Community CYOA: Redux

[Flaming]

OOC: Let’s try this again.

Last time, I got demotivated with a similar project due to the general lack of engagement. Now, with more free time, more direction, and a little bit of support from the MoC, I should be able to see this one through. Whatever happens in the voting, I hope you enjoy the writing!

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A fragmented memory made its way through a person’s head.

A being of light. Their enemy. Legions of winged soldiers, dead by their hand. An army of giants, elves, dragons, myriads of creatures- and at their center, people, like them, in enchanted armor, wielding swords and staves that only amplified their innate power.

The being of light spoke. Inside it was not only light, but vast darkness. The light was but a veneer- they knew this inherently. Power, nonetheless, exuded from its voice.

“The blood of humanity is on your hands,” it said, not accusingly, but matter-of-factly, as if it was not angry nor deterred by the resistance against it. As if the deaths of its soldiers meant nothing.

A skip. Defeat. The winged soldiers rose again. With them were muscular, pig-like beings as filled with darkness as the winged soldiers are filled with light. The being laughed as the corpses of the individual’s once victorious soldiers littered the battlefield. “With your death,” it said, “There will be no more Gods to oppose me. The Heavens will be the only Hallowed Realm, and my light will sanctify the races that remain. You should be grateful. I certainly am.” Spite filled their veins. What they would have given to have launched one final attack. But they began to fade, and their fight was no longer.

And then they woke up, in a cave. The memory was all they had- all other memories of themself were gone, if they ever existed. Even thinking towards that hazy, scattered memory, associating that person with whatever they were now felt wrong.

After some amount of time, they stood up and walked towards the exit of the cave. It was essentially a straight shot. Their tattered clothing was more visible in the light.

There was a marker sticking out of the ground. It showed North, East, South and West.

They looked. South was the cave, and North was nothing of interest. To the East was a bunch of lakes and rivers. To the West was a forest. Neither direction was obviously superior.

Where should they go?

• Walk East, to the rivers and lakes.
• Walk West, to the plains.

[Flaming]

They headed east, to the rivers and lakes. It was as good a choice as any- they simply needed to move.

The rivers were crystal clear, almost unnaturally so. It was a pleasant sight, considering the only other place they had been to was a desolate cave. They crossed a few small rivers (with some effort) before they realized that they were thirsty, so they sat down for a moment, cupped their hands, and drank from the river. Almost immediately, they heard a splash- a feminine figure with blue eyes rose from the water, glaring at them. “We have told your kind not to drink from the rivers without permission, Insolent el-”

She stopped abruptly as she took a better look at them. “A… human? How? When-”

She paused again. “Wait here. And do not drink from the river!” She sank back into the water.

They waited. The little river-water they had drank settled a need, something deeper than thirst or hunger. They felt more capable, in a certain way, more awake, and more alive. They were unable to place exactly why, however.

After a few moments, the woman rose again. “The Lady wants to speak with you. You are coming with me.”

Before they could react, they were pulled into the water. They instinctively held their breath, but they got a pat on the back. “I gave you my blessing. You can breathe.”

They took a breath, and instead of filling with liquid and killing them, their lungs filled with… not air, but energy. It was a strange feeling, but it was enough for their body.

They swam- apparently swimming was in their muscle memory- after the woman who had pulled them in, who led them do an underwater building, illuminated with brilliant azure lights, and decorated with elaborate carvings depicting great events.

The woman led them to a massive double-door, where two guards- also women- floated, with spears in hand. They looked shocked, for a brief moment, when they saw them, but said nothing as they opened the doors for the two of them to enter through.

The front room of the building was, in fact, a massive throne room. On it sat a lady, with striking blue eyes that seemed to glow in the water. She wore robes of water-silk that made the clothes of her subjects seem like that of peasants. She, then, was this “Lady” the woman had told them they were to see.

The Lady looked at him. “So, it is true. A human lives.”

There was a short, yet deafeningly long pause as The Lady thought.

“I suppose I should introduce myself first. I am Azera, the Queen of the Naiads. We are those that dwell under water, in rivers and lakes- The ocean is the realm of the Leviathans. I suppose you do not know the custom, but it is rather rude to drink from our water-sources. We spend so much time keeping them clean and keeping them filled with mana so that we can breathe. Ah, but that is besides the point. What are you called?”

They shook their head. If they had ever had a name, it was lost to them.

“I see. So, it is true. You are a human, but one without a soul- the husk of one. I assume that all of your memories were lost?”

They nodded.

“Hmm… Your existence is as baffling as it is full of possibilities, if the legends of the capabilities of humans are true. But I will not impose any grand quests on you, at least for now. I have a simple request. We have, historically, had an alliance with the Dryads of the forest. This area, in fact, used to be forested, and our rivers extended into the west as well. However, the elves- who came to protect the dryads after the Aether Tree was destroyed- and their culture are rather… incompatible with ours. This separation has normally been fine, but with the encroaching nature of the Great Demon-Horde and the Church of Light, I fear that our separated forces will not be enough. Our rivers give water to their trees, and their plants allow for an easy way to replenish the mana in our waters that allows us to live. Without these, we are both woefully under-prepared for any attack on ourselves. I would like you- a neutral party- to deliver a message of reconciliation and request an elven ambassador to visit us. We would send such a message ourselves, but it is hard for us to find anyone with magic that would allow us to stay on land for an extended period of time. You will, of course, be rewarded for your efforts. Do you accept?”

They nodded. They had very little options of what exactly to do at this point anyways, and this task seemed relatively simple.

“Here is your first reward. Consider it an incentive.” The Queen drew a symbol in the water, so rapidly that they could hardly make it out, and the symbol pushed towards them, the water vibrating with the force of it. When it came over them, they felt a new power. “Ah! so it worked. That was a lesser rune of water control. It will allow you to move water by using your mana. Such a rune would have had no effect on an elf- they are too deeply tuned to the forest.”

They did a tentative push and pull motion. It wasn’t very visible, but the water responded.

“If you come back with success in your mission, I will grant you the power of a greater rune. It will let you do significantly more with water. I will also give you some basic travelling supplies, including bottles of our river-water. For you, this will be necessary. You are a husk- a being without a soul. The soul is what generally generates mana for the body. Mana isn’t necessary for beings of your stature to survive, but you will find yourself weak and unable to use magic without it. Keeping a steady amount of mana intake will be imperative for your future health.”

They were escorted back to the surface. Going from breathing in the water back from breathing air was extremely strange- their lungs took some time to adjust from breathing in that energy- likely mana- back to regular air. They came with a pack that could store significantly more than it looked like (“Standard adventuring fare,” the Naiad who brought it to them had said) which was filled with both mana-filled river water and regular water in a pouch, to use their new water-controlling abilities on if necessary.

The day was late. They could start moving now, or they could find a suitable place to rest until morning. On one hand, they were not in an area with a lot of cover, and should the night bring dangers, they would be dangerously exposed. On the other hand, moving now ran the risk of them needing to rest now, and navigating a forest during the night could bring its own dangers.

• Move now.
• Find a place to rest.

[Flaming]

They found a small alcove of rocks to rest in for the night. It was not great shelter, but it was better than laying on the open grass.

A dream came to them. This was not a memory- it was a projection, it seemed.

A being- no, a god- appeared to them. It was a woman in a leafy green dress.

“Ah,” she said. “My gambit worked. The human lives.” She paused for a brief moment. “The body lives, but the soul is dead. This is not a full human, but a husk. It is no matter- the soul is incidental to the properties of a human, and for the body to be revived is more than I hoped.”

“The God of Light’s legions have scoured the lands. Nearly all of the Hallowed Realms have fallen. My Aether Tree was first, and with humanity fallen, Mekalric was soon to follow. On land, in the air, even in the sea, none have been safe. The only ones left, besides the Heavens, are the Great Mountain and the Convergence, which are adjacent. You will have a role to play- but I cannot tell you now. A messenger will arrive when the time comes.”

She made one final pause. They could feel tiredness emanating from the goddess. Weakness, even, something she inherently should have lacked.

“I see that you plan on travelling to the realm of some of my subjects. I will inform them. It is the least I can do.”

They awoke in their makeshift shelter. They didn’t have any reason to stay, so they started their trek to the forest. It was not hard- they were well rested, and they had a little over a week’s worth of mana-rich water. They did understand that they should need to eat, but they felt no need at the moment, and felt well enough to just continue.

When they got to the forest, they arrived at a crossroads. It was in an elven language that they somehow understood. It read:

To the left goes friend, and to the right goes foe. Liars be damned.

Even without their memories of old, their head began to ache, as if traumatized by elven riddles. Oh well: they had to pick, anyways.

Which direction

• Left
• Right

[Flaming]

They shrugged. They didn’t want to be considered a foe, of course, so they went left.

They could feel the magic twisting their location, even though visually it was impossible to tell. They hoped they chose correctly.

As they walked through, it took a disturbingly little amount of time for them to question their decision. The trees, for such a healthy forest, looked rather twisted, and the grass was a subtle shade of purple. Anger exuded from this part of the forest, as if chiding them for their foolishness, wishing death upon whoever would fail to meet its standards. A voice reached into their ears, fully confirming their fears.

“Foolish interloper from another forest- You have proven yourself incapable of solving even the most basic of our riddles. The only elf foolish enough to not understand such a simple task would be one who has fallen under the guiles of the God of Light. This forest does not tolerate liars, and it does not tolerate those that would seek the ruin of the Great Goddess. For this mere transgression, we have no choice but to grant you death.”

elves, the husk thought, involuntarily.

They could feel the air shift- two of the trees uprooted themselves, and eye-like slits burning with blue mana cracked out, “looking” directly at them. their roots were coursing with the same mana, and they moved like some strange cross between a spider and a crab, scuttling towards them with anger- an emotion that a tree should not have been able to exude.

They thought about running, but there was no way they could outrun them in their own territory. These Living Trees were essentially like man-made golems- automata that could be given more complete knowledge of their home environment than a sentient native. There was no escape- their instincts told them this.

Quickly, they thought to use their water control. Using the pouch given to them by the Naiads, they, with as much force as they could, launched the regular water at a Living Tree, but the water did little. They seemed to have memories of those with the powers of water being able to use it to make precision cuts- but perhaps they would need a much more powerful rune to do so.

They had no time to contemplate this as they redrew the water back into the pouch, just barely rolling out of the way of a Living Tree’s branch-like arm extending to pierce them.

They needed to think of something. They were unarmed, with no blade to cut with, and they only had water.

They spotted a large boulder. They could not carry it by hand, but with the water, perhaps they could make a sort of geyser to launch it at the wooden constructs. They would have to sacrifice a serious amount of their provisions to do it, however.

Out of their bag, they threw many bottles of mana-filled water to the boulder, compelling the water to sink beneath the boulder. Dodging attempted strikes from the Living Tree, they managed to line up an angle where the boulder could hit both trees at once, and, with such overwhelming force they could feel all their mana leaving their body, the boulder launched at the constructs, crushing them both under its weight, blue mana hissing as it returned to the air. They felt a strange compulsion to try to drink it- they realized this was due to their lack of mana, and they drank an extra bottle of the mana-filled water, it replenishing their nonexistent soul.

They felt a crackling energy around them. A voice appeared in their head. “A human lives… and one who is capable of conquering their foes. The other Elemental Gods scattered me for my violence, yet against the God of Light they wish for my return. Fools. My ‘death’ is irreversible, but there have been none since it who I would grant my powers to. You, in this age… would make for an interesting show. Obtain more victories in combat and I might grant you a full power.” The husk felt a sigil- part of a rune- enter them.

Soon after this, they heard footsteps. Elven guards, likely sent after the Living Trees were destroyed. They had two real options here- they could turn themself in, hoping that the Goddess’ message had reached their leadership, or they could keep running to avoid such complications, hopefully arriving to a dryad or high elven leader to have their name cleared.

How should they interact with the guards?

• Evade capture.
• Turn themself in.