Anomalies are things that appear in areas of elevated ambient magical volatility, such as a Magical Exclusion Zone. They tend to defy all rhyme or reason, manifesting in all manners of ways. Something that appears as benign as a doll could twist into a magical explosion. Anomalies are completely unpredictable in how they operate and there are those that claim that they can venture into a Zone and navigate them. So-called Delvers, Divers, Explorers, Magpies, Madcaps, Riveners, Seekers, and Sherpas all claim that they know how to deal with these anomalies.
They come in five categories: Active Anomalies, Conditional Anomalies, Hazard Anomalies, Illusion Anomalies, and Temporal Anomalies. Active Anomalies often behave as if they were sentient, responding to emotion and thoughts in peculiar or dangerous ways, Conditional Anomalies are often environmental and distort reality in terrifying ways, whereas Hazard Anomalies are a bit more passive compared to Active Anomalies but still pose great danger. The Illusion Anomalies often don't pose any threat on their own but can occasionally cause travelers to get lost, or worse, run into additional anomalies. Spatial Anomalies defy the flow of time, sometimes an Ancient Temple to Apedemak will appear out of nowhere, or a military installation from The Great War appears, upside-down, floating in the air.
This list of anomalies is not comprehensive but each has a Common name and sometimes a Local name, unique to the language that is spoken by those that have encountered them and lived.
Active Anomalies
Acid Spewer
A corrosive, sickly green anomaly that slowly moves around as a puddle of bubbling mass. It responds to fast movements and will lob globules of corrosive gel at the movement. The ground that it travels on is unaffected by its movement. Stepping into it can submerge a whole individual in acid.
Bouncer | роликовий м'яч (Rolikovvy M'yach)
A rolling, spherical scrap anomaly that has a signature, almost gleeful, shriek that it emits when it detects a possible target, which it rolls towards with frightening speed. The Bouncer is covered in pointed scrap spikes which almost seem as if they were designed to impale whatever they touch. They can be lured away with fast movement or lights. If someone is ever impaled by a bouncer, they must, absolutely must remove it with cutting device or else it will be stuck to them and slow them down. There are some variants which emit different noxious chemicals or surge with lightning, and some even explode. There are often multiple Bouncers, which move as a group, almost as if they are hunting in a pack. Belgorost and Dragonborn have encountered these in the upper portions of Mudira-Karrah, roving the wilds and in the forests.
Darkball | 검은 구체 (Kom-uun Gu-chay)
The Darkball is a large, hovering, fluid-based silent spherical anomaly that cruises about 1 meter (3.5 feet) off the ground, slowly, and reacts violently to electrical charges or magnetic forces. When it is reacting, it fires out a spike of hardened ferromagnetic material, which it then quickly retracts back into its body or it may arc lightning at whatever it is reacting to. It ranges from 5 to 15 feet in diameter. If it encounters a vehicle, it tends to meander towards it slowly, and then fully engulf the vehicle. Bodies that have been through a Darkball often come out coated in a black substance that seems to absorb light. To prevent suffocation, one must use magnetic forces to pull away the fluid. Otherwise the Darkball, if uninterrupted, seems to always travel in a straight line from wherever it might have formed. It was first reported near a weapons plant in former Bukhan.
Deceiver
An anomaly that imitates ordinary manmade objects that were at one point inside the Zone that it is in currently, such as a piano, but representing a slightly off kilter piano or an old storage crate. It may encroach on an unwary individual when it is not seen. If the individual deigns to look at it again and it has moved, it rapidly reassembles into something else that would fit in its current environment. It is not found outside of structures. Its 'goal' whatever it might actually be, is to observe an individual closely. If magic is cast in its vicinity, its illusion might come undone and become hostile, transforming into a sort of humanoid shape comprised of the thing it was imitating. While hostile, it tries to bludgeon whatever cast the magic to death or destroy it.
Dispeller
Whatever this seemingly sentient gaseous vapor is, it prevents magic from functioning inside of its space. It seeks out whatever source of magic is nearby and hovers around it, causing malfunctions with magecraft devices. If attempts are made to use or operate magecraft devices or enchanted items, while inside it, they will deconstruct rapidly.
Faceless
Oddly humanoid-shaped, posed upright or in strange manners, and with a surface of strange materials, be it plastic, some faux flesh, or cloth, sometimes with scrap embedded, these mannequins appear out of nowhere, and to a traveller from a distance they may appear human. They stand still until you approach them, then they vanish in a blur, and reappear in a blur in your peripheral vision. If you try to look directly at them, they move out of your direct line of sight. If you somehow manage to touch them, they reappear some 30 meters away and make a menacing noise, calling more of them nearby. Some of them explode into shrapnel if you brush into them. If they have surrounded you, they might combine and create an even larger explosion.
Gum Grabber
The Gum Grabber is an anomaly that doesn't seem to do much on its own aside from float around aimlessly, looking for things to snatch up with a pink, elastic tendril that springs from its amorphous, blobby body. It does however drag whatever it grabs towards other anomalies in the area, especially hazard anomalies. It is mostly attracted to movement, and can be avoided if objects are thrown its way, which it will promptly snatch up and ferry away. If multiples somehow manage to lift a victim, it will suspend them in their grasp as they travel looking for more.
Pilferer
Pilferers are like pickpockets, but they tend to mimic plants in the landscape. The anomaly will extend its tendrils to grasp at objects that it senses the possessor values or treasures. If the individual is unaware of the Pilferer's presence, it might succeed in stealing something. If the individual notices it, it becomes hostile and tries to wrest control of whatever weaponry the individual is carrying.
Roller
Another active scrap anomaly, the Roller appears as a sort of monowheel, with shredded metal spinning inside of it. It appears to move in a back-and forth fashion, completing at least one cycle of its movement before changing direction. Its rusty sharp edges often cut into whatever it comes into contact with, ripping it to pieces. There is a glowing core in the midst of the Roller.
Skyjacker | l'OVNI (objet volant non identifié)
The Skyjacker is a hovering, disc-shaped scrap-based anomaly which patrols the MEZs, with glowing beams from lights that were absorbed into its 'body', which change color when it spots something. It is attracted to light, magic usage, and magnetic fields. It has multiple grasping appendages made of scrap which shoot out from below it to grab whatever it can and pull it along for a wild ride or pull things up into its 'body'. Its plans cannot be known when it approaches. It has been most commonly sighted in the Westlands at night-time.
Tunneler
A scrap anomaly that tunnels through the ground in an erratic movement pattern. It can be identified through the scrap columns that jut out from the ground in a trailing sort of fence that arcs with magic energy. It will chase after vibrations and attempt to impale whatever it can or create blockades as it encircles something.
Conditional Anomalies
Crystalwind
With a Crystalwind anomaly, the best thing to do is hide inside an available structure. The wind will carry depositions of anomalous crystals that collect and accrue on surfaces, then harden, immobilizing whatever the Crystalwind comes into contact with. If it covers an individual's mouth, it is possible to asphyxiate or inhale the substance and have it crystallize inside their lungs, piercing the body. Those that have been immobilized may need assistance to break free from their crystalline cages.
Dust Inverter
A dust storm might appear out of nowhere inside a Zone, and anyone caught in it will have their world inverted, as if transported to another plane of existence. Everything will appear upside down and grayscale. To escape this, one must run into a dust vortex in the inverted world.
Impermeable Darkness
Without explanation, even in broad daylight, the light can suddenly change into an impermeable darkness that not even Devil's Sight can perceive through. Everything stops making noise except for your own breathing and whatever noises your body makes. It is always at least 30 feet away, and everything inside the radius is lit normally. It may pass after a time but the real danger of this is that anomalies will manifest outside of your range of vision.
Gilded Tears
A strange emotion overwhelms the senses - tremendous and crushing grief upon entering this formless anomaly. A liquid substance reminiscent of gold slowly drips from every opening on one's face. Eventually, the eyes are covered and vision is obscured. Breathing becomes labored and difficult as lungs slowly fill up. Movement slows as one's body slowly becomes encased in gold. The victims aren't dead, though. They are trapped and suspended in this state and can no longer speak or move; all the while, that same crushing grief weighs upon their mind and they cannot shake it. Once petrified, the victims are aware of all ongoings surrounding them, and their golden tears float as droplets up into nothing, posed in some macabre golden form.
Mind-Cloud
A color-shifting cloud that has a range in which anything below it that can see it hears overwhelming, cacophonous whispers that drive them mad, thus controlling them. Those that the cloud passes over have no memory of what has transpired in the last 24 hours and it creates a 'dark spot' in their memory, where nothing can be retrieved about it. The best thing to do is hide or cover your eyes with wrapping or hide if one is going to pass overhead.
Phase Shifts | बिनाक्रम-केरंग (Binakram-Kerang)
Phase Shifts are a conditional anomaly where a few colors out of the spectrum are suddenly inverted, some start seeing in infrared, and colorblind creatures suddenly see the full spectrum. While on their own, they are relatively harmless, the changes can drive one mad. The Taala-Rasa refer to this as 'Colors Without Order' and was one of the more commonly studied anomalies during the early years of the Karithat-Aldawi. The Phase Shift can appear as a strange rolling fog in a Zone. The effects end after a short time, sometimes a few minutes, sometimes multiple hours, but never longer than daylight.
Wishmaker's Sanctuary
Not all anomalies are harmful, but are merely a manifestation of emotion. Within the Wishmaker's Sanctuary anomaly, one's innermost desires may manifest, but it may also choose to grant nothing. The 'Room' as it is called, appears differently each time, much as the zones do, but the occupants of the room are made aware of it. It cannot grant selfish desires, though, and often, one may not even know what the sanctuary has granted.
Zonal Reconstruction
The landscape changes in unexpected ways, as geographic features reform. It may stay somewhat similar to the surrounding region outside the given Zone, like a desert will remain a desert, but it still drastically shifts. Anything originating outside the Zone is displaced or must move to get away from the changing terrain.
Hazard Anomalies
Colliders
Rocks suddenly elevate in the presence of spellcasts or magecraft devices, and will collide violently with one another, then separate, then collide again, without a recognizable pattern. When they are about to move, they tremble, as if being held back by something.
Echoes | छाया-आकार (Chhaaya-Aakaar)
Echoes are reverberations in magic left over by beings whose very existence was undone by magic. They appear as a sourceless shadow, visible only when strong light hits them. They repeat the motions leading up to their death, and their Ka, their very soul is trapped in a repeating pattern that holds their emotions and anguish at their height, forever, on repeat. Entering an Echo anomaly can potentially trap your mind in the moments leading up to their death, in a loop, driving you mad.
Fire Geysers | Insika Yelangabi
These anomalies most frequently appear where cracks in the ground have formed. They trigger without warning and the only ways to tell that you are near this anomaly is either a Curie device or a faint hissing noise, not unlike a gas stove's burner. When triggered, they violently erupt with gouts of flame that reach up to 30 meters in the air.
Phantom Lures
Only reported on 'The Road', this anomaly manifests as green lights that appear to dance in the fog. Upon approach, they move further away, and send the viewer into a trance, compelling them into pursuit of the lights. Upon reaching a certain point while chasing the lures, the viewer will simply vanish, or they might fall into a hole or some other hazardous thing while they are chasing the lures. They are always out of reach.
Radiant Haze
As the name sounds, it is a glowing haze, but is highly irradiated to the point that it glows. It is best to have protective equipment should one encounter any rolling Radiant Haze.
Scorch Growths | Izitshalo Zomlilo
Various plant-like anomalies that appear in heavily forested MEZs, the Scorch Growths earned their namesake by inflicting persistent burns on the bare skin of those that come into contact with this particular anomaly. They often appear as normal plants do, but approaching them produces a very faint crackling noise, kind of like fire itself. The Scorch Growths do not cause wildfires or spread flames but inflict searing hot arcane fire on any living or undead skin they touch. It does not affect inorganic materials.
Screaming Monoliths | Piler Carreg Sgrechian
One of the stranger and more unnerving hazard anomalies, the Screaming Monoliths are effectively giant blocks of black stone that drop from the sky, appearing out of thin air, and slamming into the ground creating shockwaves near the stones, reverberating like thunder. The monoliths never seem to appear close enough to crush anyone, but they will likely cause crashes. The other effect of being close to a monolith is that it can paralyze those that are close to it through a sort of incessant screaming that sounds like a foreboding chorus out of harmony and off-key. Those that fail to resist the terrible noise become afflicted with madness.
Stone Tremors
What appears to be a rolling mass of columns that rise and fall in sequence, like a wave, this anomaly can launch objects with impunity at the same velocity that the stone columns rise out of the ground, which is to say, with tremendous velocity. It has been known to flip vehicles or suddenly cause vehicles to crash into the columns.
Unending Thirst
An anomaly that appears as a harmless puddle of water, some 2-5 meters across. Stepping in it has no effect, but drinking from it will result in even greater thirst than before, dehydrating the body with each sip. If disturbed by magic, its surface will ripple menacingly and stepping in it will completely submerge whatever individual stepped in it, rapidly dessicating their body.
Illusion Anomalies
Disembodied Laughter
An auditory anomaly where an overwhelming amount of sourceless laughter fills an individual's mental space. There is no currently known warning signs for why this might happen or appear. The effects are apparent, though. When this happens, sometimes the individuals experiencing it have a fit of frantic, anxious laughter that belies insanity.
Dream Projections
Visions of dreams manifest in plain sight, but not those of one's own mind. These dream projections are often from those that have once been in this location, or individuals nearby. Some can manifest in nightmarish illusions, others can take form as alluring fantasies.
Thought-Prison
An anomaly that can trap an individual in their own mind, but, inside a small sort of sphere, cordoned off, and they are forced to be tormented by all of their regrets, fears, and anger. To all others, the individual appears to have gone catatonic, paralyzed with their eyes rolling up into their head. The individual must break through the illusion to escape, but will have their psyche eroded by the torment.
Warper
An anomaly that distorts vision for those inside it. Things twist and contort in ways that they shouldn't.
Spatial Anomalies
Reassembly
Destroyed structures and matter reappear or reassemble to a state that somewhat resembles the day of their construction. A house destroyed by a landslide goes back up a hill, with the ground reforming underneath it. A temple's destruction is played in reverse. Regardless, the spatial anomaly has reformed whatever was lost, at least temporarily. During this state, something could re-trigger its destruction but it is not predictable as to what. If it is not an instantaneous trigger, the building's structure will tremor before it is triggered and rapidly comes undone.
Resurgence
The biological version of a reassembly anomaly. Extinct or long-dead animals will reverse their decay, appearing to re-string the sinew from joint to joint, the flesh wrapping around bone, and the skin crawling over until the creature is alive again. They will not respond to outside stimuli from things that did not originate in the Zone and will behave as they did while they were alive, except performing every task in reverse. Dead trees will return to their original forms, re-aligning and re-growing their leaves. Other dead plants will also resurrect inside a Resurgence anomaly.
Suspension
Time comes to a standstill in a Suspension anomaly. Everything that originated in the Zone in which this anomaly manifests, completely stops and is suspended in place. Interacting with any anomalies inside the Suspension Anomaly can temporarily place the individual in a suspended state.
Transposition
A spatial and temporal anomaly, where a building that has existed at one point or another is transposed into a completely new location, fully assembled, possibly suspended, upside-down, in the air, or turned at a strange angle. Exploring these transposed buildings is difficult and treacherous, not only because the changes in traversal, but sometimes the automated defense systems will be active in more modern military facilities.
Comments