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TheSoulBurns
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Name: Joel
Country: United States
State: Arkansas
Metro: Hyrule
Birthday: 2/22/1982
Gender: Male
Interests: Writing, making videos, Nintendo.
Expertise: hypocricy but I'm working on it.
Occupation: Professional balldropper
Industry: Rock
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
6/8/2004
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| Tome VII. Reality is Welcoming
The water shook his small raft violently and the shreds of cloth tore apart to allow planks of wood to separate and split the raft in two. In a desperate effort to recompose his deck, he stretched forward and kicked his leg back to gain balance. In doing so, he dislodged his mast from its center point on the raft and the great plank fell down hard into the water.
Amidst the storm, reason took a loose strip of cloth from a nearby plank and wrapped it around his arm. He put both arms over the plank and layed his head down defeated. Completely exhausted and void of any ambition or energy, Reason passed out and was washed ashore hours later.
In searching for a sign of life, Reason's eyes came to rest on a small blue light ebbing in the darkness of a large-mouthed cave. He was somehow drawn to it with a force more powerful than himself. Pressing further into the cave, he came to an open area with a large figure of a man seated behind a stack of weathered crates. On the counter was a candle with a blue flame that danced softly in the breeze.
"Welcome," the Man began and proceeded to tell Reason the story of the coruscation. He told of how he was once lost just like Reason, constantly shrouded in the darkness of this world. Wandering aimlessly in the dark, he searched for purpose and fulfillment but only found disappointment and shame. Reason related with this unexpectedly. He had experienced disappointment and shame firsthand, and quite recently at that. He recalled his experience with the ghost ship.
Finishing his explanation to the Merchant about his most previous adventure, Reason leaned back against the cave wall with exhaust. The Merchant in feeling sorry for Reason, decided to share his greatest gift.
...to be continued
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| Tome VI. A Taste of Tragedy
"Wait up Reason!" Balthazarr, Reason's best friend was running as fast as he could behind him trying to keep up in the race to the playground.
"Did you hear about the man they found last night? The one that was in the saloon? He got shot 3 times! In the back!!"
"That's not true!" Said Reason in disbelief. Balthazarr was known for eccentric stories with inflated details.
"Yuh-huh! My dad is going to visit him today! He said he bleeds oil and he's gonna make us all rich!"
"That doesn't even make sense," said Reason. "Why would he come here of all places? ...and...and people don't bleed oil. You're crazy."
"No I'm not! They just found him last night! He was bleeding all over the place. Black as coal. The Doctor has him in the house now. Look."
Reason looked across the square just in time to see through the window into the doctor's house. He could see a man dressed in black laying on the bed. The sheets looked black with specks of white where the crude hadn't yet run. The man began to lean forward as if trying to sit up with his arm outstretched. Across the room, Reason looked into the other window to see the doctor grasp his chest and step back against the wall. The doctor then reached up to his forehead and looked in horror as a handful of his own hair fell from his open palm.
"Did you see...?!? Hey Balt..." Reason shoved Balthazarr's leg.
"Hey, there's..." Balthazarr must have been stunned with disbelief, because he didn't say a word. Reason couldn't take his eyes away from the window.
Suddenly, the nurse burst into the room.
"OH MY GOD!" She screamed. "SOMEONE SAY A HAIL MARY!" She screamed this over and over again as if she weren't going to stop until someone came in and actually did.
"Balt! ...They..." Reason shoved Balt's leg again but this time he noticed it was colder and more stiff than before.
"Balt?" Reason turned and saw a blank expression on Balthazarr's face. His body began to lean back slowly and stiffly until he collapsed onto the ground.
"BALT!" Reason leaped off the jungle gym and shook his best friend. "BALT! NO! ...WHY?!?"
...to be continued.
*For more listen to "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them" by "Murder By Death".
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| I played disc golf today for the first time in months and made a hole in one. Impossible. We've been playing for over 3 years and none of my friends (or I) had done that until today. Wow.
Ok, ok. I've been lazy for long enough, time to get back to work. (thanks for the reminder Kasey & Christina)
Tome V. Above the Pedestal are Gallows
Suddenly it all came flashing back to him. The stories, the ship, the crew, the voyage, and finally the Shadow Vessel.
The sun was beginning to rise in the east and thus was his direction positioned. He knew that if he could somehow make it out to a current, he could find a passing ship and go home. Pieces of his ship had already been washed ashore, so he collected them fervently. Using strips of his sleeves, he began to build a make-shift raft. Countering his back against the "mast", he hoisted a great wooden plank to the sky.
As he worked, the greatest question that imprisoned his attention was, "If the ship of fog wasn't real, then how real was it's crew?" Could his own crew still be alive? What exactly is real? Could it so simply be anything that can hurt us? These questions clouded his mind as he set out to sea. He resolved to return to his ship and discover the truth. The dark clouds that had so recently covered the sky had dispersed leaving a clear canvas. Thus was his departing sky.
With the wind at his back and a clear sky ahead, Reason knew it wouldn't be long until he reached his crew. As he sailed further his confidence grew in tandem with his ego. He reminded himself of how quickly he had built his means of transportation and how he'd done it alone. For the first time since he'd left home, he smiled as he swelled in pride. The smile didn't last long. Just as quickly as the clouds had seemed to disappear from the sky, they returned and with much darker friends. Reason had been so involved in himself that his eyes never left the water. The winds had carried the clouds back over the ocean and directly over him and his small vessel. Without heed or warning the rains came down hard, pelting Reason from what felt like all directions. The wind swirled and raged throwing raindrops like small pieces of lead against Reason literally beating him from all sides. He had lost his stance and was now buckled against the mast hoping only to outlast the storm, but it wouldn't pass easily. The storm seemed to lust for one thing: to see Reason fall alongside his pride.
...to be continued
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| Tome IV. A Castaway
Bracing himself for the drop onto a foriegn deck, Reason was met with no hard surface. Instead he dropped completely through the fog and fell further than anticipated until he finally crashed into the sea. He swam back to the surface and burst forth, looking up to see nothing but fog. Treading water, he barely had time to realize what had just happened when a large wooden beam cut through the fog and sent his conciousness into total darkness.
Reason awoke to a beautiful dark blue sky. The sun had just fallen behind the trees. His realization that there were trees jerked his head from the sand. Trees meant land. Pushing his aching body off the beach, he walked out of the ocean's pulsing reach and collapsed onto the terrain. He couldn't recall what had happened the past month. How did he get here? Was this his home? Judging by the torn clothes that hung loosely from his body and a few flesh wounds sure to be battle scars, he realized he had no belongings to help recall.
Investigating the beachhead, Reason came across a large wooden plank that looked like it had once belonged to a ship. Upon further review he noticed a large black spot of dried blood. Responding to pulsing pain (and as if by memory), he touched his temple and felt dried blood crack from his face. He wiped his hand across the rough surface of his head and looked down to see a color that matched the stain on the wood.
Someone or something had caused this object to come down on his head, but it was much too heavy for one man to swing.
...to be continued.
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| Backstory:
Our story takes place in the very early 1500s when matchlock muskets
and gunpowder warfare were prominent. Crossbows and bows were known
but less abundant. The world as far as discovery was still a mystery,
with the ocean being the ultimate test in bravery in most men's lives.
Tome III. You Better Be Alone
Faith's crew advanced without mercy after witnessing a member of their own crew become dismembered without warning. At first it appeared that the living were succeeding. Gunfire flash-lit the scene as each able musket was fired into the chests and heads of the approaching enemy. The opposing enemy fell to the deck with a few falling over the bulwark into the dark ocean with a reassuring splash. The crew cheered with their apparent victory over the advancement, but their joy was short-lived. The dead crew slowly rose from the deck and began advancing again after only a few short moments. The older of the living crew drew their blades without hesitation while the younger frantically loaded more rounds into their gun barrels. Reason knew this was no ordinary crew and began to realize he'd finally found what he'd been looking for.
The living and the dead clashed together with blades and scant gunfire. The most haunting aspect that Reason's crew noticed was that their enemy made no sound the entire time, even when run through with a blade up to the hilt. This discouraged the crew and resulted in a lapse of morale and consequently, performance in battle. One man would completely sever a living corpse's arm and the dead in return would claim the man's head for the deck.
Reason was remarkable in battle. Given the time our story takes place, an experienced gunman could reload his musket within 13-15 seconds. Reason had it down to 9 seconds, with speed and a deadly accuracy to match his expertise. While the men had grown to despise him over the course of the month (as most hired hands do their captains), they were struck with newfound respect for him when they saw his hand in battle. He was a force to be reckoned with when an enemy entered his sights. There were many here. He was just as handy with a blade as well and could sink a dagger in the mizzen from across the deck with little effort.
Reason had dismembered his share of the skeleton crew and faught valiantly when he caught an opening in the battle. He climbed the topsails and took in a full view of the bloodshed. Witnessing the merciless slaughter of the crew he'd come to know, he furiously wrapped a loose rope around his arm that was attached to the topgallant and swung all his wieght straight towards the ghost ship. Then something unexpected happened.
...to be continued.
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