The KNOT

The Krieg-Nylund Operating Theater (KNOT) was officially named in 1852. It is a dimension one level above our own that is the source of Artifacts and Hauntings in the Hylean World. The KNOT has many interesting properties:

  • Artifacts' power can be channeled and used in the KNOT.
  • Electricity does not behave well in the KNOT.
  • The KNOT is a perfect mirror of our own dimension, but does not naturally contain any sentient life (though some other life forms such as plants do and bacteria, curiously do not).
  • You can only pass between the KNOT and our world in certain geographical locations, assisted by transport portals.

The KNOT creates Artifacts through the process of compressing emotional data. If this process stalls or is interrupted, a Haunting - an incomplete artifact - is created instead. Resolving the haunting allows the compression algorithms to complete and results in the creation of a true Artifact.

We call the act of visiting the KNOT "Projection". Only your mind visits the knot. Our bodies go somewhere else - neither here nor there. We're not really sure where there is. We call it a "Staging Area". If you exit via a different portal, your body arrives at the point of exit, you don't end up popping out at the same place you left from or with your mind and body separated. As spooky as the idea of a disembodied consciousness sounds, the fact that we don't understand how your body moves is maybe a little weirder.

It is possible for beings from dimensions above the KNOT such as Shades and Demons to access it, but we have never seen beings from parallel worlds attempt to access our KNOT, leading us to believe that it's more like a skin on top of our dimension - unique to it but accessible from the outside. If someone wanted to access our KNOT from a parallel reality, they would need to project THROUGH a higher medium, like the dimension the Shades come from. You can see why that sounds unlikely. Since each layer is more entropic than the last, it would require a tremendous amount of energy.

A few Do-KNOTs:

  • Do not stay in the KNOT longer than an hour. (Note, though this rule ended with the breach of contract with The Trader, it's still not recommended).
  • While in the KNOT, if there is a persistent, growing signal (light, oppressive whispering, a general feeling of dread) LEAVE IMMEDIATELY (Sign of a possible Demon Class Entity in the vacinity).
  • Don't disobey your manager or designated liaison. This is how you die.
  • Do not abuse your assigned Artifact.
  • Do not underestimate a Haunting (assume all are dangerous even though many are quite docile!)
  • Do not enter the KNOT alone. (Even without The Trader lurking, there are other dangers that shouldn't be underestimated)