Anni fa scrissi questo micro-corto all'interno di un gioco di ruolo online (www.planeshift.it) ed ho pensato di condividerlo con voi... niente di speciale ma forse può risultare interessante per qualcuno.
Il testo si basa sull'ambientazione del gioco, disponibile qui (http://www.planeshift.it/Settings).

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R U L E S
This book which you have in your hands (or paws) is not a normal one. It is a magical tome that can let you experience, first hand, the adventures of its protagonist. You just need to use your wisdom to make the right choices, in addition to a standard six-sided die [you can use the ingame die, by typing '/roll 6' in the chat]. Once you have made a choice, the text will tell you which page you must go to in order to continue the story (for example: go to P1). Do not worry if the character should meet a tragic end, you can always start over and get him a better fate. Now is time to get focused... your adventure is about to begin!
P R E F A C E
This fork-tale is set around the third century AY, in the days when some of the races that now inhabit Yliakum came unexpectedly through a magical portal. Diaboli, Dermorian, Klyros and Stonehammers reached a new land, a new place to call home. You're one of those ancient heroes, one of the many immigrants who have lived through that period of transition; this, in fact, leads you to your first choice. Choose to which race you choose to belong.

If you are a Diaboli, go to P13.
If you are a Dermorian, go to P6.
If you are a Stonehammer, go to P2.
If you are a Klyros, go to P11.
                     P1
You decide that it is better to regain your strength; you will join the next group. During the night you have a strange dream: you see a kind of cave, wrapped in a silvery light. In the cave there are two holes in the ground. Next to the holes there are some disturbing pieces of bones. You feel a strong fear in seeing the bones and then you wake up suddenly. Still troubled by the dream, you walk to the Mound to join the group that will cross the portal today.

Go to P19.


                     P2
The dwarves are all doomed. It had been centuries since the Great Sailors, when the whole world was covered by water, and millennia since Fnnargan was a lush and wonderful planet. Now the world is a large scorching desert. Burned by your merciless sun and exhausted by the long stay in the underground, your kind have almost reached the end. But all is not lost. In the depths of hopelessness, a miracle formed. A glowing blueish silver disk. A portal. Many of your friends plunge into the portal without thinking about anything, without worrying about the consequences: they fear that it will close again at any moment, an event that seems plausible after all.

If you want to follow the example, throwing yourself into the portal, go to P19.
If you prefer to speak with someone in your family before you jump, go to P12.


                     P3
You use a little trick to distract the guards who are overseeing the portal. With silent steps you follow Vestantid within the portal, not seen. Good thing since being caught would have meant death.

Go to P5.
                     P4
You slide into the magic hole for a time that you can not define, until you appear in a place that looks completely insane. The grass of the meadows has been replaced by a dark gray material, the mountains by large elongated cubes, and above the long curved roads you see shimmering, metal, self-propelled carriages. The inhabitants resemble the Ylian, but they dress and speak in a completely different way. You showed up in a crowded place and it seems that everyone fears you, as much as you fear them. Soon, a group of those beings is able to immobilize you. They take you to a strange underground laboratory, where you will die in a few days, having suffered unspeakable mental and physical torture. Your adventure ends here.


                     P5
After you've jumped into the portal, you travel at great speed through a long series of swirling ethereal tunnels, as if you were swallowed by an invisible force. You sight goes blank for a few seconds and, when it gets back, you find yourself floating on a surface similar to a bluish silver. Initially, the matter on which you rest your feet seems fluid and viscous, but at every step becomes more and more solid. There is no trace of your companions; you're all alone, lost inside this strange magical singularity.
You walk a few more steps until you pop up in a salon. In front of you there are three corridors, two of which are illuminated such that you can not tell where they lead. The first corridor radiates an azure light, the second a white light, while the third does not emit any light. The third corridor leads to a cave full of vegetation and water, a place seemingly appealing. I know it is not easy, but you have to choose which corridor to take.

If you take the first, go to P10.
If you take the second, go to P15.
If you take the third, go to P18.


                     P6
Dermoria is your home. You would not leave it for anything in the world. Unfortunately, recently the Elder of your tribe went to a meeting with The Council and you know why: the Elven Knights have become increasingly lethal and your race has no other solution than to leave Dermoria forever. The months pass wrapped by fear, until The Council is finally able to organize the exodus. You know that this undertaking by itself is historic, because it is not easy to make dozens of nomadic tribes agree, even in times of crisis. An endless line of your brothers and sisters make their entrance into the portal, and eventually your turn arrives. You are about to cross the threshold, when a group of Knights pop out from behind a large rock, riding wildly, and mowing down some of your people. One of them stands in front of you, determined to kill as many Dermorians as he can.

Throw the six-sided dice.
If you get 2 or less, go to P14.
If you get 3 or more, go to P9.


                     P7
You decide to do the right thing and wait for the return of Vestantid. After all, if you ignore the rules at a moment like this, you could create panic among the people. The days pass and finally the hunter returns. He is sorely tried, he suffered tortures but eventually he managed to find a way to reach a safe place. Therefore it comes the long-awaited moment of crossing the portal.

Go to P19.


                     P8
You slide into the magic hole for a time that you can not define, until you appear in a wheat field. The fresh aroma carried by the warm breeze, the sounds of birds and industrious insects, make you realize you have arrived in a peaceful place. Although you'll never know it, this land is not Yliakum. You are on the planet Mundus, a welcoming world that will allow you to enjoy a happy life. Your adventure ends here.


                     P9
Thanks to your speed and cunning, you're able to defeat the elven knight. While the battle still rages behind you, you know that you have no time to lose and you run towards the portal.

Go to P5.

                     P10
Once you have passed the intense light, you find yourself in a large round shaped cave. There are two holes in the ground that seem surrounded by a magical aura. One of them seems to be emitting a weird noise. Next to the holes lies a pile of bones that seems worn by the passing of time. In front of you, a few feet in height, you see a small dark passage that can be accessed by climbing.

If you want to enter the noisy hole, go to P4.
If you want to enter the other hole, go to P16
If you want to climb to the upper passage, go to P17.

                     P11
The Klyros, your race, are now facing their own end. The vast sea that covers your planet is gradually freezing and soon you will not have any way to survive. Fortunately, there is hope: some explorers did report about a rip in the tissue of magic, a portal that appeared on the island of Likta, now renamed the Portal Island. Your best hunter, Vestantid Kreeks, was sent through the portal to find out if it leads to a safe place. Gathered on Portal Island, your people are ready to leave Askellia forever. You are among them, waiting, but a part of you is too curious to just sit around; you would like to follow Vestantid but you're not sure if you have the necessary courage and skills. What would you like to do?

If you want to try to secretly follow Vestantid, throw a six-sided dice. If you get 3 or less, go to P3, else go to P20.
If you prefer to sit and wait for his return, go to P7.


                     P12
You pass through the exalted crowd, trying to reach your sister, the only relative that you have left. She stands still in front of the portal, mesmerized.
"I've seen that before" - she says - "... in my dreams!"
"What are you talking about?"
"The lights... we will have to follow the lights!"
"But..."
You can not even finish the sentence before a squirt of lava suddenly emerges from a tunnel; you all had already felt the heat, you knew there was lava down there, but the wish to reach the portal has made the dwarves unwary. There's no time for second thoughts now, you have to jump into the portal, all of you!

Go to P19.


                     P13
Since when Sitrania Froulos spoke to your people of a "promised land", all of you have been excited. Then you have found the portal, and her words acquired meaning; maybe there is truly a place where the Diaboli can drink, celebrate, have fun and enjoy the fruits of the earth forever. In recent times you've worked hard to build the great Mound, designed to surround and protect the portal. You're tired and you're not really sure if the labor is worth the result ... of course, Sitrania is a great mage, the first to make a pet appear out of thin air, everybody knows that, but still you feel less than entirely comfortable. Apparently, today the first group of travelers will cross the portal; they are gathering around the Mound right now.

If you want to join them, go to P19.
If you prefer to rest and go with the next group, go to P1.


                     P14
The elf is so fast that you can not even see his face clearly, before collapsing to the ground lifeless. You've been pierced from side to side, and now you lie dead at the feet of the portal. Your adventure ends here.


                     P15
You walk towards the white light and you feel as if your life is slowly fading away from your body. You pass out and you wake up in a gruesome place, surrounded by grim towering buildings. In the course of the eternity you have left to serve here, you will learn about this scary place and its mysteries, you will learn how to live among the dead, how to live in the Death Realm. Your adventure ends here.

                     P16
You slide into the magic hole for a time that you can not define, until you appear right in the middle of nowhere. The portal has led you to an empty area of the universe, in the midst of the void. Launched in to the vast darkness that separates the worlds, you'll soon finish the little bit of air you have left in your lungs. Your adventure ends here.


                     P17
Fortunately, you can climb up to the passage, without suffering injury. You crawl along the dark tunnel, until you lose track of time. When you think that you can no longer make it, a blast of fresh air warns you that you are about to reach the exit. When you're finally out, you realize you are not back in your homeland, and you're almost certain you are not inside the magical anomaly anymore; this must be a new world. As you will discover later on, you're popped in a place called the Stone Labyrinths. You did it!

If you are a Diaboli, go to P22.
If you are a Dermorian, go to P23.
If you are a Stonehammer, go to P24.
If you are a Klyros, go to P25.

                     P18
You enter in the leafy room, and you refresh yourself with the abundant fresh water that flows from the walls. You sit and wait, enjoying a pulpy fruit. You hope that some of your fellows will step in; it would be nice to meet someone to join, to continue the journey. A whole day passes, but no visitor arrives. In the end, against your will, you see yourself forced to make a choice.

If you want to proceed towards the first corridor (azure light), go to P10.
If you want to proceed towards the second corridor (white light), go to P15.
If you prefer to wait longer, go to P21.

                     P19
After a moment of hesitation, you jump into the portal. While jumping, you realize immediately that something did not go the right way. You feel as if you have not centered the slit, as if you had taken the wrong way.

Throw the six-sided dice.
If you get 1, go to P4.
If you get 2, go to P8.
If you get 3, go to P16.
If you get from 4 to 6, go to P5.
                                                                                                                                                                                           
                     P20
You try to distract the guards with a neat trick, but the undertaking does not succeed as hoped. The guards take you away and lead you to be judged by the authorities, who do not show you any mercy.
"You have violated the rules, you have risen against them!"
"But..."
Your excuses are useless, your judges continue unperturbed in their judgment.
"The punishment for these offenses is your exile! You will not pass through the portal. So it was said!"
Someone in your family protests, but it is all in vain. Slowly you see all your kind passing through the portal, while you are locked in a cage. You will die inside that cage, within the next few weeks and the cold, the loneliness, will be your only companions until then. Your adventure ends here.


                     P21
You wait another day, then another. While you wait, you eat the fruits and drink the water in the room, without realizing that they are substances imbued with magic. In a short time you lose all memory of who you are. You will continue to remain here, eating fruits and drinking water, until you die of old age. Your adventure ends here.


                     P22
With the passage of time, you will discover that you are not Diaboli in your promised land, but in a land where various species coexist. You will have to integrate yourselves with the rising society of Yliakum, and discover common features with other races, like the Lemurs, who thirst for new aesthetics experience, and Enkidukai who are wild and instinctive. Congratulations. Thanks to your heroic courage, your race has found a new home, your race has reached Yliakum!


                     P23
Your race has reached a new land and brings with it the means for its rebirth. The Elven Knights are just a memory, but now you have to face a new enemy, even more insidious: the god Laanx. To prevent you from reaching Yliakum, Laanx sent one of his avatars to lure you into a cave full of water and traps. But this is not enough to stop you. Thanks to your cunning, you will know how to survive this and other challenges. Congratulations. Thanks to your heroic courage, your race has found a new home, your race has reached Yliakum!


                     P24
Having escaped from the wrath of your world, the Stone Labyrinths seem the perfect place for your people to flourish. You decide to settle down here but soon enough you find a group of tall men who dwelled in the Labyrinths and called themselves Xacha. It seems that your problems are not over, but at least you have a place to continue to survive. Congratulations. Thanks to your heroic courage, your race has found a new home, your race has reached Yliakum!

                                                                                                                         
                     P25
As had happened for Vestantid, since you and your Klyros companions reached this new world, you have been tortured and ill-treated. All this because of a capricious deity, the god Laanx, who wants at all costs to have you as followers. Many of you will be corrupted, or will be destroyed or tortured, but none of you will bend to the god's will. Your peoples pride does not allow you to bend to any god. Even though he will hate you for your indifference, eventually he will let your race be free to leave in peace. Congratulations. Thanks to your courage, your race has found a new home, your race has reached Yliakum!