A Walk in the Woods – Be a Game Character

Hey folks, previewing a new regular feature here on Be a Game Character!

One of my passions, in addition to fitness, is storytelling.  You’ve gotten little snippets of that here and there on the blog before, as well as in RPG Fitness (with the class stories.)  Ideally, I’d like to storytell through games, but with my limited time and resources right now, it’s not really a possibility to be an active game developer in addition to a blogger, YouTuber, dojo owner, and personal trainer.  However, what I can fit in is more writing!

So, what I’m going to start doing here on BaGC is have running stories set in the same universe as all of the characters from the RPG Fitness class stories (did YOU know they’re all in the same universe?  Betcha didn’t…)  They’ll probably be short-ish to start, but I might attempt some longer ones once I get legs under me.  My intention is to have the stories update with a new page every day (they’ll have their own section here on the site so it won’t clutter up the blog.)  Additionally, for those who want to read the stories all in one go as soon as they’re finished, they’ll be available for purchase in the Armory as PDF files, as well as over on Amazon Kindle.

So basically, if you’re impatient, or feel like throwing the blog a few extra bucks, you can buy the story outright, or you can get it for free, a bit at a time.  Your choice!  I’m hoping this will also provide another reason for people to come to the site regularly, which is good for getting the word out and attracting new members to our community!

This will all be going live on Thursday, but here’s a little preview!  The first page of the first story, A Walk in the Woods.  Enjoy!

Massive trees surrounded us, each trunk wide enough to hide a small house in its shadow.  Thousands of them, as far as the eye could see in any direction.  Not that the eye could see very far.  Thick undergrowth, mosses, vines, and small bushes all crowded around, fighting for what little sunlight made it through the canopy.  It was perpetual twilight in the deep woods, with the single exception of our small clearing, currently illuminated by an eerie green glow.

“Focus, Zeke…” The voice squirmed into my eardrums, cutting away at my thoughts.  My thoughts, which had drifted momentarily, returned to focus on the shimmering green light between my outstretched hands.  A small, three-dimensional diamond of light floated between them, shimmering like fire.  As my mind returned to it, it grew just a little bit larger and brighter.

A small leaf floated down from the canopy, wafting back and forth on muted currents of air.  It drifted slowly towards my hands, bouncing off the diamond of light between my palms.  I could almost feel it make contact, but feel wasn’t really the right word.  Normal words didn’t work all that well when you tried to describe spellweaving.  I had learned at least that much in the past few weeks.

I watched the singed leaf continue to drift down towards the forest floor beside my crossed feet.  The edge that had touched the diamond construct was still smoldering.  A single tendril of smoke drifted up into the air.  The diamond between my hands began to waver and shrink, though I didn’t notice at the time.

“Focus!  Hold it…” The voice pounded into my ears; the world’s most irritating mantra.  No, pounded was the wrong word.  The words burned their way in, searing through my eardrums.  Issia’s voice could light a match, and I mean that quite literally.  I thought for a moment about how amusing it would be to try to hide a candle somewhere near our circle and see if I was correct.

The image took over my thoughts for just a hair of a moment, and I had to stifle a smirk.  In that instant, the magical construct shrank away completely, and dissolved into thin air.  As the construct faded, my eyes shifted focus from the space between my hands to the angry, freckled face just beyond it.

To her credit, Issia kept her calm for a second or two before she bared her teeth.

“Why?” Issia asked in a strained voice.

“Um…Why what?” I replied, somewhat afraid of her answer.

“Why…do you keep wasting my TIME?!” Issia’s tone grew sharper and louder with every word.

I winced, visibly.  She paused for a bare second, before her tirade continued.

That’s it!  Hope you liked it!  The story section of the site should be up and running on Thursday, where you’ll be able to read the next page in the story!  Also, remember that the Treasure Hunt is in full swing from now until the end of December!

Live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

The Best Dan Wallace