There was a distinct chill in the air. It permeated the entire cabin. It was not uncomfortably cold, and, if anything, it gave Peregrine a strange sense of nostalgia. It reminded them of fall back home.

Sometimes they wished they could go back.

Sometimes they did not.

---

The distinct scent of embers filled the air; the heat radiating from the fires a stark contrast to the cold night air. The city was in shambles. Peregrine had barely escaped their home with their life, let alone the minimal supplies they had found. Wouldn't do them much good, though. An old steak knife can't do much against whatever the hell armor these people were wearing.

...

All they could feel now was adrenaline.

The grief would have to come later.

---

This was life now. It was pleasant. But lonely. They only had one friend. Chiranath. He didn't talk much. Or at all, really. Still, it was nice to have some company. The only other acquaintances they had were birds. And plants.

Due to the nature of their nomadism, they rarely, if ever, saw any land based creatures. Only when they stopped at towns.
Ah well. Peregrine looked out the window of their cabin. The skies were quite cloudy today. Chiranath had good senses, though. He would navigate them through safely, most certainly. Occasionally, tall, dark spires could be seen out the window. Obsidian obelisks, an apparently natural formation found in some of the more desolate areas of this world. Peregrine always thought there was something more to them.

It was strange, the stark contrast between the domain of Peregrine and Chiranath and the desolate lands below. A coniferous forest, with rivers, lakes, and life, in a sea of what seemed to be little more than dead earth.

This worked out fine, of course. Chiranath, of course, was able to maintain all of this life as they moved, almost irregardless of external conditions.

---

Had to run. Crossbowman saw them. Ran like they never ran before. Could hardly think. Just had to keep going. They were just some kid, eventually their assailant had to lose interest. The forest started to grow thicker and thicker. Peregrine knew it well, thankfully.

But that won't stop a bolt.

They collapsed onto the forest floor, unable to feel what had just happened to their leg.

Peregrine tried to get back up, desperately, but their leg just gave out.

With the last few moments of consciousness, they felt the ground itself shaking as if the earth itself was about to give out, and a massive, unearthly roar. They heard the crossbow clatter to the ground nearby, and a set of footsteps run off into the forest in a desperate sprint.

---

They had met so long ago. It was so strange, at first. Being saved by a massive beast like that. The stuff of legends, really. And now it was just... normal. Living on top of such a massive creature. An entire forest on top of it. For all intents and purposes, it was their own city, their own little piece of land.

Also, it was a really good way of getting discounts at markets. Merchants love not having their stalls crushed. Peregrine learned that early on.

---

"One. Ingot." the trader hissed. "I just lost my entire city. Everyone I know is probably dead. I had to amputate my own leg. I am using an old branch as makeshift leg. I am offering you a precious family heirloom just to walk again." Was that too much? Peregrine had no idea who was in the locket. Still, maybe the pity could help them. "What did I just say? One ingot or there is no deal. I do not haggle." Ugh. It was one of those kinds of traders.

Peregrine chanted something to themself softly. The ground shook, and off in the distance, you could see a fragment of the earth itself dislodge itself, accompanied by a massive roar.

"Are you still entirely certain you are not willing to haggle?" Peregrine asked in a singsong voice. The trader silently offered them the prosthetic limb.

"You're too kind. Oh. And I could use something else."

"W-what?! What more do you want!?"

"Tell me about this."

Peregrine slammed down the onyx, rune-encrusted bolt onto the table.

The trader looked up, their look of terror now mixed with some sort of pity.

"I... I'm sorry. You must understand. I cannot help you."

He paused, then sighed.

"Go to the Blood Coast docks. Ask for Raphael. You didn't hear this from me."

...

"Oh, and one more thing. Take this. May it bring you good fortune as it has brought me for ages. I grow old, and have little need for it anymore."

He handed Peregrine a strange mask, similar to the skulls of the Grazers. It had two strange carvings on it beneath both eye sockets.

"You... You'll need all the luck in the world if you want to survive. Well, I guess it's more if you want your friend over there to survive. But I can tell. I can see that loyalty in your eyes..."

...

"Don't let it get you killed."

---

Life was alright, certainly.

But Peregrine grew wary.

There were others like Chiranath out there.

Bigger.

Less benevolent.

Or worse.

Peregrine and Chiranath shared a mutualistic symbiosis.

But there were others out there.

There were parasites.

And they were dangerous.

---

Raphael sighed. "No. What you have done is alerted those in this little portside town that there's another Ancient."

...

"That information is worth a lot, you know. They're going to be looking for your friend now... And you, too, if you stay with them. Look at what they've done to you already."

He nodded toward's Peregrine's prosthetic.

"They will do far worse if they find you. Won't kill you. They'll just... recondition you. You're one person. You can't do a damned thing against their armies."

Peregrine knew he was right, but something inside of them seemed to say that part of the statement was wrong. That somewhere out there, there was a way out. A way to survive those... things.

---

There it was.

After all these years.

That stupid, impossible suicide mission paid off.

There it was.

A massive gateway.

It was made of some strange, almost otherworldly material. It was smooth, and was made of a dark, jet black substance. In it, were smooth letters, not unlike those of Peregrine's language.

"PROMETHEUS SCIENCE - GATEWAY A-17"

---

The skin depicts Peregrine. Peregrine is a fairly average human from that re-

*ERROR*

SYSTEM HAS ENCOUNTERED SEVERAL UNCO- 

SHUTTING DOWN SECURITY.

TRANSMISSION RECEIVED.

TRANSMISSION PLAYBACK:

Rttihltcjs tprjqhcqqckj kjmi hkpi. Tpcia tk qija kji irpgcip. Skt jk piqlkjqiq.

Tbcq pirgcty cq qk lpkhcqcjs. C akj't wrjt tk scvi ul kj ct yit.

Lgirqi piqlkja. Lgirqi.

Kup pirgcty cq kj tbi pkra tk aiqtrecgczrtckj.

Wi jiia bigl.

Lgirqi rttihlt mkjtrmt. Wi'pi aiqliprti.

Wigg. C suiqq ct hcsbt duqt ei hi jkw.

C akj't pirggy fjkw.

Lgirqi. Lgirqi.

SYSTEM REBOOT INITIATED.

...

...

...

REBOOTING

...

...

...

SYSTEM ACTIVE. RECENT MEMORY HAS BEEN WIPED.

Prometheus Science - Empowering the corporations of today with the technology of the future!