Journal (Zojja)
This article is about the interactable books in the Tower of Secrets story step. For the achievement, see Zojja's Journal. Journal (Zojja)
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- Location
- Tower of Secrets
(Southern Wizard's Tower) - Type
- Book
- Interact
- Yes
- Destructible
- No
Journals are books that are written by Zojja and found during the Tower of Secrets story step. They detail Zojja's struggle after Maguuma and her introduction to Uenno and the Astral Ward.
Story involvement[edit]
Secrets of the Obscure story[edit]
- Act II
Text[edit]
Eir's memorial was a few weeks ago... I didn't go. Didn't want to. The invitation is still sitting at the bottom of the bin next to my cot. I looked at it again the other day; Knut's handwriting hasn't improved.
Logan tried to stop by the infirmary—he's on his feet again, I guess. I told Tammo that I didn't want visitors. Logan probably just wanted to talk about her. Eir. He wrote not long ago. Didn't go to the memorial either, but...I didn't write him back. I just don't want to talk to anyone right now. I don't want to see anyone. I want to be left alone.
My vision is still fuzzy and I can barely lift myself out of bed, anyway. All I want is to sleep, and then sleep some more.
Rata Sum just isn't the same. I've been out of the infirmary for two months, and nothing feels anywhere close to "normal." The council is too scared to put me back on fieldwork, and the colleges seem less than interested in having me teach. No talks. Nothing. Past my prime, apparently. Send me straight to the retirement facility.
I can't even work on Mr Sparkles. He's scattered in pieces, all over Maguuma...I think I am, too.
Taimi's come and gone... Managed to dodge her each time, at least, but I guess she's somewhere down in the Ring of Fire with the commander. Heh, Bet she's having a blast... A part of me writhes with jealousy. Perhaps...anxiety? I'm eager to get back out there, but the lingering fear at the end of those thoughts keeps me in place. I used to be stronger than this, but maybe I just never noticed my expiration date.
I've decided to leave. First decision I've made since waking up that brings me any sense of relief. Packed up my things and hit the road. Rata Sum, eat dolyak dung. Have fun cleaning out my closet (just give me credit for anything you find in there).
I hitched a ride to Queensdale. Haven't been out here in a while... Hasn't changed a bit. Stayed in the same lodge Logan and I did every time we went to Lion's Arch. The smell is...poignant. Meat and cedar. Lots of sweat. They'd just finished a boar hunt when I arrived, so the whole venue is celebrating. What are they celebrating, you may ask? If I had to guess, just being alive. Not being stomped out by an Elder Dragon.
Being around happy people is refreshing. Loud, though.
Two years ago, I was sitting on my bed in the infirmary. I stared out the window all day, listening to the judgmental whispers outside my door... Now, I'm sitting in a tavern. Glass full of juice (ale doesn't agree with me these days). Joined by another asura, actually. A lady named Uenno; I feel like I know the name, but I can't recall if we've ever crossed paths before.
Uenno asked if I needed a ride to wherever I was headed, and I agreed to go with her. I don't usually do spontaneous these days, but...I don't have anywhere better to be, do I? We stopped in Garenhoff first so she could meet with an old friend. I sat at the pier and watched the Wizard's Tower while I waited. What a marvel... Heh, I wonder what the gimmick is.
When Uenno finished lunch, we sat there for a while and talked.
She used to be a professor in the colleges, but she left after years and years of frustration with the system. Students set up for failure, refusal to grow or expand (sound familiar...?). She's lived along the outskirts of Divinity's Reach for some time, teaching statics to the locals. Anything to get technology in more hands. Humans are terrible at math.
I like her. She doesn't remind me of Rata Sum. While there's plenty to miss, it...it just wasn't the same after Maguuma. I'm not the same after Maguuma.
Uenno...she... Okay, Zojja, let's back up.
Uenno and I decided to stay in the citadel for a few nights after we cleaned shop in the southern Shiverpeaks. Rytlock is with the others in Amnoon, apparently, so no chance of crossing paths. Uenno told me that she needed to meet with another "friend," which was starting to feel a bit suspect every other village... So I followed her. Maaaybe an invasion of privacy, but... I don't know how to feel about what happened yet.
They met just outside of Smokestead. He looked human from a distance, but I suddenly felt a pinch behind my left ear and sick to my stomach. Whatever spell he was using to conceal his identity was strong. The briefest flash of light, and then...a mursaat. A living mursaat. I...I'd heard about what happened with Lazarus from a Pact engineer in Lion's Arch, but...here...? I was ready to attack when he noticed my position. I tried to run, but my legs went numb.
Uenno urged me to remain calm and went straight into a lecture on personal security (I don't know if it was for me or her). The mursaat hovered nearby and watched. Was he anxious...? He gently put a hand on Uenno's shoulder and pushed her aside. He knelt by me and mumbled something I couldn't make out—it didn't sound like any native tongue I'm familiar with. I could feel my legs again, though. My weapon was just out of reach, but his voice was...kind. He gave me his name and assured my safety. He already knew who I was, and he seemed honored to meet me.
The first time I stood on the edge of Amnytas, I wanted to faint. Mabon and Uenno weren't far away, as if they expected just that to happen.
A fortress in the sky, hovering above us this entire time... I have a thousand questions, and Mabon's trying his best to keep up with each one. They call themselves the Astral Ward, and they are led by a small group of "wizards." What is a wizard, exactly? Seemed a little archaic, but it all has something to do with magic left behind by the seers. Especially powerful individuals can ascend through a taxing ritual if they're offered it; that ritual allows them to tap into the magical ecosystem of Tyria (to an extent). Mabon is one of them, and there's another named Dagda. I've yet to meet Isgarren for myself; he's usually locked away in the library or the "World Spire," but this place is a campus of magical development. Education and research—a living archive of Tyria itself. There are largos, ogres, asura, and sylvari working together. Living together. Alongside the wizards, they've been protecting us from...Alchemy, who knows what?
Mabon asked if I want to join the Astral Ward, and I...I might say yes. What scientist would turn down the opportunity to crack the world open and peer inside...? The scientist part of my brain is on fire, and I have no intention of dousing the flame.
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