The Old House
I just thought this one was funny...
My “schrodinger’s husband” and I purchase an old mansion that I’ve visited before as Nautela. It is an American Victorian structure, a plum and purple exterior. Inside the house is all Civil-War era decor. The house definitely seems to be a weird construction of rooms, stairways, and halls, yet it is exactly as I remember from a dream before.
We walk through the front foyer, and on the wall is a painted mural with a brick awning looking out over a lush green garden. I glance at this mural before walking towards the end of the hall-foyer, but am stopped by Mysterious who–in the form of a demon–grabs my arms and pulls me into the mural.
I wake up on the wooden floor in one of the back bedrooms of the house. The walls are uncharacteristically dark here, and an hologram is playing nearby. These holograms are to represent colonials that previously lived here, but the machines were worse for wear.
I sat up at first, taking the room in. There wasn’t much furniture in here, with a vanity and curio cabinet being the only other pieces of furniture. I stood and walked into the adjacent bathroom, finding a bit of foam in the sink. I turned on the sink to remove the foam, which inadvertently sent two gems down the drain.
I reflect on the history of the house, which is believed to be haunted by colonial ghosts, but I knew better. I knew who was in the basement.
As I leave the room and enter the hall now, I reflect on the purpose of the gems, and that these gems go into the basement. They do this because they are being collected by “the demon.” I didn’t seem particularly bothered by this.
I am disappointed that I haven’t seen Mysterious again as I walk down the narrow hall. A commotion erupts from the front room, where I go. I find three women there with a “dueling kit.” It is a wooden stand with two white pistols that have three stars on the sides of them. This kit greatly agitates “the ghosts” of the house.
Upon unsheathing the first gun, the woman aims it to the floor and fires. From the floor a dark-haired girl appears and wraps her arms around the woman. The three women that entered the house scream at the sight.
I decide that I have no time for this today, and throw the three (and the ghost) out on the lawn. I slam the door shut behind me. The house is rumbling and a screeching echoes through the halls. My mom surfaces from the main hall: “What is happening?!”
I push past her and into the hall. I look to the ceiling. "[MYSTERIOUS], WOULD YOU F*CKING STOP IT?!" The rumbling ceases. I turn around to enter the dining room. “Thank you.”
I woke up laughing from the last line. Had a few good chuckles on that, too, in reflection. Can’t take things too serious around here.
The Chain
POV: Nautela
"You have to go through... ME."
I stand in an observatory called the Graemyren. They named the place after a scientist who invented what is similar to our nuclear bomb, but engineered to combat blight.
This observatory is located in the pre-war/pre-flattened Naha desert. I reflect on the nearby amusement park, where I think about my rollercoaster ride.
It fades and I am nurturing a kitten in my hands, singing. The kitten opens its eyes after some time and tries to climb away from me. I note that the creature has eyes that glow. I appear to be taking research notes.
A man I cannot see, nor recognize the voice of, speaks nearby. I catch him mid-conversation as I drift my focus away from the kitten in my hands. "If you want to get through to Bael, you have to go through [garbled], [garbled]…
I note, in my thoughts, that the third name mentioned represents two beings that operate under a single name.
“…the sword, and ME.”
I know that this man that I hear can transform into different things. This man and “the sword” were close friends, with “the sword” being like a father figure to the man.
I saw a mental imagery of “the sword.” It is an older man, bound in rope, and he stands above two metal-clad guards.
The shapeshifter enters the room, and I see that he has large, long horns. He and his horns are black with accents of red.
Anyone looking to talk to Bael had to go through this chain of individuals.
I find the concept interesting because of something similar I read about in Lucifer and the Hidden Demons. You had to work your way down the chain, except there you started at the top and worked down. Here, the opposite is true.