Prologue: Death?

Kingdoms of Sin. An RPG game taking place in a fantasy world ruled by five primal folks. The Daoine Sidhe, the elven people. The Knockers, the dwarven one. The Druks, the draconic people. The Dracs, the aquatic people. And the Beastmen.

    Once a century, the rulers all gather to summon a Saintess who will bring prosperity to one of their kingdoms. And, once again, time has come.

    From the tip of my fingers, I turn the pages. Brushing the paper. One after another, my eyes scanning words I know by heart.

    Slight tremors.

    Unfortunately so, not long after the Saintess is brought to their world, she meets a tragic end.

    The corruption threatening to swallow any remnant of the kingdoms’ glory, a noble Hero appears. Going through the kingdoms, the player embodies him. He gains experience and fights the threats endangering the world until he defeats the last boss, uncovering along the way the secrets of his own past, veiled by his amnesia.

    As I tear my gaze from the pile of paper in front of me, a tablet laid near it, my eyes drift to the light. The landscape rushes by the window, forcing me to accustom to its pace before discerning something else than my reflection, topped with a massive charcoal bun. The hills, mountains stand out along the horizon.

    Not so different from a film roll. Each time I take the train I hope these sceneries will bring me some sort of inspiration for the next game I’ll work upon. A move, a detail. Something special.

    My focus returns to the tablet, scrolling as I take once more a look at the charadesigns and some in-game images. Some details would almost make me roll my eyes, though… I stop at the picture of an elven silhouette. And giggle.

    At least, the production team has perfectly respected the design I set for him. The advantages of being a minor character, I guess.

    As a game scenarist, all decisions aren’t mine. Some changes can’t be avoided. But as long as they don’t touch Tyffeon, I’ll bear it.

    Feeling suddenly observed, I raise my eyes to catch sight of a grandma sitting in front of me.

    Oopsie.

    I guess I have awoken her. My gaze lingers a bit too long and I notice that she smiles at me, what makes me instantly avert my gaze. Luckily, she can’t see my expression since I wear a white mask. One such as the doctors asked us to wear, more than a year ago. One I haven’t taken off, even though we’ve been allowed to for a long while.

    She couldn’t feel the slight unease in my gaze,.. could she?

    The moment I spot the dark green tinted river, a sudden creaking noise makes me wince. We’re suddenly tossed forward, the side of the table pressing against my ribs until I feel them crack.

“What the-”

    The burning pain caused by each of my bones’ fragments prevents me from ending my sentence, replaced by a scream.

    The agonising, metallic whines give way to a brief, unreal silence as the train falls over the bridge.

    The landscape out the window twists. Before we are all tossed to the opposite side of the train, a thought crosses my mind.

“‘Guess it’s the end. I hope the game will be released… After all, that’s the only thing of value I leave behind.”

    Pages of my scenario fly in all directions. Bodies take unlikely poses. A chaotic mess of paper, now tinted with blood.

***

“Please. Please. Answer our call. May your wisdom bring fortune to our kingdoms.”

    As my eyes snatch open, I feel short of breath, gasping for air. Instinctively, my fingers grip my stomach, clutching the soft fabric upon my skin.

    It doesn’t hurt. It… doesn’t??

    As I lower my gaze, wide-eyed, I notice the white gloves and dress I’m wearing. These are not my clothes…

    A strand of hair brushes my cheek and my eyes lock on their blondness.

“Honourable Saintess?” A regal voice calls with a hint of concern.

    My heart skips a beat as I become aware of my surroundings.

“A Saintess?”

    As I raise my head, I notice five silhouettes gathered around me. Three are crowned, all give off a respectable aura of mightiness.

    None of them are human.