My Beginning

[Maker]

"I had a dream that night. In my dream I was standing at a crossroad. I couldn't see very far down either path but I knew each one would take me in a different direction. Looking down the left path I felt a sense of dread and uncertainty. That is when I heard a sick whispering in my ears..."

"Follow this road, young one. Down this road you will take everything you need and want. You will grow strong in your conquests and all will fear and respect you. Banners will be raised in your name and you will rule a kingdom that will stretch far across the land."

"I shook my head as the whispering faded away. Then I looked down the right path. I felt an inner-warmth and a sense of safety and belonging. Then a strong, yet gentle voice spoke to me..."

"Travel this path, mortal. Down this path you will earn what you desire through the sweat and labor of your own. You will grow humble from your experiences and you will be known throughout the land as a generous and giving soul."

"Before I could choose a path I immediately awoke to more-familiar surroundings, or so I thought."



"The first thing I noticed was that I was no longer sleeping in my spruce bed, it was gone without a trace. Something also caught my eye. The drying rack I crafted was missing the boar hide I had placed in it and the basket of roasted boar meat was completely empty. Surely some hungry predator came through my camp that night and helped themselves but to not even leave me with a single piece of meat? I counted my blessings with the fact that I am still alive and the saying that things easily given are things easily taken.

That's when another divine intervention occurred."



"Not even a few steps out of my campsite did another hunter in a rowboat arrive at the land-bridge, who was just a friendly as the previous hunter I met the other night. We spoke briefly and I learned that he was tracking a murderer, but he did not go into specifics. I asked if I could travel with him, for surely I could learn a lot from this person. He declined, and rather not push the subject further I said farewell to him, not before getting directions from him."



"Being so young and new to the world I knew that, while I have only met friendly faces so far in my travels, there were others who wouldn't think twice about robbing or murdering me. I asked in what direction should I travel in to find more-secluded areas of wilderness so that I might live in peace."

"Try the northeast," the stranger said to me."

"Northeast. For some reason that I can't explain this direction somehow felt right to me. And so, with new determination I set out to the northeast, crossing many villages and claims until stopping at an abandoned village to get my bearings. But I wasn't prepared for what I found there..."

[MagicManICT]

Excellent story. It's so great to find these kinds of gems among all the dross.

Just remember the phrase: "if it ain't nailed down, it's likely to grow legs and walk away."

[Maker]

Excellent story. It's so great to find these kinds of gems among all the dross.

Just remember the phrase: "if it ain't nailed down, it's likely to grow legs and walk away."

Haha, you aren't kidding. Somewhere in the great wilderness a wild herd of roasted boar meat can be seen grazing peacefully without a care in the world. If I were artistically-inclined I would grace everyone with a rough sketch of that wonderful mental image but unfortunately I lack such skill.

[SarahJ]

=)

What an excellent story. Isn't it nice that the world has good people in it? I do my best.

[borka]

Fine story well written!

[Maker]

"It seems like I've done nothing but walk since I was given life by the Maker. But there's a purpose in this walking. A hidden determination not even known to myself. Of course I could stop and settle wherever I wanted to. There's just this... urge. Yes. That's a good word."



"My travels have brought me to yet another abandoned village, but this one was different from the others. It was clearly uninhabited. With no claim to protect it the scavengers picked-clean the entire area like carrion on a rotting carcass. It seemed a good enough spot as any to set up camp. But perhaps I was too hasty in my choice.

Exploring several of the houses nearby proved fruitful. I was able to collect some bones and dream essence for a future claim, but anything better than that was being hopeful at best. That's when I made the grim discovery...

At the southern-most house of the village there was a mass grave. Countless bleached skeletons littered the ground in front of me below two ominous runestones. Sadly, my curiosity got the better of me and instead of getting out of there I decided to check the runestones hoping to find some clue as to the reason for these killings."





"Insanity. That's the first word that came to mind after reading the runestones. What could've happened here that was so terrible, so unforgivable, that every villager had to be slaughtered? It was clear that staying here wasn't safe so I quickly took what I could and traveled further north to get away from the lingering smell of death and decay.

To this day that mass grave still haunts my dreams. What kind of monster would slaughter an entire village for any reason? There's no way all of them deserved that fate..."

[TeckXKnight]

If I might add something, that last settlement you were at was active. One of the lit hearthfires indicated that the player was online and exploring by the bright green.
With skeletons it's very common that the player was killed by an animal or some other form of fauna such as thorns or leeches. People like to gather skeletons and leave threatening runestones to scare others when really they mean nothing.

[Maker]

If I might add something, that last settlement you were at was active. One of the lit hearthfires indicated that the player was online and exploring by the bright green.
With skeletons it's very common that the player was killed by an animal or some other form of fauna such as thorns or leeches. People like to gather skeletons and leave threatening runestones to scare others when really they mean nothing.

The hearthfire in the first screenshot? That was mine that I put there.

[TeckXKnight]

The hearthfire in the first screenshot? That was mine that I put there. :)

Ah, my mistake~

[Maker]

The hearthfire in the first screenshot? That was mine that I put there.

Ah, my mistake~

No problem. I'm actually glad that you pay attention to the small details like that. I've traveled far since I started so I place a hearthfire every now and then in case I need to backtrack or, worse-case scenario, I die and I have to start over.