Here are some blue bottles. Perhaps one resembles Oremander's home?
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Her Home
The legends say her home is a corked bottle no bigger than something a child could cradle. It is unbreakable and appears empty through the translucent blue glass. Like the mythic djinni, Oremander can magically enter the bottle, diving in as her body metaphorphizes into mist. The decanter-domocile's interior is spacious and comfortable for Oremander, with plenty of flying space and storage for belongings. The ensorcelled bottle was crafted by Atlantean magicians in ancient times. It's really a palace, built for her by the Atlantean Royal Family as a token of gratitude. The bottle floats unfettered in the ocean with the waves of the tide guiding its voyage. Oremander has no trouble finding the bottle anywhere at sea even when adventure takes her far away and for long periods of time. This is due to the honing abilities of her needle Corleer. She could, if she wanted, carry the bottle with her, but she prefers to let the ocean take it each day to a new place. She is curious where her home will be upon return and what she will find there. As an errant knight of sorts, she herself wanders free in search of adventure, and usually sleeps at night on woven clouds, ghost ships, or secret islands, only returning home when she needs some time to relax, do some reading, or add a piece to her art collection. So as a result, the bottle is often empty and uninhabited. Children who know the legend scan the beaches for the bottle in case it has washed up on shore. If they happen to find it, she will very likely not be at home. The bottle will appear relatively ordinary with no sign of the palace within. Peering in will reveal a rolled-up note from Oremander. The script is beautiful and spidery, its content polite and apologetic. Oremander will explain that she is elsewhere and regrets not meeting the child. She will also amicably request that her home be thrown back into the sea. She usually puts a spool of her thread in the bottle as a gift for the child. The silver thread is said to be very magical. A stitch or two of it in clothing or a hat will make the wearer stronger and braver. If the child ignores Oremander's request to throw the bottle back, it will fade into blue mist anyway and float back to sea. It is said the bottle cannot stay out of the ocean for very long. Once, years ago, the evil pirate Blacksmear seized the bottle and attempted to hold it hostage (after trying in vain to break it on the ship's hull) but after an hour in his possession it just faded away, spoiling his unscrupulous scheme. Many years later, the cunning Darnicle twins, Leonard and Maxwell, heard of Blacksmear's attempt and took it a step further. They found her bottle, tied it to a rope attached to their ship, dropped it in the sea, and dragged it behind them while they sailed. This prevented the bottle from evaporating, but still kept it in their vile clutches so as to vex Oremander. Needless-to-say, she was not pleased when she returned from an adventure to find her home being detained by the Duplicitous Double Darnicles. With the aid of Archer Darnicle, ethically-inclined identical brother to the twins (they were actually all triplets)) and a fine swashbuckling swordsman (and aviator) to boot, Oremander got her home back. The Twins were sorry, learning the hard way that their hostile action was most unwise. Oremander advises would-be miscreants not to engage in such tomfoolery. |