heh.
We actually had a few more ideas about story all those years back. I still like this idea:
Upon reaching the age through the book, you find yourself in a small complex on the seashore. The sun is setting on the distant horizon as dark clouds loom from behind. You see three buildings, two at right angles and third structure, imposing but grand, a little way off, but it is locked tight. You wonder around and find one of the other two buildings that opens into a conference hall of sorts - very elaborate but has some obvious signs of decay. The other building is a library, but for some reason the book pedestals are all locked, except one, which has been smashed. The intriguing stained glass above the pedestal suggests this was where the book for a canyon age was once held. The stained glass is beautiful, with depictions of beauty and intrigue so tempting you just want to see the ages behind them, but no joy. You walk outside. It's then that you see a book lying there, abandoned on the ground. Upon a closer look, you see it links to a canyon age. Perhaps this is the missing book, but why is it here? Nothing else for it, you link.
You arrive on the shores of a blue sea, under a clear sky with a blazing hot sun overhead. You look around and you can tell this place is old. You walk from the link-in point toward a ladder leading up a cliff, to a door in the cliff wall. To the right is a large cylindrical building - a reservoir perhaps? Nothing going on there at the moment, so you climb the ladder. As you come to the top, a man comes out of the door. He appears to be D'ni. He is well dressed, looks composed, and yet in his eye you see a sense of urgency. He speaks fluently and clearly, says his name is ... (Henceforth he shall be known as Dude - his codename. Can't think of a better name atm). He tells you he is a descendant of Kehlbet, and says he needs to find the key fragments, in order that he may protect the age of SehvTehrthSheega (SP) from another, a descendant of the traitor, who seeks only to plunder the world of all its riches. He needs you to do this. He promises to open the books in the library, and instructs you that each age holds a fragment of the key, which you must return to the main age. Last, he tells you he has hidden one fragment in this age for safekeeping, and that it too will need to be taken to the main age. He then climbs down the ladder and links out to the main age. The age is then shook by an earthquake, and you suddenly realise that it may not be very stable. The linking book Dude used falls off into the sea. Where to here?
You solve the age and find the fragment, luckily, and there is a book back to the main age. You link into the library, and the fragment drops into place on a machine/pedestal. At this point the pedestal glows, and you see it is an imager - the key fragment is showing you something! You see a group of elderly men around a table in the conference room you saw earlier, except it is not worn away like before, but clean and new. One man stands up angrily. "I am telling you Pradershee is unstable! Fix it! At the current rate it won't last much longer until it is destroyed! Then where will we be?' Another man agrees, saying how it would not be profitable to lose such a valuable "asset". The group seems divided, but then the image disappears. Most intriguing. Then, another man links in. He looks disheveled, almost savage. You can tell hes been through a lot. He says his name is Mister (once again tentative codename
). He can tell you have met Dude. That Parasite who claims he is a true descendant. But no, it is he who is the true descendant. He wants you to find the key too, but not for him. He wants you to bring it so that they may destroy it and keep the age protected forever. He then heads off, saying he has "things to do".
And now you are presented with a journey. Ten ages. Ten fragments. Two people. Who will you trust?
To be continued...