Ko, a boy in his early teens, wakes in Tarikun. The former kingdom has long been toppled to ruins, and the remaining population has taken refuge in what is left of the old castle. Everyone in Tarikun lives in poverty and the day-to-day monotony of survival. Without having to be told, Ko takes his brother Kory with him for daily morning chores.

• Ko fetches water at the well: the only remaining source of significantly clean water. Ko raises and pours the bucket, while Kory holds their pail steady.

• The brothers go to a nearby bog to catch [some unique edible swamp creatures]. Ko lifts rocks and Kory catches them from hiding.

• An enormous dead oak tree stands at the center of the survivor village. Ko and Kory harvest firewood from its branches.

• Having done this, they return to their mother at home, which is a partially collapsed group of stone cells which used to be part of Tarikun castle. She prepares the first meal of the day (out of a normal two).

After breakfast, the entire village of survivors congregates to a secluded but denser area of ruins, where the great hall used to be. It is now the domain of a great ivory dragon which has taken the entirety of Tarikun (or what's left of it) into its custody. That is, the dragon is Tarikun's only defense, and every day its people pay their respects and pledge dutiful obedience. The conditions of the dragon's rule include the decree that no one go beyond the outer walls of Tarikun (which, for the most part, are still standing).

Having completed the daily pledge to the dragon with the rest of the village, Ko is now free to romp around the ruins of Tarikun. Kory follows him everywhere, like a shadow. -room for development-

Notes:
While the following section may be confusing, it is simply detailing all of the possibilities by which the story may proceed. One may argue that having separate possibilities is pointless, since they all lead to the same ultimate outcome. Since the player is making these choices as Ko, however, the consequences will most likely seem like a direct result of his or her actions, and this will make the events more involving and personal.

When Ko and Kory explore the area near the outer wall, they encounter a foreign girl, not much older than Ko, who claims to have just entered the ruins after coming from a cave not far across the wastes beyond. She introduces herself as Brooke, a princess who is on a quest and must find a place to rest before continuing. She appears quite helpless, whether she actually is or whether she is just acting to get Ko to help her. (*Either way, her ?helplessness? is the result of a sheltered lifestyle growing up as a princess. Not too surprising.) Ko, knowing the dragon is the one who should deal with outsiders, must make his first decision: a. He agrees and takes Brooke to his home, hiding her there, or b. He takes her to see the dragon.

• Ko and Kory lead Brooke into their home of ruins, and all the while the princess makes negative comments about Tarikun's d?cor. When Ko's mother comes home, she is put in a very precarious position. Though well aware of the dangers of hiding an outsider from the dragon, she allows Brooke to stay the evening, but only that one night. In the morning, Ko and Kory hasten through morning chores (an exact repeat of sections 1a through 1c), and return before Brooke leaves. She once again employs her royal ?charm? and beseeches Ko to escort her out of Tarikun. Ko must make another decision: i. He agrees to take her as far as the outer walls, or ii. He kicks her out of his home.

  • Ko has a hard time convincing Kory to stay home until he returns, but he successfully leaves to accompany Brooke alone. The two, making sure that the dragon is not watching from afar, go to a large gap in the outer wall. Brooke sighs, again playing up her helplessness as she departs across the wastes. If Ko does not follow her now, the lack of resolution with her fate will continue to nag at him until he does. The great extraordinary encounter with someone from outside his world of survival has intrigued him and captured his interest (not to mention this is a pretty girl we're talking about here). He takes a chance and slips out of Tarikun to catch up with Brooke. He does, and he finds her engaged with a deadly monster; the fight seems to be in its favor. He rashly joins the fray, though his interference ends up hindering the fight more than helping. As Ko and Brooke are worn down, the ivory dragon appears just in time to save them from death. Discovering Ko outside the walls, with an outsider no less, the dragon takes both of them back to Tarikun for punishment (go to section 5).

  • Brooke takes much offense from Ko's unwillingness to see her safely out, and she tromps away in a fit. Additional comments about politeness from his mother do not help Ko's resulting guilt complex. Somewhat exasperated with the entire situation, he firmly tells Kory not to follow him, and runs off to a gap in the outer wall to find if Brooke has left Tarikun yet. He arrives just in time to see her disappear into the barren landscape beyond. If Ko does not follow her now, the lack of resolution with her fate will continue to nag at him until he does. The great extraordinary encounter with someone from outside his world of survival has intrigued him and captured his interest (not to mention this is a pretty girl we're talking about here). He takes a chance and slips out of Tarikun to catch up with Brooke. He does, and he finds her engaged with a deadly monster; the fight seems to be in its favor. He rashly joins the fray, though his interference ends up hindering the fight more than helping. As Ko and Brooke are worn down, the ivory dragon appears just in time to save them from death. Discovering Ko outside the walls, with an outsider no less, the dragon takes both of them back to Tarikun for punishment (go to section 5).

• Ko and Kory lead Brooke further into Tarikun, having made some reference that she should be brought to the ?leader of the village.? With the mention of any sort of local authority, we see Brooke suddenly transform into a revoltingly polite and diplomatic princess. As the locals see them pass, the form a few random, curious processions toward the great hall. Ko is greatly embarrassed at all the attention, but it only elevates Brooke's nose a bit higher. They enter into the dragon's dwelling place, and Brooke is aghast at what she thought would be a respectable sociopolitical figure. The dragon, realizing that Brooke has come from the outside, immediately locks her up and decrees that no one of Tarikun shall even come near her. (*In fact, the dragon recognizes Brooke as a Protean, and realizes that her presence represents a threat to Tarikun; more on that later. He plans to kill her within the next few days.) Everyone, including Ko and Kory, continue on through the rest of the evening. The next morning, the brothers again go through their chores (an exact repeat of sections 1a through 1d). Afterward, Ko sees that the dragon has momentarily left for his morning meal, and realizes he could take the opportunity to see how Brooke is faring. He leaves Kory behind and goes to the great hall where Brooke immediately begins asking him to help her escape. Ko faces his next set of choices: i. He tries to get her out, or ii. He leaves her there.

  • Ko quickly begins to work at Brooke's bindings and he successfully releases one of them. While at work on the second, the dragon abruptly returns and finds them there, caught red-handed. Angry, the dragon tells Ko to prepare for punishment (go to section 5).

  • Knowing that the dragon may return at any moment, Ko leaves Brooke locked up. In a rage, the desperate princess hurls a barrage of stinging remarks after him, mostly that his life is worth nothing, he will amount to nothing, and that he will never wake up to anything but poverty. Ko then has only two options of consequence (one of which must happen to progress the story): he lets Brooke get to him and goes back to free her (go to section 4.b.i), or he decides to prove Brooke wrong by leaving Tarikun altogether (continue below).

    • Ko abandons Tarikun, having been extremely upset by Brooke. Not only did her verbal assault move him to run away, but also her very appearance prompted his interest in a life outside of the one he has been stuck with. Not long after traveling away from his home across the wastes, he encounters a deadly monster and they engage in a fight. Ko is clearly outmatched. As he is worn down, the ivory dragon appears just in time to save him from death. Discovering Ko outside the walls, the dragon takes him back to Tarikun for punishment (go to section 5).

The people of Tarikun are assembled, Brooke is secured in the ruins of the great hall, and Ko is brought out in full view. The dragon announces Ko's misconduct (whatever it was), and that he shall be severely punished for disobeying. Someone of the town will be sacrificed, declares the dragon, and Ko must live with the burden of his choices. The dragon offers Ko the chance to choose among the people himself who is sacrificed, or to let the dragon choose. Looking over the survivors of Tarikun, the boy simply can't bring himself to do it. He nearly has a breakdown right then and there, but the dragon interrupts by announcing that Ko has yielded his chance to choose, and the dragon already knows who best to kill. He chooses Kory.

Ko's younger brother is eclipsed by the massive white claws of the dragon. The scene slows to a crawl, and we are soon only left to observe Ko's reaction: he slumps down, his head bent, his eyes closed. An indistinct wailing sound is heard from what seems a great distance. Incredibly slowly, Ko finally opens his eyes. The next thing we see, he remains precisely where he was, but it is much later in the evening, and he is completely alone. The screen fades to black.

Ko is woken up by his mother (instead of the usual; by his brother). They talk very little, and Ko is sent to do morning chores.

• At the well, Ko pours water, but with no one holding the pail, it splashes to the ground.

• In the bog, Ko lifts the rocks, but all of the critters scatter before he can catch them.

• Ko goes to the oak tree, not even attempting to climb it and harvest firewood. He sits at the trunk and does nothing. A little while later, Brooke comes past, on her way out of Tarikun. (*After having a rational debate with the dragon, Brooke was freed on the condition that she immediately depart from Tarikun and never return.) She sees Ko, and stops to attempt to talk to him. As she is prying, the dragon yells at her from afar, telling her to leave now as he launches himself into the air with his massive wings. Beyond him and approaching fast is a great cloud of attacking Antareans. (*Being natural enemies and magic eumonetics users, Proteans and Antareans are always on the lookout for some way to hurt and kill one another. This is why, finding Brooke resting there, the horde of Antareans is attacking.)

As the Antareans lay waste to the ruins of Tarikun, people try frantically to run or hide. Ko turns in time to see his mother slashed squarely by an Antarean with a red stripe down its snout. Brooke finally manages to get Ko to move and escape with her moments before they are torn to pieces. They must flee and fight their way out of Tarikun and across the wastes. Just as soon as they think they're safe, they encounter one of the deadly monsters that inhabit the areas outside (boss fight).

Before the Antareans find them on the outskirts of the wastes, Ko and Brooke depart into an unexplored cave system.