Afterlife Online

Tad Lonnerman is having a crappy day stuck in crappy traffic late to a crappy meeting. On the bright side, his game development career is the only non-crappy thing he has going for him, so life isn't all bad. At least until he dies. Now Tad finds himself uploaded to a beta test of Haven, an unannounced hyper-immersive MMO where the dead have a second chance at life. It's not virtual reality, it's digital reality. A true afterlife online. Except Haven isn't exactly blissful paradise.

Living in a virtual game world sounds like the ultimate dream. Plenty of action, intrigue, and guess who gets to be the big hero? But what happens when that digital reality gets flipped on its head? Bad guys are after your sweet loot, your fancy title is loaded with unrealistic expectations, and achieving such a high level comes with a big fat target on your back. Something has to give, so when a new crusader faction rolls into town, Talon senses an opportunity.

Founding a headquarters is a good start, but the Black Hats aren’t the only empire builders in the land. As crusaders mobilize an army, assassins struggle for independence, and dissidents make waves in Stronghold, Haven’s tentative peace is threatened. The gears of war are churning, and Talon refuses to be crushed in the teeth. Enlisting the help of an old friend, Talon hatches an ingenious scheme to wrangle the embattled citizens of Haven to his cause. Except there’s another plot shaping the virtual world, one meticulously devised by a ghost in the machine.

Black knights. Dastardly pirates. Bloodthirsty rebels. And those are the good guys. War is coming to the Midlands. Like a kettle ready to bubble over, cities teeter at the brink of boiling, all while a spymaster fans the flames. Witness the rise of the Violet Order. It was always coming to this. Freedom isn't given, it's wrenched from the choking grips of those who would stifle, contain, and control. Legends are rife with noble heroes standing over vanquished enemies, but reality is more grisly.