Synopsis

The recovered video of the chilling last moments of a lost squad sparks an investigation that will uncover an insane plot which if brought to fruition could not only spell doom for the Spiral Knights, but for all life on Cradle as well. Stopping it is a task that not one, but many brave heroes will be needed to foil as they confront terrifying enemies the likes of which have never been seen before, and not everyone will live to tell. The line between friend and foe blurs as allies are found in the most unlikely places, while trust is misplaced in the hands of those who are friends, as the race to save Cradle becomes ever more desperate.

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Attention

For those of you who haven't been following you may want to read the rest of the post here BEFORE viewing the comics.

To the mods: Could you let the shadow copy of this in the General forum stay there please (*-*)

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When you view this scroll down a bit so you don't see the panels that are coming:

~~====EMBRACE THE DARK====~~

Prologue
Chapter I: Chosen Heroes --- Chapter I Notes
Chapter II: In the Dark --- Chapter II Notes
Chapter III: Tooth and Claw (COMPLETE) - UPDATED --- Chapter III Notes
Chapter VI: Priorities (in progress)

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Goals for this Project
- Create an awesome FanComic
- Bring more attention to the forums
- Bring more attention to the Treasure Vault in particular
- Explore more in-depth some of the story elements we already know, while we wait for OOO to add more content :D
- Inspire more fan work
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About the Plot

While a lot of it is non-canon I attend for the story to end in a way that it technically 'could' happen in the actual SK world, so half of Haven won't get blown up, or the contents of the core come spilling out or something like that, I want to do my best to avoid stepping on what OOO wants to do with the storyline.

There are few assumptions I'm going to make though:

- Levels (and Cradle in general) are much larger then the 15-20 minute jogs you do in game, it could take hours to go through an area, and days to explore an new path down the the core

- There is a far greater variety of weapons and gear for both Knights and their enemies
- Weapons and gear may work differently or have more uses then in game
- Foes will tend to be smarter then what we see in game
- The interaction between the races on Cradle are far more complex
- There are no revives or instant health pills :P

- I'm also going to have to assume some things about the swarm for the story to work, hopefully it won't deviate too much from what OOO has in mind.

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Differences Between the Story and real Game Play
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Specialized Squad Roles

Squads can be larger then four people, and will often include characters with specialized roles such as squad leader, heavy weapons expert, medic, etc. Keep this in mind for your suggestions.

I'd also like to mention that, although there may be room for loner types, a majority of the knights will work in squads (whether the group will stay together is another matter) at least initially, if your main character has friends/squad mates you would like to see it would probably be a good idea to give a description of them too at some point as I am also looking for supporting characters as well.

Realistic Weapon Carrying

In my prologue story you may have noticed that characters often have their larger weapons slung over their back when not in use, I plan to carry on with this so knights will be limited to carrying 2 "large" weapons at most, I will assume smaller handguns and swords are holstered or sheathed.

Your Shield Actually 'Blocks'

Shields do not form a protective bubble around characters, they will act like real shields and actually take and (hopefully) absorb blows.

Bomb Toss

Bombs do not discriminate between friend or foe in this tale, as such they will often be tossed like grenades or remotely detonated from a safe distance.

No Instant Health Pills or Revives

That would kind of kill the drama.

=====BE PART OF THE STORY=====

You can participate in helping me create this tale by helping in one of these two threads:

Embrace the Dark: STORY DESIGN HELP
Embrace the Dark: ROLE CASTING

Everyone who contributes will be credited.