Noble Phantasms:
Name:
Christopher Robin
Nur%2ery RhyERRORme
A Story for Somebody's Sake
EX
Type: Anti-World
The book held by Caster, it is a small volume containing a finite number of pages, appearing to all the world utterly unremarkable until one turns the page. It is a biography, detailing the life of the living man Christopher Robin Milne from beginning to end, birth to death... or at least, that is was it
attempts to be; for the life of C. Milne is, in truth, utterly unremarkable. Milne's life was haunted from beginning to end by the ghost of the literary figure based upon him, and summoned as a Servant he is not different - the character of Christopher Robin overwhelms, overwrites, and utterly replaces the spirit of Milne, and so do the myriad of stories of Christopher Robin feature in the book, literally overlayed upon the text and rendering the life story of that tedious man completely unreadable. A biography that can't be read properly, the product of dual existences, so too is that tiny, tiny volume the true location of Caster's spiritual core; as long as it remains, so too will Caster. This is because Caster is not truly Christopher Robin Milne, the man who lived and died, but
Christopher Robin, the little boy who will live on forever in popular imagination. Using Milne's spirit as a shell, he is capable of maintaining himself as a being that never existed, using his status as a being of near-worship to force himself upon the world.
A distortion of the
Nursery Rhyme Reality Marble, it bares a number of similarities, but is distinct from it in many ways. To begin with, using the soul of a real person as a conduit allows Caster to maintain himself just as any Servant would, meaning he can survive without running dry his Master's supply of prana and burning their soul out in an instant. In exchange however, he should be
far weaker. Nursery Rhyme, after all, is an entire literary genre, drawing power from the worship and adoration from children around the world, whilst Christopher Robin is a singular figure barely a century old - the disparity is immediately clear. While Nursery Rhyme can exist thanks to thousands of children, Christopher Robin's sphere of cultural influence is far smaller... again, this is how things
should be. But rather than looking at what Christopher Robin
is, one must instead understand what Christopher Robin
means to the world; stories of a boy playing with his toys alone do not inspire such fascination, no. Christopher Robin represents something far grander than that, an ideal that exists in the hearts of the masses, an eternal child that allows him to become more than the sum of his parts. Whilst Nursery Rhyme draws from the children who enjoyed the beautiful tales of Carrol and company, Christopher Robin draws his power from the
adults of the world, across all of time and every culture, tapping into the concept of an idealised childhood that every grown-up believes in, the childhood they never truly lived, the childhood they wished they had, the childhood they want their children to have - widespread worship comparable to a Divine Spirit, it is collected and used to sustain the contradictory nature of Caster. A boy who is not Christopher Robin, stealing his name and using it to gain fame, the perverted existence of a man giving piggyback.
... Amongst the mana collected in this small book, even lies the hopes and wishes of C. Milne himself. Hopelessly sad, akin to a victim of kidnapping joining the very investigation searching for them, from the bottom of his heart Milne sustains the very spirit he so despised.
"I won't go away, as you will me to stay,
By your bed I shall pray, together we'll play,
I was not You, you were not Me,
You were not You, but I am still Me."
Also allows for the creation of...
The 100-Acre Wood
Perpetual Engine - On Infant Shoulders
A Reality Marble of the highest calibre, it is the 'setting' of Christopher Robin's story, one that is quietly overlaid over the surrounding area and quickly incorporates it into its own mass, distorting the very territory to suit one of A.A. Milne's storybooks; towers of stone become the tallest of trees, houses as huts, grand cathedrals a 'Skoolhouse' for all the world's children. Within the
100-Acre Wood the rules of 'a children's story' are exceptionally strong, and as such, even the natural law of death holds no meaning there, for such things as suffering and squall cannot exist in the mind of an eternally-innocent child. But it is not this that makes the
100-Acre Wood so remarkable, no, but it instead its ability to 'appoint characters'.
The
100-Acre Wood, the real forest, was but the playpen of Christopher Robin, a world unto itself where mere belief could animate a stuffed toy, turn sticks into swords, all manner of wonders than can only exist in a boy's playtime. So, too, does Caster retain the ability to make a bear of fluff into Winnie the Pooh - or, perhaps, to make a man into but another character. With but the most basic of conscious effort, Caster is able to label a given target, be it 'my friend, Eeyore' or 'one of the woodland animals', and have it accepted by the world; this effect completely overwhelms the target, rewrites their very existence for as long as they remain within the bounds of the Reality Marble, altering their personality and abilities alike to suit the new role. If Nursery Rhyme's
Nameless Forest has the power to rob one of their name, then Christopher Robin's
100-Acre Wood has the power to give one a new name, a new identity, a role to play for as long as they accompany Caster. There is no true defense against this effect, beyond having another individual come in from the inside and remind the affected party of their original identity, though this is not necessarily guaranteed to succeed; the greater the ego of the individual, the more they will cling to their new 'self', with higher levels of mental fortuity making the effects permanent until the Reality Marble. To make matters worse, whilst actually deploying the 100-Acre Wood requires a great deal of prana, the task of sustaining it is utterly negligible, for in the bounds of the Reality Marble, even Gaia herself is overwhelmed, subject to Christopher Robin having labeled her as 'The 100-Acre Wood', meaning the corrective impulse that would usually seek to crush a Reality Marble instead works to maintain it. A terrifying power indeed.
May also allow for...
Name:
Gate of Babylon
King's Hunny Collection
E ~ A++
Type: Anti-Unit
A dark red, key-shaped shortsword that connects to the "Golden Hunnyvault", the treasury of Gillie the Pooh, self-proclaimed king of the 100-Acre Wood and Caster's best friend! Allows that silly old Goldie to access his collection, connecting to the space within his vault, opening an "invisible door" that allows for the contents to pass through upon the user's command. The items that pass through the gate form ripples in the empty air as they appear. Contained within is the honey of the gods, the ultimate nectar, the original prototype from which all honeypots have been derived, unique in how utterly delicious it may be; the hives of Aristeus, the product of Ah-Muzen-Cab, the tears of Ra and the marvels of Melissa all pale in comparison to Gillie's collection of honey, which he uses both to sate his unceasing appetite and to overwhelm Caster's foes, drowning them in a torrent of such utter deliciousness even the gods of Uruk would weep.
Originally Posted by Hawkeye
