PERIDOT

[dramatispersonae]

You sink down, down, down through the water, the light fading away above, but somehow you neither get wet nor have trouble breathing...

Occasionally, fragments of song reach you.

Comments

THE LOWEST LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to live, goes the snippet of song in your head.

Welcome to the bottom of the sea. It should be dark here, but something illuminates a vast garden surrounding you. It should be wet here, but the sensation of the water around you is distant, and you stay dry.

At the center of the garden rises a great spiral staircase carved out of mother-of-pearl.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[yoloath]

How very strange.

Hello, I am Maitimo; I shall do my best to assist you in this game.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[grade3enabler]

Uh, nice to meet you. I'm the Demon General Tetsu.

I take it you're our 'knight' for the game?

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dommage]

Thank you for your assistance, sir. My name is Allen.

ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

Glimmering with the light, the opalescent stairs rise high above, vanishing into dark water once out of range of the light. A coral gate bars them from you for now. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of songs resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

Re: ONWARDS

[grade3enabler]

I wish I had my Dark Irregulars deck back, so I can show everyone my strength.

Re: ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

The key materializes in the lock. You can turn it now, open the gate, and go on up the stairs...

THE MIDDLE LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to love, goes the snippet of song in your head.

As you come to a broad shelf on the sea floor, a peculiar sight unfolds before you in the returning light. The ancient remains of a shipwreck litter the ground, but before them, a number of marble statues have been arranged like some kind of art installation.

Beyond all this, another mother-of-pearl stairway rises into the waters above as they approach the surface.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[yoloath]

[immediately going to go examine the statues. how's the craftsmanship? how are they holding up?]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

The statues might once have spilled carelessly out of the belly of the broken ship, but since then, they have been rearranged. Now they stand in groups and clusters as if posed. A few are set up so they almost look as if they are holding hands with each other; others seem to be embracing. At their feet are scattered jewelry and trinkets.

They do not appear to be very well-made. Although they seemed at first to be marble, on close examination it's some kind of imitation--perhaps a ceramic, or a particularly cunning plastic. They might have been painted once, but that has long since chipped off.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[grade3enabler]

[This somehow seems vaguely familiar for some reason though I can't quite place why.]

[going to take a closer look at the shipwreck]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

Long ago, this must have been a huge and proud ship, but now it's so decayed by time underwater that its shape can barely be made out. Instead, it's been colonized by a network of sea-flowers and fishes, many of them glimmering with their own light.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dommage]

[he does not appreciate you, song snippet]

[he's gonna check out the stairway this time]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[livebait]

[SUDDENLY FISH wriggling around the others excitedly, bumping up against Tetsu's face in particular!!]

ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

The opalescent stairs rise high above, wavering faintly in the rippling water as they go up, then vanishing into more gloom. A coral gate bars them from you for now. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of songs resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

Re: ONWARDS

[livebait]

[turning back into a human, spinning around and treading water]

I wish for everyone to be happy. Everyone here in Aather! On Peridot, and the other teams too. For Yuki to be happy! And Natsuki . . . And everyone at home, too! Together, together . . . I wish for everyone to be happy, because everyone has been so kind to me. And everyone is doing their best! I love . . . I love Peridot ♪ And humans and fish and Personae too. We all want the same thing . . . I wish for that!

THE TOP LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to dream, goes the snippet of song in your head.

The water falls away around you as you emerge into a cavern, its stone walls dappled with light reflecting off the calm water. Plants and seaweed grow in the shallows, and all around you in the sand are fantastical sculptures.

The way out of the cave is barred by another coral gate.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[livebait]

[keens a little with disappointment as he splashes up out of the water]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[yoloath]

[oooh, heading over to the sculptures yet again, but not touching them this time.]

An even more transient medium, is it?

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[grade3enabler]

[taking a look at the plants growing in the shallows]

FINISH

[dramatispersonae]

The walls of the cavern slowly narrow into a tunnel to the outside. Yet another gate made of coral blocks the way to it, though. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of song resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

Re: FINISH

[livebait]

[bounding up and pressing his hands against the gate]

Lorelei, Lorelei! Thank you for showing us your world and your ocean and your dreams ♫ We want to do our best to bring back Aather's oceans, too. I want to swim in them with you! We're all going to do our very best to help this world and the knight's world and human worlds and my world to make them bright and safe, so we can swim together! Dreams and worlds we can imagine are great, but the worlds we have already are bright and wide and wonderful and I want to protect them with you! We'll do our best to wish for that ♥