Above Vyr’Akesh the atmosphere is filled with chaotic storms and tectonic upheavals. But I have felt a calling to come to the planet, and so, despite the protests of the captain, I begin the descent. As I fall downward I feel my mind assaulted by the fears of the people felt when this world cracked at the Sundering. I nearly reach the planet's surface when I see a vision of anger from a ghost within the Strand. It lashes out right before I land, throwing off my landing, and rendering my atmospheric descender mildly damaged. Amidst the dust I see a familiar shape but one I have not seen for centuries, another Ossari memory keeper, here from the same psychic message. We both seek to heal this planet.
The noise level is deafeningly high it becomes hard to even think, but we both know what needs to be done. We reach out our hands to connect and share our power, but something forces us apart. We attempt several more times, but then we are both knocked to the ground by the memory of this world cracking when the temple at An’garielis fell. The fear and confusion that each person must have felt as they were hurled out into the void when the colonials rose to power. We both sit down and begin reciting our histories in an attempt to calm the Strand, here in its pained and angry state.
We continue our prayers and after several chants we feel the storm's power slowly begin to wane, but as we attempt to connect we are still forced apart. With a shared look, we understand, we must explore the surface to try and find the source for this pain, until then we will be unable to calm this rage by ourselves. I find a set of caves where I locate bones of creatures long dead, adding them to my collection I proceed in an attempt to find where the psychic energy is emanating from.
I eventually locate the remains of what was once a school, dedicated by the Luminar Order to achieving Stillness in Body and Thought. The energy permeating every stone nearly knocks me to my knees, requiring me to remind myself of the mnemonic prayers that were created millenia ago on Cael Thunar. As I make my way into the building I am slammed with the painful memories of the students that lived their final moments terrified at a collapse they could not have fathomed.
Amidst the dust and rock, I find an ancient data slate from the golden age, still flickering with power from the Strand. On the screen I read the words written by a frightened student as they contemplated the horror approaching them. “The portal network has gone down. Stranding us on the planet. We have spent days huddled here waiting for answers. The professors knew as much as us, we are all in troubled seas. The Strand no longer sings in response to our cries. We may be truly alone.” I try to listen through the chaos and reach the soul connected to this data slate. After several long verses I eventually reach them, and I begin to sing the ancient songs of the strand. We are but one thought in the great memory. May the Strand guide our hands to heal, our hearts to feel, and our spirits to reveal. In remembrance, we are whole.
I feel the spirit ease in response and after several long chants I feel the spirit release, and in response the planet seems to still itself around me. Amidst the calmness I feel the exhaustion finally set in, I lay down and attempt to get some sleep, but before I do, I hear a scream that sounds like it was from nearby. I feel a pull to assist, and so I leave the bubble of stillness I had created and head off to heal more of the planet. As I do, I am immediately assaulted by a spirit that seems to pulse with an angry red energy. I attempt to calm the spirit and repeat the prayers and songs from before, but instead it strikes out at me and flees. I look back to where the bubble of stillness was, and see that it has dissipated.
I must continue forward, I find another notepad that has been destroyed by the storms, it once held memories, however I am unable to access them. I dig through the rocks and sand to find the bones of the notepad’s owner. This will allow me a connection, I sing out again through the strand and try to connect to the spirit. I watch their final terrified moments as they look to the sky and see a mass of energy as large as a sun crash into the planet. The looks of confusion and fear on everyone's faces as they attempted to comprehend what could have caused this. I feel tears begin to fall from my cheeks as I continue trying to speak the prayers, and feel the spirit ease in response, eventually releasing back into the Strand.
Again, a bubble of stillness forms around me, but now the angry spirit seems poised and ready. I stay within and watch as it fails in its attempts to penetrate the bubble, I sit down and attempt to connect with the spirit and feel trillions of screams in response. The sound itself knocks me out of the stillness and I see as the spirit destroys the bubble. I must try to heal that spirit, but how do you heal the screams of trillions? Exhausted, I collapse, physically unable to move. I attempt to create my own stillness amidst the chaos and sleep takes me.
I awake in a temple of complete quiet, the cavernous halls echoing every whisper. I stand up and begin searching around, when I realize that this is the Temple of Still Thought, the original Luminar Temple, where the ancient masters would meet. I find no exit to the temple, but I do find the bones of another Ossari, carved into his tusks, are the chronicles of his life. I began to read them, they came here millennia ago and worked to heal these spirits as well. They attempted tirelessly to heal the trauma of the sundering, but no other came and he was left alone. He chronicles the angry red spirit, mentioning that within the screams he can hear the ancient words of Akesh Dural, the ancient Elari born of the Stillness, attempting to calm the rage from within. These are spirits who have been suffering for 50,000 Grand Cycles.
I attempt to reach out from the temple to find the other Ossari that came here with me, it takes me several moments but I find them, a younger Ossari struggling against the onslaught of painful energy. I concentrate on the stillness at the heart of the temple, reaching into the truth of the founding. That when Stillness is found amongst chaos that you are able to be anywhere that requires stillness. Suddenly I find myself transported out to them, I reach them to find them completely overwhelmed by the environment that seems determined to break any and all who arrive that are unprepared. I grab them close and transport us back to the temple. When we return I release them and their anguish releases in a loud pained cry.
“The pain is so much! I can't stand it! All that suffering!” They collapse on the ground and begin to cower, while I attempt to reassure them.
“We can work through this together, do not worry my child. This is a place of stillness. You will be safe here.” I leave them in the room and go to prepare how to explain what this calling has led us to. A lifelong mission to heal the pain of the sundering and free the ancient Luminar master from their millennia of pained anguish.
I head off to try and find more answers that will lead us to the true and final destination. Amongst the detritus and dust of an ancient and fallen temple, I find another set of bones, these are all gathered together and the smallest of them has a data slate. It details a team of Riftborne who attempted to rescue Akesh Dural. They attempted everything that the Luminar order left them, but the strength of the spirits was too strong for any mystical item to heal.
Our mission was clear, we needed to heal the spirits and chip away at the shell that the Sundering created. I return back to the main room and find the young Ossari attempting to re-center themselves. “Are you alright now?” I ask them, half expecting a weary response.
“Yes. I apologize for my outburst, earlier, I was not prepared for the true anguish that this planet is suffering from. I am Halthor Echoscribe, I was brought here by a pained scream.” They speak trying to show they have strength enough to continue. I sit down and explain all that I have learned. I watch as the look in their eyes changes from exhaustion to despair. “So we are trapped here, unable to heal the wound and unable to save the Luminar founder?”
“Not at all, We have the full picture that none before have seen. We can heal this planet, but it will be like move an ocean one drop at a time. We must make an effort each day to heal spirits and attempt to commune with Akesh Dural.” I look at them knowing that this mission will be a life long one, that we may not even see complete. “To leave would be to abandon these souls to an endless torment that will grow until it absorbs every soul. I believe we can do this, but we will need to find others. Just then, the temple seems to awaken as a sensor seems to show another ship in the atmosphere and from it another Ossari is descending. We were not alone, others heard the cry and sought to heal it. From within the temple we feel a warmth seeming to grow from our newfound mission.
