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Many years ago, long before the Root Of All Evil reared its ugly head, Agacata feared a different foe. Legend says that there was a wizard who was so power-hungry that he attempted to harness the power of the black hole that contains Agacata. However, certain artifacts have pointed to a different story, one where the unnamed wizard was more of a friend than foe.
[[You alone have discovered the truth of what happened all those years ago...->An Empty Laboratory]]
It takes weeks of hard labor and harder bargens, but eventually the dusty basement transformed into a usable work space. Sure, there may still be a couple mice lurking around the corners, but every magic user needed test subjects. Getting the lab equipment inside had been a challenge, considering the volatile nature of some structures. He may have alienated the nearby village when he dropped a vial of bottled lightning storm in the town square, but what wizard had perfect relations with the peasants?
Now all he needs to do is add in the specialist equipment. There were a few things that he would need no matter what, but everything else that he added would depend on his path of study. It was time for him to set his course through the world of magic.
[[Does he start on the path of Discovery?->Knowledge And Knowing]]
[[Or does he start on the path of Power?->Without Bounds]]
The would-be wizard set aside his dreams of magic and power in favor of transforming his new home into something a bit more sustainable in the long run. The "laboratory" may not be fit to house a human, but from what little he knew about mushroom farming this place would be perfect. The dirt floor is soft and crumbly, the shelves are just wide enough to accommodate pots for rarer varieties, and there is just enough moisture in the air to let him work without feeling like he is drowning.
It takes hard work, and for months he swears he //dreams// about soil conditions and fungus rot, but in the end it all pays off. He builds a reputable mushroom farm out of almost nothing, and before long he is known throughout Agacata as the best source for mushrooms of any kind. He only wishes that his customers would bother to learn his name rather than calling him "The Mushroom Guy."
[[The End->End]]
It takes him decades to collect a proper library, then a decade more to collect the knowledge necessary to understand half of the books in there. It all pays off though, considering that he is fairly certain that he has amassed the largest collection in Agacata. He spends most of his days now pouring through tomes and translations, only rarely going outside.
When he does go out he is confronted with whispers and stares. The villagers only know that he has brought magical artifact after magical artifact to his home and that he often missed entire generations growing up. They had developed plenty of theories about who he is and what he does, but so far no one has struck up the courage to actually ask him.
For a while he is content to keep to his books and shut out the rest of the world, but whispers soon reach his ears of a great evil that threatened to destroy Agacata. The villagers who used to watch him with wary eyes now ignore him in favor of whispered worries. Children brush by him as they race home, spurred on by their mother's calls.
Despite all of this, the only thing that really catches the wizard's attention is the lack of trade. Under any other circumstance he wouldn't even notice their odd behavior, but the fear that gripped the kingdom had also stalled all travel on the roads. This included the booksellers who used to supply him with texts needed for his work, which meant that as soon as his last project was finished he was forced to acknowledge the situation around him.
That brings him to his current dilemma, whether or not to interfere. On the one hand, he //hates// having to deal with people, and he's almost certain that his laboratory can withstand anything that happens above ground. On the other hand, if he stays hidden then he'll be stuck with only the resources he currently has.
It takes him days of contemplation, but eventually he comes to a decision:
[[Does he stay in his laboratory?->Withering Away]]
[[Or does he join the fight?->An Unexpected Hero]]
For years the newly-established wizard built up his collection, gathering as many artifacts and conduits of power as he could. Everything else fell to the wayside as he pursued every myth and legend that he heard. Power became his only goal, and soon everyone around him knew it.
The nearby village was the first to realize that they may have a problem with their new neighbor (beyond the fact that he unleashed a storm in the middle of town). They watched in awe and fear as he brazenly carried dangerous weapons and strange runes that glowed with power down the road. They whispered as he tested new creations around his house, flinching every time a burst of light reached their homes. They quickly learned that the wizard was //other//, and avoided him at all cost. They didn't even know his name.
Slowly, word of the wizard's obsession spread through Agacata. Towns on the other side of the kingdom knew the stories about the nameless mage who toyed with power far beyond the scope of their understanding. Travelers started to alter their routes so that they wouldn't have to go near the wizard's home, or even the town around it.
The wizard first hears the whispers when he is transporting artifacts through town, and the only thing that keeps him from turning and snapping at them is the volatile rune clutched in his hands. Who do they think they are, spreading stories about him behind his back? He hurries home, plans on how to stop the whispers swirling through his head.
[[Does he confront them later?->Fear]]
[[Or does he try to insert himself into their community?->Smashed Together]]
The wizard wastes no time in storming back to the village, determined to confront those who dare to slander his name. It doesn't matter that he doesn't know exactly what they said, he knows that tone of voice; he still remembers the taunts and rumors that drove him to magic in the first place. He won't let these //peasants// tear down what he has built over these long years!
He ignores the panicked whispers that follow him as he strides through the street. "Let them tremble in fear," he thinks. "They //should// be scared of me, of what I might do if they anger me." Sparks of lightning rise up from where he steps, leaving an electrified trail behind him. Before long he reaches the huddle of people that he saw whispering.
"Do you find it amusing, whispering about me behind my back?" he demands. "Perhaps you think you are safe, here in your cozy little village." As the terrified civilians step back the wizard steps forward, the magic that fills him audible through his words. As the villagers run out of space to back up the wizard's voice takes a dark turn, and he leans in as he says "You are nothing but worms underneath my feet, and you would do well to remember that."
With that he turns and stalks away, leaving the villagers behind. The more he thinks about what he said and the frightened expressions he left behind the wider his smile grows. For the first time that he remembers he feels truly powerful, and it is //exhilarating//.
[[He doesn't stop there, doing anything he can to keep that sense of power.->Infamous]]
The wizard quickly decides that there is no problem as confounding as social interactions. When he first tries to talk to the villagers they shrink back from him, and when he just goes about his business they stare and whisper. It's almost enough to send him scurrying back to his laboratory, but after a few days of internal debate he convinces himself to keep trying. He can't bring himself to abandon any project before they are completed, even if the process is //extremely// irritating.
To his surprise, the first in the village to warm up to him are the children. They slowly gather around him, asking odd questions about his work that even he has never considered. One little girl in particular tends to hover around him, pointing out flaws in his papers that he would have missed otherwise. He sends her home one day with a written contract saying that should he ever publish the paper that she paid the most attention to he would credit her and split any profits.
That was what brought her mother to his doorstep with a stony face and quaking hands. He considers the time spent convincing her that he isn't going to steal her daughter away for terrible experiments a waste of time, right up until she comes back the next day with a basket of bread and an apology. He almost lets her go at that, but previous observations of the locals strongly suggest that he invite her in for a cup of tea.
That incident seems like the signal for all of the village's parents to come to his home and chatter at him about the going-ons around them, and later for them to enquire about his work. It is difficult for him to adjust at first, but eventually he starts to enjoy their conversations.
In the end, as he looks around at children who play in his laboratory and the adults that are happy to know his name, he decides that this has been the best path. He may not have the power that he craved so long ago, but this more than makes up for it.
[[The End.->End]]
As the years passed the wizard amassed power beyond what anyone thought was possible. The nearby village was abandoned after one too many citizens were lost to his deranged experiments, and even the Agacatan army wouldn't go within ten miles of his lair. No one wanted to risk coming close to the mad wizard with no name, and they prayed that he wouldn't come to them.
Inside the wizard's lair a different fear brews. In the years that terrified whispers of his power had spread he heard whispers of a different kind, completely fabricated by his mind. Whispers that he was going to be attacked, that those stronger than him would come for him and beat him down, that he wasn't //powerful// enough. It was enough to drive him mad.
Those whispers of madness were what drove him to create monsters beyond reckoning, and what was fueling this particular project. He had sequestered himself in his underground lab (now much larger than the dirt basement it had been) a few weeks ago at least, and it appeared that his dedication was about to pay off.
On the workbench in front of him lay his masterpiece, the weapon to end all weapons. A staff made of enchanted stone and crystal, polished with water from the True Agacata's spring, and covered with metal from the heart of Berkaisa Mountain. The final touch is the fallen star waiting to be attached to the top.
Just before he can attach it he pauses, taking a moment to watch the star pulse and glow. If he finishes this staff then his power will increase tenfold, making sure that no one would be able to stop him. There is a slight unease though, a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that this might not be wise. He doesn't know for certain what will happen when he finishes the staff, only that it will increase his power. For a moment he wonders what would happen if he stops here and locks himself away instead, using his laboratory to protect himself from those outside.
[[Does he go through with it?->Explosion]]
[[Or does he stop?->Withering Away]]
The last thing that anyone hears about the nameless wizard that struck fear into the heart of Agacata is the explosion that destroyed his lair, and just after that news of his demise. All anyone knew was that the wizard had done some sort of experiment that backfired on him and destroyed all of his previous work. Some speculated that he had finally meddled with a power greater than him, but most agreed that he had probably done something to overload the power he already held.
After his death was confirmed people across the kingdom breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone had known that if the nameless wizard had attacked the rest of Agacata then no one would be able to stop him, as the court mages had confirmed that he was the most powerful being in Agacata.
[[The End->End]]
''Thanks for playing!''
[[Read Again?->The Rise]]
Or come play the game at agacata.io
The wizard doesn't tary after making his decision, and throws himself into preparations. He spends a week tracking down as many tomes as he can, and another week after that ensuring that his laboratory can sustain him. After that he seals himself away, locking the door and throwing away the key.
For the first year or so the wizard is completely fine, if a little irritated at the lack of new material. He has locked himself away just as long on multiple occasions, and the only difference he sees is that he will have more time to work on his current theory.
After that first year though, everything starts to crumble. The words recorded on books and tablets slowly fade, driving the wizard to dangerous experiments built on incomplete knowledge. By his fifth year locked away, he has twisted most of his apparatuses beyond recognition and his aging eyes can't focus on the faded texts.
By the time that the evil above has passed and Agacata has recovered the wizard can't remember why he is locked away inside the dark labratory. His experiments have long since ended, either by design or accident. The fountains of energy that had sustained him for so long ran dry, leaving him a parched shell. The only thing that remains of his once extensive work is a half-finished staff, carved with runes created in the mind of a madman. One day an adventurer will find it and the laboratory it resides in, but for now it sits in the dark and dust, with a creator that cannot fully fade away.
[[The End.->End]]
The wizard knew that his appearance would startle the locals, but what is in front of him is ridiculous; half of the villagers stare at him with unconcealed shock, a quarter of them look ready to attack him, and the rest were groveling in the dirt. It thoroughly confuses the wizard, and so he ignores their protests and pleas and forcibly inserts himself into a group of people who are researching their "unbeatable" foe. The villagers and travelers who make up the group are wary, but eventually they concede that they need all the help they can get.
It takes them over a year before they find an opportunity and in that time the wizard grows fond of his companions. They take the time to learn his quirks and accommodate them, and in return he finds himself accommodating for them. As they balance working to find a weakness and working to defend the village from attacks the wizard finds himself forgetting why he had been so determined to hide away with his books and spells.
As soon as they discover a possible weakness everything falls apart; the wizard's companions are captured, the village is raided, and his first laboratory is destroyed. The only thing that he has left is the location of their foe's heart.
The rest of Agacata never learns what happened after the wizard leaves to confront the one who took away his family. All anyone is told is that he sacrificed himself, and in the process defeated the foe that had held Agacata in terror. They never know about the aging man who lives in a home in the side of a hill, or the people who come and visit him whenever they can. They never know about the magic he develops to replace his ruined arm, or the laboratory that he rebuilds from the ground up. They never know his name or why it should matter, and he's perfectly happy with that.
[[The End.->End]]
[[Play The Game|https://www.agacata.io]]
[[Read More Stories|https://www.agacata.io/stories/index.html]] The true tale begins many years ago, in a dusty basement underneath a rickety shack. A young man paces, wearing down a track through the grime as he mutters under his breath. Every so often he stops and glares at the nearly-empty shelves, his gaze fixing on the few beakers and crystals that were there. He was promised a fully functional laboratory, and instead he ended up with a barely usable dirt hovel.
It was possibly the worst outcome that he could get, especially when he thought about the house that he had given up in order to move here. Every copper of his savings had gone towards this place, leaving him with almost nothing to rebuild his life with. He is left with only two options, and neither one appealed to him.
[[Does he continue to work on the "laboratory?"->Setting Up]]
[[Or does he find a new line of work?->Mushrooms]]