The echoes began subtly, whispers in the crystalline valleys of Broun. It started with the Stone Singers, a sect devoted to the resonance of the mountain’s core. They reported a shift, a dissonance within the geothermic flow – a fracturing of time itself. Initially dismissed as geological anomalies, the distortions quickly escalated. The first recorded instance of temporal displacement occurred when Master Ildren, a renowned cartographer, vanished from his observatory, reappearing precisely 72 hours later, clutching a map depicting a landscape that had never existed – a pre-cataclysmic version of the valley.
The Council of Elders, a governing body comprised of representatives from the valley’s various factions, convened. The consensus was clear: this was not a natural event. It was an intrusion, a bleed-through from another…state. The name “Broun” was proposed – a designation for this newly-manifested temporal anomaly, a place where time was not a linear progression but a tangled tapestry.
The discovery of the Temporal Nodes proved pivotal. These were points of intense temporal instability – locations where the distortions were most pronounced. The Nodes were found clustered around the Obsidian Peaks, and each appeared to be linked to a different era. Experiments were conducted, cautiously at first. Small objects, primarily geological samples, were sent through the Nodes. The results were…unpredictable. Sometimes, the samples returned unchanged. Other times, they aged centuries in mere moments, crumbling to dust. One expedition sent a surveyor through a Node returned with a perfectly preserved Roman legionary, complete with weaponry and armor. The implications were staggering.
The Weaver’s Lament is a recurring phenomenon, a cascade of temporal echoes manifesting as phantom images and fractured conversations. It’s believed to be linked to the overuse of the Nodes for observation and manipulation. The Weaver, a title given to the individuals tasked with stabilizing the temporal flow, describes it as “a chorus of what was, what is, and what might be, all screaming at once.” The Weaver, Lyra, vanished during a particularly intense manifestation, leaving behind only a single, intricately woven tapestry depicting a battlefield that never existed – a battle fought between beings composed entirely of light and shadow.
In response to the increasing chaos, the Council of Elders established the Chronarium – a dedicated institution for the study and containment of the temporal anomalies. The Chronarium wasn't merely a library; it was a complex of observation chambers, temporal containment fields, and research laboratories. It became the central repository of knowledge surrounding Broun, a desperate attempt to understand and ultimately control the forces that threatened to unravel reality itself. The first Chronomasters were recruited from across the valley, individuals with a natural affinity for temporal resonance.
The Dimming is a more recent development, a gradual weakening of the temporal flow. The Nodes are becoming less stable, the temporal echoes fainter. The Chronomasters theorize that the initial influx of energy – the “Convergence” – is waning, and that Broun is slowly returning to a state of temporal equilibrium. However, some whisper that the Dimming is not a natural process, but a deliberate act – a slowing of time by an unknown force.