The shores of the Gate were frequently visited by Charon and his boat. Usually there were one or two souls upon it, as the experience was not limited to time and space and most die alone. But this time Charon's boat was full. On it was a family: Mikansia, Akseli, Yngvar, Dale, Ensio... and the thirteen year old Simone. Simone was laughing with a relief that hadn't been felt in years. And everyone was laughing with her, even though it wasn't technically Simone they were here to rejoice over.
But Mikansia didn't mind; Simone was everything to the triumphant. The sound of her laughter was enough.
Charon's boat stopped and Mikansia got out, Jabez's white stone in hand. On the shore stood before Mikansia stood a little girl in a white shift and a tall woman in black, sitting by the gate. Mikanksia knelt before the girl, smiling at her. "Hi, little one! You seem... familiar..."
And indeed she did, although Mikansia couldn't place when they could have met. "I've always been near you, but we've not really had a chance to meet," said the little girl. Jabez's white stone suddenly appeared in her hand. Another white stone appeared in Mikansia's hand, with a completely different script upon it.
The Gates swung wide. There Jabez stood, waves bouncing off light from a far-off land around the triumphant. Mikansia beamed at Jabez... but looked back at Simone. "Can I say goodbye to Simone? Before I go through?"
"Of course you can! Go on!" assured the girl.
Simone and Mikansia embraced. "It's so good to see you again," Simone enthused. "I waited all day for this and it was... I can't believe I stopped coming here. I know you have to go right now. Can I see you tomorrow night?"
"Come as often as you like!" said Mikansia. "Always."
"To visit," chuckled Simone.
"For awhile," Mikansia agreed.
Mikansia turned back to the little girl. She took Mikansia's hand-
This wasn't a little girl.
She was Death herself.
Mikansia was holding the hand of something that was wild, uncontrollable.. and yet the life of the little girl told a truth: Death's intent. The lie told the only truth that mattered.
"Do you regret anything more?' asked The Lady in Black.
Mikansia thought a moment. "No. No I don't."
Mikansia walked through the Gate with Death, to Jabez. "You made a promise you know! About your new name and telling me it what it was and all that."
Jabez motioned to the boat that Mikansia only now realized had been there the whole time. "I'll take you where that name will make sense. Both of ours."
They pushed the boat into the warm waters, the little girl doing the majority of the work. Death began to row, so Mikansia and Jabez stared out at the light they were rowing into, to the Land Beyond.
It was a sunrise unlike any other.
Almost eight years ago my therapist told me to stop playing role-playing games. I balked. I'd fought to play them as a teenager and had them as a vital part of my life for well over eight years before I'd found Burning Wheel. My first execution into the game I didn't like, and I was trying to run the game, properly. And what came out of that quick attempt to end the story so I could focus on my mental health was Revenge of the Countess of Fire. And that was unlike anything I've ever experienced. It felt like Tolkien, which was something that I'd never experienced before.
As a GM I've made many a world; as any world builder knows you kinda hafta to live there to make it come alive to others. Every place I'd visited before I didn't really want to go back before. But when I got to the end of that campaign something in my head said "I think I can live here for a long time. A very long time".
So as soon as I was able to, I went back. But I could never fulfill my original wish. Eight years went by, with me trying, over and over, to break the big 3-0, a full length Burning Wheel campaign. The longer I lived there, bouncing between worlds and seeing what that universe had to offer, the more I wanted to share it.
And then The Undertow came along. The Undertow was not a window into the world I expected. Every last thing about this campaign took me by surprise, even as the ending became clearer and clearer to Lena and I. We found ourselves juking left a whole hell of a lot more than I can begin to tell you, as Mikansia and the other characters began making decisions for us. This has been an experience unlike anything I've ever done, creatively or gaming-wise. For everyone who's read this thank you for doing so. It's a genuine joy to write these. It's good to be doing what I love.
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