NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: Familiarity
The chipped paint of my grandmother's antique wardrobe feels strangely smooth beneath my fingertips. I, Defaulger Trice, run a hand along the ornate carvings, a familiar gesture in a familiar room. But today, the familiar feels…off. A faint tremor vibrates through the floorboards, a subtle hum that tickles the edges of my senses. It's a sensation I can't quite place, but it compels me forward, an insistent pull towards the back of the wardrobe.
My grandmother, bless her eccentric soul, always claimed this old piece held secrets. She'd mutter about hidden passages and forgotten lands, whispering tales of a place called Wonderland. I, of course, dismissed it as the ramblings of an aging mind. Yet, here I am, pushing aside a loose panel concealed behind a tapestry of faded roses. The wood groans in protest, releasing a musty scent that stings my nostrils and carries with it the faintest whisper of…something else. Something ancient, and unsettling.
The panel swings inward, revealing not the expected dust-filled cavity, but a swirling vortex of iridescent colours. It shimmers and pulses, a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of emerald greens, sapphire blues, and ruby reds, all swirling together in a chaotic dance. The air crackles with an energy that feels both exhilarating and terrifying. This is no ordinary wardrobe. This is a doorway.
Hesitation flickers for a fleeting moment – a ghost of a feeling I rarely experience. But curiosity, that insatiable beast, wins out. I step through, the vibrant colours enveloping me like a warm, yet strangely unsettling, blanket. The world dissolves into a dizzying swirl of light and sound before solidifying into something…different.
I find myself standing in a forest unlike any I've ever seen. Towering trees with bark like polished obsidian twist towards a sky the colour of bruised plums. The ground beneath my feet is uneven, a patchwork of moss-covered stones and glowing fungi. Everything is distorted, somehow…off-kilter. The air hangs heavy with the scent of damp earth and something else…something faintly metallic, like old blood. This is Wonderland, alright, but not the whimsical place of childhood stories. This Wonderland is twisted, dark, and undeniably…horrifying.
A low growl echoes through the trees, that has nothing to do with me or the chill autumn air. What awaits me here? What dark magic has twisted this once enchanting place into something so sinister? and exciting The silence hangs heavy, broken only by the unsettling sounds of the warped forest.