James was a quiet man. His whole life, he’d sought peace, not violence. He’d worked toward establishing friendships rather than creating enemies. In his humble little village, it was easy to live his life. There was no conflict to be had, whether on the dirt roads or within his own four walls.

He didn’t know what had happened. One second, he was floating peacefully in dreamland, and the next, the sensation of weight and warmth and life returned to him. It was almost like being born, if he could even remember how that felt.

You paced back and forth in your friend’s room, wringing your hands. You kept your gaze on the ground, trembling as alternating waves of fear and frustration washed over you. None of it made sense. There had to have been a lie somewhere in there. You just had to find it.

William had been in this situation before, though it still hurt to see such a beautiful home torn down, for no purpose other than the expansion of the city.

The house was among the oldest in the city, built when the streets were little more than dirt and the hopes of a bright future remained in everyone’s minds. It was grand, large enough to house a family of ten with room to spare and surrounded by high brick walls.

It looked like a simple game of capture the flag between grade-school children, two teams running through the forest behind a house, shouting and laughing and having the time of their lives. They had their bases, treehouses which had been built years prior by parents on the block, and they had their flags and water balloons. They played all through the day, until the sun began to set.

The chicken didn’t know what would happen. There was no way it could have. All it saw was a mushroom, sprouting from the grass, looking as delicious as anything else around. In its natural drive to find sustenance, it instinctively found the mushroom.

She could feel her strength fading, thin rivulets of crimson seeping free of the wound in her abdomen. Her clothes grew sticky and sodden with the essence that had once brought her life.

It had been decades since he’d last heard such a terrifying noise, yet he recognized it as clearly as if it were yesterday. He bolted upright in bed, hand instinctively reaching for a sword which no longer hung at his waist, and instead rested upon the wall.

She went by many names, that goddess of humanity. Some called her Mother Earth, while others recognized her as the Great Creator. She was kind, benevolent, and perfect in every way. All who knew her saw no wrong, and all who followed took no lives. So long as she remained healthy and happy, the world had no evil.

We sent messages to the stars, in hopes of meeting others like us. Pictures which showed our world, sounds of children playing and animals calling to one another, videos of people celebrating and talking and having fun. We included maps that we figured any intelligent species would understand, and which they could use to find us.

The reaper stood before the person within the void, staring at him with a mixture of bewilderment and mirth. He was a young man, with much to live for still, and many people who loved him. His life as well was good, and there were no particular negative thoughts within his mind. That was why the reaper had been confused by the request.

The cave had its reputation for a reason. Knights and travelers alike were wary of the beast that lay within. None dared trespass upon the dragon’s lair lest they become a sumptuous snack.

No one knew where it had come from. It had stood at the edge of the city for ages, to the point some sources even believed it had existed before the city. Though, of course, there was no way to be certain.