The red dust of Mars swirled around the landing module, a crimson storm brewing in the distance. Inside, a lone figure hunched over a datapad, his face illuminated by the cold blue light. This was Elias, a man burdened by the weight of the universe, his heart a black hole consuming hope. He was on a mission to find solace, a place where the burden of his melancholy wouldn’t be a liability, a place where sadness was not a flaw, but a virtue.
The whisper of old trees announced the approaching end, and the cold wind inexorably carried away tears from people's eyes. The peaceful radiance of the strong sun was already leaving this scorched earth, leaving it in the arms of desiccated despondency.
A (currently) one-off short story about the awkward moments of a falling out between friends. Written to help demonstrate how to embed backstory and give character actions proper context without an exposition dump.
NOT SET IN THE STRIMVERSE (or maybe it is. Not everything is fantastical)
If you enjoyed this, check out Labelled by Blood!
A modern girl, a child of the age of sarcasm, cynicism, and memes, accidentally finds herself in a real medieval setting at the height of religious wars. But Anzhelika isn’t one to despair, and by the way, now the noble Sultan Salah ad-Din, who has intrigued her since her school years, is very close by...
Her training as an enchantress is not even half complete. Her job is to kill monsters. She travels alone in a barbarian land, recently conquered by her compatriots. Her path does not promise to be easy, but she does not intend to retreat.