Dawn arrived with the hesitant kiss of rain. The storm had passed but an hour ago, leaving in its wake the bedraggled and weary crew of Lady Rhia. Rudder affixed, and crew abed, a lone deckhand remained awake on watch in the early unlit morning. The boy shivered in place beside the mizzenmast, wrapped in an old patched quilt. He blinked uncertainly at the wall of fog ahead, and yawned. “I should wake the skipper,” he mumbled drowsily. “Shouldn’t be long now.” Slipping in and out of sleep, he barely noticed the soft aria of birdsong drifting past the ship like a ghost.

“That’s nice,” the boy murmured, turning over under his quilt. Suddenly he bolted awake. “Birdsong… land! Land ahoy!” Half-asleep, and still under his quilt, the deckhand stumbled to the bowsprit. “Captain, helmsman, navigator! Ahoy! Wake yourselves!” he cried. Peering intently into the mist, his supposition was confirmed by the hazy blue pastel of an approaching coastline. A door slammed open somewhere on the ship, and a hoarse voice rang out.

“Boy! What nonsense is this?” wheezed Izojo the navigator, stumbling up from the aft portal amid putting on his coat. “T’Isle of Verimoor should be leagues away, two hours past the break of day at me earliest estimations.” The older man stared keenly at the boy. “You best not be fibbin’, nor dreamin’ on watch. I need my beauty sleep!” The deckhand looked away, rolling his eyes. He thought the navigator resembled a rather ancient pickled herring, but he wasn’t about to say it to the man’s face.

“Birdsong, sir. And if my eyes deceive me not, land. Looks to be a quarter league from us.” The navigator sniffed suspiciously.

“Right. Let’s have a look then.”

Below decks, a metallon adept awoke to the sound of activity outside his cabin. Rubbing his eyes, he stumbled out of his cot, and promptly slipped on a puddle of rum. Muttering expletives, the young scientist Demetri Vespar got up and let his eyes follow the puddle’s trail to a barrel in the far corner.

“I forgot about you,” he said sourly. The barrel’s nails had been used the night before to secure the porthole above his bed. “At least that didn’t leak.” Carefully tip-toeing around the puddle, and silently hoping the crew wouldn’t notice the missing rum, the scientist exited the cabin with his cloak half ’round his shoulders, making his way to the for’ard portal.

The captain met Demetri’s eye as he emerged above decks.

“Ho, adept,” called the captain strongly, laughter in his eyes. “It seems we’ve sighted land—the north-eastern tip o’ the Foregone Isle, if Izojo’s directional skills can be trusted.” Demetri chuckled as the navigator glared at his captain, disapproval etched on his face. “We’ll arrive at the coordinates ye provided in roughly three quarters o’ one hour. Me crew is preparing ye submersible as we speak.”

“My thanks, captain Nar’dasso,” replied Demetri. He shivered involuntarily. The mist was parting, allowing the sun’s rays to reveal the isle’s extensive coastline and massive cliffs.

This was the first step in the scientist’s operation to investigate the mysterious Isle of Verímoor: the search for a way to access its interior. The island’s long, obscure history was populated with attempts to reach beyond the massive cliffs that surrounded its coastline, with no success recorded in the past three hundred years. The last person to have supposedly achieved the feat was a legend himself; the Metallon adept Hiram, a High Prince of Kíramyn. Demetri’s thoughts wandered to the wooden receptacle hidden in the satchel he had stowed in his quarters. The mechanism… did Hiram know of it? Did he use it? How did it land in my grandfather’s hands?

“And why… why give it to me,” he whispered aloud.

“What’s that ‘cha say?” rasped Izojo.

“I love it… the sea,” said Demetri quickly. The navigator made a face, which Demetri realized after a moment was an attempt to smile.

“Aye. Guess you scientist types ne’er quite see the glorious face of Aøvotum, ‘lest ye work close to port. It’s a sight to behold indeed.” Patting Demetri roughly on the back, he began stumbling back towards his post. “This swabbie’ll have his sea legs yet, mark me words Captain,” he chuckled. Nar’dasso grinned.

“Indeed. Go on now, young ‘un. See to ye things, we’re approaching fast.”

Demetri nodded and turned to walk back belowdecks. As he went, he recalled the captain’s request to aid in the ship’s protection if need be—it was pure luck that no such help was needed.

“Perhaps the storm subdued even the monsters,” Demetri mused. “The ill legends of Verímoor remain, however. I’ll need to keep my wits about me.” Entering his cabin, he flicked his eye back to the port window, and back to the floor. “Now I really wish I possessed more Mercury psynergy,” he muttered ruefully. A light turned on in his brain, however, and his attention turned to the large satchel sitting beside the wooden table. He focused his mind, and rose his right hand. An iron orb floated out, coming to rest about four inches above the floorboard. The scientist blinked, and the ball rapidly transformed into a flat sheet of metal, covering the circumference of the puddle. “Xerokai,” he whispered, and the metal instantly become a dull red, puddle drying in seconds. The floor turned a slightly darker shade of brown, however, making him wince. He hoped they wouldn’t notice it. Like the rum barrel, he thought guiltily. With two flicks of his long fingers, the metal turned black once more and assumed the shape of a ball. Cold to the touch, he pocketed it, then picked up his satchel. Closing the door softly, he headed toward the storage bay.

The smell of fish and a peppy deckhand greeted him as he arrived.

“Here y’are, sir. Your submersible is nearly ready to engage. Have you gathered all your things?” Demetri nodded, glancing around the bay as he did so. The bay was small, but was full to the brim with a potpourri of weapons, unidentified boxes, strange instruments and much more. The amused deckhand caught his wandering gaze, laughing. “If you can believe it, our Captain dabbled as a–” he managed to get out.

“–military strategist for some time in his twenties,” finished Nar’dasso, appearing behind the boy with a smile across his wizened face. “He believed his Mercurial roots—or kelp, as he likes to call ‘em—could aid in the largely fire and earth-dominated Kíramyn military.” The deckhand smiled back sheepishly.

“What the skipper said,” he mumbled. Nar’dasso patted him on the shoulder fondly, then turned his attention to Demetri.

“All set, adept? The finishing touches have been made. Yonder vehicle is ready to engage.” The sound of an engine starting up greeted the trio, and a dazzling light suddenly arced across the northern wall of the bay. The submarine was rather small, enough to fit two or maybe three people if they had little baggage, but it seemed very functional. Demetri scanned it carefully, sudden pain flashing across his eyes. It was not his—it was a prototype of his sister’s, Rhea, another brilliant scientist of the Academy with a penchant for marine science. Demetri’s eyes fell to the floor, downcast.

He had stolen it. After their grandfather passed away four years ago, Rhea had become increasingly distant, immersing herself almost entirely in her work. Demetri had been stricken with grief at first, though after a brief hiatus, followed suit. His grief had been channeled into his investigation of coronium—his sister’s into her love of the sea. Their last interaction was two years ago, and it was a quarrel.

“Uh, sir?” quipped the curious deckhand. “You look like something’s wrong. Don’t be worried about your ship, she’s a beauty. I don’t know where you found such a machine!” Somewhat startled, Demetri let out a sad laugh.

“Indeed she is. I have little doubt she’ll perform better than I could dream.” He turned to Nar’dasso. “Your payment, Captain,” he said, handing over a small pouch. “With a little extra for your kindness.” And for the rum and flooring, he added guiltily in his head. The Captain took it warmly, shaking Demetri’s hand.

“Thankee, young adept. May the grace o’ Poseidon guide thy journey.” He led the adept over to the submersible, permitting the deckhand to pass the scientist his personal effects as he climbed inside the dimly-lit interior. Eyes alight with admiration, Demetri nearly laughed aloud.

The little vessel was like a thousand mirrors of his sister’s ingenuity reflected back at him. Small details—dual binocular teleperiscopes; clever, lit identifiers on the myriad number of switches and dials; hand-crafted leather seats with soft padding; and cleverly designed storage compartments built into the floor all acted as complements to the larger details, such as the tungsten armor that plated the cockpit’s exterior, the legendary ‘AlcheLyst’ device in the central console which could amplify an adept’s power, and a strange near-luminescent orb that lay half-hidden in the dashboard. Demetri stared at it, slightly transfixed.

“I have no doubt I’ll be just fine, Captain.” He refocused his gaze back outside the vessel, smiling warmly at the ship’s crew. “Many thanks for assisting me in this endeavour.” Nar’dasso winked at him, and proceeded to shoo away the equally intrigued deckhand, who had also just noticed the pearlescent sphere. Attention regained, Demetri flicked the switch familiarly labelled Claudere, and with a subtle hiss, the doors of the entry hatch closed. The cabin felt cool, but there was a subtle heat growing in his chest. Even now, his excitement was nearly palpable.

“Time to make history,” he whispered, and pressed Dyve.

Many thanks to Alzeranox for his long-standing support of my writing, and regrets I had not finished it sooner. Journal post with more coming soon!

- Daft

Greetings readers. I realize my posts have been few and far betwixt, and I attribute this to third year Media Theory courses. Even now I should be writing my extended critique on Smallville’s application and appropriation of television technical theory, but am taking a break to gaze at lines of CSS and HTML in an attempt to better understand the Visual Formatting Model (my current dominatrix). I have found that I quite enjoy design, and could even be “good” at it if I apply myself. I attribute this possibility to years of computer customization, especially time spent on MacThemes Forums. Maybe, if I may be so bold, I have developed a taste for it.

Of course, taste is little without talent, at least when it comes to production (you’re safe, appreciators and -philes). So, put simply – practice and trials are in order. I very much look forward to them.

This is my first, current, nascent project; a website based on less-than-cerebral music reviews. By this I imply not poorly conceived, badly written anecdotes, but rather reviews based on metaphorically sublingual descriptions of residual emotional content bequeathed by (hopefully) good music. We shall see.

It is far from finished. But, it will get there eventually. Feel free to leave criticism/huge heaps of praise.

As always, I hope life is treating you decently.

- Daft

And that had been that.

As with most merchant vessels departing from Dregvant, the Lady Rhia, a large xebec, was on its way to the port of Tzopophon, located on the eastern coast of Avönell. It carried a shipment of fine silks from Kíramyn’s temperate south coast, and had a final destination of Zårpos, the capital of Avönell. The Nodapo river ran a straight course through Tzopophon, arriving at Zårpos in about two days standard boat-travel.

The young scientist sighed. His previous vigour surrounding the quest for the Isle was slowly diminishing under the deafening crash of waves upon the old ship’s hull. He almost wished he himself were on those southern shores, soaking up the sun. His reverie was dismissed post haste, however – his objective was too diverting for him to forget it easily. He wouldn’t let his curiosity be daunted by a simple storm at sea.

The fire was almost out. After a passing flicker of resentment that someone else wasn’t dealing with it, Demetri strode over to the grate and picked out one of the larger logs from the nearby wooden box, tossing it nonchalantly on the dying flame and whispering a word. The fire flared up instantly, engulfing the log. Demetri strode back to his place by the table, contemplating what other adepts would think of Mars psynergy if they knew the complexity of its science. The word he just uttered was an alchemical fiat designed to multiply oxygen levels in a constrained space, accelerating the fire’s growth phase. The log he chose had a dense core to offset the initial burn. Mind wandering, Demetri began to wonder about water’s growth phases – and a lesson presented itself rather unexpectedly.

The scientist barely had time to react as the port window beside him flew into the opposite wall, a rush of water following its speedy wake. Fear and adrenaline gripped Demetri’s mind; he wasn’t equipped to deal with situations like this. His mind raced. Luck: the galley was above the water line; he has time to think before the ship’s central axis reverses. Problem: Time attack; rolling physics and liquid. Brine licks around the soles of his boots, the ship begins turning back. Solution presenting itself, Demetri scarcely realizes the movement of his body as his mind abandons words for more limbic symbols, eyes catching the now-sputtering fire’s grate as it disintegrates and reintegrates as a three-inch thick wheel before flying into the empty porthole.Manete, he yells at the wheel as his hand flies over a keg of rum in the far corner, its nails whistling as they bury themselves in the wood and iron of the newly-formed window. Demetri just has time to collapse on the floor before the ship’s roll axis completes, causing the newly patched hole to whine nervously – but hold.

Mouth dry, he stared up at the ceiling. I’m not one for ships, he thought with a faint smile.

It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn

A classic role-playing game branches out with a new look, countless adventures and heroic battles. The game picks up 30 years after the first two games in the series left off. At the end of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, the heroes succeeded in bringing the world-healing power of the Golden Sun back to the world of Weyard. In the years since, the immense power of the Golden Sun has changed nearly everything. Continents have shifted. New countries have emerged. New species have appeared. But the world is now imperiled by a new threat. Psynergy Vortexes, which suck the elemental Psynergy from both the land and power-wielding Adepts alike, are spreading across the world. The new generation of heroes – the children of those from the previous games – are drawn into the mystery behind the vortexes, as they cross a chaotic world that is succumbing to a new evil.

FEATURES:

• Amazing graphics and beautifully animated summoning abilities that span both Nintendo DS screens let players experience the game like never before.

• The story takes place 30 years after the final events of the second game, when the Golden Sun Effect occurred. The main characters are the descendents of the previous game’s heroes.

• Intuitive touch-screen control has been implemented throughout the game, controlling character movements and the release of Psynergy – magical abilities with powerful effects over people and the environment. Touch control also streamlines battle commands and gives players a stronger tactile connection to the action on the screen.

• Players will explore a vast and beautifully rendered world where they will find many treasures, encounter dangerous creatures and manipulate objects blocking their path. Players will also hunt for and collect Djinn, mysterious elemental creatures used to summon powerful spirits in battle.

GameTrailers E3 Demo (Part I)
GameTrailers E3 Demo (Part II)

UPDATE: Added screens, trailer and synopsis!
UPDATE 2: Added E3 game floor demos!

GoNintendo – Talking about that silly Golden Sun 3 rumor.

I’d just like to say a very big thank you for the five-figure hitcount. To everyone who visits, I owe much gratitude and apologies for not posting more. I must admit that with the announcement of Golden Sun DS, much of my incentive to create this project did fade – I regret this. I will be transforming the Myth of Laerad into a novel or some other such text (possibly a game?) in the future, as I still retain much of my vision and joie-du-travail.

I may also be starting a music blog soon, as that is another incredibly vested interest of mine. Hope to see you soon, and thanks again.

- DaftMonk

Hey all! I hope your autumn hasn’t been too strenuous – mine has been at times, as I am enrolled in what basically amounts to your average Lit class on methamphetamines. I am enjoying my semester, though.

I’m sure some of you who read this blog are wondering “where the posts be at”, or if I’ll even continue posting at all. I must admit, hearing the Golden Sun DS announcement at E3 this year was a bit of a double-edged blade for me, as it did disappoint the part of me who was honestly hoping for a chance to be a part of its development process. Silly, I know, but… we must be allowed our colourful dreams, ‘else watch our worlds turn grey.

But, this hasn’t killed my creative spark for this project completely. I will continue my posting, starting today. I can’t promise regular updates due to my classes, but I’ll try to give you tidbits of what I’m working on/modifying/thinking about. For instance, here’s my personal wishlist for Golden Sun DS:

1. An Epic Backstory Reveal
As I’ve discovered from my own research, the Golden Sun series draws from an incredibly rich well: Hermeticism, focusing largely on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. My now somewhat obsolete GS3 plot, The Myth of Laerad, introduced a (potential) epic backstory to the player for the first time, in the form of the Wise One’s revelation that he was the last of a secret race who watched over humanity (read more of this here). I want the secret history of Golden Sun to be revealed in a similar fashion.

2. New World(s) & Content
In the Myth of Laerad, Weyard is still available and essential to the plot. However, there are two new worlds to explore, one above Weyard (Anemos/Ji) and one below (Mu). I desire the same amount of exploration and content in GSDS.

3. Vivid & Detailed
Admit it. You are almost embarrassed about how much you love Golden Sun’s soundtrack. Well, so am I.
In fact, following this confession, I am demanding something not-so-modest from Golden Sun DS. Said simply, I want the graphics to (at the very least) match the music.
“The game is amazing enough on its own, but the soundtrack masterfully manages to weave the unique tale of Golden Sun in our minds without visual crutch, but beautiful melodies alone. When the synth kicks in, [for example], I can’t help but see Vale in all its magical and archaic splendor, its golden straw rooftops reflecting the sun’s brilliant rays.”
- xRisingForcex
I once wrote in response to this excellent quote that “I honestly could not agree more. Songs like Aqua Rock, which aurally project the sense of water into our minds with such mystery and power, to songs like The Elemental Stars, which bespeak the magnificence of the cosmos in a simple melody, bring a kind of second sense to our experience of this series.” (I didn’t even get started on Garoh… or the various Overworld themes)

I desire that the landscape match the soundscape. Read this if you want clarification on the vivid detail part. Ah, perfect time to end with…

4. Motoi Sakuraba
Nuff’ said.

- Daft

You’ve seen the trailer. Now watch it again – perhaps a better version. Worth watching; you’ll relate.

Screens Here

“Golden Sun™ DS: After going dark six years ago, 2010 will see a new dawn. Golden Sun DS updates the popular portable Golden Sun role-playing series with an impressive graphical style. This installment follows the story of the previous heroes’ descendants and immerses players into the magic of its adventure by pushing the boundaries of intuitive touch-screen controls. Golden Sun DS is playable on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems.”

*hyperactive breathing*

NOTE: this page will continue to be updated

UPDATE 1: Plot Hint [Screen]
UPDATE 2: Second gameplay demo:

[Watch In HD]

General:

The richest environments you can imagine; highly detailed, colourful, VIVID! There is a visceral sense of power in Mu, and the environments will convey it perfectly.

Huge rivers to cross; waterfalls splashing through gullies, lofty mountain passes, sacred grottos, hidden lagoons, eerie marshes haunted by will-o’-wisps and faerie lights, the ancient mists of the northern seas, the bright sun and rustling grasses of open plains, the broad reaches of sloping valleys, the wide and mysterious Western Moors… hidden glens with dappled sunlight, dusty mines with forgotten treasure, rain-soaked forests with deep pools… a small shrine next to one, and further back; a wise woman’s hut, hidden amongst the ferns… the friendly light of a candle in her window…

Specific:

In certain areas (deep in nature, or in any place abandoned or untouched by humanity), there is no music, but rather sound effects: trickling water, the rustle of air in the treetops, a lone wip-poor-whil calling its lonely greeting… Mu is very much wild. If all the soul’s wildness manifested, this is the world you’d get.

These ambient environments would often exhibit subtle shifts, creating a need for “dynamic listening“. I’ll give you an example: say you were sailing about on the open sea, and found a small inlet leading to a lagoon. This lagoon is beautiful, and you are already captivated by its clear water and the mossy slopes on its banks. Your crew will probably want to go swimming, but you want to look for an way leading further into the interior, as you have heard rumors there is a lost city deep within the jungle-like forests which form this part of the continent (it’s the next location you must visit). Your ship is forced to move slowly through the warm waterway, as it is small and only just big enough for a vessel of its size. Here’s where the dynamic listening comes in: you reach the end of the lagoon, and there is no discernible passage leading further inland. Naturally you are frustrated, and think this trip was all in vain. But wait… and stop the ship. Now listen: what do you hear? What do you see? Just watch, and keep your peripheral vision (and hearing) active. You will notice the sounds of the natural environment slowly begin to return to it; birds chirping, the sound of a nearby creek, perhaps the distant howl of a monkey. You see rays of sunlight shining off of a mossy log. A cloud passes by overhead. You see the shadow of a large fish emerge from underneath your boat. That’s odd, how was that there the whole time? Was it following us as we were moving? You see it move lazily towards a patch of grass near the mossy log. Suddenly, with a flash of its scales, it disappears. A trail of sediment leads right into the bank of the lagoon… without alerting your companions, you drive the ship slowly forward, on nothing more than a hunch. Noticing what you’re doing just as it happens, your companions cry out! … but it’s too late. Right before your party members’ and your own astonished eyes, you find your ship passing through a brief swath of moss and vines, and then into a narrow, sheltered waterway. The creek you heard earlier is louder; it seems to be coming from up ahead. As your ship moves forward, the broken vines and scattered moss behind you reassemble, leaving a blank wall of vegetation. You quickly look back at your friends, who are just as shocked as you are, and just as ready to fight. You look back, and…

There is a Venus Djinn perched on a nearby branch, gazing calmly back at you.

~ – ~

Sorry for getting carried away! These are just some the things I have planned for Mu. Hope you enjoyed them! Also, here’s the link for the image I used.

~ Daft