Randomly drawn Magic the Gathering cards and the main characters
judgement (hopefully!) produce “emergent storytelling” (for
instance think The Sims, Minecraft, Dwarf Fortress etc).
I’ve also
borrowed a style from Dennis E. Taylors Bobiverse books, where the
first person POV moves from character to character.
Let chaos
ensue!
HEXWORLD
(2605)
Day 1 –
Spawning Breath
We always just
lived with the concept of the total destruction of our world, you
know? It was just one of those things you put to the back of your
mind. The Mage War had ended in an uneasy truce and the Six Spheres
retreated to their towns and cities, towers and universities, and
eyed each other with mistrust – well you know all this already.
So, when I woke
up naked looking up at the night sky my first assumption was that
something along those lines had gone terribly wrong. I sat up and
rubbed my eyes, then jolted, shook my head and spat as I realised, I
was rubbing ash into my face. I stood up and looked at my hands in
the moonlight. I then looked up at the moons. They were still there
at least.
What could have
happened? My last memory was of being at work. One of the apprentices
had rushed in and said something like “they’ve only gone and
bloody done it!” and then there was a blinding light coming from
outside.
At that moment
I’d been running some tests on a null cabinet down in the lab, one
of the faulty batch that came back from… oh well, I suppose that’s
not important, but anyway I’d always thought to myself should the
end ever come, you know, if Ulmania ever went too far with one of
their experiments and caused a thaumatological catastrophe then if I
happened to be working on a null cabinet at the time I could step
inside it and ride the whole thing out safe in an enclosed anti-magic
null field.
Which, as it
turned out, was exactly what I had done, and now here I was. Where
was the cabinet? Where were my flipping clothes? Where was I?
You get the idea.
I looked around. The sun seemed to be rising, so I waited. As the
light came, I could see I was standing on a strip of white ash about
twenty metres wide. On one side was a wall of fog and on the other
was green dewy grass. Well, it was an easy decision, and I headed for
the grass. When I felt the cool water droplets on the soles of my
feet I reached down and ran my hands through the blades then used the
water to clean my face.
As the sun rose,
I could see more of my surroundings. The grassy area I was in was not
completely flat; there was a higher area not far off and something
low and square sat on top of it. Assuming it was the cabinet I walked
towards it.
It was the
cabinet, I guessed, when I got there, but it had been half buried in
the ground and was full of water. It looked clean so I first drank
from it, then washed. I looked at myself in the glistening water. A
middle-aged man with a blonde beard. Oh yes, I thought, that same
stupid looking face survived the end of the world then.
I sat down and
leaned against the side of the well, facing the sun. What now? I
wondered. Starvation probably. I tried to think what could had
happened to rupture the world like this, but I had no idea. I was
just a lowly Grade 3 Safety Inspector at the Greynold University, I
barely knew what was going on in my own facility, let alone anywhere
else. At least we took Health and Safety seriously at good old GU,
not like those slapdash buffoons over in Ulmania.
‘Dang it!’ I
said to myself. ‘Grade 3. Never rose higher in all my years. Always
a disappointment to mother. Oh dear, poor mother, where can she be
now?’
After a while my
stomach rumbled.
I stood and
leaned over the well to scoop up more water to at least put something
in it. As my hand went to the darkness of the well, a small
rectangular object bobbed to the top. It was a Mako Tablet, like the
ones we used to store spells in before spellbooks became fashionable.
‘Huh,’ I said
to myself as I turned it over in my wet hands. It was reddish in
colour and had something written on it. ‘Oh, it’s in Makadot.
Something something, breath. Something, fire?’ I muttered.
‘Some sort of fireball spell? That’s no bloody use to me!’
I fished about in
the water, but there was nothing else in there, not unless I wanted
to go diving for them.
As to the Tablet,
I could cast it of course, any apprentice could do that, but what was
the point? Maybe I could use it as a rescue flare or something? Or
light a fire if I ever found some fuel for it.
From my vantage
point, even though I was only a few metres above the grassy plain I
could see that it extended out about half a mile in all directions,
terminating in the ashy border and the wall of fog. Something had
saved this small patch of land. And me of course. Had it been the
null cabinet? Why was it buried in the ground?
I spent some time
walking from one end of the patch to another. I wasn’t used to
missing meals and I was hungry. It was like a pasture, short tufts of
green grass, nothing that I easily eat, but there were some nettles
on one corner of the patch and a clump of alliums in the other.
And that was it.
There was nothing else! I lay down in the grass and looked up at the
sky. The day grew hotter and I moved to what little shade the well
offered. I worried, fretted and eventually fell asleep.
Day 2 –
Clutch of Currents
I woke with a
start. I was all cramped up and cold from sleeping naked outside. I
stood, shook off my fatigue and stretched. It was hours before dawn,
so I ran around the well a few times to warm up. My insides felt
hollow, never in my life had I gone a full day without food. I patted
my round belly. ‘Don’t worry my friend, filling you is my first
priority!’
I went to the
well and drunk some water with my hands. Something small and
rectangular bobbed up to the surface. Another Mako Tablet! I picked
it up and held it up to the moonlight.
I had no idea
what it was, some sort of dispelling magic I thought. Dawn broke and
in the morning light I scoured my small haven for food. I chewed some
nettles and dug up an allium bulb which I cleaned in the well and
ate.
This was
ridiculous I thought. I’m still butt naked! I went up to the edge
of the grassland and looked into the mists. Every so often a wind
blew away some of the fog and revealed slabs of broken stone, cracked
and cratered ground. I crossed the ash boundary and, in an
experiment, took one step inside. Then stepped straight back out
again as my bare skin was lashed with ash and dust from a wind that
seemed to blow only on that side of the ash line.
‘Oh, stuff you
then!’ I grumbled as I returned to the well and washed. As the sun
rose, I warmed up, it was another fine sunny day.
With nothing else
to do I tried to apply my Health and Safety mindset to my current
predicament, but let’s face it, I was humped.
I wondered
though, I had collected two Tablets now. Perhaps tomorrow there would
be another one?
Day 3 –
Thornweald Archer
My name is Daisy,
I am of the Brambleweed Folk. I was in the militia, a well-trained
and respected member of the Queen’s Guard. I remember being on
guard at the citadel gates when there was a blinding flash and I
entered a state of dreamless sleep. When my eyes opened, I was
standing in a meadow. I stumbled and a small strange naked old man
backed away from me.
‘Steady there!’
asked the man, hiding his acorns with his hand. He spoke Layduc, the
language of the folk of Gulberry. My people were on good terms with
them, but alas it was not a tongue I was overly familiar with.
‘Are you an
elf? I thought it might be when I cracked the tablet.’
‘Brambleweed,’
I informed him.
‘Oh lovely! A
friend then?’
‘What devilry
is this?’ I asked.
The man backed
further off. ‘Chill out, my dude. Short version, someone blew up
the world.’
I paused to look
the man over. He was unkempt and dirty. He had leaves and grass in
his beard and hair.
‘Have you been
here a long time?’ I asked.
The man smoothed
down his beard self-consciously. ‘Um, just two days. I always keep
my hair and beard long. I’m a mage. I’m a…’
I looked over his
shoulder then walked off. I was drawn to the swirling mists that
appeared to surround us.
‘Er, got any
grub old chum? I’ve not eaten in days.’
I had my packed
lunch in bag on my belt.
‘Eat it all,’
I said, handing it over. ‘I am not hungry.’
He looked
dubiously into the bag. ‘Oh, elf food,’ he muttered, eyeing the
dried fruit and nuts. ‘You know, I’ve been craving a hotdog all
day. A really greasy one from the vendors on Hoggle Square. I never
usually used to care for them, but oh boy I could go one now. Er, I
mean thanks, I’m very grateful!’
He started to eat
hungrily.
‘Only a little
at a time,’ I warned. ‘Your human stomach may rebel against too
much natural food in one go.’
‘Of course,’
he said as he munched. ‘I don’t wish to be a burden, but do you
have any spare clothes? I’m stark naked and I’m getting sunburnt.
My name is Harlo by the way, I’m a Safety Inspector at Greynold
University, well I was…’
‘My name is
Daisy,’ I told him. I then took off my coat and handed it to him.
He talked much more throughout the day. Most of it I did not
understand.
Day 4 –
Primal Plasma
I had a good
nights sleep wrapped in Daisy’s cloak. He wasn’t a talkative sort
of chap. I thought he was a palace guard or something. He’d stalked
all around our little enclosure, but he was none the wiser than me as
to what was going on. Was this the only patch of our old world left?
Who knew!
In the morning
the Mercari Tablet that bubbled up to the surface of the well was
blue in colour. Another summoning spell, but for some kinds of
elemental. I put it with the others. No self-respecting Safety
Inspector would summon some random water elemental without being sure
he could control it.
My hunger came
back by evening. I tried talking to Daisy, but I felt like I was no
more than a yapping dog to him. His command of Layduc wasn’t great
either. I spent most of the day speculating, mainly to myself about
what I thought had happened. Daisy contributed little to the
discourse. Whenever I thought about mother and the cats, a tear would
well up in my eye. I didn’t want to cry in front of the elf though,
so I spent my time trying (and largely failing) to remember my
Makadot. Who knew, maybe tomorrow I would summon a hotdog vendor?
Day 5 – Act
of Aggression
As was now my
habit I drew a Tablet from the well. It was reddish in colour, the
writing looked as if it had been hacked into it.
Today I suspected
that Daisy was thinking of striking out into the mists. Although we
were both pretty much in dire straits, I didn’t want to lose my
only companion at the end of the world.
‘Listen man –
I mean, elf - it seems random, but each morning a Tablet comes out of
the well. Give it one more day before you risk your life, maybe?’
He nodded in
agreement, then spent the rest of the day digging up edible roots
from the grassland, which we then washed and ate as our only meal
that day.
Day 6 –
Tazri, Beacon of Unity
My name is Tazri,
commander of the army garrison in Bachara, the second largest city in
Wohen. When the end came, I was stood on the parapet of Bachara
Cathedral looking over the city. Oh woe! I saw the world gobbled up,
a wall of light that came over the hills and sped down into the
outskirts. In another few seconds it was crossing the river. I turned
and shouted, dropping my helmet, but what could I do? The light hit
and I died. Or I thought I did, because my next sensation was a warm
breeze on my face and the feeling that I had awoken from a long and
dreamless sleep.
A small scruffy
man naked except for a cloak, and a stern looking elf were looking at
me.
‘Hi there!’
said the man. ‘How do you feel?’
‘What
happened?’ was all I could manage.
‘Good
question!’ said the man with inappropriate joviality. ‘I’m
currently thinking it was the Ulmanians. That they set off a
thaumatological chain-reaction. Just a guess.’
‘How?’ I
said, then I choked and coughed and slumped down beside what I
realised was a well.
‘There is water
in the well,’ said the man. ‘We’ve no cups I’m afraid., We
are on pretty meagre quarters at the moment. Ah, it’s safe to
drink. Me and Daisy are thriving on it. My name is Harlo.’
‘I’m…’ I
coughed again.
‘General Tazri,
right?’ asked Harlo. ‘That’s what I hoped I’d translated the
tablet as. I’ve heard of you. Bit of a legend down your way I am
led to believe. I think I attended a lecture about one of your
battles at the GU. Oh well. I’m sorry. This is it. No point in
giving you a tour, it’s just me and the big fella…’
I held up my hand
to stop the mage’s prattling. ‘Just, give me a minute.’
Day 7 –
Flickerform
Today’s Tablet
looked a bit situational to me, so I just stashed it with the others.
Daisy searched our tiny domain one more time for food and we divided
it up amongst the three of us. Two onions each, washed down with
water from the well.
‘No food in the
well?’ asked Daisy.
‘No,’ I
admitted. ‘I think it is a sort of phasing spell. Not much use,
currently.’
Tazri, who was a
practical sort and seemed to be handling things pretty well today,
asked, ‘you cannot summon food? I thought that was something you
University mages could do.’
‘I wasn’t in
catering!’ I snorted. ‘Ah, I mean, I was a Safety Inspector. I
was more into, you know, the advanced stuff.’
Tazri gave me a
withering look. She was hot stuff alright but not used to dealing
with underlings like me. She clearly respected Daisy a lot more than
me. Well, she’d just have to take me as she found me, and after all
I was the only one that could fenagle the tablets.
In the afternoon
she removed her plate armour and lay in the sun, her rich deep dark
skin soaking up the rays. I hope I summon someone I can chat to or
swap riddles with soon, these guys are no fun! Oh, and some food
before we start having to draw lots.
