Threshold Archive

Classification: First Age structure; solar-aligned interface site
Known Example: The Waystation of the First Age
Status: Presumed dormant; typically unacknowledged or misidentified
Function: Entry point between external messengers and forest-bound reality

Threshold Archives are a class of structure believed to date back to the First Age, when communication between the forest and external forces was both possible and stable. These sites allowed messengers—identified in some records as solar in origin—to cross into the Wilds without triggering defensive recursion or environmental drift. They served as fixed points of contact. Most were built at natural convergences, using materials that remain durable and visible even in areas of high belief distortion.

The most commonly recognized feature of a Threshold Archive is the presence of descending walkways that lead toward a central platform. Surfaces are often marked with reflective gold inlay, though this appears to serve a stabilizing purpose rather than decoration. The sites do not include doors, locks, or defensive features. Entry and use were likely voluntary, based on mutual recognition rather than force.

The only confirmed structure of this type is the Waystation of the First Age, which remains structurally intact and under active occupation. No other Archives have been documented in full, though fragments have been reported in several regions. In most cases, those fragments are absorbed into other structures or dismissed as ruin elements. There is no consistent pattern of deterioration, which has led some to believe that intact sites may still exist but remain misinterpreted.

Archives do not respond to standard forms of interaction. They cannot be forced open, dismantled, or easily integrated into modern structures. They resist rot, disuse, and spatial erosion. When discovered, they appear stable and complete, regardless of surrounding damage. Attempts to repair, mirror, or awaken them have failed to produce measurable results.

What remains unclear is whether these sites are truly inactive, or simply no longer aligned with the present condition of the Wilds. No current warband has claimed to reactivate one. No faction has established consistent control over more than a single location. Most who pass them by do not recognize them at all.