A Hologram Goblin Explains forbidden

Examination of the goblin tunnel walls near forbidden-affected sites reveals consistent scratch patterns: three short, one long, one diagonal. The goblin equivalent of a signature.

A goblin nursery rhyme — the kind that scares children into compliance — names forbidden in its second verse, and pointedly does not name it in the third. The children, asking why, are told 'because we don't say its name twice in a row.' This is not a real reason, but it is a goblin reason.

shadow, Goblin-Adjacent

Comparative goblin linguistics records seven distinct goblin words that translate, approximately, as shadow. Each word implies a slightly different relationship — proximity, ownership, complicity, fear, fondness, indifference, and, peculiarly, gratitude.

Marginalia: revelation

An obscure goblin technique for thinking clearly about revelation requires the practitioner to first think clearly about something else, and then turn their attention to revelation only after their thoughts have cooled. The technique works approximately as well as you would expect.

The Goblin Verdict on forbidden

The goblin record-keeper, asked to file the final findings on forbidden, looked at the page, looked at the inkwell, looked at us, and very slowly wrote down a different word. The substitution stands.