Stillron 17 Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 When I was a little girl, my mother told me a story. She told me that your life doesn’t have to end when you draw your last breath or when your heart stops beating, and that there is a magical object, more ancient and powerful than any other thing in the world, that can keep you alive forever. The story of the legendary life scroll was always my favourite as a child, and every night, before going to sleep, I would ask my mother questions about it. Who created the scroll? How does it work? Where is it now? She had all the answers: the scroll was a gift bestowed by the God Harad upon a warrior who had proven herself to be pure of heart. She was a simple soldier who had saved the life of a priest, risking her own. As the priest had nothing to give her in return, he prayed to Harad to keep the warrior safe. The God listened to the good priest’s prayer and gave him the power to create a magical scroll that he could give to his saviour to protect her from Death. The scroll allowed the warrior to live a very long life and it was then handed down from generation to generation. As for the current location of the scroll, my mother revealed that to me when I turned 18, after I enlisted to go fight in the war. She told me that we were the descendants of the pure-hearted warrior and, as the youngest heir, I received the scroll before leaving for the front. She warned me to always keep it close to me and, when Death came to claim my life, to recite the words contained in the scroll. I wasn’t a child anymore and I wasn’t sure that I believed my mother’s story, but I did as she told me and always kept the scroll in my bag. At the time I was young and naive and I dreamt of becoming a strong fearless warrior. However, once I arrived on the battlefield, I realised that I was just one soldier among thousands whose life would soon be lost to an age-old war. As I watched countless soldiers perish everyday, one thing was clear in my mind: I didn’t want to die! But Death doesn’t heed our pleas and so one day it came for me, too. It all happened very quickly: an arrow in my heart, so much noise around me and then just the blue sky filling my big frightened eyes as I drew my last breath and heard my last heartbeat. I have no memory of what happened next, but when I opened my eyes again I was staring at the same blue sky, lying on the ground and holding the scroll tightly in my hands. Since then, I have died and come back to life more times than I can remember. I have become a great warrior, feared by many: I have fought too many battles and taken too many lives. I have used my endless time to harm others, turning the gift of the scroll into a curse. I have sold my soul so that I could keep breathing and now I know that my mother was right: it’s not the air in your lungs or the beating of your heart that keeps you alive. It is the deep strange beautiful feeling you get when you walk in the woods, when you watch the rain fall or when you touch the first snow of the season. It is the inexplicable desire to earn the trust of a stray cat, to make the acquaintance of someone new or to read the next page of a book. This is what the scroll took from me every time I used it. This is the bargain I made with Death. This is why I am hiding the scroll somewhere in Arinar, in the hope that it will never be found, because I know that if it is ever replicated, it will doom everyone to a miserable life filled with endless war. Higgings, TheCaster and Jaan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCaster 372 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 I'm too invested in this short story. I love it. Please write a part 2 for this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaan 137 Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 nice one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stillron 17 Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 3 hours ago, TheCaster said: I'm too invested in this short story. I love it. Please write a part 2 for this! Thank you, that's very nice of you! Maybe I'll write a part 2 to tell about when the scroll was found... 32 minutes ago, Babocool said: nice one Danke schön! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgings 1832 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 The vibes of freedom can be touched with bare hands in your story. It describes perfectly how, in long terms, a very long life can be turned into a curse from a blessing. Very well described. My sincere good luck for the contest! Stillron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stillron 17 Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 2 hours ago, Higgings said: The vibes of freedom can be touched with bare hands in your story. It describes perfectly how, in long terms, a very long life can be turned into a curse from a blessing. Very well described. My sincere good luck for the contest! Grazie! I'm glad you liked the story, good luck to you too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fejirox 3 Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 people like me that seeks immortality scoffs at you saying long life can be a curse... thats what you tell yourself when you are a short live species... 💭 if such scroll enters realties i dare fight any government to posses the scroll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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