GA Grimdark Fantasy Sample

The boat swayed beneath me. It had been a long journey across the ocean, but one worth making. Plague had infected our lands, leaving the survivors alone with their grief. And I, especially, had needed to flee. To run away from what I had lost.

The passengers kept their most treasured possessions below deck—the first human items to cross into the new world. I ran my hand over the tops of coffers and along soft linens, exploring every inch of the ship to distract myself from my racing thoughts. Then I saw it—a harp. It was old and roughly treated, but it was beautiful just the same. My mother had one just like it when I was young, and I longed to hear the sound of tranquility spill from the brass strings. I reached outward, wishing to pluck the nearest line and ease the emptiness inside for only a moment.

“It’s true! It’s true! It really does exist!” voices rang from above deck. Hand retreating, my heart sank, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see the golden doorway for myself. With one last glance at the harp, I ascended the damp ladder and threw myself into the glacial rain.

I pushed past the mob of people at the boat’s bow, worried about the way the massive ship tipped ever so slightly forward with the added weight of its passengers. The Alchemists stood at the front of the crowd, whispering words of old while they poured strange liquid into the water. The blue ocean darkened upon contact, reminding me of the reason we had fled. But soon, the blackened water lightened and glittered with golden movement. The rain fell harder, stinging my cheeks, but I couldn’t look away from the forming doorway before us.

“God has shined down on us this day, my friends. We are the survivors of the Black Plague—the disease that God smote upon the sinners to cleanse this world.” The Alchemist emptied the remainder of his bottle and threw it into the water while the others continued their chant. “Today, we enter a new, blessed world and leave this old one behind as one does a grave. We will remember those who were lost and grant them rest on this deadened plane.” He spoke with a voice deep with ceremonial smoke. His gold-threaded robe was soaked with ocean spray, and the wind wrapped his long dark hair thickly around his throat, but he didn’t notice. He was leading us to our salvation. He was an Alchemist. The ones who discovered the cure for the Black Plague and the doorway to another realm. He was God now.

I looked back at the ships behind us, dozens floating, waiting to enter the golden doorway. What lay beyond it was unknown. The Alchemists weren’t obligated to share, and we were in no position to question them. With a home covered in disease and ruin, anything else would have been better.

The Dark Ages would soon be over.

Returning my attention to the bow, I met a disciple’s gaze. He stood silently beside the one speaking to us—a mere servant compared to our new God. His strong build and stern expression made me think he was a guard rather than a disciple, but he wore the same flowing robe as the rest.

I quickly averted my stare, but I could feel his eyes on me while I examined his peers. They had finished chanting and now stood over the water, absorbing whatever power they could from the alchemy being performed. An older man stood beside me, shivering in his thin garments. He whispered to himself, “We will be safe. We will be safe. We will be safe.”

I touched his arm, startling the frightened man. “We will be safe,” I repeated.

The man shuddered only once more before nodding his appreciation. Assured that he wasn’t going to fall from strain or cold, I wrapped my shawl tighter around my shoulders and watched the Alchemists unveil crates full of delicate glass. Each vial had an intricate topper to seal the black liquid inside. Could this have been the renowned cure? The Elixir of Life?

Examining the empty bottles the Alchemists stored in their robes, I realized it was the same potion that opened the golden doorway. I unintentionally gripped my neighbor’s hand, and being the anxious soul he was, he didn’t pull away. We both knew exactly what that liquid resembled.

“Before we enter this new holy world, we must prepare ourselves,” the new God explained. He lifted a full vial and poured the thick liquid down his throat, greedily lapping at the bottle’s dripping neck. Pure bliss. That was God’s expression. As I was sure he wanted us to see. “There is nothing to fear. My disciples will administer a test. If you pass, you will receive the Elixir of Life and become one with God. If you do not, there is no need to worry. There will be a place for you in the new world. That is a promise.” God gestured his commands to the disciples, and they swarmed us, carrying as many vials in their pockets as they could manage. They stopped before each person and asked for their arm.

I released my tight hold on the man’s hand and retreated to the back of the crowd, too afraid to stand my ground. Just as I did before, I chose to run and hide.

In the galley, I found a crevice to disappear into. It smelled of rat urine and potatoes, but it was better than being forced to drink that unholy elixir.

The thick, black, oozing liquid that the Alchemists smeared on the passenger’s skin was the same demon that crawled from my family’s mouths, ears, eyes, and any other fissure it could find. Every cough, every tear, was the same pitch-black poison. The same poison that eventually killed them while I watched from the other room. The only one not infected. The only one who couldn’t hold another’s hand or pat the other’s forehead dry. Although their death had been a long and painful one, I envied my lost family. At least they were together.

Footsteps sounded on the wooden planks. The boards shifted and whined with age, rotting beneath our very feet. I held my breath and closed my eyes, unable to face what had come to take me.

“Are you well, miss?” Peering out from behind trembling fingers, I discovered the strange disciple from before staring down at me. He wasn’t disgusted by the filthy woman hiding in the corner or even surprised. His stern expression from his place beside our leader was gone. He held out his hand. “There is nothing to fear from me. Please, let me help you.”

Staring at the vial in his other hand, I whispered, “Don’t make me drink it.”

Knowing of what I spoke, he hid the vial in his robes. “I am not here to force it on you. It is your choice alone.”

“That’s not what Go—the other alchemist said,” I argued. I shifted uncomfortably, realizing how small my hiding place was. Wet garments clung to my skin, and the cold floor made my bones ache.

“What he won’t know, won’t kill him.” He knelt and offered his hand again. “I’m Rune. What is your name?” Rune’s robes flowed around him like a tent, and I noticed that they irritated him.

I finally took his hand and allowed him to raise me from the ground. “Ambrosine.” I paused. “You aren’t like other Alchemists,” I commented, keeping my eyes down and in their place.

“Thank you.” I met his surprisingly kind gaze and quickly corrected myself, unable to respond. After a moment, he said, “You are cold. Here, take this.” Rune unbuttoned his robe and swung it over my shoulders before I could protest. Under the abnormally heavy garment, he wore leathers and furs that were typically seen on guards.

Despite my curiosity, I kept the questions to myself and accepted his offer of warmth.

Rune reached forward, and I flinched, but he merely grabbed the elixir from the robe’s pocket. “It is your choice. Though, shouldn’t we see if you pass the test before making one?”

I was trapped and he knew it. Refusing to see the black poison, I offered my arm. Silently, he poured a drop on my skin and sealed the vial again. We waited for a long time before I broke and spoke my question. “How will I know if I pass?”

Rune lifted my arm and said, “See for yourself.”

Fearing I would see the black death, I glanced and turned away. Confused, I dared another look. The elixir had turned gold, and my skin shimmered like the coins I had seen being passed around by rich men.

Rune revealed a knife and slit his skin, exposing his arm to me. “This is what will happen if you choose to drink it. The Elixir of Life will keep you young and healthy. The Black Plague will never touch you.” Blood dripped from his wound, as gold as the Alchemists' garments. There was no crimson life. No black poison. Just gold. I never trusted the men with golden coins before—I didn’t see why I would now.

I removed the robes and covered his bleeding arm. “I have no need of it. The Black Plague has already passed over me.” I met the bottle’s black gaze. “I have no wish to willingly let it in.”

Clutching the bottle tight, he said, “This is not the same poison you saw before.” Rune’s eyes were dark, yet his strong face was framed by conflicting yellow waves. This man was not like the pretend Gods. He was kind. He cared.

“I know. Please, give it to those who want it.” I met his curious stare. “Unless you were being dishonest when you said it was my choice?” I shivered in the cold that came with his robe’s absence.

“No. It is your choice.”

“Were you given the same one?” I asked, unable to understand why he was different.

Rune wrapped a black thread around my wrist and said, “No.” Without farewell, he departed the galley and disappeared into the crowd on the deck.

I stared down at the thread he’d tied on me. A mark. So, the Alchemists knew that I had tested and failed. “There will be a place for you in the new world. That is a promise.” I wondered what God meant by that. What kind of place would I have? What kind of life?

It didn’t matter.

All I wanted was to work, sleep, and treat others with kindness. That was all I could do. And it was the only way to honor my family. Taking the Elixir of Life would have made me into something else. Something I wasn’t.

The boats’ horns sounded. All of the ships were ready to pass through the doorway. Everyone had been marked with either a black thread or a gold one. Slowly, I walked through the crowd until I could see the opening. It had grown in size. The crates were nearly empty now, and I wondered how they made the elixir. How would they create more in this new world?