PRE20: "Mother of Snakes"

Designation: PRE20

Colloquial Terms: The Mother of Snakes, the Serpent of Eden, Lamia, Echidna, Abyzou, Naga Kanya, The Lady of Shining Scales, The Salvation, The Serpentine Mother, The Sinuous Mother, The Darkening Mirror, The Mother of All Lamentations, The Temptation, SLITHERER, Mistress of Mirrors

Physical Description: PRE20 is often described as a woman with snake-like features. The exact details, such as scales, shape of pupils, whether she has hair, facial structure, and whether she has a tail or legs, tend to vary between different accounts. One thing most accounts agree on is that she tends to only be seen in mirrors.

Behavioral Characteristics: PRE20 appears to her victims through mirrors. She often shows them images of themselves, but twisted and monstrous. These images often reflect the darker aspects of her victims' personalities in some way. Victims of PRE20 tend to become increasingly paranoid, and develop of fear of mirrors. They also have a tendency to become increasingly self-loathing, often to the point of developing suicidal tendencies. In some cases, PRE20 has been observed to pull victims into the mirror with her. She has also displayed the ability to control and command all manner of snakes.

Servants of PRE20 are called Lilim, and are almost all women who have been pulled into the mirror by her. PRE20's domain is the Garden of Desolation.

Iceberg Theory

This is another "Sigma Summarizes Information Because It's All So Complicated And In-Depth" posts.

Iceberg Theory was first proposed in the Archive in 1952. It has since become the leading theory concerning the nature of the PREs.

The premise of Iceberg Theory is simple: There is only one of each PRE in all universes. However, the PREs, in their true forms, are so vast and immense that only a small piece can be seen and experienced. A piece protrudes into each universe, just like only the tip of an iceberg protrudes over the water.

For example, taking the phenomenon of Dimensional Bleeding into account, there are conflicting reports regarding PRE05 "Wooden Girl". Some accounts have her appearing as a literal puppet, others have her as a human covered in wooden armor. Some have heard her speak, others claim that she never speaks. Some reports claim that her servants are divided into a rigid structure, other reports claim that she keeps her servants in a chaotic, Darwinian system. Dimensional Bleeding explains these various accounts as occurring in different realities. According to Iceberg Theory, however, despite these accounts taking place in different universes, with PRE05 showing radically different behavior, there is still only one PRE05. The versions of PRE05 observed in each reality are merely parts of the whole.

It's like if you took four small vitamin cups, filled them with water, and placed them all side by side. Then you put your hand down there so that each finger was in a different cup. Your fingers, while similar, are still different. So while a part of you is in each cup, it's not the same part. Well, imagine the cups are universes, and imagine you are PRE05. Your fingers are what the denizens of each universe encounter.

That's right: according to Iceberg Theory, the PREs, no matter how powerful or vast they seem, are merely fingers of a greater being.

There's also an offshoot known as the Multi-Tipped Iceberg Hypothesis, which goes even further: all the PREs are in fact extensions of the same being.

Update

I'm sorry I've been so silent the past few months. Actual work was taking priority. You can expect new updates soon.

--SΣ

UXP417: "Dimensional Bleeding"

NOTE: Some of you may have already seen my interview with Dia Renalda. In it, I mentioned the phenomenon known as "dimensional bleeding", but didn't explain. So here's an explanation now. --SΣ

Designation: UXP417


Description: This is the phenomenon that causes parallel realities to "bleed" into one another, allowing people living in different universes to interact, and causing a number of inconsistencies, particularly with the appearance and behavior of PREs. "Dimensional Bleeding," as the phenomenon is colloquially known, is usually most noticeable in the presence of a PRE.


There are a number of hypotheses among Archive Analysts regarding the source of this phenomenon: some believe that the PREs, by their very presence, cause a breakdown in reality. Others hypothesize that it is the opening of Pathways that weakens the boundaries between universes. Still, there are some who believe that the phenomenon is solely a side-effect of PRE19 "Quiet".

PRE19: "Quiet"

Designation: PRE19

Colloquial Terms: The Quiet, The Unmaking, The Silent Void, The Screaming Darkness, The Starless Night, Rest, The All-Consuming Void, ENDING

Physical Description: PRE19 is defined by the complete absence of physical description

Behavioral Characteristics: It is believed that PRE19 came into existence in an alternate reality, as a result of that universe being torn in some way. PRE19 is nothingness. It is a void defined as the opposite of existence, which spreads across universes and consumes them. While it does pass from reality to reality, some "tendrils" of it can be sighted in different universes, erasing various things from existence.

Further Reading: This post from the blog "brighter than a spoon" as well as this blog.

CW007: "Bliss"

NOTE: This thing is just barely recognized as an actual Pathway. Hell, even a lot of Analysts and Scribes question its existence. The fact that all our information on it comes from about seven total accounts probably has something to do with it. Though these are accounts from people all over the world who lived in different time periods, so... take from that what you will. Whether you believe this or not is up to; I don't care. --SΣ

Designation: CW007

Common Term: Bliss 


CW007 is a relatively mysterious domain, believed to belong to PRE03 "Archangel." Reports concerning it are exceedingly rare, as PRE03 rarely shows an active interest in the lives of its Servants, who are mostly composed of cultists.

Each report on this location has been identical. The witnesses all found themselves floating in darkness, and described being surrounded by a comforting and familiar presence. Each described a feeling of total calm and absolute peace. However, after a few hours of experiencing this sensation, the witnesses were abruptly pulled from it by what they described as "rough hands with too many and too-long fingers."

Each witness suffered from severe depression following the experience, and eventually they all took their own lives.

P12A00 and P12B00 series: "Oathbreakers"

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. I'll celebrate with a bottle of champagne. --SΣ

There are certain people involved with the medical profession who show a sort of loyalty and reverence to PRE12 "Plague Doctor". These people are informally called "Oathbreakers," in reference to the Hippocratic Oath.

Those designated with the P12A00 series are considered "lesser Oathbreakers," though they are also often called "Plague Bearers" and "Night Surgeons." They often tattoo a symbol known as the Stick and the Serpent on some part of their body, and work to ensure the spread of disease. They often work as back-alley doctors, pharmaceutical salespeople, and nurses. Aside from subtly working to infect their patients, they seem function completely normally as average members of society.

Those designated with the P12B00 series are considered "greater Oathbreakers," and are often called "Mad Doctors." They often occupy higher positions in the medical community than the P12A00 designations, being surgeons, doctors, and scientists. They are also often more specialized in their approach to causing infection than P12A00 designations are. "Greater Oathbreakers" will often experiment to find new ways of causing infection and use their patients as guinea pigs for these experiments.