The Book of Halfs

The Book of Halfs is the complete story which was written for the concept of the game. It gives insight on history of the world, the backstory for all characters and how the enemies came to roam and wreak havoc. This story is a base plot for everything that happens within the game and explanation of the abilities characters have.

27. August 2020. / 3116 words

The World

Since the dawn of history, it was known that The Halfs are a civilization with beings composed out of two halves, that is, spirits that maintain the being in balance. Even though the idea of their separation existed, it was widely disregarded as theoretically impossible for the being to be separated, nor was it known what kind of effect would that entail if it were to happen. All until one particular point in time …

Historic evidence from that period is very scarce, but it is believed that the separation had once before occurred. Knowing that The Halfs are not beings which were meant to be separated, and which cannot function if done so, no one knew whether what had happened was real or not.

The inhabitants of the current world have gotten so used to it, that the consequences of what had happened back then may just seem commonplace. However, some believe that the separation had demolished the vast majority of the land and living species. All that we currently have is a very vague idea of the event which was never supposed to happen …

The evidence of the separation event entails that the two halves, later named The Sun and The Moon, is all that was left of the devastating destruction of the separation which had struck the world. The half which symbolizes the light and destruction (The Sun) had been created in the midst of the explosive impact, after which it had been scattered and disappeared. It is believed that the reason behind this was its very weak physical form. The other half, which symbolizes the darkness (The Moon), survived the impact because of the opposing trait to the light, which is having a strong physical form. Previously what was a whole being of the ancient civilization is now separated into two halves, such as their abilities and character.

The Moon, after it had lost its other half had been damned to loneliness, living in the now empty world void of everything. After becoming aware of its new-found ability of creation, it starts building a new world in hopes to recover the one of which destruction it had been a cause. Fallen victim to its own intelligence and self-consciousness, haunted by guilt and despair of the world left in history. The Moon decides to create beings, later known as The Incarnates, which would serve as the new world’s protectors. Being linked to the very being that created them, as the mental state of the dark half withers, The Incarnates become more and more aggressive attacking the world they had been made to protect.

After many years, light particles have started to gather in a single place and thus The Sun is reborn. Its mission is to find the half it had lost and discovered the cause of everything that had happened. To return the balance to the world.

Map of the world.

The Halfs

The Halfs are an ancient civilization, that is, people who are composed out of two halves. These two halves are in a state of constant balance between each other, this is why they must stay as a single being. Their separation, despite not having been seen before, is not impossible. In the event of their separation catastrophes all around the world are bound to occur.

Very similar to the atomic core, it is composed of two parts. For it to get separated or fused, an enormous amount of energy is necessary, if not handled correctly it can have devastating consequences. Very unstable if separate, but in balance, if held together.

The Moon (Left) & The Sun (Right)

The Sun

The Sun is a half that represents the light, it has the power of heat, fire, and destruction. Being the symbol of light does not necessarily make it the embodiment of all good in the world. Light possesses destructive abilities if not handled well.

Post-separation, The Sun has lost its ability to speak and hear. This makes it unable to communicate with other beings and hence, it remains silent and mute. Another negative post-separation side effect that had an impact on the light half is a weak physical form. The light is easy to scatter, deflect, as well as to extinguish. Moreover, the light half lacks intelligence.

Despite the loss of hearing and speech, The Sun has a sense of touch and sight. On its head are horns in the shape of a resonance fork, which enable it to feel the vibrations around itself. This way it can be warier of enemies lurking afar. In spite of its weak physical form, it possesses incredible strength within its limbs. The sight of the light half is a key sense since it is the very thing that makes it capable of combat.

The Moon

The Moon is a half that represents the darkness, without which the light would have no reason to exist. The dark is very peculiar and mysterious, often the reason for many visions and hallucinations from which the fears stem.

As such, The Moon does not possess the ability to see, as in the dark it is not necessary. The dark half is very weak, and can barely walk without its support staff and so it has to avoid everything that comes near.

The separation had left it with an invincible body. It has a very sensitive hearing, almost sonar-like, which allows it to navigate and compensates for its lack of sight in the complete darkness. Another trait of the dark half is very high intelligence.

Wherever the light hits, darkness follows. Unlike The Sun, the dark half does not have the power of destruction. Instead, it had obtained the ability to create things out of elements. It can create living beings or whatever it desires and it can do so out of something as simple as dirt. In the event of this ability falling in the wrong hands and being exploited it could cause devastating consequences.

The Chariot

The Chariot is an inhabitant of the south, also known as “The Crystal Valley”. Seemingly dangerous, he is big-hearted and a kind soul. Tragic past had left him with severe and traumatic memories. Although, that has not stopped him to continue living on his life the best he can. He is incredibly courageous and represents a warrior, the will power and spiritual transformation. He is successful in controlling his power and maintaining peace of mind, enabling him to stand his ground and continue going strong. Taking action in every moment, moving forward without looking back to the past and the tragedies he had lived through. Those are all the traits of The Chariot.

Origins

The Chariot is a member of the new age civilization who originates from the snowy and mountainous north. His tribe is very hospitable and well-minded, always ready to help any traveler which happens to stumble within their area.

Unfortunately, calamity does not choose who it falls upon. As the mental state of the dark half had worsened, The Moon decided to settle to the north. It was the most suitable location for The Moon to settle, due to the location’s very hard reachability and isolated areas. Living there, The Moon would be able to be alone, live in peace, separated from the rest of the world.

This meant an attack on the north was bound, so was the expulsion of all the locals who inhabited it. In that event, the whole Chariot’s tribe was massacred. He was the only one who managed to save himself from this invasion.

And so, he was forced to move south, where he vowed to protect the people from any attack and prevent something like this from happening ever again.

Destiny

The tragedy and trauma from the past had shaped him to be the person who he is today, it had helped him to understand the cruel nature of the world. The only thing which had been left for him to do was to fight for justice and help others in need. Having moved to the south, and no ability to use magic, he had to figure out a way to protect himself and others.

His focus was on perfecting the close combat fighting styles with the help of weapons, fast, strong attacks, and maneuvers.

After hearing the rumors that the light half had appeared, the hope of ending the terror of the dark half and returning the balance to the world had sparked within him. In addition to his mission of protecting his new home, Chariot set himself the goal of teaching the light half his ways of fighting to help him bring the world back to what it was once before.

The Chariot

The Magician

The Magician is an inhabitant of the west, landscapes filled with ruins, mysterious places, and passages, as well as stunning waterfalls. The Magician has the ability to use magic and represents the link between the spiritual and physical worlds. He converts energy and matter. His clothes are white, which symbolizes purity but also simplicity. His cloak is red as a symbol of worldly knowledge and experience. By sheer chance, he gained the abilities he possesses, however, he fails to find a way to achieve his full potential. He is incredibly powerful, but would rather spend time exploring the ruins than fight for what is really important.

Origins

The separation which occurred in the past and the disintegration of the light half into particles had a massive impact on the environment and living beings. Many of the remaining particles of the white half after the explosion had merged with various objects as well as some of the beings which developed destructive powers.

The Magician was a passenger who was involved in an accident where one of the particle infused objects had collided with him. He was badly injured, since the object was a stone which flew directly through him, leaving him with a hole in his abdomen.

An injury such as that one would have been fatal within normal circumstances, however, part of the magic was transferred to his being. That managed to keep him alive although the consequences of the event are very prominent to this day.

Since then, he has gained the ability to use magic. His new interests were to find the source of it and find out the real truth, history, and the origin behind the magic of that stone.

Destiny

His research on history and magic began within the ruins he had discovered in the west. The large chunk of knowledge was written in an ancient language, thus it was necessary to find a way to translate it. He discovered the existence of monoliths which contained the necessary data to help him with transcription. And so, he continued spending his time in the ruins exploring everything he could find.

Even though that stone brought him enormous power, he also knew it’s the very thing keeping him alive. That fact killed off any desire to fight within him since the risk would be far too great.

His focus was on destructive powers that used magic but always at a cost.

The return of The Sun gave him hope of passing his knowledge to it. Hope that someone would be willing to take action in his place.

The Magician

The Star

The Star is an inhabitant of the east, this location is known for its vast and deserted landscapes filled with sand and dangerous heat. He lives nearby the village made of sandstone, leading a peaceful and spiritual life. The Star symbolizes renewal, faith, and purpose. No matter the misfortune that had struck in the past, he knows that as long as some form of magic exists there is hope for further life. He is no warrior, yet knows how to defend himself if need be. Helping others who are in need, he is there to restore the faith and hope, heal the wounds that history had left behind.

Origins

His whole life he had spent alone, not remembering much about his past, how he got to where he is now nor what had happened to him. He spent his days wandering around in the desert in hopes of finding his purpose and his life’s goal. The rumors about the separation had eventually made his way to him, however, he never seemed to be bothered much about it nor it had any impact on him personally. Often he would stop by the village to see how the rest of the world lived.

The moment the invasion of The Moon’s creatures had begun across the world, it was no long after that the sand village had been attacked as well.

Finally realizing what horrors exist in the world and all the calamity that happens around him opened his eyes and helped him see the world in a different light.

He had finally found his purpose and meaning, realizing that he wanted to help others and start a new life which was more exciting than his boredom and loneliness in the past.

Destiny

Having found a new purpose in life, he was ready to abandon his old habits and ways of living and go down a completely new path. Faced with difficult problems, he had to learn how to trust in himself and that with little hope he will eventually overcome the problems he has. Since he had big ambitions on how to change from the start, those ambitions quickly caught up with him. He found himself overwhelmed with work and many people started being dependant on him more than he expected and could handle.

The help he was providing to people showed itself as very beneficial for the residents of the sand village. Everyone began to envision him as a symbol who gives hope, always shining bright with the size of his light, just like a star.

He specialized in the field of healing, improvement of body and spirit, as he knew he was not fit to be a warrior. This is the help he will be able to provide when his and the light half’s paths cross.

The Star

The Incarnates

Ending up alone in the whole new world filled with void, The Moon had to create something entirely new. Bring life to the world left in ashes after the devastating destruction. He could not bear what he had done, hence he wanted to make sure no such tragedy ever befalls the land as long as he exists.

He had discovered about the existence of the particle infused objects which had been created after the white half had been disintegrated. Specifically, the crystals which have been affected with this, as it turned out were the perfect source of power that could be used to create the new army.

He had scoured the world searching and collecting the crystals. Using his power of creation combined with the magic held within the crystals he was able to successfully bring to life beings, which were created from the very land he stood on.

As the crystals held the power of light half, the beings created from them acquired different forms and exhibited different abilities. Created from the earth with a single purpose to protect it. Or so The Moon thought …

The beings were later named The Incarnates. Out of all the forms which had been able to manifest from the crystals, only four of them were able to survive.

The Fool — is not a clever one. Their reaction speed and movements are very slow, although they do pack quite a punch. This is because their form is very chunky and unbalanced. There are shields on each one of their hands which allow them to protect themselves. If they happen to be in grave danger they shrivel up into a ball using their shields as protection, in which case they become invulnerable. Staying too long in such a state can make them explode, dealing fatal damage to the enemy as well as killing themselves.
The Wheel of Fortune — possesses intelligence. Their movements are very swift and agile. They can move through any obstacle and avoid anything thrown at them with ease. Since they specialize in ranged attacks, they tend to stay as far away from the enemy as possible. The spheres they carry around their bodies, as ammo and projectiles, all have different abilities. Such as explosive, homing, split, and lastly just a normal projectile ability. The spheres spin around their body when activated and get fired at random, which makes the enemy unable to predict the attack pattern.
The Devil — is the most powerful manifestation of the crystal compared to any other Incarnate. They are able to manipulate the rocks and stones, making them levitate, and effectively using them as their shield. They too move slowly but it is mostly because of their heavyweight armor built out of the bigger mass of rocks, which gives them higher invincibility. Their punches are so powerful that they can be lethal for the enemy. If they happen to get agitated and angry they can hit the ground so hard causing it to shake leaving the enemy stunned and unable to balance.
The Lovers — very similarly to The Wheel of Fortune are characterized by swiftness, agility, and huge stamina. They are the weakest of the bunch and hence why they mostly act as support. They use the metal ropes with which they can tackle the enemy and keep them in place, essentially making the enemy unable to move. This is particularly useful since it allows others to mob the enemy and attack it, whilst they are struggling to release themselves of the ropes they got caught in. This type of attack can be very dangerous and particularly annoying.

The End

That concludes the story of The World of Halfs. The scope of this project had to be limited because of the time constraints that had been put onto it, therefore this is all the story that was necessary to make the game feel complete together with the rest of the assets and concepts. In time I might expand on the whole idea and hopefully, in the future, I will be able to make this concept something more than just that, and actually create a full game out of it. But for now, that was it.
Hopefully, you enjoyed the read! ~