You’ll find no shortage of lore to uncover in Unknown 9: Awakening and its fast-growing narrative universe.
To help you make sense of it all, we’ve compiled some of our universe’s foundational elements into a glossary. This first instalment outlines elements you’ll encounter in the game as well as the other journeys currently unfolding in the realm of Unknown 9.
Am
Synonymous with Umbric energy, Am is the substance that makes up the Fold. It’s also the single ingredient that fuels Haroona’s Umbric abilities.
In Awakening, you need Am to Push and Pull your enemies around, Crush explosives, engage in Umbric attacks, or Heal yourself after a taxing encounter. Feel like Shrouding your way through Ascendant-infested terrain? Looking to throw down in an epic show of Umbric heroism? Check your Am gauge to make sure you have enough fuel to see these approaches through, or risk an onslaught.
Though you’ll start with optimal amounts of Am, every Umbric ability you wield drains your reserves. To replenish, engage in melee combat or unlock a Perfect Dodge from your skill tree. You can also top up by unlocking and executing Leeching Steps.
The Ascendants
A breakaway faction of the Leap Year Society, the Ascendants believe in obtaining enlightenment at all costs. Some call them pragmatic—others, cold-blooded. Since cutting ties in 1908, they’ve skirmished with the LYS over the control of powerful knowledge. Ultimately, the Ascendants have the same goal as the LYS…they just disagree on the best way to achieve it.
While the circumstances surrounding the fate of the group’s ruthless leader is revealed at the end of the game, Vincent Lichter’s wrath can still be felt across the Unknown 9 universe.
As the commandeering voice inside Jaden Crowe’s head, Vincent’s dead set on securing his assistance in a critical mission. He’s also rumored to have cultivated a dark and deranged relationship with a certain paranormal investigator…
Echoes
Think of these as vivid renderings of the past accessed through the Fold.
If you’ve travelled through Awakening’s Chamatkari Mandir, you’ve born witness to this phenomenon. As Haroona approaches the mountain village she once called home, she recalls critical moments of her past. You might boil this down to good old nostalgia, but what Haroona’s actually doing is tuning into the Fold, which is playing back Echoes of her time in this location.
Though these manifestations prove useful for unearthing suppressed or forgotten knowledge, memories, occurrences, etc., Echoes can also wreak havoc on one’s mind. Just ask the SS Talaria’s enigmatic doctor, Emanuel and several of the ship’s crew, whose stories play out in Unknown 9: Passage.
The Fold
The Fold is a shadowy dimension that overlaps our own. The only way to access it is with your mind—usually through deep meditation. However, some people are born with the ability to enter it, such as Unknown 9: Awakening’s Haroona, Jaden Crowe from the Torment comics, even the Genesis Trilogy’s Andie Robertson.
Vast and dangerous, it’s said to contain the sum of all human knowledge. And while much of the wisdom it houses could usher us into a golden age of advancement, other more threatening secrets concealed in its depths are rumored to drive people mad.
The Leap Year Society
Established by Luther Goodwin and other like-minded Quaestors in 1888, the LYS is an international secret society of truth-seekers whose goal is to bring enlightenment to humankind through its relentless pursuit and preservation of hidden knowledge.
Some of Haroona’s closest allies are LYS members, one of which is eventually tasked with fulfilling the next leg of the heroine’s original quest. And while the game paints a picture of how helpful this group can be, those who find themselves in its crosshairs have found their methods to be ruthless, often leading to unforeseen consequences.
The Sahin
In our narrative universe, the Sahin are the ancient civilization that spawned the Unknown 9. Technologically advanced far beyond what we’ve achieved today, they knew much about the Fold, recognized the Cycles of Destruction, and used this knowledge to reach great heights before succumbing to the very forces that fueled their progress.
Wiped from the face of the earth many millennia ago, remnants of their existence pepper all corners of our story-driven world. Players will come across vestiges of the Sahin while traversing Awakening’s landscapes and eagle-eyed fans can spot traces of their existence in the other adventures unfolding right now.
Quaestor
A Quaestor is anyone brave enough to seek out hidden wisdom and unlock the secrets of the world around us. They’re ordinary people with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge—and they play integral roles in every Unknown 9 story.
You’ve likely heard of Haroona. But have you met Passage’s Emilia, Torment’s Jaden, the Genesis Trilogy’s Andie Robertson, or Out of Sight’s Blake and Lazari?
As an active pursuer of the hidden knowledge scattered across our narrative universe, you too are a Quaestor! And you can continue to unearth its powerful secrets by exploring Unknown 9‘s new and upcoming stores as well as the Nexus.
Terminals
Terminals are geographic locations where the partition between our reality and the Fold is thinnest. Inside a Terminal, even someone with no connection to the Fold can glimpse this alternate reality.
Little is known about how many Terminals there are, why they exist, and how long they last. But we can let you in on a few you might pass on your journey through our universe…
Players who’ve trekked across Awakening’s sand-swept Richat Desert or passed through the lower levels of Quinta Matos have witnessed the gravitational pull of the Fold. Other known Terminals include one in the English Channel and a few in the United States said to be located in a Western Missouri hotel and another in Stull, Kansas.
The Unknown 9
These mysterious figures have long watched over humanity, intervening to influence the course of history where they see fit. Immortal guardians of ancient, powerful knowledge, they’ve seen civilizations rise and fall in an endless cycle of progress, destruction, and rebirth. The question remains—what do the 9 want for us?
Choose an Unknown 9 adventure to embark on and you too will find yourself in the 9’s orbit.