Shortly on Story Mode

Written by Jubaris on a cold rainy day at Sage's Keep. Article on story mode and its discredited status due to implicit association with Ancient Lore.

• Page 1 - Content and Intro
• Page 2 - The Point

Intro

In the beginning of our realm, the creator was not alone but he brought souls to help him shape the world.
There was one called Adi who gave birth to something we experience as story mode, following the vision of Mur.
As people appeared, curiosity about story mode was spread.

Adi was asked questions about characters met during story mode, he indulged and developed their background stories further and further.
This deviated from the vision of the creator, making the path to understanding the nature of the realm hardened by an obstacle - invalid information.
Long story short, years after, some situations lead to Mur banning 'ancient lore'.

All those background stories were hunted down and erased or properly distanced, making a situation where a new person has it hard to stumble upon those stories on his own.

But because Mur was vague and unclear in his statements - this created confusion.
What was exactly 'ancient lore'?
The mentioned background stories were certainly banned, but did it extend to story mode? Confusion is understandable, because there were characters that appeared both in original story mode, and the stories that came later.

Mur wanted the actual history of the realm, deeds done by actual people that were to be referenced by others, rather than fiction - a problem which was at its highest in the beginning. When there's little behind, people rely on mythos and fiction.
Currently we don't have that sort of a problem, result of a combination of the judging of ancient lore and unfolding of actual events and legacy of people's actions.
Focus shifted from story mode leaving it marginalized, and now it is not uncommon for people to be dismissive of it, equalizing it with ancient lore.

However, I am of firm belief that story mode is not 'ancient lore', and not to be dismissed by wanton thinkers and ponderers - case I will try to argue in the following pages.

The Point

So, 'ancient lore' was taken down, and by that I mean the background stories, but story mode remained for many years.
Mur's "Show of Force" as one of the last happenings in relation with story mode that influenced many people is in my opinion a voice that goes in favor of the importance of story mode.
Story mode was recently taken down to reorganize the starting experiences of new souls, but it was promised that it will return.
This varies from the utmost determination to bring down 'ancient lore' when the decision was made.

It is important to understand the difference between the context of background stories and story mode.
They are both speaking about events that didn't actually take place in the realm - however, background stories follow events, they are a chronology of sorts, to be referenced as something that happened, 'ancient history of the realm'.
Story mode, on the other hand, has various instances of the 'same event', based on your decisions, and all the events are revolving around you, they are personal experiences, not worldwide events.

To help you visualize, I'll mention dreams, product of your mind. Dreams are personal experiences, yet 'fictional'. And they are one of the tools for you to understand yourself, by solving the symbols your mind is sending to you.
Hopefully by doing so, you will bring yourself back into balance - after all, most imposing dreams are usually the ones when something is wrong, and you need to fix it.
Imagine story mode as lots of dreaming. Only these would be dreams in connection with the essence of the realm, it speaks through the stories - which actually makes sense, but that deserves a topic of its own - thus they are not 'just a bunch of random symbols' based on everyday life to be dismissed.

Story mode sadly wasn't finished, ideally it is never-ending but regardless, it is not rounded properly because some instances lack chapters some other instances have.
So, a lot of things are missing, but even in that form it tried to determine the personality of the one experiencing the story.
The choices you made closed some doors and opened some other. The choices separated you towards one of the mainlands, getting you closer with every new choice.
As it wasn't completed so the few instances that weren't left with unfinished chapter in the end were saught for by people who knew what to expect of story mode.
One particular and a very popular instance gave access to Necrovion, which was closed for the rest.

If you are able to determine which choices bring you closer to which land, doesn't it help you understand their nature better? And of course, figuring out your own nature based on the land that lured you in...
There was more to it than figuring out which road to take while on the crossroads, though.

The carnival, that people experience and see in story mode, became an important reference.
It can also be seen in various forms as you walk through the Marble Dale Park.
People pondered what was the carnival all really about, because the story implied a mystery within it.
Number of times Mur referenced the carnival and it finally found its place even in 'research clues'.

Little girl Marind, who was she, why was she following you around? Another important reference unrelated to a specific crossroad, ultimately 'spoiled' and elaborated in the "Show of Force".

Story mode is a whole world of symbols you can use to try to understand the realm, but it is not to be taken literally, it speaks in allegories, so when lost you rely on your feelings and inspiration, rather than reason - you use that later to connect the dots.