The Unblinking Sein
"I will die here."
"From between the trunks of trees around you darkness pours forth. An oozing blackness dripping from the ground and up into the air, trapping itself against the trees, sticking together and forming a rippling wall of darkness. Tympi hurries you along, complaints and fears put to rest as sometimes there is darkness in the world.”
The Unblinking Sein is a spirit of darkness and fear. Not much is known about its motives or what it is capable of beyond its general appearance and the deep sense of dread that fills the minds of those that encounter it. The Writer commented in his Field Guide that "Its presence seems to cause fear in the hearts of most travelers, and the constant thought of “I will die here.” forcibly fills the heads of all that see it." The entry for this spirit can be found here: Vine Wolf, Unblinking Sein, Fjarverand
Granted, no mention of this spirit beyond the Writer's one and only encounter with it are seen throughout the field guide, but these thoughts certainly filled his head as witnessed by The Spiritual Travelers during a dream the night of Nurend 12, 308.
Based on its ability to impose emotional states on people it is possible that The Unblinking Sein is an emotional spirit like Paranoia or Euphoria. Could it be some form of fear?
On Nurend 15, 308, Ilven revealed that she utilized this creature to kidnap Tympi and "keep her safe from herself". She offered a jar with a purple comet moth, much like Tympi, and explained her reasoning for doing so. Frode was the only Spiritual Traveler to be able to see what was happening to Ilven when she vanished along with Tympi at Thera Relovut. The darkness that dripped from her jar grew extra mouths, eyes, noses and the like with no sign of limbs while consuming Ilven. Her expression was calm, emotionless, and when Frode made contact with the substance leaking from the jar he too entered a similar trance with little chance of escape. The darkness was driven back by Agave's ability to call down beams of moonlight, however, and Frode was saved despite also being knocked unconscious. Ilven was not so lucky, and it is unknown what happened to Tympi as the entire group was blind or unconscious at the time.
On Nurend 19, 308 the Spiritual Travelers encountered this spirit again while trying to get Tympi back home to rest and heal. They first heard the rustling of leaves, twigs breaking, and other ominous sounds. This was quickly followed by the flapping of wings and then a voice which sounded much like Ilven mixed with a distorted choir of disembodied mouths coming from all directions.
The voices informed them that "There is no escape. There is no way back.” as the dark, oil or ink-like liquidy fog surrounded them. The mouths, snouts, eyes and tongues of this creature were all around them, and the anteater like snout they had seen each time was the first to be seen. Kaswink nearly died as her sense of self was reduced to nothing.
The spirit was still evidently weak to Agave's moonlight, though a prompt escape was soon discovered to be the best action as this creature was targeting their weaknesses while filling their minds with fear. Thoughts that they will die here echoed through their minds in their own voices, and unusual hallucinations were experienced by some of them.
Additionally, this fear made them anxious, exhausted, and at some point even isolated them so that they were facing this spirit alone. Focussing and meditating seemed to help lower their fear and bring them back to their friends, and Agave experienced a terror so great he was eventually unable to move, beginning to feel the quiet acceptance of the situation.
Getting out of the range of this spirit prevented further fear, but what they had experienced still lasted with them. Those that were alone still were until they spent time meditating or focussing their minds in other ways, and the residual fear and exhaustion is going to take a great deal of time to overcome.
History
The Spiritual Travelers had yet to encounter this spirit in their own bodies, though they did view it through the eyes of The Writer on Nurend 12, 258: the day that Tympi disappeared. This was also recorded by The Writer in their entry for Nurend 12, 258: Goodbye Tympi. Within this vision they were able to experience the fear felt by The Writer 50 years ago. They felt their hearts racing, breathing became difficult, they heard screams from some unseen person coming from all around them, and their vision became hazy before filling with ink. Through all of the noise of screams, heartbeats and breathing a phrase was clear which just repeated that they will die hear in their own voice. Tympi was able to also cut through this cacophany though, and her own voice was heard within the din as she comforted The Writer and instructed them to run away and to not look back.On Nurend 15, 308, Ilven revealed that she utilized this creature to kidnap Tympi and "keep her safe from herself". She offered a jar with a purple comet moth, much like Tympi, and explained her reasoning for doing so. Frode was the only Spiritual Traveler to be able to see what was happening to Ilven when she vanished along with Tympi at Thera Relovut. The darkness that dripped from her jar grew extra mouths, eyes, noses and the like with no sign of limbs while consuming Ilven. Her expression was calm, emotionless, and when Frode made contact with the substance leaking from the jar he too entered a similar trance with little chance of escape. The darkness was driven back by Agave's ability to call down beams of moonlight, however, and Frode was saved despite also being knocked unconscious. Ilven was not so lucky, and it is unknown what happened to Tympi as the entire group was blind or unconscious at the time.
On Nurend 19, 308 the Spiritual Travelers encountered this spirit again while trying to get Tympi back home to rest and heal. They first heard the rustling of leaves, twigs breaking, and other ominous sounds. This was quickly followed by the flapping of wings and then a voice which sounded much like Ilven mixed with a distorted choir of disembodied mouths coming from all directions.
Basic Information
Anatomy
"All of its mouths are open, its innumerable nostrils flaring up, eyes that line its snout and neck refuse to blink. Tongues reach out to lick at its stretched lips and the incredibly long proboscis of its anteater-like face becomes visible."
The Unblinking Sein, as witnessed by the Spiritual Travelers, was originally seen as a rippling wall of dark goop that began to surround them and Tympi while they were witnessing her disappearance through some dream-like state. A more "solid" form became visible as it grabbed hold of Tympi and filled The Writer's mind with thoughts of his death.
Its solid form loosely resembled the head and shoulders of a giant anteater. No limbs were visible, just the upper/front portion which were covered in eyes, noses and mouths with stretched lips and tongues reaching out to lick at the air or moisten said lips. Only the main mouth of the creature was long and anteater-like while the rest were more flat and humanoid. While it was mostly dark and inky like the substance it appeared from, fur was also visible.
When the Spiritual Travelers encountered this spirit on Nurend 19, 308 it was a massive cloud of dark fog which had an unusually liquid texture about it almost resembling ink or oil. Innumerable mouths, eyes and grotesque visages filled this oil and surrounded them.
When the Spiritual Travelers encountered this spirit on Nurend 19, 308 it was a massive cloud of dark fog which had an unusually liquid texture about it almost resembling ink or oil. Innumerable mouths, eyes and grotesque visages filled this oil and surrounded them.
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