Glyphs are jewels scattered throughout the oceans of Planet Earth. They were created thousands of years ago by the human population of Atlantis before they were scared off by alien invaders The Vortex and the city was sunk. After setting a plan in motion that would eventually lead to a legendary dolphin being born to save the world, the humans created the vast number of glyphs and filled them with the wisdom and knowledge that would one day help Ecco the Dolphin rescue his family.
Prior to his first adventure in Sonic the Comic, it was suggested that Ecco had met many glyphs that had helped him on the way, some imparting information whilst others simply showed the path to go. While thinking about his lot one day, Ecco was attacked by a group of four sharks but was rescued by a killer whale that had seen Ecco's face in a glyph. The dolphim was taken to the glyph, which told Ecco what to do next and sent him into the past. Ecco's second shown encounter with a glyph was in the middle of the sky, carried there by a friendly pterodactyl. This glyph knew more about Ecco's situation and told him to travel to Atlantis. Getting dropped off in the sea, Ecco barely managed to reach a simple transportation glyph before being eaten. His arrival at Atlanis coincided with a meeting with dozens of glyphs, all lined up in a row. The combined power of these gems gave Ecco several new abilities, such as recognising the face of The Vortex, increased firepower and longer communication ranges. With these new skills, Ecco vowed to bring down The Vortex for the glyphs.
The glyphs did not make an appearance after the first Ecco the Dolphin story. They play a very similar role to the glyphs in Ecco the Dolphin video games, although some of these also block Ecco's way until he has acquired some information from another glyph or rescued somebody.
Trivia
- In Megadroid's first solo story, a glyph was seen falling out of a store cupboard along with several other STC props.