Aberrant Events

An 'aberrant event' is defined by the ASH to anything that unduly effects normalcy that doesn't directly involve the Cursed. This can range from a spontaneous restructuring of the environment, populations disappearing, natural laws functioning incorrectly, small “pockets” that spontaneously lead to an alien location, or a sudden resurgence of people or wildlife. Though each event is different, there are enough observed similarities to create rough categories:

* Distorted physics: Basic rules of the universe seem to have broken. Stairwells that appear to lead upward, but instead bring people into the basement. A path through trees leading to a clearing where the sun is not in the correct position. Two towns that have been visited previously existing in the same location with the buildings mashed together nearly seamlessly.
* Eerie silence: There are no birds singing or any life at all. Any food left behind is tasteless. The people in these locations do not seem to notice the party or the things that walk among them. Maybe the people appear frozen in place but keen party members start to notice darting movements in windows or out of direct sight.
* Spontaneous appearances: Buildings, new natural formations, or entirely new villages with unfamiliar names crop up in the wilderness. There’s no announcement and a great degree of uncertainty whether they were lost from records or simply appeared. The buildings and natural formations are of a style that doesn’t fit the surrounding environment. Cyclopean towers in the midst of a forest or strange sand dunes in the middle of a marsh.  Those same towers may have the Autocracy’s triple hook symbol embossed in the stone, only slightly off center or facing a different direction. Common words that are found within these events are often spelled incorrectly and the area within these appearances are often described as “crooked” or “off”. Buildings or terrain features seem to loom, paths or streets are carved at crooked angles.
* Spontaneous populations: Some spontaneous appearances come with whole populations and may even bear signs of former habitation by the ASH. There can be whole population centers seemingly unaware of their strange circumstances. Most of these populations speak the same language with familiar customs as the rest of the ASH but have notably different views. Cursed may be an accepted part of daily life while Deviants are used for mundane tasks without the Autocratic taboo against their use. The larger populations can either be entirely disinterested in the outside world or desperately want to rejoin the larger Autocracy. When pressed on matters of the world, these populations either refuse to acknowledge the existence of other places or refer to some vague catastrophe that took place in the distant past.
* Paths to beyond: Doorways that lead elsewhere in the world or maybe even outside of it. These paths can lead to any place of any size. A manor door in a desert valley. A bustling city with all too familiar architecture. They can just lead to a pitch black landscape or just a small closet. These are often used by savvy groups to hide due to their difficult nature. The key feature of all these locations (aside from the strange circumstances of their appearance) is a fundamental lack of definition outside of the main focus of the location. An empty city through a gate in a cave will be fully articulated until looking outside the walls. Outside the walls, the environment will grow hazy and less defined. The further away from the main city, the fewer easily definable features there will be.

Aberrant events contain many oddities that will be used for SIM research to be catalogued or brought outside for study. Unaware travelers can easily be trapped in these anomalies, useful for interrogation. The SSB is firmly committed to scouting the strange locales and assessing the threat they may represent. Bombarding a potential asset or destroying an inbuilt method of containment (which could let out anything trapped within) is a last resort. Inquisitorial thought notably differs from the other organization. It is better to destroy a threat before it is realized rather than allow the risk of contamination.

Considering their ersatz nature, any similarities between aberrant events is difficult to separate by category. Many anomalies feature various traits of multiple types. Within any of these events, dangers are unexpected. Walls closing in on a party, entire populations of bizarre creatures, and other terrain issues like liquefying stone can plague explorers. Grass can be more akin to green needles on the ground.