meet the cast
About Peri
In each game you play a guardian angel named Peri. She can't rest while anyone has problems - that's just the kind of person she is. Everywhere she goes she finds herself in new stories with new people and new problems to solve. Sometimes she finds herself as a character within the story, and other times she finds herself looking down from above.
The first three stories in Enter The Story form a trilogy, showing Peri's origin and destiny. All the stories join together, making an ever larger world for Peri to explore. In Les Misérables we see the world she came from, her beginning as an angel, and her goal: to end suffering and find ultimate answers. In the Divine Comedy we see her journey through the heavens. Genesis of the Gods shows the awful truth: what she finds when she gets there.
Peri just wants to be understood
Peri is lost. Not physically lost - she can travel almost anywhere - but emotionally and spiritually lost, looking for somewhere she can call home.
Peri died as a child. As an angel, she saw so much suffering on Earth that it traumatized her. She wasn't able to fix everything, despite her angelic powers. She feels guilty. She can't let it go. She feels driven to act, to take the world' problems on her shoulders, to try to solve everything. Her parents love her, but they don't understand her. They just want a quiet life.
She thought everything would come right when she got to heaven, but - as we see in Genesis of the Gods - that was not to be.
Peri wants to save the world. Everyone say it isn't possible. Sometimes she feels so lonely. Surely there are others out there who feel the same way?
About the name, Peri Laris
In Persian mythology, a Peri is a beautiful and benevolent supernatural being, descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until penance is done. (source) A Peri is usually shown carrying a bag.
Peri as a prefix also means "around, by, near, over, beyond, or to give an intensive sense" - just as our Peri is able to somehow always been near where people need her, although they can't always see her.
Peri is also short for peregrine, meaning a foreigner, alien, roving or wandering - a perfect description of Peri's journeys through time, space, and the world of ideas.
'Laris' comes from 'Lar' - a Roman house spirit. Peri has special connection to home and family, and to the empire of Rome (a focus on Rome is seen in the middle sections of the Divine Comedy and of course in the fourth story, Julius Caesar). Peri wants nothing more than to settle down, but cannot rest while people still need her help.
In later Roman times, Lars (or Lares) "represented the 'illustrious dead' of the city and empire of Rome, and the Emperor Alexander Severus venerated the Lares of such figures as Abraham, Orpheus, and Jesus Christ." (source: Wikipedia) In Enter The Story, reincarnation is a frequent theme, and Orphism features in Genesis of the Gods. Lares were typically worshiped at crossroads - an appropriate reminder that Peri Laris finds herself at the key decision points in history.
The name Peri Laris suggests 'perilous' or even 'Polaris,' the pole star, the one almost fixed point in the heavens.
There are other meanings, but these are enough for now.
Finally, there's a more prosaic reason for the name Laris. Annie Larris is the real star of the game Zak McKracken, the game that inspired Enter The Story. And she's also a real person - there is more to Zak than meets the eye. Many of the stories in Enter The Story contain a nod towards Zak. For example, Mars in the Divine Comedy, or the opening sequence to Genesis of the Gods. One of the future stories will be a homage to all the great games of yesteryear... just wait and see!
This will come as no surprise if you study literature: the same archetypes appear repeatedly in classic novels, and only the names and details change. Let's meet some of them:
The angel
All the stories are connected by one character: an angel called Peri. If you read a classic novel and it refers to an angel, or divine providence, that's Peri. More about her later!
The saint
All great stories deal with transformation. Jean Valjean is the central character of the first story, Les Misérables: he transforms from sinner to saint, moving between multiple identities along the way. Victor Hugo, the author of the book, believed in literal reincarnation and the transmigration of souls. And so Valjean appears in other stories, playing characters who learn wisdom through rebirth.
The hero
Edmund Dantes is the archetypal hero: handsome, brave, he defies impossible odds, embarks on a quest, and triumphs over his enemies. He has different names in different stories, but as Joseph Campbell famously observed, all heros are really the same hero - a hero with a thousand faces.
The rogue
Where would a hero be without a charming rogue? A man of no heart or principles, yet irresistible to men and women alike.
The snake
Not everyone
has redeeming features...
The lovers
Where would classic literature be without star crossed lovers? Romeo and Juliet, Darney and Lucie, Maximilien and Valentine, the names may change, but love is eternal.
The suffering parent
The best melodramas always have an elderly parent-figure to show the true path, to endure years of suffering, and have everything come right in the end. Think of Dr Manette, Monsieur Morelle, etc.
The friend
And of course, the wise old friend of the family. Everyone needs friends.
The characters in Enter The Story are like actors in a theater: the same faces appear in different stories.
The deeper philosophy
Occasionally the characters remember appearing in different games. There's a reason for that. If you're interested in philosophy then talk to Victor Hugo in the Les Miserables game, the angels in the Divine Comedy game, and especially the being at the end of the Theogony game. He explains everything. But if you're not interested in philosophy, that's OK, when playing the games just don't talk to those people. :)
Other characters
There are far too many supporting characters to list them all here. This is a montage of just some of the peope who appear in the first four games. How many can you name?
