SCP-4971 - Rituals

When I was a kid, the woods behind my elementary school had a tree in it near the tree line that had a wooden cross nailed to it some distance up the trunk. In our pre-adolescent frenzy we had convinced ourselves that the cross was placed there by witches, because sometimes it looked like it was upside down. We all agreed that we couldn't go into the woods when the cross was upside down, because the witches would come out and get us, or worse.

This isn't really about that, but it is about the mysticism of that. We had no idea what we were dealing with, what sort of untold powers we were meddling in. We just knew that when the cross was upside down, you didn't go into the woods.

I went back years later and turns out, the cross was really more of a plus sign. Not really much of an up or down on a plus sign, but you know. We were like eight.

Image Credits

spirit.jpg is a picture of Roget's cat superimposed over a picture of the woods behind my house.

shop.png

katarina.jpg

mercury.png

humanoid.png

biphi.jpg is a composite of this and this.

lobby.png

gaia.png is a composite of this and this.

mall.png

header.png

mall2.png and location.png are taken from Google Maps, under the terms of the Google Maps image license.

biphi2.png is a composite of this and this fucking majestic beast.

All image edits were made by me, djkaktus.

BY ORDER OF THE OVERSEER COUNCIL

The following file describes a hostile anomalous entity capable of initializing a VK-Class "Salted Earth" End-of-Human-Habitability Scenario, and is Level 4/4971 Classified

Unauthorized access is forbidden.

4971

Item#: 4971

Containment Class: esoteric

Secondary Class: cernunnos

Disruption Class: ekhi

Risk Class: danger

The interior of SCP-4971.

Assigned Site
Site Director
Research Head
Assigned Task Force

USINBL Site-81
J. Karlyle Aktus
William Decker
ACB Sa-9

Havensbrook, IN, USA.

Special Containment Procedures: The entirety of the SouthWood Park Mall has been closed and all entrances have been barricaded. Armored Command Battalion Saito-9 (ACB Sa-9) has established an encampment of the structure (Observational Site-81-3). In the event that any entity emerges from within SCP-4971 without the express authorization of Commander Lana Grey, ACB Sa-9 is to attempt to contain the entity or, if infeasible, dispatch the entity with force.

In the event that SCP-4971-▽ is to emerge from within SCP-4971, ACB Sa-9 is to engage the entity with all available force. Until such time that alternate containment procedures can be developed for SCP-4971-▽, the entity cannot be allowed under any circumstances to breach the entrance of SCP-4971.

Per the 17.2.2019-4971 decision of the Foundation Classification Committee and the concurrent ruling by the Foundation Ethics Committee, SCP-4971 is to be classified as CERNNUNOS1 until such time that adequate replacement procedures can be developed.

Description: SCP-4971 is a space-time anomaly existing within the former SouthWood Park Mall in Havensbrook, Indiana. The true location of SCP-4971 within the mall is uncertain and variable - anyone who leaves the main concourse of the mall will invariably eventually find themselves within SCP-4971. The physical limits of SCP-4971 are currently unknown, but are expected to far outreach those of the SouthWood Park Mall.

The internal topography of SCP-4971 is that of a vast, mostly arboreal landscape under a nearly perpetually setting sun, which sets after twelve hours and returns to its setting position after thirteen. Much of the native flora bears a similar appearance to similar species found in the Yukon or Pacific Northwest, but genetic testing of samples taken from within SCP-4971 have been inconclusive; no specimens taken from SCP-4971 have contained any genetic material whatsoever.

SCP-4971 contains several hostile anomalous entities. Many of these entities can be managed with light arms fire; however, others are considerably more dangerous and must be approached only if absolutely necessary and with extreme caution. Due to the possible cognitohazardous effects of many of these entities, it is unknown how their speech may interact with human cognitive function.

SCP-4971-▽ is an entity found within SCP-4971. See Addendum 4971.8 for additional information.

Addendum 4971.1: Discovery

The SouthWood Park Mall, 2005.

The SouthWood Park Mall opened in 1985 and operated through 2006. In the Spring of 2006 the last major anchor store within the mall, Eagle Pass Outfitting, liquidated the location's stock, citing poor attendance figures. The mall closed temporarily in June of that year pending a buyout, but when the investor proposal fell through the mall was left abandoned and closed to the public.

The closing of the mall did little to dissuade local vagrants and trespassers, who would frequently break into the mall to scavenge the empty shops. On one occasion, local police received calls that teenagers who had entered the mall through a locked service door were performing satanic rituals within, but investigators were unable to ascertain proof of anything other than a break-in.

On February 12th, 2007, police responded to another report of a break-in, though eyewitnesses also described hearing screams and unnatural sounds coming from within the structure. The first officers to respond to the scene were unable to locate the trespassers, a large group of people of whom some had been caught attempting to break into the mall at an earlier date. Extensive searching of the mall revealed SCP-4971, which was brought to the attention of containment teams at Site-81 by Foundation assets embedded in local authorities.

SouthWood Park Mall Facility Map.

During the initial investigation a number of law enforcement officers were lost within SCP-4971. Scrambled audio transmissions revealed the officers in a state of panic and confusion before cutting out completely. Further attempts to communicate with the officers were unsuccessful.

Addendum 4971.2: Internal Memos

The following are the reports of Dr. Bill Decker, Site-81, detailing the circumstances leading to the discovery of SCP-4971.

SCP FOUNDATION INTERNAL MEMO

Site-81

Dr. William R. Decker

We have a lot of information coming in quickly, so I'm going to try and keep this brief.

We've identified one of the missing teenagers as Katarina Randolph, a 19-year-old Caucasian female who disappeared from her grandparents' house in Maine where she had been living since her parents died in 2004. Police suspected that Randolph didn't "disappear" as much as she did "run off", because afterwards she started being seen mingling with a group of far left naturalist pseudo-occultists, the "Daughters of Eden", which is exactly what it sounds like. Druidic types that believe mankind has disrupted the natural order, trying to use magic and arcane practices to restore balance. They were involved in a number of protests in the northeast and Randolph was arrested at least four times. Why she was never taken back to Maine is beyond me.

They've been on our radar for the last few years because one of the other members, a woman named Anna Christian who now goes by the name "Night Lily", was recently involved with a group of actual occultists out of the Three Portlands. This "Night Lily" got her hands on some artifacts recovered from the old Miskatonic University in Massachusetts and has been using them in minor summoning rituals for the last decade or so. One in particular that concerned our occult research teams was the Last Appeal of Biphi. Last time it cropped up was when part of the document was used to summon a minor planar entity during the "Northern Awakening" event in the 80s. Talk to the oldest American task force agent you know, they'll be able to tell you all about it.

The short story is that it is supposedly a text written by a puritanical minister, who was writing down the last words spoken by a witch named Biphi during a torturous exorcism that involved burning her alive. The occultists believe that the words she spoke were an old native chant that would summon nature spirits to drive away European colonials. There used to be six of these manuscripts: three were burned by other puritans, one was lost at sea in the 1870s, one was bought by Oswald Carter who then burned it, and this one sat in Hitler's bedside table until the Allies entered Berlin. Eventually it found its way to the Miskatonic University, and then into the hands of the occultists when the place burned down.

All this to say, we raided the Daughters of Eden a few months ago, and recovered Anna Christian and the rest of them in the raid. Who we didn't find was Katarina Randolph, and we also didn't recover the manuscript. Fast forward to Monday, when Katarina Randolph is identified in surveillance footage breaking into the SouthWood Park Mall with a new group of devotees and the Last Appeal of Biphi in hand. Next thing you know, they're all gone and the inside of the mall is a fucking arcane forest. It's no coincidence.

There are a lot of smaller incantations in there, like the ones used to summon lesser entities and others to cause inclement weather, changes in temperature, etc. Minor things. The big ritual, though, is problematic. There's an entity described in some occult texts that reference the Last Appeal whose name translates to something like "The One Who Knows Silence In The Earth". Our functional knowledge about this entity is extremely limited, but suffice to say that it's the last entity named in the Last Appeal, the entity that Biphi called out for when they were driving flaming pokers into her eyes - the actual last appeal. We need to get into SCP-4971 as soon as possible and ascertain what we're dealing with here.

SCP FOUNDATION INTERNAL MEMO

Site-81

Dr. William R. Decker

One more thing I forgot to mention in my first report, and the reason why I'm going to request a stay of classification so this doesn't just get classified as Euclid and we can pretend it's just some thing. The reason we know so much about the Last Appeal of Biphi is that we have part of it. When it became clear that Miskatonic had the last copy of the manuscript, the Dean of Anthropology, Dr. Damon Wells, split the manuscript up and gave the back half of it to us for safekeeping. When he did this, he assured us that the texts back up the existence of this entity that the witch Biphi was appealing to, "The One Who Knows Silence In The Earth", and that the only reason she didn't summon the creature on the spot is that the ritual involves a pretty copious amount of human sacrifice. If I had to guess, I'd say that's the fate of all the other people who went into the SouthWood mall with Katarina Randolph.

Fortunately, the back half of the manuscript is a sort of inverse-incantation that will seal the door to this other world shut in the event that it's opened in the first place. The full incantation acts sort of like a question - you open this gate, and then you ask the gate to remain open or close. Unfortunately, there's a human cost requirement here as well, and it scales logarithmically. Biphi probably wasn't a mathematician, but the folks at Miskatonic did the calculations - something like a life every hour, and then double every hour after, etc etc etc. On the plus side, it has an upper limit.

So, the good news is that a ritual to contain SCP-4971-▽ exists. The bad news is that we reached the upper limit about four hours ago, and the upper limit is, and I quote, "every human heart that has not yet known silence." That's where we're at. We can contain SCP-4971, so long as we're alright with the ritual sacrifice of every living human on the planet.

It goes without saying that we're going to continue to work on this one.

Addendum 4971.3: Classification / Ethics Committee Joint Ruling on SCP-4971

ETHICS COMMITTEE RULING

In determining the matter of SCP-4971, it is prescient to assess what is and is not truly knowable. While the Foundation has a long and storied history of interactions with the arcane and occult, that history is fraught with misinformation and falsehoods, both regarding the nature of the arcane as we understand it, and also the intentions of those who claim to interact with it.

It is no secret that there is true, inexplicable power in this world. Whether that power is claimed to be derived from otherworldly, extra-dimensional, or otherwise distant sources makes no difference in deciding the seriousness with which it should be considered. For every arcane interaction two questions must be asked: is this power able to affect the world in any meaningful way, and does this power have controls or limits? The first question's affirmative necessitates a response to the second on the Foundation's behalf. In order to maintain the statutes of normalcy as determined by the Overseer Council, sufficiently influential arcane power must be met with any and all appropriate measures to contain that power.

However, in the case of SCP-4971 we have determined that the containment procedures provided by our Occult Research Division are either insufficient to contain SCP-4971-▽ should it reveal itself, or unacceptable in maintaining normalcy in a sufficiently ethical manner. The nature of the available procedures necessitates a loss of human life that is not currently acceptable given the current conditions of the anomaly.

In short, this committee cannot accept the containment procedures as provided by the Occult Research Division, and will submit this ruling to the Classification Committee for their review.

Dr. Jeremiah Cimmerian

Foundation Ethics Committee Head

VOTE TO ACCEPT SCP-4971 CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES PROPOSAL

VOTES FOR

n/a

VOTES AGAINST:

J. Cimmerian / H. Arnold / L. Kim / J. Jackson / E. Wilder / P. Van Price / K. Kingsley

MOTION IS LOST

CLASSIFICATION COMMITTEE RULING

The ruling of the Ethics Committee creates a unique scenario when classifying SCP-4971. As determined by the Occult Research Division, there are extant containment procedures which would sufficiently contain SCP-4971 permanently; however, the Ethics Committee ruling precludes our ability to enact those containment procedures. After consultation with the Occult Research Division, it has also been determined that there are no secondary procedures available that will sufficiently contain SCP-4971.

As a result, we have decided to circumvent this dilemma with the establishment of the Cernnunos-Class Esoteric containment classification. The full requirements of this classification will be available in the next revision of the classification handbook, but in short the class will exist as a stopgap between entities that have functional containment procedures available that, due to the nature of those containment procedures, prevent the Foundation from carrying them out. The focus of SCP-4971's ongoing containment will be mitigation, research, and an effort to devise alternate containment procedures given the information available in order to move SCP-4971 out of an Esoteric containment class and into a Stable containment class (such as the proposed Archon-class).

Dir. J. Karlyle Aktus

Foundation Classification Committee Head

VOTE TO ESTABLISH CERNNUNOS-CLASS

VOTES FOR

J. Aktus / S. Alexander / C. Ivester / A. Deckard / B. Humphrey / J.R. Sneddon / M. Prince / M. Bridges / J. Sydney

VOTES AGAINST:

T. Paxton / A. Desai

MOTION CARRIES

VOTE TO PROMOTE SCP-4971 TO THE CERNNUNOS-CLASS

VOTES FOR

J. Aktus / S. Alexander / C. Ivester / A. Deckard / B. Humphrey / J.R. Sneddon / M. Prince / M. Bridges / J. Sydney / T. Paxton

VOTES AGAINST:

A. Desai

MOTION CARRIES

Addendum 4971.4: Daughters of Eden Manifesto Excerpt

Note: The following is an excerpt of a document recovered during a raid on the former living quarters of Katarina Randolph, which had been the de-facto gathering location for the "Daughters of Eden" occultist group.

Daughters!

We Daughters of GAIA!

We Daughters of EDEN!

We have persisted throughout these many millennia bound to the subservience of fell will. Our tears have been used to water the fields of industry, and our wombs have been robbed from us to perpetuate the patriarchal abomination that has taken this bountiful world, this great blessing that MOTHER GAIA offered to us without cost, and turned it into fuel for the engines of war, of bloodshed, and of slavery.

We have been used like cattle to breed new generations of the same machinations that have upturned field and forest and buried the wretched poor beneath the concrete foundations of the "new world". It is no new world of mine. It is no new world of ours. We reject it.

GAIA cries out for reprieve, and in her own voice we will answer. The sword of her deliverance has passed into our hands and we will wield it without fear, without hesitation, and with such terrible prejudice that this world will be washed clean of the sins of our fathers and sons, and all those who have turned the grinding gears of disorder.

We will cast aside the barricade that has for so long kept this deliverance at bay. We will welcome GAIA's champion back into our world, and we will bask in the glow of the righteous torment it will bring down upon the souls who have scarred our MOTHER's face. We will make the world new. We will make the world clean.

RISE SISTERS. RISE DAUGHTERS. YOUR HEARTS BELONG TO GAIA.

Addendum 4971.5: Initial Site Exploration

Note: The following is the audio/video transcript of the initial exploration attempt into SCP-4971. Mobile Task Force Epsilon-13 was assigned to SCP-4971 and inserted roughly fifty-one hours after initial discovery of the anomaly.

SECURE DOCUMENT

Audio/Visual Transcript

E-13 Eclipse - Team Lead

E-13 Roman - Fire Team

E-13 Mercury - Fire Team

E-13 Atlantis - Occ. Science / Fire Team

E-13 Bangkok - Occ. Science / Fire Team

E-13 Nine-Eyes - Communications

Eclipse: Mics hot.

Mercury: Check.

Bangkok: Check.

Silence.

Nine-Eyes: Lantis, go again.

Atlantis: Checkaroo.

Nine-Eyes: That's better.

Roman: Check check.

Nine-Eyes: We're all good here.

Eclipse: Sounds good. Let's move.

Team approaches the front door of the SouthWood Park Mall. On-Site fire team stands by to insert.

Fire Team Marshall: You ready?

Eclipse: Affirmative.

Fire Team Marshall: Pulling the hatch.

The steel enclosure over the door to the mall slowly slides out of place.

Eclipse: How's the activity been?

Fire Team Marshall: Light today. A handful of signals early this morning but nothing since.

Steel enclosure comes to a stop.

Fire Team Marshall: Good luck.

Eclipse: Yeah, thanks.

Roman: Who needs luck?

The team laughs. All members enter the mall. They wait as the steel enclosure shuts behind them and locks into place.

Eclipse: Lamps on.

Team members activate shoulder mounted lights. The interior of the mall is without power, though some light enters through a large, overhead skylight. Due to overcast weather, this light is minimal.

Eclipse: Alright, let's move.

SouthWood Park Mall main lobby.

The team enters the mall's main lobby. There are signs of looting and rampant vandalism, and much of the interior is in various states of disarray.

Bangkok: You feel that?

Mercury: It's the wind. (Pauses) It smells strange.

Eclipse: Yes, it does. The air in here is breathable, but it's not pleasant. Don't hesitate to hit your oxygen if you begin feeling anything.

The team proceeds down the nearest hallway, passing several small stores. They reach a larger area that was previously spanned by a large glass skywalk, which has collapsed onto the floor.

Atlantis: Vandals didn't do that.

Eclipse: They definitely didn't, no. I imagine that was probably caused by the same things they're keeping in with that big slab over the front door. We-

Nine-Eyes: Check, disturbances.

Silence.

Nine-Eyes: Ten-o-clock. Three figures. Back behind that clothing rack.

Interior of clothing shop. Unidentified entities highlighted.

Eclipse moves towards the front of the clothing store. Just inside the door, a humanoid figure bound in thick, grey webbing is visible, their features covered. The figure is not moving.

Eclipse: Are they moving?

Nine-Eyes: No. Just watching.

Bangkok: I don't see anything on thermal.

Eclipse: I don't think you're going to. (Pauses) Let's keep moving. Watch those figures Nine, see if they follow us.

Nine-Eyes: Roger.

Mercury: What about that thing on the floor back there?

Eclipse: Long gone. Whatever those things were, they brought him out here to eat.

Team continues into an adjoining hallway. The distant sound of rushing water becomes more and more audible as they continue down the hallway, which now has far exceeded the external dimensions of the SouthWood Park Mall.

Atlantis: Look there. That store, what language is the sign written in?

Nine-Eyes: It's, uh… huh. It's not.

Eclipse: Yep. Sounds about right. (Gestures towards atrium roughly 60m away) It's going to be up near that.

Team advances towards atrium.

Roman: What's that?

Bangkok: That's… strange.

Team enters the atrium; however, upon passing through the end of the hallway the ceiling ends and the team is standing outside of a large, overgrown structure resembling the SouthWood Park Mall in open air. They are standing at the top of a cliff overlooking a vast forest that extends out as far as they can see in every direction, broken up only by the occasional large plateau or, in the far distance, a range of mountains of indeterminable height. The sun is low in the sky, as if in twilight.

Several meters outside of the mall's exit into SCP-4971 is a large symbol dug out of the earth. The symbol is composed of concentric rings surrounding a series of triangles and rings within. A thick, red fluid, later determined to be human blood, fills in the dug out trenches that form the symbol. At the center of the symbol is blackened earth and the remains of a fire, beneath which lie the charred remains of an indeterminate hoofed animal. Several small, glass vials are shattered on the ground nearby.

Image taken from the open page of the Last Appeal of Biphi found within SCP-4971. Image on the right page matches the symbol found on the ground nearby.

Sitting in front of the symbol on the ground is a makeshift wooden altar. Resting on it is a lantern and a large, bloody machete. Several blood-soaked sponges lay on the ground nearby. A leatherbound book lays open nearby.

Mercury: What's strange about it?

Bangkok: That's the summoning circle for the entity described in the Appeal (gestures towards the leatherbound book), but there's a… pretty significant human life requirement to do the thing that book describes, and I would've expected to see… something. Obviously that's uh, a lot of blood, but there would be bodies, you know-

Roman: How many bodies?

Bangkok: Uh, well, it's not really an exact science. It's not the lives specifically, it's the weight of their hearts, so-

Eclipse: There were sixty-one people who entered the mall the other night, and four cops who went missing afterwards.

Bangkok: Average weight of a heart is 310 grams, so… yeah, that would do it. But that still doesn't explain where the bodies are.

Eclipse: Sun looks like it's on its way down. Don't know how much daylight we'll have, but we might as well see if we can get down there (gestures to the bottom of the cliff face). Seems like that's the only way to go.

Team descends down a winding path across the cliff face over the course of one hour and fifty-six minutes.

Atlantis: You notice what's going on with the sky?

Roman: What's that?

Nine-Eyes: Nothing. The sun hasn't moved since we got here.

Atlantis: Exactly. It's in the exact same position. Right there on the horizon.

Mercury: That's spooky.

Eclipse: We're nearly there now. Look.

The team finishes their descent and stand in a small clearing in front of the forest.

Roman: What now?

Eclipse: Reconnaissance. Command wants to bring a heavy fire team in here soon, but we need to get eyes on our target before we do that.

Bangkok: They want to bring a fire team in here? Why?

Eclipse: Beats me. Something must have them spooked.

Bangkok: I- (pauses)

Eclipse: What?

Bangkok: It's just that the text isn't clear what our target is. The manuscript is mostly comprised of curses and threats, but the author doesn't describe where these threats are coming from. If it wasn't for that thing back in '84 or this anomaly right now, it would be easy to write off the entire document as just… ravings.

Eclipse: Well, we'll just keep our eyes peeled then. Maybe we'll know it when we see it. Who knows. (Pauses) How's our connection looking, Nine?

Nine-Eyes: Decent. You want to patch into command?

Eclipse: Yeah.

Nine-Eyes: Alright, one moment.

Silence.

Nine-Eyes: You're good.

Eclipse: Command dispatch, this is E-13 Eclipse, over.

Command: We read you Eclipse. What is your position, over?

Eclipse: We've entered the anomaly proper, some sort of arcane forest. Trees are bigger, greens are greener, that sort of thing. The saturation has been turned way up in here. Solitary solar body, hasn't moved off the horizon since we got in here two hours ago. Descended a pretty considerable cliff, now we're down level with the forest, over.

Command: One moment Eclipse, over.

Silence.

Command: Research wants to know if you've located the manuscript, over.

Eclipse: Yep, we sure did. Big arcane symbol dug out of the ground, too. Filled up with human blood, a lot of it. No bodies though, and we haven't found the PoI either, over.

Command: Copy that Eclipse. Research wants to make sure that-

Eclipse: Yeah, yeah, we're going to bring their book back. Do you want us to just camp out here until the heavy team gets in, or do we need to scope anything out, over?

Command: One moment Eclipse. We're receiving your telemetry now, over.

Silence.

Command: Short range scans indicate a water source nearby, likely a river or stream, in between a range of hills roughly eight and a half klicks north from your position. You should be able to travel overland to reach it. Command would like to hold that position until the heavy team arrives, over.

Eclipse: Understood. Will update upon arrival, over. (Pauses) Looks like we're heading that way.

Roman: Through the forest, huh? A real nature trek.

Atlantis: Yeah, I wouldn't get too excited. Something about this nature is triggering one of my lizard brain impulses.

Nine-Eyes: Might be the latent EM static.

Atlantis: What?

Nine-Eyes: Something in here is creating a lot of EM noise. I'm trying to figure out where it's coming from. If it gets much worse, it might mess with any of our equipment that isn't shielded.

Eclipse: Can you manage it?

Nine-Eyes: I- yeah, I think so. We just might not have as much time in here as we'd prefer.

Eclipse: Copy that. Let's roll.

Team advances into the forest towards the forward point established by command group. One hour and fifteen minutes of extraneous dialogue removed.

Mercury: We're being watched.

Eclipse: Are you sure?

Mercury: I am. To the east. It's been trailing us for a while.

Bangkok: What is it?

Mercury: I don't know, I can't make it out. (Pauses) Whatever it is, there's more than one.

Eclipse: How many?

Mercury: Five or six.

Twenty-three minutes of extraneous dialogue removed.

Atlantis: Do you hear that?

Silence.

Atlantis: There.

Nine-Eyes: Yes. Sounds like chattering. An animal?

Atlantis: No animal I've ever heard.

Eclipse: Merc, where are our followers?

Mercury: They've either dispersed, or they're hanging further back. They're not close.

Nine-Eyes: Look alive. Up ahead.

Team moves into a defensive position.

Roman: Nothing on thermal.

Eclipse: Anybody have eyes on it?

Image of unknown creature taken from E-13 Bangkok's tactical camera feed.

Bangkok: Yeah, I- I don't know what it is.

Eclipse: What do you mean?

Bangkok: It looks like an animal, but there's something wrong with its head. (Pauses) It's messing with my oculars, hang on. (Pauses) It's gone.

Eclipse: Did you catch it on your camera?

Bangkok: I did, I think so, yeah. There was some trippy light or something around its head. (Pauses) Yeah, it's gone. Somewhere into the dark.

Eclipse: Let's hurry. I think it's actually starting to get dark.

Team continues forward through the forest. E-13 Nine-Eyes' auditory sensor picks up several unknown sounds, but for some reason the agent does not relay this to the rest of the group. As the sun sets, the group emerges onto a steep hillside.

Eclipse: What's our telemetry look like?

Nine-Eyes: Let's see. (Pauses) I think we're where we need to be. There's another ridge over that way that might be a little higher up, but there's about a half mile of woods between there and here.

Eclipse: It's already dark enough. (Pauses) You see that river down there?

Atlantis: Yeah.

Eclipse: You guys go down there and grab some samples of that water. Don't drink it, we have reserves. I just want to see what it is, first.

Bangkok: Copy that.

Bangkok and Atlantis move down the north side of the slope towards the river below.

Roman: Fuck me it's dark.

Mercury: Do we know when our relief is going to be here?

Eclipse: No clue. Hopefully soon. (To Nine-Eyes) How's the radio look? Can we still get in touch with topside?

Nine-Eyes: Let me give it a shot.

Silence.

Static.

Nine-Eyes: Command, this is Nine-Eyes Local, do you copy?

Silence.

Nine-Eyes: Command, this is Nine-Eyes Local, do you copy?

Static. Radio hisses and a distorted voice is heard, but it is unintelligible.

Mercury: Great.

Nine-Eyes: It's just the EM static. When it gets light again I'll get the range extender set up and re-establish contact.

Eclipse: Sounds good. Let's set up here, we'll move again in the morning.

Roman: You guys feel like-

All recorders cut out in unison.

Addendum 4971.6: Occult Research Analysis Summary of SCP-4971 and Related Documents

SCP FOUNDATION INTERNAL DOCUMENT

Department of Occult Research

Dr. Amon Anders

FOREWORD

Attached is our report detailing the occult characteristics of the SCP-4971 anomaly. SCP-4971 is, in short, a delineated, affixed, unshrouded space-time abnormality existing within the SouthWood Park Mall. This anomaly is consistent with other anomalies of its type: it has specific boundaries, is unmoving, and is not somehow concealed by itself or other space-time anomalies, such as those identified as "Ways" or "Passages".

However, SCP-4971 is distinct in several ways. Specifically, it is far and away the largest such anomaly ever documented with an estimated interior volume of over 400,000m3, not including the extraspatial area on the other side of the anomaly. Like many such anomalies, SCP-4971 is believed to be maintained by an external energy source. Due to the arcane rituals involved in the creation of SCP-4971, it is likely that this source, unlike others like it, is a being of considerable power.

The primary text associated with SCP-4971, the Last Appeal of Biphi, details a desperate cry for the annihilation of one's aggressors. The text does not name this annihilative force specifically, but does describe characteristics of it. These characteristics paint a picture of a force or entity that bears some likeness to this world, and will aim to remake it in a way that rids it of unnatural conquest. This entity or force is also associated with a symbol, one that Biphi is described as carving into her own chest as she died - a series of circles and triangles called the "voxen eye".

This voxen eye is found elsewhere, in documents recovered from ancient druidic ruins in southern Britain. These documents, many of which were burned during the Roman conquest of the island, describe the eye as a sort of focus - a lens through which power can be channeled to move nature into action. This was described as calling upon Gaia, and small crystal and metal versions of the voxen eye have been found in ancient caches of pre-Roman artifacts, likely from when they were used in pagan ceremonies.

The last text that describes the voxen eye is another recovered from the Miskatonic University called "Porter's Writings on Arcane Beasts". The text describes a number of creatures supposedly encountered by the Victorian-aged cryptozoologist Edward Porter, and includes references to several other SCPs, including SCP-966 and SCP-1013. In this text, the author writes:

It is no surprise, then, that those ancient people2 feared the trees more than anything else, as the trees brought them both great bounty and great terror. At night they would be stalked by wolves and great cats, and on the nights of the full moon they would make sacrifices to the true god of those tall trees. They named him "The One Who Knows Silence In The Earth", and it is said that through the frosted forests of the north he would emerge to take payment in human hearts for the protection of the tribe. It was said this being could not be gazed upon directly for fear of death, and that only through a voxen eye could its magnificence be understood…

While the true nature of this entity continues to elude us, more information becomes available everyday. The North American occult tradition, which traces its ancestry back to early Native and Colonial American druids and witches, is apparently keenly familiar with this entity. My own contacts in many of these circles describe the name of this entity as something of a taboo, a line which should not be idly crossed. The account of Biphi is regarded as a tragedy, but her utterance of the curses that codified the incantation required to gather this entity's attention is considered to have been dangerous and foolish. Some have even argued that Biphi was mistaken, and was attempting to contact the wrong entity entirely.

Regardless, it changes nothing. Even in the face of impending death, one's own demise is not considered distance enough from this entity to escape whatever fate lies beyond that meeting.

Addendum 4971.7: Site Exploration

Note: The following is the transcript of audio/video logs gathered by members of Mobile Task Force Iota-44 "Gangbusters", who were inserted into SCP-4971 18 hours after the E-13 team to join them in setting up a forward position.

SECURE DOCUMENT

Audio/Visual Transcript

I-44 Horizon - Team Lead

I-44 Vestige - Heavy Fire

I-44 Kato - Heavy Fire

I-44 Carrier - Heavy fire

I-44 Ashen - Heavy Fire

I-44 Wild - Heavy Fire

I-44 Aleppo - Communications

Horizon: We're into the anomaly proper. Do you copy us, over?

Command: We hear you, Horizon. We've lost radio contact with the E-13 team, but their personnel locators are still active and transmitting. They were setting up a forward position on a nearby ridge, we need you to head there. Interference is causing broadcasting issues, so if you lose contact with us you'll need to set up your long range transmitter.

Horizon: Sounds good. We're rolling.

I-44 team descends the cliff face down to the forest floor below. The team advances into the forest with little effort. The sun has returned to its setting position.

Carrier: It's quiet.

Horizon: I was just thinking the same thing. It's eerie.

Aleppo: Horizon, I'm picking up something.

Horizon: What is it?

Aleppo: It's faint, uh… (pauses) I think it's someone singing. It's broadcasting over our comms frequency.

Horizon: Push it.

All members of the I-44 team stops as Aleppo pushes the incoming signal to all headsets.

Unknown Signal: (Static) watch her so- (static) how can I- (static) I love her, yes- (static) would give my heart gladly, but each- (static)

Ashen: What the hell is that?

Vestige: Hang on, something is coming. There in the woods, look!

Kato: Here, too!

Horizon: Form up, get over here! Come on, come on! Move!

Team moves quickly forward. The sounds of foliage being disrupted become evident as many figures move through the darkness of the forest.

Unknown Signal: (static) young and lovely, the girl from Ipa- (static) walking, and when she pass- (static) smile, but she doesn't see- (static)

Vestige: What the fuck is that? Up there, look! In the sky!

Something above the team illuminates the area briefly, but none of the personnel cameras capture it before it disappears. The team stops suddenly as Horizon holds them back.

Horizon: There, up ahead. Look.

Image of unknown humanoid entity taken from I-44's video camera. Source of visual distortion is attributed to latent EM static within SCP-4971.

A humanoid figure stands beneath a tree, its features mostly hidden in darkness. It is lean, with auburn skin and a mess of tree branches, leaves, and vines bound around its neck like a collar. It is otherwise nude. The entity does not have a head; instead, it has a glowing white symbol that vibrates rapidly. As soon as this symbol comes on screen, all video recorders begin to show signs of heavy distortion.

Horizon: Command, do you copy, we've got a situation down here. We've encountered a local - how would you like us to proceed, over?

Aleppo: No response, just that same singing. We're jammed.

Horizon: Goddammit - alright, everybody form up on me. (To the unknown entity) Hello, do you understand me? Do you know what I'm saying.

Entity shudders slightly and its shoulder roll back. A moment later it disappears, reappearing closer to the group. It does this several times very quickly, each time getting closer to the group. As it approaches, it becomes obvious that the entity is levitating off the ground.

Horizon: Fuck!

Horizon fires on the entity, as do other members of the group. As the entity is struck by gunfire, the points where bullets enter its body illuminate briefly with white light. The entity staggers backwards against a tree, and as it collapses onto the ground there is the sound of a high pitched scream followed by breaking glass, and the glowing white symbol above the entity's shoulders shatters and disappears.

Wild: Holy fuck. Holy fuck. What was that?

Ashen: Sensors are picking up more figures moving this way-

Horizon: Everybody, form the fuck up, we-

Aleppo: Ah! Goddammit! (Pulls earpiece out) Something just screamed over the wideband.

Carrier: Oh no.

All around the team appears many glowing white symbols. Soft chattering is heard through the otherwise silent forest. From behind them, they hear rustling. Turning towards the sound, they see the figure of the entity who was shot by Horizon shaking violently on the ground. After a moment the entity falls still again, and then rises as if lifted by the shoulders to levitate above the ground once again. Another sound is heard, later determined to be the same breaking glass and scream as before, only in reverse. As the sound ends, the glowing white symbol appears again, and the entity begins moving towards the group.

Horizon: Run!

The group flees the mass of humanoid entities, which trail closely behind them. I-44 Kato trips and falls to the ground as he is swarmed by the entities. Shortly afterwards, his camera and personnel locator cease functioning. Gunshots are heard as an entity grapples briefly with I-44 Ashen. The agent is seen briefly by I-44 Wild as the former has an arm pulled off by one of the humanoid entities and disappears. His camera and personnel locator also cease functioning.

As the remaining members continue to sprint forward, I-44 Aleppo's transponder begins to ping.

E-13 Eclipse: (static) anyone hear us? Hello? We hear you, can you hear us?

Aleppo: Horizon! E-13 on comms!

Horizon: E-13, E-13, this is I-44 Lead, do you copy? We are being aggressed by a group of hostiles, need assistance, over.

E-13 Eclipse: Holy shit, you can hear us. OK, head for open air, they can't (static) forest, get higher (static)

Horizon: We need to get out! Hurry!

Vestige: I see a rise up ahead! 30 degrees north!

The team sprints towards an opening in the treeline. As they run, more and more entities become evident all around them. They close in quickly, and the sound of chattering becomes increasingly louder and the ground beneath them shakes suddenly. Wild is knocked sideways and stumbles, falling slightly behind the group.

I-44 Aleppo, Vestige and Carrier break through the treeline and onto the rise. Horizon hangs back as Wild runs forward, but she is seized from behind. Horizon levels his rifle and fires at the entities attacking Wild, but there are too many.

Wild: [DATA EXPUNGED]

I-44 Horizon shoots and kills I-44 Wild before turning and running the rest of the way out into the clearing. When he turns back, all of the hostile entities are gone, as is the body of I-44 Wild.

Horizon: Goddammit. Goddammit. Goddammit.

Radio static.

E-13 Eclipse: I-44 lead, do you copy, over? Do you copy, over?

Horizon: This is I-44 lead. I copy, over.

E-13 Eclipse: Sitrep?

Horizon: We're down three. Those things in the woods, there were too many of them. (Pauses) What are those things, over?

E-13 Eclipse: We don't know. We weren't prepped for that. We lost Bangkok to those things on our way up here. Atlantis thinks that they're - shit, how did you describe it? (Pauses) Like they're fragments, pieces of people that got lost in here whenever they were doing the uh, the rituals you need to get in here.

Horizon: We can't fucking kill them, man. I blanked one and it got right back up.

E-13 Eclipse: Yeah, we think they're drawing power from somewhere else. Anytime one of them does that, there's a lot of EM static and then they get back up. Whatever the source of that static is, it's uh- it's pretty strong. It's blocking our wideband radio and that thing is nothing to fuck with.

Horizon: Where are you? We're in a uh- looks like a clearing on a hill, we need to consolidate.

E-13 Eclipse: Do you see a river, somewhere uh- somewhere to the northwest of you?

Horizon: Yeah, yeah, I do.

Static.

E-13 Eclipse: (static) were there about a week ago, we headed northeast with the river towards those mountains, we're nearly- (static)

Horizon: Ha- check check, Eclipse. How long ago did you say you were here?

E-13 Eclipse: Uh, about a week, we think. The days don't line up, but we've got clocks and, uh, why?

Horizon: We entered the anomaly less than a day after you, and we've only been here… six hours? Maybe?

Silence.

E-13 Eclipse: Yeah that's- damn. That's not great, Horizon.

Horizon: No. No, it's not, we- (static)

I-44 team loses radio contact with E-13 team, which continues recording.

E-13 Eclipse: Horizon? Do you copy?

Silence.

E-13 Eclipse: Horizon? Do you copy?

Static originating from I-44 Aleppo's radio.

Last image received from I-44 team's video transmitter.

Aleppo: (static) lots of- (static) something moving, down to the south- (static) really getting a lot of st- (static) oh-

All radios cut out entirely. From the E-13 position, a loud, low droning sound is heard as if from great distance. I-44 Aleppo's video transmitter broadcasts for 12 seconds, recording a single still frame before the remainder of the video is washed out.

Addendum 4971.8: Anna Christian Interview

Note: The following is the transcript of an interview that was conducted with Anna Christian, POI 4971.02, who was apprehended three months before the discovery of SCP-4971. This interview was conducted shortly after the loss of contact with the I-44 team.

Dr. Angle: We need to know what you know about the Last Appeal of Biphi.

Christian: Why? What does cooperating with you fuck-faces do to help me now? Once this is done you're just going to wheel me back in my cell and let me rot until you decide I get to see an adjoining hallway again.

Dr. Angle: We're willing to discuss your release, if you're willing to cooperate. We just need information.

Christian: What do you want to know?

Dr. Angle: What is the world beyond the anomaly? What is that place?

Christian: Oh, you've- (pauses) you've opened it.

Dr. Angle: Not us. Katarina Randolph opened it.

Christian: (Sighs) She's a fucking idiot. I warned her about this. I warned her over and over. Goddammit.

Dr. Angle: Warned her about what?

Christian: The- ok, so I'm a witch, right? Not like a sit on a broom and stir a pot witch, but like… ever since I was a girl, it's like I could see more than other people. I could talk to animals, and heard the trees whispering, and then darker things too. Older things. When I found out there were others like me, I was elated, you know, to have other people who I could talk to. I was so… enamored, in the mystery of it all. The secret meetings, the old languages, and… the things they'd warn us about. The rituals.

Dr. Angle: Like the ones in the Last Appeal?

Christian: (Nods) The rituals were what I was most fascinated with. You mix blood with ash and the gratings of a cloven hoof and you can bring nature to bear. Poison water, turn crops to rot. That's real power - it's not power you own, but power you wield nonetheless. That book contains power, but not the kind that Katarina hoped it was.

Dr. Angle: How do you mean?

Christian: Katarina and her followers are eco-terrorists who masquerade as a coven. They don't understand cost and sacrifice - they're just out to save the trees. I believed her, and I taught her things. How to turn steel to rust in an instant to ruin the treads of a bulldozer, how to turn the land to mud and bring locusts to run off developers. It was never enough for her, though. She wanted bigger and more powerful. She would say, "we won't be finished until we can wipe the bile of man off Gaia's face." (Pauses) When I got my hands on the Last Appeal, I was just a kid like her. I thought I knew everything, but I had wise elders who taught me patience. In that patience I learned everything I could learn about the Appeal, and the things described in it. I learned that it was not what I thought it was. I learned I had been wrong.

Dr. Angle: What did you think it was?

Christian: A nature god. An appeal to Gaia. We all did, and Katarina did too. She didn't believe me - assumed I was holding information from her because I was scared. I was scared, but not because I was worried she would bring forth Gaia's champion. I was scared because The One Who Knows Silence In The Earth isn't a nature god at all. It's a god of sacrifice. The world it resides in, the creatures that inhabit that place, they're all byproducts of sacrifices and rituals. They're sustained by them. The souls of humans, of plants and animals, things far away and things very close. It takes those souls and turns them into new life, in its own image. It will remake this world, but the world it creates will not be a world mankind can survive in. It'd be like… replacing the rivers and lakes with battery acid.

Dr. Angle: How do we close the gate?

Christian: (Laughs) You can't. Not that she cared about that - she was obsessed. She wanted to remake the world, for Gaia. The cost is too high.

Dr. Angle: How do we kill the creature within it?

Christian: Kill it? How do you kill a god? You can't kill it, not with all the bombs and bullets in the universe. It is sustained by rituals. Not just rituals involving goats and blood and the full moon. Smaller rituals, smaller sacrifices, made by everyday people. Even those that your Foundation performs, to keep the dark things hidden away. That's how you kill it. You stop performing rituals, you stop making sacrifices, and The One Who Knows Silence In The Earth will disappear. Just like that.

Dr. Angle: You know we can't do that.

Christian: Then you can't kill it. That's it. You can't kill it, and you'd better pray to whatever gods are still listening that it doesn't find that gateway, because the moment it gets out here is the moment it starts performing its own rituals, and it won't be satisfied by hooves and ash.

Addendum 4971.9: SCP-4971-▽

Note: The following is the audio/video transcript of the recordings collected by Mobile Task Force Epsilon-13 "Manifest Destiny".

SECURE DOCUMENT

Audio/Visual Transcript

E-13 Eclipse - Team Lead

E-13 Roman - Fire Team

E-13 Mercury - Fire Team

E-13 Nine-Eyes - Communications

Camera activates, facing Eclipse. He is clearly worn and emaciated.

Eclipse: This is Eclipse, transmitting for uh… for anyone who can hear us. We've been in here two months now, and rations have all but run out. Can't eat anything in here; it burns your mouth, even the plants. Water is drinkable, but I think it's making us sick. My eyesight is starting to go, and we lo- uh… (pauses) we lost Atlantis, so that's… that's where we're at now. We're up in the mountains, and we've found a place we can cross, and we're going to go there. We can see everything from up here, if you, uh, if you look- (camera pauses to pan over the forest, which extends out in every direction) yeah, out there. It's just forest, as far as we can see. Sun is still setting, sometimes it gets dark. We see lights sometimes over the mountains, which is why we're… why we're going there. So that's where we're at.

Camera goes dark as Eclipse reconnects it to his helmet.

Eclipse: Let's go. Let's get up there, come on.

The remaining members of the E-13 team move up the sheer mountain face. It is clear now that they were resting on a narrow outcropping. It is unclear how they were able to climb such a steep angle without climbing equipment.

After a short time, they reach a larger outcropping. From where they are standing they can see a path between two peaks, and the four of them slowly move forward towards the path. Eclipse looks at Roman and Mercury, who also look severely emaciated. He looks back at Nine-Eyes, who is heavily bandaged.

Eclipse: Come on, guys. We're almost there. A few more steps and we're there. Then we get to go home. We cross here and we get to go home.

The team passes through the area between the two peaks. As they exit the pathway onto the other side, they find themselves on a wide plateau overlooking more forest and more mountains. A river cuts through the forest far below. The audio begins to become distorted.

Eclipse: (static) there, she's down there. Hey. Hey! You! Turn around! Turn around where I can see you!

A naked human figure is dancing on the edge of the mountain ahead. Eclipse, Roman, and Nine-Eyes draw their weapons. As they approach, they can see a symbol drawn on the ground beneath her. A human heart lies discarded nearby. She is singing.

Unknown Woman: (Singing) Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking, and when-

Eclipse: Get on the ground! Get on the fucking ground!

The woman turns to face the group, revealing herself to be Katarina Randolph. She does not stop dancing. A large wound is visible on her chest.

Roman: Get down! I swear to god I'll fucking kill you!

Katarina Randolph: Oh, but I watch her so sadly. How can I tell her I love her-

Gunshots as Roman fires on Katarina Randolph. She stumbles back slightly and laughs, and then goes quiet as Nine-Eyes shoots her with his rifle. She collapses to the ground.

Eclipse: Fuck. (Heavy breathing) Is that it?

Silence.

Roman: I think that's-

A sudden loud, low, droning sound fills the air, followed by a flash of light. All remaining members of the E-13 team are knocked off their feet and fall to the ground. Roman and Nine-Eyes' video recorders are disabled instantaneously. The audio recorder fills with static. Eclipse stands.

SCP-4971-▽.

In the valley below them is SCP-4971-▽: a titanic, cervine entity. It does not have a head or neck; instead, the entire structure has been replaced by a massive, vibrating, white glowing crest. Around its torso orbits white glowing orbs that, as they spin, send shimmering white particulate into the air all around it. SCP-4971-▽ takes long, slow steps forward into the valley, and turns to face the task force. In the center of the main seal is a glowing, circular disc with a pitch black center.

The body of Katarina Randolph shivers and then is lifted upwards as if by the shoulders and hangs in the air a meter off the ground. Roman lifts his weapon to fire, but the body begins laughing.

Katarina Randolph: Gaia! Gaia! I'm yours! Have me!

The body shakes, and following the same inverted scream as heard by the I-44 team Katarina Randolph's head collapses into itself as a spinning white seal emerges from within it. It rotates rapidly before settling and turning to face the group. In unison, the static on their radios ceases.

Still frame from recovered video.

Unknown Signal: Yes, I would give my heart gladly. But each day as she walks to the sea-

Eclipse, Roman, and Nine-Eyes begin firing at Katarina Randolph, who begins to move away from them rapidly. The same low droning sound is heard as E-13 Mercury turns to flee. The moment before she passes into the pathway between the mountain peaks behind them, she turns to see Eclipse, Roman, and Nine-Eyes suspended in the air. As their hearts are violently pulled from their bodies by an unseen force, E-13 Mercury turns and runs.

Mercury: (Heavy breathing) Oh my god… oh my god… oh my god…

The skies begin to darken as the sun sets. E-13 Mercury sprints through the mountain pass, emerging again on the near side of the mountain. She takes a few steps forward and stops as the figure of Katarina Randolph appears in the air in front of her. Mercury's heartrate slows, and she reaches for the knife in her belt.

Mercury: Alright. Alright. Come on, you pixie bitch. Let's fucking go.

Mercury rushes Katarina Randolph. There is another loud droning sound, and E-13 Mercury's audio and video feed are disabled.

Addendum 4971.10: Additional Transmissions

After loss of communication with both the E-13 and I-44 teams, Site-81 Command announced a moratorium on additional exploration attempts into SCP-4971, and the site was sealed. The sounds of unidentified creatures continued to be heard from within the SouthWood Park Mall, but no additional teams were inserted to investigate the conditions within the mall.

On October 19th, 2007, a single transmitter within SCP-4971 connected and began transmitting. Following this was a considerable transfer of information to the on-site data server, including weather, topology, and electromagnetic field data from within the anomaly. In addition to this, the full video and audio logs of the I-44 and E-13 teams were transmitted. At the conclusion of this transfer, the transmitter disconnected again.

On October 29th, 2007, the transmitter activated again, this time showing a video feed of a Foundation-issued wide band radio tower on the top of a mountain. This video feed remained for six minutes and thirty-two seconds before disconnecting.

On November 19th, 2007, a single still-frame image of the ground was transmitted to the on-site data server. Written in the dirt were the words "still here".

Still frame from recovered video.

On June 16th, 2015, the transmitter activated for eighteen seconds. During this period, a woman's face is visible. She appears to be very frightened. She pulls back far enough to mouth the words "can't run anymore" and "sorry" before the transmitter deactivates.

No additional transmissions have been received.

Footnotes

1. From the Foundation Classification Committee Handbook on Esoteric Containment Classes, Rev. 19, 2019, "In contrast to the Euclid and Keter classes, wherein containment procedures do exist for a potentially animate anomalous entity or artifact and are within the ability of the Foundation or others to manifest, the Cernnunos-class exists to signify that while containment procedures are available for such an anomalous entity or artifact (specifically those containment procedures involving occult responses to ethereal, preternatural, or transmundane entities), the scope or requirements of those containment procedures are either outside of the Foundation's ability to manifest or the procedures have been determined to have an unacceptable cost per a ruling by the Foundation Ethics Committee. Additionally, this classification contrasts with the Uncontained, Ticonderoga, and Apollyon classes as containment procedures do exist in some form, even if they cannot be properly utilized."

2. Referencing an unknown prehistorical North American civilization.