"He knows well his wicked ways."
"I stood upon their blood
I stood upon the weapon
I stood before the flute
And the drowned city arose beneath my feet."
On a cold evening in 1997, the population of Old Oakburn - over a thousand people - vanish.I stood upon the weapon
I stood before the flute
And the drowned city arose beneath my feet."
On another evening in 2003, 25 miles from Lake Oakburn, the Lebedev brothers are brutally murdered in their home.
In 2024, documents and evidence from the case are leaked by anonymous sources, shedding new light on what really happened to the inhabitants of Oakburn and the Lebedevs...and pointing towards unknowable, supernatural forces that may be behind both incidents.
Oakburn Opus is a surreal, nightmarish Digital Horror series by REDDIAMOND, creator of VHS Tales (which shares some connections with Oakburn). Presented through text, animation, 3D renders, documents, journals, and photographs, the series currently consists of three episodes with a spinoff and two more on the way.
The episodes currently out are:
- Part I - exploring the vanishing of the residents of Old Oakburn and how it connects to a mysterious, horned flutist.
- Part II - investigating the killing of the Lebedev brothers by an individual who claims to have been commanded to do so by a mysterious figure named Marvpyas.
- Part III - recounting Martha Astor's journey to investigate Marvpyas's "drowned city" and the revelations she finds there.
- Lies - reveals the identity of the individual from part II
I exist incarcerated in a vessel of the arcane. I will entertain your feeble sense of justice. I will share you my Tropes:
- Arc Symbol: Marvpyas' sigil, a circle with nine triangles enclosed within, as well as another sigil, of a triangle linked to nine circles. It's revealed these two sigils are of to denote the familiar relationship of Martha (who is associated with the triangle and nine circles) and Marvpyas, once Martha's brother Matthaus, who is linked to the circle with nine triangles.
- Arc Words: "He knows well his wicked ways" and "the drowned city".
- Canon Welding: Alex Lebedev is a character in VHS Tales' The Starving Five, and Martha Astor appears in Circles, leaving Ethan Astor behind.
- Eldritch Abomination: Marvpyas, a goat-like being who dwells around Lake Oakburn, and in truth a fish-like monster which also have scales all around its body, and Martha's brother.
- Gratuitous Latin: Various Latin phrases appear throughout the story, particularly in the Book of Marvpyas.
- Laughing Mad: The John Doe who killed the Lebedev brothers does this during his interrogation.
- Magical Flutist: Marvpyas, through and through. If the manuscripts left behind by the people of Old Oakburn are to be believed, he doesn't speak with his mouth but with his flute.
- Scream Discretion Shot: We don't see what happened during the "magnum opus," but we do get to hear bits and pieces of it; a crowd talking, cheering, then screaming.
The search for Old Oakburn's population continues.