Friday, February 28, 2014


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Chapter 6: Mirage


After the beast took over I was banished into the darkness of my mind, only able to see blurry images and listen to the monster's thoughts. The world was plunged into an azure abyss soon after and the vampire's control slipped a little while he fought for his life. I was unable to take over just yet but I could conjure imaginary stairs leading back into the center of my mind. The steps spiraled out of control, turned themselves upside down, became as thin as matchsticks, however, none of his attempts were able to stop me and when I finally reached the top I smashed through a door locked by chains of darkness. Behind it lay a spherical chamber housings hundreds of thousands of light-orbs, all showing moments that had long since passed, although I couldn't remember some of them. A smoke monster swirled through the air and accelerated when it became aware of my instrusion.
Return to the depths where you belong! I saved your pathetic life and even obeyed your order by taking the human with me. I deserve to be in control for once!
You deserve nothing! This is my body, not yours!”
It is our body and there's nothing you can do about that! Accept your fate and I won't need to take over again!
Never!”
Drake materialized a sword in mid-air and grabbed its hilt. It wasn't a shadow sword, though, but one with a crystalline blade. It was bathed in radiant light and started to hum when Drake jumped into the air, ready to battle the beast within.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014


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Chapter 5: Dying Breath Of Gana Borodem


The light diminished and darkness took over. Drake's body felt like it was on fire but he couldn't see what was happening after being temporarily blinded by the crystal's radiance. He did notice the smell of burned flesh, though, and touched his face with his right arm. His eyes widened in disbelief after noticing the bloody mess that should have been his cheek. What happened?
You don't look so good, vampire!” responded Maximilian mockingly while pressing his blade into Drake's neck. “Tell me where we are and how I can get back to Pagan and I'll make it quick!”
How...am I supposed...to know? You...shattered the crystal! And I...can't even see...anything!” Drake was wheezing and trembling, barely able to hold himself upright. It wasn't because of the pain, as vampires have a higher pain threshold than humans, but because most of his energy had been drained.
Maximilian removed his blade and walked in a half-circle across rocky terrain before he spoke once more: “Gosh, you look even worse from the front. Even your eyeballs are burned.”
How did this...was it the light? It has to be, right? He expected an answer from Modera but all he received was a kick to the stomach, which caused him to fall backwards onto rocks.
Agh, why did you do that?”
Just making sure that you're not putting on an act. How long will you need to regenerate?”
I don't...know. I haven't been a vampire...for very long,” his stomach grumbled, as if on cue. “And I don't know...if I have any energy left...to regenerate. What does it even matter...to you? Just kill me already.”
No, you're not getting off that easy if you can't or won't provide information. And who knows, maybe you can still prove useful as bait for wild animals.”
I guess we're not in the vicinity...of a city or village?”
No, we're stuck in the mountains, with cliffs all around us. It's too dark to climb therefore we'll have to spend the night together. That should give you enough time to heal yourself.”
Don't you...have any potions?” The only potion we need is his blood! Trick him, suck him dry! Shut up!
Of course I do but I'd have to spend every single one of them to heal wounds as severe as yours. And I'm certainly not going to waste them on an evil creature.”
I'm not...evil!”
Sure, you were just playing a little prank by putting every person in the castle to sleep. And I suppose you were joking when you talked about kidnapping me?”
We didn't do that...because we wanted! Modera...ordered us to.”
Why?”
I don't know why!” Drake yelled and suffered a coughing bout.
Don't strain yourself. We can talk later! Perhaps I'll even believe you this time,” these words were followed by the sound of metal falling onto stones. “I'll try to find some firewood. We have a long night ahead of us. You just stay there.”
Very funny!”
Maximilian's footsteps would have vanished in the distance but Drake's hearing was going haywire once more. The area was strangely quit, though, only filled by sporadic gusts of air, but Drake was too distracted by his aching skin to care. Maximilian returned 15 minutes later, started a small campfire and went to sleep soon after.
Drake tried to follow his example but was disturbed by strange sounds coming from below: thudding footsteps followed by rattling metal. Whenever they ceased a raspy breathing noise filled the air. Whatever you are, please go away! The moment those thoughts passed his mind the footsteps stopped and the ground shook ever so slightly.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014


I've learned this lesson years ago while working on my games and it still holds true today. Of course it doesn't mean that you should make everything up as you go along. That way you only end up with a nonsensical mess that you need to fix durig the editing phase, unless you're actually so good that everything connects flawlessly.

You need to know how the story begins and how it ends. And it can't hurt to know a few events that will happen down the road. Everything else can be nothing more than a general idea that you flesh out while writing it. Seeing as Mortaevum was a game first I had nearly everything laid out before me but it's just not fulfilling to keep to a strict plan. If you have an interesting idea that might make for a better story, then write it down! That's exactly what I did with the current chapter. I essentially skipped a few events that happened in the game because they simply aren't interesting nor essential. Of course I had to incorporate some of the events that happened during these scenes into the current chapter but if it leads to a better story it's certainly worth it.


Don't plan everything from the get-go! And even if you do, deviate from your plans if you get better ideas!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014


Seriously, do not try to be perfect! You'll just waste countless hours of your life. You don't know how much time I spent working on my blogs even though most of the changes will never be seen by anyone. I'm also writing reviews on my other (german) blog and everytime I link to one of the reviews I can't help myself and have to look over it one more time, which often leads to at least a few changes.

Why am I telling you this? Because I'm doing it again! Someone is drawing book covers for me and I thought it might be a good idea to go over Don't Play With Slenderman once more before I release it with a new cover...and now I've started rewriting entire passages as I simply didn't like the old ones anymore. I've added about 1000 new words in the process and drew half of the eight pages a second time to make them look somewhat better while keeping them amateurish.
Of course it can't hurt to have a more polished version at hand but I'm sure I would keep finding flaws every time I read it. But people aren't perfect. Most of them will never write a masterpiece, especially not while working on their first book. You can hire an editor if you can afford it but do you really want to work on the same story over and over again till it appears to be perfect enough to be published?
I certainly don't want to do that. So I'm just going to fix it up, add the new cover, publish it once more and that's it! Otherwise I'll never be able to finish Mortaevum and I care too much about the story to let it die a second time.

Don't try to be perfect! Learn from your mistakes and create something better the next time. You'll never be able to get anything done if you go back over and over again to fix everything you've ever made!

Sunday, February 16, 2014


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Interlude


 A lone figure clad in white stood in a world devoid of darkness. Its light stretched into infinity, unhindered by obstacles it would have encountered in the physical realm. But despite being a world the darkness cannot touch it is far from being a paradise. It's merely an endless plane without features, a place where you wouldn't even realize that you're moving forward as everything looks the same. More importantly, it's also a place without life, at least the kind of life you're accustomed to. The white-robed man remained silent for what seemed like an eternity, deep in thought since the moment he arrived as he felt that something was off. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be straining his ears although there were no sounds he could have listened to.

You wanted to talk?” booming voices resounded through the empty world, cutting through the silence.

Something seems to be wrong. Everything is proceeding in a similar fashion but if the changes continue to accumulate then everything could have been in vain. Especially since he is already stirring.”

...” a gloomy silence filled the air, even worse than when the white-robed man had entered this realm.

I've never seen this possibility. I tried so hard to find it among all the noise but it simply doesn't exist! How am I supposed to help him under these circumstances?”

Something has changed – something that might have ruined everything, but it was the only choice we had,” sadness reverberated throughout the world.

But why can't I see the deviation?”

Because it would have endangered our entire existence!

You'd rather waste everything I've done than take a risk?” the man's voice was filled with anger.

...

I need to see...” he was desperate now.

This might be the last time we speak to each other...please, don't let it end like this...

The world lit up in single flash of light and a sphere of pure energy surrounded the white-robed figure. He fell to his knees, pressed his hands onto his head and began to scream while the realm changed.

The brightness faded away, leaving behind nothing but a muddy gray, and the air itself seemed to ripple, slowly intensifying till a loud crack echoed through the world. The darkness had finally found a way inside...

Wednesday, February 12, 2014


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Chapter 4: Remnants Of The Marble City


When Drake awoke all signs of the attack had disappeared, although he could have sworn that the wardrobe stood in a different place last night. Glenn was already up and about, once again sitting in a chair by the wall and staring at him.

Is something wrong?”

What happened tonight?”

What do you mean? I walked around the city for a while and got lost in the process. When I finally found my way back I...went to sleep, I suppose. I might have visited the pub beforehand though. That would explain the blackout and why my head is pounding.”

You went to sleep?” asked his father incredulously.

Yes? Is something wrong with that?”

I...guess not,” he sighed and picked up a piece of parchment. “Anyway, we've got our audience. The king expects us at 3 P.M. so don't be late! The castle should be hard to miss, seeing as it's the only building that isn't ugly.”

Just wait a moment, I'll come—” Glenn stormed out of the room before Drake could finish the sentence.

Did I do something wrong?

No, you didn't. It's all my fault!”

Wait...can we talk through telepathy too?

Yes. It's one of the few skills that doesn't require us to...drink blood. With enough training we could even control the actions of others, but we don't want that, do we?”

No...I suppose we don't...

You suppose?”

Well, it could be useful under certain circumstances...

Don't be stupid! You have to hold on to the remnants of your humanity instead of giving in to the beast!”

Why are so you mad?

It doesn't matter! Just meet me at the castle in a few hours! Oh, but visit the armor shop beforehand and get yourself a new set. Keep the leather armor though. I doubt anything in Pagan could match it's enchantment, at least anything you could actually afford.”

Silence returned and Drake went to the bathroom to freshen up. He would never choose to live in Pagan instead of Arlin but they had a nifty system in place where you only needed to turn a few knobs to get all the water you needed. You could even heat it up on the way! Drake assumed it to be some kind of magic whereas it was actually an invention created by the dwarves during the Golden Age. They never managed to distribute the system to any human settlements though as the war broke out soon after. It wasn't until hundreds of years later that an expedition led by the Adventurers Guild stumbled upon the plans in an abandoned dwarven outpost. That's one of the reasons they could afford to built such extraordinary guild halls all over the globe.

Drake noticed his blood-shot eyes in the mirror as he dried his face but assumed it to be nothing more than a side effect of his transformation. He was actually more surprised that he had a reflection to begin with but seeing as nearly everything he knew about vampires seemed to be wrong it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. If Modera could have listened in she would have ridiculed him for assuming that an inanimate object would care if he was dead or alive. Isn't there something like a vampire's handbook? Certainly couldn't hurt. With that in mind he left the room.



This version is horribly outdated.
Revision 2 is in progress.
 

 

Chapter 4: Remnants Of The Marble City




The moment I died the world changed: All colors faded away, time slowed down to a crawl and Modera's laughter, as well as every other sound, was replaced by an eerie silence. Not an absolute silence though as I could hear something resembling rolling thunder in the distance, which made me feel uneasy for no discernible reason. It's hard to describe but something began to well up in the deepest recesses of my mind. It can't be! Why am I able to hear it already? But the moment realization dawned upon me pain seared through my soul and erased everything. Still, I felt compelled to investigate and stood up, leaving my body behind. I didn't seem to care though, as if I had already accepted my fate and was ready to move on. Maybe it was the only chance I had before Modera corrupted my soul and brought me back to life.

That is correct. Modera is too busy celebrating her victory, which gives you more than enough time to choose if you want to live on as a vampire or if you want to die,” responded a muffled voice to my thoughts, which should have been weird but something inside me knew that I wasn't alone anymore. I turned around and my expectations were met when I saw a black-robed figure bearing a scythe. “I'll never understand why mortals need to be afraid of death even after their demise. Wouldn't you prefer something that calms your soul before you move on?”

I've never actually thought of that.”

It's always the same, no matter who I ask,” he sighed, “But you might be the only person who should actually be afraid of me!”

I don't understand...”

Of course you don't and maybe you'll never remember, but I don't have to forgive you for your choice! Just don't screw up this time!” his voice was but a mere echo at this point as his form flickered out of existence.

What about my choice?!”

I don't care about your choice!”

Alone again and it seems that time had moved on while I wasn't looking. Modera was kneeling in front of my body now, certainly getting ready to transform me into a creature of darkness. Incapable of stopping her I went towards the balcony to bask in the light of the sun one last time. I failed to do so though as the beautiful ball of fire had been replaced by an ominous storm cloud in the distance. It should have been too far away to make out any details but I swear that I saw something resembling a face in its center. At that exact moment something began to pull at my soul.

Let me end your suffering!” demanded a familiar voice but before I could put my finger on it I was sucked back into my body.



Unimaginable pain began to course through my mind and body!

We were marching through the frozen wastelands of the north after having claimed victory at last! After centuries of war we would finally be at peace.

Modera's blood began to flow through my veins and my body felt like it was on fire as it tried to fight back in vain.

Night had already fallen and our party was about to call it a day when darkness descended upon our camp! I've never felt so much power before.

My whole body convulsed painfully as dozens of arteries exploded and mended themselves at the same time!

The corpses of our most magnificent warriors littered the ground, painting the snow red while he continued to rip them apart! Their dying screams echoed across the clearing and I ended up with blood all over my clothes without being able to save even a single one of them!

Something was eating itself through my brain and I screamed and screamed and screamed while the headache got so horrendous that I thought my skull would explode!

Only the two us were left alive when a sphere of pure energy erased every trace of the massacre! When I awoke I was all alone...

The pain subsided when my heart began to beat again, pumping the tainted blood through my veins.

My eyes have been opened! He will come and save us! Bring salvation and rejuvenation! He will! He must! He has to! Destroy him! You don't have a choice! It is your destiny!

The Savior! The Promised One! He who will vanquish the darkness! All meaningless if you fai—arghhh!



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