Digital Occultist
Designing intersections between identity, narrative, and the unseen.
The Journey Ahead
You awaken in the Stacks, an archive of the mad mage, Inverlyst.A single candle sputters for life nearby in your lantern, the wick drawing to a certain end in a mere matter of moments.You are a curious and resourceful arcanist, having stumbled upon a strange bit of parchment with a stranger shopping list attached. Having assembled your components, you drew the circle, burned the herbs, invoked the elements, chanted the magic words...Then what? That lantern should have had oil enough for at least 6 hours. And you struggle to place the last few in your memory.But the archive lies before you, and your mission is still clear.Find the Grimoire and get out.Voices seem to rise from around the corner, or rather a scattered discordant array of human-like sounds. Alternatively, it may be valuable to route your escape should the time come.The lantern sputters with urgency. The darkness around seems to awaken with a creeping hunger.Choose your next step:
The Void Peers Back
You extinguish the candle with a sigh.The dark smiles back.After seven heartbeats you sense the Stacks rearranging, eager to devour curiosity whole.How do you evade the void?
The Archive
You step toward the susurrus. Shelves bend; titles rewrite themselves in your peripheral vision.A marble lectern emerges, ink still wet on its surface. A hologram assistant appearing shortly afterwards.
> “Declare your query.” it states.(Topics swirl above the lectern like Tarot cards):
Whilst the topics all raise interesting concerns, it's still not the Grimoire you seek. Perhaps your answers are only a few specific words away...How do you interrogate the lectern?
Portal Nexus
Your path takes you into a large room with impossibly high ceilings. Several vaulted windows provide pathways out of this realm, but none of them any closer to the Grimoire.You find a discarded listing of activated portals with a small warning.
Some gates bite back. Venture wisely.
| Realm | Function |
|---|---|
| Twitch | Live rituals & discussion |
| Steam | Game catalog & participation |
| Sketchbook | Visual archive |
| Tree of Links | Full constellation |
Whilst amusing, the portals seem to be a distraction to the room at hand, where towers of unread books threaten to fall at any moment.
Oh No! It's a Mimic!
A glittering chest grins wide, full of 404s.Gain +1 Insight and –3 Dignity.
Elsewhere Beckons
How long have you been walking down this hallway? Glimpses of light flicker just at the edge of your vision. You could have sworn that you've seen that same arcane lantern around the last corridor. And yet you press on.
Elsewhere Continues
The hallway continues, the flicker ever-present. Perhaps lanterns can communicate in flashes. You make a note to memorize the pattern as you travel. The corridor shifts, but no exits present themselves. Only a continuous hallway that extends infinitely into darkness.
Summon the Mad Mage
Have a question?
A collaboration in mind?
A topic you want to summon into conversation?
Returned
The circle is closed now and you return to the spot in the abandoned archive. Maybe there was a place you forgot to check? You're unsure what day it is and you have more questions than answers.