View source for Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House

{{Event
| title1= The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House
| image1= 
| aka=
| type= 
| date(s)= 
| location(s)= Shores of [[the Tarn]], [[Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|unnamed universe]]
| part_of=
| result(s)= Destruction of [[the Strange and Wonderful House]]<br>Acquisition of a [[House seed]] by [[Jenny Everywhere#At the Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|Jenny Everywhere]]
| actors= [[The Strange and Wonderful House]]<br>[[Jenny Everywhere#At the Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|Jenny Everywhere]]<br>[[Dragon (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Unidentified Dragon]]
| first_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]''
| also_seen_in= 
}}The '''Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House''' was the final destruction of [[the Strange and Wonderful House]], witnessed by [[Jenny Everywhere#At the Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|an incarnation]] of [[Jenny Everywhere]].

== History ==
=== Destruction of the Bodhi Tree ===
At some point, a man came to lie between the roots of [[the Bodhi Tree]] in [[the Gardens]]. He never moved or aged, although his blue eyes were wide open. He became known as “[[the Bodhi Son]]”, and a [[Loom weaver (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|superstitious old woman]] started a tradition of placing candle-prayers at his feet. Over time, this developed into a full religion, with a cathedral of wood and stone being carefully built in the shade of the Tree, with the Bodhi Son lying in the narthex. Eventually, a fire broke out, burning down the cathedral and the Tree itself, but the Bodhi Son was unharmed, crying in his sleep as his face covered with suit. In the instant when the Bodhi Tree finally died, he blinked as he awoke. When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer blue, but green like the Tree's leaves had been. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 39-III: The Bodhi Son|The Bodhi Son]]'')

=== Waning days ===
Over the years, entities from the many realities which connected to [[the House]] continued to make the House more dangerous, despite [[#The Observatory|the Observatory]]'s best efforts. They included such foes as [[Lovecraftian nightmare god]]s, steampunk pirates and [[zombie]]s. Eventually, [[Robert Quick (in-universe)|one member]] of the original group of people who had “dreamed up” the House, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'') possibly the same individual as the modern-era [[Master of the House]] who had once visited [[the Bodhi Tree]] with [[Sid]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Acccursed Springs)]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 39-II: The Will of the Creator|The Will of the Creator]]'') came to believe that he was the last survivor, though the House itself still stood firm. His certainty was shaken when he heard an echoing laugh coming from a room which hadn't been there before, and entered it. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'') However, he found himself alone in the serene [[the Room of Renewal|Room of Renewal]], with a picnic laid out for him. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 59: Room of Renewal|Room of Renewal]]'')

=== Fall ===
Eventually, the final Fall of [[the House]] was foreseen; when “all the artifacts had been auctioned off, the [[ghost]]s had all found other places to haunt” and “the alchemists had moved their Great Work elsewhere”, the last two people to leave were [[Jenny Everywhere#At the Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|an incarnation of Jenny Everywhere]] and a [[Dragon (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Dragon]]. Jenny actually hadn't been to the House in ages, but found that she would somehow still miss it. She had returned to the House just before its fall to retrieve something: a [[House seed]]. 

Jenny and the Dragon watched forlornly as a bolt of lightning shot down from the “lead-coloured sky” and struck the House. A blue fire consumed the vast bulk of the House within moments, leaving nothing but ruins which crumbled into [[the Tarn]]. After a long moment of silence, the Dragon declared: “So it goes. All things must have their time”, before asking Jenny if she “ha[s] taken everything [she] need[s]”. She showed the Dragon the House seed before pocketing it, and, with no further ceremony, the two walked off elsewhere, leaving behind the silent shores of the Tarn. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 60: The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House]]'')

[[Category:Events]]
[[Category:Open-Source Characters and Concepts]]