If you are reading this, you are a fool. Seeking is an enterprise that should never be undertaken. Whether you desire swift Reunion or more permanent Separation, the dangers involved in Seeking even one Object are innumerable. I once was a Seeker like yourself, but the quest broke me. Yet though my strength has long left me, my wisdom still remains. I think the only reason I got as far as I did, and indeed why I haven't been completely ravaged, is that I was never interested in the Objects themselves as much as the mysteries surrounding them. What are the Objects? Who or what are the Holders? Why do they serve the Objects? What is the true nature of their trials? These are but a few of the countless questions that daily plague my mind. I admit that my knowledge of these subjects is scant at best, but I will do my damned best to give you the most accurate information I can.
If you are reading this, then you are likely a skilled Seeker who wants to know as much as possible about that which you seek. If so, then I hope that the forces of Beyond have mercy on your infinitely damned soul.
Good luck.
- A. Rooker
I: The Holders
(This isn't meant to be an academic treatise, so don't expect too much organization or detail. I'll try to do this to the best of my ability, so please forgive me if there are still some unanswered questions after we're done.)
Most Holders are humanoid creatures. Many are Seekers who replaced the previous Holder after failing their trial. Of course, since this requires there to be a prior Holder, it begs the question: Who was the first Holder? I am of the opinion that the Objects chose from among the first humans who their guardians would be. Indeed, I believe that the Objects have a "life" of their own, in a manner of speaking, but that's for another discussion. In any case, there is still the matter of near- or non-humanoid Holders.
The near-humanoids can, of course, still be humans, but "transformed" into their current state by the power of the Object they hold. In other cases, they can be called demons, monsters, or what have you, including when they do not resemble a human at all.
Non-humanoids are the most interesting, I think. Often they possess a certain unique attribute which, lacking a better term, I will call "Ugliness". This "Ugliness" drives any who look upon it to blindness, deafness, or an assortment of other ailments. Most often, however, it leads to certain madness. I have met some of these, but of course, it would be impossible to describe them to you, even if I was still sane enough to do so.
Regardless of their physical appearance, all Holders and their ilk speak in a strange tongue, similar to ancient human languages, but not related to them. This tongue is only spoken when necessary; when a Seeker enters a Holder's realm, the Holder instantly gains knowledge of the Seeker's native tongue. This is so that the Holder is able to answer the Seeker's question in a way the Seeker is able to understand. There are, of course, a few exceptions; I've found through personal experience that such Holders who insist on speaking their own language are the most dangerous and unpredictable of the lot. Consider that a warning for any future Holders you wish to meet.
What each Holder is willing to talk about also varies wildly from Holder to Holder. Some Holders will speak only of their Object, ignoring any other subjects that arise. I believe these Holders to be direct projections of their Object, thus having no knowledge or interest in anything outside of their particular Object. Others are quite talkative and will have full conversations with you. I wouldn't recommend you deliberately try, though; many of these see trite conversation as a waste of their time, and they won't let you know until long after the conversation's over. Some Holders speak in riddles, while others speak as pure water. Yet all Holders share a common trait; once their Objects is spoken of, they will speak of nothing else. I believe this to be part of a "programming" innate to all Holders, as if a Seeker speaking of the Holder's Object is a sort of signal for a Holder to begin their testing of the Seeker, to the ignorance of all else.
While the Objects possess the power to warp the fabric of reality around them, it seems they require a Holder to manifest that power. It is at this point unknown how the Holders use this power, but it is my theory that this ability is not intrinsic. They somehow gain the ability in their transformation into a Holder, perhaps bestowed by the Object itself. This is indeed why Seekers are unable to use the same ability to their own ends. Furthermore, it seems the Holders have some degree of control over how this power is manifested. While the "pocket dimension" an Object creates largely remains static, there are several noted records of an Object's realm changing slightly when it acquires a new Holder. I believe this to be the last vestige of the Holder's humanity shining through the madness - the Holder's personal "spin" on the dimension, if you will.
Perhaps the most curious mystery of all, however, is why an Object necessarily needs a Holder to begin with. Indeed, there are several Objects in which a Seeker need not interact with its Holder at all (see The Holder of Disease for an example of this phenomenon). Object and Holder seem to have an almost symbiotic relationship; one cannot exist without the other. I have not yet found why that is, but I hope to learn the secret of this relationship in my future studies.