“Never be sure of anything
but your willingness to adapt.”
Seris

Subsistence

The Hollow Realm was like an oasis among the others, a land of restoration, abundance, and peace, but it was also a zealously guarded realm inhabited by powerful spirits, resilient beasts, and the elusive Hunters. To them and their people, the great wilderness of the forest was a garden to be protected, but to their neighbor in the south, it was a vast untamed estate.

Initial contact between the Aural and Hollow Realms was strained but quickly soothed by a hunter’s forgiveness and understanding. From there, the two lands exchanged beliefs, resources, and information, but this bond eventually became a snare to the people of the Hollow Realm as war dawned on the horizon.

Spurred by their alliance with the south, the Hunters were encouraged to mobilize and fight against the rising magic arts of the Saline Realm, but they were given signs and prophecies through oracles to abstain from conflict or suffer great destruction. The Salians and Kings both sent delegates to argue their case, and the Garden was divided on what to do. Before long, however, the Hollow Realm honored the cause of their ally and went to war.

Over the course of the bloody campaign, a force of calamity appeared on the battlefield, and it tore into the Garden with unrivaled fury and unbridled wrath. Those who survived described a Terror too fearsome to behold, and after a third of the Hollow Realm was rendered lifeless, the people of the Hollow Realm abandoned the Aural Realm and set their backs to the outside world. After the war ended, the people stayed insulated from the events that followed, and when the Terror returned to the Garden once more, he no longer brought with him a storm of destruction but a firm and gentle tempest of change.

The Hollow Realm

The territory known as the Hollow Realm was a lush, verdant, and dense area composed almost entirely of thick forests, jungles, and swamps. Before being settled by the freemen who migrated from the Burning Realm, it was believed no one would be able to stay in the region and live due to the cunning predators, wild beasts, and powerful spirits said to inhabit the land. The freemen, however, were marked and led there by the oracles, and they believed their Heavenly Father had gifted the region to them as a Garden to cultivate and protect. With little difficulty, they moved in, and the plethora of natural dangers to outsiders served to protect them from the pressures of the outside world. This lasted for generations until their alliance with the South opened a channel for the outside world to affect their domain.

Unlike their neighbors, however, the people opted to live in harmony with their surroundings. They largely favored discernment and wisdom over doctrine and knowledge, and the culture of strong familial bonds held strong since their departure from the Firans. Nevertheless, the strange winds that blew in from their new ally had a corrupting effect on the Garden’s denizens, and as a result, their distance to the Father greatly increased. After a long period of chastisement and eventual correction, the Hollow Realm turned its back to the outside world. Never again would they foster a union that separated them from the God who led them there, and never again would they allow their own spirits to become tainted.

Characters

Elea

The Committed

Elea was headstrong, talented, and gifted with a strong sense of justice. Her desire for strength, status, and recognition, encouraged primarily by her father, was unrivaled by her peers, but it was with noble intentions that she joined her nation’s military. She never expected it would lead to catastrophe.

The Angel of Darkness danced through the air with the weight of a leaf but struck with the power of a titan. Vessels designed for warfare fell like toys against his might, and she beheld him as a monster. Had he not been called away, she would have fallen as well, but the memory stayed with her a full eon later.

Embraced by a wooden prison, she looked at the world through a forest of regrets. She chose this way of life and clung to it repeatedly, but a new inflection point had arrived. Would she change course or stick to the old ways yet again? Elea fell asleep and hoped the answer would be clear when she awoke again.

Tatiana

The Wild

Fifteen years had passed since her beloved brother died, and Tatiana trained and fought out of grief over his loss. To be sure, she had not stopped grieving, but there was so much hatred that even she could not remember the last time she remembered him with love. When she held her bow, there was only bitterness.

Her brother’s killer, the very demon that burned a third of the Garden, was below her, and her eyes burned with rage. She had stalked him and his companion from the safety of the trees, but she needed to be patient. Tatiana and her allies needed to be patient, and they waited for their moment to strike.

When the moment came, the hunting party attacked, but the targets evaded spears and darts with uncanny perception. Tatiana then drew a serrated blade and dropped down to face them directly. The demon stared back. He seemed human, but Tatiana dismissed it as a facade and declared she would take his life.

Tam

The Fractured

How long had it been since Elise died by his hands? Tam could no longer remember, but the moment? The moment was something he could never forget. His wife was seated with another man. She had a wicked smile on her face, and Tam remembered his fingers pierced her skin as he strangled her to death.

It was a new day, however, a day without visions of her face in his head. It was a day without her beckoning him to indulge in bloody arts, and it was a day without violence or torment to his soul. It was almost dull, but Tam took pleasure in the reprieve. He was not used to it, but he was nothing if not creative.

With the war over and no one free to use as a canvas, Tam found brush and paper were suitable alternatives to blade and flesh. His initial works were amateurish, but as he improved, the motif of his work became clear. Violence. Despair. Death. Elise may have finally disappeared, but her impact on him could never be killed.

I will not be afraid.

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