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At Long Last
An Individual
Posts: 589
11/28/2014
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I came to the Neath a man of principle; seeking answers and justice. My life on the surface ended by a single act of violence. I needed to know why and see that the law was upheld. My first few steps into London were less than steady and the trail was already cold but bit by bit I began putting together the pieces and began a journey that would take me to places beyond anything I could have imagined. I miss the innocence of those times.
Progress was slow so I occupied my time learning more of this new place. I solved cases for a detective no longer of sound mind. I met a young woman. We used each other and went our separate ways. And perhaps most significant of all, I caught my first glimpse of The Correspondence. As soon as I set eyes on it I knew I needed to unlock its secrets.
Time wore on and I started making a home here. I became a person of note within the city. I moved out of the small, dusty room I'd been renting and into a room in a luxurious, if exotic, hotel. I was granted a position at the university and lost it in pursuit of the truth. I purchased an old steamer and zailed to strange and distant lands. Then, at long last, I found my target.
The man I was searching for was hiding in a land of madness. Getting there safely was hard. Finding him was harder. But finally I found my family's killer and was confronted with a frightening truth. I didn't care. Not for justice. Just answers. The mystery had consumed me and now that I had the chance to drag this man back to civilization and make him face trial I realized that it no longer mattered to me. I don't know whether what I did next was mercy or vengeance but I did it and left; the knife still clutched firmly in my hand.
When I returned to London, it felt like a piece of me was missing. I'd always tried to stand above the muck of the Neath. Now I felt immersed in it. Lost. I became reacquainted with the woman I'd met in my early days. Life had changed us both and it wasn't long before I made her my wife. I re-established my academic reputation and prepared to settle down and retire. But I'd tasted the mysteries of the Neath. And now I found I craved them.
It was slow at first, but one by one I shed my principles in the pursuit of knowledge. Each question was a chance to find peace. Each answer only fuelled the fire burring within me. I built a Zubarmine so I could plumb the darkest depths. I travelled to the home of the rubbery men. I hunted down the spectre that turns kind men into murderers. And still I craved more.
I am beyond the point where simple inquisition is sufficient. My hunt is fuelled by echoes. The deeper I dig, the more is required. Until now the fruits of my labours have outpaced my desires but no longer. Today I fed all but my most useful possessions to the Bazaar like coal to a furnace. Trinkets of my past. Small pieces of who I was. Each in turn consumed by the flames; now a small part of a much greater whole.
I can see the worried glances from my wife out of the corner of my eye. I can smell the fruit of an eternal garden wafting across the Unterzee. I can see through the eyes of a man who flew too close to the sun. I claw at the edges of mirrors trying to unlock the secrets of Parabola and I hear the whispers of a name calling to me from the darkest corners of the Neath. I don't know how much longer I can cling to the last shreds of my mind. I don't know how much longer I will own what's left of my soul.
But now I have a goat. And it watches.
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An Individual's Profile
The RNG giveth and the RNG taketh away.
Goat Farming or Cider Brewing? This browser extension may help.
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Scholaring the Correspondence? A Brief Guide to Courier's Footprint.
Contemplating Oblivion? First Steps on the Seeking Road.
Gone NORTH? Opened the gate? Throw your character in a well.
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