May 4, 98 Y.L.
Rei's Journal
When I assumed the role of Founders Prophet, I felt a little lonely. I moved into the Tower that was built in the Sect Compound, away from the other aides. Just before dawn I would come out to the balcony attached to the FP's rooms and look out over the city. Throughout the night and up until dawn, the gold LED lights in the city streets outline the buildings, the marketplace, and the military base. Streets are usually empty, except for a few late drinking companions and the guards that patrol.
From that high up, I could see all the way to the docks and the lights that are strung along the bays. With a blanket pulled around me, I would look over the railing and watch the sunrise crest the Eslen mountains that encircle the city and then stretch its light across the airship platform, the marketplace with its colorful flags flapping in the breeze, the docks and then the rest of the city.
The letter I received today from the leader of the AGP gave me insomnia. I lay in bed listening to my thoughts and then I gave up, pulled my blanket around me and came out to the balcony. I let my mind race while I looked at the stars and the shadows in the streets below. The city was silent - or nearly silent. Every now and then I would hear the sound of a transport moving near the Military base and the wind. I'm too far up to hear crickets. I wish I had taken Tully up on her offer to stay over at her villa just outside the city. I could have talked to her about the letter and then I could have let it go. I would have fallen asleep to the sound of crickets. But the abrupt change in plans would have upset my aides and the rest of my security detail.
If I tilt and lean out from the balcony, I can almost see the Mothership in the night sky. Her white surface, streaks across the sky like a brilliant comet. We still depend on her to help with technology and health emergencies like the Esle Plague 10 years after the Landing. If Wen Bechard hadn't gone against the Council's directive and established a settlement before we had cleared the area for biological threats, that wouldn't have happened. And just like that, my calm was disturbed.
For the AGP, everything is now now now. We can't plan, we must act then clean up the mess we make. At the Founders Day Festival last year I met the current leader of the AGP - Gerrard Monterreil. He sits on the Mothership Council so I couldn't very well avoid him. He greeted me from across the semi-circle table and kept looking at me all through the Council's business discussion. After the meeting ended, all of the Council reps rode the transport down to the Cathay to celebrate the Festival. Then he pestered me throughout dinner, hinting at the 'future of Kiannon'. I remembered Tully's advice and kept my words few and very simple. The letter today made clear what they want: For the future of Kiannon they want to mine under the Eslen Mountains. Time is of the essence, he wrote. Right.
Why? The Mothership Council is agreed that we need to expand our settlements and cross the sea to explore the continent to the West. In ten years. He thinks we need to move faster. We can only do that by mining and using those resources, he told me. Self-important Son of a Kraik*. What he doesn't say is what my agents tell me about the war machines they're building. And the oil wells in Eldritch. Bit by bit they chip away or ignore the agreements we made to each other. More to come.
- Blood Red Kraik - The Mothership has determined that Blood Red Kraiks are a dinosaur-like creature that is nearly twice the height of a standard human at 6'. From the Mothership's Records: Most Kraik are black with blood red beaks and legs, although there are some White Kraik. The Kraik is a bird that deceived the earliest settlers. From a distance, they resembled the cranes of Earth. The long legs and the large wingspan. But they only resembled them from a distance. In truth, the Kraiks were 5x larger than a typical Earth Crane. And their prey was not just fish. On Kiannon, the Kraik ate anything it could pick up with its claws and fly away with. At the end of their long legs were claws that could slice through flesh and bone. Their beak could tear at the flesh of their prey. Eldritch settlers refer to them as Blood Red Kraiks due to the Eldritch Massacre. At this time, we believe they are sentient due to their ability to deactivate or remove Force Barrier Posts. Do not approach.
