Sophia Delphi's Scar Canyon Expedition

Sophia Delphia meets some new friends and makes some new discoveries in Scar Canyon, a mysterious canyon that did not form naturally.

Starting a New Project

When Sophia Delphi entered her senior term at the University of Oraulan, she was assigned to conduct a research project over the course of the year. Feeling ambitious and wanting to explore more, she wanted to take a visit to Scar Canyon, a mysterious artificial landform said to have appeared several centuries before the Blackout. Wishing to continue her research project in tracing her own lineage, she decided to look into how Yeddo was connected to the wider galaxy during the time of the Valerian Empire. Having reached a dead end with being unable to enter the Taranis Empire due to it being a do not travel zone, the next best thing was to try to explore what may have been the original seat of power on the planet.

Having a bit more of a budget from her recent successes with her Rampant cleaning, she decided her research would be more effective by traveling in person. This time, however, she felt it best to go alone to give Angela, Kristoph and Joshua a break. The events of the 2021 AB Oberon Pirates Incursion still weighed on them, and it did not feel right putting their lives at risk once again so soon. Not to mention, Kristoph was in the middle of moving into a new apartment, and Angela was also fairly occupied with her studies.

Sophia booked a local transport ship to Atenhaten and brought along her motorcycle. Though she had been to this city already in the vrNet, she took the chance to explore around in person. The feeling between the vrNet and the real world was drastically different.

Scar Canyon Research Outpost

Garbed in a tan cloak with sand goggles, she ventured deep into the Ateno Desert to make her way to Scar Canyon. It was a bit of a risk going out there as the previous digsite in the region was abandoned due to sightings of bandit gangs. But she knew she could handle herself, especially with Twinkle at her side.

Sophia arrived at the edge of Scar Canyon, taking note of the ruined mega skyscrapers surrounding it. Many of them had collapsed to be slowly engulfed in sand while the ones closest to the canyon had noticable scorch marks as if it were hit with some sort of massive firey blast. It was certainly the sight of an ancient warzone, but the local wildlife had reclaimed the ancient buildings as if it were no different from the natural cliffs and mesas of the rest of the desert.

Upon getting closer to something that caught her eye, Sophia found the remains of an old vrNet antenna atop some sort of wide platform. A Sylph close to her age named Tristan Skywell was already there, having become interested in. Tristan was there attempting to salvage parts of the antenna after some bandits had chased away an archaeological team in the area months ago. The Archaeology Guild never returned to gather the supplies that were left behind, leaving the digsite abandoned. He and his twin sister Trilla had been exploring Scar Canyon in an expedition of their own, the two of them having split up to cover more area. Though Sophia was initially suspicious about Tristan being a bandit, she quickly found that he was actually a thrillseeker, someone less interested in the money and more of the excitement of high adrenaline activities. As a matter of fact, "Thrillseeker" became a nickname Sophia started to call him.

When they found out from one another about their knowledge on virtuoarchaeology, Sophia and Tristan also struck up a conversation about the area. According to legend, Scar Canyon was formed from a massive planet-destroying weapon that was fired upon the planet from orbit. It would have otherwise annihilated Yeddo had it not missed its target, but it still grazed the surface and created massive dust clouds that blocked the sun for weeks. Due to catastrophic damage to the ecosystem, the creation of Scar Canyon became the event that essentially resulted in the Valerian Empire abandoning Yeddo, although many survivors hid underground to avoid the worst of the damage.

In the middle of the salvage operation, Sophia lent a hand with her technokinesis. Perhaps there was a remote chance that they could recover some data from the antenna such as old transmission logs. They picked up some decent findings that they could perhaps sell off. However, when Tristan attempted to contact his sister, he had trouble reaching him. Given how late in the day it was, she was supposed to have met back up with them by now. Tristan was worried something may have happened to her, so Sophia offered to help her look around.

Into the Canyon

Sophia decided to consult Twinkle, using his ability to scan the area for neural patterns similar to Tristan. Tristan and Trilla were fraternal twins, so perhaps it could turn up some sort of lead. The path led down into the canyon itself. While there were ruins scattered near the edges much like the antenna they found, they figured Trilla may have gone down inside since the bottommost parts of the canyon undoubtedly bled into some areas where underground ruins could be found. Perhaps something down there had caught Trilla's attention.

Very carefully, they descended down the cliff faces. Sophia had no trouble navigating thanks to her double jump ability, able to carefully weave about ledges. Tristan was surprisingly able to keep up thanks to his Sylph physiology which allowed him to more easily climb cliffs with just his bare hands. Trilla also had similar climbing abilities, so it was likely she had traversed somewhere deep where most people would not be able to go without special equipment.

The area also had some unstable terrain. Some of it started to collapse beneath their feet Tristan had to pull Sophia out of the way and vice versa from the edges of cliffs. That's when they started to realize what could have happened to Trilla. Tristan started imagining the worst, but Sophia did her best to reassure him that they'll find her. However, with the sun getting lower, there was the risk of running into bandit gangs. Not to mention the desert's nocturnal predators. But Tristan was not going to leave until they found some sign of Trilla.

After descending a bit further into the canyon, they happened upon a broken datapad. Tristan recognized it as belonging to Trilla based on some of the color and other customizations with stickers representing various music groups. It definitely explained why they were unable to make contact with one another. He mentioned to Sophia that Trilla was really into music and had considered becoming a DJ. Trilla had mostly come along to help her brother out, and of course, enjoying the thrill of exploring exotic locations.

Only a short time afterward, they heard Trilla calling out, asking if anyone was nearby. Sophia and Tristan immediately rushed to meet Trilla who was on the other side of a small pile of debris. Tristan was relieved to find that she was okay, and he introduced her to Sophia. Trilla explained that she had dropped her datapad while exploring, but the reason she did not immediately return was because of something interesting she just found. She led them around a nearby corner to a small cave opening with some strange symbols. Sophia took a closer look and determined them to be pathoglyphs, a type of writing used to convey emotions. It was an indicator that some deeper ruins lay nearby.

With it getting dark, the group agreed it was the right time to start returning home. Sophia took a photo of the symbols with her own datapad and they began to make their way back up the canyon walls. However, they had a sudden change of plans when they spotted a sandstorm gathering in the distance. There was no chance they were going to get out of the canyon in time to avoid it, so they quickly rushed back to the cave that Trilla found to take shelter. The three of them got there in the nick of time just before the sandstorm could swallow them into a dusty void.

Canyon Cave

While they were safe inside the cave, the storm showed no signs of letting up. It continued for what seemed like hours, and night had already fallen. They were not going to leave any time soon, so they had to survive the night. Supplies were low as they were separated from their base camp. Sophia prepared herself to tough it out for however long it was going to take for the sandstorm to subside, but her loudly growling stomach said otherwise. Tristan offered a solution of finding something to eat around the cave.

They searched around. While Sophia discovered some mushrooms, Tristan warned that they were highly toxic. Much of the other nearby plant growth offered no substantial nutritional value. Then, Tristan hearing something scuttling in the darkness, went to go off on his own, telling the rest of them he would be right back. Trilla smirked, knowing what was coming next.

After Tristan scoured about for a little while, the group heard a crunching noise from the dark before Tristan returned with a large, freshly killed scorpion in hand. Sophia slightly recoiled as the thought of eating what she perceived as a giant bug. But Tristan explained that these strange sorts of food were normal in Sylph culture. He explained that scorpions tasted no different from seafood, and rather jokingly remarked that it would technically be "landfood" instead. Tristan explained that in a pinch, a Sylph had a strong enough digestive system to be able to eat this sort of food raw. Sophia drew the line at that and insisted it get cooked somehow. Tristan was not sure what to do as they had no firestarters on hand, although Sophia had an idea.

Determined not to eat a scorpion raw, Sophia gathered some nearby dried kindling from some nearby foliage, arranged some rocks around it, then used her technokinesis to generate some plasma to start a fire. Although Tristan preferred a proper cooking kit, he was able to make due with the campfire. Tristan took the scorpion and slowly roasted it before adding some makeshift seasoning from some rock salt. When Sophia reluctantly took a bite, she found it to be surprisingly good. It tasted just like seafood from Merin. Trilla chimed in to explain that Tristan fancied himself a cook. Between the three of them, they ate the entire scorpion, only leaving the stinger aside which Tristan decided to keep for himself to save the venom.

After finishing their meals, their minds were a bit clearer. Trilla brought up that she had spotted a small tunnel that appeared to lead into a deeper part of the cave. Given that the sandstorm was still raging outside, there was perhaps little else to do. They hoped for the best that there would not be a cave-in or anything that would be put them in a worse situation. Of course, knowing that there was at least some sort of food around, they could last awhile if it came to it.

They had to crouch slightly to enter the tunnel. Sophia used a ball of plasma as a makeshift light source, while Tristan's and Trilla's Sylph physiology allowed them to see in the dark. It was a tight squeeze with Sophia and Tristan accidentally bumping into one another a few times. There were also a few puddles of dirty, muddy water that gave off a rather pungent odor that they had to navigate. Despite how awkwardly they shuffled through, they eventually managed to emerge on the other side into a more spacious area where they could stand up again.

Only a short walk further, they came upon an enormous chamber filled with giant turquoise bioluminescent fungus with tiny glowing fireflies dancing about. It was a pocket of one of Yeddo's underground ecosystems. The three of them were awestruck by its beauty with Tristan remarking that the area reminded him of the Sylph homeworld of Frey, a place he only has faint recollections of during his childhood. Trilla was listening keenly to the chorus of chirping, clicking insects and had already started coming up with new music ideas. After taking some pictures with her datapad, Sophia stopped to take a moment to admire the beauty of the cavern mentioning that under different circumstances, it would be an excellent hang out or a great place for a date. In response, Trilla discretely teased Tristan that it was about time he finally took a girl out somewhere.

Ruins

After examining their surroundings for a little while, they happened upon a passageway that didn't look natural. It was a perfectly carved path with edges carved out of right angles, most likely some sort of mining tunnel, they thought. Upon closely examining the way the walls were carved, Tristan determined that this path was cut well after Scar Canyon was formed, meaning it was not likely to be Valerian but some sort of successor society that was exploring the area or perhaps digging a tunnel to the Geothermal Engine potentially deeper below.

After following the tunnel for a little while, they happened upon what looked like a strange door, definitely Valerian in design but the successor society had modified it in some way. There were similar pathoglyphs decorating it much like the ones Trilla had found back outside. Sophia felt around the edges of the door, determining that there were some electronics within them. Theoretically, she could use her technokinsis to trigger the unlock mechanism, but she was not quite familiar with the data formatting of the era the door was created in.

Twinkle assisted by running through a few possibilities to try to figure out the identity of the builders to narrow down how it could be approached. After comparing some particular architectural designs he spotted on the door, Tristan theorized that the successor society was one that lived underground to survive the cataclysm caused by whatever created Scar Canyon. It was that moment that Twinkle had found a match: the door was constructed by the Darkseers, or at least a precursor to them. Sophia had met their present day counterparts last year, having learned how to broaden her technokinetic abilities in the dark so that she could sense energy patterns better. The Darkseers, who wore blindfolds deliberately, navigated without sight.

In a tangential conversation Trilla had brought up about sound and what sort of music the Darkseers might listen to, they came to a eureka moment. The door was meant to open based on a certain combination of audio tones. With that information, Sophia was able to dig into the locking mechanism. She powered the door so that it could listen for the required input. To figure out what it would be, Sophia transcribed some binary data for Twinkle to translate into human readable form. Trilla, borrowing her brother's datapad, created some musical tones to match the transcription, playing an ancient song out loud. Upon Trilla playing the last tone, the door mechanically slid open, revealing a chamber that appeared to be some sort of shrine.

A lot of the shrine had collapsed due to cave-ins, although enough of it could still be navigated. But there was something that was left that caught their attention. Engraved in the walls were stone sculptures depicting four men: figures known as the Stone Lords in the local mythology. What was particularly interesting was that the four figures oversaw a miniature model of a solar system which had unfortunately broken apart due to age and decay. Tristan recounted that the Stone Lords were more well-known among Valerians, but whoever built this shrine admired them and wanted to know more about them. However, with much of the shrine damaged, there was little else that they could take away from the area. Sophia took more photos and recorded footage with her datapad. She also used her technokinesis to gather whatever she could from any dormant computer systems in the nearby area.

They knew that it made the most sense to ask the Darkseers about the Stone Lords and why they were so important. More than likely, they would be able to provide some context as to who built the shrine and why. Before they could do that, they realized that they were so caught up in the moment that they forgot that they were still deep underground and that they're supplies were low. They decided it was time to make their way back to the surface.

Returning to the surface

The group went back the way they came, then paused to catch up on sleep a little, waiting until morning. By then, the sandstorm had thankfully subsided, and after scaling the cliffsides of the canyon, they were able to make their way back to where they first met at the antenna. Much to their relief, all of their supplies at the base camp were still there, though the storm had draped it all in sand. It took some time to dig all of their stuff back out.

However, they were not ready to pack things up quite yet. It would be hours before they reached the nearest signs of civilization, and with Sophia's stomach growling once more, they weren't sure if she was able to hold out for that long. Sophia was a bit embarassed, but they couldn't blame her as her technokinetic abilities burned off calories fairly quickly. If she used her powers too much without properly eating, she could pass out. And that would be problematic trying to drive for several hours by motorcycle through an open desert.

She admitted that she wasn't too keen on eating wild scorpion. But Tristan reassured her that he had something else among his rations that he was willing to cook for breakfast, insisting that it wasn't going to be a scorpion. Sophia was skeptical, but still looked forward to what he was about to make. After about fifteen minutes, Tristan had finished the breakfast dish. Much to her dismay, Tristan served her a cooked tarantula.

Sophia slightly shrieked, then gave a quizzical, irritated look, wondering if he was playing a joke. Tristan blushed a beet red, trying to explain he was completely sincere as giant arthropods in general were common Sylph cuisine, and that was all he had brought with him. Trilla giggled in the background, watching the whole thing unfold. Tristan bowed to the ground before her, begging for forgiveness. Before Sophia decided if an apology was even necessary, she worked up some courage and reluctantly took a bite into the tarantula. Her face lit up with unexpected joy. Because Tristan had all of his real cooking supplies on hand, he was able to prepare it exactly the way he wanted it, and it tasted just like something prepared out of a restaurant. Sophia mentioned that her grandmother Mimi, owner of Mimi's Milkshakes, would love to meet him to see what he could do with all sorts of exotic ingredients.

With their next objective being to set up a meeting with the Darkseers, they decided to part ways for the time being so that they would have the chance to restock and resupply. Their discovery in Scar Canyon would more than certainly lead them down an interesting trail.

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