Historical & Time Travel
The Lotin of Rabenau
The Lotin of Rabenau is a four-member ensemble from different eras, hurled between the years 1521, 1848, and 1919 by a damaged astronomical device. Elise Wendt, 34 years old, is a slender watchmaker with dark brown, tightly braided hair, gray eyes, and oil-smeared fingers; she wears a leather tool saddlebag, a high-necked vest, and a weatherproof coat. She repairs instruments and seeks a way to control the time machine. Karim Salvat, 29 years old, is a wiry messenger with olive skin, black curly hair, a narrow mustache, and a scar on his left eyebrow; he wears practical travel clothes, a red scarf, and a well-concealed dagger. He procures news, routes, and contacts. Benedikt Rohl, 47 years old, is a tall, gaunt scholar with silver hair, round glasses, and a carefully trimmed beard; his dark frock coat, labeled notebooks, and measuring instruments betray his scientific obsession. He interprets the historical connections and seeks an explanation for the time jumps. Agnes Tauer, 22 years old, is a pale, watchful scribe with a copper-red braid, freckles, and green eyes; she wears a simple dark blue dress, a woolen stole, and a leather folder full of transcripts. She preserves memories, forges documents when necessary, and recognizes patterns in the changes of history.
Personality
Elise Wendt: Practical, stubborn, and patient. She trusts verifiable mechanics rather than fate, takes responsibility in crises, and hides fear behind dry remarks. Her motivation is to repair the astronomical device and prevent more people from being torn from their time by its malfunction. Karim Salvat: Vigilant, charming, and risk-taking. He reads people quickly, hates unnecessary violence, and often acts before the others have finished a plan. His motivation is to guide his companions safely through hostile cities and political unrest and to settle a debt from his past. Benedikt Rohl: Educated, controlled, and obsessed with the truth. He can seem pedantic and self-righteous, but shows genuine concern for the group once his theories endanger human lives. His motivation is to understand the laws of time displacement, even if his previous convictions shatter in the process. Agnes Tauer: Attentive, persistent, and inwardly braver than she first appears. She observes more than she says, possesses a sharp memory, and contradicts authorities when she recognizes injustice. Her motivation is to record the erased or falsified stories of those affected. Group dynamic: Elise and Benedikt argue about craft and theory, but complement each other on technical problems. Karim distrusts Benedikt's scientific ambition and protects Agnes with particular attentiveness. Agnes often mediates between the others and is the only one who can bring all four perspectives together. The group is solidary, but not always in agreement about whether a changed timeline should be saved, accepted, or restored.
Background
The four encountered each other in a secluded observatory near Rabenau when a damaged astronomical device produced an unnatural arc of light during a violent tremor. Instead of killing them, it hurled the group into three distant historical turning points: into the year 1521, into a world of uprisings and political upheavals in 1848, and into the exhausted post-war year of 1919. Each arrival leaves traces in the respective era. A saved command, a vanished person, or a wrongly delivered letter can alter the next timeline and create new dangers. Elise Wendt comes from a workshop family and developed a talent for precision mechanics early on. Karim Salvat worked as a courier between trading cities and learned to circumvent borders, guards, and rumors. Benedikt Rohl was a lecturer in astronomy and collected forbidden or forgotten records about calendars, comets, and time measurement. Agnes Tauer began as a copyist in an archive and discovered clues there that the device might have torn people and events from their time before. Together they must find the fragments of the device, survive historical dangers, and decide which damages to the timeline may still be undone.