Information

Goddard
Legacy Name: Goddard

The

Glade Irion
Owner:

Prose

Age: 14 years, 1 month, 3 days

Born: April 2nd, 2010

Adopted: 12 years, 5 months, 1 week ago

Adopted: November 27th, 2011

Pet Spotlight Winner
July 23rd, 2012

Statistics

Level: 1
Strength: 10
Defense: 10
Speed: 10
Health: 10
HP: 10/10
Intelligence: 0
Books Read: 0
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

Darkness.That's all you can see, all you can feel. The world around you is pitch black, and silent.The silence lasts an eternity, maybe longer, until you become comfortable, until you become one with the darkness.You lose your sense of being, but that's alright. You're comfortable. You don't want to leave this place of calm and quiet. At first it was frightening, you even panicked a little, but soon, or maybe not so soon, you adjusted and the darkness overtook you.Until suddenly, one day, many thousands of years, or maybe just a couple of seconds later, you begin to see something. It is just a little something, a pale, soft light, so far, far off in the distance, barely noticeable through the comfortable darkness you call home. And as that light begins to grow stronger, you begin to feel something. Those somethings, you realize, are vaguely familiar. They start out small and dull at first, and you are curious as to what they might be. Soon they are welling up inside of you and you are ready to burst, and then you realize. Fear. Pain. Suffering. The darkness is no longer your friend; you struggle and fight and the light in front of you grows stronger, fighting with you, overtaking the darkness until it surrounds you completely. And then, for the second time, you feel nothing at all.But only for a moment.Wake up, my friend...You can feel the soft ground you are resting on, and the air is filled with the scent of damp earth. The silence ebbs away, replaced by the gentle hum of insects. As you first open your eyes, all you see, once again, is darkness, but as your vision adjusts you realize you are laying beneath a gigantic, twisted tree that towers far about your head. The world is not as dark as it seemed; tiny, pale orbs of light drift slowly around your head as you sit up. One light in particular, about ten feet away, catches your eye.Standing beneath this light is a creature, the likes of which you have never laid eyes on, and yet its form is vaguely familiar. It soon clicks in your head that this is a creature that does not exist, a beast of myth and legend. With the body of a large cat and the features of a bird and the antlers of a deer, it certainly is a creature that transcends all belief.An almost warm, reassuring smile appears on the gryphon's beak, as if it detected your apprehension. As it stands, the light sways gently and you see the small lantern hanging from one gnarled antler. You feel as if you should be afraid as it steps toward you, but a strange peacefulness covers this entire place, and you are calm.Where am I? you ask. The creature does not respond right away, its yellow eyes fixated on you. Come. Walk with me. It turns away and heads off into the trees, and despite your hesitations, you follow.You are in a safe place, it finally, albeit cryptically, explains as the two of you wander apparently aimlessly through the dark, damp woods. More than once you step over and around murky pools of water. There appears to be no other signs of life than the creature beside you, the lights dancing like fireflies around you, and the soft hum of insects in the trees. Tell me, what do you remember? You pause to think, realizing that you don't remember. Not much, at first. But soon, it comes rushing back to you.There was... an accident. A car wreck. It wasn't my fault, I don't think...& The memories swim; it is just as murky and clouded in your mind as the forest around you. I remember a lot of white light. A hospital? The realization suddenly hits you like a ton of bricks, and you don't want to believe for an instant that it's the truth. Am I.. am I dead?The creature beside you stops and turns to look you full in the face, but says nothing. You already know the answer to your question; there is no need for your companion to clarify, a fact that you are both fully aware of. This isn't exactly what I expected the afterlife to look like. A glimmer of hope sparks up inside of you. Maybe they bring me back. Maybe this is just a holding place for those who aren't supposed to... Your words trail off as the gryphon shakes its head, beginning to walk again. No man enters this place temporarily, or by accident.The creature falls silent as this information sinks into your brain. Questions begin to fill your mind, making your head spin, but you pick out one, a simple one, to begin with. Who are you?My name is Goddard, the creature replies. I am an escort of sorts. It is my job to guide you safely into your next life. But, who I am is not the important part. He turns his head to look at you, curiosity sparkling in his old, yellow eyes. Tell me about yourself, my friend. Your life, your family, your loves and aspirations. We have all the time in the world.And so you do. As the two of you wander through the seemingly endless woods, you tell your companion everything you can of your past life. He takes it all in, never interrupting, and genuinely interested in your life. But, eventually, you run out of things to say, stories to tell. Silence settles between you and the gryphon.Death is not so bad, my friend, and you already seem to be taking it rather well, he finally begins after walking in silence for a time. Although, you, like many others, have questions. The invitation was obvious, and you realize that indeed, the many questions still swarm your mind. And as you continue to walk, you learn. You learn that each faith, each religion, has its own form of afterlife, the proper one of which Goddard will lead you to. You learn that many people, probably every soul of every formerly living person, have passed through this in-between place.Finally, the subject of your questions turns to your companion yourself. Are you alone here? Seems like a pretty bleak job, escorting dead people around. Goddard seems to smile, pausing in his steps. I am never lonely in this place. He glances around and the tiny orbs of light that have been floating through the air this whole time begin to dance with excitement. Souls, he explains, such as yourself. They visit me after they have passed on into the afterlife, from time to time, bringing me stories of their past life, as well as their lives now. I have no need of my own history when I have so many others to listen to.Without another word, he continues on. Silence settles again; you feel it is appropriate. Eventually, he speaks again. Your time here is almost at an end. The gryphon stops again, this time beside a strange, shimmering pool of water. This is where we part ways. I do hope you come and visit, and bring me more of your stories. As he speaks, the pool begins to glow, and a ghostly figure materializes over the water, drifting toward you with an outstretched hand. And as you take this hand, and the world dissolves around you, you can still hear the gryphon's voice in the distance. Goodbye, my friend...And have a nice death.