A Nightmare Reborn
Chapter 1
This evening was unlike one ever before. My mind had became a blank slate, it being used as a twisted medium. Every moment spent here at my once enemy's camp could be potentially fatal, yet I did not have the energy to go on. I ate a small portion of my wrapped up bread, and laid my blanket on the ground. The fire would burn out on its own, and to put it out may attract others. I laid on the ground atop my blanket, my last sight until the morning being the mocking crescent moon.
When the sun rose, I was instantly rejuvenated. My body did not have the expected hangover, and all of my mental wounds had gone away, almost as quietly as the night. There was now only two ways to go on further, the idea of breakfast being absurd to me. The path continued to where the half-man and beast came from, and a rope bridge sprawled across a ravine to the west. The bridge served as an entry point to the next hill, and I decided against going there just yet. I took a drink from my flask, hoping the stern alcohol would serve as a numbing agent, clearing what fear I may have contracted. As I wrapped up my blanket, my mind begin to seek out what place the two creatures from last night emerged from. What I saw around the cliff was something quite unspeakable.
A small villa of circled tents surrounded an altar in which many corpses rested upon, each one dismembered and disemboweled. The occupants of the tents were either absent or unaware, giving me a precious moment to debate my next move. This is undoubtedly where the half-man and beast had came from, the half-man being obviously their intended victim for their makeshift altar. How I could be so close to such a forsaken place last night evades me, my mind worn to the fact that evil lurked so close. As I continued to watch, I realized that the villa must have been temporarily vacated, leaving me a few continued moments to examine the altar in a more obstinate manner.
None of the bodies looked like Sam, or even close to what a human should resemble. I watched as the blood dripped from the altar to the ground, and could not avoid the smell that invaded my nostrils. For what these creatures were sacrificed for, I do not know, and do not wish to find out.
The tents were nearly empty save for a few morsels of food and some much needed matches. I gathered them up and listened as what sounded like a group of cloaked beasts approached the villa. I rushed away from the place, making sure not to make any noise. The cloaked beasts that pursued the half-man before surly must be what dwells in the villa, and I have no choice but to cross the rope bridge to leave this place. I mounted the bridge, holding tight to either side as I made my way across the gaping ravine. The rope bridge swayed side to side, but its latent danger seemed the least of my worries. As I safely made my way across, I found a winding path that led up and immediately to another hillside, this one barren and blind to the villa across the bridge from before. A few objects graced this area, ones of seemingly meaningless value. They bore an inscription, ones from a language I could not understand. As I brushed my hand across them, in what was a mere accident, I could see the letters more clearly, and the message became etched into my mind,
"Althia watches all."
Althia? What is such a being? Is it the puppeteer that has placed its strings on Sam and the cloaked beasts from before? It cannot be such a thing, as Althos sounds to be a creature of fabled mythos that adds to nothing more than our notions of fancied stories. Tales of such a being protecting us from the cosmos is not a new idea to me, but, yea, it is a stale idea that offers me little shreds of truth. As I tossed the emblem down, I sat upon the ground, trying to connect with my greater judgment. So far, I have no actual leads on this case, only discovering beasts which may be no more than hallucinations. These dreaded hillsides tease the minds of both its inhabitants and its visitors. My mind has never been so afflicted, wishing for it to make sense of the visions I have beheld so far. As the beasts gather and assault my dismal sanity, I look to the sky, the sun covering me. The sun is what destroys clouded vision and hazy endeavors, bringing light to all actions. If I'm to survive, I need to connect with this master who now threatens to pull my own strings. To pass in the land of beasts, one must become a beast. Let these fractured existences from before fall. Let only the rationalizations of madness be, the insanity claiming more of the truth than before.
Chapter 1
This evening was unlike one ever before. My mind had became a blank slate, it being used as a twisted medium. Every moment spent here at my once enemy's camp could be potentially fatal, yet I did not have the energy to go on. I ate a small portion of my wrapped up bread, and laid my blanket on the ground. The fire would burn out on its own, and to put it out may attract others. I laid on the ground atop my blanket, my last sight until the morning being the mocking crescent moon.
When the sun rose, I was instantly rejuvenated. My body did not have the expected hangover, and all of my mental wounds had gone away, almost as quietly as the night. There was now only two ways to go on further, the idea of breakfast being absurd to me. The path continued to where the half-man and beast came from, and a rope bridge sprawled across a ravine to the west. The bridge served as an entry point to the next hill, and I decided against going there just yet. I took a drink from my flask, hoping the stern alcohol would serve as a numbing agent, clearing what fear I may have contracted. As I wrapped up my blanket, my mind begin to seek out what place the two creatures from last night emerged from. What I saw around the cliff was something quite unspeakable.
A small villa of circled tents surrounded an altar in which many corpses rested upon, each one dismembered and disemboweled. The occupants of the tents were either absent or unaware, giving me a precious moment to debate my next move. This is undoubtedly where the half-man and beast had came from, the half-man being obviously their intended victim for their makeshift altar. How I could be so close to such a forsaken place last night evades me, my mind worn to the fact that evil lurked so close. As I continued to watch, I realized that the villa must have been temporarily vacated, leaving me a few continued moments to examine the altar in a more obstinate manner.
None of the bodies looked like Sam, or even close to what a human should resemble. I watched as the blood dripped from the altar to the ground, and could not avoid the smell that invaded my nostrils. For what these creatures were sacrificed for, I do not know, and do not wish to find out.
The tents were nearly empty save for a few morsels of food and some much needed matches. I gathered them up and listened as what sounded like a group of cloaked beasts approached the villa. I rushed away from the place, making sure not to make any noise. The cloaked beasts that pursued the half-man before surly must be what dwells in the villa, and I have no choice but to cross the rope bridge to leave this place. I mounted the bridge, holding tight to either side as I made my way across the gaping ravine. The rope bridge swayed side to side, but its latent danger seemed the least of my worries. As I safely made my way across, I found a winding path that led up and immediately to another hillside, this one barren and blind to the villa across the bridge from before. A few objects graced this area, ones of seemingly meaningless value. They bore an inscription, ones from a language I could not understand. As I brushed my hand across them, in what was a mere accident, I could see the letters more clearly, and the message became etched into my mind,
"Althia watches all."
Althia? What is such a being? Is it the puppeteer that has placed its strings on Sam and the cloaked beasts from before? It cannot be such a thing, as Althos sounds to be a creature of fabled mythos that adds to nothing more than our notions of fancied stories. Tales of such a being protecting us from the cosmos is not a new idea to me, but, yea, it is a stale idea that offers me little shreds of truth. As I tossed the emblem down, I sat upon the ground, trying to connect with my greater judgment. So far, I have no actual leads on this case, only discovering beasts which may be no more than hallucinations. These dreaded hillsides tease the minds of both its inhabitants and its visitors. My mind has never been so afflicted, wishing for it to make sense of the visions I have beheld so far. As the beasts gather and assault my dismal sanity, I look to the sky, the sun covering me. The sun is what destroys clouded vision and hazy endeavors, bringing light to all actions. If I'm to survive, I need to connect with this master who now threatens to pull my own strings. To pass in the land of beasts, one must become a beast. Let these fractured existences from before fall. Let only the rationalizations of madness be, the insanity claiming more of the truth than before.
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