The Deed to Blackwood Acre

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THIS INDENTURE, made the 14th day of October, 1884, between Alistair Thorne of the Parish of St. Jude (hereinafter referred to as the Grantor) and Julian Vane, Esq. (hereinafter referred to as the Grantee). WITNESSETH, that for the sum of four thousand pounds sterling, the Grantor does hereby grant, bargain, sell, and convey unto the Grantee all that certain parcel of land known as Blackwood Acre, comprising forty-two acres, more or less, bounded to the North by the Serpent's Creek and to the South by the King's Highway. The transfer of this real estate shall include all appurtenances, easements, and specifically the subsurface mnemosyne-deposits (hereafter termed 'soil-memories') embedded within the topsoil and clay strata. The Grantee acknowledges that the psychic permeability of the soil at Blackwood Acre is high, and the acquisition of land is inseparable from the acquisition of the residual impressions contained therein. The Grantee shall assume full legal ownership and liability for the following affective residues: 1. The collective agrarian nostalgia of the 1740s tenant farmers (Category: Low Intensity, Diffuse). 2. The residual grief associated with the infant mortality events of the winter of 1812 (Category: Acute, Localized to the East Orchard). 3. The sonic imprints of the 1854 Harvest Ball (Category: Auditory, Recurrent, primarily concentrated in the ballroom foundations). 4. General subterranean melancholia associated with the limestone shelf (Category: Ambient, Constant). Notwithstanding the above, the Grantor hereby reserves and retains all rights to the following psychic impressions, which shall remain the sole property of the Thorne lineage and are strictly excluded from this sale. These reserved impressions are hereby designated as 'Covenanted Silence' and shall be treated as intangible easements: 1. The specific recollection of the 1861 fratricide occurring in the library (Reserved as Heirloom Memory). 2. The visceral terror experienced by the domestic staff during the Fever Outbreak of 1822 (Reserved for Historical Study). 3. Any and all impressions of romantic longing associated with the Willow Grove (Reserved under the Thorne Codicil of 1830). Failure to maintain the psychic integrity of the soil, including the unauthorized use of mnemic leeches or chemical scrubbers to neutralize the included residues, shall be considered a breach of covenant. The Grantor retains the right of reentry should the Grantee attempt to sell the 'soil-memories' separately from the physical land. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written. Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of: (Signed) Alistair Thorne, Grantor (Signed) Julian Vane, Grantee (Witnessed) Silas Finch, Notary Public