u/BunsAreReal

r/Dreading r/TexasTeachers r/PoliticalMemes r/tylertx r/TalesFromTheCreeps r/creepcast r/scarystories r/u_BunsAreReal

TRUST ACT OF 2021 - if Austin could fight We The People of Tyler can fight (STOP AI in Tyler Texas)

P.S. Present during Ai centre meetings hearing in Tyler.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]

[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

[S. 1295 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

Here is the link to the document so you may print out your own copy: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1295/text/is?format=txt

<DOC>

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1295

To save and strengthen critical social contract programs of the Federal

Government.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 21, 2021

Mr. Romney (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Young, Ms. Sinema, Mrs.

Capito, Mr. King, Mr. Portman, Mr. Warner, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Rounds, Mr.

Cramer, and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and

Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To save and strengthen critical social contract programs of the Federal Government.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Time to Rescue United States Trusts

Act 2021'' or the ``TRUST Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) Co-chair.--The term ``co-chair'' means an individual

appointed to serve as a co-chair of a Rescue Committee under

section 4(a)(4)(C)(i).

(2) Critical social contract program.--The term ``critical

social contract program'' means a Federal program the Secretary

identifies in the report under section 3.

(3) Rescue committee.--The term ``Rescue Committee'' means

a committee established under section 4(a).

(4) Rescue committee bill.--The term ``Rescue Committee

bill'' means a bill consisting solely of legislative language

that a Rescue Committee approves and submits under clauses (i)

and (vi), respectively, of section 4(a)(3)(B).

(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary

of the Treasury.

SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL SOCIAL CONTRACT PROGRAMS.

Not later than 14 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the

Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that identifies each

Federal program--

(1) for which a Federal trust fund is established;

(2) the amount of outlays of which, for the fiscal year

immediately preceding the fiscal year in which this Act is

enacted, were not less than $20,000,000,000; and

(3) the amount of dedicated Federal funds and Federal trust

fund balances that the Secretary determines will be inadequate,

on any date during the period beginning on the date of

enactment of this Act and ending on the last day of fiscal year

2036, to meet the total amount of outlays of the Federal

program that would otherwise be made.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESCUE COMMITTEES.

(a) Establishment of Rescue Committees.--

(1) Establishment.--On the date on which the Secretary

submits the report under section 3, there shall be established

a Rescue Committee for each critical social contract program.

(2) Goals.--The goals of each Rescue Committee shall be to,

with respect to the critical social contract program for which

the Rescue Committee is established--

(A) avoid depletion of the Federal trust fund

established for the critical social contract program;

(B) provide for the solvency of the Federal trust

fund established for the critical social contract

program during the 75-year period beginning on the date

described in paragraph (1);

to the extent practicable; and

(D) otherwise improve the critical social contract

program.

(3) Duties.--

(A) In general.--

(i) Improving critical social contract

programs.--Each Rescue Committee may develop

recommendations and legislative language that

will significantly improve the critical social

contract program for which the Rescue Committee

is established, including by--

(I) increasing the duration of

positive balances of the Federal trust

fund established for the critical

social contract program; and

(II) to the extent practicable,

providing for the solvency of the

Federal trust fund established for the

critical social contract program during

the 75-year period beginning on the

date described in paragraph (1).

(ii) Recommendations of committees.--Not

later than 60 days after the date described in

paragraph (1), each committee of the Senate and

the House of Representatives may transmit to

the relevant Rescue Committee any

recommendations of the committee relating to

changes in law to improve the critical social

contract program for which the Rescue Committee

is established in accordance with the goals of

the Rescue Committee described in paragraph

(2).

(B) Report, recommendations, and legislative

language.--

(i) In general.--Not later than 180 days

after the date described in paragraph (1), each

Rescue Committee shall meet to consider, and

may vote on--

(I) a report that contains a

detailed statement of the findings,

conclusions, and recommendations of the

Rescue Committee described in

subparagraph (A)(i) and the estimate of

the Congressional Budget Office

required under paragraph (5)(D)(ii);

and

(II) legislative language to carry

out the recommendations of the Rescue

Committee in the report described in

subclause (I), which shall include a

statement of the economic and budgetary

effects of the recommendations during

the 75-year period beginning on the

date described in paragraph (1).

(ii) Advisory nature.--Any proposed. change

to the Standing Rules of the Senate or the

Rules of the House of Representatives included

in a report or legislative language under

clause (i) shall be considered to be merely

advisory.

(iii) Approval of report and legislative

language.--A report and legislative language of

a Rescue Committee under clause (i) shall

require the approval of a majority of the

members of the Rescue Committee, provided that

such majority shall be required to include not

less than 2 members of each party.

(iv) Additional views.--

(I) In general.--A member of a

Rescue Committee who gives notice of an

intention to file supplemental,

minority, or additional views at the

time of the final Rescue Committee vote

on the approval of the report and

legislative language of the Rescue

Committee under clause (i) shall be

entitled to 3 days to file those views

in writing with the staff director of

the Rescue Committee.

(II) Inclusion in report.--Views

filed under subclause (I) shall be

included in the report of the relevant

Rescue Committee under clause (i) and

printed in the same volume, or part

thereof, and such inclusion shall be

noted on the cover of the report,

except that, in the absence of timely

notice, the report may be printed and

transmitted immediately without such

views.

(v) Report and legislative language to be

made public.--Upon the approval or disapproval

of a report and legislative language under

clause (i) by a Rescue Committee, the Rescue

Committee shall promptly, and not more than 24

hours after the approval or disapproval, make

the report, the legislative language, and a

record of the vote on the report and

legislative language available to the public.

(vi) Submission of report and legislative

language.--If a report and legislative language

are approved by a Rescue Committee under clause

(i), not later than 3 days after the date on

which the report and legislative language are

made available to the public under clause (v),

the Rescue Committee shall submit the report

and legislative language to the President, the

Vice President, the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, and the majority and minority

leaders of each House of Congress.

(vii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in

this subparagraph shall be construed to

prohibit a Rescue Committee from voting on a

report and legislative language, or multiple

instances thereof, before the deadline

described in clause (i).

(4) Membership.--

(A) In general.--Each Rescue Committee shall be

composed of 12 members appointed in accordance with

subparagraph (B) and with due consideration to chairs

and ranking members of the committees and subcommittees

of subject matter jurisdiction, as applicable.

(B) Appointment.--Not later than 14 days after the

date described in paragraph (1), with respect to each

Rescue Committee--

(i) the majority leader of the Senate shall

appoint 3 individuals from among the Members of

the Senate who shall serve as members of the

Rescue Committee;

(ii) the minority leader of the Senate

shall appoint 3 individuals from among the

Members of the Senate who shall serve as

members of the Rescue Committee;

(iii) the Speaker of the House of

Representatives shall appoint 3 individuals

from among the Members of the House of

Representatives who shall serve as members of

the Rescue Committee; and

(iv) the minority leader of the House of

Representatives shall appoint 3 individuals

from among the Members of the House of

Representatives who shall serve as members of

the Rescue Committee.

(i) In general.--Not later than 14 days

after the date described in paragraph (1), with

respect to each Rescue Committee--

(I) the leadership of the Senate

and House of Representatives of the

same political party as the President

shall appoint 1 individual from among

the members of the Rescue Committee who

shall serve as a co-chair of the Rescue

Committee; and

(II) the leadership of the Senate

and House of Representatives of the

other major political party as the

President, shall appoint 1 individual

from among the members of the Rescue

Committee who shall serve as a co-chair

of the Rescue Committee.

(ii) Staff director.--With respect to each

Rescue Committee, the co-chairs of the Rescue

Committee, acting jointly, shall hire the staff

director of the Rescue Committee.

(D) Period of appointment.--

(i) In general.--The members of a Rescue

Committee shall be appointed for the life of

the Rescue Committee.

(ii) Vacancy.--

(I) In general.--Any vacancy in a

Rescue Committee shall not affect the

powers of the Rescue Committee, but

shall be filled not later than 14 days

after the date on which the vacancy

occurs, in the same manner as the

original appointment was made.

(II) Ineligible members.--If a

member of a Rescue Committee ceases to

be a Member of the Senate or the House

of Representatives, as applicable--

(aa) the member shall no

longer be a member of the

Rescue Committee; and

(bb) a vacancy in the

Rescue Committee exists.

(5) Administration.--

(A) In general.--With respect to each Rescue

Committee, to enable the Rescue Committee to exercise

the powers, functions, and duties of the Rescue

Committee, there are authorized to be disbursed by the

Senate the actual and necessary expenses of the Rescue

Committee approved by the co-chairs of the Rescue

Committee, subject to the rules and regulations of the

Senate.

(B) Expenses.--With respect to each Rescue

Committee, in carrying out the functions of the Rescue

Committee, the Rescue Committee is authorized to incur

expenses in the same manner and under the same

conditions as the Joint Economic Committee is

authorized under section 11(d) of the Employment Act of

1946 (15 U.S.C. 1024(d)).

7 members of the Rescue Committee shall constitute a

quorum for purposes of voting, meeting, and holding

hearings.

(D) Voting.--

(i) Proxy voting.--No proxy voting shall be

allowed on behalf of any member of a Rescue

Committee.

(ii) Congressional budget office

estimates.--

(I) In general.--The Director of

the Congressional Budget Office shall,

with respect to the legislative

language of a Rescue Committee under

paragraph (3)(B)(i)(II), provide to the

Rescue Committee--

(aa) estimates of the

legislative language in

accordance with sections 308(a)

and 201(f) of the Congressional

Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C.

639(a) and 601(f)); and

(bb) information on the

budgetary effect of the

legislative language during the

75-year period beginning on the

date described in paragraph

(1).

(II) Limitation.--A Rescue

Committee may not vote on any version

of the report, recommendations, or

legislative language of the Rescue

Committee under paragraph (3)(B)(i)

unless the estimates and information

described in subclause (I) of this

clause are made available for

consideration by all members of the

Rescue Committee not later than 48

hours before that vote, as certified by

the co-chairs of the Rescue Committee.

(E) Meetings.--

(i) Initial meeting.--Not later than 45

days after the date described in paragraph (1),

each Rescue Committee shall hold the first

meeting of the Rescue Committee.

(ii) Agenda.--For each meeting of each

Rescue Committee, the co-chairs of the Rescue

Committee shall provide an agenda to the

members of the Rescue Committee not later than

48 hours before the meeting.

(F) Hearings.--

(i) In general.--Each Rescue Committee may,

for the purpose of carrying out this section,

hold such hearings, sit and act at such times

and places, require attendance of witnesses and

production of books, papers, and documents,

take such testimony, receive such evidence, and

administer such oaths as the Rescue Committee

considers advisable.

(ii) Hearing procedures and

responsibilities of co-chairs.--

(I) Announcement.--The co-chairs of

each Rescue Committee shall make a

public announcement of the date, place,

time, and subject matter of any hearing

to be conducted under this subparagraph

not later than 7 days before the date

of the hearing, unless the co-chairs

determine that there is good cause to

begin such hearing on an earlier date.

(II) Written statement.--A witness

appearing before a Rescue Committee

shall file a written statement of the

proposed testimony of the witness not

later than 2 days before the date of

the appearance of the witness, unless

the co-chairs of the Rescue Committee--

(aa) determine that there

is good cause for the witness

to not file the written

statement; and

(bb) waive the requirement

that the witness file the

written statement.

(G) Technical assistance.--Upon written request of

the co-chairs of a Rescue Committee, the head of a

Federal agency shall provide technical assistance to

the Rescue Committee in order for the Rescue Committee

to carry out the duties of the Rescue Committee.

(b) Staff of Rescue Committee.--

(1) In general.--The co-chairs of a Rescue Committee may

jointly appoint and fix the compensation of staff of the Rescue

Committee as the co-chairs determine necessary, in accordance

with the guidelines, rules, and requirements relating to

employees of the Senate.

(2) Ethical standards.--

(A) Senate.--Members of the Senate who serve on a

Rescue Committee and staff of the Rescue Committee

shall adhere to the ethics rules of the Senate.

(B) House of representatives.--Members of the House

of Representatives who serve on a Rescue Committee

shall be governed by the ethics rules and requirements

of the House of Representatives.

after the date of the sine die adjournment of the 117th Congress.

SEC. 5. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF RESCUE COMMITTEE BILLS.

(a) Qualifying Legislation.--Only a Rescue Committee bill shall be

entitled to expedited consideration under this section.

(b) Consideration in the House of Representatives.--

(1) Introduction.--If a Rescue Committee approves and

submits legislative language under clauses (i) and (vi),

respectively, of section 4(a)(3)(B), a Rescue Committee bill

consisting solely of that legislative language may be

introduced in the House of Representatives (by request)--

(A) by the majority leader of the House of

Representatives, or by a Member of the House of

Representatives designated by the majority leader of

the House of Representatives, on the next legislative

day; or

(B) if the Rescue Committee bill is not introduced

under subparagraph (A), by any Member of the House of

Representatives on any legislative day beginning on the

legislative day after the legislative day described in

subparagraph (A).

(2) Referral and reporting.--Any committee of the House of

Representatives to which a Rescue Committee bill is referred

shall report the Rescue Committee bill to the House of

Representatives without amendment not later than 10 legislative

days after the date on which the Rescue Committee bill was so

referred. If a committee of the House of Representatives fails

to report a Rescue Committee bill within that period, it shall

be in order to move that the House of Representatives discharge

the committee from further consideration of the Rescue

Committee bill. Such a motion shall not be in order after the

last committee authorized to consider the Rescue Committee bill

reports it to the House of Representatives or after the House

of Representatives has disposed of a motion to discharge the

Rescue Committee bill. The previous question shall be

considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without

intervening motion except 20 minutes of debate equally divided

and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. If such a

motion is adopted, the House of Representatives shall proceed

immediately to consider the Rescue Committee bill in accordance

with paragraphs (3) and (4). A motion to reconsider the vote by

which the motion is disposed of shall not be in order.

(3) Proceeding to consideration.--After the last committee

authorized to consider a Rescue Committee bill reports it to

the House of Representatives or has been discharged (other than

by motion) from its consideration, it shall be in order to move

to proceed to consider the Rescue Committee bill in the House

of Representatives. Such a motion shall not be in order after

the House of Representatives has disposed of a motion to

proceed with respect to the Rescue Committee bill. The previous

question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to its

adoption without intervening motion. A motion to reconsider the

vote by which the motion is disposed of shall not be in order.

(4) Consideration.--The Rescue Committee bill shall be

considered as read. All points of order against the Rescue

Committee bill and against its consideration are waived. The

previous question shall be considered as ordered on the Rescue

Committee bill to its passage without intervening motion except

2 hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the

proponent and an opponent and 1 motion to limit debate on the

Rescue Committee bill. A motion to reconsider the vote on

passage of the Rescue Committee bill shall not be in order.

(5) Vote on passage.--The vote on passage of the Rescue

Committee bill shall occur not later than 3 legislative days

after the date on which the last committee authorized to

consider the Rescue Committee bill reports it to the House of

Representatives or is discharged.

(1) Introduction in the senate.--If a Rescue Committee

approves and submits legislative language under clauses (i) and

(vi), respectively, of section 4(a)(3)(B), a Rescue Committee

bill consisting solely of that legislative language may be

introduced in the Senate (by request)--

(A) by the majority leader of the Senate, or by a

Member of the Senate designated by the majority leader

of the Senate, on the next day on which the Senate is

in session; or

(B) if the Rescue Committee bill is not introduced

under subparagraph (A), by any Member of the Senate on

any day on which the Senate is in session beginning on

the day after the day described in subparagraph (A).

(2) Committee consideration.--A Rescue Committee bill

introduced in the Senate under paragraph (1) shall be jointly

referred to the committee or committees of jurisdiction, which

committees shall report the Rescue Committee bill without any

revision and with a favorable recommendation, an unfavorable

recommendation, or without recommendation, not later than 10

session days after the date on which the Rescue Committee bill

was so referred. If any committee to which a Rescue Committee

bill is referred fails to report the Rescue Committee bill

within that period, that committee shall be automatically

discharged from consideration of the Rescue Committee bill, and

the Rescue Committee bill shall be placed on the appropriate

calendar.

(3) Proceeding.--Notwithstanding rule XXII of the Standing

Rules of the Senate, it is in order, not later than 2 days of

session after the date on which a Rescue Committee bill is

reported or discharged from all committees to which the Rescue

Committee bill was referred, for the majority leader of the

Senate or the designee of the majority leader to move to

proceed to the consideration of the Rescue Committee bill. It

shall also be in order for any Member of the Senate to move to

proceed to the consideration of the Rescue Committee bill at

any time after the conclusion of such 2-day period. A motion to

proceed is in order even though a previous motion to the same

effect has been disagreed to. All points of order against the

motion to proceed to the Rescue Committee bill are waived. The

motion to proceed is not debatable. The motion is not subject

to a motion to postpone. A motion to reconsider the vote by

which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in

order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the

Rescue Committee bill is agreed to, the Rescue Committee bill

shall remain the unfinished business until disposed of. All

points of order against a Rescue Committee bill and against

consideration of the Rescue Committee bill are waived.

(4) No amendments.--An amendment to a Rescue Committee

bill, or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the

consideration of other business, or a motion to recommit the

Rescue Committee bill, is not in order.

(5) Rulings of the chair on procedure.--Appeals from the

decisions of the Chair relating to the application of the rules

of the Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure relating to

a Rescue Committee bill shall be decided without debate.

(d) Amendment.--A Rescue Committee bill shall not be subject to

amendment in either the Senate or the House of Representatives.

(e) Consideration by the Other House.--

(1) In general.--If, before passing a Rescue Committee

bill, a House receives from the other House a Rescue Committee

bill consisting of legislative language approved by the same

Rescue Committee as the Rescue Committee bill in the receiving

House--

(A) the Rescue Committee bill of the other House

shall not be referred to a committee; and

(B) the procedure in the receiving House shall be

the same as if no Rescue Committee bill had been

received from the other House until the vote on

passage, when the Rescue Committee bill received from

the other House shall supplant the Rescue Committee

bill of the receiving House.

(2) Revenue measures.--This subsection shall not apply to

the House of Representatives if a Rescue Committee bill

received from the Senate is a revenue measure.

(f) Rules To Coordinate Action With Other House.--

(1) Treatment of rescue committee bill of other house.--If

a Rescue Committee bill is not introduced in the Senate or the

Senate fails to consider a Rescue Committee bill under this

section, the Rescue Committee bill of the House of

Representatives consisting of legislative language approved by

the same Rescue Committee as the Rescue Committee bill in the

Senate shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures under

this section.

(2) Treatment of companion measures in the senate.--If,

following passage of a Rescue Committee bill in the Senate, the

Senate then receives from the House of Representatives a Rescue

Committee bill approved by the same Rescue Committee and

consisting of the same legislative language as the Senate-

passed Rescue Committee bill, the House-passed Rescue Committee

bill shall not be debatable. The vote on passage of the Rescue

Committee bill in the Senate shall be considered to be the vote

on passage of the Rescue Committee bill received from the House

of Representatives.

(3) Vetoes.--If the President vetoes a Rescue Committee

bill, consideration of a veto message in the Senate under this

paragraph shall be 10 hours equally divided between the

majority and minority leaders of the Senate or the designees of

the majority and minority leaders of the Senate.

SEC. 6. FUNDING.

Funding for each Rescue Committee shall be derived in equal

portions from--

(1) the contingent fund of the Senate from the

appropriations account ``Miscellaneous Items'', subject to the

rules and regulations of the Senate; and

(2) the applicable accounts of the House of

Representatives.

SEC. 7. RULEMAKING.

The provisions of this Act are enacted by Congress--

(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate

and the House of Representatives, respectively, and, as such,

the provisions--

(A) shall be considered as part of the rules of

each House, respectively, or of that House to which

they specifically apply; and

(B) shall supersede other rules only to the extent

that they are inconsistent therewith; and

(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of

either House to change such rules (so far as relating to such

House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent

as in the case of any other rule of such House.

<all>

reddit.com

u/BunsAreReal — 1 day ago

▲ 293 r/tylertx

Want to know more about Ai coming to your local community?

The City of Tyler Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will take place inside Tyler City Hall (212 N. Bonner Ave)

Don't forget to hydrate before you go and while your their!

u/BunsAreReal — 1 day ago

▲ 83 r/tylertx

We The People have evidence that cops and civilians are using Flock to stalk individuals, all cops and stalkers need is to have access to a web browser. Please keep your kids safe.

Please watch the video. If you dont know anything about Flock or being spoon fed info from your news station, this videos tells the truth of the matter with Flock cameras, and that being said about other forms of Ai coming to our mainstay, don't forget to show up to stop the bitcoin mining center from taking root on July 7th coming up, and remember to always hydrate on pure clean God given water so the centers dont get any.

There are many ways to keep your face and your children's face off of these cameras:

Wear reflectors on hats, glasses, shoes, and backpacks. This makes it where they cant identify your kids.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaQxZ53q7eh/?igsh=MXBtMHVhYjJscmR3ag==

instagram.com

u/BunsAreReal — 3 days ago

▲ 1 r/TalesFromTheCreeps

THE UNKNOWN ARCHIVIST: FIRST GRAPHING ACCOUNT - HĀLFĀN RESTRICTED RECORDS

HEADER NOTE: The Archivist was never identified successfully nor found; these texts were [REDACTED] in the order you are about to read. The Owls found them in [REDACTED] excavating to the Gullet of the Mother in the Northern Peak towards The Mother Tree. It appeared a team once finding out what they were actually [REDACTED] for. We found there personal chambers in a state of disarray, these were the only legible records among [REDACTED] we could find. Personal notes and timelines connect with red thread.

The Unknown Archivist's trail leads to more questions than answers, more holes than plots, and more ink than paper. PROCEED FURTHER WITH CAUTION ARCHIVIST.

Part VI from Book I: Duluram, Devourer of Planes

Truth Discovered of No Name by The Owls.

(Father Unknown, born of Queen Rivia-Talor of the Old Flame)

He is not the son of King Bartal of the Old Flame. He was born out of wedlock, his father unknown. It happened on a cold winter night. Queen Rivia-Talor was awoken by a comforting arousal, assuming it was King Bartal by his scent and familiar mannerisms. He often entered her chambers in the middle of the night; moments of passion in the late hours were a normal part of their routine. He would stay afterward and hold her in peace. But this time was different. He was more passionate, yet he left without a word.

After King Bartal named him Menapace at his birth, Rivia asked why Bartal hadn’t stayed that night. Bartal insisted that he had. Confusion spread between them. They questioned the servants, but no one would speak. In a fit of royal rage and desperation, all the servants were executed, as not one gave even an ounce of evidence about what had occurred during that winter night. A night when Air Isle Regimes and Earth Isle Pirates were seen creeping through the city in shadows. It was then they began to understand what might have happened. Menapace could not be king. He bore the name, but not the blood.

Still, they raised him as their own. Rivia fell into a deep depression, and Bartal grew cold, his emotions locked behind silence. He could not stand the looks from his new council. The unspoken questions in their eyes as he passed.

It needed a vessel. A scapegoat. Someone mortal to walk the path of destruction in the realm of men. Someone to open the Gate of Space and Time, allowing it to feed once more. The Mimic of a familiar voice of comfort, whispering, it was Alanthra or was it? -“Do it.”

Only through them are visions revealed; his truth, twisted and terrible. Menapace, now granted the demi-god title, Nobody No Name, successfully summoned the Red Moon at the Temple of Urok, putting the Mother Tree to eternal rest. His purpose was fulfilled.

In the final act of the ritual, Menapace (Baron) was forced to devour Menapace (No Name), completing the unholy rite. And so the Mother Tree slept, bound in never-ending slumber. And No Name not bound to a mortal vessel evermore.

Part I from Book I: The First Chapter of the Book of Not En

In the beginning there was The Age of Nothing, Mother Nothing or Not as she preferred. Here there was Father Eternity. He saw, for she was perfect in her vast everflowing form of knowledge, love, and existence. He as Her witness. Baring the manifestation of a candle to resemble his passion for her.

Together they formed a family, two boys and two girls. For eons, wonders and discoveries engulfed their minds as teachings from both Eternity and Nothing came way with time and effort. As time passed, things always seemed to change; as did their form. Each taking their Elemental shape among eons more.

Nothing was growing weary of her sons’ malice comments towards their Father’s recent teachings over the strengths of graciousness. Speaking to her daughter’s she understood the truth of the matter. Boredom and Envy had seeped into the Realm. One of the Sins had slipped into their dimension.

Mother Not knew it was too late and the rest of the Sins were on their way; she had to act fast. She spoke the truth of the situation to the boys (Cortov the Fire Deity and Cruxious the Earth Deity). They understood and took full responsibility for their negligence. They had left a backdoor open to their thought palaces while they were distracted visiting each other's states of being. Creating new ideas unaware of their own power having responsibility of awareness.

They brought peace through destruction into creation. Each resulting in a physical manifestation greater than ever before of themselves. Their existence permeated into every atom of the space they were destined to create to have full influence, but not this soon.

Each sibling took the role of Immortal Weaver as their respected element of this multiverse; plastering themselves into the perpetual state of our reality. A deal was struck; a burden to bear. Amatra and Alanthra did not agree with how their brothers simply wiped out the last of the mortals their Father entrusted them in their absence.

So, instead of coming to an understanding, each sibling went their separate way to one of their four corners of Father Entirety’s Temple; our dimension of cosmos. Until His and Her return, they wait cloistered in their own realms protecting their Father’s knowledge.

That is how Mother Not chose us. Shielding us with choices of love and peace and to keep the 7 Sins from devouring us whole. As Father En gave us everything from States of Feeling to Being. We are all separate from Eternity but all one with Nothing.

*Last words Nothing spoke to her daughter Alanthra the Water Deity:

A: “Mother Not please don’t there must be a way we can-”

N: “I love you all and would expect the same from all of you. Don’t worry I won't be far and I’ll be waiting here when it is all said and done. Th- Thank you Alanthra for your honesty and

overflowing caring heart.”

*a moment passes

N: “Goodbye, I love you.”

*silence

A: “Mother… Why won’t you let me help.”

*Last words Mother Nothing spoke to her daughter Amantra the Air Deity:

A: "Do what you must Mother, I trust you. I will do my duty and help Father as you defend. If- If you need help call upon us. Goodbye, love you Mother…”

N: “Love you too, my sweet brave Amatra. Take care of yourself in my absence, these times will only last a moment, please lean on your sister. She needs you most now.”

*silence

The Immortal Weavers may now begin their true work.

To teach their mortals with the hands they have been given by their Father.

Part III: The Discovery of the Realms, History of Halfan

Prologue by Dr. Kiada Essa; Historian and Planeshifter of the Owls

(Kept Safe in the Owl Sanctuary Archive)

This young realm; the Water Realm. It is one of the many dimensions in this universe. Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. These became Planes for life and living organisms to be given purpose and reason from Father to the Immortal Weaver’s; his children. The Water Realm, nothing but water till the Seed arrived.

The Air Realm; floating isles and free falling waterfalls to be evaporated in photosynthesize to rain clouds upon the top of the top of the highest floating isles. All creatures are adapted to air here; even fish.

The Fire Realm consists of molten earth, magma lakes, no sky, only more red hot petrified earth as a canopy; a never ending cave. All creatures are adapted to this climate being able to move though the lakes of lava and magma rivers. No intelligible life forms have been met in this realm. Only old monoliths stand. The Language inscribed upon them; lost to antiquity.

The Earth Realm is considered the most hostile; for the size of its creatures will say enough. Colossal Sleeping Giants, first roaming for a millennial until meeting their destination to sleep evermore protecting something beneath them. Nature takes over their exterior shape and makes them one with the hills with moss and trees taking over with time until their next wake. They appear to be protecting something where they sleep. Fighting over these plateaus as they wake to meet other giants in hand to hand combat; no matter their size they fight to the death. The Asamir have not come close to understanding these creatures' means of existence.

A message in a bottle found in the Known Waters of the Water Realm

Your family was known as The First Spark, the first humans to learn electric magic, their souls pure in heart brought technology to the Water realm to aid and help many, but others wanted their power and seduced them into horrific experiments and lies of wealth from the Ravens using them as vessels of energy to power cities. You are the last survivor of your family.

Whoever you know as your family of this Realm is a lie. No Name has ripped a tear into the Fabric of our Realm making history and timelines bleed into one another into what you convinced of this realm as the truth; leaving your mind dormant.

They can’t lie anymore, you now know the truth of my people toying with this sacred seed of a Realm you and your destined companions must wake them as well."

Part IV from Book I: The Immortal Sin

Prologue

Baron's life began in shadow.

The bastard son of King Bartal of the Isle of the Old Flame, he grew up nameless and unwanted. His mother, a servant, died young. His father ignored him. Baron became a soldier, fighting for a kingdom that never claimed him. He died in battle against the Ravens, his body left to burn with the Isle of the Old Flame when it was set ablaze.

But death wasn't the end.

The water goddess Alanthra remembered him. She pulled him from the ashes, breathing the name “Menapace” giving life to his charred bones. He awoke cursed, a man who couldn't die, a prophet with no memory of his past. Alanthra loved him, but their bond was forbidden. The gods had already cast him down once for loving her. Now, she hid the truth, fearing his foresight would unravel if he knew too much.

Baron wandered the Water Realm, as The Hobo King leading the forgotten. He spoke truths no one wanted to hear. The humans of Hal burned his camp, but Arwin Everdell the Half-Elf Sorcerer/Artificer of The Owls faction saved him. Alanthra fused her essence with Arwin’s creation of moosha, into his mind while he slept, dreaming a dream binding him to the Mother Tree. A pink viscus liquid in a tincture. Letting him hear his essential true name, Menapace.

Now, Baron Menapace fights for a world that hates him. He's funny, blunt, and terrifying. Cursed with cannibalistic urges, he battles delusions and the weight of immortality. His love for Alanthra drives him, but he knows the Holders of the Shadow's Epoch will strike when he is weakest.

Where It Began: Epic of Menapace, the Demigod of Peace

Before the Sins thrashed into the Realm of Nothing by the backdoor of Cruxious and Cortav's Thought Palaces, the gods had servants, Demigods to keep them company. Alanthra held a deep infatuation with Menapace, the Demigod of Peace in the Realm of Nothing. He would speak to her for hours about the beauty of what her parents had done, were doing, and what was to come; showing her what Peace was capable of. Their bond grew into love.

When her brothers discovered this though their own Sins had yet to be noticed they told on her. Mother Nothing questioned why they would be upset that their sister had found something akin to the bond between Mother Nothing and Father Eternity. But love with a lesser deity was forbidden. To pay for their sins and to separate them, Menapace was cast down into the Fire Realm as a fire elf, reborn as a small mortal of Cortav.

Cortav took him as a prisoner when the elements were separated, erasing his memory of godhood. In the Fire Realm, Menapace lived as a fire elf, unaware of the divine past he once held. He protected his tribe and family from the devils and demons of the Abyss, horrors sent by the Eldritch Lords of Fire. Here, to burn the dead was sacred ensuring their souls would not wander restlessly.He became a leader. A strong father in a brutal world of Red, Deceit, Treachery, and Fire, no water, nor sky.

One fateful morning, the air was thick with smog and the scent of blood. A red fog rolled in, and through it came silhouettes, soldiers from another realm, red-eyed, limbs jerking in unison. The drum beat out the cadence of the Harvest of Souls. But Menapace's village of Peace was ready.

Before rest, he laid stones of protection around the village. But the red fog seeped past them, into their lungs. They were ready too. He had to make a deal, his life, or everyone else's. Unprepared, yet with no alternative, he chose to pay the Price.

Before the transaction was complete, he found his son and said:

"Find Alanthra. You will see great oceans as far as the eye can see, green grass fields with shade and peace. This is where you'll find home."

He gave his son his sword and spellbook to complete what he had been training for.

"The Price to make something new, something old must be given," he whispered, bowing beneath a single candle in the corner. He gazed down at his right arm.

"Strength to be given."

He pressed his molars and canines into his own flesh, biting through tendon and muscle until the pressure burst his veins like frozen water pipes.

"And the rest of me to give them hope!"

The spell devoured him whole. Behind his fleeing son, the village witnessed only a massive purple explosion. A portal opened ahead and Menapace had saved his people.

The portal led to the Earth Realm. Grass fields and vast plateaus stretched for days. But there was no water. Mountains loomed like heads with eyes closed.

On the 44th year of what they would later call the Age of Dark and Light, a strange fracture appeared—an air fissure hovering at chest height, shimmering with iridescent glitches and fractals. Menapace tossed in a stone, nothing. Then a tool tied to a rope, it returned coated in a cool, strange liquid substance.

They tasted salt and by the intuition of Eternity his son knew. Ocean water. Menapace led his people through the portal once more. Thus, the once-slaves of Cortav's Fire Eldritch Lords found refuge in the Air Realm of Amatra, Alanthra's sister. She welcomed them silently, through action and wind.

Beyond the portal, they saw a floating waterfall and lands suspended in the sky. There they met the Asamir, and their bloodlines mingled Asamir and Fire Elf traits blending. This was Amatra's final wish: to make them family. "We are all part of Father Eternity," she said. Then she vanished. Some say she went to aid Father Eternity. Others believe she vanished in sorrow, believing their bloodline had been defiled.

In time, diplomacy failed the Asamir. They were put on trial for crimes they did not commit. Generations passed. Menapace's great-grandson, Bartal, was exiled along with all those deemed impure. Their wings were plucked being cast into the watery abyss of Alanthra's realm. Amantra's grace forgotten.

Thus began the Humans of the Old Flame.

King Bartal the father of Menapace the Unworthy (now known as No Name), the bastard son Baron - Hobo King - Menapace, and Timon of the Old Flame built the capital Hal of Hālfān in their own way you could say. The rest is known history.

But Baron Menapace doesn't remember; only when he eats. So many vessels. So many lives. Baron was technically the first son, born before Menapace the Unworthy, before Timon, a bastard born of a concubine who became a servant of King Bartal. She named him Baron.

He grew up nameless and unwanted. He became a soldier, fighting for a kingdom that never claimed him. He died in battle against the Ravens, his body left to burn when Duluram's influence ignited the city in flames. But death is never the end, only the beginning. If he remembers… the Holders of the Shadow's Epoch will strike his weakest point, the truth will return. It is prophesied. Everything will be restored.

Part XII of Book II: The Shadow’s Epoch

Grand Master Silverclaw looked around the room at the party who had cut off Baron Menapace’s left arm as Baron was retrieving them for council at the Owl’s Sanctuary and folded his wings behind his back once they entered his chamber. He says,

"Before you leave, for your own safety, you must be indoctrinated with our Vows of Protection. Since you have witnessed our sanctuary, evil will always seek you out if you leave our Western Wing Sands. Like a beacon with no protection. Once imbued with this enchantment through the Ritual of the Vow of the Owl, certain eyes will no longer be able to find you so easily. If you wish, repeat after me." The gathered Owl Faction lowered their heads.

"We watch in the silence of the night. For those who can see the sky with light. To keep the balance between our wings; We control our knowledge through strings. For by signs we will know; Where the Family are and where they are to go. By the marks of our honor and code, We know how much the Raven owes. The Raven endorses malice in reprimand, To quickly spit and slap the cupped hand. When upon the door, The Raven must plead for mercy with their face to the floor. If met with resistance, it is in your best interest. Strip them of their talons and currency, apprehend them with urgency. So they may be given back to the Mother, who will correct their souls eternally. This is our oath for those in need at night. So they too may see the morning light."

The room remained silent for a few moments after. One of the party eventually asked what became of those who broke the vow. Silverclaw nodded. "Those who fall deep into madness become one with the Ravens' understanding. Yes, we imprison our own kind who have been influenced by the Ravens and return them to the Mother in the Mother's Gullet Prison deep within the mountains of Chi Ton." He paused. "Yes, we kill when necessary." The room remained quiet.

"We allow the North Pakt to perform the rituals passed down by Father Snowpaw's ancestors. Through those rites, souls may enter the Mother's Womb and be transcended so they may be reborn when she awakens."

After the council concluded, the party was escorted from the chamber. Outside the Room of Council stood a massive portrait. Blank. No painting. No image. Only an empty frame. A single candle burned beneath it. Resting on a mantle below were four bottles. One contained water. One contained a piece of lava rock. One was empty. The last contained dirt. When asked of their meaning, Grand Master Silverclaw let out a soft hoot.

"Whoo yes. This resembles the return of Mother Nothing." He walked toward the display. "So she may finally rest from her duty of separating us from Sins Unseen and Father Eternity may reside with us once more in everything and everyone present." His eyes remained fixed upon the empty frame.

"Those who have forgotten, when she awakens, will be cast aside with the sins that engulfed them. Reincarnated once more as lesser beings with simple straightforward lives so they may learn what they failed to understand." He gestured toward the bottles.

"Then all of the Family will be together again. No quarrels. No separation. Only harmony among all beings so we may move beyond our Guides of Night and finally meet them. Learn from them. Share with them. Become something greater." The old owl's expression darkened. "But now there are more pressing matters." He turned toward the party.

"Duluram will soon come knocking on our Realm's door. We must bring everyone together and cast our differences aside. We know the Ravens possess no knowledge of Duluram. We have successfully hidden that knowledge from them." His eyes moved toward the black book. "You acquired the book, correct?" Silverclaw extended a claw.

"That black book. We can hold onto it for your safety and study it ourselves. We must prepare for the coming Red Sun of Duluram." He paused. "And your arrival here was not an accident." His attention shifted to Yabbob, the human of Agora, The Water Worshipping Isle, they believe alanthra is in the water instead of the Mother Tree.

"Yabbob. Your parents and the Yassub Banking Estate of Agora are working alongside the Great Family Company. Their goal is to end both the Earth Realm and Fire Realm and use their resources to create a new Realm from Air and Water."

The room grew quiet. "They sent you away when you were young so you would never know. They fund a war meant to end all wars. They believe they are fixing slavery, madness, and civil conflict by wiping the slate clean and beginning again." Silverclaw shook his head. "But they do not understand that Duluram has already influenced them." He sighed. "In their own way, they were trying to protect you."

The Grand Master then turned toward Orr, the human from a future society in another star system. "Orr the Great. You are the true Great of your family." Orr looked confused. "Your mother knows nothing of your father's intentions. Your father visited this sanctuary many years ago when the Asamirs returned and the Red War began." Silverclaw's feathers flattened. "He deceived us." "He and his companions disguised themselves as Asamirs with wings and gifted us technology combining Earth and Fire. Sticks of lightning. Flintlocks. Rifles." The old owl's eyes narrowed.

"Your comet was tampered with. Orr, Arwin inspected your vessel. Hidden within its systems is something Arwin called a DLL code. It seized control and rerouted your ship here." The room fell silent. "Your father intended for you to die. He knew your habits. He knew you would sleep on the clock." Silverclaw pointed toward him. "Your ship carried insects infected with madness. Containers of toxins. A Vampire Drauger was released from that vessel six months ago into Hālfān. And a mad Wolf Folk. The infestation now plaguing Roderick and his brothers began with ticks brought from that ship."

The Grand Master turned to Matilda. The Girl who’s soul became transfused with a botch switch soul transfusion in her last minutes. Her soul is now inside a stuffed toy lamb doll; no bigger than 2 feet. The outcome of an alchemical teacher’s last attempt to give her a better life than death. "Your teachers in Torrell loved you." His voice softened. "They knew too much. They were training a generation capable of ending the hatred passed down through centuries."

"The Nameless One discovered this." Silence. "He murdered your professor. The Great Corporation arranged your teacher's death using a lightning stick." Matilda lowered her stuffed lamb head.

"But your classmates are not gone." Everyone looked up toward the portal. "They remain trapped within another Realm. The Void. The Nameless One crystallized their souls and stored them as fuel. Fuel for Duluram." Silverclaw managed a small smile. "But they can still be saved. Arwin knows how."

Finally he looked toward Bean, a Dragonborn from a fake future, a time pawn pushed by No Name. "Bean. Dr. Essá was one of our agents." The room froze. "He was preparing you for this. The Nameless One has already pulled too many strings." Silverclaw pointed toward the blank portrait. "Dr. Essá created a portal from bark taken from the same parchment. A doorway through time and space." He looked distant. "Past Grand Master my father Goldwing spoke of it before madness stole his mind. He called it the Tap Root of the Mother Tree. We sent Dr. Essá through that portal six decades ago."

The old owl closed his eyes. "He sought the final bloodline of the First Spark. The underground cities beneath the Mother Tree were once safe havens for escaped races traveling north. Now they are ruins. Now they are haunted. As Holders of the Shadow's Epoch, you must travel to the beginning of all this. You must stop the Nameless One before the ritual is completed. You must stop the joining of Air and Water. You must stop Duluram's Calamity." His voice echoed through the hall. "If he succeeds, the Age of the Red Sun will begin. The Realms will be swallowed whole. What Orr's father calls a black hole." Silverclaw pointed toward the distant mountains.”

"Return the Nameless One's soul to the foot of the Mother Tree. Return it to its creator. Only then may we leave the Shadow's Epoch. Only then may an Age of Peace begin." The Grand Master lowered his head. "There is one final matter." His expression became troubled. "Ericka has not returned in seven moons." A murmur spread through the sanctuary. "She carried information regarding the Raven Arcane Agenda." Silverclaw's feathers flattened. "We fear she is being converted as we speak." And with those words, the room once again became silent.

He leads them to Arwin's Chambers. Arwin is now much older and has gained many skills in sorcery, artificer, and stealth intel through unconventional means. As they enter his Multi-Spatial Lab, Arwin opens the portal to The Void and gives them a thumbs up. Using a piece of Orr’s spaceship that crashed at Halfan southern coast. It was hacked by No Name as a codebug virus to crash here, reverse triangulating the coordinates of No Name’s Thought Palace in The Void. A Red Door among more dull colored yellow, blue and brown doors floating suspended in space of dark vast emptiness, evermore. There is no order here. Only fractions of possibilities of memory if they step through.

Silverclaw’s final words to them were, “please bring my daughter home.”

Part X (LOST CHAPTER) of Book I: “The End of The Old Flame”

In the Year CR 400 a treaty was broken between the Isle of The Old Flame and The Isle of the Ravens, known as Corvus. This treaty involved safe passage through their water borders as long as they were subject to surveillance clearance through checkpoints to ensure safety of passengers and equipment and no stolen or illegal goods were on board, in which they did abide by Ruskus Talmor signature of compliance with King Bartal’s agreement.

They had been caught smuggling illegal weapons and a strange pink glowing substance in tinctures they wouldn’t give the name of. Their clothes once unrobed did not fit the usual depictions of style and pattern in this known realm. They said they couldn’t remember their names either, so they were brought in to be questioned.

They may not know it but this triggers the end of The Old Flame in one night with the help of an unknown source, only that of which I can categorize as No Name’s first influence of Menapace’s possession of this being. He helped set fire to the Isle starting with its local library late in the night. Cackling and singing a broken hymn of red sunder. But when it was all said and done he had no recollection of why people were screaming in the streets when he woke up on a park bench, with an empty pack of matches left beside him.

A strange symbol marked with a bloodstained symbol “<” on the exterior and bare of matches.

He immediately tries to put out the fire but it's no use. Screaming, “Fire, fire, fire.” No answer just the fire reaching the other thatch roofs adjacent. No screams from the buildings either nor any running water. No one was in the buildings he checked.

Then he wakes up again now on the floor of his parents chamber in their castle. His hands felt wet. His dim witted servant, which he despised, was pulling him by the arm; dragging him. His eyes opened. Falling beams filled with hot cinder, the smell of burning ink and sulfur, and cascading curtains on flames to the ceiling. It was going to collapse any minute. A structural flaming oak beam falls towards them. The servant throws Menapace out of harm's way; his servant taking the blow is never seen again.

He leaves in search of his brother, Prince Timon. Covering his hands over his mouth to not inhale smoke. Copper, bitter, thick. Looking down he sees… blood. His brother busts around the corner with guards and mages. “Brother! Where's mom and dad?” Menapace shakes his head, “I don’t know. I couldn’t find them in their chamber.” “Maybe they already made it out. Are you okay?” No answer from Menapace, only a gaze of distraught. He whispers, “I don’t know.”

But once all the living citizens and royals boarded the emergency steampowered ships they were unaccounted for. The failure was felt all around. Now known as King Timon, The Boy King in Yellow is crowned king on the citizens' vessel. Prince Menapace knows of his constant melancholy he hides from the people, and always reminding him, “We saved as many as we could…”

In a fit of anger and rage when the people need words to push forward. The Boy King in Yellow says thus, “The gods are to blame for this reckless occurrence. We have no reason for this chaos. We did everything we could to keep the fire lit, but now at what cost. We have begged and longed for land to walk on. Our home was destroyed by the power of the gods. Turning their backs on us as our loved ones died from what we worshipped, looks like lies if you ask me. Let us turn our backs on them as they have done to us. The things we pray to now are nothing. I ask you all to give me your books of history so we may be able to travel further and forget what forgot us. You all will care for your own light and we will pray for each other’s light. These gods only wanted to help themselves. Their books of them - their only use now is to burn for our vessels. Choose what is real and forget your past. We will find a new home with a new purpose.”

Weeks go by till all the knowledge left is gone, some had to give up clothes. First the royals, then those who were able to give. Till sputters from the engine, then floating for days on end. Until, a strange shape appears over the horizon. A set of what could be made out as a brown pillar ascending into the clouds. They have discovered Halfan.

Part XI (LOST CHAPTER) from Book I: “Sharper Than A Blade: The Human Tongue”

Everyone became ecstatic but also a faint form of weary hesitation due to past encounters with other human sects who said no in return, some not as polite as others. This is an uncharted Isle from the looks of it. So far South West they could see, on the edge if not between the Stone Pillar Mountain due south and the Sandstone pillar due east. These have been here before humans and no one knows their true meaning still to this day.

“A new Isle with no one on it, how could this be?” Timon thought aloud his brother in ear shot. Anything that went outside of the Five Pillars was subjected to being outside the Known Waters. This was quite peculiar for The Boy King in Yellow. “What a strange oddity.”, he thought to himself. Menapace already had the spy glass. “Brother, come look.” He hands Timon the spyglass sweaty to the touch. He peered in.

Looking closer at the pillar he realized it wasn't brown earth, or clay, but wood, bark climbing through the heavens. Branches with bellowed branches, the leaves being like the clouds.

“It isn’t possible, is it Timon?” “Beats me bro, we better hope there aren’t any hungry beasts. You’d better ready Ganvil and the Tarrence households and let them know to ready arms just in case.” “You are a good king brother, don’t forget that. If we see people we mustn’t show direct haste first…

We must be like our father.” “I’m only 9, cut me a break; I know! Look at our people brother! They are hungry, thirsty, and frail.”

He jolts his small arm and points past Prince Menapace’s back. “Look at Ms. Buster’s baby is skinnier than me and ya’ll give me good food and give them less; I can’t stand this. Whatever is on that Isle is going to have to deal with us and I’m tired of seeing how people treated dad when he was so kind and gentle with those who used him; and under the same night betrayed him.” “If we weren’t his little spies he probably never would’ve made it this far.” “Don’t speak of him like that when he isn’t here to defend himself. You know how we started, remember? Father spoke of watching Mother’s wings getting plucked and they threw her down before him and what did they say to him?”

Stoic silence with a salt water breeze cascades into suffocation while they locked eyes. Menapace looking down at his younger brother. The space that has grown between them on this survivalistic journey was showing. “I get why they wanted you as king.” Menapace takes one full step past him to go do his given duty. He didn’t resent Timon but the boy was bossy like his mother.

They crept and inched themselves closer with the tide. Creating makeshift sails with the help of Menapace and the ship crew to keep course towards the isle of wood. A shore came into view then a massive dense lush forest behind it at the base of the tree.

The people began to notice. “Is this another pillar of safety?” “Are people already here?” “Are they savages?” Fathers and mothers saying,”alrighty everyone get to the room and let's pack up.” Kids were becoming joyful again and elders had a pep to their step. “Is this it?” “Are we finally going to begin again?”

Men gathered as children and wives packed, the guilds that have survived shared blueprints for construction for their families, and primitive starter set ups along with organizing heavy materials salvaged from the ships. As they come closer one of the deck crew shout’s “My King we aren’t alone check the spyglass.”

Menapace walks up the steps to his brothers overhang at the front of the smaller Royal vessel. “Looks like we will have neighbors hopefully.” Timon looked at the shore. A bunch of talk humanoid, some furry, some feathery, some scaled skin, and others having no fur. It made no sense, they looked like the things dad’s farmers would take care of. How was this possible…

Animal Folk are in a row of all kinds along the shore line. An older looking and taller one with white matted fur, the head of a rat, and body of a tall slim man at least 8 feet. Wearing a red cloak and sash with roughspun tunic pants tied down and no shoes; only clawed paws hand and foot on the edge of the shore waves his arms back and forth vigorously. As his tail swayed with him.

“I’m going to go on the shore alone.” “Timon no you're not, are you crazy?! Why would you do that.” “I think dad and mom are still with us.” “Okay, and-” “Dad was very nice to sheep and goats and even when the animals were mean to each other, he said watch them when they get water and none of them would fight if they shared the same water source.” “I wanna be like dad.” “Okay, well your funeral then. I’ll tell the cooks to prepare the cutlery for fighting if you don’t make it back to the boat alive.”

Menpace playfully punches his little brother's arm letting him know he is just messing around and he trusts him in a jest way; they have always been this way only being two and a half years apart. “I think you’ll be fine too. You were always good with the rats in the castle. You taught that one you named Tarro tricks right?” “Shut up.” Timon muttered.

They are now easing up to the shore. They stand in questioning poses but it seems natural to them. The children grew with glee asking if they could pet the strange animals. Some thought they were a part of a circus. Parents and elders were in horror of what they were witnessing before them. Confusion turned into awkwardness as they hit sand and not a word was spoken as children began to notice their parents' faces and asked,"what's wrong with them?” “Nothing dear, let's see what the brothers want to do. We will be fine.” The mothers would say. “But I want one!”

Timon makes his way through the shoreline to the sand on a small dingy by himself. Wearing his golden crown and yellow cloak and his last tattered plato blue silk nightwear blowing in the wind or hand. His people watched in silent anxiety from the edge of the boat. His feet touch solid ground. The sea life has really gotten to him. He drops to his hands and knees and then the silence breaks.

The leader rat says,” I’m sorry but I believe you must leave…” the boy whispers “ No you don’t understand…”

The wind picks up between them. The Boy King in Yellow takes off his crown and places it before the Rat leader, then takes off his cloak and places it neatly next to it.

The Ratfolk thinks to himself,” what a confusing gesture for a creature… he isn’t like the others we have met. No weapons, to earthy armour they usually have with their lightning sticks and steel branches. I’m no Mother Tree. I’m just an elder. Oh Mother, what should I do? But wait- why do I understand this boy’s language? Mother, have you already spoken? Thank you, I'll let the boy speak.”

Chattering from among the other animal folk behind them notice the same tongue being spoken and look at one another. “They speak like us. How could this be?” “Maybe the Mother brought them here.” Others said,” well either way I don’t trust them.” “What if they are spies disguised as no bodies?” The boy spoke and bowed his head and you could feel him trying to hold back tears.

“Please… my people… hungry, a-a-an thirsty, very thirsty… We can serve- you kind people however you see fit… Just please help me the same; save my people. Please… We will respect and tread this land by your ways. Our children and elderly are sick and frail. Please help them first if you may. We mean no harm but only wish for peace if that is what you may offer.”

That silence comes back once more, the smell of green dew with cold brisk air from the moon rising overhead and the sun setting a shift in time is felt only once. The Ratfolk leader speaks.

“I understand you as a chief. For I would wish the same as you lay now. This I do know. But, you and I will be but pupils to the path ahead. The Mother will show you what we don’t know. We will all be learning along the way. She has granted us the ability to use our tongues as one. This we will learn. We will ask her soon.”

This is the end of the Age of Peace.

END OF DOCUMENT.

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u/BunsAreReal — 16 days ago

▲ 2 r/Dreading

Hālfān: Short Story Series (The Owl's Archives in the Forgotten Library)

Part XI (LOST CHAPTER) from Book I: “Sharper Than A Blade: The Human Tongue”

Looking closer at the pillar he realized it wasn't brown earth, or clay, but wood, bark climbing through the heavens. Branches with bellowed branches, the leaves being like the clouds.

We must be like our father.” “I’m only 9, cut me a break; I know! Look at our people brother! They are hungry, thirsty, and frail.”

The leader rat says,” I’m sorry but I believe you must leave…” the boy whispers “ No you don’t understand…”

The wind picks up between them. The Boy King in Yellow takes off his crown and places it before the Rat leader, then takes off his cloak and places it neatly next to it.

That silence comes back once more, the smell of green dew with cold brisk air from the moon rising overhead and the sun setting a shift in time is felt only once. The Ratfolk leader speaks.

This is the end of the Age of Peace.

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u/BunsAreReal — 17 days ago

▲ 2 r/scarystories

THE UNKNOWN ARCHIVIST: FIRST GRAPHING ACCOUNT - HĀLFĀN RESTRICTED RECORDS

HEADER: The Archivist was never identified successfully nor found; these texts were [REDACTED] in the order you are about to read. The Owls found them in [REDACTED] excavating to the Gullet of the Mother in the Northern Peak towards The Mother Tree. It appeared a team once finding out what they were actually [REDACTED] for. We found there personal chambers in a state of disarray, these were the only legible records among [REDACTED] we could find. Personal notes and timelines connect with red thread.

The Unknown Archivist's trail leads to more questions than answers, more holes than plots, and more ink than paper. PROCEED FURTHER WITH CAUTION ARCHIVIST.

- HW

Part VI from Book I: Duluram, Devourer of Planes

Truth Discovered of No Name by The Owls.

(Father Unknown, born of Queen Rivia-Talor of the Old Flame)

Part I from Book I: The First Chapter of the Book of Not En

*Last words Nothing spoke to her daughter Alanthra the Water Deity:

A: “Mother Not please don’t there must be a way we can-”

N: “I love you all and would expect the same from all of you. Don’t worry I won't be far and I’ll be waiting here when it is all said and done. Th- Thank you Alanthra for your honesty and

overflowing caring heart.”

*a moment passes

N: “Goodbye, I love you.”

*silence

A: “Mother… Why won’t you let me help.”

*Last words Mother Nothing spoke to her daughter Amantra the Air Deity:

A: "Do what you must Mother, I trust you. I will do my duty and help Father as you defend. If- If you need help call upon us. Goodbye, love you Mother…”

N: “Love you too, my sweet brave Amatra. Take care of yourself in my absence, these times will only last a moment, please lean on your sister. She needs you most now.”

*silence

The Immortal Weavers may now begin their true work.

To teach their mortals with the hands they have been given by their Father.

Part III: The Discovery of the Realms, History of Halfan

Prologue by Dr. Kiada Essa; Historian and Planeshifter of the Owls

(Kept Safe in the Owl Sanctuary Archive)

*A message in a bottle found in the Known Waters of the Water Realm*

They can’t lie anymore, you now know the truth of my people toying with this sacred seed of a Realm you and your destined companions must wake them as well."

Part IV from Book I: The Immortal Sin

Prologue

Baron's life began in shadow.

But death wasn't the end.

Where It Began: Epic of Menapace, the Demigod of Peace

Before the transaction was complete, he found his son and said:

"Find Alanthra. You will see great oceans as far as the eye can see, green grass fields with shade and peace. This is where you'll find home."

He gave his son his sword and spellbook to complete what he had been training for.

"The Price to make something new, something old must be given," he whispered, bowing beneath a single candle in the corner. He gazed down at his right arm.

"Strength to be given."

He pressed his molars and canines into his own flesh, biting through tendon and muscle until the pressure burst his veins like frozen water pipes.

"And the rest of me to give them hope!"

The spell devoured him whole. Behind his fleeing son, the village witnessed only a massive purple explosion. A portal opened ahead and Menapace had saved his people.

The portal led to the Earth Realm. Grass fields and vast plateaus stretched for days. But there was no water. Mountains loomed like heads with eyes closed.

Thus began the Humans of the Old Flame.

Part XII of Book II: The Shadow’s Epoch

"The Nameless One discovered this." Silence. "He murdered your professor. The Great Corporation arranged your teacher's death using a lightning stick." Matilda lowered her stuffed lamb head.

Silverclaw’s final words to them were, “please bring my daughter home.”

Part X (LOST CHAPTER) of Book I: “The End of The Old Flame”

A strange symbol marked with a bloodstained symbol “<” on the exterior and bare of matches.

Part XI (LOST CHAPTER) from Book I: “Sharper Than A Blade: The Human Tongue”

Looking closer at the pillar he realized it wasn't brown earth, or clay, but wood, bark climbing through the heavens. Branches with bellowed branches, the leaves being like the clouds.

We must be like our father.” “I’m only 9, cut me a break; I know! Look at our people brother! They are hungry, thirsty, and frail.”

The leader rat says,” I’m sorry but I believe you must leave…” the boy whispers “ No you don’t understand…”

The wind picks up between them. The Boy King in Yellow takes off his crown and places it before the Rat leader, then takes off his cloak and places it neatly next to it.

That silence comes back once more, the smell of green dew with cold brisk air from the moon rising overhead and the sun setting a shift in time is felt only once. The Ratfolk leader speaks.

This is the end of the Age of Peace.

END OF DOCUMENT.

reddit.com

u/BunsAreReal — 17 days ago

▲ 5 r/Dreading

WARNING TO THE ARCHIVIST OF THE HĀLFĀN RECORDS - WH CHRONICLOR OF THE OWL SANCT.

(MUST READ BEFORE ADVANCING ANY FURTHER)

Prologue: Disclaimer and Closure For the Archivist (CAUTION)

OWL SANCTUARY RESTRICTED BRIEFING (UNREDACTED)

Written by The Hermit of the West (CR 516)

If you are reading this, then you have already come too close to the fragments of Hālfān.

They are not records in the way scholars understand records. They do not preserve history, they exert pressure on it. Each fragment you recover does not complete the story so much as distort the reader into becoming part of it. Familiarity will begin to arrive without source. Memory will begin to feel inherited rather than experienced. Do not mistake this for insight.

The missing fragments were separated deliberately. Not to hide the truth, but to keep reality from aligning too cleanly around it. Something remains invested in reversing that separation through those who continue to read.

There are early signs. Humming where there should be silence. Certainty forming where there should only be inference. The Red Moon appears in places it has no right to exist. If any of these occur, cease reading immediately, not later, nor after the page. Immediately.

And if, at any point, your own recollection begins to contradict itself while you are still reading. Do not attempt to reconcile it. That is how the Weave of Time begins to use you as structure.

Finally, understand this: Memory is no longer a reliable witness after exposure.

And if someone within your expedition begins speaking as though they have already lived through what you are currently experiencing, do not correct them, and do not challenge them. Treat them as already lost to continuity, and continue without them.

If these documents become understood by someone who mustn’t see them. Or an Agent of Duluram were to have these or even The Ravens’, their evil cousin. The whole realm will be let loose.

This isn’t a Red Madness Part II; I’m talking about the whole Realm itself Devoured whole into a Gullet of vast darkness.

No one must know this, but No Name has already sucked the Air Realm dry and now it is one with the Void. That is where No Name resided. Unable to directly access the Water Realm, and we are next on the menu.

You now know the stakes involved with this knowledge. Use your mind wisely and may Not and En guide you sanity to safety.

The Hermit of the West,

Owl Sanctuary Archive - Restricted Entry Notice

Part I from Book II - Survival Guide - (ACP) Rules for Hālfān Archives

Survival Guide — Archival Containment Protocol for Hālfān Records

Compiled by The Hermit of the West, Chroniclor of The Owls

Introduction:

If you are reading this, then you have already entered the Archives in a way that cannot be undone. You were either assigned, volunteered, or placed here under the assumption that knowledge can be handled safely if structured correctly.

That assumption is false.

The Hālfān records do not behave like history. They behave like something that remembers you while you are reading it. The more you try to organize it, the more it organizes *you*.

What follows are the only remaining rules I can still trust to stay consistent between readings. Even that is not guaranteed. I have rewritten this document three times. Each version agreed with me less than the last.

If you begin to feel like the text is becoming familiar too quickly, stop immediately. That is the first sign. Next page is a set of rules we have developed since the first excavation:

ARCHIVAL SURVIVAL GUIDE:

Do not read continuously for extended periods. Continuity is the first structure the Red Madness uses. It does not need your attention—only your uninterrupted attention.
If a fragment feels familiar on first reading, do not continue. Familiarity is not recognition. It is repetition already seeded into you.
Never assume missing text is an error. The Archive does not lose information. It removes it with intent.
Do not attempt to assemble a complete timeline of Hālfān. Completion is a psychological trap. The mind creates false order to survive contradiction. The Archive exploits that instinct.
If ink, wording, or meaning shifts between readings, do not verify it. Verification is how divergence begins. Once divergence begins, all versions become equally persuasive.
Never compare multiple copies of the same record. Comparison creates conflict between versions. Conflict creates instability. Instability creates belief that one version must be correct. That belief is incorrect.
If you begin forgetting what you read while still reading it, stop immediately. This is not a distraction. It is a replacement theory used for authorship within the mind.
Do not read alone if it can be avoided. Not for safety. For witness stability. A second mind delays total assimilation, but does not prevent it.
If you hear or imagine humming during reading, do not acknowledge it. Acknowledgment gives it structure. Structure allows persistence. Persistence allows internalization.
Never attempt to “complete understanding” of the Archive. Understanding is not the goal. The Archive does not contain truth. It contains pressure that reshapes truth into survivable form.
If you begin to feel certainty about Hālfān’s meaning, stop reading for the day. Certainty is the final stage before cognitive alignment with Red Madness.
If another archivist claims they have solved the records, avoid reviewing their work. Solvers are not stable endpoints. They are transitional states.
Do not define No Name. Definition creates proximity. Proximity creates recognition. Recognition creates vulnerability.
If the Red Moon appears too frequently in text or thought, end the session immediately. This indicates the Archive is no longer being observed. It is observing you.
If the Archive begins to feel responsive to your thoughts or emotions, assume you are already partially integrated. At this stage, reading is no longer external. It is participatory.

FINAL WARNING:

If at any point during reading you think: “This is starting to make sense.” Close the Archive. Do not mark your place. Do not reread the last section. And do not assume tomorrow’s understanding will belong to the same version of you that is reading this now.

Best of Luck and Mental Fortitude,

-HW

reddit.com

u/BunsAreReal — 17 days ago

▲ 3 r/Dreading

Hālfān: Short Story Series (The Owl's Archives in the Forgotten Library)

Part X (LOST CHAPTER) from Book I: “The End of The Old Flame”

Found Under the Foundation of the Magpie Gulag in Raven Territory

RECOVERED BY: ERIKA SILVERCLAW

A strange symbol marked with a bloodstained symbol “<” on the exterior and bare of matches.

reddit.com

u/BunsAreReal — 17 days ago

▲ 2 r/Dreading

Hālfān: Short Story Series (The Owl's Archives in the Forgotten Library)

Part II from Book I: Where the Roots Began: Amasir First Contact w/ Water Realm

In a time both melded and distant from ours, many years ago, there was a seed of knowledge, grace, and wisdom. Engulfed in a realm of water and sky, nothing more, nothing less. It was found on the ocean floor, blending in among the stones.

The Asamir of the Air Realm. Angelic humanoids reigned among the four planes of existence: Water, Fire, Air, and Earth. They stumbled upon this seed by chance, conducting operational scans for mandatory scientific updates.

The scouts and scientists reported their findings back to the main realm. This artifact of life carried signs of the Essence of Vita in the Water Realm, recorded as the first life form ever found there. Over time, as they continued reporting, many new life forms began to take shape in the depths, eventually surfacing in search of food. Yet none compared to the seed in intelligence.

The scientists wished to extract it, but the council, upon reviewing the facts, declined the request. They instructed the researchers to leave it, wait, let it grow, and protect it.

The Asamir were the only known sentient bipeds. Their gods were Amantra and her States of Emotion and States of Being, entrusted to her by their Father, Eternity. She proclaimed that they were their own gods, since her Father had created them. Amantra left the Asamir with every tool they needed to survive and to supervise the realms with the knowledge granted by Amatra, the Unseen. Her final command was that no temples be built in her name or in the names of her States.

Over time, the seed began to grow. Until a sprout of brown, flesh-like buds emerged, forming into tiny fists. It hovered in the water, eventually floating to the surface, bobbing with the currents of the endless ocean. This was the beginning of Halfan.

In the years that followed, the sprout on the surface grew branches, looking more like wood and less like flesh. They resembled humanoid arms. Its roots extended as long, excavating tendrils, weaving together to form a woodroot-like island around the tree. The Asamir now had a research base for the specimen. Yet the humanoids had no luck uncovering the deeper purpose of its existence. They would learn the truth after their first week on the island.

Scientists and philosophers of the highest prestige came to study this new monstrosity of science, hoping to glean the reason for its being. A Living Island, they called it.

There was one thing everyone agreed on: it was hard to look at. Staring too long made the mind recoil, urging the viewer to look away. They attributed this to its uncanny resemblance to flesh. Even when fully visible, it could only be observed for a few seconds before the eyes would burn with a strange pain. It grew at a grotesque rate, but only at night.

The next day, after making this discovery, the scientists brought climbing equipment through their portal at camp. Their goal was to ascend the tree and retrieve a sample. A team of four scientists prepared for the mission.

They began by wrapping rope around the lowest hanging branches. After climbing 100 meters into the tree, the wind picked up. The moment they pierced the bark with their hooks, the tree began to vibrate violently, releasing a deep, foreboding hum that shook the entire island.

The branches thrashed wildly, knocking two of the scientists from the tree to their deaths. The mission was aborted. The Realm Shift Portal (RSP) was activated to return the bodies to their home realm for burial. When the two surviving scientists returned to retrieve the corpses, they found something horrifying: the roots of the ground, massive maggot-like leeches, had inhaled the bodies. Tubes of flesh gouged into their forms, slowly consuming them until the bodies dissipated, becoming one with the roots of the Living Island.

The moon crept over the horizon; red.

The humming groaned back to an audible frequency, its sound melding with the horror of what had just occurred. Then it quieted again, barely perceptible, but ever-present. Time itself seemed to bear witness.

The remaining scientists scrambled to pack, grabbing only valuables and abandoning the rest. A red glow bled into the RSP tent. The waves hollowed with hunger, and the limbs of the island whispered through the wind with eerie creaks. The pulsation increased, now unbearable.

Then, beneath its branches, a hollow pit opened, revealing a glowing blue eye. Its lids separated slowly.

The eye gazed upon the place where the Asamir corpses had vanished. The scientists froze, uncertain of its intent.

The eye closed again. Stillness. Silence.

Baffled, the scientists could not comprehend what they had witnessed.One of them looked again into the place where the eye had appeared. He began to scream, wild, panicked shrieks, falling to the ground, clutching his face, weeping, writhing. Then, in madness, he tried to pry his own eyes from their sockets.

As the other scientist rushed to restrain him, the maddened man broke free, running to the edge of the island and diving into the sea, never to return to the surface.

The Asamir left Halfan

And they never returned.

reddit.com

u/BunsAreReal — 17 days ago

▲ 1 r/TalesFromTheCreeps

Hālfān: Short Story Series (The Owl's Archives in the Forgotten Library)

Part II of Book II - Founder of Moosha, Arwin Everdell (Shulk)

(His family history lost due to slavery and the fear driven into them by the hands of human masters)

He was 17 when he left Halfan, now he is a Keeper of Peace for The Owls past the Known Waters Edge. An Agent of Wisdom.

This is the story of Arwin Everdell, the Forgotten Prince.

A letter of invitation from the Owls with a directive given for him to foresee a vision from Alanthra The Mother Tree. To craft this essence from her sacred roots, The Essence of Truth, Moosha.

He found his mother in a shallow grave travelling to the gates of Hal for his father.

The rusted gold pendant she clutched upon her open shallow grave read,’ Arwin of Everdell.’ with an elvish sigil masked in its exterior that is carbonized. This is why he leaves Halfan. She was the Queen of Everdell, and he the rightful heir.

Before the Red War, he was born of an all race slave holder human father; he owned a distribution company with a farm for Hal’s granaries and fresh fruits. Technically, Arwin is another bastard born out of wedlock with an elven queen whom her people were enslaved by his father.

The boy had traits of both human and elf. The wit of curved-ears and the perceptibly of sharp ones too. He has been told since birth that his mother was no one before she died, all she requested was you be named Arwin. That much he knew of her; his father always told him to cover his ears when company arrived. Figures in red robes, it was always red robes.

His father, Robert Shulk, was a fair skinned high society human and never worked a day in his life. He was a bard for the Council of Ravens, a healer for their weary men and excotic dancers. They loved his harmonica as accompaniment with strings, bass, and drums. Singing a song of birds, even the crows would perk to take a spell. He was famous as a child when he played for Ruckus Talmor. Since then he has had gig after gig, opportunity after opportunity, priority after priority. Neglect is loudest with silence.

Arwin learned of his history of elvish existence through those who his father enslaved as they ate meals and took care of the fields. But, when he would ask who his mom was since he looked like them. Some turned their nose and bullied the little one and others came to him and told him he would know soon but now is not a safe time.

It was one fateful day when Robert was low on ale kegs and tobacco so he always sent Arwin with a donkey to retrieve supplies in the Capitol Hal. Visitors or traders came at their leisure either to summon his father Shulk or summon something of him.

He hated that last name, through reading older texts in his dad’s library he found such things as the meaning of their last name. Resentment, tax, a fee for hidden duty. He wished to leave and never return, but those whom his father beat the most were his dearest friends.

A young Deerfolk named Passuvius. He had many awful jobs, but mainly maintaining the well of the property was told of him. Passuvius would speak of a great tree they called ‘Mother’ and of a man called -

“The Hobo King who brought many of us out of chains. Including my grandfather. They all wait for the day of the Shadow’s Epoch so The Mother’s Lover may return to her feet once more and peace will come back to our land. You will experience it too. Like that moment you notice your breathing… My mom says thank Amatra when you do. When you see how things flow naturally to a more stable and peaceful structure of harmony, thank Mother Not. Mom says we will experience what grandpa had before the Ravens took him.”

He would never speak any further than that of the matter with Arwin. He would ask Passuvius how the elves get involved in all this.

Silence, always silence from all of them.

Arwin wanted to run away. And never come back home.

Coming back to reality, Arwin notices the sky was growing darker over the plato at the center of Halfan, traversing through the trails of the western side before the Western Wing Sands, this atrocity scaling above him as he realises he may have delayed his timing. They would need to set up camp. Time flew by with the witnessing and reconciliation of his mothers grave and the pendant she left with his real last name on it. It felt like a dream to him. He didn’t want to return home.

Realizing he forgot his pitch tent, mat, and pillow, he takes a sheet and makes it into a hammock to hang out in. Campfire won't start either; great. Luckily it’s not too cold and the rain is staying light with the tree shading overhead. All is quiet and the sound of birds chirping and singing cascaded into an odd abrupt silence. The rain is still going but dampened. His donkey was nowhere to be found and no leash either. A hum northbound of him as birds and animals scurry away. He gets up immediately and paces quietly towards the odd frequency. Then stops in a tracks. A strange gut feeling saying to stay hidden and don’t approach. He steps forward.

Continuing further in to keep cover. He finds the source, a strange cut of light in the fenced pasture field adjacent to the path. West of the gates of Hal before the Vita River Passage. The wound of light in space gushes open as numerous spider-like creatures burst out; all of them the size of Arwin. A swarm piled on one another; they don’t seem to notice him. They notice the cows grazing in the field they just came into contact with.

The small figures lingered at the edge of his perception, never quite remaining the same from one glance to the next. Its shape seemed less like a body and more like reality attempting to show something it was never meant to contain. These shadows bent subtly around it, and familiar things felt strangely fragile in its presence. They bolted with bloodlust towards the livestock.

It inspired no obvious threat, only a quiet, unsettling certainty that the world was not as fundamental as it appeared, and that whatever this thing was had come from somewhere beyond him. Arwin couldn’t move, talk, or close his eyes. His nervous system shutting down.

Clattering hooves and creaking wagon wheels thundered down the path toward him. Arwin ducked into a bush and held his breath. Four travelers rode upon a weathered caravan pulled by a single horse, moving with urgency toward the fenced pasture and the creatures now devouring the cattle. The driver leapt from the wagon first, a wizard by the look of him. Beside him came a cleric clad in worn robes, a blacksmith carrying both hammer and blade, and a halfling bard whose calm expression seemed entirely out of place. Without hesitation they charged into battle.

Arcane light flashed through the rain while steel met chitin and divine radiance illuminated twisted flesh. Arwin watched in disbelief. The creatures moved unnaturally, their forms shifting at the edge of his vision. Every glance revealed something different, as if reality itself struggled to decide what they truly were. Part of him wanted to run. Another part wanted to help. He told himself he was too fragile, that he was not like them, yet when one of the creatures lunged for the wizard and its jaws opened to finish him, the word escaped Arwin before he could stop it.

“No!”

A bolt of blue-white force erupted from his hand. The missile struck the creature squarely in its center and detonated. Its body collapsed inward, unraveling as though the world had suddenly remembered it did not belong. Arwin stared at his hand in shock. He had never done that before. The wizard looked toward him, the others following his gaze. Then, without a word, they nodded. An invitation.

Arwin emerged from hiding and joined the fight. The rest became a blur. More creatures fell. The cleric's prayers echoed through the storm. The blacksmith's hammer shattered bone and shell alike while the bard danced between danger as if the battle had already happened a thousand times before. At last the final creature collapsed and the pasture fell silent. The cleric immediately approached the exhausted horse, placing a hand upon its neck. Golden light flowed from his palm as he whispered a prayer of healing.

As Arwin struggled to process what had happened, the halfling bard vanished. A moment later a voice spoke beside him.

“Interesting.”

Arwin nearly jumped out of his skin. The bard stood there as though he had always been present. Stoic eyes met confused ones. The halfling studied him carefully. An oddly looking young man. Half-human. Half-elf. The one who had cast the missile. The one who had somehow cast a Sleep spell moments later, accidentally putting the others to sleep when they approached him. Arwin still had no idea how.

“This is the first time this has ever happened,” he admitted.

“We know,” the bard replied.

Arwin frowned.

“We know who you are, Arwin Everdell. We know why you chose to rest here tonight. We have been looking for you.

The bard gestured toward the wagon. “Everyone back there is invisible thanks to me. The mage you saved is recovering. You had a choice, and you chose. The Mother Tree has chosen you as well.”

“The Mother Tree?”

“To spread the truth held within her roots. We are the Owls of the West. Keepers of wisdom and protectors of knowledge. We believe these portals are the work of the Ravens through contracts made with realms neither of us should ever understand.”

Arwin rubbed his temples. “This is a lot to throw at a kid."

The bard laughed. “You're seventeen. You're not a kid, half-elf.”

“Fair enough. So what do the Owls want from me? What can I possibly offer? Because from where I'm standing, it sounds like you need someone to die for your cause.”

The bard's expression hardened. “With a statement like that, you have much to learn. The truth about your mother sickens you, doesn't it? We know. The reason your friends grew older while you remained the same. The reason you've always felt different. The reason magic answered you tonight.”

Arwin stared at his hands. “To be honest, I don't know why any of this happened.”

“That is all they permitted me to tell you,” the bard replied.

“They?”

“The ones who gave the orders.”

The bard then produced several tobacco bundles and ale kegs. “The supplies your father sent you to retrieve. We've also placed magical wards around your camp.”

“What am I supposed to do now?”

“Don't fail.”

Arwin blinked. “That's not very helpful.”

“I know. I don't even know what they need from you. We just follow orders. Your initiation begins after you've completed your objective.”

“What objective?”

Silence...

“We'll speak again.”

The bard stepped backward into the darkness. “Be safe, Arwin.”

A portal opened somewhere among the trees, then closed. The forest fell silent. The shock finally caught up to him and Arwin collapsed.

Darkness consumed everything. Then came the hum. Not heard. Felt. A vibration deeper than sound itself.

When he opened his eyes, he stood before an ancient tree. Its bark resembled flesh and veins pulsed beneath its surface. Roots spread endlessly beneath his feet, beating in rhythm with his own heart. The Mother Tree knew he was there. The hum resonated through every part of him. Not loud. Not quiet. Simply present. He understood it without understanding how and stepped forward. The moment his hand touched the roots, the world vanished.

Memories flooded his mind that were not his own. Portals tore open across impossible horizons. Creatures emerged from distant realms. A boy king clothed in yellow shook hands with an elderly Animal-Folk chieftain robed in red. The vision shifted. A radiant figure cut a sample from the Mother's roots. Then he looked upon all of Hālfān from above. The Plateau. The Pit. Something beneath it stirred.

The island trembled. The scent of rust and hot iron rose from below. Red coagulated mist spilled over the edge of the Pit like living smoke. Then came the hand. A colossal hand of wood and flesh emerged from the depths, larger than giants and larger than reason itself. Reaching. Seeking. Hungry.

The vision changed once more. Flames consumed the Mother Tree. Eight figures in red robes surrounded her. Spells crashed into her roots, into her foundation, into her heart. Darkness followed. Only a single droplet remained. Pink. Purple. Nearly translucent. Glowing softly within the void. The sound of something being cut in half echoed around him.

Arwin looked down.

Two roots extended toward him.

One offered a dagger. Living roots coiled around its blade, presenting the hilt toward him. The second root rested exposed before his feet, unprotected and waiting. An offering. A sacrifice. A choice.

Then morning dew struck his face.

Arwin awoke in his hammock beneath ordinary trees. The hum remained, stronger now, behind him beyond the stone wall of the Pit. His arm rose instinctively and the earth answered. Stone shifted. Soil folded inward. A cavern opened before him, darkness stretching beyond sight. The hum called from within. Arwin understood. He had to find the root. He had to extract it. He had to create the first alchemical form of Moosha. The choice had already been made. He stood and stepped into the dark.

He later came out with a tincture of purple-pink translucent liquid. He had crafted the first batch of Moosha with his alchemy kit. Now he must share the truth protected by The Owls to spread the Truth of the Gods. Head to The Owls Sanctuary.

The rest is known history.

reddit.com

u/BunsAreReal — 17 days ago

▲ 5 r/PoliticalMemes

Happy Belated Birthday

u/BunsAreReal — 20 days ago

▲ 120 r/tylertx

We The People Are Still Against Your Data Centers and Mass Surveillance

Community Awareness Resources

Many residents were not even aware of the proposed facility location until after key discussions were already underway. Whether intentional or not, that raises serious concerns about public outreach, transparency, and citizen involvement in decisions that could affect the community for years to come.

Too often, citizens are asked to participate in public comment periods only to feel that their concerns have already been weighed and dismissed. If petitions, public comments, and community opposition are not meaningfully considered, then people are left wondering what role their voices actually play in the process.

Trust is earned through transparency, not assumed through authority. If officials believe this project is in the public's best interest, they should welcome public scrutiny, answer difficult questions, and demonstrate how community concerns are influencing their decisions.

Man In America Podcast – America Hijacked EP3: 80,000 Cameras Watching You While They Call It Crime Prevention

https://youtu.be/ZKZVPIz0TuQ?si=xxmf0unlRNM2DefS

Here is a video above and below discussing Flock cameras and concerns that many citizens believe are not being openly addressed. We encourage everyone to look beyond the marketing and ask difficult questions about how these systems operate, who has access to the data, how long information is stored, and what safeguards truly exist.

We are repeatedly told these systems are for public safety, yet citizens are still left asking for transparency regarding access, oversight, data sharing, and long-term expansion plans.

The proposed partnership between Ring and Flock has already generated significant public concern. Before any further expansion, the public deserves clear answers about who can access this information, how it is protected, and what limits exist to prevent abuse.

Never accept a narrative simply because it is presented with good intentions. Ask who is presenting it. Ask who benefits. Ask to see how the system works behind the curtain. Transparency should never be feared by those acting in the public's best interest.

We continue to oppose the construction of a data center that would further expand and support surveillance infrastructure connected to existing Flock camera systems in Tyler, Texas.

We believe public safety and personal liberty can coexist. A strong community is built on trust, accountability, and transparency; not endless expansion of technologies.

Questions We The People Deserve Answers To:

Who has access to the data collected by these systems?
How long is that data stored?
What agencies or third parties can obtain it?
What independent oversight exists to prevent misuse?
Why is additional infrastructure needed if the current system is already effective?

The public deserves answers before more cameras, more data collection, and more infrastructure are approved.

Video for discussion:

Man In America Podcast – America Hijacked EP3: 80,000 Cameras Watching You While They Call It Crime Prevention

https://youtu.be/ZKZVPIz0TuQ?si=xxmf0unlRNM2DefS

Tools such as FlockHopper have emerged to help citizens identify the locations of Flock cameras and better understand the scope of surveillance infrastructure in their communities. Whether someone supports or opposes these systems, people have a right to know where cameras are located and how they may affect public spaces they frequent with their families

As these networks continue to expand, we believe citizens deserve:

Full disclosure regarding who can access camera footage and collected data.
Clear policies on data retention and sharing.
Independent oversight to prevent misuse.
Public discussion before additional surveillance infrastructure is installed.
Transparency regarding the placement of cameras in areas frequented by families and children.

Awareness is not opposition to safety. Awareness is a requirement for accountability. A free society depends on informed citizens who understand how technologies affecting their daily lives are being used.

u/BunsAreReal — 20 days ago

▲ 13 r/u_BunsAreReal+1 crossposts

We The People Speak, Will Speak, and Continue to do so

Here is a continuation of my last post, this concerns the original profile that has been pushing this issue forward, and I believe everyone needs to hear what is happening, from what I have seen, the proposed Flock camera system in Tyler is being presented as a public safety measure, but many residents are concerned about the level of surveillance it could create and the long-term implications for privacy, this is the United States, and many of us believe that any expansion of surveillance technology should face strong public scrutiny before being approved, if you share these concerns, speak up, contact your Commissioners, attend meetings, and make your voice heard, let them know where you stand on this issue, if this returns to the court agenda, we will be there to listen, comment in person, and participate in the public process, regardless of which side of the issue you support, community involvement matters, and decisions that affect the public should be discussed openly with the public.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Qv4TActx9/

facebook.com

u/BunsAreReal — 28 days ago

▲ 63 r/tylertx

Please Sign, Save your children's faces from surveillance, Stay Informed

"The path to hell is paved with good intentions"

-12th Cen. Idiom

Please Read, Sign the Petition, and Stay Informed

Hey everybody, I'm back, and if you haven't signed the petition yet, please do, every signature helps, and if you haven't seen my other post, please go take a look at it, it explains my concerns in more detail and why I think this conversation is important, as AI becomes more involved in our daily lives, I think it's worth asking questions about how it's being used, who is responsible for it, and what protections are in place for everyday people, please help keep everyone safe, stay informed, and make your voice heard, technology should work for people, not the other way around, and I don't think AI should be the one surveilling us, thanks for reading, and feel free to share your thoughts below.

Here is a link to what they are doing with these cameras here in tyler, thank yall for your time

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYdo7czuzUI/?igsh=MWJrZ3pjYWV3cnA5ZQ==

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/stop-flock-cameras-in-smith-county?recruiter=1150574329&recruited_by_id=8fc23830-fae0-11ea-905e-7352723e35ff&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=psf_promote_or_share&utm_term=share_petition&utm_medium=reddit&share_id=cnVpHRQCKh

c.org

u/BunsAreReal — 28 days ago

▲ 182 r/tylertx

We The People are Tired of you all...

Another $10,000 wasted that could’ve gone toward homeless single mothers, veterans, struggling families, or children in need, but instead the city would rather spend money protecting buildings from the people they’ve ignored for years. Apparently they’re more worried about graffiti on a brand new courthouse than helping the Salvation Army sitting right down the street.

What makes it even worse is the hypocrisy plastered all over this town, a historic mansion tied to the slavery era sits proudly across from a shelter while the city keeps pretending its past never happened. Everyone knows what happened in the town square back then, but officials would rather bury history than admit the truth.

Why is the city so afraid of its own people speaking up about corruption? The buck has always stopped here. Instead of hiding behind budget excuses and cutting funding for special needs education, maybe start paying attention to the communities you’ve neglected for decades.

u/BunsAreReal — 1 month ago

▲ 161 r/TexasTeachers

Let's switch salaries of politicians to the certified teachers who have actually been helping the future of our communities, all in favor say Aye...

Politicians can get minimum wage for minimum effort...

u/BunsAreReal — 1 month ago

▲ 5 r/Dreading

Hālfān: Short Story Series (The Owl's Archives in the Forgotten Library)

Prologue:

Hālfān - There was once a place where peace and harmony were blasphemy; forgotten truths whispered in shadows of lies. When the four elements fell, tearing the world into sin-filled realms. Souls trapped in fragile vessels, grasping at fractured truths too heavy for mortals to bear; truths the world itself tries to bury. On that fateful day when prophecy speaks; the Red Moon will wane overhead.

® By ƐR3

Part I: The First Chapter of the Book of Not En

*Last words Nothing spoke to her daughter Alanthra the Water Deity:

A: “Mother Not please don’t there must be a way we can-”

N: “I love you all and would expect the same from all of you. Don’t worry I won't be far and I’ll be waiting here when it is all said and done. Th- Thank you Alanthra for your honesty and

overflowing caring heart.”

*a moment passes

N: “Goodbye, I love you.”

*silence

A: “Mother… Why won’t you let me help.”

*Last words Mother Nothing spoke to her daughter Amatra the Air Deity:

A: “Dou what you must Mother, I trust you. I will do my duty and help Father as you defend. If- If you need help call upon us. Goodbye, love you Mother…”

N: “Love you too, my sweet brave Amatra. Take care of yourself in my absence, these times will only last a moment, please lean on your sister. She needs you most now.”

*silence

The Immortal Weaver’s may now begin their true work.

To teach their mortals with the hands they have been given by their Father.

Part II: Where the Roots Began: Amasir First Contact with the Water Realm

The scientists wished to extract it, but the council, upon reviewing the facts, declined the request. They instructed the researchers to leave it, wait, let it grow, and protect it.

Scientists and philosophers of the highest prestige came to study this new monstrosity of science, hoping to glean the reason for its being. A Living Island, they called it.

The moon crept over the horizon; red.

Then, beneath its branches, a hollow pit opened, revealing a glowing blue eye. Its lids separated slowly.

The eye gazed upon the place where the Asamir corpses had vanished. The scientists froze, uncertain of its intent.

The eye closed again. Stillness. Silence.

As the other scientist rushed to restrain him, the maddened man broke free, running to the edge of the island and diving into the sea, never to return to the surface.

The Asamir left Halfan.

And they never returned.

Part III: The Discovery of the Realms, History of Halfan Prologue by Dr. Kiada Essa; Historian and Planeshifter of the Owls

(Kept Safe in the Owl Sanctuary Archive)

This young realm; the Water Realm. Is one of the many dimensions in this universe. Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. These became Planes for life and living organisms to be given purpose and reason from Father to the Immortal Weaver’s; his children. The Water Realm, nothing but water till the Seed arrived.

*A message in a bottle found in the Known Waters of the Water Realm*

"The only one who knows and was the sole survivor of this story was me, Kaida Essa. Whom this info reaches, know that I have done my duty and I am at peace that the Torch of Truth will burn here forward. I was sent to you by Amatra as a reincarnate from the Void to make sure you were ready for this moment and time has caught up with us. Your family was known as The First Spark, the first humans to learn electric magic, their souls pure in heart brought technology to the Water realm to aid and help many, but others wanted their power and seduced them into horrific experiments and lies of wealth from the Ravens using them as vessels of energy to power cities. You are the last survivor of your family. Whoever you know as your family of this Realm is a lie. No Name has ripped a tear into the Fabric of our Realm making history and timelines bleed into one another into what you convinced of this realm as the truth; leaving your mind dormant. They can’t lie anymore, you now know the truth of my people toying with this sacred seed of a Realm you and your destined companions must wake them as well."

Part IV: The Immortal Sin

Prologue

Baron's life began in shadow.

But death wasn't the end.

Baron wandered the Water Realm, a Hobo King leading the forgotten. He spoke truths no one wanted to hear. The humans of Hal burned his camp, but Arwin the Half-Elf saved him. Alanthra fused her essence, moosha, into his mind while he slept, dreaming a dream binding him to the Mother Tree. Giving him his essential true name, Menapace.

Where It Began: Epic of Menapace, the Demigod of Peace

Before rest, he had laid stones of protection around the village. But the red fog seeped past them, into their lungs. They were ready too. He had to make a deal, his life, or everyone else's. Unprepared, yet with no alternative, he chose to pay the Price.

Before the transaction was complete, he found his son and said:

"Find Alanthra. You will see great oceans as far as the eye can see, green grass fields with shade and peace. This is where you'll find home."

He gave his son his sword and spellbook to complete what he had been training for.

"The Price to make something new, something old must be given," he whispered, bowing beneath a single candle in the corner. He gazed down at his right arm.

"Strength to be given."

He pressed his molars and canines into his own flesh, biting through tendon and muscle until the pressure burst his veins like frozen water pipes.

"And the rest of me to give them hope!"

The spell devoured him whole. Behind his fleeing son, the village witnessed only a massive purple explosion. A portal opened ahead and Menapace had saved his people. The portal led to the Earth Realm. Grass fields and vast plateaus stretched for days. But there was no water. Mountains loomed like heads with eyes closed.

Thus began the Humans of the Old Flame.

Part V: History of Hālfān - Protected by the Owls

Timeline of Halfan

As calculated by the Calendar of Not En’s Star

(CR 1st Year) - Alanthra's Seed is planted in the Water Realm.

(CR 100th Year) - The Asamir of the Air Realm discover Alanthra's Seed.

(CR 160th Year) - The Asamir abandon the project.

(CR 180th Year) - The first tribe of Animal Folk is established at the base of the Mother Tree Alanthra.

(CR 200th Year) - Halflings arrive to assist in raising and educating the Animal Folk.

(CR 225th Year) - Giants arrive and help restore the Mother Tree Alanthra, gifting her new lands and strengthening her roots with living timbers.

(CR 250th Year) - Exiled Asamir are cast down into the Water Realm, becoming the first Humans.

(CR 260th Year) - Humans establish towns and cities. Divided in their understanding of worship and unworthy in their own eyes, they develop various religions and political systems based on the four elements, spreading across the Known Waters of the Water Realm.

(CR 261st-399th Year) - Age of Peace: Harmony exists among all peoples under the care of the Mother Tree Alanthra.

(CR 399th Year) - Humans from the Earth and Water Isles deceive the Isle of the Mother Tree, stealing the strongest Animal Folk, Giants, and Halfling men under the guise of returning them-but never do. This betrayal ends the Age of Peace.

(CR 400th Year) - The Humans of the Isle of the Old Flame arrive at the Isle of the Mother Tree Alanthra.

(CR 400th Year) - Menapace, older brother of Timon and son of Queen Rivia and King Bartal, is given the Gift of the "Sight of the Mother" at Timon's request to help protect Halfan from further human enslavers.

(CR 400th-410th Year) - Menapace's prophecies help guide the Isle. His brother Timon officially names the land "Halfan" and establishes Hal as the capital.

(CR 420th Year) - Menapace issues a dire prophecy: "Red skies will come with black wings." The people of Halfan grow skeptical and dismissive.

(CR 420th Year) - Elves are abducted from their native plane and registered as slaves by the Ravens.

(CR 421st Year) - The Red War begins, as the Ravens invade from the coastal regions.

(CR 422nd Year) - Amatra returns, furious at the Asamir, demanding they protect her sister Alanthra and the Isle of Halfan.

(CR 425th Year) - Menapace uncovers a dagger forged by the Asamir, shaped like a candlestick and imbued with immense elemental power. He accuses the Asamir of plotting to assassinate King Timon I. His words spark accusations that the Asamir intend to wipe out humanity and reclaim their dumping ground. The trial nearly ends in riot. Though King Timon disagrees with the accusations, the court proceeds. After the trial, Timon takes Menapace aside-Menapace vanishes thereafter.

(CR 427th Year) - Menapace is missing for two years. Whispers claim he assassinated Ruskus Talmor, leader of the Ravens.

(CR 430th Year) - Menapace returns to perform a ritual, cursing Alanthra into an eternal slumber. During this, Baron M. is tricked into devouring Menapace, completing the curse.

(CR 430th Year) - Simultaneously, the sky turns red. A blood moon rises as a great battle rages against the Ravens. Madness takes hold. Gnomes, Halflings, Giants, and Animal Folk turn on each other. The humans of Hal claim those afflicted must be enslaved to prevent further bloodshed. Thus begins the Red Madness.

(CR 440th Year) - The Red War continues until the Ravens offer peace. King Timon agrees, citing the spreading madness and dwindling allied strength. Under the peace, Ravens gain a portion of the Isle and begin experimenting on slaves, seeking to cure the madness and extend their lives. The Red War ends.

(CR 441st Year) - The Red Madness spreads like a virus to all living things. This marks the beginning of the Red Ages.

(CR 451st Year) - King Timon I dies of a heart attack, brought on by long-term alcoholism, at age 59. His son, King Timon II, ascends at age 21 and proclaims a New Age of Knowledge, introducing new technologies from neighboring Isles and opening Hal's borders to trade.

(CR 459th Year) - King Timon II commits public suicide. In a drunken stupor, he strips naked and hurls himself from the palace balcony as the red moon rises.

(CR 459th Year) - Timon III becomes king at age 13.

(CR 516th Year) - Nothing has changed-only the king's age. Timon III now rules at 70 years old.

Part VI: Duluram, Devourer of Planes

Truth Discovered of No Name by The Owls.

(Father Unknown, born of Queen Rivia-Talor of the Old Flame)

Part VII: Before the Fire, Beneath the Sea

They are unsure how the elves arrived in Hālfān as slaves, this is a secret kept by the Raven. But to cut back years earlier, before the humans of the Old Flame saw fire upon their rooftops and were forced to flee, eventually finding Hālfān, many miles away across the sea in the Water Realm, beyond the Known Water’s Edge, lies the island of Par.

Par is an island formed around a floating stone, inhabited by Gnomes and Halflings; folk of great skill in technology, mechanics, alchemy, and craftsmanship. It is one of many isles in the Water Realm, positioned just before the Known Water’s Edge, where the Five Pillars of Balance stand like ancient sentinels.

The Gnomes and Halflings were searching for minerals in the caves scattered throughout the isles and islets. What they uncovered was at first considered a monstrosity. An amalgamation of what appeared to be small, wooden statues shaped like animal-sized humanoids. Though they had normal appendages, their shoulders and heads were disturbingly unnatural. One of the three statues even had wings instead of arms. They were tethered to the veins of the cave floor beneath their feet. The roots of the tree-like forms floated with the current, seeming to pulse with the breath of the wind; if one didn’t blink too long.

Knowing erosion was at play, they began excavating. Down, down, and down they went. But the descent never seemed to end; roots upon roots upon roots.

"It's no use. We need a heavy drill,” one said.

Diedrick, the smallest among them—a Halfling with a brain bigger than any crystal or mineral—suggested, "Why not grab the submarine?" And so they did.

Diedrick manned the submersible. He dove deeper than light could reach, into a darkness untouched by surface knowledge. This was why he was here: to witness and study natural causes of unnatural things.

Part VIII: Continuing Deeper

Deeper It Goes. Down, down, down he and his crew of two went. The roots were still tangling till, something was different, misconstrued, you could say. Somehow the tree's roots were turning to stone with coral and life attached to them, as its tendrils dove deeper still; into the void of nothingness.

"There, an opening!"

Jarred the Halfling Mechanic announced, pointing a soot leather-gloved finger at a slit ajar through the glass toward a thin shadow illuminated by the spotlight of the sub. Slowing the vessel to a drift, Diedrick eased the sub into the tube-like hole opening just big enough for steady motion. Then, quickly with an upward shift, they submerged.

An air pocket opening into a cavern of petrified earth, leading to other hallowed root tunnels; the sound of running water just out of reach of mortal ear echoes in its decayed limbs. Tera entered the main room, slamming the porthole door to the back room of the sub.

"Well, this is my stop."

A Gnome Natural Artificer tuned to these sorts of phenomena in her daily work life.

"Regardless, we are coming with you."

Diedrick proclaimed smirking as she unlatched the exit port above and hopped out.

The air was damp and still, yet with the acute curvature of breath rolling back and forth through the tunnels, causing a pulsating hum almost felt.

Tera froze.

"We aren't alone, I feel something... Diedrick hit the scanner."

Radar screen check.

"Nothing here. We are coming out to join you."

"Let me have a look",

Jarred steps in front of the monitor, taps it a couple of times.

"Are you sure Tera."

"Positive, something big, it's -"

"Check your head, Tera; I checked the machine."

They join her outside the ship, stepping on the land's woodstone edge. She wasn't kidding; the feeling was imminent once you exited the sub. A permeating feeling of not seeing but knowing you're being watched. A pit in the stomach that is hard to ignore; this isn't coincidental for them to find this opening. Almost feeling suggested. Diedrick's mind was filled with these intrusions of thought while going through his bag of equipment. Jarred and Tera are arguing on which route to take first to search for minerals off this poor, dilapidated Tree of an Isle.

"Tera, you sure you're not just realizing you're in an old ass tree?"

Jarred slaps his knee as his remark.

"Stop fooling around, you bolt brain. This tree doesn't seem young if you ask me. Something caused its decline."

"Maybe so, but you're overthinking it. Time has taken over; there's your reason."

"Shut up and let me think of a path to choose, Jarred."

Tera was fuming with her brow furrowed at his rude pokes, wasting their time.

"Okay, okay, I know. You have your talents, and I have mine, but calm down. It's a super old tree; nothing more. We got materials to find."

They split ways down different tunnels with Iron torch lamps lighting their way. Once Diedrick tied down the sub. He chose the center path between the others. Since they have com orbs, they will be fine and cover more ground as long as they leave a trail of Glow Phials along the way. The spotlight from the sub fades. A moment passes in the darkness of a never-ending straight.

Diedrick touches the com orb:

"Hey, anything so far from y'all's end?"

"J. here, nothing so far, more petrified tunnels"

"T. here, nothing either, straight and narrow. No signs."

"Do you guys hear that running water sound when we came in? It's like a facet trickling..."

"Never heard that coming in."

"Maybe you should get your head checked, Diedrick."

Tera joked playfully.

Diedrick didn't respond.

This isn't right...

Part IX "The Hobo King"

The orphans and widows tell a tale as old as time in the walls of the city of Hal.

There was once a king with no belongings, no army, no riches. He came to Halfan, prophesying in the streets of its capital, Hal. He told them his truth. He told them their truth. He embodied the truth. Calling out the holders of power in the realm, they wanted his head. So he fled the city and his followers joined him, traversing the land of Halfan, uncovering the truth behind all its madness. His followers said it took him five years to travel to Halfan on a plank of cedar. Claiming he was the true king of Halfan. And those who believed him, all races followed his teachings of Not En. He told them he rose from the ashes with the breath of Alanthra from the Isle of the Old Flame in the year 400, a year after a great fire took over the Isle of the Old Flame.

Many scoffed, and many detested him. When he spoke in esoteric terms of what eternity and nothing held for them. The common people turned away, but others stayed. The rejects, the mocked, the ill, and the broken. Stood with a new hope, found in them a candlelight that could not go out. He kept mentioning the Age of Peace, which the Hal civilians were not privy to about the history of the land they sucked dry years ago.

King Timon called him a madman and was not to be trusted with a job or residency in Halfan. And if found, brought to him dead or alive. Menapace, his older brother and commander, would get a strange vision after first encountering one of the Hobo King’s sermons in the market quarters; he immediately tipped off Timon. Menapace became curious about him. Did all he could to find anything on him, asking his army to keep an eavesdrop on his following. Nothing. Like the guy was the air itself. People kept talking of him but not where of him. It was an endless loop of two steps behind after two steps forward. Driving him mad at the blasphemy against his family name.

Obsession took over Menapace to find him. Many against the Hobo King believed him to be a spy of bardic heritage from the Raven’s Isle, attempting to convert the masses. All evidence came up to an empty lead to nothing but all hearsay. Every follower not folding and every man not answering even if tortured did not utter a word only saying, "Hark, we wait." He vanished in the crowd after exposing the truth of vampires running Hal.

After all this and the Hobo King had disappeared, a riot broke out. This was the tip of the pendulum to swing into the beginning of the Red War.

The chant of the broken in the streets of Hal:

"The Rebuker in Rags.

The Master in Mud.

The Reaper of the Rich.

The Peace of the Poor.

Our Leader,

Our King,

We serve Thee with what we may share.

Our Copper and branches unto Thee;

To serve Thee as He has shared.

In times of ease and wake.

Hark, we wait.

Hark, we wait."

(CR 419th Year of the Water Realm)

reddit.com

u/BunsAreReal — 2 months ago

▲ 6 r/TalesFromTheCreeps

Hālfān: Short Story Series (The Owl's Sanctuary Archives in the Forgotten Library)

Prologue:

® By ƐR3

Part I: The First Chapter of the Book of Not En

*Last words Nothing spoke to her daughter Alanthra the Water Deity:

A: “Mother Not please don’t there must be a way we can-”

N: “I love you all and would expect the same from all of you. Don’t worry I won't be far and I’ll be waiting here when it is all said and done. Th- Thank you Alanthra for your honesty and

overflowing caring heart.”

*a moment passes

N: “Goodbye, I love you.”

*silence

A: “Mother… Why won’t you let me help.”

*Last words Mother Nothing spoke to her daughter Amatra the Air Deity:

A: “Dou what you must Mother, I trust you. I will do my duty and help Father as you defend. If- If you need help call upon us. Goodbye, love you Mother…”

N: “Love you too, my sweet brave Amatra. Take care of yourself in my absence, these times will only last a moment, please lean on your sister. She needs you most now.”

*silence

The Immortal Weaver’s may now begin their true work.

To teach their mortals with the hands they have been given by their Father.

Part II: Where the Roots Began: Amasir First Contact with the Water Realm

The scientists wished to extract it, but the council, upon reviewing the facts, declined the request. They instructed the researchers to leave it, wait, let it grow, and protect it.

Scientists and philosophers of the highest prestige came to study this new monstrosity of science, hoping to glean the reason for its being. A Living Island, they called it.

The moon crept over the horizon; red.

Then, beneath its branches, a hollow pit opened, revealing a glowing blue eye. Its lids separated slowly.

The eye gazed upon the place where the Asamir corpses had vanished. The scientists froze, uncertain of its intent.

The eye closed again. Stillness. Silence.

Baffled, the scientists could not comprehend what they had witnessed. One of them looked again into the place where the eye had appeared. He began to scream, wild, panicked shrieks, falling to the ground, clutching his face, weeping, writhing. Then, in madness, he tried to pry his own eyes from their sockets.

As the other scientist rushed to restrain him, the maddened man broke free, running to the edge of the island and diving into the sea, never to return to the surface.

The Asamir left Halfan.

And they never returned again; until the Red War.

Part III: The Discovery of the Realms, History of Halfan Prologue by Dr. Kiada Essa; Historian and Planeshifter of the Owls

(Kept Safe in the Owl Sanctuary Archive)

*A message in a bottle found in the Known Waters of the Water Realm*

After the Asamir left, the bodies became one with the Tree. Using its life force essence to make a strange leather skinned fruit; almost like a huge fig size of a human child in the womb. Once its weight caved upon the branch; it snapped hitting the root flooring and embedded into it. With time it germinated and created the form of an egg growing ever larger. Cracking from its shell a sapling took form into a wooden root taking the shape of a humanoid animal. Tree Roots forming into the body of a human and the head of a mammal. It looked like a carved statue. Procured snout with eyes pressed back on the head under its ears which sat on top of its head. Once the tree bark softened; it began to move then folded to the ground. Breaking off from its roots the first Animal-Folk was born from Alanthra the Mother Tree with the help of her sister's people. We must tell everyone the truth.

I have also discovered the legends are true was once a race of fire elves that fled captive of Cortav and across the four known realms.

They were Holders of peace, fearing nothing, and respecting eternity, and bringers of the ages. The first spark, The Finals stone, The Old Flame, and the New Waters.

The Demi gods were the states of Emotion and the States of being and are to be held at fault for influencing the Gods. We must bring an end to this Red Madness. Vita has fallen-"

Part IV: The Immortal Sin

Prologue

Baron's life began in shadow.

But death wasn't the end.

Where It Began: Epic of Menapace, the Demigod of Peace

Before the transaction was complete, he found his son and said:

"Find Alanthra. You will see great oceans as far as the eye can see, green grass fields with shade and peace. This is where you'll find home."

He gave his son his sword and spellbook to complete what he had been training for.

"The Price to make something new, something old must be given," he whispered, bowing beneath a single candle in the corner. He gazed down at his right arm.

"Strength to be given."

He pressed his molars and canines into his own flesh, biting through tendon and muscle until the pressure burst his veins like frozen water pipes.

"And the rest of me to give them hope!"

Thus began the Humans of the Old Flame.

Part V: History of Hālfān - Protected by the Owls

Timeline of Halfan

As calculated by the Calendar of Not En’s Star

(CR 1st Year) - Alanthra's Seed is planted in the Water Realm.

(CR 100th Year) - The Asamir of the Air Realm discover Alanthra's Seed.

(CR 160th Year) - The Asamir abandon the project.

(CR 180th Year) - The first tribe of Animal Folk is established at the base of the Mother Tree Alanthra.

(CR 200th Year) - Halflings arrive to assist in raising and educating the Animal Folk.

(CR 225th Year) - Giants arrive and help restore the Mother Tree Alanthra, gifting her new lands and strengthening her roots with living timbers.

(CR 250th Year) - Exiled Asamir are cast down into the Water Realm, becoming the first Humans. The first group collaborate and make the Isle of the Old Flame there first home.