Occulturation #6 Incorporeal Incorporation
Garesh stares at the flaming book. He picks up the book, accustomed to the strange harmless blue fire by now. He places his hand on the glowing blue symbol and commands, “Jack, leave.” The fire funnels out through the symbol until Jack has left the book and returned to his paranormal self. Garesh tests to see how he can get Jack to go inside objects. He sets down the book and walks over to the wall. He says, “Jack, go into the wall.” It doesn’t work. He says, “Jack, go into the book.” Nothing happens. He picks up the book and says, “Jack, enter the book.” It still doesn’t work. He has an idea. He puts one hand through Jack while holding the book and says, “Jack, go in the book.” The book bursts alight. Garesh grins. Now, to figure out how to apply this ability to other objects.
Garesh pays particular attention to the glowing blue symbol on the cover of the book. It’s the symbol for Fey. Maybe the Fey bindings he used caused the Fey symbol to allow him to place Jack into the book? He tests this theory. He draws the Fey symbol on a piece of paper. Then he puts his hand through Jack and lays his hand on the paper while he says, “Jack, go into the paper.” The paper bursts alight with the harmless blue flame. It appears that this strange practice places Jack in the object because while the object burns, Jack is nowhere to be found. Garesh releases Jack from the paper and calls Svartr over to give it a try. He puts his hand on the Svartr the shadow and one hand on the object. He says, “Svartr, enter the paper.” The paper doesn’t look any different. That doesn’t mean it didn’t work, necessarily. Garesh doesn’t know what would happen if a shadow entered an object. There is nothing as visible as fire to show that anything happened. However, Garesh still sees Svartr on the ground next to him, which tells Garesh that his test failed.
Garesh isn’t deterred. He takes his hand off the paper and spreads it over the cover of the book. “Svartr, enter the book.” He says. The book disappears. Well, kind of. Garesh can see the book’s shadow, but he can’t feel it. Garesh doesn’t see Svartr around either, so it seems like it worked. But then why didn’t it work on the paper? Garesh puts his hand on the shadow of the book and releases Svartr, returning the book to physical form.
Garesh gets out several papers. He draws each of the Screamer symbols, a different one on each paper. These are Incorporeal, so maybe… Garesh places his hand on the paper with the symbol for Incorporeal and a hand on Svartr. He says, “Svartr, go into the paper.” The paper disappears, leaving nothing but its shadow. Svartr is gone as well. It worked. Garesh releases Svartr. He wonders why Jack uses Fey symbols and Svartr uses Incorporeal symbols.
Garesh considers the possibility that Jack is a Fey. He doesn’t think Jack seems like a Fey, but it is the only explanation he can come up with. Garesh calls over Wilheim. He can’t see Wilheim, so he tells him to hold the paper with the symbol of Incorporeal. He places his hand on the floating paper and feels the resistance of Wilheim holding the paper up. He says, “Wilheim, enter the paper.”The paper remains floating in the air. It’s hard to tell if it worked. Wilheim is invisible, and Garesh doesn’t know what infusing his essence into an object would do. Is the paper hovering because Wilheim is holding it or because he is in it? He tells Wilheim to hold the paper with the symbol of the Fey instead of the paper with the Incorporeal. The paper with the symbol of the Incorporeal falls to the ground and the paper of the Fey hovers in the air. This means that Wilheim isn’t in the object, otherwise the other paper would have remained floating, right?
Garesh grabs hold of the floating paper with the Fey symbol and says, “Wilheim, enter this paper.” There is no more difference than last time he told Wilheim to go in a paper. He performs the ultimate test by telling Wilheim to hold the book about Screamers. Garesh places his hand on the cover of the book and says, “Wilheim, go into the book.” The book disappears and he hears a thud on the ground. He drops his hands to the floor, but his hands land on some invisible box shaped object before they can hit the ground. He tries to open the box. It opens easily with the noisy flapping of something inside it. It’s a book. It’s probably the book that disappeared. It’s invisible but still physically present, kind of like the opposite of what Svartr does to objets.
Garesh releases Wilheim from the book, and the book reappears. Now, he needs to figure out which symbol works for Wilheim. He tries the paper with the Angel symbol, nothing. He tries the Incorporeal symbol again, still no luck. He moves on to the Fey symbol. He is disappointed by this one as well. He places his hand on the paper with the Shifter symbol as Wilheim holds it. “Wilheim, enter this paper.” The paper disappears. He accidentally lets go of the paper and loses it. He searches frantically on the floor for the paper, worried about losing Wilheim. He eventually finds it and releases Wilheim.
Garesh considers what he has discovered. Jack joins into objects that have the symbol for Fey. Wilheim into objects with Shifter and Svartr for Incorporeal. He wonders if this works with Millie and which symbol she will use. He doesn’t see a pattern between what symbol is used and the type of Incorporeal. He figures they should all use the Incorporeal symbol or maybe Fey because he is a False Bargainer. This apparently isn’t the case. He continues to test throughout the night, trying to see if any of the Incorporeal can enter an object with a symbol other than the one he determined. He tries to see if Jack works with Undead, Shifter, Incorporeal or Angel. But Jack only works with Fey. He does the same with the rest, but they all only work with one type of Symbol. An Incorporeal can enter an object that has multiple symbols on it, as long as one of the symbols is the sigil it works with. This has been apparent ever since Jack entered the book that has all five Screamer types on its cover.
He tries to make Jack enter the book while Svartr has cast it into shadow but that fails. He tries to place Wilheim in the book while Jack lights it ablaze. This also fails. It seems that he cannot place an Incorporeal in an object that is already holding an Incorporeal. Garesh is glad he has found a further use for his Incorporeal. These three Incorporeal he has been working with throughout this night might be useful in his efforts to cleanse the government of its corruption. He will overthrow it and replace it with an anti-Screamer establishment. He hasn’t thought of anything useful he could do with these newfound abilities, but he’s sure they’ll be useful somewhere.
It’s morning now. Garesh is really tired and he thinks he should probably go to bed. However, he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. It’s Millie. She’s awake now. Garesh beckons for Millie to come to him. When she gets close, Garesh grabs hold of her arm and puts his other hand on the paper with the symbol for Angel. “Millie, go in the paper.” Nothing happens. He moves his hand to the paper for Incorporeal. “What are you doing?” Millie asks, “Let go of me.”
Holding onto Millie’s arm and the paper for Incorporeal, Garesh says, “Millie, enter this paper.” Millie stays where she is. She is agitated because Garesh has grabbed her arm. Garesh moves his hand to the paper of Fey and says, “Millie, get in the paper.” There is no change. Millie starts to try and pull herself free from Garesh’s grip, but she isn’t strong enough. Garesh grabs the Shifter paper and says, “Millie, go in this paper.” It doesn’t work. Millie yanking her arm fiercely, trying to dislodge herself from Garesh’s grip. She yells for Garesh to release his hold upon her.
Garesh puts his hand on the paper with the symbol for Undead. Garesh says, “Mill-”, he cuts off as Millie falls backwards to escape his grip. She isn’t very strong, but she is very heavy. Garesh stumbles. He lets go of both the paper and Millie to catch himself with his hand as he falls to the floor.
“Garesh, you’re acting very strange,” Millie says, “Did you get any sleep last night?” Garesh recalls that his sleep was interrupted by Lauren’s intrusion and he has not gone back to sleep since then. Millie keeps her distance from him as she tries to persuade him to go to bed. Garesh is tired, but he also wants to place Millie in an object to see what happens. It doesn’t seem like Millie is going to be compliant, though. She keeps telling Garesh to go to bed, and Garesh must admit that his actions would seem pretty strange to Millie. He must have seemed like a madman, grabbing her arm and telling her to do the impossible and go inside an object.
“Please, Garesh. Just go to sleep,” Millie pleads, “You can even use my bed.” Garesh finally agrees to go to sleep. He walks up the stairs to Millie’s bedroom. Since when did he start thinking of it as Millie’s bedroom? It’s his bedroom. Millie has been sleeping there every night since he summoned her, but that has only been a couple of days. Garesh lies down on the bed and goes to sleep.
Millie sighs in relief as she watches Garesh go to bed. She looks at the papers that Garesh told her to go in. The symbols on the papers look familiar. Then she sees the last paper that Garesh told her to go in before she escaped his grasp by falling backwards--the symbol of Undead. Millie picks up the paper and rips it. She tears it into small pieces. She doesn’t want to see that symbol, or the other Screamer symbols.
Millie makes herself a tasteless breakfast. It’s so weird, like yesterday. The food doesn’t taste bad. The food doesn’t have a taste at all. Millie finishes eating and walks over to the letter wall. The Incorporeal don’t speak with each other through it anymore. She can’t read. What use is this wall of letters for her? Millie can’t deny that there are Incorporeal in this house, but that doesn’t mean that she is an Incorporeal. She’s just a normal living child. She couldn’t have died. It must have been a bad dream.
Millie passes the hours by telling the Incorporeal rhymes and stories that she remembers from back home. They seem to enjoy her stories and rhymes. It’s hard for her to tell, since they don’t speak and don’t have anything resembling a face. As it turns noon, Millie realizes that she still isn’t hungry. She should have lunch, even if she isn’t hungry. After all, living people must eat, and she can’t possibly be dead. She passes the front door as she walks to the kitchen from the living room.
Millie hears a knocking at the door. She opens the door a crack to see who it is. It's a young woman with a ridiculous outfit. She’s wearing a pale gray long sleeve dress covered in belts and belt buckles, and she is wearing a wide brimmed cone-topped hat with a belt around the cone top. The young woman looks surprised when she sees Millie. The young woman asks Millie, “Who are you?”
Millie doesn’t answer. Her mind returns to a story the lady back at home read to her sometimes. It was about Little Red Riding Hood. Millie knows better than to reveal personal information to strangers.
Millie looks up into the young woman’s eyes and says, “You’re the one who came up to this house. Who are you?” The young woman introduces herself, “I’m Ystra; I’m Garesh’s friend.” Millie scoffs, “Really? Garesh hasn’t mentioned you.” Ystra nods, as though she expected this response. “Young child, does Garesh usually mention his friends?” Ystra asks, “I doubt you know as much about him as you think you do.” Millie is starting to feel scared. She really doesn’t know Garesh much at all. She doesn’t really trust Garesh, either. If Ystra is one of Garesh’s friends, that only gives Millie all the more reason to be extra cautious.
“I guess I don’t know Garesh as well as I thought, either.” Ystra says. Millie is curious. “What do you mean?” Millie asks. Ystra sighs. “I only met Garesh yesterday,” Ystra admits, “He didn’t mention having a daughter.” Ystra’s face is suddenly stricken with fear as she comes to a realization. “Wait, you’re not his daughter, are you?” Ystra asks. Millie starts to shake her head no, but catches herself. “I… I don’t have to answer that.” Millie says meekly. Ystra’s face goes pale. “Please tell me you're visiting with your parents,” Ystra says, “Or that you have another babysitter or chaperone other than Garesh.” Millie remains silent. She isn’t sure what is going on in Ystra’s mind, but these strangely specific personal questions seem like just the type of questions that the werewolf would ask Little Red.
Ystra appears weighed down by terrible dread. Millie’s fear grows with Ystra’s horror. “Little girl, I don’t want to scare you, but I fear you might be in great danger.” Ystra whispers. “Yeah, me too.” Millie whimpers. She starts to close the door, but Ystra lunges forward, pushing her arms through the crack, trying to get in. Panicked, Millie slams the door shut on Ystra’s arm, causing Ystra to cry out in pain. “Please, little girl. You must come with me,” Ystra begs, “Open the door. Let me in.”
Millie shouts out defiantly, “Not by the hairs of my chinny chin chin.” Millie hears Ystra groan in pain. Ystra surges against the door, trying to reach her arms further into the room. Ystra is stronger than Millie, the door is beginning to open. Millie sits with her back against the door and begins to cry. “Help me! Help me!” Millie screams, “Wilheim, there is an intruder. Do something! Jack, any advice? You always know what to do.” Jack starts to spell something out on the word wall before remembering that Millie can’t read. Wilheim picks up the book about screamers that Ystra lent them and the pages with the Screamer symbols Garesh drew.
The four pages fly into the air and flap in Ystra’s face. Ystra’s arms are caught in the door, so she can’t grab the papers off her face. She blows at the papers as hard as she can. This loud blowing only terrorizes Millie more, as she remembers the story about a werewolf breaking down houses. Jack leaves the word wall and floats down to hover over the torn pieces of paper that held the symbol for Undead. Millie stares at Jack. “Jack, I don’t understand,” Millie says, “What are you trying to say?” Jack flies to the book of Screamers that Wilheim is moving through the air. Jack spins around the book, until Wilheim notices and sets it down by Millie. Millie looks at the cover of the book, then back at Jack who has gone back to hovering over the paper that Millie tore to pieces.
Millie doesn’t really understand what Jack is asking her to do. Jack flies over to Garesh’s desk and bounces on pen and paper until Wilheim notices and carries a pen and paper to Millie. Jack bounces on the symbol for Undead emblazoned on the cover of the book about Screamers. A glimmer of a memory echoes in Millie’s mind. The lady’s hand on runes etched into the wall, invoking Screamers. “No!” Millie says, louder than she intended to. She begins to see what Jack wants her to do, but she won’t do it. She won’t think about that. She can’t… she… there is another way.
Millie takes the pen and traces a symbol on the paper and then onto the door. It’s not the Undead symbol she traces. “Wilheim, get out of the way. Jack and I will handle this,” Millie says with more courage than she feels, “Jack, follow my lead.” Millie holds the paper through Jack’s fiery form and tells him to enter. Jack disappears and the paper bursts alight with blue fire. Millie crumples the paper in her hand, hiding it in her fist. The flames grow large, spreading through her fingers and giving her the appearance of producing fire through her closed fist.
Millie steps back from the door. Ystra, not expecting the sudden relent, falls forward in the doorway, barely stopping her face from hitting the floor. She lays on her belly and looks up at Millie, who is trying to look as calm as possible with blue fire coming out of the paper hiding in her fist. “Doorways aren’t lined with silver anymore,” Millie says, “That’s alright. I don’t need silver. Why prevent trespassing when I can punish it instead?” Ystra scrambles to her feet and slowly steps backwards out the doorway. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were… I thought you were kidnapped,” Ystra explains, pleading for mercy, “I thought he was going to kill you. I didn’t know you were… you must be the other Incorporeal, the one that drove off Lauren.”
Millie doesn’t feel so scared anymore. Ystra is stumbling backwards and scared of her. Millie gets angry when she hears about Lauren. “Lauren? You’re the one that sent the nightmare spirit?” Millie asks accusingly. “No!” Ystra says, “It wasn’t my fault. I compelled her to not harm him, I promise.” Millie slams the crumpled burning paper against the symbol she drew on the door and whispers a command. The fire on the paper goes out and the door becomes ablaze with blue fire. The whole door, an inferno. Ystra shrieks and falls backwards before scrambling to her feet and running away. Millie puts her hand to the symbol drawn on the door and says, “Come on out, Jack.” The door returns to normal and Jack returns to himself as a small flying blue flame.