Lore/Story The Truth

"The airship departs in three hours, mister. Boarding begins in two hours, you cannot enter yet," the clerk said. Of course. Got two hours in this great city. I turned around to take the elevator down, when a man in heavy armor ran past me and jumped off of the edge straight into the cavern. As I got to the handrails I saw them cast a spell right before they hit the bottom land elegantly. None of the locals seemed to even bat an eye. No wonder, it was a popular way to get down, especially among the Wynnians. I did it myself many times when I was young...er. I pondered the idea for a few moments, then turned back to the elevator. Let's leave this to the kids, I am not gonna break my neck for a pointless show-off.

I walked past the Guild Master, friendly nodding to him, then turned to the right. Memories from the past flooded my mind. It was a good squad, even if we parted ways soon... That was even before the Welcomers... I passed the gardens and arrived at the town square. So clean, shiny... they are showing off their wealth, I thought with a bit of disdain. This is not like Wynn, where the most emphasis was on practicality. Even Almuj, the so called "Jewel of the Desert", was in fact a well-enough guarded fortress if needed. But this, *this*, give it a week of continuous siege, maybe two at most, and the city is down to its knees with all of its pride. They don't care, they don't know the Corruption like we do. And Decay is not their problem... yet. So what it plagues almost half of their land?

I decided to go to the Juggler's Tavern, it was always a nice pub to pass the time in. As I walked there I heard a loud voice. "Damned be those who bear false witness," I turned the corner and saw a rally of people, in front of them a robed man on a small podium. "For even the tiniest of lies will cause more suffering than the truth, however ruthless it may be. Your 'mercy' will make them curse your name when the treachery is revealed," the voice continued, "and it *will* be revealed. The great Bovine sees you. They watch you. They will make sure that for every lie you will pay tenfold." Oh how *naive* is that thought. I bet he also condemns any killing, including self-defense. I know these types, the "pure ones", they appear in all cities including Ragni every now and then. They usually fled pretty quickly, depending on the particular crowd they attracted. My glare must've been pretty bad, because the priest turned to me.
"You disagree, *mercenary*? Are you Wynnians not *obsessed* with honor and honesty?" A nasty jab. I wasn't sure which part was worse. Everyone looked at me.
"Every idea sounds nice on the paper, doesn't it?" I replied calmly. "But then one arrives onto the battlefield and soon finds out that the same ideals they advocated for so loudly are meaningless when facing the enemy. And, most often," I directly looked into his eyes. "those who are the loudest are the ones who pay first." There was silence. You know what? Let's shake them a little.
"Tell me, if a man hid in your house from a murderer, would you tell the truth and give him up? Or would you lie to save his life?" I watched his expression change.
"You know what? Actually, it might be better for you not to answer." My hands began itching.
"You say the tiniest lie is as horrible as murder? Let me tell you the *actual* truth. Being honest at all costs *has* those costs. It can, and *will*, kill. Maybe not you, but others will pay the price. A whole town can if you are not careful. You don't believe me? Just go outside the city for once, fool! Go to the edge of the dead forest. There is a monument of truth. Every. Single. Person. Dead. Only an old man was spared and he went mad because of it. How did it happen? An adventurer was honest. They didn't have to be, the 'lie' would be as completely justified and understandable, but they decided to stand by their principles."
There was an empty circle around and in front of me. I was standing right against the priest. A minute of silence as I calmed down. "I am not against honesty, in fact, I tell the truth as often as I can. But one has to mind the consequences."
I turned around to leave. "By the way, you better be thankful for my self-control. Over in my home, Wynn, you would be likely running for your life by now," I said and left. I decided to ditch the tavern and go back to the guild hall. I didn't want to poison the nice atmosphere there. Guess I will go to the archives anyways. At least no one will find me there.
It took the whole flight back for the itching to finally stop.


About a week later someone came to me to the library while I was doing some research. "Are you TrapinchO?" a voice asked.
"Sounds correct," I replied, not looking up from my book.
"I saw you a few days ago in Cinfras."
"Many did," I said coldly.
"I heard what you were talking about. I went to that village... or rather what remained of it. *What the hell happened there*? The bodies are still scattered around!"
I finally looked at them. He was young villager, barely reached adulthood. From a rich family, judging by his clothes and the fact he is even here. He looked at me with nervous curiosity. "Over a hundred years ago, in a nearby mansion, used to live the noble family of Faltachs" I said slowly. "One of them, Katarin Faltach, fell in love with Garvan, a researcher seeking cure for the Decay. Their bond became so strong they decided to chain their souls to a jewel, giving them immortality... of sorts. Garvan later started working for some local cult devoted to the Decay. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he infected their daughter, Eileen, with the parasite causes your plague. The cult discovered it and decided to come for her, killing her mother along with practically everyone else in the manor in the process." I paused and looked to the ceiling above the visitor, putting together more pieces of the past.

"Then, there was nothing. For a century following the incident, there was only silence in the now-empty building. No one dared to enter, though. Maybe because of the remnants that still lingered. A few years ago, an adventurer stumbled upon the mansion and began uncovering the past. As the fate would want it, they succeeded and met both Garvan and the ghost of his former lover. Of course, it went south and Garvan was killed. Before being put to her final rest, Katarin asked the simplest of questions: 'Is she ok?' 'She' being Eileen, of course."
I looked into his eyes. "It would be only merciful to say 'Yes, she is,' no? Yes, she was taken hostage and all, but it has been a *century*, she must be dead, right? Well, our adventurer decided to be honest to the best of the gathered knowledge and said 'no'. The ghost then apparently went rampaging, because after they left and went over to the nearby town everyone was dead. And the one old man who was spared went insane after he was told the story. Of course, there is much more to it, but this is the gist you need to know."

The visitor's expression was of pure and utter shock. That lad didn't just have no idea what happened, he had no idea this *could* happen, I thought. A pure soul...
"But... why? Why did this all happened?" he said.
"People make mistakes, my friend. And sometimes one mistake leads to another until it becomes a tragedy."
"So many innocents..."
"Yes."
"This isn't fair!"
"The world doesn't care whether one is guilty or not. A murderer can live a happy life and die of old age, while a good-hearted beggar can succumb to the Corruption before reaching adulthood."
Silence again. "What... what can I do?"
"Well, a good start would be to return to the village and give them a proper burial. Then, learn how to fight or build and go to Olux or Gelibord. Get our friends to help you. Try to be the change the world needs. Simple as that."
"I... see.... thank you, TrapinchO." They turned to leave.
"You didn't tell me you name, lad," I called after him.
"Oh, sorry. My name is Marik."
"Glad to meet you, Marik. Good luck."

 

I am happy to have worked on this, even if it was just proofreading.

 

Why does this story go so hard?

 

Because I couldn't make it go harder.

 

This is probably one of the best fan stories i've ever read when it comes to Wynncraft, it's much better than anything I could ever write lol

 

Thanks! I am glad you liked it :)

I feel like it could get a few improvements, especially the second part. So maybe it will go harder...

 

This is... wow.

What an amazing story.
(I never realized telling Katarin the truth caused the entire town to die.)

 

This is amazing! I think you have an enjoyable writing style. I especially liked the first part where you describe Cinfras. Great work!

 

Thanks! You might like Ochuvnqitiz then, the first bit of my memoirs.


Btw sorry for the asterisks, the forums decided to ignore italics, I tried.