Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Guilds

While all the drama with the War has been unfolding, the DRC has been busy themselves. I'm still not sure why, but they have decided to institute the formation of Guilds. They have chosen five initial ones to be formed, with the intent to form others once the system is in place. The first five Guilds are those of the Writers, Maintainers, Cartographers, Messengers, and Greeters.

The Kirel neighborhood was initially opened by the DRC to provide information on the new Guilds. They made it all nice with info tables, balloons, and free t-shirts to show your support of your favorite Guild. They have since opened up Guild-specific "pubs" as gathering places. They are similar in form to the Watcher's Pub, but decorated in the Guild colors and banners. Rather nice, actually. I particularly like the Writer's pub, it's all in black and burgundy. Nice and moody.

No mention of a Naturalist's Guild, of course. The DRC has been very slow in returning correspondance on DZS-related questions. Slow as in "hasn't responded ever". The DZS discussed how we saw ourselves fitting in with the Guild structure. I'd like to push for a Guild of Naturalists/Scientists/etc, but I think that may be further down the line. For now we'll sit tight, keep doing our work, and see what happens.

Back in Business

My journal mysteriously reappeared today after a couple months of being missing. Looks like the last time I wrote in here was the end of June - quite a bit has happened since then! I wonder where this thing has been? It usually lives on the shelf in my Relto. Nobody has been there for months though, so I have no idea where it could have been...

Unfortunately, I haven't been to Relto, the Cavern, or anywhere else in the "D'niverse" in some time either. Surface work has kept me busy. I do check the news regularly though, and big things have happened.

Doug made it back from Noloben with more news of the Bahro civil war. Around the same time Phil Henderson also showed up alive and well! Wish I could have been there for that, The Great Tree has been holding out hope that he'd return for years. He's just as enigmatic as ever, perhaps a little more hippy-ish than before, and still speaks in non-conversational riddles.

Phil heralded the return of "Him" - none other than Dr. Richard Watson. The good doctor explained that he had been with Yeesha, Engberg, and the Bahro, travelling the Ages. Apparently he is responsible for returning a powerful Tablet to the Bahro - a Tablet that the D'ni had long used to enslave and usurp the power of the Bahro. This is the root of the Bahro War - the new-found freedom of the Bahro to decide their own fates. One group has chosen to forgive and rebuild their society; one group has chosen to exact revenge for millenia of abuse.

To this point, the "good" Bahro have shielded the Cavern from the ravages of the "bad" Bahro. Apparently this war has engulfed hundred of Ages and caused untold damage across the worlds. Our protectors have created a deception which has fooled their enemies (and ours, by extension) into ignoring the Cavern, but Watson isn't sure how long that will hold up. Should the plan fail, he says there is no force which can save us.

Doug, scorned by so many Explorers has left us to join the beneficent Bahro. Always a man of action, he has seen the ramifications of this conflict and has pledged to do his part. He has been gone awhile now, and I wish I had seen him before he left. There are still so many things I wanted to ask him.