Written by TheChoujinVirus
Happy Good Friday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.
First off I appologize for the lack of any Media Review for today, I was hoping to get access to Monster Hunter Rise this week and would have been reviewing but due to some shipping error I couldn’t get it in time for this. However, I did manage to get something I was briefly working on a while ago. For your curiosity, I’ve been getting into Dungeons and Dragons (Fifth Edition for those curious) and I ended up creating a character: a Dragonborn Rogue named Sieger. Sadly in our current campaign, The Curse of Strahd, which led to my character being killed. Reading up on the lore, I decided to create a short story here that tells what happens to those who died in the cursed lands of Barovia and introduces a new character for the current campaign. Without further or do, sit back relax and get yourself something to drink as we dive into this short story.
“Impossible…I..couldn’t do anything to help them….”
Then the sudden silence as his body’s senses began to fade one by one..the last words was hearing Middle saying “….not good….”
Instead of the silence of the grave or being saved by whatever deva, Sieger found himself pulled into what looked like the abandoned fort. Instead of anything, he saw only a dense fog surrounding the area save for what he could see.
“Middle? Vanir? Kalos?” He yelled out as he only heard the echoes of his voice. Though as he looked around, he noticed one thing around the abandoned area: other people. Sieger looked confused as he walked up toward one human, a female villager.
“excuse me, miss. Do you know what happened?” Sieger placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman turned around to expose a nearly rotted face as she grabs the Dragonborn, her face with total fear.
“Please! Where’s my boy! I need to know where’s my boy!” she screamed and pleaded. Sieger panicked as he pushed her away. Other spirits began to look at the Dragonborn, staring at the new arrival. Some of them began to move toward him, all with concern.
“Are you here to free us?”
“Please make this end!”
“We are forsaken…”
“No hope…”
The thief ran away from the group, running through the mist. He heard echoes and calls of each person that passed by.
“We cannot leave..he won’t let us leave…”
“The lands….are forsaken…they can’t hear us..”
“No hope…no light…no peace…”
Eventually, Sieger stopped running as his mind couldn’t comprehend what just happened. Let alone what is going on. He fell to his knees as he began to hold his head, cowering like a scared child believing the monsters will go away if they can’t see him. He felt the voices growing louder and the dead coming closer; the echoes and whispers began to hush and quiet down. Though he began to sense another presence. Sieger looked up to notice someone staring down at him. This being looked human, though not decayed like the spirits. Her armor black as charred obsidian. The parts of her body not covered by armor, her face resembled an ashen color akin to soot or something that was reduced to ash. Her hair was slightly spiked. It was almost as though this being was burned by someone or something.
“Welcome to the land of the dead, Dragonborn,” she said. Sieger looked at the surrounding mists, then back at the creature.
“Dead?” Sieger began to look around, “so you’re saying I’m dead?”
The being nods, “You were felled in battle, Dragonborn. The wilds of Barovia are indiscriminate of what food attends. Though my guess is that you tried to steal its riches in a foolish attempt.”
“no, I was trying to help my friends.” Sieger said, “I guess I bit off more than I can chew…”
“A pointless death for such faux heroism.” The being said
“So…I take it you’re here to take me to be judged, or is this Hell?” The Dragonborn asked
The being shakes her head, “I’m not here to take you to your afterlife…even if I could; the lands here prevent anyone from leaving..even in death.”
Sieger looks puzzled, “What do you mean?”
“The cursed lands prevent anyone from leaving. Even the dead aren’t immune from it.” She began to point at a wandering maiden. “Those that die in this land, whether they be native or outsiders like yourself, cannot leave to their eternal rest. It won’t allow you..and eventually, you’ll become its thrall like the rest of them.”
Sieger looks at the maiden, watching her fall to her knees while raising her hands to the heavens. Crying and screaming to be freed from this nightmarish realm. The Dragonborn then looks at the being again, “Who about you? Come to think of it..what are you?”
The being turns her back, though she tells the Dragonborn, “Come, I’ll explain to you…”. The two began to walk through the mist, with the being leading the Dragonborn behind her.
“I am called Farina…your kind may refer to me as an angel, but I am referred to an Aasimar. Like you, I’ve arrived in these lands. Though I was ordered by my master with one objective: to stop the Dark Powers..”
“Dark powers?” Sieger asked, “You mean like Strahd?”
“Strahd may be the master of this land, but he’s just a pawn to his masters.” Farina said, “My master wants to beat Strahd’s. You can see what he is doing to the lands now, in the land of the living and here…”
Sieger looked around as he saw more spirits of the dead. Many wandering aimlessly, others laying on the ground, and some looking as though they don’t know what to do. It felt like Hell for these souls, though at least that place would be better than Barovia in a sense.
“Who is your master?” Sieger asked
Farina stopped in her tracks, “that is a question you are not ready to know. Though I will tell you that my master isn’t a being even my own kind would serve. However, he views the dark powers as upstarts and usurpers.”
“I thought evil and good only fought each other, never between themselves?” Sieger scratched his head
“Good and Evil are just points of view, Dragonborn. Not every good or evil being will side with each other just because of that. Barovia is soured, and thus the balance is skewered. My master doesn’t tolerate that level of imbalance and views Strahd as a fool.” She then continues walking
“Wow…sounds like your master and Strad’s like aren’t on the diplomatic side,” Sieger replied. Though him wanting to know more about Farina began to change to another question, “If I’m dead…will I end up like the people here?”
Farina replied with a nod, “It will happen to you; yes, eventually, you’ll become another mad ghost in this cursed land so long as Strahd remains in existence. Though from what I’ve heard, your compatriots have brought you to someone who can save you.”
“That’s great!” Sieger said with happiness, “I knew they would-“
“Was a slim chance anyways.” Sieger heard a voice, a voice he remembered to be Vanir. He looked around, “Vanir?”
Vanir’s voice can be heard again, “Well. I, for one, vote against risking our lives to recover a corpse.”
“Wait..what?” Sieger’s face and tone began to change upon hearing other voices.
“And you’ll either realize that or end up like Seiger,” Another voice can be heard, this time of Ogre.
“Ogre?! Wait, this isn’t right,” The Dragonborn face begins to look concerned.
“I don’t want to recover it relax…” the voice of Middle echoed. Eventually, Siger was starting to become worried, “Wait! You can’t leave me here!” He yelled out to the dense fog, “I tried to save you guys! I don’t want to be lost here!”
Farina turned around to look at the Dragonborn. He was growing frustrated and angered over this, “You can’t leave me in this Hell, guys! Do something! Anything! Anything’s better than being here!!”
“They can’t hear you, Dragonborn.” Farina said, “Barovia’s curse claims all, forsakes all, and you will be part of it.”
“that’s not true!” Sieger snapped, “I can’t let my life end here! Not when that kid is still there!”
“it’s the truth, Dragonborn,” Farina said. “Your stupid heroism put you here; now you must live with the consequences.”
Being reminded of the spiders, Sieger ran toward Farina as he grabs. “You got to bring me back! If you can see me, then you must be someone who can bring the dead back to life then!”
Farina looks at Sieger, “Just because I can see you don’t make me a necromancer, Dragonborn. My powers cannot bring the dead back.”
“Then your master, if he’s as powerful as Strahd’s master, he could-“
Farina pushes Sieger to the ground, “Stop your mewling, Dragonborn! You’re as pathetic as the desperate souls here who clamor for escape! I told you that the curse prevents escaping; even my master is limited in this situation. I only have the power to bring my weapons and powers to this land.”
Sieger looks at the Asamir, listening to what she was saying but adamant in not wanting this afterlife or fate (even if he did bring it onto himself.) He then looks at Farina, not knowing what to do in this situation. Though it wasn’t of lost hope, more of a defiant look. Like he didn’t want this fate to begin with, let alone wanting this kind of Hell.
Farina gave an approving smirk, “hmph…you want to defy this fate, but you know you’re powerless to stop it?”
Sieger just stares, “I don’t want this fate…I don’t want my death to be pointless. I want…”
“…a second chance?” Farina asked, “Interesting that you felt cheated…though as I said, I cannot bring you back, and my master cannot intervene due to the powers of this curse. However..do not prattle about your situation.”
the Asamir puts a hand on his shoulder, she said only these words…
“I’ve taken care..of everything…”
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