The Guard leads you into another room, one with a desk, and without a window. \n\nThe region she wants mapped is one your people called home many moons ago. It is east from here. A [[mountanous]] area. \n\n[[Work]]
The end.\n\nThe Queen\nBy Elliot Yokum\n\nInspired by "With Those We Love Alive" by Porpentine\n\n[[Play again?|Start]]
You take your potions out of your shirt and return them to their shelf. \n\nYou check your door--it's locked. \n\nYou wonder if you should have ran. \n\nYou mourn your friend. \n\nAt least you're still [[alive|End]].
He's collapsed in a pool of blood. Bullet through the brain. Dead at once. \n\nThe female guard takes you back to [[your room|Stay 3]].
Beyond the statues is a forest, and beyond that, a village. \n\nYou finally stop running. The guard turns to you. \n\n"Liana," He says, his voice suddenly soft. Your heart stops. \n\nYou don't know how he did it. How he defied the Queen's brainwashing. You don't know what to ask him, what to say. \n\n[[He continues.]]\n\n
An homage to\nWith Those We Love Alive\nby Porpentine
Remember, no choice you make is wrong.\n\n[[Begin]]
Links in //italics// are changeable. \n\nContent warning: minor gore. \n\n[[Next]]
You shiver, feeling your fear bubble up from your stomach and spread across your body like boils. She takes note of this. Cold and calculating, as usual. \n\n"I need a map," She says, her voice closer to that of a demon than a human. \n\n[[Comply|Throne room 3]]\n[[Refuse|Throne room 3]]
To the north, a field of broken statues.\n\nTo the east, the mountains. A reminder of what once was yours. \n\nYou refuse to let this view break your spirit. You may not thrive here, but you will survive. It's all you are able to do at this point. You comfort yourself--perhaps there is defiance in survival. \n\n[[Back|Home]]
What is your sun sign? \n\n[[Aries: The Courageous| 2]]\n[[Taurus: The Reliable| 2]]\n[[Gemini: The Spirited| 2]]\n[[Cancer: The Compassionate| 2]]\n[[Leo: The Energetic| 2]]\n[[Virgo: The Practical| 2]]\n[[Libra: The Tactful| 2]]\n[[Scorpio: The Passionate| 2]]\n[[Sagittarius: The Adventurous| 2]]\n[[Capricorn: The Ambitious| 2]]\n[[Aquarius: The Progressive| 2]]\n[[Pisces: The Imaginative| 2]]
"I remember, when we were kids, and you ran away. None of the elders could understand [[why|Escape 8]]."\n
You've been a prisoner of the [[Queen's]] for some time now. You may only leave your room when she wills it.\n\nYou are thankful for her mercy. You are rightfully her prisoner, and yet she supplies you with food, water, potions. \n\nYou will not try to escape. You've seen what happens to those who are not granted mercy. \n\nYou wonder what her plans are with you. Perhaps if you comply, you'll be okay. \n\n[[Back|Outside room]]
She sits high atop her throne, mostly cloaked in shadow. You see her six pink eyes pierce through your soul. \n\nLong ago, during your rebel days, you endured months of training to suppress fear. \n\nShe breaks this training with a single gaze. \n\n[[Stare back]] \n[[Shiver]]
You run. \n\nHe leads you through the halls, then out of the castle. Guards begin to give chase. You hear gunshots and spells soaring above you. You wonder if the Queen's released her hounds yet. \n\nYou don't know where he is taking you. You don't know what has come over him.\n\nYou simply keep [[running|Escape 7]], through the field of broken Roman statues.
You wrestle free from his grip. He stops running, turns around, stares at you. "What are you doing?" He asks.\n\nYou want to ask him what he's doing. Whatever his plan is, it will surely lead to death, or worse. \n\nThe other guard turns around and [[fires a rose gold pistol|Stay 2]].
You say a small prayer. To your //<<cyclinglink "people" "home" "country" "motherlands" >>//.\n\nYou've abandoned them, and they've abandoned you. But you can still mourn all the same. \n\nThere is work to be done. There is survival in work. \n\n[[Work]]
He picks up your map. Examines it, as if he were double checking the details. \n\nYou wondered if he could still remember his village. Your village. \n\nHe rolls up the parchment.\n\n[["Let's go."|Escape]]
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You try to open your door--to your surprise, it's [[unlocked]]. \nOutside your door is a guard. You [[recognize|Outside 1]] him.
You are sitting in your room. Your bed is by the window, your meager bookshelf on the wall opposite. There are vials of [[potions]] on the top shelf. \n\n[[Look out the window]]\n[[Leave |Outside room]]\n
The Queen
Before you can respond, you feel her pull on your mind. Threads tacked into your brain turn you into a puppet. The room gets warm, hazy. Your body fills with fog, then with purpose. Vision blurs, then focuses. Body scrambles to feet. Torso extends to a bow. Legs pivot and carry body out of throne room. \n\nYour Queen needs a map. \n\nYou [[get to work|cartography]].
The Queen has provided supplies. \n\nParchment made of //<<cyclinglink "gold leaf" "enchanted marble" "the petals of exotic flowers">>//. \n\nA fountain pen topped with //<<cyclinglink "phoenix feathers" "a large quartz formation" "intricately carved bone">>//.\n\nInk made of //<<cyclinglink "thickened wine" "dyed tears" "liquid silver" "stolen dreams">>//. \n\n[[Next|Work 2]]
A blue pad on the ground, with intricate gold detail. It feels cold underneath your bare feet. You're unsure if it's magic or science.\n\n[[Back|Outside 4]]
Were you born early, late, or at the anticipated time?\n\n[[Early | 3]]\n[[Late | 3]]\n[[On Time | 3]]\n
In your village, they would use this information to give you a name. Your name symbolized who you would become. Perhaps a warrior, a bringer of peace, a conman, an emperor. The mother of any of these. \n\nThe latter was never an option for you. None of them were. \n\n[[You have since abandoned that name. | 4]]
You've drawn a map of the mountains. \n\nYou debated lying. Drawing false landmarks. Moving villages around. \n\nYou know that would lead to your greusome death, and another placed in your situation. The [[cycle|Work 4]] would continue.
A compass, made of rose gold, encrusted with opal.\n\nYou wonder how much it could be sold for. If it could buy your freedom.\n\nYou remember that your survival is more important. \n\nYou [[work|Work 3]]. \n\n
You stare back, forcing yourself to become stone. You may be a prisoner, but your will will not be broken. She takes note of this. Cold and calculating, as usual. \n\n"I need a map," She says, her voice closer to that of a demon than a human. \n\n[[Comply|Throne room 3]]\n[[Refuse|Throne room 3]]
The guard enters.\n\nYour friend.\n\nYour former friend. \n\nYou wonder what he would have done in your situation.\n\nYou wonder if he had been in [[your situation|Work 5]]. Prior to the brainwashing.
[[Your name is... | 5]]\n
[[Your name is... Liana Davenport.|Home]]
You follow him down the hall. He seems nervous. He is walking faster than he had been before. \n\nYou wonder where he is leading you. \n\nYou hear //<<cyclinglink "birds cawing" "hounds barking" "an army of footsteps" "a mob jeering">> // outside. \n\nAnother guard approaches-one you don't recognize. Her skin is dark, and her hair is cut short. \n\nShe turns to your friend. \n\n[["Where are you going?"|Escape 5]]\n\n
"You are needed by the Queen. She awaits your presence."\n\nHis gruff voice surprises you. It's hardened since you knew him last. \n\nYou wonder why she hadn't brainwashed you.\n\nPerhaps she will. \n\nHe leads you down the hall and onto a [[teleporter]]. Only those with authorized access can enter the Queen's [[throne room|Throne Room]]. \n\n
You stop, thinking about what you could possibly say to him. Your mind races with questions, //<<cyclinglink "How are you?" "What did she do to you?" "When were you captured?" "Do you remember me?" "Why does she want that map?" "What's going to happen to me?" "Am I going to die?" "Are you going to die?">>//\n\nHe breaks the silence. \n\n"[[Gather your things]], and [[come with me.|Escape 4]]"
Your door is still unlocked. You are unsure as to why the Guard didn't lock it. \n\nHe stands outside your room, motionless. \n\n[[Return to your room|Escape]]\n[[Go left|Escape 2.5]]\n[[Go right|Escape 2.5]]\n[[Speak to the guard|Escape 3]]
He grabs your hand and begins to run. \n\n[[Run with him|Escape 6]]\n[[Wrestle your arm free|Stay]]
An old friend. Brown hair. Light eyes. A strong build. Always had the bad habit of //<<cyclinglink "trailing off of sentences early" "looking for love in all the wrong places" "wondering if the past could have been different">>//.\n\nYou grew up in the village together. He no longer has this habit. He no longer recognizes you. \n\n[[Back|Outside 2]]
Outside your door, a guard. You [[recognize|Outside 1]] him. \n\nHe does not [[recognize|Outside 3]] you.
The queen's brainwashing. Why kill rebels when you can make them work for you? \n\nYou do not know why she hadn't the same to you.\n\nOr [[perhaps|Outside 4]] she had.
Your homelands. The very place you ran away from.\n\nStill, they were your first home. You've always wanted to go back, on your own terms.\n\nHe reaches into his pocket, and removes the map that you made, and the beautiful, expensive compass the Queen allowed you to use for the task. \n\n[["She'll never take our home. We're going to take our home back."|End]]
You remember why. \n\nIf you hadn't left, you would have never become Liana. They would have killed you first, before you could even try. You could either hide your true self or run away. \n\nThe Guard nods. He understands. \n\nHe asks you if you still feel any connection to your [[homelands|Escape 9]].
The very sight of them makes you sick. How dare she take these mountains from your people. \n\nYou feel her grip on your mind begin to lessen. She wants you to feel this pain. \n\n[[Mourn]]\n[[Work]]
You turn to leave, when you hear his voice.\n\n"[[Gather your things]], then [[come with me|Escape 4]]."\n
A mutant. A tyrant. Wants nothing less than absolute power. \n\nYou've never seen her personally, just her armies. You've heard rumors about her appearance.\n\nSome say she has dozens of eyes and jet black hair.\nSome say she's lost all her flesh over the years, and is part bone, part machine. \nSome say she shrouds herself in silk to hide her rot. Others say she embraces the look of it.\n\nYour people have rebelled against her for years. You were a rebel, before you were captured.\n\nNow you are an empty shell. Your only motivation is the chance of survival. \n\n[[Back|unlocked]]
You follow him to the Queen's Throne Room. \n\n//<<cyclinglink "Red" "Polished" "Mirrored">>// walls. \n\nThe thick scent of //<<cyclinglink "incense" "blood" "roses" "rot">>//.\n\n//<<cyclinglink "Cobwebs" "Silk" "Furs">>// draping her throne.\n\nHe kneels. \n\n[[You kneel.|Throne Room 2]]
You return to your room. Your bed is by the window, your meager bookshelf on the wall opposite. There are vials of [[potions]] on the top shelf. \n\n[[Look out the window]]\n[[Leave |Escape 2]]\n
by Elliot Yokum
Estradiol. Spironolactone. Progestogen. Important parts of your existence, kept in tiny, crystalline bottles. Two are purple, one is emerald green. Gold flecks are mixed in the formulas. You're running low. \n\n[[Back|Home]]
You look around your room. You don't have much. You take your potions and stuff them down your shirt, before [[returning to the hallway.|Escape 4]]