[Music by A. Tompkins and J. De Ron]
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In the distance, my falcon flies, circling above a clearing in the
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forest. Suddenly, I hear its cries as it falls to the ground to its
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death. Leaving Destiny, I rush in the direction of its final cry. I
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enter the clearing and stop in sudden horror as I view an
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unnatural spectacle of ancient fallen trees.
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This is a fossilised forest, silent and calm, with no sign of
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movement save for the stain of my form. The spell of age has
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woven its evil intent upon this hallowed ground as beneath the
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grey clouds the forest was rent. Moving slowly, in deliberation
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and respect for the dead, I am revulsed by the scene played out
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before me. How these giants have fallen. Their majesty, their
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power, and all that they were are as dust to the soil and returned
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to the earth. I know not why.
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I plead with Destiny for an answer as she arrives and she explains
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it thus; "It pays tribute to the accursed rains for of all that was,
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little remains. These grey flowers you see are but a poor
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reflection of what's left of humanity. They spoke the laws of old
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yet chose to disoblige the Ancient, holding such decrees in
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contempt by their works. The bane of mankind is that all that he
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is until the day that he dies is a pawn that's expected to live by the
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lies of tradition. The human condition, it seems, is to reduce all to
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tradition."
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I wander amongst the fallen trunks as though drawn, and find my
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fallen friend, my falcon forlorn. Lifeless, I hold his body hoping in
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some way he's free. Whilst clutching him, I notice something, now
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what can this be?
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Embedded in chalcedony within an aged oak is the semblance of
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an ancient warrior sword. To suggest that this had aught to do
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with the legend was a dream but to ignore the possibility I could
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not afford. I grabbed a nearby rock and began to smash away
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the quartz as crystal shards, they flew and cut into my flesh. The
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golden sword hilt exposed, I pulled with all my might as it was
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loosed at last from its chalcedonic grave. And I held the sword
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aloft for all the land to see and I was filled with power beyond my
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darkest dreams.
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Destiny, with a smile, approaches saying, "The Garensword holds
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the power to bequeath life as well as death" as I watch my falcon
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take wing to wind and soar high above the forest once again.
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Following the bird, leaving the clearing behind us, we enter into
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the forest and instantly I am startled. The sword has affected my
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sight, enabled me to see things which I have never noticed before.
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There are thousands of graves amongst the trees; a cemetery for
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the living. Headstones with no names, overrun with wild grey
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flowers.
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The Grave, My Soul
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| Paramaecium |
