Lore Submission Thread

Auberon Night Night May lore submission

Part 6 - Betrayed by Time

Waking up rested and ready, with a goal in mind, Aeon felt positive and allowed himself to feel relaxed for a bit.

Breakfast was boar steak, from the island boars, and eggs from the strange looking blue and black flightless birds he sees all over. Followed by swimming and bathing in the nearby river.

This part of the planet was semiarid with a number of mountains that rips up from the land into the sky as if in defiance of gravity itself. No obvious water erosion just wind scars all around each, revealing the layers of the rock almost like year rings of a tree. It looks almost as if forces of nature thrust up with such force that it broke a part of the land out of the crust and raised it high above the ground.

This land was beautiful but unforgiving in its heat. When the sun reached its peak and the heat was unbearable, Aeon started to feel as if the world is shimmering, while a feeling of cold settled on his chest. For a moment he felt intensely ill then his vision became darker and the world started to spin. Was he ill, or poisoned? As his legs folded and he collapsed he fell forward in what seemed forever and the spinning grew more and more intense until everything turned black.

The warmth of the sun on his face and the cold of the wet sand on his back was the first sensations he had. With a dry mouth and one hell of a headache he was at least assured he is still alive.

Sitting up took intense concentration and effort but he got up and saw he was where he had blacked out but it looked different somehow. The small river seemed much bigger now and the trees somehow bigger as well.

He drank some water and walked back towards his camp from the night before. The river seemed to wide to cross safely and he still felt poorly.

As he crested the hill close to where his camp was he expected to see guardian robots all over the plains but he saw none. What he saw was animals. Various boars and some smaller birds and other creatures he did not recognize all over. Confused he walked on and reached where his camp had been but not a trace was there.

Part 7 - Where or when?

It was still daytime so he could see clearly and there was no sign of his campfire, where he slept or walked around. The bushes looks different and generally it did not feel like the same place at all.

He walked to the nearest big hill to have a better look at the area. The hill seemed bigger than he remembered but he was fit and reached the top quickly enough.

Looking out over the area he realized the land was much greener than before. Filled with animals and not a single guardian in sight.

He made camp right there but no fire. Whatever is going on he did not want to be seen.

As night settled in and the last rays of the sun disappeared the stars finally came out to play and decorate the night sky. Aeon looked up and enjoyed the view while dreaming of his homeland. Then he realized that the stars look different than before.

As a child his father taught him how the stars moved over time and how to see what direction to go, what season it is and even what year it is, all from the stars.

That of course was his home-world and this is a different world.

But if the same rules apply and he is reading the stars correctly this is not the same time period when he landed here. This is almost a thousand years earlier. Or later. He was unsure about that part but based on the landscape changes with the stars he would say this was about 1000 years earlier.

Could it be that going through the rupture has left a temporal shift within him that took him back in time? And if so will it happen again? And then where or when is the guardians?

Was there even other sentient life on the planet or was he about to live and die slowly with no one else and no guardians to fight and no way to return to their time or his time or anywhere not here and now?

Part 8 - The bird people

After a good nights sleep Aeon set out to explore this world and start all over again. He needed information before he could make any further decisions or make a plan for the future.

And settlements would need water so he walked along the river following it northwards hoping he might find something. Where the river forked he stayed on his side and followed the fork that went further north. Some distance further he saw what appeared to be smoke on the other side of the river.

With some searching he found a shallow area and crossed the river. A small distance north of the river he came across a city. A sprawling city of stone buildings with massive stone slabs supported on marble columns.

A temple on a small hill stood out above the rest. But most surprising was the people.

Big birds with wings and all, wearing clothes and clearly surprised by him as much as he was by them.

The nearest one screeched an alarm and some even bigger birds came running and before he knew what was going on he was wrestled to the ground and arrested by a pair of giant blue birds.

And then they spoke. A strange kind of language that he did not understand but clearly a language.

Almost musical but clearly not friendly at this point in time.

He was marched away with an escort of four giant birds. All his belongings removed and a weapon pointed to him that he did not recognize but was fairly sure would kill him so he decided to not resist and see where this is going.

Thrown into a cell and left there for the rest of the day still with his hands tied and no food or water he started to wonder if the intention was to let him die there.

Finally guards showed up and opened the cell door accompanied by a much smaller bird-man with feathers on his head pointing out in all directions and his head tilted slightly to one side.

This bird-man started yammering on very fast and then stopped just staring at Aeon.

“Why have you arrested me” said Aeon, “I mean you no harm I am lost and needed some help”

The small bird-man nodded his head excitedly and waved one feathered arm in a motion to show keep going.

“What do you want with me?” “Are you supposed to be the man, erm bird in charge?” “Where am I?”

“What or who are you people?”

Suddenly small bird-man held up his hand as if to say stop so Aeon stopped talking and waited.

“Gallo, I are Bzzznip, you is…?”

Aeon just stared. What the hell. Did this guy just learn his language by listening to him talk for a a bit?

“Did I speak right?” “Your words new to me, I learn but maybe not good?”

“No, you are speaking very well, in fact it is just a shock to realise you learned my language so quickly and just by listening to me speak?

The small bird-man was literately bouncing and smiling his delight evident in his every action

“ I will be better soon, if I wrong please … ehm… adjust me…?”

“I am Bzzznip. Knower of tongues, learner of things. I advise the king. I am here to find out who you are and why you came here. And where from. We have never met one as you”

“Well I am Aeon from Mirsk. This might sound crazy but I followed a group of guardians through a rupture in space and time and ended op on this planet maybe a 1000 years into the future from now. Then one day was ripped back here in time and I am trying to find out what is going on”

Bzzznip’s smile faded and he looked concerned, somewhat confused as well, slightly agitated and even alarmed too.

“Better we go elsewhere and talk. If you are who I think you are this is bad time for my people”

Part 9 - Bad news to new friends

With his bonds released and no more guards he was left to follow Bzzznip as he scurried down the halls and out into the streets. He could move fast for a walking bird and Aeon found it hard to keep up.

After a short while they reached a building that Aeon correctly took to be Bzznip’s house.

Inside the decorations was sparse almost spartan but functional and comfortable. Bzzznip sang in a musical chime and someone else answered similarly. The conversation went on for a while then Bzzznip looked at him

“Sit down. Make yourself at home. My mate will bring you some drink and food shortly.”

“Until then please tell me more. Who or what is this guardian? And what was the rupture?”

“Best to start from the beginning as I know it then”

“My planet, Mirsk, was invaded by a force we came to know as the guardians. They were created by a being called Kaijun. Why we do not know. They make more of themselves by using the brains of local beings combined with robotic shells made from a crystaline material. Once all animal type life has been destroyed or taken over and only plant life remains they move on to the next planet.”

“A large ship full of them left my planet and flew towards a rupture in the space time continuum. I do not know how it was made but they knew about it even before it opened though they did not open it themselves”

“I followed them hoping to destroy the ship before they got away and destroyed another planet but was too late. I found myself here on this planet with them and then suddenly the world began to spin and I woke up here. Or now, as it were. As far as I can tell now is 1000 years before myself and the guardians arrived on the planet”

“And that is all I know unfortunately”

As he finished talking another bird walked in and placed some fruit and flavored water in a colorful spread in front of them then left.

“She does not understand your language and would rather not join in. Go ahead eat and drink there is more if you want”, Bzzznip explained

Bzzznip looked saddened and with a heavy sigh started talking.

“Our people have foreseen a coming of one such as you. But with your coming it means our end…”

Part 10 - The beginning of it all

This world is not only what we see and feel and smell. We already know other beings can maybe see and hear more than we do. We know through science that there are smaller things that make up all matter. That these smaller things are made up of even smaller things. And that in the end all things are but energy. If we and everything around us is but energy, then it stands to reason thought is energy. And if so, thought and matter are in fact the same and thus thought are able to affect matter. Or to put it more boldly, a single thought can create or destroy all existence.

Overly dramatic and a simplification of a complex statement but that is the best way I can describe it.

The various dimensions are simply matter or energy vibrating at different frequencies forming layers that we interpret as dimensions or planes of existence.

Similar to what light does when it shines through a transparent object and are broken into its various color bands.

When my people were made we were devoid of bodies and flying through space, living as what some may call spirits. We searched for for new experiences and people and in time decided to make our own world. So we may experience mortality. We would never truly die of course but to the mortal being death feels ultimate.

We poured some of ourselves into the void and made this world. Our different energies like colors of the rainbow flowing together to create all that is here. And then we created our bodies. With legs to walk and wings to fly and our feet webbed so we may swim. With feathers so we had no need for coverings.

We came here and build this city and lived here ever since. We lived and died and was reborn within our offspring. And over time forgot who we really are. Some already left this world and went back to the void. We even have offspring who is not reincarnated and has never been to the void.

But your arrival means our time here is at an end. Those of us who can must return to the void.

It also means we have to decide who will stay to open the way back and to close it again after the others have left.

While you are here we will help you. And once we have sent you back we will leave this world and turn our city to sand. And we will be no more of this world.

Your coming was foretold even though we hoped it would not be. The elders already built the black pyramid that will channel our essence and return us to the void. So we are prepared.

Some will stay within the temple and through a spell destroy the city. And a few will stay at the pyramid and seal that gate so none may follow.

So you see. While I am glad to meet you and we hold you no blame, I am also sad to see you as we will be no more.

We must return to where we came from. We must leave this home we made to the people who has need of it.

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?

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Harriot’s lore for June

The Medallion
Entry #130

Charlotte was sound asleep in her bed. I still couldn’t get used to sleeping in a bed, I kept tossing and turning and even tried sleeping on the ground like I had grown used to but to no avail. The events that had happened last night played through my head on repeat. The image of the medallion was burned into my brain and wouldn’t leave me alone. I tried to not stir Charlotte as I went downstairs. I had to get the image out of my head and onto paper. I stared at what I had just drawn. There appeared to be 5 items missing from it, probably the parts that Elliot had mentioned.

I had no clue where to even begin searching but if something rare had been found it was sure to turn up. All I had to do was wait by the usual spot the traders of rare goods would frequent. Ever since new things had been discovered on Next Island more traders of such items had started to show up. It would just be a case of finding the right one.

I spent hours hanging around the local trading spots so much so that people thought I was in the business of trading myself and when I told them I didn’t have what they were looking for they asked if I were buying things. I needed information quickly before things got out of hand.

“Did you hear about that top level hunter being on Next Island recently? Hardly any of us lower level hunters have ever seen him.” Two traders were standing by the statue at paradise landing chatting away loud enough for the whole of Next Island to hear.

“I heard he recently found something that no one else has come across yet. Of course such a high level person wouldn’t tell the likes of us where he found it.”

“I guess you didn’t hear then, there’s a man who’s half-bear that’s in with such high level players and got the information from him. but says he won’t share that information with just anyone.”

Dang that bear-man, is there no one he doesn’t know? After the last time I was on edge, he knew I was a Resa and by the sounds of it, it was likely he knew everything about my origin. And now I needed his help.

The Medallion
Entry #131

The bear-man of all people, why was it the bear-man. I had no clue where to find him. He seemed to just randomly appear then disappear as if he were never there. I checked his last known location, then the house in which we had plotted to find pages in. Nothing. Something did cross my mind though, the first time I had met him he was crafting at a terminal not many stayed long at. It was worth a shot anyways.

Sure enough there he was in his classic mankini and bear head. He seemed to sigh as he stared at the crafting machine. I tried to not make my presence noticeable but he must have a super sense of hearing as he turned around the second I was in the room.
“Where’d you disappear to after Carolines? Everyone was worried about a lightweight like you falling into a ditch and getting eaten by boars or something.”
The bear-man seemed down today as if something were playing on his mind.
“I had places to be, I do have a social life.” The bear-man mustered a small chuckle before staring deeply at the crafting terminal again. "What’s got your kini in a twist? This to do with those pages again?” His eyes seemed to light up.
“You have crystals right? Of course you have crystals, you hoard everything. The Haruspex want me to craft clothes, I think they feel sorry for me or something.”
“I may have, but I’ll only trade it for some information you may have on a ‘new item’ that was found.” The bear-man seemed to think for a moment.
“Seems like I’m the one getting the better deal here but sure I’ll tell you what I know about this ‘item’”

The bear-man said he would only talk once I brought back the crystals he required and there were a lot of them. Somehow I had a feeling I had played myself and would be trading a lot of my hoard on information that seemed important to Charlotte and her crew. Luckily I had everything he requested from the list he gave me. I almost surprised myself with how many crystals I had. Whatever he had to say it had better be worth it.

The Medallion
Entry #132

I could hear Charlotte waking up, it must have been around midday. I had half thought she would have been awake when I returned. She stared at my pile of crystals. When I had moved them I had placed them all in a box, but now they were all spilled out on the floor for me to go through them and pick out the ones the bear-man needed.

“Are all these found on Next Island? Some of these are super pretty, has no one ever made them into necklaces or jewellery?” My hand stopped at her words. How could I have forgotten? Since her return I hadn’t found the right moment to give her the necklace I had ‘acquired’. It was tucked safely in one of my pockets, I had been carrying it with me everywhere I went.

“Well I guess there’s no good time but the present. Here, this is for you.” She seemed stunned for a moment and didn’t say anything. It was the first time she had ever stopped talking, it was all too short lived when she let out a sequel that was higher pitched than a boar. Without warning she threw her arms around me in a tight hug. “Hey, it isn’t that great, no need to go overboard.” I didn’t know the last time anyone had ever hugged me or been close enough to me that I hadn’t felt like stabbing.
“I’ll wear it wherever I go. But you still have to tell me what all these crystals are and why you’re sorting them now.” Charlotte let go of me and started to pick through the crystals.
“I met the bear-man…”
“Bear-man?” I had forgotten that Charlotte had never met him before.
“Yes, a man that looks like a bear, can I continue?” Charlotte sat on the ground looking very much like a child sulking. “He has information about the medallion and I offered a trade, some crystals he needs for the information we need.” Charlotte’s hand halted over a piece of Tanzanite her eye went wide for a second before regaining her compositor.
“Can I come meet the bear-man with you? If this is about the necklace then I should be there too right?” I couldn’t deny Charlotte anything she wanted. Not when she gave me that puppy dog look.
“Fine but you better be on your best behaviour.” I had a bad feeling about this.

The Medallion
Entry #133

The bear-man hasn’t moved since I had left him. Charlotte had no sense of caution to her, and strolled right up to him as soon as she saw him.

“You must be the ‘bear-man’.” He gave her a friendly smile
“Waffles.” We both stared at him in confusion, did this bear-man demand us to get him waffles? He seemed to chuckle to himself “Waffles is my name.” Waffles inspected the crystals closely, he had a look of approval on his face.
“So, what was it you wanted to know again? Ah yes about this rare item found by a hunter. Well you see for me to explain it you must listen to the story of how he found it. He was out on his usual hunt near Vulcans Pass. Vulcan drakes began to swarm all around him, as a top end hunter this didn’t bother him one bit. But they appeared to be guarding something, something that he could just see in the corner of his eye. It was a cave, when he grew closer there was a blinding red light shining from within. On closer inspection he found it to be known as a ‘Fire Gem’ something that was rarer than any diamond. No one knows how it is formed and only 2 people have ever seen one. Its purpose seems unclear. Even the hunter himself didn’t know what to do with what he found. I suspect it’s sitting away somewhere on a shelf now.”

My hand reached for the drawing I had tucked away in my pocket from the sleepless night.
“Did the gem look like something that would fit in this?” I showed Waffles the picture. He stared at it intensely for a moment, Charlotte had joined in staring too.
“Wooh did you draw that from only seeing the thing once?”

“Depending on how big that necklace of yours is, this gem was the size of a papoo’s eye.” Charlotte gave me a knowing look, she was thinking the same things as me.
“Where would we find this hunter?”
“You’d probably have an easier time trying to find that stupidly rare gem than you are trying find that hunter.”

The Medallion
Entry #134

When we got back to the house, that fire gem was playing on my mind. The lead we had was the drake cave but I had a feeling there was something Charlotte wasn’t telling me. She had changed since going back to Calypso as if something happened there that she was hiding from me now. Another thing that was playing on my mind, there were 5 slots, one of which potentially could be connected to the Vulcan drakes. There were 4 types of drakes, which begged the question, were 4 of these gems connected to the drakes? I had a feeling Elliot could shed some light on these ‘missing pieces’ as he called them.

We were about to find out as Charlotte had already contacted her crew and they were slumped against the wall waiting for us at the house. Elliot was the first to speak.

“Heard you have news on the necklace. You are as good as Charlotte said about finding information. Would have taken us weeks to find out about this Fire Gem.” I found myself putting my guard up again. There was something they weren’t telling me. I hated being in the dark about things, it was in my nature to seek out information and the truth. After all, there had been many important things that had been kept from me, things that could have saved me from the life I was now living.

“You need to tell me everything you know about this medallion and about the missing pieces. I have a feeling you already know what you’re looking for, you just don’t know where to look for it.” Elliot didn’t flinch or react in any way at all.

“We should tell her.” Charlotte seemed to act differently around these two. Usually she was loud and assertive but around them she was quiet and almost shy.

“Fine, but you can deal with the backlash, when the time comes…”

Elliot spilled out all the research they had done on the medallion and the ancient ones of Next Island. According to an old piece of scripture they had found with the medallion there were five guardians. Fire, Snow, Storm and Death, the fifth guardian was said to be their leader. Each one possessed a keystone. No information was found about what happened to these drakes but there was mention of a fifth stone that was a combination of all 4 drakes, the Moonstone.

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Lores Submission for May 2022
Writing my own experiences in Next Island
Posting all 5 post/parts in one submissions

First Thing First

Part III

Sitting in my Strider at the start line, it seems like everything surrounding me went very quiet. The sound of my heart beats are getting louder and louder, palm start sweating, it reminds me of last time I was on this race track. The rule of this race is a simple. The racer needs to bring own vehicle, fuel it up and set it on the start line. Then just need to run the lap within the time counted by Greta. Like I said before, Greta is nice person. But, also a very precise and strict when it comes to the track run time. Even a second… No, even a millisecond will not pass by Greta, I need to be on time. As flashback of bitter memories cross by my mind, I shake my head off to get rid of them.

Greta: “Are you ok, Balam?”

Me: “Yes, Greta. Just thinking how to handle the course. I am ready now.”

Greta: “Ok, good luck and drive well!”

Me: “Thank you, wish me a luck. I need it.”

The 3 counts started by Greta, the grip gets firmer, again take deep breath.

Greta: “3…2…1…Go!”

Vooom, the Strider makes the fuel/electric combined sounds. Even we put common fuel in most of vehicle, it seems like each vehicle has it own mechanism to convert the fuel to it own source of energy. For the Strider, it does sounds like hybrid of both gas and electric, the hard part of this vehicle is that it goes much faster than it seems but it is very light weight. A high power vehicle with light weight, everyone know how that ends up.

Now crossing over the start line, a first segment of the circuit is always smooth. There is just small bumps and hills but nothing too difficult to handle. It is very much straight line, but I can’t let my concentration to be loose. As I check the response of my Strider, I need to prepare for a most difficult segment, the huge hill which only Strider can climb up.

Part IV

This hill is definitely the most problematic part of the course, well… at least for me. The bitter memory makes me feel the taste of the dirt I experienced in the past. It is tall, so tall that you can’t even see what is past it. The long climb requires the driver to muscle down the vehicle or you will eat the dirt back on the ground. If you are lucky, you may not eat the dirty and still manage to be on the vehicle, but staying on the course is quiet difficult for any driver.

Me: “Come on, you can do it… Woah!”

Even though the Strider did not slip away from my hands, but unfortunately it made wild 360 and slammed it’s body on the water body on other side of the hill.

Me: “Well, at least I am on other side.”

Yep, I better get moving. Floored the accelerator to the limit to earn some time. Rest of the course on both a water and a land, it is continuing winding road where you must make a sharp turn to cut to loss time. Left and right, I vividly cut the steering wheel with accelerator control to handle the speed. I was so focused that it felt like synchronization buff has been used. As I run through the last small hill, I hear Greta counting “10…9…8…”. This last stretch, I must hurry to make it to the goal on time. The rushed feeling had made me step on accelerator further down. [Splash] Next moment, my sight was spinning hard. Not only my sight, but the Strider slipped and spin on the paddle of a water on the end of the course. Placing the it’s direction to completely opposite side of the course. My heart was beating fast, so fast that I couldn’t think or hear anything. It was very close call, if I was not lucky, I could have fallen off from the edge down to the lake.

Part V

[Beep]

The sound of the timer has echoed in this sunny and dry environment. I know it is loud sounds from when I watched others, but it only sounded like background noise to me at the moment. I was so shocked, that I completely forgot the race time counter was still going. The timer has announced that my challenge was over. Again at the disappointment to myself and bit of shame to talk to Greta.

Greta: “Are you ok, Balam? Did you get hurt?”

Me: “Thank you for worrying Greta, I think I am ok.”

Greta: “Make sure you are not hurt, you can rest at the side space of the track.”

Me: “Thank you, again. I need that.”

I slowly dragged my Strider to the resting space, sat on the vehicle and realized my hands are shaking. I was not sure if it was due to a rush of adrenaline going through my body or just fear of thinking that I could have fallen off the cliff.

Me: “Haha, well I am still in one piece. There is always a next time.”

I must overcome this challenge, but for now, I did not have a guts to go again right after. Even I challenge again, I did not have a confidence that I can be at the finish line before the timer ends. I need to rest and regain my focus. It is great that Greta is letting me rest so I can be calm before getting out of my Strider. I took a deep breath, closed my eye to take a little rest.

After the small nap, I felt much better. It seemed like I was sleeping for hours, but looking at the clock on a Strider, only several minutes has passed. Looking at my hands, it is not shaking anymore.

Me: “Ah, ah.”

Ok, it seems like my voice is not shaking either. I think I am good to talk now.

Me: “Hey Greta, thank you for letting me rest. I will get going for now.”

Greta: “Ok, glad to hear you are not hurt and ok. Take care.”

Me: “You too, Greta. See you soon.”

Surprise the Disciple

Part I

After leaving the race track, I had to take a rest and change the scene. No, I did not give up on the challenge, but I just need time to reset my mind. In order to regain the confidence within myself, I decided to go find my disciple K. It is easy to find her with the newly born player, yellow jump suit, yet just walking over and meeting her does not sound interesting enough. She needs a surprise. I opened the guide book {NI Helper} to see what is available for a such a surprise. It did not take much time to find and decide what to do next. Yes, you may have guessed. Let’s Monkeying around. I run down to the beach side where I know there are tons of Yellow Papoos. Papoo is a monkey like creature who lived in the Next Island long people our migration. It sometime feels that we are invading their original land, and I am sure Papoo feels same way. As soon as we get close to them, they will attack us without any warning. I know some creatures attacks us because they think we are just their food, but Papoo, I feel their intention is more complex than that. It may not be moral to kill Papoos after invasion we had made already, but the colony issued the order to kill many Papoos as possible. A termination is part of a good citizen duty. I grabbed the gun from my pack, loading the ammunition to get ready and aimed at the Yellow Papoos. For this mission, I need to kill 250 points worth of Yellow Papoos, which Old and Provider give 1 points and Guardian gives 2 points. It is reasonable and quick mission all players should try as the reward is definitely amazing. [Pew Pew] I mindlessly shoot the laser rifle then loot from their dead body. It was just repeatable machine work from here which it did not require me to think.

Part II

I do like a hunting, but a hunting is completely different type of activity compared to a mining or a crafting. I consider hunting as a speed and a focus required job. I am not sure if others feels so, but a hunting requires the significant number of kills to be a good hunter, of course in a skills but as a return. Those creature holds the various loot, but finding the one is previous treasure is just a number game, need to kill large number to hit one. Well, I must say, I am not the professional. Maybe a veterans knows which one to kill even though when I look at those Papoos I can not tell the difference between one and others. [Ping] I hear the sound in my mission counter indicating I have collected enough points for the mission. Finishing off last few Papoos on my sight, I run down to collect the reward. I was not doing this mission only to terminate the Papoos, this mission was to surprise my disciple. Did you ask how I am going to surprise her? Good question. The reward in my hand is the answer and you will see how. I softly hold the medicine looking capsule in my hand, and start walking towards the new arrival paradise landing beach where my disciple K should be at.

After walking my way down the long stairs while looking over the beach to locate K, I start to hear the laser pistol noise I recognize. It must be my disciple, distinct high pitch laser noise her favorite gun. I have found her over the trees where she fights off Papoo punies, I have arrived at the perfect moment. Sneaking around and hiding behind one of the tree, I have thrown the capsule I just got from the mission in my mouth. I usually can not drink a medicine without a water, but it is difficult to find a good purified water in this world of Entropia. The only choice was to swallow it with the determination to surprise K. [Gulp]

Dante Artorius Inferno

Lore for June

Title: gone with the hell

Part 1

So that Centaur was Chiron, the teacher of the Ancient Greek Heroes and, along with Asclepius, the one who knew the most about Medicine… We had to be careful now that we had established contact, and try to be diplomatic…

Chiron kept looking at us intently, trying to discern what could be the reason for our visit… So I spoke with all the respect I could.

-Well… Greetings, Master Chiron… Precisely my friend and I were looking for the one who trained Jason, Achilles and other Heroes… -I said respectfully.

Chiron looked at me in surprise…he certainly wasn’t expecting this acknowledgment.

-How is it that You, the “People of Sky”, know about me and my disciples? –The staff pointed at us menacingly.

-Master Chiron, his fame and that of the people he trained precedes him… In our world praises are sung to your Heroes and to the wisdom of their Master, worthy of being compared to the prudence and wisdom of Mentor… -Borward stepped forward, with great respect and grandiloquence… If they heard us speak like that, someone would believe that we were characters from “The Iliad” or “The Odyssey”…

A smug smile came to Chiron’s lips… without a doubt, he was not immune to recognition… he looked back and shouted something in a guttural language… Automatically, the other Centaurs sheathed their swords and their postures denoted a certain relaxation… I encouraged myself to continue. talking.

-True, Master… and it is because of that fame of being a Physician as reputed almost as Asclepius himself, that we are here asking for help for Greece and our “People of Sky”… Master, can you help us? -I didn’t have to pretend anything… my concern and longing to find a solution were real…

Chiron looked at us, looked at his people… and turned around… he only said a single word:

-Follow us.

About twenty minutes later we arrived at the Centaurs’ camp… it was a village of huts, but shaped like stables, clustered around the entrance of a cave, on the lintels of which were paintings similar to the chevrons Chiron had painted on his chest body… Without a doubt that cave was the temple or refuge of Chiron, who would be something like the Shaman of those people…

I saw some foals running… they weren’t foals, but children but with half the body of a horse… And sometimes a female Centaur would appear… They didn’t wear any clothes, and the contrast of their half body of a horse with the great beauty they had… Well , I’m a married man but I have eyes… and Borward’s eyes were also bulging out of their sockets… For a long time my friend had only devoted himself body and soul to his work, and now he was disturbed by the beauty he saw…

The Centaurs that accompanied us each went away to their chores, while we followed Chiron… He stood in front of the cave entrance and, with a graceful gesture of his front legs, made a genuflection of respect to the image that was carved on the upper lintel… It was Asclepius…

Chiron parted a curtain adorned with strange symbols and advanced through the dark entrance while he said to us:

-Come in…

Part 2:

We crossed the threshold of the cave… After a moment of darkness and the attempt of our eyes to adjust to it, some sparks lit a flame… Chiron had lit a torch and dedicated himself to walking around the room lighting some more…

The cave had a mysterious air… an area where there were some stuffed animals and others in process… some schematic drawings on the walls that indicated the anatomies of men, centaurs and some animals…

In one corner there was an area for plants, no doubt a curative herbalist… In the background were rows of scrolls on some shelves… Possibly the compendiums of knowledge of medicine and other sciences…

In short, it was something like a Medicine and Natural Sciences laboratory… Chiron invited us to sit on the floor while he dropped into a position similar to that of a horse when he rests…

-Talk… What is happening that you need my help?

Borward and I began to tell the story about the epidemic… the effects it produced and how it eluded resurrections… At this point, Chiron waved us to silence.

-So that’s it… I always wondered what Zeus would think about beings from another Kingdom who are capable of doing something that is their prerogative…

Borward and I looked at each other: Chiron seemed like he was going to start talking about the Gods… But that was a disease, not a divine punishment launched by a deity.

-Master… In our Kingdom we do not understand Gods or their punishments… This is a very dangerous disease, and I wonder if the great Chiron would know something about it…

Chiron looked at us… he got up and went to the parchment shelf… he searched for a while and afterward came back with a scroll in his hand… he sat down again and began to read aloud:

-“Zeus, jealous of the power that Andropos had, sent him a divine punishment from his own hand… the lightning struck him and knocked him to the ground… His eyes distilled blood, and his claw-like hands scratched the air while his back arched… at last, Andropos found the way to Tartarus…”

We remained silent… Despite believing only in science and not in magic, the description of the symptoms were very similar to those suffered by the victims… It was disturbing, and at the same time unreal… The Gods really had to see something in this??

-Master… This is very strange… Do the Gods worry about the things of insignificant men like us? That, assuming they exist, of course… -I’m skeptical, sorry…

Chiron looked at me like a teacher at his most clumsy student… A look of sorrow appeared in his eyes…

-Listen, foreigner… The Gods exist, and they own everything human, the beasts, the cyclops, us Centaurs… Haven’t you seen wonders here in Greece that can only be the work of the Gods?

He was right… The Gorgon, the Cyclopes, the Mirynians… That was Mythological Greece, a Greece where the Gods existed… Perhaps… Perhaps this really is their punishment…

While I was thinking, Borward made his typical gesture that preceded the intelligent questions he used to ask…

Master Chiron… this… do you know that Zeus is angry with men or with the “People of the Sky”? – A very pertinent question.

Chiron was thoughtful for a while… Then he looked at us and said:

-I really haven’t seen anything in the signs or in the oracles that would suggest such a thing… honestly, I don’t think Zeus is the God who is upset with you… -Chiron had a half smile, as if he knew something more and didn’t want to say it.

-Then… it is possible that another God is angry with the “People of the Sky”?

Chiron looked at Borward with satisfaction… He was definitely on the right track.

-Think, foreigner… with your artifacts and sciences… which God have you been able to anger? -Chiron was staring at us…no doubt he knew the answer, but he wanted to see if we could find out.

As I racked my brain, Borward said a single word:

-Hades…

Part 3

Hades!!! Of course!!! The Underworld needs servants… the souls of the dead travel through the Stygian lagoon and end up in Tartarus… Meanwhile, Hades is their lord…

And now, suddenly, death no longer exists… The Stygian lagoon does not need the Ferryman Charon to carry the souls and collect the obolus of the coin in the mouth of the dead… Cerberus no longer has anything to watch over nor the Hecatoncheires of a hundred arms with Briareo in front have no task…

Without a doubt, Hades will be more than annoyed with the humans, including the Greeks, although really we, the “People of the Sky” are the ones who are to blame with our Revive and Resurrection techniques…

-Okay, let’s suppose that Hades is angry with us… But the outside is not his world nor does he have influence there… Zeus rules on Earth… then, how could Hades have such an influence? -Borward kept asking the right questions.

Chiron looked down… No doubt he was thinking the answer but I had already sensed it.

-Isn’t it possible that some God, Demigod or mortal of the earth has helped Hades?.. Call him a traitor, an infiltrator or whatever you want… -I saw it clearly.

Borward and Chiron looked at each other and suddenly stared at me… I had no doubt guessed right.

-Assuming that was the case… -Chiron spoke slowly as he shaped the idea. -What reason would someone have to help Hades? And above all… how to take part of the power of Zeus and give it to Hades?

They were unanswered questions for now… It would imply someone close enough to Zeus to take part of his power without his realizing it, and at the same time that he had some kind of rapprochement with Hades… Perhaps a Demigod, some servant of the Gods, a relative of some other God with unfinished business…

We fell silent… I got up and walked around the room in deep thought… While Chiron and Borward were still discussing possibilities… I walked over to the scroll shelf and took a look.

There were various rolls of the most varied themes… there were even several unrolled sheets of papyrus… papyrus??? Was there an “Ancient Egypt”???

I was about to turn around when my eyes fell on some leaves that appeared in the middle of others… It wasn’t parchment or papyrus… it was PAPER!!!

Without them noticing, I took out the sheets and looked at them… They were written in our language, and what they revealed left me perplexed:

Personal Notes- Entry 20

Tourists these days have no respect, one of them today called me a disgusting animal. At least his friend had more manners and he explained that he thought I was one of the other papoo found on the island. Although my appearance and instincts may be similar to those of the papoo, my intelligence far exceeds them. Although today I had noticed that the papoos on the island were nervous as if something was about to happen, my own senses are also nervous. Heck, even the pesky piggies were running away today. From my usual place I could hear two Loyalists talking, they mentioned something strange, it sounded like they were talking about a disease that was spreading like wildfire in Greece… No doubt something big will happen on Next Island, and it will all start with the neighbors Greeks… They are going to die there, and we are going to die here…. A boar just drooled on my diary. I’ll have to pay more people to keep them away.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading… those pages kept raving about Juliana robots, pigs and settlers, but basically they talked in detail about something similar to this Pandemic… some disturbing predictions…

How was it possible??? Sebastian’s diary here?? How had it arrived? And speaking of the pandemic… Gods, maybe the Man-Bear is right… Although that could wait now… I surreptitiously put the sheets in one of my armor’s holsters, and returned to Borward and Chiron.

Part 4:

The entrance curtain moved violently… a strong wind had blown it inside… Chiron stared at it…

-How strange, bad weather is coming…

-Well, Master, in a couple of months it will be autumn… - I said almost without thinking…

-True… but it’s too soon for fall… How strange…- Chiron changed his position; he seemed restless.

-Demeter was sad before her time… - Borward continued to demonstrate his erudition.

I remembered the ancient legends of my grandfather’s library… Demeter, the goddess of Agriculture, had a daughter of great beauty, Persephone, who had been kidnapped by Hades and made her his wife… Demeter was saddened and Nature turned to frost and bad weather…

After many vicissitudes, Persephone fell in love with Hades, and they reached an agreement to spend six months on Olympus with her mother Demeter (spring and summer) and six months with her husband Hades (autumn and winter)…

And now it seemed that autumn was brought forward two months… as if Persephone had returned from Olympus to Tartarus before her time… Why did she advance her departure?

-But it doesn’t make sense – Chiron said – The agreement she reached with Hades clearly stipulated the time Persephone would visit her mother Demeter… it seems that it ended before time…

-Yes… Maybe she had something that she should take to Tartarus before they discovered her…-Borward already knew what was happening.

-Persephone fell in love with Hades at the end… I’m sure she would do anything for her husband, if things didn’t go well for her… -I also had it clear.

-Like, for example, to restore death again so that Hades could reign over Tartarus as before… - Chiron put the final piece.

It was clear… Persephone had taken advantage of the annual visit to Olympus to get closer to her father Zeus in some way, and steal some power that granted death, to spread it over the earth and cause death again… In this way Hades would once again have a kingdom as before, with subjects, with money paid to the ferryman… a Tartarus as it had always been before the “People of Sky” had ended with death…

-Well… we already know what has happened… now… how do we solve it? - Chiron asked.

-Well… we have two jobs: End the pandemic, which we will achieve sooner or later, I’m sure, and convince Hades to end this, but… the latter is going to force us to do something very dangerous. – I looked at my companions, who were following my words expectantly… I paused, and…

-Borward, Master Chiron… we must see Hades, and the only way is to go talk to him directly… we must go down to Tartarus, to the Underworld…

They looked at me as if they didn’t understand…

-Come on Dante, when someone goes down to Tartarus they don’t come out anymore…

-Well… some have gone down and come back up, like Odysseus…

-Yes, but they didn’t speak directly with Hades, they only visited some souls…

We didn’t understand each other… The truth is that it would be dangerous, but not impossible… Chiron went back to the shelves and examined his parchments… He took one out and showed us, and Borward and I smiled as we recognized part of Homer’s “The Odyssey”… It was the Song that narrated the descent of Odysseus to Tartarus to consult the soul of Tiresias the Fortune Teller… It precisely explained that to descend to Tartarus one had to make some sacrifices with two lambs, make some libations and dip a sword in blood…

Well, it was a start, so we went outside and boarded Borward’s Gungnir, which was the only ship Chiron could comfortably enter… We arrived at Knossos, where the Gorgon, to visit the Aruspice who lived there…

He first made frightened gestures when he saw Chiron, but with our explanations we managed to calm him down a bit… When we told him our plan he shook his head as if we were three crazy people…

Borward was more pragmatic: A good bag of peds changed hands, and the Aruspice promised us all kinds of rites and libations in order to bring our plan to fruition.

The Aruspice presented himself with two lambs, one white and one black, which he slaughtered… immediately afterwards he dipped a sword in the blood while reciting some formulas and prayers worthy of the Eleusian Mysteries… he took a glass of wine and made the appropriate libations, Y…

A mist began to envelop us…grayish shreds surrounded us while we heard some wails… And suddenly, between wails and fog, a part of the ground began to become transparent, to finally end up being the entrance to a cave… Without a doubt, the entrance to Tartarus …

When he looked back, the Aruspice had already run a hundred meters away, leaving his flip-flops and cloak abandoned… It seems that he did not want to “see the Gods”…

Borward watched wide-eyed as Chiron nervously stamped his paws on the ground, almost whinnying in fear…

There was no other choice… We had to enter… And we entered the Underworld…

Part 5:

We descended through the threshold of the cave… The darkness enveloped us, so we turned on our flashlights… the sound of wailing increased…

-What is that sound? -Borward asked.

-These are the lamentations of the souls that don’t have the money to pay Ferryman Charon… They must wander around here until they can pass… - Chiron replied.

We continued descending and suddenly we saw in the distance a kind of greenish misty mass… We got closer, and it turned out to be the souls of those who were waiting… They were like ghosts, transparent, greenish in color, and presented the appearance they had at the moment to die… Suddenly, the bunch of souls turned their eyes towards us…

-Who are you? What are you doing here? You haven’t died yet… -Some questioned us while they looked at us strangely…

And among the souls, those of the father and daughter who had died of the Pandemic in the village near Larissa appeared…

-Foreign!!! You couldn’t help us… At least, you should have put a coin in our mouths, to be able to go to Eliseo… -The father looked at me sadly…

I was going to answer when I heard a splash: Charon’s Boat was approaching… With a loud creak it came alongside the pier… The souls swarmed, while Charon pushed them away with his oar… He only let those who had the coin pass, while the other souls wept and lamented…

And suddenly, he placed his empty eye sockets on us:

-What are you doing here?.. You’re not dead… -Charon seemed perplexed.

-Listen, oh, Boatman of the Stygian Lagoon… we are heroes of the world who want to see Hades and Persephone… Let them know of our presence… -I answered with Greek declamatory style.

Charon looked at the three of us like someone looking at some insects.

-Listen… Get out of here or I’ll call Cerberus or the Hecatonchires, and then you’ll be dead and penniless - he pointed at us threateningly with the oar.

-Listen, Toothless… if you don’t want to come, we’ll cross the lagoon to his kingdom, so we can talk to him… -Chiron had recovered part of his integrity…

Charon looked at us, and made a helpless gesture…

-Okay, if you want to go see him and let him kill you with his own hands, it’s up to you… go up…

Borward, Chiron and I got on the boat… At that moment I put five coins in Charon’s hands…

-Wait, there are three coins, one for each… here are five. -At least he was honest.

-I know… they are for you to pass to the Eliseo that man who is with a girl holding hands. I pointed to Larissa’s father and daughter…

With a gesture, he called them to get on the boat… among the souls’ laments, the boat began to move away from the pier and headed towards the Lagoon of Oblivion…

The trip lasted a couple of hours… The cavern was terrifying, and there were greenish vapors in the water… souls who had forgotten who they were…

Finally, we reached the end of the lagoon… The boat ran aground on the sand and we all got out…

-Foreigner, thanks for helping us… At least we’ll be at Eliseo thanks to you… - The father, grateful, made a gesture of respect… he took his daughter by the hand, and walked away… I turned to Charon…

-All right, Boatman… Let Hades know of our visit and… -I didn’t have time to say more… Loud roars were heard in the cavern…

-I think Hades already knows you’re here… -said Charon in a mocking tone as he pointed his oar to the bottom of the cave… We turned our heads and…

Three huge giants, with a lot of arms and heads, were approaching us… The watchmen of the tunnels… The Hecatonchires!!!

-Dante, Chiron… I think we have to fight – Borward said as he unsheathed a Katsuichi Determination.

We charged at those giants with our swords, slashing arms and heads one after another… Despite being out of practice, Borward defended himself well, while Chiron lived up to his name “Sagittarius” with a bow and arrow.

The giants lost arms and heads as they tried to catch us… After a few minutes they began to retreat, wounded, leaving debris behind, while we advanced.

A few seconds later they ran through the tunnel screaming in pain… We had defeated the Hecatonchires!!!..

-And now? -Chiron asked…

He didn’t have time to think… a huge dog with three heads appeared from a corner of the cave… his drooling mouths, his hair standing up, his powerful claws… It was Cerberus, the dog of Hades…

We prepared to fight again when a voice from beyond the grave was heard…

-STOP!!!

Cerberus stopped short, gave us a look of hatred and ran off in the direction of one of the tunnels, through which a being appeared… He was wearing a tunic and had a Corinthian helmet in one of his hands… his eyes were red, and their beards and hair had reddish tones too… He looked at us…

-For the Gods!!! how did you get here? And by defeating the Hecatonchires… without a doubt, you are protected by Zeus or Poseidon… I myself, Hades, will have to kill you…

Part 6:

Hades looked at us… his eyes glowed bright red, and sparks began to come out of his hair…

-Wait, Lord of the Underworld, and hear what we have to tell you. –It was a desperate request from Chiron… The sparks subsided and Hades’s eyes lost part of their glare… he looked at us and said:

-Okay… say what you have to say and be careful what you insinuate or face the consequences… Only the dead can be here…

Chiron and Borward looked at me with pleading in their eyes… without a doubt, I would have to act as spokesperson… I cleared my throat and began to speak…

-My Lord… this… something is happening in Greece, people are dying again, but I think…

-That people die again? It is the divine order, an order that has been broken by you, the “People of Sky” who have usurped the power of Zeus… - Hades looked at us satisfied.

-I think it wasn’t exactly us who stole something, My Lord…

Hades looked at me blankly…

-My Lord… Death has returned, but it has not been by natural means, but someone has taken the power of Zeus…

-What do I care? -Hades replied- The result is that death exists again… the souls return here, to my kingdom… and I return to reign as it should be…

-This… that would be so if it had happened naturally… but if Zeus finds out that someone from your kingdom has taken the power of the Father of the Gods, well… - I couldn’t finish

-What are you insinuating, damned mortal??? -Hades’s eyes shone - I have commanded to steal the power of Zeus over life and death???

-My Lord… Hades would not steal anything, but Zeus may think that it has been so, and his revenge could reach you, even if you were innocent… You could end up castrated and banished like Uranus…

Hades began to look at me with fear in his eyes…

-Banish me?? Why? I haven’t stolen anything from Zeus… I really don’t need anything, here I have everything I need, including my beloved Persephone, who…

-That she has returned early from her visit to Olympus… My Lord, don’t you wonder why she returned earlier? -My words cast doubt on Hades’s face…

-Well… well… without a doubt he wanted to come back with me… -Hades doubted…

-Either he brought something from Olympus that he shouldn’t have… and he came back before Zeus found out…

Hades looked at us…he could hear the gears in his mind, thinking…finally, he gave a piercing whistle in the direction of one of the caves…

As if it were a puppy, the huge Cerberus appeared at the call of his master… He sat on his hindquarters, obediently…

-Cerberus… bring Persephone… NOW!!!

The dog walked away through one of the tunnels while Hades addressed us…

-Foreigners… listen to me carefully… If you have lied to me you will never set foot on Elysium… Prometheus’ punishment will be a game compared to what I will do to you… -Hades was really angry…

Minutes later Cerberus appeared, on whose back rode a beautiful dark-haired woman, with the beauty of the Gods… he dismounted from the back of the huge dog, and headed towards us…

-My Lord… who are these living? And what are they doing here? -He said with a seductive and melodious voice, worthy of Eros… Hades looked at his beloved…

-Persephone, my love… These foreigners say that you have brought something from Olympus… something that you shouldn’t have… IS THAT TRUE??? - Hades’s voice, soft at first, cracked at the end like a whip…

Persephone looked at us with fear in her eyes… she began to back away, fearful of her husband’s reaction… Given her attitude, Hades finally understood…

-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??? Did you steal something from my brother Zeus??? – Hades’s anger increased every second… - Do you know what he could do to us???

-My Lord, I… I only wanted you to reign over the dead again as before… but there are no dead now… - Persephone collapsed to the floor of the cave between sobs.

-Woman… if Zeus finds out, he will think that I was the one who ordered you to do it… he will banish us from Tartarus!!!.. Didn’t you think about the consequences??? –Hades was already out of his mind.

Persephone sobbed… Deep down, we felt sorry, because he had done it out of love, but the consequences would be terrible for Hades… I cleared my throat…

-Ahem… Madam… what exactly did you steal from her… - She looked at me in tears…

-I took… I took a pinch of the punishment essences… and I spread it around the north of Greece, so that people would start dying… I didn’t know it was so lethal… - Persephone continued sobbing, looking at Hades – I was afraid of being discovered , and I fled… Sorry my Lord, sorry…

-Well, perhaps Zeus hasn’t gone into detail… but if this pandemic is so contagious, it’s a matter of time before he realizes it, and then… - I couldn’t finish, because suddenly an idea struck me - Madam… that essence has any antidote?

Persephone looked at us… then she looked at Hades, who was already calming down, and told us:

-Not that I know of… I only know that this illness changes people from within… I don’t work in medicine, perhaps Asclepio knows something else… I can ask him…

-NO!!! Don’t say anything else… -Hades’s face was contorted with fear – May the secret of your sin remain here between these foreigners and us… Listen to me… come back and try to find a remedy, but you must be discreet… and fast… if the deaths increase from abnormally, Zeus could realize what happened… Come on, go back to your world!!!

We didn’t think twice… taking advantage of the fact that Charon was still there, we climbed back to the exit of the cave… at least we already knew what had happened, and Hades’ fear of Zeus would make the secret safe… we only had find out more about the disease and try to stop it before it decimated Greece and Zeus found out… Or worse yet, that it went out to Next Island and Chief Socrates found out…

Part 7:

The disease changes people from within… those enigmatic words of Persephone were undoubtedly the key to an antidote… But how?.. The three of us were in Chiron’s cave, racking our brains, looking at parchments, consulting our tablets… nothing …

-Dammit!!! How is it possible for people to change from within? –Borward cursed men and gods alike… as a good scientist, this enigma had him insane for not being able to solve it.

Chiron had been thinking for a long time… finally he spoke -Perhaps for us, changing people from within has a meaning, but… and for you?

Borward and I don’t look… what’s inside people? Organs, viscera, bones… and from within everything… there is the DNA…

It was a possibility… It took us a while to explain the concepts of DNA to Chiron, but more or less he understood it… if we had to do more analysis we had to go back to the laboratory…

We left Chiron in his cave, and returned to Pearl Cove…we used the samples obtained from Larissa’s corpse…Nothing, the DNA was normal…there was nothing in the sequence that designated a change or mutation that would cause death…

Suddenly Borward’s assistant, Peter, approached one of the terminals, connected the database and typed something: The list of names of the people who were registered in Larissa’s Revive… After a few minutes looking, we identified the photo of that girl’s father, of whom we had the samples.

Since the Revives were implemented and Queen Penthesilea gave her approval, all the inhabitants of Greece were registered in the Revives database… There was also their genetic composition, essential to be able to revive them correctly… and…

There was!!! When we compared the DNA obtained from the corpse, and the DNA from the database, there were huge differences…

That was the answer: Persephone’s essence was a deadly virus, but it also modified people’s DNA (it changed from within) and when the Revive worked, it did not match the one stored in the database… That caused a defective resurrection, which led to a horrible death… We had found the cause and the effect… now the cure was missing!!!

Borward, Peter and I hugged each other satisfied… At least we already knew what to look for: some viral element, as we already knew, but that also produced changes in the DNA of human beings.

Peter and Borward analyzed the samples more closely, trying to isolate possible viral elements… after several hours, four elements were detected… time to culture samples…

The first three corresponded to simple viruses similar to dysentery, or the flu… but the fourth virus literally destroyed the cells with which it was cultured… It was isolated!!!

It was a very strange virus: the contagion rate was slow, but totally deadly… That explained why it had not been so virulent, although it was lethal in an isolated community like the town of Larissa…

Three hours later, Peter managed to create a component that rendered the virus harmless, a kind of “vaccine”… It must be said that Borward was a little jealous that he hadn’t been the one to discover the solution, but that didn’t matter…

Now we had to find a way to inoculate the “vaccine” to all the peoples between Larissa and Thebes itself… and in such a way that Queen Penthesilea or Chief Socrates, much less any God of Olympus, would find out…

The solution was easy: between Larissa and Thebes there were several wells, lakes and rivers, from which the different populations took their water… Huge amounts of the “vaccine” had to be diluted in rivers and wells, so all the scientific staff at Pearl Cove set about crafting liters and liters of the “vaccine”.

We divided up the areas on the map, and we all went in vehicles or TP to the assigned areas, with the “vaccine” containers… Meanwhile, the lower-ranking assistants and scientists would go along the roads with the Fappers adapted to the new compound…

It was a matter of days to put an end to that madness…

A week later:

Borward, Peter, and I were drinking herbal tea in Chiron’s cave… For Peter, all this was new and magical…

-Foreigners… you did well… without you, that Pandemic would have killed all living beings in Greece… We Centaurs, the Cyclopes… we also have what you call “DNA”… Perhaps we would have been the next to go to Tartarus…

-All the wells have been inoculated, and the Fappers adapted to the virus… we’ve only had one case in the last two days… A guy who lived alone in a mountain and we couldn’t locate… -Borward summed up the situation.

-And at the moment Chief Socrates hasn’t heard anything, nor has Queen Penthesilea… And it seems that this Zeus hasn’t either… -Peter was a bit skeptical about the subject of “the Gods”…

Chiron looked at the three of us… Without a doubt, relations between humans and Centaurs could take a new direction after this collaboration…

-I suppose now you will go back to your places to do whatever you do in Greece… Remember, you will always be welcome in this tribe… If any Centaur stops you, just say that you come to see Chiron, the Master of Heroes, and they will let you in peace… - Chiron’s offer was very generous…

We returned to Pearl Cove in the afternoon… Now we must go back to our business…

-Well, I have to prepare everything to receive Katalina… she went to Monria to see her parents - I said to Borward as we said goodbye near the TP – By the way, Dr. What are you working on now?

Borward looked from one side to the other, as if he was afraid of being heard… He lowered his voice and said:

-Dante… Peter and I are working on something big… We are trying to create another portal like the one in Ancient Greece to be able to connect with other kingdoms: Egypt, Rome, T’sin… who knows… But please, don’t say anything… this is secret…

Borward could rest easy, I wasn’t going to say anything to anyone… after this adventure, all I wanted was to see Katalina and have a drink at Caroline’s… I’ll go one day to see the Man-Bear and bring him the leaves that I stole in Chiron’s cave…

EPILOGUE:

Epilogue 1:

Dr. Borward adjusted the dials together with his assistant Peter… They looked at each other for a moment and connected the machinery… An enormous light illuminated the laboratory…

A beam similar to that of the Teleporters emerged from the center of the machine and, for a moment, something seemed to be seen through the light… Perhaps a face? and snow?

With a descending sound, the machine stopped working…

Dr. Boward sighed… There was no way, whatever it was that managed to open the portal to Ancient Greece, it seemed impossible to do it now and try to open other portals…

Maybe in the future…

Epilogue 2:

The figure looked at that strange swirl of lights… For a moment it seemed to see another place, and other people… Then everything went out…

How strange… It seemed as if someone wanted to open a portal to his world…

For a moment he thought about doing the right thing: telling his father and brother about what he had seen, but seconds later he decided not to do it… Better to investigate on his own what it was and try to take advantage of it, as he always did…

He smiled as he walked away from the place… His footsteps left footprints in the snow… Definitely, neither his father Odin nor his brother Thor should know anything about that… one day Asgard would be his and that portal could bring him some advantage… Meanwhile, he, Loki, I would keep the secret.

Epilogue 3:

I was on the beaches near Crystal Peak… good sun, good beer and the impatience to see Katalina, who was returning from seeing her parents who were in Monria at the time…

Ah… My in-laws… the truth is that they had never seen well that their daughter, on whom they had pinned all their hopes in a political career, was going to wander with someone like me… That’s why they couldn’t even see me…

Suddenly I heard the sound of an engine… but it didn’t sound like Katalina’s Quad… it was a heavier sound… I looked up and saw an Arkadian Dropship getting ready to land…

It’s strange that Katalina takes a transport… maybe someone else is coming to Next Island… and once I thought that, the alarm lights went off in my mind.

From the back of the transport, the exit and unloading platform was opened… Katalina was there, beautiful, with monriana clothes… I felt lucky to see the beautiful woman she had…

And my smile froze when I saw the figures that accompanied her: A snooty old woman with a raven nose and a stooped old man with a cane with the handle like the head of an Arkadian Kiana… My in-laws!!!

The old crow-woman looked in my direction, wrinkled her nose and said…

-Well, if the drunken adventurer has come to receive us…

I think that, until they leave, it will be a very long few days…

Removed to avoid copys

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Isme’s Journey

Isme’s Journal #11

So, Its been a few days… but I finally got to Crystal Bay and then headed up to Crystal Peak. Good thing I have been focusing on improving my skills, because first it was papoo then it was… STAIRS! SO MANY STAIRS!!!

I climbed all the way up that mountain to the very tippy top. I needed to catch my breath. When I could breath enough to look around me I saw snow and stores. Who knew there would be stores on the tippy top of a mountain?

I was expecting a shrine or remote crashed ship with stores of old tech and archives. The stores kind of intrigued me. What would people want to climb a mountain to get? So I did some window shopping. There were many wonderful (and expensive) things for sale up there!

Then I found the robot I was looking for. He told me some history, gave me some basic insight into the different groups. Then sent me on my way to meet with some people who could tell me more. I started with the Haruspex. The elder, at the cave, has always been kind so it seemed like a good way to begin. The first person he sent me to, told me to get a data pad and kill papoo. So I thought this was a great start!

Then I realized that I had to go all the way down to the bottom of those stairs again. If I fail in my attempt to rescue this planet from papoo, I will least have the best looking calves on the planet! As much as I cringe when I see stairs… my legs look great!!!

I went to retrieve the data pad. It didn’t look so far on the map. It seemed to take forever though. Then there were these wagons. They were nice looking wooden wagons with nice tapestries draped over the top. They were also completely empty. It seemed very strange. They were clean and nice and the space around was also clean and nice and no evidence of animals anywhere. A little spooky though.

Not far from the wagons there was a little space with papoo… I figured those were the ones in my mission, and I was right! I took out the papoo and the data pad was right in the middle were the furry beasts!

Mission accomplished so I will head back and turn it in. It was an interesting trek but so far I really have not learned much about the Haruspex

Isme’s Journey #12

Isme’s Journal

ARGH!!! WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!

I dreamt that I was on a landing in the middle of a drift wood staircase. It stretched as far as I could see in both directions. Every step had at least one very angry papoo on it! Red ones, gray ones, yellow ones and brown ones, all were represented and all were angry!

I can still see it when I close my eyes!!

It must have been that last round of missions that did it! After I helped the Haruspex. After I got turned in the data pad I was sent back to a different Haruspex settlement to give it to their head being. As a way of building trust. I learned that they did not have a leader as we would define it. They are all so friendly and kind! But I was sent to talk to a different elder and then to a guard and then back to an elder and then to kill mutant boars.

Mutant boars are mean. But I did it! Poor little weak Isme is getting stronger! MUHAHAHAHA
Okay okay I know…… I am a long ways from being the next hunting master. But I can pretend!
But seriously all the swunting is paying off! I could take on 2 at a time! And survived a while with 3!

Enough patting your own back Isme! After I took care of the boars and went back to the guard and then the elder. I then had to go back to Crystal Peak… and more stairs. Then I realized I had to deliver some other messages in the area. I said I would because I was headed that way. BUT I found out AFTER I was at the top that the person I needed to talk to was at the bottom. Then She sent me back UP the stairs!

I was so bummed out! And tired. As for learning about the Haruspex, They are all super nice, the are a very peaceful bunch. That is why they needed my help with the boars. They were not equipped to fend them off. They told me too info about the Derma. I don’t fully understand it. Its sort of like an evil spirit that can infect people if they are not on the watch for it. I have to learn more about that.

Oh …I made a new friend today, James Smithle (the great… Sometimes. hehe ) He is one of the newest arrivals. I showed him where the piglets were so he could get in some good swunting!

I need muscle balm. My legs hurt so bad!!! I will write down more tomorrow.

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New Elysian Order Fanfiction, first part is true, end is hilarious ;D will post on quotev too

Prologue - Rough Start at Caly

There we are, at the high-tech gates of Port Atlantis - a miracle of technology, almost as old as the colony itself. These halls are traversed daily by many great and not-so-great Elysians, with me being part of the latter group.

I had just started out as a hunter and learned why it’s never a good idea to ask “how bad can it get?” before trying something outside of your comfort zone. We may be immortal, but we’re not invincible and boy, these monsters are letting me know it. I was fighting caudatergus, one of the weakest monsters on planet Calypso. Its danger rating is only level 1, but for a beginner who has no armor and a rusty old pistol, it sure doesn’t feel that way. I was a warmed-up corpse by the time I ran out of ammo.

The genetically modified monsters on the training asteroid, Thule, were much easier to handle, but I knew if I ever wanted to grow as a hunter, I had to go to Calypso, where all the big shots are. One must not be fooled by the shiny architecture, as Caly is a planet full of danger, posed by both robots, mutants and monsters. Although the Robot Wars officially ended eons ago, some territories are still highly contested or even controlled by the remaining invaders and one of them, the Zychion Citadel, we may never get back. Those who return from Zychion with the loot of Mulcibers are feared and admired as heroes, as these merciless machines with levels above 300 could slaughter an average colonist before entering their line of sight.

What amazed me even more than their bravery are their seemingly limitless pockets. The kind of gear required to take down something so colossal is equivalent in value to a warp ship and a palace in the sky.

I didn’t really want to go to Zychion, my dreams were much simpler. I wanted to get my hands on a special kind of weapon, a chip that gives the user superpowers. This power, called mindforce, was long out of the working class’s reach until synthetic mind essence was invented. While still pricey, using it is now my plan instead of my dream.

Even for immortals, money was essential to keep people motivated and prevent the younger generation from falling into despair. The first goal was achieved, the second not so much. The chances of a youngster catching up with seasoned professionals, who worked in their respective fields for centuries was next to none. Sure, there were new professions such as tailors, gardeners and painters, but the available niches were running out fast and the future didn’t look bright for the children of the poor. While reproduction wasn’t biologically necessary, some colonists still brought children into the world, justifying any potential problems with immortality. The easiest ways to make money while investing only time were fruit-picking, looking for rare stones or perhaps the most humiliating of them all – collecting vibrant sweat from monsters. While it may sound strange, sweat can be used as a lubricant for crafting and making mind essence, which is still widely used by healers and more potent than its synthetic alternative.

This is how I spent the majority of my first year on Calypso, before my life was changed forever.

Chapter 1 – The Voyage

I was getting accustomed to life as a hunter, and once I acquired a level 1 lacerating chip, I felt invincible. Obviously I was brought back to reality by the damage of a kerberos and the jeers of stronger hunters who ran away with my loot while I was down, but I didn’t let that ruin my day. Okay, maybe it ruined my day a little, but it wasn’t as bad as killing a rabbiger that is super expensive when tamed.

By now I also had a ship, although it was the cheapest model. I was hesitant to use my car or ship, since oil was a luxury and I had plenty of time to get where I was going, but it was helpful not to have to call for rescue whenever I got encircled by a horde of monsters.

I also got to travel through space, visiting the nearby planets Cyrene and Arkadia. I loved hunting ferans on Arkadia, but after my ex broke up with me I couldn’t stand being on the same planet as him and went back to Caly. Lots of people love flying through space, but I didn’t think much of it, especially with the threat of pirates looming overhead. Flying at light speed would have been interesting, but it’s ten times more expensive.

One day as I was minding my own business, I saw a recruitment poster – they were looking for volunteers who were cooperative and not afraid of the unknown. I was bored, so I decided I might as well take a look at this. The job was fully sponsored and was a rescue mission to a planet called Next Island. It was my first time hearing of that planet and long story short, ages ago a scientist opened a portal to a distant planet in hopes of offering people a better life, but it went sort of sour. The separation of people who had the corrupted demra molecule in their dna from those who didn’t have it was unsuccessful and 400 unidentified people marched through the portal along with the chosen 100. Unable to deal with this, its creator self- destructed along with the portal, trapping the colonists on the distant planet and it isn’t until recently that warp drives were strong enough to send a rescue mission, which is where I come in.

“Welcome to OnlyFly, we hope you enjoy the flight. A bag is attached to the seats in case you get spacesick.”

We were seated in a ship that was huge even for warp ship standards and sent on our merry way. The warp was incredibly fast and we were soon making our way through the planet’s atmosphere. But the wilderness we expected to find was nowhere to be seen, instead we were greeted by infrastructure not inferior to that of Caly.

There weren’t many people when compared to the metropolis Calypso, but it didn’t look like they needed rescuing. In fact, we looked terribly out of place in our rugged military uniforms, while everyone else wore swimsuits or something that could be seen on the runway. Hunting without armor was the norm here, not something poor people had to endure.

We asked to speak to someone in charge and our adventure begun.

Chapter 2 – New Elysian Order Recruit

I was debriefed about the situation on the planet. The first wave of colonists split into different factions with their own respective territories. The Elysian Loyalists got the most fertile land, as they weren’t particularly strong – this is the faction where we landed. Haruspex got the forests, they also aren’t powerful but they are in tune with nature. Stel are demra corrupted scavengers and thieves, they are strong and tech savvy occupants of the desert. Resa branched out from the Stel and are nomads mainly found around waterways. And finally, the New Elysian Order. One could see the contempt on the Loyalist’s faces when they talked about N.E.O’s arrogance – they were the most elite of all the groups, able to make a living in the harsh mountains.

This was very new to me. People on Calypso were too busy trying to stay afloat on an overpopulated planet to bother with politics and were united against a common enemy. This level of complacency was a completely foreign concept, but it intrigued me.

I was instructed to talk to Ben if I wished to learn more and happily obliged. I was killing most monsters I came across on the way in one shot, if you can even call them monsters – they were pigs and monkeys, normal animals.

I decided to investigate the New Elysian Order since hunting monkeys and boars all day would bore me to death. I talked to Audrey Niles and guess what she wanted me to do? Hunt brown monkeys. I finished the easy hunt and just as I was about to give up on this planet altogether and take the first warp back to Caly, a female voice beckoned me over.

Her name was Alice and she was in charge of training New Elysian Order recruits. The completion reward was a cool blueprint, and of course bragging rights. Okay, I’ll bite. It started off fairly easy, with me having to find a certain cave and a guard, but then progressed to bickering with angry Joan and bizarre riddles. By the time I was supposed to decide which tree doesn’t belong in a forest where all the trees look weird I was out of my depth and guessing things– it turned out to be a tree stump. Maybe it’s meant as a metaphor that the weak don’t belong in New Elysian Order, but I’m probably reading too much into it. The last riddle was finding the item between winter and spring, which actually wasn’t that hard to find – I was getting good at this.

My final task was to kill a drake. I could hear my heart racing as I kited the drake across the hill, the adrenaline giving me the power to outmatch its speed. It hit the ground with a thud and I never felt more alive than in that moment. I went on this huge adventure and spent basically nothing, even the ammo I used on the drake was free, courtesy of Joan. The so-called elitist faction was actually the fairest of them all, with merit prevailing over money.

It was right then and there I decided to officially join the ranks of New Elysian Order and become a much more powerful cryogenic.

Chapter 3 – N.E.O. V.I.P.

Damn snakes. It’s been ages and I still can’t make a dent in these daudaormur creatures. I was determined to take the head of every creature on this planet, but so far the swampy residence of these fancy snakes remained a death zone for me. Not a single faction made a claim on this area, unsurprisingly. It was like the Zychion of Next Island.

I resigned, dropped a few probes and came back to the headquarters with my head hung in shame. I noticed a new terminal standing next to a televator – New Elysian Order VIP, it said. Apparently, materials are needed for a new project in the underground, they mostly weren’t hard to procure, but were quite pricey due to rarity. I jumped the wagon and, not wanting to wait until I collected all the materials, sold some off my possessions and bought them on the auction from other factions.

The televator took me to a huge underground cave with more missions to be found, the mining one caught my eye. I had to deliver 100 praetonium claims to help with the construction, and in return I’d receive a drake wings blueprint. I was mainly a hunter, but I dabbled in mining and praetonium could be found in shallow depths so I decided to try my luck. It took a while, but I was still among the faster ones to finish.

Since I had two left hands for crafting, I outsourced the blueprint in exchange for one pair of wings. They were so pretty, but merely cosmetic at the time. I was really hoping flight would get implemented – hoverboards and ships were great, but flying with your own pair of wings was something I always desired.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to wait long, straight from the hands of the world’s most accomplished engineers came the new battery capable of taking me to the skies. It was not only fun, but also very useful, since it got us out of reach of anything except drakes. This made a light bulb go off in my head and I suggested a quick trip to Calypso to take care of a couple Mulcibers.

After a bunch of “what’s in it for us?” an expedition team was finally formed with me in the lead. The tables have turned, and the people of Next Island who were supposed to be rescued by Calypsians became the ones doing the rescuing. Obviously I couldn’t care less about being a hero, but the gold and glory beckoned me and my fellow faction members.

When we arrived on Caly, a lot of colonists were giving us the stink eye. Word travels faster than light and people didn’t exactly sing our praises, so it didn’t surprise me much. We get in, sell the loot and get out, that’s the plan.

Unfortunately plans don’t always work out as intended.

Chapter 4 – The Ice Queen

“We’re really doing it!” Cheered my teammates. The Mulciber we were targeting was on its last legs, but suddenly an odd sound was heard. Uh oh…

Sparks were flying out of my teammate’s wings. Come on, now out of all times? He lost control in the air and dragged down two of us with him.

“Idiot, what are you doing?! Let go, you’re immortal!”

“Hell no! Pull me up!”

Slash. Rip. Smash.

Great, now all our wings are broken. Thank gosh for the revive terminal. Facepalm, these guys were born with a silver spoon in their mouth and likely didn’t die even once until now, of course they would freeze up.

“What are we gonna do? We can’t show our face back home.” a teammate complained.

“Look, there’s enough of us to kill it, if you’re prepared to die a few times and live up to the name of the New Elysian Order.” I said. Damn, I’m going to hell for this.

Few times was a euphemism but after the seemingly never ending massacre, we managed to slay enough of them to safely retrieve the loot and return home. Thankfully I had spare clothes so we didn’t have to embarrass ourselves further.

Our names got into the hall of fame and my use of cryogenics earned me the title of Ice Queen, which I must say kind of pleased me. It’s also very fitting, since my subordinates shudder every time I walk by them, tho I’m a little bit less pleased with that.

“So, esteemed heroes, would you be so kind as to lend us your aid and kill some leviathans?”

“NO!” We all said in unison and walked out.

“Is it something I said?” The chief asked around, flabbergasted, as we already had one foot out of the door.

“Man, I have a few ‘words’ to exchange with that engineer.” One of us sneered.

“So do I, but let’s get home first.”

To Next Island.

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Isme’s Journey

Isme’s Journal #13

Today was. That is about all I can bring myself to say about it.

I crawled out of bed this morning. I mean literally crawled!

I was so stiff and sore that I had a hard time moving my legs, back, and neck. Even crawling was hard at first. As I moved more it got easier and eventually I could move enough to stand. I tried to use my pulse unit to see if that would make any improvements. It politely and somewhat coldly told me “You are not wounded”. Thanks pulse unit.

When I could move enough to function like a proper person. I got up and got ready to go out and hunt. My hunting is still improving but I do not feel I live up to my Super Hunter status just yet. I am getting enough now to fix my equipment and eat more then Ramen Noodles. I heard that ramen noodles have been a cheap food and around for a long time. They are pretty tasty. That powder they include with it gives me a headache if I use to much of though. I wonder what is in it? Any way, the point is I can get enough hunting to eat at least a little better. So YAY ME!!

I wasn’t sure how well I was going to do today though with how stiff I was. I decided that a walk would do me good. So I walked to the auction house. I saw a pattern I wanted for only 1 Ped starting bid. I took a chance. And I got it! I would like to remember it as skillful bidding on my part. If I am going to be honest though. I think it was really because no one else wanted it and the auction was almost over. That sounds super sad though…hmm. I think, I think the story I will tell is that I watched and waited and sniped it at the last moment! Sounds so much more clever and dramatic!

On that positive note I will just call it a day!

Isme’s Journey

Isme’s Journal #14

Some days its REALLY HARD to stay positive.

I wanted to learn more about the other factions. So the next on my list was the New Elysian Order.

I found out from that robot that I needed to talk to an Audrey Niles. So I went to find her. I walked and walked and walked. Took the teleporter to Tanzanite view and began the roughly 2600m hike to where she was supposedly located.

I had to walk because I didn’t have enough extra to buy fuel for the car. Also I hadn’t clearly thought out how long of a walk it would be. I mean, after all it only looked like a couple of millimeters on the map…. Ha

I THOUGHT I saw a way I could shimmy down the side of the mountain, I was wrong…
As I stood once again at the Tanzanite View revive terminal. I shook my head and tried a new way down the side. I tripped on a rock. Next I knew I was back at the same revive terminal. I had forgotten to heal the last time then took a hard fall……

So this time I decided that I would take the road part way down. It was going in the opposite direction I wanted to go but it would get me closer to the bottom of the mountain. Once I was about half way down I tried the shimmy down approach again. It almost worked! Almost. As I was falling to my doom I realized one side was a gentle small slope to an almost sheer, deceptively high drop. Where the other was a slight drop and then a slope and I had picked the wrong side!

As I once again started out from the Tanzanite terminal, I took the road a bit farther down, shimmied down the gentle side of the hill, and turned to head toward my way point. I was making good progress. I traveled nearly 1000m when I encountered the herd of mutant boars. I got the first one down. No problem. The another came at me, and another one joined that one. Next thing I knew I was back at the Tanzanite revive.

Does this happen to anyone else? Or am I just really skilled at dieing?

I think I will just spend the night here in Tanzanite. Maybe tomorrow will show me the way.

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Fatty’s Submissions for June!

Submission for June #1
The Origins of Sebastion Part 2 - Escape
Short Story/Lore by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

Dr. Kylon was a kind, albeit quirky man, Sebastion thought. He provided for all of his lab subjects and the tests he ran were incredibly humane considering that they were tests on animals. Sebastian was one of the Papoo that Dr. Kylon cared for, but of all the Papoo there, he was different. Sebastian would often hold long conversations with the good doctor while he measured and took notes on him and his Papoo brethren. And if Sebastian didn’t know any better, he’d say the doctor was starting to grow a fondness for him far above the others. This didn’t surprise Sebastian. Dr. Kylon – Paul, as he insisted he call him- was shut off from the other Humans and craved social interaction. Sebastian was the nearest thing to a Human that Dr. Kylon had contact with for months at a time. When another Human did visit, it was brief and not terribly pleasant. I mean, it wasn’t unpleasant. It was just business stuff. “Boring stuff,” Paul called it. Regulations, other scientists checking in on his progress, it all seemed sketchy to Sebastian. Was what Dr. Paul doing illegal? He asked Dr. Kylon one day and Dr. Kylon assured him everything was on the up-and-up. Sebastian wasn’t all too sure he believed him, though he desperately wished he could.

The day it all went away was a day like any other. The underground laboratory was dim and quiet, even though outside the sun shown brightly and the jungle birds and screechers noisily romped and cawed. The other Papoo had been getting antsy and spoke to one another of rebellion. Even though Sebastian could speak Human, he could still understand the other Papoo. Their language was simple and guttural, but hard to comprehend to Humans. Sebastian was certain his friend Paul had no idea what was coming, so one day he brought it to his attention… only to be deflected by Dr. Kylon.

“I have considered the possibility that the others might try something and precautions have been taken, Seb,” Dr Kylon said to his faithful Papoo friend. Again, Sebastian was not so sure. When Dr. Kylon began to clean the cages, Seb noticed the evil looks in the faces of the other Papoo, but it was too late to do anything about it. Before he could even screech a warning, one of the Reds jumped from their open cage and snatched Dr Kylon’s keys. They had been watching him use these to open the cages and knew what they needed to do. It began opening the other cages and Yellows, Reds, Browns, and Greys leapt from their confinements and started to surround the poor doctor, murderous intent in their eyes.

Sebastian knew there wasn’t much time, so he had to think fast. Using his gift of high intelligence, he weighed his options. To save Dr. Kylon, he had to do something drastic. He then saw the laboratory’s generator, a large battery bank powered by solar, wind, and thermal sources. He knew how unstable this was and that destroying it may be the only way to distract the others and allow the good doctor to escape. Seb grabbed a pipe and, using all of his primal strength, ripped it from the wall. He then began to beat the generator repeatedly with all his might and determination. Time seemed to stop for Sebastian. Would this work? Would he end up killing himself in the process? Could he even save his friend?

After an eternity, it seemed, the generator began to smoke. Then, without any warning, it burst into a flaming fire-ball! Sebastian was thrown backward, shrapnel and heat passing him, nearly skewering him. He landed with a sickening thud. His eyes drooped, and he lost consciousness.

When Seb awoke, everyone was gone. There didn’t appear to be any signs of a struggle or of there being violence. There was a bright, gaping hole in the side of the laboratory that lead out into the dimming jungle. It must have been dusk, meaning he must have been unconscious for hours. He knew deep down that the other Papoo must have taken the opportunity to gain their freedom when the hole was blown into the lab. As for the doctor, he had no idea. Why would his friend leave him unconscious on the floor? Did he chase after the Papoo who must have escaped? They were his life’s greatest accomplishment, after all. Sebastian wouldn’t have blamed him one bit. But still, a hot anger grew in his gut, a slight pressure at first, but then it became all consuming.

“DOCTOR!” Sebastian exclaimed in fury. “WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!”

Sebastian’s breath came in short, powerful bursts, his chest heaving. What was he going to do now? He had saved his friend, but what did that get him? He had to make his own way now. Surely he’d be fine in the wild. A Papoo with his intelligence could certainly survive without much issue. Still, he felt betrayed. The question that nibbled his mind the most was this; what had happened after he lost consciousness? “I guess I’ll never know,” he spoke under his breath, wrath tainting his words. Sebastian lumbered into the brush. He grabbed the pipe that had clearly been blasted out of the lab and smacked it into his other palm. “Who needs friends if they just leave you, anyway?” He walked out into the wild green jungle with a nascent vengeance growing in his heart and was not seen again for many months.

Submission for June #2
The Origins of Sebastion Part 3 – Vengeance
Short Story by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

He was on the run. The doctor scarcely had time to stop for food or shelter. He could trust no one. Word of his experiment had gotten out not long after the Papoo nearly killed him and then escaped. They had integrated back into the wild and were wrecking as much havoc as they could – robbing people, killing endangered wild-life, and worse yet, breeding and spreading their tainted genes. He cursed under his breath as a Guard on duty walked by the shadow of the tree he was ducking into. Nearby, a sign read “Tanzanite View”. He felt like the red ball cap and dark shades he was wearing were enough to help him go unnoticed for the most part, but he had a narrow escape himself, with a guard just the other night. He was a wanted man now. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel a deep, heavy sense of guilt for leaving Sabastian behind. He was a good Papoo. Surely Seb was the least of his concerns, however. Obviously Seb could survive on his own better than the doctor himself could. Both had a measure of intelligence and craftiness, but the doctor was the one that the settlers were looking for. A bounty had been placed on his head. It was a significant bounty.

There was a ruckus in the square and guards rushed by without looking at him. “I wonder what it could be this time?” Dr. Kylon muttered under his breath. “Probably another drunken brawl by the new comers.” New settlers had been arriving en mass ever since Next Island was “discovered” by the denizens of a planet called Calypso and another one called Rocktropia (bizarre name, he thought). Naturally, this meant all sorts were arriving, including the troublesome sorts. Dr. Kylon was pretty open minded, not xenophobic in the slightest, but he still didn’t like it. But maybe they would be a blessing in disguise. He could get one of the space travelers to give him a ride to another world where he could start over. Not to mention the plethora of new scientific knowledge that would come with such an adventure. He smiled. Maybe if he ran into Seb, he could bring him too. Seb would like that, he thought. Again, a painful feeling of guilt gnawed at him. He didn’t want to leave Sebastian at the laboratory wreckage, but he had to try to catch the escaped Papoo at all costs! It was too late for that now, though. If he had the luxury of looking for Sebastian and apologize to him, he would, but he had to beat feat and get off world as soon as Humanly possible.

Sebastian tore through the overgrowth. He heard Humans. He was near a Human settlement, for certain. Then he spotted them. Two Humans brawling in the street at the edge of the forest. He could smell them, too. A horrible mixture of sweat, filth, and booze. It angered him. Humans were the reason he was alone now. The only Human he spent time with had left him and what was worse, they never returned to get him! He was unconscious for hours after the explosion, the explosion that saved that man’s life, he thought bitterly, a rage building up inside. Was his anger undeserved? He had asked that question a few times, and each time his instincts told him NO. It was fair to be mad. Of all the Human settlements he ran into throughout Next Island, none of them had the doctor in them. The doctor not only didn’t come back for him, but seemed to be hiding from him. All of this angered Sebastian even more. Someone would have to pay for this grave injustice. He glared at the two imbeciles who were rolling in the street, smashing their fists into one another. What did they have to be angry about? They were doing what he wished he could do to Dr. Kylon.

That was the final straw. Sebastian leapt from the bushes, baring his claws and his fangs and closed in on the two drunkards. The two stopped fighting for a second that would prove perilous, staring in unison at the awe inspiring sight of a mad Papoo coming right toward them. All animosity between them was forgotten and they struggled to get off one another and scamper away. But it was too late. Using all of his primal fury, Sebastian ripped off the man’s right arm. Blood spurted from the wound and the man howled in agony. Sebastian could hear footsteps coming his way and the burly voices of guards, as well as the clank of weapons on backs. He smacked the man with his own arm, threw it at him and dashed back into the jungle. But not before he heard a click and saw a flash. The other man had taken his picture. Seb thought nothing of it and winded his way toward a shadowy grove. That was when he saw him. He recognized the man by his scent before he recognized his face. He was wearing a red ball cap and dark shades, no doubt to hide his identity. So he was hiding, then! This new revelation renewed his anger.

Paul Kylon saw the familiar Papoo and a broad smile burst onto his face.

“Seb!” Dr. Kylon exclaimed. “You found me!”

Sebastian was unsure for a moment and then the wheels in his head started turning again. You found me was something someone would say if they were hiding from you, he thought feverishly. He wrung his primitive hands and closed in on his former friend. What he failed to do to the drunkard, he was going to do to the man who abandoned him in the cruel jungle, the man who had left him to die and who could have thought he had been dead already. Had he even stopped to check to see if he was alright before running away?

Dr. Kylon saw the fury in his old friend’s eyes and raised his hands as though to fend off the first blow. It all happened too fast for him to even comprehend what was going on. Sebastian had taken his left arm and torn it out of its socket. A wave of fear and pain washed over Paul as the raging Papoo tore his other arm off. Next, Sebastian tore off Paul’s face, shades and cap with it. Dr. Kylon barely was able to gurgle a scream before another blow knocked him unconscious.

There he lay… Dead in a pool of his own blood with the heaving Papoo standing over him. His rage was finally quenched and a new emotion filled Sebastian. It was loss. It was sadness. Dr. Kylon was the only person he could call a father figure. The sight of his mangled body made a well of heartache rise within Sebastian. Tears streamed down his monkey-like face and he tried to stem them with the back of his palm. Then, footsteps and the clank of weapons on backs were heard approaching. Thinking fast, Sebastian grabbed the only two things that he could remember his beloved friend by; the red ball cap, and the shades. He put them on and darted into the woods.

No one could identify the doctor. His face was gone and he wore no other identification. Fingerprints and dental details were preserved, but that technology wasn’t widely available yet so his corpse was given to the boars to eat. No evidence of this evil night was spared, save for the red ball cap and shades that were retreating into the night on their new owner. To this day some are still looking for Dr. Kylon. But now there is another they are looking for- the assailant who gravely injured one man and apparently killed another in a similar fashion.

Submission for June #3
The Origins of Sebastion Part 4 – The Papoo Mafia
Short Story by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

Has anyone seen Dr. Paul Kylon? Sebastian was nursing a deep wound, but it wasn’t one of the physical variety. He had just killed his only friend in the universe. Did he have the right to do that? At the time he thought so, but now he wasn’t so sure. He kept wearing the red ball cap and shades in part to honor Dr. Kylon and in part because they made him feel safer. There was a bounty out on him now, though it was for “Killer Papoo”, not Sebastian. If he hid his face and head, perhaps he would never be identified. Damn that drunkard for taking his picture. He saw it plastered in every Human settlement he went to.

People thought it was cute, though, to see a friendly looking Papoo wearing a hat and shades. Several children and women – and even one, particularly fat man – had come up to him and offered him a paplon or two exclaiming how adorable he was. He would smile and accept the fruit and then go about his business, which of course meant getting away and wandering some more. These days, Sebastian was lost in his thoughts more than anything. Maybe his violent streak was behind him, but he feared it would rear its ugly head again one day. What would his life be like now that there was no doctor and no laboratory? It had been a year since the explosion and most of the lab was still in tact and unmolested. No one had even so much as taken a tech chip since the disaster. It was a secret lab, after all, even with much of it exposed now. But the jungle had started to reclaim it. Tree roots, ferns, and mosses were growing over the gaping maw that was exposed with the explosion. Birds of paradise had made their nests in old machinery. Screechers were getting annoyingly curious about it and Sebastian had started making it a daily ritual to chase them away. Luckily, their eggs were also very delicious and very filling. Sebastian had stumbled on an island with a large cavern filled with them.

It was war… The Screechers were stupid, flightless birds, but they were irritatingly aware of everything Sebastian was doing. They went out of their way to make the poor Papoo’s life a living Hell. Maybe it was warranted, but a Papoo’s got to survive. What were a few unborn chicks worth? He noticed other Papoo, the Red ones in particular, brutally attack Screechers, sometimes stealing into their nurseries and murdering the chicks for food. Sebastian had no way to stop this barbarism and was forced to accept it. What he wouldn’t accept, however, was the Screecher’s apparent disdain for all Papoo, himself included. Papoo weren’t all baby killers! Just the dang Reds! They gave them all a bad name. He supposed the egg thieving wasn’t helping his case, but they were enough to feed him for a couple days at least. When fruit was scarce, they were his go-to source of sustenance.

They were getting smarter, too. The Screecher had formed an alliance with the Boars. Boars. The name made Sebastian shudder in anger. Boars were literally everywhere on Next Island, and their main food source happened to be the thing Seb couldn’t find anywhere; fruit. It was really the boars that were to blame for Seb’s egg thievery! If they weren’t such big pigs, maybe there would be enough fruit to eat, he thought savagely. It was all coming to a head, however. The Screecher’s had built a caged enclosure for their young and then put the boar piglets inside with them. It was impossible to harm the chicks without harming a piglet. Even a piglet was dangerous to a Papoo, who, for all of their primal might, couldn’t match the ferocity of a full grown boar. And that was exactly who would come to call if one of their piglets were harmed. That was when Sebastian formed the perfect plan.

Why should a Papoo life be put at risk? Why not trick a Human into killing the problematic piglets for them? They were hunting the adult boars anyway! But a Human wasn’t going to kill a bunch of little piglets for nothing. Sebastian had to reveal that he could talk first. It surprised every Human at first. They’d come say hello to the cute, little Papoo, and then Sebastian would introduce himself and they would run away screaming. That was, until he started waving around rewards. At first he offered fruit, but that was no good, because he needed the fruit himself. Surely, though, fewer boar piglets meant fewer boars, and thus more fruit in the long term. Alas, he could not justify giving them fruit at this time. He thought hard. What do Human’s value, he pondered. Then the laboratory popped up in his mind’s eye. Technology! Of course! He knew he could get his hands on a nearly endless supply of tech chips at the old lab if he tried.

But the chips were big. Big and heavy. It would take him forever to gather enough for one Human by himself. He needed to employ people to move the chips. But the people were afraid of him, and even if they would work for him, he would need a reward for that as well! Who would work for free? He smacked himself in the face with his Papoo palm. His Papoo brothers! They could be encouraged to help, perhaps. Motivation. He needed a motivation. He frowned. The Papoo hated Humans. Perhaps he could unite the Papoo as a singular group against the Humans? Tell them that they needed to steal the chips to hurt the Humans, maybe? That could work.

Before too long, reports of a Papoo Mafia sprang up on the fringes of Next Island. Troupes of Papoo wandered far and wide stealing from helpless settlers. This was a start. Now Sebastian just had to direct them all to gather all of the Elysian Tech Chips from the lab and bring them to the staging area. The staging area was an ancient ruin in an area known as “Papoo Village”, conveniently right next to the enclosure the Screechers built to protect their young. Sebastian, dressed in his red ball cap and shades would stock pile them nearby and offer any bored Human passerby the chance to a shiny reward simply for taking out as many piglets as possible!

Finally, a hunter passed by and he hailed them. The usual surprise at a talking monkey happened, but then, a miracle! He convinced a hunter to kill 200 piglets in return for a thousand or so tech chips. The hunter loaded up the chips and dragged themselves away to the nearest storage terminal. He had duped the other Papoo and now he had duped his first Human. Many more would come to collect the chips, which he found out were pretty hard to get other ways. He had the perfect business transaction going on. He provided the Humans with something they desired, he provided the other Papoo with a way to get under the Humans’ skins, and best of all, he had plenty of fruit to eat now with less competition. He took a big bite out of a bombardo and munched on the savory flesh with relish. He was now the Don of the Papoo Mafia.

Oh, and that fat Human came by and did the mission too. Afterward, he asked Sebastian about his back story, not satisfied with the typical answer he gave anyone curious enough to ask. Seb spilled the whole thing to him on his word that he would tell nobody. As far as Sebastian knows, his secret is safe.

Submission for June #4
Our Savior Tommy – Fatty’s journey to Next Island
Short Story by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

The second he stepped off out of the cockpit of his Quad-wing, Fatteus was hit with a rush of humidity similar to what he had experienced in other tropical environments. He tasted the air, it was tangy and sweet with the pollen of tropical flowers. The sun played with his skin, bathing his face in warm waves of heat. A calming breeze blew through his long, silver hair. He smiled.

“Tommy be praised. Truly, the lord Tommy has blessed this paradise.”

He spent most of the day exploring the beaches and tropical rain forests of the Southeastern “gateway” of Next Island. He marveled at the wildlife and amazing plant life. He amused himself with a funny little monkey wearing a red ball cap and shades that offered him some Elysian tech chips for killing a couple hundred boar piglets. The locals were very welcoming. They offered him gifts and advice on how he could become a full-time citizen of this world.

Fatty was here on an adventure, to record the previously unknown and unrecorded, and most of all spread the good word of his lord Tommy, the first avatar, the giver of gifts and teacher of patience. Like with all other planets, he encountered the pagan followers of the deceiver, Lootius. For too long, Lootius was the only name worshiped. It would be Tommy’s time very soon. Tommy’s day was coming, and just maybe, he may return, Fatty thought. After all, no being has ruined more lives than Lootius. Promising all time highs, he lures his followers into spending every last dime they earn. Tommy teaches patience and responsibility. Tommy teaches us to risk only what we can afford to risk and to accept failure when it comes. Tommy teaches us that there will be harsh droughts, but there will also be times of plenty. Tommy teaches us that we should play smarter and not harder.

Fatty, the High Prophet of Tommy, would bless most of the settlers he ran into, telling them “May Tommy bless your hunt,” or something to that effect. Often times this would lead to people asking who Tommy was, and Fatty would be delighted to tell them.

He sat on the pier on the beach at the foot of Crystal Peak listening to the mad calls of birds and the play of nearby Screechers as the sun was swallowed by the western horizon. Dusk dimmed everything, casting shadows here and there. “Here now sets the sun on the time of Lootius the deceiver. A new dawn will come; the dawn of the hour of the Tommites. The church will grow here in the fertile soil of this world. I have planted the seeds on Calypso, and also here on Next Island, and it will grow. All hail Tommy.”

Submission for June #5
Through the Wormhole – Giving day in late May
Short Story by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

It was a warm, placid morning. The birds were warbling, the waves of the nearby ocean were gently caressing the sand, sighing as the sea foam gathered, and just a little ways up the beach, a party was starting to form. Word of a great gifting had come, and his majesty Socrates was descending the televator, beaming onto the sandy coast at the foot of Crystal Peak. He was resplendent in the finest armor and it was impossible to see his face, but he gave off a warm, welcoming aura. He brought many gifts. The group began sweating a Screecher and were shocked when none other than the Desertcrawler King appeared in the center of the sweat circle! Some panicked, but most adjusted quickly and began to sweat the beast. It took a while, but they managed to dry him out, then a few brave souls began to bring him down. Everyone shared in the bounty.

The fun wasn’t over, however. Soon Socrates opened up a rift in the air behind the sweat circle. Everyone gazed in wonder at the rare sight. Wormholes were not something most people got to see every day. Socrates dared them to step into the rift. No one knew where it lead, and many were hesitant until a few got up the audacity to jump through it. What they learned was that it lead to a far-flung colony; an oasis in the middle of the badlands called Serpentine Village. It was gorgeous there! Verdant ferns and bamboo dotted the lush green lawns and a clear pool surrounded a teleporter pad. There were winding paths that wended their way around the grounds. This would be an interesting place for a race, some settlers thought. Some folks spent their afternoon soaking up the sun by the pond or laying in the grass and gazing at the clear, blue sky. Others quickly returned through the wormhole back to Crystal Bay and the sweat circle. Truly, it was a day to remember and I look forward to the next gifting day.

Isme’s Journey

Isme’s Journal #15

I did it! I made it to Audrey Niles! Wowzers what a journey! She said that she was trying to learn more about the NEO, New Elysian Order, so she needed me to get some samples of things. One of the things she needed was biological samples of brown PAPOO!!! Yes!!! Perhaps she realizes that the papoo are trying to take over too!

She needed 20, I got that and then some. Evil papoo……She also needed some samples of ore. THAT was another matter. I started to head in the direction of the way point that she added to my map. Everything was all was good. Clear country for as far as I could see around me. Then I looked up. I saw the biggest freaking drakes I have ever seen! I am not sure how I am gonna get around those drakes… I mean they were so big! All it would take would be one wing swish and it would be bye bye Isme for sure! There is no time limit on getting these samples, so maybe I will scoot back to papoo village and swunt piglets and yellow papoo for a bit and figure this out. Maybe I will even take a crack at that sensor wave thing again. Maybe the practice will help a little and the drakes won’t be able to squash me before I can grab the samples. I’ll jot down some poems to help me focus and off I go!

PAPOO


Perfect planning,

papoo popping,

progress!
_
All aerial adversaries,

air-born altercation,

Avoided Almost!
_
Paltry prowess possessed

proposed plan

popped!
_
Overhead opponents

out of options

over-n-out!
_
Opportunity piglets

Option preferred

On-it!


PIGLET


Piglets plus papoo

piercing practice

pending!

_
Ignoring incidents

involving injuries

intense!

_
Good gracious,

gather goodies,

grand!

_
Levels lackluster,

lacerations likely,

living!?

_
Ever engaging

egress evading

Exciting!

_
Trim turning

Treasure touting

Triumph!


Alright-y let the papoo/piglet hunt begin!!!

A Next Island Love Story by Pope L’Brung

Book 3, Chapter 1

I accompanied my friend PK to the teleportation portal at Crystal Bay. He told me that he needed to make a quick stop at the storage terminal. I tried not to stare, but it looked like he took some various items out of his storage and exchanged them for PED at the adjacent trade terminal. PK finished his transaction quickly and gave me a confident smile. I could tell that he was excited, and to be honest so was I.

He checked his messages again and confirmed that the meeting with the Haruspex guide was to take place at Tanzanite View. We stepped onto the Crystal Bay teleportation portal. Though I had used them for years, teleportation portals still fascinated me. I didn’t quite understand the technology, but I trusted it. I tried to imagine what it would be like to teleport through time. Perhaps I would get to experience it soon enough.

Within seconds, PK and I were transported to an area called Tanzanite View. There were several tents and wagons scattered around. Most of the people at this area were Haruspex and this appeared to be a settlement. I kept my eyes open for any signs of Jihkanna. Ultimately, my goal was to find her.

“Our guide is called Ayinde. He will meet us here,” spoke PK.

Tanzanite View was a beautiful area. The people seemed proud and kind. I’d never seen so many Haruspex people in one place. I remained close to my friend’s side though I wanted to explore the settlement.

“That’s him over there,” PK pointed.

I could see a Haruspex man talking to what looked like a hologram. We weren’t close enough to hear what he was saying but it seemed like he was talking to some sort of apparition that was being projected in the air above his head.

Book 3, Chapter 2

Upon completing what looked like an intense conversation with a hologram, the Haruspex man beckoned us over to him with a wave and a smile. PK recognised the man as Ayinde, the guide he’d met once before. Ayinde shook both of our hands and introduced himself to me with a warm, trusting smile. We exchanged respectful greetings and small talk before PK asked a direct question.

“What was that thing you were just talking to?” asked PK.

“Ah, my friend. That was the Haruspex Elder. A wise spirit and advisor to our community.”

I was somewhat knowledgable about Haruspex beliefs but had never been this close to a practising community.

Ayinde continued, “The Elder fortold that you both would be visiting here today and offered guidance on how I could best assist you. He said there would be two of you. One seeking treasure, and one seeking love.”

It was odd that Ayinde mentioned both of us as he didn’t even know that I would be accompanying PK. I was intrigued by his statment. PK seemed less interested in mysticism and more interested in questioning our new friend.

“How do we get to the time portal? Is it here?” he whispered.

Ayinde grinned and hugged the both of us. “Trust me. The portal you seek does exist and it is nearby. The Elder has approved of me revealing its location to you but asked that I escort you on a mission first.”

I’ll admit. I had a brief feeling that this whole thing might be a con. Ayinde seemed nice and friendly but I wanted to keep my wits about me. Perhaps there was no such thing as a time portal and this was just a trap for tourists to spend PED chasing a childish dream. I was curious as to what the ‘mission’ would be and how much it would cost.

PK seemed to have no such caution and was already agreeing.

Book 3, Chapter 3

Ayinde told us that he would lead us to the time portal on the condition that we complete the “Trust Bridge.” He said that The Elder approved of us as long as we could earn the confidence of the Haruspex. Ayinde said he would guide us along the mission but we would have to complete a series of tasks designed to prove our loyalty and worthiness. It seemed elaborate and complicated. I felt like we were being duped.

I wandered away from Ayinde and PK to gather my thoughts. I had agreed to help my friend but I didn’t sign up for a ‘mission.’ I wanted to find Jihkanna. She was in my thoughts more than any ‘tourist trap.’ I glanced down and saw a sign.

The future twists like a tree

Where had I heard that before?

It was the title of one of the poems in the book of Haruspex poetry that she had given me on our last morning together back on Toulan.

The future twists like a tree

It was a beautiful poem by poet called Flora. It was about trying to find courage and strength in the face of the unknown. I had read it several times and it made me think of Jihkanna. It made me wish that I had never left her side. I took the small book out of my backpack and held it. I missed her terribly and wanted to find her.

Ayinde and PK joined me as I was still looking at the Woodland Haruspex plaque.

“Ah yes, my friend. It is true. The future twists like a tree. It is our motto,” smiled Ayinde. “Perhaps you would like to know what your future holds?”

I looked into his kind face. I wanted to trust this man but I wasn’t convinced that any of this was legitimate.

“Perhaps you’d like to know if your future includes her?” he said, pointing to my book.

Book 3, Chapter 4

“I know who you are looking for,” Ayinde adressed me directly. “I can help you but I must also protect her.”

I was confused. How could he know who I was looking for? I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

“Jihkanna. I know you seek her,” he continued.

My confusion turned to shock. How did he know her name? This didn’t make any sense.

“I see you look quite confused, my friend,” he said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can explain. You see, my sister works as a bartender at Caroline’s. She told me that a new arrival was asking about Jihkanna last night. Just now, when you walked off, your companion here told me that you were searching for a girl. A girl that had perhaps…captured your heart?”

“I said he was being a moody hopeless romantic instead of the brave miner he used to be,” chimed PK with a bit of banter. “Love sick, we used to call it back in my day. Poor kid.”

I half-chuckled, embarrased. “You know Jihkanna? Is she here? Is she close?” I asked Ayinde.

“Ha, my friend. Now you sound like PK asking for the time portal,” he replied. “The Elder’s words were ‘One seeking treasure, and one seeking love.’”

Ayinde and PK found it funnier than I did. They laughed. I wanted answers.

“Please Ayinde,” I begged. “Do you know her? Can you help me find her?”

“Yes boy, don’t worry,” began Ayinde. “We know Jihkanna well. She is a member of our Woodland Haruspex community here. She is a treasure to all of her family and friends. She is loved by all of us. That is why you must understand that we are protective of her. Why would any of us reveal her details to a mere stranger?”

I understood but I perstisted, “Please help me find her. I mean her no harm. I am in love with her. I will do anything to find her.”

“The future twists like a tree, boy,” he responded.

Book 3, Chapter 5

Ayinde began telling us about the mission. I agreed to particiapte. I succumbed despite my doubt and distrust. After giving it more thought, I realised now that trust works both ways. Of course a village wouldn’t tell a stranger where to find one of its members. It made sense…but it didn’t help my heart.

The mission was called ‘Trust Bridge.’ It would be a series of tasks that PK and I would need to successfully complete. The tasks seemed to require extensive travel around Next Island. Some tasks called for meeting certain contacts and some tasks called for procuring specific items. Ayinde would guide us through each step of the mission. He called it a chain. He said he could lend assistance, but PK and I would have to complete each task.

First we would need to travel to a place called First-Wave Settlement. Once there, we’d meet with a contact called Lee Davies. If we could find him and talk to him, then he would give us the directions for the next step.

I asked about more details regarding each step of the mission. Ayinde only smiled and responded that we undertake each part of the chain one link at a time. He again assured us that this mission would prove to the Haruspex people that we were trustworthy. If we followed the directions and completed the tasks, then we would be rewarded.

I looked at PK and he looked at me. We knew each other for years and worked together several times. I felt safe around him and he trusted me. He might have had more confidence than me, but I would borrow some of his.

The three of us left Tanzanite View and teleported to First-Wave Settlement. As soon as we arrived, Ayinde excused himself and then seemed to dissapear.

We carried on with our first task…finding Lee Davies.

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Today, I finally saw Chloe. This was not the girl I remember from when I saw her last. The look in her eyes has changed a lot. This is n longer a girl, but a woman…or a warrior! Se gave me a device that I recognized as a Haruspex recording device and asked me if I knew how it worked. I said I did and she said I should listen to it and that she no longer needed it. This is what was on it:

Part 1:
Does this thing work? I guess it does. This is really strange. I’m talking to a piece of wood!
Hi, my name is Chloe. My friend Daniel gave me this thing and said I should use it as a sort of diary. This is so weird. Then again. Daniel is a stranger. How should I know what’s weird or normal to them? So a diary. Should I start with dear diary? Or just start talking? This is so strange! Talking to a piece of wood! Ok, here I go. Hi, I’m Chloe. Daughter of Alexandros. My mother is called Berenice. Oh, right! My father is a city guard. And we live in Thebes! I like practicing with weapons much more than that girly stuff other girls do, like picking flowers and learning embroidery and singing. I can scream though. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! That’s my battle cry. Pretty good, isn’t it? I hope this thing works like Daniel said it would. Right. Maybe I should say something about Daniel too. He is my friend. He gave me this thing. And he is Haruspex and he has promised me he would train me how to use weapons! Also, I think he likes me and wants to kiss me. If he tries, I will hit him on the head though! I guess he is a bit older than me. He showed up a few weeks ago and we’ve been talking each day since then. He knows so much!! He knows how to throw knives, and catch frogs. Ans he’s very good at keeping his balance too! Anyway, I’d better stop talking to this piece of wood now and ide it somewhere safe. Daniel did say I should not tell anyone about him and about training with weapons. It’s not something girls do and they wouldn’t understand. I’ll go pick some nice flowers for my mother now.

Part 2
Hi there. This worked last time, so I think this will work again now. For the last few days, Daniel has been teaching me how to fight with knives! He said they’re good, lightweight weapons and great for a first weapon. Later he’ll teach me how to fight with heavier weapons. I can’t wait! I also watch the soldiers train at the barracks. They train with spears and swords mostly. I don’t think swords are my thing. It looks heavy and like a lot of strength is needed for it. I’m just a girl! Well. A woman to be. But I am quick. Even Daniel says so. And very accurate. Yesterday, I threw a throwing knife at a frog at 30 feet distance and | hit it! Daniel had just left. That was fortunate because my father just arrived. He scolded me, but that’s alright. I know part of him is proud of me too. If he had seen Danel there, I’m not so sure. I think he would have attacked Daniel. I honestly don’t know how that would have turned out. My father is a strong man and he has years of experience. But Daniel is…well, he’s Daniel! Maybe it is that he is a stranger, I don’t know. But he can move quick! And he’s stronger than he looks. A lot stronger! Also, I really like Daniel. And my dad, of course!! I’d hate to see them fight. And for what? Nothing is going on with Daniel and me. He still hasn’t tried to kiss me. Not that I’d let him, of course! He’s just teaching me to defend myself and he’s really nice. Tomorrow we’re going to the south of Thebes and train in the water there! Daniel says water training is good for getting strong, but I think he just likes to push me under. He can be playful, like that too. I do wonder if we’ll train with a different weapon there. A spear maybe! Throwing knives in the water seems silly. Anyway. Time to go home now.

Part 3
Hello again. It’s been about a week since I last did this. A lot has happened this week. Maybe this is what Daniel is training me for. To defend me and my loved ones against the evil creatures around Thebes. As I thought ls week. Daniel had me training with a spear in the water. I was so sore the first few days! But I got better. Stronger and faster Daniel says. I think I blushed when he said that. I like training in the water. It’s soft and warm. And I also like how the water makes Daniel’s clothes fit tight around his body. Okok enough! No daydreaming Chloe. While training, a bit further south from Thebes than Orpheus’cave, I saw a stranger fight what looked like women with spears. Daniel said they were Myrinians. Not women, but a species of those monsters. I wanted to take a closer look, so we moved closer to the fight. They look just like humans! But they fight very aggressively. Long jumping attacks with a powerful thrust of their spear. I want to learn how to do that too! The strange fighting them had very powerful weapons and armor, but I saw him weakening wth every attack and finally one of them got through his defenses for the final blow. The moment his body fell to the ground, they turned around and went on as if nothing had happened. Like animals! As much as I want to learn how to do those jumping attacks too, after witnessing that I just wanted to clean up and go home. Daniel saw the look in my eyes and nodded. He took my spear. I cleaned up a bit and picked some flowers for mother. When I get home, I’ll give her a big hug. Tomorrow, I will start working on those jump attacks!

Part 4
I’M SO FRUSTRATED! I can’t do these long jumps! I‘ve been practicing all week long and I can barely jump half the distances these Myrinians jump. Daniel says it is still a very powerful attack, and I know he is right. We’ve also been doing a lot of water training with both spear and daggers, and honestly. I’ve become good at it! Yesterday, Daniel and I sparred at the end of the day and I wiped his feet from under him. I was faster than Daniel! A huge achievement. We also saw the smoke from Thebes. I knew something wrong when I saw that. I immediately ran home. Mother told us, that the king ad just announced the army that was sent out a few weeks ago had perished. I completely forgot to mention that here! I’ve been so busy training, Rumors had been going around about monster attacks increasing. The king sent out scouts. I don’t really know where, but they found something, and the whole army was sent there. It was very impressive to see all of those soldiers board the ships. But the soldiers never came back. I guess that’s also a reason I’m frustrated. If all of those soldiers weren’t enough. Then how much of a difference can I make? That evening, father said he want mother and me to go to Cyzicus. He says it’s safer there. Part of me wants to go there. To escape all of this and live a simple life. No monsters, no training. Mother grew up there. Grandpapa and grandmamma live there. Maybe it’ll be good for me. Another part of me wants to stay here. My friends are here. I grew up here! Part of me wants to stay here, and defend Thebes if it comes to that. I haven’t been training for nothing.! And what about Daniel? Will I ever see him again? I’ve told him mother and I have to leave for Cyzicus. He nodded and said my father had made a wise decision. What does that mean??

Part 5
Well, this has been my first week in Cyzicus and I have to say that it has been an interesting one. When we first got here, I was amazed by how open it is here. Very different from Thebes. Very different also, because of all the things that are not here! No market, no temples, no barracks. Life here is so different. It’s quiet! Too quiet for my liking. One very, very pleasant surprise was that Daniel is also here! I don’t know how he does it, but on my second day here I was exploring around town and he was just sitting there on a rock! He looked very out of place dressed like a stranger but he looked the same in Thebes. But he behaved like he grew up here. He knew every path, every place where you can cross the water. How is that possible?? I asked him, but he just smiled. He also brought a pear and daggers for me and we have been training with them here. Mother is much more relaxed here, so it’s easier for me to come up with an excuse why my hair is wet, or why I have bruises on my knees or arms. While exploring, I found monsters all around Cyzicus. They looked very much like the Arges north of Thebes, but they look a bit different. Daniel said the ones in the south are the Achelous and the ones to the north are the Asterion. They are big and move pretty slow. This week Daniel is teaching me how to look for weak points in an enemy I’m fighting. My daggers won’t do much damage to big opponents, so I need to learn where to hurt them the most. My aim is good enough. Especially on such big targets as these Achelous. Daniel said I’m almost ready to fight those! A bit scary, but Fudge the world! I want to make this a safer place!

Wo is Daniel?? Is he Haruspex? Are they taking an active role in Ancient Greece? Why? Why now?

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Preface - A New World

As they crossed through the portal, shaken and distressed by the attacking forces on their citadel, the Elysium colonists ran towards safety in this new world. Amidst the group, a 12-year-old boy was being pulled by the hand of one of his parents. Scared, Jone Foste could only think of his father’s words before they crossed the portal. “Grab the Ancient Orb from the pedestal and don’t let go of your mother’s hand, we need to run to a safe place.” said his father. They were supposed to come to this world only a few months later, but when the citadel got attacked they had no choice but to suddenly pack their belongings and rush towards the portal. Jone was still holding the orb when his father quickly grabbed it and placed it inside his military jacket while looking around as if checking if no one saw what the kid was holding. Tankor had always been a caring father and husband, in the Elysium Alliance he was a known engineer with fighting abilities that far surpassed his colleagues. Jone’s mother, Kara, a smart and beautiful woman, was a biologist with expertise in plants and herbs.

They had been preparing for months to enter the portal to a new world, but they were not part of the first wave of colonists. Luckily, some rumors had been circulating in the citadel, that some of Earth’s world leaders were trying to steal the technology created by the alliance, so the family prepared emergency kits in case of a sudden catastrophe. After a few minutes of crossing the portal, the Elysian noticed several groups of mercenaries that came in pursuit of them. As noticing the current event unfolding behind them, Tankor turned to face the pursuers.
“Jone, go with your mother…” said Tankor in a calm but serious tone.
“But what about you dad?!” berated Jone, noticing some mercenaries following the last Elysian crossing the portal.
“Your father will be fine, come Jone” said Kara as she pulled the worrying kid. She looked into Tankor’s eyes before continuing to run.

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Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #90

Data - Encrypted:

My luck has turned around for the better! As I walked across the sandy beach, Chloe was crafting something, a little souvenir, I assume, for her time spent relaxing on our beautiful home planet. When I walked up to her, she was in a good mood and gave it to me, and said, “I know why you’re here, I know about the dig site and I’m in”.

Chloe took me by surprise, how did she know about my proposal? Who leaked it to an off-worlder? Does she understand the risks we are taking?

I said nothing, not even a sound came out of my mouth. Her first ever message to me swept my train of thought away and I froze. “Shall we negotiate the splits?” She continued. “… uhhh” I replied.

“50% cut to me for providing the equipment, that leaves you 50% to share with your private army and members of your admin team”

“30%, the army and risk don’t come cheap”

“I have to ship the equipment across space, give me some attractive numbers or I’ll gladly sit back and watch you try to find another business partner”

“40% and I’ll issue you secure travel across Loyalist territory for all your transports”

Our bickering soon ended with her pulling out some iced tea from an Asclarias-themed backpack and we cheered to a new partnership.

For the next several hours, we proceeded to discuss what equipment we needed, who she’ll be on-boarding to help out, and assured me that her people can keep their mouths shut.

The entire time we smiled and looked at the other high-rolling tycoons relaxing on Crystal Beach that are missing out on the most profitable opportunity of a lifetime.

It will take us several days to warp equipment over from across space and try to fit it into Orpheus Cave, but I will append a new entry when the time comes to deploy our teams.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF

Entry: #91

Data - Encrypted:

It has been 8 days and so far our setbacks have exceeded any progress we have achieved. Any tasks for an operation of this scale I believe were a logistical nightmare to plan out and it has shown to be true.

These setbacks include:

  • Losing an entire convoy to a papoo ambush deep in our territory
  • A makeshift war among the papoo in which we somehow got dragged into
  • Equipment not able to fit through Orpheus Cave’s entrance
  • Haruspex scouts sabotaging our striders

The papoo war was just a case where we ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. I did write once about how the papoo seemed to have territory split up based on their own factions and seems they have fallen into the same predicament we have fallen into, fighting over resources.

This little conflict of theirs does make our supply line at risk of being disrupted but I think we should be able to defend ourselves against small creatures. In fact, we can just kick them over and they’ll probably run away.

Update: one of our drilling technicians kicked over one when it was in the way of the convoy and had we had to call in backup after the papoo’s friends saw and started damaging the drill we were wheeling to the cave

I will have to do more research again on these papoo, since resolving the matter is top priority now that I know our supply routes are not completely safe.

The Expeditionary Force has asked where I’ve been and I haven’t replied. Soon they’ll call back to Paradise Landing if I don’t give any info, but I think I can play off the papoo problem as an excuse to be out on the field and not be investigated by High Command. Do they know what I’m up to with the drilling equipment? No, they are completely in the dark. The areas around the cave are patrolled by Murdoch’s troops and we try to send supplies down at the cover of night, thus limiting any contact we have with any faction. I’m just hoping the papoo don’t start speaking and expose our position.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #92

Data - Encrypted:

We have begun positioning the drilling equipment on the flat plains and are setting up a base of operations. Some locals have started appearing and wondering what we are doing, however, a quick trip on a heli and then dropping them off in the middle of nowhere has proven effective in terms of hiding our position.

I have begun talks with the local government in Thebes to spark a conflict with the cyclops in the area to distract them from our heavy equipment. Our infantry aren’t very effective against the cyclops and heavy artillery is required to scare them off. I’m hoping with a conflict between the locals and the cyclops “clans”, both of them would keep away.

A proposal that was brought up to me from one of Chloe’s researchers was to make our mining area radioactive or release gases which harmed anyone who didn’t get a toxic shot. That was shot down pretty quick since we didn’t want to damage the overall wildlife with an uncontrollable deterrent.

Storage tents have been raised, sentry posts installed, and plans drawn up again for how to safely get the resources we mine out of the area since we want to be discrete.

I proposed we wheel the shipments on carts through the cities and have the ships in Thebes sail them to Orpheus Cave but a bit of planning needs to happen to not raise questions on the source of the resources.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #93

Data - Encrypted:

They are everywhere… I don’t know how… but the Haruspex are everywhere. They are among the locals and they talk of stuff. I was in Thebes when I overheard chatter among the locals about missing people who go journeying out of Thebes lately and the influx of people entering Thebes.

No one goes near Orpheus Cave except Haruspex, living among the ancient Greeks, and they suspect something big going on. Why do I say they’re everywhere? Between my last entry and this one, the Thebes officials have summoned me to discuss some strange activity happening at a precise coordinate that they showed me. No one knows of our activities unless they’ve been following us from Orpheus Cave to the drilling site and only the Haruspex lurk around there.

Eventually I’ll have to bring the Ancient Greeks into the dolls but for now it’s entertaining to see them connect the dots. The officials even asked me about The Gorgon and that confirmed my suspicions that the Haruspex are active too in Ancient Greece. The Haruspex are a mysterious faction that like to alchemy and sorcery. They must be here to choose after The Gorgon’s mystical powers. I’m not overly concerned with it but their presence here is deeper than most think. I respect that, they do well in hiding their activities better than me.

Shortly after walking out of the government building on the hill, a Haruspex, who was leaning on a pillar came and intercepted me.

“We know what you’re doing outside of the city”

“Good for you, why should I care about what you know?”

“I have a deal to cut. Speak of this with any Loyalist and everyone planetside will know of your operation here “

“What do you want me to keep quiet about?”

“Don’t do any more research on the Gorgon. Wipe or restrict data on your logs and we’ll pretend we didn’t even know of your activities here “

I nodded and continued walking back to the port.

We start drilling tomorrow, I will get some sleep in before overseeing the initial digging and then submit a new entry tomorrow.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #94

Data - Encrypted:

The sun shines bright today as we begin our dig. We all gathered at the main tent on the hill to see miners and gatherers begin extracting resources from the land. All was going according to plan, with the Haruspex ensuring no one disturbed us as long as we stuck our noses out of their Gorgon research.

Glasses of fine wine were handed around and a toast was made to the partnership. Soon enough, we had unexpected visitors to the site, representatives from Thebes that came by to congratulate us. Did we want them here? Not really. However, I guess it was time to finally bring them onboard and hopefully secure a smoother plan for logistics.

Meeting with the representatives was not very productive, turns out they were literally only here to send the local government’s regards and we are setting up a separate date for negotiations and discussion.

The rest of the day went as expected, continuous extracting, but I did get some time to slip away and enjoy the scenery around Ancient Greece. It is a shame we can’t seem to reach space while in this strange land but it is what it is.

I took a look over Thebes again, no Haruspex, no Loyalists, no one from my team, just me, feeling a slight breeze and the sun setting over the horizon. The last of our ships sailed for the day to Orpheus Cave so I’m happy.

My next task is to lead on the Expeditionary Force to not enter Ancient Greece or call me back to headquarters, which will prove to be a challenge but I’ll have to think more about how I’ll navigate this deception. But what of my old log entries? Should I wipe them or should I encrypt them? If I do, it’ll raise suspicion and maybe get flagged, but if I don’t, people have something to look into, oh how difficult it is to come up with the best cover up!

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Character Name: Dalia Vivian
Month: June

5 Lore Submissions:

Entry #11

I knew I’d seen this kind of movement before!

I had left the island with the screechers’ cave with many questions on my mind. I started following the river to the east. I quickly found a wooden pier on one side and could see that it was the end of the road I had been traveling on before. Near the side of the road there was a token and an abandoned caravan. I was curious to know who these things might belong to, but it was as if the road ended there, at the river. On the other bank there was also the wooden pier but there was no path. So I decided to continue following the river, looking for new clues.

I passed some red papoos and shortly afterwards I saw some screechers on top of the hills that flanked both banks of the river. I wasn’t going to stop as I’d had enough of the screechers. But I came to realize that they were moving in a way that I had already seen in the young screechers at Crystal Peak, in the many hours I spent there watching them: when in the presence of a high level screecher, the young ones seem to get more agitated. But how could there be a screecher of such a high level that would make the big ones behave like that?

Needless to say, that before I thought twice I was driving my strider up the ravine into the middle of the creatures. And that’s when I saw it: the Racc! I was right in the middle of Racc’s Hideout!

Of course, this time I didn’t stop to be attacked, as quickly as I went up the ravine, as quickly I went down. Some of the big screechers dove into the water after me, but they ended up drowning.

I marked the Racc’s Hideout location on the map. Now I have renewed my confidence again that this trip will not be in vain and that I still have so many things to discover!

Entry #12

The Haruspex: we have so much to learn from them! Yesterday I arrived at this place called Tanzanite View. So the caravans I was seeing on the way belong to them!

I thought it would be okay to come a little north as long as it didn’t get too close to the mountain area, and it was the best decision I could have made! Here everyone is very cordial and friendly.

Flora invited me to stay for a few days.

Early in the morning, Frederick was showing me around.

May said that she could help me gain some skills by crafting some items.

I only met Alve after lunch: he had gone on a mining trip and as soon as he arrived he looked at my backpack and said that it looks great for carrying mining material. He doesn’t even imagine that Herbert had it for exactly that purpose.

So in the afternoon I went to see the place with Frederick. He seems to be quite impressed with these big blue flowers and asked me to help him find some… No, wait! That was in the morning… or maybe before lunch? No! Before lunch I was watching the Hunting Specialist hunting one of these boars. The boar stew for dinner was delicious! Or rather… I think I’m a little confused… dinner was roasted fish and fruit salad, with the fruits I picked with Flora.

So in the afternoon I was crafting with May and we ended up going to clean up the mess Fri left behind when she decided to help make dinner. Fri seems a little crazy, always forgetting things and making a big confusion even with little things. So that’s when Alve and the Hunting Specialist arrived with a big boar they had hunted and we had roasted steak for lunch…well…wait, this doesn’t make any sense!

I’m certainly a little tired with so many things I’ve done today and maybe I should write things down correctly later.

Entry #13

My first day with the Haruspex was great. I’m looking forward to the things I’ll be able to learn.

May invited me to stay for a few days. She said she would show me the place and the people who live around here.

In the morning, I met Alve: he was going on a mining trip and said he would like to get a backpack like mine to carry mining material.

Fredrick showed up saying that Fri was again walking around without clothes so Flora went to help with the situation. So Frederick wanted to show me these big blue flowers and said I am good at finding them, so we could go look for some. But, I was seeing these flowers for the first time! It was also weird when May told me that I’m improving a lot in construction and that this way I can gain even more skills.

So then I helped Flora prepare lunch… well… yeah I think that was it… for a moment I was imagining that Flora was the first person I met when I arrived at this place… but of course that is impossible: the first one was Fri! I even wondered if she might be a little crazy, but I think she’s just distracted.

… wait… didn’t I write up there that I first met May?..

What a mess!..

This I remember very well: Flora came to call me to show me the place when I was talking with the Haruspex Elder! That was definitely first thing in the morning! And the Elder… well… that was an experience that is hard to describe! Exactly what they are I don’t know… but clearly they know many things we don’t about this place. As it was getting dark he told me that I could stay as long as I wanted and… what? this is not making any sense… again…

…maybe I should…

IMPORTANT: speak with Flora today

Don’t forget! The answer is in the details…

I need to get out of this place immediately!

Entry #14

I don’t know how many days I spent in that place… but it was probably too many!

My memory is still a little confused… I don’t even remember when or how I wrote the last two entries… although I have some fuzzy memories of actually doing these things… just fragments, details that made me realize that something was wrong.

But I don’t think the people there were trying to deceive me. Instead, it was as if everyone could see what was happening to me and were trying to give me tips.

Even at lunch, someone mentioned that I still hadn’t been able to eat with all of them together, either Alve was missing because he had gone to mine, or Fri was missing because she was doing some of her crazy things or simply because she forgot the time…

So I finally asked Flora directly how many days I had been with them. “A few! But you can stay as long as you want!”, she said.

“A few days? How is that possible?”, I thought. Am I supposed to believe that all those days I woke up looking forward to my first day there and to all that I could learn? "Yesterday I got to this place and today is my first day here!”, that was all I could remember!

I ran to my diary to find that it was true and that I had even written before that I needed to get out of that place. Why I didn’t do it immediately when I wrote it I don’t know… but this time I did it! I’ve been trying to put my memories in place and I decided to write my conclusions.

I don’t really remember everything that happened to me in Tanzanite, but at least now I’ve regained my sense of time and of what I’m doing. So everything went back to normal… well… except the fruits: I was sure I had picked a lot more than the ones I have… but for that I am sure will find a logical explanation!

Entry #15

I caught the fruit thief! I caught it in the act: a papoo snooping in my food. It ran when it saw me, leaving behind a red cap.

I was still so upset about all the recent events that I unleashed all my fury on the creature, protesting against him…

When I calmed down, the papoo, that was hiding behind a tree, slowly started to get closer: it seemed to want the hat… I threw it the cap and it was happy.

It was then that I heard a soft voice:

– So what about the food? Can I take it too?

“I’m really going crazy! Now I imagine the papoo talking.”, I thought.

– To share? – He said, staring at me.

– What? Do you really talk? – I asked still in disbelief.

– Yes, I talk. And what about our food?

– How? It can not be! Why do you talk?

– Well, you talk too… and a lot!

– Of course I talk! People talk, papoos don’t!

– Your logic isn’t very good: if I’m talking, then you can’t say that papoos don’t talk.

– What?.. okay, I’m not going to argue logic with a…with you. … So let’s try to start over: I’m Dalia. Who are you? Do you have a name?

– Dalia? Like the flower?

– Well, yes, like the flower.

– This can be quite confusing.

– How’s that?

– Well, if I tell someone that I talked to a Dalia, nobody will believe it, because everyone knows that flowers don’t talk. And that’s obvious! You’re not very smart, are you?

– What?.. Calm down, Dalia! You are talking to a papoo and a papoo’s logic is not logic at all!..

– Sorry to interrupt your thoughts, lady with a flower name, but maybe we’d better just talk about my food…

– YOUR food? … Sure! I can give you food! – I smiled to myself – I can do much better than that!

So that’s how I met Sebastian and convinced him to join me. After all, if I tell, no one will believe it. So tomorrow I’m going back home and I’m taking him with me.

The Art of Craft - Part 1:

Two weeks can be a short time in a person’s life… or an eternity if you spend them with in-laws who hate you to death for taking their daughter on a wandering life of adventure…

The truth is, when I saw the transport leave with the two of them, I could finally breathe easy… and look, in those two weeks I had tried to ingratiate myself with my in-laws, but there was no way…

I even took them to Papoo Village to see the territory of the papoo… and we ended up in the middle of a Red Papoo wave with the King in front… For a moment I thought if they wouldn’t kidnap my in-laws and take them to the tallest tree there was … at least the hours it took us to rescue them would be of peace for me, but I didn’t count on my brave father-in-law, who stamped his cane with a handle-shaped of Kiana Arkadian on the head of Papoo King himself… the poor monkey ran away between howls of pain…

But it was all over… now my interest was in a convention of crafters that was going to take place in Next Island… An event that for the first time was going to be held here instead of Calypso… Of course, Chief Socrates had pulled a lot of strings for it …

Let’s see, I dedicate myself to crafting vehicles and clothes, but it never hurts to have the opinion of experts on these topics, because we had two of the most famous Crafters from the entire Entropy Quadrant as guests at the Symposium: Martre and Soul.

I met Soul years ago in his Rocktropy redoubt… He spent time in an area dominated by hordes of zombies and other creatures… He had specialized in vehicles and furniture and had ended up owning shops on all the planets, including Next Island.

And where was the event going to be held? Of course, at Caroline’s, the only place big enough and cozy enough and with a big stage to put on the whole show.

There was no room in the bar… the lecturers’ table on the stage was set up, and all the seats in the bar arranged in rows and rows with an order that had never been seen before…

We were all talking when suddenly there was silence… The Sponsors of the event appeared through the side door followed by Marte, Soul, Kotter and some other famous crafter… The applause grew louder as they took their seats… The organizers gave a short speech to officially start the event, and later they gave the floor to the first guest, who turned out to be Soul… he took a sip of water, cleared his throat and began his speech…

-Craft is the art of creation, the art of design, but it is also the art of combination… To all those who dedicate themselves or want to do it, I will give you some advice: worry less about the result and more about what you get collaterally…

He paused as we all listened expectantly.

-I’m not talking about the waste, or the opal obtained in the HOFs… A large part of the profit in the craft is due to the AI ​​that is in charge of creating what we tell it through the BP… The AI ​​is in charge of analyzing the results, see what was obtained and interpolate new combinations of those elements, giving rise to new BP to make new items that can have a great MarkUp… And it does that every time we click…

That was something known: The crafting machines could create new BP by analyzing what was created, the materials, the skills of the crafter and the gods know what else… But it was something apparently random, meaningless… Soul continued his speech:

-But what almost nobody knows is that the result can be predicted in advance… My colleague Marte and I have developed a prediction method based on countless analyzes carried out in our manufacturing process… -A murmur was heard in the background, while some crafters smiled and rubbed their hands thinking about future profits -Let’s see, let me tell you that this method is not going to be made public, since it has been our initiative without any type of subsidy or state aid, so it belongs to us, but… As a scoop I will tell you that a new BP of a high performance weapon could be discovered in the next few days… And that, both due to the materials and the results, the probability of it being discovered here on Next Island is very high…

I barely heard the rest of the speech… In my mind I saw the discovery, the new weapons, and lots of money… As soon as I left Caroline’s I was going to try to be the discoverer of that BP…

The Art of Craft - Part 2:

A weapon… I mean, you should craft weapons to get a BP from weapons… If it’s high performance it could be a BP of level IV, V or more…

That means trying to craft big guns… I’ve never done that, so I don’t know if it will be profitable, or I’ll leave a trail of debt behind me when I have to escape my creditors on Next Island.

Katalina knows my manias and my things, and she was already thinking about the complications that all this BP mess was going to give rise to.

The first thing was to decide which weapon to craft… The most logical option is Armatrix, but its high production cost would drastically reduce the number of attempts to be made… It should make cheaper weapons…

-And why don’t you make weapons from another planet? - Asked Katalina - Surely in Cyrene or Toulan there are cheaper weapons to build than those Armatrix…

Katalina was right… She should try to find something on another planet, even if she needed to import the materials…

Three hours later, she had tired eyes and a sore head… But she had narrowed down the list to Toulan’s weapons… Specifically, she had three possible options:

• Thaqafa Blade M1 (L) Blueprint
• Thaqafa Blade M2 ​​(L) Blueprint
• Thaqafa Blade M3 (L) Blueprint

Ok, in Cyrene there are even cheaper weapons, but they use cubes, and some have a great MU, and there are not always the necessary amounts, so…

The M1 was the cheapest option, and with more common materials in Toulan…

• 6 x Maro Ingot
• 3 x Sunburst Ingots
• 2 x Yashib Ingot
• 2 x Caldorite Ingot

That was definitely the weapon, and besides, the BP was level V… Now, the search for materials… Again a good time looking at the Toulan Auction House, and the store directory…

If I found them, I could go pick them up but I didn’t want to risk being shot down by a pirate, so it was best to rely on planetary transport… The materials in Auction can come here that way, but the materials from the shops had to be shipped in another way… So I had to make a planetary videoconference.

Select a contact on my Communications Tablet and click on the “CALL” icon… wait a few seconds, and then the face of my friend Moustapha appeared on the screen… He had a crooked turban and a face of few friends… at the bottom of the image I saw a cage with a totally crazy Atrox… Working at the Flora and Fauna Center in Toulan involves more dangerous animals than a simple TabTab.

-Salaam Aleikum, Dante, what a joy to see you again… As you can see, I’m a bit busy right now, but tell me, what is your life? – Moustapha always so polite even with a rogue Atrox roaring like a man possessed.

-Salaam, Moustapha… Well, you see, I need you to go to one of the stores in Nahar City and buy me some materials… then you put them up for auction and I’ll buy them myself… or you can send them to me by transport, as you see…

-Okay, it’s not a problem, but as you can see, now is not the time… send me the list of materials and the stores where they are… when I have them I will call you so I can put them up for auction and you can buy them… okay?

-Okay, Moustapha… I’ll send it to you later and… be careful that Atrox doesn’t bite your ass- I told him with a smile.

A couple of hours later I had seen the options… Yashib is available for a good price in AH, as well as Caldorite, but Maro and Sunburst will depend on Moustapha. I sent him the references of the two materials as well as the quantities by message to his communication Tablet, and I dedicated myself to waiting while I savored a bombardo liquor that the Haruspex distilled in Tanzanite View…

Half an hour later, a call from Moustapha: he had the materials… Now the dangerous moment: he would put the materials up for auction and at that moment he should buy them quickly, to prevent another buyer from doing it… Both looking at the AH… Item up for auction , now!!! Click, price, click, orders…… click, buy… Maro Ingot is mine!!! I repeated the operation with the Sunburst and I already had the materials in my possession!!!

I effusively thanked Moustapha while waiting for the materials to arrive… I took advantage of those minutes to do the math… I had 300 attempts, but… the expense had been excessive… if a new BP didn’t appear or I didn’t have HOFs, I could be ruined …

The Art of Craft - Part 3:

I spent a long time looking for a free crafting machine, but it was an almost impossible task: Half the population of Next Island was in the process… Soon there would be a large surplus of weapons in the Auction House.

So I headed to Shaterrock, my favorite place to craft… There in the desert I felt comfortable… The sand, the wind and the distant growls of the Desert Crawler…

Miraculously, my favorite machine was free… I entered my identification and the list of possible fabrications with the materials I had available came out… With everything I had in my Storage, the list was long… there it is!!! 300 Thaqafa Blade M1 (L) Blueprint attempts.

I connected my Tablet and made the list of globals and planetary HOFs visible, to see what the others were doing… Then, praying to the gods, I activated the “START” button with the green indicator…

CLACK!!! Tick ​​tock, tick tock… a few eternal seconds and a yellowish light shone around me… Extra loot GLOBAL!!! And at first, wow, I’m in luck…

Those 300 peds received in waste were a help to be able to recover the money invested, but… that was not what worried me now…

Click a Clik, the machine advanced… the Blades were piling up in the Storage, along with the waste and some BP of minor weapons that had also come out, although they were fabrications that had already been discovered…

In total there were 3 GLOBAL Extra Loot and several Mini Loot… Armatrix BP, waste… 295, 296…

On attempt 297 something strange happened… the machine gave an Error, nothing manufactured, no residue, nothing came out, but… A double helix wrapped me while the “Discovery” indicator lit up.

What the hell!!! If there is an error it is impossible for anything to appear… In fact, the name did not appear but “UNKNOWN ITEM” in the list…

298… 299… 300… that’s it, the craft is over… He didn’t have any BP of new weapons, although between the Globals and the waste and weapons with the corresponding MU, he had managed to recover the expense made, although just barely…

I began to check the Storage looking for the so-called Discovery… nothing… it wasn’t material, or a weapon or anything… It could only be a BP, so I checked the corresponding section and…

I was there!!! It was something never seen… An authentic Discovery…

BP1 a

BP2 a

A BP (L) Boosted from a single attempt of a UL weapon… the list of materials was overwhelming, although they weren’t rare materials, only some of them were Rare, and others used high MU items… Anyway… it was time to put the BP in the machine and see what the result would be if you had the materials and could craft… Select the BP, go to the screen and…

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing…

The Art of Craft - Part 4:

Incredible… the most efficient weapon ever known in the Entropy Quadrant… A UL pistol with 98.3% effi and damage up to 73… A brutal range for a pistol, of more than 60 meters, and a speed of 83 shots per minute, the DPS went up to a maximum of 101… a critical would surely go beyond 200… and an “Exceptional” Durability indicated a very low Decay… it was definitely not Marco’s weapon, but for normal people it was the ultimate weapon!!!

And the name of the weapon… Fenix ​​Fury… I remembered other times and other places when my good friend JoseGaltor called me Fenix… Sometimes I fondly remember those times that will never come back… I’m getting old…

For a second I thought about going to buy the materials and make the only attempt… I could go out or not, but I had to try… However, the rational part of me told me not to do it.

Let’s see, since the Mindark Corporation discovered the Entropy Quadrant, the Consortium had sold concessions for the exploitation of the different planets… The concessionaires, called Planet Partners, had signed contracts with Mindark according to which they had certain limitations, especially at the weapons level.

The war… That was the fear of the Mindark Corporation… that one of the Planets Partners would get a tactical advantage in weaponry over the others and, considering that war and conquest are in the human DNA, would want to conquer other planets by force . That could jeopardize the investments that Mindark Corporation had made in the Quadrant, especially in the Calypso Mother Planet…

That is why the Mindark Corporation monitored the production of weapons and armor, to prevent one planet from prevailing over another and the balance from being broken… and now suddenly I have the possibility of manufacturing an ultimate, powerful weapon…

Okay, it’s just an attempt, but… using Reverse Engineering it could be duplicated in case the only craft succeeds… So suddenly, I’m the possessor of a secret that could destabilize the Entropy Quadrant…

And the worst thing is that it is probably unique… The craft machine gave “ERROR”, and yet the BP appeared… That error might never happen again, so…

I am the sole repository of a secret… and that could be very dangerous…

The Art of Craft - Part 5:

I talked about it with Katalina, and we both came to the same conclusion: That BP was dangerous if they found out in the Central Government of Calypso… It was also dangerous if the weapon was developed and fell into the wrong hands, so it would be best to keep it in a safe place.

Katalina and I had an apartment in FOMA, in Alpha West 11D… that was a tribute to hunting, mining, craft… the decoration was based on things obtained throughout the Entropy Quadrant… Pure collecting.

So in a few days we will go there and I will place the BP on one of the shelves, as an ornament… Deep down I refuse to destroy it or leave it hidden…

The sale of the obtained materials and the developed BP, as well as the weapons, made me recover the money invested and earn something… Not much, but at least we did not go bankrupt and we will not have to give my father-in-law another displeasure in the form of debt flight , like the other times in Arkadia, or Calypso, or…

That afternoon I was going to relax with a liquor while Katalina went shopping in Crystal Bay… I put a program on Holovision, sat down with my glass of liquor and…

Knock, Knock…

Someone knocked on the door… hell, they won’t leave me alone… Probably another business.

I opened the door and looked surprised at those two individuals.

The one who knocked on the door was short, stocky, wearing armor that he had seen better days and had a huge scar that crossed his face… Without a doubt he did not use a quality healer and that “memory” was left on his face.

The other guy was a Turrelion…

Those silent beings, covered with masks and hoods… Their eyes were invisible under the lenses that protected them… two weapons hung from their belt… The Turrelion of Cyrene are sometimes hired as mercenaries or bodyguards… I tensed.

-Yes? – Ask suspiciously.

-Good afternoon, Dante… - A cracked but strong voice came from that guy with the scar.

-How is that…?

-…Do we know who you are? – Scar said – Your fame precedes you, Dante… You are a great crafter and we are here to talk about business…

Crafter… The BP… I went on alert…

-Em… um… okay then… say what you have to say – My hands brushed the deployment button of the armor.

Scar looked at me… his eyes smiled slightly… He knew that I knew.

-Okay… Dante, we know you’ve discovered something… and something big… we saw it…

It is done!!! I don’t know how, but they knew… Maximum tension.

-No, it hasn’t been something interesting… it seems to be an error of the craft machine that… - I couldn’t finish the sentence.

-We know Dante… but it was “something interesting”… without a doubt the weapon that Soul said at the conference… What I don’t understand is why you haven’t publicized the issue… -Scar looked at me with an air of knowing everything…

-Listen friend, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if it’s not business, go out the door and leave… okay? – My fingers went to touch the armor deployment button.

I did not have time.

The Turrelion suddenly advanced towards me with a Mace FEN in his hand… I don’t know where he got it from, I kept looking at his two weapons in their holsters… they were undoubtedly a decoy… Traitor….

Everything suddenly went black, and my head seemed to explode…

When I opened my eyes, Katalina hadn’t arrived yet… I had been unconscious for a while… I looked around.

The house was all messy… open drawers, clothes on the floor…

I trudged to one of the drawers, which had a concealed double bottom…it was open, and the hiding place was empty…

They had stolen the BP…

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