[6] Tale of Neshka: Only Silence

This is the backstory of my tabletop RPG character. In it, Neshka recounts her tragic past in the world of Pathfinder. Part 6: Only Silence [Intro: Hollow medieval folk] [Very sparse lute, distant harp, low mournful cello] [Spoken-word: Intimate, low, exhausted, almost emotionless] I ran. I don't know how long. Through the darkness. Through the trees. Away from the voices. I didn't stop. I didn't look back. And somewhere along the way... the darkness disappeared. [Short pause] I kept running. Until suddenly... there was light. [Long pause] Morning. [Soft breath] The sun was rising between the trees. And I was alone. [Silence] I went back. Perhaps some of them had survived. [Long pause] The camp was empty. The fires were cold. The wagons stood where we had left them. No voices. No footsteps. Nothing. [Verse 1 - spoken] I searched beneath the broken carts. I called their names until my voice was gone. I followed every trail I could find. I searched for blood. For bones. For anything. But there was nothing. [Chorus – restrained, haunting] Silence. Where there used to be a thousand voices. Silence. Where laughter filled the night. I call their names into the darkness, But nothing answers me. Only silence. Only silence. And all the lives I couldn't save Are silent now with me. [Verse 2 - spoken] I stayed for days. I slept beside the empty wagons, waiting to hear them. The children laughing. Korga stealing the last pear again. The old ones singing. Raska laughing louder than all of them. The dancers turning around the fire. And Kharun sitting beside me, his shoulder against mine. [Small, broken breath] For a moment, I could almost hear them. Then the wind moved through the tents. And they were gone. [Verse 3] I found Korga's little wooden wolf beneath a broken wheel. One of the old bone charms still hanging from a broken wagon. Little pieces of lives. Proof that they had been real. [Long pause] I had spent decades trying to find a place in this world. And finally, I had found one. Then the world took it from me. [Second Chorus – later, more broken] Silence. No footsteps in the dust. Silence. No fire, no song, no touch. I carried them this far... But now I carry them alone. Only silence. Nothing answers. Nothing moves. Nothing but silence. [Verse 4 - spoken] For three days, I searched. On the fourth morning, I stopped. There was nowhere else to look. [Long pause] So I walked. I don't remember choosing the path. I only remember climbing. Higher. And higher. Until the land fell away beneath me. [Verse 5 – softly sung, fragile and mournful] What was I supposed to do With the life they gave me? What was I supposed to carry When there was no one left? What was I supposed to remember When every voice was gone? What was I supposed to answer When no one called my name? What was I supposed to live for When home was gone? What was I supposed to hold onto When there was nothing left to hold? What was I supposed to become After losing everyone? What was I supposed to do With the life they gave me? [Long pause] What was I supposed to carry... When there was no one left? [Outro – almost whispered] I reached the plateau just before sunset. The world stretched out below me. Beautiful. Silent. Empty. I stood there, until the sun disappeared. Then the stars came. One by one. I thought about the children... The old ones... Raska... Gorvak... Korga... ...all of them. [Soft breath] They gave me back the life I never had, Then they disappeared into the dark. I thought of the fire. Their voices. Kharun's hand in mine. [Very quiet] And I stepped forward. [Silence]