[color=#1A1A3B][b][u][h1][sub][sub][sub]Farren[/sub][/sub][/sub][/h1][/u][/b][/color]		    ‘awoke’ once more within the Dream and a strange surge passed through his blood, a feeling that was now familiar. It must have been whatever strangeness was in his manufactured paleblood. Unlike before, where he’d felt strangely foggy of mind, his reactions slower, now it was like…like every muscle in his body briefly [i]sang[/i] with new strength.

It had happened once before, and it made him wonder how precisely it was happening at all. Without any echoes…some force was imbuing him with strength…and perhaps taking away from elsewhere at its leisure.

Intent on finding an explanation, Farren considered asking Ophelia, only to notice Torquil’s seeming discomfort. He frowned, his good spirits shifting to a strange unease he couldn’t quite explain. An unease that only intensified when Torquil spoke. It didn’t sound like him at all, it sounded warped and…hollow. Constrained somehow. Farren couldn’t help but take an instinctual step back, his hand finding the hilt of one of his blades by reflex.

It got worse.

So so much worse.

Farren’s eyes widened as Torquil removed his mask and he sucked in a sharp, almost hissing breath. He’d never seen anything remotely like the horror he now beheld…a head of…a fly, a mosquito, or some other foul pest seemed to have…replaced Torquil’s human visage…or, Farren supposed that his head had transformed wholesale.

His throat and mouth were dry all of the sudden and a dawning horror swept through him as an anxiety manifested itself deep in his bones. If this was a result of the Vicar’s actions…this very thing could happen to him too.

And it was horrible enough that it had happened at all, let alone to poor Torquil. [color=#1A1A3B][b]“Godsblood,”[/b][/color] Farren swore quietly as he stared, unable to look away.

[color=#1A1A3B][b]“O-ophelia!”[/b][/color]

Farren called out—it was perhaps the only time he’d yelled her name outside of a combat situation, if he’d even done so then. Even as his voice rang out, he forced himself to tear his eyes away, looking to Gerlinde, hoping she wouldn’t take any drastic actions.