fragment:scp-8276-2

Link to article: fragment:scp-8276-2.

:root{
--header-logo: url(https://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/thelemonhelldimension/Prideguard.png);
--header-title: "VANGUARD";
--header-subtitle: "COSAIN, NORMALAIGH, TEASGASC";

--basalt-background-color: 37, 51, 70;
--basalt-secondary-color: 23, 36, 54;
--basalt-tertiary-color: 37, 51, 70;
--basalt-bright-element-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-dark-element-color: 23, 36, 54;
--basalt-alternate-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-overtone: 23, 36, 54;
--search-icon-color: 84, 204, 51;
--top-bar-link-color: 255, 255, 255;
--top-bar-link-background-hover-alt: 23, 36, 54;
--top-bar-dropdown-background: 37, 51, 70;
--top-bar-dropdown-background-hover: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-main-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--selection-background-color: 84, 204, 51;
--tab-focus-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--tab-hover-background-color: 23, 36, 54;
--tab-selected-background-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-bright-element-color: 255, 255, 255;
--vector-midtone: 23, 36, 54;
--link-newpage-color: 84, 204, 51;
--link-color: 84, 204, 51;
--login-status-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--login-status-link-background-hover: 84, 204, 51;
--link-visited-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-focus-color: 23, 36, 54;
--side-bar-link-background-hover: 84, 204, 51;
--side-bar-heading-background-color: 84, 204, 51;
--side-bar-button-background-hover: 23, 36, 54;
--hr-color: 84, 204, 51;
--h-border-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-sub-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--scrollbar-track-color: 23, 36, 54;
--scrollbar-thumb-color: 84, 204, 51;

--vector-green: 84, 204, 51;
}

#header, #side-bar {
    border-style: solid;
    border-width: 0.1rem 0 0.1rem 0.75rem;
    border-color: #172436;
}

#main-content, body.print-body #main-content {
    max-width: calc(100% - var(--main-content-side-margin) * 2);
}

.razer {
    margin: 1em 0;
    box-shadow: 0px 0px 9px rgb(23, 36, 54)
}

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[[include :scp-wiki:theme:bedrock]]
[[include :scp-wiki:theme:eigenmachine]]
[[module CSS]]
:root{
--header-logo: url(https://scpdsandbox.wdfiles.com/local--files/thelemonhelldimension/Prideguard.png);
--header-title: "VANGUARD";
--header-subtitle: "COSAIN, NORMALAIGH, TEASGASC";

--basalt-background-color: 37, 51, 70;
--basalt-secondary-color: 23, 36, 54;
--basalt-tertiary-color: 37, 51, 70;
--basalt-bright-element-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-dark-element-color: 23, 36, 54;
--basalt-alternate-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-overtone: 23, 36, 54;
--search-icon-color: 84, 204, 51;
--top-bar-link-color: 255, 255, 255;
--top-bar-link-background-hover-alt: 23, 36, 54;
--top-bar-dropdown-background: 37, 51, 70;
--top-bar-dropdown-background-hover: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-main-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--selection-background-color: 84, 204, 51;
--tab-focus-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--tab-hover-background-color: 23, 36, 54;
--tab-selected-background-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-bright-element-color: 255, 255, 255;
--vector-midtone: 23, 36, 54;
--link-newpage-color: 84, 204, 51;
--link-color: 84, 204, 51;
--login-status-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--login-status-link-background-hover: 84, 204, 51;
--link-visited-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-focus-color: 23, 36, 54;
--side-bar-link-background-hover: 84, 204, 51;
--side-bar-heading-background-color: 84, 204, 51;
--side-bar-button-background-hover: 23, 36, 54;
--hr-color: 84, 204, 51;
--h-border-color: 84, 204, 51;
--basalt-sub-text-color: 255, 255, 255;
--scrollbar-track-color: 23, 36, 54;
--scrollbar-thumb-color: 84, 204, 51;

--vector-green: 84, 204, 51;
}

#header, #side-bar {
    border-style: solid;
    border-width: 0.1rem 0 0.1rem 0.75rem;
    border-color: #172436;
}

#main-content, body.print-body #main-content {
    max-width: calc(100% - var(--main-content-side-margin) * 2);
}

.razer {
    margin: 1em 0;
    box-shadow: 0px 0px 9px rgb(23, 36, 54)
}
[[/module]]

[[div class="psuedocrumbs"]]
[[[Canon Hub]]] >> [[[From 120's Archives Hub]]] / EMERALD DAWN >> SCP-8276
[[/div]]

[[div class="razer"]]
[[div class="capt green"]]
+ VNP-266
[[/div]]
-------
**Specification:** VNP-266 is a process, specific to the islands of Ireland, Man, Holy Island and Angelsey, wherein ambient Elan-Vital Energy trapped within the ground is released in the form of small numbers of floating, flame-like apparitions, colloquially referred to as "Will-O'-Wisps." This process occurs during the new moon of every month, and coincides with the passage of a VNP-8276 entity in any given area.

Will-O'-Wisps created as a result of VNP-266 display the ability to move freely through the air, as well as a rudimentary form of intelligence. While they will normally follow the nearest VNP-8276 instance from the moment of its creation until sunrise, cases of Will-O'Wisps becoming lost have been reported semi-frequently. In the event they do fail to follow the VNP-8276 instance until sunrise, it will begin to wander in search of sustenance. This is usually found in objects either dense with EVE or with a high ambient temperature. This process actively drains the subject of either form of energy, which may leave living subjects with strong feelings of apathy or exhaustion for a short period. Any given Will-O'-Wisp will remain in existence until it is brought within a one kilometer radius of a VNP-8276 instance, at which point it will begin to follow the instance and will vanish at sunrise.

**Normalisation Protocols:** VNP-266 should be allowed to occur with minimal interference each month. Individuals living in the projected path of a VNP-8276 instance are encouraged to remain indoors between 9pm and 3am on the night of the new moon. To check if your home is within the range of projected paths, please [# click here].

Should a Will-O'-Wisp remain in your area after sunrise, Vanguard encourages civilians to contact either their local Vanguard, Garda National Consensus Bureau, or British Occult Service facilities and report the sighting. The relevant organisation will dispatch personnel to recover the Will-O'-Wisp, and place it in a heated environment for the duration of the month, until the next new moon.
[[/div]]

[[div class="razer"]]
[[div class="capt green"]]
+ VNP-8276
[[/div]]
-------
**Specification:** VNP-8276 is a group with a current estimated population of fifteen individuals. Each instance of VNP-8276 resembles a large humanoid, with extremely thin and elongated limbs and torso. Each instance's head varies in appearance, although the majority appear to possess similar facial structures to members of the //Cervidae// and //Canidae// families. Each VNP-8276 instance possesses black skin, and blue eyes. Each VNP-8276 instance is also typically seen carrying a large, black pole, with a lantern containing a blue flame hanging from one end. Each instance of VNP-8276 ranges from twelve to fifteen meters in height, and appear to display a level of intelligence similar to that of most fox species. Additionally, VNP-8276 instances are incorporeal, passing through most physical objects when not actively attempting to interact with them.

VNP-8276 remain dormant for the majority of the month, ceasing to exist outside of the new moon period. During these periods of dormancy, VNP-8276 instances will take up residence in the memories of sentient beings, with their preferred habitat being in recollections of myths, folk tales and, in recent times, general fictional stories in which they play a significant role. Only one VNP-8276 instance may inhabit any given story in the collective subconscious at any given time. During the new moon, VNP-8276 instances will manifest in baseline reality at a number of locations across Ireland, The Isle of Mann, and northwestern Wales. Following this, the instance will begin to wander the surrounding area, from its appearance at sunset until its demanifestation at sunrise. For more information on anomalous phenomena related to VNP-8276 activity during the new moon period, please consult the VNP-266 documentation.

**Normalisation Protocols:** VNP-8276's monthly migration paths are to be uninterrupted during the process. Due to the entities largely ignoring sentient life as standard, and damage caused by VNP-8276 instances is typically negligible to non-existent, no safety protocols are required beyond VNP-266 safety measures.

In order to preserve the VNP-8276 population, Vanguard, alongside the Sidhe Lounge and the International Union for Conservation of Nature have launched the "With Us In The Dark" Initiative, which aims to reintroduce VNP-8276 and related stories into the public conscious, especially within the British Isles. Among the actions taken as part of this initiative are:

* The reinjection of existing mythological records of VNP-8276 into academic materials surrounding Celtic and Hibernian Fae folklore, as well as a greater focus on reconstructing the original forms of other pieces prior to transcription and editing.
* Incentivising producers of historical fiction and documentaries to include VNP-8276 in their works, in order to create more suitable habitats for instances.
* The creation of one (confirmed) children's book about a Will-O'-Wisp attempting to locate a VNP-8276 instance, and the distribution of said book to libraries and book stores across the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
* Promoting an increase in exposure of children in primary and secondary education to local mythologies, both to promote VNP-8276 habitat maintenance and assist in raising awareness of anomalous connections to the origins of said stories.

Since its launch in April of 2022, the With Us In The Dark Initiative has succeeded in raising the global population of VNP-8276 by fourteen instances. The only known VNP-8276 to have existed prior to Veilfall, referred to by Vanguard and Sidhe Lounge members as "Dubhán," has seemed to have regained some amount of weight, with its bones no longer being visible through its skin.

It is currently expected that, by 2035, the population of VNP-8276 will reach twenty, and the actions taken as part of the Initiative will have had a great enough effect to where further action to support the entities, beyond observation, will no longer be needed.
[[/div]]
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[[=]]
++ 27th May, 2025
+++ Roches Point, Republic of Ireland
[[/=]]
"You're late."

Manpreet rolled her eyes as she closed the door of her car, two flasks of soup tucked under one arm. "Sun hasn't set yet, Heleyi. I'm perfectly on time." She walked toward the bench the old Fae was sat on, glancing over his shoulder and smirking at her. She hadn't seen him in close to two years, and those twenty-four months seemed to have put decades on him. Of course, being at the epicenter of a separate universe's military incursion into one's own would be a stressful event for anyone, but where he'd looked about half his actual age, he now looked closer to twenty years older, somewhere well into his eighties. Ashy grey had crept into his otherwise fiery red hair, and his smile lines were now a footnote in a slowly growing sea of wrinkles across his round face. Even then, there was still a light in his eyes. His jolly spirit, he'd always said, liked to play around there.

It made her happy that it still did.

She took a seat and went to shake his hand, which he did with gusto. "Brought something to keep us going." She smiled, handing him one of the metal flasks. He took it, nodding his appreciation, and unscrewed the cap before taking a sniff. "Mmm... Leek and potato?" He breathed, smiling at the scent.

"Yup." She set her own flask down beside her, looking out at the Celtic Sea. It was a calm enough evening, a blessing after the last week or so had pissed rain across the country. Had she made sure the bench was dry? She almost stood, but figured she'd already have a damp behind by now if it was, and stopped herself. "Hope you don't mind the ingredients, had to make sure the chicken bits I have in here are halal."

"Ah sure, couldn't be arsed to complain, even if I were able to tell the difference." Heleyi chuckled, screwing the cap back on and placing the flask at his side. "As long as it isn't like piss, sure."

"I'd be concerned if piss tasted like it had chives in it." Manpreet leaned forward, glancing over at Heleyi. "So, how've you been? Retirement been good to you?"

Heleyi rubbed his hands together. "Been waking up at 11am for the last year. Breakfast isn't a 'toast-and-out-the-door' affair anymore. Finally got the mortgage paid off, grandkids come by after school during the week, since we're in walking distance..." He looked at Manpreet, smiling. "Heaven. Only time the Lounge even calls me anymore is to get a lend of my cross-referencing skills, or to give a talk to some new fellas. How about yourself? Did you end up moving in with your wan?"

"That I did." Manpreet scratched at the side of her nose. "She finally managed to get a job, works afternoons in the local Lidl. Not much, but... Y'know, better than nothing."

"Did you ever ask her if she wanted to get married, in the end?" Heleyi stared at the sun as it began to sink below the horizon, picking up his flask and pouring a bit of soup into the cap. "Or is it grand just living together, in your books?"

"Didn't, in the end." She stared out at the sea, watching the waves rush into Cork Harbour. "Not yet, at least. Lost my nerve, I think. Was going to do it for New Year's, but... I dunno, something got the better of me. Maybe I'm just not ready for that sort of commitment. Not yet."

"Ah, sure, if she knows you love her, and you know she loves you, you may well never need some lad with a Quran or whatever to tell you both that Allah or the government cares." Heleyi snorted. "Been with Saor for going on thirty years now, and we've always said that a dinner cooked and eaten together is as good for us as that day in the church is for some other people."

"Sounds like something I saw online the other day," Manpreet noted.

"Could be." He shrugged. "Finally been able to use the internet properly, wonderful yolk. Grandkids actually managed to get me on that social media thing a week or two ago, so they can send me those 'meme' yolks. The funny ones, not the ones your crowd deal with." He glanced at her, smiling. "I could give you a follow, if you're on it. Instagram, I think it was."

"Sure. I'll give you my name on there when we're done here." She gave him a thumbs up, returning the smile. A quick glance from both of them showed that the sun had finally sunk low enough for dusk to creep over to twilight, and they righted themselves, looking out at the sea intently. "You think it'll show up?" She asked.

"It will, sure." Heleyi poured himself another capful of soup. "I don't think he's been dying the last year or two. I hope not, at least."

They sat there, quietly, for a short while, focused on the scene before them. It took a few minutes, but, eventually, slightly more visible against the dark than it'd been when Manpreet had first seen it, Dubhán slowly faded into view, the blue of its eyes and the flames inside its lantern brighter than ever. Slowly, it turned its head to the left, then to the right, taking in the scenery, before adjusting its grip on the lantern's handle and taking its first step across the surface of the waves, beginning its monthly journey across the south of the island. They'd found, since more instances of 8276 had come to exist, that his 'preferred' route was from the mouth of Cork Harbor to the end of the Beara Peninsula. He'd actually managed to become a popular tourist attraction, and people from across the world flooded into the area in the summer months to see him wander along.

The attention seemed to have done him some good, too. His ribs weren't visible, even if he was still stick-thin, and his skin seemed more of a dark grey, than the pitch black it'd been back in 2020. Smaller stories about him, personal experiences, still fed into his habitat, she supposed.

They watched as he passed them by, on his way into the harbor, and as his lantern swung close to the cliff of Roches Point, a wave of dim blue light washed over their surroundings, illuminating the outline of everything it touched. From the ground around them, a few small motes of flame rose, glowing the same blue as the lantern, and grew, coming together and floating in a loose mass. It hummed, and one of the flames floated slowly down towards Manpreet. Slowly, she extended a hand, palm facing upward, and let the little blue flame come to rest in it. It felt cold, but she let it rest for a moment longer, flickering in the early night's dark. She moved her hand away, and the little flame rejoined the rest of its wisp, before it began to move toward Dubhán, alongside several more wisps that'd appeared around them. She smiled, and watched it leave.

"They're a lot cuter, when they're not going straight for the nose." She said, adjusting one side of the piercing. "They're almost like birds, in a way. You can feed them a little out of your hand."

"A lot cuter when they aren't getting lost every month," Heleyi muttered. "Are ye picking up many wisps these days? Since they're what you came to me over when we first met."

"Not really, no." She shrugged. "Been maybe three, four since we implemented Normalisation Protocols for them. Main thing Lighthouse-123 on the Isle of Man sees, in all honesty."

"Not much else going on over there." His grin grew wider. "Think they should open up a petting zoo for these yolks?"

Bajwa laughed. "Maybe. Might put the entire island on the map outside of rally season."

Slowly, Dubhán reached further and further into the bay, and began to turn west, toward the rest of his path. It'd grown darker, and Manpreet and Heleyi had drained most of their stew by this point. The light of its lantern in the distance grew fainter, soon to leave view. In the dark to her left, Manpreet heard Heleyi speak. "Manpreet, I, uh... thank you. Thank you for that suggestion, all those years ago. For bringing the idea to Vanguard, too. For helping yer man Leon write that kid's book. I, uh, have a copy back at home, need to give it to my daughter for her little ones."

"It's nothing, really." Manpreet turned and smiled into the gloom. "Just wanted to help."

fragment:scp-8276-2

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