Jangar wasn’t born; it crystallized. It began not with a singular event, but with a slow, agonizing dissolution. The planet Xylos, once a vibrant jewel of the Andromeda cluster, was not destroyed by a cataclysmic force, but by a gradual unraveling of its core. This unraveling wasn't geological; it was…harmonic. The very fabric of Xylos resonated with a frequency of decay, a note of exquisite sorrow that spread like a virus through the planet's crystalline structures. The dominant species, the K’tharr, were bio-acoustic beings, their bodies literally composed of solidified sound. As Xylos decayed, so too did the K’tharr, their forms fracturing, their memories fragmenting into shimmering, unusable echoes.
“To listen is to suffer. To cease listening is to invite oblivion.” - K’tharr Scholar, Lyra
What remains of Xylos exists now as a collection of Resonance Fields. These aren’t physical spaces, but rather zones of concentrated harmonic decay. Each field vibrates with a distinct “tone of absence,” a memory of what was. The stronger a field, the more intensely it evokes the lost sensations, the forgotten faces, the silenced songs of the K’tharr. These fields aren’t static; they shift and morph based on external stimuli – the arrival of sentient beings, the passage of time, even the emotional resonance of nearby observers. Some fields are dominated by the feeling of vast, empty spaces; others by the desperate yearning for connection; still others by the chilling premonition of further decay.
Within these fields, objects – what remains of the K’tharr’s technology and artifacts – are not inert. They “play” the resonance, emitting faint echoes of their original purpose, often accompanied by unsettling auditory hallucinations. A broken K’tharr instrument might produce a single, mournful note; a shattered data-core could reveal fragmented images of a bustling K’tharr city.
The primary danger of Jangar is not physical destruction, but the overwhelming effect on sentient minds. Those who spend extended periods within the Resonance Fields begin to…dissolve themselves, not physically, but conceptually. Their memories become intertwined with the echoes of Xylos, their sense of self fractured. They become “Listeners,” lost in a perpetual state of empathetic resonance. Some attempt to understand Jangar, desperately seeking a key to reverse the decay. Others succumb entirely, their minds becoming extensions of the planet’s sorrow.
There are rumors of a "Custodian," a Listener who has achieved a state of profound integration with Jangar, capable of manipulating the Resonance Fields to some degree. Its intentions, however, are entirely unknown.
Below is a conceptual representation of the major Resonance Fields. Note that this is not a map in the traditional sense, but rather a visualization of the dominant harmonic signatures. The audio player below offers a sample of the sounds emanating from these fields. Be warned: prolonged exposure may induce disorientation and emotional instability.
Initial Harmonic Resonance Detected
First K’tharr Dissolutions Recorded
Expansion of Resonance Fields; Emergence of the Listener Phenomenon
Present Day – The Echoes Continue