Mon, Apr 29, 2024
We see a world awash in color and light. A copse of trees, ancient and trembling with unutterable power, shifts in the breeze, each gust a bout of laughter rustling through the foliage. Moss-laden boughs hang heavy toward the dense underbrush, vibrant flowers bursting from the growth in clusters. Fungi, thrumming lowly like a taut lute string, creak and pop happily against the sodden roots and gnarled trunks of the trees, preening in the dappled, golden light of the sun. A ring of them sing from their spot at the trunk, flashing a moment, before opening to reveal a rumbling wooden escalator. As we ascend, we see posters with eye-burning branding - sparkling, shimmering, and smelling faintly of cinnamon with each patron's scratch. We emerge to the sound of a raucous crowd. Upturned bell-shaped flora cradle puffed treats, slathered with butter and dusted with sugar, petals emblazoned with boxy branding. Whirling machines of copper and verdure whip squealing children about in great circles, their laughter swallowed by the whistling wind around them. The path ahead is winding; casting your gaze upon it for more than a moment sends a throbbing pulse of pain behind your eyes. Booths line its sides, emerging from the canopy carnies with sharp-toothed grins and magic whirling in their eyes leaning languidly across them. Welcome, all of you, to Hlehhanæfre's Funfaire.