Prologue
I realized, as our group linked back to D'ni, that we should not restore the city as we had planned. The once magnificent buildings lay in ruin, a testament to the hatred that had consumed them. Too many people had fallen victim to that hate – to the prejudice and greed from which it sprang.
Gazing out across the cavern, I decided to write another Age: one that would help the D'ni survivors begin again, free from the tragedies of their past. So with my wife, Catherine, supporting me, I put aside that past to write a future.
More than a year has gone by since I finished writing Releeshahn. I have a new daughter, who I hope will some day link to the Age with me. And as I imagine Yeesha meeting the D'ni, those brave men and women who are building a new life for themselves, I realize I've been given another chance as well. A chance to learn from my mistakes... and leave the past behind me once and for all.
Ages to Visit
93.5.25
I always feared this day would come. For years, Catherine and I have dreamed of restoring D'ni. We have dedicated our lives to the task, taking it upon ourselves to locate the citizens of D'ni and convince them to return to their ruined city and rebuild. Our dream has become the dream of so many now, and the progress we have made toward achieving it is something of which we all can stand proud. But I know now that it has been a mistake.
The city of D'ni should not be restored. It should stand forever in ruins, as both a symbol of our past mistakes and a memorial to all who lost their lives when D'ni fell. The devastating events of recent months—the war on Terahnee, and the death of Uta, in particular—have driven this truth home to me quite forcefully.
If we rebuild the city walls today, are we not giving approval to the very illness that destroyed our civilization in the first place? Are we not setting ourselves up to repeat that pattern again in future generations? I have put much thought into this tonight and have found only one solution.
If we, the men and women who survived the downfall of D'ni, are to thrive, then we must break the pattern of hatred which has destroyed so many lives. We must begin our civilization anew. And we can only do that if I write us a new Age.
I have spoken with Catherine about this and she agrees. I only hope the others will see it, as well.
93.5.26
Will these people never cease to amaze me? I thought they would object to my decision. After all, most of them linked back to D'ni specifically to see the city rebuilt. But when I told them why we should not restore it, their response was immediate and unanimous.
Whereas yesterday they thought only of rebuilding, today they concentrate solely on salvage. They intend to take from their ruined city only that which is best and move on. Everywhere I look, the enthusiasm for this new task is obvious. It heartens me, even as I face my own monumental contribution.
I have written many Ages in my lifetime—from my first timid attempts under the tyrannical tutelage of my father, to my most recent accomplishment, Averone. Never before has so much been riding on my skill. The Age I am about to write must be all I ever imagined and more. How am I going to achieve it?
93.6.1
Catherine laughed this morning when she saw me drudging out my old notebooks. I must have made quite the picture: sitting near the embers of a fire, surrounded by countless commentaries and journals. Some of them seemed more dust than paper. But the hours I spent sifting through them was worth it. Ideas for what this new Age might be are tumbling around in my head. There are almost too many to catch hold of.
Obviously, I must choose some starting point as my anchor. Writing Ages is a science—a precisely structured equation of words. Every equation needs as its foundation an underlying concept around which the Age can develop. In the past, I have written my Books around whatever idea intrigued me most at the time. I wanted to discover how the Age to which the Book linked would manifest the results of that idea.
Sometimes civilizations had arisen. Sometimes they had not. But whether a society had come to exist on the Age or not, it was often in response to whatever concept the Book I had written embodied. This time, my search for a concept must be weighed very carefully. I already have the civilization I wish to see develop. I know our history as a people, and the paths we have followed to arrive here.
Today I must write a Book which will link to an Age that will allow us to continue on our way, growing ever stronger as one people. What underlying concept must this new Age reflect that will best allow our civilization to thrive? I fear I must think on this some more.
93.6.5
It has taken me some time, but I may have found my anchor. It came to me as I was considering what I know about the survivors of D'ni. We have seen so much tragedy in our lives, from the destruction of the city, to the suffering and loss of loved ones due to plague and deprivation. Yet even in the midst of these adversities, my kinsmen and I have found the strength to keep going. We have tapped into our individual strengths and transformed ourselves into something