Chapter Text
September 2003
Arthur Lowe was the middle-aged, stubby, and balding senior writer of the lifestyle section of the Daily Prophet. In his younger days, he was a diligent journalist who would attend the Annual Wizarding London Toy Convention and visit every booth to discover exciting new games and toys to introduce to the general public. But 20 years of seeing almost exactly the same things—new models of broomsticks that were just minutely better than last year's model, new versions of Wizard Chess with different character designs, playing cards with some variation of reactions to a player's wins or losses, and nightmarish magicked dolls that interacted with children (Arthur had made it a rule to never write about those because he thought they were incredibly creepy)—he had long since given up hope to find anything truly innovative at the convention and attended it purely for the free booze and the fine looking show girls.
It was the pretty smile of a tall, shapely brunette in emerald green that first drew him to Booth 342 at the convention in September of 2003. "Welcome to the Armandian Entertainment Booth," the girl said to Arthur when he walked nearer.
He only noticed the lack of any recognizable toys at the booth when he was a few feet away. It made him just curious enough to ask, "What kind of games are you presenting?"
The girl gestured at the strange eyewear and earpiece that Arthur thought was part of her costume. "We present Heafen, a magic based virtual reality role playing game where you're the hero of a kingdom in peril. Would you like to give it a try?"
The terms "virtual reality" and "role playing game" were completely foreign terms to him and Arthur took a mental note to find out if those were one of those "young people" terms that he should know about. He hadn't planned to waste any time trying out any games at the convention floor that day, but the girl gave his arm a warm squeeze and another coy smile and he decided the free martinis at the convention VIP lounge could wait.
He put on the eyewear and earpiece.
"Are you ready, sir?"
He gave a small shrug. "I guess so."
For a moment, nothing happened, then, the convention floor melted out of existence. When his surroundings stabilized again, he was suddenly standing in thick mud next to a medieval-looking gatehouse. The sign on the stone wall told him he was in Yolmaf, a village in the kingdom of Valencia.
When his ten minutes of demo game time was up, he had just finished killing a giant with a broad sword and a few extremely impressive fire magic spells that he would never be able cast in real life. It took him a few seconds before he readjusted to reality, and for the realization that he had a taste of something truly extraordinary to hit him. "What is this game called again?"
"Heafen, by Armandian Entertainment."
Arthur would spend the rest of his day telling his peers all about the wonders of Heafen.
By the end of the 3-day convention, everyone was talking about Heafen and Armandian Entertainment. Booth 342 would have a line that wrapped around the corner, and Heafen was voted Game of the Convention by a record-breaking margin.
The rest, as they say, is history.
There was a world before Heafen, and another after it.