text: [Themes: fantasy, serious, fantasy]
  
  The Kingdom of Vinia is a beautiful, prosperous country that lies on the southwestern coast of the continent Belacia. While many of the surrounding countries frequently go to war with each other, Vinia has been neutral in all conflicts for centuries. Because of this, many refugees and other citizens flee to Vinia to find peace, creating a rich, diverse, and multicultural population. Vinia's captial city of Dialla is also home to the largest, most prestigious college in all of Belacia.
  
  Because of Vinia's prosperity, some other kingdoms have grown envious and show distaste towards Vinia and its people. The most notable of these enemies is the Kingdom of Niravia, Vinia's less affluent neighbor. However, while the relationship between these two countries has always been tense, it has always been been peaceful.
  
  You are Prince Alexander of Vinia, the only child of King Arien and Queen Lianne.
  
  You have grown up in the royal palace in Dialla, Vinia's seaside capital. Your parents believed it important for you to be humble, so they allowed you to go into the city and play with the common children. As a young boy, you often found yourself on the beach with the other children, calling out to the fishermen in the distance and trying to find seashells. As you got older, you and your friends often spent time in the marketplace helping merchants and listening to members of the Royal Guard tell extravagant stories. Occasionally, you would help the students at the college collect materials for their studies. You had a happy childhood.
  
  When you were of age, your parents asked you what you wanted to be as an adult. You chose to be a soldier. As a soldier, you will join the Royal Guard, where you will be trained in the art of physical combat. You will become strong of body and mind, and those traits coupled with your unmatched sword skills will make you a difficult foe to defeat.
  
  [Author's Note: You are the prince of the beautiful country of Vinia. After being kidnapped by assassins, you find yourself lost in the dangerous land of Niravia, the country bordering your own. You must use your skills to overcome any obstacles you may face and find your way back home.]
  
  > The Story Begins
  You are in your bedchamber, fast asleep. You are exhausted from your training, but when a large thump is heard outside your door, you awake.
  
  What do you do?
  
  > call out
  You sit up, annoyed at having been woken up, and call out, "Who's there?"
  
  The only response is an eerie silence that fills the air around you. You're beginning to wonder if you had imagined the sound when the door handle begins to turn ever so slowly.
  
  Do you...
  
  > grab your sword
  You have a bad feeling about what's going on, so you grab your sword from its place next to your bed. You quietly get out of bed and get into a fighting stance, mentally preparing for what may come at you.
  
  The door handle turns completely, accentuated with a small click. Then, the door is pushed open. It gives way to nothing but a pitch black hallway.
  
  You begin to step cautiously toward the door, sword at the ready, when a small dart flies from the darkness and lands in your arm. Another follows, hitting you in the neck. You cry out as your body begins to become numb and your vision blurs. The last thing you remember is falling to the floor.
  
  > wake up
  When you come to, you find yourself in the back of what appears to be a wooden cart with a large piece of cloth placed over top of you. You can hear the sound of the wooden wheels moving through the grass and dirt, the clop of a horse's hooves, and the melodious sounds of a forest. You try to move but find that your hands and feet are tied tightly with rope. There's a piece of cloth shoved in your mouth and another tied around your head (so as to prevent you from spitting out the piece in your mouth).
  
  At first you can't recall why exactly you're in the back of a wooden cart, bound and gagged, but then it all comes rushing back to you; waking up in the middle of the night, being attacked by an unknown intruder.
  
  Your mind is reeling, and you can't think of a reason why you would have been attacked in the first place. You don't think you've ever made any enemies, and your kingdom has never been hostile towards another kingdom. You think that maybe someone wanted ransom money, and thought kidnapping you would be the way to get it. That wouldn't be too far fetched. Vinia is arguably the most affluent country in Belacia, after all.
  
  Just when you think you're beginning to make sense of what's happened to you, you hear the unmistakable sound of an arrow being shot and a shout from where you presume the driver of the cart would be. There is the thud of a large object falling on the ground, and then the cart suddenly lifts on one side as the wheels of the cart run over the object--presumably the body of your kidnapper.
  
  "Clean work, boys, now let's get that cart!" you hear a gruff, booming voice yell somewhere not far from you. Was your cart being hijacked?
  
  You hear multiple voices saying calming things to the horse pulling the cart and it slowly comes to a halt. The same voice as before, closer now, says, "Alright, let's see what this poor sod had with him."
  
  Your cart had definitely just been hijacked.
  
  The cloth that is covering you is abruptly pulled off of your body, and you wince at your eyes' sudden reintroduction to sunlight. When your eyes adjust, you see a group of five or so men standing over you. They all look thuggish and dirty. They look down at you in confusion.
  
  "What's this?" the same voice as before, most likely the leader of the group, says. The man is the largest and dirtiest of all present. "Who are you?" he asks you.
  
  You...
  
  > try to talk
  You attempt to say something, but the cloth in your mouth prevents you from making any intelligible sounds.
  
  "Oh, right," the leader says, as if he's just noticing the fact that you're gagged and can't answer his question. He grabs the cloth covering your mouth, allowing you to spit out the cloth in your mouth. Your mouth is dry, your throat sore from thirst. "Now then, who are you?" he asks.
  
  > Lie
  "My name is Alexander, I'm a knight in training from Vinia," you tell them. You don't think it would be smart to tell them who you really are. Just in case.
  
  "Well, Alexander," the leader says, "how'd you find yourself in the back of some guy's cart? Got a debt you forgot to pay?"
  
  "No, I have no idea what's going on. He just attacked me!" You tell them. Some of the men nod in understanding.
  
  The leader seems to feel sorry for you. "Well, why don't you come with us back to ou camp? We can get you fed and watered."
  
  You...
  
  > go with them
  "I think I'll take you up on that offer," you tell the leader. "By the way, what's your name?"
  
  "The name's Jarven," he tells you, puffing up his chest in an attempt to look more grand.
  
  "No title?" you ask.
  
  "Nope, just Jarven," he confirms. "My boys and I roam this forest and take what we need to survive."
  
  When Jarven and "his boys" begin to walk back into the forest, you follow. You figure it isn't such a bad idea to get some food and water, and then you can try to figure out where you are and why you're there.
  
  The camp doesn't end up being that far of a walk, which you're thankful for. It's situated in a decently sized clearing, with about ten tents surrounding the perimeter--one of which looks larger and nicer than all the others--and has a large bonfire in the middle. There are about ten other men scattered around the camp when you arrive, a few of them playing a card game and the others polishing some swords. It's not the standards that you're used to, but it'll do.
  
  "Everybody," Jarven announces,"this"--he motions to you--"is Alexander. He'll be joining us for a little bit. Play nice." The men acknowledge their leader's words with a few noncommittal grunt and nods, but for the most part they ignore your presence. Jarven claps you on the shoulder and says, "Now, let's get you some food and drink, boy."
  
  Jarven leads you to the largest tent, which, although nicer than the others, is still pretty shabby. The inside has a large carpet covering the ground, a cot on the far left side, a small table next to the bed, and a circular dining table to the right. There's a large chest at the end of the bed. "Go on, have a seat," Jarven tells you, waving in the direction of the table. You do as he says. "I'll be right back."
  
  You are then left alone in Jarven's tent.
  
  You...
  
  > look around
  With Jarven gone, you figure it'd be a good time to snoop around a little and get up from the table.
  
  You walk towards the chest at the end of the cot and try to open it, but it's locked. Upon further examination, you see a few things on the bedside table. There's a rolled up piece of paper, a few gold coins, a candle, and an empty cup.
  
  You're about to inspect these things further when you hear someone approaching the tent, so you quickly return to your seat at the table.
  
  When Jarven returns, he does so with a loud, "Food's ready!" and places a bowl of stew and a cup of something that might be water in front of you. It smells good, so you dig in right away.
  
  "So, Alexander," Jarven says, taking a seat across from you, "you really from Vinia?"
  
  You finish chewing your food before answering. "Yes," you tell him, "I live in Dialla."
  
  "Hm. Then why are you here?" He asks.
  
  "I told you before, the person driving the cart just kidnapped me one night. I don't even know where I am."
  
  Jarven laughs a big, bellowing belly laugh. "Well you're not in Vinia, I can tell you that much."
  
  You sigh, getting somewhat annoyed at the fact you're not getting a straight answer. "So then where am I?"
  
  "You're in Niravia."
  
  You're taken aback. "Niravia?" you ask. You feel slightly sick; Niravia is known for it depravity and poverty, and many of the knights back in Dialla have told you of the things they've experience in the country.
  
  "The one and only." Jarven chuckles when he sees the expression on your face. "Aw, come on, boy, it's not that bad. I'm sure it's not as nice as Vinia, but--"
  
  "How far are we from the border?" you cut him off.
  
  He has to think for a moment, but he finally tells you, "Twenty kilometers, about."
  
  You sigh in relief. That's not far enough too far. And Vinia is relatively small country, stretching maybe one hundred kilometers across. It's not an impossible distance to travel on foot, should you choose to do so.
  
  "I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, boy," Jarven says. "The journey to the border isn't an easy one. You'd probably die."
  
  > stay with the bandits
  "I think you may be right," you tell Jarven. He looks pleased at your answer. "I think I'll stay here for a little while, build up my strength some more before I try to travel home."
  
  Those were your plans, but you never make it back to Dialla. After about a month of living with the bandits, the group is attacked by some military scouts. In the chaos, you manage to escape death by the sword, but you run into a pack of feral wolves not far from the fighting. This is where you meet your end.