The name itself – *Molybdonosus* – is a whisper, a geological lament. It's not a readily pronounceable term, not one found in common dictionaries. It was coined, not by geologists, but by the Cartographer Silas Blackwood, a man consumed by obsession with the anomalies of the Obsidian Rift, a region of perpetual twilight nestled deep within the Carpathian Mountains. Blackwood believed the Rift held not just minerals, but *memories* – solidified echoes of events stretching back millennia.
Molybdonosus, he declared, represented the core of this phenomenon. It wasn’t a specific mineral, though it resembled a highly concentrated form of molybdenite (often referred to as wolframite), exhibiting an unnatural, almost sentient darkness. It was, instead, a *resonance*. A point where the fabric of time, fractured by immense geological pressure and, according to Blackwood, the lingering psychic residue of forgotten civilizations, became thin enough to allow… observation. Observation of the past, not as a static record, but as a flickering, unstable projection.
Blackwood’s obsession stemmed from a single discovery: perfectly preserved, miniature obsidian shards, each no larger than a fingernail, found within veins of Molybdonosus. These weren't simply geological formations; they pulsed with a faint, internal luminescence and, when held, induced vivid, unsettling dreams – fragments of battles fought, rituals performed, and faces long lost to the dust of time.
The scientific community, naturally, dismissed Blackwood as a madman. His notes, filled with cryptic symbols and increasingly frantic observations, were relegated to the archives. However, whispers persisted. Local legends spoke of “the watchers” – shadowy figures glimpsed near the Rift, their forms shifting and indistinct, seemingly drawn to the Molybdonosus.
Blackwood’s journal is a testament to a mind unraveling. Here are a selection of excerpts, translated from his original, heavily annotated script:
The Obsidian Rift itself is a geological puzzle. The rock formations are unlike anything found elsewhere in the Carpathians. The basalt is laced with intricate patterns – swirling, geometric designs that seem to shift under observation. Seismic activity is unusually high, and the air within the Rift is perpetually cold and still. Initial analysis indicated a radical shift in the Earth’s magnetic field, concentrated within the area.
Several theories have been proposed: a massive volcanic eruption followed by rapid cooling; a localized tectonic event; or, as Blackwood suggested, a consequence of temporal distortions. The most intriguing theory, largely dismissed, proposed that the Rift was formed by a deliberate act – a ritual performed by a lost civilization to manipulate time itself. The Molybdonosus, in this scenario, would be a byproduct of that manipulation, a crystallized pocket of temporal energy.
Further research is hampered by the highly unstable nature of the Rift. Expeditions have been abandoned, equipment has malfunctioned, and several individuals have simply vanished. The whispers persist – “Return not, lest you become a shard.”