By: Nolan Ward, Senior Vault Custodian
Relic Containment & Vault Division
There are items we study. Items we test. Items we deploy in the field with the appropriate clearances, safeties, and personnel with some sense of self-preservation.
This list is not about those.
The following relics are non-deployable, non-transferable, non-discussable without written clearance from at least two Division Heads, plus a third sign-off from someone who already regrets it.
These are the vaults we don’t walk past without a sigil plate and a full night’s rest. You are not cleared to use them. You are barely cleared to read about them.
So here you go.
1. The Clock That Ticks Before Arrival
Vault ID: LC-AESIR-004
Origin: Unknown. Found sealed inside a submerged crate off the coast of Skagerrak, Norway.
Appearance: Brass pocket watch, chain fused to case. Ticks audibly, though internal gears remain static.
Effect: Begins ticking 2 to 3 minutes before a Demon manifests in the same Zone. Not always the same Demon. Sometimes no Demon appears at all, but operatives report panic attacks, déjà vu, or missing time.
No further comment.
2. The Mirror of Ungiven Faces
Vault ID: BA-PERS-017
Origin: Retrieved from a condemned mental hospital in Vermont, 1971.
Appearance: Wall-mounted mirror, frame engraved with what appear to be tally marks.
Effect: Does not reflect the viewer. Instead, reflects individuals the viewer has not yet met, but will. If the mirror displays your face, it means you’ve been seen by a Demon within the past 48 hours. Reflections continue for days after removal from viewing site.
No further comment.
3. The Ledger of Exchange
Vault ID: RP-MERC-009
Origin: Acquired via private auction under false credentials. Seller name unrecorded.
Appearance: Flesh-bound ledger, text appears only under lunar eclipse or active possession.
Effect: Allows user to trade aspects of self (memories, emotions, names) for protection or power. Ledger writes its own terms. One agent successfully bartered for resistance to fire. Three days later, he lost all recognition of heat and was found frozen in a burning room.
No further comment.
4. Box That Breathed in Oaths
Vault ID: Not a chance in Hell [Ed. – What Custodian Ward means is “Classified”]
Origin: Recovered in the wreckage of a monastery outside Uzhhorod, Ukraine.
Appearance: Obsidian cube with a central slit. Emits occasional sighs when nearby conversations contain promises.
Effect: Records and enforces verbal oaths spoken in its vicinity. Several internal staff now operate under unknown compulsions they cannot explain but feel obligated to follow. Box is currently sealed in seven separate wards and placed in a soundproof enclosure in a Vault I’m not telling you about.
No further comment.
5. “Heirloom” (no official title)
Vault ID: Classified (contact Ashcroft directly)
Origin: Entered into inventory before modern cataloging protocols. No entry signature.
Appearance: Appears differently to every viewer. Usually described as “something left behind by family.”
Effect: Unknown. Refuses analysis. Relic containment logs indicate it has never been moved, yet has appeared in three separate vaults over the past ten years. No alarms triggered. Each technician which sees it swears it belongs to their family. I, myself, was subjected to this phenomena once. Unsettling is the only term I can use to describe it.
No further comment.
Closing Notes (Because I Have To)
Yes, these are real. Yes, they’re still in containment. No, you cannot look at them.
If you are reading this and think one of these items is relevant to your mission: congratulations, you’re wrong.