Tales From The Myst Update: Touching Grass

Hey, all. I know it's been a while since I did one of these, but I began having migraines last year that were triggered by my games. I had to stop playing for a while, and when I got back to my save, I couldn't remember most of my story lines. Recently, I've mostly been building my world and playing dress up with CC, but the other day my game gave me a story nugget I could write up. If there's anyone still interested in this, I hope you enjoy it.

Morgyn sighed wearily as the last person finally left his office. It had been a long day of mentoring for him, as the new sages were preparing to take their turn at becoming trainers in the Magic Realm. His position required that he sign off on the assignments, and he had spent all day conducting interviews and skill assessments to make sure the new group was ready for the job. Sages generally served for a defined time. The job was a bit demanding, and over time they had found that quality was maintained by rotating staff on a regular basis. The latest group of sages, Darius, Ella and Marcus, had served their terms and were retiring today.

As he made his way downstairs to the portal, he checked the time on his phone. He was due at the Humor Festival to meet the retiring sages for a bit of a going-away party. It was a tradition that allowed everyone to just blow off a little steam and have a good time. Ella, the retiring Sage of Mischief Magic, was especially looking forward to it, since she was now engaged to marry some guy she met in Sulani.

It was times like these that Morgyn was glad he had deactivated his social media accounts. Changes of any kind were fodder for the gossip mill, and The Myst had found itself in the middle of a lot of changes, recently. Most notably, the rejection of Forgotten Hollow's petition for annexation had triggered a backlash in that community. In retaliation, the Valley's residents began moving into human lands like San Myshuno and Willow Creek, and were threatening to do the same to The Myst, presuming they could find a way in. The humans were blaming The Myst in every news outlet they had access to. Never mind that they had put the “forgotten” in Forgotten Hollow in the first place. The residents of The Myst were also becoming concerned about the threat, with social media stoking the fear. The benignly named Social Bunny was becoming little more than an outrage factory, so Morgyn had pulled the plug months ago. He was looking forward to enjoying his evening out, uninterrupted by social messages. Time to get out of the whirlwind of rage and touch some grass.

The Humor Festival was well underway when Morgyn arrived. Everyone was really enjoying the joking and camaraderie, and Morgyn was prepared to join in as fully as possible.

“Say, Morgyn,” Darius said, as Morgyn took a big gulp from the Jokester Team fountain. “What are we going to do about the threat to the alliance with Moonwood Mill?”

“What do you mean? We're still allies.”

“Really? Because I heard that Greg was seriously angry with you and was trying to influence the packs to sever the treaty.”

“Where in the world did you hear that?”

“It's all over Social Bunny.”

Morgyn shook his head with a sigh. “Greg and I are friends. The Myst and Moonwood Mill are solid allies. There's no reason to worry.”

Darius nodded. “Good. I'm glad you think so.”

For the rest of the evening, Morgyn's attempts to enjoy himself were clouded by the discontent and edge of fear he had heard in Darius' voice. As the events drew to a close and the crowd ooohed and ahhhed over the fireworks, Morgyn made the decision to absolutely get to the bottom of at least one bit of runaway internet gossip.

********

Morgyn arrived in Moonwood Mill, the next day, secure in his knowledge that his friendship with Greg was solid. Before he had deactivated his Social Bunny account, the two had been joking about fashion faux pas, a topic which Morgyn found oddly hilarious coming from a rage driven werewolf who hadn't worn clothing in a few hundred years. As Morgyn neared Greg's home, he cast a soothing aura around himself. It was, after all, the way he was able to gain the werewolf's friendship to start with.

“Greg? Hey buddy! You there?” Morgyn carefully approached the gate. With no response to his greeting, Morgyn proceeded to the shack.

“Greg? It's Morgyn. I was wondering if...” Morgyn's words were cut off as he suddenly found himself being pummeled, then hurled across Greg's “lawn” to land with a violent thud in the grass.

Morgyn gingerly picked himself up to face his friend. Greg stood in front of him, panting with rage. “All right,” Morgyn said, “Whatever it is, we should talk about it.”

Greg grunted, crouching on the ground, red eyes glowing in the dark. Obviously the soothing aura wasn't working on the level of rage Greg inexplicably felt against Morgyn, but Morgyn still had another card to play. With a loud roar, Greg launched himself in Morgyn's direction just as the mage released a fury reducing spell. As the burst of magic energy hit him, Greg attempted to pull up and wound up just tackling Morgyn to the ground, landing with a whimper on top of him.

Morgyn scrambled away and sat up, propping himself on a tree trunk while he caught his breath as Greg buried his face in the grass.

“Want to tell me what this is about?” Morgyn said, as he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head.

“What do you care?” Greg sullenly muttered.

“Well, since we're friends, I do care.”

Greg sat up and glared in Morgyn's direction. “Friends, huh? I doubt it.”

“Look, you may doubt it, but we're friends whether you like it or not!” Morgyn's voice was rising in frustration. “What is this about?”

“Friends don't ignore friends when they try to communicate with them!”

“Communicate? How? We don't communicate except on...” Morgyn broke off in realization.

“On what?” Greg pushed.

“On Social Bunny,” Morgyn finished.

“Know how many friends I have on Social Bunny?” Greg asked, low and quiet. “One. I have one friend on Social Bunny. And he's gone.”

Morgyn sighed, dropping his head in his arms. To him, social media had become a nightmare of rumor and rage. But, to Greg, it was a lifeline to his only friend and a way to somehow belong without having to actually get to like, or even get to know, people.

Morgyn looked up and gave his friend a warm smile. “We can fix this. Let's talk over lunch.”

******

Deep in the mountains of Oasis Springs, in the hidden worlds of the Fae, you can find the Forgotten Grotto and the ruins of the Arcane Library. The library was built by the Arcane for Morgyn's education in the more advanced things of magic. It was hidden away, intact, for centuries before a mine cave-in caused massive damage to the building. Most of the tomes were recovered and the ruins were cleaned up and managed by the residents of Sylvan Glade until Morgyn could claim his rightful place. The basement living quarters remained intact. The Library and the Magic Realm were the only reminders of his ancestors that Morgyn had. He always felt more grounded and in touch with his true nature when visiting them. So, still recovering from his bout with Greg, he spent a night there in the ruins.

Over lunch and tea, Morgyn and Greg had reached an understanding. Morgyn promised to visit more. He and Greg exchanged personal contact information, and Greg was encouraged to text Morgyn whenever he wanted. Morgyn promised to always respond and Greg promised to be patient, in case Morgyn was busy with official Myst business. Even though Social Bunny might have become less than social, there are many other, mostly better, ways to maintain friendships.

Morgyn breathed in the chill air of the Forgotten Grotto as he lowered his still aching body down on his meditation cushion. He was grateful for some time of solitude and a bit of a disconnect. It's not just social media that clutters the mind, and Morgyn felt the need to “touch grass” from all of the demands life had been throwing at him. As he began pranayama, he knew, with a little bit of time, he'd be ready to go back and face the rest of the world again.