A journey to Tristram

It was a stormy night in Daggerfall. In a night like that ANYTHING could happen, and, indeed, something DID happen.

Darak Shadowblade was sleeping in his bedroom in the Crimson Blades keep. Though there was absolutely no need of it, his heightened rogue senses were always on alert... but they could not warn him of the presence of the alien entity that was silently creeping into his room. It had no material shape; besides, its ethereal form couldn't be spotted even by the magic-trained sentinels of the castle.

The creature traced arcane symbols in the air and it was then that Darak suddenly awoke... or so he thought. He noticed the shining form at the feet of his bed and, feeling a mixture of fear and curiosity, he stood up to approach it. To his own wonder, his very body was still lying on the bed, soundly asleep.

He took a closer look at his strange guest: the first thing that caught his attention was the stranger's aura: it was not tamrellian; for the rest, the alien creature looked very much like a monk, with a long sackcloth and the face shrouded by a hood.

"Do not fear me, Darak Shadowblade," the entity murmured "for I am no enemy." These words echoed in Darak's mind as for some sort of telepathy.

"But you are no friend either. Why did you sneak in my room like that? And, most of all, who - or what - are you?" Darak simply thought, for he knew that, if the creature could communicate mentally, it probably worked both ways.

"I need you, Darak... MY WORLD needs you!"

Darak was about to reply, but the other went on: "An ancient evil has awakened again in our land, free from his crystal prison. Now this unspeakable horror and his minions are threatening the people and the existence of the world as we know it. The others of my order and I are unable to help. It's for this reason I travelled through different planes to look for a champion, and at last I found it: you, Darak Shadowblade!"

At this point Darak burst up: "You speak as if this was my only choice, but it's not so: I won't go anywhere until you tell me what will I earn from this whole affair."

"I cannot promise you any material reward, if that's what you mean... All I offer is knowledge."

"Knowledge of what? Magic?"

"Maybe... or maybe knowledge about yourself... Which one do you value the most?"

"Fine, let it go! Anyway, as a Crimson Blade I'm supposed to help people, am I not?"

"There is something else I haven't mentioned yet: only your spirit may come, your body will remain here... but I've already arranged everything: you will occupy the body of a Vizjerei, a mage of my homeworld; their kin and yours (the Dark Elves, I mean) are very much alike, so you'll soon get accostumed to your new form... Oh, by the way... I forgot to tell you: the Vizjerei are not famous for their... physical prowess..."

"What? You mean I won't be able to handle a dai-katana... or even a sword??"

"At first you won't even be able to LIFT it! Maybe in some time you will, but I suggest you rely on other things: magic, to name one..."

"But I always used both to..."

"You pride yourself of being an Archmage," the entity interrupted "the best illusionist in the whole Tamriel, and that you climbed up the ranks of the Mages Guild in but a month. Since it's your spirit, mind and knowledge you will retain, my choice was the most logical thing to do: so use your wits and learn my homeworld's magic... or DEATH will be your only reward!"

And with these words it disappeared. Darak had absolutely no time to reply, for he felt as he was seized by an invisible force; he tried to fight, but that mystic power knocked him down unconcious.

As he opened his eyes, he realized he found himself at the outskirts of a village; he could hear the gurgling of a stream nearby. Darak stood up and had a look at his clothing: he was wearing a long red robe and was carrying a staff and a backpack. He reached the running water and tried to see his face: though the reflection was not still, he managed to make out that it wasn't HIS face any longer, chubbier and with less hair...

If it was a nightmare, it was the most real he had ever had!

* Writer's Note: I wrote this story to explain the reason why my character in Diablo is the same of Daggerfall. When I was Chapter Leader of Diablo, I had posted it in that page. Now that it ihas closed I decided to put it here. Darak eventually returned to Tamriel after killing the Lord of Terror and there he lived many other adventures *