Domain Page

[a_better_man]

Mat's domain is ever changing in subtle ways, but certain aspects remain fixed. The area seems to be a vast woods at the base of a mountain range, though the mountains are an illusory backdrop that one can walk right through. At the center is a small manor house surrounded by a small and relatively shallow lake. Animals and birds can be heard all over the domain, and paths wind through the forest to little clearings and streams and a few small caves.

In one corner of the domain, there is an idyllic pond surrounded by trees, and at 'night' colored lights dance over its surface.

And the more one looks and investigates, the more one realizes there's all sorts of strange and whimsical sights tucked all over the woods. They change from week to week, it seems, and one never quite knows what one will find. Badgers wander all over. Sometimes they can be seen acting out little scenarios, dressed in human clothing and walking upright. One might look into a hollow of a tree and see a family of well dressed badgers playing some kind of board game, or settling in for afternoon tea. Or it could reveal a tunnel lined in lanterns that leads to a tiny room with a single table and chair. Investigating a cave might reveal a symphony coming from the stones while mushrooms dance to the tune, or the interior filled with abstract crystal sculptures in every color.

Sometimes structures that look like ruins appear, containing whatever treasures Mat has thought up at the time. Ghostly balls, upside-down rooms with furniture on the ceiling, a luxurious palace suite that looks untouched by time or dust.

Wander through the trees and you may find some of them telling jokes of varying quality, almost all pun-based. Or that when the wind blows through the leaves it produces chimes like musical bells. Fantastical birds with rainbow plumes might glide overhead. Some leave shimmers of light in their path.

There are all sorts of animals to be seen, some mundane and others....not. Deer, rabbits, foxes, birds...a fox that looks to be made of shards of white crystal. A vaguely cow-shaped creature with a smooshed, dog-like face. An attempt at a platypus that appears to be simply a beaver with a large yellow duck's bill. In the lake by Mat's little manor house, you may notice a....bear? Swimming around. It's bear-shaped and sized. But it has flippers akin to a walrus and very short sleek fur like an otter, and a somewhat fish-shaped face with a single long horn coming out of its head. And in the yard and grounds around the house is a horse-sized badger with particularly long thick fur. All the animals are, if not friendly, not aggressive.

And thanks to Julie, Gizmo is running around.