Whioma Resort - The Treacherous Paradise

A Collection of Thoughts from Illona Torok

The Island from the Outside

To say that the island of Whioma is enigmatic is an understatement. A seemingly dangerous island isn’t necessarily the chosen home for a swanky, high-class resort, after all, and while the wealthy tend to favor beauty and restrictive guest lists, they don’t normally do so at the risk of their own lives. How could one possibly find relaxation on the same island where predatory birds wreak havoc from the sun’s set to its subsequent rise? Naturally, I had to know. Unfortunately for me, the Whioma Resort takes the word exclusive as law, boasting not only a hefty fee for membership, but years upon years of waiting lists and applications. To get access to Whioma if you’re not a member requires knowing someone who knows someone who, hopefully, knows someone that can connect you. Be it luck, the connections I’ve made on my travels, or perhaps sheer tenacity, I finally made my way onto the guest list.

You know, for research…

A Relaxing Resort

My personal research, however, had little (if nothing) to do with the actual Research Facility located on the island of Whioma. Though, I believe even if it had, that facility is even harder to enter than the resort itself. The only folks who are granted access are the academics themselves, brilliant-minded beings who seem to be taking a closer look at congruence in hopes of understanding what it is just as much as what it can do. To work there is an honor, and only the best of the best have been given a position on their staff, but anything that is shrouded in mystery is bound to have an abundance of rumors circulating about. According to some of the resort gossip, there may have been a noble folk that organized a tour, but I imagine even they only saw the surface. Some even whisper that folks have tried to sneak in. Even more fearsome is that those who are rumored to have been caught found their way inside, but might not have ever found their way back out…

The resort itself, however, exists as a complete antithesis to the sinister ambience of the island. In fact, it’s everything you might expect from a ritzy, high-class establishment, even boasting a truly medicinal hotspring. I was lucky enough to pay the spring a brief visit, and I will certainly say that I felt like the best version of myself afterward, but I’m also lucky enough to be in good health. To think that something as simple as a bath could fix all ailments is a promising thought, and perhaps this medicinal pool is the reason that nearly everyone at the resort looks to be in the prime of their life. As to why this spring works as well as it does, many of the regulars believe it’s because the island rests atop a hotspot of congruence, but some have whispered that the resort, and perhaps the island itself, has been blessed by a mysterious Divinity. Congruence will forever be a mystery that we will learn more about bit by bit, but a Divinity blessing a dangerous island and using it to keep those who make it here in their prime? Now that’s enticing.

Conjecture and Speculation

If I’m being honest, the more that I looked into the idea of a Divinity here on the resort, the more it started to come together. It explained the soft netting that surrounded the entrances to the enclosures where folks resided in the evening, as well as the curfew at the resort to ensure patrons safety from the dangers of the island around them. Perhaps the netting was infused with this congruence? Maybe even blessed by this same Divinity? What if the medicinal hot spring was first used to heal someone who’d been damaged by the dangers present on this island, and this mysterious Divinity kept the pool's blessing just in case it ever happened again? I met a charming fellow at the resort who was just as curious as I was, even stating that there were whisperings of the Divinity themselves roaming about the resort to keep a watchful eye on the patrons, though nobody truly knew who they were. They could be a clerk at the front desk, or the kind face that offered you a towel on your way to the spring, but they were always here. Always watching. If one wanted to, they could create an unending amount of stories when it came to this mysterious marvel, but what I have yet to understand is why? Why set up a place of luxury in a land of treacherous danger? Why do something of the sort and not have a following or a doctrine of praise established? What could a higher being possibly want with a place like this? Was it just for fun? Perhaps an experiment of their own? Who’s to say?

At the end of it all, my lucky travels to Whioma filled my head with more questions than the answers I’d found. To any who find themselves fortunate enough to pay the island a visit, I do hope you ask every question that comes to mind, and I pray that you learn more than I did. Also, you must enjoy the herbal tea crafted from the imported Silvia flowers; it is absolutely divine.

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Notes for Writers:

• There absolutely is a Divinity on this island
  • In fact, it is the reason the island is hospitable at all.
  • They keep things blooming & beautiful, even if it wouldn’t be otherwise
• Despite the island’s reputation, the birds are the only real “danger” present, but the divinity controls them to keep people inside at night
• This Divinity’s main goal is to conduct research
  • More often than not, humans are use as research subjects
  • These subjects are not kidnapped/dissected/brutalized or anything, but the Divinity certainly isn’t doing this research out of the kindness of their heart
  • There are ‘top secret’ sections of the research facility kept for just the Divinity
• While the Divinity is linked to the research facility, a very select group of researchers actually know of them, perhaps a handful of chosen people
  • These select few are sworn to secrecy, and are smart enough not to test what happens if they break that oath
• Some of the research (outside of the Divinity) includes creating relics capable of being refillable, or perhaps congruence batteries themselves
• As far as being around the resort, that rumor is actually true, the Divinity hangs around the resort whenever they are not conducting their research, though nobody at the resort is aware that the Divinity is actually a Divinity.
• The Divinity itself is very cultured and charismatic, but they are also extremely secretive.
  • Thankfully, though they might not be the best person ever, they aren’t evil. At least, they do not have evil intentions.
• This Divinity may or may not be linked to or have knowledge of the being that caused the downfall of the third epoch…
  • And that may or may not be related to their research? It’s all speculation….
• Fun fact: the charming fellow discussing the Divinity with Illona was the Divinity themself, but Illona will never know that fact… ( :