Myth Incarnation 4 - Relations and Ruminations 2(ON HIATUS)

No matter what though it was always either in or near the same castle from last night. He can barely even describe it as having a dream beyond that he knows he goes to sleep before it and wakes up from it. It would seem more like he was living a whole other life there if it wasn't so surreal there. Despite it being very realistic with him even being able to feel things and learn things while remembering everything there were tells that it wasn't quite real.

The world lacked a certain sense of continuity just like how others had described of what little they did remember of their dreams. Like imagine sitting at the dining table finishing dinner, but instead of leaving just suddenly appearing in the bedroom getting ready to go to bed or finishing your exercise only to suddenly find yourself in the shower without having to go there. Also the castle always seemed weirdly isolated, even more so than you would expect.

Sure sometimes new instructors, teachers or staff would appear. However, there never seemed to be anyone that came from nearby cities or really anyone not directly related to the activity going on right that moment. Also anyone not vital to his experience appeared quite generic both in appearance and behaviour.

Not unlike an NPC in a game where the developers just couldn't be bothered to put effort into giving them a fully fledged unique appearance and personality and preferred spending that effort on what they considered to be important. It was all just slightly uncanny, revealing that it wasn't a fully fledged world. Just a fragment or a figment not a reality.

Before he realises a few stops have already passed when he is suddenly roused from his thoughts when someone plops down beside him. He glanced away from the window to see a scruffy kid with an unkempt mop of dirty blond hair. He greeted him by nodding at him.

"Hey Lambert, Happy Birthday! Do anything good?" he asks Lambert.

"Hello Robert, It was quite alright. Cinthia convinced me to come see a movie with her and mother made us a delectable steak meal accompanied by a birthday cake for desert. How was your weekend?" Lambert asked him nonchalantly.

"I keep telling you to just call me Rob." he snorts back at him before his eyes light up. "Emily! Get over here."

A cute girl their age with shoulder length brown hair and bright blue eyes hurries over to sit in the aisle seat in front of them and turns around leaning on the backrest facing them with a broad smile. She was wearing some jeans and a loose cream coloured frilly top that gave her a casual, but still slightly feminine feel.

"Hey guys, flirting this early in the morning?" she says with a playful smirk. Robert frowns at her immediately, a flush on his face as he still remembers when he first joined their class two years ago before Lambert had his growth spurt that made his body a bit less feminine looking that he thought Lambert was a cute girl with great girlfriend potential and Emily would never let him live that one down for the rest of his life.

It didn't help that though less feminine now Lambert was still very attractive to both girls and boys though most of the boys would never admit to it and this definitely included Robert. Meanwhile Lambert had no real reaction causing Emily to roll her eyes as she really wants to see him flustered too, but she never seemed to be able to manage this. No matter how hard she tries Lambert always remains cool and collected with a slightly playful teasing edge.

"You're no fun Lam. Oh right. Happy Birthday!" she starts grumbling, but quickly changes track taking a bag of M&Ms from her backpack and stuffs it into his hands with a smile.

He raises his brow in bemusement, but cracks a small smile before opening the bag and tossing a few in his mouth, his eyes revealing a slight joy despite his neutral expression already having returned before sharing some with them too.

"Nom...nom Thanks Lambert." Robert says with a mouth stuffed too full with M&Ms which just makes Emily roll her eyes at him instead and Lambert chuckles lightly. Robert has always been this way after all, not caring what others think and a bit off a mess to be honest. If he did they might not have been friends now as most guys were too intimidated, embarrassed or both to spend time with Lambert and not many of the girls wanted to be just friends with him like Emily is.

He didn't mind too much interacting with the girls that were looking for more from him, but was glad that he was able to relax around Emily knowing there was no pressure to manage a respectable and healthy distance to not give the wrong impression. It was bad enough when he was just cute, but back then at least most just wanted to befriend and hug him like they would for any of their other cute girl friends.

However once he got his first growth spurt that was more extreme than the other boys in his class making him more muscular and tall causing him to look like he belonged in a higher grade rather than the others that things started changing and they started looking at him in a different way wanting more.

It had taken him some time to learn to manage his relationships without hurting the feelings of too many people. Though thankfully most had learned by now and other than some stares and glances most wouldn't push further than that anymore.

"Have you guys prepared for next week?" he asks curious about their preparations for exam week even though he can guess what their answers are going to be. Emily has a confident smile, but he can tell that though Robert is trying to smile confidently he is anything but and quickly looks away hiding his expression.

"...uhm... Of course!" Robert says a little too loud trying to overcompensate for his insecurity. Though not stupid he could never even keep up with Emily let alone Lambert and studying is just so boring that he always ends up distracting himself by watching TV, browsing social media or playing a game.

"I only need to revise my notes this week to refresh myself." Emily says nonchalantly. She is the type that would make sure she keeps up during the classes so she only needs to revise a little before exams rather than cram like crazy before the exam so she reliably manages to score above the average in class unlike Lambert who practically has perfect recall and only needs to read things once or Robert who was more of a social animal that tends to both get distracted in class and when trying to study.

They don't even feel like asking Lambert about his preparations as in their eyes he was practically a monster in this regard as they never see him study and still he manages to remain at the top of the class anyway.

The bus ride doesn't last much longer and they arrive at school shortly while they catch up on how their weekends were.

Myth Incarnation 3 - Relations and Ruminations 1

As Lambert steps out into the yard the sun is still annoyingly bright making him take out his sunglasses from his messenger bag which provide him some much needed relief. He can't help, but hope he will sleep better tonight so he doesn't have to deal with this. For a moment he was thinking he could sleep in class as he was far enough ahead that he could sleep in class for the next few months and he still wouldn't be missing anything, but this would be improper.

His sister impatiently drags him towards the bus stop around the corner to ensure they didn't miss it. It wasn't hard to keep up with her though due to his long strides compared to hers which slightly annoyed her, she was only one year younger yet he towered over her unlike the boys in her class and he had barely even started his growth spurt unlike her.

'It just isn't fair.' she thinks to herself. She is wearing a blue and white summer dress that comes down just past her knees despite it still being slightly cold due to it being early spring, her long chestnut hair flows as she turns around to look at him.

"Lam! Come on, you're making us late." she whines, though the slightly petulant behaviour is coming off more cute than anything else despite her best efforts.

"We'll make it sis, don't worry." he smiles and assures while he lets her keep dragging him along without any resistance. She nods at his response, but it doesn't slow her down at all.

Not long after they make it to the bus stop the bus is already there. The door opens with a hiss the clamouring of kids breaking out before they even board with the few kids from their neighbourhood. His sister quickly spots someone, waving her goodbye to him as she sits next to her best friend and classmate Carla who seems to be quite distracted blushing as she shoots him glances and quickly looking back to Cinthia who immediately started a conversation.

He playfully smirked winking at the girl. Her eyes go wide for a moment before her blush begins to spread all the way to her ears as she stopped glancing at him in embarrassment. While he walks further towards the back of the bus searching for an empty seat multiple others glance and stare at him, most of them being girls around his age unable to help themselves, he simply stands out for too many reasons most of all his unusual appearance and behaviour. If it wasn't for him being so attractive he would definitely be labeled a weirdo.

Despite growing up in a middle class American household and going to a public school anyone would believe it if they were told he was secretly a noble or royal descendent from England sent to study abroad and ready to head to Oxford after getting his high-school degree due to his Received Pronunciation accent and noble-like etiquette.

Due to his attractive-ness though to most of the girls rather than making it weird it only added to his charm as it made him even more of a Prince Charming in their eyes, but to many of the boys it definitely made him weird. Over the years everyone just got used to it though as it just being how he was for those that knew him.

Lambert quickly found an empty window seat a little further towards the back and didn't hesitate to take it for himself casually sitting down and started staring out the window letting his surroundings fade to the back of his mind as he tries to think about the strange dream and how drastically it suddenly changed this past night. They have always been strange and something he kept from others, because who dreams about the same place. Every. Single. Night.

They were never gory and horrific like this one was though. It's just too strange. At best they won't believe him and at worst he will be dragged to therapy to talk about what it means, but he doubts they would be able to since they are nothing like other people's dreams as he discovered after asking multiple other people throughout the years. Normal dreams generally fade from your memory and you don't learn things in them.

It was the complete opposite for his. He remembered them just like any real experience, not only that it was almost like having a whole other life there separate from his regular life. It is to the point where he has even been able to confirm that he is able to use the skills and knowledge he has learned in the dreams in his regular life. From simple things like acting or etiquette to far stranger things like swordsmanship and horsemanship.

Myth Incarnation 2 - Meet The Family

He suddenly awakens with a start in his bed covered in sweat. He quickly covers his eyes as the morning light is too bright and he needs a few moments to adjust to it.

"That was a bad one..." he mutters to himself still groggy from waking up. He has had the same kind of dreams every night for as long as he can remember. This was the first one since he'd had since he turned 13 just a few days ago. The strange thing is every time he had the dream he could remember it afterwards, but while in the dream he couldn't remember his previous visits very clearly making it impossible to use his prior experience while navigating the castle or manor or whatever it was.

This was the first time he had seen that room or the woman though and it had never turned THIS horrific and in most instances the dreams had been welcome escapes from his regular life. A shiver ran down his spine as usual he could remember the dream vividly as if he had really been there. Somewhere deep inside though he felt she looked a somewhat familiar though. He shakes his head to get rid of some of the sleep and glances at the time on his phone.

'No time left for more sleep' he thinks to himself as he makes his way to the bathroom where he rinses the cold sweat off his face, a quick glance in the mirror shows him his eyes are slightly redder than his usual auburn-like shade and he is even paler than he usually is. His face along with his relatively long wavy silky black hair and slender build give him a fairly feminine appearance only counteracted by being tall and covered in compact muscle that make him look more like a 15 year old than the 13 years old that he actually is.

All those things put together make him appear quite androgynous with sharp yet still feminine facial features that are even more exaggerated once clothes cover his muscular yet slim frame hiding away the few of his very masculine features.

'I need to get some better sleep, but these damn nightmares.' he grumbles to himself while he brushes his hair and teeth. He languidly heads back into his bedroom where he starts getting himself dressed

"Lambert! Are you up? Breakfast's ready." his mother yells from the hallway.

He sticks his head out the door and quickly answers.

"I'll be right there mother."

He quickly finishes getting ready and heads to the dining room the scent of freshly made breakfast already wafting down the hallways. He wore some slim black jeans, a purple shirt with the top button left open and finishing it off with a black waistcoat for a classy, but still somewhat casual look.

"...preparation for next week's tests?" he catches the end of his father's sentence just as he gets to the dining room. His father seems to be asking his sister about how her preparations are since she will be having tests at school all of next week. Thankfully he has already done the same last year and just has regular classes this time around, not that it would make any difference anyway.

She looks like she is about to answer, but turns to him as he enters the room and a warm smile forms on her lips.

"Morning Lam! Mom made scrambled eggs and bacon." she says enthusiastically. His mother quickly brought him his plate and his sister had already poured him a glass of milk.

"Thank you." he says to them smiling. His sister blushes lightly at his sincere thanks and looks away to her own plate.

"Of course. Don't take too long, the bus will be here soon." his mother says before heading back into the kitchen to finish their lunch boxes. His father is calmly sipping his coffee while finishing up the last of his eggs still looking at his sister.

"So what about your tests? his father asks her.

His sister glares at their father for a moment before ignoring him to turn back to Lambert and ask with a concerned look.

"You look pale, are you feeling ok? What about school?"

"I'll be alright, no need to worry." he quickly reassures her flashing her a gentle smile. He quickly starts loading some scrambled eggs and bacon onto a piece of toast and cutting it into bite size pieces. His sister rolls her eyes as she herself is munching her egg toast, she is going a little too fast though causing her cheeks to bulge like a chipmunk. It's quite cute and makes him involuntarily smile.

"Ok, hurry up you two. Today is chicken salad sandwiches." his mom calls out as she returns just in time to put the lunchboxes in their bags. They hurry and wrap up before clearing up the table. Their father gives his sister a kiss on the top of her head which she quickly brushes off as he shouts after her:

"Have a great day, study hard!"

Their mom gives them a quick hug and kiss as they are leaving. Surprisingly enough he is already as tall as her and it's not like she's short, rather being quite average in height.

"Be safe you two!" she says waving at them from the door with a smile on her face.

Myth Incarnation 1 - Where am I?

'Where am I?' he thinks to himself while frowning.

It's cold, dark and wherever he looks there's a reddish hue illuminating his surroundings. As his eyes adjust he can make out what seems to be a fancy hallway. There is some kind of runner along the centre and windows on one side of the hallway, when he stares out of the window to find out where he is all he can make out is black terrain as far as the eye can see and a giant mesmerising blood moon filling the night sky along with a few clouds struggling to cover it's size.

It's so big and deep red it seems impossible. When he looks further down he sees what appear to be castle wall and towers surrounding a snowy courtyard. It's eerily quiet and deserted wherever he looks, not another soul to be found despite the place looking quite well maintained rather than in ruins. For some reason it all feels eerily familiar to him, as if he has been here before, but he can't remember when or where like an itch in the back of his mind trying to claw its way out.

"Where the fuck is this... and where is everyone?" he mumbles under his breath.

He focuses back on the hallway and now that his eyes have had longer to adjust notices an assortment of armours, paintings, statues and more decorating the hallway along with numerous closed doors. There are candle holders along the walls with partially melted candles, but none of them are lit and he doesn't have anything to light them either.

As he slowly makes his way across the hallway towards the first door he rattles the handle, but it appears to be locked. He stars walking down the hallway to find someone or something to tell him more about this place and why he is here. It is so eerily quiet his ears start ringing from the silence the further along the hallways he goes when he finally can barely make out some distant moans.

Slowly following the sounds he makes his way through the seemingly endless hallways the moans getting louder while at the same time an oppressive feeling coming from all around him grows thicker and thicker. Eventually he turns the umpteenth corner and near the end of the hallway he sees a door that had been left ajar with a faint orange flickering light coming from inside.

He inches closer and closer to the door and the moans become slightly more audible, though they don't seem to be moans of pleasure. More like the moans and whimpers of pain along with subdued sobbing. He shivers and finally releases the breath he has been holding not sure if he should continue or just turn and run away as fast as he can forgetting all about this place.

Against his better judgment he creeps closer to the door as quietly as possible before peeking through the crack of the door. What he sees makes his blood run cold though, the flickering red light of candles dimly illuminates a tiled room, but he can make out multiple girls hung from the ceiling by black iron hooks and chains. Some are wearing maids outfits while others are completely naked. Some of them are covered in countless cuts, others whipped until they were bleeding.

One even still has a dagger embedded in her side as blood drips down their bodies. The worst thing is at least a few of them still seem to be alive and the moans and whimpers he had heard were coming from them, but their eyes are already lifeless. It was impossible to make out if they are even crying due to all the blood covering nearly every piece of their body he could see. The smell of blood is so overwhelming causing him to gag as he tries to prevent himself from throwing up.

The final thing to capture his attention is closer to the back of the room though. There he sees a standalone porcelain bathtub on black claw feet. Inside it is a viscous red liquid that can only be blood from the girls he sees. In the tub bathing among the blood is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her skin as pale as the moon, her luscious lips tinted ruby red and her lustrous raven hair cascading down her shoulders and the top of her plump milky breasts before landing in the blood slowly dying the tips red.

Suddenly she turns and looks directly at him and he can see her deep crimson eyes that seem to stare directly into his soul while she smiles revealing her porcelain teeth some of which seem sharper than they should be and despite her flawless beauty he feels like he is being stared down by a predator, but curiously at the same time there seems to be a little warmth there.

She slowly stands up in the tub and rivulets of blood slowly flow down her porcelain skin revealing everything without even a blush marring her pale skin. If his bladder wasn't empty he would probably have pissed himself right now. Before he realised he is already running down the hallway a chilling chuckle ringing from the room behind him as his hair stands on end and a cold sweat runs down his back while his heart beats faster than it ever has.

'Shit! Shit! Shit!' he is practically shouting in his mind as he can't get his thoughts straight to calm himself down.

He runs through and past what seems to be countless intertwining hallways not even knowing how long as he hast long lost track of time when he finally makes it to what appear to be the main hall. He rushed down the grand stairway towards a giant set of doors at the end of the hall. With all the force he could muster he burst through the doors out into the courtyard where he momentarily falls to his knees, the blood moon shining down on him and the white snow surrounding him giving it all a slightly red hue.

His breathing is ragged as he tries to catch his breath for a moment before climbing back up from his knees struggling to make his way across the massive courtyard towards the gatehouse and out the thankfully open gate afraid that he might be caught as exhaustion starts taking over he finally falls and slowly his consciousness fades away leaving nothing but darkness. The last thing he hears seems to be a distant crying.

Myth Incarnation(ON HIATUS)

Lambert has been having strangely vivid dreams for as long as he can remember and they just started getting weirder.

Find out more about his dreams and how they are impacting his life.