Beneath

I awoke in pain and a stiffness of joints, the floor of the hut on Relto was not the best place to sleep. Such was my exhaustion and with the growing migraine from the heat in New Mexico I managed to make it into the hut upon my arrival in Relto and promptly fell asleep.

There is something about Relto I appreciate, perhaps its the sparse nature of the Age. It has a very desolate but rustic feel to it but there is an overwhelming sense of serenity here.
Unlike the Relto of my guide, mine contained a significant lack of Linking Books. The Book shelf was empty except for one Book bound in blue leather with a gold pattern stamped upon the spine. Taking it off of the shelf I looked upon the Linking Panel to see a view of what appears to be Bevin, one of the D’ni neighbourhoods. I had seen it before in photographs that had made their way up from the Cavern by other explorers.

Obtaining a KI must be my first priority, other explorers I had spoken too had recommended obtaining one straight away.

Leaving the hut I took a closer look at the “hydrants” outside and noticed that each hydrant contained a symbol that represented an Age, I had missed this during my first visit to Relto, the hydrants also contained the now familiar spiral hand symbol. I approached the hydrant that contained the Guild of Maintainers symbol, an ever watchful eye over a Book, and pressed the hand symbol. The base of the hydrant slid down to reveal a Linking Book to Gahreesen. I opened the other three hydrants to discover Books for Eder Gira, Kadish Tolesa, and Teledahn. Grouping them up I took them into the hut and placed them upon the shelf.

Before heading to Gahreesen I decided to lighten the load in my bag placing my spare clothing in the wardrobe, taking out my smaller shoulder bag to keep with me on my travels. As I was placing a few items on the second book shelf in the hut I discovered another leather bound book stamped with the same Yeesha monogram that I found on my Relto Book and is stamped upon the walls of the hut in this Age as well.

Teledahn

The truth of a man is found in the darkness, beneath the surface. Some light might reveal only what some men want to be seen.

Sayings of Regeltavok of Oorpah –
Book 9, Entry 221, Item 29

Gahreesen

The laws contrived by the proud are their security and their undoing. Such laws make disobedience a virtue, and obedience a sin.

Sayings of Regeltavok of Oorpah –
Book 12, Entry 32, Item 134

Kadish Tolesa

Only the way a man is when he is hidden, is how he is. A shallow glimpse can deceive. Look deep, ponder, and recognize all that is hidden.

Sayings of Regeltavok of Oorpah –
Book 9, Entry 221, Item 77

Eder Kemo and Eder Gira

When all is taken from one, the only hope that remains is what is given by another. Through this giving, both are
redeemed.

Sayings of Regeltavok of Oorpah –
Book 2, Entry 1,071, Item 54

Curious passages, I’m not yet sure how they relate to the Ages I now have in my collection but there must be a link otherwise why would Yeesha leave them here for me to discover?

I returned to that familiar well that encompasses the Link in area of Gahreesen, the warmth of the sun hitting me instantly. I walked the corridors of the Age, remembering which direction to take from my previous visit. My fingers brushing the different textures as I walked.
I had time to soak it in this time, unguided, I could dither if I pleased. I could almost see the D’ni Maintainers bustling back and forth along the long corridors going about their business.

I ducked into the first room, which appeared to be a storage area. Lockers adorned the walls filled with Books that I assume were confiscated by the Maintainers as people came to collect their KI devices. But there was other maintainer equipment strewn about as well, a helmet of sorts and several long spikes with the Maintainers seal upon the top. But most curious was a strange tablet placed in one of the open lockers. It was made of a pinkish white marble like stone with what looked like the same fabric used on the Journey Cloths covering the front. But the most surprising thing was the Linking panel upon the material…I strained my eyes to look at the little box and it seemed that it leads to D’ni judging by what looks like orange lake water in the distance.

How is this feasible? A Linking Book that isn’t a Book? What is this thing?
Unsure what to do I picked it up and placed it in my bag and took it with me as I felt it warranted further investigation.

I moved on to the next room which contained the KI dispenser. The dispenser was slightly alarming, you place your hand inside the device, and the mechanism places a KI around your hand, I was half worried it was going to take my hand off.

There was a part of me that yearned to stay within Gahreesen and continue exploring the structure. But too long had I wished to gaze upon D’ni properly, and I knew that had to be my first port of call.

After returning to Relto, I used the “Neighbourhood” Book. I arrived in a familiar location, whilst I had seen photos of this area actually being here was different. I spent perhaps an hour, maybe two walking around. I don’t know how many of those minutes I spent gazing out across the lake towards Ae’gura. Very quickly I noticed how shockingly quiet the neighborhood was, it was completely empty. The only sound I could hear was the gentle “whump-whump-whump” of the great fans circulating air in the cavern.

During my exploration I did discover what appears to be a Book room of sorts. Within were Linking Books to Gahreesen, Teledahn and what appeared to be Eder Kemo. However the most interesting Book was in the center of the room sat upon a pedestal which had moving cogs and a hand slot with the KI symbol upon it like the one in Gahreesen.

The Book took me to a small room with moving cogs, the so called Nexus. A hub which contains a great many books that can be accessed via a user interface which links with the KI. A quick browse through the interface showed that there were a selection of neighborhoods that could be visited, as well as Gahreesen and the Ferry Terminal in Ae’gura.

I selected the Ferry Terminal and Linked.

From the various documents I had read over the years regarding D’ni had left me with a mental image of the city that was akin to Rome or Greece, a city of classical architecture. But upon arrival I was shocked how different the reality of it was. The architecture is far different than I had envisioned, there is elements similar to the Art Deco movement of earth but a lot of it is just…different.
Kerath’s Arch is not composed of long fluted columns has my mental eye had formed, instead it is a huge slab of rock. In fact the documents do it a disservice, standing before it is a sight to behold indeed.

The terminal sits on the side of a large harbor area at the waters edge, everything is under lit with the orange glow of the lake. A staircase ascends the rock leading up to a DRC tent and to what is known as “the Great Stairs”. The staircase leads up to the Tokotah courtyard which is currently blocked off by the DRC. Half way up the stairs is a collapsed section of wall that leads to a tunnel, scrambling over some of the rubble I reached a doorway that was curtained off, but through the gap I could see a room with tables and chairs.
I returned back down to the Ferry Terminal to find a group of fellow explorers near the “Nexus Point”. As I approached I recognized a few familiar faces I had been in contact with on the surface. We stopped and spent most of the day talking. My visit in August was very solitary, aside from my guide of course. Meeting fellow explorers in the city was a pleasant change, it was nice to just chat and discuss D’ni society with them along with many other things.

Hearing them talk about what they’ve done and where they have been made one thing abundantly clear, I still have so much more to see.

[note:] DRC released a KI user manual, obtain a copy of it later.