Aer - Memories of Old, Part 1
As told by Auk
I’ve been thinking about ways that I might be able to tell stories on here even when I’m not ready with something in my own setting(s), and then my wandering mind happened across this idea. I like to play games for their stories, but plenty of storytelling in games is done with the visuals, the music, the interaction… so what if their stories were told without any of that? And in my years of streaming, I’ve finished dozens of games. So here we are: telling the tales of the many games I’ve played, as if they were, instead, short stories.
Any divergence from the main story is flavor based on my particular playthrough of the game. I’m glad I put all my playthroughs up on YouTube, now! Oh, and I should note that this is a writing exercise so the writing style might not necessarily match the original tone of the game.
Yes, I am still thinking about that other setting I’ve spoken of before, but as it’s going to need a bit more work before I start writing it, this should be a decent way to fill a few gaps without resorting to the blog topic assortment.
As I entered the cave that formed Karah’s Shrine, I remembered my mentor’s words:
“Auk, listen. I know you are eager to explore, but the pilgrimage is important to the People of the Sky. As you know, in the early days before the Great Divide, the lands were very different from now. Instead of islands in the sky, the lands were one, and the Ancients inhabited the world. They built great structures. Among them, three temples here in the Land of Gods. Your journey will lead you to all three of them.
“But something changed. The Ancients somehow caused the Great Divide, shattered the lands and left us with islands in the sky. The priestess Karah prayed by the Lighthouse, and found answers that helped our people survive the great cataclysm. The first stop for every pilgrim is to visit Karah’s Shrine. So go on in, Auk. I will wait for you outside.”
While the first thing inside the cave was a great drop, surviving it was no trouble for a pilgrim: someone trained in the magic of the winds. I lightened my fall as I approached the ground, landing without a sound. Looking around, the cave was not barren: it showed signs of life, with mounds of grass and flowers around rocks jutting from the floor, and signs of frequent visits, with candles flickering just inside, beside a shaft of sunlight shining onto flowers from above. Lanterns and glowing mushrooms lit the path forward. As I proceeded onward, I spotted a relic from the past, and turned to have a look at the broken tablet more than four times my own size. “This tablet is really worn,” I thought. “A part of the text is unreadable.”
… in the Land of Gods there were three… in three houses… slumbering in Eternal Skies.
That seemed to line up with my mentor’s teachings on the pilgrimage. The three houses were probably the temples. I proceeded onward, effortlessly jumping on natural pillars forming a level path with the floor before finding another tablet in much better condition than the first.
The memory of light in our heart, shining with the name of Karah. Her Lantern guided and protected us when the world shattered and we became the People of the Sky.
A short distance down the path, there was a statue of a many-tailed fox on a pedestal. It looked… dignified, I decided. There was respect in the carving, lopsided as it now was, partially sunken into the floor. There was a ring of glowing mushrooms around the statue in such a way that I wasn’t sure whether they had grown there naturally or been deliberately planted. Could you plant mushrooms? Perhaps whoever did this could tell me.
Enter the Hall of Memory, where sleeps the Light of Karah. It never went out while she was alive. Ask, and maybe it will shine forth to answer you.
This tablet stood just outside of the shrine area itself, which housed a collection of candles around an incense bowl and a statue, I knew. I had not expected the glowing symbols floating in the air beside the shrine. What were these? But I was not here for glowing symbols; I knelt, lit the incense in the bowl, and prayed, before turning to resume my journey that was only just beginning. But as I walked away, I noticed… a glow, behind me. I turned back to see that the statue—the lantern it held, had begun to brighten from the simple stone that I had assumed it to be. Was this actually Karah’s Lantern?
The Lantern floated towards me, its handle extended upwards. Looking around, I saw no one else for which this could be, no one to guide me—and so I reached out my hand, and took hold of the Lantern.
Suddenly I found myself in a strange place as I held the Lantern forth. It was dark, and a deep green fog covered the place in gloom. A V-shaped light shone through the darkness, responding to my presence with a sound, a great reverberation, that did not seem friendly to me in the slightest, causing the very ground to shake beneath my feet. And as sudden as the vision began, it ended.
I awoke back in Karah’s Shrine, but the ground was still moving. This is an island in the sky! But that didn’t seem to matter to the island. New pillars of stone jutted from the cave floor, and the shaking was so violent that the statue that held the lantern collapsed. Around me, the glyphs I had been curious about before had resolved into forms of people, praying to the statue—to the Lantern?—in desperation. I moved to exit, still holding onto the Lantern, the shaking ever-present in my rush. New pillars sprang up as I ran, and a boulder fell from the ceiling and collapsed a bridge, forcing me to take a different, water-covered path.
I discovered that the Lantern could reveal more than just figures from the floating glyphs: it could show memories of what once was. “I hope these lanterns will burn long enough to guide the young pilgrim,” said a figure apparently setting up one of the normal lanterns that indeed lit the way. Did people know that this would happen? Why did the Lantern awaken for me, and not for anyone else in my tribe? I ran down a tiny passageway that had thankfully not yet collapsed and made my way outside in the nick of time.
As my mentor had said, he was waiting right outside the cave, though he was clearly startled by the now-ceased shaking. “Auk! You made it out okay? Thank the Gods you’re alright.” He paused. “What happened in there? I thought the worst when the cave collapsed. Is that… the Lantern? Hmm. Strange. That Lantern is an ancient artifact called Karah’s Light. Somehow, it shines for you. It’s the first time in generations.” Briefly, he looked away, before returning his gaze to me. “Keep it safe for now. I’ll stay here to investigate the shrine. Meanwhile, you should continue your pilgrimage. There’s a village over by the Lighthouse. Just follow the kites to get there. Talk to Daina when you arrive. She will tell you where to go next.”
While I wasn’t sure what he would do with an entrance that showed no gap, I did as my mentor suggested and made my way to the village, the settlement by the Lighthouse. Now that I was outside, I could make full use of the magic in which I had trained, and transformed into the hawk that formed my identity with outsiders, its feathers the same honey yellow and brown as the shawl I normally wore. After a bit of a detour through the open space—blue sky above and endless white clouds belowfor an exhilarating and stress-relieving dive, I landed among the small collection of tents, though each tent was large enough to house several families. In front of the tents was a small garden, a central fire pit, and a massive area set aside for the sewing of cloth.
At the current time, not too many people were outside by the central fire pit. Just one man, one woman, and one child. With the name “Daina” in mind, I strolled over to the woman to chat.
“Are you alright, Auk?” the woman said immediately upon seeing me. Evidently, my mentor had come here earlier and let them know to expect me. “It was Auk, right? We heard rumblings from Karah’s Shrine. I’m so glad you made it out!
“My name is Daina. And welcome! It was a long time ago we last had a pilgrim here. Your mentor, Medvin, was actually the last one before you.” If he was the last one, then it has been a long time indeed. “My parents helped him back then. Now I, John, and our daughter Erin will help you. If you ever feel lost, just return here and talk to us. We are here to guide you, after all.
“Every pilgrim’s journey requires a visit to the three temples in the Land of Gods. Karah sealed them a long time ago, right after the Great Divide. There’s a sigil in the ground close to each temple. That’s where we gather to pay respect to the spirits, and so you too should go there. Sacred words are revealed to those who approach with an open mind. The Eventide Sanctuary is closest and you will find it northwest of here.”
I now had directions on where to go, but I figured that I should probably chat with the rest of Daina’s family before heading out, so I walked over to John. “Hello, Auk, and welcome,” he greeted me. “What was that noise we heard?”
I still wasn’t really sure what caused it, but I told him that the entire island shook and the shrine collapsed.
“WHAT!?” he exclaimed. “You made it out okay?”
I nodded.
“I’m John, by the way,” he continued. “Daina and I take care of the Lighthouse here on the island. We try to make sure that nothing weird happens in the Land of Gods. Not an easy job considering all the strange old ruins and wonders here. I haven’t had much time to visit them since Erin was born, but I don’t mind. I think she longs for adventure, which makes her father proud!
“If you have the time, I would recommend you go to the Windsong Falls. When the world was whole, a water spirit combed her hair at the stream there. Beautiful hair, at that! The wind sang to make her hair flow down until it mixed with the clouds. Thus the rainbow was born. Not that I’ve ever seen one there myself, but it’s a nice story. Anyway, you can find the place just north of here. Continue beyond the clouds.”
Interesting. It definitely sounded worth checking out. Now that I had spoken with both parents, I decided to chat with their little girl. She couldn’t be older than ten or so, but that’s certainly old enough that she could travel the islands with her parents.
“Auk, Auk! That’s your name, right? Right?” the excited girl eagerly greeted me. “What happened? Did you see any ghosts? Or Spirit Animals? Treasures? Secrets? I want to explore, too!” I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “It’s so unfair that I am stuck on this island. Sometimes I go on adventures. With my parents.” She clearly wanted to explore on her own, something that I empathized with. “But it’s still adventures! We once went to a super awesome place! It’s up north. And it’s kind of snowy. With this HUGE statue. It’s kind of broken, but still cool.” She trailed off for a second before remembering herself. “And my name is Erin! So you know.”
I gave her a little wave in goodbye before heading out. Where to go first…? Well, the place that John described sounded like it was the closest, so Windsong Falls it was.
Past the clouds, a small pair of islands appeared that had a sheet of water flowing from one to the other. I once asked where all the water came from to form the huge lakes, but not even Medvin knew. It was just one of the mysteries of the islands after the Great Divide. Atop the higher of the islands, a decaying shrine had been built, with several robed figures watching over a set of three pedestals. Atop each of the pedestals was a scroll, already rolled out for reading.
“My name is Aram,” the first scroll read, “and I was there on the day of the Great Divide…
My youngest child was ill, and I asked the Spirit Animals for help. When I prayed by the shrine of Illoqui, a terrible brightness pierced the air and the land trembled and screamed. In terror I took flight and watched with eagle eyes as the land broke into pieces which crumbled and turned to dust. Only one place seemed calm. I flew there and perched on it, horror-struck. It was the Lighthouse.
An eyewitness account of the Great Divide! I knew I liked to wander more than Medvin, but part of me wondered if my mentor had seen these scrolls as well. I moved to the second.
The Lighthouse was surrounded by a golden shimmer that warmed and soothed me. I saw the priestess Karah pass by me, weeping. She held a lantern key, such as they make in the city of Urzha, but the lantern was dead. The shimmer came from Karah herself, dwindling as I watched. She descended the Lighthouse, and I saw that many Spirit Animals had gathered around the tower, watching. When Karah came to them, they bowed their heads and then left as if at an unspoken signal.
Amazing. And… did this contradict the tablet in the shrine? That had said that the Lantern never went out while Karah was alive, but she clearly was holding one that was not lit. Onto the third.
Karah then looked at me and said, “You are Aram? I know you, and we need to talk.”
I found my voice and asked, “What has happened to the world, Karah?”
She was silent for a moment and then said, “A great danger has gone. But also a great light. It’s time we gather all who are lost so that we may find a way for our people to live in peace with the world again.” Ever since then, I have been flying from one broken island to another, to tell the lost people that there is a new home. To lead them here, where we, in time, may heal again. Where my youngest can regain her strength.
That was the last scroll. It sounded like Karah knew what had happened, and what “danger” and “light” were tied to the Great Divide, but I don’t think I’m any closer to figuring out exactly what it was. Rather than stick around and think, however, I moved on. Perhaps I would find another set of scrolls that could tell me more.
While not exactly a scroll, I found a massive tablet not far away, on an island with an orange-crowned tree.
In the beginning, there was the Dreamer. Asleep in cold eternity, she dreamed all there is. She dreamed the Veil, and behind the Veil, she dreamed the Creator and the world, modeled from a memory of home. The Creator danced into the world and there he breathed the clouds and sang the sun and moon into being. As he danced between the clouds, he took four steps and so made the lands of the North, the West, the South and the East. Then he formed the mountains and filled the seas with water from the clouds; and from earth and water he made animals so land and sea would be alive. From stardust and Eternity he made Gods to walk the lands and look after the world.
Cryptic.
Rather than move over towards the northwest Eventide Sanctuary, I remembered that Medvin had mentioned a cave under the floating Lighthouse where he could go to study. Perhaps I could find some answers there. The interior of the cave was massive—it must take up the majority of the volume of rock below the Lighthouse. Towards the center of the cave was a collection of ancient materials, though I was disappointed to learn that the materials would be of much less use to me than the scrolls outside. “I can’t read this,” I thought as I stared at a tablet. “It’s written in a language I don’t know, and much of it is broken and almost unreadable, anyway. Maybe Medvin knows how to decipher it?” I’d have to ask him later. The cave had a second exit; I took it, and—how did I not see this earlier? I was back in the village.
“Hi again, Auk,” Daina said when I approached. “I went to see Medvin by Karah’s Shrine, to see the caved-in shrine for myself. I am as worried as he is, but I must ask you something else. Have you seen ghosts?”
I assumed that she was talking about the transparent figures marked out by floating glyphs, and she soon confirmed it.
“I noticed glowing signs and a weird distortion in the air. Almost like small fireflies, but not actual bugs. I think they are what is called, ‘Memories of the Past.’ It is said that the Lantern can discover secrets by shining upon the signs. They were mentioned in passing in an old children’s story I once read to Erin. Maybe they can reveal something important?”
Perhaps. None that I had seen thus far had done much more than to prompt me to explore, but there was still much left of my pilgrimage.
“Oh, do you need a reminder of the next location for your pilgrimage?” Daina went on. I did not, though I allowed her to continue; I had gotten rather sidetracked. “The Eventide Sanctuary is the closest, and it’s found northwest of here.”
Not needing further prompting, I took off towards the cluster of islands hidden by the northwest clouds. This was the site of the massive Twilight Lake, so large as to cover the entire island within which was housed the Eventide Sanctuary. On my way there, I noticed some ghosts above what may have been a riverbed before the Great Divide. Now, it was merely a sandy section of island lower than the grassy area. When I pulled out the Lantern, the ghosts resolved, and one was, in fact, saying something. “The river, it has fallen! What of the Spirit Fish? Is she safe?” Hopefully said Spirit Fish had been in a different section of the land.
In the distance beyond the riverbed, I spotted a pair of pillars of light. While it was not in the immediate region, it did seem like something that could be interesting. The pilgrimage was not always straightforward, and it appeared mine would be far from it. Drawn by the light and the wind under my wings, I approached what appeared to be a… shrine to the sun? It had a pedestal with a red sun-like carved upon it, with the otherwise familiar structure of a raised horizontal stone circle around the subject. Extended to one side was a glowing square, with a small indentation in the middle that was glowing even more fiercely than the rest. There were ghosts nearby, so I pulled out the Lantern—and the square reacted! A pattern of lines, spreading outward in a jagged manner, with ninety-degree angles appearing frequently in their courses, surrounded the indentation. Curious, I held the Lantern over it, and the sun sculpture in the middle revealed itself as separate from the pedestal, rotating and floating upward to send a beam of light at a nearby waterfall!
Hm. The scrolls of Aram had called the Lantern a “key.” Perhaps this is what it was for? I made way to the other light pillar, this one housing an image of a crescent moon, and repeated my actions with the sun shrine. The gray moon likewise rose up and shone a beam at the same waterfall. With both beams of light upon it, something behind the waterfall reacted, and a diamond-shaped structure expanded outwards to part the waters, revealing the cave below. Progress! Before checking what lay within, however, I noticed a tower above it, and flew to check out the top.
The top of the tower was open to the sky, and within were spiral stairs heading downwards to a blockage, perhaps from the collapsed roof. In the middle of the exposed landing, however, a scroll rested upon the grass, surrounded by white flowers and a ring of rocks.
I am Reya, Yohal’s daughter. I sought out his words to make sense of what happened to him on his journeys. My father’s burden lay heavy on his shoulders. Even though we found a new home, he was never the same again. There is hope, and more children have been born this spring than the last. We will recover, but I think he worried about things yet to come. I think the sickness of black rocks my father found scared him more than anything else. It’s only been seen once or twice again, however. These islands we now wander are safe. Karah is soon having a child of her own and laughter has returned to our hearts.
More mysteries to ponder. I wasn’t getting anything done by sitting atop the tower, so I moved into the cave below.
Huh. That’s already the longest thing I’ve ever written on Substack. Sure, anything in quotation marks was written by the game developers, but I have a newfound respect for game writers, and the “a picture is worth a thousand words” saying has taken on a new meaning for me. I was thinking of doing the whole game in one post, but… well, my normal post length is about 2000 words, and this is over 3500. I think dividing it at natural game divisions—in this case, the start of the unlock for the first temple—won’t be the worst idea. (I considered continuing and finishing out the game in this post, but I only have so much time I can write every week!)