IOLITE

[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

[splittheparty]

[Kind of... trying to listen in to the song.]

Do you hear that too?

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[idolfromabove]

[nods, closing her eyes and focusing]

I hear it, but not enough of it at once to get the melody.

[opens her eyes again and looks around the garden; what kind of plants are there here?]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

Great fronds of kelp rise out of the ocean floor, gleaming faintly in all shades of green, as well as red and purple. Strange creatures as beautiful as any flower inch slowly along the sandy bed, and brilliantly-colored fish dart in and out of the waving seaweed.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[splittheparty]

Yeah, it's like it's stuck on repeat. It's just the same little fragment, repeating over and over... It seems like it's different around the stairs, though.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

The song drifts in and out of your awareness, always repeating that same brief lyric--unless you get close to the stairs, that is.

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

[splittheparty]

May the bounty of the world continue to provide all those that live within it what they need to survive.

Re: ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

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

Re: ONWARDS

[splittheparty]

[Up we go, then.]

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

[splittheparty]

"You need to love"... Is it?

[Let's... check out those statues first.]

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.

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

[idolfromabove]

I wish that everyone would be able to experience the kind of love that makes our worlds beautiful - even if we don't have anything else, love itself makes beautiful things.

Re: ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

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

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

[splittheparty]

Sculptures now? Let's see what we can find to dream about in here...

[Looking at those sculptures, yes.]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

The sand above the water is freshly sculpted into a myriad of forms. There is a castle, here; a dragon curled up around a treasure, there. A horse racing towards the shallow waves. A bird guarding its nest, and yet another castle.

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

[splittheparty]

We wish to create a place where nobody's lonely and their dreams can come true together!

Re: FINISH

[dramatispersonae]

The key materializes in the lock. You can turn it now, open the gate, and continue to the Ring.