Prologue
“Thank you for the sandwich Sir! It is delicious!”(Star)
“No problem little one. Though now that I got you food and your stomach isn’t trying to eat you from the inside, can you tell me how you got stuck in that tree? I mean that ankle clamp would be hard to miss.(???)
“Not a problem, but first I have to ask. What's your name? Mine's Mcbeth, Star Mcbeth.”(Star)
“Ha Ha Ha! Sorry kid I must be getting old if I forgot to introduce myself! Name's Diuscrucis! Now let's try this again. What is a 6 and a half foot tall, red haired, pink eyed elf doing hanging by her ankle from a tree in the middle of a forest? I mean you don't look like an adventurer and with your looks and rack size I would expect you to have weapons or at least some bodyguards. Like what size are those things they're huge?! I cup?! J?!”(Diuscrucis)
“I will not tell you such personal information! However I can tell you why I was hanging from that tree.” (Star)
“Please do.”(Diuscrucis)
“You see it all started when my boss called me into her office at the “History and Fantasy Inc.” Headquarters. Which is where I work by the way…..”(Star)
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* Three Weeks Earlier at History and Fantasy Headquarters-
“Star Mcbeth please come to my office. I repeat. Star Mcbeath please come to my office.”(Boss)
After hearing the announcement I got up from my 8’ by 12’ cubicle and went down to my boss’s office. A large snow white room with a modest sized ruby desk and leather chair next to a glass window that covers the entire back wall. In front of the ruby desk is a small stone stool barely 2 feet off the ground for visitors.When I arrived in her office via elevator, I saw her standing next to her office window which has an amazing view that overlooked most of the city. My boss’s name is Suzi Marauder. Although most people just call her Suzi. To be honest no one really knows how she earned her last name but, there are rumors that she created this company by running all other publishing companies out of business. Afterwards she systematically bought whatever was left of them at the cost of a cheap lunch. She is a 7 ft. tall, red serpent slit eyed woman with black and white hair that seems to spiral outward from the top of her skull to the tip of her hair that goes down to her waist. She has paleish cream skin and scaly black dragon wings coming out from the center of her back. She is currently in her silver tuxedo with the top three buttons undone which I must say makes her look quite attractive considering she has E cup breasts.
“Are you done admiring my unimaginable beauty or would you rather not know why I called you here?”(Suzi)
She said, turning around from the window to face me with a stern glare.
“Sorry boss I’m listening.”(Star)
“Good. Now then, do you know what “History and Fantasy Inc.” does?(Suzi)
I quickly walked from the elevator to the stone stool and sat down. After a minute of deep thought I looked at her seriously and gave her my answer.
“We write believable and agreeable stories as history books for the world. We also write what really happened under the category fantasy so that no matter how outrageous or weird something was people would not know the truth and be able to pass them off as “just a story.”(Star)
“Good. Now can you tell me why we do this?”(Suzi)
“Because sometimes the truth is so unbelievable that most people would prefer to just think of it as fiction. But the truth should still be written for those who know how to read between the lines. As well as for posterity's sake if nothing else."(Star)
This caused her to start smiling.
“Good. I’m glad you understand our mission. Now listen. I have been the head of this company for many centuries and for me this has always been like a second job. However, I need to step down. There are other things I want to do with my life but first I need someone to take my place as CEO. I can’t just leave or else everything I built will fall apart in days. So after much deliberation I have decided to give this position to you. Under one condition of course.”(Suzi)
Saying that she stopped smiling and went over to her solid ruby desk and sat down in her leather chair. She then breathed deeply and looked at me with a serious face.
“What's the condition?”(Star)
“I want you to go to the city of memories known as Hellfire and re-record the major points of history for this world. Starting with the rise of the First Demon Empress and ending with the last major war. This will be your last assignment and if you succeed to bring back what I consider a satisfactory retelling of events, you will be the new CEO. if you fail, well not even death can protect you from what would come after. Now do you accept? Be warned this is your only chance to back out.”(Suzi)
After a moment of thought I gave my answer.
“Is this an open investigation or does it need to be done in a certain order?”(Star)
Smiling Suzi took out a yellow card with a velvet cross on the center from her chest pocket and gave it to me.
“An open investigation. Now take this card and go to the city. It won’t be easy to find but the card will point you in the right direction. I’m sure you will figure it out the rest from there. One more thing. Don't worry about misplacing the card as the new CEO in training, it will always appear in your hand when you think about it. Good luck and don't let me down.”(Suzi)
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With a resolute nod I take the card, put it in my pocket and walk towards the elevator.
"I won't boss."(Star)
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* Present day -
“After that I have spent the last three weeks traveling to the city called Hellfire. A place that no one seems to know the location of! Spending so much time being careful not to get into trouble, I stepped on a hunter’s trap while wandering this forest that swung me over a tree and left me hanging upside down for over an hour. After trying to unhook my leg from this anti-magic rope and ankle clamp multiple times I heard a noise from the bushes to my right. Which turned out to be you. a cursing 5 and a half ft. tall, tan skinned man who is in old cowboy getup with spinning stars at the back of his boots and a white feather in his hat and all.” (Star)
“So let me get this straight. You’re coming to the "mythical" city of Hellfire to learn the history of this world starting from right before the first realm war and you got stuck in the tree because you stepped on a trap?”(Diuscrucis)
“Yes.”(Star)
“Then why didn't you just say that and saved us like 30 minutes! Also I don't think you should be sharing all that info about one of the biggest companies in the world.”(Diuscrucis)
“First off, I wanted to set the scene. Secondly how do you know if anything I said is true? For alll you know I made half of that stuff up just to make myself sound cooler.”(Star)
“because I know Suzi and this totally sounds like something she would drop on someone.”(Diuscrucis)
“Wait? You do? How?”(Star)
“Old friends. Now give me a second.”(Diuscrucis)
Saying that he unhooked the star from his right boot and casually flung it at the branch I was hanging from. Upon contact, the branch exploded and the star went back to his hand while I did a handstand and landed on my feet after a quick hop. He then undid the clamp on my foot before putting the rope and clamp into his hat and started walking away.
“Come on kid. I’m heading into the city of Hellfire to get myself an early dinner. Might as well bring you along.”(Diuscrucis)
“Thanks for the help….Wait! You know Where the city is?! No one else I’ve talked to even knew that the city even existed! And following my compass got me into that trap to begin with.”(Star)
“Hellfire is the city of memories. A place that contorts and reshapes to the will of the individuals inside. The gates are only open to those who are looking for the past or like to remember it. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to find it no matter what you do. It's likely that you were following that compass to find the city without truly wanting to remember the past while you did. therefore the city would never show up.”(Diuscrucis)
“A conditional phasing city. Now that sounds cool. Never been to one of those before.”(Star)
After brushing off the dust from my business suit I started walking after Diuscrucis. We walked for a little over an hour while talking about current events from around the world until we reached the city. Its outer wall looks like a big green semi transparent dome. From what I can see, the inside of the dome is nothing. Just empty flat land. As we approached the dome, Two men in full plate armour walked out through the dome wall and took positions across from us.
“Right then kid, I will see you inside the city. Evening Gentlemen. How are you?”(Diuscrucis)
“We are no different than usual sir.”(Guards)
Wow. How important is this guy that the city guards show him respect? Also, did he just Ditch me? While thinking that I approach the men while Diuscrucis walks through the dome wall.
“Show me your basic status miss. I need to make sure you're not a criminal and all that.”(Guard)
“Of course. Here you go sir.”(Star)
Saying that I looked deep into my spirit and pulled out a small part of myself for the world to see.
Status
Name: Star Mcbeth
Race: Blood Elf Variant
Level: 223
Age: 176
Profession: Writer(Master Rank)
Title: Perpetual Star
Criminal Record: Speeding tickets(fines paid)
“Thank you ma'am. You may enter.”(guard)
Saying my thanks I recalled my status and entered the city by walking through the dome wall. After a few seconds of what felt like walking through sludge, I entered a bustling city. This city seems huge within the dome with different sized buildings ranging from 2 stories to at least 50 stories high in all different colors and full of life. After a few minutes of wandering I find Diuscrucis sitting next to a stray cat on the floor next to a simple fountain. Upon seeing me he gets up and motions me to follow him before walking away. With a quick step I follow as he leads me through the city and towards an old looking 3 story tall pub called “Dragon’s Rest”. It seems to be made of old stones and metal scraps and very crowded by the looks of it. Following him we sit down at a table in one of the quieter corners of the tavern and called over a waitress to place our orders. I quickly learned from all the talking around me that this waitress was the owner of the tavern. Which was interesting considering that most owners would prefer to be managers or cooks rather than be waiters.
“Thanks again Mr. Diuscrucis. I really needed the help.”(Star)
“No problem kid and if you're willing I would like to give you some advice. For the road.”(Diuscrucis)
“Please do! I will gladly listen any advice you care to offer!”(Star)
“So excitable. Firstly, the city is constantly shifting and will try to drag you into past memories to trap you there if you let it. So when you need to be in present day Hellfire be sure to clear your mind and imagine yourself abandoning the things trying to root you to wherever you are. In doing so you will drag yourself out of past memories and back to the present. You don’t want to be trapped wherever there is after all.”(Diuscrucis)
“That seems like it could be challenging.”(Star)
“Ha ha! It will be easier to do once you actually do it a few times. I’m just giving you the heads up. For now though I suggest you head north to the former Demon Lord's castle. Best place as any to do what you came here to do. Assuming your story is true. It’s big, black, and in ruins so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”(Diuscrucis)
“Thanks for telling me.”(Star)
“No problem kid.”(Diuscrucis)
Shortly afterwards I got my food from the waitress and ate my fill. With that done I got up and started to walk out the tavern door but then I realized something. Why does he always call me a kid? I mean I'm a teenager by elf standards but I look like a respectable 20 something year old. He looks like a man who just turned 50 so wouldn't that mean he should have referred to me as miss like the guard at least? Thinking that, I turned around to look at the table we were sitting at but what I saw was an empty tavern that was covered in webs and looked run down. Not a single person, drink, or light in sight. In the center of the room was a wooden chair with a sign on it that said “Come Again Kid I’ll Treat You To A Story Next Time” With that it dawned on me that I stopped hearing people's voices the moment I stepped out of the tavern.
"Flipping ghosts and their vanishing acts."(Star)
I blink only for the sign to read “Closed to the Living. Will open up again at dawn.” Ghost establishments are known to pop up from time to time though I have never been to one myself. I'm happy I got a free meal out of it though. With that I decided to listen to that strange man and head north to the destroyed Demon Lord’s castle. Looking up I saw that the sun was no longer out and it was officially nightfall. Not wanting to waste time I spent the next hour walking to the castle. As I walked, the city started to look more and more decrepit until I was walking through ruins. Finally arriving at my destination I take some time to examine the castle. The only thing left of this black imposing castle seems to be parts of the walls and the main building. Everything else appears to be in ruins. Walking into the castle's main room from the front, I see a pot of hot tea and a shadowy figure drinking a cup of it. Suddenly sensing danger coming from this individual I used one of my few spells called “History’s Right” to see who or what this thing is.
Status
Name: Hidden
Race: Hidden
Level: Hidden
Age: Hidden
Profession: Time Manipulator (Grand Master Rank)
Title: God Killer, Hidden
Crime Record: Mass Murderer, Hidden
-Unable to bring up-
“Don’t you know it's rude to peek at someone's status screen without permission elf?”(???)
“I'm fucked.”(Star)