Notes and Crap (Entry fourty-two)

[Part 1 written after the events of the Devil's Deal]

No words to mince about it. I messed up badly, in front of my own Empress, nonetheless. Where to even begin or reflect...

It started hours ago, after we came home from the Bulwark mountains after defeating the Chrono Cult's twin leaders and freeing Glysaris, bringing the rescued High Priestess Stephanie home. I had vowed from then on to never deal with, let alone associate with a devil, demon, or anything similar. We were brought into the GrimRoze estate in groups, Filea, Varis and Gothmog in one group, and Radegast, Solomon and I in the other. In a singular room with powerful figures comprised of Viscount GrimRoze, Curse Azralin, Fafnir the Silver Wyrm, and Empress Novia alongside the Archdevil. The deal itself, simply put, Glysaris was to give us a boon, so be it said with "minimal strings" attached, which included not interfering with her in any regard of the future. Having only recently freed my own soul from Azaerlea, even knowing that I was let off easy with how inept and forgiving the half-devil was as a contractor was, I could not in good faith see the same in her mother, the Archdevil.

In theory, well thought out in my eyes, but not well internalized and spoken to my superior, to Novia, to the nobility of the land, and to Glysaris. I dishonored myself, my family, my clan's, and Hakumei's very good name with my conduct. I was openly hostile to Glysaris' words, used vulgur language, and disregarded the status befitting a champion of Hakumei. While I was pressed into signing on paper for the boon, where even Radegast and Solomon were hesitant, insulting and surrendering to passion and anger was not the way. I initially requested the plans and arcane details of the ritual the Chrono Cult's twin leaders were using, and the knowledge to modify it. If the dark future was to be prevented, perhaps drastic measures should be taken now, a flawed ritual that could be perfected for Godhood. That idea was quickly cast aside, as Glysaris said I would have no chance to make a difference, that even with all the power and skill, the lives I have changed for the better, that mortals can't create a lasting peace or make a difference. The thought of it disgusted me... the thought that everything I helped fight for, would be all for naught in a world of ruins and demons in time. In the heat of passion, I rejected the offer, telling the Archdevil to go fuck herself. I had expected Glysaris to lash out, casting me out of the room, but only shortly after did I realize my folly, that my conduct was not befitting a Champion of Hakumei, even if my ideals against devils were correct in my eyes. And yet... I lashed out at Novia as well, walking away from her in the middle of her scolding, forgetting my place in Hakumei's own heirarchy as she is Empress. I was stripped of Shizune's divine blade from my side, and reprimanded in great shame...
 
[lots of crossed out and scribbled out notes throughout and below]
...afterwards there was a festival of sorts, my assumption a celebration of all the cults broken, or a seasonal festival... I honestly forgot... my mind was clad with shame at the time, even as I attempted to cloud my mind with distractions from the carnival games. Unsurprisingly however... Rad was a crack shot with a crossbow, and I just stunk! I should have just used spells!!

[next few weeks, describing events of gathering 8th level spell knowledge spells from the City of Brass via Gate, getting various magic items, visiting his family, Joryth and his family, and slowly attempting to get a date with Petra, hanging out with Maria, etc, and meditations/prayers/practice with his spells, and setting up a clone with the help of Solomon]

[Part 2: Graveyard Cleanse (Pt. 1 and 2)]

The past day, possibly two in the depths of the Graveyard were filled with nonstop combat, sickening corrupted energies. It's been a while since I last was at Reprieve, and the Crystalline Graveyard itself. Last time being in the crystalline under town with the samurai smith spirit to reforge my blade… where I struck out on my own, only for Julian and Zahira to catch up with me, saved my nigiri (bacon) there, and… helped me clear my head. Damn I miss having them around, Kosuke as well. In the middle of our preparations, a great beam of purple light erupted from the Crystalline Graveyard, along with a great shaking of the ground beneath us like an earthquake, and an oversaturation of corrupted magics fill the very air. Novia informed us that every single Torii gate in the network created across the Graveyard was being disrupted or was destroyed, and the last one being close to being overrun by an endless horde of the crystalline dead. Using the last Torii Gate, we were teleported into the middle of an ongoing battle, undead already engaged in combat were the hosts of the Gerudo, the Storm Rider goblins, elves from the Lightfoot Forest, dwarves from the Cu’s Mountain, various mercenaries and adventurers of Reprieve, the armies of Hakumei, the Yami Clan and various smaller clans, rangers and other foot soldiers of the Vigilax. Even out of the corner of my eye I saw Kosuke in some sort of mechanized suit of armor. I could have sworn he was using an iron golem like one would steer a ship, slaying scores of crystalline undead with his apprentices. I must say again dude’s a genius in a field I cannot even dream of understanding, mixing the arcane with complex machinery. Last group that I saw at least was the actual royal army of Randera’s capital and their holy host, and here I thought they didn’t care about this land enough to lift a finger; better late than never I suppose.
 
The undead didn’t take long to get to our party’s position, as we were quickly surrounded. They however, stood no chance against our combined might, with every swing, gunshot, bomb or spell cast, dozens of bodies lay dead at our feet. We carved a path through the endless tide of abominations closer to the beam of light and sickening corruption. Close to the hole that led underground, the crystal landscape had giant corrupted flowers, magic condensed into what was left of a great verdant environment, corrupting and shaping into something so beautiful yet so deadly. I didn’t have much time to take in that sight however, as a great beast came out from the hole in front of us.
What stood before us was a tragic figure, the loyal companion spirit of Shizune Hikari herself, and guardian of Hakumei, her trusted 10-tailed fox; crystallized in an eternal prison of agony. The legends stated it was last seen trying to herd people through the gates during the Soul Plague evacuation. I couldn’t watch it suffer any longer, my first thought was to kill it, put it out of its misery, but then my mind turned to the crystals for my Trap the Soul spell. With that thought in mind, I reached out to the noble creature, crystal in hand, pleaded with it to surrender itself, to come home to Shizune’s embrace. At the time, I expected the crystal to shatter on a failed attempt… yet it did not. I reached out to it, it listened, and yet was unable, bound by a force deeper in the Graveyard. Given the circumstance… we destroyed the fox’s crystalline body and secured its soul – a powerful force enough to send me tumbling on my ass! And luck would have it, the SECOND I took my eye off the crystal for only a few seconds, Shizune herself snagged it from me, saying thank you at least, and replacing it with a hand-made stuffed fox. You know what, worth every gold I spent on that soul crystal to do a good deed like that.
 
After catching our breath, we descended into the chasm. Deadly flowers bloomed in this crystalline cave, infused with high concentrations of delicate, yet potent magic that bloom so beautifully. If it weren’t so deadly I would have kept a few to give to Petra perhaps.
As we moved further into the cave, we encountered 4 spirits of the past. Legendary warriors of past clans of the oni from ages beyond past that swore fealty to Ozgos Manto orchestrated the death ritual below Old Hakumei, that inadvertently created this Graveyard. The members, the Executor, the Muscle, the Brains, and the Cursed Blood all various bannermen of the Manto Clan’s remnant allies. Their forms were undead, but somehow preserved; unspeaking, tortured souls unable to pass on to be judged by the gods, their ancestors… a state of undead limbo without honor. They fought ferociously, using blades, spell-charged kunai, clubs, spells, and even tossing chunks of the earth itself at us! Somehow during it the battle, my domination spell reached through to the Muscle’s head, some of its soul still tugged at that body, and surrendered to my will. Seeing the brute of a warrior in action, as I commanded it to turn on the others, it was nothing short of glorious. The battle was swift, but brutal, and all that remained was the Muscle, still bound to my will. He regained his honor and surrendered to Gothmog’s axe, taking the honorable death like the other three.
In the aftermath of the fight, a chiming bell rang through the crystalline cave chambers echoing in all our ears. I turned around to find the sword spirit Ichiko, alongside the katana lodged in the ground. She seemed happy that I captured the 10-tailed guardian instead of killing it and brought a message that Novia had forgiven me for my previous actions – the incident with Glysaris. She stated that despite my bouts of selfishness and wrath, that I have a good heart beneath it all, a care for the fellow humanoid and our home. I may still think I am in the right for not trusting Glysaris, even if the way I went about it was wrong. At least…I can look Novia in the eye after all this is said and done. I was accepting of the idea that I could carry on as champion of Hakumei, without the blade in possession, for Novia to take the credit, the prophecy of uniting the peoples of kitsune and oni to a common cause as I finish my mission. Though my previously bitter thoughts made me realize, we are two sides of the same coin. Novia’s been working to unite the people for years through governance, I fought for it. Either way, things turned out for the best, so I took the katana back into my possession, now imbued with divine energy in the stead of Ichiko's spirit.
 
After Ichiko departed, a great primeval roar echoed throughout the caves, the very crystals flaring up with magic, the magic seemingly being drained deeper underground as the walls of crystals begin to fade into a gradient pattern. A passageway broke open that led deeper inside, my thought at the time was the creature knew we were coming, and wished to end us, or enthrall us like the 4 tortured souls we defeated. We had no choice but to march forth, what felt like miles underground, the very air was sickening to breathe for those magically attuned. In this heart, the crystal is at its brightest here, a great crystalline flower that bloomed with such deadly beauty, before it however was a terrifyingly gigantic dragon entirely encased in the corrupted crystal. Whether it was created by the Graveyard’s influence, or corrupted by it like every other creature, I shall never know. Like a conduit it drew in power from its surroundings, empowering itself with the latent magics in the earth and air.
 
The fight was ferocious, this creature unrelenting in its advance. Energy breath weapons, claws, tail swipes and bites came hurdling our way and yet we stood tall. As the fight drew on, the beast grew slower yet drew in impossible amounts of energy to the point of the creature exploding out in a blaze of arcane eruption. The blast sent us crashing back into the back walls, despite my best efforts to shield myself from the overwhelming magic. My first thoughts were how we even survived such a blast, we should have all been disintegrated, and yet I sensed a rather massive absence of that magic we initially faced than mere moments prior. After focusing on magic, I found that much of the arcane corruption scattered across the world, with most of the energies captured by some unknown demonic force originating from the Abyss. My fears of the desolate future, the one wrought with ruins and demonic devastation… is slowly coming to fruition. Had I been moments quicker, I could have taken this power with a wish spell, channeling the energies into many arcane foci or other artifact-level objects, to prevent it from falling into demonic hands, surrender it to the heavens; I was too late, however.
I did not have much time to reflect on the harrowing consequences as the cave around us started to collapse, with much of the ceiling opening to the surface despite being miles underground. One of Novia’s airships flew down, lowering a rope to get us to the surface, relative safety for now. When we finally surface, we finally got a breath of fresh air, much of the fighting in the background was still going on, but the Graveyard’s magic had been drained from the ground, only stragglers of the wretched creatures remained. Some of the people we ran into seemed to have been relatives of Filea, various… half breed humanoids – some celestial, some draconic, some… I am not even sure, this is the first time I have met them and they seem to be powerful warriors. Where were they this entire time when we could have had help clearing out the cults and the Graveyard until now? Ah Shizune, I am overthinking this. Filea was talking with them, it seems she and Varis are getting engaged. I must say, not surprised, but I got to congratulate them, maybe some day I’ll have that luck. Though I did have to cut their catching up short, since we needed to teleport out of there. Standard teleportation magic wouldn’t be able to suffice with so many people, so I opted for a Gate spell straight to the heavens, then to Reprieve.
 
When we teleported back to Reprieve, we were greeted by Empress Novia, and the Crowned Queen of Randera. They expressed their thanks to us, securing a future for this realm, and cleansing the land of corruption, that expansion into the region were to begin immediately. I must admit… it’s nice, seeing that my duty as champion succeeded, not just by me, but my friends, and all those who fought and sacrificed themselves along the way. And the comment of the entire land ceding to Hakumei was over a wager between the two royals, one believing that the land was unattainable, well isn’t that a funny thing? I suppose though for now, throughout all this journey, I’ve earned a bit of rest. Maybe finally I’ll ask Petra out on a sushi date, odds are she’ll try and hit me over the head, but I’ll be ready for that, I have the fox plushie as leverage now!
 
Well, Novia, if you’re somehow still reading this, I admit, you chose well, training up a punk like me. Thank you for giving me a chance to make a change in this world, setting my life on a course that can bring great good to this world. Even with the uncertainty in the near or far future, I do have some hope that things will turn out well, though I must remain vigilant.
 
[Epilogue of Eligius and the future]
In the years that followed, much of the Crystalline Graveyard’s remnants were being extracted for the usage of Hakumei, and the continent at large. The crystals were dusted down, and repurposed to create new magics, harnessed for all sorts of purposes, ranging from everyday use, to weapons of war, augmentation in methods such as runes, ritual components, and even creating new lands, terraforming the corrupted to be actually usable again. In the initial years, it was just the process of cleansing the land, and rediscovering the old land’s cities, forgotten history long since calcified, and bringing it back to the forefront of knowledge; old magics, culture, lineages and much more recovered incrementally.
As time went on however, a decade or more, the small island of Reprieve began to have an influx of skilled craftsmen; builders, smiths, magi-technicians, and magi came to the island in force. The small town began to grow into a larger labor town with purposes of making settlements in the now reformed lands and rebuilding the cities of old. Our old plots in Reprieve however were rather untouched in the newly built city even as it grew. I didn’t have much a stake built in Reprieve but built a nice home to live in this city with Petra, and even raise a family. It took years to fully cast aside my hedonistic tendencies, but it was worth it in the end, seeing her smile.
 
[between this and next part, many various entries written over the years of various adventures, spells learned, threats destroyed, close calls, and personal thoughts, among many haikus, sketches and even short stories]
Within 25 years, enough infrastructure was built up to begin moving vast populations of people from the Feywilds to the Material Plane. When I wasn’t adventuring to find the source of that future demonic threat, I was training the next generation of sorcerers to harness their powers in a training ground built in the city, bringing recruits from across the realm. I have to say, they have potential, even if I do go hard on them at times with some magic exercises and physical training. The outside world won’t be kind to them, so they must be ready for any threat in this unforgiving world. Back in the Feywilds however, tensions have begun to really rise with the Sazuman clan, and attacks on the borders have begun to rise with the Unseelie Court. Now, I could simply wish for the Shogun’s death in a very specific manner with the spell at my disposal, but that would risk a full scale war, and I cannot have that on my conscience with the innocent lives lost. All the power in the world, yet I am still restrained by my conscience.
 
Over the next few decades, 75 years after the Crystalline Graveyard was cleansed, tensions escalated with the Sazuman Clan to a boiling point, and brought out to the point of war. The whole time, it seems the clan cut a deal with the Unseelie Court, artificially controlling an endless war to keep the populace in check, and consolidate power between Fey Lords and Lord Sazuman. In the hubris of it all however, the Unseelie Lords didn’t see the Sazuman, nor his people as an asset worth keeping, which began a war of attrition that left the lands of the Feywilds devastated. Many lives among Hakumei, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts lost, even as I stepped in to try and quell the war. In the end however, Hakumei came out the victor, pulling out of the Feywilds and back to our ancestral homelands. It didn’t have to come to this, but in a pyrrhic sense, things turned out for the best… we’ll see now how the years fare for the people… hopefully a more peaceful path.
[in the next entry, Eligius is o l d, or on a new cloned body]
 
In the many years that followed, it seems the culture of the land began to take a shift, away from the traditional form of building towards steel and stone, the obnoxious buildings of the far future that began to take shape into the nascent designs. “Skycrapers” they were called… I would only hope that I was only seeing an illusion with the designs of the future, as they are built without soul. Gods above, I’ve become a cynic in these old years, so this is what it’s like to be an elf, all high and mighty, and I wager the longer I live with clones, I could go mad with knowledge like Solomon, as needed as it is. I better ground myself with that perspective, but still, the technology advancements and architectural and culture changes do worry me that the soul of the past will eventually be forgotten. I swear upon Shizune’s name that won’t be the case as long as I live.
 
 
[Epilogue for Radegast]
Radegast Azraire, a man of both simple pleasures and a blatant refusal to learn an averseness to anything remotely related to what magic can even do. I can jest all I wish for him regarding that, but the guns that he creates are magic within themselves, with his sharp eye and unmatched aim bringing us victory in the Crystalline Graveyard. In the years that followed, he, Solomon and I went across the land, and the various planes, going on bouts of various adventures to accumulate wealth or see the wider world with a greater freedom to do so. What fantastic times those were, through trials and tribulations we were unstoppable compared to the many foes we faced, and discoveries made. In time though, Radegast came to the decision to finally settle down with Sute, and good for him there. His reasoning was he didn’t want to wander all his life, too tiring on the feet. I may just join him on that with Petra if I am ever so lucky for a time, just to settle down and have a little peace for once… someday. But until then, I’ll be guided down my own path, whether adventuring, teaching the next generation of sorcery, taking leadership responsibilities within the Yami clan, or just simply fishing. Radegast, may your life from here on be nothing but bliss with Sute, you’ve earned it.
[Epilogue for Solomon]
Diego’s note: DEPRESSION
 
Solomon Gwynsin is an interesting case, he figured out a way to create clones of himself before even I had such an idea; man built a lab in secret and everything alongside all his glorious (and scary) creations. I honestly thought I would be staking out the long years ahead alone, but having company in a friend such as he will surely make the years fun. The first few years, he, Radegast and I adventured across the land before settling down, gathering entire treasure rooms worth of gold and magic artifacts!
Solomon wasn’t idle in his years however, as over those years, he made entire tome’s worth of discoveries, some of which my arcane mind can’t even wrap my head around. Dark secrets such as expanding upon research granted to him by that Archduchess Glysaris, knowledge regarding of a great alchemical miracle item called the Philosopher’s Stone. Solomon was quite maddened for a while, as he found the components required large scale siphoning of life energies and souls to create one. By Shizune’s ten tails… even I wouldn’t dabble in such dark magics. Thank the gods however years later, he found a workaround, using plants and fungi instead of sacrificing humanoid lives, or going to execution yards to speed up the process. Based on his estimates, he said it would take a century to create it. What I didn’t expect was for Solomon to become a farmer, creating entire acres of crops and mushroom caves to be absorbed to fuel this building of this creation. Though I admit, I did help him bringing in irredeemable people for the consumption of their essence. Better in the hands of Solomon, than being turned into a demon or devil in the lower planes for eternity.
As I visited over the years that followed, to my surprise, I noticed as I aged, while I was getting wrinkles, grey hairs, and my glorious form wearing down even with relentless training with the tide of time, Solomon was not facing any of that. Kept his youthful appearance as if he was as old as the day the Crystalline Graveyard was cleansed. No wrinkles, slowed strength or reflexes, not even being a silver fox! He has no idea how jealous I am of that, even if I can simply go into a new clone when I die or wish it so. His skin’s been so baked into alchemical reagents he’s a living concoction of immortality! Either way however, Solomon and I will be spending many centuries researching all sorts of arcane and alchemical advancements to better the world. He and I shall have some crazy years ahead of us!
 
[Epilogue for Zahira]
Zahira, what an enigma at times that woman can be. I found out later she has great power flowing within her veins, one I found later on to be flowing with the strings of fate itself. It honestly explains the choice of weapon being magic scissors, being able to take a man’s life with it with relative ease, or rendering their brain to mush like she did me when we first met. Astonishing the power she had at her grasp against humanoid foes, and yet we rarely faced them, though I eventually heard that a hag “mother” was aiming to use this power for her own ends until she was put down; good riddance to such a creature I suppose. Regardless, she was one of the most loyal companions and best friends, to the point where I consider her kin. She was there at my lowest in the forge undercity in the Graveyard, helped me on the path of redemption in the eyes of Shizune as well as myself after the entire Reprieve incident, and separating myself from the party. Though when in the land of the Gerudo, she chose to stay to stabilize the land alongside the current ruler. Seems every time I visit, the Gerudo seem quite persistent on trying to seduce me ever since Zahira spread rumors about me, though that tendency of mine is past me even if it is tempting… naturally I declined since I have Petra now. I do occasionally visit Zahira from time to time, mainly to catch up or stir some chaos-filled mayhem as we always have done. I do wonder however her path leads, that is not to my knowledge as of yet, but to the chaotic mind-melting woman I am always pleased to call you my friend Zahira wherever the strings of fate lead.
 
[Epilogue for Julian]
Julian Adderly, though he may be an enigmatic figure at times to me, especially with his connection to nature and the beasts around him. Months later after the Crystalline Graveyard’s cleansing, I found him in Hvita, attempting to undo the years of built up hostility between the elves of Kari’s Reach to every other humanoid species to prevent another elemental cult… a very difficult process, especially since every fiber of my being wants to punish the Winter’s Children that lived that brought him to an inch of death! That level of restraint, I truly admire in him - he brought me back from a low point in my life, in that forge city beneath the Graveyard, and I shall help him where I can. Though it seems Julian’s been gathering his own power out in the frozen forests at the same time, gaining impressive mastery of nature itself, same in the same league as I. He must have had his own tough battles, or has been attuning to that unforgiving taiga for months on end when I’m not around! The result somewhat scares me, as he can transform into that gigantic serpent, Jormungandr, a perfect copy of it, and other fascinating transformations such as taking on animalistic attributes – antlers, snake-like eyes, grand wings. Sweet Shizune! The more I visit him, the more he’s akin to an archdruid, a true guardian of the forest! Though as months turned to years, he’s become what I would call a hermit, living in a cave lined with furs, preserved meat and enough logs to keep a fire going for weeks! On occasion I did see that little runt alongside him… out of respect for Julian, I kept my peace, it’s better that way for me to move on with my hostilities, even if she is a devil… Julian deserves the happiness. Though he can’t be just happy with only nature around him every single day! I made it my mission to have a sending stone with him to teleport to his cave and bring him out to civilization or even bring him books as my friend shall get all the fineries in life, even if he lives in a cave! I am glad he’s showing me more how nature works as well, to survive on my own outside cities as well, balance between both worlds he calls it. Either way, I am glad he’s found his own slice of happiness despite the life he’s been through, may that be as enduring as the forest itself my friend.
 
[Epilogue for Kosuke]
Kosuke Kobayashi, my good friend spent the most of the past few months after the Winter’s Children and the years after working on all sorts of new inventions and inventing himself a spine in the process! (Oh sweet Shizune that was bad of me to write…) Well Shizune's 10 tails! He's breaking out of his shell and isn't zapping me with that mechanical stick of his in the process, so that's a start! I’m proud of him, over the years past he started making connections, speaking his mind more, and dare I say even being more proactive in connecting with others! He was dreaming of and create technologies and machines with a great community at his side, and best of all, even on occasion, HE asked to hang out with me. But in all seriousness, I did what I could to guide him to the greatness of this world, he pushed through the rest all by himself, and I could not possibly be any gladder for Kosuke. He’s a friend, kin, and even a brother of mine to me. Here’s to more years of fun and discovery with my big-headed friend!
 
[Epilogue for Gothmog]
Gothmog Stonefist and Nethada Brighthide, quite a couple built for destruction and warfare! When I heard Gothmog gave Nethada a weapon called a “Dorn Derger”, among a slew of other weapons, armor and gems, I thought it would be something like an runic hammer. What I didn’t expect was a siege weapon built for two hands, the wrecking ball could crack me open like a shellfish! The thing was meant as a dowry for getting wed, and what a beautiful sight it was! Right after the events of the Graveyard’s final cleansing, they made short work of the airships built and mercenaries gathered to create a mobile gathering of warriors for the highest bidder. Occasionally sending messages came my way, inviting me in for particularly lucrative or dangerous missions that required a mage, or transferring their group to another plane for even more lucrative missions. I’ve participated in a few of these missions over the years, sometimes the potential pay is too good to ignore, so long as the ethics of what they’re doing is done well, especially on missions that usually involve taking out some great monster or planar creature. Don’t want any collateral damage or innocents caught between swinging swords and stray fireballs. Who knows, maybe some of these missions will give a lead on the abyssal threat that sprouted from the Graveyard’s cleansing. If not, some coin in the pocket for later luxury is not one thing I’ll turn down.
 
[Epilogue for Varis and Filea]
The lovebirds Varis Ramaio and Filea Dawnseeker, or should I say Filea Ramaio. I must say I am not surprised the two got together, it was a tale already told about a few months into our adventures... perhaps even before I met either of them. The two shared a brief history together, with Filea saving Varis from creatures out near the capitol region of Sea Breeze, a former adventuring party meeting their end, and a fateful encounter after. A few months after the Crystalline Graveyard, the two finally tied the knot and held a wedding, invited family from both sides of the family as well as friends, myself included! For a bit, I kept a sharp eye out in case the devils were up to no good going after Varis or his mother, and that backstab never came. It felt good to actually and just enjoy the beautiful moment, the two deserve this moment. Though from what I hear now, they’re continuing to adventure, even across the planes on occasion to do adventures across the planes or living with a flourishing clockwork business in Reprieve. Either way, brings a tear to my eye to see them happy, even if they were a pain in my backside at times with the side comments, I couldn’t help but write a haiku, on unexpected meeting and love that followed, a true testament to their bond. “True love when it comes, Comes in brief and swift moments, Knows no time and place.”
 
[Epilogue for Joryth]
Joryth Yasataro, the guiding spirit over my shoulder to a family friend. If anyone was deserving to have a second chance at life with his family, it was definitely that lazy bastard; he had to deal with me for several years after all. Though over that time, he gave me advice, disciplined me like I was one of his sons, or nephews, and I admit, he’s become an uncle to me. After the Graveyard’s events, I gave him a hefty coin pouch, enough for him to live life comfortably for the rest of his days and set up more of our fishing business venture. By my estimates, the construction should be done any day now, the name being Salty Scallywag Seafoods. Maybe when I’m not venturing out into great dangers in adventuring, fighting the forces of the abyss, or perhaps training others in my magic arts I will just join him with the fishing. One thing’s for sure, fishing without any form of magic, but with my own two hands… there is no other feeling like it. One thing on the back of my mind however, the premonitions of the future, the abyssal threat that will ruin the world. Joryth doesn’t need that worry on his mind, he deserves to have peace of mind. Though to Joryth, we may have gotten off on the wrong foot from the start as my guiding spirit, but we’ve had quite an adventure, learning from each other and growing close. There is no one I could say more than to call you family, may we share more great moments for years to come, both quiet and jolly.