He was enraptured with the glowing blow light that Selcan emitted, and began playing with his toy in the light. Zamak liked the way it shined. Eventually, however, this curiosity got the better of him, and his hand moved to touch Selcan. Selcan was so caught up in excitement for finally playing with Zamak that she barely noticed Arthi trying to stop Zamak, while Zamak's brother Tharok was running to stop him. But Zamak touched the Stemine petals anyway... and teleported with Selcan.
Selcan found herself and Zamak on a cliffside, where Selcan was now hanging off the side, with Zamak hanging onto her. If he were to let go, he'd plunge down into the depths of the ocean. Selcan didn't want him to die, she tried to keep him up, but she felt her energy fading. A Stemine loses its power when it teleports... and she was losing all the strength she had. Finally, she could no longer hold on. And the stem broke, sending the dying Selcan and the young Zamak off of the cliff.
"I wanted to protect this boy with everything I had... but it seems all I had was the power to bring death. I am sorry, Zamak. I am sorry, Arthi. I am sorry to all I have wronged. Perhaps in this sea, I can atone through death."— Selcan the Stemine
But Selcan died before she even hit the water. She never was able to feel the sea sweep her away.
Tale 2: The Merchants Gambit
Selcan returned to consciousness on the side of the cliff once again. When she died, a seed was planted not just where she teleported from, but also where she ended up, and not a year later, that seed regrew to bring her back.
She wanted anything to have them back. Zamak, Arthi, Agpath, Tharok. Any of them. But she could do nothing to get back to them, nor could she plunge herself into the ocean again. She was stuck on this cliffside.
"There is not an ounce of suffering I would not take if it meant I could return to that cage beneath the table, with those three children safe and sound. I would die a thousand deaths for that one boy's life... alas, it has washed away with the tide. If only my sins were to wash with it, but they stain my stem as the dye of my thorns do."— Selcan the Stemine
A man finds her there, a
Korvian merchant named
Clinger. Clinger admired Selcan from afar, but did not touch her. No, instead, he would speak to her, tell her of his woes. He explained that he was a merchant, a businessman, but that he failed to ever sell something people wanted. Selcan listened, understanding his woes. She was never able to give people what they wanted either.
Clinger returned one day with a brilliant idea. A way for them both to make up for their past mistakes, a way for Selcan to help Clinger gain the money he so desired. Clinger set up a stand at the top of the cliff, where he tied a rope. He hung this rope over the cliff, where he would advertise a gamble. People would pay him to swing on the rope and try to touch the Stemine.
Clinger hung the rope very carefully, knowing that Selcan would endanger anyone who did touch her. The rope was just out of reach, so any Korvian swinging on it would be just barely unable to touch it.
This worked out for some time, and Selcan came to appreciate this life.
"Clinger is no great father, he is no innocent child... he intends to exploit the lives of these folk for his own benefit. But it is in his nature, it is how he was born, as I was born to bring harm to others. Clinger is no good man, and I am no good woman. If there is any way to live... this is the way."— Selcan the Stemine
This would not last. As a Korvian's life is fleeting, they get old fast. Clinger was already fifteen when he found Selcan, and he was now in the late stages of life, nearly twenty. He became less careful and, as Orcs began taking territories around the cliff, he stayed. He refused to leave Selcan, for Selcan could not leave him. However, an Orc appeared.
Drograb the Wild.
He insisted on swinging, even giving Clinger some of the money he had plundered from the villages he raided. He then threatened Clinger, saying to leave so that he could do this for his men. However, Clinger refused to leave the cliff. Refused to leave Selcan.
Drograb swung on the rope, which was not big enough to hold him. Still, he hung unto it as he swung, nearly hitting into Selcan. However, he could not reach her. He grew enraged, swinging wildly. Clinger tried to pull him up, as he saw Drograb's strength was beginning to crack the cliff-face itself. However, Clinger was too late, as the cliff broke off right where his stall was, sending him, Drograb, and Selcan falling into the ocean.
Clinger tried to grab onto the Stemine, tried to save Seclan, but he was unable to. As Drograb caught Selcan first, laughing as Clinger plunged into the sea. As Selcan watched him drown, she and Drograb vanished, appearing in the
Elven City of Camor. A golden paradise. At least, for anyone who was not Drograb.
The Elven Guard immediately filled Drograb with arrows, as he was a perceived threat. The Orcish warlord who had slaughtered hundreds and plundered their belongings now lay dead in the City of Gold. Selcan was happy, this time. Happy to die, knowing that the one who had caused her friend Clinger to die got what he deserved.
Tale 3: The Lovers Demise
Yet Selcan was brought back again by her own seeds, growing in a crack in the alleyway of this city. Beneath the golden facade was a street of dirt, and she was able to live there.
She found that this street was the meetingplace for two young Elves, each only around 50 years old. They were forbidden to meet for one reason or another, Selcan didn't mind the reason much. The qualms of these people were starting to mean nothing to her as the world became an endless cycle. Over and over she died, causing those she cared for to die as well. Then she returned with no one left.
"What reason have I to care for their love? It is as superficial as the city in which it resides, a gilded front and a dirty underbelly. What hidden intentions have these lovers? What tragic events of their own doing will be their undoing?"— Selcan the Stemine
Selcan listened in as the lovers, whose names she soon learned were
Sarnliss and
Galvan, spoke to each other. They were two men whose parents had forbidden for them to be any more than friends. Galvan was a poet, while Sarnliss loved his poetry, but was much more blunt. Selcan overhears a poem Galvan makes for Sarnliss at one point, a poem that sticks in her head.
"Oh my love,
Sent to me from above,
I long for such eternal bliss
As I would have to feel your kiss.
Without you life is an abyss,
No light at all, but darkness.
Your shining light I do miss,
Glowing teal like the wondrous flower I do now reminisce.
I pray each day to once more have this,
My brilliant, my sweet, my beautiful Sarnliss."— Galvan the Poet
Wondrous... she was called wondrous. Even in a poem expressing love for someone else, someone she cared not for, she found encouragement. That her light was comforting, inspiring. That these two didn't just meet here for no reason, but to bathe in her light. She was still able to help people, even if only to provide a light that none else would.
Galvan's beautiful words continued to reach Selcan as Sarnliss's actions spoke for themselves, and she began to feel a bond between them. She had shared intimate moments with the two lovers, and did not want to see anything happen. But she knew neither were dumb enough to touch her like the Child or the Orc.
Yet Sarnliss's mother found out about his relationship. She sent the Elven Guard to teach him a lesson, but Galvan managed to stop this. Galvan, after all, was one of the soldiers in the guard. He killed any soldier who did pursue them and ordered a cease fire from the remainder of the guard.
However, this did not work entirely. Galvan killed those guardsmen and was put under a warrant, to be killed by any guard. He once more stole himself to the alleyway, where he met Sarnliss. The Elven Guard cornered him here, attacking him. Yet Sarnliss jumped in the way. Sarnliss began to bleed out, crawling to Selcan. Selcan wanted to get them out of there, she knew there was nowhere as dangerous for them as this cave.
Galvan, all the while, continued fighting. He was stabbed through the heart, falling on his back as Sarnliss bled out. Neither seemed to have reached Seclan. She was stuck in this alleyway with the two she had never believed she would care about... the two she would never forget.
The soldiers decided they would carry the two together. They picked up Galvan's body, dropping him atop Sarnliss, who had nearly made it to Selcan. And Galvan's lifeless arm sprung to life, reaching for Selcan. In a final act of desparation, as he held onto Sarnliss, he teleported with Selcan.
Tale 4: The Dead Mans Cave
Selcan found herself in a cave, in the hand of Galvan. He held her tight in one hand as his other arm was around Sarnliss. Galvan leaned up against the wall of the cave, looking to Selcan and saying,
"Seems the three of us are going to die together. That's fine with me... I never felt more alive than in our time together."— Galvan the Poet
Selcan knew what would come next. Death, for everyone. Not from Galvan's wounds, those could be fixed. Yet he held her stem, he had most certainly been poked by one of the thorns. The poison began acting up, and he slowly started to die as Selcan faded away in his hand.
When Selcan returned through another seed, she found herself in the most hopeless of scenarios. In a secluded cave, away from all life, with the bodies of those two she had never believed she would care about. The two lives she cared about most.
She was left alone with only her thoughts as the bodies of Galvan and Sarnliss decomposed, joining what she later found to be a large pile of skeletons trapped in this cave. In this death trap.
"Is this where it all ends? Trapped in the darkness of a cave, a Hell of my own making? Is this the eternal suffering of a Stemine, to lie away from all life to suffer a never ending death? Is this punishment or retribution for what I have done? For the suffering I brought to Arthi, Tharok, Agpath, Zamak, Clinger, Drograb, Sarnliss, and Galvan? For the crimes of my existence, do I know suffer having only myself and the bodies I have accrued?"— Selcan the Stemine
This tale is much more introspective than the others. While all other stories have large bits dedicated to the stories Selcan observes, there is no one to observe for a majority of the tale of the Dead Man's Cave. So instead, most of this tale is about Selcan's inner struggle between whether she deserves to live and right her wrongs through suffering or die and end her suffering. Ultimately, she worries that if she were to die, she would do so without atoning, and finds her current fate of living alone the worst. She cannot do wrong nor right here. She can only suffer through the wrongs she had done in the past.
Finally, someone does arrive. A Goblin named
Weevil. Weevil seems lost in the cave, but when he finds Selcan, he stays with her for light. Selcan, for the first time in her existence, prays. She prays for Weevil to leave, to not touch her. She knows she will only cause him suffering.
But as he stays there for a few days, her thoughts wander. She learns that Weevil was captured by bandits, thrown into a cave for being a Goblin. The bandits said he would be able to get what they needed from there, and then they'd take it and kill him, but Weevil wasn't a scavenger. He had no desire for anything like that. He just wanted to see his family again.
Selcan thinks of the bodies, of Galvan and Sarnliss. She thinks of how it was her fault, but how she wishes to atone for this crime. To do right by someone. She has lost track of time, but she prays there is someone still out there. Someone who she had wronged who she can do right by. If only she were out there... if only she were free from this caved in cage.
Weevil does touch her. He grabs her, and teleports off to a snowy wasteland. A land known as
Moroza. Weevil finds himself here and smiles, saying he isn't trapped anymore. That he can find safety. He thanks the Stemine, but finds that it is dying. For the first time, Selcan sees someone cry tears for her. Galvan cried tears for himself and Sarnliss, not Selcan. Clinger's tears, if any, were swallowed by the ocean, and she saw them not. Zamak's tears were for his own fear, not hers. Yet Weevil cried for her as he buried her beneath the snow. As he said,
"When I make it home, I will return for you. You deserve to see my home... it is only right. You brought me back. I will bring you back."— Weevil the Goblin
Selcan watches Weevil trail off into the snow. She knows she will never see him again, but once more it matters not. She is going to die, or so she thinks. Yet she wonders why her stem pains her. Is this grief catching up to her? Or is it loneliness, to not even be able to see Weevil's death? To never know what ultimately was his undoing?
Tale 5: The Hermits Hut
Yet Selcan woke again. A man knelt down over her, an old
Mishan hermit named
Naum crouched over the mound of snow, and when Selcan grew again, he smiled a big toothy smile and said,
"So you were there! I knew there was a flower, hidden beneath this snow. At least, I think you're what a flower is. We don't get flowers here in Moroza, but if that's what you are... you are nature's finest beauty. A sign that even an old man like me can make it in a Hell like this. My name is Naum. I am happy to find a burning soul in this freezing waste."— Naum the Hermit
Selcan greeted Naum warmly. She could not speak, she could not say her name, yet Naum nodded and repeated it back to her. He knew without knowing of the soul called Selcan, the soul that had flown around for so many years, who had connected with so many people yet never had anyone connect with her. Not until Galvan's poem finally spoke to her. Not until Weevil promised her. Not until Naum noticed her.
Naum built a hut beside Selcan. She watched him, for over a year, as he perfected his home in the snow. A sign, like she was, of spite toward death. That even in hellish conditions, when the odds were stacked against them, these two wayward spirits who belonged nowhere could live like anyone else. Selcan was amused when the house crumbled, when Naum failed, but she was inspired and proud when Naum succeeded. She was more invested than she'd ever been. Naum's success was not his alone. Naum's success was her success, and his failure was hers.
Naum succeeded. Even then, with the warmth of his home, he would eat every meal in the cold beside Selcan. Whenever he got too cold, he would say to Selcan,
"Oh, time for some warmth. I'll return. I'll return with more joy for you. A small rest is nothing to a being like you... even death is but a nap. I will not die with you, and you will not die with me. We will live together. I only need to rest a little."— Naum the Hermit
Selcan was happy to see Naum taking care of himself. He didn't rely on Selcan like others did. Selcan was inspiration for him, a way to keep living. So too was Naum inspiration to Selcan, showing her that she needed to live. That she needed to live just a little while longer. She needed to live to fulfill that final purpose. If there was sstill someone left, she would help them. Only then could she die.
If that was never going to happen, she was content living with Naum. He promised he wouldn't die, yet she knew. She knew he had to. She knew, too, that she would be unable to handle life without him. He was not dependent on her... but she was dependent on him. That spite had turned to love, and she didn't know how she could say goodbye.
Tale 6: The Reunited Son
There was only one person who could help her say goodbye. Someone who had taught her hello, all those years ago.
The Goblin named Weevil returned, as promised, many years later. He had a beard and came with his children behind him. Yet he was not just with Goblins. There was also the captain of his ship, the man who sailed him here. The man who had been searching for her for his entire life. The Emetian child, oldest in the family,
Tharok Vathuniala.
Tharok smiled when he saw Selcan there. Not just a smile of a man seeing a Stemine, but one that told her that he recognized her. Of course, she recognized him. He was elderly, likely nearing one hundred, yet she knew it was the same young boy she had wanted to protect all those years ago when he was but a child.
Weevil brought Naum out, and the three men chatted over Selcan. They told stories of her, with Naum explaining that she was his inspiration, Weevil saying that she had saved his life. Selcan expected Tharok to hate her, to say he intended to destroy her. However, he said no such thing.
"I always appreciated her being there. Dad thought we didn't see her, and my brothers didn't. Not until it was too late. But I did. I felt like she was protecting me, like she was some kind of guardian angel. I wanted nothing more than that. After Zamak disappeared with her, I wanted nothing more to find her. Nothing more than to tell her it wasn't her fault. He was a child, Zamak. It was a tragedy, what happened. But it wasn't anyone's fault. Someone whose existence was to protect, to have to suffer like that... to be the danger that harms those you care about is what turns people in my land into monsters. Worldbreakers. But she's no Worldbreaker. She's a protector."— Tharok Vathuniala
Tharok asked Naum if he could take Selcan. Weevil warned him that that touching her would kill him, teleport him somewhere dangerous, but Tharok had a plan. A glass container to hold her. It would help scoop her up, and then she would be displayed in the protective case. Naum was unsure, not wanting to part with her, but ultimately he agreed. He had her image in his mind. It would never leave him. And now, thanks to Weevil and Tharok, he had a hundred more stories to tide himself over. He bid farewell to Selcan, saying,
"I may die soon, Selcan. I know I promised otherwise, but mortality catches up to us all. We did live together til the end, though. I won't die with you, and you won't die with me. What a wonder, what a day, what a dream."— Naum the Hermit
Selcan would miss Naum as she sailed with Tharok and Weevil and their crew for some years. Tharok would often tell her stories, reminiscing on his old family life, saying that he will do his best now to keep her safe. To be her protector.
But he was old. He would not live long, and he knew that Selcan would suffer again without him. He couldn't protect her forever. He asked,
"Did you do what you wanted? You wanted to protect them right? Protect us? Was it a good life?"— Tharok Vathuniala
Selcan thought of an answer. She thought of all of the suffering, the pain, the death. But she also thought of the Vathuniala family's happiness, Clinger's wealth, Galvan and Sarnliss's love, Weevil's safety, and Naum's inspiration. Of Tharok's protection. Her inner monologue in this moment responded,
"It was wondrous. I couldn't have asked for a better life, as a Stemine. As what I was born as. As Selcan. I was happy to be alive. I've lived a good life."— Selcan the Stemine
Tharok swore he heard her in that final moment. He smiled, a gigantic smile like he did when he was a child. It reminded Selcan of Zamak's smile when he first saw her. They were brothers, after all.
Then, Tharok opened the case that held Selcan, and let her go in the ocean below. Let her join Zamak and Clinger. Let her join the tears. Let her rest. This is the best he can do to keep her safe and grant her the freedom she deserves.
Her final inner monologue reads as such:
"Thank you, Tharok. Thank you Arthi, thank you Zamak, thank you Agpath, thank you Clinger, thank you Drograb, thank you Sarnliss, thank you Galvan, thank you Weevil, and thank you Naum. Thank you for a good life, where you've given me everything I'd ever wanted and more. It may not have all been great, but no life is. Life is painful, you can't help but hurt those you care about. But you can help whether you help those you have left. I hope, in the end, I helped those three that remained. They helped me. Once more, thank you Tharok, Weevil, and Naum. I'm so sorry."— Selcan the Stemine
She then met the ocean for the first and final time.
Never again were her petals subject to the air of Totania. Never again did she cause suffering. Never again would she see a smile, a frown, or anything. Selcan died a final death, that final rainy day. Selcan did not wake after that.
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