Sam

Sam, a young child, is one of the two playable characters in *Eastward* and acts as a protagonist of the game. Much of her past unknown, she was discovered by John, a weathered miner, in an underground tank before the events of the story. John looks after and serves as a father-figure to Sam, although Sam is quick to correct anyone who suggests that the two are truly related in such a way.

## Description

Sam was discovered by miner John, under mysterious circumstances, in a tank deep underground... Although she may be small, Sam can wield special kinetic powers, the extent of which is still unknown even to her! She's a brave little girl with a big heart, an open-mind and a cheeky personality!

## Appearance

Sam is a small child with light beige skin and long, slightly wavy white hair that reaches down to her knees. Her hair is cut in a layered fashion, forming an upper layer of swept back bangs leading into additional layers and individual tufts moving down her back, which curl outward at their tips. Sam has thick, dark-brown eyebrows and eyes that are either brown or blue depending on the reference artwork, which frame her often excited facial expression. She wears a long grey dress and proudly sports small red boots after receiving them as a gift from Alva.

## Personality

Sam assumes an enthusiastic and energetic personality and affects a highly optimistic attitude. She is excitable and eager to talk and interact with the various people she meets on her journeys, quickly making friends, as with Eric, Jackson and Kentaro in New Dam City and the members of the Rocket Knight Legion in Ester City. She strives to see only the good in people, sometimes to her detriment, as others are occasionally able to exploit her innocence for their own personal gains. One such example occurs when Robot Daniel convinces Sam to give him the Glazy Berries in Chapter 3, persuading her that William's health depended on them.

Sam is reluctant to do things alone, demonstrated by her disappointed expression when John separates from her when exploring. However, Sam is also shown to be very brave, putting her safety and comfort second to others needs and stepping up to the occasion when John is unable to watch out for her. When controlled by the player while separated from John, Sam adopts a determined expression, demonstrating her courage to do her part despite her misgivings.

Sam is very invested in the game of Earth Born, and apart from playing the game, she also connects with other people about it, expressing admiration for those who reveal associations with the game and its associated franchise.

## Biography

### Prologue: The World Above

Eastward's prologue begins with Sam and John in their shared house in Potcrock Isle. The people of Potcrock Isle retreated underground long ago to avoid the effects of the MIASMA, and in generations since, have forgotten what the surface world, or "Forbidden Land" is like. Sam is seen to associate with three other children known as Carota, Hunt and Four-Eyes who collaboratively play the game Earth Born, and laments that she cannot go to school with them. After John purchases her a Memory Card, Sam is welcomed to join in their game.

Following a slug infestation in the dig site where John works, Potcrock Isle's mayor, Mayor Hoffman, declares that the mine is no place for young children like Sam, who should be at school instead.

### Chapter 1: Coming Up for Air

Although Sam is unable to enter the school without a reference letter, she and John are able to obtain one from the mayor at his house. Upon approaching the school afterward, Sam intervenes in an encounter between Daniel and three bullies, who claim that Daniel's father, William, is a "fantasist" for having asserted that he visited the surface. The bullies, Sansey, Hansey, and Grandis, then turn to tease Sam, threatening in jest to send her to the Forbidden Land, which is presumed to be a barren wasteland spelling immediate death by Potcrock Isle's residents. As Sam begins to express her desire to go there of her own accord, time freezes, and she has her first encounter with a mysterious entity who much resembles Sam herself, except for having a shadow over their eyes, and being cast in a glowing red color. The mysterious figure affirms Sam's desire to visit the surface, describing it as a wonderful place with "[c]lear blue skies" and "green grass." Sam is confused by the presence of her duplicate, and asks who they are, to which they inscrutably reply "You'll find out. One day." They then walk offscreen, and time resumes.

After each of the bullies give a final insult to Sam, they leave to get to class, and Sam follows soon after. Sam is reunited with Carota, Hunt, and Four Eyes, who try to dissuade Sam from associating with Daniel, at a risk of being bullied as well. Sam seems to reject this idea, however, and intervenes as the "No-Go Trio" stage another of their cruel ventures, which this time causes Daniel to fall into a tunnel system beneath the school. Rejoined by John, Sam goes after him, eventually rescuing him and returning Daniel to the school's main floor.

The following day, Sam's school hosts an open house, and John accompanies her to class. In class, Sam's teacher, Miss Real, reads an excerpt about the dangers of the Forbidden Land, and Grandis asks why some people still want to go there if it's so horrible. Grandis's questions provoke Sam to challenge the claims made in the book, and when prompted for evidence, Sam claims that she has been to the surface and seen it with her own eyes. Grandis calls her a liar and a fantasist, upsetting Sam further until she is overheard by Principal Tacoma, and ordered to leave the classroom. Time freezes as the mysterious red figure from before reappears and advises Sam to prove the others wrong. Sam considers this before leaving for the dig site in an attempt to reach the Forbidden Land and validate her memories of it.

After a lengthy pursuit, Sam is eventually found by John in a room near the surface and declares that she has found something that is "[g]reen on the bottom", and "blue on the top". However, the reunion is interrupted as a large mechanical monster bursts from the wall. Although it is eventually defeated by John, he collapses from the strain, and Sam rushes to his side, calling for help. The mysterious red figure appears a third time, but refuses to help, citing that only Sam can do so. Sam learns to use her Energy Bubble ability to "cut through the darkness", which she uses to reach an exit and get help for John.

As John is recovering, he and Sam are visited by Mayor Hoffman, who sends them to jail for having gone to the Forbidden Land. There, they meet Jasper, a performer who had been imprisoned in one of the neighboring cells. He is devastated that Sam doesn't recognize him and expresses sorrow that he has been forgotten by the people of Potcrock Isle. They are interrupted by Sam's friends and Daniel, who have snuck into the jail in order to give Sam Daniel's Lucky Coin, which once belonged to his father. Carota tosses the coin into the cell, which tears a hole in one of the posters in the back, revealing a hallway behind it. Sam tears the poster away to uncover a hole in the back wall and exits with John and Jasper into an underground tunnel. John and Sam make their way through the tunnel, which eventually leads into the mayor's estate.

John, Sam, and Jasper are eventually found by Mayor Hoffman, who threatens to send them to Charon, a train to the surface that no one has ever returned from. Jasper pleads for mercy but is banished along with Sam and John and is forced to board the train. Upon its departure, Charon crashes through Mayor Hoffman's estate, which was negligently built over the rarely used train tracks.

It is robotically announced through Charon's intercom that the train is bound for Whitewhale Bay. Jasper recounts a description of the beauty of Whitewhale Bay, before lamenting its presumed ruination in the time since the MIASMA was born. The intercom announces a change in air pressure as Charon exits the tunnel from Potcrock Isle, however, despite Jasper's panic, the external air does not immediately render Charon's inhabitants lifeless. The view outside the train changes to reveal a surface world that is indeed green on the bottom and blue on the top, with a sparsely clouded sky outlining a mass of forested hills in the distance.

### Chapter 2: What the Forest Taught Me

Charon pulls to a stop at a train station that resembles an enormous boat built out of a patchwork of materials, a large whale figure surfacing from the deck. The station is positioned amidst a serene deciduous forest, which has spread inward to overtake parts of the station's floor. Jasper remains in denial of both their apparent survival and the vibrant landscape that surrounds them, which contradicts his expectation of the surface as a lifeless wasteland. John and Sam, however, leave to explore their new environment. They encounter an old, rusting truck and a few small structures in apparent disuse, before spotting a person throwing rocks into the water in the valley below. They are able to catch up to the person, who introduces herself as Uva. She invites them to her village, citing that the people there would be surprised to meet outsiders.

Following her, Sam and John arrive in Greenberg, a small settlement full of wheat fields, in which many of the dwellings are modeled after boats. They receive a warm welcome from the village's inhabitants, and upon reaching the Woodwhale, the town's central building, Uva introduces them to the mayor, Wes. Uva invites Sam and John to stay in a small, uninhabited cabin a little outside of Greenberg. On their way there, they encounter Jasper, who has apparently made it past his initial misgivings and found his way to Greenberg and is engaged in conversation. Emily, a Greenberg native, expresses admiration for Jasper's performing career, but displays an open disregard for Sam and John, who Emily considers unfashionable and uninteresting.

Sam and John arrive at their cabin, which is cluttered and messy due to disuse. Nevertheless, Sam is appreciative, and remarks that it has been a while since the two have slept in a bed. As they get settled in, Uva arrives, and warns them of the dangers of the forest before encouraging them to help her brother Miller at the Blimpig Ranch. She then offers to cook them dinner if they visit Greenberg on their way back. Sam and John then visit Blimpig Ranch, where John herds a group of floating, pig-like creatures called blimpigs back into their pen, earning Miller's respect and the Blimpig Ranch Seal of Approval.

Uva is highly regarded by the rest of Greenberg's inhabitants, and some in the village see John's arrival as a chance for her to form a romantic relationship. During dinner in Greenberg, some of the village's inhabitants attempt to draw Jasper, who had been recounting the tale of the group's exploits in Potcrock Isle, away from Uva and John in order to give them time alone. At the conclusion of the night, Uva invites John and a sleeping Sam to her residence in the north part of Greenberg.