The Little Red House

The remains of the Little Red House after the Day of Change

**The Little Red House** is a book that was read by Deirdre Green as a child in Neithernor.

## Description

Little is known about the Little Red House, beyond that it was a book published by Ackerly Green Publishing. The Monarchs wished to protect it, to study it, to understand its place in the changing of The Book of The Wild. The Little Red House was of immense value to the Monarchs, who were willing to sacrifice both the Book of Briars and The Mountaineers to keep it safe, believing that the book might hold some secrets that could be dangerous if learned by the Silver. The book was reduced to ashes on The Day of Change after Deirdre brought the book to the mundane world to sacrifice it to the Storm. Most of the ashes were swept away by the Storm in exchange for the Book of Briars, with the few remaining ashes being kept in a bottle by Deirdre.

## History

The Little Red House was first mentioned in "The Door Part Three." The Little Red House was part of a recurring dream by Aisling Green, which was sought after by Sullivan Green, who believed it to be a place where they could all live together safely.

During Fragment Fourteen, Deirdre returned to Bunratty with Cole after the passing of her Aunt Monica. After several days, Deirdre insisted Cole return to New York to help the Mountaineers, giving him the chronocompass and the journal. The compass led him to several landmarks across town and caused him to unlock a very personal journal entry, which Deirdre described in "Neither Here Nor There." After learning about Neithernor, Sullivan had sacrificed everything in his life to reach it. For years, Sullivan would travel the world, coming back from time to time to visit Deirdre and Aisling. Eventually, he came back to visit them, having been pursued by the Storm, and he told Aisling he had been to Neithernor and seen **The Little Red House**. He tried to get Aisling to come with him, but she told him he had been consumed by madness and she refused to come along. When she refused, Sullivan tried to carry Deirdre out of the apartment, but was stopped by Aisling. She used a magiqal artifact to wound him - destroying his mind and her body.

As Deirdre explored Neithernor, she eventually came to a walled grove. Going to the grove also unlocked a new journal entry, where Sullivan told Deirdre she would have to learn figuration magiq, the most difficult of all magiq to perform, in order to find the little red house. Her adventures then led her to a new location - a massive vault. The vault led Deirdre to discover five books her father had read to her, and a sixth book she couldn't open, which she described in "The Six Books." The books were The Wishing Jar, Oskar & Pipany, The Ant and the Caterpillow, The Forest of Darkening Glass, and The Myth of Elainnor. Using the books, Deirdre wrote a story in her blog, casting her first figuration magiq. The spell led her to the sixth book she couldn't read, which she realized was The Little Red House. It was not a place, but a book. The first book in The Lost Collection.

After returning to the mundane world, in "Mr. Wideawake," Deirdre received a note that told her to meet them in the warren. Thinking it was Cole, she knocked in, but was surprised by a human-sized sooty tern bird named Mr. Wideawake. Mr. Wideawake told Deirdre that he was the current Collector for The Monarchs and that, if the Council and the mountaineers were wiped out, him and his associates were the last thing standing between the Silver and complete control over magiq. He explained to Deirdre how the Book of The Wild had been altered to erase magiq in what became known as the Book of Kings. Mr. Wideawake told Deirdre that the reason he was there was that the Monarchs wanted to preserve The Little Red House at any cost and that they wanted to stop the Mountaineers, who were planning to exchange it with the Storm for the Book of Briars, so that they could study it and understand how it fit in to the changes made in the Book of Kings. The message was actually a warning to Deirdre that the Monarchs were coming for the book, since they knew where to find it and how to access it using her blog post.

On the Day of Change, Deirdre rushed back to the vault, which she described in "The Shadow." Using the walking stick and a spell created from The Wishing Jar, Deirdre was able to extinguish the lanterns the Monarchs were using to light the way. In the ensuing chaos, she took the five books needed to unlock The Little Red house and ran. Deirdre grabbed The Little Red house just in time, slamming the door on a Monarch who nearly grabbed her. Deirdre 'caterpillowed' herself, growing wings, which she used to fly over to the Storm as the Silver began to regain control. The Little Red House, not being intended to exist in the mundane world, had been reduced to ashes, so Deirdre blew the ashes into the Storm with her wings. Her plan worked at the Book of Briars from 1998 was brought into the present.

## References

1. ↑ http://forum.basecamp33.com/t/fragment-14-obscuriotempus-found/1333/11
2. ↑ http://forum.basecamp33.com/t/fragment-14-obscuriotempus-found/1333/161
3. ↑ http://forum.basecamp33.com/t/the-day-of-change/1509/150