Short story: Light a candle

Willem Rivet

Artisan
Hey all. Wrote a story about Joseph's resurrection a game back:

"
The battle clashed all about him as he blinked in a moment of perfect stillness. In this dark night, he had felt warm. Maybe it was the fight. Maybe it was rousing speech. There was a purpose driving him onward. Then, in a dizzying flurry the warmth was gone. Joseph remembered feeling a chill, then rending spectral arms tearing wide gashes within him. The pain was blinding, but thankfully it stopped with the bleeding. Soon, he felt nothing at all.

Somewhere in the nothing, a crowd was cheering. Some victory was being celebrated, but not by Joseph. As he floated away, he pondered the meaning of his involvement, knowing that a choice of whether to return was soon to be made.

Joseph pondered about whether he had made a difference. Things certainly felt rather similar to when he first picked up a shield: Larger than life factions vying for power, powerful figures swaying the masses, noble heroes leading adventurers down nobler paths, aberrant monsters spreading misery and pain.

So why return? Why spin that wheel when the outcome seemed so...logical?

Joseph pondered, and in his musing, a memory came to him. Joseph was sitting in the dark night outside the tavern in Valborough. A rich market had greeted him. His pockets were heavy and his belly full. As Joseph relaxed outside, an adventurer returned from some crusade or another. As they walked to the tavern, sore but happy, they tripped on a rather large step up onto the foundation of the tavern. It was no major incident, but soured their mood. Joseph considered that he had tealights that illuminated his goods for sale inside, and that they could be spared for the step. Joseph set his candles, and saw no more stumbling.

A few markets later, while returning from an arduous nighttime task, the adventurers grumbled about aching joints, hidden dips and hills. Joseph turned the talk to things they were looking forward to.

“Warm food.” said one adventurer.
“Cool drinks.” said another.

“I don’t know,” said a third. “I just know when I see those candles on the stoop, I’m home.”

Something so small as a gesture of light made all the difference to another. Taverns are a place of rest and safety. A beacon in a dark, violent world that lets few rest easy. Joseph was able to extend that beacon, even just a little. If that wasn’t reason to return, what was?

Factions would vie for power; Joseph would choose one. Powerful figures would sway the masses; Joseph would hold them accountable. Noble heroes would lead adventurers down nobler paths; Joseph would follow them. Aberrant monsters would spread misery and pain; Joseph would stand in their way.

Sure, nothing had changed. And everything."
 
Back
Top