[the first page is numbered 17]
[...] rumors that Aunty is a "rather stiff woman," but there is no hero of time with a greater reputation than hers. I am quite excited! To think that I would have the good fortune of sharing the blood of such an extraordinary hero as [here, the original text is unreadable]. I do hope that I will not disappoint her.
In addition, I have been informed that my cousin, who I have never seen before but heard a great many stories about, will be staying at the Manor too, as it is the start of summer vacation. From what I have gathered, she is an exceedingly interesting individual, "quite colorful," or so I am told. My, the city seems to have all the luck - in [here, the original text is unreadable] we have but a handful of people who could rightfully be labeled as anything other than an total bore!
June 12,
Well, that was certainly an amusing day! The train arrived two hours late, having been delayed by the removal of a dangerous religious zealot who had attempted to preach to the innocent! Imagine - a grown man, who in all appearances seemed very respectable, suddenly raving about "a different time when peace reigned through a land free of tyranny." Do we not enjoy the peace of Her Imperious Condescension? And who would dare call Her Imperious Condescension such an unfitting title as "tyrant"? Such zealots are not to be trusted, we are told over and over again, and today I experienced firsthand the madness that festers in their minds. Yes, we do society well to lock them up!
As I mentioned previously, the train was two hours delayed, so by the time we pulled into [here, the original text is unreadable], Aunty and Damara had been waiting for hours, poor things! Luckily the weather was rather agreeable today, so I do believe they were not unduly uncomfortable.
I must admit, I was ever so slightly disappointed when I met them. Aunty does seem, on the whole, to be a rather humorless woman, but I do expect to learn quite a bit from her. Damara was smoking something, and periodically Aunty would glare at her and speak in a heavily accented East Beforan dialect I could barely understand. I was mighty afraid I would not be able to communicate! Luckily, Aunty speaks [here, the original text is unreadable], so that clears up one problem right off the bat!
As we rode on the carriage to the Felt Manor (I am told it is the grandest structure for miles around!), Aunty presented me with a package. It seems, for reasons I did not inquire about, all residents of the Felt Manor dress entirely in green. I believe it has something to do with Lord English, Aunty's employer and benefactor, although I am also told that the lord himself is rarely home. As this was a wholly remarkable opportunity, I did not wish to appear rude to my hosts and stick my nose into business I have no right digging into.
I was thoroughly surprised when I first glimpsed the Felt Manor! Really, the rumors do it absolutely no justice whatsoever. I was given a room on the second story with the loveliest view of the streets below. Oh, the decorations of the one room alone must have cost millions! Such a stark contrast [here, the original text is unreadable].
After changing my outfit, I was ushered downstairs, where a photograph of Aunty, Damara, and me was taken. We had to sit for what seemed hours as one of the Felt (I believe his name was Doze) arranged us into various poses and took dozens of pictures before settling on one at last. He gave me one of the rejected photographs, which I have attached below. [the photo is missing]
[this is the end of the page numbered 17]
[the next page is numbered 28]
[...]Snowman, who seems to be the only other female in the household. She comes and goes as she pleases and has the most remarkable aura of grace and majesty. Were it not for the rule of Her Imperial Condescension, I would very much have mistaken Snowman for a queen!
October 25,
Today, I was introduced to Lord English's children. They are twins - one male (Caliborn) and one female (Calliope). They could be no more different than day and night! Calliope is the sweetest girl I have ever met, always brimming with good cheer and quick to dispense words of encouragement and admiration. Caliborn, on the other hand, is the most wretched of individuals; he has no manners to speak of and the foulest tongue that has ever spoken a word. I caught him leering at me and was quite offended. Oh, that one such as Calliope must deal with a brother such as he! My heart goes out to the poor girl.
At dinner, we gathered in the dining room, and to my surprise, there sat, at the head of the table, Lord [...]
[the entire bottom half of this page is torn off]
[transcription resumes with the back of page 28]
[...]missing. I was on the verge of flying into a veritable panic, but Damara, seeing my distress, gave me a strange half-smile and shook her head ever so slightly. She pulled me aside later and said, in broken English, that this was "as business usual" and that "questions not allowed." I am quite intrigued.
November 11,
Forgive me for my shaky hand, but I have discovered something that distresses me very greatly. I shall endeavor to record events faithfully, but I fear I may not be able to recall certain happenings, as the very thought of them causes me to feel faint.
As I finished my lessons with Aunty for the afternoon, Calliope entered the study and asked me, quite shyly, if I wished to join her tea party. Naturally, I accepted the offer with nary a second thought and joined her in the tearoom on the third floor. All seemed to be going quite well. Calliope is such the tea brewer that she can coax the richest flavors from even the meanest leaves. I was enjoying my third cup when I moved my chair back the slightest bit, and a scraping sound issued from the corner of the room. Calliope and I were quite frightened by the unexpected sound, but imagine our horror when, from the crack in the wall, out tumbled the head of [...]
[the entire bottom half of this page is torn off]
[the last page is numbered 51]
April 12,
Oh, I can no longer sleep for fear of my life! I sneak into Calliope's room everyday now, and we keep watch each other's back through the night, never sleeping at the same time. From time to time I hear creaks from the room directly above, which I have confirmed is Aunty's room. Whether Damara is in on the secret, and if so whose side she is on, I know not, but it is an undeniable fact that Aunty is most loyal to only Lord English.
But I must not have been very good at concealing my suspicions, for only this morning, during lessons, she smiled quite frightfully at me and announced that the time was coming. She ended lessons early, for which I was most grateful. I felt I could not have spent a second longer in her presence without fainting from fear!
I rushed to meet Calliope as fast as I could, but I ran into Damara in the hallway. To my horror, she flashed me the secret hand signal Calliope and I had devised! I did not stop to ask her how she had come to discover it, for we never showed another soul, and by then I was positively running for my life!
Oh, the horror! A thousand words could never describe my feelings when I saw, leaning on the wall across from the door to Calliope's bedroom, her brother Caliborn! He had the most lecherous expression and laughed as though he knew something I did not. My heart fairly gave out then and there. I pushed into the room and saw that Calliope had been crying. We threw our arms around each other to draw some comfort in solidarity, and she shook like the leaf in the gale.
We planned, in whispers and the greatest secrecy, that, come what may, we would flee tomorrow in the darkest hour of the night. Now, that hour draws ever so nearer, and I must put down my pen now to finish our last preparations. They must know what we are up to. I plan to fight to the death. No more innocents shall die.
[the handwriting after this is highly irregular and illegible; I have tried to transcribe it as accurately as possible, but several large stains also mar the page, making that impossible in some parts]
April 13,
We fled in the night, Calliope and I. There was no one about, yet even with our combined majyyks - time and space - cloaking us, I felt as though the Manor were watching us. Every creak of the floorboards seemed an announcement of the opening of a secret portal through which [here, the original text is unreadable]and rend the flesh from our bones.
I have set my mind on making the truth of this bloodstained secret made plain. I have sent out, in the most extreme secrecy, letters to a great number of trusted confidants [here, the original text is unreadable]Should I not live to see the break of day, I pray that they will execute my dying wish.
[here, the original text is unreadable] guarding, it seems, the deepest and darkest of [here, the original text is unreadable] only able to escape by [here, the original text is unreadable]
I shall hide this journal, with all of my revelations of the Felt Manor, [here, the original text is unreadable] pages out if [here, the original text is unreadable]photos by which they will be identified.
I leave my fate in the hands of the gods now.
[here, the writing ends]
[Additional notes:]
[Not much is known about the infamous "Fall of the Felt Manor." Some decades ago, the once glorious mansion imploded without warning. An investigation was conducted, but the preliminary search yielded few answers. No bodies or any signs of tampering were found among the rubble. Analysis of building fragments revealed no weaknesses in the structural integrity of the Manor that would have caused the catastrophic collapse.]
[About a year ago, I obtained permission from the government, which had confiscated the property, to conduct another excavation of the ruins. I led a team down to the remains of the Manor, and initially we found not much of great importance. However, on the day before the expiration of our excavation permit, a member of the team accidentally bumped into a hidden switch that opened a trapdoor leading to a previously unknown area under the Manor. There, we made a chilling discovery.]
[The basement appeared to have been built centuries ago as a dungeon, and we stumbled upon the mummified remains of fourteen members of the notorious Felt gang that had resided in the mansion. The airtight chamber, it seems, had prevented the decaying of the bodies. We would later inform the government, but as far as I know, my team is the last to have set foot in the Manor. Incidentally, the fifteenth member, codenamed "Snowman," was nowhere to be found, as was the case of the boss and second-in-command, Lord English and Doc Scratch respectively.]
[Further down, the stones and mortar, particularly that of the floor and lower areas of the wall, were discolored and gave off a faintly nauseating smell. We pressed on until we reached a blockage in the hall. As we were attempting to find a way through, a sudden rumble filled the Manor. Cracks began appearing in the ceiling above us, and we scrambled to salvage what artifacts we could before escaping. These pages, found on the ground of a nearby cell, were some of the items I was able to save.]
[As for the dark secret hinted at in these pages, there is even less information about it than the fall of the Felt Manor. Further researching revealed that Aradia Megido was indeed a young hero of time who was sent to the Felt Manor to be apprenticed under her aunt, a famous but reclusive hero who went under the epithet "The Handmaid," likely a reference to her role in the Felt under Lord English. The existence of a daughter, Damara, is unknown but plausible, as The Handmaid let little of her personal life into the light of the public eye.]
[There are no records of any of the three Megido, nor of the alleged children of Lord English, after the fall. In fact, outside of their involvement in the Felt gang, almost nothing is known about any of these figures, save some scattered facts about Aradia Megido's childhood. Could there really have been a great and terrible conspiracy transpiring within the grandiose walls of the Felt Manor? Until more information is recovered, no one can say for sure.]
[[Rose Lalonde is a leading professor of Recent History at the Beta University. The team she took with her on her excavation of the Felt Manor consisted of herself and three friends: Roxy Lalonde (her sister), Jade Harley, and Jane Crocker.]]