S A U D A D E

Toyhouse

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A gentle nightmare, brought into being by memories charged with feelings of grief and longing. Memories that are brought to life in the sleeping world, returning to you for a brief time that which you knew was lost to you forever. The line between dream and reality blurs in the tide of emotion, before the truth is made known and you wake to tears in your eyes. Sometimes, the most frightening thing of all is simply knowing you must wake.

About

Long ago during the Hundred Years War, Saudade took part, though not in quite the way you'd first expect. She was a Stygian not on either side - rather she was one who advocated that both Stygian and Treatling could co-exist. But fighting for that belief cost her dearly, and in an attempt to stop a battle alongside her like-minded companions, she was killed by a Treatling. Her remains were placed into a jar, and there she slept for quite some time, before she was awoken...

After becoming reacquainted with herself and her kingdom, both the things that were the same and that which had been lost with her death, she met Somnia, Rui, and Lunera. Grateful for his help waking her, Saudade warmly agreed to join their team. She took great joy in their adventures, making new friends, and even found herself growing particularly close to Somnia. As a result of this, it is no wonder that, coupled with her gentle and nurturing nature, that she is now seen as the 'team mom' of sorts, and it is a role she embraces. She spends her days gardening and overseeing the group alongside Somnia.

✧ The Little Spirits: Like all familiars, this group is made up of little extensions of Saudade herself, that are able to act independently. Saudade however, believes quite strongly that the spirits of the animals they take their appearances from still reside somewhere within them. She is very protective and motherly toward them as a result of this belief. According to her, their names are Dudley (dark duckling), Vanellope (sable point rabbit), Coalette (black rabbit), Lucas (duckling on far right), and Snowy (cat).

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Kingdom: Mono no Aware Forest

Saudade's kingdom is a vast forest at the base of a mountain, eternally suffused in sunlight. The mountain is inaccessible to dreamers, who can only stare through the trees up to it, longing to reach its peak but unable to. The effect of komorebi, the interplay of light through the leaves of the trees, is powerful here and evokes feelings of peace and wistfulness. Dreamers drift through the forest after strange figures that dance between the light - figures of lost loved ones, who have been lost to the dreamer for any number of reasons. The nightmare is odd in that it does not necessarily evoke feelings of fear in the traditional sense - instead it plays on the pains of the dreamer, having lost and fearing to lose again.

Something about the place feels melancholic, nostalgic, as the light dapples through the leaves. The ghost of a person drifts ahead through the beams of light, always a few steps ahead of you, too far to touch. It tugs at you, a longing for the past. You don't want to leave...but you can't stay, either.