Page Text: Uru Carl is the weblog of Carl Palmner, explorer.
Coming Home
March 16th, 2022
Can’t believe it’s been two years. I could blame my absence on almost dying and my long recovery, but the truth is that I’d stopped going down to the cavern months before my hospitalization. Still, in my defense, it’s hard to walk around D’ni when you can’t…well, walk. And it was months before I could do that again.
But that’s still not a great excuse. I’ve been perfectly fine for over a year now, but let the surface world distract me. Of course, I was pretty busy trying to figure out a way to earn an income again, but…well, I need to stop making excuses. The important thing is that I’m back.
And wow, look what I came back to! The cavern is alive again. The DRC may be gone, along with Yeesha, Watson, Sharper and so many of the other big names who never returned during the Third Uru, but the explorers have really stepped up. As near as I can tell, here’s what happened.
During the Third Uru, a few explorers started learning to Write, and began poking their heads into parts of the cavern that had never been open to us. On August 20th, 2020, Chiso Preniv was released. It’s an old D’ni library Age that explorers had renovated to present new and newly restored Ages. By that time, the Third Uru had pretty much died. Very few people were coming to the cavern anymore, except occasionally for specific events. There had been no official restoration going on, which is probably why so many returned to their lives on the surface.
Chiso changed all that. From what I can tell of the records, hundreds of explorers flooded D’ni and the Ages again. And, more importantly, that momentum remained. I think it’s safe to say that a Fourth Uru had begun*, and unlike the Third, it had the staying power of official restoration behind it.
Chiso is a great Age in and of itself. I’ve always been partial to libraries. I was especially thrilled to learn that the lectures once given by CalumTraveler and myself have been recorded and placed in a book there. If you want to know about the Second Uru, that’s the best concise record I know of. It was added on February 18, 2021. You can also read about Chiso itself in the journal of Patrick Dulebohn, an explorer heavily involved with its restoration. The book is right there in the Age. So are several others.
Chiso had two Linking Books in it when it was released. The first is to a D’ni Age called Veelay Tsavahn. It’s apparently a very, very old Age that was used as a memorial to the dead, and explorers have modified it into a more modern memorial to explorers of the Uru who have died. Really beautiful place. Sacred. The second Book in Chiso leads to a new Guild of Messengers Pub, which, I must say, is far superior to the old one.
Since then, restoration has progressed slowly but steadily. On May 5th, new books were added to Chiso: the surrealistic Age of Tre’bivdil (not sure who Wrote that), the peaceful wintery Age of Serene (Andy Legate), and the Vothol Gallery (Rustee) in D’ni.
On December 12th, Tiam was added. This Age is great because, unlike the previous Fourth Uru Ages, it has actual puzzles to solve.
And from what I’m hearing, explorers have been tampering with the Gahreesen Wall and the KI system to try to make the Wall functional again. Apparently that’s going to happen soon, along with the release of some place in D’ni called Elonin.
I’m really pleased with the efforts that have been made so far, and I’ve already made friends. CalumTraveler is still there, which is great. Kelsei A.T. and Jules Lavisham have been really welcoming.
Everything seems so amazing that I can’t help but wonder…when will the other shoe drop?
Ah, I’m probably just being paranoid.
NOTES
*Some are calling it the Fourth Restoration, but this is inaccurate, as the Third Uru was not a restoration at all. Nothing was restored. It was a major gathering (an “uru”) only.
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