LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsdspr16.dms/lsdspr16.adf/Enlightenment.doc.pp/Enlightenment.doc

Text File | 1978-01-09 | 9KB | 191 lines

                         ENLIGHTENMENT

Typed in by UNISTAR. Edited by PARASITE.


   One hundred and three years pass . . .

   One hundred and three years after Acamantors expulsion
from Belorn, he has returned.

   Hasrinaxx the Druid was in the forest of Argoth searching for
fresh mistletoe which was to be used as a component for a new
spell he was preparing. In the distance he could just make out a
blossoming bush and started towards it. He flinched suddenly as
he crossed the small patch of open grassland in front of it. Was
he seeing things or did the bush really jolt suddenly? There it
was again.

   All too late he saw the wild boar come rushing out towards
him. He staggered back and yelped in agony as the boar nuzzled
its way under his robes and bit into his now thrashing leg.
Hasrinaxx quickly pointed a ringed finger at the boar and uttered
two short words of mystic Druid chant. A small electricity bolt
shot forth from the Druid's finger and discharged itself into the
boar's back. The animal squeeled in agony and disappeared into
a maze of bushes.

   "How stupid to be caught unaware, like that!" the Druid
thought. "I've spent too much time living in the safety of my
village. Gone are the days when I sent Acamantor's demon
princes back to the dark planes from whence they came. Over
one hundred years have past since then and although my magic
has grown stronger, my spirit has grown weaker. I have been
expelled from my Druid sect for experimenting with dangerous
magics. I have become seperated from nature and the elemental
Gods of the Earth, the Wind, Fire and Water. And now age is
slowing my wits. What is left in life for such a failed Druid?"
If only Hasrinaxx knew the adventures that were to follow.

Hasrinaxx cast his mind back to the wild boar. "Strange for an
animal of the forest to attack a man. And a Druid at that. A
friend of all animals and indeed of nature itself! Perhaps it was
a sign from the Gods. Mother Earth herself was trying to tell
him that he was slacking as one of the few Great Druids left".

   "No! That doesn't make sense" he thought. "The Gods would
never use animals to do their fighting. That would be against
the sacred laws of nature. He asked himself again, why should
a wild boar attack him? It seemed to be frightened. Running. But
running from what? What could possibly scare a boar in the
forest of Argoth? Men?"

"No! Hasrinaxx could sense if there were men nearby. But he
could sense something else though. It seemed almost Ethereal.
A feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. Not since he'd vanquished
the demon princes from Acamantors tower. But that was many
years ago. The wounds that opened the dark planes to this world
could never be opened again. The Great Druid sects had closed
them soon after the demon princes had been expelled, with
strong and mystical magic".

   Hasrinaxx cast his mind aside and set about tending to his
wounded leg. Nothing a small poultice of woundwort couldn't
fix.

   It was as he stumbled along the well beaten track to Ishmar
that he saw Ederyn, his faithful young apprentice. Like all
apprentice Druids, Ederyn was too impatient in learning his
magic and would very often make mistakes. Most of the time he
would use the wrong herbs or speak the wrong Druid chant
when casting a spell. But he would learn, as all wisened Druid's
did, with age.

   Something seemed strange though. Ederyn's face seemed
almost expressionless, his eyes bulging. Saliva dripped from his
mouth and his skin seemed to have a blue tinge to it. Hasrinaxx
commanded him to halt. For a moment, he thought he saw a
sign of recognition in his young apprentices face, but this
instantly disappeared as the apprentice moaned deeply and
continued to stagger forward.

   As he grew nearer, a piercing stench came over the Druid
which seemed to instantly draw him out of his trance. The
stench was unmistakably that of death - or rather the undead -
of souls denied an existence in the afterworld, and condemned
forever to remain on the Earth, as the walking dead.

   Hasrinaxx raised his ringed finger, his hand shaking, and
pointed it towards his oncoming apprentice. "I'm sorry Ederyn!"
he said softly and then uttered two words of mystical Druid
chant. Strident long bolts of electricity shot from his fingertips
and discharged themselves into the apprentices chest, sending
him reeling to the ground, his chest smouldering but his face
still expressionless. The body lay there, twithing and slowly
sinking into the earth as if Mother Nature herself were calling
the body back into the ground. But Hasrinaxx knew that the
soul had not been vanquished to the afterworld and that it
would rise again from this temporary grave in only a few hours.

   His head suddenly shot up. His senses were now keened and
he could see all around him, coming from every direction
through the bushes and between the trees. The undead were
everywhere. Once living people, the proud villagers of Ishmar,
many were friends of Hasrinaxx. Now reduced to the walking
undead. Reduced to attacking the living - jealous of those that
still hold life. Hasrinaxx pitied their poor souls.

   He heard a thunderclap, and in the distance he could see that
the clouds above the once peaceful land of Belorn had formed
into the face of a dark, evil looking mage. He knew this was the
work of Acamantor and his demon princes. He would return to
Ishmar and from there, seek revenge and finally put an end to
this evil - and destroy the Dark Mage himself!

   He searched his small canvas bag and found the object that he
required. He lifted the small silver crucifix high in his right
hand. The sun gleamed from it. Instantly the undead backed into
safety of the darkness and away from the gleaming holy symbol
the Druid held in his hand. Hasrinaxx spoke a deep Driud chant
and started to walk forwards, along the beaten track to
Ishmar...

COMMAND KEYS
 Cast Spell ................. Numeric Keypad -
                              1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
 Take Spell ................. "ENTER" (on Keypad)
 Discard Spell .............. Numeric Keys -
                              1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
 Command Elemental .......... "HELP"
 Pause/Unpause Game ......... 'P'
 Quit Game .................. 'ESC'
 Music On/Off ............... 'M'
 Sound Effects On/Off ....... 'S'
 Elemental Mode Toggle ...... 'Delete' or 'J'

   The 'P' command in the original docs for Pause/Unpause game is incorrect.
You hit 'P' to pause and to Unpause the game you hit the FIRE BUTTON on the
joystick.

CONTROLLING THE DRUID
   Use a joystick in port two.

CONTROLLING THE ELEMENTAL
   Whenever you create an Elemental to help you, he can be commanded
with the 'Command Elemental' key to toggle between WAIT, FOLLOW
(the Druid) and SEND (the Elemental in the direction the Druid is facing).
Alternatively, a second player can control your Elemental using a joystick
in port one. To switch between manual and automatic Elemental mode, press
the 'DELETE' key or the 'J' key. The 'DELETE' key is shown also as the
'BACK SPACE' key.

THE DISPLAY
   The constitution indicator displays the current constitution of your
Druid. This will run down whenever you are attacked or when you walk
though fire or water. The game will end and you will die if your
constitution runs out.

   The Spell Windows indicate the spell currently selected. Whenever
your Druid walks over a spell, you will be told what the spell is in the
message window. If you want to take it, you can store it in your spellbook
which can hold up to eight spells.

   The Elemental display, shows the status of your Elemental (if you have
one). Firstly, you are shown what type of Elemental you have and what
direction it is moving (useful if he is off screen). The Elemental Command
mode shows you either what command the Elemental is currently obeying
or that the Elemental is in manual mode. The bar next to this indicates
your Elementals strength.

   The green rating bar will grow as you progress through the game to give
you an idea of how well you are doing on your way to enlightenment.

GREAT DRUID RATINGS
   As your Druid progresses through his adventures to Acamantor's domain,
the green rating bar will grow in length. This shows how well you have
done in the game. When you die (or win!), you will be given a rating which
describes the title best suited to your Druid. Of course, the best title is
that of OVERLORD but only the best Great Druid's will ever become so
honoured. The ratings in order of worst to best performance are: -

   1 -> Orc Breath        6 -> Earth Lord           11 -> Druid of Realm
   2 -> Earth Shaman      7 -> Air Lord             12 -> High Adept
   3 -> Air Shaman        8 -> Water Lord           13 -> A-Sanach
   4 -> Water Shaman      9 -> Fire Lord            14 -> Overlord
   5 -> Fire Shaman      10 -> Keeper of Order

HIGH SCORE TO SAVE TO DISK.
   If you leave your write protect tab off of your Enlightenment disk (ie
the black tab should cover the hole) then your great druid ratings will be
saved to your game disk for all eternity.