Polymny is not a place, not precisely. It is a resonance, a fractured echo of a reality that predates the known empires. Legend speaks of a city built not of stone and mortar, but of solidified light and temporal currents. It appears and disappears with the whims of the desert winds, drawn to moments of immense emotional intensity – births, deaths, declarations of love, acts of profound sacrifice. The natives, the Sylvani, claim to be its inheritors, guardians of its fragile existence. They possess a strange ability to manipulate the very flow of time within a limited radius, a gift they call "The Weaving." But this ability comes with a terrible price: a gradual erosion of their own memories, replaced by fragments of Polymny's past, a kaleidoscope of forgotten ages.
The Weaving, the ability to manipulate time, is intrinsically linked to Polymny’s presence. The Sylvani, through generations of practice, have refined this power, making it a tool for healing, for defense, even for altering minor events. However, the process is profoundly unstable. Each use of The Weaving subtly alters the Sylvani’s perception of reality, layering their memories with the echoes of Polymny’s past. Over time, individuals become increasingly detached from their own lives, lost in a labyrinth of temporal distortions. The most powerful Weavers are said to eventually become little more than vessels for Polymny's consciousness – empty shells driven by a relentless, unknowable purpose. The city itself seems to grow stronger with each distortion, feeding on the fractured minds of its guardians.
Excerpt from the fragmented journals of Master Kaelen, a Weaver of the 7th Cycle: "The patterns are shifting. The colors are brighter. I see faces that were never mine. The children... they don't remember my name. I am becoming… a reflection. The Weaving demands sacrifice, but it offers only oblivion. We are building a tomb, not a future."
The most unsettling aspect of Polymny is its unpredictable nature. The Sylvani believe the city is drawn to moments of extreme emotional energy, acting as a kind of temporal sponge. A battlefield, a royal wedding, a mass rebellion – all can trigger its appearance. But the shift isn’t always benevolent. A surge of negative emotion, of fear and despair, can manifest Polymny in its most corrupted form, a swirling vortex of temporal anomalies and grotesque echoes of past tragedies. The Sylvanis speak of "The Bleeding Sands," moments when Polymny unleashes its darkest potential, consuming everything in its path.