Here's my epic "Lord Of The Rings" length saga, which I'm not even sure
is feasible to make as a game. I've been working on it, on and off, during
the last 10 years or so.
The Rune Gem War
The continent of Devenice has five countries, each with its own unique
history. The land of Adamah, rich with forests and areas viable for
harvesting crops, is home to the human and elvish kingdoms. Mayim, a
vast bayou of swampland and jungle, is home to the dwarves and
goblins. Shachaq with its towering cliffs is home to fearies and giants.
Esh, a land of savannahs and volcanoes almost out of prehistory, home to
the dragons. Kerach, mostly a frozen wilderness, is home to the Kerachai
beasts.
Mythology
A quick mythological history. All cultures of Devenice share one thing in
common: the religion of the Creators. Religious texts describing the
Creators exist in all five realms. While these texts predate all other
writings, they are so absurd as to be disregarded as fanciful fiction by
current day historians. The issue of how separate cultures independently
arrived at a common theology has yet to be properly addressed. Still,
there remains a strong reasonable doubt as to whether the following
mythology is true.
In the beginning were the Creators. They were Emeralda, Sapphira,
Rubicon, Diamondicus, and Crystalia. They worked together and built the
world, each having unique input and skills toward the task. Each Creator
built his own realm and its indigenous denizens.
Emeralda (earth elemental) created Adamah and the elves. Sapphira
(water elemental) created Mayim and the dwarves. Rubicon (fire
elemental) created Esh and the dragons. Diamondicus (wind elemental)
created Shachaq and the faeries. Crystalia (life elemental) created
Kerach and the humans who once dwelt there.
In the Ancient Scrolls, the Creators are described as having physical form
as they walked the earth amongst their creations. Emeralda is a cute, fun-
loving nymph with light green hair, green eyes, and butterfly wings. She
stands all of 3 feet high and wears provocative clothing. She is described
as the embodiment of happiness, a consummate prankster with flirtatious
feminine charm. Sapphira is a brooding, melancholy siren with the upper
body of a woman and lower body of a fish. She has blue hair with
aquamarine streaks and deep blue eyes. She is described as the
embodiment of kindness and compassion. Rubicon is a glorious and proud
red dragon, described as the embodiment of healthy ego. He is the
epitome of honor, respect, and civility. Diamondicus is a roc, a large bird
with brown and gold feathers and cyan avian eyes. He is described as the
embodiment of peace, generosity, patience, and unconditional love.
Crystalia is a white unicorn, described as the embodiment of wisdom,
purity, and morality.
In the beginning, Kerach was inhabited by humans, who prospered there.
The Ancient Scrolls imply that the world may have been a proverbial
Atlantis, idyllic and free of the concerns of good and evil that now pervade
and plague the five realms. However, that was not to last....
The Advent Of Sarkath Thul
Sarkath Thul is described in vague language as a remnant from a
previously created world. A member of a dying race on this other world,
he escaped to Devenice and found himself in Kerach. The magic of
Devenice, which is different from the nature of his own world, enabled him
to perpetuate his existence and escape death. He corrupted the otherwise
innocent people of Devenice with ideas of good and evil, which he brought
with him.
Watching Sarkath Thul wreak havoc on their people, the Creators soon
realized that a sacrifice would need to be made in order to contain him
and his evil. Crystalia sacrificed her realm, Kerach. She led the most
righteous of the humans to Adamah, where they integrated with the elvish
society. Meanwhile, the other Creators battled and crippled Sarkath Thul
in Kerach. After his defeat, Sarkath Thul turned his rage on the remaining
humans, magically altering them into beasts.
Thus, the holy war began. He proclaimed his godhood over the beasts,
and they served him out of fear, organizing a large military force with a
hope of launching an invasion of the other realms.
Rune Stones
An obscure portion of the Ancient Scrolls makes reference to five palm-
sized gemstones with markings on their faceted sides, supposedly writing
in an ancient elvish language of times long past. Each rune stone holds a
High Magic power of an element. The Emerald has the power of earth, the
Sapphire the power of water, the Ruby the power of fire, the Diamond the
power of wind, and the Crystal the power of purity.
The text is vague regarding the rune stones' purpose and powers, but it
implies that each gemstone will use its powers at its own discretion to aid
an individual who holds it. Whoever holds a rune stone cannot be killed in
battle, and the one who holds all five is invulnerable.
Origins of the rune stones remain unknown. The earliest documentation
of them places them in the midst of a nondescript war, thought by
historians to be the Magi Wars which took place during the Age Of
Discovery. Years later, an historian documented his quest to find the lost
rune stones and reunite them. He died before achieving his goal, but his
writings were later studied by a mage-priest who was a devout worshipper
of the Creators. This mage-priest wrote some vivid documentation of his
discovery of the lost rune stones. What more, he describes visions in
which Emeralda appeared to him and gave him instructions on the
creation of five shrines, one in each realm, where she wanted him to
sequester the rune stones. His collective works include documentation of
his endeavors and scattered maps showing the locations of the shrines he
built. These writings were not a part of the original Ancient Scrolls but
were somehow included with them after his death.
Copies of the Ancient Scrolls exist in all five realms, each bearing a copy
of the mage-priest's works and one of his maps.
The most popular belief regarding the rune stones' origin is that they were
a gift to mortals from the Creators. In current times, the Ancient Scrolls
are almost unanimously disregarded as fanciful fiction by historians.
There remains a strong reasonable doubt as to whether or not the rune
stones even exist.
History
The Age Of Exploration
Shortly before the Advent Of Sarkath Thul, the civilizations of the five
realms explored beyond each of their boundaries and discovered each
other. Sailing ships took to the seas and boldly forged ahead into
uncharted territory where captains and sailors met exotic peoples abroad
and established new trade routes. Then Sarkath Thul arrived.
The Age Of Discovery
After the Advent Of Sarkath Thul, there were numerous nondescript wars
that were not adequately documented in historical texts. In fact, all
history prior to the Magi Wars and Trade Wars is vague at best. Even so,
this part of history is sketchy. The Magi Wars and Trade Wars happened
either simultaneously or within years of each other.
The Magi Wars represented a high point for wizardry during which magic
users vied for political power over those they perceived as their "lessers".
Wizards operated under a code of honor, now vaguely remembered
as "the old code". They fought honorable duels, "honor matches" that
often had elaborate terms including ownership of estates, assets, taxes,
public rights, and territories.
Those lacking in magical ability proved less docile than first thought.
Wizards and magi were stalked and killed in witch hunts organized by
fearful townsfolk and restless local governments. The tone of the conflict
changed from disputes within the wizard hierarchy to a prejudice against
magic on the part of those who didn't have it. The majority of wizards
were wiped out. After a while, no one remembered how the conflict began
or even why there was such concern over the issue, and a growing
number of magi were proving valuable and trustworthy traveling
companions for men-at-arms who protected traveling royalty and
merchants from raiders and other roadside hazards. So the Magi Wars
fizzled out and were soon forgotten.
The Trade Wars were the result of disagreements over a common
denominator for the world economy. The Adamahns wanted gold,
dwarves wanted silver, faeries crystal, and dragons treasury notes.
Whether or not the Kerachai were involved is debatable. Eventually, an
objective economy was established wherein each culture kept its currency
of choice and trade rates converted currencies. That world economy
stands in current times.
In Adamah, five crystal pieces equal one silver piece, and five silver
pieces equal one gold. The other realms have similar trade rates with
their respective preferred currencies at the top of the chain.
The Dragon Wars
History is unclear regarding an exact moment when Kerach dropped out of
the world arena. Somewhere along the way, perhaps after an
undocumented, failed bid for power by Sarkath Thul, trade and relations
with Kerach drove to a halt. Travelers on the seas steered clear of
Kerach's shorelines, and maps began to bear the fabled caption "here
there be trolls". Likewise, Kerach turned inward on itself, not to be heard
from again for another hundred years.
During this time of peace, attention turned to the dragons of Esh, whose
empire had performed most admirably during the Trade Wars. People
began to wonder, and they began to fear as well. Rumors of Eshian plans
for conquest began to spread, and a vile prejudice once again sunk its
claws into the minds and hearts of innocent folk. Elf, human, faery, and
dwarf banded together, and the first world war began. After nearly a
decade of conflict, a truce was engineered and dragons were reluctantly
accepted as peaceful allies.
After the Dragon Wars ended, prosperous trade began between Esh and
Mayim. Esh and Adamah have a strained relationship that is civil yet filled
with bitter undertones resultant of a climactic battle between King Kaleth
Letgard and General Guldrask of Esh. Adamah and Shachaq share a
strained yet tolerant relationship, mostly due to the fact that slavery is not
only legal in Shachaq, it's their way of life. While the dwarves and
dragons are very tolerant of Shachaq's unique caste-driven society, the
Adamahns hold it in disdain.
Adamahn society is agrarian-based with feudal kingdoms. Mayim society
is industrial with feudal kingdoms. The dwarves and their goblin friends
have the most advanced technologies, having gone as far as to invent
primitive steam locomotives. Eshian society is a healthy balance of
agriculture and industry, its sociopolitical environment a representative
republic. The government consists of an elected Speaker who oversees
the political arena, a senate with representatives from each town in Esh,
and a house of representatives from each guild in Esh. For currency, the
dragons use notes that have no intrinsic value but represent the value of
gold. Shachaqan society is unique to Devenice. Upper class houses own
slaves from the lower class houses. The slaves do the majority of the
manual labor. Masters and mistresses provide for their slaves while
owning them as property. The market for slave trade is prominent, the
slaves a more valued commodity to Shachaq's aristocracy than other
possessions.
The Golden Age
Five decades after the Dragon Wars, peace and stability strengthened
between the four allied realms. Peace became a way of life for the
peoples of Devenice, and their lands saw prosperity and growth. A
hundred years had passed since Kerach had shown its beastly face, and
fifty years since the Dragon Wars. Complacency and disregard for a
prophecy in the Ancient Scrolls would pave the way for a group of four
allied nations to be ill-prepared to defend themselves against an evil force
that had been biding its time in Kerach.
The Rune Gem War
Kerach is ruled by Obguld, who is a Colubra (man-sized cobra beast).
Obguld is a dictator with a vision for world peace. His dream is to unite all
of Kerach under one peaceful rule, then to unite all of Devenice under one
peaceful rule. He is as benevolent as a dictator can possibly be, and he
believes that his vision is the right one. He is a servant of Sarkath Thul,
and he is the spiritual leader of the Kerachai.
The fall of Desarnes marked the end of an era in Kerach. Desarnes, last
of the kingdoms that stood against Obguld, found itself under siege by the
legions of Ik Tharn. Beast fought against beast. And the last vestige of
freedom in Kerach was trampled underfoot. A dream come true for the
dictator. Finally, there would be peace. So enamored with this was
Obguld that he considered abandoning the idea of invading the other
countries.
But happenstance would lead Obguld and his people to war.
Storgh is an elderly griffon, an historian, and one of Obguld's close
advisors. During the Battle Of Desarnes, Storgh found his way into the
city's library and began poking about. He found a copy of the Ancient
Scrolls, which he brought back with him to Ik Tharn. During his
translation and study of the writings, he discovered the works of the mage-
priest. Included was a map that showed the location of the shrine where
the crystal rune stone was sequestered. Storgh is not a religious person.
Rather, he believes that there is only partial truth to the religion. While
the idea of the Creators is absurd, the rune stones may be real. Storgh
has seen enough history firsthand to know that myths are often firmly
rooted in truth. The myth is the result of people not understanding the
truths they're encountering.
Storgh believes that he can find the rune stone. While the map is badly
dated, he may be able to interpret it and compare it with current day
geography. Storgh brings his findings to Obguld, who is in the midst of a
meeting with his advisors and generals. The elderly scholar is laughed out
of the room. Kerach's leaders have better things to do than chase down
fanciful myths. Storgh decides to go anyway, without their help.
Kleist (a centaur) is one of Obguld's generals, and he has a strong dislike
of Storgh. This quest may be a good way to get rid of the old bird once
and for all. Kleist sends his aide Reslin (a ratman) to find Storgh and
accompany him on the quest. Storgh accepts Reslin's help.
At the Kerachai army camp outside of Ik Tharn, Reslin and Storgh recruit
some men-at-arms to accompany them. Argas (a tiger man) is a mage
and one of Storgh's friends. Koz (a gecko man) is a friend of Argas'.
They both agree to come along. t'Harkh (a lizard man) is a master
tracker and has previously spent time in the foreboding Arxas Wilderness
where they'll be going.
Obguld shows up at the army camp, seeking out Storgh. What is their
great leader doing all the way out here? Obguld takes Storgh aside and
informs him that he stands in support of the quest, off the record. He
can't support it officially because he has magistrates and generals to keep
happy, and they all laughed Storgh out of the audience chamber. One of
Obguld's personal guard will accompany them and be Obguld's eyes and
ears. Did Obguld change his mind? No. Storgh realizes that Obguld is
pulling a bit of political tomfoolery. If the quest is a success, Obguld will
claim it was his idea. If it fails, he loses nothing. Storgh doesn't care,
though. What matters to him is finding the rune stone. He agrees to bring
Xeult (a large scorpion beast, member of Obguld's personal guard) along.
Storgh is older than anyone realizes. He has seen history come and go,
good friends live and die. He is old and tired. Tired of watching those he
cares about die of old age. He has developed a detachment from those
he calls "friend". He is civil but careful not to get too close. Because of
this, he often comes across as less than friendly. Argas is often frustrated
with his friend's distant behavior.
Argas is the most friendly and perhaps least dysfunctional of the group.
He's a well rounded character who often finds himself frustrated when the
others don't get along (which happens often).
Koz is a buffoonish little guy who annoys Xeult to no end. Most of the
time, he barely understands what's going on, if at all. He is insanely
cheerful and a source of irritation to the more brooding characters.
Reslin is somewhat of a coward and often grateful to come out of a tight
scrape in one piece. He serves Kleist, who wants to make sure that
Storgh doesn't come back, so you can figure out where that's going.
t'Harkh is the tough quiet type. He usually doesn't open his mouth unless
he feels he has something decently important to say. He and Xeult often
butt heads.
Xeult is a jerk. He holds the rest of the group in disdain and is only there
because Obguld ordered it. His job is to make sure that everyone in the
group returns from the foreboding wilderness in one piece, with or without
the fabled rune stone.
This band of six, who spend a great deal of time not getting along and
almost come to fisticuffs a couple times, embarks on a quest into Kerach's
wilderness. I'll leave the details out for now. Needless to say, they find
the shrine, solve some convoluted and probably unfeasible puzzles there,
and retrieve the rune stone. They return to Ik Tharn, where Obguld
predictably takes credit for the successful mission. Obguld now possesses
one of the five rune stones, proof that the rest must indeed exist. With
the power of the rune stone at his side, that invasion of the other four
realms is beginning to look more enticing.
Obguld is in his private chamber examining the rune stone when he has a
strange vision. He sees the other four rune stones, each in their
respective resting place. Disturbed by this vision, he meets with Sarkath
Thul, who explains that the rune stones want to be reunited. They are
calling out to each other, and they will attempt to aid their owners in
bringing them together. "Then we should keep them apart," says
Obguld. "Why do you say that?" "Because they wish to be united." "No,"
insists Sarkath Thul. "We must bring them together. Go and find the
others, and bring me all five."
Obguld expresses some doubts regarding the rune stones. If they are
real, then what of the all-powerful Creators? Sarkath Thul informs him
that the Creators are indeed real, but they are not gods. If they interfere,
he will deal with them.
Obguld rallies the legion of Ik Tharn to march on their neighboring
countries. Storgh and his group are to seek out the rune stones while
Obguld and his armies engage the opposing forces on the field of battle.
With the crystal rune stone, Obguld stands on the front line of the
battlefield, fighting along side his front line men. He is indeed
unstoppable, as the rune stone magically aids him when necessary.
Okay, here's the thing.
That's the Prologue!
The game hasn't even started yet! Here's how the game begins...
Chapter 1
The war has begun. Obguld's forces have moved on western Adamah,
capturing some cities there. They are using western Adamah as a staging
point to launch assaults on northern Shachaq, southern Mayim, and
southwestern Esh (they came to Adamah from the northwest). In eastern
Adamah, word reaches King Kaleth of Letgard that the Kerachai are on the
assault. Kaleth rallies his men and marches toward the invading army.
Near the town of Pwenthor lives Qotom, an aging wizard. Much like
Storgh, Qotom is also somewhat of a scholar, although it's only an old
man's hobby to him. He has been translating and studying a copy of the
Ancient Scrolls that he borrowed from the library in Letgard. In the same
manner as Storgh did, he has also discovered the writings of the mage-
priest and learned the legend of the rune stones. He has possession of a
map that shows where the Emerald Shrine is located. However, he never
tried to locate the shrine because he believes that the power of the rune
stones is too great for any one man to possess. Better that they remain
sequestered. Qotom witnessed firsthand the way that power can corrupt
when a student whom he was teaching the ways of magic went too far
with his training. The High Magic arts are not to be trifled lightly with. It's
very dangerous. One who practices High Magic always takes a measure
of damage from the incredibly powerful forces he is meddling with.
Symptoms range from premature aging to physical disease. Power comes
with a price. Qotom himself learned this the hard way. His student Balorn
disregarded his warnings and pursued High Magic on his own. The two,
once friends, are now bitter enemies.
During his study of the Ancient Scrolls, Qotom made another discovery. A
prophecy of "The Return Of Sarkath Thul". The prophecy names Obguld
as the leader of Kerachai forces who invade the four peaceful realms after
not having been seen for a hundred years. Furthermore, there is an
event that marks the beginning of the invasion. When a star falls from the
sky and crashes into Lake Telluria, the invasion will begin a week
thereafter. Qotom turns his telescope to the night sky and is horrified
when he observes a fiery object plummeting from the sky to hit in the
general area where Lake Telluria is.
He's too late. There won't be enough time to mount a defense, and
Obguld already has one of the rune stones. He is a victim of his own
caution. He could've gone looking for the emerald long ago. Filled with
remorse for his mistake, he frantically begins planning an urgent quest.
But there is another problem. Qotom is suffering from Harlok's Disease,
an ailment that only affects elderly magic users. The most prominent
symptom is a loss of memory, which he is already feeling the effects of.
Not only will he eventually lose his knowledge of magic, he will forget
everything he's learned about Obguld, the prophecy, the Kerachai, the
rune stones. Qotom turns to the only person he can trust. His most
recent student, Crythania.
Crythania was gang raped at the age of 15 in an alley in Pwenthor. The
only reason why Qotom heard her cries for help from his cottage outside
of town was because Crythania has the gift of magic. His finely tuned
magical senses received the intense energies she was releasing. He
teleported about, sought her out, found her, and fried all five of the rapists
with lightning bolts. He took the traumatized girl to his cottage, where he
cared for her for two weeks during which she suffered from nightmares
and post trauma. He discovered that she had grown up an orphan in
Pwenthor and currently lived with a kind old elvish woman who cared for
homeless children. Crythania moved in with Qotom, and he taught her
the ways of magic. He taught her how to defend herself, both with magic
and sword, so that she would never again be a victim. She became
powerful with magic, yet the trauma remained. She developed a form of
paranoid schizophrenia and social anxiety, turning inward, shunning
society, fearing the vast city full of people and their various evils. She
moved out into the forest and made a home for herself there. It was here
that she began to converse with animals.
She met and befriended a gray timbrewolf, a female hawk, and a ferret.
For many years, Crythania lived at peace with the forest creatures as her
friends, and she was happy and content with that life. Occasionally, she
would visit nearby Pwenthor, and she always kept in touch with her
mentor.
Qotom needs Crythania's help. Soon he may forget all that he's learned,
and truth be known, he's getting too old to be gallivanting about the
countryside. He fought at Kaleth Letgard's side during the Dragon Wars.
He's seen his share of adventures. Qotom tells Cry all that he knows, and
she reluctantly agrees to take up the quest.
She is soon joined by a thief, a dragon, a goblin, an elf, and a giant. Using
Qotom's translations and the map as a guide, they travel to northern
Adamah, where they find the Earth Shrine, solve some convoluted and
probably unfeasible puzzles, and retrieve the emerald rune stone.
Thereafter, Crythania has repeated visions where she and Obguld meet.
The visions that Crythania and Obguld share happen because they both
posses one of the rune stones, and the five rune stones want to be
reunited (they sort of have a will of their own; and yes, I stole the idea
from Lord Of The Rings
). I was really inspired by the scene where
Frodo is at the top of this ancient something-or-another.. shrine or
something.. and the ring sort of transports him a long distance so that he
can see the eye of Sauron in Mordor. He's standing there, then... Whoosh!
The distance between them shrinks and it zooms in on Mordor. Freaky
stuff, and very cool.
I had this vision of the same thing happening to Crythania. She's minding
her own business, then... Whoosh! The distance between her and Obguld
shrinks, and they see each other as if they were in the same room. At
first, the very sight of him scares the living daylights out of her (he's a
mean-looking Colubra). Given no choice but to deal with him because the
rune stones they both carry want them to come together, she begins
talking to him. Their initial conversations are mostly Obguld trying to
intimidate her. But truth be known, he's as freaked out as she is. He
hadn't expected someone else to get their hands on a rune stone. Both of
them are trying to find all five of the rune stones (which are the story's
McGuffin). That they both have one really puts a wrench into the works.
The bearer of a rune stone cannot be killed, and whoever holds all five is
invulnerable.
Cry and Obguld go through psychological changes as the story
progresses. Crythania is repeatedly opposed by all manner of locals she
encounters. Greedy barons who want the rune stones for their own
personal gain. Local governments who think they can do a better job of
being the heroes. She even gets captured and enslaved by a vile slaver
whose lust for power knows almost no end. All of this on top of the fact
that Obguld's armies are on the assault and his own agents are searching
for the rune stones. With war ravaging the entire land and Obguld's
armies moving against everyone and anyone, she can't understand why
all of these idiotic people repeatedly get in her way and work against her.
She begins to wonder if all of these morons deserve to be conquered and
subjugated by a dictator.
On Obguld's side of it, the war is costly. He fights on the front line right
beside his front line men (the rune stone protects him), but he can only do
so much. He is seeing many of his countrymen fall in battle, and naturally
the other fronts where he can't be don't have the benefit of a nigh
unstoppable sorcerer on the front lines. He begins to doubt his ideals and
wonder if perhaps there isn't a better way to go about achieving world
peace.
By the time they meet face to face, they're both filled with doubt and
uncertainty. What at first seemed so cut and dry has become fogged and
clouded.
Obstacles that stand in our heroine's way include:
A) Balorn, who is now a baron and special advisor to King Kaleth. Balorn
wants the rune stones to further his selfish study of High Magic.
B) A cardinal of the Holy Church Of Ishir plots with Balorn to take the
throne while King Kaleth is away engaging the Kerachai. This plot not only
involves the assassination of Kaleth, it also involves the capture, memory-
wiping (with High Magic), and enslavement of the king's daughter (who
would be his rightful heir to the throne).
C) Lord Bartam, a ruthless Adamahn slaver who often trades slaves with
the Shachaqan faeries.
D) The Shachaqan aristocracy and the goddess they serve.
E) The dwarven king, who believes that the forces of Mayim can put the
rune stones to better use.
F) Even the honorable dragons eventually stand in our heroes' way.
G) Storgh's group, which is also looking for the remaining three rune
stones. (Nasty confrontation there, especially with Xeult on the
scene.)
H) Ultimately, Sarkath Thul makes his true intentions known.
Our heroes also discover:
A) Exactly what that fiery object that fell from the sky
is.
B) The true nature of the rune stones, and their true purpose.
C) Who Sarkath Thul is, and where he came from.
D) Who the Creators are and where they came from.
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