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23rd Day of the 12th Month, 3540 AM

Midnight's Old Journal, 12/23/3540

by Midnight Erebus

An excerpt from Midnight's journal, left behind in Meterra
 
My father got me this journal and insisted I write in it. "A great hunter should keep a record of his life so all can learn from it," he told me. To be honest I don't see the point as I haven't heard of anyone having their story told through a journal. Songs and poems are what make a famous warrior, right? Still, I know better than to argue with him, especially when he put so much work into making this journal and my new cloak. He's fiercer than the hot forge he works in daily so I'll give it a shot. Where to begin though... I suppose I could talk about my birthday two days ago.
 
See there is a tradition among hunter candidates that on their 14th birthday they go out on a hunt with their father or their mentor to make their first kill. The initial plan was to go with my mentor, especially given my father's injuries but he was quite insistent. It was important to him to witness it with his own eyes. He'd teach me tricks that my mentor didn't but I never imagined he'd force himself to do this with his missing leg. I was nervous to be honest. I had never seen him actually hunt so I had no idea if he'd actually be able to help if I failed, and believe me, I was terrified that I would. See we had it in mind to hunt a bram. And while brams aren't really aggressive usually, they are dangerous if provoked. Dangerous enough that I knew if I screwed up, I'd likely die.
 
Honestly, truth be told I DID screw up. See, I managed to hide myself perfectly to ambush a bram that we managed to track down but I left my spear at camp like an idiot. All I had was my sword. Probably wouldn't have been a problem if I had stabbed it, but instead I slashed and broke my sword on its horns. I'd probably have died had my father not stepped in. On the bright side, my magical affinity showed itself for the first time and I managed to deal the initial fatal blow with it. The seer tells me I have a Shadow Affinity. Specifically I can give form to darkness and solidify it. Her daughter, Kalolin, seemed even more excited about it than I was. In her words it was, "like I could manifest the power of the night itself and command it." Have to say, I certainly don't mind it. I've always found the most comfort in the dark. Sometimes when I'm feeling stressed, I'd close the shutters in my room, keep all the candles unlit and just sit and think. It's comforting.
 
Still, I don't know how to control it yet. Apparently at first magic usually manifests in times of intense emotion. From there one usually has to learn on their own, remembering what they felt at that moment and learn to concentrate on that feeling. Apparently the emotional aspect of it will disappear over time as one learns to control it on their own? Sort of like how you have to force yourself to learn to walk until it just comes naturally. It's hard to think about though as when I first used it, all I felt was fear and panic? How does someone just conjure up those feelings from nothing? Do I have to put myself in danger to get better? I don't know. The seer wants me to come back to her next week so I guess she might have some suggestions.
 
Anyways, after that we rested for the night then spent all of yesterday carving up the bram. Dad then sent me to distribute everything out all over the village to those who could make best use of it all. Except for the pelt. It was a bit strange to me. He wasn't the village tailor. If he was going to keep something I would have thought it'd be a horn to make a new hammer or something. I found out when I got back. He had made matching cloaks for us both and this journal, bound in hide from the bram. Honestly it was the nicest gift he had ever given me. I hope I don't let him down.

Continue reading...

  1. First Day on the Wanderpus
  2. The Results of Midnight's Final Exam
  3. After Action Report: Destruction of the HTTP Wanderpus
  4. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 3
  5. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 2
  6. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 1
  7. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 4
  8. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 5
  9. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 6
  10. Midnight's Old Journal, 12/23/3540
    23rd Day of the 12th Month, 3540 AM
  11. Midnight's Old Journal, 01/01/3541
    1st Day of the 1st Month, 3541 AM
  12. To Liminal's Moon
  13. Midnight's Old Journal, 05/11/3541
    11th Day of the 5th Month, 3541 AM
  14. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 1 - The Basics & Growing Up
  15. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 2 - Past Influences, Beliefs and Opinions
  16. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 3 - Relationships with Others, Likes and Dislikes
  17. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 4 - Self Images and Etc.
  18. The Storm
  19. After Mission Report: The Floating Island
  20. Midnight's Private Journal: After Legends Rise
  21. Midnight's Private Journal: After The Pot & Kettle
  22. Midnight's Personal Journal: After Call My Name
  23. Expanded Questions About Midnight - The HTML Wanderpus
  24. Midnight's Private Journal: After The Ascension
  25. Midnight's Private Journal: After Ante Up
  26. Midnight's Private Journal: After Teeth
  27. Midnight's Notes: The World Fair
  28. Midnight's Journal: After Hello Tomorrow
  29. Midnight's Journal: After Pretty Little Things
  30. Midnight's Journal: An Interesting New Sword
  31. Midnight's Journal: After R.Y.L.A.H.
  32. Midnight's Journal: After Diners, Dungeons & Dives
  33. Midnight's Journal: After Palm Reader
  34. Midnight's Journal: After Bookwyrm
  35. Midnight's Journal: After Veldt
  36. Midnight's Journal: After Where You'll Find Me Now
  37. Midnight's Journal: After A Bard's Tale
  38. Midnight's Journal: After Valhalla's Calling
  39. Midnight's Journal: After Broken
  40. Midnight's Journal: After They Know Me
  41. Midnight's Journal: After Welcome to the World
  42. Midnight's Journal: After Villainous Thing
  43. Midnight's Journal: After Curses
  44. Midnight's Journal: "The Librarian's Defeat"
  45. Midnight's Journal: "The World Changes"
  46. Midnight's Journal: After Sleep is for the Weak
  47. Midnight's Journal: After creature
  48. Midnight's Journal: After Dear Fellow Traveler
  49. Midnight's Report: After Love From The Other Side
  50. Midnight's Report: Handclap
  51. Midnight's Journal: A Story to a Giant
  52. Midnight's Journal: Constellations
  53. Midnight's Report: Wolf
  54. Midnight's Report: Of Bees and Bones
  55. Midnight's Report: Building Steam (Flower and Geoff)
  56. Midnight's Report: Nothing Breaks Like a Heart Ep. 1

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 02:56, Nov 15 2024