35+ DTAE

Instructions

Time for a overly long backstory/story/whatever this thing is A bit more than 100 years ago at a yet-unnamed place, the land was recovering from the brutal rule of an evil ruler (cliché, I know). Rebellion had successfully swept across the land, bringing change so desperately needed by the people. In the aftermath, the kingdom was split into parts and new, hopefully better rulers, were established. Scars began to heal, and the people continued on. In the midst of all of this rebuilding, a stone mason made a gift for his young daughter for her birthday. A carved statue of a cat-like creature that only existed in imagination. Carved of common stone, perhaps, but it was a symbol of hope to the family. Hope for a brighter future. But of course our story doesn't end here. The calamity that nearly ended the known world was not another evil ruler. Nor a famine or a war. It wasn't volcanos or a flood. Deep underground, a source of power began to stir. Magic. Akio stirred, blinking drowsily at the dark sky. It was much too quiet, quieter than the muffled sounds they had heard before. The house they had seen glimpses of was destroyed, no warm laughter coming from the kitchen. The grey stone walls were broken, the wooden support beams scorched and gone. Akio carefully picked their way to what was the door of this house. Dust still hung in the air, and a mournful wind began blowing through the ruin. A small, familiar statuette lay in a corner, broken and forgotten. Akio gazed at it for a moment, before continuing on. Memories that was scarcely theirs came to them. A feeling of being loved. Of hope. Akio clinged to this feeling as they picked through the empty cobblestone street. As Akio continued along the street, there was less and less buildings left. Most had been leveled to the ground. Some were scorched husks of what was. Akio left the town behind. There was nothing there for them, nothing resembling hope. They passed looming monoliths of black crystal, spaced out on the barren field. Akio glimpsed a strange creature lurking beside one. It scarcely seemed like a real thing, though it had the silhouette of a large cat. A shadow, perhaps, a result of whatever had happened here. It saw them, but made no move to attack. It just sat there, unmoving. Akio picked up their pace and didn't look back. They crested a hill, and spotted what was likely a camp. Quiet chatter, almost unfamiliar to Akio's ears, was the first sound of civilization. Dawn was breaking, the dark towers seeming less oppressive in the rosy light. Akio bounded towards the camp, hoping that two certain people were there. Akio approached the entrance, slowing into a trot, in full view of the guard. They called out their approximation of a greeting. An arrow thunked into the ground right in front of Akio. Harsh shouts of alarm, in a language that Akio was not familiar with, rang throughout the camp. More arrows streaked through the morning sky. Akio fled. The next night, they snuck into the camp. Going from shadow to shadow, hiding behind hastily propped up shelters and bags of treasured memories. They began to get more frantic, wondering if this was the right place, if they could dare to hope- There. The stone mason and his daughter, in a makeshift shelter across from Akio. Safe. For now.