Backstory
Nearly a thousand years ago the Wars of Fire raged across the face of Ashan.
Men, Elves, Dwarves, and their allies pitted themselves against the hordes of
Demons. Great devastation was wrought, but in the end the allied forces were
victorious. Their victory was largely due to the heroic sacrifice of the wizard
known as Sar-Elam, the Seventh Dragon.
Using his almost god-like powers and supported by his fellow wizards, Sar-Elam
cast the Demons out of the world into a limbo of eternal fire. From the essence
of his spirit, Sar-Elam wove a prison to contain the Demons forever.
Something went wrong during Sar-Elam's ritual, however. The magic he summoned
failed to create a complete prison; the tiniest of flaws remained in the
otherwise impervious barrier, a weakness that allowed Demonic influence to seep
into the world during times of a lunar eclipse.
Angry but patient, the Demons remained into their prison to wait...and to plan.
All that remained of the Seventh Dragon was his skull. Now called the Skull of
Shadows, it was spirited away by those loyal to the goddess Mother Asha, creator
of the world and source of all magic. They hid it in an ancient temple on a
deserted island, far from the machinations of Men, Elves, or Demons. There the
Skull sits, awaiting the day when its powers might be needed again.
The Prophecy of the Dark Messiah
Sixty-seven years after Sar-Elam’s death, his disciple Sar-Shazar prophesied
that a half-demon, half-human child would one day be born; a walker between
worlds who would be known as the “Dark Messiah” and would use the relics of the
Seventh Dragon to shatter the Demons’ prison forever.
Only three complete stanzas, fragments of the original prophecy, remain. They
could be translated as follows:
Ten centuries shall the fortress stand
Walls of spirit wrapped in walls of fire
And horned lords shall bow their heads
To one not yet born, of the darkest sire
One century of blood and strife
The moon shall darken and none know why
The resting place at last is found
Of the Seventh who soared so high
Last daughter of a forlorn line
Shall guide him into history
Beneath the crypts prophecies clash
The war of ancient enemies
Game Synopsis
In Dark Messiah, you are Sareth, young apprentice to Phenrig, a powerful
wizard. Phenrig has raised you for a single purpose, training you in the arts of
magic and war.
At the beginning of the game you are sent to the free city of Stonehelm, home to
the mage Menelag, a friend of your master. Your task is to help Menelag retrieve
the Skull of Shadows, an ancient and powerful artifact, the only remaining relic
of Sar-Elam, first and greatest mage of Ashan.
Sar-Elam used the Skull in the distant past to create the prison that sealed the
demon hordes away. Only the Skull can seal the prison permanently – or destroy
it and unleash the demon armies upon the world.
With the help of the wizard Menelag, Stonehelm’s ruler, and his niece, the young
mage Leanna, you undertake the quest to find and retrieve the Skull of Shadows.
Meanwhile, learning of the Skull’s discovery, but unaware of its location, an
undead army marches on Stonehelm. Their exact agenda is unknown…
Upon this series of events, the shadow of the Dark Messiah looms large, and the
world of Ashan stands frozen, holding its breath…
Characters
Sareth
A young man, student of the mage Phenrig. Trained in the martial arts and the
ways of magic by his mentor, Sareth is prepared to leave the home he has known
and venture out into the world of Ashan. Though great forces are at work and
ancient prophecies are being fulfilled, Sareth is well-equipped to handle the
situations in which he will find himself.
Menelag
The wizard Menelag, ruler of the free city of Stonehelm, led a 10-year
expedition to locate his lifetime obsession: the Skull of Shadows. He finally
discovered it on a savage island, buried within a ruined temple.
Menelag and his crew began excavating the temple and its surroundings, harried
by hostile Orc and Goblin tribes. They managed to find the crypt wherein the
Skull lay, but were barred from it by an impassable stone door. The only way to
open that door is to reactivate the magical energies of the temple itself, using
another ancient artifact.
Phenrig
Phenrig is Sareth's tutor and mentor. He has raised the orphan boy since his
childhood. Sareth owes all he knows of weapons and magic to his master’s severe
but patient tutelage. Eventually Sareth has grown to be a strong young man.
Phenrig sends him to Stonehelm with an ancient artifact needed by one of his old
friends, Menelag.
Leanna
Leanna is a young wizard of Stonehelm, niece to Menelag and part of the
expedition to find the Skull of Shadows. She wishes to retrieve the Skull and
use it to defend her city, and she becomes Sareth’s companion on their search
for it.
Aratrok
Aratrok is an Orc shaman, chieftain of the Orcs who dwell on the island where
the Skull is hidden. He is a devoted and fair leader to his own people, and a
fanatical enemy to any he considers to be a threat.
Hatred for demons and wizards flows in his veins like in any Orc's, as he is
aware of his kind’s origins and past sufferings. He resents the intrusion of
Menelag's expedition and will order his people to fight against them to the
death.
The Dark Messiah
Son of the Demon Sovereign, he is prophesied to be the one who will unlock the
gate to the demon’s prison and allow their hordes to rampage across Ashan.
The Demon Sovereign
Father of the Dark Messiah and ruler of the infernal legions, he waits
impatiently for the day when his son will tear down the prison that confines him
and his followers in the empty spaces between the worlds.
