Ex Cyclopedia

Ex Cyclopedia

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She was late. The train was already arriving at the station. But she knew that her father would stand there on the platform waiting for her.

Blame It On The Wind

Broken Promise

The Windlass

Over The Wash

Arges And His Daughter Maira

Memory Loss

One Drop At a Time

Absence

Grand papa told me that mama doesn’t need to know about what happened that day.

It was over. No one is going to tell him he didn’t make it. No one is going to tell him he made it either. It was over.

The bird has led him far inland and showed him the place. His grandson was there and so was the windlass.

He will have to get back alone. It was always like that. Going back over the Wash is going to take unbearably long.

When her father was away for too long, she would sneak into his study and make herself comfortable on the floor, browsing through blueprints.

It happened on the way to the Town Market. As he was turning round the corner, the Hands grabbed the front wheel of his bicycle and suddenly all the memory vessels were smashed to bits.

You have to spend memories carefully.

The moment after, everything looked the same except him. He was not there anymore. And all the holds were empty.

Her father’s boat were moored at the Moody Vicar’s. The next morning she set out. The skies were cold and unclear.

Ex Cyclopedia Special Edition: Departure (10/1)

To be continued...

👁️

Pierced

The ship became part of the landscape. A young man who lived in a nearby cottage told her he used to climb the wreckage as a child. He presented her with a plate – the house was full of tableware and items from the wreck. When she found this place, it became surprisingly hard to remember where she was going.

Soundtrack by Ben Price

The Message

Nobody knew she was leaving. By the time we got back, mama was gone. Grand papa kept the envelope sealed for the next ten years.

At Briargrave

As she stood on the platform waiting for her father to arrive on the train, she noticed him standing there on the road with his bicycle, staring. Next moment they both knew this was The Beginning for them.

Last Gate

The last lock was separating her from the abyss, the lock Mayra had never passed through before. Only those who had the Windlass could do that, and her father's Windlass was with her. The Wash was covered with a thick shroud of clouds. It was getting dark.

New Engine

Percephone

It was a perfect one. The chrysalis had just hardened. Likely its first solstice, which meant it could serve for at least sixty years. Arges was happy that his wife’s boat would have such a beautiful engine.

What if she never actually boarded that ship? What if she just took a train somewhere quiet instead?