Sunday, March 23, 2014


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Carcerus


fantasy horror

How long have I been trapped inside this house? Weeks? Months? Possibly even years? I've long since lost track in this world devoid of light. I don't even recognize myself in the mirror anymore. Long, brittle hair falls over my bony and wrinkled face, all the way to my shoulders. It had such a lovely shade of black but now it's just gray, white and dirty. And my flawless body had taken on a truly horrendous appearance. I've become so scrawny that most of my bones are clearly visible. Not much of a surprise when my entire nutrition consists of rats. Every attempt at discerning their entry point has proven futile, however, otherwise I might have long since escaped.
The other thing that has kept me going is the foul smelling water in the basement. No one in his right mind would consume dirt-colored fluids but it's not like I have a choice. I've gotten used to it over time, though, at least in so far that I'm not throwing up anymore.
Logic would dictate that none of that could have sustained me for very long, but this place doesn't seem to care about logic, else I would have escaped a long time ago. It looked like a normal, if somewhat desolate, house at first. It wasn't. Far from it, actually.
There are dozens of doors spread across three stories and a basement, none of which lead outside. It does have windows, though, but they can neither be opened nor broken. I've thrown and smashed hundreds of objects into them and couldn't even create a scratch.
Seeing as the obvious escape routes didn't work I had to create one by myself and began to painstakingly remove one brick after another, only to find even more bricks beyond. I took a short nap before proceeding but my entire work had been undone when I woke up.
Following that setback I became desperate and climbed into the fireplace chimney. With my back pressed against one wall and my feet against the other I climbed and scrambled towards the top. Hours passed and the floor vanished into the distance, but whenever I looked up the exit was as far away as it had always been. Trying to escape is futile, isn't it?
In the end I just gave up and returned to the bottom. Is there even a point in escaping? The landscape beyond the windows was nothing but a barren wasteland. There were no trees, no stones, no hills...not even a sky! All I saw was a sea of gray surrounded by eternal darkness.
There was also no life inside this world. Apart from the rats, that is. I did spot something moving through the darkness, though, but I'm not sure that it could be classified as a lifeform—small orbs of light that were scouring the horizon. They came closer with every passing day, till they were right on my “doorstep”. I pressed my face against the windows, trying to see something, anything, but those orbs were just that, no matter how long I gazed at them. My initial description had been dead on. They didn't seem to be dangerous but their numbers grew steadily. If I listened very closely I could even hear faint voices from outside. They made me feel uneasy although I couldn't understand a word they said. It's as if something deep inside my mind was telling me to avoid these creatures. I didn't understand why and I'm still not entirely sure, but I've learned to avoid them.
One day I was watching them like usual when a beam of light hit me squarely in the face. Seething pain shot through my body and I tumbled to the floor while the entire windows was lit up like...like... My memories are slowly but surely fading away. I barely remembered anything to begin with, but since then I've forgotten who I was, where I came from and, most importantly, how I ended up here. Was I kidnapped by extra-dimensional beings? Was I in the middle of a magical experiment that went awry? The last one feels a more reasonable and familiar but I simply can't recall anything. Perhaps I don't want to remember.
Anyway, some time after getting hit by the light I was awoken by a series of tremors. I was terribly confused at first and ran up and down the stairs, searching for the cause. You might assume that I'm an idiot who didn't know what an earthquake is but that's not how it felt like. It came and went in waves and there was a certain rhythm to it.
Bam...Bam...Bam...Pause...Bam...Bam...Bam...
After listening to it for half an hour I finally connected the dots: someone was knocking on my house! I know it sounds ridiculous, but what better way to “knock” on a building that has no doors than by shaking it? I had no idea how to respond to that, though.
Who's there?” I yelled into thin air without expecting any result whatsoever.
The “knocking” stopped instantaneously and that was it.
I went downstairs to see if anything had changed. The uncomfortable couch with its rickety table was still there. So were the bookshelves that contained nothing but empty volumes. I don't know why I was even checking the furniture. There was no reason for it to change unless something got knocked over.
My gaze wandered across the walls but there was still no door. Disappointed I tried to get a fire going while I listened to the endless ticking of the clock behind me. It took forever to light a single piece of wood and the flame was suffocated by the stifling air soon after.
What did I do to deserve such a fate?” I screamed and punched the wall in frustration. My knuckles cracked painfully and I howled in pain. “Please, I just want to go home! Haven't I suffered enough?”
Depressed I shuffled up the stairs, returning to the bedroom on the second floor. I closed the door, locked it for no particular reason and gazed out the window—the orbs were still increasing in numbers—and pulled the curtains shut before I went back to sleep.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014


This version is horribly outdated.
Revision 2 is in progress.
 

 

Chapter 8: A Glimpse Into The Past


After crossing the threshold between worlds Drake's senses were assaulted by the pungent and nauseating smell of decay. It caused his stomach to grumble, ready to empty itself. He pressed a hand upon his mouth and concentrated on blocking the smell, but in the end he could only lessen its impact. A few steps away Maximilian kneeled on the ground, clutching his abdomen. All the color had drained from his face and he was gasping for air. Shortly thereafter his body began to convulse and he rammed his head into the sand over and over again.
Maximilian! Are you okay?”
Do I look—” he started to scream but his words were drowned in revolting retching noises.
Drake took a few steps towards his companion. Despite blocking most of it he quickly realized that the scent was getting progressively stronger. Could it be? He turned around and ran into the opposite direction of the swamp. The atrocious smell of decay was replaced by the stifled desert air somewhere along the way. He turned on his heels, returned to Maximilian, grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him away.
Seconds later the royal knight gasped, literally devouring the desert air as if there was no tomorrow. Drake returned the metal flask from earlier and Maximilian gulped down every single drop left within.
Hah...gosh, I've never smelled something so atrocious. I can even taste it in my mouth!”—he grabbed his bag of supplies, which had been filled with half of Drake's bag, and fished out a couple of apples—“I hope this is enough to wash the taste away.”
While he gobbled down the fruits Drake stared at the swamp. Its layout made absolutely no sense as there was no gradual transition between the mud and the sand. Instead it looked as if it had simply popped into existence one day. Drake's eyes wandered to the left, then to the right.
Is it just me or does the swamp actually have a sphere-shaped form? I don't see any irregularities, as if someone created it on purpose.”
Wouldn't surprise me, given the smell. Maybe it's supposed to keep intruders at bay.”
You think someone lives in there?”
Maybe. It certainly looks like the kind of hideout you'd expect from a villain. In fictional stories, that is.”
A thick layer of green fog engulfed the swampland, completely hiding the ground and any possible paths from view. The only objects one couldn't miss were the monolithic black trees stretching all the way into the sky. None of them showed any signs of life, though, as they were completely devoid of leaves. Dozens of adventurers had given up on venturing into the swamp after mistaking these for giant demons, which wasn't terribly surprising as many trunks were strangely deformed. Some had even fused together.
How are we going to get in there now? I doubt the smell will disappear anytime soon.”
Maximilian scratched his head and stared into the air before grabbing his enchanted robe and ripping a big chunk out of it. Then he pulled out another fruit, wrapped it into the piece of cloth and pressed it together till it was drenched in juices, after which he tied it around his face.
I hope this lasts long enough to get to the temple. Let's hurry!”
The royal knight strode away, Drake close on his heels.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Yesterday I spent about 10 hours working on a short teaser movie for Mortaevum, despite it being only about a minute long. I would have preferred to use completely custom material but that won't happen unless I suddenly learn to draw or someone actually draws something for me, apart from covers, that is.

Anyway, here's the movie.



Thursday, March 6, 2014


This version is horribly outdated.
Revision 2 is in progress.
 

 

Chapter 7: A Rift Between Worlds


It took them a few hours to reach Desson, a small settlement consisting of nothing more than a handful of beige stone buildings built around a well. Drake had always thought that his home town was one of the smaller villages on Meceruun, but Arlin was a city compared to this desolate town. Judging by the occasional patches of grass it might have been an oasis once but as the old man had told them: the desert won't stop till every trace of life has been extinguished. The village didn't even look like it was inhabited as there wasn't a single person in sight.
Where is everyone?” asked Maximilian while wiping sweat off his forehead.
Indoors, I assume. Who'd want to be outside under these conditions?”
Despite having most of his face hidden Drake still felt the immense heat of the desert sun upon his skin. He lost count on how often he stumbled and fell during their journey as the sun continually sapped his energy.
I thought these cloaks would be a bit more useful,” said Maximilian, wiping the sweat from his forehead once more.
How about you take it off then and see how worse it gets?” Drake chuckled.
I'd rather not. Hey, that building looks like a tavern. Might be the perfect place to waste some time while we wait for the temperature to drop.”
Shortly thereafter they stepped through the door and were greeted by complete and utter silence. Every single person in the establishment stared at the newcomers and they could hear sentences like “How did those strangers get here?” or “Maybe they know something about the pillar.” being whispered.
What? Never seen humans before?” exclaimed Maximilian loudly and the mob was taken aback, instantly returning to whatever they had been doing earlier. Conversations and laughter filled the room as normality ensued.

Monday, March 3, 2014


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Shadow of Jhola


Short Story Horror

-My first entry-

Dear Diary, my name is Erik Ocild and I'm 38 years old. I serve in the army of Pagan and this might be my last week on earth as the hordes of Golgotha are drawing ever closer to our marvelous city. Most of my friends have died in an offensive which was supposed to stop those monsters once and for all but it failed miserably. All I have left is my wife, who is waiting desperately for me in the small village of Jhola. If Pagan falls so will our home. Perhaps it would have been best to remain there and await our end together.


-The beginning of the end-

Pagan is one of the most beautiful cities in all of Meceruun, as its buildings and walls are made out of white marble which glitters in the sunlight. And thanks to being build by dwarves it's near impenetrable, at least it should have been but the walls have fallen and the hordes have entered the city. Fires rage, buildings crumble, corpses litter the streets...I suppose this is the end. It's only a matter of time till the king gives us his final order: protect the city and its inhabitants at all costs!


-Death-

The city lies in ruins as most districts have been destroyed. There's only one more wall left before the castle itself falls. We've received our order now and will stop them or die trying. I don't expect to write another entry.
Goodbye Lissana.