Character Name: Dalia Vivian
Month: October
5 Lore Submissions:
Entry #31
– “Didn’t I tell you to go home?”, that’s what I heard him say while he knocked me out. – said the guard.
– He could have meant that he was going to take the Kraka back home! – I explained.
After all, I couldn’t tell them that the man was talking to me, nor that we’d met before. They weren’t happy about the incident, so if they knew what I talked to the man I could end up in trouble. What was I thinking?
In fact, I didn’t have much time to think! Major Hoffman had asked one of the guards to give me a ride to Flash Point. We came in the same stolen flying vehicle, the Kraka. In the outpost, of course, we found waiting for us the same grumpy soldier who had been assigned there. But we had just landed when I heard a noise as if something had fallen to the ground, or in this case, someone, as I came to realize that it was that rude soldier. Someone had attacked him by surprise. The same person that seconds later was in front of me knocking out the guard who was accompanying me. And it was none other than the same man I had had met before in the Screechers’ cave!
– That stupid Stel, attacking us from behind! Coward! If I catch him… – complained the angry soldier.
– But why didn’t he do anything to you, Dalia? What did he tell you? – asked the guard.
– Maybe he realized I wasn’t a threat. He said to me: “Get away! You shouldn’t be with something that doesn’t belong to you!”. And he got in the vehicle and drove away.
– Maybe you’re right. After all, he was just recovering something that belonged to him.
I wasn’t going to contradict them, although before entering the Kraka the man had told me that its real owner was a colleague who begged him for help when he learned it had ended up in NEO territory.
Well, I think I’ve had enough rest. Now I must go, I still have a long way to go to Tanzanite!
Entry #32
I’m almost there! I’m in Fenster Landing and there’s a small haruspex building here, where I decided to spend the night. So I can stop for a while and reevaluate my decisions one last time.
Tomorrow I will be entering Tanzanite again. I can’t let myself be confused like the last time. But I need to go: I know I can learn a lot there!
Should I be scared? I mean, I think if I was it would be a normal thing! “Aren’t you afraid?”, was what the man asked me too. And now that I think about it, the last time I was in Tanzanite, the Elder also told me something about fear… my biggest fear!
Now, returning to haruspex territory was a thoughtful decision. But what happened today with the kraka was definitely just my impulsiveness speaking for me. “Take me with you!”, I asked the man, as he got into the vehicle. I went so suddenly that even the man seemed to be speechless and in disbelief for a while. What was I thinking? Of course, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who walks around accompanied. Even less with someone he would surely consider a burden. In the end, the only thing he still babbled astonished was if I wasn’t afraid… I wasn’t, but I really should! Talking like that to a stranger… a soldier, and apparently a dangerous one…
What am I really afraid of? If I had to point out something, I think my only fear is getting stuck doing the same things day in day out!
In the end, it all leads me back to the same conclusion: if I want to keep exploring this place, I need to get stronger! So yes, I will go back to Tanzanite and learn everything I can there!
Entry #33
It’s all coming back at the same time: the water, the blue flowers, the Elder… I can’t believe that last time I actually spent 19 days here!!!
After writing my diary I kept thinking about what I was afraid of and what the Elder had told me the last time, and then it all started to come back. So I didn’t wait any longer, I grabbed my things and went on my way to Tanzanite, even with night falling.
When I arrived I went straight to talk to the Elder and he confirmed and explained everything!
So, the water of the small lake in Tanzanite has unusual natural properties. It seems that this is the main reason why the electronic terminals there have, over time, acquired a shape more harmonious with nature but still work perfectly well. The Elder explained that the water comes from a big underground river that has ramifications all over the planet. Long ago the Haruspex settled in the various places where these waters somehow come to the surface, not only here in several places near Tanzanite but also in the enchanted lands to the northwest. I was wondering where these lands would be. On my flight from Conq’s Rest to Flash Point I could see a large swamp to the west, after the end of NEO territory. Are these enchanted lands further west?
Anyway, this water seems to have effects on people and objects around it. That’s why the big blue flower has the “Do not touch!” sign. Of course, I thought it was just a joke, and since Frederic wanted so much for me to help him find those blue flowers…
– Dalia, do you feel all right? - He asked me.
Now I not only remember, but I also understand the puzzled look on his face after I touched that flower. Apparently most people die when they touch it… I mean, they don’t really die… they " experience death", I think that’s how they explained it, although I don’t know exactly what that means…
“It confronts you with your greatest fear!”, that’s what the Elder told me.
So that’s it. I think it’s been proven now that the idea of being stuck in the same cycle every day with nothing new to do really scares me. But what is the advantage? If I couldn’t even remember what I was doing in the 19 days I spent here, what good is there?
Entry #34
Today was a new day. I think I can try to start over here, but this time I definitely won’t even go near that blue flower!
Just to be sure, I asked everyone to promise that this time they’ll let me know clearly and in full detail if anything strange happens again! They agreed and said they were glad I was back. I know they didn’t act with bad intentions. I think they really believed that what was happening must have some reason… I believed that it must have a cause or explanation and now I finally found it, but that it had a purpose I can’t accept.
Anyway, I’ll consider this topic finished and focus on all the other questions I have… like the underground river!
Now that I think about it, it reminds me of Millie’s Cave… I mean that’s not the cave name, but that’s what I call it, because Millie found it…
One day I was practicing target, shooting bottles of island beer on Crystal Bay beach, when Millie came running calling me. I rushed to go with her, and Jonas who saw us running out dropped his surfboard on the beach and followed us. She showed us what looked like a hole with water at the entrance of a small cave in the rocks, hidden by vegetation. But after we dived in it we realized that what on the outside looked like just a small puddle of water was growing into a subterranean underwater cave. And inside, what should be algae, rocks and other natural resources worked like the electronic terminals we know. There was also a skeleton there, and as soon as Jonas saw it, he quickly returned to the surface, stating that he would not go back in there. We laughed, but we ended up not telling anyone about that place, it was like a secret between the 3 of us.
That underwater cave and terminals resemble what I now know about the underground river. Maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe it means that the haruspex haven’t located all the areas where the underground river emerges to the surface after all… I need to know more about this!
Entry #35
What do I do? What should I do now? I should go?
I know I want to go! But I need to control my impulsiveness this time. I am learning and improving. So before I go… no… before I decide whether to go, I’m thinking, evaluating and writing down my decisions.
Now that I think about it, it’s been about two months since I’ve written anything. I’ve been pretty busy training…
First, I know something like this should be reported immediately. I was just walking and still thinking about the waters of the underground river. Lately I have been visiting the several areas where the haruspex have settled near Tanzanite. It was when I saw this waterfall that reminded me of the First-Wave Settlement area which is full of water and that’s where Millie’s Cave is.
I entered the cave behind the waterfall, but everything started to spin… I thought I was going to fall! In the middle I could see a small stone platform that looked quite old. I was still struggling to hold myself when lights appeared on the platform and someone materialized right in front of me. Could that be a teleporter? It had to be. But it doesn’t look like our TPs, nor does it seem to include any kind of modern technology.
I was lost in my thoughts, but I noticed a figure approaching so I deflected it… that was only then when I looked at him… yes, it was that man again:
– Hmm! You are faster now! First time here? – he laughed.
I couldn’t even respond. The man quickly turned his back on me and headed for the terminal inside the cave and began grabbing from his storage a lot of weapons, armor, and other equipment.
– You’re persistent, aren’t you, girl? I’m starting to get worried that we’re always bumping into each other!
I was getting ready to ask a bunch of questions when he walked up to the tp and disappeared again. “See you in Ancient Greece!” was the last thing I heard!
Yeah right, I don’t know what that means… But I’ll find out! “See you in Ancient Greece!”