Massive site refactoring

content/writing/_index.md

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+title = "Writing"
+summary = "Original fiction and serialized tales."
+[cascade]
+  showTableOfContents = false
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content/writing/meppa-1/index.md

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+date = '2026-05-27T16:00:00-06:00'
+draft = false
+title = "Those Who are Underfoot, Chapter One"
+summary = "The beggining of the journey, Meppa begins her pilgrimage."
+tags = ['story', 'meppa the kobold']
+showTableOfContents = false
+showPagination = false
+showZenMode = true
++++
+
+## Chapter One
+
+A sinking feeling crept through her stomach as the sun worked its way through her tent flap. She had not slept that 
+night, how could she? It was finally the day for her pilgrimage and **Meppa** did not feel like she had the strength to 
+do it.
+
+She lay there allowing time to pass, listening to the sounds of her kin barking and making their way. She could stay 
+here forever, hiding from the world. The warm breeze flowed into the tent, touching her face gently with the first 
+warmth of the day. The breeze was heavy with the humidity of summer, her journey would not be fraught with the fogs of 
+spring or fall. This did not raise her spirits, but instead made her stomach sink further at the thought of the dangers 
+awaiting on the road.
+
+Her mind wandered to vivid visions of being torn to pieces by wolves. She shook her head to try and rid her mind of 
+these thoughts and instead imagined being crushed by a large bear. She clenched her eyes tightly and felt herself 
+falling, and beneath her was a gathering of sharp rocks greeting her like the teeth of some horrific beast.
+
+She screamed and jumped out of her cot.
+
+“I need control, I need control…” she began to chirp under her breath as she feverishly looked around.
+
+She went over to her travel pack and began to meticulously check everything she had packed. She knew it was all there, 
+but the ritual gave her comfort. It was a tactic she used to ground herself in times of uncertainty or fear. Slowly she 
+calmed down, things would be OK, she would not be alone; **Dekkara** would be with her.
+
+After wrapping herself in her travel garb, she carefully wrapped her tail and grabbed the only thing her parents left 
+behind for her, a chipped and fractured scale. Despite its age, It still shone brightly with a fiery red; proof of the 
+longevity and divinity of **Kaelrath**.
+
+Leaving her tent, she saw that most of the camp had already been broken down in preparation for the beginning of the 
+journey. Sitting next to a small fire was **Meppa’s** sister, **Dekkara**, who quickly noticed her sister and motioned 
+for her to join her.
+
+“A late start today!” **Dekkara** gleefully exclaimed.
+
+“Was not ready,” **Meppa** grumbled.
+
+Her sister was always the optimist, she had been waiting for this pilgrimage nearly her whole life. **Meppa**, however, 
+had been dreading it. Her sister pulled a rusty pan with some sizzling eggs on it and offered it to **Meppa**.
+
+**Meppa** excitedly started scarfing them down, she loved the crunchy shells the most. Her sister proceeded to go and 
+pack up their tent, and **Meppa’s** eyes slowly drifted southward. Just barely visible over the horizon was a gleaming 
+red jewel, **Kaelrath the Ember of the South**, perched upon her mountain gazing upon the valley of **Fallenstar**. That
+was her destination, that was her pilgrimage.
+
+## Continue reading
+{{< article link="/writing/meppa-2/" showSummary=true compactSummary=true >}}

content/writing/meppa-2/index.md

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+date = '2026-05-28T06:00:00-06:00'
+draft = false
+title = "Those Who are Underfoot, Chapter Two"
+summary = "Meppa's journey continues, she learns first hand to be wary of the tall creatures."
+tags = ['story', 'meppa the kobold']
+showTableOfContents = false
+showPagination = false
+showZenMode = true
++++
+
+## Chapter Two
+
+The journey was slow and arduous. **Meppa** had never walked so far in her entire life. Her travel party avoided the 
+main paths, which was the custom to avoid the **Tall Creatures** as they were considered dangerous. This did mean that 
+they had to travel through the wilds, which brought their own perils to the small group. Thankfully, they had **Kip**, 
+the navigator.
+
+This was not **Kip’s** first pilgrimage, his first journey was during the cold months, and he still has never talked 
+about the journey. All that is known is of the 7 that set out for **Kaelrath**, only 4 returned. Since then **Kip** had 
+become a bit of a loner, preferring the wilds to the warm safety of **Yipton**. Supposedly, the eldest council even 
+requested to speak with him in **Fathomsreach** but **Kip** never talked much of that if it did happen. All **Meppa** 
+knew was she was thankful **Kip** was there now. No one knew the wilds like he did.
+
+Their camp was outside the settlement **Holey Town**. The **Tall Creatures** built this town in a foolish location as it
+seemed to be constantly under barrage of falling stars. The name, however, did elicit a humorous reaction from many in 
+**Meppa’s** party, and it was often joked about back in **Yipton**. Honestly, **Meppa** was a bit curious about the 
+settlement. She had never seen how the **Tall Creatures** lived, only heard of it. It was hard to object to **Dekkara** 
+when she suggested going and checking it out. The lights of the town were within sight of their camp, and they shone as 
+tantalizing beacons, beckoning her to delight in their presence.
+
+Her willpower caved when the stars began to fall, and she and **Ekkard** left in the middle of the night.
+
+Outside Holey Town**, the two sisters found themselves before an ocean of wheat. **Dekkara** reassured **Meppa** that it 
+was safe, any of the **Tall Creatures** would be asleep at this time. They both crawled cautiously through the seemingly 
+endless field of wheat until they finally found the end. **Meppa’s** heart sank, before them stood another wall of 
+wheat. They cautiously started to travel through the next endless forest of wheat until they exited, facing yet another 
+wall of wheat.
+
+“Where is the town?” Meppa asked nervously.
+
+“It can't be much farther.” Dekkara replied.
+
+They slowly ventured into the next field of wheat, and **Meppa** could have sworn she heard rustling. She tugged on 
+**Dekkara’s** tail and whispered in her ear.
+
+“I think I heard something, be still”
+
+Both sisters froze in place and listened carefully. They could hear the wind, and a gentle crash in the distance as a 
+star came crashing down to earth. What could only have been a few moments felt like an age, as they listened and waited 
+in fear. **Meppa** could swear she heard something, she cautiously turned to her sister, ready to whisper that perhaps 
+it was nothing when in a blink of an eye, her sister vanished.
+
+**Meppa** could feel the wheat whipping by her and a bizarre pain in her tail as if a trap had snared her. She tried in 
+desperation to grab anything to stop her unplanned abduction. Whatever had her whipped her around with ease, threatening 
+to snap her neck with force. For only a moment whatever had taken her let go before a mouth of fangs and stinging pain 
+gripped her by her neck. This was it, this was how **Meppa** would die.
+
+Snarling, pain, the taste of blood, the burning of her neck, the sound of the breeze blowing through the wheat. 
+**Meppa** could feel her body failing her. The beast had her, she was nothing, she was weak.
+
+A sudden howl of pain followed by a guttural screeching suddenly ceased the pain of daggers digging into **Meppa’s** 
+neck, she tried to look and see, but her body refused to respond. Soon all she could hear was the sound of a blade 
+stabbing a corpse repeatedly. The world went black.
+
+**Meppa** awoke, being pulled by her tail once again; the creature still had her, where was her sister? She tried to 
+look, tried to do anything to escape her fate, to find **Dekkara**.
+
+“Please don’t struggle.” Came **Dekkara’s** voice.
+
+“You are wounded, I must get you to camp”
+
+**Meppa** relaxed and felt herself losing consciousness. The embrace of the earth under her and the incessant itching 
+sensation in her neck was the only thing keeping her awake. She would later learn that **Dekkara** had drugged her all 
+the way back to camp, stopping several times to try and staunch her bleeding. **Meppa** and **Dekkara** were both spared
+the lectures due to **Meppa’s** condition, but they could feel the disapproval of the group. Such mistakes could not be 
+made again, for both their sakes.
+
+## Continue reading
+{{< article link="/writing/meppa-3/" showSummary=true compactSummary=true >}}

content/writing/meppa-3/index.md

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+date = '2026-05-29T16:00:00-06:00'
+draft = true
+title = "Those Who are Underfoot, Chapter Three"
+summary = "Meppa and her company are lost, they need to continue their journey."
+tags = ['story', 'meppa the kobold']
+showTableOfContents = false
+showPagination = false
+showZenMode = true
++++
+
+## Chapter Three
+
+He vanished in the night. No one knew where he went or if he went there voluntarily, but **Kip** was gone. **Meppa** 
+was convinced he had probably been eaten by some monster, perhaps the same that had mauled her a week prior. Her neck 
+had still not healed fully, even with medical attention from **Silbin** the healer of the group. Thanks to her, **Meppa** 
+was likely to make a full recovery, but that was not her primary concern.
+
+With the group gathered around their meager fire, one question remained, where do we go from here? **Meppa** just wanted 
+to curl up and die, to dig a hole to hide in, maybe fill that hole with spikes...
+
+It was **Dekkara** who took charge in the end. She said simply that, "If we head towards **Kaelrath**, we head towards 
+our goal. She is watching over us!" This did seem to inspire the group with some hope, and even **Meppa** felt a bit of 
+hope despite the desperation that she was drowning in. They decided the best course of action was to keep heading towards 
+**Kaelrath** and avoid any **Tall Creature** towns.
+
+Leaving the outskirts of **Holey Town**, they could see **Kaelrath** through a break in the mountain range decorated 
+with thick fogs. This was their most promising direction to head, and **Meppa** was certain their path would not take 
+them through fogs. Without their navigator or even a map, their best bet was to travel as directly as they could. They 
+soon found a river that cut through the mountain range. Following it, they reached a point in the river where it was 
+joined by another creating an impassible obstacle, water.
+
+They put as much ingenuity as they could come up with to solve the problem, one considered a raft, but without proper 
+materials or time this was not an option, another was to follow the river until its beginning. The idea that took the 
+most interest was a catapult. They would simply propel themselves across, and its design was going to be significantly 
+simpler than a raft. **Meppa** found herself as the unwilling test subject for the catapult, not only since she was 
+unskilled at the arts of construction, but also due to the animosity that her traveling party had grown for her and her 
+sister. **Dekkara** reassured her that it would be OK, **Meppa** was uncertain, she was not a strong swimmer, and the 
+river was likely to sweep her away.
+
+When the contraption was finalized, a rudimentary rope and a couple logs quickly assembled, **Meppa** found herself 
+seated on the device with great uncertainty. The rope used to provide tension creaked and groaned under the stress it 
+found itself in, threatening to explode at any moment. Her group released the catapult arm and **Meppa** found herself 
+flying, she felt her stomach fly into her chest. The world went into slow motion as her heart raced