Daily Write - Edge of the Unknown

"I always loved the view from here. It always felt like I was standing on the edge of the world, only a breadth away from the magnificent unknown that lies right beyond the horizon. Like some unseen world was just out of my fingers' reach."

Her toes inched ever closer to the edge of the rock face, winds from the sea below her buffeting her hair upwards and back.

"Lily..."

She ignored him calling out her name. Instead she closed her eyes and opened her arms, listening the sound of her sleeves billowing in the wind, like torn sails on a ship's mast.

"Did it mean anything?" she asked above the sounds of the wind, "The two of us, the time we had together, did it hold any place in your heart at all? Or was I just something to past the time?"

"I would feel much more comfortable if we talked about this standing away from there."

She didn't move. She merely leaned her head back and opened her arms even wider, as if she believed if she stood there long enough, the sea winds were whisk her away to this unknown that lay beyond the sea.

"This is the only place where I don't feel like my brain is spinning around in my skull. The only place where any part of my life makes sense any more. Even my dreams are confused now. I have no want to leave this spot."

"Lily, just come over here."

He sounded genuinely concerned. Of course he was. She was standing on the edge of  a drop that only ended in waves and rocks. Her pallid, tear stained face would go against her being of any sound mind at the moment. Again, she didn't move. She didn't want to. There was nothing more to say anyway. Just questions that would never have any answers. Well, never any answers that meant anything.

Her foot slid, like something magnetic was pulling her ever closer to the horizon before her. Maybe the wind would carry her off after all. Just as the few pebbles beneath her foot plummeted down to the white capped waves below, she felt a hand on her outstretched arms jerk her backwards. She was suddenly pressed against his chest, his arms wrapped around her head. There was only the sound of the wind and the waves lapping below. She could feel him shaking. Something she had not expected. Finally his voice broke the silence, nothing but a strained whisper working its way out of his throat.

"God damn you, Lily. God damn you."

Daily Write - Run and Live

Once upon a time, I dreamed of being a DM. I even put together pieces for a campaign that I wanted to try and run. But alas, that dream was never realized and those notes were just stacked in a corner with the rest of the good ideas that I have had and never actually used. So this was supposed to be meeting that the group would have early on in the campaign to get things started off.

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I had not expected to have this meeting with you quite this soon. But desperate situations have forced my hand and caused the need for me to reveal myself to you. Fates preserve us, you are still so young. Barely able to stand on your own two feet. But I suppose it cannot be helped. Things are about to happen and you need to understand what has been set in motion in order to act accordingly.

It wasn’t always like this. Times have changed and changed drastically. For many generations, this land was governed with strength and wisdom. Then the Black came from the Wastes, devouring everything in its wake. The Knights of Flame had been all but defeated by the Lotus Queen and her Deathwalkers. And as the Knights were pushed farther and farther back, the Queen only strengthened her power, exacting her will on everyone with the misfortune of being in her path.

It was the beginning of dark days. A time where hope no longer existed, being trodden upon with every defeat the Queen exacted. Her Deathwalkers destroyed everything, leaving cinders and ash where thriving communities had existed for years. The people, once proud and unbending, bowed knee to their new ruler, vowing submission and loyalty through gritted teeth.  There was no other choice. Those who opposed fled in order to not to have their tongues removed from their skulls and eyes burned out with heated pokers.  And then there were those who hid themselves in clandestine dark corners, whispering of returning the days of old.

This is where you become involved. You were raised to believe that your parents had abandoned you soon after your birth. That you had been brought to this village of Cherrywood Falls to see that you were not left to fend through life alone. As you may have pieced together by now, this was not the entire truth. The Lotus Queen’s reach had yet to extend to the Northern forests, and Cherrywood sits right in the middle of it. That is why we hid you and others like you here. Those who were born with the natural ability to bend the Weave to their will. It was the hope of the Knights that, with training, you would lead the attack against the Queen, ending her reign from this land once and for all. It was to take years, but we were willing to wait.

But that hope too has been all but been dashed to cinders. The Queen has heard of the existence of children who hold a power stronger than her own, hiding right outside of her reach. As we speak, she is sending her Deathwalkers to the forest, looking for you. Looking to destroy any trace that people like you could ever exist. Hoping to squash the uprising before it ever starts.

Now, you must leave Cherrywood, leave the Northern forest, run and hide. You cannot let these Deathwalkers find you. And above all else, you must live. The Lotus Queen cannot be defeated by anyone else but you and those who share in your ability. If you are lost, then all has been lost.