Roung's Story

Roung grew up in the Daylight Prairie, where they spent long days soaring over the clouds, riding mantas and catching birds. They rarely went beyond this realm, and when they did go it was with a group of traders.

   Every so often, new skids would arrive in Daylight. Most of the time they passed through to the other realms, but sometimes a few stayed for a while. Roung would make friends with them, then inevitibly have to say goodbye when the decided to move on.

   Brodie had been a close friend of theirs for a while. When she decided to travel to the end of the realms, Roung went with her. They travelled through forests and rivers and snow and skies, until they reached a green tinged world of sand. The water hurt them, the crabs were innumerable. The place was harsher than anything they'd seen before.

   And there were dark, many-legged creatures patrolling the skies. The first time they met one, its blue eye turned red and they narrowly escaped it's death plunge. These creatures seemed to be everywhere. In the caves, in the skies, even underwater.

   Though it was harsh and difficult, they made it through to the very last part of the Wasteland. They picked their way through discarded and broken spears and shields, across crumbled walls and rotting stakes. There was little comfort in the huge portcullis that faced them at the end, but it was better than the endless dunes.

   Roung went through first, tentative in steps. The land had taught them to be careful, no matter how safe it seemed.

They jumped at the sudden yelp from behind them. Spinning round, they saw a krill rapidly heading towards them, faster than should have been possible. They screamed at Brodie to run to them and sprinted over to help her up with steps... but they hit metal as the portcullis slammed down.

   The dreaded red light appeared, casting everything in a bloody glow. Brodie slammed into the gate and reached through, grasping Roung's arm. There was time for her to turn to see the krill before it attacked, crashing into her and denting the metal. Roung was flung back into the steps, dust and sand flying up, obscuring any view there had been.

   Coughing, holding their side from where a rib was most likely fractured, they crawled back to the gate. through the haze of dust they could make out Brodie's slumped form, and the krill right beside her. They called to her, but the only response was the thrashing of the krill's tail. 

Roung reached through the bars, trying to get closer to his friend. As the dust dispersed, they saw her hands were wrapped around a stake that was driven into the krill's head, and one of the creature's many legs was stabbed through Brodie's broken mask, right into her eye.

   "Go!" She screamed at them. The krill shifted, dragging her to the ground. But still she held onto the stake.

   Roung shook their head, unable to form words.

   Brodie snarled at them. "I'm dead anyway."

   They couldn't help but let a sob out. The krill reacted by throwing itself against the bars, denting them even more. Roung stumbled away, tripping over broken tiles and steps until they reached the temple, where they collapsed at the alter.

Someone must have found them their, because the next they knew they were in a cosy bed, surrounded but a warm purple glow and many, many tomes.