Sean:

“Why did people put fires at the edge of the village?”

Eljara:

“Light.”

“Warmth.”

“Protection.”

Sean:

“From wolves?”

Eljara:

“Certainly.”

Sean:

“From people?”

Eljara:

“Probably.”

Sean:

“From spirits?”

Eljara pauses.

Eljara:

“That’s what some traditions believed.”

Sean looks toward the forest.

Sean:

“Funny.”

“We explain the fear.”

“We explain the ritual.”

“We explain how stories change.”

“…and somehow we think we’ve explained…”

“…what happened.”

Eljara:

“We haven’t.”

A quiet rustle comes from beyond the firelight.

Neither moves.

Sean:

“Deer?”

Eljara:

“Probably.”

Sean:

“There’s that word again.”

Silence.

Sean looks at the line of fire separating them from the forest.

Sean:

“Maybe our ancestors didn’t believe…”

“…they had created a boundary.”

Eljara:

“Then what did they believe?”

Sean watches the darkness.

“Maybe the fire…”
“…was how they remembered where the boundary already was.”

Eljara studies him.

Eljara:

“There’s no evidence for that.”

Sean:

“I know.”

Eljara:

“Then what are you suggesting?”

Another branch snaps somewhere among the trees.

Nothing appears.

Sean reaches for another log.

“Nothing.”

He places it on the fire.

“I’m suggesting we keep it burning.”
PLAY EPIC. QUESTION EVERYTHING.

Game: Delta Green
Campaign: Mythveil Chronicles
Theme: August · Week 2 · The Fire They Would Not Cross

For thousands of years, people placed fire between themselves and the darkness.

We can explain why.

Mostly.

The harder question is whether the stories preserved only our fear…

…or the memory of something that taught us to be afraid.

Join the investigation:
https://startplaying.games/gm/dunchan

Explore the anthropology, folklore, psychology and research behind Mythveil Chronicles:
https://www.patreon.com/c/mythveilchronicles_bydunchanhuntergames