Clan Dominance: The Sleepless Ones Series

Rostislav Grokhotov, an ordinary clerk working for a privately-owned company, just wanted to earn some extra money in the game. He had no specific plans for his new character. Little did he know that his new nickname Rosgard would become the game's next greatest legend. Even the game's Creche zone may contain items of interest if you're observant enough. Rosgard's find didn't just change his own life drastically-it enveloped an entire game world in turmoil to boot! The adventuring player becomes a valued prize for Waldyra's leading clans. Our hero has to conceal his real name, since he's in danger in the real world as well, and that's no game anymore. There are millions at stake- and the currency in question isn't Monopoly money. Rosgard holds the key to wealth and power in both worlds. Should you play your own game or throw in your lot with the strongest? This is the question that needs to be answered by the protagonist, whose luck is incredible. Whose side does one take without becoming a pawn in anyone's game?

Nothing is ever given freely. One has to pay the full price for everything one gets. Easy money for a seemingly minor quest in a game? Well, you're obviously being played for a mark. Suddenly stumbled upon a unique spell coveted by the entire world of Waldyra? That automatically makes you the quarry for the game's top clans, each of which will be hunting you-IRL as well as inside the game. Or have you, perhaps, chanced upon a gift from a legendary set? Expect trouble for certain, for there's a horrendous creature hunting you now, intending to take your life eventually-it's but a question of time. And yet, despair not! Deal with things resolutely instead of going with the flow. You've got to act; you've got to play your own game. That's the only way of becoming a legend of Waldyra. You cannot run from your problems forever-at some point, you'll still have to face them, so face them on your own terms. Talking to someone who betrayed you in the past (as you may have been thinking) would probably be a good start. Or, perhaps, addressing the menace and turning the tables. Who said the quarry couldn't become the hunter once again? Oh, and there's another thing to think of: the team you'll be doing it with. Solitary warriors don't win any battles, even if they can have all the fun in the world frolicking on their own.

Being a unique player has its advantages, but comes fraught with quite a few problems. Having become the owner of a spell capable of removing the magic veil from an unexplored continent, Rosgard has to prepare himself for the role of the Navigator, the only one who can lead the expedition across the ocean. Should he fail to do so, the spell will be taken away by the game's administration. The desire to become a game legend conflicts with the protagonist's adventurous spirit, which gets in the way of leveling up the character consistently. The virtual world of Waldyra is full of secrets, after all-such as the Silver Legend, a mysterious set of armor that's been scattered all across the virtual world; some of the items no longer traceable. Rosgard's love for adventure is shared by kindred spirits who gather around him, ready to take any risk and dive headfirst into any rabbit hole just to see how far it goes. In the meantime, top clans are still looking for the Great Navigator to either convince or coerce him into joining them. There's never a minute's peace for him in either world-the real or the virtual. The clan of the Sleepless Ones is hot on his trail, while the game presents Rosgard and his friends with another challenge they find hard to resist.

If someone offers you to make a few quick and easy bucks, there's got to be a catch somewhere. A seemingly trifling quest in the virtual world of Waldyra is an excellent opportunity to earn some money, right? It's just that things never quite work out that way. Rostislav Grokhotov does not want to become anyone's pawn. Therefore, his unexpected acquisition makes him ponder his own goals. Having become the sole owner of a unique spell coveted by top-ranking clans, he no longer wants to go with the flow. That way would only lead to ruin and obscurity. He'd need to go all in-and to have a good plan. With several more contingency plans for good measure. What are the opportunities available to someone in the possession of a unique spell capable of dispelling the veil over the unexplored continent of Zar'Graad? What is the mystery of the legendary Silver Legend set of armor? And what exactly is the game played by the Albatross clan that has hired him? Those are but the first few questions bothering Rostislav, on his way to become a legend in the game world of Waldyra.

Rosgard is in dire need of leveling up and acquiring new skills to use his unique spell. And yet Waldyra thwarts his efforts by offering him another temptation. How could one fail to use the opportunity of visiting a mysterious and unexplored location known as The Great Beyond? Even though the most powerful clan in Waldyra-The Sleepless Ones-is joining him, the journey is bound to be a rough ride. Still, Rosgard hardly has any choice in the matter. After all, his pet Tyrant, the black and white wolf cub, is one of the keys to The Great Beyond. The famous Silver Legend item set doesn't let him forget about it, either. He receives new information about some of the artifacts that are part of the set in question, and he has to act quickly, lest someone more cunning beats him to the set. Besides, he has plenty of other issues to take care of-both in Waldyra and IRL. Rosgard will have to think really hard in order to get the prize and make sure he keeps the title of the Great Navigator.

Rosgard has become the owner of a unique spell that can blaze a trail to the lost continent, thus leaving himself with no choice in the matter. His character will have to become a great deal stronger before the Great Expedition begins, or he'll have to forfeit the spell and pass it on to somebody else. However, the game's presented Rosgard and his team with a new challenge-now they have to accept the ultimatum of an aggressive underwater race known as the crabbers and set off on a difficult and dangerous quest which they dare not fail for fear of horrible repercussions. At the same time, the identity of the Great Navigator is becoming less of a secret as more people learn that the player in question is really Rosgard. Things get dangerous, and our hero has to lay low in the real world as well as the game-there are millions of dollars involved, after all. Ros could really do with his father's help right now. The Sleepless Ones is another factor that needs to be accounted for, since they want Rosgard to stand beneath their banners. Yet the Navigator wishes no conflict with the game's top clan, even though he values his own freedom above everything. Should he keep on playing his own game-or join the strongest clan? It's a tough choice, and the time before the Great Expedition keeps on ticking away.

It's time for the Great Navigator Rosgard to lead his seafaring armadas toward the far-off new continent. Waldyra's players are impatient to get there. But instead, Rosgard becomes a father. Although his mischievous daughter is only a digital creation of this virtual world, the challenges of being a father are the same. Besides, she isn't a child anymore but a restless teen. The girl is a potential goddess in the making, and her arrival into this world isn't exactly welcome by the gods of old whose thrones are getting a bit shaky. New gods like herself offer gifts to their would-be followers, stripping the old gods of their dwindling flocks and with them, the divine energy that sustains them. With a considerable drop in power, the old gods risk being thrown down into the divine hell of Tantarial. No one wants to go to hell, and gods are no exception. The wicked goddess Guorra embarks on a veritable headhunt looking for the girl who's now in mortal danger. So Rosgard has no choice. He's obliged to take his little girl with him on his perilous journey. And now he's busy leveling up while preparing for his great voyage which promises new puzzles and mysteries in his discovery of Waldyra.

As Julius Caesar said as he crossed the Rubicon, "alea iacta est"-"the die is cast." All the bridges have been burned. The contract with the clan of the Sleepless Ones has been signed, and Rosgard will begin the expedition under their banners. The Black Queen is in the lead-an enormous ship masked as an island sets forth to bring the fleets to a new continent concealed under a magical veil that can only be parted by a single player-namely, Rosgard. The dominance of the Sleepless Ones may have a flip side to it. Other clans have had to put up with their superiority for a long enough time-this might be the perfect moment to drive a dagger in the back of the uppity Black Baroness. This is a good time for the balance of power to shift drastically-on the old continent and throughout Waldyra. The journey to Zar'Graad won't be easy. Rosgard and his team will be in the very thick of naval warfare with no quarter given. And this is just the beginning of a long journey. What might lie ahead?

Rosgard the Great Navigator and his comrades-in-arms continue their journey as part of the armada of the Sleepless Ones to the shores of Zar'Graad, impatient to tear off its magical veil and be the first to step onto the new continent. The first trailblazers can expect some truly impressive bonuses-so even though no one yet knows what those rewards might be, the stakes are just too high to come in second. The two archipelagos-the Ring of Peace and the Wings of War-are only a stopover on the clan's way to their ultimate prize. But even there Rosgard manages to excel, his actions influencing the life and power balance in the entire digital world of Waldyra. And don't forget, he's still to run the final stretch of the race, with his evil rivals breathing down his neck. They'd do anything to prevent the Sleepless Ones from getting the upper hand. Rosgard's triumph looms ever closer-but will his mission succeed? How will this long-winded story pan out? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in Book 9.