Demon Princes of Titan

The Demon Princes are the most powerful demons of the Fighting Fantasy universe, who rule over the Demonic Planes and subsequently everything evil in the world of Titan. There are the three superior Snake Demons: Sith, Myurr and Ishtra, and the four Night Demons: Relem, Vradna, Kalin and Shakor who serve as their generals. While they directly appear in very few gamebooks, their influence the actions of many of the series' villains.

Creation of the universe
"In the beginning there was Arn and Arn was the beginning."

Arn gave birth to the three Primal Deities, Ashra, Vuh and Elim, who shaped the universe. Vuh created the Earthly Planes, Ashra the Astral Planes and Elim the Magical Planes. However, Elim deemed the result flawed and wanted to erase it to start it anew, while Ashra was enthusiastic to push creation further and Vuh felt that things could not be judged until Life was put into motion.

Ashra and Vuh gave birth to the Gods of Titan and Elim to the High Lords of Evil and Chaos, the Demon Gods Death, Disease and Decay from the very flaws he wanted to highlight, named after what the mortal races would come to regard as the worst scourges in existence after time was brought to the world.

Then the world of Titan came into existence. While the Gods created the different living races, the Demon Gods stole some races from their creators, Orcs, Trolls, Goblins and Lizard-Men among others, and created the demon kind in "a cruel mockery of the creation of the lawful gods."

The First Battle
As creation flourished, the Demon Gods strived to claim it for themselves, which they did after the God of Neutrality Loogan discovered Time. Death captured Time and threatened to release its ageing power, should the Gods not relinquish the world of Titan to his kind. The Gods refused, leading to the cataclysmic First Battle.

In spite of its name, the First Battle was a long war opposing the higher gods of the Celestial Court, their allies of the Animal Court, the Demi-Gods, the Dragon kind and all the lawful mortal races; against the Demon Gods, the lesser Evil Gods, frightful Dark Beings, (such as the Night Dragon, Voivod the Waster, the Black Gargoyle, the Primal Basilisk and the corrupt Spider God Arhallogen) the Demon Kind and the evil mortal races.

The forces of Evil tricked several neutral gods (such as the Wolf God Almor and the Goblin God Hashak) to fight by their side, corrupted some warriors of Good and created Undeath and Lycanthropy, but the forces of Good held their own and gave birth to powerful champions.

The war ended after Death targetted Titan, God King and namesake of the world, with a dark bolt made from hatred and fear. The Earth Goddess Throff took the hit, causing considerable anger among the forces of Good which laid waste in the demonic armies. In retaliation, the Fertility Goddess Galana and the Sun Goddess Glantanka hurled a spear of divine energy towards Time, which was held captive by the mightiest demons. Time disintegrated, scattering its essence all over the Earthly Planes and giving birth to the Time God Chronada. Soon after, the forces of Evil were forced to surrender.

Fearing the unfathomable evil that would spread if the Demon Gods were executed, the Gods banished them into the Void, along with most of their followers. However, the current Demon Princes and many others escaped. Several of them were later sealed somewhere else, leaving the Demon Princes in charge.

The Old Time
The Golden Age ended with the war. The Gods had to withdraw from Titan, the living creatures were now mortals and the previous prosperity of the four major races was lost forever. The Elves retreated to the forests, the Dwarves into the underground caves, the Giants were nearly wiped out and the great cities of Men were reduced to dust. The last two civilizations regressed heavily, most of the giant tribes being stuck into a nearly prehistoric lifestyle.

Feeling betrayed by his brothers after the banishment of his kin, Elim sought to expand his cult worldwide and entered a conflict with Ashra and Vuh which caused even more war and chaos between their followers, until the Gods removed the Primal Deities from the memory of livings.

Then came the Time of Heroes, during which the mortal races learnt to adapt to the now hostile world of Titan. The Demon Princes sought to gain dominion over it, leading to the sinking of Atlantis the only nation which retained its Golden Age glory. When King Faramos XII died without known heir the empire suffered great troubles, until a 16-year-old distant relative was discovered and crowned under the name Faramos XIII. But, this providential heir was in fact the Snake Demon Myurr, who assumed a human form after fabricating evidences of royal descent. Myurr had the once peaceful empire invade every neighbouring kingdom, spreading destruction all over. By the time the Gods realized the king's true identity, they had no other choice than to sink the entire empire under the sea, splitting the original continent of Irritaria into what became the Old World, Allansia and Khul; unfortunately not before Myurr could retreat to the Demonic Planes.

After a long period of huge seismic and volcanic activity, the mortal races were once again left to cope with the new settings of the world to rebuild their civilizations for the third and last time. As centuries passed, the mortal races learnt to master Magic, leading to the rise in power of wizards.

The Chaos Wars
The last great catastrophe to befall on Titan was the discovery of the Dead City, a lost city from long before the splitting in which a great evil had been sealed. An evil that spread all over Titan, culminating into the Chaos Wars in which the forces of Evil gathered under the command of the Demon Princes to attack the three continents. In Khul, it resulted in the Great War against Evil and in Allansia in the War of the Wizards. The unspeakable destruction it brought scarred these continents permanently, shaping them into separated city states surrounded by hostile wilderness full of evil creatures. In the Old World however, many human wizards joined with the powerful pixie-like Minimites in a ritual that destroyed the forces of Evil before they could strike. Yet the entire land where it happened became a lawless wasteland where Chaos rules supreme, known as the Khakabad.

This led to the New Age, referred to as After Chaos in the Titan timeline. Every gamebook and story set on Titan takes place during the New Age.

The Demonic Planes
Also known as the Pit or the Abyss, the Demonic Planes refers to the Magical Planes where the demon kind settled. It is reminiscent of the Seven Circles of Hell: Primus for the Demon Princes, Secundus for the greater demons, Tertius for the "classical" demons, Quartus for the greater sentient undeads, Quintus for the regular undeads, Sextus for the demonic animals, and Septimus for the brainless demonspawns.

The Palace of Agony
A repellent fortress of inconceivable architecture located at the heart of the Pit. The Palace of Agony is the base of operation of the Demon Princes (from which they observe the world of Titan through a misty pool) and the link between all the Demonic Planes, which also provides access to the other Planes. There, the Demon Princes and their highest-ranked servants gather for unspeakably awful feasts, the demonic animals are breed, and the essence of the defeated demons returns to regenerate.

The Plane of Steel
The Plane ruled by the Snake Demon Sith; from her palace made of snake scales. It is there where the demons' weapons are forged, bewitched and made unique for their wielders.

The Plane of Rust
The Plane ruled by the Snake Demon Myurr; mostly populated by demons of withering and decay.

The Plane of Ichor
The Plane ruled by the Snake Demon Ishtra; named after the mystical substance that flows through every supernatural being and which quantity determinates their amount of power.

The Plane of Blood
The Plane ruled by the Night Demon Relem; made of a revolting combination of blood and vital fluids, which can be given a solid shape to create buildings such as Relem's palace.

The Plane of Platinum
The Plane ruled by the Night Demon Vradna; which lacks the foulness, destruction and decay of the other Demonic Planes yet is favoured by many elemental demons.

The Plane of Obsidian
A particularly unstable Plane plagued by earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters; ruled by the Night Demon Kalin.

The Plane of Bile
The abhorrent Plane ruled by the Night Demon Shakor; mostly populated by plague-bringing demons.

About the Demon Princes
The Demon Princes were once part of a much larger demonic legion, (about 27 Snake Demons and 81 Night Demons) but the others were banished to the Void. There were also other demons of equal rank such as the Kurakil. The Demon Princes served as the Demon Gods' generals during the First Battle, but now they rule the Pit and want to create a portal between the planes from which the demons could flood in; in order to terraform Titan into their liking (i.e. a dark wasteland).

The Demon Princes are manifestations of Evil that can assume any form they want. They are bound to the Pit but can manifest themselves in any other Plane. They cannot be killed and very few weapons can harm them. Should they be defeated, they would return to the Pit to regenerate and plan their revenge. Being of Demi-Gods status, they are worshipped by the evil races and corrupt people all over Titan. Most, if not all of the series' individual villains serve their purpose, even with goals of conquest of their own. Sometimes, said villains are influenced by lesser demons working for the Princes: Zanbar Bone's parents led a cult dedicated to Myurr, leading the Snake Demon to claim the infant's soul and grant him immense Dark Powers, creating one of the greatest blights to ever plague Allansia. Worshipping the Demon Princes turned Belgaroth into the most fearsome Chaos Lord ever seen on the Old World since Voivod himself.

It was an Ice Demon who made the innocent Shareella the dreaded Snow Witch. Oldoran Zagor and Zharradan Marr (and according to some sources Balthus Dire as well) are rumoured to be half-demons. The Archmage of Mampang transforms into a Netherworld Demon during the final confrontation of The Crown of Kings, implying a pact or a possession. The Shadow Demon Agglax, the villain of the gamebook Armies of Death, is a servant of the Demon Princes seeking to conquer the world on their behalf. Finally Ikiru, the villain of the gamebook Sword of the Samurai, is a demon seeking to unleash chaos on the continent of Khul.

The Snake Demons
The three highest ranking Demon Princes. Their title stems less from their reptilian features than from Sith's fondness for snakes. Although they work towards the same goals, they are in constant competition and always seek to gain dominion over the others.

Sith
The only female Demon Prince, should gender ever apply to such beings, she was referred to as the Goddess of Evil Sithera in the pantheon of the ancient, Egypt-like country of Djarat. She most often appears as a four-armed woman with the head of a cobra, wearing jewelry made of skulls. She must not be confused with Vermistra, the neutral Snake Goddess, although one of Vermistra's children, the Immortal Python Sussussurr, has become her familiar.

Sith is described as the cruelest Demon Prince, (which is saying something.) She is the most influent of the three Snake Demons in the Pit, for she commands the Night Demons Relem and Vradna, but her influence on the Earthly Plane is less expanded. She created the Caarth race and other snake-humanoids by blending snake and humans together. One can also assume that she is linked to Venom-Demons.

Sith is most active in the continent of Allansia, especially in the dangerous Desert of Skulls, where dwell all her snake-like servants. Contrary to the other two Snake Demons, Sith does not appear in person in gamebooks. Though in Curse of the Mummy, the Caarth and the evil Cult of the Cobra attempt to awake the mummy of the evil Djaratan ruler Akharis on her behalf, to cover Titan in a plague-filled desert. When the player interrupts the Ritual of Resurrection, she revives Akharis herself. And after his defeat, she animates a statue of herself to crush the player, who needs an Ankh to survive. Also, she directs Relem’s actions in Tower of Destruction.

Myurr
The most intelligent of the Demon Princes, Myurr is equally active in both Planes having a palace in both worlds. He most often appears as a four-armed demon with the head of a snake and large leathery wings. He also appears as a gigantic toad, or as an innocent-looking teenager (to better fool his victims). Myurr is feared for his diabolical schemes and traps. He is constantly plotting to gain power in Titan, and mostly acts by infiltrating and manipulating some government under a human aspect to spread discord and chaos; (when he does not directly set himself on the throne). He also frequently uses his human aspects to tempt or manipulate people, and builds awful artifacts that wither the land. He can amplify the malevolence in people's hearts by looking them in the eye.

Myurr is worshipped by the Dark Elves, which in some way makes him the indirect lord of the Dark Elven city of Tìranduil Kelthas. All Dark Elven rulers, such as the Dark Elf Sorcerer, the villain the gamebook Siege of Sardath, are his direct servants. Also, Malbordus, the villain of the gamebook Temple of Terror, was raised within the walls of Tìranduil Kelthas by a Priestess of Myurr.

Ishtra
The most warmongering of the Demon Princes, Ishtra most often appears as a bipedal crocodile with the head of a goat, entirely covered in green fire. He also appears as a huge, intense energy ball. He apparently wants to cover Titan in Darkness instead of swarming it with demons and strives to gain control over the forces of nature. Ishtra uses green fire as his primary weapon and influences the Dream Realm, in which he commands the entity known as Morpheus, source of all nightmares.

Ishtra stole the Lizard Men race from the Lizard God Suthis Sha during the First Battle. As such, he can be regarded as the indirect ruler of the Lizard Man Empire, which is in turn the primary threat of the gamebook Battleblade Warrior.

Ishtra is most active on the Earthly Planes, and especially in the continent of Khul. It was he who resurrected the wizard Shanzikuul, the villain of the gamebook Master of Chaos who served under him during the Chaos Wars, and who orchestrated the return of the archmage Xakhaz, the villain of the book Beneath Nightmare Castle. The witch Morganna, villainess of the gamebook Masks of Mayhem, and the warlock Jartaxes, villain of the gamebook Fangs of Fury, were also stated to be his servants. Furthermore, it was probably him who turned the warlock Grimslade into a demon after his defeat at the hand of the hero of Scorpion Swamp.

The Night Demons
The second tier of the Demon Princes. They are depicted as muscular humanoids of reddish body colour, with two black, dragonic heads and large leathery wings. (This being the aspect under which Relem appears. Whether they all look like this is unclear.) They serve as the tacticians of the demonic hordes and spend most of their time watching over Titan to plan their course of action.

Relem
One of Sith's lieutenants and the only Night Demon featured in a gamebook. He uses lightning as his primary weapon and masters rituals of Blood Magic.

Vradna
The other lieutenant of Sith, he has as such a neverending rivalry with Relem. He became the master of the gargoyles following the Black Gargoyle's demise during the First Battle.

Kalin
The only Night Demon with no known master, though it is implied that he serves Myurr. There is little to nothing else known about him.

Shakor
The lieutenant of Ishtra. Like Kalin, he is not mentioned often and largely unknown.

The Kurakil
Although not a Demon Prince per se, the fearsome Kurakil, also known as Miphreas the Soul Destroyer and the Infernal Beast, was stated to be of the same rank and influence. Some sources even place him on the same level than the Snake Demons. He and two equally powerful demons called Rivel and Akragog were instructed by Death to keep Time hostage during the First Battle. He seems to be the only one of them to have escaped banishment in the Void, but he got trapped inside the bewitched Casket of Shadows in the aftermath of the Chaos Wars. He appears as a huge, scaly demon with large leathery wings, a horned wolf-like head, a dragon-like tail and the legs of a goat.

Dead of Night
A horror-themed gamebook which provides the playable character with a background. He or she vowed to hunt Evil after a demon killed his/her brother, and became a powerful Holy Knight, known in the entire country of Gallantaria in the Old World as the Demon-Stalker. He/She often thwarted Myurr's schemes and even once exposed Myurr himself, as the Demon Prince was impersonating a king's advisor, triggering Myurr's thirst for revenge. The story begins when the player sets out to rescue his/her parents that Myurr has just abducted.

The player can choose three Special Skills between Heal, Banish Undead, Meditation, Sense Demon, Speak Demon, Holy Circle and (the evil-based) Dark Veil. There is also a score of Evil which measures the player's bad deeds and must be kept as low as possible.

While visiting his/her hometown, the player discovers that Myurr sent two Blight Demons shape-shifted as his/her parents to fake their death and cover up their abduction. These demons plague the entire village from the grave and must be destroyed. (Their actions cause the unknowing villagers to resent the player for triggering the demons' wrath.) Slaying them leaves a "clue" made to lead the player to a dangerous trap.

The player must track down Myurr's right-hand man, the necromancer Magrand, who hides in a mill guarded by undeads and abducts people on a daily basis for his experiments.
 * In spite of his great magical power, Magrand is physically frail and has only 6 in skill and 6 in stamina. He may cast a bothersome spell if the player does not take him by surprise, but all in all he poses little threat.

The player then realises that Myurr's demonic forces are plaguing Gallantaria and has to protect many peasants from them, such as when an entire town is invaded by gargoyle-like Moon Demons, when undead warriors are attacking a farm, or when a very powerful Great Demon with 11 in skill (level of power - the regular maximum being 12) and 18 in stamina (life-points) is fought.

The player might run into a dark ritual in witch a Moon Demon Mage tries to resurrect Magrand as an undead Abomination. If the player cannot prevent Magrand's return he/she has to fight him.
 * Magrand-the-Abomination first has 6 in skill and 13 in stamina but after two attack rounds his power increases to 10 and his stamina is restored, making him a dangerous enemy. All the more so given that he can kill the player outright should he gather enough attack strength!

He/She might also enter a Land-Blight (a demonic, organic building which withers and corrupts the land) to free the people captive inside and destroy the Dark Stone that serves as its core with a very dangerous spell. Finally, he/she must destroy a Baleful Eye: a demonic eye atop a tower whose stare can damn people's souls, quite reminiscent of Sauron of Mordor.

The player shall then meet one of the Netherworld Sorcerers guardians of neutrality, that Myurr manipulated into siding with him by making them believe that Good got so much influence that it threatens the balance. If the player manages to reveal the truth, the Sorcerer will grant him/her the powerful Demon-Slayer sword, the only blade able to harm a Demon Prince, and teleport him/her to Myurr's tower in the Cragrock Peaks.

The tower is full of annoying mazes and deadly traps, thus reaching the throne room where the Demon Prince is holding the player's parents captive is quite tricky.

Facing Myurr
The gloating Demon Prince reveals that he set everything to lure the player right where he wanted. Indeed he needs to combine his/her soul, his/her parents' lifeforce and the Netherworld Sorcerers' magic to open a gate between the Physical Plane and the Pit and take over both Planes. Using the Dark Veil skill in this battle only leads to a game over, since using an evil-based spell against a Demon Prince corrupts the player and make him/her Myurr's slave.

Myurr is a formidable foe with 14 in skill and 25 in stamina, who uses his four clawed arms to strike twice in a row, as if the player was fighting two equally powerful enemies. The player can choose between three tactics when winning an attack round.
 * Regular Battle: The player needs the Demon-Slayer sword to win this fight. Striking Myurr with any other sword is useless and the power-up it grants is the only way to match the Demon Prince's might.
 * Holy Water: Should the player win a skill test, Myurr would lose the result of a dice-roll in stamina. Yet, if this only makes the battle easier, since there is not enough holy water to take Myurr down.
 * Search for the Jewel: The safest way to defeat Myurr is to destroy the magic jewel that enables him to manifest on the Physical Plane, hidden among the relics guarded by the corrupted Netherworld Sorcerers. Destroying the wrong item only makes Myurr strike harder or kick the player against a wall, costing 2 to 5 stamina points. The player must target the pyramid of bones, and win a test of Evil to resist Myurr's corrupting gaze when the Demon Prince attempts to stop him/her. If the player loses he/she becomes Myurr's slave and the game is lost; otherwise the jewel gets destroyed, defeating the Demon Prince. However, without the Demon-Slayer sword or a holy ring, the player will lose a great deal of stamina in the resulting blast.

Phantoms of Fear
The playable character of the story is a young Elf shaman known as the Eldenurin. (The Defender Shaman.) As Ishtra is gathering every evil creature in the continent of Khul under his command to stat a second Chaos War, he or she is tasked by the Fertility Goddess Galana to rise against the Demon Prince.

The player has a unique Power score, which allows him or her to cast spells and to venture into the Dream Realm. He/She can use spells of Invisibility, Illusion, Levitation, Weakening, Detection and Fire but must use theses abilities with extreme parcimony, as he/she needs to raise the highest possible total of Power to stand a chance against Ishtra.

The player discovers that both the Physical Plane and the Dream Realm are blighted by Ishtra's demonic influence and have begun to wither, as the Demon Prince is using the Dream Realm as an asset in his goals of conquest. He/She will often have to travel to the Dream Realm, where the monsters encountered are fought in a way that involves dice rolls and random, and can easily turn to the player's disadvantage. There are also several dangerous monsters born from Ishtra's experiments. The player must search everywhere for magical relics needed to defeat Ishtra and to gather information about how to use them.

As the player ventures near Ishtra's blighted hideout, he/she can no longer cast spells due to the Demon Prince's influence. When venturing in the innermost sanctum, the player will enter a nightmare in which he/she will have to face Ishtra's right-hand, Morpheus the Lord of Nightmares: a disgusting amalgamation of monsters' bodies.
 * Morpheus first sends three dream monsters with high Power scores to fight the player. Contrary to the other dream-monsters, Morpheus can kill the player for real and the fight is lead like a normal one, except that both opponents use their Power score instead of their stamina. Morpheus has 8 in skill and 20 in power, which does not make him much of a threat but the player must by no mean finish him off, otherwise he/she would end the dream he/she is in and end up dead.

Facing Ishtra
The player must battle Ishtra immediately after defeating Morpheus and has the choice of facing him in the Dream Realm or in the Physical Plane. Should he/she wear a green pendant, Ishtra will be able to devour his/her soul and turn him/her into his undead servant without resistance.
 * Battle in the Dream Realm: Ishtra is fought the same way as Morpheus, with 10 in skill and 21 in power. While powerful, Ishtra has a surprizingly low skill total for a demon of his rank but he compensates with his vast Power score, which the player must surpass. Should he/she have less than 22 points of Power, he/she would be forced to retreat to the Physical Plane.
 * Battle in the Physical Plane: Ishtra can only be defeated with six relics filled with the power of nature: a deer's antler and a crystal ball representing wind, an amber and a branch representing fire, and an icicle and a bowl representing water. Should the player lack one relic, Ishtra will incinerate him/her with his green fire. The same fate awaits him/her should he/she place them in the wrong combination or lack sufficient Power score to cast the spell. But if every condition is met, the relics will generate a powerful forcefield and destroy the Demon Prince's earthly avatar.

Tower of Destruction
The story begins when the playable character returns to his hometown in the cold northern regions of Allansia, only to witness a gigantic, flying Sphere of Destruction burning it to the ground. So begins a quest to track down the Sphere and those behind it.

The game features an Honour score which must be raised to the highest possible number and a rule of Time Elapsed, to note how many days are spent in the track. The player first has to investigate on the Sphere through talking to locals and barbarian natives, to learn that it is controlled by a Dark Wizard.

The player eventually manages to enter the Sphere and to confront both the Wizard (in fact a weaker projection) and Dazrak, his Man-Orc bodyguard.
 * Zeverin.jpgk is a powerful enemy with 10 in skill and 10 in stamina. After 3 attack rounds, the Wizard starts firing magic arrows that make the battle very dangerous, as the player gets additional damage at every attack round. The Wizard is fought after Dazrak, having 8 in skill and 8 in stamina. The safest course of action is to win a test of skill to destroy the jewel that projects the Wizard's double to dispel it, leaving only Dazrak as a threat.

With his enemies gone, the player destroys the Sphere from the inside. When escaping the blast, the player shall rescue Aliades, a former apprentice of the Wizard who tried to stop him and was held captive. The player is told that the Sphere was only a first try and that the Wizard, Zeverin, is about to create a far more lethal Tower of Destruction. The real villain of the story is then revealed to be the Night Demon Relem, who struck a deal with Zeverin and granted him his current level of power. Relem wants to use the destruction that the tower would bring to open a gate between the Pit and the Physical Planes, and it is made quite clear that he will dispose of Zeverin after he outlives his usefulness.

The player later travels through the Icefinger Mountains towards the Ice Palace of the Elf Mages, where Zeverin used to learn magic. The Ice Palace is now a mausoleum for the Elf Mages who dwell there as ghosts, many of them needing to be freed from of Zeverin's curse. The player must fight Zeverin's Dark Elves and search for many useful items, including an Ice Bird and an Ice Sword, and meet the ghost of two Elf Mages: Tassakil, who can reactivate and even increase the Ice Sword's power, and the Archmage Elokinan, whose magical chalice can power the player up depending on his/her honour total.

Then the player has to find a way enter the Tower of Destruction itself and fight his/her way to its core, until Zeverin attacks him/her by surprise.

Facing Zeverin
The player can use several items before battling his/her enemy. Using a Wand of Cold and bewitched arrows are the best choices, as it can kill Zeverin before fighting, which is advised considering the upcoming fight against Relem. But if Zeverin gains the advantage or is struck with normal arrows, his spells will cost 3 stamina points. (And sometimes even 1 skill point.) Zeverin is a powerful enemy and a surprisingly talented swordsman with 10 in skill and 13 in stamina, and he almost always cast spells costing 5 in stamina before fighting.

Facing Relem
The Demon Prince is fought right after Zeverin. He first blasts the player with lightning and several items are necessary to avoid huge damages: an activated Ice Sword, (to avoid a loss of 4 stamina points) an Ice Shield, (or minus 4) then a Magic Ring. (Minus 1 dice roll instead of 2.) Then, an Ice Bird can be used to distract Relem. Relem is a formidable foe with 14 in skill and 25 and stamina, whose claws cost 3 stamina points instead of the regular 2. The Ice Sword is mandatory to stand a chance against him. If it was enchanted to fight demons, the battle will be much easier.

After defeating Relem, the player must make a perilous escape from the collapsing tower. Then he/she gets attacked by Zeverin of all people! (Likely using another double or being revived by Relem as a vengeance.) If the player has the Ice Sword, Elokinan will appear and get rid of the Wizard once and for all, otherwise everything ends in a giant energy ball.

SpellBreaker
The story begins when the playable character is tricked into letting the Warlock Nazek enter a monastery in which no evil can enter uninvited. Nazek steals the fabled Black Grimoire and the player has four days to track him down before the night of Shekka's Moon, the night when the evil Goddess of Sorcery Shekka expands her power over the world, during which the Grimoire could be used in a ritual to free the Kurakil from the Casket of Shadows.

The gamebook in itself is very hard, full of dangerous battles, complicated riddles and a lot of mandatory items. It features a score of Faith which must be raised to the highest possible number, to guard the player against evil, and a score of Infection which must be kept very low, to measure his or her vulnerability to plague when exposed.

In the beginning of his or her quest, the player must save the town of Aryll from plague-bringing rats and slay the monster responsible of the plague to cure himself/herself as well.
 * The plague-bringing Canker has only 8 in skill and 12 in stamina, and can be weakened with fire, but the player must destroy it before its plague-zombie guards can interrupt the fight.

Then, the player has to travel through several places blighted by evil, and visit the vaults of two ancient heroes, including Enthral the Martyr, the one who trapped the Kurakil whom he/she needs to meet through the Veil. The Kurakil cannot be defeated without the Holy Sword stolen by "The Mask", the lord of the local thieves who must be tracked down.
 * "The Mask" is a very powerful enemy with 11 in skill and 12 in stamina, who fortunately lacks special skills that could have complicated the fight.

Finally, the player must capture Mistress Crowfoot, a witch at Nazek's command, by unveiling her disguise and slaying her crow with a hawk; and enlist the help of the secret society which opposes Nazek, to storm into the ruins of the monastery where the Warlock and his followers are performing the ritual to open the Casket of Shadows.

The Final Battle
The player must engage the battle immediately and fight his/her way towards Nazek, who has just unleashed the Infernal Beast. The player must then close the Casket of Shadows with a spell; otherwise the other demons trapped inside will escape and seal his/her doom. Using an item against the Kurakil is useless and possibly lethal. The demon is a very powerful and dangerous enemy with 12 in skill and 18 in stamina. He fights with his claws and swipes his tail every attack round, causing additional damage 2 in 6 times, regardless of the outcome.

After defeating the demon, the player needs a Venom’s Bane potion to survive against the spiders summoned by Nazek. While nowhere as dangerous as the Kurakil, the Warlock has 10 in skill and 9 in stamina, which is no laughing matter, and he takes advantage from the player's weakened state. When his stamina drops under 2, the player must win a difficult test of faith to finish him off, or get fully corrupted by the evil power spread by the night of Shekka’s Moon.