Sekken Records

Report #89

Darkheim, everyone referred to it as the world of darkness, a lightless realm in which light ceased to exist.

In this world, humans including other races and all manner of living things perceive obscurity as a common and regular thing.

In this world, the existence of the suns, the moons, and the stars are non-existent. It was an unending night, exceeding darkness ever since the very beginning of time.

That world is divided into five mainlands by great waters, which ancients called Saga.

The respective lands are named Aeowyn; being the largest is located at the far most center. Aeowyn is surrounded by Nordi the northern island, Austri the eastern island, Vestri the western island, and Sudri the southern island.

These islands represent the world's four main directions which greatly helped humans to navigate.

This year makes the five hundredth year of humans in this world. No one knows how accurate this be but the surviving records do say so.

Changes are inevitable everywhere. However, two things remain constant throughout the years of our observation. And that's the unexplainable existence of the sickness called Myrk.

Fortunately, a cure was accidentally discovered and proven hundreds of years ago but it was all but a temporary stoppage.

History itself is telling that even the passage of time can't change that fact. Even so, we still haven't given up searching for the cure. There must be something out there, still unexplored, just obscured from our naked eyes and still waiting for us to be discovered.

One other thing that remained unchanged since that day, the Ragnarok, is that we, the races gifted with knowledge and the gift of tongue still longed for that imaginary world where light is… no, we Sekken are the only ones who remained unchanged.

No one believed us.

Unlike Myrk, history and the passage of time took it away from everyone's minds. We Seken are the only ones remaining with that faith. The search is impossible… but it must go on.

Yggdrasil. It is the great tree resided at the middle part of the land Aeowyn; a tree so large and wide that even from afar, beings with eyes from all over the lands can glimpse it.

That tree is considered to be the oldest of existence in Darkheim which is rumored to be existent since the beginning of the creation. That itself got our eyes, the Seken, to explore the untamed land.

However, just as how mysterious that place was, the same can be said to the place surrounding and guarding it. Due to the dangers it puts our organization, we postponed its exploration up to now but countermeasures are still taking place.

As of now, the world is divided into many affiliations such as tribes, factions, villages, and cities. Above them all, four kingdoms stood to reign namely, Aegir; the all-embracing and prosperous, Logi; the skilled and mighty conquerors, Fjorgyn; the neutral and wisdom seekers, and Njord; the detached and self-reliant.

As for how things are, a cold war is unmistakably occurring. Under the veil of peace talks and façade, hints of sparks of war are brewing. The sole reason was… the existence of golden pages.

We Sekken haven't confirmed this rumor to be the truth but just like how we are hidden from the world, the rumored pages are shrouded with too much mystery.

Only one page as of now is classified to be genuinely existent is in the possession of the self-proclaimed neutral kingdom, Fjorgyn.

Rumors had it that whatever is written into that sacred pages will be seen to be the truth. A wishing relic from the past which probably ancients made, they said.

We Sekken believed that this relic had the answers we seek. The progress in finding the remnants of this said wishing item is still ongoing.

The cure we Sekken discovered hundreds of years ago; a temporary cure for Myrk Sickness surrounding Darkheim. It was a glowing gem that mysteriously prevents and slows the effects of the sickness to take over the body. Little time passed since that hopeful discovery, we Seken already found out about its limitations.

The gem has a lifespan upon excavating and differs from color to color which red being the lowest and white the highest. Red stones last for days or so and the white stones would take months or so to fade in their glow.

Once the glint of light fades, the healing effects and enhancement it gives plummets till it's nothing but a useless rock.

Fortunately, Lumieres can be found anywhere and can be excavated from caves across specific places in Aeowyn. As of now, there are no signs of shortage about them.

The sole problem we Sekken comes across when investigating is that 'what if the stones stop giving light and none can be found everywhere. We're still finding solutions and other information for it might be an uprising problem in the future…

Information about Myrk remains unchanged. All races gifted with wisdom named it Myrk. It was this lightless world's curse. This is still classified as of the top priorities of Seken. Things still remain unchanged. It's still incurable.

Once a person or someone is born in this world, they will carry this curse. The symptoms are already evident. It was the first inevitable fact we are born into. We can't take it away. We can't get away from that curse's shackles.

However, there are rare cases where there are species and persons who had high resistance to the curse but the effects still remain the same and differ from person to person. Nobody is immune to it. Well, at least for now. We still couldn't find someone freed from this curse.

How can we navigate time?

In this world where unending night is occurring, time is essential. We Sekken have a lineage that can be traced way back since ancient times. Our ancestors invented time and the mechanism in order to record and compile time for future generations to use.

As for how we invent it, we simply took inspiration from our dreams. Those unexplainable dreams we never knew where they came from. We dreamt of clocks are needed so w made them from the resources we have.

Our ancestors established three time periods to represent morn, noon, and evening from our dreams. It made a great impact and has proven its efficiency over the years since it was implemented. It made us understand when will be the danger the most being the morn the safest and evening the riskiest.

To further make things easier to understand, they established bell signals.

Upon entering the morning phase which is 5 o'clock, bells from all over the land will ring six consecutive times. And when entering the noon phase which is 12 o'clock, it will ring five times. Lastly, at the evening phase which is 8 o'clock, it will ring four consecutive times. Other than those bells signs would be each village and city's own way of communicating which varies in many different ways.

Supposedly these things happen on a daily basis, a single day will consist of three important bells ringing that will indicate a single full day. Many years had passed and to further strengthen security, this rule was further changed and they added that each village will only open their gates respective to the three main bell signs.

Of course, there still might be emergencies on other occasions that may bend the golden rule but other than that, it's strictly forbidden to either enter or go out other than those three main bell signals. As of now, nothing much to be changed into this matter…

Proof of one's self and the identification mark...

It can also be said to be the proof of your race, the mark manifestation.

In this lightless world, in order to live, one must need to have work or a job. However, in order to be accepted, one must need to have proof of your race. It's a specific mark that can be awakened from a certain ritual and through only that way you can obtain one.

Since the creation, the Ragnarok up to today, many beings other than humans came into existence. As of today, there are nineteen classified different races other than humans which populated Darkheim.

That leads to why one must be needed to have a mark. It is because other than those twenty races, they are treated creatures of the wild or monsters to be exact. They aren't blessed with intelligence, unlike the twenty races.

They can't be converse to no matter what. So that being the case, the races feared living with them around. They established groups among themselves and walled themselves which were soon to be recognized as tribes, villages, cities, and kingdoms.

However, there are still holes penetrating the securities. So that's how marks became important. Our ancestors made a specific ritual to awaken symbols from our bodies for our own identities. Some said that these marks have prophetic meaning of some sort. We Seken also believe it to be true.

Upon awakening the mark, one is capable of entering any city, any place, or working all sorts of jobs. This serves as the ultimate gate pass to all gates in Darkheim. This is the only thing monster and other wild creature won't try and can't imitate. Thus, the safety inside the borders is established. This matter seems to be further changed in the future but as of now, it remains the same.

About the information of monsters, reports from this matter are also continually progressing. Seken all over Darkheim is recording new discoveries day by day.

As of now, this year's newly discovered monsters are two hundred and sixty-five for a total of eight hundred thirty-two. This year's newly discovered places included the following; five ruins, eight caves, three hidden lakes, seven underground passages and three untamed lands.

"This ends my report."

A breath of fog came out from her mouth from every word she said indicating the low temperature of the area. As she said those words, two crows hurriedly flapped their wings and flew away cackling.

"Ledju of Seken…" She added. Her lips curled as she closes the old booklet she is holding before taking a long sigh.

It seems like the whole time, she is reading this booklet for a long while only to be disappointed at the ending.

Two personages are walking down the dark forest path with only different glowing flowers guiding their way. Glowing trees going up several meters above, uneven footing and uprooted vines are blocking their way but they paved their path with ease. From the looks of it, they are quite familiar already over the even obscured place.

They are both wearing matching uncapped hooded robes over their semi metal and semi leathered armor suits that cover down their shins. One who is obviously shorter is a teenage girl and the other is probably in his late-twenties.

Both of them are equipped with different kinds of weapons. The girl was carrying a large blowing horn at her back and a slim sword at her waist while the other guy has a large sword at his back. If there is anything weird about it, it would be how easily they are carrying those heavy objects with total ease.

"This book didn't mention anything about the whereabouts of the golden pages. What a bummer…"

"Hey, are you even listening?" She pouted.

Despite all her blabbering and all sorts of things she is saying, her companion isn't even paying attention and only did was caressing his right cheek all this time.

"Master Rokusai!" Increasing her voice, she even stomped at the ground to seize his attention.

"Oh? What! Oh? Seth! What's wrong?"

"Argh! Nevermind… What are you even doing? Did you hurt your cheeks somewhere or something?" The girl sighed in surrender lowering her shoulders.

"Ah… nahh… I'm just reminiscing something from a long time ago. You know, there was this little boy who –"

She immediately knew this would turn into a long story so he evaded her eyes and brought the book to her master.

"I couldn't care less about that. More importantly –"

"Oi! I'm feeling nostalgic here. Aren't you being rude? I'm still your master, just letting you know."

"Like I said, more I M P O R T A N T L Y…" Emphasizing her point, she even threatened him with a sharp look which even her master gave in to silence.

"Look at this…"

"This book is totally useless!" She lashes exasperatingly.

"What are you even reading to be that mad?" Her master narrowed his eyes but then… "Oh? Hmmm…Isn't that a Sekken Report, right Seth?" Surprised and with his upturned eyes, he added.

"Hmmm… Well, yeah it says at the title at the very least" The girl checked the book's title once again.

"And it's a two digit report, talk about being lucky…" Noticing the two numbers sticking out near the lower left corner of the book, his eyes turn into greed itself. His hands are already wriggling about, tracing their way to the book.

"Is it, really?" Noticing these reactions from his respected master, the girl immediately withdrew her hand with the books she is holding near her chest and displayed a warning glare like a wolf guarding its meal.

It seems like the master has come to his senses when he notices his pupil's reaction. He immediately took back his composure by faking to clear his throat. "Whose name it is from?" Straightening his back, he added.

"It says 'Ledju of Sekken'…" The girl replied with narrowed eyes towards his master.

Those words were enough to bring back his greed but he contained it surprisingly well. "From Ledju and a two-digit report at that… Calling it useless might be underestimating it." He replied trying to look dignified.

"Master… Aren't you sounding like it some big deal item?" The girl squined her eyes.

His face was already painted like 'What are you even saying? Of course, it's some big deal item! It's a relic, you know!' yet again he remained composed and only replied… "Hmmm… let me ask you this. Seth, what's the most expensive thing in this world?"

"…Trust?" An immediate reply from her.

"Urghh… I'm not talking about some complicated kind of thing. A much simpler way…" He complained.

"What can be more expensive than old relics? Ah! You mean this thing is a relic?!" The girl almost raised her voice.

"…Relic" She muttered as she looks at the report.

"Relic is something that is from a past time, place, and culture or an object which considered holy. That thing might be considered relic from anyone's eyes considering its value; Ledju, #2, and two digit report. Some hardcore collectors might pay a hefty of gold just to have that. However, doing that misinterprets its significant value..." He explained.

"What do you mean? Is it more expensive than gold?"

"What's the most expensive thing in this world? It's the truth. Genuine information… It was considered priceless at one time not until someone put a price on them. Now it became a job and many others are doing it…"

"You mean… the information brokers?"

"They're Sekken wannabes… Information must not be used that way. Priceless lives are risk in order to get those discoveries and yet someone is putting price on them like it's nothing. "

"Aren't you getting too worked up on this?"

"Sorry 'bout that… It's just that Ledju is an old friend of mine…"

"I see... hmm… I guess even you Master Rokusai have that kind of side."

"Well, putting that aside. Can you let me see it for a bit?"

"Eh? What's with those suspicious-looking eyes?" Seth already knew what's happening.

"…What! Ehrm… I mean, look here. We have another bill coming up this week and we still have deficits haunting us down. Now's not the time to be nitpicky about being righteous or whatsoever. "

"I thought this was from your old friend?!" Seth pointed to the booklet.

"Forget about that! Money is justice! As long as we have that…" Rokusai noticed something moving ahead of them. Some kind of a silhouette of a girl running towards them.

"…Risa?" Seth uttered a name that Rokusai immediately recognized.

"What is happening? Why are you here? Are you alone? Where is your bro –

Rokusai was intercepted by Risa's panicking voice.

"Brother is… My brother… He is missing!" The little girl cried. The beads of tears are falling. Her maroon eyes quivered.

"Again…" Rokusai bulged vein at his forehead. "…That stupid pupil of mine!"