Paradox Gates

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Breadth of an ocean, Ravaging the motion, Antagonizing emotion, Calculating devotion, Evaluating the notion. A problem to solve, A riddle to dissolve, the name of this paradox, mentioned in previous docs, something that baffles understanding, the word meaning that exact thing. The Key lies in the beginning of every segment, followed by the meaning of the last enactment, combining the two words will unlock for you, the first gate ahead it’s true. <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'brace enigma'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[loreone<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

The Demon of the Gate was a paradoxical being; though shrouded in dark and mystery, he was not born of the void as the rest of the creatures of the realm: he was spawned from pure light, and despite his title, he was no evil creature. They called him the Demon for his shadowy figure inspired fear when it first showed up, as nobody on the vast realm knew what or who he was, tall and lanky and with bright bright red eyes. Not even the Eye King realized when he had made its appearance, and no Watched nor Eye Lord knew where he had come from, but it had come to guard the annals of history that had been long hidden beneath the ground, those old volumes that held the story of every battle won and lost, every adventure had and every important event in the Kingdom’s lifespan. These pages were once ignored and nearly forgotten, collecting dust, for the members of the realm had no interest in them. It was a Princess of the realm who unknowingly gave birth to the Demon. Though it was not uncommon for Royals to read about the history of their Kingdom, it was seen as a bit of a chore, rather than a noble pursuit. Tradition was important, but studying it was not as important as maintaining it, and so a great part of history went untold, for it had no perceived influence on the Kingdom in the present. This Princess, however, saw things differently; she understood there was something special about reliving things past, about the quests of Kings and Lords, the bloodshed and the mourning and the glory, but also the quiet spaces in their stories, how the Watched would craft things out of the materials of the earth in the old days, how the Watchers would hunt in forests and rivers to satiate their urge for battle. When the heirs’ study time would be done, and they had some time for leisure, the Princess would go back to the Underground and borrow books to keep on learning, which her peers did not understand, thinking the really important matters lied in looking to the future, not the past. The Princess, however, was entranced by the tales those pages held, and soon enough she was studying while the rest of the Royals were feasting or asleep. This knowledge soon began to infect her dreams, and she would stir in her slumber as battles long past would replay in her mind in vibrant colors. It was during these hours that something new began to form. Each time she laid in bed and closed her eyes, these images would appear in her dreaming, and sparks would begin flying off of her head. These specks of light would fall, scattered to the floor, and she would be left wondering the next morning where they had come from. Nonetheless, she gathered them up into a box, the pile growing a little each time she woke. Her obsession with history grew, as did the clump of sparks on the box under her bed. It was around the time she learned of the origins of the Royals that she began pondering about the concept of enlightenment, and it was during one of those nights, while she was fast asleep, that the light in the box began to stir. The pile of it had grown so large she had moved it to a chest, for the box could no longer hold it without overflowing. The dreams that night were so vivid, the light in the chest could <i>feel</i> them, like some sort of calling, and this was the first thing it ever felt: it was alive. It grew brighter and brighter as the Princess’ mind reeled with pictures of the records she had read, and the light burned a hole through the chest, through the floor, through the very foundation of the realm of the sky, until it fell down like a shooting star, all the way down to the entrance to the Underground where the records were kept. It decided then, that it needed a form, and so it took the shape of the Demon with its towering stature. It valued knowledge and wit beyond all else, and so it made itself look dark, something that could not be seen clearly, for its purpose would be, from that moment forward, to test the intellect of those who came across it - <i>him</i>, not <i>it</i>, since now it was a fully formed being, deserving of a title and a name. The Princess did not know, though perhaps she did suspect, where the light under her bed had gone. When she went back to get the History books, she came to face the Demon, who gratefully granted her access, even if he did not answer her questions about his origins. When any other being approached, however, the Demon would ask them a question, give them a riddle they had to solve before they could feast their eyes on those pages full of tales of enlightenment and glory and war. This mysterious creature was the one who gave value to history, since now beings all across the realm would travel to solve its riddles; for something to be guarded, it had to be valuable, and so the Kingdom’s story became as important as its future. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/fabHG" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]]</center>

<a href="https://eyeverse.world/demon-of-the-gates/" class="help" target="_blank">help</a> <<audio music play loop>><center><span class="title">Paradox Gates</span></center>The entire history of the Kingdom kept in a sacred lore, hidden deep down under the floor, to open the gate to read the scriptures, A riddle you must solve to go through the Fissures. [[I. THE DEMON AT THE GATES->riddle1]] [[II. THE EYE GOD->riddletwo]] [[III. THE LAST SIGHTS->riddlethree]] [[IV. BLESSED SHOAL->riddle4]] [[V. CULT OF THE EAGLES->riddle5]] [[VI. GHOST OF AN ISLAND->riddle6]] [[VII. THE FALLEN LORD->riddle7]] [[VIII. A NEW CURSE->riddle8]] [[IX. THE MOUNTAINTOP->riddle9]] [[X. PROPHECY->riddle10]]

<nowiki>The .-.. . -. --. - .... of your arm</nowiki> A distance quite strange <nowiki>.- -.-. .... .. . ...- . this challenge</nowiki> <nowiki>And further the Kingdom's .-. .- -. --. .</nowiki> <nowiki>It hits like .-.. .. --. .... - -. .. -. --.</nowiki> When the eye opens wide <nowiki>a -.- -. --- .-- .-.. . -.. --. .</nowiki> So blinding it cannot falter or die. Two clues were given that you must combine, for yours is the wisdom if the answer you find. <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'reach enlightenment'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[riddletwotwo<-NEXT]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

Enddless is the wisdom the King has of the light, stretching into the horizon, lmitless and bright You must also know, the sight of the Watched is epmty as an abys, of this black and boundless nothng there is plenty Two words for this key, their meaning is described by the words the Demon hid, like he hides himself in dark <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'infinite void'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lorethree<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

Came to the Kingdom an unusual malediction, ravaging the realm and spreading wide without restriction endemic was this pain, and the key is how it left the Watched deeply scarred, wrists bound and deprived of their vision <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'cursed'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lore4<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

kings and queens and their timeless saga into building a realm that would last over an eon notice the clue as i tell you of this arc great battles, greater light, things that i do not know if i could capture oh, the one who receives this mission must decide if this key shall be the first or the last <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'kingdom'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lore5<-ACCESS]]<</replace>> <<elseif $answer is 'ancient'>><<goto "bribe">> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

Great is this honor, almost worth everything - count from one to five, for this key can rise from these lines shiny and bright as any army <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'glory'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lore6<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

Though curse and light are polar opposites This does not mean they never meet To solve this puzzle and reach this knowledge You must know what <b>lonqitgunr</b> means. <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'conquering'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lore7<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

Just like the King organizes his warriors, like they are letters on a page Just like a bird changes its feathers For this key you must rearrange Wreck and put back together This wintry heath cage Do it quick, it's now or never <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'they are watching'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lore8<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

Look upon the realm Realm that glitters, golden Golden as the sun Under the King's orders Find the key, for more wisdom awaits and you cannot wait any longer <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'golden realm'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lore9<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

The last riddle You must solve For the Demon to grant you access To a story untold He is patient He is wise But he won't wait forever for the answer for you to find <nowiki>.. ...- / ...- / -..- .. .. .. / -..- ...- / -..- .. ...- / .. / -..- -..- .. .. .. / .. / .. -..- / -..- -..- / -..- .. -..-</nowiki> <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'the demon awaits'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[lore10<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

<center><span style="color:darkred;font-size:36px">WRONG</span> <<button 'Try again'>> <<script>> Dialog.close();<</script>><</button>> </center>

<<cacheaudio 'music' "assets/music/gamemusic.wav">>

The Demon that guarded the Kingdom's history, though a knowledgeable being, was not aware of his own origins, for the princess that dreamed up the sparks he came from was merely a vessel. His curiousness and respect for the pages he sworn to protect were not born out of organic desired he had developed, nor did he have a choice with regard to his fate, for he was bound to his Maker that resided in the void whence every creature in the Kingdom was pulled. The darkness beyond this realm was a mystery to all, as they could not remember the state of being before they were brought into this earth, where there was life and light; not even the Eye Kings knew of the Kingdom’s true beginnings, despite their immense wisdom. The thought of their power not being an infinite resource was a frustrating feature of their condition: they could see through any eye, but they could not peer into the void or reach the truth of their birth, and so this became the most sought-after piece of knowledge the Royals could aspire to. They had once tried to take a peek into the infinite darkness as the Queen ripped a hole in the fabric of the universe to drag out new beings for the realm, but the blackness was dense and so great nothing could be seen. There was even a Prince once who, guided by his ambition of understanding what had never been understood, walked through the hole the Queen had opened - and did not come back, one last wordless scream before he was swallowed by the deep darkness. The Royals kept this primal question a secret, making their subjects believe they had the answer so they could cement their position as the wisest beings in the Kingdom, and everyone they reigned over remained in awe of the King’s enlightenment and clarity. However, not even the Royals knew there were beings beyond their comprehension that could not only rival, but surely defeat, the King’s wits and intellect, for these creatures that lurked in the deep nothingness had an understanding of deeper things that no other being could even conceive. It was one of these creatures, an Eye God, who brought the Demon into existence. Though its motives were as shadowy as the darkness itself, it decided to fashion a soul out of pieces of history, as these events long past left an echo behind them, a vibration in the air that could be tuned into something that breathed, something <i>alive</i>. To father its creation, the Eye God waited for a Royal who would be worthy of bringing its servant to life. Though this took centuries, the God was a patient being, and it found its perfect candidate in a Princess, who, despite not being as Wise as the King and Queen, was far more curious than anyone on the realm, and so it planted a seed of hunger for knowledge of ancient times into her mind until this became a deep obsession. As she researched and read more about the Kingdom’s tales, he began whispering vivid images into her dreams. This was how the Demon came to be, with the growing friction between the frantic and bright pictures that ran through her mind lighting spark after spark until the light was too much to contain, and it shot down to the earth to become a full being that would, unknowingly, do its bidding, for the urge to guard knowledge that the Demon felt was the mere fiction of free will. None knew how the Demon was born, none except for the God that lived in pitch black nothing, that brought it to life through a power much greater than any being could ever wield. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/1E6_d" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]]</center>

A contradiction in Chapter 3, where the King recites free, while you read incorrectly. A single word you must find, to unlock this gates’ Bind. <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'universe'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[loretwo<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->main]]</center>

The curse that plagued the Watched did not take long to seal the eye of every one of their kind, a few months at most, and along with their sight, their hope was also waning. During its first stages, the blinded would be aided by the ones who still had sight to move through the land and do their daily tasks, however, it was not long before the ones who had been marked greatly outnumbered the sighted, and so these last ones would take turns, exhausted and overworked, taking care and collecting food for the ones who had already fallen prey to the hex that befell their kind. A great tension was brewing in the kingdom, and the number of Watched with an X over their faces grew by the day, until the ones who had yet to be scarred could be counted with just one hand. The Watched, however, having lost their faith in overcoming this terrible blight, knew the ones who still had their sight were far from blessed, and the curse would soon come for them as well. These Watched, instead of rejoicing in the fact that they still could take in the green of the trees and the light of the moon, spent their days in fear and prayer as they bore the weight of caring for their people on their shoulders - all but one; there was one of them, a young one, who did not lose hope; when he brought food or water to one of his blinded peers, he would also gift them with a description of whatever they chose: <i>tonight the moon is waning, and it has a slight red tint</i>, or <i>the apples I brought you are green and shiny, and one of them is bruised</i>. - and since the Watched could communicate with each other through their minds, he found out soon that words were not necessary, for he could simply share to the others’ what he was seeing through an imagined picture of what they could no longer perceive. The rest of the sighted found this to be a futile task, since soon none of them would be able to conjure up images of what the moon or anything else looked like for the blind to receive, and so this was only delaying the inevitable, the moment when their whole kind would be blind forever. They insisted he should stick to more practical tasks, collecting food and water, tending to the land, things that did not involve what they perceived as juvenile ordeals that only brought on false hope, but he did not relent in his pursuit to share a shred of his sight with the blinded. He also became obsessed with the idea that there must be a way out of the curse, some kind of cure, and so as he tended to the cursed, he collected as much information as he could on the mysterious ill that had taken over them. He did not get much information beyond what falling to the curse felt like, no useful hints about its origins, but he noticed something interesting: as the X seared their flesh, some of the Watched had some strange last visions, things that were not in front of them but that they could see clear as day as they screamed out from the pain of the X burning on their skin. Not many of these records remained after a while, lost to the decay that time brings about, but the ones that survived until the Demon came along and started protecting all the history in the Kingdom, became a source of enigma and mystery for all who [[read them->records]]. It was during the last week of the year that the final ones fell, one every two days. The last one to fall was the most hopeful, the Watched that had brought back sight for a brief seconds to the ones who were blinded before him though the images he shared with them with his mind, and as the screams filled the air, he still did not lose his faith in a better future for his kind. It was him, as years passed, who practiced and learned the art of seeing without eyes: of reading the signs he could feel to understand his surroundings. He taught this to the rest of the Watched, and so, the Watched prospered with a new way of navigating the world. It was because of him that, even though their hope in regaining their sight was gone, it was also no longer needed, for they learned how to live without it. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/ReaQ2" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

<center><span class="title">THE CURIOUS LAST SIGHTS</span></center> when the world around them was gone in their Vision, In these pages were written Every Watched’s last sight, though some lost to time’s demoliton, if you know the right word some of them you might still find. <center> <<set $answer to ''>> <<textbox '$answer' '' autofocus>> <span id='textbox-reply'></span> <span id='textbox-submit'><<button 'Unlock'>> <<set $answer to $answer.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s\s+/g, ' ')>><<if $answer is 'view'>><<replace '#textbox-submit'>>[[records2<-ACCESS]] <</replace>> <<run $('#textbox-answer').attr('readonly', 'true');>> <<else>><<script>> Dialog.setup(''); Dialog.wiki(Story.get('wrong').processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</if>> <</button>> </span> </center><center>[[back->lorethree]]</center>

<center><span class="title">THE CURIOUS LAST SIGHTS</span></center> 1. A lady in red, tears dripping down her face. 2. A great battle, ending in a burst of light. 3. An army raising from deep waters. 4. A Watcher sinking its teeth into a fish of pure gold. 5. A princess dreaming, sparks flying off her head like lightningbugs. 6. An Eye Lord falling from the sky and turning to dust in the dirt. 7. An impossibly strange creature living in the blackest dark ever known. <center>[[back->main]]</center>

They were times of conquering and expanding, the first few years when the armies began to venture out into the world, when they discovered the Lake that would become sacred to their Kingdom. It had been a difficult raid, with lives lost in battle and few supplies remaining, but although morale was low, those who lived to fight another day stubbornly marched on, hoping there would be greener pastures ahead. It took a few days of wandering, nights spent hungry and cold, before they came across the valley. They arrived by night, and aside from the singing of cicadas, it was quiet and desolate; it seemed like a safe haven for their tired bodies to rest. The Prince who led them planted a flag, which made a rush of light spread through the grass, as far as the eye could see, to claim this place for the Kingdom, before they marched cautiously into this unknown place, cold and blue under the moonlight. The Prince lit a fire with a snap of his fingers, and they broke bread around it as they prepared to go to sleep for the night. One of them, however, a young Day Watcher, was restless - though as lacking in energy as the rest of them, the sight before them of the empty valley woke in him the need to explore. The Eye Lord appointed to this specific faction warned him not to stray far, for there might be creatures around and should he disturb them, their army might not be in conditions to defeat them. The young Watcher shrugged this advice off, trusting his own skills and instinct, and soon enough, he was out of sight. The army slept a few hours as the Eye Lord stood watch, as his kind usually did during these raids, when a strange noise was heard through the valley. The Eye Lord stood straighter, more alert, looking into the distance, and he saw the Watcher running back. He quickly woke the army in case something had followed him, however, they soon realized he came alone. The Day Watcher was carrying a strange look in his eye, and looked incredibly agitated. There was a trail of gold liquid running down its mouth. When asked about where he’d been, what he’d seen, he was incoherent: he spoke of fish and light and old Kings, things disconnected from the questions he was asked, as though he were no longer in the present. It was something he said that caught the Prince’s attention, something he recognized; his aimless rambling matched to perfection the story of a King from generations ago, though he spoke as though he had lived it. The Watched spent the rest of the night ranting and shivering, and met his feverish death by dawn. His body glowed for a brief moment, much to everyone’s surprise, before it went completely stiff. The army then decided they needed to investigate what had happened to him, in case there was danger around. They burned its body as it was customary, and set out to discover what he had encountered. They marched on despite their exhaustion, until they came across a lake. It was still and crystal clear, almost glowing in the sun. The army clamored at the sight, for their water was running low and so was their food. They approached, and the Watchers were thrilled to find the lake full of fish, however, these fish did not seem ordinary: they were golden and bright, unlike any fish they’d seen before. Though the Prince instantly remembered the Watcher’s rambling involving fish, and the gold running down his chin, it was too late to warn the army, for most of them were already drinking and sinking their teeth in deep into the flesh of the trouts and salmons of the lake. That night was one of mourning: the Watched they brought along, as well as the Eye Lord and the Prince, spent it tending to the ill Watchers, who were all now running their mouths in delirious rambling, spewing gold and shaking, as they remembered things they had not lived, but seemed to know by heart. They were all dead by sunrise, and the few that did not eat that night reported back to the King; it was then, as they recounted the strange tales the Watchers had told, that the wise King understood: the fish held the souls of those fallen, and those who fed on them had become poisoned by the memories of the dead, and so, the Lake was claimed for the Kingdom, and it was declared sacred - a place many would later walk to in silent pilgrimage, to pay tribute to those who came before, never daring approach its waters. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/D8E1t" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

The Eye Lords had always been mysterious creatures, tall, lanky and grim. Many feared them, and many more speculated on whether they had their own agenda. Truth is, they were solemn beings, and so they were incredibly respectful of hierarchies and tradition. Their promise to serve their King was one they took very seriously, and they found no use in feeling joyful or entertained, for they were very practical in nature, and their only interest was upholding the King’s power. This is why they were the most fit to be a part of the King’s council, advising him on the Kingdom’s matters with a cold head and deep wisdom. They were far from ambitious, since their only goal was an existence of commanding those below them and serving those above. It was when the King began his plans to expand the Kingdom that one of them first understood the appeal of passionate emotions; he was appointed to lead one of the first armies to venture out into the wild. During their first battle, his blood pumped in a way it never had before, the thrill of the stabs and blows and the chaos around him was dazing, and he suddenly understood the Watchers he commanded. He kept this discovery a secret, for the other Lords would not stand for one of their own to succumb to the banality of emotion, and he feared should he reveal these thoughts, he would lose the King’s favor. However, the battle had passed, and he also feared he would never satisfy his newly found desires again. He tried to be involved in every raid from then on, to become one of the most vicious warriors there ever were, but the King, sensing something strange, refused him this privilege, assigning him to the council, which to the Eye Lord felt more like being sentenced. His mind was flooded, day and night, by the thrill of battle, the images of the blood flying everywhere, and soon enough he wondered about other earthly pleasures. After the banquets the Royals held, during which the Eye Lords never indulged but sat silently, he would stay behind and ravenously eat the leftovers of the delicious meals; he would read of battles long past in his spare time, and so, he had fallen prey to trivial pleasures that a Lord should never indulge in. The other Eye Lords began to notice some strange behaviors from him, and grew suspicious. Something they did not know, however, was that this Lord was turning into something else, something new: the Lords had knowledge and temperance, but should they break their sacred vows to serve and not feel, they could yield powers they never thought possible. This Lord silently acquired a new purpose, and with it, his power grew, though he could not quite control it: his emotions would have effects around him, a change in the atmosphere that would turn into a storm when he would grow upset, lightning falling from the sky, and clear, favorable weather when he was pleased. No one made this connection, and the other Lords plotted to rid the Kingdom of his dangerous new inclinations, fearing the odd way he was acting might mean he was scheming against the King. One night, they sneaked up on him as he hanged around the leftovers of the meals the Royals left behind. They caught him indulging into the meat of deers, the juicy grapes on the table, and took this to mean he desired to take the King’s place. The night was dark that night, as they lit him on fire and shot him down onto the earth like a divine arrow; he fell like a shooting star, body turning to dust before it hit the earth. His soul, however, remained: a dark, electric bundle that crawled deep into the dirt where it planted itself like a seed. For a week, the weather was cold and grim, as though the sky were mourning his loss, and by the end of those dark days, a tree grew from where the Lord’s soul had fallen. This tree could not be cut, no matter how much they tried to acquire its sturdy wood for building structures or tools, and whenever someone tried, the sky would break into terrible rain, and so it became sacred, untouchable, and many payed tribute to it in hopes of clear skies ahead. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/lpO7M" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

It was only a matter of time before most of the land close to the Capital of the Kingdom had been taken over by the King’s armies; occasionally, they would be under attack from a realm nearby, however, as the Kingdom grew stronger so did its warriors, and so these battles were no longer as challenging as they once were. The Royals were growing restless once again, and the warriors even more so in the face of what seemed to be the rise of another peaceful era. The King knew how dangerous peace could be, since boredom was key for unrest to grow among the population, which according to history, often led to internal conflict at the lack of battles to be won and land to be conquered. Cartographers used to be Royals, who needed to explore through their ability to see through another creature’s eyes, but now any low ranking warrior could name every piece of land the Kingdom had claimed, could read and understand maps without issue, for what was once a mystery was now entirely known. A challenge was needed to keep the armies going, and so, the King put together a special faction for a new mission: they would venture out into the sea and explore beyond the bounds of the shore that they knew to be a bit further east. Since the Royals could only see through the eyes of fish beyond the beach, they could not know what lay beyond, and so this seemed to be the perfect venture to thrill the King’s subjects. He selected his best warriors for this task, though all across the Kingdom wanted to join this mission, and one of his most loyal Eye Lords to lead them. He also appointed a Prince and a Princess to go with them in case their power was needed, as well as to record whatever they might find. They set out for the beach, with carriages carrying massive pieces of wood and different tools, and once they reached their destination, they built the boats that would take them to their next adventure. They were a small army, and so five boats, not too big in size, were enough for all of them to sail. It took a few hours, dusk settling over them, but eventually, as a thick fog formed around them, they saw land ahead. It was unlike anything they had seen before: a small, very small island, but with great buildings, towering in height, everything bright and blue, as though every structure they could make out gave off its own kind of light. As much as they advanced, the island seemed to always grow further away from them, never quite getting close enough to be reached, and then came an arrow lit with fire from the far off land. It landed on one of the boats, burning the Watchers that were on it until the ship was nothing but ash. They prepared to attack, but the fog was getting thicker and thicker until not a thing could be seen. They waited, expectant and scared, for further attacks, but they never came. By the time the fog dissipated, the island was no longer there, as though it had never existed. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/5z71x" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

Though the Watched had learned to live with the curse, and the possibility of regaining their sight was no longer something most of them wanted, there were still those who secretly remained hopeful of one day going back to their old abilities. These were, for the most part, Watched that had been born with this corruption already in them, and so they yearned to know what the world around them looked like, what it was like to perceive the moon and the rivers and the foliage not with their minds but through a sense they could not imagine. They were mesmerized by the tales of the older Watched who had been there when the curse had spread, and longed for those days where their hands were free and their facer were not scarred. It was a strange night during a raid, a night of red moon while the armied broke their bread and shared the spoils of battle while the Watched tended to the wounded, that one of these Watched, having come along in this adventure, strayed from the army to explore. It is said that in the wilderness he encountered a hawk that spoke to him, though these stories have been never confirmed; the rumor says he came back that night and urged the other Watched, while the rest of the army slept, to run off with him, claiming he had found something incredible. By the time the army awoke, all the Watched were gone - bewildered by this, they decided to search for them, but did not find anything until that night: as they marched on, they saw what at first they thought to be a pack of large birds in the sky, however, many believed these creatures, too bg to be any kind of bird they knew, to be a flock of Watched, now bearing wings. Though this remained a mysterious and unconfirmed legend, the news spread far and wide amongst the Watched, and since then, many escape the Kingdom in search of what came to be known as The Cult of the Eagles, believing these Watched to have found a way to liberate themselves, even if they did not regain their sight, through a new form of illumination. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/7zUgH" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

<center><span class="title">You have sold your soul to the demon The Eye Gods are watching. [[Click to proceed->lore5w]]</span></center>

Though the Watched had learned to live with the curse, and the possibility of regaining their sight was no longer something most of them wanted, there were still those who secretly remained hopeful of one day going back to their old abilities. These were, for the most part, Watched that had been born with this corruption already in them, and so they yearned to know what the world around them looked like, what it was like to perceive the moon and the rivers and the foliage not with their minds but through a sense they could not imagine. They were mesmerized by the tales of the older Watched who had been there when the curse had spread, and longed for those days where their hands were free and their facer were not scarred. It was a strange night during a raid, a night of red moon while the armied broke their bread and shared the spoils of battle while the Watched tended to the wounded, that one of these Watched, having come along in this adventure, strayed from the army to explore. It is said that in the wilderness he encountered a hawk that spoke to him, though these stories have been never confirmed; the rumor says he came back that night and urged the other Watched, while the rest of the army slept, to run off with him, claiming he had found something incredible. By the time the army awoke, all the Watched were gone - bewildered by this, they decided to search for them, but did not find anything until that night: as they marched on, they saw what at first they thought to be a pack of large birds in the sky, however, many believed these creatures, too bg to be any kind of bird they knew, to be a flock of Watched, now bearing wings. Though this remained a mysterious and unconfirmed legend, the news spread far and wide amongst the Watched, and since then, many escape the Kingdom in search of what came to be known as The Cult of the Eagles, believing these Watched to have found a way to liberate themselves, even if they did not regain their sight, through a new form of illumination. <center><a href="https://ctt.ac/ydaWc" target="_blank">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

The curse of the Watched was not the only ill to plague the Kingdom. The realm had prospered and kept on growing, and the days of turmoil seemed to have been left behind. However, though these good times lasted a long time, a new ailment took the Royals by surprise. The first to contract this new curse was a Prince, one who held one of the highest ranks in the court and who had led many battles won. It was precisely during one of these raids that it happened: in the middle of fighting, as he stabbed a sword through an enemy, he tried to call out to one of the Night Watchers for back up, but he found he could not speak. He tried again, tried to cry out, but the sound never came. This cost him some injuries, as he could not ask for anyone to aid him, and in the frenzy of war, the others were not paying attention. In the end, the battle was won, but his voice seemed to be lost for good. The Eye Lord in charge of the army contacted the King, asking for his guidance, but the ruler of the Kingdom had no answers. This was the plague that befell the royals: they were not blinded like the Watched, instead, they were turned to mutes. The Prince that first contracted it went back to the court, defeated despite their victory against their rivals, and he was discharged from leading the armies, for he could not give orders anymore. Feeling useless, he began to spend a lot of time consulting the Demon to check those sacred pages of history, as well as the royal library which held all the knowledge of science and medicine and light the Kingdom had to offer, looking for a cure to this sickness. It was not long before a second royal went quiet too. A princess, who lost her voice in the middle of a feast. One by one, many royals fell silent. The King banished them, fearful of contagion, to an island far from the sky where he and the rest of the Royals lived, but this was not enough to stop the curse from spreading. The King grew paranoid that he or the Queen might fall prey to this plague. How would he rule if he could not speak? And so he also declared that this would be kept secret from the rest of the Kingdom. The Royals whispered, speculated about the origins of this curse. They thought it might be a hex placed upon them by the Watched, who might still be spiteful for the King not aiding them when they were blinded; after all, all things must fall by their own weight, and maybe this was some kind of retribution. The King, once a large portion of his court had lost their voices, became desperate, and so he searched for an answer based on these speculations: he searched for a Watched that was wise and could have an answer as to how the curse might be cured. The Watched he chose was old and frail, but despite his weakness, the King was surprised to find he was as clever as the best in his court. He suggested the curse might have originated not from an earthly hex cast by the Watched, but rather something deeper, something that came from beyond: this might be divine punishment. The King decided then that the solution might be to pay tribute to the Watched in some way; the Royals had, after all, come from them. So he spoke to them, and with his power over light, he blessed them with a new ability: the power to go unseen when they wished, and to show themselves at will. It was after this blessing that the curse did stop, though the royals who had fallen silent did not recover their voice, however, they learned from the Watched, who were willing to teach them their ways, how to speak through their minds rather than their voices. Whether this was the work of the Watched or some divine entity, the members of the Kingdom never knew, but the Watched were, from then on, respected by the King for their aid. <center><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I%20unlocked%20the%20Eighth%20Gate%20to%20the%20Paradox%2C%20Time%20to%20go%20through%20the%20remaining%202%20locks.%20BRACE.%20%0A%40eyeversed%0A%23paradoxgates">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

The Watched are usually involved in these strange things. The Watched might hold a power no one else posseses. Maybe it is because, despite not mastering light, they have mastered another, secret knowledge, a power that only with hard work and mental fortitude can be harnessed. Along came, many years ago, a Watched clever and skillful in the art of thought and visions. Many called him an oracle, many called him a prophet. He was a strange one, more ambitious than a Watched should be, ando more studious than they usually were. He spoke of dreams, and he spoke of the future, all as though he knew something no one could fathom. He retreated to a forest for years, forsaking his place as a servant in the Kingdom to pursue and though they speculated, none knew what really happened during his time away. He seemed changes somehow, though, carried himself with a certainty and a mystery that only shrouded those who hold a secret close to their chest can have. He kept to himself at first, but the intrigue grew. Although he was not known amongst the rest of the members of the Kingdom, the Watched spread the rumor of this peculiar being, of the aura of enigma that enveloped him, whispers of what he might know, what he might understand. Finally, the revelation came. It was a small one: during a raid, before the warriors and Watched they brought along left, he whispered to one of them: <i>the mountain lion will feed you all</i>. These words remained floating in this Watched’s mind, though he was confused by them, and therefore skeptical that they had any meaning. However, the supplies for the raid were running low, only water remaining, and when they began to go hungry, this Watched went to explore, and the other Watched’s prediction came true: amid the hills, the corpse of a mountain lion lay on the grass. It was fresh, a deep wound on his neck, most likely the product of a fight with another animal, but the meat was still good, and so he called for the others, and the lion was brought back to where they were stationed. They cut the meat, and shared it over a fire, content to have satiated their starved bodies. The mountain lion had fed them all. The Watched tried to relay the prophecy to the Watchers, but they paid him no mind. The Watched knew better, though. The others back home took the events very seriously, and the whispers spread wide and far. They pestered the Watched they now perceived now as some kind of seer, hoping for a glimpse into the future, but he remain silent and stoic, only a knowing look betraying his knowledge. The next one was even more cryptic: <i>the darkest berries will make them rot</i>. It seemed to hold no sense or meaning for a long time, but a year later, when a battle was being lost, a Watched noticed a bush of berries. Unsure of what to do with them, he collected them. That night, after the army’s shameful retreat, the Watched sneaked out of the camp, and into enemy territory, the berries heavy in his pocket. He did not know what to expect, however, he approached with a firm belief in what the Prophet had claimed. He hid when he was near the enemy camp, but he was found, and he was badly wounded and the berries stolen, for their enemies seemed to be low on supplies. He returned to camp, sure he had made a mistake. The other Watched took care of his wounds. The next day, they prepared for another battle, a rematch of sorts, but they walked far ahead without running into the other army. Instead, they eventually came across their camp. Most of them were dead, blood spurting out of their mouths. The berries were poisonous. The few who remained were taken captive, and used to negotiate with their rivals, who agreed to give them land and fortune for the safe return of their warriors. This continued, the Prophet’s words carrying weight months or years later, but always giving the Kingdom a reward once his prediction had come true. The Eye Lords took notice of this eventually as well. They did not perceive the Prophet as an asset to the Kingdom, but rather as a threat, for if he chose to turn his back on the Kingdom, he could cause a civil war as he led the Watched, and with his wisdom, it seemed like a battle the Royals and Eye Lords could not win. They took him at night, they took him and tried to be quiet, but the other Watched took notice and followed. They had spent years trying to learn from him, to decipher his messages, and many of his prophecies were recorded in a book. (This book would be lost later on, never to be seen again) The Eye Lords tied the Prophet to a tree, and summoned light into their hands. As the Watched stared, too fearful to stop the Eye Lords, but also terrified for their Oracle, they lit the tree. The Prophet did not seem affected, remaining calm even as the flames began to reach his ankles. He looked straight ahead. His last words would haunt the Kingdom for a long time to come: <i>THE RED QUEEN, SHE IS COMING.</i> <center><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I%20unlocked%20the%20Tenth%20Gate%20to%20the%20Paradox%2C%20I'm%20now%20ready%20to%20enter%20The%20%20Paradox.%20BRACE.%20%0A%40eyeversed%0A%23paradoxgates">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>

There were rumors in the Kingdom. No one knew where they came from - maybe a strange being somewhere beyond who whispered into the dreams of the Kingdom's subjects. The rumors were intriguing. There was a very large mountain in one of the places that had been recently added to the Kingdom; a snowy giant that towered over the newly established small town at its skirts. The gossip started out small, Watched telling the tale of the top of the mountain, and what could be accomplished by reaching it: enlightenment. The tall tale indicated that at the highest point of the mountain, as close as subjects could get to the King's court in the sky, there would be a light, blinding and overpowering that would invade whoever was there; it would rush into their mouth and fill them to the brim, their ribcage full with it, overflowing from their body - and in a blink, they would be changed as they reached the highest of wisdoms and ascend. These whispers fell on deaf ears at first, most of the Kingdom dismissing it as some superstition the Watched held, however, the story grew powerful with time, and soon enough the news spread throughout the Kingdom. Many would try to climb, a pilgrimage that felt almost sacred; they put togetgher parties that would venture out and attempt to walk the steep mountain, however, the cold was ruthless, unforgiving, and the days grew long, and their bones were tired, and they usually fell dead before reaching the top. The path was littered with dead, frozen bodies; some died from exhaustion, some from the cold, and there were accidents, too: there were those who fell, rolling downhill until their already tired bodies were a pile of broken bones. The mountain was also prone to cause a particular kind of madness: those who climbed it became obssessed with getting to the top, delirious with this violent desire to ascend. When they went in groups, sometimes fights would break out between those who could not take it anymore and wished to go back and those who had fallen to madness, and there would be conflict when the parties were low on supplies as well. All this resulted in more death among the snow. No matter how many perished, the rumor stayed with the realm, even if no one lived to tell the tale of their enlightenment, as everyone assumed their disappearance could mean they had reached it. Years passed, but the story did not decay, and so those who, bravely and with great naivety, ventured into this challenge, kept dying with cold limbs, the thought of ascension in their minds and delirious words on their lips. <center><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I%20unlocked%20the%20Tenth%20Gate%20to%20the%20Paradox%2C%20I'm%20now%20ready%20to%20enter%20The%20%20Paradox.%20BRACE.%20%0A%40eyeversed%0A%23paradoxgates">To prove your success, tweet this</a> [[back->main]] </center>