Year One: The Puppeteer's Labyrinth
Imagine that God isn't benevolent, and that there are no other gods rivaling its power.
The goddess of good, Alaia, sacrificed herself to vanquish the goddess of evil, Eryx, once and for all. The remaining other two gods were driven insane and sealed away inside other dimensions millennia ago during the Interplanar War; when angels and demons fought on mortal soil. The last minor deity, a half-elf woman named Natasel Nailo, only ascended to godhood a year ago, when she accidentally absorbed some of the divine essence of the dying Eryx. She can do nothing to stop the eternal overdeity, who has created and destroyed infinite universes and deities.
It appeared to the champions of Alaia with a frightening announcement: It intended to destroy the universe simply because it had gotten bored with it. They had saved the world by preventing Eryx's return, - the grand finale - in vain. But then it expressed surprise - it had not expected Natasel to become a divine.
Thusly, it decided to give the world another chance, provided they met its one condition: It wanted the heroes to build a labyrinth dedicated to it. Eight tributes, one for each of the champions and Alaia: Michael Marquis; soon King Michael, First of his Name, Ra'se-Ryn; soon the Demon Queen and wife of King Michael, Zalaras; an immortal half-fiend necromancer who used to be the previous Demon King, Natasel Nailo; Slayer and now, minor deity, Vierraena Zolane; Queen of the Drow and Natasel's lover, and Xanorin Dragonturned; once an ordinary farmhand who turned into a fearsome red dragon.
The eight tributes would brave the horrors within and fight their way to the center, but only one would emerge from the labyrinth alive. However, the victor would get a single wish granted by the overdeity who called itself the Puppeteer, the God of Boredom. Within certain limits of course; the Puppeteer wasn't going to make the victor the new overdeity. Ha, such mortal hubris! The heroes had no choice but to agree, but they tried to negotiate with the overdeity, wanting the tributes to be criminals. The Puppeteer agreed to this term; however, it tricked the heroes. There was a catch: Even minor offenses would count as crimes. Somebody could be chosen to enter the labyrinth for something minor like jaywalking, so technically, nobody would be safe from being chosen by the magical book and quill.
It is now year 1: The first year after the countdown to the apocalypse. The Puppeteer's Labyrinth has been built, and the magical quill is writing the names of the eight tributes. Who will they be, who will leave the labyrinth alive, and what will they wish for?
King Michael's soldiers are at your door, and they have come to take you away to the holding cells.
Sacrifice is both an essential concept to anyone who wishes to lead, and the single hardest lesson any leader can learn. The idea of the brave hero sacrifcing his life to save the world is trite. What isn't, is the idea that a man may need to sacrifice his loved ones, his power, and even his very morals for the greater good. And when life teaches you such a bitter lesson, do not forget it. Do not forget the names and the faces of those you sent to die, do not forget the agony and terror you may have caused by your own hand. For if you do, those sacrifices become easier and easier. And measure by measure, you will be dragged into the abyss.
-Excerpt from On The Principles of Leadership, King Michael I
