I started composing a new modpack based on SadZombieLand with many updates. I’ve nominally named it “Devouring Darkness”.
Devouring Darkness is currently undergoing some play testing while I package it.
I wanted to share the background story that sets the mood for this ultra-hard horror themed pack.
** Devouring Darkness
My name is Thomas Klank. I'm the last surviving member of the Voxel
Crown's expedition to colonize this new land. I write this record now
in the hopes it may save your life in case I don't make it.
Our expedition landed ten days ago after a voyage of many weeks. Upon
setting foot on the shore, we were overcome by the beauty of this new
land. Lush grass prairie teeming with life. Green sunny forests and
never before seen magical flowers, with herds of beasts grazing
contentedly nearby. Mountains foggy in the distance with the promise
of untold riches. Rivers and streams with fat fish and glints of gold!
A veritable paradise!
We had each been promised our own plot to build as reward for making
the journey. We setup camp near the shore in good spirits hoping to
serve our three month term rapidly so we could go make our fortunes.
The first three days we cleared trees to build simple shelters and a
small fort. We created a fenced pen to keep the horses from
roaming. We began exploring the hillsides seeking minerals and
stone. The sun was glorious and our work swift and effortless.
On the fourth day, a malaise set in. We began to feel pangs of hunger,
despite having eaten. I myself took to snacking at times, feeling less
nourishment than proper. Private Knuckles got a rash from handling a
magic flower. The wind ceased to blow from the sea, and the air stood still
and heavy.
That night was unsettling. Strange noises were heard in the
distance. I've never seen a night so black. It was as if the stars
themselves withdrew to shine coldly at us from far distance. The moon
cloaked itself in cloud. I shivered in my sleeping bag inside the
fort, and eventually slept.
The fifth day we found signs of new animal footprints around the fort
wall. Perhaps a human foot without a shoe? We remained perplexed but
carried on our work. We lingered at supper to get extra food, as no
one was satisfied.
After night settled, the fires were low and we were asleep. Suddenly
the night was split by a sharp crack that went off like a shotgun,
much like a dry tree limb split apart by lightning. The horses began
to scream as the torches around their pen went out one by one. Each
torch disappeared with the same ear splitting crack as it's light was
extinguished. Horrible wet tearing noises came from the pen and the
horses ceased their screaming. We all huddled inside our tiny fort too
terrified to venture out in the black night to save them.
We found no solace in rest that night, and when the sun rose we
mounted the walls to ascertain what had happened. We could see no man
or beast, only that the horse pen was now covered in mud and
blood. The fences broken, posts ripped from the ground. The horses
were torn apart, eaten and gnawed upon as if by rabid dogs. The entire
area smelled of viscera and fear. By noon we had buried the last of
the few remains of our once loyal steeds, but the smell remained. More
than once I found myself sprinting to the water's edge to void my
stomach, but the cool water was of no help.
We spent that afternoon fortifying the walls, installing spikes and
fashioning crude weapons. We feared the return of whatever had killed
our horses. We had no heavy armor and only rudimentary tools. Our only
hope was that we could drive away these mad beasts with sticks and
fire should they return.
Our hunger pangs increased, and we felt we barely had enough to eat at
supper. We went to our beds hungry and frightened. Some of us had
drawn lots to patrol the walls overnight, pacing back and forth with
torches extended into the black void.
During the darkest hours, a shout arose from Captain Davis on the
wall. He had seen movement outside. When he leaned over to look,
something tried to grab him and savagely bit the arm that carried his
torch. We rushed to his aide! We blew our horns, waved our torches,
and stamped around the inside wall hoping to drive them away. Captain
Davis was bandaged as best we could without a medic, and some of us
again slept fitfully after the noise outside left. I pity the nerves
of the watchmen on duty til dawn. I could not sleep, and only watched
the cold stars fade into morning.
We achieved little during the next day. Some suggested we should flee
to the boats, but the wind had not returned. The Captain has been
feverish and thrashing in his sleep. None of us dare to leave the fort
for long. We sat chewing our meager rations and mulling over our
fears.
I'll never forget that night, were it that I could. When the sun set,
the moon which had raised so high and bright did not arrive. Instead a
horrible ocre moon, like a dim ship's portal window drenched in
curdled red blood arose in the sky. The sheer weight of this gruesome
orb oppressed our spirits from overhead. We feared it's light and hid
along the shadow of our wall. Shortly horrible guttural sounds emerged
from the woods, and rushed toward our fort.
The roaring and crying outside the walls grew louder, and louder to a
feverish pitch. Suddenly the Captain lunged to his feet and took an
enormous bite out of Private Knuckles shoulder. His eyes were red, and
his skin turning a horrible green. He growled with a menacing
hunger. We tried to restrain him, but he rushed to the wall and kicked
the doors open. To our horror all manner of humans and beasts rushed
into the fort by our torchlight, and began to tear apart my friends
and comrades. These fiends devoured them with a demonic hunger, not
trading blows but ripping, rending and eating! In my fear I mounted
the wall, leapt and ran for the sea. To my shame I spent the rest of
the night in a tiny boat on the water, listening to the fading cries
of pain and the howls of the unnatural creatures feasting inside the
fort.
At daylight, the horde retreated to the forests. I knew if I was
caught alone I was doomed. I could not make the journey home, so I
decided to make for the mountains. Quietly and with a pounding heart,
I came ashore and made no noise as I approached the fort. It was
devoid of life. My friends were mutilated as horribly as the horses
had been, though I did not see the Captain's body. The ravenous horde
had broken open all of our supplies and eaten everything. I found a
saddle with a large bite taken out of it. I rapidly grabbed what tools
I could carry, and departed. Please forgive me my friends, I could not
save you. My face burned with tears as I hurried, trying to reach the
mountains by dusk. I had no time to bury my friends properly.
I've now dug a small hole in the side of a foothill, and barricaded
the entrance. I huddle here in a small pocket of stone with my last
torch burning on the wall as I write this note. This my last lone
speck of light in a dark land full of horror and gruesome hunger.
Should you find this missive, leave at once with all the speed you can
muster! This land is cursed! We were caught between some nameless evil
which drives man and beast to madly devour all they see, and mother
nature trying to purify the land once more.
I wonder if I shall... oh no. I hear rattling on the barricade. I
can't leave, I shall hold my light to the last. I will hide this note
under a stone and pray someone finds it.
They come.
----
Welcome to the world of Devouring Darkness.
-- Demosthenex
