For this week’s assignment, I wrote a narrative from the perspective of my character in the video game Torchlight 2. Torchlight 2 is an action RPG game where your character seeks to stop the Alchemist, a mysterious figure responsible for the destruction of Torchlight, and is now stealing magical energy from mystic beings called the Guardians. My narrative starts from one of the game’s missions where you must fight a monster called the King of Masks.
The mysterious man’s words echoed around me.
“The King of Masks awakens“.
Could it be? The beast of myth and lore, rising from its age-long slumber? The creature of three disfigured and horrific faces, forever concealed behind its masks that grant awesome power? Could it be?
My reverie and wonderment was shattered by the earth rumbling around me. The desert sand shifted between my feet as the world split in two, revealing a spiral staircase that wound down into impenetrable gloom and darkness. Every fiber of my being told me not to do it.
But I had no choice. I knew that if I was to find the Alchemist, the shadowy figure behind the destruction of my homeland, my path would have to go through the King of Masks. The mysterious man had told me so, moments before he vanished into thin air.
I took a deep breath. Touched the twin pistols that hung on my hips and took my first step into the gloom. As I descended, the air grew stale and dusty. No one had breathed this air for many, many years. The darkness was stifling. I could barely see a yard ahead of me, but I pressed forward, my footsteps echoing through the cavernous lair.
I had been underground for almost two hours when I became aware of a presence. Something was here.
I stopped and sniffed the air, strained to see into the veil of darkness.
Torches all around me suddenly ignited, as brilliant light blinded me. I had walked into an empty arena of some sort, with sheer walls that stretched up towards the surface for as far as the eye could see.
As I turned a full circle, taking in my new environment, I couldn’t help but wonder at the vast expanse of the cavern. My wonder quickly turned to horror as I completed the circle and I came face to face with the King of Masks.
The beast stood 40 feet tall. It had six legs. Four arms. A serpentine tail curled behind it. Its head, completely covered by three masks, slowly rotated around and around, as the creature endlessly twisted and untwisted its neck. Its six eyes were piercing and menacing. The monster exhaled, and the cavernous arena shook. The King of Masks noticed me, and let out a deep, rumbling chuckle.
“Puny human“, it said, “Why have you disturbed my eternal sleep?“. The creature’s voice was impossibly loud, and every syllable hit my body like a tidal wave.
I swallowed fear, and replied,
“I seek information about the Alchemist!”
“The Alchemist? Ahh, my old friend. So he has been released from his perpetual prison. I know his plans, but unfortunately, you shall not be alive to hear them.”
As the King of Masks spoke the last word, the arch through which I had entered the arena was suddenly gone, blocked by a massive stone slab that slid into place with a thud.
I drew my pistols and fired. I squeezed the triggers until both chambers were completely spent. Black powder stung my eyes and made me choke. The arena echoed with the sounds of gunfire. The hail of bullets, enchanted by gems of immense power, would have put an end to even the mightiest of foes.
I lowered my weapons to see the results of my efforts, and there stood the King of Masks; three twisted, terrifying grins on its face.
This was going to be a lot harder than I thought.