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Prologue
I have already learned the true nature of this world; every single language spoken by569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzeez4iuCQe
all the miscreated, bid farewell to all those that I ever met, and just finished predicting569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kb3bFhrLJ
most outcomes - not bad for someone born only a day ago.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ts5Qln7zf
And now I must wait here for him, atop such a generous outcrop of stone; one so569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyxmDzw3KW
easily protruding from the most graceful display of running water. A creek, I think it569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYV6F1nbc0
is called, that much like me, seems to always be running but never getting anywhere.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPF1vndjEHt
I cannot think of a better example of the flow of time and design working perfectly569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TsPvXiyCE
in tandem. Yet another sample of what can be expected in this world above, I suppose569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79do7mH3Dc
and hope; an example that for so long has dared to cross these woods that the one569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGhBO1Fehz
I am waiting for, sometimes calls his own.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8DsgzgQnj
He should be here any moment now; my inherited memories keep assuring me569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpjZQrUdVA
that he comes by this exact spot every day to make his crossing, and today will be no569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqeSSCzBwy
exception. He will come. He will come and he will find me; he will find me, and he569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiV8cXzhRY
will say:569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFc963MV6u
“And who might you be?”569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmbhkRNm8L
After I turned around, I was greeted with a weird-looking old figure, much more so569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtw1tRNYqwI
than I was expecting, with an uneven pair of glasses barely hanging from his slightly569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy75gjnUPrC
twirled nose and a long set of grey hair cascading, knot after knot, from the top of his569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Unw3VxuCQ
head. Several pieces of mismatched armour were strapped to his tall if a bit hunched,569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhY5bhJ2oA2
body. They had been collected over a long period of time and from all kinds of sources.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEySCxw2aFU
His right hand held a solid piece of armament; he tried to disguise it as a walking stick,569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6Pm4kWIgl
but it was most definitely a good weapon. A haversack hung from his other shoulder,569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTpaVyaJ4W
it was half open and mostly filled with all sorts of plants and a few samples of fungi.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqev8aUjH5m
Then I noticed behind him followed a beast of burden; great of size and with quite569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjG7DzEpFXM
the relaxed jaw hanging under its corpulent nose. And if all the satchels covering its569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAsnqkkjGu
blue and green skin were not enough to define its purpose, its mellow eyes surely did569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8OMSzijRS
the trick. Also, between its massive shoulders and the middle of its curved back, rested569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmnU9pAt3L
a large, purple saddle. One that was just big enough for two.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpd47xe6CDw
“I was waiting for you,” I steadily revealed to him.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RY4CHTQ8w
“It would certainly seem that way.” The old man replied quite unpreoccupied,569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrI2I74qnL
“Please tell me then, how is it that I am fated to find a little one such as yourself out569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbR31WBkOlY
here, in the middle of these woods?” He asked as he began tying that beast to the569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8QKOJ4l1f
nearest tree.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoBhlXaxbq
“I just said,” I repeated without taking my eyes from all the papers I was holding,569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxtnytx3kL
“that I came here to wait for you.”569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoPZ7a21RD
“Quite right.” He stared at me for a moment, and then finally wetted his boots as he569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IXxfAQmMy
ventured into that running water to make his approach. He did so slowly and carefully,569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfS9bhhJx1L
as to not frighten me, which caused me to smile in appreciation. All the dirt and rips569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXutOkqvP0
in my mostly white clothes easily conveying to him that I had gone through quite a569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1s18Vk4wz
lot recently.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPM3V1Hn8fv
“It’s alright. You can come closer.” I told him unabashedly.569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbMfqO6Njb
“Oh, were you writing?” He was quick to notice when close enough, “And at such a569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hSObYjRbP
young age as well. Remarkable.” He then quickly followed that with a high opinion of569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMMVpkdoZc
my scattered drawings, before picking one up: “And what about these? Did you draw569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzOaQAGC1b
all of them as well?”569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJehPkiKy4
“I did.”569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsQ6M0hRKs
“I know this man...” The old man confessed, “and this woman as well.” He added as569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LeQufL3Gj
his eyes caught glimpse of another half-finished sketch. He picked up that one as well,569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxwof0FMoD
and then held them close to each other ...569Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcIFt6UwIh
“I know these people.” He insisted, without taking his eyes from those two pictures...
