Ember Abiss: Rot Mage

The first light of the sun began to break through the vibrant green canopy of the pine forest. The beams of light and thin shadows of the pine needles danced across the shut eyelids of a young woman sleeping under a strung up tarp and wrapped up warmly in a brown and green mummy bag. As the crisp cool mountain wind blew, wisps of light shifted across her eyelids once again causing her to stir. With a small yawn and a big stretch inside her sleeping bag Ember started squirming, slowly seeking the zipper while basking in the last moments of this warm cocoon of happiness.

A few minutes later Ember was out of her sleeping bag and started to dismantle her makeshift campsite. Wrapping up the tarp and sleeping bag as tightly as possible then binding them with the rope used to support the tarp tent that she had put together. She then stored it all in her backpack while pulling out a bag of assorted nuts and berries for breakfast.

“Alright Em, month one is now behind me.” Ember said while looking back down the path she's already walked. “Only four to six left to go and I think I'm making pretty good progress.” She then pulled her phone out and powered it back on to check her location on GPS. “Looking good, I've managed to get three states behind me in the course of a month. By the end of today I should be out of Tennessee and entering Virginia.”

Later that afternoon, on a more rocky section of the trail, Ember notices a set of interesting animal tracks. She approached the tracks carefully so she wouldn't miss any others she may have overlooked the first time. The footprints in the dirt appear to be that of a paw, fairly large but without any claw imprints in front of the toes. “No claw marks rules out coyotes. Only four toes instead five rules out bears. There's no way.” Ember thought to herself, backing up in surprise from what appeared in front of her. In a hushed whisper she gasped, “M…mountain lion.”

Ember snapped to attention. She examined the tracks again, noting which direction they were going, and where they came from. From the path the prints took, the mountain lion came down from higher up mountain from the crags and crevasses. “Maybe it lives in a cave or Crack up there?” She thought to herself. After taking a few more minutes to check if the area was safe she continued along the trail. “Hopefully it's still out hunting, or even better if it's back home asleep.” After another hour of walking and not seeing any more tracks Ember finally lowered her guard and relaxed.

She set up another makeshift tent using a stick and a big rock to attach the rope to support the tarp. Fifteen minutes went by and the tent was assembled and ready. Before the sun starts setting she prepares some dinner. Dumping out the canned food she brought along on the ground she started picking out good meat for tonight. “That's it!” she exclaimed. She picked up the can containing roast beef in gravy and set it to the side. She went outside to light a fire to cook on. While she waits for the embers to build up she stows the remaining cans back into her pack.“I really wish I had a magic bag, like Santa or something. I just want to carry everything and not feel the weight.” She thought, complaining to herself internally. When she walked out the tent carrying her open can of roast beef she got the biggest surprise of her life. Standing only twelve to fifteen feet away from her was a big tan and brown cat, the only problem being that it appeared to be seven feet long and one hundred pounds of pure muscle.

“Fuuuahhhh!!!” She dropped her food and immediately started backing away. Not wanting to take her eyes off the creature she stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over her tent on the way, to get back on the path. When she got three feet from her original position the mountain lion let out a low growl ending in a hiss. She continued to walk backwards, every attempt to approach the trail again being blocked by the ferocious looking mountain lion. Usually by lurching at her or swatting at her with its large front paw.

The mountain lion kept pressure on Ember, forcing her closer and closer to the wall of rock being her. After getting pushed back for over twenty minutes Ember finds a Crack in the Cliffside just small enough for her to squeeze into if she takes off her bag. Her fingers fumble to unfasten her pack, and as soon as it is free she drops it. Sacrificing her food and gear for a chance at safety. The moment her backpack hit the ground she turned, and darted for the opening in the wall. She squeezed herself in the small opening, ripping her clothes and getting scraped in the process. She kept backing up into the dark cavern the Crack led her to while she watched the mountain lion's futile attempts to reach her with its outstretched paw.

A few more minutes go by with the mountain lion trying different ways to get in. Once it seemed to be giving up and backed away Ember’s heart slowed back down to a normal pace. She started to relax and wondered if there was another exit she could use to avoid any contact with the overgrown kitty. She attempted to take another step back along the path she was on but to her surprise there wasn't anything below her foot. With nothing to catch herself on, she fell into a cavernous void in the middle of the mountain. “AAAHHHHH!!!” She screamed as she fell tucking herself into a ball to protect her head. The temperature around her started to drop drastically as she went deeper and deeper. After falling for what seemed like 10 minutes and still not hitting the ground her panic rose even higher, the only thoughts facing through her mind being “I don't want to die! I just escaped, I can't die! Please, just let me survive.” Another ten minutes pass by and the world goes silent, no wind passing by, not even the sound of her screams can be heard.

In the frigid inky black void Ember's body tumbled head over heels or at least that's what she assumed. She has been falling so long she has lost all track of time, she can only say it's been more than three hours but less than a day. All of her senses are wacky here, she can't hear anything, not even the hum or vibration of her voice. Sight is obviously a no go, and the strangest of all are her senses of touch, taste, and smell are absent as well. If not for the voices in her head she would doubt her own existence at this point.

Days, weeks, maybe even months have passed. Only one phrase repeated through her mind, “Please, save me?” until her mind felt an explosive cacophony of voices flooded every inch of her consciousness.

“What do you need?” “What do you want?” “Fuck off!” “Use your imagination, young one, to guide you through the void.” “I’m Evolving! I'M EVOLVING! MUAHAHA!!!” “LEFT!” “Why do you enter our home?” “Why have you come to this plane?” “Can I have it?” “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!!!” “Food?” “Devour?” “Consume.” “You should not be here, you mind can't handle what you're experiancing.” “Nothing…” “Everything.” “Everyone!” “No one.” “We?” “Me?” “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhhhh……..” “Shhh….” “Leave!” “Stay. Please. It's so lonely here….” “Ashlee, Ash, Lee, Bashlee? Bash me? BASH ME!?! You dare!” “Sleep.” “Stay.” “There is no exit.” “There is no here” “Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha.” “Fufufufufuffufufufufu!” “Kekekekekekekeke” “Bitch!” “Run! RUN!” “HELP ME!” “Please, this is the void, THE VOID! The nothingness between the Planes, dimensions, world.” “We are everywhere and nowhere.” “everything and nothing.” “Everyone, no one, me, us, only you are.” “We are not.” “After the initial sauce layer, add a layer of pasta sheets, ricotta mixture or bechamel, sauce, and cheese. Then repeat the layers. Top the last layer of your lasagna with sauce and cheese. You can also alternate layers of sauce and ricotta cheese.” “Our upgraded model now offers quality third-generation options.”

“Who, how many? Too loud. It hurts” she struggled to say, even in her own mind. “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!” She screamed out in her mind, anything to silence the noise. “Save me! Help me! I don't deserve this torture, please? PLEASE!?”

"Hey, do you hear that?" "What? I can't hear anything over all this noise!" "Noise? What noise? I hear music!" "Music? Nah, it's just the wind howling." "Wind? More like the rumbling of a thousand beasts!" "Beasts? Don't be ridiculous, it's just the sound of civilization!" "Civilization? Ha! This is chaos!" "Chaos? I thought it was a party!" "Party? I smell burning!" "Burning? That's the scent of victory!" "Victory? No, it's the taste of defeat!" "Defeat? I haven't even started fighting yet!" "Fighting? Let's dance instead!" "Dance? My feet are too heavy!" "Heavy? Like the weight of the world!" "World? It's all just a dream!" "Dream? Wake up, fool!" "Fool? I'm the wisest of them all!" "All? No, I'm the one with the answers!"

"Answers? They're all lies!" "Lies? Nah, just different perspectives!" "Perspectives? More like illusions!" "Illusions? But they feel so real!" "Real? What does that even mean?" "Mean? It's all about interpretation!" "Interpretation? I prefer action!" "Action? But words speak louder!" "Louder? Like a symphony of voices!" "Voices? They echo in my mind!" "Mind? It's a labyrinth of thoughts!" "Thoughts? They're like butterflies!" "Butterflies? Nah, they're fleeting like shadows!" "Shadows? They hide the truth!" "Truth? It's buried beneath layers of lies!" "Lies? I can see through them!" "Through? Like a tunnel to the unknown!" "Unknown? It's where adventure awaits!" "Adventure? But danger lurks around every corner!" "Danger? I laugh in its face!" "Face? It's a mask we all wear!" "Wear? I prefer to go naked!" "Naked? Embrace your vulnerability!" "Vulnerability? It's where strength lies!" "Lies? They're the fabric of society!" "Society? It's a construct of our making!" "Making? We're all creators in this universe!" "Universe? It's vast and infinite!" "Infinite? Like the possibilities of existence!" "Existence? It's a puzzle waiting to be solved!" "Solved? But some mysteries are meant to remain!" "Remain? Like whispers in the wind!" "Wind? It carries secrets from distant lands!" "Lands? They're the stage for our stories!" "Stories? They weave the tapestry of time!" "Time? It's a river flowing endlessly!" "Endlessly? Until it reaches the sea of eternity!" "Eternity? It's where souls find peace!" "Peace? It's what we all long for!" "Long for? But chaos fuels our desires!" "Desires? They drive us forward into the unknown!" "Unknown? It's where we find ourselves!" "Ourselves? We're but fragments of a greater whole!"

"Whole? Like pieces of a shattered mirror!" "Mirror? It reflects our innermost selves!" "Selves? They're constantly evolving!" "Evolving? Like stars in the night sky!" "Sky? It's a canvas painted with dreams!" "Dreams? They're the whispers of our souls!" "Souls? They're eternal flames burning bright!" "Bright? Like the dawn of a new day!" "Day? It's a gift to be cherished!" "Cherished? But fleeting like a shooting star!" "Shooting star? It grants wishes to those who believe!" "Believe? In the magic of the universe!"

"Universe? It's a playground for the imagination!" "Imagination? It knows no bounds!" "Bounds? They're meant to be broken!" "Broken? Like shattered dreams!" "Dreams? They're the seeds of possibility!" "Possibility? It's what drives us forward!" "Forward? Into the great unknown!" "Unknown? It's where adventure awaits!" "Adventure? It's the spice of life!" "Life? It's a journey worth taking!" "Taking? But sometimes we must let go!" "Let go? Of attachments that bind us!" "Bind us? They're the chains of our own making!" "Making? We're all creators in this universe!" "Universe? It's vast and infinite!" "Infinite? Like the possibilities of existence!" "Existence? It's a puzzle waiting to be solved!" "Solved? But some mysteries are meant to remain!" "Remain? Like whispers in the wind!" "Wind? It carries secrets from distant lands!" "Lands? They're the stage for our stories!" "Stories? They weave the tapestry of time!" "Time? It's a river flowing endlessly!" "Endlessly? Until it reaches the sea of eternity!" "Eternity? It's where souls find peace!" "Peace? It's what we all long for!“LEAVE!”

“_______”

All the voices stopped, all that was left to be heard were screams, screams so distant she doubted she heard anything but over time the screams grew louder, harsher, and more painful?