> Hi Sam, Just finished MV and am sort of let down by the ending. Read the background and thought Murkon was justified, if wrong about what lengths he went to, to seek his revenge.

Writing that intro was a lot of fun. It just seemed very real that, no matter how evil or corrupt someone is, they always find ways to justify their lifestyles. Most of us have done individual things that we are sorry about. Very few of us are sorry for the way we live our lives, for the philosophies we subscribe to that define our conduct. Rather, we spend a great deal of time thinking about how to justify them, to ourselves at least and perhaps also to others. Evil is, I very much believe, persuasive and sometimes beautiful, and the people that work evil usually think they're doing the right thing.

If you go read the intro for Murkon's Refuge again, you will find the same story that is told in the Murkon's Vengeance intro, but from an external perspective. Clearly, the world at large sees Murkon as evil. But Murkon has justified his behavior to himself in what appears to be a pretty reasonable argument. The question is, do his reasons truly justify his actions?

By writing the introductions the way I did, I left the question open to the reader. If he is not evil, perhaps the ending to Murkon's Vengeance is a somber tragedy. Then again, perhaps it is right that *no one* possess (and therefore be tempted by) such a great power.

Personally, I think Murkon is just plain evil, period. I'm not saying that's the way he really is; I left the question open, and that's just my own personal answer to it.

But I am intrigued by an alternate interpretation, namely that Murkon starts out being more or less neutral, succumbs just a little bit to temptation and works evil deeds he honestly perceived to be justified, and is then, over the course of time, slips further and further down that slope. When he wakes up in his crypt, he has one final chance to repent from his evil ways. He's been given a second life and can live it anew. But he gives himself over to his bloodlust, and as he kills more and more in his quest for revenge, he cements the evil within him. Even arguing that he had no choice, that he was attacked the moment he stepped out of his crypt and not given any quarter, still the effect is the same: he gives himself over to a frenzy of violence and death that corrupts him in full. By the end, when his revenge is complete, there is no turning back. There are no more chances to repent; he has become what he has made himself.

S "glad you liked the game!" am