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You only remember drifting to sleep. Every night, you relent your senses and consciousness to the Sandman. But tonight, there is something else is store for you. You wake up, but it feels like you've woken up in reality. You know you aren't in the...real world, because you're in a dense forest, lit by small orange spheres that cling to every tree, every branch in sight. Everything about you is the same right down to your clothes, only you seem to have a necklace round your neck that you can't say you remember having picked up in your waking life. A simple nylon string that holds a small vial with faintly glowing purple fluid. This forest is beautiful, but what happens next takes you by surprise. Three objects blink to existence in front of you. A sword, a bow, and a staff.
Accept this destiny ...
Beware the Nightmares ...
Do you take one of the weapons?
Or, do you observe them first?
'Beware. For once you choose, they will come for you. You will know not peace.
((My first forum game. Don't worry; I should get better with practice. It's something light and 'meh' to see if people want this kind of thing around.))
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Bump.
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Observe
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take the bow
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take nothing we go at this fist of the north star style
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For some reason, you reach for your necklace, thinking it would make a decent weapon. But no, the vial of purple fluid it holds is, you feel, too important to treat with such carelessness. Why would you even need a weapon in the first place? Everything is so peaceful. Then again, you felt those voices. The voices that told you to be wary of Nightmares. You opt to merely watch each weapon instead. First, you direct your glance to the sword.
A mighty weapon, with which to cut Nightmares in twain. Reliable, effective, an extension of one's body, this weapon will never fail to enforce its sharp will onto the bodies of its enemies.
Then the bow.
A quiet, ranged weapon that will guarantee safety as Nightmares are engaged from distance. They shall be pierced out of existence, or filled with countless arrows as each new opening illustrates the reason their demise is at hand.
Interesting. Then finally, the staff.
Power. The ability to shape one's will into force, into combative fury that rains destruction down on one's foes. To command the energies of Ether is to command life itself. Your enemies shall kneel to your awesome might, and Nightmares will fear you as a shining beacon, a warning on the horizon of their reckoning. One they can never touch, so long as thy rod is with you. At what cost does this power come?
Which do you choose?
Time runs out.
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The bow.
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The bow.
+1. Barehands may be a poor idea.
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The Staff. Let's Gandalf the shit outta these Nightmares.
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Simultaneously grasp the staff and the sword.
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The Staff. Let's Gandalf the shit outta these Nightmares.
+1
Why would one/we even consider picking a sword or a bow over the power to reshape reality?
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No more than a handful of seconds after you grab the staff, do hordes of yellow circles appear in the treeline. You know, almost instinctively, what they belong to.
"Nightmares", you gasp. The eyes of Nightmares appear sporadically, but in short order become a light sea of creepy yellow spheres that you're not sure has an end.
Your fate is sealed.
You blink and suddenly, you're in a black void. The floor is made of stained glass. On it, an elegant woman. Or you think it's a woman. Hard to tell. There are no Nightmares around as far as you can tell. Where did they go? Where are you?
So, this is your choice.
"Hello? Who's there?" The voice, oddly enough, doesn't have a sound. It travels not through your ears, but through your mind.
The staff. The soul made manifest. Converted to willpower. To Ether. In order to become a true champion of the staff, someday you will have to let go. Will you be ready?
You hold the staff in front of you, parallel to the floor. "Let go? Of the staff? If I let it go, how will I become stronger? Where am I anyway? What is this about?"
Demonstrate your will.
Before you can protest, a shadow appears about a meter in front of you. The shadow takes form and develops two beady yellow eyes that send a slight shiver down your spine. You know what it is; you don't need to say its name. But this is the first time you're seeing a Nightmare's true form without the darkness of whatever that forest was to obscure its body. It displays its menacing teeth and growls for a moment, as if to size you up. It's like looking at pure evil. A small, black impish figure with two yellow eyes, abnormally large teeth and horns with a spaded tail.
Fight. Or submit. The choice...is yours.
The Nightmare gallops towards you and, wasting no time, sends a claw across your chest. Luckily, you dodge just in time, jumping backwards a few feet. You take this lull in combat to think.
> Fight: Aggressive Style
> Fight: Defensive Style
> Fight: Neutral Style
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>Fight: Aggressive style
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>Fight: Aggressive style
+1
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>Fight: Aggressive style
+1
+1. Whack it with the staff, right?
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You charge the Nightmare, holding the staff above your head like a sword. You aim to bring it down on its evil head, but it dodges. You then slam the floor where it now stands, which produces a small shatter. When it tries to counter by jumping and clawing your face off, you block its claws with your staff. This produces an interesting result. The staff seems to burn the Nightmare, and it releases a painful roar to let you know that, followed by a slight melting of its hands, and dripping black matter accompanied by steam.
You don't waste any more time and deliver a flurry of slashes and swipes. You don't connect, the Nightmare dodges. You both lunge at each other in an airborne fashion until you meet. When you land, you find that you have a wound on your stomach, but that the Nightmare has been slain. It collapses into a puddle of thick fluid before disappearing. You can feel your heart rate slow but the adrenaline is still coursing through your veins. This place feels real, but you swear it can't be.
You have proven to have will.
"Who are you? Where are you?"
Test your will against a horde. The armies of darkness yield high in number, in silence from the shadows.
Before you can protest -- again -- more Nightmares appear. Instead of one, you see tens. You'd guess somewhere in the fifties. Their beady eyes and moving figures don't surprise you anymore, nor do they scare you. They're easily killable. Or whatever-able.
When your staff turns into a wand, you try calling out to the mind-voice for answers. "Hello?"
Now you must use your will directly.
The staff seems to be easier to hold in this form. As if it were meant to cast spells. You don't have time to eye the object because several Nightmares are charging towards you. They don't seem to learn very well. Time is of the essence, however. Your adrenaline isn't thinning out, but it is stabilising, making the wound's pain more prevalent. You aren't bleeding but this isn't an ideal situation for combat.
> What do?
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff
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Use will to slow and trip them, in some manner involving the ground, their feet, and a great deal of pain. Then stamp on their heads if possible.
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Fireballs.
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With an effortless flick of your wand you release a series of fireballs. The fire here seems more 'polished' than in the real world, but it does the trick. The first series of Nightmares all go down quickly, some melting and others turning into black dust and vanishing. Those remaining watch and wait, as if to formulate a new plan. Not a bad idea, you think to yourself. Their new plan? To join and create a single entity. This one appears to be human, or would be if not for the ebony formless skin and those trademark yellow eyes. Rather than a round shape, the eyes are almond-like in their form, making it seem even more alarmingly human.
"That staff."
You're almost too surprised to reply when you hear it give you a command. "H-huh? The staff? Why do you want it?"
"Relinquish the staff and you may go free."
"You mean, leave this place?"
"The staff!" Its hand is outstretched as if expecting you to simply give it up without issue. It's not keen on answering further questions.
A rare Nightmare indeed. Darkness can evolve, as it is the source of uncertainty1. Uncertainty can seduce you, use your mind against you. A citadel of resolve is required to repel the Nightmares, lest you fall victim to your own ego.
You eye the staff -- now a staff once again -- before clutching it tightly. "No", you begin firmly, conviction dripping from your voice. "I know what you are. Nothing good will come from you having the staff. I-I won't give it to you!"
The Nightmare cocks its head to the side and scoffs. "Then I shall take it!" It glides over to you and reaches for the staff, you reflexively recoil. This Nightmare can touch the staff. Though it is burned, the burning is slow and less intense.
"Release it!"
You yell and let loose a wall of fire that pushes the creature away from you a few feet. Unfazed, it simply idles with its head cocked again. The thing is just eerie to behold. The hand that touched the staff bubbles with heat, but fixes itself in moments.
"No ordinary Nightmare", it mumbles.
Indeed.
> What do this time?
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff (Staff Mode)
1 I always philosophize that the only fear humans have is uncertainty. Example? Darkness. You don't know what is in a dark room. If you have night vision goggles on, you no longer fear the room even though, by definition, it's still dark. If it wasn't, you wouldn't be able to use the goggles! Fear travel? Why? Because you likely heard bad things about a particular nation and it being 100% foreign to you, is a mystery. Is full of, wait for it, uncertainty.
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Light a fire within the Nightmare, whilst beating it with the Staff.
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Light a fire within the Nightmare, whilst beating it with the Staff.
+1
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"Ordinary or not, go to Hell!" With a flick of your wand, the Nightmare is set ablaze until its form is a mere puddle of goop. You feel a sense of relief and accomplishment until you see what replaces it.
But most of all, an indomitable will is imperative for all Dreamers. The will to remain strong in the face of unspeakable adversity. For often times, one's worst enemy is...himself.
It's you. "You"? Something. A Nightmare, but in your likeness, with grey skin and bright yellow irises. A black aura escapes it body, and it eyes you menacingly.
". . . What? What is this?"
"Hahaha. I'm you, idiot." It even sounds like you, with a demonic reverb in 'your' voice.
You look around in confusion for a moment until the mind-voice fills you in.
It speaks truth. It is your Ego, a manifestation of your true self. The self you hide from the world. It is a special kind of Nightmare known as a Shade.
You eye the...Shade cautiously. All it does is smile, waiting for you to break the silence.
- Reject the Shade. It is NOT who you are.
- Accept the Shade. The voice seems to know what its talking about.
- Use the necklace.
- Something else.
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff
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Accept the shade. From an IRL perspective, denying and repressing aspects of your personality is always a bad idea, imagine how self-destructive that could get in a fantasy setting.
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"If you're me, how come you're not me? If you are not me, then why use my form?"
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Accept the shade. Might lead to cool shadow powers.
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The Shade nods and disappears. It becomes a stream of black and purple energy which forces its way into your heart. You gasp, but it's not overwhelming. Just a quick shock.
"What...happened?", you demand between breaths.
Your wilful acceptance of your true self has created a bond. The Shade has been purified, and is now an Avatar. Rather than your unabridged essence, your Avatar is your projection. How you're seen to others. How others see you. You are not ready yet, but nurture the bond between it and yourself. You will surely come to appreciate the power you both have.
"Thou art I. I am thou. Blessed are we, for we are one. A Shade I am no longer. I am your Avatar. You have accepted me without incident, and so our bond is ours and it is sealed." This voice comes from your mind, but you hear it rather than 'feel' it like the other one. You nod confidently.
Your time here is finished. Your Guidance is complete. Now, you leave the station.
"What? I still have questions to ask! What is all this anyway?"
Only when you are in dire need can you seek Guidance. Slay the Nightmares, save the world. Good luck, Dreamer.
Before you can protest, you're in another new location. It's some kind of train terminal, only it's eerily empty. The sky looks almost unreal with its blue-green shimmer and red sun. You approach the terminal steps and stare up at the entrance. You get the feeling this is a possible exit from this dream.
- Stay in the dream. You still have work to do. Questions to answer.
- Stay in the dream. What's a train station doing here?
- Wake up. You need to take a break from all this.
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff
- Avatar [LOCKED]
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Stay in the dream. What's a train station doing here?
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Stay in the dream. What's a train station doing here?
+1
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"A train station?" You approach it cautiously. Nothing is what it seems here. This place is full of surprises. You're not ready to leave just yet, but you grow tired of all the drama. That last ordeal felt like something out of an anime. Or something from a critically-acclaimed video game series. Whatever. It's not even that serious.
You reach the platform and find no one. Just two trains that look pretty strange. The carriages resemble caterpillars, and the 'glass' isn't glass at all, but a weird bio-film. It's kind of disgusting, and your stomach agrees as it bubbles a bit. Just the though of sitting down inside of a living thing does you in. Almost.
You elect to read the route sign.
< ------ TO: LUMEN FOREST
<--- TO: NIGHTOPIA
--> TO: CASTLE OF DREAMS
------------> TO: MNEMOS - CITY OF MEMORIES
---------> TO: EXIT DREAM
You don't want to leave the dream just yet, but you have a few destinations to choose from. None of them in particular speak to you, so you eventually say "toss it" and decide to head to ...
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff
- Avatar [LOCKED]
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Let's head to Nightopia.
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Let's head to Nightopia.
+1 then. Sounds urban.
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It's decided, you're headed to Nightopia. For no reason in particular. You enter the train and its 'doors' close, leaving the station as soon as you get comfortable in your seat.
- - -
Minutes later, the train is about 2 minutes from Nightopia. It's a beautiful city. You're surprised to see, from the window, that it looks awfully human in design, only more polished than what you're used to. It's well lit, and doesn't seem to ever sleep. This assumption is soon proven to be factual, when the train rolls into the station and you see people waiting, but they aren't people. You're not sure what to call them. You just know they're natives of this...place. Upon exiting the vehicle, you behold individuals of various colors, shapes and sizes who don't seem to notice you as they go about their lives, some filling the train, others finding other places to be. You try not to stare out of fear of starting a fight. You know how staring leads to be vaporised thanks to your gratuitous amounts of time spent watching movies.
The station's white, blue and yellow walls give it a pristine appearance. It's clean, almost too clean. You catch ear, then eye, of two singing...natives. They look like what would happen if an anglerfish and an onion could produce offspring. That is to say, short, pale creatures with no eyes and a long antenna, a bioluminescent growth. Their heads are shaped like onions, which explains the onion part of the equation, and you suppress a laugh with regards to that.
- Ask them what's up with their signing.
- Ask them something about Nightopia.
- Ask them what the hell they are. And they are, and they are, and everyone else you've seen!
- Ask them if there are any Nightmares in Nightopia.
- Listen to their singing for a brief spell then keep it moving.
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff
- Avatar [LOCKED]
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EDIT: Mispost.
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Listen, then keep moving. We'll figure out what to do next, let's explore the city first.
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The pair seem to be singing a song with chants in it such as "Hare Krishna", but with way more sing-song and tonal work. They actually aren't half bad. The song managed to get you grooving for a bit before you continue on.
One of the onions greets you happily. "Welcome, stranger, to Nightopia, City of Dreams!"
You smile and nod. They return to their singing. By the time you reach the street, you forget about the singing onions and behold the city. City of Dreams? More like City That Never Sleeps. Wait, that's taken already. But it's true! The sidewalk is packed with heaps of pedestrians, the streets with the strangest vehicles one could imagine, and skyscrapers that make the sky glow with their lights. The architecture a strange blend of Japanese and Mediterranean, with some western New Age/Modern thrown in. This place is simply amazing. Its so...alive.
You can't stand in awe any longer. You're not sure how long this 'dream' will last, or if it's even a dream at this point. Still, time to keep it moving and get some sort of plan going. You decide to ...
- Ask a citizen about Nightmares (specify what).
- Head somewhere else (specify where).
- Return to the train station and exit the dream.
- Do something else.
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff
- Avatar [LOCKED]
Double update greatness! Enjoy!
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Ask if they know any good places to get a job. Explain our experience in crushing nightmares.
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Ask if they know any good places to get a job. Explain our experience in crushing nightmares.
+1
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Ask if they know any good places to get a job. Explain our experience in crushing nightmares.
You're not permanent residents, and this isn't that kind of game.
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Look for a good restaurant. We can worry about the bill when we wake up.
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Look for a good restaurant. We can worry about the bill when we wake up.
I don't think this is the type of FG you're looking for. :/
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Ask a citizen where nightmares come from.
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You approach a random citizen that looks like a...you have no words. Maybe they can tell you more about Nightmares. But it's clear that after you ask they seem to not know or care about them.
"Why would a Nightmare be in Nightopia? You new or something? It's one of the safest cities you can live in!"
Before you can follow up, they go on about their day. This place might be trippy, but they carry the human urbanite attitude well enough. You're about to leave when you find two familiar faces answer you in more polite way.
"You see, stranger, our Queen -- w'alayai a'saalem -- has ensured that Nightopia remains eternally safe from Darkness."
"Indeed."
It's the two onion-anglerfish from the station!
"You're the two onion--I mean, singers from the station. Are you following me? What are you both doing here anyway?"
They both exchange some sort of eyeless look that you feel would be eye-rolling. If they, you know, had any. "No. We don't sing in stations forever. We have other pursuits and interests."
"Indeed. Multitudes, even."
You fold your arms. "More than singing?" No idea why, but you don't buy it. "Such as?", you inquire doubtfully.
"Singing on the city streets."
You face fault (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FaceFault), and after a couple seconds, stand back up. "Okay. Ha-ha.", you say dryly. "You guys have some edge to you. Great. Now maybe you can tell me what is going on with this...place?"
"We will answer your questions."
"Indeed. Simply ask them."
+ Ask the onions about Nightmares.
- "What are Nightmares exactly?"
- "Where do they come from?"
- "Why do they seem to attack me automatically?"
- Something else.
+ Ask where you are. Not Nightopia, but the WHOLE PLACE.
+ Ask about the Queen w'alayai I'll-Sell-Them Whatever.
- "Who is she?"
- "She fights Nightmares? Badass!"
- "How do you say her name?"
- "I need to speak with her."
- Something else.
- Soma Necklace
- Wandstaff
- Avatar [LOCKED]
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+ Ask where you are. Not Nightopia, but the WHOLE PLACE.
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Okay, so...
Coming from the LL forums, it's site culture to "officially close" a forum game when it's time. I figure it's more "candour" than to simply fade into the darkness and pretend you didn't make a thread. Stand by what you do, right? Anyway, I'm closing this because I think the readers thought it was a different kind of game than it actually was, and so, it's best I end it now rather than fool people into participating when they aren't getting the fullness of what they want. Partially my fault, as it went from serious and slightly dark/personal to medium-light and something like Kingdom Hearts. When you join a forum, you enter into a new 'culture', and Inarin being my first game, I was bound to mess up the first time when attempting to get a feel for another 'culture'. I've learned from this (as with all my games), and will come back better once I figure out what on God's green one I'm going to do next. Definitely something with adventure or exploration in it, because those are dying genres when it comes to fiction.
Those that did participate are appreciated! Come by for the next game, whatever it is. Or don't. But at least buy me some chips.
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Aww, this sounds like a lot of effort went into it. Sorry to see it go like that.
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Aww, this sounds like a lot of effort went into it. Sorry to see it go like that.
I got to give you credit for not participating when it was active, like I wanted, instead of being passive-aggressive and choosing to do so anyway. Yes, a lot of work went into it, but oh well. Just gotta come back even BETTER! for the next game!