Unfortunately, the results from my checks yesterday indicate that none of the measures taken so far has worked -- there is still a 20 per cent discrepancy between the original Celestial Clock and the sounds produced by the monitoring device in Skysong.

I was just about to check Filbert Holmer's clock on Restoration when a familiar name popped up on the communicator device: it was Christian Walther! It has been a year since he has been to Restoration so there was a lot to see that was new.

I went across to welcome him, and gave him a brief tour of the Trust's HQ on Touchstone, the island of Skysong -- he immediately ecognised the original of the observation tower that Elspeth set up for us in the future Skysong -- and then on to Deepwater.

Christian noticed the change in flora first -- there is less growing there now, especially water plants. The swans he had helped to tame and train all those months ago were gone too. I felt on edge; it had been a while since I had last visited Deepwater; these changes were unexpected, and unexplained.

We contined to explore, following the processional route marked by torches, rough stone pathways and archways. Then, on the northern side of the island, one of the archways was displaying a mistiness in its opening. This too was new.

Gingerly, I reached out my hand into the mistiness -- and withdrew it quickly as an electric blue plasma portal sparked into existence. What on earth was going on here?

As Christian said: It looked a little different to the portals he was familiar with. But we are both old hands at testing these things out. So we walked through...

I'm going to need to get Quin here -- and Paislee too.

_________________
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Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

Greetings Dot,

You do realise that clocks that move in relation to reach other will loose synchronisation. Keeping clocks matched across universes is doubly difficult because of minor differences in physical constants. Keep these things in mind as you investigate the discrepancy.

I have just completed the construction of an exact replica of the celestial clock in Reverie. It has been placed, for the moment, in the high office at Gisco. Its examination may provide some useful data.

Access to the Gisco office can be had by using the ring transporter atop the tower at Reverie. It works the same way as your transporters. Select "Relto".

Shorah, Holmer

You don't know how much of a relief it was to me to see the replica of the Celestial Clock in your office. I did initially have problems in getting there -- the ring transporter ignored my attempts to activate it, then the Tesla Tardis locked me in, again without letting me use it; I'm afraid that in the end I went into the Tower itself and used the linking book to the office.

I am aware of the possible differences in physical constants across the multiverse. However, given the anthropic principle (and the fact that we have observed these different universes yet are still alive), the effects of such differences should be tiny compared with the currently observed 20 per cent difference in the clock readings.

Hopefully the readings from your clock will go a long way to help explain (and ultimately correct for) such a large discrepancy. Do please post more of your findings and thoughts. They are genuinely useful.

More later -- things are happening over on Restoration that need my full attention...
============

Edit (five hours later): I've a few minutes spare, so will try to describe what happened when Christian and I went through the activated portal on Deepwater last Sunday, and subsequent events.

Rather like the portals that appear in the pods in the Cavern, this portal transported us to a small cave. The position coordinates on my communicator indicated that we were in a cave beneath the freshwater lake in the centre of the island.

The air was fresh and there was no obvious sense of dampness, but we could not tell where such ventilation might be coming from -- the cave seemed to be quite extensive with smaller corridors leading off. There was also an eerie light. At the time, I unfortunately did not think of taking a photograph, but managed to do so yesterday (as will become clear, this was not a straightforward task).


Deepwater Cave

Strewn on the floor were parts of some sort of mechanism, with an alien-looking chair and console to one side. The design was out of keeping of what appears at ground level on Deepwater, which reminds me of the ancient Celtic civilisation of the British Isles -- this had an appearance that suggested a technically advanced civilisation, and yet it had a sense of being aeons older than the ritualistic structures of the island above.

Some of the light was coming from one of the corridors off, so of course Christian and I investigated further. The source was a dim glow within another archway -- different to the ones on the surface. Touching the glow once again activated a portal.

We walked through.

Starfyre

I recognised our destination from photos taken by Paislee. We were on Starfyre. Could the strange organ-pipe buildings of this age/area be from the same period as the artefacts we had found in Deepwater Cave? But that is pure speculation -- just a gut feeling on my part. And there are more serious matters I need to consider...

Since using those portals, the islands of Deepwater and Skysong have been flickering in and out of existence. I can stand on Touchstone looking towards Waysmeet, and Skysong is nowhere to be seen. I turn towards Deepwater, but instead see the hills of Skysong. I turn again and again, and Deepwater has returned to view.

Now you can see why it was not straightforward to obtain that photo.

None of us know why this has started to happen. We are just very relieved that Touchstone and Waysmeet currently remain stable.

_________________
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Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

Yesterday, when I linked to future Skysong, there was a surprising new note from Elspeth. She was responding to the reports Quin and I had written in her journal there (the gist of which is posted above).

Elspeth Sorrelwood wrote:

Well, I never! This is truly wonderful news!

Some details may differ, but your descriptions of the archway portals and the places they link to remind me of incidents in my own past ~ they too took place in the world you have chosen to call Restoration. Give me a little time, and I may be able to help (if I can cast my mind back that far ~ several Renewals have taken place since then).

Though, now I think of it, Miss Paislee did find the relevant journals a year ago when she broke into my old laboratory and study. Try looking there.

Meanwhile, place one of Mr Holmer's clocks in the observation tower on Skysong. That might just be the trigger you need, especially if you manage to calibrate it.

Elspeth Sorrelwood ~ 30th July

Trigger???

I had better enlist Quin's help here. Filbert Holmer's clock is over ten feet tall, and negotiating the narrow spiral rampway in the observation tower is unlikely to be straightforward -- let alone getting to the island in the first place, given its current erratic existence.

Perhaps if we load the clock onto one of the small crystal boats, and wait in the sea close to where the natural harbour would be -- then quickly try to land when the island appears.

And I'd better see if Paislee can enlighten us from those journals. She has certainly changed in the months since we lost Devokan, especially (now I come to think of it) since this time last year. She is now far more an explorer and no longer the quiet unadventurous innkeeper of Devokan's day, much to Quin's regret (he does miss the inn's soup)!

_________________
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We waited, Quin and I, in the small boat for about half an hour. Then the land of Skysong appeared, building itself before our eyes, spiralling inwards. We opened up the boat's crystal engine cover to accelerate, and reached the land.

As anticipated, it was a struggle to get the clock in place, over the bridges, down the spiral ramp to the floor just above sea level (this floor would be just below the one we visit in future Skysong).

Once the clock was placed, I wanted to get back to Touchstone -- who could tell how long Skysong would stay in this particular state? But Quin was of a different mind -- he wanted to start to calibrate the clock, trying to match what we hear from the monitor in future Skysong.

He demanded my iPhone so that he could listen to my recording of the monitor, inserted the earbuds in his ears, took out his watchmaking toolkit and set to work -- made deaf to my concerns through his concentration and the earbuds.

We had been there about an hour when I noticed something out the corner of my eye. It reminded me of Paislee's Cat's Cradle dream of April 2010.

Paislee wrote:

Spun out before me as far as my eyes could see was a giant weaving of string…like the web of a giant spider. But ’twas no simple circular web I beheld, but a weaving so cunning, so cleverly made of colored strands interlaced and folded back upon themselves that I could not comprehend it all. The earth on which I stood was not solid earth. I could see through to the bones of the world… I could see through the mountain to Devokan.

"Quin," I shouted. "Link back to Touchstone. NOW!"

He couldn't hear. I linked.

And from the hills of Touchstone I watched Skysong flicker out once more.

_________________
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I don't know how long I stood there, looking across empty sea where Skysong should be. What was strange was that Quin's name still appeared in bold in the communicator's list, though when I tried to send him an im, an automatic "Not available" message was the only reply.

After a while, another oddity struck me. The past few days I have become used to Deepwater island flickering in and out of sight, much as Skysong did. Now Deepwater was once more there, solidly, all the time.

As the sun was beginning to set, the communicator alerted me to an email from Skydiver Jim, a faithful friend to Devokan from the earliest days. He has been looking after the Gatehouse on Winterfell Reverie, near the river in which I had placed the Time Vault. He was worried that the river was showing signs of turbulence. Could I come across and see for myself?

Pulling myself together, I turned away from the emptiness on Restoration and tried to focus on this new task. So I linked back to my retreat on Winterfell Reverie, and used Quin's portal system to reach the Gatehouse.

Jim was elsewhere at the time, but I could see what might have worried him. There were two eddies, swirling in the river opening where it meets the large central lake of Winterfell.

The orb portal at the Gatehouse is a central hub to the Trust's areas in this realm. I set it to go to the Time Vault. No response. I tried again -- still no response.

It seemed that I had no choice but to dive into the waters and see what was going on. So I quickly went back to my retreat, changed into diving gear, linked back to the Gatehouse, and slipped into the river.

The Time Vault had collapsed. There was nothing but rubble on the river bed -- and no sight or sound of the Celestial Clock.

_________________
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Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

Routine can be a haven at times like this. Wednesday is when friends from The Meeting Place hood meet up for a game of cards. There's a Spades table (finely crafted by OHB) in the upstairs room of the Devokan Trust offices. I knew June wasn't able to play this week, but Ilf and Morgon had emailed to say that they would be there. I arrived a little late (I hoped I would be excused).

When I reached the office, I saw that Quin had dismantled the experiment that he had been running in the back room. I was unsure how to interpret this -- whether he was OK and had linked back here after Skysong disappeared, or whether he had done this previously...

I explained the situation to Ilf and Morgon, and they kindly agreed to come with me to Restoration, to see developments for themselves. We agreed to meet up at the hub on Devokan Tao, and to attempt to link from there to the various islands. This was not straightforward: often the linking process failed. So we decided in the end to travel in "real time" from one place to the other.

We climbed up to the tower over the hub room, and looked across to Deepwater. As we looked, the island slowly unwound itself and disappeared. But this was not like previous occasions, when we were unable even to enter the area -- this time we were able to cross the water to reach Waysmeet.

All was shrouded in deep darkness -- a new development. The moon was up, but it cast little light. We could barely see the trees on Waysmeet. We travelled on.

It suddenly hit me: beyond Waysmeet, there were outlines of hills, silhouetted against the marginally lighter sky -- had Skysong returned? Was Quin there?

_________________
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It was indeed Skysong -- albeit the inky blackness made it difficult to move around the various islands.

I headed straight for the observation tower, where I had last seen Quin, kneeling at the base of the clock, carefully tweaking its arcane mechanical innards, listening to the resulting tick and comparing it with my iPhone recording of the monitor.

My iPhone was there, but Quin wasn't. In some ways I would be more relieved if both were missing together -- though I'm not sure that "Find my iPhone" would work under these circumstances, it might be worth a try simply to "Find Quin".

I was obviously fuzzy-headed with lack of sleep. So we decided it might be better to leave the search for another day.

============
On Thursday, I contacted Paislee and updated her with the latest news. Together we linked to Skysong and made our way to the tower.

Paislee reminded me of the original motivation for placing the clock in the tower and for Quin trying to work on it:

Quote:

Meanwhile, place one of Mr Holmer's clocks in the observation tower on Skysong. That might just be the trigger you need, especially if you manage to calibrate it. ~ Elspeth Sorrelwood ~ 30th July

Doh! I hadn't even checked whether the clock was keeping the same time. The iPhone's battery indicator was showing red; nevertheless we tried playing the recording once more... and it matched.

"Trigger" -- what exactly was triggered, and when?

_________________
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The darkness enveloped the Devokan heartlands for several days. Moving around continued to be difficult because of the lack of light, though the land itself seemed to have a faint, eerie glow.

During most of that time, the area where the island of Deepwater had been was empty sea. Then, sometime on Saturday night, while I was sleeping, a new landform emerged.

Of course, I had to investigate. This new island was one of deep, steep-sided valleys, gigantic plants, spiral pathways.


Deepwater, 7 Aug 2011

While I was exploring, my communicator alerted me that Filbert Holmer was in world. I contacted him, and together we discussed the new island. It seems that he had been able to visit it earlier while I was still sleeping -- it's strange how habits inculcated by our original time zones are so difficult to shake off, even when exploring multiple worlds.

Here's a chat log of the ensuing conversation (posted with Filbert's permission):
-- Instant message logging enabled --
[12:08 PM] Dot Macchi: Hello Filbert. How are things?

Filbert Holmer: Hi Dot. How are you? Doing great here.

Dot Macchi: That is good. I'm trying to work out exactly what triggered what and in what order. Have you noticed that Deepwater has a strange new appearance?

Filbert Holmer: Yes, what little I could see of it. LOL Is it Deepwater of the past?

Dot Macchi: I suspect it might be. The sphere seems to match the one in the temple on the Deepwater we know and you know the debris I found in that Deepwater, in the cave beneath the lake? There seem to be similar mechanisms in this Deepwater, though intact (as far as i can tell)

Filbert Holmer: I didn't see them in the "new" Deepwater.

Dot Macchi: The lower floor of the central tower retracts into the walls.

Filbert Holmer: Good to know

Dot Macchi: I suspect the original inhabitants might have had wings. I can't see how else they got to all the different parts of the island otherwise -- unless they used some form of personal linking devices

Filbert Holmer: Perhaps they used rope bridges that have long since rotted away.

Dot Macchi: That makes sense -- though what of the existing spiral pathways?

Filbert Holmer: They're stone, yes?

Dot Macchi: I'm not sure. The plants here are odd too. There are the large succulents (I guess) -- primitive looking -- and then iris-like blue flowers in some of the valleys.

Filbert Holmer: I didn't get a good look at the plants. Large succulents would suggest a warm, arid environment. Any cacti present?

Dot Macchi: Not that I can see. They are more like some of the plants M. Shenn has discovered. But these specimens are far larger. On the larger ones, platforms have been built

[I sent Filbert a photo of one of the plant platforms]

Filbert Holmer: Yes. Seen that before. Similar plants have started to appear in Nuevo.

Dot Macchi: Oh! Spores? Some of the plants on Deepwater are definitely shedding spores

Filbert Holmer: Yes. They make good platforms for lamps LOL

Dot Macchi: The paths seem to be made of the same substance as the large "platform" plants. Maybe slightly darker colour (as far as one can tell in this light), but similar patterning on the surface

Filbert Holmer: It is a sturdy plant. Logical building material.

Dot Macchi: I wonder whether ametist would come here and help investigate. She enjoys studying botany.

Filbert Holmer: How long do you think, had Deepwater been abandoned?

Dot Macchi: I really can't tell. I suspect that Elspeth might have some inkling about it. That this is not the first time this has happened.

Filbert Holmer: It also might be interesting to determine why it was abandoned.

Dot Macchi: Yes. There's a lot to discover about this place, I suspect. Things we haven't yet thought of ...

_________________
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Daylight seems to have returned during the hours I was sleeping, but the quality of light is different.

This sight greeted me as I travelled from my pod-home retreat in the roots of Tao's sky-castle towards Touchstone:

Panorama, 8 Aug 2011

The new island of Deepwater is in the middle distance, with the trees of Waysmeet beyond. The spires over the Devokan Tao hub are in the right foreground, and the island of Touchstone is to the left in the distance.

_________________
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Cross-world story and project planning: Devokan forums

The land in Restoration having remained stable for several days, it was time to attend to business in that other world, Winterfell.

The lease of the Trust offices at 1 Touchstone House, Rosehaven, was due for renewal. Problem: the lease is in Quin's name. While I know that Quin has had a habit of disappearing then turning up a little while later safe and well, I feel in my bones that this time it is different. Something has happened.

I explained the situation to Lady Serra, who was very understanding. She amended the lease to be in my name, and I assumed responsibility for the place.

The book on the low table beside Quin's fireside reading chair caught my eye. I picked it up -- poetry. It fell open at No. 2 of the Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot, East Coker.

"In my beginning is my end ..."

I stood there reading, silently weeping -- then tidied the book away, and left.

O dark dark dark.

_________________
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Dear Dot,

It was lovely to see you again last week. Thank you for inviting me to tour the Winterfell Community Center. It is beautiful. I returned a few days ago to visit the nearby chapel again and listen to that wondrous chanting. I stopped by to see you, but you weren't in. You will not be surprised that I found myself in the library perusing the collection of books. Of course I would gravitate to the books!

As I was leaving I met an acquaintance, who was just entering the Community Center. We went to the lounge above the library and talked for a while. He has inherited an old shoppe that had belonged to his grandmother. It is just down the street from you. What an interesting coincidence. He took me over to see it -- oh Dot, it needs so much help! Such a sad state it is in, and to have been the gathering place of so many intellectuals his grandmother had attracted around her. He has just received a notice that he must bring it into a useable state or it will be demolished at his expense. I offered to give him ideas and suggestions; in spite of the amount of work it will take to restore it, it could have great deal of potential. I don't know -- I'm not sure he is the shop-owning or networking sort of young man.

At any rate, you may see me sooner than either of us expected. I will try to write if he does indeed ask for help. At the least, I will try to visit you within the next month. I also look forward to learning more about the Devokan Trust. That is also a... well, we shall leave that subject for another time.

My Best Wishes,
Ghaelen


Edit: After a very short and strange KI conversation with Dot, I am very concerned. Has something happened to Quin? I know she has sometimes become frustrated with his disappearances, but is there something more that has occurred?

_________________
We are the shapers and the caretakers of this metaverse. How we honor ourselves and others largely determines what we bring into being.

A story: CavernScents Journey

Ghaelen: KI# 23059

Where has August gone? It's seems like I have been living in a dream -- or a nightmare -- for the three weeks since that fateful incident in Skysong.

Somehow, I finally managed to pull myself together and started to clear up some of the paperwork that had accumulated in the Trust's offices at Winterfell.

Among them I found a letter from Ghaelen. When did that arrive? I remember vaguely that she had contacted me sometime in the past week or so -- had it been about this letter? -- but beyond that, it was a blur.

And as serendipity would have it, at that point the communicator sprang into life. Ghaelen was in Winterfell, and would like to see me. I therefore pushed the piles of papers to one side, and left to find the "shoppe" just a couple of streets away.

A long, helpful conversation ensued. I can see why Ghaelen is in the Guild of Healers.

New pathways are beckoning us onward, whether alone or with companions...

_________________
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OOC post 2116

As readers may have gathered, areas and ages associated with the Devokan story span several virtual worlds: currently Uru fan ages (MOSS/CWE versions are in the pipeline), OSgrid and Second Life. There's work afoot to add another, as an experiment, using CryEngine 3.0 SDK.

Andy Legate is working on this, basing it on the version of Deepwater whose disappearance is chronicled above.

If you'd like to follow how things develop, here's the discussion and planning thread on the Devokan forum: Devokan Deepwater using CryEngine SDK

_________________
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(Part IC, part OOC)

I took Ghaelen's advice to heart. So, after linking to the island of Skysong, Paislee and I set sail northwards on one of the delicate crystal sailboats.

The land we eventually reached we have named Pathways. Somehow, it reminds us of our lost home of Devokan -- not a replica, but it seems to echo something of its essence. So while Paislee busied herself with landscaping, I worked on restoring an old wooden shack.

Pathways Retreat

We intend to use it as a retreat, a place to replenish energies and simply to relax -- much as we did within the D'ni Ages and in the old Devokan.

"Find a way, make a home" -- that was the original motivation for my own journey, back in February 2008. The stories of the journey from that time are still there, in the Explorers in There Projects subforum of the Guild of Maintainers site. How we tried to find a home from home in Tyr, then, in May 2008, our own neighbourhood of Eder Devokan. Here we shared companionship with old and new friends from The Meeting Place hood, as well as visiting the longstanding communities on Uru Island -- dating from previous exiles from the Cavern.

In February 2009, the journey moved to a new world, eventually to the island of Devokan. This is chronicled in Developments in Devokan. Here the story deepened, and became interwoven with those of others.

February 2010... As we prepared to leave Devokan for the last time, Fax Quixote gave Paislee and myself a filk...

Quote:

DEVOKAN FAREWELL

The sun is spinning close in the skies over Devokan
The squee and the crystals know soon we will part
There's a whisper in the wind of the promises unspoken
And a land that will always remain in my heart

My thoughts will return to the tinkle of laughter
The magic that here was begun
And a time that we'll remember long ever after
The moonlight and music and dancing we've done

But we'll climb the hills once more, we will walk the woods together
Though it will be elsewhere, we'll meet once again
And every song we've sung will stay with us forever
We'll dance through the Ages and never say when

Under the moon, a new land lies waiting
Over the sea, the stars shine
New wonder behold, the maker's creating
The magic and music won't be left behind

-- Fax Quixote, 6 Feb 2010
After "Ashokan Farewell" by Grian MacGregor and Jay Ungar

In the world of Restoration, have I finally found a home?

_________________
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