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Short Story: Dragon In The Valley

Once there was a cursed Fortress, standing at the head of a dark valley. The Fortress was built by a circle of six Sorcerer-Smiths, and tended to by armies of slaves and bound creations. The Masters, as they called themselves, distrusted and hated each other, yet they pooled together their knowledge and power to fulfil their vile goals.

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The Masters had spies in lands both near and far, and they began to report the emergence of a great Hero. This warrior had sworn to end all evil within the world, and had gathered around themselves a vast army, from many races and creeds. Already numerous tyrants and foul monsters had fallen under the Hero’s blade, and now They marched towards the Masters’ own land.

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Upon hearing this, the Masters grew fearful, for while their magics were mighty and their Fortress strong, they were not invincible and knew death could always be close at hand. Although the Hero was but a mortal, it was not inconceivable that They best their defences and strike them down. So they sought a way to better protect themselves.

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In the mountains near to the Masters’ Fortress, there lived an Elder Dragon, a great fire-breathing drake that had seen many ages of the world come and go. The Masters were fearful of it, but they had long devised plans to capture the creature for their own ends, and so they now put them in motion. As the Dragon lay sleeping one night, the Masters’ cast a spell of deep slumber on it from afar. Then their slaves drew thick chains, carved with magic runes, around the Dragon, binding its wings together and preventing its mouth from opening. To these chains the Masters attached six padlocks, forged from demon blood, that could only be opened by six keys split between the Masters.

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Once the task was done, the Masters felt protected from the Dragon’s wrath, and woke it with bolts of lightning and painful curses. The Dragon thrashed but could not break free. The Masters drove the beast before them, cackling at its pain, all the way through the mountains until they reached their valley. There, they attached more chains to the ground, so that the Dragon couldn't escape. The Masters then returned to their Fortress, and barred the door.

Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire Early Access Review

Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire is something like a farming-sim tower defense game hybrid, with rogue-like elements included for flavour. Currently in Early Access on Steam, it has its issues, but they don’t impact things in such a way as to subtract from a genuinely enjoyable experience.

The main character is the titular Voltaire; youngest son of Dracula (yes, him), and vegetable lover. As you might have guessed, the lord of darkness is none-too happy with his son’s tastes. So hero flees to the woods to start a life of farming, aided via letters by his uncles Frank and Stein. Old Drac isn’t giving up though, and has begun to send monstrous minions, along with his grim generals, to destroy Voltaire’s crops, in an attempt to drive him to blood-letting.

Gameplay mostly revolves around planting & harvesting crops during the day, then defending them during the night. The plants need to be planted within growing zones, with a different number and location of zones on each level, although they are always surrounding a Soul Barrier that can be activated with soul crystals to temporarily defend them. Different plants can have a range of growth times and water needs. Some are actually trees, producing multiple harvests before disappearing.