Beneath - An Uru Explorers Journey Through D'ni and its Ages

The People of D’ni
Roughly ten thousand years ago, the people who have become known as the D’ni were known by another name and lived on another world. This group of people left their original home world because it would soon become uninhabitable. They wanted a chance to begin again.

They possessed a technology, known as The Art, which allowed them to travel to distant branches of what they called “the Great Tree of Possibilities” by carefully describing the place where they wanted to go in a special Book.

When this rather small group escaped from the destruction of their home world, the description of the place that they wanted to go brought them to a cavern deep below the surface of the Earth.

The Lake
The lake is the major light source in the D’ni cavern. The lake contains a special bioluminescent algae that provides this light. When the cavern was first re-discovered, the algae was dormant, giving almost no light at all. We have been attempting to revitalize the algae so it will provide more light. We have been successful in raising the light level slightly, but we’re still working on it. Historical accounts tell us that the algae before the Fall dimmed and brightened on a regular, thirty-hour cycle. Currently, the level of light given by the algae is constant. We believe that once the algae is back to full health that this cycle will return. However, there is no way to be certain of that at this time.

D’ni New Year – Leefo 1, April 21

First Feast of the Maker – Lenovoo 10, March 27 (Pre-earth celebration)

The Common Library Opened – Leefo 12, May 5

Second Feast of the Maker – Leebro 20, June 21 (Pre-earth celebration)

The Day of Dancing – Leetar 21, September 3

First Arrival of the Great King – Leevot 12, September 28

Third Feast of the Maker – Leevofo 18, November 11 (Pre-earth celebration)

Coronation of King Kerath – Leevofo 27, November 23

Note: The dates listed above are approximations. The D’ni calendar and our surface calendar (known as the Gregorian calendar) are not perfectly in synch, so any given D’ni date will shift slightly from year to year.

D’ni Timekeeping
The D’ni timekeeping system is very different than the system used on Earth’s surface. Below is an explanation of some of the major differences and terms.

The D’ni’s largest amount of time is an “hahr”. The “hahr” is roughly equivalent to one Earth year.

The D’ni “hahr” is divided into 10 equal segments called “vai-lee-tee”. One “vai-lee” is roughly equivalent to one Earth month.

A “vai-lee” is further divided into 29 “yahr-tee”. One “yahr” is equal to about 30 hours and 14 minutes of surface time. (1.26 Earth days) There are 290 “yahr-tee” in one “hahr.”

“Yahr-tee” are further divided into 5 equal segments called “gahr-tah-vo-tee”. One “gahr-tah-vo” is equal to about 6 hours and 3 minutes of surface time.

“Gahr-tah-vo-tee” can be further divided into 25 equal segments called “tah-vo-tee”. One “tah-vo” is equal to about 14.5 minutes of surface time.

“Tah-vo-tee” are further divided into 25 equal segments called “gor-ahn-tee”. One “gor-ahn” is equal to about 35 seconds of surface time.

“Gor-ahn-tee” are further divided into 25 equal segments called “pro-rahn-tee”. One “pro-rahn” is equal to about 1.5 seconds of surface time.

These charts provide the English equivalents for the D’ni digits from 0 – 24. After 24, the numbers continue like our own numbering system – placing digits to the left to represent higher powers of 25.

	Guild of Writers (black with dark red trim)
	Guild of Maintainers (burgundy)
	Guild of Ink-Makers (purple)
	Guild of Books (pale cream)
	Guild of Miners (royal blue)
	Guild of Surveyors (pale blue)
	Guild of Legislators (crimson)
	Guild of Messengers (yellow)
	Guild of Cartographers (turquoise)
	Guild of Caterers (emerald green)
	Guild of Healers (salmon)
	Guild of Mechanists (brown)
	Guild of Analysts (orange)
	Guild of Stone-Masons (pale green)
	Guild of Engineers (green-brown)
	Guild of Linguists (white)
	Guild of Archivists (gold)
	Guild of Chemists (lime green)

New Guild Color

Guild of Greeters (Green with Cyan trim)

The Art
The D’ni also referred repeatedly to what can best be translated as “the Art”. Similar to our understanding of skill and art, the D’ni “Art” was used to refer to a writer’s mastery of the Skill. It was also commonly used to describe the general ability of the D’ni to write these Books.

Great writers (only a few of whom have thus far been discovered) were said to have had mastered the Art. Early D’ni manuscripts seem to imply that the Art was reserved only for the D’ni bloodline, although lively D’ni debates have been documented regarding the subject.

Book
Books relating to “the Art” are highly regarded in D’ni culture. The Books themselves are special creations and the process for their construction is mostly unknown at this time. It is known that there were D’ni guilds for both creating the Books (the actual page material, and the binding process) and for creating the Ink used to write the Books.

Descriptive Book
When the D’ni created the original link to an Age, it was done through the writing of a Descriptive Book. This Book was written with all of the descriptions of the Age to which it would link. The Descriptive Book is the primary Book defining a particular Age. The Descriptive Book is a requirement to create the founding link to any Age.

The manuscripts state that the D’ni believed that when the writer of an Age describes the Age, the Age is not actually created, but a link is established to a preexisting Age that most closely represents what has been written. The D’ni believed that all Ages were actually created by the Maker, and that the D’ni were imbued with a gift from the Maker to create links to the Ages.

As far as D’ni manuscripts are concerned, Descriptive Books are always written in the D’ni language, and always have been. It is not at all clear whether or not other languages could be used. There is some question as to whether there is enough room in a single Book for other languages to describe worlds that the complex D’ni characters handle routinely.

Written contradictions in the Descriptive Books were a cause for great concern for the D’ni. From a young age, Guild students were taught to concern themselves with the details of what is described in a particular Descriptive Book, so as to avoid contradicting those details later on in the Book. Such contradictions could cause severe instabilities in an Age. D’ni culture is fraught with stories of contradictions discovered only after the preliminary scouts from the Maintainers Guild never returned. Such stories were used to impact young writers.

There are a few ancient manuscripts that document making changes to Descriptive Books and their associated Ages once the Ages had been visited. The procedure required meticulous attention to detail and was attempted by only the highest levels of writers. The problem seemed to lie in the synchronization of what was written in the Descriptive Book and what was actually observed on the Age itself. If changes were written into the Book that contradicted previously observed features of the Age, it was possible that the Descriptive Book would divert its link to an Age that more closely resembled the changes described. It would appear that the link to the “pre-diverted” Age would be lost, and it would be impossible to reestablish the original link.

At some point in their history, the D’ni seem to have banned the practice of altering Ages once they had been approved by the Guild of Maintainers. More recent manuscripts show that they were very opposed to the risks inherent in attempting to alter an Age.

There have been some restrictions discovered regarding writing bizarre Ages, Ages that would defy the laws of nature as the D’ni knew them. It seems this is to discourage Books that might create links to unstable Ages.

Restrictions have also been discovered concerning man-made objects written into an Age. It appears that some kind of initial experimentation by the D’ni was unsuccessful and unpredictable, and the restriction was established.

Linking Book
A Linking Book is simply written as a reference to a Descriptive Book. Although linking to an Age is possible through a Descriptive Book, it is often more convenient to write a Linking Book that refers to the Descriptive Book. The original Descriptive Book can then be protected, to be used for reference or changes at a later date. Multiple Linking Books can be written that all refer to, and perform the same as a single Descriptive Book. In D’ni culture the Linking Books were often much smaller than full Descriptive Books, which presumably allowed for greater portability and which preserved paper.

Linking Books are not used to create links to new Ages (see Descriptive Book). Linking Books are written rather easily and quickly using a common combination of paragraphs and descriptions which may refer to the original Descriptive Book. Linking Books link only to the place where the Linking Book was written in a particular Age. Thus, there is a chance that a Linking Book could be rendered useless if the Descriptive Book with which it was associated was changed in a way that significantly changed the place to where the Linking Book linked.

If a Descriptive Book is destroyed, all Linking Books associated with that Age are rendered useless.

Linking Books cannot be used to link directly from one point in an Age to another point in the same Age. D’ni manuscripts seem to imply that the act of linking actually requires some kind of dimensional transfer.

It is very likely that Atrus’ story could never have been told if Catherine had not provided such detailed accounts.

What is clearly known is that the people of Garternay knew that their homeworld was headed for destruction, and they were fortunate enough to have a means of escape… something they called ’The Art.’ Details of how they came to possess their knowledge of The Art were unfortunately lost amid the destruction of their homeworld, though there are several theories, which are out of the scope of this document.

The important thing to know about The Art is that it allowed them to create bridges or links to other Ages simply by writing a complex description of the Age to which they wished to link. This gave them access to a nearly infinite number of worlds with nearly an infinite amount of diversity. Within limits, an Age of almost any description that could be written already existed somewhere, just waiting to be linked to. It is what the Ronay called the ’Great Tree of Possibilities.’

So if your home planet is dying, but you have access to just about any world you want, it’s pretty easy to come to the conclusion that it’s time to rent some moving vans and change neighborhoods. So the people of Garternay (over a long period) dispersed to a number of different Ages. The vast majority of the people went to a luxurious planet (who wouldn’t?) that they named Terahnee (the New Tree), but many smaller groups went off to Ages of their own for a variety of reasons.

A great Writer named Ri´neref led one of those smaller groups. Ri´neref was discouraged by the abuse, as he saw it, of The Art on Garternay, so this was his chance to start a civilization of people who felt as he did. He didn’t write a link to a luxurious planet. He wrote a link to a large cavern deep underground. He called his Age D’ni (New Start).

We call it Earth.

Why a Cavern?
“Why did Ri’neref choose to write a link to an underground cavern, when he could just as easily have written a link to something more glamorous?”

This is a very common question from people when they learn the origins of the D’ni. The original motives of Ri’neref seem to point toward a few different reasons for choosing the cavern.

First, it seems that he desired that his people live in a simple, even at times, difficult place. He argued such circumstances could serve as a constant reminder of the fact that they had chosen to separate themselves from the beauty of Terahnee. It would be challenging in the cavern. Ri’neref fully believed that when life was difficult, people were forced to put their trust in their Maker, as there was nothing else that could comfort them. He strongly desired such a constant reminder in order to prevent the D’ni from following the many temptations, he argued, that they would face.

There were also practical reasons for his choice. After what had happened to Garternay, Ri’neref believed the cavern would offer a place that was protected from many natrual disasters and thus had reduced risk of destroying itself – as was happening to Garternay at the time.

Ri’neref seemed to also believe that too much comfort would breed a lack of appreciation. Knowing that the D’ni would be able to Write and visit an unlimited number of other Ages, he surmised that they would have a much greater appreciation for the wonders of those other places, if their home was a lowly cavern.

Though the site of D’ni seems a rather unpleasant place for a home, it’s extremely clear that, as time passed, most of the people fell in love with their cavern. During the later years of D’ni history, when the above reasons had little relevance to them anymore, very few of them moved elsewhere.

Early Earth
The new civilization in the D’ni cavern was growing nicely. Ri’neref was chosen as the first king of their new home. He set up a flexible Guild system very similar to the one that had been used on Garternay.

Things continued running along relatively smoothly for this growing, fledgling society until it was determined that the fresh-air surface ventilation caves that Ri’neref had written for the underground cavern would soon be inadequate for their growing numbers (some theorized that Ri’neref did this intentionally).

The Guild of Miners did not yet have the advances of more modern D’ni tunneling technology, but with a great deal of help from a large number of volunteers, wider, larger tunnels (but still small by today’s standards) to the surface were created, and great fans installed to circulate the cooler, fresh air from caverns closer to the surface.

There are remnants of guild discussions in some of the oldest documents that would lead one to believe that a number of D’ni disappeared during this expansion of the ventilation system. The discussions revolve around what action the guilds would take after finding that some of the people involved in the expansion project remained on the surface, unwillling to return to the cavern. However, all official historical accounts that have been found deny any contact with the surface.