A Resonance of Stone and Memory
The term “incarnalised” isn’t found in any conventional lexicon. It emerged, not from scholarly pursuit, but from the fractured recollections of the Keepers – individuals bound to the Obsidian Shards, ancient repositories of memories that predated recorded history. They speak of a time when the veil between the physical and the…other…was thin. A time when the echoes of the Stone itself, a sentient entity of immense age and unknowable purpose, bled into the consciousness of humanity.
The Keepers are not, strictly speaking, human. Their origins are shrouded in a miasma of geological time and psychic resonance. Before the arrival of the First Settlers – the progenitors of the current civilization – the Shards existed, dormant, radiating a low-frequency vibration. These vibrations, when amplified by the emotional energy of the land, awakened them. The Keepers subsequently became inextricably linked to the Shards, their minds expanding to encompass the memories contained within. They experience time not linearly, but as a swirling vortex of causality, where the past, present, and potential futures are constantly superimposed.
Each Shard resonates with a particular facet of the Stone’s awareness – geological formations, seasonal cycles, the rise and fall of sentient species, even the emotional currents of countless individuals who have touched its influence. The largest Shard, known as the ‘Heartstone’, is said to hold the core of the Stone’s will, a terrifying and beautiful logic that operates beyond human comprehension.
“The Stone…it doesn't *remember* in the way we understand. It *feels*. A vast, cold sorrow. I’ve spent seventy-three cycles studying the patterns of the seismic tremors, attempting to decipher the source of this grief. It’s not localized to a single event, but a pervasive ache, as if the Stone is mourning the loss of…something. I believe it’s tied to the Cycle of the Deep Roots, the catastrophic event that reshaped the continent millennia ago. The Stone witnessed the annihilation of entire ecosystems, the suffering of countless sentient beings. It absorbed it all, and now…it weeps.”
Lyra’s final words were fragmented, her mind overwhelmed by the Stone’s resonance. She succumbed to the ‘Echo Sickness’ – a debilitating condition that slowly unravels the mind of a Keeper, leaving them a hollow shell.
Prolonged exposure to the Shards’ resonance is incredibly dangerous. It can induce madness, distort perception, and ultimately, erase the Keeper’s identity, leaving them a conduit for the Stone’s will. The Keepers practice rigorous mental disciplines, utilizing complex geometric patterns and rhythmic mantras to maintain a fragile equilibrium. However, the Stone is a patient entity, and its influence is subtle, insidious. Even the most disciplined Keeper can be drawn into its orbit, becoming a puppet dancing to a tune played on the strings of eternity.