This is a story about an [[elk->The Elk - 1]], a [[doe->The Doe - 1]], a [[wolf->The Wolf - 1]], and a [[lynx->The Lynx - 1]]. And The Burning Red Devourer.The last time you woke up, you're an old elk. You're bigger and stronger than the younger ones these days, but you always feel that the Eternal Sleeping draws near everytime you woke up. Maybe you have one seasonal circle left before the Eternal Sleeping get you.
Well, if that's the case, you cannot let the Burning Red Devourer get you. At least you need to [[move->The Elk - 2]]. Now.You run as fast as you can. The Burning Red Devourer has no mercy. It spreads, it destroy everything it can touch, it leaves behind trails of choking black air, and it leaves pain to anything near it.
The River, you remember. The Burning Red Devourer is the enemy of the River. Maybe you could save yourself by crossing the River.
But, are you [[running->The Elk - 3 - run]] to the right direction? Isn't it wiser to [[wait and see->The Elk - 3 - wait]] what the Sky said?You halt. You raise your head toward the Sky.
... And an unlucky tree fall upon you, flaming with the Burning Red Devourer.
++The Elk - Bad Ending 1++The Burning Red Devourer approaches you. Everything's gone red, yellow, and flaming, hurting your eyes, hurting your skin, hurting everything.
A tree falls behind you. If you were there even in just one or two blinks, the tree will fall on you. You're lucky.
You keep running. To anywhere clear. To anywhere far enough from the Burning Red's reach.
And then, you meet with a familiar shadow.
[[Another elk?->The Elk - 4]]Not an elk. A doe.
She looks confuse and tired. You notice her belly: she will have little one soon, if she escapes the Burning Red Devourer.
You nudge her.
Please, [[run->The Elk - 5]].Without truly understand why you encourage the doe, you run behind her. She is slow and awkward. You nudge her every now and then. The Burning Red Devourer will get you soon enough and the River is still nowhere to be seen.
Will you [[leave->The Elk - 6 - leave]] the doe or will you [[accompany->The Elk - 6 - accompany]] her?You leave her. The strongest will live, the weak will left.
In no time, you are losing your way. The Burning Red Devourer surrounded you. There's no way out.
You smell something burned.
You <i>are</i> burned.
++The Elk - Bad Ending 2++You nudge her again. Maybe it's useless. She's exhausted and scared and maybe she doesn't know where to go, just the same as you.
You two keep moving forward. The Burning Red Devourer might catch up on you so soon, but ... at least you try to survive. Surviving is in your very blood vein.
When you are about to surrender, you catch a familiar sound. The sound of moving water.
[[The River->The Elk - 7]] is near.You are separated.
The Burning Red Devourer ate away the forest. You ran, like the other deers, following them, before a branch with furious Burning Red Devourer fell right in front of you.
You took a detour and for a while tried to catch up with the others.
You are separated. You cannot find them.
[[It can't be like this. -> The Doe - 2]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.The doe runs toward the River. You follow closely behind her.
It IS the River.
The Burning Red Devourer cannot get over the River, but it will get as close as it can. As if opposing the Burning Red Devourer, the River flows strong and fast. It might be even stronger and faster than you knew.
A black shadow approaching from your rear.
Should you just [[ignore and cross the River->The Elk - 8 - ignore]] or should you [[wait for the shadow->The Elk - 8 - wait]]?You jump to the River.
You don't remember the strength of the River. The water moves fast and strong. For every step you make, the water reach higher towards your head.
Wrong step.
You can feel your foot land on round stones. You fall. Water splashes. Bubbles float.
You never know that the River is strong enough to drift your body away.
++The Elk - Bad Ending 3++The shadow approaching.
A wolf.
The instinct to defend yourself arise. You've met wolves before. You fought them and won. There would be no different this time, especially because there is only a single wolf approaching.
A single one? That's unusual.
Will you [[wait and see->The Elk - 9 - wait]] or [[follow your instinct->The Elk - 9 - instinct]]?The wolf approaches you carefully. He tilts down his head, suggesting no harm need to be done. He whines something:
Don't cross here.
You don't understand why he said so. You see nothing wrong with the River. Is the wolf trying to [[warn ->The Elk - 10 - warn]] you about something you can't see or is he just trying to [[trick ->The Elk - 10 - trick]] you?You rise on your hinds and land with your fronts, make intimidating thumping sound and you run toward the wolf. The canine stops, terrified with your movement. He backs off and runs to the other side.
Well done.
Now, [[let's cross the River->The Elk - 8 - ignore]].You grunt loudly, warning the wolf not to play around at this time. The canine whines again and lower his head.
Please, please. Don't angry. Upper River less deep.
You grunt again. The doe seems uneasy, but she raise no objection nor decision. She might just follow you around, since you are the stronger and the bigger.
Might as well [[follow -> The Elk - 11]] the young wolf.The Burning Red Devourer is dangerous already, you need no more evil trickery from the wolf.
Just [[cross ->The Elk - 8 - ignore]] the River. There's no time for the trickster.The wolf leads you further to the upper River. The blaze from the Burning Red Devourer lighten up the night. Sparks fly around, sting anything they can before disappear.
The wolf stops where a little lynx kitten walking back and forth. The kitten approaches the wolf and lets out a fade meow, sounds grateful that the wolf come back. This is a strange encounter and stranger companions of elk, doe, wolf, and lynx. But strange or not, the Burning Red Devourer won't mind.
Here. Here.
With his yellow eyes, the wolf looks at you. You see a glint of innocence there. And also hope.
And you understand the canine's true reason: he and the lynx [[need help to cross the river -> The Elk - 12]].You lower your back down and snuffed, tell the wolf and the lynx to climb on. They both obey and jump. You could feel their claw scratch your back and have to endure not to try to shake them off.
[[And, now, crossing the River. -> The Elk - 13]]The water is chill. You can feel the water flow in your legs, reach higher when you walk further across. No wonder the wolf and the lynx need your help.
How's the doe?
She tries her best to catch your pace. You stop and wait for her.
We will safe.
Once we reach [[River's side -> The Elk - 14]], we will safe.By the time you climb the River's side, your breath is heavy. Is it because of the wolf and the lynx on your back? Or is it because of the River's strength?
Or is it because Eternal Sleeping already stalk you?
The wolf lets out a reluctant whine. You lower yourself and [[put those two down -> The Elk - 15]].So, this is a farewell.
You walk towards the trees, followed by the doe, the wolf, and the lynx. You just want to sleep for now.
You find a cleareance, looks safe enough. Without looking at the others, you lay down, and close your eyes. You're just too tired to even think about the Eternal Sleeping.
So, you sleep.
++The Elk - A Fine Ending++You run. As fast as you can.
It's not just about your own life. It's about the other one too.
It's about the unborn soul in your belly.
Even if you're not saved, you want it to be saved. You want to give your child a chance. To live, to see the world.
You cannot stop. [[You won't stop. -> The Doe - 3]]The Burning Red Devourer has no mercy. It leaves trail everywhere. It leaves its children in the branch, eat the trees from every leaves to every bark. The only way they die is by their own unsatisfying hunger, when nothing left. When everything's destroyed.
You see a shadowy figure. Maybe it's your friend. You can see mighty antler branches from the head.
But it's a bit different.
And the elders once told you a story about deceiving evil beings in the forest. About how you need to beware about it.
Is this the one? Should you [[take your own way -> The Doe - 4 - leave]]?
Or you can even [[rely on evil beings -> The Doe - 4 - approach]] in this situation?You cannot risk it.
You avoid the unknown figure and take another path.
You run. And run. And keep running.
Until you realize you are going into The Burning Red Devourer's stomach, where everything is drowned in flame and spark.
You turn around. But it's too late. The Burning Red Devourer clasps its finger on the path, trapping you.
++The Doe - Bad Ending 1++You silently pray to the Great Guidance while approaching the figure.
It is an elk, a big and old one. You can see his eyes are dim, tired but determined, clumsy but brave, and alone but care.
The old elk nudges you.
Please, [[run->The Doe - 5]].The elk lets you run ahead of him. He follows behind, encouraging you with a careful nudge.
You're nervous.
Are you taking the right path?
You want to be safe from the Burning Red Devourer. You doubt your steps. You don't want to make any mistakes. You slow down the old elk who still stays with you.
Are you taking [[the right path->The Doe - 6]] to the River?Among painful cries of the forest consumed by the Burning Red Devourer, you hear something.
The River!
You walk faster, so is the old elk. Upon approaching the River, you see something dash toward the two of you.
It's ... [[a wolf->The Doe - 7]].A WOLF!
You step back behind the old elk. It isn't fair to let the old ones fight fanged-being, but you cannot think of something better now.
The old elk waits. The wolf lowers his head, signing friendly means.
Can you trust this wolf?
You can feel the Burning Red Devourer's breath. Just behind you.
Should you [[cross the River->The Doe - 8 - cross]] or [[wait and see->The Doe - 8 - wait]] what would the old elk do?
++The Doe - Bad Ending 2++Double-click this passage to edit it.