Disclaimer: The following document fragment is presented from an in-character perspective, it should not be taken as the truth of the setting.
Context: Journals are an important form of communication between mages. They provide a raw, unedited view into the thoughts of another, very different from that of an orderly and thought out book. This specific journal is strange, though, as it is an ontological object delivered to humanity by a different race, and the person who wrote it should have been dead.
The so-called “Godavari Journal” is one of the most anomalous (and possibly unnerving) artefacts held within the great library of Arkham. The journal, mundane in appearance but easily recognisable as an ontological object, records the voyages of the Godavari, a ship belonging to the Institute, known for its many and regular cruises to the Antarctic. The vessel in question was lost at sea on the 15th of March 2006. The wreckage was located later that year. The Insitute refused to disclose any details of its final voyage. But then, what is the journal, you might ask.
The journal was given some time in 2009 to one Shufen Tse as part of an exchange with an Elb she had regular dealings with. The creature brought her the journal, claiming it appears to be made by humans and asking if she can decipher the writing, as the Elb in question could not read English. They explained that they obtained the journal as a form of trade with “a creature of the deep, cold forest”, an Elben idiom for the deeper levels of the dreaming.
The journal appears to describe the further voyages of the Godavari after its disappearance and going further past the date of the ships alleged re-discovery by the Institute. Too many details remain unknown to formulate a solid theory about what happened and how it came to be.
Whatever the nature of the document might be, it remains a haunting read. Inviting many, often troubling hypotheses.
Page 1:
We've finally stopped taking in more water. My hands hurt, but it's my back that's really killing me.
I thought I might as well take some notes here, as we seem to be in quite some situation.
The stars are missing.
Even just writing that makes my stomach churn. It's a completely ridiculous statement, yet there are no stars as I look up. It's night, and the sky is entirely black.
During the day, it's entirely grey.
I'm doctor Robert Kilpatrick, xenolinguist, sailing somewhere on the Godavari. I think it's early April 06? Though I should write that in case anyone finds this somehow.Page 2:
I guess I just wanted to make mention of the lack of stars at first. Because after that, I just stopped writing for a while. I have no idea how many days have passed. I'm not sure if the cycles of black and grey even last 24 hours.
The main thing I wanted to write down here is that we ran out of food two days ago, but it doesn't matter. None of us is hungry. None of us is thirsty either. And I have a feeling we're only breathing because we're used to doing it. Really we just persist.
Will tried fishing. We had to kick what he reeled in back in the water. Nasty thing that one, and it's just that.
I know we're not on Earth anymore, but I guess we all knew that from the start. It's obvious. A plain fact of there just not being a situation where you are on Earth, and suddenly the stars disappear, and all your electronics go off, and the compass doesn't even point anywhere in particular anymore, it just turns lazily, sometimes.Page 3:
I don't understand what the point is to just keep going.
What date even is it? I've been trying to mark off days on the calendar, but so has George, and he came to a different date.
But we both just counted the grey time.Page 4:
I guess it was inevitable that someone would try the easy way out.
George has half of his face missing, and he's not dead. That would sound unfortunate, but I don't think it's possible to survive this. It's not like he shot out his cheek or whatever. I know about Mike, but that doesn't work on humans, I'm pretty sure.
Maybe I'm just shaken up.
But I keep thinking, what if we Where the fuck is here exactly?Page 5:
There's a bunch of stuff following us, like dolphins, except they never surface.
Their eyes keep looking at me when I close mine.Page 6:
George now swims with them.Page 7:
And now they're gone. And there are stars in the sky again. But none of us recognises them. The sun is red and engorged. When it's high in the sky, mist peels up from the water. It's so still. Water shouldn't be this still. The air is still, too. It feels old and warm.
I can't smell it.
It's weird.Page 8:
The last few days were too hot to write. Or do anything.
We huddle in the shade.
The burns don't hurt or bleed. Just the blisters itch.
I broke one open yesterday and licked the water. It was salty.
So weird to taste something again.
Yeah I don't know why I wrote this.Page 9:
We're not sailing in water, I just realised that Alice was right. It's not water.
I'm so tired of this, but what's the point anyway.
I'm scared more of trying to end myself and then ending up like George than suffering here in a way I can at least partially understand.
There's something on the horizon.
like little bars a lot of them
you can see them inPage 10:
The pillars are enormous. We're swimming through a field of pillars poking up from the not-water. I think they're about as large as the Empire StatePage 11:
They look down at us from the pillars. With their empty eye sockets but I can feel them looking straight into my soul. Their many limbs wrap around the pillars. I can't tell if they are broken or if they are meant to bend that way. I can't focus on looking at them for long enough.
All I know
All I know is that they just hang there, from the pillars. Bowing their heads with white bone halos.
Many-limbed, many-eyed giants.
except they have no eyes.Page 12:
We're close.
They are much smaller here.
Soon we'll be there. Even George.
George is
he'll everything will get better.Page 13:
We can finally rest here.
will wait for you
wait until all skies are black
all are black
all is
Esoteric Musings... 