The Oval

Returning from Oval this visitor found that she had recorded the following text in her notes:

The Oval appears to be a complex place, but thanks to the jealous blessings of the Blinking Monarch, it will all seem rather simple once you’ve left.

Unlike the KylixOrdinary thought is impossible in the baffling avalanche of the Kylix: sensations strike with such speed and force as to crowd out thoughts of a conscious mind, and upon returning from this manic dream no clear memories remain, only a flood of images and a delirium that can last for hours. As a result it is nearly impossible to describe this lamina, and quite dangerous to venture there, but recurring images provide some insight as to its properties.Turn to chapter, which is unfathomable yet results in a torrent of dreams and images upon return, the Oval leaves travellers with nothing except the vague notion of having interacted with a singular figure, along with a lingering scent of bitter resin. Again in contrast with the Kylix, there have been no reports of explorers failing to return, and so we can assume that either one retains one’s conscious faculties while on the Oval (a position bolstered by this visitor’s apparent ability to write while there) and is able to exit freely, or that some element inevitably returns visitors safely back through the apertureLocations where two realms are joined in such a way that you may slip between them. They appear as uncanny distortions through which passage can be disorienting and dangerous.Turn to chapter from which they entered. There is unfortunately nothing else to report.

The moniker “Oval” refers to the fact that all known apertures to this place take the form of tall, elongated ovals—through them can only be seen drifting greys and browns. Some experiments have attempted to ascertain more features of the Oval, employing animals or mirrors or flung articles tied to ropes, but no sufficiently reliable conclusions have been found worth sharing in the present work.