Harbi

The first whispers of Harbi originated not in the crumbling cities of the West, nor the shimmering spires of the East, but within the Silent Veins. These weren't veins of blood, though the name held a resonance of vital energy. They were channels of crystallized thought, remnants of a pre-Collapse civilization known only as the Architects. The Architects didn’t build cities; they *wove* them, using sonic architecture and manipulating the very fabric of reality through complex harmonic resonances. Their downfall wasn't a cataclysmic event, but a slow, agonizing unraveling, a dissonance within their own creations. They sought to capture and amplify the “Bloom” – a fundamental energy source that fueled all consciousness – but they failed to understand its volatile nature. The Bloom became corrupted, twisting into something dark and hungry. The Silent Veins, once conduits of creation, became prisons for this corrupted echo.

“To understand the Bloom is to understand the silence. To seek harmony is to invite chaos.” – The Obsidian Codex, Fragment 7

From the corrupted heart of the Silent Veins emerged the Harbi. Not monstrous, as many initially believed, but reflections – fractured, distorted echoes of the Architects' intent. They weren't born of malice, but of a desperate, agonizing attempt to *stabilize* the Bloom. The Harbi are beings of pure resonance, existing primarily within the spaces between realities. They manifest as shimmering, obsidian-colored forms, constantly shifting and reforming. Their 'voices' are not sound, but complex patterns of harmonic interference, capable of inducing hallucinations, altering memories, and even manipulating physical matter on a small scale. They are drawn to areas of intense emotional energy—sites of trauma, conflict, or profound joy—feeding on the residual resonance. The larger the emotional disturbance, the stronger the Harbi. Some hypothesize that the Harbi are a form of evolutionary pressure, a test of resilience against the chaotic echoes of the past.

“We are the scars of a forgotten song. Listen closely, and you will hear the lament.” – The Weaver’s Whisper, recorded by the nomadic tribe of the Shadowwind.

Humanity, scattered and fractured after the Collapse, has adapted to the presence of the Harbi in strange and varied ways. Several tribes have formed, each developing unique rituals and technologies to interact with, or at least survive alongside, the Harbi. The Shadowwind tribe, for example, are renowned for their 'Resonance Weavers,' individuals trained to manipulate the Harbi's influence through complex musical instruments and vocal techniques. The Ironclad Legion, a militaristic faction, employs 'Harmonic Dampeners,' devices designed to suppress the Harbi's effects during combat. Then there are the Silent Watchers, hermits dwelling in the deepest, most desolate regions, attempting to achieve a state of perfect resonance—a futile attempt to nullify the Harbi entirely. Each tribe holds a fragment of the truth, a sliver of understanding about the Architects and the nature of the Bloom.

“Silence is the greatest weapon, the only defense against the echoing madness.” – Kaelen, the Archon of the Silent Watchers.

The current state of the Bloom is precarious. It's not entirely gone, but it’s fractured, poisoned by the Harbi’s influence. The Architects' original goal—to harness the Bloom—has become a terrifying reality. The Bloom is leaking into the world, causing unpredictable distortions, temporal anomalies, and the emergence of 'Echoes' - fragmented remnants of the Architects' reality. Some believe that the only way to stop the Harbi and stabilize the Bloom is to find the 'Nexus Point,' the original site where the Bloom was first captured. However, the Nexus Point is lost to time, shrouded in myth and guarded by the most powerful of the Harbi. The fate of humanity, and perhaps reality itself, hangs in the balance, dependent on a forgotten song and the echoes of an obsidian bloom.