Inktober 2024: Stories from the Nether Realm

Ciro stared at the map and looked up. He could finally see the walls of the city in the distance, haunted by ghosts of long past. It was disconcerting to not see anyone around him walking into the main road leading into the city. War waged in the distant cities but he could not believe its reach. He put the map back into his backpack and trudged on.

People milled about the streets through the forest of houses constructed around the towering castle in the centre. The inside of the city was a stark contrast to the deserted frontier outside the walls. But Ciro had eyes only on the castle. He was determined to discover whether there was truth to the lore as he made his way to it.

The makeshift torch threw little light ahead of him in the tunnel. Ciro carefully treaded through, his boots crunching on the floor as he followed the path marked on the old map. He saw a glow in the distance and he moved cautiously towards it. The path opened to a huge cavern lit by moonlight and he was taken aback by its sheer vastness.

#4 Exotic/Magic

There was a slight shift in the air. It was enough to shake Kalielah from her sleep. Draped in exotic and comfortable sheets, she was loathe to wake up and investigate. But someone had crossed the barrier and broken through. How was it even possible?! It was held together by magic most arcane and ancient.

#5 Binoculars/Dragon

Kalielah looked through the makeshift binoculars at the magical barrier extending from the city walls, arching upwards to form a dome. As she turned her gaze around, she found slight cracks in the materia of the barrier in a section near the northeast gate. She had to alert the others in the dragon shrine. An unknown force had breached the city.

#6 Trek/Ancient

Ciro made his trek through the tunnel underground and finally reached the door he was looking for. Unintelligible ruins were chiseled around the frame. He took out the ancient spectacles from his backpack and put it on to decipher it. The way through was clear. He had reached the castle and was closer to finding the solution.

#7 Passport/Enchanted

The boatman looked up enquiringly at the group. "Do you have a passport?", he asked.
It had taken them a lot of haggling and string pulling to get it so all of them could get across in one go. The boat was the only means one could get across the enchanted river, be it prince or pauper. And they had found a way.

#8 Hike/Shadow

Ciro lifted his torch to light the path ahead. It was uneven and stony slanting upwards leading to his destination. It looked like quite a hike up, but it was not time to rest. He persisted and continued on his trek. Yet he could not help but admire the intricate patterns covering the walls as light bounced off it and the shadows danced.

#9 Dream/Sun

The rays of sun fell on Kalielah's face waking her up from her reverie. She had traversed through dreams scouring for the source of the disturbance. She had found him, but he seemed to be walled off from her and that had her worried. It was time to get Moonshadow here and help her with this mess.

#10 Nomadic/Myth

Ciro was happy that his nomadic journey was at an end. The sight that greeted him beyond the last set of doors was one of grandeur and luxury and one of hope. The corridor he was in was lined by stained glass of windows, depicting stories of myths of the countryside, on one side, and white marble walls, adorned with paintings, on the other.

#11 Whisper/Snacks

The table in the center of the room was laden with an odd assortment of snacks. It had been a while since Ciro had eaten anything and he found himself craving for the food. But he was unsure of the dangers lurking when he heard a voice whisper,
"It's ok, Ciro. We know what you want. Take a seat and we can discuss."

#12 Remote/Storm

The people of the remote city enjoyed a long period of peace owing to the foresight of the Queen and the deal that she struck with the dragons. But peace forged with time did have a limit to it and there was a storm coming. The barrier was breached and the city would soon be sucked into the events of the realm.

#13 Haunted/Horizon

Moonshadow looked over the horizon. It had taken him months in dreams to get here and he was only a few dreams away. He could see the source of the breach in the barrier of the Haunted city and understood that there was no reversing the break. Time would soon catch up.

#14 Roam/Glow

Moonshadow looked at Ciro gauging him for good measure. He knew that Ciro had roamed the ends of the realm, clearly looking haggard and gaunt, but he had a glow in his eye, one of delusional hope. His journey was not at an end. It was only beginning.

#15 Guidebook/Wild

Kalielah looked through the writings of covenant, which had served as a guidebook to her. The rituals for the integration to the current era would involve every member of the shrine. They would have prepare for the journey into the wild unknown. Their duty here was complete.

#16 Grungy/Frozen

Winter had set in and the stone gates guarding the city were frozen shut. However, they got in with ease travelling through the dark, grungy caves in a hurry to reach their destination. While they did not have a map to guide them, they had an excellent tracker to lead them.

#17 Secret/Journal

Sol leafed through the tattered pages of the old journal. He found that there was a way to reach the city in time, but the pages that held the secret were indecipherable. He knew that Ciro had had a headstart, and had already set things in motion. All he could do was wait with his rag-tag band at that very location.

#18 Drive/Wander

"This shrine was built as a tribute to the dragons. They granted this city a long-standing peace freezing time. But this place can stay away no longer.
It is your destiny to wander the realms and heal the rifts in between. And in this, Kalielah will help you. She is prepared and has the drive to lead us back."

#19 ridge/spell

Ciro stood over the ridge behind the castle looking at the waves crash on the rock face. As each wave rose to crash into the other, it glowed blue as if it was under it an otherworldly spell. "Isn't it beautiful? Bioluminescence. Nature at play," he heard an angelic voice say.

#20 Uncharted/Night

They talked deep into the night. Kalielah outlined the convenant and how the city came to be chosen. Ciro ever so curious could not keep himself from asking questions. She answered him patiently and in return sought to learn more about the uncharted territory outside the city they were about to venture into.

#21 Rhinoceros/beast

The world outside considered Maximus a beast, but his build served him well for his job as a merc. He was abnormally huge with skin as thick as a rhinoceros hide. Even with his huge figure, the ruins of castle made him uneasy as he made his rounds around the perimeter.

#22 Camp/Lost

Sol looked to his pocket watch. It was long past the time the rest of the group to have reached the camp. He read the winds to check if they were lost on their way here, all the while contemplating his choice to split the group so that they wouldn't be tracked.

#23 Rust/Reflection

Ayla scrubbed off the rust from the antiques, which were to go on display at the store window. Moonshadow had brought these pieces in his last visit. She looked up when she saw some movement in the reflection of the store window, only to find Koneko slinking her way through the store.

#24 expedition/phantom

Sol could see phantoms walk through the streets of the city. He realized they were a few hours away from the time of convergence when he heard a commotion at the outskirts of camp. The source of it was Maximus greeting the rest of the crew. They had arrived had just in time from their expedition.

#25 Scarecrow/Twilight

It would be dangerous for them to be in the city. So, after gathering the required materials, the group headed out at twilight to other side of the city wall towards the outskirts. They walked through the fields dotted with scarecrows worn of age to make their way to the wooden house in the centre to camp for the night.

#26 Camera/Mystic

Ayla grabbed her digital camera to check for messages from Moonshadow. As she scrolled through the photos, she found one of a note, on which was written, "The convergence is upon us. It's effect will ripple from the mystic realms. Seal the gates until further notice."

#27 Road/Echo

The echoes of the present began to reach the city as Kalielah coordinated with the members of the shrine. Preparations were made for the road, but since travel outside the barrier was unpredictable through time, precautions had to be put into place. Each one held on to the item that served as their anchor to time.

#28 Jumbo/Hidden

Hidden away from their gaze, Ciro beheld the great feast in the city square. The table was loaded with meat, jumbo shrimp and prawns, fruits and vegetables of every kind, and so much more. It looked like the entire city had turned up for one final meal together overseen by Kalielah.

#29 Navigator/Fierce

The dragons were fierce and wild. Even in dreams, they could not be approached. But a navigator opened the gates to their realm, kindling their rage. They began to wreak havoc across dreams making it dangerous to travel in. Only the totem wielded by the Queeen served to bring them to heel, a totem long forgotten in time.

#30 Violin/Illusion

Ciro began to play the violin and with a huge crack the gates slowly opened. Kalielah had been prepared for the ritual, but only Ciro's map held the exact instructions. The illusion around the city began to break as the lines between the realms merged and time restored itself.

#31 landmark/halloween

The night of the convergence fell right upon the All Hallow's Eve, right when the lines between the realms were blurred. Sol and his crew looked at the dragons flying above them just as the city restored to its former glory. It was a landmark occasion and they only had a few moments to assassinate Ciro before he got a chance to save the realm.

They had never failed a mission. Ciro would fall.