You dive under your bed, to a point where you can see the rest of the room, but no one else can see you. You hear your parents' screams of terror as they're torn apart.

Suddenly, the door to your room smashes open, and you find the creature staring at you. It looks vaguely human, a fact even more terrifying. It stands at seven or eight feet, it's skin as white as bone. It has long black hair, matted with blood and gore. It's hands have transformed into horrible, mangled claws, with long, bloodstained claws. It's face is mangled and misshapen, but its eyes are filled with malice and hate as they peer around the room.

 The monster bursts towards Meredith who still lies in her bed, impaling her fragile body on one of its claws. It raises her up from her bed, growling in her face, before tossing her aside.

It stops, staring around the room, sniffing slowly.
> You hide
You wait patiently, trying not to make a sound. Slowly as it sniffs the air it begins turning its head to look at where you're hiding. It slowly approaches, before dropping to its knees to stare at you with those dead eyes, it's horrible, mangled mouth seeming to turn into a grin.

You try to crawl out from under the bed, but as soon as you do you realize there's no escape. You stare at the monster as it brings its claws just next to your face, still grinning with satisfaction. It motions as if to slash open your throat, but stops suddenly. It motions to do so again, but pauses once more, this time hissing in pain. It stops, before howling up towards the sky. Then, it brings its face up to yours.

"Leave this place," it snarls.

Its breath reaches your nostrils, warm and toxic. You feel your head going black, before collapsing onto the ground.


You're awoken by the noise. A horrible, long, incredibly loud, screeching howl that penetrates your very core. The noise floods into your mind, as horrifying and scary as when you first heard it. Only now, you can hear it outside your house. You hurry to clamber out of bed, clambering out of bed as you hear the door smash open. The creature lets out a chattering, screeching howl. You freeze, feeling cold, as shivers run down your spine. You need to act, fast.
> You grab Meredith
You charge over to your sister, grabbing her.

"Meredith! Meredith!" you say in a hurried manner.

"Wh... what?" Meredith asks as she stirs from her shoulder.

Suddenly, the door to your room smashes open, and you find the creature staring at you. It looks vaguely human, a fact even more terrifying. It stands at seven or eight feet, it's skin as white as bone. It has long black hair, matted with blood and gore. It's hands have transformed into horrible, mangled claws, with long, bloodstained claws. It's face is mangled and misshapen, but its eyes are filled with malice and hate.

It stares at you. Then, with supernatural speed, it bursts away. You try to rouse Meredith again and she stumbles out of bed as you hear mother and father scream as they're torn apart. Then, the creature appears in the doorway again, as you run for the window with your sister. The monster bursts towards Meredith, impaling her fragile body on one of its claws. It raises her up, growling in her face, before tossing her aside. Finally, it turns to you, it's horrible, mangled mouth seeming to turn into a grin.

It steps forward slowly. You know there's no use running. You stare at the monster as it brings its claws just next to your face, still grinning with satisfaction. It motions as if to slash open your throat, but stops suddenly. It motions to do so again, but pauses once more, this time hissing in pain. It stops, before howling up towards the sky. Then, it brings its face up to yours.

"Leave this place," it snarls.

Its breath reaches your nostrils, warm and toxic. You feel your head going black, before collapsing onto the ground.


You turn, walking off into the woods. It's only a few minutes of strolling before Rose appears behind you, smiling and happily fiddling with her wooden ring.

"Hiya," she says.

"Hello, Rose," you say.

"So, Jacob, what do you wanna do?"

"I don't know," you say. "Did you get me any prey to bring home?"

Rose nods.

"Yeah, I got you five hares. Is that enough?"

"Perfect," you nod.

"Come on, then," Rose smiles, bounding away. "Let's go find something to do."

You look at her, thinking. Father said you were to find a girl relatively soon. A wife to raise a family with. From what you've seen of the outside world, the girls are all the same as Meredith and mother. They do what they're told, they pray, they're humble. But you don't want a wife like mother or Meredith.

You wonder if Rose would be a suitable partner. She doesn't know how to sew, or clean, or cook, or wash clothes, or really do any wife stuff. But you'd prefer a second out here with her rather than with Meredith or mother. She's the one who hunts. Maybe you could learn to do the wife things for her if you got married. You...

An acorn hits you in the head and you step back, startled. Rose throws another acorn at you, which you duck under.

"Hello! Anybody there?" Rose says, gently tapping her knuckles against your head.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," you reply, as you begin walking alongside her.

You walk down towards the stream, where Rose's catch awaits. Five hares hang from the branches alongside three squirrels. Rose hops across the river, water splashing the edge of her dress. You follow her, jumping from rock to rock to cross the stream. Rose sits down on a rock basking in the sun that  sits at the edge of the stream, water rushing past. You sit down next to her, staring at her. With long blond hair, shockingly blue eyes and a pretty, if a bit animal-like face, she's definitely pretty. Her eyes lock into yours, as you both stare into each other.
> You approach her about the idea of marriage
"Do you ever plan to marry, Rose?"

"Marry?" she asks, curiously. "What's that?"

"You know, when a boy and a girl become one. Like my parents, or like your parents."

Rose stares at her hands for a second, her face darkening.

"No. I don't want to be like my parents. Definitely not," she says.

"No, not like... a marriage is like when a man and a woman become a pair under God and have kids and stay together."

"What does having kids have to do with staying together?" she asks. "And I definitely don't want to do anything under... well, you know."

"If you have kids you stay together," you say. "That's what happens."

"My parents never stayed together, and they had me," she says.

Perhaps she might not make the best wife. The concept of marriage seems lost on her. The concept of romance might not be, however.


You stand in the goat shed, feeding Nick and Puck. You put the rest of their feed down, walking out to talk to father. Father chops wood by the wide of the house, while mother cooks and Meredith washes clothes by the stream. You walk to father, who seems quite content. Thanks to Rose, you've been eating well, and she even brought you a full deer the other day. You had to shoot it to make it seem like you had hunted it yourself, but other than that it was a cause for celebration.

"Ah, boy! Have you checked the traps today?"

"Not yet, father," you say.

Father smiles, motioning towards the soup mother's making.

"Go, get some venison soup and head out. I need to head to town tomorrow. Get some salt to help the meat last through winter, and sell some of the excess meat. We're truly blessed with your hunting and trapping skills, Jacob. Thank the Lord for it. So tell me, will you come to town with me tomorrow?"
> You decline to spend time with Rose
"Ah, what a shame. You're spending too much time in those woods, son. Does it not get lonely out there?"

You shake your head, and father sighs.

"If that's what you want. I'll be seeing if there's any fathers with girls your age in the town, you know. You're getting old, and I'm sure with your strong features, ability to provide for a family and your humility to God, you'll have no trouble finding a wife. Ah, I'm talking too much. Go, grab some soup and head out."

You begin walking away and head to mother, who stirs the soup slowly.

"Do you want some, Jacob?" she asks, not looking up.

"Yes, please," you say, as she dumps some of the soup into a wooden bowl and hands it to you.

You say your thanks to her before praying to say the same to the Lord, and then quickly devour the soup. It's fairly delicious and both easily warms and fills you up easily. Now, you're ready to head out.


Your secret friendship with Rose develops quite a fair bit. You have quite a bit of time to play with her. Due to your success at “hunting”, father seems more than happy to leave you in charge of the hunting. Everyday, you head out to do the snares, Rose awaits with a string of hares for you. Then, you have a while to play and have fun, before you need to head home to avoid arising suspicion. You gift Rose with a few luxuries that she can’t scavenge from the woods such as preserves, a blanket and a few other man-made goods. Father notices your rise in behavior, but he simply dismisses it as you enjoying the woods and all the time you’re spending in it. Like you, Rose assures you that it’s best you never meet with her parents. When asking if her parents even know of the friendship or whether they’re in the dark like yours, she vaguely implies that her mother does know, and watches you two playing occasionally. You never see her, mother, but you don’t mind. For now, all is good.

You run through the undergrowth desperately with all your speed, but like always, Rose is much faster than you. She taps you in the shoulder before speeidng away in the blink of an eye, stopping by a tree to lean against it for you to catch up.

“You’re too fast!” you complain.

“You’re too slow,” Rose says, sticking out her tongue.

“Let’s play another game,” you say.

“Hide and seek?” she asks.

Despite Rose’s unnatural ability to find you during hide and seek, by what she claims to be “sniffing” despite her being far away, you have much more of a chance of success in hide and seek rather than trying to outpace her. She’s faster than a deer, you’ll never beat her in that field.

“Yeah, let’s do hide and seek,” she says. “I’ll be on first, if you want.”

You nod eagerly, as  she spins around on the balls of her bare feet, clasping her hands over her eyes.

“One, two, three…” she begins to count, as you turn and sprint off into the woods.

You have a few places in mind that would make a good hiding spot. There’s a little den underneath one of the trees that you could hide in. It should be easy enough to crawl into, although you’ve had similar hiding spots before. Still, it’s one of the best spots you have, and the closest one.

There’s also a more risky choice. The burnt out cottage that here mother supposedly lives in is close by. Rose says she only uses it for sleeping in, so you could hide out in there.

There’s also her father’s cave. It’s slightly father away, but Rose seems to have an aversion to it. You could get to it if you run past enough, and hide away in there. There’s been no reports of trappers in the area and Rose hasn’t mentioned seeing him in a while, so you should be able to hide out there.
> You hide in the burnt out cottage
You quickly make your way to the burnt out cottage. As you reach the clearing and see the blackened thatch and ash and the burnt stone, you feel nervous. Still, with your crucifix clutched tightly in your hands, you move forward into the burnt out cottage. You step through the doorway, crouching down into the ash. You pause, as you notice several black, burnt bones sit in the ash. You frown and wince, realizing that Rose’s mother does, as a matter of fact, still live in this house… or at least, she stays here. You don’t want Rose to have to come here and relive whatever awful memories he has. You wonder whether this is a good spot to hide.
> You stay here
You wait there in the burnt out cottage for at least an hour, far longer than it ever took Rose to find you before. Eventually, you see her cautiously approaching towards the house, sniffing the air.

"Jacob? You're not in the house, are you? If you are, come out, please, she says nervously.

You step up, peering out at her from behind the stone wall. She frowns, looking annoyed.

"Jacob! I told you to stay away from here!" she says, sprinting towards you and grabbing you by the wrist.

She begins dragging you along the path home.

"What? I needed somewhere to hide," you say.

"Not there!" Rose complains, fiddling with her wooden ring. "It's going to take forever to get your scent out of the ash so she doesn't know you were there!"

"She's..." you begin to say, before deciding to hold your tongue.

"What?" Rose asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," you say. "I'm sorry. I won't go near there again."

"It's OK," Rose says. "Come on, it's been a while. You need to get home."

You nod, and walk home alongside her.


You quickly make your way to the burnt out cottage. As you reach the clearing and see the blackened thatch and ash and the burnt stone, you feel nervous. Still, with your crucifix clutched tightly in your hands, you move forward into the burnt out cottage. You step through the doorway, crouching down into the ash. You pause, as you notice several black, burnt bones sit in the ash. You frown and wince, realizing that Rose’s mother does, as a matter of fact, still live in this house… or at least, she stays here. You don’t want Rose to have to come here and relive whatever awful memories he has. You wonder whether this is a good spot to hide.
> You leave and head to the den
You stand up from the ash, and quickly make your way to the den, finding it in the exact spot you remembered, just squirreled away under the twisted roots of an ancient Oak. You drop to your knees, lifting yourself down into it and scrunching up. You wait patiently, closing your eyes.


You quickly make your way to the burnt out cottage. As you reach the clearing and see the blackened thatch and ash and the burnt stone, you feel nervous. Still, with your crucifix clutched tightly in your hands, you move forward into the burnt out cottage. You step through the doorway, crouching down into the ash. You pause, as you notice several black, burnt bones sit in the ash. You frown and wince, realizing that Rose’s mother does, as a matter of fact, still live in this house… or at least, she stays here. You don’t want Rose to have to come here and relive whatever awful memories he has. You wonder whether this is a good spot to hide.
> You leave and head to the cave
You stand up from the ash, and quickly head up to the cave, running as fast as you can. You run as fast as your legs can carry you, eventually reaching the incline leading up to it. Which you quickly clamber up. You climb up the rocks and reach the mouth of the cave, turning only briefly to stare at the forest around you. You feel a certain cold chill run through you as you stare at into the darkness inside, wondering if you should enter.
> You leave and head to the den
You quickly head down the mountain, skidding down the mud and rocks, but by the time you actually reach the bottom and walk any reasonable distance, Rose races up to you with a gleeful “Found you!”.

“Ah, rats!” you say.

“You didn't even hide!" she smiles.

"I didn't have time to!" you say, before looking up at the sun as it falls through the sky. “It’s late. I need to get home soon.”

“Oh come on! I didn’t even get to hide yet!” Rose complains, pouting in an exaggerated fashion.

“Neither did I," you smile. "Don't worry. You can hide first time,” you say.

“Fine,” Rose says. “Come on, let’s get you home.”


You stand up from the ash, and quickly head up to the cave, running as fast as you can. You run as fast as your legs can carry you, eventually reaching the incline leading up to it. Which you quickly clamber up. You climb up the rocks and reach the mouth of the cave, turning only briefly to stare at the forest around you. You feel a certain cold chill run through you as you stare at into the darkness inside, wondering if you should enter.
> You venture into the cave
You walk further into the cave, as the shadows and darkness consume you. You step forward nervously. After a minute of stumbling forward, you reach the end of the cave, pausing. In the middle of the cave, dozens of scratches cover the inside of the wall, alongside dried in blood. You pause, staring at it. In the middle, a deer skull sits in place You stare at it, feeling unnerved. You half expect to start hearing horrible screaming or demons to clamber out from the walls, but nothing happens. Still, the area fills you with dread, and you wonder if you should leave.
> You stay
You stay in the cave, holding your crucifix tightly. You feel chills run through your body and feel an awful presence watching over you, but you just hold the cross tighter and wait. Nothing happens, though. You wait patiently, but it seems Rose just doesn't seem to arrive. It's after at least two hours where you realize she's never going to find you in here, and you stand, walking out of the cave and reaching the mouth. You head down the mountain, skidding down the mud and rocks, you scoot down to the bottom. You begin walking, but it's only a few minutes before Rose races up to you.

"Damn! You had a good hiding spot. I couldn't find you at all. Where were you?" she asks.
> You tell her the truth
"I was in your father's cave," you say.

Rose stops, turning pale. She looks you dead in the eye, her unnaturally blue eyes staring into your eyes and chilling you to the bone. She looks up and down you, a mixture of nervousness, terror and anger on her eyes that manifest into a confusing look, as she begins nervously fiddling with her ring.

“I told you not to go there! I told you!" she says angrily.

"I'm sorry," you say.

Rose puts her index and middle finger against your temple, looking worried, as her wooden ring rubes against your temple.

"It's OK," she says. "I forgive you. Just, promise me you won't go near there again."

"I promise."

"Thanks. Do you feel OK?" she asks.

"Yeah, I feel fine."

"Are you sure? No flu or coldness or anything?"

"No, I feel fine now," you say.

"OK," Rose nods, before wrapping her arms around you and hugging you. "I'm glad you're safe. Come on, let’s get you home.”

You nod, and begin walking alongside Rose home.


You stay in the cave, holding your crucifix tightly. You feel chills run through your body and feel an awful presence watching over you, but you just hold the cross tighter and wait. Nothing happens, though. You wait patiently, but it seems Rose just doesn't seem to arrive. It's after at least two hours where you realize she's never going to find you in here, and you stand, walking out of the cave and reaching the mouth. You head down the mountain, skidding down the mud and rocks, you scoot down to the bottom. You begin walking, but it's only a few minutes before Rose races up to you.

"Damn! You had a good hiding spot. I couldn't find you at all. Where were you?" she asks.
> You lie
"I was hidden under a tree, in a fox den."

"Damn! I thought I would've sniffed your scent," she says, sniffing the air. "You smell the same as always. I don't know. Maybe I have a cold."

You feel a bit of guilt for lying, and decide to pray for redemption tonight, but Rose doesn't seem to catch on.

"Well, it's late. Come on, let's get you home!" Rose smiles.


You walk further into the cave, as the shadows and darkness consume you. You step forward nervously. After a minute of stumbling forward, you reach the end of the cave, pausing. In the middle of the cave, dozens of scratches cover the inside of the wall, alongside dried in blood. You pause, staring at it. In the middle, a deer skull sits in place You stare at it, feeling unnerved. You half expect to start hearing horrible screaming or demons to clamber out from the walls, but nothing happens. Still, the area fills you with dread, and you wonder if you should leave.
> You leave and head to the den
You quickly turn, and leave the cave. You don't want to deal with whatever horrors remain here. You reach the mouth of the cave and head down the mountain, skidding down the mud and rocks, but by the time you actually reach the bottom and walk any reasonable distance, Rose races up to you with a gleeful “Found you!”.

“Ah, rats!” you say.

“You didn't even hide!" she smiles.

"I didn't have time to!" you say, before looking up at the sun as it falls through the sky. “It’s late. I need to get home soon.”

“Oh come on! I didn’t even get to hide yet!” Rose complains, pouting in an exaggerated fashion.

“Neither did I," you smile. "Don't worry. You can hide first time,” you say.

“Fine,” Rose says. “Come on, let’s get you home.”


Your secret friendship with Rose develops quite a fair bit. You have quite a bit of time to play with her. Due to your success at “hunting”, father seems more than happy to leave you in charge of the hunting. Everyday, you head out to do the snares, Rose awaits with a string of hares for you. Then, you have a while to play and have fun, before you need to head home to avoid arising suspicion. You gift Rose with a few luxuries that she can’t scavenge from the woods such as preserves, a blanket and a few other man-made goods. Father notices your rise in behavior, but he simply dismisses it as you enjoying the woods and all the time you’re spending in it. Like you, Rose assures you that it’s best you never meet with her parents. When asking if her parents even know of the friendship or whether they’re in the dark like yours, she vaguely implies that her mother does know, and watches you two playing occasionally. You never see her, mother, but you don’t mind. For now, all is good.

You run through the undergrowth desperately with all your speed, but like always, Rose is much faster than you. She taps you in the shoulder before speeidng away in the blink of an eye, stopping by a tree to lean against it for you to catch up.

“You’re too fast!” you complain.

“You’re too slow,” Rose says, sticking out her tongue.

“Let’s play another game,” you say.

“Hide and seek?” she asks.

Despite Rose’s unnatural ability to find you during hide and seek, by what she claims to be “sniffing” despite her being far away, you have much more of a chance of success in hide and seek rather than trying to outpace her. She’s faster than a deer, you’ll never beat her in that field.

“Yeah, let’s do hide and seek,” she says. “I’ll be on first, if you want.”

You nod eagerly, as  she spins around on the balls of her bare feet, clasping her hands over her eyes.

“One, two, three…” she begins to count, as you turn and sprint off into the woods.

You have a few places in mind that would make a good hiding spot. There’s a little den underneath one of the trees that you could hide in. It should be easy enough to crawl into, although you’ve had similar hiding spots before. Still, it’s one of the best spots you have, and the closest one.

There’s also a more risky choice. The burnt out cottage that here mother supposedly lives in is close by. Rose says she only uses it for sleeping in, so you could hide out in there.

There’s also her father’s cave. It’s slightly father away, but Rose seems to have an aversion to it. You could get to it if you run past enough, and hide away in there. There’s been no reports of trappers in the area and Rose hasn’t mentioned seeing him in a while, so you should be able to hide out there.
> You hide in the cave
You quickly head up to the cave, running as fast as you can. You run as fast as your legs can carry you, eventually reaching the incline leading up to it. Which you quickly clamber up. You climb up the rocks and reach the mouth of the cave, turning only briefly to stare at the forest around you. You feel a certain cold chill run through you as you stare at into the darkness inside, wondering if you should enter.


You hear the soft snoring of Meredith in the bed next to you. Father and mother are in the next room, but they're definitely asleep. You slowly slide out of bed, and creep over to the closet. You slowly open the closet, pulling out a black cotton dress and slinging it over your shoulder. You creep out of the house, walking towards the woods.

Rose waits there. She leans against a tree, giving a little wave as she sees you approaching. When you reach her, you hold out the dress and she takes it from you, pulling it  over her head and putting it on.

"How do I look?" she smiles.

"Pretty," you admit, before mentally chastising yourself for being so lustful.

Rose smiles, and gently kisses you on the cheek. You blush, stepping back.

"Rose!" you say, embarrassed.

"What? It was on the cheek, we're just friends! Not even my mother could think that was bad!" she asks, confused.

"You're being lustful! We're not married, we shouldn't be..."

Rose puts a finger to your lips, nodding towards the house as you remember your sleeping parents and nod.

"You're weird," she says, before walking into the woods. "Come on, I'll show you where I have the hares."

You follow Rose into the darkness of the forest, and you walk alongside her. Soon, you find a dozen hares strung up from a tree by their neck. She cuts the rope keeping them up, and catches the string of hares as it falls, holding it out for you.

"Here," she says.

"That's a lot of hares," you say. "Fair trade."

Rose shakes her head.

"No. If you had just laid down your snares, you would've got a few hares. I still owe you something."

"Like what?" you ask.

"You're new to this place. I'll show you around."

"Uh, OK, " you say.

You follow Rose around as she leads you through the forest.

"So, do you... have a house around here?" you ask.

"Um... no. I sleep a lot of places. I used to sleep in my mother's cottage, but we don't get on. Now, I like to sleep in the trees. Find a nice big branch, hold on tightly. It's nice."

Over the next hour, Rose shows you the things of importance in the area. The good grazing areas, the most populated hare trails, the wild vegetable and fruit patches. Eventually, you reach within sight of an old, burnt out cottage. Rose stops you before you can get close.

"That's my mother's house," she says.

"Oh. Did... did she die?" you ask.

Rose shakes her head.

"No, no she's alive. It's just she... well, it's a long story."

"That place is all burnt out. No one should live there."

"She should," Rose says, spitting on the ground.

Rose quiets up as she leads you away from the cottage. After another few minutes, you come across a mountainous area, with a visible cave further up it.

"And that's where my father lives," Rose says. "Well, sort of."

"Does he move around a lot?" you ask.

"He lives in a lot of places. But he's there," Rose says.

"Is he a trapper, or something?"

"No, he's a..." Rose says, before pausing. "Yeah, trapper's a good definition. He traps things."

You dismiss her comment, and continue walking. Suddenly, Rose perks up.

"What games do you know how to play?" she asks.

"Games?"

"Do you like tag?" she asks.

"I don't know."

"I tap you and you become it, and then you have to tap me."

"Oh, OK," you say.

"So, tag," she says, tapping your shoulder. "You're it."

Rose bursts off, quickly running through the trees.
> You ask for clarifications on the rules, then tag her when she comes over
"Wait, if I tag you, then there's two tags. Then we can't play anymore."

Rose pauses, sighing, as she begins walking back to you.

"Look, if the person tagged is..." she begins to say, before you quickly tap her back and run off into the woods.

"Oh, you cheater!" she laughs, turning and running after you. "I'll get you."

You spend at least an hour playing but eventually, Rose leads you home. You talk for a bit more, but you arrive back at your cottage.

"Well, goodnight," she says.

"Goodnight, Rose," you reply.

"Can we do this again sometime? It's nice to have someone to be around."

She's right. It is nice. Your short time with Rose has been fun and really helped with your loneliness.

"Yeah. I'd like that," you say.

"Great," Rose smiles. "See you soon."

"See you soon," you say, as you walk back to the cottage to get to bed.


"I have a sister. She's as big as you. I can get you one of her dresses."

"Oh, I don't want to cause any trouble," she says.

"No, it's OK, I can get it," you say. "I'll have to do it after I lay down my traps, but I can do it."

Rose nods, before looking at your pack.

"Why do you lay down traps?" she asks.

"To catch prey to eat," you reply. "What do you use?"

"My hands," Rose says.

Rose pauses, nodding behind you. You slowly turn, spotting a hare sitting in the grass, seemingly oblivious to the two of you. Rose raises a finger to her lips, slowly stepping forward. Then, with unnatural speed she pounces. Rose bursts forward. You only see a blur before she stops, holding the hare with a broken neck in front of you.

"How many do you need?" she asks.

"I don't know," you say.

"If you get me the dress, I can catch you a few hares," Rose offers.
> You refuse her offer
"No," you say. "I really should be finishing the traps."

"Oh, OK," Rose says.

"I'll see you around, though," you say.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rose says. "I really should go. My mother will be looking for me."

"OK. Goodbye, Rose,"

"Goodbye, Jacob," Rose says, before sprinting off into the woods.

You watch her leave, before turning to set up the rest of the traps.
> You continue
Labor and Duty

You never do see Rose again. You venture out looking for her a few more times, but you never do. She must've not liked you very much. A pity. You could've used a friend.

As you grow taller, stronger and smarter, father assures you that soon, it'll be time for you to finally leave and get your own home, your own wife, and your own family.

You suppose he's write. It's your duty to God and nation to build a strong family like that which raised you. That's what expected of you, and that's what you'll do.


You creep forward, lowering your gun as you approach the creature. You step past teh tree, finding a young girl, around your age.

The girl has long, dirty blond hair and very pale skin. You blush and consider averting your eyes as you notice she's completely naked, before settling on focusing on her stares. She crouches over a dead hare, her hands tearing flesh from the creature as she greedily lifts it up and devours it. You stare at her in shock, before she looks up, staring at you. Her face is covered in the hare's blood, her long hair tussled with twigs and dirt in it. Her hands are covered in blood, and she wears a carved wooden ring. The thing that grabs your attention is her eyes. They're bright, shockingly blue that seem to entrap you, and you find yourself unable to say a word.

"Hello," she says, staring at you.

"I-I...," you stutter, stumbling over your words.

You both stare at each other, before the girl finally holds up the hare.

"Want some?" she asks.

"N-no thanks," you say. "I'm Jacob."

"I'm Rose," she replies.

"Do you live here?" you ask, not knowing what else to say.

"I live all over the woods," she replies. "Have you moved into the cottage?"

You nod, as she resumes the eating of the dead hare.

"That's not cooked," you say.

"No," she replies.

You know you have some bread in your pack, and you can see apples hanging nearby. Perhaps you should offer her something less... disgusting.
> You offer her an apple
You reach up, plucking a juicy red apple from one of the trees, holding it out to her.

"Here, have this," you say.

"No thanks," she says. "They taste rotten."

You bite into the apple, and find it tastes delicious. None the less, you decide to ignore it.

"I like your ring," you say, not knowing what else to say.

"Thanks," the girl replies. "I made it myself."

"Do you mind if I ask a question?" you ask, as Rose smiles.

"That's a question," she laughs.

"I mean, like another question," you say.

"Sure."

"Why aren't you wearing clothes?"

The girl looks down at her naked body, seemingly only noticing it for the first time.

"Oh," she says, blushing. "Um... I don't know. I don't have any clothes."


You walk along the hare path, your rifle and crucifix held tightly in your hands. You find another good spot for a simple snare trap, beginning to tie up your loop as you peer among the branches for one that could be used for the snare. Suddenly, you hear a branch breaking. You drop the loop, twirling around to point your gun. Thankfully, you don't hit yourself in the face with your rifle. You peer through the trees, seeing the flash of pale flesh from yesterday.
> You shoot at it
You fire at the figure, missing due to its weight making you unable to aim accurately. Without a noise you see the pale figure sprint away in an instant. You try to follow, but soon give up on that as you realize just how much faster than it you are.

With no more traps to set up, you return home.


You walk along the hare path, your rifle and crucifix held tightly in your hands. You find another good spot for a simple snare trap, beginning to tie up your loop as you peer among the branches for one that could be used for the snare. Suddenly, you hear a branch breaking. You drop the loop, twirling around to point your gun. Thankfully, you don't hit yourself in the face with your rifle. You peer through the trees, seeing the flash of pale flesh from yesterday.
> You quickly leave and return home
This must be the creature that made the horrible noise. You know if you get any closer, crucifix or not, it'll slaughter you. You turn, and quickly return home.
> You continue
Labor and Duty

You never do see the figure again. You venture out looking for it a few more times, with father alongside you, of course, but you never do. Maybe it just found a new hunting ground, or whatever this place was to it. No bother. As you grow taller, stronger and smarter, father assures you that soon, it'll be time for you to finally leave and get your own home, your own wife, and your own family.

You suppose he's write. It's your duty to God and nation to build a strong family like that which raised you. That's what expected of you, and that's what you'll do.


You stare at the bowl of rabbit stew in front of you, lapping your lips as mother continues setting the dinner down on the table.

"Alright, let's pray," father says, as you all make the sign of the cross.

You bow your head as you all grab each others hands and hold them tightly to pray to the Lord.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty," you all say in unison. "Through Christ, our Lord. Amen."

You release your hold on Meredith and mother's hands, making the sign of the cross. Then, you eagerly dig into your food. You devour it, licking the last trace that the bowl in front of you ever even held food within two minutes. You slap the bowl down on the plate with a sigh of the joy that can only come from alleviating hunger. You wait for your family to finish eating, tapping the edge of the table out of boredom. After a few minutes, the rest of them finish eating, and you make the sign of the cross once more, before you join hands once more.

"We give Thee thanks, Almighty God, for all Thy benefits, and for the poor souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, may they rest in peace. Amen," you all say, before making the sign of the cross a final time.

"Jacob, go check on the goats," mother says. "Meredith, help me cleaning the bowls."

You nod, standing and pushing in your chair, hurrying to the doorway and grabbing your coat as you pull it on. You walk outside, quickly heading towards the goat shed, where Nick and Puck lie on their bed of hay. They're well fed and watered, and seem contented.  You turn to walk back inside, before seeing movement up in the trees.

Then, you hear the noise. A horrible, long, incredibly loud, screeching howl that penetrates your very core. You feel an urge to run and flee from the noise.
> You run to get your gun
You sprint to the house to grab your rifle. Father though, is faster, as he appears with his rifle in his hands.

"What was that?" he barks out, his knuckles white from how tightly he's clutching the rifle.

You point up towards the trees, bathed in the pale moonlight.

"It came from there!" you say.

Father pauses, staring up nervously. He leans into the doorway, grabbing the crucifix that hangs there to watch over you as you eat. He hands you the crucifix, as you take it.

"I want that on you whenever you enter the woods, understood?" he asks, as you nod. "I'll have the crucifix for the house replaced in the morning. Just try and get some sleep, OK?"

You nod, as you begin to trudge off to bed. Despite being exhausted, you know you won't sleep much.


You begin wandering up towards the trees, holding your gun tightly in your hands. Whilst nature is no doubt a sanctuary to your young mind to find tranquility, there’s many dangers hidden. You point your rifle, making a loud bang sound as you picture yourself shooting a large grizzly bear like that your grandfather had stuffed in his cabin.

You reach the trees, leaning against a large, thick Oak tree and taking a deep breath, taking in all the scents the forest offers you. Your eyes scan the forest, quickly spotting several points of interest. Among the underbrush you spot a slightly trampled hare path, no doubt leading to wherever’s a good spot to graze. There’s also the stream, which you could wander along for a fair distance in search of anything worth seeing without getting lost. Finally, there’s a large oak tree with lots of strong branches. Perfect for climbing.
> You head along the stream
You begin walking alongside the stream, staring down at the cool stream of water, your boots trudging into the soft mud as you stare along. You think you can make out fat fish in the stream, although it's hard to tell due to the rushing water. Perhaps father will teach you how to fish sometime.

Suddenly, you hear something. You quickly turn, dropping to your knee to raise your rifle into a firing position to bag your prey as father always does. You don’t, clumsily tripping and hitting yourself in the face with the gun and falling into the cool mud of the stream. Still, you’re getting better at that maneuver. You push the gun off yourself as your rub your nose, before hopping up to a kneeling position. You stare at where the noise came from. Through the blurred visage of your watery eyes, you see in th distance a pale figure,, sprinting past the trees with unnatural speed. You heft your gun to your shoulder and aim, not knowing whether to fire or not. You don’t want to miss a chance to take out a… whatever creature that is, but you’re unsure whether that’s even a good idea.


You begin wandering up towards the trees, holding your gun tightly in your hands. Whilst nature is no doubt a sanctuary to your young mind to find tranquility, there’s many dangers hidden. You point your rifle, making a loud bang sound as you picture yourself shooting a large grizzly bear like that your grandfather had stuffed in his cabin.

You reach the trees, leaning against a large, thick Oak tree and taking a deep breath, taking in all the scents the forest offers you. Your eyes scan the forest, quickly spotting several points of interest. Among the underbrush you spot a slightly trampled hare path, no doubt leading to wherever’s a good spot to graze. There’s also the stream, which you could wander along for a fair distance in search of anything worth seeing without getting lost. Finally, there’s a large oak tree with lots of strong branches. Perfect for climbing.
> You climb a tree
You leave your rifle leaning against the tree and grab one of the lowest tree branches, lifting yourself off the ground up onto it. You grab another branch, hopping up as you quickly begin climbing up the the tree. Soon, you reach a point where you can see far and wide in the glade without having your view obscured by the leafy tree tops. You peer out at the various things, seeing a few deer bound past, the rushing stream and a few apple trees worth reporting to father. Other than that, there's...

You stop, as far in the distance you see a pale figure bounding through the trees with unnatural speed. You pause, wondering what an earth it is. You stare curiously at it, before it disappears from view. Fascinating. You lower yourself from the branch to see if you can spot it from a lower angle, but sadly its completely disappeared. No bother, you'll make an attempt to find out what kind of creature it was another day. Time to head home and report your findings.


On Saturday, December 17th, 2005, I proposed to Katrina, my girlfriend of five years.

This storygame is based off of my actual proposal to Katrina. I've tried to keep thisas close to how it happened / was planned as possible. Since this is a choose-your-story, you will probably have a slightly different experience, but all paths will lead to the same place, since it was planned that way.

You will be reading this story from the perspective of Katrina.
> You oK, you've got it!
It's Thursday night, a little after 9:00PM, and you just returned home from a twelve-hour workday. But it's all good -- this is the start of a long weekend --  your Birthday weekend -- and you've got five days before you have to return to the daily grind.

You see that Alex's friends are over, feasting on Chinese food, and have ordered your favorite dish: General Tso's Chicken. You chow down while they finish up judging some $100 make-a-game contest for their website. They wrap things up after an hour or so, leaving just you, Alex, and a quiet house.

You're a bit tired, but are a bit anxious about tomorrow. It's your birthday, and you're dying to know what Alex got for you. He's been talking about it for a few weeks and seems to have been having some shady dealings with some strange people. You have a good idea of what it is (an artifact of some sort) but really want to know what it is ...
> You say "Alex, can you give me my gift tonite?"
You ask Alex if he can give you the gift tonite, but he denies, insisting it will have to wait.
> You say "Pleeeaaassee ... I'm sooo curious ...."
You beg and plead, but Alex still insists that you wait tomorrow. Phooey.
> You oh well, off to bed
After such a long work day, it's great to finally get to bed. You fall asleep without any problems and sleep in for a long time. A verrrry long time. A verrrrrryyyyy looooong time.
> Twelve Noon
You wake up and do the morning thing, rushing a bit because you're just dying to know what Alex got for you for your birthday. Alex tells you to sit down at the kitchen table and close your eyes. He runs off and retreives your gift, placing it down right in front of you.

"Happy Birthday, Katrina" he says.
> You open Your Eyes
You open your eyes and see a medium-sized Shabti statuette enclosed in a glass case. The artifact is 7.5" long and is in pristine, museum-quality condition. Compared to the small (1cm) sized bead from last year's gift, this thing is huge -- and in great condition.  How could Alex have gotten this?

You also see a piece of paper under the case ...
> You what's The Paper Say?
Wow, it's the accompanying Certificate of Authenticity. It says that the piece is an Anubis Shabti and is from the  Twelfth Dynasty (Approx 1908 BCE). It was discovered by Miriam Lichtum in 1967. That's pretty neat!

You absolutely love the gift. Being a huge fan of Egyptian things -- especially artifacts -- this is more than you could ever want for your birthday! You are a bit curious how Alex was able to obtain such a nice piece, though ...
> You ask Alex how he got this
Alex explains ...

Strange thing, really. I called the Cleveland Museum of Art to see if they knew a reputable artifact dealer and they refered me to the Egyptian Antiquities Society in Chicago. I gave them a call and they kinda laughed at me, saying they really only work in the tens-of-thousands of dollars.

A few weeks later, this one guy from the Society, Dr. Evans, called me back and said that he found something that would fit my profile perfectly. Since these artifacts cannot be shipped, he brought it to Cleveland from Chicago.
> You interesting ...
The rest of your Birthday isn't too eventful. You do the normal birthday stuff: go to your family's house for cake, go out to dinner, and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Throughout the day, you can't stop thinking of how cool the artifact is. It does seem a bit creepy -- after all, this was buried with some guy almost four thousand years ago. But it is so neat to own such an amazing piece of history.
> The Next Day ...
The rest of the weekend was fun and relaxing, but nothing to write an adventure game about. You did find a few hours of free time while Alex was busy at work. During those few hours, you ...
> You ... Watched some television
It's amazing how much time flies while you're watching TV. It's not like you really find anything new, but it's always entertaining. Before you know it, it's Sunday night, and time for bed.

As you and Alex get ready for bed, Alex complains that two of the fish died.
> Monday
Monday was a pretty relaxing day: sleeping in, shopping, and just hanging out. Nothing notable happened, although as you get ready for bed, Alex mentioned that some more fish died.
> You on to Tuesday ...
Another day of rest and relaxaction. Might as well, it's been a long year -- you've been going to classes at night after work for the past five years, so it feels really great to finally have a break and nothing to worry about.

> You off to work tomorrow ...
Yicch -- nothing like going back to work after a small vacation. But it's all good, it's a short week and was a normal day. No staying late required. Woo!

After work, you and Alex stop and do a little bit of shopping. You arrive home and notice that the cat must have completely gone insane. All of the statues and trinkets on the shelf that the the Artifact sat on were knocked over. Some books and magazines were on the floor, fallen from another shelf. It's almost as if a small earthquake happened.

You're not quite sure how she could have possibly gotten up on the shelf to knock all those artifacts and trinkets over. It also is a little weird that the door on the glass case was open. Oh well, those are cats for ya.
> You on to Thursday ...
Another uneventful day at work. After getting home and eating dinner and watching TV, you get ready for bed. You fall asleep and are a ....
> You ... Light sleeper
As you're sound asleep, you are jarred awake by a loud noise ....

SLAM!

Alex awakes too, and you are both completely dazed. You look across the room and see that the door is closed. it must have slammed shut. This wasn't the first time you've been awoken in the night by a slammed-shut door. In the summer, when all the windows are open, a bit of wind will cause the doors to slam shut.

But of course, it is the middle of the winter, and no windows are open ...
> You that's weird ... Back to sleep
Finally it's Friday! After a long day of work, you decide to just stay home and watch a movie tonight. You have a big day tomorrow: shopping with your friend and a girls-night-out for your Sister's birthday. Plus, Alex has to go to work early tomorrow morning; he's been complaining about that for weeks.

 You end up watching Sahara, an action movie about Treasure Hunters and Africa. It was a pretty fun movie.
> You off to bed ...
The alarm goes of bright and early at 7:00AM and Alex jumps out of bed, rushing to get to work. He was supposed to be there at 7:00 .... whoops!
> Back to sleep ...
After falling back to sleep, you're rudely awaken by the telephone ...

RING! RING! RING!      RING! RING! RING!

Who on earth could be calling at 8:30 in the morning on a saturday? Probably a telemarketer ...
> You pick up the phone
It's Alex.

Sorry to wake you hun, but Dan* just called. His harddrive crashed last night and needs another one for his MP3s so he can do his DJ gig. It's in Akron tonite, so he needs to stop by and pick it up around 10:30AM or so.

You're not too happy about this. You actually sayed up till about 3:00 AM watching another movie, so you need some serious sleep!

* or, as some know him, march5th00
> No way, you're too tired
You tell Alex that you're too tired ...

He reallllly needs the drive. He has no music and needs to try to retreive it from his hard drive ...
> You can't he buy a hard drive?
You ask if he could go to Best Buy and pick up a hard drive. They sell them for fairly cheap, afterall.

He is completely over the limit on his credit card. Besides, why spend $100 when I have one I'm not even using. He'll only stop in and out.


After falling back to sleep, you're rudely awaken by the telephone ...

RING! RING! RING!      RING! RING! RING!

Who on earth could be calling at 8:30 in the morning on a saturday? Probably a telemarketer ...
> You ignore the phone
You let the answering machine pick up the phone and once again there is peace in the house. No loud phone ... or ....

RING! RING! RING!      RING! RING! RING!

Argh! Why won't they let you sleep?!?!


Another uneventful day at work. After getting home and eating dinner and watching TV, you get ready for bed. You fall asleep and are a ....
> You ... Heavy sleeper
As you snooze, you're awaken by a girl-like shriek:

Eeeaaaahhh!

It was Alex, and he's fallen down on the floor. You jump up and ask what is wrong. He says that he swear he saw someone standing in the office, by your new artifact.

He gets back up and takes another look -- nothing. "Heh," he says nervously, "amazing what you see when you're half asleep."


The rest of the weekend was fun and relaxing, but nothing to write an adventure game about. You did find a few hours of free time while Alex was busy at work. During those few hours, you ...
> You ... Surfed the net
It's amazing how much time flies while you're surfing the net. It's not like you really find anything new, but it's always entertaining. Before you know it, it's Sunday night, and time for bed.

As you and Alex get ready for bed, Alex complains that two of the fish died.


The rest of the weekend was fun and relaxing, but nothing to write an adventure game about. You did find a few hours of free time while Alex was busy at work. During those few hours, you ...
> You ... Researched the artifact
You grab the artifact and fire up google.

What do you want to know?
> You what is a Shabti?
Shabti or Ushabti (Egyptian language) is a funerary figurine which served as a dead man's deputy in order to do labor for him, mostly agricultural, in the afterlife. They existed between the Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt and the end of the First Intermediate Period.


You grab the artifact and fire up google.

What do you want to know?
> You why is Anubis depicted in the corner?
You find the following information about Anubis. However, you cannot find any examples of him being depicted on Shabti statues. That's a bit odd ...

Originally, in the Ogdoad system, he was god of the underworld, and his name is frequently thought to have reflected this, meaning something like putrefaction. He was said to have a wife, Anput, who was really just his female aspect, her name being his with an additional feminine suffix (the t), who was depicted exactly the same (though feminine). His father was originally said to be Ra, as he was the creator god, and thus his mother was said to be Hesat, Ra's wife, who later was identified as Hathor (who her identity was remarkably similar to). As lord of the underworld, Anubis was identified as the father of Kebechet, the goddess of the purification of bodily organs due to be placed in canopic jars, during mummification.

As ruler over the dead, he was given titles such as He who is set upon his mountain, in reference to his sitting atop desert cliffs to guard multiple necropolis, and Chontamenti (also spelt Khentimentiu, and Khentamenti), meaning Lord of the Westerners, in reference to Egyptian belief that the entrance to the underworld was towards the west, since that was the direction in which the sun set. As ruler, he was also said to have been victorious over the dark forces (described as nine bows), which also, naturally, lurk in the underworld, gaining him the title Jackal ruler of the bows.

As king of the underworld, he was also considered to be the one who weighed the heart of the dead against the feather of Maàt (the concept of truth), gaining him the title He who counts the hearts. One of the reasons that the ancient Egyptians took such care to preserve their dead with sweet-smelling herbs was that it became believed Anubis would check each person with his keen canine nose. Only if they smelled pure would he allow them to enter the Kingdom of the Dead.


You grab the artifact and fire up google.

What do you want to know?
> You what's with the headdress?
You can't really find anything of note about this figure's headdress. From what you remember, you don't normally see a statue with a headdress but no beard, especially from this time period.


You grab the artifact and fire up google.

What do you want to know?
> You what does the inscription mean?
The inscription is very difficult to make out, and you can't translate it at all. Normally, spell 472 from the sixth chapter of the Book of the Dead is inscribed in full on Shabtis:

Illumine the Osiris NN, whose word is truth. Hail, Shabti. If the Osiris NN be decreed to do any of the work which is to be done in the Khert-Neter, let everything which standeth in the way be removed from him - whether it be to plough the fields, or to fill the channels with water, or to carry sand from (the East to the West). 'Here am I', you shall say, 'I shall do it.'

The only word you can make out in the inscription is Burden.


You grab the artifact and fire up google.

What do you want to know?
> You enough Research ...
How time flies when you're researching. Before you know it, it's Sunday night, and time for bed.

As you and Alex get ready for bed, Alex complains that two of the fish died.


"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

A good quote, you think to yourself. It'd have had to be written by an Irishman, of course. The English would never speak of themselves being in the gutter with the common muck,, they'd claim to be of the stars themselves if they could. No, an Irishman would have to have written it, because only an Irishman would understand subjugation.

You stand under a gray sky, a field of barley and oats surrounding you. Thanks to it being August, there's relatively little to do, so you're given time to think. Of course, without working to keep you going, the thinking usually goes downhill. Either your evenings end with you grabbing the bottle, or staring at those stars as dreams of freedom fill your mind.

Eireann is truly in the gutter, you think to yourself. The British boot sits on her throat, keeping her down, like it has for hundreds of years. It will continue to, until the people can rise up and fix that problem. Of course, Britain weakens, its empire collapsing inwards. It's only a matter of time before you finish what the proud Fenians of old had started, what Wolfe Tone continued, and what your generation will finish: the fight for independence.

"Michael! Michael, get in here!" a shrill voice screams from the farmhouse.

You turn, sighing, as you work towards the farmhouse, your boots plodding through the mud. It's always something with that woman, you think to yourself. You reach the door, pushing it inwards as you walk into your cramped kitchen.

"Ma, what's wrong?" you say, leaning in the doorway.

Ma sits in the kitchen at the table, a newspaper in her hands. Joseph stands next to her, his tall, sturdy frame filling a long overcoat. Mary is staring around Joseph, a frail, timid creature in comparison to your burly brother, like a delicate flower growing next to a great Oak. Ma motions for you to see the paper, and you shrug, leaning in to see the pages.

You lean over, looking at the crinkled paper. "BRITAIN AT WAR: GERMANY IGNORES FINAL ULTIMATUM" reads the title.

"Jesus Christ," you say.

You're struck in the face by Ma, who doesn't miss a beat in doing so. While the age has certainly taken much from the woman, it sure hasn't sapped her strength by how much it stings. Still, your mind is too focused on the looming war to even register the pain.

"Michael, don't take the Lord's name in vain!" the old woman croaks.

"We're at war, Ma, don't blame him. He's shocked," Mary says, rubbing your arm.

"We're at war?" Joseph says indignantly. "When did Ireland declare war?! This is their doing, not ours!"

"You can't be saying that, Joseph. It's our empire too!" Mary says.

"Like bloody hell it is!" Joseph says, stepping back to avoid the incoming slap from Ma. "I'd sooner bow downs to the King of Holland than the King of England."

"They gave us a parliament!"

"They didn't give us a parliament! They promised us a parliament, which we haven't gotten! Now that'll be postponed because of the war, and when that's finished, we'll be feeling the British boot pressed against our throats yet again!

There's a short silence, as you all think about the repercussions this new war will have.

"Will you be signing up? They're recruiting," Mary says softly.

Joseph lets out a barking laugh, shaking his head in disgust.

"Are you joking? Unless the Kaiser's recruiting Irishmen to take out the crown, you can count me out!"

Joseph spits on the ground, turning and heading out of the room. Ma immediately darts up as quick as a bullet, far faster than any old woman has a right to do, heading after him to give him another smack. You chuckle as the two rush out of the room. This leaves you and your sister standing alone around the table.

"We're in dark times, Michael," Mary says to you. "I'm worried about Joseph. He's been hanging around too many hotheads, violent thugs and brutes the lot of them!"

"Joseph's fine," you say dismissively. "How do you think he'd react when you asked him if he'd sign up?"

"I suppose," she says. "But, Michael, you understand, right? Why we need to serve the Empire, to prove the Irish are a loyal, hard-working people."

"To prove that to who?" you say, annoyed. "The British? They saw how loyal we are many a time, they just don't like what we're loyal to. We're Irish, Mary, not British. Don't forget it."

Mary turns in a huff, moving out of the room. Thankfully, this leaves you alone to think, and you let out a quiet sigh of contentment, sitting down at the table. You grab the newspaper, flicking through it. Might as well read up while you're alone.
> You read "Hundred year anniversary of the foundation of the Apprentice Boys of Derry Club" (General History)
The nation of Ireland has had a long and varied history. From the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers who walked there via land bridge, the Neolithic Men behind the ancient and amazing Newgrange, the Celts who soon popularized the country when it was known as Hibernia and from the Christians who spread after the return of Saint Patrick, who was enslaved by Irish pirates in his youth and endless Viking attacks, there's been a long history of pioneers and innovators creating a proud and noble nation.

Irish history first has serious Anglo involvement in the Norman invasion of Ireland. Before then Ireland was simply a series of kingdoms and warring clans. The larger and more advanced Norman forces soon managed to conquer considerable sections of Ireland. However, rather than push for a full takeover, English focuses soon shifted, leaving a fortified area known as the Pale around Dublin under British control, with the rest mostly being allowed to survive under local rule. After this, there was a divide in power between the Gaelic Lords who could trace their origins back to the Celts who popularized the lands, and the Norman lords descended from those who sought to conquer the island.

However, in 1536, Henry VII led an invasion of Ireland. Although there was brutal fighting as the Irish appealed to Catholic Spain for help, Ireland was soon conquered. Then, with a religious divide forming due to the birth of Protestantism, the issues first began arising. Using a system of land confiscation and colonization known as Plantation, English and Scottish Protestants were given Irish land to run, using the Irish Catholics as slaves. Although there were many brutal Irish rebellions such as the War of the Three Kings, which succeeded temporarily before the re-conquest of Ireland by Oliver Cromwell, the Rebellion of 1641, which was fought over the division between Catholics and Protestants, and many more bloody and brutal rebellions, Ireland failed ot successfully regain control of its lands, and were treated as second class citizens by the Protestants who ruled over the country.
> Back
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

A good quote, you think to yourself. It'd have had to be written by an Irishman, of course. The English would never speak of themselves being in the gutter with the common muck,, they'd claim to be of the stars themselves if they could. No, an Irishman would have to have written it, because only an Irishman would understand subjugation.

You stand under a gray sky, a field of barley and oats surrounding you. Thanks to it being August, there's relatively little to do, so you're given time to think. Of course, without working to keep you going, the thinking usually goes downhill. Either your evenings end with you grabbing the bottle, or staring at those stars as dreams of freedom fill your mind.

Eireann is truly in the gutter, you think to yourself. The British boot sits on her throat, keeping her down, like it has for hundreds of years. It will continue to, until the people can rise up and fix that problem. Of course, Britain weakens, its empire collapsing inwards. It's only a matter of time before you finish what the proud Fenians of old had started, what Wolfe Tone continued, and what your generation will finish: the fight for independence.

"Michael! Michael, get in here!" a shrill voice screams from the farmhouse.

You turn, sighing, as you work towards the farmhouse, your boots plodding through the mud. It's always something with that woman, you think to yourself. You reach the door, pushing it inwards as you walk into your cramped kitchen.

"Ma, what's wrong?" you say, leaning in the doorway.

Ma sits in the kitchen at the table, a newspaper in her hands. Joseph stands next to her, his tall, sturdy frame filling a long overcoat. Mary is staring around Joseph, a frail, timid creature in comparison to your burly brother, like a delicate flower growing next to a great Oak. Ma motions for you to see the paper, and you shrug, leaning in to see the pages.

You lean over, looking at the crinkled paper. "BRITAIN AT WAR: GERMANY IGNORES FINAL ULTIMATUM" reads the title.

"Jesus Christ," you say.

You're struck in the face by Ma, who doesn't miss a beat in doing so. While the age has certainly taken much from the woman, it sure hasn't sapped her strength by how much it stings. Still, your mind is too focused on the looming war to even register the pain.

"Michael, don't take the Lord's name in vain!" the old woman croaks.

"We're at war, Ma, don't blame him. He's shocked," Mary says, rubbing your arm.

"We're at war?" Joseph says indignantly. "When did Ireland declare war?! This is their doing, not ours!"

"You can't be saying that, Joseph. It's our empire too!" Mary says.

"Like bloody hell it is!" Joseph says, stepping back to avoid the incoming slap from Ma. "I'd sooner bow downs to the King of Holland than the King of England."

"They gave us a parliament!"

"They didn't give us a parliament! They promised us a parliament, which we haven't gotten! Now that'll be postponed because of the war, and when that's finished, we'll be feeling the British boot pressed against our throats yet again!

There's a short silence, as you all think about the repercussions this new war will have.

"Will you be signing up? They're recruiting," Mary says softly.

Joseph lets out a barking laugh, shaking his head in disgust.

"Are you joking? Unless the Kaiser's recruiting Irishmen to take out the crown, you can count me out!"

Joseph spits on the ground, turning and heading out of the room. Ma immediately darts up as quick as a bullet, far faster than any old woman has a right to do, heading after him to give him another smack. You chuckle as the two rush out of the room. This leaves you and your sister standing alone around the table.

"We're in dark times, Michael," Mary says to you. "I'm worried about Joseph. He's been hanging around too many hotheads, violent thugs and brutes the lot of them!"

"Joseph's fine," you say dismissively. "How do you think he'd react when you asked him if he'd sign up?"

"I suppose," she says. "But, Michael, you understand, right? Why we need to serve the Empire, to prove the Irish are a loyal, hard-working people."

"To prove that to who?" you say, annoyed. "The British? They saw how loyal we are many a time, they just don't like what we're loyal to. We're Irish, Mary, not British. Don't forget it."

Mary turns in a huff, moving out of the room. Thankfully, this leaves you alone to think, and you let out a quiet sigh of contentment, sitting down at the table. You grab the newspaper, flicking through it. Might as well read up while you're alone.