The Cartie Archive doesn't begin with a date, but with a resonance. It began with the Chronarium, a device of impossible construction located within the submerged ruins of Old Veridia. The Chronarium wasn't built, it *emerged* - a swirling vortex of temporal energies coalescing around a core of solidified starlight. Legend claims it was crafted by the Chronomasters, beings who existed outside the normal flow of time, tasked with maintaining the integrity of the Echo – the layered tapestry of all possible realities.
“Time is not a river, but a collapsing prism.” - Archivist Lyra Thorne
The Chronarium's primary function was to stabilize Echoes – fractured remnants of timelines that threatened to unravel. These Echoes aren't simply past events; they are *versions* of reality, each subtly different, each containing potential pathways. When an Echo destabilized, the Chronomasters would enter it, often merging with the Echo itself, attempting to reintegrate the fractured timeline. These merges resulted in…Carties.
A Cartie is an individual imprinted with a significant fragment of an Echo. They possess abilities – temporal distortions, precognition, echoes of past selves – but are constantly vulnerable to the unraveling effects of the Echo. Their existence is a precarious balancing act.
A cartie of the Victorian age, specializing in mitigating temporal paradoxes caused by industrial innovation. Known for his unsettling ability to experience the regrets of his past selves.
Cartie of the Medieval period, a powerful seer who attempted to prevent the Black Death but only succeeded in accelerating its spread. Her actions created a particularly volatile Echo.
A cartie from a Neo-Tokyo timeline where artificial intelligence achieved sentience and triggered a global temporal war. Kaito possesses the ability to manipulate localized time fields.
The most terrifying aspect of being a Cartie is the Cartie Decay. As an Echo's influence grows, so does the Cartie's instability. Symptoms include memory fragmentation, physical distortions, and ultimately, complete dissolution into the Echo, becoming nothing more than a ripple in time.
There is currently no known cure. The Archivists dedicate their lives to containing Echoes and studying Cartie Decay, hoping to find a way to stabilize these fragile beings.