wj entry wip

[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 31 - Corruption]It's been a long time since I picked up this pen, but I need to put my thoughts on paper again before they spiral out of control any further. Even as we make strides towards halting the corruption, everything else seems to be falling apart around us.

The guardian of the jungle, Plantera, was taken by the corruption. We were forced to put him down. The pain in Green's and Zl'ana's eyes eyes when Plantera went still... It must've been like losing a father to them. I did what I could to comfort them, but it didn't help much... Celia seemed to just vanish entirely. At least some good still came from it all - with his final breath, Plantera took the curse placed upon the Dungeon and transferred it to Gluttony, sealing him in place. The corruption's spread has been slowed to a crawl.

Our crusade to take back our world continues, but I'm starting to wonder if there will be anyone left to help us when it's all said and done.
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 32 - Captives]What fresh hell...? Barely a week has passed since Plantera fell, and already the situation in the jungle has deteriorated drastically. Zl'ana woke us up early this morning, looking like she'd just gotten into a tavern brawl. Her tribe has been taken captive. By what, we don't know. Zl'ana barely managed to escape. We're all en route to there now to see if we can't bring them back.
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 33 - Temple]The assailants' footprints led us to a temple hidden deep within the underground jungle. The door is sealed tight - all of us have tried our hands at breaking it open, to no avail. Skeletron and Green have been discussing something for the last half-hour or so - maybe Skeletron knows the trick to getting through this door. Judging by the skull's expression, though... I have a bad feeling we're not going to like what we find when we get there. I only hope Zl'ana's tribe is still okay when we manage to get into this damn place.
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 34 - Horrors]Oh my god. Oh my god. That was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen in my life. I wish this was just a bad dream.

We managed to get through the door, and were immediately met with the stench of death. It was as if we'd stepped back into the ravines of the Corruption. Before any of us could process that, Green blitzed through the doors like a madman, holding a pair of wire cutters - we had no choice but to follow and try to keep up as he started disabling traps left and right. I was able to put my new grenade launcher to good use, as the lizard creatures dwelling inside the temple bunched up into groups chasing after Green. By the end, Green looked a little like raw hamburger, and his wings were torn to ribbons, but the rest of us were mostly unharmed, and most of Green's injuries were only skin-deep.

With the last of the traps disabled, we stopped to let Green patch himself up a bit, then stepped into the final chamber at the heart of the temple, and... gods, I'm going to be sick. We found Zl'ana's tribe. They were chained to the walls, chests torn open and hearts missing. Every single one of them. Before I could gather myself to ask what I was looking at, I got my answer as a whirring sound echoed from further into the chamber. The statues in the room began coming to life, each one powered by a glowing core in the center of their chests. Inside those cores were the tribes' hearts. ...The fight itself was a blur. All I remember is that when we were done, there was nothing but gravel left of those godforsaken golems. When we left, we took the hearts with us - we laid them to rest beside Plantera's grave. I'm going to have nightmares for weeks. I wish we had gotten there sooner... maybe we would have been able to save some of them.

One thing still puzzles me... Why did I sense Gaia's energy in that room?
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Gone][The penmanship is extremely shaky, and the page is covered in tear stains]
It's gone. Everything's gone. The settlement is in ruins. Konah, Caitlin, Arthur, Durim, Carlo, Brianne... Tony... all dead.

Before, I had held doubts that there was anything sentient beyond our world. Now I know there is. There's life out there, and it's hostile. One moment, everything was peaceful, and the next, lasers rained down from the sky and lightning launched at us from the ground. There were so many of them, with technology outclassing ours by several orders of magnitude. For every one we killed, two more seemed to take its place. And just when it seemed like we were finally managing to dig our heels in, a massive saucer appeared in the sky seemingly out of nowhere, and everything went white. When I was able to see again, the settlement was a crater.

It's become clear to me now. Our goddess has abandoned us. When we needed her most, Gaia sat by and watched us suffer and die without lifting a finger to help. I don't know why, and I don't care why. If ---
[A splotch of ink stains the page where the pen was dropped]
Pirates just attacked us. [u]They will not be missed.[/u]
If I ever come face to face with that wench of a goddess, she will have to beg for my forgiveness.[/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 36 - Life Goes On]Time hasn't suddenly come to a stop just because of our tragedy. It marches on, and we have no choice but to pick up the pieces and try to move on. Claymore and Green have taken up the majority of the construction, as they're the most experienced in building.
Despite the settlement's complete destruction, people continue to flow in from all directions. From what they're telling us, the state of the world is bad. Eyes of Cthulhu and Eaters of Worlds ravage some areas, and sprites and unicorns assault others. We're not the only ones Gaia has abandoned, it seems. To think we once trusted her... But that was then, and this is now. People are counting on us to bring this nightmare to an end, and we shall. Nobody, mortal or god, is going to stop us.
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 37 - Salvage]Celia took us on a scouting mission. We've spent so long trying to recover from the invasion that we've lost touch with the surroundings. Not much has changed in our immediate surroundings, at least. Zl'ana stumbled across the wreckage of one of the Destroyer's probes. I managed to get the thing working, and the first thing it did after starting up was imprint on Zl'ana, so she now has a killer probe trailing meekly behind her.
I did spot an alien probe flying in the distance. It didn't stay airborne for long. As old as this sniper rifle must be, it still works like a charm. We tracked down where the probe crashed, just to be certain it wasn't functioning anymore, which it wasn't. Celia decided to haul the probe's remains back to the settlement. For what exactly, I haven't a clue, but I trust she has something in mind.
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler][spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 38 - Saucers]Celia decided to make a staff from the remains of that probe. The staff summons small copies of that accursed saucer, of all things... Thinking about it logically, they are powerful familiars to have, and will be a big help in defending the village. That doesn't make me not want to shoot them out of the air, though.
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 39 - Crystal]I'm just the universe's plaything at this point, aren't I? Stars above... I've been infected again. By the Hallow this time. One of the bats there bit my hand. It was a light wound, so we didn't think much of it. That is, until I woke up this morning and my hand was made entirely out of crystal. It still works just fine, and it doesn't hurt or anything, so physically, I'm fine for now. Mentally, though? I can feel it grinding away at the back of my mind. I feel unnaturally on edge over nothing at all. I can only hope I can keep it from taking hold of me like I did the corruption...
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 40 - Bipolar]My emotions are going haywire. I can barely keep myself under control even when nothing is going on. My brain feels like it's trying to split itself in half, and I have constant violent urges. I've kept myself from giving into any of them, but I don't know how long that will last. I'm just... so tired. I'm not sure how much longer I can fight this. If nothing else, I need to find an appropriate outlet for the destructive urges, and soon. Maybe that will help ease the strain. I certainly hope so.
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]
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[spoiler=Celeste's Diary, Entry 41 - Duke]I've taken to putting a few dozen rounds into the target dummy whenever an urge arises. It's helped a little.

The angler, Izzy, got quite the fright earlier today. From what he's told us, he cast his line into the ocean and caught a demon. He didn't have a very detailed description - he popped his panic charm before he got a good look at the thing. A wise call, things could have turned ugly if he'd stuck around any longer than he did.
We're going to ask Skeletron what he knows about this thing. Truth be told, I'm itching for a fight... The infection is screaming at me to purify, so maybe if we take down a demon, it'll shut up for a little while - maybe that might even slow its spread. It's already halfway up my forearm...
[font=Monotype Corsiva]~Celeste Woodsman[/font][/spoiler]