Elbow Deep, Nose Down

I looked through more of Royale's notes. He shared more details of his adventures across the world with his wife. It included when and how he thinks he got his tails. I did find another note with his scribblings as he started naming other incarnations of the nine-tailed fox. I found their books and read through them. Following his steps, I was able to begin to carve my road in how I looked into these.

There are so many of these books of all different quality. A few go so far back that they are written on scrolls. It makes me wonder how all of these got here. It also explains why this area is shrouded in such weird magic. The time hold is to preserve all of this. Some of these parchments should have disintegrated centuries ago.

I follow Royale's notes and I come to a conclusion about the tails. The first tail is life; gained at birth and the root of all the others. Many are tied with true, strong emotions. Fear, hate, and love.

I can't pinpoint them exactly, but I guess which ones were which. Hate would have been my second tail. To see Marcus attack Madam Odette made me feel that strong hate that I had never experienced before. I experienced true fear when I was being hunted for sport. But that turned to bravery when I fought back. Love came from… Love came from Madam Odette. I decided to leave to protect her.

There are quite a few that seem vague. A life-changing event. That could be nearly anything. It seems that Royale got married. A few others got this joy as well. Is this one that I have? I've had too many life-changing experiences. I can only assume I have that one. The one that intrigues me is also vague but it's described as "self-realization" and that can mean either my self or possibly my power. I would imagine that the firestorm I rained down would be that one.

I have two left to go. I can narrow one down to "sacrifice". Royale's sacrifice was the love of his life. She gave his life for him. I read others selflessly went to give themselves and survived walking away with a new tail. Which, again, makes me wonder how many didn't make it and got cut short. Lastly, knowledge. It seems some learned something that changed everything for them. I wonder if one of these books will do that.

There is no sense worrying about it today. My brain is already at its end. Going through these books takes it out of me. I'm slowly learning that this is part of that premonition or precognition ability that Royale mentioned. It can reach into an event or item to give you the story that it holds. That's how I was able to read the first journal of the fox that wasn't educated in language. I can't explain it other than it's a deeper connection to the world.

I retired from the library to find Anne back in the room with the tapestries. She's looking over them with intent trying to see what they have to tell. She's got notes on a few things here and there. A lot of these foxes seemed to be seeking refuge here. They presented something as a gift to the lord of this land. There doesn't seem to be anyone here anymore. The village we stayed in was barren. I haven't seen, felt, or pinged any other living creature other than ourselves. Even the wildlife seems to have taken off. It's almost as if this place is completely separate from the rest of the world.

I see no sense in worrying about it. We found what we came for. Now I just have to do my part and figure out what I need to do here. The journals are at the forefront of my goal. I hope they'll provide me with the answers that I need to gain the knowledge to get one tail and help me figure out what I need for the last.

The followers that accompanied us were able to find some rooms for us to stay in. They're old, but like everything else we've seen, well preserved. The sheets aren't covered in dust. Nothing seems to be falling apart. It's best for us to stay separated from me. I have a lot on my mind. There isn't a threat here either. There's no need for strict security.

The bed is oddly comfortable. That might be the exhaustion. Or that I've been here before in a previous life. I wonder if Royale and his wife stayed in this room. It looks familiar to my dream that I had. The soft breeze lulls me to sleep within an hour of me laying down. This room is positioned just right so that the morning sun works as an alarm clock.

I'm up before the others giving me the freedom to wander around for a moment. I look at the tapestries with the many stories of the foxes that ventured here in the past. I can guess that they were from 1200 to 1600 when these were made but the history of all the foxes was brought here around the early 1700s. I found an old journal where a fox named Jameson brought a collection of books with him. From there, many different foxes started organizing this place by the period that the records were written.

There are just so many to go through. I still have one question and I fear that I may never find the answer to that. Where did the nine-tailed fox come from? Who was the first nine-tailed fox? I think Phinnis had the oldest lead. The scroll he had in his office with the painting of a fox name "Aki". It would make sense. Aki is a Japanese name and the lore really starts in ancient Japan. Many of their emperors were swayed and swooned by this power.

I comb over the journals that Royale has specifically mentioned. Anne pops in once she's awake to check in on me. I'm loading up my arms with these resources and marking their spots. I want to make sure I put these back where they belong. My time will come and the next in line will need to find this place in a respectable condition.

I sit down and start going through this batch. I'm noticing a pattern that there are quite a few foxes that never reach their full potential. But Royale's recognition of the pattern for how they obtained certain tails. He references others who followed the same path to find this out. At least he cited his sources.

Hours pass and pages turn. I drift in and out of this reality into the words on the pages. I can transcend languages to see what each of my previous lives can offer me. I can see the same pattern that Royale mentioned. It's scattered in spots. Some things are out of order. But the key events are mostly there. I need my last two tails… I can pinpoint them to knowledge and sacrifice. I wonder how I can go about doing that. Or if it's possible to try and force it.

I'm already working on the knowledge portion. I'm picking up a lot of useful information. And a few skills here and there. A lot of these spells that are used are rough. It seems like most were guess and check when they tried to develop them and hone their skills. But it seems like they didn't have the same base and understanding that there is today about magical theory.

It's interesting to go over these. From all different walks of life, from rich to poor, from influential to unknown, they've each worked to make their own way in life. I feel like I'm doing the same. I'm just carving a different route for myself.

The day gets away from me again. My eyes begin to notice that the darkness is creeping in. The candles provide some light but not enough to illuminate the room to any degree. Any light from the stars or the moon helps. But it's not enough. That does give me a natural clock. Something that forces me to take my eyes off what I'm doing to break away and relax. Anne always comes and fetches me around the time that it gets to be too dark to see. She's been doing a good job keeping me and the others on a steady timetable.

"Sir, Red." She catches my attention before I head into my room. "You seemed to have quite a productive day. Congratulations on your new tail." New tail? I didn't even notice. I reach behind me to take a quick tally and sure enough, there are eight. I must have hit a threshold that I had been struggling with. Was it a spell? There were so many. Maybe it was finding out what I needed for my tails. Knowledge is a fickle thing. You know what you know but you never know what it will be that you need to know.

One more to go. Sacrifice. A selfless act for someone else or giving up something valuable. Royale gained his last tail when his wife threw herself into the dart. Her sacrifice ended up being in vain but it gave him the power to carry forward against his attackers. I noticed a difference when the first ones began to manifest. My body changed. I could feel the power inside of me flowing. This last one just seemed to be. Nothing major. I don't feel sick as I did when I was staying at the hotel.

Could it be the area that's affecting me? Or maybe my body is just used to the shift. Does each tail give me a boost of a certain value and that value is just so minor now that I don't feel it? I have something to look into for tomorrow. I'll relive the moments when these tails grew. I'll need to focus on those that gained their full potential. I hate to call those that died before failures but they didn't live to their full potential. Not for lack of trying.

Royale warned me and so many others seemed to fall into the same trap of betrayal. I refuse to. I will get my ninth tail. I will become the creature of legend I need to be. I will continue my mission to get magic to the world. We've been gone for so long from that world that I don't know what state it's in anymore. It's low on my list of concerns. For now anyway.