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Date: 16 Sun's Height, 1E 2722 (?)
It's been over a year, and Sotha Sil still hasn't returned from the Cogitum Centralis. Marius's health continues to deteriorate. He spends most days in his room, studying or conducting his alchemical experiments. I'm pleased to report he has a rare gift when it comes to potions and tinctures. He loves to forage for reagents. Of course, finding living ingredients can prove difficult in the Radius. I restrict his adventures in herbalism to an hour a day. He resents me for it, but he's smart enough to know why he can't remain outside the walls of the fortress for long.
The Factotums tell me that each passing day makes Marius's condition more serious. I hope that Lord Seht emerges soon.
Date: 5 Second Seed, 1E 2724 (?)
Three years and still no sign of Sotha Sil. The other Clockwork Apostles tell me it could be decades or even centuries before he returns. Obviously, Marius and I don't have that kind of time.
We've settled into a comfortable routine nonetheless. While I attend to matters in the fortress and help tame portions of the Radius, Marius tinkers away with his flasks and alembics—laboring for the glory of Sotha Sil. He keeps pestering me about limb replacement, saying that a brass hand could help increase accuracy during sensitive measurements. I keep telling him "maybe next year," but I'm not sure how much longer that will work. He's strong-willed. Bull-headed even. Can't imagine where he gets that from.
His experiments continue to astound. To everyone's surprise, he invented a palliative that reduces his heartbeat to a quarter of its natural tempo without any obvious side effects. The factotums estimate it might increase his life expectancy at a commensurate rate. But again, nothing's certain. Direct intervention by Sotha Sil remains his best chance for recovery. If the Clockwork God doesn't come out of seclusion soon, I may have to take matters into my own hands.
Date: 14 Sun's Dusk, 1E 2728 (?)
Marius turned sixteen today. At least I think it's sixteen. Time inside the Clockwork City moves in mysterious ways. We celebrated with a trip to the top of the Clockwork Basilica. I had to carry him most of the way, as he doesn't have the stamina for long walks anymore.
I'd never actually been to the top of the tower before. Sweeping vistas are meant for poets and lovers—I am neither. I spend my days in the dusty streets and the lantern-lit hallways of the basilica—shielded from the raw immensity of the city. But as I watched Marius marvel at Seht's bands sliding along the glass of the Celestiodrome, and the harsh desert of the Radius stretched out below, something moved inside me. I saw that this city truly is my home—more of a home than Cyrodiil ever was. I see now that I will never return to Tamriel. I will live and die here in the Clockwork City.
Date: 22 Second Seed, 1E 2730 (?)
Things move quickly now. I found Marius slumped next to his alchemy table this morning—barely responsive. I moved him to his bed, summoned one of our foremost clinicians and a handful of factotums to watch over him, and prepared for my journey into the Cogitum.
The more senior apostles urged me to reconsider, but patience is a luxury I can no longer afford. Only Sotha Sil can save Marius. If I can wake Lord Seht from his dreams, I know he'll do what's necessary to save my son. May Seht bless these honest labors. Time to go.