Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House

The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House was the final destruction of the Strange and Wonderful House, witnessed by 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 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: 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's best efforts. They included such foes as Lovecraftian nightmare gods, steampunk pirates and zombies. Eventually, one member of the original group of people who had “dreamed up” the House, (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: 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: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Acccursed Springs), 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: Remnants and Reminders) However, he found himself alone in the serene Room of Renewal, with a picnic laid out for him. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Room of Renewal)

Fall

Eventually, the final Fall of the House was foreseen; when “all the artifacts had been auctioned off, the ghosts had all found other places to haunt” and “the alchemists had moved their Great Work elsewhere”, the last two people to leave were an incarnation of Jenny Everywhere and a 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: The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House)