Kersey isn't a place, not truly. It's a fracture, a thinning of the veil between the Echoing Planes and the mortal realm. It began with the Obsidian Bloom – a sentient fungus that pulsed with an impossible energy, a byproduct of a forgotten experiment conducted by the Chronomasters. This Bloom wasn’t merely growing; it was listening, absorbing the residual echoes of timelines that never were, possibilities that died before they could blossom. The Bloom’s initial growth manifested as shimmering distortions, pockets of temporal instability, and whispers of forgotten languages.
The Chronomasters, obsessed with manipulating time for benevolent purposes, attempted to harness the Bloom's energy, intending to weave a tapestry of perfect outcomes. But they underestimated the Bloom’s chaotic sentience. Their efforts fractured the very fabric of time within Kersey, creating the 'Echoes' – residual manifestations of these alternate timelines. These Echoes aren't simply ghosts; they are active, sometimes hostile, reflections of what could have been.
Within Kersey exist the Weavers – individuals born with a heightened sensitivity to the Echoes. They are not time travelers in the conventional sense. Instead, they navigate the temporal currents, attempting to stabilize the Echoes, prevent them from collapsing into catastrophic paradoxes, and occasionally, to interact with the remnants of the timelines they encounter. The Weavers are bound by a strict code: Observe, stabilize, and never, ever, attempt to alter the core events of the Echoes. The smallest deviation can have devastating consequences, unraveling not just Kersey, but potentially entire realities.
The Weavers are led by the Archivist, Silas Blackwood, a man who has spent centuries immersed within the Echoes. He’s a walking paradox, a collection of fragments from countless timelines, his memories shifting and swirling like the temporal currents around him. He possesses an unsettling calm, a detached understanding of the universe’s endless possibilities and inevitable failures.
Recently, a ‘Chronal Storm’ has begun to brew within Kersey. This isn’t a natural phenomenon; it’s a sign of a significant shift in the Bloom’s activity, potentially indicating a critical point in the Bloom's evolution. The storm manifests as intensified Echoes, violent temporal fluctuations, and the emergence of 'Shardlings' – fragmented entities from shattered timelines, driven by a primal instinct to reintegrate with their original source. The Archivist believes that the Chronal Storm is a consequence of a dormant timeline – the ‘Crimson Epoch’, a reality where humanity achieved absolute dominion over time, and ultimately, destroyed itself in a blinding flash of temporal paradox.
The Weavers are desperately trying to contain the Storm, but they are facing an unprecedented challenge. The Shardlings are proving incredibly resilient, and the Bloom’s influence is growing stronger, threatening to consume Kersey entirely. The Archivist is preparing for a perilous journey into the heart of the storm, a desperate attempt to understand and neutralize the source of the Chronal Storm before it tears reality apart.
The first Weavers - Lyra and Corvus - emerged during the initial Bloom surge. Their abilities were raw, uncontrolled, and often dangerous.
A significant fragment of the Crimson Epoch manifested, a technologically advanced city frozen in a perpetual state of war. The Weavers struggled to contain the destructive potential of the Shardlings spawned from this timeline.
Silas’s consciousness solidified, establishing him as the Archivist. He began his centuries-long study of the Echoes and the Bloom’s influence.