SOMEWHERE HIGH IN THE CARLARIAN SKY

It had passed a long time since he had visited this place. The trees were high and strong even if decadent and grey. The animal from bellow looked strangely at that bird who was flying a bit too fast for their standards and Pxan returned the look, seeing how mutated the animals had become.

The local miner manager didn’t ask him too many questions on why he was there and he didn’t ask him where all the money of his mining went. It was a sort of unspoken pact between them.

The ship hovered over a small green hill next to the remnants of a town. The buildings were erased from the foundations, only a tiny green taint remained where they had been those buildings. A large grey area marked where the communal home was. He remembered that place, he had hoped to come here under better circumstances as a teenager.

Nothing had remained. Nothing had stood. This was the way of all things; to fell to entropy and destruction. Just as he was saying this he noticed a small tower up north where the old church had used to be. Intrigued Pxan decided to go there.

The walls were destroyed and the columns were new. Nearly nothing of the church that he remembered stood now. Except for a statue that now he recognizes, it was Lazarus. Or as he was better known St. Lazarus, he had been a holy man a long time ago and he collected his thoughts and practices in a book. Unfortunately, no one knew what was actually in that book because cultists keep writing and rewriting different copies with the same name, making Lazarus now a materialist, now a hedonistic, now an ascetic.

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He heard footsteps coming from the door. There were not that of an animal, too light and regular. He turned around to see a girl in raw armour, staring paralyzed at him with a spear in its hands. He wore a strange mask made of wood.

<> Pxan said in one of the rare conversation openings of his life <>

The girl looked a little less afraid <> he pointed at his gun <>

Even though Pxan didn’t saw his eyes he knew that there were shining with hope <>

The girl removed the mask to reveal a youthful face, a face that was vaguely familiar to Pxan <>

<>

The girl jumped back <>

An old man came through the door and stared at Pxan. He was grey as snow and had to walk with staff. Pxan needed only to glance at him to recognize the scent. He quickly picked up the gun and if it wasn’t for Lucy punch he would have killed him on sight.

<>

<> the old man said <>

<> said Pxan ignoring the provocation.>>