The gnarly ghost pierced Stone with its lifeless eyes. What happened to it's family? This castle was long gone, a crumbling shell of its former glory. "I don't know who you are or what happened to your family, but I will help if I can."

The specter's eyes rolled back, the whites an empty canvas, revealing nothing of the anguish behind them. "I am King Monathus. My castle is cursed by witches, the cult of the Mageblood Hunter, the god Darkan. My daughter has mageblood; the blood of royalty mixed with such power is precious to a demon like that. I tried to keep it a secret but my enemies are many and their hatred leads them to betray a child to get to me."

"What happened to your daughter?"

"She was taken in the dream realm, her mind is  elsewhere while her body sleeps. My Katrina is in her bed, still as a corpse and unable to wake. She is fighting the witches but she cannot win. She will die in a few day's time, no wizard or priest or professional healer has been able to aid me. Darkan sent an emissary who charged that my daughter would live if I give him to her, she will be a priestess in his cult, or else she will die."

It seemed King Monathus believed everything was happening in the present and did not realize he was a ghost, haunting a forgotten castle his daughter no longer slept in. "Where is her room?" Stone let his eyes drift to the castle entrance and when they weren't focused on the dead king, the specter vanished. "King Monathus?" He turned his head and scanned the courtyard. The spirit was gone, existing in the twilight between the living and dead, trapped in a timeless play, reliving the dread of his daughter's struggle. Stone reminded himself he was in a game and the suffering soul was just a program, a collection of ones and zeros tapped out by electric current.

He walked to the castle door, the right half leaned outward and left a large opening which he sidestepped through. The great room was in need of  great repair. The ceiling had several holes revealing a bedroom and the sky, a wall of books could be seen through another hole, the castle library. A set of stairs to the left had woman standing in it, or what Stone thought was woman. She turned and walked up the stairs before he could focus on her; she was a blur in his peripheral. There was a cedar wood chest in the corner.

"Always have to scavenge before investigating creepy-ghost-quest stuff." Stone spoke to himself as he walked through the great room. The chest was covered in dust and the lock had long ago been removed. He wondered if anything would be inside. [Loot Acquired] ran across his vision as the chest shuddered at his touch. It hovered off the ground and spun around before slamming and popping open, gold light burst out and a wizard's staff hung in the air above it. The staff was white and twisted into a lion's head at the crown. The grip in the center was a carved swirl that fit his fingers perfectly. [Wizard's Apprentice Staff]: A staff imbued with mana, increases the wielders spell resistance; mana cost for spells decreased 25%; long range lightning attack granted while holding staff (25 electric damage.)

Stone's stomach tingled and the urge to jump to his left was so strong he almost did, [MOON ELF SENSE] scattered across his vision: the ability to sense incoming danger providing the opportunity for a quick escape. A fire ball splashed into the new mage's back. He turned to see a witch floating in the air, her hair was silver and long and poured out from the hooded black robe that flowed around her like water. She held a thin black staff that branched out in dead limbs at the head which twisted inward to hold a red crystal.

Stone laughed. He felt little heat from the fireball and it didn't cause him any damage. He realized the massive pool of mana was a result of his wisdom, which also must be responsible for his magic defense. The witch didn't seem amused.

"I don't know what ward you wear that gives you confidence to mock my spell, but it won't help you with my next one. Darkan is generous today. He offers you power and the privilege to be his Icon, the human representative of his will. This is not offered to all mages who come here, but for the one who catches his eye. You bested the horde of straw men with ease, this feat garnered you favor. Do not waste it."

"You want me to join up with the guy who hunts little girls in their sleep, rips them away from their family, and watches while her ghost father haunts the fallen castle for years in repeating, unavoidable agony?"

"I told you he was not worthy, Lord Darkan!" The witch screamed and a spout of fire ejected from the ruby crystal of her staff.

It would have been smarter to dodge, it would have been safe, it would have been natural, but Stone didn't like this witch, didn't like the demon Lord Darkan, and taking a chance to stand in the flame and defy them both with arrogance was worth the possibility of death. He was almost certain she was too weak to do any harm, having his freak level of wisdom, almost.

The fire spread over Stone's elven frame and split around him like rain on thatch roof. The witch cackled, spewing golden flame. Her eyes widened in shock when she cut off the spell. "Trickery," she screamed.

Stone smiled. He opened his HUD and found the customization screen. The default for AoF was complete realism and so his health and mana weren't shown in the standard red and blue bars of his view field allowing him to see their level (which could be changed to his preference). The witch was shooting fireballs one after another at Stone. His health lost one HP from the original fireball which was an automatic critical due to the surprise attack.

Stone dismissed the menu, turning his gaze to the witch. He was raising his staff to see how the lightning effect worked but was interrupted by a message: Magic Defense Increase, which was quickly followed by a bright melody and the words Level Gained. Taking the fire damage repeatedly-though it caused little damage-was increasing his magic defense! It was incredibly strong from his massive wisdom stat, but increasing his defense level also increased his overall character level. He went to the customization tree and found that it was shadowed over, he wasn't allowed to pick things in this introduction to the game, but he was allowed to level.

"When are you going to stop playing around and fight me?" Stone said with a smirk.

The witch's eyes widened. She lifted her right hand in unison with the staff and created a red ball of burning rage which she hurled as if it were a bolder. The rolling tumbleweed of fire spun through the air and smacked Stone in the chest, which he puffed out in a Superman pose. The flame exploded, causing 5 HP loss of his five hundred.

"I guess we know why Darkan didn't select you as his Icon."

The witch had nothing further to say but blasted Stone for half an hour with flame spells. This early in the game it would not have been possible for his enemies to have multiple attacks, Stone guessed. Eventually the witch's mana gave out. Stone's magic defense raised two more levels and he also gained one more over-all level.

"I guess that's it then?" Stone said raising his white staff. Lightning streaked across the room and impaled the screaming witch. She dodged back and forth after being struck, but Stone hit her with two more blasts and she puffed out of existence in neon blue sparks that floated lightly upwards. She dropped a cobalt flask, a mana potion, witch Stone collected.

Stone looked over the great hall for any secrets or items and then headed up the staircase. The second floor hall was dark as the ceiling had not buckled over the years. His night vision activated and he was messaged that his Stealth gained a level. This was typical for most RPG games, the early levels were quick and later levels would require much longer use to improve, sometimes by orders of magnitude concerning the amount of dedication required to level up.

He leaned against the wall next to the open door of the first room and peered in. There were pieces of a bed in the center, a dresser without drawers against the wall, and a large fireplace opposite the foot of the bed, long cold. The woman he'd seen at the staircase was standing in the window overlooking what once was the  Garden Court.

Stone stepped into the room. "Hello?" He wasn't sure if she was an enemy or an NPC but he was not one to attack first.

"I was a little girl in this room once. I don't remember her anymore. I refused to join that cult of witches and they banished me here, between sleep and wake. Is it over? Please send me to Oblivion, anywhere but haunting this lonely place where nothing happens."

"I will do whatever I can? Do you know what I can do? Is there a way to stop the curse they put on you?"

The ghost turned to Stone, here eyes glowing red. "You can join Lord Darkan in my place, you can end my suffering by doing what I should have done. Join him!" The ghost grew long fingers like blades and rushed toward the mage elf.

Stone's [MOON ELF SENSE] fired and he followed the instinct to dodge before the ghost leapt toward him, swiping violently. He felt a chill in his cheek as he ducked the blow and pressed his hand to her side, igniting [INNERFLAME]. The ghost screamed and sank to the floor. A little girl replaced the spectral woman.

She was crying.

A figure appeared in a puff of smoke at the window where once stood the sobbing child. It was man dressed in light armor which was pitch black with dark red robes underneath. "You want to help this girl, don't make her mistake. I need a capable Icon. I offer you greater than what was offered to her. She would have been a fine servant, but to you I will give my power and blessing. You will be able to wield shadow and darkness. You will be a master mage in the blink of an eye."

"Lord Darkan? Will I get a cool set of armor like that?" Stone turned from the girl and admired the well crafted dark metal.

"You will, but do not think to make light of my offer."

"You will let Katrina and King Monathus rest in peace if I agree? You will lift their curse?"

"I will."

"What exactly would you want me to do for you in exchange for all the 'shadow power' and unique armor?"

Darkan crossed his arms. "There is an age old war between the gods and it's time I found an Icon who could disrupt the status quo. You will battle other Icons and complete a few tasks when necessary to move the wheels that control the destiny of families, cities, and kingdoms. You may think me cold or evil for what was done to King Monathus, yet you know nothing of the people he slaughtered for his own kingdom, the betrayal of an ally, the slaughter of civilians."

"You're right, but one dark turn doesn't deserve another. His daughter was innocent, and how do I know that anything you say is true?"

"I assure you it is, but you cannot truly know until you've seen, and you will see."

Stone didn't think he had what it took to kill a god, at least not at this stage in the game at his level, but he couldn't resist the urge to try. This may not end well.