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Prologue
I have already learned the true nature of this world; every single language spoken by578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzdbn75pyR
all the miscreated, bid farewell to all those that I ever met, and just finished predicting578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulyB2WOiIr
most outcomes - not bad for someone born only a day ago.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBiwjKNM0Nk
And now I must wait here for him, atop such a generous outcrop of stone; one so578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMA9ri2M9FK
easily protruding from the most graceful display of running water. A creek, I think it578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbiH1iOJSl
is called, that much like me, seems to always be running but never getting anywhere.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93FVY7C6ly
I cannot think of a better example of the flow of time and design working perfectly578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIgqYHoVtb
in tandem. Yet another sample of what can be expected in this world above, I suppose578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9elLqvJiD8
and hope; an example that for so long has dared to cross these woods that the one578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoowcF4jeS
I am waiting for, sometimes calls his own.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKWOPbCdYO
He should be here any moment now; my inherited memories keep assuring me578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvujmy8mXK
that he comes by this exact spot every day to make his crossing, and today will be no578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ733gk95tUx
exception. He will come. He will come and he will find me; he will find me, and he578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcYQgoG286
will say:578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06RhhGBVip
“And who might you be?”578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvcc6zgwNj5
After I turned around, I was greeted with a weird-looking old figure, much more so578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ccweXOaQZ
than I was expecting, with an uneven pair of glasses barely hanging from his slightly578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sRasaZVtD
twirled nose and a long set of grey hair cascading, knot after knot, from the top of his578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvJkJz9HED
head. Several pieces of mismatched armour were strapped to his tall if a bit hunched,578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSIx7J5ozt
body. They had been collected over a long period of time and from all kinds of sources.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpPu2gJLGF
His right hand held a solid piece of armament; he tried to disguise it as a walking stick,578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGNKKsWg7o
but it was most definitely a good weapon. A haversack hung from his other shoulder,578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD49fZGsFPc
it was half open and mostly filled with all sorts of plants and a few samples of fungi.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpf9fNqmDGv
Then I noticed behind him followed a beast of burden; great of size and with quite578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYBZRXZtVH
the relaxed jaw hanging under its corpulent nose. And if all the satchels covering its578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi22GtuzbyE
blue and green skin were not enough to define its purpose, its mellow eyes surely did578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlz0W7B4j8
the trick. Also, between its massive shoulders and the middle of its curved back, rested578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEH9DIKdeoz
a large, purple saddle. One that was just big enough for two.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWjpsQHhQE
“I was waiting for you,” I steadily revealed to him.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpWMQA5Okc
“It would certainly seem that way.” The old man replied quite unpreoccupied,578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHgbcWI0ZU
“Please tell me then, how is it that I am fated to find a little one such as yourself out578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6OALx8LtN
here, in the middle of these woods?” He asked as he began tying that beast to the578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj9HjV8rUi
nearest tree.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHBpiiOlV5
“I just said,” I repeated without taking my eyes from all the papers I was holding,578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRT6R2O6pll
“that I came here to wait for you.”578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlzG9n0tbA
“Quite right.” He stared at me for a moment, and then finally wetted his boots as he578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2etZlQxsl
ventured into that running water to make his approach. He did so slowly and carefully,578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nIyyZE7sM
as to not frighten me, which caused me to smile in appreciation. All the dirt and rips578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiLVdt3fpl
in my mostly white clothes easily conveying to him that I had gone through quite a578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBj2hmQRg1
lot recently.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuAQ6pR7gt
“It’s alright. You can come closer.” I told him unabashedly.578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2QpGQCe6a
“Oh, were you writing?” He was quick to notice when close enough, “And at such a578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlp9Jj0fRpN
young age as well. Remarkable.” He then quickly followed that with a high opinion of578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrXjV5EPTT
my scattered drawings, before picking one up: “And what about these? Did you draw578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7hmZjImCD
all of them as well?”578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVM5hIfQ1u
“I did.”578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTxp3oJ6UM
“I know this man...” The old man confessed, “and this woman as well.” He added as578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBNHUWTdDl
his eyes caught glimpse of another half-finished sketch. He picked up that one as well,578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuzq3tmTuE
and then held them close to each other ...578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQLBlPD1zX
“I know these people.” He insisted, without taking his eyes from those two pictures...
