Editing Forum:Lore:Unconected

{{Forumheader|Fan Fiction}}

'''Unconected''' is a [[Lore]] book introduced in [[Forum:Episode: Rebirth|Episode: Rebirth]]. Entries are unlocked by completing the Weekly Challenge for the [[Forum:Congressional Offensive|Congressional Offensive]] activity. It is written from [[Forum:Tivon, the Eternal Will|Tivon]]'s perspective and describes the rise of his species, the [[Forum:Quassin|Quassin]] and his rise into a [[Disciples of the Witness|Disciple]] of [[the Witness]].

==I: Alone in the Dark==
A desolate world drifts in the darkness with no system to call home. A single tiny moon that had been caught in its gravity and dragged along on its endless journey is its only companion.

Nothing is living on the surface. The thick icy crust remains unbreakable against meteor impacts and stray gamma-ray bursts. The temperature is subzero. The atmosphere, if it can be described as such, is so thin that it's virtually impossible to breathe.

And yet, deep under the miles of ice in the freezing planet-spanning ocean, there is life.

---

In the deep, the only source of warmth comes from hydrothermal vents. Fish gather close to feed from the bacteria feeding from the inorganic components the vents produce and to warm themselves before venturing into the dark waters.

Beyond the borders of the bubble of light, at the weakest point, you wait. You exude a light of your own — a faint blue pulse, too dim to outshine the vents but enough for what you need. A fish, baited to it. Light means warmth, safety. In its transfixed state, it fails to see you hidden in the dark. Three sharp claws tip the ends of webbed hands and feet. Thin limbs lightly motion to keep you steady as blank bulbous eyes focus on the approaching little thing.

Suddenly, you lunge forward. Your claws sink into the fish as it thrashes to escape. Rows of needle-sharp teeth rend into the flesh as the other fish, disturbed, flee into the shadows.

Now alone, you paddle to the vents to warm for a moment after your meal before returning to the dark and waiting for another meal...

---

Over time, though its passage was missing in the perpetual dark of the depths, the lone, ambush creatures developed. Smarter than the fish they hunted, but no more imposing than the rare leviathans that preyed on them. They learned to work in groups to catch larger food, using spears fashioned from rock and ice to cut tougher hides their claws never could. Their dominion was carved out, the groups grew into Shoals and a primitive culture began to form - building primitive homes of soft rock and spit around the hydrothermal vents.

Masked and protected by the roof of ice over their heads, thicker than any cutting tool they could craft, they were free to craft, to hunt, to live in safety, cut off from the universe and the dangers it posed.

==II: Link to Evolution==
A hunter paddles with haste to a huddle of huts built from sediment on the floor, many move aside as he heads for their Shoal's leader, speaking of a crack in the Ice Roof and light leaking from it. Moments later, the hunter leaves, followed by Shoal-leader Akrish himself and three of his guards. It was rare for Shoal-leaders to venture beyond their group, and only for most dire circumstances. A Shoal is weak, disorganized and susceptible to larger predators without one.

Something leaks from cracks in the ice roof. It is glowing, brighter than any glow their ancestors and hunters used to lure simpler-minded prey can produce. It is pure... Beautiful. The hunter approaches slowly and reaches out a hand. Akrish's guards raise their weapons in defense, believing the leaking light to be a tactic of some great beast waiting to emerge and swallow him, like colossal Haze Fish that prey on any Quassin that wanders too far into the deep alone.

The light curls around the hunter's hand and settles in his palm. He can feel the potential in it. He can see a way to change the world to benefit them. Seeing it as safe, Akrish reached out next and he felt the same. More and more of the leader's escorts reach out. In time, more Shoal-leaders would learn of this leak and make a pilgrimage to investigate. They were greeted in kindness, rather than anger. They reached out to the next and the next until all of the Quassin knew the Light. They evolved at a rapid pace.

The Light allowed them to shape their world, creating materials never possible in their world before. It allowed them to build marvels, better weapons and homes, and even ways to dig through and survive on the surface. Upon reaching the surface, the Quassin would discover the source of the Light.

Their sky had two moons. One lies low in the sky, dominating their view, its bright white shell reminds them of a Pearl. A God-Pearl.

- - -

"And since then, we have held the God Pearl in high reverence, for it helped us break free!" explains Curator Virish, waving a hand at an ancient carving hung on the wall. 

The gathered crowd of Quassin youths looked, many clamored and whispered amongst themselves. But one, Tivon, merely watched in silent wonder as the Curator continued, moving to a picture depicting a trio of  Quassin reaching out to an empty black space.

"And even though the God Pearl left our world, we have not lost our connection to its power. Perhaps one day, we will leave our home. Perhaps one day, we will find the God-Pearl." Again, all except Tivon whispered amongst each other.

The curator motioned and called for the group to move on, but Tivon didn't hear. He was too focused on the picture before him. He looked up to the ice roof above them, looking to the spires that scraped it and imagined seeing the God Pearl with his own eyes.

==III: Quest for Truth==
Tivon breaches the surface clad in a pressure suit. It is designed to maintain the environment his species had grown accustomed to for a short time on the surface, using a layer of water in the suit to allow him to breathe. 

Perhaps his people would walk the surface in time without them, he thinks.

It is so cold on the surface that Tivon shivers, even though the water layer feels tepid by comparison. He pushes the feeling away as he treks on in search of something. For many years, he has been plagued by dreams. They are irregular dreams, but he can recall how they go every time.

It always starts on the surface. Clothed in only his deep-sea garment, he looks up to see the God-Pearl in the sky. Its bright radiance forces the young Quassin to look away, but it slowly becomes dimmer. He looks up to see the God-Pearl growing smaller in the sky as it leaves their world. He cries and shouts for it to return, but it doesn’t listen.

He falls to his knees in anguish, crying until he awakes. As he grew older, the ending of the dream changed. A mysterious figure clad in black stands before him, looking up at the space the God-Pearl once filled. Its head billows with smoke, and more heads are visible from within. It turns to the kneeling Tivon, reaches out a hand, and whispers a single word.

—- Join us —-

The dream ends a few seconds later, but he reaches out more each time.

He tries to recall another story from the Talekeeper to distract him from the cold.

Many years ago, their home was visited by an alien force. Not invaders, studiers. They wished to know of their mysterious world. The studiers believed the planet desolate, until the first contact with a small Quassin explorer School. Both parties reach for a weapon for the unknown creatures.

Tivon recalls Talekeeper Virish's reenactment of the tale, with stone-craved masks for the visitors, and it made him chuckle.

==IV: Mercy in Ignorance==
(A figure stands before me. He is tall and thin. Its arms fold behind his back as it looks down on me. Six eyes from a thin rectangular head focus on me.)

"Who are you?"

''"I have many names. Fearmonger. Upender. Disciple."''

"... I am Tivon."

''"Why are you here, child, all alone?"''

"I have been experiencing dreams of a figure in black. You are not him."

(The thin figure throws his head back in a brief laugh.)

''"No, child, I am not. But you are not so far off in your search, for I am a Disciple of that very being - the Witness."''

"Witness?"

==V: Dismembrance==
I saw the [[Final Shape]] for what it truly was. In the times since my trial, I learned of its interpretations of my fellow Disciples.

Every sound of the universe crescendoing in a final chorus of horror and beauty. [[Forum:Talos, the Wish Demon|A realisation for all that exists to strip away all that separates them.]] [[Forum:Lux, Second Disciple of the Witness|The perfect design crafted from the memory of an existence that came before.]]
[[Hive|A reality whittled down to a sharpened everlasting state by blade and claw.]] [[Nezarec, Final God of Pain|A merger of one's self with the fabric of the universe.]]

They are all wrong! All false!

I alone knew the True Final Shape. The universe drowning in Darkness, then life is reborn from it, stronger than before. Just like I was.

Just like the [[Taken]].

I saw this in the extinction of the primitive [[Forum:Val'a|Val'a]]. Their replicatory abilities were easily outpaced by the sheer numbers of the Taken.

I saw it in the destruction of the [[Forum:Averest Dominion|Averest Dominion]]. The fleets of those machine-filth were easily corrupted and twisted by their [[Blight]].

I saw it in the [[Hive]] of the [[Oryx, the Taken King|Taken King]], begging for the privilege of being Taken. I tried to gift that privilege to all Hive, but I was stopped by our Witness.

==VI: Life in Influence==
@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 Tivon recalls Talekeeper Virish's reenactment of the tale, with stone-craved masks for the visitors, and it made him chuckle.
-Eventually, one of the visitors managed to calm the situation. They called themselves explorers, members of an interstellar empire. They offered the Quassin to join them as a "Client" for their Habitable World. They in turn are offered to see their home.
-A representative of the Quassin left their world to speak with the Habitable World. He is never heard from again.
-They are alone again.
 ==IV: Mercy in Ignorance==