''Something fell through the Moon Door''
(text-style:"italic","underline","superscript")[THE TWENTIETH MOON OF MERCY IN THE YEAR 88744]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I couldn't sleep. I woke just as the cold early dew began to form and listened to the song of stirring Blackbirds. It was hours before the rising Sun even painted the Moon Door pink.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ A faint anxiety clung to me all morning, it's been with me ever since the expedition, despite my attempts to repress it. It tends to fade as the day goes on, pooling at dawn and dusk, stagnating throughout the night. I try to fall asleep quickly and escape it, but doing so feels like dodging a responsibility, forcing my unconscious self to deal with my problems. Lately, I can't remember any of my dreams, I don't think my brain wants me to relive the things that haunt my night mind.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Nabu once said he would teach me how to meditate like he often does, to help clear my head. Its funny, my only real responsibility is simply keeping myself alive and that's already stressful enough. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to take care of the Library itself.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Nabu has eluded me in person since he last visited with his strange items. Yesterday, I saw one of his carved messages on a wall just east of the Groaning Hall. Upon translation it read:
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//DO NOT TRAVEL EAST - FLOOD - NEW CHAMBER HAS RISEN FROM ROOTS - DISPLACED LAKE - FOUND NEW TOOLS TO HELP WITH HARVEST -YOU WILL LIKE THEM - I WILL BRING THEM TO YOU.//
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I hope to see Nabu soon. I have many questions for him.](stop:)]
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[[Go fishing]]
[[Tend to the crops]]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I decided to set my mind to work on some mundane tasks, my own form of meditation. I've found that when I'm troubled, instead of trying to navigate my brain to find the problem, I just need to get up and out into the world, to let the sun shine on my skin and wind blow through my bones. Somehow, the Library has its own ways of untangling my mind, I just need to give it enough time to do so.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Nabu's message of a flood reminded me that now was the finest season to fish, so I gathered my long unused tackle and headed out to my favorite spot.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Hugging the rim of the Ephemeris Chamber is a shallow stream that widens into a deep, verdant pool on the southside. Its calm waters gathered against the grand, pale, algae stained wall. I batted my way through the tall grasses encircling the pond and found a warm, sunbaked stone to sit on. I readied my meager bait and cast a line into the lilies - now all I had to do was wait.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Across the pond from me was the shadowy, half sunken gateway to the Library's southern reaches. All water flows south, to the Canyon, a monstrous gaping maw that gives way to the Roots. Its dauntingly wide and seemingly bottomless, waterfalls whisking into clouds long before they reach its unseen fathoms. A colossal wound so profound that even the Library seems incapable of healing it. I've visited the Canyon only a few times, exploring its ledges being a treacherous endeavor. During monsoons water cascades through the corridors and roars into the south with brutal intensity, ripping up trees, brittle stone, and even helpless beasts, casting all of them into the Canyon's depths. I often avoid traveling south, despite its beauty. The whole trek is on a downward slope, making the return journey exhausting, as if there is some great thing weighing down the world, causing a depression in the structure of the Library.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ A series of tumbling, trilling notes broke the silence. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice an elegant blue Heron had come to join me by the pond.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'Hello!' I called out, 'You're welcome to have one of my fish if you wait a bit longer - if I catch any that is.' //In retrospect, 'bit' is an ambitiously short measure of time when it comes to my fish catching skills.//
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ The Heron tilted their head back and forth, as if to rearrange my words in their skull, trying to make sense of the offer. They curved their beak to the sky and excitedly flapped their wings, responding by emitting a whirring, clacking sound from their throat. I imagined it was a Heron's way of saying thank you.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ On the lucky days I do catch something I try to make their deaths swift. I thank the fish for giving their life, but know that if I were ever the prey on another beast's line, no amount of thanks would ease my fear. How odd is it for life to eternally struggle to thrive. It always ends the same way, whether it be my hook in the pond or the frozen winds of Judgment that bring death year after year. Maybe it's because no fish lives long enough to truly understand the cycle. They think that maybe this time the hook comes with a different purpose. It makes me wonder what cycles of the universe I'm blind to.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Suddenly, the Heron puffed up, bristling its feathers in agitation. It chittered anxiously before frantically flying away into the dark, sunken corridor. I felt the flicker of a shadow grace my cheek followed by a shrill whistle from above, then a loud SPLASH as something hurtled into the pond. A jolt of shock shot through me, but as my heartbeat settled, surprise was replaced with curiosity. Did something just fall from the sky? From the Moon Door?
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I took off my shoes and waded into the pool, delicately pushing aside the lilies. I tried to feel about the muddy earth with my feet, but felt nothing besides reeds and smoothed down stones. I decided to get a closer look and ducked into the cloudy emerald water, carefully examining the algae caked soil. At first, it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary. Then I saw a small school of Mud Scamps investigating something amongst the weedy tangle ahead of me. I gently brushed the fish aside to see the object of their intrigue. It was a stone. A small, perfectly smooth, oval stone. Just like any other rock at the bottom of the pond, except this one was painted only by a dark, timeless black. It felt so at home in the murky water and yet estranged from it, as if it once belonged, but was unwelcome to return. I cautiously reached out to grasp the stone. It was very cold to the touch, sending a faint shiver of dread throughout my body. There was an eerie, veiled nature to it, but I took it with me all the same. The pond had no desire to hold it.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ It's night now and nothing new has fallen through the Moon Door. I've thought a long while about the incident, trying to find any other excuse as to where the stone came from. But my mind always returns to the same conclusion. Somehow, this stone belongs to the sky - somehow, it's from //beyond// the Moon Door. I've been sitting in the central clearing for hours now, desperately trying to write this journal entry, but I can't focus. I just keep turning the stone over in my palm, running it through my fingers, trying to understand it. A faint odor clings to it, something the pond couldn't wash away, a distant scent of fire and brimstone.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ This is the first time anything has fallen though the Moon Door. I didn't even realize such a thing was possible, but many unknowns of the Library have lately been brought to light. It bewilders me. Why is it here? Was it sent here with intention? If so, what was its message? Nothing exists beyond the Door, just the sun, stars, moon, and now - this stone.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Thoughts began to creep back into my skull, whispers of the Star spoken to me through memory. I felt myself silently reciting its words on my lips:
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//'I am wandering deeper and deeper into a forest. For years and years I've wandered, gone so long that now I believe there is nothing but the forest.'// I muttered.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[I have to stop writing. I need some time to put my thoughts to rest.](stop:)]
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[[//Next day//|Heresy]]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I decided to set my mind to work on some mundane tasks, my own form of meditation. I've found that when I'm troubled, instead of trying to navigate my brain to find the problem, I just need to get up and out into the world, to let the sun shine on my skin and wind blow through my bones. Somehow, the Library has its own ways of untangling my mind, I just need to give it enough time to do so.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Nabu's mention of harvest reminded me that now is the finest season to plant seeds, so I gathered my long unused gardening gear and headed out to tend the fields.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Hugging the edge of the Ephemeris Chamber is a shallow stream that borders a soft, warm meadow on the eastside. The neighboring trees offer just enough shade, as to not sunbake my crops, or myself, as I care for them.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I got to work planting seeds collected from last year's harvest. It's tough, dirty, often raw work. My skin always gets irritated and I hate how much dirt gets under my nails, but that's just life I suppose. I sat down on a parched stone rising up from the center of the field to survey my work. I did a good job. Across the golden grass and beyond the stream is the overgrown, tilted gateway to the Library's eastern reaches. Past the gate are the Gardens, a series of ancient chambers that have remained unchanged for as long as I can remember. The halls are overwhelmed by vast varieties of flora, all meticulously cared for, as if the structure of the Library itself caters to the needs of each plant individually. Small streams of water flowing through miniature concrete aqueducts, meeting the thirsty needs of each plant perfectly. Sunlight reflected off of white concrete walls
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Most plants in the Gardens are inedible, but I've tried to replicate the Library's natural irrigation in my own way. The Library is a great teacher.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ A series of faint pitter-patters barely broke the silence. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice a beautiful little Gecko had scurried up next to me, to come sunbathe on my rock.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'Hello friend!' I whispered, 'You'd be a tasty snack for a hawk, one lives near these fields, you better be careful.' The gecko licked its eyeballs in response.
'I won't pretend to understand what you just said, but I'll keep an eye on the skies for you,' I reassured the gecko.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ On the lucky days I do catch something I try to make their deaths swift. I thank the creatures for giving their life, but know that if I were ever the prey beneath another beast's knife, no amount of thanks would ease my fear. How odd is it for life to eternally struggle to thrive. It always ends the same way, whether it be my notched arrow or the frozen winds of Judgment that bring death year after year. Maybe it's because no beast lives long enough to truly understand the cycle. They just think that maybe this time the blade comes with a different purpose. It makes me wonder what cycles of the universe I'm blind to.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Suddenly, the Gecko lifted its head in agitation and anxiously scrambled away, vanishing into the underbrush. I felt the flicker of a shadow grace my cheek followed by a shrill whistle from above, then a loud //SPLASH// as something hurtled into the stream. A jolt of shock shot through me, but as my heartbeat settled, surprise was replaced with curiosity. Did something just fall from the sky? From the Moon Door?
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I took off my shoes and waded into the stream, delicately pushing aside the cattails. I tried to feel about the muddy earth with my feet, but felt nothing besides reeds and smoothed down stones. I decided to get a closer look and ducked into the clear emerald water, carefully examining the algae caked soil. At first, it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary. Then I saw a small school of Sail Fins investigating something amongst the weedy tangle ahead of me. I gently brushed the fish aside to see the object of their intrigue. It was a stone. A small, perfectly smooth, oval stone. Just like any other rock at the bottom of the pond, except this one was painted only by a dark, timeless black. It felt so at home in the crystal stream and yet estranged from it, as if it once belonged but was unwelcome to return. I cautiously reached out to grasp the stone. It was very cold to the touch, sending a faint shiver of dread throughout my body. There was an eerie, veiled nature to it, but I took it with me all the same. The stream had no desire to hold it.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ It's night now and nothing new has fallen through the Moon Door. I've thought a long while about the incident, trying to find any other excuse as to where the stone came from. But my mind always returns to the same conclusion. Somehow, this stone belongs to the sky - somehow, it's from //beyond// the Moon Door. I've been sitting in the central clearing for hours now, desperately trying to write this journal entry, but I can't focus. I just keep turning the stone over in my palm, running it through my fingers, trying to understand it. A faint odor clings to it, something the pond couldn't wash away, a distant scent of fire and brimstone.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ This is the first time anything has fallen though the Moon Door. I didn't even realize such a thing was possible, but many unknowns of the Library have lately been brought to light. It bewilders me. Why is it here? Was it sent here with intention? If so, what was its message? Nothing exists beyond the Door, just the sun, stars, moon, and now - this stone.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Thoughts began to creep back into my skull, whispers of the Star spoken to me through memory. I felt myself silently reciting its words on my lips:
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//'I am wandering deeper and deeper into a forest. For years and years I've wandered, gone so long that now I believe there is nothing but the forest.'// I muttered.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[I have to stop writing. I need some time to put my thoughts to rest.](stop:)]
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[[//Next day//|Heresy]]
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''Heresy''
(text-style:"italic","underline","superscript")[THE TWENTYFIRST MOON OF MERCY IN THE YEAR 88744]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ First came a wind, it howled out of the northern doors, catching up leaves and mist, whipping them into little whirlwinds. I followed the wind with my eyes as it danced through the night air, shaking up all manner of debris. The trees moaned and creaked like I had never heard before; it made me smile with pure wonder, I’d never known the forest to sing. It whistled through the woods as it swept in grand circles around the Ephemeris Chamber. Until, with nowhere left to go, it shot upward and out into the cosmos beyond the Moon Door. I raised my eyes and through the dim air saw the Moon shining above. It was perfectly framed in the grand opening. Silence, save for a few lone crickets, a moment so beautiful I'd almost forgotten to breathe.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Then, rimming the moon, I saw a gleaming vibration. It grew larger in brightness and size, a blazing tremor. Fire.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ A silent engulfment of flame coiled around the Moon, devouring it like a starved animal. I gasped and felt something snap within me, releasing a repressed anxiety I never knew existed, it froze me in place. In that same instant, a white flash scorched the sky and briefly stripped the world of all color. Then crept back a vibrant saturation as an apocalyptic explosion ruptured the Moon into oblivion. An ever-expanding membrane of fire usurping its place in the sky. It was a heat beyond flame - beyond anything known. The ensuing shockwave beat the wind back into the Library, its air had been tortured into a scathing, burning cyclone. I could not move, the newly released tension pulled me deeper into myself, leaving my body behind to fight alone. A deafening shriek bellowed from above and quaked the entire Library.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Torrents of fire swept through the Moon Door, a cosmic heat igniting the forest into a screeching inferno. Tongues of red glow licked at the pale walls of the Ephemeris Chamber and smothered the sky in raging smoke.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ The world darkened as the retinas of my eyes melted back into pure, primal mud. My bones seared bare, my flesh vaporized, until I was but a floating spirit drifting in a calm, endless black.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ For a time it was perfectly blind and muted; after all, my eyes and ears were long gone. I spent an unfathomable amount of time there, just content to sail that dark gulf.
Then I saw it.
Flickers of twinkling light bursting into existence before being dragged back into the deep, wailing as they went.
‘Stars?’ I thought.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘Stars?’ I thought.
Each one left a fading trail of burning light shimmering behind them.
A swell of emotions rose up within me, emotions tied to places - places I’ve never seen. As if I was allowed to exist in a memory for only a fraction of a second, taking in its pure essence, but being unable to register anything more. The memories hit me rhythmically with ferocious speed and heavy impact.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//Revenge//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//Mother//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//Speed//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//Flight//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//The will of thousands//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//Feasting//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//Hatred//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//Blindness//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Each one, like knives, carving forced memories into my brain.
‘This isn’t real - none of this is real!’ I cried to myself, but it kept happening anyway. //On and on and on.//](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I felt dizzy - nauseous - as if I were careening through the dark inside my own skull - spinning in a dream.
I heard my name! ‘Grier’ somewhere in the vast blackness, the sound alone straightened my course, calling me to it.
‘GRIER’ I heard again, compressing the infinite space around me into a tight noose. It had me.
Repeating like a mantra the voice grew louder, ‘Grier, Grier, GRIER!’ until, out of pure despair I called back:
‘Im here! Find me! Please FIND ME!’](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ The darkness around me didn’t want to let go, then CRACK, the void swarming me recoiled back into its primordial pit. A lifetime of images flashed under my eyelids within an infinitesimal break in time. Suddenly sense rushed back to me, I felt my body, my scent, my taste. I heard the white noise of crickets in the meadow. Then I felt the hand around my mouth and saw the eyes opposite of me. I screamed, but was muffled under the strangers pressed palm.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘You’re okay. You’re awake! It was just a dream,’ said a familiar voice.
A dream? It was more than a dream, it was a vision, it was a prophecy. The stranger cautiously released their hand from my mouth, but I had no energy left to scream, I was still reeling from panic, trying desperately to put my shaky breaths back in line.
‘Grier? Are you with me?’ she said.
The eyes across from me began to fall into focus, they were eyes I knew well. I reached out my hand to touch her face.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ ‘Yara..?’
‘Grier!’
She collapsed onto me and wrapped me in the warmest hug I had ever felt. Yara was alive. It felt like for a moment we were one person, an existence shared in pure relief and happiness, then quickly she pulled back.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'We have no time,’ she said, wiping tears off her cheeks. ‘Grier, I need you to trust me.’
‘But- you’re alive! How?’ I pleaded.
‘I will explain everything soon, I promise.’ She hoisted me to my feet.
'I don't understand! Where have you been? What happened to you? Were you alive all this time?!'
‘I'm sorry Grier, truly. I know this is a lot, but I can't stand idly by while you stay trapped here.’
'Trapped? What are you saying?' I asked.
Yara released a remorseful sigh. She was grappling with something internally. We locked eyes.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'You are being kept here like a rat in a maze Grier. This place, //the Library//, is not your home and it's not a dream you can wake up from. It's real - physical, but it's not our world. You are being held here against your will, whether you realize it or not.'
A thousand questions boiled up within me, yet at the same time a thousand more began to make sense. It felt as if the world started to collapse around me, a lie that unraveled with Yara's words. I thought to myself //'how could this be?'// But now, as I write this, I see it all so clearly. Why was I blind for so long? A slow wave of shock rolled over me.
'If what you say is true, then what is keeping me here?'
Another pause. I already knew her answer, but so desperately I didn't want her to speak it to the world.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'Nabu' she said.
There it was. The Star's warning was made truth. There was no hiding from it any longer, but still, didn't want to believe it.
I scowled and shook my head 'No. That can't be true.'
'I have no reason to lie,' she said.
'But you're wrong! Nabu is my friend.'
'No Grier. You are nothing but a tool to him. A means to an end.'
Yara grabbed my shoulder and leaned closer.
'The Library doesn't just speak to Nabu, it is Nabu. Or at least a reflection of him. Everything you find here, the books, the gardens, the desert, are all things from his life - his //old// life. Please, this will all make sense if you just come with me. I promise.'
Dismay darkened everything around me. Out of all my questions I could only muster one:
'How long have you known all this?'](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ There was another long pause. Yara didn't want to answer.
'Yara?' I prodded. She exhaled as if to prepare herself.
'I’ve always known. Since the first day I met you I’ve known,' she said.
Yara looked to the ground in shame.
'I desperately wanted to tell you, but I was a coward. I was afraid Nabu would kill me, but now I realize that if he keeps you here he'll just kill us all the same.'
She looked back to me.
'I wasn't brave enough then, but today that changes.'
Yara grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the tree line.
'Wait, Yara I don't-
'Grier. We need to leave.'
'Leave? Where are we going?'
'I'm gonna help you escape this place, escape the Library.'](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'Yara STOP!' I ripped my hand away from her.
'This is my home! You can't just come back into my life after everything that's happened and expect me to just trust you! You were DEAD. I BURIED YOU!'
'Grier, please just listen-'
'NO YARA! Do you know how many years I've mourned you? How many times I've blamed myself for what happened to you? For so long I've carried that grief with me. And now, //finally//, when I'm almost ready to let go you come back into my life and tell me it was all a LIE? To believe what you have to say? Why didn't you just tell me the truth when you had the chance? I would've told you anything, any secret, because you were my FRIEND. Now you tell me that Nabu, someone who STAYED WITH ME, wants to use me?? Nabu never hurt me the way you did - Nabu never left! He took care of me. He grieved with me! You just left me behind.'](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ The day had finally come, the moment I had always dreamed of, but instead of joy, all I felt was confusion and anger. Anger towards the one person I loved most. It twisted something deep within me.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ We looked at each other in silence, trying to contemplate the moment. A flood of emotions were ready to break free of me, I wanted to scream, not at Yara, but at the world. I tried speaking, but fell crumpled to the grass, my words slipping into silent sobs.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Yara kneeled down and delicately wrapped her arms around me. Fireflies danced before us in the misty night air. It was serenely quiet, broken only by my hushed weeping.
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'I don't //want// to be mad at you,' I said through shaky breaths, 'I just feel so - lost.' Another flood hit me.
I buried my face into my palms and wept uncontrollable tears. Yara simply leaned her head against mine. It felt as if all my unexplainable confusion that I had repressed deep down finally found a justification to be set free. A vindicated sorrow surged up through me. Yara just let me cry in silence for a while.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'We met, you and I, many years ago,' she said, breaking the quiet. 'Before you found me beneath the Moon Door, before we even first spoke to each other-'
'I think I would've remembered that,' I whimpered.
'You didn't see me, but I saw you.'
She held me tighter.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'A long time ago, I was taken to the Library to examine it up close. It was my first time seeing it with my own eyes.'
Yara frowned and shook her head. 'I didn't like anything about it, not the damp smell, not the endless corridors, not the shifting walls or sunless winters. Nothing. But the biggest disappointment was you.'
I raised my head from my hands. The sobs had fallen silent, but I didn't know what to say. She continued:](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'The whole trek to the Library all anyone talked about was the feral person trapped there. Something that used to be one of us. An insane, devolved human, naked and malnourished, covered in filth and bones of dead animals. Like a primitive barbarian.'
'So? What did you find?' I said under my breath.
'Days turned to weeks as we explored the Library's fringes, and every day we wondered when we would have the chance to see you. Then finally, on our last day, I was called over to a ledge, passed a pair of binoculars, and there in the distance was the //monster//...'
Yara held the uncomfortable silence and looked to me. I didn't look back, but could tell she began to smile.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ 'Your clothes were makeshift, you were a bit dirty and wild, but no bloodstained hands or jagged teeth. No rabid look in your eye or fearsome glare. You were just picking flowers in a field. You were just human.'
Another few trembling breaths escaped me.
'I wasn't disappointed as much as I was sad. If you were considered a //freak//, then we were all just one step behind. I turned to the others and said 'that's only a person, there's nothing wrong with them.' But they said you were 'the world's most dangerous mistake. Someone that could cost everyone everything.'](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ I finally looked back to Yara. Tears were welling in her eyes.
'I asked the others if we could make contact with you, but they told me It didn't matter, that you wouldn't survive here long. That you would be dead come winter.'
Yara leaned deeper into me as we held each other close for another silent moment.
'That was the winter you found me. All my worst nightmares came true. I was stuck in this place, certain I would die, freezing and terrified. For days I wandered alone, and then low and behold, there you were, still alive and kicking.'
Yara pushed out a laugh through her shaky breaths, 'If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never survived this place.'
'You would have,' I said.
She shook her head.
'No. You were the only one... you were all I had. You beautiful, wonderful human being.'](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[ Yara cupped my tear stained face in her palms and gently tilted my chin so our eyes could meet.
'We're going to sail that ocean, you and I, the one we always talked about, and we are gonna see the distant lands you’ve always dreamed of. All I need from you is the trust I broke.’
There was a moment of hesitation.
'Grier. Come with me.'
I held her hand against my cheek.
‘Okay.’ I said.](stop:)]
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(live: 0s)[(t8n:"dissolve")[//END OF EXCERPT//](stop:)]