Fractals of the Dreamscape
PART 1: Piecing back together the Shards
The Lightbearers of Somberholt never Cease to amaze the Arlorians. They have not only evaded the eyesight of every Man, Woman and Nott, they also have somehow kept an entire town shrouded in secrecy for the benefit of the world. I to this day cannot fathom what chaos that would have ensued if they did not let the chosen heroes that resided outside of the chancel walls into their dwellings. It was the only choice they had left once Corvis crept out of its sealed tomb, honestly. "Balance guide you" they told us, so we crossed our arms, fortifying our initiation into the path of balancing dark and light. Many challenges faced us as we rose the ranks of the order, burying what has already died once again, thwarting the immense power of the Necromancer Lich King whom threatened all of Arlor and beyond.
We found another reason to cheer in jubilation once again. Of course, that was a short lived party... It seemed we only left the door open for another threat to rear its evil head. Our little friend Ashera brought news from the neighboring town of Gloomhill, news we did not take too lightly. I can still remember the energy she emitted when our party first seen her standing idle at the gates to the Mausoleum. A somber, dreadful vibration that rung through my head. A shy cry for help blended with the cackling of what sounded only like a demonic creature. I will never forget that laugh.. Our dreams have never been the same since. This threat came from a place we could never predict in a thousand years, our very own mind.
I mean, I knew of different dimensions or planes of existence, like Shuyal, or the lands where Ursoth tread for example. Universes that existed on the same stage, like layers of an Onion. Though this demon has taught us that the land of the sleeping is just as real as the land of the waking. A lesson that changed the entire course of Arlorian history. Although our toughest battle yet, we mastered the ways of this demons dimension and halted the attack of innocents' dreams. Though Ashera and Arlor for the most part safe, there is one thing I keep to myself.. The Demon still appears in my dreams.
Every dream is for the most part the same since then. Except this one ended a little differently than the others. I am alone with nothing but a wooden staff and cloth robes, practically defenseless. I am in a wooded area of forest, it seems not too different from the woods of Ydra. I feel as if I am in Arlor in my dream. Then suddenly, a rift opens out of thin air. A black hole with purple hues that rips the Arcane energy around us, the very fabrication of reality. Then, there IT is. I am never afraid once the demon appears. It is a lot smaller and weaker now after destroying its' realm and minions, and ability to siphon peoples dreams, cutting off its supply of Arcane Energy. It speaks to me. Not with words spoken aloud, no, but with faint evil whispers within my head, as if its words have crawled into my ears to eat away at my brain. The words " You have made a grave mistake" echoes throughout my mind. "You have awoken them"is a phrase that shortly follows. After those words chant in my head for long enough I ask. "Who?" then, the dimesnional rift that the demon opens up crystallizes and turns into an ornate mirror. It drops on the ground with a light thud. I gaze softly into this mirror and to my surprise I do not see my face. Oh, God how I wish it was just my face. No, it was the Demon but not just the demon we all know and have faced. It was hundreds of demons. All with different hair and hair colors, different armor, different faces. Some not even humanoid. Some were too disturbing to even put into words. Then I hear what sounds like thousands of the same voice talking at once " NEVER SLEEP AGAIN" and the mirror shatters into a million pieces. Each shard of glass containing a reflection of one of the many demons "siblings" I guess you could call them. Each shard glowing an ominous tone of sanguine, they all fly towards me and then I woke up in a cold sweat. "The demon never turned the rift into a mirror in my recent dreams" I said to myself. Nor did I ever see all of those demons before. Could these demons really exist? Was the Demon of the Dreamscape just a fractal of hundreds if not, THOUSANDS of demons? Residing in their own domains with their own unique powers? "I must have council with the Lightbearers today" I thought, then got myself ready for the day as quickly as possible.
-to be continued
Please mind my grammar and share your thoughts! Thanks for reading (: I'm not much of a story writer.
