SHRINE 1
Updated April 15, 2022
Written by: Kevin yatsu
In 2010, a small patch of grasslands in Western Oregon were approved for residential development. These grasslands were already developed once before and this final patch sat in the middle of a suburb whose construction began in the 90s. The development for the grasslands would go on to be postponed for the following five years. In this time, the grasslands transitioned from a site of impending developement into a well-known recreational staple for the area locals. In 2019, the city re-opened its plans for developing the grasslands. Soon after this decision, a certian phenomena was widely documented among the local residents.
In the Spring of 2019, two local amateur filmmakers were
documenting the grasslands for an upcoming project. Upon returning home, they
promptly uploaded and shared a collection of photographs with their crew via
social messaging platforms. Although the photographs were unedited, the crew
noticed that every photograph appeared to be of a strange, lumpy mass with a
dark, metal-like surface. The mysterious mass only appeared once the
photographs were uploaded onto web servers which led the filmmakers to consult
with local experts on Auguries.
Soon after the filmmaker's findings were documented, many residents of the area began to report the same phenomena over the coming months which helped confirm the presence of an Augury. During this time, multiple independent and research-backed investigations were conducted and each one returned with absolute certainty that the observed phenomena was directly correlated to an Augury’s synergetic shrine.
Around the end of September 2019, observations of the grasslands phenomena ceased entirely. Development for the grasslands were slated to start in early 2020, though the conclusive evidence of the Augury would indefinitely postpone any plans for breaking ground. As of the release of this shrine archive, there has been no actions taken by the state to recommence the development of the grasslands.
Soon after the filmmaker's findings were documented, many residents of the area began to report the same phenomena over the coming months which helped confirm the presence of an Augury. During this time, multiple independent and research-backed investigations were conducted and each one returned with absolute certainty that the observed phenomena was directly correlated to an Augury’s synergetic shrine.
Around the end of September 2019, observations of the grasslands phenomena ceased entirely. Development for the grasslands were slated to start in early 2020, though the conclusive evidence of the Augury would indefinitely postpone any plans for breaking ground. As of the release of this shrine archive, there has been no actions taken by the state to recommence the development of the grasslands.
In July 2021, four eyewitness reports were filed claiming the existence of an Augury at the site of the grasslands. These reports were of independent cases sprinkled throughout the month and none of these reports came with any photographic or video documentation. Due to these close observations from the local community, experts have drawn close similarities of this grasslands phenomena to other recorded instances of Auguries of low sentience.
The following shrine archive is compiled from the findings of independent and non-profit research groups focused on deciphering and retranslating data streams from the synergetic shrines of mature Auguries. This archive only represents a small sliver of the shrine's input material and is not a 1:1 representation of the actual shrine by any means. Instead, the archive aims to trace some of the reoccurring themes and motifs sourced directly from the media pool of synergetic shrine.
The organization of this shrine archive follows a similar structure observed across the majority of documented synergetic shrines, consisting of many layers of internet media and constructed memories in the forms of video and photo. These layers are interconnected via resonant stones which are hypothesized to be the tangible link between an Augury's synergetic shrine and birthing cave.
To use this archive, simply click the resonant stone to advance into a deeper shrine layer. The final layer of this archive will simply be denoted by its lack of a resonant stone.
This accompanying zine is a creative investigation into the Augury associated with this shrine. Informed by the eyewitness accounts of the Augury, this zine attempts to sympathetically imagine the personality and the values of the Augury associated with this shrine. The zine is offered in digital and physical versions.
