Nightmares

The **Nightmares** are a series of five strange, scary sequences that The Protagonist dreams of every second night through to Day 10.

## Nightmare 1 - Day 2

> *"Something is riding on your back and it's becoming a nuisance. You try to see it in the mirror... but you can't get a good look at it. You try almost everything but it won't get off. The pain between your shoulder blades is getting worse by the minute. You wander away from the cabin, stumbling by a river to soak your pain in cool water. You didn't want things to come to this... but you've exhausted all other options. You swim out to the middle. Rocks on the bottom cut your feet... you slip and fall to your knees. You lean back, trying to submerge the thing under the waters. But it won't drown. It won't drown.  It won't drown. You splash frantically. Plunging your head beneath the water the current takes you downstream. You try swimming to the shore but it's no use. Water fills your mouth and nostrils. After a minute, you stop struggling against the current. As you gaze up at the sky you feel it leaving your back drifting into the sky as you sink to the bottom. As you take your last gasp, you see what was on your back starring into your eyes but you don't even have the air in your lungs to scream. You wake in a cold sweat."*
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This particular nightmare is based upon the myth of Likho in Slavic culture. Traditionally found in fairy-tales, Likho is thought to be a symbol of evil, fate and misfortune. She is usually depicted as an old, skinny frail woman dressed in all black with one eye. While there are a few different variations of the fairy-tales that Likho appears in, one of them is very similar to this nightmare. In it, Likho cheats a person and clings onto his neck. The person wants to drown Likho and jumps into a river, drowning himself. Likho floats out, unharmed, to chase other victims.

## Nightmare 2 - Day 4

> *"A boy is yelling at you in the kitchen. You keep telling him to lie down on the tray. But he keeps shaking his head, calling you names. So you do it. You lie down on the trey and make your body as flat as a board. You show him how it's done. His anger turns to courage and he pushes you into the oven. As the stench of burning hair fills your lungs, you see him sneering back at you. You wake in a cold sweat."*
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This nightmare is based on a traditional Russian folk tale titled "*Baba-Yaga and the Brave Youth*" written in 1867. In the tale, the boy meets Baba Yaga when she comes to his house to steel three spoons. Baba Yaga tries to abduct him, but the boy is rescued by his two friends - cat and sparrow. After one more encounter from which he is rescued from the Baba Yaga's clutches, Baba Yaga is finally able to trap the boy in her house. In turn, she instructs each of her three daughters to cook the boy and leaves to attend some business. Each of them attempts to get the boy to lay on the oven pan, but he manages to trick all of them into showing him how to do it and shoving them into the oven when they lay on the pan. Furious, Baba Yaga decides to cook the boy herself, but the boy manages to trick her too and shove her into the oven.

## Nightmare 3 - Day 6

> *"The two women in front of you could be twins. One of them you recognise, the other is a guest. You ask the guest to sit on a shovel and then you try pushing them into the oven. Her legs are so strong, you can't get her into the oven. You curse at her repeatedly. 'LIKE THIS' you hiss. Yo stretch out your legs until your toes are almost sticking in the coals. You feel four hands on your shoulders... and both of them push you in. The familiar smell of smoke and burning hair cause you to throw up on the embers. You can't let it end like this. You rip the metal door of the oven, tearing through the wood logs of the cabin. Screaming, you chase the two through the woods... your burns chill with the wind. The guest looks behind her and her eyes widen when she sees you. She's terrified. Your fury rips the trees out by their roots, soil from the ground, rocks from their pits. You've never been this angry in your entire life. Their stamina can't last forever... you're gaining on them. As you trample through a field of wheat the guest throws a piece of cloth behind her. You catch the glint of it in the sun... golden. As if by magic... the earth splits in front of you, creating a chasm of fire below. You fall into the pit, screaming as your eyes begin to sizzle from the heat. Hellfire fills your lungs... you're unable to scream anymore. You wake in a cold sweat."*
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Based on another Russian folk tale, this particular nightmare is an altered retelling of "*Baba Yaga and the Twins*" written in 1903, though there may have been earlier incarnations of the story. In this tale two twin girls are sent by their stepmother to her supposed grandmother who lives in the woods. When they arrive, they are faced with the Baba Yaga and are held captive to be eaten. While trapped, they steal a towel and a comb from the witch. After being afforded a chance to escape by a cat living with the witch who was dissatisfied with its treatment, the Baba Yaga pursues the two girls. They initially throw the towel behind them that creates a river, but it merely slows her down as she finds a shallow spot to cross. The twin girls then throw the comb which creates an impenetrable forest - the Baba Yaga gives up her pursuit and the girls go home to tell their father what the stepmother did.

## Nightmare 4 - Day 8

> *"You're having a dinner with a blacksmith but he's no touching the food. The only light in the room comes from the oven. He clears his throat, stroking his beard. 'I can forge... anything...' he says. Your eye has been giving you issues lately... so you reply: 'Forge me a new eye, then.'. You laugh but then the ropes come out. He ties you to your chair with a long rope... to prevent you from struggling. You rip the rope apart without even trying... so the Blacksmith uses a thicker rope. No turning back now. He takes a hot poker out of the coals. Holding it in front of his face... you can see his beard and eyes watching you. He slowly brings back the poker, aiming carefully for your eye... before plunging it through your skull with a sickening **crunch**. The force of the blow throws you backwards a few feet. You're unable to break the ropes. You vomit all over your chest as the smell of your decimated eye floods your nostrils. The blacksmith stands over you spitting on your body. You wake in a cold sweat."*
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Interestingly, this nightmare is not inspired by a folk tale about the Baba Yaga, but is instead by another myth about Likho. The opening section of the folk tale "*One-Eyed Likho*" happens almost identically to what the game shows us of the nightmare, albeit from a third person perspective.

## Nightmare 5 - Day 10

> *"It's lying on the table in front of you. You take the glasses first... partially cracked... and set them down next to the workbench. Working the saw, you wrap the cuts in an old newspaper. Some of it gets soggy immediately... so you begin drying the cuts with a towel before wrapping. Much better. You hear something approaching, so you clench a fist and get ready to strike whatever's coming for you. You wake in a cold sweat."*
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This is the only sequence not inspired by traditional Slavic and European folk tales. It is theorised that it might depict the actions that the Protagonist performs while sleepwalking at night.

## Trivia

* The image shown after the first nightmare is referred to as 'likhobg' in the game file assets, confirming the nightmares's connection to the Slavic myth about Likho.

## References

1. ↑ [1]Likho's Wikipedia article.
2. ↑ [2]The full story of "*Baba Yaga and the Brave Youth*".
3. ↑ [3]The full story of "*Baba Yaga and the Twins*".
4. ↑ [4]The full story of "*One-Eyed Likho*".