The Pocketses of Námhra Vale

In the remote valleys of Námhra, Comhlaidir’s villagers speak uneasily of the pocketses—small, hollow depressions in the earth that appear without warning, each no larger than a hand, yet impossibly deep. Travelers describe them as uncanny voids, lined with roots and smooth stone, sometimes containing objects that defy reason: a watch that ticks backward, a coin older than memory, or a feather from a bird that should not exist.

The pocketses are not permanent. They appear and vanish according to no known pattern, yet those who encounter them report a sense of being watched. Some swear they hear faint murmurs emanating from the depths, whispers of names they have forgotten or promises they never made. When villagers attempt to retrieve items from a pockets, their hands vanish from sight for a heartbeat, or they feel the pull of something unseen beneath the soil.

Historical records mention pocketses as early as four centuries ago. A chronicler of Comhlaidir’s northern glens wrote of a child who fell into one and was returned, hours later, speaking in a tongue no one recognized, eyes reflecting landscapes she had never seen. Others claim pocketses are “memory traps,” remnants of places where thoughts and objects were buried by unknown hands.

Local wisdom warns against curiosity. To reach into a pockets is to risk being claimed by the unknown, to have your own memories inverted or stolen. Offerings of smooth stones, silver dust, or whispered apologies are left at their edges, though no one knows if such gestures appease the pocketses—or merely mark the witness for their next visit.

Even today, travelers in Námhra Vale step carefully, checking each depression in the path. The pocketses wait, patient and silent, a subtle reminder that in Comhlaidir, even the smallest hollow can hold the uncanny.