The Adventures of Jedidiah Major

[Hellnaw]

The Adventures of Jedidiah Major
Episode 1: Frog Dog Goes Home

One day Jed was strolling out East, until he came by a impressive looking pond. Standing over top of the pond, a hand raised to rub his jaw, inspecting this fine body of water. A smile slowly formed on his expression, and naturally, Jed jumped into the knee high water and started playing in it, splashing all over the place and carrying on. His smile would quickly fade as he suddenly noticed something out of the corner of his eye, something in the water with him, watching him. Jed pushed his glasses up further over his eyes, watching closely, ready to jump out of the water and run away if needed, and then it happened.

A green creature popped up from the surface of the water, panting with a long tongue, it looked like a big old frog, but it had different legs and a tail that waggled excited like, "Whoa! You is like some kinda FRAWG DAWG or somethin'!" Jed exclaimed. The frog dog paddled closer to him, Jed showing a grin as he watches this curious creature, "... I wanna pet ya, but I'mma respect your space." Jed states respectfully, but the creature only drifted closer, and only seemed happier to see Jed as time passed.

It wasn't long before Jed was hugging and petting this frog dog, "I love you, my friend! I love you, my friend! Ahahaha!" Jed played happily with his new best buddy, Frog Dog. Frog Dog panted with a big smile and large dark eyes, looking up to Jed. "I love you fwend!" exclaimed Frog Dog. Jed gasped dramatically, "You can TAWLK!?" Frog Dog nodded its head rapidly, "I sure can, fwend! And not only can I talk! Not only can I talk! I do more than talkin', not only can I talk! I'm on a great mission of importance, mah fwend!"

Jed listened up, raising his chin, determined, "I'll help ya, I will! You can count on me, Frog Dog!  What is yo mission, my good friend!" Frog Dog looks off in the distance longingly, "Well fwend, I need to get to the promised land, the promised land of my people, the mythical lands of frog dogs, but it's so far away... So so far away..." Jed stands up so fast, that he gets a little dizzy, "Don't matter how far, don't matter how dangerous! I'mma get ya home to yo people, Frog Dog, 'cause that's what friends is for!" Frog Dog hopped around happily, "AW I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YOU, FWEND, I JUST KNEW IT!"

And so their journey started, through the craggy mountains, the fields of ice. Through the inferno covered deserts, and through the cursed forests. Years would pass as the two traveled, surviving danger after danger, helping each other up mountains. This journey was long and arduous, and at times, it seemed like they weren't going to survive, but watching each other's back, they prevailed by some miracle. Further years would pass by still, so many years, Jed would become an old, worn down man, but Frog Dog... Frog Dog was just as young as the day Jed met it. Frog Dog trotted along, bursting with energy, but Jed struggled to stumble forward, fueled by his need to not let his friend down, in futility.

Jed couldn't find his footing anymore along the path, and slowly tilted forward, until he fell, slamming into the dirt ground beneath him, dusts flying up into the air. "JED!" Frog Dog called out, rushing over to his side, "Cmon Jed, we go to the promised land, TOGETHER!" Jed looks to his dear friend Frog Dog, a weak smile forming, "I... can't go another step, Frog Dog... I'm so sorry... That I let ya down..."
Frog Dog shakes its head, "You didn't let me down, Jed... For we are here! Didn't you notice?"
"Wha?" Jed weakly rolls over and takes in the surroundings, seeing a land of unparalled beaty, with so many frog dogs running around happily, without a care in the world. "We made it, Jed! We made it to the promised land!" Frog Dog happily panted and wagged its tail. "... Yeedoggeh... Wouldja look at that?..." Jed was in aw of this beautiful, mythical land. The other frog dogs would rush over and start playing with Frog Dog, and they would all crowd around Jed lovingly. In this moment, Jed was truly happy, and now it was time for him to rest. A smile on his features, his eyes would slowly close one last time, with the last thing he saw being his family of frog dogs that loved him dearly.



Jed would wake up suddenly, from the wooden surface of a table, a table in a very familiar tavern. He would reach up to lightly scratch his stubble, taking in his surroundings... The Lady's Rest... It was all a dream...

That day, Jed stood outside in the downpour of rain, staring off into empty space.

[Hellnaw]

The Adventures of Jedidiah Major
Episode 2: The Trees Got Hands

It was a bright and sunny morning, something rare in Barovia as of late. Jed wasn't going to miss an opportunity to be out and about on a day like this. Carrying his wood chopping axe over his shoulder, he walked with a bounce in his step, and a bright grin among his features, singing a tune to himself,
"Oooooh, chicken go cluck cluck,
Cow go moooo,
Piggy go oink oink,
How 'bout you!~"
Jed stops on his merry path, spotting an impressive tree, this one would be able to provide plenty of wood for the folks back at the Star. Jed walks over and pats the bark, "Mighty sturdy, this one... hm... Now don't you worry none, I'mma leave th' trunk in fine condition so you can grow back again, stronger than ever!" Jed takes a step back, and readies his axe, positioning it just right like he had done so many times before. He brings the axe back, ready to send it forward, and then-
BAMF!
"Oogh!" Jed drops the axe to the ground and holds his jaw, caught off guard by... a SUCKER PUNCH. Jed turns back to look at the tree once again to see the large, formiddable wooden opponent now squaring up. "Oh, that's th' way of it, is it!? A'ight then! But I warn ya, I been practicin' mah WRASTLIN'!" Jed charges at the tree and gets his arms around its waist, going in for a possible body slam, but the tree sees through this, balling its fists up and gripping it with the other hand, raising both arms and slamming its elbows into Jed's back, "Agghhh!" Jed lets go and falls to one knee. The tree goes for a haymaker, but Jed rolls backwards on time and barely dodges it. Jed shoots back up onto his feet and goes for a right hook, slamming his fist into, and crushing the bark on the surface of the tree, hurting his hand in the process. The tree was unphased, more than that, now it was pissed off...

It was as if time itself stood still, everything around the tree went dark except the tree itself, Jed could swear the tree was looking at him, and in its eyes, hellfire. As the tree raised its fist up in the air, Jed started to tremble, terrified by the wrath that he had invoked from the tree, and after what seemed like an eternity, the fist came down and slammed into Jed's face, "AAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!" Blood sprayed from Jed's face as he held it in pain, but the tree only kept going, delivering one brutal punch after another, wearing Jed down, breaking a rib, turning him into a bloodied, bruised mess and knocking him out on the rough forest ground.

The tree stood over Jed and spit sap on his unconcious body, then shadow boxed in victory. Jed blacked out.






Jed woke up, under the dark of midnight, face stained with dried blood, body bruised and banged up, he slowly turned his head to see that the tree had fallen on top of him, after being chopped the wrong way no doubt. He gave a push of the tree, but his condition was too worn, he struggled to get the massive tree off of him, but still he kept trying. He would eventually get enough momentum going for the tree to roll it off of his body, his head leaned back against the dirt ground in relief, catching his breath.

Jed made his way back up onto his feet again, luckily nothing seemed past the point of no return. He looked to be in a state of confusion, the last time his eyes were open, the sun was out, but now it was pitch black. And yet, something caught his eye in the darkness, he couldn't quite make out what it was from the corner of his eye, turning quickly to try and get a good view of it... He knew... He always knew... He could see the lilac color of the dress on the deathly frail figure before it faded off into the darkness, and from his mouth he subconciously uttered, "don't go..."



After an unknown amount of time, Jed stumbled off, towards the Valaki outskirts, to the Temple of the Morninglord, once more.

[Hellnaw]

The Adventures of Jedidiah Major
Episode 3: I Ain't Forgot

He reaches up in desperation for the next crevice in the stone, climbing the steep cliff while the violent blizzard blow against him. Jed held on tight to ever bit of progress he could make, climbing back up that dreaded cliff. He stopped for a moment to turn slightly, and look over his shoulder at how far he had come, it was a long way down, and at the bottom awaited a familiar mist, it seemed to pull at him, like it was getting closer.

Jed lost his footing, but his hands gripped the unforgiving stone tightly, holding on for his dear life, dangling over the void of white that awaited him below. He tried his hardest to maintain his grip, but it was starting to slip, and before long, one hand let go of the cliffside, leaving him hanging desperately with one hand. He grit his teeth, looking up the cliffside again, and seeing that the summit was just as far up, as the mists were down. "I-I can't hold on much longer!" He called out, summoning every last bit of his strength, in futility. His other hand slipped, and he went backwards down the long fall.



He hit the grassy ground after a five-foot fall from a boulder he found out in the wilds, landing flat on his back, he started chuckling uncontrollable, "Hahaha! That was fun!" His goofy chuckle continued as he sat back up, finishing playing pretend. He stands up and dusts himself off, pointing challengingly at the boulder, "Next time! Deadman's Cliff! -Next time-!" He kneels down and picks up his pack once more, and begins marching off again, whistling a happy tune.

That night, Jed setup his usual tent, and gathered wood for his usual campfire. When the fire was set, he would plop down on the ground near it, leaning his head back and looking up at the night sky. "... Gonna need t' sleep light, night ain't safe nowhere 'round here." He breathed in and exhaled softly, "That's if I can be so lucky as t' get some sleep at all tonight." As Jed says this, he could hear the crackling sound of the fire burning wood in front of him, and he would slowly turn his gaze downward towards it. He'd stare deep into it, unmoving, almost as if in some kind of trance, and deep in the inferno, he peered through a window into the past.



The door opened to the wooden cottage, and in walked a tall, bulky man with a large beard and wild brown hair. He stood at about 6'2", wearing a long, tan leather coat, and circular glasses on his face. "Cmon in." He said, as another man followed behind him, this one was at around 5'10", clean shaven, hair brushed backwards, wearing a similar leather coat, "Nice place you have here, Zeke..." Zeke, the tall man, turned to look at the other, laughing a little, then turning in the direction of a separate room, "Ey! Jed!... Get on out here, I got someone here I want ya t' meet!" He called out.

Soon after, a little boy would come running out from the back room, almond skin, with long, smooth, pitch black hair. The boy would immediately see the visitor, and rush behind Ezekiel, taking cover. The guest smiles towards the little boy, then looks back to Zeke, "... He's afraid of me, it seems." Zeke shook his head in response, "Nah, he's afraid o' everyone, he's jus' real shy is all." Zeke reaches back and places a hand on the boy's back, "Jed, I want ya t' meet your uncle, Winston. Now he ain't by blood, but family ain't gotta be... Ey, cmon now." Jed didn't budge, wrapping his arms around Zeke's leg and remaining half in hiding from Winston. Zeke looked to Winston with an apologetic look, Winston returning with a reassuring expression. Zeke looked back to his son, "Well, if ya ain't gonna be polite t' our guest, go on back t' your room then..." Jed didn't hesitate, scurrying back off and soon vanishing into the separate room again.

"... Never thought you'd ever have a son." Winston said. Zeke laughed a little, "Neither did I."
Winston looked off in the direction of the room, "His mother?" There was some hesitation from Zeke before he slightly shook his head. Winston gently exhaled from his nostrils, "I'm sorry to hear that..." Zeke sighed, lifting his head, "I loved her... It's been six years now, and it still feels like a part of me is jus'... Gone, ya know?" Winston hears Zeke say this, and gives a knowing nod, "Was she one of the natives?" Winston responded, after taking note of the boys appearance. "Yeah, Mohican, of th' Westenhuck tribe. As ya'd imagine, folks ain't been right about it." Zeke responded, Winston giving an annoyed shake of his head, "They never are." He says before moving to the table at the center of the room and claiming a chair. Zeke would over opposite side of the table, "Despite that, live ain't too bad here. You thinkin' of settin' up here in th' new world too?" Zeke asks. Winston leans back in his chair, "If business permits."

Zeke shakes his head and laughs, "You ain't changed none, always down t' business with ya." Winston returns sharply, "You should be too." Zeke leaned his head back at this, giving a tiny shake of his head. Winston notices this, dialing it back some, sighing, "What I'm saying is... You know what we're up again." There was some hesitation from Zeke before he gave a small nod of his head, "I do."
"And, I get it, I do. After everything you've been through, you deserve whatever peace this life can offer, and I'm glad, I'm so happy that you were able to find a life here... But don't forget why you're here, Zeke." Zeke looks to Winston at that, a knowing look, before turning his gaze down to the surface of the table,

"I ain't forgot..."



Jed would break stare from the fire, sitting there silently for a moment longer, lost, unsure of his place in this world, or any world for that matter. He takes his glasses off and lays them aside, quietly turning over and layin on the grass floor, but his remained wide open, in deep thought. Though he stopped looking at the campfire, he could only still see the inferno in his eyes still. Then suddenly, like a cool breeze, something caught his mind and quelled the flame. He would think back on the times he already had since entering this new existence.

He thought about his adventures following Gordon into the mountains, and that time Brodie shanked a fogwarden to death. He would remember the performance at the Lady's Rest by Rat, and trying out fish at the sea food place with Tam. He thought about the time he spent with Muu at the place where the Star used to be, he remembered when he and Nata shielded themselves from Papa Bear's purple underwear wrath, and also the time he spent calmly sitting by the fire in the tavern with Kurstin. He fondly looked back on his memory of cooking meatloaf with Taryn, and Cat's white gloved hand reaching out to him in the dark of night like a beacon of hope. Remembering all of this, a calm smile formed on Jed's lips, turning so that his back was against the ground, returning his gaze to the sky, "Yeah,"

"I ain't forgot..."

[Hellnaw]

The Adventures of Jedidiah Major
Episode 4: Great Wheel of Death, Part 1

Jed had finished setting up his campsite at the end of the evening, on an overlook, as he tends to do. Putting away flint and additional supplies, he would start going through his leather pack, looking for some rations to snack on, "Aw... All out." Pushing some of his belongings aside in his pack, he came by the small bag of contents he had obtained earlier, "Good thing I found these mushrooms" He said to himself, snatching up the bag and going over to relax by the fire. He sat down and got comfortable, loosening the rope on the bag and beginning to plop the shrooms into his mouth.

He softly exhales from his nostrils, how long has it actually been since he arrived in Barovia. He couldn't tell, it wasn't like he was keeping count at any point, but he felt like so much had happened already, enough to leave Jed's mind in an uncomfortable place. The old upper room was putting in overtime, Jed already knew that sleep would not come to him this night. Snacking on another mushroom, he looks deep into the campfire, a window into his past, the enabler of his restless fears. A phrase that would echo in the back of his mind, 'nothing lasts forever'. Jed stood up again, annoyed by this thought, wandering over to the cliff side to look off into the distance. It was almost like he was looking for something that wasn't there, something he knew was not there, would never be there. Softly exhaling, he turned his eyes downward. The cliff was steeper than he remembered, in fact, it looked familiar. As his mind started to explore where he had seen this before, his face became expressionless. Of course...


How could he forget?




"Hey! Prisoner, wake up! It's time!"
"Blu-BLUH!?"
Jed woke up in what seemed to be a jail cell, but the place was flooded, somehow he had fallen asleep underwater? "Get up, prisoner! The judge will see you now!" There was a fish on the other side of the bars, rudely calling out to him, "blublu-bluBAH!?" Jed tried to speak, but only gibberish left his mouth. He felt strange, -real- strange, and looking to the side to see his hands, he only saw fins. It was true! Jed had become - A FISH! But how?!

The guard fish opens the cell and swims in quickly, and begins beating Jed with a club, "What did I tell you!? Hop to it, prisoner!"
"BlubBLUBAAAAH! BLUBAAAAH!" Jed yells out in terror as the guard assaulted him, forcing him to swim out of the cell, down the hallway, and bursts through the double doors into a courtroom crowded with fish that weren't at all pleased to see Jed. The crowd boo'd Jed, throwing rocks at him that oddly went through the water the same way it would air. Jed tried to defend himself from the rocks, but his fins were no use in the matter. Jed was distressed, not only was he now the center of attention, but everyone here clearly hated him.

"Sit, prisoner! Before I lay down the LAW ON YA!" The guard fish used his fin to push Jed down into a chair. Another fish, very well dressed in finery, would swim up to Jed's side and whisper to him, "It's alright, sir, I'm your lawyer, I'm here to get you out of this mess."
Jed looked to this lawyer fellow, a look of pure confusion, "a-blubahbah...?"
The lawyer sighed, "... Of course, my client is a DUMB, STUPID, UNEDUCATED, MORONIC, IDIOT who cannot speak the tongue of the scale properly!!"
Jed wanted to cry out, but there was nothing but gibberish still. "Order in the court!" The judge slammed the gavel wildly, hitting everything in front of him, "I said order!" The court slowly grew quiet with this, "... Well, that's better." the judge gave a satisfied nod. "We're here today to hear the case against Jedidiah Major. He is being charged with being a BASTARD, AN UNRELIABLE FRIEND, AND A DUMB-DUMB ON TOP OF THAT!" The crowd re-ignited into boos and screams, throwing a couple more rocks at Jed, one hitting Jed in the eye, putting it out, "Bl-BlAAAAGH!" Jed yelled out in pain.

"Order! Order!... Now, I will hear the defendant's lawyer." The Judge calmly stated.
"Yes, your honor. I come to you today to show you that Jed is indeed, a victim of circumstance, and a good man." The lawyer responds calmly. Already, the Judge seems sort of convinced, giving a nod of his head. Maybe they were wrong to accuse Jed.
The lawyer turns and whispers to Jed, "Now is our chance, explain yourself, and I will relay it to the judge." Jed turns to the lawyer, hopeful, "blu-blublub?" Jed asks cautiously. "Of course I can understand you, I am a fish of knowledge, I speak many languages fluently.
Hearing this, Jed nodded his head rapidly, "Bluh! Blububub-Bah bah! Da-blubbity BubBloo!"

"Mhm... Mhm, yes... Ah, I see, I see. Yes, indeed. Very good, very good." The lawyer turns to the judge, "I would like to relay to you, your honor, my client's explanation... He says that you are UGLY!"
"WHA!?" The judge swims up quickly.
"Bloh! Blooh!" Jed calls out in panic.
"And that you are a TALENTLESS HACK! AND A TERRIBLE COOK!"
"WHHAAAAAA!!?!?!?" The judge turns red with anger, the crowd also got angry, hellfire in their eyes as they all shouted at Jed. Jed took cover under the table, this was all too much, he called out to the Judge from underneath his table, trying to explain himself, but it was no use, "HE JUST CALLED YOU A DUMMEH!!!" The lawyer translated.
"That's it! I have had it! Jedidiah Major is guilty of all charges!" Jed called out in despair, "BLOOOOOOH!!" The Judge starts striking everything in front of him with the gavel again, "I charge Jedidiah Major with LIFE, in the endless dark void, to suffer for all of eternity!"
Two guard fish swim up quickly and drag Jed out of the courtroom flipping and screaming, and as he's dragged through the double doors, they slam shut.


There is only darkness now...

[Hellnaw]

The Adventures of Jedidiah Major
Episode 5: Great Wheel of Death, Part 2

It is quiet now, but there is no peace... Jed swam around as a fish in a pure black sea, with nothing in sight for miles. It was here where Jed was left alone for years, in complete silence, left with nothing but his thoughts, his regrets. Little by little, Jed could feel that he was losing himself. This was the way it had to be, there was no doubt in his mind. Jed had let everyone down again, and they had seen him for what he truly is, a useless waste of space. Let it take you, Jed thought to himself, let yourself become one with the void, cease to exist, leave this painful life behind. In thinking this to himself, there was... comfort, he would never need to know again, he would never need to remember again, he would never let anyone down ever again. The curse that is his life would be lifted, in the distance, in the corner of his one good eye, he caught only a quick glimpse of that deathly frail figure in a lilac dress, and then there was nothing.

As Jed drifted there, seemingly lifeless for twenty year, something stirred. A tiny sound, scritching and scratching. Jed turned his attention slowly to it, to see another fish. Finally, it had been a long time, he was so lonely. The other fish was scratching signs and arrows into what looked to be a stone wall, a wall that wasn't there before. Jed slowly swam over to him, the other fish turned and looked back at him, "... Oh! I thought you were dead!... You're not? Good! That's good. The way I see it, you and I are in this together, friend." The fish said politely to him. Jed wasn't used to this kindness, responding quietly, cautiously, "Blubluuuh...?" The other fish furrows its brow, "Of course we're friends, us voiders gotta stick together after all."

Jed hesitated, then swam over to the side to look at the signs on the wall, "Blubbidybloo?" he asked about them. The fish smiled, "My name is Bartholomew! I know a way outta the void, and friend? We're escaping together." Jed looked at Bartholomew with his one good eye and smiled, the first smile in a long time, "Bluh! Blubluh!" Bartholomew gave a determined nod of his head, "Follow me, I know we're getting close, just stay right behind me. I know there's a guardian near the exit, and I finally figured out how to give him the slip. Just do what I say, and we'll be swimming in open seas in no time!" This was different, I mean, of course it was. Where did this wall come from, why here, why now? It didn't matter, as far as fishy Jed was concern, it was a pathway, but to what? He had hoped redemption, he had longed for redemption, or... something else, something he couldn't really find a term for, or name. All he knew was that he had a friend, and a wall, a wall that was meant to release him, not keep him in. He followed this friend on an adventure through the void for some time, happy to be by his side.

"Shh... Here, this is the place... The guardian is around here." Bartholomew reached up and removed his hat, reaching into it to pull out what looked to be a stone, fin-made, fish lure of sorts. "There's no going back now, but I'll be with you the entire way, my friend." He says, letting go of the lure, allowing it to float in the water, "Come, over here to the side... The lure will get the guardian's attention, and when it does, we must waste no time swimming by it. When you get far enough beyond it, you will see a light, swim to it, and do not stop, no matter what." Jed nodded his fish head rapidly, ready to charge into hell alongside his friend if needed. Before the two had time to recollect their thoughts, the lure in the water gave off a sharp -ding-! What followed was a gigantic grumbling sound in the distance, unseen through the thick void. "Now!" Bartholomew said to Jed, swimming off in one direction while Jed followed quickly behind. As they were swimming, Jed's one good eye could see it, the guardian, as it was moving by them in the direction of the lure, a horrifying, alien,  formless entity that defied both human and fish comprehension.

The lure had done its job, but was it enough? This question became more potent as it didn't take the guardian long to notice the two fish that had swam by it, darting through the water after them, "Do not stop, my friend! We can make it!" Bartholomew called out to Jed. Jed had no fear, he believed Bartholomew, swimming on, determined to reach the light in the distance that was now very visible. The horrific sounds of the entity behind them grew closer, and as Bartholomew looked back, he knew right away. They weren't going to make it, the creature was far too fast, and as the guardian inhaled, Jed was getting pulled in, feeling as if even his scales were about to rip loose, but Jed remained determined, trusting Bartholomew, continuing to swim forward, even though he was only going backwards now. Bartholomew saw this, closing his eyes sadly, he said to himself, "... I'm coming to see you, Wendy... We'll be together again."

Bartholomew quickly turned and swam back for Jed, swimming past Jed, "Blah! BLOOOH!" Jed called out after him, Bartholomew called back, "Keep going, my friend! One of us needs to make it, and it's going to be you!" He said as he bravely swam towards the entity. The guardian stopped inhaling as Bartholomew got close. Jed tried to turn and swim back after his friend, but the bright light was now so close that it was beginning to pull him in the other direction, "BLOOOOOH!!!"
"It's alright, my friend... My dear friend. Go now, to open se-" Bartholomew was cut off as hundreds of tendrils came out of the creature and slithered underneath Bartholomew's scales and flesh, his body started to violently quiver, and soon his head pulled loose, spinal cord extending, covered in tendrils, eyes popping out and held in place by said tendrils, an other-worldly call echoing out from the freakish mouth of what was once Bartholomew, he was now one with the guardian, and would be for all of eternity. As Jed was pulled in the other direction, he sobbed, tears rolling down one gill from his one good eye, fin reaching out for the lost Bartholomew in futility, and soon, there was nothing but bright light.

Here we are again...

[Hellnaw]

The Adventures of Jedidiah Major
Episode 6: Great Wheel of Death, Part 3

Jed was in vast, beautiful, open seas now, but at what cost? Expressionless, he would drift once more, seemingly dead once more. As he drifted forward, his one good eye could see something coming into view in the distance, something giant, made of stone, getting closer. As he started to slowly drift over top of it, his eye would focus on it, uninterested. A gigantic, stone wheel, with what seemed to be humans attached to it, rolling by as the wheel kept slowly turning. As he watched it, a woman attached to it would capture his attention for a moment, of pitch-black hair, skin that seems to have been dark almond at one point, now deathly pale from being underwater, attached to the wheel for so long. She reached out for the fish-Jed, longingly, desperately, almost trying to pull herself loose to get to Jed, in futility. Jed watched her, his expressionless, uninterested features, he had never seen this woman before in his life, and before long, he disregarded her as he floated by. The rest of the many human that remained meld to the wheel would continue to roll by, and Jed, after many hours, would be leaving it in the distance.

Jed would swim to an underwater cliff edge, settling, taking in the scenery with his one good eye. He would take a moment to look down on the cliffside. The cliff was steeper than he remembered, in fact, it looked familiar. As his mind started to explore where he had seen this before, his face became expressionless. Of course...


How could he forget?

Jed would raise one fin to inspect it, then the other, but the other fin had turned into a hand, a human hand. He started at the hand with some recognition, hesitating, before reaching up and moving his hand over his one good eye, gripping the socket, and violently ripping out of his face, blinding himself entirely. "There..." A smile slowly formed on Jed's expression, white lights beginning to grow where his eyes used to be. Jed floated there, still, while in the distance, an underwater sunset would slowly fall, bringing darkness. Tears would roll down Jed's scales from his enlightened, empty eye sockets, with a peaceful smile on his lips. All would become dark, until all that was left was the two sparks of light, unfading, undying, forever there.

Alone.



"Jed, wake up now! Get up!" Zeke stormed into the room, after taking what he could and packing it, and equipping himself, looked like he was expecting trouble. Eight year old Jed was still waking up, but now terrified, "W-what's goin' on pa?..." Zeke stopped to peer out the window, then looked back to Jed, "Get your things, we can't stay here anymore." Zeke said urgently. "Wha? Why?..."
"I need ya t' listen to me right now, Jed, get your things now!" Zeke commanded. Jed started to get out of bed, crying, "Wh- Why we gotta leave, pa?"
"Jed..."
"Why we gotta leave home? Why we gotta leave-"
Zeke leaned his musket against the nearby wall and walked over to Jed, kneeling, placing his hands on his son's shoulders, his tone softer now, "It ain't safe here no more, Jed... Okay? We can't be here no more." He looked his son in the eyes, giving him a moment to process what is going on, "I... I done lost your mother, I ain't gonna lose you, ya hear? We gettin' outta here... Hey." Zeke turns and goes into his pack and pulls out a small glass jar of spices, "Ya recognize this, right? Heh... Yeah... It's th' good stuff, I reckon while we's out and about on th' road, I can whip us up a good meal! Don't that sound nice?..." Zeke said to Jed, but his son was frozen in fear, "Hey... Listen to me. Okay? Listen close. This is important... Home ain't... It ain't here, ya know? Home ain't a room, it ain't a bed, it ain't a place made o' logs, it ain't none o' that, Jed." Zeke points to his chest, "Home is here, ya understand? Home is where yo hearts is. Always was, always will be. Where ever yo heart is, that's where you call home, that's where ya kick up and relax, it's where ya always come back to... Ya hear me?" Jed weakly nods his head in response, "With me, mah heart is with you, son... You is mah heart, okay? So I know when I'm with ya, we can always be at home, no matter what. Mah hearts gonna always be with ya, forever, ya hear? I love you, son." Zeke says to his son, "I love you too, pa..." Jed begins wiping his tears away. Zeke calmly nods his head, going in to hug his son for a moment longer, "We ain't got much time... Ya ready?" Jed nods his head rapidly.
Zeke stands up, taking his son's hand and rushing out the front door, into the darkness of night.



Jed would sharply inhale and gasp for air as he sat up. Where was he? He could no longer remember what was real anymore. He frantically looked around him to see that he was where had been before, at his camp, overlooking the cliff. Jed would stand up quickly and look over the cliff edge once more, but it wasn't very steep, in fact, it looked like it was about 20 feet high. Jed covered his eyes with his hands, fingers pressing firmly against the lids, breathing heavily. He would spread his fingers enough to look between them, collecting his thoughts for a moment. He stood there for two minutes, reflecting, he could barely remember what had happened, any of it, but something was different now, something was urgent, important... Where are they?... Where are they?"
Jed walked back quickly, picking his glasses up and putting them on his face, then urgently packing up his belongings. He would turn and look off in the direction of where Vallaki would be, breathing out, and charging back, running now at full speed.

[Hellnaw]

The Adventures of Jedidiah Major
Episode 7: Ser Major Rides Again

The sunrise slowly crests over the distant hill, and with it, a valiant figure silhouettes, riding over the horizon on his trusty white steed. Behold! A true knight, covered head to toe in silver armor, face obscured by horse haired helmet, with the hair from the helmet blowing romantically in the wind. "Look over yonder, mah trusty steed! Do ya see it!?" the knight calls out while pointing off in the distance. The horse rears up on its hind legs, screaming out, "AW YEEEAAH!" it says that, that's what it says, the horse, it says that! "I thought so, mah brave ally! Let’s ride!"

They go racing down in the valley, and at the very bottom, the knight hops off of his steed and into a flower field, "These is pretty..." He says, as he begins picking the flowers, collecting bunches of them. "Whatcha think o' these?" He shows the flowers to his horse, "AW YEEEAAH!" the horse responds, the knight chuckles, "I agree, heh heh!"

"Hold!"
A voice calls out from the distance. The silver knight looks over to where the calling comes from, reaching up to raise his visor, then putting his glasses on his face. From where the voice called, another knight, in pure purple armor comes riding down from the hill. Jed waves at the purple knight, "Ho there!"
The purple knight turns his chin up at Jed, "Hmph!... Ho yourself!" he says. Jed is taken aback by this, "I didn't mean ya no disrespect, ser knight." Jed says apologetically. "Nay! Your words mean nothing at all, for you are a fool, and a weakling, and a terrible cook!"
Jed was shocked by the insults being thrown at him, "... Ser!... You would dishonor me!?" The purple knight was quick to return fire, "The only one who dishonors you is yourself!" Jed had heard enough, "That is it, this slander will not stand, ya hear!? I challenge ya t' a wrastlin'!" Jed says, getting into his stance, hands up, ready to grapple. The purple knight prepares his stance in turn, "Tis your funeral!" Jed's steed watches the duel closely, "AW YEEEAAH!"

The two circle each other for some time, watching closely, waiting for an opening. Jed sees one, and with that, he charges in fast, but the purple knight is too fast, and simply back hands Jed, sending him stumbling back. "Agh!... Well struck, mah enemy..."
The purple knight jumps in close and brings his arms around him, pulling him back and body slamming him on the ground. Jed pops back up quickly, thrusts his shoulder into the purple knight's face, knocking him down. Jed doesn't waste any time, quickly following up with an elbow drop, but the purple knight rolls out of the way quickly, getting back up onto his feet.

Jed charges at the purple knight, the purple knight charges at Jed, the clash sends shockwaves as the two grasp each other's hands, holding each other at bay. "I-I have never face... Such a strong... Opponent..." Jed says, struggling to hold the purple knight back. "Nay, you have not... And I'm just getting warmed up." The purple knight says, before yanking Jed off his feet and swinging him around in circles in the area, "WhhhOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOOOAAA!" Jed is let go of, and sent crashing down into the dirt and flowers. He looks up at his horse, "Help me... mah valiant steed... I ain't no match for him..."

The horse just stands there, eating flowers, minding its own business, "AW YEEEAAH!"
"AW NOOO!" Jed screams out before his ankle is grabbed by the purple knight, and he is being swung around in the air like a ragdoll now. "Ya gonna kill me..." He says before being slammed into the ground once, and lifted back up to be swung around some more, "Please..." He is slammed into the ground again, then pulled back up and rag dolled all over the place and is slammed down into the ground one last time, blacking out.



"Jed, enough daydreaming."
Jed opened his eyes, leaning back against the tree for comfort. He was at the age of 16 at this time, with long, pitch black hair, with a couple of long grey strands of hair starting to show. His eyes calmly looked out into the distance, his friend Harold returning from scouting ahead, "The self-righteous pig's goin' on a little fishin' trip. If we're doin' this, now's the time." Harold said, Jed remained silent for a moment longer before contributing, "You want a piece o' him?" Jed said calmly. Harold only shook his head, "Nay, you're the big one, that's what you're for."
There was some hesitation from Jed, "He got a way t' defend himself?"
Harold stopped and looked at Jed, taken aback, "... What, you are getting cold feet?"
"It's not that, it's jus'..."
"Just what?"
"I dunno... Whatever, I'll get it done." Jed gives an annoyed response.
"Oh what, now you got some sense of honor, or you're feeling guilty about roughing up an unarmed man or something? Tell that to the people he and the others turned their backs on with thosed damned Puritan strictures. I didn't go through all this bullshit so that you could back out on me!" Harold started to get close in Jed's face about this.
"You done?! I said it wasn't a problem." Jed turned to look at Harold with a threatening expression. Harold stares back at him for a moment longer, backing off, looking to the side, exhaling.
Jed pushes himself off of the tree and begins walking,
"Let's get this over with..."



Jed sits on the bench in the Mist Camp, in present day, holding the knightly cloak in his hands that Nata had given to him. He sighs softly, closing his eyes. After further hesitation, he shook his head, folding the cloak back up neatly and storing it deep within the rest of his belongings.

Maybe Ser Major would ride again another day,
but it wasn't this day...