The Brights

Helen and Marcus Bright, the explorers, have come into some fame due to their discoveries. They hail from the same village, and often played in dangerous areas despite much remonstrance as children. When Helen came of age, the dreams she'd always carried with her of being on the edge of the unknown came to a head - and she decided she'd do anything possible to get there. At this point, Marcus and Helen had been on the edge of a relationship - after hearing what she'd decided to do, Marcus worked up the courage to tell her something he'd always been meaning to tell her. She immediately wondered aloud why he couldn't come with her, and they started winging it - along with the headfirst approach of love, they also did whatever they could to see the edges of their world together. A rash decision to sneak aboard a vessel to the surface may have been ill-advised, but even after forcibly being returned to the praeter the spark had been lit - they'd seen too much, and Marcus now shared her level of excitement, even if his expression of it was a little less exuberant.

They went on to explore what were termed Silverblossom Valley, Dawn Meadow, the edges of Rin'ya, Steel Desert and the Dunes of Western Szardai - all culturally significant discoveries, whether it be for beauty or technological resources.

Now, they are in their late twenties - after working for the Congregation, they'd almost felt like things were settling into the same routine. A recent feeling of monotony, since the Congregation was very slow and methodical about its rate of investigation, had begun to set in, and the couple were beginning to feel like there was something wrong - until the day came when a discovery set in motion a series of events that would sweep away that fog.