up his hands irritably.

"My Kingdom depends on a hill and five thousand farmers"

You shake your head

"Five thousand farmers and three thousand warriors"

Harold nods

"Aye. True enough. We'll make this William pay for every inch, if nothing else"

He squints at the hill in the fading light

"The scouts say William has four thousand cavalry"

You shake your head decisively

"No cavalry in the world can break a strong shieldwall"

Harold laughs bitterly

"Our shieldwall isn't strong! It's weak! Half of the bloody farmers don't even own shields! Goddamned useless bastards!"

Surveying the hill thoughtfully, two plans come to mind;

You could craft wooden stakes and plant them along the hill, disorganizing the horse charge.

Or you could create makeshift shields for the conscripts, to help them hold the line.

The carpenters will only have enough time to do one of the two tasks, you must choose which one you believe is more strategic.


[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 force Drake to leave

[Assistant]
"No, we're going!" you growl.

Drake nods slowly, before drawing a pistol from his belt, aiming at you. You fling the pistol out of his hands, dragging him into the air.

"Please, I'm sorry, but I can't be captured. They'll kill them!" Drake asks pitifully.

"Them?" you ask.

"Yes. Kyros has my two children taken prisoner aboard this ship, my two baby girls. If I don't report to him every hour, he'll hurt them!"

"I've read your report. You don't have children."

Drake's look of terror and desperation slowly morphs into a grin.

"Alright, you got me. Shall we go?"

You snarl, smacking Drake into the ground. He lets out a pained yell, before you raise him up again.

"Give me one reason not to kill you," you say.

"Fuck you. Just go ahead and kill me," Drake laughs, spitting blood out of his mouth and giving a grin, his teeth bloodied.

"Is that your final answer?" you ask.

"You need me alive to pilot this ship, dipshit," Drake says.

"Perhaps. But I could easily peel off your skin, turn your bones to dust, char your flesh and twist your limbs off."

"You need to happy, Karth," Drake grins. "My jobs to navigate the ship, make sure we're not lost in the Warp, boarded by daemons or make sure we don't come out of the Warp and straight into the sun. If my life's not worth living, such as if someone peeled off my skin, turned my bones to dust, charred my flesh and twisted my limbs off, I'd just make sure this ship goes straight into a star."

"Just break him. The powers of the Warp will send you where you need to go. You don't need a Navigator. Tear this rat apart!" Meliodas says.

You growl, walking out into the hallway, Drake floating after you. You quickly reach an elevator, tossing Drake inside.


[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 stay here and cover Galik

[Assistant]
"Galik" you say, "let's hold out here."

"We need everyone to push through."

"No, if we stay here we can shoot them when they inevitably charge us," you say, "we will probably die anyway, but we can whittle down their numbers a bit."

Galik nods and prepares his bow.  You pass along the order for everyone to stand their ground and wait for the time to fire….

But it never seems to come.

Two days later, the fighting has calmed down in the camp, many of your orcs apparently having managed to escape if they weren't killed.

Now most of the Red Handed are focused on launching volley after volley of arrows at you.  Many of you manage to shoot back, sometimes killing and wounding theirs.  But they have you beat down pretty well.

As you stand to fire an arrow, a sharp pain shoots through your chest.  Gritting your teeth you kneel down, gripping the arrow lodged in your chest.  You snap the shaft in half, knowing that pulling it out would only really cause you to bleed out faster.

Still, this isn't the first time you have been shot with an arrow.  You sit down against the wagon next to Galik.  He is not doing so well, having developed a fever, and his wound becoming red and filled with pus.

An orc bends as low as he can as he dashes over to you.  Right before he can yell his message an arrow tears into his forehead.  He looks up at it, almost going cross eyed.  The orcs mouth moves but no sound comes out, and he collapses.

Looking around, your orcs seem dispirited.  Many nursing wounds that will eventually be the death of them anyway.  One tired looking orc crawls his way over to you.

"Nolazir," he says, "I was with you during our fight with the Wister Elves.  I will remain with you until the bitter end."

"The bitter end is already here, my friend," you respond.

Galik wheezes and grabs your shoulder.

It's time," he says while bearing his sword.

"They've already got us beat," he says, "we mind as well go out on our feet."

You and the other orc help Galik up as he struggles to stand.  He manages to get his own balance though.

"Friends, warriors," he says, "the end is here.  I say we honor our fallen comrades, and go out on our feet as Gigalak intended it to be."

Galik's voice is raspy and weak.  The remaining orcs all nod and prepare to charge.

"Forward!" Galik cries.

As you and your young friend storm forward, you do not hear the rest of the orcs going.

"What is the this?" Galik says, as you both see the other orc dead on the ground, an axe in his skull.

One of the orcs gestures to the dead orc with the arrow in his head.

"The Red Handed gave us an ultimatum while you were busy talking about how best to get us all killed," he says.

"What are you-" you say.

"Shut up," he says, "this fool was going to tell you."

"Tell us what?" you ask.

Maybe it was the fatigue, maybe it was the trust in your fellows.  But under normal circumstances you should have seen this coming.

"It's better if we show you."

About a dozen orcs notch their bows, you reel back in surprise, inhaling deeply.

"I order you to-" Galik is cut off as several arrows hit him, he immediately drops.

You only get a moment to roar in rage as several more arrows pierce your chest.  You stagger back, blood starting to ooze out of your body.

"Argh! I'll fucking kill you!"

Before you can muster anything else your old friends have restrung their bows.

"By Gigalak's blood I'll-"

Arrows whistle through the air and slam into your body, gritting your teeth and writhing in pain as the deadly projectiles tear through your flesh and organs.

You go down, yelling an unintelligible garble, as you fall into a rage filled heap.  Twitching you lay there, all of your senses stopping as a haze slowly envelops your vision.


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

[User] Begin a new story

[Assistant]
Chapter 1: Born to Kill

Year 0

"Is this the one?"
"Yeah I guess."
"What do you mean you guess? It either is or it isn't."
"I dunno I lost the list."
"You what? That's just great. You realize how much we're going to get our asses chewed out because of your fuck up? I'm sick of paying for your mistakes."
"Will you calm down? How the hell are they gonna know anyway? You seen one ugly little baldy, you've seen 'em all. All babies look the same."
"Not the elven ones."
"Enough with your elf fetish. These babies are all under the care of the Empire anyway, they're here for the taking.
"Yeah, the key word being the Empire. You know we need the proper paper work, which you just fucking lost!"
"So what, I can forge it. You really worry too much, there's so much red tape they ain't gonna know the difference and what does it matter? The Empire's getting a body for their purposes anyway."
"Yeah, but you know how they like the best."
"How the fuck can they really tell at this age? They do all the real testing later. Look he's got all his limbs, and he doesn't display any signs of impurity. I'd say he's a prime candidate for whatever they have in store for this poor little bastard."
"Yeah I guess…damn. I can't imagine what it's like being brought up like that."
"Me either, this program has only been going on a few years, but I've already heard some fucked up stories about it…y'know its things like this that sometimes make me question the logic of our glorious leaders."
"Shhhh! Are you mad? Don't talk like that! It's not our place to question anything, we're just supposed to do our jobs! Besides, the logic is quite obvious. If they train people from birth they'll have superior combat skills and utter loyalty to the Empire."
"That's my point though. Is it really necessary? The Empire already produces so much propaganda that it does the job pretty well in producing loyal citizens and if that doesn't work it also instills so much fear in most that even if someone wanted to start a rebellion; it's highly unlikely they would."
"Don't be so sure, it has happened in the past."
"The past? When? Like four hundred years ago when the Empire was still in its own infancy? Pfft. Wouldn't happen anymore and as for having elite combat troops, again what's the point? We've already got camps to train elite groups like the Shadow Guard who are not to be fucked with and we have more than enough resources to create an army of golems that would be just as loyal and kick the shit out of our enemies."
"Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore! Our superiors have their reasons, as does the Emperor! Let us just take this baby and be done with this task!"

The two clerks left the infirmary with you that day where upon you were accepted as a suitable candidate and put into The Eternal Program.

You don't remember too much during the time of your very young years, except that you are mostly confined to a room where all your basic needs are met. On a daily basis, a couple bigger people come in to check on you. They have you perform various physical tasks as well as spending time to teach you things like basic reading and writing. Sometimes they ask you various questions and write down your responses while other times they come in and stab you with painful needles with fluid in them. (You don't like those times)

You don't really understand it all, except that you know that the Emperor is always watching you. He is everywhere even if you don't see him. He is keeping an eye on your actions and you must always obey his will, lest you be punished. You know this to be true because you have this repeatedly told to you.

Eventually your relative isolation would come to an end.

[User] Years later...

[Assistant]
Year 5

You are sitting in a gray room at a desk with several other children your age. All of you glance at each other a lot and it is obvious that there is much curiosity, but nobody speaks. This is very unusual for you, up until now, you have only had minimal contact with others. Most of them are male like you, but a few of them are female.

Soon the silence comes to an end when a dark skinned woman walks into the room. She has long hair and sharp features. One thing you notice is that despite her long hair covering her ears you can still see that the tips of them are pointed. She must be elven, but in the pictures you've seen in books, you've never seen one with dark skin before.

"Hello children, and congratulations on maintaining dignified silence during your time by yourselves. It's nice to see that your previous human minders aren't totally incompetent. Still, if you were Svelk children you would've been much better trained by now. Ah, but it is not my place to dwell on the limitations of the lesser born. I am merely here to oversee your training into proper Eternals so that you may serve the Emperor to your fullest capabilities. Now before we begin, I suggest you all ask questions now, because this will probably be the only time I will be in the mood for your ignorance."

For a moment nobody speaks, but when the elven lady insists, one brave soul raises their hand.

"Yes, you."
"Are you an elf?"
"Yes, I am. While the ignorant would use the vulgar term dark elf to describe me, my kind are more properly known as the Svelk. In fact WE are the purest of the elven race. All others you may have the misfortune of meeting are merely diluted members of our bloodline. They are truly pitiful creatures really only fit for extermination. Remember this."

"Yes, you."
"What is your name?"
"My name is unimportant, but you and the rest will always address me as Mistress. Failure to do so will earn my wrath, and more importantly the wrath of the Emperor. Remember this."

"Yes, you."
"What will you teach us?"

A second passes after the question, when a small bolt of light from the Svelk's finger tips and hits the child in the chest asking the question. He falls backwards out of his chair and on to the floor. The rest of you jump in your own chairs and look back at him. He is breathing very erratically.

"I will teach you to OBEY my commands when I give them!" Mistress shouts, she then warns the rest of you.

"Don't you dare touch him, let alone help him! (Sigh) And here I thought you lot had been trained better! It occurs to me that I will have to be extra strict in my discipline. As to the question about what I will teach you… I will teach you to be warriors. I will teach you to be wizards if you display the talent. I will teach you to shed yourselves of weakness. I will teach you to serve the Emperor without question and kill without mercy and you will always obey for you will find strength in obedience. You will find joy in order. You will find love in murder. You shall be instruments of terror and genocide if he so wishes it. You will be Eternals…or you will die. Remember this."

After Mistress' speech, the child she struck down eventually struggles back up and gets back in his seat, clutching his chest and still wheezing.

"I trust you have learned your lesson?"
"Y…yes…Mistress…" he gasps.
"Good, now one more question before we begin…you there. What is your question? Speak up!" Mistress demands while pointing at you, though you have not raised your hand.

You don't wish to disagree with Mistress, so you stumble and try to think up a question.

"Uh…er…I was just wondering when will you teach us to fight Mistress?"
Mistress raises an eyebrow and gives a smirk as she approaches you.
"Fight? And what makes you think that YOU are even ready to learn yet? Do you have even the slightest knowledge of combat tactics?"
"No, Mis…" before you can even complete the sentence Mistress knocks you out of your chair with a quick jab with her hand, the pain from your face spreads to your chest when Mistress steps on it with her boot. She digs it into you and presses all her weight on it, while the rest of your class looks on.

"Damn right, no you don't. You weren't even alert enough to anticipate my attack. You let me get in close and now look at you, you're completely at my mercy. I am in a position to do whatever I like with you, while you are only in a position to beg or die. So what will it be worm? Are you going to beg for your miserable life, or should I save the Empire's time and money by killing you now?"

[User] You beg

[Assistant]
The pain is great and you want it to be over with as quickly as possible so you cry out and scream for mercy to Mistress. To this, she merely laughs cruelly and continues to step on your chest.

"Ha ha ha ha! If this was a real fight do you think an enemy would should you mercy? You truly are pathetic, how did the Empire ever decide that YOU would be a worthy candidate to be an Eternal? Begging for your wretched life as if it was important. It isn't. Your life is nothing! ALL of your lives are nothing! Your lives will never be anything more than warm bodies to serve the Emperor! The question is, will you even be able to live up to that honored status? The answer is no, if you do not learn mercy is for the weak. Remember this."

At this point Mistress finally takes her foot off of you and much like your other classmate hit by her magic bolt, you slowly get up and back in your seat, clutching your chest. You sniffle and try to keep yourself from crying, but the tears are still there. A glare from Mistress causes you to quickly wipe your eyes and try to compose yourself the best you can.

Time passes by under the harsh guidance of Mistress. She teaches you all that she promised she would and then some. Your lessons are not only that of a combat nature, but of an academic one as well. You wouldn't be aware of it, but you and your classmates are probably much better educated than other children your age.

As for you, Mistress never lets you forget of how you begged for your life in front of everyone. While it is true that she sadistically taunts everyone at one time or another, it doesn't make your emotional and psychological scars go away.

This shame you experience causes you to become more insecure and you constantly feel the need to prove to everyone that you aren't weak. When you are called upon to spar with your fellow classmates, you always fight aggressively. For the most part you usually win, and you typically break a few bones of some of your fellow classmates. The lessons of being humiliated by Mistress have not been forgotten. You can't ever let yourself be put in a vulnerable position again and you must be brutal, it's the only way you'll be able to please the Emperor.

Your personality doesn't go unnoticed by your instructor and watchers, they make note of it and decide how you should be handled in the next step of your training.

Year 12

You are in a room with a few of your fellow classmates standing in a row. Most of your class has been separated for reasons unknown to you. All you know right now is there is a scarred orc in worn battle armor arguing with a well dressed man who is human. They are speaking about you, but not actually speaking TO you…

"What? I thought the whole point of this program was to create an elite fighting group like the Shadow Guard, why are you splitting them up and intending to put some of them in regular military units?" the orc questions.
"Things have changed since the program's inception. Besides, if the latest military reports are any indication I'd say you could use a better quality of recruits, or at least I hope that's the problem and it isn't due to a lack of proper training." the man dressed in black formal wear calmly retorts.
"Hey! I train every grunt I get to be the best killer they can be! I've conquered more territory for the Empire than anyone! My record speaks for itself and I could do a hell of a lot more if you put me on the front lines again, so don't try to tell me I'm not doing my fucking job!"
"Be that as it may, I'd say you still could benefit by having a few Eternals in your ranks, if nothing else than to be a good example."
"Good example? HAH! We haven't even seen one of these so-called Eternals in action yet! It's all been just speculation, and a waste of time and money if you ask me! The Empire should be providing better equipment and more of it, for soldiers on the Rask Frontier, it's a fucking meat grinder out there and we're constantly having to put down rebellions by the natives."
"Well nobody ASKED you, captain and your problems are not mine to deal with. This is the Emperor's project and he has his reasons. If I were you I'd watch your tone. Victories or not, you are a servant of the Emperor and you will obey orders or you will be replaced."

The orc captain steps back from the well dressed man then he takes a deep breath, before speaking.

"You are lucky that I do serve the Emperor, for that is the only thing keeping me from ripping out your throat, human…very well I shall take these so called Eternal whelps, but let it be known that I shall be testing them to the limit and then some. If they fail, they shall die like anyone else unable to keep up."
"As you wish commander, I leave it in your capable hands. You will keep me apprised of their progress on a weekly basis. Good day." The well dressed man says and leaves the room, leaving you all alone with the orc commander. You've never seen a real orc in person before, but he looks every bit as intimidating from what you've read about them, even if he is much more articulate than you expected.

He walks up and down the row sizing you all up before speaking.

"I am Captain Gruz, and I will be in charge of the rest of your training until the Emperor deems otherwise. I imagine that your former instructor was that dark elven bitch, so I trust you all know by now that failure and weakness have no place here. Correct?"
"Yes Captain!" you all shout in unison.
"Heh, well glad to see her skills in teaching discipline are still as effective as ever. Good. Now let's see how good your combat skills are…"

At this point you and your fellow classmates instinctively start to pair up to spar with each other, but Gruz stops you.

"What are you lot doing? I didn't tell you to get out of formation!"
"But captain, you said to prove our combat skills." One boy speaks up.
"I…oh wait I see. She had you fighting each other. Typical dark elven training. Create mistrust and loathing even when there is no need for it. (Sigh) I can see I'm going to have to undo some of the shit she instilled in you if I'm going to mold you into the proper killing tools."

Time goes by and Captain Gruz begins to train you in various forms of combat, though it's different. He teaches you and your classmates to fight as a team. This usually involves various large beasts similar to what you have already fought or even small groups of goblinoids. It takes awhile for you to adapt, but after seeing the first couple of casualties, you and the rest manage to pull together to defeat your enemies.

Academically speaking, you are not taught much. Captain Gruz figures that Mistress taught you enough math and literacy to get by in life. Besides not much need for all that fancy learnin' stuff when you're going to be chopping people's heads off on the battlefield.

Captain Gruz is just as uncompromising as Mistress in his training, but he seems less gleeful about it. His verbal abuse is more direct and to the point rather than gloating about your failures. He still reminds you all regularly about how it is your sworn duty to serve the Emperor, but you hardly need him to tell you that, to believe otherwise is unthinkable.

As for you, you find yourself given a role of leadership. Captain Gruz noted your tendency to be one of the first to charge into battle. He however also has some advice for you.

"I respect your desire for battle, but if you do not control your insecurities you will one day find yourself needlessly unprepared. I suspect that dark elven bitch did something humiliating to you that has resulted in your behavior. Effective in some ways I suppose, but if you truly want to be a leader of men and command respect, you need to master your emotions as you would your weapons. You must do away with insecurities and be fully confident in your abilities. You must walk into battle already KNOWING that you will win, not charging in with a chip on your shoulder with some misguided desire to prove yourself. That's a quick way to get yourself killed. Contrary to popular belief, your goal is NOT to die for the Emperor. Your goal is to survive and make the other dumb bastards die so that you may continue to serve the Emperor. Think on this when you lead your fellows into your next training assignment."

The captain's words carry much weight with you and in the years during your training you manage to purge most of your doubts about yourself as well as becoming an accomplished warrior.

Your instructor and watchers once again note your growth and skills, and as usual they make decisions on how you will best serve the Emperor.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Year 16

You are called into Captain Gruz's office, when you arrive you see the well dress man that you saw four years ago standing with him… and debating with him again.

"I'm telling you Mr. Mol, I think they should work in the same unit. They've trained together and they've worked together so well at this point that splitting them up would be folly. Hell, these people have known each other since birth! You know that better than anyone!" Gruz says.
"Yes, captain I'm well aware of the situation, and normally I might agree if their were more of them, but I think their expertise would better serve if we deployed them separately in problem areas of the Empire." Mr. Mol replies.
"You don't break up a well oiled machine! I guarantee having them all in the same unit will be a better idea. I mean we still haven't sent them into a real battle yet! Wouldn't it be better to see if they can get the job done first before placing them in charge of others?"
"And what a perfect opportunity to lose them all, if something unexpected should happen."
"Oh for…look that could've happened here! And if you're so worried about them all getting killed in battle then what was the fucking point then? Besides, if they do prove to be useless in battle, better we find that out sooner rather than later when they're in charge of others and getting them killed as well!"

Mr. Mol thinks for a moment and then replies.

"Hmmm, very well you do have a point captain. We'll try it your way at first and go from there. Have them deployed in the Nalin province. Your services here have been useful as ever. Good day."

Mr. Mol, steps out and commander Gruz addresses you.

"Well you heard all that, you and your fellow Eternal babies are being sent to the Nalin province. It's not the Rask Frontier, but it's a suitable first challenge for you guys. We've been trying to settle the conquest of that place for a few years now, and technically it is part of the Empire, but we're still having problems with the Kobold population there. Little bastards are determined to resist and have been conducting a fairly effective guerilla war since we arrived. Though I blame that more on the incompetence of the commander in that region. If I was stationed there, this shit would've been taken care of a long time ago…but I'm not, so unfortunately you will have to report to Captain Pollo."

Captain Gruz approaches you closer before continuing.

"Now I'm putting you in charge of your unit for reasons I'm sure you're aware of. While I'm confident I've made the right choice, the burden will ultimately be on you to prove to be an effective leader. Remember, you're not just a normal soldier, you're supposed to be an Eternal. An instrument of destruction ordered by the Emperor himself. Failure is never an option for you. Even now there are rumors about your kind, and when you finally show yourselves you will be met by fear, awe, hatred and even distain. Prove yourselves and you will live up to the name that your were given. Anyway, the caravan picking you up will arrive tomorrow. Good luck and dismissed."

With this you leave and tell the rest of your people about where you're going and the general nature of what to expect. They all seem pretty excited to prove themselves, and to be honest so are you. At last you will get the chance to prove yourself and can only imagine that the Emperor will be pleased by what he will see.

The next day, you and your unit are picked up and the ride there is uneventful, but your unit spends a little time talking about things they see on the way. This is the first time all of you have probably been away from the training center you've spent all your lives in. Curiosity about some of the surroundings is natural, but it isn't just the casual talk that's different.

Your comrades are different. They are less reserved than they once were. Captain Gruz might've been a strict instructor, but in addition to encouraging teamwork he was also prone to encourage you guys to have a few hours of free time. This loosening of the reigns a bit, allowed a certain amount of familiarity with each other that wasn't just on a professional level anymore. Even you have felt yourself changing personality wise.

Still you are all Eternals, and you are loyal to the Emperor. You will never forget that your duty comes first.

Eventually you all arrive at Fort Glory in the Nalin province where you are stared at by several soldiers who whisper among themselves. None of you pay it any mind though, you simply report to Captain Pollo. He doesn't look anything like Captain Gruz. He's human for one thing and wears lighter armor which is impeccably clean. When he sees you, he almost looks bored, like you were interrupting him, but you when you came in he was reclined in his chair and not doing anything of importance.

"So…you are the Eternals I've heard so much about. Humph. I don't see anything special except that pretty one over there. Oh no, not you dear. That blonde muscular one in the back. Yes, delicious." Captain Pollo says pointing to one of your men and not even getting out of his chair.

"Captain Pollo, we are here for our assignments so that we may serve the Emperor." You say.
"(Sigh) I suppose you are this unit's leader?"
" Yes, captain. I am currently their leader and holding the rank of sergeant due to my excellence in my training exercises."
"Sergeant? YOU? Why you're a mere boy! All of you are just children! I ask them for more men and they send me children! The only thing you all would be good for is cleaning the fort! In fact that's what you can go do right now, starting with the toilets!"

This is exactly what Captain Gruz said would happen. This is your first test.

"Captain, we have been trained in several forms of combat and fully ready to fight. Send us into battle and we will prove ourselves. We are here to perform our duty for the Emperor and all that entails."
"All that entails eh? Okay, you want a fight? A few miles east of here, you'll find a town called Dalt. Its filled with ignorant peasants that constantly whine to us that there are a nest of kobolds lurking in the hills near them. We're stretched out as it is and can't spare anymore troops to waste on towns that are of no military importance in the grand scheme of things. Go there and take care of their problem, then maybe we'll have more to talk about."

You nod and all of you leave, but before you are able to Pollo calls you back.

"Oh one more thing sergeant. Order one of your men to stay here with me. I think you know by now which one I mean."

At this point you're in genuine shock. You may be young, and even a little detached from normal 'society" but you know exactly what Captain Pollo is implying. You can honestly feel more than surprised by this though.

"Captain, I will need all of my team to have the best chance to succeed in this mission." You say.
"Oh? Well sorry, but you'll have to make do like everyone else here does. Or you could clean the fort like I first ordered you to do, which you chose to ignore."

It's a no win situation, though you try to figure out a loophole that takes the responsibility off of you.

"Captain, you are of a higher rank than me, surely you could just order him yourself."
"Ha ha, nice try. No. You want to be a leader of men? You need to make this decision yourself. Tis quite easy I would think. Sacrifice one for the good of the rest. If anything I'd say he's the lucky one. He gets to stay here enjoying the pleasures of the flesh, and won't have to be mucking about with kobolds and dealing with idiotic peasants."

[User] You leave him behind

[Assistant]
Unfortunately Pollo is right, the only decision that makes sense is to leave Gerald behind.

Still, you aren't fond of the idea though not necessarily for the moral reasons that most would be. This is an unproductive use of your team's talents and pointless in the scheme of things. You can't believe the Empire would allow such a petty man to be in charge of the safety of a province and why isn't the Emperor aware of such inefficiency?

"Very well."
"I knew you'd see things my way. Have fun playing with the kobolds. You're dismissed."

You leave Pollo's office where your team is still waiting for you.

"Gerald, I regret that you will not be coming with us on this mission. The Captain wants you to stay with him." You say.
"What?! But I'm ready to fight!" he protests.
"There will be other missions, I promise you. We will prove ourselves so well on this one, that they will have no choice but to send us out on a regular basis. However, your orders are clear in this matter, you are to remain here with Captain Pollo."
"B…yes sir."

Just before Gerald goes into the captain's office, you whisper into his ear.

"Accidents happen."

He's a little puzzled by this comment, but you and the rest of your team proceed to your assignment and nobody says anything more about it.

When you finally get to the town, it's a sorry sight. A lot of the buildings are damaged and the streets are filled with debris. There are a few people attempting to clean up the place, but it's clear that they're all very demoralized.

'Oh, I see the Empire has finally decided to help us; well you're too late! The kobolds raided this town last night and as you can see completely trashed the place!" says a disheveled man.
"The Empire has many places it has to protect citizen. It is regrettable that your town was attacked, but we are here now to eliminate the problem."
"You're here now? Where the fuck were you last night when my wife was killed by those ugly little bastards?" the man says getting in your face.
"Calm yourself citizen, this will not help your situation."
"My situation? I just said my wife is fucking DEAD! I don't give a shit about my situation anymore you fucking Empire dickhead! Fuck you and your fucking Emperor!"

It is at this point the man unwisely pushes your chest with his hand and you instantly grab it and break his whole arm. He predictably crumples in excruciating pain, screaming as the bone juts out of the skin and blood runs out of his body into the mud. All the other towns people who have seen this back off or hide, as they are rightfully worried about what you're going to do next.

"Now listen up citizens of Dalt! I understand that you've all been through a lot, but that is not a reason to give in to insolence! You are all Empire subjects and you will show proper respect or what's left of this town will suffer in such a manner that you'll think what the kobolds did was a birthday party."

The man whose arm you broke begins to scream more obscenities at you in between his regular howls of pain. You look at Kane and nod. Kane finishes the man off by quickly decapitating him. You take his head and throw it before one of the crowd of peasants who look on in horror.

"Remember this." You say.

You remain in the town of Dalt for the night and get rooms from an overly cooperative innkeeper. He also tells you a little information about the kobolds such what direction they came from, what sort of equipment they were using and how many there were during the attack. Before getting some rest you spend a little of the time discussing strategy with your team. You all don't show it too much, but you are all a little excited about tomorrow.

The next day you set off towards the wooded hills, it doesn't take long before you see a kobold patrol wandering around. They look exactly like how you've seen them in books, sort of like scaly goblins, but from what you've heard, a lot more cunning.

Your team attempts to be stealthy, but perhaps it's due to the excitement of this first "real" battle. Edgar isn't as silent as he should be and clumsily steps on a few twigs alerting the patrols.

The kobold patrol sees all of you, yell excitedly in their language and run away. Edgar is about to chase them, but you knock him to the ground.

"What the hell?" he says wondering why you stopped him.
"Trap, Edgar. Look." You say and point to a tripwire that would've triggered a spiked log that he almost stepped on.
"Oh." He says.
"You were trained better than that Edgar and we went over this last night! This area is probably going to be filled with traps. Now come on, we don't have the luxury of a surprise attack any more."

The remainder of this attack is a tedious exercise in cautiousness broken up by quick battles. The kobolds really have set up traps everywhere and take full advantage of your team's slow movement to launch periodic ambushes themselves. Fortunately they are very poor warriors even in large numbers and you easily dispatch them. All your fighting eventually leads to a cave, which you sort of figured it would. You warn your team that this place is probably going to be a maze and heavily trapped as well.

"Should we split up so we can cover more ground?" Brenda asks.
"No, we're going to be neck deep in them when we go into that cave. They may be poor warriors, but even enough of them could overwhelm one or two of us. If we stick together we'll be fine. Besides, we're going to be here awhile anyway."

There "awhile" isn't an exaggeration. You spend the remainder of the day and night killing kobolds. Your team seems to enjoy it, but you eventually start to get bored of the monotony. You don't even bat an eye when you come across what seems to be a breeding chamber and you exterminate all the female kobolds and their young. Eventually you reach a large cave clearing where you meet the leader.

"Sssss! Defilersss! Murderersss!" a slightly larger kobold hisses at you from some sort of primitive throne and then orders his guards to attack. It's rather pathetic, as they fare no better than the rest. A few quick sword and axe blows and this kobold chieftain is alone.

While the rest of your team is eager to kill him like the rest, you have a slightly better idea for him. You engage him in singles combat, which is over pretty quickly. You then subdue him with some rope you have in your pack.

"Why are we taking him as prisoner? We're Eternals! We don't take prisoners!" Edgar shouts.
"Yeah, we also aren't supposed to miss obviously placed traps either, so there's a first time for everything. Besides I've got a good idea for this one."

You drag the kobold leader back to town who curses you the whole time in a mixture of his language and yours. When you arrive it is now dawn and the townspeople are surprised to see you back, let alone with a kobold in tow.

You tie the kobold leader to a tree near the center of the town and address everyone.

"Citizens of Dalt! The kobold nest has been completely destroyed. This…thing was the leader of this particular nest and most likely orchestrated the raid; do with him as you will. There of course are other kobold nests in this province, but the Eternals will be taking care of this long overdue problem. All the Empire needs in this matter is your continued obedience and loyalty."

After giving this speech you and your team take your leave and hear the screams of the kobold leader as the villagers torture and rip him apart.

When you arrive back at Fort Glory, other soldiers are surprised to see all of you back alive. It was assumed that at best, half of you would be dead. There is a possible thought of whether you actually succeeded and didn't just come back in failure, but given that Kane took it upon himself to take "trophies" his gruesome necklace of kobold ears makes it pretty clear that the job was done.

When you report however, it seems the fort has undergone a change in leadership

"I'm Lieutenant Anu and now in charge of Fort Glory until further notice. First things first, did you accomplish your mission?
"Mission accomplished, we killed them all lieutenant. All of their warriors, all of their women, all of their babies, pets, their leader, all of them."
"Well always helps to be sure. Which brings me to the next point. Your man Gerald is currently in the stockade. In fact he may be facing execution."
"Might I inquire why, sir?"
"I'd say you'd probably know as much about it as I do, but if I had to guess? Captain pervert put the moves on him and your man took exception to it and killed him. He claims it was an accident, but there's no way the captain twisted his own head ALL THE WAY AROUND just by tripping and falling over."
"If Gerald says it was an accident, then I believe him sir."
"Okay look, I'm not going to sit here and say that the captain wasn't complete scum. I should know I had to serve along side him for the past five years. I saw how he'd have teenage boys brought to his office. Now I know you guys are these Eternals that we've all heard about, but dammit man, we can't just have murders within the ranks, we have to respect some sort of order here!"
"We're all about respecting order sir…I suppose if it is absolutely necessary to execute Gerald, then that will be regrettable. I would however say that Gerald's actions actually contributed to more order here and will better for the Empire in general."
"How so?"
"The removal of captain Pollo, has allowed you to move up in rank and judging by your feelings on this matter you are a person who respects military decorum. I have no doubt, the fort will be run more efficiently now."

Lieutenant Anu chuckles a bit. "I'd almost think you were trying to butter me up to save your guy, but I already know you genuinely believe what you're saying and you're right anyway. (Sigh) Well…I suppose accidents do happen. Nobody here is going to miss Pollo, so I'll have Gerald released and write up a report."
"Sir, can I make a request?"
"Don't you think you're pushing your luck?"
"Not my intention sir, but I was going to ask if there's anything my group could do here that's a little more challenging than killing kobolds?"
"Hmm, yes I imagine you would feel that way...well on the furthest southern edge of the province there have been bands of nomadic raiders and there have been rumors of them organizing under some sort of shaman. Dunno if it's true or not. Of course we could also transfer you someplace where the battle is a little more suited to your violence level."

[User] You request transfer

[Assistant]
You don't see much point in staying in this place anymore, you would most likely serve the Empire better elsewhere. Captain Anu grants the request, though he mentions he knows that a Mr. Mol is taking interest in your progress here, so it'll have to go through him first.

A couple days pass and it is all straightened out. Mr. Mol approves, but he goes with his original plan of separating you all. Brenda and Gerald remain in the Nalin province, Roldan and Warrick go to the Felkan border. You, Kane and Edgar all wind up at the Rask frontier, specifically Fort Defiance. The split is a little odd for all of you, considering you've all been together so long.

You say your goodbyes to Brenda and Gerald first when the caravan comes for you. Next you say your goodbyes to Warrick and Roldan when they make their stop. The remainder of the trip is in relative silence, though sometimes Edgar remarks about how he can't wait to display his true combat skills against better challenges.

Eventually you arrive at the Rask frontier and make your stop at Fort Defiance. You haven't gotten off the caravan five minutes when a man wearing battle armor approaches you.

"Hey are you the Eternals?"
"Yes we are."
"I'm Captain Ian, I've heard about you and while you don't look like much, we'll take anyone at this point. Though I would've preferred more battle mages or even orcs at this point.

Captain Ian begins to give you a run down on the entire area. He mentions that the mortality rate here is high so morale isn't the best. He goes on to mention that Shadow Guard detachments have been assigned here to help out, but between the ogres and the giants there's only so much that even they can do. He mentions since you three have already worked together he's just going to leave you together, but will be assigning you to a new unit where you will have others to command as well.

With the caravan leaving, the three of you head to your new unit. When you see them, quite a few of them are predictably much older than you, but surprisingly you see that half of them are around your age.

"So, you're those Eternals huh?" one the older soldiers says almost dismissively.
"Yes? Did you need something corporal?" you say sensing the hostility.
"Nothing, sergeant. I just wondered if you were." He says backing down from confrontation.

The three of you settle in as you begin your assignment at Fort Defiance.

Year 18

"Kane watch out!" you shout as the wind whips around you and the snowfall nearly blinds your vision.

You can just make out the figure, which you know to be Kane roll out of the way of a club strike from an ogre attempting to attack him from behind.

You look around and see the bloody dead bodies of several members of your team and the ogres that ambushed you. You knew that patrolling the Kragen Pass during a blizzard was a stupid idea, but Captain Ian insisted that you had to go and do it. It's no wonder progress hasn't been made up here with the captain making inept decisions at every turn. He's not like Captain Pollo, but he's not much better. You are starting to seriously wonder about how the Empire keeps allowing such incompetence to pass through.

You run as fast as you can in the snow to help Kane battle the last two ogres. You cleave at the legs of one of the large monsters causing him to fall into the snow then finish him off with another strike through his head. Kane dispatches his own ogre opponent and the battle is finally over.

"Looks like we're the only two left again." Kane says.
"Yeah, I'm getting used to that scenario. Come on, let's head back. This blizzard isn't letting up and we've done all we can here."

You and Kane leave behind the bodies and make your way through the blizzard in silence. It's times like this you half expect Edgar to start going on about how well he did in battle, of course he hasn't done that ever since you lost him in that battle against some giants last year. You never exactly approved of his reckless ways and it's ultimately what got him killed, but you still miss him sometimes.

You are almost at the end of the pass when a large rumbling is heard. You look overhead and even in this blizzard you can see the large figures looming on the cliffs and it's what you originally were concerned about when you had to patrol this path.

"GIANTS! RUN!" you yell and the pair of you attempt to make it out of the pass. Large boulders crash down along side the cliffs with an equally large amount of ice and snow. Kane runs faster and makes it ahead of you, but this only results in you seeing him crushed completely by a falling boulder. You are engulfed in snow and swept up and buried in the stuff. You're disorientated, tired, freezing and slowly suffocating, but with determination, you manage to dig yourself out.

Unfortunately several giants face you when you do dig yourself out. You're out numbered and trapped in the pass. You know that this is most likely going to be your last battle.

You draw your sword and walk towards the giants. It will be a good death, but your only regret is that you will not survive to serve the Empire for longer than you would've liked.


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

[User] You changed your mind; you'll fight in the melee like Jon said.

[Assistant]
Wise decision: it is best to stick with your strong suits.

You excuse yourself and get up to leave. The moneylender, mutters something to himself while stroking his beard as you head toward the door. Something is really evil about this guy. You turn around and lop off his head before heading home. Yeah, that was probably a good idea.

The morning of the tournament dawns crisp and cool with a slight breeze, just enough to give the ladies' skirts a nice billowing. You feel a familiar stirring in your loins, and it is driving you insane. As a fledgling hero, you have been saving yourself for your future princess bride, but dear God has it left you on edge, not that you have not had offers. Jon was right; your scar is a chick magnet. You practically have to beat them off.

A gaggle of girls giggle as you walk past them. Bitches.

Whoa, where did that come from? That is not very heroic. The proper term is 'wenches.' Remember that next time, fledgling hero.

With your minor slip into villainy over, you prepare for the melee and take your place in the fighting field. There appear to be fifty or so participants as you try to pick out some of the people the Baron told you about. You see Mad Moose McDoogle in his clumsy antlered helmet, Sir Richard Lionsmane with his shaggy locks, Sir Henry Williams a.k.a. The Rabid Fox, the Weasel brothers in their matching silver gilded armor, and Bucktooth Barry among others.

"Save your energy," says Jon. "Let the others wear themselves down. They'll make a mistake eventually. Then you can strike when they're weak and out of position. And stay by me. We might both be able to get knighthoods out of this."

"Don't worry. I got your back Jon."

A blast from the bugle signals the start of the melee. The clamor of blunted steel on blunted steel rings through the fairgrounds. You and Jon fight back-to-back, just as you did against those trolls several years ago. You two are not the only ones fighting on teams. Out of the corner of your eye, you see the Weasel brothers and Mad Moose McDoogle charge The Rabid Fox.

The Rabid Fox looses ground as the trio attempt to surround him. He isn't dodging. He's parrying. He's done for. The Rabid Fox's and one of the Weasel brother's swords shatter on impact. Mad Moose McDoogle peels off the attack and rounds on the Weasel brothers, catching them unaware. He knocks them both down and out just before The Rabid Fox charges him in turn.

A sword slashes inches from your cheek, and you regain your focus. Dodge, slash, dodge, dodge, slash, dodge, trip, kick. Another one bites the dust.

The fighting continues until there is just you, Jon, The Rabid Fox, who has not only obtained a new sword but a horse as well, and Bucktooth Barry left.

Maybe you should turn on Jon now?

[User] You fight with Jon.

[Assistant]
Heroes fight with honor at all times. There is no way in hell you are going to betray Jon. How could you ever look him in the eyes again? Besides, he is pretty fucking awesome. If you are going to win this thing, you are going to do it the right way and beat him with pride, honor, dignity, and all the other bullshit that goes with being a hero.

"I'll distract him. You knock him off the horse," says Jon.

"What about Bucktooth Barry?"

"Dodge."

Jon darts off to run interference while you attempt to flank. The Rabid Fox is on to your plan though and outmaneuvers you while Bucktooth Barry hedges his position. This might go on for a while. What would a hero do?

You glance up at the spectators and catch sight of the princess. A blonde haired blue eyed bombshell with a bosom to die for. She flashes you a smile of perfect pearly whites. Did you expect anything else? Take a moment to picture all the ways you would love to chivalrously plow her into next Sunday. Just try not to ejaculate prematurely in your armor. That is not heroic. No, go ahead. I can wait.

Got all that out of your system? Good. With the princess's bosom in your mind to inspire you, you charge the mounted knight. He reels the horse around and barrels toward you, eager for the challenge. As you are about to collide, you dodge. The Rabid Fox brings the horse around for another pass. You feel the blood pumping through your veins. The air tastes sweet. Colors are brighter. The world slows down. This is what being a hero is all about.

You and The Rabid Fox rush each other once more. As you are about to collide, not only do you dodge, but you grab the reins as well and yank. Your arm feels like it is going to pop out of its socket, but you grit it out. The Rabid Fox flies through the air and thuds into the dirt. He stumbles to his feet and grabs a greatsword off the ground. Man, this motherfucker just does not give up.

He has the reach advantage, but he is hurt. Pretty bad, judging by the fact he just fell off a galloping horse decked out in mail while brandishing a sword. He should probably be dead: or at least broken. He uses his reach to keep you at a distance, but you bide your time. He will make a mistake. Dodge, backstep, yawn, dodge. A quick glance up at the princess's bosom. With princess bosom lighting your fire, you see an opening and dive in and drive The Rabid Fox to the ground.

"Well fought, friend. I yield," says The Rabid Fox as you hold your sword tip over him.

Jon has finished off Bucktooth Barry. It is down to the two of you.

[User] You for princess bosom!

[Assistant]
There is only one way this story can unfold, and that is with you finally surpassing your master and claiming the princess as your own. For princess bosom! You charge.

Jon dodges your blow. You swing again. He dodges and counters with an upward thrust. No time to dodge, you catch his sword with your shield. The wood splinters, and you snap your wrist, catching his sword in the shield. Déjà vu?

Not quite. A knee slams you in the groin, and you crumple to the ground. Fight through the pain hero! You lash you with your legs, catching Jon in the chest. Both of you regain your feet and slam into each other. Over and over you roll, grappling on the ground. Dust swirls around your heads. You throw blind punches. The crowd cheers.

You fight the good fight, but Jon wins in the end, catching you in a stellar headlock. The king congratulates you both and the crowd gives a standing ovation.

"Best melee in years. I think the both of you earned a knighthood for such a fine display of chivalrous combat," says the king. "Tonight there will be a feast for the ages... on the Baron's tab of course."

You are bummed you will not be getting princess bosom, but you feel proud of how you fought. Even heroes take their lumps from time to time.

As expected, Jon names the princess Lady Fair of the tournament. You see him whisper something in her ear and point in your direction. She is walking toward you! What the hell did he say?

"Princess Anne." You bow. "It is my pleasure."

"And mine. Would you care to walk with me in the gardens?"

You readily agree and spend much of the remainder of your time getting to know Princess Anne. She is everything you could hope for in a princess, blonde, blue eyed, fair skinned, sweet, charming, big bosomed, and all the works.

"What did you say to her?" you ask Jon one evening.

He shrugs. "I love princesses as much as the next guy, but really, I'm in to redheads." He smirks. "I think the farmboy turned knight getting the princess makes the better story. I'm nailing the Baron's daughter. Wildfire hair on her." He winks. "Just the way I like it."

Months pass and you perform several fantastic heroic feats. Jon marries the Baron's daughter and you become engaged to the princess. Some days it all seems so unreal, like just the other day you were selling turnips and mucking shit. Now you are a hero.

[User] You time to kill a motherfucking dragon.

[Assistant]
That's the spirit!

Emissaries arrive at the capital from the neighboring kingdom of Irelandshire pleading for assistance with a dragon problem. It seems the fiend has been soaring around the country, torching towns, devouring livestock, looting treasuries and snatching young ladies from their bedchambers. Naturally, you don your shining armor and volunteer to help rid them of the menace once and for all. Princess Anne kisses you goodbye as you ride off to hunt down the winged beast.

Finding the dragon's lair – a cave high up a tall mountain with half the forest burnt to ashes – proves easier than you anticipated. No one ever said dragons were discreet. The march up the mountain presents more of a challenge. Far too steep for your steed, you hike up on foot. You soon learn hiking in full plate armor is not easy. Every step requires sheer willpower and brute strength. Sweat pores off you so fast you fear you are going to rust, so you strip down to your leathers and continue to the top light as feather, just like the old days when you first practiced with Jon in the yard.

"Well at least you aren't a knight in shining armor," says the dragon as you enter his cave. The behemoth is resting on a hoard of gold, jewels, swords, cups, and other valuable crap because of course he is.

"Pardon me?"

"Do you have any idea how annoying it is fighting knights in shining armor? I just fry them with a nice blast of fire. They're too heavy and clunky to dodge. No challenge at all. You should see the nice collection of armor I have though. I could outfit an entire empire."

"Actually, I stripped my armor coming up. I got sweaty."

The dragon sighs. "Well you're smarter than most at least."

"Your days are done dragon!" You prepare to make a heroic speech, but cut it off. "Wait, where are the noble ladies?"

"Didn't you see all the dung piles on the mountainside?"

"You ate them!?"

"What did you think I do with them? Keep them as company?"

"You bastard!"

You draw your sword. Fate has finally arrived. Are you up to the task?

[User] You attack his eyes.

[Assistant]
The eyes: go for the eyes. If you can blind the dragon, you can pounce in and end this while his guard his down.

You scoop a handful of ashes from the ground and fling them at the dragon's eyes as you bound toward him. It's not very effective… The dragon stares at you and shakes his head as you scuttle to a stop.

"I burn entire cities and forests for a living," says the dragon. "Do you have any idea how much ash is floating around in the air after I start lighting shit up?"

"Uhm…"

"Literally, a metric fuck ton." The dragon blinks. "I have protective coverings over my eyes to keep all that crap out. How else would I be able to see with all that debris in the air? I'd be spending my entire fortune on eye-drops."

"Like a camel?" You sidle closer to the dragon.

"Did you just compare me, a dragon, to a dirty, smelly, filthy, no good camel? You wannabe heroes have no resp-" the dragon sighs. "You know what? It's not worth it. Sure, like a camel," the dragon sighs.

 "So where's your hump?" You continue to inch closer to the dragon.

"Wh- what?"

"Your hump. You said you're like a camel, so where's your hump?" You jump up and down, searching for a hump on the dragon's back while closing distance.

"You have got to be kidding." The dragon slams his head into the cave wall. "Why do all the retarded heroes have to come fight me?"

While the dragon wallows, you pitter-patter your way in close and drive your sword deep into his eye socket. The wyrm wails in agony as you wrench the sword free, clamber over his snout and shove the blade into his other eye. Before you can scurry away, the dragon whips his head around and snaps his massive jaws around you. You scream as your bones splinter and your innards trickle from your body. The world fades to black as the dragon swallows you down his gullet.

That seemed quite painful. If it is any consolation, you managed to both severely wound the dragon and piss him off before he ate you. The dragon goes on to burn the entire kingdom of Irelandshire to ashes in a blind rage before Jon and The Rabid Fox save the day and cut out his heart.

Princess Anne is heartbroken and goes on to become a sex addict and develops a dungeon porn fetish to cope with your untimely death.


[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] Continue

[Assistant]
You aren't here to be Gandhi and you aren't here to get into anymore trouble so you ignore Henry who gets called in soon.

You sit and think how you want a close family. One that isn't always fighting or being controling. You know you can patch your family up and make it functional rather than dysfunctional, you just have to figure out how to do it.

In the meantime the secretary tells you that the principal is going to be with Henry for a long time and since you're a fairly good student who never causes trouble, she says you can leave with a warning.

You go to lunch, still trying to figure out how to fix your family when over at the table behind you, you hear your sister's boyfriend Butch bragging to his friends about some girl he slept with who wasn't your sister.

[User] You keep quiet

[Assistant]
You know that subtlety is going to be required here. This information can help bring your family together, but you have to do it right.

You attend your classes as usual, eventually school ends and you see your sister. You immediately reveal this information to her. She looks very upset, yet not entirely surprised. This certainly isn't the first time he's done this. She just keeps forgiving him, and taking him back. She was planning on staying with him to get away from Mom, but now she's conflicted.

You explain what happened with Mom after she left. Your sister looks skeptical, but knows even though you're a bit emotionless, you've never lied to her. Plus your latest deed has put you in better standing with her. Your sister agrees to give getting along with Mom a chance.

You both go home and wait for Mom to get off work. Mom arrives, she's a little more calmer, but you know this is a volitile situation.

[User] You stay

[Assistant]
You all sit at the table, staring at each other. You're acting as a mediator. Mom and sis start out calmly, but it quickly escalates into name calling and criticism. The usual insults. You put a stop to it and demand that they get along! Family is the most important thing and you won't just let them dismiss it. You remind them both that things haven't always been this bad between them. You remind them of the good times that you all have had at one time. Good times that have occurred much too rarely and much too long ago.

You tell them you think that's why you shut down emotionally, because it was just easier to deal with the pain of seeing two people you care for in your life grow to hate each other so much. You say how you just want all of them to be a family again. You begin to weep.

Your speech is probably the most emotional thing either of them has heard from you in years. Hell, they didn't even know you had any emotions anymore. You always did though they were just repressed, but no longer.

Your Mom and sis also begin to cry at this point. Many apologies are exchanged.

[User] You say how happy you are

[Assistant]
You wipe your tears and say how happy you are that you all have managed to at least come together on this night. Mom says she'll be less domineering and sis says she'll reign in her wild side. You hold both of their hands and say you know this all won't be easy, but you have faith that you're all on your way to being a family again.

Another day arrives and you feel happy...


[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 are not in the possession of all the facts, and thus need to find out more about Master Brownhand. So you attempt to find him together, for eight eyes see more than two, and it is logical to have protection.

[Assistant]
Kor and the guards do not like your decision, and express clearly so, but they accept your status as the group's leader.

Quickly, you are packed with light gear, and, abandoning the coaches, you head into the hills in the approaching nightfall.

The moon is young, and the ground is not easy to see, yet you march through the hills slightly away from the road, as not to be so easy a target.

An hour passes, and nightfall becomes a beautiful starspangled sky, were you in a mood to appreciate this.

Suddenly, Kor stops and points towards an approaching goblin patrol. They have spotted you too, and seeing that you equal their size, decide to make a run for it after the disaster of the ambush earlier.

"Get 'em 'fore they gets to their fellows!", Kor bellows, and, axe drawn, charges them.

[User] You will attempt to strike down the goblins from afar, using the meager mental resources remaining to you.

[Assistant]
You close your eyes and focus your mental view on the goblins' Patterns. You weave a few simple strands of air and fire, to keep low the strain on your already overtaxed mind, and cause one of the goblin's chest to explode.

Shocked by this display of power, the remaining goblins stop approaching you and appear to discuss what to do now - they are obviously not very bright.

This distraction is all the guards need to reach them, and the goblins fall under the blows of the men.

Seeing you have been victorious, you gently fall over, already fast asleep, as the spell takes its toll from you despite your rigid concentration.

[User] You continue...

[Assistant]
You awake when someone shakes your shoulder.

With an aching head, you stretch and stand up to face Kor, who woke you.

"Quickly", he hisses. "I know yer in no shape, but we need ya here. Dem's buggers found out bout us somehow, and dere's about two dozens creeping all 'round us, closin' in. We're trapped like rabbits!"

With that, he thrusts a short sword into your hand. You do not feel in any shape to weave spells at the moment, and this is bad as you realize what Kor just said.

The goblins are approaching, and you see them... indeed, at least two dozens of them encircle the tiny camp the men made. You're uphill, but there's too many of them to really use that advantage.

The men, and you, form a square, each one guarding one side. The blade in your hand is unfamiliar, but you feel that it would be a good idea to become familiar with it rather quickly.

There is a moment of silence, and then, the goblins charge with cries in a gutural language you do not - and if the accompanying gestures are any indication, you are glad that this is so - understand.

With an answering battlecry that you join in, you intercept the first wave of the attack. Kor's great axe slices through the goblins' bodies, and the man to your right spits two goblins at once on his sword.

You are barely capable of deflecting the wicked spears and knives of the creatures, but you manage to bring in a well placed kick that causes one of the foul beings to yelp in pain, loose the balance and roll back down the hill, taking another one with him.

Although the four of you manage to hold the goblins at bay, it is clear that you cannot do so for very long, and after a minute of frenzied fighting, a scream of pain indicates the guard in your back going down.

Quickly, the square becomes a triangle, as you move to protect your fallen comrade, yet the battle appears to be without hope.

Determined not to be the next to fall, you fight on, and it is by sheer luck that you survive the next minutes.

Suddenly, a spooky howl fills the night, and the goblins cower in fear for a moment, then abruptly the break of their assault and turn to flee.

Kor caughs something, and you notice that the giant of a man is wounded, as is the other guard. You, by none less than a miracle, are the only one not seriously wounded.

"After em, lad," Kor cries and throws you a bottle of that evil smelling medicine the guards use. You drink a gulp, pocketing the last remains, and the fire within refreshes you sufficently to grab your sword and hurry after the fleeing goblins alone in the dark, towards the source of that ghostly howl that has now ceased...


[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 can't make that promise

[Assistant]
You couldn't make a promise that you couldn't keep, especially one as big as this. Even though Gwen seemed like a nice girl and all, she was expecting too much of a person that she barely met. You wouldn't be able to take the responsibility of keeping her happy and sane every day of the week just so that she wouldn't feel lonely.

There had to be others like you out in the world that had your powers, hell there might even be another one living in this town. It's also not like she would stay here forever, nothing lasts forever.

"I'm sorry, but....I can't make a promise like that. I can try to come whenever I have some spare time. But don't count on me to come every day."

Saying these words made you feel like shit, and her expression that matched the dirty feeling worsened everything.

It felt just like last time, although now you had really made up your mind about the future between the two of you. There would be none.

The two of you didn't exchange any more words after that as you just walked off, not having the slightest desire to look back.

You made a mistake with all of this.

Your days of voluntarily communicating with ghosts were over.


[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] In one of the remaining battles for the ship

[Assistant] You find yourselves next to one of the last bastions of Kyros' forces, a group of Bloody Claws, crouched behind cover with some old, shitty autoguns, as on your other-side lie a charging group of Goliaths. Within seconds the air is filled with bullets from either side.You don't last long under heavy fire from two surprised groups of soldiers, but fortunately Kyros is too distracted as he dies to survive much longer.


[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 skylight

[Assistant]
Crouching down you leap up the distance to the skylight, unfortunately you misjudge how much strength you have gained and you wedge yourself into the skylight by the shoulders with your arms pointed upwards. Unable to break the ceiling to free yourself you are forced into staying there until the sun rises.

You burn to a crisp and turn into a pile of ashes.


[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 captain Gruz and his kind (History Lesson)

[Assistant]
While you were under Mistress' class you learned that orcs were conquered by the Empire long before you were even born. They probably would've been wiped out completely if someone didn't have the great idea of enslaving them for their strength instead.

In time someone suggested that they be used as shock troops for places where fighting was heavy. This wasn't a popular idea at first, but was implemented with caution as by that time the first generation of conquered orcs had long died out.

It turned out to be a good idea as most orcs have an ingrained love of battle in the first place and while usually not that intelligent, it's enough that one can tell them to "go kill the enemy over there" and they'll do it. Orcs were eventually "raised up" from a slave race to a more indentured servant one where most served in the military; it also helped keep their population down.

Captain Gruz is a very rare orc in that he's brighter than most of his kind. He's probably smarter than some humans. Second, he's in a much higher position than those of his kind are usually allowed. However he proved himself countless times in battle, and if there is something that usually gains respects from Empire officials, its combat victories. He also had the fortune to have superior officers that were open minded enough to promote him.

During his training sessions, he always speaks highly of the Empire and of the Emperor and always reminds you all of your own duty to them both. He also has a tendency to tell tales of past battles he has had as examples to follow or to learn from. You don't know about the rest of your class, but you find these tales fascinating. You know he must love to fight with how he tells these tales, and you also know he must be a great warrior. All of which makes you wonder why he isn't still on the battlefield.

Still, it isn't your place to question such things.


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

[User] You smack her and leave

[Assistant]
"I warned you about saying that name again!" you say and back hand Mary across the face, if she was human, she'd have a nice red welt there now and be on the floor, but Mary's made of stronger stuff, in fact she starts hitting you back, which you attempt to deflect.

"YOU BASTARD! How fucking dare you! Get the fuck out, I was an idiot thinking I could get you to change! You can forget about being in the movie too! Go back to your shithole cabin and be fucking alone since that's what you want so bad!"
"Yeah, yeah. Fuck you too." You say turning around to leave while taking a few punches to your back.

You return to your cabin and brood in the darkness, muttering to yourself.

"I don't need them; I don't need any of them. I don't need anybody. Never did. I'm not a pussy ass whiney weakling. I'm the fucking Alpha Wolf. That's why I'm still here and everyone else is gone or fallen by the wayside. I got my fuckin' pride. That's all I need…that's all I'll ever need…" you say falling asleep.


[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] In an abandoned area

[Assistant] You teleport in an abandoned hallway, but only continue to writhe on the floor as you strangle him and he pumps the energy of the Warp into the air, opening portals. You need to act again, put a stop to this.


[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] Continue

[Assistant]
Its another day and you feel nothing...

You're 18 years old and very socially inept. Naturally you're not popular in high school, you're not even worthy to be routinely picked on. This isn't to say you aren't at all, but most people just find you very creepy and stay away from you. You're mom's strict upbringing has made you very emotionally detached and repressed. At this point you barely feel any kind of emotions at all.

Maybe that changes today.

Your Mom is calling you down to eat.

[User] You go downstairs

[Assistant]
You head downstairs, like you always do. No point in breaking tradition.

When you get downstairs your Mom is arguing with your 17 year old sister as usual. She isn't like you at all, she's popular for one thing, but then again being a very pretty and extroverted will do that for a person.

She's a bit of a wild child though which your domineering mother can't stand. You wonder why your sister acts the way she does, Mom's just trying to look out for her.

They're really arguing today.

[User] You sit down, eat and stay out of it

[Assistant]
You sit and eat your breakfast quietly while the two argue as usual. It doesn't involve you, so why get into it?

"You little fucking whore! You keep staying out all night, and you can just forget about living under my roof! Go fucking sleep in the street with the rest of the sluts!"

"Oh go fuck yourself Mom! You're just mad because you're a fucking bitter old harpy with nobody in your fucking life!"
"Why you fucking little bitch!" your Mom says and slaps your sister across the face.

Your sister holds her face and shuts up. She picks up her school stuff and heads toward the door, before exiting she says one last thing, before slamming the door.

"Don't worry Mom, I'm not staying in this fucking house another day!"

You finish up your breakfast, your Mom doesn't even acknowledge you're there, she leaves the kitchen in a huff rather quickly.

She must be really pissed.

[User] You head to school

[Assistant]
Mom's strong, she doesn't need you checking up on her. You head to school as normal. What else would you do?

You get to school just in time for you to see Henry the school bully kicking the hell out of your "friend" Aaron. Aaron isn't so much your friend in that he's such a social reject that you're the only one who doesn't treat him like a leper, so he's attached himself to you. Of course you could really care less about him. Sometimes you wish he'd leave you alone, since he only makes you stand out more, when all you want to do is blend into the background.

"Get the fuck up you faggot!" Henry shouts abusively at Aaron while kicking him gleefully.
Aaron looks at you in the hopes that you'll help.

[User] You go to class

[Assistant]
Its between Henry and Aaron. Why get involved? Henry would just draw his attention to you, and you have no desire for that.

You go to your classes as usual and do your work again as usual. In your computer class you see Jessica. She's one of your sister's friends, but isn't as wild as most of them. Doesn't stop her from being a normal teenager though, assuming you had any idea of what normal is. You don't know what it is about her, but she stirs some kind of feeling inside you. She doesn't really know you at all, other than you're Mary's "creepy" brother.

She looks like she's having difficulty with today's computer lesson.

[User] You continue with your work

[Assistant]
She's never made any effort to talk to you, so you don't feel the overwhelming need to talk to her. You continue with your work until that class is over.

Lunch time comes around, you expect Aaron to come sit next to you, but he's nowhere to be seen. You wonder if Henry beat him up so bad he had to go home.

As you sit by yourself eating quietly, you overhear Butch at the next table.

"Yeah that fucking bitch sucked my dick last night! Haw Haw!"

Butch is your sister's jock boyfriend, even though they're constantly breaking up and making up. The break ups are mainly due to him cheating on her all the time, but she always ends up forgiving him. You don't know why, even you think your sister could do way better.

Right now Butch is bragging to his buddies about his latest conquest, which apparently wasn't your sister.

[User] You finish eating and go to class

[Assistant]
Your sister is aware of Butch's infidelity, its up to her to leave him. What good would it do to confront him? After all it isn't really your concern.

You finish eating and head back to class. On your way there, you pass Henry. Normally Henry doesn't bother with you, save the occasional name calling, but he's looking for a fight.

"Hey dickhead! I saw you looking at me kicking that faggot Aaron's ass! I know you two fucking butt boys hang out, aren't you pissed off that I kicked your boyfriend's ass?" Henry says getting in your face and pushing you.

[User] You ignore him

[Assistant]
You step aside and walk around him. Henry's a little surprised.

"Hey faggot, I'm talking to you bitch!" he shouts as you continue to ignore him. Henry hits you in the back of the head with a thrown pencil which you continue to ignore. Sensing his actions aren't getting the desired effect, he stops harassing you.
"Fuck this creepy faggot." Henry mutters to himself and goes in search of different prey.

You attend the last of your classes and then leave the school. You run into your sister outside. She walks up to talk to you.

"Hey, I'm gonna stay with Butch tonight, and I think I might just stay over there permanently, his parents all cool enough to let me stay there. I'll be moving all my stuff out a little bit at a time, but I'll try to be quick, so you can tell that controlling bitch that she won't have to deal with me anymore."

Wow, your sister wasn't joking about moving out.

[User] You tell her you'll relay the message to Mom

[Assistant]
You nod and say okay unemotionally. Your sister looks at you a little worried.

"You know, you should get out of that house too. I mean look at what Mom has done to you. You're a fucking emotionless robot! You just do everything Mom tells you. Is that really how you want to go through life?"

You don't say anything.

"Look, take care of yourself and remember that you don't need to do everything that Mom says."

She hugs you goodbye and leaves.

You head back home and when Mom comes back home from work you explain what happened to your sister. Your Mom looks angry, but also relieved, almost as if having her out of the house is a blessing.

"Good, that little disobedient bitch can stay gone then. Well what are you doing still standing around for? You know you have work to do around the house!"

[User] You do as Mom says

[Assistant]
You do some cleaning and other chores, then you go up to your room and occupy your time until your Mom tells you to go to sleep, which you comply. You go to sleep until morning, then you wake up.

Its another day and you feel nothing...


[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] Continue

[Assistant]
Nomad

The Future…

"Mom, why can't we just head to Rebirth, it's closer and we can get better deals there." Lucy asks you.
"Because last time we stopped through, they were beginning to go through a power struggle and while I know it's over now, the new ruling head of that town is an asshole." You reply.
"And how exactly does that make him any different than the last guy?"
"The last ruler of Rebirth at least tried to curb the amount of wanton violence and rape in the community. This guy encourages it. The place is little more than a glorified wasteland thug haven now. We walk in there and at best we're going to come out of a firefight alive and poor. At worst, well I think you know what will happen."

Lucy doesn't say anything. She's fully aware of the dangers of being female, let alone a teenage girl that looks like her in this new harsh world. Still, she can't help arguing the point.

"But don't we risk death and worse just by roaming from place to place all the time anyway? Wouldn't it be better if we found some place to settle down?"
"Heh, I guess you don't remember because you were so young, but your father and I tried that once. Didn't work out very well when the little town that we THOUGHT was secure got overrun by raiders. That was probably one of the scariest days of my life. After years of previously being drifters, we let ourselves get unprepared. It was a mistake on my part since I thought a more stable environment would be better to raise you in, as it turned out, should've stayed a nomad and I'd say that's worked out a lot better."
"How? We're always living a hand to mouth existence. Our group still loses people to violence and other causes. I mean dad died because we don't have proper medical treatment available."
"Lucy, your father might've died anyway even if we hadn't been living a nomadic existence. I know they say civilization is rebuilding, but most of the places we've been to aren't exactly stellar in their medical facilities themselves. The exceptions might be those fucked up Ground Zero communities and I doubt if you'd want to live some place like that."
"No, I guess not." Lucy says.

You look at Lucy and understand she's just being a little rebellious due to her being a teenager right now. She's at the age where she doesn't want you to be so close all the time. It's funny because you went through no such rebellious period yourself and your lifestyle was the exact opposite right now. You never went anywhere; you never really did anything save for staying in your basement.

Now? You've seen more and done more than you ever could've imagined. In fact you've lived a nomadic existence long enough that you think you prefer it, even when you temporarily settled down years ago. You (and her father) have taught Lucy how to take care of herself in this harsh world. Still, you do wonder if you're probably a little overprotective of your daughter, you won't be around forever and she should have the opportunity to live her own life and if that means she wants to live in a permanent residence then perhaps she should be given that chance.

"Lucy, the world is still pretty fucked up now, but despite my previous cynicism, I suppose parts of it are getting better. Maybe one day you can find a nice place to settle down that won't be run by a bloodthirsty warlord or in danger of being raided by mutant cannibals. And if that's your choice, then you're free to do it. I know you'll have to live your own life eventually." You say.

Lucy smiles at the permission, but reassures you that she had no intention of leaving you yet. It's comforting, since it shows that she still wants you around. She's still your child.

You, Lucy and the rest of your ragtag band of traders, tinkerers and scavengers make your way to the town of Blivop. Not exactly the best for trade, but at least the people there aren't complete amoral rapists and murderers.

Later that night when your caravan sets down for the night, you drift off to sleep with an old worn clown nose in your hand. You squeeze it a couple times, remembering happy times with your now departed husband.

"Goddnight Lance." You say and slowly drift off with the round red foam ball in your hand.