Yeesh, prepare for a long journal entry from Dipper here.
June 7th
Yesterday was AMAZING! We met REAL. LIVE. DRAGONS! And we even learned some stuff about other worlds/dimensions that even Ford didn't know before! Dragons are even cooler in real life than they are in stories and video games!
Mabel and I were visiting Soos and Wendy at the Shack and showing them the Enchiridion when Wendy unintentionally got the book to show us where it came from. It showed us a colored drawing of a big archway and tunnel of twisted branches hidden somewhere deep in that canopied area of the woods. Even though it was getting late, we all decided to go looking for it. And we got completely lost! It got dark fast and we lost track of Bud at some point. Then, this little ball of fire appeared. When Mabel approached it, it vanished and another one appeared a little further away. Then, a voice spoke to us from the darkness and told us they were Will-o-Wisps and that we should follow them. Against our better judgment, we did.
The Wisps ended up leading us straight to that tunnel from the book! According to Flora, the voice from the darkness, it's called a "natural gateway" and acts as a portal of sorts, connecting this world to another called Myth. The dragons called their world "Telmak". Apparently, Bud had gone to get help, because he returned right then with our uncles and Amy. Bill was there too, probably just being nosy and following Amy. Then, we got to officially meet Flora!
Will-o-Wisps – Also known as Will o' the Wisps or Foxfire. They're these little softball-sized balls of fire that glower and whisper to get your attention. They typically hover pretty low to the ground or just above some object like a stump or rock, and they vanish into thin air when you get too close. I found out that if you stare at them for too long, they start to waver and dance in this sort of…hypnotizing way. Whispering laughter… Coaxing…
Um, anyways, both Flora and Amy said Wisps are well known for leading people to their fates. I thought that meant death, but apparently it can be a lot of things. But it can also be death, so it's probably not the smartest idea to follow them without realizing. The ones we saw were a bluish-white, but Flora told us that there are different kinds and they come in different colors like white, blue, green, purple, red, and even pink. Apparently, they're known as Foxfire because they actually look like little phantom foxes wearing masks and they have fire tails. But only powerful beings can see the Wisps' true forms. At least, that's what Amy said…
Flora – The mysterious, lovely voice we heard in the darkness of the woods introduced herself as Flora, and she turned out to be a dragon. A drake, specifically, I believe (no wings). She's a quadrupedal creature with the capability to swap to bipedal, but I think she favors the former. It must be more natural for her. Though she does have apposable thumbs, she has these scary long, sharp, jet-black claws. I couldn't really tell, but I'm pretty sure she had needle-like teeth. I figured both were for hunting and defending herself, but she said that she's not a fighter and that she only eats fruit. …Like an iguana? But those guys are definitely fighters. She also has jet-black horns and a trail of flat spikes along her spine and tail. She's a dark purple with a green underbelly and pretty green eyes. Not sure why, but she talks slow. But very clearly in a soft, comforting voice. She's very kind.
Flora told us that dragons abandoned this world a long time ago because humans were too violent towards them, but Flora was there to find Amy and get her to go back with her through that branch portal to talk to "Great Mother Gaia". She invited all of us along, so we all went. Except Bill. He didn't want to for some reason, so he stayed behind with Bud while the rest of us followed Flora through the portal.
On the other side, we found ourselves standing in a great open field. No, more like hilly plains of ankle-high, soft, green grass and wildflowers. Miles of it. The patches of flowers are like graves and mark places where dragons had died. They're immortal, but they can still be killed.
Not very far away was a huge shallow lake of the clearest water I've ever seen. At the center was an absolutely MASSIVE tree. Like, the biggest tree anyone would ever see. And, sitting at the base of it was a big dragon. The one called Gaia.
Gaia – The biggest of the dragons we saw last night. She was dark purple, a little darker than Flora, with a gray underbelly and a natural crown of long, black spikes around her head. She had a wreath of leaves and these glowing purple flowers around the base of her neck. She had wings, but they almost looked as if they were made of light or magic, and they were shaped kind of like butterfly wings. Gaia was polite and nice to us, treating us all as her guests. But she has this natural air of authority about her and sits up straight and proper. It makes you want to correct your own posture…
We also met a dragon called Zephyr. Not sure if he's supposed to be some big, important guy, considering he was hanging around Gaia when we got there, but he's kind of a jerk. All bark and no bite though it seems, and Gaia quickly put him in his place with a simple "Is there a problem?" He's got feathers and feathered wings and a nasty attitude. He doesn't like humans, that's for sure.
Even though she only wanted to ask Amy something, Gaia willingly allowed us to ask her some questions. She ended up telling us all about who/what she is, as well as her three brothers. She told us how all the worlds are connected to each other, but there are five main worlds that must continue to exist for all the others to exist. If even one of the main worlds is destroyed, EVERYTHING falls apart with it. Scary.
The giant tree is what's called a "Tether Tree" and every world has one. They're both magical and physical, and the condition of the tree reflects the condition of that world. Telmak must be a very lush and healthy world… The roots are all connected through some kind of weird magic, so that's how all the worlds are connected. The five main worlds are all needed for balance and stability. Other worlds can die, but if just one of the five main worlds does, that's the end of all things. Each world, no matter how big or small, also has a guardian. Some may consider that person the ruler of that world, but generally they're referred to as a guardian because their job is to guard and maintain the Tether Tree. A lot of them do interact directly with their world's residents though. Like Gaia. They told us a little about the main five.
Evalo – The first realm/world to exist. I'm not sure who the guardian of that one is, but Gaia said Evalo is what we call the time-space continuum or something. I didn't know it was a place…
Telmak – The guardian of Telmak is Gaia, beast of magic and life. I've already explained her. According to the dragons, Telmak can be translated to "Myth" in English. It's the birthplace of magic and dragons, as well as most fantastical magic creatures you might read about in storybooks. Telmak was the second world to be created, and Gaia is the eldest of her siblings.
Avas – The second world and sister world to Telmak. Avas means "Body" and it no longer has a guardian (more on that in a bit), but the guardian originally was the second-born sibling, Valor. Valor was a beast of light and power. According to Gaia, he was very noble and proud and a respected guardian. Avas is the world that I live in. The human world. The dragons describe this world as a strange one. A world that's always changing and evolving. Gaia referred to it as a combination of Telmak and Necronire. Chaotic, but also controlled. Avas has almost no natural magic of its own.
Sava – The third world. The name means "Soul". Sava is connected to all other worlds in a way that is different from Telmak and Avas, because Sava is what some might call the underworld or the afterlife. The dragons we met were very adamant that it is NOT the same as the "spirit world". All the souls of the dead go to Sava and are rounded up by the guardian, Ouroboros. He's the beast of everlastingness and immortality. Infinity. Unending. Gaia described Sava as an ethereal world unlike any others. There are four afterlives: Good, Bad, Purgatory, and Imprisonment. I don't know the details to say which of Purgatory and Imprisonment is the worst one. Zephyr mentioned that Ouroboros looks the most like the "Original One".
Necronire – The dragon name of the place we've always known as the Nightmare Realm. I guess that's what it translates to? Gaia said that its original name is actually Druunire, meaning Dream World. It looks kind of like outer space. An infinite realm of stars and meteors, with the odd giant floating space island and "weirdness bubbles". The "islands" are all varying in size, gravitational pull, population, and climate. Necronire is a world of chaos, randomness, and utter bizarreness. The native races and species are also weird. Being the "Nightmare Realm", Necronire is the birthplace of monsters, destruction, fear, and of course, nightmares. But it's also the birthplace of dreams in general. Not JUST nightmares. Interesting… And what's considered a monster is also varying, according to Flora. I wonder why the name was ever changed?
The five main worlds are the time and space (Evalo), magic (Telmak), body (Avas), soul (Sava), and mind (Druunire/Necronire) of the universe; as Gaia put it.
The guardian of Necronire is known as Ragnarok. Not sure if the Norse Ragnarok (the end times) is named after him or if he actually IS the end times, considering the situation…
Ragnarok is the youngest of the siblings and the black sheep of the family. The siblings were born with their purpose and set to it, with no capability to ponder or question or doubt who they are and what they are supposed to do (must be nice). But Ragnarok did. For some reason that no one knows, he has that capability and it caused some…problems. He was always being compared to his older siblings, but since he and his domain are so drastically different from them, people were afraid of him and didn't treat him very well. He tried to reach out to his siblings about it, but they couldn't understand his feelings because they literally could not feel the same way. And he couldn't understand them because of that. It drove a deep line between Ragnarok and his siblings, and he became really upset. Then, it all turned into anger and jealousy.
He wanted to be treated the same as his siblings, so he turned on them and ended up killing Valor. He was so weakened after though, that Gaia and Ouroboros were able to seal Ragnarok away in his own world and cut Necronire off from the other main worlds, making it extremely difficult to leave Necronire. He's been trapped there for well over a millennium, and with no guardian holding Avas together, Gaia and Ouroboros have to stay in place and focus all of their time and energy into holding both Avas and their own worlds together. So, they're trapped too in a way.
We originally thought that Necronire's natural chaotic nature would be the reason for its doom, but we were wrong. Gaia said that it would never collapse on itself from its natural chaos because it was created for that chaos. Ragnarok himself is the real reason that world is falling apart. As spiteful revenge, he's been carefully stealing Necronire's power and energy from the Tether Tree, making himself stronger while slowly killing his own world. His goal now is to destroy everything and everyone. Even himself. But he wants to escape first and kill those he believed wronged him personally with his own claws. Once he steals enough power, he'll be able to tear a rift and do just that.
I think Gaia and her last remaining brother might have a plan but I'm not sure how solid it is… Gaia asked Amy to deliver a message to someone called Ghost. Another dragon, I think. I wonder what's going to happen. I'm a little worried.
We also found out that Amy herself is a dragon! Or, well, half dragon that is. Her mother was a dragon and her dad was human. Turns out that most dragons have the ability to change their form and blend in with humans and some other races too. So, her mom turned herself into a human or something, I guess. Anyways, this explains a few things about Amy now.
Zephyr said that humans killed Amy's parents after finding out that her mom, Rose, was actually a dragon. Humans and dragons seem to have a long, violent history together. I guess old humans were afraid of them and thought they would kill them? So, they decided to strike first? I don't know… Wars are dumb, but we wouldn't be where we are today without them. It's a double-edged sword in a way.
I asked if Amy could turn into a dragon and she said no. The other dragons insisted that she had the capability, it's just that Amy has never managed to do it before. I wonder why? Maybe she just needs practice or some kind of…kickstart?
Note: The dragons know of Bill. But not only do they also know he's returned, they don't even seem surprised about it! Actually, they weren't even bothered by it. Flora spoke to Bill just like she did to the rest of us and Gaia didn't show any signs of fear, concern, disliking, or anything over him when he was brought up in the conversation. The only one who reacted even a little negatively was Zephyr, who only made a "tch" sound and rolled his eyes. Are they not worried about him because they're stronger? Or is it something else? But what the heck else would it be?!
…
"Amy!" Mabel interrupted. "Why didn't you tell us your birthday is tomorrow?!"
She looked back at them. She had been cleaning the glitter and decorations from the sheep's wool. "How do you know that?"
"We were playing with the Enchiridion," Dipper told her.
"Oh, well, I don't really celebrate it, so –"
They looked appalled. "What!? Why not?"
She made a face. "Who was I supposed to celebrate with?"
"Bud," Mabel placed her hands on her hips.
"So," Dipper said. "You really don't have any family members you're in contact with?"
"I don't have family members, period." She brushed wool off her shirt. "I only know my cousin Marie, and we don't exactly get along."
"Did something happen between you two?"
"No," she went back to her work. "Nothing at all."
.
"Ugh, come on!" Mabel threw her head back in frustration. She had the Enchiridion open on her lap. Strange symbols were written on its pages. "I can't understand this language!"
Dipper peered over her shoulder to look at the book.
His sister gasped as an idea popped into her head. She quickly picked up the book and ran out of their room. Curious, he followed after her. She stopped in the living room and looked around then glanced down at the book. "Where is Bill?" The book flipped a page and produced an image of Bill sitting near a large circular window. "Is that a room in the house?" She made a face.
"It must be Amy's room," Dipper said. "I don't think we should go in her room. What do you want with Bill anyway?"
"Says the guy who took this book," Mabel rolled her eyes. "Was there even a rule about going in Amy's room?" Before her brother could respond, Mabel was already up the stairs.
The second flight of stairs was directly across from them as they came to the second floor. At the top of the second flight was a shut door that barred their way to Amy's room. Dipper was going to tell her to knock first, but Mabel was already peeking through the door.
Amy's room was fairly sized and, since it was once the attic, the ceiling took the pointed shape of the roof. There was a large bed centered against the other wall with the sheets folded neatly over it. Several bookshelves lined the corners of the room, holding books and decorations shaped like animals, and a big paper dragon hung from the ceiling as if in flight. To the right was a large circular window with a cushioned seat rimmed along the bottom where Bill was lounging and looking through the window.
Despite them not making any sound, he turned to look at them and narrowed his eye. "Ugh, what do you pests want?"
Mabel ran up to him and showed him the page with the strange text on it. "What is this?" She pointed to the symbols.
He barely glanced at it before he turned back to the window. "It's the written language of dragons. Now go away."
"But what does it say?"
He muttered something as he turned to read the text. "It's a phone number. Who are you trying to call?"
"What do you care?" Dipper said.
"I don't," he retorted then read the numbers out. "Now leave me alone before I throw you out this window."
"Yeesh," Mabel closed the book, "moody. Thank you!" She turned and ran back down the stairs.
The next morning, Amy was surprised to find the twins already awake and eating breakfast. "Happy birthday!" they shouted, causing her to flinch.
"Thanks, I guess," she said. "Why are you two up already?"
Mabel smiled. "We weren't sure when our present was coming in, so we woke up super early! Like, four-thirty or something? It'll be worth it."
"You ordered something?" Amy looked concerned.
"You could say that." Just then, the doorbell rang. Mabel jumped from her seat, almost knocking over her bowl of cereal. "She's here!"
Amy stiffened. "She? Who did you invite to my house?"
"Come on, open the door!" Mabel dragged her over to the door.
She sighed and opened the door to find a young woman around her age standing on the other side. Her clothes and white, furry coat looked expensive and seemed more like they belonged in winter rather than the summer. Her hair was pale blonde and cut short with her bangs clipped to the side by a small pink barrette that stood out from her other clothes. The girl was brimming with excitement. "Amy!" She spread her arms out and embraced her.
"Marie?!" Amy stepped back but couldn't avoid getting trapped in her cousin's embrace. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean?" Marie stepped back to look at her. "I came for your birthday. Happy birthday!" She stepped into the house and smiled at the children. "Ooh! You must be the kids that called me! You're a little taller than I imagined… Oh, but you're so cute!"
Amy shot them a glare and the siblings laughed awkwardly. Ford stopped at the base of the stairs and Stan came from the living room to see what was going on. "What's all the ruckus?" he asked.
"It's Amy's birthday," Mabel told him. "We invited her cousin Marie for the day!"
"Ooh, there are so many people here." Marie quickly introduced herself to each of them. As she turned, she was startled to find a one-eyed man staring down at her. "Oh! Hello, hehe."
He examined her for a split second. "Ugh, it's you."
"You say that like you know me," she tilted her head. "But I'm quite sure I've never met you in my life!" She gasped. "Are you Amy's boyfriend?"
"What?!" Amy squeaked.
He laughed. "Whatever floats your boat lady. Name's Bill Cipher."
Marie giggled and bumped her hip lightly against Amy's. "Nice catch!"
Amy's cheeks flushed. "E-excuse me?!"
"Let's go somewhere! We could go to a park, or a mall, or… what is there to do in this town anyway?"
"Well, there is a mall not far off from-"
Amy interrupted Dipper. "Don't give her ideas!"
"Then let's do that!" Marie grabbed Amy's wrists. "We can bring those two cuties, too!" She looked at Bill. "You can definitely come with."
"Ha! I don't need your permission, lady."
Whether she was oblivious or simply chose to ignore his remark, Marie smiled back at Amy. "You do still have that convertible I got you, right?"
"Wait," Dipper said. "Marie gave you that car? It looks like it costs a fortune!"
"Oh, don't be silly!" Marie laughed. "Nothing but the best for my cousin. She's like a sister to me!"
"Since when?" Amy muttered under her breath.
…
Marie was rambling as they walked through the mall. Every now and then she would get distracted by something and excitedly gush over it. "Ooh! What about that? Or those!"
"I told you," Amy grunted. "I'm not trying on clothes."
"Well, that takes the fun out of it," Marie huffed. "But we probably wear the same size, so you don't have to try anything on."
"What? No, I don't need you-" She took off after something before Amy could finish. "Ugh!"
"I get that she's a little…out there," Dipper walked over to Amy, "but she seems really nice. Why did you say you guys don't get along?"
Amy grumbled and looked away. "I know what'll cheer you up!" Mabel grinned. "A mall pretzel!"
"Fine," she huffed.
…
Bill sat at the end of a wooden bench with his arm propped up along the backrest. Amy sat beside him with Mabel and Dipper to her left, the three of them snacking on pretzels.
"Feel better?" Mabel asked her. Amy grunted and continued eating.
"There you guys are!" Marie ran over carrying bags full of clothes. "I got you some birthday gifts!"
"Six bags…of clothes," Amy blinked at her. "I don't need more clothes, especially not six bags!"
"It's fine," Marie laughed. "Oh, I saw these cute shoes that would go great with this one outfit." She shuffled through the bags.
"I don't need new shoes." Amy stood up.
"No silly, it's fine." Marie continued looking through the bags.
"Marie!"
"Yes? What do you need?"
"Nothing! I don't need anything!" They all stopped and stared at Amy.
Marie looked confused. "Well, I'm just trying to-"
"To what?! Since when do you care about me?!"
"I-"
"You've never been there before! You've never visited, or even called. Nothing! You just run around your mansion getting whatever you want without a single care in the world. As if you ever thought about me! Now you show up and act like we've been so close this whole time! You don't even know me!"
"W-well, I've thought of you… I've sent you gifts before and…"
"Oh, yes. Expensive cars and clothes and things I don't need. All you're doing is trying to make up for not being there by buying all these stupid things! But you never called or sent a letter. You never actually wanted to talk to me or to be around."
"I don't understand-"
"Of course you don't! No one does! No one ever will! And you definitely won't!" Amy quickly stormed away. Bill watched and waited a moment before following after her.
"Man," Dipper exchanged worried looks with his sister. "That was…not like Amy."
"I'm sure she didn't mean it," Mabel tried to ease the tension.
Marie sighed. "No…she did, and she's right. At least, partly. See, her father and mine are brothers…were, but they never really got along. Ever since I can remember, my father wouldn't let me have any contact with him or Amy. For the longest time, we didn't know that both of her parents had passed. I wanted to reach out to her, but he refused. I don't know why. Eventually, I found out where she lived and started sending her birthday presents, but that was all I could get away with. I still live with my parents, but now that I'm older I can get away with actually visiting or contacting Amy. I guess I went about it the wrong way… Amy is the only other family we have. She's right though, I don't know her. We don't have anything in common it seems."
"You need to tell her all of that," Dipper told her. "You should tell her about that, and then maybe you guys can spend today getting to know each other instead of this."
…
"You're gonna walk all the way home?" Bill laughed as he followed Amy.
"I'm not going to make them walk, but I'm not waiting for them either."
"Ah, who cares? You're too nice to those runts." He stepped in front of her suddenly, causing her to run into him. "I have a better idea," he smirked, "but it can wait 'til after your chat."
"Chat?" She turned to see Marie and the twins approaching. She turned back to find that Bill was no longer in sight. "What…?"
"Amy," Dipper caught her attention. "We think you and Marie should have a talk."
…
They watched as the bus came into view reflecting the soft orange light of the evening sun. "Well," Marie stood up. "This was a start. I wish I could have made room for more than a day, but at least I know you better now." She smiled at her cousin then looked to the siblings. "Thanks for inviting me…and, you know, directing me. Hehe, I'm definitely going to keep in touch!" The bus's breaks squealed as it came to a stop in front of them.
Amy smiled softly. "Right. Just give me a warning the next time you decide to pop up. I already get more than my fair share of surprises around here."
"But it's no fun if you're expecting it!" Marie teased. "Heh, okay. Tell your boyfriend I said bye!" She skipped up the bus steps like a small child would.
"Stop saying that!" Amy snapped, but her reaction only made Marie even giddier.
The twins exchanged smirks. They weren't around when the cousins had their talk, but it seemed like it went rather well. After heading home, Amy and Marie had spent the rest of the day chatting under the willow tree. They waved good-bye to Marie as she took a seat and waved excitedly with both hands.
"Does she know about the whole magic and dragon thing?" Dipper asked as the bus drove away.
"Nope." Amy watched the bus until it was gone from sight. "I'll probably tell her… eventually."
"So…" Mabel began. "I know it was kind of rocky, but in the end, did you like our present?"
Amy stared at her for a moment before mocking annoyance. "I guess I won't feed you to Flower."
Dipper shivered. "Flower…"
Amy laughed and began to walk away. "Come on. I have to round up the sheep before it gets dark."
"Can I help?" Mabel ran after her.
"No."
"Aww, what!?"
…
It was already dark by the time Amy had rounded up all of the sheep. Bud, who liked to sleep outside at night, had already taken his place on the porch. She stopped at the door and bent down to stroke his head. "Good-night, Bud." His thin tail flopped a few times in response.
She entered her dark room to find something on her bed glowing with a pale white light as round as the moon. She carefully scooped it up in one hand to examine the lily-shaped flower then looked over to the window where Bill was sitting. "Where did you get a white Amaranth? I thought they only came in shades of blue and purple."
"You thought wrong," he said casually then stood up and walked over to her. He looked down at the flower. "I don't get why so many creatures celebrate their birth day. Even dragons do it." He shrugged.
"Is that your way of saying this is a birthday gift?" She smiled. "Heh, thanks."
"Yeah, whatever…"
To be continued…
Marie's father is the brother of Amy's father and the one that discovered the truth about her mother, Rose. Marie's dad is the one who, along with a few others, attacked and, ultimately, killed Amy's parents.
If it was not obvious before...since he got messed up by the Pines and has been stuck in a weak human form trying to store up power, Bill can't really do too much in the way of crazy magic or foresight right now. Also, with what little he CAN do, he still cannot see anything past, present, or future about Amy, Ghost, or Gaia, Ouroboros, and Ragnarok. Like, at all. He hates it.
Fun fact: Zephyr and Amy are related! Cedarclaw and Harpy are the parents of Rose, who is Amy's mom. Harpy had a brother named Astro. Astro and Clairabell are the parents of Zephyr. That makes Amy and Zephyr cousins!