Mystic Tales & Ancient Secrets

Fortuna's Wheel, The Wheel of Fortune. A game that defines the lives of all mortals. The man who owns the wheel is Fortuna - a Goddess who's wrath is as swift and merciless as her kindness is fickle.

It was a dark and dismal night. The moon was hidden from view and the stars refused to shine in such an ominous night as this. Clouds swirled overhead, blocking out the stars and making it seem like it was going to rain at any moment. I followed the path through the woods at a brisk pace, careful not to trip over my long dress, or loose my grip on my lantern. The flickering light would occasionally cast shadows about me, making me feel uneasy, but I kept my cool and pressed on, eager to see what awaited me.

The trees parted and I found myself at the edge of a cliff, looking down into the valley below. In front of me sat a small wooden cottage, nestled between two large oak trees. Smoke rose gently from the chimney as if welcoming me inside. "Right," I whispered to myself. "I'm here now."

I made my way down into the valley, being careful not to slip on the wet grass. Reaching the bottom of the slope, I approached the cottage and knocked softly on the door. There was no reply after several moments so I knocked again, louder this time. Still nothing. Frowning, I turned to look up at the hillside behind me, only to find that it had vanished! There was no trace of it anywhere; as if it had never even existed!

"Oh no," I said quietly to myself - having thought long and hard about what I was doing for many weeks before deciding to take action, "no no no NO!" It seemed that this wasn't just some quaint little cottage after all... Without giving it any further thought, I turned back towards the door and started banging on it with all my might - shouting for someone to open up.

Eventually there came a creak from within and then silence once more before it opened ever so slightly. A hand could be seen gripping the frame tightly with fingers clenched white in fear. Cautiously, the owner of said hand peered out through a crack between door and frame - eyes wide with shock as they locked onto mine.

"You're still dressed," I said flatly - trying to fight down my own panic as he stared at me silently before closing his eyes briefly in relief. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes once more - taking another step forward until most of his body was visible in between door and frame.

"You are early," he replied calmly - straightening his brown robes slightly before gesturing for me to enter further into his home before closing the door behind us both - locking it tightly against intruders who may not be quite as friendly as myself... Or anyone else for that matter... "My name is Silvanus," he continued as we stood side by side in his kitchen - looking out through his window at where my path had been only moments ago... Where his home should have been... "And yours?" He eventually asked turning back towards me with a quizzical expression on his face... One which quickly turned into one of shock when he saw that I had removed most of my clothing while he wasn't looking! "Egads woman!" He exclaimed throwing up his hands in disgust - turning away from me once again whilst I rushed over to him and began covering myself back up with anything that would do such a thing!