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Fork IV: Foramen Solis

Fork IV, commonly referred to as Foramen Solis, is a major milestone in the history of Puffbird Forest and its surrounding regions. This event marks the initial contact between the local critters and an alien entity, drastically shifting the course of their lives.

Fork Context​

In the period leading up to Fork IV, Puffbird Forest and its adjacent areas were witnessing a surge of strange events. Old forces inside the Looney Lark Caves began to awaken, spreading their influence throughout the town and the forest. Various occult groups, including the Bowline Critterhood, the Birdwatchers, and the Chilldren of Moss, were drawn to the town due to its unusual conditions. These groups each had mysterious goals, seemingly tied to the upcoming Fork event, exploration of interdimensional portals, or quests for spiritual growth.

The Foramen Solis

Despite attempts to connect all the cults and groups within the town, their exact involvement in the Fork IV event remains unclear1. It seems that a sort of agreement was reached between established families in the town, facilitated by the annual Ball at the Floating Goose Hotel2, the Bowline Critterhood gatherings, town council meetings, and other small groups in town, including the ~Hermetic Barber's Association,~ the ~Croupier's Syndicate~ and the ~Reading Club.~ Yet, the true nature of this agreement, formed decades earlier while reshaping the lake to build the ~Reverse Pyramid~ as per the directions of an ancient alien civilization, remains a mystery. The structure's completion is accepted by most librarians as marking the beginning of direct communication with the alien civilization, which would later be known as the Entis.

Fork Event​

In the significant event known as the Fork, the local government and the Entis, an advanced alien civilization, struck a mutually beneficial agreement. The Entis offered to equip the critters with advanced technology, significantly enhancing their capabilities. In return, they asked for permission to observe and study critters in their natural habitats. This exchange, which led to an extraordinary leap in technology, saw critters being swapped for Entis creatures for observational and research purposes.

This significant event set the stage for a remarkable transformation in the town of Puffbird Forest. The Incident marked the beginning of the Fork IV loop, which lasted for 42 days. The Fork was deliberately created by an entity known as the Wise, which aimed to establish a controlled environment for observing critter society. This is the only known record of a Fork being intentionally crafted.

The Wise

The origins of the immense power wielded by the Wise remain unknown, but it is believed that they are the most intelligent being ever to have existed, as their intelligence is nurtured by all the Entis3. The Entis were gradually introduced into the critter community, skillfully disguising themselves as ordinary critters. This subtle infiltration was conducted over multiple loop cycles, causing gradual changes in the town's social fabric. Each cycle was essentially a controlled repetition of events, with minor variations introduced by the Entis to study the critters' responses.

As the loops continued, the infiltration by the Entis grew more pervasive. They subtly permeated various circles of the town's life, from local government to community clubs and associations. Over time, the line between the original inhabitants and the disguised Entis began to blur. By the time the loops ceased, a significant part of the town's population was made up of the disguised Entis, marking a slow yet comprehensive transformation of the town, unnoticed by the critters.

Post-Fork​

The Wise's influence didn't stop at the exchange between critters and Entis. The introduction of Ufo relics and Entis into every other realm became a visible consequence of Fork IV in the entire Log, taking the Wise's influence far beyond the Atom Realm.

In the aftermath of the Fork, the history of the areas surrounding Puffbird Forest became intertwined with the forked realm, more so than any other realm. The landscape of the nameless town changed drastically, and glitch areas became common in the town. Cornetto Lake was later recognized as a significant ~blend zone.~ The old Floating Goose Hotel was a favorite spot for wanderers, and many of its rooms allowed easy communication with critters outside the Atom Realm. However, the most significant glitch happened in the old Chapel, where a cleric lived in isolation.

The Lost Cult​

The Lost

The cleric unearthed peculiar connections between the old chapel and the Looney Lark Caves. After countless loops, an obsession with these connections burgeoned, fueled by a glitch in the Chapel that bridged links to multiple areas within the Atom Realm, other realms, and even the cache areas. This fixation led the Cleric to communicate with the three Void Spirits, inhabitants of these liminal spaces: the Murk, the Dusk and the Seek. These enigmatic spirits bestowed upon the Cleric the power of persistent memory, albeit one plagued with visions of impending doom. The Cleric, now known as the Lost, became a prophet of the Void Spirits. Their chapel became a place of worship for the ~Holy Trinity of the Void Spirits,~ and their cult sessions, which were directed towards the infinite hole inside the chapel, could be heard as a whisper throughout the entire Log by any critter that harbored a ~Fear of The Void.~

  1. As noted in the ~Librarian's Journal,~ the Atom Realm is particularly challenging to document due to its inhabitants' elusive and secretive nature.↩
  2. Despite being an annual event, residents strangely cannot recall attending any of the previous editions of the ball.↩
  3. Wanderers believe that the Wise possesses the combined intelligence of all the Entis, and their unique interest in populating the realms with Entis is to grow their knowledge even further, like a greedy conqueror expanding their frontiers.↩