Wittenburg: A Resonance Point

Wittenburg isn't merely a place; it's a fractured echo of timelines, a locus where the threads of causality fray and reweave themselves. It began, as all such places do, with a seed – a crystalline anomaly unearthed during the excavation of the Blackwood Estate in 1888. This wasn’t a simple geological formation; it pulsed with a dissonant energy, a signature identified only as ‘Chronometric Resonance.’ Local folklore, dismissed as superstitious ramblings, spoke of ‘the Weaver’ – a being capable of manipulating temporal currents. The estate's original owner, Silas Blackwood, a self-proclaimed chronometric scholar, dedicated his life to understanding and, ultimately, controlling this resonance.

The Weaver's Echoes

Fragment 1: The Obsidian Mirror

Accounts suggest Blackwood constructed a device – the Obsidian Mirror – designed to amplify and focus the Chronometric Resonance. Its purpose was purportedly to ‘capture’ moments in time, to observe the past without direct interference. However, the Mirror proved unstable. Instead of recording, it created localized temporal distortions – brief glimpses of alternate Wittenburgs, each subtly different, each reflecting a potential divergence. Some fragments describe a Wittenburg perpetually shrouded in a violet rain, while others depict a city built entirely of polished bone.

Fragment 2: Silas Blackwood's Descent

Silas Blackwood's obsession with the Chronometric Resonance consumed him. He became convinced that he could reshape reality itself. He began experimenting with the Mirror, pushing its capabilities beyond their intended limits. Witnesses reported him speaking in languages unknown to humanity, his eyes glowing with an unsettling blue light. His research culminated in a catastrophic event – a ‘temporal bloom’ that ripped open a fissure in the fabric of time, releasing a torrent of displaced individuals and objects from across countless timelines. The estate was irrevocably altered, becoming a nexus of temporal instability.

Fragment 3: The Cartographers of Lost Time

Following Blackwood's disappearance (or, perhaps, his absorption into the temporal flux), a secretive organization emerged – the Cartographers of Lost Time. They dedicated themselves to mapping the fractured timelines surrounding Wittenburg, attempting to predict and mitigate the effects of the temporal distortions. Their methods were unorthodox, often involving the use of ‘chronometric anchors’ – objects imbued with specific temporal signatures to stabilize local timelines. Rumors persist that their headquarters lies beneath the ruins of the Blackwood Estate, guarded by automatons powered by harvested temporal energy.

Current Anomalies & Theories

Theory A: The Cascade Effect

The prevailing theory posits that Wittenburg’s instability is a ‘cascade effect’ – a chain reaction triggered by Blackwood’s initial experimentation. Each temporal distortion creates a ripple, attracting further anomalies and reinforcing the chaotic state. Stabilizing Wittenburg would require identifying and neutralizing the original trigger.

Current Anomaly: The Violet Rain

For the past seventy years, Wittenburg has been intermittently experiencing periods of intense violet rain. The rain isn’t merely colored water; it contains traces of displaced temporal energy, exhibiting properties inconsistent with known physics. Researchers have detected echoes of voices and events from alternate Wittenburgs within the rain’s molecular structure. The source of the violet rain remains elusive, but it’s linked to a heightened concentration of Chronometric Resonance.