It was a cold and quiet night. The heavens were decorated with numerous glittering stars, twinkling like gems that had been scattered into the moonless sky. The forest was filled with various noises, the song of crickets, the hums of cicadas, the hoots of owls and the cries of midnight bats. It was a pristine forest, untouched by human hands.
But on this night, within the very depths of this peaceful forest, a terrible ritual was about to take place. A pack of robed figures stood around a flattened earth, marking the dirt with their blood and other reagents.
A magic circle was constructed, deep intricate layers of runes and symbols, and at the center was an important artifact, capable of summoning gods beyond this world.
Then the robed figures started chanting. The air around them began to grow heavy and thick with unearthly energies. The magic circle shone brightly, as reality itself was being undone and reshaped by their spell. The chanters began to creak and strain under the weight of their own magic, but they carried on regardless. It was an important mission, one which they should perform even at the cost of their lives.
And then, an explosion, a great bright light enveloped them all. The figures braced themselves, but they were too late. They did not survive.
And then...
§
I found myself suddenly in a strange place, in an unknown territory. I did not know where I was, nor how I got here. My mind felt hazy, my memories a blur.
Peering all around me, and saw that I was in a large grassy plain. Far ahead was a forest, countless trees standing tall and mighty. Beyond them were enormous mountains, mightier still, looming over the land beneath them.
And surrounding me were bodies. Figures covered in robes lay flat in the grass, lifeless and unmoving. In the middle where I stood was a strange circular symbols, it reminds me of some kind of magic circle I've seen often in games and in shows.
Where was I? What is this place? How did I get here? Had I passed out? Just a moment ago, I had just been sitting comfortably on a cramped plastic stair with eyes bathing in the harsh electronic light of my monitor, spending another evening playing an old videogame for another couple of hours or so. So how did I get here?
I looked at the bodies. Was it them? I do not recognize these people. Who are they? Why are they lying flat on the ground? Their robes, their clothes, they were rough and full of fuzz. They remind me of some fantasy LARPers with their ridiculous costumes.
Perhaps they are asleep? Or perhaps something else. In any case, I quickly fled the area. I need to find my way back home, and I don't want anything to do with this people.
Into the forest I ran. It was lush, filled with grass and bush and trees and leaves. The terrain was slightly uneven, and my movement slightly hampered. I just noticed that I was wearing some kind of skirt. Unbelievable. Had they perhaps toyed with me earlier? Degusting.
Anyway, this forest seems quite large. How long had I passed out? The skies were still dark, and it had been a moonless night. I don't remember there being forests near where I live, or even large mountains, so this must be some distance away.
...I may be lost. I have no idea where I am, have no idea where my clothes are, have no idea why I was taken, and have no idea about what they did to me. After running for what seemed like hours, I decided to take a bit of a rest. Strangely, I didn't feel quite fatigued, and I was able to see clearly in the darkness. Was this perhaps the effect of adrenaline? I have heard that in fight-or-flight scenarios, your body would feel limber, and more energetic. I've never been one for athletics, after all.
I tried to take a seat as I tried to make sense of the situation, but my clothes were in the way. Why am I wearing this ill-fitting robe? Or for that matter, why was there so many different pieces of cloth and trinkets on myself?
Wait... My hands... They're white. And thin. And skeletal...
It wasn not metaphorical. My hands, my arms, my chest, they were literally bones bereft of flesh. Each time I moved my hands, the bones moved accordingly. Despite the utter strangeness of it, it was a strangely mesmerizing sight. Instead of feeling rising panic, however, I felt an odd satisfaction seeing how each of these tiny bones and joints move and interact with each other, colliding and shuffling with each tiny movement in a rather hypnotic fashion.
Admittedly, it took me quite a while before I realized that this wasn't the time to be distracted by my skeletal hand.
I searched around myself even more. After some finicking around, I somehow managed to pull out a reddish-brown book with golden leaves and intricate markings on it's cover. At the center of it was a strangely familiar symbol, a golden-red star with six points placed infront an blue-octagonal shape with thick white borders... For some reason, I felt rather compelled to view it, to browse through it. I couldn't help myself, and opened the book.
I flipped through the pages, it was written in a language I had not seen before, but eerily enough, I was able to make sense of it. Letters, then words, then phrases, then entire sentences, I was slowly able to understand it's contents, and soon enough, I began to... remember... yes... I remember it now... This was a book of spells, containing knowledge and lore of the arcane, of the elemental magics, of my history, of my experience... This book was bound to my very soul.
This was a game, wasn't it? This was the game I had just been playing moments ago! This book, these spells, I recognize them to be from Heroes III. There was no way I could forget about it, I had spent countless hours just playing this game, playing through the campaigns, blazing through all the scenarios, even playing online with a handful of friends.
But this was impossible! Even disregarding the sheer impossibility and improbability of a fictional world to be able to directly affect reality, from all the magics that I know of in the game, there was no spell capable of performing such a feat! In fact, even in the other games, I was mostly sure that it was impossible to do so. I was definitely... sure?
Immediately, my mind was assaulted with memories. Sights and sounds from a life not mine began to flash before my very eyes. From my humble start as a simple mage, to my obsessive study of magic and necromancy, to my desperate attempt to transform into a lich, to my eventual rise in power, each of the memory flashed so quickly, yet they felt so substantive, so utterly solid, as if I have lived throughout this life myself...
Nagash... That was my name. It was laughable, even downright ironic. This name was held by a powerful lich in another world, from another game. A godlike being that have brought ruin through that world, a being that challenged even the gods from that world, and one of the forces that fought in it's End Times... In comparison, I wasn't even that close to reaching that level of notoriety, even in my life as a Lich I had merely remained largely isolated, tending only to my own little kingdom in a small part of the greater world. Even in the wars I have participated in, I had played but a minor part. It was another necromancer who schemed and planned and plunged the whole continent into war.
Does this mean I had actually transformed into Nagash? I suppose it would make sense. If I were simply a videogame character, I would probably have a lot less spells than I currently have. Or was it the other way around? Was I Nagash all along, and these memories simply transplanted into my mind?
And yet, there was something amiss. In those memories, I was a rather mediocre figure, and I had held only a handful of low-tier artifacts, or even none at all. In those memories, I was but another fodder, an enemy hero to be defeated by the protagonists of the story. Even as I review those memories, it felt... incongruous. As if they didn't fit well enough.
By instinct, I began checking myself again. I was clad in numerous artifacts from the game, even possessing a number of rare combination artifacts. I recognized them immediately, this was from my latest run in a singleplayer scenario. There was simply no other way I could have amassed such a number of them in that life. And there was no way I could have acquired the Cloak of the Undead King or the Armour of the Damned so easily when it was still in the possession of someone else.
Does this mean that I was stuck in the game? In the world of Enroth? Or was I in the scenario I had played moments ago? Or was I in Axeoth, after the Reckoning. If the former, then I need to quickly move. If the second, then I should quickly find an army before the lose condition sets in. If the latter, then I should lay low and gather info before doing anything else. As of now, I have no way of knowing for sure...
Or do I? I almost forgot that I can cast magic.
Magic. Yes, magic. It still felt odd to me, a rational and scientific thinker, was capable of using such fantastical powers. A part of my mind still considers this to be nothing but a rather detailed dream, but this definitely was no dream.
I had a number of spells in my repertoire. I should be able to use them, right?
Let's see... Apparently, I still have all the spells I have acquired in that last game I've played. Though I wasn't sure whether they'd work, I need to try it out. It could spell life and death for me.
By following my memories, I instinctively feel the exact sequence I should perform to cast a spell. It was a peculiar feeling, like releasing some pent-up energy accumulating within me. It was oddly refreshing...
I calmed myself, thinking about what spell I could use to scout the area. Maybe a simple View Air or by scouting ahead using Fly? I wasn't so sure about the former, and the latter could end up revealing myself to anyone who could be watching.
I cast View Earth.
As soon as I willed it, I could feel a small portion of my magic being funneled into this simple spell. All of a sudden, my eyes could see everything around me from above. The grass, the trees, the earth, the forest, the mountains, it felt utterly strange, alien even, being able to see the world below from a bird's eye view while also still being able to see regularly with my own eyes.
And almost immediately, I was suddenly overtaken by a sense of childish glee. Even despite the rather alienating experience of being able to see myself in the third person, I was oddly giddy, being able to do such an impossible thing. It was totally unlike anything I have ever experienced, let alone within that game itself.
My view began to shift around, and the world began to move around me. Normally, I'd feel sick from this odd experience, but for some reason I wasn't. Was it because I was undead? Or was it because it was magic? In either case, I continued playing about, taking my time to get my bearings straight and learn how to control this spell.
From what I could divine, there truly is a forest around me. It is quite a large forest, with an endless amounts of trees throughout even towards the horizon. The skies were moonless, almost devoid of light save for glittery stars that were scattered far across the great darkness.
I continued looking about, and found a rather interesting sight. Surprisingly enough, there was a city a few kilometers away from my current position. A medieval city that looks like it had been inhabited by humans, no less. It was surrounded by massive walls, and was also surprisingly large. There was no doubt that this town was a major settlement, and my mind quickly began making judgement about the power of the army they could field, and whether I could take them on by myself.
...What should I do next? My instincts told me that I should probably head to that city, but without any actual knowledge, would it be safe to do so?
Just to make sure, I tried casting Visions to view the composition of their garrison.
As soon as I finished casting, my mind was suddenly bombarded with a great deal of information. It still felt wholly unusual having all these information suddenly pour into my head and thus I took my time to sift through the information I had acquired. From what I can understand, there surely were a great number of soldiers within that city, a decently-sized garrison for a mid-tier town, along with numerous adventurers of varying capabilities. That last one seemed particularly strange. If this had been a game, this town would probably only garrison one hero, with another camping outside their gates. It was but another proof that I should be taking these things more seriously.
Even with all the power of my current character, I still wasn't confident enough to be able to take them on without an army, and even then, I still don't feel particularly comfortable just attacking random people without a good reason to do so.
I need to check out something first.
I cast Town Portal.
There was no response. I tried casting it once more, but it failed. There wasn't even a single location which I could teleport back to, which either means that my towns were reset, or that those towns no longer existed in this world.
In any case, that means that I am totally alone, lost in this strange world.
I still wasn't sure whether or not I was still in the game, or in the setting of any of the games. The landscape seems completely different, from the scenario I have played, or from any of the maps of Erathia that I know of. If I could still cast magic, does that mean that any of the mechanics of the game still work? If so, then I need to find an army soon before the automatic loss condition sets in after seven days. And I'm not taking any chances to test that theory.
That means my first priority is to look for and takeover an unoccupied settlement. Or, failing that, amass an army enough strong enough to take over one, or perhaps just defend myself, at the very least.
Considering the amount of artifacts I have, the number of spells in my possession, my own stats, and my secondary skills, I might be able to take on a decently force by myself, or at least I assume I would be. If my underlying assumptions are wrong, it would either mean I didn't need to do such a thing, or perhaps it may spell my end.
Either way, I must be careful, and prepare for the worst. The night was growing darker, and time was not on my side.
§
About a day have passed since my arrival here. I've scouted the general area around me with View Air and View Earth, and discovered a few number of goblin and ogre encampments scattered around the forest.
I observed one of the nearer ones for a time, a rather sizeable ogre town near a cliffside. I studied their equipment, their settlements, their capabilities. They were different from the ogres that I know of. Their forms were different, their behaviours odd, and their skin a different colour. Despite being rather weak compared to it's counterparts in other factions, these were still supposed to be fourth level creatures. But from what I can tell, these ones weren't particularly impressive, even an early-game hero might be able to take them on.
Should I recruit them? From what I can recall of the game, I either needed a big army, or a high diplomacy skill, none of which I possess right now.
...I still have some reservations about attacking them without provocation. As much as I advocate for first strike and consider it to be necessary for most battle strategies, I must admit that I had never experienced much in terms of physical violence in my life. I'd even go so far to say that I live a rather peacefully, without much conflict aside from a handful of verbal altercations which I often avoid for as I could.
But I had no other choice. I should do it. I must do it.
They were on the move now, tentatively approaching my position. Perhaps they have spotted me? I've made no effort to hide myself after all. It would at least force me to actually fight them, a pretense for me to justify my own actions.
An army of liches, after all, was better compared to this lot.
...I stood up, and began approaching them, slowly. I could see their faces clearer, they were a lot more ugly, a lot more gnarly than I realized. I don't recognize them as the ogres from the game. These things were... different... Almost unrecognizeable. Was this due to this being reality instead of being a game?
I am not so sure. But even in my other memories I can recall them looking a bit more different. These lot here were primitive savages, even the barbarians of the Stronghold had better equipment and organization.
Then again, these might just be a nomad tribe. Their gear and weapons could have just been looted from others, making do with what they have. It was natural, after all. There were also groups of random monsters in the game, when it had still been a game.
"Groaaagghhh!"
The ogres groaned and roared, perhaps in an attempt to intimidate me. Can they even form speech? Or are these ones just unintelligent folk?
It was a tense standoff. I stood guard, still waiting for one of them to either move or attack. They seemed to stand still too, perhaps waiting for someone within their ranks to take action.
But it wouldn't last long. A moment afterwards, an enormous figure appeared from the crowd, equipped in various mishmash of equipment sloppily put together, with some even looking like pieces of two different unrelated items fused together haphazardly. Their weapon was a gigantic club, an enormous hunk of steel twisted and bent to form a vaguely club-shaped form.
"Boneman is small." it said, voice throaty and gruff. "Boneman is weak! I beat boneman, and I be strongest of all!"
I was quite surprised, it can speak! But why was it speaking in broken English? Shouldn't they be speaking in their own language?
The gigantic ogre rushed towards me while I was still deep in thought. Oh, to think that I'd be caught unprepared in an actual combat scenario... I was beginning to think that this had been a horrible idea.
I dodged his attack. He had slammed his club into the ground, the piece of metal embedded itself quite deeply into the earth. The ogre easily lifted the club off the ground, tearing through earth and swung it down again, and again I had dodged.
"Boneman stay still!" the ogre leader shouted at me. "I will crush boneman!"
I should probably end this quickly, but I need to test something out.
I cast Magic Arrow, and a burst of light exploded from my palms and towards the ogre. It was a first level spell that was available to anyone with a spellbook, and it cost an insignificant amount of magic points. Though my high Power skill might boost it's efficacy, it was still a low-tiered spell, and there was also a distinct possibility that the creatures of this world would be tougher and stronger than in the games. And in theory, it should only allow me to target a single stack.
It should probably damage the ogres, at least. There were at least twenty of them here. If I target them as if they were but one stack it should deal a considerable amount of damage and thin their numbers.
However, I didn't expect it to kill everyone in my surroundings, including the ogre leader. Their corpses lay on my feet, lifeless.
In the game, winning a battle would lead to a victory screen, which would show the experience points I've gained, as well as gold or other resources, and, in the case for necromancers, the amount of undead raised. It seems that there was no such thing as a victory screen here after beating them, nor gold. I could feel some energy flowing into me, which I assume was the experience points, but aside from that, nothing.
I guess it means that I have to manually raise undead, then?
Animate Dead was a third level spell that is used to raise undead units, but from what I can recall, it only has the effect of raising units that were already undead to begin with. Raising killed units was under the domain of the secondary skill Necromancy, which at Expert level allows me to raise 30% of the enemy creatures slain as undead, and with the complete Cloak of the Undead King, I can raise an additional 30%, and raise them as Liches instead of mere Skeletons. So I can raise 60% of these creatures as undead Liches. I could add 30% more if I had a town and built the necessary structures, but considering my situation, that would be impossible. Could I even build such structures here? The game had fixed settlements wherein I could build and upgrade my bases' structures given enough money and resources, but there was no such mechanic for building up new settlements.
It was problematic. I still do not understand much of how this world works. Either way, that was a problem for the future. I had to focus on what I can do now.
I still quite don't know what to do to with them exactly, but following my memories, I should just... animate them?
As I cast my spell, darkness had erupted from my hands.
This was quite unusual. I don't recall this in any of my memories. Something is interfering with the flow of magic. I could not exactly tell, but the four elemental planes from which most of my magic from feels oddly different from what my memories told me.
The darkness began to slither into the corpses, like oily sludge moving through gears and chains, and consumed a good fraction of the corpses around me. The darkness then slowly grew and grew, transforming these ogre corpses into terrible, skeletal figures, the bits of sludge coalescing into their equipment, their armour, their staff.
Liches. These were Level 5 creatures from the Necropolis faction. They were fairly great long-range units, and are infact the only long-range unit within that faction. I have raised about 12 of them, the rest probably was used up in the transformation process for all I know.
For now, I have already built up an army. It was a small and pitiful one, for sure, but this would help me in conquering a small settlement at least. After looting this encampment of all it's items and killing the runaways, I decided to move in to another monster camp just half a kilometer nearby.
I felt nothing as I began my rampage across the settlement. Even as I brutally slaughter these monsters, killing them, experimenting on them with my various magical spells and my equipment, I still felt hollow, uncaring of their plight. Was this due to my lichdom? Was this due to my memories? Was it because they were monsters? Or was this due to something else entirely?
I do not know, and I fear of what I might become in the future if I continue to tread this path, but I had no luxury to contemplate on such matters. I should focus my utmost on my priorities.
The screams slowly died out deep inside the evergreen forest, leaving only a deathly silence behind...