I told you I'd update this quick!
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I stood in the middle of a stone floor, in a circle of yellowish stones amongst a floor of grey ones. The room I was in was not very large; only about six paces from end to end. It was square in shape. At each corner there stood a green hedge-like plant which stretched to the roof. The roof was made of many panes of stained green and yellow glass.
On both my right side and ahead of me the walls were mostly filled by a doorway with a rounded top. There were two doors in each, made of turquoise glass. There were metal bars entwining through them like vines, and there were two gold door handles on each one.
On my left side and behind me there were no walls; the space was taken up by a glassless window. There was a metal railing at the bottom of the window. Outside, massive plains of orange-tinted land stretched out to mountains of the same colour. Green trees dotted the landscape. This was the Age of Tomahna.
In any circumstances most probably, you would have thought this an extraordinary room to be in. But it was quite familiar to me. I had stood in this very room eighteen years ago. It was that day that my good friend Atrus was robbed of the one smidgen of hope he had left: Releeshahn. It was an Age he had written for the D'ni to rehabilitate themselves in. A man named Saavedro had broken in and stolen it, out of want for vengeance on Atrus for what his sons, Sirrus and Achenar, had done to him. I had rescued Releeshahn from Saavedro and also managed to return misunderstanding Saavedro to his wife and children.
This room I was in was the house of Atrus, his wife Catherine, his daughter Yeesha, and his sixteen year old son, Agaeris. I had never met Agaeris, for he had always been very busy when I returned to Tomahna from my journeys through Atrus' Ages, and whenever he had had spare time, I was away. Agaeris had spent most of his years in Releeshahn, leading the D'ni in rebuilding their civilization.
At the age of two, Atrus had taken Agaeris to Releeshahn and placed him in the care of his most trusted friend. He was not a negligible father, and visited Agaeris very often with Catherine. He merely wanted Agaeris in Releeshahn until he was old enough to look out for himself. At age fourteen, Agaeris was allowed free in and out of Releeshahn, but in the two years I had never met him.
I realized that when I entered I had not shut the door to my right when I came in behind me, so I did so with a loud clunk. I saw someone's silhouette moving behind the door in front of me.
The door there opened. An attractive woman entered the room. She had a long plait of shining black hair which hung to the flat of her back. The locks of hair at the front of the sides of her head was braided and hung to her chest. Her features and skin colour suggested that she was Oriental in blood. Her shirt was tight and dark red with white sleeves. She also wore a long, brown skirt, and gold-brown fabric tightly around her waist.
"Who's there?" she called, When she caught sight of me she smiled and approached me.
"You've come back," she said happily. "It is good to see you. How was Whiterock?"
"Very interesting," I replied, handing over a spare Tomahna Linking book from my pocket. "I had a bit of trouble with the people at first, but then I showed them Atrus' book and their attitude changed dramatically."
"Yes, well, the Shirnao are slightly suspicious of strangers," she said, placing the Linking book on a bench by one of the windows.
"I was writing a journal, but one of them tried to catch a solasting on my backpack, knocked it open, and the book fell into the ocean. I found it, but it wasn't very good any more."
I extracted a smaller book from my pocket, the cover warped from wetness and opened it. The pages were all wrinkled and the green ink had blended into them or smudged beyond reading ability.
"I see," said Catherine, laughing. "I remember when Atrus visited Channelwood once: one of the indigenous people found his Myst book and dropped it into the water. I've never seen him so hysterical (I was with him): he dove into the water frantically trying to find it, before he gave up and climbed back onto the boardwalk. It was only then that I showed him I had a Myst book as well."
"I've never seen Atrus like that," I said with a grin. "Where is Atrus, by the way?"
"Oh, he's away in Releeshahn," said Catherine. "He decided to check on how Agaeris has been doing lately. He'll be back soon, if all has gone well. Oh, Agaeris is coming back as well. Atrus has told him all about you and he's dying to meet you."
"Shouldn't one of them stay to keep an eye on things?" I asked. "Atrus has had surprisingly bad luck with security in his life."
"No, not if Atrus believes Agaeris has brought the D'ni to a stable level," replied Catherine. "Surely you wish to see him again?"
"Of course I do," I said. "The last I saw him was when I went to Whiterock."
"Atrus didn't expect you to be gone two whole months," said Catherine. "He was worried the Shirnao had done something with you. He was almost at the point of going there himself to find you."
"I just got very engrossed with the Age," I said.
"Well, feel free to have a look around Atrus' study," Catherine said. "I was cleaning it up for his return but I do now feel there's no point: as soon as he gets back he and Agaeris will have it a complete mess again."
"Thank you," I said. "I'd like to have a look at what he's been up to recently."
"The usual, really," said Catherine. "I'm sure he won't mind if you read his journals."
"Thank you, Catherine," I said, and smiled at her. I walked past her, across the cobblestone floor, and opened the door she had come through.
When I walked through the doorway and shut the door, I found myself in Atrus' study. This room was larger than the one I had just come out of. It would have been rectangular but for the fact that the ends were round.
At the right end of the room, the place I had just come in at, there was a wooden desk cluttered with objects such as picture frames, paper, ink bottles, pens, and books. There was one picture frame which showed a small portrait of Catherine cradling their daughter Yeesha, when she was only a baby. There was another frame that opened outward to show two photos. On the left side there was a picture of a man with a thin face, very short hair, and a thin black moustache and goatee. The one on the right had a broader face and longer hair, and a thick moustache and beard. I had seen these people before. The thin man was Sirrus, and the burly one Achenar. They were both smiling innocently like two ordinary brothers, but they both became greedy and cruel villains. There was also a third picture frame which contained a portrait of a man with an average sized face, a very thin blonde beard, and medium-length blonde hair. This was Agaeris.
At the left end of the room there was a large glass sphere held in place by a gold stand shaped to the likeness of some creeping plant. Inside this sphere there was a single burgundy red book. It was locked heavily with a very strange lock: there were two metal strips which stretched from near the open side of the book, around the spine, and then one vertical strip which wrapped around the book's other sides, joining the others. In the middle of the open side there was a thick strip of metal which wrapped around to the other side. This part had a keyhole in it. In the middle of the book there was one word emblazoned in gold: Releeshahn. It was Atrus' pride and joy, and the last hope for the D'ni.
Behind the desk, I noticed, in the wall, there was a gold stand holding a black book with pale green corners and spine. On the cover gold ink spelled the word 'Fahsehv'. Presumably this was Atrus' newest Age. I did wish to explore it, but knew to wait for Atrus' approval first.
'Well, just a look can't do any harm,' I thought then. 'I won't go to it, I'll just open it up and have a look at the picture.
I reached for the bottom corner of the thick black book and was about to lift the cover, when a hand thumped down on my left shoulder.
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Uh-oh, who's that? If you're reviewing, guesses are welcome. Please review, I really appreciate feedback. I'll keep writing soon.
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I stood in the middle of a stone floor, in a circle of yellowish stones amongst a floor of grey ones. The room I was in was not very large; only about six paces from end to end. It was square in shape. At each corner there stood a green hedge-like plant which stretched to the roof. The roof was made of many panes of stained green and yellow glass.
On both my right side and ahead of me the walls were mostly filled by a doorway with a rounded top. There were two doors in each, made of turquoise glass. There were metal bars entwining through them like vines, and there were two gold door handles on each one.
On my left side and behind me there were no walls; the space was taken up by a glassless window. There was a metal railing at the bottom of the window. Outside, massive plains of orange-tinted land stretched out to mountains of the same colour. Green trees dotted the landscape. This was the Age of Tomahna.
In any circumstances most probably, you would have thought this an extraordinary room to be in. But it was quite familiar to me. I had stood in this very room eighteen years ago. It was that day that my good friend Atrus was robbed of the one smidgen of hope he had left: Releeshahn. It was an Age he had written for the D'ni to rehabilitate themselves in. A man named Saavedro had broken in and stolen it, out of want for vengeance on Atrus for what his sons, Sirrus and Achenar, had done to him. I had rescued Releeshahn from Saavedro and also managed to return misunderstanding Saavedro to his wife and children.
This room I was in was the house of Atrus, his wife Catherine, his daughter Yeesha, and his sixteen year old son, Agaeris. I had never met Agaeris, for he had always been very busy when I returned to Tomahna from my journeys through Atrus' Ages, and whenever he had had spare time, I was away. Agaeris had spent most of his years in Releeshahn, leading the D'ni in rebuilding their civilization.
At the age of two, Atrus had taken Agaeris to Releeshahn and placed him in the care of his most trusted friend. He was not a negligible father, and visited Agaeris very often with Catherine. He merely wanted Agaeris in Releeshahn until he was old enough to look out for himself. At age fourteen, Agaeris was allowed free in and out of Releeshahn, but in the two years I had never met him.
I realized that when I entered I had not shut the door to my right when I came in behind me, so I did so with a loud clunk. I saw someone's silhouette moving behind the door in front of me.
The door there opened. An attractive woman entered the room. She had a long plait of shining black hair which hung to the flat of her back. The locks of hair at the front of the sides of her head was braided and hung to her chest. Her features and skin colour suggested that she was Oriental in blood. Her shirt was tight and dark red with white sleeves. She also wore a long, brown skirt, and gold-brown fabric tightly around her waist.
"Who's there?" she called, When she caught sight of me she smiled and approached me.
"You've come back," she said happily. "It is good to see you. How was Whiterock?"
"Very interesting," I replied, handing over a spare Tomahna Linking book from my pocket. "I had a bit of trouble with the people at first, but then I showed them Atrus' book and their attitude changed dramatically."
"Yes, well, the Shirnao are slightly suspicious of strangers," she said, placing the Linking book on a bench by one of the windows.
"I was writing a journal, but one of them tried to catch a solasting on my backpack, knocked it open, and the book fell into the ocean. I found it, but it wasn't very good any more."
I extracted a smaller book from my pocket, the cover warped from wetness and opened it. The pages were all wrinkled and the green ink had blended into them or smudged beyond reading ability.
"I see," said Catherine, laughing. "I remember when Atrus visited Channelwood once: one of the indigenous people found his Myst book and dropped it into the water. I've never seen him so hysterical (I was with him): he dove into the water frantically trying to find it, before he gave up and climbed back onto the boardwalk. It was only then that I showed him I had a Myst book as well."
"I've never seen Atrus like that," I said with a grin. "Where is Atrus, by the way?"
"Oh, he's away in Releeshahn," said Catherine. "He decided to check on how Agaeris has been doing lately. He'll be back soon, if all has gone well. Oh, Agaeris is coming back as well. Atrus has told him all about you and he's dying to meet you."
"Shouldn't one of them stay to keep an eye on things?" I asked. "Atrus has had surprisingly bad luck with security in his life."
"No, not if Atrus believes Agaeris has brought the D'ni to a stable level," replied Catherine. "Surely you wish to see him again?"
"Of course I do," I said. "The last I saw him was when I went to Whiterock."
"Atrus didn't expect you to be gone two whole months," said Catherine. "He was worried the Shirnao had done something with you. He was almost at the point of going there himself to find you."
"I just got very engrossed with the Age," I said.
"Well, feel free to have a look around Atrus' study," Catherine said. "I was cleaning it up for his return but I do now feel there's no point: as soon as he gets back he and Agaeris will have it a complete mess again."
"Thank you," I said. "I'd like to have a look at what he's been up to recently."
"The usual, really," said Catherine. "I'm sure he won't mind if you read his journals."
"Thank you, Catherine," I said, and smiled at her. I walked past her, across the cobblestone floor, and opened the door she had come through.
When I walked through the doorway and shut the door, I found myself in Atrus' study. This room was larger than the one I had just come out of. It would have been rectangular but for the fact that the ends were round.
At the right end of the room, the place I had just come in at, there was a wooden desk cluttered with objects such as picture frames, paper, ink bottles, pens, and books. There was one picture frame which showed a small portrait of Catherine cradling their daughter Yeesha, when she was only a baby. There was another frame that opened outward to show two photos. On the left side there was a picture of a man with a thin face, very short hair, and a thin black moustache and goatee. The one on the right had a broader face and longer hair, and a thick moustache and beard. I had seen these people before. The thin man was Sirrus, and the burly one Achenar. They were both smiling innocently like two ordinary brothers, but they both became greedy and cruel villains. There was also a third picture frame which contained a portrait of a man with an average sized face, a very thin blonde beard, and medium-length blonde hair. This was Agaeris.
At the left end of the room there was a large glass sphere held in place by a gold stand shaped to the likeness of some creeping plant. Inside this sphere there was a single burgundy red book. It was locked heavily with a very strange lock: there were two metal strips which stretched from near the open side of the book, around the spine, and then one vertical strip which wrapped around the book's other sides, joining the others. In the middle of the open side there was a thick strip of metal which wrapped around to the other side. This part had a keyhole in it. In the middle of the book there was one word emblazoned in gold: Releeshahn. It was Atrus' pride and joy, and the last hope for the D'ni.
Behind the desk, I noticed, in the wall, there was a gold stand holding a black book with pale green corners and spine. On the cover gold ink spelled the word 'Fahsehv'. Presumably this was Atrus' newest Age. I did wish to explore it, but knew to wait for Atrus' approval first.
'Well, just a look can't do any harm,' I thought then. 'I won't go to it, I'll just open it up and have a look at the picture.
I reached for the bottom corner of the thick black book and was about to lift the cover, when a hand thumped down on my left shoulder.
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Uh-oh, who's that? If you're reviewing, guesses are welcome. Please review, I really appreciate feedback. I'll keep writing soon.