Tales From The Myst Update: Touching Grass
These stories have evolved through my Sims 4 gameplay. After getting Realm of Magic, I was inspired to create a fantasy tale of legendary beings living in an epic world. The backstory below was played out in my first save, which unfortunately died with my old computer, so there are no screenshots. I relate the story here as a retrospective, to set the stage for my current storyline, which is ongoing in my current save. I hope you enjoy it. If there's interest, I will continue to post self contained Myst stories in this topic.
It was a cold, dark evening in Glimmerbrook. Ordinarily, the weather had little effect on Mage Morgyn Ember. But, on this late autumn day, he found himself lost in a reverie, his mood matching the gray skies over his ancestral home at Glimmerbrook Watch. Gazing from his tower window, he could barely see the soft glow of the Portal in the distance, and his thoughts returned to the time when he first arrived in this place, his mystical powers freshly manifested, wide eyed in wonder and bound for the Realm of Magic to learn the secrets of the life he had inherited from his ancestors. A lot had changed since then. Some things for the better. Many not.
It the years since he first entered the Magic Realm, Morgyn felt he had lived a lifetime. And on this gray and drizzly day, he was feeling particularly alone. Outwardly, he looked exactly the same as he did in his more carefree days. Barring a catastrophic event, he was basically immortal, as were all of his people. But catastrophic events did occur, had occurred, and could certainly occur again. The race that made the Realm their home, the race that shared knowledge of magic with the Spellcasters, the race whose very presence kept the world in balance. That race. Morgyn’s race. The Ancients... were no more.
Morgan sighed a bit as he descended to the second floor. At the bottom of the stairs, he paused to listen to a familiar sound emanating from his study. It sounded like a soft, singing bowl calling to him. He smiled, knowing he was being directed to something of significance. On entering the room, his attention was drawn to the side table, where an ancient tome seemed to be the source of the soft hum. Morgyn approached it, cautious, but ready for whatever wisdom it might impart.
The book was large, bound in weathered leather with a key attached by a silken cord. Morgyn picked it up, his fingers tracing the rune etched in the cover. It had been given to him by his stepmother on the day his powers first began to manifest. A gift. A relic of his people. Of his past. Of his future.
Hugging the volume to his chest, Morgan made his way downstairs to the living room. After fixing a pot of tea, he lit the fireplace to ward of the chill and curled up on his couch. Smudge, his cat and favorite familiar, joined him at the fire and his attention returned to the book. Once again, he reverently traced the ancient rune with his fingers. The book had already taught him so much and still had much to share; but stubbornly, it refused to yield its secrets until the time was right. Inserting the key in the book, Morgyn leaned forward as it began to shimmer and levitate, the scenes of his past passing before him in the golden glow of its pages.
His childhood. Cloistered and hidden away by gypsies who feared for his destruction during the First Magic Purge. Living a nomadic life with these humans as the only family he would ever know. Discovering who he truly was: an Ancient whose race was neither male nor female*, neither human nor spellcaster.
His youth: Living on his own in Mooncrest at a cottage long ago prepared for him by his people as he first began to clumsily explore his powers. Finally finding a place to call home and making lifelong friends among the collection of fairies, elves and spellcasters who lived there and welcomed him into their world.
His training: Arriving at the Magic Realm, wide-eyed and eager. Yearning to know as much as magic could teach him. Learning all branches of magic. Training with Tess in the ways of the untamed. Content to be the student, until one day the student became the master.
Sage of Untamed Magic: Imparting his own knowledge of magic to other eager spellcasters, alongside Simeon and L. Faba. Even though the second purge would eventually claim them, their memories live on in Morgyn’s thoughts and the joy of their friendship continues to grace the pages of his book.
The Second Purge: On the run. Forced into hiding as fear of magic gripped human society, propelling them to ever increasing violence and destruction. After many attempts at reconciliation and with the disappointment of many betrayals, the outcome finally became obvious and inevitable. Coexistence with humans would not be theirs.
The Myst: A new land. Their land. A magic land created by the association of all magic beings. Fairies, merfolk, elves, gnomes, and others, living in relative peace with sympathetic humans, separated from the human world by a mist that cannot be penetrated by human effort or science. Even so, they, the humans, continue to try.
As the pages of the tome closed and it gently dropped into Morgyn’s hands, he thoughtfully leaned back into the cushions of the sofa. The Myst now had a government, but in its young state it still needed to grow and did not yet represent everyone. The Spirit World was petitioning for separate representation and some of the cursed citizens of Forgotten Hollow were interested in annexation into The Myst. Debates and opinions on all sides were strong. As a Mage, the last of The Ancients, Morgyn had the privilege of position. But, along with privilege and power comes responsibility. Something the Mage was feeling very strongly these days.
Morgyn leaned forward to pour another cup of tea. As he cradled the cup in his hand, the steam slowly circling above the rim, he thought about the images the book had shown him. So much was lost in the past. But so much of the future of The Myst was yet to be realized. Silently, he banked the fire and made his way to bed. As sleep settled like a blanket over his mind, he began to realize the wisdom the book was trying to impart.
It was simple, really. In the end, you can never forget where you came from. But you must always remember where you’re going.
*In these stories, Morgyn can be considered androgynous and asexual. I believe this maintains some consistency with his programming in game. I do use the gender reference “he” however, because my Morgyn does lean slightly masculine and I don’t think Morgyn really cares, one way or the other.
