Not all knowledge comes from charts, rites, or Keepers’ ledgers. Much of what we know about the Vein is carried in letters— crumpled notes tucked into bottles, bone-ink messages carved into driftwood, waterlogged journals, and the scrawled confessions of those who stood too close to the abyssal mouth.
Some letters are warnings. Some are farewells. Some are coordinates.
Recovered From: Shoalway
Writer: Unknown dredger
Condition: Salt-worn, carved on driftwood
“If you see the water tilt— not churn, not ripple, but tilt— drop your line and flee.
The lanterns below bend toward something deep. Something listening. The others never surfaced.
Do not follow.”
Keeper Note: “Matches Crownfall behavior. Cross-reference with echo sightings.”
Recovered From: Delivered by a storm-gull
Writer: Sister Nera, Order of Od
Condition: Torn vellum, braided reed binding
“The Matron stirred at dusk. Her loom shuddered twice, and the reeds bent in the shape of a warning.
Tell the dredgers to avoid the eastern fen. The channels have rearranged again, and the quiet echoes are not ours.”
Keeper Note: “The Order rarely warns outsiders. Heed this.”
Recovered From: Fractured helmplate in Driftwater
Writer: Rurik
Condition: Splintered parchment, rust stains
“The lantern-beast walked beside me tonight. Its hum kept the Maw at bay.
I do not know why it follows me, but I am no longer afraid of the fog.
The Vein sees something in me. I pray it is strength.”
Keeper Note: “This aligns with the Ferric Guardian’s movements. Cross-check with Fen sightings.”
Recovered From: Ruins Beneath the Silt
Writer: Unknown (ancient script)
Condition: Half-legible bone-ink
“The sigil shifts when the light bends. Not by hand, nor tide, nor shadow— but by intent.
Do not speak the pattern aloud. It remembers the ones who did.”
Keeper Note: “Matches the shifting sigils near the Deep Layer coordinates.”
Recovered From: Crownfall Descent
Writer: Veteran dredger (name lost)
Condition: Water-blackened paper
“The Warden’s eyes were on me even in the dark. I felt its gaze settle on my bones.
The water grew cold. The rope trembled. Something below the fissure whispered my name— a name I had not spoken in years.
I cut the line. You should too.”
Keeper Note: “Consistent with deep pressure anomalies.”
Recovered From: Keeper’s desk (sealed)
Writer: Unknown Keeper
Condition: Preserved, unread symbol at end
“There will come a night when the lanterns all dim at once.
When that happens, do not look toward Crownfall. Do not descend. Do not invoke.
Wait until the water breathes again.”
Symbol at margin resembles: ﹛ᚼᚦᚱ﹜ (Untranslated)