Lucas

"Well, we're not going to find out down here," Autor says, craning his neck.

"I have a flying carpet, but it'll only carry two of us," he murmurs. "There should be some--ah, good. Stairs, up ahead and to the left."

Sure enough, he hears Boney barking from that direction, too.

"Want to head on up?"

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Lucas, Duster, and Kumatora hurry to Boney, having recovered from their surprise and eager to head up the stairs.

"(The stink bug got away from me,)" Boney explains to all who can understand him. "(But never mind that. Look who I found!)"

At the top of the stairs, the group is finally face to face with the incredibly tall man. He turns to them, long face and gray hair under an old brown hat and behind a pair of spectacles.

"Leder?" Duster asks.

"Ol' Beanpole?" Kumatora adds before heading over. "Why would they lock you up? Got somethin' against bell ringers?"

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Dinah left Enzo and Autor to the carpet, and raced up behind the others. She hangs back behind the group, biting her lip in concern as they greet him.

"You know each other?"

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"He's the town bell ringer in Tazmily," Duster says.

Leder presses his lips into a line for a moment.

"Are you all right?" Lucas asks him, healing him with his PSI in case he needs it.

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Autor tromps up the stairs behind Dinah, forgoing the carpet primarily because Leder takes up too much space. He glances back to see if Enzo followed, and then settles down on the stairs to listen in, quill and journal in hand.

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"Given who you are and how you've lived," Leder's voice carries, "What I have to say will tear at your hearts, and there is just so much to tell. So I've decided to have the stinkbug trembling behind me memorize everything I say. Ready, Mr. Stinkbug?"

The stinkbug hops out from behind and hops twice in confirmation.

Leder clears his throat, preparing to begin. Kumatora sits down on the edge of the opening that allows Leder to stand up straight.

"I think we're ready to hear. Right, Lucas?" Duster goes.

Lucas nods, not as certain but knowing it must be important if Leder is willing to speak.

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a1enzo

Huh. So the bug was a feature after all. Enzo stands at ease and wonders what's coming.

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"Long ago, there existed a 'world'. A world different from what the people on these islands think of. This 'world' was incredibly big. More people lived on this world than there are grains of sand on these Nowhere Islands. I know it may be hard to imagine, but such a world once existed. Understand?"

"Yes," Lucas answers. "I think I know what you mean."

"At some point, the world wound up destroyed."

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a1enzo

Enzo winces, and remains with his eyes closed for a bit.

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"Oh," Autor says, and sits up, blinking. The boy opens his mouth to interject, to say something--but there's nothing to say, so he returns to quietly scritch scritch scritching down notes in his journal.

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Dinah sits down next to Kumatora, legs folded in front of her on the edge of the platform as she listens, watching Leder as he speaks.

Occasionally she glances down at the chains below them.

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Kumatora glances, not really focusing on Dinah or Leder.

"Destroyed?" Duster repeats, scritching at Boney while the dog snuggles in between him and Lucas.

Leder nods. "Naturally, it was humans who destroyed it. In the back of their minds, everyone had an inkling that it would happen at some point. And then it really did happen....and so, the world is no more. Everything so far has been about the end of the world. Did you understand all of it?"

Lucas nods, wide-eyed. He reaches over Kumatora's lap to hold both her and Dinah's hands. Kumatora pulls Lucas close to her with an arm around his shoulders.

"Just before the end of the world," Leder continues with another slight dip of his head. "A White Ship came to these islands. On it were all the people of Tazmily Village. Yes. Aboard the White Ship were those few who had managed to escape the world. The people on the ship still went by their names from the previous world. This White Ship plan had been set in place before the world was destroyed. And, although they're part of the world, these Nowhere Islands are a special place. They were the one place that would remain, even if the world was lost. The one and only place where people could survive. And so the White Ship arrived at these islands. Everything so far has been about the White Ship. Did you understand all of it?"

"I...I think so," Lucas answers again. "But how'd all this happen an' nobody talks about it?"

"Yeah," Kumatora adds. "I didn't know any of this."

"Me either," Duster chimes in.

Leder holds up a hand, indicating that the answer will come but his thoughts must continue on the course they're on now.

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"Wait, what? Why just these people?" Autor says. "Was there just one ship? You can't repopulate a world with--"

At the hand, he settles down, mumbling to himself for a bit about Stories.

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Leder frowns a little, understanding where Autor is coming from better than the others of the Islands.

"Have you committed everything so far to memory, Mr. Stinkbug?"

The stinkbug hops twice in confirmation.

"The reason these islands are special is because they harbor a giant dragon nearly as large as the islands themselves. Long, long ago, people lived together with the Dragon. However, at some point in time, the people and the Dragon could no longer coexist. So, using the seven Needles, the Dragon was placed into a long, long sleep by the ancestors of the Magypsy people, who have lived here since ancient times. Ever since, the Magypsies have guarded the Needles in an effort to prevent the Dragon from being woken until its power is truly needed. Thus, until the time of its awakening, the Dragon continues to sleep as the power of the earth itself. And so, because of the tremendous energy of the Dragon hidden deep below, these islands were protected from the end of the world. Everything so far has been about the Dragon and the Magypsies. Did you understand all of it?"

It's getting more and more difficult for Lucas to nod but he does so all the same.

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a1enzo

Enzo's brow is well furrowed by this point. He wouldn't be nodding. But even if he doesn't understand it all, he can accept it.

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Leder sighs softly.

"Those who came here aboard the White Ship feared another end of the world more than anything else. They felt the world's destruction was a direct result of the way they had lived. The people of the White Ship discussed things at great length. They shared their wisdom and spoke with grave seriousness. And then they arrived at their conclusion. They decided to completely erase everyone's memories of the previous world and start their lives over with new rules and new roles."

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a1enzo

Enzo stares. "A total reformat?"

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Autor, of course, has a million and one questions: how did they erase them? Why? Wouldn't they just repeat the same things?

But telling this is Leder's role, so the boy bites his tongue, keeps his silence, and furiously scratches away at his notes, ignoring the way his stomach twists.

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Dinah squeezes Lucas' hand gently, letting him know she's there.

It makes sense, to her. In a way. Try again, from scratch, with none of the knowledge and behaviours that led to the end of the world the first time.

But she's not sure she's comfortable with it.

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"Yes," Leder says in answer to Enzo. "In short, everyone would play out the ideal 'story' that they had come up with. That is what happened. The people would restart their lives in a simple, peaceful village, in the kind of place they wished they had grown up in. They would erase their memory of everything: the world, their belongings, their rules...and then they would begin their new lives. Everyone's old memories would be reset and replaced with their newly-created 'story'. And thus the village of Tazmily came to be.

"However, it was necessary to record the fact that the memory replacement had taken place. The Hummingbird Egg was the device used to store the memories of the White Ship people. Wess and his son Duster, both playing the roles of thieves-"

Duster puts a hand on his face.

"-were set to take action should a dangerous situation occur. Remember when they went to Osohe Castle? They went there to retrieve the secret of the People of the White Ship."

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Autor stiffens. He has to take a breath or two to keep silent. It's not until after Leder finishes speaking about Osohe Castle does the boy notice that he's splotched the top part of his his notes with a large, unforgiving ink blot.

"Stories and memories," he murmurs, unable to meet Leder's eye, "and the only one aware is you."

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Leder nods once more.

"There's one other thing. Me. It was essential that one person retain memory of the previous world to sort of 'keep watch' over things. I was the only one in the village of Tazmily who wasn't given a role in the new 'story'. The sound of my bell served as a 'suggestion' to keep everyone's fabricated memories from reverting. My name Leder comes from the word 'leader'. No, no, that doesn't mean I was anyone special."

Lucas, who had opened his mouth, closes it again.

"It was just that I was particularly taller than all the others. So, upon discussion, I was selected because it would be easier for me to stand out. Being so tall, people would want to come see me, you know? And so I was given the role of revealing these secrets when the time truly called for it."

He briefly bows his head.

"Everything so far has been about those who lost everything. Although Tazmily Village exists in reality, it was originally created as part of a story. I know this may be difficult to believe, but do you understand so far?"

It takes longer for Lucas to answer this time, the boy checking to make sure Duster is all right. The thief leans on his bad leg, pensive.

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Dinah's attention is all on Lucas. While he checks that Duster is all right, she checks that he is all right.

Then she breaks that attention briefly to ask: "But why are you chained?"

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