Thank you, SiegHart, for your kind words. ^^ Before making it into a game (or having someone do it for me), I'd like to finish the plot first, so I know exactly how to adapt it. Perhaps by then you will have enough confidence in your gaming skills. :D
As promised, here is the Bridge:
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Bridge: The Rise of Lord Augury
Three years earlier...
Rex, the new general for the Cloaks, had witnessed something most spectacular. A man had moved objects with his mind, and could control the minds of others. This man had approached him, and offered him a position as his second, due to Rex's raw talent.
"Welcome, Rex." The Voice of the Oligarchy stood in the middle of the room, and Rex walked in slowly, admiring the lavishness of this office. Shelves were stacked with expensive books and ornaments. To the left, there were two large couches.
"Sit down, please." Evan Emerit motioned towards these couches, and they sat across from each other.
"Mr. Emerit," noted Rex, accepting the gesture. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this meeting.
"I believe you've met Lord Augury," started Evan, flashing Augury's crest.
Rex did the same. "Yes, sir. He mentioned that he has relations with you."
"Oh, he has relations with all the Oligarchs," smiled Emerit.
"Y-you're not…"
Evan smiled. "Supposed to know that? The other Oligarchs don't know of his involvement, but I do. Would you like to have a guess at how I know this?"
"He favours you, sir?" His voice was cold.
"In a way, yes. Without beating around the bush any longer, Rex, I am Lord Augury." As he said that, Rex felt a wave of emotions wash over him, a demonstration of his incredible power.
Immediately Rex's eyes widened, "my Lord. But… your voice – I'd always assumed…"
"That I was something less natural? It's a complex issue, for Evan Emerit and Lord Augury are not quite the same person. Similar personalities, but still different. Lord Augury is kind of an alter ego, but our goals are aligned, our intellectual minds in sync. What are not aligned are our emotions, and, of course, I cannot use psychic powers as Evan Emerit. However, I can bring Lord Augury in and out at my whim."
"What shall I call you?"
"In public, Mr. Emerit. In private, Lord Augury will do, no matter what my… state."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Now that we have that out of the way, allow me to tell you a story, Rex, about my rise to power. Back then, when I shifted to Lord Augury for a second, just to demonstrate my identity, I felt your curiosity. You wish to know how someone gains as much power as I do. Even though you'd never let it on."
"I-I don't know what to say…"
"Then just listen," smiled Evan. "It started about fifteen years ago, when I realised the potential of the underground world. I was a high-flier in the Voice's department, and I had contacts all around. But, I couldn't risk my real identity being discovered, so I invented the alias 'Lord Augury'.
"Very quickly, I rose to power in the criminal underworld. Drug trafficking, Pokémon trafficking, arms trafficking, and massive fraud schemes. I made a killing.
"About ten years ago, I was promoted to the Head of the Non-Conventional Control department – in other words, I dealt with the cults. Most cults were happy to comply with my requests, except one.
The Family. An annoying head priest named von Stauffenberg actually believed in his cult's mantra, that a trans-dimensional Pokémon called Giratina caused
the Event.
"However, like all cults, there is a slight addition we make to the message. This one was that Giratina then implemented an Oligarchy to watch over the Torcrans, his chosen people, so to speak. But he resented this addition, and didn't promote it with the vigour that he promoted the hocus-pocus.
"So, naturally, I went to him and threatened him with his job. And… he did the most incredible thing." Evan paused for dramatic effect. "He threw me across the room with the power of his mind. I had never felt something so terrifying in my life. He spared my life, and I investigated the dogma – the original dogma, first written by von Stauffenberg's grandfather, not edited.
"It appeared that the key was in Sinnoh – the virtually uninhabited, destroyed region, in a place once known as Sendoff Spring. After some effort, I deciphered where this place was buried, and flew overseas to find answers, to see the source of this whackjob's power.
"The place was a pile of ruins, naturally, but my Pokémon shifted them, and, after a week, when I was prepared to give up, I found a cave. 'Turnback Cave', according to the original dogma. I explored it: and, sure enough, it was supernatural. I would walk through a door to find myself in the exact same room. There was more to this than I had originally thought.
"Eventually, I came to a room – it had a black portal hanging in the air. In a seismic shift of character, I leapt into it. While it was the right decision, it was a stupid one to make. For all I knew, it could have torn me apart."
"I'm finding this all a bit strange, sir."
"Of course you are," smiled Evan. "This is a strange story: the truth here does not seem truthful. But it is. The original book of The Family documents true supernatural events.
"The portal took me to a strange new place… space wasn't stable in this world, and time wasn't flowing. I walked on walls. Large rocks floated of their own accord. Giant plants disappeared and reappeared.
"I explored this place, wanting to find the secret. I had ventured where no man had ventured before – not even the Family's bible documented this place. Eventually, a Pokémon appeared: a horrific serpent.
Giratina."
"The legendary Pokémon? The one that controls space and time?"
"The same one. But it was weary. Tired from an ancient struggle, perhaps. It attacked me – the beast tried to kill me, but I defeated it with my Pokémon. Barely. Exactly how – that's another story.
"In any case, when it fell, I realised it was protecting something. I knew what this was from the Family Bible – the
Griseous Orb. The thing that sustained Giratina outside of its home. I leant down to touch it, and, suddenly, I felt a surge of power from it. A separate set of emotions had entered my body – created from Giratina's fear and my ruthless ambition.
"This new set of emotions also had the incredible abilities of telekinesis and telepathy. Every time I talked to someone from this point on as my alias Lord Augury, I would allow this new being to envelop me. Now, of course, Lord Augury is not just my alias."
Evan Emerit leaned back, allowing this story to sink in. Rex's face was confused and sceptical.
"Difficult to believe, I know. But, I tell you this not to make you feel like you're dealing with a madman. Rex, I have met a lot of talented people, but I believe that you're the only one that can match me. And, for you to be able to inherit my legacy, you must know what I've done. I went from a bureaucrat to an autocrat. You'll inherit the latter, but it means you'll have to aspire to something greater. When the time comes, you'll know what I mean."
"I understand, my Lord."
"After returning to Torcra, I realised just what my power was capable of getting me. I could go for the above ground world. Oligarchs, even. The first thing I did was purchase the Moonlight Squad from their leader for about five million dollars.
"The Squad was an eight-hundred-year-old organisation of assassins. Their signature method of killing was with a sword: they would jab the victim's throat in a controlled manner, and as the victim clutched it, they'd decapitate them. And, beforehand, they would perform any torture or theft that the client asked for.
"However, they would not compromise their method of killing, which meant they would not frame another person, which was all too popular. I, however, didn't need to frame anyone. I needed fear. Reliable fear that couldn't be hired by other people. So, I bought the Moonlight Squad."
"So – your assassins…" started Rex, "weren't always yours?"
"Heavens, no. When I bought them there were only twenty, but there was a point in history when they were in the thousands, and across all regions. They were so prolific about two-hundred years ago, that an idiom developed, where
'clutching your throat' meant
'accepting the inevitable', in reference to their killing method.
"I taught them telekinesis as Lord Augury, and turned them from a ritualistic fringe group to a lethal, awe-inspiring, elite army. The Moonlight Squad, under my orders, killed everyone who was capable of finding out who I was: all except the Brain of the Oligarchy, Dr. Cicero, who, as you know, caused that business two years ago.
"With this new weapon at my disposal, I confronted the remaining Oligarchs, and won them over with my power. I made the choice very clear: they would work for me, or I would psychically snap their neck and walk away. They were hungry for power and feared for their lives. That was how I controlled them. So strong, yet, so weak."
Evan swished saliva in his mouth: it was getting dry from speaking. "That, Rex, is the short version of my story. Perhaps you'll learn the details later on. But, in essence, I have the power of Giratina flowing through my blood. I have an entire country at my whim, both above and underground. This will be the standard, Rex, that you must live up to when I die."
"And your son?"
"I doubt he'll join me, and I have no doubt that he'll infuriate you to the point that the day I die, will be the day he dies."
"And you're okay with that?"
"I ordered my wife kidnapped because she realised what I was, Rex. I feel deep pain over it every time it comes to mind… I cannot do that to my son, and that is, alas, my fatal flaw. I chose you because you have all my cunning, but none of my human affection. This is the crux of the matter: you have my potential, and the vicious, cold-hearted bastardry to realise it."
