Voridam

Chapter 1 : The other world.

Did you know, across the hidden plains, other dimensions exist? More than any soul could ever count. We used to travel across them, long ago. But we shut our gates down, and evolved too far to ever remember. Some of our gates remain, hidden in plain sight. And someday, sooner than we know. They will open once more.

Across the plain we cannot see, lies those realms. Some grand utopias, some prevalent nightmares. Most however, are a bit of both. And many of them started as a utopia and turned into a nightmare. Just like the subject of this adventure. Voridam.

Voridam lay barren for eons the few residents living underground. Soon a species of spider-like humanoids, known as Arachinol began to emerge from the ground, soon scouting out old cities and building the base of them. The city soon became known as "Ostarno" Its original name long gone. Over the span of three hundred years, the original species began to emerge from the ground. Arachinols, jestrays, garrotols, Akra'boa, and elementals. Soon Garrotols flooded the city, their skills and talents allowing them to quickly become the first Government. Inviting the other species onto their government.

Over time, Ostarno grew to become a peaceful city...at least from the middle up. As the city grew and evolved. The lower levels soon became rejected, allowing crime to flourish and grow. And it didn't take long for the new government to notice. Although choosing to never spend the resources on it. Some officials sought the opportunity to profit off of the waste and gutter crawlers.

Arachinol are the only species naturally divided. Not all left the wasteland. The ones who did became known as civilised arachinol. And the ones who stayed were deemed primitive. The civilised ones also slowly became shorter. In their prime and primitive state. Arachinol ranged from fourteen feet to seventeen feet tall. Civilised arachinol, over generations soon shrunk down to a mere eight to eleven feet tall. One specific primitive arachinol, a dwarf amongst his kind, clocking in at six foot, two inches, stood out. He was formerly a soldier. Bearing the ink marks of a retired one. He stood out due to his rapid development in chemistry and engineering. Even creating a collar that could translate his chittering and growling into common tongue. His name? Karst.

Karst, over the course of a year, climbed the ranks in the scientific field and soon was invited onto the government as a representative of the inventors of Voridam. Earning the title of Cardinal. Soon everyone knew the name, Cardinal Karst.

Karst, mere days after becoming a government official. Took to the lower levels and began to exploit the needs and wants of the lesser Voridians. Mainly medicine and drugs. Though later down the line he began to supply weapons and tools, acting as a black market for the lesser. Although instead of money, he traded for information. Sometimes items with potential personal meanings.

While it was never known what he did with the items, it was believed by many that he was using them for rituals and or experiments. In reality, he felt peace amongst them, using simple items to save lives or feed addictions. But through the trade of information, he was able to dig up the secrets and dirty little lies of his fellow government officials, crime lords and even the main enterprise runners. 

Slowly over a time, he began utilising the information. Getting the elite and ruling of every class under his belt. Even half of the government. Soon catching interest in the head scientist. Vara Hyde, who specialised in extending life expectancy. Soon getting dirt on her rather illegal variants of experiments. He offered her an option, let him oversee the experiments or face the consequences before the government.

Together they began running new experiments. With her mind and his resources they broke several barriers. Although Vara became annoyed with the many regulations slowing down their work. Documents to be signed and council meetings held to authorise every new experiment. It wouldn't be long before the garrotol woman slipped through the cracks in the road to progress.

They began a new branch of experiments although one thing was left out. The use of Marion parasites and their venom. Something that she knew wouldn't allow the experiment to proceed.

Soon, within a few months, she believed to have perfected a formula, one to slow aging to a mere fraction of a percentage of what it used to be. With permission she tested it on Karst. And after studying his body, determined that he was theoretically, immortal to age. The formula would have been a great success, if it weren't for Vara's other experiments. First she was left in critical condition as one of her experiments stabbed her in the stomach. The creature escaping and injuring others before Karst managed to kill it. The very discovery of this leading to an immediate presentation before the council.

Thankfully she recovered quickly, the creatures blood had mixed with her's and seemed to give her some sort of enhanced regeneration. What should have been a slow and desperate death had just became a three hour recovery. With her strength and health restored, she had managed to form another experiment. Her 42nd experiment, would soon lead to be the very downfall of her life's work.

In the night she fled to the outskirts of the city. To an ancient gateway she had been repairing behind the council's back. Located in the Altrok segment of the lower levels. "Across the hidden plains, lie other realms, just out of sight, but not out of reach." She muttered to herself as she activated it and stepped through...

...cold...damp...clammy, the air and atmosphere of this world she had stepped into was alien to her. She struggled to breathe, walking felt strange. This wasn't a wasteland either. Perhaps a world better than her's? She dashed around, noticing her watch moving so painfully slowly. Even time was different here. Soon she found a graveyard, although she couldn't read the strange runes that decorated the sign. She selected a random grave 29th row, 32nd grouping.

She dug into the dirt and unearthed a few bodies. Although one stood out. Bones diseased, markings indicating liver damage. If these things shared her biology anyway. They looked awfully similar. Skull had some parts missing. Perfect.

She'd take the body, carrying it back to the gateway. It seemed to automatically activate in her presence. She carried the body back through, moving slowly due to the weight of the bones. She'd shift sluggishly through her lab. Dropping the corpse onto her table and inserting the parasite into the skull. Watching as tar black slime slowly emerged, forming a body. The bones dissolving and being reformed as plates of armour on the creature. Within the hour it regained sentience. And he wasn't violent..."hello..." She'd say to new experiment. She had called it "Curiosity" although when she held the tag, she covered up the 2nd "I" and something about the name "Curiosty" just felt right...