So...c-cold...
Every minute of his existence was defined by one thing. A deep, unending, bone numbing cold.
Every minute of his existence was defined by one thing. A deep, unending, bone numbing cold.
Titus had given up on trying to comprehend what was happening to him a long time ago. In fact, he had stopped trying to remember how long he had been in this situation, as it appeared that time as he understood it, no longer applied to him.
It appeared that he had now come under the effect of something much greater.
+++
It appeared that he had now come under the effect of something much greater.
+++
It was apparent that the artifact had been in its location for a very long time. If it had ever existed anywhere else, that other time had certainly predated the existence of Humankind.
Just being in close proximity to the object for extended periods of time was exhausting, as if a side effect of its existence resulted in the slow seeping away of an individual's life. Titus sometimes felt as if his bones were slowly crumbling to dust by the time his analysis shifts had ended.
Yet he never hesitated to show up for his next shift. It was almost as if he was some variety of Terran Lepidoptera, circling around an open flame.
He wondered what would happen if he just reached out and...
+++
After his panic attack subsided, Titus began to take stock of his situation.
First of all, it appeared that everyone within his visual range at the excavation site had completely disappeared. Unfortunately, it did not appear that anyone remained beyond his visual range either. A more disconcerting discovery was that all vox communications, on all channels, had also ceased.
It was as if everyone else in the task force no longer existed.
Except Titus.
Which brought him to his second problem.
He was stuck.
The act of touching the surface of the object had joined him to the artifact and now they were one. No amount of pulling, jerking or wrenching would free himself. That is when panic struck and at some point during his bout, he leaned against the object with his left knee and lower leg in an attempt to increase his leverage against whatever had a hold on him, thus transfixing him to the surface in two places.
It was only later after a frenzied follow on attempt to free himself had left him completely drained, that he discovered the horrific truth of his situation.
He was ever so slowly being drawn into the artifact.
+++
Although portions of his left ear were now stuck to the surface, he was still unable to detect any sound emanating from the object.
At one point, he thought that he felt something brush up against the hand that was embedded in the object. Titus was left with a mental image of something sinuous, swimming by his hand, but immediately rejected the possibility. He was barely holding on to the shredded fabric of his sanity as it was, the possibility that something else was taking place inside the artifact, was a dark pit that he did not have the strength to look into.
He believed he would find out soon enough.
Just being in close proximity to the object for extended periods of time was exhausting, as if a side effect of its existence resulted in the slow seeping away of an individual's life. Titus sometimes felt as if his bones were slowly crumbling to dust by the time his analysis shifts had ended.
Yet he never hesitated to show up for his next shift. It was almost as if he was some variety of Terran Lepidoptera, circling around an open flame.
He wondered what would happen if he just reached out and...
+++
After his panic attack subsided, Titus began to take stock of his situation.
First of all, it appeared that everyone within his visual range at the excavation site had completely disappeared. Unfortunately, it did not appear that anyone remained beyond his visual range either. A more disconcerting discovery was that all vox communications, on all channels, had also ceased.
It was as if everyone else in the task force no longer existed.
Except Titus.
Which brought him to his second problem.
He was stuck.
The act of touching the surface of the object had joined him to the artifact and now they were one. No amount of pulling, jerking or wrenching would free himself. That is when panic struck and at some point during his bout, he leaned against the object with his left knee and lower leg in an attempt to increase his leverage against whatever had a hold on him, thus transfixing him to the surface in two places.
It was only later after a frenzied follow on attempt to free himself had left him completely drained, that he discovered the horrific truth of his situation.
He was ever so slowly being drawn into the artifact.
+++
Although portions of his left ear were now stuck to the surface, he was still unable to detect any sound emanating from the object.
At one point, he thought that he felt something brush up against the hand that was embedded in the object. Titus was left with a mental image of something sinuous, swimming by his hand, but immediately rejected the possibility. He was barely holding on to the shredded fabric of his sanity as it was, the possibility that something else was taking place inside the artifact, was a dark pit that he did not have the strength to look into.
He believed he would find out soon enough.
Wow, is Christmas really almost here? Unbelievable.
Preparations for the big game continue. The above fluff is intended to help build up the story of why we are having a game. Ideally, I'll be able to put some terrain piece together to support the story line. The idea of a two part Apoc battle has appealed to the rest of the group, so hopefully, I'll be able to translate these thoughts into more game related activity. Jefe and I conducted our exchange last week and I am now officially in rush mode as I scramble to build and paint 10 Wraithguard before the end of the year.
Preparations for the big game continue. The above fluff is intended to help build up the story of why we are having a game. Ideally, I'll be able to put some terrain piece together to support the story line. The idea of a two part Apoc battle has appealed to the rest of the group, so hopefully, I'll be able to translate these thoughts into more game related activity. Jefe and I conducted our exchange last week and I am now officially in rush mode as I scramble to build and paint 10 Wraithguard before the end of the year.
It's definitely doable, but there are so many other things going on that what hobby time I am able to get in has to be extremely productive. So no sitting at the hobby altar, staring at bits, thinking about other projects and whatnots. This is crunch time, the home team is depending on me to deliver my share and I'm of the sort that I need to keep that commitment.
Now, lest you think that I live and breathe this stuff and that my existence revolves around the hobby, let me be the first to say that it doesn't.
You know what's really important? Life.
Family. Friends. Enjoying what you've been given. Christmas is my favorite time of the year (hmm, somebody ought to write a song about that, it's kind of catchy). I love getting to the end of a year, reflecting on all that has transpired, and looking forward to what comes next.
Now, lest you think that I live and breathe this stuff and that my existence revolves around the hobby, let me be the first to say that it doesn't.
You know what's really important? Life.
Family. Friends. Enjoying what you've been given. Christmas is my favorite time of the year (hmm, somebody ought to write a song about that, it's kind of catchy). I love getting to the end of a year, reflecting on all that has transpired, and looking forward to what comes next.
Family is important. I love mine. I'm a father of four amazing children and I'm still in love with my wife as we enter into our 23rd year of marriage.
Friends are important, especially the ones that are thinking about you when you aren't thinking about them. I've moved around a lot in my life, not as much as some, but certainly more than enough for others. Holding onto friends isn't easy, even with all the social media tools at our disposal. If people aren't in your direct path on a regular basis, it's easy to get disconnected. People are busy. If you're not busy doing things together, it's easy to drift away.
I guess that's why I appreciate the group of friends that I do have so much. We've been through a lot together, job losses, relationships that ended, new ones that have begun, sicknesses, deaths, births, all the things that make up Life (tm). Sometimes it's been a struggle to stay in touch, to find out how they are doing, to be there for them. However, that doesn't make the effort any less worthwhile.
Just recently, a very good friend, blessed me with something that just blew my mind. In fact, the first three words in my text were, "Are you INSANE?"
I won't embarrass him, but it was really hard to put into words what a wonderful shock he put me in, and it all stemmed from his desire to give more than he got. That is the kind of person that you hold onto for the rest of your life, not because he gives, but because he cares.
This year has had some pretty significant ups and downs for me and it was my family and friends that made going through that part of the journey worthwhile.
So, not a lot of hobby time with tangible goodies to show this week, considering everything else going on. I am happy to say that I was able to recover Ethanaal and Karandas from their "sealing" adventure. Of course, I still am going to have to figure out what my final list will be for the game, though I won't publish that until I do the battle report. I don't have a lot of options going into the game, what few I do, I'd like the enemy to have to guess.
That would very much be like the Eldar, neh?
Until next time,
Cheers!
Friends are important, especially the ones that are thinking about you when you aren't thinking about them. I've moved around a lot in my life, not as much as some, but certainly more than enough for others. Holding onto friends isn't easy, even with all the social media tools at our disposal. If people aren't in your direct path on a regular basis, it's easy to get disconnected. People are busy. If you're not busy doing things together, it's easy to drift away.
I guess that's why I appreciate the group of friends that I do have so much. We've been through a lot together, job losses, relationships that ended, new ones that have begun, sicknesses, deaths, births, all the things that make up Life (tm). Sometimes it's been a struggle to stay in touch, to find out how they are doing, to be there for them. However, that doesn't make the effort any less worthwhile.
Just recently, a very good friend, blessed me with something that just blew my mind. In fact, the first three words in my text were, "Are you INSANE?"
I won't embarrass him, but it was really hard to put into words what a wonderful shock he put me in, and it all stemmed from his desire to give more than he got. That is the kind of person that you hold onto for the rest of your life, not because he gives, but because he cares.
This year has had some pretty significant ups and downs for me and it was my family and friends that made going through that part of the journey worthwhile.
So, not a lot of hobby time with tangible goodies to show this week, considering everything else going on. I am happy to say that I was able to recover Ethanaal and Karandas from their "sealing" adventure. Of course, I still am going to have to figure out what my final list will be for the game, though I won't publish that until I do the battle report. I don't have a lot of options going into the game, what few I do, I'd like the enemy to have to guess.
That would very much be like the Eldar, neh?
Until next time,
Cheers!
