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[LAST CALL] Once Upon a Time in Generica
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thorr kan
Feb 20, 2024, 2:22:57 PMFeb 20
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ADMIN: When I heard Google Groups was closing down access to USENET, I meant to get this thread posted right away so others could join it. It's down to the last 24 hours now, but if anybody wants one last hurrah, please feel free to use the [LAST CALL] tag.
APDI was my first tentative foray into the Internet. Alas, my archives of my fiction have been lost to the mists of time, but I could not let The Dragon’s Inn go into the long dark without one last good-by. END ADMIN.
Thorr-kan stepped from the Marches in an anonymous back alley in Generica and immediately knew something had changed since his last, long ago visit. On his shoulder, Gleep hummed in distress. There seemed no immediate threat, but Thorr-kan had learned to harken to his companion’s feelings. The White Minotaur reinforced his wards, then focused his mystic senses on the city around him.
He was drowned in mundanity.
No taint of the Great Mother flowed through the ether. The blinding font of power pulsating from the Mages’ Guild did not exist. The SEP field surrounding the anomaly above Generica did not turn away attention.
In fact, the anomaly seemed nonexistent.
All around Thorr-kan, all the minotaur sensed was…normal, plain, unremarkable. There was nothing fantastical about a city that thrived on the fantastic. In fact, all Thorr-kan sensed were humans.
His unease increasing, Thorr-kan muttered to himself. His huge frame melted and shifted until he appeared as an unremarkable specimen of humanity. Whatever was going on, it behooved Thorr-kan to not draw attention to himself until he had delved into this mystery.
Stepping out of the alley, the White Minotaur quickly got his bearings. At least the local city layout had not changed. He made his way through various neighborhoods, noting the gaping tenements and abandoned businesses. Something catastrophic had happened to Thorr-kan’s beloved Generica, but it appeared that catastrophe had not been apocalyptic. That was comforting, given the number of apocalypses that had threatened Generica through the decades. But the humans Thorr-kan encountered continued going about their business, as if unaware of the changed that had overtaken their metropolis.
It was puzzling.
Stress mounted as the minotaur got closer to the old site of The Dragon’s Inn. The neighborhood around Thorr-kan’s destination seemed even more run down than others. But again, no one seemed to notice. Unease weighted heavily on Thorr-kan as he turned the last corner to the square the pub has previously fronted.
The square was deserted, its fountain silent and dry. But across the way, The Dragon’s Inn was still there. Thorr-kan snorted loudly in relief.
A soft, warm light spilled out from its windows and front doors. Its eponymous sign waved slowly in the breeze. Whatever else had changed, at least the Inn still stood. Squaring his shoulders, the White Minotaur squared his shoulders and strode across the empty square. Reaching the door, Thorr-kan gently opened it and stepped inside The Dragon’s Inn.
APDI was my first tentative foray into the Internet. Alas, my archives of my fiction have been lost to the mists of time, but I could not let The Dragon’s Inn go into the long dark without one last good-by. END ADMIN.
Thorr-kan stepped from the Marches in an anonymous back alley in Generica and immediately knew something had changed since his last, long ago visit. On his shoulder, Gleep hummed in distress. There seemed no immediate threat, but Thorr-kan had learned to harken to his companion’s feelings. The White Minotaur reinforced his wards, then focused his mystic senses on the city around him.
He was drowned in mundanity.
No taint of the Great Mother flowed through the ether. The blinding font of power pulsating from the Mages’ Guild did not exist. The SEP field surrounding the anomaly above Generica did not turn away attention.
In fact, the anomaly seemed nonexistent.
All around Thorr-kan, all the minotaur sensed was…normal, plain, unremarkable. There was nothing fantastical about a city that thrived on the fantastic. In fact, all Thorr-kan sensed were humans.
His unease increasing, Thorr-kan muttered to himself. His huge frame melted and shifted until he appeared as an unremarkable specimen of humanity. Whatever was going on, it behooved Thorr-kan to not draw attention to himself until he had delved into this mystery.
Stepping out of the alley, the White Minotaur quickly got his bearings. At least the local city layout had not changed. He made his way through various neighborhoods, noting the gaping tenements and abandoned businesses. Something catastrophic had happened to Thorr-kan’s beloved Generica, but it appeared that catastrophe had not been apocalyptic. That was comforting, given the number of apocalypses that had threatened Generica through the decades. But the humans Thorr-kan encountered continued going about their business, as if unaware of the changed that had overtaken their metropolis.
It was puzzling.
Stress mounted as the minotaur got closer to the old site of The Dragon’s Inn. The neighborhood around Thorr-kan’s destination seemed even more run down than others. But again, no one seemed to notice. Unease weighted heavily on Thorr-kan as he turned the last corner to the square the pub has previously fronted.
The square was deserted, its fountain silent and dry. But across the way, The Dragon’s Inn was still there. Thorr-kan snorted loudly in relief.
A soft, warm light spilled out from its windows and front doors. Its eponymous sign waved slowly in the breeze. Whatever else had changed, at least the Inn still stood. Squaring his shoulders, the White Minotaur squared his shoulders and strode across the empty square. Reaching the door, Thorr-kan gently opened it and stepped inside The Dragon’s Inn.
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