text: On the morning of September 3rd 1893, I received by urgent letter the news I had waited so long to hear. Christopher - my brother - had done it! After years of failed experimentation, he had finally succeeded in bridging the gap between our world and the fabled 'night-land'. I abandoned my breakfast, and made my way to the laboratory with a swiftness rivalled only by the locomotive. There are no words in all of human language to describe what I saw that day. Using a method known only by him, he had constructed a gateway. We entered together, and beyond the bridge of stars we found what the ancient legends had described. The great library of the night land. Forbidden knowledge from every corner of the cosmos and beyond. Tomes and scrolls of indescribable things, amassed by strange cosmic entities known only as 'Howlers'. Vaporous figureless beings that glided through the air like kites. If only our colleagues could have seen us! The glory that awaited us upon our return to the academy, we could scarcely imagine. The Howlers seemed indifferent to our presence, at least at first. We trekked for miles in complete awe. Upon a parchment I sketched the route we made into the labyrinth, never once failing to remember the location of the gateway. Had I the gift of foresight, I would have insisted we return to the laboratory at once, but Christopher's hunger for knowledge was insatiable. Whilst my focus was set upon a gathering of Howlers, I unknowingly allowed Christopher to wander out of sight. When I realized my folly, it was already too late. My cries were in vain. He could not hear me, or perhaps could not reply. Upon the ground where he once stood I found the ring our father gave to him, but Christopher was gone. To my horror, the Howlers began to follow me. They preyed upon me like a lion stalks a gazelle. I panicked, and in that moment my only desire was the gateway. I ran until my legs burned and my toes bled, all the while blood curdling screams echoed around me. I longed to return for my brother, but my cowardice drove me onwards. I will never forgive myself. With the gateway in sight, I turned a final time. Desperately hoping that Christopher had been with me all along. I was wrong to hope. Only the Howlers followed. Their gnashing teeth and tentacled limbs reached out for me. In my desperation to save myself from the Howlers, I destroyed the gateway upon my exit, and with it, any chance that I might see my brother again. I deeply regret that I abandoned Christopher to the Howlers. I only hope that now, after 20 years, he has finally found rest. I would like to believe it, if not for the torturous thought that keeps me awake every night. For we learned many years ago, that in the ancient legend of the night-land, it is said you cannot die.