Finally, it was Thursday and Irminsul would launch at noon for pre-order customers. My parents were out, working, and I had spent the last couple of days looking through Dad’s material, adding notes and potential questions when I felt it was unclear. Other than that, I had researched some more and spent time with Therese before she had left the day before.

I considered where whether to lie in the sun when playing but decided against it, if I got drawn into the game, which I hoped, I would likely wake up with a wicked sunburn, something I would rather avoid.

After making sure that biology was taken care of and my computer-headband was linked to the computer on my desk, the headband itself was lacking the computing power to play Irminsul, I made myself comfortable on my bed and triggered the log in. As my body fell into a state similar to dreaming, my mind was filled with images.

Around me was a forest, almost impossibly huge trees, easily twenty meters in diameter, the spaces between them filled with shrubbery. I was able to smell the scent of rain and noticed small droplets of water falling off the leaves when below me, on the ground, a group of people was slowly moving by.

At the front was what I could only describe as a knight, clad in gleaming, silver armour with blue trim, carrying sword and shield. Part of me wondered just how he kept his armour so clean in a forest that should be rather muddy, but I ignored such practical questions in favour of his companions.

Next to him, to the left and a step or two behind him, was a being that I couldn’t instantly place. The head looked almost canine but not quite and there was no fur, its hide looked almost scaly. Knowing what races there were, and guessing that I was looking at a Council-Group, I was relatively sure that I was looking at a Kobold, but I wasn’t certain. He was armed with a bow and he had a curved blade in his belt, next to his quiver.

Slightly behind the two of them was a tiny person, her head getting no higher than the knight’s belly and the hair tied into pink pigtails. She was wearing a robe, belted at her mid, with a dagger secured on one side and a book under her left arm. Unless I was missing the mark, that seemed to be a gnome and a mage.

Next in line was Adventurer-Barbie, complete with long, flowing blonde hair, looking like spun gold. I didn’t need to see the pointy ears to know that the woman in the sheer, green negligee with a couple of strategically placed leaves was an elf, likely some sort of nature-spellcaster, if the wooden staff in her hand was any indication.

Finally, last in line, was a mountain of a man, even bigger than the Knight up front and quite imposing with armour that seemed to be made from rock and an axe that deserved to be called great. I wondered if he was able to use the head of his double-bladed axe as a shield or at least a buckler, it was certainly big enough. Hadn’t anyone told them that size didn’t matter?

Just as the camera had shown me all five members of their party, the tranquility of them walking through the forest was shattered, when, some distance in front of them, a tall figure stepped from the trees, obviously blocking their path.

The camera zoomed to the figure and I wondered what the difference between Sidhe and Elves was, the guy looked rather similar, his skin a little darker, not tanned but grey, almost slate-like, and his hair pale, almost white. Suddenly, he raised one hand, in which he carried an ornate club, or rather a scepter and from the center, carved to look like a sun, a replendant beam of light laced out, not moving at light speed but quite faste nonetheless.

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At the front of the council-group, the knight gave a grunt of effort and raised his shield, a blue aura surrounding him as he stepped right into the beam. The clash looked brilliant, the light causing enough lense flare to make a trekkie feel right at home and it seemed as if everyone’s faces were riveted to it.

The camera was, too, but only for a moment before it shifted away, just the flickering of light proving that the clash was still ongoing, but it focused on a figure in the shrubbery, well hidden and slowly closing in on the Council-Group. The pair of cat-ears gave the race away before I was able to see more of the figure before the sneaking figure was bowled out of the trees by a quite large grey wolf. Just as the wolf attacked, the camera shifted to the Kobold for a second and he turned, focusing on the second attacker, who had somehow managed to slip out from under the wolf. Now, I could see her clearly, a Catfolk in tight leather armour and armed with, of all things, metal claws.

But when the Kobold sicked his wolf on the cat and started to draw back his bow, she quickly vanished back into the bushes, the wolf hot on her heels. I wondered if she would climb a tree to hide from it.

Sadly, I didn’t find out, the camera shifted again, this time to the other side of the Council-group where two more combatants had entered the fray, one of them clad in chainmail, holding a shield with some symbol embossed on it, it looked like an anvil, and a hammer in the other hand. The camera just skimmed over that figure, focusing on the other figure first.

That one was wearing similar armour, some mix of leather and metal and had two wicked looking axes in his hands. Gleefully, I realised that it might be an orc and not the normal, green green-skinned variant, no they had a relatively new design. Below the armour, the figure seemed to be covered in pelt, looking almost like an artist’s rendering of a neanderthal, only that he had quite impressive tusks sticking up from his lower jaw, making me think of a saber-toothed cat, just the other way around. Overall, he seemed to be slightly smaller than the human up front, if I got the dimensions right. but packed with compact muscle. He instantly leapt forward, his axes suddenly clad in swirling wind, and he tried to hack Adventurer Barbie to pieces. I liked that one already.

Sadly, once again, I was deprived of my viewing pleasure when the camera focused on the other figure that had charged with him. It was a dwarf, although I wondered if it was a male or a female-dwarf. It had no beard, that said female, but otherwise, it looked male, not that I was able to truly tell, not with the armour covering the dwarf from helmet to toes. Before charging, the dwarf had stopped and banged their hammer on their shield, causing golden light to spring up around the orc and them.

The dwarf went to block for the orc, to keep the Fomorii at bay, giving the orc time to shred the elf to pieces. Alas, it was not to be, the dwarf was pushed back by the Fomorii and then, an explosion of blue-violet light swept around the Council-party, tossing their assailants away.

Seeing an opening, they started to run and the camera flew ahead of them, out onto a clearing where a singular, tall figure was waiting. The party slid to a halt upon seeing him, standing in the middle of the clearing, holding his staff above his head. Before anyone could move, a massive rampart of earth rose in the middle of the clearing, cutting off their escape. In silence, the party formed into semblance of a circle and from the woods, their attackers slowly emerged. I had to laugh when I noticed that the cat-person had indeed climbed a tree at some point and was slowly edging forward on a high branch.

But before the battle could commence, a distant cracking noise shattered the silence and everyone, including the camera, focused on a spot above one end of the rampart where a strange, purple-black distortion started to bulge out, as if something was slowly pushing into a piece of cloth.

Both groups formed up, no longer focused on the other group but in a defensive formation directed at the bulge.

For a second, nothing happened, but then, the bulge ripped open and a strange monstrosity with far too many limbs, mouths and teeth tried to emerge from it.

The two groups shared a look and a nod, before everything faded to black and I was shown the title-screen.

I felt pumped, the intro had done exactly what it was supposed to do, I wanted to instantly start playing. Good that I could click the button for “Character Creation” to begin the process that would allow me just that.