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Bump, scars, and ridges crisscross the monstrous waveform shell from where the boundaries of dimensions ground against the interstitial space. A soft organ-thing lies inside, lit by the glimmers of Old Light flashing off the all-color nacre. Grooves across the shell mantle billow with the dust of ontoxanthellae, cross-dimensional symbiotes. Arrayed aside them are articles of other places, a pan-dimensional inventory stocked by an entropic broker.

=pronouns.IndicativeProximal= severe hindren =pronouns.personTerm= =verb:wear:afterpronoun= a spotless white tabard with long tails tailored to drape across =pronouns.possessive= long back. An array of obscure gadgets dangle in saddlebags strapped to =pronouns.possessive= dappled flanks. Most surprising is the bluish-white crust that grows across =pronouns.possessive= face, making =pronouns.possessive= gimlet stare all the more striking.

The molly netting spread over this mopango's carapace holds pouches of cooking ingredients and scrap alike. There is a familial care in the way =pronouns.subjective= =verb:watch:afterpronoun= over the other mopango, but when =pronouns.possessive= gaze turns to you, it is no less gentle, no less welcoming.

"Let the manes put off their terror, let them put off their aqueous bodies with fire.

     Let them draw together the bones of the metal.
     Selvaggia, Guiscarda, Mandetta,
     Rain flakes of gold on the water
     Azure and flaking silver of water,
     Pallor of silver, pale lustre of Latona,
     By these, from the malevolence of the dew
     Guard this alembic.
     Elain, Tireis, Allodetta
     Quiet this metal."
     -Ezra Pound

This Barathrumite moves with deliberate care, tending to the metal denizens and fixtures that keep Grit Gate running. =pronouns.Possessive= white fur and quills are shot through with gray streaks of eld, but there is a younger softness about =pronouns.possessive= eyes, particularly when a chromeling catches =pronouns.possessive= attention. Your face, however, =pronouns.possessive= gaze avoids.

Here stands a slight figure in a tailored vest, wire-rimmed lenses propped in front of curious blue eyes. Like all the other faundren, =pronouns.indicativeProximal= =pronouns.immaturePersonTerm= on the cusp of =pronouns.personTerm=hood =verb:exude:afterpronoun= a powerful curiosity. Unlike the other faundren, =pronouns.possessive= curiosity is tempered by poise and honed to a dagger's point by discipline. =pronouns.Possessive= brilliance is wasted here.

Gallium veins press against the underside of =pronouns.possessive= crystalline skin and gleam warmly. =pronouns.Possessive= body is perfect, and the whole of it is wet with amniotic slick; could =pronouns.subjective= have just now peeled =pronouns.reflexive= off an oil canvas? =verb:Were:afterpronoun= =pronouns.subjective= cast into the material realm by a dreaming, dripping brain? Whatever the embryo, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:are:afterpronoun= now the archetypal antelope; it's all there in impeccable simulacrum: the shiny teeth, the hispid skin, the spheric hooves. Perfection is realized.

Dimensional travels have altered the waifhood of this Sightless meyvn into something new. Where rattle-thin bones poke the skin of their lesser kin, a strange metallic fat obtains on =pronouns.possessive= starburnt flesh. Instead of the novice or disciple's splotchy baldness on the scalp, a strange fungus from the outer reaches grows as a new type of hair and peaks out the darkness of =pronouns.possessive= cowl. =pronouns.Possessive= blindfold remains, though it spins out in lateral ribbons and hangs with unearthly weight.

Gallium veins press against the underside of =pronouns.possessive= crystalline fur and gleam warmly. =pronouns.Possessive= body is perfect, and the whole of it is wet with amniotic slick; could =pronouns.subjective= have just now peeled =pronouns.reflexive= off an oil canvas? =verb:Were:afterpronoun= =pronouns.subjective= cast into the material realm by a dreaming, dripping brain? Whatever the embryo, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:are:afterpronoun= now the archetypal ape; it's all there in impeccable simulacrum: the vast shoulders, the gentle countenance, the musing eyes. Perfection is realized.

=pronouns.IndicativeProximal= brawny, mustachioed =pronouns.personTerm= =verb:wear:afterpronoun= a white apron stained with the juice of starapples. =pronouns.Possessive= sable hair mats against the browned skin of =pronouns.possessive= forehead. From =pronouns.possessive= left forearm hangs a wet rag, with which =pronouns.subjective= =verb:scrub:afterpronoun= the dirt from =pronouns.possessive= hands every few moments.

=pronouns.IndicativeProximal= brawny, mustachioed =pronouns.personTerm= =verb:wear:afterpronoun= a white apron stained with the juice of starapples. =pronouns.Possessive= sable hair mats against the browned skin of =pronouns.possessive= forehead. From =pronouns.possessive= left forearm hangs a wet rag, with which =pronouns.subjective= =verb:scrub:afterpronoun= the dirt from =pronouns.possessive= hands every few moments.

O, she doth pale red apples by her cheek!

That cheek which doth proclaim the rite of spring, And heretofore hath nature's grand technique, Ne'er ripened lips so red from which to sing. Begone, false sun! I know thee for a fraud. Her fairest skin illuminates the day. All gold is brass and e'ery jewel is flawed, When set beside the sums her eyes might pay. The Spindle, which from Omonporch ascends, Must surely be her likeness brightly wrought, And as a likeness, fails to apprehend, The artless beauty that its makers sought. Did I know love or beauty? No, for shame! For I knew neither 'til they spoke her name.

Fat was shorn from =pronouns.possessive= spindle-limbs on the psychic lathe. The irises of =pronouns.possessive= eyes are patterned on shapes that cannot be drawn in the geometries of the natural world, and =pronouns.subjective= =verb:wear:afterpronoun= a blindfold to guard their secrets. =pronouns.Possessive= weapon is immaterial but inseparable; it was spun from the same thoughtstuff as =pronouns.possessive= ego. Around =pronouns.possessive= neck =pronouns.subjective= =verb:wear:afterpronoun= the ornamental ruff; =pronouns.possessive= mastery of combat has given =pronouns.objective= access to a sight older than sight.

An asymmetrical jumble of girders and thin wire, an arcwyrk =verb:appear= to be just another pile of rubble. Only when =pronouns.subjective= =verb:spring:afterpronoun= to life, =pronouns.possessive= countless limbs popping with thousands of electrical sparks, does =pronouns.possessive= great danger present itself.

An old =pronouns.personTerm= with sand and soot in =pronouns.possessive= beard. Innumerable baubles and curios clutter =pronouns.possessive= workshop, shaded from the sunsear by a sheet of metal pitched upon the roof of =pronouns.possessive= hut. One of Argyve's bushy eyebrows is perpetually cocked, though whether that's owed to an insatiable curiosity or forehead mutation is unknown.

Possessed of the enterprising spirit that stirred in Hegelrut ages ago, Asphodel (called the Lovely) recently flitted toward the Spindle with xyr asphodelytes in tow and crowned xemself Earl of Omonporch. There xe reposes in the musa grove, under the Great Shade, unfurling xyr petals into perfect contours and holding court.

Gallium veins press against the underside of =pronouns.possessive= crystalline fur and gleam warmly. =pronouns.Possessive= body is perfect, and the whole of it is wet with amniotic slick; could =pronouns.subjective= have just now peeled =pronouns.reflexive= off an oil canvas? =verb:Were:afterpronoun= =pronouns.subjective= cast into the material realm by a dreaming, dripping brain? Whatever the embryo, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:are:afterpronoun= now the archetypal baboon; it's all there in impeccable simulacrum: the vast shoulders, the gentle countenance, the musing eyes. Perfection is realized.

Gallium veins press against the underside of =pronouns.possessive= crystalline chassis and gleam warmly. =pronouns.Possessive= body is perfect, and the whole of it is wet with amniotic slick; could =pronouns.subjective= have just now peeled =pronouns.reflexive= off an oil canvas? =verb:Were:afterpronoun= =pronouns.subjective= cast into the material realm by a dreaming, dripping brain? Whatever the embryo, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:are:afterpronoun= now the archetypal baetyl; it's all there in impeccable simulacrum: the chromium sheen, the winking diodes, the air vents. Perfection is realized.

Oiled and brushed mail hang across =pronouns.possessive= crooked spine and salient jaw. The color too was sucked out of =pronouns.possessive= irises by =pronouns.possessive= tangled lineage, and =pronouns.possessive= wet rosy lips catch the light and toss it back across a sharp sneer. =pronouns.Subjective==verb:'re:afterpronoun= saddled under the weight of the Holy Rhombus.

Thousands of alabaster bristles sprout every which way from the braided frame of the eldest urshiib in Qud. Leaning on a walking staff with long, winding grooves for =pronouns.possessive= serpentine fingers, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:stare:afterpronoun= at nothing with pale red eyes like dying suns.

Gallium veins press against the underside of =pronouns.possessive= crystalline skin and gleam warmly. =pronouns.Possessive= body is perfect, and the whole of it is wet with amniotic slick; could =pronouns.subjective= have just now peeled =pronouns.reflexive= off an oil canvas? =verb:Were:afterpronoun= =pronouns.subjective= cast into the material realm by a dreaming, dripping brain? Whatever the embryo, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:are:afterpronoun= now the archetypal bat; it's all there in impeccable simulacrum: the shiny teeth, the hispid skin, the spheric hooves. Perfection is realized.

Gallium veins press against the underside of =pronouns.possessive= crystalline fur and gleam warmly. =pronouns.Possessive= body is perfect, and the whole of it is wet with amniotic slick; could =pronouns.subjective= have just now peeled =pronouns.reflexive= off an oil canvas? =verb:Were:afterpronoun= =pronouns.subjective= cast into the material realm by a dreaming, dripping brain? Whatever the embryo, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:are:afterpronoun= now the archetypal bear; it's all there in impeccable simulacrum: the vast shoulders, the oily nose, the ageless eyes. Perfection is realized.

Historians of leisure divide all epochs into the following three ages: the span before ursine creatures evolve or civilizations rise to admire them, the span between ursine prominence and a civilization's capacity to fashion divans in their likeness, and thence the span until the civilization's fall.

Gallium veins press against the underside of =pronouns.possessive= crystalline feathers and gleam warmly. =pronouns.Possessive= body is perfect, and the whole of it is wet with amniotic slick; could =pronouns.subjective= have just now peeled =pronouns.reflexive= off an oil canvas? =verb:Were:afterpronoun= =pronouns.subjective= cast into the material realm by a dreaming, dripping brain? Whatever the embryo, =pronouns.subjective= =verb:are:afterpronoun= now the archetypal bird; it's all there in impeccable simulacrum: the sagittal beak, the cherubic wings, the proud bearing. Perfection is realized.

It moves as if painted onto the scene, each slender limb and fluted horn the gestalt of a thousand brushstrokes moving in smoothly rapid sequence. This picture of an antelope never opens its physical eyes, but between its horns wide-stares an eye of light that sees you, within you, beyond you. Whatever moves the handle of the brush that paints its effigy is terribly distant-- a distance that is a suggestion, felt in dread.

During the enterprise of invention, you sometimes require the use of a shapeless gray foam. Or, at the very least, you might require it one day, and so some tinker prudently got ahead of the problem and invented the brass foaminator. Inscribed on the base: 'All the foam, none of the sadness at maybe one day needing foam and not having it'.