---

The bells ring before sunrise.

By noon—

Altdorf already sounds exhausted.

---

Workers drink in overcrowded taverns.

Children run through muddy streets.

Parades march past collapsing dock districts.

---

Eljara:
“They celebrate hard here.”

---

Sean:
“They work hard here too.”

---

Music floods the streets.

Laughter.

Arguments.

Drunken singing.

---

The city sounds alive.

---

That’s the point.

---

A group of dockworkers stumble past them.

One limping.

One bleeding through his sleeve.

Still laughing.

Still buying ale.

---

Eljara:
“That’s not joy.”

---

A pause.

---

Sean:
“No.”

---

Eljara:
“Then what is it?”

---

Sean watches smoke rising over the manufactories.

---

Sean:
“Relief.”

---

Silence.

---

Not happiness.

Not celebration.

---

Relief.

---

The festival isn’t escaping exhaustion.

---

It’s managing it.

---

Parades grow louder.

Taverns stay full.

The music never stops.

Because if the city ever becomes quiet—

people might finally hear how tired they really are.

---

Young soldiers march through the square.

The crowd cheers automatically.

---

Fireworks explode overhead.

One soldier flinches hard.

Then smiles immediately.

---

Masking.

---

Workers hide exhaustion.

Veterans hide terror.

Priests hide doubt.

---

Everyone performs “normal” together.

---

Eljara:
“They’re pretending together.”

---

Sean watches the crowd move as one giant exhausted organism.

---

Sean:
“That’s civilization.”

---

Another bell rings.

The crowds shift direction instantly.

Like ritual.

Like survival.

---

The city keeps moving.

Keeps drinking.

Keeps celebrating.

---

Not because it’s healthy.

---

Because stopping would be worse.

---

Sean:
“Nothing this loud is ever healthy.”

---

The music grows louder again.

As if Altdorf itself is terrified of silence.

---

⚒️ Month 5 — Sacrifice & Belief

⚒️ Week 1 — The Festival Above The Furnace

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game — The Old World

Sigmar suffered for the Empire himself.

Later generations discovered it was easier to ask others to suffer in his place.

---

If you remember what this felt like —
you already know what you’re missing.

Step back into it.
Or keep missing it.

👉 https://startplaying.games/gm/dunchan

Want to go deeper?
Then don’t stop at the surface.

The full stories. The dossiers. The things behind it —
they’re waiting. Or they’re not.

👉 https://www.patreon.com/c/mythveilchronicles_bydunchanhuntergames