The First One
A small, childlike Eldrin sits attentively in a desk chair, her left arm lazily holding her cheek at rest, her right hand poised with a pen held sturdily in a chubby fist. The look of stubborn determination on her face belies the love of learning usually expected of Eldrin children, so the statue bears somewhat more age in the face of the student than one might expect. The statue stares blankly at the desktop, but there does not seem to be a page beneath the pen. It is almost as if the figure was commanded to write but then thwarted by denying them a surface upon which to do so.
The figure is dressed in a shortish shift of leaves, each carved in exquisite detail, down to the veins and lines in the leave themselves. Seated casually with one leg tucked under her body, the pose demonstrates both comforts in writing and intensity of thought. The hair, usually the most difficult part of such a work, bears details that are staggering to behold, suggesting either a form of certification spell was used, or else the artist was a master of his craft beyond current capabilities.
Once properly prompted and provided writing material, the First One's story tells of the First Expedition from Nyx, led by Kierenian Florentine, aboard the airship Elveator. IT tells of the First Seed, entrusted to the new allies Kieren discovered on the continent Yondalla, now called Yarlem, after they crossed the Eastern Sea, guided by the Scarlet Star.
The FOWL
The eternally exigent Dark Phenx lives to excrete. Visually somewhere between a turkey buzzard and a dodo, the creature is noisy, unkempt, and reeks in ways impossible to recreate, thankfully. Far more ancient, and perhaps intelligent than its form might suggest, the Fowl carries within it one of the greatest works of history, namely the Annals of the Overseers, ancient dimensional mariners that discovered Nycos in the Second Age and went on to become the masters of the world for more than a thousand years. Overthrown in the last days of that Iteration, the Overseers used the FOWL as messengers by force-feeding them literature one page at a time, and when the message or even book was consumed, they would light the birds on fire. Unlike the traditional Phoenix, Phenx burns to ash, which dematerializes in one space and rematerializes in another, controlled by the magics of the Overseers to determine the destination. In the case of this one, it was sent to a place that was, at the time, being overtaken by the Revening, and was deposited here quite by accident.
The document, more than 200 pages, has been systematically eaten and thence recreated twice. Many pages are now missing from the document, but the details are fairly clear... the Overseers landed under the Red Sun, and drove Men and Eldrin into the scorching desserts and wild places, taking for themselves the forests and mountains, until their overthrow in the early days of the Third Iteration.
An Earnest Man
Earnest (mah fren's cawl me Yernee) is a merchant of atmospheric oddities... Whorlpuhl Washers, good for getting your drains cleaned... "Lextrolucks" static dischargers, and Rainbow vacuums - airless voids that emanate light when near-magical objects... all at reasonable prices and a "dollars to doughnuts" Ironclad guarantee... if you want your money back, better bring a Grundim Ironclad to the fight...
Ernie's story, though, is about the Seven Storms and how they Started... backward. He tells the story chronologically. He starts with the First Mission of Nerf, Eldrin Scout, and the Planting of the World Tree, and of its eventual plundering by the Fronds of Yondalla, an Eldrin offshoot that eventually became the Peoples of Inandarond, now known as Inandran Eldrin...and how the legend of the Star Ark developed.
Veri Lee, the Sails Lady
Some marked her as a hag, others a witch. However you see her, Veri Lee has had a challenging life. Horribly deformed by scoliosis and a lot of hard miles, Veri is barely recognizable as human, her head below her shoulders, and her chin hanging lower than her ample but heavily sagging breasts... her movement labors her breathing, and she speaks in gasps, sucking in huge volumes of air before doing so. Her actual expertise is as a seamstress, and long years and hard work make her a master of sails. She will work such in any cloth desired, even those impractical for use in most cases. She offers special deals - yes, sales on sales of sails... and the more times she gets to use her slow lisp on the name of the product, the better the deal... so, a slight discount on the price of a sealskin spinnaker sail sheet with silver seashells sewn in... well, you get the point.
Veri's tale is far afield from her expertise, and is a winding story of the building of the Star Ark, and how the Dragons were saved by the Primus, and given safe transit to Nimbus by the First One's vessel made from the wood salvaged from the fallen World Tree... And of the travels of the vessel, later known as the
Boatman Screed
For a boatman on the riveman Screed, will answer all the questions that you'll ask. But beware - the answers require from you a task.
You're near the Ancient Bark hard by and worked through all the text. How prepared are you for the danger next?
You've come to the penultimate, the Fae Rie Sphinx awaits. Give the answer worthy, and attain the Final Gates
The years have not been kind to you, the passing ages roll. You became the quenched fire, the ashes have gone cold.
The last place you expected, of that there is no doubt. But the question wasn't getting in... the question's getting out.
