Madness Begins Deep Inside The Hollows

[Truthseeker83 119]

Vallel wanders the halls of the hollows seemingly for days on end. She begins to slowly change although its effects are not noticed by her at all. One day she sits down in the Hollows and begins to write at her desk in the house she claimed. Picking up a journal and a quill with ink she begins to write.

Chapter 1

~~~


"The power of the mind is rarely understood, the depths of our sanity even less. Have you ever wondered why you think the way you do and another person thinks completely differently? Why ones mind could see a rose as beautiful and another as ugly? Why .. oh why do we all see things differently? "

Vallel sits down her quill and walks over to the floating bed she gets in and lays down thinking. Hours pass or was it days.. time didn't seem to make sense here nor anything else. She got up later at some point and went to find some food... She found some melons growing inside a bookcase and plucked them off the stems as it exploded into many colors. She tries to catch them in her mouth as they fly threw the air like a child chasing a snowflake on her tongue. Hours later after she chases all the sparkly melon pieces around eating them one by one.. she goes back to the desk to write some more.

"When I say sanity one thinks of how a person conforms to the standards set up by society. We tend to classify what we don't understand as insanity. I myself have done such things in the past. The unknown is not always to be feared in fact it should be welcomed and embraced. Those that fear what they don't understand show their weakness. Once I embraced the ideas Ambros spouted out in the Hollows I became free.. my body and mind were no longer shackled to the world of Anthos but they started reaching for the void in every aspect.. I ran through the place on infinite thoughts, emotions, feelings.. there is so much wonder here that it could take several elven lifetimes just to experience half of it."


Vallel sets her quill down and stares off into the pool of blackness... she see's her reflect. She reaches out to touch it as the reflection shakes her head. Vallel froze not expecting it to act on its own.. she begins to talk to her reflection "Who .. what are you?" The reflection just smiles at her not saying a word as she puts a finger over her lips. Vallel scoots backwards not sure what she just saw... but knowing from what she's experienced so far.. anything is possible in this place. She scrambles her feet and heads toward one of the thousands and thousands of book shelves and skims over them reading a book here or there before falling asleep on top of the strange pillow like floor.


When she wakes she sits back at her desk and begins to write more in her book.

"The storm rages inside my mind, today I saw myself but it wasn't me. This place begins to do things to you the longer you stay. I will not fear and press on however, there is so much knowledge and infinite discovery awaits me. I was told by some Uruk that is foolish, but he doesn't understand.. no one understands the glories of this place. Living in the Hollows has taught me many things. Some I shall write down others I'll keep to myself. This fact however everyone should know, do not believe what your eyes see or your ears hear for it can be deceiving. The other day I heard a cat meowing and as I approached the sound I saw a frog. The frog looked right at me and "Meow" came from its mouth.. I was flabbergasted at the thought.. so I picked the frog up and licked it. It tasted a bit slimly but then suddenly everything turned into bright colors and then I transformed into a cat and started to purr. I began licking my paw or was it a hand.. and rubbing my hair. This went on for hours until whatever came over me stopped and I no longer wanted to be a cat but myself again. Our minds are delicate and can be influenced so easily by the world around us. Then again.. is it really a bad thing? We can experience amazing things if we just open our minds up to what the world calls insanity. "

After finishing that chapter Vallel yawns and goes to look for some more food.. finding some wheat growing from a cactus she laughs and tries to harvest it but he cactus stabbed her finger.. she started to feel dizzy and passed out there.

Later that day she woke and her finger was swollen.. she decided to go back to the black pool and soak it in the water. As soon as she stuck her finger in the water felt like an oily substance and tried to suck her into it. She tried pulling back but her hand went in deeper and deeper.. panic filled her eyes as she looked around not sure what to do when she saw a random fence post stretched out above her head she grabbed it and tried to pull up.. to the fence post. "Weird.. this place makes no sense" she looked down to the ground below and started to use the bookshelves as a ladder climbing down slowly knocking many books off the shelves to the floor below. As she descended her belly began to hurt and she vomited... her head began to sweat as memories of the other day flashed into her mind.

Chapter 2

Flashes of Ambros standing over the a ring of red pulling a lever as the doors open, flashes of staring into the void, flashes of ice and snow, flashes of Ambros sending blast toward Blundermore... than flashes of Caelira kissing her.. vallel’s forehead sweats as she wakes. She takes a swim in one of the pools their and lays on the grass as she stares up at the pumpkin laughing at her. Eventually she gets up and goes to write at her desk she begins to write on the back page the following :

“The --- inside --- beckons to be free,--- and I fear for its fate... Why did --e--- go and leave me... alone --- child. It happened so fast ---head swirled. One moment-- -- ---- book the --- he was kissing -- --- now I have his child inside --- . --- don’t know why I write this --- for shame or repentance -- fear this child is --.


The rest seem to trail off in random thoughts and ideas making little to no sense and she decides to go back and scribble through what she just wrote. She starts on a new page writing the following.


“Madness, insanity, foolish, purity, are these all not the same thing? Yet they are different. Today the horse spoke to me , I asked it why it wanders the halls and he told me his story. “He once lived on a luscious field grazing on the grass and one day he saw a bright light and ended up here among the books and papers and grass and flowers, the trees, and minecarts, the fire and the ice, the water and the oil.. Everything and nothing..” I didn’t believe him at first but as time went on it made sense. This place these things once existed in someone's mind somewhere and now they are here. Could this be replicated, was their a way to do this to other nodes throughout Anthos... should it be done? The power behind a void node is incredible and everyday I go to stare into the void’s blackness its emptiness being feet away... knowing that if I were to fall I’d be stuck in their forever as Ambros said. A fate I would not wish on my worst enemies yet the void calls out to me... asking me to come in. One day I fear I won’t have the strength to resist its call.


Vallel stops writing as tears stream down her eyes.. she looks in the direction of where the void connects to this world knowing it wants her their... she rejects it and goes to find breakfast.

Chapter 3

Vallel visits with her friend Yuln they talk and Vallel's madness becomes evident to Yuln as she cries for her friends sake. Yuln has to eat and the food she needs is not anywhere around. As she leaves Vallel decides to finish the book and at last leave at least for a little bit. She writes one last thing and leaves the journal for whoever to find.

"I have held my thoughts close to me... the random thoughts and ideas from the books I've come across point to only one conclusion. Everyone is insane, mad, there is not one person who is normal. What is the purpose of the life we live? I once thought it was the pursuit of knowledge and power.. but as my mind started to develop and see the wonder of this place I began to change... my mind is my prison now. I cannot always control my thoughts anymore its as if the have a will of their own....

"When the door opens the grass is eaten by the pumpkin and the moon's blood fills the night sky. The child screams as the father is tickeled and dies upon the stake in the darkness. The mad king sits on his throne in an empty hall where his children and followers leave him to rot in his laughter. The tree's grow and grow until the city becomes nothing but roots and weeds, the people abandon it in hopes to find milk and honey....

"These thoughts I write, make no sense yet deep down their must be a meaning.. they continue like this and there are more and more that come to me... I don't understand the voices or the thoughts and the more I try to ignore them the louder they shout. My mind is no longer my own it seems.. Yuln is right it is time to leave this place... at least for a little while."

Vallel closes the journal and holds her hands over her ears hoping the voices would stop but they don't... so dives into the water and drinks it in...


Later she finds herself in the icy cavern.. she propped the door open though in order to get back easily.. as she searches for her sister.

Chapter 4

 *This page is written in red, and now the book seems covered in drops of blood. the ink is clearly blood.*

The Judge
The Judge
The Judge
The Judge
The Judge
The Judge
The Judge
The Judge that comes and makes the call, no longer shall we all believe what is right, and what is wrong. He brings his will, he makes his choice, but do not fear him, for it's your own fault. You do not fear him as he does nothing, you are the one who makes this happen. But the Judge needs not make the rules, he only helps you punish for not keeping them. Over all the men and all the women, there are those go seek themselves above the rules. Those are used, those are felt, those get the symbol of the Judge on their back.
 

 

*On the next pages many drawings of a strange symbol are made, all the same. For many pages the symbols continues, becoming sharper and better with as the pages pass. When the blood as ink seems to start to go missing, the next symbol has strong markings once more. And it continues on for quite a while.*

 

Chapter 5

 

 

The text appears to be back in the original hand writing.

 

 

"Apparently someone got into my journal when I was away.  I may have to find a safer place for it since I can't control who writes in this thing.  The Archmage is getting more and more serious about keeping people out of this place... its my home though and I have found a back way in that I use often.   Apparently there was an ancient civilization that lived near here and left their homes.  Lucky I have fire evocation or it would have been impossible with he thick ice everywhere. 

 

After venturing out in the real world I started to notice something odd. Everyone's minds were so slow.  At first I could not fathom how everyone seemed to make it from day to day without flowers in their ears.. but they did.  They looked at me like I was strange but I payed them no mind for I knew the truth.  My mental abilities seemed to improve and I was able to see truths in ways few could.  I often expressed what I knew but no one seemed to understand them except a few. 

 

My daughter was born the other day, Seth'onn I'm calling her since she was conceived here in this blessed place.  She is amazing and I mentally connect with her every night trying to use my magic to speed her learning.  She is quite the amazing little girl, I love her more then I should and each day I spend with her.. I want to keep her longer.  Yet I know the danger that may cause in the end if I am ever truly found out.   My name carries pain, hurt betrayals, and so much evil from my past life.  I purposely left it all behind and cut all my ties except a few however those few worry me.  Should I have even informed them, will their lives be in danger now that they know my identify.  In the end the choices have been made and only the moon's tears can free them of the burden once they sink their teeth into it. 

 

The more time in this place I spend the more I understand it and the more my mind increases in power through the void.  My magic is growing beyond what I've even anticipated and their are so many random thoughts and Idea's I've experienced and seen that were made real in the hollows.  I have learnt the power of barriers after seen  a few I've began piecing together what Jon spoke of all those years ago... I've built my own to protect my mind from  this place and only allow what I want in.  I fear for those who don't know how to protect their minds coming into here would be like walking through a hallway with hundreds of people shouting at you random thoughts then seeing those thoughts put into reality then fading away and something else replacing it.  Most people would question their own sanity as I once did but I saw past it and saw the potential of this place.  Especially for those who study the mind like myself.  The training ground here is beyond anything I've ever seen in Anthos. 

 

Am  I mad?  I use to wonder this but the more I learn.. the more I realize.. I'm not the mad one its everyone else.  They just can't see it.. that's all. "

 

A drawing of a flower and instructions on how to place them in your ears.

 

 

((~~To be continued~~))

 

[[ Awesome Lore created by Jistuma regarding the Hollows : http://www.lordofthecraft.net/forum/index.php?/topic/91032-magical-location-void-nodes-and-the-hollows/  ]]

((If you find the IC journal feel free to use this info if not you don't know about it.. ONLY the Gold is in the journal. I have a sign stating a journal is here that links to this post FYI))

[Shadeleaf 1022]

((Aaaaaand then we lost Vallel))

[Aelu / Rel (Combustionary) 1540]

Ac'aelu, having joined Vallel during the return, frowns as she begins flipping madly through the books. Expecting at least some form of cooperative exploration, he soon grows more and more restless.

 

​"I'm heading back up, llir. Be careful down here"

 

He turns, heading up the tunnel and out of the area. He immediately goes to the place they met prior to this, moving aside the books she did, in hopes of finding the one she hid.

[Truthseeker83 119]

((The book you would find there is full of sketches of things vallel thought up.  Also some of them are of the hallows themselves but it is not the journal that is elsewhere))

[Truthseeker83 119]

Added Chapter 2

[Caelria 2619]

Caelria thinks to himself.

 

"Forever lost... Forever lost... Forever lost. Forever lost. Forever lost. Forever lost forever lost forever lost forever lost foreverlostforeverlostforeverlost... and then... Peace... beautiful peace among magic... to accept the call of the void is to accept eternal bliss... The books that surround me are not a cell! But a beautiful home surrounded in blossoming melon-willows!"
 

He twirls above Vallel's unconscious body after their affair leaning down to press his ear to her stomach.

 

"Oh... Karin'ayla... Who are you?"

 

Caelria's eyebrow twitches slightly, faint grasps of sanity struggling to take hold.

 

"Karin... ayla... what does that mean, even? Some lost language, pah! But you..."

 

Caelria places a warm palm upon Vallel's midsection.

 

"You will never be lost... I will remember you my dearest rose... Though if only I could remember your name... Oh yes!" he nearly shouts, "You do not have one. I wonder what the fates will pick for you..."

 

Caelria plants a soft kiss upon the cheek of Vallel, quickly skipping off into the void's embrace. His items left in a pile upon the floor beside her.

 

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet! Van'ayla mistress Vallel, and van'ayla to you... you wretched world..."

 

((I love your posts so much I couldn't help but so something myself, all my +1))

[Yuln 265]

*Yuln paces through the Hallows, tears streaming over her face... and freezing on her cheeks. Her icy glowing eyes scanning the surroundings as she looks for an exit. It hurt her to leave Vallel like this, one the was so dear to her, but she had to eat.*

 

*The Fjarriauga clenches her fists, a hiss escaped from between her teeth. It was all Ambros' fault, Ambros' and Kalenz. They would pay... Yet she had no idea if Ambros was even alive still, all she had were confusing memories: *

 

*Ambros had led them down into the Hallows, he showed them the mage prison and then... Then things began to fall away;

 

They crossed a bridge of glass, through a room filled with bookshelves;

 

They crossed a pool, in order not to get wet, she had to pass molten metal, panick grabbed her;

 

Another room of bookshelves, things were floating;

 

Ambros laughing madly, Blundermore speaking words of blame and disapproval;

 

Vallel opening books, the same madness as Ambros' filling her eyes;

 

Ambros sending a pulse of... Mana at Blundermore, knocking him back;

 

Her, running at Ambros, trying to stab him in the back of his neck;

 

She was flying through the air and then everything went black.*

 

"Oh, Vallel, why wouldn't you come with me, sis?" *Yuln mumbles, endless sadness filling her voice as she wanders through the ice caverns, her hunger growing as time progressed.*

 

*Kalenz would pay, he was at fault for Vallel's current situation. Yuln's face twisted from an expression of sadness into one of hate. The glow in her eyes seemed to grow colder. She had kept from eating Mali'Aheral out of a principal, but this was where it would change. Kalenz didn't deserve mercy, he never would.*

 

*Yuln stood before the end of the cave, a wall of snow. As she approached it, suddenly daylight flooded the cavern. She blinked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the new level of light. As she continued her way she heard a low rumble, spining on her heels she saw that the wall of ice had closed behind her. Next her gaze moved up, she stood in the bottom of a ravine, the walls of snow and ice, daylight pierced through the slit at the top of the tall, narrow cave. Next thing: How to get there.*

[Truthseeker83 119]

Added Chapter 3..

[Truthseeker83 119]

Added chapter 4 .. thanks anonyms writer for finding my journal and writing in it.

[Truthseeker83 119]

((Considering stopping this threads progression.  Just need to know if anyone is actually interested in this story or not))

[Caelria 2619]

Well, considering it has sort of come to an end with everyone being kicked out of the Hallows, I suppose it would be up to you.

 

I have been reading the posts from time to time, having stopped a few days ago when you stopped updating.

[Truthseeker83 119]

Ok Added Chapter 5