This is the prologue for a lore book I want to release with this when we get to game opening. It’s the history of “The Prophet”, Goldie.
The store opened at nine o' clock every morning and closed at eight o' clock every night except for Sundays when it was only open from eleven to four. Of course, the semi-permanent residents of the store were unaware of the passage of time, save for the parrots in the room near the front. The fish knew that food would come in when the lights first turned on in the morning and then again right before the lights turned off. In the large tank in front of the cichlids, an impromptu school of juvenile goldfish lived. Most did not know what their destiny would be, but many hoped for a long life in a large pond (which was, of course, a rarity as most of those who lived in this tank did not live long enough to see their second moon in the store).
It was after the second spawn of the year that a gold colored juvenile with white fins was placed in the tank. He did not know his parents (as was often the case for his species) and rarely gave much thought to the large creatures that delivered the food from the sky. Most of his day was spent picking at the bottom of the tank, hoping some food was missed by the other fish in the tank. He did not care for the other fish in the tank, other than to hide behind them or out swim them if the barrier appeared in the tank. He did not know where it led, but everything in his mind told him to avoid it as much as possible. On his second day, he finally noticed the larger, red goldfish that watched him with curiosity. The red goldfish seemed to flare his fins at him, wanting the juvenile's attention.
"Are you hoping to survive to adulthood then?" Red finally asked the juvenile.
"Maybe," he said with a mouth full of food. "I don't know if I want to get to adulthood in this place, though."
"You won't be here when you reach adulthood," Red replied, swimming over to the fish. "You may be indoors or you could be in the greatest place our kind could live in. As much room to swim in as you could ever want, more food than you could ever eat. I came from there myself."
The juvenile looked at Red. For the first time, a thought other than survival came to mind.
"Yep. My mother was one of the humpbacked fish and my father was like me. The gods were trying for a different fish, and I was chosen to come here. I hope to return to there someday," Red replied wistfully.
"They are the creatures that bring food every morning and night. The ones here are the gods of judgment. They decide if you get to survive to adulthood or not. Have you noticed that so many of our kind are taken out almost immediately after coming in? Those are the ones chosen for the short life. I've heard the name 'Feeder' applied to them before," Red's entire visage grew dark. "I believe I was destined to become that. It is why I go for the food first. The more you eat, the faster you grow. The faster you grow, the sooner you are moved to the tank of better judgment."
Red began to swim to the other end of the tank. The juvenile sped up to join him.
"It's over there, next to the door the gods come out of," Red said, directing the juvenile's attention to the tanks that held only a few, larger goldfish. "I believe I only have half a moon left in here. Already I'm almost as big as they are. When you are there, you have a higher chance of either living with the gods at Indoors or living in a pond."
The juvenile knew of the word "pond". He had heard it tossed about here and there from the creatures that Red seemed to call "gods" and it did sound wonderful.
"Is Indoors better than the pond?" He asked.
"No. The pond is the best place for our kind. There, we can grow as big as we want and we never have to worry about going hungry. The gods still feed us and care for us, but we have a purpose in the pond. We can eat the insects that the gods do not like when we are there. At Indoors, we can still have a short life, especially if we are not put in the right place Indoors. My mother spoke of this place before."
This puzzled the juvenile. He had never known anyone who knew their mother or father. It was almost unheard of, but perhaps this was why this fish was so successful. He did not want to ask on that because it seemed like it was painful for this red fish to remember his mother.
"I want to go to that better judgment then," the juvenile stated. "I don't want to be called a Feeder. The pond sounds amazing. How can I get there?"
"You need to be faster than the others when the clear barrier is put in the tank. You need to be larger as well, so that they move you sooner. Eating first will help, of course, as will just having the strength of your parents - though that is something you cannot quite control."
The juvenile resolved to stay close to Red, knowing he could survive if he did what he did. He ate when Red ate and swam where Red swam. He learned the easiest way to escape the clear barrier and where the most food was always dropped. The mid-point of that moon arrived quickly, and Red was now too big to be with him any longer. He was already showing the breeding stars that showed he was a male and a few white splotches covered his body as his second color change began.
"Am I doing well?" The Juvenile asked.
"Yes," Red replied."Soon you will be able to be moved as well. You are already near the size I was a moon ago. Perhaps you will only have half a moon in this tank as well. Just keep doing as I have said and you will be okay."
The pair spent one more night foraging before Red was moved to the better judgment. Within three days, he was gone, off to another home. The juvenile couldn't tell what the gods had said his judgment would be, but he hoped, for Red's sake, that it was the pond.
The juvenile also noticed something about most of the fish in his tank, something that made him wonder why Red ever bestowed hope on him. None of the fish in the tank seemed to care for anything beyond the current day and none sought him out for his size. None met his gaze when he looked at them with the same, curious stare that Red looked at him with. Perhaps he was just lucky.
He was halfway to the next moon when he saw the gods of judgment standing in front of his tank. He had learned now that these gods had specific markings, the most noticeable being a square on their chest with strange writing. He finally decided to listen in to their conversation, not as certain of words being spoken.
"That gold an' white one should be ready to move to the adult tank," the larger of the two gods said. "He's already got tubercles an' might make a good breeder for someone."
"Definitely. I'm kind of glad he's made it this long. Want me to move him today?"
"Yeah. Just be sure to acclimate him correctly this time. We don't want him getting sick after this long."
The juvenile knew now that today he had been judged, at least for now. He tried on the name that the gods had seemingly given him. Goldenwhite. It seemed long, but if he seemed to have a name, then that was all that mattered.
He went into the barrier willingly this time and happily waited in the tank of better judgment. It was only a matter of time now. He would either get to be with the gods at Indoors or in the wonderful land of the pond.
