Act II, Part I: Beyond Death

By Antuul Dralosi, Lost Soul

Everything seemed to happen so fast when the floor fell beneath my feet and I fell with it. I didn’t even hear the snap of my neck before everything went dark. It was like suddenly fainting. There were no dreams, no noise, no feelings—just an emptiness to it all. A peaceful emptiness, but still an emptiness that I can’t quite describe. It was like being asleep but deeper than any sleep I’ve ever had or deeper than I ever thought possibly. It was as though I just—ceased to be. One moment, I existed and in the next, I just—didn’t. I didn’t exist anymore and I don’t know how long I didn’t exist or even where I am, but somehow, I exist again. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But I am here and I don’t really know how I feel about it. I had made my peace with non-existence before I was marched to the Gallows and I feel almost denied that peace, but I suppose it doesn’t matter; I am here once more and I suppose I must still have some part to play in the grand scheme of things. I just don’t know what.

When I did awaken from my slumber of non-existence, it was not in New Balmora or anywhere I had ever been and that was apparent as soon as I opened my eyes. I was in a cave of some sort and it was dark, damp, cold—everything one would think of when thinking of a cave, but something was different about it. When I cupped my hands to drink of the water my head had been resting in, it turned to dust as I brought it to lips and when I dunked my mouth in, I choked on the dust I tried to drink and I felt the cave shake with a deep, rumbling laughter at me and everything in it joined in. The plethora of different fungi growing in the crevices, the rats that weren’t quite rats but something else—something twisted, and even the pool of dust all joined in on laughing at me. Whatever this place was, it was not something I had ever seen before—not something I ever wanted to see either.

It took me some time to crawl out from the cave, but I did. It shifted and readjusted with my every movement, whether in some goal of keeping me inside or because I made it uncomfortable with my constant moving, I don’t know, but I did get out and it was when I gazed the world before me that I found myself wishing for a return to the peaceful emptiness I had been pulled away from. There was no ground to speak of, just islands floating through the air constantly battering into one another as a result of the raging storms throwing aside everything in their way. Some of these islands were bigger than others and on most of all them were fortresses, but one in particular stood out—the one sitting in the center of the storm. It was the largest by far in both the size of the island of the fortress on top of it.

I did see a fortress on the island I’m on though and maybe I can find answers in there and something to drink. Hopefully anyways. I just hope I can make it there without being noticed by those creatures in the sky; I can only make out their silhouette through all the ash and dust, but I’ve got nothing to defend myself if they come for me. Here’s to hoping I can make it to the Fortress before they see me.

-Antuul Dralosi, Lost Soul