Dear Diary The ritual worked, I'm most definitely in the past... At first I feared I went too far in the past, until I saw that the ice structures concealed an entire village within! How horrible... and cold! I didn't bundle up, because I always forget to, and I'm really starting to regret it... my fingers are so numb as I write this! What caused this village to freeze so suddenly? I sense something dreadful happened... but there's nothing I can do right now. The ice looks pretty, but the terrain is so deadly! If I don't find somewhere warm fast, I might become a popsicle! I have to stop writing and keep moving... -- Agh! I was attacked! By a literal skeleton no less! Skeletons aren't supposed to wield bows and arrows...unless...are they enchanted skeletons? The arrows I was shot with slowed me down tremendously, but I was able to escape with a sword I saw and picked up from the snow. I'm still freezing, my feet feel nonexistant... I'm mad at myself for not bundling up but how would I have known where I'd end up at? Maybe I can salvage something to wrap up in before I catch hypothermia... -- I found a little hole that lead into a little cave with wooden structures holding the walls up...how silly, until I realized I found an abandoned mineshaft. When I went in deeper, I found a heat source! I'm saved! It's lava, but as long as I keep my distance, I'm safe. There's also a vein of coal but reaching it will be tricky as there's a trench separating where I am and where the lava is. Now that I've regained feeling, I realized how hungry I am... I better find something to cook and eat...somehow... -- I didn't find anything to eat. I should be okay without food for a few days, seeing as I've always eaten well in the past... er...kinda... I just hope I don't go crazy and that someone finds me before I perish in this winter wasteland... I used to be a powerful being, but I gave all of it up. I can't eat my cake and have it, too. What a troublesome cake, so far. -------------------------------- Dear Diary This is my second day in the past. I could barely sleep and my stomach is crying for food, but I'm lucky to be alive. I'm also lucky that the gown i'm wearing is long enough for me to rip the hem off and form a scarf with. The fabric is thin but its better than nothing I suppose. I'm weak with very little energy, but I'm desperate to keep going. Snow is plentiful, so I used my resources to turn snow into clean drinking water, thanks to the lava I found yesterday. I'm well hydrated, and I'm feeling brave enough to exit my current shelter... there were a few monsters that fell by my blade, but there wasn't any food from them. During my walk... I discovered what appeared to be a shrine structure... I'm in it right now, it seems to have a neverending staircase... I hope I find food soon or I might just chew on some bones. -- The shrine structure lead into a huge open cave! Heck no! I don't have enough materials or resources to explore without gravely injuring myself, so I fled back into the winter wasteland. Snow is falling so fast and heavy, it's really hard to see especially since it's night. Scratch that, I think that's the sun rising. Funnily enough, this dreadful weather reminds me of my schooldays... more specifically, walking back home when every walk way was dangerous if I didn't watch my footing. I'll tell a story later once I find a reliable food source. -- I'm tempted to eat the little tufts of grass poking up from the ground. The grass confirms my theory, meaning that this snow covered land wasn't originally snow covered. Even stranger was when I climbed up high and saw ... two lava pits right next to the snow. Something fishy is definitely going on here, I just hope I can defend myself against whatever's causing these strange occurances. Frozen villages, occassional green grass patches, some floral life.. and now lava pits?? I get the feeling that maybe these lands were once a battlefield of opposing elements. Spooky. I don't want to be in the middle of it! I'm also getting the feeling that maybe I caused these anomalies when I traveled back in time... it would certainly explain the lava pits. -- I have never seen a creature so terrifying in my life. Tall with ink skin... a horrific aura... and worst of all...it's eyes. The love of my life had gentle lavender eyes. Not the eyes I just saw. Those purple eyes... are the eyes of pure evil. I'm shaking as I write this, I hope it didn't see me looking at it. -- Speed isn't my highest stat. If I want to catch a rabbit, perhaps I can use the lava pits to my advantage... but once anything touches lava it melts into nothingness. I won't catch a meal like that, but lava pits I can use to lure monsters into thus getting them off my back! I've dug myself a little hideout right by the lava pit. My hands are incredibly sore but at least I'm not at risk of frost bite. Unfortunately I can't use the lava for cooking... but I can use the HEAT it emanates to cook food! Unfortunately, as I havem't actually found something TO COOK, lunch or dinner will have to wait until I can hunt it. At least I have the start of a little system for hydration, washing, and drying. I left my new shelter to study the frozen village some more, I'm starting to fear that I was the one that caused their demise. Time traveling is taboo because not only are you abandoning your original timeline, but depending on how the ritual is performed, lives could be at stake depending on where in the past you end up at. If you're plopped right in the middle of a village, for instance... some villagers would drop dead because the ritual requires immense amounts of energy. There's no way to tell for sure yet... maybe...just maybe, if there's someone else on this land... they might share what they know with me. That reminds me. The gown I'm wearing right now. Even though it's dirty and torn at the moment I can't let anyone know who I used to be! I need new clothes and a new name. Compared to finding food... it's a low priority right now. First I find food, then I find clothes. -- I found food! I only caught a few small fish by stabbing them with a sharpened piece of wood, but after I prepared and ate them they should give me enough energy to perform more tasks. I've always been a picky eater but in my case it's eat or be eaten. I've been fed and watered, and I have a little shelter. A blanket would be nice but I'll have to do without for now. Time to rest... ---------------------------------- Dear Diary, The weather is strangely warm today, the snow is starting to melt in a few places. Is there a heatwave? As I was exploring my surroundings, I encountered a hill with a huge hole right in the middle. I detected some magic residue nearby, meaning that the cause of this hole was a blast of magic. I came *down* with a blast of magic, definitely not sideways. Such a peculiar site... As I approached the giant hole, I saw that the impact and heat from it caused some other, smaller holes nearby on the ground right by the hill. I can't tell for sure how old the hole is, but it's recent enough to still have magic residue. This means that I'm not at fault here, which is good. I can breath easily. I collected a sample of the magic residue to experiment with in the near future. After I collected a sample, a thought struck me; what if this is where a portal used to be? My older sister used to experiment with portals and traveling through them to other realities or realms of existence. She told me that sometimes huge portals would be constructed so that armies could pass through. Armies or a huge community, at least. -- A butterfly just flew by. An eyecatching solid gold color. It had no intricate patterns on it like other butterflies do, but I felt this deep need, an instinct, to stop what I was doing and pursue it. This butterfly took priority over all else. I just felt that I had to capture it or at least see it up close. Whenever I'm at a certain distance, I can feel the warmth it eminates. What a strange creature. Looking at it brings back memories of when my sister would take me by the hand and lead us deep into a clearing in our neighboring forest so we could watch butterflies return from their winterly migration. Such beautiful creatures. I always mused to her that I wanted to be a butterfly, flying away with no worries. She always responded with "But what's the point in being gorgeous but too simple to do much else?" It was heavy food for thought. Indeed... simplicity isn't always better, but I wish there was more of it in the world. Back in the present, my sister isn't in the world anymore. Of course, there's a possibility that I've come to a point in the past where she's still around, but I don't want to cause my younger self harm by coming into contact. Time traveling is incredibly selfish. I have my reasons for doing so but a crime is still a crime. I came to the past to seek out a new life. Even if I regret it... I don't think I can come back. The butterfly escaped while I had a flashback. I get the feeling it's teasing me. -- The golden butterfly...it's warmth is so comforting, like greeting an old friend with open arms. Which friend are you, butterfly? Who's saying hello? Alas, it's foolish to continue pursuing it when the sun is beginning to set and the monsters are coming out to play... Time to put the book down, get back to my shelter, and go to sleep...
Yes, you did. A tag doesn't do anything. Every post has got a character limit. You're likely close to exceeding it, as your post is quite long. You'll have to continue in another post, then. That's why we suggested to post additional posts besides the original one, before any replies were made.
Dear Diary, How foolish I am. How could I have slipped up like this? I've been in a deep sleep for a few weeks, a couple months from the looks of it. I wouldn't say it's a coma, but the lines are blurred. I woke up in a hospital, bundled up in thick quilts and attatched to an IV. The last thing I remember before falling asleep in my little hideout was pondering over the golden butterfly I stumbled upon. So many theories to mull over. Long lost friend or relative? Beautiful creature? Or stress induced hallucination? All of them are equally likely, and the only way to get a solid answer would be to catch it. Fat chance now. Next thing I knew, I opened up my eyes in a hospital bed. As I looked at my surroundings, I snorted at the primitive technology until I remembered that it's appropriate for the current time. Life changing upgrades won't be for a few decades but in the meantime the hospital appears to be well kept. The floors are pristine, the quilts are fresh from the dryer, everything is neat and tidy. A nurse entered not too long after I regained consciousness, and since my medical record technically doesn't exist anymore, I had to come up with believable lies right on the spot. I did not think ahead. I was focusing on surviving out in the frozen wasteland, not on the off chance I would encounter anyone. The nurse asked for my name, in which I quickly spat out "Riliane." Afterwards, I gave her all the info I could recall at the time, without giving away that I'm not from this current time. I think I did pretty well, but only time would tell. For my age I merely stated I was twenty, I stopped physically aging at 28 but I prayed that I looked young enough to pass as someone in her early twenties. The nurse then told me that I was very lucky to have been found before I became frozen solid. She gave me a lecture, I wanted to tell her that I knew what I was doing but I held my tongue. After the lecture, she handed me my diary, pen, and a few of my other belongings that had been salvaged. She said that she'd let me rest and she'd check on me later, so that's where I'm writing now. I hope I can get unhooked from the IV soon. More importantly, I hope I can pass off as a wayward traveler. The golden butterfly still lingers in my mind... Where is it now?
This is one of the few stories that I have actually read from start to finish. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your feed back! The story is on the back burner at the moment but I'm so happy everyone is enjoying it!
