Summerset isn’t merely a town; it’s a wound in the landscape, a convergence of the ancient and the unsettling. Located on the Obsidian Coast, where the mountains bleed into the turbulent sea, it exists in a perpetual twilight, a consequence of the ‘Veil’ – a localized distortion of reality that settled upon the region centuries ago.
The town’s origins are shrouded in myth. Legend speaks of the 'Children of the Deep,' a seafaring people who arrived during the ‘Grey Storm,’ a period of unparalleled tidal surges. They were drawn by the strange luminescence emanating from the obsidian deposits that now define the coast. Their arrival coincided with the formation of the Veil. Some believe it was a deliberate act, a protective barrier erected by the Children of the Deep to ward off an unknown threat from the depths. Others claim it was a catastrophic accident, a byproduct of their experiments with ‘lithic resonance’ – attempting to harness the energy of the obsidian for… purposes best left undisturbed.
The key to understanding Summerset lies in the Obsidian itself. It doesn’t just contain energy; it seems to *remember*.
For generations, the town has been governed by the Obsidian Wardens, an order dedicated to containing the Veil’s influence and protecting Summerset from its… manifestations. They aren’t warriors in the traditional sense; they’re scholars, interpreters of the obsidian, and, unsettlingly, ‘resonators.’ Resonators are individuals uniquely sensitive to the Veil’s energies. They can sense shifts, predict anomalies, and, most disturbingly, *channel* the Veil’s power.
The current Warden, Silas Blackwood, is an anomaly. He doesn’t seem to be a resonator in the conventional way. He simply *knows*. He possesses an unnerving ability to anticipate events with chilling accuracy, often speaking of things that haven’t yet happened, but will inevitably unfold.
The Veil isn’t benign. It manifests in a variety of unsettling ways. ‘Echoes’ – fragments of past events, replaying themselves in localized areas. ‘Shimmers’ – distortions in perception, causing objects to momentarily phase out of existence. And then there are the ‘Deep Whispers’ – voices that seem to emanate from the obsidian itself, offering cryptic warnings or, sometimes, unsettling invitations.
The Veil continues to grow stronger, its influence more pervasive. Silas Blackwood believes that Summerset is on the brink of a critical juncture – a moment where the Veil will either consume the town entirely or offer a path to something… more. He speaks of ‘resonance convergence’ and the possibility of harnessing the Veil’s power to reshape reality. But his methods are unorthodox, unsettling, and raise serious questions about the true cost of protection.
The echoes of the Obsidian Coast are not just reminders of the past. They are warnings, prophecies, and perhaps, the key to Summerset’s ultimate fate.