The warden and I stepped out from the portal and onto a stone platform situated at one of the corners of a four-way intersection of wide, dusty roads. Three weathered buildings made of wood stood at the three other corners of the crossroads. Two of these structures were squat, stubborn-looking things that’d had most of their blue paint stripped away by time and neglect. Both were identical in architecture, with the exception of the lettering on the signs nailed over their doors. One read: ‘Hiata Crossroads General Store’; the other reading: ‘Hiata Crossroads Jail’. I only made passing mental notes of these buildings, though, as I could hear hearty laughter coming from the third and final establishment. Its sign revealed it to be an inn. Like the jail and store, it had a wood exterior that looked as though a passing touch would give you a handful of splinters. But, unlike the first two structures, it had two floors, and all its windows were lit. Three grizzled men barked rough la

The night sky was filled with stars, bright and countless. Nearing the end of its path, the crescent moon approached the horizon. It only offered a faint light by which to see my surroundings as the warden and I walked the dusty road leading to the Forest of Embers. It’d been a little over an hour since leaving Hiata Crossroads, and during that time, I’d nervously stewed in the silence between us. “Stop,” she said sternly. Gritty earth ground beneath my boots as I halted and turned to her. It was difficult to make out her expression in the near darkness, so I kept my mouth shut and waited for her to say something. She looked around, seeming to use the nightvision granted to her as a shadow primal to take in our surroundings before turning to face me. “That was foolish, fighting those men!” she said, anger bubbling out in a low hiss. “Yeah…” I replied, guessing the time for acting like a proper ‘charge’, or at least trying to act like one, was over. “What were you thinking?

During our approach to the Forest of Embers, my questions had piled higher with every step. Questions such as ‘Why was the dirt around here dark red and a little warm?’ or ‘Why’s the tall grass suddenly coppery gold instead of washed out green?’ But, whenever I asked the warden, she’d told me she’d tell me all she knew once we got into the forest. I hadn’t been satisfied with her seemingly arbitrary decision to ask me to hold my questions. However, I decided against pushing for more because I felt like she was fucking with me and wanted to get a reaction. So, I’d kept my mouth shut as we made our way to the forest's edge and came to a stop. We stood at the threshold where the road became a trail leading deeper into the forest of trees with bark the color of vibrant redwoods. Looking down the trail leading inside, I noticed warm light illuminating the inside of the forest from a source I couldn’t identify. How’s it lit up like that? The tree branches and leaves are too dense for t

The warden and I stopped in the center of the dirt trail, the sound of rustling and snorting coming from somewhere nearby to our left.“Sounds like a monster…” She smiled at me and nodded in the direction of the noise.After learning how the Forest of Embers was sacred to Passion and her followers, a new worry wormed its way into my brain at the prospect of killing anything while we were here. “You’re sure it’s okay to kill stuff here? Like, Passion won’t care, right?”She shook her head. “No, in fact, as long as one doesn’t overhunt the local creatures, fighting monsters is actually encouraged here. As the heated emotions that come with battle are seen as an offering to Passion.”“Makes sense…” My heart quickened after hearing her answer as my uncertainty transformed into a cocktail of anticipation, nerves, and excitement. It was finally time to fight a monster.She playfully slapped my ass. “Lead the way,” she said in a giddy whisper.The warden used her magic as a shadow primal to

Even if the gash just above my shin wasn’t life-threatening, it still hurt like a bitch. So, when the warden knelt next to me in the fiery grass of the glade and started talking about healing myself, I had to stuff down the urge to remain calm and collected… And not beg for the sweet healing relief of a briotonic.“Yeah, I remember you said I didn’t have enough spirit to heal myself at all,” I said.She nodded. “Yes, but now I believe you have enough to heal a minor injury like this one.” Grass rustled beneath her knees as she scooted over to be next to my legs. She reached towards the tear and tore the rip in my pant leg wider to further expose the wound, wincing with sympathy when she saw the nasty cut more clearly. “As you may have guessed, all you need to do to mend one of your wounds is make a conscious effort of will. Try doing this to heal your wound, but ensure you have the spirit to do so first.” I stared at the nasty mess of blood and torn skin and considered what it would