Invasion

The rising tide of technological unemployment has left millions with only one option: Barliona, the government-backed virtual world. Brody West is one such person — a professional project manager with thirty years of experience who refuses to lose heart. With a clear goal and a structured plan, Brody enters Barliona determined to thrive where others flounder. But powerful rivals aren't about to welcome another competitor into their territory.

Building a clan does not necessarily mean making it successful. Kvalen and Eradani must walk the hard path from the foundations of their castle to victory in inter-clan conflicts before they'll be recognized among the location's top clans. Their adversaries, however, are not sitting idle. No dominant clan needs another competitor — and so Kvalen and Eradani are being hunted. Bugles sound as players sharpen swords and draw arrows. But have the contestants accounted for all the factors in this dubious undertaking? In this equation, not all variables are known.

Developing a clan is no easy task — enemies play dirty, friends seek their own gain, and locals provide endless impossible demands. It would be manageable, were it not for one complication: two mighty clans yearn to pass through the portals of Altameda, and Kvalen happens to know how. He must decide which clan to ally with, where the portals lead, and — most importantly — what personal gain can be secured along the way.