The Journal of Anthony Garibaldi

Falling...

I've lost control of the Wastrel, and now I am holding on for my life as we all fall to our doom.

Why did I agree to come on this insane voyage into Hell itself? Be honest: it is because I know what fate awaits me in the Library, and I seek to avoid it by any means necessary. At the time, even Hell seemed a better alternative.

Failing...

The ground is rushing to meet us, and I know that we have failed; we cannot possibly survive. At least now I will be free of the Eye. I see Tristan's shadow blade reaching out to my chest, and I cannot bring myself to feel anger at him for this last betrayal...

As we stand in this circle, as the tempest rages above us, I can feel it. Fate in the sweeping winds, chance in the lightning crashing down, inevitability in the stones that surround us, and death in the sword at the center of it all. We are in a vortex of destiny, and the events of the next few moments will determine the path of our future.

As Janus, Hobart, and Tristan step forward in response to Na'Kar's challenge, I wonder if they can see how they're being manipulated. By Na'Kar, by the gods, by fate itself. I cannot see what fortune awaits us, but I fear it will end in tragedy if I let these events play out without asserting my own control over them.

Na'Kar... it would appear that he is not so different from myself. Despite his position among the Beysib, he seems to have rejected the goals of the Yuan'ti, and is using his power to craft his own destiny. He has manipulated us into eliminating his own commander's extermination squads, and now claims to seek a truce. And yet he also seeks the Sword of Conquest. I know my companions are unlikely to accept his offer, but I have to wonder what his ultimate goal is, and if his interests might lie along side our own.

"Thank you for all your assistance, love, but I really must rest now. If only I weren't so exhausted, I could thank you more... thoroughly." With a wink and a grin I convince the blushing young bar maid to leave me be after changing my bandages.

In truth, though I do need the rest, that's not why I've sent her away. I need some time alone, to think. My new companions have left me behind on their errand north, and I am somewhat shamed to not be able to go with them. I always considered myself hardy, compared to most of the S'Danzo I've traveled with, but I cannot compete in stamina with a Galeb Duhr, a highly trained Radiant monk, a revenant Zin'Carla, or a scion of a deity. I only hope this does not lessen me in their eyes. In any case, the errand should be a simple one, as simple as things can be in these dark times, and I doubt they will run into anything they can't handle without me. Their collective destinies are too strong to end in such a manner.

Destiny... that's the only name I can give to the force that's brought us together, that gives me my visions. I cannot say what end it is leading us to, however. This lack of control galls me; the followers of Zehir have found a way to break the yoke of destiny, and we can't oppose them by blindly following the path laid before us. If any one can find another way, it will be us, but we will need knowledge to do so.

I pull the eye of Duomar from its pouch. In my vision I saw the eye wielded against us by Thothamon; perhaps this is a small change I can make. If I possess the eye, he cannot. And such knowledge it must contain... knowledge that we will surely need in the fight to come. I open up my mind, and listen as the whispers grow louder...