Darshan slammed the academic newspaper on the dining table, making his cat Belladonna jump up from where he had been sleeping in the sun.

"Sorry darling, it's just that infuriating woman again. You can continue sleeping."

Belladonna did just that, though he did relocate and sank down on Darshan's lap, immobilising him in the process. There would be no more shouts or slammed doors while he slept.

Picking up the paper he continued reading the article that had previously angered him so much. Anything to find a spelling mistake or other fault in it, that he could rub under Anoma's nose.

A new breakthrough for science.

That title in itself was already bad enough, but that none of the editors had said anything about it was somehow worse.

It has been a debate for centuries already, but now it will be finally solved.

Yes, indeed, it has been solved for centuries, you just did not like the conclusion.

A phenomenon that has been known to mankind before the beginning of time.

Darshan doubted the story could get worse, but he was wrong, so wrong.

Are Fauns and Satyrs one and the same? Some say yes, but we know it is no.

If it had not been for Belladonna sleeping Darshan would have done exactly the same as when he found the paper laying on the doormat.

Scream.

And make some appropriate noise by slamming doors closed behind him.

After that he would put some water on and make a calming cup of tea.

But as none of that was possible at the moment he had to continue reading.

Some of us, looking at my fellow professors at the University of York, still believe Fauns and Satyrs are one and the same. And though I know I won't change their minds with this article, I hope to prevent other still innocent minds from forming that same faulty conclusion.

She didn't even have the decency to properly name him, or not say those vilifying words to begin with.

New historical sites have been found during the last decade, and now the results of those findings are finally publicised.

That was why she had wanted those papers so much. He had seen it alright, the lingering glances and at last the private conversations between her and the head of the research department.

These findings of course, were shared with as many people as possible and it was simple luck they landed in my hands first.

Belladonna should be so grateful Darshan was letting her sleep uninterrupted.

The arrogance of that woman.

So here is what you all were waiting for.

What followed was a never ending gloating session of one professor A. Know Better, with charts and statistics. Yet despite the fact that the whole ordeal was fifty pages long, which he hate-read all, none of them held actual conclusive proof for her hypotheses. The whole paper was a collection of deception and lies.

Only her opinions about a case gone cold and closed long before she was born.

It was truly infuriating, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Well... He could write a scathing article about his own standpoints, with vague reference to my fellow professors at the university of York.

He was up and walking to his study with Belladonna in his arms, before he had actually thought it true. The paper had a section with light reading and mostly opinion pieces, that was where he would try to get his own writing published. A complete new research project would take years and he wanted results now.

My dear readers and fellow professors,

A strong, open, friendly opening's line. Good.

You might, just as I did this evening, have read the article of my fellow professor at the university of York, concerning the differences between Fauns and Satyrs.

Still polite and friendly. Excellent. Though Belladonna had quite some different opinions about that.

You all of course understood the error of their ways.

Too strong, way too strong.

But also extremely satisfying.

Darshan let the sentence stay on the document and went on with the next one.

Though I never would want to be cruel and hurt others, the facts are plain and simple.

Right, pretend to be objective to attract the reader's sympathy.

And those facts all point in the same direction.

A church bell sounded and the lights went off, but as the electricity still worked, did it not stop Darshan from starting the next sentence.

Fauns and Satyrs are...

"I really do have to stop you there, dear."

The lights went on, revealing an underground cave and lake.

A raven-like creature was standing in the middle of the room, making itself the only other occupant. The way it looked teased a long forgotten memory in Darshan's mind, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Fauns and Satyrs are not the same. Never have been and never will. I'm sorry, but I couldn't just let you write those lies any longer."

That, was disturbing. Even without adding the space-time travel part to the equation.

"In a few hours the rest will arrive, but till then we will have to entertain ourselves. Well you have to entertain me, I'm too lazy for that, nor am I a circus animal."

The whole ordeal became weirder and weirder. The only logical thing to do was to ignore it all till it went away.

That was how they spent the next eternity, in complete silence.

In the following darkness a new form appeared, and when the torches showed the red of the dancing flames again, could Darshan see the face of his fellow comrade in despair.

"I have brought you here together for a task. One quite important as the whole world depends on it."

Well that was too bad.

It appeared the world would be lost to the darkness. The same darkness that rested in the obsidian eyes of one fellow professor of the university of York.

"Anoma."

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