Natalya Lamb

"Secrets have power. And that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well. Sharing secrets, real secrets, important ones, with even one other person, will change them. Writing them down is worse, because who can tell how many eyes might see them inscribed in paper, no matter how careful you might be with it. So it's really best to keep your secrets when you have them, for their own good, as well as yours."

Natalya isn't human. She looks human but isn't. Maybe she never was. Maybe she doesn't remember a time before she is as she is now. Time touches her strangely and its flow can be erratic around her and other members of the carnival. Other little changes mark her as different. She's been called a shapeshifter. A fae. A freak. An "Other". She accepts labels gladly but confirms none. She simply is. If a person were to corner her and ask her, she'd tell them to make up their own mind. Ask a dozen different people and they'll give a dozen different answers, each more true and contradictory than the next.

Inhuman organs and inhuman blood, even if it's red. A small bump that moves beneath her skin and is visible for a moment before scuttling under a piece of clothing or disappearing entirely. Those wide eyes almost look hungry now but for what? Sugared lips hide unusual dentistry that still looks human. They're sweet to taste, in a late-night kiss, before the poison starts to work and spread its numbness. What's that scuttling noise? Was her smile that large before? You hide in the dark but she can sense your body heat like a viper. She moves so quickly. She opens her mouth again and there's fangs like a snake... pedipalps like a spider... a slithering noise and that little body wraps around you like a constrictor. She smiles, her mouth opening wide... wider...wider than it should be able to... before she begins to devour you whole...

And then you wake up. Another odd dream spurred by a pair of eyes you saw at a nighttime carnival. You made a deal but you broke it and now she's been haunting your sleep. You'd apologize but the circus has already moved on.

Natalya is a creeping thing. An Autumnal witch. Made of falling leaves and other things that slither or scuttle. She's comfortable with all kinds of animals but those are her favorites. Snakes, spiders, the things that live under the log when you roll it over.

What is she specifically? It may never be defined. Maybe she doesn't know herself. Maybe she doesn't kiss and tell. Maybe it depends on the day, month, or phase of the moon. Maybe it depends on what the person interacting with her wants her to be.

Natalya's special talents are enigmatic, like her. None of them are innate but a result of some bargain struck somewhere between her and the world. If fire doesn't burn her, it's because she's made a deal with fire not to do so. If she can fly, it's because the air has agreed to lift her or a bird allowed her to use its aspects. Everything in Natalya's world is give and take; the art of the bargain.

Natalya uses her skills to shape her environment, even in the mortal world outside the circus. This is an anthromorphing of the forces at work. Whether subtle or gross, she can tweak the world in a number of ways, both around and even inside of those who seek her or who earn her ire. Like any bargain or contract, these deals also have loopholes, which a clever person can exploit... and which the layman has no way of comprehending.

A person feels a mild shudder of fear and the shadows seem longer... all the more poignantly because Natalya is frightening them into her dwelling.

Natalya learns a person's desires... perhaps a specific one, one they hide, or one they hide even from themselves... and it's because she kissed them within the last day.

A child becomes as healthy and alert as if they'd had a full night's rest with a full breakfast... because they freely offered Natalya some of their cotton candy.

The witch knows what you're afraid of... because you don't know her name yet.

Natalya looks in your eyes for a moment... and tells you what the root of your sorrow is.

These are examples to highlight the mercurial and temperamental way her magic flows. It's not the evocative flash of a wizard or the crack of lightning but the weaving of the extraordinary into the ordinary by action, thought, emotion, or other less nebulous concepts.

"Dreams surely are difficult, confusing, and not everything in them is brought to pass for mankind. For fleeting dreams have two gates; one is fashioned of horn and one of ivory. Those which pass through the one of sawn ivory are deceptive, bringing tidings which come to naught, but those which issue from one of polished horn bring true results when a mortal sees them." - Homer, The Odyssey

The world of dreams is quite real to Natalya. There's a connection between her, the circus, and the dreams of mortals who visit it. Principles of manipulation carry over, teaching her how to manipulate the other, and understand the labyrinthian logic of the dreamscape. Natalya is a lucid dreamer; she retains control over her own and can mold or shape them with great aplomb. Her dreams can be turned into the fulfillment of every whim or desire she may experience. It's an art called oneiromancy.

Natalya can enter the dreams of others as well, applying her knowledge to foreign visions. She does this for multiple reasons, some benign and others self-serving. Dreams are a microcosm of the hidden world. Anything is possible within their boundaries. Not all dreams are the same. Some are powerful, intense dreams that snatch up both dreamer and dream-walker for the ride. Others are wisps of imagery and vague symbolism, poorly remembered when awake. These are more easily manipulated.

Recurring dreams... memory dreams... wish fulfillment... prophetic dreams... nightmares... all with different intensities and purposes. Such intrusion isn't without its risks of being noticed of course. Those whose dreams she visits tend to remember Natalya, all the more strongly depending on the strength of the dream and how long or how often she visits them. Natalya can craft dreams for individuals as well, a skill she's particularly adept at, but such things carry a high price. Still... the ability to customize one's dreams has led more than one curious person to her tent.

Many things can be done in dreams. A healing dream could be crafted to allow a person to mend physiologically and psychologically. To relieve stress. To teach important lessons. And yes, nightmares too can be crafted for those who earn the witches' ire.

There are other things in dreams to. Things Natalya watches for. Things even she fears. Things which she hunts and hunt her in turn, across the landscape of others dreaming minds.

Stories speak with a universal language. Patterns and symbols emerge from the narrative. Characters undergo triumphs and tragedies that, on the surface, seem wildly different and wholly unique. Dig deeper, though, and one finds that many common threads link the tales, with archetypal elements shared betwixt the two. This is true for ancient mythology, local folklore, timeless fairy tales, and comes full-bore into literature, television, film, and even video games. The same patterns reveal themselves time and again. Same hooks, different faces. Old ideas, new presentations. The symbols lay obfuscated and it takes effort to see them but they're there... waiting only to be discovered.

Natalya has a cosmic awareness that she herself is living a kind of narrative. No, the fourth wall doesn't come tumbling down. She notices the patterns emerge. Fate is a major architect in the land and Natalya is not only marked by it but has the ability to adjust the rudder, so to speak, when it comes to "steering" the nature of destiny.

Life is a story or at least a loom of many stories winding together. If one is astute enough to notice the patterns emerging, one can see what kind of story is slowly being stitched together. By noticing those patterns, Natalya can then attempt to influence future patterns, predicting what may come and try to usher events towards a different outcome. It's a basic premise; Natalya recognizes this is the part of the story where the "villain" harms one she cares about, so she moves to diligently protect them. She knows a truck is barreling down the road toward her so she hopes to step out of the way.

She can carry it further. Orchestrate events so the story twists, so destiny works for her. This is risky. Fiddling with the knobs can have unwanted repercussions. It isn't cut and dry. Fate doesn't like to be toyed with and yet it's addictive. It's called "tale-crafting" though she's not really crafting new tales or even new elements to old stories. She's tweaking the tale, twisting them (hopefully) to her service. Hoping that the rules of fate and laws of story can be manipulated in just such a way to provide a different outcome.

Cruel twists of fate can creep in, however. Natalya might not be able to account for everything or control every part of the tale-craft. All that glitters is not gold, after all. A reward may prove to be a curse more than a blessing, someone near her might suffer for the effort, no good deed goes unpunished, fate can snap back with a mean bite, or other horrible complications can arise. Tale-crafting isn't safe. Grabbing destiny by the back of the head and forcing it to gaze at the tale unfolding is no small task.

Natalya will tale-craft for others but her price is steep. No guarantees are ever made. But if you've come that far to seek it out, how willing are you to ignore a chance to save a loved one from a terminal illness? To get that job you wanted? To find the love of your life? How much would you be willing to sacrifice, when all seems lost, to make an impossible dream come true in the real world?