Therne Background (Taurus's Journal)
So last session the party found a journal in the tomb of a someone marked with the sigil of Taurus. Zoe has been translating in her free time and these are the passages so far.
I have begun this text as a way to practice my writing. It was a suggestion by a friend that I would lose the skill if I did not practice enough having finally learned it. I am at a loss of what I should record in a journal, but I think I shall start by recording what I have discovered about farming. Before this journey began and the wielder of Gemini found me and the blade I now wield I spent year cultivating a small field at the base of the Dusk Mountains. Herein the following pages I will record all that I have learned about working the land such that if I pass on this journal will be given to my son when he is old enough to inherit my land and work the field as I did in my youth and adulthood.
Writing in my journal has become a comfortable routine, though now that I have spoken of my skills I have decided to turn to the weekās events and the course of our journey of discover as the further subject of my writings. The heroes of old always had stories crop up around them and bards still write tales for the Gold King though only in secret. If the Dark Lord should hear but a single song about his old foe the singer and all who listened would be struck down. It is against that very tyranny that my companions and I strive to stop forever. For the purposes of secrecy why have decided that none of us should be referred by our names. In fact few of us know who each other truly is. Instead we call each other by the name of the sword that we wield. Gemini thinks it best just in case, but I am not entirely sure why it is necessary.
I have spent some time thinking on why Gemini was convinced that we should hide our true names and have come to a conclusion. It came to me when we passed through a sleepy village in eastern Therne. Here Gemini was convinced we would find a lead as to the whereabouts of Cancerās Blade. The people here seemed more muted than most we had come across and it took us not long at all to realize why. The Demon King himself had passed through these lands with his entourage. He seems to have caught on to what was happening. No doubt he too is after Cancerās weapon to keep it from us. Many of the townsfolk seem to be under his direct sway and Gemini gave false names for us to all that we met as we passed through and asked our questions. Later she explained that the Dark King had the ability to control those whoās full true name heād heard spoken from her lips. If the Demon Lord knew one of our names he could cause one of our number to betray us. Beyond that even, now that he is aware of our mission we must work quickly and unseen in order to undo the evil that he has wrought over the land. For that sake I am willing to forsake my name for that of Taurus whose blade I wield. In case I am killed and this journal taken by the enemy I will refrain from using our true names within its pages as well.
Aquarius asked me today why I bother to keep writing in the journal. Aside from practice I donāt really have an answer for the young man. Perhaps recording my thoughts helps me work through the troubles that seem to surround us constantly. I offered to lend Aquarius an empty bound book for his own thoughts, but he replied saying that he had too many thoughts to ever write them all down. It might be true. He had joined up with the rest of us only a month after Gemini had found me, though heād not had a blade until only two months ago when we recovered Aquarius from a shipwreck in the largest river in the Riverlands. Heād started following us because we seemed interesting. He hasnāt said it, but I imagine the real reason he joined us is because he didnāt want to be alone. Loneliness is a harsh reality for a young man to live with. I do not blame him in the least.
Last night we caught up with the Demon Kingās forces. According to the mystical connection that Gemini seemed to have with the weapons Cancer lay buried in a glacier that had been biting through the land for some time. Iād never seen the cold north glacier before, but it was just as described. Cold and hard. Gemini believes that the Glacier itself will melt once Cancer is retrieved and an wielder for the weapon is found. The Kingās forces were not expecting us and with the help of Libra we were able to slip in from above them. We have spent the day since looking for the exact location of the blade without luck. Our only solace is that the Dark Lordās men seem similarly frustrated.
