Q'Anae (Year 638 of the Lathwyn Calendar)

Your name is Q'Anae. You are a young woman from the village of Qua'ram deep in the desert kingdom of Ekryptia. Your daily jobs involve collecting water from the oasis a few miles to the north, cleaning the clothes of your family, and cooking for your many younger siblings.

You find your life to be very boring. You haven't done much but collect water for many days now, and nothing of any interest happens in the town of Q'Anae. That's why you've been planning to run away later this evening. Of course, you've been planning to run away this evening every day for the last year, but perhaps today you'll actually do it.

As your daydreaming about a world with less sand and more not-sand you fail to notice your mother A'Raena enter your small one-floor abode. She begins scolding you for not doing any of your chores and gestures to one of your many siblings. He is very skinny and malnourished. She says that if you stopped daydreaming so much and did more collecting and cooking of food, then maybe your brother would look less skinny and malnourished. He is one of your least favourite siblings.

What do you do?

i apologize and get back to work but before i leave, i turn to my brother and flip him off.

You say sorry to your mother and go back to your chores. You flip off your brother on the way out. Your mom makes a horrified sound.

You head out of the house into the dirty street. Sandstone buildings line a sandy path between them. Sand blows everywhere and a few figures walk sadly around their homes.

The sun is blazingly hot.

This town sucks.

What do you do?

i head towards one of the houses/buildings that is farthest away from the others and check to see if anyone is home.

You head to the home at the furthest edge of the town. It's not much more than a short walk from where you live. Upon poking your head inside you see that it looks much like the simple home that you live in. No one is home but you know this to be the home of the Azthan family.

i head inside and look for their most valuable possession

Looking around inside you find that they don't have many objects that could be considered "valuable". You do however find a warm looking blanket and a water bucket with minimal holes.

i jack both items and rush off. i hide the blanket in my house, i’ll need it when i escape later tonight and then i collect my water for the day, as if it is a typical day. while i am collecting water, i look for berries and keep them in my pocket.

You stash the stolen items at home and go complete your chores for the day. It is long and exhausting work, and by the time you are done the sun is setting and you are incredibly tired. You come home and find one of your siblings wrapped in the stolen blanket sleeping. He is also one of your least favourite siblings

i pull it from under him and tell him if he touches my stuff again, i’ll get the gods to rain thunder on his ass and if he tells mom, i’ll also get them to rain thunder on his ass then i go to find something to eat

Your brother sits whimpering quietly to himself.

Upon looking for some food you find that there is no food.

alright, i pack a bag with my blanket, berries, some pieces of wood, a water bottle (not a bottle but whatever they’d have in these times) and something sharp, preferably a knife but i’ll take anything.

then i kiss my favourite sibling, if i have one and sneak off in the night

You go around to each of your 7 siblings trying to find your favourite one. After checking on each of them you realize that none of them are your favourite. They are all your least favourite

then i flip them all off, wait till night and then peace out this bitch

You head out into the night with a pocket full of berries and your trusty stolen blanket.

The town has two paths out of it. You know very little of the world other then you live in the greater kingdom of Ekryptia. The North path is the way you travel to get water each day, but you rarely see travellers come from that way. The south path is where the few merchants that come arrive from.

i head to the south, not looking back.

You head out of town using the southern path. You've seen some travellers come up from that way and you've always wondered where it was they travelled from. You leave not knowing how far the next village is.

As you walk through the night it gets cold, but luckily you've brought your trusty stolen blanket.

You unfortunately forgot to bring any water. But luckily for you, after hours of walking and as the thirst is finally getting to you, you happen upon another village almost identical to yours.

The village is quiet as the sun begins to rise

i go to find water and possibly some food

You head into the new village to find some water. Like your village there seems to be little in the way of a local source. You'll likely have to get some from some of the villagers

i head towards the first villager that catches my eye. i say “hello, i am a lonely traveller and I was wondering if I could trouble you for a bit of food, water…perhaps lodging for the evening. my mother kicked me out with nothing but the clothes on my back and this blanket”

It is quite early in the morning, and you don't spot many people out at the moment. But after a few moments of searching you eventually see a woman carrying a couple empty buckets of water out of the village and you follow her. She says she doesn't have any water, but that's where she's heading so if you'd like some you'll have to come with her. She says she has nowhere for you to stay but you can sleep on the ground if you want.

ugh. these people are useless! alright, I find a sharp rock and a stick. i use the rock to make the stick into a spear and I head out to the woods to hunt me some dinner.

You craft some form of crude spear with which to catch food.

You try to head into the woods but unfortunately there are no woods. There is only sand in every direction.

i bury my head in sand and scream