THE FIRE THEY WOULD NOT CROSS
Delta Green — Mythveil Chronicles
August · Week 2 · Shortform 3 — Mara & Chibi
Mara:
“Is there something in the dark?”
Chibi:
“Of course.”
Mara moves closer.
Mara:
“What?!”
Chibi:
“Trees.”
“Foxes.”
“Owls.”
“Probably spiders.”
Mara frowns.
Mara:
“That’s not what I meant.”
Chibi:
“I know.”
They stare beyond the campfire.
Mara:
“People used to believe fire kept monsters away.”
Chibi:
“Some did.”
Mara:
“Wolves?”
Chibi:
“Certainly.”
Mara:
“Ghosts?”
Chibi:
“Some stories say so.”
Mara:
“Things they didn’t have names for?”
Chibi looks toward the trees.
Chibi:
“Those are harder.”
A quiet rustle comes from the forest.
Neither child moves.
Nothing appears.
Mara:
“Fox?”
Chibi:
“Could be.”
Mara:
“Then how did people know the fire protected them?”
Chibi thinks.
Chibi:
“Because nothing came closer.”
Mara looks confused.
Mara:
“But then how did they know…”
“…there was anything there?”
Silence.
Chibi:
“They didn’t.”
Mara looks toward the point where the firelight ends.
Mara:
“Or something really was there…”
“…and it didn’t come closer.”
Another rustle.
Leaves.
Perhaps an animal.
Perhaps wind.
Then silence.
Mara:
“Do you think monsters are afraid of fire?”
Chibi:
“I don’t know.”
Mara:
“Then why wouldn’t they cross it?”
Chibi watches the darkness for a long moment.
“Maybe they remember the rules too.”
Mara turns toward him.
Mara:
“What rules?”
Chibi quietly places another branch on the fire.
“That’s the problem.”
The flames grow brighter.
“We don’t remember.”
PLAY EPIC. QUESTION EVERYTHING.
Game: Delta Green
Campaign: Mythveil Chronicles
Theme: August · Week 2 · The Fire They Would Not Cross
Perhaps our ancestors feared fireless nights because predators waited beyond the light.
Perhaps their stories gave ordinary fears extraordinary names.
Or perhaps some warnings survived…
…long after humanity forgot what they were warning us about.
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