STARFARING LOG: ENTRY 07–318

Log Title: The Quiet Between Currents

Log Date: Cycle 0 – Phase III: Tideglass Respite, Lanternmark 27 

Commander: Admiral J. Aurelia Caelestis 

Vessel: The Medusara 

System: Fringe Expanse – Sector 88-Δ 

Planet Identified: Solanthis 

Designation: Port Moonmarsh

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09:02 LMT — Descent Log

Three weeks have passed since my last ground survey.

The fog lifted during that interval—if the port records are accurate, very abruptly—but its disappearance is not the most significant change.

Something now stands at the edge of Port Moonmarsh that was not there before.

The locals call it the Tide Marker, though my previous entries contain no reference to such a structure. I reviewed my own scans from last month: in every frame, the ground where it now stands is clear. A patch of filament moss, a few tide scuttles, nothing more.

Yet today, a three-meter pillar rises from the soil.

It is unmistakably biomechanical—a hybrid structure of mineral alloy, bioceramic plating, and lumen-bearing conduits threaded beneath its surface. It appears grown, not built. The ground around its base is cracked outward, displaced in a radial pattern as though the structure pushed through from below.

The column tapers slightly toward the top, its silhouette shaped by smooth ridges and faintly stepped contours.

A series of shallow glyph-like grooves spiral along the midsection, glowing with a soft blue-white luminescence. They do not match any known script, but they align with no natural erosion pattern either. The glow intensifies when approached.

When I placed a hand against the surface, the material vibrated faintly. Not mechanical hum. Not biological tremor. Something in-between—an engineered resonance.

Two crest gulls perched on the upper crown briefly, their silver-threaded wings catching the morning light. They reacted to a pulse within the marker, lifting off simultaneously, wings trembling as if disturbed by an unseen frequency.

A pair of pier lantern crabs gathered at the base, their eyestalks flashing in the same rhythm as the glyph patterns. They have no recorded behavior like this in my prior notes.

Whatever this is, the fauna recognize it instinctively.

14:11 LMT — Structural Examination and Local Testimony

I conducted a closer inspection of the surrounding soil.

The anchoring lattice spreads several meters out from the base—metallic roots fused seamlessly into the earth. Initial scans show the lattice merging with the planet’s sub-surface filaments, as though becoming part of the biosphere’s existing network.

I questioned several residents about the Marker’s sudden appearance.

Most gave vague answers—shrugs, offhand comments, statements like there’s always something weird showing up.”

Only one woman, an herbalist named Yara Thyme, offered anything that could be substantial:

“Name it however you want. It rose from beneath the ground the day the fog broke. Maybe it was waiting. Either way, we don’t bother with it.”

She said nothing else and continued pruning her plants, so even this felt unhelpful.

18:22 LMT — Anomaly Correlation

At dusk, the Marker activated—or responded—to something offshore. The glyph patterns brightened in sequential waves. A vertical column of refracted light extended upward from the crown, bending the surrounding air like a standing pool of liquid glass.

A pod of hallowfin swayers surfaced in near-perfect alignment with the pulses. Their semi-transparent fins shimmered in the same luminance as the Marker’s conduits. They circled once, then descended as the column collapsed inward.

No seismic activity.

No magnetic disturbance.

No identifiable signal origin.

The Marker simply returned to a dim glow as though nothing had happened.

22:51 LMT — Personal Addendum

The town is calm tonight as usual.

The Marker glows faintly at the shoreline, the glyphs shifting every few minutes in patterns that resemble breathing—slow intake, slow release, and pulsing in different glowing intervals as if drawing breath.

Since we have no prior records to base this on, we are unsure if this is normal behavior for the planet. Residents continue to provide little to no insight into this phenomenon.

The Marker’s growth appears recent, deliberate, and integrated with the planet’s existing biomechanical systems.

Its purpose remains unclear, though it is already affecting local fauna—and perhaps more importantly, it seems aware of environmental stimuli, including my presence.

For now, I will categorize today’s findings as observation only.

Further investigation is required.

— Aurelia, out.