As Devan scrolled through spotify to find something new to listen to, he looked up and saw that Dominion Online was ready to be played. He put down is surface pro and headed to the kitchen to drop off his used utensils.

As he was walking out of the kitchen he got a text message from his friend Kenny.

“Hey bitch! Answer your fucking phone.” The message read.

Devan typed back, even though he did not feel like talking. “I’m really busy, sorry. What’s up?”

Kenny shot back a quick text. “You ain’t doing shit. Come to Bound Park, we chilling right now. Yanny got that shit, we bout to burn one.” As appealing as a blunt sounded at the time, Devan did not want to leave the house. The thought of showering and getting dressed felt like a two hour bootcamp course.

“Nah, man go ahead, I’m good,” Devan replied and put his phone away. He knew Kenny would protest, but he did not feel like dealing with that right now. He did not want to speak to anyone. He walked back into his room, which was dark. He sat in his comfy computer chair and the screen beamed is glaring brightness upon his face.

It was the only source of light in the room and it shone like a portal leading into another dimension.

He quickly read the message from the Dominion game launcher that the game was playable and clicked to log in. The screen went dark. Then a bluish light began to materialize, showing the name of the company that created the game. Super Game Productions. The screen went black again, but then a light like the entrance to a tunnel appeared. There were chains hanging from the ceiling of a wall, lined with torches. It was a cutscene.

Devan quickly threw on his headset and turned up the volume.

*****

The Darklord walked down the long, gloomy corridor of the ancient temple. Besides the echoing of his steps, there was also heavy boots of his two escorts before him. They were demons in black plate armor summoned from the realms of the Void. Behind him was his assistant, the warlock, Dorma, who always moved in silence.

“I hope you are satisfied with our progress, Lord,” Dorma said in his low raspy voice. He wore a large dark cloak and a hood that kept his aged face in shadow. The Darklord as well kept his face obscured, hidden under his purple hood, hiding his wise eyes, but showing a deceitful smile of pearly white teeth upon his smooth, youthful face. The bounty of the Void was endless and he secretly reaped those benefits for himself, keeping his magic a secret to the world at large.

“Everything goes as It was written, Droma,” The Darklord replied with a smile. They went up a narrow stone staircase that lead to a wide hall, with high vaulted ceilings, held up by massive ancient columns. Black chains hung silently from the surrounding darkness as a stale air blew through hallowed hall.

“It has been over a century since any living being has walked through the halls of the Demon Hold,” The Darklord said, as they stopped before a set of massive iron doors. “But here I am, walking on the path of the Gods. It is only a matter of time before men reclaim what is rightfully their own. I will be the one to bring an end to the age of Dwarves and Elves. Man will reign over Dominion once more.”

The large demon’s stood at the doors and looked down at their lord with pitiless black eyes, awaiting his command. He nodded at them. The demons, each standing as tall as seven feet and built like mountains, grabbed the iron handles and began pulling the doors open. A gust of hot air greeted them, and bright orange, red and whilte light from the many fires burning within the Dologmond Mines.

The roar of demon slave drivers overwhelmed them. The slave drivers had red skin and their faces looked like lions with golden manes, and they stood on hairy goat legs swinging whips upon the backs of the dwarf and elf slaves digging out the remains of the ancient Demon Hold temple.

Elves and Dwarves in chains worked at massive anvils and pits of fire, making armor and weapons for the Darklords army. They were being watched by his allies, the Insectoids, giant humanoid insects, with mandibles and multiple arms, holding jagged weapons. They were covered in hard carapace armor, that reflected the burning light from the blacksmith fires.

Screams of suffering raged throughout the chasm, followed by harsh shouts for order, as the insectoids and demons forced the captured dwarves and elves to continue working. The Darklord stood on the brink of the upper Demon Hold temple, as the fires burned brightly behind him and the iron echoed throughout the cavern like the tolling of a thousand bells. He turned to face the warlock Dorma.

“The Dwarf King of the East and the Elf Queen of the West are doomed,” The Darklord shouted over the raging noise of the mine. “By the time they figure out what horror lies beneath them it will be too late. I will unleash the secret weapons of the ancients and when I ascend, the world of Dominion will be mine!”

“As you will, Lord,” Dorma bowed. The Darklord turned to survey the mine and raised his hands in the air releasing a demonic laugh. His voice carried throughout the dark shafts, pass the massive demon warriors, over the heads of the imp patrols with fiery spears and bows, past the insectoid soldiers marching with their giant War-beetles decked in spiked armor and massive sharp mandibles, out of the depths of the mine and out into the chasm that was being dug out by slaves and built with fortified towers and walls, all manned by a massive army of insectoids marching in orderly lines, buzzing with spears held high, and above them the flying insectoid skirmishers flew over the entire chasm guarding the gorge from any intruders.

And the Darklord’s laugh faded into the drums of war above all the land of Dominion. A land burning with war and blood where elf and dwarf clashed in lines of battle, across hundreds of miles of untouched forest filled with mythical beast, lakes, rivers and seas teeming with humanoid fish monsters. Higher and higher into the sky across the great mysterious waste of red sand where the Orc and Goblins ruled the lush green oasis, through the storms on the mountains topped in white snow where massive giants slept, back down into green valleys filled with Halflings fighting Ratmen who marched in an endless horde out of dark, rancid swamps and humid jungles where giant spiders would spin their webs of nightmare. The rumor of the Darklords plans echoed through every part of the land, calling out to the thieving pirates of the violent bays and the twisted Boarmen that roamed the countryside in search of plunder.

On and on the drums of war beat, sending the tribal call of honor through the veins of all beings. Men, a race on the decline, struggled to hold on to the small land they had in the northern reaches of Dominion. They hid in their stone white fortresses and behind their tall gray walls sealed in by mortar. Upon their vast towers they flew the banner of houses long diminished in valor, yet among them heroes sat in silence waiting for an opportunity to show their worth. A new generation of men and women felt the plight of their people and as the drums reached their minds and hearts, they answered the call to venture into the vast wilderness of Dominion to once again defend their brothers and sisters.

On and on the drums beat calling out to these new adventurers offering them troves of treasure and giving them the chance to write their own stories of legendary deeds. The moon shone bright in a blackened sky as giant vampire bats fly through the clouds and the night gives way to the dawn, and the sun burst forth over the earth, over the cliffs of the highest hills and it sparkles upon the ocean like so many diamonds lit with fire, like the hope that still burned in the hearts of the people.

And as the drums beat faster, and the horns of war blow; as the voices of a hundred heroes chant in unison like a choir in a temple, as the cymbals crash sending chills through the flesh; one hero can suddenly see his destiny set plainly before him as Dominion Online calls.