Final Fantasy: Warriors of the Crystal

by shadowfalcon76

Balance and Ruin

Balance and Ruin

'What do you want in this world?'

The question was the only thing he heard, the only thing he knew in this vast expanse of nothingness.

'What do you mean?' The question confused him. It was vague and seemingly beyond his comprehension, but something about it was on the edge of his mind.

"What is it you want most to see? The most to do? The most that you want to happen for others?' The question seemed to sincerely want to know, but it was hesitant. It seemed to want to draw something out of him, some mote of knowledge he didn't know if he even had to give.

'What... I want? Well...'

'You don't have to answer just yet. See more, do more, learn more, then you will have the answer.'

'Then... how will I be able to tell you?' He felt the question leaving him, some presence he hadn't felt until now slowly slipping from him. He wanted it to stay, to feel it with him, but the more he wanted it, the farther away it got.

'You won't need to. The crystals will know your answer when the time is right. For now, it is time to wake up, my little pony...' He felt the presence slip away finally, only to be replaced with a burning sensation in his chest, in his lungs, some dire need to breath, to cough. Ahead, he saw the darkness burst open into piercing light, and then...

-=*=-

Azure's eye bolted open as he sprung up to cough out a lungful of water, eyes burning from the light shining down on him from high above the tree canopy. As he regained control over his breathing, he slowly slumped down to the ground, his legs suddenly weary from his apparent exhaustion. As he managed to calm down from possibly near drowning, the blue mage took the time to reflect on what he last knew and to take in his surroundings.

The last thing he remembered was fighting Gilgamesh on the bridge crossing Ghastly Gorge on the way to Everfree Castle. He remembered his pinecone bombs weren't working as they should have, otherwise he and the rest of his friends might not have been deposited into the river at the bottom of the gorge...

Wait! His friends! Azure sprung to his feet to look around for them. He was on the river bank in what appeared to be a forest of some sort, most likely downstream from the gorge, but he did not see his companions anywhere. He also did not see Gilgamesh, either. Panic mixed with slight relief as Azure began searching the immediate area for any sign of his friends. While he did so, he pondered the pegasus giant's ability to transform like he did. Eight hooves? A sudden gain in mass and muscle? He saw no horn on his head, no magic being drawn into him or leylines coursing over him for the transformation. So then what did Gilgamesh know or do to effect such change?

Such questions would have to remain unanswered for the time being, as Azure found a game trail leading into the woods from the river, and what caught his eyes about it was that relatively fresh hoofprints were embedded into the dirt. He studied them for a few moments, noting where they came from; they seemed to come from the water's edge. Could it have been one of his friends? Gilgamesh? Some other individual? Then why did they not see him? He looked back to where he was, and realized his errant thoughts carried him much farther than he initially thought. He could not see where he awoke from here, and knew that nopony else would that came here, either. Seeing no other clues or tracks leading in any other direction but the trail, the blue mage steeled himself for a journey into an unknown woods, eyes open for potential danger lurking in the brush.

-=*=-

It was some time later, once he had regained his energy enough to walk at a regular pace, that Azure Vessel began to wonder what this place was. He has seen a variety of plants and trees that he had never seen, nor heard of, before, all of which took on vibrant hues of all the colors of the rainbow. Not knowing what would be safe to eat, he had taken the opportunity to partake of what little he had of his trail rations that weren't waterlogged or lost. The various smaller creatures he had come across were also unusual in coloration, and mostly harmless. He had glimpsed a butterfly that had black wings with bright blue spots and stripes, which smelled of blueberries, and later, he spied a pink squirrel that had deep red horizontal stripes on its tail. It was all so unusual and different than anything he saw around Cornelia or Everfree.

The other unusual thing about this place was the energy. Everything around him seemed so alive, so much more than normal. Even the latent magic in the air was more pronounced here, as if every living thing around was a source of the stuff. It was all around him, bombarding him with sensations and feelings and power. After a while, he had to stop and take a minute to get himself used to this much energy flowing though him, take a few breaths to calm down and focus the magic into something productive. He had to drain away a bit of it every now and then, otherwise it could overwhelm him and cause serious harm. So it was with great relief when he found that summoning his healing breeze was a nice, cool way to drain off a little extra magic while having a nice breeze in this, apparently summer, atmosphere.

The breeze not only helped to keep him cool and focused, but it also began to attract a number of the small forest critters that were scampering about. As Azure continued to move down the trail, which was leading down into something of a valley, he noticed that one of the pink squirrels had hopped up on his back, while other small creatures were following him, or running and hopping beside him. When he came to a bit of a clearing overlooking a small cliff, he took the time to gain his bearings. It was here where he saw in the distance a small plume of smoke rising from a grove of trees off to his right. The smoke didn't seem to be from some wildfire, and a lot of the critters that were accompanying him began to make their way in its direction, so Azure decided that was as good as a direction to go as any.

It was only a few steps in when the wind went quiet, and the forest critters scattered suddenly. Azure was suddenly overcome with a sense of dread as he could feel the Wind Crystal chime in his saddlebags a warning. He wasn't sure what had changed, but the forest suddenly took on a much more sinister appearance and was doing its best to not welcome him any further. Not wanting to be caught off guard, especially since he was alone, he undid the strap holding his scimitar in its scabbard, and readied it for a quick draw if needed. He then began to make his way to the grove of trees quietly, staying low and keeping to any cliff walls or underbrush he could see to minimize his time out in the open.

It was when he was probably no more than one hundred yards from the grove when he first heard the pounding. Something heavy was moving through the forest, its steps shaking the ground beneath it with every movement it made. Azure could hear its breathing even before he could even determine from where the source of it was. As he looked out from around the corner he was hiding behind, he could see two long, wickedly curved horns pointing forward from the head of a great, purple beast. It had the head of a lion, with a muzzle full of sharp teeth to match, but instead of a great mane surrounding its head like the aforementioned feline, the mane this beast sported was a dark brown and covered the top of the head and neck, much like a pony's mane. However, about halfway down the neck, around the shoulders, the mane tapered off into a ridge of webbed spines that followed all the way down the creature's back, to the tip of its thick, powerfully muscled tail. Spikes lined the sides of the tail, and it moved to and fro, in time with its massive and powerful steps. Each of its four legs ended in paws that sported enormous, incredibly sharp claws, and the muscles that could be seen rippling throughout the beast's body had even more muscles on top of them.

Azure was frozen in place in sheer terror, barely capable of controlling his bladder or bowel movements from the enormity of the gargantuan predator as it prowled the area. He silently prayed to whatever deities or spirits that were out there that this thing would not see him and simply move on, as he shrank into as small a ball of terrified fluff as he could. The creature sniffed the air, and started digging around in random spots, shoveling great swaths of land up and over in random directions, some of which landed in Azure's general area. While he managed to avoid being completely buried in dirt, he did take advantage of the additional hiding spot granted to him by the beast. As he continued to hide, Azure observed the monster, only hoping something that wasn't him would catch its attention and drag it elsewhere.

As fate would have it, something did indeed catch the mammoth's attention, and soon enough, it bound into the forest, with such speed and alacrity that Azure could scarcely believe such a behemoth could move so quickly. The wake it left was surprisingly minimal, almost as if it weren't there to begin with, and none would be the wiser if they weren't there to observe it first hoof. After his hooves stopped shaking in fear, Azure took note of the beast and where it went, and quickly made for the grove of trees, hoping the beast wouldn't return soon. As he reached the gathering of trees, he could hear a piercing roar in the distance, the shock of it sending birds scattering into the skies in seek of solace from the beast's fury. It gave Azure plenty of motivation to make his way into the trees, where the rest of the forest seemed to be shut away.

-=*=-

After taking a few minutes to calm his breathing for the third time today, Azure began to wonder if this forest was just trying to make him die of a heart attack before starvation, thirst, or being made something's lunch did the job. However, the surroundings he found himself in was a relaxing change of pace as it seemed he stumbled upon what appeared to be a well maintained, if elaborate, garden. A small, bubbling brook slowly snaked its way through the grove, sending water down carefully gouged out tributaries to various flowers, fruits, and vegetables that were being grown. Several small forest critters were housed in nests and burrows that seemed to have been intentionally made just for them. The centerpiece of this garden, however, was the larger burrow from which the thin plume of smoke Azure spied earlier wafted from. It drifted up from a chimney that was poking up from one side, indicating that somepony lived here, and was most likely home now.

Azure carefully made his way up the barely perceptible path through the garden towards the larger burrow, and upon closer inspection, found that it had a door installed on one side, somewhat dug into the mound as to be unseen until you were almost upon it. As he approached, he could make out somepony humming a song, a soothing lullaby while they moved within. The smell of a vegetable stew seeped out from within, eliciting a grumble from Azure's stomach, which also gave his presence away to whomever it was inside. He heard a short gasp come from within the mound, before a feminine voice called out.

"Who's out there?" she called, "What are you doing in this place?" She asked in a manner that suggested that visitors were unwelcome, and that they had best remove themselves from the premises with a quickness. However, before Azure could answer, his stomach once again made its complaint heard, loudly. Azure decided to go with it, as he had no other place to go, and he would rather not risk a second run in with the roaming muscled beast of death. He braced himself for whatever may come, and greeted whoever was hidden within the burrow.

"I am Azure Vessel," he began wearily, "a traveler from the village of Cornelia, and I just happen to be very lost and very separated from my friends," and after a particularly loud grumble from his stomach, "and very hungry, as well."

"Indeed," she replied, still not opening the door, nor, from the sound of her voice, even moving closer to it at all, "you are very lost, and I've not ever heard of this Cornelia before. You must leave this forest at once, and find those of your own kind in your civilization," Azure could hear the venom with which she said that word, "There is nothing for you here. Begone." His heart sank as thoughts of a warm meal were swept away with the brutal rejection meted out by whatever she-devil lay hidden behind this door of wood and vine bindings. As he turned to leave, the Wind Crystal began to hum in Azure's saddlebags, littering the air with the sound of a wind chime, shortly before the various plants in the gardens began to move, all drawing to Azure himself. Before long, he found himself assaulted by various vines and leaves.

"Hey," Azure yelped in surprise, "I'm leaving already, I'm leaving! Call your plants off of me!" After a moment, the vines began to wrap themselves around his hooves and legs, trying to prevent him from moving at all. Azure's struggled seemed to be in vain as the plants paid him no heed and continued their obstructive assault. The commotion of the struggle seemed to carry into the hut, as moments later, the door flung itself open, and out stepped the owner of the voice from before. She was a faded lime green earthborne mare with a dark, forest green mane and tail, both of which had various flowers woven within. She had golden yellow eyes, and wore a simple cloak made of leaves and feathers of various colors and styles. On her flank rested a symbol of a pink heart surrounded by blooming flowers of all kinds, and upon her face rested a look of incredulity as she gaped at the scene before her.

"What in the name of the Earth Mother is going on out here?" she bellowed, "What are you doing to my garden? I swear, travelers these days have no respect for nature, thinking to simply traipse across it as they would a road." She continued to grumble as she stepped up to the now trapped Azure. As the plants continued to wrap around the poor unicorn, she slowly grew a smirk on her face before she tapped the ground with one of her front hooves once. As if heeding some unspoken command, the vines slowly unraveled themselves from around him, and retreated to their original places. The unicorn, for his part, simply collapsed on the ground, the exhaustion of the day, coupled with the chain of frightening events, finally overwhelming his senses. He stole one last glance at the mare before the sweet embrace of unconsciousness once again beheld him.

-=*=-

It was dark by the time he awoke once again, the weariness worn away by the rest his body desperately needed. The first thing Azure noticed was that he was no longer outside, and that he was upon a couch. To his side, on a table, was a bowl, the smell of vegetables wafting from it. From there, he continued to look around the inside of the room he was in. There were small burrows and nests and holes everywhere, and more of the forest denizens occupying them. What little furniture designed for a pony there was, was actually grown on the spots where they were needed, and formed from plants and wood worked into the shape without actually having to harvest any of the materials. The inside of the hut was just as alive with the energy of the forest as it was outside, and Azure could very much feel its power.

As Azure moved to get up, he heard somepony clearing her throat off to his side. He turned to face the owner of the voice, and was once again met with the hard, level stare of the earthborne mare.

"I would eat that soup before you do anything else," she intoned, "Whatever journey you've had, it was a long one, and you bear the markings of the stress of nearly drowning." She didn't seem to hold any friendliness in her voice or attitude, and it was very off-putting for Azure. He took a look at the bowl of soup, then looked back to the mare.

"Th-thank you for your hospitality..."

"Hmph, don't thank me," she replied in a curt manner, "thank my garden. It was they that did not wish for you to go. I would have no dealings with you were it my call." After a few gulps from the soup (which tasted very good, he noted), Azure looked up at the mare, confused.

"Your... garden? It asked me to stay?"

"You realize that soup will not eat itself while you fill the air with meaningless banter." She continued to cast a hard gaze at the stallion, who in turn was feeling more and more uncomfortable as time passed. He returned to eating the soup, if only to sate the raging hunger in his stomach, and to escape further scorn from the mare sitting across from him. Just as he was about to finish the meal, the tinkling sound of wind chimes was heard again, coming from his saddlebags. The mare turned her attention to them, and then back to the unicorn.

"What manner of magics do you carry in your bag? Answer me!" she demanded, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Azure nervously looked from her to his bags and back again, unsure of what to say.

"J-just my travel provisions, or what's left of them, a-and an artifact I found on my travels," he shakily responded, "It calls itself the Wind Crystal, and we found it in a cave in White Tail Woods."

"We?" the mare asked, "You mean your companions you've been separated from?" Azure nodded his response, eager to deflect any more opportunities for her wrath to emerge. The mare looked back to his bags before returning her gaze to him. After a moment, she stood and made her way to them, opening them up to retrieve the crystal. As she pulled it out, its soft, ethereal light filled the room with a pale green glow, and a gentle breeze was suddenly felt throughout. She looked at him with a surprised expression.

"My garden," she started, much more quietly, and without as much venom, than before, "it told me one day, of a traveler that would come, bearing the wind at his back, and that I was to take him to meet the Earth Mother. It told me that he would be the one to sooth the pain in the land, to purify the rot that tainted the soil, and that I was to help him as I helped this grove." She looked up at Azure before she continued, "I... I apologize for earlier rude behavior. I don't get too many visitors out here, as one could imagine. That was the point, indeed. The few I have gotten treated the land as simply a tool, to be used up and tossed like garbage once it was no longer useful." She stood from where she sat next to the Wind Crystal, and walked over to the blue mage.

"Allow me to introduce myself, properly. I am Greenheart, geomancer and keeper of this grove. I serve the Earth Mother, and in return, she allows me to learn her secrets, and gives me the allegiance of the flora and fauna of the woods." Greenheart gave a short bow with her head, and rose up, a soft smile on her lips. The complete turnabout of her attitude threw Azure off for a moment, before he managed to gather his wits enough to respond.

"Ah- er, um, yeah... I'm Azure Vessel, uh, junior Town Guard member of the village of Cornelia. I uh, well, my mentor is Clover the Clever, and I'm what you'd call a blue mage." Azure noticed the look of confusion as he said that last part, something he had gotten used to over the years as nopony had ever heard of that type of magic before. Mainly because he was the first known practitioner of it, perhaps. "It's not exactly a well known form of magic, yet."

"And why would that be? Wouldn't other unicorn know of this magic extensively? That is what your clan does all day and night, is it not?"

"Er, well, kinda sorta, but not really," he mumbled out, "It's not really easy to study this magic, since I'm the first to ever use it."

"Hmm, interesting," she responded, "but ultimately, no different than any of the gifts we are granted by our lots in life. Come, finish eating your meal and relate to me the tale of how you came to be here."

-=*=-

It was later that evening when Azure and Greenheart finished their conversation about his blue magic, and what she did in that grove. She had a bit of a wistful look in her eye as she remembered the day she left her tribe to seek out her calling.

"It was only seven years ago," she recalled, "when I left my parents' tribe as I reached the time for my Earthseek. An Earthseek is that time when a filly or colt is on the verge of becoming an adult, and to usher in that adulthood, they search out where the Earth Mother leads them, to the land they will tend to. Once there, they are to make it prosper, and prosperous lands prove the pony worthy of being recognized as an adult amongst our clans. It becomes a new place for the tribe to go to, to flourish, and to welcome back the member to the herd."

"I found this place after months of searching, and have been working to grow the garden that you saw out there. With the help of King and the Earth Mother, I've managed to turn this wild jungle into a habitable woods for everypony to enjoy." Greenheart had a small smile upon her lips as she fondly strolled down memory lane. Azure, however, was a little worried by what she said.

"Er... King?" he hesitantly asked, "Who's King? I didn't see any other ponies out there..."

"Oh, King isn't a pony," she replied nonchalantly, "he's a behemoth."

"A behewhatsitsnow?"

"A behemoth. Large, purple, massive claws and fangs, even larger horns, and even yet larger mountains of muscles. He's been a great help clearing out some of the more nasty creatures that were too stubborn to want to live together and play nicely. He's also incredibly helpful when it comes to moving large objects like boulders and such. He helped me build the dam just over..." Azure didn't hear the rest of what Greenheart had to say, as his brain shut down at the memory of his close encounter with King. What little color he had on his coat drained away as the images of the creature returned unbidden to his mind once again.

It was several minutes before Greenheart noticed that Azure was still stuck in a fear-induced waking nightmare. It became readily apparent when she asked him a question about how he came into possession of the Wind Crystal, and he didn't respond at all. He hadn't even moved from the spot she last saw him in.

"Oh dear," she said, waving a hoof in front of his face to get his attention. "I take it you met King on the way in?" Azure snapped back to reality a moment later.

"Er, yeah, I guess you could say that, in a manner of speaking. It was more like him walking by, me quivering in fear from behind a rock around the corner of a cliff away from him." Nevermind me nearly soiling myself as well, Azure thought. He was pretty certain he was taking that part of the story to his grave.

"Ah, yes," Greenheart replied. If she suspected that there was any more of the story Azure wasn't telling, she didn't seem to show it, "he has that effect on ponies that aren't expecting him. Enough about him, however. I suspect you'd like to see the Earth Mother, seeing as she's the one that bade you stay in the first place." She was returning the soup bowls to her kitchen when Azure nodded his reply, and soon returned, setting out a small cot for him.

"We can go to see her in the morning. You'll need your energy for the hike. It's a bit of a path into the Macintosh Hills to where she is." After realizing it was so late, Azure felt the weight of his exhaustion once again upon his shoulders. While he would see this Earth Mother, whatever she was, in the morning, he still had his worries about the fate of the rest of his friends upon his mind as well.

There's nothing I can do about it now, he thought, so I might as well get some sleep so when the time comes I can do something about it, I'm rested enough to actually do it. With that, restful sleep finally claimed Azure Vessel.

-=*=-

The spell was deflected off the shield as he attempted to close in with his opponent. The earthborne wasn't going to let this unicorn get a single hoof past him if he could help it. He steadied himself as he waited for the perfect time to strike, when that perfect opening presented itself to unleash his righteous fury upon this knave.

"You who serve as a guardian," the dark armor-clad unicorn spoke, "you waste your breath upon the cold, heartless rock behind you, and for what? So that you may spend another day thinking your life has purpose, has meaning?"

"Your vile, twisted words hold no sway here, fallen one," the earthborne clad in white armor replied, "Begone from this place, or face the divine power of the crystal!"

The unicorn began to gather his dark energy to his horn, as a smile began to creep upon his face from beneath his cold, grim mask.

-=*=-

He couldn't quite explain it, but the morning brought Azure the refreshing feeling of having gained the best night of sleep he had ever had in his life, despite the normally uncomfortable prospect of spending it in a cot. His buoyant attitude sank a little, however, when he saw that Greenheart had been up for a while longer than he, and that her saddlebags were packed to see a journey that was leagues longer than she had previously let on. Upon seeing the worry on his face, she soothed his worries about her equipment.

"Worry not about it," she said, "I pack for the two of us, seeing as your provisions are in such short supply." Azure gathered his saddlebags, what little remained in them, his scimitar, and the Wind Crystal, and headed out the door, following Greenheart. Fortunately, his clothing had dried and came through the ordeal of having exploded off a bridge into a gorge relatively intact. What little damage there was, Greenheart had managed to repair in the course of the night.

The pair made their way through the woods relatively quickly, due to the combined power of Greenheart's knowledge of the terrain, and her ability to command it to make a path for the both of them when it stymied their progress. Azure continued to marvel at this particular ability.

"As I lived here," Greenheart explained, "I came to feel a connection to the land, as all of our tribe do when they complete their earthseek. It was in that time that I was drawn to the cave we are going to, called by the land to hear its voice. When I reached my destination, I found and met the Earth Mother. She and I forged a powerful connection that day, and ever since, she has shared with me her gift of geomancy. Now she bids the land to bow to my will, and I, in return, answer her call when she has need of me." Azure merely nodded as he absorbed this knowledge. Clover would assuredly wish to know of this unique style of magic, a sort tailored for use by the earthborne. While sages knew of the abilities of the earthborne to supplement the forces of nature on the ground with their own power, it was always suspected that such abilities could be developed to the point of it almost being on par with unicorn magic. Now Azure strode here next to such a pony.

It was when the sun was high into the sky, and the pair some ways into the Macintosh Hills, when the realization of something Greenheart said struck Azure. Something didn't quite add up.

"Greenheart," he began, "Something occurs to me."

"Yes?" she asked.

"You said that when a pony from your tribe makes a connection to the land they find, they complete their earthseek?" His query was met with a nod from her. "And that when that is over, the tribe goes to that place, and the pony returns to the tribe. Does the pony stay at that location when the tribe moves on, then? Or do some of them remain with the pony in their new home? I did not notice any signs of habitation beyond your hut and the animals..."

Greenheart froze in her tracks, Azure having caught on only after he noticed that she no longer walked with him. He turned to look back at her, and saw a forlorn look of profound sadness on her face. He was about to ask what was wrong when her head snapped up, the tears nearly forming in her eyes evaporating as a look of horror immediately covered her being. She stared off into the distance down the path they were taking. Azure was unnerved by the sudden shift she went through.

"If it's a touchy subject, then you don't-" He was cut off before he could get further.

"Do you hear that?" she asked in a barely perceptible whisper, moments before she bolted from her standing position, almost faster than Azure could see. Before she could run out of sight, Azure collected his wits enough to give chase. It was not long after they began galloping that Azure heard, and felt, what may have set Greenheart to a panic.

He was nearly knocked off of his hooves by the tremors of a minor earthquake.

"AHHH!!!" Azure yelled as he struggled to maintain his balance, while Greenheart continued to rush ahead. He managed to catch up to her when she had reached the opening of a cave that had been set into the side of one of the largest hills in the area. Greenheart was staring at the entrance, mouth wide open, a look of utter shock etched onto her face at the sight arrayed before her. As Azure took the time to look about, he saw the devastation that earthquake had wrought, but what damage was done suggested that a lot more was going on than just that.

The cave mouth had apparently been blasted open much farther than what would seem normal for such a formation, as if some explosive force sought to escape by any means necessary, and decided to take parts of the hill with it. All of the brush, trees, and grass had withered to a sickly brown color and died off, all of which seemed to have happened rather simultaneously. What appeared to have been patches of mud were now pits of sticky, bubbling tar, and the smell of sulfur permeated the area. Smoke, from the cave and the withered husks of the plant life, still arose as if a fire had only recently been put out, and it was coming from almost everywhere, from everything around the cave.

Azure had never seen such destruction on such a scale before, short of his accident when he first cast magic as a colt, and it made him weary. Greenheart, however, gave a gasp as she saw something move within the haze of the smoking ruins. She immediately bolted for the source of movement, Azure behind her a few moments later. When he broke through the smokescreen to where she was, he was greeted with yet another unexpected sight.

Laying in front of the entrance to the cave, struggling to crawl forward, was an earthborne stallion. Bruises, cuts, and blood marred his light tan coat, silver gray mane, and white armor. Barely perceptible through the blood and bruises upon his flank was the sign of a white kite shield, on top of which overlay two crossed longswords, a golden crown resting above the top of the shield. Next to the stallion rested on one side a shield with the image of a golden crown on it similar in design to his mark, and on the other, a sword of similar make to the same. He squinted his blood red eyes to see who it was that made their way to him.

"Wh- who *cough* who goes th-there..." he managed to hack out between bouts of coughing up his own blood. Greenheart gave a bit of a cry as she rushed to his side.

"Bulwark! No! What happened?" she cried. Azure took another look at the surrounding area, and then back to the earthborne stallion known as Bulwark, wondering how he even managed to survive... whatever it was that happened here.

"The Earth Mother," Bulwark barely managed to cough out, "the crystal... Gar... he... it's- it's gone..."

And with that, Bulwark slipped away into unconsciousness.

Comments

[shadowfalcon76]

If anypony cares to give some critique, I'd be happy to hear what you've got to say. This is my entry to EqD's NaPoWriMo, and I'm trying to get through it as best as I can in the time given. Hopefully, I can get it finished by the end of the 31st.

Don't wanna be tardy, now do we?