.
.
.
The next shard Nora found was in what looked like the ruins of a rather large abode. There was only a faint outline of the actual house, all made of glass that was shaped to look like rocks. This glass was colored slightly differently, with a slight grey hue to indicate that it was once stone. Nora quickly approached the shard, curious as to what this memory would hold.
When the light cleared, Nora found herself inside a lavishly decorated throne room. The collector was bowing in front of a lady on the throne. Nora couldn't understand the language, but from the gestures and the tones, it seemed like the collector was promising her something incredibly serious. As he was bowing, Nora noticed that the pocketwatch that was hanging around his neck had slipped.
With just one look at the watch, Nora could tell that the lady on the throne wasn't getting what she was promised. The collector was lying to her. Nora felt as if there was nothing she could do except watch.
The collector quickly stood up after he finished talking and left the room. Now alone with the queen, Nora began looking for the paper. The queen, seemingly now taking notice of her, beckons her forward. Nora wasn't expecting this, as none of the other memories had interacted with her directly.
She cautiously hopped to the queen's side, and the queen gently reached into her pocket. Then, with a wistful expression, she gingerly handed the piece of paper to Nora. Even with the language barrier, Nora could understand what she was saying perfectly. "Take it, remember who we were." As she disappeared, Nora felt a weight in her chest, all these people, the collector had been taking who they were, never to be seen again.
The vision faded, and the once lavish throne room turned back into rubble.
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Ding!
Map pieces 4/7
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Nora sat in the rubble for a minute, feeling the heavy weight of what she had just watched. She sighed heavily, simply deciding to continue, pushing the memories to the back of her mind. She figured that she could decide how she wanted to feel once she got the answers to this incredibly confusing adventure.
The next chard that Nora found was back in another clearing, like the first two had been. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about the location, so Nora didn't spend too much time looking around before she entered the memory.
This time, Nora was transported to an office, and she was positioned on top of a cabinet, looking down at the collector. She could see that he was sitting at a desk, illuminated only by candlelight.
In his hand, he held a quill, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. He seemed to be writing frantically, muttering to himself. Every time he finished a paragraph, the ink would disappear back into the page.
The collector seemed to curse at himself in a language Nora couldn't understand before starting over again, tearing out the page and throwing it in the trash. Nora saw the opportunity, and she quickly swooped in, grabbing the crumpled piece of paper. Unfurling it, she watched from the corner of her eyes as the room disappeared again; in her claws was another piece of the map.
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Ding!
Map pieces 5/7
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Two more to go, she thought, not paying much attention to what had actually happened in the memory. I hope the last two won't be that hard to find…
Luckily, Nora didn't find the next shard hard to find at all, as she was passing over the seemingly endless forest. She noticed a small hill protruding out in the distance. Getting closer, Nora saw that there was a shard on top of the hill. Landing on the hill, she approached where the shard was hovering.
As Nora touched the memory, she braced herself for the scene change, but her surroundings stayed the same. Instead, she watched the collector materialize in front of her. He wasn't looking at her or anyone else; instead, he was looking at the pocket watch in his hands. The watch was ticking quietly, and the collector stood motionless, moving so little that it looked like he wasn't even breathing.
Nora noticed that the longer they both stood there, the louder the ticking got, until eventually it was overpowering. She watched as the collector let the watch slip from his hands. It crashed to the ground, and the ticking stopped.
Nora looked closer at the watch; next to it on the ground was a piece of paper. She quickly looked to where the collector was standing, but he was gone. Looking back down towards the pocket watch, all that remained was the paper.
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Ding!
Map pieces 6/7
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Nora looked around, 'ok, that was really weird…. That one was definitely different. I guess maybe that memory took place in the forest of glass, and that's why nothing changed?' Nora shook her head.
Standing up, Nora prepared to take off when she was suddenly stopped, catching a glimpse of a figure approaching in the distance. Nora raised her guard to the maximum as she watched a figure slowly climb the hill.
As the figure approached, Nora's eyes widened. It was the collector, but not the one that she had seen in the memories; he was transparent. He looked like he was made out of glass himself, like everything else in this world. In his hand were two pieces of paper. As he got close to Nora, he kneeled, handing the pieces of paper to her. Then, without a word, he stood up and walked away.
Nora looked down at the first paper. She saw it was a letter. This is what it read:
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To the one who carries what I no longer could,
If you are reading this, then that means I am no longer worthy of the watch, but you, you have passed the trials. You have proven yourself worthy. By now, I'm sure you have noticed the pattern: each person who receives the watch disappears after a while, but we have a theory for that, and these trials should fix that problem.
Let me explain.
We each began with a noble cause: I simply wished to preserve what time had forgotten, the artificer wished to create that which was not seen, and the witch wished to save that which was doomed. We each stumbled upon the watch with these intentions, but we weren't prepared for the power that the Everturn dial could give us.
Lyselra couldn't handle the power of the library, so it consumed her. Daerin created a tower he couldn't control, so it swallowed him whole. And I, Rhess, wanted to preserve the memories of the world, but my mind was too weak. I lost myself among the others. This is why we created the trials; the dial only wishes to help, but as an incredibly powerful artifact, most of the time, the user cannot handle it.
We created this test to test the mind, as each of us did not have the mental fortitude to handle the power of the watch. With you passing these trials, being able to withstand the loneliness and the crushing stillness that persists, you have proven yourself worthy of the Everturn dial.
The only thing I wish is that this watch will serve you more than it has served us, treasure it, for it is greater than you know. Let it be your lucky charm, for it will not lead you astray. If you ever feel the tick fade, hold it close and say my name-not because I should be remembered, but because I wish to be forgiven.
My name is Rhess Talfin, and I am ready to be forgotten, but I hope you won't be.
May your name go down in history,
-RT
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As she finished reading the letter, it slowly faded away, first the ink, then the paper itself. Even the memory of the name on the paper slowly faded from Nora's mind as well. In just a matter of moments, all that was left was the map piece.
Nora sat in a stunned silence, only broken by her system's notification.
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Ding!
map pieces 7/7
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Map to the vault of forgotten things added to inventory.
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Trial 3 complete, glass forest unlocked.
Congratulations! You have completed the trials.
The binding process will begin.
———————
Nora didn't even have time to process before she once again felt an overwhelming sleepiness hit her. In just mere moments, she collapsed on top of the glass hill, her surroundings dissipated into nothingness as she was transported back to the real world.
With the trials passed, Nora began the process of binding herself to the pocketwatch. This wouldn't be a problem if she were awake; however, the binding process took up an unusual amount of mana.
Nora sat unconsciously as all of the mana in the forest suddenly rushed towards her, causing a rather big commotion. The sudden, large amount of mana rushing towards one spot in the enchanted forest caused several of the higher-level creatures to notice.