You have a shadow

You have a shadow is a level 24+ quest that begins when any adventurer enters the Portal to Dern. If one enters the portal with a group of other adventurers you will all be separated and have to play though this individually. There are ? stages in this quest and it reveals a lot of the past from when you were young. Also note that wherever it says playername, you are supposed to fill it in in your mind with your character's name.

Stage 1 (immediately after entering the portal):

You fall into a dark room. Surprisingly, landing on the ground doesn't hurt and it feels soft and springy. You suddenly realize that you are really thirsty, how long has it been since your last drink? Light begins filtering into the room, seemingly coming out of everywhere though slowly enough that you don't have to squint. Once the room appears to be at full light you realize you are in a lush mountain valley. What are you doing here? You remember making it to the Portal to Dern so this must mean you made it in and avoided all the plasmas. But you expected to be teleported to a dark realm with a boss or really strong enemy, so where are you? As you groggily stand up you figure out where you are. The valley of time. This has to be your location, though you thought it was a myth. Nobody had ever seen it before or knew where the rumors had sprung from but this looks exactly like it came out of the tales. A lush mountain valley with a brilliant light source you couldn't see and delicate flowers and plants surrounding you, unheard of. You are standing along a path and decide to move forwards. As you journey you wonder why the portal teleported you here. You don't see any of your companions, so maybe the portal took each of you to a different place. After some time you come upon a small fountain. It has been many hours since you last took a drink so you are quite thirsty. There is a cone-shaped shell sitting on the ground by the fountain, looking like it is waiting for you. You pick up the shell and fill it with water. You have no hesitation and you tip the water from the fountain into your mouth.

Stage 2:

> *(From the third person view*) A young boy, 9 years of age, is sitting in his room, brooding. There is a knock on the door and the boy sulkily calls ‘Come in.’ A slightly older boy enters the room and comes over to sit on the bed beside the younger one. ‘What’s the matter, playername?’ He asks. 'School,' is the reply, 'I hate it.' The older brother sits by the younger one for awhile in silence and then gets up and leaves the room. As he leaves, the younger boy looks at the mirror, expecting to see himself with his disheveled hair and weary face. And he does see himself. But not as he knows it. What the young boy sees is a figure, exactly like stature in him, but pale. The skin is the palest he has ever seen, though parts of it appear to be pitch black. There is a scowl on the face, accented by the red eyes. The boy jumps backward and falls off the bed with a thump. At the time the young boy did not realize it, but that was the shadow version of him. As his parents come running into the room he dares to look at the mirror again and only sees himself, almost as pale as the stranger in the mirror.
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Your vision once again darkens and brightens as you find yourself in the valley of time once more.

Stage 3:

That was weird. Was that you? The older boy probably

Stage 17:

As the voice says "Arise" the shadows in the room converge and form a creature. You realize that it is the same creature that was seen by the younger you...

***The Shadow of Your Past***

Stage 18:

The shadow of your past dissipates. Around the room, you once again hear the whispery voice.

> "So. You have defeated yourself. At least the you in the past. But did you notice how they were made of shadows? Yes. My minions are all shadow creatures, formed from darkness. And so, it seems, are you. You have encountered many visions that show yourself and the pale creature that your young self sees. Well, now I will reveal to you what is happening with one last vision.'
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> '"It is the same room. The boy, or you, is a few inches taller than the last time you saw him. You somehow know that it is the day before his eleventh birthday. This date probably has some greater meaning because without these visions, which still feel strangely separated from your memories, you would not have any recollection of anything before your eleventh birthday. The boy is angry. Anyone could see that, he is glaring at the wall, but decidedly not looking at the mirror. His hands are balled into fists and he is breathing heavily. There is a knock on the door and the boy calls "Go away." In reply, the older brother opens the door and moves to sit on the bed. The younger one scoots towards his brother. "What is the problem this time?" asks the older of the two. The younger one say, ''Everyone else in this miserable world except you. I love you dearly still. How can humans stand to be so violent? They fight, they take everything away from you, they will never stop to look at your point of view." As he says this, he begins to relax. Sharing his feelings with his brother has always helped. The elder brother pulls his sibling into a fierce hug and says, "I don't know. It seems like everyone else is oblivious to the problems that are happening in everyday life. But I have been wondering, how many others have these thoughts but never get the chance to share them or do anything about them? Everyone, at some point? Or nobody?" He sighs and shakes his head.'
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> '"There is an answer." A disembodied voice whispers. "Everyone in this accursed world has thought these same thoughts, some down to the very words you just said." The voice appears to be coming from somewhere in the room though as the boys look around they do not spot anyone. Except... "The mirror!" Shouts the younger brother. The older quickly asks, "Do you know anything about this?" The younger replies, "No. Yes, I have no clue what he is or why he is here, but he has been appearing for just under two years, anytime I look in a mirror."'
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> '"How could you not tell me about this?" The older brother questions, hurt, "I could have helped you figure this out, like everything else." The sentence is like a crack, widening into a rift between them. The younger brother turns to the older and says pleadingly, "I didn't want to bother you. Please, you must understand. I thought I had troubled you enough with everything that has been going on and I knew that you would have to work hard to make time for this."'
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> '"I would have done anything for you. I don't care how hard it would be, you're my brother," The older brother says, also pleading, The shadow has been standing silently inside the mirror for a while but now begins to speak again. "And so it begins. You cannot fix your relationship now, the trust between you has dissolved too much. And so, I can now take form." All of the shadows in the room begin to swirl around the mirror, growing thicker and more dense until it seems almost tangible. And out from the swirling mass, steps your shadow. He moves across the room silently. As he reaches the two frightened brothers, he assures them. "Because you are noble in heart, if deep down, I will let you live. But you will have no memory from this day back. Don't worry, the men from Braek will be here shortly, it will not take long for the flames to catch. Your new lives will be switched. The older, and the stronger one of you, will now be the weaker. And the younger, and the weaker, will now be much stronger. I hope that one day you will learn from this, but until then, you will never be whole." The shadow of yourself moves to the dresser, knocks over the oil lamp on it, and flies out the window. "I will always love you," the older brother shouts. The younger brother goes to reply but he cannot be heard over the wailing of the sirens and the crackle of flames. The last thing either of them hears before everying goes black is a high pitched laugh.'
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