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Prologue
I have already learned the true nature of this world; every single language spoken by614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSN2uDv54vr
all the miscreated, bid farewell to all those that I ever met, and just finished predicting614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUE9yOvYyo0
most outcomes - not bad for someone born only a day ago.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirRtRgUkT5
And now I must wait here for him, atop such a generous outcrop of stone; one so614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolu9LHM9oT
easily protruding from the most graceful display of running water. A creek, I think it614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzf3HQevqU2
is called, that much like me, seems to always be running but never getting anywhere.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6RFWyDRMt
I cannot think of a better example of the flow of time and design working perfectly614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6EfWzHj7J
in tandem. Yet another sample of what can be expected in this world above, I suppose614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq3EmWHhXM
and hope; an example that for so long has dared to cross these woods that the one614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCHHQsYPhA
I am waiting for, sometimes calls his own.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0VyJrXWUC
He should be here any moment now; my inherited memories keep assuring me614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQka9OkgDM
that he comes by this exact spot every day to make his crossing, and today will be no614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvMpqLeyUR
exception. He will come. He will come and he will find me; he will find me, and he614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsoC7c9GJr
will say:614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVKGVm6CzV
“And who might you be?”614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ907OkmNHT1
After I turned around, I was greeted with a weird-looking old figure, much more so614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSTjQhRWFoj
than I was expecting, with an uneven pair of glasses barely hanging from his slightly614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxBohIvTNtq
twirled nose and a long set of grey hair cascading, knot after knot, from the top of his614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CMNQGs2F4
head. Several pieces of mismatched armour were strapped to his tall if a bit hunched,614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Xt4Auyns4
body. They had been collected over a long period of time and from all kinds of sources.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRx7qcIj2Pb
His right hand held a solid piece of armament; he tried to disguise it as a walking stick,614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsq2zaJ5wZg
but it was most definitely a good weapon. A haversack hung from his other shoulder,614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriJc0E2zbh
it was half open and mostly filled with all sorts of plants and a few samples of fungi.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDSFdtvAFY
Then I noticed behind him followed a beast of burden; great of size and with quite614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOTsfbkv3m
the relaxed jaw hanging under its corpulent nose. And if all the satchels covering its614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUex2pekjF9
blue and green skin were not enough to define its purpose, its mellow eyes surely did614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qgTKrBBAS
the trick. Also, between its massive shoulders and the middle of its curved back, rested614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yt92edVjI
a large, purple saddle. One that was just big enough for two.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0T1vVi4cQ2
“I was waiting for you,” I steadily revealed to him.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoaoQ67m3W
“It would certainly seem that way.” The old man replied quite unpreoccupied,614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyX8GrcGD4
“Please tell me then, how is it that I am fated to find a little one such as yourself out614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHHWBx13P8
here, in the middle of these woods?” He asked as he began tying that beast to the614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KIVEmWfkG
nearest tree.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1j2D9LVT2
“I just said,” I repeated without taking my eyes from all the papers I was holding,614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OZxqVQbJH
“that I came here to wait for you.”614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BdDZfpe4E
“Quite right.” He stared at me for a moment, and then finally wetted his boots as he614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWF8tGM217
ventured into that running water to make his approach. He did so slowly and carefully,614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUkoKBN2FV
as to not frighten me, which caused me to smile in appreciation. All the dirt and rips614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Y2nZ2BN4l
in my mostly white clothes easily conveying to him that I had gone through quite a614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡND2CbJ18iP
lot recently.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQ8ujBkihR
“It’s alright. You can come closer.” I told him unabashedly.614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64EPs9eQsq
“Oh, were you writing?” He was quick to notice when close enough, “And at such a614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHg6fo2Std
young age as well. Remarkable.” He then quickly followed that with a high opinion of614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrlerjZxbJ
my scattered drawings, before picking one up: “And what about these? Did you draw614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8YvPMncHY
all of them as well?”614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zv1lE49WJ
“I did.”614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3GIZs0dD4
“I know this man...” The old man confessed, “and this woman as well.” He added as614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1FM4mz1VV
his eyes caught glimpse of another half-finished sketch. He picked up that one as well,614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmNvMJmeYU
and then held them close to each other ...614Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4fMaH2I5D
“I know these people.” He insisted, without taking his eyes from those two pictures...
