367 days after a wizard cursed the REALM…
Current Version:
“Wake up and make me some breakfast.”
Eve groaned, knowing even before opening her eyes that it would be another one of those days. She’d had over a week of them already, ever since her sister had become Wordler 358, and it wasn’t getting any better.
“Make your own damn breakfast,” she muttered.
“Oh? What did I just hear?” asked 358. “Was that the sound of ingratitude? When I saved the village, I saved you as well, and now you owe me.”
A knock at the door. Of course her sister would expect her to answer it, but that didn’t mean the conversation was over. “I owe you what, an endless supply of meals?”
“To start with.”
The knocking grew more insistent. Eve crossed the room to turn the knob and pull open the door, all without taking her eyes from her insufferable sibling. “You think you’re better than me now, is that it?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. Your smug expression said it for you.”
Someone in the front doorway cleared his throat.
“Eve Brenner?”
“Listen up, Little Miss Wordler,” Eve told her sister. “Someday I’ll be chosen to save the village too, and I’ll do it better and faster than you ever dreamed of, and you’ll be making breakfasts for me!”
“Are you Eve Brenner?” asked the man at the door. He was dressed up like one of the QUEEN’s messengers. No, Eve realized, he was one of the QUEEN’s messengers. “You’ve been chosen to become Wordler 367. Come with me, please.”
“Well, Sister,” said Eve. “I guess you’ll have to make your own breakfast after all.”
Later that day, as Wordler 367, Eve returned to Wordler Village with that day’s Word of Power. During the reception feast, she would receive a score from the QUEEN. Scores ranged from 1 to 6, and since Wordlers who had the most difficulty on their quests tended to receive higher scores, the lower scores held more prestige. No Wordler had ever scored a 1, but those who’d received a score of 2 served on the QUEEN’s Council of Advisors. Eve’s sister had received a score of 3, which had put her in respectable company, but still required her to bow her head in deference to the elites on the council.
“Wordler 367, this excellent word has earned you a score of 2,” the QUEEN intoned.
Eve’s eyes went wide. She caught her sister looking at her with slack-jawed jealousy. “Well, well,” Eve said to herself. “Guess who’ll be making me breakfast tomorrow.”
Web3 Draft:
Revision Notes:
To be added.
