Outsider Chronicles: Overlord Rising

Not all Outsiders are reborn as babys. Most are, but there are many ways to be reborn. I am one of those who was not reborn in the conventional sense. However, that does not mean that I am still who I once was. After all...Evil will always find a way...

Overlord is a game I greatly enjoyed. Its also an excellent starting point for an OC in a fantasy world. Lets see where this goes, shall we? Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I awoke in darkness. The last thing I remembered was the building I was in starting to shake, falling and then a sharp pain in my stomach. Then, nothing. I looked around, but I couldn't see a thing. I reached out, but I was quickly bet by a solid surface. It was at that point that I came to a rather worrying realization. I was in a coffin. Judging from what I could feel, the coffin was made of stone, but that wasn't something I really cared about at the moment. What I cared about was the fact I WAS IN A COFFIN!

I immediately started banging on the stone.

"LET ME OUT!" I shouted, "I'M ALIVE IN HERE!"

There was a skittering sound outside.

"Mastah?"

Some part of me paused at that as it sounded oddly familiar. However, it was quickly drowned out by the rest of me screaming at the top of its lungs.

"GET ME OUTTA HERE!" I shouted.

"Mastah Mastah!" squealed the creature on the other side, "Go get Gnarl!"

I heard it start to move away and frantically banged on the stone some more.

"NO, GET ME OUT!" I shouted.

Too late, the creature had already left. I was just about to start panicking for real when I heard some more skittering outside, this time it sounded like there was more than one.

"Are you sure Giblet?" asked a croaky voice.

"Yes, its da Mastah!" said the voice I'd heard before.

"Well, I hope you're right this time," said the old voice, "Honestly, its been far too long and your false alarms are beginning to grate."

"Here, here!" said Giblets voice.

"Alright, but if you're wrong again, I will kick you off the tower," said the second voice, "Oi, get this coffin open!"

There was a chorus of agreements and skittering, before the top of the coffin started shifting letting in blessed light and fresh air.

"Well, what do you know, you were right for once!" said the old voice, "Put your back into it you lot! Oh, it'll be so nice to have a Master again!"

Finally, the coffin was open, letting in enough light to blind me. As I blinked away the spots, I saw some vague shapes moving around in my field of vision that was oddly blurred, as if my eyes hadn't been used for a while.

"Rub some acid in his eyes, that'll freshen him up," said the old voice.

"Ah, that won't be necessary," I said, stopping the hand holding the cloth that was coming towards my face, "I'm fresh enough as is."

"Oh? Well, thats good to hear Master," said the voice.

By this point, my vision had cleared enough that I could see, so I looked at the source, only to stop and stare in complete disbelief. I was in what appeared to be a cave or crypt of some kind, sitting in a stone coffin in the center of the room. Surrounding me was a small group of six, small brown, goblin like creatures with long ears, sharp teeth and glowing, yellow eyes. Most were identical, but one was wearing a leather smock and what looked like a welding mask and the last one, this one appearing far older than any of his fellows, had gray skin, sparse, gray hair and dull yellow eyes. He was wearing rags stitched crudely into robes, and a stick with a glowing crystal tied to the end.

"Greetings Master," said the old one with a bow, "It gives me great pleasure to meet you. I am Gnarl, Minion Master and devoted servant of Evil."

"Errr," was my very intelligent response.

Gnarls smile faltered.

"Oh dear, it seems that the Tower has chosen a dullard," he said, "Well, I suppose we can make do…"

"Oi, I'm not a dullard!" I protested, "I'm just not sure how to react to this! Where am I?!"

"Oh, that's a relief," said Gnarl, "I was worried that we'd been waiting for so many years to have a fool as a leader. As for where you are, you are in the crypt below the Dark Tower...or whats left of it at least."

I blinked a few times, shook my head, then blinked a few more. How in the world was I supposed to react to this? I mean, I'd played the Overlord Games, but to suddenly find myself in the Dark Lords armoured boots? It was too much! I wasn't evil, hell, I couldn't even fight!

"Now, lets see what we have here," said Gnarl, reaching into a pouch at his side and pulling out a roll of parchment.

"Pardon?" I asked, "Whats that?"

"Oh, the Tower provides me with a bit of information about our new Overlord," said Gnarl, "Its a feature that was added by the Fifth when he created the system by which new Masters would be chosen."

Huh, well, that was somewhat of a relief. At least I wouldn't have to worry about the Second or the magic hating Empire breathing down my neck. Wait, what was I saying?!

"Hmm, Drake Blackwood, interesting name, an…" he paused and looked up at me, "Author?"

I shifted uncomfortably.

"Hmm, skills...oh dear."

Gnarl sighed.

"We've been sent a useless Overlord," he said, "You have no real combat skills, no magic and you're not even Evil according to this. You're just a… 'gamer' from another world."

My eye twitched.
"Well excuse me!" I growled, "Its not like I asked to be here! I don't even know how I got here, all I know is that I'm pretty sure I died! I know I'm not evil and that I don't have any skills! Sure, I might have thought it was fun to play the games back in my world, but I never thought I'd end up in this situation!"

I threw out my arms in frustration, only to nearly jump out of my skin as lightning bolts lept out of my fingers and blasted some nearby rocks to pieces. Gnarl and I stared at the smouldering rocks in surprise as the other Minions looked vacant.

"Well, that explains a lot," said Gnarl, "It seems that you have a remarkably strong connection to the Tower Heart. Hmm, you might make a good Overlord after all…"

"Still not Evil," I said.

"Perhaps not, but at this point, I'm willing to accept anything," said Gnarl, "We've been without a Master for far too long. Hell, the Greens and Blues have wandered off and I'm pretty sure the Reds are also planning on leaving!"

My eye twitched.

"And I'm going to have to go after them, aren't I?"

Gnarl just smirked at me. I sighed.

"Fine, since I don't have anything better to do," I said, "Besides, I guess it could be fun…"

"Excellent!" said Gnarl, clapping his bony hands, "Come, let us get you suited up."

I followed the aged Minion as he led the way out of the crypt and through a cave with a few smaller ones leading off containing various small areas for the Minions to live. Only the Brown and Red Hives was there though, the others were conspicuously absent. Still, the Tower Heart was there, floating in the center of the room, so I wouldn't have to find that. I followed Gnarl up the stairs and into the Tower proper. The first room we came to was the Throne Room. It looked like the Tower Throne Room from the first game and was in shambles, with numerous fallen pillars and worn stone.

"This place is a dump," I said.

"Yes, well, its been a very long time since the Tower was in use," said Gnarl, "We Minions don't really need very much, so there was no need to keep it in good condition. Still, at least it wasn't destroyed by a battle, so it shouldn't take long to repair."

"Thats good...I guess," I said.

Gnarl led me through an archway off the Throne Room and into the Armoury/Forge where a number of Minions were scurrying around a mannequin.

"Here we are," said Gnarl, "This will be your armour."

I raised an eyebrow as I examined it. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. Rather than heavy plate, it appeared to be made up a series of interlocking plates made for freedom of movement, with clawed gauntlets, the left of which had the yellow control gem in it, and a red cloak wrapped around the shoulders. The weapon was a vicious looking, curved sword that gleamed wickedly in the light of the forge.

"Ohhh, now thats cool," I said as I picked up the weapon.

"Isn't it just?" said Gnarl, "Giblet worked very hard on that. I believe that the Tower might have guided him in its creation, along with the armour. Now, why don't we get you into it?"

I nodded eagerly and moved to where Gnarl told me to, allowing the Minions to put the armour onto me. It fit perfectly and was surprisingly light all things considered. The cloak came with a hood that, when pulled up, would throw my face into shadow. Once I was suited up, I stepped in front of the mirror Gnarl provided.

The first thing I noticed wasn't the armour, it was the fact that I didn't look quite the same as I did before I arrived. My face seemed...different, like all the imperfections had been smoothed out, and I couldn't help but notice that my ears appeared slightly pointed. My eyes had also changed, the former light brown changing to a pale shade of ice blue that, unless I was very much mistaken, were glowing faintly. I flipped up my hood and, sure enough, my eyes were indeed glowing. My hair had also changed slightly, changing from a normal dark brown to the same black as the void and reflected the light like a ravens wing. Combine that with my armour and sword and I cut a very intimidating figure. Actually, now I took a proper look at the armour, it looked like the Ebony set from Skyrim and the sword definitely resembled a Daedric sword.

"Very nice," I said, "What now?"

"Now sire, we plan," said Gnarl, "If you are to be the Overlord, we must first reclaim that which is missing from the Tower. The lost Minion tribes and the Spells they took with them."

"Great, busy work," I drawled.

"Oh, do perk up Master," said Gnarl, "Its not all bad. This world is quite different than the one you know and indeed expect."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Gnarl smiled and beckoned for me to follow. I did as bid and he led me into the Throne Room and through a door behind the throne. This door led to a room unlike anything I'd seen in the games. It was a map room, circular in shape, and paneled with wood, although it was in dire need of repair. Numerous shelves lined the walls, each holding ragged looking scrolls at best or dust at worst.

"What a mess," I said.

"Fear not Master, we shall endeavor to repair your Tower post haste," said Gnarl, "For now, take a look."

I stepped up to the table and leant on its edge. The table was blank, but that quickly changed as it rippled and changed to show a map of the world.

"Ohh, impressive," I said.

"This map table is a very powerful artifact," said Gnarl, "One of your predecessors claimed it from a powerful Wizard who enchanted it to be able to show its master anything on this world. Now its connected to the Tower Heart, it's power can span the entire planet."

I leaned over the table and examined the table, running my fingers over the names of the nations and contents listed.

"Albion, Aurora, Thedas, the Elemental Nations and the New World," I breathed, "This world…"

"Is one of magic and Power," said Gnarl, "And it is yours for the taking sire, if you so wish it."

I stared down at the map. It was hard to believe, but there it was. In the center of the map was the land my Tower was located in, the Kingdom of Albion.

"Fable," I muttered, moving my hand to the lands to the west, "Dragon Age."

I moved my hand to the large content to the south.

"This one I don't know," I said.

The map rippled and seemed to zoom in on it. This time, it also showed the borders of the kingdoms that made up the land.

"Ah, Overlord, how ironic," I said upon seeing the names of the Kingdoms.

I moved my hand to the land labeled as the Elemental Nations and the map moved with me, showing the lands there.

"Naruto...that should be fun" I muttered, "Amazing, this really is a world of wonders…and horrors."

I pulled back my hand and the map once again moved out to show the whole world.

"A whole world of magic. I don't think I can resist."

I grinned.

"Gnarl, what is happening in Albion at this moment?"

"Hmm, I believe that they are currently suffering under the cruel reign of King Logan," said the Minion Master, "An interesting man to be sure."

"So, Fable 3 then," I mused, "I can work with that."

I grinned.
"Who knows, maybe I can take over without having to spill any blood."

"Ohhh, I do like the way you think Master," said Gnarl, "Truly, a plan worthy of the Lord of all Evil."

I blinked as I realized that I was planning to take over a nation. Interesting...eh, why not? The Tower Heart had chosen me, might as well live up to the title.

"I suppose it is," I said, "But first, we need to repair the Tower and find the other Minion Tribes. I can't very well take over the world without my armies, now can I?"

Gnarl cackled evilly.

"Oh Master, I think we're going to get along famously!" he said, "Now, let us begin."

And so here in ends the first chapter of my first 'dark' Outsider story, if it can really be called that considering. The Overlord games tend to paint you as the lesser of two evils after all.

So, we've seen some of the potential places for Drake to take over. He probably won't go to all of them, but they all exist within this world. I may add others later. For now though, the first stop will be Albion.

And now for a question for my beloved readers. Since Overlords are evil and all that, it obviously means they have a number of Mistresses. I have a few in mind, but I'd like to hear who you lot would like to see end up in the Tower from the worlds listed. Lets see what you come up with.

And with that, its time to sign out. I hope you enjoyed and make sure to leave a review!