Character Name: Dalia Vivian
Month: May
5 Lore Submissions:
Entry #06
It was not easy! Today I finally told my plans to leave to explore this land. The idea was not well received. I had to hear a lot about how dangerous this place can be. Creatures are harmful, the land is unsafe and full of deadly dangers, and the people who live outside our zone, all those who have abandoned us, are even more dangerous! “The unknown is not to be desired, but feared!” I was even told that I was letting myself be corrupted by Demra, and if that was the case I shouldn’t even think about coming back. I don’t blame them for talking like that. I know they didn’t mean it, they were just worried about me. In fact, many things were said today. Surely some need to be forgotten, and others… others I will keep forever in my heart!
– Let the girl live her own adventures!
– Why did she have to grow up so fast?
– Dalia, you don’t have to do this! We will always be proud of you, no matter where you are!
It took a while for them to realize that my decision wasn’t going to change. Finally, we reached an agreement: if I was going to explore the land, then I should do it for our faction: “write full reports”, “immediately notify any important discoveries” and “don’t stay away too long”. I’m pretty sure this last rule was invented by my instructors and is not part of the official rules of Loyalist Officers, but ok, I’ll be happy to do that!
When I was walking on the road that leaves Crystal Beach, I could still hear the conversation in the distance:
– Well, we knew this could happen one day…
– Of course! She never belonged here in the first place!
– Shut up! None of us belonged here in the first place!
It’s not that they were wrong, and still that is where I grew up. They had no obligation to me, but they raised me as if I belonged to them. I have always felt loved, so surely I owe them a lot. I won’t let them down!
Entry #07
“How am I supposed to be able to walk with such a heavy backpack?”, I had been thinking about this since I climbed the first stairs on my way out of Crystal Beach. Then I crossed the bridges and still had to climb the new stairs inside the cave to Crystal Peak. I needed to take two minutes to rest before I head downstairs to the Dock and Crystal Bay.
First it was Lisy and Miranda’s fault! They abruptly entered my room as I was about to start packing and insisted on helping me. Before I realized, they were already struggling to fit my entire wardrobe into my small backpack. “A girl needs to look good, even when she is traveling!”, they said. That’s when Herbert appeared at the window with a huge backpack: “I used to use this to carry my mining materials, but now I have a new one, so I thought maybe you would have use for this one!”. Jamie also arrived bringing some fruit and packaged supplies “for the first few days”. She also insisted on giving me a big frying pan, saying that it would be very useful.
So I ended up carrying everything everyone thought I would definitely need! And now I’m exhausted even before I start the trip!
I decided to first get a map with the Cartographer at the Dock and then think of some solution for all this weight. The map I received is really very incomplete, much worse than I imagined! But to my happy surprise, I received a gift that was exactly what I needed: a vehicle!
It is an amphibious vehicle, the Strider! Although this one is still a prototype in the testing phase. But the Cartographer told me that if I was traveling there would be no one better to test it! I don’t need to say how happy I was to put my heavy backpack inside the strider’s storage! So finally I was ready to go!
Entry #08
I’ve decided that I’m going to write my first report on the Screechers. This area is full of them! This must be the biggest Screecher colony around here!
After I got the map and my new vehicle, I went down from Crystal Peak towards Crystal Bay to say goodbye to my friend Jonas. As usual, we could see his surfboard on the sand, and next to it there was a crate of island beer; so he should be close, with Arthur and his friends. When we were little he used to drag me to that place almost every day. I think he was always passionate about the sea, the waves and surfing. Since we never shared the same likes, I found it more interesting to watch the screechers that live just above the beach. But that is a relatively small colony. Everyone knows that the one in the hills north of Shepherd’s Beach is much bigger. Well, I just realized that it is a lot bigger than I imagined!
After I said goodbye, I continued my journey to North, passing through the Biological Research Area. It is to the north of this area that the village boars live. But I don’t think there was ever any interest in researching the boars. After all, boars = steaks, and that’s it! Now, the papoos have always aroused the curiosity of our scientists. In fact they are trying to introduce a small wave of brown papoos exactly in this area, as it is difficult to find them in the Loyalist zone; I heard that they prefer to live in the NEO Mountains.
Finally i took the road to go northwest, i passed north of the First Wave Settlement and here I am. Then the entire area to the left of the road is full of Screechers, that spread to the south almost to Shepherd’s Beach.
I’m watching them and… hmm… oh, I thought I saw something… it seems impossible, but I could have sworn there’s something shining on that island in the distance…
Entry #09
Today I made my first contact outside the Loyalist faction!
It all started when I was watching the Screechers: on the island in the middle of the river I thought I saw something shining. So I quickly jumped into my strider and crossed the river to investigate. As I approached, I could see that what from a distance looked like a simple mound of land covered with vegetation was actually a rock formation. Inside it was like a beautiful grotto. In the center were what looked like stone columns carved by the erosion of nature, and the rays of sunlight entered through holes in the ceiling and walls of the rock, making the scenery unique. But the most unexpected discovery is that spread out all over the grotto were big blue eggs!
I rushed inside to examine the eggs, when in a quick move a man appeared from behind one of the stone columns. The sun reflected in his armor making it shine. Now that I think about it, obviously that was the shine I had seen before! But at that time I didn’t even have time to think and a gun was already pointed in my direction.
Fortunately everything turned out well… maybe thanks to the Screechers. Right, I ended up finding out that those blue eggs were screecher eggs, and suddenly the cave was filled with big Male Screechers trying to defend their nest! In the end the man got rid of them. And since I gave him a good help… well, I mean, I gave some help… maybe a little help… what matters is that my first contact can be reported on a positive note!
"Wait! I’m Dalia. May I, at least, know your name?”, I still asked him. But he just smiled, grabbed his things and left to West.
The man sort of pointed me to the best direction to go: East. So, after putting some eggs in my strider’s storage, I followed the river to east and now i have two reports to write: on the screechers, the nest and eggs, and on the my first contact.
Entry #10
I can’t stop thinking about everything that man told me. So I’ve been replaying in my mind everything that happened:
First there was a gun pointed at me. But suddenly a screech was heard and the cave was filled with big Male Screechers! The man rushed to fire at them, while I was trying to hide behind one of the stone columns.
I was wondering if I should try to run away from that place when I noticed that I couldn’t hear the sound of the gun anymore. When I looked up, the man was on the ground with so many Screechers on top of him that he had no way to move and I was sure his armor wouldn’t last much longer. I didn’t know what to do and the gun Joe gave me I had left in the strider’s storage! So I didn’t think straight and grabbed the first thing I could, one of the blue eggs, and threw it at the head of one of the screechers. Then I threw another and another, as many as I could… Fortunately I always had an excellent aim… or unfortunately, in this case… because when I realized there were already several screechers running towards me… one of these days my impulsivity will really get me in big trouble! At least that day hasn’t been today. When he found himself more free, the man was able to quickly get rid of the screechers that were attacking him, then the ones that were coming to me, and finally what was left of them.
Silence invaded the place again. He just gave me a slightly annoyed “we’re even” look and asked me what I was doing there. But before I could finish replying that I was exploring, he was already telling me to go back home.
“I hope you’re not thinking of going to the mountains to the North: that area is not for someone like you” and “Don’t you ever dare go to the West, the people there are very dangerous!”.
Of course I wasn’t going to turn back, so I took that as an indication that the best route to take would be East. Am I being too positive? Is this trip really an imprudent stubbornness?