glimpses of da past, a mentor i never truly knew

we travel a few moar days before we are close to da tabaxiz, which is so much better wifhout all dhose glowy mushrooms around. everyone’s luck seems ta be turning up, cuz all of us is able ta find some useful tings along our travels. i found a few things, one of which is new to me: a bogglecap! i could make oil wifh it, or it might be useful ta make someone blind fer a while, hah! but when i went ta log dis new fungus in da manual, i noticed a tear in da very back part of da binding curling up. i found a strange papier craftily laid between.. its signed by hebe. i sit right where i am in da forest ta read it, n read it again.
she first says she will always watch over me. i pray das true. it would make her so happy ta see diz womderful group i stumbled into. she tells of a lost taur, who was her adventuring partner n mentor. they taught her to fight wifh saturn, n later gave it to her. n dis letter is her record, officially passing it ta me.da power made her live longer dhan any tabaxi befoar, she says. no reason ta think it wouldnt be da same fer me.. but who knows how long a thing liek me is “supposed” to live; probly no one of my kind has died a natural death in a long time.
hebe closes her letter wifh love, und a surprise. a name i recognize.. luna??! (how common is dis name???)
 
i let out a sharp exhale. holding da note tenderly to my chest, da closest thing to a hug i can give hebe’s ghost. she was my real momma, n im glad she thought so too.
 
all is still n warm fer a moment in da tall grass, til im brought back to da present by da chatter of my freunde gathering back at camp, telling of dheir spoils.
when i return, im greeted by bricky who shows me a new trick he learned! hims eye flashes gold n he can make coins n jerky n moar out of just nothing! of course its never really nothin.. i feel guilty fer asking a second helping of jerky (but i still do.. its ok cuz i shared with ede!).
 
drexla hopes luna could distill somethin from da fae flowers she found ta give her a magick. she shares how empty and lonely it feels ta be wifhout magick of her own, asking luna if she ever felt dat way. before she can answer, luna is struck wifh a vision! we are quick ta brace her, as is our new normal, n keep her safe while we wait fer her to process. tobias takes me real quick into da dreamscape ta tell hunzah we are close, n she welcomes us. she tells us we are already under observation n must pass a trial befoar we are allowed into sham-la-tam. luna later confirms dis, as she encountered a wolf who took her magick from her before she was taken in and trained by da tabaxi.
(bricky asks her a funny question: how she knows its her memories shes seeing? luna reveals her reflection isn’t always her current one..)
luna n drexla turn out to have a loss of magick in common, tho drexla doesnt ‘member if hers was stolen from her or it was just never hers ta start. she also doesn’t have a lot of memories from befoar waking in dis world. dhere must be hope tho, if luna’s magicks are back now! luna receives another vision: memories of her time with da tabaxiz, brutal training without magick. i feel real bad to ask, but i dont think it can wait.. so i ask if she remembers any freunde from dat time, n show her hebe’s letter wifh her name at da bottom. da whole group uproars at da insinuashon, but again luna’s eyes glow n she is elsewhere for a moment. she was hebe’s peer, who helped train her alongside tobias’ great-granddad when da rest of da clan gave up on her limp arm. (wow, Luna is da closest thing to an auntie ill prob'ly have)
 
da group discusses how dis power is passed on since lady kree never described a sword or anythin fer pipp, it must be somethin else. hebe’s letter mentioned a word she would call upon in battle.. im scared to say it at first. i stutter before finding the conviction, n hold saturn up high as i call out “ary-tarwë!”
luna is transfixed, eyes glowing once more as we watch saturn’s blade transform and lengthen, partially made of the night sky. a new constellation appears way above us – da grand cross. luna remembers how she thought hebe died, protecting them from da dangerous glowing mushrooms. da power of her will to protec her friends manifested dis magickal sword. i dismiss da grand cross blade, n give da group a chance to try wifh no success. its only me who was trusted wifh dis power.. hebe, i’ll do my best ta make sure your choice was da right one.
so much has happened, all in one night, so ev’ryone is eager to get some slep. some of us have much to think about.
 
da morgen greets us wifh heat, n my clothes are already sticking to me. we set out ta prove ourselves fer da tabaxi. we find a path to follow, n drexla scouts ahead. she spots masses of shadow moving through da grasses, n as we continue to make our way luna is first to notice wolves in our path. she shouts in terror, alerting us to da threats but refusing ta keep moving. poor luna, deez verdammt shadow-wolves took so much from her.. she is always so confident n assuring of da rest of us, i wont forgive da wolfs fer dis. bricky holds her first to avert her eyes, but dhen takes a purple energy from luna somehow making her less scared.. she seems relieved, so i dont tink twice n rush forward, hopefully to keep our enemies as far from luna as possible.
another wolf approached from da rechts, as i attack da first two wifh hefty slashes sometimes i manage ta get ‘em bofh in one shot! da third wolf let out a loud, eerie howl dhat stuns luna n v wifh fear. tobias tried his best to heal us, but something was stopping his magicks from werking. we pressed on, drexla helped obscure the field with shmoke screen n protect cousin horse from being targeted. i am knocked down, trying to hold off da two wӧlfe on either side of me but faltering on one. i am quick to get back up n take a bite out of one, needing to regain any energy i can at dhis point. bricky raises one of da dead wӧlfe, a blackness overtakes its eyes n it begins ta fight as our ally. its not much longer befoar we have da whole pack subdued, n killed. almost instantly, tabaxi emerge from da grass ta commend us fer passing da test n gather up da spoils. we are then guided to da mobile village of sham-la-tam.
(bwicky is excited fer hims new pet, so at first i let him set me on its back ta ride it to camp.. but its soft flesh was like trying ta sit on an old rotten log! no no nevermind!!)
 
da tabaxiz are incredibly stealthy, dheir whole camp was hidden dis whole time. it seems liek dheir tents are made to be set up n taken down at a moment’s notice. we are greeted by an elder, “serene,” who welcomes us as now a part of sham-la-tam which is a pepol not a place. she asks about da lights dhey saw da night befoar, n i know shes talkin ‘bout ary-tarwë so i show her real quick (it looks so cool even in daytime! aaahh!). serene is shocked, recognizing da weapon she tells us of da most revered battle maiden, legendary hebe! (whaaat??!?) we all have trouble reconciling dis legend n luna’s experiences. dis musta been humdreds of years ago, so da story had lotsa time ta change but it doesnt hurt any less fer hebe’s story ta be cherry-picked. serene was happy ta listen ta luna tho, tellin us how much of dheir oral history was lost over time so luna could possibly help restore some of it.
 
tobias shifts focus ta dheir drought, n hims promise ta make wawter. bricky offers to examine him first, since hims spells werent working during our earlier encounter. turns out, tobicat had dhoze mushrooms inside sucking up all his magicks! we could see ‘em, but bricky was able ta remove dem, leaving him wifh a crystal mushroom essence in return. drexla asks to have it, but bricky instead stows in away in a pocket. now tobias is free ta make lotsa wawter, n moar wifh luna’s help. da tabaxi are efficient, quickly distributing it to everyone. some are loaded with backpacks n take off to deliver ta nearby “waystayshons” as dhey call ‘em. its explained ta me dhat da eelfolk in zendra cove are limiting da tabaxiz access to wowter, how cruel! fer why would dhey feel da need ta do dis?
 
hunzah finally returns wifh her scouting party, n we are presented an opportunity ta train wifh dem if we keep traveling. lucky everyone said yes, im so excited! its going ta be difficult, but worfh it in da end. we will be able ta return n defeat v’s pirate freunde wifh confidence!
hunzah encourages us ta meet wifh da elder farah, a historian in a circular hut at da center of da village, ta make her stories of hebe more complete n accurate. its so nice ta be accepted here, liek we are all on equal footing n dhey take our claims seriously. not da harshness luna n me expected. in hunzah’s werds: “ev’ryone has strengfh, even if its not physikal” (tho hebe’s history was not all dere, it seems her values had taken root.) passerby even nod ta brickyfreun n children are only curious about him, not judging or fearful. my heart is warm, as we all deserve dis respite but especially him. but i started thinkin.. moonbright wasnt liek dis. i ask tobias if he knew why, n he tells me a story from his momma: myrin pepols stay home or else dhey lose what “makes dem.” hm.. i wumder how all doze tabaxiz got a whole boat-ride away from home..
 
luna endures another vision, n asks if me or mr.v ever touched a sort of magickal substance? not me, but v tells of a time hims legs werent so good. but he was swimming in deep wowter once n made contact wifh a glowing liquid dat made ‘em better. luna asks cuz hebe also touched a magick stuff dat gave her strengfh n allowed her use of bofh arms! still, my n luna’s reason fer glowing is still unknown.
since dis last vision, luna says she can also see auras more easily, n bwicky’s makes her sad.. it looks liek magick needles stabbed all over. bwicky decides its time ta share hims official desigmation wifh da group: “corpsefist.” and ede’s is “veil assassin.” he failed hims trials fer dis desigmation, but doesnt change how he was designed fer violence. our friends are all quick ta encourage bricky (dis is why i love dhem so!) so he can find hims own reasons ta live. he should focus on what he wants, n we will focus on finding a way ta free hims from matthias’ protokols. bricky seems happy wifh our werds but still resigned, telling me again dere is power in emnarian. (one day, ill get ‘em right.. its a pwomise.)
 
befoar bed, we all gather ‘round farah fer a story. besides tobias, hunzah took hims elsewhere fer talks. da central hut is cozy, decoration embroidered n painted into ta canvas itself. many stories are depicted on da walls here, but tonight farah tells of a battle maiden. the only “grand” battle maiden of da tabaxiz who sacrificed ev’rything to save da world. she points ta me, dat im her successor. i dunno even what ta say, but ev’ryone is looking at me. ev’ryone is.. counting on me.
i thinks i understand hunzah moar now.. our first encounter in arknoka she was shocked at my story. but now i see, besides hebe being impossibly old, she also gave all dis up.. n never went back. why?