IC-0725 - IC-07XX

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Anteverse 66

Brief Description

'Anteverse 66, otherwise known as the Witch's Realm to us and Omarath to its inhabitants. It's a place that just feels wrong. As the bright yellow sun beats down on you, you can smell the bad omens carried by the scent of burning herbs, if you don't spot the windchimes of carved bone and symbols made from painted wood first. Everything they make follows the same colour scheme; Blue, White and Black. Remove all that and the Anteverse would make a great place to live. The only downside would be those ritualists who were smart but hostile when observed. But at night, things get horrible. When the twilight ends and darkness takes hold, the forest comes to life with creatures we couldn't see; all we could see was the settlement of ritualists who seemed like they weren't tied to the corporeal realm anymore. They would dance in the moonlight, which seemed to keep some of these creatures at bay. It was like they guarded the light of their moons and the moons accepted their worship in return.'

- Dr. Arin Lear's account of the First Excursion to Anteverse 66

First Excursion

On day 3, we lost contact with several people and a handful more were killed. The settlement we were observing learned of our presence and brandished their dark weapons. Granted, they had medieval style weapons. We have guns. You can imagine how that went. But there were a few things in the total darkness of the forest that made them cling to their beloved moonlight. Things they feared. the ritualist leader had this special trinket shaped like a dagger that.. enjoyed the moonlight; it was like a small singing blade. In the end, we did manage to recover it at the cost of poor Edward's sanity.

Second Excursion

This excursion lasted even longer. We managed to stay in Anteverse 66 for 10 days. We tried to keep a low profile in the darkness of the forest, observing what we could about the forest and the alleged 'inhabitants' the ritualists feared. But nothing showed up on our NVGs. Every day, we trekked eastbound in the hopes to find a new settlement to observe and lo and behold, we did. Instead of having a pit of ashes to burn herbs on, these ones worshipped a smooth white mask that looks cracked in some places and pulsing with a turquoise hue under the surface. When we found these guys, night had fallen quicker than we realized and slowly, my team was being picked off by something in the dark. We needed shelter. Luckily, these ritualists were more welcoming than the others and one of them, likely their oracle, wore the mask and walked over to us. The mask seemed to ward off whatever was in the darkness, snacking on our buddies. While she didn't speak our language, she communicated through drawings. My first assessment was correct; they were very intelligent, but she asked what happened to one of their settlements. We told her we were attacked and she then explained that they were paranoid, thinking we were new creatures from the darkness.

Third Excursion

This one was the worst one. It lasted 6 days and the higherups wanted to know just what was in the forest at night. I couldn't know. I didn't want to know. The oracle warned us not to, but GATE always wants to know everything no matter the cost or consequence. One night, specifically the one between Day 4 and Day 5, we saw them. The creatures the ritualists called the Lightless. These were beings whose bodies were shaped by the darkness and in turn, they shaped the darkness. Their eyes were sunken and their pearly teeth were many and sharp. Like a chainsaw attached to a skull. They varied greatly in size, between 6-15 feet tall. We were deep enough in this darkness that just reaching camp cost us a few lives; Dylan, Ross, Catherine, Ariel, Stephen, Claire, Monika, Carl.. 8 souls dragged into the darkness kicking and screaming, only to turn into more of those things.

Fourth Excursion

I'm staying here, GATE be damned! These people need the things I can do. Manse can sick the Gatekeepers after me if he doesn't like it. I've gotten a deeper understanding of the Darkness since my last visit and I can't sit idle when this entity- whatever it is, kills these people.. Not anymore. I've been living among the Ritualists for 3 months now and I came to realize that Anteverse 66 was a pleasant place to live after all- If you exclude the darkness. On Day 16 of the 3rd Moon, a familiar face returned from the darkness; Monika! As much as I wanted to believe she was alive and well, her body was mangled and her speech was slurred. It felt like possession to me so I took her back to GATE. Not to be treated, but to be researched and hopefully immured. If these scientists could figure out how to combat them, I can apply it with the knowledge I have and we can maybe defeat the darkness once and for all!

Artifacts from Anteverse 66

Draupknife


Description

IC-0725, though some have come to call it Draupknife, is a very strange specimen. If you can even call it that. Credit for the name goes to Dr. Lear, inspired by the Norse legends of Draupnir; the self-multiplying ring. I can't say it's far-fetched since this knife follows that same rule; it multiplies itself up to 3 times at the top of every hour and up to 7 times in moonlight. Even stranger still, it reacts positively to globs of Night Essence. It absorbs the essence like a toddler would apple juice. What purpose this might serve, I have no idea.

Visually, this knife is not like one I've seen before. In both directions, the blade curves inwards towards the tip and widens the closer it gets to the guard. It's like the head of a javelin in shape, but.. used like a knife. Its grip is fashioned from a pale leathery skin wrapped in spiral patterns with what looks like brass decorations of occult symbols woven into it. It's a sharp contrast to the engraved blackish-blue metal the knife is made of. I don't think I even want to know what the leather belongs to.

One of our interns held the original knife after it multiplied at 3:00 PM yesterday and immediately dropped it in almost the same moment. She never spoke about what she saw or heard, but it's clear that knife did something to her. Whether it's bound to the paranormal entity or simply is a paranormal entity is unknown. Over the next month, the intern, Susan, showed up less and less. She was tired, her eyes gave us defensive looks and during breaks, drank more water than anyone would ever need in a day. It was only when Security got to her room that we found a mostly dark room. Sigils and runes were painted on the walls with a reflective blue paint. At the far end of the room was Susan, surrounded by candles and holding the Draupknife, its perfect copies stabbed into the ground, serving as candleholders. Behind her on the wall was a quick painting of sharp tendrils coming from 7 moons surrounding a set of trees and people. She chanted that the 'Moonmother' would return and then.. well, let's not get into that detail. For the sake of keeping it 'Workplace Friendly', Susan had relieved herself of her place in the facility.

It's safe to assume that whatever made this knife is a fragment of something bigger than anyone could have predicted. If I tried to make sense of it, This thing came from a set of 7, the other 6 being scattered throughout the Anteverse we've yet to explore or even understand. But I'm concerned about this 'Moonmother' entity; is she a force of good or evil? Fact or fiction? If all these Draupknives are brought together, could we have a chance to study her?

Whatever the case may be, IC-0725 is better left in its room, lest we repeat the Susan Incident. Occasionally, the room will fill with its 'inert' copies and eventually requires cleaning out. We almost cleand out the real Draupknife by accident a few dozen times, but it allows us to study the metal it's made of. People insisted we call it 'Draupnum'. Maybe, just maybe, Draupknife could help us after all.

Darkside Fragment


Description

These fragments are fascinating. Not only do they resemble a bipedal mix of squids and snakes of hardened darkness, but they also tend to fly around the darkness it creates. To immure it at GATE would be to invite the Darkness and all its creatures in. It seems that wherever one of these fragments go, that darkness is sure to follow like it's actively fighting the moonlight but disappearing in the daylight like a ghost. Unlike the Leyak, they do not haunt people, but by the looks of it, places.

Darkness Demon 'Monika'


This was once one of our TransRecon operatives. Oddly enough, whatever is is now still answers to the name Monika.