The Shattered Compass

Blurb:

When the Northern Compass, an ancient Pips NYT relic said to guide travelers to the heart of the world, shatters into four pieces, the balance of nature begins to collapse. Rivers flow backward, stars fall from the sky, and forgotten creatures stir from deep sleep.

You are Arin Vale, a cartographer’s apprentice turned reluctant explorer. Armed with a half broken compass and a mysterious map that changes each dawn, you must set out across untamed lands to find the missing shards before the world loses its direction forever.

But beware, each piece of the compass is guarded by something that remembers the old world and despises the new.

Chapter 1: The Map That Woke Up

It began with the sound of the wind.

Not the ordinary kind that rattled shutters and carried the smell of river mist. This wind hummed, like a voice just below hearing. When Arin opened their eyes, the map on the desk was glowing faintly, its edges curling like living skin.

Ink shifted across the parchment, reshaping continents that had not existed yesterday. A word appeared in trembling silver script:

“Follow what cannot be followed.”

Before Arin could react, the compass, cracked and useless for weeks, spun wildly, its needle burning red. The door burst open, and Master Halewin stumbled in.

“It is happening again,” he whispered. “The Compass is calling.”

And just like that, the map folded itself shut.

Choices:

Take the compass and run. You believe the only way to find answers is to follow where it points, even if that means defying your master.

Study the map further. Something about the shifting ink feels alive. Perhaps the map itself wants to tell you where to go.

Destroy it all. You have seen what happens when relics wake. Maybe this is how you stop the coming storm before it starts.