My inspiration to write the following story came from my enjoyment of playing the Cyan computer games Myst and Riven, and reading tales of the ancient civilization of D'ni.
The Age of Sohlrok
by Roxtar
2525-01-01: More than half a millennium ago, people wondered whether by this year that's just begun, the human race on Earth would still be alive. Frankly, I'm surprised that it is, considering how badly polluted the air and water on Earth are. That there'd be any escape for me was the farthest thing from my mind until today, when I found the book that linked me to this new world that I'm about to explore. When I opened the book, I found a picture covering the top half of one of the right-hand pages; the scenery in the picture was spinning. I had read before of such books in tales of ancient D'ni, but I had never believed such tales could be true. But I hesitated to touch that picture just yet. I took out my backpack and loaded it with my pen, this journal, and some food. I also realized that if too many other people found the book and came here after me, they would make this world into the one they'd be leaving behind. So I put some logs into my fireplace and lit a fire. Then, with the utmost care, I held the book over the fire with my left hand and laid my right palm on the picture. Seconds later, I was whisked away to this world, and I am sure that the book fell into the fire.
This world is absolutely beautiful! The sky is blue and clear, a sharp contrast to Earth's gray sky. A pink ocean crashes onto a white shore lined with shiny red rocks, one of which I sit on as I write this. The shore stretches to both sides as far as I can see; when I turn my back to the ocean, land fills my range of vision. This doesn't necessarily mean that this land is not an island, but that doesn't concern me right now. To see all this soothes my soul like it's never been soothed before; I shall name this world Sohlrok.
About a half-mile inland, the white sand ends and yellow grass begins. This grass looks almost like miniature wheat. The trees here have light-blue bark and leaves of various colors. They are scattered randomly, and I estimate that no two trees are any closer together than 20 feet. Since the trees are not much taller than I am, I can reach up and pick a fruit. The fruit resembles a pear in shape, a peach in color, softness and taste. Perhaps there are people in this world besides me, and this fruit is their livelihood. Ah, here comes someone now!
2525-01-02: The person who walked toward me last evening as I wrote the previous entry, was a young woman with raven hair flowing to her knees. She was just as amazed to see me as I was to see her. I told her my name, and she said hers was Tamh'ra. As we walked to her cabin, located two miles inland, I asked her whether this land is an island or a continent; she
answered the latter. I also asked whether the pink water of the ocean is drinkable; she said yes. Once we reached the cabin, she prepared a room for me, this room where I sit this early morning as I write. I may soon hear her knocking on my door, her intention being to wake me; in reality, I'm already awake, dressed, and eager to explore Sohlrok further, with Tamh'ra to guide me.
2525-01-03: Once again, it is dawn as I write, but this time the place is different--more about it later. Tamh'ra and I covered plenty of ground yesterday, and I have learned quite a lot. Yester-morning, as we stepped out of her cabin's only door to start our explorations, I could see this world's sun rising and glowing orange. This told me one thing about the directions on this continent: Tamh'ra's cabin faces east. After walking a mile in that direction, we entered a new region with different grass and trees; from this I learned more about the directions: the shore at which I had entered runs north and south, and by facing the ocean, I face west. As for this new region, its grass is like that on my native Earth, only a lighter shade of green. The trees are coniferous, with needles of a green not much darker than the grass and a darker blue bark than the deciduous trees of the meadow. These trees are also closer together than the meadow trees--about five feet apart.
After walking a little over 20 miles through the dense forest, Tamh'ra and I came to an emerald mountain, the perfect spot for us to rest. For the next two hours, as we sat against the mountain, we further discussed the geography and biology of Sohlrok.
The mountain against which we were sitting is the only mountain on this entire circular continent, and it marks the continent's geographical center. The mountain rises 1000 feet from the ground, its base is one mile in diameter, and its summit has a diameter of 15 feet. A staircase is carved into the side we were on, and a chair at the summit offers a bird's-eye view of the land as far in any direction as the shore. Speaking of birds, the forest has plenty of them; we could hear them chirping throughout our 20-plus-mile walk. They come in tens of colors and species, but none are any bigger than my or Tamh'ra's hands. Various species of insects also inhabit the forest; the birds depend on those insects for survival. But aside from me and Tamh'ra, there are no life forms higher than the birds. This can mean one of the following: 1. Tamh'ra was the only person ever written into this age; 2. she wrote it herself and never wrote any people into it; or 3. she had fled Earth sometime before I did, through either another linking book or the same one I had found. But I'd rather not ask her which; no matter how she got here, we have the fruit of the meadow, and the whole age of Sohlrok, all to ourselves.
After we rested, Tamh'ra led me up the mountain stairs. By the time we reached the summit, the sun had started to set, but it was still light enough for us to get a good view from the chair. I sat first, rotating the chair east so I could keep the sun out of my eyes. Sure enough, what I saw was similar to a visual retracing of my steps--a large region of forest immediately before me, then a yellow meadow with fruit trees, and finally a white coast dotted with ruby rocks. No matter which direction I faced, the view would be virtually the same. After gazing for about five minutes, I arose and let Tamh'ra have a turn. She took about the same time, then we went back down the staircase.
As it was completely dark once we finished descending, I saw an opportunity to search the stars for constellations. I found three--one of a guitar, another of a similar but smaller shape, and one of a saxophone; now I'm really glad I named this world Sohlrok. Anyway, I named the constellations Gitarris Major, Gitarris Minor, and Saxophonis. Once I was through observing the sky, Tamh'ra and I had our backs touching; then we each walked 100 paces, in opposite directions, from the staircase; and at the spot where I stopped, I lay flat on the forest grass, which, remarkably, is comfortable enough to sleep on. Now it is the next morning; the sun has just finished rising, and I am sure Tamh'ra is waiting for me at the staircase.
2525-01-04: Yesterday Tamh'ra and I took another 20-plus-mile, exhausting walk--this time back to her cabin, so once again I write from my bedroom. By Earth standards, this continent would be an island, and the lustrous green mountain would be a hill. But I care little about that; what does matter is that I have found paradise at last.
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