Welcome to Gaia! ::

This thread is for tracking the current state of the metaplot and reviewing previous events! The next post contains bite sized summaries of past developments in the metaplot, while the post after that contains more detailed explanations. This is all entirely optional reading.

In-Depth Review

As if the plague weren't enough, it seems a murderer is on the loose. During the Night of Stories, the annual bonfire and storytelling festival held in the Middle Layer, a City Person was found with his throat cut. Strangely, moving the body did not cause it to break down as it normally should. In the 3 days after 2 more bodies in like conditions were found in different parts of the City.

As it turns out, this wasn't the work of one murderer but an organization. Their going-ons were tracked by a few brave individuals who happened to stumble upon them during a night of their dirty work. The strange cult, made up entirely of City People clad in all white and claiming to worship a Golden deity, orchestrated the murders for an unknown purpose. They seemed to have something to do with the rising panic over the plague, with the ritualized killings being a mean to some kind of end. An odd device is involved - a glowing ball held within a cage - though whether or not it this is the murder weapon or some other facet of the cult's plan remains unclear. The leader of the cult preached that they needed to be ready to face a looming crisis, similar to the one told of in the First Child's story. This time they would not allow the Book Children to fight and sacrifice themselves while City People stood by idly waiting to be saved. To save the many they must sacrifice the few.




A plague festers in the City. Though the deaths so far have been few, City People have begun to fade out and vanish as they did in the old stories. The ruling elite of the Library City urge the citizens to stay calm, seemingly ignoring the threat in hopes of avoiding mass hysteria.

Some citizens are not content to sit and hope the plague cures itself however. They believe that in the oldest texts of the City - the stories of the First Child - there may be clues to help them fight the rising menace.

The story of the First Child is well-known among the people of the City and is often told to newborn City People and newly arrived Book Children like a fairy tale. It is an ancient story, dating back to long before the arrival of the current Book Children who live in the City. There are several versions of it with minor differences in each, but the most popular and earliest copy is the Ethid version, named for the City Person who transcribed it. This is how it goes:

The First Child's Story

Among the trees the First Child awoke under the gaze of a beast with a thousand eyes. He feared neither the cold forest nor the creature. "Go into the City," said the thousand-eye beast, "for that is where you are needed."

"Why am I needed? Who am I to be so needed? Who are you to tell me so?" The First Child was full of questions, but the thousand-eye beast said "in the City you'll see what must be done. Take with you this seed to fulfill the task given you. Never return. When you need me, I shall appear to you." The beast with a thousand eyes extended its thousand hands and in one was a shining golden seed. When the First Child took the tiny seed the thousand-eye beast vanished into the air and he began his journey. For five days and five nights the First Child walked through the paper forest, wanting nothing - not food, nor drink, nor sleep. Then he reached the edge of the City.

In the City the streets were empty but every lantern was lit, he looked in the glowing windows of the houses and the shops where food and goods were laid out and yet found no one. Silence. The First Child took the seed to the center of the City. Without knowing why, he buried it tenderly and whispered to it. His words brought forth a sprout and when he cut his hand over the sprout it grew into a beautiful tree with leaves and branches of gold. Having done this the First Child continued to explore. He walked, higher and higher, growing tired and hungry and so ate an apple from a cart and fell to sleeping among the books. When the First Child awoke he was surrounded by the City Folk who, curious and welcoming, took to him as one of their own. At first they frightened him, as did the new feelings of hunger and fatigue, but each became familiar and comforting to him with time.

And so the City Folk, We, took in the first ink-blooded creature. We clothed and fed and him. We taught him our words and delighted in the sound as they flowed, unseen, from his mouth. We listened to the story of his birth and wondered at the mysteries of the forbidden forest. Though his curiosity for the world was never sated he did not smile or delight in what he learned, for none of the things we could teach were the one thing he most wished to know: Why had he come to the City? Even though a plague spread in the City and we sickened and waned, we continued to teach and love. Everything we could offer fell short and always he asked if we could never help him understand the reason he had come to be here. With our love the First Child grew strong as The Fade took the young and old alike. At last there were but a few who remained, teaching and caring for the First Child. At last, the First Child saw how we dwindled. He said, "I shall save you. I cannot let my friends wither away."
We said, "but what can be done?" And all were silent.

"I will ask the thousand-eye beast."

From the center of the City the tree he had planted spoke in a voice with words that shone like light in the air. "Ink-born child, in your time of need I appear before you. Alone you must go into the heart of the City that lies beneath the roots of this tree and there find that which can save the people. Know that if you fail, all will die. But know also that if you succeed you will vanish forever from the earth."

Having said this, the roots of the tree churned in the earth and tore the ground asunder. At his feet was a path into the blackness of the earth. Seeing the path ahead of him and knowing what must be done the First Child steeled his courage and began his journey into the dark. "Stop!" we called, tugging on his cloak. "Do not go," we begged. "Do not go."

"I must go, for it is clear to me now that this is why I have come. The people who have loved me gave and gave and suffered while I, thinking only of myself, took and thrived. For that I beg for forgiveness. Goodbye, my friends." He smiled and without another word vanished from our sight into the dark. The path closed around him and none could follow. We waited at the tree for many days and as we waited the plague began to abate. We no longer began to fade and those who had now became solid once more. The shining tree grew more and more vibrant as each day passed and its leaves began to drop. When the last leaf fell the tree shook and split. From within the tree came forth a creature of golden light whose every step stole the light of the tree, leaving only a gnarled husk that crumbled into the earth. In one hand it held a book, in the other a pair of golden bookbinder's shears.

"The child of ink completed his task," said the golden creature. It pulled the shears across the spine of the book and took the pages in its hand. Pulling out the pages as if they were unbound, the golden creature scattered them into the air and as they fell each was transformed suddenly into our friends who had been taken by the Fade. "He has vanished forever but continues to live. In the hearts of the people is his memory. For as long as the people of the City remember his story, he and they shall never be parted." With that the golden creature took the book and the shears and descended once again into the heart of the City, and like the First Child was never seen again.