An New Beginning

Let me start by saying this - when I first went to the DRC asking them to make the D'ni Zoological Society official, I never expected it to really work...

Due to recent events, I'm starting this log as a record of my adventures with Doug Sharper and Nick White of the DRC. It seems there are events in motion which will have unexpected and unforseen consequences, and I have been given the choice to be a player in this game.

Naturally, I said yes.

Some background, perhaps, to set the stage. I have been visiting the Great Cavern of D'ni since about New Years, 2003. I was there for the first Restoration effort, and watched as the D'ni Restoration Council (DRC) tried to rebuild what is perhaps the greatest civilization on Earth. Tried... and failed. I was there when they closed access to the Cavern, and with sorrow laid my linking book aside. When Laxman notified us that they were providing a way for the Explorers to return to the Cavern, though the Restoration would not continue, I happily made my way back and spent the next several years exploring the Ages of D'ni. I was there when the first test signals came across the ki network. I was there when the DRC proudly announced it's return, and the resurrection of the Restoration with new funding.

And now, I have been given the opportunity to play a small part in this grand endeavor.

The DZS was the brainchild of some conversations between Sh'aeri and myelf, with some help from Kierra Windsong. As with any good scientific Society, we exist to research and further the knowledge base of a topic; in this case, the flora and fauna of the D'ni Ages. The D'ni, of course, were able to establish connections to an infinite variety of worlds through the Art of Writing; by using specific techniques to describe a place in a Book, they were able to Link there physically.

For an ecologist like myself, the possibilities are endless.

Naturally, some like-minded folks got together and we decided to establish a group dedicated to this research. Though labelled "zoological", botany is certainly something we will be looking at as well; after all, it's impossible to really separate the two.

We wanted support from the DRC, since their resources far outweigh our own. They have access to ancient D'ni records which would be a tremendous help in sorting all this out. But they are also traditionally very... tight-fisted... with their knowledge.

But now Doug Sharper has returned to the Cavern to investigate the animal problems on Negilahn, and through Nick White, a DRC translator and buddy of Sharpers, heard about the DZS. It seems he's interested in our help, as he's had Nick trying to track me down all day. Given what I know of Doug, this is going to be anything but boring...