The Unnecessary Balance: Infinite Realms

YAY!!!! ~I'm so excited, I just can't hiiide it~

This topic allows you to see the beginning chapters of UB from the different angles of every possible main protagonist. Each "Route" will only be so long(Around 3-6 Chapters for most), but by choosing the right choices, you can unlock other characters to play as. Each Route will have several possible characters to unlock, and playing their Routes will unlock different stories.

While what happens here will not directly affect the main CYOA, it will give you much needed insight on a great many things that might even allow you to save the lives of your favorite characters. You will also see a completely different side of those characters here: What would Trail be like if he had given in to his sorrow and anger? What would Leah be like, if she had never met Jeckel? What about Garm? Is there a reality where he discovered the Culture's plot, and was never killed? And what if the Culture never existed? How would the world be different?

Welcome to the Infinite Realms!

Mumble D mumble mumble...

Bumpity bump! Gimme moar votes! .... Please? Pretty please with an adorable baby dragon on top?

In case anyone's wondering, gameplay will be the same as the main CYOA. Stats, skills, classes, battles, all the same. This IS still UB, after all.

B.

So I'm guessing you're expecting the ones that lost to break this, huh?

Well, inn the words of the 4th most annoying DotA character, Nyx, Nyx-Nyx Nyx, Nyx.

*Has not been updated*
*Is disappointed*

????

Prologue: The Tiger of Na'am

"Caellach has gone rogue again, boss."

Nyx looks up from her meager desk and sighs, rubbing her eyes. Brazen fool... What the hell is his damage?

"What did he do now?" She asks, immediately regretting the fact that she did ask, since she kinda already knew the answer. Or at least highly suspected she knew.

"What else? Ordered us all back here, and then stormed off to raid the Khans' stronghold all by his lonesome. I know you trust him boss, ya wouldn't have made him your Second otherwise, but... The guy's a loose canon."

Bors did have a point. Caellach was acting more and more off the grid, and he was speaking to her less and less... Hiding things from her. It wasn't like him, and she didn't like that. Not one bit. He had changed... He wasn't the same man she once called friend... The same man she once called lover. But then again, she couldn't exactly blame him... Considering it was she who betrayed him. The fact he was still willing to work with her, let alone in the same Mercenary Company, spoke volumes of the man's understanding and forgiveness.

Nyx rose to her feet and sighed again, walking over to the partially open window that looked out onto the docks. A cool Sea breeze wafted in through the window, gently rustling Nyx's dark blond hair. The breeze felt good on her face. It always did.

Hard to believe it's already been a year. Lost everything, my life, my family, my pride, and washed up back in the last place I ever expected to see again... And the last place I ever wanted to. It was easy enough finding a new crew, and starting a new Company... With how bad things are in Na'am, and these rumors of a war between Midgard and Drakia sparking on the mainland stopping almost all trade, there's plenty without work... Even though the rumors are a fairly new thing, that doesn't change jack. Still the same old same old. Nothing really changes. And a woman's got to live somehow, and I'm not the kind of person to give up... Even when I've lost everything. But, of course, then HE waltzes right back into my life with that stupid s*** eating grin of his...

"We've known each other for years Bors," Nyx answered finally, after a long moment of silence. "He and I used to run together, back in my old Company. He can be a rat bastard at times, but he's a good man, and a damn good fighter. If he went off on his own, then I trust he can handle it."

"But, boss... The captives... Not to mention the contract. If we screw this up, those captives are gonna pay the real price, and we're gonna end up rotting in this warehouse without a single job until we all stink like wet skunks and our bones start collecting dust. You done right by us so far boss, and I trust you, you know that, but..."

He did have a point... This particular job was a bit too high maintenance to just leave it to Caellach. Just a bit.

"Alright. Wake the others and suit up, Bors. I'm going for a walk. When you're ready, you know where to find me."

With that, Nyx turned on her heel and strode out of the room without another word. The dark corridors of the old warehouse they used as their base were easy enough to navigate once you got used to them, and by now, Nyx knew the place like the back of her hand. In no time flat, she was out the front door, and strolling along the edge of the docks, looking out at the incomparable ocean spread out beside her. A million sparkling lights danced off the dark, clear water, reflecting the starry night sky and the city lights of the Archipelago's largest industrial port.

Somewhere out there, at the bottom of the ocean…

A pang of agony lacerated her chest, and Nyx quickly pushed her thoughts aside. It was always easier when she tried not to think.

The night calmed her. It helped her think. Or not think, as it were. She loved wandering the city at night. She loved the sounds, the smells, the sights... The bustling night life, the open air markets... It always made her feel alive. And for someone who was for all intents and purposes already dead, that was something truly special.

But tonight was different. There was a chill in the air, an odd, almost unsettling chill, that crept down her back like the bony hand of a skeleton. She could feel the night clawing at her, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Something was wrong. It felt like there was someone following her, watching her, but the moon was bright and she was alone. Occasionally, she thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, like a shadow that seemed to flicker and vanish.

Assassins...? No, if someone were following me, I'd know... Not an Assassin alive that could sneak up on me, don't care how good he thinks he is... So what then...?

Instinctively, Nyx turned down a narrow side street that lead back to her warehouse. Two different warehouses lined the street on each side, forming tall walls that boxed the small alleyway in. There were a couple large dumpsters and some scattered trash cans that would make fairly effective cover, if someone did decide to attack her. And the street was narrow enough to set up a good chokepoint, providing she could block one entrance with one of the dumpsters. Though that would require her to be actually strong enough to move it, and she wasn't sure if she could. So she tried. Neither dumpster budged.

There was a side door leading into the right warehouse, and if worst came to worst, she could always make a mad dash back to the base. It was certainly close enough. She tried the door. It was unlocked.

Convenient... If a little suspicious. What the hell is going on here?

-------
A: Duck into the warehouse and lay low.
B: Stay in the alleyway and lay low behind one of the dumpsters.
C: Continue walking casually towards the other end of the street, but keep your eye out.
D: Make a mad dash for the other side. If you can reach your own warehouse, your boys should already be suited up and ready to fight.