Player Comments on Death Song

General Recommendation: Highly recommended. Just be sure you’ve read through Necromancer first, because this story relies on the player’s knowledge of that game.
Preview: Witness the end days of a world as a musician in the army.

=SPOILERS BELOW=

General notes:
This is a difficult game to review. It has so many layers of narrative structure and subtlety that I’m sure I’ll realize I missed something shortly after posting this. But I’ll try to do it justice.
In a dying world gradually falling to the dead, the narrator’s most key trait is in this story his humanity. His struggles, goals, and actions, are all based around the idea of being alive in the world, such as his struggles with his bravery, his role in the army, and balancing his practical needs with his artistic vision. The narrator’s repeated choice to flee and live or fight and die shows very starkly that sometimes being brave and summoning up the courage to do something really is futile. The narrator is well aware that he’s failed to make a difference at these times, and he struggles with being put in the position of a survivor and hero, when he only lived because he ran away. What he really wants is the chance to practice his music and develop his talent into something special, but practical concerns prevent him from doing so. Though part of the army, he has no special attachment to the Zalan Empire, and just wants to keep his family safe, especially as the war becomes more and more dire. These two challenges contribute to his general sense of being lost and adrift; he’s very unclear on what he wants and how to get it and this story does a good job of communicating that. It’s a very human struggle that anyone can relate to, at least to some extent.
The story handles these themes well on their own, but they become much more powerful when set against the backdrop of the end of the world. While most stories that tackle these themes ultimately come to a positive conclusion, or at least a proactive one, in this story the narrator never gets an answer to his philosophical questions, he never really comes to terms with his reputation, and he never has the chance to find fulfillment and purpose. This is not due to his own actions, but due to circumstances entirely outside of his control. Even when he handles the situation as well as he possibly can, he’s doomed to failure because he’s facing an opponent he simply has no chance of overcoming. Oddly, this has the effect of making the focus on narrator’s challenges more poignant. In the midst of this epic chaos and confusion, this is a very human story focused on the narrator’s human struggles: His fear, his passion for music, his love for his family. These struggles do not disappear or fade when faced with larger-scale issues, instead, they become all the more important. When these painfully human struggles and challenges are ultimately wiped out as life is destroyed forever, it’s a tragedy. So much so, that even Catalina can recognize it, if only for a moment, even if it never quite reaches her husband.
Which brings me to the second key point about this story: It’s a companion piece for Necromancer, and a completely brilliant one. Necromancer is a game of power. In Necromancer, the player is a world-conquoring tyrant with nothing standing in their way as they bend anyone opposing them to their will. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and it’s an emotional rush. It’s fun enough that you allow yourself to push aside the fact that this power is being used to commit horrible atrocities, and simply enjoy the ride. Necromancer is, essentially, a brilliantly-done power fantasy.
But Death Song takes Necromancer as it exists and turns it into something far more personal and powerful. Death Song shows the player Necromancer from an outside perspective, and shows them the consequences of their actions. It never gets preachy or moralistic, instead simply showing the player from an objective angle how the other people of this world are affected by the events of the plot. It slows the player down and makes them think, considering the implications of this story far more than they would with it as a standalone or a linear story. This is done most directly (and effectively) in the final scene with the narrator’s frustration and musings about the Necromancer and Catalina. The narrator at no point allows the pair any kind of forgiveness or acceptance, nor do they ever back down or try to justify themselves to him in their pursuit of global genocide. But he and Catalina are able to speak, human to human, and reach the slightest of understandings.
This is a very artistic game, and stands alone among EndMaster’s works as a much more subtle look at literary themes such as death and human power, or the lack thereof. It’s a challenging concept to tackle, but it’s done masterfully for maximum emotional impact.

Specific notes:
-I like the way the narrator’s involvement in the mercenary band is handled; he’s uncomfortable with some of their actions, but too dependent on the income to do anything about it.
-The Necromancer’s father’s inclusion on the mercenary arc adds depth to his character, and is helpful to both Necromancer and the framing of this branch. The conversation between the narrator and Captain helps give his perspective on his family and lets the reader understand him in a way they can’t while looking through his son’s eyes.
-The difference between the narrator’s personal integrity on the mercenary and army path is interesting.
-The story starts with smaller incidents, such as the conflict in the mine, before building up to events that happen in Necromancer. This helps the reader get a feel for the protagonist outside of the plot references.
-The destruction of the narrator’s lute on the mercenary path is a good plot details and shows the change in his development.
-The scenes with the mercenaries and army recruiter do a good job immediately establishing the tone of the two groups through dialogue and actions.
-The letters to home work better than most informational links, as they provide insight that would be difficult to potray through the text, and give insight into the narrator’s thoughts rather than important strategical information.
-The Quillars are an interesting fantasy race.
-Despite the fact that Zalan/Retland politics are ultimatley unimportant to the plot, I like their inclusion. It makes the world bigger.
-The narrator’s talent for music and his company’s appreciation for it is built up gradually as the situation with the necromancers becomes more severe. Fittingly, his musical talent gets much more focus on the arc with the army than with the mercenaries.
-Having the narrator survive only by fleeing is an interesitng decision, one that gives added layers of depth to his character beyond just a lucky survivor.
-The details about different types of music such as elven or dwarven help characterize the narrator and side characters.
-Warnov’s appearing twice helps show how the situation has changed.
-The narrator’s relationship with the Necromancer’s sister is well done. It’s thoughful and touching, but never overstays its welcome, and is played out realistically.
-It’s an interesting touch that the narrator’s relationship with Helena is only ever developed through the letters to home. It makes it feel all the more distant and wistful, which adds to the tone.
-The appearance of the faries is a nice break in the story. It’s touching to find a place that hasn’t yet been reached by the destruction, and all the more tragic when it’s eventually destroyed.
-The final sequence as the narrator grows old and the world dies is quite well written.
-Though like Necromancer the main branch of this story is quite linear, I think this game benefits from being a CYOA rather than a straight story. The multitude of death endings really hammer in how badly the world is being damaged and how easy it would be for the protagonist to simply die.
-It’s refreshing to play an EndMaster game with a mostly moral protagonist.

Grammar
Generally good.
Mastery of Language
Noticably better for this story. The language is much more even and balanced right from the beginning, and becomes almost poetic later in the story. The final sequences of the main path are notbaly well written.

Branching
Very little, but it’s not the point.

Player Options/fair choice
Generally good, considering the linearity of this story. Actions are foreshadowed.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I don’t cry at books or movies, and I did not cry while reading this story. But it was a close one.

CONCLUSION: An excellent game, both on its own and as a companion piece for Necromancer. Notable for its artistry and subtlety.

I recently realized that I never reviewed this after reading a few months ago. So I decided to read through just one path as a refresher before writing up a review. I should have known I would be unable to stop at one. The only thing keeping me from rereading the whole, beautiful thing was the reminder that I had sworn to have the review written before bed.
And it truly is a beautiful story. It has a quite different tone from Necromancer, yet is structurally quite similar. While it seems to be the "Gloomy Sunday" of CYS, this story did not leave me with a crippling depression of any sort. However, I cannot say that I did not find the endings absolutely haunting--especially when he hummed a tune to bring himself to a different place before he died.
The story itself is very engaging. Reading it after Necromancer was a good choice, I believe, as that allowed me to enjoy the full SMITING OF THE ENEMIES to full effect before seeing the other side. I am sure my eventual rereading Necromancer will be an altered experience, and that's not a bad thing. It was also nice to see characters such as the vampires and the sister from another perspective.
The pacing was very well-done, and I enjoyed reading the letters to home. They added to the emotional impact too. None of the endings felt sloppy or rushed and as always, I enjoyed the Cave of Time branching style.
If you are looking for a light, feel-good story, Death Song is not for you. However, it is far from depressing. It is more like going through pictures of a dead loved one.
Thank you for this fine story.

After reading Necromancer and finding it the best and most touching multiple choice story I ever reed, it was only natural that I soon followed with Death Song. This story, as explained in the description, is an equal to Necromancer, so there will be references to it.

On with the review:

Characters:
Being the characters one of the most important thing for me, I’ll start with them. The characters in Death Song are all fleshed out, even when most of them lack names. This is in part due to Necromancer not having names either, most characters in both of these stories are spoken to or about with titles. Still, this is completely intentional, as this kind of anonymity amplifies the “nature” of each character.

I can relate very well to the emotions of the main character, because these are pretty simple. He just wants to help his family and do what he loves most: play music. It is, in this sense, the most normal of Endmaster’s protagonist, as he is an everyman rather than someone exceptional (although some of the things he does could be considered as such).

Plot:
There is a lot to be said about this one. The game doesn’t have a definite plot, and it could be simplified as helping your family whilst getting into terrible situations you have no control over. However there is far more beyond this, or at least that is my perception.

It really deals with the tragedy of human existence: death. Death is everywhere in this story, it surrounds the character until it finally gets him, no matter what he does. The take on this is masterfully executed by characterising death with a single individual, someone who everyone wants to stop as in the very embodiment of death itself. By doing this, it follows the finest tradition of science fiction and to a lesser extent fantasy by putting such philosophical thoughts in a distant story so that they can be understood.

The tone is very dark, serious and depressing, making Death Song a very distinct and unique story compared to others from Endmaster. This doesn’t detract from it, though, in fact, it does quite the contrary. It is the perfect tone to accompany such a tale, and it shows that the author can not only write well in one style but also excel at plenty others.

The main ending is probably one of the best endings I have ever seen. It is absolutely fabulous and it would be worth playing the entire story just for it (even if the rest wasn’t worthy, which is not the case).

My only complain about the plot would be the second way. While it is very interesting too, it is very short in comparison to the main one, and the ending isn’t quite as satisfying. It changes the atmosphere quite a lot, similarly as the alternate way in Necromancer, but that isn’t a bad thing.

Consequence:
It is important for a fictional world to have definite rules that are followed all the time; otherwise, it is inconsequential and its choices become just random luck. This isn’t generally the case with Death Song, as with Necromancer. There is something I don’t quite understand though, and it is the rules of the afterlife. Do bad people go to Hell always, or only when a demon kills them? It is implied that they always do, but this is the first time this is mentioned in this particular world. It can still be understood, so it isn’t a major problem.

Writing and vocabulary:
The vocabulary in Death Song is very rich and adequate, even more so than with the rest of Endmaster’s stories, although that is logical given in the general tone of this story. It is as such more distant, but that isn’t a problem as it feels pretty close despite this and it is still more appropriate to the tone. It can be read very easily, like the rest of these stories.

Technical details:
There are no noticeable grammatical or orthographical errors and the layout is just fine.

Tying:
This is a special thing to rate. This story is supposed to be an equal to Necromancer, so it should then have perfect correlation with it. It has to a great extent, as it follows the “true” path of Necromancer flawlessly. As such, you should really read it before this one, as it will contain major spoilers.

Conclusions:
This is a great story on it’s own right and a great equal to Necromancer, despite being completely different in tone and style. The main branch definitely deserves an 8/8, but since the side one doesn’t really keep up as well, It should be lowered to a 7/8. Then again I can't bear to rate such a grat story like that, and I am a very big hypocrite, so it gets the 8. Despite all this, I really recommend anyone who isn’t depressed to read it, you will thoroughly enjoy it. Do not take this warning as a joke, though, it is not. The tone is really, really depressing, and you probably shouldn’t play it if you already feel like this.

Also, thanks again to Endmaster for keeping the quality on all of his stories. This is definitely one of your best and I did really enjoy reading it.

This is a work of art. That's it. And playing Necromancer afterwards lets you truly appreciate what's going on. You get to see all these characters interact with each other and see things from a different perspective.

Ah, sad as well, just like Necromancer. At least our hero had music. I'll need to find someone to hug tonight.

really cool.

awesome

Decent but a sequel to necromancer would’ve been better

It's really fun, the writing is stilted at times but I think it's worth it.

Another amazing sorry by EndMaster I never thought it would happen that the way it happened

Goob game

im inprest

it was ok

Excellent!

There are so many detailed comments and reviews regarding this story, that I don't feel the need to replicate what has already been said. But, as with most of EndMaster's stories, this is fantastically done. After reading Necromancer, you know at the start how things pretty much must end, but the adventure in getting to the final scene is worth every word.

Overall, fantastic story, well worth reading and definitely recommended.

It was one of the best short stories I have ever read and if you were able to get to it the final ending was very sad and beautiful at the same time I even cried a little. This was a good story.

It was alr ig

i died like 50 times

The ending felt a little rushed but great story

This comment originally was on Infinite Story, finally transferring it here to be seen more readily. Enjoy!

OMG dude!!!! How could you not make a good ending, not a single one?! Do you know how depressed I feel right now? You are sick!!! YOU are the lich king. I'we read through every bad ending on purpose hoping and wishing that I'd end up with the good one, where the world gets saved and he gets together with the female general or something.

OMG OMG OMFG!!!

What have you done? You are evil!!! AAAARGGHH!!! I feel like crying right now. This is horrible.

To be honest, I have always felt that it's kitchy to make good endings in stories but now I realized that it isn't. Hoping for the good is my nature, humans' nature, SENTIENT BEINGS' NATURE!!! What the fuck has happened to your nature?!?!?!

How would a book like LOTR or Narnia or whatever feel if it had a horrible ending? It would feel horrible. Well, that's how your story feels, horrible. I feel empty and disillusioned and like I've totally wasted my time, I've been tricked and used. I suffered through all that gory, violent, cruel, sad shit that happened to the character (me in a way) and I got nothing for it. Makes me wanna kill myself right now.

Fuck you man!

- drevenhaug Jan 10, 2008

(For part 2 of his ranting, go check out A Very Special Choose Your Story!)

It was great.

This was such a beautiful work of story telling. It is indeed more linear than necromancer, but since it's told in the same world, it's understandable. I actually cried at the end of this story (one last song...), please read necromancer first as you will enjoy this a lot more if you do. 8/8 story.

A few grammatical errors in the beginning, but the story did get me enthralled. I think I got the mercenary "good end", but perishing in the final push as the Captain went on without you wasn't the most fulfilling end. Hope they at least closed the portal. 4/5 adventure.

Got to the ending of this (The last song). This was amazing, all the references to the other story (necromancer) and the ending was great, really added to the world building

Hello... Wow, That was good, I don’t know if actually got the true ending..? But I’m taking this one, seems the best one to me... This was really good I Really liked the Perspective in the world-

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
———————-

And I enjoyed playing for the Necromancer one last time, that’s the ending I got, not sure if tis the true ending since no Epilogue, though.. I suppose it is cause ‘One Last Song’.. Anyway this was really good, though that seems to be the case with everything you’ve posted on this website, as far as I have seen.

Y’know, I just realized I forgot to Screenshot the ending.... Well I guess I’m going to spreed run this time!

Great work in this EndMaster as with all of your stories I have seen so far, Your a Great Author, keep it up!
Please and thank you, and have a good day, or Night, or whatever time it is for you.... Have a good one!

jeez, this took me 4 hours to finish! great story though.

It was fucking weird.

it was intresting, in the end, i only played to the end twice. Having joined the army, when engaging in the battle in nuro it was against my pride to run away. In the end i think i had a satisfying death, yet at the same time i wonder if i should have run away instead. I would still be alive and could find another way to support my family. But enough of my thinking. I enjoyed the world building of the story as well as the thought and emotion shown in constructing the plot (well, as much of it i have experienced) thank you for giving me a chance to take part in your story, and i awit more of your works

Absolutely amazing

I always found that End Master's stories are some of the best and this one is no exception.

Great game, amazing sequal/prequel/equal!!

Definitely worth retaking other paths just to end in the perfect ending.

Good story, read it in class and was thoroughly enjoyable.

well I got a bad end but all the blame is on me since making deals with demons tends to do that, cool story XD

Hits you in the feels

It was really long and to play with friends eventually gets board

Read Necromancer first. It's responsible for the greater world events that take place in the story, and is very important to fleshing out the setting of the world. I believe this story would be much less interesting without that additional context, and there are references to elements of that story which are not explained in this one. Feel free to stop reading now to avoid spoilers.

Death Song is written in a similar fashion to Necromancer. Unlike the former, I found it refreshing that the events of Necromancer really do play according to the true story. In other words, you don't defeat the villains. You truly play the part of what it'd be like for a musically-inclined farmer to live in dire times. I think this effect could be lost if not for reading Necromancer first. The story itself also has a few turns, but felt a lot more straightforward than Necromancer. There are some good twist endings, and I'm still giving this story a 7 in the context of having read Necromancer. By itself, I would guess I might rate 6 because I felt the events of the world aren't connected together as well for the reader. Again, much of the fun comes from the allusions to the prior story. Read Necromancer, then read this book and it will be a lot of fun.

This was a fucking sweet sequel/non-sequel to the necromancer.
The main character reminded me a bit of the main character from a book series called the king killer chronicles, don't know if that was on purpose, but it certainly made my experience better.
Thank for this story I look forward to reading more of your content. (:

I liked this one a bit better than Necromancer, but I'm not sure I would have liked it as much had I not read Necromancer first. It's somehow richer for having played through the events as the Necromancer first.
A different angle on the same world, and sometimes the same events, this story comes off a bit darker and has more heart to it. The main character, though a gifted musician and archer, does not have arcane or unnatural power. He's a relatable every-guy who just wants to see that his family is taken care of and maybe play a little music or get a girl on the side. Because of this the events, though the same general arc as in Necromancer, come off as far more horrific. The main character is like the personification of a last breath - defiant, a bit hopeful, resigned, regretful over everything he could not accomplish, ready to face the inevitable end.
It's a story with genuine tension, too. There were moments where I thought for sure he was going to die, only for him to be rescued or escape somehow.
The ending (I took the army path) was a fantastic tie in to Necromancer, and a morbidly beautiful note to end on.

pretty good

Great fun story with multiple outcomes. Complimented the author's "Necromancer" story quite well. I cannot imagine how much work this must have been to write. It's fantastic. Highly recommended.

The shortest ending was the one I gave up on.And the first ending I even tried

Great

Jeezz the last song ending, Its so epic bro

can I get a hoyeah

I got the one last song ending and its very heart touching. This was one of the best things I have ever read.

I ended up in heaven. Die, demons. Die.

a lovely story, would love to hear or see some of this music but my imagination shall suffice for now. Have a lovely evening mr/mrs world creator!

I have no words.

decisions are severely restricted. Not much adventure to speak of.

Wow

Great....very long though

very good

Great work

Great storyline. I like liked the emotional parts of the story.
Hoping to read more stories from you

It was fun mate, thank you.

oh shit
8/8

I loved the story. the suspense, the action was awesome. I love all of your stories and hope you make more.you are a very talented writer.

this game was very interesting and has a fun storyline to follow along.

ahh nice

Well that took a shocking turn

Let me start off by saying how much I love this story it is truly a work of art, and among my favorites on the site. There is just so much to gush about here. The setting, the characters, the ending, the twists. It is just too good! I am a believer that most stories that I write reviews on I am either harsh, or gush forever. This, along with all of your other stories, fall into the second writer. Let me break down everything I love about this story.

The characters: The protagonist is very likable. He is just a guy trying his best to survive in a world like this. It's not his fault that the world is getting messed up, this story comes from a man that has seen the horrors of the world, and has tried running so many times, yet he always comes back. He is put in some of the worst situations, yet he survives. He lives for the sake of living. Protecting his family, and himself is his goal, and he is willing to fight the world to obtain it.

The Perspective: This story takes place from a different perspective on during the events of necromancer. With necromancer being my favorite story on this site, I approve of this. In the main path the main character joins the army. He sees the world, he sees vampires, he watches people die, and comes face to face with death itself on many occasions. The thing that makes this so brilliant is the contrast. Throughout the events of necromancer we are rooting for him. We kill countless, and our actions indirectly kill countless more. In death song we get to see the result of our actions on one man. We see the lives we have torn apart. All the pain and suffering we have caused. This is one of the reasons I recommend reading necromancer first. You get to experience the adventure before being blasted in the face with the pain you have caused. Then when you go back to necromancer, you are more aware of the consequences of your actions.

The secondary path: This path is stunning. It was my favorite until I saw the ending for the main one. By secondary path I am referring to the mercenary one. For a secondary path it is very long. By the end of it I thought it to be the main one, until reading the masterful main path and finding out it's even longer. The main thing that I love so much about this path is that it had an amazing twist that I loved to death. This is the other reason you should read necromancer first. My mind melted when I had the realization that the mercenary captain was the necromancers father. Looking back at the foreshadowing it blew me away.

Conclusion: This story is fucking fantastic. If you have read necromancer read this right now. It is just too good to be ignored. 8 out of 8.

It has a lot of reading which isent that bad, but the first time, I got in hell with big red to play music forever. I kinda a wish there were pictures in eny of the stories in this website.

Ah, magnificent. I played Necromancer and playing this story was a beautiful compliment. I give it a simple 10/10 since, well, it's simply fantastic. There are a couple grammar mistakes near the beginning, but I was too engrossed in the story to notice them much. I am a great fan of all your work and eagerly look forward for more.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]
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Welp, I guess my 'soft spot' for demons fucked me over. I was doomed to an eternity of playing the lute. I assumed the mercs spoke ill of the demons mostly out of bloodthirst and somewhat misplaced anger. Throughout this path I chose, I never felt truly in control, but that's probably because I overthink things like these to the point of self-defeat. This is my first time ever doing something like this; I appreciated both the amount of complexity the story provided and also the lack of it. Hopefully that made sense. I believe you've just started a new hobby for me.

Really good. Really long. But very logical and practical choices. Kudos to the Endmaster for great storytelling

This was a great story. Especially at the ending (SPOILER) where you play one last time for the great lich lord (SPOILER) it made me think deeply about my own life. What my "music" is, so to speak, and about the inevitability of things. Though I disagree that we cannot overcome our natures, I loved the concept and theme of the story all the way through.

And amazingness has struck again. I was blown away when I figured out that the mercenary captain was the father from necromancer. While I like that one better this one is amazing as well. Though playing necromancer first enhanced the experience a lot

Damn

It was okay. Never got a good ending. Writing was eh... But, certainly not a waste of time.

Yet another excellent story from EndMaster. I don't even know why I haven't played it to this point, considering that I found "Eternal" and "Necromancer" stuff of gold. Death of main character was beautifully executed, it was just as meaningless and unresolved as it should have been. Contrast of Necromancer - a mighty lord of death - and main character - an everyman inclined towards music - was also awesome. Of course, the story is very hopeless and grim in its tone but along with sarcastic wit that's stuff of EndMaster isn't it? I recommend it to anyone who has some free time.

I struggled through the game early on, but later got the feel for what would be "right" but often went down other paths just to see what the author had planned. A very well thought out and beautifully crafted story. Kudos.

peace is the good ending right?

this was kinda boring i died super quick and well i didn’t really like it maybe if you make different choices it can get fun but i didn’t think it was

amazing, i have no words

It definitely was a good story, and I liked seeing how the events portrayed in necromancer are seem from a musician trying to help his family.
I didn't feel like there was much of a resolve though, and it was mostly just a kind of unfulfilled death that had no meaning whatsoever. However, I cannot say that I didn't enjoy seeing the litches dad, and how he was affected as this plays out.
Great job once more endmaster, I love how well written your stories are, and please do me fantasy's.

One of the best choose your own adventure storys I've ever read.

A few grammar errors but it really touched me and i think this and Necromancer is a must read for anyone who enjoys this type of story

I got to the Performance!

Imagine the Twilight Zone crossed with D&D. That's basically the tone of this story. Twisting, turning!

Thi is no way to live.Come on.I bursted out laughing with that beggining.Ok.It was super good.It was cool.

One Last Song...

Beautiful compliment to "Necromancer", and the letters added a layer of detail I hadn't seen yet.

The ending was one of the most touching and moving endings I've ever read. I love your stories so much, thank you for contributing so much to this site.

I loved the ending (played for the lich lord ) it was very good

good

Such a moving story, absolutely incredible

Beautiful

I don't comment on things often. Normally only if they're truly horrible or amazing. Let me tell you, this is not the former. I played this story once a while ago and decided to play it again. I really don't think I got the true ending on that first play through because the ending genuinely made me cry. It takes a lot to bring me to tears but this author truly delivered. All in all probably the best story I've ever seen, on this website or otherwise and I would say that if you ever got the opportunity to play this game do it.

EndMaster does it once again, I believe I reached the true ending since it was the furthest I believe I could have gotten too and it left me with a positive feeling after what my character had been through. I was so engrossed in the character that I wish I could hear him play to see how beautiful his music really was. Maybe in another life he could have shared it with the world but you know with that pesky Necromancer, death was certain. Death is love, Death is life.

what a butiful and heartfelt story. I have absolutely no words for such a tale. I must say, that the author has done an outstanding job of plot progression. Being an author myself, I am truly impressed with this one and also the necromancer as well.

amazing. in a depressing sort of way. almost makes me regret enjoying necromancer so much lol.

Made me shed a tear.

Excellent story telling

I loved the necromancer story and this one is also amazing. The character and story is really great and it equals to the necromancer stroy. 8/8

At first it was fun but in the end there was no way to stay alive the death wasnt even a noble one. The story was decent but everything I was fighting for was lost.

When I got to the ending of One last song, I actually started crying. Endmaster, every single story you write makes me want to explore and finish every ending.

I am amazed at the stories you can write. I can't wait for your next story

I love this just as much as Necromancer, if not more. I've spent hours replaying all of your stories to get the best ending there is. I love your works, Endmaster. I say you should publish the canon path as a book or something, because this story is remarkable.

Awesome. Doomed forever. love it!

Way too many deaths, too often you get 2 or 3 choices and only 1 doesn't kill you.

my first ending is "one last song" i don't hate it, and it was a great out come.

The sweetest thing I've ever read, made me emotional

This was such a great story, I like how it puts you into the position of just another number and statistic of The Necromancer evil.

At first, I was under the misconception that this is going to be another Necromancer, another epic adventure of a zombie bard who kills everything with his song of death.

I'm glad I was wrong.

The idea behind this story was ingeniously brilliant! Instead of a alternate reality spin-off or a sequel to the original Necromancer, we are presented with a tale of a single man, whose only desire was to support his family and play songs while making merry. The twist was that he lives in the same time period as the Great Lich Lord. Yeah, you can probably guess how that will go.

One thing I have to criticize on (which is rare since I mostly don't do those) is the sense of linearity to the story. I mean, Necromancer went pretty deep with its 'alternative' branching route and I was disappointed with Death Song lack thereof.

I guess it was unavoidable because Death Song is set in the same timeline as the Necromancer story and can't truly spread its wings wider without changing or even completely eradicating the events that had already been written in the previous story game. I have to praise EndMaster though, this story completely integrates itself into the timeline as if it was always planned to exist in the first place!

(That might have been the case maybe.)

Anyway, aside of the that I could confidently suggest this wonderful story to anyone who's in the mood for some minor feels and great writing overall. Reading Necromancer first is not mandatory, but extremely recommended.

I was hooked to the story, it's very well-written. This is the best story-game I have ever played.

Great story.

Amazing! I had a lot of fun playing/reading this. It was very unique and very well written.

Great Game!!! I spent a few hours on it seeing what the different ending are!!!

Necromancer was the first story I read on this sight and the best, but this........beautiful, everybody always dreams of taking over the world, if not that then they want to be the knight in white armor charging valiantly to the rescue and destroying the evil in one final strike through the heart. But instead, there are no heroes, there is a soul, the man with the music, doomed to die, he knows it, he's okay with it, proof that you can't always have a happy ending, but that doesn't matter, because if there is any guarantee, it is death, and the fact that no matter how you get there, it's going to be one hell of a ride.

All I have to say is, EndMaster is the Picasso of CYOA.

As always an immersive and enjoyable story. It's always hard to sum your works up as they are simply far better than my own but it was a great read with all the hall marks of good writing: Character development, solid plot and great description.

Awesome! The author is talented story-weaver. Would be nice if the story was proof-read, but overall, excellent work.

Truly the most wonderful thing i've ever read. Keep up the good work pal :)

Really liked the music ending...

The ending is very sad but also beautiful.

The "postitive" endings really touched me, you just wanting to accept death, wanting to see your family. I just felt that some changes led to insta death. Although in terms of time it wouldn't really be insta death, the links that just lead to death kinda ticked me off. I would have given another link before killing the character

A thorough work of art you have completely mastered the art of writing yes i lived till the last and longest possible "death" it inspired me for i am wordless as your work is inexpressable in the terms of mere words.

Ahhh the life of a simple mortal, I wish that was my destiny as well, unfortunately, my role in my story far exciseds a normal human's.

damn... the "true" ending was deep. great game. 8/8

Such a heart wrenching tale, but absolutely fabulous! I read all the endings. While I know which one the author considers a win. I still preferred the mercenary tale ending, maybe that's the warrior spirit in me I don't know.

Wow. Every ending is sad huh? Amazing story.

Beautiful ;)

sad but true. Where are the gods? Thank you endmaster. It brought me inlightenment. 8/8.

This and necromancer are truly hidden gems.

That was an amazing story. It was so well written, and the characters had so much depth to them. I can't wait to read your others. And by the way, the chapter One Last Song was amazing. I can't believe how far you went with writing this.

I'm not sure if I won or lost with the ending I had, but that's part of the allure of this game. It's realistic in the choices you can take, and the consequences of those choices. I enjoyed the gritty feel of the life of a mercenary. It's a different take than most portrayals I've seen, where they are unmatched assassins who live the high life.

There is some explicit words in it and it is very graphic, creepy, and violent. This is just an opinion, though so don't base your decision to play it off of just one review.

An absolutely amazing story, I got the ending where the necromancer kills me after raven kills Deliah, I hope there is a better ending. but still one of the best stories I've read. Good job *thumbs up*

got the ending a, this book is good but also has many mistakes, the story needs to be revised, but other that this was a very stellar and captivating story(p.s. your Choices don't really matter because if you pick the wrong one the story will just kill you(add more choices and make it mater))

True ending gets me every time

My life was bad. Then I read this.

I wish I could hear the music.

wow the lich king doesn't even bury you....ashole

It made me tear up a little

not bad, not quite as some of the ones at choiceofgames, but still good, jus wish it would let me pick myself a name.

OMG this was amazing and at the end when you were old and played one last song i cried ;-; loved it keep up the work :)
but "one last song" i cried for real ;-;

It was amazing, necromancer has been my favorite fiction story (besides eternal) on this site and this is just as beautiful a story if not more so than it's "equal" you did a very nice job as always.

First play. Took the mercenary path. Quite a short one, but worth 8/8.

Unbelievably this story is on par with necromancer. The story is amazing(The army one more so). The ending, beautiful. A true masterpiece. I highly recommend completing the army route, at least once. This is amazing, endmaster's writing is nothing less then exceptional.

This is so sad, I almost cried...

Now I feel bad for finishing 'Necromancer'. :'(

Well done, not many stories can create such powerful emotion! :)

Brilliant

I'm so tough i got the only the One last song ending with only like 40ish deaths and about 27 hours of play time...and a whole lotta go back button spamming

Wow! That was worth every page.I have to hand it to the writer, he is an excellent artist.

This was a great but very saddening story literally almost cried

It was so sad and heart breaking but still amazing and exciting at the same time. I honestly think you should be an author (if your not already). I actually cried reading this at the end. This will have an impact on my life and for that I thank you and for the amazing story I applaud and encourage you to write more. Thank you.

Sad...But good...(cries)

was really long explanation for the short time it took me to die. but i men besides that it was pretty good!

It was okay I suppose, nice wording

First, I'm crying. It makes me say why. That's the part in me that wanted him to live...for humanity to live. The other part applause you from stepping away from the norm and letting the hero fail. Then again, he didn't. Reunited with his loved ones and dying doing what he loved...wow. I just wish he won in the end. Also, wished he got with the Captain of the Mercenaries daughter. Great story and I have seen every single path.

Love this epilogue better than necromancer.

Necromancer epilogue seemed discontinued, left out.

Simply amazing

Wow amazing. I read through every possible ending and it was an outstanding story. Simply Beautiful.

This was really interesting and entertaining, but felt a little long and much more story then choosing. Aside from that I loved it. May I also take the time to and I enthuse over the wizard character Wessel, I think it was. He was hilarious and arrogant in a loving way and I absolutely adored him. I would've like to discover what happened to him but of course I ended up dying so...yeah. The point is I really like his dialogue. Great work

It's really long but also a good story.

I don't know if I reached the "True end", but I liked this story particulary the ending(Even more than Necromancer). I'm looking forward to your next works.

Definitely awesome read. Will admit there were times when my character might do something stupid outside of my control, but otherwise it was a beautiful interactive tale of sorrow, and the struggle to do just a little bit of good. Felt the writing style could have been done somewhat better, the current writing style used in Necromancer had actually left me believing it was set in a strange modern day wizard place for longer than I care to admit. The writing style lacked a certain refinement that might be expected from a fantasy story. Though my complaints end there. Loved the story, loved the progression and themes present. Was a huge fan of the use of the songs in the story and had a lot of fun exploring the different pathways. Keep up the good work.

ending actually made me tear up

Yep, go join the army and you'll get the other major ending and it's a slightly happier ending from a certain point of view.

The story was a bit short for me as i finished it in around 10 minutes.I go the ending in which the captain attacks the Velzix with his son.It was a rather sad ending to this story.Was there any different endings which were better.I'm speaking to you EndMaster.it was one of the best game I've replayed...Like for the 100th Time

This is by far your most emotional story, the true ending was phenomenal, wish I could say more but I can't. This was well worth the time to read through, I enjoyed every second.

I haven't said this for any other story, but this was incredible. Eye-opening, insightful, moving, inspiring, I loved it. Such a strong character, all the rich, vibrant emotions, the clarity and complexity of the world, of life, of death, it was one of the most amazing story games I have read on this site. Hats off to EndMaster for this.

I love all of your stories. They each are unique and have their own style. You'll never get cheated if you want something full-blown like this.

To me, this is one of your best.It's got spunk,style, and rich characters. Sometimes, I can't even believe someone made this. It's touchy with hardworksmenship, and has a bit of real life on every page. I like seeing you put blood,work,and sweat into each story.

Don't stop now
Sicerly,
GiraffeDino

I loved this story! especially the fact that it took place during the necromancer i think you should do other stories that take place during ground zero(you play as the president) and eternal too.

Great story please make more red this and necromance

I think it is a VERY good story. I have yet to find a way to live though and my ending was kind of sad

This game is coop

Hello EndMaster. I find your writing very good, don't get me wrong, it's just I don't exactly like the plot....but still. Beautifully written.

This... Oh shit. This was beautiful. So far, this is my favourite story on the site. Oh man, that ending was so wonderfully executed. 8/8

Wow. I thought that the end of Necromancer was good. The last song is amazing. @Endmaster you have a real gift. You truly are a Master of Endings.

Ugh. This sucks

Best. Game. Ever.

Very good, ive been looking for something like this for a while, enjoyed it
:)

I'm sorry but it was boring??

It's a great story right here. I hope you'll write more, though somehow I doubt it. Great job as always!

Lived long anuf to play a song to the linch king first try, playing necromaner befor hand helped thought. Good job Endmaster.

You weren't kidding about the "dying world" huh? No matter what I tried, I couldn't alter the timeline and everyone died. Aside from the hopeless sense of futility, it was another great story by the Master of Endings

what the heck you had to die

Thank you for this amazing read, while not having all those little nuances and the like that professional writers use, i connected emotionally with the story and enjoyed reading it.
At the end of the day, is that not all that matters?

It was a good read and i realy liked the tie in with necromancer.

But i dont like that evrey time you get the choice of staying at home, it's the same result.

Didn't like it at all. Super hard. Like Jolly Ranchers.

The "True Ending" always gets me right in the feels. *sniff*

Loved the story and the references to the Necromancer one.

Dude, this game is awesome!! But how in the world does this make any sense? I loved it but I was so confused at the end because I thought there would have been more. not spoiling anything but Big Red I hate you now! I thought for a second you were okay but you son of a biscuit played me!! ugh

Had a good time with this worth the read.

omg

i like the way it has a story

It... WILL BRING YOU ENLIGHTMENT >:O

I thought it was pretty good but the fact that there was only one way to move on or you die. -_-

Yeppp.. Time to poop on this.

its pretty legit

OMG

good

This is sad but really fun to read well done as always :D

One of the best I've played. Story is amazing and there are a lot of options as well... All in all it's very entertaining

Epic As Always Endmaster!!!

teeenk uuuu i fought through hordes ran like a bech once lost everything that mattered to me exept meh flut which played for the queen and was allowed to truly die YUSSSSSS!?

Not a fan of the first ending i got and had a few things messed up in the story but it was fun

This was the first time a mixture of words have ever made feel so much emotion after going back and seeing every ending. I can now see why so much praise.

It was surprisingly interesting.

And thats why its called death song...damn

Pretty Amazing story as always Endmaster!!!

good

Yea, he got eaten

I.....This...How does he do it?I do not understand how this man has not made a career from hes writing yet.EndMaster is the fucking best at what he does,and im not sure that anything can compare to hes work.This,is the second best thing i have ever read (Including books) only to be outdone by hes best work,Eternal.8/8 m8.10 out of fucking 10,there is not a lot that comes close.

sorry about the 2nd comment, don't know if there's some rule about it or something, anyway just finished reading the story completely, and got the true ending, i have to say it's a lot more detailed than The Necromancer was, you can actually feel the emotional journey and struggle of the protagonist in a doomed and dreary world, and are captivated the whole way through. where the gods are is a good question raised throughout the series, they're obviously there with magic existing, and time travel. and that part about the holy might being summoned, have they left? or simple stopped caring is left up to the readers imagination, it really scales well, i would have liked to see more "true" endings and maybe an epilogue or two for the bard, definitely has the potential for this universe to be revisited i think, i wish you well in all your other story making endeavors :) 8/8

good game syncs up well with the original necromancer storyline, didn't catch on immediately that the captain was the necromancers father, rating of 7 for spelling errors and such, i personally chose the ending that synced up with my headcanon, there was no hell just peace, i do like the fact that in your games the MC's are Nameless adds to the immersion of it.

SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME

not sure how well I did but i died at the gates of hell just before i was abandoned by my team... was their an option of success? Totally cool storyline though, defiantly worth reading!

It was really fun :P I died in peace...

I'm not sure if I hate or love this story, ether way it still made me cry at the end.

Amazing

By far, my favourite game I have ever played on here. The attention to detail is astounding, and certain scenes were very heartbreaking to read, in particular the ending where he plays one last song.

It was interesting. But all it was was interesting. I feel it would be more exciting if you had more opportunities to "choose your story"

Wow. Just wow. I took the mercenary and military route to understand the whole story and let me tell you.. Wow. The ending was so depressing yet great because you basically force the reader/player to either love it or hate. It was a great experience and I'm delighted to give my feedback on this one. Bravo.

good, very good

That was a great little addition to the necromancer I still kind of want to see the adventures he will go on in the multiverse but this was a neat and lengthy story

Is their a ending where the undead don't win?

Final tie-in.

One last note, one last verse, damn this game brought tears to my eyes. Welp, time to replay it and see what the mercs have for me!

Play the Necromancer instead. Good game.

My first time going through this I wasn't satisfied but then a joined the ARMY and I had such an awesome time reading this. Truly Awesome story!

Holy shit... I nearly bloody cried at that ending. 20/8.

Everything feels inadequate now. The only fantasy ever to incite this kind of emotion for me was LOTR. Until this.

Damn, End. Just damn. This is beyond awesome. This is... flawless! Also, I enjoy the way you made Catalina and The Great Lich Lord into people, as opposed to just fantasy villains. I actually felt sorry for them.

Hell, I felt sorry for everyone in that story. Poor Mom. :(

I wonder what you do for a living; I would be truly baffled if it was anything other than a professional author.

I will now go ravenously devour your other stories. Good day.

This is the best story game I have ever had the pleasure of reading through, and playing

Feels like a teenage boy wrote this. dialogue is silly

That... was deep. Personally I've always enjoyed the concept of being a Bard, and I enjoy being so in Roleplaying games whenever possible. But this blew even the vague notion I had out of the water. A beautifully sad ending. I really appreciate it.

the more i read the more i dislike.

Pretty hard choices. But so far it seems very biased. If you make one bad choice and live, then the rest of your choices do not matter cause that one bad choice will kill you no matter what.

Woah! I thought that was cool! I love this!

survived 40 year after nuro just to play one last tune for the necromancers 8/8
great story
please write more

now i know who the other guy was.
it filled some plot holes from necromancer... 8/8

This was amazing... but the good guys can't win.

It is nice

Beautiful, touching and powerful. Fantastic storytelling as always by EndMaster, but I think this storygame shows a different side to his writing than usual. There's less incest, infant homicides and the like. The protagonist isn't a grumpy misanthropic badass tyrant. This is the story of just an ordinary guy doing his best to survive as everything he holds dear is slowly destroyed.

As other people say, the 'true' ending was a real tearjerker. It is one of my favourites out of all of this author's endings. Heck, it's probably in my top 10 favourite endings of all works of fiction.

The not so good ending was the final ending of the mercenary path. I know it was mentioned in the description that you can't 'win' but I was still disappointed. It felt like a very unsatisfying finish after having played through all the rest to get there.

I've read a few adventures in chooseyourstory. Death song stands out with the plot and the characters, but it needs some more polishing. I've felt some intensity here and there, but that's about it. Pretty fun and I was aghast at the twist at the end, although I was half expecting it, it was nice go see how things turned out. Keep on writing, I look forward for your next piece.

Not very exciting, but still well written. 4/8

The first game I played on this site was Eternal, and I loved it, but since then I've played Necromancer, Ground Zero, and this. I love your stories, I especially loved this one, the different nods to necromancer, especially in the real ending. Weird effectively having a conversation with the person I raised from a bumbling wizard into a God of Death, but I loved it. I'm going to play a lot more of your stuff.

This was a very nicely done choose-your-own-adventure story with a lot of choice and many paths and options. The story is large enough for replayability and a sense of adventure, but is compacted enough so that it doesn't lose its overall plot.

The endings were executed well, but I thought that the Last Song could have been lengthened out a little bit more, even if it was about time that the story had ended.

Overall, I can see that the author put a lot of time and effort into writing up this story, and it resulted in an enjoyable story overall. :)

This still remains my favorite story that Endmaster has written.

The whole story was actually quite enjoyable to read and go through. I only did one good run through with it and I ended up dying to the blades of the undead. I guess this taught me that there are some choices that may seem bad, but in the long run it is actually good for you. ++!

A fantastic new view point in the Necromancer universe. Really made me dislike the Necromancer.

7/8

very good storygame

Played this after finishing Necromancer, and let me say that the perspective flip is very much worth it. Touching in some places and depressing in others, the fact that the ultimate outcome was almost always the same didn't detract from the story. Definitely worth playing.

There was no Hell, just peace.

It was really well writen and I find it hard to see how every ending was "horrible", as I was led to believe. It took a while, but I believe I got that "win" ending. I managed to survive for 40 years after the Nuro incident and died peacefully with one last song. The story did get dry in parts though, and it was not so much a "choice" game rather than a surviving one; however, you are a brilliant writer and capture melancholy and death like no other - for this I applaud you.

I have played hell lot of cyoa before.. But never played such before.. Its simply the best..

Wow this is really sad. But the story was really amazing. I wish there were more stories in the Necromancer universe.

Wow the depressing elements are astonishing. There is an overhanging knowledge that you probably won't survive always. And when the end comes (and I liked how it's an end more than an epilogue) you feel it. I admire how much you got the reader to know and love the character and that makes the eventual close more striking

I would say its a a good side story to necromancer.

I liked it. It was a real story. I was only the soldier. It was a sad story, but I thought it was worthwhile.

I loved necromancer and the ending of the story was very good. It was overall very well written and one of my favorite stories.

Hmm, it was okay but a bit boring tbh :)

Better than the Necromancer...obviously

Amazing, but the difficulty should be a nine (Sleeping under an active Saturn V rocket) as I only know one "good" ending, although it might be the OCD that makes me only want the "happy" ending (or the best for my character, whatever) Endmaster, you should make more stories, the site will truly benefit from that.

Very good story and better than necromancer in my opinion.

I actually cried when reading this. It has so much feelings in it especially towards the end. Thank you for the good read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. It felt a little linear until I realized that it was going on at the same time as "Necromancer".

This deserves that 8. I really have nothing else to say in front of this incredibly well written out story.

Why? Why did I suffer through hell and playing music for all eternity?

I cant believe how you did it, the story was magnificent. I just could not stop reading. How you wrote it just made me able to imagine it. How you could ever come up with something like this is phenomenal.

If Necromancer is the war, Death Song is the fight. Beautiful.

Beautiful story! I spent the better part of the afternoon going through all of the scenarios. The one I decided to end on was a 'win' (though there is none in this story) for me!

Absolutely stunning! I never reached the good ending... I'm fairly certain a piece of my heart broke.

The entire story, especially the ending, was phenomenal. The common theme of loyalty throughout, dashed with plenty of action, humility, and inner monologues with depth. Overall, one of the most engaging and conclusive endings I've read-bringing joy to a world devoid of one. Thanks!

Odd in an extremely good way

Good story! I died though...

Lost for words.........no wait......the hell with it EPIC

The ending was sad but great, and I'm so glad to stay put throughout the entire game. There's a lot of emotions going on even with humor every now and then. Definitely enjoyed myself. :)

Great story. So glad big red was back. All I can say is keep up the good work.

To WightKnight:

Thanks for the comments, if you're looking for another "epic" there is always Eternal if you haven't read it already.

Dude, this was completely brilliant. I'm a normally stoic guy but the ending here was sad and perfect. I've been playing your games for a while now, my first being Necromancer, the inspiration for this one I guess? I would like you to know, that you have a nack for this, though sometimes your writing style is Dickish, you know making horrible humor ( a entertaining relief to some of your more severe stories).
Overall I am very pleased with Death Song and your other works. I certainly hope another epic tale of power and badassness is being made. I know I'm rambling but I would like to ask. Are you making anything currently and if so what is it?
I know and author doesn't reveal his secrets but I would like to know of this.
Thank you for the great game!

Awesome story with great storyline.

the final good ending made me smile, this was an amazing story and in my opinion much better then Necromancer.

Great story!

Very entertaining

Really good! But I didn't understand the whole army thing.

This is a very well-written story. Unfortunately, it has several typos, but it is exciting and full of detail. I didn't get a very good ending--I got killed by an army of the undead--but I had a lot of fun with it nonetheless. I'll definitely play it again and see what else the story has in store.

6/8

Beautiful, a truly moving piece of literature. I applaud you for your dedication and passion, sir.

Truly one of the best games around here! Totally loved every single second of it! Five *****s for sure!!! :-)

Such a sad story. I think it's just as good or better than Necromancer.

Amazing story as always Endmaster. Read it a long time ago but forgot to give it a rating at the end, just came by to give you one now.

After that amazingly touching ending, someone had the nerves to put tears on my face... incredibly great... hart to find the right words...

Better the Necro In my Op.

Outstanding, bravo.

This Was Awesome I've gone through most of the endings but the good ending was. . . . Something else. . . . It was Beautiful. This one deserves a 10 out of 8 please keep up the good work

Aww

This story was nice and smooth. I detected spelling errors very rarely but I still loved the choices! I ended being in hell and becoming big reds slave for music. Better than being eaten and scrapped out over and over huh?

absolutely incredible story.

I had a blast :D

Very well done.
A different perspective on necromancer. It lets you see the world from those that suffered and struggled to survive.
If you play it right I think your character is the last survivor in existance.
Definitley an equal.
Thank you, author.

It's depressing, Sad and even I know everyone would be "wtf" at the start they will know that Catalina is right, you'll lose them in a moment and you have to let go, even though I don't want to kill my own mom as a zombie +-+

the greatest story on this site hands down

I'm speechless. Everything was just...wow. Bravo.

Amazing game! I loved every ending and with each connection back to Necromancer i couldn't help but gush like a fan girl, I can't explain how happy i felt when my immediate prediction that the Merc. Captain was the Necromancer's father.

The story is beautifully played out and i can't help but love the fantasy world you've created. Thanks for giving even more glory to the great and powerful Necromancer, quick witted blood suckers, and warm hearted Bard!

Stay Corrupt,
~Kakuru

A good friend and leader at my church just moved on, and everyone's been crying and stuff, but as always, I didn't cry a tear. It's always been the way I am, I just don't really get emotional. I read your book, and now I'm all choked up. That was a freaking masterpiece. Eternal is one of my favorite books of all time, CYOA or otherwise, and Necromancer was great too, but this was just so unbelievably touching. That ending... Ugh. Seriously man, you need to polish this, necromancer, and eternal and send it to a publishing company. Eternal first, because I think it would get better overall reception, but all three in the long run. You could seriously be the next big writer, they'll supply editors to help polish even further. If you could choke me up, you've probably got the average reader lying in a pool of their own tears by the end of this. Absolutely spectacular, well done.

Depressing. But good. Be glad i do not like reese cups haha

That was an amazing story, even better than the original and the way it ended, beautiful, 8/8 easily one of the best stories I've read.

Best ending ever....im sad now.....

one last song... good ending! very good story telling.

You did a good job on this but it was sad.

So much more emotive and mature than the main necromancer story. The ending where you play your music for the reborn lich lord himself and his mistress was truly moving and part where you make love to two female vampires on the body of a dead mortal girl shows that the writer is capable of creating macabre and mature pieces. Many more parts like when the siter shoots herself shows a true understanding of emotion

This was definitely better than Reese's' Cups

So I have gotten the mercinary death ending and the one last verse ending i dont know which one i like they both make me sad :/

Great Just like necromancer! Loved how they intertwined!

dude this made me feel again

Well the only certain thing is death, but lets make it beautiful.

impresive game.
it's a pety that there isn't realy a "good" ending but i think it makes sense.
keepup the good work and make more games in the same universe

It was really good. I was happy with my ending too. Good job!

i am reading this one for my assignments, and i have never read the story like this.. it is a good story, but ending sucks, the ending "go to tulun border!"

It was a good ending keep up the good workman you are the most engaging choose your own adventure writer ever and I hope you make more your awesome

It was a good ending keep up the good workman you are the most engaging choose your own adventure writer ever and I hope you make more your awesome

Went through all stories. Great writing just all around. I usually do not leave comments. But honesty just great work.

love

Much more internal complexity than was in necromancer. Took me a while to get the best ending, but I think that the best ending is one that never ends, like in the necromancer epilogue.

I think I got the best ending. It made me very sad to see him die, but at least he died happy.

Interesting. It's the first game I've played on this site and I think it has potential. Unfortunately I got fried in the first few minutes, so I have to play it some more. Thanks for whetting my appetite though.

Give me a hug, i read this 6 times and I still cry

playing necromancer is supposed to be prerequisite for this one. i think this one is much better than necromancer since it has more story to it than the self centered necromancer.

Well humans are supposed to feel happiness even in despair and regret.

Absolutely beautiful ending

Amazing

Wow. When I played Necromancer I felt like I my conquest was Manifest Destiny, I deserved to do this, it was my FATE!

After playing Death Song, I realised what it would be like to be on the wrong end of that war. Just the insanity setting in... I naturally played this AFTER Necromancer, so I understood what was going on with him...

I think that if these were songs, Necromancer would be this loud orchestra of anger and triumph, and Death Song would be just that, a sweet, sad song that slowly die out, fittingly played upon the lute.

This actually brought tears to my eyes at the end.

Thank You, for writing a tale of what happened to us, the common man.
Thank you for making this art.

Really really good, but you know that already.
One small thing I'd like to suggest though. The mercenary path doesn't really seems to be that fleshed out. I'd be great to be able to live through the Venix attack. I know in the Necromancer story line, none of the company survives the attack. However someone needed to, I mean someone needs to survive and tell the tale.

You're a mean one, making me cry like that.
A beautiful story, I enjoyed it immensely.

I absolutely loved this. I find it pretty amazing such a good story could be written with the basic editor. Great job!

as far as I can tell got the final Ending... i can say I liked it( 8/8 ) but it made me feel flat. Not sure how else to put it after spending 3 hrs trying to get the Final ending.

Fun ending/ Playing music forever

this was such a good take on the original. loved it

Really well made. Coming off from Necromancer, this story reflects what happens on the other side of the spectrum. The power of music is truly amazing.

This was an excellent story. I died many times, but the satisfaction of completing the story made up for it.The ending was also fabulous.

This story is definitely one of my faves ^^

This was...amazing. I actually skipped most of the text because I couldn't be bothered to read it, but anyways, it was a great story. The only problem I have is all the swearing. It seems to me that if all a person does in the story is swear, then there isn't much point in it.

Just asking: Can you make a sequel to Necromancer? I would like to see a story in the other world, with Catalina and Serena, that lasts until the main character "dies".

Oh my... those last words. In addition to being a well written piece on a parallel story line to necromancer, I dont think this type of interactive fiction can be replicated.

gay

Really enjoyed this. Excited to play through it again

Once again I'm stunned by yet another story. I once said that necromancer was the best of them all, but I take that back. I want to see more of this work of excellency, where you touch everyone deep down with something simply and impossible to explain. In all honesty, some of your stories are one of the few that leaves me emotionally satisfied. I've only read a handfull of those books, and your stories are counted with them.

Lots of Blood!!!!!!!!!

This story is awesome! It is much better then Necromancer, but if you like this you should play Necromancer too!

Spoilers!!
I would like if you could die of age as a merc too..

That game was the bomb.com.
make more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only thing i ask is... can you make a game with a choice between girl/boy???
that'd be awesome, thanks:)

With just some continuity nod and call back to the Necromancer,i know that this is one hell of a masterpiece.
I rated it 8/8,nice work!

Best game ever.

nice work loved it yay

Good story,but a little dramatic.Not as funny as necromancer.

Nice Idea, but I felt forced into the the choices I made, can't say I disliked it but, would I recomended it.... no I'm sorry

It's definitely far better than Necromancer. I think my only complaint was the lack of a true achievable good ending. I mean everything leads to your eventual death. Couldn't you have any where you actually survive? I mean there were several Necromancer endings in which the Necromancer died, you could have had a few Death Song endings take place in that cannon.

Another wow.

... speechless

Okay, its gone now.
Anyway, both Necromancer and this is a good story, Too bad there is no greater variety in endings and that you destined a specific ending "true" in both of them. Too bad but understandable.

I do hope you will make a timemage story in the future through, one where even a death god could get a revised timeline, ah yes and get for all characters including a certain artist and the family of a half-elf a happier life. Maybe you could make the death god/necromancer the main villain of that story or something, and the timemage the hero.

It was very nice seeing the point of view in that war of a soldier its sad how it ends

Yes, that one last song will never be replicated. So does this story.

Made my cry. I am one big lover of music, and this story just hits home. Thanks for the good cry you've given me.

Got to one last song...
All I got to say is wow...

One word: Beautiful

Every time I read this I am left speechless. Thank you.

Absolutely incredible. And depressing. But mostly incredible.

A beautiful companion story to Necromancer. Both stories brought me tears. Unfortunately it makes me much more nervous about writing my own stories for the site.

Had another go. Very, very good, as with all of your stories. You deserve more rewards. You deserve necromencyship. Lol!

I was sitting at the computer for over an hour, trying every combination possible! This may be the best one here.

Amazing story. Was enthralled from the start, kinda wish Necromancer had more mention of this "bard's" story (played that first of course), but I understand why. Seemed more like you were in the shadow of death the whole time, and it complements the primary story well from Necromancer; I was always left wondering what was going on over on the "good side" during that story. Outstanding addition to that world with a great perspective and an even greater message at the end. Really enjoyed this endmaster keep it up!

The ending was really touching. Personally, I enjoyed this more so than Necromancer, although that's partly because I enjoy the 'story' part of a storygame more so than the 'game' part. Thank you for writing this. It was truly a great piece of writing.

Amazing

Actually I'm pretty sure given the vile nature of demons in various forms of media (books, movies, etc.), they'd probably be swearing a lot more than mercenaries.

Hi there endmaster. I must say, that the story was good. I made a deal with Big Red,, something which I shouldn't have done, according to Necromancer. Anyway, the only thing disappointing me is your constant use of foul language. I like swearing, but sometimes it fits, sometimes it don't. I could never imagine a demon swearing. It suits for the mercenaries though. You seem to write humorus stories, or at least, destructive once :D so for future stories, please save the tuff language until needed. Don't waste them everywhere, or they'll loose their effect on the player.

This is...epic.Wow...

Good job! nice complex story.

better now because I lasted longer. he

Amazing game the last ending is really touching,flowing and beautiful. With a thoughtful take on Necromancer from the "good side". It really takes on the view of good and evil and has a wonderful mix of honestly amazing survival skills and sheer flippin' luck. Bravo, you should make more games like this. Encore

Really great story with an equaly great ending. Goes well with Necromancer but still stands on it's own. My only complaint is that there is only 1 choice that doesn't kill you on the same page.

It was interesting and fun to see how it turned out

Somehow, I got to the end. It was a very touching story. I have played your original one where i am the the Lich King, but somehow, i feel since i found the true ending, that this one was much more personal. It reminds me simply about life going on, and doing our best with our own meager talents. Life isn't what we always expect and the only fact of life is death. All I can say, for this story, I sincerely thank you, I look forward to any other stories you will write in the future.

;_;

This story is an awesome counterpart to Necromancer and the occasional grammatical error does nothing to hinder its greatness. My only substantial complaint is that there is a long stretch before the best ending that is rather do or die and it becomes tiresome to navigate constantly. It's not a huge complaint and this story is still really amazing.

So the best ending means that the entire world dies and becomes undead???? I thought that would be the worst ending. You should be more optimistic. Still, 8/8

if you wanted to reply to any of my posts before, my name is jacob tooze.
this was a good test of my memory of the necromancer game, too bad i knew the maincharacter was doomed from the start.

I loved this so much that I played it over and over until I found every possible ending. They're all so depressing, but I like depressing endings. ^_^

Absolutely amazing ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVdGEPA-Nxc

Listen to ^ when you reach the "epilogue" of the story.

This was amazing.

Even more engrossing than Necromancer.

I liked it immensely. The options were fair, the decisions were challenging. Overall, a very good use of my down time.

Argh, I forgot to rate this the first time I played this as a guest. Great story, and it was able to hammer every emotion in my brain. As usual, your stories are the best among all of ours, and I thank you for that. By the way, the difficulty shouldn't be 8/8, it should be 1/8. You know, there is no way to "win". Death is one persistent bastard!

I think I won. I got what happened to some one (me) in Necromancer. Great game, almost as good as necromancer.

Wonderful story. It's filled with so much melancholy and depression yet in a way it is beautiful.

good game :)

A nice Equel to Necro.

...So the only option is death? Period? I love this story, mind you, but knowing that kind of... spoils things. It'd be nice if there was at least ONE path that allowed you to live. I am more or less emotionally satisfied with the good death, but... it still seems a tad narrow if no path leads to living.

Loads of fun great story

Well, that's odd, why do I feel like I just played a cross over between Ragnarok Online, Hunger Games, and your Necromancer story?

... You know, actually, that would be kinda epic. In any case, I am pretty fond of this one, it's a great branch off from the Necromancer storyline.

(Speaking of, I'm fairly certain Necromancer is one of the best thought out and well-written stories on here, even if it isn't much of a real -game-.) It's a long one, of course, which means I won't be finishing it today. I look forward to another play-through, though. Nice work.

Very good, all things considered. Fantastic story, though I wished there were less stereotypical fantasy creatures. Nearly as good as your post apocalyptic one!

A truly brilliant ending, I want all those who didn't like the ending to go back and look at it in a different light. The ending is not "Happy" it is more than that, it is the definition of literary genius. It reflects not only upon the story, but upon the nature of the reader. It causes them to think, more deeply than any "and they lived happily ever after" could. Well done to you Endmaster, you truly are a genius.

Depressingly awesome

I...i don't know what to say. I'm pissed off. You...you made an epic with...with no HA;-PPY ending. How... You evil. You are worse than Lich lord. Yes. I spend 1 hour on this...only to die??? I mean.. burn in hell...may lich lord eat you...sick..wait , what's your address...i'm sending MasterENDER...beware...fack...you selfish merciless master...even my maths teacher isn't that (bleep)...how dare you do this to me....eat yourself endie....aaaaaaahhhh....(bleep).....AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHhhhhh...8/8

wha? i cant win i tried all of the end choices before that n before that some got me killed sooner! but i couldnt win maybe if i went way back near the beggining!!!!!and im not going to!!! choose ur own boredom n stay away from it im not really mad but just so you know

amazing... totally sucked me into the story and it was interesting to see another perspective. 8/8

Very good. Not quite as engrosing as necromancer, personally, but it was meant to be more of a side story anyway. Enjoyed it all, especially the lesson of "nature."
Can't wait for more (:

Another excellent but sad story.

A great story that really seems to tie in perfectly to Necromancer. Overall, very fun and interesting. 8/8

The only storygame ever to make me cry. 8/8. I got to play for the Lich Lord. I was hoping I could stop him, but I'd already played Necromancer, so I knew all my efforts were futile.

Wow. I think that sums it up.

just like necromancer i loved this one. good story line i think i 'won' i died playing music so that better than being riped apart by demons i guess,lol. hope you have more like this

Best one, tremendous and like a huge castle writing.

Its one of the best here, Necromancer is better though. Still it deserves 8. Bring it...

I really love this universe and time period. Well done, like Necromancer. I love the playing for Death ending. Wonderful.

Great Game!

Its better then the first one and I think I found the best ending,It is the one where you live the longest and play music for The Lich King and Catalina when you die.

better than the necromancer. :)

amazing! this is even better than Necromancer. I've got to go back for the other endings.

That was really entertaining and it kept me hooked right 'till the end. Got a rather ironic and bittersweet ending. I had actually forgotten about this site for a while, but I think you've pulled me back in. I'll probably play again to see another ending.

Although the text was extremely long, it didn't feel cumbersome to read, and it somehow set the flow for the game. I really enjoyed this story. Wonderful job!

Would make atilla the hun cry

i look forward to seeing similar stories like this

Good Job. I enjoyed it very much!

Heh, well I tend to focus on story based stuff rather than the game aspect. I've checked out CoG and even posted there a few times. Its certainly a cool site, but I'm not sure if my stuff would fit most of the audience over there.

Still anything is possible, so who knows maybe one day when I have a lot more time.

Wow. Simply amazing, Endmaster.
I have a request for you. I am from Choice of Games and would love to see a Choice Script game by you, and so would many other people. Please consider this.

best srory since the last book written by peter jackson ok that might be a bit of a stretch but its really good my personal favorite of your works

Dear god, that final "good" ending was lovely. I really enjoyed this, as it was a far more thoughtful take (in my opinion) on Necromancer's events. Well written, often amusing, and heart-rendingly sad at the very end. Bravo.

awesome

Awesome, just amazing. About as good the narratives of dragon age and skyrim

Loved it. Great story and a compelling background world.

That was an amazing story. The ending moved me almost to tears. My only wish is that it had been a happier ending but I supose that this ending was mentioned to be.

This story is amazing, i recommend it to everyone

Lol, everyone should know better than to trust a demon!

Damn! I got damned!

Wasnt the ending i was expecting xD, what i get for making deals with the devil. xD

I got the ending were you meet Catalina and, well, you in another perspective..... loved the story, make more in this universe.

Just as good,i not better than Necromancer

This was amazing I only died a few times but i had pandora on and when I got what I thought was the true ending I was sad. This was just great dude and I loved the necromancer so seeing this in the same world was cool to just saying this was awesome.

Dear god that was amazing o-o! This has to be the best story iv read so far on this site!!! It must be in your nature to write, because like him, you do it very very well.

Such a sad but happy ending fantastic work!

T^T
It took me forever to reach an ending I liked...with my constant dying.......
But it was well worth it!
The story is beautiful <3

this is so sad... and awesome!

I loved it:) Great story.

Awesome story, read it throughout the day at school. Made me want to finish my work quickly.

I chose to join the mercenaries, and stuck with them to the bitter end, and...it made me cry a little. A very good story. Thank you so much for writing it. :)

If you keep writing like this I might never leave the house

Pretty amazing, yepp thats all

Ouch... endmaster, I love it.

Death while fighting along side the capt and his son... Acceptable

long and good

A somewhat happy ending if you can get it. It's quite enlightening when you reach it.

Great.

A Find Edition To The Necromancer Being The Person That I Killed When Playing Necromancer Is A Bit Ironic And Kinda Piss Of Because I Choose To Be A God But Overall A very Good Game Taken Me 9 Hours Straight To Beat The Game

I'll admit it, I teared up when I read the end. Super powerful stuff, especially considering how music is such an important aspect of my life. The writing was superb and the storyline both gripping and deep. Overall, you have created something truly amazing. Hats off to you, EndMaster!

that was cool! i liked how you did the lich lord guy and velzix. it was really good!

This was beautiful. Especially the ending. I know the go back button is cheating, but whatever.

Well... that was the most depressing story I've ever read. Amazingly well written, but I had to mark it down a bit for the ending. It seemed like in the end you just accepted Cat's reasoning despite it basically being, "Don't blame him for his choices." I didn't have a problem with the answer you actually gave, it just seems like he basically came to it because she said "Oh, he can't help but be a mass murdering psychotic asshole." He was a human just like anyone else, he made the choice to kill the world. It's just that from the way the conversation played out it seemed like she convinced you to play for her, but at the end it seemed more like you realized it didn't matter, and you just played for yourself...

This is one of my favorite games on the site. Every time I read the ending, I can feel tears start to form.

I love your work, and this is no exception. I almost felt tears form at the end.

Outstanding! You should expand on this series, it is probably my favorite storyline on site.

As much as I liked Necromancer, I must say that this one takes me to a much deeper place. The story is far more captivating, especially when following a specific path.
This story seems more mature to me, with far more personal loss and sacrifice. The emotions somehow seem more... real or relatable, and you get to understand not only the main character's point of view, but also those around him.
All in all it's a great story that gives a completely different perspective from its "equal".
Thank you.

This story is okay, don't really like it like the necromancer.. Maybe you should do a sequel of that since that's the most popular story you've ever created, pretty sure it's in high demand.

The game is almost perfect. Only the endings sucked ( I played both versions - merc and military ), probably cuz im a sucker for ''good winning'' endings... but that's just me

I enjoyed that a lot!

Not bad. I like the characterization, but I didn't really "feel" the story too much. However, it was well-written and descriptive. 7/8

an excellent story the army ending was quite moving and I applaud you good author

The story really draws you in, love it. Too bad i died on my first try lol

Wonderful, just wonderful.

Dark.....

Ah, quite the marvelous little addition to the Necromancer universe, to be sure! It's a bit heartbreaking that, far as I can tell, there is no true good ending, but I suppose that makes sense, going off the Canon ending of Necromancer.

Still, this was a marvelous little game nonetheless. I am unsure if I found the true "ending" of sorts, but it was a great play either way. Thank you for adding this.

Excellent writing abilities. Good sound storyline. Gonna read again and make better decisions!! Death sucks.

awesome story

This was awesome! I loved it. Wow. What a great game. I played Necromancer and was wondering how this would end and it ended better than I thought. 8/8!

I liked Necromancer more but this story has it merits. At least in my ending he died doing what he loved. I think that is some sort of moral message but I really could care less. This was a wonderful story and I think it paralleled and maybe gave more information on The God of Death in the end.

really good

Really fun

I got a rather unpleasant ending... but I suppose it could be worse. I could have chosen the military path. In any case, I liked reading through this story. It parallels the Neromancer without really having a whole lot to do with it. Two sides of the same coin. It was a great read.

lol, not that it might not be true, but I think it's funny that the comment before mine came from a guy who's played at most 26 stories haha.

I FRIGGING LOVED it endmaster i dont know how you do it but by far your the best novelist on myadventuegame

Outstanding second take on the world of the Necromancer. The protagonist is very likable and characterization is done quite masterfully.
Thanks EndMaster, please expand on the universe you created. Maybe prequels?

Finished reading Necromancer and this one... well what to say? This is not my genre at all but I still liked it very much.

I liked the story a lot, and there is a clear show of great effort put into this story. However, I wasn't so keen on reading such a large amount of text each page to then only have two options, where one usually lead to my death.

That was... beautiful.

I liked the story! But the reading to decision-making ratio was too tilted toward reading. I wanted shorter bites of text and more options.

I've gotten the "true" ending, and I must say, it's extremely deep.

ending sucked but the story was great

Job well done! Easily one of the best story games I've ever played!:)

Absolutely exceptional. Easily on par with the best of your other stories--and that is saying something.

great game, so awesome to find a game that is not linear!

Nicely written, and proof that a good story doesn't have to have a happy ending. :)

Amazing. Taken with Necromancer, it's very cool how the stories overlap and how you handle the necromancer's sister. Yes, there are typos--but in this case, it's far more the story that counts, and you have that without a doubt.

Nice ending! Keep it up. :D

amazing

Incredible ending

Great companion story to Necromancer and your other stories. I even got the "good" ending where I played the last song for the big bad boss. I gave it a 7, a few minor flaws kept it from being an eight. There were a few typos, missing words, etc, but this story is so long it might not be worth the time to comb it over looking for them. I don't know how you get the time to write all these ridiculously long epics, but great job.

nice story

Cool game.

This is really fuckin awesome. I think one of your greatest talents, is writing from the brutes point of view.
"these are the rip off your head and shit in your neck kind"
that's genius right there :D

I have to say that this was terrific! Really liked the story (although I only did it as the soldier, the mercenary part will have to wait until another time)! I recommend this to anyone with the patience to appreciate great storytelling.

All right, this one was pretty decent.