Revelation 1/14/21

Interview 1

(11-8-2019)
Interviewer: Trusty Lightbearer.
Transcriber: Kieran Sheldon

TL: Your name. For the record.

JA: J----- Azikiwe. Yours?

TL: Tell me, Mr. Azikiwe, when did you enter the Circles?

JA: The Circles?

TL: You know exactly what I mean.

JA: Is this real? Are you a part of it?

TL: We’re in the waking world, if that’s what you’re asking. But everything is a part of it. When did you discover the Circles?

JA: It was almost two months ago. I was in Seattle, just finishing a business trip, drunk out of my mind. The city gets rainy in September, and I got a little lost in the fog on my way back to my hotel. Got turned around. Went into an alley. Came out somewhere else. 

TL: Go on.

JA: I didn’t notice at first. I mean, I noticed the storm getting worse, but I thought it was the eight shots of tequila that made the skyline look unfamiliar.

TL: When did you realize?

JA: When something big started to chase me. 

TL: “Something big?”

JA: The whole night feels dreamlike now. It’s hard to describe.

TL: Try.

JA: I don’t really want to.

TL: Try. What did the creature sound like? What did it smell like?

JA: It dragged itself. Leathery scraping sounds. Awful wet noises. Clicking.

TL: Keep going.

JA: It stank. It smelled so bad.

TL: What did it look like, J-----?

<Silence>

TL: What did the creature look like?

JA: It had a mouth. No.

TL: Yes?

JA: It was a mouth. Just a mouth. Big, curved teeth. Shriveled lips. Dozens of human arms on the bottom, pulling it along. It filled the whole road. The asphalt had scratched it open on the bottom and it was bleeding everywhere.

TL: Good. Go on.

JA: No. If I think about it too hard I get nightmares.

TL: Very well. So you ran from this… mouth?

JA: As well as I could. I still have the scars on my hands. Somehow it kept up. I don’t know how. It wasn’t very fast.

TL: But you made it out.

JA: I don’t know how. I just turned a corner and saw the Needle, and I knew everything would be okay.

TL: And have you gone back?

JA: To Seattle? Hell no.

TL: No. To the First Circle.

JA: I don’t understand.

TL: Your nightmares. Tell me about them. They are related to this experience?

JA: I’d really rather not talk about this.

TL: As you wish. Good day and good luck, Mr. Azikiwe.

Interview 2

(2-21-20)
Interviewer: Trusty Lightbearer.
Transcriber: Kieran Sheldon

TL: Your name. For the record.

SH: Dr. Saito H-----.

TL: Tell me, Dr. Saito, when did you enter the Circles?

SH: I first encountered the Circles in my dreams, which I believe is the most second most common form of initial contact, after exposure via art or media. I never remember my dreams, so I was shocked by how vividly I could recall walking the streets of that city. I was fascinated, and I knew I had to find a way back.

TL: So you returned to the Circles on purpose?

SH: You know, I don’t believe “the Circles of Hell” is really the right name for this place. Yes, Dante called it “Hell,” but it’s certainly older than him. I’ve heard people call it “Limbo” or “the Underdream.” One particularly knowledgable denizen I met in Shiverwoods called it “the Darker Dream,” and that’s what I usually call it. It feels more fitting than “Hell,” at least to me.

TL: So, how many times have you visited the Darker Dream, Dr. Saito?

SH: It depends. Are you counting minor unintentional visits, or true expeditions?

TL: Only the expeditions.

SH: Five times. And I’m proud to say that we’ve made it deeper every time.

TL: “We?”

SH: You can’t have imagined that I ventured into the Darker Dream alone? 

TL: Most people do.

SH: Most people stumble into the Dream accidentally. When I visit on purpose, I want someone at my back. It’s much safer, and it helps you keep going when things get bad.

TL: The average mortal reacts to the Circles with fear. What makes you different?

SH: I am a scientist. We don’t do fear. We do risk assessment. And the risk of death or worse is nothing compared to the potential reward of scientific discovery that the Darker Dream offers. Did you know that the Shattered City is only the start of it? There’s whole other worlds below the surface. Forests of pale white plants that have never seen the sun. Organic caverns that might be the fossilized remains of some inconceivably large organism. Food chains that don’t peak with humans! It’s all enormously consequential, and that’s just a biological perspective.

TL: Aren’t you afraid that you won’t be believed?

SH: You have me all wrong. I don’t need fame. I just want to know these things.

TL: So you’ll be returning to the Darker Dream?

SH: Path Virgil’s next expedition embarks in two weeks.

TL: I look forward to discovering your findings, if…

SH: If I come back at all?

TL: I was not going to say it.

SH: Don’t worry. This isn’t the last you’ll hear from me. Good luck with your game, by the way. If it gets more people interested in the Darker Dream, you have my blessing.

TL: That’s the idea, Dr. Saito. That’s the idea.

Interview 3

(10-29-20)
Interviewer: Trusty Lightbearer.
Transcriber: Kieran Sheldon

TL: Your name. For the record.

KC: You know my damn name.

TL: Be that as it may. Your name. For the record.

KC: K------- Claire. Can I go?

TL: Tell me, Ms. Claire, when did you enter the Circles?

KC: Stop asking questions you know the answer to. It’s your game, isn’t it?

TL: This is for posterity. It’s important playtest data.

KC: No. Whatever you did to me, I need you to undo it, okay? Get it out of my head. I don’t want this anymore.

TL: I’m afraid it doesn't work like that. You signed.

KC: There has to be some way. Can I erase my name? Burn the card? Please, I can barely sleep anymore.

TL: Don’t worry, K-------. It won’t be too much longer now.

KC: Please.

TL: Patience, K-------, and all this suffering will be worthwhile. You’ll see. I promise.