All Good Things...

This story was created when I thought about the EverQuest franchise as a whole and really started to understand the scope of the lore. The story is set just after the great cataclysm. Destruction, chaos, and general despair rule the land for many years. Here is a glimpse of two friends on a journey to a place where they hope they can survive. For those who actually read this you may find a parallel that could very well have happened or happen yet in our own world. Enjoy.

The sun was beginning to rise over the haze covered mountains in the east. They had been traveling in the barren desert for weeks now. The whole planet was being destroyed by fires burning in the hills and fissures that had opened up in the middle of once beautiful plains, some of them caused by the many meteors that had struck when Luclin was lost. Even six months after the great cataclysm struck the earth was still in pain. Occasionally they would find remnants of civilization, past icons that reminded them of home and the good old days. Times since passed with things they would never see again.

"What was wrong with the world?" Tamar cried out inside. How could it possibly have come to something like this? The land was supposed to have been in balance with the gods overseeing everything. In the Norrathian Express or at the local taverns there wasn't a hint of impending destruction. It was something that was beyond his understanding. At first they debated over and over why and how. Then as the days passed, food and other essentials dominated all thought. Memories of their past lives slipped away. History and triumphs in culture and technology of the old world forever lost. A new world, fresh with disease and loneliness awaited them. He momentarily recalled the wonderful time they had in Butcherblock hills. They would go hunting often, capturing the local bear or killing the intruding skunk. Those were the times he would never see again, because he frankly did not know where Butcherblock was anymore. He walked with his friend as he thought about those days over and over in his mind.

"How much longer till we arrive?" His friend asked. Tamar could give him no answer. They had been heading towards the last mountain range since yesterday morning. It appeared no closer than before.

"I don't know Valerik. You've been asking that every minute since we came down the last mountain, and the one before that, and the one before that." It was hard not to get mad anymore. He tried at first, but now he found it was his only outlet. His only way to cope with the horror of it all.

"Alright, alright! I won't ask anymore. What's the point anyway? The route were taking, we will never reach anyplace." His friend exclaimed. It irritated Tamar to hear his friend's complaints each day. He couldn't really blame him though. He looked over and saw that his friend's head was hung low, tears forming around his eyes. He would probably go into another depression episode, collapse on the sand and weep for several hours before realizing they had to keep moving. The last date he could remember was over three months ago. He held out his hand, telling his friend to stop. They would take a short break on a hard patch of rock while they rested.

He was tired, so tired. It was hard to keep his eyes open at all anymore. Everywhere he looked it was dusty and bleak. Ever since the firestorm that fateful day six months ago, the sky had turned dark, dusty and without a cloudless day since then. Tamar closed his eyes and began to think of home.

He dreamt of the Kaladim zoo. Valerik and he used to go there almost every week. It was close to home and on the way from the local school. Sometimes they would go there and sit near the griffon cages, study for hours before going home to prepare for hunting that evening or the next day. Sometimes they would visit the chessboard and play with the pieces. If they had time they would sneak into the local theatre for the latest play. They had a great time, easy going. When Tamar got his first horse he took Valerik across the land to the graveyard and showed him the pond in the middle where the weeping willow trees circled it. Sometimes he would joke about it, tell Valerik the lake was where they dropped all the dead bodies. One time Tamar pushed him in as a joke. He didn't know Valerik couldn't swim, so had to leap in to get him out. He must have told Valerik too many times about the supposed bodies in the water, for it scared him even to go in after Valerik.

Several days later after Valerik got over Tamar pushing him in the pond, they went back again to see more of the cemetery. They were playing near the pond when the firestorms began. Light seared the sky, blinding everything for several minutes. Then the heat wave, the blast that destroyed everything around them. To think the entire city and cities around them were completely destroyed in one quick blast. Decades of hard work, creativity, and imagination all for nothing. How could they have survived even on the outskirts? He had no idea then that he would see more bodies than could fit in that one entire cemetery, in the next few months. The crater where the meteor struck was probably still there. When they managed to retreat on a small raft out to the ocean they could see the crater and trees burning around its rim.

A scream awoke him from his newest nightmare. He looked over at Valerik who was clawing at the packed sand like a griffon in that zoo he remembered who clawed at the ground in search of food that wasn't there.

"I can't see Tamar! I can't see! Why can't I see?" Tamar grabbed Valerik's hands, holding them down. Valerik hastily grabbed Tamar's shirt and clung to him so closely for fear he might loose Tamar forever if he were to let go. Valerik must have had another loss of memory. They were increasing once again. The last town they were in he found an old farmer's market that had some medicine he thought might calm Valerik's outbreaks. It helped for awhile, but never seemed to slow the progress of deterioration that his friend was going through. Nothing ever seemed to help for long. Not even the wandering cleric they had passed by three months ago was able to help.

He held his hands to the sides of Valerik's head. "Listen Valerik, it's me Tamar. Remember the accident? Remember you were blinded by the flash when you looked at it in the cemetery?" After a few minutes Valerik stopped trembling and sat back down. Tears started running down his face again.

"Tamar, I remember. But sometimes I don't want to remember. Everywhere we go we find no one. Everywhere we go we cannot stop and rest."

"It's been a long journey I know. Things will get better, I promise! They have too. The way I figure it we have another week or two before we reach the lake I told you about. With any luck we will find fresh water and perhaps, just perhaps someone else." He hoped to god that his friend felt a sense of purpose, for Tamar's sense of purpose left him a long time ago. His only purpose now was to help his friend find his way; he feared however that neither of them would.

Taking his friend's arm, he led them down the barren road they had been traveling. Dust had coated most of it but it was mainly still visible. He stopped suddenly. He thought he saw a glimmer ahead of them off of the road. It was moving. Could it be? Someone else trying to find their way out of this hell? What was left of the trees and rocks obscured most of his vision. As the shadow approached he could clearly see it was something alive.

"Valerik, I see something or someone up ahead. It's hard to make out. Wait here while I go check it out." He led Valerik over to a large rock under the shade of one of the few trees in the area. The valley they were in made it even darker than higher above. It was hard to make anything out.

Tamar approached the cluster of rocks he saw the image dart past. He thought he heard a growl, but that could have been his stomach. They hadn't eaten anything at all in two days now. Weaving through the rocks, he distinctly heard the growl again. This time it was coming from behind him. He turned around, never getting a chance to see his fateful attacker. The griffon that had attacked him hit him in the head with its paw so hard it crushed his skull instantly. The griffon now had his meal for the day. Everything was dying in the world, leaving no room for pity or mercy anymore. Satisfied with his capture, the griffon finished, walking slowly away up the valley road. It never saw Tamar's friend waiting just a stones throw distance away.

Darryl got up from the rock. He tried walking in the direction he heard the noises come from. Tripping over a root in the ground, he fell face first on the hard ground. He got up and tried again, blood running down his face from the impact. "Tamar? I heard a growl in the distance. Is that you? Is it time to move on now? Tamar?" Darryl never received a response.