Lore Submission Thread

[Dante_Inferno]

Part 5:

-Dante, I already told you that I had time to explore all this, and repair lighting and energy systems … the first time I committed suicide I appeared in the Revive that is on that corner … I saw the ramp through which I imagine you have come …

Desmond had a strange look as he thought back to the months locked up there.

-And besides, I found this Planetary Teleporter, but it wasn’t working … in fact, it was under construction … I didn’t have much to do here, except die to live again, so I spent a lot of time trying to repair it in order to escape …

Desmond always had great knowledge of engineering, so despite the misfortune of being locked in the pyramid, surely he took that as a challenge …

-The weeks passed … I learned a lot about this robotic system, so different from the teleporters of the Entropia Quadrant, but … there came a time that with my knowledge I could not do more, I needed to reprogram the computer system, but hacking is not among my skills …

He looked at the ground, perhaps saddened … Mark looked at him with intense love, possibly remembering the months that they were not together …

-When I saw that I could not do more, I decided to get out of here as it were … the weeks of attempts to open the door began … and my mind, already quite deteriorated by the confinement, the suicides and the attempts to repair something that has never been seen, it finally broke … the rest you know …

He looked up and stared at me …

-Dante, we were friends, you could have been part of this …

-Desmond … you don’t betray a planet in this way …

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a movement … Moustapha saw it too … one of the VIPS raised his gun … The exchange of shots began …

We all took cover, both they and us … the shots ricocheted off the walls, the monitors, the boxes of equipment …

Suddenly, a shot pierced Moustapha’s chest, who fell dead next to us … he began to vibrate and, seconds later, he dematerialized … to appear on the opposite side of the room, where the Revive was …

That led nowhere: When we were mortally wounded, we would reappear … Draw … We knew it, but so did they …

Suddenly, Mark approached one of the terminals and began to type frantically while his companions covered him with the shots … What the hell was he doing?

Finally, we heard a deafening sound … we all stood still, not knowing what was happening … We looked at the dark background, where the noise was produced …

Huge red spotlights lit up in the distance … a sound like metal legs, gears … what was it?

Finally, that thing reached the illuminated area … A huge Vanguard appeared before us, with its metal legs …

Undoubtedly, Kratos had brought that huge robot, but it had not been activated the other time … and Mark had connected it …

The huge robot advanced towards us and pointed its weapons … We stood still, while the five Stel looked at us with sarcasm …

-Now what? -One of the VIPS looked at us mockingly - We have a huge ally to kill you …

Suddenly, the Vanguard spun around and looked at the VIP … he quickly aimed his gun at him and literally tore him apart with a single shot …

The Vanguard was connected, but it was not reprogrammed, so we humans were their enemies … them and us …

-Covered !!! EVERYBODY!!! - Desmond screamed like a man possessed …

It was clear: Our fight could wait, before all of us had to finish off that huge robot …

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Part 6:

We all took cover while we drew our most powerful weapons … I happened to hide near one of the VIPS … we looked at each other … now was not the time for feuds, first we had to finish off that Vanguard …

Desmond appeared on a Skyripper, shooting at that huge robot … While, JoseGaltor and Moustapha machine-gunned the robot’s legs, trying to make it stumble … Katalina fired her Lacerating in bursts trying to damage her weapons …

Simon and I had high-end Armatrix BLPs… we peeked in unison firing every last round, while we watched Mark and the other VIPS firing their guns…

The hangar was a place of destruction … the Vanguard’s shots were destroying everything, including the second teleporter, which was blown to pieces … From his Skyripper, Desmond watched in dismay … all the efforts that he had made for nothing …

A few minutes later, the Vanguard began to lose lubricating fluids and to limp … its lights flickered and, with a great crash, the huge robot collapsed, defeated …

We all stood still for a moment … We looked at each other and, like comrades, we smiled with satisfaction … but it only lasted a moment …

With a leap worthy of a cheetah, Moustapha launched himself on one of the VIPS and engaged in a hand-to-hand fight … The rest of us did the same: the only way to end it, one way or another, was hand-to-hand. .

JoseGaltor was shot down by another VIP, but he managed to keep him at bay … Katalina, with her own SI Knife feint the remaining VIP … Mark advanced towards Simon, and that left me alone with Desmond …

He glared at me as he drew his SparkBite … mine came out, and like two ancient Japanese warriors, sword against sword, we finally faced each other …

The fight was tough … But the VIPS, after all, were simple bureaucrats who had military training and had nothing to do with Katalina, Moustapha and JoseGaltor … in a few minutes the three VIPS were senseless on the ground while my colleagues immobilized and bound them …

Simon hit an already defenseless Mark … the punches were devastating … it would take more than a Regeneration Chip to fix the damage on Mark’s face … with one last blow, he collapsed senselessly at Simon’s feet … some zip ties plastic, and Mark was immobilized …

Desmond kept feinting and striking with his sword … we realized that we were fighting alone, while the others looked at us …

-Dante, you spoiled everything !!!

-You don’t see it yet, Desmond … The robots would have invaded us … give up once …

Desmond glared at me… he swung his sword and slashed through himself… Suicide?

He fell to the ground, and seconds later, his body began to dematerialize … where is the Revive? Of course!!! Now I see it.

-Katalina, go to the Revive !!!

The Revive was near one of the exit doors of the room … without a doubt he wanted to escape …

Indeed, with a flash Desmond appeared in the Revive next to one of the doors … He made a move to run towards the exit, when an iron fist stopped him short …

-I told you that I would take you to hell with me … - Simon had foreseen the play and was able to intercept it …

We all looked at each other… five senseless bodies were at our feet, tied up and ready to hand over to Chief Socrates… We dragged the bodies towards the exit…

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Part 7:

In the teleporter near the pyramid, Chief Socrates was waiting for us … he looked at us all satisfied.

-I knew you could deal with this situation … I suppose this time the Planetary Teleporter has been rendered useless … -It was rather a question addressed to me …

-Sure, Chief … all destroyed and the five prisoners here, for whatever I’m going to do with them …

Desmond looked at Mark for a moment, and then straightened … he looked Socrates in the eye, lowered his head and spat out a bloody phlegm, which ended up splashing on Simon’s boots …

-You’re not going to do anything to us … -His tone of voice was challenging - What do you think?" Send me Calypso, Intelligence? … you’re wrong, Socrates.

-No, I’m not wrong … the Entropy Quadrant Intelligence Center will investigate your actions and you will be judged … -Socrates was clear about what was going to happen.

-We will not be judged, stupid planetary boss … Do you think that all this plot we have thought only between five people? -A smile touched Desmond and Mark’s lips.

Socrates looked at them with a point of insecurity … what did he mean?

-Listen, boss … how do you think we could put a drone in Hadesheim? You know that all Calypso communications are monitored …

We all looked at each other apprehensively… would someone in Calypso know about all this? Would he have helped Desmond and his people? And above all … they were going to allow the robots to possibly invade half the Entropy Quadrant …

-I see that now you are beginning to think … -He spit out a bloody phlegm again, and half a tooth step by step; Simon’s fist was like a hammer. - There are people high up in the Calypso hierarchy who are aware of all this … people who want to remove the Space Guild from the equation …

It couldn’t be … traitors in the Central Government … Socrates clenched his fists with fury, he seemed about to explode … he froze for a second, blew out a breath and spoke:

-That’s none of my business now … my mission is to take Calypso to Central Intelligence … JoseGaltor, do you still have the Dropship you brought available?

-Of course, sir… I abandoned it, but I left its location traceable so I can use it remotely… and I’m ready to take a ride to Calypso with the prisoners… -Jose is always up for anything to entertain him… even if it’s dangerous.

-Okay then … take the five prisoners and go to Calypso with them … I’ll send you later by UpLink the necessary documents and safe-conducts …

Socrates took out of his backpack the device for connecting the DNA banks and, one by one, he passed near the five prisoners and disconnected them … his gestures of pain denoted how painful the process was …

-So you’ll be careful if you try to run away … if you die now, it will be final … remember … -Socrates put the device away while five pairs of eyes looked at him with deep hatred …

Minutes later, the ship landed remotely and opened the hold … with little consideration we pushed the five prisoners … As he closed the hatch, we could still hear Desmond …

-Stupids !!! When our contacts know that we are there, the case will be dismissed and we will return again … it may even be that there is a new Planetary Chief on Next Island … -a nervous laugh initialed his speech …

Jose got into the cockpit, started the engines and the ship took off vertically… he stopped for a moment in the air and made an upward movement…. We all watched the maneuver.

-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM !!!

Suddenly, the dropship burst into flames … a shower of debris began to fall as we took cover, just in case …

-What happened?? -Katalina was scared … well, actually we were all …

-I don’t understand -Socrates looked at the explosion in disbelief …

Suddenly, next to us, a glow appeared, and a body was materializing … It was JoseGaltor … We stared, hoping that he had just been reborn to ask him what had happened …

The body appeared upright … it opened its eyes …

-Yesssssssssss !!! Magnificent!!! That H-DNA was of good quality… I just invented a new sport: Resurrecting while you detonate a charge inside the ship you pilot, hahahaha!

I can’t believe it … the very crazy JoseGaltor had detonated the ship with the five conspirators inside … that since they had been disconnected from the DNA banks, they were dead forever …

-But… I… what the hell !!!.. what have you done, Jose? -Socrates was really angry …

-Me? Nothing … I just made sure that these five idiots do not conspire again, much less that they go to Calypso to tell lies about us … -JoseGaltor in the background had saved us a lot of problems …

Socrates lowered his head thoughtfully … no doubt he was considering what had happened, and how it was going to affect Next Island and us …

-Okay … we can’t do anything now … all five are dead, the TP destroyed and this time for real … I think … I think we should forget that this has ever happened … -Socrates began to think about the possibilities that this event offered us …

-But I’m still an outlaw … -I ventured

-No problem … As Planetary Chief I can raise a pardon or … better … we can “lose” some documents and court records … - With Socrates by our side, the bureaucracy would fall like a house of cards …

-And in Ancient Greece? - Katalina wanted to tie up the loose ends …

-Well … er … I will send a messenger to Queen Pentesílea explaining part of the situation … without a doubt she will be understanding and will not want any kind of problems between our worlds …

I looked at them all one by one … loyal friends, who had managed to get me out of this quagmire, and on top of that they had managed to defeat a planetary conspiracy … Oh, if the Space Guild knew how close they have been to losing their business …

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Epilogue: A couple of weeks later.

A few days have passed since the events of the pyramid … now we are as always, having drinks in the beach bars of Next Island …

Moustapha returned to Toulan … great friend, who incidentally takes a few thousand peds to buy his silence … It really was not necessary, Toulan people are loyal with promises, hospitality and friends, but … Socrates did not know that, that now he is a little poorer and Moustapha a little richer …

JoseGaltor had to run to Rocktropia … the owner of the stolen dropship managed to trace him here, and he turned out to be one of Arkadia’s toughest Smugglers … He said goodbye to me and Katalina effusively, grabbed his weapons and went out for a window … because the door was being banged on by an angry Smuggler and three bodyguards that were the size and look of a Maffoid …

Simon drank with me until he lost consciousness, celebrating his return from death … and he jumped for joy when I was able to give him a Viceroy Helmet that fit him perfectly … He approached me and whispered in my ear the coordinates of his house … well, continue being very jealous of his safety for being a mercenary, so … I will not say where he lives …

Socrates is still in charge of Next Island … with a security team he went to the pyramid, they removed the scrap metal, they covered the tracks that denoted what had happened, and today that pyramid is an Instance … more or less, a training ground … yes, the requirements to enter are enormous …

And Katalina and me? Well, the usual: crafting, hunting, mining, earning money and living well on this planet where we are finally creating roots …

Maybe in the future we will have new adventures to tell …

[Bonnie]

Homeward bound
Returning to Tanzanite, hauling the load of precious materials the Haruspex elder had requested, Bonnie reflected on her times so far on Next Island. “What a strange and wonderful land” she thought, glancing out over the tropical paradise she had spent the last few months exploring. This last mission had been quite the test, particularly that run in with the Megalodon, but deep down she longed to return home to Ancient Greece. She knew the next part of her quest would involve Molochs, and it would seem her chance to return home, back through the portal the Haruspex had created, would be now.
Lugging the last of the crystals and oils past the palm tree, she handed them over to the elder. " I hope it is all there" Bonnie joked, as the thousands of crystals tumbled out the bag. Her mission was complete, now it was time to head back to Troy on Ancient Greece, and find these depths where the molochs live.
Arriving in the cave where the portal is, she took one last glance around the Island paradise, took a deep breath, closed her eyes and was instantly transported to a place she was much more familiar with. “Ah that’s more like it!” she declared, opening her eyes and being surrounded by the pillars and art of Ancient Greece. She headed home to Menelausia to drop off the treasures she had collected, and check all was well. The estate was pristine as always, she sighed in relief and took in a deep breath of the fresh sweet smelling are. A mixture of the warm sands, salt from crashing waves, and perfume from the nearby flowers filled the air. “Now this truly is home” she smiled. “But there’s trouble here” Her smile turned to determination. There was a new sense of urgency in her mind. Before she was trying to help save a land for others and reap the rewards, but now it was different, she would not let these Demra fuelled Molochs run riot across these lands if they are allowed to keep this new and powerful armour, whatever it may be.

The Titans
The sun baked down the the market square at Thebes, Bonnie was collecting the last of the materials she would need on her journey down into the Molochs Depths. Unsure as to what she was about to face, she decided it would be best to meet with her crew, the Titans of Space, the band of interplanetary warriors who she had fought alongside many times before, both here and across the universe.
“If we could manage the Gorgons and blooming Zeus himself, I am sure we can manage some cows… " Bonnie joked. The others were quite sure too, they had all met Molochs previously around the islands, so they had a rough idea what they should expect. “What do you guys know about Demra?” She asked hopefully. “Demra?” Her friend questioned, " clearly not very much” Bonnie teased. “It’s just, well these Molochs are supposed to be under the influence of this stuff, and we don’t seem to know all that much about it. “You think too much” the Admiral taunted her, " lets just go and do what we do best, kill them!” “I sure hope this armour will be worth it” Her friend joked. However deep down Bonnie had that pang again, that feeling that things had changed for her, she was not just here to reap the reward for finding the armour, but taking it off those Demra inspired Molochs would mean they wont have the power to take control of her land… her land… she smiled in spite of her self and how intertwined she had become with this place, something she had never imagined would have been possible after so many years as an interplanetary nomad.
The team gathered the remaining items they needed from the market and made their way to Troy. Bonnie felt glad to be working along side her crew again, each of whom had also completed the same quest from the elder in order to gain access to the molochs depths, and excited about what they may find down there.

Into the Depths
Troy, an ancient legendary city, the site of some of the most epic and well know battles of millennia. But here as Bonnie and the crew arrived and looked around, it was a shadow of its former self. Although For what the city lacked in buildings here, it mimic the legend she remembered from ancient earth of the most with the main building upon the tell, but quite possible more to be found in the valleys and gulley’s surrounding. She followed the path down, and sure as fate would have it a vast valley appeared before them. “This will be it then” she shouted to the others who were following behind. Taking stock of their surroundings, there were cages, which seemed perfectly fit for human size, and a long winding path to a vast set of gates.
The approached the gates and beyond they could see a beautifully structured layered garden. Or so it seemed. Crossing over the gate would be the place where they would be checked for worthiness, it had not been the first time each of them had been struck down by such a gate. Taking a deep breath, Bonnie stepped through ( admittingly closing her eyes). Opening them, hesitantly, she peered around and sighed a huge sigh of relief. The rest of the team filtered through without quite the same hesitation.
Each path led past impressive fires and carefully placed water features. It somehow didn’t quite look like the battle ground they had expected. She pondered on this for a moment, then it became clear. This was never supposed to be a battle ground, it was to be a place where Moloch craftsmen were to perfect their work and create something quite special, until of course the decided to keep it for themselves.
There were 3 shimmering huge doors. Each with what seemed to be an image of the fate that lay beyond, which did not seem all that appealing! However they had got this far, and this was no time to be afraid. It was time to take back what was theirs, once and for all.

The open cage

Drip, drip, drip, the blood dripping from the cages was relentless. They hang they above the heads of all those who dared enter the depths. It splattered the walls, smeared across… everything. “What had happened down here” Bonnie thought, squinting in the darkness trying to make out the shadowy figures approaching.
It was dark, damp and had that smell of a place that had seen a lot of death. Bonnie wondered if those Molochs who had not turned to against the haruspex. had suffered a brutal fate at the hands of their brethren. Or if the cages contained the remains of hapless warriors before her, knowing that the gods of Ancient Greece were using helpfully in resurrecting those who meet an early demise, but down here they may be force to an eternity in a cage. Drip, drip, drip… it continued. Bonnie shuddered.
As her eyes adjusted to the light, she soon realised she was completely surrounded by the Molochs. Oddly none of them seemed to be reacting to her presence, they seemed to be somewhat mindlessly controlled by the Demra. “Alright, lets see how tough these bad boys really are” Bonnie thought whilst charging up her powerful electric mindforce. She hit the first one which immediately turned to attack her. They were mighty and strong with health, but not undefeatable and certainly not with the might of the Gorgons she had fought previously. Upon each death she was able to loot the creatures for what they held, but as of yet none of them had any sort of armour. Checking with her friends they too had not reported finding anything of interest. It seemed they would have to kill many of these creatures to get to the ones who may have already completely built a piece of the armour, and take it before they put it to use. This was not going to be an easy task, but one which must be done none the less.

[Balam]

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

Noob Adventure

Part I

I like the feel and sounds of my vehicle. I don’t remember when it has changed, as when I was young, I was not able to sleep in the vehicle. But now I can fall sleep as soon as I hit that auto-flying button. Maybe I am just used to riding in this body wrapping seat of my Sleipnir or maybe I have grown old and learned to sleep when I can… I think you know what I mean. The warp is definitely the fastest option to get to the destination, but I do like to take my sweet time riding Sleipnir, because when I wake up, I know I will at my destination, Next Island.

I was seeing the dream, more like a watching a memory of when I was young, just newly born in the world of Entropia Universe. Back then, the mentor and great senior players took me to many different planets. The issue was, I didn’t know which ways are left and right. It has been years since I travel to Next Island, last time it was like a vacation, walked around the beach, looking at the new scenery and relax while the mentor gets his “work” done.

“Voooooommm” Ah, there is the excitement, waking up with the sounds of vehicle slowing down ready to land. This time, I had a plan follow in this beautiful planet as a noob adventurer. “I’m sure I will be ok, I red the guidebook many times over and over.” Many friends let me know about this new guidebook, “NI Helper”. In this book, there was many adventures presented with excitements, challenges, and eye-opening rewards. My plan was to experience as many things as possible, this time, I am on my own and got all time in my hands. “Ok, I’m ready,” telling myself to wash away the anxiety inside of me and I have entered Next Island for second time in my life.

Part II

“Finally, it is great to be on my own feet.” Even though, I love to sleep while on the flight with the sounds of Sleipnir humming, the feeling of landing and standing on my feet can’t be compared. After parking the vehicle, I looked around to see where I have landed. “Hmmm, I don’t remember this… is this a same place?” The landing spot seemed different than what I remembered before. “Has it change or…” maybe I just don’t remember, after all, it has been many years since I last visited Next Island. Paradise landing, the name paradise gives me a warm feeling inside to look forward to. At least I was able to find the sign, guiding me to the way to new arrival area, this is much more friendly for the newcomer than I remember. “Let’s get going!” I was so excited to explore and start on missions the planet got to offer. As I approach the sign, there was a lady who guiding the newcomers. “Please head down to the beach” says the lady. I have looked at the direction she is pointing, then I saw ahead the long wooden stairways. “Oh man…” This is not good, really not good. I have experienced falling from the high ground all way down, crippling myself. Of course, Entropian Goddess revives me as fresh as new, but the scar on mind never heals like body does. I better not fall down this time, even I must walk slowly. I swear it took me over 10 mins just to go down on stairs, well, at least I felt like more than 10 mins. But, guess what? After trying so hard to go down on stairs, I found there is a televator at the bottom of stairs. “Wait, where does this televator takes me to?” I used the televator to go up on the floor and found out where I am. The top of the stairs I just walked down. “Hahahaha” I was laughing so hard I’m sure other Entropians around me may thought I was going crazy. Ok, I guess I am too excited and nervous that I can’t even see the televator.

Part III

After having a good laugh and the respect to the Next Island architects and builders who made a long stair with a televator available. I was finally able to reach the newcomer area. I think this area is new, I have a no memory of the area and I am sure, I never have done the new player missions here at least not the same one. Even though I am noob, I have done the new player missions in other planets. After introducing myself, I was listening to the helpful NPCs explaining each activity I can do on the planet. Yes, I was listening but please let me make an excuse, after traveling to many planets to experience the new player missions, it feels like repeatable mission. It is like I am listening, but words just don’t penetrate my head enough to hit the brain. This was the mistake, YES, this was significant mistake I will recognize later.

New player missions in each planet are always interesting, the gears that is offered are very similar in the use, but the appearance is completely different. I enjoy looking at the gears from each planet and wonder on the background and history of the planet. Next Island, the gun was very cute and then they gave out the item I am unfamiliar to get from the new player mission, a refiner. This is essential tool for a player who want to start their career as a miner and small refiner will come in handy. “Thank you, guys and ladies,” I have smiled and packed all gears I received. There was more than I thought, guns, ammo, finder, excavator, refiner, healing tool and blueprint. “Lesser Elysia… what is this thing, clothes?” Even though I had no idea what blueprint it was for, I just acted as I knew and started on my missions in the planet.

Part IV

New player missions are first missions I like to go through in each planet. It is great ways to find out the entry level activities, enemies, mining findings and all the basics. “Let’s start with the hunting” Feeling and making sure that I can use NI issued gun, I walked toward the location of Papoo that was told by the guide to face the first encounter. “What are they…?” The creature looked like… a monkey, after observing them for a couple minutes, they started to make a chatter. They have noticed me, discussing among themselves, maybe even warning each other. I got to move, before they surround me and becomes too late. Gripping firmly on the handgun, I have walked out from the bush and aimed on the closest Papoo. First shot must hit them good, the Papoo screamed and rushed toward me to fight back or at least tried to. After shooting one down on the ground, I have recognized something. “This guy must be still a kid” Even I am not the professional about my knowledge in Papoo or even animals, I can tell the guy I shot down was very small and thin. I was told to clear them out, but maybe we are the one who is intruding their living… with the sense of a guilt in my heart, I have decided to mindlessly hunt to complete the mission like I was running away from the thought we are the one who is destroying the living of others. It was very quick to take down all Papoos I can find in the area, picking some items and cutting off their useful body parts, I head my way back to report the outcome. “Thank you for completing the mission, now you know how to hunt” says the guide. “Thanks, I will explore to find what kind of creatures I can find” I have smiled to him but started to wonder how it was when first Entropian landed in this planet. “Only if there are way to live with those creatures together” I know it is the only hopeful thinking that will never come true, after all, most of Entropian’s living are coming from hunting in the wild. I have stared at my hand covered with the blood of Papoo and hastily walked my way to the river where I can wash my hand to clean the blood off and also to wash the thoughts away to come back to the reality.

Part V

A mining always has been my favorite work to do in any planet, it is just a relaxing seeing the sight while I find resources. Also, each planet seems to have unique resources which I never seen before. I was always amused by the appearance and how those materials are used by predecessors. I be honest; I have mined at least 10 times more than hunting if not 20 times. I knew what material I was going for, which I been hearing from my friends many times, [Dark Lysterium]. Lysterium is most likely a resource that is most common for miners and of course for me. I am able to find these clean white ores in many planets and locations, which I am often disappointed when I find a resource just to find it is Lysterium. Even though years of mining, I have never saw any other type of Lysterium, so I was very eager to find “Dark” Lysterium. I have equipped finder I got in the newcomer area. Even though the language written on the finder keys are different and I don’t understand exactly what it means, controls are same compared to ones in other planets. “Nice, at least I know how to use it” The finder was for the first time miner which reduces risks of not finding the resource by reducing the number of probes needed to 10% compared to standard finders many miners used. As this finder limit the size and depth, I can look for the resource, I have decided to mine relatively close to newcomer area. I have run at least 300 meters away from the guides to avoid interrupting them on their work, started to drop the probes while running towards the nature. “Boom” … No resource found.

“Boom” … No resource found.

“Boom” … No resource found.

“Boom” … No resource found.

“Boom” … No resource found.

…

“Wait, is Next Island indoor mining?” I was confused. I have at least dropped probes 10 times for both ores and enmatters together, but no resource was found. Debated to call a friend to ask if I was doing anything wrong, but instead, I decided to walk towards a beach side to few more drops.

“Boom” … bright lights was blinked on the finder. I have found my first claim on Next Island.

It was Lysterium, unfortunately it was not “Dark” one, but I was happy to see the claim at that point. “I guess this can be used for the blueprint that guide gave me earlier” Thinking about trying on crafting with Lysterium as I excavate, I promise myself to continue to mine in the planet to understand the area and to get “Dark” ones next time.

[PatrikanHabaton]

The diary of a shopkeeper

Getting a shop

This shopkeeper diary can be found behind the desk of stall 9 below Crystal Peak on Next Island.

Today I did it finally. I was able to get my hands on a house property deed for a small Stall on Next Island. This was quite a journey to get, when they originally started to get sold on auction, I couldn’t acquire one directly, since the wire-transfer was to slow. Although I missed the opportunity, my mentor was fast enough to grab a small booth just below Crystal Peak.

The first few weeks he setup his shop and sold mostly his Next Island loot. But since he just got the VIP Mission finished, he wanted to focus a bit more on hunting rather than taking care of a shop most of the time. This was my chance. We figure out a deal where he could make some profit as well of his initial investment of buying the shop in the first place. Besides the shop he provided me with some ideas for the shop and the information how he has been running the shop and what he sold so far. I did as well with the purchase of the shop acquire some of the items, he still had in hit shop as a starting stack to start off with the shop.

After all the payments and transfers where done. I finally was a little shop owner on Next Island. Besides having a small stall quite near the sweatcircle of Next Island, I as well heard some rumours in the bar, that there might be a nice little surprise when Christmas comes around and you are the owner of a shop on Next Island. But I guess I need to have to wait some months till I see if Santa has something in store for us this year. Anyways I am already really excited for it.

The rest of the day I was busy placing all Items on the shop: Carpets, Ores, Weapons, Sweat, Crystals and much more. I basically tried a bunch of different Items to see what would sell.

My first customer

Today I invested a lot of time to figure out what layout my shop should have. After some serious thinking around it I decided that I will provide in my shop mostly stuff for the daily use like Sweat and Lysterium for the daily crafting missions on the one hand and on the other hand a small stack of wool and animal hides for newcomers that look to get the Elysian Colorator and Bleaching Attachment. The rest consist mostly of Crystals and ores and enmatter that can be found on Next Island as a bonus I did import some Malwood Recruit Eagles from Toulan. As a small eyecatcher I placed some mysterious flower around the shop, that I could already craft but can’t use till I still need to get a better armor to be able to hunt those amazons in Ancient Greece. All I can do now is wait and hope that at least some of my goods will be bought.

I finally made my first sale. Early in the morning someone bought the first 1000 Sweat of me, even tough this is just a very small profit of some pecs, it still is my first profit on the shop so somewhat special to me. I realised that over the next days the demand of sweat was quite good at the shop, and I could make my first few peds. I guess there where people going hard on doing the gorgon wave event or they tried they’re luck on the Moloch Depths.

After the first week all I have sold was Sweat and some Boar Tails. I really hope that more will come into the mix of sold items over the next week. I will monitor the transactions of my shop closely and then decide what I want to go for and advertise my shop around. I just hope that I can somehow use the shop to sell part of my Next Island loot I get from my daily missions.

Advertise the shop

After I made my first sales of sweat my other goods mostly still look untouched, so I decided to start an advertisement offensive for the shop. I need to figure out where to place my advertisement best, so most people can see it. I figured out the following locations and advertisements so far:

I will ask Nikolas if I can hang a small letter on his door, since I guess most miners that mine around Next Island or Ancient Greece will visit him regularly for his Praetonium Challenge. I think the advertisement should be for some mining gear and go something like this: “Want to go mine and go deeper than Moloch Depths and get bigger claims than Gorgon is keeping? Get your ROCTEC M1-LF Finder together with your Level 5 Finder Amplifier now to mine deep and get richer. Find your supplies here at Crystal Peak Stall 9. “

I guess I should as well ask May as well if I could have a small advertisement placed on her wagon, to advertise some of the goods I have mined myself together with some sweat. I will advertise there the following: In need of some Vibrant Sweat and Lysterium Ignots for your daily Lesser Elysium challenge or a visit at Gorgon? Find your supplies at Crystal Peak Stall 9.”

Finally, I should put some advertisement in the local bar near Crystal Bay. I just hope the barkeeper has forgotten that I paid my last tab with a poem instead of solid peds. The advertisement should be aimed on some drunk people; therefore, I will advertise something more special than my usual stuff. “Want to feel like a special snowflake tonight? Get your Stel Holographic Unit to have a party light for every party night! Afraid you drank to much and might spill up in the morning? Prepare now and get some Armor Plate Acid, to protect your armor before your Acid breath destroys it. Find all those useful tools together with a nice Borded Mosaic Carpet to sleep in at Crystal Peak Stall 9.”

I guess tomorrow I will place all those advertisements and see what the future brings.

My first regular customer

Today I made my way to place some advertisements, I first got to Tanzanite View had a quick talk with may and she agreed to let me place my advertisement so more people can help her out with her needs for lesser Elysium Crafting. After that I made my way down to Ancient Greece and was hoping to place my next advertisement near Nikolas.

Nikolas wasn’t as easy going as May, he insisted that if I want to put my advertisement on, I first must prove my value as a miner, otherwise he wouldn’t trust that I can provide good mining tools, if I do not even know how to use them. After a bit forth and back I agreed to provide him his daily dose of Praetonium. Since I wanted to get this done fast, I grabbed an amplifier and did try mining directly on Ancient Greece. I had a quick look at my mininglog, and since I didn’t find any useful information, I decided to start my run at Knossos. Surely there must be some good claims near the legendary Gorgon I thought to myself. My first drop was a blank but already the second drop was a nice Margarian Mist Claim. It went on with quite some claims sadly besides Iron and Crude oil I really didn’t find any Preatonium. I decided to try my luck at Delphi when I suddenly got loads of notification from my shop. There was a customer buying all different kinds of items at my shop from regular sweat over some crystals and boar loot to some of my Malwood Eagles. I quickly sent him a message and wrote my appreciation for supporting my shop. He thanked me as well and said he might come back another time. With my shop half empty of the items, I sell most, I abandoned my mining run and decided to go on a longer journey to Callypso to bring some more supplies to my shop.

A humble customer saving the hangover

Last few weeks have been busy I basically only kept my shop alive by getting supplies from Callypso to Next Island or was hunting on Next Island for new supplies. As it turned out my big bulk buyer from two weeks ago turned into a regular customer who really helped to keep me afloat with the shop, hunting and oil spent traveling from Callypso to Next Island.

Tomorrow I think I can finally finish my advertisement that I neglected the last few weeks because I was busy getting new supplies trading and hunting on Next Island. Luckily in those two Weeks I finished my Praetonium task for Nikolas.

Today I woke up with a terrible headache, I knew it wasn’t a good idea to try the Greek wine from Nikolas before going to the bar on Next Island. But since he let me put up my advertisement, I agreed to have a glass of wine. Which turned in to a bottle between the two of us. I just remember that I at some point told him I need to go back and place some more advertisement, I guess I was already quite drunk when I left him because, there are just random scenes I still remember from last night. Something must have happened at the bar, because I just remember getting escorted outside the bar late last evening. My big mistake was that I did not go to sleep right there but instead decided to restock my shop while I finish my Black Mamba.

This clearly was not a good idea besides the headache, I realized that I have sold Sweat for 9 PED. Normally I would price 5k Sweat at 8.5 PED. Having a sale of 9 PED could only mean that I mistakenly placed my 50k Sweat at 8.5 PED instead of 5k Sweat. Luckily the buyer of that Sweat was my regular buyer. I got in touch with him and asked if I might have mispriced some of my Sweat. He laughed and said, he saw some cheap sweat in my shop and thought he rather take it out before someone else takes it. It really made my day that he agreed to hand me back 40k of the sweat he bought. Despite my headache hammering in my head while I write this, I am happy to have such an honest and loyal customer.

[cat1000er]

Lore for April. This lore is written by cat from Harriot’s perspective, Dante will be posting a lore written from Dante’s perspective. The events that are about to happen are a crossover of Dante and Harriot meeting for the first time.

The Tale of Waffles (Harriot’s Perspective)
Entry #120

After Charlottes departure I felt lost once again. Somehow the loss of her presence made it unbearable to be alone again. She had promised to return with good news but something just didn’t sit right in my stomach. For starters promises were always made to be broken, something I was beginning to lose focus on. I had put my faith too much in Charlotte. It was 3 days past the date she was supposed to send word. I had be expecting her not to contact me again but a unsettling feeling of worry was beginning to sink in.

I had to get out of the cave, I needed fresh air and time to think over a whole new perspective. My mind kept thinking about Ancient Greece, those stalls held all sorts of wondrous items, some of which Charlotte had expressed an interest in before she had left. I couldn’t stop myself and found myself staring at the stall she had been ogling before she left. The clay necklace with its enamelled pictation of Poseidon, God of the sea. When I overheard a familiar voice. The Bear-Man! He was standing on a Mable box in the middle of the square. People had stopped to gather around him. My curious nature took over.

“You all have to listen, we face a grave threat that could potentially disrupt your peaceful lives here. Sebastian had stolen ancient Tech from us, something that, in the wrong hands, could bring great chaos to all. I heard rumours that the Lonely Ape told of a diary he kept of their endeavours. Once Sebastian heard about it he went crazy and in a rage of fury he ditched these pages to make sure his plans would never be known. Rumour has it that they are scattered across Ancient Greece and the Island.”

Everyone seemed to pass him by as if his words were nothing but the words of a mad-man. I, on-the-other-hand, leaned in closer. The bear-man seemed to spot my curiosity. He jumped off of the box and made his way towards me.

“I know you right? We met, oh where was it… That’s right, I bought some crystals from you. You believe me don’t you?” My eyes glanced across the crowd that had started to form.

“Don’t talk so loudly, so what if I believe you or not? What difference does it make?” The bear-man seemed to have a wry smile on his face. He passed a tattered note to me as he whispered.

“Meet me here at midnight and I’ll explain all the details.” I gave my most intimidating stare I could muster.

“Don’t hold your breath, I haven’t agreed to anything.”

The Tale of Waffles (Harriot’s Perspective)
Entry #121

Midnight came around, faster than I liked. Time seemed to work differently in Ancient Greece. The building he had chosen was off the beaten path and out of view from all others. The house was empty and void of furniture. My first thought being it was a newly built house but the wear and tear was obvious. The bear-man stood at the far back of the house, the lone table the only furniture in the house.

“Come, we don’t have much time.” I held my breath, sword at the ready just in case I had walked into a trap.

“Nice place you got here.” An edge of sarcasm lingered in my voice

“It’s a friend’s place, he’s redecorating can’t you tell?” The bear-man seemed to laugh as if it was the funniest thing on Next Island. “Sorry, that was a joke. Don’t just stand there.”

On the table lay two maps, one of Next Island and one of Ancient Greece. These looked up-to-date unlike the one Charlotte had brought with her.
“Here are all the potential locations of the missing pages. We already found a good portion of them, this one…” He handed me a tattered blood stained page. “Led us to believe he had been illegally experimenting on the new model of Julianna the Loyalists had been working on. We managed to confiscate the modified bot before any real harm had happened. But if he has knowledge of such technology then who knows what he’ll do next.”
My eyes spotting an all too familiar place.

“You believe he hid a page here?” I pointed at a section that was marked in the sea, it held a lot of deadly sharks and was a no rules free-for-all area. I sometimes went there just to mess with visitors.
“Yes, have you heard of the megalodon? No one as of yet has been brave enough to check if that mad ape hid a piece inside of that beast yet. But it may just be a rumour, in any case we are assembling a team later to check it out, you’re free to tag along if you like. I’m pretty sure that sword ain’t just for show.” At the thought of throwing myself back into battle it was enough to readily agree to this mad plan of his.

“So who’s on this ‘team’ of yours.”
“Just some old mates, and a Stel warrior I believe. Seen a lot of battles. Heard he’d be joining us too.”

The Tales of Waffles (Harriot’s Perspective)
Entry #122

A Stel! Of all people, I was trying to avoid A STEL WARRIOR was on the top of that list. The bear-man seemed so nonchalant about it all as if it were an everyday occurrence. My instincts kicked in and were on high alert.

Before I could make it to the door warriors started to filter in. Both men and women dressed ready for a battle. They filled the small barren house in no time at all. I counted 10 in total with myself as the 11th. Something about that number didn’t sit right. I was about to up and abandon the team when a 12th person came through the door. There was no mistaking that aura, he was the Stel warrior for sure. I held my ground readying myself for a battle. He seemed to eye my outfit.
“Who’s the Resa? She better not make any trouble on this hunt. I have a lot riding on this.” The bear-man seemed to shrug before turning to me.
“A Friend.”

The Stel warrior had come prepared, he handed out weapons to the team, some of which didn’t look like standard issue Stel weapons. He eyed me cautiously.
“Make that yourself?” He pointed to the sword on my back. I gave a curt nod, how did this man know I was Resa, I had changed my clothes before coming to Ancient Greece, even adopted the wear of the Athenic Tunic I had picked up at the stalls.
“Mind if I take a look? Don’t worry I ain’t like you, no honour in stealing a team mates weapon. Just need to know if it’s up to the task.” My hand gripped tightly around the hilt of the sword, I was either going to show him how wrong he was by slicing him in two with it or present it as an exhibition of my crafting skill. His eyes seemed to glint at the blade.
“That made with Portal Guardian metal?” I gave a nod as a response. He sighed for a moment as if something pained him. “Damn, why am I trusting my life with a Resa. Seems though you have no trouble taking care of yourself. I’m Dante.”

“Harriot.” Shoot I should have used a fake name. If he somehow recognises my name I could be in a lot of trouble. I was still on a ‘kill on site’ list, to those that still remembered about my mentor I was a traitor to the Stel.

To my luck our interaction was brief as he turned to command the team to the den of the Great White Sharks.

The Tales of Waffles (Harriot’s Perspective)
Entry #123

We made our way over to the lawless zone where people were free to kill anyone that got in their way without reprimand. It was a zone unto itself and was not a safe place for low level people to be. Dante had instructed the team to hunt as many sharks as possible to tempt the creature known as the ‘Megalodon’ out of hiding. My Blade seemed to sing to me as we entered the shark infested waters. It didn’t take long before the Megalodon found us. It was fast and was upon us before we had a chance to react. The team quickly seemed to know what to do before being commanded to do so. I had always hunted alone. Group hunts were a liability, too many people to watch out for. But here I was, hunting beside people that looked like seasoned team hunters and had done this a thousand times.

“Stay strong. Stick together, surround it and focus your firepower on the Megalodon. Ignore the other sharks in the area. Harriot, get up front where I can see you. We have a healer on standby so just fight with all you’ve got”

We had spent hours of killing sharks before the megalodon had showed up and my arm was feeling the strain of that battle. The water seemed denser around the Megalodon as if trying to cut through thick treacle. The other hunters looked powerful compared to my weaken state, no way would I back down or admit I was tired at least not in front of the Stel Warrior. I tried to block out the pain and swung with all my might at the Megalodon. It brought back the bad memories of the time I had spent hacking the Island Sharks, I still had a pile of cured shark meat to go back to that night. The Megalodon was putting up a good fight, something I had been missing for awhile, it was 3 times as big as any shark I had seen so far and 10 times more vicious. The healer had been working tirelessly to keep us all alive.

The ocean fell silent for a moment. A Golden swirl like I’d never seen before engulfed the team. Dante seemed pleased.
“Let’s not celebrate too early, we still need to check if what we came for is here.” The bear-man swam up to the shark, cutting its stomach open with a knife. He stuck his hand into the shark’s stomach and pulled out what looked like a plastic sheet. And sure enough he held a laminated diary page from Sebastian’s diary. We got a brief moment to breathe before the sharks began to surround us. Dante looked over the team as he tucked the page neatly into his armour suit.
“I hope you’re all ready for another round of sharks. We need to fight our way back to land. If you see one person struggling, help them out. That goes for you too Resa! If we get separated, meet back at the house.”

We spent the good part of an afternoon striking down shark after shark till we made it back to the shore. Everyone seemed exhausted but hyped as if they were ready for round 2.

Dante let out a sigh as he looked over the team.
“I don’t know about the rest of you but I need a drink after that. Carolines?”

The Tales of Waffles (Harriot’s Perspective)
Entry #124

I had never been to Caroline’s bar before, it was a place I thought off-limits to me due to always hiding from everyone. And now I was in the middle of a bar with all factions in one place. Something about it put my senses on high alert.
“A round for my team, after today’s profitable hunt I can spare that much.” Dante brought over a tray of drinks. After my experience in the cave I was wary to drink anything.
“It’s not poison, you can drink it.” The stares of the others in the team were making me self conscious. I had to draw attention away from me and took a sip. When I did the team seemed to relax and carried on chatting about the hunt.

Before too long Dante took out the page. He seemed to inspect it for a moment while everyone watched eagerly.
“Let’s see what all the fuss was about shall we.
-Day 50, Experiment 12.
Today I will learn to reprogram the robots of Next Island. I tried to approach Julianna but she shooed me away when I got close. I did however manage to find a Julianna that hadn’t been finished yet. On my time at the ancient ruins I had come to see as my home, I had found what I could only describe as a glowing ball. It was small in size, not much bigger than my palm. Maybe I could use this to reprogram Julianna to get rid of the pesky boar piglets.”

A soft uproar of laughter filled the bar.

“Well that was not what I expected at all” Dante seemed to stare at the page for a moment before handing it to the bear-man.

Dante seemed to order more drinks than one person alone could drink. Bottles of all kinds of imported liquors, most of which I have never heard of along with a case of Next Island beer. I had barely touched my first drink when a message came through. Charlotte had finally replied!

-You better not have trashed the cave while I was gone. I’m coming home!
-Charlotte

I snuck out the bar as quietly as I could, my curiosity had been filled. What happened with the other pages would have to be a quest for someone else. I had no idea what news Charlotte would bring or when she would arrive but I knew for a fact the cave was a mess when I had left that morning. She had been gone for what felt like several months. I had wondered if she would never come back and go back to her life on Calypso as if nothing ever happened. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she did, after all, the world of Next Island was a harsh place that wasn’t forgiving to newcomers. Of course I would never admit to her that I had missed her.

[Purplebong]

A Next Island Love Story by Pope L’Brung - A new arrival searching for the Haruspex girl that ran off with his heart. Told in first-person narrative by a recent arrival to Next Island.

Chapter 1

Toulan. It was the final day of the Festival. We decided to meet at a cafe called The Enchanted Forest. She said she liked the name because it reminded her of home. We sipped some tea and discussed our mutual love for animals, botany, and songs with a good hand clap.

“Write me something pretty,” she asked.

I grabbed a cocktail napkin and scribbled how I felt.

The air itself is jealous of my adoration for you, That is why I become breathless.

She read the note, giggled, and pulled me closer to her. “I’m going to miss you.” We held each other and kissed.

I didn’t want to think about her leaving.

As we drank more tea, we laughed and shared odd, morbid confessions. Like how she’d received the recent burn on her hand. I admitted to her that I was 27 years old before I realised what the yolk was in a Berycled egg. She teased me about it and we both started laughing.

According to a flirtatious bet we’d made the night before, she would owe me 10 ped (and a dance) if her favourite song, “Woodland Chance” played during lunch. When she wasn’t looking, I attempted to bribe the bartender 20 ped to play the tune on the jukebox but quicky abandoned the mission when he made a nasty comment about the two of us sitting together.

“Is everything OK?” she asked from our quaint booth by the door. I just nodded and brought over our fresh pot of tea.

I was booked for an afternoon warp flight back to Calypso. She wouldn’t tell me how she intended to get home to Next Island.

As lunch ended, she handed me a book of Haruspex poetry. “Read this over the winter,” she whispered and lightly kissed me on the cheek. I looked down at the worn paperback and saw the edge of a 10 ped note sticking out. That’s when the song came on.

Chapter 2 (3 Days Earlier)

I had waited for months to attend the Kindness Festival on Toulan. It would be 3 days of art, music, and culture shared with a diverse collection of peace-loving beings from across the Entropia Universe. A musical celebration of kindness and compassion toward all.

I am Pope L’Brung. A miner from Calypso. Raised by my colonist parents on a small ‘hippie’ commune farm near Shinook Jungle. They were thrifty but not poor. They taught me to conserve rather than waste. None of our community were rich but we all shared our bounty with each other freely and gratefully. I was shown how to harvest from the land. I studied terrain and I studied soil. I had a talent for finding resources. Times have been good to us.

I was now aboard a mothership headed from Calypso to Toulan. My family had suprised me on my birthday with a ticket to the Kindness Festival. They knew how much I loved music and that I never would have purchased such a thing for myself. I was grateful and humbled. And excited.

I checked my Mesage Center to review the Festival schedule. I would arrive on Toulan at 18:05 and the first music act of the night was scheduled for 18:30 - a reggae band from Monria called Secret Cave. I’ve heard some of their stuff before and it was pretty good. I definitely wanted to see them perform live.

18:05. I thanked the Captain and the crew for the free warp and hitched a ride down to Toulan. I checked in at the Information desk and then made my way to Guardian Village. People were already starting to gather and mingle. There was a great vibe in the air.

I spotted a vendor that sold tea and approached. Wow. That was the first time I saw her. She was stunning. Her eyes were like…portals. She worked at the small booth that sold organic teas. She smiled and asked what I wanted.

“Tea, please.” I answered.

“Let me guess,” she said spryly. “Haimoros, right?”

Of course she was right.

Chapter 3

She introduced herself as Jihkanna and said she was from Next Island. I could tell she was Haruspex by the way she looked and spoke.

We chatted about the Festival and she asked about my interests. We had identical taste in music and I suppose that’s when I knew I was hooked. She was absolutely mesmerising.

Luckily for me, her shift at the tea booth was just ending. I desperately wanted to spend more time with her but I was too nervous to ask.

Faint heart never won fair lady.

I took a deep breath and asked her if she’d like to join me to watch a few of the music acts. “I’d love to,” she smiled. She held my hand as I sipped my tea and tried to keep my cool.

I suppose the next few hours were a blur. We listened to music and danced and laughed. Periodically, we snuck away from the crowds to talk. She told me about her home, Next Island. She spoke with such pride about it. We flirted and giggled and she made me promise to never call her a “sprite.” She told me it was a derogatory term and it wasn’t really considered cute or complimentary. I made a mental note.

I told her that I was a miner from Calypso. I tried to impress her with my tales of bravery about stealth mining in toxic zones and avoiding detection. Jihkanna just smiled beautifully and touched my cheek. I could not stop staring into her eyes.

Toward the end of the night we found ourselves sitting on a blanket listening to a mellow, psychedelic band from Arkadia Moon. She pointed to the sky and showed me how to identify the constellations. She told me about Ancient Greece culture and her family’s roots. It was an amazing experience just to be with with her and I already didn’t want it to end.

Chapter 4

Jihkanna and I met up at the Festival grounds the next morning. She wanted me to see an art exhibit that was scheduled for viewing. “Good morning,” she greeted me with a small kiss and a big smile.

“I saw you in my dreams last night,” I shyly confessed.

“I know,” she replied with a clever wink.

She took my hand and led me to a group of small tents that housed various art exhibits. One of the tents featured an artist from Rocktropia that recreated famous album covers on face masks. I then followed her into a tent of Haruspex art. She stood between two easles that held framed mosaics. It was the most intriguing art I had ever seen. One depicted a boar piglet outside of a fence line. A mosaic made of tiny crystals - thousands of them, various colours, all delicately cut and intricately positioned. It was titled ‘Freedom’. The other mosaic was a monkey sitting crossed-legged in a stone temple. It was called ‘Sebastian’.

Jihkanna stood beaming and proud. “What do you think?”

I noticed in the bottom right corner of each mosaic was a small ‘J’ for the signature. This was her art. She wasn’t just beautiful and clever…she was brilliant.

I hugged her tightly and told her that I thought her work was amazing. I continued to look at each of the pieces, drawn in by their detail and lustrous compositon. I asked her a million questions about them such as, “How long did it take?” and “What type of material did you use?” She answered each inquiry proudly and even let me run my finger along the mosaics, feeling the smooth finish of the colourful crystals.

I was fascinated by her. Everything she said and everything she did was enchanting. This was more than a school-boy crush. I was falling for Jihkanna.

Chapter 5

Can you fall in love in 3 days? Of course you can.

The Kindness Festival was wrapping up. The stages, stands, and booths were being dismantled as various vendors were loading their gear into special storage containers designed for space flight. The crowd had thinned out. The last of the Festival goers were hugging and saying goodbyes to each other as they all prepared to return to thier respective home planets.

Planet Toulan had been a perfect host and now it was time for me to return back to Calypso.

I was dreading this moment. Time to say goodbye and part ways with the most beautiful girl in the universe.

Jihkanna and I finished our dance in the cafe. I tucked the book of Haruspex poetry into my backpack and walked outside with her. We held hands as we walked through Guardian Village to the organic tea booth where I had first met her 3 days ago. I helped her and her friends pack up the booth and supplies.

“How are you getting home?” I asked, hoping to sound curious rather than creepy. She just made a silly face and told me not to worry about it. She was coy and much cooler than me.

I received my summons from the mothership. It was time for me to go.

I took a deep breath and hugged her goodbye. I told her that I thought she was the most amazing person that I had ever met. I thanked her for hanging out with me and sharing her art with me. I didn’t know what else to say.

She looked into my eyes, kissed me, and whispered goodbye.

The Captain welcomed everyone aboard and called out the warp route to the passengers.

“Next stop is Rocktropia. We will be then be stopping at Calypso, Cyrene, Arkadia, and Next Island.”

To be honest, it was an easy choice. I knew what I had to do.

[Dante_Inferno]

Lore for April. This lore is written from Dante’s perspective about cat´s lore… The first crossover between us…

The Tale of Waffles (Dante’s Perspective)…

Part 1
Several weeks have passed since the last events in NI… For now we continue with business, my friends have gone back to their chores and Katalina said she wanted to visit her parents, who were now in Monria… My in-laws… one day I will talk about the Katharine’s origins…
So when my business allowed I went for a walk around Ancient Greece… I thought I’d check out Thebes Market, see if I could find something nice to give her… Not a new armor, not a UL Pistol… something I always know about. give your partner…
I stopped near a clothing stall, in front of another that had handicrafts… I saw a Resa girl looking at what the vendor had and… I don’t know, I think I’ve seen her before… well, here it’s easy to always see the same people…
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a man disguised with a kind of bear’s head began to declaim something…
“You all have to listen, we face a serious threat that could potentially disrupt your peaceful lives here. Sebastian had stolen ancient Tech from us, something that, in the wrong hands, could bring great chaos to everything. I heard rumors that the Lonely Ape told of a diary he kept of their endeavours. Once Sebastian heard about it he went crazy and in a rage of fury he ditched these pages to make sure his plans would never be known. Rumor has it that they are scattered across ancient Greece and the island.”
Wow…something about that Monkey Sebastian…Definitely, the genetic engineering of the Entropia quadrant has created curious beings…I have talked to him a few times while trading Elyssia Chips with him…But he said something about a destroyed diary, scattered pages, ancient technology.
He’s done… I felt it… A business opportunity with old technology… It’s time to keep hearing what he has to say…
In that time interval, the Man-Bear had disappeared… Wait! He is in front, and he is talking in a low voice with the Resa girl… I must sneak up on them to see what they are up to… I need to know more…
As I got closer I could only hear a few words:
“Meet me here at midnight and I’ll explain all the details.”
At that moment they separated and each one of them went in a different direction…
Well… if I’m going to get into this business of diary pages, I hope it won’t be as ruinous as the Toulan Pages… But the first thing is to come back at midnight and spy on these two, see what they’re up to…

Part 2
I spent the rest of the day in Ancient Greece… the market, the forum, the palaces… a great sightseeing until night fell… The hours passed slowly until midnight approached…
I stayed hidden around Thebes… There was nobody there, everything was quiet… Anyway, I put on some spectacles that I had recently gotten from a store… Their thermal vision would help me see who I was waiting for.
Yes!!.. Shortly before midnight, a thermal trace appeared near there… It came from the direction of the blacksmith’s house… I went there quickly and saw him…
Despite being muffled in a cloak, his bear head was unmistakable… well, it was my time, so I walked over.
The Man-Bear stopped abruptly, and looked in my direction.
-Who are you? Because you follow me? -He said.
-It doesn’t matter who I am… and you? What is this about the missing pages?
I stood in the shadows while he spoke… The Man-Bear looked in my direction…
-Okay, but at least let me see you…
It seemed right, so I stepped out of the shadows… His eyes looked up at me, widening in amazement.
-You!!! Are you!!!
I was surprised… That guy knew me???
-You’re Dante… the one who defeated the Gorgon along with his wife… and the one who helped in the NI animal crisis… - His look of admiration on him was very eloquent.
-Err… Yes… But how do you know me? -My surprise was genuine.
-In these times we need heroes… and you are one of them… -The night was cold, and the steam from his lips swirled on his bear head. – You are a living legend in Greece, Dante.
I felt overwhelmed… and I who thought I was someone anonymous, now it turns out that I have legions of admirers… But now it was time to get information… I asked the Man-Bear again… he was silent for a moment, and then he began to explain …
-Dante, you are one of the few who have heard my warning… It is necessary to obtain that diary, and above all to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands… After this morning, a few people have been interested in my story, among them some old colleagues , and they are willing to follow me in the search of the pages…
-Do you know where to look? – It was a logical question.
-I have some references, including some other dangerous animal - He said with an enigmatic smile.
-What animal?
-The king of white sharks… The Megalodon.
-How many are you? -I asked for
-About 10… They are good fighters, although their weapons are basic… understand… they are people without opportunities, and suddenly they can be heroes for the sake of NI…
-And with that unarmed troop you want to recover those secrets? – I felt sorry for the Bear Man and those who were going to accompany him… I made a decision.
-Listen… I’ll help you… I’ll provide good weapons and ammunition to your people, but I’ll take the lead… I’m gambling a small fortune on this expedition… - I don’t know what happened to me, suddenly I wanted those pages for myself.
The Bear Man looked at me for a long time, in silence… finally, he spoke…
-Okay, Dante… I’ll go see the last person I’m going to enlist, and then we’ll go to the rendezvous point… These are the coordinates and the time… Take the weapons there, and we’ll get going…

Without saying goodbye, I watched him walk away on the road to Thebes Market… For my part, I felt that I had embarked on a somewhat strange adventure, but perhaps profitable…

Part 3
The schedule placed me in a nearby coordinates in about half an hour… I sat on the steps near the port and waited…
Curiously, I saw a few people go by in the same direction… I imagined that they were the ones who were on the team… their will was not lacking, the armor was not bad, but… weapons were definitely not their forte if they wanted to face the Megalodon.
It was time… I got up and started walking in the direction of the coordinates… It was a fairly spacious house, but from the outside it looked like it had seen better days… It was in need of a good deal of repairs…
Indeed, I saw enter some of those who I saw pass before … I approached and entered the door.
A motley crowd of people, weapons and armor were there… in a corner was the Man-Bear chatting with a girl… The girl who was in the market… A Resa, what are you going to do…
Resa looked at me surprised, and suddenly I noticed that silence had fallen around me… I noticed 11 pairs of eyes looking at my armor, my weapons, everything…
But definitely, Resa was the one who captured my attention… Treacherous beings, I’ve only met one who was worthwhile and with whom I maintain friendship, Simon, and even so sometimes I wonder if one day he won’t take revenge for the enormous scar that I did on our first meeting…
-Who’s the Resa? She better not make any trouble on this hunt. I have a lot riding on this.
The Man-Bear turned and said:
-She Is a friend…
Suddenly I noticed the hilt of the sword that he carried on his back with a baldric… it was well made, but the metal was familiar to me…
-Make that yourself? - I asked for.
He didn’t say anything… he was staring at me, cautiously.
-Mind if I take a look? Don’t worry I ain’t like you, no honor in stealing a team mates weapon. You just need to know if it’s up to the task.
She hesitated for a moment, but she handed me the sword with some reluctance… I picked it up and saw that she was very well balanced… Pray or not, she is definitely a good crafter… But the metal…
-That made with Portal Guardian metal?- I asked…
She nodded silently… Durasteel… the images of the Pyramid, Desmond and everything that happened months before came back to my mind… and this Resa wearing the same metal that she cost us so much…
-Damn, why am I trusting my life with a Resa. Seems though you have no trouble taking care of yourself. I’m Dante. – I finally said.
-Harriot.
Well, I hope that’s her real name… I looked around, saw the pathetic weapons the team was carrying, and knew it was time to make the delivery. A good assortment of Ozpyn and Chikara weaponry materialized in the room… The team moved closer, each picking up one or more weapons, along with Cell and BLP clips…
When I saw that everyone was well armed and ammunition, I thought it convenient to give them a talk about what they were going to find.
-Let’s see, team… where we’re going is the PVP zone, even if it’s not lootable… But sometimes there are guys who are going to bother, and shoot at the hunters or miners, demanding a payment to stop getting in the way… So be alert to that… - I saw nods from some of them, while others patted their weapons with grim smiles.
-Healers… I see two… you are excused from shooting, but I need you 100% preventing us from dying… yes, I know, we resurrect, but in that interval the others must make an extra effort, and in the end they may all fall, so don’t miss out
The two healers checked their healing chips and returned some of the ammunition to their companions, since they weren’t going to need it… They kept the weapons just in case.
-And now, the animals… According to our friend the Man-Bear, the Megalodon is hiding something, or watching something… But it doesn’t come out of its lair until a good amount of other great white sharks have died, so… kill many to make him come out, and at that moment make a circle around him and fry him…
Several satisfied laughs were heard; They were impatient to get into action.
-One last thing: when we are with the Megalodon, leave aside the other sharks, they will only be a distraction that will take us away from the central objective… Our healer friends will be ready…
I looked at the Man-Bear… Our eyes met for a moment, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod. I addressed the group.
-Okay guys… Time to go to the Great White Shark’s lair.

Part 4
The next morning we arrived at the TP near the beaches where the PVP zone began… There were some settlers there, with long-range weapons and baleful eyes, they would undoubtedly wait for someone to go hunting to annoy him and demand payment for leaving him alone…
As soon as I appeared they looked at me, sizing me up… But their smiles disappeared when my companions appeared, with the weapons I had given them… They began to dissimulate and some left the place… We were not easy prey, no…
-Stay strong. Stick together, surround it and focus your firepower on the Megalodon. Ignore the other sharks in the area. Harriot, get up front where I can see you. We have a healers on standby so just fight with all you’ve got.
A short harangue to lift your spirits…
We adjusted the water/air filters in our helmets and started swimming… We couldn’t go by ship or TP since we had to kill some sharks to force the appearance of the Megalodon…
Soon we were surrounded by White Sharks, and we started shooting at will… Those critters had good loot, and some even had their “Global loot” indicators flashing.
And without warning, perhaps too soon, the Megalodon appeared… No doubt someone had passed by before and killed White Sharks, since it seemed to be lying in wait… Immediately, we concentrated our fire on it, ignoring the other animals, while the two of us healers were swimming around us doing their job.
Harriot had some difficulties with his sword… It is not a good weapon to fight against the resistance of the water, but still he hit the Megalodon again and again with great accuracy… It is good, yes…
Our onslaught began to bear fruit… the Megalodon was weakening by the minute, and suddenly, it lay still on its belly… It was dead…
We approach, we touch him and…
The huge whirlpool of “Rare loot” engulfed us all… apart from a good loot, it seemed to have something else… everyone on the team cheered and shouted for joy…
-Let’s not celebrate too early, we still need to check if what we came for is here. –I said… I didn’t want to give false hope…
The Man-Bear approached with a S.I. Knife, and with an expert cut opened the belly of the Megalodon… among the open viscera and remains of previous meals, something out of place appeared: a large sheet of paper, completely laminated and covered with a tight writing…
There was one of the famous diary pages…
Suddenly, more White Sharks appeared and began to surround us… There was no time to lose, I put the page in my armor and went to the team:
-I hope you’re all ready for another round of sharks. We need to fight our way back to land. If you see one person struggling, help them out. That goes for you too Resa! If we get separated, meet back at the house.
The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming to shore while we killed more White Sharks… We even got some new “Global Loot”…
We finally set foot on solid ground… Tired, injured, but with a smile on our face for a job well done… Suddenly I felt very thirsty:
-I don’t know about the rest of you but I need a drink after that. Carolines?”

Part 5
We were finally back… Caroline’s is the perfect place for post-work drinks, especially one like ours.
I mentally saw the result of the expedition: The weapons and ammunition spent was a good amount of Peds, but the hunting of the White Sharks at the beginning of the hunt and when returning to the beach had left us a good booty… My part was substantial and it more than covered the expenses… very much.
So I decided to be generous… I could let them keep the weapons, whatever state they were in, and pay for a few good rounds of drinks along the way… We’d see the topic of the page later…
-A round for my team, after today’s profitable hunt I can spare that much.
Even Harriot dared to have a drink or two, under the watchful eyes of everyone. The conversations about the hunt created a good camaraderie between all of us…
Finally, The Man-Bear looked at me… it was time… I took the laminated page and got ready to read the content… everyone looked at me expectantly…

-Day 50, Experiment 12.
“Today I will learn to reprogram the robots of Next Island. I tried to approach Julianna but she shooed me away when I got close. I did however manage to find a Julianna that hadn’t been finished yet. On my time at the ancient ruins I had come to see as my home, I had found what I could only describe as a glowing ball.
It was small in size, not much bigger than my palm.
Maybe I could use this to reprogram Julianna to get rid of the pesky boar piglets.”

What? What’s this? The diary of a crazy monkey obsessed with boar pidgets? Yes, okay, it talks about a sphere and the robots of the Julianna series, but… that’s it, nothing of a danger for the entire planet…
I looked around me… some laughter sounded among my companions, who looked at me with some sarcasm… From my point of view, this was a failure.
-Well, that was not what I expected at all… -I said as I handed the page back to Man-Bear, who was looking at it with regret…
Well, at least, let’s drink and forget this mess… For the next hour, the trays of drinks kept arriving… At one point, Harriot looked at his communicator, and went out one of the doors of the place… Anyway, no It has been so terrible working with a Resa…
The Man-Bear approached me…
Dante, you see…
-Shut up, shut up… and this is what is going to cause the worst in Next Island? - I was getting angry…
-Listen, Dante – he said calmly – It’s just one of the pages, in the others there may be information that…
-Forget it - I cut him off - I’m out of this mess you’ve made.
He looked at me sadly, as if he felt he should deal alone with whatever he was looking for… After a moment of silence, he spoke…
-Okay… In any case, thanks for the help, and the boys will also appreciate it, since they have new weapons, and they have hunted together with a hero… Anyway, could you do something for me? – He asked me expectantly…
-Okay… tell me…
-Well… if in your travels and adventures you hear something more about the pages of the diary, at least let me know and tell me where, so I can continue the search…
I liked this guy… at least he is tenacious with his convictions, even if I thought he was wrong…
-Okay… I’ll let you know if I see anything that makes me think that the end of Next Island is near because of a few pages of a crazy monkey… -Deep down, I was cruel…
-Thank you, Dante… and, um… perhaps the rumors of the last few days indicate that the end is near…
-Rumours? what rumours? -I said interested.
-Haven’t you heard what happened in the northern cities of Ancient Greece?
-No…
-There are people who have gotten sick, and have died…
-Dead, yes of course, until the next Revive. -I said in a mocking tone…
-No Dante, you’re wrong… The revives couldn’t do anything… They died completely… -He said with a fearful tone…
I couldn’t believe it… the revive technology failing? What the hell was going on?
-It can’t be…- I said incredulously.
-Yes Dante, believe it… some talk about a Pandemic that could spread… Others say it’s the fault of the Gods… and I know that this diary has the answers… Be careful, Dante…

Epilogue…
He leaned out onto the stone balcony… looked down and saw the new souls arriving… well, there was work again… Since in Ancient Greece no one died, only five guys had arrived a few weeks ago…
He looked into the distance to the confines of his kingdom… A dark, silent kingdom, but at least it had always had subjects, until those travelers from other kingdoms appeared, who were able to emulate Zeus himself and resurrect the dead…
He wondered if Zeus did not consider it blasphemous to raise the dead… The behavior of the travelers in that matter was heretical: The living had their world, and the dead theirs, and no one except the Father of the Gods should have prerogatives to change that… And his other brother, would think the same as him…
Because of them, now his work was non-existent… A king who gets bored can be dangerous, because he needs new challenges…
He reflected… The distribution of the world had not been as fair to him as it was to his brothers, but he could not complain… He had servants, pets, a beautiful queen by his side and, before, lots of subjects… now they no longer came… He flow had decreased, until now, a few days ago… Something had changed, although he still didn’t know what…
He caressed the three heads next to him, who were staring at his master… Then, the three heads ran away… in one body… Cerberus…
Meanwhile, he looked beyond, in the distance, to the Stygian lagoon, where Charon was going back to look for more souls…. His dark boat moved away in a silence broken only by the thump of the oar in the Waters of Oblivion.
He smiled… He turned around and went down a few steps towards his palace… Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, had work again…

[isme]

Isme Isme Gotitt, lore submission

Isme’s Journal, entry #1

Here is a copy of my first article with the times!

                                        The Next Island Times

Hello to all you readers who have an eye for fashion! Have I got a scoop for you! The first peeks of the brand new, hot off the Next Island runway fashion is here!

Can you guess what it is?

Let me set the stage for you dear reader. You have spent a long day out in the wilderness. You have gathered shrapnel and eye oil. You may have even dug in the dirt for minerals or trudged up and down hill sides looking for D…. well, lets just say crafting material… The Sun was hot and there was not a cloud in the sky. You and your armor are dusty, dirty and tired. You may have even sweated yourself in to a lather of sweat- sweating wild beasts!
But now, now you are finally done for the day.

You can peel off your armor and relax. What do you think you will do next? I know!

You go down to the beach and refresh yourself in the beautiful water of Next Island, and what will you wear?
You will put on your new, well fitting, curve hugging NEXT ISLAND BIKINI, or MANKINI! You will be in the newest most desirable swim wear on the market. You can show off those trim, well defined muscles earned in all those missions and from hauling back the abundant rewards. The new swim wear will be the perfect attire for showing off the smooth curves of muscle or even showing off some of your most interesting battle scars.

You can strut yourself on the warm relaxing beaches of Next Island.

This wonderful collection is offered in this year’s hottest color! It is sure to please the discerning consumer!

Look for it soon in a retailer of fine swim wear products near you!

Isme Gotitt
Fashion correspondent
The Next Island Times

[isme]

Isme Isme Gotitt, lore submission

Isme’s Journal entry #2

What a day!!! The days events I feel inspired to write a poem.

                                   **That Night in Ancient Greece**

                                                    A poem

In Ancient Greece one night
while looking for gods to fight
I wandered far from the friendly cave
where all my gear I should have saved

Over pastoral hills of green
came a god both huge and mean
The biggest one I have met
he wanted to kill me too I bet

What was I to do I cried
when with malice he on me spied
I tried to look very brave
and not think of ways back to the cave

Oh that cave where my gear should have been saved
The cave where I SHOULD have stayed

I stood up straight, I stood up tall
I should not have fought him at all
but since I had come looking for a fight
I thought that it was only right

How was I to know
the way the story was to go
I had trained I had grind-ed
all the time I shouldn’t have minded

I shouldn’t have minded that fight a bit
I SHOULDN’T have wanted to up and quit

But that strangely massive god
at once so unusual and odd
was so menacing that
in my armor I had shat!
How undignified it felt
That blow to myself I dealt

the fight had just begun
and already I thought he’d won
To think the fight that I had wanted so
that it might be ended with out a blow

I tried to raise my gun so strong
how could it all feel so wrong
I needed materials for my crafting
but everyone would just be laughing

The only way to save my face
The only way to avoid disgrace
the only hope was to win
that was the only way to avoid chagrin

I needed time, I had to think
it was so hard with the unholy stink
The giant god grew close
I was feeling so morose

My aim went wide
I tried to stepping to the side
He raised his fist and caught a whiff
a deadly blow paused on a sniff

his face turned green to match the hill
I saw him then to become ill
To win by such a mischanced deed
I might still indeed succeed!

I raised my gun while he tottered
he wobbled like a candle guttered
in my astonishment at his state
my aim returned to its normal straight

My shot went home, both straight and true
his body to the ground, it flew
I went to search it with delight
I would have success that night

When I went to search for loot
I felt as if I ‘d been punched in the snoot
All the trouble, all the toil, all the armor I had soiled
all for shrapnel, and animal muscle oil.

[isme]

ISME’s JOURNEY lore submission #3

Isme’s Journal entry #3

Look at this, been here on Next Island for over a month now. But its only my 3rd entry. I really have to be better about writing in here. Anyway…

-So. I was so excited to come to Next Island. Getting to work at the Next Island Times was such a huge opportunity! Too bad no one liked my swim wear article. Then after my poem, “That Night in Ancient Greece “, got out,-thanks for nothing Cherry, well, things were not so good at the Times for me anymore. You would think that they would have focused on my successful kill, rather then my soiled armor, but no, the sign on the bulletin board “crappy loots for crappy suits” had everyone laughing their butts off. I hope they crap themselves.

So here I am… friendless, faction-less, and utterly alone. I want to just go out and hunt. I guess I will take my remaining ped, fix my gear and hope for the best. I hope I have enough left…….

-Alright, I had just enough left to repair my gear with 1 whole ped left over. Maybe I can convince a faction to take me in. If I can prove I am worthy to someone. Stupid poem. Maybe someday people will just think its funny and not think I am a coward. Oh well. Time to suck it up and find the Isme positivity I used to be known for. I want to prove it to the world. I NEED to prove it to myself.

Putting on my happy but determined face, and out to hunt I will go. I need to prove to myself and the world that I CAN DO IT. I decided on a plan to begin again on Next Island. Start small and work my way back to Ancient Greece.

Who knows, maybe on my hunt I will find something useful to someone, make a big discovery, find something rare and expensive! That is right, keeping thinking positive Isme. You CAN DO IT!!!

I hope….

[Dalinha]

I don’t know if all this still applies, but as it is my first time participating, here’s the character information:

Character Name: Dalia Vivian

Character Description: Raised to be a Loyalist, Dalia is trying to conciliate her beliefs with her will to explore and learn more.

Images:
thumbnail
banner

Language: English is not my language, so please forgive me if you find something that is not correct or if a part sounds a little weird. I hope it’s not too bad.

And here are the 5 Lore Submissions:

Entry #01

“Today is going to be a wonderful day!”, I thought to myself looking up at the bright blue sky.

The day started fantastic, as always! I woke up early to see the sunrise and when I left the house everyone still seemed to be sleeping. Everyone except Igor: I’m sure that when I woke up, I heard his pet papoo running happily towards the bridge. Either this man takes his job as an Information Officer very seriously or he really enjoys watching the sunrise over the river!

I was watching the fishes, in one of my favorite places: between the crystal beach and the televator to paradise landing. In the distance, I could hear the waves on the beach and the noise of the papoos playing in the bamboo forest. It’s unbelievable how everyone seems to pass by here so many times a day and they don’t stop to appreciate the beauty of this little spot!

“With a day as beautiful as today, nothing could go wrong!”, I repeated to myself. “In fact, here every day is good”, I thought, “every day is… well… the same.”, I sighed. "Wait! What am I thinking? Surely I shouldn’t think about things like that! Everyone is working towards the same goal. … The only problem is that everyone seems to think the same way and … would it really be a bad thing to think differently? Would it be wrong to try to explore other possibilities? … If only I could see somewhere a sign that would help me decide…”

“Just a sign…” I whispered.

“Kaboom”, a scary noise was heard!

At that time I had no idea how different today would become!

It’s late at night, only now I managed to stop and write. I know I’ve been avoiding writing for a long time. But today I finally realized that today was the day to start!

After all, today was a wonderful day!

Entry #02

The sun is already rising! It feels like I fell asleep again on top of the roof at crystal peak…

From here I can still see Igor and his pet papoo at his post between the bridges. Right, yesterday they were there too when it all happened:

It was still very early when I heard the sound of a huge explosion! Smoke rose to the sky, and it seemed to come from exactly where I am now.

Without thinking, I quickly ran towards crystal peak. As I passed the crystal beach houses, sleepy voices in the windows asked what was going on.

“Wait, Dalia! It could be dangerous!”, a familiar voice warned. It was Joe, one of my instructors. They always told me that I’m a little impulsive. “Am I being recklessly as usual?”, I thought, as I now ran after my instructor, struggling to keep up with his speed.

At the top of the stairs was Igor, running towards us.

– What happened? – asked Joe.

– I’m not sure! But the whole earth shook and stones fell from the mountain!

We crossed the bridges, and on the other side we saw smoke coming out of a big hole in the hill. Huge rocks were now blocking the road. We peeked at the entrance to the newly formed cave and who was inside was Mr. and Mrs. Boole.

– I warned you! We cannot invent what does not exist! – protested Mrs. Boole.

– If it already existed, it wouldn’t need to be created! And everything that exists must first be discovered. – replied an angry Mr. Boole.

And the conversation went on like that for a long time: what exists and what doesn’t exist, inventions versus discoveries, the knowledge, the science, experiments, protocols and a lot of other things that I didn’t understand and wouldn’t even know how to pronounce. They were still arguing and Joe was trying unsuccessfully to get them to explain what really happened.

It was at that moment that I finally started to look around me: “Crystals!” There were big crystals inside those walls!

Entry #03

Today I decided to sit inside this cave under crystal peak to write my final resolution: I will leave this place to explore and live my own adventures!

I will never get tired of looking at the crystals in this cave, not only because they are beautiful, but mainly because seeing them is what helped me to finally make this decision.

Mr. and Mrs. Boole are no longer around. It looks like Dr. Shepherd gave them a severe lecture regarding their unauthorized experiments. I think he’ll keep them at Shepherd’s Beach under his supervision for quite a while.

But by the end, the accident wasn’t that serious: no one was hurt and the biggest problem was that the road between crystal beach and crystal peak became blocked by large stones that we are unable to remove. So everyone came together to create a new access through the cave. It took us 2 days to clean the entire space and build the new stairs, but it was worth the effort. This place is wonderful.

Also, seeing everyone working together on a construction was so nice. And for the first time I feel like I really got to participate. When we arrived at this place there were several constructions, but they didn’t let me do much, after all I was just a child. I’m not anymore!

The crystals on these walls have already been cleaned and are now completely exposed. No one has yet been able to explain how they appeared. Did the explosion create them? Or did it just exposed what was already here waiting to be discovered? It is common knowledge that it is possible to collect crystals from the creatures on this planet. But I had never seen this kind of crystals before and neither this big. The research data from Mr. and Mrs. Boole were considered confidential, so even if someone knows the answer, they won’t tell us.

There are so many things to learn! Today is the day! I’m determined to get out of here and tell everyone that I’m going on my own adventures to explore this land!

Entry #04

How did I end up in this situation? While I need to sit here, waiting for my legs to heal, maybe I should reevaluate my decision…

This morning I left the cave at crystal peak determined to tell everyone I was leaving. But as soon as I reached the bridge, I found Igor in a panic, saying that his papoo pet had been kidnapped. To calm him down, I ended up offering myself to bring his pet back.

I tried to follow the same path that the little papoo would have followed. He sent his pet to deliver a message to Undine in Paradise Landing. From there, I went down to the East to get on the road to the First Wave Settlement, because Undine said that she sent the pet to Peyton, and then he didn’t come back. I crossed the small river and climbed the stairs. I knew that after the first waterfall, the path to the right would take me to Peyton, but it was a long walk, so I decided to cross the bridges as it would be faster. As soon as I finished climbing the last flight of stairs, the first house I saw was Ol’Mort’s. “He is a grumpy man. Maybe I shouldn’t go there. But it’s just to ask if he saw the papoo. I’ll try!".

I was crossing the stone bridge, when I heard a noise that I knew very well: it was Igor’s pet. Ol’Mort had kidnapped him! At that time I was so excited to get him back, that I didn’t even think straight and said that I would bring 4 papoos to exchange for the pet.

And now I’m here! Why did I have the idea of ​​trying to catch the pappos with an improvised box, hanging on a bamboo? I should have realized that when i released the rope, instead of catch my target, the box was going to fall and break, attracting two dozen of angry papoos to attack me. Joe ended up saving me, getting rid of the papoos, while Li took me in a hurry to the house to heal from the injuries.

But I can’t give up, if I want to get 3 more pappos I will need a new plan!

Entry #05

I finally managed to climb to the top floor of the ancient ruins. Fortunately these papoos aren’t very good at climbing the ruins’ floors, so I was able to escape them. But I still ended up all scratched up again.

At least my plan worked well: I waited for one of the red papoos to be alone, positioned myself right above him, threw my net, jumped down and tied it up.

The idea of ​​using a net was great to catch the 3 pappos I needed. I thought about that after Joe handed me one of the yellow pappos tied in a net, while muttering that he didn’t understand why I needed it alive.

As I dragged the last of the 4 papoos to Ol’Mort’s, I was muttering the same thing to myself. Looks like a papoo stole Ol’Mort’s sunglasses, so when he saw Igor’s papoo he thought it was him and arrested him. I tried to explain that maybe it was another similar papoo, but he didn’t know that there are papoos of 4 different colors around here. So in exchange for the pet, I was supposed to bring a papoo of each type for him to “inquire”. I don’t know exactly what he thought the papoos would tell him. But by the end, he didn’t want to release the pet.

• This one has a collar so he is the most similar to the thief, who also wore accessories, a red cap! – he continued insisting.

By this point I was so furious that after all my hard work he wouldn’t keep his promise, that I took one of the big wooden masks he had at home and broke all the little wooden cages where he was holding the pappos.

While I was leaving with the pet, the other papoos were making the biggest mess in the house. “This time he’ll be lucky if he only loses a pair of glasses”, I thought. “A papoo with a red cap and sunglasses? This man is crazy! What will he say next? That there are also papoos that talk around here?”

[isme]

Isme’s Journey entry #4

Journal Entry #4

Is just gets worse and worse. I was getting prepared to go swunting to replace my depleted ped. I headed to Crystal Beach to look at supplies……. I hopped in the televator and went down. The items I wanted were no longer available so I decided that some perhaps My luck would change if I took in some clean fresh air and used the climb up those long stair cases as a way of clearing my mind and maybe changing my luck. As you know I am not a normally superstitious person but I am starting to get desperate. I will try anything that’s free and wont kill me.

It had started to feel good. No wonder the big exercise equipment companies never had a chance here., all these stairs!

My mind started to clear and I was returning to a genuine feeling of hopefulness. Then while I was glancing up briefly at some passing birds…. I missed a step.

Then I missed a whole lot of them… as I fell ALL THE WAY down.

I don’t remember hitting the last few steps. When I opened my eyes the doctor said it was a miracle I didn’t end up at at revive terminal with permanent damage. Even my armor was not badly damaged.

I am very sore. My head feels funny too. The doctor said it will for awhile. The actual physical injuries were healed by my pulse unit, but it will take time for all the nerves to settle back into regular activity and the overly stretched muscles to resume their normal shape.

Maybe its just the pain in my head still but everything seems somehow different. Like someone turned up the volume on the colors…

Maybe its just the knock on my head, but I keep seeming to sense people or at least a something that seems to be watching me? I dunno. I guess only time will tell.

[isme]

Isme’s Journey #5

Isme’s Journal entry number …… I think 5?

Well I am trying to write things down. I think this is the 5th one. My head…well it doesn’t feel bad any more, just sort of different. Maybe not bad different but different.

My now Extreme dislike for stairs is not fading. And I never noticed, really, how many stairs are on this planet! The televators were being serviced yesterday (yes I know its been like a week since I wrote in this journal last- and why do I talk to this book like I am talking to other people?)
Really Isme….

Any way- my calves were aching so bad! The upside is the cramped muscles made me look a bit like I was wearing high heels even though I wasn’t. My legs don’t look to bad if I do say so myself!.
If I can get back on the financial level again, I am gonna get one of those new Next Island Bikinis.

Down one
___________flight
________________ I go
___________________and
_______________________then
__________________________down
________________________one
___________________more
________________what
_____________did
___________I
______Come
__here
____for. Then on a landing, I am standing, Half way up or half way down?
___________________________________________________Stepping
___________________________________________stepping
______________________________________view
________________________________keeps
________________________changing
____________________Like
________________That
___________cave
______________of times
____________________arranging
___________________________Misty cave not up not down but forward and back.

I think of that cave a lot lately. Not sure why. Especially since I don’t remember there being any stairs there.

Ugh enough about stairs.

I went swunting piglets yesterday. Surprisingly my aim was better then its ever been. I ended up with a lot of tails. You would think that anytime you went hunting you would get a tail per piglet… but that isn’t how it works out. Weird right?

Also I would often feel like I was being watched by something. Maybe I should go back to the orpheous cave. That Haruspex Elder is always so kind. One of the few beings on this planet that know me and still like talking to me.

Wait? How did I go from piglets to the cave? I am losing my mind.

Piglets- so ya, I had the best hunt I have ever had!! lots of shrapnel, and oil, and tails!

I even got a few screechers! Yay!!!

Oh and a minor editor of the Next Island Herlad contacted me. He had heard about my fall, wanted to interview me on the conditions of the stairs in the Crystal Bay area. He even asked how I was feeling and sounded like he was actually glad to hear that I was. Does that make 2 beings on this planet now?
Maybe if I can swing this right I can get a job there? and more importantly a friend!!!

[Fatty]

Hi, I am known as Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson. I am the High Prophet of the Church of Tommy (A pretend/for fun church in EU). My character has made a pilgramage to Next Island to share the word of Tommy and research Next Islands Fascinating wild life as well as its characters. I have five Lore submissions and I would love to post my thumbnail and banner image (but new members can’t post pictures, so… work with me?) Anyway, here are my submissions, which I will submit one post at a time. I hope I am still in time to get the piece for April.

Lore Submission #1 For April
The Origins of the Papoo
Short story by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

A bone-rattling explosion rocked the secret laboratory on Next Island. Screeches and howling were heard as a legion of monkeys spilled from the gaping chasm left in the lab’s now exposed interior. A bedraggled man with thin blonde hair and beard, soot covered cheeks, and safety goggles emerged in their wake spitting and coughing through intermittent pleas for the monkeys to come back. How could his experiments go so awry? Of course, what should he have expected? The papoo were even more unruly than he could have predicted. If anything, they were made wilder when he augmented them.

“The things one does to advance science,” he groaned, grabbing his throbbing head, ears still ringing from the turmoil that just occurred. If word got out that he was doing these experiments on the papoo, no doubt half of NEO and even Stel would hunt him down and end his career, in the messiest, cruelest way possible. Stel would execute him for certain. Truth be told, there wouldn’t be many who would protect him if they knew what he had done.

A month earlier, Anthro-biologist Dr. Paul Kylon was presenting his idea to his colleagues. What if man could enhance himself with biological augmentations? The settlers were used to inorganic chips and implants introduced by their new friends from Calypso, but biological ones could integrate so much better than what they were used to. Testing on Humans would be too risky, not to mention unethical, but the local papoo would be good substitutes. The grey and brown varieties were all that existed on Next Island and were mostly found in the jungles in the southeastern corner of the continent. He set out to capture them.

Once Doctor Kylon had captured about twenty of each grey and brown species, he began creating and testing his implants on the mild-mannered creatures. He took notes and soon found that the implants had benefits raising the papoo’s strength and vigor with the unfortunate side effect of changing their temperament, but the kinks could be worked out, he thought to himself. No other scientists had volunteered to help him, not wanting to be associated with such a risky program. But Doctor Kylon was optimistic. One day he discovered that his implants had changed some of them to red or yellow. This was quite a shock, to say the least. He also learned that the biological implants actually changed the creatures right down to their DNA!

As time went on, the papoo became more aggressive and started refusing to eat, smacking any food or drink out of Doctor Kylon’s hands. It was only a matter of time before they rebelled completely, they just needed an opening. And that opening came as Doctor Kylon was cleaning their cages. As he transferred them to new crates, one of them burst out of his reach and started to release all the others!

“Good God!” Dr. Kylon exclaimed, as the violent raging papoo bared down on him, backing him into a corner. One of them started to beat on his generators and it wasn’t long before it exploded magnificently, tearing a hole in the wall of the lab. The papoo were free, and Doctor Paul Kylon was in deep doo-doo. He resolved he would go into hiding. No one really knows what became of him, except maybe one soul, his favorite experiment, an intelligent papoo named Sabastian. Sabastion currently hides in an ancient temple in papoo village and tries to hide his identity by wearing sunglasses and a cap, but that will be a story for another time.

[Fatty]

Lore Submission #2 For April
The Origins of Sebastian
Short Story by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

Sebastian rubbed his eyes. For the first time in his short life, he felt conscious. Really conscious. Not just floating from place to place, eating berries and insects, fighting for survival. A kindly young man was cleaning his cage. He looked over at the young man and did what felt natural.

“Oh, hello,” Sebastian said. The man jumped at the shock of hearing a papoo speak.

“Uh, hi. Yes.” The man stuttered and righted himself. “Sebastian. I see you’ve learned speech.”

“I… think so?” Sebastian looked at his palms, which came into focus, still every bit as primitive looking as he was, but he felt more than a mere beast. “It’s hard to find words sometimes, but I naturally know what to say. It’s weird.”

The man adjusted his goggles. “Do you know who you are?”

Sebastian had to think about it. “I am a papoo. My name is Sebastian. I don’t quite know what that means, but it feels right.”

The man grinned broadly. “And do you know who I am?”

Sebastian looked him up and down. He had thin, blonde hair, a stocky figure, and a thin beard. He had seen his face many times, but hadn’t really considered what to call him. “You look like a Daniel to me. I’m not sure what that means, but…”

The man guffawed. “I am Dr. Paul Kylon. I am the reason you are suddenly more self aware. It is because of me that you can talk.”

Sebastian considered this for a moment. “Thanks. For cleaning my cage, I mean.”

“Don’t mention it, Sebastian.” The man went back to his task, smiling and humming a tune.

“So, what is on the agenda for today?” Sebastian inquired, tilting his head.

The man continued to wipe down the bars. “Today we are going to run some tests on your brothers and sisters to see how they are taking to their new organic augmentations.”

“Is the reason I can talk an organic augmentation?”

“Well, sort of. Yes. But not like theirs. It’s difficult to explain. Your implant is deep in your brain. Most of your brothers are augmented in their arms or legs or backs.” Dr. Kylon pointed to each of those places on his body as he said them. “You are special, Sebastian.”

His heart filled with pride. Special. He was special. Sebastian had never been special. In fact, until today, he didn’t even know special was a thing. But it felt good. He wasn’t sure, but he felt that today was going to be a good day…

[Fatty]

Lore Submission #3 For April
Papoo Facts
Research by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

Forget everything you thought you knew about the papoo! I’ve been deep inside their territory for many months and have gathered much intelligence on them. The various different papoo are partial to different gemstones, for one thing. You find Rhodonite on Grey Papoos and Azurite on Brown Papoos. Most of the time they steal it from other creatures, including Humans. The grey papoo especially are prone to picking up all manner of gems, which is why you will rarely find one yourself without taking them from these creatures. Of course, other creatures have been known to hunt the papoo, ingesting them gems and all.

The papoo is very curious, but has an equal measure of aggression, so approach at your own peril. They have been known to swarm unfortunate island settlers at certain points across Next Island. Their biggest natural enemies are the Screecher, the Island Boars, and Chimera, though Drakes have also been known to hunt them from time to time. They do congregate in jungles and fields, but most of them hide in trees or behind rocks until they see that they have the advantage and proceed to ambush. These apex hunters consider Humans to be on their menu, but usually eat insects and berries as well as the occasional screecher chick. Screechers are especially not fond of papoo, as the browns will frequently steal their eggs, chicks, and gems. More on the relationship between the screechers and papoo in a later document.

Papoo are such a nuisance to Settlers that several bounties are available to cull their population, which keeps growing by the day. Papoo used to give one live birth per pregnancy, but lately they seem to be birthing triplets or even quadruplets! They have litters of 7 sometimes! Also, they mature rather quickly, going from birth to adulthood in a matter of days. There never seems to be a shortage of the beasties. It appears the male papoo tries to impress the females by bringing them gifts of whatever gems that species of papoo like.

Papoo are prized for their tails, palms, and hearts. They also drop various oils, and, of course, gems. Rewards for culling the papoo include loot pills that change you into one (how do you think I’ve been able to study them up close?) and fuel. Definitely worth stopping to collect while you are visiting! The haunting song of the papoo fills the air here at Crystal Peak, especially at night. They’re actually good singers, believe it or not, but I suppose that is subject to one’s tastes. In fact, the yellow’s mating ritual requires the males to sing to the females.

Speaking of papoo song, be sure you avoid an area where the howling is strong, as this may be a warning from lurking papoo that you are too close to their territory. However, if papoo is what you want to hunt, I advise you listen closely. They are not subtle. I hope, dear reader, that you gleaned some useful facts about the papoo from this. They are absolutely fascinating creatures that deserve a look over while you are visiting Next Island! Tah tah for now!

[Nakor]

Lore submision by: Nakor of Boreft.

I love Ancient Greece and i believe some characters are very interesting and have a lot to tell you. Name this guy here…he looks to be just a simple city guard, but…Oh well. He can tell you his story much better than I can

Part 1
Hello, stranger, you caught me at my break. Grab a chair and let me tell you my story. My name is Aléxandros and I’m a guard here in Thebes. I have a wife called Berenice and a daughter called Chloe. She truly is the apple of my eye, though I fear the day she grows up. Such a strong-willed child she is.

When I was but a boy, my father, who was a stonemason, apprenticed me to a weapon-smith. My master was a really good smith, and he supplied the garrison here at Thebes. I, however, though I learned to appreciate fine craftsmanship in my time as his apprentice, was never any good at working the forge. I can still hear my ears ring, so often did he box my ears for ruining an almost finished sword. Oftentimes, I had to deliver the weapons to the garrison here. Seeing the soldiers practice with them and the splendid armors they wore, was all this boy needed to know this was where he belonged. So, long before it became time for my masterpiece, we both thought it was best if I didn’t ruin any more iron ingots and did what I wanted to do anyway. Use the weapons and armor!

I went to the garrison, where they already knew me, and became a guard. That was the easy part Then the training began! Let me tell you. It’s nice to look at men training with their swords and spear for a few minutes. It’s very different when you are that man, wearing armor too and having to train for hours on end! It was exhausting and most of the boys I started with didn’t make it. Accidents happened almost daily, the winter a cold one, and a lot of boys couldn’t handle it anymore. But I succeeded!

Ok, It’s time for my next round. Thebes market. It’s always busy there with lots of people and lots of purses for pickpockets to snatch. See you later stranger.

Part 2
Hello again, stranger. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you here. When I first started as a guard here at Thebes, it was very uneventful, but over the last couple of years, with more newcomers, it’s gotten quite busy! Don’t get me wrong, I like it this way. At least it’s never dull anymore. Even this morning while patrolling Thebes market, we caught 2 pickpockets and had to break up a crowd. It seems one of the new shop owners put a dragon’s head above her stall. Can you imagine! People just stood there gazing at it. I don’t know if it was real or not. I’ve never seen a dragon in my life!

I think it shook me more than I’d like to admit, but a little later, I swear I saw Berenice at the market. All dressed in her dark green cloak. When I looked again, she was gone. She knows I patrol the market at this time, so if it was her, she would’ve come over and given me a kiss, I’m sure. It’s strange when your mind lets you see things that aren’t really there.

Anyway, dragon’s heads, bear heads, you newcomers bring a lot of new things into our lives here. That helps keep our thoughts from worrying too much over other things that have also been going on. Monsters have become much, much more active over the last years. In greater numbers too! We can keep them at bay and fortunately, you newcomers are strong and love to hunt them. Still, I feel it’s only a matter of time before they become brave enough to come into the city. It’s a good thing they’re all different types of monsters and still relatively small groups. If they got a strong leader that could unite them, we’d definitely be in trouble.

Anyway, time to get back to work for me. This afternoon, I stand guard at the palace. Nice and quiet after a busy morning round. See you later stranger.

Part 3
Hello again, stranger. Have you heard the rumors? There’s been talk of the monsters uniting under one leader for some time now. Those rumors have only gotten stronger. More attacks have been reported over the last couple of weeks. No attacks close to Thebes yet, all were south from here. I hope the rumors of the monsters having a leader are false. Our king sent scouts and they should report back any day now. We can handle one or two of them at a time, but the thought of a horde of them attacking us scares even me! Truth be told, we guards are just ceremonial. We can’t fight like you newcomers can!
What do you say? Pull it together? Yes, yes, You’re right. Even if it turns out as we fear, we’ll be alright. We have allies. Knights and heroes will come to our aid. Thank you, that calmed me down. We’ve just seen so many mysterious and new things in the last months. It’s very different from when I was a boy. Sometimes, I lie awake in bed. Wondering what Chloe’s life will be like.

She’s not like the other girls here. She’s strong-willed and more interested in my throwing knives than in making a flower necklace. And she’s skilled at throwing them too! Part of me is very proud of her and part of me is deeply saddened. What man would ever want a woman like that? Berenice, her mother is doing her darndest to raise her like a proper lady, but she runs off whenever she gets a chance. Last week, we even caught her next to the training grounds! She’d been imitating the recruits all afternoon! When I found her I just saw her throw her knife at a frog. I’ve never been able to hit a moving frog at that distance! My heart swelled with pride. I did have to scold her for running off and not picking flowers like she was supposed too, of course.

Part 4
Hello again stranger. Yes, Thebes is bustling with activity right now! Remember last time I told you our king had sent out scouts to learn more about the monsters uniting? Well, they returned not long after our last talk. At least, some of them did. Some, it seems, were turned to stone!

The king shared a lot of information with us. Well, shipping an army won’t go unnoticed anyway. It seems the monsters are uniting under one leader. She calls herself the dark queen. She’s a very powerful Gorgon. One of those snake creatures. And she has the power to turn others to stone!

Her base should be o the south, southeast from here. The king ordered all of our ships to sail out with an army. They’re leaving today. That’s why it ís so busy. Soldiers from Thebes are known throughout all of Greece for their bravery and fighting skills, so I have no doubt they will be victorious!

They’ll come back with her head and a magnificent parade and feast will be held in their honor. You’ll see a stranger! All of the monsters will crawl back under the rock they came from in fear of the men from Thebes! Things will return to the calm and safe way everything was, you’ll see!

Ah, we’re not like you newcomers. There are always newcomers hunting the Arges to the north, or even the Myrinian to the east. Killing them by the hundreds with your devastating weapons! We’re just not like that. All we want is a peaceful life! Many of the men setting out today, I’ve known for all of their lives. There’s Ajax, who I wrestled with as a kid. Gregorios with his sister Euthalia. He was not as watchful as his name implies. She was the first girl I kissed. I hate to see them go and I hope to see them again in this life. Anyway, enough reminiscing. Remember this day well stranger. You’ll never see a bigger fleet of brave men set sail to fight for their loved ones.

Part 5
Hello stranger, As you can see, Thebes has seen brighter days. The impossible has happened. Our brave soldiers have been vanquished. Incense is being burned all day and all night to ask the gods for mercy on their souls and to let them pass into the underworld. All of our women are dressed in black. Fathers mourn their sons. Young men mourn their brothers. Their friends, their fathers.

We don’t know what exactly happened. A retreat is not an option for the brave soldiers of Thebes. When we hadn’t heard from them in a few weeks, the king sent scouts looking for them. What they told us, chilled us to the bones! All of the ships lay at anchor but not a single man was seen! All of them have disappeared! The scouts searched where they could. That island swarms with very strong and aggressive monsters, o the scouts couldn’t search everywhere, but they found nothing! Not even bones and armor! We can’t be sure of the ill fate that became of them, but we think they’re all dead. Maybe we hope they are for their sake.

Since they left, we have seen fewer monsters and fewer attacks have been reported, but we all fear what the future has in store for us. Many of the people here have fled to other cities. My wife Berenice and daughter Chloe went to her parents far, far in the north in Cyzicus. I hope they will be safe there.

If the monsters do regroup. If our brave soldiers did not manage to strike a fatal blow to this monstrous gorgon calling herself Dark queen. I too fear for the lives of all men, women, and children in Thebes and in all of this world. If Thebes falls it will only be the beginning. Please help us, stranger. You and more of you newcomers. Save us. Deliver us from the dark queen.

[Night]

Auberon Night Night

Lore submission - All 5 parts for April contained in one post.

Aeon and the Guardians

Part 1 - The chase

As the tiny ship broke free of the gravity of Mirsk and entered space itself, Aeon took a moment to orient himself and activate the warp drive before even leaving the system. It was dangerous to do so, but he had little option. Gravitational forces from planets so close could alter his course just enough to see him fly into a planet or even a star.

Anger, frustration, anxiety and fear flooded his mind as the ship accelerated to light speed, barely missing a few asteroids before reaching full speed following the trail of the guardian mother ship.

Though it was only a small two-seater ship meant for interplanetary travel, it was fitted with a small but powerful warp drive and well armed, making it well capable of damaging or even destroying a mother ship.

“I was too late. Dammit! I have to catch up before they jump!”, Aeon thought, berating himself even though he was fighting forces far more powerful than he was.

For what seemed like a hundred lifetimes he has been chasing the guardians and their creator, Kaijun.

The guardians who invade and enslave planets. Then using the local life forms to make new guardians and so expand their forces. Using the brain and spinal cord of a biological life form combined with a crystalline robotic exoskeleton controlled through a link to the central mind resulted in very versatile and powerful workers and soldiers. This they would do until finally no animals or humans of any kind is left alive, only plants.

With hundreds of planets already conquered; stopping them seemed impossible, but Aeon succeeded thus far in destroying dozens of mother ships and nearly half of their colonization force, severely limiting their rate of progress.

But now it seems they found a way to leave this dimension through a rupture in time and space created by sentient beings from another world.

As the mother ship became visible to him, he realized they had already reached the rupture. A bright blue light shone for a few moments followed by an electromagnetic shock wave as the mother ship entered the rupture. Aeon screamed in frustration and anger as he fired at them and followed blindly into the rupture in the hopes of destroying them and closing the rupture.

Entering the rupture, his red Equus jet was battered by the forces within such an unstable portal and thrown about like paper in the wind and so was the mother ship. Spinning end-over-end and having parts ripped of its fuselage, the mother ship did not look like it would make it. Aeon smiled.

“This is a good day to die” he thought, as he engaged his thrusters and rammed his ship into theirs while firing his weapons. His final view was a bright red and orange explosion before it all turned black.

Part 2 - Landing

The giant mountains of his home reached so high up into the sky; they were always covered in snow. The cold air would cut into the unprepared persons skin like a scalpel and could lead to your death easily and quickly. But Aeon was used to the cold, having been born here, hunted here and fought here for many years. It sometimes even felt warm, just as it did now.

The warmth on his face felt like it was sticking to the side of his face and forehead. The usual dead silence of the snowy mountains was pierced by a sharp but distant sound like a ringing that sounded almost rhythmic, repeating over and over. Slowly the sound grew louder and pierced through his consciousness until he realized it is the ships alarms sounding.

Regaining consciousness with blood all sticky wet and warm over his face from the cut on his head and his ship spinning as it was plummeting towards a planet he did not recognize. Drawing on all his willpower and sheer stubbornness, he focused on the console; closing the one eye covered in blood, and took control of the damaged ship and adjusted his entry into the planet’s atmosphere.

“Too fast. TOO FAST!” he thought as he tried to slow the rate of descent with only limited success.

Had anyone been there to see the jet scream through the air at an impossible angle and crazy speed, they would have heard the double boom of the sound barrier being broken and the screeching of air over damaged wings.

With a final desperate reversing of the engines and all flaps opened, the forward speed of the ship was finally controlled and slowed but that resulted in the ship stalling and going into a flat spin. The ship fell almost vertically from the sky and instead of hitting the ocean as he was aiming to do, the ship slammed into the peak of a steep mountain near the ocean.

This should have been the end of it. This should have been where Aeon died. And in fact - he did.

Already injured from going through a dimensional rift and crashing into a mother ship, this crash left him virtually dead and he could feel his life slipping away. As his last breath left him, the essence of his being drifted away to return to the origin, where all life comes from, when a soft hand touched him.

Even in his current form he could feel the touch. A bright greenish-white light surrounded him and a voice whispered softly:

“We need you to be strong a while longer Aeon.”

“The guardians survived and we cannot fight them. We are peaceful. We need you.”

“Who are you?” Aeon asked.

“I am Kirke, goddess of the Haruspex.”

“I am sorry for having to do this. You have fought so long and deserve the rest, but we need you. Please forgive us and help us.”

Her voice was soft and warm and sounded almost melancholic.

And with that the light surrounded him, his ship and his broken body and returned his essence to the body it had just left. Within the light itself he could feel life return and a renewed strength and purpose with it.

Part 3 - A new home

Waking up brought back the sensation of pain but much reduced from his last memories. It was morning and the sun rising over the world brought a cascade of colors from red to orange and violet - with so many shades in-between. To Aeon who had known only white and gray from his icy cold home for so long, this was like a riot of color in a dreary gray world.

For a few moments all he did was sit there in his now destroyed ship looking out over the ocean, enjoying the view. As the sun rose, the heat came and he had to get out and start life on a new planet with no ship, no weapons, no knowledge of the planet and aware that the guardians were out there.

A few fleeting thoughts of someone touching him and speaking to him floated in his mind, but it seemed unlikely and as a practical man, a soldier; he dismissed the images and set to work.

Salvaging what he could from his plane including a piece of wing he fashioned into a small knife.

Climbing down the mountain he found a beautiful white beach and the carcass of a giant sea creature reminiscent of the megalodon stories told on his home world from the days when the oceans were higher and the sea creatures much much bigger.

It must have died and washed ashore. The scary thought was, what could kill something this big though?

Using his rough knife, he cut a section of the jaw bone and fashioned a type of long sword similar to what his people used to call a claymore. By cutting into the carcass deeper and deeper he found some flesh still unspoiled - so he had some food at least.

A weapon, some food and a will to survive. He was ready for what may come, even though they may not be ready for him.

Walking along the shoreline he set out looking for a good base with fresh water nearby.

After a few hours of walking he reached a stream that ran into the ocean and followed that up to the hills where it came from, where he found two small natural lakes and two beautiful waterfalls. The sight itself was enough to fill him with hope and a sense of serenity in spite of the looming task of finding and defeating the guardians.

On the side of the lower lake there was a small hidden cave entrance that once inside opened up into an emerald green cavern of various levels, with a small pool of water right at the bottom. Water flowed into the cavern from a break in the rocks from the side of the lake, but seemed to drain away into the rock again.

This would be his home for a long time. This hole in the ground with walls of phosphorous green moss on a world of warmth and bright colors so far from his home, would be where he would live alone until his death.

But that is a story for another day.

Part 4 - The Guardians

After months on this world - having seen no human or guardian - only a creatures that look like big flightless birds or monkeys or pigs, Aeon had set up a good base with a small crafting station and storage space. Every day he would venture out and hunt, becoming more and more skilled with the sword he made until it felt like an extension of his arm. His skin was now a golden brown from the sun, a far cry from the pasty white color he was when he arrived. All indications of his extreme injuries and death was long gone and he was able to fight for hours on end and run nonstop and without slowing down around the entire edge of the island he was on.

He was ready to start exploring the rest of the planet in search of the guardians. Packing food and basic supplies and his trusty sword he set off to the west crossing the narrow channel surrounding this island onto another island and across another channel to another island. The channels were narrow but deep with only a few rare shallow crossings.

The walk itself felt good and even the animals feeling brave enough to attack him was not a challenge and served only to feed him.

Trees became large umbrella like shapes and the landscape had a few extremely high rocks piercing up into the sky, like a finger from some unknown god.

This land was untamed and beautiful. It was paradise.

After a long walk and searching, he crested a hill and found some strange looking animals that looked like a cross between a lizard and a man wearing pants. Keeping slightly north of them he finally found the guardians.

And that was when the scout found him. Only a small one could be a level 5, so Aeon decided that he would have to kill it before it was able to sound an alarm.

Jumping down, he ran at the small guardian and attacked. His sword singing through the air as he swung it, striking the robot before it can block against the attack. Again and again his sword would sing as Aeon lunged and attacked then rolled and attacked again. The robot was unable to defend at all and it was clear Aeon was by far the better fighter. But the sword did little damage to the crystal exoskeleton. After what seemed like hours, he finally destroyed the guardian robot. It was clear he would need a stronger weapon. And some armor as well if he was to face any of the bigger ones.

But he knew where they were; and they did not know he was here. All he needed now was a stronger weapon and armor and to scout the borders of the guardians’ territory.

This war was his to win.

Part 5 - Reflection

After a lengthy scout mission of the guardians’ territory, Aeon knew he had a massive task at hand.

Sitting at his camp that night, Aeon worked on a strategy while enjoying the beautiful sunset and the brilliant night sky after. The night sky on Mirsk is clear and picturesque, in part due to the cold clean air that does not refract the light in any way. The night sky here, while very different, had a similar quality. When looking upwards he felt almost as if he could reach out and touch the stars. While all alone here on this strange planet, it felt like home to him. This feeling of home strengthened his resolve to defend it against the invasion.

While sitting there his strategy began to take shape. The guardians has taken over a large area and are increasing that incrementally by absorbing the native animal species - creating more guardians.

His first task then, would be to deny them access to these by ensuring a large area free of animals surrounding the guardians by hunting them out. So he would apply a scorched earth strategy as done by the ancient armies of his world, when war was still commonplace.

An additional benefit would be that the resources from this he could collect and store for future use to maybe create better armor and weapons and at the very least will supply him with food.

It also occurred to him that he had been on this planet for years and seen no other sentient life - only the animals and the guardians. So his second task would be to try and find others and would mean he had to expand his exploration into the north of the planet and complete his map and understanding of the planet and its resources. Maybe some of the local wildlife could provide him with materials for a very strong armor. So this expedition would be for both gathering intelligence and finding allies.

One other thought stayed in his thoughts like a shadow. Who was Kirke and the Haruspex? And why has he not found her or them? For a long time he has been focused on survival and finding the guardians in order to destroy them, but now he needed more information. His questions has been piling up, his thoughts plagued by them.

Where was the mother ship of the guardians?

Did he really die or was that a dream?

Where was the people who opened the rupture that caused him and the guardians to be here?

With more questions than answers but at least having a working strategy he went to sleep looking up at the clear inky night sky, filled with stars and dreams.

More to follow next month

[vic_skaya]

Back at it again! Let’s gooo!

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #80

Data:

An empty camp is an empty camp, however, a makeshift tree-top watchtower is not what I was expecting these Resa to be using to shoot at me from. I was expecting this to be more of a Haruspex style of structure, with their love of the woodlands and hiding in strange places.

I ran as fast as I could across the swamplands to get to cover but their position was good, they could see me wherever I tried to hide. My skyripper got clogged up with mud and wasn’t in flying condition, so I guess I had to start running zig zags for my life. The fact that a Loyalist skyripper was going to fall into the hands of the Resa was the least of my concerns while I was getting bombarded by enemy fire.

This next part of my entry is shortly after I got captured and they let me access my datapad:

While running, I think I tripped and hit my head because I don’t remember being captured and left in a tent by myself. Also, I am pretty sure I got knocked out during the chase because my head feels like I got hit by a cyclops club.

As I was sitting there in the middle of the tent gathering my thoughts, 3 Resa scouts came in and inspected me for any kind of hidden weapons. Still in my confused state of mind, all I could really do was sit there as they started throwing question after question at me.

“Here we go again”, I thought. Another situation where my encounters with another faction are due to me being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These Resa are much more aggressive and cold-hearted than the ones I’ve met around Morion. The only reason why they actually allowed me to use my datapad was to transfer to them all data I had on their rival faction, which I had to do or they would have left my fate up to the snakes of the bog.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #81

Data:

It has been some weeks since I’ve been rescued by a Loyalist task force and I am currently still stuck in a bed at some medical cabin at First-Wave Settlement without much to do. Most of my adventures seem to end up with me returning to Loyalist territory with a bite taken out of me.

Well, the physician has ordered me to stay in bed for the next few days to deal with my high fever and weak body. Does this give me some time to summarize and document the several weeks that I could not make entries? If you do not know me by now from my journal entries, you should read them again, as by now you should know how important this method of documentation is to me.

Several weeks ago, while in captivity, I was treated with the worst hospitality in history, which I assume was due to the territorial rivalry between these Resa and the neighboring Haruspex to the east and the NEO outposts to the west. I don’t blame them, I think continuous skirmishes with rival factions non-stop would also drive some of our Loyalist troops to act defensively and cautiously as well.

Compared to my time actively engaging in dialogue with the Resa of Morion Outpost, the Resa of the bog were less talkative and just wanted me to sit around and every time I asked if they needed any help with gathering food or resources, they told me to stay in the tent.

I think I had enough around the third week of captivity and decided to hatch my plan to escape. During my time staying in the tent and my limited time walking around their camp, I figured out that the Resa of the bog are periodically attacked by the native daudaormur, and while defending the camp, will not pay attention at all to my tent. I too, would not pay attention to a sole tent while my settlement was being attacked on all sides by snakes.

I will continue my story on the next entry, I feel nauseous from sitting up and staring at my datapad. In a few days, the doctors will be able to discharge me from their care, hopefully, it comes soon, as my next adventure awaits.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #82

Data:

Day 8 or 9 of staying at the medical cabin and I am staying longer due to vision problems. The swamplands of the planet or the food that the Resa of the bog ate did not fit well with my body it seemed, and now I get to be stuck in bed for another 2 long nights. I believe I still owe the readers of this journal the rest of the Resa escape story so I will continue below:

While the Resa were being attacked, I saw an opportunity to sneak into the tent where my stuff was being stashed and took it. For the Resa, it was “all hands on deck” and the bog was filled with sounds of laser weapons, hissing, and yelling.

When I sneaked into the tent, there was no one there and it was just several locked crates. Thankfully, the locks on the crates were just key locks and not biometric. There was a bundle of charts on one of the crates held together by a clip, so I started getting to work picking the locks. Time was not on my side, as I knew the attack on the Resa outpost was not going to last forever and someone would eventually come in. It only took me 2 crates to find my stuff.

The first thing I grabbed was my datapad, and… it was out of battery. A quick glance around the tent yielded no good news on any kind of charging port or battery replacements. In that case, I grabbed one of the Resa comm devices and put a message to be broadcasted on a loop to Loyalist comm frequencies. I just really hoped the Resa tech had good enough broadcasting range to compensate for the fact that we were out in the middle of nowhere and away from any kind of Loyalist outpost.

While trying to find a good place to hide the comm device, I heard less and less fighting outside and heard someone coming into the tent. I didn’t have any time to hide the comm device and threw it out of the tent, which I thought was foolish after a Resa soldier saw me out of my tent and dragged me back to it. I really just hope the device didn’t sink into the bog and my opportunity was wasted, or no one receives my call for help.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #83

Data:

The Resa were not happy with me after I left my tent and saw that I opened the crate with my stuff. I think this was where my health deteriorated and why I’m stuck in this medical hut since they started giving me fewer rations and started ignoring me completely whenever I wanted to ask anything.

This led to some of the weirdest hallucinations, with talking snakes, a view of an excavation site, and the sun shining down on Ancient Greece. I was also running a high fever, and could barely walk straight. Another few days of this terrible experience passed and one day I heard explosions, screaming, and wind gusting. Another snake attack? But wait, snakes don’t fly. Struggling to get up and leave my tent, I finally did and as I looked outside, the Resa were occupied with putting out returning fire towards figures swooping down and destroying Resa supplies and buildings.

My vision was blurry but those were definitely not dragons, but skyrippers! White skyrippers harassed the Resa who were frantically putting up a meager defense while trying to figure out who was attacking. In the distance, I saw heavy guns and Loyalist artillery rushing towards the outpost, I was saved!

Some strange feeling, as if I was in a trance, compelled me to start stumbling forwards towards the Loyalist forces coming to attack, and shortly after, I remember collapsing and everything went black. After everything went black, I woke up in this bed where I have been stuck for the past while.

That is it for my story of escaping Resa captivity. Based on the reports I’ve read of the rescue raid, they ended up capturing the outpost and took whatever intel and data they could find from the Resa camp before leaving. When I was grabbing the clip that was holding together some charts, that bundle of charts caught my eye, so hopefully, the rescue forces took those with them when they left. I have a feeling those charts hold more information than I think they hold based on my quick glance.

Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #84

Data:

My lengthy stay at the medical hut has ended and I am finally discharged from their care. The stay did push back my schedule a bit but I know a bit more clearly what my next move will be. The reports from the raid said that the seized intel and data from the Resa were being held at a research facility at Shepherd’s Beach, so I plan to go there to see what those charts can lead me to.

When I arrived at Shepherd’s Beach, there were a few military officers and other Expeditionary Force members hanging around also trying to get access to the Resa intel and data. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who had the idea that the Resa had some good info that could be of use.

The close proximity between the Resa and the Woodland Haruspex gives them enough exposure to whatever the Haruspex are up to with their magic and being also neighbors with the New Elysia Order, we can also get access to their findings on what new technologies that NEO has developed.

It took a bit of pushing and shoving but I ended up with the charts I wanted and proceeded to go back to hiding in my office at Paradise Landing to study them. Pouring over the contents of the bundle of crumpled and scuffed charts, I noticed they were in fact surveys of the land in Ancient Greece and it seemed that they were taken from the Haruspex. This reinforces the idea that the Haruspex do actively go through Orpheus’ Cave and now I have another reason to go back to the past.

The charts show that the area west of Thebes is rich with resources. I have already explored the area around Thebes on my first trip to the strange land and never got a reply for my mining proposal, which I think would give our faction an edge among the factions we always compete against. I will bring up my previous proposal while writing a new one, but if my superiors do not see the value in the resources that are lodged in the land of Ancient Greece, I will have to take matters into my own hands.

[Fatty]

Lore Entry for April #5
Daudaomur Facts
Research by Fatteus “Fatty” Thorsson

Darkest minions of the Gorgon, the Daudaomur are a grave menace to the continued existence of Next Island and Ancient Greek Settlers. Rumors abound how these monstrous serpents were created by Gorgon to spread death and destruction across time and space. Daudaomur subsist entirely on the flesh of Humans and can go months between feedings, which makes them especially dangerous foes. Simply starving them is a monumental feat. Daudaomur are tremendously venomous, venom even seeps out from pores on their scaly bodies, affecting anyone unfortunate enough to get near them.

Daudaomur do not reproduce the same way other creatures do. There are no males or females. Instead, they are borne from Gorgon’s head. They pop out and slither down, then they begin to grow rapidly. It takes a matter of hours, less than a day, for a Daudaomur to grow to its full size. One that is older than a week old becomes the more advanced forms of the creature. Daudaomur enjoy warm, wet environments like the aptly named Daudaomur Bog in northern Next Island.

Like a shark, Daudaomur teeth regrow when they fall out. It is believed that they don’t really even need to feed on flesh to survive, but that they do so anyway because they enjoy it. It is said that if you find the grotesque shed skin of a Daudaomur, it is a bad omen, your life is forfeit, and you might as well get your affairs in order. No doubt this is because where there is a shedding, the creature is likely nearby. Some people have claimed to see these beasts propel themselves forward by shooting jets of venom from their backs like some sort of profane rocket.

I really did not like this research assignment. Getting close to the Daudaomur was frightening and I saw my life flash before my eyes several times over! I hope this report was enlightening. May your hunts be profitable and may the Lord Tommy smile upon your loot returns.