The Gnome Wizard, Me
My name was Deet "Twinkie" Sheppen, but now I'm just the Last One left. The last of Sphinsaria's Legends, waiting for death to claim me, so I can return to the sea of souls from whence I came.
I was born to learn. I lived to explore, record, and adventure. I've written and read a thousand pages more than there are pages left in print. I gravitated toward the arcane learnings, explored the oldest being ever, and bested a god in combat. I can understand almost every written and spoken language, summon beings from across the realms, and chat with a sphinx like an old friend.
I have charted the stars, the continents, the seas, but of all I have witnessed, from here to my old town's library, I can't for the life of me figure out this one puzzle. It. Is. Infuriating.
Sometimes I think I can glimpse it, that In-BetweenIn-Between:
[F733D66-4S-6U87I33-84I7-26N8A46ER]
[37EE36M-47-68TS43E-T447-2O6T24637]
[3R333O6-I7-O8873D3-8H4S-C6682IN37] that the Arch-Paladin wrote about. But no matter how hard I try, the vision eludes me. I have prayed to the gods to give me even a hint, but they are silent to me! The Arch-Paladin GalarGalar: a defender of Shaoghal Baetha, and a heretic, attempting to usurp the Tyrant. AND A PAIN IN MY BEHIND! wrote about it, nay, he raved about it in his journal! But I can't tell what he was trying to convey.
Was he just mad? I tell myself that to sleep, but it's gotten hard to ignore the circumstances that led to his uprising against the Tyrant. He obviously started as a servant of the Tyrant, but he rebelled what seems like ages ago. Why? What did he see out there in that place he took his divinity from? What secrets did he take to his grave?
I may never know, but I have resolved to be a much less frustrating person. That is why I plan to write this book, to illuminate, and enlighten the masses that must rebuild Sphinsaria from scratch. I know not the trials, or discoveries that await them, but my knowledge shan't rot, or be taken by Bied, the Cruel SongBied: the Black dragon-god of the Chromapent. She is the song that lulls the dead to sleep, and the cruel serpent that delights in the misery of mortals., to perpetuate her malicious lies. To all who read this, know that she must be stopped. The Tyrant was but a puppet to her, I believe. She has only played her first pawn, and we can't see the game-board she plays on!
I pray it is not already too late. This one's for you pops.
My arcane knoweldge feels completely useless in the face of this one question. My pops used to say, "Sometimes, you just need the right component to make a concept clear." Whatever that component is, I think it'll be a while till I find it.