CHAPTER ONE - THE TOWER

Corin craned his neck as he gazed up at the looming black monolith. Clouds gathered about its upper reaches and yet further still it climbed, above the clouds, taller than the highest peaks. Corin had seen the tower for the entire duration of his ride. An ominous black spear stabbed into the verdant fields of Southern Yaron.

At first it had been a spec, a distant black strand hanging from the clouds. Yet as he drew closer over the passing days and weeks it grew. Everyday it occupied a little more of the horizon, splitting the sky in two, until finally it stood before him; a massive construction of black metal, patterned with fine symmetrical lines of silver that crept up the length of the tower. It appeared at once familiar and all together otherworldly. At close proximity it was impossible to take it in in its entirety, its sheer scale difficult to comprehend.

Whoever, or whatever, made it must have access to some powerful magic, Corin thought as he admired the alien construction. 

Dismounting Jevlan he approached on foot. As he neared, Corin felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing, and the smell of ozone–like that after casting a lightning spell–tingled his nose. A quiet but persistent hum thrummed from the heart of the tower as Corin circumnavigated its base. The fine silver inlays weaved magnificent patterns up and around all four sides of the tower. The dark structure stood in stark contrast to the bright azure sky and sweeping greens of Southern Yaron’s lush grasslands and dwarfed the city of Aldenburg that lay to the east.

Completing his circuit of the tower, Corin began pacing in front of its Southern Wall, one hand on the pommel of his longsword and the other pulling knots from his long blonde hair that had been battered by weeks of travel. He frowned.

“Why isn’t there a door?” 

A door is not required to enter. 

Corin jumped, took a pace back and looked around.

“Who said that?” 

Place your hand to enter.

“Telepathy is it? I’ll have you know I’m not so easily tricked.”

You come in search. Enter and you will find.

“How could you possibly know why I’m here? As far as I’m concerned you’re just a big hunk of metal some old wizard summoned and placed a couple of illusions on to scare the locals.” Corin said, doing his best to keep the waver from his voice.

It was true that he had come in search of Hakim, it had only been a month since his best friend went missing. With no other leads and a mysterious tower casting dark shadows over the kingdom he had to agree it seemed like the best bet. Not to mention the number of adventurers and townsfolk who had disappeared in the area.

“I am looking for my friend Hakim, the third prince of Yaron.”

Corin waited, tapping his pommel.

“Why are you here? What would I gain by entering?”

Ascendance.

Corin’s eyes went wide for a brief moment before returning to placidity.

“Ascendance? Do you speak of divinity?”

There was no response.

“Fine then, keep your secrets.”

Place your hand to enter. 

“Back to the start is it?” 

Corin looked down at his hand and back to the smooth black plating of the tower. 

“Don’t really have a choice, they’ll kill me if I go home without the prince.” He sighed.

Corin hesitated, his legs trembling, a weight building in the pit of his stomach.

“Now or never Cor.” He muttered to himself.

Lunging forward he slapped his hand palm first against the tower. The black metal was cool against his skin. That’s odd, doesn’t black absorb heat? His thought was interrupted by a brilliant flash of white. He felt pins and needles spread along his hand, down his arm and across his body. The taste of metal hung in his mouth and he swore he could smell something burning. A piercing whine deafened his mind.

Then silence and the world went black.

Recalibrating…

Localizing…

Welcome to The Tower of Ascension.

Corin came to in a dimly-lit gray room. His head throbbed with a dull ache as his vision took a moment to focus. He pushed himself to his feet, taking in the surroundings. The room was small and plain, with a colored door on each of its four walls, all illuminated by a single glowing tile in the ceiling. More immediately concerning however, was the small blue panel floating a foot in front of Corin’s face. Bold white text appeared in the center of the semi-transparent image.

Welcome to the Tower of Ascension.

Corin swiped at the image. His hand passed straight through the panel. Illusion magic perhaps. He tried focusing all of his attention on the panel and willed it to, to what? Disappear? The panel vanished, leaving Corin alone in the empty room. 

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“Huh.” Corin focused again. Appear. The panel popped back into existence, the same welcome message staring Corin in the face. 

“Thank you, strange and magical illusion. You may proceed.” 

The text disappeared and a moment later new text appeared.

[Ascendant Interactive Display]

Corin Altear

[Race]: Human variant - Astran

[Class]: Unassigned

[Statistics]

* [Strength]: 12

* [Speed]: 15

* [Endurance]: 8

* [Vitality]: 8

* [Spirit]: 16

* [Focus]: 18

[Abilities]

[Inventory]

[Equipment] 

[???]

Corin scrunched his face and tucked his hair behind his ears. 

“Statistics? Inventory? Is this some kind of magic I’ve never heard of? I studied all seven schools of magic back at the academy, never seen anything like this. I wonder if Hakim got stuck here. Knowing him he was probably straight into it, a quick glance at this little hallucination, a draw of his sword and a swift charge through whichever door he was facing at the time.”

Corin chuckled at the thought of his friend barreling sword first into the unknown. If only I was the bold one. I must be hallucinating. This tower is merely a creation of my mind, a coping mechanism to protect me from the loss of my dearest friend. 

“Tower, I wish to wake up in my bed at the academy.” 

The display flickered and new text appeared.

Command not recognised.

“Well it was certainly worth the attempt. I would feel like more of a fool for not trying.”

“Time to shift the perspective Cor, if I cannot grasp their magic perhaps I can use my own.”

Corin reached for his longsword and went red in the face when he found nothing but air.

Looking down, only now did Corin fully appreciate his situation. Before entering the tower he had been dressed in Yaron’s first academy of magic field uniform, a functional yet stylish ensemble consisting of light but durable leather armor over a royal blue shirt, matching blue trousers, leather boots and an orange Yaronese cloak to tie the look together. Now he looked like your everyday farmhand, a mottled-gray tunic fit loosely over his tall and lithe frame with simple brown pants that did well to obscure the length of his legs. Luckily he still had his boots. 

“What’s your game here? You knock me out, steal my possessions, and give me an illusion to play with. I want my clothes!”

Would you like to open [Equipment]? Yes/No

“Equipment? Yes, I would very much like some equipment. Thank you very much.”

A new panel, more of a display than a panel Corin decided, appeared adjacent to the first. In the center of the display Corin could see a small but detailed rendition of himself. It looked like one of the small figurines Hakim used to paint back at the academy, only this figure was almost flawless. Corin could see his long blonde hair, his sharp angular face, his broad shoulders. Broad shoulders? That wasn’t right. Corin was tall, sure, and lean too, given all of the training he was coerced into by Hakim, but broad? That was new. Surrounding his miniature depiction was an arrangement of blank squares. He saw that three of them were already occupied with what appeared to be Corin's attire. Smaller displays appeared adjacent to the equipment page as he focused on each article in turn.

[Simple Gray Tunic] (common).

A plain garb, good for field-work and hot days.

[Simple Brown Pants] (common).

At least the mud won’t show.

[Sturdy Leather Boots] (common)

As comfortable as they are practical.

Corin wasn’t sure about the flavor text, but the system seemed straightforward enough. 

“Right, checking myself out is great and all but where do I find my sword?”

Corin noticed two empty boxes positioned below his figure. Focusing on them brought up yet another display.

Would you like to open [Inventory]? Yes/No

“Yes.”

The display expanded and row upon row of blank boxes appeared. The top left most square had an icon of a sword in it. Having a mental scroll through the Inventory revealed that the sword was indeed the only thing available.

“So you really did steal my uniform!” Corin said, shaking his head. He focused on the sword.

[Steel Broadsword] (common).

A durable blade with a fine edge.

Requirements: 10 [Strength], 10 [Speed].

“Now how do I equip you? Having three of these displays is a little disorientating, I can hardly see.” As he voiced his grievances the first display with his name and statistics closed, leaving only the equipment and inventory panels open. 

“Much better.”

Corin pictured the sword moving from the inventory to the equipment box, as he did he felt a surge through his hand. Looking down he saw a coalescence of colorful streaming lights at his palm and hip. He tasted metal on his tongue and the scent of singed hair passed his nose. The streaming lights of blues and greens and purples twisted into a single mass of white. Corin closed his hand around the light, feeling the cool soft leather grip of a hilt. The light show faded and in his hand Corin was holding a solid double-edged sword. Corin turned it over in the dim-light. The steel was dull but, as promised, the cutting edges were finely sharpened. The broad base tapering to a wicked point. 

“Sword summoning…nice.”

Corin mentally closed the displays, he had seen enough for the moment. Turning his attention back to the room he decided to inspect the doors. They were plain wooden doors with brass knobs, each one a different color: white, green, red, and black. Corin tapped the pommel of his new sword.

“If I want to proceed up the tower, I inevitably have to go through one. The question is which?”

White, green, red, black. The order had to mean something, a puzzle perhaps. Or maybe the color is the clue. Perhaps they indicate the danger beyond. White and green seem harmless, inviting even. Red is a scary color, passion, anger, fire, demons, you name it. Black, that's typically the color of death. Why would anyone go through the death door? Corin sat down, puzzling over his predicament. 

“To not choose a door means staying in this dreary room, and staying in this room for much longer might drive me insane.” Corin said, chuckling to himself. What if they want me to think white is the safe door and black is the death door? A mind game for the uninitiated. That would be a little unfair but then again not much about this tower made sense to Corin. 

“Up you get Cor, no point thinking in circles.” Corin strode over to the death door.

“I call your bluff.” He said as he twisted the doorknob and strode into the darkness beyond.