Adelia - The Void

I had the book in hand. The power I could feel from the pages beneath my fingertips was incredible! So tempting just to leaf through and link... I could be gone from this. Hidden. New adventures. But what of my friends? Could I really abandon them like that?

No. More important things were at stake. Besides, if He were to find this book, maybe I wouldn't be as free as I'd hoped after all. Only one answer to this.

The Bahro reset our positions once more and I handed the book to Esto, feeling the book's power fade from my grasp. I turned to Laroon's open hands as he held the book open to me. I hesitated before linking through. His eyes were difficult to read. Perhaps we've grown apart; this time in separation has done ill to our relationship. But it wasn't the time for rekindling. I placed my hand on his relto book.

I was waiting by his bench for him to return, glancing across the fog of clouds surrounding the island of relto. A deep breath.  I stood up and walked back to the hut.  Laroon linked in and handed the book to me.  Still hesitating.  Maybe I was imagining it.  No.  I was certain something was wrong but before I could say anything he was gone.

The book felt different.  The pages would not turn.  Sealed.  I moved my hand relto out and linked away.  I closed my eyes as I passed through the link.  I opened my eyes expecting to see Relto.  I saw nothing.  No light.  No ground beneath my feet.  No stars.  I heard the sound of a link.  Then many links.  I saw nothing, but I heard the screams.  I heard Him and I heard the bahro.  Soon it was done and the book was taken.  A bahro linked me away just as cries of a new sort began in that empty place.

After the link I opened my eyes and saw the golden arch and the harbor of D'ni.  I saw my friends - Esto, Pantaleon, Laroon, and Midnight Sun.  None of us expected to be here.  Questions were on everyone's faces and soon a bahro linked in beside us.  He bowed low, thanking us, before stretching up as tall as he could before letting out a final cry and linking out.  I had a lot to explain.

Laroon - The Plan Starts

I stood in awe of my new tattoo. Triple shell. I had been branded. Part of me was ecstatic to be part of the plan; part of me heard my mother's chastising about getting a tattoo. I shook her voice from my mind. It was time.

I linked into Esto's Relto and awaited his return. Sweat poured down from my temples as I rehearsed the plan in my head. I would wait for Esto to pass me the book, then Relto to mine where Adelia would be waiting. Oh Adelia... she had been so distant lately. Had we grown apart these past months? Absence is supposed to make the heart grow fonder, not promote disinterest. Again, I shook the thought from my mind. More important things were at stake.

Esto appeared, a slight grin on his lips of seeing me, but imperativeness in his stare. He handed me the book, his palms damp with sweat. I reltoed.

Adelia was there in my relto, waiting for me. She smiled at me as I handed her the book. Her quick glance and then she was gone. What did that mean? Was she suppressing feelings? Or was this just because she was happy to get this plan in motion? I went to the city to find Esto. One loop down, countless to go.

I hope the Bahro work quickly. Rapid linking makes my stomach churn. 

Esto - The Plan

Laroon, Adelia, MidnightSun, and I would be the first to leave the Bahro cavern.  With the Bahro's aid we would each link to another's relto.  Once in place, Pantaleon would be sent to my Relto and link to through the Triple Shell book.  Once through, he would relto out.  From my relto MidnightSun would take the book and relto out before He could acquire it.

In MidnightSun's relto he would pass the book off to me and I would in turn relto out and pass the book to Laroon who would in turn give the book to Adelia in his own relto.  From there a Bahro would reset our positions and we would continue the process.  It wasn't to be infinite.  This was nearly to buy time.  While we performed the Relto Loop, the Bahro would be working behind the scenes to seal the book.

After three months in Noloben we had learned the Bahro had no difficulty understanding our language.  Unfortunately, this was not a mutual understanding.  Through glyphs on the walls they shared their plan; though our understanding of it was only enough to learn of the Relto Loop.

 

The power of the Bahro astounded me.  I knew the rules of linking.  I had studied Regestoy.  I knew what was possible.  What the Bahro could do made the D'ni art seem like a parlor trick; something to amuse a small child.  What a great thing that these Bahro were not our enemies and by some miracle the Nekisahl had not returned to the cavern.

You link with whatever you would carry for a step.  That was the rule I knew.  Somehow the Bahro would be sealing the Triple Shell book while we were moving it from one relto to another.  How?  Was it done mid link?  How could they do these things - and seemingly with only a thought?

A thought in my mind: why did they need us?  With such power surely they could act of their own volition; and yet they needed us.  Perhaps it was their fear of the Venalash and what He represented.  The fate if the Bahro and the T'chuvahk could have been the same had the D'ni been any different.  Or perhaps we are just a convenient distraction for Him while the Bahro wait and watch as they always do.

Esto - On the Same Foot

I had never seen Pantaleon so dumb struck - not even when he first saw D'ni.  Adelia lit up like a candle at the sight of Laroon.  They were like peas in a pod.  Eventually Pantaleon came to his senses and we greeted him as old friends.  The Bahro stayed back.  Some hanging from the ceiling; others huddled across the room from us.  This reunion was long past due.  They understood it too.

"It's so great to finally see you guys," said Pantaleon.  "But I didn't expect you to be the ones to do the finding."

I looked at Dean for a moment.  'Yeah, we had a bit of a detour.  Didn't think we'd be gone for this long.". I paused; soaking in the moment.  It had been too long.  "There's a reason we've brought you here."

Pantaleon and Laroon looked around the cave.  It looked like any other Bahro cave except that it was missing the hole in the floor and the fire cast a green shade on the walls.  We explained to them what we knew: the Venalsh; the T'chuvahk; the Triple Shell journey, and of course, Him: the one who had set everything in motion.

"Which brings us here," I said.

"We needed to find a way to contact you without Him finding out," MidnightSun told Pantaleon.  "He's always watching."

"He's right," I said. He is always watching.  But he can't find us here.  Don't ask me how; they made this place special."

"But the shell tattoo?" Pantaleon started.

It was Laroon who answered.  "You won't get one.  He already has his gaze on you".  He was catching on fast.  "It sounds like we need you to be seen."

Adelia nodded her head.  "The Bahro will give Laroon a shell.  He needs to be invisible to Him.  For Him to complete his ritual, he will want to collect the book after you link.  Once you have linked through we will begin the Relto Loop.

Pantaleon - In Secret

I crept silently through the streets of D'ni.  It was darker now; the glow of the lake was soft.  I climbed the Great Stair and found the perpetual gathering in the  Takotah Plaza.  None recognized me.  Must have been visitors or commuters from the surface.

In Takotah alley my linking would not draw attention.  I walked to the nexus terminal and quietly linked to my relto with my other hand.  From there I linked to the cleft.  My KI read D'ni-riltagamin.  Anywhere on the surface would be 'unknown.'  I placed my KI in the cleft, climbed the caldera and began my descent.

It had been sometime since the first and last time I walked this path.  My first journey to D'ni begun along this path and yet, I had never returned.  I remembered the sense of wonder I felt the first time I passed through these tunnels and realized that now I felt only worry.

I came to the Great Shaft fully realizing what a monument it was to D'ni - its accomplishments and failures.  I walked the path entered an Eder Tomahn about halfway down.   This us where I spent my first night in D'ni.  This is where I would take my next step.  An empty nexus pedestal made for a convenient place for the Triple Shell book.

This was the moment.   I would link and take the journey.   I would find my friends.  I opened the book.  An odd glow came from the linking panel.  Some structure - difficult to make out.  I reached for the panel.   I was stopped.  Laroon had grabbed my wrist before I could link.  Despite my efforts to throw him off my trail, he had found me.

He was furious.   I was mortified.   Our argument was halted by a most peculiar sensation.  We were linked.  We looked around.   A Bahro cave glowed green around us.  The walls were covered in glyphs I had never seen before. And then I heard a voice.  Two, no three voices.   I turned my head. Could not believe what I saw.   Esto was standing beside several Bahro along with Adelia and Dean.  Laroon could not believe his eyes. My words failed.

Pantaleon - The Path of the Shell

From books Laroon borrowed from the Archivists we learned more about the Path of the Shell.  It was a puzzle.  A mechanism designed by Kadish to further convince everyone that he was the Grower.  Apparently he invited people to solve it but in the end, only he could do so.  I remembered the door in the upper chamber of the Watcher's Pub.  To think I had been so close to it the whole time.

Laroon and I went to the Watcher's Pub and went to the upper chamber.  We found the door but it seemed to be locked.  We searched and searched for a way to open the door.  Laroon found an answer in Archives, but it was not the answer we wanted.  It seems that on December 19, 2006 there was an event known as the Great Scream.  The cries of the bahro were heard through all the ages and explorers were instantly linked back to their reltos.  After this event many things changed; including the Watchers Pub.  After that date, the doors would not open.  The Path of the Shell was blocked.  Unable to continue we headed back home to Tokotah II.

It came to me during the middle of the night.  I had a strange dream the bahro warping to and fro places. Once again, I witnessed the star fissure and its wonders but then it changed; everything fell to darkness and I found myself trapped in a prison book.  Void of life.  Alone.  Terrified.

I woke up  screaming startled, panting, and sweating.  It was rough night.  My mind returned to the book I found in Vahmen district.  What if this was what I had really been looking for the whole time?  The blocked path; the allusions to Words.  This book must be a new way to take the path which was blocked!  Esto, Adelia, and Midnight Sun.  They must be waiting for me.  Laroon would likely not let me link.  I told him the book was dangerous, but is it?  I must act now while Laroon is sleeping and use the book.

Pantaleon - Bahroglyph Study Part 5

A grower to link at will.  Laroon and I figured we would head to the Guild of Archivists to look for answers.  We were greeted as soon as we linked in.  "Do you have any information on Yeesha?" I asked.

"Why yes, we have records on much of D'ni history including the the events of the last restoration.  I think you'll find what you are looking for in there.  To get there just go down the hall and take a right. You can't miss it." He responded.

We found the library without problems and began skimming through the books.  Laroon found something relating to linking without a book.  Apparently it is a power of the Bahro.  Soon after we found a journal that mentioned things about Yeesha.  Apparently, when she would visit the Cavern there were eye-witnesses that saw Yeesha link without a linking book.  She would appear to crowds of people and then vanish without a trace of a linking book.  Relto or no.  Among these witnesses was DRC member Richard A. Whatson, aka RAWA.  We found what we were looking for.  Laroon borrowed a few books from the library and we returned to Takotah II.

I looked back at the open text on my desk.  A grower to follow the shell.  What does it mean to follow the shell?  The Path of the Shell showed us that Yeesha is the Grower foretold by the Words of the Watcher.  What does it mean to follow the shell?

The next line: A grower to banish the darkness.  Kadish.  He believed banishing the darkness meant bringing light into the cavern which he successfully accomplished via Er'cana's pellet manufacturing.  Perhaps banishing the darkness does not literally mean bringing light into the cavern.  From Yeesha's journey I have learned that we, the new explorers, have come to D'ni and with open minds have rebirthed D'ni; leaving behind the old D'ni ways; bringing in new thoughts, ideals, and beliefs.  The growing of D'ni was different than I expected.  D'ni was not meant to be rebuilt physically it is a spiritual renewal leaving the prideful ways of the D'ni in the past.

That leaves the question: What does it mean to follow the Shell?

Pantaleon - Bahroglyph Study Part 4

Yeesha is The Grower.  At least, Yeesha calls herself the Grower.  The Watcher foretold the coming of one
known as The Grower.

A grower to bring the gathered.
A grower to restore the least.
A grower to move through time.
A grower to link at will.
A grower to follow the shell.
A grower to banish the darkness.

A grower to bring the gathered?  "Is it the D'ni people Yeesha was gathering Laroon?"  I asked.

"I don't think it would be limited to just one type of people, Pantaleon.  Not from what Yeesha has mentioned in he journey."  He responded.  "The Call applies to anyone.  Maybe Yeesha was not gathering the D'ni people but instead anyone who desired to discover, share, and grow in D'ni."  He leaned back in his chair looked at the ceiling.  "We are the gathered."

I thought about that for a moment.  He had a point.  I thought back to my earlier days in the cavern; constantly surrounded by explorers old and new.  Esto told me once how he was called to this place.  I couldn't understand it.  How could an ancient city call someone?  After everything I've seen here I think I'm starting to understand.

The grower to restore the least.  By following Yeesha's journey I realize now that the least are the Bahro; once enslaved by the D'ni.  They appear through the bahroglyphs, but how have they been freed?  "Laroon," I said.  "You've completed Yeesha's journey correct?"

"Oh yeah.  Years ago."  He replied.

"The Bahro.  How have they been freed?"

He looked down from the ceiling.  "Really?  Hmmm."  He was quiet for a moment.  "You remember those pillars we had to take to our Relto?"  I nodded.  He took a deep breath.  "Apparently they represented the souls of the Bahro."  My eyes must have gotten bigger when he said that because he quickly told me it was only what he had heard.  "Our taking the pillars from the bahro caves to our relto and then to the cavern Rudena was symbolic of release of these creatures.  I guess they're free now."

A grower will move through time.  This is very strange.  I remember that Kadish had used Ahnonay to convince people that he could move through time.  He tried to convince everyone that he was The grower.  Does this mean that Yeesha has this power?  That can't be right.  Such power... This must mean something else.  But what?

Pantaleon - Bahroglpyh Study Part 3

The next day I received a message from Laroon.  He was bounding up the stairs from the Takotah alley before I could finish reading it.

"You will.  Never guess.  What I.  Found," he said between breaths.  He held up a book with the Guild of Greeters symbol on it.  I took the book and opened it.  The Yeesha symbol was emblazoned on the top of the page.  I read.

These pages are my journey, my story, my path. They are not meant to cover up, but to reveal. Sometimes in poem, sometimes in story sometimes clear, sometimes vague, sometimes long, sometimes brief. But the release of these words is a soothing elixir to my burdened soul. The words must flow from me, or I will die.

 "Yeesha's journals?" I asked.  Laroon nodded

"I thought they might give us some insights into the glyphs."  I agreed and we returned to the apartment.  I thought about what Laroon had given me and hoped it would fill in the gaps.  This puzzle, if it is a puzzle, seems to be missing a few pieces.  Maybe this is what we've been looking for.

Pantaleon - Bahroglyph Study Part 2

The next day we were back to racking our brains on the glyphs.  The next image was familiar enough to decipher.  Our explorer journeyed from the cleft and made their way into D'ni.  It appears that they met someone here but who that person is we don't know.  The book over his head may give us a clue.  Perhaps is a writer of some kind?  Perhaps a D'ni writer?  Interestingly, it seems there are Bahro at the top of the D'ni cavern.

The following glyph confused us.  Unlike the other glyphs there were familiar images save Yeesha as the center.  Laroon pointed out that the symbol over Yeesha's head had changed.  The Yeesha symbol is now inside an image of what appears to be a book.  The spiral could mean anything.  Spirals can represent the sun or confusion.  They can even represent a dialectic.  With such little to go on, I don't  know if we'll ever understand this image

The next several images seemed to continue the story though Laroon and I both needed a break.  Laroon decided to go topside for some time saying he would remain in contact via KI and would return the following day.  Rather than spend the time alone in Takotah II I thought it would be best if I journeyed out among the explorers.

Spending time in Ae'gura reminded me of times I spent here with Esto and all the people he introduced me to.  Some friends are here and some are gone.  This city remains the same.  I guess it's nice to have some sort of constant in life.