Ede Valley
So, it’s already been a month since I left home. Almost couldn’t believe it when I checked. It feels like I was just saying goodbye yesterday. And yet, I’ve already seen so much. Had a couple of wild nights in Discord, attended a few lectures on the occult at the college in Loeilham… And there’s still so much more out there. Isn’t that right, Mr. Griffin?
Not feeling chatty today? Fine, guess I’ll talk to myself, then. Both boys made it back safe. Even Mike, though he certainly complained about it. He really hasn’t been the same since Adelaide’s. It’s a little sad. Maybe I’m overthinking it + it’s just a phase. I think mom was just happy to see us all in one piece.
Lucius took me out to a very nice restaurant, which I think might have been a mistake, because now I’m going to miss him more. But at least I got to be the one to tell him stories this time.
But it’s just about time to take off again. Tommy’s heading to Discord so I’m hitching a ride on Mathilda. It’ll be nice to hang with him for a few days.
Wow. Okay, he really isn’t going to write anything, huh? I guess that makes sense. Now that I’ve seen it, I know that even physically Ede Valley is at the ass end of nowhere.
Now that’s an interesting one.
Okay, is this guy actually talking live? I really feel like I’m being fucked with.
Interesting only in the sense that it is remarkably normal—again, normal being entirely subjective. Yet, at the same time it is so normal that it becomes nearly… eerie.
I’ve been such a dumbass. I know exactly what triggers this stupid book. But anyway, go on, Mr. Griffin. I want to know what you think of my home reality. Ir’ll determine the degree to which I beat the snot out of you when we finally meet.
You could certainly try
What?
to place your finger on just what about it causes it to dip into the realm of the uncanny. But that may prove to be challenging. Ede Valley is the same sort of reality as places like Loeilham or Dryden, which are centered around one specific location. In this case it is, of course, the titular suburb.
It is a sleepy little town—though I admit I’ve never quite understood what that term means myself—and the residents will tell you that it is located in the “upper Midwest,” although there are no familiar cities or surrounding landmarks to verify that claim. For example, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul do not appear to exist, nor does Chicago, which are generally considered the three biggest cities in the region.
Are those cities in his reality? I was so confused back in Loeilham when he brought up “Chicago.”
Instead, Ede Valley has “the City.” Yes, though it sounds entirely fake, it is a real place that does exist, I verified that fact by stopping there myself. But ask any resident what the name of “the City” is and you will positively stump them.
Well, I know for a fact that’s not true. It’s name is
Holy shit he’s right.
The reality has several locations with a similar naming scheme. One may go on vacation to “the Lake,” or go camping in “the Country.” Each of these locations appear to be an all-encompassing ideal of the concepts they represent. The Lake is every lake you’ve ever rented a cabin on, with rocky beaches, vacation homes dotting the shorelines, speed boats, sail boats, and odd little islands dotted here and there. And of course there’s the back water little town that caters to all the cabineers. The City is much the same.
By this pattern, Ede Valley itself should be “the Suburbs.” However, this is where the system frays at the edges. On the surface, the town is exactly as described. There are nearly more concrete strip malls than people and long, winding neighborhoods of boxy houses with pools out back. It has schools and two libraries—very impressive. But that’s where the similarities end. Because even if the geography is normal, the people certainly aren’t.
Ede Valley attracts the strangest people I have ever met.
Yep. That sounds about right -_-
Some of the residents are outright strange; many supernatural entities exist within its confines. For instance, there is an entire remembered history and society of vampires—as if the cosmos needed any more of those. There is a plentiful population of daemons, and all manner of fantasy creature squeezed rather unceremoniously into an urban setting.
But what interests me the most are those who are not supernatural or other in some externally obvious way. There are many pure humans of Ede Valley who are simply just a little… wrong.
Excuse me?
For one thing, not one of them seems particularly perturbed by any of the stranger happenings around them. No one seems very bothered, for instance, by the boarding school built on the grounds of both a former insane asylum and government institute. Or the fact that the zoo is owned and operated by a paranoid schizophrenic who believes that the animal rapture is at hand, let alone that a mere suburb has a zoo at all.
You know, I guess I never thought about it.
Most realities which possess a supernatural presence include some sort of “masquerade” in their construction, the idea that normal mortals shouldn’t be aware of the existence of such beings. The reasoning varies, but in the end I imagine the answer really boils down to: it’s more fun that way. Such a masquerade does exist in Ede Valley. However, unlike in most realities of this nature, when presented with the existence of the supernatural or otherwise strange, residents of Ede Valley have a much stronger inclination than most to shrug and brush off the revelation. Panicking, or some other such reaction is much more common in other realities.
From what I’ve discovered, it appears that nearly everyone is involved in matters of the strange, either directly or indirectly, and simply assumes that everyone else remains ignorant. It appears that they are often more surprised to discover how deeply the others around them are involved than any actual revelation about the nature of their reality.
You know, I’ve read a couple of these now, but each time, it’s been from an outsider’s perspective. It’s really odd to hear someone talk about the things I consider normal in such a… detached way. It really makes me feel… small. Smaller than I felt when actually seeing it for the first time, from out there.
I mean, I suppose I’ve always known it, deep down. But of all things, this is the one that really put it into perspective. There really is a lot out there, isn’t there?
The cosmos is a truly big place, yet I feel that if anyone is equip to handle it, it’s the residents of Ede Valley.
I know he’s not actually talking to me, but I appreciate that.
If anything, it’s most likely a good thing that the study fell into the hands of someone like you.
I… motherfucker you can hear me.
Not well. Not yet. Follow the study. I look forward to your thoughts.
That’s it. I am so sick of being strung along. Where are you? Stop hiding in a stupid book.
Hello?
Ultimately, Ede Valley is a bizarre, but even potentially helpful reality. Despite the oddness, the people are filled with a very familiar sense of Midwestern hospitality—and passive aggression. And yet, more than most places I’ve studied in the cosmos, it feels just a little like home.
He’s gone. But for one second, I think was really here. I think he’s been trying to speak with me this whole time. Maybe. Does that mean I’m getting closer? I hope so.
I’m going to track you down, you enigmatic bastard. Whether you want to be found or not.
Good. I look forward to your efforts, Cynthia Miller.
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