King's Field

Story

From the manual:

Once there was a small country named Verdlite which was surrounded on all sides by a deep forest. In ancient days there was a great war here; many people died and there was great destruction but finally a hero arose who saved Verdite.

Whether this savior was a person, a fairy or a monster, it quickly disappeared into the fog which drifts through the forest. This being came to be known as the Dragon of the Forest and a sanctuary was built to honor it and the builders passed on the story. Eventualy, only the legend remained, and the sanctuary was turned into the royal family's graveyard and all was quiet.

The legend says "One day, the Dragon of the Forest will return, bringing magical artifacts" although for now the sanctuary remains silent.

Once a certain clan and its leader visited this sanctuary and used magic power to take rule over the country, making their leader King. It was they who started to build the royal cemetery in the sanctuary. As the graveyard became bigger and bigger, it seemed that the king might be searching for the magical artifacts of legend. In fact, that may be why he and his people came in the first place.

Jean Alfred Forrester was born the eldest son of Hauser, Commander of the Royal Guard. He became interested in the art of sword-fighting and started training; it seemed he might have a skill that could even surpass his father’s.

Hoping to exceed his father, Jean set out for a neighboring country to study under his father’s friend. And so one day, while working on his technique, Jean heard a rumor about his home.

The King often sent soldiers to search for the magic artitacts, but no matter how hard they searched, they never found them. Finally, the soldiers didn't come back at all so another force was sent to investigate. It turned out that monsters had appeared in the graveyard and were attacking the soldiers.

The King ordered Commander Hauser to lead a large force and regain control, but they were massacred and almost completely destroyed. So the King spread word accross his kingdom and neighboring countries, offering a bounty for exterminating the monsters and trying to recruit mercenaries.

Concerned with his father's safety, Jean returned home to find that Commander Forrester had returned after leading the attack, but then went back to the graveyard to rescue his men. Jean decided to enlist as a mercenary and go to the graveyard to search for his father.