Episode 100 - Centuries

## Centuries

A black background with a white border that resembles the luminescence from strobe lights and a small red eye in the bottom left corner. A human skull made of simplified drawings of eyes depicted in red is seen in the centre of the image, wearing three white party hats like a crown as white confetti falls from above. Bellow the image but still within the border the words "100.CENTURIES" are depicted in white. The image contains exactly 100 eyes

### Author

William A. Wellman

Clara pursues her studies, Diggory meets with the crown of decay, and Olivier plans for the winter. The theme of tonight’s episode is Centuries.

> ***Content warning**:* *Animal death (Dogsmell as usual), Death + Injury, Blood, Mushroom related gore, Birds, Emotional Manipulation, Bugs, Body horror (the mushroom horrors continue)*
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## Intro - Further From Youth

Nikignik speaks to the Dreamers of Rothogroth, being born again with each new spore. He finds this to be bliss, the fresh universe awakening, this joy not being despoiled when he came to call the firm earth home. He waited, and wondered when his zeal for life had disappeared, when had the withering and cynicism begun? When Marolmar had died, when the heart had been buried, when humans had unmade themselves? Or was it the rain the seeped into the whispers of his forgotten soul.

Nikignik sits in Professor Henry O’Connor's office at Downing Hill Public Library as he sits in a meeting with Clara Martin.

## Story 1 - An Investment

Professor Henry O’Connor turns down Clara Martin as she attempts to get more information on why she is able to see ghosts (see Covenants), telling her that she wasn't allowed to learn past the basics because studying the basics were what gave a strong foundation, despite her telling him that she already knew the basic and needed to start to learn the 'big picture stuff' as it was important (see Episode 90 - Tests). He asks her why it was important, and she lies telling him that it was to help her understand herself. He tells her that he wished he could help but the secrets she was looking for were not for her to know. Clara tells O'Connor that she knew Syrensyr's name, that Friday Rescher had told her (see Episode 30 - Stones). She asks him what it meant, but he refuses her.

O'Conner tells her that it burdened him to expose so many young people to danger, but he did it because he had to, so they knew how to weather the storm for all humanity. It would be a waisted investment to allow her to destroy herself with too much information. Clara wishes him farewell and leaves, concluding that she'd have to continue her studies on her own. She returns to her room, pulling out a book from under her bed allowing herself to be sucked into and absorbed by it in a very literal sense. It is unknown if this only affects her mind or if it is her body that also is transported into it.

### Interlude 1 - For The Trees

Nikignik speaks to the Dreamers who are specifically trees, telling them to be still as there was no hurry. It may seem there were disasters they needed to prepare for, but they would approach at their own pace, and they would grow stronger with each winter, become able to support themselves. Troubles would pass beneath their branches and not return, they had only lived a few decades and had hundreds of years left. He tells them to grow their roots deep, drink from the soil, and know that the rains would continue to fall.

## Story 2 - Rizwana Lied

Diggory Graves stared down at the abysses of the great sinkhole within which Rothogroth resided as they enter and travel down on the museum of broken promises (see Episode 99 - Sentries). They stand on the balcony with Mx Morell and Percy Reed, with Benson the Dissembling man captaining the museum from the balcony bellow theirs. They come to a stop as the walls of the hole run out and open to a great subterranean space that goes even further down, Morell moving past them to perch on the balcony and extend their hand to the darkness.

Morell bids Rothogroth a good afternoon. The ground shakes and giant green light begins to shine from an underground lake at the bottom of the hole. Morell responds that they had been well, and Diggory realises that Rothogroth had spoken, just that they [Diggory] could not hear him. They voice this, and Morell tells them that Rothogroth did not speak, rather communicated through parasitic spores (see Episode 99 - Serenities) but tells them that they could translate for them. Morells tells Rothogroth that they had brough Diggory with them to talk, if Rothogroth would permit it. Rothogroth seems displeased by this, and Morell tells him that they didn't understand what he meant. The room continues to shake, causing large rocks to begin to fall and Morell announces that the conversation wasn't going to work out, telling Benson to back them out of the sinkhole as florescent fungi begin to sprout from the passage. Diggory calls to Rothogroth, that they had come to speak to him, pleading for him to answer them. A large slop of fungal flesh falls from above and shapes into an anthropomorphic. Rothogroth speaks through this, telling Diggory they had come to die.

### Marketing - Vacation

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her 'marketing' segment. She pleads with anyone who may be inside Box Cassiopia to power down the defence system and let her in (see Episode 99 - Sentries). She concludes that no one inside the Box could hear her, the Prime Dream was already so loud. She asks if she was broadcasting to the stragglers, scavenging rodents who had no use to her. She decides to leave, telling herself that this was a good thing, like a vacation, that she needed time off for a proper work-life balance. She tells the Dreamers that she didn't know what she was going to do.

### Story 2, Continued - Rizwana Lied

Diggory tells Rothogroth that they had not come to die, rather seek and audience with him. He tells them that he was not one to be summoned, why listen when Diggory and their kind would be gone so soon. Diggory asks him that if he cared so little, why had he instructed Morell to hurt them, Morell speaking up that this was a question they were also curious about. He tells them that the Heart of Marolmar could not be stopped now, its pace quickened. Diggory asks why he wanted to stop them from going to the heart of it could not be stopped, but Morell points out that Rothogroth did not look well, which he confirms.

He tells them that he had been infected by the Black water, no longer able to see a future for the planet, only a future for the north. He curses Marolmar, but states that he now saw his vision. He tells Diggory that they must not go, as they were the one with the potential to damage the outcome. Diggory reminds him that he'd told Rizwana Mirza that the heart could be stopped (see Episode 16 - Crowns). Rothogoth tells them that he'd told her no, she could not stop the heart, and he had not lied to her then as he was not lying to Diggory now. The Heart must be allowed to run it's course or it'd all be a waist. Morell asks if there was any way they could help him if the water had affected him, also telling him that if he told Diggory not to go north they wouldn't. He tells them that he didn't think this was the case, Diggory did not even know what it was that spoke in their head, Rizwana could not save humanity, her bones wouldn't either. She had lied, she knew her efforts were futile, yet she tried anyway. He asks Diggory if they would do the same, as he began to dissolve, if Diggory went north, their friends would suffer. Rothogroth's anthropomorphic form finishes dissolving, and Morell comments that what they'd just done had been very stressful, asking if anyone felt like a drink as they 'knew a place' (see the Resting Place Hotel).

### Interlude 2 - Happy Birthday Nikignik

Nikignik tells the Dreamers that that day was a special day, or it was for them, a day in their time wasn't even a moment for him. They announce that they were beginning the fourth billion year of life, still young for an Indescribable, as was their universe, numbers of years that he could not even begin to get the Dreamers to conceive of before it died. He tells the Dreamers that eh wondered if it would bring them comfort to know that although their age had ended, life would go on, and when life ended on earth it would just begin in other places, and the universe went on and on. That was it for his birthday contemplations he supposed, telling the Dreamers if they'd missed it he'd have another in a billion years, and they were invited.

## Story 3 - Cocoa Finalities

Olivier Song sits with Riot Maidstone as well as Danielle O'Hara and Clementine Maidstone as Riot drinks hot chocolate, remarking that it was too hot and asking Olivier if they could cool it down. Olivier obliges this request, and Danielle comments that with the hot coco sorted, if they could move on to the conversation that would affect the rest of their lives. Riot asks if anyone had seen Percy and Diggory, which no one had, Clementine suggesting that they may be on a date. Olivier points out that Percy and Diggory had helped them with alot, but they couldn't rely on them for every problem, they weren't always going to be there. Riot points out that the Heart was Diggory's '*whole soul quest*' (see Diggory Graves), so she'd have wanted them present for decision making. But they'd up and vanished, so they'd have to decide on their own. She asks who was going on the expedition (see Episode 96 - Horizons).

Danielle tells them that she wasn't, she was making progress with walking (see Episode 96 - Horizons) but Tara Mc'Gowan had told her it could still be months before she could without pain, along with all her other health complications (see Danielle O'Hara), and she only had one shot at life which she didn't want to ruin by falling down a river bank. She tells the others she didn't know how useful radios were going to be for them, so it would be best for he to stay behind so they could still communicate with Scoutpost Two in their dreams. Riot tells them that she was going, it was the least she could do for Diggory, and it would be '*the ultimate groundskeeper move*' (see Episode 40 - Graves). Clementine tells them that she was going to stay, like Clementine she was only just beginning her life. Olivier tells them that they were going, they could fly and control the weather and heal themself, they were needed to keep them alive. Cindy Lockheart makes her presence known, telling them that they had three days to pack.

## Outro - Centuries

Nikignik waxes poetics about centuries, telling the Dreamers that with each one that passed he looked back in wonder at who he'd used to be, when the journey began, how much change could happen so quickly. It made them curious about what the journey ahead would bring, who and what he would be by the time the broadcast ended. It was a luxury to grow; to have time to grow, and he shall continue to, until there was no universe left to speak in and there is no one left to listen. He tells the Dreamers that they only had one century if they were lucky. He could barely do anything with a single century, but he supposed they might as well enjoy it.