MsDirection

Just another day, they thought. Never would they have imagined what was to come.

FlowerAcolyte 11:12
hey, you free tonight?

NaturesHunter 11:12
Girl. You know the answer to that.

FlowerAcolyte 11:13
oh boo hoo, you’ve got a test tomorrow. dont we all. we both know youve never gotten below a 90 in anything in your life

NaturesHunter 11:15
Sigh.

FlowerAcolyte 11:15
is that a yes? :D

NaturesHunter 11:15
Depends on what you’re asking me out to.

FlowerAcolyte 11:15
holdon let me get up the flyer

NaturesHunter 11:17
The “Night of Frights”? How cheesy can you get?

FlowerAcolyte 11:17
it sounds fun! plus, it’s only here tonight! it’s been since [year] that it was in town. we’re literally so lucky to be free tonight.

NaturesHunter 11:17
I’m not free tonight. girlwhat.jpg

FlowerAcolyte 11:17
you are now! :DDD
also also also

NaturesHunter 11:18
Oh god, what is it?

FlowerAcolyte 11:19
larion and stephan are coming along too! they found the flyer in the first place. larion says that his parents first met there, and he’s excited to go with us! he says that his parents give ‘glowing reviews’. plus, tickets are 3 bucks apiece

NaturesHunter 11:19
You’re not going to stop until I say yes, will you?

FlowerAcolyte 11:19
so again is that a yes?

NaturesHunter 11:20
It’s not a yes, but I know that you won’t take no for an answer.

FlowerAcolyte 11:20
YESSSSSSSSSS
okay okay meet you at 8, ill pick you up

The car door slammed shut as he stood, staring at the clearing in front of him. Or at least, what used to be a clearing. Where there once was an opening in the forest now stood a huge wall of brightly colored fabric, with the tips of tents just barely visible. It was already dark outside, with the sun dipping below the horizon. Inside the wall stood fluorescent lights on poles, illuminating it all with garish colors.

Hibiscus stepped out from the driver’s seat of the car, holding her hand to shade her eyes.

“Well, that’s… impressive,” she remarked in her signature singsong way of speaking.

“I truly can’t believe that you dragged me out here in the middle of nowhere.” Orion leaned against the car, his button-up not at all so. “Larion, Stephan, please tell me that you guys didn’t agree to this.”

Stephan simply stood there, looking (as always) like he was asleep on his feet. He had begun to sway when a hand gripped his shoulder.

Larion was the tallest of the group, standing well over six feet tall. He looked down toward Orion, most of his muscular frame bulging through his clothes. “My mom told me about this place yesterday. She saw that it’s back in town and really wants me to go. I might as well.”

Hibiscus giggled lightly. “Aw, the lovebirds. Come on, guys, let’s go in! It’ll be fun. Larion, you can tell us about your moms on the way.”

And with that, the four of them strolled pleasantly toward the fair, with nothing on their minds except for the excitement that lay ahead.

The man at the front desk sat there with glazed-over eyes, a lanyard around his neck with VOLUNTEER on it.

“Tickets for four, dudes?” he asked, lazily resting his head in his hand.

“I-” Orion started. “Yeah. Tickets for four.”

“That’ll be 12 dollars.”

As Orion opened his wallet, Stephan leaned over. He bent toward the man, whispering in his ear. After a moment of careful consideration, the man put his hand up to wave Stephan off and, as mellow as can be, spoke.

“Broooo. You should’ve just said that! You guys can go on through.”

Stephan bowed deeply to the man and wordlessly turned around toward the rest of the group, then gestured toward the entrance.

Eyes wide, the four of them walked through the entrance.

“Stephan, how the hell did you do that?” Hibiscus whispered.

“You guys didn’t see? Under the desk, guys. He was definitely smoking one earlier.” Stephan gave a lazy grin.

“Smoking one-” Larion faltered. “Wait, do you mean weed? How do you know?”

With the grin growing larger, Stephan just barely moved his hand, revealing the still-burning blunt that he had taken off of the man at the front desk.

Everyone erupted in laughter at the pure hilarity of this, failing to notice that the fabric wall behind them no longer contained an entrance.

If you have found yourself here, you must be either curious or very desperate. I wouldn't blame you if you were either. You're here because you need protection, against something, someone, that is threatening you. I can teach you about magic, as well as a way to begin your practice, but I cannot guide you for long. You will start your instruction by learning about sigils, a kind of magical symbol. This is a very varied practice, with more intricacies than I can count. You must find your own path.

Sigils. A very specialized kind of magic, one used by many cultures for its versatility. A common usage is for protection, but as long as the user has enough intent, they can be used for nearly any purpose. If you are here to learn the ways of the occult, I may teach you.

[hey loser put a sigil here once you can]

Creating a Sigil of one's own.

The first step to creating a sigil is making your own process. What I am penning here is but one of many ways to create a sigil, and for it to truly take effect, one must put their own creativity into it. You may wish to first create, then develop your process.

Now, I will create a simple sigil of my own for you, the reader, detailing the process. Have patience, my new friend, for at the very least, you may learn something new.

"They made what into a law?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Those fascist pricks."

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the stars. Never did I admire those who knew nothing of our problems more than in that moment.

The rooftop was almost silent, with only the sounds of the bustling city around us. Car horns honking, normal people chatting with each other, unaware of the injustices that took place around them and too preoccupied with their own problems to pick up and care about another one.

"At least it's only in this state, for now at least," I muttered.

Esperanza glanced over from the greenhouse. "That's well and fine for you, you can move away. Not as if I can."

Ah, yes. How could I forget? While I could leave, she was tied to this place.

She walked over to the chairs, sitting at the one closest to the greenhouse. "So run it all over for me again, just so I can let it fully sink in."

"Alright, so you of course know about the Jailors. They believe us, the 'anomalous', to be dangerous to all society, even ourselves. Because of this, they hunt us down and prosecute us every chance they get. I myself have some experience with one or two of their predecessors."

A small figurine appeared above my hand—myself, tails and all. The full package deal.

"They're destroying so many rights, it feels like we're back in the 1800s. And it's not even just them directly, their cronies are taking away the rights of the normal human as well. Their own country, turning against them. The most powerful people in the government, taking away reproductive rights from their citizens. 'Human rights' my ass."

I flicked my hand, and the illusion disappeared.

"As if we have human rights. We're not even people to them, much less human." I laughed. "I wonder what we would have to do to convince them of us being worthy of being such.

"Well, regardless. The Book Burners are legalizing executions of all supernatural people. Not in those kind words, of course, but what should we expect?

"That means that we'll have to go even further into hiding. The Library is an option, of course, but so many of us can't access it, and so many more have connections here that we'd prefer to keep. I've lived here for most of my life and call it home. What a strange situation to be in, calling a place that despises your very existence your home."

I sighed. I didn't talk for a while.

"But what's their motivation for this?" Esperanza asked. She had leaned forward, her verdant green skin contrasting with the beautiful yellow petals that adorned it. A dryad can't go too far from where they sprouted, and Esperanza had lived here for her entire life. She hadn't even ventured outside of the city, rarely even leaving her rooftop garden, so very close to the tallest point around, the Tower of the Americas.

"I don't know their motivation. Hatred? Maybe they see a bit of themselves in us, and want to get rid of that forever. The psychology of a madman is something that we weren't meant to know."

"Can we even do anything about this? I mean, I'm just one person. You've been around for a while, you've got to know something about all-" She waved her hand around, gesturing at nothing and everything at once. "-all this."

"While you're just one person, you'd be amazed at what one can do. You can organize those who agree with you to protest, and when that doesn't work, take it up a notch."

"Are you suggesting a hostile overturning of the oppressive world shadow government?"

I paused for a moment. "I suppose so, yeah."

I had thought that this world had come a long way these last centuries.

I’ve lived through most civil rights movements, seen them fail, watched as they were signed into law.

Never did I once imagine that I would live to see them overturned. Even here, in the United States, the so-called “land of the free,” I didn’t believe that people would be outlawed from their own bodies.

Now, dear reader, I don’t know who you are. All I do know about you is that you are reading this book, and I would like to fix that. I may as well tell you about myself, and what I’ve started. My name is Zoë, and I began the Phalanx.

We first came together in a small nightclub called the ‘Bloodbuzz’. Why’s it called that, you might ask? It’s a place here in San Antonio, Texas, catering toward vampires. Yes, vampires. If you’re reading this, you really shouldn’t be too surprised by their existence. There’s a surprising amount of them here in the American south, considering the prevalence of religion and lots of sun. Most of the ones I know around here are in the drag scene. When you’re immortal, you try everything out. Go figure.

While the Bloodbuzz’s clientele is mainly vampires, there’s the occasional Chupacabra and some other enjoyers of a nice rare steak. I was mainly there because it’s a place where nobody will bother you if you don’t ask for it. Plus, they didn’t really ask your age, since quite a few vampires are turned as minors.

It was a nice place to start something against the law.

I was sitting at the bar, gathering together a register of people who I believed would join me, those fed up with the state of the world and being discriminated against for reasons that they can’t change.

Already, I had a few people who were interested in joining. Esperanza was of course prepared, and a woman by the name of Jennifer Ling had reached out saying that she wanted to join. I was working up the nerve to go to the address that I had been given and invite her to join.

“Gods, Zoë. It’s not a date. You might as well head over now.” That was the bartender, Jayme. He was a giant man, built a bit like a wineglass. Thin legs, seemingly barely enough to hold up his bulk, and an absolutely ripped torso with shoulders wider than the front door of the club. Barely covered up by his shirt were light bite marks all over his chest. Both human and vampire, I noticed.

“I never said it was a date! Besides, I don’t even know her.” I tactfully decided to change the subject. “Would you be interested in joining? We could certainly use someone of your skills.”

“Ah, maybe. At the most, I can only join part-time. I’ve still got a job here, and my studies take up most of my free time.” He shrugged. By his studies, I assumed that he was referring to a secretive project that he’d been working on for at least a year at this point. I decided to let it go and take his answer.

“Alright, well, it was good seeing you. Before I go, could you pour me another drink?”

“Oh, definitely not. You’re still too young to drink alcohol-“

I interrupted him. “Too young?!”

“Yes, you’re not old enough. That’s what I said.”

“Well what if I didn’t mean alcohol? I could’ve meant coffee.”

“I’ve already made you two. And this is a bar. You know the hoops I had to jump through to get coffee beans from the storeroom?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll see you elsewhere.” With a nod, I spun off my stool and headed toward the exit.

“I’m letting everyone else working this late know not to serve you!” He shouted over the din of the bar. I pretended not to hear him and left to the address I had written down.

Jennifer’s house was a cozy place up on the northeast side of town. One story, with a small walkway going up to the door, warmly lit against the night sky.

I shook myself all over, working up the nerve to go inside. “It’s not a date. We got this.”

I started toward the door, ringing the doorbell.

After a moment, the door opened. Inside it stood a beautiful woman. She looked to be in her early twenties, of Chinese heritage, and wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. Under the sleeves, I could just make out a metallic-looking right hand.

“H-hi.” I’m not a very articulate person.

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Everyone’s life starts differently, just the same way as it ends. Mine? Well, they were very similar to one another.

I stared into the great red eyes of the DELTA forces, knowing that I could not stop them, only delay and allow time for my friends to run so that they could live. Just as their eyes glowed, so did mine. The way I left this world was in a blaze of pin-point plasma beams and a destruction of overbearing technologies, just as it started. Let’s take a few steps back, shall we?

My name is Triq. I named myself that for the sole reason that it was the first word I heard.

“-Trick, that’s all it was, a Trick!”

I was carved from a cutting of the great Baobab, imbued with its power of life. My creators had combined its nature with ones and zeroes, a language as simple as that, stored in little slivers of metal inside of me. A ‘biomech’, they called me.

Regardless, my life first started with that one sentence.

“-Trick, that’s all it was, a Trick!”

I opened my eyes to a glaring light, harsh and bright. It wasn’t like the sun, ever-present and dull, no, this was something different. I would later learn that this is a common overhead lamp.

I raised my hand to shield my eyes, and saw myself as a person, as a being, for the very first time.

Darkened bark covered me everywhere but the joints, where silvered metal stood out. Through this all ran my lifeblood, pure electrical power.

I stood, stumbled. It is admittedly difficult to walk when you haven’t the faintest idea how to do so. Three figures near me jumped back and screamed.

“Oh my gods! It’s alive! It’s alive! It’s going to kill us all!” A high-pitched voice, annoying even to me.

A much more calm voice this time, low and smooth. “No, it’s not. I made it myself, remember? Just for him.”

“B-but I bumped it. You specifically said don’t touch anything, and I bumped the panel.”

A deep sigh. A deep voice that made my bark quiver. “Lile, I don’t even know why I employ you if you react like this every time a biomech rears out of its harness toward us. Really.”

That annoying voice, Lile, spoke up again. “Yes, sir. But if I might, this is the only biomech…”

I attempted to stand, my wooden and metal legs feeling strangely liquid.

“So… what do we do now?” Lile asked.

That deep voice again. “We test it to see if it is adequate. Bring it outside, man, and let me begin.”

Ah, the sun once again. The calm man had brought me out of the building, to a courtyard of sorts. The other two stood on the other side of the courtyard, allowing me my first real look at them. Lile was short and squirrely, moving in small bursts of energy and never staying still for more than a moment. The deep-voiced man stood tall, back straight. He wore a long, dark coat and a wide-brimmed hat.

“Well, I don’t know what kinds of tests you intend to do, but if you wish.” The man next to me. Somehow, I felt a strange connection to him, as if being near him just was right. He backed away from me, leaving me to stand on my own unstable legs.

“Oh, naught many. Simple tests to see if it serves its purposes.

“Face me.”

I focused on him, facing to the side with his hands in his coat. He was talking to me, correct?

“First, a durability test.” In that instant, he pulled out a small and shining object. It unfolded and expanded until he was holding a full-sized rifle. He pulled the trigger.

In a blast of energy, my right breastplate jerked backwards, taking the rest of me with it. I sailed across the courtyard, coming to a stop with the low-voiced man instantly at my side.

“You SHOT IT?” There was rage in his voice, no longer low and calm. “How could you?!”

“It was a simple test.”

“Yes, you said that, but this is my life’s work! I created this and you just come in here and try to destroy it, you little sh-”

Another palpable energy wave, this time not directed at me. This shot was targeted at my creator.

“Now that he’s not a problem, let’s collect the merchandise. You can carry it, Lile.”

My foot was picked up and pulled along by the brat of a human, the short one. In that moment, I felt my first emotion, the same as my creator. Rage.

I hit Lile across the legs to a satisfying crack, and made the executive decision to use mine and run away as fast as possible.

It’s not easy using these legs, have I mentioned? Even though I’m quite sure that my unpredictable swaying and falling over were what prevented me from getting shot again.

I ran through the small building that we were in, searching for an exit. There! A perfectly placed window, just waiting for someone to come along and smash it. I did what any sane (or otherwise) person would do and jumped through it.

What I didn’t expect was such a long fall, into and through a canopy of dying trees, onto the landing pad of a starship.

I crawled through the airlock and hid in the cargo hold. This was the beginning of my life.

The Knowing Fox

This book is improperly bound, with no cover or credited author. The first page has a series of symbols that you assume to be identification. Where is this book from? Many of the pages appear to have been stitched in after it was created, and some are so burnt that they disintegrate in your hand. Much of the writing is in French, but translations have been scribbled in the margins.

ζ - VSA 57.334

I have hunted this demon for thirty winters now, and can feel the cold seeping into my bones. While I fear that my time on this world may be nearing its end, I do not fear our Lord, for I will surely be accepted into His domain. I have decided to go against the teachings and put this beast to parchment, in the hope that the hunt of it may continue after I am gone.

To my sons and whomever they deem worthy of joining them in their pursuit of this demon, I wish you the best of luck. Keep our traditions and teachings alive.

Sir Pons de la Roche, In The Year of Our Lord 1312.

I first discovered this demon from a traveler who claimed he was from the far Eastern lands, keeping his head low and his hood lower. This man asked me to assist him in his pursuit and showed me his extensive recordings of the beast. According to his records, his father and his father before him had sought it out, but not being a family of wealth, never were able to face it. The man was unable to continue his lineage and wished for a competent knight such as I to do so for him.

In The Year Of Our Lord 1105, 140 days since. In his youth, the man's great-grandfather had felt a great ripple beckoning him to the deepest recesses of the forest, a sign from our Lord. He knew that it was surely such. He sold all that he owned and walked for a season in an attempt to locate the source of the Lord's sign, finding naught but a scorched hole in the earth that did not appear to burn the trees near it. After yet another season, he knew nothing more. He decided to settle nearby and found a village to raise a family while continuing his search for the Lord's sign.

After fifty years, his village was small but self-sufficient, and he had a wife and son to care for. Outsiders were few and far between and were graciously accepted into the community for their assistance around the village and their stories that they brought with them. One day, a young woman stumbled into his home, scratched by some beast. The man's great-grandfather took her in and treated her as one of his own. This girl knew not how to speak, and was noted by the residents of the village for her orange hair and bright blue eyes.

All was well for many winters. The village grew in size and eventually came under the purview of a local lord, who realized its potential as an outpost against his enemies. He built crude walls around it and recruited many of the young men into his force.

They failed at protecting the village from the lord's enemies.

A larger army came from all around, with superior numbers and assistance from what the man claimed to be supernatural forces. Dogs that breathed fire and could eat a man whole. The man's great-grandfather knew that he would not live through this invasion, and so told his wife and children to run into the forest, for the Lord's hole of fire would protect them. His account ended there and appeared to have been resumed by his son, who had committed to writing his tale.

I fear to write what that demon did that fateful night. It had seen the other demons, the wolves that left destruction in their wake.
As it is, there was not such a difference between the two. My sister had been one of them all the time, with such an affinity for the flame that it burned brighter than those wolves' fire, a blue as colorful as the sky above.
My mother was taken by the wolves, with the both of us witnessing it. The thing I knew as my sister erupted into a column of flame, utterly destroying the wolves and our mother with them.
I saw red, then nothing. She was gone, with my hand stinging and my body singed by the fire.
I will never let that demon rest for as long as I live.
I and my sons after me.

The Demon's Ungodly Powers

This demon commonly takes the shape of a young woman. With the assistance of brother Raoul, I revealed its true form, a mockery of a fox with twin tails. However, it can take any form to disguise itself, with only its eyes appearing the same; a bright blue. It can trick even the holiest of men's eyes with illusions, tricks of the light that cannot be touched. As well as all of these, the demon can summon blue flames and move them around of their own accord. In addition to this, it has power over the elements, shifting them as if they were its own body. Through the usage of musical instruments, it can enhance its own power and cast spells, bewitching those foolish enough to allow it access to music.

Removal from the Lord's green earth

I, Payens de la Roche, son of Sir Pons de la Roche, have managed to kill the beast. I discovered its weaknesses from my father's texts and utilized them. It was hiding inside of a convent and had deceived each of the sisters there that it was not a demon. I forced it into a corner and surrounded it with dogs from the street. By the time I had managed to pull each of them off of the beast, it was but a shriveled sack. To ensure its death, I cut it apart with my blessed blade. I shall retire from this duty that my father assigned me to, for the demon is no more.

Payens de la Roche, In The Year of our Lord 1346

Arn de la Roche, 1420

It's back.

Fox Hunt

She sat down at the desk, quill hovering. Her first day in the Library was spent marveling at the endless repository of knowledge, accessible to those of the Serpent's Hand. She was determined to spend the second day contributing to it, but what to write first?

Ink dripped onto the page. She knew what to write.

For years, I have searched for a family. Every time I find one, they leave me or I am forced to leave them. Now, I think I have found one that will accept me, but I must first tell of the rest, for such a long story would not be complete without a prologue, would it?

Prologue

My earliest complete memory is of a great forge on the banks of a river, with a person wearing white robes tending the fire with their bare hands, covered in black clay. They picked me up and ran a hand along with my head, telling me of the road ahead.

"Hello, little one. I am Eura, the first of three. You will have a great life, filled with hardships and joy. The grand scheme means nothing to you, for you will disassemble the order and create it anew. My little scoundrel, Zoë. Good luck."

They then set me back in the forge, to awake anew in an unfamiliar world, surrounded by flames that refused to burn the plants all around. I knew not what to do, so I ran. And I ran. I kept running, looking for somewhere, anywhere to stay. I settled inside the hollow of a tree, resting for a long time.

After what then felt like an eternity, I came out of the hollow. I was taller, standing on my hind legs. I hiked through the forest, falling repeatedly with my newly long legs. I came to a clearing, with small structures replacing the trees that had surrounded me. An opening in one beckoned, with a warm flame inside. As it turns out, there were already people in this house. A man, looking so incredibly similar to Eura, lived there. His name was Lyraeon, and he became my first father. He welcomed me into his family, with his wife and son doing the same.

Lyraeon taught me about the world, from language to how when he was a young man he felt the forest calling to him, rather similar to how his home called to me. He had settled here and started a village, becoming a husband and a father along the way.

All was fine then, until the day a lord of another land came and claimed the village as his own. He cut down all of the surrounding trees and used them to build walls around us. These walls would not protect us against another lord, as we soon discovered.

A great militia, armed quite literally to the teeth, came to our little village. I ran, and ran, and ran as far away from them as I possibly could. I got away from those men and their fire, burning the place that I had called home. At the time, I knew not what had come to my family. Years later, I know now that they all perished from the invading men. As the years passed, I learned and grew my connection with the nature around me. I learned to control my shape, shifting at will. To this day, my greatest asset is this, allowing me to escape from pursuers and even occasionally even trick them into believing I was one of them.

I spent much of my early days eating scraps off of what civilization left behind and trying to not be recognized as what I was believed to be—a demon, a curse upon this world. Now, don't get me wrong, the curse part is surely correct, but I'm not a demon. Demon is a misnomer utilized by the religious zealot to characterize anything that he does not understand. Get it right.

Now that I'm done with my short rant, I'll get back to my story. I was attempting to integrate myself among normal humans in a place of god; a convent of nuns, where no demon could ever possibly enter. After months of gaining the nuns' trust, I showed them my true shape, a fox with what was at the time two tails.

One of the nuns, as the kids say, 'ratted me out'. She decided to alert the church to her broken trust in me. A man came into the convent, wielding a sword and accompanied by dogs.

I awoke.

I was on a river bank, with Eura's great forge nearby. Everything radiated a white light, brighter than any flame I had seen before. A man sat next to me, digging his hands into the clay.

"Hello, Zoë. Welcome back home," he said, voice resonating in a deep baritone.

"What happened?" I asked. If it were not already apparent, I was exceptionally confused and surprised by my situation.

"For me to put this simply would be impossible, but I suppose that I may as well try," he said. "You're dead."

I stared at him in utter shock for what felt like an eternity.

"Dead?"

"I'm afraid so."

"This isn't how I imagined the afterlife."

"Oh, it's different for everyone. Most often, it's the place that was most significant to them in their past life. For you, it appears to be where we are both from; the Great Creator's forge."

I blinked, still stunned. "You're from here as well? Created by Eura?"

He nodded. "They made us from this clay. And speaking of this clay…"

He held up a handful of the stuff and peered into it.

"It appears that your time is not yet up. If you wish, you may return to your life rather than come back and join us." He squeezed the clay, watching the river water drip out.

"I can go back?" I asked. "How? And… why?"

"It is your nature. And as for your first question, all that is required is the clay. It gives life to those who can still use it."

I hesitated.

And shoved my arm into the clay bottom of the river.

I've had many families throughout my life. Many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, siblings. I never really felt like I belonged in their family, as if I was an intruder. There were always memories of past lives, no matter how fuzzy, and they always kept me wondering where they were from.

I had no true family, with all those I loved leaving me before their time. That was until the year of 1967, when I first came to know the organization that we both belong to, dear reader. The Serpent's Hand. A refuge for those who were persecuted, who admire knowledge.

At that time, I was still in hiding after the Seventh Occult War, trying to stay as far away from the Book Burners as I possibly could.

A Druid’s Guide to the Fae and Protection

A thick tome made out of dark parchment paper, this book has a symbol stamped on the front in ink that smells of rust and blood.

I'll be making the design soon, it'll be a sigil.

Based around protecting yourself, those you love, and objects or places from threats. We can include what different types of wood do. There’s a small section dedicated to protecting the books of the library, with a ‘lock’ spell and such.

One must be careful when acquiring or using natural materials, especially in a space such as the Library.

To effectively protect against different kinds of Fae, I suggest perusing the different kinds of wood available, as well as their respective metaphysical properties.

Cold iron causes extreme pain to Fae, and while this is worth noting, our staff members and respective inhabitants request that you do not carry any pure iron on the premises, for both their safety and yours.

Woodworm Faeries:

These fae are often found in deeper recesses of libraries or large collections of processed wood. They consume wood at alarming rates relative to their minuscule size. Interestingly, they only appear to consume processed wood.

Woodworm faeries are small grubs with a length of up to 8 cm. They have a series of teeth running along their front edge, allowing them to consume wood at their amount and speed.

Ink-sucker Faeries:

These fae are capable of destroying information of many different kinds. Some variants that I have discovered take the ink off of the page (hence the name), while others can do so in a digital medium, effectively corrupting the files that the information is held on. The rarest version by far that I have witnessed can destroy your ability to comprehend the information. I’ve had to piece together multiple books from different copies after an infestation of these.

The existence of these faeries is recorded back to the 1400s, written in the margins of the Canterbury 208 manuscript, reading as follows.
“Fucking bokewyrms getynge into the parchemin ageyn.”

The most effective method by far of keeping Ink-sucker Faeries away from books is to have pure iron nearby, but it loses its effectiveness over time, so steel is a more practical solution. For an additional layer of protection, transcribing rarer tomes and storing those transcriptions far away is suggested so the originals can be recreated.

Boggarts:

Boggarts are a malevolent species, feeding off of an insatiable fear and anger. They are known for causing pranks and mischief to sustain themselves, and when that inevitably proves to not be enough for them, they escalate, sometimes even reverting to physical harm. It should be noted that Boggarts only inhabit places where there are groups of people.

Boggarts are also known as bugbears, bogeymen, bogles, and the pūcel.

Boggarts are just shorter than the average human, with loose, dull skin, as well as having no hair.

An effective method of keeping Boggarts away is spreading salt, as contact with it causes their flesh to wither. Be sure to not lay salt on natural ground, however, because while this will keep them away, it keeps anything from growing there.

Brownies:

These fae are always found in a residence, often serving as caretakers of the building and the people residing in it. Brownies enjoy when food is left for them so they can enjoy it in peace, and return the favor by becoming caretakers of the residence.

Brownies look like small humanoids with all sharpened teeth.

There is only ever a maximum of one Brownie residing in a building, and the caretaker currently residing here in the near-endless expanse of the Library is named Toto. He’s still cleaning up after the Great Bookshelf Collapse of 2022, and tells me that he greatly appreciates it when any of us leave some food or drink overnight.

Nature Spirits:

A common misconception is that there is a wide variety of fae that can be called nature spirits, while in truth it is the other way around. Nature spirits are a singular family of fae that have the ability to bond themselves with an aspect of nature for extended periods of time. They do not survive long without a host, and as such attempt to seek out places where nature reigns untouched where there is the least risk of their host being destroyed.

The most widely known kinds of nature spirits are Dryads and Naiads, being inhabitants of plants and bodies of water, respectively. A less known version is the Kobold, which are resilient and inhabits mines. These fae are fascinating because of their natural hardiness and the fact that being surrounded by packed earth does not harm them, unlike many other fae.

If a nature spirit's host is destroyed or injured, then they suffer alike. In the case that they cannot find another host, they will die in short order. This is why in more 'superstitious' communities you are often forbidden to destroy anything known to be inhabited by a nature spirit, lest they perish and the other fae seek out revenge.

Natural Protection

To protect yourself against supernatural threats, you should know the properties of different materials.

Bad King John’s crown jewels.

You may have heard of 'Bad' King John before. You may have heard about his rule; how he was a spiteful man and a cruel king, and that when he began to lose his wars, he gathered his wealth and ran, taking his most loved possessions across the country.

All of these claims are true, but what you have not heard about was the curse of his crown jewels.

Before I tell you about John's jewels, you must first have the background of the man.

King John spent his rule sending his men to die for land and money. France, peasant rebellions, his own barons rising up against him, life was tough for the richest man on the continent. After quelling all of these, John made the decision of a tactical retreat to gain more supplies, or in modern terms, he ran away. He traveled North, taking his army and possessions with him.

Upon learning of a possible naval attack against his convoy, he made the decision to split up, with him and the majority of his soldiers inland, while the remainder traveled along the coastline.

This remainder included his crown jewels, as well as the curse they carried.

His secondary convoy was hit by ferocious storms, causing the jewels to be taken out to sea, leaving John with the curse. He was stricken with dysentery and died before he could reach his destination.

You see, this curse is dormant for as long as the afflicted keep the jewels in their possession, and becomes active once they are lost. It is believed that each of these jewels is a vector for disease, each causing a different affliction. It is even possible that they contain as of yet unknown diseases.

As the sea does, it took the jewels far away, spreading them around the world.

Records indicate that about one-third of the jewels were reclaimed, and most of them reside to this day in the Tower of London. That's the end of the official story, but that'd be a boring ending. I'll tell you, my dear reader, about the fate of the other crown jewels and those with the misfortune of coming across them.

The Fanged Coven was a religious organization (or, if you will, a cult) in the early 1800s that discovered a cut bloodstone lost from King John's regalia. They believed it to have some sort of religious significance and passed it between themselves under the cover of night, not knowing about the stone's properties. They awoke to find that the sun burnt their flesh, running water scalded them, and that they had an insatiable desire for blood. Anyone with a basic knowledge of mythology will know what disease they obtained from this stone - Vampirism.

Their members would go on to inspire authors around the world, from Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker, the renowned creators of Carmilla and Dracula, to twenty-first-century young-adult authors who I wish would remain nameless. All of these novels' origins date back to a group of fanatics dealing with the consequences of unknown magics.

A large chunk of gold, known as the Aflicción Gold, was taken all around the world. If my records are accurate, it has been on four continents, spreading the same disease that killed Bad King John. Dysentery. It washed up on the mainland of Europe and was swiftly used to barter, as a chunk of unworked gold tends to be a bit of a white elephant. Nobody wanted to have it in their possession for fear of thieves, and the Aflicción Gold reportedly weighed upwards of eighty pounds.

It was seized by the Spanish Inquisition, who realized its properties, giving it the name we call it today. Due to their lack of proper record keeping, it is not known what the Gold was used for, but given their reputation, conclusions can be drawn.

The Aflicción Gold made its way to modern-day California, where it sparked the American gold rush and spread dysentery along the trails used by caravans to travel there. The last record that I have discovered stated that it was in Silicon Valley.

One of the most interesting diseases is carried by the King's Regalia, a velvet cloak first created by a Chinese merchant as a gift for a foreign king in the 13th century. Not much of its history still exists, save its original name and modern history. It was called the "国王的御用", translating literally to King's royal. In times since, it has been identified in France during the 17th century, and was recently acquired by the Bookburners, who used its properties in 'enhanced interrogation'. A short-lived public case of its usage was recorded even by government agencies in the year 2002, with the United States' Center for Disease Control stating that they would investigate the phenomenon.

The King's Regalia has a disease that is as-of-yet unidentified in nature, causing unraveling of the skin and musculature. It often appears that reddened fibers are erupting from the skin of those afflicted. While raids to recover this artifact from the Bookburners have been proposed, they are always vetoed on the grounds of its properties and the fact that we would be going through a gauntlet of harm only for something that would cause us more harm to have in our possession.

[[div_ class="fancyhr"]]

These are but a few of the Crown Jewels, the ones with the most storied histories. I encourage all of my fellows to investigate and learn about other potential items of King John's. There are certainly more, lost to the sands of time.

You walk towards the door, having heard legends of what lays beyond. A recluse, one who spends much of her time inside this very room, taking in as much information as she possibly can. You don’t know how many of the legends are true—that she is a great monster with eyes that see all, she has incinerated entire armies, she is incapable of death, created by a god, and so many other stories. You don’t know about her, and that’s why you’re here.

You wished to know more, and the nice people directed you towards this door at the end of some obscure hallway inside the Library. You pretended not to hear their whispers as you left.

The door itself is simple, made of a darkened wood with a single brass knocker. No handle that you can see.

You pick up the ring on the door, and let it fall. The door creaks open silently.

The first thing you notice is the smell of burning sage. Then, the sight of the room itself. It’s a smaller room, rectangular in shape, with no roof in sight. Instead, the walls seem to go up forever, most of them taken up by bookshelves. The shelves further up are coated with moss, which itself stays away from the books themselves.

The floor is taken up on the left by a large desk, with papers piled messily and in a strange juxtaposition, a computer setup. Top of the line, multiple monitors, the works. This person must truly be terminally online.

Curled up, sleeping in the center of the room is a small white fox, nine tails fluttering and paws racing. She’s probably chasing something in her dreams. Probably should stay silent and leave her be.

Where do you go first, the papers or the computer?

[make it so the following is on the left and right of the screen in two columns]

Papers	Computer
`Ah. Hello, Wanderer. I see that you too have come across my writing. You may have discovered this through the creature that I have been hunting, just as my ancestors have, for nearly a millenia. I have enchanted this document so that the demon may not read it. Throughout time, there have been legends of a creature, one that causes chaos and fear wherever it is. This creature is known for…`	Twitter
Contributions	Twitch
Don’t Know My Own Name	tumblr

page revision: 117, last edited: 08 Nov 2022 19:20

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