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Emotion 365: The Land of Tortured, the Capitol of Despair

In Tortured, everyone’s mouths are sewn shut. Their bones scrape as they walk. Shards of teeth line the streets. Denizens speak to each other via their ghosts. The spirits of those who they have harmed or slighted surround them. Enormous haunts of those wounded or killed howl, whine, and loom over them. 

“I’m surrounded by armies of ghosts,” says the Guide. “No one will go near me. I always eat alone.” 

The denizens of Tortured moan as they walk cradling their bloated bellies which gnaw with hunger. Rocky with teeth, Tortured offers nothing to eat and nothing sweet. 

Visitors arrive in the capitol Despair. They are dropped into it from the air or burrow up from below. Trolls rule Tortured. They can master ghosts with shouts of, “Silence!". 

TheTrolls of Tortured wish to attack nearby lands but high seas surround them and the trolls cannot swim and fear the water. 

"We'll fall in and melt," they whine. 

Their haunted howling scares away flying creatures. No one will land. So the Tortured are trapped.

The largest troll lives in the Castle Despair with an army of ghosts. 

"We sought an audience with Grhomerg, hoping to emancipate some of the denizens of Tortured we met," said Miss Emeline Traveler. "But they could not help us."

"We watched other petitioners leave Castle Depair in worse conditions than when they arrived covered with burns, itching sores, and open wounds and trailing wailing ghosts."

"I can't forget the sounds of scraping stone inside Castle Depair and the air noxious with troll sweat," says Miss Doe Friend. "It overwhelmed me."

"Amma-Pom saved us," says Miss Emeline. "They found the opening behind the troll's throne which leads to a tunnel out of Tortured Despair."

"'Go there! Ignore the troll. Ignore the ghosts. Just go!' I shouted to the line of petitioners before we gratefully and hurriedly took our leave. I hope they heard me. I hope they act. I plan to return one day to help them, but with Doe and Amma-Pom with me, we needed to leave ourselves."


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