Pinnikle: The Lost Truth

20: Of wizards, red ribbons, and first steps

Recorded by Finnegan Lionhartt,
Of the events which took place on the 18th day of Radia after the sun had risen, year of Pinnikle: 1,229.

And all that came before was not yet the beginning. The start, you see, is only in the first steps made with intention.

— Ignis Lionhartt, our father.

We, a now united trio, took a moment to acknowledge the journey ahead. Much had happened, and quickly. King Leon had lost his girls just days ago, but we stood before him as two successors, like long-lost children. A King, his princess, and his prince: Together, we must have appeared not as royals, but ragged from the events until then. I supposed we would set out that day, on a journey to defeat darkness; though I had not expected we may be leaving so suddenly.

While Sophie and I stood under the morning sun, looking out at the village below, Leon ushered us toward our first steps. His words carried whimsy: "So Lofie wrote a book... And I read it," said the king, smiling.

"What was it about?" Sophie asked.

"And how'd you know the book was from him?" I followed up.

"Lofi only had one book in the royal library," Leon explained. "The cover was scarlet... and its pages were empty; all but one page, near the middle. That page was marked with a scarlet, red ribbon - like the one you dreamed about, Fin. On the page, words glimmered in magic ink! And only wizards write in magic ink, that's how I knew the wizard wrote it,". Leon's eyes glossed over as he reflected.

"Why do you think there was only one page?" Sophie asked.

"I did not know," the king replied. "I think Lofi's book had been in the royal library for a very long time. Many must have overlooked it, because it did not have a title, and many nix do not flip through blank books, lacking titles."

"Well then... Why did you pick it up?" I asked.

Leon squinted, remembering the moment, and told us: "My eyes were drawn to it. My heart raced upon opening it. I felt it was meant for me to read, and before I even flipped through the pages, I saw Lofi in my imagination."

"So, uh... What'd those shimmering words say?" I asked intently, putting a fist to my chin in curiosity.

"Lofi's only written words were a riddle," Leon responded." It said this: 'The night terrors were but an advent. Follow the scarlet thread and come with me to see the end of the beast. Follow the red ribbon when the mirrorman starts to fade,'. And after I read Lofi's words, a scarlet ribbon appeared, magically, under the text. It rotated like a compass, and its tassels pointed toward Plummet Valley..."

Leon's description caused Sophie and I to have wide eyes. I cleared my throat and asked: "So... You followed it, and that's how you ended up in the river?"

Leon looked over Luca. As he watched villagers emerge from little huts, he told us, "I did not follow the ribbon. The day I found Lofi's book was my daughters birthday. I came home early that night to celebrate her... but...". He stopped speaking as a tear fell from his face.

"Hey now," Sophie said gently. She put a hand to his shoulder and asked a question I already knew the answer to: "Did something happen to your daughter?"

"It would be good for Sophie to know," I told him. 

Together, we sat at the edge of the stone our home was built on. Leon recounted the events to us about how he ended up in the water: How the monster, Fear, had stepped into his home, and blew it out, in an explosion that threw him into End's Lake. From there, he was pulled by one of those shadows, through the river, End's Spill. Leon recounted how he did not fight, even knowing the shadow intended to pull him off the waterfall, End's Drop. He told us about how his life flashed before his eyes: How Fear taunted him with feelings of inferiority, but somehow his mind was filled with very good things after that.