Stoneship
From MYSTlore
| |
|---|---|
| Stoneship | |
|
Written by Atrus | |
| Type | Inhabited Age |
| Connected places | Myst |
| Journal | Stoneship Journal |
| Link-in points | Stern of ship |
Stoneship is one of the many Ages written by Atrus while he lived on Myst Island. It consists of a vast ocean and a number of large rocks jutting out of the water. The original inhabitants of this age referred to this area as "The Rocks". Due to a writing experiment gone wrong, two halves of a wooden boat are fused with the largest rock.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
When Atrus first linked to the Age, it was only a complex of rocks forming a small archipelago. The entire complex of Rocks seemed to Atrus to be sinking slowly into the sea; a fact that he mentioned in his journals. During the interval of 10 years he didn't visit the Age, everything had sunk by 40-50 cm.
In order to better explore the age, Atrus decided to Write a ship in the Age. It didn't quite work according to Atrus's plan however, as the ship became fused to the largest rock island. The largest rock island has a small cave system, which currently lead to rooms belonging to Sirrus and Achenar.
The Age also features a lighthouse built by Atrus and the Rocks' three inhabitants, although this has apparently half sunk into the water. A series of pumps has also been installed in the age in order to pump water out of the lower level of the lighthouse or the caves when necessary.
When the Stranger visited the age, it was found to be in a state of perpetual thunderstorm.
[edit] History
The Rocks' first inhabitant was Emmit followed by Branch and Will. Interestingly Atrus writes in his journal that the boys did not know or care how they got there and says nothing about their origin, while he remained puzzled ever after. The boys seemed to know nothing of civilization or of evil. The weather was just right; a cool breeze blew there, never allowing the air to get too hot. Rain never visited Stoneship until after Atrus came to the Age. Then, the occasional storm would rise up, scaring the boys greatly.
Atrus tried to write a ship in the Age so that he would be able to explore the vast ocean and see where the boys came from and explain what some distant lights he was occasionally seeing in the horizon, were. However, when the ship was written in, it became fused with the rocks and was unable to move. This event reminded him of a warning Gehn told him when writing man-constructed objects in an Age. The boys seemed to enjoy this new place and liked to explore and play in its chambers.
Soon after that Atrus and the boys started the construction of a lighthouse. Atrus hoped that some native people would flock to the light, thus revealing new neighbors. Sure enough, on the completion of the lighthouse more people arrived to "The Rocks". After this, Atrus left for ten years, to see what might take place without him. Upon his return, a fairly large settlement had sprung up around the lighthouse. Sources indicate that the inhabitants may have found gold, and that all was still peaceful. Oddly enough though, it had not rained at all in the ten years that Atrus was away.
Unfortunately, this settlement came to an end with the rule of Sirrus and Achenar, who depleted its resources. The people had vanished by the time the Stranger came, indicating that they had been massacred or had fled.
[edit] Background
Originally, the pump-box was intended to be implemented to the rear of ship, not a separate atoll. Therefore only one plank bridge, the one leading to the lighthouse, was designed to exist.[1]
