Quiet.
My body is weightless, the air is thick and viscous, the sounds that surround me are muddy. It almost feels like I'm underwater. 'Am I…? Yes. I'm sinking.' Drowning is one of the worst ways to die. Every passing second you lose oxygen, and soon enough, your body can't hold it anymore. Despite your best efforts, you gasp for air and water rushes in. When it enters your lungs, it sets them ablaze, letting you feel the pain until you die. Oddly, I feel nothing. The pain in my arm is gone, my mind, clear as ever; I am at peace.
'Am I already dead?'
"Frph w…"
"Frpe tr mh"
Faint whispers reach my ears, and despite the water, they are clear. Almost as if they were inside my mind.
'But what are they saying?'
"Crpe to mh"
'What?'
"Come to me!" The loud voice travels through the water.
'Someone's voice!?'
Turning in the direction of the voice, something appears in my vision. A massive stone coffin, 3 times the size of an adult man. Detailed carvings cover its surface, some sort of writing. Observing the surroundings, it seems I'm in the castle's crypt. The singular coffin lies in the middle, four massive marble blocks standing at its corners. 'Ah, I can see the remnants of a statue on top of a block. It is too damaged to see what it should depict, but those legs, they aren't human. The coffin told me to go to it, yet I can't move an inch, how am I supposed to reach it?'
"Come!"
With a booming shout, a force pulls me towards the coffin. Nearing it, the lid slides off on its own. 'Am I about to be eaten by a zombie?' To my surprise, the coffin is empty. 'Will this be where I can finally rest? I'll be buried in a stupid dungeon under some decrepit old castle, damn it.' Soon, I am pulled inside the coffin, but the lid doesn't close.
Then I see it. 'A bracelet?' A big uniform hoop sits inside the coffin, its side is wide, its color, a captivating onyx black. Similar engravings to the ones on the coffin are etched on its side. The symbols shine with the same intensity as the living armors' eyes. Contrasting the armors, instead of a menacing scarlet color, they glow a vibrant blue. 'But with that design, doesn't it look more like a ring? But how could a human wear that as a ring?'
That's it, this isn't a human's ring. It's for whomever was meant to be buried in this massive coffin. The ring, it still calls for me, but it no longer speaks. 'Has it weakened?' Reaching for it with my right hand, I realize it is futile. Even from this close, I have no energy left in me, the water is enough to keep me from moving. Suddenly, the ring shrinks until it reaches a normal size. It shoots towards my index finger, as if magnetized. Before I can try to understand the situation further, my vision grows dark, I faint again…
"King Zaun."
'Where am I? King Zaun?' I find myself awake, it's daytime, light shines through the windows. 'Windows? Wasn't I drowning?' The room feels familiar, a distant cousin of something I've seen before. 'Is this the ruined castle's throne room?'
"You may speak."
'Did I talk? I'm sure I didn't, but I can hear a voice coming from inside me.' Trying to focus, I observe the person kneeling in front of me. 'Can you even call it a person?' It is covered in large red scales, with the same reptilian feet the broken statue depicted and a long snout, like a dragon. 'A kobold? But weren't kobolds supposed to be small and child-like? This one looks tall, proud and muscular.' Its wearing clothes reminiscent of medieval ones, with a dragon embroidered on its shirt. 'The dragon also appears on one of the banners hanging on the walls. A coat of arms perhaps?'
"The horde keeps growing my liege, we have yet to discover where they are coming from. They continue to rampage in the southern region, but we believe it will soon split and cover the whole continent," He says solemnly.
'Is he speaking to me?'
"I see, then we can only continue to place our hope in the search party. Even with larger armies, as the horde's numbers replenish, the kingdom would fall regardless. Begin evacuating the citizens towards the capital, we need to focus our efforts on a single front. If we are forced to fight on across the continent, we won't last a month."
The second voice seems to be coming from myself. 'What is happening? How can I understand what they are saying?'
"Understood, my lie…
The world evaporates, the scenery morphs into something darker and smaller. Tools are strewn across the new room and its tables, there is a large furnace and anvil sitting at the center. 'Is this a blacksmith's forge? And that is a…? Dwarf!' With short brown hair, some stubble on his jaw and a well-proportioned muscular body, he looks like a normal human. That is of course, until one considers the scale the objects in the room provide and notices he's the size of a large kid.
"It is done milord, all that is left is to place your bloodline inside," Says the dwarf.
"Thank you Kanem, you did an amazing job," I reply.
'That's the ring! Ah, these must be the king's memories that were left in the ring.'
"Will it be okay? What if it falls into the wrong hands? Also, considering our predicament, it is likely that whoever finds it, will not be a descendant of yours. Their bloodline will need to be changed, and such a process will most certainly kill them."
The dwarf, Kanem, speaks with a face full of worry. 'Bloodlines? How could they worry about such a thing when their continent is being overrun?'
"I'm aware of the risk, but we can only have faith in whoever finds it. Regarding the bloodline change, if they cannot survive such an ordeal, then they do not deserve my heritage. Also, this is only a last resort, I truly believe the search party will succeed in their mis…
The scenery changes a second time, it appears to be a small meeting room. I'm sitting at the helm of a long marble table and along with me, a slew of magical creatures. A dwarf, an elf, the weird kobold, an orc and a human, all looking in my direction.
"Supplies are running low my liege; the horde continues its endless assault on our walls. No matter how many monsters fall, their number continues to grow," The elf says this with a look of defeat.
The rest clench their fists in frustration. Except for the orc, who looks like he is about to destroy the table.
CRASH!
A low boom rumbles through the room, an explosion of marble chunks expands from the orcs seat and he stands up in a rage. 'Holy shit! That fucking scared me!'
"Me won't stand defeat like this! We fight down to the last child!" Yells the orc.
I can see him now. He is a huge mass of red muscle; his clothes are noticeably less fancy than the rest. That said, he still bears a crest like the kobolds. 'A pair of axes, there was a banner with them in the throne room too. These creatures must be representatives of the kingdom's major powers.'
"Silence!"
With a single word from the king, the orc loses its rage and displays a look of regret.
"Sorry liege, me still have anger problems," the orc says apologetically.
The king sighs deeply and says, "I know Grommok, and I also empathize with your frustration. We are all feeling impotent in the face of the horde. Yet, this is not the time to let ourselves be overcome by emotion. The plan of planting a seed for the future must be completed. Let's discuss the-
SLAM!
The meeting room's doors swing open, interrupting the king. A human wearing leather armor appears behind them. She is sweating, face full of dread. Everyone tenses up, even my own stomach lurches, for we all know what she is about to say.
"The horde! They have breached the gate!"
The memory turns into mist for what seems to be the final time, because I find myself back at the crypt. It lacks the water now, with the statues depicting the races that were present at the meeting. A dwarf, an orc, an elf, and the weird Kobold. 'Why is there no statue for humans?'
"We have failed completely. The seed was not even planted. It appears Grommok will get his wish, a last stand, even though we know it will fail," Says the king.
With no one else in the room, he seems to be talking to himself. Melancholy covers his words, but an underlining rage is present. The king proceeds to remove his ring and tosses it into the coffin.
"Too bad I will not get to rest in this place, it took quite some effort to build. Still, I'll leave the ring here; it is my last, foolish hope. To whoever finds it, I wish you good luck."
The world returns to its present state and it seems like only a single instant has passed. 'Why did he wish me good luck? Is it the horde? Or is it this bloodline thing?' Jinxing my fate with those stupid thoughts, the ring begins to glow. It bites into my skin, causing a sharp sting to run up my right arm and to the rest of my body, if only it ended there.
The sting continues to grow, evolving into something fiercer. A feeling of a thousand needles burrowing their way out of my skin invades my senses. A primal fear rises within me, an instinct stronger than everything I've ever felt. It warns me, telling me every fiber of my body is being erased. But that very fear is what keeps me tethered to life, it fuels me, pushes me to survive.
Reaching my limit, I recall my life. I realize how pathetic it was, how despite my efforts, I amounted to nothing. Even failing to provide for Tom when he needed me. 'If only I had another chance'. Then, the pain vanishes, like a bad dream, disappearing as fast as it arrived.
With everything being over, I grow tired, too tired.
'This better not become a habit…'
With that though lingering in my head, I faint a third time.