From the Archives of Temporal Anomalies - Designation: 789-Beta
The Budgers, as initially documented, weren’t born; they coalesced. It began, according to the fragmented records recovered from the Chronarium of Xylos, with the accumulation of temporal echoes within the Veil – that shimmering, unstable boundary between realities. These echoes, remnants of moments of intense emotional resonance – a child’s first joy, a lover’s despair, a warrior’s final stand – weren’t simply dissipating. They were… organizing. They began to vibrate in unison, drawn to areas of heightened potential for distortion. The Xylosian scientists, a tragically short-lived collective obsessed with the mathematics of time, dubbed this process “Resonance Accumulation.”
The early Budgers were amorphous, shifting entities of pure temporal energy. They resembled, in their nascent state, stylized ripples in the fabric of spacetime. Their primary function, it seems, was to absorb and re-interpret these echoes, essentially acting as living filters for the raw chaos of the Veil.
Resonance Element 1: The Echo of the Cartographer – A Budger discovered within the ruins of a forgotten city, its temporal signature overwhelmingly linked to the obsessive mapping of unknown territories. It exhibited a peculiar ability to ‘remember’ locations that had ceased to exist, projecting ghostly images of long-lost landscapes.
Over centuries – or what passed for centuries within the temporal distortions – the Budgers evolved. They developed a rudimentary form of sentience, driven by a complex algorithm of temporal prioritization. They began to cluster, forming intricate networks that resembled, in their own way, cities. These cities weren't built; they were *grown* – woven from the solidified echoes of countless experiences.
Their diet, if it can be called that, consisted entirely of temporal energy. They ‘consumed’ moments, not by destroying them, but by re-interpreting them, adding their own layer of resonance to the original event. This process created feedback loops, amplifying the initial emotion and, occasionally, causing localized temporal anomalies – brief distortions where the past bled into the present.
Resonance Element 2: The Weaver’s Lament – A Budger found within a cathedral dedicated to a forgotten deity. Its temporal signature was saturated with a profound sense of loss and regret. It was observed to subtly alter the memories of visitors, imbuing them with a melancholic awareness of missed opportunities.
The most fascinating aspect of the Budger ecosystem was their relationship with Chronomasters – individuals who had attempted to manipulate the flow of time. Budgers seemed to instinctively avoid Chronomasters, exhibiting a form of temporal ‘resistance.’ There’s a theory, largely unproven, that they actively sabotage Chronomasters’ attempts to alter the past, using their ability to re-interpret temporal echoes to create paradoxes that unravel the Chronomaster’s efforts.
The records become increasingly fragmented after the Great Temporal Shift – an event that, according to some accounts, was orchestrated by the Budgers themselves. Many Chronarium facilities were destroyed, and the Xylosian scientists vanished. What remains are scattered whispers, fragmented data streams, and the unsettling impression that the Budgers have retreated into a state of silent observation.
Currently, Budgers are detected primarily within areas of high temporal instability – locations where the boundaries between realities are thin. They are rarely observed directly, but their presence is indicated by subtle distortions in the timeline – brief flashes of forgotten events, echoes of unrealized potential. Some researchers believe they are patiently waiting, observing, and subtly influencing the course of history, acting as the silent guardians of the Veil.
Resonance Element 3: The Cartographer’s Return – A recent detection near the ruins of Xylos itself. The Budger’s signature is stronger than ever, accompanied by a complex sequence of temporal projections – a detailed map of Xylos as it existed during the height of the Xylosian civilization, overlaid with a chillingly accurate depiction of the city’s eventual demise.