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<blockquote data-quote="HalfElfSorcerer" data-source="post: 679851" data-attributes="member: 2405">I typed this very soon after seeing the pictures yesterday.&nbsp; I guess I'll post it now after having leaving it overnight.&nbsp; I think it's pretty good.----------------------&nbsp; &nbsp; Nobody expected the wall to fall.&nbsp; The engineers who had built it all those decades ago were geniuses.&nbsp; They knew everything there was to know about walls.&nbsp; All those advanced diplomas and everything.&nbsp; But the wall fell.&nbsp; It was a morning in August.&nbsp; &nbsp; Some said we had been warned.&nbsp; The few mystics and kabbalists and astrologers and plain old loonies left inside the wall had been releasing public statements on the 'net for the last three years.&nbsp; Apparently, the moon was in Taurus or someone’s tarot cards were being foreboding or something.&nbsp; All the pathetic vestiges of more foolish days kept predicting the fall.&nbsp; I guess they call it The Fall, now, with capital letters.&nbsp; But I’m not going to tell you the story of The Fall.&nbsp; I’m telling you my story.&nbsp; &nbsp; The wall fell.&nbsp; There was chaos.&nbsp; The bricks, reinforced time and time again, lay scattered in a huge radius where the wall once was.&nbsp; I saw people that had been knocked unconscious [pic 3] by the bricks.&nbsp; At least, I hoped they were unconscious.&nbsp; &nbsp; It was surprising how little time it took for The Others to come back in.&nbsp; I saw a tree spring out of nowhere on the street.&nbsp; It was the first tree I had seen outside a museum.&nbsp; I gaped along with the others, the other thousands who saw change coming.&nbsp; &nbsp; Something primal stirred within me on the third morning after The Fall.&nbsp; I decided to go out beyond where the border used to be and explore.&nbsp; Don’t ask me why.&nbsp; I had no family, my old friends were in higher places than I, and my state-assigned pet (a…a dog, I think) had died.&nbsp; I left.&nbsp; The disaster workers at the border tried to stop me.&nbsp; They tried to remind me that no one had any idea what was out there now.&nbsp; I knew that.&nbsp; I told them someone should probably go find out.&nbsp; &nbsp; It didn’t take long for the forest to close around me.&nbsp; I say that because I never really felt like I had walked into it.&nbsp; It just found me.&nbsp; I was amazed at the trees everywhere, but still, a path had appeared, seemingly at the whim of the forest.&nbsp; I knew the trees were one of the reasons for the wall, but they never had seemed frightening to me.&nbsp; I was thinking about this when I saw another reason.&nbsp; &nbsp; A unicorn had trotted across the path.&nbsp; A unicorn, like from the fairy tales.&nbsp; It seemed impossible.&nbsp; It looked at me, and it looked surprised.&nbsp; I don’t know how I could tell it was surprised.&nbsp; I just knew.&nbsp; All of a sudden, it pricked up its ears and galloped away.&nbsp; I only wondered why for a moment, because the cause of its flight soon approached me on the path.&nbsp; A beautiful young woman had come along from nowhere, riding a creature reminiscent of a dinosaur [pic 1] – a dinosaur!&nbsp; They had been extinct for millions of years!&nbsp; Well, unless you count the Mesozoic Project a few years ago.&nbsp; &nbsp; “You come from inside?” she asked, haltingly speaking NewWorld.&nbsp; I nodded that this was true.&nbsp; She was shocked.&nbsp; “So the rumors are true,” she muttered, dropping what must’ve been a false accent.&nbsp; The woman suddenly became businesslike.&nbsp; “Come with me!&nbsp; You have tales you should tell.”&nbsp; &nbsp; Seeing no option, I agreed.&nbsp; As I walked along her strange beast of burden, she told me that her name was Taliah, and that she was a member of one of the oldest tribes of The Others.&nbsp; &nbsp; “Tribes?” I asked.&nbsp; &nbsp; “After NewWordOrg banished everything remotely strange to outside the wall, we quickly formed tribes.&nbsp; Our tribe, the Card, is mostly descended from fortune tellers, astrologers, and True Magicians.”&nbsp; She said True Magicians in capital letters.&nbsp; I could tell.&nbsp; &nbsp; “You mean there is magic?”&nbsp; &nbsp; She smiled.&nbsp; “Perhaps.”&nbsp; Taliah paused to consider something.&nbsp; Suddenly, she yanked me up onto her beast with surprising strength and shouted “Come!”&nbsp; &nbsp; The ride was fast and furious.&nbsp; The dinosaur creature moved rapidly on its two legs.&nbsp; We were suddenly on the edge of a great crevice, with a river flowing through it.&nbsp; I spotted a woman standing on a ledge at the river’s edge.&nbsp; [pic 4]&nbsp; She seemed to be involved with some sort of ritual.&nbsp; I gasped when she leapt into the water.&nbsp; &nbsp; “She’ll drown!” I screamed.&nbsp; &nbsp; Taliah laughed.&nbsp; “That?&nbsp; That’s a baby river.&nbsp; You wait till she’s promoted to a bigger river, like the Nile.&nbsp; Then you can worry about drowning.”&nbsp; &nbsp; We stopped, suddenly.&nbsp; I was jostled in the saddle.&nbsp; &nbsp; “Look,” said Taliah.&nbsp; &nbsp; “At what?”&nbsp; &nbsp; “Look.”&nbsp; &nbsp; I looked.&nbsp; I gasped.&nbsp; The splendor was unimaginable.&nbsp; The river churned through the canyon.&nbsp; The forest on the opposite side was magnificent.&nbsp; I saw strange lights hovering above one part of the forest.&nbsp; &nbsp; “LevLights?” I asked.&nbsp; &nbsp; “Certainly not.&nbsp; It’s the fey.&nbsp; But you’ll learn.”&nbsp; &nbsp; I had a thousand questions, but I stopped asking my first one when Taliah started making a barely audible high-pitched screech.&nbsp; Deciding it would be best to remain silent, I watched the river in front of me.&nbsp; I saw a bat swoop down to the river and skim along the surface. [pic 2]&nbsp; It came up with a fish in its mouth.&nbsp; I smiled, and was then very surprised when it rose up in the air and swooped towards us, dropping the fish in Taliah’s hands.&nbsp; I realized what her squeaking was.&nbsp; I looked towards her, hoping for an explanation.&nbsp; I got one word, but it was hardly an explanation.&nbsp; &nbsp; “Dinner.------------------I hope somebody thinks it's good...<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="HalfElfSorcerer, post: 679851, member: 2405"] I typed this very soon after seeing the pictures yesterday. I guess I'll post it now after having leaving it overnight. I think it's pretty good. ---------------------- Nobody expected the wall to fall. The engineers who had built it all those decades ago were geniuses. They knew everything there was to know about walls. All those advanced diplomas and everything. But the wall fell. It was a morning in August. Some said we had been warned. The few mystics and kabbalists and astrologers and plain old loonies left inside the wall had been releasing public statements on the 'net for the last three years. Apparently, the moon was in Taurus or someone’s tarot cards were being foreboding or something. All the pathetic vestiges of more foolish days kept predicting the fall. I guess they call it The Fall, now, with capital letters. But I’m not going to tell you the story of The Fall. I’m telling you my story. The wall fell. There was chaos. The bricks, reinforced time and time again, lay scattered in a huge radius where the wall once was. I saw people that had been knocked unconscious [pic 3] by the bricks. At least, I hoped they were unconscious. It was surprising how little time it took for The Others to come back in. I saw a tree spring out of nowhere on the street. It was the first tree I had seen outside a museum. I gaped along with the others, the other thousands who saw change coming. Something primal stirred within me on the third morning after The Fall. I decided to go out beyond where the border used to be and explore. Don’t ask me why. I had no family, my old friends were in higher places than I, and my state-assigned pet (a…a dog, I think) had died. I left. The disaster workers at the border tried to stop me. They tried to remind me that no one had any idea what was out there now. I knew that. I told them someone should probably go find out. It didn’t take long for the forest to close around me. I say that because I never really felt like I had walked into it. It just found me. I was amazed at the trees everywhere, but still, a path had appeared, seemingly at the whim of the forest. I knew the trees were one of the reasons for the wall, but they never had seemed frightening to me. I was thinking about this when I saw another reason. A unicorn had trotted across the path. A unicorn, like from the fairy tales. It seemed impossible. It looked at me, and it looked surprised. I don’t know how I could tell it was surprised. I just knew. All of a sudden, it pricked up its ears and galloped away. I only wondered why for a moment, because the cause of its flight soon approached me on the path. A beautiful young woman had come along from nowhere, riding a creature reminiscent of a dinosaur [pic 1] – a dinosaur! They had been extinct for millions of years! Well, unless you count the Mesozoic Project a few years ago. “You come from inside?” she asked, haltingly speaking NewWorld. I nodded that this was true. She was shocked. “So the rumors are true,” she muttered, dropping what must’ve been a false accent. The woman suddenly became businesslike. “Come with me! You have tales you should tell.” Seeing no option, I agreed. As I walked along her strange beast of burden, she told me that her name was Taliah, and that she was a member of one of the oldest tribes of The Others. “Tribes?” I asked. “After NewWordOrg banished everything remotely strange to outside the wall, we quickly formed tribes. Our tribe, the Card, is mostly descended from fortune tellers, astrologers, and True Magicians.” She said True Magicians in capital letters. I could tell. “You mean there is magic?” She smiled. “Perhaps.” Taliah paused to consider something. Suddenly, she yanked me up onto her beast with surprising strength and shouted “Come!” The ride was fast and furious. The dinosaur creature moved rapidly on its two legs. We were suddenly on the edge of a great crevice, with a river flowing through it. I spotted a woman standing on a ledge at the river’s edge. [pic 4] She seemed to be involved with some sort of ritual. I gasped when she leapt into the water. “She’ll drown!” I screamed. Taliah laughed. “That? That’s a baby river. You wait till she’s promoted to a bigger river, like the Nile. Then you can worry about drowning.” We stopped, suddenly. I was jostled in the saddle. “Look,” said Taliah. “At what?” “Look.” I looked. I gasped. The splendor was unimaginable. The river churned through the canyon. The forest on the opposite side was magnificent. I saw strange lights hovering above one part of the forest. “LevLights?” I asked. “Certainly not. It’s the fey. But you’ll learn.” I had a thousand questions, but I stopped asking my first one when Taliah started making a barely audible high-pitched screech. Deciding it would be best to remain silent, I watched the river in front of me. I saw a bat swoop down to the river and skim along the surface. [pic 2] It came up with a fish in its mouth. I smiled, and was then very surprised when it rose up in the air and swooped towards us, dropping the fish in Taliah’s hands. I realized what her squeaking was. I looked towards her, hoping for an explanation. I got one word, but it was hardly an explanation. “Dinner. ------------------ I hope somebody thinks it's good...:) [/QUOTE]

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