Project Multitale

To begin, dear reader, I must first ask you this question. Have you ever killed an ant? There's no choice for it, instead I want you to think of the reason why you killed it, or any other small creature. Was it because it was annoying you? Because you were mad at something in your life and needed to let off steam? Because you were bored? Whatever the reason, I want you to think and ruminate upon your motives.

Next, consider the ant you killed, what its final moments of life were like. The all-encompassing agony, the desperation to live, the fear. Of course its simple animal brain could not fully comprehend, express, or experience in full the horror of these emotions, but even if they were but shadows, the ant felt them all the same.

Of course human beings are not ants compared to the gods. A better comparison would be, to the gods, human beings are like the characters in some novel. The gods relish in their pain and suffering, as well as their joy and jubilation. They care about us, perhaps, but they do not truly recognize us as fellow beings worthy of the golden rule. And so it was for in most of the different worlds. There were some Gods of such light and love, that they made their worlds utopias or empty in the first place, choosing not to create life for their amusement. In fact one goddess decided to do the unthinkable:

She decided give one of the human beings not in her domain the power to travel to other worlds, so as to make her influence known across the worlds, even if that influence was only a subtle tap.

Where was this noble human from?


[] A prosperous and peaceful world that is about to reach its end. (Our world)

[] A world of eternal stagnation, where your path is set for you as soon as you are born. (Generic Fantasy World)

[] A world hated by the Gods, where demons roam the earth looking for sacrifices to feed their never-ending hunger. (Berserk)

[] A world where society has collapsed once before, and whose survivors attempt to build a better world out of its ashes. (Semi-generic Post-apocalyptic world)

[] A world that was once saved from destruction and ruin by brave heroes who traveled through time. (Chrono Trigger 605 AD.)

WInning vote: [X] A world hated by the Gods, where demons roam the earth looking for sacrifices to feed their never-ending hunger. (Berserk)


The hero was born in the Kingdom of Midland during its war with Chudur, and came of age right around the time the war was ending due to a certain mercenary group on the side of MIdland

What was the class he was born into?

[] Farmer: He learned from a young age that, while he might have the most important job in the world, it was one of the least honored professions. Years of tilling the soil have made him hale and hearty, and thus a perfect military recruit...

[] Knight: Trained almost since birth in the arts of combat, you're a little more skilled in it than the green men picked straight up from the farm. However, as you are technically still a nobleman, you have difficulty fitting in with the common folk, who tend to see you as someone who only shows up to collect taxes and send their sons off to die.

[] High-ranking Nobleman: You were trained from an early age in the arts of politics and war. You are familiar with combat as a matter of defense against assassins, but have never been in a situation where your life was actually at stake.

[] Priest: Knowledgeable and learned, you are a low-ranking member of the Holy See whose purpose is to keep the uneducated and suffering peasantry in the light of God. This does not stop you from having doubts about your mission, especially when you see more funds being diverted towards finding heretics instead of helping those who are suffering...

[] Mage: One deeply connected with the world and its hidden truths, you are skilled in magic but weak in physical combat, in addition to being hunted by the church. Your job is to offer subtle and silent support to your community who know you as a wise young man who does his best to aid the pains of war and sickness in his community. Of course, you have a sense that soon disease and war will be the least of your village's worries...

You never minded the rain much.

You were usually close to shelter when it started, so you had the chance to watch it from afar. But even during the times you were not spared from the rains, when you had to ride a horse for hours along a muddy road until you could find shelter, you felt it as much more of a minor annoyance to be endured rather than an event that would ruin the whole day. You suppose it's because you've never really suffered from them: You've always been in good health so you've never gotten sick from exposure to the elements.

As the rain pours down from the gray skies overhead, turning the dirt path to the village of Cheasterbury into mud, the plink-plink-plink of the rain droplets against your head becomes maddening. For the first time in your life you have felt the need to rail against and curse the heavens. But that would solve nothing. And so your mind wanders to why this particular trip is so unpleasant for you.

-

"The count of Hamptonnacht requires 150 young men from you in three days time."

You blink in surprise at the unreasonable request. After realizing the messenger is serious, you reply, "Let me see the document proving he requests this."

The messenger takes a scroll out of a case and duly hands you it. You carefully unwrap and inspect it. Everything is in order. "Does the count recognize that I only have authority to recruit from three villages that number less than 200 people in population each?!"

The bearer of bad news replies, "I… don't think he particularly cares. You know how he is…" Indeed you do. The count of Hamptonnacht is notorious across Midland for his apathy towards the concerns of the peasantry. His father was a bit more conscientious in his requests for manpower, but then again during the time he was alive it seemed as though Midland would win the war. Now however, just one more major defeat will spell an end to the kingdom, and all of the noblemen know this. Some of them ask for men to stave off the kingdom's defeat, but you have a feeling that many of the noblemen are looking for a chance to expand their own lands once the kingdom inevitably crumbles.

You've never understood the motivation for sending so many young men off to die just so a person who already has enough can claim more. Then again, you are the person who has to endure the heartrending pleas of mothers to spare their sons from fighting, of fathers who curse your name even as they are forced to see their sons off for what is likely the last time in their lives.

You give the messenger enough coin to pay for a decent inn and a change of clothes and set off on your journey with your trusty mount Duster. While it pains you to recruit in this weather, you can't afford any wasted time. If you do not meet your obligations within the three days required, the count will have legal right to confiscate your small holdings, revoke your noble title, and perhaps worst of all replace you with Barkos Wilderna, another one of count Hamptonnacht's landed vassals who is known for being both a fine warrior and a cruel man.

-

Your thoughts are interrupted when, reaching the peak of a hill, you spot the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. Dressed in a strange white dress that somehow manages to resist the muddy ground and the pouring rain, her fairness brings to mind the knightly romances written centuries past, and yet you feel no lust for her, even in a hypothetical sense. Indeed the thought of laying with her seems...wrong for some reason.

Still, you know that being a woman alone on the rode in general is dangerous, more so the greater their beauty. You call out to her: "Madam, what is your purpose being alone like this? Do you need assistance in any way?"

At your words, she turns to you and replies, "You are the one."

And then everything fades to black.

-

Goddess Pov:

-

You were beginning to think that you would find no one who was both able to change worlds for the better and truly willing to do it in this cursed world. At first you were attracted to two men of magnificent potential who you could sense were already destined to change their own world forever. However, you looked into their hearts and realized that both were seriously flawed. One of the men was indeed molded into iron that could shape the world, and had the potential to carry the banner the banner of righteousness, but he was not there yet, and you didn't have the time in this world required to nurture him yourself. If he was dropped into another world, you sense he would do more harm than good. The other could claim himself as a hero, a true knight in shining armor, and he was an exceptional person indeed. However what you saw in him beyond his present experiences was a selfish heart cloaked in the fabric of righteousness, more concerned with being looked upon as a hero rather than truly being one, a person whose ambition to change the world for the better was ultimately a sacrifice to his ego, and not born from true empathy for others.

Then you saw the person who was destined to be your ward. He is nothing special right now, but he possesses a good heart and boundless potential if cultivated. The only question now is where you will send him to…

Obviously, there are almost infinite number of worlds, some having only minor differences with each other, others being places that would cause even a mighty being such as yourself to die horribly almost instantly. You've ruled out any worlds that would cause instant death to your hero from either gods angry you are interfering in their terrains or simply ones inhospitable to life in most universes. At the moment, there are 5 he is well suited for in particular.

[] His own world (World #7 Codename: Berserk)

You could always start off his journey by simply transporting him to the fields that will host the first encounter between your first two choices. He'll certainly less angry and confused than if he went to another world entirelyHowever, it is the only world out of all of your choices where eternal damnation is possible, and moreover it is possible to go there regardless of your moral choices. You would never forgive yourself if he suffered such a fate.

[] World #74: Codename: Vinland

Alternatively you could choose to bring him to a world and place somewhat similar to his own without being nearly as cold or dangerous. You would be transporting him to a kingdom called England, currently ruled by another kingdom called Denmark. He will meet a descendant of the legendary king Artorius, a hero that has risen in many worlds. With luck, your hero can control the descendant's more brutal tendencies.

[] World #625724: Codename: Legend

You could send him to a land already consumed by darkness, albeit one with a protector that wields the sword of evil's bane. Having such a legend by his side would surely be a boon to him, and the two would surely be able to defeat the king of darkness that has brought such misery to this world.

[] World #35: Codename: Reality

This world would probably be the biggest shock to him, as the technology level is miles ahead of his own. Still, this might be a great chance to introduce him to the great varieties different worlds can have.

[] World #571: Codename: Final

Finally, World #571 is a world where its destined heroes have already failed to save the world they were sworn to protect. Of course your hero might succeed where the ones it called up have failed. Can your hero restore the four orbs of light to their original splendor? Only one way to find out.