The Tale of the Virgin Hole

[Yasminkov]

We appeared one night on the shadowy banks of a river, with only the clothes on our backs, and the hats that kept us company...

We grew fast, learning from the land, picking from the trees. We learned to hunt and outsmarted the wild beasts (Ants) of the forest to keep us fed. We learned to forage and tapped into the roots around us for string. We gained the power of will, the ability to work stone, and we strode through the land on a quest for a place to call home. Across swamps, and muddy lands, more swamps and one more muddy plain before our first great victory. A bunny, brought up from the land to be healthy and vigorous. But the life strain called to him and he died to my hand. Yasminkov is my name, and with my band of merry fellows cut forests with his bones and drank water from his flesh, until tired and weary we found what we had always dreamed of.

We found: A Virgin Hole. A comfy cave if moss hanging from the top, just the home we desired after our struggles. We were all travel weary and damp from the rain, so eager to find shelter were we that all five men of our group plunged head long into the cave. So fast did we enter that we became stuck, quite a fretful occurrence mad worse by the multitude of ants we had collected now marching from our pockets.

And with that ends my first entry.

[Zornaxe]

We shall charge onward deep into the virgin hole!

[Yasminkov]

The band of merry fellows, as I have come to call this gathering of colonists and myself have begun to build upon our plots, the trees dwindle quickly and I find myself in particular searching father and father out into the uncertain woods. It was a strange feeling, though I just moments before me and my compatriots wandered without pause among the brambles and canopy. Now grounded, everything outside our camp seems other and alien, the leaves above were so high, and crotches of trees so dark. What could they be hiding. I feel the need to improve my strength and combat abilities, so that I may ward off these uncertain feelings with the comfort of self capability.

[Flowen]

I can only speak for myself, but as I wandered upon this unexplored cave I was thrilled. My group of wanderers could finally settle. Now Yasminkov, Sanjin Yasha, myself and the rest of our group can finally begin building our cabins. Yasminkov has now taken to the forest where he has begun studying a peculiar ruby coloured winged beast he found in a swamp we had passed. As the night began to settle, with Yasminkov leading our band settlers, I knew deep in my heart that we were now safe.

[Yasminkov]

"I land; with luckless omens then adore their gods, and draw a line along their shore; I lay deep foundations of a wall..."

This came to me in a dream, I don't know what to make of this. The others heard it as well, Flowen took a walk to the river hoping to rid it of her mind. I think it may be a message from the gods. Or something else...? It gives me a feeling that I may not be alone, and the company I feel seems peerless, I dread a meeting.

[McChappy]

Day one: McChappy Log.
I've had dreams. Dreams of the world itself ending, family who I don't recognize but know I share a bond with perishing before my eyes. There's nothing I can do, everybody is helpless; burning, roasting, cooking. The dream is moving faster now, things settling, then sudden movement. Plant life! Before my eyes a new realm rises from the aftermath of the old, animals come, then the first people. One in particular seems extremely familiar, could it be...myself? Is this tale of horror disguised as a dream trying to tell me where I came from? I need to know more, partly out of curiosity, partly to save my sanity.

I hear word of a virgin hole discovered deep in unknown territory. I decide this is my one shot, wherever I came from, whatever happened to those poor dying people, there has to be some sort of clue deep underground, untouched by Hearth-kind. I create a persona for myself as a tradeswoman, setting out to find goods to create some sort of economy out here in the unforgiving wilderness. But I know one day I will venture deep into that virgin hole, seeking answers to the questions that plague my mind, so that one day, perhaps I, Alice McChappy, can find peace in this world, that is, if the world has any peace to offer.

[Flowen]

Flowen's log, day 3

Late yesterday afternoon after a long morning's work, I was about to embark on yet another foraging trip hoping that I could possibly bring home our villages 6th ant empress when I heard screams coming from the river. At first I was terrified. "Were we being raided?" I thought to myself. Moments later I realized these screams to be those of Arianna, our leader Yasminkov's wife. All I could do was stand there staring into the trees. "Something has happened to Yasminkov", I thought to myself "I shouldn't have let him leave on that silly bear endeavour... this is all my fault." But as I saw Arianna run through the trees towards our township, I noticed she was skipping. Either she has gone mad, or these were not screams of horror, but screams of joy. Then as my eyes begin to focus, I notice behind her in the distance the outline of a burly man holding something over his head. As the man stumbles towards us, I recognize him as none other than Yasminkov, and as for what he was holding over his head, it seems even the forests mightiest of beasts are no match for our leader.