Prologue
I have already learned the true nature of this world; every single language spoken by771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4NnZCYMoh
all the miscreated, bid farewell to all those that I ever met, and just finished predicting771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AcDcRTyCQ
most outcomes - not bad for someone born only a day ago.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOZHkUXNGM
And now I must wait here for him, atop such a generous outcrop of stone; one so771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoqvrTNGkx
easily protruding from the most graceful display of running water. A creek, I think it771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgE9yFMn8j
is called, that much like me, seems to always be running but never getting anywhere.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4vrHQniAp
I cannot think of a better example of the flow of time and design working perfectly771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6MniUxSpf
in tandem. Yet another sample of what can be expected in this world above, I suppose771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3LARU1lOm
and hope; an example that for so long has dared to cross these woods that the one771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mu6MaoSze
I am waiting for, sometimes calls his own.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE651ze96bx
He should be here any moment now; my inherited memories keep assuring me771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98UaW2uhCv
that he comes by this exact spot every day to make his crossing, and today will be no771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9jSzLZFU4
exception. He will come. He will come and he will find me; he will find me, and he771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFWBkvAQZdc
will say:771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnBiIEeVQN
“And who might you be?”771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8jwRdi03R
After I turned around, I was greeted with a weird-looking old figure, much more so771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dVwgoGoLN
than I was expecting, with an uneven pair of glasses barely hanging from his slightly771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hPwSKq9bn
twirled nose and a long set of grey hair cascading, knot after knot, from the top of his771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0Lppv9EGi
head. Several pieces of mismatched armour were strapped to his tall if a bit hunched,771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL09u5ZUqvB
body. They had been collected over a long period of time and from all kinds of sources.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvfI9hgO54
His right hand held a solid piece of armament; he tried to disguise it as a walking stick,771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uH9nTeNGi
but it was most definitely a good weapon. A haversack hung from his other shoulder,771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ184uk3xkjs
it was half open and mostly filled with all sorts of plants and a few samples of fungi.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaZOFGwv2O
Then I noticed behind him followed a beast of burden; great of size and with quite771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZo0aNCYMRx
the relaxed jaw hanging under its corpulent nose. And if all the satchels covering its771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQFITwz4W1
blue and green skin were not enough to define its purpose, its mellow eyes surely did771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0akBpcFR9
the trick. Also, between its massive shoulders and the middle of its curved back, rested771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCj6kdrPHRr
a large, purple saddle. One that was just big enough for two.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9iSXK7IPw
“I was waiting for you,” I steadily revealed to him.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0tAijs3UU
“It would certainly seem that way.” The old man replied quite unpreoccupied,771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWUjhHv7j2
“Please tell me then, how is it that I am fated to find a little one such as yourself out771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27XtnJSig4
here, in the middle of these woods?” He asked as he began tying that beast to the771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDA3rWfdKPo
nearest tree.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHlqBsdLKg
“I just said,” I repeated without taking my eyes from all the papers I was holding,771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOwbN0OKWq
“that I came here to wait for you.”771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugdtO7KJKw
“Quite right.” He stared at me for a moment, and then finally wetted his boots as he771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dcumAdxAn
ventured into that running water to make his approach. He did so slowly and carefully,771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHoIbYbUM9
as to not frighten me, which caused me to smile in appreciation. All the dirt and rips771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3xijjyhAu
in my mostly white clothes easily conveying to him that I had gone through quite a771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6lit57hFW
lot recently.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgtLr8GnqI
“It’s alright. You can come closer.” I told him unabashedly.771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUn4GZNIgPw
“Oh, were you writing?” He was quick to notice when close enough, “And at such a771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9oPsRb130
young age as well. Remarkable.” He then quickly followed that with a high opinion of771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSWqduKeHz
my scattered drawings, before picking one up: “And what about these? Did you draw771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbhsA7Xetg
all of them as well?”771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAp4GmO4Z2o
“I did.”771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfXA4PH2jP
“I know this man...” The old man confessed, “and this woman as well.” He added as771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3e6PhgThJf
his eyes caught glimpse of another half-finished sketch. He picked up that one as well,771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qrLomiGzp
and then held them close to each other ...771Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGVpqHrJGp
“I know these people.” He insisted, without taking his eyes from those two pictures...
