The core of Pinnation isn't a singular event, but an echoing resonance. It began not with a single ‘discovery,’ but with a persistent anomaly—a shimmer in the fabric of perceived time itself, most prominently observed within the isolated valleys of the Serra da Estrela mountain range in Portugal. Locals called it ‘O Suspiro’ – The Sigh – a feeling more than a sight, an unsettling awareness that moments weren't linear, but layered, overlapping like translucent sheets.
João Baptista de Almeida, a Royal Geographic Society cartographer stationed in Lisbon, documented a peculiar phenomenon during his surveying expeditions into the Serra da Estrela. He reported distorted readings on his chronometers, localized temperature fluctuations that defied meteorological explanation, and an unsettling sense of déjà vu experienced by his team – specifically, repeated sightings of a lone shepherd with a strikingly blue sheep.
Professor Emilia Vargas, a brilliant but largely dismissed ethnomusicologist, began recording strange sonic anomalies within the valleys. Her recordings were not simply echoes; they contained layered musical phrases—fragments of melodies from different eras, sometimes distorted beyond recognition. She theorized that these weren't reflections, but temporal bleed-throughs – remnants of performances and events that had occurred at slightly offset points in time.
Following Vargas’s work, a covert research project, codenamed ‘Chronos,’ was initiated by the Portuguese Ministry of Defense. Equipped with highly sensitive temporal distortion detectors (the exact nature of which remains classified), they attempted to map and control the anomalies. The project yielded increasingly bizarre data – reports of objects briefly existing in multiple points simultaneously, individuals experiencing fragmented memories of events that hadn’t yet occurred, and unsettling shifts in local flora.
Ana Silva, a contemporary textile artist living near the village of Manteigas, began creating intricate tapestries depicting scenes from local history. However, she claimed that as she wove, she received visions—not through conscious thought, but through a direct sensory experience. These visions were always slightly ‘out of sync’ with documented events – details shifted, perspectives changed, and the overall narrative felt both familiar and profoundly unsettling. Her tapestries began to exhibit subtle temporal distortions themselves - colors would subtly shift, patterns would momentarily unravel.
Recent seismic activity in the Serra da Estrela has coincided with a dramatic increase in the intensity of Pinnation. Scientists are observing a ‘resonance cascade’ - a rapid amplification and synchronization of temporal anomalies across multiple layers. Reports are surfacing of widespread disorientation, memory loss, and individuals experiencing profound existential dread. The blue sheep is now sighted by dozens – its existence stretching across decades, possibly centuries.
Pinnation isn’t a threat to be contained; it's a fundamental property of reality—a reminder that time, as we perceive it, is a construct. It challenges our understanding of causality, memory, and the very nature of existence.