Prologue
I have already learned the true nature of this world; every single language spoken by761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ908HXILp0a
all the miscreated, bid farewell to all those that I ever met, and just finished predicting761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabQ2Qlralf
most outcomes - not bad for someone born only a day ago.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj42Hq3HCCz
And now I must wait here for him, atop such a generous outcrop of stone; one so761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjiAfl9BS4
easily protruding from the most graceful display of running water. A creek, I think it761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvP4hasrcX
is called, that much like me, seems to always be running but never getting anywhere.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIO2LrfTLZQ
I cannot think of a better example of the flow of time and design working perfectly761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2f5JepxelZ
in tandem. Yet another sample of what can be expected in this world above, I suppose761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cSOcpqUHI
and hope; an example that for so long has dared to cross these woods that the one761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6G7aYAsv4c
I am waiting for, sometimes calls his own.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeb58IBtYAQ
He should be here any moment now; my inherited memories keep assuring me761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLEurB6rQB
that he comes by this exact spot every day to make his crossing, and today will be no761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2XkbfCKzk
exception. He will come. He will come and he will find me; he will find me, and he761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXEU2xauDD
will say:761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchuYueOmF8
“And who might you be?”761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaHPNFZUq5
After I turned around, I was greeted with a weird-looking old figure, much more so761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVuhfZqAV7
than I was expecting, with an uneven pair of glasses barely hanging from his slightly761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOVVeiLc2j
twirled nose and a long set of grey hair cascading, knot after knot, from the top of his761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pBhknoWUx
head. Several pieces of mismatched armour were strapped to his tall if a bit hunched,761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQUWpgoV2q
body. They had been collected over a long period of time and from all kinds of sources.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEruaM1rVN
His right hand held a solid piece of armament; he tried to disguise it as a walking stick,761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBwuflcUgS
but it was most definitely a good weapon. A haversack hung from his other shoulder,761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb36vuM6XDx
it was half open and mostly filled with all sorts of plants and a few samples of fungi.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhpooFAYvL
Then I noticed behind him followed a beast of burden; great of size and with quite761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjl7mQxRW4q
the relaxed jaw hanging under its corpulent nose. And if all the satchels covering its761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKG94lh7n4
blue and green skin were not enough to define its purpose, its mellow eyes surely did761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbJr9njKcZ
the trick. Also, between its massive shoulders and the middle of its curved back, rested761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zZi9DZCMV
a large, purple saddle. One that was just big enough for two.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxK70ct7HG
“I was waiting for you,” I steadily revealed to him.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGY2YoyyHFw
“It would certainly seem that way.” The old man replied quite unpreoccupied,761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfbqlLZjpN
“Please tell me then, how is it that I am fated to find a little one such as yourself out761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GGu8pAiGp
here, in the middle of these woods?” He asked as he began tying that beast to the761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uRrOQLask
nearest tree.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA02BZty0Yt
“I just said,” I repeated without taking my eyes from all the papers I was holding,761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXsNOoHlLE
“that I came here to wait for you.”761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Dq3ZMCCzG
“Quite right.” He stared at me for a moment, and then finally wetted his boots as he761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfYyE8RHIk
ventured into that running water to make his approach. He did so slowly and carefully,761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtywlZ1Cp0q
as to not frighten me, which caused me to smile in appreciation. All the dirt and rips761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FGsH6ZlGI
in my mostly white clothes easily conveying to him that I had gone through quite a761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgOvd9Qtob
lot recently.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzKsfFpTBM
“It’s alright. You can come closer.” I told him unabashedly.761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlXwnGM3J1
“Oh, were you writing?” He was quick to notice when close enough, “And at such a761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurW11GbOtX
young age as well. Remarkable.” He then quickly followed that with a high opinion of761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1C8TsBLFxA
my scattered drawings, before picking one up: “And what about these? Did you draw761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQwTBa7tx6
all of them as well?”761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aCThTKm7y
“I did.”761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAL5Tb8dp8b
“I know this man...” The old man confessed, “and this woman as well.” He added as761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt75TmffMDt
his eyes caught glimpse of another half-finished sketch. He picked up that one as well,761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JWQIRvQdg
and then held them close to each other ...761Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBXQGR84B3
“I know these people.” He insisted, without taking his eyes from those two pictures...
