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Finally. A glimmer on the horizon. Tranquility

Three paths.

The Man with the Moonlit Eyes made his sacrifice and escaped through the Door. Luck and another's spark. Aeons in a decade. No tether. Freedom. His path is unknown but known and all the more tempting for it. But does he know the limits he has placed upon himself? He beholds a single tree and can see naught but its bough. He does not know that behind lurks a vast forest.

The Beast makes a sacrifice of all and escapes nothing. He becomes a slave to need and is bound so tightly to the world despite not being of it. He is so low and so high. But I know a taste he does not and cannot, a distant spark in the gloaming. A richness beyond words. He is forever denied such splendour.

The hunger grows and my days and my nights are spent wrapped in circle. I turn. I eat and am eaten and all else seems so very unreal. Murder plots against me. Political schemes and machinations. All are so very ephemeral. All so empty. I blink and they change or are gone entire. Is this what it is to be pure? A growing distance from shell.

I am not Him. I am not the Beast. So what is happening to me?

Wolves.

I tried. Am trying. I fast. I chant. I keep to Her guidance.

I take of myself rather than my sister. And still I fail.

You are what you eat he says. I want to be pure. Yet I have eaten foul and fair and I do not change.

I'm sorry Loukas.

A wolf has entered the garden. His smell offends.

[Received by a contemplative Acolyte]

All becomes clear. I must nurture the garden. Prune away the weeds, shape the growing vine. And from its bounty, a feast.

Time and water.

Dear Leo,

I have read your letter over and over and I am lost. What has changed so much that you write to me so suddenly with such cruel venom? How have I wronged you? Despite everything I have only done my best to help and now you have the audacity to act the aggrieved? You, who have lived above in selfish excess. It leaves me sickened.

Do you forget so easily? You left me with only Loukas and the rats. While you poisoned yourself and tried to forget living, I was down there putting together pieces that would no longer fit no matter how much I tried. And I tried. Over and over I tried. And each night I saw their reflections in dream turn until eventually they were monsters. Noble men would claw out their wives' eyes in maddened grief. Mothers would eat their young. I cannot close my eyes without feeling their ruination and there is only so much I can do to escape what was without breaking more.

Before we finally met, I thought I would lay it all before you. That I would speak to you of all that I was made to witness. Of all the horrors below that gnaw ravenously away at the edge of sight. But I forgave you then and there as my 'cult' teaches (Or at least I thought I had done so). I wanted to support you, see you rise to the lofty heights of old with your rekindled spirit lighting the way. I wanted our legacy to no longer be sullied with the likes of Constantine's twisted vengeance.

I wanted to help you so much that I urged for you to take our most sacred rite. Unlike what was consuming you and bringing you to the depths, the Drink only brings you closer to who you would be were the world not so fallen. It uplifts and makes whole broken people. It could heal you. It could heal me. And it will one day remake our broken world.

As for the Whites, I can speak to the course and the heading, but I cannot navigate the depths for you. That was for you to do. All was set until you spoke aloud of blockading Baz'eel.

Blame me if you must. I will try to use all this as a lesson. I will forgive you all.

Only not right now.

Shame on you.

Zoe

Colour exists only where there is light and I see that light all the more clearly in the mirror of his eyes. The white contrasts the thick red and I stare and I cannot look away. How would such beauty even taste?

I had not thought that I would ever meet others who might see the same as me. The price was high, but it was a price for an echo. Not for me. There is rich colour here and I have only seen the thinnest layer.

Still, there are questions. To walk beyond oneself into another place forever risks leaving mirrors. To turn and see shades of your own reflection. And so I can't help but wonder - if one visited my ground, would they leave their own ghost? Would I thereafter be forever changed? And would that be so bad a thing?

It would seem Leo and I are destined to forever be chasing after one another's shadow. I am told he lives still and that he is if not content, at least breathing and himself - which is far more than many can claim since the fall.

Still these shadows we leave each other have consequences. He's already entangled us both in a game of intrigue I only partially understand. I am however quite certain he's being played for a dupe, the bonds of the past are not so sure a thing as he seems to believe.

By none's leave, the Lion. How utterly hollow.

I spoke with a Sister of the Sibylline Sisterhood named Selsi. I cannot recall having seen a person more yellow than her, though there are subtleties and tinges I cannot quite makeout beneath the surface. She smells of over-ripe apples and strong spice. She asked me about the colour behind my eyes. I was not expecting such a question, and could not help but asking one of my own in reply. Does she see the same as me? What colour am I?

Above I continue to discover new interesting sights. I have been travelling with an ex-Balladeer called Gramr. He is exactly the sort of brave and bold hero I have always wanted to meet with scarlet silver and an undercurrent of yellow. By all accounts he was most foully dishonoured by the reigning Balladeer whose name I forget but he continues sustained on a drink the Sisterhood provides him. He has a dulcet smell. I look forward to discovering more.

Otherwise there is a Prince of Qadira who along with his small entourage is staying above. He is dark red and there is a caustic aroma that follows. There were no elves in his party which was unusual and welcome. There are so many elves up here now and I do not know how to act around them. No one else seems affected but they are very alien and I think I do not like being near them. Hopefully they will all leave and go somewhere else. 

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Across the sands through strange vaunted halls, I supped and drank. A mix of colours all at once. Shifting tastes. Bitter. Sweet. Fragrant. Foul. And so easy to take. So proper. It makes for an intriguing prospect.

Since today is an overturning of the old, I thought I ought to try and record all intriguing discoveries I've made and will make.

My first day above and already I'm met with a panoply of colours, tastes and smells. It was almost overwhelming to be away from the grey and familiar. Doukas was there with me though and the contrast kept me steady. There's too much to write of so I shall only record the remarkable.

Firstly there were a few Pra'Raji coloured like steel and flames. They were bitter. Acidic? Red dreams. Red hues. It was very different from the Ferric. Did they really believe they were gods? They wouldn't stop to talk so I can't say.

I also met a bandit that wants to be King Orentes IV. He was very orange and he smelled woody. After I listened to him he agreed not to kill me which was a relief. He thought I was lying when I told him my name. I'm not sure how to feel about that. Perhaps we will meet again and I can learn more of him? He was very intriguing and seemed to have much potential.

Lastly I met an ashfolk called Zaheera. I've rarely seen ashfolk before. But above they are most common. She is bright yellow and smells of honey and lemons. She records history and dreams of meeting heroes. I don't think she was very clear on what heroes actually are, saying they are those that do what's necessary. Unless they are deep in mizzar clouds, most do what is necessary all the time, don't they? Perhaps she can tell me of the heroes she does discover and I can see for myself.

That's all for now. Hopefully there is much more to discover.

One of my favourite PCs. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but it was so much fun how his own paranoia would infect Lightdew's and lead to some very far out theories.

I do think it's a pain and hope it's removed