The Fall of the House of Usher

Original Story

The narrator approaches the gloomy house of usher on horseback. The sight fills him with dread, even more so when he sees its reflection in the tarn by the house. The narrator was summoned by the lord of the house and boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, who is ill, both physically and mentally. The lineage of Usher has not branched out, but persisted in a straight line from ancestors to descendants, with Roderick being the only current Usher. The house looks dilapidated, but oddly intact as a whole, with a peculiar zigzag fissure propagating from the roof into the tarn.

Upon the narrator's arrival, a servant takes the horse, and the narrator enters the house. A valet guides him to the lord's studio. On the way, they pass armorial trophies, and the physician, who accosts the narrator with trepidation. They arrive in the large studio, which looks lifeless. The narrator is greeted by Roderick, who looks like a husk of his former humanity. His behavior seems erratic, and so does his voice.

Roderick describes his illness as hereditary, and causing him to be agitated and overwhelmed by nearly everything his senses register. He is terrified by the events of the future, and speaks of a shadowy influence that looms over the estate.

Conversion to Playable Map

The tarn forms a mirror of the real house. The first boss consists of beings from a mirrored world attempting to cross over. A dull vapor lies over the tarn.