**Alert sounds at the Prosperity Bay rift** 

We have confirmed the identities of the following seven Visitors who have crossed the rift at approximately 20:58 last night. Each has been given some hot cocoa and a warm blankey. Each to be given a psychiatric evaluation and a rifle orientation packet after tomorrow's muster.

Poshack, Orc Figher

Pip, Fairy Druid

Katya, Wood Elf Paladin

Unnamed Githyanki Eldritch Knight

Purrsephonie, Tabaxi Rogue

Paws Filipo, Tabaxi Bard

Unnamed Human Paladin

**Radio clicks on, transmission begins**

Right. Settle down. This is the official onboarding brief for all new field personnel, conscripts, and uniquely qualified consultants.

This isn't a drill, and the things I'm about to tell you will keep you alive. My name is Miles Reynolds.

I'm the deputy director of the Coalition Anomalous Response Protocol, or C.A.R.P. Yes, we know what it spells. No, we don't care. Our job is to be the line between the normal world and the one that's currently trying to spill into it. You've seen the videos online. You've heard the rumors. Strange lights in the woods. Impossible creatures on the highway.

People walking around in medieval armor. I'm here to tell you it's all real. We're calling it the confluence. It's not an invasion. It's a merger. A sloppy, chaotic, and unbelievably dangerous merger of our reality with another one. Let's break down what we know. First the rifts. These are the breaks in reality. They're unstable, unpredictable, and can happen anywhere, any time.

We think they're drawn to places where our reality is thin. Places with a history of weirdness. Like right here in Prosperity Bay. Second, the other side. Our boys in R&D have designated the point of origin. The inhabitants we've interviewed call it Aethelgard From what we can gather, it's a world that runs on rules straight out of a fantasy novel.

Magic, monsters, gods, the whole nine yards. This brings us to the arrivals. We classify them in two categories. Category one anomalous biological entities, or A.B.S. This is your monster of the week stuff. Giant wolves that can teleport, acid spitting lizards the size of a school bus, things made of living gelatin. Standard procedure is simple. They are universally hostile.

Do not approach. Do not engage, unless absolutely necessary. They will kill you and it will be messy. Category two: visitors. These are people. Humans, Elves. Dwarves. You get the picture. They're just as confused as we are. But they are far from helpless. Many of them possess what we can only describe as paracausal abilities. They call it magic, and this is the most important part of the brief so listen closely.

Our rules do not apply to them. One: magic fries technology. When a visitor starts chanting and waving their hands around, it creates an energy field that plays hell with our electronics, phones, radios, targeting systems. Even the lights will flicker and die. Maintain electronic distance. Assume your gear will fail at the worst possible moment. Two: their gear is better than ours.

That shiny suit of armor isn't a costume. A standard nine millimeter round will not pierce it. It won't even scratch it. We've seen bullets flatten and drop to the ground. Their swords aren't just sharp. They can cut through a car door like it's made of tinfoil. Firing your service weapon at an armored visitor is, frankly, a waste of ammo and a great way to get yourself killed. This is why you're here. We can't solve this problem with bullets. We need people who can think on their feet. People who can use the environment, who can talk their way out of a problem, who can come up with a nonconventional solution when everything goes sideways. CARP's official mandate is to contain, analyze, and protect.

Your job is to handle the situations that are standard operating procedures can't. So, welcome to the zoo. The world you thought you knew is gone. This is the new normal. Your orientation packets contain your starting assignments and equipment requisitions. Read them. Memorize them. That's all. Stay safe. Stay vigilant. Reynolds. Out.