The marching feet on their journey down here, it practically shakes the walls of the Cavern, in my imagination. The dust slowly falls from the roof of this place.

Bah, how drearily I write nowadays! I must shake off the dust that has settled upon me. The Cavern is full of life, the thing I most wanted it to be infused with, but it was not of my own doing. Does that somehow cheapen it? Of course, it should not, so why do I feel this way? I sometimes think it quite juvenile and spoiled of me, but other times I completely agree with myself.

The City Proper is alive with life and the bustle of people again. Never more than several dozen at a time mind you, but enough to bring noise back to this place.

I’ve taken to walking the docks at times when the population seems lowest. I’ve rarely encountered anyone personally. I have to conciously force myself to not react to them. Of course I am not bothered as no one recognises me, and why should they? Yet, somewhere deep inside part of me wishes they did know me. Wishes they did know that they walk so casually mere metres from my home for so long.

Some of my belongings still remain in my old quarters. Eventually I will retrieve them.

I’ve been attempting to rid Luminesce of the things I think could make it unsafe for a first visit. The D’ni sign for the negative is quite strange, as it isn’t quite a word, more a symbol. Now that I’ve begun using it I realise how often I’ve come across it in my explorations.

I’ve simply been using it to negate the larger threats that could endanger me on a quick visit to see my progress. Of course I could fill a library of books with “no something”s but I will stick with only the ones I can think of.  “No Large Animals” seemed a good start, although I still have trouble forming some of the more ornate characters.

Or would that destroy the ecology of the planet? Should I dare lay such sweeping waste to parts of a natural system? I wish soon to visit and report on my very first Age, as I know many others would enjoy a first glimpse, I just cannot be too cautious…

By the time Marie and Kodama arrived, they were flocked by scores of returning explorers. As soon as I saw the first face, I had to rush down and turn off all my generators. I had no interest in my peace being interrupted by weekend archaeologists. Extremely flustered, I attempted to calm myself by writing out Rule 6 several times in my notebook. It reminded me of doing lines as a child which, when done voluntarily, are actually quite soothing.

I won’t go into the details, but I have had to slowly move my meager comforts to a new location within the Cavern. There is no way to continue where I was without risking eventual discovery. Luckily, the few times through the last few years that I have been out on the lake, I was actually able to find a livable space in one of the nearby islands.

I briefly considered moving into K’Veer, the beautiful architecture has always pleased me greatly. However I rather quickly decided against it. It is still a popular destination for explorers and while I’m sure I could find a room or hallway out of the higher traffic areas in which to set up, the risk would still be too great. Aside from that, the place still has a horrible energy to it. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up any time I visit.

No, I have found a suitable, yet sadly smaller space barely within eyeshot of the harbour. I will miss being able to look out the windows and see Kerath’s Arch, but so be it. I need to be able to run my generators without fear of alerting anyone. There are still several items I have yet to collect from my old quarters in the harbour, but the little punt I’ve been ferrying my belongings in carries very little, and is quite frightening to travel in.

My internet connection in this new space is much worse. I am going to have to place several more signal repeaters throughout. I should have asked William to bring me some. I’m still concerned about the spike in activity. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds that there is a wireless signal. I am concerned by the thought of the increase in visitors forcing the DRC into revisiting and locking down their routers.

Perhaps I should spend some time moving the repeaters away from Ae’Gura…

A Gentleman must always be patient. A Gentleman cannot allow himself to act rashly or make a decision without proper consideration. All of his actions must be weighed. All possibilities considered.

In this way a Gentleman may Avoid Mistakes (Rule 1)

I’ve only met Marie once, through my father many years ago, but it was a quick meeting and I doubt she remembers me.

This is the music of Luminesce, somehow I know it. It stirs the same emotional response from me as the Age does, in my imagination.

                                                                                                       - Frank Herbert

Perhaps I was simply deluding myself by thinking I was the only one intelligent enough to predict the move the DRC would make. However, even after several statements by friends in this Journal, I did not realise the truth. Only recently, upon reading through Mr. Lord’s writings have I come to the correct realisation.

That I am not alone.

Of course, I should have seen it a long time ago. The questions and concerns race through my mind. Do I seek them out? Do I remain hidden? They are down in the Cavern actively doing as I would, creating Ages and keeping a precious few roots of the tree alive.

My instincts tell me to remain where I am. I am extremely surprised I haven’t been discovered yet. My quarters are not hidden with great effort, and I run a generator many hours out of the day (the 30 hour day of course). I may have to take steps to move the generators to another location and stifle the deafening noise they produce.

Perhaps they have seen me, and they too, desire solitude. Perhaps they would rather leave me to my own musings.

I would like to pay certain explorers and students of the art a visit though.

The problem is compounded by the fact that D’ni names for different stone and rock are completely foreign to me. I refer to naturally formed stone, not the artificial, D’ni-made material.

My first attempt at Luminesce had me just throwing in the first word for rock I could find that I could accurately scratch out. This time I am indulging my accute perfectionism in hopes that it will lead to a more stable foundation and a more stable Age.

I’ve been searching through the Third Age book looking to see what words its author used. Perhaps I can simply copy over the phrases they use for certain characteristics into my own Descriptive Book.

In any case, I have been feeling very motivated. Mr. Lord’s stained glass piece has fueled my desire to see Luminesce come to life. Thank you again for that my friend.

Travel is always the most difficult part. If only I could learn to write Linking Books to different places here. When I first came to the Cavern, I frequently had long daydreams of having dozens of books, all leading to places around the globe that I could access at any time. The idea was intoxicating, to say the least.

Ah well. Work begins again. I’m glad I was convinced not to burn my failure Luminesce book. It has already helped me.

The base islands have begun to be fleshed out. There will be a point soon when I will have to take the plunge into my first Age unprotected.

My heart sinks to think of it. I have been unable to bring myself to visit my One Words. An experiment on eternal hold…

I didn’t think Marge would be up for taking care of so many people, she looks unusually frail this year. She was cheerful as ever though, with all her usual energy and volume intact. She was delighted to have more people to take care of.

That woman’s maternal instincts know no bounds.

Yesterday evening I took Green Dragoon’s advice from my previous entry and decided to share with mother my journeys. I’ve taken many more photographs than I have kept in this journal, but I showed her only the best ones. I told her of the Third Age and of T. I showed her my sketches and she laughed at my foolishness for taking the camera into the Age. She didn’t even blink when I explained linking to her. Perhaps she doesn’t believe me, otherwise she does not fully comprehend it. She complimented my sketches of the natives of the Third Age, saying my life studies have gotten much better since I was a child and I refused to go to my after-school art classes.

I suppose I never had anything interesting to draw back then..

Her reaction when I admitted to her about my testing experience in the ruins of Ae’gura was altogether unexpected, as she only laughed louder! Mother, the overprotective matriarch, only laughed at me, and told me what I did wrong, and what I did right. She countered with a story of her own about getting lost in the mountains in some unpronounceable country when her native guide disappeared in the night with all their supplies! I didn’t find it quite as amusing, but maybe I should have..

My mother scolded me for taking such a huge risk, climbing the Ahnonay spheres for the shot of the waterfall. She said it was “a silly risk” for a photograph. I completely agree, but who else can say they have done the same? I’m still proud of that one!

Father, as usual, stood across the room from us as we shared stories. He seemed on edge, and was overcompensating to hide it. Perhaps he is jealous? I don’t think Father ever looked at the world as Mother and I do. He sees things in a very specific way. A way he felt it appropriate to remind me of when I mentioned the empty Cavern.

“Those damned fools wasted so much money on a silly dream,” he huffed, “Well, you’ve spent your inheritance already, son”.

I should have felt insulted, but I was surprised to find I was simply happy to hear him call me “son”.

Back to the Cavern after New Years. I’ve got a lot of work to do. I know I said that exact phrase almost exactly a year ago, but a Journey tends to take its own path. The mistakes I’ve made, and the successes too, have taught me that.