Rockton isn't simply a city; it’s a persistent anomaly, a ripple in the fabric of time itself. Its origins are shrouded in a paradox – a convergence of three distinct eras: the Age of the Iron Kings, the Bloom Era of symbiotic technology, and a nascent, unsettling reality known only as the Obsidian Drift. The Iron Kings, a militaristic civilization obsessed with clockwork and dominion, were the first to establish a foothold, building a fortress city of obsidian and steel. Their ambition, however, triggered a catastrophic event – the “Sundering,” a tectonic rupture that shattered their empire and released a torrent of raw temporal energy. This energy wasn't destructive in the traditional sense; it warped time, creating pockets of divergence and layering the city with echoes of its past.
The Bloom Era followed, a period of breathtaking technological advancement fueled by the symbiotic integration of organic and mechanical life. The Bloomites, masters of bio-engineering, harnessed the temporal energy, creating self-repairing structures and devices that seemed to anticipate the needs of their inhabitants. However, their pursuit of perfection led to a strange obsession with “temporal harmonics,” attempting to stabilize the fractured timeline through complex bio-mechanical rituals. This ultimately proved disastrous, accelerating the Obsidian Drift.
The Obsidian Drift – a realm of fragmented memories, distorted realities, and beings that exist outside the conventional flow of time. It's not a place one *enters*, but rather a persistent influence, a shadow cast by Rockton's temporal instability. It manifests as glitches in perception, moments of déjà vu that bleed into present reality, and the unsettling feeling that you’re remembering something that never happened.
The people of Rockton are as fractured as the city itself. They are descendants of the Iron Kings, Bloomites, and countless others who were caught in the Sundering. Many possess unique temporal anomalies – accelerated aging, involuntary time jumps, or the ability to perceive echoes of the past. A significant portion of the population, known as the “Echoes,” are essentially remnants of past iterations of Rockton, trapped in a perpetual loop of their own lives.
There are also the “Chronomasters,” individuals who have learned to manipulate temporal energies, though their abilities are often unstable and dangerous. They serve as guardians of the city, attempting to maintain a semblance of order amidst the chaos. Then there are the "Shimmers," beings born directly from the Obsidian Drift, their forms constantly shifting, their motives inscrutable.
Rumors persist of a “Prime Echo,” a being said to be the original iteration of Rockton’s consciousness, trapped within the city's core. Locating it is considered both the greatest hope and the greatest danger.
Rockton is riddled with temporal anomalies, each a testament to the city’s fractured state. The “Clockwork Gardens,” a perpetually blooming biome that exists simultaneously in the Iron King era, the Bloom Era, and the Obsidian Drift. The “Resonance Chambers,” where echoes of past conversations can be heard, sometimes overlapping and creating impossible dialogues. The “Temporal Rifts,” unstable portals that sporadically open, releasing fragments of the past or future. These anomalies aren’t random; they seem to react to emotional intensity, to moments of profound loss or intense hope.
A particularly unsettling phenomenon is the “Memory Storms,” periods of intense temporal distortion where memories are violently ripped from individuals’ minds, often accompanied by hallucinations and disorientation. These storms are always preceded by a surge in emotional energy within the city.
“Time is not a river, but a shattered mosaic. Each shard reflects a different truth, and the danger lies in believing that any one is the whole.” - Archimandrite Silas, Keeper of the Resonance Chambers
Source: The Chronicles of Rockton, Volume VII
The city of Rockton is a trap, a beautiful, terrifying prison. But within its fractured reality lies the potential for profound understanding – and perhaps, redemption. A new arrival, drawn by a whisper from the Obsidian Drift, finds themselves caught in Rockton's web. Their purpose? To unravel the city's secrets, confront the echoes of the past, and, if possible, restore a semblance of order to a reality that seems determined to collapse.