The HaRT Knight Decaverse

Correspondence from the Afterlife

Letter 04

Caim Fos. One Year and Four Months Since Departure.

My Dearest A.,

The ebb and flow of time has carried me far from my last correspondence, and with each passing day, the specter of uncertainty casts an ever-deepening shadow. A span of epochs has elapsed since my last endeavor to capture my musings upon these pages, an interval in which, regrettably, the scales of revelation have remained unbalanced. Despite the ceaseless vigilance spent within Caim Fos' labyrinthine library, enlightenment's beacon remains distant, its brilliance obscured by the enigma that shrouds the afterworld's transformation.
My heart weighs heavy with vexation, for every hour and minute devoted to scholarly pursuit have yielded naught but diminutive fragments of insight, insufficient even to bolster the foundation of my inquiries. The passage of moments only exacerbates the frustration that has welled within me. Doubt burgeons, insinuating the daunting prospect that the hallowed walls of Caim Fos' repository may conceal answers beyond my reach. Inexplicably, I find myself confronted by the conspicuous absence of any mention pertaining to the Shepherd King, a glaring absence within the annals of knowledge. A disconcerting reality, for it defies credulity that a figure of such paramount significance should remain unrecorded. A creeping intuition suggests manipulation, an orchestrated omission born of intention rather than mere oversight. The question of who wields the power to excise the Shepherd King from the chronicles of the afterworld becomes a vexing puzzle in itself.
Driven by the crescendo of frustration, I've relinquished the confines of dusty tomes, directing my inquiry toward the most erudite denizens of Caim Fos. I have engaged in discourse with countless luminaries, and yet the results of these exchanges mirror the labyrinths of ignorance I encountered upon dusty pages. One resounding truth has crystallized: those who dwell ensconced within the protective aegis of the thresholds reside in blissful ignorance, divorced from the harrowing truths that assail the Blightlands. A majority of settlements' inhabitants never traverse the magic-bolstered confines, rendering them strangers to the blight's abominable visage. A select group of souls, dubbed the Ravenmen--traders who brave the perilous between-settlement passages--stands as a conduit between these isolated pockets of existence. Despite earnest endeavors, the Ravenmen's insights remain as elusive as the mist. A prevailing air of distrust and disdain cloaks their interactions with the settlements' populace, and my attempts to glean their wisdom have met resolute barriers.
Yet, if understanding eludes me in one direction, I shall endeavor to traverse another. My intent crystallizes: I shall endeavor to integrate myself within the ranks of the Ravenmen. A quest fraught with challenges, for my attempts have not yet borne fruit. The Ravenmen community, like an uncharted realm, is veiled in mystery, defying my advances thus far. Nevertheless, my resolve endures.
However modest my strides in the domains of inquiry, an ember of triumph glows amidst the ashen uncertainty. The relentless hours invested within Caim Fos' library have birthed a theoretical revelation--a prospect of curing the blightsickness that has ravaged souls. This illumination, while veiled in hypothetical corridors, remains a beacon of hope, poised to illuminate the obscurity enveloping this torment. Yet, my quest to manifest this insight into tangible salvation faces tribulations of its own. Fear, a force as potent as the blight itself, holds dominion over the hearts of Cladis' denizens. My overtures to assuage their dread have met with resounding futility, emblematic of the pervasive ignorance that prevails.
In these moments of solitude and reflection, I am seized by the overarching puzzle--why has the Shepherd King's realm descended into this morass? The kingdom he once presided over, intended as a sanctuary of reprieve, now languishes in torment. The Shepherd King, a harbinger of mercy, appears conspicuously absent amidst the chaos. Such meditations bespeak a yearning to comprehend the root of this transformation, to decode the enigma before me.
However, with each passing day, I sense the precipice of discovery, the edge of understanding. Yet, the abyss remains vast and daunting, and the road to enlightenment seems to stretch into infinity. Amidst this labyrinth, my resolve perseveres, propelled by the desire to bring clarity to these shadows.

Yours in Unyielding Pursuit,
Amobiel