Tunnel Vision

The Shelf Village

It was a regular day just like any other in this long forgotten part of the underground. All was still, the quietness was deafening, and the darkness was absolute, nobody ever came down here, and it seemed as if not even the tiniest organism could survive here. it was a sad and desolate place, not to mention pretty claustrophobic. But then, there was an echo, it bounced far off down the caverns and radiated off the cold black walls, then it came again, louder this time, something was breaking, it was crumbling to the floor, the sound was everywhere, and then, it came to an abrupt stop, and there I was, dirty, confused, and totally naked.

Well technically i'm naked all the time, and It probably wasn't quite that dramatic, but it sounds a lot better when you use lots of fancy words like "desolate" who even says that? Anyways... hi, my names Osira, I have big pointy claws, big cupped ears, and i'm covered in layers of fuzzy gray fur from head to toe. I currently live in a small village called Sav, which is something known as a "shelf village" or what I like to call, "really scary", it's a type of village built on the side of the great shaft, a massive (and I really mean massive) tunnel that's at least 500 feet wide and goes straight up and down for tens of thousands of miles, at least, that's what I heard, nobody can know for sure. The scene I was describing earlier was my escape from what I assume was some sort of cocoon made of clay, from which I was destined to blossom forth as a beautiful butterfly, but obviously something went wrong there... anyways whatever it was that I was trapped in, could have been there for a bazillion years, (maybe i'm the chosen one?). so in conclusion my past is a mystery and my memories are looong gone, but now, i'm hoping to make some new ones while possibly learning about myself in the process.

After leaving my bed of really comfy rocks, I stumbled around in the darkness for an embarrassingly long amount of time, until I somehow managed to stumble into another living creature, and not another stupid stalagwhatever. it's a miracle that somebody heard my desperate wails echoing through the chamber, and then decided to run towards me instead of away, or faint when they saw my ugly face, but the dwarf who found me is the bravest person I know, and the second most stupid as well (more on that later). That dwarfs name is Anmar, and he is what I look to as sort of a father figure almost? he's a stubborn old dwarf who continues to risk his life more and more as he ages, by going on deeper and deeper expeditions all by his lonesome, but I guess I should be glad, because if he didn't, I probably wouldn't be here today.

He told me that he had been on a long expedition, planning to go deeper then ever before, when he stumbled upon a tunnel with a strange rock at its entrance, the rock had otherworldly symbols etched into it, created by some sort of tool that left the lettering perfectly straight and smooth. as he walked into the tunnel he felt a strange sensation all about him, something he "couldn't explain", right away he could feel "deep inside of him" that this tunnel was important, (at this point he got pretty angry at me for putting his "serious story" into air quotes and repeating what he said in a "mocking tone"). Moving on, the inside walls were completely smooth, and the air was colder than usual. He continued to walk down the seemingly endless hallway, until he came across a fork in the path, and that's when he heard what he described as "the absolute worst bloody sound he's ever had the displeasure of hearing" (that's me) and when he finally found me he just about stabbed me (so much for good first impressions). He then had to practically drag me out the rest of the way with his big strong dwarf muscles, (which I was very thankful for of course, even with such side affects as floor breath), but there was one weird thing near the end of his story that he swears is true, on the way out of the cave, the symbol on the rock was glowing... weird.

But after that is all stuff I can actually remember, like on the way back during his sleeping break, I woke up, and using my amazing coordination skills, then proceeded to immediately trip over Anmar and almost fall into the abyss, thankfully, I somehow already knew how to speak dwarvish (convenient right? which also means that I could understand the stream of profanities that he was spewing) so he was then able to explain to me what was going on, I thanked him and licked his face, which is apparently considered "gross" and "what is wrong with you" but it's still a habit I have when I get too excited.

There wasn't much of a celebration when we got back though, it was actually quite the contrary, it turns out sneaking a big fluffy monster into a village of midgets is a little stressful, even when you're a sneaky ninja such as myself. Eventually we procured the aid of Keima, aka Anmar's nephew, "wow, aren't you a cutey" was the first sentance that fell out of his stupid face after seeing me.

basically he decided it was an absolute banger of an idea to partially light himself on fire to create a distraction (Honestly how did this even work)

But before you know it, me and my two new buddies are safe and sound inside Anmar's house (Keima being only slightly crispy). it was pretty small, cause ya know, dwarves, but over all it was quite cozy, even with the mining equipment strewn out all over the floor. They did ask me lots of questions, me being able to answer exactly zero of them, but I really did my best to help come up with theories. My body then decided it was time to sleep, so I curled up on a comfy looking rug and drifted off.

The next day, while reciting epic adventures of his past with a mouth half full of breakfast, Anmar told me about his wife, Venn. Sadly she had passed away many years ago now, she had wanted to have children, and for Anmar to stop going so deep into the many tunnels connected to the great shaft, but he had refused for a long time, and one day after a particularly nasty fight, he packed his things and went deep into the tunnels. After calming down and clearing his mind, he knew he had made a mistake, and started to head back to apologize, that was when he realized just how badly he had messed up, in his hurry to leave he forgot to take his map.

He wandered for weeks in the cold dark depths, his anger and sadness growing, until one day, when he was on the brink of starvation, and almost ready to give up, he managed to make his way back to the village. The feeling of immense relief was wonderful, he could finally apologize, he could tell his wife that he would never leave her again, and that he was ready to never go back into the caves for as long as he lived, but sometimes, life has other plans, and different paths will start to unfold. When he reached his home, the only thing that greeted him was the stench of death, his wife couldn't wait any longer, and she passed on to the next life, whatever it may be.

Can you imagine that happening to you?

Anmar Kassel must have never been quite the same man after that day, and as we embraced, with his salty tears rolling down my coat, I felt his pain, and I cried for him.