The Death's-headed Sphinx

The Death's–headed Sphinx has occasioned much terror among the vulgar, at times, by the melancholy kind of cry which it utters, and the insignia of death which it wears upon its corslet.

Aside from the Convocation, there's a very similar Fear known as the Intrusion. The Intrusion is all but identical to the Convocation, with the primary distinction being that the Intrusion is comprised of bugs rather than birds.

As it turns out, some of the Intrusion's bodies are big.

Really, really big.

This one was longer than I am tall. Reminded me of this thing I've heard of, the sea scorpion. I think I've heard of the Intrusion using extinct bodies, actually. (Where does it get its bodies, anyways? Does it just... pick them up as it goes?)

I'm honestly shocked. I seemed to be the only one to see it. I think I've heard of the perception filter... you know, this thing where people who don't know about the Fears can't see them, or see them differently. Pretty convenient for the Fears, if you ask me.

I fled, of course. Fortunately, it was fairly slow, and I was in a large, open city. Evasion was fairly simple.

I managed to find somewhere to sleep: the home of a generous, and apparently very trusting, old lady.

I awoke to insects. They were crawling all over me. My host's home had seemed very well-kept, for someone who let random hobos sleep there, so this... probably wasn't normal.

I tried to get them off me as cleanly as possible. Then I climbed out the window. I wasn't giving this thing any more time than it needed with me.

- Poe

His Isolation

I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone —
And all I lov'd —
I lov'd alone

Early in my days as a Runner, even before Port Austin, I was paranoid. More than I am now, I mean. I had no friends, or even companions. I was too scared to make any; anyone could end up dead, insane, or a traitor. It was inevitable, I suppose, that he would come for me.

It was already cold out. Then I heard someone singing nursery rhymes—muttering more than singing, really—and felt the temperature go even further down. I shuddered. I’d heard of him, but the irony of the situation, that my paranoia about endangering myself ultimately put myself in more danger, was not lost on me. You see, there is a Fear called the Cold Boy. He is the fear of isolation.

I started to run the other way from where I heard the muttering, but out of the snow and the mist, he appeared in front of me. I stopped abruptly and shuddered with cold, pulling my coat tight around me. I suppose this won’t come as a surprise to the brainiacs in the audience, but being around the Cold Boy makes you... rather cold.

The Cold Boy reached out to me as I stood still. I tried to walk away, but the cold made me ungodly-slow. His touch on my arm felt… strange. I could feel every facet of his crackling skin. I recoiled, and he pouted, saying, “You’re so cold. Don’t you want to be friends?”

I was thinking something to the effect of “not particularly,” but my chattering teeth kept me silent.

I woke up in a hospital, where I was being treated for frostbite. The doctor couldn’t figure it out; for most people, it hadn’t been nearly as cold out as it had been for me. He asked if I had gone into the water, and I told him I had. I felt bad for lying, but I couldn’t exactly tell him the truth, either.

The Cold Boy visited several times past that point, but fortunately, this became rarer as I started taking on traveling companions. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t come for me for a few years now. Doesn’t he go for people who interact with others, but still feel lonely?

- Poe

The Fury of the Tempest

The fury of the tempest immediately died away, and a dead calm sullenly succeeded.
For around a month now, I've been Running with a guy calling himself Omega. I never bothered asking for a real name. Things like that stop mattering when you've been Running long enough.

It was in a run-down city that it happened. I'm not going to say what the city's name was, nor what state it was in. I will say, though, that Omega and I were there, and we suddenly heard something in the distance.

I turned around to see smoke and hear the rattling of chains. Omega and I both started to run; I looked over my shoulder and saw death itself. It was the Brute, a Fear made of smoke and wrapped in chains. He stood there, motionless, watching us intently. I tried to get away, my suspicions confirmed. I heard a loud noise, and glanced at Omega. A chain had coiled itself around his ankle.

Sorry to say, I didn't even try pulling the chain. There was no point; there was a Fear on the other end. I just ran. I think my cowardice saved my life.

- Poe

The Red Death

Thank Heaven! the crisis—
The danger is past,
And the lingering illness
Is over at last—
And the fever called “Living”
Is conquered at last.

It was a small town by the name of Port Austin. I had Run there. I was just getting started; otherwise, I probably would’ve already written this down. But I think my memory will be good enough this time around.

The Convocation, the thing inside the Faceless Bastard, is only one of the things out there. There is also the Plague Doctor. The Plague Doctor is a... person... in a bird mask that spreads sickness wherever he goes.

You see, the Convocation is the fear of nature embodied. The Plague Doctor is the fear of disease.

The Plague Doctor killed almost everyone in Port Austin. Not me, obviously, but most. He clearly wasn’t concerned about subtlety. I almost wondered if he was trying to warn me off, although I don't know why he'd do that instead of just killing me.

I saw him at one point. I ran, of course. The point is, though, that's how I know it was his work.

The Plague Doctor used hemophilia, except it was highly contagious, and fatal within half an hour. Hemophilia, for anyone who might be unaware, is a disease that causes bleeding, dizziness, and pain. If you ever had to read "The Masque of the Red Death" for a high school English class, that probably sounds pretty familiar.

Now, my understanding is that ordinarily, hemophilia doesn’t act quite the same way as it did back in Port Austin. I’m no pathologist, but I do read the news, and the news said that the outbreak was highly irregular. The hemophilia was contagious and fatal, and sufferers experienced pains and dizziness—mind you, both of these exist in hemophiliacs, but rarely as frequently and sharply as at Port Austin.

What I’m getting at is that I don’t think that was hemophilia.

I don't feel too great about this whole thing. I was young and naïve, and it was a few years ago at this point, but hundreds of people are dead because of me, and I can't bring myself to think of that as okay.

- Poe

Vast Formless Things

Mere puppets they, who come and go
At bidding of vast formless things
That shift the scenery to and fro
There are a number of Fears out there, beings that embody different anxieties shared by the human race.

Fears often have servants, willing or otherwise; some of these servants have powers or visible alterations to their appearance, while others do not. Fears also tend to have domains, otherworldly locations that seem to work on a different form of logic to our own reality.

There are too many Fears to list. Suffice it to say that if you see things that don't make sense, don't second-guess yourself. Run.

- Poe

Their Condor Wings

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
There are bad people out there. There are people out there who would be dismissed as Snidely Whiplash ripoffs if they were written into works of fiction. As it happens, I've met some of these people.

The first time I saw true evil was around four years ago. I had a girlfriend, Addie, and she was ripped apart by birds. There was nothing I could have done.

I was driving with her, taking her to a movie, and we saw a man by the side of the road, his face covered by a mask. This was around the time two convicts escaped from MCC Chicago, so we were both feeling pretty on-edge. Besides, hitchhikers in weird masks aren't a good sign under the best of circumstances. We sped up.

He lifted his mask, and birds came out. I was so horrified and confused, the car crashed into a tree while I was staring at the masked man. The car was wrecked so badly that the birds were able to get in on Addie's side. They tore her to pieces.

The masked man started to walk forward. I slammed the car into reverse, and somehow, it was still working. It slammed into the masked man with a surprising amount of force.

He survived. I drove. I tried to forget what had happened.

I failed.

Did that day mean anything to the Faceless Bastard? I don't think so, and it stings so much worse this way.

- Poe