Pontus raft

The Pontus Raft was a strange raft that washed up on the shore of Pontus, in the Byzantine Empire during the year of 68AD. According to Byzantine records, the appearance of the raft occurred sometime in the later half of the year, around the beaches of Samsun in the Byzantine province of Pontus. The lumber raft was empty and unoccupied, with the exception of a wooden box that was firmly tied down to the raft. The raft exhibited signs of extensive decay, which suggested it had spent some time drifting in the Black Sea, before being steered by currents towards the south. However, the box, according to contemporary reports, was reported as having been "completely pristine".

The box itself was taken by local authorities for examination. Apparently, it was "unremarkable from every perspective," its most interesting feature being a series of Cyrillic letters engraved on one of its sides. As the box was lost much later for unknown reasons, it is not known what the string of letters represented.

Within the box lied a single paper note, written in an obscure dialect of Old Russian. The exact dialect is unknown, and is likely one that did not survive into modern times. Regardless, a partial translation of the contents has been achieved. The note has managed to survive the passage of time, and the original is currently displayed in the Grand Museum of Curiosities in Istanbul. The contents of the note have baffled many researchers to this day.

### Translated note

"It is done. [UNINTELLIGIBLE DUE TO INK SMUDGE] No longer. I know what I have done but I have no shame for myself [UNKNOWN]. My greatest jewel, it has been aligned perfectly. I built them right [UNKNOWN] It will be served. I wonder what they're thinking, they don't even know. I had to do it. [UNKNOWN WORD, LEADER/MASTER? NO TIES TO ANY KNOWN LANGUAGES] have been undone.

[WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF THE NOTE]

Twenty degrees towards [UNKNOWN WORD, NO TIES TO ANY KNOWN LANGUAGES, UNKNOWN MEANING]"

### Interpretation of the text

The translated sentences have been a minor subject of study, as they have been commonly thought to be the nonsensical ramblings of a madman. However, several scholars have noted that their contents correlate to several contemporary historical events and places.

It is known that the Tsardom of Russia, the first major power in Eastern Europe, had mysteriously fallen from unknown causes in 48 AD, this being the very first instance of the Russian Curse. It is unknown whether this transpired before or after the Pontus Raft was made, although the raft's signs of decay suggest a plausible connection. It is also known that the architect for Saint Petersburg, the country's new capital, had vanished just after its completion, and just before the Tsardom's sudden fall.

In Saint Petersburg (now Borobinsk), a series of landmarks were curiously built in such a way that they can all be crossed by going in a straight line. This includes major road intersections, parks and avenues. The line forms a roughly twenty-degree angle in relation to the Equator. If this line were to be extended to the northeast, it would intersect the geometric center of the Gulf of Ob. It is unknown how or why this was done, as most sources indicate that the Russians had not reached the Ob river by that time, only having sporadic interactions with the tribes adjacent to and beyond the Ural Mountains.

The words of unknown meaning written on the note have been compared to dozens of languages over the years. This includes various Indo-European languages, Turkic languages, Kartvelian languages, Uralic languages, Tyrsenian languages, Basque, Kusunda, the undeciphered Minoan, and Nivkh. No speculated connections to other languages have been convincing, and thusly the words are currently considered unclassifiable by most unless further data is ever discovered.