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</style><center><h1><span class = fade>Compendium II</span></h1><span class = fade><hr></span></center>
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<td style="width:25%"><<button [[Embark|location]]>><<set $chapter to "Compendium II">><<set $location to "Upon Winds of Change">><<set $poem1 to "Coj delatan vse">><<set $poem2 to "istoriyas imitsems en">><<set $poem3 to "idym? ilyas termyjens">><<run UIBar.show();>><</button>>
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<</cont>><i>Compendium II</i> contains content warnings for the following:
<ul><li>depictions of blood, violence, and death</li>
<li>mentions of war and martial violence</li></ul>
<hr>
<span class = truecenter><center>[[Return to Menu|menu]]</center></span><<run UIBar.show();>>
<p> </p>
<div id = 'locations'><div><img id="locationimage1">
[[Travel Eastwards|east][($location to "Capitol Streets") , ($poem1 to "Strakhyen sto myrovytis") , ($poem2 to "stoaut tzemny pro") , ($poem3 to "vsehres idtiysz myrovyr")]]</div>
<div><img id="locationimage2">
<div></div>[[Travel Westwards|west][($location to "The Imperial Margin") , ($poem1 to "Tva vast maryksem") , ($poem2 to "tva ortys vast") , ($poem3 is "ex rukas vast")]]</div></div><p>The vernal equinox coincides with a Saint's Day; celebration spills from courts to arena to music-filled streets clogged with dancers. Amongst them, a man offers hand to another following the rhythm, her saint-named brothers dancing nearby, their partners pretty smiling shades who do not wear daggers beneath their skirts.
<p>Her <span class = cycle><<cycle "_cycle">>
<<option "insistent">>
<<option "paranoid">>
<</cycle>></span> mother calls these dangerous times—soldiers watch from blurred rooftops, she has not eaten nor drank anything offered, swords gleam at her brothers' waists—and she <<linkappend "agrees.">>
<p>The Imperial princess, her brothers crown-princes victorious on campaign—Southern subjugation, Western border enforcement—is unafraid. She has victories her own, slipping from palatial balcony, face cowl-hidden, to run ruin in Capitol streets.
<p>The man's hand closes around her <<linkappend "wrist.">>
<p>“We know," he hisses.</p>
<<nobr>><div class = choices><ol>
<li><div class = choice-item> [[Escape.|escape]] </div></li>
<li><div class = choice-item> [[Fight.|fight]] </div></li>
</ol></div><</nobr>>
<</linkappend>><</linkappend>><<include "east 2">>
<p>“You cannot escape. You will not survive winter," he cautions. “Still rises the dawn."
<p>“I don't know what you're talking about," she murmurs, well-practiced.
<p>“You wear no favors in the tournament. You hide wounds at the feast. You will fight the longest, and still you will die!"
<p>Horror blossoms in her throat; she fumbles futility for <<linkappend "dagger.">>
<p>“None of you will survive winter!" the man cries, accusatory finger jabbed at her brothers, at her, at her Imperial mother. A flash of metal precedes the heavy spatter of blood on the cobblestone.
<hr>
<span class = truecenter><center>[[End.|END][($poem1 to " ") , ($poem2 to " ") , ($poem3 to " ")]]</center></span>
</p><</linkappend>><<include "east 2">>
<p>The dagger is a blur in practiced hands, sunk hilt-deep between ribs. He exhales shakily, wrist <<linkappend "released.">>
<p>“Still rises the dawn," he sputters, staggering.
<p>Blood stains cobblestone, dancers scattering save for a princess gloved in crimson. Even her heroic brothers retreat at gory dagger-point defiantly brandished: “You cannot escape fate! None of you will! You will die, and the Empire with you!"
<p>Many hands pull at the bloodied princess-turned-murderer, her eyes glassy as the man collapses, still staring.
<hr>
<span class = truecenter><center>[[End.|END][($poem1 to " ") , ($poem2 to " ") , ($poem3 to " ")]]</center></span>
</p><</linkappend>><p>The vernal equinox coincides with a Saint's Day; celebration spills from courts to arena to music-filled streets clogged with dancers. Amongst them, a man offers hand to another following the rhythm, her saint-named brothers dancing nearby, their partners pretty smiling shades who do not wear daggers beneath their skirts.
<p>Her Imperial mother calls these dangerous times—soldiers watch from blurred rooftops, she has not eaten nor drank anything offered, swords gleam at her brother's waists—and she agrees.
<p>The Imperial princess, her brothers crown-princes victorious on campaign—Southern subjugation, Western border enforcement—is unafraid. She has victories her own, slipping from palatial balcony, face cowl-hidden, to run ruin in Capitol streets.
<p>The man's hand closes around her wrist.
<p>“We know," he hisses.</p><p>Comes watery sun over battlefield, the ridgeline high dotted with Imperial outposts, stone towers crumbling, slumping once-proud shoulders armor, promise-clad. Here lies graveyard once named battlefield, the grass still trampled flat, the soil watered readily with <<linkappend "blood.">>
<p>There has been no rain since, no storms; wind rose from arrow-fletching, the swing of axe, pike, sword, final breaths into black earth. The earth itself changed; new architecture risen of <<linkappend "metal">> — corpse rots to sludge, leaves hollow shell still twisted in futile, agonizing shape —<</linkappend>> studding the earth in poor imitation of the spear shaped whispering-grass inflorescence; it will never flower, only poison the soil.
<p>None come to bury the <<linkappend "dead.">>
<p>The <<linkappend "Moon">>, lonely, heartbroken Moon<</linkappend>> watched helplessly, lent all her light, prayed for peace. She found none, walking the alien landscape, bare feet slaughter-stained, <<linkappend "searching.">>
<p>The dead—the dying amongst the tide whose words become whispering echo to histories carried by the unbloodied—say it was dreamlike. Beautiful. Thin, pale-faced Daughter Moon clad in starlight, a luminous beacon whose tears fell like meteors, glowing where they struck the earth.
<p>None come to bury the <<linkappend "dead.">> Not Daughter Moon at <<linkappend "midnight.">> Not the sun come <<linkappend "dawn.">>
<p><<linkappend "All rots.">>
<p>All will be forgotten in <<linkappend "time.">>
<p>Even <span class = cycle><<cycle "_cycle">>
<<option "the Moon.">>
<<option "the sun.">>
<<option "Death.">>
<<option "the Empire.">>
<<option "this battle.">>
<<option "this story.">>
<</cycle>></span> Nothing survives.
<hr>
<span class = truecenter><center>[[End.|END][($poem1 to " ") , ($poem2 to " ") , ($poem3 to " ")]]</center></span></p><</linkappend>><</linkappend>><</linkappend>><</linkappend>><</linkappend>><</linkappend>><</linkappend>><</linkappend>><<nobr>>>><<run UIBar.hide().stow();>>
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</style><center><h1><span class = fade>The End.</span></h1></center><span class = fade><hr></span><<cont append>>
<center><<button [[Return|menu]]>><</button>></center>
<</cont>>
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