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Universe Vignette
by Saless
by William Parker
January, 2022
When we speak of the Wyld we are usually talking about the Tamed; individuals who have 'gone Wyld' since the event commonly known as the Taming. These individuals are amazing, powerful and often bizarre, but they are not the same. The Untamed were another breed entirely. Ordinary people, going about their lives, who suddenly found themselves the recipient of god-like powers. Only, they didn't get an instruction manual.
This story is about the very first Wyld. I have interviewed those few who live to tell the tale as well as the families of the unlucky ones who did not. In my usual style I have combined these together into a dramatic, if not entirely accurate, depiction of these events. So, let us go back to the beginning of the millenium, before magic was known in the world...
January, 2000
Mary Anne gasped as Tom knelt down on one knee beside her. He took a beautiful ring out of his pocket and held it out towards her. "Mary Anne Katzberg, will you marry me?" he said, staring up lovingly into her eyes.
There was a spontaneous cheer from the other patrons of the restaurant. Mary Anne looked around her at all these strangers cheering her on and then back down to the man she loved. "Yes, yes yes!" she breathed happily.
Tom smiled, a tear rolling down his cheek as he placed the ring upon her finger. As the ring came to rest he gasped and yanked his hand back. "What's wrong Tom?" Mary Anne asked.
"The ring's hot!" he said, looking at his reddened fingers. Mary Anne looked down, but the ring seemed normal to her; and beautiful. She felt no pain.
"Uh, Mary Anne, are you okay?" Tom asked worriedly.
"I'm wonderful." she breathed, still taking in the magic of the moment.
He looked around worriedly. The other patrons were beginning to notice something was wrong. "Uh, Mary Anne? Your eyes are glowing." he whispered.
"What?!" she squeaked out. With her words the ring glowed red and melted right off her finger!
Tom backed away, his hands in front of his face as if shielding himself from a great wind... or a great heat. "What's happening?!" Mary Anne asked as the melted ring burned through the carpet and set it aflame. She tried to slide her chair back away from the fire, but found the legs giving out from underneath her. They were charred and blackened.
Tom, hearing his love's anguished cry, bravely stepped forward into the furnace that seemed to surround her. He reached out, wincing in pain at the blisters rising from his skin. "Take my hand Mary Anne!" he cried.
She tried. Mary Anne reached out towards him. But just as their fingers touched he burst into flames! She screamed, "NO!!" as she watched his body rapidly burn to ash before her eyes. Unbeknownst to her, the other patrons were screaming and fleeing in terror. Those who had not also caught on fire when the flames exploded outward from Mary Anne at the sight of her dead fiance.
She knelt over the ashes of her lover and cried tears of flame. Around her, the restaurant was all but burned out, while neighboring buildings were going up in energetic flames. Sirens could be heard nearby and rapidly getting nearer.
Realization began to set in. She had done it. Somehow, she killed Tom. She threw her head back and howled in pain; a pillar of white hot flame shooting through the remains of the ceiling and roof and rising over fifty feet above the burned out restaurant.
Emergency vehicles soon surrounded the area, though they had to move back from the intense heat coming off of Mary Anne's body. One brave firefighter moved forward into the inferno to try and hose her off, thinking her life in danger. The first Mary Anne knew of this was the hissing sound as the water evaporated several feet away from her. She looked up in time to see the firefighter's body erupt in flame and collapse where it stood. He didn't even have time to scream.
"WHY?!!!" Mary Anne screamed, heat and flames pouring out as if from an erupting volcano. The fire truck's tires melted just before it's gas tank exploded. Police cars suffered a similar fate, except the few who managed to pull away in time. The conflagration continued to grow. Streets bubbled and smoked, concrete cracked and melted. Several blocks were now affected. Mary Anne had now become aware of this, but was unable to do anything about it but watch buildings burn and people die.
Another was watching helplessly. But only for a moment. Then he went to work, setting up his sniper rifle. Once it was assembled to his satisfaction he got in position and looked through the site. What he saw shocked him. He had expected a terrorist bombing from the details that had reached him. But as the policeman scanned the carnage the only living thing there was one lone woman. And she was saying something. He increased the magnification as far as he could and tried to read her lips. Just then she seemed to look straight at him. To his dying day he would swear that she had said, "Kill me, please."
His partner spotted what he was aiming at and tried to stop him, but he fired anyway. The woman sat there, in a pool of molten concrete and asphalt, unmoving except for a slight jerk. A small hole appeared in her forehead, though he was thankfully spared the sight of the gaping wound in the back of her head. Once again she seemed to be staring straight at him as she mouthed, "Thank you." and died.
And that's how the first Wyld manifested. The sniper who shot her lost his job and sunk into an alcohol-fueled depression from which he never recovered. Eventually he killed himself, leaving a note that said, "I swear to God, she asked me to."
He is the unsung hero of the story, though there is no true villain. Mary Anne was as much a victim as everyone else who was unlucky enough to be there that day. Dozens died, hundreds were injured in the fires and there were hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. It was touted as one of the greatest disasters of all time. But that distinction didn't last long, as we now know. This was only the first of many such tragedies. It was only years later it was even identified as a Wyld manifestation. It was all too new to be made sense of at the time.
So when we speak of the Wyld, remember that these new, Tamed Wyld, have it easy. Yes, they are often discriminated against. But at least they don't destroy several city blocks when they manifest. And most manage to live something at least approaching a normal life. Only one Untamed is known to have lived, though I suspect there are more. Surely Kami can't be the only one?
The End
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Comments
Well, I liked this one little
Well, I liked this one little story :--)
I'm sure the stories in this universe will be quite interesting :)
grtz & hugs,
Sarah xxx
My muse certainly thinks so!
My muse certainly thinks so! ^_^
Thanks Sarah!
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
sad
Wow... this is so sad.
thank you for writing,
Beyogi
Yeah, that's the basic idea.
Yeah, that's the basic idea. Lots of bad stuff happens when the Wyld show up. But there's good stuff, too, I swear! :)
Thanks Beyogi,
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Similarity
Whateley, MORFS, and other “manifestation” story universes based on them are also filled with tragedy. My take? This is what happens to people who are different. People like us…
Good grief.
Just what was that bullet made of, that it did not simply melt in mid-air?
Bullet melting
Well, the bullet really wouldn't lose it's forward momentum just because it melted. If it vaporised, yes it would be distributed, but less than that and it should keep pretty much all it's impact energy despite changing aggregation state.
Yeah, what you said.
Yeah, what you said. ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
That occurred to me after I
That occurred to me after I posted it, actually. Melted, it should still have much of the same effect since it hasn't lost any mass or velocity, though. At least, I think it would. Anyway, bullets move pretty darn fast so maybe it didn't have time to melt?
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Changing states of matter
Changing states from a solid to a liquid or even to gas doesn't decease mass or velocity. It would defuse and decelerate very quickly, but considering most sniper rifles are bigger calibers firing a heavier more accurate round there would still be a considerable amount of mass still remaining, moving very fast. The telling point would be the distance the melted bullet would have to travel. If a liquid, molten, then think of the nastiest wad-cutter or hollow-point ever made. If a gas by that time and it hadn't had a chance to defuse, think of a welding or cutting torch which uses an inert gas to give velocity to a hot flame. Even with her immunity to heat and flames that gas still has mass and velocity. Just urk!
I think the image you used was best. Hmmm...., less messy.
hugs
Grover
Short and intense-
as well as very sad. I take it the Wyld universe isn't a happy place?
hugs
Grover
A lot of it isn't, especially
A lot of it isn't, especially at first. Stories set later in the timeline have a tendency to be happier, though. And they aren't all doom and gloom, really. Of course, I can't speak for anybody else that might decide to write in the Wyld universe; they might like doom and gloom. ;)
Thanks Grover!
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Wow
Never heard of this one- I'll look into it.
The universe is new, of my
The universe is new, of my own invention. This is the first story I've posted, though I have one other finished and a couple others in the works (and lots of other characters to write about). I don't have the universe page up yet, but you can learn a little more about it here.
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Wyld Fire
Wildfire lyrics
Songwriters: Murphey Michael, Martin; Cansler, Larry;
She comes down from Yellow Mountain
On a dark, flat land she rides
On a pony she named, Wildfire
With a whirlwind by her side
On a cold Nebraska night
Oh, they say, she died one winter
When there came a killing frost
And the pony she named, Wildfire
Busted down it's stall
In a blizzard he was lost
She ran callin', Wildfire
She ran callin', Wildfire
She ran callin', Wildfire
By the dark of the moon, I planted
But there came an early snow
There's been a hoot-owl howling by my window now
For six nights in a row
She's coming for me, I know
And on Wildfire, we're both gonna go
We'll be riding, Wildfire
We'll be riding, Wildfire
We'll be riding, Wildfire
On Wildfire, we're gonna ride
We're gonna leave, sodbustin' behind
Get these hard times right on out of our minds
Riding Wildfire
May Your Light Forever Shine