The rain was falling thick and heavy as the Storyteller warmed himself by the fire. It was one of those rare moments where he had taken his brown cloak off and had it hanging by the stone hearth drying by the fire. He like many others close to the fire. Some were attempting to dry off while others were just enjoying its warmth. A handful of children were talking amongst themselves before one of them turned to the old gentlemen. "Do you have any stories of your youth?" He inquired curiously. The Storyteller raised an eyebrow. "My youth?" He gave a lighthearted chuckle. "You would find my youth to be quite boring I am afraid." He spread out his arms. "This world is one of fantasy, magic, and danger and has been a part of the Pathworks for close to a millennium." He wrapped his hands together in front of the fire. "I was already closing in on thirty-seven years old when the Pathworks latched onto my world. My world had its fair share of problems, but it was relatively peaceful. It had technology that far surpassed this world, but much we had would be redundant here." He sat down at the table and gestured towards the children to sit. "We had these boxes that were a bit taller than a grown man and they kept food cold." He paused a moment trying to figure out the best way to describe electricity. "They were all powered by lightening. Matter of fact everything was powered by lightening, but it wasn't magic!" Some of the children giggled while another made the comment that it sounded dangerous. "Yes, with the power of the runesmiths what I would call a refrigerator would be a waste of space because a runesmith can just put several preserving runes in a room and it would be so much larger." The Storyteller stared outside watching the rain blanket the world. In his hazel eyes was a longing look. "You children might not know this but when a world is first opened to the Pathworks, many strange things happen. A world joins the Pathworks when the gods decide the world has run its course or is one its way to dying and needs to be saved. I will tell you of the day. Of the day my world changed. Many called it an apocalypse and my world were unique in there were many apocalyptic events that were spread over the world. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Magnus was kneeling in front of a dirty refrigerator cleaning out its interior. It had been repo'ed from a customer that had not kept up to date on its payments. So, his company wanted it cleaned out and up so it could be put in the used area for resale. He was currently in the company's warehouse when one of his friends and fellow coworker named Deshon walked up beside him. "Hey man, can I get you to come with me to the third warehouse? I need help moving some pallets of furniture." "Sure" said Magnus as he followed Deshon through the warehouse going past all the boxes of unopened furniture and appliances that the company sold in the front of the massive store. As they approached the doorway to the third warehouse something seemed off to both of them, but neither could place their finger upon it as they crossed the threshold into the third warehouse. Magnus and Deshon froze in their tracks both were blinking trying to make sense of what was in front of them. The third warehouse that they knew which should have had rows of pallets of unboxed furniture and even a few old forklifts was completely empty. Even the light fixtures on the ceiling were gone. Stranger yet the world that had been vibrant with color had all become gray. The darkness of the warehouse gray. The sunlight pouring in from one of the bay doors further down the third warehouse was lacking its yellow tones and was a cold gray. Magnus even looked towards Deshon his usual caramel colored skin now had a gray tone to it. "What the..." Magnus stopped himself. Despite speaking he heard no words come from his mouth. In fact, he quickly snapped his fingers but there was no familiar snap. The entire world had become gray and soundless. The two looked at one another after some of the confusion and panic had passed. Behind them where the second warehouse had been now a black void stood. Taking tentative steps, they reached the open bay door that shined with gray sunlight. What should have been a concrete parking lot was now a vast meadow with giant trees, the only thing that showed evidence of the parking lot was broken concrete here and there. The world had also regained its color and sound. Neither of them dared to returned to the warehouse. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The storyteller smiled at the kids. "It was a very wild ride and me and my friend really got off easy considering some were instantly faced with monsters that tore them to pieces..."