Timely Headwear
The Hat of Foresight challenges our understanding of time itself. Created by Victorian artificer Magdalena Thornhaven, this piece emanates an otherworldly presence through its intricate copper inlays, which pulse with an unexplained inner light during the winter solstice.
The hat's creation coincided with temporal anomalies in London's Westminster district. Thornhaven, whose work merged industrial design with what she called "practical impossibilities," maintained her creation operated under scientific principles.
Time is not a river, but a sea. And like any sea, it can be navigated with the proper instruments.
- Magdalena Thornhaven
The hat's most notable wielder, Marshal Johanes Stride, claimed the artifact allowed him to perceive time as malleable streams he could manipulate at will. His career in law enforcement peaked when he used the hat's powers to prevent crimes before they occurred.
However, prolonged exposure to the hat's influence took its toll. Stride experienced memories of future events, and his perception of reality grew fractured. During a confrontation with the Crimson Clock Gang, witnesses described seeing multiple versions of the Marshal moving independently through space before vanishing completely.
The hat now resides in a specialized containment vault within the Ravensfield Collection. Its presence affects the surrounding space: security footage captures moments multiple times, and visitors report intense déjà vu near the display case.
The Hat of Foresight doesn't just manipulate time—it creates its own temporal ecosystem. The question isn't whether Marshal Stride disappeared, but rather, into which version of reality did he permanently step.
- Dr. Augustus Blackweather, Theoretical Chronologist
Marshal Stride's fate remains as mysterious as the hat itself. Some theorize he exists fragmented across different timelines, while others believe he found what Thornhaven called "the other time"—a parallel reality that might be our own past, present, or future.
