Ladder rack honda ridgeline

Some background: My 2016 Civic MT has been perfect, however, with my boys getting older, it's too small for certain activities, so I've been looking at midsized trucks. We've always had Hondas in the family, so we are well aware of Honda's reliability and resale. I have 10 years experience in the automotive field, parts, service and sales, so I'd like to think I know what I am doing.
I began internet research of midsized trucks a few months ago and giggled when I saw how in love the internet was in with the Honda Ridgeline. My ignorance was thinking its Honda's half assed attempt at cutting into the sales of other manufacturers. As I continued my research, the appeal of the Ridgeline quickly became apparent, the only downfall is the more extreme off-roading ability, but after talking to friends, you have to be prepared to spend big bucks, break parts, and scratch paint. We went off-roading in two Tacoma's on this trip, and while the Toyota's off-roading was excellent, it wasn't ideal for my family life.
Last night, I was coming back from vacation on an 8-hour drive. Halfway through I saw a Honda dealership....hell why not? I stopped at the Salinas Auto Mall. They were just about to close up but were kind enough to give me the keys to a 2023 HPD edition.
I am completely in love with this vehicle. Just as the internet said, the real-life, day-to-day usefulness of this vehicle is off the charts. The rear cargo trunk is huge, the rear leg room is excellent (I'm a hair under 6'), the interior is extremely comfortable, and as a whole is again, so, so useful, especially for a family. Then I drove it...one of the best handling trucks I've ever driven, the engine has tons of power with an outstanding torque curve, the paddle shifters make the fact that there are no manual transmissions tolerable. The build quality felt excellent.
I hope to be an owner of one in the next year or so, maybe when the next gen comes out, the used ones will come down in price.

Hey,
I'm on the hunt for a pickup truck and I've done a ton of research. After all that, I've settled on getting a Honda Ridgeline. So, I was checking out their website and spotted an offer: 3.9% APR on new 2023 Ridgeline models for 61-72 months financing. I should qualify for the best APR as I have really good credit. But before I head to the dealership tomorrow, I wanted to see if you guys have any advice or things I should watch out for.
Honda offer rates 0.9% APR 24-36 MOS. or 2.9% APR 37-60 MOS. or 3.9% APR 61-72 MOS.
I've also looked into other options and reached out to local credit unions, but their interest rates are 5% or higher. It looks like Honda is offering the best rate. The starting price for the 2023 Ridgeline Sport is $38,800, but I found a few listings for a used 2020 model with around 55,000 miles going for around $30,500. The only downside is that I won't qualify for Honda's 4% APR and would have to go with a credit union at 5% or higher.
Any suggestions or thoughts?
Location: New Jersey
Thanks!

I have a certified pre-owned 2018 Honda Ridgeline. I got it with 6,000 miles in 2018, and it now has 26,000 miles. I've been very careful with it the entire time I have had it, and never had any problems until last year. In 2020 I moved to the Pacific Northwest and I have not been driving as much. About a year ago, I went to get into the truck and it was completely dead, no charge could bring me back. I realized that it had possibly been 6 months since I had tried to drive at all, so I figured maybe the battery was shot. I took it to Honda and had them do maintenance and replace the battery. Everything then starts working perfectly again.
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Fast forward to this year, I have been more conscious about the truck and making sure to turn it over periodically, but I went 2 months without turning it over or driving it and it's dead again. I jumped it and drove it around for a morning, but as soon as I got home and turned it off, it was dead again. I'm going to take it back in for a fix, but this seems a bit extreme? Is it expected that a battery won't survive a couple of months without being turned over? Do I need to try jumping it and driving it around more? I feel like a 2018 Honda shouldn't need two batteries in two years. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you.
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ETA: I don't have any aftermarket electronics or security system that might be draining the battery. Everything is stock and nothing has been inadvertently left on.

Anything would help 👍

The one that stands out for me is perhaps Charlie Wurz, though with his very well connected father Alex guiding his career, he may decide to go to it alone/remain independent in his pursuit up the ladder perhaps?
I guess anyone else currently under the All Road Management (Nicolas Todt) umbrella, and perhaps any of the Japanese F4 level Honda/HFDP Juniors who Honda may try and bump up into European-based F4 championships possibly?

Considering adding a wall/shelving to the slider door entrance to block it off all together.
It would be a home for my cooler and most used tool bags/boxes on the floor and most used parts/materials in packout above on the wall facing the street making it like a curbside accessible quick grab area.
It would add some interior wall I want to use for my step stool and 5/6ft ladder.
My only reservation would be making the rear doors the only way into the cargo area.
If someone parks too close behind on the street I won't be able to swing the doors open.
It restricts the width of anything object I may need to occasionally transport as the aisle between racking inside is much narrower than the area in front of the promaster slider.
Anyone regret losing the side door entrance for additional storage?

After seeing the Outlander TIE fighter with its folding wings and landing gear, I was reminded about a question I used to think about: Are standard TIEs designed to land on their wings?
I realize that there isn't much reason they should land on the wings in the first place. TIEs are usually seen parked in a hangar rack that has a walkway for the pilots to access or leave the craft. Landing on the wings would leave the cockpit too high off the ground for the pilot without a ladder. Plus I imagine with how slim the wings are, the TIE would be prone to getting dented on rocky terrain and have difficulty resting on an uneven surface. TIEs are primarily used in space and should only be landing in designated hangars anyway.
However, if a TIE has to land on a planet for whatever reason (and is hopefully equipped with a ladder), could it support its own weight for an extended period of time? I have to wonder how sturdy the wings and attachment points are. I'm not a physicist and I don't know the differences in mass of the TIE's components, but I always assumed that the wings were fairly light and too fragile to land on.
This is my first post here and I just wanted to share my question and thoughts on it. Let me know what you think!

Just bought a certified pre-owned 2021 Ridgeline with 20K miles, took it home, drove it one other time. Third time in it all the system issue lights came on. Still drive ok. Had O’Reilly’s check the battery and alternator and they’re ok. Has anyone else had this happen? Took it straight back to the dealer but they aren’t a Honda dealer.

Friday afternoon, I saw an ad for a dealership about 2.5 hours from me selling a very rare bird. Under 100k miles and clean as a whistle. No seat tears, no damage or wear on the plastic. Outside of the rubber flooring being a bit loose in some spots, this thing looks like it rolled off the factory line last year. One previous owner, meticulously maintained. It's an LX, which wasn't my top choice, but the condition of this Element was too much to pass up. And it's a beautiful blue, my second favorite Element color. I've been tirelessly searching for months for the right Element! I drove up the next morning and bought it.
The rust situation on the underside appears to be all surface, nothing substantial. For the northeast US to my eye it looked better than what I would expect. My mechanic friend is doing a thorough inspection this week, but he gave it a once over when I bought it and said he's never seen one in such pristine condition. He was impressed, which is good enough for me! I'm over the moon. I paid $13k for it, which is a little higher than what my budget was but I considered it a fair deal for this area for this outstanding condition. Worth the extra cash.
Of course this is just the start of my Element adventures because now there's a shortlist of upgrades I need to get started on; wheels, stereo system and touchscreen, thinking about that F150 center console, running boards and roof rack/basket. I am also fiending for that Acura TL flip key FOB. But all in due time. For now, I'm just elated that I can finally enjoy my own Honda Element! If you are on the hunt like I was, keep at it! Your Element will show itself eventually!
Coming from driving a 2 door sports coupe, this thing feels like driving a bus haha. But it's my bus and I love it. I haven't taken a rack of pictures yet but here's one so I'm not empty handed.

I’m almost done installing a dashcam specifically a THINKWARE F200 PRO front, rear, and hopefully later interior dash cam on my 2023 Honda Ridgeline, and all I have left is the rear cam and parking mode hard wiring to install. As I’m installing I wanted to pause and think if installing the front dash cam and later the interior won’t make a difference if I add and install the rear cam cause maybe the interior camera will view the rear side too. If so, should I stick to getting a front/interior dashcam like the Garmin dash cam Tandem without including the rear camera? Will the rear view from both the interior cam and rear cam capture the rear view? Your thoughts on your dash cam experience?
Thanks.

About this item:
VEHICLE APPLICATIONS: HONDA ACCORD; 2006-2015 HONDA CIVIC; 2012-2015 HONDA CROSSTOUR; 2007-2016 HONDA CR-V; 2005-2017 HONDA ODYSSEY; 2019-2022 HONDA PASSPORT; 2009-2022 HONDA PILOT; 2006-2014,2017-2022 HONDA RIDGELINE

1. VEHICLE APPICATIONS CONT: 2007-2011 ACURA CSX; 2013-2022 ACURA ILX; 2007-2020 ACURA MDX; 2007-2018 ACURA RDX; 2005-2012 ACURA RL; 2014-2020 ACURA RLX; 2004-2014 ACURA TL; 2015-2020 ACURA TLX; 2004-2014 ACURA TSX; 2010-2013 ACURA ZDX; 2003-2022
2. FILTER CROSS REFERENCES: BOSCH P3875WS; Honda (80219-SHJ-A01, 80292-SDA-407, 80292-SDA-A01); K&N VF2001; Purolator C35519
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Anyone know if this is possible? There is a front mount hitch available for the 2017 Ridgeline and the Pilot and Ridgeline are built on the same chassis. Now, I'm not saying they are going to be exactly the same under there but would they be similar enough that I could install the hitch on my 2016 Pilot? For those wondering 😀I want to do this so I can tow my Trillium-like trailer and put long kayaks on the Pilot's roof.

Anyone have a shop they like working with that does Honda vehicles? Need my power steering rack replaced due to a leak on my 06 Pilot.

First Previous
The first thing that Si’feri became aware of was the gentle rocking motions. She hadn’t been held like this since she was a chick, and while it was incredibly soothing, it was still somewhat demeaning. “I’m awake, you can set me down, now,” she said as she opened her eyes to look at whomever was carrying her.
She had to push down a wave of terror when she saw that it was Al’ecs. As much as she knew that the alien would never hurt her, his face was still something that had been dredged up from the deepest of nightmares, and really wasn’t something anyone wanted to wake up to. “I’m up… I’m up…” she said, gently tapping the alien on the shoulder, trying to make it clear that she didn’t want to be held any more.
Al’ecs stopped immediately before he set down the groggy hen. Sir Kev, who had apparently been walking next to Al’ecs, drew closer with a concerned look on his face. “Are you well, M’lady?” Kev asked, holding out a hand to help steady her.
“I’m fine, this has been known to happen from time to time,” she said, before taking stock of their surroundings. They were still in the forest, though they were nowhere near the clearing anymore. She also noticed that Al’ecs still carried her basket, though she had no idea why. “Were we on our way back?”
“I believe so, M’lady. You passed out not long after completing your vision, and Al’ecs picked you up and began taking you towards town. I have merely been following,” Sir Kev said, bowing respectfully. “I hope we did not disturb any after visions or effects you might have been experiencing.”
“You did not. In fact, thank you for doing just that, as we have very little time to waste, and staying where we were would have just delayed us. I need to speak with Tor and Ja’vail as soon as possible, preferable the second we get out, though I already know that that is not going to happen,” Si’feri said before she turned back towards Al’ecs. As she studied the expressionless alien, the warning from the vision seemed to echo in her ears, reminding her of the possible doom that she might have to place on him. With a chipperness she did not feel, her crest perked back up to its original bounciness as she placed a hand on the creature’s upper arm. “Don’t worry, we’ll work through this, okay?”
The creature clearly didn’t understand her, but he seemed to appreciate the sentiment all the same, as evidenced by the way the creature gently placed a hand on her head. Al’ecs tried to say something, but whatever came out of his maw was both far too garbled, and in a completely unrecognizable tongue. Si’feri really had no chance of understanding the creature, but somehow that didn’t matter to her. It was clear to her that Al’ecs was just happy to have someone to interact with, regardless of any actual understanding.
That realization alone was enough to bring the baker to tears. How long have you been alone like this? she thought as the creature slowly removed his hand. He turned around, clearly intent on making his way back to his cave, but stopped when Si’feri reached out and touched his back. He turned back to her, his face as expressionless as the first time she had seen him in her dreams, but that didn’t stop her from seeing past all of that, and into the being that lay underneath the monster.
The face looked far fuller, with an odd set of lips, like those on a dragon or a pig, though neither of those comparisons did them justice. Their corners were turned upwards somewhat, in an expression that, on anything else, would have made the creature more menacing as it bared its teeth. On Al’ecs, however, it was a warm expression, made even friendlier by how the corners of his eyes changed to match. On the top of his head was a shock of reddish orange fur, a small, button-like nose sat in the center of his face, and right above them was a pair of gray eyes that shone with intelligence.
The vision only lasted a second, but in that instance she truly understood just how much Al’ecs had lost. Without even thinking about it, she threw her arms around the alien’s neck, pulling him into a tight hug, though she was mindful not to stick herself on the spikes on the creature’s back. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you home, I promise.”
The creature seemed stunned at this, completely unsure of what to do with his hands. After a few seconds of this, and when nothing terrible happened, he finally seemed to realize that this was very real. He then gently wrapped his arms around the hen, before a shuddering sob racked his body as tears began to flow freely from his eyes again. It didn’t take Si’feri long to realize that the feathers on the top of her head were quickly becoming soaked, but she didn’t care. It was a small price to pay when she considered the fact that the promise she had made was most likely a lie.
After what felt like an eternity of this, the two finally separated, and Si’feri could only watch as Al’ecs awkwardly tried to dry his face with his hands. Not knowing what else to do, Si’feri reached out and took the blanket from the basket the creature was holding before she offered it to him. He took it, but not before letting out a grateful sort of sound. “We’ve got to get going. We’ll be back tomorrow, though, okay?” Si’feri told him as he began patting his face dry with the blanket in his hands.
Despite him not understanding a single word she said, Al’ecs nodded, then proceeded to return the blanket to the basket before he held it out to her. Si’feri gently pushed it back, shaking her head as her crest bobbed in a happy manner. “It’s yours, as well as everything in it.”
Al’ecs just looked down at it, before he turned it upside-down, revealing that he had already eaten everything she had brought him as only the blanket fell out of it.
“I’m thinking that he really enjoyed your cooking, M’lady! So much so, that I think he’s trying to ask for seconds!” Sir Kev said with a laugh.
Si’feri’s crest perked up even higher as she took back the basket, but she still pushed the blanket into his open hands. “Well, why don’t I bring this back to you tomorrow? Filled to the brim, of course. But this is still yours.”
Al’ecs didn’t try to say anything in his garbled tongue, choosing to instead give them one last nod in gratitude before he turned back towards the forest, putting the blanket over his shoulders like a mantle as he walked away.
Si’feri was briefly tempted to bring the alien back to town, but quickly dismissed the idea. Despite night quickly coming, the Town of Jov was still quite alive. Getting the alien anywhere comfortable would require more magic and drake power than they currently had available, not to mention that Al’ecs would most likely spook and run in the event that someone started screaming.
No, it’s better this way, she thought as she watched the alien disappear into the forest.
It wasn’t even ten seconds later when she started having second thoughts. This was further compounded when several knights fluttered from the trees above and landed in front of her, their heads bowed low in respect.
“How long were you up there watching?” she asked them curiously.
“For quite some time, Ma’am. Sir Kev instructed us to stay hidden while the creature was still around,” the knight in front said, not rising from his bow. “I must say, it is an honor to-”
“Leave the formalities for someone who cares,” Si’feri said as she reached out to raise the knight from his bow. “We do not have time for ceremony, nor will such things save us from what is to come.”
“M’lady Siv?”
“Si’feri will do fine, for the time being,” Si’feri said before she turned back to town. She stopped, however, as a thought occurred to her. “How many knights are stationed at the creature’s cave?”
“Four, M’lady.”
She thought about this for a few seconds, before shaking her head. “Better increase it. Two of you should head to the clearing, and provide additional protection. The creature is to survive the night, am I clear?”
“As the rising sun, M’lady,” the leading knight said, rising from his bow. He then turned to his subordinates and clapped his hands together. “Tilvan, Mor, you two provide additional protection. We’ll send more once we get back to town, but in the meantime you and the others are to defend the creature with your lives, understood?”
The two soldiers quickly cut sharp salutes, then took off into the skies. The sight of the two valiant knights disappearing into the night sky did much to relieve the worry that had been building in Si’feri’s heart, but that relief was a fleeting thing. As Si’feri and her escorts traveled back towards town, she couldn’t help but feel her heart fall further and further, and she found herself wondering if it would be enough. * * * “Hey, Genpi, take a look at this, will you?”
Genpi released his magic, deactivating the heat wand in his hand that he had been using to cut through the alien ship. The vessel was made of some kind of metal the dakri had never seen before, and the team in charge of investigating the craft had found it extremely difficult to cut or pull apart the vessel through conventional methods, hence the reason why Genpi was painstakingly cutting into the metal siding of the ship with a heat wand. He had been making good progress, too, or rather, he would have been making progress, if it wasn’t for his colleague’s constant interruptions.
With a disgruntled sigh, Genpi pushed up his black tinted goggles and looked up at the excitable drake, his expression telling the whole world that this had better be worth his attention. “What is it now Penirl?”
Penirl stood about three meters away, in his hands an oddly shaped piece of metal. It was long and staff-like, but had what looked like a stock at one end.
It also looked like it had survived the crash reasonably intact.
“I’m thinking it’s some kind of weapon, but I already ran a detection spell to look for any enchantments, and I didn’t find anything,” Penirl said as he held up the thing for Genpi’s inspection. Penirl then grabbed the weapon by its grip, and held it in front of him like he would a Lightning Rod.
Thankfully, the drake had enough sense not to point it at anyone, otherwise Genpi would have smacked him upside the head right then and there. “Well, don’t just play with it, the higher ups will want to have a look at it,” Genpi said, waving the excitable young drake away.
“What do you think it does, though?” Penirl asked, ignoring Genpi’s instructions. “I’ve already tried the triggering mechanism, but nothing happened.” As if to demonstrate this, Penirl stuck his finger into the hole near the grip and squeezed the rather obvious trigger.
Nothing happened, but that did nothing to lighten Genpi’s mood about the drake playing around with something he didn’t understand. “Stop messing around and get that thing logged and put with the other artifacts,” Genpi said, shooing the drake away.
Penirl looked a little downcast at this, but quickly perked up. “Come on, Genpi! Aren’t you even the slightest bit excited?”
Genpi looked up at the drake before slowly returning his goggles to their old position. “I'll be ‘excited’ when I find out whether or not friends of these things are going to come looking for their lost ship. More importantly than that, though, is if they find the inhabitants of this planet in any way delicious.”
“Oh poo, you really need to lighten up,” Penirl said, sticking out his tongue at the older drake.
If Genpi saw this, he didn't show it, choosing to instead reignite his wand and get back to cutting.
Penirl shook his head in disapproval before he turned and carefully picked his way out of the wreckage of the ship. It didn't take him long to log and store the new discovery, during which he started having the oddest feeling that he was being watched. He looked up and around for a little bit, drawing a confused stare from the hen in charge of the recovered artifacts, but that didn’t matter to him as much. He would never admit it to Genpi, but what the older drake had said earlier had shaken him to the core.
“Are you okay?” the hen with the clipboard asked, her crest lowered ever so slightly in worry.
“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine…” Penirl said before he tried to shake off the feeling.
“Well, if you’re sure, then you probably should be getting back to work,” the hen reminded him.
Penirl nodded, but didn’t say anything as his eyes searched the edges of the crater for a few more seconds, before they moved to the skies above. After a few seconds of finding nothing, he turned and made his way back to the ship and into the depths below.
The hen’s eyes followed him until he disappeared, before she shrugged to herself and muttered about the strangeness of drakes, completely ignorant of the strange area of warped air that hovered just above the wreckage as it silently recorded the activity below. * * * Tor was in a bit of a panic. Lady Siv was one of his closest friends, but that relationship was somewhat marred by the fact that she never came to him with good news. When one coupled this with the fact that Siv had apparently had a vision specifically about the alien survivor, one could understandably see why the small king was distraught.
Nightmarish scenes began playing through his head; vastly superior forces invading his planet, insect-like creatures that could shape-shift infiltrating his forces, and his people rounded up like cattle, being used as weapons like the unfortunate survivor, or even as a source of food.
All of this and more danced through his mind and kept him at his desk as he desperately tried to think of some way out of this hellish scenario. Plan after plan was drawn up, considered, then ultimately thrown away, as he had no way to gauge the strength of his opponents with the information he currently had, but even with his limited understanding, he knew that he and his people would be conquered within a week should the aliens come. If they had the power to send a ship across the vast distance of space, what stopped them from hurling a meteor the size of Tor’s castle at his tiny Diarchy? What about several meteors? What about their own moon?
None of this sat well with the small king. If their enemy wanted, they could annihilate Tor’s little world before the planet’s inhabitants even knew what had hit them.
Unbidden, the king felt his eyes drawn to a particular book on his shelf. It was one he had read before, quite extensively for that matter, since it had been penned by one of his previous students. The concepts inside were just that, though: concepts. Nothing more than pipe dreams that the imaginative young drake had drawn up during his free time.
With a small grunt, the king held out his hand, while his beak glowed a brilliant golden color. Almost immediately, the book on the shelf took on a similar hue, and flew from its place on the shelf and into the king’s outstretched hand. He didn’t know why the book caught his eye, but something about the problems he faced reminded him of his long dead student. Maybe something about the way the curious drake saw the world would help me. At the very least, it would be a welcome diversion, the king thought to himself as he began to flip through the pages.
It wasn’t long before one of his student’s scrawls caught his eye, and he had to suppress a chuckle at the strange invention the drake had penned. “A wooden, flying golem. I remember that one,” Tor said fondly to himself. “Was supposed to be able to ferry weapons and equipment to soldiers in the field. If I remember correctly, Jovask even made a land-based version for transporting foodstuff. Pity, he never did get the instructions on his golems to work right…”
The king continued to idly flip through his apprentice’s notes and designs, stopping every so often to laugh fondly at what the drake had thought up, and the memories they conjured. There was an automatic arrow golem, a creation designed to do the washing up, and something that would gather flowers for some reason. Each and every creation brilliantly designed, but flawed by the creator’s inability to overcome the inherent weaknesses found in golemmancy.
With a shrug, Tor flipped through the remaining pages, fully intent on putting the book back once he reached the end, but stopped at the final page. On the page was a very strange device indeed. It looked like a random assortment of items, all tied to a central statue made to look like a Nightmare Falcon’s head. Tor remembered this particular invention: it was supposed to be the ultimate telescope, capable of not only gaining information on distant objects, but also able to track them for the benefit of the user. It could even locate invisible objects, if enough information for basic scrying was available.
The only problem was, again, the inherent problem with the school of golemmancy: The more complex the task, the more arcanite was required for the golem to perform said task. In order to get this thing to work, Jovask would have needed a hunk of arcanite the size of a large mountain.
Tor let out a weary sigh as he snapped the book shut. Shame, too. If we had Jovask’s Omniscope, we would at least be able to determine if there were any alien ships in orbit about to destroy us, maybe take a few with us using the sun and moon, but… golemmancy, of all things… he thought as his beak began to glow again. With no small amount of nostalgia, the King of the Dawn returned his former student’s work to its resting place.
“What’s wrong, Tory?”
Tor looked towards the open door of his study, his heart falling at the sight of the Lady Siv. Her crest was just as bouncy as he remembered it, though her dress and occupation seemed to have changed since the last time he saw her. “I see you’ve decided to take up baking,” Tor said as he stood to greet her.
“It was either that or basket weaving, and I felt that the people of Jov needed a baker more,” Siv said as she approached her old friend. “I see that Javy’s been rubbing off on you, as you seem to have grown mopey in your old age.”
Tor felt his crest perk up ever so slightly at that jab. “Hey, if I remember, wasn’t it you who told me that I should start acting my age?” he asked, placing his hands on his hips in mock anger.
“Yes, but I never expected you to take my advice!” Siv said as she rolled her eyes at the king. “It was just one of those things you say to a friend. ‘Act your age.’ ‘Don’t date your mortal enemy.’ ‘Don’t eat all the karro berry pockets.’ Never expected you to actually listen, though…”
They both stared at each other for some time until Tor couldn’t take it anymore and broke down in a fit of laughter. “Oh Siv, it’s been far too long…”
The Lady let out a few chuckles of her own, but the laughter never reached her eyes. Instead, there lurked a profound sadness there, one that made Tor’s laughter disappear as quickly as it had appeared.
“So, my friend, what doom have the spirits pronounced upon us?” Tor asked, his crest falling ever so slightly.
Siv let out a sigh, before slowly walking over to the king’s desk and taking a seat. “It’s bad. Really bad. Before, I’ve given you many ways to avoid fate’s decrees. Until this morning, I had never once seen a doom that had but one escape.”
Despite the hen’s gloomy demeanor, the king’s crest rose as he felt his heart leap in hope. “You mean there’s still a way out?”
Siv let out a weary sigh. “Yes, but it may involve the sacrifice of an innocent, and even then I cannot guarantee that your people will come out completely unscathed.” Siv fixed Tor with a stare that seemed to pierce straight through to his soul. “Are you prepared to hear the doom I would announce against you? Are you prepared for the doom that would swallow your people?”
“I am always prepared for this burden. You know that better than anyone, M’lady,” Tor said as he slowly circled his desk, then sat back down in his chair.
Siv reached into the pouch at her belt and pulled out a single memory crystal. “Then, O King of the Dawn, receive this doom, and turn it away for the sake of the living, and the sake of those yet to live,” she said as she placed the glowing red crystal on the desk.
Without hesitation, Tor reached out and took the crystal and gently prodded it with his power. His mind instantly became scorched with images of depravity and violence: Monsters and fire rained from the sky, and his people were turned into cold, unfeeling machines. Anguish washed over all of his senses, and it felt like he was being turned inside out.
Just as quickly as it had come, however, the feeling vanished. Tor now knew everything Siv had placed inside the crystal. Every torment she had experience now scarred his mind, including the way to annul the whole ghastly future.
“No… You cannot be serious…” Tor said, his voice shaking somewhat as he stared down at the crystal in disbelief.
“I am completely serious, King of the Dawn,” the Lady Siv said as she rose from her chair, stretched out her wings, and cast her gaze straight towards the heavens. “His fate is now in your hands. I pray for his sake and for ours that you will continue to be the wise king you have proven yourself to be.”
With those final words, the Lady Siv disappeared in a flash of fire, leaving behind a whiff of smoke, and a single, green feather.
Tor reached out and caught the feather in his magic before it had touched the ground, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the memento left behind. “Easy for you to say, old friend. You’re not the one who’s going to have to explain this to Ja’vail…” * * * Sir Viar looked up at the sound of flapping wings, his crest perking up ever so slightly as he recognized Tilvan and Mor. “Ho, what are you two doing back here?”
Tilvan, the superior of the two, cut a quick salute the moment he landed. “New orders, sir. We’re to reinforce you and protect the creature with our lives.”
Viar looked at the two, somewhat troubled. “Then shouldn’t you two have stayed with it? We only stayed here because The Lady wished it!”
“We did stay with it, sir,” Mor said, pointing to a particular patch of forest. A few seconds after he spoke, the bushes shook and parted to reveal the monster. It immediately spotted the group of dakri knights at the top of the cliff and gave them a short wave before approaching the ladder to its lair. “It seems to have incredibly accurate senses, and even slowed down for us once it knew that we were following it.”
Viar let out a sigh of relief before fixing the two with a searching stare. “Did either of you happen to hear Lady Siv’s vision?”
Both of them shook their heads, their crests lowering ever so slightly. “No sir. Whatever it was was pretty bad, though,” Tilvan said, watching carefully as the creature climbed its ladder to enter its cave. “I’m not an expert on the mood of The Lady, but I’d say that whatever she saw frightened her.”
Viar folded his wings as he thought about that. It wasn’t a good sign, and it made him wonder just what sort of doom was about to befall their planet. As he pondered the future, one of his drakes, Sir Isal, looked over the edge at the ladder below. “Anybody else wonder why this thing is completely okay with the fact that it’s basically under armed guard? I mean, we tried to stay hidden at first, and you remember how quickly it spotted us.”
“I do,” Viar said with a nod, but seemed to be completely unconcerned about this. “I also know that this thing is extremely intelligent, and we left plenty of clues that we were the ones that pulled it out of the river, including a note.”
Isal looked a little confused. “But if this thing isn’t even from this planet, how would it read it? I don’t think it speaks Midlander.”
Viar shook his head. “No, it doesn’t. Which was why the note was only pictures, not Midlander, Sunrise, or Nightmare. We’re trying to talk with it, not confuse it.”
“But how can we be certain that it understands pictures the same way we do? How can you be sure that it can even see in the same spectrum of light?” Isal asked, his skepticism clear on his face. “For all we know, this thing can’t see the charcoal marks on the paper, or even at all. I mean, it doesn’t exactly have irises.”
Mor looked a little confused. “If it can’t see, then how is it able to navigate so easily? I mean, it never got hit once by the undergrowth of the forest.”
“I’m thinking it probably uses echolocation, like how the Nightmare tribe would conduct their ceremonial hunts!” Isal said, his crest rising with excitement. “I’ve been reading up on them, and apparently-”
Before the excited knight could build up any steam, however, Viar cut him off with a single, light thwap to the back of Isal’s head. “Stow it, Isal. It can see, the queen was quite certain of that. In fact, from what I’ve heard from Her Majesty, it’s actually quite remarkable how similar we are on the inside.”
Isal and the other drakes that had been sent to relieve Dorn and his team all perked up at this. “The queen told you that?” they asked in unison.
“Of course she told him that,” Tilvan said, folding his wings. “She also told Dorn the same thing. We’re supposed to be guarding this thing, and how can we do that without a basic knowledge of how its mind works?”
Viar nodded in agreement. “That’s the first thing you need to know when guarding someone. The next one is their habits, but since this thing is still pretty new to all of us, we’re kind of in the dark on that one.”
The other knights all looked to him, as if expecting him to go on, though Viar didn’t look like he wanted to continue this conversation at all. He instead chose to walk back to the fire pit to inspect his gear. Finally, after a few moments of Sir Viar being completely closed-beaked, Isal’s curiosity got the better of him. “Well? How is it like us?”
Viar looked surprised at that. “It what?”
“The creature! We were just talking about it, and you suddenly started doing your best Solar Slave impression!” Isal snapped at him.
Viar shook his head before he drew his sword and began to carefully inspect the edge for any nicks. “It’s not my place to gossip,” he said, as if that ended that.
It didn’t, naturally. If anything, it made the other drakes all the more curious. “You can’t honestly just leave it at that,” Isal said, tapping his claw on the ground.
Viar took a look around at the assembled drakes, before he sighed in defeat. With one quick motion, he sheathed his blade, then reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a folded square of paper. The others all moved behind the senior knight and watched him unfold it to reveal an old-fashioned, black and white photo of a group of dakri, all gathered around the carcass of a dead boar. Isal quickly recognized a much younger Viar in the photo, and by extension, guessed at who the others were. “Your family, I gather? Was that taken during your first boar hunt?”
Viar just looked at it for a while before he folded it and took out his blade and whetstone again. “Yeah, but that’s not important. What’s important is that this thing had its own family and its own life. The queen made it clear that she didn’t understand half of what she saw in the creature’s head, but she did gather this much: It’s incredibly homesick.” The others were quiet as Viar slowly began running the whetstone over the edge of his blade, his hands as steady as a mountain, even as his voice began to crack. “She didn’t tell me much, but from what I’ve heard, I can easily guess why it doesn’t care that it’s under armed guard. It most likely only cares about one thing at this point, seeing as how everything it loves and cares about is forever out of reach.”
Sir Mor looked towards the cliff’s edge, before giving his superior officer a questioning look. “And what’s that, Sir?”
Viar looked up, before he looked back down at his blade, his stare boring into his reflection as he thought about what he had guessed. “It’s an alien, so it’s entirely possible it thinks in a completely different way than us, but I know what I would want, if our places were reversed,” he said, his eyes finally leaving his reflection as he went back to sharpening. “If I were the creature, I would want revenge.”
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Hey, sorry about missing yesterday. My babies kept me up all night, and I turned off my alarms to get some sleep during the day, including the one that told me to post a new chapter. What's worse is that I woke up sick, so that's me with egg on my face!
Anyway, here's the links for my books, in case you want to skip the drip-feed and just get right into the meat and potatoes of my story. Thanks for reading, and any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I love to hear how I can improve!
Amazon:
What I've Become
Nightmare of the Past
Google:
What I've Become
Nightmare of the Past

Hello!
Thanks to all you lovely folks for hyping up the Ridgeline, I decided to pull the trigger. I got myself a 2017 RTL and cannot wait to start driving it. One of the main reasons for my purchase was to have an easy-to-set-up camping rig for summer adventures. I'd like to get a hardshell rooftop tent and high mountain racks that go over the bed. Does anyone have a similar setup or advice for good racks to mount on? Are there things I should consider with the way I set this up (height that's best for fuel economy, etc?)
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Thanks in advance!