The Carnival of Chaos --------------------- Our little story starts in the town of An-Havva[1] at the western borders of the mountains of Hammerheim. Many people passed through the little town on their way to the city of Icatia and many of them felt that folk of good heart will always find a home here[2]. The folk of An-Havva[3] was happy and friendly and loved their little town above all. So, while their love for festivities and dancing was known even near the falls of Koskun, in times of great need their fierce fight for An-Havva was famous as well. But sometimes the enemy does not appear as such and the sharpest swords can become useless when no one is there to wield them. As every year, the folk of An-Havva waited eagerly for the summer solstice festival. Joskun, the town constable had announced that a travelling circus from a distant place called Urborg would be the main attraction of this years events. Thus, when the morning of the longest day in the year arrived, many people, dressed in their most colourful clothes, run through the streets towards the main town portal, in order to welcome the artists and entertainers. But the day grow older, the road stayed empty and nervosity started to increase. Only when the sun started to settle, a caravan became visible in the distance and the folk was relieved, now that everything was supposed to become a happy festival. When the circus came closer, the beauty of it's carts and animals became apparent. Not only was everything full of light of every colour, moving and sprinkling, but also the animals where astonishing and forced many man and women to hold their breath for joy. Besides well bred and beautiful white horse trotted luminescent, ghost like, huge bears, nearly as if their were spectral[4]. Little monkeys rode on top of them and birds flew around the carts and sang with wonderful voices. In front of the caravan walked an elderly man, dressed in fine golden clothes. And with his voice and appearance he caught every single spectator in his spell. At that time, a young girl called Johanna[5] was sitting on the sickbed of her father Hans. He was still struggling with injuries which he got from a fall into a hole while he was running from a monstrous being up in the mountains. Although Johana desperately wanted to see the circus, she stayed at the side of her father. When she heard the shouting of the town folk she also realized a singing voice coming closer. Words drifted over to her: "She walks in the twilight, her steps make no sound."[6] followed by a nock on her window. But before she could move to open the window and look for the guest a transparent siluette passed through the glas. A ghostlike creature consisting mainly of a huge head and two long hands hoovered above the ground and smiled at the girl[7]. It sang "Her feet leave no tracks on the dew-covered ground"[6]. While Johanna listened to the voice she realized that her hands were starting to comb her hair, put her shoes on her feet and fasten her jacket. Then they opened the door of the hut and her feet walked her out over the dew-covered ground towards the town square and the noise of the circus. From the door the ghostlike creature waved at her, still grinning. When she reached the folk of her town she could graps a glimpse on the visitors of the circus as well. She was wondering, partly shocked. She had expected nice and colourful carts and artists, but the only thing she saw was a black carriage with four huge black horses infront[8] and an elderly man with a dark grey robe[9] standing in the middle of the people. He was speaking with a crackling voice in a language she could'nt understand. For sure that looked much more dull than the circus of the last year. But all of her people seemed to be fascinated, like caught by a spell. From one of the horses a small ape like creature[10] jumped onto the shoulder of the man. It had leathery wings and a snakelike tail. When it opened it's mouth a raw of razor sharp teeth was visible and a putrid smell reached Johanna's nose. Then, a door of the coach opened a grotesque half-human creature emerged[11]. It was totally naked, had huge eyes and blood dripping from it's mouth. Johanna realized with horror the the children of her town where running towards that cackling fiend and joined in hin maddening laughter. She wanted to scream but the only noise which left her mouth was a giggle like that of mad woman. Then, as following a secret signal, a path opened between the town folk and the three visitors from Urborg walked through it towards the gate of the town cemetery[12]. When the man reached the gate Johanna saw that he was nearly thrown back like from an invisible force and for a moment she was relieved. But shock caught her when she saw the eager hands of the town folk willing to open the gate for the guests. Again she tried to shout, tried to wake up the people but only a giggle left her mouth. The witch, than nothing else was the man from the circus, entered the cemetry yard and beckoned a little boy to him. First the child was shy and tried to hide behind his parents, but his mother pushed him forward, laughing. And she still laughed when the blinking dagger in the hand of the witch caught the throat of the boy. And she still laughed when pain and shock became visible on his face and with her laughed the whole town, except Johanna. Where the blood of the child reached the ground a thin grey mist started to form and spread around. And when it reached a grave the earth below started to move and hands rose and fleshless skulls appeared from the ground[13]. Close to where the boy have stood three puppet like monstrosities emerged from a coffin[14], just like that the ground don't wanted to accept them[15] and spilled them out again. From a nearby tool hut came a rotted and putrid creature[16], crawled over the ground towards the boy and started to feed. And thus the dance of the dead[17] began. The undead beings fell among the laughing and happy town people, which welcomed the monsters and only in dead came to realize what they have done. Right beside Johanna one of the puppets grapped the face of a laughing man, just like it wanted to give him a kiss. But the laughing was stopped by a sudden crack when the puppet ripped of the head of the man and threw it into the air. Full of shock she realized that the man did not fall down, instead he started to run, headless, towards the carriage, jumped on one of the horses and rode out into the night[18]. And thus the grim feast[19] started when the town clock rang midnight and like a contagion[20] people where killed an rose again. All this happend around Johanna, but strangly none of the creatures cared about her. And so, around her the town of An-Havva had become a city of shadows[21] and night. She saw huge bat like creatures flying infront of the now visible full moon. Among the vampiric bats[22] also larger, human like creatures[23] flew, screaming and howling. In this moment Johanna realized that she could move her feet again with her own will. Panicking and afraid for her father she ran towards her home where she found the door still open. When she entered the hut she saw the siluette of the ghostlike creature, which had visited her earlier, bowed over the sleeping form of her father. But when it turned around to greet her, the ghost had changed. Where before was a kindly smiling face was now a howling mask full of razor sharp teeth and the long gentle hands had changed into long claws. A childhood horror[24] becoming real. And then she realized that she run, out of the hut towards the forest[25] which surrounded the town. She just wanted to flee from the carnage and chaos. Near the border of the town suddenly a man appeared and tried to grap her. He looked dad for a long time. His skin was white, his eyes like red coals and his teeth pointed like those of an animal[26]. She wrenched free and did not stop running. She tripped over branches in the dark, fell and rised again, stumbled until she finally reached the river which passed through the woods. But to her shock she little river has changed to a smelling, murky swamp[27]. Out of one of the trees behind her she heard a infernal moanning and panicking she jumped into the cold slimy water, helpless paddling. From the tree a red monstrous imp[28] appeared which flew curiously closer until it hooverd over Johanna. It seemed to be still thinking about the taste of her, when another flighing creature[29] caming shreaking from a hollow tree in the swamp. The newcomer reached the hoovering imp and paused, unaware of its own odor, to catch its breath[30]. And promptly both flying beast died and fell beside Johanna into the water. She tried to swim and finally her feet caught ground. When she crawled out of the water she lay exhausted in the mud. Then she heard a rusty voice and the ground began to shake. All arround her the earth was moving and again bodies long dead started to awake and rise. Among them a rotten creature[31] covered by rags which seemed to herd the walking dead like sheeps. With her last strenght she got up and started to run again, hearing the voices of several dozen long dead humans shouting behind her. When she turned around she saw that the undead where following her. And further she run. Until infront of her a small stony hut appeared. She knew that somewhere around here Uncle Istvan[32] should live. Her father had once told her that solitude had driven the old hermit insane, but her feet where bloody and her strength nearly gone. Uncle Istvan was her last hope. When she reached the door and hammered against it, the old man opened slowly. In his hands a long axe from which skulls and bones where hanging. His eyes caught hers only for a mere second and then seemed to focus on something behind her. He pushed her inside the room closed the door and walked towards the closing hord of zombies. From inside she heard the noise of the battle and she sat shivering on the bed waiting that every second the door bursts open and undead arms will tear her apart. But when the door opened it was Uncle Istvan who entered the room, his clothes and beard full of blood. Full of reliev she fall back onto the bed and started to weep and laugh at the same time. Thus, she never saw the axe coming down on her body which finally took her life. Of the town of An-Havva not much is standing today. Only ruins remained and the forest and murky waters around it are known to be infested by unliving creatures. Many good priests and heros tried to clean the area but not many of them lived to tell the stories of what they have seen in the swamp. Some speak of an insane old hermit. Less speak of a girl, walking through the swamp like a lost soul[33]. And even less live long enough to repeat the song which she sings. [1] An-Havva Township (Homelands) [2] Flavor text of An-Havva Township (Homelands) [3] Folk of An-Havva (Homelands) [4] Spectral Bears (Homelands) [5] Girl on Mischievous Poltergeist (Weatherlight) [6] Flavor text of Lost Soul (Legends) [7] Mischievous Poltergeist (Weatherlight) [8] Black Carriage (Homelands) [9] Bog Witch (Marcadian Masques) [10] Putrid Imp () [11] Cackling Fiend (Urza's Saga) [12] Cemetery Gate (Homelands) [13] Animate Dead (Revised Edition) [14] Coffin Puppets () [15] Flavor text of Coffin Puppets () [16] Barrow Ghoul (Weatherlight) [17] Dance of the Dead (Ice Age) [18] Headless Horseman (Legends) [19] Grim Feast (Mirage) [20] Contagion (Alliances) [21] City of Shadows (The Dark) [22] Vampiry Bats (Legends) [23] Treacherous Vampire (Judgement) [24] Childhood Horror (Odyssey) [25] Forest [26] The Fallen (The Dark) [27] Swamp [28] Pit Imp (Tempest) [29] Foul Imp (Stronghold) [30] Flavor text of Foul Imp (Stronghold) [31] Shepherd of Rot (Onslaught) [32] Uncle Istvan (The Dark) [33] Lost Soul (Legends)