Memories Of An Empire - Part One

Several Minutes Later... - The Small Town Of Sudan - Joyde's Point Of View...

Having looted all of the enemy's corpses and split the stuff equally, much to Bruntez's dismay and Helena's glee, I've once again found myself in the front of Amethyne's shop.

Entering it with a smile on my face and noticing that the key is inside of the door, I let out a massive breath of relief as I closed my eyes."Turn on sleep and play mode."

My voice echoed out somewhat loudly as I felt my heart rate slowing down."SAP mode successfully enabled. Do you wish to set an alarm?" Zena's ever so womanly voice was heard coming from behind me as I smirked."Yes, please set it at 9AM."

"Input Completed. Good night, sir." Nodding towards seemingly nobody, I lock the door with the key being left inside as I walk behind the counter and towards the stairs. Soon, I find Amethyne sitting on her bed in full elven form, obviously waiting for me to return.

"Hey." I say somewhat cheerily and she beams at me with a full smile."I can't believe that you actually pulled that off."

Shrugging as I throw my hands to the side, I say."Well with the safety of such a beauty as yourself on the line, I just had to give it my all."

Giggling softly at my remark, I watch her as she lets her evening gown fall to the floor and take a moment to bask in her beauty as her entire being is illuminated by the pale moonlight shining brightly through the open window. Smiling to myself, I ask her."Do you happen to have a real bath in your house that I can borrow?"

Turning her adorable hear around to face me, she finally notices all the dried up blood on my clothes and body."Uhh, yeah... only I can activate the portal so you should be able to access the real room easily."

Laughing at her flabbergasted expression, I approach her and, without pulling her in close, plant a quick but passionate kiss on her lips."Thanks, I appreciate the gesture."

Nodding at me, she closes her eyes as she lays down onto her bed and falls asleep, a picture of content etched upon her pale form.

Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...

Several Minutes Later... - The Small Town Of Sudan - Joyde's Point of View...

Leaving Amethyne's house and locking the door with a spare key which she had given me beforehand, I find myself intimately face to face with a strange, yet somehow familiar man. He and I stare at each other for several minutes in questionable silence.

He is at least one meter and eighty centimeters tall, has completely black hair and predatory yellow eyes, much like mine. The essence of chaos has clearly influenced him in several ways, albeit I can tell he is not infected or a host for a chaos soul..."Who, no what, are you?" He is currently wearing a black and red overcoat with a silver colored inside, along with a black jaw-mask upon his face.

I find myself asking without too much thought as the man nods at me, slowly closing his eyes, as if in disappointment."Ah, it is as I've suspected. Your rebirth has cost you much of your memories as well as your power, it would seem."

"My... rebirth?" Deciding to play a fool but still keep to my own level, I add."I see. So my power is something inherent?"

Muttering out to myself as the man stops himself from interrupting me, I take another look at his frame to attempt to remember who or what he was. It does not take me long to re-notice the yellow eyes again and there is only one type of creature which possesses such eyes, other than those afflicted by Chaos, that is."You are a vampire, right?"

Nodding to my question, he extends a silvered sleeve to the right, towards a set of benches."If I may ask you to sit down with me for a moment, mi lord. I shall explain to you whatever you may wish to know."

Sitting down upon the nearest bench, the man with the jaw-mask over his mouth is quick to follow my lead. Once he sits down, he pulls out a black-covered book with a crimson outline, titled as *On Transcendence*, written by none other than my previous self, Lord Rhean. Clutching my head as if in pain, I fake a grunt as I remember some of the things I've done in my past."Does this book have an effect upon your memory, sir?"

He asks me politely, but I shake my head in negative, deciding to keep playing a fool. In truth, I just realized who this guy probably is. You see, in my previous life, I decided it would be a good idea to see what would happen when a vampire is pulled and dragged to its lowest limits, a place where their inner beast takes over... and what happens when it stays that way for too long. In the game, with the players being an obvious exception, a vampire NPC would lose some of its memories whenever it loses itself to its beast. I wondered what the game would do once the beast deletes all of their memories... that and a couple other experiments are pretty much what described my fundamental relationship with undead in general.

This guy is probably one of my previous test subjects, lovely. Real lovely."No, it does not."

Turning his head around to face the book, he begins his story."Alright then. While this may be difficult to believe mi lord, but you were once the Emperor of a wast Empire."

I blink."An Emperor? Me? Come on, even if I've only been alive for a day, there is no way tha-" He interrupts me with a knowing smile.

And then he continues."As I've said, it may be hard to believe... However, it is truth nonetheless."

He turns his head upwards, gazing into the night sky as he continues his story."During your time as Emperor, you've done many things, both great and monstrous. This book contains the end results of what I believe to be some of your most monstrous moments."

Turning my head down to look at the book, I ask."What does it contain?"

He chuckles, somewhat darkly as he replies."Instructions on how to slaughter legions, several proven ways to attain immortality, many psychological effects of drugs, cures for most diseases and recipes for new ones... but most of all, it contains a marvelous path to power."

Quirking my eyebrow as I scramble my brain in thought of what he means by that, I ask."And you say that I wrote all of those things?"

A nod."That, and oh so much more, mi lord." Thing is, I'm quite sure that I haven't ever written any such book. God damned sheep, why must they always complicate shit with their religions.

Closing his eyes for a moment, the man stands up and then bows before me, extending a hand for me to shake."Ah, but pardon my rudeness. I haven't even introduced myself yet. My name is Istvan J. Helix, a vampire progenitor of The Cainite Clan and mayor of this, rather adorable little town."

My eyes grow wide as I shake his hand. Istvan... that was indeed the name of one of the NPC vampires whom I used as test subjects. One of the few I'd count as a success nonetheless."Your name... I remember it." The excuse for the surprise etched upon my face is given and he nods, seeming somewhat happy all of a sudden."Ah! I had hoped as much but... you do not know of the things you've done to me, do you?"

Tilting my head in confusion, I say."Nope. Although, if I had to guess, it was probably nothing good."

Chuckling at my honesty, he continues as he sits down next to me again, his head looking downwards upon the pale cobblestone before us."Indeed, the acts I suffered while under your captivity..." He shakes his head with a hand upon his forehead, placed there as a gesture of a pained memory."They were strong enough for me to despise you for them for a long time..."

"Past tense?" I ask with an inquisitive glance and he chuckles again."Indeed. I have hated your very existence for a good century, spending much of my unlife doing my best to find out how to best kill you once you returned and, in doing so, unwillingly learning much about you."

Raising his head to once again gaze at the stars, he continues as I watch and listen in silence."However... as I learned more, as I realized the meaning behind your actions... as I saw the world move on-no, stagnate without your presence... The more I found myself wishing that you came back."

"Well, now I'm apparently here. So what happens next?" I ask him, somewhat amused as he chuckles again."We'll talk about that later. Now, I wish to offer you this gift." He takes out a pouch of gold and hands me several other books.

Nodding at me as I receive them, he says."First, I wish that you recover your former power and... memories. These books are mere copies no, fragments of On Transcendence, they will aid you in achieving this goal."

"But what happens if I get my memories back fully, would that not be detrimental to you?" I ask him as I store the books into my inventory and he lets out a sigh."Mi lord, I have lived for over two centuries now, making me several times older than a normal human is ever supposed to be... ah, this is also one of the things you warned me about in your previous life, now that I think about it."

"I probably told you that a human mind isn't supposed to hold so many memories, that you would eventually become suicidal and depressive for no reason. That the only thing which could possibly bring you happiness and joy right now would be children." I say with what appears to be a fake epiphany and the vampire smiles."Indeed, it is as you say... and it has, most certainly, come to pass. As have many other things which you've prophesied."

"That still does not explain as to why you don't hate me anymore... I get that you understand my supposed purpose in this world but that's not nearly enough to warrant such a change, if what you say about my actions is real, that is." I spoke with unyielding clarity and conviction as the old vampire lets out a sigh."I... In order to understand my current actions, you must first comprehend your past self, Lord Rhean. Ah, forgive me, you go by Joyde now, correct?"

Nodding at him, I reply."Very well then. Would you be willing to tell me at least how I do so?"

"Do you possess a map of the nearby area?" He asks and I nod. Taking the map, he marks something on it which is fairly nearby, a location on the northern side of The Chittering Forest."Here, I've marked a certain location on your map. It is an ancient laboratory, once belonging to your empire, now it is a haven for all forms of Necromancy and Undead Abominations, other clans of Kindred Vampires included."

Quest Alert!

Summary - An ancient vampire, also one of your former test subjects (awkward), named Istvan, has made contact with you. He apparently seeks the return of your former power, as well as memories which he believes to be lost.

He has marked the location of one of your ancient laboratories in hopes that something there will make you remember both him and the glory of your past Empire.

Rewards - Adventure's Bounty Payment (10 gold coins)

Transcendent Alchemy (Book)

"You think that by going there I may find something that will jog my memory?" He nods at my question with clear intent and I stop to think."Not only that, but I will pay you the reward money for clearing it out, as no adventurer has had the abilities necessary to do so all this time. However, I believe that that... and the fact that you've resurrected in this small town, are no mere coincidences."

"You think our meeting, sorry, our re-meeting is a fated event?" He nods once again."Yes, indeed I do. It must be, for I have always felt that you would return, even while I still despised you."

He then stares upwards onto the moon and chuckles lightly."Although, I do not believe this particular thread of fate was woven by the gods. Rather, I think it is all a path forged for me by what you once referred to as Chaos."

"You know of Chaos?" I ask him, pleasantly surprised."You remember this? I am not surprised... after all, it is the basis for everything you are if the words of your previous life are to be believed."

I know I liked to preach about Chaos to my test subjects as I tormented them, but I never thought this might be one of the results... then again, this IS Chaos that were talking about here. Anything is possible."Yeah, it is. Chaos is my way of life."

He nods and replies with yet another surprise."As it is mine. Ironic truly, how much your death has changed.. both me and the whole of Azarest."

"What exactly has changed since I died?" I ask him and his eyes grow wide as he turns back to the ground."The way you put that question makes all this even more ironic. Tell me sire, when you look at the road, at the streets of this city, at the knives which you have holstered upon your belt, what do you see?"

"Normal th-wait... the way I put that question? Hmm, you've previously said that the world became stagnant upon my death. Do you perhaps mean to say that there has been no real progress, technological or otherwise, ever since my demise?"

To my amazement, he nods."Indeed... I see your insight is still in full blast, even after your rebirth. A few years after you died, your empire began to crumble, thus allowing many of your former test subjects, including myself, to escape back into the world of the living."

Cracking his neck, he continues."It was a truly strange time. The collapse of your empire set many of its former servants, monstrosities all, free from the chains which held them, causing destruction untold as we raged across the continent, painting it crimson, much like you did beforehand, funnily enough. Your death, alongside several other great powers, both light and dark, heralded the end of what is today called The Age Of Supremacy and ushered in The Age Of Annihilation."

"The Age Of Supremacy?" I ask him and he nods."It is a place in time which is described as a time where ancient and great powers vied for supremacy, drowning the entire world in blood and fire... While your own actions shaped the course of Azarest's history and twisted the continent into something both amazing and horrifying... well, lets just say that we all later realized just how fortunate we all were to have you here, instead of any of the other powers."

"What do you mean by that? Did the other continents have worse rulers?" He shakes his head in negative."No, that's not quite it. It would be better to say that we were easily able to deal with the aftermath of your sudden demise, which many say was the work of the gods, as not only you, but all of The Destined One's upon our world seemingly disappeared or died at around the same time."

The end of the two year beta... ah, so many people deleted their characters back then. The only reason Rhean stayed up for so long is because I decided to play the game all the way until the final shutdown. I remember watching as the last few moments of the beta drew near, as I sat upon my own golden throne, all alone, having released all of my servitors for the day. I let myself grin, catching the vampires attention as I close my eyes in thought."Did you remember something just now, sir?"

I nod at him, content visibly written upon my frame."Yes, I have... I see a vision. I see... myself, sitting upon a throne of gold, warm braziers glowing at each of my sides. I look... happy and yet, also accepting of something. I.. I think I just saw my last moments..."

He nods back, a tone of approval clearly echoing as he spoke."Yes... it is said that you were found dead, silently content upon your former throne, already set free as the world around you turned to darkness."

"As the world around me turned to darkness?" I asked him with a quirked eyebrow and his face turns grim."After you passed on, your empire nearly instantaneously broke apart, as the racism of all those you've forced together under your rule, found itself free from your chains. The Lunari were the first to dislodge themselves, taking the central city Lun'Adorey, as their ancient heritage, as well as most of the western lands."

Then he looks towards the north."The orcs, ever the peacekeepers, tried their best to keep the rest together for as long as possible, but as their leaders turned away from their own people, they had to deal with a rebellion, eventually resulting in them leaving the entirety of the central continent and confining themselves within the frozen mountains to the north, splitting into no less than thirteen tribes in the aftermath."

I let out an annoyed sigh. Well, in all honesty, the only reason why I didn't build more on the *don't be a racist*, social parts of my empire is because I was on a time limit... Something that does not exist, this time anyway."The Humans, following the orcs, decided it would be best to fight among themselves and eventually created three separate kingdoms, one of which has been destroyed in the meantime." So that means there's only two kingdoms left now.

"The Hybrid races, led by the Xivilai, believed your teachings must be preserved and so, they decided to attempt to reforge your empire with another Xivilai as its emperor... this caused them to be nearly all hunted to extinction, save a few who managed to run away from Azarest and to the other continents." Holy shit. Then again, my previous race is despised for a reason.

My flabbergasted expression is enough to send the vampire into a laughing spree as he continues with a smile on his face."The Beast kin, again much like the orcs, split apart into tribes and returned into their eastern jungles, leading small wars between one another and completely destroying any form of sentient civilization which you've tried to impose upon them." Arrogant, ungrateful bastards! I've literally spent several months teaching them how to be a proper race and not just a collection of sentient, yet also rabid animals.

"The Black Dragons, the Naga, the Felirians... all of the races which you've forged during your time have spread across the world. Some remain here... but not as anything more than slaves, most of the time." What can I say, I was bored... Gonna have to go and check if any of these races became available for players.

"After all that went and passed by, the continents new rulers turned away from one another and focused on their own people, allowing the continent to recover as heroes and monster hunters alike gathered to save it." I flinch slightly as he says this, a pang of guilt running up and down my spine."That must've been a fun time for you."

He lets out a depressing sigh."Indeed, my life during those times was what sparked most of my hatred towards you."

Knew it. Oh well, can't exactly blame him seeing as all this is basically my fault. I should have done more."Eventually, the chaos died down completely, the state of the lands was peaceful and, technically for Azarest, at least, The Age Of Annihilation was officially over. There was another war as the third human kingdom was destroyed and equal halves absorbed by the other two but... that's it. That time was also when we learned about what was going on in the rest of the world."

"Something tells me it wasn't nearly as smooth, even if extremely deadly, as it was for Azarest." I say and he shakes his head in negative with his golden eyes losing a little of their light."Mi lord, you probably think that what you've done in the past, the carnage of legions, the experimentation... you may believe that these things are horrible, correct?"

I give him a slow nod and he continues."Well, the things you've done are nothing compared to what happened to the rest of the world. Karal went through a genocide, as the race once called Thlaxi are now extinct." The bugs are no more? Well no wonder they weren't present in the character selection... this is bound to piss off a lot of people as the damn sentient ants were quite popular, indeed!

Noting that I am listening, he continues."Mendenia went through a century full of piracy, rape and general debauchery, eventually devolving its many beautiful shores and islands into the den of thieves they still are today." Mendenia is a tiny continent, surrounded by many islands, which makes it a perfect harbor. Not to mention how it has a lot of gold deposits, thus attracting much of the greedier player base to it during the beta. Once they all disappeared, its no wonder shit hit the fan, honestly.

"Lix was one of the luckier continents, being a continent of solely humans and dwarves, it managed to keep a strangled peace as the Dwarves traded goods between the four human kingdoms, using their merchant skills to keep the greed of human kings at bay for literal centuries." Smart, but also expected as the dwarves aren't exactly a popular race. They probably suffered the least out of everyone else.

"Now... Gradur... has been turned into a wasteland, as the dark and high elves battled for supremacy, their racial leaders suddenly dying caused both of the races to blame one another. Centuries of hatred and racism drove them to unleash several immense explosions of corrupting arcane magics which devastated the lands and was felt throughout the entirety of the world, leaving mere specks of land livable as the war went on. Eventually, the races killed off their new leaders and reunited into what is now known as the Gradurian Khanate, creating a caste system depending on slaves as they attempt to use the same arcane magics which they destroyed their continent with to repair it." So the elves arrogance remained even after they had to swallow their hate and unite in order to survive... how incredibly pathetic.

"And last... but not least... Norask... the continent was already a harsh place, having possessed no kingdoms or civilization upon it two centuries ago. However, that changed as the continent was used as a staging area for a demonic invasion, corrupting the entirety of it with Hell's foul essence as the Demon King of old ruptured the land and made it his own. The World quickly united as word of this reached our ears and the Demon King was slain, his armies pushed back into Hell as Heaven's angels descended to aid us. Nowadays, the continent is, much like Gradur, a scarred landscape. The few surviving demons eventually formed a pact with the gods, turning them into mortal beings, mere reflections of the demonic life-forms they once were. They now have a feudal kingdom of their own, each piece of land ruled over by a Demon Lord of its own." He explains and then stops to take a breath and I let out a sigh.

I have the distinct feeling that is going to be a long night.