Author's notes: Just a few things readers ought to know about the Rune Midgard featured in this story. There is no respawning and crusaders are like the police of the world.
Chapter 1: Dark Designs
Glast Heim. An ancient and ruined keep located far to the west of the city of Geffen. No one knows the true history of Glast Heim. Some say it was where the king of the elves sent his youngest child to be protected in case of a coup. Others say it was the home of an ancient and ruthless human warlord who had managed to carve out a small realm in spite of the massive Elvish empire that ruled the continent. Whatever it was in times past, it is now home only to demons and the undead. Legends speak of the siege of Glast Heim, when Baphomet led his unholy army against the keep and ultimately took it over more than one hundred years ago. After seizing control, the demon lord used the ruined keep as his base of operations during what Elvish history calls the Great Demon War. Ultimately, Baphomet managed to inflict such staggering losses on the elves that their empire would soon crumble, but as a last ditch effort to stop the demon many of the greatest elf sorcerers banded together to seal Baphomet and his minions in the. The barrier does not prevent humans and elves from entering the ruins, though, and as the human kingdom of Rune Midgard expanded to fill the void left by the elves, its strongest warriors have begun to see the keep as the ultimate challenge of their abilities. Bands of adventurers occasionally enter the keep vowing to return with the head of Baphomet or one of his lackeys, but few ever return. Recently many of the Church of Rune Midgard's more daring acolytes have begun using the keep's ruined graveyard to learn to better channel their holy energies and destroy the undead and, as teleportation has become part of standard Church training, these brave men and women, provided they are careful, generally come into their priestly powers more swiftly than other, less daring, acolyte trainees.
Standing on a balcony jutting from one of the highest towers of the ruined keep, a solitary figure stood looking out over the ruins of his domain. A chill gust of wind blew over the castle, but aside from ruffling his mane a bit it had effect on Baphomet, Lord of Demons and the current ruler of Glast Heim. As the wind died down, the demon king sensed a presence behind him and turned to find one of his most trusted servants waiting for him. Standing ten feet tall and surrounded by a nimbus of black flames emanating from the burning, rotating eldritch symbol above which he floated, the Dark Lord presented an imposing sight, although he showed visible deference to twelve-foot tall, horned, and goat-footed Baphomet.
"Yes? You have something to report?" Baphomet asked his lieutenant.
"Everything is ready for your plan to begin," the Dark Lord replied.
"Excellent. Dispatch the signal. The first stage will begin very soon," Baphomet said, a wicked grin forming on his face. The Dark Lord bowed to his lord and then proceeded back into the tower and out of sight.
Still smiling, Baphomet looked out of Glast Heim toward the east, where the hated kingdom of Rune Midgard lay. Despite the perpetual oppressive gloom that had descended upon Glast Heim ever since Baphomet and his demons had taken over, it was still possible for Baphomet to make out the spire of the Geffen Wizards' Guild very faintly in the distance. The demon king let out a roar of laughter as he thought of how he would soon bring that tower, one of the greatest symbols of human "achievement" in the world, crashing down brick by brick, along with the rest of the human kingdom. Baphomet then turned and strode back into his castle, thinking about how he would soon be master of the entire world.