Bramble: The Mountain King’s Fables and Tales
Table of Contents
BRAMBLE: THE MOUNTAIN KING’S FABLES AND TALES
Behold a collection of Bramble: The Mountain King’s Fables and Tales. I anticipated the video game for a year and after my playthrough, I fell in love with the Bramble. The fables and tales told are remarkable. The atmosphere, music, and lore are beautifully haunting. There is so much to love about Bramble.
The following stories are taken directly from the video game. I did not write them. Full credit goes to the developers and their writers. I am simply expressing my love for their work. They deserve a lot of kudos.
THE RUNAWAY
There once was a girl who snuck out of her bedroom window at night, even though her mother had told her not to. She went into the forest and at first it welcomed her with warmth and a promise of adventures. But soon the forest seemed to grow colder and darker. The girl was afraid and she wanted to go home, but bramble crawled around her arms and legs, and she could not get away. And the girl was never seen again...
NACKEN
In his past life, Nacken was a simple man that loved playing his violent. But the village did not appreciate his talent. People would frequently bully him. And the only soul that did not was a girl that Nacken fell in love with. One day the bullying and beating became so severe that Nacken's anger finally overtook him. He marched into the village playing forbidden melodies that made everyone dance until their flesh and bone got worn down. They eventually died, leaving behind shuffling corpses still trying to dance to Nacken's melodies. His love was not spared death either. Devastated, Nacken left the town and lived by the lake drowning in his sorrow... ...where he still lures people with his deadly music.
THE RITUAL
If you find yourself in pain and sorrow. Cry no more they will be gone tomorrow. Listen to the voices of the deep. And join the wolves that circle 'round the sheep. A temporary sacrifice you make. In order for your powers to awake. Trust in the transcendent and surrender. To be received into arms of splendor. Behold the transmutation into gold. Soon a god emerges from the mold. No longer human; brittle and alone. A goddess reborn seated on her throne.
KING NILS & FAMILY
Long ago there was a peaceful kingdom that lacked an heir to the throne. King Nils and his queen Magdalena had waited for a long time, and at last she was expecting a child. She gave birth to the longed-for son and they named him Ulrik. But suddenly, doctors crowded around the queen's bed. Magdalena succumbed to the labors of childbirth. The love of his life was gone. Weighed down by sorrow, King Nils approached his autumn. Meanwhile, Ulrik grew into a young boy full of life. The prince was the only thing that kept the darkness at bay in his heart. One day, Prince Ulrik fell ill. The doctors tried everything, but he grew weaker and weaker. They told King Nils about a mythical flower that witches were rumored to use to heal any illness. King Nils searched the whole kingdom for the flower to no avail, and his campaign soon became a gruesome witch hunt. His path was lined with the witches he had slain, but the flower was nowhere to be found.
SKOGSRA
Once, there was a peaceful village near a great forest. One night people began to see a beautiful woman with long hair lurking in the shadows during the full moon. Men started to follow her into the forest. Some of them never returned, and those who did had lost their minds. Eventually, the villagers had enough. They took all the dark-haired women of a certain age and put them on trial for witchcraft. They started to execute them, hoping to find the right one, yet men kept disappearing during full moon nights. The villagers grew more and more desperate and burned down a large area of the forest in the hope of finding this strange beautiful woman, but to no avail. The villagers had lost themselves. They killed their own mothers and daughters. They burned down more of the forest that had served them with resources. Then one night when the moon shone at its brightest, five brave men took matters into their own hands. They put on their coats and walked into the burnt forest to hunt for the woman with the dark hair. After a time, they saw the beautiful woman standing in a clearing. The men were instantly enchanted and followed her deep into the forest's heart. She was a shapeshifter that mimicked what men wanted to see in order to lure them away. When they were close enough to touch her, she transformed into something monstrous. She ripped their chests open, hung them up in the trees and drew strange powers from their still-beating hearts. And no one would ever see them again…
DIARY OF THE DEAD
Dear Diary. I am so in love with him, I cannot even describe it. It feels like he loves me too. Our village still tries to heal its wounds from the dark days. But at least me and my love survived and have each other. After the horrible witch hunt, we thought we were safe, we thought we would have peace. But then the plague came to our village. It feels like the plague is some kind of punishment for our sins. Maybe we deserve this. People say they have seen an old woman with a rake at night. Every house she passes people inside get sick. I hope she does not come to my house. Every morning someone new has fallen ill and shortly thereafter they die. We do not even dare to give them a proper funeral. It is horrible. The dead are rising from their graves and they eat the ones left alive. I have locked myself in the house. I got separated from my love... I wish I could be with him, I hope I can meet him in the next life. I'm out of food and the dead are right outside my door. I miss him so much...
KING NIL
Exhausted, bloody and at his wit's end, King Nils came to a witch's house on the outskirts of his kingdom. He fell on his knees, begging the witch to help cure his son and she agreed. The witch explained that the flower held tremendous power that could only very carefully be used for good. The witch instructed he only use a single petal...using the whole bloom would only invite death. Ulrik began to recover. But discontent at the royal line had grown in the kingdom following King Nil's bloody campaign... The next day, King Nils found his son dead. And the last light holding his darkness at bay was snuffed out. Heartbroken, King Nils turned to the bloom which had promised life, and instead, saw it as an escape from his suffering. The witch, having come to visit the king and the prince, looked at the nightmarish scene in despair. She raised a mountain on top of King Nils and shackled him using the same bramble that he let loose upon the kingdom. And to this day, the trolls still feed him as punishment for his evil deed.
SCREENSHOTS OF THE STORYBOOKS
Bramble: The Mountain King’s Fables and Tales screenshots and in video format. I took the snapshots and recorded the video directly from the video game. The artwork is amazing.
