Essentia Animus

80-Essentia Animus

Dear Readers,

Thank you for reading our tale to the very end. After all of Sryine's prompting, I felt like it would be my responsibility to ensure there was an accurate record of everything we had gone through to bring our world forward into the future. If we were going to open the path to the stars, there would need to be records left behind, both in the world we were moving away from and to wherever our future would pave us towards. I expect a record like this could then travel an unforeseen distance too, far greater than I could imagine right now.. there is no telling where this story could end up, maybe even beyond the reach of the veil? I guess that might be impossible, but really the future is so uncertain right now, it's hard to be so confident in any predictions. Leaving Celese behind, there is no telling what there is to find once we travel beyond.

Technically, at this point, we've actually been a bit beyond, travelling so far as the moon and back again successfully. It had taken us three years of work after losing Liyuzhe, but we finally made it. Since then, we've made even more progress, everything is almost ready for us to go, we're only about a lunar cycle or two away from being ready to leave the world for good. For having only five years of memories, the anniversary of the fifth year having just passed today actually, that's probably pretty impressive, but I really can't assume all of the credit for such work. Without the help of all my friends, those closest to me, those who took us in when we were barely able to take care of ourselves, and those who are now lost to us.. without everyone, such a vision would remain simply a fleeting dream instead of a reality. It is true, all of life is truly precious.

Sryine has been the one bugging me the whole time, pushing me to keep making such records, and yet she still slips up on occasion with her typical witty remarks. Something about such a story of essences being essential, about how our strong destructive feelings were held in animus while animating our otherwise fallen selves. Maybe that was where she had gotten the idea for such a name, Essentia Animus, though I haven't the faintest where she might have gotten the idea from. If I had to guess, I would have to assume she had probably been inspired by those books she reads from the Terran Mythos or something. In truth, having finished records of everything, it isn't hard to see this as being yet another tale to add to the mythos, the whole thing rightfully seeming unbelievable for anyone who might not have lived it for themselves.

It hasn't been as if the time has passed with all of our attention invested in reaching the stars, everything has actually remained busy in other ways as well. Sryine herself had needed to spend a lot of time away as things stood, and not just making a business case for all of our accomplishments. Having successfully started a family of her own though, we did at least learn that our traces of the flame will end with our lives, the flame not being passed down to any descendents. That would be for the best, it would be much better for people to live regular lives untainted by the source. Even without a flame, it was all too obvious that Sryine's son will still grow up capable of accomplishing whatever dreams he might someday face. I also expect Sryine won't be alone in her parental responsibilities for too much longer, Vwyx's own wedding having recently gone very well. Vwyx's descendents would certainly also carry on that family legacy too, even if such a child didn't share the family appreciation for instruments.

Instrumentation had changed immensely in such a short time too, because of our efforts. Instead of having a ton of gift-powered instruments causing problems for people, things were now running off of the elements instead. The easiest element to harness for such a purpose still remained fire, its flame fully capable of being harnessed to shape and control the other elements. From table lamps to community trains, everything now appeared to be manipulated using an elemental converter crystal. The cell I've got now is even flame-powered too, no longer then depending on having any focus invested upon it, a fact Vwyx's husband has been countlessly thankful for.