Transcript of the Archivist's Research [Recorded September 12, 2025]
[Opening sounds of creaking wood and rustling papers.]
The Archivist: "Entry forty-two. The matter in question today is the etiology of seasons, not in the meteorological sense, but their metaphysical origins as per the insights of the Pale Veil. It's a peculiar angle, but given recent findings in the Ashen Gospel's marginalia and missing Choir ledger pages, this is a trail worth following."
[Pauses for a moment, rustling papers.]
The Archivist: "Let's begin with the forgotten verse number."
[Sound of book pages flipping.]
The Archivist (mumbles): "Ah, here. Verse 113 remains an enigma. It correlates with a cryptic annotation: ‘When the sun bends low, and shadows grow, the veil thins.’ Initially, it appears as a poetic nod to solstices, yet the marginalia suggest a deeper, darker significance."
Exhibit A: Copy of the Forgotten Verse [Annotated Photocopy, Margin Notes Included]
- Verse Text: "At the fork where time fractures, listen for the voice that whispers beneath the ceaseless choir. For it speaks in the hallowed decay of light."
- Marginal Annotation: "Observe the solstice shadows. They mark the spine of the world."
[Shift in audio tone, as if moving to a different part of the room.]
The Archivist: "Page 13 of the Choir ledgers is missing, confirmed by ledger custodian’s notes. An accident? Perhaps. But given its alignment with other disappearances, it's deliberate—the Choir hides something."
Exhibit B: Ledger Custodian’s Note [Scanned Handwritten Note]
Note Reads: "Page 13 removed and burned as per directive 12-A. Content dealt with the reconstitution of our choir at the winter solstice."
[Sound of footsteps, distant wind chimes.]
The Archivist: "Now, onto something that caught me as odd - a recovered discourse on the ‘Science of Citrus Colors’. Why does this matter? Because it speaks bizarrely of the chromatic shifts seen in the fruits as not merely botanic, nor seasonal, but influenced by subterranean energies prevalent in Hollow Pines."
Exhibit C: Extract from the "Science of Citrus Colors" [Typed Document]
Highlighted Section: "Citrus hues deepen as the earth beneath Hollow Pines vibrates with undisclosed frequencies, observable only during certain seasonal thresholds."
[A low hum in the background, perhaps electrical equipment or a distant choir.]
The Archivist: "What is common in these threads is a focus on specific times – the solstices, where changes are not just climatic but arcane. The Pale Veil likely observes these times as moments of power. Their chant 'We do not sleep. We wait.' might refer to these periods."
[Sudden silence, then a soft crackle of static.]
The Archivist: "Consider the theories on dreaming and floating. Dreaming, a traversal of unseen worlds; floating, an overcoming of earthly bounds. Both could be metaphors for the ascendance practiced by the Choir during solstices."
Exhibit D: Summary Notes on "The Science Behind Dreaming" and "The Physics of Floating"
Notes State: "Both phenomena peak in their inexplicability at the winter solstice. Dreams become visions. Gravity lessens its grip."
[Sounds of increasingly agitated movements.]
The Archivist: "Let us draw together these threads. The solstices are not merely astronomical occurrences but are the very hinge of this world and others. The Choir's missing page, the verse, the peculiar discourse on colors, dreams, and buoyancy—they all point to these junctures as cracks in reality."
Exhibit E: Diagram of Solstice Effects on Hollow Pines [Graphical Representation]
Diagram Details: Shows increased supernatural sightings and Choir activity during solstices plotted against changes in environmental phenomena around Hollow Pines.
[Voice lowers, almost a whisper.]
The Archivist: "The implications are profound—and alarming. If the Choir, through their rituals or the intrinsic power of these times, can alter the thinness of reality... what might come through? What might they be inviting into our world?"
[A slow, deliberate pace, as if contemplating what comes next.]
The Archivist: "And so, as we approach the next winter solstice, one must wonder, prepare... and perhaps, fear. What veil lifts in the darkness of the longest night? What waits on the other side?"
[Ending sounds: The distant, ethereal hum of a choir, growing fainter, as if moving away or perhaps, deepening into the earth itself.]
