Prince of Persia

=== Setting ===
Prince of Persia takes place in an undefined ancient Persian city-state based heavily around the religion of Zoroastrianism. A thousand years before the events of the game take place, there was a struggle for power between the gods Ahriman and Ormazd. The outcome of the struggle was that Ormazd and his people, the Ahura, managed to imprison Ahriman and his minions, the Corrupted, in a tree. Ormazd then left the world, leaving the Ahura to make sure Ahriman remains secure. They are successful for a thousand years, at which point the Ahura started to lose their powers, so they leave. Shortly before the events of the game, Ahriman is about to be freed again.



Characters

Prince of Persia's protagonist is a nameless adventurer in search of fortune. The adventurer is accompanied by an Ahura named Elika, whose race has forsaken the duty given to them by the god of light, Ormazd, and intend to set free the main antagonist, Ahriman, the god of darkness who was imprisoned by Ormazd. He is intent on conquering the entire universe upon his liberation. The Mourning King appears as an antagonist, intent on fulfilling his deal with Ahriman in return for the resurrection of his daughter, Elika. The Corrupted, four rulers Ahriman chose to aid him in conquering Ormazd, also appear as antagonists. They were imprisoned with him for a thousand years.
The Hunter is one of the Corrupted. He was a prince who enjoyed hunting, but soon became too good at hunting. Ahriman successfully made a deal with the Hunter that, in exchange for his soul, Ahriman would allow him to hunt a creature more satisfying than any he has hunted before. Another of the Corrupted is the Alchemist. He was an Ahura scientist who felt he was close to achieving immortality when his health started to fail. The Alchemist asked Ormazd for a longer lifespan to complete his research, but when he was refused, Ahriman offered him immortality in exchange for his soul. The third Corrupted is called the Concubine. She was a woman skilled in politics who revered men of power. She was involved with a man, but was ultimately beaten by another woman, scarred and stripped of her beauty and influence. The Concubine then exchanged her soul for the power of illusion with Ahriman. The fourth and strongest of the Corrupted is the Warrior. He was a king whose country was under siege. Struggling for peace, the king accepted power from Ahriman that allowed him to vanquish his enemies and secure peace for his people. However, when the war was over, the peace-loving citizens rejected the Warrior, who had turned into a tool of war.



Plot

The game begins with the Prince (voiced by Nolan North) wandering in search of his donkey, Farah, in the middle of a desert sandstorm. He then runs into Elika (Kari Wahlgren), a princess of the Ahura, who is fleeing from soldiers. The two fend off the soldiers, with Elika discovering her magical powers of light. The Prince follows her into a temple which houses Ahriman (voiced by both Catherine Kidd and Kwasi Songui), a force of evil who is trapped within a tree known as the Tree of Life. Once inside the temple, the Prince and Elika are confronted by Elika's father, the Mourning King (Fred Tatasciore), who faces them in battle. After the fight, he uses his sword to cut the Tree of Life, setting Ahriman free. The Prince and Elika escape the temple, only to find a corrupted world outside.
Elika tells the Prince that in order to restore the world and rid the corruption inhabiting it, they must heal all the Fertile Grounds in the kingdom. They then begin restoring the Fertile Grounds, encountering the Warrior, the Hunter, the Concubine, and the Alchemist; four corrupted leaders Ahriman chose to set free.
In the journey, it is revealed that Elika had died prior to the beginning of the game. Her father took her to Ahriman and asked him to revive her, selling his soul in the process to Ahriman, thus making him one of the corrupted. Once Elika was revived she discovered she had new-found powers. As the game progresses Elika gains more powers and abilities, and the two encounter the Mourning King throughout the game. After healing all the Fertile Grounds, as well as defeating all bosses, Elika and the Prince return to the temple to imprison Ahriman. Once inside however, they are confronted by the Mourning King, who is now a fully corrupted being. After defeating him, he calls his daughter's name and turns away from them, throwing himself off the platform they are on. Ahriman rises from the corruption below. They battle him, but Elika must give up her very life to finish the spell to seal Ahriman away. Once the spell is completed Elika dies once again.
The Prince then takes Elika's body outside. There are four Fertile Grounds there, each with a tree that, according to what Elika had told him, channel the power of all the Fertile Grounds to the Tree of Life. He is given a vision (the same one both he and Elika shared much earlier that showed the Mourning King's deal with Ahriman to revive Elika). The vision (just like the main debate throughout the game between Elika and the Prince) is all about Destiny vs Free Will. The Prince re-creates the deal made by the Mourning King; he destroys the four Fertile Grounds around the Temple and returns inside. He cuts down the Tree of Life and takes the light power Elika used to heal the Tree, then returns the Light to Elika's body, and she returns to life. The game ends with the Prince carrying Elika across the desert while Ahriman's darkness envelops the world and the Temple is destroyed.



Epilogue

In Epilogue, an optional expansion pack set after the main story, it is shown that the Prince and Elika survive and retreat to an underground palace. Elika, furious with the Prince for dooming the world to save her, abandons him, but reunites with him to once again battle the Mourning King. They escape, and attempt to leave the palace alive. Along the way Elika shows her frustration with the Prince multiple times, believing that bringing her back was not worth the price of the evil it unleashed. The Prince counters that by freeing her, they "stand a chance" against Ahriman. In a final battle against the Mourning King, the Prince defeats him by impaling him on spikes (a visual reference to the original Prince of Persia game). In the end, Elika leaves the Prince to search for her people, and the Prince is left alone with a bloodthirsty Ahriman seeking revenge.