[center][h2][b]Ophelia[/b][/h2][/center]

Ophelia waited for that usual feeling of the Waking World to come back into being, like a heavy veil of unseen mist or a diaphanous sheet of silk being lifted gently away--only to find that the peaceful etherealness of the Dream was not the only mode of experience the Nightmare offered. She felt here the keening song of those whose desires had eclipsed their sense of humanity, their eagerness for insights beyond this world such that they felt it worthwhile to enact a calamity so profound its effects were still felt even now--she felt their loss and their rage, their fear and their dolour, all with a screeching overtone of an agony that could only be felt rather than understood. It did not rattle her, but surprised her deeply to transition from the closeness of her guiding moonlight's bright embrace to feeling its distance dim without the benefit of the Guidance rune... like she'd been before. It was close enough to Hemwick that it reminded her of there, and it felt in a bizzare way almost like home, but many times stronger than it had ever felt and without the kinship and warmth of her coven. She shuddered briefly, and looked around at the desolation that had been caused here at the epicentre of it all. Where she'd seen Naira utterly evaporate a scavenger and take notes on the results. Up at the Amygdala. She tilted her head curiously, bringing her right forefinger to her mouth as she observed them, and then pursed her lips as her hand returned to her side.

"So that's what they look like. Almost... insectoid? But... reminiscent of a tumour, or... or a tonsil, perhaps? Maybe even something of fungus? The beings of Nightmare must look at us with this same incredulity, this same lack of familiarity... I suppose we are to them what animals are to us? It's nice to see you for once, Amygdala." Ophelia mused, her voice that particular wavering tone that suggested she didn't know whether to laugh or cry... but it rang out clarion-clear, without any vacillation. She turned to Gerlinde, and smiled a very wan smile indeed.

"So this is how you experience the world... Does it hurt too much, to return to what it's like to be flesh and blood? Does the agony here resonate with yours? Oh, love..." Ophelia asked, eyes wide and almost sparkling from a hint of moisture. She quickly took the runebrand, visualised the Guidance rune, and pressed it to her skin. The phantom pain was something she never even flinched at, but here it seemed to resonate as though with the chimes of a bell. She still had Pallid's bell on her, she recalled, or with the Messengers perhaps, and she noted how each peal and clang's resonance had felt as it caused something dreadful within her to build. Only this time the climax was the rune taking hold, knowledge and understanding blossoming within her like a flower... and then the bliss of gentle moonlight once more, and the weak and distant light of her sword grown just as bright as it had felt in the dream. 

"Ahh, that's better. I'm sorry, love, you'll have to bear the brunt of the creatures of Nightmare alone. I require the services of another rune--and between us, naught will escape our notice. Do you remember how we're supposed to... get in?"