Scarlet Hunter
Retinazer
Howdy, folks! I have been told that I have some talent at writing, and I do enjoy it, so I will be writing a story here. This is Terraria fanfiction, following many of the rules of the universe. (Not all of them, of course!) I love feedback; if you notice any spelling or grammatical errors, please point it out, and tell me if there are any areas I need to improve on.
Anyway, without further ado, I present Celestia's Journey!
The following spoiler contains a list of all of the characters Celestia finds and recruits onto her team. If a character dies (who knows? It could happen), they will remain on the list, but it will be noted. The list will be kept up to date. Thus, it will likely contain spoilers. Only open it if you have read the entirety of the story so far.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for reading, guys! Chapter 4 should be up semi-soon. I am open to suggestions, but I would request that you PM them to me so as not to spoil it for others reading the thread if I do implement them. You guys are the reason I keep writing, so stay cool!
This thread will obviously contain spoilers; before reading other people's replies, make sure you are up to date on the story.
Anyway, without further ado, I present Celestia's Journey!
A peaceful town sits in a valley. It would be just like any normal night, except the moon shines a crimson color and all nearby water sources have been given a scarlet sheen.
Moans echo from outside the peaceful houses. Foul creatures walk the streets, slamming into doors with unholy strength. In one of the many houses of the small village sits a small girl, rocking back and forth, her hands clamped over her ears.
The girl's face is dirty, and her clothes are worn. Nonetheless, her eyes convey a sense of determination. Even in her frightened state, there is something special about her, something that emanates from her mere presence. On the ground next to the girl sits a tarnished copper shortsword. The house she sits in is empty and decrepit. The windows are boarded up, and she has barricaded the door with a chair, the only piece of furniture in the entire dwelling.
She does not normally remain in a house, preferring to live outside, but Blood Moons call for unusual circumstances. Most of the townsfolk know her, but she had been scavenging outside the town when the night came. She knew the risks, and did it very rarely. Figures that this would be the one night when a Blood Moon hit. By the time she had returned to town, everyone had barricaded their doors. The groans had started, and monsters were soon to flood the street. She had slipped into an old, abandoned house. The house, ruined and empty, had been sitting here as far back as she could remember.
Now, she sits inside, facing the door, trying not to imagine the horrible creatures roaming just outside the door. She is ready to grab her copper shortsword if needed, though it won't do much good against a huge mob of monsters. The zombies pass, pounding on the windows and doors, but when they cannot easily find access to the house, they move on. She breathes a sigh of relief.
Then, another pound on the door. And another. Insistent. Why do they continue hitting a door that they can't easily break down? The girl watches, in horror, as the chair blocking the door begins to splinter, then to crack. Finally, it breaks. The door swings open. On the other side stands a red zombie, dripping blood behind it.
The girl shrieks and backs away from the terrible sight. A shambling corpse, fueled by the power of Darkness itself. The very reason that Mithians burn their dead instead of burying them. At night, the dead return to haunt the living. She recognizes this particular corpse, a young man who had left the village a few days ago and never returned. Zombies walk around the fringes of the town at night all the time, but only during a Blood Moon do they enter the village. Other things lurk out there as well, but no one in the village knows what. No one is foolish enough to leave their barricaded houses during a Blood Moon; to do so spells certain death. And now this girl, no older than the age of seven years, sits with nothing but a copper shortsword. She is utterly unprotected from the horrors just outside her door.
With a loud scream of defiance, the girl scoops up her shortsword and leaps to her feet. She rushes at the slow brute, driving the shortsword through its chest. She wrenches it free, leaving a sizeable hole. The zombie doesn't even notice, electing to bash her in the head with its fist. She nimbly dodges the blow, and then jumps up onto the zombie's back. She is clearly no ordinary girl. She raises her shortsword and stabs the zombie directly through the skull. It drops to the ground. That's the problem with zombies. Sometimes they are powered by a corrupted, shriveled heart; the other times, they are controlled by a bloody brain. The location of their weakness is reminiscent of the evil that controls them. She feels like an idiot for trying to stab it through the chest; she knew it was a Blood Zombie, reanimated by the Crimson's power! It could have killed her. She resolves to think more clearly.
More moans from outside echo through the house. The girl whips around just in time to see another zombie walk through, this one a regular corpse. The girl smiles; zombies controlled by the Corruption are much easier to take out. She quickly stabs her shortsword through its chest, and it goes down immediately. She has to get out of here; the night has only started, and she doesn't relish the idea of having her back to a wall for half a dozen hours. She quickly rushes through the door and gasps.
This is more horrible than she could have imagined.
Dozens of zombies, including at least twenty Blood Zombies, walk the street, but they aren't alone. Flying above them are Demon Eyes; the girl recognizes them from times she has been out too late. They are a pain to deal with, and a shortsword is virtually useless against them. Interspersed among the Demon Eyes are strange creatures she has never seen before. They appear to be floating masses of flesh accumulated into a sphere, about 2 or 3 feet in diameter, with eyes randomly placed on their surface. Suddenly, a flash of intuition comes to her, and she whispers: "Dripplers." Where did that come from? She assumes that to be the name of the floating balls of flesh, obviously the work of the Crimson. She instantly takes off running, as everything on the street turns towards her. All of the groans stop; there is absolute silence.
All of her potential foes split to different sides of the street, patiently watching her pass. She notices some of them struggling, as if trying to move forward but forced backwards by an unseen force. Why are they letting her through? It doesn't seem to be willingly; they are acting as if something is controlling them. Then, she hears a horrendous, inhuman shriek. All of the zombies take up the chorus, shrieking what almost sounds like a concentrated tune. She struggles to make it out. Is that.... a marriage song....? She sees zombies and their flying companions fill in the other side of the street, making escape that way impossible. The young girl turns to see a sight that would be comical if it weren't so terrifying: two zombies, dressed as a groom and bride, are proceeding towards her as if walking down the aisle. It must be why the other zombies sang their song. The couple don't stop, resolutely marching towards her. Perhaps they don't even realize she is there.
The girl begins backing up, but there is hardly any space. Everything is blocked off, and both the Groom and Bride are slowly approaching her. She clutches her copper shortsword tightly in her grasp. Never has she felt so vulnerable. The Groom and Bride stop directly in front of her. The Groom looks down with a fixed expression as he raises his fist. With all her might, the girl stabs her shortsword directly at his chest.
He dodges, grabbing her arm and flipping her onto her back. Then, the Bride lifts the young girl into the air and tosses her into a building. She screams as she hits the stone wall, and the other dark creatures clear out of the way, creating a wide circle. The Groom and the Bride continue their work, dodging her swings with ease and tossing her around like a rag doll. But this girl is not normal, and each time she manages to get up, even bloodied and fatigued as she is. She screams at them and charges, swinging rapidly. It's no use. The Groom's fist hits her head. This time, she doesn't shake it off, stumbling around dizzily until the Bride looms into view and delivers the killing blow.
Moans echo from outside the peaceful houses. Foul creatures walk the streets, slamming into doors with unholy strength. In one of the many houses of the small village sits a small girl, rocking back and forth, her hands clamped over her ears.
The girl's face is dirty, and her clothes are worn. Nonetheless, her eyes convey a sense of determination. Even in her frightened state, there is something special about her, something that emanates from her mere presence. On the ground next to the girl sits a tarnished copper shortsword. The house she sits in is empty and decrepit. The windows are boarded up, and she has barricaded the door with a chair, the only piece of furniture in the entire dwelling.
She does not normally remain in a house, preferring to live outside, but Blood Moons call for unusual circumstances. Most of the townsfolk know her, but she had been scavenging outside the town when the night came. She knew the risks, and did it very rarely. Figures that this would be the one night when a Blood Moon hit. By the time she had returned to town, everyone had barricaded their doors. The groans had started, and monsters were soon to flood the street. She had slipped into an old, abandoned house. The house, ruined and empty, had been sitting here as far back as she could remember.
Now, she sits inside, facing the door, trying not to imagine the horrible creatures roaming just outside the door. She is ready to grab her copper shortsword if needed, though it won't do much good against a huge mob of monsters. The zombies pass, pounding on the windows and doors, but when they cannot easily find access to the house, they move on. She breathes a sigh of relief.
Then, another pound on the door. And another. Insistent. Why do they continue hitting a door that they can't easily break down? The girl watches, in horror, as the chair blocking the door begins to splinter, then to crack. Finally, it breaks. The door swings open. On the other side stands a red zombie, dripping blood behind it.
The girl shrieks and backs away from the terrible sight. A shambling corpse, fueled by the power of Darkness itself. The very reason that Mithians burn their dead instead of burying them. At night, the dead return to haunt the living. She recognizes this particular corpse, a young man who had left the village a few days ago and never returned. Zombies walk around the fringes of the town at night all the time, but only during a Blood Moon do they enter the village. Other things lurk out there as well, but no one in the village knows what. No one is foolish enough to leave their barricaded houses during a Blood Moon; to do so spells certain death. And now this girl, no older than the age of seven years, sits with nothing but a copper shortsword. She is utterly unprotected from the horrors just outside her door.
With a loud scream of defiance, the girl scoops up her shortsword and leaps to her feet. She rushes at the slow brute, driving the shortsword through its chest. She wrenches it free, leaving a sizeable hole. The zombie doesn't even notice, electing to bash her in the head with its fist. She nimbly dodges the blow, and then jumps up onto the zombie's back. She is clearly no ordinary girl. She raises her shortsword and stabs the zombie directly through the skull. It drops to the ground. That's the problem with zombies. Sometimes they are powered by a corrupted, shriveled heart; the other times, they are controlled by a bloody brain. The location of their weakness is reminiscent of the evil that controls them. She feels like an idiot for trying to stab it through the chest; she knew it was a Blood Zombie, reanimated by the Crimson's power! It could have killed her. She resolves to think more clearly.
More moans from outside echo through the house. The girl whips around just in time to see another zombie walk through, this one a regular corpse. The girl smiles; zombies controlled by the Corruption are much easier to take out. She quickly stabs her shortsword through its chest, and it goes down immediately. She has to get out of here; the night has only started, and she doesn't relish the idea of having her back to a wall for half a dozen hours. She quickly rushes through the door and gasps.
This is more horrible than she could have imagined.
Dozens of zombies, including at least twenty Blood Zombies, walk the street, but they aren't alone. Flying above them are Demon Eyes; the girl recognizes them from times she has been out too late. They are a pain to deal with, and a shortsword is virtually useless against them. Interspersed among the Demon Eyes are strange creatures she has never seen before. They appear to be floating masses of flesh accumulated into a sphere, about 2 or 3 feet in diameter, with eyes randomly placed on their surface. Suddenly, a flash of intuition comes to her, and she whispers: "Dripplers." Where did that come from? She assumes that to be the name of the floating balls of flesh, obviously the work of the Crimson. She instantly takes off running, as everything on the street turns towards her. All of the groans stop; there is absolute silence.
All of her potential foes split to different sides of the street, patiently watching her pass. She notices some of them struggling, as if trying to move forward but forced backwards by an unseen force. Why are they letting her through? It doesn't seem to be willingly; they are acting as if something is controlling them. Then, she hears a horrendous, inhuman shriek. All of the zombies take up the chorus, shrieking what almost sounds like a concentrated tune. She struggles to make it out. Is that.... a marriage song....? She sees zombies and their flying companions fill in the other side of the street, making escape that way impossible. The young girl turns to see a sight that would be comical if it weren't so terrifying: two zombies, dressed as a groom and bride, are proceeding towards her as if walking down the aisle. It must be why the other zombies sang their song. The couple don't stop, resolutely marching towards her. Perhaps they don't even realize she is there.
The girl begins backing up, but there is hardly any space. Everything is blocked off, and both the Groom and Bride are slowly approaching her. She clutches her copper shortsword tightly in her grasp. Never has she felt so vulnerable. The Groom and Bride stop directly in front of her. The Groom looks down with a fixed expression as he raises his fist. With all her might, the girl stabs her shortsword directly at his chest.
He dodges, grabbing her arm and flipping her onto her back. Then, the Bride lifts the young girl into the air and tosses her into a building. She screams as she hits the stone wall, and the other dark creatures clear out of the way, creating a wide circle. The Groom and the Bride continue their work, dodging her swings with ease and tossing her around like a rag doll. But this girl is not normal, and each time she manages to get up, even bloodied and fatigued as she is. She screams at them and charges, swinging rapidly. It's no use. The Groom's fist hits her head. This time, she doesn't shake it off, stumbling around dizzily until the Bride looms into view and delivers the killing blow.
I slip into consciousness slowly. I can feel the breeze on my face, and feel the grass beneath me. It is so different from - I sit up, and my eyes fly open. I remember it all: the awful Blood Moon, the zombies, and the mockery of matrimony that resulted in my death. I look around. I sit in the middle of a field. I appear to be in perfectly good condition, but my trusty shortsword is gone. Ringing the field are a dozen hills, obstructing my view of what lies beyond. However, it is a decent size. An entire town could fit in here. Then, I see the figure standing on one of the farther hills, facing away from me.
The sun beats down overhead as I approach the hill. As I begin to climb, the person turns around. I see it is a young man, likely in his early 20s. He looks down at me in concern.
“So,” he says, “you’re awake.”
I look up at him, his tousled brown hair swaying slightly in the breeze. “What do you mean?” I ask.
“I found you in that field an hour ago. I wasn’t sure if it was safe to move you, so I let you sleep.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on! There was a Blood Moon, and zombies, and then I died -”
“Whoa,” he says, concern filling his eyes. “Let’s just sit you down. Maybe we can find a Nurse, and -”
Now it’s my turn to interrupt him. “I don’t need medical attention! I’m just fine! But I came back from death!”
He looks intensely at me for a few seconds, then smiles. “Of course! You are the Light!”
“Excuse me?”
“The Light! She who was prophesied of old!”
“You really need to back up. Where am I, and what’s going on?”
“You don’t know of the Prophecy?”
“No.”
“Perfect! I knew it was you! I just didn’t expect the Light to be so… young.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Do you have a problem with my age? Because I have killed at least a dozen zombies with my…” I falter, remembering how I no longer have a shortsword.
He laughs in spite of my threat. “Long ago, the last Oracle of Mithlinde prophesied that a mighty hero would come forth and push back the Darkness. She named this hero the Light of Mithlinde, and died of old age soon after. The Darkness was so weak at the time that we were not worried. Less than a year later, it struck.”
I frown. I don’t know any of this.
He continues, apparently not noticing my frown. “Civilization was fractured, leaving scattered towns across the frontier. I was only twelve at the time.”
That explains it. I wasn’t even born when this happened. My village must have been one of these 'scattered towns'. But one thing is bothering me. “What is this ‘Darkness?’” I ask.
“You don’t know what the Darkness is?”
“Does it have anything to do with the Corruption and Crimson?” I am aware that these two areas exist, and that they slowly contaminate existing ground, but I thought the only thing they did was reanimate corpses.
“They are the Darkness.”
“But they don’t do anything except bring back dead people we didn’t get the chance to burn!”
He shakes his head. “They are much, much worse than that. But I don’t want to scare you right now. Clearly, you are the Light spoken of. It has been eleven years, but I still remember the Oracle’s words clearly: ‘She will not know of her task.’ I never thought that I would be the one to find you, but it is clear what I must do. But, of course, you are confused. Where are my manners? My name is Seth, and I am a Guide.”
First, I note his age (if he was 12 at the time, and it has been eleven years, he must be 23 years old now). When he says he is a Guide, I perk up. Guides are quite rare, and are known to be very adept warriors. Deep in thought, I realize I haven’t responded to him. “My name is Celestia.”
His smile broadens. “Celestia, huh? What a pretty name. Here, we need to get you to cover. Follow me.”
Seth leads me to a wooden house deep in the woods. It is small, but cozy. It has a bed, fireplace, a table, and a couple chairs. Seth lies down on the floor to sleep, offering the bed to me. I am grateful for his kindness, and settle down to rest.
The next morning, I am awakened by a loud THWACK on the roof. I sit up, wondering at what is happening. Seth is hurriedly throwing open a chest I hadn’t noticed the day before. He pulls out a silver bow, and a quiver bristling with arrows. I recall that Guides are expert archers, and usually refuse to use any other weapons. However, he also has a beautifully polished iron broadsword in the chest. He pulls it out.
“Do you know how to use one of these?” he asks me.
“I’m a quick study,” I respond.
In response, he tosses it to me, then hurries to the door, where he has a gleaming set of silver armor. He quickly dons it, throwing an apologetic glance my way. “I don’t have any armor sized for a young girl,” he says.
I shrug, and tighten my grip around the broadsword. Though it should feel heavy and oversized in my hand, I know that I will be able to wield it with deadly efficiency.
Then, something splats against our roof again. He grimaces. “Ready?” he asks. Then, he opens the door, and we charge out.
The first thing that I see is a green slime. Seth launches an arrow through it, and it dissolves. He scoops up the remaining gel, explaining that it is quite flammable, and useful for many things. Then, a slime falls directly in front of me.
I shriek and slash it in two with my broadsword. This one was blue. As I look around, I see more slimes surrounding the house, some hopping around and others caught on tree branches around us. They are falling from the sky. Seth growls and starts shooting more slimes. I run up to him.
“Is this rain of slimes a common occurrence?” I ask.
“Not really,” he responds. “But it does seem to happen at least once a month.”
Together, we continue hacking through slimes. He collects gel and any other things the slimes are digesting. I watch him scoop up coins, potions and even a couple bombs. After a few hours, I am getting tired. The slimes barely even pose a challenge, and - the ground trembles. I look over at Seth, who seems as confused as I am. The ground trembles again, harder this time.
I look over at Seth. A voice speaks in my mind, spilling into my voice: “King Slime has awoken!” I frown, confused. Where did that come from? Seth pales immediately.
“Run for the field!” he shouts as he breaks into a sprint. I don’t hesitate even a moment before I follow. The ground continues trembling as we run, making it difficult to keep our balance. Whatever is chasing us - did I call it King Slime? - is very slightly gaining on us.
Luckily, we have time to get into the field. I see Seth ahead of me, running directly into the center of the field, even burdened by his armor. I spur myself forward, and we both stop in the middle of the field. The ground trembles under our feet once more. Then I see it.
An enormous blue slime leaps from between the trees; as I look through the semi-transparent gel, I see it has left a trail of crushed flora. By the way, when I say enormous, I mean enormous. This thing is at least fifteen feet tall, and is about twenty to thirty feet on each side. It has a huge gold crown atop its bulk, but even that is not the most strange thing about it (though it does establish why I called it “King” Slime).
Deep inside the slime, a ninja suit floats. An empty ninja suit, mind you. It just sits there, its arms raised and legs spread, as if it were a prisoner who was slowly digested… I figure it is best to stop that line of thinking immediately. Then, the slime is airborne. I watch as it covers forty feet in a single bound, and the ground shakes beneath me. Seth is also in awe, but he snaps out of it, pulling an arrow out of his quiver. I watch as the arrow flies through the air, directly at the slime. It sinks into the gel… and stays there, doing nothing. The King is unaffected, and continues moving towards us. The arrow did nothing.
Seth is shaking his head as he backs up. He turns to me. “There’s nothing we can do!” he shouts. “I think we’re done for.”
“Never surrender!” I yell. Then I charge at the King, armed with only my sword. As I get closer, I truly appreciate the sense of scale I was missing when I was farther. I prepare to swing my sword at the massive blob of gel, but then it leaps. Directly onto me.
I am immediately engulfed in slime. I barely even have time to take a breath, but I somehow manage it. Everything is muted, but I can see. The gel doesn’t mess with my eyes directly, though it does distort my vision to look through. I see Seth. He appears to be screaming at the King and shooting more arrows, but they do nothing against the royal slime. Then, we are airborne again.
I feel a sense of weightlessness before we slam back down. I am jolted through the slime, and that is when I realize I can “swim” through the gel. Still holding my breath, I quickly move towards one of the sides. I am about to swim to freedom before the slime hardens at my touch. The King is surrounded by a hard membrane that allows things to pass through from outside, but permits no escape. I am trapped.
Panicking, I decide to swim towards the only other landmark I can see: the ninja suit. I am quickly running out of breath and my head is spinning, but I know that I must press forward. I reach the suit, and see that it is indeed empty. I also notice a small pouch floating next to it. When I touch the suit, it shrinks down to my size. Realizing what I must do, I pull on the helmet.
I immediately draw a gasp of air! Somehow, I can breathe while in the suit. I quickly don the rest of it and grab the pouch, finding it full of shurikens. Something about the armor allows me to breathe in slime. I smile, and begin cutting holes in the King.
It isn’t even a fair contest at that point; it tries to jiggle me loose, but I find that my ninja armor allows me to move through it at a thought. I continue puncturing its membrane in multiple places, and it finally begins sagging. Then, it dissolves, leaving a horde of blue slimes in its place. Strangely enough, they aren’t hostile towards me. I look down to see the King’s crown on a silver chain around my neck, shrunken down to a knick-knack. The slimes seem to recognize me as their new queen.
With a smile, I order them to leave, and they immediately disperse. Seth is staring at me, slack-jawed. I laugh as I near him. “So,” I ask, “like my new armor?”
He nods his head. “You really are the Light,” he whispers. “Night is coming soon; we should get inside before the zombies come.”
We walk in silence all the way back to his cabin. When we reach it, he shrieks. Where his house once stood, there is only rubble. King Slime must have destroyed it when it was on his rampage. Only splinters remain of his bed, chest, spare arrows, and armor stand.
My eyes widen as I realize what this means. We have no cover. No safety. Nothing to protect us from the endless horrors of the night. And I am pretty sure something is watching me.
The sun beats down overhead as I approach the hill. As I begin to climb, the person turns around. I see it is a young man, likely in his early 20s. He looks down at me in concern.
“So,” he says, “you’re awake.”
I look up at him, his tousled brown hair swaying slightly in the breeze. “What do you mean?” I ask.
“I found you in that field an hour ago. I wasn’t sure if it was safe to move you, so I let you sleep.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on! There was a Blood Moon, and zombies, and then I died -”
“Whoa,” he says, concern filling his eyes. “Let’s just sit you down. Maybe we can find a Nurse, and -”
Now it’s my turn to interrupt him. “I don’t need medical attention! I’m just fine! But I came back from death!”
He looks intensely at me for a few seconds, then smiles. “Of course! You are the Light!”
“Excuse me?”
“The Light! She who was prophesied of old!”
“You really need to back up. Where am I, and what’s going on?”
“You don’t know of the Prophecy?”
“No.”
“Perfect! I knew it was you! I just didn’t expect the Light to be so… young.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Do you have a problem with my age? Because I have killed at least a dozen zombies with my…” I falter, remembering how I no longer have a shortsword.
He laughs in spite of my threat. “Long ago, the last Oracle of Mithlinde prophesied that a mighty hero would come forth and push back the Darkness. She named this hero the Light of Mithlinde, and died of old age soon after. The Darkness was so weak at the time that we were not worried. Less than a year later, it struck.”
I frown. I don’t know any of this.
He continues, apparently not noticing my frown. “Civilization was fractured, leaving scattered towns across the frontier. I was only twelve at the time.”
That explains it. I wasn’t even born when this happened. My village must have been one of these 'scattered towns'. But one thing is bothering me. “What is this ‘Darkness?’” I ask.
“You don’t know what the Darkness is?”
“Does it have anything to do with the Corruption and Crimson?” I am aware that these two areas exist, and that they slowly contaminate existing ground, but I thought the only thing they did was reanimate corpses.
“They are the Darkness.”
“But they don’t do anything except bring back dead people we didn’t get the chance to burn!”
He shakes his head. “They are much, much worse than that. But I don’t want to scare you right now. Clearly, you are the Light spoken of. It has been eleven years, but I still remember the Oracle’s words clearly: ‘She will not know of her task.’ I never thought that I would be the one to find you, but it is clear what I must do. But, of course, you are confused. Where are my manners? My name is Seth, and I am a Guide.”
First, I note his age (if he was 12 at the time, and it has been eleven years, he must be 23 years old now). When he says he is a Guide, I perk up. Guides are quite rare, and are known to be very adept warriors. Deep in thought, I realize I haven’t responded to him. “My name is Celestia.”
His smile broadens. “Celestia, huh? What a pretty name. Here, we need to get you to cover. Follow me.”
*****
Seth leads me to a wooden house deep in the woods. It is small, but cozy. It has a bed, fireplace, a table, and a couple chairs. Seth lies down on the floor to sleep, offering the bed to me. I am grateful for his kindness, and settle down to rest.
The next morning, I am awakened by a loud THWACK on the roof. I sit up, wondering at what is happening. Seth is hurriedly throwing open a chest I hadn’t noticed the day before. He pulls out a silver bow, and a quiver bristling with arrows. I recall that Guides are expert archers, and usually refuse to use any other weapons. However, he also has a beautifully polished iron broadsword in the chest. He pulls it out.
“Do you know how to use one of these?” he asks me.
“I’m a quick study,” I respond.
In response, he tosses it to me, then hurries to the door, where he has a gleaming set of silver armor. He quickly dons it, throwing an apologetic glance my way. “I don’t have any armor sized for a young girl,” he says.
I shrug, and tighten my grip around the broadsword. Though it should feel heavy and oversized in my hand, I know that I will be able to wield it with deadly efficiency.
Then, something splats against our roof again. He grimaces. “Ready?” he asks. Then, he opens the door, and we charge out.
The first thing that I see is a green slime. Seth launches an arrow through it, and it dissolves. He scoops up the remaining gel, explaining that it is quite flammable, and useful for many things. Then, a slime falls directly in front of me.
I shriek and slash it in two with my broadsword. This one was blue. As I look around, I see more slimes surrounding the house, some hopping around and others caught on tree branches around us. They are falling from the sky. Seth growls and starts shooting more slimes. I run up to him.
“Is this rain of slimes a common occurrence?” I ask.
“Not really,” he responds. “But it does seem to happen at least once a month.”
Together, we continue hacking through slimes. He collects gel and any other things the slimes are digesting. I watch him scoop up coins, potions and even a couple bombs. After a few hours, I am getting tired. The slimes barely even pose a challenge, and - the ground trembles. I look over at Seth, who seems as confused as I am. The ground trembles again, harder this time.
I look over at Seth. A voice speaks in my mind, spilling into my voice: “King Slime has awoken!” I frown, confused. Where did that come from? Seth pales immediately.
“Run for the field!” he shouts as he breaks into a sprint. I don’t hesitate even a moment before I follow. The ground continues trembling as we run, making it difficult to keep our balance. Whatever is chasing us - did I call it King Slime? - is very slightly gaining on us.
Luckily, we have time to get into the field. I see Seth ahead of me, running directly into the center of the field, even burdened by his armor. I spur myself forward, and we both stop in the middle of the field. The ground trembles under our feet once more. Then I see it.
An enormous blue slime leaps from between the trees; as I look through the semi-transparent gel, I see it has left a trail of crushed flora. By the way, when I say enormous, I mean enormous. This thing is at least fifteen feet tall, and is about twenty to thirty feet on each side. It has a huge gold crown atop its bulk, but even that is not the most strange thing about it (though it does establish why I called it “King” Slime).
Deep inside the slime, a ninja suit floats. An empty ninja suit, mind you. It just sits there, its arms raised and legs spread, as if it were a prisoner who was slowly digested… I figure it is best to stop that line of thinking immediately. Then, the slime is airborne. I watch as it covers forty feet in a single bound, and the ground shakes beneath me. Seth is also in awe, but he snaps out of it, pulling an arrow out of his quiver. I watch as the arrow flies through the air, directly at the slime. It sinks into the gel… and stays there, doing nothing. The King is unaffected, and continues moving towards us. The arrow did nothing.
Seth is shaking his head as he backs up. He turns to me. “There’s nothing we can do!” he shouts. “I think we’re done for.”
“Never surrender!” I yell. Then I charge at the King, armed with only my sword. As I get closer, I truly appreciate the sense of scale I was missing when I was farther. I prepare to swing my sword at the massive blob of gel, but then it leaps. Directly onto me.
*****
I am immediately engulfed in slime. I barely even have time to take a breath, but I somehow manage it. Everything is muted, but I can see. The gel doesn’t mess with my eyes directly, though it does distort my vision to look through. I see Seth. He appears to be screaming at the King and shooting more arrows, but they do nothing against the royal slime. Then, we are airborne again.
I feel a sense of weightlessness before we slam back down. I am jolted through the slime, and that is when I realize I can “swim” through the gel. Still holding my breath, I quickly move towards one of the sides. I am about to swim to freedom before the slime hardens at my touch. The King is surrounded by a hard membrane that allows things to pass through from outside, but permits no escape. I am trapped.
Panicking, I decide to swim towards the only other landmark I can see: the ninja suit. I am quickly running out of breath and my head is spinning, but I know that I must press forward. I reach the suit, and see that it is indeed empty. I also notice a small pouch floating next to it. When I touch the suit, it shrinks down to my size. Realizing what I must do, I pull on the helmet.
I immediately draw a gasp of air! Somehow, I can breathe while in the suit. I quickly don the rest of it and grab the pouch, finding it full of shurikens. Something about the armor allows me to breathe in slime. I smile, and begin cutting holes in the King.
It isn’t even a fair contest at that point; it tries to jiggle me loose, but I find that my ninja armor allows me to move through it at a thought. I continue puncturing its membrane in multiple places, and it finally begins sagging. Then, it dissolves, leaving a horde of blue slimes in its place. Strangely enough, they aren’t hostile towards me. I look down to see the King’s crown on a silver chain around my neck, shrunken down to a knick-knack. The slimes seem to recognize me as their new queen.
With a smile, I order them to leave, and they immediately disperse. Seth is staring at me, slack-jawed. I laugh as I near him. “So,” I ask, “like my new armor?”
He nods his head. “You really are the Light,” he whispers. “Night is coming soon; we should get inside before the zombies come.”
We walk in silence all the way back to his cabin. When we reach it, he shrieks. Where his house once stood, there is only rubble. King Slime must have destroyed it when it was on his rampage. Only splinters remain of his bed, chest, spare arrows, and armor stand.
My eyes widen as I realize what this means. We have no cover. No safety. Nothing to protect us from the endless horrors of the night. And I am pretty sure something is watching me.
There is no roof over our head. There are no walls to keep them at bay. We are at the mercy of the creatures of the night.
Strangely enough, I feel mostly calm. After defeating King Slime and claiming the ninja armor he held, I had felt a rush of power. I feel like I can take on the world. This is good, because Seth apparently doesn't feel the same way.
I look over to see him rocking back and forth, mumbling things under his breath. I walk over and pull him to his feet with surprising ease. I feel... stronger. Something has changed.
"Come on," I say to him. "We need to get moving. Perhaps if we..." I trail off as it becomes clear he isn't listening. "NOW!" I shout. That seems to snap him out of it.
"How are we supposed to survive this?" he whispers.
"Oh, come on," I huff. "Did you not see that giant slime? We beat that easily enough."
"You did all the work."
"Okay, that might be true, but you tried."
"And didn't do anything. How am I supposed to kill hordes of zombies all night? I only have a half-filled quiver!"
"I have the shurikens -"
"And they won't last forever."
"I have my broadsword too." It is clear I am grasping at straws. How are we supposed to do this?
"We need to get to higher, more open ground," he says.
I nod, and without a word, we set off. Night falls, and the moon rises. Still, we walk. Then, the moans begin.
They know we are here, and they are coming. Still, we walk.
I think to myself that it could be worse. It could be a Blood Moon. But it is an empty reassurance. Something is off; I can feel it. As if... no. I can't dwell on it.
But I feel eyes on me everywhere I go. It isn't Seth; he's walking ahead of me. If it were a zombie, it would have attacked. So what is it?
"Um, Seth?" I ask.
"I feel it too," he says. "A presence... watching us."
"What do we do?"
"We keep moving. Nothing else to do."
We walk in silence a bit longer.
"Seth, why haven't the zombies attacked us yet?"
"I am not sure, but it is good fortune. Keep moving."
"The last time zombies didn't attack me, it didn't end well." And then I am telling Seth all about the awful Blood Moon, and the Bride and the Groom, and everything. I pour out my past, in all of its awful detail. I tell him what happened to my parents, what happened to me. He listens in silence.
Finally, when I am done speaking, he replies. "I'm so sorry, Celestia." He turns around and kneels down in front of me. "Whatever happens, I am going to try my best to keep you safe. Just promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't use your shurikens on me. They look sharp."
We both laugh. Then, we stop - at exactly the same time.
The feeling of being watched intensifies. Seth and I look at each other, and break out into a sprint. We burst out of the trees into the clearing I woke up in, rushing down the hill. Not the most ideal position, but we had to get to open ground.
Seth looks up, his mouth forming a silent scream. I follow his gaze, and then I see it.
An enormous eye floats above us, staring down in absolute silence. Still, no zombies come, and I realize that this monstrosity has the power to keep them away. It wants us for itself. I start to shudder as it slowly descends towards us.
I snap out of it at the loud TWANG of a bowstring next to me. Seth lets loose an arrow, the tip alight with flame. It is a direct hit, and flames spread across the eye before quickly winking out. It seems completely unfazed. I pull out my shurikens and begin launching them; my armor even seems to augment my throwing ability.
We keep shooting arrows and throwing shurikens until it gets closer to us. It seems to pay no heed to the sharp projectiles that have punctured its skin. It begins to move towards us, and I know we want to be nowhere near it when it arrives. We split onto either side of it, forcing it to choose.
It decides to follow me.
I start running, but it doesn't move fast. It just slowly advances, staring at me. Then, a voice rings out in my mind: The Eye of Cthulhu, that which slumbers. It certainly isn't my voice. I look up at the eye staring expectantly. It got into my mind.
"Stay out of my brain, you oversized cornea!" I shout. And then it accelerates towards me.
The Light must be extinguished, the voice says.
"Shut up!" I shout. I throw more shurikens, and try to loop around to Seth. It still isn't fast enough to catch me when I run, but I am worried it will keep attaining speed.
Then, Seth shoots the fateful arrow. It hits the eye. Suddenly, the - what was it? Eye of Cthulhu, I think - begins spinning. I smile. A creepy encounter, to be sure, but not a dangerous one.
Then, it stops spinning. In the eye's place is a new... thing. The entire front of the eye is now devoted to a giant mouth. Its glistening fangs drip saliva that makes the grass sizzle and die wherever it falls. Then it roars, and Seth falls unconscious.
The next few hours are a blur. I run around, dodging it as it charges. It leaves Seth alone. Something about that roar almost knocked me out too, but I suppose being the Light grants you some special privileges.
I keep throwing shurikens at it, and there are many close calls where its jaws close in, snapping hungrily. My ninja suit seems to help me both as I throw shurikens and move. I sprint around the clearing, even as it charges me with supernatural speed.
Finally, it hits its breaking point. I toss a shuriken into its open maw, and it sticks next to all the other ones. (The pouch that came with the ninja suit seems to have a limitless supply, which is fine by me.) The Eye of Cthulhu lets out a roar, but it is subdued, muted.
Then, it crashes to the ground, and on impact it splatters into a dozen pieces, which quickly begin dissolving into the ground. On the ground in front of me lie two small mounds of metal: one purple, and the other red. As I approach, they melt away with the rest of the corpse.
All that is left is a shield. On the front is emblazoned the visage of the second form of the Eye. I pick it up and slide it onto my arm. Then, I hear a groan. I spin, expecting a zombie, but then see Seth slowly getting up. He stares down at the shield on my arm and then smiles.
"You killed it!" he shouts. I smile back at him, and then run over to give him a hug.
"Whoa," he says as I slam into him. Then, he grabs me by the shoulders and holds me at arm's-length. "Wait a second... did you get taller?" I look up at him and realize that his head isn't so far away. I even feel different, like I am -
"I got older, didn't I?" I ask aloud.
"I think so," he replies. "You look about nine years old now."
"Well, that's... strange."
"Yeah." And then I see it, the zombie on the other side of him. Instinctively, I charge it. As I do, the shield I claimed from the Eye of Cthulhu's dissolved body tugs me forward, pulling me at a speed similar to the extraordinary one it used to chase me. I ram into it, knocking it back ten feet with a sickening splat. I know even before it keels over that I smashed its heart when I hit it in the chest.
Seth stares at me. "You do have a tendency for picking up cool stuff, don't you?" he asks.
Then, the dawn comes. I had almost forgotten the sun in the night of endless horrors. And with the sun comes another surprise.
"Hello!" shouts an unfamiliar voice. We look to see an older man with white hair and a well-trimmed beard coming down the hill. Seth and I grin at each other.
When he reaches the bottom of the hill, he walks towards us. "My name is Dan," he says.
"Seth," Seth responds.
"And am I to assume this is your daughter?"
"No; in fact, she's pretty special."
"How so?"
"This, my dear friend, is the Light."
The Merchant bursts out laughing. "A funny joke to be sure, but..." he seems to lose his train of thought as he sees our serious faces. "You can't be telling me that a runt like this is supposed to protect us from the Darkness."
"Excuse me," I say. "Do you see this?" I point at the shield.
"What would that be?"
"This is a shield I claimed from a horrible creature called the Eye of Cthulhu."
"You killed the Eye?"
"You know of it?"
"Know of it? It has stalked me for days. Every night, it found me, staring from above. It never came closer, and it kept the zombies away. After my village was destroyed, I was glad for the lack of those cursed creatures, but the Eye was too unnerving."
"Your village was destroyed?"
"Aye. The Face Monsters and Crimeras got us. But that is a tale for another time. You claim to be the Light?"
Seth interjects: "She is the Light. It is clear as the day around us. I am her Guide."
"I suppose anyone who could kill that freaky eyeball would have to be the prophesied hero. I just didn't expect her to be so... young."
"That's what I said," says Seth with a smile.
"Anyway," Dan continues, "I am a Merchant. Got a magic bag that holds stuff, but I can only get stuff from it if you drop coins in."
Seth refills his quiver with arrows from Dan's bag, and then we look around at the clearing.
"You know," says Seth slowly. "We don't have a home either. This could be it! We could build a new village here."
Dan grins at the idea, then clearly has an idea. "They cost a gold coin a person, but they're worth it," he says. He drops three golden coins into the bag, then pulls out three small rectangles of plastic and metal.
"These," he says, "are called smartphones. We can use them to talk to each other over long distances, but they also have another feature, where we can set a home base and teleport back to it as long as we are not in a... a Dark Zone." He shudders as he says the last two words.
We gladly take the phones from him, and he shows us how to use them. Then, we head out to chop wood.
This land is covered in strange, red grass, and the trees that grow are twisted and withered. I can feel blood, death, and flesh here. Who knows?
This might be the next place my journey takes me.
Strangely enough, I feel mostly calm. After defeating King Slime and claiming the ninja armor he held, I had felt a rush of power. I feel like I can take on the world. This is good, because Seth apparently doesn't feel the same way.
I look over to see him rocking back and forth, mumbling things under his breath. I walk over and pull him to his feet with surprising ease. I feel... stronger. Something has changed.
"Come on," I say to him. "We need to get moving. Perhaps if we..." I trail off as it becomes clear he isn't listening. "NOW!" I shout. That seems to snap him out of it.
"How are we supposed to survive this?" he whispers.
"Oh, come on," I huff. "Did you not see that giant slime? We beat that easily enough."
"You did all the work."
"Okay, that might be true, but you tried."
"And didn't do anything. How am I supposed to kill hordes of zombies all night? I only have a half-filled quiver!"
"I have the shurikens -"
"And they won't last forever."
"I have my broadsword too." It is clear I am grasping at straws. How are we supposed to do this?
"We need to get to higher, more open ground," he says.
I nod, and without a word, we set off. Night falls, and the moon rises. Still, we walk. Then, the moans begin.
They know we are here, and they are coming. Still, we walk.
I think to myself that it could be worse. It could be a Blood Moon. But it is an empty reassurance. Something is off; I can feel it. As if... no. I can't dwell on it.
But I feel eyes on me everywhere I go. It isn't Seth; he's walking ahead of me. If it were a zombie, it would have attacked. So what is it?
"Um, Seth?" I ask.
"I feel it too," he says. "A presence... watching us."
"What do we do?"
"We keep moving. Nothing else to do."
We walk in silence a bit longer.
"Seth, why haven't the zombies attacked us yet?"
"I am not sure, but it is good fortune. Keep moving."
"The last time zombies didn't attack me, it didn't end well." And then I am telling Seth all about the awful Blood Moon, and the Bride and the Groom, and everything. I pour out my past, in all of its awful detail. I tell him what happened to my parents, what happened to me. He listens in silence.
Finally, when I am done speaking, he replies. "I'm so sorry, Celestia." He turns around and kneels down in front of me. "Whatever happens, I am going to try my best to keep you safe. Just promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't use your shurikens on me. They look sharp."
We both laugh. Then, we stop - at exactly the same time.
The feeling of being watched intensifies. Seth and I look at each other, and break out into a sprint. We burst out of the trees into the clearing I woke up in, rushing down the hill. Not the most ideal position, but we had to get to open ground.
Seth looks up, his mouth forming a silent scream. I follow his gaze, and then I see it.
An enormous eye floats above us, staring down in absolute silence. Still, no zombies come, and I realize that this monstrosity has the power to keep them away. It wants us for itself. I start to shudder as it slowly descends towards us.
I snap out of it at the loud TWANG of a bowstring next to me. Seth lets loose an arrow, the tip alight with flame. It is a direct hit, and flames spread across the eye before quickly winking out. It seems completely unfazed. I pull out my shurikens and begin launching them; my armor even seems to augment my throwing ability.
We keep shooting arrows and throwing shurikens until it gets closer to us. It seems to pay no heed to the sharp projectiles that have punctured its skin. It begins to move towards us, and I know we want to be nowhere near it when it arrives. We split onto either side of it, forcing it to choose.
It decides to follow me.
I start running, but it doesn't move fast. It just slowly advances, staring at me. Then, a voice rings out in my mind: The Eye of Cthulhu, that which slumbers. It certainly isn't my voice. I look up at the eye staring expectantly. It got into my mind.
"Stay out of my brain, you oversized cornea!" I shout. And then it accelerates towards me.
The Light must be extinguished, the voice says.
"Shut up!" I shout. I throw more shurikens, and try to loop around to Seth. It still isn't fast enough to catch me when I run, but I am worried it will keep attaining speed.
Then, Seth shoots the fateful arrow. It hits the eye. Suddenly, the - what was it? Eye of Cthulhu, I think - begins spinning. I smile. A creepy encounter, to be sure, but not a dangerous one.
Then, it stops spinning. In the eye's place is a new... thing. The entire front of the eye is now devoted to a giant mouth. Its glistening fangs drip saliva that makes the grass sizzle and die wherever it falls. Then it roars, and Seth falls unconscious.
The next few hours are a blur. I run around, dodging it as it charges. It leaves Seth alone. Something about that roar almost knocked me out too, but I suppose being the Light grants you some special privileges.
I keep throwing shurikens at it, and there are many close calls where its jaws close in, snapping hungrily. My ninja suit seems to help me both as I throw shurikens and move. I sprint around the clearing, even as it charges me with supernatural speed.
Finally, it hits its breaking point. I toss a shuriken into its open maw, and it sticks next to all the other ones. (The pouch that came with the ninja suit seems to have a limitless supply, which is fine by me.) The Eye of Cthulhu lets out a roar, but it is subdued, muted.
Then, it crashes to the ground, and on impact it splatters into a dozen pieces, which quickly begin dissolving into the ground. On the ground in front of me lie two small mounds of metal: one purple, and the other red. As I approach, they melt away with the rest of the corpse.
All that is left is a shield. On the front is emblazoned the visage of the second form of the Eye. I pick it up and slide it onto my arm. Then, I hear a groan. I spin, expecting a zombie, but then see Seth slowly getting up. He stares down at the shield on my arm and then smiles.
"You killed it!" he shouts. I smile back at him, and then run over to give him a hug.
"Whoa," he says as I slam into him. Then, he grabs me by the shoulders and holds me at arm's-length. "Wait a second... did you get taller?" I look up at him and realize that his head isn't so far away. I even feel different, like I am -
"I got older, didn't I?" I ask aloud.
"I think so," he replies. "You look about nine years old now."
"Well, that's... strange."
"Yeah." And then I see it, the zombie on the other side of him. Instinctively, I charge it. As I do, the shield I claimed from the Eye of Cthulhu's dissolved body tugs me forward, pulling me at a speed similar to the extraordinary one it used to chase me. I ram into it, knocking it back ten feet with a sickening splat. I know even before it keels over that I smashed its heart when I hit it in the chest.
Seth stares at me. "You do have a tendency for picking up cool stuff, don't you?" he asks.
Then, the dawn comes. I had almost forgotten the sun in the night of endless horrors. And with the sun comes another surprise.
"Hello!" shouts an unfamiliar voice. We look to see an older man with white hair and a well-trimmed beard coming down the hill. Seth and I grin at each other.
When he reaches the bottom of the hill, he walks towards us. "My name is Dan," he says.
"Seth," Seth responds.
"And am I to assume this is your daughter?"
"No; in fact, she's pretty special."
"How so?"
"This, my dear friend, is the Light."
The Merchant bursts out laughing. "A funny joke to be sure, but..." he seems to lose his train of thought as he sees our serious faces. "You can't be telling me that a runt like this is supposed to protect us from the Darkness."
"Excuse me," I say. "Do you see this?" I point at the shield.
"What would that be?"
"This is a shield I claimed from a horrible creature called the Eye of Cthulhu."
"You killed the Eye?"
"You know of it?"
"Know of it? It has stalked me for days. Every night, it found me, staring from above. It never came closer, and it kept the zombies away. After my village was destroyed, I was glad for the lack of those cursed creatures, but the Eye was too unnerving."
"Your village was destroyed?"
"Aye. The Face Monsters and Crimeras got us. But that is a tale for another time. You claim to be the Light?"
Seth interjects: "She is the Light. It is clear as the day around us. I am her Guide."
"I suppose anyone who could kill that freaky eyeball would have to be the prophesied hero. I just didn't expect her to be so... young."
"That's what I said," says Seth with a smile.
"Anyway," Dan continues, "I am a Merchant. Got a magic bag that holds stuff, but I can only get stuff from it if you drop coins in."
Seth refills his quiver with arrows from Dan's bag, and then we look around at the clearing.
"You know," says Seth slowly. "We don't have a home either. This could be it! We could build a new village here."
Dan grins at the idea, then clearly has an idea. "They cost a gold coin a person, but they're worth it," he says. He drops three golden coins into the bag, then pulls out three small rectangles of plastic and metal.
"These," he says, "are called smartphones. We can use them to talk to each other over long distances, but they also have another feature, where we can set a home base and teleport back to it as long as we are not in a... a Dark Zone." He shudders as he says the last two words.
We gladly take the phones from him, and he shows us how to use them. Then, we head out to chop wood.
*****
By that night, we have built three small wooden houses, with makeshift cots for sleeping. As I drift off, I have a strange dream of another land.This land is covered in strange, red grass, and the trees that grow are twisted and withered. I can feel blood, death, and flesh here. Who knows?
This might be the next place my journey takes me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter did not fit into the 30-chapter storyboard I had, and it felt wrong to saddle it with Chapter 3. Thus, it is Chapter S.
When I wake up, I have an absolutely excruciating headache. I moan in pain, and it slowly subsides. Unfortunately, it is still present, throbbing, each new pulse sending waves of pain through my skull. I manage to get onto my feet, but it doesn't help much.
I decide some fresh air might help, so I stumble out of my cottage. The sun shines brightly down, but from its position I intuit that it is still fairly early morning. I look across the clearing and see Seth and Dan standing on top of a hill. I quickly run over, but I try to be quiet about it. One thing I've learned from being a kid is that the only way you can hear the important stuff that the adults don't want you to hear if you eavesdrop on them.
I am rewarded for my efforts when I come up behind them. They don't seem to realize I'm there, and I hear their conversation.
"When were you planning on telling her, Seth?"
"I'm... I'm not sure. Maybe if we just - "
"She needs to know what happened!"
"She'll never have the courage to stand up to the Darkness if she hears about it!"
"Nonsense! That girl has a spirit like fire! You said it yourself. She will be emboldened to take revenge on the plagues!"
"So, when should we tell her?"
"How 'bout now?" I say, breaking concealment. They both startle and look back at me slowly. "And for your information," I inform Seth, "I am not a coward. Now, what are these scary Darkness plagues?"
Seth takes a deep, regretful breath. "Well," he starts slowly, "I suppose you deserve to know. This is the story - the full story, from the beginning."
I sit down on the grass and look up at him as he begins his story.
"In the beginning, there were five islands in the Great Sea; these islands were called Mithlinde, Falden, Evermand, Ortholis, and Alkar. Each island was occupied by different sorts of folk:
Mithlinde was a smaller island, and mainly housed smaller kingdoms and large collections of towns.
Falden was a fairly large island that was inhabited by vicious goblin tribes. (Falden, in the Goblinoid tongue, means "War.")
Evermand was actually more of a chain of small islands. Most who lived there were rough, sea-hardened types, and piracy abounded.
Ortholis was a huge island inhabited by humans, where most of the population lived. It was so massive that none were able to map it completely.
Alkar was a strange, inhospitable land, filled with strange creatures that hid in the dark. Few ever dared venture there.
"It all started with some very brave - or foolish - adventurers from Ortholis who journeyed to Alkar in search of treasure and glory. They found death and despair. In the end, only two returned, a mere fraction of the two or three dozen that had set out. They raved about a plague of darkness and a plague of blood, always in conflict with each other, that both turned on them as soon as they arrived. They were dismissed as mad, and sent to asylums. Unbeknownst to the people of Ortholis, the plagues were not only real, they were vicious and spread through the ground. And it turns out that the adventurers had brought seeds onto their ships.
"Ortholis was not ready for what happened next. The seeds found their way to the ground, and it was all over. The plagues reanimated the dead, turning them into monstrous zombies, and other dark horrors emerged as the plagues spread. They were titled the Corruption, a land of shadows, and the Crimson, a land of blood, respectively. With no way to push back the plagues, people retreated in horror. However, it was not enough. It was never enough. Within weeks, the plagues took up huge swaths of land, growing exponentially. Many brave souls died in attempts to find and destroy the source of the plagues.
"It only took a couple of months for all of Ortholis to be overrun. The entire island, to this day, is completely covered by two ever-warring plagues, each seeking but neither finding a foothold over the other." Noticing me gaping in horror at his story, Seth shakes his head sadly, and continues. "It gets worse, Celestia. The other islands were terrified that they would also lose their precious ground to the horrific plagues. Falden and Evermand both closed their borders completely, trying their hardest to keep out the plagues. It did not take long before the goblins decided that the pirates were too dangerous to keep around. A few goblin scouts ventured to Ortholis and collected plague seeds, then snuck into Evermand and planted them.
"It was the nature of Evermand that saved it. Only two of the chain islands were taken over by the plagues. But the pirates were furious at the goblins. They had lost a fifth of their land, and they decided it was time for payback. The two lands went to war.
"Mithlinde, the last island, was terrified by the prospect of the plagues coming to their land, and some people left in search of a new island, far from this place of distress. Most, however, understood that they needed to stick together. Warring kingdoms came together, united under one banner. An incredibly smart mechanic managed to create a serum that could push back the plagues, and they loaded it up into strange devices. Many sailed away, ready to return Ortholis to its former glory.
"It took two years, but finally scouts returned and reported that a new kingdom had been set up in Ortholis and that the devices were working perfectly. Many left to join the war on the plagues. All that remained on Mithlinde were scattered towns. At this point, the war between Falden and Evermand had grown out of control. Those who lived in Mithlinde were worried that their small communities would become targets of the islands' rampant need for resources.
"It is impossible to know if Mithlinde would have become a target, but somehow some seeds of the Corruption and Crimson were planted in Mithlindic soil. At the same time, a desperate scout returned from Ortholis, saying that their devices had broken down and the remainder of the population were hunkered down in giant bunkers. Unfortunately, Mithlinde was in no position to help, as the plagues began spreading.
"Fortunately for Mithlinde, the Six Oracles of the Stars still resided on the island. They were powerful seers who came together to stop the plagues. They locked the ancient spirits of the Darkness away, and added a spark of light in the hope of it tearing the Darkness apart. Though the plagues remained, their progress halted. They entirely stopped spreading, and people praised their luck.
"Unfortunately, the plagues also had an unknown side effect. Monsters began appearing everywhere, and not just zombies. Slimes emerged from the ground, giant antlions appeared in deserts, and dozens of other creatures began popping up. Mithlinde became a dangerous place to live, but most people still got by. Then, the first Blood Moon hit.
"In one night, dozens of villages across the island were wiped out. Only the best fortified managed to survive, and people quickly learned to barricade their doors and windows. Our population was knocked down into the hundreds. Over time, villages were taken out, one by one. Yours may have been the last one, but... the final village was taken out six years ago."
"Wait..." I say. "I died... and didn't come back for six years?"
"I am afraid so, unless I am sorely mistaken."
I think about it. I guess I didn't really have any sense of time...
"And all the people in those towns?" I ask. "What happened to them?"
"They became zombies and skeletons, creatures of the darkness."
"And the only humans left are in bunkers on Ortholis?"
"If they're still alive, yes. But there are also some people still wandering Mithlinde, like me. We survive through caution, searching for the fabled Light."
"What about the Six Oracles? What happened to them?"
"We aren't sure. After they sealed away the Darkness, they gave their prophecy and were never seen again."
I quickly tell him about my headache, and my dream.
He sighs again. "That, Celestia," he says, referring to the land of blood and death, "is the Crimson. And if I'm not mistaking your dream, we need to go there next."
When I wake up, I have an absolutely excruciating headache. I moan in pain, and it slowly subsides. Unfortunately, it is still present, throbbing, each new pulse sending waves of pain through my skull. I manage to get onto my feet, but it doesn't help much.
I decide some fresh air might help, so I stumble out of my cottage. The sun shines brightly down, but from its position I intuit that it is still fairly early morning. I look across the clearing and see Seth and Dan standing on top of a hill. I quickly run over, but I try to be quiet about it. One thing I've learned from being a kid is that the only way you can hear the important stuff that the adults don't want you to hear if you eavesdrop on them.
I am rewarded for my efforts when I come up behind them. They don't seem to realize I'm there, and I hear their conversation.
"When were you planning on telling her, Seth?"
"I'm... I'm not sure. Maybe if we just - "
"She needs to know what happened!"
"She'll never have the courage to stand up to the Darkness if she hears about it!"
"Nonsense! That girl has a spirit like fire! You said it yourself. She will be emboldened to take revenge on the plagues!"
"So, when should we tell her?"
"How 'bout now?" I say, breaking concealment. They both startle and look back at me slowly. "And for your information," I inform Seth, "I am not a coward. Now, what are these scary Darkness plagues?"
Seth takes a deep, regretful breath. "Well," he starts slowly, "I suppose you deserve to know. This is the story - the full story, from the beginning."
I sit down on the grass and look up at him as he begins his story.
"In the beginning, there were five islands in the Great Sea; these islands were called Mithlinde, Falden, Evermand, Ortholis, and Alkar. Each island was occupied by different sorts of folk:
Mithlinde was a smaller island, and mainly housed smaller kingdoms and large collections of towns.
Falden was a fairly large island that was inhabited by vicious goblin tribes. (Falden, in the Goblinoid tongue, means "War.")
Evermand was actually more of a chain of small islands. Most who lived there were rough, sea-hardened types, and piracy abounded.
Ortholis was a huge island inhabited by humans, where most of the population lived. It was so massive that none were able to map it completely.
Alkar was a strange, inhospitable land, filled with strange creatures that hid in the dark. Few ever dared venture there.
"It all started with some very brave - or foolish - adventurers from Ortholis who journeyed to Alkar in search of treasure and glory. They found death and despair. In the end, only two returned, a mere fraction of the two or three dozen that had set out. They raved about a plague of darkness and a plague of blood, always in conflict with each other, that both turned on them as soon as they arrived. They were dismissed as mad, and sent to asylums. Unbeknownst to the people of Ortholis, the plagues were not only real, they were vicious and spread through the ground. And it turns out that the adventurers had brought seeds onto their ships.
"Ortholis was not ready for what happened next. The seeds found their way to the ground, and it was all over. The plagues reanimated the dead, turning them into monstrous zombies, and other dark horrors emerged as the plagues spread. They were titled the Corruption, a land of shadows, and the Crimson, a land of blood, respectively. With no way to push back the plagues, people retreated in horror. However, it was not enough. It was never enough. Within weeks, the plagues took up huge swaths of land, growing exponentially. Many brave souls died in attempts to find and destroy the source of the plagues.
"It only took a couple of months for all of Ortholis to be overrun. The entire island, to this day, is completely covered by two ever-warring plagues, each seeking but neither finding a foothold over the other." Noticing me gaping in horror at his story, Seth shakes his head sadly, and continues. "It gets worse, Celestia. The other islands were terrified that they would also lose their precious ground to the horrific plagues. Falden and Evermand both closed their borders completely, trying their hardest to keep out the plagues. It did not take long before the goblins decided that the pirates were too dangerous to keep around. A few goblin scouts ventured to Ortholis and collected plague seeds, then snuck into Evermand and planted them.
"It was the nature of Evermand that saved it. Only two of the chain islands were taken over by the plagues. But the pirates were furious at the goblins. They had lost a fifth of their land, and they decided it was time for payback. The two lands went to war.
"Mithlinde, the last island, was terrified by the prospect of the plagues coming to their land, and some people left in search of a new island, far from this place of distress. Most, however, understood that they needed to stick together. Warring kingdoms came together, united under one banner. An incredibly smart mechanic managed to create a serum that could push back the plagues, and they loaded it up into strange devices. Many sailed away, ready to return Ortholis to its former glory.
"It took two years, but finally scouts returned and reported that a new kingdom had been set up in Ortholis and that the devices were working perfectly. Many left to join the war on the plagues. All that remained on Mithlinde were scattered towns. At this point, the war between Falden and Evermand had grown out of control. Those who lived in Mithlinde were worried that their small communities would become targets of the islands' rampant need for resources.
"It is impossible to know if Mithlinde would have become a target, but somehow some seeds of the Corruption and Crimson were planted in Mithlindic soil. At the same time, a desperate scout returned from Ortholis, saying that their devices had broken down and the remainder of the population were hunkered down in giant bunkers. Unfortunately, Mithlinde was in no position to help, as the plagues began spreading.
"Fortunately for Mithlinde, the Six Oracles of the Stars still resided on the island. They were powerful seers who came together to stop the plagues. They locked the ancient spirits of the Darkness away, and added a spark of light in the hope of it tearing the Darkness apart. Though the plagues remained, their progress halted. They entirely stopped spreading, and people praised their luck.
"Unfortunately, the plagues also had an unknown side effect. Monsters began appearing everywhere, and not just zombies. Slimes emerged from the ground, giant antlions appeared in deserts, and dozens of other creatures began popping up. Mithlinde became a dangerous place to live, but most people still got by. Then, the first Blood Moon hit.
"In one night, dozens of villages across the island were wiped out. Only the best fortified managed to survive, and people quickly learned to barricade their doors and windows. Our population was knocked down into the hundreds. Over time, villages were taken out, one by one. Yours may have been the last one, but... the final village was taken out six years ago."
"Wait..." I say. "I died... and didn't come back for six years?"
"I am afraid so, unless I am sorely mistaken."
I think about it. I guess I didn't really have any sense of time...
"And all the people in those towns?" I ask. "What happened to them?"
"They became zombies and skeletons, creatures of the darkness."
"And the only humans left are in bunkers on Ortholis?"
"If they're still alive, yes. But there are also some people still wandering Mithlinde, like me. We survive through caution, searching for the fabled Light."
"What about the Six Oracles? What happened to them?"
"We aren't sure. After they sealed away the Darkness, they gave their prophecy and were never seen again."
I quickly tell him about my headache, and my dream.
He sighs again. "That, Celestia," he says, referring to the land of blood and death, "is the Crimson. And if I'm not mistaking your dream, we need to go there next."
As we walk, I ponder on Seth's story. I had thought there were many villages left, and all of the townsfolk had told me there were... but, of course, they shared furtive glances when they thought I wasn't watching, so it's very likely that we were the last town. But... six years? That's a long time. Suddenly, my head pulses with pain again. I cry out, and Seth quickly turns around to face me.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"It's nothing; I'm fine," I reply in a pained voice.
Seth has a troubled expression on his face, but he slowly turns back to the path. We are walking along an overgrown path that winds through the forest, heading back to the site of Dan's old village. It turns out the Eye of Cthulhu had trailed him for eight years, keeping the zombies and other monsters off him at night. He wandered that whole time, finding no other humans. I gotta give him credit for that; I don't think I could have taken it.
My headache only ramps up as we continue moving, getting so bad that I can almost feel whispers through my brain. But that's silly, of course; I'm just imagining it. Then, Dan stops.
"Toweroak is just ahead," he says, referring to his old town. "It was on the border of the Crimson, but we were able to fend off the monsters for a long time, so no one worried too much about it. Then, they managed to break down part of the wall. Horrors entered from all sides; Face Monsters pouring in through the gap, Crimeras swooping over the top of the wall, and Blood Crawlers climbing up to high windows and forcing people down to the carnage below. We will be lucky to survive in there, let alone find whatever we are looking for. Speaking of that, still no ideas?"
I shrug apologetically. I feel a tug to this area, as if the Light inside me wants me to come here, but I have no idea as to the actual nature of the thing we need to locate. We continue walking, and as we ready our weapons a pall of nervousness hangs over us. I pull on my helmet and ready my bag of shurikens, Seth strings his bow, and Dan pulls a couple throwing knives from his bag.
When we arrive, it is eerily silent. The walls of the village are crumbling away, and we can easily pick our way through them. The houses are dilapidated and smashed open, and there is nothing present but the soft whistling of the wind. Dan seems to have a destination in mind, and we follow him to his old house. It is mostly gone; the roof lies nearby, and the furniture inside has been torn to shreds. We only linger for a couple of minutes before deciding to leave. We look through a couple houses, but find the same scene there as well. Then, we come across the village armory, a large stone building. The heavy oak door has been smashed through, and we cautiously enter.
My headache is absolutely awful, but I wince and press on. I don't want to mess with the mission. Inside the armory, we see what looks like a whirlwind's work. Weapon racks and armor stands are strewn every which way. Over a dozen skeletons litter the floor, all in iron suits of armor. Almost all of the equipment we find is rusty, but then we get lucky. Almost all of the side rooms to the armory have been destroyed, but one is still intact. We ease the door open and look inside.
Inside are three armor stands and weapon racks. The armor stands each hold a different set of armor: one holds a suit made of platinum, another holds one of gold, and the final one seems to be made of some sort of bone. Seth quickly dons the platinum armor, and grabs a weapon off the weapon rack: a beautifully made bow of platinum, with an inset ruby. Dan snags the gold armor, and grabs a gold broadsword off the rack.
I stare at the bone armor, and then quickly don it. As I put it on, it resizes to fit me. Being the Light certainly does have its perks. When I put on the helmet, I can feel my strength increasing, and I realize this will help my throwing abilities. Then I grab the final item on the weapon rack: a javelin carved of bone.
"Only one?" I complain. I decide to throw it to see if it will smash on impact with a wall, and make a startling discovery. As soon as the javelin hits the wall, it crumbles into dust... and a new one shimmers into existence on my back! I test it out, and I seem to have a limitless supply. With our new gear, we feel a surge of confidence. We leave the armory to see if we can find anything else in town, though we know the real reason we are stalling is that we dread entering the Crimson proper. And that is when we hear a sob from the next street. We rush to see the source, and are shocked to see a teenage girl crying on the ground.
She is dressed in rags that barely hang on to her loose frame. She is clearly starved, and possibly too weak to lift herself off of the cobblestone path. She lifts her head with difficulty and gasps out "please.... help...." before falling back to the ground. We quickly run to her side and Dan starts to fetch some food and water. What happens next is a blur.
In a flash, the girl is on her feet and is holding Seth in the air by one clawed hand. Her eyes glow red and her mouth opens to reveal fangs. Her ears lengthen to points and she lets out a shriek. Seth starts turning red, and it is clear she is choking the life from him. With a cackle, she swipes Dan across the face, knocking him back and leaving a distinctive scar pattern on his face, before turning to me. Seth falls unconscious from air loss, and she drops him to the ground. My two companions have been knocked out, leaving only me against this thing.
Then, she speaks. "I am the Nymph, Deceiver of Fools, last of my kind." Her voice is surprisingly melodious and peaceful. "Humans destroyed my people, and now they pay for their transgression with their extinction. You stand in the way of the death of the human race, Light. Prepare to - " Her monologue is cut short by me throwing a javelin at her. It sticks in her chest, and a new one is in my hand immediately. "You will pay for that, little one," she snarls.
I launch another javelin, but it doesn't even slow her down. She comes towards me, fangs bared, claws glinting in the sunlight. I toss another javelin, but once again she ignores it as it sticks next to the other two. Her claws swipe and I wince in preparation for the pain - but it doesn't come. Her claws rebounded off my armor, giving me another chance. I ready a javelin, but she hits me again. While she doesn't get through my armor, it still knocks me down. She grabs my helmet with one of her clawed hands and begins prying it off, ready to deliver a death blow.
I desperately try to move, but I feel weak, like all of the Light is draining from me. She finally tears off my helmet and raises a claw into the air to finish me off. I cry out in anger and feel all of the rage from my past. For my parents, for me. And then the Light floods into me. I must do this for Seth. For Dan. For the world to survive, I must kill this creature that wants to end it all. And so I do.
My javelin shoots up with blinding fury, throwing the Nymph off of me. She lands nearby, struggling to get up, but unlike her alter ego "lost girl" form, this time it is for real. She glares at me with hatred and fear in her eyes. "My shriek brought them here!" she shouts. "The creatures of the Crimson are coming to feed on your flesh and bone! Killing me has accomplished you nothing." Then, the last bit of Darkness flows from her, and her entire body relaxes. Then, it dissolves into liquid and seeps between the cobblestones.
I want to catch a breath, but she was telling the truth. Even now I can hear hordes of monsters moving towards us. I drop some coins into Dan's bag and pull out some small healing potions and give them to the Guide and Merchant. While Seth seems untouched after the potion, Dan still has four slash marks across his face. I try to apologize, but he reassures me.
"It's not your fault, Celestia. Thanks to you, I live to fight another day. None of us saw that thing coming. Now, shall we ready our weapons?"
I smile, and we pull out our weapons. Then, my headache hits again. I fall to one knee and catch my breath. In a moment, Seth is by me, helping me stand. "Seriously, Celestia, what is going on?"
"My headache," I pant, "it never really went away. It just gets... worse as we keep walking. I think I can stand..."
Seth helps me to my feet, and we ready ourselves to face the hordes. My headache makes my vision blurry, causing everything to appear as if it has a double, and voices in my mind break out, babbling incoherently in tiny whispers. "Not a good time," I mutter, and the voices fall silent. Well, that's new. I don't have any time to think about it, though, as the first howl breaks out. The first to come are the Face Monsters, approaching from all sides. Their unhinged jaws hang open, letting loose the chilling screams. Then come the Crimeras, flying above their heads. Behind them are the Blood Crawlers, red spiders that move at a frightening speed, eight legs scuttling with manic speed.
When the first wave reaches us, we clash. My javelins and Seth's arrows drop Crimeras out of the sky as Dan swings his sword into the Face Monsters. But it isn't enough. Already, more and more come, too fast and too many for us to stop them. They leer hungrily at us, just waiting for when they overwhelm us. For every one we kill, a dozen more appear. Finally, we know it's over. We have no hope.
Then, the explosions start. The monsters, clustered close together, shriek in pain as grenades blow up all around them, blasting them into bits. They begin to flee in a mad panic; it appears that even these mindless beasts have a sense of self-preservation. Soon, all quiets as the shrieks of the monsters retreat and the explosions halt.
We see a dwarf jump down from a building in front of us. I thought there were none of their species left after they were driven underground by the Kleiman Empire.
"Oi," he says, in a gruff voice, "I'm Thorym."
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"It's nothing; I'm fine," I reply in a pained voice.
Seth has a troubled expression on his face, but he slowly turns back to the path. We are walking along an overgrown path that winds through the forest, heading back to the site of Dan's old village. It turns out the Eye of Cthulhu had trailed him for eight years, keeping the zombies and other monsters off him at night. He wandered that whole time, finding no other humans. I gotta give him credit for that; I don't think I could have taken it.
My headache only ramps up as we continue moving, getting so bad that I can almost feel whispers through my brain. But that's silly, of course; I'm just imagining it. Then, Dan stops.
"Toweroak is just ahead," he says, referring to his old town. "It was on the border of the Crimson, but we were able to fend off the monsters for a long time, so no one worried too much about it. Then, they managed to break down part of the wall. Horrors entered from all sides; Face Monsters pouring in through the gap, Crimeras swooping over the top of the wall, and Blood Crawlers climbing up to high windows and forcing people down to the carnage below. We will be lucky to survive in there, let alone find whatever we are looking for. Speaking of that, still no ideas?"
I shrug apologetically. I feel a tug to this area, as if the Light inside me wants me to come here, but I have no idea as to the actual nature of the thing we need to locate. We continue walking, and as we ready our weapons a pall of nervousness hangs over us. I pull on my helmet and ready my bag of shurikens, Seth strings his bow, and Dan pulls a couple throwing knives from his bag.
When we arrive, it is eerily silent. The walls of the village are crumbling away, and we can easily pick our way through them. The houses are dilapidated and smashed open, and there is nothing present but the soft whistling of the wind. Dan seems to have a destination in mind, and we follow him to his old house. It is mostly gone; the roof lies nearby, and the furniture inside has been torn to shreds. We only linger for a couple of minutes before deciding to leave. We look through a couple houses, but find the same scene there as well. Then, we come across the village armory, a large stone building. The heavy oak door has been smashed through, and we cautiously enter.
My headache is absolutely awful, but I wince and press on. I don't want to mess with the mission. Inside the armory, we see what looks like a whirlwind's work. Weapon racks and armor stands are strewn every which way. Over a dozen skeletons litter the floor, all in iron suits of armor. Almost all of the equipment we find is rusty, but then we get lucky. Almost all of the side rooms to the armory have been destroyed, but one is still intact. We ease the door open and look inside.
Inside are three armor stands and weapon racks. The armor stands each hold a different set of armor: one holds a suit made of platinum, another holds one of gold, and the final one seems to be made of some sort of bone. Seth quickly dons the platinum armor, and grabs a weapon off the weapon rack: a beautifully made bow of platinum, with an inset ruby. Dan snags the gold armor, and grabs a gold broadsword off the rack.
I stare at the bone armor, and then quickly don it. As I put it on, it resizes to fit me. Being the Light certainly does have its perks. When I put on the helmet, I can feel my strength increasing, and I realize this will help my throwing abilities. Then I grab the final item on the weapon rack: a javelin carved of bone.
"Only one?" I complain. I decide to throw it to see if it will smash on impact with a wall, and make a startling discovery. As soon as the javelin hits the wall, it crumbles into dust... and a new one shimmers into existence on my back! I test it out, and I seem to have a limitless supply. With our new gear, we feel a surge of confidence. We leave the armory to see if we can find anything else in town, though we know the real reason we are stalling is that we dread entering the Crimson proper. And that is when we hear a sob from the next street. We rush to see the source, and are shocked to see a teenage girl crying on the ground.
She is dressed in rags that barely hang on to her loose frame. She is clearly starved, and possibly too weak to lift herself off of the cobblestone path. She lifts her head with difficulty and gasps out "please.... help...." before falling back to the ground. We quickly run to her side and Dan starts to fetch some food and water. What happens next is a blur.
In a flash, the girl is on her feet and is holding Seth in the air by one clawed hand. Her eyes glow red and her mouth opens to reveal fangs. Her ears lengthen to points and she lets out a shriek. Seth starts turning red, and it is clear she is choking the life from him. With a cackle, she swipes Dan across the face, knocking him back and leaving a distinctive scar pattern on his face, before turning to me. Seth falls unconscious from air loss, and she drops him to the ground. My two companions have been knocked out, leaving only me against this thing.
Then, she speaks. "I am the Nymph, Deceiver of Fools, last of my kind." Her voice is surprisingly melodious and peaceful. "Humans destroyed my people, and now they pay for their transgression with their extinction. You stand in the way of the death of the human race, Light. Prepare to - " Her monologue is cut short by me throwing a javelin at her. It sticks in her chest, and a new one is in my hand immediately. "You will pay for that, little one," she snarls.
I launch another javelin, but it doesn't even slow her down. She comes towards me, fangs bared, claws glinting in the sunlight. I toss another javelin, but once again she ignores it as it sticks next to the other two. Her claws swipe and I wince in preparation for the pain - but it doesn't come. Her claws rebounded off my armor, giving me another chance. I ready a javelin, but she hits me again. While she doesn't get through my armor, it still knocks me down. She grabs my helmet with one of her clawed hands and begins prying it off, ready to deliver a death blow.
I desperately try to move, but I feel weak, like all of the Light is draining from me. She finally tears off my helmet and raises a claw into the air to finish me off. I cry out in anger and feel all of the rage from my past. For my parents, for me. And then the Light floods into me. I must do this for Seth. For Dan. For the world to survive, I must kill this creature that wants to end it all. And so I do.
My javelin shoots up with blinding fury, throwing the Nymph off of me. She lands nearby, struggling to get up, but unlike her alter ego "lost girl" form, this time it is for real. She glares at me with hatred and fear in her eyes. "My shriek brought them here!" she shouts. "The creatures of the Crimson are coming to feed on your flesh and bone! Killing me has accomplished you nothing." Then, the last bit of Darkness flows from her, and her entire body relaxes. Then, it dissolves into liquid and seeps between the cobblestones.
I want to catch a breath, but she was telling the truth. Even now I can hear hordes of monsters moving towards us. I drop some coins into Dan's bag and pull out some small healing potions and give them to the Guide and Merchant. While Seth seems untouched after the potion, Dan still has four slash marks across his face. I try to apologize, but he reassures me.
"It's not your fault, Celestia. Thanks to you, I live to fight another day. None of us saw that thing coming. Now, shall we ready our weapons?"
I smile, and we pull out our weapons. Then, my headache hits again. I fall to one knee and catch my breath. In a moment, Seth is by me, helping me stand. "Seriously, Celestia, what is going on?"
"My headache," I pant, "it never really went away. It just gets... worse as we keep walking. I think I can stand..."
Seth helps me to my feet, and we ready ourselves to face the hordes. My headache makes my vision blurry, causing everything to appear as if it has a double, and voices in my mind break out, babbling incoherently in tiny whispers. "Not a good time," I mutter, and the voices fall silent. Well, that's new. I don't have any time to think about it, though, as the first howl breaks out. The first to come are the Face Monsters, approaching from all sides. Their unhinged jaws hang open, letting loose the chilling screams. Then come the Crimeras, flying above their heads. Behind them are the Blood Crawlers, red spiders that move at a frightening speed, eight legs scuttling with manic speed.
When the first wave reaches us, we clash. My javelins and Seth's arrows drop Crimeras out of the sky as Dan swings his sword into the Face Monsters. But it isn't enough. Already, more and more come, too fast and too many for us to stop them. They leer hungrily at us, just waiting for when they overwhelm us. For every one we kill, a dozen more appear. Finally, we know it's over. We have no hope.
Then, the explosions start. The monsters, clustered close together, shriek in pain as grenades blow up all around them, blasting them into bits. They begin to flee in a mad panic; it appears that even these mindless beasts have a sense of self-preservation. Soon, all quiets as the shrieks of the monsters retreat and the explosions halt.
We see a dwarf jump down from a building in front of us. I thought there were none of their species left after they were driven underground by the Kleiman Empire.
"Oi," he says, in a gruff voice, "I'm Thorym."
The following spoiler contains a list of all of the characters Celestia finds and recruits onto her team. If a character dies (who knows? It could happen), they will remain on the list, but it will be noted. The list will be kept up to date. Thus, it will likely contain spoilers. Only open it if you have read the entirety of the story so far.
Celestia
The Light
Celestia is our beloved protagonist, a nine-year-old girl with powers far beyond her age. She is, in fact, the Light, a hero prophesied to be the only one with even a chance of pushing back the Darkness. She believes her destiny is to defeat it, but even the great Oracles admitted that there is a significant chance she will fail.
She grew about two years after killing the Eye of Cthulhu. Will this trend continue? Only time will tell.
Seth
The Guide
Seth is a Guide, making him an expert marksman and veritable treasure trove of knowledge. He was the first to meet Celestia after she inexplicably returned from death. He is now her loyal companion, and hopes that they will be able to find more noble souls to join their cause.
Dan
The Merchant
Dan is a Merchant. He has a magical bag that will provide certain supplies if you drop money into it. He has already proven himself to be a valuable asset, providing smartphones for the team.
Thorym
The Demolitionist
We haven't really met this guy yet, so nothing here right now!
The Light
Celestia is our beloved protagonist, a nine-year-old girl with powers far beyond her age. She is, in fact, the Light, a hero prophesied to be the only one with even a chance of pushing back the Darkness. She believes her destiny is to defeat it, but even the great Oracles admitted that there is a significant chance she will fail.
She grew about two years after killing the Eye of Cthulhu. Will this trend continue? Only time will tell.
Seth
The Guide
Seth is a Guide, making him an expert marksman and veritable treasure trove of knowledge. He was the first to meet Celestia after she inexplicably returned from death. He is now her loyal companion, and hopes that they will be able to find more noble souls to join their cause.
Dan
The Merchant
Dan is a Merchant. He has a magical bag that will provide certain supplies if you drop money into it. He has already proven himself to be a valuable asset, providing smartphones for the team.
Thorym
The Demolitionist
We haven't really met this guy yet, so nothing here right now!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for reading, guys! Chapter 4 should be up semi-soon. I am open to suggestions, but I would request that you PM them to me so as not to spoil it for others reading the thread if I do implement them. You guys are the reason I keep writing, so stay cool!
This thread will obviously contain spoilers; before reading other people's replies, make sure you are up to date on the story.
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