CheddahK

You’ve just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As you look around, your gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. You duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? she begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”

((How do you respond?))

Example: 

"Me?... what do you mean... You've been expecting me?" He says, with a confused look on his face, his eyes lock with hers, and he wonders who she might be and where she might know him from. He asks “How do you know me?, ive never been here before”. The lady looks at him and laughs, “Ha ha ha, well of course youve never been here before” before our hero can say anything she starts speaking again, “ive heard stories of you and your past battles, everyone here has been awaiting your arrival, Elyk”. Our hero stands and stares at the woman for a second, confused on how she knows his name, finally he starts to speak “how can anyone know who i am? im nothing special, i come from nobody special, so why would anyone be waiting, for me?”. The woman asks him “Do you remember anything from where youre from? or who youre?”. Elyk stops and thinks for second, ponders on memories he hasnt thought of in years, all the way back before his parents died, when he was just a boy. The first memory Elyk thinks of is Fishing with his father, His father always loved to fish, Elyk never liked it tho, he thought it was too long and boring. Another memory that Elyk remembers is Cooking dinner with his mother, She was a Kind, Beautiful, Smart lady who always looked after Elyk. All the good memories suddenly come to a HALT when Elyk remembers what truly happened and why he is here to begin with. His Home, his Villiage, burned to the ground by invaders, They killed everyone, Men, Women, Kids. The only reason Elyk was able to escape was due to his Mothers fast response, she seen the Invaders going house to house, she knew it would be no time at all before they reached there Home, Father was ahead in the market working as usual, he was a blacksmith. She grabbed Elyk as fast as she could with great speed she Rushed outside away from the Invaders, she placed Elyk on the family horse and said to him “My son, youve got to ride, youve to go fast and never look back, dont worry about us, and NEVER forget who these monsters are, fight for what you love and be strong, i love you” with those final words Elyk’s Mother slaps the horse and with full speed the Horse takes off. As he strides away in great speed, he can hear his mothers screams in the distance and he knew that, that was the end, Elyk does exactly what his mother says though, he doesnt look back, but Alone, and scared, Elyk starts crying, the next few words he spoke werent just nonsense, it was everything to him, “i promise mother, ill become strong and i will get our home back, im sorry” he says to himself, tears rolling down his cheeks. he rides and rides through day and night, doesnt stop until he can barely move. Finally he arrives at a small town were he is found laying on the ground, clothes torn and looking starved, a Blacksmiths son finds him, he runs to his father to tell him what happened and they both go to Elyks rescue, after days of sleeping and healing, the blacksmith family are eating dinner as a family when suddenly there startled, Elyk has woke up and he has no idea where he is, he frantically trys to open the door, open the window, anything he can escape out of. As Elyk is trying to open a window, the blacksmiths son who originally found Elyk brings him food, he says to Elyk “u dont have to be scared, we found u almost dead and alone, im sorry we tried to grab your horse but he ran away” Elyk stops and stares for a second, confused on why this kid would help him, Elyk says “who are you? and where am i?” the boy says “im Nikolas my father is this villiages Blacksmith, youre in our home right now.” Elyk replies “So are we safe, the invaders arent coming are they?” the boy laughs at Elyk and asks “what invaders? are u sure youre okay u didnt hit your head when u fell off the horse did u?”. Elyk becomes infuriated that Nikolas would laugh over something so serious, “are you kidding me? they burned my entire village, killed everyone, my mom, my dad, i think i might be the only one to survive” Nikolas is stunned, he says “wait here for a second” Nik runs to his father and tells him what Elyk has told him, Father says “are u sure? thats EXACTLY what he said?” Nikolas Nods towards his father. The blacksmith then enters Elyks room, “hey buddy, my names Nathan, im Nik’s dad, how are u doing?”  Elyk locks eyes with him and says “how am i doing? everyone and everything i love was just burned to the ground, i wanna fight, i want revenge, thats how im doing”. Nikolas and Nathan look at each other before Nathan speaks again “look Elyk, youre welcome to stay here as long as you need, Nathan can show u around and introduce you to any jobs that need doing, when youre ready come outside and we can begin the village tour”. Now that Elyk is safe with a group of strangers, he takes a second to breathe and close his eyes. Time warps back to present day with Elyk speaking to the old woman in the swamp, “I come from fire, i come from pain, i come from hatred for the Evil bastards who took my family from me” Elyk shouts at the woman with a tear in his eye, he hasnt thought about any of this since he first moved in with Nikolas, and that was 8 years ago. The woman says “Elyk, what if i told you, we know were one of those Generals are, of the army who burned your village, OUR villiage”. Elyk snaps his head to her gaze with such speed that it leaves a little tingle down his spine, before he can react or say anything, the woman starts speaking again, “yes, u heard correct, i was there too, i had to run while i watched my husband be stabbed through the heart, im full of the same revenge you have controlling you, i want justice” Elyk’s mind and heart both start racing, he thinks to himself , “ Who could she be? does she know my parents?”