Page 617

--1st Anniversary Special (day 2/7, page 3/4)--
‘Were you, like, a professor or something way back when you were alive?’ said Hector.

‘Not quite.’

‘What was it like, living back then?’

‘It was shit.’

‘Aww, why?’

‘Medicine was shit. Technology was shit. Society was shit. Everything was shit wrapped in more shit with an extra shit sandwich in case you were still hungry for more shit.’

‘...So wait. Was it shit?’

‘Eh, it was okay.’

He chuckled inside his riding helmet. ‘I can’t tell if you’re joking. You’ve never really told me anything about your past.’

Garovel paused. ‘Yeah. Well. Maybe I’ll tell you some other time.’

‘Why not now? It’s gonna take a while to reach Gray Rock.’

‘My time spent alive did not make for a pleasant story.’

‘Oh... so it really was shit, then.’

‘Unfortunately, yes.’

‘Why was it so bad?’ said Hector. He waited, and when Garovel didn’t answer, he added, ‘No specifics, then. Just tell me the general stuff.’

‘Like what?’ said Garovel.

‘I don’t know. Like, where were you born? What civilization are you from?’

Garovel was slow enough to respond that Hector was about to ask something else when the reaper finally said, ‘Across the ocean. I’m not sure what the land there is called now, but I think these days, you call my old people the Lyzakks.’

The name actually rang a bell. Hector remembered learning about the Lyzakks in school. He couldn’t recall very much, for the lack of attention he’d paid, but he did know that the ancient civilization was mostly remembered for its brutality. And there was something else--something about how they’d crossed the ocean and invaded the continent or some such thing.

He wanted to ask Garovel about it, but he hesitated. He wasn’t sure how keen the reaper would be to talk about them, but he figured that Garovel would just come right out and say so if he really didn’t wish to. ‘Uh... didn’t the Lyzakks launch an invasion a long time ago?’

‘I was dead way before that, but yeah. I’m a little surprised you know of it.’

‘Er, so am I.’