Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?
Welcome to 'Doomsday'. I was (partly) inspired to write this story by the apparent end of the world that was supposed to happen today (21st December 2012). Obviously it didn't happen, and my ability to post this chapter is a testament to that. Despite this, the theory and all the hype surrounding it (including the movie) made me wonder what doomsday would look like in RuneScape, so here I am, writing down what I think it'd look like. So, I hope you enjoy. On second thoughts, be careful which parts you enjoy and why you enjoy them.
Doomsday
Chapter 1: Introduction
"Sorry, my man, you don't have enough coins here to pay for all of this food," the shopkeeper said sadly. "You're going to have to return some of this stuff. I'm sorry, Brian." Sighing, Brian returned the excess of food back to their respective shelves and paid for what he could; it exhausted him of all the money he had on him. He left the general store, feeling frustrated and deflated. In his hands, he held enough bread, meat, and pie to last him and his family a couple of days. He'd even been able to stretch to a pizza today, something which didn't happen all too often.
Oh, the joys of being Farmer Brian. Oh, what the children must think of me, he thought bitterly to himself. Of course, he knew within himself that his children loved him; despite the creature comforts he was unable to give them, he was sure that they respected him. He was in a rather bitter state regardless. Farming in Lumbridge was something he greatly enjoyed. However, it wasn't something he made an excessive amount of gold from, so his family didn't live particularly lavish lifestyle. They had to be careful and modest with their spending and the house was mediocre, if that.
While he devoted a lot of time and effort into his farming, and while his plants, greens and crops were practically dripping with his sweat and blood, he wasn't the most fortunate in terms of the quality of what he reaped. While this wasn't the biggest setback, it certainly didn't pay off as much as he wanted it to, and it was something he aimed to try and change at some point, if he could.
He walked through the Lumbridge countryside, admiring its natural beauty. He saw the lush green grass and the fluffy sheep tending to the grass kiss-by-kiss every day, and he never tired of it. The fresh air and the content atmosphere, as opposed to the crowded and bustling big cities, never failed to remind him why he did what he did. His main intent was to care for his family and give back to the community he loved, but, regardless of this, he worked because he loved his work. There were many rich people that probably weren't satisfied with their jobs and lives, but Brian knew that he couldn't be happier with his life, despite the fact that he wasn't the wealthiest.
Brian entered the gate of his farm, walking up the path. It was late afternoon, and the sun was now dipping in its fall to the horizon. The majority of the day's work had been completed, to his great satisfaction. All that had to be done was the feeding of the cows and a spot of de-weeding. After walking past all of the fields, Brian passed the horse stables and past the big, old oak tree which towered overhead towards the cottage he called his home.
"I have food!" he shouted as he entered the house. The first thing his eyes landed on was his beautiful wife, Jade. She grinned upon seeing him, and they embraced. They'd been married for the best part of eight years, and they'd known each other for almost ten; the ten happiest years of his life, as far as he was concerned. She had long, dazzling, shining brown hair, and a pair of emerald-green eyes. She currently wore a brown dress and a white apron. From the other room, two children ran and embraced their father. "Tom! Hannah!" Brian greeted, picking his children up as they embraced him. Tom looked a lot like his father; thin, wiry physique, black hair, and blue eyes. Hannah, meanwhile, had her mother's brown hair, but it was cut shorter. She had blue eyes, like her father. Tom was a growing boy of about seven. Hannah was five years old, a few years younger than Tom.
Brian looked upwards at their kitchen. While it looked slightly bare, it was still tidy, thanks to his wife's efforts. A stove, a sink, a work table and several cupboards lined the wall, a larder occupied the corner, and a table and some chairs sat nearby; it was all a kitchen needed, really. He deposited the goods in the larder in the corner. "Who's up for some dinner before church?" he smiled, and his children yelled incomprehensible yells of agreement and excitement. "What would you like? I've got some ingredients for stew, or some potatoes. I've even got a pizza today! How about that?" The kids, upon hearing about the pizza, began nodding enthusiastically. He handed the pizza carefully to Jade, who began working the stove to cook it.
As the pizza was cooking, Brian decided to feed the cows. Stepping outside, he heard a disturbance in the chicken coop further down the field. His heart sank as it occurred to him what it most probably was. He jogged down the field to investigate, only to see two low-levelled adventurers harassing the chickens with steel swords. The injured form of one chicken moved itself slowly away from them, making noises of pain.
"Hey! Get off! This is my land and those are my animals!" Brian bellowed, hoping to intimidate the adventurers. They guffawed and continued their harassing. He picked up a pitchfork which stood next to the chicken coop and began batting at the adventurers, hoping to stop them. They pointed their swords at him, jeering. He kept his ground, very nervous at the prospect of having to fight the adventures. While he never went to Tutorial Island, he knew how to fight; it didn't make him a confident or skilled fighter, however.
"Be gone!" a loud voice roared from the far side of the field. An adventurer flew towards the coop. He was twice as tall as the adventurers, and considerably stronger. He wore red dragon armour, and held a red whip. "Leave this farmer be!" the man spat upon arriving. He whipped the earth nearby so hard it left a large welt in the soil and shook the ground. "Otherwise, you will end up like that chicken!" He pointed to the injured chicken. The weaker adventurers, quaking with fear, fled instantaneously.
Brian approached the man, thanking him profusely and offering him something for his time, despite the lack of things to offer Brian had. The man declined. "It's okay. I feel sorry for you, having to put up with idiots like that," the man grunted. "They shouldn't take advantage of hard-working people like you. It must be a nuisance. Look, they've even injured your poor chicken. I must leave now. My name is Crusher." He left swiftly, leaving Brian feeling a mixture of awe and respect.
He proceeded with his tasks quickly, completing them and returning to a delicious pizza. Jade had even cooked a meat topping. Brian sat down and demolished the pizza, savouring every last bite. After he'd finished, he thanked his wife with a kiss. Brian described to his wife what had just occurred; she seemed visually upset, expressing her annoyance at how many people took advantage of their farm. Brian echoed her musings. They all rested for a bit, before going to their rooms to get changed. They met up in the kitchen, wearing their best clothes for church. They left soon afterwards.
By now, Lumbridge was darkening as night approached. They walked through Lumbridge towards the church. Brian looked up and admired Lumbridge; it wasn't a big, glorious city, but it was quaint, and the stone constructions, the castle in particular, gave it a rustic, old-fashioned, comforting feel. People dressed in varying degrees of formality walked to the church, all prepared for an evening meeting. Religion, prayer and Saradomin were all very important to the family. Brian had been raised on good Saradomin values, and he and Jade had attempted to raise Tom and Hannah with the same values.
They entered the church. Brian had entered it hundreds of times in his life, and the onslaught of bright colours and vibrancy always took him aback. He felt almost smothered by gold, velvet, silver and marble. It was a beautiful sight, however. Despite its great beauty, it sickened him to think that some people in RuneScape actually lived in houses that were like this church, and not in the name of Saradomin.
They seated themselves in comfortable chairs and waited for the father to step in front of the gathering. He eventually did so, smiling pleasantly at the congregation. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us this evening," he said. "May Saradomin bless you all, each and every one. Let us stand and sing a song of praise." He directed the assembly to a certain page in a book of songs underneath the chairs. They all stood up and sang as soon as the organist started playing.
When the song finished and another one was sung, everyone sat down and listened to the father as he began a talk on some of the things a worshipper of Saradomin must do in order to upkeep their belief, and, from that, he discussed some practicalities of Saradomin worship. It interested Brian, but occasionally he had to stop his children from fidgeting. The talk was immense, probably too immense for children. It was a good thing, in that respect, that the church offered a children's gathering on some mornings.
When the service finished, everybody left the church, shaking the hand of the father as they did so and thanking him for his talk. Brian and Jade followed suit, while the father smiled at the children, patted their heads and offered them a chocolate piece each. By now, Lumbridge had fallen into deeper darkness, so Brian and Jade held the children's hands tightly.
As they walked back through Lumbridge, they passed a man on a small podium, shouting some things manically. This man was known as the doomsayer, and he was infamous for his wild predictions of doom and other pessimistic things. Many suspected him to be a drunk, others suspected him mad, but Brian just thought that he was just confused and worried. He had long blue robes with a hood which covered most of his head, a tall, crooked brown staff, and a bushy brown beard.
"Doom, I say! Doom!" the doomsayer yelled, startling the children. "Doom is nearing quickly! A dark shadow is cast across RuneScape as great and inevitable doom approaches! Listen closely. The animals know it. The supernatural know it. Now you know it. Very shortly, RuneScape will fall and meet its eventual doom! It is strong and inevitable. I can see it, I can smell it, and I can sense it. Hide your children! Hide your wives! By Saradomin, even hide your husbands! Doom, I warn you!" Jade tightened her grip on the children's hands and ushered them along, concern emanating from her. Brian followed suit reluctantly.
They got home, prepared some drinks, and sent the children to bed. As Brian collapsed in his bed, he looked up at his ceiling and considered the words of the doomsayer. He knew that he shouldn't take heed to the words of madmen, but he couldn't help but feel unsettled, as if there was something unusual and terrifying afoot. He turned around and stared at the sleeping form of his wife. She was beautiful, and he would not lose her. He groaned, got out of bed, and walked into Tom and Hannah's rooms individually. His children were so dear to him, and he would not lose them. He stared out of the window and into the night sky. He was surprised to see hundreds upon hundreds of birds travelling in a northern direction. Brian returned to his bed, troubled by concerns. Was he thinking too deeply into the ramblings of drunks, or was the doomsday really going to come?
There we have it. Hope that was to your liking. This first chapter serves as a short introduction to Brian, his life and his family. All the chapters beyond this should be longer and fuller. The story shouldn't last more than seven-nine chapters, so every chapter after this will be considerably bigger. The character of Crusher was inspired by a character suggestion messaged to me recently. Also, remember that I don't own RuneScape, it's content or Jagex or anything like that, nor am I making a profit from this.
Until next time, toodles!