December 2, 2016

1.00 My Only Regret

Every, single person alive has moments they regret. The dead have regrets too, I’m sure, but I can’t speak for them. Or, perhaps I can? Is this what it is to be dead? No. I don’t think that monster would ever let me die. It’d be too easy. It’d be too boring for him.
Everything has blurred away. I can hardly remember the things I once clung to for dear life - desperate to hold onto, desperate to keep in my head forever. Now my memories have scattered like dust in the wind… except one. My one, biggest regret.



I still remember his face when I said no. It’s just my luck that the memory that I could keep… the one that would be seared into my mind for all eternity would be the image of his face when I said no. Running away with him was too impractical. I was too afraid. I was a coward and I said no and I can never take that back.
I never saw him again.


My Jack. His face. At least I can keep that. That’s something the monster can’t take - even if it is a horrible memory, even if the memory of his face that way makes my entire being ache.
I can’t even remember exactly what I was saying no to. I feel like I knew just a moment ago... am I losing pieces of myself that quickly? I just know that I said no, and if I had said yes then I wouldn’t be in this place. I wouldn’t be without my Jack.


Every, single person has at least one regret, and that is mine. I can’t remember my name. I can’t remember my family. Did I have one? Certainly I must have. I can’t remember and my mind is fading too. I still see his face. What was his name? Jack. My Jack. I hold that close to my heart. I cannot forget him.


Something is coming for me. The monster must be coming back. I’m frozen in time. A relic of a previous era. A lost soul who hardly exists any longer. I don’t have any fight left in me anymore.
I’m sorry, Jack.


~~~~~~

Mountains of Aurora Skies
Era of Prophecies: Year 874

A scream filled the cavern and in a few short seconds one man came scrambling out of the tunnel he had carved into the rock. Stein had been looking for artifacts and yet what he found was much more complex. This was not a part of his job.



His job was to look for magical artifacts and catalogue them for the Gods’ Library. It was a job he took great pride in, and when he sensed one here and had begged those above him to let him pursue what this area further. What he found though… he had never seen anything like it before.



After scrambling from his tunnel and into the cool Aurora Skies air, he almost felt dizzy and nauseated. He had been so sure there was a magical artifact hidden in this enclave. He had to return to the Madame. Madame Irena would need to know - she would be furious if he didn't tell her. He didn't wish to risk her wrath.



He summoned his own magic and used it to open a portal that would take him to another realm - the Library of Irena. Out of the Pantheon of the 15 gods, Irena’s Library was the most familiar to Stein.



He stepped through the magic and into the narrow hallways of Stein's memories. Bookshelves lined either side of him and he walked quickly, tempted to break into a run, yet he abstained. The place had a growing sense of unease over the years and Stein had tried to get used to it.



His heart pounded in his chest as he threw open the doors to her office, hoping she wouldn't just kill him on sight.



Irena, the Goddess of Knowledge, stood reading from a book idly. He knew from just a look that she wasn’t in the mood for anything he would have to say, but Stein couldn’t think of anything else he could do. He knelt on the ground beside her. “Madame.” He said breathlessly. “I’ve found something…”



“You should not have access to this place.” Irena didn’t look up from her book, but her face soured. “I know a low-ling like you is not interrupting me in my office alone.”
“I can explain, Madame…” He started, yet she cut him off.
“What makes you think I want an explanation? Did you see your superiors first?” Her voice was impatient.



Stein swallowed. “No, Madame… but I-”
“So, you didn’t do as you were ordered to do and you come barging into my office empty-handed and interrupt my work because…?” Irena finally raised her eyes from her book.



“I found something else and… you just need to see it for yourself, Madame.” Stein sputtered.
Irena looked at him flatly. “There is very little I have not seen in this world, boy, and if you don’t cut to the chase I’m going to get to witness your death.”
“It’s a woman… the magic was coming from-”



Irena slammed her book shut. “Oh my, I can’t say I’ve ever seen a woman before.” She glared at him before looking down. “Oh! What do you know? I am one!”
Stein swallowed hard. “She was in a casket and-”



“A dead woman? Well, at this rate I’ll be seeing a dead man too. Get out, Stein.” Irena scolded.
“She’s not dead! She’s got some kind of curse put on her. If I had to guess she’s a couple thousand years old!” Stein scooted closer to her, looking at her with pleading eyes. “She’s got magic from the God of Magic and Madness written all over her.”



Irena’s glare slowly softened into a look of confusion and realization. She stared at him for a long time before speaking again. “Alright, boy. Take me there.”


~~~~~~


5 comments:

  1. Yes! I love it so much already!
    Although, of course you had to build the mystery and suspense right from the very beginning - didn't you? I really want more now :(
    And those shots of Irena! I love how we only see her face once she cares about what's happening...
    Soliana's green dress in that flashblack was lovely. Where did you get it?
    I do quite like how it's not going to be as mature as the others, though.
    So, looking forward to seeing it develop - like what on earth the 'Factions of the Lost Ones' are. Perhaps she's gets lost and clones herself :)
    And was that Stein Svard?

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    1. AH! You sneaky, you! Haha, you beat me to releasing it to everyone!
      (I'm just teasing, it doesn't bother me at all).
      I originally had this 12 page first chapter and I looked at it and went... "no... I just can't do another story with such long chapters." Not that I don't love them, but I would just... I would *never* get to releasing it!
      So I broke it down into much smaller chunks of 2-4 pages each and now I can release them much faster.
      I mean, I feel I release chapters fairly quickly, but this story isn't going to be like my Reapers and SotN - at least not right now. I'm not going to spend hours making poses for it or trying to get everything *perfect.*
      Wow that makes me sound like I'm slacking on this story... I'm really not, I just... I wanted something a bit more easy going and different so I could use it to take a break from my other two stories.
      Also - FOR NOW it's not as dark.
      I mean, it is... in some ways... *very* dark, but this story is all about characters who's *already been through* the darkness, and so it'll be mostly light-hearted stuff, save for when they're forced to recall what they've already been through.
      Soliana, as a character, does not curse *at all* as far as I'm aware, and a lot of people around her don't either, so I debated just keeping the "strong language" content off, but I can't make promises for anyone... plus there's a strong chance that these characters will run into Mpart's characters or my own... and they all curse. I also can't speak for generations down the line either, because I may end up with characters who DO, but for now... I would argue this story is light-hearted and tame comparatively (though it may not seem that way based off the first few chapters... I promise it is).
      Stein Svard - it is!
      You'll be seeing quite a few Aurora Skies residents in this story - as well as other familiar faces.
      Also, you'll need to specify, which dress?
      This one: http://i.imgur.com/7FmeOLd.jpg
      Or this one: http://i.imgur.com/4ecvO4V.jpg
      First one is store content recolored (http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:22688&scategoryId=11907).
      Second is CC (http://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-clothing-female/title/roxelana-dress-%28ottoman-style%29-/id/1166682/).

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    3. Yes, I am so sneaky... (entirely an accident!)
      How new is this, I just wondered about it and checked?
      Can you still send me the actual release? I love the trailer thing-ys you do.
      Sorry for not being clearer, I meant the first dress - it's so pretty, I can't believe it's not CC!
      Oh... I love familiar faces!
      For some reason I enjoy stories so much more when there are original townies in them, I guess because it means I can go home and play with them, and can have that moment of '!' when I recognise one. Of course, I still love created characters too clearly. Especially Majnun and Anne.
      Don't call yourself a slacker - hasn't my story been on hiatus since the end of September?
      I'm happy with 12 page chapters or short chapters! (and I can justify reading them more during my hiatus)

      *I think I accidentally posted this in the wrong place - so've moved it here - sorry!*

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    4. It doesn't matter where you post it, I see it in the same way regardless!
      Haha, I just posted this story last night at about 3am here (which was roughly 12 hours ago), so THAT'S how new it is (I don't typically keep the date/time up on my stories' posts because I just don't like how it looks)
      You should have received a PM about an hour ago regarding it. I hope people don't mind the shortness of this chapter or the fact that they haven't really met the main character yet... but HEY, the first chapter IS out now. XD
      I sometimes get those two dresses mixed up because the CC dress *was* her first dress (when I dressed her up originally, and in all the preview shots) whereas I added a more "simple" dress for when she's not dressed-all-up for wearing around. It's just a recolored wedding dress. I'm finding wedding dresses work in a multitude of situations...
      I love original townies, but I have to be careful where I use them in this case. Hilariously, it makes for some fun encounters for me and mpart too.
      "QUINN IS AT MY HOUSE."
      "What's he doing?"
      "HE'S ON HIS LAPTOP AS USUAL."
      "Probably lonely since Ezzie's not there..."

      Aww, I love Majnun and Anne, I was just thinking about them the other night when their song came on the radio and I may have cried (a little). Sorry, just a random thing that happened.
      I am a slacker though! This pesky schoolwork keeps interfering with my writing time!
      Two Reaper chapters are lined up, one SotN and several Factions and I'm just sitting on my hands like "WHY DO I NEED TO WRITE OBSERVATIONS?!"
      Anyways, I'm glad you don't mind the length. I can't speak for the future, but I'm enjoying the shorter chapters.
      The problem is I have this tendency of becoming very wordy...(Like...right...now...)

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