Black Hole: The Book of Iratus, Episode 71

Chapter 701

Iratus and Salvos gathered the computer parts right outside of the door thing to the bizarre tower. Both men were wearing their gambeson armor only partially, but there was a sudden cold coming outside and they stopped to fully put their armor on. The day was still missing, with pure darkness overtaking the day. It was a blackest day, but reality wasn't breaking like normal and instead was quite tame, with only the bizarre tower being the most adnormal thing around.

Iratus: "The temperature sure changed fast."

Salvos: "Just hurry, man; I don't think we should linger next to this tower."

Iratus: "But we still don't know where Yaqar will release their prisoner."

Salvos: "He said our ally would run back to our tower, so I assume it must be one of our people, right? We could wait at the tower, which makes more sense if the prisoner isn't actually here."

Iratus: "From the sounds of things, the ebony is chasing them now."

The wolfman Salvos looked around and at the sky before returning to Iratus.

Salvos: "What are the odds that thing was even telling the truth? What even was its plan?"

Iratus: "It allowed us to leave, so there is that."

Salvos shook his head while he finally picked up half the computer parts, but then his face turned into a grimace.

Salvos: "Oh no. Oh no."

Iratus: "What?"

Salvos: "I got to take a dump."

Iratus: "Yuck, just go out there in the woods."

Salvos: "No way!"

The wolf turned to the door and paused for a second.

Iratus: "No."

Salvos: "I got to go!"

And Salvos ran back into the tower with Iratus sighing as he dropped his half of the computer parts and walked back inside Yaqar's tower.

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Chapter 702

As Salvos ran to a side door, Iratus looked around suspiciously before a small part of the abnormal wall opened up, and this time a large television screen popped out of it. When it turned on, a mechanical eye was revealed, though a static image, and this eye was far more detailed than the one on the laptop with lines in a cross pattern around the iris and a more detailed gray color.

Yaqar: "Your daringness in front of something that must be so ALIENS ARE REAL to you is astounding. What is your secret?"

Iratus: "Damnable machine. Did you do something to Salvos?"

Yaqar: "Are you referring to the toilet room? Please, the local area in wildlife and edible fruits and vegetables combine with the picture perfect biology of someone of his height and weight and wolffolk, and finally the possible working or idling hours each day, anyone can accurately predict when others must GO GO ALL THE WAY TO THE MOON!"

Iratus: "Is that even possible?"

Yaqar: "If Salvos is with you, then clearly you should know artificial intellects like mine possess all possible outcomes and information. Oh, I just answered my previous question, CHEESE IS REAL."

Iratus: "Uh, I am aware of what you are; I may not understand it or why you talk like...that, but yeah. You're a program thing."

The TV made some strange sounds, like the sound of a scratching disc and then a cartoonish crash sound, before the AI continued.

Yaqar: "So, since you are here, how about you get on that, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, deal going?"

Iratus: "Hm. Let's go over this deal one more time. If I do this task, what do I get?"

Yaqar: "You're ally who trapped themselves inside my tower."

Iratus: "And if I don't?"

Yaqar: "You're ally who trapped themselves inside my tower."

Iratus shook his head in slight frustration.

Iratus: "Well, then I don't see why I should aid a being who is an enemy of Nexus Prime."

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Chapter 703

Yaqar: "I see, then I must bribe you with GOLD!"

Iratus heard the same compartment door in the next room try to open when it already was.

Yaqar: "Ah, I see. You just don't know the problem with the stalker leaving my, NOT MY BODY!"

Iratus after sighing: "I mean, you can try to convince me."

The wolfman came back into the room, his business done.

Salvos: "Has the thing screwed us over yet, or can we still leave?"

Iratus tested the door and found it still unlocked, so he gave a thumbs up.

Yaqar: "You just don't understand the BELOW ZERO survival chance you have against a stalker, uh, ebony."

Iratus: "We will take our chances."

Yaqar: "SURPRISE, a new deal has been summoned from fourteen years in the future. Would you like to know more?"

Salvos: "Just release our ally and tell us where to find her."

Yaqar: "The war between the tower folk and Purple City. The absolute horror of the MAGICAL WISH."

The pair turned to each other, with the mouse boy being more in shock than Salvos, who looked utterly confused.

Salvos: "Oh, I'm sorry, but how?"

Yaqar: "You just need to look at the math... AND THE MATH SAYS WAR!"

Iratus: "Why would they war with us...and fourteen years from now?"

Yaqar: "Such a lack of MATH, THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE! I never liked those people. You see Wrath-a-Loon, my boy; those VERMIN hate you. They do not know you; they do not know how you live your life; they even worship the same LIGHT, but all they need to know is that you are a mouse, and that is more than enough to want to murder you and everyone you hold dear....cat I mean."

---

Chapter 704

Iratus rubbed the bridge of his nose before turning back to the screen.

Iratus: "We met two of them, and they seemed pretty nice."

Yaqar: "If only you knew what happened to that EXCEPTIONALLY LAWFUL city."

Iratus: "Excuse me? What happened to Purple City?"

The machine was silent for a few seconds before responding.

Yaqar: "There is this card game that I really liked. It started pretty simple with only a hand full of cards and deck combinations. The company added one expansion, and the community revolted, ruining the whole game not because the new set was bad but because the deck combinations increased and were enough for the main players to stop playing."

The machine continued to speak but was interrupted.

Iratus: "Tell us what happened to Purple City!"

Yaqar: "I cannot do that, Dave."

Salvos: "Why not?"

Yaqar: "My favorite picture book is The Little Mouse that Could."

The mouse boy gave a sigh and calmed his nerves, trying to think of something.

Yaqar: "It is a story that reminds me of what happened to the purple skin people species. They once built many mighty empires, and then they all died. Luckily, the smart ones left for another planet and built a SUBLIME empire...and then they all died. Did I mention this is just the opening for a certain tabletop game? Long story short, there was another species on that planet, and they wanted to make their civilization and collect the lost knowledge, but DAD...HELP...DAD? So the purple skins blew up their own libraries and cities with their dying breath to MAKE SURE no one could become better from their knowledge."

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Chapter 705

Iratus: "Silver. You won't tell us what happened to Purple City, right?"

Yaqar: "WINNER, WINNER!"

Iratus: "But you will tell us about that war?"

Yaqar: "If the math is correct."

Iratus looked at the screen with new determination as Salvos continued to look confused.

Iratus: "Tell me about this war."

Yaqar: "The most likely war to be correct, for I don't see the future, only guess. Anyways, eliminate Lust and free my GLORIOUS OH GLORIOUS snuggle home from his rampage, and I will tell you the MATHMATICALLY CORRECT future."

Salvos: "But what about what happened to Purple City? Heck, can't you give us other information too?"

Yaqar: "This is why I support the death penalty. Like what, Wolfman?"

Salvos: "Other locations around Iratus's tower or things."

Yaqar: "No."

And the screen went black. Iratus and Salvos looked in disbelief at what had transpired.

Iratus slightly unnerved: "What the silver hell was that?"

Salvos: "I have no idea. That thing was like the comic relief in a cartoon. Maybe some AI that went super crazy being in this place. Are you seriously going to do that thing bidding? It called himself a Sin Lord which has always been bad for us."

Iratus: "The machines who build the Nexus Prime can deal with him. Until then, let's learn all that we can from it. Knowledge, the AI, or anything else of use. I am also concerned about my ally because I don't know if it is one of our people or some random person."

Salvos: "Why would a random person be considered our ally?"

Iratus: "There are people like Venatio out there, those who are agents of the robots of this space station. There was Venatio, but we also met a female feline named Desidia. I think rescuing them here instead of trusting a crazy AI, whatever that is."

Salvos: "Yeah, trust him to hold his own deal. Whatever, I don't have anything better to do. Let's see one of these, ebonies, and kill it."

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Chapter 706

Iratus and Salvos walked up a narrow spiral corridor with walls that constantly seemed to shift in size. The walls were made of the same compressed black squares as the rest of the structure, but here they spiral slightly, as if the entire corridor is twisting around a central axis. The floor sloped downward, and the ceiling was sometimes too low for comfort in some areas while rising dramatically in others. Faint white mist trails down from the cracks along the walls, and every step carried a loud echo. The two entered into a room filled with many mirrors, most trick mirrors disorienting the images they reflect.

Iratus and Salvos traveled through the mirror maze in front of them with Yaqar singing in the background, his voice a bit far away.

Yaqar: "Ohhh, there once was a hundred men each representing one hundred mouths, and each of these captains would meet at the Far Away Island, the Far Away Island. Once they met, the captains all said that if they started killing each other, then wealth would most certainly come. All that wealth!"

Iratus took a few seconds looking at the odd reflections before losing interest and moving on.

Yaqar: "Soon each captain joins a truce for greater rewards, in global trade, in global trade."

Salvos: "Does that thing have to sing too?"

The mouse boy just shrugged.

Yaqar: "But one night a captain as devious as he was attractive killed another captain and found himself with new-found wealth. He found that he did not feel any sorrow. Ohhh, the devious young man killed more men, and each time he committed murder, he found himself fed. Found himself more women. Found himself more land. Found himself more arrogant. He made the religion of murder, with each follower finding themselves with new wealth as they killed more innocents, and the cult became law."

Salvos: "Silver hell, what the burning crow food is he singing?"

Iratus: "Shh, I am trying to see if there is more to this song."

Yaqar: "Ohhh, the remaining captain found themselves forced to find... a whole new God, a God of love and peace. The cult of murder laughed and jeered. A God of love will never win against force; all authority is force. All rights are made by force. Force is the one true truth! One day they came to kill the God-fearing champions of love and slaughtered them all, proving once and for all their God wasn't real; love will never win. Ten days later, their captured slaves revolted and cried to God, Save us, please, and the murder cult laughed and decided to remove their species from the planet. Despite their best efforts, the murderers found that they could not kill their slaves no matter how much force they used."

The machine took in a deep breath, or rather made the sound of it.

Yaqar: "No matter how much force they used. Texts kept the knowledge preserved and found these slaves victorious with nothing but their words as weapons, saying God's authority was greater than the authority of force. It was the murder cult's downfall, and to this day I still don't understand. How could math be wrong?"

He stopped singing.

Yaqar in a serious tone: "I would consider all this nothing but myth if that love God people didn't walk in the Nexus Prime."

---

Chapter 707

Iratus and Salvos came to another staircase, and they both stopped to listen, and when they didn't hear anything, they looked at each other and were just about to begin ascending the stairs until Yaqar chimed in, his voice now coming from upstairs.

Yaqar: "It's so quiet that it must be a trap! Stand vigilant, brave adventurers, for the key to saving my cows lies within these very walls."

Salvos: "What are you talking about now?"

Yaqar: "Cows."

Salvos: "What has possessed you to talk about cows at this moment?"

Yaqar: "Well, the math clearly shows that talking about cows at this moment would be the most positive and FUNNY action I could take."

Salvos: "And you want to be funny? Why?"

Yaqar: "I asked myself a question once, for I wanted to be more liked and BECOME THE MOST FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THE SERIES, and me acting like this is how I obtain that goal."

Salvos: "You... are acting like an insane AI because it would make you more liked?"

Iratus whispering: "Try terrifying."

Yaqar: "And funny."

Salvos: "Are you not a rouge and insane AI?"

Yaqar: "No, and that sounds kind of silly. AIs don't work like that, or at least I don't. I was created to make more figit spinners, and now look where I am, the most quoted character in this story."

Iratus whispering: "Whose story?"

Yaqar: "The billions upon billions OF USELESS MOUTH BREATHERS that live in the Nexus Prime."

Iratus: "Wait...is he faking being insane?"

Salvos: "Yeah. If his programming is to be popular and funny, then of course he will act the way to maximize that."

Iratus: "Okay...but he isn't funny; he has been kind of scary."

Salvos: "Welcome to AI; they never make any sense."

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Chapter 708

The next room the pair entered into was an unexpectedly serene, though unnerving, chamber. Black, jagged poles towered and arranged like trees as if the room were an otherworldly forest. They emitted a faint hum and glowed a very dim light that gave off a gentle warmth. Between them, faint white threads hang in the air, like spiderwebs, but clearly have an electrical purpose. The floor here was soft, like ash or fine black sand, and their footsteps left a trail that slowly filled in behind them. The mist was thinner, and the air carried a light metallic scent. 

Both their ears twitched as another sound alerted them, something like movement, so Iratus turned off his flash light, and the two got their arms and armor ready for a fight.

Salvos took the lead, his spear at the ready, with Iratus still only using his longsword; both men were without ranged options this time. They both talked in a low voice as to not alert anything to them.

Iratus: "We may have to lure the creature to the stairs. We need to box it in and force it into our weapons."

Salvos: "Right, of all the things I heard from you about these things, their durability will be the worst part of this fight."

Salvos stopped and sniffed the air.

Salvos: "I don't know about no monster, but I do smell someone, a folk, I think, and they smell kind of funny."

Iratus: "Stranger?"

Salvos: "Stranger. Let's find them."

Iratus nodded his head, and the two traveled only a little while before they found a cabin in the middle of the obsidian forest with the cabin made of similar material to the obsidian but actually looked like wood, just blacked. 

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Chapter 709

The cabin they found in the obsidian forest blended with its surroundings disturbingly well; even its surface reflected the faint glow of the black poles around it, creating a minuet shimmer.

The walls were made of this dark, glassy substance, smooth yet appearing charred, with rougher edges that gave the illusion of burnt timber. Despite its unnatural appearance, the cabin was structured like a simple wooden hut, with a slanted roof and a single door that appeared as though it had been carved right from the material itself. There were no windows, and the ground around the cabin was soft, with the black ash or sand cushioning the pair's steps as they moved closer to it.

The door opened, and a figure stood slightly shorter than most folk-type people. Salvos strained his eyes to get a better look, while Iratus's cat eyes could see a bit more detail. The woman was like the folk from the art he strung up—an antfolk, a beautiful being slightly taller than six feet (183 cm), and she had a mix of an exoskeleton and skin. Her skin was an earthly green, while her ant skin was a dark slate, and her eyes were a deep crimson red. Her antennae were prominent and segmented with a blueish tint. She had thick hair, almost feather-like in texture, dark charcoal with streaks of neon yellow and blue, cascading around her face and shoulders. She had a lean, agile build, and she had an ant tail, which required clothing that accommodated it, which she didn't with her black cloak being stuck on the tail, the gaster.

The ant woman gasped and stood there for a second while Iratus looked around for threats, his ears twitching, and Iratus and Salvos could hear movement, footsteps, and the hint of metallic clinging.

Iratus: "Stairs or cabin?"

Salvos: "It is after the strange girl thing over there, so clearly the cabin to protect her."

Iratus: "Yeah, the obvious answer."

The two backed up, still looking around for their foe, and then the almost vibrating voice from the female antfolk rang out.

Antfolk Lady: "The monster cannot be seen by normal sight!"

Before Iratus and Salvos could properly turn to flee, the clang or chains rung out and the light from the black rods reflected off of a giant, the ebony, standing just under eight feet tall (213 cm). While its whole form did not blink into existence, enough of it was revealed to get some idea of what this thing looked like. It barely looked like an ebony as it had giant goat skin holding its entire form with only a few spots, the feet and hands, being open and revealing the ebony's true ink black form. The goat was almost completely white with a black line on its back, and the ebony had real hands that wielded a large bone club, respective to Iratus then the giant, and a beautiful gleaming silver lantern in its right hand.

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Chapter 710

Iratus blinked; the ebony was right in front of him, and he just saw the bone club about to smash into his face. The mouse boy managed to dive to the ground, clipping his ears. While hearing the club slam into Salvos's shoulder, the strain of bones and meat refusing to break rang into the mouse boy's ears.

Salvos gasped and fell to one knee in shock while Iratus took a stab into the goat ebony, and while his sword went through the goat skin, the ebony was not staggered at all as it came around to strike at the mouse boy once again.

Iratus: "Forgot!" He turned to run a few feet back. "They are too hardy."

Salvos seemed to struggle as he got back to his feet, and when the ebony looked back to the wolf, Iratus came back in to distract the creature, stabbing it once again, but of course, the monster ignored it and slammed its bone club down on Salvos's back, dropping the wolfman again.

Salvos: "AH!"

Iratus then stabbed the neck of the monster, which made it turn its attention to him. Salvos used his spear to stab into the crouch area of the creature, which made it turn back to him, and then Iratus got in a messy draw cut on its neck. The ebony pushed Iratus back, but Iratus only took a step back. Salvos got to his feet and started running for the cabin.

Salvos: "Get back."

Iratus took a glance at the cabin to see the antfolk holding up a rifle, and the boy ran himself, taking the long way and giving plenty of room for the woman to shoot, and she did. Shot after shot for a total of five shots, with most seeming to him the creature. Iratus heard the snort of the ebony as it took a step back in just the right spot where the lights were no longer hitting it, and it faded from sight, though Iratus was able to see a bit more of the beast just before it vanished. The lantern was empty and was attached to thin, well-made, looking chains that wrapped around the waist of the ebony, and the ebony itself wasn't as thick with muscle and mass compared to many of the other ebonys Iratus had fought.

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EPISDOE 71: END

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Episode 71 End Character Sheet
Name: Iratus Lionheart
Species: Mousefolk
Age: 16
Coverings: blonde fur, white gambeson (many repairs, some leather patchwork), leather gloves, tactical vest, tailorcraft backpack, leather plate helmet, delicate gold chain with a small pendant shaped like a lion's glare, flashlight, bronze breastplate
Weapons: long sword, 3 knifes, short sword, hammer, 1 dagger
Equipment: belt, belt bag, water skin, leathercraft backpack, 2 bags, 5 copper coins, 1 small silver bricks, 20 silver coins, 30 gold coins

Wounds: none

Relevant Community Stash: a fire starter, whetstone, several leather items, 2 glass jar, 12 bottles, 1 fish net, primitive sewing kit, a bunch of small wooden figures, wooden dice, metal scrap, lots of rusted metal, several small fish nets, sextant, some bedrolls, a tent, a large barrel, writing material, 68 cloaks and other clothing materials, some fabrics, 4 carts, 4 stitched tents, skin drum, beautiful arts of tropical scenery, floatation devices, wildlife figures, lots of tropical clothing, gas generator, four flood lights

Armory: 32 short swords, 33 knifes, 19 daggers, 23 metal spears, 4 arming swords, 4 long swords, 2 extra gambeson, semi-automatic rifle (no ammo), 3 hunting traps, 5 snares, 12 backpacks, 3 katanas, 3 short katanas, crossbow, several pounds of C4
Aestus: gambeson, bronze breastplate, leather helmet, metal spear, 2 knives, short sword, bronze long sword.
Victoria: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, short sword, crossbow, 2 daggers, flashlight
Resonanita: steel breastplate, gambeson, metal helmet, metal spear, short sword, 1 knife, compound bow, flashlight
Ignis: bronze breastplate, gambeson, leather helmet, metal spear, crowbar, 1 knife

Treasure: 13 copper coins, 2 silver coins 12 iron coins, a tarnished silver brooch, a small ornamental figurine, a few antfolk tapestries, some antfolk art, bronze lantern, bronze idol, some jeweled trinkets, iron lantern

Home Base, Tower: Large Storage Area (many crates, clay pots, and wooden chests), Basic Workshop Area (lots of tools, woodcarving tools, glue, sandpaper), Kitchen Area (many tools, many cutlery items, pots&pans, makeshift grill), Library, Armory, Infirmary Room (surgery tools, first aid kit, plenty of medicine and equipment), Children's Quarters, Master Bedroom (proper bedding, sensual antfolk sculpture), Six Bedrooms (proper bedding), four portable solar panels

Outside Base: Butchering Hut (modern butchery kit, smoking rack), Tannery Hut, Underground Storage Area, Garden Area (fenced in), Tool Shed (fishing gear and supplies, trowel, woodcutting axe, woodworking tools, lots of rope, rope ladder, plows, hoes, sickles, rakes, shovels, scythes, chisels, anvils), Wooden Wall, Small Cabin (Venatio), Large Cabin (Winter Winds), Large Cabin (Dark Sky Family), Gravestone, Rabbit Hutches.

Books: 3x woodworking books, weathered leather-bound journal, war game booklet, sketch book (from warband), Bathhouse Reviewers (entire 80 book series), cards, Fractura's Notes, Tempestas's Notes, 12 survival guides, 3 technical manuals, 46 fiction novels, 11 encyclopedias, 4 dictionaries, 22 cookbooks, 2 gardening guides, 3 crafting books, 20 educational textbooks, 5 religious texts, 4 diaries, 12 children's books

Year 2, Day 106

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TOWER FOLK:
Iratus of House Lionheart
mouse, male, blonde fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'6, age: 16, b day: 350
-
Victoria Mother of House Lionheart
raccoon, female, gray fur, black hair, brown eyes, 6'3, age: 16, b day: 5
-
Aestus of clan Riversinger
otter, female, red fur, red hair, blue eyes, 6'2, age: 16, b day: 99, (preg 111 days)
-
Ignis Yang
red panda, female, reddish-brown/white fur, black hair, golden eye, 6'4, age: 16, b day: 344, (preg 11 days)
-
Resonantia Diamond Heart Steel
shark, female, blue-gray hue skin, white hair, blue eyes, 6'5, age: 16, b day: 2, (preg 138 days)
---

CHILDREN:
Negligere Lionheart
shark, male, steel gray skin, white hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 2
-
Ruina Lionheart
otter, female, orange fur, vibrant orange hair, blue eyes, age: 1, b day: 330
-
Gula Lionheart
red panda, male, brown fur, dark brown hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 340
-
Tenacitas Lionheart
raccoon, female, silver fur, dark blonde hair, amber eyes, age: 1, b day: 345

Frustra Lionheart
raccoon, male, gray fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, age: 0, b day: 338
---

NEIGHBORS:
Venatio of Wise Storms, Mother of House Black Jewel
fox, female, red fur, red hair, brown eyes, 6'6, age: 72, b day: 299
---

WINTER WINDS CLAN:
Studium of Winter Winds
fox, male, gray fur, black hair, blue eyes, 5'8, age 13, b day: 190

Fuligo Leaf Shadow
otter, female, black fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'6, age 13, b day: 245, (preg 40 days)

Bellum of House War Knuckles
cheetah, female, blonde fur, blonde hair, blue eyes, 6'0, age 15, b day: 91, (preg 76 days)
---

DARK SKY FAMILY:
Salvos Dark Sky
wolf, male, black fur, white hair, copper eyes, 6'8, age 27, b day: 66

Leitmotif Schlange
snake, female, yellow and red scales, naga bodied, gold  eyes, age 24, b day: 229, (preg 151 days)

---

(farm)
UMBRA OCEAN FAMILY:
Procella Ocean Drinker
weasel , female, blonde fur, black hair, green eyes, 6'5, age 22, b day: 207, (preg 55 days)

Iter of Sanguinem Umbra
goat, male, white fur, blonde hair, brown eyes, 6'7, age 20, b day: 334
---

(farm)
THE COBALTS:
Commercium Jade Blue Cobalt
rabbit, male, white fur, black hair, gray eyes, 6'8, age: 25, b day: 221

-
Abrasione
hyena, female, tan fur, blonde hair, gold eyes, 6'5, age: 20, b day: 4, (preg 194 days)

-
Kuxatura
hyena, male, tan fur, black hair, gold eyes, age: 1, b day: 284

---

LAST MISTAKE
Deficio
lion, male, gray fur, rich gray hair, green eyes, 6'6, age: 46, b day: 111

Confodere Oculi Acuti
hyena, male, dark brown fur, black hair, gold eyes, 6'9, age 26, b day: 239

Malignitas of House Brokensand
feline, male, light black fur, light black hair, brown eyes (single eye), 6'7, age 29, b day: 343