2020 New Year's Aftermath
With reports still streaming in, we are slowly putting together what occurred when midnight struck on New Year’s Eve 2020 in the final time zone. It seems multiple worlds were briefly forged together, creating an amalgamation of realities battling to see which would endure. Fortunately, thanks to quick reactions and arguably far too much practice making war, ours came out on top. That said, the aftereffects of this event will likely be felt for decades, if not centuries, to come. As we work to rebuild, here is some of the information learned thus far to ease everyone’s transition.
1. First things first, magic is now real. Maybe it always was, we don’t have clarity on that yet, but it sure as shit is now. This report is being type under a glowing orb of light while nearby a fellow reporter drinks from a fountain that never runs dry. Our would-be invaders brought much with them, magic and tools being plentiful among them. Please suspend any mystical or occult-related activities until such time as it has been determined which, if any, spells are now functioning.
2. Gorfenrek, the world of burning, managed to capture a small piece of our world on the coast of Iceland. Please note that boiling seas are expected in that vicinity as the endless spew of lava runs into their waters. The good news is that this should have no greater worldwide effects, as Shalcandria, the world of freezing, also created an outpost a few miles out to sea, a floating city made of ice. The climate effects are predicted to cancel one another out.
3. If you are walking in a forest and here a faintly familiar voice calling your name, we urge you not to chase it. No one is sure where these people are ending up, only that they vanish never to be seen again. Strangely, their beds are continue being used, and food in their homes still eaten. Use of electronic gates has ruled out invisibility, we are still investigating potential plane-shifting as an explanation. Either way, ignore the voices.
4. All air travel is currently suspended until proper cloud identification tools can be developed. While most clouds remain as they were previously, some are now traps leftover from the Flundulers. These large, floating creatures produce vapor indistinguishable from a normal cloud, until an airplane is too close and they open one of their cavernous mouths. Should you encounter a particularly thick bank of fog and what sounds like stomach rumbling, we advise you to retreat quickly, as you may have encountered a low-flying one.
5. For those warped, mutated, or otherwise impacted by the sudden flood of new forces that briefly ravaged our world, please make your way to the nearest medical facility at your earliest convenience. There, professionals will assess your condition, coordinating with other experts from around the globe, gaining a greater understanding of what has occurred to our world as a whole, and to you individually. Please ignore any armed security forces you encounter, they are present purely as a safety measure.
6. Based on what communications we’ve managed with personnel currently in space, the event was not limited to our terrestrial experience. They’ve reported seeing impossible creatures swimming through the void of space, five of which battled on our moon. We are sorry to report that the victor, a nine-headed serpent breathing plumes of rainbow mist, does not appear friendly, based on it’s devouring of the other four’s corpses, and therefore all planned moon expeditions are grounded for the foreseeable future. On the bright side, the event ended before what our space-witnesses describe as “The Nightmare Whale” was able to swallow our planet whole.
7. Be wary of mirrors, still pools, and other reflective surfaces. It’s unknown how many of those Elbuod managed to slip through, however there have already been several cases of people’s personalities shifting along with which dominant hand they use. Should you encounter yourself, do not permit the doppelganger to pull you into the mirror world, as there are currently no known methods of recovery. We have opened diplomatic discussions with the Ever-Shades, however, and believe that in the future other means of travel to mirror world could be possible through the shadow paths. Nevertheless, it’s years off at best, so our advice is keep your mirrors a little bit extra dirty for now.
8. It is currently not recommended that you put an abundance of trust in your GPS devices. As the terrain itself has been radically altered, many maps are no longer accurate, and their routes can’t be trusted. Additionally, there have been issues with the guiding voices taking on more personality, leading their drivers to different destinations than those set. Some appear to hold positive intentions, directing the owner to healthier stops, while others have shown… seedier tastes. Better to trust your own eyes, unless you see a magenta flash and a wave of sparkles run through the air. In that event, please do not trust your eyes, but rather shut them tightly and wait for help.
9. You may notice a fresh selection of wares at your market in coming weeks, as we now have an abundance of new crops taking root in our world’s soil. Testing is occurring round-the-clock to determine which of these are entirely inedible versus which can be consumed with side-effects. We urge you to wait until proper certifications and labeling can be put in place, rather than scooping up something new at the weekend farmer’s market. While it is true that some of those who’ve ingested the unknown foods developed new abilities or talents, we’ve also had spontaneous growth of horns, turning into sentient goo, and sprouting of a second head, so consume the unlabeled goods at your own risk.
10. Finally, to those of you reading this with no idea what I’ve talking about, who believe themselves to have been living normally for the past few days, my condolences. The Obfuscation Wave let loose by the Zandriv was weakened, but not stopped entirely. We know there are entire swaths of the public unable to perceive these changes, a status which would have made our world no challenge to conquer. Research into reversing it’s effects has already occurred, however that will be no help for the untold world-citizens unable to see or interact with their new reality. Our best advice is to find a friend or loved one you trust who was unaffected by the obfuscation. You’ll need a guide to make it through the next few years, because it doesn’t matter if you can’t see the new threats.
They can still see you.