7 – Stone

It wasn't entirely clear to the strangers what the function of the large submersible vehicle was, but they guessed that it was important.

The logic behind this guess was mostly predicated upon the young woman who had just come down the stairs in front of them, looking flustered and swearing quite loudly at the sight of the blown-up submersible. She appeared to be completely oblivious of the five strangers standing only a few feet from her.

"Oh god, what happened? This is terrible! How are we…" The woman carried on like this for several more sentences, leaving the five strangers to simply stand there awkwardly (the woman was blocking the stairs) before she finally seemed to register their presence.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me – I've seen your faces so often in Dream that I forget that you're still strangers here."

Jordan waved away the apology. "So, uh, what's this thing for?"

"Oh, right… um… you've been inside the Memory Chamber, right?" They nodded. "The lights on the walls, the colourful lights – they're the memories of our people. We use the memory globes to preserve the memories of our ancestors, so that we can still stay in contact with them after they die. But the globes only grow deep underwater, and we use the Harvester to collect them. So if I can't fix it…" She bit her tongue. "I'll check out how bad the damage is." She started off down the path towards the Memory Chamber, but pasued and turned back to the five strangers.

"Oh – I was supposed to tell you… a few of my sisters have gathered in the Hall of Spirits to dream. If you go there after they wake, you might be able to learn more about what's happened to Yeesha. And, uh, good luck." She scurried off down the path, leaving Jordan, Rachel, Maddy, Brittany and Jane to return to the bench in the central square.

"I really don't get this place," sighed Rachel. "They store memories? How does that work?"

"Dunno. But have you noticed how they talk about death like it's… nothing? Just something that happens?"

"I suppose that for people that can remain in contact with their family even after they die, it isn't really a big deal. But you saw how worried that Protector was when she realised that they might not be able to farm any – what was it? Globes, or something."

"Very philosophical, Britt, but that hardly matters right now," said Maddy. "I think we ought to go to this Hall of Spirits. It could be useful."

"Sounds good to me," said Jordan. "I'd guess that that," he pointed at the massive stone building across the plaza from them, "is the Hall of Spirits. And if it isn't, I'm sure that someone in there can point us in the right direction."

Together, they trooped across the courtyard to the stone building. Slowly, still cautious despite the generally warm welcome they had gotten from this age so far, they climbed the steps and went inside.

"Um…"

Three women were seated inside the chamber – at least, they assumed they were women. They were completely motionless, and were wearing very bizarre masks that were slightly terrifying. They did not seem to have registered the presence of the five strangers at all.

"Maybe we should come back later," muttered Jordan. Even as he said it, however, the mask on the woman seated directly in front of them snapped back and vanished into thin air. The woman opened her eyes and looked up at the five of them watching her. She smiled warmly.

"Do not be afraid – my sisters and I can speak with you now." The woman stood up. She was tall – taller than either of the other women they'd seen so far – and had a deep red stripe painted down from her forehead to the bridge of her nose.

"Anya told us you needed help. So, while you explored this… shall we say physical manifestation of Serenia, we travelled to her mirror realm."

"Mirror realm?"

"Yes. A world in which our ancestors have great power. We call it 'Dream'."

It seemed to become oddly cold in the Hall of Spirits all of a sudden. All five strangers shivered, but the woman did not seem to notice.

"We asked the Ancestors to show us what happened to Yeesha… but what they told us made little sense. We believe this means the message is intended for you." The woman's expression now became steely. "This disturbed us, as it means that one of you will need to travel to Dream. And you must never travel to Dream without a spirit guide."

"Oh…" Jane said almost inadvertently, feeling like she suddenly understood a lot more.

"Now normally, finding the guide that is best suited to your true nature takes some time."

"How long?"

"Several months." Both Brittany and Jane made protesting noises. "But we do not have several months. So we will help find your guide."

A small stone table rose from the floor of the room, and the woman placed a woven cloth onto it. Above the cloth, a churning ball of water appeared, edged by flame and wisps of blueish wind. The ball settled down onto the cloth, spreading into a large circle on the cloth. The woman nodded and looked up at the strangers, surveying them each individually. Then she pointed at Jane.

"You, my dear. I think you would be best suited for this."

"What? No!" exclaimed Rachel. "She's far too young to -"

"I am not -"

"Younger people have more open minds," said the woman calmly. "They are more able to learn to dream, readily and easily. Older people are less like that. They have more difficulty. All Serenians learn to dream during their childhood."

"But -"

"Rach," said Brittany, "calm down." She turned to the woman. "Are there risks associated with dreaming? Is it… dangerous?"

"Only if done without a guide," replied the woman. "So long as you have a guide, it's quite safe."

"I want to do it," said Jane. Rachel looked to Jordan, then Maddy, then sighed.

"Well… I suppose if it's safe…"

"Good," said the woman. "Simply touch the cloth so we can determine which guide you will need to seek." She sat back down, and the mask reappeared around her head.

"All right, Jane," said Brittany. Jane stepped forward and cautiously touched the cloth.

There was a hiss, and the water that had been covering the cloth vanished. Jane removed her hand – there was a vivid imprint of her palm on the cloth, with several lines glowing different colours along its surface. After a second, the lines settled onto a very pale blue colour.

There was a snap as the mask on the woman sitting to their right opened and vanished. She stood up and approached them, smiling.

"The weave of your actions has spoken, my dear," she said to Jane. "Attracted by challenge and diversity, moving swiftly to the heart of the matter, but willing to take time to understand it when necessary – you are a child of wind. You must seek the Wind Guide to accompany you. Go to the forest, and seek him in the glades where the pollen seeds cluster. The mark you bear in you will gain his attention. Be carrying the offering that most pleases his senses, and he should agree to accompany you to Dream. There is only one such offering."

The woman bent over and picked up the cloth from the table, passing it to Jane. "This cloth is yours to keep. Do with it as you will. When you have successfully attracted the Wind Guide, proceed to the Memory Chamber. Zanika," the woman indicated the other woman who had spoken to them earlier, "will be waiting for you there. Good luck."

She sat back down, and the mask closed back over her face, leaving the five strangers to troop back down to the stone courtyard.

Jane examined the cloth in her hands. The handprint on it was as distinct as ever, and several lines on it were highlighted in a glowing cyan colour. There was a faint but distinct whistling of wind eminating from it. She gave the cloth to Rachel, who folded it carefully and put it away in her satchel.

"So… we have to – you have to – find this… Wind Guide?" said Rachel to Jane.

"I suppose so," replied Jane. "You remember that water spout thing we saw earlier? I think that was a Water Guide."

"So, if the Water Guide is a manifestation of water," said Jordan, "I suppose the Wind Guide is some sort of manifestation of wind."

They sat down in the bench they had been frequenting, still talking. They were so deep in conversation that they were rather startled when they were interrupted.

"She will be all right, won't she?"

The five of them turned to face the source of the new voice. Anya was standing near the water, with a large bowl of what looked like seeds or bread crumbs in her hand, throwing small handfuls of them out over the water. Small butterfly-like creatures drifted down from the air to feed on the seeds.

"I mean," continued Anya, turning to face the strangers, "you won't stop looking until you find her?"

There was genuine concern in Anya's face. All five strangers were touched by the concern that Anya – someone not related to Yeesha in any way – was showing for the girl. Rachel nodded.

Anya managed a small smile. "Yeesha used to come here every morning when she stayed with us. She'd spend hours feeding the butterflies." Anya paused, offering the bowl to Jane, who took it hesitantly and threw some seeds out. "She appreciated them more than anyone else in her family, I think." The Protector gave the strangers a pointed look. "Including Sirrus and Achenar."

All five of the strangers tensed noticeably at the mention of Atrus' sons.

"Sirrus and Achenar… have visited you?" said Brittany slowly.

"Visited, yes. Stayed here for several weeks, when they were younger. I wasn't a Protector at the time, but I'm told they were less interested in natural beauty and more in the Memory Chamber and our funeral rites… as if death were something to be feared." For a second, an odd look flitted over Anya's face when she said this, but she dispelled it quickly, and spoke seriously again.

"Which one of you will be going to Dream?"

At this stage, the strangers were barely surprised that Anya knew about their upcoming voyage to Dream – indeed, what surprised them more was that she didn't know which of them would be going.

"Me," said Jane after a pause, handing Anya back the bowl of seed.

Anya smiled – a proper smile this time. "Good. I suggest you make a start on locating your guide. The sooner this is all over, the better."


Yes… yes, it's the only way. Can't let him… can't let him do it. Only way to stop him from doing it… is to take the stone. Take the stone… it'll kill the flower. Throw the entire age into chaos… but it'll stop him.

That's what matters.


Jane cursed as a gust of wind whipped through the clearing and the seed in her hands disintegrated yet again. Rachel told her off for her language, and they trooped back to the tree.

This was about her fifth attempt at this, which was proving more difficult than she thought it would. On the second try, she'd managed to get to right in front of what they had worked out was the Wind Guide before the seed fell apart. That had set them back, as the Guide then relocated to a different glade and they had to go find him again.

Jane held out her hand and caught another seed. Moving slowly and deliberately, she cupped her other hand over the seed to shield it from the wind, then started off down the path. She took such small steps and turned so slowly that it seemed like a very long way to the glade, when in reality it was not that far.

She turned. The Wind Guide hovered before her, taking the form of a small tornado with small ornate eyes towards the top of it. Dust whipped around the base of the tornado, but Jane did not feel any actual breeze. She opened her hands and held out the seed.

The world seemed to hesitate, then the seed was lifted from her hands. It was carried by an unseen hand up to the tornado, where it suddenly vanished in a shower of sparks. The Guide looked at Jane for another second, before vanishing as well.

Jane turned to Rachel. "I think it worked."

"Awesome. Come on, let's find the others."

As they emerged from the stone forest, they did indeed find the others, who were hurrying towards them from the direction of the Memory Chamber.

"We've done it," said Jane.

"Cool," said Brittany. "Listen, we've just run into Achenar."

Rachel and Jane blinked. "What?"

"He was coming out of some underground chamber. He was carrying this big stone with a lot of holes in it. He said he was just taking it for a while, to stop Sirrus."

"He said," continued Maddy, "that Sirrus had kidnapped Yeesha. And he said not to let Atrus come here."

"He told us to find his journal in the forest," finished Jordan, "which will apparently explain everything. We were just going to look for it."

"Let's do that later," said Rachel. "For now, Jane's ready to go to Dream – I think we need to get down to the Memory Chamber."


A/N: Just a few quick notes. First, I must once again apologise for the delay in uploads. Rest assured, I will not be abandoning this story; I've been busy with other things as well as a few stories for other fandoms.

Second, I've also decided that I will not be writing a Strangers in Paradise story for Myst V. The time gap between Myst IV and Myst V would be prohibitive - while it's been established that the Grower can link through time, and would presumably be capable of linking others through time, I just feel that any way of getting my five characters to jump ahead in time by 200 years would feel a little too much like deus ex machina, and given how old Yeesha and Atrus appear in Myst V, I can't have it set at the same time. As such, I am not currently planning another Myst-based Strangers in Paradise story after this one, although I did have the idea in the back of my head about possibly writing one surrounding Atrus telling my characters about the history of D'ni and his family history (as in, adaptations of the Book of Ti'ana and the Book of Atrus). I would like to get some feedback on this idea.

That brings me to my third point - I am currently planning on writing a Strangers in Paradise story for Cyan's upcoming game, Obduction, when it is eventually released. Whether this will tie in with the Myst stories or whether it will be completely separate from them is something I haven't worked out yet.

In the meantime - enjoy!