The D’ni pens I found in J’Taeri are frustrating to use. I was never good with regular fountain pens, and these ones are quite elaborate. When I was young, I was left handed, but this made my writing somewhat messy and easily smudged. My teachers forced me to learn to write with my right hand, which made me very upset. Why learn to write all over again when I can do it well enough already?
I’m glad now though, writing with fountain pens and an ink-pot would be absolutely impossible with my left hand. I would have to wait for each character to dry! Imagine filling a Descriptive Book with the complex characters of the gahrohevtee with that sort of speed!
Where has Yeesha gone? Why has she abandoned this place? Why has she abandoned us? She is the Grower. The true Grower. This is her tree to grow. We followed her Journey, we followed her teachings, and yet she left us.
She said there was a reason, a plan. She said it is to protect us, but how can leaving this place to die just as it began to live again, possibly protect us?
At first, I remained here because I could not bear to leave. Now, I remain here because I have an obligation.
I continue to practice from the Codex. It is becoming frustrating, how slowly I make progress. I would have thought I’d be well versed in copying the same word over and over.
I’ve begun what I can only hope are writing lessons from this Codex. I feel like I am a child again, doing lessons, writing down my subjects into those blue copybooks. I went to school with the other children, but I had to endure extra lessons when I returned home. Once in a while Father would forget, and that old blue book would stay locked away. When I was younger I would go out of my way to remind him. That didn’t last long.
Some of my fondest memories were learning at school, with other children who undoubtedly had a much more normal childhood. I was especially fond of English (haha) and History. I was fascinated with the Sciences, but did not excel in them.
I am somewhat concerned that I chanced upon nothing more than a child’s textbook, and not the key to the gahrohevtee, but I’ll know soon enough. These lessons may take a long time. The D’ni must had other resources to learn from besides a book. There must be something I can do to increase the speed of this learning. Somehow it feels as if this will not be enough.
No, I must remember Rule 27; I cannot harbour self-doubt. I have come an incredible distance already. Soon Phase 1 will begin.
I’ve returned from the J’Taeri District. It was an experience I could not have predicted. Perhaps subconciously I expected the area to be comparable in ruination to the rest of the City. In truth, it was much more haunting.
While exploring, I kept a makeshift journal, which I have transcribed below.
