The initial records, penned by Elias Thorne – a cartographer obsessed with the confluence of the Whispering River and the Obsidian Peaks – detail a localized temporal distortion. It manifested as an accelerated growth cycle within a patch of Crimson Root, a plant previously known for its stubborn resistance to decay. The roots, within a radius of approximately fifteen meters, swelled threefold in a single diurnal cycle, culminating in a grotesque, pulsating mass saturated with an unnervingly sweet, metallic scent. Thorne hypothesized a connection to subterranean geothermal activity, suggesting a fluctuation in the planet’s chronal field.
Further analysis, conducted by the Alchemist Lucian Vesper, revealed the presence of trace elements – primarily Tellurium and Bismuth – within the Crimson Root. Vesper’s perplexing conclusion: “The root absorbs time, not reflects it. A nascent paradox, nurtured by heat and silence.” He theorized a connection to the ‘Echoes’ – rumored pockets of residual temporal energy lingering beneath the peaks.
The second entry, a fragmented journal recovered from Thorne’s abandoned camp, presents a drastically different perspective. He describes not an anomaly, but a *feeling*. A pervasive sense of being watched, of being… altered. “The shadows lengthen in unnatural ways,” he writes, “and the pigs… they seem to understand. Not in a communicative sense, but with an awareness that chills me to the bone. As if they've witnessed the end of time itself.”
Thorne’s handwriting deteriorates with each entry, becoming increasingly erratic. He begins to document instances of ‘pig-shaped silhouettes’ appearing in peripheral vision, and instances of perfectly arranged stones forming complex geometries around the Crimson Root. His final entry, a barely legible scrawl, reads: “They are building. Not with mud and straw, but with moments. They are weaving the future, and I… I am simply a thread.”
The most recent entry, a series of encrypted ciphers recovered from a submerged cave system near the Obsidian Peaks, paints a horrifying picture. The ciphers, painstakingly decoded by Dr. Seraphina Moreau, reveal a complex ritualistic behavior among a population of exceptionally large, melanistic pigs. These ‘Obsidian Pigs’ – as Moreau dubbed them – appear to be actively manipulating localized temporal currents, creating miniature ‘time bubbles’ within which they engage in elaborate, seemingly meaningless activities.
Moreau’s interpretation is chilling: “They are not merely *observing* time; they are *consuming* it. Each bubble represents a stolen moment, a lost possibility. Their existence is predicated on the entropy of the universe, and they are, quite literally, feeding on the remnants of forgotten futures.” The ciphers also detail a network of subterranean tunnels, meticulously constructed by the pigs, leading to a central chamber – dubbed ‘The Chronarium’ – where the temporal manipulation appears to be concentrated. The final message, a single, repeated phrase: “Give us the moment.”