-CLICK!-
/-pizza boxes go in the trash, guys, not on my bed. -clonk!- Jeeze... Next time they leave the room like this, they're cleaning...\
/... Oh wait, this is already booted up... Whoops.\ Uh... Y'know what? Oh well. I'm no professional.
/So... Let's see... ... ...\
/Ah. I can just start where I left off my part, then. Cool. Not that I had any doubt. None of them were there.\
So hey. It's me again. Kris. Sorry about the absence. I've been pretty busy, so I had the gang record their own parts while I couldn't record mine. I made sure they'd go in sequential order, anyway.
I can't tell you what I was doing. It was only important to me, anyway. So, don't worry about it.
I just want to address something real quick. I don't know when someone will even hear these, but I'm willing to bet that in the future specifically, this will all sound unbelievable. I mean, it's not like we wanted to televise what we did, after all. Though, I'm not in charge of what people say, otherwise. And well... uh... Well, I don't want to say "trust me," because I hear that these days, some psychiatrists think that's the leading line of a lie or something... but I can't really say anything else.
There's plenty of proof lying around in the open, but I'm not gonna talk about that just yet. Saying anything further might spoil something. Outside of Dark World Inhabitants, not many people actually know what we did. Further still, every last one of those people live in Hometown.
What else... You know how items and the like can't be brought out of there without becoming something mundane or weird, right? Well, recordings didn't work either. They just corrupted or... showed something that didn't look like anything I was trying to capture... You'll understand what I mean when we get there. Though, that won't be today.
For now, all I have for you is my part in all of this...
Last time I was here, I had ended with how I'd just gotten washed away in the current of a river and rescued by a figure I could not make out. Obviously, this figure dragged me off to who knows where in the forest... but they didn't kill or hurt me...
Instead... I awoke to the sound of a crackling fire not far from myself. Before too long, I moaned and cracked my eyes open, red eyes staring into the bright(ly colored), blazing flames of ... a camp fire. My first thought. {... Did I dream all of that and somehow wake up camping...? I'd really love for that to be the case...}
... I sat up with a groan and some effort put into moving my achy limbs, pushing myself into an cross-legged style sit. As I did, the feeling of something large and heavy brushed against my back with a rough exterior. Turning my head and looking down, it turned out to be... a log sized, dark-barked branch that had not been shaven of it's extra limbs and leaves. A bushel of leaves was what brushed me. Looking around, the next thing I realized was that I was still in the very same autumn forest, massive trees surrounding and leaves the size of dinner plates and all. This was clearing in it, to be exact. The trees almost formed a loose ring around me and this place about a house's area wide.
Turning my attention back down, I took in the very camp site itself. There was another large branch on the other side of the fire, suggesting another person I had already been aware of. The fire itself was made with chopped wood and those oversized leaves. inside the fire were four skewered animals. One was literally a big bug like the "rhyno" beetle I saw from before. Another was a fish that looked an awful lot like a trout mixed with a shark, well-roasted. That one looked appetizing enough... The other two made me frown in pity, since one looked close enough to a hawk and another looked... like a very small bear with bat wings...
Once again, I am reminded of how weird this place was beyond the animals just being weird. As my friends have said, it's as if the food chain has been reversed... Can't remember if I said that, too, so I apologize if this is starting to sound like a broken record.
... I looked myself over. Sure enough, I was indeed still wearing that weird armor. "Yeah. That figures. Still in the Dark World..."
-Thump!-
The sound drew out a gasp from my throat as my eyes snapped up and to the left! A figure had just landed a short distance away from above. I instantly drew my sword in anticipation of a fight, glaring daggers at the shadowy figure. Yes, shadowy. I have no idea how they did that, but am well aware that should not be possible in the dark world. Imagination playing tricks, maybe. Or maybe my memory is fuzzy there.
"Peace, human," It said with a raised hand as it slowly, unflinchingly walked toward the fire, revealing itself.
... It was the same person Noelle met after her run in with that Shulong. /No use telling you what they look like again.\ Though, at the time I hadn't known that. To me, it was just a fox satyr person of unclear gender, wearing a leaf-shaped mask and sporting one heck of a bushy tail and tentacle(s) combo.
... I didn't feel like this person was about to attack, so I lowered my sword and relaxed, blinking as I tilted my head. Still. I kept my eyes glued to them. "... Who are you?"
Walking over to the branch on the other side of the fire, they sat down without taking their mask's eye holes off of me, legs arched and arms draping over their "knees." "I am the one who saved you the watery end you'd have met. My name is Shorn, of the Kytsaters... formerly." Shorn gestured to the food sitting along the fire and told me, "Take your fill, but be not wasteful."
... I finally sheathed my sword back into my pocket as I cocked a brow... Not wanting to be rude, I took the shark trout from the fire and looked it over, before turning my eyes back to the "kytsater". "Why do you say you're a former Kytsater? I should ask what one is, but I apparently have one sitting in front of me..." After asking, I carefully took the fish to my mouth and bit into it, too hungry to really care what it was exactly. The juices spilled a little messily from it, but at the very least, it didn't seem to have blood. The taste...? Well, a little like clams mixed with some other succulent, meaty taste I wasn't very familiar with. There was nothing quite like it, which isn't to say it was good or bad as it was mediocre at best, but a fish really shouldn't taste like that. It disarmed me, understandably, a brow going up as I stared at the fish... Oh, shoot! I'm rambling.
Uh... While I had my fish-ain't-meat conundrum, Shorn made a low, toneless groan as they leaned forward a little, masked head tilting. "My Shepard leads my people by RED EYE's wish over The Vale's Decrees. He forgets himself, as do my kin, following the liar in desperate hope of a promised land after the Day of Fear foretold by prophecy."
After chewing and swallowing the bite in my mouth- after spitting what scales I could out- I leaned in, lowering the fish-on-a-stick from my mouth and wiping what I could with my sleeve. "The prophecy..." It suddenly clicked to me, my eyes widening briefly at what I hadn't immediately realized. "You mean the prophecy of the DELTA RUNE..."
They nodded, humming. "The very same." They then went on as they drew the DELTA RUNE with white-colored magic highlighted in black upon the air. "The prophecy informs us of our twin worlds, Light and Dark in harmony amongst one another balanced by a small thread we call the Black Geyser, of which should exist only one... Should the balance shift too greatly, calamity shall occur, described by a darker-than-black sky falling upon not only our's, but both worlds... and the splitting of our respective earths... As she nears her death cry, The three "Delta Warriors"- heroes foretold in the prophecy- would appear at the edge of the earth. A Human. A Monster. And a Prince From The Dark. The Human can seal Black Geysers' blight, but alone this lone human would perish. Only with Monster's strength and Prince's noble spirit allied can harmony be restored..."
I squint at all of the new bits added in, but that version of the legend was about the same. It wasn't that I didn't want to ask. I wondered about all of the fine details, but kept it to myself. Ultimately, they were interpretable through mere common sense.
The kytsater turned their attention to me. "RED EYE had their own interpretation of the legend. 'After the calamity strikes, the Promised Land shall be born from the ashes of the old worlds. And it will be a land where all are equal and free to live by their own rules. And thus do three Delta Warriors come to calm the new world's chaos. All shall be lost... and all shall be found in promise to come.'" Shaking their head and holding their masked face in their hand, they then said, "... I would have thought the common sense of the Shepard above corruption. Yet, I am left to wonder... Is there perhaps a fact withheld...?" Their head shook as they dropped their hand, hanging their head. "Regardless, I turned my back to the madness, for there was naught but false promise. A child could see where this path leads, given what I know."
... Yet another case in which the leader of a peoples had been turned against what he had come to know. Though, this was different. The King of Spades had been turned away from the idea of trusting Lightners before the KNIGHT completely turned him to their cause.
This Shepard, on the other hand, seemed to trust the KNIGHT over Lightners without a judgement clouding bad experience's effect... It didn't seem right. How was the KNIGHT so convincing? What made people want to follow them? ... Just how powerful were they...? I stared off into the fire as I tensed in dreaded thoughts and sweat, trying hard to pull for an answer with the info I had...
... Then, Shorn turned their head back up... before leaning in closer over the fire and staring at my face... I didn't realize that they were staring at me until several seconds had passed, turning my head up and jerking back in surprise with a sharp inhale and wide eyes. "U-uh! What?"
The monster tilted their head in silence, their face obscured by their mask... but I could now see the glint of their eyes from within, even if I couldn't see what color they were. "... You have... red eyes like the accursed one... Yet, they aren't a bright red. They are duller... and yet, they are more... alive." Leaning back from the fire, they came to sit on their branch as I blinked at the idea. Yet, they went on. "Their eyes are pitiable. Dead. They glow, but with what, I do not claim to know..."
The last word cocked my brow. "... Glow?"
The kytsater paused. "... They wore a helm, yet I could always see their red eyes glowing from within."
I should have taken to it faster, but I blame me having nearly been drowned and being pretty hungry for my slow thinking. My eyes shot wide and I pulled in closer. "You know what they look like!"
Another pause. "... I do."
"You have to tell me what they look like! I need to know!"
... Shorn rose to their feet and walked around to me as I rose to my own. "Talk is unneeded. I prefer to show you." And so, they reached their hand up, grasping their mask along both eye holes and the side. Then, off it came... ... ... I don't remember what face I saw beneath that mask... from that time. All I remember were their eyes. There's a reason for that...
As soon as that mask came off, Shorn's eyes were closed. But when they opened, they were like a circle of rainbow with white pupils and black schlera... Piercing... And a second after seeing them, I felt everything they did. My mind was suddenly assaulted painfully by thought and feeling, making me gasp at first before an intense pain burrowed inside of my head! Through my mouth escaped a loud, strained groan as my hands took to clutching my head, eyes wide! I felt mentally struck by a deep loneliness that refused to let up made the world seem colder for it, causing me to shiver. Not only was the feeling heavy, but It was like being squeezed! A bitter sorrow hovered over me like a dark cloud and made me tear up and sniffle, but I didn't know why I was sad. The world looked bluer to me. And then... it scorched orange as a hate hot as a desert burned over my face, drying away my tears and making me glare wildly ahead... at the figure of "my" ire.
... /How do I even...\ One second.
-CLICK!-
-CLICK!-
Alright... For this part, I had to kinda cheat a bit. I didn't know some of these words existed for armor, but here we are. I'll be reading off of a page, so you'll have to forgive me it it sounds like an essay.
-crinkle!-
Okay...
A dark-silver knight of mirror-shined armor. Heavy metal. Exposing no flesh. The helm was particularly striking. It's what is called an "armet." From the top of it's visor grew two metal spikes like demon horns. Within the visor, I saw the reason for the name "RED EYE." They actually glowed through the dark of the visor. There was no dome. All I could see was wild brown hair in scraggly spikes.
This person's chest armor was a breast plate, but unlike my own, it was fitted to cover the whole body with conforming components segmented out like muscles, but flat... And that seemed to be the whole point of this armor. Everything that could give me a hint to what I was dealing with was covered up. A red and blue cape like my own sat above the armor over one shoulder with a... bes-a-gew... carrying the DELTA RUNE emblem on it pinning the cloth in place over the shoulder. /Sorry. I really am trying my best, here.\ ... Also unlike mine, the cape was full, not ripped up. Over the other shoulder was a segmented pauldron with a round, yet sharply angled shoulder piece.
Arms? Coated by nearly full-metal gauntlets with spike-shaped elbow armor plated by gold. The knuckles too were gold. The hands? Leather on chain-mail. Further down, fauld and tasset skirted the hips and thighs, a loin cloth of blue and red stripes further obscuring. /God, how do historians know how to pronounce these words...?\
Cuise and greaves totally encased their legs, the kneecaps of the armor shaped into a spike, just like the elbow armor, in gold. The sabatons were more like boot shoes, possessing thick rubber souls and many joint segments secured together by rivets.
And the final piece, a sheathed sword with a golden hilt curved outward and shaped like the wings from the DELTA RUNE and the pommel had the triangles. It was a long sword, plain as day. One-hander handle, long blade hidden in a long sheath. An armored hand rested on it.
-crink!-
/-Sigh!- Done! Jeeze...\
... No sign that this entity was human or monster. Just that it had brown hair or fur with two red, glowing eyes hiding inside it's visor. I didn't know how tall or short they were and there was no solid evidence that it was male or female. A neutral posture that told me little...
... But because I was staring at this person from a perspective not my own, I knew what they were like... The stare I was getting from this memory or vision of the same person was calm, but dangerous. This was a person that wouldn't hesitate to kill someone, but they also resolved to minimize needless bloodshed. They had charisma, which was to say they could make you feel like they were right. And then... there was a drive that no one could stop. An endless resolution to carry out their mission...
This person wasn't crazy... They were determined.
... And then the vision ended, leaving me gasping for air and feeling like I had just gotten done running a marathon. Suddenly, I fell forward, only just acting fast enough to catch myself on handa and knees, dropping the skewered fish as I coughed into hand in a fit. I felt my body break out in pure sweat, but it felt like someone had just pulled me from the pool shy of drowning me first. /Heh. Irony.\ My coughing abruptly halted when I gagged on my lunch threatening to come up. Swallowing, I felt the same hand to my forehead and groaned.
That pain which shot through my skull turned to a headache quickly while the Kytsater set their mask back on their face and stared down at me. "Most profuse apologies. It was the only way I could show you what needed to be seen. Words are insufficient when placing faces... Not as though this figure has ever shown theirs to me. The only one who knows their face is The Shepard."
After taking a moment to myself, I just looked up at Shorn and squinted at them. "Maybe give me a little warning next time!"
Tilting their head down at me, Shorn made a sigh. "I suppose warning was merited... I apologize. Though, now your interest has a face, hm?"
... I sighed and hung my head a bit, before struggling back up to my feet and standing up while grabbing the skewer again. I groaned out and rubbed at my face with my gloved hands... But beyond my pain was a question, to which I looked at Shorn for an answer through my fingers. "H-how did you do that?"
Another pause... Then, they pointed at their mask's eye holes. "Through my mask, these eyes are threatless. All Kytsaters must wear them from the second they grow the will to first open their eyes and glimpse the world, for if they do not, through their eyes do their thoughts lay bare for all to read..."
I frowned, hanging my head and folding my arms. "That's a pretty cruel racial trait... I mean, that basically means there is no privacy without hiding who you are, in a way."
They nodded. "Indeed... With no mask, our eyes are a terrible curse..."
"How so?"
They turned their head and focused more on the ground, as far as I could tell. "..." Then, they turned to me and said, "Though our thoughts are laid bare, Kytsaters may never remember each others' faces, unless they close their eyes before the removal of their mask. Beyond ourselves, it has the same effect. Should one's uncovered eyes meet another's, that other's eyes unmasked or no, the one's face is instantly forgotten, regardless of if it was viewed before. If these unhidden eyes are stared into for too long, much more is forgotten. Amnesia would set in before much longer than ten minutes, meaning all personal memories would vanish, never to be thought of again... Eventually, the very foundations of the learned faculties would abandon next. And then... The final moment would reduce a victim to no more than a drooling husk- effectively rendering them nearly mindless, yet still able to relearn all... slowly..."
I couldn't help but shudder a bit, imagining such a thing in my head.
... Shaking their head, they then said, "Of course, this is merely what would occur should one not be able to tear themselves from a kytsater's eyes... or should that kytsater not wish to look away."
I nodded after a moment... Then, I shook my head. "Th-this... doesn't matter... as mean as it is to say that." I turned my head up from the ground and looked at Shorn's mask. "... I need to find someone. A deer monster with-"
"Blond locks?"
My heart skipped and I blinked my eyes wide. I stepped closer, almost grabbing the fox-like as my face became critical. "You've seen her, then!"
The kytsater tilted their head and shook it. "I feel as if we've walked this path before..." Then, they nodded and flicked their up-until-then lazy tendrills and tail about. "Yes, I have indeed. I may even know where she is headed..."
This person seemed to be the literal jackpot of information for me. Everything I could want to know, they knew. It was too good to be true. And yet, it was.
And so, the obvious next question was, "Where do we go, then? She's just about the whole reason I'm here."
... They just stared, not taking their eye holes off of me... It felt uncomfortable and awkward... Just when I though the mood was going to become stale, a brisk wind blew through, making their tail and tendrils flap, along with my cape. I winced a little. There hadn't been more than a light breeze before then, but that felt like the beginnings of bad weather... And then, it was gone.
Shorn looked around, standing straighter than usual. "... Are you certain...?"
The out of place question drew me into humming at them with a raised brow. "Huh? Am I certain about what?"
... They didn't seem to hear me. Or more rather, they didn't acknowledge me. Instead, the kytsater seemed to be... waiting...
... ... ... The silence was starting to make me think they had frozen. I tilted my head, then brought a hand up, waving it in front of their face. They caught it after two waves rather abruptly, much to my surprised gasp. I yanked it away as they said, "Please do not do that. I am listening to The Vale."
I groaned a little at the strength I previewed in that grasp, shaking my hand about as I held my wrist. Their grip was as strong as a vice!
... After a moment, they looked at me and said, "The Vale wishes to speak... to you."
I detected that hint of disbelief in their voice as I blinked through my confusion. Dropping my hands and straightening up a little, I tilted my head a slight bit and asked, "Uh... How?"
"Through me. I will act as her voice and you will speak to the surrounding air, which will carry your words to her. And believe me as I say, she can hear you well." The kytsater tilted their head down as I felt a hidden glare cut through me, causing me to shiver a little. "Mind your manners..."
I swallowed a growing nervousness in my throat, eyes wide and lips flat. Then, I took a nod, putting my hands up with a smile that fit my nerves. "Y-yeah. Okay..."
Humming with a nodding head, the Kytsater turned away from me and perked her ears... Just then, a soft wind rolled in and she began to speak in a completely different tone and accent- one that sounded like old english. "With dear Shorn as mine voice, I must make apologies upon my childrens' behalf, for they are won't to offer..." That said, Shorn herself turned back around to me and bowed in apology... After a moment, she stood straight again and stared at me. "I welcome thee to mine bossom- to this forest's bounty."
It was... strange... But in that moment, I had never felt as much pressure weighing down upon me in my life- that I could remember. It was like speaking directly to the leader of a nation. Not even Mom compared... The reason being that I could feel I wasn't speaking to Shorn anymore. It was almost like she wasn't there at all. And they were imposing enough... Now, there was a "presence" in the air. A squeeze around my whole being. And I think my face reflected that. I was seeping sweat and my eyes were wide.
... I had to choke something out, so, coughing into a fist, I bowed myself and tried to speak as respectfully as I could. "I-it's not a problem... maám? I-I gather that it wasn't your fault. I just wish I could have convinced them that I wasn't here to hurt them. They wouldn't listen at all..."
Another gust of soft wind and Shorn made a hum... They shook their head and spoke. "Yon art of no fault. Thy intentions weres't pure and I am full thankful, in a manner... Though, thou would do well to belay such kindness next faced by their threat of magical weaponry... Yet, they are not thine only trifle."
Groaning at the confirmation of a silent thought at the back of them all, I frowned. "I figured as much..."
After yet more swirling wind, Shorn spoke once more. "Thou mustn't lose heart. Not all of mine children beith of savage intent, though yon must be vigilant in thy guard. Yon fears be founded, yet ways of resolution yet remain within even the most violent heart... Though some, not of peaceful methods..."
I immediately assumed something dark, eyes wide. Shaking my head, I re-firmed my brow and narrowed my eyes. "If you're about to tell me to FIGHT them, I'm not doing that. Violence can't be the answer. This isn't some-"
"SOME violence is necessary," asserted Shorn, which made me wince. That was Shorn saying as much, not speaking for her mistress. As much was obvious by the clenched fists at their sides and the stiffness around their shoulders... Relaxing themselves, the kytsater unballed their fists and gestured off to the side at nothing in particular. "When The Vale speaks of a possibility of resolution that comes not from peace but from violence, she does not mean killing. This would violate a decree she herself made for all to follow. And though you are not bound by such things due to a decree made lifting these things for Bright Ones, you wouldn't be looked upon with a smile or welcomed." Shaking their head a bit, they went on. "I presume to understand that she would mean rendering violent types unconscious, regardless."
... I nodded after I understood that much, rubbing my chin at the word they used. "Decree." ... I turned my attention to her. "When you say a decree, you mean there are more. And I feel like I don't entirely understand what all that first one you explained means. Could you explain a bit more?"
Shaking their head, the person-of-unclear-gender said, "No. I will merely alert you upon the possibility you might violate a decree."
It peeved me a bit that they didn't seem fully cooperative anymore and I showed that with a cocked brow and tilted head...
Though, that just made them shake their head. "Pass judgements if you wish, though your main concerns should be otherwise..." A gentle breeze blew by us, reminding me that we were being watched as I looked around. I thought I could spot the source, but all I ever did was open air.
The kytsater spoke again as they uncurled their fists afterward. "She speaks yet again. She says, "Young Eikon of thine lands, thee shall needs harry to the north-bound place- The Dead Castletown, Anolith. There, the heart of evil beats, stronger and stronger with every waking second. The Black Geyser. Thee know it ast a Dark Fountain."
I felt my chest rise with a sharp breath I took... It wasn't that I was surprised. No. I just wasn't expecting to be told where it was. The Fountain, I mean. And I wasn't prepared to go running right up to it to close it just yet, either. My reasons are pretty obvious...
My head tilted low and I stared long and head at the ground. Now that I think about it, I had completely forgotten about the fish on a stick I was holding, but that's not important. Turning my attention back to the native, I furrowed my brow. "I can't do that, yet. My friend comes first. I refuse to leave her here to fend for herself, so please... I want to find her. She doesn't belong here... Whatever you may think of her, she only stumbled into your world by accident."
Shorn made a soft grunt at my request, tensing and turning their head away. Yet, the wind blew a moment later... Though, the kytsater groaned in response... They turned to face me again and spoke more annoyed than before. "Understand well thy want and desire to protect, I do. Though I intended to allow yon all converge upon the singular goal, thy companion for whom yon pine is in the most danger, should she remain alone. She ist, after all, unfamiliar with mine blessings even now."
I squint in confusion at part of the one sentence. "Though I intended to allow yon all to converge..." "Yon both" made sense for just me and Noelle, but "all"? It struck me as weird. I wondered with my eyes coming to rest on the ground, troubled being my expression. My thoughts had come to a very quick conclusion. Susie and maybe even Ralsei were already here. That concerned me as well...
But before I could retreat into thought further, a second wind blew by and Shorn spoke again, still groaning through the words they had to communicate, my attention back on them. "Very well, Eikon. I shall guide yon upon thy path to yon companion- the chosen upon which a fragment of mine power was bestowed... Shorn shall act as physical guide whilst I whisper within her ear upon where thou must tread. Beware. Thy way ist likely unsafe. Thine forest ist yet home to savage beasts..."
... There was an uncomfortable pause between the two of us. I couldn't see much, but I could feel plenty. It was like the kytsater was glaring at me. And that feeling made me look around in apprehension, sweat starting to bead. Whether or not they were is beyond me, but it was basically confirmed with their next spite-filled words. "You waste valuable time in this search... I should remind you that the unfaithful ever wander the forest and bring harm to both The Vale's faith and her yet-faithful children- themselves included, even be they fools. And yet, we shall search for a quivering child afraid of darkness's reach..."
I grunt from the disgust in those words and furrow my brow bitterly. "Hey. What would you do if you had a friend you knew needed help?"
There was no hesitation in their next words. In fact, they were all too excited to say them. "Nothing. In this forest, such a coward would not last the tests. And though that may sound hate-filled, consider this: How would this friend fair were there absolutely no chance of a friend running to her aid?"
That put a glare on my face... I couldn't understand why anyone would just leave a person who was helpless and afraid to fend for themselves... or I didn't want to understand it...
Shorn turned their back to me and folded their arms as their tails flicked with irritation. "Were she as helpless as you believe her to be, she would die a pathetic death to the beasts of this forest... And though you may mean well, have you considered the harm of such protection?"
A chilled wind blew passed the both of us, the Kytsater coming to bow their head... As irritated as their words made me, I still begrudgingly waited to hear what The Vale had to say... only to cock my brow when Shorn started to walk away. "H-hey!" I started after them to follow them out of the thicket... Huh. I totally forgot about my fishy meal on a stick still clutched in hand.
Either way, they stopped and I stopped in behind them... They turned to give me a sideways glance, though I still couldn't see eyes in that mask. "Do you not wish to save the coward? If so, then you can continue to pout as though you were fed ill-prepared meat. If not, then may we get on with this farce?" Then, they turned their back to me and started walking off at a brisk pace to only they knew where. "Further words waste further time. And your weak legs are slow moving enough, so follow quickly and silently."
It had only been a few minutes, but from the few things we spoke about and how we spoke, I already didn't like how Shorn thought... I didn't have a choice but to comply, though. They were my only ticket to Noelle. And so, I walked fast and close behind them... or as close as that big tail and wriggling tentacles would allow me to be.
... Still, if you want my opinion in that moment, I was thinking of how fitting those horns on their head were. And it'd be a while still before I could see their point, but I'd still see them as overly critical...
... Noelle did nothing to deserve all of this...
There we go. Yet another log into the fire.
Finally. After so many put offs, distractions and critical thinking sessions, I finally get to push in another part.
To be clear, this has TECHNICALLY been done in absolute certainty since 3/2/2019, but I didn't want to post this until I got a good deal into Part 10's writing. After all, this is mainly an exposition dump. Part 10 is where the meat is. And that part is still "early stages". You could say it's three major parts in one. I fully expect it to run a length of 10,000 words easily when it's done... Aaaand I may end up having to split it down the middle, which would make 2 parts.
Oh boy... ouo;
Yeah, I'mma got on that, now. I hope you all enjoyed the part of the day, though~!