This

This is the song of songs, a story of stories. These are the chapters, or what little of them what has yet come to light.

I could say that this is the middle, that the story starts here, in the middle, not because the middle is more important or more interesting than the beginning or end, but simply because it is the only piece left that is not missing. It is the only piece that has been found, and the only piece that is safe to share. The rest is holes.

Except I'm not sure that's true.

• /Dead girl's song - Rahah Okieshu (before the dream, after Coraline went missing)
• /Survivor's song - Coraline Henderson (after coming to Abaeranoth)
• /Mad Dream's song - Vardaman and Ariel (searching for the survivor 'save the mystery')
• /Heroes' song - Coraline et al after the pieces of the cliché (quest)

• /Champion's song - Coraline Henderson (after quest failure)

• /Reaper's song - Rahah as Zhorishna (after death, 'mystery')

• /Dreamer's song - Vardaman (after rescue), Rahah as Eapherod (finding and restoring power)

• /Deathgods' song - Sherandris (on holiday), and Coraline (after escape)

• /Adventurer's song - Kyrule and Eapherod (what really happened)

• /Wayfarers' song - Everyone (journey into the shades, figure out what they're dealing with, grand end)

• /Murderer's song - Lilya Coren (general unrelated)

Compendium of Fragments: The Book of Dreams

But let's try that again. Suppose this is all in the book.

And the book? Call it what you will: This, the Book of Dreams, A Very Useful Book, the Compendium of Fragments, The World. It may not even be a book, showing up instead as words on a wall, pictures in the air, an app, a game, a dream, a world to fall into. All these little words tied together by invisible threads that twist about and interweave the unrelated fragments, and where does it leave the reader, the player, or perhaps the played? Where, indeed?

From this book, worlds can be written, and rewritten. All that is written and told is here, and anything that is found can be changed, if only one knows how. For those who understand the true nature of words, there is no limit. No limit at all to what can be secreted away and lost forever... and no limit to what can then be later found.

This isn't what it's all about, of course. It's not all about anything. Things just sort of happen, one after another, except when they happen another after the one, but that only happens sometimes. All of it only happens sometimes, really. The sometimes are simply the times we happen to care about.

• This
• The Book of Dreams
• A Very Useful Book
• Compendium of Fragments
• The World
• The Book of Death
• An Assorted Compilation of Events That May Or May Not Be Significant
• Book of Time
• Things That Are
• The Manual
• The Index
• The Codex
• The Madness
• Library of Arah
• Sarathi Codex
• Encyclopaedia of Mirrors