#itix

[gardening--tools]

i really really gotta stop making itix decisions based on how funny i think it would be. it doesn't fit the tone and it usually puts me in a tight spot writing-wise.

that said. changing pietrie's design to be an undead hummingbird instead of a crow would be sooo fucking funny

[gardening--tools]

fuck it, incorrect ITIX

[gardening--tools]

his body is deteriorating. he’s growing several species of moss lichen and fungus from his own human skin. he’s so good at his job that it’s actively killing him. he’s growing fur and claws but also gills. the armor is a little bit a part of him now. he hasn’t seen his own face since he was thirteen.

[gardening--tools]

[gardening--tools]

itix starts out with the main character discussing a serial killer targeting her workplace with her colleagues, and it’s not even a main plot point

[gardening--tools]

I have no name for this fantasy knight order, which is very inconvenient because I am going to talk about it.

The physiology of the elders, like all knights of this elusive fraternal order, is dependent on how many remnants of the Old Spirits each has consumed. As we know from the records recovered from the Nowhild border, the rate of mutation exponentially increases with consumption. Once I had believed these elders to be the most prolific of their order; that their high rank correlated with the excellence of their service and dedication to their mission. But I now know this to be ignorant and based upon nothing but meritocratic idealism.

According to these same records, as the frequency of mutations rises so does the degradation of the body's arcano-lymphatic, endocrine and cardiovascular processes. Meaning each stage of mutation shortens a knight's life span at an increasing rate. I must conclude, then, that a knight who lives a long life is a knight who does not consume more than three to four remnants during his tenure. Compared to your translation of the Halonian stelae that describes some of these elders to be upwards of fifty to sixty years old, we can assume these elders were not as qualified as I previously thought.

This is all to say, I now believe you were correct in your hypothesis from when we last spoke: a portion of the anecdotes of the last knights active during the late Auranic era refer to a single knight. (Hereby referred to as "The Knight." Though understandable, their aversion to names and titles are very unfortunate from an anthropological sense.) His description in your findings matches at least thirty distinct arcane anomalies responded to by a knight. Assuming each anomaly was due to a singular remnant, we can assume The Knight housed the same amount. (Though I believe there are earlier anecdotes that suggest The Knight once traveled with a mentor, which would suggest he also carried that knights remnants once they passed on.) And if this assumption were to be correct, this would imply The Knight had an exemplary control of his arcanophysicality, of which we have not seen nor seen since.

I wonder what you make of this deduction, and how fares your translations of the remaining stelae from the Aigure Mountain Ruins. My current fascination has led me to the Equilibrius, where the records from the fall of Empyria are kept. I have reason to believe Our Knight was directly involved in the Dismantling, as well as the Transition. I will update you with my findings, even as I eagerly anticipate yours.

— Z

[gardening--tools]

it’s so fucking upsetting to come up with a plot twist that you KNOW will make your friends crazy, but you can’t tell them because that would ruin the experience of them reading it for the first time and blowing up your notifications about it

[gardening--tools]

ohhhh my god you put murders by miracle musical on your villain playlist? should we tell everyone? should we throw a party? should we invite florence welch?