Second Bible Study

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{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Arial;}{\f1\fnil Constantia;}}
{\colortbl ;\red215\green215\blue215;}
{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2510;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa150\sl0\slmult0\cf1\f0\fs24 # Notes\par
* These could be mission areas like in Guild Wars, so exploration is limited. If player wants to go wrong way, he can just scrape the back door or go forward. \par
* Areas have party limit? Only so many available at a time?\par
* Delphine is quiet due to being slightly uncomfortable with English.\par
* Darkness is actually dark so lights and nightvision are needed\par
## The Mall is Haunted\par
It's very late. Cassia was just getting ready to go to bed. There's a knock at the door. The player answers. Blythe stands confidently in the entrance.\par
Cassia: "Uh, hey, Blythe. What are you up to...?"\par
Blythe: It's Halloween Eve! I already explained this. We have a sleepover at the mall and see who gets scared and leaves first. It's just so awesome you came when you did so you can go with us. Hurry up and change. I can't wait to see the look on your face.\par
Cassia: You were serious? It's so late...\par
Blythe: That's the point. It's not scary if it's not late. Oh come on. You chickening out? \par
Ren walks up. \par
Cassia: Ren, you, too?\par
Ren: I guess I have to.\par
>I'm not going\par
Blythe: Don't be a killjoy. Your teen years are your time to rebel. Once you're older, you won't feel like it anymore.\par
Ren: I think you should once, Cassia.\par
>Why should I?\par
Ren: I think you should go. The mall is haunted and most people don't even know. You should see it for yourself at least once.\par
Blythe: Don't make me drag you over there.\par
>Isn't it trespassing?\par
Blythe: Are you actually scared to break the law here? You realize my dad is the sheriff and the force is just glorified mall cops, right? If you get caught once or twice, they'll just tell your parents to ground you. There's no one on duty today anyways because Mr. Policeman is having family drama or whatever at home. That's what you're afraid of.\par
>There's no way it's haunted\par
Ren: It seriously is.\par
>Who else is going?\par
Us, Delphine, and Angel.\par
>Okay, I am going\par
Ren: (Slightly concerned)\par
Blythe: Alright! You're awesome, you know that? You're going to be so scared you'll run right back here anyways.\par
Blythe leads Ren and Cassia to the mall's back entrance.\par
Blythe: "Don't worry about it, I switched the security footage. I know my dad's password." She unlocks the door. "I also copied his key. Wait. Cassia, you don't know unlock magic, do you? That could have been cool. Oh well, let's go in. And be quiet."\par
Cassia and Ren go inside after Blythe. \par
"Hey, guys," Angel whispers in the darkness.\par
"Hey," Blythe replies. "I brought Cassia and Ren. You ready?"\par
Delphine flips a flashlight on and hands some out to everyone.\par
"Thanks," Ren says.\par
Angel: It's Cassia's first time, so she's the leader. Go ahead and explore. We'll follow you.\par
Ren: Be careful, though. Go slow.\par
Everybody joins the player's party. They follow behind and have AI behavior when party attacked. They are on guard.\par
The room is dark, but the flashlights illuminate the area around them. They can also use light magic. They entered through a back security office with a desk, lots of notes, some monitors, and a chair. It's crowded.\par
The door leads out into the back hallway, which connects to the shipping & packaging bay, another office, a supply closet, a nice bathroom. The way to the mall is marked and obvious. The closer you get to the mall, the clearer you can hear monsters. When the player uses the door to exit into the mall, the party stops her to chat.\par
Ren: You hear that, don't you? You ready to see what we were talking about?\par
Delphine: Those are monsters unlike the forest creatures. \par
>Is it safe?\par
Angel: No...probably not. No one has ever gotten hurt, though. Sometimes we do have to fight, though. Are you ready?\par
>Let's go\par
>I changed my mind!\par
Blythe bursts throught the door. "Then I'll be leader next!"\par
The mall is as it usually is, but dark. Monsters are heard. Everyone crowds around the door, peering out. The player can walk out when ready.\par
Delphine: Guys, something isn't right.\par
Ren: They're huge...\par
Cassia and the party have to fight their way out. This gives the player experience managing a party for the first time. Delphine flashes a light by chance onto the pit. They escape outside.\par
Blythe: I had no idea it would be like that! I am so sorry!\par
Delphine: Those were not the monsters from before. These are worse.\par
Angel: Is everyone alright?\par
Ren: Yeah, I think so. Um, usually, the mall is full of these tiny slimes. I mean, they attack you, but it's mostly just gross. Honestly, they're really cute, like puppy kisses. Those were serious monsters, though. If they get out, then the town would be at risk.\par
Delphine: I was seeing a hole where they were coming from. It was never there before.\par
Ren: A hole? Like a door or a pit or what?\par
Delphine: Like a chasm. or pit.\par
Blythe: What are you talking about? There's nothing like that in the mall. Could the floor really collapse like that and have no one notice.\par
Angel: I'm glad Mr. Policeman isn't here today...He would have gotten hurt, huh?\par
Ren: Yeah...\par
Angel: What do we do about it?\par
Blythe: Yeah, my dad wouldn't be a lot of help...Honestly, your dad would be better for this, Angel. And honestly, I can't admit to knowing about this stuff. Can you imagine how freaked out and concerned my dad would be? All of your parents, honestly.\par
Angel: It would help the police prepare a response, though.\par
Blythe: Are you serious? Your mom would be the most freaked out in town. And I'm not going to choose a scapegoat out of you guys. If Night was here, I'd be down on pinning it on him and his weird experiments. But he doesn't even know about this stuff and would never cooperate anyways. "His reputation! The childishness of it. You're not going to convince me of foolishness."\par
Ren: Your impression is actually pretty good. Sorry, um, Night's a good guy. I think he'd provide clandestine assistance if he was convinced of the necessity of it. And this is pretty severe.\par
Angel: Are we really going to deal with this ourselves just because we're afraid of adults?\par
>Obviously we must take matters into our own hands.\par
Angel: Okay. Well, I'll protect you no matter what. \par
Blythe: Of course! You're our guardian angel, of course.\par
Ren: Sasuga, Guardian Angel-chan.\par
Delphine: We can't take matters yet. We must prepare.\par
Blythe: You're right, but, like, how? We all buy weapons, we all buy gear? That's going to look so suspicious.\par
Delphine: We can order online.\par
Angel: Yeah, I mean, we're going into the next year of school and have been using the same gear since middle school. Yours in particular is really, Ren. If we go shopping as friends, I don't think anyone would put too much though into it.\par
Blythe: Maybe you're right. Well, let's arrange a time to shop together.\par
Angel: I guess I'll start a group text the day after tomorrow. For now, let's get back home without anyone noticing. \par
## Halloween\par
## The Day After Halloween\par
In the morning, Cassia receives a group text. \par
Angel: <<Happy Halloween, everyone! I'm tired of my old gear and want the real thing now. I told my mom, and she thinks I'm ready for real stuff, too. Does anyone want to go shopping with me?>>\par
Blythe: <<yes!!>>\par
Delphine: <<i'll go, too.>>\par
Ren: <<Yeah, I talked to my dad about getting new gear, too, and he said he's proud I'm taking initiative and becoming a young man.>>\par
Angel: <<oh gosh...>>\par
Blythe: <<lol>>\par
Ren: <<Yeah...He gave me more than enough, so I'll help cover you guys, too.>>\par
Delphine: <<Cassia? You're coming, too?>>\par
>Of course!\par
Angel: Then meet us at the mall!\par
Angel, Blythe, Delphine, Ren, and Cassia meet at the mall. \par
Ren: First let's pool our money. Cassia, you're still the leader, right? You pick everything out for us. \par
Angel: Cassia hasn't shopped for weapons yet, so let me explain. There are a couple of blacksmiths in the region, as well as traveling merchants who bring in foreign weapons. If the options aren't looking so good, you can describe what you're looking for to Auric, and he'll try to find something. Otherwise, we'll have to look online, which is less fun.\par
Ren: It doesn't matter either way. We just need better gear.\par
Angel: Yeah. Let's go.\par
Angel leads everyone to the combat gear shop.\par
Auric: Hey, kids. Getting ready for summer school?\par
Ren: Pretty much.\par
Auric: I'm used to seeing the police and travelers suiting up here. It's good to see the next generation taking interest in defense. You're all high schoolers now, huh?\par
Angel: That's right!\par
Auric: Well, I can sell you more training gear if your old stuff's wearing down. I think you're getting old enough that you should be using the real stuff, though.\par
Blythe: Really?\par
Auric: Of course. You know, I was using sharpened swords when I was a toddler, but you can't do that anymore in today's society. High school is more than responsible enough. Tell me what you need and I'll show you my best.\par
Screen transitions to Auric and the merchant panel. By default, the selected panel is the weapon that corresponds to the character's primary class.\par
If you switch to a \par
## Shop\par
## Meet Rune\par
\par
\f1\par
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goal: establish that Aries cares about Helia
<Helia! You came. Cool.
>Yeah. I don't think it would take much to get me up to speed.
<Nah, you got this.
<Let's see...
<You've got the basics.
<Your DPS is pretty low.
<Your weapon and gear doesn't really match your job.
<Here, you can borrow this sword. Give it back whenever, don't feel pressure about it.
<Now then. You should prioritize this skill, use skills more often, whatever.
<Would you like to spar? Or you need some time on the practice dummy?
>Let's spar!
<Sure, let's go.
<Hey, you're improving.
>Think so?
<Yeah, I won't flatter you.
>With practice, you'll learn.
>Eh, that wasn't your best.
>You'll get it. Keep trying.
<I'm giving up for now...
>Okay.
<So- how do you like sparring?
>I come here looking for you.
<...(raised eyebrows)
<Yeah? If you don't like gym stuff, you won't impress me by forcing it, you know?
<I like when a girl has her own interests.
>Oh, this is awkward. No, I don't really like the gym.
<Don't worry about it. It's forgotten.
<(if dating) Do I not take you out enough?
<(else) Hmm. Want to meet at the park tomorrow?
>Yeah!
<Cool. Text ya then. Later.
>It's exciting.
<Heh. I didn't think yankees were into that kind of stuff. You're pretty cool.
>I've never done it before.
<Well, it's not just exercise, you know. If you're ever in danger, it's a lot better if you can defend yourself instead of hoping someone else will save you.
>Is that important to you? Surely that is never necessary here. It seems so safe and slow.
<It's just a self-sufficiency thing.
<I know you're a far way away from your family and don't really know anyone.
<I'd just feel like you're safer if I know you can defend yourself.
>I'm fine!
<You could stand to learn more.
>Oh...I appreciate the training.
<Yeah, they can only teach so much at school. A lot of this comes from doing it.
>No...I'd rather not, honestly.
<But you train anyway! That's pretty admirable.
<A lot of people say they love it, but I never see them practicing.
>You know, I never feel like working out before I get here.
<You? Really?
>Oh yes. I have to force it. It feels good once I've started, but breaking the inertia.
<That's funny. Is everyone like that, then?
>Probably not. Probably just us. (smiles slyly)

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<Oh-? What are you looking for here? (at the library, chance meeting)
>It's a quiet place to be.
<I know what you mean. But I won't bother you.
>No- let's chat.
(go to tables)
<I'm not doing anything particularly interesting, either.

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<!--201001,201010-->
<h1>how other people design blogs</h1>
september 2, 2020
web design<br>
<br>
Blogs are difficult to design, since theres a lot of information to present, most of which needs to be visually deemphasized next to the actual blog posts.<br>
<br>
I dont follow active blogs right now besides maybe <a href="https://www.justonecookbook.com/">Just One Cookbook</a>. In lieu of favorites, Im looking at examples from <a href="https://makeawebsitehub.com/examples-of-blogs/">Examples of Blogs Inspiration for New Bloggers</a>, straight from the top two first page Google results. They are going to be SEO in the flesh, but the principles are worth observing.<br>
<br>
(I'm not making money off this article, just critiquing or educating or whatever 'free use' thing. But just in case I'm not allowed to share screenshots of other blogs, I redrew them.)</br>
<br>
<h2>Keep Reading</h2>
How do you make the “keep reading” button obvious? <br>
<br>
“Keep Reading…,” “Continue >>,” etc, are all long words and phrases. ▶ reminds me too much of the Youtube play-button and audiovisual media in general. How do the professionals do it? <br>
<br>
<a href="https://skintdad.co.uk/">Skint Dad<a/> uses something Ive definitely seen a lot: A stock photo link with a clickbait-style headline which is also a link. Stark, direct, no matter what you click on is driving you straight to the article.<br>
<br>
<img src="/static/img/ent/snippet1.png"><br>
(stock photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@snowjam?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ethan McArthur</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/pounds?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>)<br>
<br>
You can do it with color, like <a href="https://www.miss-thrifty.co.uk/">Miss Thrifty</a>'s red &gt;&gt;.<br>
<br>
<img src="/static/img/ent/snippet2.png"><br>
(stock photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@calypso999?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Raul Varzar on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>)<br>
<br>
<a href="https://cupofjo.com/">Cup of Jo</a>'s snippets are very large, almost filling the screen. The headline, picture, and 'read more' are all links to the article. Links are highlighted with color, all-caps, italics, sizes, or font changes. There's also a link to the category (RELATIONSHIPS), a comment section, and different social media outlets for reposting the article.<br>
<br>
<img src="/static/img/ent/snippet3.png"><br>
(stock photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@tchompalov?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Vlad Tchompalov</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>)<br>
<br>
<br>
<h2>Article</h2>
Since Skint Dad represents the 2020 SEO-optimized blog look really well, Ill refer to him again for his article layout.
Check out those SEO keyword navigation links.
Line by line…
• Big headline
• Pale name, date, and a journalistic integrity disclaimer
• An in-your-face newsletter link color box because you gotta be building that mailing list. (Personally, I like getting infrequent newsletters from anticipated games, but newsletters are definitely a marketers darling in all industries and are going to be featured in one of the biggest, most brightly colored, bribe-laden pop-up boxes on any website. Like all things SEO, they apparently have really good conversion rates or whatever, but cumulatively overtime across the internet they are formulaic and more concerned with leading search engine interests and statistics than creative, individualistic user demand.)
Surprise! This Skint Dad writer is a she. :)
KnowTechie has another common layout. The categorys up above the headline. Putting tags in a pale, italicized font under the headline or article or using them more as categories in color-coded boxes above the headline is a good idea for presentation. More article snippets are clustered along the side and bottom without distracting too much from the article. I think its very suitable for tons of content related by theme, as opposed to using a timeline for small amounts of chronological content, but its still a nice idea.
A Cup of Jo
Theres more white-space, but theres still lots of similar elements from busier sites. The category is above the headline, the timestamp and social media sharing links are below the article between two thin red lines. Theres links to subcategories of the articles category on the side bar and snippets of related articles below the article.
The sidebar is pretty narrow and focuses more on text and small icons than big pictures, so it holds a lot of info without making the page look as dense as other sites. It has a link to the writers about page, a newsletter sign-up box, social media links, a trending articles box, related subcategory boxes, and a disclosure box.
Theres also tons of comments, all under the article. I might want comments later, but for now, I dont want to have to monitor all the user content under all the articles. As much as I like seeing what people have to say, I probably wouldnt have many genuine comments to begin with. I have no context for how many weird scam bots or whatever Id have to delete, though, especially since I wouldnt want to use Captchas or accounts unless I have to. Its better just to let it go until I have more experience and people interested in commenting anyways. If people really want to comment, I guess they would find my Twitter or email anyways, so its not really closing off communication too bad.
I never really see these writer boxes or related posts under dev diaries. I wonder if they are a good idea? Im going to be the sole contributor for now. Maybe a guest post or something might make sense here and there. If I got a publisher or expanded my team or something really shakes up blessfrey, I bet other people would be contributing. For now, though, its just me.
Leyla is not the sole writer, so seeing her specific background probably helps with understanding whether they want to seek out her articles more often as opposed to the other Motherhood Diaries writers. Blessfrey doesnt have a lot of choices. You either enjoy reading my articles or you try another one of the countless dev blogs out there.
Although blessfrey has one writer, it does have lots of projects. I see a lot of value to anyone reading a random blog post to be able to see a summary of the particular project. Following Motherhood Diaries, I could even have a tab for latest posts related to that project. Ill write about blessfrey mostly, but I probably will write about Cat Store, CheeryOS, game jams, and other projects at some point. A little About the Project box would help bring readers up to speed in a few sentences. If they want more, they can then go read the full About the Game page.
If someone really wants to see a write-up about me, I hope a dev section on the presskit page is adequate. Its so awkward to write about yourself.
Ideas
Instead of a mundane daily blog bloating my article count and creating the need for multiple pages of snippets per month, I can do a weekly roundup. Days of value can be pulled out, as well as well-written articles for other devs, but I doubt Ill ever go over like 10 or something, which isnt too bad.
Also, I need a presskit page. Why did I not think about that? So much less embarrassing than an “About Me” page, too.

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<h1>lucrest, a player home based on my home </h1>
february 10, 2022<br>
#game-design #setting #lucrest<br>
<br>
<br>
<h2>quick overview of blessfrey's game world </h2><br>
Blessfrey takes place between two worlds: the southern American town of Lucrest and the underground world of Blessfrey. This week, I'll explain the concept behind Lucrest, then on the 24th CST, I'll tackle Blessfrey. <br>
<br>
<h2>the only game set in the modern-day deep south </h2><br>
Most of the worlds I make in creative writing are on the fantastical side, but Lucrest is quite mundane in comparison. It's more or less representative of a typical town, complete with a shopping center, school, church, a neighborhood, and some natural beauty. It's perfect for filling with my real experiences growing up with other people, places, and things. Looking around at other games, though, it seems like a little portal into suburban Deep South life could be somewhat novel. <br>
<br>
Japanese media presents endless amounts of interesting tidbits of Japanese culture, and this window into another culture is part of what draws me in. English games feel the same way. I understand so many English cultural references because I was exposed to them through RuneScape growing up. I wonder if American-set games alienate but intrigue other people in a similar way? American culture has dominated all media channels for ages, so maybe everyone's sick of us by now, but the vast amount of broadcasts show L.A. or NYC culture anyway. American-set games are similarly narrow in how much of our country they display. I'm not even sure there's much to learn about us from games in general, since I've played countless US-based shooters that massively de-emphasize setting, characters, and mundane situations. Some are so generalized you can't even tell what city they are modeled after. This could just be my experience, though. I've played games with richly detailed settings, too, like Bloodlines's L.A, Mafia II's 1950s urban east coast, and all the Night in the Woods's and Life is Strange's out there. None of these are set in my region, though, and America is so patchwork that I've picked up on tiny cultural differences in each of these titles. <br>
<br>
There's an urban vs rural divide, but there's also a regional divide. Game writers favor other regions heavily then collapse the entire South to Louisiana and Florida, which are both geographically southern but culturally divergent with stronger historic ties to France and Spain respectively than the English derivative Deep South. Wikipedia agrees. In their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_set_in_the_United_States_by_state">list of games by state</a>, California, Alaska, the West, and the D.C. metropolitan area dominate American representation. It's not like the Deep South is the most romanticized setting, but, excluding Miami, I'm only seeing an Assassin Creed game, a Hitman game, Left 4 Dead, a Call of Juarez game, and The Walking Dead series. Most of those are too historical or post-apocalyptic to really count, either. Alabama is the least favored by writers all states: only one <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability">notable</a> game, a random sports game from 1995, while Mississippi only has three. <br>
<br>
(Honestly, seeing the stats surprises me. I always thought the patrician world where the Age of Chivalry took its last bow was just as plausible a setting for a bunch of knight errants doing quests as tired ole' medieval Europe. The Antebellum South has swords and farmers and pirates and tradesmen and everything RuneScape has, so why not? And with all the DOS-era games based on books, nobody tackled Gone with the Wind? And is there not more than one Civil War game out there when there are how many tens of random war games released every year?) <br>
<br>
<h3>what's there to do in lucrest? </h3>
Functionally, it will have story events and side quests, but it will mainly serve as the hub for recovering and gearing up between dungeon crawls. I think of it as Torchlight a lot. (At least, the hub from the first game.) As for the smaller details that will be nested into the environment and character interactions, it may end up realizing some of my old game designs. <br>
<br>
This isn't my first iteration of game world that's more of a personal diary for things I encountered growing up. I spend a lot of my middle school years filling out a GDD for a game named after the fictional neighborhood it was set in. The protagonist was Walker, a girl who she ripped out all the pages of her diary in a moment of grief and set them to the wind. All you did was walk around, watch events, collect diary pages, and do some basic puzzle-solving. There's an entire subdivision to explore, each neighborhood with its own flair and obstacles. As you collect diary pages, you unlock a clearer image of who Walker is and why she was sad. At the time, I was inspired by Tale-of-Tales, especially The Path and The Graveyard, but similar genres have since emerged like walking simulators and whatever those Slenderman collect-all-the-pieces-of-paper games were. The only remnant I have left of the game is an old <a href="https://sixthview.tumblr.com/">tumblr blog</a>. If only Unity went free earlier; I would totally be sharing an broken demo instead of a moodboard with a broken theme. <br>
<br>
<center><img src="/static/img/ent/sixth_view.png" alt="(image: a screenshot of my old game project moodboard. There's flowers, home gardens, fortune-tellers, cute girls, fairy rings, polaroid cameras, and meandering prose about Walker's encounters in her neighborhood. Overall, the writing was meant to evoke Kafka or Sisyphus, like how she watches a boy recreate a Michelangelo masterwork in sidewalk chalk, only for the first drop of rain to fall on it as he finishes the last stroke. Deep stuff.)" width="500" height="551.19"></center> <br>
<br>
Sixth View's gameplay is really basic, the narrative is really linear, and a lot of it is middle school cringe, but there's a tiny glimpse of Lucrest in there. Like Sixth View neighbors, Blessfrey townspeople are going to be drawing with sidewalk chalk, having yard sales, playing Concentration 64 and Big Booty, painting clear nail polish over chiggers, avoiding water serpents in the brook, doing Bible drills, folding fortune-tellers, having class in portable classrooms, playing I Spy or license plate games, finding golden orb weavers in their gardens, my mom scaring me with stories about Wampus Cat, wondering why pairs of shoes end up hung over telephone lines and trees, wearing clover crowns, making sock monkeys, blowing dandelion puffs, VBS, finding arrowheads in the river, playing four square, cutting through cotton fields, and all the stuff I think of when I think of my childhood. <br>
<br>
The GDD it probably won't be like is the RuneScape clone set in the Antebellum South (because you know like all 90s kids, I had at least 3 RuneScape clone GDDs saved in WordPad). I wish I had a scrap of any of those GDDs because they're probably funnier to pick apart than Sixth View. <br>
<br>
Last updated January 16, 2022
<br>

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<h1>designing a fantasy game world: where do I even start?</h1>
february 2, 2022<br>
#design #mechanic #blessfrey<br>
<br>
<br>
<h2>quick overview of blessfrey's game world </h2><br>
Blessfrey takes place between two worlds: the southern American town of Lucrest and the underground world of Blessfrey. Last week, I explained the concept behind Lucrest, and now I'm tackling Blessfrey. <br>
<br>
<h2>blessfrey, the fantastical </h2><br>
Blessfrey is functionally a vast, unknown world full of exploration, combat, gathering, and plot-driving discoveries. This is where the real game takes place, though the overworld is a nice safe place for getting your bearings. It's populated by multiple uncontacted cultures, so artistically, it's a chance to do whatever I want without having to ground it firmly in real world logic. <br>
<br>
That also makes Blessfrey a white sheet of paper. With Lucrest, I can model society and all its components after my own. In fact, the more I lean on my local surroundings, the <em>more</em> unique the setting will be. With Blessfrey, I don't have a lot to start with. <br>
<br>
The earliest vision of the setting illutrated Blessfrey as a vast world under Lucrest. In Podunk, Alabama, you shouldn't expect more than farmland, a general store, and a church, but rural Lucrest florished under its current mayor beyond believability, stocking all the luxuries and exotic goods you would expect from a big city, albeit at a tiny scale and population. Tourism off-sets a little, but the local population doesn't support all this - the mayor propped up the entire local economy through conquering a pocket of Blessfrey and establishing it as a secret micro mercantilist colony. <br>
<br>
Initially, Blessfrey was defined by Lucrest's needs, and the impulse doesn't go far beyond "subterranean" and "alien." It needs to have rich natural resources equal to a nation to solely support a town. It needs a full-bodied manufacturing and supply chain. (In contrast, the town will have next-to-zero above ground areas dedicated to industry.) It needs a population that can be subjugated and perform labor. It also needs a population that would seldom be seen by anyone above ground. <br>
<br>
However, Blessfrey existed long before Lucrest. The mayor learned about it through Civil War era historical records, so it was technologically advanced 150 years old ago, while Lucrest is a small Alabama town and couldn't have been <em>founded</em> much earlier than that. The world, or at least the region beneath the town, is positioned to be culturally rich, visually intricate, and descended from a comprehensive history. Since this is a game, I don't need a worldbuilding bible to rival the real Bible, but there needs to be enough to support a cast of characters, a host of locations, story events, and a general sense of depth for the players. Where do I start? <br>
<br>
<h3>character-driven approach </h3>
The first Blessfreian I designed was the main cast member Rune. He's a young castaway of his people living in the buffer zone between civilization and the outside world. His class is the first special class the player will encounter. The humans will have access to the expected RPG classes: melee, magic, ranged, healing, etc, but Rune and the other subterranean people will have different and apparently more powerful classes: teleporting, shape-shifting, mind reading, time manipulation, etc. He's pale, thin, very tall, with expressionless red eyes. He also has rigid keratin horns that blend into his dark hair, a little like G-Dragon from the Monster video.<br>
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He's intended to be a project for the player, like a Princess Maker ward, Geralt's adoptive son in The Witcher 2, Brother Martin in the original kingmaker concept for Oblivion, or Shandra Jerro in Neverwinter Nights 2 if you could multiclass her. You can turn him away or take him in and train him up, critically branching the game's trajectory. He'll start out undersocialized, monosyllabic, and ignorant of most of the world, and hopefully the player helps him to become human, expressive, and capable. <br>
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<center><iframe width="560" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/btDd9rOlc2k" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>
<img src="/static/img/ent/G-Dragon_Monster.jpg" alt="(image: G-Dragon's hair from Big Bang's Monster music video.)" width="500" height="504.92"></center> <br>
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Rune is a member of a dominant Blessfreian race, so this gives me some ideas what the rest will look and act like and possibly even some ideas about the prevailing culture. Semi-rigid keratin horns made from hair is a trait the race can have, and every member can have a different style. Rune's are long and curve harshly to rest on his head like a halo, while GD's are short and slightly curved at the top. Individualized horns make me think of Homestuck, which isn't my favorite webcomic, but honestly most horned races offer this variety. Rune's an outcast, so there's a potential in-group/out-group culture at play here, be it resulting from legal disputes, religion, or his personal appearance. It's also possible his society would find his abandonment reprehensible, and it's due to a negligent mother or tragic accident. <br>
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<h3>environment-driven approach </h3>
Just because a world is underground doesn't mean it has to be all caves or hellscapes. If I do learn on the familarity of spelunking through local caverns here, though, it gives me a foothold. There's crystals, bottomless pits, and underground waterfalls and rivers. There's solutional caves, tectonic caves, and volcanic caves. There's eyeless fish, bats, and cave swallows. People have built mines, entire cities, escape routes, secret passageways, and metros underground. Certain indigenous people groups have lived underground or tell stories of ancestors who once did. <br>
<br>
I can also be inspired by what is <em>not</em> underground. The sun, passage of day to night, weather patterns, seasons, star patterns, migration patterns, fresh air, chlorophyll, and countless other things don't fit as logically into an isolated subterranean civilization. <br>
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Using these reference points, I can start piecing together a world. How is time measured? The concept of an hourglasses still works, but rotation-derived hours do not. What is the fashion? Perhaps roots, asbestos, or fine metallic threads dominate over animal derived fibers...unless they use their own hair. If this isn't a vast inner world but rather cavernous pockets, how is their waste managed? Do they have designated dumping tunnels or use bottomless pits? <br>
<br>
<h3>genre-driven approach </h3>
I can refer to others who explored the concept of an inner world. <br>
<br>
As for games, I already mentioned Torchlight, which isn't too dissimilar to Blessfrey, with a town supported by a dungeon that involves some other worldly power. Persona 3 exists between two worlds, an ordinary Japanese town and the shadow dungeon Tartarus that only appears in the school at a certain time of night. SMT IV is set in an apparently Edojidai Japanese town with a demon-filled dungeon. <br>
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As for entirely subterranean games, Arx Fatalis is an apocalyptic game where the world's population was driven underground and their war continues. <a href="https://www.gog.com/game/avernum_the_complete_saga">Avernum</a> is an prison planet game (like Gothic), but the prisoners are kicked through a portal that leads somewhere underground, a place inhabited by prisoners, hostile subterranean natives, dragons, and lots of mushroom-based life like trees and cows. I think Wizardry and Ultima Underworld games take place in an underworld, too, but I've never played them lol. There's also infinite JRPG dungeoncrawlers out there, of which I've played very few. <br>
<br>
For books, there's endless iterations of this idea. I'll guess Divine Comedy or Journey to the Center of the Earth are the most famous, but there's a full genre of hollow earth exploration written by sci-fi authors, pseudoscientists, theosophists, followers of Eastern philosophies, and schizophrenics. I've read a few of these already, like <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32825">William R. Bradshaw's The Goddess of Atvatabar and <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57426">Ingersoll Lockwood's Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey</a>. Poe and C. S. Lewis have incorporated this idea into their books, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and The Silver Chair. The youth fiction series Artemis Fowl featured an magical underground world full of fairies. There's also the manga Made In Abyss and all the countless dungeoncrawl, dungeon isekai genres out there. <br>
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Subterranean worlds also appear in myth and folklore. Hades, Patala, Shamballa, Jigoku, some of the Norse 'heims. The Tuatha Dé Danann live underground, and so do dwarves, asura, and naga. The Hopi people originated from underground, and so did the Lakota, Navajo, Apache, and Zuni. It's possible Eden is underground now. <br>
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Plenty of reference material. Each has its own interpretation of a giant dungeon, which can spur questions about Blessfrey's worldbuilding. Why does the dungeon exist? How does it interacts with the surface world, and why did surface-dwellers explore it? Who lives there, and what factions are at play? What's at the bottom of the dungeon? Some of them get pretty deep, asking what the dungeon represents and how it mirrors the surface world. <br>
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<h3>altogether </h3>
Designing a fantasy world, like the subterranean world of Blessfrey, from scratch can feel like an overwhelming blank on a page. If you're already in the midst of writing your story or designing your game, the page might not be as blank as you think. I have a surface world that has active and prior interaction with this fantasy one. I have a character who lives in this world. <br>
<br>
Also merely by placing it underground, that connects my world to a wealth of material to reference. Analyzing other worlds will begin to fill your once blank page with questions to answer. You can always skip this step and jump straight into a <a href="https://ellenbrockediting.com/worldbuilding-bible-template/">pre-made questionnaire</a>, but building off of other entries in your genre is an inspiring personal process to undergo that will tip you off to audience expectations. Whether you serve them or deconstruct them is up to you. <br>
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At the end of the day, what will really draw your players into your game are fun levels that make clever use of your game's mechanics and your characters. If all your world does is justify a crowd-pleasing level and favorite character, it's perfectly adequate. After all, an almost lore-less released game is more successful than an epic-length worldbuilding bible with less than a demo to show for it. <br>
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Good luck worldbuilding!
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Last updated January 16, 2022
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<h1>factions</h1>
march 24, 2022<br>
#factions <br>
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<br>
<h2>out of the norm </h2><br>
RPGs are all about the stats that define their characters. The values of each stat are constantly being jostled around by buffs, debuffs, enchanted equipment, environmental effects, and perks. If you allow each <br>
<br>
<h2>when does a character become hostile? </h2><br>
NPCs generally will not seek out the player for combat. They will either stand stationary or follow their patrol route, oblivious of the player until becoming hostile. <br>
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Usually, if an NPC is hostile, that means a threat got too close. Currently, proximities in Blessfrey mirror <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxemics">Edward T. Hall's zoning</a> for interpersonal distances. Intimate distance is the range for physical interaction and melee attacks and social distance is the range for assessing hostility and ranged attacks. <br>
<center><img src="/static/img/ent/Personal_Space.svg" alt="(image: A visualization of proxemics by WebHamster of Wikipedia. Around someone are 4 concentric circles with varying diameters: within 25 feet is their public space, 12 feet is their social space, 4 feet is their personal space, and 1.5 feet is their intimate space.)" width="500" height="267.72"></center>
(By <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:WebHamster" title="User:WebHamster";>WebHamster</a> - <span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0" title="Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6147809">Link</a>) <br>
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Last updated January 12, 2022
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<h1>defining the major jobs in blessfrey </h1>
february 10, 2022<br>
#game-design #jobs<br>
<br>
<br>
<h2>the basics </h2><br>
RPG classes are called "jobs" in Blessfrey. Characters will have a primary job, but they will have limited access to other jobs through multiclassing. It's similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. I think it's cute to call secondary job a "side job." <br>
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<h2>job requirements </h2><br>
Guild Wars and Magic: The Gathering are my main inspirations for Blessfrey's game mechanics. I had trouble getting into other MMORPGs after Guild Wars. Others have so many mechanics, classes, levels, consumables, and levels of equipment that they begin to feel so chaotic, random, and unlearnable, or (even worse) the meta's so obvious that players only use a 1% of the content doesn't matter because there's a
, and all your successes are owed to time, micro-transaction money, and RNG. Guild Wars
because they are never as tight in their design or allow player skill to shine as often. In contrast with standard MMOs with more class ArenaNet self-labels their game as a CORPG (competitive online role-playing game), so it's not surprising it plays so differently. Guild Wars, especially before expansions started coming out. <br>
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<h2>lucrest, the mundane </h2><br>
Lucrest is more or less representative of a typical town, with a shopping center, school, church, a neighborhood, and some natural beauty. Functionally, it will have story events and side quests, but it will mainly serve as the hub for recovering and gearing up between dungeon crawls. I think of it as Torchlight a lot. (At least, the hub from the first game.) Artistically, it's an opportunity to work with what's familiar to me. <br>
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I think it's a chance to do something a little different in a game, too. I learn lots of interesting little tidbits of Japanese culture through Japanese media, but I feel like my day-to-day life and childhood rarely come up in games with American settings. Some games do have detailed settings, like Bloodlines's L.A, Mafia II's generalized 1950s east coast, and all the Night in the Woods's, Life is Strange's, and David Cage games out there, but America is so patchwork that I enjoy them for their cultural differences as much as I do for their cultural simularities. <br>
<br>
This is due to an urban vs rural divide, but it's also a regional divide. Writers favor other regions heavily, then limit the South to Louisiana and Florida, which are both geographically southern but culturally divergent with stronger ties to France and Spain respectively than the English derivative Deep South. Wikipedia agrees. In their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_set_in_the_United_States_by_state">list of games by state</a>, California, Alaska, the West, and the D.C. metropolitan area dominate American representation. It's not like the Deep South is the most romanticized setting, but there's only 1 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability">notable</a> game in Alabama for me to compete with, and it's a sports game. <br>
<br>
Really, I just want to put the things meaningful to me and my world in this game, good and bad. Looking around, though, it seems like a little portal into suburban Alabamian life could be novel. <br>
<br>
<h3>what's there to do in alabama? </h3>
This isn't my first iteration of game world that's more of a personal diary for things I encountered growing up. I spend a lot of my middle school years filling out a GDD for a game named after the fictional neighborhood it was set in. The protagonist was Walker, a girl who she ripped out all the pages of her diary in a moment of grief and set them to the wind. All you did was walk around, watch events, collect diary pages, and do some basic puzzle-solving. There's an entire subdivision to explore, each neighborhood with its own flair and obstacles. As you collect diary pages, you unlock a clearer image of who Walker is and why she was sad. At the time, I was inspired by Tale-of-Tales, especially The Path and The Graveyard, but similar genres have since emerged like walking simulators and whatever those Slenderman collect-all-the-pieces-of-paper games were. The only remnant I have left of the game is an old <a href="https://sixthview.tumblr.com/">tumblr blog</a>. If only Unity went free earlier; I would totally be sharing an broken demo instead of a moodboard with a broken theme. <br>
<br>
<center><img src="/static/img/ent/sixth_view.png" alt="(image: a screenshot of my old game project moodboard. There's flowers, home gardens, fortune-tellers, cute girls, fairy rings, polaroid cameras, and meandering prose about Walker's encounters in her neighborhood. Overall, the writing was meant to evoke Kafka or Sisyphus, like how she watches a boy recreate a Michelangelo masterwork in sidewalk chalk, only for the first drop of rain to fall on it as he finishes the last stroke. Deep stuff.)" width="500" height="551.19"></center> <br>
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Sixth View's gameplay is really basic, the narrative is really linear, and a lot of it is middle school cringe, but there's a tiny glimpse of Lucrest in there. Like Sixth View neighbors, Blessfrey townspeople are going to be drawing with sidewalk chalk, having yard sales, playing Concentration 64 and Big Booty, painting clear nail polish over chiggers, avoiding water serpents in the brook, doing Bible drills, folding fortune-tellers, finding golden orb weavers in their gardens, wondering why pairs of shoes were hung over telephone lines and trees, wearing clover crowns, making sock monkeys, blowing dandelion puffs, finding arrowheads in the river, four square, cutting through cotton fields, and all the stuff I think of when I think of home. <br>
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Last updated January 16, 2022
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setup
handler_setup
set_process(true)
handler_setup(user)
attack hander = res.instance()
add_child(handler)
MB.subscribe("attacked", handler)
user.connect("hit", self, "handle attack result", [0, user])
user.connect("hit", ai, "hit")
handler teardown
disconnect signals
handler.queue_free

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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2510;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa150\sl0\slmult0\cf1\f0\fs24 # 1\par
\tab Silver, predatory eyes burned in the dark, locked with hers. She froze as prey without escape. All was dark, motionless, and silent, as though the world ceased to exist outside of the glint of sinister intelligence before her. He stepped forward and paused, breaking eye contact to look over her body with unnerving possession. In turn, she examined him. Moonlight revealed the cut of his jaw and long, thick hair. His face was barely perceptible apart from the intensity of his eyes. His eyes locked with hers once more. \par
\tab "Cassarah."\par
\tab She was absolutely paralyzed now, her heart plunging. She clinged to his eyes, waiting. He took another step. He towered over her now. Large, blocky fingers met her jaw. She howled desperately to alert anyone but nothing came. She struggled, attempting to jump back, talk, move her finger, communicate in any possible way her distress. Nothing came. She really has been paralyzed. What is this!\par
\tab "You can't move." \par
\tab He knows? What is this! \par
\tab The predator relaxed, resting his elbow on the bed next to her head. He was very near now and speaking more quietly.\par
\tab "You are scared," he said with self-satisfaction. "I am just guessing, though. I don't know what you are thinking."\par
\tab He pulled back her covers and ran his fingers along the outer curve of her body. Then he grabbed part of her belly. She was mortified.\par
\tab "Too fat. You're past the point of softness and just look overfed. It all goes to that solid round belly," he said as he patted it. "How unlucky. You would look a lot better if the fat favored your breasts and hips and you weren't so short. That's not important to me, though."\par
\tab He crawled on top of her, and she realizes he is completely naked. She waits in resignation as he unbuttons the front of her gown. Like a flash, he turned rough. His fingers were inside her, clawing and digging. His large firm body felt overpowering, but there was no way to howl, fight, or flee outside her mind. Her heart felt ready to explode in protest with any attempt at moving, even the tip of her finger. She could not even breathe. \par
# 2\par
\tab Cassarah threw up. It came in big, reaking chunks and covered her sheets and nightgown. She was torn and excrutiating \i down there\i0 . She had never been particularly conscious of her privates apart from the mild sensation of washing with soap during her shower. She would not dare look yet. She was filthy and naked. She went to the shower. Her eyes caught hers. She paused at the mirror, a bit horrified and not quite recognizing herself. She balanced on the edge of the shower area and turned the hot water knob. She held her hand in the running water, waiting for it to warm. Every time she blinked, those gray eyes were back. She had to know.\par
\tab Stepping out, dripping and shivering, she returned to her bedroom. The cover and sheets were everywhere, as if she had struggled all night. Vomit colored them orange in nasty globs. Ripping her eyes away, she looked at the window to fit it neatly locked and shuttered. Her closet is empty with shoes and hung garments. The patio door was also locked with no evidence of tampering. The front door was locked and deadbolted. Her kitchen window, her balcony, her bathroom, her walls, her floors, everything was as she left it. Her keys were tidly hanging on their hook. No sign of trespassing existed except the disheveled bed. Cassarah paused. \i No sign of escape existed either.\i0\par
\tab Cassarah held her breath and listened to the apartment. Besides the guassian fall of water through the wall, could she hear anything? Surely if he was here, she could. Surely she should have seen him in her earlier search! The man was huge. Where could he possibly hide in her little room?\par
\tab With no apparent entrance, no apparent exit, and complete lack of presence, Cassarah felt her first pangs of doubt. He was handsome with an envious body, too. It was so dark, but she could tell. Even if he was capable of pulling off this perfect crime, why would he? The scenario made less sense. \i It couldn't have been a dream--could it?\i0 \par
\tab Lost, confused, reaking, and in twisting pain, she retreated to the shower to cry bitterly.\par
# 3\par
\tab Cassarah stood in front of the open refrigerator, staring at its empty shelves. She was tired of living off of snack cakes and fruits all weekend and craved protein and oil. If only she had gone grocery shopping on Thursday with Katherine like she planned. Dr. Jaron did not even show up to the meeting, so it was a waste of time to go. She did not want to go out right now. She just wanted to curl up and play petsites all day. She really did not want to go out. Ordering pizza might be better, but the idea of inviting a stranger to her doorstep required too much bravery. She got ready to go out. After all, this was the only thing she needed to do today. \par
\tab Her closet still smelled a little like vomit. Would boiling a potpourri help? She quickly picked through the buttons, sheer layers, and lace-ups and settled on a belted denim maxi dress. It was the easiest thing she owned. She tossed on a car coat, booties, and shoulder bag before giving herself one last peptalk in the mirror. \i It's just the grocery store.\i0\par
\tab No one was out in the hallways or by the mail boxes. She breathed a sigh of relief. Once she was outside, her mood brightened significantly. The sun was out and happily shining, though it provided virtually no warmth. The wind kept blowing her hair out of place, but it was not so bad. Most importantly, everyone was gone. The parkinglot was less than half full. Everyone always goes home on holidays. The students who stay tend to be the sort locked up in their rooms with study material and are quiet and unassuming when they go out. That, or they are foreigners without a reasonable opportunity to visit their families. Neither group bothered her. \par
\tab The rustle of trees, the crunch of dead leaves underfoot, and the occasional unhurried car provided a grounding soundscape. How silly that this is the world she had been hiding from all weekend. Across the street, there were two tables of friends seated outside the bar. Their inoffensive chatter was comforting. They looked happy.\par
\tab The grocery store's parkinglot was also half-empty. When the students leave town, the stores usually put up their best discounts in celebration. As Cassarah pittered her buggy down the aisles, a little pressured by the sales prices. It was the best time to stock up on basics, but she only planned to spend a few minutes here. She ended up putting a month's worth of pasta, eggs, rice, oil, water, and frozen vegetables in her cart among some snacks, soap, toilet paper, and cuts of beef. It all looked so good, and she looked forward to having a full refrigerator again. She didn't feel like cooking right now, though, so she grabbed a few microwave meals, too. She went through self-checkout to avoid the overly talkative staff.\par
\tab How am I going to carry all this? She forgot she walked here. If only she had brought her car. After returning the buggy, and distributed the weight between her hands and marched back. \par
\tab ** Embarrassed and feeling fat with all the groceries. Bad thing sours her mood worse. **\par
\tab She plopped her bags at her front door and hesitated at the lock. Circling the facade, she discovered nothing out of order. Sighing, she unlocked the door and lugged in her groceries. As she sorted them, she became lost in thought about him. His eyes, the pain, his words, the apparent impossibility of his entry...\par
\tab "I must be crazy."\par
\tab ** Another day of lounging, self-talk, and awkwardness passes. Does she have any duties? Flashcards, studying, projects, etc. How do they tie into the theme? **\par
\tab She glimpsed at the clock again: 12:35 A.M. For a break with plenty of time left to finish her project, she should be in bed by now. The word processor will still be here in the morning. She brushed her teeth and crawled into bed. Every time she closed her eyes, she was looking back into his eyes. If she shifted in the sheets, she swore he had just brushed her skin. The next few hours were another round of trying to keep her eyes closed for more than a minute without hopping out of bed and turning on the light. \par
\tab "Maybe I should get a gun for self-defense."\par
\tab When she did fall asleep, it crept over her so stealthily she felt she had not slept at all. Nights passed, and she felt more comfortable in her skin again. \par
# 4\par
\tab ** Chandrakant thinks he is just preying on a random girl, but he has some weird desire to return to her night after night. He usually could care less about his victims once he got the burst of life energy he needed from them, but he observed Cassarah from the spiritual dimension as he troubledly thought over this. Virgins are the freshest and most desirable source, so he never returns to a victim. Cassarah is his first repeat victim. He spent a long time trying to talk himself out of visiting her again while he visited her neighbors and friends. He is a little superstitious that he may be falling in love or just fell into some unintelligible fetish or compulsive behavior. Either way, he is confused and frustrated with this change in his approach to his prey, whom he viewed no more as food that can be played with - similar to the way a cat approaches its prey. **\par
\tab "I've watched you these past nights. You've been looking everywhere for me."\par
\tab Cassarah's eyes shot open. He had returned - leaning over her bed. She screamed, but it was all the same as the first night. She couldn't move; she couldn't breathe!\par
\tab "Don't struggle. Have you not realized you're paralyzed yet? You look relaxed to outsiders looking in. No one would understand the torment you go through to see me. I don't understand how you call me so strongly. I enjoyed our last visit, but let's be honest - you are nothing special."\par
\tab He looked troubled for a minute. \par
\tab "My name is Chandrakant.\par
\tab "So who do you think I am, I wonder. You haven't reported me, so you must not take it very seriously. You must have turned the blame inward, calling it a wet dream or hallucination. Or have you been scared of me? Did you think I would come after you? You are lucky either way, saving yourself the embarrassment. No one can find me unless I let them."\par
\tab He pulled off her cover and popped the snaps off her gown, one by one. \par
\tab "You've been a wreck this week. There isn't a need for it. Just relax and enjoy. I'll take it slow this time and make you like it. I don't think I can stay away."\par
\tab ** Chandrakant is an incubus who needs life energy extracted through intercourse. Funwa is a baku who needs dream energy to live. Dreams manifest as dreams, ideas, thoughts. Funwa can hollow a person out, leaving them without drive or social capacity. He, too, was drawn to Cassarah's burning light of life energy and passion. However, when he finds an incubus, essentially a rival at the watering hole, he immediately challenges him. Funwa wants Cassarah to himself. He doesn't think deeply on how peculiar her energy signature is until later. For now, she seems to be in an easy position to be sweettalked into letting him stay and hollow her out. Only until she has noticeably hollowed him out will he realize the dual nature of her enticement and ability to destry, like a sweet honey venus flytrap. **\par
\tab "Back off, demon!" \par
\tab The man froze in place. The voice emerged from the dark. Cassarah saw no one in the dark but couldn't turn her head to look better. His form was unknown, but the voice was silly like a clown who was trying to sound theatrically brave and strong for his audience.\par
\tab "You're right to fear me. I can erase every mark you've made on the earth."\par
\tab He whipped around to face some invisible foe then jumped back.\par
\tab "Baku? You eat dreams, not spirits. If anything, you would aide me by removing this girl's memory of us. What more can a baku do than make people forget?"\par
\tab "I'm not a dream-eater anymore; I eat malevolent spirits now. Cross me, and I'll devour you, too. I'll hunt every last one of you night demons to extinction. Making people forget is powerful."\par
\tab Chandrakant screamed and threw his whole body into a punch, ending with a weighty thud. After regaining his balance, he stomped down hard on the ground. Cassarah's eyes were adjusting, and she caught a glimpse of Chandrakant's broad, dark shoulders and a second, smaller figure. And with a flash, Chandrakant was on the ground, howling and scrambling. \par
\tab "You castrated me!"\par
\tab ** Chandrakant has become the castrated incubus. He essentially lost his ability to eat and will starve at the present moment, growing weaker and weaker until death. He is going to have to go to the spirit hospital and hope for a transplant or IV. Taking Cassarah's sexual energy was perfect for preventing her growing until she eclipses society. Funwa can't take her sexual energy without a special penis, so he's in danger the longer he stays around her. **\par
\tab Cassarah's heart lunged. The baku was not playing around. \par
\tab "Yet you live! Be gone and redeem yourself."\par
\tab Chandrakant slinked away, out of Cassarah's line of sight. In his place, the smaller man came over to her.\par
\tab He looked over her nakedness, dazed for a second. She was able to catch a glimpse of his pointy little face and narrow shoulders. Then she woke up, alone once again.\par
\tab "What can be done about these nightmares?" \par
\tab She had woken up clothed again in her gown and tucked into the sheets. He must have done this.\par
# 5\par
\tab "I want to talk to you."\par
\tab Cassarah slowly woke up to yet another man leaning over her bed.\par
\tab "Good, you're not scared. Uh, I'm Funwa. I'm the guy from, you know--earlier."\par
\tab Cassarah sat up against her headboard.\par
\tab "Hello, Funwa. I'm Cassarah."\par
\tab "Nice! So that guy was an incubus. You were in a lot of danger, a lot more than your chastity. I don't think he'll be able to come after you anymore, but I can't guarantee he's the only one hunting you."\par
\tab "What do you mean? I've never seen anything like this before. What do they want?"\par
\tab Funwa paused before answering.\par
\tab "I don't understand them very well. I scouted all night and found one more to send back to hell."\par
\tab "Why have you come here? What do you want?"\par
\tab "I hunt demons. I hunt anything that poses a threat to humans. I have something to ask, though."\par
\tab "What is it?"\par
\tab "Can I stay with you?"\par
\tab "What?"\par
\tab Funwa sat down criss-cross on her rug.\par
\tab "I don't think it's safe for you. You need someone to protect you. You draw those demons like a magnet, so it would make it far easier on me to hunt them down."\par
\tab "There really will be more?"\par
\tab "I think so."\par
\tab "Why are you doing this?"\par
\tab "I'm a slayer. Please assist me. This benefits everyone."\par
\tab "I'm not sure. How exactly would you stay here?"\par
\tab "I'm a baku. I don't need anything. I want to bind to this area to ambush demons."\par
\tab "Maybe." \par
\tab "It's for the best. I'll leave once it's safe for the community. You don't just draw incubi to yourself but to those close to you, too. It's sick and needs to end now."\par
\tab Cassarah drifted back to sleep.\par
\tab ** She wakes up to find Funwa, a little tapir curled in the corner, snoring and cooing adorably. Cassarah's apartment does not allow pets over 50 pounds, and she was pretty sure whatever he is must be exotic and probably illegal in her state. Having a guy staying in her apartment would probably be harder to explain, though, to her family and friends. **\par
\tab She woke up again, alone, not immediately remembering the previous night. Every muscle in her body was completely relaxed, allowing her to sink into the mattress in a way she usually is too tense to imagine. The light trickled in through the window in soft gentle mist. She lay there taking it in. She grabbed her phone from the charging tray and checked her messages. None, as always. If only she could get up and return to this perfect state of serenity when she lay back down because she needed some coffee. Resigned to her fate, she turned to get up and jumped on top of the mattress. Her foot brushed fur. \par
\tab Peering back down, she let out a gentle gasp. Before her, wrapped into a fat leathery ball was a massive pig with a stark white back and deformed, overly elongated face. It stirred, blinking then looking up.\par
\tab "Oh, you're up. It's just me - Funwa."\par
\tab "You're who? So you shapeshift?"\par
\tab "Yes, but into nothing else."\par
\tab "You're a--tapir. Right?"\par
\tab "Of course. I told you I'm a baku."\par
\tab Cassarah was slightly troubled by this. Her realtor only allowed pets under 50 pounds. On top of that, tapirs probably fall under some heavily regulated exotic pet classification which was probably illegal pretty much anywhere in America. Of course, a strange man living with her would be just about as hard to explain if anyone she actually knew found out. \par
\tab "You thinking about something, Cassarah? Tell me how you're feeling."\par
\tab "I don't know how you could get away with 'binding here' or whatever. I'm sorry, but there are so many rules about pets and roommates here."\par
\tab "Is that so?" Funwa's voice was confusingly dismissive. He seems amused by her concern. "As part of my work, I enter homes all the time without notice."\par
\tab ** Funwa, Chandrakant, and all spirits are invisible to humans. Funwa and Chandrakant both are a little shocked and unnerved that Cassarah can see them with apparent clarity (as opposed to 'just the wind' or 'strange creaking hall' or 'moving shadow'). Chandrakant doesn't think too heavily as his needs are simple and unburdened. Funwa is a little concerned, though, that she may be some kind of spirit entity or otherwise special person gifted with an unintelligible ability. If it goes deeper than 'better perception than usually possible for humans,' (prophets and artists sometimes can see directly into the spiritual dimension) then she may pose a threat. He is afraid to let her out of his sight but unsure what to do in case of new developments. He feels an uneasy anxiety but is capable of maintaining his clownish demeanor for now. **\par
\tab "No one ever sees you?"\par
\tab "No," Funwa chirped. "I work in secret."\par
\tab "Why do you come out in the open for me, then?"\par
\tab Funwa hummed. "Why did that demon come out in the open for you? He left me with few choices which would have allowed me to live without guilt."\par
\tab "They don't usually?"\par
\tab "No, incubi don't. Have you never read myths or urban legends about women being raped by dark shadows or evil mist? The most physical accounts are usually so surreal and deformed that they barely qualify."\par
\tab "So incubi usually look like that? Just...like a human, I guess."\par
\tab "Are you disappointed? We all share the same Maker."\par
\tab "...God?"\par
\tab "Yeah...Well...Don't you have classes or something?"\par
\tab "It's the break. You know about school?"\par
\tab "Of course I do. I hunt incubi, so my work intersects with daily human life very often."\par
\tab Cassarah was intrigued by her new roommate. Not only does she get to hang out with this supernatural being, but she has such an open and communicable one at that!\par
\tab "I want to ask you so many questions...That's probably rude."\par
\tab "I want to stay here," Funwa grinned. "That's probably rude. Can we not trade rudeness?"\par
\tab Cassarah went over to her kitchen and started brewing her coffee. Do baku drink coffee? Cassarah was intrigued. Funwa came up behind her in human form.\par
\tab "Do you want some?"\par
\tab "I might..."\par
\tab Cassarah's eyes widened. \par
\tab "What kind do you want?" She asked with wide eyes.\par
\tab "Something astringent. A darker roast."\par
\tab She giggled.\par
\tab "I just have a chocolate blend."\par
\tab They both laughed then Funwa said that was fine. She made two cups and poured his into her guest mug - she maybe only used it three times before. They both sat down at her little table with their mugs on coasters. Cassarah did not touch her coffee yet. She stared at Funwa, curious at how he would drink her coffee and receive it. With anticipation building in Cassarah, he cupped his hands around the hot mug, raised it to his nose, and breathed in the aroma.\par
\tab "Any sugar or milk?"\par
\tab "No..."\par
\tab Funwa blew over the ripping surface then took a sip. His face wrinkled up, and he spit it out.\par
\tab "It's terrible? Oh no! I'm so sorry, Funwa. Do you want something else?"\par
\tab "No no! It's...I didn't expect it. Why do you stare like that?"\par
\tab "It's interesting! You drink coffee."\par
\tab "I am just learning. I've never actually had coffee. I've just watched others."\par
\tab "Oh. I did that, too, my first time. Coffee is an acquired taste, you know? I guess you just need a lot of coffee then. Sugar and milk makes it easier to drink. Here," she pushed over a tray of sugar cubes and a little carafe of milk.\par
\tab This time, it went down much easier. As he was thoughtfully sipping the coffee, she ventured a more serious question.\par
\tab "...Do you really eat spirits, or is that an expression?"\par
\tab "I do."\line\tab Funwa did not feel like explaining further, so he deemed two words enough. This silly person in front of her has killed persons who seem conscious, possessive of free will, and in command of their personality. Cassarah nodded. She has accepted quite a hardened character into her home. It seemed he was not so open as she thought. What secrets could this guy be hiding and was he a danger to her? If he is a threat, how could she get him to leave? He already forced his way here. He probably will continue not to take no for an answer. The best she could do is be cautious.\par
\tab "Don't make that face! I was just kidding. Bakus don't eat dreams, either. We just help you forget them--the bad dreams, of course."\line\tab ** People need nightmares and scary stories like the Grimm Tales, don't they? What if baku were like the Undertale mom and don't allow humans to come into danger, foolishly hurting them but with the best of intentions? **\par
\tab "You bit off his penis."\par
\tab "Oh-oh, no, that's right. I do eat spirits. The bad ones, of course. I'm not a monster."\par
\tab Cassarah just watched him.\par
\tab "To preserve justice, you have to be a little monstrous. St. George beheaded a dragon, but he did so to save a girl. I will do anything it takes."\par
\tab Cassarah was beginning to wonder how many speeches she would have to hear about justice.\par
\par
\tab\par
\tab\par
\tab\f1\par
}

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Dearest Mother and Father,
Are you doing well?
I've always been your most capable and gifted son, so I know you would never worry about me. Regardless, I felt it would be right to write to you during this rare recess.
It's true I've dropped out of the University. I'm well aware the headmaster has probably contacted you, but he likely made me out to be a villain or slacker or worse. You know me,
[center][b]headstrong, forceful, god-like power of Rally + Eliminate[/b]
_________________________[/center]
An Arcane University dropout to whom magic comes naturally and study does not. His effortless mastery of the most powerful spells feeds into his superiority complex over those with lesser abilities, which included his professors. He was distinctly unpopular among his classmates, not that he cared, and was perpetually getting into fights at school. Among teachers, he snubbed constant waves of criticism over his lack of restraint. They even had to intervene in several cases to prevent extensive property damage.
Despite the extreme disruptions to the university, Calder was allowed to study for a full three semesters. His classmates are certain it's because he's the headmaster's son, which amplified their animosity towards him. The headmaster could only shield him from the consequences of his explosive episodes for so long, however. Outright setting fire to the university was a crime judged by federal jurisdiction, not the board of directors.
Calder, now disowned by his father and summoned to a court heavily stacked against him, had nothing to lose. Before tucking his tail and running, he burned down the courthouse. Fire being his favorite weapon of chaos and destruction, he traveled to the Ashfall Waste, where they surely are less sensitive about little fire fights.
It turns out, the Fire Flight is even less impressed by conflagration. After accidentally burning the exterior of The Angry Angel, Lise has demanded repayment. After initially blowing her off, fire war veteran Heath roped him in to doing his portion of chores and acting as the night guard.
He has a natural rivalry with Sand, who has deep respect for magic and has devoted his life up until this point to its study. Both Calder's genius aptitude for magic and blasé disregard for its effects haunted Sand as power beyond control. While Sand was a perfect image of a scholar with a dear love for his books and warnings. Heath indirectly attempts to separate them as much as possible to prevent any possible clashes.
[center]_________________________
[b]someday...[/b]
[outfit=1193073][outfit=1194028]
[item=will o' the ember][item=gossamer flame tail jewel][item=starseer's emblem][item=gossamer silk scarf][/center]

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but why the mire of all places? it's /filthy/
i thought you were all powerful
those frogs are enormous, you simply can't comprehend
you fight kamaitachi all day but you can't take down a simple frog?
I can! at least, the water ones sometimes. the fire ones are enough to make Arcanist himself cry!
That's right! Fire's the best!!
Who's side are you on?
what are you wearing?
today's mire drops
(Bloodscale Shoulder Guards, woodsdrake cape, bloodscale chest guard, bloodscale greaves, swamp kelpie mane)
Calder wearing t-shirt CAN'T AIM FOR SHIT
and you brought ALL of them home?
How could I not! They were giving me the puppy eyes. (do they even have eyes?)
well we can't keep them. we'll have to figure out something.
(dagmar at baldwin, face in shadow. Excellent! Another ingredient for the brew)

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Dress for the job you want, she recited as she rummaged through Cat Man's closet. She nuzzled against tweed, monks cloth, camel hair, admiring the exquisite tailoring and designers. A plaid particularly caught her nose, drenched in the warm nostalgic smell of Cat Man. She made her selection. She dressed before his mirror, posing and grooming. The spitting image of an executive, she fancied. Once the shareholders take a look at this, they will insist upon her. The sudden intrusion of delicate footsteps and trademark Cat Man scent burst her delusions. The other cat is coming. Her hair raised in a spiky stripe across her back as tiny bits of spit flew. She hates other cats. Panic thrust her into Cat Man's bedroom. Her scrambling escape toppled a tower of hundred dollar bills, now a disorientating cloud of green. A ray of sanctuary light overcame the cloud, tracing a path to the window. She leapt, unlatched, and jumped, money trailing.
Dress for the job you want, she recited as she rummaged through Cat Man's closet. She nuzzled against tweed, monks cloth, and camel hair, admiring the exquisite tailoring and designers. A plaid particularly caught her nose, drenched in the nostalgic smell of Cat Man. She made her selection. She dressed before his mirror, posing and grooming. The spitting image of an executive, she fancied. Once the shareholders take a look at this, they will insist upon her. The sudden intrusion of delicate footsteps and trademark Cat Man scent burst her delusions. The other cat is coming. Her hair raised in a spiky row across her back as tiny bits of spit flew. She hates other cats. Panic thrust her into Cat Man's bedroom. Her scrambling escape toppled a tower of hundred dollar bills, now a disorientating cloud of green. A ray of sanctuary light overcame the cloud, tracing a path to the window. She leapt, unlatched, and jumped, money trailing.
The shareholders called him cute today. The client was especially charmed by his presentation, despite being delivered beneath a table. Board members kept reaching out to stroke his neck. As the hands came toward him, he leaned away. Negotiations with the big players while trying to avoid being seen was exhausting. He impatiently watched as the elevator counted up to the moment he could rest. Upon arrival, he noted the open window and toppled stacks of hundred dollar bills. Drowsily, he ignored the warning. The caressing breeze was not unwelcome anyways. In his sleep, the gentle breeze stirred into a storm, sucking his wealth out the window of his penthouse and into the street below. With a crack of thunder, Cat Man awakened, too late for anything but spectating. As his last dollar slipped away, he uttered a low moan heard throughout the city: "MY MONEY!" If you find any loose dollars, you must return them to Cat Man. It is his money.
The shareholders called him cute today. The client was especially charmed by his presentation, despite being delivered beneath a table. Board members kept reaching out to stroke his neck. As the hands came toward him, he leaned away. Negotiations with big players while trying to avoid being seen is exhausting. He impatiently watched as the elevator counted up to the moment he could rest. Upon arrival, he noted the open window and toppled stacks of hundred dollar bills. Drowsily, he ignored the warning. The caressing breeze was not unwelcome anyways. In his sleep, the breeze stirred into a storm, sucking his wealth out the window of his penthouse and into the street below. With a crack of thunder, Cat Man awakened, too late for anything but spectating. As his last dollar slipped away, he uttered a low moan heard throughout the city: "MY MONEY!" If you find any loose dollars, you must return them to Cat Man. It is his money.

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Dress for the job you want, she recited as she rummaged through Cat Man's closet. She nuzzled against tweed, monks cloth, camel hair, admiring the exquisite tailoring and designers. A plaid particularly caught her nose, drenched in the warm nostalgic smell of Cat Man. She made her selection. She dressed before his mirror, posing and grooming. The spitting image of an executive, she fancied. Once the shareholders take a look at this, they will insist upon her. The sudden intrusion of delicate footsteps and trademark Cat Man scent burst her delusions. The other cat is coming. Her hair raised in a spiky stripe across her back as tiny bits of spit flew. She hates other cats. Panic thrust her into Cat Man's bedroom. Her scrambling escape toppled a tower of hundred dollar bills, now a disorientating cloud of green. A ray of sanctuary light overcame the cloud, tracing a path to the window. She leapt, unlatched, and jumped, money trailing.
Dress for the job you want, she recited as she rummaged through Cat Man's closet. She nuzzled against tweed, monks cloth, and camel hair, admiring the exquisite tailoring and designers. A plaid particularly caught her nose, drenched in the nostalgic smell of Cat Man. She made her selection. She dressed before his mirror, posing and grooming. The spitting image of an executive, she fancied. Once the shareholders take a look at this, they will insist upon her. The sudden intrusion of delicate footsteps and trademark Cat Man scent burst her delusions. The other cat is coming. Her hair raised in a spiky row across her back as tiny bits of spit flew. She hates other cats. Panic thrust her into Cat Man's bedroom. Her scrambling escape toppled a tower of hundred dollar bills, now a disorientating cloud of green. A ray of sanctuary light overcame the cloud, tracing a path to the window. She leapt, unlatched, and jumped, money trailing.
The shareholders called him cute today. The client was especially charmed by his presentation, despite being delivered beneath a table. Board members kept reaching out to stroke his neck. As the hands came toward him, he leaned away. Negotiations with the big players while trying to avoid being seen was exhausting. He impatiently watched as the elevator counted up to the moment he could rest. Upon arrival, he noted the open window and toppled stacks of hundred dollar bills. Drowsily, he ignored the warning. The caressing breeze was not unwelcome anyways. In his sleep, the gentle breeze stirred into a storm, sucking his wealth out the window of his penthouse and into the street below. With a crack of thunder, Cat Man awakened, too late for anything but spectating. As his last dollar slipped away, he uttered a low moan heard throughout the city: "MY MONEY!" If you find any loose dollars, you must return them to Cat Man. It is his money.
The shareholders called him cute today. The client was especially charmed by his presentation, despite being delivered beneath a table. Board members kept reaching out to stroke his neck. As the hands came toward him, he leaned away. Negotiations with big players while trying to avoid being seen is exhausting. He impatiently watched as the elevator counted up to the moment he could rest. Upon arrival, he noted the open window and toppled stacks of hundred dollar bills. Drowsily, he ignored the warning. The caressing breeze was not unwelcome anyways. In his sleep, the breeze stirred into a storm, sucking his wealth out the window of his penthouse and into the street below. With a crack of thunder, Cat Man awakened, too late for anything but spectating. As his last dollar slipped away, he uttered a low moan heard throughout the city: "MY MONEY!" If you find any loose dollars, you must return them to Cat Man. It is his money.
A cat who is also a man. He works a 9 to 5 office job doing the work. He makes 6 figures and lives in a penthouse. One day, he left the window open as he usually does but a strong updraft sucked all his money out the window. Devastated, he let out a mournful cry: "MY MONEY....!!!" Now he travels the land in search of his lost money. If you find any loose dollars, you must return them to Cat Man. It is his money.
The shareholders called him cute today. The client was especially charmed by his presentation, even if he delivered it from under the table. Board members kept reaching out to stroke his neck. As the hands came toward him, he leaned away. The moment all eyes looked away, he dashed back to his apartment to try to fit his 15 hours of sleep in. Upon arrival, he noted the open window and toppled stacks of hundred dollar bills. Drowsily, he ignored the warning, welcoming the caressing breeze. In his sleep, the breeze stirred into a storm, sucking his wealth out the window of his penthouse and into the street below. With a crack of thunder, Cat Man awakened, too late for anything but spectating. As his last dollar slipped away, he uttered a low moan heard throughout the city: "MY MONEY!" Now Cat Man roams the city, scavenging enough of his net worth to afford rent. If you find any loose dollars, you must return them to Cat Man. It is his money.
The shareholders called him cute today. The client was charmed by his presentation. All the board members wanted to stroke his neck. 10 years of hard work was finally paying off. And he did it all for the attention. The moment all eyes looked away, he dashed back to his penthouse to try to fit in his daily 15 hours of sleep. Inside, he crawled past the open windows and toppled stacks of his hundred dollar bills. He ignored the warning, drowsily welcoming the caressing breeze. During his nap, the breeze stirred into a storm, blowing all his money out the window. Cat Man woke too late for anything but spectating. As his last dollar slipped away, he uttered a low moan heard throughout the city: "MY MONEY!" Now Cat Man roams the city, scavenging enough of his net worth to afford next month's rent. If you find any loose dollars, you must return them to Cat Man. It is his money.
She is so bad at talking face-to-face, she needs email to talk to her own family. Her specialty is computers, especially programming. She is actually a famous blogger with over 1 million followers, and works on updates day and night to grow her audience even more. On the other hand, she's basically an indoor-type who is obsessed with MMOs. Even though her name is Anko, she despises anko bean paste. Her favorite is spicy food.
A hoshimori so bad at talking face-to-face, she needs email to talk to her own family. However, she is an expert at using computers with programming as her specialty. She is actually a famous blogger with over 1 million followers, and works on updates day and night to grow her audience even more. On the other hand, she's basically an indoor-type who is obsessed with MMOs. Even though her name is Anko, she despises anko bean paste. Her favorite food is spicy food. cv. Yumi Uchiyama

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Trace Reynolds
<br><b>Meaning:</b> <i>without guile or deception.</i>
<br><b>Gender:</b> Female
<br><b>Birthday:</b> December 24 (Capricorn cuspal with Sagittarius)
<br><b>Age:</b> 17
<br><b>Relationship Status:</b> Single
<br>
<br><b>Physical</b>
<br><b>Physique:</b> Slim and short
<br><b>Complexion:</b> Pale with dark hair and eyes
<br><b>Hair:</b> Thick, dark red hair worn choppy and short.
<br><b>Eyes:</b> Brown
<br><b>Notable Features:</b> Poor posture
<br><b>Style:</b> Loose-fit, classic colors, jeans, bomber jackets
<br><b>Dominant Hand:</b> Right
<br><b>Health:</b> Good
<br>
<br><b>Psychology</b>
<br><b>Voice:</b> Reticent, soft-spoken, often mutters under breath.
<br><b>Quirks:</b> Pulls eyelashes out and picks at herself when bored
<br><b>Temperament:</b> Generally friendly but a little aloof. Easily intimidated by unnecessarily aggressive behavior.
<br><b>Positive Traits:</b> Diligent, practical attitude. Lots of patience.
<br><b>Talents:</b> Good student
<br><b>Negative Traits:</b> Stubborn, overly protective of her possessions
<br><b>Flaws:</b>
<br><b>Motivation:</b> Self-driven
<br><b>Sense of Humor:</b> Sardonic
<br><b>private, quiet, follower, organised, cautious, solo, pessimist, introvert, listener, serious</b>
<br>
<br><b>Preferences</b>
<br><b>Likes:</b>
<br><b>Dislikes:</b>
<br><b>Most at Ease:</b>
<br><b>Fears:</b>
<br><b>Dream:</b>
<br><b>Regret:</b>
<br><b>Secret:</b>
<br><b>Favorite color:</b>
<br><b>Quote:</b>
<br><b>Hobbies:</b>
<br><b>Theme song:</b>
<br><b>Favorite Things:</b>
<br><b>Priorities:</b>
<br>
<br><b>Background</b>
<br><b>Childhood:</b>
<br><b>Social Class:</b>
<br><b>Education:</b>
<br><b>Best Qualification:</b>
<br><b>First Memory:</b>
<br><b>Worst Memory:</b>
<br><b>Most Influenced by:</b>
<br><b>Role Models:</b>
<br><b>Residence:</b>
<br><b>Dream Residence:</b>
<br>
<br><b>Relationships</b>
<br><b>Mother:</b>
<br><b>Father:</b>
<br><b>Siblings:</b>
<br><b>Children:</b>
<br><b>Pets:</b>
<br><b>Partner:</b>
<br><b>Previous Relationships:</b>
<br><b>Relationship to Others:</b>
<br><b>First Impression:</b>
<br><b>Completely Breaks:</b>
<br><b>Best Thing in Life:</b>
<br><b>Worst Thing in Life:</b>
<br>
<br><b>Philosophies</b>
<br><b>Life:</b>
<br><b>Death:</b>
<br><b>Love:</b>
<br><b>Sex:</b>
<br><b>Family:</b>
<br><b>Friends:</b>
<br><b>Politics:</b>
<br><b>Religion:</b>
<br><b>Work:</b>
<br><b>Money:</b>
<br><b>Alcohol & Drugs:</b>
<br><b>Body Modification:</b>
<br>
<br><b>Combat</b>
<br><b>Ability:</b>
<br><b>Weapon Proficiencies:</b>
<br><b>Weakness:</b>
<br><b>Strength:</b>
<br>
<br><b>Personality</b>
<br><b>Greatest Source of Strength:</b>
<br><b>Greatest Weakness:</b>
<br><b>Soft Spot:</b>
<br><b>Biggest Insecurity:</b>
<br><b>7 Deadly Sins Fights:</b> greed, pride
<br><b>7 Deadly Sins Gives into:</b> sloth, wrath
<br><b>7 Virtues Has:</b> chastity, abstinence, diligence, patience
<br><b>7 Virtues Fights:</b> kindness, humility
<br>
<br><b>Self-Perception</b>
<br><b>How your character feels about herself:</b>
<br><b>Three words your character would use to describe herself:</b>
<br><b>What do your character consider to be her best characteristics?</b>
<br><b>What does your character consider to be her worst characteristics?</b>
<br><b>Are these realistic assessments? If not, why not?</b>
<br><b>How does your character think others see them?</b>
<br><b>What four things would your character most like to change about herself? Why?</b>
<br><b>What lie does your character believe about herself?</b>
<br>
<br><b>Goals</b>
<br><b>Immediate goal(s):</b>
<br><b>Long term goal(s):</b>
<br><b>How does your character plan to accomplish goal(s)?</b>
<br><b>How will others be affected?</b>
<br>
<br><b>Problems/Crises</b>
<br><b>defensive, planner</b>
<br><b>How does your character react in a crisis?</b>
<br><b>How does your character solve problems?</b>
<br><b>Kinds of problems your character usually faces:</b>
<br><b>How does your character react to NEW problems?</b>
<br><b>How does your character react to change?</b>
<br>
<br><b>Working</b>
<br><b>Job title:</b>
<br><b>Where?</b>
<br><b>How Long?</b>
<br><b>Dream Job:</b>
<br><b>Do they like it? Why?</b>
<br><b>Previous jobs?</b>
<br><b>Job related skills:</b>
<br>
<br><b>Favorites</b>
<br><b>Color:</b> Green
<br><b>Mode of transport:</b> Walking, planes
<br><b>Food:</b>
<br><b>Drink:</b>
<br><b>Books:</b>
<br><b>Films:</b>
<br><b>Music:</b>
<br><b>Art:</b>
<br><b>Person:</b>
<br><b>Place:</b>
<br><b>Sayings:</b>
<br><b>Swear words:</b>
<br><b>Quote:</b>
<br><b>Animal:</b>
<br><b>Pet peeves:</b>
<br><b>Guilty pleasure:</b>
<br>
<br><b>Habits & Behavior</b>
<br><b>Spending habits:</b>
<br><b>Nervous tics:</b>
<br><b>Drives - what?</b>
<br><b>Any Hobbies?</b>
<br><b>Worst bad habits?</b>
<br><b>What does your character do too much of?</b>
<br><b>Too little of?</b>
<br><b>Most prized possession. Why?</b>
<br><b>Criminal record?</b>
<br>
<br><b>Abilities & Skills</b>
<br><b>Extremely skilled at:</b>
<br><b>Unskilled at:</b>
<br><b>Good driver?</b>
<br><b>Observant?</b>
<br><b>Play any instruments?</b>
<br><b>How did your character learn?</b>
<br><b>Any unusual abilities?</b>
<br><b>How did your character learn?</b>
<br>
<br><b>Character Building</b>
<br><b>Worst thing your character has ever done:</b>
<br><b>The most frightened your character has ever been:</b>
<br><b>The worst injury your character has ever had:</b>
<br><b>The worst pain your character has experienced:</b>
<br><b>What does your character hate the most? Why?</b>
<br><b>Your character's strongest desire:</b>
<br><b>Happiest moment:</b>
<br><b>The most important event in your character's life:</b>
<br><b>How honest is your character?</b>
<br><b>What does your character lie about?</b>
<br><b>If granted one wish, what would it be? Why?</b>
<br>
<br><b>Notes</b>
<br>
<br><b>Interview</b>
<br><b>Growing up, how did you get along with your family?</b>
<br><b>Describe your family and the other characters.</b>
<br><b>Whats the worst thing theyve ever done to you? Whats the worst thing youve ever done to them?</b>
<br><b>What did/do you want to be when you grow up?</b>
<br><b>Did/do you enjoy school?</b>
<br><b>As an adolescent, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?</b>
<br><b>Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.</b>
<br><b>How do you feel about yourself?</b>
<br><b>How do you think others see you? Do you care what they think?</b>
<br><b>What do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?</b>
<br><b>Where do you see yourself in five years?</b>
<br><b>What embarrasses you? What was your most embarrassing/humiliating moment?</b>
<br><b>What do you lie about?</b>
<br><b>Where do you like to hang out?</b>
<br><b>What song is “your song”? Why?</b>
<br><b>How would you cope without technology/magic? Could you survive?</b>
<br><b>What one thing could you not live without? Why?</b>
<br><b>Is there a person you feel you cant live without? Who? Why?</b>
<br><b>Who is the person you respect the most, and why?</b>
<br><b>Who do you despise the most, and why?</b>
<br><b>When were you the most frightened?</b>
<br><b>What do you feel most strongly about?</b>
<br><b>Whats your idea of the perfect Sunday?</b>
<br><b>Whats your idea of the perfect holiday/vacation?</b>
<br><b>Whats your idea of the perfect date?</b>
<br><b>What are your views and feelings about sex?</b>
<br><b>Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?</b>
<br><b>What do you look for in a partner?</b>
<br><b>What have your past relationships/partners been like?</b>
<br><b>Do you want to get married and have children? When do you see this happening?</b>
<br><b>What's the worst thing you've done to someone you loved?</b>
<br><b>When did you feel the most loved and accepted?</b>
<br><b>What would be the perfect gift for you?</b>
<br><b>How do you deal with stress? What do you find most relaxing?</b>
<br><b>If you were to gain an obscenely large sum of money, what would you do with it?</b>
<br><b>What is the most financially valuable thing you own?</b>
<br><b>What do you have in your pockets/bag?</b>
<br><b>Tell me about your political/religious/moral views.</b>
<br><b>Do you think redemption is possible?</b>
<br><b>What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?</b>

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## 1}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
The first punch knocked Van off his feet and hollering. He rolled to dodge the second and had his pistol prepped before he was on his feet. Chandra saw the glint of metal and froze. Even in self-defense, even with all of Van's }{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
boasting}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
, that gun terrified her. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
A second group of men surrounded Chandra within an instant. They were armed with knives. She dropped to the ground and prayed outloud for protection and forgiveness, so loudly and so intensely she missed the next few critical seconds. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Gunshots fired, and a tall, thin figure appeared from nowhere to behead the man who was closing in on Chandra. She looked up and Van was scanning the surroundings and overhanging trees. To her side, deeply lacerated thugs lay at the feet of a manila figure.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"You saved me."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
She realized she was thanking the air.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Where-}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
I\u8212\'97did?}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
No, t}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
hat man. }{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
H}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
e saved me. Cut down these people who attacked me."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Are you okay?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Yes! I'm fine. He got rid of all of them before disappearing into the night like that."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Thank God for angels. Please stay close and quiet."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Chandra took a section of Van's tunic in her hand and followed him closely, preoccupied all the while by the mysterious hero. She liked Van's description of him - an angel. Dark, beautiful, mysterious, invisible, good. Her guardian.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
The sun never rises here, and there are few places safe to land, making this former prison planet a dangerous part of the pilgrimmage. Although prisoners are no longer sent here, the children and grandchildren of the most dangerous criminals in history linger here, preying on pilgrims and lost voyagers. With the rampant crime and decline of the Church, no one is willing to reform the planet and install basic infrastructure. Therefore, reaching the shrine is a half-a-day's journey from the landing site of ambushes and danger.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
After staying low and listening for strangers, Van pushed onward, gun ready to shoot. He had made this pilgrimmage twice before, and he knows the way well enough, even in the anonymizing darkness. Just another quarter mile and they will arrive. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
***}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Hello, traveller -"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
The tall, manilla man stood in the field, motionless. Van and Chandra approached, intrigued by his presence in this secret place. The nearer they drew, the more clearly Chandra could see his long, handsome features. She immediately recognized her rescuer in his cool demeanor. As he turned toward them, relinquishing interest in his notebook, Chandra saw the spiny protrusions, smooth, brown, and venomous. She realized a second thing about him:}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"--he's not human."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Van gave her an extinguishing side eye before studying the figure. His garb is worn leather, clearly the scars of battle. His face is solemn and honest, and he stands barefoot in accordance with the holiness of the site. He relaxed a degree, less convinced he had encountered a looter or bandit. He might even be able to help them.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
The figure glanced over Van, aware of the pistol at his hip, and studied Chandra closely. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Prophetess?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Y-yes?" Chandra straightened up. The first time she heard his voice and the first time she spoke to him.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
They held eye contact briefly, but Chandra could learn nothing from his unwavering almond-shaped eyes. The rush-colored cheeks, thin brown lips, interesting thorns and barbs, the sandy hair...she felt uncomfortable meeting the eye of such an exotic individual. His clothes were made of foreign leathers and suedes, dyed in natural shades. She stammered.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"We are on a Pilgrimmage. Are you here to honor Saint Rigel, Brother?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Yes," he returned his notebook to his pocket. "But I must be on my way. Be safe on your journey, Prophetess."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Yes-s," Chandra parroted. "You, too."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
He held contact with her before sharply breaking it and disappearing into the wilderness. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Van looked at Chandra quizzically. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Interesting fellow. Not many take the pilgrimmage who aren't directly employed by the Church. There are still clingers-onto the faith, but they are few and easily intimidated by the danger and cost of the route. And he apparently takes it alone."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Chandra half-listened, a little bothered by the memory of his dark, clear eyes and smooth voice.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"What are you getting at, Van?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Nothing, girl," he yawned and motioned forward. "It's been a long day. Let's go ahead and pray."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
***}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
/* Yuna dances, goes through puzzle shrines, gets a new aeon each time. Oblivion MC collects artifacts from each shrine and gains holiness and eventually can meet ghosts and become a divine crusader. What could be the special thing about each stop? *\\}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
They reached the tablet reading out the summary of St. Rigel, who was exiled to this jungle prison planet for his faith but started a church while in prison that grew to rival the size of the prison itself. This spot marked where the first church meetings were held a secluded courtland. A ruthless criminal was sent to the planet and killed St. Rigel to prove he was tough. His congregation split, half willing to turn the other cheek, the other ready to war. The moral is to serve where you are.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Van read it aloud to Chandra, and the traveller corrected him.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"The moral is the fickleness of the faith of seeds scattered on hard ground. Nothing stayed here. It became a brutal world not long after, ruled by the strongest, wildest criminals. His work is nowhere to be seen. His church is dust, and his people are dead. Even the wardens have found a new planet for their prison colony, so even his detractors are gone and unable to provide a bad view of him. The Church placed this here to soften the public opinion on their moves to reform prison."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
/* Space Israel controls the Catholic Church which is used to do evil things like pol's ideas about Jews and Israel and stuff. America exists, too. *\\}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Chandra blushed at his challenge on the Church's integrity, but Van replied even-toned.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"He never lost faith, even at his dying breath. He brought hope and reform under impossible circumstances. He didn't change the universe across time and space - he changed the people around him. He did everything that was asked of him. Regardless of who was using his memory at the time to leverage political power, he has remained a part of the pilgrimmage to inspire similar behavior in us today."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Fair enough. Have you traveled far with just one guard?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
The question was directed at Chandra this time, his dark almond eyes given a mystic quality when illuminated by the votive light.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"Well, yes. Thank you for saving me before."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"It's too dangerous to rely on strangers. Please allow me to join you."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"--Join?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
Chandra looked to Van who seemed to be in agreement with the figure.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\f6\loch
"I'm Van and this is Chandra. What's your name?" He asked as he extended his hand to shake.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af5\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1041\f5\loch
"}{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Colt," he replied, bowing slightly. Van retracted his hand awkwardly.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"We receive a meager stipend from the Church for carrying out its duties, but we are mostly mercenaries, carrying out small tasks for locals to scrape by. We have a modest lifestyle. We just began our once-every-seven-years pilgrimmage and will be traveling all over the Solar System, spending little time at each stop. If you wish to join us, we'll gladly accept you. Of course you can leave whenever you like. But, I have to ask why you would join us."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"My conscious couldn't leave me alone if I let one man guard a prophetess. I have no one left to return to and nowhere left to go, so I'll let you determine my next journey.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
/* Colt is a prisoner or a descendent, looking to escape. *\\}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
/* Each stop is still in our solar system, but there are colonies on the different planets, moons, asteroids, comets, the sun, etc. Each body has its own diverse, rich culture. Power struggles, esp. religious. Different races' homeworlds and from neighboring stars. *\\}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"Welcome aboard, Colt."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Van telephoned his pilot to let them know approximately when and where to pick them up. "And we'll be bringing on a new member...Yes, the strangest places indeed...Just be ready when we are...Yes, see you soon, thanks."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Although Van knew the way well, Colt was far better at stealth and shortcuts. They evaded enemies without alerting anyone to their presence, slipping through the brushes and tall grass with relative ease and mutual silence. When they reached the plains, Van took over and communicated the pickup with Faber. The ship dipped down, they stepped through the intermediary area, allowing for a cleansing ray, and stepped into the ship.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"Welcome to the Prodigal, Colt," Chandra smiled.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
The doors opened from the cockpit, and a slightly overweight man with warm rusty hair hopped out.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"So, who am I meeting?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"This is our pilot, Faber," Van introduced him. "He was my pilot during the Israeli-Martian war. He's top-notch and the sort of person to trust your life to."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"You are a veteran and have such terrible control of your pistol?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"--a reporter, actually. And Chandra, I care for like a big brother. I took her in three years ago. Just as you said, she's a prophetess for the Intergalactic Jupiteran Catholic Church and works with women and children ministries. I support her best I can. We're a team," he smiled and patted Chandra on the back.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
/* Runaway Catholic Princess? *\\}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"Faber, this is Colt. We were ambushed and separated on our way to the shrine, but Colt rescued me. Van called him an angel for what he did."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Faber cooed. "Is that so? Then anything you need, I'll do my best to help you. Chandra is precious to us."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Colt shook his head.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"Really, no praise. I'm a vagabond without a home. If you can give my life some purpose, that's thanks enough."}{\loch
\line }{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"Sounds a lot like Van and me, then. I don't know what we'd do without Chandra."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Colt looked down at little Chandra. She blushed and looked at her feet. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"Stop it, you're all so embarrassing."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
## 2}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
They settled onto the ship and showed Colt his chambers. }
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"We were given this ship and were tasked to assemble a crew, so we have more rooms than we need right now," Van explained to Colt in the hallway while Chandra flushedly removed her baubles from the spare room. "I guess Chandra was using this one as a hideout." Chandra gave an embarrassed look over her shoulder as she finished clearing the room. "It's not dirty, just a little messy. She keeps her areas neat." Colt listened bemusedly, which made Chandra blush harder. Once her collection was removed, she disappeared. "Go ahead and check it out."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Van stepped in after Colt who was gazing over everything with appreciation.}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"It's very nice. I haven't done anything, and you'll let me stay here? What must I do?"}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"You saved her! If you promise to protect Chandra, that's enough to let you stay. You've met the whole crew. We're tiny and need your help. Chandra wakes up early to cook us breakfast and does most of the chores. Faber is able to repair most things that go wrong, either computers or engines. I do most of the mercenary work to help keep us afloat between stipends. I'd appreciate it if you help where your talents lie, but another guard for Chandra would be an immeasurable weight off my shoulders."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"You're so generous--! Of course I'll find where I'm useful. Thank you."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
"If you need anything, ask me. I'm the commander, so as a member of my crew, you're my responsibility. Understand that?--Good. I'll let you have time to yourself and check on the others."}
\par \pard\plain \s0\rtlch\af8\afs24\alang1081 \ltrch\lang1033\langfe2052\hich\af3\loch\nowidctlpar\hyphpar0\ltrpar\cf0\f3\fs24\lang1033\kerning1\dbch\af10\langfe2052\sl0\slmult0\ql\sb0\sa150\ltrpar{\hich\af6\loch\cf17\fs24\lang1033\f6\loch
Van slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. }
\par }

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{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil Constantia;}}
{\colortbl ;\red46\green46\blue46;}
{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2510;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa150\sl0\slmult0\cf1\f0\fs20 Driscoll\par
Chapter One: The Hall of Monuments\par
\par
A shadow of a man approached her. She felt unearthly chills as his misty eyes met hers. Gradually, she came to realize he was speaking to her in a watery voice that trickled into her ears.\par
\ldblquote So, you have come.\rdblquote\par
She did not know how to respond to the ghost. He did not seem to be a benign spirit, so she did not take a step back as he drew nearer. Confidently, she said something. She knew she was dreaming.\par
\ldblquote Where am I?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote The hall of my master. The connection you have with him has finally brought you here.\rdblquote\par
Her question was hardly answered. Looking about her, she discovered she was indeed in a once-grand hall. Now the elaborate stone work and monuments lay in shambles with disorganized heaps of treasures scattered about in sawdust. One of the walls had collapsed into a story-high pile of bricks, blocking the spot where the entrance should be. The ceiling was impossibly high and tickled her batophobia, but little of it remained. Snow fell through the open patches and dusted the broke tile floor. She wondered what kind of master this ghost once served.\par
\ldblquote Who\'85who was your master?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You have never met him nor heard of his exploits, but he was an admirable man. You would not expect a boy that small and sensitive to rise to the heights he did, but he was a hero. If you are truly the final part of his soul, then you understand him more completely than his own mother. Every intricacy of your persona is shared between you. Your every life event mirrors his.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote But the hall. How old is he?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote He is long gone.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Gone? But this makes no sense. How am I exactly like him when I do not even know him?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote That is the nature of souls. Some are split and shared between people. Early people had a concept of this, but it only remains in your culture loosely in the term \lquote soul mates\rquote . They misuse it. This special bond has no romantic meaning, though it is natural for those who share a soul to fall into a romantic relationship. You both share a soul and, by extension, interests, a personality, and a life.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote So I will do great things like him?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote There will be no way to avoid it. You will make the same choices he did.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote But\'85I do not understand.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Look around his hall. His hall is also your hall, and you can return here anytime you like.\rdblquote\par
She gazed upon the ghost for a moment longer. His eyes were faded but pure white and ate deep into her mind. It was hard to break contact with them. \par
She sorted through the sawdust in one corner, careful not to catch herself on a rusty nail or sharp splinter. A variety of warped jars were nested in the pile, filled with all manners of whimsical things. \par
\ldblquote Ah, my master was fond of alchemy. He had a talent for growing and mixing herbs. He kept his rare ingredients on a shelf there that has long since rotted away. He always told me that he was saving them for just the right sort of potion but never seemed to find the right occasion.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Alchemy?\rdblquote she asked. She spent long hours as a tween leaning over pictures of old men with beakers of aqua regia and nitre wishing to join them in their experimental concoctions. \ldblquote Are these ingredients still viable?\rdblquote Glass takes hundreds of years to warp like this.\par
\ldblquote Of course. I may have let the building go, but I will guard his treasures forever. He has ordered me to for you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote But where is he? You remain here even after death.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Yes. But my master is long gone.\rdblquote\par
That question was obviously a dead end. \par
She sifted through more silt and found a small chest. The lock held fast.\par
\ldblquote Nothing in there. My master always teased me with that, telling me that he had bought an invaluable treasure from another world and locked it in a box for me. I\rquote d fiddle with it every weekend for years before opening it years after his death. There was nothing in there, of course. Imagine my frustration!\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Nothing at all?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Well, some snide message about my diligence, but I was too frustrated to read it. I locked the chest again, wishing the same fate on some poor soul. Honestly, I could care less at the moment. My sense of humor has eroded completely away.\rdblquote\par
She laughed at that, and the ghost dulled in pigment. \par
Continuing her search, she found a whole wardrobe of exquisite regalia.\par
Continuing her search, she found a capsized wardrobe filled with exquisite regalia under the dust. She gently lifted a garment and examined the material and stitching. Besides some use, the clothing was in fantastic shape. Nothing was threadbare or unraveling. The flowing silken robes with embroidered roses and quilted finery appealed to all her factories of sense. The ghost\rquote s ability to maintain little things like this was astonishing, considering how ancient these garments must be.\par
\tab\ldblquote Yes, he loved clothing. He collected it, even women\rquote s clothing. He hardly wore any of it, but he did not need to. He was content to appreciate the feel, pattern, design, and some other nonsense. The few times he did, he looked rather silly. As I said, he was so small and skinny that everything awkwardly hung off of him. Even so, he enjoyed it like a child in his parent\rquote s suit. I did not understand, but I know you do. At least someone could relate to you, I guess.\rdblquote\par
\tab It was true. She loved clothing in the very same way. She was fascinated with the ghost\rquote s master. He really must be made from the very same essence as she. She felt a little moment of warmth, realizing for the first time how cold it should be in an old ruin in the middle of a snowstorm. Honoring this corollary of lucidity, the dream blasted arctic winds over her. \par
\tab Of course, the winds did not blow the dust from the relics. She had to continue searching without assistance. She pulled a rich fur coat over her head.\par
\tab\ldblquote Curious. It hangs on you the same way. For a moment, I saw my master again,\rdblquote Trace barely heard under the ghost\rquote s breath, if he even takes breaths now.\par
\tab The stone bookcases needed only a little dusting. Selecting at random, she read a few pages from a bestiary, a manual of some sort, and a collection of fables. \par
\tab\ldblquote Books were his favorite thing to collect, I am fairly certain. He read nearly everything that was ever written, I am certainly sure.\rdblquote\par
\tab Last of all, she uncovered a simple beaded necklace. It did not have the mark of worth or rarity on it, unlike anything else in the room. It seemed to have been lost by mistake by a visitor to the hall and preserved by the ghost\rquote s magic like everything else. Inquisitively, she fingered the simple glass beads, studying each one. \par
\tab\ldblquote I apologize for losing the necklace. After filling his hall, my master came across these beads. They were purchased from an insignificant vendor and fashioned from cheap materials, but they caught my master\rquote s eye. Somehow, he knew that you would come to this hall someday, and he wanted you to have these. He held onto them as long as he could in life to give them to you personally, and I kept them after him. Please, try them on.\rdblquote\par
\tab She did as instructed.\par
\tab\ldblquote It is such a cheap piece of jewelry. My master never understood girls. You may keep them as you like, though.\rdblquote\par
\tab She ignored the ghostly words. The pale, delicate beads were round and chilled to the touch. They were beautiful in the more homely sense of the word. She tried to imagine the ghost\rquote s master fingering the same beads and desiring them as his own to later give to the extension of himself. He wanted her to have something of his, and now she had it. She was enchanted by the weight of the necklace.\par
\tab\ldblquote Ghostly watchman, what is your master\rquote s name?\rdblquote came the whisper.\par
\tab\ldblquote It is not mine to say.\rdblquote \par
\tab The necklace made her walk into the dead end. Finally, she asked,\par
\tab\ldblquote Ghostly watchman, what is your name?\rdblquote\par
\tab The ghost\rquote s clouded visage parted for a moment, revealing a ray of light.\par
\tab\ldblquote Driscoll.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote My name is Trace,\rdblquote she responded. \ldblquote Thank you.\rdblquote\par
\tab She was not entirely sure why she thanked him, but it felt as though he had helped her in ways no one else had ever tried. Fearful of soon awakening, she asked the ghost for his secret.\par
\tab\ldblquote Then, Driscoll. I can return here at any time?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Always. This is your hall as much as it was my master\rquote s.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote How do I return?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote The same way you entered, I suppose.\rdblquote\par
\tab She lamented for she knew that she could never reenter a dream. The connection Driscoll claimed she had to this place was strong enough for her to feel it. She belonged here. \par
\tab\ldblquote Don not worry. You will return. You must be the hero to lead the land. It is torn further and further in every sense of the word every day. Politics, nature, families\'85But you can bring it all together again.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I am nothing like the sort of people who can do those sorts of things.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote No? You are exactly like the one I knew. But regardless, your life is bound to my master\rquote s. You will repeat everything he ever did.\rdblquote\par
\tab The room was filled with light. She desperately tried to photograph everything in the hall with her mind. Instead, she only gained more and more awareness until she was looking around her bedroom and yawning. \par
\tab\ldblquote Wake up, already!\rdblquote her mother kept calling from the foot of the bed.\par
\tab She tried not to show her frustration at losing the dream and changed into her clothes.\par
\tab By second period, she remembered eighty-percent of the dream, far more than usual. By fourth period, she was praying to slip back into that world away from everybody else. The ghost promised that she would return. Most people would regard believing in one\rquote s own dreams silly, but Trace lived by her dreams. It was not that she was excessively superstitious or spiritual, but she took everything with a child\rquote s approach. A child can believe in many things without actually believing in them. By fifth period, she needed to use the restroom. While washing her hands, she looked up at the girl next to her and caught a glimpse of the necklace. She was still wearing the very same necklace Driscoll\rquote s master wanted her to wear. Her jaw parted. Fingering the beads, they the very same. The very same that Driscoll\rquote s master had kept for her.\par
Chapter Two: The Necklace\par
\tab When she returned home, she rushed to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She could not find a mirror, but she could use a CD. Stretching the CD far away from her face, she could see the pale, iridescent image of herself in the necklace. She treasured this piece of jewelry more dearly than anything else she had ever come across. As a tomboy, she had never dressed up or worn makeup before, so she wondered how no one could have commented on the fact she wore a necklace to school. The girls always pressure her to dress up. Once again, she blamed perpetual invisibility. Perhaps she is invisible because she never belonged in this world to begin with. She belonged with Driscoll and his absent master all along. \par
\tab She sighed deeply and shook her head. She was utterly ridiculous. \par
She sat through the rest of the day until she could finally go home. That night, she did not go to sleep until hours after her family. She had done this as long as she could remember without her parents\rquote knowledge because the absolute darkness and silence consoled her. Once she was away from all the noise, she was usually free of all the problems other people caused for her. Today, it closed out all other thoughts besides her dream last night. She supposed it was real; there was no reason to suspect it might be false. Her parents and classmates would call her names for believing in anything even slightly fantastical, but they claimed to be religious. She knew they even shied away from their own faith when it ceased to be so concrete. She did not want to become like them, so she kept the advised \ldblquote heart of a child\rdblquote .\par
She tried to will herself back into that hall. \par
She lay in bed half the night, thinking about Driscoll and the necklace. She tried to imagine his master, the man so close yet unknown to her. She considered the nature of that world and its history in contrast with her own. Eventually, she fell asleep and her dreams seamless slipped in amongst her thoughts. She woke up the next morning feeling as though she had not dreamt at all.\par
Gradually, the dream faded in her memory and seemed less and less real. Bitterly, she cast the entire thing aside as wishful thinking and continued life as usual.\par
She stayed up late into the night writing or drawing or something to distract her from reality. She played instrumental music that at least muffled the arguments and TVs roaring in the background without adding too much to it. When she became too lonely, she took her characters out of their medium and conversed with them as a child does with imaginary friends. It never filled her social needs, but it was all she could do. She had tried to invite the girls over who had been nice to her from time to time, but they never accepted. After enough rejections, she gave up. People do not need friends, she finally decided. Loners were always the most interesting character in a work anyways. \par
\par
Every time the necklace or Driscoll\rquote s dutiful eyes entered her mind, she shut it out until the thoughts never returned. She lived this way undisturbed and completely forgetful of the dream. Instead, she turned to her imaginary friends. \par
Some of her father\rquote s liberal commentary on the upcoming election flitted into the room, preventing her from being able to read. She glanced at the calendar on her wall and saw it was November 5th, the day before what was to be the most important election in American history. The most hopeless as well, the girl always added. \par
\par
}

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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2510;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa150\sl0\slmult0\cf1\f0\fs24 A shadow of a man approached her. She felt unearthly chills as his misty eyes met hers. Gradually, she came to realize he was speaking to her in a watery voice that trickled into her ears.\par
\ldblquote So, you have come.\rdblquote\par
She did not know how to respond to the ghost. He did not seem to be a benign spirit, so she did not take a step back as he drew nearer. Confidently, she said something. She knew she was dreaming.\par
\ldblquote Where am I?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote The hall of my master. The connection you have with him has finally brought you here.\rdblquote\par
Her question was hardly answered. Looking about her, she discovered she was indeed in a once-grand hall. Now the elaborate stone work and monuments lay in shambles with disorganized heaps of treasures scattered about in sawdust. One of the walls had collapsed into a story-high pile of bricks, blocking the spot where the entrance should be. The ceiling was impossibly high and tickled her batophobia, but little of it remained. Snow fell through the open patches and dusted the broke tile floor. She wondered what kind of master this ghost once served.\par
\ldblquote\f1 Who\'85who was your master?\f0\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You have never met him nor heard of his exploits, but he was an admirable man. You would not expect a boy that small and sensitive to rise to the heights he did, but he was a hero. If you are truly the final part of his soul, then you understand him more completely than his own mother. Every intricacy of your persona is shared between you. Your every life event mirrors his.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote But the hall. How old is he?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote He is long gone.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Gone? But this makes no sense. How am I exactly like him when I do not even know him?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote That is the nature of souls. Some are split and shared between people. Early people had a concept of this, but it only remains in your culture loosely in the term \lquote soul mates\rquote . They misuse it. This special bond has no romantic meaning, though it is natural for those who share a soul to fall into a romantic relationship. You both share a soul and, by extension, interests, a personality, and a life.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote So I will do great things like him?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote There will be no way to avoid it. You will make the same choices he did.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote\f1 But\'85I don\f0\rquote t understand.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Look around his hall. His hall is also your hall, and you can return here anytime you like.\rdblquote\par
She gazed upon the ghost for a moment longer. His eyes were faded but pure white and ate deep into her mind. It was hard to break contact with them. \par
She sorted through the sawdust in one corner, careful not to catch herself on a rusty nail or sharp splinter. A variety of warped jars were nested in the pile, filled with all manners of whimsical things. \par
\ldblquote Ah, my master was fond of alchemy. He had a talent for growing and mixing herbs. He kept his rare ingredients on a shelf there that has long since rotted away. He always told me that he was saving them for just the right sort of potion but never seemed to find the right occasion.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Alchemy?\rdblquote she asked. She spent long hours as a tween leaning over pictures of old men with beakers of aqua regia and nitre wishing to join them in their experimental concoctions. \ldblquote Are these ingredients still viable?\rdblquote Glass takes hundreds of years to warp like this.\par
\ldblquote Of course. I may have let the building go, but I will guard his treasures forever. He has ordered me to for you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote But where is he? You remain here even after death.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Yes. But my master is long gone.\rdblquote\par
That question was obviously a dead end. \par
She sifted through more silt and found a small chest. The lock held fast.\par
\ldblquote Nothing in there. My master always teased me with that, telling me that he had bought an invaluable treasure from another world and locked it in a box for me. I\rquote d fiddle with it every weekend for years before opening it years after his death. There was nothing in there, of course. Imagine my frustration!\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Nothing at all?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Well, some snide message about my diligence, but I was too frustrated to read it. I locked the chest again, wishing the same fate on some poor soul. Honestly, I could care less at the moment. My sense of humor has eroded completely away.\rdblquote\par
She laughed at that, and the ghost dulled in pigment. \par
Continuing her search, she found a whole wardrobe of exquisite regalia.\par
Continuing her search, she found a capsized wardrobe filled with exquisite regalia under the dust. She gently lifted a garment and examined the material and stitching. Besides some use, the clothing was in fantastic shape. Nothing was threadbare or unraveling. The flowing silken robes with embroidered roses and quilted finery appealed to all her factories of sense. The ghost\rquote s ability to maintain little things like this was astonishing, considering how ancient these garments must be.\par
\tab\ldblquote Yes, he loved clothing. He collected it, even women\rquote s clothing. He hardly wore any of it, but he did not need to. He was content to appreciate the feel, pattern, design, and some other nonsense. The few times he did, he looked rather silly. As I said, he was so small and skinny that everything awkwardly hung off of him. Even so, he enjoyed it like a child in his parent\rquote s suit. I did not understand, but I know you do. At least someone could relate to you, I guess.\rdblquote\par
\tab It was true. She loved clothing in the very same way. She was fascinated with the ghost\rquote s master. He really must be made from the very same essence as she. She felt a little moment of warmth, realizing for the first time how cold it should be in an old ruin in the middle of a snowstorm. Honoring this corollary of lucidity, the dream blasted arctic winds over her. \par
\tab Of course, the winds did not blow the dust from the relics. She had to continue searching without assistance. She pulled a rich fur coat over her head.\par
\tab\ldblquote Curious. It hangs on you the same way. For a moment, I saw my master again,\rdblquote Nykki barely heard under the ghost\rquote s breath, if he even takes breaths now.\par
\tab The stone bookcases needed only a little dusting. Selecting at random, she read a few pages from a bestiary, a manual of some sort, and a collection of fables. \par
\tab\ldblquote Books were his favorite thing to collect, I am fairly certain. He read nearly everything that was ever written, I am certainly sure.\rdblquote\par
\tab Last of all, she uncovered a simple beaded necklace. It did not have the mark of worth or rarity on it, unlike anything else in the room. It seemed to have been lost by mistake by a visitor to the hall and preserved by the ghost\rquote s magic like everything else. Inquisitively, she fingered the simple glass beads, studying each one. \par
\tab\ldblquote I apologize for losing the necklace. After filling his hall, my master came across these beads. They were purchased from an insignificant vendor and fashioned from cheap materials, but they caught my master\rquote s eye. Somehow, he knew that you would come to this hall someday, and he wanted you to have these. He held onto them as long as he could in life to give them to you personally, and I kept them after him. Please, try them on.\rdblquote\par
\tab She did as instructed.\par
\tab\ldblquote It is such a cheap piece of jewelry. My master never understood girls. You may keep them as you like, though.\rdblquote\par
\tab She ignored the ghostly words. The pale, delicate beads were round and chilled to the touch. They were beautiful in the more homely sense of the word. She tried to imagine the ghost\rquote s master fingering the same beads and desiring them as his own to later give to the extension of himself. He wanted her to have something of his, and now she had it. She was enchanted by the weight of the necklace.\par
\tab\ldblquote Ghostly watchman, what is your master\rquote s name?\rdblquote came the whisper.\par
\tab\ldblquote It is not mine to say.\rdblquote \par
\tab The necklace made her walk into the dead end. Finally, she asked,\par
\tab\ldblquote Ghostly watchman, what is your name?\rdblquote\par
\tab The ghost\rquote s clouded visage parted for a moment, revealing a ray of light.\par
\tab\ldblquote Driscoll.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote My name is Nykki,\rdblquote she responded. \ldblquote Thank you.\rdblquote\par
\tab She was not entirely sure why she thanked him, but it felt as though he had helped her in ways no one else had ever tried. Fearful of soon awakening, she asked the ghost for his secret.\par
\tab\ldblquote Then, Driscoll. I can return here at any time?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Always. This is your hall as much as it was my master\rquote s.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote How do I return?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote The same way you entered, I suppose.\rdblquote\par
\tab She lamented for she knew that she could never reenter a dream. The connection Driscoll claimed she had to this place was strong enough for her to feel it. She belonged here. \par
\tab\ldblquote\f1 Do not worry. You will return. You must be the hero to lead the land. It is torn further and further in every sense of the word every day. Politics, nature, families\'85But you can bring it all together again.\f0\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I am nothing like the sort of people who can do those sorts of things.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote No? You are exactly like the one I knew. But regardless, your life is bound to my master\rquote s. You will repeat everything he ever did.\rdblquote\par
\tab The room was filled with light. She desperately tried to photograph everything in the hall with her mind. Instead, she only gained more and more awareness until she was looking around her bedroom and yawning. \par
\tab\ldblquote Wake up, already!\rdblquote her mother kept calling from the foot of the bed.\par
\tab She tried not to show her frustration at losing the dream and changed into her clothes.\par
\tab By second period, she remembered eighty-percent of the dream, far more than usual. By fourth period, she was praying to slip back into that world away from everybody else. The ghost promised that she would return. Most people would regard believing in one\rquote s own dreams silly, but Nykki lived by her dreams. It was not that she was excessively superstitious or spiritual, but she took everything with a child\rquote s approach. A child can believe in many things without actually believing in them. By fifth period, she needed to use the restroom. While washing her hands, she looked up at the girl next to her and caught a glimpse of the necklace. She was still wearing the very same necklace Driscoll\rquote s master wanted her to wear. Her jaw parted. Fingering the beads, they the very same. The very same that Driscoll\rquote s master had kept for her.\par
\par
\tab When she returned home, she rushed to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She could not find a mirror, but she could use a CD. Stretching the CD far away from her face, she could see the pale, iridescent image of herself in the necklace. She treasured this piece of jewelry more dearly than anything else she had ever come across. As a tomboy, she had never dressed up or worn makeup before, so she wondered how no one could have commented on the fact she wore a necklace to school. The girls always pressure her to dress up. Once again, she blamed perpetual invisibility. Perhaps she is invisible because she never belonged in this world to begin with. She belonged with Driscoll and his absent master all along. \par
\tab She sighed deeply and shook her head. She was utterly ridiculous. \par
She sat through the rest of the day until she could finally go home. That night, she did not go to sleep until hours after her family. She had done this as long as she could remember without her parents\rquote knowledge because the absolute darkness and silence consoled her. Once she was away from all the noise, she was usually free of all the problems other people caused for her. Today, it closed out all other thoughts besides her dream last night. She supposed it was real; there was no reason to suspect it might be false. Her parents and classmates would call her names for believing in anything even slightly fantastical, but they claimed to be religious. She knew they even shied away from their own faith when it ceased to be so concrete. She did not want to become like them, so she kept the advised \ldblquote heart of a child\rdblquote .\par
She tried to will herself back into that hall. \par
She lay in bed half the night, thinking about Driscoll and the necklace. She tried to imagine his master, the man so close yet unknown to her. She considered the nature of that world and its history in contrast with her own. Eventually, she fell asleep and her dreams seamless slipped in amongst her thoughts. She woke up the next morning feeling as though she had not dreamt at all.\par
Gradually, the dream faded in her memory and seemed less and less real. Bitterly, she cast the entire thing aside as wishful thinking and continued life as usual.\par
She stayed up late into the night writing or drawing or something to distract her from reality. She played instrumental music that at least muffled the arguments and TVs roaring in the background without adding too much to it. When she became too lonely, she took her characters out of their medium and conversed with them as a child does with imaginary friends. It never filled her social needs, but it was all she could do. She had tried to invite the girls who had been nice to her from time to time, but they never accepted it. Her acute loneliness returned, and her thoughts turned increasingly inwardly. She would have never recalled her entrance into the hall of the hero if it had not been for the necklace.\par
Her room had become ghastly messy, so she finally resigned herself to cleaning it. This included sorting through everything that had been stuffed into her closet and under her bed and usually led to nostalgic retrieval of her childhood trinkets. When she pulled the simple, yellow glass beads from a box, she stared at them for a time, remembering everything all at once. Perhaps it was all real. \par
\ldblquote Girl,\rdblquote the same voice called. \ldblquote Katherine, I believe it was?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote\f1 Driscoll\'85\f0\rdblquote she sighed. \ldblquote That was his voice. If I could hear it once more.\rdblquote\par
But he was behind her. \par
\ldblquote Behold, here I am,\rdblquote he said.\par
Katherine jumped. \ldblquote What! It\rquote s! \endash !!\rdblquote\par
\par
\par
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Trudging along, sun dropped over the horizon, darkness falling like a sheet over the world. A chill followed, and the song of insects. There was no hope of reaching the next town before the darkness thickens to opaque.\par
\par
How had night crept so well upon him? He shouldn't have allowed himself to become so burdened by the words of Chief Solftieer. Now just to find a place to sleep, with good cover from wind and the eyes of strangers. He wrapped his coat nearer his body, considering how disconvenient a blanket it will make, while climbing the rocky crag to try to spot a place for himself. Scanning, mostly seeing trees with like brush, chops of rocks, hills, but nothing particularly comfortable.\par
\par
\ldblquote Well- not my first rough night.\rdblquote\par
\par
He moved into a tight cluster of trees, roots touching and knotting and forming a platform shielded from Queen\rquote s Road. Probably anty, but it will do. A rock crag slimmed and took shape as he approach with the weak, flickering lantern light.\par
\par
\ldblquote God. A girl.\rdblquote\par
\par
Definitely a girl- slumped, pale, and injured. Lewis unconsciously dropped his bag and lantern and ran to her, hestitantly kneeling over her, speaking in a soft voice,\par
\par
\ldblquote Are you okay? Can you hear me?" He brushed the hair out of her face and arousal innocently flourished in him. Beautiful. Bright red, he examined her. She didn't seem to have any back injuries, but how could he tell? He wet his hand against his lips and checked her breathing. Her breath through her lips was shallow and infrequent. She is breathing, though. Gingerly, he rolled her to side to help her breath more easily. She murmured in pain, unnerving him.\par
\par
"I can help you. I have some medical training. Stay with me."\par
\par
God, he thought.\par
\par
He started to position her legs and arms so she can breathe. She stopped. In an instant, he had her on her back and readied for CPR.\par
\par
Why do I always have to do this with such attractive women, he lamented as he concentrated on the right rhythm.\par
\par
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing for heartbreaking seconds. She starts coughing up thick, black blood.\par
\par
That can't be a good sign. What happened to her? Is she lost and he only risking some exposure to disease?\par
\par
He continued CPR, night so dark now that he could no longer see her silvery silhouette and shiny hair and dewy skin -- Staying Alive! Staying Alive! Oh oh! Can't lose his rhythm. Staying Alive! She kept coughing up thick globs of congealed blood and struggling all the while.\par
\par
She started breathing more steadily. Exhausted, he rolled her into a better position and sat next to her. Finally, he draped his jacket over her.\par
\par
"I'm here for you. You'll be okay." He kept repeating that, panting and sweating.\par
Hours of panting and sweating passed, a strained murmur broke the night.\par
\ldblquote Are you awake?\rdblquote Lewis leaned closer.\par
\ldblquote Why?\rdblquote\par
Voice like a bell. Lewis\rquote s heart held still. Why was this happening to her? Why did he help her? How can he answer?\par
\ldblquote I am just a traveler. I found you near the road. I have basic medical training, so I did what I could.\rdblquote\par
Silence fell over Lewis. He was so exhausted.\par
\ldblquote Please. You should rest. I\rquote ll stay right here.\rdblquote\par
\par
A tickle across his shoulder, the chatter of forest life, sunlight: daytime came all at once. The girl! He looked next to him. She was sitting up, propped against the trunk of a dogwood, in a dazed stupor. Her face was hardened by pain. He couldn\rquote t see her but barely last night, but here she was in the daylight. Pale-skinned, perfect black hair. She was dirty and bloody, but she was obviously quite lovely. Looking over her small, fragile body\emdash in this condition\emdash fanned flames in his heart. Who did this to her? His thoughts were interrupted suddenly as her vacant eyes fell upon him.\par
\ldblquote Good morning,\rdblquote Lewis greeted her warmly. She didn\rquote t respond verbally, but she held eye contact. \ldblquote My name is Lewis. I am glad to see you awake. Oh--! You should eat.\rdblquote He reached for his bag\emdash gone? He looked behind him: still there, on the ground next to his lantern right where he dropped them. He retrieved it, brushed off the grass, and rustled inside. \ldblquote I have some fruit, and it shouldn\rquote t be too hard to eat. Please, eat,\rdblquote he placed it in her hands. He was so relieved to see her eat. He took some of his jerky and ate with her. \ldblquote I have water, too. Please, take my canton.\rdblquote She drank, too.\par
She is so much better! I\rquote ll have to take her to Sisterly with me. Otto can look at her. She\rquote ll be okay.\par
She finished and relaxed.\par
\ldblquote Thank you,\rdblquote she murmured.\par
\ldblquote What is your name?\rdblquote\par
She looked at him with such big, brown eyes. \ldblquote Adah.\rdblquote\par
She seemed pliable, but probably because she wasn\rquote t fully conscious.\par
\ldblquote Do you know where you are?\rdblquote\par
She clearly hesitated, in another display of lucidity, furrowing her brow. \ldblquote Near the capital.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I think you\rquote ll be okay, Adah, but you\rquote re so hurt. I want to take you to see my friend. He\rquote s one of the best doctors in Sisterly.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote\emdash Please,\rdblquote she murmured curtly. \ldblquote No Sisterly.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote No Sisterly? Adah, you need a doctor, and Otto is the best. I insist.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote\f2 Please\'85\f1\rdblquote\par
He had to take a pause to consider. Is her attacker in Sisterly?\par
\ldblquote I\rquote ll protect you. No one can hurt you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote No.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I have fighting experience, and I have my sword. No one will lay a hand on you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I just can\rquote t!\rdblquote She raised her voice.\par
\ldblquote Adah...What if I call you by a fake name and disguise you? Please. No one will know you. I\rquote ll never leave your side, even at the doctor. Please, Adah, please for me.\rdblquote\par
She stopped responding.\par
\ldblquote Well, I\rquote ll carry you. You can sleep.\rdblquote\par
He wrapped her in his jacket and scooped her into his arms. It was like carrying nothing. So tiny! She complied, either out of weakness or resignation. \ldblquote You\rquote ll be okay.\rdblquote\par
Lewis continued his journey to the capital with the girl in his arms. As he recommended, she slept the entire way there. They stopped for lunch, but Lewis tried to hurry. They reached Sisterly in the late afternoon.\par
\ldblquote Lewis! It\rquote s good to see you,\rdblquote a guard called.\par
\ldblquote Van! It\rquote s been too long!\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote This girl with you--?\rdblquote The guard raised an eyebrow wryly.\par
\ldblquote Haha, please! She is my friend, Eve. Van, she\rquote s injured. I need a doctor urgently. I did what I could, but I need Otto.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Doctor Otto? He\rquote s here, probably in his home. He\rquote ll be glad to see you, regardless of the circumstances. Godspeed!\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Godspeed.\rdblquote\par
Lewis hasted past him, tracing the route to Otto\rquote s manor. He took to more covert routes, conscious of his conspicuousness. It was a slow day in Sisterly, anyways. Most people must be in their homes.\par
\ldblquote See?\rdblquote He murmured in her ear. \ldblquote No one will question you if I\rquote m here. You\rquote ll be safe.\rdblquote\par
Soon, they were before the manor\rquote s main entry gate. Confidently, he slipped over the fencing, and rapped on the door.\par
\ldblquote It\rquote s Lewis Ashcroft. Doctor Otto, it\rquote s Lewis. I need you.\rdblquote\par
There was shuffling around the door.\par
\ldblquote Lewis Ashcroft. Doctor, I need your help.\rdblquote\par
The sound of tumblers and key jangling promptly followed, and the door opened. \ldblquote Lewis, my boy!\rdblquote Otto looked ready to hug his neck. \ldblquote Lewis, you\rquote ve returned to the city! But with a lady?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Eve. We were traveling back and were separated when almost to the capital. I found her unconscious, and I\rquote m worried she\rquote s hurt. Please, Doctor, will you help her?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Well, of course, my boy! Please, come inside. Tove! Prepare the patient room. We have a visitor! Brian, make some tea.\rdblquote\par
Otto led Lewis to the patient room briskly. Tove already had the bed prepared, so Lewis gently placed her down and unwrapped her.\par
\ldblquote She\rquote s not even bathed! Tove.\rdblquote\par
The slightly plump, freckled girl set about gently wiping the grit from her wounds and preparing disinfectant.\par
\ldblquote Otto, I\rquote d like to stay here and comfort Eve.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Why, of course, my boy.\rdblquote He dropped his voice. \ldblquote Is she very special to you?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Please,\rdblquote Lewis replied laughing jovially, shaking his head and waving his arms. With sincerity, he repeated, \ldblquote allow me to stay, Otto.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You\rquote ll have to tell me the story. You have my word I won\rquote t separate you two.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Thank you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Tove, bathe her, Lewis insists to stay, but I\rquote ll step out. Let me know when she\rquote s ready.\rdblquote\par
Tove watched Lewis with the kind of quiet interest interns take in the drama surrounding the lives of their bosses. \ldblquote Right away,\rdblquote she chirped.\par
She brought out the washing pan and started undressing Adah. Lewis averted his eyes.\par
After she was washed up, Tove applied disinfecting ointments to her wounds and dressed her while Otto returned, carrying a tray of spice tea. He set it on the counter, washed his hands, and set to work.\par
\ldblquote My family is indebted to Lewis. He saved my daughter. If you are a friend of his, I will do everything I can to make you comfortable.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Please, Doctor\emdash\rdblquote Lewis was blushing. Tove walked over to him and offered him a cup of tea. Retrieving one for herself, she sat next to him in the intricately carved wooden guest chairs.\par
\ldblquote It\rquote s true. He\rquote s a fine young man. My name is Otto Upton. I need to ask you a couple of questions. What is your name?\rdblquote\par
Adah hesitated. \ldblquote Eve Fisher.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Do you know what day it is?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Tuesday. November 1\emdash\rdblquote\par
She was speaking as if from a dream. It was hard to understand her.\par
\ldblquote Do you know what happened?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I\emdash it all happened so quickly. I was lost. Then they came from behind. I fell.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote\f2 I see\'85Well, let\f1\rquote s begin the physical examination.\rdblquote\par
An hour passed of probing, shining lights, and scribbling notes. All the while, Otto chatted calmly about Lewis.\par
\ldblquote He\rquote s told me a lot about you, too. Must be embarrassing to listen to,\rdblquote Tove commented in a quiet voice. She was trying to comfort Lewis, who was visibly strained from the recent events. Finishing a sip of tea, she continued, \ldblquote Are you sure you need to stay in the room? You can have a warm bath and a change of clothes. You know Otto takes good care of his patients.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Thank you, but I promised. She\rquote s worried to be apart.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Are you very close?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote It\rquote s a complicated story, but I have to take care of her.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote So noble. Just like in Otto\rquote s stories. I won\rquote t press then, guessing it\rquote s some Queen\rquote s mission.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You are helping Otto?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I\rquote m the Doctor\rquote s apprentice. I\rquote m training to be a pharmacist, but I help Otto with patients, too. You must be older than you look. I\rquote ve been here for about 11 years now. There\rquote s another apprentice here, Sand. He\rquote s studying to be a doctor, like Otto.\rdblquote She dropped her voice lower. \ldblquote He\rquote s kind of a jerk, though, so I worry about any patient that has to deal with him. Well, it\rquote s just his attitude, really. So haughty.\rdblquote\par
Lewis chuckled. \ldblquote I actually knew Otto when I was a young teenage.\rdblquote\par
Tove seemed surprised and not surprised. \ldblquote So you\rquote re in your 20s?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote 26.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I\rquote m 20. Not so far apart.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote And Sand?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote He\rquote s 24, closer to you. But gosh, so young! You look younger than me.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Is your job to flatter guests while they are waiting?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Yes, actually! I am just teasing you, though. You are something of a celebrity around here. Otto talks about you in this stilted mythic language. I\rquote m bored of the stories, really, but he keeps repeating them. Then out of the blue, you arrive with this beautiful injured girl, wrapped in that jacket\emdash it\rquote s the very one, isn\rquote t it, that the Queen gave you? Gosh!\emdash insisting to stay by her side in true mythic chivalrous form. And you\rquote re just so handsome! I have to tease you, you know?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote It didn\rquote t work out between you and Sand, did it?\rdblquote\par
Tove turned bright read. \ldblquote There was never nothing there.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote If you tease me, you open yourself to teasing.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Lewis--\ldblquote Tove straightened up, Lewis stood up. \ldblquote It\rquote s mostly trauma, she\rquote ll be fine. I\rquote ll send you plenty of ointments and bandages, but she needs rest. Lewis looked over to Adah, but she was sleeping. \ldblquote Make yourself at home, boy. You can go home when she wakes up. For now, I\rquote d like you to clean up. I insist.\rdblquote\par
Unable to break his promise, Otto eventually brought dinner to the patient room.\par
After catching up, Adah woke up, and Otto encouraged Lewis to bring her to his home for more rest. He obliged, whispering to Adah that everything will be fine and telling her about his room, which is housing offered as a reward for serving the nation.\par
\par
\ldblquote Tove,\rdblquote Otto murmured. \ldblquote Lewis is out of his mind. He completely lied just now.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Lewis?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You're so young! That's right, did your mother tell you? About Adah, the rebel princess who drew us under enemy rule? Are you old enough to recognize the girl? This \lquote Eve Fisher?\rquote\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote No?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Adah Stone. She\rquote s the rebel princess who destroyed the southern province.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Adah! Surely not!\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Lewis lied, intentionally or not. I don\rquote t know what he\rquote s involved in this time, but Adah is a traitor. The Queen has a bounty on her head. Wrapping her in that coat, calling her by a false identity, and relying on charisma will get him beheaded the moment he falters. I trust Lewis, and trust you not to breathe a word. Regardless, with those injuries, she\rquote ll be dead in days. She\rquote s suffering for her crime as we speak, but she'll go easy. If she\rquote s caught, it will only hurt Lewis. He's a good man, and I trust him. You're loyal to your friends before your nation.\rdblquote\par
\par
Tove agreed quickly and solemnly. She had bathed Princess Adah... She was probably at just as much risk at beheadal as anyone. \par
\par
\lang1041\f0 # \lang1033\f3 1\lang1041\f0\par
Lewis woke up on the hide rug. Adah was still asleep on his bed. Morning was peaceful in his apartment. The light sifted in through his curtains, and the birds had yet to begin singing. His neighbors were either gone or still sleeping. All was quiet apart from the weak ebb and flow of Adah's breath. She was pale as a ghost, this slender beauty. If she recovers, Lewis thought, I hope she stays. She's just so delicate. She needs someone to protect her. I think we could be happy together.\par
\par
He searched his cabinet, but it was empty apart from some salt and flaxseed. He didn't want to leave her, but it would be best to bring food from the market.\par
\par
"I'll be back in a minute with good food. I'll lock the door behind me. I'll be back before you know it," he murmured into her ear.\par
\par
She did not stir, gritting and twisting in pain as she had when he laid her there.\par
\par
He hastily buckled his shoes and drew a cloak around him. In a moment, he was down the hall and out the front door. In another moment, he was selecting vegetables and meats for a hearty stew, paying, and finally, he was unlocking the front door and stepping in.\par
\par
As before, she was in his bed.\par
\par
(Maybe she wakes up and murmurs something.)\par
\par
It was as though she was slipping away. The light was leaving her face. Darts in his heart and ice spreading in his veins. He was here, but at the same time, he was at the mountain daughter's bedside that night she died. Everything was the same.\par
\par
"I'll save you! Otto will be here."\par
\par
He burst from his room and hit Tove squarely, knocking them both into the floor. Pills and liquid spilled everywhere.\par
\par
"Tove!" The incident dazed him. "Oh, Tove, Tove! Please, bring Otto."\par
\par
"Oh, Lewis--I--\rdblquote Tove paused to recollect herself. \ldblquote Lewis, let\rquote s talk in your room.\rdblquote\par
\par
\ldblquote You don\rquote t understand; Eve needs help!"\par
\par
"Hush, I need to talk to you." Without permission, she pulled him up and led him to room 23E. Once inside, she closed the door. Lewis stared expectantly.\par
\par
Honestly, Tove wasn't prepared for this. "Yesterday, when you came in,--\rdblquote\par
\par
\ldblquote Doctor!"\par
\par
Tove turned around to see Otto filling the doorway.\par
\par
"Quiet yourself, boy, are you mad? You want your neighbors coming over to investigate?"\par
\lang1033\f1\par
\lang1041\f0 # 2\par
\ldblquote There is no magic in my world.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Don\rquote t give me that. You are the one who insisted on intruding upon my secret place. This is one of the last places in Accord without immediate signs of humans. No trash, no trails, no landscaping. This is no place for humans like you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I insisted because I was worried about you. You can not come out to secluded places like this alone at night. What if this is a spot for drug trade or gang initiation? Out here, there is no one to help you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote It isn\rquote t so dangerous outside as it is in your mind. People used to do everything outside and still do elsewhere in places. Your house isn\rquote t so safe either, right? Statistically the most dangerous place to be. I\rquote ve slept out here, spent my whole day here, as a child a lot weaker than I am now, and I\rquote m still here! If you are patient, you might come to understand the serenity of a place like this. I am welcome here, and no place is so comfortable. Do you really think I\rquote d be safer at home?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I still think you are exaggerating. Obviously your home is safer than the middle of the woods.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Don\rquote t bring your arguments here. If you must be here, be quiet.\rdblquote\par
Emily huffed. The argument reached a sturdy wall.\par
\ldblquote Really, though, the water\rquote s so thick and black. On the surface, it is a perfect mirror.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Yeah, why is the water so black? Is it dirty, or is it full of some algae or bacteria? I don\rquote t think you should sit near it.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote It is a mirror under the surface, too. If you crawl in, you will crawl out of the same pond, and see yourself peering from the other side. The sky\rquote s underneath, the trees are underneath. It is more than a mirror\emdash it is a parallel world. You can see the bits of it through the water\rquote s glassy surface. I told you they exist, and there\rquote s one here.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Maybe you are right about these things, but if you hide here, maybe you should spend the time at my house.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Did you come here just to ask that?\rdblquote Will sat down on a cushion of peat moss. \ldblquote Where did this all come from anyways? I don\rquote t even know you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote A girl should not be going out here by herself.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I\rquote ll do what I want. You don\rquote t care. Go home to your family.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Emily, I\rquote ll walk you home.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You should not have followed me here! Go away!\rdblquote\par
Will left begrudgingly. He should not force her, so he left her. It was a long walk to the bus stop. He checked his watch. Three hours until the buses stop running.\par
This is ridiculous.\par
He turned around and\emdash\par
She was gone. He hadn\rquote t heard her leave.\par
\ldblquote\emdash Emily?\rdblquote\par
Dead silence echoed back at him. She was gone. \ldblquote Emily!\rdblquote He searched a bit in the woods. Nothing. Grimacing, he even reached a finger into her \ldblquote portal.\rdblquote No sky underneath, just slime. Eugh. After searching for a time, he hurried back to the buses.\par
He went to bed early that night. Rolling in bed, he thought about her soft skin and smooth hair.\par
At school the next day, he pushed through the day, just waiting for break. The final bell rang, and he was first out. He waited just near Emily\rquote s last class. A stream of 10th graders exited the room, grouping into eagerly chattering cliques. The last few stragglers walked out slowly, a couple of boys talking about when they can meet to finish some lit project. Taking a deep breath, he finally peered into the room. Emily was gathering her things slowly. Everyone had left, even the teacher.\par
\ldblquote Hey, Emily,\rdblquote he greeted gently.\par
She sighed. \ldblquote Will, hello.\rdblquote She met his eyes unwaveringly but without any evident hostility.\par
\ldblquote I\rquote m going to the park. Will you come with me?\rdblquote\par
She hesitated.\par
\ldblquote Come on. There\rquote s swings and a walking trail. It is beautiful. It is quiet, too.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Okay.\rdblquote\par
Euphoric! A butterfly beat its wings against his heart. A smile and a blush spread across his face. He could not hide it.\par
They walked together down the hall. It was already empty.\par
They go on a cute date and\emdash\par
\par
\ldblquote It is real\emdash\ldblquote Will breathed. Did I just slip through to the other side?\par
\ldblquote I told you. There\rquote s points between the world everywhere.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote How are you so calm! You\rquote ve been here before or something?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Well,\rdblquote Pink flushed over nose. \ldblquote I\rquote ve watched it from our side.\rdblquote\par
She is so queer, Will thought. So weird! \ldblquote Well, let\rquote s go back. I don\rquote t think we should be here.\rdblquote\par
Emily stepped back into the puddle, but it wasn\rquote t the same. \ldblquote Just water.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Wait, just water? Well, you know these things. How do we go back?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote It is not a portal anymore. We will need a new one,\rdblquote she mused, stopping to peer into the still water. \ldblquote Nothing below but water.\par
\ldblquote I\emdash it will be dark soon, though. What will my parents think?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Like I said. No place for humans.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Do you know what\rquote s here? Animals? People?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Yes,\rdblquote she confirmed solemnly. \ldblquote No place for humans.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Stop saying that! You are human just the same as me. What you are is ridiculous.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Well, let\rquote s look around. There is nothing here for us. Whatever danger is out there will get us just the same here as around.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Right\'81\'63\rdblquote\par
They proceeded in dead silence, avoiding stepping on noisy terrain covered in leaves and rocks. In time, they relaxed. Uneventful minutes eased the initial tension of an alien world. In time, they hiked casually, chatting easily.\par
\ldblquote Just like park,..At least, quite a bit like the park,\rdblquote Will mused.\par
\ldblquote Right. It is parallel. I told you,\rdblquote she replied weakly.\par
There was just nothing but wilds for as long as the brush allowed sight. \ldblquote Just nothing here. No swings. No hot dog stand. We are alone! No dog walkers or screaming kids.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Now, the people are different here. They aren\rquote t so free-spirited. You will have to be more cautious. It is parallel, not the same, you know?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I suppose\'81\'63\rdblquote Apprehension sprang up in Will\rquote s heart.\par
\ldblquote There aren\rquote t any portals?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Well\'81\'63they are rare, you know? They aren\rquote t for humans. They are in secluded places. They come and go. They are sensitive in that way. They\rquote ll leave you.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Are you saying they\rquote ll close or something with me around? That\rquote s just silly. We\rquote re no different.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I\rquote m saying we are. You just don\rquote t believe me.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Of course I don\rquote t believe you. There\rquote s no magic, like I said. There might be a hollow earth, there might be wormholes, but it\rquote s for conspirators to believe. Nothing proven.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Except for what\rquote s before you. Listen, okay I\rquote m not human. I\rquote m just not. Not like you. You\rquote re different from me, Will, and it doesn\rquote t matter in most cases from your point of view, I know, but it\rquote s true. It\rquote s something I feel and am constantly reaffirming.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Isn\rquote t there anywhere to sleep? How will we be safe? It\rquote s already getting cold\'81\'63.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Don\rquote t worry. Look among the rocks. If there\rquote s a shallow system of caves, we\rquote ll hide among them. Of course, you\rquote re probably worried, but it\rquote ll be better shelter. If it\rquote s shallow, there won\rquote t be established communities inside.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Like this one?\rdblquote \ldblquote Perfect!\rdblquote\par
Emily set down her backpack and took out a little dollar store flashlight. \ldblquote The cave ends right there. There\rquote s nothing here but us. Let\rquote s wait for morning.\par
\ldblquote But my mom will be worried sick\'81\'63.She\rquote ll call the police even.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote She\rquote ll have to chill. We\rquote re here and will get out when it\rquote s time. Just accept it. We may not be out so easily, considering we should get out together.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote But uh,\'81\'63\rdblquote\par
Emily stopped clearing aside dirt.\par
\ldblquote We\rquote re sleeping here?\rdblquote\par
She stared, waiting for his point.\par
\ldblquote Together?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You are such a sensitive guy. It\rquote d kill you, regardless of consent. But yeah. Take the other wall, if it bothers you. Just leave me alone, okay? Perv. You know your boundaries.\rdblquote\par
He sat down next to her.\par
"Emily?"\par
She looked a little apphrensous after what he just said.\par
"I am scared."\par
She sighed. "You shouldn't be here. You should be with the people who love you. I'm sorry. It's partially my fault, but what can I do? I've been in situations like this before, you know, out in the wilds, sleeping just somewhere. It's not like you die the second you leave your home. We'll probably be okay. I understand you'll be missed, though. I don't exactly know what to do about it."\par
"Why do you sleep outside?"\par
"Well, if you want to know about my upbringing, it's embarrassing to tell you. These aren't happy stories. I'm not even sure you'd believe them. It's not like it matters anymore."\par
Night was falling, and it was getting harder to see.\par
"Just go to sleep. We'll sort things out in the morning."\par
Will zipped up his jacket and rested his head on his backpack. Before shutting his eyes, he knew he wouldn't sleep a wink. He never can without a glass of water or his feet tucked in. Emily fell asleep almost immediately, breathing rhythmically.\par
\par
He felt lost and alone. This was the first moment Will really considered his surroundings. Wind was constantly stirring leaves and dirt, making him paranoid. Every once in a while, a twig would snap, or a branch would fall. Something howled in the distance, an eerie otherworldly sound. That was no animal he was familiar with. If anything happened, he seriously foubted his ability to defend Emily. If it came down to it, he was in a dangerous foreign world with a small, weak girl. He has to take responsibility for protecting her. \par
\par
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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2510;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa150\sl0\slmult0\cf1\lang1041\f0\fs20 #\lang1033\f1 Outline\par
Emily in real world \endash Disliked\par
Will, new guy, likes her\par
They hang out, Emily doesn\rquote t trust him\par
Emily leaves?\par
Comes back\par
Will and Emily discover abandoned tunnel\par
To the Forrest. \par
Wander\par
Ninja jump kick back of head, unseen\par
Unconscious wake up. All stuff is stolen. Thief/highwayman/something^\par
Lady there, cooing, wake up? \endash Futura?? Asks who are, what were they doing there, from the looks of their outfits, are they Hearth, gives them names to assure safe passage, glad you found me, (she looks surprised and shocked at who they are)\par
Takes to Moonstone\par
Talks hushed excitedly. Kids left where can\rquote t hear.\par
Futura returns, leaves kids in Moonstone\rquote s care, leaves promptly and mysteriously\par
Moonstone takes to her camp, makes sure okay, are fed, etc\par
Both sides ask questions\par
Keep them for a day? Maybe leave afternoon. Nice timing, we\rquote re having a mentor\rquote s meeting\par
Go to mentor guild in main town Sisterly, capital\par
Mentors apprenticed except Moonstone (Futura\rquote s involvement, possibly)\par
Moonstone makes case, talks, no apprentice allowed to hear\par
Moonstone allowed to mentor Emily and Will\par
Training sessions and introduction to Moonstone and her camp who she is where they sleep\par
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Lewis comes, heard of Luna, hey\par
Luna defensive and protective at first, but then realizes is Lewis and not from her fathers kingdom\par
Lewis fellow mentor\par
Final war with all nations against great threat?\par
Holocaust of Alcara?\par
Jesse Jut Forgoes is the chosen one, not Nykki and not Ellis. He sacrifices himself and saves the world\par
Alcara are quickly killed\par
Still the Alcara push on and they kill the Alcara?\par
Futura kills Nykki herself before Ellis\rquote s eyes. Nykki is Alcara\par
Ellis lives, runs\par
Futura puts the mark of the alcara on Nykki\rquote s forehead clearly\par
Futura runs off to tell the mentors that are still alive (Lewis died and head mentor died) the news of Nykki\rquote s true race\par
Demoralizing news to mentors (most)\par
Nykki\rquote s actions since she was led to believe she was chosen caused the great evil boss??\par
Ellis goes crazy and lost his love\par
\lang1041\f0\par
#\lang1033\f2 Prologue \par
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\tab Luminous blue eyes opened and darted about the room quickly. The room still lay at rest, only the edges were made faintly visible by the moonlight. The woman strained her ears for any disturbances, but not a sound could be heard. It seemed a typical night, not even a breeze to arise suspicion. \par
\tab Still not satisfied, the woman slipped out of bed, careful not to draw any possible attention to herself, and ghosted to the center of the room. Nothing. Such silence usually triggered lighthearted feelings of serenity and reminiscence but tonight only unsettled her. The woman stood motionless in the center of the room, hesitating silently as to what she needed to do. The stagnant air chilled her skin, raising goosebumps. A wave of thoughts overwhelmed her of whether this sense of urgency and importance weren\rquote t just lingering from her strange dreams and memories of other nights like this. \par
\tab Then a shift in the air interrupted her indecision. The woman peered out into the balcony. Still nothing. She crept out onto the sturdy stone anyways, awaiting the discovery of the cause of her disconcertment.\par
\tab\ldblquote Moonstone,\rdblquote the familiar voice murmured a step behind her. \par
\tab\ldblquote Futura!\rdblquote Moonstone hissed. \ldblquote Why is it that you come to me here? It\rquote s never safe for you to be out here. What if someone had spotted you? What could be so important?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Moonstone, remember. Not one of these fools could ever concern me. However, I keep myself hidden for my own reasons. So to leave my shadows just to deliver a message, it must be very important, and you\rquote re the only one I can trust with this information. Now before you say anything, you must not tell a soul. It\rquote s of upmost importance. However, I feel I must tell somebody.\rdblquote Futura half-smiled. \ldblquote So naturally, I find you.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You couldn\rquote t possibly\'85Is this a prophecy?\rdblquote Moonstone gasped, her eyes shimmering in the dark.\par
\tab\ldblquote The last prophecy,\rdblquote Futura affirmed. \ldblquote The Prophecy of the Newcomer\'85\rdblquote\par
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\lang1041\f0 #\lang1033\f2 The Source of a River \par
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\tab The sun was dipping just below the horizon, the sky still tinged in slight ripples of amber and crimson. The smooth waters of the lake captured the tips of the mountains against the warm tones of the sunset with the distorted quirks of Monet. Frogs and insects took signal to begin their nightly symphony, shrouded by the dark, known only by their voices. Fireflies were taking turns in dotting the scene in short, dim glows. A lone girl stubbornly sat at the edge of the lake, knowing it was time to return home. She knew this, sure, but she didn\rquote t care. She knew her family didn\rquote t care. Nobody in the whole world would care. So why should she? \par
\tab The age old laws of how children should behave ruled out in the end, and the girl made the long way home in the void of night, making the trip by muscle memory alone. She had been this way and back several times before, and sight wasn\rquote t really needed anymore. She arrived at her house and entered through the back door, knowing the tricks to avoid the creaky hinges and the threshold for what would wake her family. School was tomorrow anyways, so she slipped into bed. \par
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.:~:.\par
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\tab The morning was just a series of motions: get out of bed, shower, get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, get a bowl of cereal, pack backpack, try not to get underfoot, and get in the car. Once they got to school, she got out of the car with her backpack and started towards the building. Some student calls her out and pushes her around. One of her friends joins her and give the girl a rough time. The girl completely ignores the two girls and continues to the door knowing they\rquote ll have to part to visit their lockers and hurry to class at some point. \par
\tab Then for the first time, the cycle was broken. \par
\tab\ldblquote What are you picking on this little girl for? Don\rquote t you have anything better to do?\rdblquote a boy the girl had never heard before cried out in defense. \par
\tab The girl was just as shocked as the two other students, looking up from her feet for the first time since she had gotten out of the car.\par
\tab\ldblquote Y\emdash ,\rdblquote one of the girls started but couldn\rquote t arrive on anything to say. After half a second\rquote s confusion, she and her friend lapsed back into idle taunts and jabs. \par
\tab\ldblquote Hmph. Like what are you? Her boyfriend? Awww, how sweet. And I didn\rquote t think anybody could ever take trash like Albright.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote No\'85You don\rquote t have to be in a relationship with someone to help them out,\rdblquote the boy stuttered.\par
\tab\ldblquote Ha! You want to help Albright out? Then you must be new here. Albright is trash. If you don\rquote t know why yet, just hang around the school a little longer. The students hate her. The teachers hate her. She\rquote s just scum. She doesn\rquote t deserve help.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Scum? Well, the only people here acting like that seem to be you and your friend. Just leave her alone.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Sounds like somebody\rquote s ready to hold us countable to those haughty words,\rdblquote the blonde girl sneered. \ldblquote Hero boy\rquote s not gonna fight us, is he?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote No! And I don\rquote t have to. Just leave her alone.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Then what are you going to do? Words mean nothing, you know?\rdblquote\par
\tab The boy hesitated, and the two girls saw it immediately. \par
\tab\ldblquote Precisely. We\rquote ll let you off clean this time, but stay away from that girl if you know what\rquote s good for you. Don\rquote t put such a bad reputation on such a cute face. It\rquote d be a shame. Anyways, come on, Stace.\rdblquote\par
\tab The two girls strutted away indignantly, leaving the girl and the boy alone.\par
\tab\ldblquote Erm, he\emdash\ldblquote The boy started, perplexed by the scene.\par
\tab The girl turned to her apparent hero with startled, untrusting eyes in wonder which quickly melted to anger. She quickly left him to rush to class. The rest of the day flowed as any without any more breaks in schedule, but the girl never settled back into the series of classes to sit through. She found herself constantly glancing out the door for a glimpse of that guy again. Nobody ever was just\'85nice to her. Especially like that. Who was her to stand up for her? \par
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.:~:.\par
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\tab She didn\rquote t spot him for the rest of the day until the bell rang. She gathered her books and fumbled with her combination, having to redo it once. She had her homework and filled her backpack, so she could leave the school building yet another time and find someplace to be alone for a while. Just as she was leaving the school, she spotted him again: average height, smooth dark hair, brown eyes. She hurried past him to get back home as quickly as possible. \par
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\lang1041\f0 #\lang1033\f2 Spark and Burning Low \par
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\tab The girl learned which halls the boy went down and avoided him with near-paranoia. It took a few days for her usual bullies to block her entrance into the school and degrade her between classes, but after they had, the girl eased slowly back into her routine, but she hadn\rquote t forgotten the hiccup.\par
\tab Eventually, she had learned that his name was Will. He was new to the school, enrolling in the middle of the year due to his dad\rquote s job unexpectedly moving. He was a grade above her, a sophomore. Luckily, they shared no classes. \par
\tab Just as she was leaving the school, the girl heard her name then was tripped onto the concrete walkway. She didn\rquote t break anything, but her books and pencils spilled everywhere. Then there was that boy again\emdash Will. \par
\tab\ldblquote Are you okay?\rdblquote asked Will, quickly gathering her things into her backpack for her. \par
\tab The girl only stared back incredulously, speechless for a moment. \par
\tab\ldblquote Erm, what\rquote s your name?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Emily\'85\rdblquote the girl breathed back. \ldblquote Why?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Err, my name\rquote s Will,\rdblquote he introduced himself as he handed Emily back her backpack. \ldblquote Here.\rdblquote\par
\tab Emily took it like someone accepting a shot.\par
\tab\ldblquote You mind if I walk you home?\rdblquote\par
\tab By now, more than a few students had stopped their idle chatter to watch the scene from afar. Not one said a word. \par
\tab\ldblquote But\emdash uh,\rdblquote Emily stuttered. \par
\tab She pushed herself to her feet, feeling so light-headed, she hardly felt contact with the ground. \par
\tab The two walked together in silence, the student body watching after them in utter bewilderment. \par
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\lang1041\f0 #\lang1033\f2 Gray Fortress \par
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\tab\ldblquote Emily, I\rquote m sorry for startling you and probably making you feel uncomfortable. Err, are you okay?\rdblquote asked Will after walking in silence for a long period of time. \par
\tab\ldblquote Why are you acting like this?\rdblquote Emily replied curtly. \ldblquote What do you think you can get out of this?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote What do you mean? Surely not everybody treats you like that.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Really. Stop with the games. Just tell me what you want and leave me alone. I\rquote ve never bothered you.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote How far away do you live?\rdblquote Will changed the subject. \par
\tab\ldblquote A while.\rdblquote \par
\tab\ldblquote Ah, I live a while away, too. There\rquote s a school that would only take me twenty minutes to walk to, but the districts were set strangely, so.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Neither one of us is answering the other\rquote s question, and I trust you will break first long before me. Why are you walking me home?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Because I\rquote m hoping to understand you a little better and because you seem to have no idea what it\rquote s like to have someone do you a favor. So I\rquote m being nice.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Understand me better?\rdblquote \par
\tab\ldblquote Yes. Why is everybody so mean to you? They single you out for no reason. You don\rquote t seem to have done anything to anyone.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Whether I have or not doesn\rquote t matter. You don\rquote t understand; people treat me how they do because it\rquote s the way it works. People respond to teachers one way, trees another, dogs another, siblings another, and so on. You don\rquote t seem so perplexed at why we walk over the grass as though it doesn\rquote t matter.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote What? No, well, why you over anybody else in your class or any other class?\rdblquote pressed Will. \ldblquote Or me?\rdblquote \par
\tab\ldblquote You\rquote re not me. So you\rquote re not treated like that. However, you seem to not understand at all that rule.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I don\rquote t. What rule?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote It\rquote s just how the world is. I don\rquote t know what exactly it entails or who set it down. It\rquote s just the way it is.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You\rquote ve listened to those people for way too long. You\rquote re a beautiful girl and seem alright. That puts you a step above most of the girls I\rquote ve seen. You\rquote re hardly the \lquote scum\rquote people describe you as.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Err, that\rquote s the way it\rquote s been since I can remember. And it\rquote s held true for every person I\rquote ve encountered since birth. Why are you so different?\rdblquote\par
\tab Will was taken a step back. He didn\rquote t quite know how to respond. \par
\tab\ldblquote Anyways, there\rquote s my house,\rdblquote Emily gestured to a row of houses. \par
\tab She abruptly walked to the last one and went to the back entrance. Will stood where she had left him trying to form an opinion and turned to walk to his house. \par
\tab Emily sighed in relief and walked to where her house actually was, enjoying the fact that she finally found a use for the old house. She wondered when Will\rquote d try to visit or call, only to find that the house was vacant and had been for years. It was kept orderly by an OCD neighbor who made it his own personal crusade to keep the grass perfectly cut. \par
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\lang1041\f0 #\lang1033\f2 A Secluded and Wooded Valley\par
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\tab Will\rquote s walking Emily home became a habit to the shock of the student body. Will never seemed to realize that they weren\rquote t actually going to Emily\rquote s house, though Emily had fun inventing reasons why her parents\rquote cars were never there and why the lights were never on. \par
\tab The trick worked for a while and allowed Emily to be flat out stubborn towards Will until they walked up to the house one day and a new sign was out in the front. It read:\par
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For Sale.\par
Please contact Minnie Bininger at 555-2686.\par
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\tab Emily froze.\par
\tab\ldblquote You\rquote re moving?!\rdblquote Will cried. \par
\tab\ldblquote Err.\rdblquote \par
\tab\ldblquote Oh,\rdblquote Will realized. \ldblquote So where is your real house?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote How quickly do you need to get home?\rdblquote asked Emily.\par
\tab\ldblquote Err, my parents are pretty laid-back. So long as I call, I can hang out as long as I like...\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Okay then. Why don\rquote t I show you something?\rdblquote Emily sighed. \par
\tab\ldblquote Okay\'85\rdblquote Will complied. \par
\tab Emily led Will alongside the road and through light forests for a long distance. Will trotted along, curious for what Emily could want to show him. He didn\rquote t speak a word in fear of Emily rescinding her offer. The foliage grew thicker and richer at the crest of a hill, a leafy veil for what lie just behind them. They broke the line of trees and stepped onto the spongy grass and soil of the lake. Everything lay perfectly untouched, the animals freely going about their business without the fear of human trespass. As with all things in nature without the gaudy d\f3\'e9cor and rearrangement by humans, the sparkling beauty of the lake and surrounding rocks was hard to define, though it was of a simple nature. \par
\tab\ldblquote Oh, Emily,\rdblquote Will gasped, rarely having had been in one of the out-of-the-way pockets seeded all about the countryside. \ldblquote What is this place?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Nobody seems to know or care about it, so I come out here whenever the world gets to be too much for my liking. Frogs and fireflies care little about the rules of the world, so I enjoy their disinterest occasionally. How little they know, yet how orderly they are fascinates me. Uh, mostly I come out here to think. I don\rquote t really know why I showed you this place. But I usually come here instead of going home. How I\rquote m treated in school is just as tolerable as it is at home, and I don\rquote t care much. It is nice, though, just to take a break out here. It\rquote s beautiful.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Oh\'85Well,\rdblquote Will took in the scene around him. \ldblquote It\rquote s wonderful. Err, yeah, thanks for showing me.\rdblquote\par
\tab Emily was lost in the turbulent little ripples along the shore, and Will observed all around him, shocked by Emily\rquote s foreign openness, at least in this one thing. \par
\tab\ldblquote So how often do you come out here?\rdblquote Will asked as they sat down on the rocky outcroppings leading out to the waters of the lake. \par
\tab\ldblquote Daily, if I feel my absence won\rquote t affect anything due to certain circumstances. I like to be here instead of being there,\rdblquote Emily brushed her shoulder. \ldblquote So why are you so ready to be sympathetic towards me? I\rquote m sure you\rquote ve lost any friends you might have made just for one who\rquote s not worth it.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote That doesn\rquote t really bother me at all. You seem to need a friend, so I want to try to be one. And you seem to be a really interesting person, but you just completely mistrust everybody. \par
\tab\ldblquote Need a friend? So you throw away any chance of making it through school because I \lquote need a friend\rquote ?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Everybody needs friends\'85And people haven\rquote t been that rough on me. Just the occasional odd stare. Nothing unusual\'85\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Yeah, the students\rquote ll form their opinion about you soon. The teachers, though, I\rquote m not too sure about. I\rquote ll let you make your mistakes if that\rquote s your inclination.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Exactly what is this system you see set up that sets you apart as something to abuse? If you got it from somebody, it\rquote s not right. You\rquote re just a girl. I\rquote m sure there have been misunderstandings and jealousy\'85\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote No, you don\rquote t get it. I don\rquote t listen to other people. They always lie. I know they do because I\rquote m told something, believe it, and am let down. It proves true every time if it\rquote s a promise or something that could help me. I don\rquote t listen to other people. I observe things on my own. I meet somebody. They are cruel to me. I meet more people. They verbally abuse me on a daily basis. I don\rquote t form a theory until I have seen it come true so many times, I doubt it could ever prove not true,\rdblquote Emily ranted. \ldblquote Then there\rquote s you.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Am I really that different for just trying to be a little caring?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Yes. It shouldn\rquote t happen. So I don\rquote t believe you either.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I can\rquote t expect you to\'85I hope you will, though.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You don\rquote t?\rdblquote Emily\rquote s eyes snapped to Will\rquote s face with a strange glow. Her eyes begged for a reply.\par
\tab\ldblquote No, Emily. Had anybody ever allowed you just to be you without obligating anything on you? You\rquote re your own person, Emily. You know that?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Eh,\rdblquote Emily suddenly looked hurt. \ldblquote I\rquote m sorry, just why are you doing this?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Em\emdash\ldblquote Will started as Emily leapt up and sped away, quickly disappearing behind the trees. Will didn\rquote t linger. He got up and started home. He had forgotten to call his mom about it anyways. \par
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# Means How Much \par
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\tab Will was thankful once again for his parents being so hands-off in the way they raised him. They were the sort of parents who allow their children to grow up without overly strict rules that led to death if broken. They had always felt that led to rebellion, and the punishment would do little to mend \ldblquote problems of the heart\rdblquote . Instead, they taught their child what is right and what is wrong, then allowed Will to make mistakes and see the consequences for himself so long as they weren\rquote t hazardous or would negatively impact his future. They thought that a child would learn proper behavior from having to deal with the consequences himself than being blindly punished for breaking silly, meaningless rules. Will is what most people would call a good kid with great respect for his parents, so the guilt of displeasing his parents was often enough to keep him in line. He got off easy, though his mother had private concerns about it. Will never forgets to call home of all things. She didn\rquote t hold one mistake over him, though, and reminded him to call if he was going to be late.\par
\tab After apologizing several times, Will headed up to his room and cleared his computer desk to start on his homework. He realized he didn\rquote t have his bookbag with him, so he checked downstairs. Then he remembered leaving it at the lake. He was so foolish! Luckily, he remembered the gist of the material and only brought the books to be used to brush up on what he was fairly confident he remembered, but there\rquote s no telling what could happen to it. \par
\tab He knew he had to run out and get it, but he had just gotten back late after not calling. So foolish! The lake wasn\rquote t too far from the school, so Will resolved to pick it up early the next morning. \par
\tab He quickly knocked out the notebook work on one of his home notebooks. He had finished his math homework in class as usual and had only a few questions left to complete in history. History was his third period class, but he was pretty sure he could finish them in time. \par
\tab Since he was planning on leaving a little earlier, he got into bed around 9:45 P.M. \par
\tab Emily burdened his mind once he had stilled himself to go to sleep. She was just your average teen who has been mistreated and disliked more often than not and grew into being a lonely person who has lost all self-confidence. Will has always tried to be a friend to these people, feeling their depression and apparent helplessness as his own. Emily, however, bothered him. He wasn\rquote t sure how to even describe it; her situation was different. Her disposition, her surroundings\'85just different. Just how she looked at him before running away killed something in him. She must have truly had a very different life than most people like her. And she must hold the feelings in very differently. It hurt to think about. In fear of nightmares, Will shook off all his thoughts and tried to fall asleep.\par
\tab Despite willing his sleep to be easy, Will had bad dreams, though he could hardly remember any of it after opening his eyes. Anything that bothered him usually led to a bothered sleep. It was an inescapable curse for Will. \par
\tab Oh, right! My bookbag! Will thought. He glanced up at the clock.\par
\tab\ldblquote 6:27 A.M.,\rdblquote the digital display blinked. That was about the time Will usually woke up in the mornings. Great. Great, great, great. \par
\tab Keeping his bookbag in mind, Will got ready in record time, vaguely reminding him of all the times he had been able to shower in under half a minute as a little kid so he could watch some program on the TV. \par
\tab\ldblquote 6:36 A.M.\rdblquote Will eyed the living room clock as he pulled on his shoes. \par
\tab\ldblquote You seem in a hurry,\rdblquote his mother commented.\par
\tab Will jumped. He had been so focused on getting ready, he hadn\rquote t noticed that his mom was in the room. \par
\tab\ldblquote Err, yeah. I left my bookbag at school, and I had a few problems in history that I needed to answer before class.\rdblquote\par
\tab Will\rquote s mom half-smiled and replied, \ldblquote Ah, then I won\rquote t slow you down.\rdblquote\par
\tab Will hesitated then hastened out to his car. License, err\emdash no bookbag, the homework I did manage to do, uh, yeah. I guess, he skimmed through an imaginary checklist. As he was pulling out, he noticed his bookbag sitting right beside the front door. He jumped out of his car and snatched it up. Nothing was tampered. It didn\rquote t look like anybody had even opened it.\par
\tab Emily, the name passed briefly through Will\rquote s mind as he drove off to school. \par
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# Bird Catcher \par
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\tab Will brought his history book to homeroom in hopes of completing his work assignment before the first bell rang. He laid his notebook on his desk and opened to page 81. A scrap sheet of paper slipped out from the pages and fell to the ground. Robin and Jenna were the only other people in the room at the moment, and both were too preoccupied with wasting time to notice the others in the room. Will leaned over casually and picked it up off the floor. Once turned over, he saw a handwriting other than his own scrawled across it:\par
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\tab I don\rquote t entirely not appreciate your efforts to be nice. I\rquote m sorry; I\rquote m just not used to the idea. If you really want just want to be friends, I\rquote ll try. It\rquote s just a strange concept to me, and I wouldn\rquote t be that great of one. But if you want to anyways, I can try. I know how \ldblquote teen\rdblquote this sounds, but I\rquote ve just never met anybody like you who is just\'85nice. But I don\rquote t know. I might retract the offer later. But this is really incoherent, and you have some problems in history, so. Err\'85Sorry\'85and\'85Thanks.\par
# Emily \tab\tab\tab\tab\par
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\tab After reading it, Will quickly folded it and put it in his pants pocket. He didn\rquote t have time to meditate on it, but. It was new. He just wished he could get inside Emily\rquote s head more and see what all has been working through her to get her to feel like she could accept anybody. \par
\tab But he had a history assignment and only four more minutes to complete it before sacrificing his free-time, so he got started. \par
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.:~:.\par
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\tab At the final bell, Emily met Will at his locker. \par
\tab\ldblquote Hey,\rdblquote was all she said. Will nodded back and got his books together. They walked out of the school after Will had texted his mom. Neither really said anything until they had reached the lake. Once they had, Will spoke up first.\par
\tab\ldblquote Thanks for getting my books for me\'85I would have been late if I had to come out here myself before school.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Yeah, it was nothing. I usually spend at least a few minutes out here every morning anyways.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Really? You must spend a lot of time out here.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Admittedly\'85Yeah. It just feels like home more than anyplace else ever has. Not that there\rquote s really anything about it. Just\'85relative silence. No criticisms. No expectations. Just relative peace. And it\rquote s\'85nice.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote It probably means a lot that you\rquote d take somebody into this place.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote It does. But I don\rquote t know why I did. You haven\rquote t ruined it, though. So I guess it was okay.\rdblquote\par
\tab The two fell silent again for several minutes. There just simply seemed to be nothing to say. Emily just gazed about the lake with an air of satisfaction that she never had in school. Will just waited, feeling slightly awkward.\par
\tab\ldblquote I\rquote m sorry I\rquote m not talking. It\rquote s making you feel uncomfortable. It\rquote s because you don\rquote t want to say anything to offend me or upset me. Really. It\rquote s okay.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Err, okay\'85Emily, what\rquote s your family like?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote My dad and my mom are together. No siblings. I was adopted, though I\rquote ve never heard much about that. They fight a lot, and neither really likes me. I\rquote m not a perfect child or anything, but yeah. They just don\rquote t like me. I\rquote ve never really fit into the family, though. I\rquote m such a loner in my eyes, I guess, that it\rquote s hard to be in those sorts of relationships. I guess. I don\rquote t know. But I just never have. And maybe I can, but what\rquote s in my head is in my head and nothing feels right. Though that sounds crazy. Sorry.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You say sorry so much, Emily. It\rquote s fine,\rdblquote Will tried to get her to understand. \ldblquote And I sort of think I know what you mean. Even though I\rquote ve never really felt like that anywhere\'85So you\rquote ve just never had friends or anything? Even as a little kid?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote No\'85I was the kid who just entertained herself and didn\rquote t care much for the others in the room. Academic and skills-oriented pursuits interested me, but that was about it. Other kids didn\rquote t care for me either. They just left me out of anything I tried to get involved in. And they were mean. But whatever. And that stuck\'85apparently.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Not everybody in the world can treat you like that without even knowing you.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Then just shadow me and watch how strangers respond to me. It\rquote s how the world works.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote But\'85how? Why? You don\rquote t look extraordinarily different from anybody else. Just short for your age, I guess. Nothing that\'85off\'85\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote It\rquote s how the world works. Don\rquote t reason with it. You just always lose in the end. You accept it and take your place. It\rquote s how the world works.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote But\'85it\rquote s so\'85I don\rquote t know. Everybody? Just. I don\rquote t know.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You\rquote re the first. Really. And maybe you\rquote ll learn later.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote And you\rquote re okay with this?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Like I said. You can\rquote t argue what never changes. Just live with it.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Surely that really just eats at you inside, though. Does it?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Well. Emotions don\rquote t matter much.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote It\rquote s who you are, though.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Who I \lquote are\rquote don\rquote t matter much. There\rquote s a world, and I\rquote m just a point on it. People near me don\rquote t usually give me a second thought. Why would I matter on any scale?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You can\rquote t live like that.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I haven\rquote t?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I don\rquote t find you that way at all.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I haven\rquote t been a burden to you?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Don\rquote t talk like that. You\rquote ve just been living in the wrong company for too long. You matter loads. The others are just stupid. I hope you recognize that.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote An entire world stupid? Fancy.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I don\rquote t really have my mind wrapped around that and don\rquote t I could if I had been through all of life with you\'85And just let me ask you. Do you really feel this way, Emily?\rdblquote\par
\tab Emily didn\rquote t answer. \par
\tab\ldblquote That\rquote s okay. I don\rquote t really want an answer. Err, do you do anything? Like hobbies.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Sorta. I just like to pass time here. It\rquote s just the lake. I\rquote ll pick up any new skill that might come in handy, though. Reading is always nice, but I really would just prefer to watch the lake here.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote How many years have you been out here?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Only two. The first was less enjoying the presence of the lake and more overcoming everything that hung so heavily on me. It was mostly a place that I knew I\rquote d always be alone here. It wasn\rquote t until this year that I really started noticing all the special quirks about the lake. It\rquote s order and immutable ecosystem, Bugs, frogs and fish, other fish, raptors, the rare sighting of a larger creature. All move about their daily cycle, inches away from their enemies, yet never flinching. It\rquote s a different world there, and I\rquote ll never be a part of that. I\rquote m hardly a part of my own world. I don\rquote t know, I guess it\rquote s comfortable. Just watching from the outside how everything progresses. Nothing ever seems to stand out between the days here. People aren\rquote t like that. It\rquote s probably less interesting, but I just enjoy the peace here. Paradise, I guess. Everything they need. No fear, no pain.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Sentimental spot, then?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Yeah\'85Home. Do you have anything like that?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Not really. No place has stood out as that significant for me. Though I love my parents\'85if it\rquote s okay to mention that.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote I have no remorse. I never had and never really met those who gave birth to me. Though I don\rquote t find it hard to believe they threw me out like everybody else.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Oh\'85Well, I love mine. So I guess just being with them. I\rquote m an only child, so I guess I\rquote m more attached to them.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Heh, doesn\rquote t always work like that, I guess.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Yeah, guess not.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Anyways\'85you have a lot of homework, don\rquote t you? I\rquote d rather you get started on that instead of blowing time.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Right, later\'85\rdblquote\par
\tab Will got up and brushed himself off to leave. Emily just remained where she was because she had no place else to be. Once Will was out of earshot, she sighed. It all just felt strange. She was crazy, but there was something she could feel in him. But she was crazy.\par
.:~:.\par
\par
\tab The next day, they tried again. \par
\tab\ldblquote So, what classes are you taking this year?\rdblquote Will started.\par
\tab\ldblquote Err, just the basic 9th grade stuff. You know.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Ah. Yeah. New here, so I don\rquote t know any of your teachers specifically or anything.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Where are you from, anyways?\rdblquote Emily asked.\par
\tab\ldblquote Virginia. Nowhere special. My dad is a carpenter and his work moved. So we had to move with it. So now we\rquote re here. It was really unexpected, so I had to leave school halfway through the year, which was slightly stressful with testing and all. But I\rquote m adapting, I guess?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Ah,\rdblquote Emily smiled slightly. She had a prejudice against Virginians for the longest time. She couldn\rquote t remember why anymore, though, so she had just let it pass. \ldblquote Is anywhere really that special?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Eh, well,\rdblquote Will responded. \par
\tab\par
.:~:.\par
\par
\tab The two went on for about a week, then one day, Will hadn\rquote t shown up. He had started to feel that Emily was a bit off and another guy told him off about Emily and told him to go somewhere with him. Will does so reluctantly, and Emily stands alone in the school doorway for about an hour until she gives up. She drags to the lake and gazes into the water, feeling somewhat dejected. She realizes that she doesn\rquote t totally mind Will\rquote s presence and the lake and just hangs out for a while. Will doesn\rquote t come back for 3 days until Emily catches him. She comes to him, softened, just wanting him. He feels crushed, realizing what he had just done. Emily starts speaking to him more and eventually they go for a walk around the lake and find the portal to Cyre.\par
\par
.:~:.\par
\par
\tab Emily gets really discouraged and falls into her black cloud of discontentment and just runs away. Will waits at the lake for a week, hoping to catch her. Soon after, he gives up, knowing her nature. He tries to slip into a normal life at the school. After 2 weeks, he gets the strangest urge to travel to the lake. He obliges, feeling so strange doing so, and meets Emily there. Emily had realized how she didn\rquote t care one wit about the world at all and was perfectly content to live out somewhere, whether she died or not. But she missed Will. She had tried to dismiss it, but his memory persisted. So she just had to run back to the lake. If he was there, she would stay with him. If not, she\rquote d just forget him. She gets to the lake and he\rquote s there. It\rquote s dark and she can hardly make out the trees, but she recognizes him immediately and stops breathing. It\rquote s him. After all that time, it\rquote s him. Will is taken aback as well, seeing her in the moonlight. Gorgeous. They both are spellbound by each other and unwilling to talk. Emily finally musters, \ldblquote\'85I\rquote m sorry.\rdblquote Will says nothing, star struck. The next day is the weekend, they agree to meet out. Will tells his mom that he\rquote s going to be spending the day with a friend. She asks who. \par
\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
\par
# Cross the water\par
\par
\par
\tab\ldblquote You look like you\rquote re ready to go somewhere,\rdblquote Will\rquote s mother came up from behind.\par
\tab\ldblquote Oh, I\rquote m just spending the day with a friend,\rdblquote Will replied.\par
\tab\ldblquote Oh, good! Who is he?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Her, actually. She\rquote s a girl I met in the school. She seemed to have had a really rough time from the other girls in her class and stuff.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Aww, how sweet. So you watch over her. You don\rquote t like her, do you?\rdblquote\par
\tab Will blushed vividly on cue. He wished he was one of those people who could be asked questions like that, guilty or not, and keep a straight face. He wasn\rquote t, however, and it started more rumors that he could ever care for.\par
\tab\ldblquote No, no, I just have to be a friend to those who don\rquote t have any. You know how I am.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You know I\rquote m just picking on you, Will. You\rquote ve grown up to be such a good person. Anyways, I\rquote ll let you go ahead. You know your curfews and all those other burdens.\rdblquote\par
\tab Will smiled back. \ldblquote Of course, Mom. See ya.\rdblquote\par
\tab Will was jovial on his way to the lake. He still had chills from last night, even though he felt sort of silly about it. He eventually gave up walking and jogged the rest of the way there. As always, Emily was waiting for him. \par
\tab\ldblquote Do you want to look around? We\rquote ve never ventured out back the water\rquote s edge,\rdblquote Emily called out.\par
\tab\ldblquote Sure,\rdblquote Will shrugged. \par
\tab The two ventured about, admiring trees and the little pockets of nature. Emily had a deeper admiration, moving slowly, cherishing every detail. Will had never really been out in nature before and was astonished at nature\rquote s ornaments and own structures. They ambled aimlessly, going every which way, until they had reached the base of the mountains where a curious stone structure stood. The architecture was far different from anything either of them had ever heard about, and it looked very old. Two timeless statures guarded the great stone door listlessly, gazing past Emily\rquote s attempts at eye contact. Their faces surprised her, resembling humans only slightly. The male was shorter and its face was flatter. Long, thin ears extended from the sides of its stone head, ended in points. Its hair was scraggly and untrimmed, and it had a tail similar to a lion\rquote s. The statue depicting a female was tall and lanky, her hair thin and wispy like a baby\rquote s. Around her tall forehead was a headband with a jewel at the center of her forehead. Her hands presented a timepiece of sorts. Will guessed it to be some form of a primitive hourglass. \par
\tab\ldblquote\'85Ancient gods? Or? How does this seem untouched? It looks like it\rquote s been out here for hundreds of years!\rdblquote Will exclaimed. \par
\tab\ldblquote\'85If people knew about this, would someone have heard about it at some point?\rdblquote Emily gawked at the towering statues.\par
\tab\ldblquote Well\'85yeah\'85\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Well\'85?\rdblquote said Emily. \ldblquote If this was seriously some government secret, this would be guarded or destroyed or at least have better foliage coverage. So.\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote If we touch it, we wouldn\rquote t trigger any traps, would we?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote You\rquote d have to check. But you want to touch it?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote We\rquote d have to, though! It\rquote s an ancient, mysterious door in the middle of the woods.\rdblquote\par
\par
\par
\tab The two teens vaguely became aware of a swirling, roaring world out of the black. The light was blinding at first then became bearable. The backs of their heads ached as though a leather sap was brought against them. Someone was calling to them. A woman.\par
\tab Emily picked herself up, still feeling groggy. A startlingly beautiful woman a bar below average height met eyes with Emily. Her hair was long, thick, and braided into wild curls that showered down her shoulders. When she saw Emily awake, she smiled. Emily\rquote s vision was so blurred, she couldn\rquote t make out any intentions under that smile, so she just stared back. \par
\tab Will grunted and got up to his knees. \ldblquote Whash\'85?\rdblquote\par
\tab Then Emily jolted fully awake. \ldblquote Where\rquote s my stuff?\rdblquote\par
\tab Will forced himself up to his knees. \ldblquote Whash\'85?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote It\rquote s gone. Yours, too. All gone. Where\rquote s my stuff?\rdblquote Emily streamed, surveying the horizon. \ldblquote\'85Wait, what happened?\rdblquote\par
\tab Will looked up and shook himself. \ldblquote What is this place?\rdblquote\par
\tab\ldblquote Ah, you two are finally awake! Good! I was just walking along and happened to find you here. Fortunate I was the one to find you. Who knows what cutthroat might have happened upon you. Though perhaps a thief has? Whose apprentices are you? Your attire looks awfully odd, though. Are you travelers from far?\rdblquote questioned the woman. \par
\tab\ldblquote Mm\'85you could say we\rquote re travelers.\rdblquote\par
\f2\par
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{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fnil Constantia;}}
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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2510;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa150\sl0\slmult0\cf1\f0\fs20 Light was beginning to tinkle over the distant horizon. When I could make out the beginnings of shapes, I attempted to distinguish familiar objects. Unremarkable trees and rocks began to emerge in the penumbra. I turned my body towards the source of the light and carefully walked forwards. The landscape grew clearer and clearer as I stepped from smooth stone to velvety grass. I began to see colors, vivid colors. The greens which clothed the trees brightened from noir to murk to emerald. A kingly presentation of purple dawned on each morning glory bloom\rquote s face, and the world came to life. It was not an exuberance that roused over the world, however. It was a darker and more solemn fatality. \par
\ldblquote Today has come. Tomorrow, these days will end,\rdblquote the whisper came from the trees. \ldblquote The past is gone and needs not be the concern of today or tomorrow.\rdblquote The contented quietness of the trees agreed.\par
I stopped when dawn\rquote s light filled the sky with grays and purples. A breeze blew, and I shivered. Looking down, a shock of white skin startled me. I realized for the first time that I was completely without clothes. I never particularly cared for clothes. Sure, there were lovely clothes and they kept me warm during the cold season, but they were usually unneeded and restricting from my perspective. I never undress myself, however, so I do not offend others. People always feel the obligation to selectively cover some body parts but not others. If a breast, why not a shoulder? The reason seemed intuitive to others, so I conformed to the universal standard and inability as to why I needed to do so. \par
This nakedness was different, however. I searched for faces in the forest scene. No one was insight or likely in the entire forest. There were no obligations or standards set by some society here. Here, I did not feel awkward, insecure, indecent, or shameful. There was no one to offend, no one to misinterpret my actions. I felt more so a part of nature: a mammal, erect and powerful on my hind legs, untouched by the human race. I was merely another creature on this earth, superior but weak. \par
I continued onward, fearful of what else might take advantage of my weakness. My pace quickened involuntarily. There was no evidence of mankind left behind in footprints or out-of-place objects. No sounds from nearby settlements intruded upon the forest silence. As the light level increased, there were no clear landmarks to guide myself towards, either. My feet led me, and nothing more. \par
After moving in what seemed to be a straight line towards the spot I assumed the sun had risen for what seemed to be hours. The sun had ceased to rise just short of breaking this gloom. I hoped to view the persistent penumbra in mystique, but the landscape did not offer the energy for wonder. It was a greater struggle to just keep moving in the lazy mist.\par
I feared I was moving deeper into the forest instead of out. The sun never came up. It was though I was moving in a dream, with no concept of how I got here in the first place. I was thrust into a strange environment with an uncertain task. Perhaps I really was in a dream. Nevertheless, I kept going.\par
For all this time traveling through the lingering twilight, I never encountered another being. No bug, no skittish animal, and no person crossed my way. Flora was my only company. I began to suspect that I was truly alone in this world. I did not fear, but I longed for company in the dim forest setting, even a simple creature to assure me that I was not alone. To be honest, I had no recollection of ever meeting another creature. \par
When I got tired, I curled into a ball beside the exposed root of a tree. Strange dreams flitted through my head before my eyes opened again. No sounds betrayed a hidden critter\rquote s activities. The forest was completely dark. I returned to sleep hastily. \par
When I woke up again, the world was again caught in this half-awake gray. What could this miserable purgatory be? I wondered dreamily. I got back up on my feet and followed the brightest part of the sky. \par
For the first time in all my wanderings across this strange, muted world, I encountered an erect creature. It stood on two legs like a man, had two arms like a man, and was of comparable height. I hung back at first, watching its movements. It was ghastly pale, glowing like a moon. It reared its head and stayed still. It must have detected my presence. I noticed its cloven hind legs and realized it was a centaur. I had encountered a centaur. \par
\ldblquote Hello,\rdblquote I tried, weakly. \ldblquote I mean no harm. I am a bit lost. I\rquote m not quite sure where I am.\rdblquote\par
I took a gentle step into the clearing. \par
The centaur stared at me uneasily. She had wild hair tangled in dreadlocks, braids, and beads. She wore several beaded headdresses and golden bands covered her neck, breasts, and arms. She took my breath away. Her eyes were sharply intelligent and sardonic.\par
\ldblquote Do you speak English?\rdblquote I asked.\par
\ldblquote English?\rdblquote it spoke whimsically and freely. \ldblquote What is English?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote English is what we speak.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote All speak English, then, if they do speak,\rdblquote the female lowered her head challengingly. \ldblquote I do speak.\rdblquote\par
She vanished into the forest instantly. I was uncertain what to make of the encounter. I hardly even believed it happened. \par
After that, more encounters followed. When the night blanketed me once again, little sparks of light fell upon me. I found them to be living creatures, like fireflies but formless. They fell from the Moon, they told me.\par
\ldblquote We are only seedlings of the Moon,\rdblquote they hummed soothingly. \ldblquote We fell from her head like dandruff and came to Earth this way. We are only a small portion of the Moon.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote What is the Moon like, then?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote She is beautiful, cold, and chaste. She does not speak her secrets, but she knows all that transpires beneath her icy trail across the canopy.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Do you speak her secrets, then?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote We are only the little bits of moondust left behind. We are nothing more than tears. How can we tell her secrets?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote You carry a bit of her with you, though. Surely you know something.\rdblquote\par
The lights glittered mischievously. \par
I asked a question, \ldblquote Where does she go when she dips \lquote neath the horizon?\rdblquote \par
\ldblquote We cannot know. We were left behind.\rdblquote\par
It was obvious they were being difficult, but their game entertained me. That answer did not make sense, though. \ldblquote Then is she not up now?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote No! There is no light but us, you see?\rdblquote\par
I swore there was some greater light that replaced the moon during the day. \par
\ldblquote Then is it only she in the sky?\rdblquote I asked.\par
\ldblquote Nothing is in the sky, child. But the Moon claims the highest part of the canopy for Herself. And us, of course! We spread across the loftiest branches once leaving her and sometimes loose our footing and fall.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Then you\rquote re just up there, then? Can I meet the Moon if I climb high enough?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote Everyone wishes to meet the goddess but no one can reach her. She climbs highest of all. If she did not, she would not be the Moon Queen.\par
\ldblquote What is the Moon? How old is she?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote She is the brightest being in the land. She illuminates all beneath her. She is goddess and queen and as old as the kingdom.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote The kingdom? Am I her subject, then? What is the name of this place?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote We are all Moon\rquote s subjects in Silverhome.\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote I think I shall meet her,\rdblquote I told them. \ldblquote Do I travel upwards, then?\rdblquote\par
\ldblquote The Moon honors boldness. You have heard of her power let must come to behold it for yourself. You understand what beauty is to gaze upon and shall have a glimpse. We will light the way. Move upwards, ever higher. Excelsior!\rdblquote\par
At that moment, the little lights I had grown accustomed to vanished, leaving me alone, blinking in the dark. Then the little lights flickered again, forming a sort of trail to the easiest way into the lowest tree. I obeyed and hoisted myself into the tree. Limb after limb, I worked myself upwards, following the dim outlines of trees. My own limbs began to ache after following the lights for an hour. I was amazed at the height of the trees and began to fear how I would rest or come down. The lights said nothing more, though, so I didn\rquote t bother asking. I feared losing their assistance and the chance to meet the Moon more than anything at the moment. Thankfully, they grew concerned for me and all gathered at a ledge in the nearest trunk. It had a carved interior just wide enough for me to curl up into and rest. \par
\ldblquote Please, come and rest,\rdblquote they said. \ldblquote We cannot last much longer. We are fading.\rdblquote\par
I crawled into the trunk, and the three little lights flitted upon my shoulders and tickled my face. When I awoke, they were reduced to little piles of dust on my bare skin. I felt somber. My second acquaintances were lifeless against my breast. \par
Brushing them off, I proceeded a bit further.\par
Upon hearing of me from the Silver mites who cling to my Silverface and farce they are even a part of me, you have traveled 25297 Silverdies, 133.57 feet or around thirteen stories in units with which you are familiar. \par
\par
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<center><b>Beloved of the Moon</b><br>~featuring a random story from my hard drive that I plopped here without rereading~<br>Coye's real story will be here eventually.<br></center><br>
Light was beginning to tinkle over the distant horizon. When I could make out the beginnings of shapes, I attempted to distinguish familiar objects. Unremarkable trees and rocks began to emerge in the penumbra. I turned my body towards the source of the light and carefully walked forwards. The landscape grew clearer and clearer as I stepped from smooth stone to velvety grass. I began to see colors, vivid colors. The greens which clothed the trees brightened from noir to murk to emerald. A kingly presentation of purple dawned on each morning glory blooms face, and the world came to life. It was not an exuberance that roused over the world, however. It was a darker and more solemn fatality. <br><br>
“Today has come. Tomorrow, these days will end,” the whisper came from the trees. “The past is gone and needs not be the concern of today or tomorrow.” The contented quietness of the trees agreed.
I stopped when dawns light filled the sky with grays and purples. A breeze blew, and I shivered. Looking down, a shock of white skin startled me. I realized for the first time that I was completely without clothes. Nakedness is shame, poverty, or promiscuity. This nakedness, however, was free of all these things. I searched for faces in the forest scene. No one was insight or likely in the entire forest. There were no obligations or standards set by some society here. Here, I did not feel awkward, insecure, indecent, or shameful. There was no one to offend, no one to misinterpret my actions. I felt more so a part of nature: a mammal, erect and powerful on my hind legs, untouched by the human race. I was merely another creature on this earth, superior but weak.
I continued onward, fearful of what else might take advantage of my weakness. My pace quickened involuntarily. There was no evidence of mankind left behind in footprints or out-of-place objects. No sounds from nearby settlements intruded upon the forest silence. As the light level increased, there were no clear landmarks to guide myself towards, either. My feet led me, and nothing more. <br><br>
After moving in what seemed to be a straight line towards the spot I assumed the sun had risen for what seemed to be hours. The sun had ceased to rise just short of breaking this gloom. I hoped to view the persistent penumbra in mystique, but the landscape did not offer the energy for wonder. It was a greater struggle to just keep moving in the lazy mist.<br><br>
I feared I was moving deeper into the forest instead of out. The sun never came up. It was though I was moving in a dream, with no concept of how I got here in the first place. I was thrust into a strange environment with an uncertain task. Perhaps I really was in a dream. Nevertheless, I kept going.<br><br>
For all this time traveling through the lingering twilight, I never encountered another being. No bug, no skittish animal, and no person crossed my way. Flora was my only company. I began to suspect that I was truly alone in this world. I did not fear, but I longed for company in the dim forest setting, even a simple creature to assure me that I was not alone. To be honest, I had no recollection of ever meeting another creature. <br><br>
When I got tired, I curled into a ball beside the exposed root of a tree. Strange dreams flitted through my head before my eyes opened again. No sounds betrayed a hidden critters activities. The forest was completely dark. I returned to sleep hastily.
When I woke up again, the world was again caught in this half-awake gray. What could this miserable purgatory be? I wondered dreamily. I got back up on my feet and followed the brightest part of the sky.
For the first time in all my wanderings across this strange, muted world, I encountered an erect creature. It stood on two legs like a man, had two arms like a man, and was of comparable height. I hung back at first, watching its movements. It was ghastly pale, glowing like a moon. It reared its head and stayed still. It must have detected my presence. I noticed its cloven hind legs and realized it was a centaur. I had encountered a centaur. <br><br>
“Hello,” I tried, weakly. “I mean no harm. I am a bit lost. Im not quite sure where I am.”<br><br>
I took a gentle step into the clearing. <br><br>
The centaur stared at me uneasily. She had wild hair tangled in dreadlocks, braids, and beads. She wore several beaded headdresses and golden bands covered her neck, breasts, and arms. She took my breath away. Her eyes were sharply intelligent and sardonic.<br><br>
“Do you speak English?” I asked.<br><br>
“English?” it spoke whimsically and freely. “What is English?”
“English is what we speak.”
“All speak English, then, if they do speak,” the female lowered her head challengingly. “I do speak.”<br><br>
She vanished into the forest instantly. I was uncertain what to make of the encounter. I hardly even believed it happened. <br><br>
After that, more encounters followed. When the night blanketed me once again, little sparks of light fell upon me. I found them to be living creatures, like fireflies but formless. They fell from the <b>Moon</b>, they told me.
“We are only seedlings of the <b>Moon</b>,” they hummed soothingly. “We fell from her head like dandruff and came to Earth this way. We are only a small portion of the <b>Moon</b>.”<br><br>
“What is the <b>Moon</b> like, then?”<br><br>
“She is beautiful, cold, and chaste. She does not speak her secrets, but she knows all that transpires beneath her icy trail across the canopy.”<br><br>
“Do you speak her secrets, then?”<br><br>
“We are only the little bits of moondust left behind. We are nothing more than tears. How can we tell her secrets?”<br><br>
“You carry a bit of her with you, though. Surely you know something.”<br><br>
The lights glittered mischievously. <br><br>
I asked a question, “Where does she go when she dips neath the horizon?” <br><br>
“We cannot know. We were left behind.”<br><br>
It was obvious they were being difficult, but their game entertained me. That answer did not make sense, though. “Then is she not up now?”<br><br>
“No! There is no light but us, you see?”<br><br>
I swore there was some greater light that replaced the moon during the day. <br><br>
“Then is it only she in the sky?” I asked.<br><br>
“Nothing is in the sky, child. But the <b>Moon</b> claims the highest part of the canopy for Herself. And us, of course! We spread across the loftiest branches once leaving her and sometimes loose our footing and fall.”<br><br>
“Then youre just up there, then? Can I meet the <b>Moon</b> if I climb high enough?”<br><br>
“Everyone wishes to meet the goddess but no one can reach her. She climbs highest of all. If she did not, she would not be the <b>Moon Queen</b>.
“What is the <b>Moon</b>? How old is she?”<br><br>
“She is the brightest being in the land. She illuminates all beneath her. She is goddess and queen and as old as the kingdom.”<br><br>
“The kingdom? Am I her subject, then? What is the name of this place?"<br><br>
“We are all <b>Moon</b>s subjects in Silverhome.”<br><br>
“I think I shall meet her,” I told them. “Do I travel upwards, then?”<br><br>
“The <b>Moon</b> honors boldness. You have heard of her power let must come to behold it for yourself. You understand what beauty is to gaze upon and shall have a glimpse. We will light the way. Move upwards, ever higher. Excelsior!”<br><br>
At that moment, the little lights I had grown accustomed to vanished, leaving me alone, blinking in the dark. Then the little lights flickered again, forming a sort of trail to the easiest way into the lowest tree. I obeyed and hoisted myself into the tree. Limb after limb, I worked myself upwards, following the dim outlines of trees. My own limbs began to ache after following the lights for an hour. I was amazed at the height of the trees and began to fear how I would rest or come down. The lights said nothing more, though, so I didnt bother asking. I feared losing their assistance and the chance to meet the <b>Moon</b> more than anything at the moment. Thankfully, they grew concerned for me and all gathered at a ledge in the nearest trunk. It had a carved interior just wide enough for me to curl up into and rest. <br><br>
“Please, come and rest,” they said. “We cannot last much longer. We are fading.”<br><br>
I crawled into the trunk, and the three little lights flitted upon my shoulders and tickled my face. When I awoke, they were reduced to little piles of dust on my bare skin. I felt somber. My second acquaintances were lifeless against my breast.
Brushing them off, I proceeded a bit further.
Upon hearing of me from the Silver mites who cling to my Silverface and farce they are even a part of me, you have traveled 25297 Silverdies, 133.57 feet or around thirteen stories in units with which you are familiar. <br><br>
<center>Sorry, it's unfinished. I honestly just found this in my writing folder and dumped it here. I may finish it later, but you know.<br>❤❤❤❤<br></center>

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Unadded Characters (yeah, it's a lot)
Emily
Will
Moonstone
Lewis
Futura
Ember
Brandyn
Window
Freefall
Trace
Traveler
Chandra
Van
Cassarah
Chandrakant
Funwa
Katherine
Master
Foolish
Wasp
Freya
Theodosia
Leslie
Ryada
Heather
Erdadottir
Cymbele
Silverhome
Pharisee
Chimchooree
Tove
Trophime
Hiddleston
Aristene
Gundruna
Nordicaa
Marni
Badlands
Lune Marine
Una
Crewe
Chives
Thyme
Kitty-Kitty
Claudette
Dreemi-Loreen
Judah
Mouse
Tarquin
Dorothea
Holofernes
Judith
Mudskipper
Honor
Trescha
Fifi
Aloin
Rodolphe
Tilmo
Coye
Nephele
Silverhome
Sand
Dagmar
Havelock
Juno
Heath
Lise
Ephron
Feodora
Helia
Rune
Chloe
Angel
Tessa
Night
Aries
Milo
Lotus
Fickle

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Light Armor
Alchemist
Chanter
Cultist
Doll Master - control dolls
Illusionist
Mimic
Tarot Mage -
Troubadour - support, music
Medium Armor
Assassin - covert, single target, teleport
Twin Blade
Slayer - specialized attacks against specific targets and types
Hexblade
Spellsword
Tamer - tame pet, control pet,
Heavy Armor
Cleric -
Lightbringer
Magic Knight
Juggernaut - really slow and powerful
Swordsman
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