Opening Cinematic

Transcription

Few remember the dark times, much less what happened before them.
Since the great Cataclysm 400 years ago the world has slowly recovered but much was lost.
Now Dire Prophecies are beginning to come true as the land is flooded with Otherworlders...

"Tonight began for you as many others, wandering the Internet. A click here, an update there. Following the various trails of your friends, both real and digital. Another evening searching for something itching in the back of your mind, something familiar yet... unremembered."

"Much of your time of late was spent pouring over ancient manuscripts describing a world apart from yours. These manuscripts were not easy to find, hidden in corners of the DarkNet and forums almost impossible to access. The temptation of forbidden lore was enticing, and your time spent gaining access to this... rewarded."

"The documents you have found tell of a world caught in a cataclysm of destruction; enough power to rip the moons themselves from the sky and destroy what civilization existed."

"It tells of people struggling to survive. Of wars and dark magic and heroic deeds. As you read of the world after, of compacts agreed, civilization restored and Oracles consulted, your excitement grew. The documents were all unclear on issues of time, space and place, as if the world they describe was apart, yet close by. So close that you felt something call to your very spirit. This world and its struggle is where you want to be, and you felt for the first time, the pull of your destiny."

"As you read from the ancient manuscripts, that pull became more and more fierce; more and more physical. You feel more strongly than you have felt anything before. Your heart races; your muscles flex, as though you were in an illusion, one from which you would awake if you would just open your eyes."

Gallery

The Dire Prophecies:

Scanning dark nets for mysterious documents about another world:

Reaching into the portal:

Trivia

• The first images from the opening cinematic were revealed in Pen of the Avatar #36. Some stills from the cinematic were included with Release 8. The finished cinematic was included in Update of the Avatar #86
• The cinematic is narrated by Bill Johnson, who previously gave voice to the Guardian in the Ultima series.
• The music in the cinematic is "Dark Planet" by the Space Bards.