The "Joe-urnal"

Progress has been made.

First and foremost, I've secured Jerome's soul and have entered an actual pact with him. He's suspended in the void at the moment, and in collaborating with him I've tapped into some wind elemency. We ended up accomplishing this after his disembodied soul appeared on that one Simulian holiday where the dead may roam the land. We accidentally broke into Silver's tower in a gambit to find a good enough jar to stuff him in. Silver nearly killed us, then bound my bird to a void crystal. I have no reason to complain at this point, especially since one way or another, I’m going to be able to bring him back.

I failed to make any major leaps towards resurrection or teleportation in the months after Jerome died, but I was not entirely idle or useless. Improvements to my arcanas have been made, my best development from this period was being able to put myself back together and keep myself from falling apart with some spells I deciphered from a priestess's tome. I also found an augment for my draconic incarnation with spellcraft, though it’s terribly inefficient I feel.

Met up with one of the Tokuro’s and gave them the bad news, they were the one with the Griffon. Rose was her name, got that wrong in one of my last entries. Around that time, an ally to that clan showed their head, a swordswoman going by Kaida. I’ll elaborate on her.

Kaida and I agreed to cross swords when next we met up, and simply put, I got my ass handed to me. I fought well, but leaned too far into offense, or perhaps it was too little. My own failures aside, her fighting style was impressive. She used this incredible weapon that was part blade and part firearm, with an internal multi-purposed ammunition system enabling myriad skills. She also experienced some form of draconic awakening, and I can't deny the fact that I wish I got a better explanation. It can't be helped as it was spontaneous for her, but I’m envious.

I'd actually developed some Hemomancy around that time, and got to test it out. This squalid blood of mine proved good material for the magic. Another factor that came up in the battle was The Presence. It first reared its head during the battle I lost Jerome in. I’ve since learned that it is rooted to the sword Korrianna gave me. I thought all was well until it directly possessed my arm during my fight with Kaida, though it did so to try and save me in the climax of the battle. I feel uncertain regarding it, but so far, it has shown me mostly benevolent intent.

Unfortunately, I’ve also found that the Tokuros are just Gone. Missing without so much a word. Their base was a mess of ash and splinters when I last checked, and now there's said to be a lake there. I can succeed without their assistance, but that does not mean it was unwanted. I hope they’re well, wherever they are.

I've met a handful of other interesting individuals, I feel it apt to take notes about them. Better for me to remember, too much going on upstairs.

I forget exactly when but there was an outworlder elf named Iotex that I gave directions to. She carried with her technology the likes I’d not seen before, and it was a stretch to identify the magical properties. Her biology is strange as well, different from other elven kind I’ve met. My impression is that she’s talented at artifice, and though her line of magic is different from my own, she’s a fellow intellectual. It’d be nice to see how she’s doing, and if I could learn something from her.

There’s something terrible roaming the castle’s halls. She Introduced herself as Lucaria, but I believe she goes by Celestine now. An aberrant union produced her and gave her the ability to tear apart reality itself as she saw fit. She made a sandwich I’d eaten materialize anew. It sounds ridiculous for me to say I fear her, but I know what I saw. These Eyes have yet to fail me. She’d actually come looking for my help, and I offered her some magic channeling advice. I plan to oversee her growth if I can. It’s a little harder to sleep knowing something like that lives nearby. I hope she doesn’t find a way into my demiplane.

There’s a different newcomer, calls herself Valentina. Her magical prowess is particularly interesting, namely energy manifestation and transformation into solid weapons at levels I’ve barely scraped towards. I asked all I could, but she and her group that might’ve been scattered into this realm are all innate casters. She did tell me about one of her more unpleasant allies, and even asked that I attempt to humble them. They’ve dominion over the dark and even gravity itself, yet I feel undeterred. Perhaps I’m just looking for redemption after my last defeat.

I must confess, natural born mages vex me. What takes them a wave of the hand or a minor incantation puts my mind to work in excess. There’ve been times when my head just wants to split open, and some will never know that pain. Even if I technically am one on account of my ancestry, I can’t help but envy them and what I cannot grasp.

Even so, there’s something wonderful about them.

Jerome brought with him the secrets of the dead, which led me on a treasure hunt for magical plunder. I looted two places, both with wildly different results. Wish Well was the first, and it was there that I saw the puppeteer, Simul’s own shadow. I don’t want to think about it, it makes my blood boil, and I shudder at being that close to death again. I hate that feeling.

The second location I visited was nestled deep in the northwestern woods. This hunter snuck up on me, I came flying at them with lightning in my hand, yet I recognized them. Somewhere in the mess of clouded memories, I knew that face, and they remembered me too.

Her name’s Suirin. If I had to call her anything, it’s that she’s a living contradiction, she’s got some manner of double life going on. She and I used to be part of this demon hunting group, but I left after we came across no demons to hunt for too long. I assume so, at least. Her business in the woods was to acquire a familial artifact, and it ended up being the remains of some kind of forest demon.

She gets ahold of it, absorbs it, and this beautiful wave of flames erupts from the depths of her soul. I wish I was better with words, I could convey what it looked like properly. I would have probably died if I didn’t use the bones of my dragon form. The surge of power overwhelmed her and I had to leech some of the mana from her, turns out that I Can do that.

As a side note, I think it’s some sort of pseudo-vampirism. It has to have something to do with a blood transfusion I received, and more with my body’s reaction to it. I’m some sort of evolutionary fuck up at this point. The downside to all this is that I can’t taste or smell anything.

Back to Suirin, once she recovered, I took her back to her home in Eleutheria. As it so happens, she’s a noble’s daughter, moonlighting as an explorer and demon hunter. What’s more, is that she’s the reincarnation of some demon or forest spirit. She’d been bothered by what she was for so long, and part of that resonated with me. She and I struck an agreement to help each other with our quests, hers being the truth of her past life, and mine being, well, get back to my realm and bring Them back.

She ended up aiding me spectacularly, not that I had my doubts about forming an alliance. She left a hell of an impression and I wanted to learn more about that soul and her power regardless. We hatched this plan to retrieve some historical records for her from one of the archives in Concordia, mainly to confirm something. I planned to ask him for help, but Falvir and his wife Quenya got roughed up by some harlot going by Elmryia. Suirin helped me get Falvir out of the hospital wing, she actually distracted Senka for a moment, and claims she’s removed her from her memory. I never heard anything about it either.

The archive ended up being a bust, all we found were some teachers fooling around. Falvir had other plans. He had us go back to Eleutheria, march right up to the castle of all places, and nearly had us fight our way through. An averted misunderstanding later, and we got into the King’s archives. Suirin got what she needed, and I found something I’d been looking for since the very beginning. Silver, in an act of goodwill, gave the monarch some of his spells, and I now have my hands on his teleportation spell. Deciphering it has been a bitch and half but it’s going to be the key I’ve needed for so long. All I have to do now is find a way to put Them back together.

After we left the archive, we got some food back in Concordia, and made future plans to rendezvous. Next time we met up, Falvir had actually let me borrow his motorcycle, and we messed around on that for a while. Su wasn’t the biggest fan, said it was too loud, and that made sense given she’s got four ears half the time. We still had fun just driving the thing. I was doing great until I nearly crashed us into a boulder. I thought she meant it when she said she didn’t want to see me again. I felt genuine dread.

Not even a week after that, I get a letter, and she’s asking if I want to go explore some spot in the south forest. Nothing even really occurred, we just found a rotting abode, yet it was still fun just following her around. More of the same has been happening, and it would almost feel like it’s a waste of my time if it didn’t make me feel good in comparison to the monotony of pushing the pen and the constant calculations I do for my arcane research. Maybe even better than crossing swords.

We did end up pinpointing a spot in the desert where Something is. One of the things that killed her before she was Suirin. An Ash Crow, or rather, a Phoenix as they call it here.

At the moment though, we just finished celebrating the turn of the year in Simul. The passage of time should have ravaged my psyche again, yet it hasn’t. She’d invited me over to her family’s estate, and for a few hours we just sat down watching the stars and the distant flash of fireworks over the capitol. It got a bit cold and I offered to share my coat with her. She’s said my coat's ugly before, but this time she accepted it. A while after that, she gifted me some clothes she’d made and sent me on my way.

I can’t tell if it’s something new or familiar, but I feel Great.