|
\ | /
. \ | / .
'. \_|_/ .'
'./---\.'
------\---/------
A new day dawns
and I awaken to chirps.
Chirps from the frilled lizards nesting outside my perch.

The creaks from my bed mingle with my joints,
as I rise with the sun.
The sun that hangs low with a glow below my perch.

I slip into my vest,
all arms rummaging to find the rest.
The rest of my uniform as the sun now bathes my perch.

Cleaned and primped,
I leave my house inside the mountain.
The mountain whose hollows contain everyone's perch.

I descend the steps,
ones carved on its face. Ones with little space.
Space for the miners who come and go in their search.

Gems, ores, metals.
Minerals of all kinds to sell and use.
Use for the development of our health and research.

I enter the mines,
two of my arms heft a pick, the third gripping.
Gripping the staff I use as a crutch.

|
\ | /
. \ | / .
'. \_|_/ .'
'./---\.'
------\---/------
A new day dawns
and I awaken to chirps.
Chirps from the frilled lizards nesting outside my home.

The bed creaks as I struggle,
straining and complaining as I rise after the sun.
The sun that flaunts its radiant youth upon my home.

I slip into my vestments,
a smile on my lips as I make haste to myself.
Myself waiting for me within the labs above my home.

Ten years.
A decade for each rebirth, and many more still.
Still, lay our bodies. Bodies in which we all will forever roam.

The four-armed man stares back,
boring through me with glassy green eyes.
Eyes that will let me once more read my cherished tomes.

-----------------
No day dawns.
Panic bubbles within my gut as I race.
Race through the mossy tunnels of a labyrinth most foul.

The gravel creaks beneath my feet,
shifting and sliding as I frantically run.
Run through the stony maze that traps my soul.

I slip into a crevice.
A small nook dug into the foundations.
Foundations otherwise immaculate, save for this hole.

Devoid of tools, full of tact.
The knowledge of of a panicked excavator, I put to use.
To use in scrapping at the rocky wound before I hear a deathly toll.

"Kneel."
My muscles seize. My hands freeze.
Freeze under the command of Divine control.

|
\ | /
. \ | / .
'. \_|_/ .'
'./---\.'
------\---/------
A new day dawns.
and I awaken to chirps.
Chirps from the frilled lizards nesting outside my house.

The bed creaks with age, as do I.
Ten years have come and gone since my rebirth.
A rebirth I once again look forward to once I leave my house.

I slip into my best.
A crisp tan shirt with a blue surcoat draped over my arms.
Arms that comb hair as the other two open the door to my house.

Before my visit to the labs, I stop
by the shop where my beloved works. I spot the eyes.
The brilliant blue eyes of a loving wife that never fail to rouse.

With a flick of her tails
and a series of kisses, she bids me farewell.
Farewell for but a day, until I once again awaken renewed in my house.

With a smile upon my lips,
even as the tips pierce my skin, I succumb to briefly, happy agony.
Agony that is the liquid fire burning my insides that cannot be doused.

-----------------
No day dawns.
Fraught are my thoughts as I flee.
Flee the halls and walls of a system that bars release.

The bulwarks creak in distance moans.
The walls moving for someone or something as it comes.
Comes for me, I know. An entity I know will not cease.

I slip into a crack.
Stagnant air flows past me through an unseen opening.
An opening I scramble to widen in fear of the unseen beast.

Rebirth!
Though not the one I wanted. Not the one I deserved.
I deserved eternal, enhanced life. How will I survive this disease?

A disease known as aging.
It has been two months since my journey began, yet I stumble on.
Stumble on towards to my beloved's arms once more with each wheeze.

|
\ | /
. \ | / .
'. \_|_/ .'
'./---\.'
------\---/------
A new day dawns
and I am met with chirps.
Chirps from the frilled lizards that herald my arrival as I near.

The door creaks open,
spilling the cold morning light into the perch.
My perch that holds an impostor. An impostor unaware of me as I near.

I slip the body of the penta-armed homunculus
out of sight. Out of view.
Out of view of my beloved as she nears.

A confused looks dawns
on her face as she studies me.
Me in my age and lighter frame. A confusion that turn to fear.

She fears for my health.
She fears something's gone wrong, and it has.
It has, though now it is better. Better now that she is here.

Here with her youthful gaze.
Here with her new tail.
A tail that makes it clear. A quiet sob escapes me as I've lost my dear.

Penned by my hand on the 17th of Lupar, in the year 831 AF.