Charlie sat in his chair and turned the business card over in his hands. One side was blank, the other was emblazoned with the outline of a head with a simple eye symbol in the center of it's forehead. It was clearly some kind of instruction. A most fascinating woman had given it to him. A walking nightmare, made flesh, a creature of an infinite number of eyes.
In front of him sat a book. Charlie had read it cover to cover, a treatise from 1537, written by a monk, on invasive dream creatures. there was a short section on sentient nightmares, how to deal with them. They could enter your dreams while you slept, often through the use of a symbol. Charlie looked at the business card. That must be what the eye is, the symbol that allowed the creature, Penelope to enter the dreamers mind. One slight problem. Charlie didn't dream. Hadn't slept since he died. Mortal restrictions no longer applied, the need to eat, sickness, the constraints of a mortal brain, and, unfortunately, the necessity or ability to sleep. His mind was contained inside the necromantic field which constructed his entire body.
But Charlie had an idea. His mind, if used correctly, could be used to imitate the dreamlike state. With certain restrictions. He could control the dreamscape as he could control the necromantic field. Charlie had met an ancient monk many years previously who had taught him the art of entering one's own mind as if it were reality, through a form of meditation. This was designed to reduce stress or to remove harmful memories. But in this situation, it could prove perfect for just a task.
Charlie reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of charcoal, and, using the reflection on the back of a teaspoon, drew the symbol from the card on his forehead. Charlie ensured that the door to his office was securely locked, and sat down on the carpet in the center of the room, where he had prepared a calming tea. He took a sip of the tea, took a deep breath, and...
...and he was no longer in his office. He was in a strange unknown landscape. It was a forest, but he was stood in a clearing. Next to him a bonfire blazed with the strange blue light that was the same coloration as his necromancer field. It was cold here, snow fell from a black sky, lit only by the faint red light of a blood moon. He squinted closer at the trees. No, they weren't trees. They were strange structures, which looked like trees, but in reality were thin bookcases, made of stark white bone, with title-less books between the bones. The limbs of the trees were the same, books and bones. Each tree was emblazoned with lines which wrapped around it, strange symbols intermixed with straight lines that looked almost like a circuit board, all leading either to the ground or to the ends of the limbs. These glowed that strange eldritch blue. In the ground at the feet of the strange trees were rusting weapons, sticking out of the ground like saplings, the refuse of forgotten wars.
Towards the edge of the clearing, there was a small pool. Charlie walked over to it, and as he did, he noticed something as the snow shifted. Beneath the snow there was what appeared to be skin, dried, grey and ancient. He looked at his own feet. Gone were the black oxford shoes, in their place, bony feet stood. he stretched out an arm and looked at it. Gone was the strange skin of his glamour, in it's place the bone, with it's carved symbols and it's trinkets tied inside the bone. He felt something knock against his back, a comfortable knock. His staff, which currently sat inside an umbrella stand in his office, was at his back. He looked into the pool of water, which was jet black, but still reflective enough so that Charlie could see his own face it was a skull, with glowing blue supernovas for eyes, and sat, atop his head, was an old gold crown. It was himself as he truly was, beyond the glamour, beyond the teacher. The Lich.
This experience was truly fascinating. He must attempt it sometime when he didn't have someone to meet. But, for now, he thought as he wandered back over towards the fire, he had something to do. He stood by the fire and then remembered, this was his mind, so, in an instant, a warm cup of tea, along with a digestive biscuit appeared in his hands. He dipped the biscuit in the tea, took a bite, sat down by the fire, and waited...
@Kadakism
In front of him sat a book. Charlie had read it cover to cover, a treatise from 1537, written by a monk, on invasive dream creatures. there was a short section on sentient nightmares, how to deal with them. They could enter your dreams while you slept, often through the use of a symbol. Charlie looked at the business card. That must be what the eye is, the symbol that allowed the creature, Penelope to enter the dreamers mind. One slight problem. Charlie didn't dream. Hadn't slept since he died. Mortal restrictions no longer applied, the need to eat, sickness, the constraints of a mortal brain, and, unfortunately, the necessity or ability to sleep. His mind was contained inside the necromantic field which constructed his entire body.
But Charlie had an idea. His mind, if used correctly, could be used to imitate the dreamlike state. With certain restrictions. He could control the dreamscape as he could control the necromantic field. Charlie had met an ancient monk many years previously who had taught him the art of entering one's own mind as if it were reality, through a form of meditation. This was designed to reduce stress or to remove harmful memories. But in this situation, it could prove perfect for just a task.
Charlie reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of charcoal, and, using the reflection on the back of a teaspoon, drew the symbol from the card on his forehead. Charlie ensured that the door to his office was securely locked, and sat down on the carpet in the center of the room, where he had prepared a calming tea. He took a sip of the tea, took a deep breath, and...
...and he was no longer in his office. He was in a strange unknown landscape. It was a forest, but he was stood in a clearing. Next to him a bonfire blazed with the strange blue light that was the same coloration as his necromancer field. It was cold here, snow fell from a black sky, lit only by the faint red light of a blood moon. He squinted closer at the trees. No, they weren't trees. They were strange structures, which looked like trees, but in reality were thin bookcases, made of stark white bone, with title-less books between the bones. The limbs of the trees were the same, books and bones. Each tree was emblazoned with lines which wrapped around it, strange symbols intermixed with straight lines that looked almost like a circuit board, all leading either to the ground or to the ends of the limbs. These glowed that strange eldritch blue. In the ground at the feet of the strange trees were rusting weapons, sticking out of the ground like saplings, the refuse of forgotten wars.
Towards the edge of the clearing, there was a small pool. Charlie walked over to it, and as he did, he noticed something as the snow shifted. Beneath the snow there was what appeared to be skin, dried, grey and ancient. He looked at his own feet. Gone were the black oxford shoes, in their place, bony feet stood. he stretched out an arm and looked at it. Gone was the strange skin of his glamour, in it's place the bone, with it's carved symbols and it's trinkets tied inside the bone. He felt something knock against his back, a comfortable knock. His staff, which currently sat inside an umbrella stand in his office, was at his back. He looked into the pool of water, which was jet black, but still reflective enough so that Charlie could see his own face it was a skull, with glowing blue supernovas for eyes, and sat, atop his head, was an old gold crown. It was himself as he truly was, beyond the glamour, beyond the teacher. The Lich.
This experience was truly fascinating. He must attempt it sometime when he didn't have someone to meet. But, for now, he thought as he wandered back over towards the fire, he had something to do. He stood by the fire and then remembered, this was his mind, so, in an instant, a warm cup of tea, along with a digestive biscuit appeared in his hands. He dipped the biscuit in the tea, took a bite, sat down by the fire, and waited...
@Kadakism
