The land, if it can still be called such, lies lifeless and smoldering in ruin. The dead litter the ground, disfigured and mutilated beyond recognition. A horrifying image that has no place in the land of the living.

All is silent and dead.

Until a soft noise comes along from nowhere. At first it is soft, no louder than a wispier. And then it proceeds to get louder.

As it dose, a light that was not their previously, appears. Growing in size as the sound dose the same in volume, the light begins to expand.

Not to long after, the light is as big as a castle, taking the shaped of a large dome. The soft murmur of sound had changed to a thunderous cry, shaking the land with its power.

And it stops.

Both the light and the sound simply... cease to exist. As if nothing had taken place not to long ago. Everything was exactly the same.

...Except for one thing.

A lone figure can be seen, out of place with the scene before them. It could be said that they look upon what lays before them with mild curiosity.

The figure had suddenly sprung int existent moves forward. Without touching the ground.

As they walk, so to speak, words suddenly come forth. More than likely from the only stranger their.

The words sound... cheerful.

I must say, Life in the fade can be rather dull.

There is a plethora of things to do yes, but...

Its not as fun as what lies on the other side.

Past the Veil, as they call it, where in the mortals lie.

The words take a bitter turn in tone

Most of my brethren are confused by it, some even outright despise the land beyond.

Their world is stagnant, the air biter, chaotic and without justice.

The natives are naive, greedy fools who will do anything for self gain, even believing a simple lie for power.

Vengeful.

Petty.

Heartless.

Stupid.

Its a world of hardships and unfairness.

Once again, the words are cheerful.

I could only ever smile at their words.

(At least that's what I believe I would do, since i do not particularly have a mouth to speak of. But I digress.)

Because that is where in I took great interest in these beautiful creatures.

They forge ahead, step by step as the earth beneath them tries to swallow them whole. Carving their own destiny and place in life with so little power to do so in their hands.

Some are triumphant, finding success and rewards for their efforts.

Others fall short of victory, paying dearly for it. With their lives even.

Changing once again, it speaks in somber words.

I will admit it though. Not all have the spark I speak of.

At some point, there were many.

Oh, the stories they could tell, the hardships they faced.

It was fun watch as they so expertly played the game of Life.

They managed to entertain me for so long.

But alas, along with the decline in life, so have their numbers

The ones I found o so interesting are dwindling away, one by one.

During this inner monologue, the land began to change the further along the creature progressed. Red crystals began to protrude from the ground. Tears floated in the middle of the air. Boys where beginning to maintain their shape. Still disfigured, although it looked more like it was intended rather than from disembowelment.

The lands are now overrun by some... disgusting vermin... known as Darkspawn.

Some mineral known as red Lyrium has infested the lands.

The Veil is broken.

There is nothing but violence and unrestrained slaughter.

The Apocalypse is taking place.

The mortal population is now for all intents and purposes extinct.

The being stops. In front lies a mountain. A mountain of corpses. Dragons, humans, elves, dwarves, quinary, werewolves, demons, golems, darkspawn, mabari, and so many more. Nothing was spared this defiling display of triumph. Like this sick perversion of life was something to be proud of.

If anyone had been present that was alive, they would have seen the being somehow convey their deep seeded anger. Somehow managing to do so in a featureless form.

Or they would have simply identified the anger and determination that the words had taken.

And that... is something I will not allow.

But as much power as I have, their is so little to save here.

It would be a pointless endeavor.

Silence followed. Nothing, not even the wind made a sound.

The being began to rise into the air.

Let us fix that shall we.

One moment, the entirety of Thedas was enveloped in blinding light.

The next, the light vanished. With the world in a far healthier and younger state.

Let the games begin.

Months later

After much searching and traveling, it can be said without a doubt that the entity had found some promising candidates.

Elves, Humans, and even Dwarfs. Although no Quinary. A shame, but nothing harmful. It could be said that their were more than enough to go around. They were a diverse lot as well.

A dwarven criminal, lacking the ability to rise above their standing.

A city elf that new nothing but how to steal and cheat others of their personnel belongings.

A human noble who new nothing of political intricacies and simply satisfied his own selfish desires.

A dalish elf, holding deep seated hatred for shemlings. Blaming them for the nomadic lifestyle of his people.

A dwarf, royal in blood, caring only about the satisfaction of his own huger.

A human mage that could never be bothered to exert himself in any way.

An elven mage that went against the norms, isolating themselves further from their peers.

A mercenary dwarf, focused solely on gold and riches.

Now the only real problem was both a simple one and an impossible one.

Who would be blessed by my gifts?

All of them had the makings of great warriors. Each one held an inner power to change fate and carve out a victory. None of them was less than the other.

Which made the choice all the harder to make.

The entity had been in this predicament on days on end. When ever he came close to making a decision, something would always spring in his mind to dissuade him from choosing. Around and around his thoughts spiraled, never managing to settle at any given moment.

Until he had a bizarre idea.

Why not choose all of them?

The thought brought smile to his face. It was such a wonderful idea.

More players to play the game. More variables to change the flow of the world. More entertainment to be had

It would be perfect.

A proper path set, the creature bestowed his gifts among the unknowing mortals.

What those gifts were exactly, well...

Its best to be surprised by the unexpected wouldn't you say?

I find this idea of a story so appealing, and so infuriating.

Let us see if I am capable of making such a ludicrous plot justice.

( ' v ' ) Wish me luck!

(Apologies for the misspellings)