Prologue: The Observer

A young woman in a proper vest looks at a pocketwatch studiously before noticing your arrival.

"Welcome!" she says with a small wave, "I do not recall seeing you come down here before." She took an eager step further into the room. She looks at you with tough brown eyes and smiles with a cute awkwardness that makes you nostalgic for someone youonce had in your life. One dimple in her cheek is bigger than the other. Adjusting the goggles on her head to better keep the block choppy hair from tickling her forehead, she kindly beckons you forward.

"This is my eighth time down here. Fantastic isn't it?"

She was right; the small arched entrance had given away to a vast breath of space that gave the air a palpable weight. You tread lightly on the patterned and acid-etched brass floor as you go under a large and most remarkable thing. Several layers of fine glass and metal framework around some pulsating glowing core, altogether the size of an airship. Maybe it was full of oil or some arcing electricity, but nothing comes to your mind as to its precise mechanism, even with your knowledge of machines.

"The heart of the Sentinium. No idea how it works though. What is your name?"

You tell her, and she nods, "Yes, I have heard of your family. You live above the Colosseum. Airship pilots, correct?" You nod.

"Well this may not be as exciting as the world down there. This is just a spectator type of thing." She gestures emphatically with slender hands as she walks, one of which is coated in rings. Her steps are light, almost floating.

You both reach the other end of the room, where thick glass allowed a veiw down below of the Atlantic Ocean. Dotting it are choppy bits of dark land barely visible through the cloud cover below.

You ask a question, which she answers, "Yes, I do believe that is why we are here. It seems since Perri Grame is in the area, the rest have followed. The other day I saw that Isis, Nepthys and Were Frait are all nearby. And so much more."

She looks out with yearning, "This has been the most exciting the Sentinium has ever been, yet no one comes down here anymore but me," she makes a nervous smile again, "but let's turn it on." She checks her stopwatch and smiles broadly. Practically skipping to a set of wheels on the wall she spins one hurredly. The room goes dark and she pulls a panel down from the wall, placing her hand on it.

"By the way, I forgot to say. My name is Marcia. Here, let me show you what I've been watching the past few days."

She grinned and the heart of the Snetinium began to shine brighter. Soon the humming became waves and distant seagulls, and the light collapsed into shapes and forms. You can hear thoughts in your head of those you see, and soon enough you are there, in the middle of the action.