shellphones | Seeking Interested Parties

Type: Video
Sender ID: forgeabettertomorrow | (Darin Altway)
To: Public
Subject: Darin and Zelda have an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT to make
Warnings: N/A

[As the video blips on, Darin walks onto screen from the left. He looks…anxious? Excited? Definitely more energized than usual. He leans forward, the top of the frame cutting off his head so you have a close-up of his torso and not much else.]

Did I do this thing right, Sunshine? I kinda wanna frame this up right.

[ The video feed wobbles a little, the camera going out of focus. Zelda's voice is audible from somewhere off screen. ]

Almost! Don't forget to activate this setting here.

[ The video feed wobbles again, the camera coming back into focus. ]

Alright. Alright, let’s do this.

…Oh holy crap, we’re already recording.

[Darin immediately stiffens as he realizes that he is, in fact, broadcasting.]

Damn piece of— whatever, just go. Okay! Hey everyone! So, I wanted to put this out there publicly because…Zelda and I have some exciting news.

[Darin takes a step back and reaches towards Zelda to take her hand with a wide, excited grin on his face.]

So…I’ve been working on a…on a project. An experiment, really. About the rifts that brought us all here.

[If you were waiting with bated breath for a certain matrimonial announcement, sorry, this isn’t gonna be that. It’s gonna be BETTER. It’s gonna be about SCIENCE.]

I…I’ve made no real secret of the fact that I want to figure the rifts out for…obvious, personal reasons. So, over the last couple of months, I designed something.

[Darin reaches off screen and returns holding what looks like a wireframe cube with a spherical chamber suspended in the center by eight converging rods anchored to the cube’s points.]

This. I call it the Beacon Box. I figured that the Rifts were too…potentially volatile to be controlled but hey, like any other force of nature, you don’t try and tame it, right? You learn to navigate it. I won’t…bore you with the science of it but the short version is I imbued it with an essence of me and my world with the help of the Leviathans and had it cast into the rift. I wasn’t expecting much but…

[Darin excitedly looks at Zelda.]

But we got some data. Zelda got some readings that we’re still parsing but…well, I’ll let her tell you.

[ Zelda, grinning just as excitedly as Darin, gives a little wave to the camera with one hand. In the other, she's holding the Purah Pad. ]

It took a little bit of doing, but I was able to program the Purah Pad to receive periodic transmissions from the Beacon Box while it traversed the Rifts. I believe a number of us have conducted research on the Rifts before, myself included, and a prevailing theory I came across was that the Rifts are related to the Leviathans-- possibly even created by them. So I expected that the energy signature of the Rifts would resemble that of the Leviathans.

[ And here, her grin gets wider. She looks like she's almost vibrating as she clutches the Purah Pad with both hands. ]

But that is not the case at all! Now, these remain preliminary readings, but the energy signature detected from the Rifts differs significantly from that of the Leviathans. Nor do they match any other signatures I've recorded in this world. The Rifts are far, far more powerful.

But that's not all! We recorded a few sudden influxes of energy-- "spikes," if you will-- the timing of which seem to align with the arrival of a few new riftfarers. I believe these spikes are indicative of people-- or even objects-- passing through the rifts. I posit that the same spikes occur with departures as well, although these are rather more difficult to verify.

Now, I've been examining the data produced by these spikes to see if I can't find any patterns or measurable specificity-- things which might help us determine when a passage through the Rifts will occur, or if any of these readings might indicate the world to which they are connecting-- a "world signature." As of now, I've not found any, but employing additional Beacon Boxes will expand the data pool significantly and allow for a much more thorough study of it.

[Darin chimes in now, tossing the Beacon Box back and forth in his hands like a kid waiting his turn to give a presentation.]

I know…it doesn’t sound like much. But it’s a start and this is where I want some help. Creating a Beacon Box requires…well…it requires you to give up something of deep, personal value. Something that can tether you to your world and can, in turn, call out to it. But…if I’m right?

If I’m right, people we’ve lost might be able to find their way back. And the people who want to go home? They might be able to do just that. But like Zelda said, we need more data. If you want to be a part of the project, please reach out to me or Zelda. I’ll be offering the construction of these boxes for free for anyone interested and if there’s anyone out there with even a passing interest in…dimensional space and time rifts? I’d love to work with you.

[At this point, Darin turns to Zelda, grinning from ear to ear. Unable to contain his excitement anymore, he sweeps her up into a giant bear hug, twirling her off screen to cries of “I did it!”]

(OOC NOTE: This is the start of the EXTREMELY LONG RUNNING BEACON BOX PLOT. ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE. I'll draft up an OOC write-up later but the short version is that Darin is looking for ways to navigate the rifts. If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me here, hit me up at Bitterbearface n Discord, or ping me on plurk at bitterbearface For the purposes of this post, please place in the subject line if you'd like to speak with DARIN or ZELDA specifically. If you have no preference, leave it blank!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Zelda regards him dubiously, but doesn't press the matter. Emet-Selch is a lot of things, but 'as human as she is' probably isn't one of them.

... Well, not that the time-traveling century-old descendant of a goddess is a normal human herself. ~~Maybe he is as 'human' as she is.~~ ]

Very well. [ If you say so, Emet. ] In any case, the question remains whether they hold particular sentimental value to you.

[ He sees the look but feigns ignorance. Yes. Yes, the robes-- ]

Well... They're a reminder of my past duty. A duty I placed utmost importance in and one which I ultimately failed. I suppose I would miss them ever so slightly if I were to give them up for this venture of yours.

[ Coming from him, that's a "yes". ]

[ Zelda startles, her eyes widening a little, taken completely by surprise. A duty of utmost importance that he ultimately failed? That... isn't something she ever expected to hear from someone like Emet-Selch, with his seemingly-limitless command of magic and knowledge. Zelda, barely seventeen and incapable of using magic at all, is someone who fails a duty of utmost importance.

She's quiet for a moment, seeming almost as if she didn't hear him. Then, her countenance turns serious and a question unrelated to the Beacon Boxes escapes her pursed lips. ]

... What was it? The duty that you failed?

[ He raises an eyebrow, giving voice to a silent question: "Why are you suddenly so curious about this?" But then he shrugs and answers sombrely. ]

Protecting my people.

[ That unspoken question doesn't go unnoticed, but for the moment, Zelda doesn't acknowledge it. Her brows rise with surprise, but the gravity of the subject tempers her usual expressiveness. ]

You were once a king?

[ A laugh bursts out of him, quickly smothered by a hand. ]

Oh, forgive me. No, I was not a king. Well, not back then. I was merely one of a council of fourteen... I suppose we were akin to sages. All experts of our respective fields and recognised with a seat at the metaphorical table.

As for me, I oversaw all matters pertaining to the aetherial realm. But I was not the first choice for it - my friend was. Mayhap you've seen him? A man with pink hair in a braid.

[ Zelda's eyes widen in surprise when Emet-Selch laughs in response to her question. Well that certainly wasn't the response she was expecting. It handily shatters the tension as well and leaves Zelda rather taken aback. She certainly was quick to project her own feelings onto him, wasn't she? ]

I don't believe I've made his acquaintance, no. [ She shakes her head. Even in a diverse world like this one, a skilled mage with a pink braid would stand out in a crowd. ]

...Pardon my presumptuousness. [ She adds after a moment, a dusting of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. ] I found myself reminded of a past duty of my own that I could not fulfill. It's not often I meet someone else who has had a similar experience.

Yes, well, there were a number of things which could have put a stop to the End of Days. But there is little point in regrets now. I did what I felt was right and I would do it again given the chance. My people are-- were everything to me.

What duty did you fail to uphold, if I may ask?

I... also failed to protect my people from destruction.

[ Her voice is a little stilted. Even with the years that have passed, Zelda still has trouble talking about the Calamity-- or, rather, talking about the Calamity in a way that doesn't place all the blame squarely on her shoulders. ]

When I was still an infant, a soothsayer foretold the resurrection of an ancient evil known as Calamity Ganon. My father spent my lifetime preparing defenses to protect our kingdom-- among which were five of Hyrule's greatest warriors, a knight wielding a sword capable of sealing darkness, and the divine power of a goddess passed down through my family.

I trained my whole life to unlock that power, but I did not succeed in time to stop the Calamity from destroying most of Hyrule.

Well, if the soothsayer foretold it then of course it was going to happen regardless of your preparations.

[ If it didn't happen then that would mean the soothsayer was wrong! ]

Did your father never bother to ask about the outcome instead? You seem to be hale - I presume it ultimately concluded in your favour.

[ Zelda's brows pinch, her expression turning to something a bit more inscrutable. It's a bit like a pained smile; she's making an effort to keep her emotions in check so that this conversation doesn't get too awkward. ]

Ultimately, it did... But my father was among the casualties, as were four of the five Champions and well over half of the kingdom's population.

Seeking Interested Parties | VIDEO

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