12 A Dying Dream (1/2)

Isilla walked through the dream city she had found, a shared and stable place for dreamers. This must be what Shadows Fall looks like, she thought. In her own home there was a version of the Acropolis, here there was likely another shared space for the castle itself. She had not found it though, there were so many dreamers to sort through. There were few spaces in the Veil that were stable, like this city, and even those ebbed and flowed with belief.

Shadowy, human like forms rose and passed by her without notice, each locked in their own dreaming. If she wanted she could reach out and interrupt them but she had no need, instead she let them pass peacefully by her, letting the light she exuded do it's own small work.

She turned down a street into a market. The sounds of commerce filled her ears and she smiled at the strange items that the stands sold, tiny chairs, giant fish. She touched them, smiling at the patrons as she passed. Finally she settled on a barrel to watch the dreamers.

It had been three weeks since she had met with her father's avatar and her brother. Since then, her maids had kept her in her small rooms supplying her with needlework projects, paper, and a few books for entertainment. The books were written for children and she finished them quickly which left her mostly with just the needlework, a skill she was at the very least, learning. Sometimes the maids let her sit with them while they washed linens or cleaned. They did not speak to her directly. Most days she spent sleeping, watching the dreams of others.

Arren did not call for her but this at least was not a surprise. The nameless shade did not return either.

I'm bored and lonely, she thought. Although her life in her own lands had been small she had never felt so isolated.

Sighing she slid off the barrel and walked through the door next to it, gently forcing her way into another dream space, reaching for something new.

What is this, she thought looking around. It was a building but filled with hay, in squares and piles. The space smelled of animals and was hot, so hot. She moved forward looking up at the crumbling roof before reaching out to the hay. It turned to dust at her touch.

A dying dream, she thought. She tasted the energy of it with her skin. A nightmare, she corrected herself.

She heard growling to her left. She turned slowly and faced a giant black beast. The creature, all shadows and teeth, it dripped fear with every step.

She frowned at it, attempting to understand it. In the Light Realm she had never seen anything like it. A monster but underneath, something small.Holding up her hand she said, ”Is this your place? I am not your dreamer, I think they're too weak now for this. Stop that noise, let this person be in peace.”

The beast stared at her, confused at her steady gaze. It dropped its head whining, understanding in some way that when the dreamer went, so would it. She smiled, ”There, there, don't be afraid,” she mumbled to it, placing a hand on its shaggy head. ”Would you like to give me a ride?”

The nightmare creature lowered itself to the ground so that she could mount its back. The animal was all fur and muscle beneath her. Gripping tufts of it in her fingers she urged it forward, out of the building. Free of the confines of the structure, it moved at a frightening speed across the barren landscape, growling and howling all the way. Isilla found herself laughing like a child at the speed and power of it.

This is what I've been missing! The Veil had been a different place once they had crossed into the Dark Realm. The worlds were trickery to navigate and there were very few familiar things to grasp on to. In a land of fear, everyone was different.

Laughing, genuinely laughing for the first time since she had come to the palace as the animal leaped from stone to stone, sending clouds of ash colored sand into the air as it landed and pushed forward. She changed the dream, using her magic carelessly to grow grass and changed the sky from gray to a soft blue. She urged the beast to slow down, tugging at its fur, squeezing its sides. The beast followed her commands, coming to a stop in a field that had never existed before. In the distance, back by the building, a figure began to walk among the green blades.

”I should go now,” she said to the animal between her legs. They were nearing the border of the dream space.

Ahead, the sky changed from blue to deep green. A shimmery ripple between the two spaces.

She slid off the animals furry back in front of the border, thinking. She looked up at the animal, it's gently shifting body and realized that he had gone from ”it” to ”he” in her mind. There hadn't been anything like him and although there may be shifting animals like him in the dreams of other people, he was was the first she had seen.

”Come on then,” she said walking forward two steps. She had taken things from dreams before. In her courtyard, sometimes, when she wanted, there was a door that led to her collection of stolen dreams. He was no different, just bigger.

He didn't move, instead he sat whining, his eyes lowered.

”Come on,” she repeated laughing, ”You don't have to stay here. You can stay with me.”