Veritas | Meditative Adventure |MarsEp3: Monsters & Memories

Welcome to Veritas…a meditative adventure like no other!

First and foremost what does it even mean? Veritas is Latin for “truth”.
The question is of course, which truth? Well, hopefully, your truth.

This 4 episode series honors the symbology of Mars, often synonymous with Ares, the God of War. It is important to note that Ares is not a champion of war for the sake of war, but rather war in the pursuit of peace.

This series represents an intense amount of masculine energy. It is meant to be an adrenaline ride designed to ignite your fight or flight and make you react without overthinking.

In episode 3 you face an unbeatable monster, except something from your past stirs...

Transcript

So how we're going to begin is you're going to sit comfortably,

However that means to you.

It could be legs crossed,

Could be sitting in a chair,

Whatever it is,

Sit somewhere comfortably that you feel relaxed and comfortable and you're going to close your eyes and you're going to take three deep breaths.

Deep breath in,

Count to four,

Deep breath out,

Count to four.

And each time you exhale you're going to try and relax your body a little bit further.

So you're going to inhale,

Pause,

Exhale,

Pause.

So as you're doing this and you're relaxing it's in those pauses between breaths where we're going to go.

That is where your creativity meets your imagination meets your subconscious.

So let's see what awaits you in the spaces between breaths.

Hang on.

Hang on.

Like a broken record this phrase repeats in your head over and over and over as you come back to consciousness.

At some point you must have passed out.

Begrudgingly you open your eyes.

Both of your hands are still gripping on the edge of a rock.

The sun is blurring down and you were lying face down.

The small cave that you crawled in is now going to be your considerably larger.

Huge chunks of rock and dirt have been pulled out.

You lift your head and arch your back which cracks.

With a sigh you relax.

That actually felt pretty good.

Your fingers however don't want to release.

They're locked and cracked into position.

How long did you hang on here for?

You don't want to know.

Then with a gasp you remember the creatures from the night before.

This gets you moving and you force your hands off the rock and retreat away from your cave into the embrace of the outside world.

Your fingers are deformed claws that you try to slowly straighten one by one.

Painful but it works and the blood flows back into your joints.

Did you really hang on all night?

How you managed to pull that off you'll never know but you did.

You stand up and wipe the dirt and grime off your clothes.

At this point you're not even sure it's worth bothering.

Your clothes are ripped and the original coloring is no longer apparent.

Still the ritual makes you feel somewhat human.

Your lips are dry though and you recall how thirsty you are.

Your stomach growls.

It seems that the intensity of an adrenaline-fueled night has left you tired,

Sore,

And hungry.

And wouldn't you know it there's a puddle left over from the storm.

The water looks clear enough and pushing aside thoughts of who knows what type of infection you immediately splay out on your stomach and immerse your face.

The water is cool and refreshing even if it tastes a little weird.

Once you've had your fill you sit up and survey your surroundings.

Still just rock.

You feel the hopelessness swell up inside you again but then you push it back down.

Whatever.

Self won.

Storm zero.

Take that.

With the start you remember Phobos and Deimos.

Looking down the edge of the canyon in both directions you see if you can find them.

You can't.

Are they still alive?

You would certainly like to talk to them and find out what they know.

Sighing you set out and walk along the canyon floor looking for a way to climb up.

Seriously did you really just throw yourself down here?

The edges don't seem easily climbable.

The rock is a sort of smooth shell.

You walk for a while in one direction and don't see much.

At one point you see what looks like a gnarly root growing out of the ground and winding its way up the side of the canyon edge.

It's wide and looks strong.

You can climb that you think.

So you step forward put your hands on it and try to hoist yourself up only to sharply pull your hand away revealing a nasty cut.

Huge thorns an inch long stick out of this root in random places spaced approximately 12 inches apart.

Seriously there's got to be better.

Something easier.

Frustrated you start walking back the way you came.

Even more frustrating is your hand is now bleeding.

Blood drips from your fingertips but your past caring.

For a moment you wonder what you must look like.

Scratches on your arms legs and face.

Dirt dust and blood caked all over like something out of a horror movie.

But you're still here so there's that.

Then you stop dead.

Your random thoughts suddenly focusing on a single thing.

Why does a root need such large thorns?

What is it protecting itself from?

This sudden deafening realization stops you in your tracks.

Could it be those creatures from the cave?

No they were too small.

You need to get out of here.

Frantically you start running.

You're not even sure which direction but at some point you end up back at the cave where you started.

Progress though.

You have learned something.

But how is that going to help you get out of here?

And why are you stuck in the stupid red planet with his weird gravity?

And that stupid extra moon?

Frustrated you feel the anger well up inside you.

You want to go home.

Lie down and sleep for a week in your own bed.

Tears well up in your eyes and in that moment you feel all the pain all the hurt all the fear frustration.

It just wells out.

But it's not just the physical pain is it?

So much emotion.

You look up into the sky and scream at the world.

You yell.

You grab some dust,

A handful of rock and throw it.

This is a full-on tantrum.

Visions of your life and the people in it and your mistakes and all the things that led to being here right now just come pouring out.

It is well-deserved perhaps.

Nothing but silence responds as your screams echo up and down the canyon as if mocking you.

With one last scream you grab a handful of dirt and rock and hurl it back into the cave your chest heaving.

The rocks bounce and careen off various surfaces before finally coming to a stop.

That was farther than you thought.

A pause.

Wait.

How deep does that thing go?

You take a half step to go investigate but then you hear it.

A deafening roar.

Something primal.

Something terrible.

A booming throaty growl screams from somewhere far back in the cave entrance.

It is enough to paralyze you with fear.

That is not the creature you were dealing with yesterday.

This is something older,

More terrible.

It roars again closer now and with that you decide not to wait around to find out.

And your legs are moving before your mind even becomes aware of it.

Your primal response makes you hyper focused.

The only way up and out of here you can think of is the root vine that you found before.

You're in full sprint now and it actually seems like you were starting to get the hang of running in this gravity.

You fly across the canyon floor not daring to look behind you.

Behind you there is a shattering explosion in the sound of rock raining down like hail.

Whatever just exploded out of that cave was bigger than the entrance.

You reach the vine and throw yourself against it filling the thorn scrape your thighs,

Your stomach,

Your arm.

Never mind that now.

You start climbing frantically trying to place your hands around the thorns pulling yourself up.

Actually they more or less work as good footholds if you're careful.

Regardless blood starts to drip down your arms and legs and multiple scratches tear your skin.

You make it about ten feet up and then stop.

It's quiet.

Too quiet.

You risk a look back.

A quick look up and down the canyon reveals nothing just stillness.

Where did it go?

Is it not coming anymore?

But then there's a boulder.

A giant rock sitting just below where you started climbing the vine.

Was that there before?

It's probably two feet in diameter.

You wouldn't have missed something that large.

And then what do you see but another rock rolling down the flat canyon as if out for a stroll.

Then there is another and another.

Then pebbles,

Rocks,

Boulders of all shapes and sizes seem to be conglomerating in a single spot and climbing all over each other as if coming together like Lego.

Never mind you think.

Keep climbing.

Nothing surprises you anymore but you don't want to wait around to find out.

You frantically climb further and finally you switch tactics.

You get a good foothold and just jump.

The lighter gravity allows you to sail four to five feet in the air before you grab the next branch.

Climbing.

Jumping.

Looks like you're halfway out now maybe more.

You risk a quick look down.

It looks like the rocks are piling on top of each other.

Something is forming out of them and you can start to make out a torso and what looks like limbs.

You hear a low growl as the face begins to form.

Whatever these rocks are creating it's coming and it doesn't sound happy.

Frantically now you start leaping with more abandon,

Less caution.

A few times you miss your grip and fall back.

Two steps forward.

One step back.

But you're frantic now.

You're not thinking straight.

You're making progress though.

Three-quarters of the way up.

Four-fifths.

You're almost there.

Finally you reach the top.

Pull yourself up and roll off the vine under your back.

There is blood everywhere.

Your shirts and pants are shredded.

You roll over and look over the edge.

There's something down there but it's hard to see.

And then a roar and a scream as it emerges from the darkness coming straight up the side of the canyon wall.

It looks like an insect with multiple legs and a long tail.

Sharp pincers made of rock snap as it climbs.

It's climbing the rock by simply smashing its limbs into the rock and creating its own footholds.

Here it comes.

Its horrible features becoming more evident the longer you stare.

Time to go.

Rolling over you sit up and then run.

So much running.

It occurs to you to check your surroundings.

To the right there is nothing.

But to the left there's a figure running just like you.

Holy crap it looks like Phobos made it.

Perhaps Deimos didn't survive the storm.

Still you're running and there is a rock monster climbing up the wall after you.

Ahead of you the cliff face you saw from so far away is closer now.

Maybe 200 yards away.

You're running as fast as you can and you don't dare look behind you.

At one point there is a crushing roar and a crash and a scream.

That would be the rock monster ascending the top of the canyon.

It's coming and by the sounds of it it is closing fast.

100 yards?

Just run.

Just move forward.

Get out of here.

What will you do when you get to the bottom of the cliff?

Doesn't matter.

Just get there.

50 yards.

20.

With a final leap forward you collide against the face of the rock wall and frantically search around for a handhold.

Anything.

Above you the ascent is easily 100 feet high.

You thought the canyon was high?

This is higher.

At least twice as much.

You can't jump it.

You need a place to climb.

You look for a vine.

Anything.

There's nothing.

Panicking you turn around.

You can see a cloud of red dust billowing up.

Something wicked this way comes.

With a curse you turn back around and begin rubbing your hands all over the edge of the wall looking for anything.

Some sort of something.

And then you find grooves.

They seem familiar.

You've seen them before.

It's a rune.

Quickly now you brush all the rock and dust off to reveal its rune.

It's large.

Approximately half a meter.

There's a series of them.

As before you push your hands and they light up and the meaning comes clear to you.

A series of emotions and images fill your mind.

This time you're looking into the eyes of the great dragon you saw in the store.

It is impossibly huge.

You stand before it so close its breath heats your face.

Its eyes are black and glossy and in them you see your own reflection falling.

And you lose yourself in that beautiful abyss.

A memory of your childhood surfaces.

And you are content to watch it play out.

Ironically it is the roar of the rock monster behind you that snaps you out of it and saves your life.

Spinning around with your back to the rock you see the monster in all its horrible glory for the first time.

It stops about 20 feet from you and roars in your face.

It looks like a giant scorpion.

Huge rock boulders make up its body.

Smaller rocks form a sharp tail that curls over its torso with and above its body.

There are three legs on each side ending in sharp spikes.

Jagged rocks.

And a head or face forming what looks like a mouth in which house sharp jagged teeth.

There are no eyes of any sort but you can tell it is looking at you.

With a roar it kicks up dust and rock as it plows the ground.

It wants you.

The beast lunges for and you leap far enough that the monster collides with the rock wall with a crack like two rocks smashing together.

You run along the edge of the rock wall looking for anything.

At some point you just stop and start jumping up grasping for some sort of handhold or something.

There's nothing.

The edge of the wall is smooth like a shell.

Like a slate.

It's not easily climbable.

Frantic.

Not knowing what to do.

You turn back to the wall and look up looking for any kind of handhold.

There.

Something seems to be jutting out of the smooth surface.

You take a run and try and jump for it but in your panic you misjudge.

You've gone too fast and your momentum carries you too far and you land in a heap.

The rock monster is only 20 feet away and is pulling itself together after its collision with the rock wall.

You have seconds.

Maybe.

Frantically you look up trying to find the ledge.

There it is.

Pause.

Jump again.

This time you fall short and again fall back to the ground wasting precious time.

Deep breath.

For a moment you imagine the beast from your vision.

The one that told you to run.

You also remember what Elsa told you.

This refocuses you and with final push you bend your legs and leap.

This is it.

Life.

Death.

All of it down to a single burst of energy.

The whole scene plays out in slow motion.

The rock monster untangling itself and pivoting to reach for you.

You jumping higher than you ever have in your life and soaring through the air just as the rock monsters pinchers grab empty air where you were moments before.

There.

Your hand grabs the ledge and you hang swinging back and forth.

Your ribs hurt fiercely enough to remind you of your earlier injury.

Awkwardly you swing your other arm up to grab with both hands.

The first two tries you miss but finally you're able to grab hold.

Below you the rock monster leaps and falls short snarling in frustration.

Again and again it jumps for you and lands just shy of your feet.

How long can you hang on for?

You look around frantically for more handholds.

There are none.

The cliff face is smooth and unclimbable.

It seems hopeless.

There's nowhere to go and only a matter of time before you fatigue or the monster finds a way up.

You don't realize it but you're crying.

Hopeless tears of frustration and loneliness leak out of your eyes and you rest your cheek against the vertical wall.

Once again you are surprised to see Phobos.

It looks like they are also hanging from a cliff escaping their own rock monster still a few hundred yards away.

Briefly you wonder who they are.

Phobos's monster leaps and seems to connect with their feet and just like that your only companion falls and is gone in a heap of dust and destruction.

You never met them but somehow you felt connected.

You close your eyes and feel a sense of helplessness building inside of you.

It's too much.

You should just let go and be done with it.

You close your eyes and just wait for it to end.

But then an image pops into your mind.

A memory from your childhood.

Somebody is leaning over you telling you not to give up.

Just try again.

That little push is all it takes and that same feeling you had when the storm was thrashing your body comes alive.

That stirring in your belly.

That sureness.

That innate belief in your own abilities begins to rise and there clinging desperately to avoid certain doom you open your eyes.

It's not over yet.