Tanglebranch III
Tanglebranch III, the first great explorer of the Untamed Wilds, is dying.
Laying on a mat of grass in a small open-walled hut in the middle of the dense jungle, she beckons her nieces and nephews closer. They weave their way through the scholars and the aspiring treasure-hunters until they stand by her side.
"Let it not be said...that the Gardener is the god of nothing but destruction. For if he was...then you and I would not have such a miraculous world to explore."
She then stands on unsteady legs, turning in a circle to face the collected companies of historians, archeologists, and thieves milling about outside her hut.
"You will find nothing here...if you seek secrets, fortune, or fame, then you will find nothing here, for you have come too late. If you seek to pay your respects to the first explorer of the Untamed Wilds, then you have indeed came too early...for I will not accept your dramatic eulogies when I am still alive."
"If you seek convenience...if this is but a step on a journey into the Wilds, or if you wish only to say that you have seen me speak of motivations, or if you will provide a token gesture of support...then this is the time, but not the place...there are too many of you, and any of those three will be difficult."
She then sits back onto on the grass, heavily enough to make her family rush over. She waves them away, and then continues. Her next words are almost impossible to hear.
"Yet if you seek answers...if you seek to follow my path...then you are welcome here."
She then slips into sleep, hovering at the brink of death.
When she dies, there will be speeches told by the great orators of the generation. They will speak of her resolve in seeking out mysteries that perhaps should not have been uncovered, applaud her devotion to a god who has shown her nothing but hate, and pay the respect to her memory that she never received in life.
Yet the true funeral speech for Tanglebranch III has already been spoken.
Laying on a mat of grass in a small open-walled hut in the middle of the dense jungle, she beckons her nieces and nephews closer. They weave their way through the scholars and the aspiring treasure-hunters until they stand by her side.
"Let it not be said...that the Gardener is the god of nothing but destruction. For if he was...then you and I would not have such a miraculous world to explore."
She then stands on unsteady legs, turning in a circle to face the collected companies of historians, archeologists, and thieves milling about outside her hut.
"You will find nothing here...if you seek secrets, fortune, or fame, then you will find nothing here, for you have come too late. If you seek to pay your respects to the first explorer of the Untamed Wilds, then you have indeed came too early...for I will not accept your dramatic eulogies when I am still alive."
"If you seek convenience...if this is but a step on a journey into the Wilds, or if you wish only to say that you have seen me speak of motivations, or if you will provide a token gesture of support...then this is the time, but not the place...there are too many of you, and any of those three will be difficult."
She then sits back onto on the grass, heavily enough to make her family rush over. She waves them away, and then continues. Her next words are almost impossible to hear.
"Yet if you seek answers...if you seek to follow my path...then you are welcome here."
She then slips into sleep, hovering at the brink of death.
When she dies, there will be speeches told by the great orators of the generation. They will speak of her resolve in seeking out mysteries that perhaps should not have been uncovered, applaud her devotion to a god who has shown her nothing but hate, and pay the respect to her memory that she never received in life.
Yet the true funeral speech for Tanglebranch III has already been spoken.
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