Chapter 10_A Witch at Midnight - A Contemporary Progression Story 🌈

The Ermes browser starts up as slowly as ever, even with the help of the Tripolar Edge Router. The front page loads eventually though, and as soon as it does I input the link:

http://dejima08646F6E2774.pmkn

Then, I wait.

It doesn’t immediately tell me to go away, so that is some progress. It is still taking an eternity and a half to load but… With enough time, a black screen appears in front of me. Then, pleasantly green vines curl on the sides of the window, while words start to load in light gray. The banner on the center reads: DEJIMA 08, which I assume is the name of the site… Dejima? Isn’t that a real word?

A quick search in Gaggle answers: yes, yes it is! A very specific island in Cipango, artificial, made specifically to deal with pesky easterners that intruded on their lands. A sort of public spot where foreigners could come and trade.

But this is not a Cipangian forum, so it is clear these people are a bunch of weebs.

“Well if it isn’t the donkey complaining about long ears!”

Ahem.

The forum is written in Dobrand, so this is a southern forum. Luckily for me, that’s my second language.

“We should always thank mom for helping us play those Dobrandian games back when we were young.”

Looking right under the banner I find the usual buttons. Buttons for the Home Page, to Search, a Link Tree, and the Sign Up and Log In buttons.

The only visible subforum is the ‘Rules’ section, with a single sub-section called ‘Terms and Conditions’. Clicking it allows me to see a few topics… ‘Closing of Topics’ and ‘Coexistence Rules’ are there, as usual. ‘Colour Palette’, probably for those who want to get fancier with their posts. The last part is strange though: ‘Sleepers and The Link’.

On the side there are a bunch of statistics: Amount of posts (respectable, if not a little low), latest posts (only on topics, not on profiles? I guess this is a private place), and the members online. No names for the members though, just numbers: 12 registered users and… oh. Only 1 guest.

That’s me.

Oh damn it I am being singled out immediately!

I better get this done quickly before someone notices and decides to check on me…

Reading the rules is a good spot to start.

The Coexistence Rules were posted by a user with a dark purple name called ‘Ventotto’. They are simple enough, easily summarized on: Don’t be an Asshole, don’t be a Bot and don’t spam. I am surprised to see actual mentions of homophobia and transphobia as punishable behaviors in this year of our Saints 2012! People really liked making the same kind of “Oh I actually identify as an Attack Helicopter! lol” joke on the internet, all the time. This is a breath of fresh air!

“Funny. You made that same kind of joke several times in VirtualZone, remember?”

I shudder in intense guilt. Saints damn it.

“Oh yeah, sure, now you don’t find them funny because you’re in your own struggle. You had to suffer to learn to be kind to others, huh? Can you really call yourself a kind man if you had to live through something to actually be merciful? Piece of shit.”

“Focus.”

A-Anyways. The rules also mention sanctions, like temporary kicks, denial of access to the Chatbox (Oh my, they have a chatbox! That’s fancy) or even a complete ban from the forum if people failed to accept these rules.

There were special rules about protecting the anonymity of the users though: no doxxing, no sharing personal information in the forum OR the chatbox. I wonder how much trouble this rule causes…

Closing of Topics is for users to ask for their topics to be closed, that’s basic. I can’t access it though, so they seem really into security. This one was made by a Green name, ‘jeepcreep’. Like the movie? I guess even mages have a sense of humor.

Colour Palette is nice. Just a single topic with colours usable for your posts, and it had all the colours in the spectrum!

There is one outside of it though, one that the rules specifically said should be used only in moderation: that impossible light again! Brightly shining in green and purple, mixing and flashing… it was labeled ‘Octarine’.

Staring at it for too long is going to give me a headache, that thing is an epilepsy hazard for sure! I am surprised they even allow its usage!

At least now I have a name for that damn colour.

It is another post by this ‘jeepcreep’ guy, he seemed to handle the more social stuff!

The final topic, ‘Sleepers and The Link’, is interesting. It wasn’t made by ‘ventotto’ nor ‘jeepcreep’, but another Purple Name called… uh…

ογδόντα.

“Is that Helenian!?” I frown. I am good with languages, yes, but I never even thought of learning that one. “Saints damn it, I have no idea how to even begin to pronounce that…”

After cursing for a bit, I decide to focus on the contents of the topic.

> It goes without saying that the sharing of this Link with Sleepers is completely and utterly forbidden. Dejima 08 and all material that comes from it are a part of the Secret and, as such, must remain undiscovered by the Sleeper populace, lest we wish for the Brotherhood to come and seize all our hard work.

> I am aware that MagiNet is protected by several layers of technological knowhow and a Physical Key, but this is no reason to be complacent and forget that our activities are supposed to be confidential.

> The fact that we are doing these activities outside of the bounds of local Elysiums means that we must be careful whom we trust. Share this link only with people you know are trustworthy, and know that you will be personally responsible for their actions during their stay in the Forum.

> Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

> Dejima 08 is a forum dedicated to the translation and transcription of Magical Hearts, and even if we have caved to the popular demand of adding “casual” subforums for you to enjoy, you must never lose sight of the objective.

Sleepers must be the people who ain’t magic, that much is easy to understand. But magical Hearts…? What even is that? Do they mean books? The curiosity is killing me.

I don’t even think about it twice: as soon as I finish reading, I immediately go over to Sign In.

Username: Tav

Email: [email protected]

Password: **********

Date of Birth: 08-09-90

Under all of that, there is a tiny white square with a play button. Under that, there is a little instruction that reads: ‘Write the Rune’.

Clicking the square expands it, taking over the entire screen for a moment before octarine coloured lines begin to spiral in it. It forms a very specific symbol. A rune! I make sure to grab my book and quickly look for a matching one… I only find *one* case, but I do find it!

image [https://i.ibb.co/kx7KS9g/Screenshot-2.png]

Thako

No way to translate it without context for what the hell that word means, but I will certainly test it after I draw it on the computer. It’s a matter of following the lines with my mouse… and there. I am confirmed.

The white screen disappears, and the Forum confirms that I have been registered. A quick check of my gamail confirms it! They sent me mail and everything! It went straight to spam though, for some reason.

I guess it’s to make sure people who are not in the know just ignore them?

After all that, I scribble the symbol in my notes and stare at it for a moment. ‘Thako’, whatever could it mean? It won’t do anything no matter how much I read and enunciate it , at least until I learn its ‘signified’. But maybe one of the people in the forum will know?

“Hold on right there, Buster. This forum is not a place for beginners! Did you not catch that from the read?”

“True. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be willing to help, right?”

“They probably will look at you like a nuisance if you barge in and immediately demand answers.”

I hate to admit it but he’s right there.

“... Look, just, don’t close yourself to the possibility of getting help, okay? Do it now, or later, I don’t care. Just do it.”

How uncharacteristically harsh of you… but, sure. I will go with that.

Now that I can log in, the forum spreads into a few more sections.

‘NEWS’, ‘SLEEPER LIFE’ and ‘TRANSLATION’.

On the bottom of it all, there os the black Chatbox waiting for people to join in! There are only two people in the box right now. On one part, that’s great! No anxiety from big numbers of people or not being able to follow conversation. On the other… oh no. I could be intruding in private conversation.

“Now now, if they wanted it to be private, they could go to more secure channels.”

That may be true, but the anxiety is still there.

“Well, there is a section in Sleeper Life that says ‘Introductions’, maybe that’s a good start?”

I guess so. Let’s see what other introductions there are!

Click!

…

My heart sinks when seeing that there hasn’t been a post in introductions in over a year…

This forum is abandoned and only maintained out of some sense of obligation by the mods. The place receives little traffic being so secret, so this makes sense! But why do I still feel so nervous about it?

Taking a very deep breath, I push myself to just ignore the dread and quickly write a post. People usually mention their hobbies, their work and where in the world they are posting from, so it wouldn’t be too hard to start, right?

Hard or not, I ended up rewriting the thing like five times before pushing myself to press the ‘Post’ button.

Alright, now to wait…

…

Waiting is going to kill me. If I just stand here begging for attention, I will legitimately die.

“I think it is time for a distraction. How about King of Legends?”

“We’ve gone over this. That game is toxic, look for something better.”

“Team Stronghold 2?”

…

Sure. Fine, why not?

“Yes!”

“Urgh.”

I disconnect my computer from the Tripolar Edge Router and, after closing everything and making sure I didn’t catch all of the viruses in my little expedition to the Dark Web, I pick up my things and return to my comfy spot in the bedroom. I’ve been way too active during the last few days, and I deserve a break.

Right?

“No. But who cares?”

With a heavy sigh, I sit back down on my lazy boy chair, closing my eyes before getting everything connected and properly wired once again… and lose myself to some mindless diversion, trying my best to avoid thinking.

With some luck, at least one of the mods will see my post and say hi…

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The alarm clock rang loudly in Gal’s ears. He wasn’t ready for it, taking a sudden leap from his bed and ending up on the floor while wrapped in his covers. The young boy snarled, struggling, kicking and rolling to set himself free from the warm embrace of the mantles before getting up, looking around himself.

He was no longer in dreamland, fighting with dragons and saving princesses. It was his good ol’ room, covered from side to side in videogame paraphernalia, illuminated by the first rays of the day filtering through his thin blinds. It was a bit disappointing, considering he really was enjoying his slumber, but he would get over it.

“Hmmmngh… good morning, world.”

With a loud yawn that almost unhinged his jaw, Gal walked out of his room and went straight to the bathroom, cleaned himself up and then walked straight to the computer room. He could get breakfast later! There were emails to check and things to do even on summer vacation!

“Alright, let’s see…”

“Aron! Are you up already!?” The voice of Gal’s grandma called from outside of the room.

“Yes Gangan!”

“Oh good! Good morning sweetie!” The old lady chuckled gently. “I’ll put breakfast on in a minute then. Make sure to brush your teeth!”

“I will, Gangan!”

Ahh, breakfast, the most important meal of the day according to most Sleepers. He wouldn’t dare to challenge tradition by missing it! But before anything, he wanted to give a look to a few topics in the Forum…

…Huh, what’s this?

Chapter 10

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