The Story of the Wanderers
A campfire story, shared by one of the Wanderers themselves. When the story is recounted, a sense of loss and homelesness seem to take over its storyteller. It goes like this...
The rain and fog are intense. Visibility maybe ten feet, at best. The lack of a moon in the night sky didn’t help any. The storm seemed to come out of nowhere, knocking the large ship like an alley cat who found a pine cone for its pleasure. Lightning crackles from the sky, threatening all who trespass on the sea it protects. A swirling funnel of salt water begins to emerge, sucking its life from the water below and borrowing the lightning as its weapon of choice. It grows to typhoon proportions as it moves upon the ship, nearly splitting it in two. The lightning strikes the earthen timbers of the ship, setting it aflame in the storm - an almost unnatural fire that thrives even in the face of the torrential downpour of the storm. You are spinning, being whipped around the edges of the typhoon high in the watery tower it has created. The negative void at the heart of the funnel seems to fuel the great destruction as you are smashed against the hull of the ship with such force, your consciousness is stolen from your body and you slip into the darkness of the sea. Time passes and the storm is no more. Has it been minutes? Hours? Or days? It's hard to tell. Right now, your focus is on breathing; transitioning from saltwater filled lungs to the misty air that surrounds you. You cough seaweed from your throat and spit small pebbles from your mouth. The morning sunlight begins to wash over you like a beam of positive energy trying to wake you back into consciousness. You are lying face down on a stony shoreline with the waves of the sea splashing over you, nudging you to get up. Far behind you, on the horizons, you think you see the wreckage of the ship - or it could just be your mind playing tricks on you. It's at that moment you realize your mind's existence. Or more accurately, the lack of its existence. Prior to the ship; there is nothing. Now what?
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments