Of Hooves and History

Introduction

MAY 12, 2031

ADVENTURE JOURNAL 11, DAY 001

Hi, I'm Aiden Walter Dixon.

Most just call me Aiden or Addy. Other people tend to use phrases to refer to me, like "that darn kid with his submarine" even though I'm almost 30 years of age. To be fair, I have been told by my parents as having a compassionate baby face, so it's natural that my age would be miscalculated by the average Joe.

What's with the submarine? Well, I'm an engineer, explorer, and historian. Not an officially licensed one, but with a fair level of experience. Over two years I've built up little scars and blemishes on my limbs and knobby palms plus two years of college courses before pulling out to pursue my dreams before being enslaved by debt. I cycle and skate wherever possible on land, as I consider walking to be slow and unproductive across far distances.

In my journeys, I gather tidbits of information and piece together clues and marks that lead me to the locations of monuments, towns, palaces, and kingdoms lost in time. There's always a sense of joy and satisfaction when I produce a report with findings that are accurate to existing historical logs or outright challenge their narratives of when certain events occurred or what led to them; sometimes also if and when certain civilizations settled in an area, or who invented what.

My best friend Ryder, and my dad Jeff, often say that I'm too eager or a little crazy. Like when I rushed to investigate some cave paintings whilst hanging off a cliff the day after completing a rock-climbing program or forgetting an extra ration of food before checking a wreck in the Gulf of Mexico. No matter what, though, I'm known and respected by my close peers for being coordinated when it comes to being an archeological detective, and also expanding my skills and principles to deal with difficult situations.

Life is always wild, and when you're solo, it becomes your reminding parent in a way. A harsh, unforgiving, and unexpected way. But from that comes a discharge of weakness and a fueling of strength via experience. I've been jumped, shot, captured, bled, and inched close to death a dozen times. Yet nothing could prepare me for the day I decided to tackle the historical timeline of the numerous disappearances of ships and airplanes in the Bermuda Triangle, where I met a wild mega-vortex and some cute hooved friends that were just as passionate about their own history.

Let me tell you about it.

- Aiden