So by now everyone knows the end of the story, although it's not so much an end 
as it is another beginning, and I have even more questions than I do answers.  
But I figure that I should continue telling it, now that I can remember it all, 
if only for my own records.

When last I left off, I'd made the decision that I was going to find out more 
about Promyvion, no matter what.  I started studying the records of adventurers 
who'd gone there, so I began to get a good idea as to what I might find and what 
I'd need to bring with me.  But I still wasn't sure about when I'd go.  The more 
I researched, the more dangerous it seemed, and I wasn't about to ask my friends 
to risk their lives just to satisfy my curiosity.

Altana bless Linmayu.  She knew that quite a few of us hadn't gone yet and was 
bound and determined to see us all through.  She gathered a list of everyone who 
wanted to explore and set up expeditions.

The first one we tackled was Dem.  I'd actually entered Promyvion there several 
times before, the first back when the teleport crystals first shattered.  I took 
on a Wanderer, beat it, then decided that this was probably not a place I should 
explore by myself.  So I left and quite literally forgot all about it when I 
sealed my memories on the way out.  I would later return to help Alessar find 
recollections to make anima.  (It would turn out to be the only thing we ever 
did together before he disappeared.  I hope he's all right.)

Perhaps because it was our first expedition, we had a very large turnout.  I was 
grouped with Jaide, Elizara, Cade, Ashn, and Ashn's Black Mage friend Drawmuh.  
This was the first time I'd met Cade, an accomplished adventurer who had been 
off on his own journeys for quite a while.  (Apparently he also once had 
something of a history with Aurian, but that's neither here nor there and I 
don't know the details and I probably shouldn't pry.)  We were accompanied by 
Linmayu, Barahir, Fyerio, Lothiriel, Hakhi, Beanie, and Nif. 

I'd read about how the "interior," for lack of a better word, of Promyvion was 
laid out.  It was like a series of islands, with portals connecting them.  The 
portals were guarded by strange, glowing balls of light called Memory 
Receptacles.  Defeating one would open a portal to the next island... if you 
were lucky.  So Ashn and Beanie were our Ranger guides, using their skills to 
find the Receptacles.

Despite all the horror stories I'd heard about making one's way through 
Promyvion, the trip up was surprisingly smooth.  Every Receptacle that we fought 
yielded the portal.  We followed our guides' paths very closely and managed not 
to invoke the wrath of the Empty, although I do admit to growing more and more 
nervous the deeper in we went.  Finally, with the entrance to the Spire of Dem 
in the distance, we made a mad dash for it.  A few Empty followed in our wake, 
but we were able to outrun them and gain the safety of the Spire.

We rested up and finalized our battle plans.  Everyone had entered Promyvion at 
least once before to acquire the remnants of the Empty known as recollections, 
from which the Jeunoan alchemist Harith was able to make anima that would render 
the Spire guardians temporarily vulnerable.  We determined when to use the anima 
as well as our strongest attacks, then geared up to enter the central room of 
the spire.

Once we were prepared, the Web of Recollections parted before us.  A black mist 
flowed out of the floor, and from it emerged a giant Empty: the Progenerator.  I 
don't remember much about the battle, only that I hit it a lot and used two of 
my anima.  It started spawning smaller versions of itself, and they didn't like 
Ashn very much.  He went down, sadly, but the rest of us kept fighting and 
finished it off.  (And afterwards, I remember being rather amused that despite 
all my worrying and everything I'd brought with me, I'd only used one piece of 
steamed crab and a yummy periskos au lait.)

After we defeated it, I have vague memories of a huge crystal and someone 
talking to me, then darkness...

I came back to myself outside the Crag of Dem, surrounded by the others.  The 
second group, which had gone in shortly after we had, was there with us.  We had 
won, and I'd taken my first step towards finding out what awaited beyond.

Later that night, among my belongings, I found a tiny light... the Light of Dem.

*****

Holla was next.  I'd been there twice before, helping people gather 
recollections back when the first drive to get through Promyvion was going on.  
These were the memories I hated losing most of all.  The first time, I'd 
promised to help Aurian and Eadwyn and Thistle and Yosari with theirs.  This was 
before I'd fulfilled my contract to the Bastokan branch of V.E.R.M.I.N. so while 
Auri and Ead and Thistle were off taking care of business in the Maze, I was 
waiting at the Crag.  Yosari had yet to fulfill his Bastokan contract, too, so he 
arrived shortly after I did.  We sat and watched the sunset for a while, and it 
was nice, and peaceful... and then Thistle showed up.

Recollection-hunting that night was fun and quick with two people with some 
measure of Thief skill in our group.  The next week I helped again, except that 
this time it was Draque who needed things instead of Yosari.  Again, it went 
fast, and I was happy to have been able to help.  After that week, they finished 
their explorations and moved on, leaving me to wonder what they had found.

Now it was my turn to see.  I was feeling pretty darned good.  We'd gone through 
Dem with no problems, and there'd been a subsequent, successful expedition to 
Holla that I'd sadly been unable to join.  So as Ashn guided our way across the 
"islands," picking the right Memory Receptacle each time, I was very confident 
that our mission would be a complete success.

Since my trip through Dem, I'd learned of Venessa, a scientist in Ru'Lude 
Gardens who had been studying the Empty.  She had created censers that would 
lure specimens to any adventurer who could reach the spire, and it was rumored 
that she would greatly reward those who brought back an exceptional sample.  
With thoughts of gil and battle experience dancing through our heads, our group 
decided to try this battle first.  It would serve as a warmup to the actual 
fight in the Spire.

Unlike the Empty in the Spire of Dem, the ones in Holla required far more 
strategy than just filling up on good food and drink and then hitting them.  The 
Holla Empty were known for two very devastating attacks: one that would put an 
entire party to sleep, and another that would actually steal the positive 
effects of one's food and magical protection for itself.  We planned to counter 
the first by keeping ourselves poisoned and the second by using only the barest 
amounts of food and protection.

Censers lit, we entered the Spire's central room.  Inside, the Cogitator, a 
smaller, supposedly weaker version of the Empty that resided within the Spire, 
tried to do its best to keep us from going further.  But we prevailed easily, 
and were rewarded with several clusters of memories.  Nothing special to give 
back Venessa, though.

Thrilled with our victory, Barahir, Ashn, Linmayu, Hakhi, Lothiriel, and I 
prepared to re-enter the Spire and take on the Wreaker.  Elizara, who'd 
accompanied us on our trip, remained outside just in case.

Once again, we crossed through the Web of Recollections and into the depths of 
the Spire.  Once again, a huge Empty emerged from the black mist.  We drew our 
weapons, Hakhi cast a few low protection spells, and we charged.

Things seemed to be going all right at first.  But then Ashn went down fairly 
early on, and one by one the rest of us started following suit.  Those of us 
who'd used Reraise scrolls before the battle were able to scrape ourselves back 
up and give it another try, but in our weakened states we couldn't do very much 
before we went down again.

We were kicked back out into the "waiting room" of the Spire.  Elizara got us 
back on our feet, but we realized with heavy hearts that without more anima, 
there was no way we'd be able to take on the Wreaker again.  We'd have to come 
back another day, making our way through Promyvion-Holla once more, in the hopes 
that this time, we'd be able to win.

*****

While I thought about trying to return to Holla soon after our defeat, it really 
wasn't feasible.  We needed more time to recover, to restock our supplies, make 
more anima, and get ourselves mentally prepared.

We decided that our next attempt would be at the Crag of Mea.  I went hunting 
for recollections in Holla with Z, sealing my memories on the way out.  This was 
both a good and a bad thing: while I couldn't remember our defeat in Holla, I 
felt horribly uneasy and nervous the closer we got to our Mea trip and I didn't 
know why.

Then there was the fact that my explorations hadn't gone unnoticed.  I can't 
really go into the details, but let's just say I was staying out of the 
Metalworks for a while.  Not that I go there very often, and I think Sir Neji 
was fairly sympathetic, but... anyhow.

We gathered quite a large group to go exploring Mea.  Z came as a Black Mage, 
and our friend Dilvias, who trains as a Bard in our weekly static party, came as 
a Warrior.  We were joined by Nimbex, Fyerio, and Lothiriel.  The other party 
was comprised of Linmayu, Hakhi, Elizara, Ashn, Desant, and Cade.

I was chatting with Dilvias beforehand as we waited for people to gather at the 
Crag.  I mentioned how nervous I was, and he said that he felt the same way as 
well.  I gave a shaky laugh and told him that one of us had to be the confident 
one, and right now it wasn't me!  He grinned back and said that okay, we'd be 
fine.  Somehow neither of us quite believed him. ^_^;

Finally, the group gathered, we passed through the Hall of Transferrance, and we 
entered Promyvion once more.  Unlike our trips through Dem and Holla, this one 
was filled with difficult (or annoying) obstacles.  First of all, we had trouble 
finding the proper Memory Receptacles.  On our previous trips, we got the right 
one on the first try each time.  Here, we found two receptacles on the second 
"island," and neither yielded the portal.  To make matters worse, Ashn, one of 
our scouts, was felled by a Weeper while he was searching for the next 
receptacle.

Carefully we made our way over towards where he was lying, and much to our 
surprise, we found another adventuring party hiding amongst the giant bones that 
were scattered across the landscape.  (Giant bones that look suspiciously like 
the ones in Tahrongi Canyon, which is where the Crag of Mea is located, but 
that's speculation for later.)  We offered to ally ourselves with them in the 
hopes that we'd be able to reach the Spire more quickly.  After all, if we were 
all together, we wouldn't have to compete for receptacles and if we were 
attacked by an Empty, we could all join together to fight.

Ashn was found and revived, and the alliance - a full eighteen adventurers 
strong - proceeded onward.  It didn't solve all our woes.  The memory 
receptacles were just at dificult to find on the third island as they had been 
on the second.  Plus, a full group of people has more trouble dodging aggressive 
Empty than a smaller one.  (But then again, a full group has less trouble taking 
them out.)

Eventually, we made our way to the Spire.  Though we were tired from our long 
journey, we still had to face the Empty that lay within.  We bid our allies 
farewell and good luck, then planned our own battle strategy.  Like we had in 
Holla, we would use the censer to lure out the "practice" Empty first, then take 
on the harder one.

Not everyone went into the Spire the first time.  I think Nimbex and Elizara and 
Cade remained outside.  But those of us who went in were mostly successful... 
mostly.  Linmayu went down and Ashn went down again, but we got them back up 
before the end.  Afterwards, we found more clusters of memories, but again, 
nothing for Venessa.

Now came the real test: facing the Delver.  We'd heard that it had several 
strong forms of attack.  Among them were a fast-acting poison and a nasty spin 
attack that could hit everyone nearby.  So we planned to keep it in the center 
of the room and as far from the mages as we could, as well as keep it dosed with 
anima.

I was almost shaking as we crossed through the Web of Recollections, though at 
that point I couldn't remember quite why.  I just knew that this thing had to be 
taken seriously.

The Delver rose from the black mists like the Progenerator had.  I grabbed my 
greataxe tightly and set to work.  Patience and coordination were the keys to 
winning.  Nimbex instructed us on when to use our anima, and I could tell that 
we were starting to wear it down.  I was getting nervous at one point when it 
started going after the mages, but we were able to pull it back before it could 
get too many hits on them.

Finally, we delivered the killing blow.  Once again, my memory fails me at this 
point.  All I can recall now is being back outside the Crag with most of the 
others.  Cade and Fyerio weren't among them.  Instead, they'd been warped 
somewhere else.  No one seemed too worried.  When I asked where they'd gone, 
Linmayu just smiled at me and said I'd find out very soon.

Satisfied with the day's work, I headed back to Windurst, but not before reading 
Z the CTY rules, as that was the night he became a member. ^_^

When I checked my belongings later, I found a second light.  Now I had the Light 
of Dem and the Light of Mea.  But what were they used for?  And while I was no 
longer having strange dreams - they'd stopped once I got through Dem - what was 
the purpose of my amulet?

The answers, I figured, had to lie in Holla.  But I swore I'd been there before, 
even though I couldn't remember.  So what had happened there?

I'd find out soon.

*****

Finally, it was time to take on the Crag of Holla.  Again.  A hunting trip to 
Holla with Desant and an somewhat unfortunately-named taru Thief named Lastlife 
had gained me a full set of recollections in more ways than one.  I now 
remembered every trip I'd taken to Promyvion, and I'd never have to seal my 
memories again.

Unfortunately, my poking around in Promyvion had managed to attract some rather 
high-ranking attention.  I really don't want to talk about it all that much.  
Suffice it to say that Nag'molada needs a really good ass-kicking.

Anyhow.  After much careful planning, we gathered at Holla: me, Z, Dilvias, 
Desant, Nimbex, Jaide, and Linmayu.  We'd learned from the previous attempt.  
This time, we *weren't* fighting on Windsday and we were going to throw as much 
anima as we could at it.

Things started off well.  We made it to the second "island" and carefully picked 
our way through the graveyard.  Then they started to go south.  Linmayu, who was 
scouting for us, ran afoul of a group of Empty and went down.

On our way to revive her, we encountered a group of five adventurers.  They had 
intended to climb to the Spire, but their sixth left them, and we just happened 
to have a seventh person.  A seventh person who was currently unconscious, but 
we fixed that fairly quickly, and Linmayu joined their party.  We allied with 
their group and proceeded onward.

It was a mixed blessing.  While we appreciated the help dealing with the Memory 
Receptacles (and we managed to get the correct one on the first try each time), 
their leader was... well, let's be polite and call him impulsive.  Their group 
had two Rangers, yet he insisted on running ahead.  It confused me, and I tried 
to stay with our group and follow them, but I was afraid of being left behind.

Misfortune struck right before the Spire.  I thought we were all ready to 
proceed, so I ran ahead with the group when they headed off.  I didn't realize 
that Nimbex was still resting and that half of the group had remained with him.  
Even worse, once they stopped resting and headed out, they took a different path 
than we had, meaning that we were completely separated.

The run to the Spire is always the most harrowing part.  Basically, you just 
take off for it and hope that you outrun all the Empty that you attract along 
the way.  With two groups going for it, that presents a new problem: the first 
group's train of Empty was still at the Spire entrance when the second group, 
which was mine, got there.  (Even worse, the first group had lost its White Mage 
along the way, though I didn't know that at the time.)

As I approached, I wondered exactly how I was going to get through.  Then I 
spotted a path in between two of the Empty.  Taking a deep breath, I charged 
ahead.  I felt something swipe at me as I passed by, but I put on a last burst 
of speed and made it in.

I stood on the other side and watched people arrive.  One by one, they staggered 
in, dropping to rest as soon as they made it.  Except...

"Where's Z?" I asked.

He'd fallen right outside the entrance.  I had to keep myself from running right 
back out there, but getting myself taken down by the Empty wouldn't help anyone.  
After resting for a bit, Nimbex was able to get him back on his feet.  In turn, 
Z skillfully Tractored the other White Mage to where Nimbex could fix her up, 
too.

Everyone rested up and got ready.  The other group plus Linmayu went in first.  
Then we followed.  We had the same plan as last time: lure out the lesser Empty 
with the censer, take that down, then take on the Wreaker.

Well, we went in, found the Cogitator, and started attacking.  We were doing 
fine at first.  Then I realized that things were going wrong.  It had started 
summoning Weepers.  Lots of Weepers.  That didn't happen last time.

One by one, we fell.  I was the last one standing, and I was furious.  "Come and 
get me, you bastards!" I screamed as I dodged and countered and basically was a 
one-woman wrecking crew.  But soon enough they got me, and our fallen group was 
kicked out into the Spire.

We were in too much pain and exhaustion to move, and after a few moments of 
lying there, we had the horrifying realization that there was no way we'd be 
able to get up from this one.  We had no White Mages.  We'd have to lie there 
until the magic that protects all adventurers kicked in and warped us out.  
Unless... some other group was on its way to the Spire and could bring us back.

We asked the linkshell to check for us.  At first, it was pretty empty, but as 
time passed, a group started to form.  It turned out that Linmayu sort of knew 
one of them (and by "sort of knew," I mean flirted with on several occasions) 
and was able to convince him to help out.

So we waited, and we prayed, and finally with seventeen minutes left, that group 
reached the Spire.  We were saved.  They got us up and in fighting form.

After we rested up, we were determined *not* to waste the second chance we'd 
been given.  We had our battle plan, we were going in there, and we were kicking 
the Wreaker's tail!

The fight was long and difficult, but we all kept calm and kept to our strategy.  
In the end, Desant sacrificed himself to deal the finishing blow.  But it was 
worth it.  We *won*.

Then everything went dark.  I regained a slight bit of consciousness, enough to 
realize that I was lying down somewhere.  I heard voices, and something was 
poking at me.  Then I lost consciousness again.

The next time I came to, I was able to get up and get a better look at my 
surroundings.  I was in a meadow somewhere.  Dilvias was with me, and so was 
poor, knocked-out Desant.

Dilvias and I looked at each other and smiled - we'd made it through!  At long 
last, we could find out what lay beyond.  But first, we'd have to find a 
guide...