Specters of the Deep

In life, you were a legendary hero. Now, you’ll rise from the grave as a ghost to defend your country in its hour of greatest need! Defy dragons, duel the dead, and face the nightmare at the bottom of the sea!

Specters of the Deep is an interactive epic fantasy novel by Abigail C. Trevor, author of Heroes of Myth and Stars Arisen. It’s entirely text-based, 1 million words and hundreds of choices, without graphics or sound effects, fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

Centuries ago, you were the finest warrior that the island nation of Galdrin had ever known. The realm was strong and prosperous, upheld by the might of the Eye of the Serpent, a magical artifact bonded to the monarch—and by your might, too. You protected the people and defended the crown; when the dragons emerged from their seclusion, you won the honor of being the king’s emissary to them and forged a powerful alliance.  

Then, you fell in battle at the hands of your greatest rival, dead before your time. 

But now you awake, called forth from your tomb to save the realm from even greater peril. With your new spectral form come new powers: the ability to pass through solid walls and float high above the earth, command over other ghosts, and the potential to strike fear into the hearts of the living. You will need every bit of that power in this new age of crisis. The royal family is shattered and divided, with the young king clinging to scraps of his former power while his connection to the Eye of the Serpent hangs in the balance. Anti-monarchist rebels shout in the streets and political rivals seek to extend their power across the sea. Galdrin’s neighboring nation lies beneath the waves, sunk by cataclysmic earthquakes. Worst of all, the mighty dragons are withdrawing from the alliance you built centuries ago, and you may be the only one who can win them back. 

What’s more, you aren’t the only specter on Galdrin’s shores. There’s an army of ghosts crawling out of the water, tearing at the foundations of the castle. Sometimes, you can hear the voice that commands them. Something is waiting at the bottom of the ocean—and it wants you back.

If Galdrin is to survive, you must rise as its hero once more, and join an epic battle for the Eye of the Serpent, power over the ocean, and the realm itself.

• Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bisexual, monogamous, polyamorous, asexual, and/or aromantic

• Battle enemies old and new as a ghost, commanding spectral armies and passing invisibly through walls, and inspiring dread in the hearts of your foes.

• Romance a troubled king, a rebellious prince, a clever wizard, a daring dragon, or a strangely familiar ghost.

• Restore the ancient arcane power of Galdrin’s monarchy, or embrace modernity and forge a new path forward for the realm.

• Search for lost treasure and buried secrets in a sunken kingdom as you plunge to the depths of the ocean — and seek out the source of the monstrous voice you hear in your mind.

• Build a new body and reclaim a place among the living, or embrace your spectral form to endure as a ghost.

• Avenge your own death and find a way to set old enmities aside — or even rekindle old flames of love.

What nightmare lies in the deep?