Yay! Edanna! The Age of Nature! This is one of my Top 5 Ages of Myst Lore. I kept expecting to hear the famous Tarzan yell and see him come swinging through the trees. I would definitely love to build a tree house in Edanna.
There's a question for you, my readers : which Age would you like to live on?
Her vision cleared and she saw she was standing on ledge. Gaps in the tree revealed the ocean outside. She moved carefully toward one of the gaps and saw that she was at the top of the massive inverted tree. The sun was blazing overhead and a salty breeze was blowing.
All in all not a completely horrible place.
The walls of the place were white, bleached by the sun. They looked uncomfortably like they were made of bone. Walking along the ledge got her to a tall plant with leaves leading upward like a staircase. Melody tested one of the leaves and found it to be surprisingly strong. Stepping carefully, she climbed to the top of the plant which was beside another ledge.
She was now at the very top of the tree-like structure facing a small alcove in the wall. A large mound of vegetation spilled out of the alcove. A nest? What would need a nest that large?
A loud, strange animal cry made her jump three feet. Pressing back against the wall, Melody watched open-mouthed as a large bird flew into view. It was very beautiful. It looked like a giant blue bird, with bright blue feathers, an orange stomach, long golden legs and large shiny black eyes. It had some kind of fruit in its mouth, which it leaned over and fed to a baby the size of a small dog. The baby was like a smaller version of its mother. Melody watched the scene with a smile. And if the birds ate fruit she didn't need to worry about becoming dinner. She could see two other eggs inside the nest. Melody wondered where the bird's mate was. Had it died or was it further down in the jungle?
Speaking of which, Melody thought looking around, that was where she needed to go.
The ledge led around and through a natural archway in the wall. Melody followed it around and upward to another of the tall, stair-like plant, but this one led downward. Next to the stair-plant was a wooden shelf with a book on it. The cover of the book said 'J'nanin'.
Melody frowned. Well it was a good thing she didn't have to hunt for it, but she couldn't head back until she found the symbol.
The thought made her pause. How was she supposed to know what this symbol looked like? Was it painted on one of the walls? The shape of a certain plant? Written on a piece of paper and hidden inside a complicated lock that she was going to tear her hair out trying to solve?
With that happy thought, she climbed down the plant toward the jungle below.
At the bottom the sun was blocked because of the plants so she could see better that before. Off to the side she spotted something glowing. Approaching carefully, Melody saw a large bowl-shaped plant filled with water, inside was what looked like a stingray swimming in slow lazy circles. The roots of another plant trailed in the water. The stingray swam to the roots and nibbled on them, sending an electric jolt up the plant. The top of the plant, which looked like a giant dandelion, shook and sent pollen flakes floating down into the water below. The stingray ate them hungrily.
Melody watched the whole thing in fascination. A contained eco-system separate, yet still a part of everything around it. Atrus would freak if he saw this, Melody thought. Hard on that thought came the reminder that Atrus had been the one to write Edanna so he more than likely already knew about it… She still couldn't wait to tell him about it.
Beneath the bowl-shaped plant was a thick vine that ran downward. Melody followed it and saw that it led to another bowl-shaped plant. A large bulb-like plant was attached to the vine over the bowl. Pulling on the bulb, Melody heard a gushing sound. Stepping back she watched as the bulb filled with water and the glowing stingray. Seemingly annoyed, the stingray sent a shock through the bulb, popping it and falling into the bowl. It swam around in quick, tight circles. Melody jumped back as it splashed her.
"Hey! Okay I get it! I'm sorry dude," Melody told the stingray. "I won't mess with any more bulbs."
Seemingly satisfied now that it had gotten her wet, the stingray went back to nibbling on roots.
Shaking her arms to throw off the water, Melody noticed a piece of paper lying on the ground. She stared at it for a moment suspiciously. It couldn't possibly be that easy could it? Moving slowly, looking around for any triggers for a booby trap, Melody reached down and picked up the paper. It was another page of Saveedro's journal!
I have desecrated the poem he placed in the columns. I could no longer stand to see Narayan's artistry in his worlds. I think I can do something with sap to cover the second one, but I'm not sure what to do about the island. I don't know how to alter the current.
Perhaps if I bring in some of the unusual floating stone from Amateria? Something about the molecular composition of the rock in that Age causes it to attract and repel other stone quite forcefully. Maybe if I introduce some of it to the soil on the island, it will interfere just enough to damage the last poem. I will have to conduct some experiments.
Melody read the page a couple of times, trying to make sense of it. Island? Poems? Floating rock? Amateria? What was Saveedro talking about? Amateria, was that another of the lesson Ages? Was Saveedro talking about altering this Age? Probably not, as this didn't seem like an island so much as a giant tree. So if Amateria was another lesson Age and Edanna was the Age she was currently in, Saveedro must have been talking about alterations to the third lesson Age. A floating island? Well that was certainly going to be interesting.
She came to a cliff. Looking down she saw more jungle below. The path continued on the other side of a gap that was just wide enough that she would have to jump. Since she really didn't feel like jumping to her very possible doom, Melody looked around for another was across the gap. She found it in an old fallen log. It creaked so she sprinted across as fast as she could, her feet barely touching the log.
On the other side she went through a log tunnel with glowing blue mushrooms on the walls. At the end of the tunnel the path ended at another cliff. A yellow glow came from inside a plant hanging near the cliff. A long twisting vine trailed from the bottom of the plant. Curious, Melody gave the vine a tug. The leaves around the glow peeled away to reveal the glowing center of the plant. The instant the light hit the rolled up leaf across the way, the giant leaf uncurled to form a bridge across the gap.
Melody grinned. This Age wasn't that hard to figure out.
She had barely crossed the gap when a loud panicked cry filled the air. Melody's head snapped upward. That sounded like the mother bird! Was she in trouble? Melody hurried along the cliff until it ended again at a gap. Thankfully there was a thick heavy vine that she could grab. Feeling like Tarzan, she swung across to the other side. Racing along the path through another log tunnel she came to a large plant that was moving and jerking. The plant looked remarkable like a larger version of the carnivorous plant on Saveedro's desk in J'nanin.
Approaching it carefully, Melody gasped as a head appeared at the small opening. The mother bird was trapped inside the large plant. Grabbing the lid, Melody tried to force it open but it stayed stubbornly in place. She had to get the mother out of there before she died!
Looking around for anything she could use Melody noticed the roots led downward to a large bowl-plant. She remembered the experiment in J'nanin with electricity and the plant roots…
The stingray! If she could get the stingray down there to shock the roots, the carnivorous plant would open and free the mother bird.
The bird cried helplessly. "Don't worry," Melody told her. "I'll get you out of there, I promise."
Following the path down and around, she found herself on a lower level. Leave it to Atrus to write an Age where the jungles had levels like an apartment building. Something on the wall caught her eye and she pulled up short.
On the wall of the tree was a massive painting. She could tell by the style that Saveedro had done it. She studied it, trying to make sense of the story it told.
Two men stood together before a crowd holding books. They looked like they were preaching. She recognized them as Sirrus and Achenar. While some of the faces in the crowd looked interested in what they were saying, other faces looked angry. One man in particular, standing away from the crowd looked worried. Could that be Saveedro?
It was a painting about Sirrus and Achenar's first visit to Narayan. This must be where they were causing dissention among Narayan's people, which had led to the war that Saveedro had described in his journal.
Melody turned away abruptly. She didn't have time to think about this. She needed to save the mother bird.
After a lot of climbing she finally reached the bowl plant. Thankfully a bulb was hanging just above the bowl. Melody looked upward. She could see the faint glow of the stingray high above her.
"Sorry dude," she called and pulled on the bulb. Jumping back out of range, she watched as the water poured down the vine and into the bulb, a very annoyed stingray along with it. An instant after entering the bulb the stingray shocked and burst the bulb, landing in the bowl.
Melody laughed as it tried to splash her again. "Last time I promise."
After splashing a couple of times, the stingray began chowing down on the roots in annoyance. Melody looked upward and watched as the electric shocks went up the vines. The carnivorous plant jerked a couple of times before opening. The mother bird shot out of the plant like a blue bullet, flying high into the air toward her nest.
"You're welcome!" Melody shouted with a smile, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Rubbing her hands together, she looked around wondering what she was supposed to do now.
She spotted something off to the side and did a double take. What in the…? That couldn't possibly be a…? Melody went toward it shaking her head. A computer screen in the middle of the weirdest jungle ever? She shrugged. Why not? She had seen stranger things in Atrus' Ages before.
There was a button beneath the screen. She pushed it and waited. Saveedro's face came into view.
"What's the matter Atrus? Can't remember how things work? Yet you explained this class so well when we spoke of it in Narayan. 'I want Sirrus and Achenar to learn everything they can Saveedro. First from Edanna, Voltaic, Amateria and finally Narayan. When my boys come to see your people I want them to see Narayan's traditions at work and see how a civilization can balance an Age.'… Do you know what they did when they finally came to us?" Saveedro asked quietly, the fury written clearly on his face. "You never came back… After class was over, you took your boys away and you never came back… Sirrus and Achenar did…"
The message faded and the screen went black.
Melody stood motionless, a worried frown on her face. Atrus had meant well, Saveedro seemed to know that, but at the same time he seemed to blame Atrus for not returning. He didn't know that by the time Sirrus and Achenar had returned, Atrus had been trapped in D'ni by his sons.
If there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that she had to make sure Saveedro did not go after Atrus once he realized that she had followed him instead. Atrus had already been through so much, he didn't need any more guilt. She had to take care of this for him. She would do everything she could to help her dear friends, who had now become her family. She wouldn't let Saveedro's bitter mis-placed revenge make Atrus and Catherine suffer.
If only Sirrus and Achenar were still alive. She would have handed them over to Saveedro willingly on a silver platter.
It was several hours later that Melody pushed her hair out of her face in frustration. The humidity was turning her hair into a heavy wet mess. She had been searching for the symbol for what felt like years. She didn't even know what it looked like. She could have seen it several times already and not realized it.
She had managed to find another piece of Saveedro's journal.
The book sits on the floor of the tusk, its swirling panel reaching out tentacle-like arms to grab me. I want to close my eyes, to shut out these false illusions before they suck me into the fog. I do not want those swirling arms to touch me.
Why? Why am I so afraid of his book?
I want to remember. I must… I think…
I think this man may have come to our village. But he was younger then. Dark haired. Tall. Wearing those same strange flowing brown robes. He carried a book in his hands then too and he's always using it. Always writing down notes. His eyes are covered by thick glasses, but his face is warm and friendly. He tells me his name. He says it's Atrus.
I remember now. His name is Atrus.
Atrus says he's come to our village from a faraway place because he wanted to learn about the Tree. He says he'll only stay a while. He doesn't want to stop our endless labors. He says he wants to help, if we will let him.
Oh Tamra, why did we let him?
Keep writing Saveedro. Write everything down.
This Atrus stayed with us for months. I taught him how to trim the delicate Lattice roots. How to splice old and new roots together so the walls of our houses will grow strong. I tell him the traditions of the Weave. How by using the spores to support the branches, we keep the Lattice Tree alive. He wants to learn everything I know. He wants Narayan to survive.
I take him to the rift, where the sea flows through gaps in the world. Steam flows up from the waterfall. The puffer spores are ready to take flight. We stand in the shadows of dusk and watch the spores begin to rise. He says they look like pearls against the sky. Then he points to one of the spores. It's smaller than the rest. Small enough to fit niche we'd woven into the branches that morning. Its skin is milky white. With just the faintest touch of pink.
That one, Atrus said. That one should support your new daughter's room perfectly, I think.
I remember I nodded. Then I raised my pipe and played. Atrus stood beside me, holding his breath as my song drew the hollow spore in close. As soon as it was near, he threw the net and dragged it in.
This is what I remembered.
This is why I said he could send me his sons.
The smile that Melody had while reading about Atrus and Saveedro's time together faded once she read the final line. Saveedro had trusted Atrus so much. But neither man had known just how evil Sirrus and Achenar would become. It was heartbreaking to read. Atrus had been devastated when he'd learned what his sons had done. He didn't know the half of it.
Melody wiped the sweat from her forehead and sat down on a log. She had finally reached the bottom level of the tree and was thrilled to find that it was a mucky, nasty, creepy swamp. She had seen enough giant bugs to start her own collection.
She felt something land on her shoulder. Her eyes moved slowly to the side and saw that it was a giant moth. And she knew it was a moth because it started to nibble on her shirt.
"Oh get lost!" she said in annoyance as she swiped at him to drive him away. Thankfully she hadn't seen any other giant animals that could make her run away screaming bloody murder, but she really didn't want to stick around see if she could find any. Honestly where the heck had Saveedro hidden the stupid symbol? She really didn't want to spend the night in this place. She just ignored the fact that the J'nanin linking book was several hours climb above her.
One thing that she had found that was really cool was a giant white flower. Actually there were two, but one had already opened and was wilting. The other was still closed. It was so large that Melody had looked carefully for a door just in case an elf or a fairy lived inside. With Atrus' ages, you never knew what you would find.
She walked up to the flower and knocked, just in case. When nothing happened she sighed and turned to continue her search.
A loud cry echoed overhead. Melody looked up to see the mother bird fly in and land on a branch above the closed flower.
"Oh, you again," Melody said, placing her hands on her hips. "What do you want?"
The bird cocked its head and made it's call again.
"Hey this isn't as easy as it looks," Melody protested, frowning at the bird who was looking at her with a bored expression. "I'm trying my best."
The bird raised a leg to scratch its head, seemingly unimpressed with her excuse.
"Well do you know where the symbol is?" Melody asked sarcastically. "If you're so smart, show it to me."
The bird called again, then leaned its head down to peck at the giant flower. It lifted its head and called again.
"Is it in there?" Melody asked, then shook her head. "I can't believe this. I'm talking to a bird."
The bird continued to sit and wait like it was expecting her to do something.
"Alright," she told it. "I'll see what I can do."
Examining the outside of the flower didn't reveal anything helpful, except there was a very large vine leading away from the flower. Melody followed it until she found a hole. It turned out the vine was hollow, like a tube leading to and from the flower. It was large enough for her to crawl through. It was a tight squeeze, but she made it and soon she was standing up inside the massive flower.
It smelled sickeningly sweet inside, like when you were trapped in an elevator with a woman wearing too much perfume. Waving a hand in front of her face, Melody looked for anything important.
A piece of paper caught her eye. Evidently she was on the right track if Saveedro had dropped part of his journal here. Melody had given up the idea that he had dropped them accidently. She had now decided that the journals pages were like Saveedro's trail of bread crumbs for Atrus, to keep him on the right path. Saveedro wanted Atrus to jump through all of his hopes, solve all of his puzzles and make it to the final Age for a huge confrontation.
Melody rolled her eyes. Why were bad guys always so dramatic?
She read the page:
The final painting to almost done. It's been hard to work in the heat, but he must see everything that happened. As he follows to instructions I have left him, he will feel the pain I have suffered.
If he doesn't perhaps both of us will die.
Short and to the point for once. It was obvious the Saveedro had suffered a lot, but Melody was starting to get a little annoyed with him. Every journal entry was beginning to sound the same: Saveedro suffering, Saveedro messing up the Ages, Saveedro hating Atrus, Saveedro hating Sirrus and Achenar. Did he really do nothing else with his time all these years?
There were several large purple fruit growing in the center, the stems curving upward into a structure that looking almost like a cage. Melody slipped inside the cage and saw where stamen of the flower went to the top where the petals met. Grabbing hold of the stamen, Melody gave it a hard yank. It took several tries, but finally the stamen broke and the petals fell away.
The bird called and swooped down. Before Melody could move, the bird had grabbed the top of the cage. Taking off, the bird flew through an opening in the side of the tree and Melody saw the ocean fly by underneath as the mother bird flew higher and higher. Melody squeezed her eyes shut and held on for dear life.
Why had she messed with it? Why did she always have to mess with things? One of these days she was going to kill herself by messing with something she shouldn't have. Had she learned nothing from a childhood of reading Curious George books?
The terrifying ride came to abrupt halt as the bird suddenly dropped the cage. It only fell a few feet before crashing, sending Melody tumbling out. Rubbing her head, Melody looked around to see she was at the top of the tree once again.
"No," she moaned and looked at the mother bird, who was tearing large pieces of the purple fruit to feed to her baby. "Stupid bird!" she ranted. "I'm back where I started! Do you know how long it's going to take me to get back down there?!"
The mother bird ignored her ranting and continued feeding her baby.
"Oh if you get stuck in another carnivorous plant I swear I am going to let you get eaten!"
Melody stopped her rant when she noticed something on the wall on the other side of the nest that she hadn't seen before. It looked like a drawing of a twisted vine with three leaves bunched on one end. It had been painted on the wall with black paint.
No… there was no way… she searched the whole tree and the symbol was… right… by… the nest…
Melody had heard of people seeing red when they were angry. She'd never known it was actually possible until that moment.
When she found Saveedro, she was going to kill him.
Trying to control her anger, Melody studied the symbol, committing it to memory. Then she turned and stomped toward the linking book.
The bird called to her.
"Shut up!" Melody shouted without stopping. "I don't want to hear anything from you!"
Back in J'nanin Melody went to Saveedro's study and drew the symbol on a piece of paper, still seething over her time in Edanna. Was she really that unobservant? Or was Saveedro that devious? It was probably quite a bit of both. If Trace were here, he would be laughing at her right now.
Melody paused. Trace. Where was he anyway? Why hadn't he and Atrus come after her by now? Had Saveedro somehow returned to Tomahna and kept them from following her? No, if he had done that she was sure he would have come there to stop her from getting the symbols by now. Unless he was just going to leave her wandering around Atrus' lesson Ages for the rest of her life.
Melody shook her head sharply. She really needed to quit it with the happy thoughts.
She rode the elevator up the observatory/projection room and placed the paper on the scanner. The machine scanned the paper and the golden egg-shaped cage rose from the hole. The projectors switched on, aiming at the ceiling. Saveedro's face appeared.
"Not so easy is it Atrus? Running around like a rat in a maze, looking for some sign that will help you save your people? Is it over here? Is it over there? Is it some place I can't find? Sirrus and Achenar didn't care about saving Narayan. All that talk about fixing instabilities and rewriting the Age so that we would be free to live our lives, that was just talk. To hide the truth of why they had come. But we believed their lies, Atrus. So we abandoned out traditions, forgetting that those traditions were keeping Narayan alive. And when the last tree started to die, I followed them here to tell them what they had done… and they laughed." Melody winced at the bitterness in Saveedro's voice. "They said that they would never fix Narayan. They said they had already taken everything it had worth saving." Saveedro's voice cracked and he looked like he was about to cry from the memory. He seemed to get a hold of himself. "And so, my dear old friend, I've brought you to this place where your education begins. Find the remaining two symbols… and come see what your boys did to Narayan."
The message faded.
Melody stared at the book inside the gold cage. The closer she got to going to Narayan, the more she didn't want to see what had become of it. From what she had seen of the other Ages that Sirrus and Achenar had ruined, she could only imagine what Narayan looked like. Was there still a way to save it?
Her first priority was getting Releeshan back. She would worry about everything else after she was sure the D'ni people were safe.
Told you this one would be longer. It was almost too long, but there wouldn't have been enough for a second chapter and I wanted to end each Age with part of the message from Saveedro. Hopefully this wasn't too long for you guys.
Care to guess which Age we're going to next?