Trove History Video and Text

“Gather round the fire, now! Gather round. All pirates and ninjas, punchbots, and PWN-Es, come hear a tale of love come unbound: of rivals and regret and fractured families.” Qubesly paused, dramatically, proud of his booming voice and impeccable intonation.

He watched, satisfied, as citizens big and small gathered round to hear his verse. As the messenger of the Sun Goddess herself, Qubesly never felt more important than during his daily reading. “Right here in our fair land of Trove, the Sun and Moon Goddesses once played. Their home stretched across the sky above with all the darkness of the world held at –”

“This story is BORING,” called out a wee punchbot, bobbing in the air.

“How – what –” Qubesly sputtered. “Do you know who I am? I am –”

“Boring!” The punchbot said again.

“That’s it!” Qubesly said, irritated. “You want to hear the tale of death and doom and existential nightmares? Of labyrinths of evil, so twisted and dark, every soul who dared look upon it suffered the blight of decay for all eternity!?”

“Oh, YES! Could we?” The whole crowd lit up with excitement.

Now, Qubesly was panicked, for he had only prepared one verse. Yet, having never once given up, even in the darkest days of the kingdom, Qubesly took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began.

“Well, did you know that once, we were all just dreams – spirits – come straight from the mind of the Sun Goddess, herself? All of life came dancing from her head, from you,” Qubesly pointed to a tiny dragonling ally, “To you, and you, and you!” He tickled Slow Sebastian’s chin. “And all of the spirits were so noisy and rowdy, they woke the Sun Goddess from her long slumber.”

“She was surprised and delighted to see her creations and eagerly showed us all to her sister, the Moon Goddess. Over the eons, the Sun would create amazing new creatures for the Moon to play with and enjoy, giving them new shapes and thoughts and dreams of their own. The Moon danced with joy at every new creation, and few things made the Sun happier than to see her sister smile.”

The punchbot interjected with a loud, exaggerated snore.

“However,” Qubesly continued, pointedly. “The moon longed to create as well, but everything she built crumbled into dust. The thought haunted her, and she would stay up late into the night, long after the Sun had gone to bed, gazing down upon the land. She grew envious, watching as even some of the Sun’s creations had inherited the ability to create. These lesser gods built all of the beautiful biomes that we live in today.”

Qubesly waved his arm across the sky, and the crowd around him smiled with appreciation at the wealth of unique trees and flowers that spread out as far as the eye could see.

“But eventually,” he said, with a sigh, “The jealousy became too much for the Moon, and she could no longer bear to look upon the Sun’s creations. She left the Sun’s Kingdom, and pushed onward into the Void beyond the light.”

“There, she was surprised to find even more of the Sun Goddess’s creations – except these were not like the others. They were twisted shadows, driven mad in the endless dark around them. She became scared and worried, as her light was too pale to brighten a path back to safety. It was then that she met Q’bthulhu.”

A few of the small pets gasped.

”Q’bthulhu was a nightmare shadow, imbued like our gods with the power to shape. With honeyed words, he reassured the frightened Moon, offering to guide her back home while leading her further into the Void. He listened to her worries and pleas – and upon hearing that she’d run away from home out of sorrow that she could not create, he smiled.”

“’Stay here in the void,’ Q’bthulhu, said. ‘And you can create anything you like.’ Weaving dreams from the shadows, Q’bthulhu tricked the Moon Goddess into staying in the dark, slowly sapping her powers to strengthen his shadow army.”

“Without the Moon, the Sun Goddess’s kingdom was not as bright, and cracks began to form. The creatures of shadow infiltrated the land. Q’bthulhu secretly locked the Moon in darkness and led his armies into the light.”

“The Sun Goddess was so panicked searching for the Moon, she did not notice the legion marching upon her realms. The Shadows wreaked havoc upon our home, overpowering our lesser gods and spreading darkness everywhere.”

“When the Sun heard the terrified cries of her creations, she knew she had to act quickly. Summoning all the strength she had, she radiated a light so powerful and so bright that it pushed back their dark armies and saved everyone! But alas, the damage was already done, and the land was covered in tears in the light where Shadows could still pass through. Weakened, the Sun Goddess went back into her long slumber, and only a fraction of her light shines down upon us now.”

The little punchbot sniffled to himself, his tears turning into steam on his tiny fire engine. Qubesly patted the young pet on the back and smiled at everyone around. “But that’s why we’re all here! The Sun Goddess still protects us from the Shadow, but she needs our help. Take heart, for as long as we’re here, there is still hope!”