"I met someone today." The voice filters through the speakers of your laptop, a bit cracked and muffled, but you were used to the shitty quality by now. It was a general norm - two out of the four of you had a rather horrid connection. It's surprising that those particular two managed to get on the internet at all, really.

"Haha, does Rose finally have a love interest? Gonna get your mack on with some hot piece of ass?" Another voice, this time a male's. The speech pattern was tinted with a prominent Southern drawl and accompanied by a flash of movement from the upper right-hand corner of your screen. It seemed the acclaimed Rose had tossed some object at her webcam in an attempt to threaten the guy. Silly Rose, did you really think that would work? No, of course you didn't. As expected, the projectile weapon had bounced uselessly away, though the figure in the lower left corner of your screen still ducked. This earned quite a few giggles, just as the sunglass-wearing kid knew it would.

"Play nice, children!" Yet another voice, a girl's, this one accompanied by a roll of eyes from the lower right of your screen. "Who did you meet today, Rose? If not a 'hot piece of ass?'" Another bout of laughter, though a threatening look quieted them down fast.

"Since you're all so interested, I happened to meet a rather quaint old woman. She has the oddest reputation for being some crackpot fool, and though she was very kind, I can see where some would get that idea. This woman told me a variety of things, some of which are certainly the product of a deranged mind, and the others? Well, I'm not so sure. She told me one thing in particular, however, that captured my attention. A story about some mythical land hidden somewhere on this very planet. Would you like me to retell it?"

The only reply was three bobbing heads, all nodding a yes. This as well was a rather frequent thing, Rose's storytelling. She aspired to be an author, and her voice was absolutely perfect for telling tales of any sort. Really, she could read you the Terms and Conditions from any website and you would be completely entrapped simply because of her voice. The blonde smiled slightly, adjusting into a more comfortable position and you find yourself doing the same. Burrowing under your great expanse of pillows and blankets you await the story's beginning, eager as a child.

"According to legend, or so I'm told, there were once four explorers, two men and two women, set on discovering something new in the world. At this point, that was a very possible thing, as it was before even the times of Columbus - but what these people happened upon was not what they expected. Really, they probably went out in search of gold, diamonds, or other precious substances; so when they found what looked like a staircase into the bowels of the earth, they didn't hesitate to take a stroll down inside. It was likely they believed it was some type of abandoned mine, and at the bottom they would find riches beyond their belief. That assumption wasn't completely far from the truth.
"So, they lit their torches and began their journey. Apparently the staircase went on for an extremely long time; long enough to warrant pauses to camp out, cook, and eat. Of course, they were deep underground, so an accurate number of days is impossible to decipher. Along they way they found huge gems in the walls, the likes of which never seen before. They sparkled so brightly that the explorers put out their torches and merely followed the light the stones cast. They decided not to stop, because if there were things this amazing along the way, what wonders would await at the very end?
"Eventually, that end was reached and before them was a great expanse of trees. There was light too, of course, clearly coming from above; almost as if this forest was basking under the warmth of a sun. Though, it couldn't have been a very good sun, as it was still quite dark. Unfortunately, the foliage was simply too thick see through, and the light source remained a mystery. For a little while longer, at least. Our faithful explorers pushed onward, determined to find out exactly where they were, and soon enough reached the edge of the forest. They stepped out from between thick tree trunks, peered over the edge of a gigantic cliff, and were greeted with the sight of a city.
"It was eerily empty, and soon they would find out why, for a stealthy figure had been following them for a long while. It's unclear what happened next, but after some sort of situation, they manged to convince this creature not to harm them. Apparently, she said, the light from the sun was too strong to bare, and everyone who was smart kept inside during the day. Whoever she was had a body just like a human's, though her skin was completely gray. She had orange horns on the top of her head and the darkest hair. Her eyes were all yellow, save for a black pupil, though it is said that they eventually changed. Oh, and if you think that's strange - she had green blood. She called herself a troll, and seemed very proud of that fact.
"They stayed with this troll for many years, though the exact amount is undetermined. Eventually they struck up a great friendship over the two 'sweeps' they lived with her. She told them all about the place they had found, of her world. It was called Alternia, and the others that lived there were trolls such as she. Though each of them had the same skin and hair color, their horns and all other aspects were individual. They grew up on their own, though they weren't completely alone, as they were given a 'lusus,' which was a great white beast that cared for them like a guardian. These creatures also came in a great variety.
"The color of blood was very important to them, almost like race is to some us, and each color was almost like a social class. The Empress, ruler of the land - and apparently a horrid one at that - had the highest blood color, fuchsia. At some point in time, this Empress found out about the humans in her land and... Well, let's just say that was the end to our brave explorers."

It was completely silent for several moments as each of you took it all in, basking in the afterglow of a freshly told story. An entire world located underground? That was something for Hollywood to take a look at, that's for sure.

"If they died, how did anyone find out their story?" You blurt, speaking the question as it flows through your mind without giving it a single thought. You should stop doing that, really. Rose didn't seem to mind, though, and she smiled at you over camera, your other two friends nodding in agreement.

"Their bodies were found next to a pile of collapsed stone, burns all over their skin and eyes melted straight from their skulls. The corpses were returned to their families, and upon one was a journal with a record of the above and then some. On the last page, though, written in a pink color along with an unknown language, was the phrase 'keep out.' Before you bother asking, the language was unknown, but the boy who wrote the journal had details that helped decipher the code. I suppose it was written in the Alternian language. The father sent the journal in to the authorities and never heard back from them.
"The woman who told me this story said that that man was an ancestor of her's. They passed the story down from generation to generation, making sure the explorer's legacy was never forgotten. Now, I don't know if this is just another delusion of her decaying mind, but the way she spoke... I have my doubts. She was sincere, to say the least and very confident with every word she spoke.
"With that, I leave you. Goodnight, my dear friends."

There were a few mumbled goodnights, and despite the fact that each of you were in a different time zone, it was late for all. Within moments everyone else had departed as well, leaving you staring at a blank screen. You push your laptop away and snuggle deeper into your cocoon of blankets, snoring within moments.

Somewhere behind your sleeping eyes played dreams of underground cities and trolls with candy-corn colored horns. The story of Alternia was not one you were soon to forget.


Author's Notes: Yup, okay, this is a thing that's happening. It's official. I just want to warn you that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing and I apologize for everything in advance.
Also, disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck or any of the characters, bluhbluhbluh, you all know the drill.