In Memoriam: Tai'lahr
OpenUru.org, along with the rest of the Mystonline community, is mourning the loss of Tai'lahr on October 16th, 2019.
Rest in Peace, friend.
Descent
The New Greeters
The Guild of New Greeters, for a Better D'ni.
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This article contains tips, hints, walkthroughs or details of game content in preparation that may spoil your future enjoyment of the game: Read on at your own risk!
Descent, aka The Great Shaft, is one of the largest structures the D'ni ever constructed, and is arguably the most notable part of the path to the D'ni cavern. It was built with the intention of making contact with surface-dwellers, but the plan was eventually scrapped. The Shaft itself is approximately three miles high and is located just below the volcano near the Cleft. The pathway slowly spirals down to the bottom along the outer edge of the Shaft, requiring around a day of travel.
History
The Great Shaft was constructed roughly 30 years before the Fall of D'ni, supervised by several Guilds. Using all four of the D'ni's grandest stonecutting tools, the shaft was excavated, then sprayed with nara for further stability. Just before contact with the surface, the leaders of D'ni felt that it was not a good idea. Work immediately stopped, and the Shaft remained as a reminder of what might have been.
This was the path Atrus and Gehn took when making their way to the cavern. Due to the long trip down, they stayed in an Eder Tomahn, small rest area caves located at various points along the way.
Walkthrough
You link into one of the Eder Tomahns in the Great Shaft. There is not much to do here, but there are a couple of things to find. Look on one of the beds to find a Relto Page (Music Cannen). The KI machine here also causes your KI to light up for about one minute. A Calendar Spark is situated on the wall at the far end from where you link in. Dr. Richard Watson's Journal is sitting on the cot in the middle of the room, detailing the final days of the DRCs first restoration and his journey of soul-searching to the surface. The Nexus terminal here is non-functional. Unfortunately, you cannot head for the surface or the bottom of the Shaft, as the pathway is damaged in each direction. You can, however, jump down the Shaft until you panic-link back to Relto.
Collectables Checklist
Relto Pages
- Music Cannen
Calendar Spark
- On Wall (May)
Trivia
- In Myst 5, one is able to start in the caldera of the volcano and make their way down a modified version of the Great Shaft...and even below it. Elevators that weren't present in URU were used to speed up the journey. Three more Eder Tomahns were also shown in addition to the one seen in URU, and each Nexus terminal had a Linking Book to Direbo. The floor at the bottom of the Shaft could also be raised to reveal a path underneath to activate fans for fresh air. Support struts were also added to this version. Esher is the one that states the height of the Shaft as three miles.