x
Prologue
I have already learned the true nature of this world; every single language spoken by624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOWvkj3vvY
all the miscreated, bid farewell to all those that I ever met, and just finished predicting624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR80xD62bfn
most outcomes - not bad for someone born only a day ago.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFARnf7adsg
And now I must wait here for him, atop such a generous outcrop of stone; one so624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQS0zkkzWo
easily protruding from the most graceful display of running water. A creek, I think it624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4KwpHZDIR
is called, that much like me, seems to always be running but never getting anywhere.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9SbP0tUMS
I cannot think of a better example of the flow of time and design working perfectly624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTsf1E8bQK
in tandem. Yet another sample of what can be expected in this world above, I suppose624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFE7nqzGAI
and hope; an example that for so long has dared to cross these woods that the one624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1DRPogm6b
I am waiting for, sometimes calls his own.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4lWJhVsQ2
He should be here any moment now; my inherited memories keep assuring me624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvnKFfgu4u
that he comes by this exact spot every day to make his crossing, and today will be no624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoCREIHvON
exception. He will come. He will come and he will find me; he will find me, and he624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcB3kMf8xIy
will say:624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQNpQPFOc4
“And who might you be?”624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWgx0WsxRV
After I turned around, I was greeted with a weird-looking old figure, much more so624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzcLDrtuOBY
than I was expecting, with an uneven pair of glasses barely hanging from his slightly624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbulbJq1cIy
twirled nose and a long set of grey hair cascading, knot after knot, from the top of his624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XT3M0x0lX
head. Several pieces of mismatched armour were strapped to his tall if a bit hunched,624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡre04k0SUVi
body. They had been collected over a long period of time and from all kinds of sources.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZUgQ8t9jd
His right hand held a solid piece of armament; he tried to disguise it as a walking stick,624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcIt7gkDmJ
but it was most definitely a good weapon. A haversack hung from his other shoulder,624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrUlauxkpd
it was half open and mostly filled with all sorts of plants and a few samples of fungi.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHZ7YXcaSP
Then I noticed behind him followed a beast of burden; great of size and with quite624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboVW7Lf0k9
the relaxed jaw hanging under its corpulent nose. And if all the satchels covering its624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5akiLUMP7
blue and green skin were not enough to define its purpose, its mellow eyes surely did624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9jDgh6Z3s
the trick. Also, between its massive shoulders and the middle of its curved back, rested624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQZxvJRm3G
a large, purple saddle. One that was just big enough for two.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLqWuKuTmV
“I was waiting for you,” I steadily revealed to him.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJaAhl0Yri
“It would certainly seem that way.” The old man replied quite unpreoccupied,624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcsEEigzqG
“Please tell me then, how is it that I am fated to find a little one such as yourself out624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFA1eWVjSj
here, in the middle of these woods?” He asked as he began tying that beast to the624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVf2MsC7co
nearest tree.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bsAWJfCMM
“I just said,” I repeated without taking my eyes from all the papers I was holding,624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBq3XnwPMJ
“that I came here to wait for you.”624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzfpZL02zk
“Quite right.” He stared at me for a moment, and then finally wetted his boots as he624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIGEg86ZAx
ventured into that running water to make his approach. He did so slowly and carefully,624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqadN5V26vX
as to not frighten me, which caused me to smile in appreciation. All the dirt and rips624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWf2VTJBs4p
in my mostly white clothes easily conveying to him that I had gone through quite a624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5guV5ydVW
lot recently.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqydmYAuQod
“It’s alright. You can come closer.” I told him unabashedly.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw47BzVJrv4
“Oh, were you writing?” He was quick to notice when close enough, “And at such a624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXotOswEePd
young age as well. Remarkable.” He then quickly followed that with a high opinion of624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ug8LQ82M5
my scattered drawings, before picking one up: “And what about these? Did you draw624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTIKcI15Hf
all of them as well?”624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanzaOsUTxO
“I did.”624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ByVDLOdzF
“I know this man...” The old man confessed, “and this woman as well.” He added as624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHemx86gVWL
his eyes caught glimpse of another half-finished sketch. He picked up that one as well,624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgn7JMrKv2
and then held them close to each other ...624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjU5qM624dk
“I know these people.” He insisted, without taking his eyes from those two pictures...
