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Hello,

First of all, English is not my native language. There might be lots of mistakes on my text. I hope it doesn't effect you in a bad way.

I was trying to find a way to speed up my story writing. In ideal conditions, it was taking 3-4 days for a 2000 words, intricately designed story. With some philosophical questions, science fiction that supports the things inside, etc. However, It was so slow and time consuming, if I don't do it in days in a row, I started to forget things and the story becomes very bad.

So, for this time, I wanted to utilize my other hobby. I decided to use Mythic GM Emulator, and I wrote this story in a couple of hours. Without designing, without planning, just rolling and making up stuff on the road.

I used the engine on its bare minimum. Second Edition, without any addon or optional rules. Every header is a new scene, and almost every long paragraph is a new dice roll. The story doesn't have a title. I wanted it to be nameless and aimless like the character within.

Also, this is my very first English story. That's why it was a little bit harder to write than what I was expecting.

After finishing the text, I skimmed through it, corrected a couple of mistakes via the gramer correction tool of the word processor. I don't know if it has any kind of AI in it. I don't think it has. The corrections were about using a different tense, removing a comma, etc. And, it wasn't used a lot.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed playing it. And, I would like to get some constructive criticism. Please don't care my grammar mistakes unless it's very annoying for you. I want to improve my story telling in English-language-mindset. Grammar can be learnt later.

Thank you in advance.

Feroand (Yep, I felt like writing a real mail)

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A Warm Welcome

The main focus of love is wanting them to be happy; providing a peaceful environment, seeing them in tranquility. It’s not just solving daily problems, but supporting your loved ones against the cruelty of life. This truth is so strong, it can reach over death even.

Like any person of your age, you joined the army. They told you this is the best way to ensure the safety of your village, your family, and your friends. They promised you inconceivable wealth, honor, and adventure to tell. A way to ease the burden of rural life for your loved ones.

And, like any person of your age, you had been fooled. There was no wealth other than the vial of something radiant, there was no honor other than abandoning your comrades in exchange for your life, there weren’t any adventures other than the nightmares that chase you even you are daydreaming.

So, there was no salvation for your family, too. Columns of smoke reaching out to the sky were the first clue to this fact. Then, the smell… Hundreds of kilometers of journey made you hungry for sure, but the cooked and burned flesh didn’t make things easier for your stomach. While standing at the top of the hill, looking at the scene in front of you, horror became the obvious reality. What were you expecting? A warm hug from your mother, an implied kiss from your lover?

The harsh truth is in front of you. The truth is that it erases every other option other than going down the hill, finding out what happened, and fixing it either by getting your revenge or ending everything for you.

Going Down, And Down, And Down

You reach the village. As if your body was trying to save you from seeing the horror waiting for you down there, nothing is clear. The smoke is making your eyes wet, the stench is choking up your senses, and the heat is forcing you to move fast. It’s not easy to investigate what happened here. However, it’s not hard to understand what happened too. By just looking at the remaining bodies lying around, holding pitchforks and teddy bears, with painful expressions, and missing limbs, you understand the scale of the combat. They didn’t have any time for preparation, and they didn’t understand who or why attacked them. The last thing they felt was confusion, pain, and horror.

While walking along the streets and understanding the new state of your village, you started to recognize a pattern. You see where the attack started, where was the poor resistance tried to be shaped, where the failed sanctuary was placed. And, most importantly, in which direction people fled.

Yes, not everybody died. Not everybody was fed the fire. There are survivors, and there is hope. There is a track to follow, a way to fix the wrong. An opportunity to save your loved ones from harm.

You followed the track up until they reach the rocky surface; right before the cave entrance. You see the cave corridor goes down, and turns towards a deeper darkness. It’s time to go down. Unlike the hill overlooking the village, you don’t see what’s waiting for you after this descent. However, something in your gut says it will be the resolution of your adventure. Either saving the day or ending it permanently.

The Blinding Embrace

Shadows… It’s folding on itself, deepening the darkness. Your torch captures a breeze carrying unpleasant odors from deep down. Cracks on the rock, stalactites and puddles, abrupt turns and forks… Is it possible to find your way around? To go back even? These are the questions for later. You have to move on.

First, you saw the light. It seems like daylight coming from outside, filling an entire chamber right after the left bend you see. Then, you heard the sound. Snarling, gnawing, tearing out. Something is feeding. Even though you have your torch illuminating the corridor, they don’t seem to see you. Placing your torch to the edge of the left turn, and drawing your sword, you feel ready for whatever is before you.

You hadn’t wanted to be wrong so much. The nightmarish images your terrified soul created were all correct. There is a pack of wolves feeding on the remains of… Something. Once, a dearie of parents; now a limp mass stretched between two jaws. You wish the sundress wouldn’t be festooned with gilt. Then maybe, maybe you wouldn’t have seen who the body belongs to. A familiar giggle emanates from your memories. It’s high time to honor that beautiful memory.

You charge. The sound of tearing the flesh, growling, and your scream fills the chamber. You enter the space like the rising sun.

A slash for one of the biggest wolves, you managed to impale it with your anger. From the torso to the wall behind. However, these monsters are creatures of the wild forest. Animals living at the edge of death, knowing they might be the next. Thus, acting without hesitation, but with the flow of water. The moment you managed to pull your sword back from the body, the second wolf jumped at your throat.

You barely managed to divert the attack, after it took some flesh from your shoulder with its claws. You have to survive. You have to survive to help your people, to people you love.

While you were trying to focus on the moment, one of the other wolves charged you from behind. You feel the weight of the moment pushing you down. A stronger force, as ancient as reality itself. It hurled you like destiny. The attack of the wolf couldn’t penetrate your armor; but now, you are on the ground. Right beside the torch you left. You have to be smart, that’s for sure. You took the torch and faced the monsters trying to surround you.

You swung the torch as if it were the only string that binds you to life. You swung it as if you were screaming out your anger, determination, and despair. And, wolves understood. No more meals for them, no more fight for feeding. After hitting some of them with the flames, they left the chamber through the hole you see on the other side. They reached to the surface, and were gone. They left you alone with the torn and chewed friends, relatives, and thoughts.

Whispers In The Darkness

Is that it? Five or six bodies you count. It cannot be the remains of your village. There have to be survivors. Maybe because you are forcing yourself to see through darkness, or the torch fumes burning your eyes, or, maybe because of the emotional burden, you started to sob. You don’t know where to go, you don’t even know what you are trying to achieve here. Where are they? Who is here, even?

Your murmurs were echoing through the corridors of the cave. And, your murmurs got back, with a response. Whispers… You can barely hear it, but there is somebody out there.

It’s not somebody, and definitely it is not a single entity. Gathered on the rim of a sinkhole, people were chanting quietly. Your people. Maybe because of the warrior’s instincts or out of confusion, you stopped in the middle of your step. They are looking down. Down to the pulsating red light coming from the hole.

For an instant, you thought maybe you are looking at non-living statues, and the fire below is the one who is living. No muscles were moving, but expressions were passing through their  faces. The hymn was bumping on the convex rock formation, and surging towards you. It was mixed with… Something.

Then, you recognized it. The name hidden in the invocation: Qhol’teth. As if they understood your reaction, as if they knew you were not coming closer, the crescendo began.

The Closed System

Qhol’teth. The god you were fighting for. The God of Tranquility. Lands were claimed in the name of holy serenity. No, you killed people, pillaged villages and towns, sacrificed life for prosperity. In order to get to a peaceful future, you stepped on other’s.

And just like that. The war made people crave for peace; old Qhol’teth became more hungry. So, they fed the deity. Your friends, your comrades, came to your village, butchered your people, dragged the rest here, in the eye of tranquility. Silence amidst the bosom of Gaia, without light or sound other than the chant and warm light coming from the hole.

The scene in front of you is like any other village you have been to and stepped on. It was just a job for you too. You all have been fooled, became the machine, and crushed within.

Your journey started for love, for giving all the care you can provide. After all, this is what love demands. Providing a peaceful environment, seeing them in tranquility. And, this is the truth even after they ceased to be.

The entities you see in front of you are not a bunch of zombies. They are not just flesh for the god. Even after their minds have perished, their bodies need to be taken care of. You have one last work to do.

Before the ceremony took attention of Qhol’teth, before their call captures your will, before The God of Tranquility calls them back, you pushed. You pushed the bodies, one by one. And the red light glowed more and more. This is the main focus of love after all. Taking care of your loved ones; releasing them from burden to peace.

After the last scream stopped echoing in this lonely chamber, after the warmth stopped engulfing your body, after apprehension became dull and dim, came peace.