Printehr's Press

A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.

- John Lennon

I’ve been a bit swamped lately, what with making myself at home in City and with the Journey and all the other events that have been taking place of late, so pardon me for recapping events that took place over the weekend. Friday night after revisiting Teledahn and Gahreesen I stopped by the Karaoke ‘hood to attend the “D’ni Cocktail Party”; no singing (at least while I was there), just a fun little shindig with some music and some dancing and a whole bunch of meeting new folks. The event was DJed by Donahoo, and everybody had a great time (even if the playlist was all 80s music ). I got to hang out with Zuri and just socialize with the others for a while, and it was a lot of fun. There’s a Karaoke night there every other Friday, and I’m not much one for karaoke but I might stop by some time just to hang out.

In contrast to the levity of Friday night, Saturday was a more solemn occasion. Ghaelen of the Guild of Healers hosted a Memorial and Welcome Home event at the Kahlo Pub. There were two sessions; I attended the morning one, and it was very moving. Dozens of Explorers made it, honoring those who have passed away since we were first Called to the Cavern. There were plenty of those who, like me, were just experiencing the community for the first time in person, and had never met any of these incredible people… but it seemed everyone who had had a story to share. By the end of the memorial I felt that even though I’d never met them, I had a real sense for what they had meant to the community. It was an incredibly heartfelt occasion, and served to remind me of how close-knit the Called are, and it filled me with a sense of pride to realize that I too belong in the amazing group of people.

Afterward a few of us met atop the Great Stairs to get to know one another, and there was more than one familiar face in the crowd. Eventually Zuri and I made our way to Jalak for a few rounds of Quick Cubes, but despite the laughter and the good-natured banter, it was a more subdued occasion than it normally is. I can’t speak for Zuri, but I was definitely thinking of those Explorers I’d never had the chance to meet, but was glad I’d gotten to have a sense of them through the Memorial.

Oh, and as an aside, there’s been some buzz on the internet about the return of the Assemblee de Restauration de la Musique D’ni (ARMD) to the Cavern. Turjan has established the D’ni Musicoligical Research ‘hood, and I’m very interested in the work they’ve been doing. Their goal is to understand and recreate the music of the D’ni, and the music they’ve posted so far has been absolutely GORGEOUS (a musical group, D’marnah, has put their research into practice, and you can listen to their work here). I’m particularly enamored with the ahnomeprad, their reconstruction of a D’ni bowed crystal harp; it sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before. I’ve got absolutely no musical talent of my own, but Turjan says they’re looking for writers, historians and linguists to assist them as well as musicians, so hopefully I’ll be able to contribute in some small way.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

-Ursula K. LeGuin

On Wednesday I linked back to Teledahn. The humid, swampy air… the slow, gentle glide of the mushroom spores, falling like a light snow… the rapid changes in lighting as the sun swept overhead every half a minute or so… it had been ages (no pun intended) since I had visited Teledahn but abruptly it felt as if I had never left at all.

Not so with the machinery. It took me hours to figure things out and start up the spore-gathering equipment running, and then to figure out where to go from there. It drove me crazy, but I was having tremendous fun experimenting with trial and error, reliving the Journey and remembering the secrets of Teledahn.  I rediscovered Sharper’s office and pressed all the Journey Cloths along the way, marveling at D’ni ingenuity and the exotic-ness of the Age. It was a fantastic feeling, to rediscover this Age and witness its beauty, uncovering its secret and bringing myself back to when I was younger and experiencing all this for the first time. It was like being born again.

Upon reaching the slave cages, the day took a somber turn. It was a stark reminder of the Journey’s purpose; not just the joy of discovering the D’ni and their Ages, but also the revelation of the darkness that brought about that proud civilization’s fall. The D’ni were but men, as are we; capable of such incredible achievements, but also of all the cruelty, ignorance and arrogance that being human entails. It was their arrogance that led to their demise; their stubborn belief in their own supremacy, in their glory and omnipotence, corrupted them, like a cancer. The D’ni did not deserve their fate, but they had lost their way.

It was a disquieting thought, and I understand now why Atrus believed the D’ni should not return to the Cavern. Its ruins serve as too much of a reminder of that flawed past, of the ways of the proud. It made me wonder… would a similar fate befall us, we the Explorers who are trying to rebuild the great city, restore it and make it our home? Only time will tell. I choose to believe however that we will succeed where the D’ni failed, that we will overcome those flaws in our nature, remember that we are not the same as those who came before. As I stood in the Bahro Cave listening to her words, I realized just how much in awe of Yeesha’s wisdom I am, how grateful I am for her guidance and her reminding us of the dark side of the D’ni. The Journey is more than a series of puzzles to solve, a scattering of Cloths to be pressed; through it, we have an opportunity to avoid repeating the same mistakes, to break the cycle and begin anew.

Running over Yeesha’s words, I returned to Teledahn after spiriting its totem away to my Relto. The Bahro Stone that would take me to Gahreesen was behind some crates in the green room, and touching my hand to it I was transported to a cell in the Maintainers’ prison there, a fortuitously placed drainage cover open beneath me. Navigating my way out of the labyrinthine drainage tunnels beneath the prison was challenging, to say the least, but eventually I made my way out and up onto the rooftop. From here I was able to access the last two Gahreesen Journey Cloths, and return to my Relto so I could link back in and take the long way to the door. Yeesha’s words again inspired me. She spoke of King Kerath, calling him one of the great kings, but also calling him the maker of the proud, having established the guild-led government system that would lead to D’ni’s fall. I am reminded of the guilds we have established in the Cavern, and how the danger of becoming proud plagues us even today. It is with humility that we must move forward, careful to leave the pride and the arrogance of those who have come before us where it has fallen among the ruins. There is no place for it in our D’ni.

We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.

-Japanese Proverb

Ha, right after I posted yesterday’s entry I got to start an impromptu dance party with a group of people by the tent in Ae’gura. I’d run in to Carkadann, an old online friend from the Guild of Caterers (with the Cavern open again, I really want to revive it. If anyone’s interested, leave a comment below or give me a ring–my KI number is 00159587). We caught up a bit, and ended up chatting with a group of people about how friendly the community in the Cavern was. Which I jokingly challenged, saying if they were really that friendly I could start an impromptu dance party and everyone would have to jump in to keep me from looking like a moron.

Sure enough, they did. I love this place!

Also, something a little weird was going on near the tent. Someone going by the KI handle “Nobody” kept examining people, telling them they were not one of the “Chosen”. I overheard him talking to one who he claimed was one, and explaining that he had “taken” something from them but that they would never miss it.

Anyone know what the heck that was all about?

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.

-Michael Jordan

After a night spent hearing Yeesha’s voice in my dreams, I awoke late yesterday morning and did some work around my Relto, taking some inventory and examining the books I’ve collected. There weren’t many. I’d picked up a Relto page the other day during my time at the Cleft, which added birds to my Relto. Creepy birds. Creepy, evil birds whose evil screeches sound like devil vultures or something. After listening to their racket all night (I slept in the hut tonight, instead of under the stars, they’re that creepy) I deactivated that page, eager to get rid of the things.

Later in the day I linked to the city, and did some exploring. I wandered around all over the place, but eventually I made my way back to the Museum and linked to Dereno and Payiferen, two of the locations within the Pod Age. I took an exploratory look around, then started tinkering. Both Ages’ circuit breakers were functional, unlike Negilahn’s. Turning on the power activated lights, and the buttons around the circuit breaker activated these loud animal calls. My theory is that the noises are keyed to attract certain animals; I didn’t mess with it long enough to get any results, but let me tell you, Dereno is simply swarming with creatures! A bunch of different fish, and also this large creature that reminded me of a three-way cross between a manatee, a ray of some kind and a hammerhead shark.

After my return to the Cavern, I remembered the new Age I’d added to my bookshelf the other day–Jalak. I decided I wanted to see about getting a game started there, but having never played before I had no idea how to go about it. Fortunately for me, I ran into Gondar, whom I recognized from the DRC forums. He was very generous and understanding, and explained to me that while in Jalak the KI gained extra functionality–the ability to raise and lower the pillars and summon cubes and other objects. I got in touch with Zuri and together the two of us decided we’d meet up to play a game, Zuri mentioning he thought he’d bring a friend. I did some quick research on the internet (someone, maybe the DRC, has been kind enough to set up public WiFi by the tent near the Great Stairs) about Jalak games and found the Jalak Registry, a repository of Explorer-made games.

Meeting up with Zuri I was happy to learn his friend was Paul, one of the Explorers who had come to my Relto the night before to undertake the Journey with me; unfortunately, he’d been unable to wait while I took forever pressing Journey Cloths in the Cleft, so it was good to catch up with him. The three of us linked back to my Relto and then to Jalak. We spent the majority of the day playing games of “Tile Survivor”, which is pretty simple. Each player starts in a corner, and can only move three spaces in an “L” shape, like a knight in chess. When they arrive at their new tile, they raise it. Raised tiles are off-limits; you can pass over one on your way to another tile, but you can’t land on one. The goal is to keep raising tiles until your opponents can’t move any more, without getting trapped yourself.

Later on Paul headed out, and Zuri and me played a few games of “Jalabyrinth”. It’s a lot more complex–you start with a cube on a corner, and moving it one space at a time your goal is to get your cube onto your opponent’s cube first. What makes it complicated is that each turn you must raise a row of five pillars. It makes the board difficult to navigate, since cubes can’t move to columns higher than it, and moving to spaces lower than it gives the other player(s) an extra move. Tehlrov joined us later on in the evening and we noticed Jalabyrinth wasn’t as good a game for three players (Zuri figured out that the ideal would be to have one player begin on the center tile of the row opposite from the players on the opposite two corners, forming a triangle, but it was getting late and we decided we didn’t have time to put it into action), so we went back to Tile Survivor and had a blast.

Also yesterday I noticed Nagao was online so the two of us met up and he invited me again to join his Neighborhood. We didn’t get to hang out long, but I linked through to the Neighborhood, bringing my gear with me. It’s thrilling to finally having a home in the City! I love Relto, but it’s never felt like a home to me. My new room does. I still haven’t gotten the chance to meet all my new neighbors, yet, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity (I’ve been in Ae’gura most of the day, Skype chatting with my friends and family–this is the first time I’ve gotten to speak to them since checking in my first day back in the Cavern. I’m definitely not going that long between calls again!). I’ve been exploring around the place and learning a lot about the Bevin-type neighborhood I’d never really noticed before.

Anyway, here’s hoping I get to try a game of Ahyoheek soon!

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

-Lao-Tzu

After yesterday’s nap I was feeling refreshed and ready to get started. I linked to Ae’gura and wandered around a bit before joining a group of Explorers by the tent. There was some talk of putting together a Delin run, but the topic shifted towards undertaking the Journey. A few others were also interested in undertaking it, and there were others who had already completed it since returning to the Cavern but were willing to keep us company. We formed a small group, five of us, and linked to my Relto, eager to begin.

Things didn’t go so smoothly, at first. Upon arriving at my Relto, we realized that Yeesha’s pillar would only allow me to link to the Cleft–the first stage had to be undertaken alone. The others were good sports about it, and waited patiently for me to return.

I’d forgotten what the stark, dry heat of the New Mexico desert was like. It was definitely a moving experience, to have returned to the place it all began. Memories came flooding over me, bringing me back to that day, when as only a fourteen year old I feel the Call and set out to discover the worlds beyond this one. Touching my first Journey Cloth, not yet understanding what it was I was doing, but knowing somehow that it was what I was meant to do. And Yeesha… “Have you heard of the city? The deep city, the ancient Uru, where there was power to write worlds?” Listening to her speech once more… I didn’t understand it the first time I heard it, heck, even the second time I undertook the Journey, I only thought I knew what it was her words meant. It is only now, after having truly experienced what that deep city she referred to actually is, that I finally understand. Not merely the ruins that remain, empty husks carved of stone, still haunted by the sins of the dead… We are the City, and we have begun to breathe again. Like the stream in the Cleft, we have begun to flow again, returning to where we know we are supposed to be.

As moving as it was to return to the Cleft, I had others waiting for me. I’d forgotten where the scattered Journey Cloths were located, hurriedly moving across the rope bridges and rock ledges, pressing my hand against that spiraling palm, unlocking the windmill and fumbling with the Imager code to hear Yeesha’s speech. I remembered that not all the cloths were in the Cleft itself, and rushed back outside to touch the others–on the back of Zandi’s trailer, the sign near the gate, the one in the Whark skeleton… one thing I regret is not having the time to stop and chat with Zandi. I doubt he’d remember me, having greeted entire legions of Explorers over the years, but when all is said and done and I’ve completed the Journey and can return to the Cleft, I want to visit him and thank him for all he’s done–not just for me, but for the Explorers, and the City.

Returning to the Cleft, I lowered the water bucket to touch the cloth attached to it, then touched my hand to the stone in the tree, opening the entrance to the chamber and returning to my Relto. I had indeed been too long; two of our number had had more pressing engagements and departed during my absence. However, two still remained, John B. (I never did get his last name) and Whitehelm. They were exactly the type of people you want to undertake the Journey with: patient, smart, kind-hearted and with a sense of humor. Together we linked to Gahreesen.

Thank goodness I had them with me! It had been years since I’d visited Gahreesen, and I barely remembered at all where to find the cloths. John was in the same boat I was but Whitehelm had retaken the Journey just a few days ago, and was our guide and companion, and I am grateful to both of them for the time we spent together. Especially when we reached that ridiculous rotating wall with the crack in it. Both of my companions made it through easily but I got stuck and was unable to make the leap into the power station. Without them there, I probably would’ve called it a night. Instead, they redirected the power to the doors and waited for me to link out to Relto and back so that I could touch my hand to the cloth in the station. Together we took the lift to the rooftop and made the perilous leap from the revolving arm to the rock island in between the two structures, and then onto the second building’s rotating arm. Fortunately we all made the jump, even if I got stuck for a moment in the elevator leading down inside.

After exploring the Maintainer’s workshops and conference rooms and wandering around the labyrinthine interior of the structure, we found the second-to-last Journey Cloth. Whitehelm reminded us that this is as far as we could get; the final cloth in Gahreesen was only accessible from a Bahro Stone in Teledahn, and it was a considerable ways away from the link-in spot. We debated what to do, and ended up deciding to call it a night and link to Teledahn another time. Maybe we’ll get some others to come along; John mentioned he was going to go meet his wife and do some exploring with her, and I know Tehlrov wanted to come along (I’d invited him, but we ended up playing KI tag and by the time we were both free to talk the three of us were nearly finished).

Experiencing the Journey again is one of those things you can never really get burnt out on. I marvel at Yeesha’s wisdom… every time I undertake it, I always notice new things, come to new realizations. It’s a profound experience, and I’m thrilled to be able to finally have others by my side while I live it.

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

-Henry David Thoreau

My first Pod Age, a Star Fissure that leads to nowhere, finally getting to see what’s behind the Eder Delin door, a personal tour of Ae’gura… today sure was a jam-packed day.

I hit my elbow this morning, HARD, against a rock in Relto when I was getting up. I can still feel the bruise, and its sore whenever I bend my arm. Oh well, something had to balance out all this good karma I’ve been getting lately. I popped a couple of ibuprofen from the bottle I brought with me (I get headaches semi-frequently) and downed it with some water, finishing up all the water I’d brought with me. I’m not worried, I just need to find the waterfall Relto page again before too long, since there’s no source of water on my Relto anymore. If worse comes to worse I know the other Explorers will have water on hand, but I don’t like to mooch.

Ok, that’s a lie, I love to mooch, but not if its something I can take care of relatively easy like getting my own water supply.

Also, I’m beginning to realize how much I miss indoor plumbing. I’ve yet to encounter an example of a D’ni toilet, so this morning’s business was taken care of on my Relto, survivalist-style. I’ll spare you the grisly details; suffice it to say I should have brought toilet paper.

Hungry and in search of something to do, I linked to the Nexus, then to the Ferry Terminal. My plan was to explore Ae’gura a bit, wander around and reacquaint myself with the island before heading to the Watcher’s Pub to socialize. As it turns out, I never actually made it to the Pub, and I didn’t get to explore Ae’gura until later on in the day. I wandered into the Museum, looking for the library, and found my first Relto page since I returned to the Cavern.

What would I find waiting for me when I returned to my Relto? A glowing tennis racket and some swirls?

From there I took a look at the linking books on the pedestals next to them. I recognized them–not from the last time I was here, but from descriptions of other Explorers I’d read over the internet. These were the Pod Ages; well, Age, anyway. Each book lead to a different environment, an observation pod that allowed you to witness this Age’s natural, untouched ecosystem. I only visited the first one, Negilahn.

The trees here have interesting root systems.

The pod was kind of spartan. There were ladders leading up and down to different viewing portholes. Each one had a button in front of it, but they didn’t seem to be functioning when I arrived; nothing happened when I pushed them. Down below I saw some kind of surge breaker and a couple of button pedestals. I couldn’t figure out how to get the system operating, but I figure I’ll head back soon, maybe with a couple friends who’ve been there before.

The mysterious circuit breaker and its button friends.

While I was there, I also found another Relto page after climbing a ladder to one of the uppermost portholes.

Flowers?

After my trip to Negilahn, I received a KI message from Chakra, who I’d met the night before. She’d gathered up another group and they were trying for the Eder Delin door puzzle again, since like me she hadn’t made it to the door in time either. I met her there, and she introduced me to the group. Mereena and DeAnn seemed to have to most experience, and I recognized TOOO from the forums there as well. There was a whole bunch of us, and we spent most of our time screwing up and cracking jokes (TOOO’s were the worst). Eventually we did manage to get the combination right, and I was able to run through with the others.

The other side was a Bahro Cave. Touching a symbol on the wall made half of a stone object over the Star Fissure dissolve, and falling after it I linked back to my Relto, where I got a message from Zuri. We met up in Ae’gura by the tent and he told me he’d completed the Journey and wanted to visit the Cleft. We linked to his Relto, and its clear he’d collected a bunch of Relto pages since I’d seen the place last, only the night before. We jumped through the Star Fissure together, but as I fell into the abyss, I just kept falling. This wasn’t like the last time I’d passed through my own Relto’s Fissure to the Cleft… I kept falling, and there was no sign of arriving at a particular destination anytime soon. With a sigh (I’m still not exactly sure how it’s possible to breath in the space between Ages) I linked back to Relto and gave Zuri the bad news. We figured it was because he jumped through and Yeesha’s rules would keep me from following if I didn’t go first. We arranged to meet back in Ae’gura, but I had to postpone our second attempt: Chakra wanted us to help the others in the group who hadn’t managed to make it through the door in Delin, and I felt like a bit of a heel for not checking in after I made it myself.

In Delin my role was quickly filled by another Explorer (he hadn’t made it through the door yet, and I happened to be standing at the cloth nearest the door, so I let him have it), so I mostly just stuck around to socialize and provide moral support. Despite some problems with the door (it refused to register some cloths, so we all had to link back to the D’ni Art Museum Neighborhood and then back), the group got it and I entered the door a second time. There was nothing new, and I linked back to Relto to catch up with Zuri.

Our second attempt to have me arrive at the Cleft was just as futile, and we concluded that I would be unable to pass through the Fissure until I’d retaken the Journey and unlocked all the pillars of my own Relto. Zuri let me know via KI message that he planned on staying on the Surface for a while, so we said our goodbyes and I headed back to Ae’gura, looking for something else to do.

I mentioned that I was looking for the Library and one guy, Dimitrios, volunteered to show me where it was. He went with me the entire way, giving me a guided tour as we went! It was very kind of him; I’ve been to Ae’gura before, but not for a couple of years, and I didn’t remember where everything was. Plus the DRC’s uncovered a few more areas in the intervening years, and I was grateful for the refresher. Dimitrios took me past the Kadish Gallery (which I’ll have to stop by sometime soon) and through the Concert Hall Foyer, reminding me to add Nexus links to my KI as we went. He stopped me on a rope bridge and pointed out all the sites, and showed me the way to the Hall of Kings and the Library. When we got there he had me add a Nexus link for the library to my KI, then bid me adieu; it’s amazing to have such nice people everywhere you turn your head! I’ve truly never encountered any community like that in the Cavern.

Kerath's Arch... The D'ni equivalent of the Statue of Liberty, or the Golden Gate Bridge, or Big Ben...

The Ae'gura Common Library

In the Library, I found two linking books to Ages I hadn’t visited before. One was on display next to a DRC notebook, which called it Jalak–the gaming Age I’d read about online.

Jalak, Home of the D'ni Rose Bowl Game

I linked through, but there wasn’t much for me to do there solo, so I linked back to the Library (via my Relto and the Nexus) and examined the second linking book. There was no DRC notebook to identify it for me, just a cryptic journal filled with hastily translated D’ni numerals. The linking panel showed desert. This must be Minkata, then. I linked through and wandered around the bizarre structure and what appeared to be tree stumps in the desert. It was scorching hot, and I didn’t have anything I was looking to accomplish, so I linked back pretty quickly.

Too many suns for my liking...

This evening I plan on beginning Yeesha’s Journey. I want more books on my bookshelves and to be able to pass through the Star Fissure to the Cleft again, but it’s not just that. Yeesha’s Journey is a near-spiritual experience, a pilgrimage, if you will.  Though I’ve undertaken the Journey before, more than once, it seems only fitting that I begin this new chapter of my life with the events that lead me to the Cavern in the first place.

It’s been so long, though… I don’t even remember where to begin. I think I will return to Ae’gura, and ask if there’s anyone there interested in undertaking it with me. Perhaps some of the friends I’ve made these past two days will be willing to help, for at least part of the way.

In the meantime, I’m beat. I’ve been up since early this morning, and I didn’t exactly get a good night’s sleep the night before, as amped as I was having just experienced my first night in the Cavern (Relto’s lumpy ground didn’t help, either). I think I’ll take a nap this afternoon before I carry on. Until tonight, then.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”

-C. S. Lewis

Alright, technically, no, it wasn’t my first night in the Cavern, true. I’d spent countless nights and days there the last couple of times I’d been there. But this was the first time I’ve ever spent a night in the Cavern while there were others present. I was anxiously awaiting the opportunity to meet my fellow Explorers, but a part of me was nervous, wondering whether they’d live up to my expectations, and whether I’d live up to theirs. Like I’ve said before, I’ve only ever known these people through the DRC boards and other Explorer hotspots. I’ve been a lurker, mostly, but I’ve  followed them eagerly, developed a real fondness for the community, come to consider myself one of them. The last thing I want is to be disappointed, or to disappoint. I was excited, but definitely nervous.

Linking from my Relto to the Nexus, I was comforted by the familiar clanking of gears and machinery that powered the linking library. A quick swipe of my KI and the machine activated, showing me the public areas of the city. I was thrilled to see there were already some forty-odd people in Ae’gura, and linked to the Ferry Terminal to seek them out. When I arrived, however, the place looked deserted. Wondering if I was just out of luck, or if the Nexus had been wrong on the number of people in the area, I started for the Great Stairs. Halfway up I heard the sound of someone linking in, and eagerly ran back down to check it out.

The linker’s name was DaVinci, and we stopped and chatted on the stairs for a while about how much we’d missed the Cavern, until the urge to see the rest of the island overpowered me and I excused myself to go wander. The crowd at the top of the Great Stairs truly blew my mind. I’d never expected to see so many people in one place! More arrived in all the time, and others would link out periodically, either alone or in groups when enough people decided they wanted to visit an Age together. A fellow named Ifsa helped me figure out how to use my KI’s new messaging feature, and I had such a surreal experience seeing people walk by whose names I recognized from the forums; Mystdee, Su’san, Tai’lahr… It was amazing.

Everyone was warm and kind. I’d been nervous for nothing; not only did the community live up to my expectations, they’d exceeded them, immensely. I’ve never felt such a welcoming environment before. The buzzes of a half dozen conversation going on at once, waves and smiles everywhere, impromptu dances… the atmosphere was simply indescribable.

One guy invited me to visit his Relto before we’d even introduced ourselves. Before I could even respond (I was thinking up a clever line), his finger slipped and he accidentally linked out (I ended up announcing “Aren’t you going to buy me a drink first?” to the empty air, and got a bunch of amused looks from the crowd). His name was Zuri, and he came back a minute or two later, asking if I was interested in exploring Ahnonay with him and a friend. I was eager to visit one of the Ages with company, so I took him up on his offer and linked to his Relto, where his friend, Tehlrov, was waiting. As it turned out, Zuri was missing his books, too, so we had to link to Tehlrov’s Relto, where he had reacquired most of his already.

This version of Ahnonay has always been my favorite. It's the crabs!

Once the three of us linked from Tehlrov’s Relto to the Ahnonay Cathedral to Ahnonay itself, we began to explore this version of the infamous fake Age. Tehlrov played with the crabs for a while while I followed Zuri’s lead and tried jumping of some large rocks past the powerful current surrounding the island. The idea is to jump from the big island to a large rock jutting out of the water, then to a smaller one, then to jump into the water and swim so the current carries you to a smaller tower island.

That’s how it was supposed to work in theory, anyway. I must have missed that stupid tower four or five times! Each time the current would carry me back down the little waterfalls into the main island’s central lagoon and I was severely beginning to lose my patience. Zuri, for his part, seemed more amused than anything else and shouted what advice to me he could from the tower, before deciding I was hopeless and jumping into the water again to show me how to do it in person. This time of course, I made it and Zuri was swept past by the current. The student has indeed now become the master!

Tehlrov followed Zuri back and after a few more tries all three of us were finally standing on the tower island. Of course, there was nothing to do there, so instead we ended up returning to Relto, then back to Ahnonay to see the “time shifts”. We’d forgotten to knock a crab into the water, though, so we got returned to the same exact version we’d left. Once we’d found the crab (or it jumped into the water itself, I’m not sure which), we linked back to the Cathedral and from there to the eerie, stormy “future” Ahnonay. We ran around like a bunch of little kids, smashing the bizarre crystal trees that grew there to trigger the next time jump. Tehlrov nailed the most impressive tree atop a rock formation Zuri and I had thought impossible to get to, and then the three of us linked to the “distant future” Ahnonay, the one that looked like a broken up planetoid floating in space. (I always wondered what Kadish was thinking with that last one; surely the D’ni knew its impossible to breathe in outer space, right?)

The three of us got separated then, and met up again at the top of the Great Stairs. Zuri mentioned he had to go, so we bid him good night and Tehlrov and I decided to mess around some more with Ahnonay. There wasn’t much left to explore, there, though, and just then I noticed a small group trying to recruit a gang to do a “garden run”, which I didn’t understand. They sounded like they were having trouble getting enough people though, and when the guy making the announcements, Ski, said he only needed two more, Tehlrov and I decided to join up with them. One by one we linked out to our Reltos, then used the Nexus to meet up in one of the public neighborhoods, one claimed by a guy named Nagao. Altogether there were six of us: me, Tehlrov, Ski, Nagao, Branan and Marty. Ski kept trying the herd people to the classroom, but I got lost and was trying to orient myself by following the sounds of their voices; I ran into them again just as the group met by the linking book to Eder Delin. As a consequence I hadn’t really heard their instructions and was only vaguely aware of what we were trying to do.

This beautiful snowy Age: Not Eder Gira

The first thing that surprised me was that I’d gotten Eder Delin confused with Eder Gera; I’d never been to this Age before. The second thing was that it was snowing! The foliage all around indicated that it was fall in Eder Delin, but light flurries were falling and was beginning to accumulate on the ground. I could even see my breath. Despite all that, it didn’t actually feel that cold out, and the long sleeve shirt I had on kept me plenty warm.

Ski disappeared almost immediately. We assumed he’d accidentally linked out or had forgotten something, but after a few minutes Nagao informed us that Ski had something to deal with somewhere else and wouldn’t be able to participate (presumably he’d contacted him via KI). This was disheartening for the group, because apparently for whatever we were going to be doing, we needed at least six people, and Ski’s disappearance left us with only five.

Nagao started explaining things to the group again. There was a Journey Door here, and it would only open after seven cloths scattered around the nearby gardens were presses in a specific order. The order that the clothes needed to be pushed in was generated by pressing the symbol on the door; from that point on, it would flash the symbols of the cloths in a random order and begin a countdown. This means we needed at least a half dozen people to collaborate on cloth pushing, one of home had to watch the door and shout out which symbols needed to be pressed. Fortunately, Tehlrov stepped up and arranged for a friend of his to stop by Nagao’s Bevin and join us in Eder Delin. While we waited for her to arrive, Nagao went over our assignments. He really had the whole system down; he’d assigned each symbol a number, and assigned us to various posts based on that number. Originally, I was going to take Cloth Number Six, but after no one wanted the arduous task of covering two different cloths, running between them to make sure both got pressed, I volunteered, and was assigned Cloths 4 and 5; one on the back of a tree, the other around a nearby corner, behind the gazebo.

Tehlrov’s friend Chakra arrived, and we all took up our positions. To say things were frustrating is a bit of an understatement. Actually, our first couple attempts did pretty well, despite us not entering the code before the countdown ran out. The problems started when I would have to press one Cloth while I was nearby the other. I’d race from 5 to 4, wasting precious time, then have to race back to 5, wasting even more time. It really came down to luck. One time I even pressed the wrong cloth because I’d been distracted by the calls of some nearby geese (when I tried to explain how weird I found it that geese existed in this Age as well as our own, Nagao tried to console me. “Don’t worry,” he said, “those are probably some OTHER geese. They’ve probably got gills or something.”)

To complicate things further, sometimes the door wouldn’t register our entries even if we’d pressed the cloths correctly. Those mistakes were the most frustrating of all, and Chakra threw more than one snowball that evening. We almost gave up entirely. We persevered, however, and in the end we entered the combination correctly. Unfortunately, not all of us made it to the door in time! Me, Chakra and Tehlrov ended up being stuck outside while Marty, Nagao and Branan got into the cave beyond (I got there just as the door was halfway closed, to see the three of them looking back at me bemusedly; the door rose from the bottom to close, rather than lowering from the top, or else I totally would’ve Indiana Jones’d my way under it).

The three of us griped for a while, but the other were good sports and agreed to come back and try again so we could all enter the cave. Unfortunately, due to a variety of problems, the never happened; Nagao’s neighborhood had reverted from public to private, meaning the others couldn’t get to our Instance of Eder Delin without him there to let them in; KI communication was going all screwy; and members of our group were starting to call it a night and begging out. That said, I feel fine about the whole thing–I had a heck of a lot of fun with everybody, made some great new friends and I know I’ll get to see what’s in the cave eventually. I met Nagao for a bit at the Ferry Landing when all was said and done, and he offered me a place of my own in his neighborhood if I wanted. Unfortunately, the Nexus/KI system was having some trouble just then and wouldn’t process things through. Which is a shame, because as much as I like Relto, it’s never really felt like a home to me. The City’s always felt that way, though, and if I’m going to live my dream I want to spend my nights in a neighborhood, not in a sparse hut on Relto. I’m not worried, though; I’ve added everyone from the group to my KI’s Buddies List, and next time I see Nagao around the City, I’ll get to hit him up and see if we can have me formally added to his neighborhood. Until then, I can spend another night camped out in Relto, maybe get another campfire going, enjoy the stars (I’m a native Chicagoland-ian, I’ve never seen so many stars in my entire life). Speaking of which, it is way t00 late… I need to catch some shuteye if I’m going to do any exploring tomorrow.

Sweet dreams.

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

-Nelson Mandela

Some places you never really leave behind. They stay with you, always at the edges of your mind, their memory never far from bringing a smile to your lips.

It’s been maybe a little less than two years since I last visited the Cavern, and for me, it’s always been one of those places. The first time I felt the Call, I was just a kid, a teenager who found himself wandering around the New Mexico desert. We had been on vacation to Carlsbad, ironically enough, but I ended up exploring much more than just a series of empty caves. That first time, I wandered Ae’gura, seeing the progress of the DRC and the signs of the other Explorers who had been here before me, but I never saw a soul, not counting Yeesha’s recordings and of course the Bahro.

After my return to the Surface, it was a long, long time before I dared return. I still had my Relto book, but my family hadn’t reacted well to my unexplained disappearance. I knew better than to try to tell them the truth, and I kept myself from returning for their sake though the Call never entirely left me.

The Cavern was never very far from my thoughts, though.

A few years later I made arrangements, and once I was sure I had a convincing excuse as to why I would be gone for several weeks, unable to make phone calls, I returned to the Cavern, exploring the Great Zero for the first time and uncovering the truth behind Ahnonay. This was in 2005, I think. While I later learned by reaching out to fellow Explorers that even though the DRC had pulled out, there was always a small, dedicated group of the Called there, again I never encountered a single soul (looking back on it, it seems clear we were in separate Instances of the Cavern, something I knew nothing about back then). After I returned home I knew it would be a long time before I would be able to return. The community of Explorers on the internet, on the DRC forums and others, became like a sort of extended family to me, others I had shared common experiences and emotions with, even if I normally just lurked on the boards.

In 2007, I graduated high school and began my first year at college. I was excited at the prospect of the DRC’s renewed funding and longed for a chance to meet the others in person for the first time, in the Cavern. But a major new chapter of my life was just beginning, and I knew I would need to wait longer before I could return to that place I had now came to think of as my home. And so I continued to keep up to date with the goings-on of my fellow Explorers through the web, experiencing vicariously awe at the beauty of new Ages like Minkata, frustration at broken pellet counters, and a deep sense of loss at the the news of Wheely Engberg’s passing.

When the DRC lost its funding and vacated the Cavern, I knew I had lost a precious opportunity to be a part of something larger and grander than myself. I linked back again over the summer of 2008, but I never encountered any of the Explorers I knew remained within the city (again, they probably resided in different Instances). The trip was disheartening, even though it had been years since my last visit. An empty Cavern was all I had ever known, but it wasn’t enough anymore. I knew we were not living up to Yeesha’s exhortation to make a home.

So when I heard the Cavern had been reopened to us Explorers, I knew I couldn’t make the same mistake again. It took me a few days to make arrangements, and a lot of serious discussion with friends and family, but I made my decision. I’ve taken the semester off. This trip to the Cavern won’t be a brief excursion, lasting a few days or weeks; I’ll be living there full time, with the other Explorers, where I want to be. Some people take a year off from college to go backpacking through Europe or see the world; I’ll be exploring the ruins of D’ni, helping to rebuild them, travel the Ages. All in all, I think mine is the more rewarding path.

I made the link yesterday. Though it has been two long years since I’d passed through my Relto book, the sensation of passing through something and into somewhere else was as familiar to me as breathing. I’d almost forgotten the surreal beauty of Relto, though, a sea of clouds stretching out all around me, the red-golden sunset illuminating the island around me. I remember the first time I saw this place, when I was only fourteen. It’s not any less awe-inspiring all these long years later.

The view from my Relto yesterday evening.

I spent the night there. I’d been planning on making my way to the Cavern right away, hoping to join in the festivities while the other Explorers celebrated the return to D’ni.  Things did not turn out quite as planned. My Relto has changed. A lot of the features I’ve added to it over the years have either been destroyed or are simply missing, the Relto pages I’ve added to my book having mysterious faded into useless blank pieces of parchment. The pillars are gone, as were all the books in my bookshelf. I know others have had similar experiences since the war between the Bahro. I can’t say whether the changes to my Relto were Yeesha’s work or whether the Bahro themselves are responsible, but it put a wrench into my plans. My KI wasn’t working, either, and without my book to Gahreesen, I would be unable to get a new one. The one book that remained was a linking book to the DRC neighborhood in the Cavern.

I spent the last remaining hours of daylight cleaning up the place and admiring the view. By the time the sun had set I was tired, too tired to enjoy the trip to the Cavern, so I camped out there that night. I hadn’t brought much with me through the link–just a backpack full of gear and an alternate set of clothes, and a sleeping bag. It served me nicely though, and I even started a fire to keep myself warm (using a lighter, of course; if I ever have to rely on rubbing two sticks together I’ll probably freeze to death).

A bottle of water and a single granola bar make for an unsatisfying breakfast, in my opinion, even if said granola bar is dipped in chocolate.

The next morning, I linked to D’ni straight away. I wandered through the DRC ‘hood, reacquainting myself with its layout. I stopped by the classroom, skimming through a book of poetry someone had left on the podium. The place was starkly empty, and I began to wonder whether I would wander for days unable to find anyone, as I had in the only other times I had been to the Cavern.

I stood in the balcony alcove someone had set up as a repository for linking books, the sound of flowing water drifting in from the nearby stream leading out of the light garden when  thought I heard someone else link in nearby. I looked around for them, but I must have just missed them on the link out. Oh well. At least this place wasn’t as abandoned as I had feared.

Returning to the linking books, I pressed my hand to the image of the five-sided chamber and linked to Gahreesen, the sound of insects and tropical birds, the feel of the hot, muggy air pushing down at me oppressively assaulting me before my vision returned. This was just a quick trip, picking up a KI and making my way back to Relto straightaway before heading to Ae’gura. I’d forgotten the way, but the DRC signs and traffic cones still led to the dispenser, and this time I placed my hand inside without fear, knowing what to expect–the first time I did that, the noise it made and the pressure of the device placing the KI around my wrist had me convinced my own stupidity meant I was going to be an amputee.

I checked out the device, and noticed this model had a bunch of new features enabled. My new number was 00159587, and it already informed me of the Ages I had in my bookshelf (how these things know so much boggles my mind!). Most importantly, the display mentioned that I had “Neighbors”: other Explorers were about, and this model would allow me to communicate with them!

Rather than deciding to introduce myself to perfect strangers, I decided to return to my Relto so I could head to Ae’gura, and, well, introduce myself to perfect strangers.

And so I linked.