In the morning, on a grassy plain, Axachs, the archmage of Alberon, was delving into magic. Suddenly, a strange green mist swept in, rumbling like a raging wave.
Asaks noticed the movement and chanted a mantra and made a wave. After the golden energy wave met with the mist, he unexpectedly broke free of control. It seemed to have life, beating manically in the air, almost like a poisonous snake spitting letters. In the next instant, the golden snake devoured its owner and shot violently into his eyebrows. Asax was knocked to the ground and lost consciousness.
When Asax woke up again, a man covered in magic runes was standing in front of him. He told Asachs that over the past seven years, the world has fallen into ruins. An evil red moon appears in the orbit of the planet, bringing wet and sticky black rain, which in turn breaks the graves of the dead, and countless walking dead roam the land.
The man tells Asachs that he must investigate the secrets of Red Moon and save the world.
An adventure is on the string.
Asachs is a character created by Billy, a Dungeon Master (DM), the host of the board game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Billy can sketch out a world with words and words, and then play a role in it with his friends to embark on one great adventure after another.
Once Billy has conceived the story, the next thing to do is gather his teammates.
He tore off a few pages of notebook and wrote down the story and invitation briefly. Billy hid the piece of paper in the palm of his hand, and as long as it was time to let the wind go, he could bring it to the people in the next cell.
Billy, who was 18 in prison, was a death row inmate — and the people he ran with were also death row inmates.
Maps, dice, etc. drawn by death row inmates, these props allow them to run around the prison
Daylight was mercilessly cut by the grid windows, and shards of glass stuck in Billy's face. Prison guards patrolled outside the iron gate, with a pitch-black baton pinned to their waist and a wandering cap like a pitch-black crow. Cells are single-occupied, the wind is one-on-one, and death row inmates are forbidden to gather outdoors. Under strict management, many prisoners either collapsed before being executed, or went mad, or even lost the idea of living, and applied for early execution.
For the rest, the running was almost the only solace, a brief interlude before heading to the intended finish line.
Billy knew that on April 20, prison guards would impound him in his car, the first time he had gone out in 25 years in his 25 years in prison. When he arrives there, he sits in a cold chair, and the colorless poison slowly pushes through the syringe into his veins. Dark red blood will fill the body with poison like oxygen.
This is the story of Billy and the "Dungeons and Dragons", the story of his atonement, and the story of his life.
Billy's story was first reported by the New York Times, and author Kelly spent 7 years communicating with inmates in the Polensky prison in Texas, USA, documenting the situation of death row inmates - and how they played "Dungeons and Dragons" under strict control and almost obsessively.
In Kelly's view, the death row cell is undoubtedly the harshest environment in the world.
First, the Polensky prison operates in strict solitary confinement, where prisoners cannot sit together. When ordinary people run in groups, they will sit in a circle, laugh and play, which is unimaginable to death row prisoners. They only have 3 opportunities a week and can only go it alone.
Polensky prison gate
There are two occasions for prisoners to run in groups, one is in the row of prisons, squatting and shouting loudly to communicate with the inmates next door.
"I'm going to unleash magic!" One person shouted. The sound was so loud that it could be heard on both floors above and below the cell.
"Then you need to roll the dice." Another voice echoed in the corridor.
Another case is a passing note, which they call a "kite", write the game information on it, and pass it on while the guards are not paying attention or someone is out and about. The news of the dungeon traveled from one cell to another through snowflakes of paper.
This is the compartment where death row prisoners live
Secondly, the necessary props for the running group, including rule books, dice, maps, etc., are all illegal items that are not allowed by the prison management rules. The game itself has a strong element of violence, dice are essential items for gambling, and holding the map may be considered a planned escape.
When the prisoners were imprisoned, all the relevant props were either confiscated or mysteriously disappeared during the security check. They can only craft game items by hand.
For example, hand-drawn battle maps. You can see that there is a scale bar in the lower left corner and a very detailed illustration in the lower right corner.
Handwritten character cards, meticulous hand-typesetting, neat handwriting, and values filled in with pencil for easy modification.
The character's special abilities, common props and magic equipment are also written on the character card.
As for the dice, they drew a circle on the paper, divided it into 20 areas equally, attached a pointer modified from a typewriter part, and rotated it, which became a "small compass" equivalent to the dice.
On Thanksgiving night in 1998, seven death row inmates attempted to escape, a carefully planned escape, with some dedicated to making noise and others cutting wire mesh with stolen hacksaws. In the end, 6 of them were arrested and 1 was found drowned in a river in the woods a week later.
Since then, prisons have been particularly tightly controlled. Although prisoners were able to make props privately, many times they had to play the game without props. A good DM is still up to the task, leading others on adventures even when empty-handed.
Billy is one such DM.
Although Kelly's story about death row inmates running in prison was published in The New York Times, it is worth mentioning that the article was published with the support of a company called the Marshall Project.
According to its website, The Marshall Project is a "nonprofit news organization focused on criminal justice" focused on overseeing the U.S. justice system. This means that Kylie's main purpose in writing this article is to describe the situation of death row inmates and show areas of the U.S. justice system that may need improvement.
Official introduction of the website
And Kelly used to be a felon. After her release from prison, she devoted herself to journalism, reporting on the imperfections of the justice system. In this report, both from the facts reported and the biased literary description, it can actually be seen that for Kelly, she wants the justice system to be more attentive to prisoners, even death row prisoners who have committed serious crimes.
Specifically, this article has two main points. First, Texas manages death row inmates very badly and does not meet the basic needs of inmates. The second, more controversial, is it necessary to execute a prisoner who has been imprisoned at the age of 18 and has spent 25 years in prison?
This article is not intended to provide answers to these questions, because they are abstract and moral, and no one side can convince everyone. Kelly's story is only a tiny part of a long tug-of-war.
But after understanding the background of the article, we can understand why she focuses on "Dungeons and Dragons". Because the game is like a window that can see through the heart, can show the life of the person and his thoughts.
Tabular, hand-drawn level map
Kelly wrote in the article that Billy was a native Texan, tall and grew up in the countryside as a child. His father worked in a factory, and his mother was a caretaker at the local church — sounding like a normal family.
Unfortunately, Billy's childhood was a tragedy. Not only was his father absent from his life, but he was also beaten by his mother with a belt and plastic pipe, and even threatened with a gun at gunpoint by her at the age of 10 for stealing money from the family.
His mother had told him that his father was an alien and that no one but her would love him like this anymore.
Whether it was his father's alien status or the love he only deserved from his mother, Billy was once convinced.
Billy photo taken in prison in 2019
At the age of 18, Billy knocked on the family's door and falsely claimed to borrow a phone. He plots with a girl with an equally broken family to steal a car and fly away. Unfortunately, the other party discovered their attempt and Billy shot the man in the altercation. The two drove south in terror, and two days later, they were arrested by the police; Three months later, Billy was sentenced to death.
Billy spent the rest of his time in prison. Before entering prison, he had never played Dungeons & Dragons, but while in prison, it became a skill he mastered and relied on for a living.
How popular is Dungeons & Dragons in prison? According to one prisoner, he had been drawn into a small circle of former Mexican mafias, who were originally very closed, but after hearing that he could draw, they hoped to bring him into the gang to draw illustrations for them in games.
Simple top-down battle scenes
Storytelling skills will become more proficient, drawing skills will grow with map after map, character cards, and Billy will give his characters new experiences with each adventure he completes. These characters travel the world in the world of pen and paper, gaining knowledge and enjoying absolute freedom.
This is a freedom he hasn't experienced before—not only him, but a large number of people who were imprisoned at the age of 18 and 19 haven't really experienced what life looks like. It was in the world of "Dungeons & Dragons" that they had their own home for the first time, the first time they went to the bank to withdraw money, the first time they went to the shop to buy vehicles... Their lives are frozen from the moment the iron gate closes, but the characters in the game are just waking up.
Billy became familiar with the rules soon after he went to prison and was deeply fascinated, and he later became one of the best DMs in prison. Billy created his own character, Archmage Asax. He wrote countless setting notes and hand-drawn numerous character illustrations.
*For illustrative purposes only, not Billy's work
In Billy's writing, Asax's mother gritted her teeth and worked part-time, doing everything in her power to send him to the prestigious Academy of Magic. There his mentors raised him and his mother's love always supported him. Assax quickly revealed his magical talents, not only controlling simple elements, but also excelling at lightning spells or building walls of fire to devour enemies. Every day, Asachs develops sophisticated weapons in the Carini Magic Guild, hoping to borrow his inventions to end a century war. At night, Asax stepped home on the nightfall and embraced his childhood sweetheart, now his wife.
In fact, Asachs is very much a better living Billy. Billy was best at electrical in high school, and if something in prison broke, he was always the first to think of him, and he was responsive; Asaks happens to be best at manipulating electric currents and inventing gear. Billy had an older brother who died early, and Asax's sister unfortunately died early... However, they are also significantly and sadly different - Asax's mother still loves her son in difficult times, and his skills have brought him a stable life.
Neither of these things Billy has.
Assax never runs away from difficulties. Most importantly, he made the worst choices and did not destroy his life.
"Billy is a 'good guy', that's the consensus of everyone." One prisoner commented.
It's hard to believe that a murderer who attempted to rob a car and shoot an innocent person would be called a "good guy." Especially when such words come from fellow inmates on death row.
The inmate told Kelly that "friends" were a luxury concept at Polensky Prison. Most of the people in prison are notorious villains, trust is a fairy tale for them, and betrayal is the cold norm. However, when Billy is organizing a run, the game always seems quiet and orderly, and even the prisoners have less bickering.
There is also a story set in a modern setting, which is a schematic diagram of a battle on a steamer
When other DMs organize running groups, they always like to get up casually and improvise and disperse. Billy is different, he likes to schedule fixed times, usually every Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m. and end at night break. During the game, the silent men occasionally talk about drugs or family problems, past crimes, and huge black irreparable psychological trauma.
"With Billy, running became a form of psychotherapy." The prisoner concluded.
Props for running groups
The inmate also told Kelly that his mother had died in 2013, a news that saddened him. He no longer had the mind to run in groups, just squatted in prison and cried. At night, he recalls to Billy next door that her mother was a police officer and she was proud of her job, but she later left to become an Atari clerk. He said he remembers the first time his mother took him to the mall to teach him how to use a computer. That was many, many years ago.
As he stopped crying, Billy quietly handed over a few jelly gummies he had saved.
Scientific studies have shown that young adults (e.g., age 18 or 19) change significantly as they grow, and one of the most obvious changes is the prefrontal cortex, a brain supplement structure that processes emotional management and anticipates behavioral consequences and is perfected until age 30, enhancing their ability to process impulsive emotions and restrain out-of-control behavior.
Billy, perhaps, may have repented in prison. The lengthy 25-year prison sentence turned him into a different person than the impulsive, sinister bastard of 18.
Or is the essence of man immutable?
In late 2019, Billy learned of his execution date, April 20, 2020.
Billy fell into depression. This is the evil seed he sowed 25 years ago, and now it has borne sinister fruit. He is powerless to resist the attack of fate, not to mention, killing people to pay for their lives. This is the result he deserves, both morally and legally.
Outside the gates of Polensky Prison
The concept of death had never been so clear to Billy, and after being sentenced to death, the caution with which the law treated death allowed him to prolong his life in prison, but this life was undoubtedly a survival for him. However, after a while, he gradually got used to this countdown life, started playing games, and even made friends in the free world through pen and paper. Billy gradually accepted this life, and even people like him had hope every day. He would look forward to the adventures that followed, and the letters that were dropped into the mailbox from far away.
But now, this gloomy feeling has returned. The date of death is not far away, nor by year, but by month or even day - April 20, the sentence. A huge nausea hit Billy, and there was no point in doing anything. He was also no longer willing to participate in the running group.
One day, two days, three days... Billy spends his time in prison speechless, and his fellow inmates want him to cheer up, so they tell him that the adventure begun by Asaxax must be concluded by Asax. So, Billy and his character opened their eyes again.
Asachs begins to investigate the secrets of the Blood Moon, this time the enemy is unprecedentedly powerful, and he is forced to unleash a secret method on himself in order to gain extraordinary powers, but this requires him to pay an equal price. If he suffers a heavy blow, he runs the risk of self-detonation.
Billy and his teammates have never had such a difficult battle, and no matter how much the dungeon owner tried to let them win this final round, they were mercilessly rejected by the dice - in the running group, if the dice roll 1 point, also known as the "big loser", the player will lose any decision.
The fateful needle turned to 1 point. Asax was knocked down by a heavy blow, followed by a manic surge of immense energy in his body, and an eager sound sounded in his body, first a firm belly, then a broad chest, and a dull crackling sound like fried beans. Asax's body rose and fell uncontrollably, and painful bruises erupted from his face and then spread wildly. With a low roar, then a loud bang, Asax burst like a watermelon, and the blood mist radiated into a huge and regular circle on the sand.
After Assax's death, his teammates also fell. A fresh start was proposed, but Billy knew he wouldn't have time to do it over.
Two weeks later, Billy was executed.
After Billy's death, hundreds of sketches, maps, set sets, etc. were found while sorting through his belongings. They were also surprised to find a neat piece of letter paper among the thickly folded pieces of paper. It was a handwritten apology letter addressed to the victim's son, dated 1997, four years after Billy was imprisoned.
Billy's Relic. The pointer dice on the top left were handmade by him
According to Billy's lawyer, Billy never sent the letter. But at the end of his life, he made up his mind to write another apology letter to send after his death.
Now, the apologies, which were 25 years overdue, along with Billy's death, have reached the families of the victims.
This is the end of Billy's story, and Carlini's Assax, too, closes his eyes forever.
Some of the illustrations are from the web.
Reference Articles:
When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/08/31/dungeons-and-dragons-texas-death-row-tdcj