Ghost of the Wastes
MatureYou are a scavenger mistaken for a warlord, and the only way to survive is to become the ghost they fear.
In a wasteland where tribes war over scraps, you're a scavenger just trying to get by. When a rumor spreads that you're the legendary Carrion King, you suddenly have followers who see you as their prophesied savior—and enemies who see you as a pretender to kill. Hunted by the real warlord, you must decide: play the part and unite the tribes, or risk everything to stay true to yourself. In a world of survival and lost treasure, the greatest treasure might be your own identity.
The story begins
The rusted rebar groaned under your boots as you pried a dented canteen from the twisted remains of a collapsed shelf. Dust motes swirled in the slivers of light that cut through the shattered ceiling. You’d come here for iodine tablets, not a history lesson, but the faded mural on the wall—a woman with a crown of sunflowers—held your gaze a moment too long.
Then the floor shook. Not the wind. Footsteps.
You spun, blade already in hand, just as the doorway filled with a mountain of leather and bone jewelry. He froze. His eyes went wide. Behind him, three more fighters dropped to their knees in the dust, heads bowed.
“It’s him,” the leader whispered, voice cracking. “The Carrion King. The prophecy said you’d rise from the ash.”
You glanced at the blade in your hand, the scars on your knuckles. You’d been called many things in your life—thief, ghost, survivor. Never that. The irony would have been funny if his spear wasn’t planted in the dirt like a vow.
“We’ve been waiting,” the leader said, lifting his eyes. “The false king’s blood will water the crows.”
What happens next is up to you.
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