THE OCULARUM

Location:
West Dream Analytics

Overview

- This page is intended for RP threads taking place at or in relation to the Ocularum! Additional information regarding the organization and its workings can also be found below. -

On the outskirts of Pumpkin Hollow, where the rural Northwest Hollow meets the edges of Lockwood Forest, there is a cottage. A thatched roof with wooden detailing houses a tall brick chimney from which a rich pinewood smoke rises in plumes. Warm and inviting windows glow with lantern light. A red door with a golden knocker is seated below a sign. "WEST DREAM ANALYTICS," it reads. This is both the home and the business of psychic dream therapist Neil West. Indeed, it is also the meeting place of the organization which he founded--- the Ocularum.

You must be invited to attend either by another member or by Neil himself, though they don't tend to be picky. Moreso they are cautious. They've been burned before for speaking out against the church's way of doing things. But they are committed to action. The Ocularum believes that they can settle the issue of Pumpkin Hollow's haunting once and for all, and that the Temple of Sacred Roots is doing nothing but hindering progress. But if you earn their trust, they will show you the secrets which they believe are key to finally undoing the curse besetting the island.

Membership

Initiation | Due to their poor relations with much of the island, the Ocularum is slow in its induction process. Start with a simple orientation and earn the trust of its members over time to learn more.

Benefits | Those who work with the Ocularum will find themselves less impacted by the effects of the curse and better prepared for what the island throws at them. This is in part due to Neil's occult expertise and strategies taught by him for dealing with these things, but members also find themselves passively having better luck as well.

Drawbacks | Neil's outspoken views against the Temple's methods and ongoing feud with Dahlia Leeds has not made the Ocularum particularly popular. Joining them may occasionally earn you the ire of others. There are also sometimes murmurings about "costs" among the members, implying that there may be some financial expectations.

Philosophy

The Ocularum believes that the solution to Marrow Isle's problems lies in occult knowledge and direct action. Whether the result of an angry ancient deity, restless spirits, or a leyline of dark energy beneath the land, there is some terrible magic plaguing the island. It can be treated. It can be harnessed.

However, the Temple's insistence on waiting around for dead or apathetic goddesses to answer the prayers of the people is putting this on hold. The Historical Society is no better, focusing on reactionary measures gleaned from dusty old books. And the heretics in the forest are respectable folk but are exposing themselves to unnecessary danger. The Ocularum needs bold and dedicated truth seekers who aren't afraid to step into the unknown for the sake of protecting themselves and their neighbors.

art credit, code credit

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Valdis has sensed the concentrated evil on this island, but it doesn't seem worse than the Eterna in any way. She can fight evil. The demons can be killed. Darkness can be purged.

"I understand the need to try to rationalize what others feel or think, but something tells me there may be a less sympathetic answer on your mind."

He may be some kind of counselor or therapist, but he is still entitled to an opinion.

"An answer to why I believe the locals are complacent or why my business declined?" He laughs, a bit awkward. "For the former, I truly believe it to be burnout. This place has been like this for six years and some change. I'm sure you might imagine what that sort of thing can do to a person. As for my business, well. That's part of it. But I also am admittedly a somewhat controversial figure."

He doesn't seem particularly keen to talk about it, some trepidation residing there.

"But! We persevere. The Emeran universal basic income keeps me fed, and I am able to run my business from home."

Valdis listens, noting his reluctance to elaborate on the apparent controversies surrounding him. Feeling she's poked him enough already, she doesn't press.

"The cycles of the world tend to cause groups of people to burnout over something. War. Famine. Politics. Illness. One thing is always certain though, collective and individual suffering causes people to turn to different sources. Gods. Demons. Science. This place seems no different from my own world. If a little more blatant in its function."

She smirks and shakes her head when the word 'persevere' leaves his lips.

"I have found mortals to be stubborn, they don't give up easily when faced with adversity. Even when they probably should."

Neil chuckles at this observation, amused by the last sentence. "I would have to agree with you. People are persistent, pesky little things. Like ants. Outlasting various extermination attempts by fate is just par for the course. It's rather marvelous."

"I wouldn't call them ants."

Though she would have once upon a time.

Valdis begins to look around the room, observing the books on the shelves, noting the state and how they are ordered, the items laying around, anything that might give her some more insight into this Neil.

Neil is a charmingly disorganized person.

His bookshelf is, for it's part, the tidiest part of the room and it seems as though the books have been alphabetized at some point, though there are gaps where volumes are clearly missing. Generally they are non-fiction books on magic, dreams, psychology, various other sciences, self-help--- the sorts of things you'd expect to find in a therapist's office, alongside the things you'd expect to find in a wizard's study. Magical looking knickknacks are on most every shelf, as well as on his desks.

The two of them have been arranged into an L-shape to form a reception counter as well as to barricade the rest of the home from this room. There are thin wooden boxes and metal cases and desk drawers all full of files and documents, alongside bits of crystal, pens, quills, inkwells, loose paper, half-filled bound notebooks, matches, candles, handkerchiefs, random first aid supplies, sachets of herbs and tea--- the list goes on. Books and papers litter the desk, along with a skeleton of a bird on an armature wire stand. There is a sort of dark, academic whimsy to the space which pairs well with the floral wallpaper. Red and grey blooms on flourishing vines.

Near the window, he also has a dish with a clear cover that is full of pastries and baked treats, as well as a carafe of coffee and a pot of tea that look a bit like little dogs, apparently enchanted to pour beverages on their own. They watch Valdis expectantly, as if her choice between coffee or tea (should she make one) is a territory dispute between them, with the cup as the prize.

"Certainly not. I simply meant that with the context that ants are persistent. You can kill a dozen of them and the ones behind them will be undeterred in their goal."

Charmingly disorganized indeed, though she's sure he has some kind of system. He reminds her of Palamedes, intense, but scholarly and very attached to whatever his passion happens to be, and based on what she's heard, he's either paranoid or brilliant. Perhaps both.

The little dogs are quite cute, and seem to carry some sort of enchantment and personality despite being truly alive. Her gaze flits back to Neil.

"But put down enough poison and soon enough they will find an easier target."

Back to the little dog pot things.

"May I?" She asks, gesturing to the little one with tea.

"Be my guest!" Neil extends a palm toward the little constructs to punctuate the sentiment. "They're funny little things, aren't they? I enchanted them for our recent Merrymeet festival, and my partner was so fond of them that I decided to keep them."

Valdis gently picks up the little tea construct so she can pour some into a cup. It's still warm though not freshly made, though she's sure if he enchanted the pots, he likely added something to stop the tea and coffee from getting cold.

"It's a pleasant magic," she comments.

Not like much she's seen from others who have access to such powers. Her necromancy can't be considered much nicer than others.

"So, how does the dream therapy work?"

"Ah, that is an excellent question." Neil perks up eagerly--- this is clearly his favorite subject. "I have a rare psychic ability known as dreamwalking. This is exactly what it sounds like--- I can enter the dreams of sleeping people through a sort of astral projection and walk through them as if they were a physical space. In tandem with my studies of psychology, I developed a technique for counselling sessions that take place directly within the patient's mind. This allows me to understand the sources of their trauma, help them address cyclical patterns of disturbing dreams, and be more open with me, with the aim of reducing the impact of trauma and encouraging better, more restful sleep."

Valdis gently sips the tea while she listens, watching him light up as he explained his ability and what how he used it.

"Have you ever encountered anything dangerous in those dreams?"

"Oh, certainly. But nothing I can't handle. I'm a rather accomplished mage, and I'm more capable in dreams." He doesn't seem to be bragging, just confident. "Home field advantage and all that."

She wonders how far that confidence would take him when faced with the primal force of a fractured goddess.

"I see, well perhaps you can do me a favor someday, there's something in my dreams that I need to talk to."

The Ocularum

THE OCULARUM

Overview

Membership

Philosophy

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject