DDO Olympics Storytelling: Round 1

"Tell me Gren, where did they find these women?" I was enthralled with the idea."They haven't said. We would have to visit 'em to find out." Gren looked a bit more eager than I was comfortable with. Did he not just say that he was willing to hunt down members of the Virgin Church if they came anywhere near here? Why was Cardin so concerned with telling me himself? I understand that he isn't likely to take fancy in women, but he didn't appear uninterested. He was nervous."Well, are you going to go?" I needed to know more."Yes, Nathair. And you are coming with me. We leaving in the morning." He growled drunkenly and then yawned. Something is strange. I don't know what Gren is thinking, but it isn't good."Of course. I will go pack my things now and return at...""No need, Nathair. I already packed you spare clothes. Stay here for the night, you are drunk. I don't want you to get lost on the way home." Gren went to pour himself another glass and realized the bottle was empty. Noticing that I stopped drinking, he poured mine into his own and downed it in one gulp. Cardin slowly inch-wormed into the room. He looked scared."I can escort Lord Ravensworth home." He trembled as he spoke."No Cardin, that's alright. He can stay the night. He's practically family!" Gren's fists clenched and Cardin instinctively stepped back. Now I was certain that Gren no longer had my best interests in mind. I couldn't resist."That is generous of you Gren. I'll go up to your guess room then, I am exhausted." I tried to lay in bed awake thinking of a plan, but I was smashed. I thought that I only had two or three glasses to drink. I must had underestimated my tendency to drink. Within a few minutes I had passed out.-----"Wake up. Lord Ravensworth, wake up." A voice whispered in my ear as somebody shook my body. "Gren is sleeping. When he gets drunk he blacks out. Perhaps he won't remember having you over. If you are here, he certainly will know why. You must leave now."I quickly realized what was going on. I couldn't just leave Cardin though. The way he reacted to Gren, the way Gren addressed him when drunk."Cardin, is Gren abusing you?" I inquired."That is of no matter. If you are gone when he wakes up, he won't know the difference. If I am gone as well, he will hunt us down. Go now."Cardin had known precisely what was on my mind. He had more confidence in his voice now than I had ever heard before. He was being braver than I had ever been. For that, I respected his wishes and left immediately. I must had gotten lost on the way home though, still being drunk. I woke up in a forest. Not just any forest, but the Hanging Forest. It was named quite appropriately I suppose. This place was just outside the town. Men came here to hang themselves when they could no longer bear to live another day. I always considered it a barbaric way to go out, it lacked grace. Nonetheless, I sympathized with them.I got up to continue my journey. I couldn't go home, that was too much of a risk. Instead I would walk West. I didn't know where to go, but going opposite of the Virgin Church in New Atlanta seemed like a good idea. As I turned around I saw a familiar face. I was staring my father straight in the eyes. It is amazing how the lifeless quality of his eyes only became more pronounced and better represented him after death. The day he came out here was a sad day for the town, one of mourning for everyone. Even I grieved over his death, and the man hated me and everything I was.-----There is some special quality about water that allows it to soothe the soul. When you dive beneath the ocean's surface and the water clogs your ears, muffling all the sounds around you, that's the moment that you realize how isolated from the rest of the world you really are. Every drop of water is part of something special, it has purpose, it belongs. Those things don't come easy to humans. Throughout my entire life I have never belonged. I was the bastard child of an upperclass man. I only remained in the inheritance due to the untimely death of both of my half-brothers. There was nobody else for my father to give his titles or property to, or his name. Lord Ravensworth. That name used to mean something to people around here. It evoked visions of a strong, honest, and fair man. People look at me and see none of those qualities. Instead I am a drunkard, a murderer, and I deserve to die. Perhaps they are right. At age 27 I have yet to accomplish anything of value. If I were never born to my fathers indiscretions, his wife wouldn't have left him. My two half-brothers would still be alive. There would be nobody who would be worse off than they are now.Nobody understood why one would buy an abandoned lighthouse. My friends accused me of trying to spend my family's fortune all while tarnishing the name I was reluctantly given. Alcohol, whores, wasted money. I always grin when people list wasted money after alcohol and whores. As a self-proclaimed expert on the two, I would say that you always feel robbed the morning after. No, I bought the lighthouse because it stands on the edge of the pier, stretching far beyond the edge of the beach and sitting gracefully above the jagged rocks and strong rip currents below.As a man without a true name, without a true home, it simply felt right. I do not claim to be a spiritual man, but I feel a powerful draw to the idea of becoming one with the ocean. I enjoy sitting on the edge of this incredible work of architecture and watching the waves crash into the cliffs infront of me and gently carressing the beach on either side. The ocean is both gentle and harsh. Water is pure and essential, yet mature enough to take a life without thought. I suppose that is the most endearing quality of all. It is pure without innocence.Sitting along with me was my favorite bottle of wine, 1787 Chateau Margaux. Tonight will be the night. When this bottle is empty I will go through with it.-----My breathing quickened and I realized that I was daydreaming. Reuniting with my father post-mortem was far more tragic that I would have expected. I disliked him as much as he disliked me. I have to keep moving though, I have to go West. I would walk around the outskirt of the town, staying in the forest, and rejoin the road on the other side. This meant walking past Gren's house. The sun is still young. I will be fine. As I journeyed through the forest I could not help but to feel depressed. Surrounding me were men who had taken their own lives, something that I had failed to do many times before. Every man I had ever known was braver than I. Even Cardin managed to defy the manliest, burliest man that I know. Would Cardin soon be united with these men in the afterlife? Is there even an afterlife? Before I knew it, I was walking past Gren's cabin when I heard a crack in the wind. A loud bang had gone off in the direction of Gren's cabin. Crows flew off of the trees and into the sky. Silence covered the forest like a sudden and evil mist. Was Cardin dead? I couldn't let his sacrifice be meaningless. I have watched too many good men give too much for too little. I couldn't let that happen this time. I accelerated my pace and walked onto the road. I'll find a new future. I'll make sure that my life is meaningful. Perhaps legacy means less now that we know the human race will end when we all die. That can't stop me. Cardin knew that too, but his life had meaning. Mine must too have meaning now. I must be as good a person as Cardin, as Maria, as my eldest half-brother, Arthur.