Jace

Scalding winds sweep over the vast, vacant lands of Auburn. The only landmarks visible on the horizon are sparsely scattered volcanoes, and only by the positioning of these volcanoes and the formations of the stars above may one know where they lie in the enourmous volcanic plains known as Auburn—err, what remains of Auburn.

The last time I was in Auburn was when I was aiding with attempts at preventing the extinction of the volcanolems for, I'm ashamed to say, purely selfish reasons right as the Auburnian-Effrostian War was coming to a close due to the unwillingness of the Iclost to leave their subzero paradise that simply seems to be an icy prison from the perspectives of the majority of the perspectives of the other races.

Personally, I think that Effrost is a wonderful place and I've been sure to tell those close to me about the Iclost and their lands. I'm getting off topic, aren't I? I guess the mental fatigue from years and years of mental conflict and concealing facts about myself is beginning to catch up to me now that there's no one around to put up a front for. Maybe I should just carry myself with the confidence and unapproachable, mysterious demeanor I usually have? At least that way I can distract my mind from drifting towards less desirable thoughts and memories... yeah, I think that's what I'll do.

One misstep could leave me with one less foot or, if I'm lucky enough, one less scavenged item from Dr. Collagen's former residence. I don't really want to risk using any more of the things I got from that tower if I can avoid doing so because the only thing I even vaguely recognized out of all the things I found was the green pill I took to cure the frostbite I got while in that tower of ice that could've put my life at risk if nothing was done.

I'm writing this all before I begin to travel across the drab and dreary ashen plains of Auburn, and I'll write again once I'm too tired to go on and have found a safe place to rest.

You know, this really isn't that bad. Auburn is full of so much free real estate like that volcano, and that volcano, and that little crater from an explosion from who knows how long ago...

It's not that bad! It's not that bad. I'm sure the nearest volcano is going to be well furnished and completely habitable. It's really not that bad.

Sure, there's no furniture, but the volcano does appear to have been made into a sort of building by the volcanolems. Yeah, the steps to the spiral staircase into the volcano are decrepid, oversized, and falling apart beneath my boots, but it isn't that bad...

There's a crevice in the wall by the staircase that's just about my size, so I think I'll sleep there for the night. It isn't that bad. You've seen worse. I'm going to sleep now.

As I wake up, I am greeted by the sun's blazing rays and the scorching heat from the magma deep below. I pack my sleeping bag and eat some of the dried meat that remains from my nearly depleted rations. I'll need to go hunting today, so I should prepare some magic power ahead of time but since I have this fancy grimoire I don't need to do the usual preparations for taking down my more dangerous targets.

...

...I just can't feel satisfied without doing some sort of preparation before battle, so I'm going to look through and sort my items. Who knows, maybe being well-organized and having everything I could need in easy places to reach could prove useful.

That was exhilirating. I don't have anything else to do out here, so I might as well write about the hunt.

As the vast plains of ash and bubbling lava stretched out towards the horizon, I approached the point directly above the noise I heard resonating from deep beneath the gray soil. Once the sound stopped, I stepped back from the point where the noise stopped and imagine the ground being compressed into a sphere. If I was lucky, whatever that creature was would be dead before it even knew what happened. As one may expect based on my luck thus far, however, that was not the case. A piercing shriek resounded from the depths of the molten wastelands of Auburn and the ground trembled as an enormous worm-like creature burst out from the ground.