Carnival of Chaos
This article refers to the rumour of the Carnival of Chaos. While there have been scattered reports of similar carnivals throughout the land, they are unconfirmed. The story of the carnival may have been greatly exaggerated as an old Trestillian wive's tale to keep children quiet in their beds.
The Carnival of Chaos is a dark circus, populated entirely by demons and insane cultists masquerading through spell and costume as a traveling circus fit for entertainment for all ages. Towns who bear witness to the macabre theatrics of the performance are slowly turned to madness as the days draw on, eventually succumbing to disease, insanity, misery or - for the luckiest - death.
The Carnival of Chaos is a dark circus, populated entirely by demons and insane cultists masquerading through spell and costume as a traveling circus fit for entertainment for all ages. Towns who bear witness to the macabre theatrics of the performance are slowly turned to madness as the days draw on, eventually succumbing to disease, insanity, misery or - for the luckiest - death.
Mythology & Lore
No one knows where the Carnival of Chaos appears or travels from, only that on fateful nights, a wandering cavalcade of colourful wagons and players dressed in circus garb appear on the horizon of small towns and villages. The wagons circle the town once. Folk can barely hear the sound of accursed flutes and panpipes playing from afar and feel a sense of great unease - soon forgotten once the performers enter the town. Once the wagons have completed their circuit around the town, there is no escape for those within.
Upon entering the main square, the performers begin to assemble their tents and stages, all the while playing instruments and singing. More and more villagers flock to the performance area. Enchanted by the Carnival's excitable tunes and artful costumes.
Once the tents are erected, the Carnival enters its second act, putting on acts of knife juggling, sword swallowing, strongman acts and jesting. The macabre thespians, dolled up with copious amounts of makeup, masks and amusing costumes begin to perform plays from the ancient days of the Sundering such as a Midwinter Night's Madness, The Egg of the King and The Monarch's New Clothes
The performers keep this up for five days. Upon the fifth day, the townsfolk have been all entranced. Those unfortunate few who glimpsed behind the curtain have fallen to madness or have been killed. Either way, they become part of the performance as chattel or as hideous props. As the sun sets on the sixth day and the last performance ends, the illusion that covers the Carnival falls away and the performer's masks slip to reveal unholy mutants and monsters. What was once intricate, amusing makeup has fallen away to reveal putrid expressions of ecstasy, with wide open, toothy mouths, slavering at the sight of fresh meat. The villagers now realise that the delightful props and food they were eating were really human remains, rotten and festering with disease. As horror dawns on the townsfolk's faces, the Carnival's performers can't help but emit a haunting, echoing laugh. The slaughter begins.
The townsfolk have been gradually infected with countless pestilences that accompany the Carnival. Bodily fluids and excrement flow through the streets, polluting water and wafting the stench of decay into every crack and crevice. The performers, excited by the abject terror that floods through the townsfolk after their true faces are revealed, cannot help but add to this intoxicating scent by harvesting and stringing up their victims to hang on every tree and post in sight.
Those that remain alive and have their minds still intact are rounded up and forced to walk in a train behind the gluttonous Ringmaster as part of the next performance. The Carnival moves on, leaving a trail of disease and flies in their wake.
Upon entering the main square, the performers begin to assemble their tents and stages, all the while playing instruments and singing. More and more villagers flock to the performance area. Enchanted by the Carnival's excitable tunes and artful costumes.
Once the tents are erected, the Carnival enters its second act, putting on acts of knife juggling, sword swallowing, strongman acts and jesting. The macabre thespians, dolled up with copious amounts of makeup, masks and amusing costumes begin to perform plays from the ancient days of the Sundering such as a Midwinter Night's Madness, The Egg of the King and The Monarch's New Clothes
The performers keep this up for five days. Upon the fifth day, the townsfolk have been all entranced. Those unfortunate few who glimpsed behind the curtain have fallen to madness or have been killed. Either way, they become part of the performance as chattel or as hideous props. As the sun sets on the sixth day and the last performance ends, the illusion that covers the Carnival falls away and the performer's masks slip to reveal unholy mutants and monsters. What was once intricate, amusing makeup has fallen away to reveal putrid expressions of ecstasy, with wide open, toothy mouths, slavering at the sight of fresh meat. The villagers now realise that the delightful props and food they were eating were really human remains, rotten and festering with disease. As horror dawns on the townsfolk's faces, the Carnival's performers can't help but emit a haunting, echoing laugh. The slaughter begins.
The townsfolk have been gradually infected with countless pestilences that accompany the Carnival. Bodily fluids and excrement flow through the streets, polluting water and wafting the stench of decay into every crack and crevice. The performers, excited by the abject terror that floods through the townsfolk after their true faces are revealed, cannot help but add to this intoxicating scent by harvesting and stringing up their victims to hang on every tree and post in sight.
Those that remain alive and have their minds still intact are rounded up and forced to walk in a train behind the gluttonous Ringmaster as part of the next performance. The Carnival moves on, leaving a trail of disease and flies in their wake.
Type
Entertainment, Troupe
Location
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments