Promises

Is it possible to mourn someone who hasn’t even been born yet? Can you feel grief for losing someone who has not yet lived? I can still hear her dying screams echoing in the silence, see her being killed when I close my eyes.
 
I failed her before she could even be born.
 
Last I wrote we were falling into a void. Time and space didn’t really exist, which is why I was able to write, but reality slammed into us once more and we awoke in a tomb. Not just any tomb, but our tomb. I’ve never been one to be bothered by enclosed spaces but waking up in your own grave does things to your sense of well being and sanity, and it didn’t take long for me to start losing my mind. It was my fault we ended up there, my doing that dumped us in this hellish place, and the guilt quickly took over.
 
Maybe goading Mimzy into attacking wasn’t the best idea, but the pain from his teeth brought me back to whatever senses I still had left. We had to get out and see where we were. See when we were. Quickly I found a door and with a hearty kick we were out.
 
Well, maybe the kick was a little more hearty than anticipated. The door opened… and exploded, sending the tomb crashing down around us. Darius was mighty impressed (as he should be), but really the power came from the mark that appeared on my hand the second I kicked down the door. The mantle had found me and taken me whether I wanted it or not.
 
There’s no going back now, looks like I’m destined to be a hero just like the others. At the time I didn’t care what happened to me, I just wanted out of that awful place, but now that I actually have time to think I feel the weight of unfathomable responsibility pressing in upon me, weighing me down just like it weighs down the others. Being marked is never a good thing.
 
Once the dust settled we could see that we were surrounded by statues (with our faces, not eerie at all, no sir) and there was writing outside of our tomb. The writing that caught my eye read:
 
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHY DID THEY LEAVE US?
 
And under it was an odd little arrangement of candles, incense and… a stuffed pig. Looked like something someone would give to a kid yet it was clearly left for us. Mimzy fiddled with the pig a bit but he handed it over to me when I asked for it. Such a strange little thing yet I feel oddly drawn to it. Despite not having a note or name part of me knew who left it behind, as well as who it was left for, but I didn’t have much time to let it sink in.
 
We were attacked by a grim figure wielding chains, one who seemed delighted in making us suffer and tried to suck out our souls. No matter how much we fought it was able to resurrect itself, leaving us to debate if we should keep trying to kill it or take our chances fleeing to the never ending darkness that lingered all around us. Luckily we didn’t have to make that choice. We were rescued by a woman in a veil carrying a crystal that cast a powerful light into the dark, driving everything back and protecting us from harm.
 
Her name was Marantha. She was not happy. Immediately distrustful, aggressive, and not at all afraid to tell us what she thought of us. Most of her ire was directed towards me and the artifact I was stupid enough to activate. I can’t fault her for her feelings, not really, if I were in her place I’d feel the same.
 
Marantha explained that we hadn’t teleported to a different world, we were simply 40 years in the future. The versions of us she knew had left, leaving everyone behind to ‘change our fate’. Hundreds of thousands died because of that choice, and the world was left to a darkness that was set to take the remaining souls. What was our mission? And why hadn’t we returned?
 
Many unsettling things were revealed to us. Darius had died, accidentally murdered by Mimzy. Kiara was now Queen, although she didn’t seem to be scheming any more and was resigned to her fate. Everyone was due to die in a week’s time when the light of the crystals ran out. There was no one left to drive away the dark.
 
That was when Marantha removed her veil and I had my suspicions confirmed. Really, who could mistake a green feline person for anyone else? Never thought I would have a daughter. It was impossible to not recognize her as my own child, especially with the amazing amount of ire she directed my way. Only family can hold so much anger towards one another. But where was Brauka?
 
The answer was simple. I had run off to be with Rosie on the sea, leaving Brauka and Marantha behind. My own daughter and wife went looking for me, sailed out on a ship, and thanks to the curse that I passed on to Marantha the ship sank.
 
Brauka drowned. She died because of me.
 
Darius stepped up and became the father Marantha needed, took over where I failed. The pain in her eyes when she told me what happened haunts me. Was that why I used the device in this world? To travel to a time where I hadn’t left her and Brauka? Or was it for more selfish means?
 
Her full name is Samarantha. She left out the ‘Sam’ for obvious reasons.
 
All I wanted to do was hold her and tell her it would be alright. Such a strange feeling, seeing as she hasn’t even been born yet in my time, yet I’m her parent. There’s no doubt about that. The group decided to try and travel back in time, back to our present, and reset what had gone so terribly wrong. Marantha expertly manipulated the artifact and gave me a right good berating for not knowing how it works (I definitely deserved that), and ultimately revealed that it was out of time sand, which it needed to make it work.
 
A nearby temple held what we needed. Along the way we were attacked by the undead monster again, just barely managing to avoid it and seek shelter in the temple. Marantha seemed to know who it used to be but did not say. I suspect it used to be one of us.
 
We entered the temple and found a large throne with a big deal antlered guy sitting upon it. Mimz and Dax recognized him as Malamor, the same guy they talked to after the Jester of Blades attacked us and took Mari. Not sure what his deal was but he was clearly done with it by now.
 
Speaking of the Jester, Marantha fought like him, as if she had studied under him or taken on his mantle. I regret not speaking to her about that but then again, would she have wanted to talk to me after all I did to her?
 
The next room held an empty pedestal, a huge hoard of treasure, and a fountain. Marantha said that I had put the device on the pedestal before we vanished. Off to the side were all of our Jester Blades slammed into the ground in unison, along with another blade, this one bearing Samarantha’s full name. Again I could not ask her about her connection to all of this, but if I have any say in it I will ensure she never does, not in my time.
 
By the time we found the sand the undead monster was upon us once more. We were out of time. I had to look my daughter in the eyes and prepare to leave her again. In that moment there was no anger between us, only sadness. This would be our last goodbye in this world. I promised I would not fail her, I would not leave her or Brauka in my timeline, and this time… this time she believed me. Marantha gave me the artifact and went to hold off the monster so we could go.
 
Her screams, her dying wails of agony, they echo in my ears. I will never be fully rid of the sound. Nor should I. It was my choice to travel through time without thought and it’s my punishment to remember the consequences of doing so.
 
We returned to our present back at the ball. The pirates were still alive, Rosie wanted me to come with her, Mari was still missing. I couldn’t speak, my head was still filled with the sounds of Marantha dying, so Rosie said she’d meet me later to discuss matters further. Thankfully Mimz had his wits about him and managed to convince the pirates that the item Kiara wanted them to steal was cursed, and Darius was kind (or dumb) enough to offer them twice what Kiara was going to pay for it.
 
I found myself having an audience with the King of Stormwind himself and all I could think to do was beg for him not to kill Rosie or my old crew. He asked to see the time travel artifact, and whether he took pity upon my sorry state or could see that they truly weren’t a threat is not known, but he said he’d let them go. We managed to save them tonight.
 
Then things took a turn. Siegfried, or the Jester, or whoever he is or wants to go by, I don’t know anymore, took to the stage, inviting Kiara to join him. The peace treaty was signed with Kiara’s public execution. Apparently it had been known that she was trying to steal the artifact that was to be used in the peace negotiations or something, I’m not sure how, and for that among her many other heinous actions she was killed in front of everyone. That didn’t seem to stop the festivities. The thing that Kiara had hired Rosie and the crew to steal simply shot off fireworks, although they did have a Jester mask pattern to them. Far too confusing to figure out for now.
 
Mari had not been forgotten through all of this. I used magic to reach out to her and it turns out that she was disguised as a dog at the Jester’s side. We spent so long trying to figure out how to get her from him that he had enough time to simply walk over and hand her to us. What he wants with us is beyond me, he’s far too complicated for my simple mind to comprehend. We managed to get Mari back to a human shape and took her to our temporary house for a long rest. With Herus parked in front of her room, Mimz becoming the door, and Dax sitting at her side, I think she’s as safe as can be for now.
 
Now we’re taking time to rest and collect our thoughts. The stuffed pig is still here with me. I’m not sure if that future we saw was our destiny or a time that will never come to pass, but I’m certain I won’t let it happen. Now that we’ve seen the worst we can work to keep it from happening again. I made a promise to Marantha that I intend to keep.
 
I’m so sorry for how much I hurt you, my daughter, my treasure. I will take this mantle that has been thrust upon me and ensure that neither you nor Brauka have to suffer because of me. I will give up my entire world if I have to, just to make sure that your world is far better than the one I left you to die in. That is my promise.