For as long as anyone can remember, stories were banned. When a daring author broke the ancient prohibition, it was discovered why -- the line between fiction and reality was truly thin, and his story spawned monsters and heroes alike.
The ban against stories was the only ironclad rule. None could violate this strictest of the taboos without swift retribution -- children were locked in dungeons without light for casual lies; grown men were executed for exaggerations. Within time, only truth -- literal truth -- was spoken.
When pages of scrawled doggerel -- telling of heroes traveling through dangerous lands filled with monsters -- were found pinned to a post in the public square, the reaction was swift. Witnesses were called in to identify the hand writing; eccentrics were rounded up and writing supplies were confiscated. When the culprit was discovered, he was brought before a magistrate to explain this most terrible of transgressions. As he summoned words to stammer out a defense, armed men -- covered in ichor from battles with a dreadful, unknown foe -- burst into the court. The stunned bailiffs did nothing as the rough crew wrestled the man to his feet and dragged him away.
Under their protection, the man was free to write whatever he pleased. He filled pages with crude, nonsensical poetry; as he orated the work to his saviors, monsters and beasts crawled forth from all corners of the lands, slouching into the city. The man's penstrokes hastily described heroes who would battle the monsters; further, he wrote of magnificent poets and playwrights who could help safeguard the city with their own tales.
Now, the land is embroiled in conflicts of all kinds. Armed battles between soldiers, monsters and things less describable rage across the countryside; love triangles simmer, sometimes blossoming into passionate romances and other times descending into bloody, tragic murder. Webs of politics enmesh all; improbable conspiracies and unlikely heroes together cause constant upheaval.
Worst of all, though, is a prevailing existential crisis. While all can confirm the truth of their own existence, none knows how true their memories are -- stalwart heroes and mundane commoners alike can't be sure they weren't spawned from some writer's fantasy.
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