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Observing the Unseen
Contributor: Stephen Reid, Creative Director of Threadbare
Summary: This Threadbare Narrative Exemplar is designed to provide support for narrative creation through the medium of scientific observations. The narrative example depicts the impact of The Void on the landscape of Threadbare, through the lens of Threadbare character - Professor Alfeus Allpatch of the Observatory of the Obscure. Contributors can use this form of narrative delivery as a source of lore creation and story setting when creating game assets and making additional narrative contributions.
Theme(s): Memory, decay, community collapse, unseen threats
- Type: Scientific Observations
- Date/Location: Threadbare
- Source: ‘Observing the Unseen’ by Professor Alfeus Allpatch of the Observatory of the Obscure, Fray’s End
Recent field studies and eyewitness accounts suggest that the Void exhibits at least three primary modalities of movement and propagation. These forms, hereafter referred to as Void Creep, Void Blister, and Void Bloom, represent distinct yet interrelated stages in the progression of entropic incursion through the world-fabric. Observations indicate that while each modality manifests with unique morphology and behaviour, they are unified by a shared capacity to erode Memory, Imagination, and Spirit within affected regions.
Empirical observation across the Threadbare continuum confirms that the Void progresses through at least three primary modalities: Void Creep, Void Blister, and Void Bloom. Each phase denotes a distinct morphology in the Void’s method of infiltration, decay, and eventual reclamation of matter and meaning. While regional variations exist, particularly within the Lucent Lakes Basin, the underlying entropic behaviour is consistent across all documented incidents. This report consolidates field notes from over seventy witnesses, Wisp correspondences, and direct observation within a controlled containment ward at the Loomlight Conservatory (now lost to The Void).
See Fig. II: Comparative Vein Morphology under Low Wisp Illumination
The secondary manifestation, Void Blisters, appear as bulbous swellings along areas of advanced Creep. Each blister is a half-spherical protuberance, semi-translucent and filled with a viscous, ink-black substance of indeterminate origin. The rhythm of their pulsation has been measured at approximately 3.4 beats per minute—roughly in time with a Wisp’s resting luminance cycle.
Upon rupture, a Blister releases its tar-like contents, which immediately spread new filaments of Void Creep along the surrounding weave. Attempts at containment (see Mend Experiments, Vol. LXIV) proved futile, as the material desiccates rapidly, leaving behind no residue—only the faint scent of scorched paper and rain on stone.
See Appendix IV: Chemical Null Analysis by Prof. Spindlewort, Threadcraft University
The terminal and most catastrophic expression of Void movement is the Void Bloom. Typically preceded by measurable disturbances in ambient light, Bloom events are characterized by rapid, petal-like expansions of darkness emanating from a central rupture. The catalyst is frequently linked to large-scale disruptions of Memory, Imagination, or Spirit, suggesting a psychocultural component to its activation - this warrants further research. Witnesses describe these events as silent, despite the violent unraveling of surrounding matter, with threads of obscure darkness scattering like pollen across invisible currents. Areas subjected to Bloom phenomena are rendered irretrievably voided within minutes.
Some eye witness accounts suggest the Bloom appears to move in the direction of living mass, particularly that of people and creatures. It has been observed that Void Bloom may in fact be drawn to and in fact chasing organic matter.
Over the past hundred years, a marked increase in Void phenomena has been documented, particularly in regions of artistic decline and spiritual neglect. Statistical thread mapping (see WeaveChart 19b) suggests a correlation coefficient of 0.93 between cultural abandonment and Void growth velocity. Preliminary theories posit that The Void is not an external invader, but rather a self-propagating consequence of collective carelessness and community abandon, the fraying of communal threads through disuse, indifference, and the loss of shared story.
- Observation: Wisp luminosity within a 10-span radius of active Creep is reduced by 47%. (See Candlelight Calibration Trials, Loomlight)
- Recommendation: Reintroduction of cultural rituals like storytelling, song-circles, and communal weaving has shown localized reversals of Creep activity in 3 of 12 documented cases.
- Unverified Phenomenon: Reports of “Reverse Bloom” events, in which collective remembrance reignites extinguished light, remain anecdotal but warrant investigation.
See Field Report 221b: “The Night the Threads Remembered,” An anonymous submission from Parable Pass.