There is much more to this subterranean world than just Yliakum city and the Stone Labyrinths. On the surface, there is the expansive Azure Lake as well as hundreds of square miles of wild lands around its perimeter. All exist under the nurturing glow of the life-giving Crystal. I have seen of, heard of many strange things in my lifetime, but probably the most unsettling thing that I have heard of was of a small farm house, as far out from Yliakum\'s walls as any has ever settled.
But before I get to that, let me explain something; something you may already know, but may not realize. This enclosed world of ours has precious few native races, at least not sentient and not civilized. Though there have been inhabitants here for thousands of years, the original settlers as we know them came from above; this is common knowledge for even the least schooled of scholars. Many of these settlers brought with them customs and traditions from the old worlds. Some of these remain and are held in quite high respects in our society--such as the art of brewing... Others are not.
One such tradition was the internment of the dead in what was referred to as burial grounds. As strange as that sounds, it was, according to ancient records, quite common among most of our ancestry. Now for some reason, once our forefathers were brought to this land, this tradition disappeared. Some records even have the activity listed as illegal for a period, with the loss of rights to the land used as punishment. But now it is simply accepted that the most practical thing to do with an empty spirit-vessel, once the soul has been delivered into the hands of Laanx and Talad, is to dispose of it with the rest of the waste.
But I digress.
Some time ago, there lived a farmer, far from the protective walls of Yliakum city. He and his wife had built a small but suitable house for them and their eventual three boys: Trevor, Devin, and Kyle. As another source of food, the farmer decided to raise taigens. He was even able to sell meat and hides back to venders within Yliakum and he and his family had a good life for many years. His good fortune and health he contributed entirly to the grace of Talad.
One morning, however, he and his wife awoke to find that all of their taigens had died during the night. This upset the farmer quite a bit, but there was nothing to be done for it. So that day he and his family processed the animals for themselves and to sell. They then set to the task of trapping new taigens. Soon all was normal again and the farmer had known that Talad was only testing his resolve to the life he had chosen and was all the more proud of his family. He did, however, tell no one of the loss of all his Taigens in that strange way, for fear of unsettling those with less faith in Talad.
Soon after though, his boys took ill. First just the younger ones, Devin and Kyle. But a day or two later, Trevor was sick as well. A fever had taken the boys to the point where they had to stay in bed and could not eat.
After their eldest boy had gotten sick, the farmer\'s wife insisted that they take the boys to Yliakum, that maybe the healers or the clergy could help the children. But the farmer refused. He was certain that this was merely another test of their faith. They would remain on the land that Talad had given them, and the boys would be taken care of.
But the children did not get better, and soon the youngest one--Kyle--died. The farmer could not understand how this could happen, but he would not give up his faith. He and his wife continued to care for Trevor and Devin, at their home.
They had a very small service--including their very closest friends--during which the farmer buried the body of his dead son in a section of land a short walk from the house. This was a surprise to everyone, including his wife, but the farmer was adamant that Talad would want this child, even in death, near his family.
Later that night, the farmer\'s wife was awoken by strange noises while she dozed at Devin\'s side. She was certain that she had heard the voice of Kyle calling for his father. There were also the sounds of scratching on the house walls, most likely mice or a taigen. The sounds unsettled her enough to quick run outside, calling for her dead son. Of course, when she was outside there was nothing to be found. Still rattled and unsure, she ventured to her sons gravesite (a place where a body has been buried). Further saddened, she found the fresh mount of dirt over where the body had been laid to rest untouched.
The farmer assured her that she was merely feeling the loss too acutely and that she needed to rest. He agreed to have help on the farm, a nearby neighbor, so that he could take care of the boys and she could relax. His wife begged him to let her take Trevor and Devin to the city for help, but again he refused. She was even less able to argue at that point for she too had a terrible fever.
Within days of the wife become bed-ridden, both remaining boys had died and been laid to rest, without service, next to their younger brother. The farmer told his wife, between unconscious states, what had befallen their two last sons. He tried to explain to her that she must have faith, and that the boys had been taken because they did not have strong enough faith in Talad. The farmer had faith and he was not ill in the slightest. But she could not understand, she kept telling her husband that it was his fault that the boys had died and that she could still hear their voices calling to them, calling to him in the night.
Then one night, as he set by his wife\'s side, she died as well.
That morning, the farmer buried her next to Trevor, Devin, and Kyle. He then took to digging a fifth grave, next to his wife\'s, for himself.
Two days afterwards, his neighbor came to see how he was coping. He found the farmer dead; sitting in his chair with his shovel sitting across his lap. His face had been torn in long, deep scratches and he had small spots bruising all over his body. The neighbor forced himself to believe that some sort of animal must have done it, but why would an animal prop him back up into his chair, and with his shovel? And why did the farmer have such look of fright on his face, not panic nor fear, but fright, as though the doors to the 8th Grade had been opened upon him?
He cleaned the body up and dressed it in fresh clothes. Once finished, against his better judgment, the neighbor carried the body of his dead friend out to where his friend\'s family\'s bodies had been laid to rest. There he buried his friend and left for his own home.
Now I realize that this is already more than a mouthful, but the story is not finished yet. For a week after the farmer\'s body had been buried, the neighbor returned to his friend\'s house with his own sons to see what needed to be taken care of. When they entered the house, to their horror, they found the dead farmer! He was propped up in the same chair the neighbor had found him in one week earlier. Only the clothes were different; the shovel was present as before and so was that etched look of terror.
This time the neighbor collected the farmer\'s body and that of his family--none of which looked to have been in the ground for more than a day. He and his boys burned the house and farm, and properly disposed of the bodies.
No one I\'ve talked to knows for certain if this story is true, but many have heard its telling before mine. Some will even tell you of a patch of land far from the walls of Yliakum city, where nothing ever grows and where by night you can still hear the haunted voices of young children calling out to their father.
